.
The Great Poop Pyramid Scheme (And the USD Pyramid Scheme)
First...
This PROVES Epstein Is ALIVE & They Used A Body Double!
Among the newest questions to emerge from the Epstein files are medical records about a prior prostate removal procedure
Epstein ostensibly received that conflict with descriptions from the autopsy indicating Epstein’s prostate was intact at his death.
Jimmy questions official conclusions that Epstein died by suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, and mocks figures like Dan Bongino and Kash Patel who defending that conclusion.
He cites online speculation amplified by outlets such as International Business Times, while also acknowledging that some of the more extreme body-double claims lack verified evidence.
The overall tone blends skepticism of official narratives with satire, using the prostate-record discrepancy to argue that unanswered questions about the case persist.
And now...
My mother used to cook a huge pot of food on the weekend. They were usually either a Weekend Chili, or Weekend Spaghetti. Sometimes it would be a soup; whether a chicken noodle soup, or a beef noodle soup. And sure, the house will be filled with the aroma of cooking all day.
I miss that.
Smells generate and reawaken memories. Good and bad. And for me, the smells of home-cooked spaghetti sauce or Italian sausage, or maybe curry all fill my mind with wonderful and wholesome memories.
So here's to those memories.
Enjoy.
Imagine a 1960's to 1970's era kitchen.
It's the smells that can evoke memories.
Let's see if you can remember what these things smelled like...
Or, maybe the "feeling" of that time.
Memories. Yeah.
Today...
The Prime Minister of Poland
What’s a good Italian chopped salad recipe that’s fresh and easy to make?
The chopped salad is an American dish. It can easily be adapted for an Italian table; this is a preparation technique, not a recipe. The salad’s name is because all of the ingredients in the salad are cut to a similar size.
A chef at Beverly Hills restaurant, La Scala, first created the chopped salad (photo from La Scala’s website) in the 1950s, for their well-heeled clientele. Many of La Scala’s diners were attired in tuxedos or other formal clothing — clothing they really did not want to mess up during the meal. It’s a brilliant idea. The desire to minimize food splatter doesn't just apply to wealthy Californians. It applies to folks eating out on business, a couple out on a date, or a variety of other situations.
Since then, chopped salads have been adopted in a wide variety of ways, by many restaurants in North America as well as abroad. The chopped salad was also the inspiration for the Mason Jar salads that were particularly popular with Aldi fans for awhile.
Chopped salads offer some other advantages as well. For a home cook, they can be a great way to use up a small portion of leftovers that otherwise wouldn’t be enough for a meal. They can be an excellent choice for an entree (main course) salad. They can be made a variety of ingredients — legumes, cured meats, pickled vegetables, cheeses? The choice is up to you.
Therefore, an Italian chopped salad wouldn’t be a recipe per se, and would instead be based around what good food is in season, in their fridge, or some combination thereof.
The chopped salad I made here is inspired by the creative fresh salads we had in México. There is a Slovenian diaspora in the country making excellent cured meats. Slovensko charcuterie with Iberico pork? Fabulous!
Fresh baby spinach, chopped
Castelvetrano olives, quartered, lengthwise.
Pickled red onions, chopped.
Dry salami, cut in to thin strips.
Fresh pineapple is cut in to small pieces.
The dressing is a lemon vinaigrette that I emulsified with a hand blender.
Blended together, it’s a big, tasty salad for hubs and I to share.
Don’t get too hung up on recipes on a concept like this. Pick seasonal, tasty ingredients that go together well. Everything else will take care of itself.
ALERT: BlackRock Just Sold $175 Million MORE Bitcoin – The Pattern is TERRIFYING
Insider SELLING Getting Worse
Hal Turner Nation February 07, 2026
Insider selling is getting worse.
Many people track high-volume insider flow every single day. Some of them are noticing the divergence is extreme:
Out of the top 200 significant insider transactions this past week, all 200 were sells.
While they’re telling you “the economy is doing great,” they’re dumping everything they have.
ZERO BUYS.
Think about that. The people with the most information aren't touching this market.
China is Just Fine Thank You!
What amounts to widespread “concern trolling” and misinformation by the Western media, state and social commentators about China is more a projection of their wishes for a weaker China rather than any reflection of reality. Let’s review some of the widespread and obviously coordinated tropes that are being spread by the so concentrated Western media, the paid propagandists of the state and the “sell my soul to the highest bidder” careerist social commentators.
- “Slow” Chinese growth
- “Low” Chinese domestic retail demand
- “Huge” Chinese trade surplus
- “Housing Crash” threatening a financial disaster
- “Deflation” threatening a financial disaster
- “Autocratic” state unable to compete with the flexible “democracies”
- “Demographic Time Bomb”
- Progress but “At What Cost”
“Slow” Chinese growth
Here is Chinese GDP growth for the past few years:
- 2020: 2.24% (US was -2.2%)
- 2021: 8.45% (US was 6.1%)
- 2022: 2.95% (US was 2.5%)
- 2023: 5.25% (US was 2.89%)
- 2024: 5% (US was 2.8%)
- 2025: forecast to be around 5% (US forecast to be 1.5% to 1.8%)
Cumulative: China 32.5%, US 14.5%. Between 2020 and 2025, the Chinese population actually shrank a tiny bit so all of that growth turned into GDP per capita growth. While the US population officially (i.e. not including illegal immigrants) grew by 3.2%. So, Chinese GDP per capita increased slightly more than 32.5% during these years, while US GDP per capita increased by 11% (1.145/1.032); that’s three times faster in China. If China maintains its “slow” 5% growth rate while its population slowly declines, Chinese GDP per capita and the size of its economy will double every 12.5 years!
“Low” Chinese domestic consumption
In May 2025, retail sales increased 6.4% year on year; about what would be expected with the growth in GDP per capita plus a little bit of inflation. But Western economists and commentators keep complaining that Chinese consumption levels are only half that of Mexico and only one third the level of Japan! I have already noted a number of times that using comparisons based upon market exchange rates can utterly misrepresent relative levels of GDP, GDP per capita and consumption.
That is why there is something called purchasing power parity (PPP). But as Zichen Wang points out, the official PPP numbers calculated by such bodies as the World Bank and IMF may also be highly inaccurate. To investigate this, the China Finance 40 Forum (CF40), which is a leading Chinese independent think tank, decided to carry out a quite extensive review of Chinese consumption levels using actual volumes of consumption, bypassing the issues of relative prices. As an aside, CF40 publishes quite a bit of interesting research in English, here.
And their resultant report found that even the official PPP figures were way off. It stated that:
- China’s consumption levels are systematically underestimated
- This primarily stems from price advantages and exchange rate deviation
- There does remain considerable room for further expansion
- Some rebalancing between domestic consumption and external trade would be possible
The gap between the developed nations (including the US, Germany, Japan, France and Mexico) and China across various consumption sectors is much less when measured by actual consumption volumes rather than by per capita consumption expenditure. That’s because the Chinese get more for their money, with an excellent example being the very low prices for good quality cars in China with respect to Western nations.
When it comes to food consumption, China has surpassed the levels of developed countries. The consumption of manufactured goods is on par with countries at the same stage of development. Consumption of healthcare and education services is on a par with developed nations, while there is a small gap in tourism. Instead of being half the level of Mexico, China’s consumption levels are in fact higher than Mexico’s. And at least half the levels seen in countries such as Japan, Germany and France.
In my own analysis of Chinese relative consumption levels I found that, taking into account the US statistical over-estimations (e.g. systematically misrepresenting inflation as being lower than it really is, over-estimating value added in such areas as healthcare, usage of implied amounts, counting rentier costs as value added activities), Chinese consumption levels were about two thirds the level of those in the US. Such a reality would cause a severe cognitive shock to the average American citizen, and cause them to question the legitimacy of American “free market democracy”. Exactly why the US state, oligarch-owned media, and bought and paid for influencers spend so much time attempting to show that the Chinese are still poor and their consumption is being kept low by the “autocratic” and “anti-democratic” Party-state.
Another bug bear that we must also deal with is the whole “China was as poor as sub-Saharan Africa in 1979” just before Deng’s reforms. No it bloody well wasn’t, China was far more developed than sub-Saharan Africa due to the three decades of huge progress made since the 1949 revolution. The years of Mao’s leadership were a great success for China, and provided the very strong and developed base from which Deng could launch his liberalizations. Deng was also helped massively of course by the lifting of the brutal economic and technology blockade upon China by the West, and did not need to redirect large amounts of resources to save the North Koreans and Vietnamese from Western aggression.
China does have some room to increase consumption, to offset any drop in export demand, but the Party-state also understands that the growth of the productive forces should precede the growth in consumption for sustainable long-term growth. The exact opposite of the assumptions of Western economists, politicians and commentators as the West has become much more indebted while the productive forces have waned.
“Excessive” Chinese trade surplus
China’s trade surplus in 2024 was 5.6% of GDP in 2024, rising from 4.6% in 2023, 2.6% in 2021, 1% in 2019, and 0.66% in 2018. In 2018, Germany’s trade surplus was 6.8% of GDP , in 2019 7.25%, 2020 7%, and in the post pandemic period 4.16% in 2023 and 5.7% in 2024. The greatest culprit of “excessive” trade surpluses is a Germany that has maintained such surpluses for two decades (in 2010 it was 5.75% of GDP, in 2005, 5.2%). So why have we not constantly been hearing about Germany “excessive” trade surpluses that must be dealt with for the past two decades?
As we can see from the above data, China’s trade surplus really took off from 2022 onwards and the large number of 2024 is a very recent phenomenon. China’s current account surplus, that also takes into account such things as the repatriation of profits by foreign companies, was only 2.2% of GDP in 2024. US corporations make a lot of profits selling in China’s domestic economy (e.g. Apple, McDonalds, Starbucks) and keep the majority of the profits made by exporting goods from China under their own brands. Of course, the Trump administration wants to talk about that 5.6% figure, not the 2.2% figure that may draw attention to the amount of profits that US corporations are making in China.
Another issue is that during and after COVID, the US government and Federal Reserve followed massively expansionary policies. First both fiscal and monetary, and then heavily fiscal (from late 2022 when the US economy looked as if was about to roll into recession). This massive expansionary boost, given the de-industrialized nature of the US economy, naturally sucked in a huge amount of imports; including those from China and from nations utilizing Chinese inputs. The correct thing would have been to remove the punchbowl, but the exact opposite was done. An extra spur was given by the politically driven interest rate cuts in the second half of 2024, and the US Treasury Secretary’s decision to fund the US government using short-term bills in 2024; every last demand lever was pulled in 2024 as I detailed here. The Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will just prime the pump even more, while Trump pushes the Federal Reserve for interest rate cuts.
With a Federal Government deficit of 7% stretching far out into the future, even with assumptions of continued economic growth, the US economy requires significant retrenchment not yet more pump priming. More taxes on the top 10% who provide 50% of the retail consumption within the US, heavily skewed toward imported goods, rather than yet more tax cuts for them. Tariffs will not fix this problem, unless Trump wants to see the US economy collapse into an inflationary slump that further decimates the living standards of the majority of Americans and threatens a financial crash. The problem is not Chinese under-consumption, it is US (and Western) top 10% over-consumption.
“Housing Crash” threatening a financial disaster
The Chinese government has extremely skillfully managed a controlled deflation of the domestic property bubble. A controlled deflation that may continue for a number of years, as Chinese nominal incomes keep increasing by perhaps 7% per year, to bring house prices into a reasonable level with respect to incomes. At the same time, there has been an astonishing reorientation of investment from property into the productive forces. A reorientation that is only just starting to play out in the technological upgrading and advancement of Chinese society. While the US and Western top 10% over consume and grant themselves more tax cuts, the Chinese Party-state drives an acceleration in the growth and development of the productive forces.
Below, from Ian Welsh’s web site, is a graph of Chinese house price inflation in which can be seen the 2012-2014 bubble and then the much bigger 2016-2018 bubble. The red line adjusts for inflation, but not growth in incomes that were very rapidly increasing during this period. Prices corrected in the 2018-2020 period but then bounced back somewhat from mid 2020 into early 2022. Then they stabilized and started to fall from late 2023 onwards. If the Party-state maintains nominally falling to flat house prices over the next decade they will have halved house prices in terms of average income multiples. A controlled relative deflation that will not threaten financial stability but will greatly benefit the younger generations.
Rents increased much more slowly than house prices, and have most recently started falling. This is great news for younger generations that tend to be the greatest renters and have lower incomes. With their propensity to spend the incremental Yuan much higher than more well off older generations, lower rents rapidly turn into higher consumption; as noted retail consumption is strongly increasing. Again, from Ian Welsh’s site:
100 square metres is about the same as 1,000 square feet, which means that in Beijing a 1,000 square foot apartment can be rented for the equivalent of USD 1,190 per month. That’s in the most expensive rental market in China, where the annual average salary is about US$26,100 per year at market exchange rates. The same sized apartment would be more than US$4,000 per month in New York City, where the average annual salary is about US$80,000. The average annual salary in NYC is 3.1 times higher than Beijing, but rents are at least 3.36 times higher; with rents falling and incomes rising much faster in Beijing. In Guangzhou, in the heart of the southern high tech conurbation, average annual salaries are close to US$22,000 per year while the average monthly rent is only US$690 per month for a 1,000 square foot apartment.
As Mr. Welsh succinctly puts it:
You can’t be an industrial power if rentiers: people who expect to make money thru time arbitrage and managed scarcity, are in charge of your society … Anyway, China needs to keep housing and rental prices down. At the very least they need to increase less than wage increases and for many years. All signs are, that as is most often the case, the CCP [sic] is succeeding at the policy goals it set out for itself.
“Deflation” threatening a financial disaster
Its called actual market competition and sustainable monetary and fiscal policies that align with the growth in the economy. The exact opposite of the pump-primed highly concentrated oligopolistic, corrupt, and financialized rentier economy of the US, where corporations took advantage of the COVID supply disruptions to massively increase their profit margins while in many cases shitifying their products and services. When the economy is growing at 5% year, mild deflation is not an issue and may in fact represent large leaps in productivity and highly competitive markets. That is what China is experiencing. For example in an EV market that is both growing at 30% per year and experiencing falling prices.
“Autocratic” state unable to compete with the flexible “democracies”
The Western nations are oligarchies, dominated by a small elite which utilizes utterly performative “democratic” processes to hide and obfuscate their power. As the most purely bourgeois elite dominated society, the US is the most advanced in this respect with even money defined as protected “free speech”. These oligarchies if anything have shown themselves to be both inflexible and incompetent. In contrast, the Chinese Party-state has shown a great deal of flexibility, and uses highly competitive domestic markets to drive a high level of corporate responsiveness, while engaging in extensive discussions with the citizenry before setting policies. In the West there is also little if any impact for state officials and politicians when they fail, with many seeming to “fail upwards”; such as Ursula von der Leyen. In China, officials are quite open to consequences from public criticism and policy failures. The legitimacy of the Chines Party-state among the domestic population is many times higher than that of the US state and politicians among the US population.
“Demographic Time Bomb”
Anyone who uses this type of concern trolling has not even looked at the Wikipedia Chinese demographics page. From that it can very clearly be seen that the Chinese working age demographic (18-60) will not be collapsing any time soon. In fact if we take the 2020 demographic chart below and move it on 15 years to 2035, we will see that one of the most productive age groups (45-50) will actually increase while the number of new recent entrants to the workforce (20-35) will have also increased. Only the 30-45 year old and 50-60 year old age groups will have decreased.
There is also still some room still left for the movement of workers from rural occupations to the big cities, with the Chinese urbanization rate of 67% compared to over 80% in the US and Western Europe. In addition, technologies such as exoskeletons and robotics can help older workers maintain their productivity. The Chinese younger generations are also very well educated, significantly better than their elders, and fit and healthy. Unlike in the West, where educational levels have declined and a significant share of the younger generations are either unfit, unhealthy, or both. Given also the redirection of resources away from property investment and towards the productive forces in China, ongoing GDP per capita increases of 5% are quite possible into the mid-2030s and beyond.
Unlike a Japan that faces a very real immediate demographics issue, combined with the Chinese and US assaults upon its productive forces.
And a South Korea which will face a major demographic issue in the 2030s.
Progress but “At What Cost”
When all else fails, Western mainstream journalists search for any negative that they can offset against Chinese progress. So that they can say “yes, China is being so successful but at what cost”. This is the end game of the failure of the Western propaganda.
Of course China is not perfect, no nation will ever be perfect; most especially one of 1.4 billion people. But it is lead by the Party-state in a far superior way to the leaderships of the West, especially from the point of view of the vast majority of the population. That is why the Party-state enjoys extremely high levels of social legitimacy, levels only dreamt of by Western leaderships. You would of course not know much about this watching, reading and listening to official Western media, state actors, and courtier commentators.
I was recently invited to a closed door consultation event at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa which of course I cannot write about. But there is one thing that struck me that I will mention, and that was the attitude of the extremely professional Chinese diplomatic staff. I would liken it to a “mild exasperation” covered expertly by a fastidious diplomatic approach. It struck me that diplomatic members of the Chinese Party-state sometimes must feel like they have come across some unfortunate person that they are happy to help out but are then regaled with the complaints of the hapless person about their own supposed shortcomings. The proposals of win-win solutions from the much bigger and stronger person to the much smaller and weaker unfortunate being met generally with a residual arrogance from the times when the roles were reversed. The reality is that China is just fine thank you, and it is the West that needs to learn a lot more humility and self-awareness for its own good and the good of humanity in general.
Instead, China being just fine thank you is what is driving Western oligarch aggression and dark propaganda against China. The Western oligarchy sees its global dominance slipping away in the face of a more successful state/society complex that does not allow for a bourgeois oligarchy. The Chinese Party-state may be fine with the Chinese saying of “to get rich is glorious” but only when the rich do not attempt to use their wealth to usurp the Party-state that serves the national good. Profit levels are significantly lower in China because the Party-state makes sure that there is real competition within markets, and that corporations orient themselves toward value creation rather than rent seeking behaviours. With the home of the greatest rent seeking, the financial sector, kept under very firm state control. China threatens both Western global hegemony through its continued economic growth, and provides the “threat of the good example” (as Chomsky put it) that is a direct threat to the legitimacy and sustainability of the Western domestic oligarch dominance. So instead, a constant stream of lies will be propagated by the corrupted officials and organic intellectuals of the Western states, the bought and paid for Western political actors, and the Western media that is controlled by an incredibly small group of oligarchs and their tools.
Humility and self-awareness do not come easily to those that have ruled for centuries, and see their civilizational primacy as a natural and unchangeable reality that has nothing to learn from the “lesser” civilizations. Such pride comes before a fall as the saying goes, just as the Qing rulers found out in the early nineteenth century.
Why doesn't China have pretty school uniforms like Korea/Japan?
Are you kidding me?
if i was still in elementary and high school back then, i would have love to be wearing this as a school uniform all the time : one I don't need to change cloths when doing PE since its multi purpose, two i wont feel like I'm having rashes just wearing uniform and lastly, it easy to wash and maintain. that just me. i would prefer it to wearing suit uniforms
as to why chinese schools have school that wear these more instead of cute uniform like the one in japan and korea:
well you see, many Chinese families still have relatively low income by international standards. By including fancy and pretty but expensive school uniforms, you’re excluding the families who have low income. This’ll cause tension between the rich and poor people in society, which the Chinese government and society in large does not want. It also humiliates students from low-income families, leading to many mental health and social issues.
secondly it can be a form distraction: instead of kids focusing on their studies, they be focusing on what outfit one of their classmate is wearing and to whether they look cool or ugly. not all do this fair enough, but there is a sizeable number that care about this, which lead to discrimination between them, and trust me school kids are not innocents as adults think, i should know, i was once a kid a myself. but the point im making is this will be a distraction.
another reason many Chinese parents may not be on board with cute uniform idea is this:
unfortunately thanks to porn and the dark side of humanity, Japanese and Korean “cute” uniform are a bit sexualized as a kind fetish and this lead to many cases of sexual harassment against high school girls, which terrified a lot of families. now we not saying all Japanese's school girls dress in the manner of the pics above, or going around be flirty or coy, but there a lot of creeps out there who have fantized with doing with high school girls in their uniform.
so that just my take on it
Economist Peter Schiff: U.S. Entering Financial Crisis; Dollar Collapse
Hal Turner Nation February 07, 2026
The well-known economist Peter Schiff made a series of statements that went viral on the X platform.
"The dollar will collapse. The dollar will be replaced by gold. We are heading towards an economic crisis that will make the 2008 financial crisis look like a Sunday school picnic."
Key points:
Global central banks are massively selling US Treasury bonds and actively buying gold.
The upcoming crisis will be worse than in 2008, but focused on the US: a dollar collapse, a sovereign debt crisis, a fall in living standards in America.
The rest of the world will benefit (led by BRICS: China, Russia, India, new members... who are accumulating gold and diversifying).
The dollar index is falling to historic lows, and 2026 promises to be a year of major upheaval.
Synchronicities | The Science Behind Your Meaningful Coincidences (STRIPPED)
"If you want to change reality, all you have to do is ask".
BLT Brunch Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup sour cream*
Filling
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise*
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 (4 1/2 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
- 8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- 3 medium tomatoes, sliced
* Reduced-fat or fat-free sour cream and mayonnaise may not be substituted.
Instructions
Crust
- Combine first 4 ingredients; cut in shortening until crumbly.
- Stir in sour cream.
- Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Press pastry into a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Cool completely.
Filling
- Combine mayonnaise, Cheddar cheese, mushrooms, bacon, bell pepper and onion.
- Layer half of the tomatoes in crust; top with half of the mayonnaise mixture.
- Repeat layers.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
MC HotDog 熱狗【差不多先生】Official Music Video
Yes. Marlon Brando refused to film any scenes with Dennis Hopper while Hopper was on-set during the making of Apocalypse Now.
This despite them having a scene together in the film, which still had to be in the finished film.
Brando was notoriously difficult to work with, and this difficult incident and the notoriously hard logistical problem it started is a direct result of that fact.
Hopper told Bob Costas about the incident that caused it years later in an interview.
Brando had showed up on set weeks late, and had refused Francis Ford Coppola’s pleading to read the novel Heart of Darkness on which the film was based.
Hopper, for his part, had only agreed to appear in the film so that he could be allowed one scene with one line with Brando, who he’d always wanted to work with. He had no idea, by the way, that Brando had been refusing to read Heart of Darkness.
(Dennis Hopper, as the unnamed American journalist in Apocalypse Now.)
Hopper, like other actors on set, had been required to go through a lot of strenuous physical preparation while waiting for a very over-weight and out of shape Brando. As Hopper put it, “we were doing karate. We were doing jujitsu. We were climbing trees.”
Hopper had also, like the rest of the actors, been provided with a copy of “the little red book,” used in training US Army Special Forces.
During a story conference over dinner when Brando first showed up, Hopper, a bit irritated at Brando for not getting the venture and for not being physically prepared for the role told Brando, “I bet you haven’t even read the book.”
(Brando was so extremely over-weight during filming, he either had to be filmed in extreme closeup, or mostly in the dark to hide his obesity. This irked Hopper, who had been doing a great deal of training to prepare for the film.)
By this he meant “the little red book.”
But Brando thought he meant Heart of Darkness, and saw red.
Hopper claims Brando stormed out of the house they were in saying, “‘I don’t have to listen to this! I don’t have to take this!’ And he is screaming and yelling ‘Why do I have to hear it from him? I have to hear it from this punk!’”
Things got worse from here.
Hopper took this very personally, and then got good and drunk and went out of his way for the rest of the night, first at a boxing match and then at a screening of The Magnificent Seven, to get under Brando’s skin.
At some point during the film screening that evening, a very drunk Hopper, made some nasty and personal comments aimed at Brando and basically threatened to fight him, before himself staggering out drunk.
Brando and Coppola disappeared subsequently for the next two weeks, with production shut down the whole time.
(This film contains no scene where Brando and Hopper shared a line on-set. So, technically, Coppola broke his promise to Hopper. But that was probably for the best.)
When they finally came back, the deal presented to Hopper was that Hopper would do his takes first, Brando would watch them and do reaction takes to them, but neither would ever be on-set at the same time. Sh…
In the end, Hopper decided Brando had probably done him a favor.
The two would likely have come to blows on-set together.
Pizza Party vs. Dog Meeting: What’s in Common?
Guys. this is investigative journalist, and very serious.
What's your understanding of "US to revoke visas of Chinese students, including those connections with CPC or studying in critical fields?"
Many Chinese Students go to the US for Post Graduation or Doctorate courses in various STEM Disciplines (I still can't believe Mainlanders would pay money to study ARTS in US 😁)
If you observe, upto 2014 - nearly 66% of all students from China who went to the US for their Masters or Doctorate studies stayed back in the US, got Green Cards and became Residents in the US
However post 2014 - especially from 2020 , nearly 90% of all students from China who went to the US for their Masters or Doctorate studies have returned back to Mainland China after completing their courses
Particularly nearly 96% of all Chinese who graduated in 2024 as Masters or Doctorates have returned back to China
In 2016, only 39% of Chinese who completed their Post Doctoral course in US returned to Mainland China while in 2024 it's almost a Whopping EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT
The message is simple
Chinese are no longer interested in settling down in the US
The Gen Z want to learn, come back home and innovate and help China grow and develop
This is FREAKING THE US out
This is because
- A Green Card is too delayed for a Chinese and a H1B is no longer WORTH IT
- The US is no longer the centre of Innovation in the world. China is taking over
- The Climate in US is too hostile for any foreigners particularly Asian and even more particularly Chinese
Instead of re assuring the Chinese and giving greater incentives like accelerated green cards , the US is acting like ostriches and ignoring the elephant in the room
And they blame the CPC of course 😁😁😁
The CPC sending millions of students to steal US Secrets is such a cliche now that even Americans laugh at it , barring the dumbest hicks and rednecks, the Alabama marrying sister type of people
You know..the Pro Trumpers
You know
At one point in the 1990s - Joe Biden, then a Senator said the US must encourage more and more Chinese to come to US and learn democracy and go back to China and help spread Democratic Ideals
Ironically now - the US is TERRIFIED that the Chinese could show how great the CPC is and make Americans LOATHE THEIR CESSPIT DEMOCRACY
China competes
Apple can sell products, Nike can sell products, Samsung can sell products, NVDIA and ASML can sell products, Audi and BMW can sell products in China
US is TERRIFIED of Competition
Huawei is banned, EVs from China are restricted now Medical Equipment is restricted because the US knows the truth - China is better and getting even better by the day and at half the price 😁
US is becoming another USSR
- Terrified of the Truth
- Hiding everything about China and making up lies exactly as USSR cooked up lies about USA between 1975–1985
- Terrible Censorship
- Corruption at its absolute peak
- The People no longer the top priority
China is becoming the next USA of the 1960s
- Transparency and Visa Free Travel to most people
- Open Book on China , Visit and find out
- Brutal war on corruption
- People are the absolute priority
- Innovation and competition
That is the ultimate truth today
What makes the J10C fighter jets of China noteworthy, and have they really been underestimated compared to aircraft like the Rafale?
Everything made in China is underestimated thanks to the 24/7, 365 days a year and 76 years straight demonizing narratives, hate ful rhetoric and half truths and outright lies coming out of the US media. Well this 30 million 1st generation fighter jets fly higher, fly faster and shoot more accurately than their opponent French Fighter Rafale costing 300 million each. 3 were shot down in a dog fight. And China has upgrade this fighter jet 5 times now version F60 is available even faster even higher and even more accurate. Note worthy is the understatement of the century.
A wake up call for the entire west would be a better description. World wide every one need to review their western weapon and reconsider Chinese made ones. Unless you are as dumb as the Indian Air Force! Wonder if a good portion of the 300 million buck goes to some Swiss bank account. Now the world knows why the west lies to the world. 100 million indians need to work their butts off for a year to afford this overrated western jet fighter that can barely match a 6 generation ago Chinese fighter jet worth 10% of the French Jet. No wonder they need to lie to people like the Indians. If a Chinese general were to buy Rafale he would be on his way to the gallows for corruption! Wonder what will India do to him?
To Chinese origin like me, the more the west lies the more I will buy Chinese product.
Cheating Ex Comes Crawling Back After I Leave
Why is Pakistan the secret to China's global success?
Yes, Pakistan's geographical location is extremely important to China. Pakistan is connected to China on one side and is located on the west coast of the Indian Ocean on the other. Pakistan is China's channel to bypass the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca. This route was not important when the Indian Ocean route was unobstructed because land transportation costs were high compared to sea transportation. But its importance lies in providing an alternative. Once the passage to the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca is blocked, China can reach the Arabian Sea directly via Pakistan.
The Karakoram Highway, also known as the Friendship Highway in China, was built by the governments of China and Pakistan. It was started in 1962, completed in 1979. So this alternative was already underway in the 1960s.
In addition, Pakistan is close to important regions in the world, such as the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. For China's imports and exports, the Western Hemisphere route is far more important than the Eastern Hemisphere route, and Pakistan is an important fulcrum.
Of course, the friendship between China and Pakistan has lasted for half a century, and has gone from official to private, and has long surpassed a simple interest relationship.
The official description is "Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership", and the folk description is "Iron Brotherhood".
Anyone who knows Chinese people knows that Chinese people value friendship. If you are nice to Chinese people, they will be super nice to you. But if you don’t respect them, you will suffer. I think India has suffered countless times.
The Time Capsule Storm
Written in response to: "Write a story where the weather mirrors a character’s emotions."
Kassidy Amaryllis
You’re not supposed to engage with the outside world.
Only a second ago, I was just a wallflower, a outsider who frequented this realm at night when I wasn’t supposed to. I was supposed to be an observer, to see the algorithms and put things in place. I was known now. I had broken the moral code of my people.
His hand flew to my arm, trying to steady me. Electricity rushed through. Memories flashed back.
“Aurora?”
The question was weak on his lips. He was weary, as if he were trying to recall a dream from many moons ago.
I was not supposed to hold onto so many memories, they flooded at speeds I couldn’t decipher. They told me initially that I was fragile, and I was not to be meddling in places I wasn’t supposed to. It didn’t make sense to me, because my whole job was to meddle.
Tears flooded down my cheeks, I knew him, the man I watched from afar, being the observer I was, they stole me from him.
“Jed…”
“Where have you been?” He pondered, bringing his hand up to his chin, and then nervously into his hair. Lost in thought.
“I don’t understand, I thought you were dead. And for you to just turn up out of the blue at our favourite spot. What the hell are you playing at?” He paged through his thoughts, trying to piece it all together.
I accidentally touched a time capsule from the life that I left behind.
“They— they told you I was dead?” I frowned.
I didn’t understand, does that mean they have my name on a headstone? I remember who I was now, but what I was doing was inappropriate and out of line,
“I don’t remember, I don’t remember all of it, it was stolen from me,”
To explain to the boy that I loved as to why I left, I couldn’t. I was supposed to live on while he died in his time line. Thats why they didn’t want me to go back. That’s why I was to follow strict protocol.
My eyes narrowed. Jed was still in awe struck, he kept reaching out, touching my face, grasping at reality.
“You’re not going to believe me, I don’t understand fully myself. I don’t have all my memories.” I said, sternly.
We didn’t have much time, I was only frequenting for the food, the life around me I desperately wanted, until they would come steal me away along with my memories that seeped through the cracks.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat. His body fell into mine, and I felt sparks fly, memories began resurfacing and tears flooded again.
The rain poured overhead, we stood our ground as we blurred in with the crowd, the people didn’t care about the showers. We didn’t either, it felt etherial. I felt his breath on my neck.
“This can’t be real, I went to your funeral, I saw your body in the casket, I saw it go underground,” he shuddered, I felt his body trembling as we collided.
My lips parted in shock as I heaved through each breath, trying to understand what they covered up. What did they do? Who did they put underground?
Who was I?
His hand trailed its way towards my waist, and soon I was as close as I could ever be. I felt like I was living in a dream. I could watch it from the portal, at night, while everyone was asleep.
I could dream of having a life— a family that wasn’t stranded on a space craft near Jupiter, being ordered around by beings who said you didn’t matter.
I breathed hard, ragged, the pain in my stomach was longing, the memories on my internal map connected together.
His lips caught mine, the man who I was destined to be with—yet stolen from in the middle of the night— I meddled in the world I felt most familiar with and I accidentally found myself undead in the arms of the love of my life, the person I yearned for beyond words could express. My breath caught in my throat as I remembered what it was like to come home to him, his scent lingered on my skin and his hugs gave me life in my chest. What it felt like to make love, it was distant, but still there. Our hearts beat as one, our minds found the world enticing and we often got lost in the music and beauty around us.
I remembered it. I didn’t want to. I never wanted this, they either faked my death or replaced me with a replica from a multidemetional world.
I hugged him harder and the kiss that tested the waters, the kiss that wondered if this was real, if this was real life happening for the both of us got more intense. It soon became a need. Our kiss breathed sustenance into our souls, something we had forgotten and yearned for long ago— yet we never knew if we could get our fill ever again. We held onto it for dear life, intertwined as one. I didn’t care that I had broken protocols, that I had followed a memory and ended up in the past. I was apart of it again, I was going to fight for him. I could take him with me, hide him from the officials and find a way to work him into the algorithm….
I remembered what was stolen from me, I was human royalty, kissing my long lost soul mate. I could change the path of history for him, I could face the damage.
I could see patterns, sequences that held us together.
I broke the kiss while both our minds went wild, raging with questions.
“I want you to come with me,” I said abruptly, my mind spiraled out of control.
“I don’t know how to explain everything to you, but your time line is almost out of life. It’s going to end soon.” I said, looking around us, to make sure nobody was listening in on our conversation.
His eyes looked tired, worried. Yet somehow he followed along, as if he understood what was to come.
“Jed, I’m not supposed to be here, I will have to go and never come back. If you leave with me now, I don’t know what will happen. I have my own space craft, my own rules, but I do not adhere to them. Come with me and you will leave the fate of this world.”
“I’ll come with you, but first off just let me finish this Gyro.” He said, solemnly.
Of all things to say in dire time, I laughed. Something I hadn’t done in a long time.
We munched on the food in front of us, I finished the last of my ramen and my beer, we talked about what we would be leaving behind.
We walked back, as the rain budged on, leaving us soaked and cold. I showed him the portal, and he didn’t waver.
We entered the portal, knowing that Jupiter looks mighty nice this time of year, the eye of the storm begging for attention. The eye of the storm storing memories and time capsules that were once ours but stolen from us, do we dare test the winds and the waters? Do we brave the storm?
Shorpy
What's the strangest case you've encountered as a doctor?
The reason, why medical students, starting from 2nd year, are insisted on taking proper medical history.
One prime example is what I'm going to tell you.
I got a call at around 5.30 PM yesterday.
Mass casualty incoming sir. 30 mins.
Mass casualty generally means, a large no of people will be coming, mostly because of any ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, or building collapse, or bomb blast or some mishap in nearby factory.
The number ranges from 15–75 at a time.
They come in waves, as one ambulance isn't able to carry all of them at once.
Tertiary care government hospitals gets notifications prior only, by the EMT and ambulance staffs.
Anyways, first 30 patients arrived. Nothing serious. Minor cuts, bruises, and head injuries. Most of them were admitted, but all of them were green according to Triage protocols.
Second batch came.
3 brought dead.
8 critically injured. ( code red)
Rest were deep cuts and injuries. Only few minors.
Code red we're treated first by seniors. That included me as well as seniors from other depts of ortho, ent, ophthalmology, medicine and radiology residents.
Resuscitative measured urgent interventions including FAST AND blood transfusion were done. Sadly, only 3 made it to operation theater, all, 3 survived.
Now, it was time to treat the most stable pts, ie.., cod green ones.
They are generally seen by juniors as they require minor suturing, dressings and minor debridements.
In my awe, one of my junior called me.
“ Sir, I've sutured his wound, but his bleeding is not stopping” She said.
I said “ put pressure over it, it'll stop”
“I've been doing that for past 30 mins sir”
“Okay come, we will see”
To my dismay, 5 towels were fully soaked with blood, and the elderly, of around 70 almost turned blue.
“ Start IV VASOPRESSORS and send for cross match immediately, we need to transfuse atleast 2 bags of blood now”
Necessary actions were done,and I saw the bleeding site.
Saw the legs of the patients. Swollen up.
Anemia - present.
Nails - coarse.
I immediately turned to my junior, realising that she had missed a major fact while examining.
“Did you check the bleeding site? Did you palpate? Did you take relevant history whether the pt is on dialysis or not? “
“No sir”
“ Call their attenders immediately “
While talking to them,my doubt became clear.
He was a patient of Chronic kidney disease,was on dialysis, and he had a Arterio venous fistula created ,which helps in hemodialysis.
A fistula is a communication between an artery and a vein. For this case, it waa radial artery and cephalic vein.
Like this.
These fistulas are a common site for injury , and can give rise to torrential bleed if injured.
Which was exactly this case.
Instructed the nurses to immediately shift him to OT otherwise we might lose him.
Surgery was done for him. In this case, we ligate the proximal and distal portions of the artery and vein around the fistula. Not going into details.
Operation was done and the patient survived.
Sadly, 12 patients died that day, 13 , if this had not been intervened on proper time.
Title: Sir Whiskerton and the Great Poop Pyramid Scheme
Ah, dear reader, prepare your nostrils—and your skepticism—for a tale of agricultural ambition, questionable investments, and the most aromatic get-rich-quick scheme ever to grace Sir Whiskerton’s farm. Today’s adventure stars Mr. Ducky, whose silver tongue (and complete lack of shame) convinces the barnyard that Porkchop’s poop is the next big thing. So grab your shovels (and maybe a gas mask), and join us for The Great Poop Pyramid Scheme—where fortunes rise, pyramids fall, and dignity is always the first casualty.
Act 1: The Pitch
Mr. Ducky waddled into the barnyard with a gleam in his eye and a clipboard under his wing.
- Mr. Ducky: "Ladies and gentle-beasts! Behold the future of farming: Porkchop’s Premium Poo! Organic! Sustainable! Profitable!"
- Porkchop: [Sniffing the air] "Wait… you mean my—"
- Mr. Ducky: "Yes, your waste is literally gold, my porcine friend! Investors will flock!"
He unfurled a badly drawn graph showing exponential growth (and a tiny stick-figure pig grinning atop a poop mountain).
- Doris the Hen: "This is disgusting."
- Mr. Ducky: "Disgustingly lucrative! For a small upfront fee, you too can own a share of… The Pyramid!"
Act 2: The Construction Catastrophe
Enter Cecil & Chester, the farm’s most enthusiastically inept handymen.
- Cecil: [Consulting handbook] "Page 41: ‘Pyramids: Geometry of the Gods.’ Page 42: ‘Do NOT build monuments from livestock waste.’ Huh."
- Chester: "Pfft. Rules are suggestions! This baby’s structural!"
They constructed a 6-foot-tall poop pyramid, using:
- Porkchop’s "contributions" (freshly delivered).
- Bessie’s "mood-enhancing" manure (it smelled like regret and patchouli).
- A "secret binding agent" (later revealed to be Rufus’s slobber).
As the pyramid dried, it hardened into something resembling concrete.
- Chester: [Knocking on it] "See? Solid! …Wait, is it supposed to hiss?"
Act 3: The Grand (Disastrous) Unveiling
The entire farm gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
- Mr. Ducky: "Behold! The Eighth Wonder of the Barnyard!" (He yanked the ribbon. The pyramid quivered ominously.)
- Doris: [Squinting] "I don’t trust this. Or you. Or anything that smells like—"
CRACK.
The pyramid collapsed, burying Doris under a wave of wealth.
- Doris: [Muffled] "I’M SUING!"
- Porkchop: [Tearing up] "I’ve literally never been this valuable before."
- Cecil: [Reading handbook] "Page 43: ‘Liability Waivers.’ Oh no."
The Moral (and the Post-Credit Cleanup)
Moral: If it sounds too good to be true… it’s probably poop.
Post-Credit Scene:
The worms throw a "Post-Pyramid Party" in the rubble. Their theme? "We Told You So."
Best Lines:
- "It’s structural! …Okay, maybe too structural." – Chester, architect of doom
- "I’ve literally never been this valuable before." – Porkchop, emotional entrepreneur
- "Page 42: ‘Do NOT build monuments from livestock waste.’ Huh." – Cecil, too late
Starring:
- Mr. Ducky (Shady Salesquack)
- Porkchop (Unwilling Tycoon)
- Cecil & Chester (Disaster Builders)
Why It’s Hilarious:
- Absurdity: A poop pyramid as an investment opportunity.
- Character Chaos: Doris buried in her own greed, worms throwing shade.
- Happy Ending: The farm learns nothing, but the worms get a new compost kingdom.
Now, go forth—and may your investments be less fragrant. 💩💰🏗️
How big is the gap between Russia and the USA in terms of military? Don't be biased.
Well, the question is better framed as “does either country have the CAPACITY to go to war directly?"
And the answer is a clear no.
Otherwise america would have done so long ago, when Russia was far weaker.
Hypothetically, in a controlled boxing match between individual systems, many US weapons may have the edge over Russian ones, especially if the fight is between frontline units.
But war isn't a controlled boxing match. War is a fight to the death between doctrines.
What is a doctrine? It is the system of systems integration to deliver controlled and precise firepower to destroy the enemy.
And Russian doctrine is optimized for northern latitudes, and focused on rugged equipment that can be easily repaired, even in remote locations. Russian warfighting also give prime consideration to the long and harsh winter, as well as the ceding of strategic depth to buy time.
US arms are, for the most part, not optimized for the cold and require complex, time-consuming base-level maintenance to keep going. It is doubtful America has the industrial base to supply a large scale conflict given the trouble NATO has supplying Ukraine, with even basic artillery shells in short supply.
Russia has been outproducing NATO and friends in war materiel since 2022.
Logistics is what wins wars and Russia isn't the warrior nation for nothing.
I don't see Russia losing a conventional war defending its sovereignty against the US.
A nuclear war will have no winners.
Storm Harvest
Written in response to: "Set your story during — or just before — a storm."
Nicholas Leacock
I was about to fail for the first time ever.
"Dammit. DAMMIT!"
It was no longer about my unblemished record though. I didn’t know what I was carrying, but eighty-two percent of the time a Red Level package meant a life or death situation. I’d never missed one of any level before, not an Orange nor a Yellow. I could blame it on the lack of info, but that didn’t make me feel any better—especially with the recipient being a doctor.
Rain dumped instantly, setting off a metallic pattering on the wreck. I felt the pulse in my neck joining in, battering my jugular. It increased when I heard—
"Are ye planning to just stand there the whole night, Lad?"
I spun around so fast I thought my rucksack would rip off its shoulder straps and slam the stowaway to the boulders. The voice had an echo, so I knew it must have come from inside the wreck.
"Dr. Duggan?"
"We can take care of introductions later. Get in here, would ye?"
I was flustered, but I felt like I’d just resumed breathing after holding my breath for half an hour. I still couldn’t see anyone though, every hole into the hull only pointed to darkness.
"Is that wise? I mean, there’s a vicious storm coming."
"Is that what all the racket out there’s about? I always knew my doctorate in atmospheric physics was a waste o’ time."
"Sorry. It’s just…"
"Trust me, Lad. The safest place to be is inside this rust bucket."
Before I could protest further, a loud SPAKT! sounded, along with a prolonged fizzle on the other side of the ship. It came with a brief flash of light and a dump of rain. The light blazed through half of the rust holes in front of me as if the man had let off a flash-bang grenade inside the wreck. I tried to move, but logic wouldn’t allow it.
This doesn’t make sense!
"Ye don’t want to be outside this ship when the next bolt strikes," he bellowed, having to do so due to the increasing white noise.
"Where do I enter?" I yelled.
"There’s a hole around port side. Hurry!"
The rain doubled. I pulled my hood up and crouched as I made for the other side of the wreck, as if that would keep me drier. My foot slipped on one of the hundreds of boulders the size of a curled up Labrador that were gathered around the ship.
Another flash, then a boom of thunder that rattled my ribcage, convincing me it would dislodge the seemingly precariously balanced vessel. The wind yanked my hood off; I wrenched it back on again. Rain sliced through the air like rapid repeating guillotines. Boulders shifted or popped away altogether underfoot making me fall shoulder first against the hull more than once.
I slipped through the largest rusted-through hole on the port side. Turning the flashlight on the interior showed it to be an indescribable mess of rusted metal in every shape and size you could imagine. My skin tingled unpleasantly at the idea of tetanus, nostrils overwhelmed by what felt like atomised rust scouring my windpipe.
"Over here."
I flipped the light in the direction of the voice and was struck with something entirely opposite to the corroded catastrophe to my right. My mouth hung agape taking in lungfuls of ferrous air.
It was a huge black orb formed of hundreds of geometrically perfect black triangular panels that resembled plectrums for massive guitars. The structure hinted at NASA-level precision, materials and form, yanking my eyebrows up at the realisation of what I was carrying. It was suspended by more than twenty cables secured to various parts of the hull’s interior, and that interior had clearly been reinforced. A bearded and bespectacled man was standing at the open door that a short set of steps led up to.
"Dr Duggan?"
"The same."
Although I had no idea what the orb or its capabilities were, I quickly concluded that this was why he considered it safer inside the ship, because we wouldn’t technically be inside the ship. We’d be protected by an enclosure designed by the same organisation that repeatedly and safely sends humans to space and back.
"We really don’t have time, Lad. If ye’re going to be struck by amazement come do it inside, rather than being struck by lightning outside."
I swiftly navigated rusted bars and jutting panels. At the foot of the steps, I pulled my sleeve back, tapped the blue screen of my console and held it out toward him. He rested an index finger on it. The blue turned green and beeped.
I climbed into the orb.
*
Now I was in it I could see it was actually a capsule, not an orb, stretching into the bow of the carcass. The walls and furniture were moulded plastic, all cream and curves with fitted purple cushions. One side of the space was where he slept and ate, lit a faint red. The other side was dominated by a blue-green tinge emanating from dozing laptop screens and other displays and devices I’d never seen before. One green display read, ‘17.2 Kj’.
While I shrugged off my rucksack, the Doctor pulled the steps up the same way you would those of a Lear jet, until they were hanging upside down on the inside of the closed door. He flicked some catches which released the steps from the door entirely. He flicked some more and like magic they transformed into a stepladder. I shook my head and smiled—NASA.
I handed him the cardboard package. It was roughly the size and weight of two encyclopaedias side-by-side. He ripped it open with some urgency then pulled out a triangular object—one that resembled a large plectrum.
"What a sight for sore eyes!" And he smooched it.
Dr. Duggan placed the triangular tile on the top of the stepladder, then climbed up. He reached for the ceiling, opening a hatch I hadn’t noticed was there. I also hadn’t noticed how soundproofed the space was until then—thunder boomed in as if the entire storm had been waiting to squeeze in through the hatch and wreak havoc. He climbed until I could only see his legs, taking the tile up with him.
After a few seconds he cried, "Dammit!"
"Can I help?"
"No ye’re alright, Lad. It’s just…I’ve only got two and a half minutes or so before the ship’s struck by lightning, and these screws are finicky as all hell."
I frowned and wanted to ask if he was joking. But I’d barely completed the thought before he dropped in the replaced panel, which hit the floor with a thud. It was cracked almost right across. He stepped down, hastily pulling shut the hatch above him and fumbling with the catch.
"Phew! Cut it close there!" I didn’t know who he was referring to.
He checked his watch, holding up the index finger of the other hand. A few seconds passed—then came two sounds. One was a clap, which—given the soundproofing—had to be that of a mythical giant’s hands hovering directly above the wreck. The other sound occurred concurrently, a high-pitched whistle condensed down to two seconds. Every light dimmed, flickered, then settled back to normal. Dr. Duggan smiled and put his hands down. Both fists now clenched, and even his considerable facial hair seemed to bristle, while his eyes brightened. He could’ve been struck by lightning.
"Wait. Did you just predict the time and place of a lightning strike?"
"Awesome, no? Well, I kind of did guide it here. What’s even more awesome is that I’ve just captured nought point one percent of the electrical power of that bolt."
"I take it that’s a lot?"
"A helluva."
"That…actually seems impossible."
"Up until ye brought the new panel…it was indeed."
"Really? How do you know you succeeded?"
"Well, there’s the fact the lights are still on. And there’s that, "he nodded towards the green display from before. It now read 538.2 Kj. "Five hundred and forty kilojoules," he sighed, as if recounting how he’d met his first love. "Enough raw power to keep your lights on for months." He held my shoulders. "Laddie, if ye hadn’t made it here in time, we’d have lost six months of valuable research. That cracked tile took me and NASA by surprise."
I buzzed with a little—granted, unwarranted—pride.
"NASA. So that’s why the secrecy?"
His enthusiasm waned like the faltering lights did minutes ago. "This location is a closely guarded secret, hence the shipwreck—our competitors have satellite access. The technology I’m working on will benefit more lives than you can imagine. Millions. It being leaked before time would put it in serious jeopardy, hence why you had to sign that NDA before taking this on."
Standing pretty much to attention, I said earnestly, "You don’t have to worry, Doctor. I’m a professional. I know how to keep my mouth shut."
He smiled. "Your supervisor assured me you’re the most reliable he had…and its for that reason we’d like you to be our sole delivery agent of the next batch of replacements. We got caught out here; that can’t happen again. Nor can we have a recurrence of this at the other eleven sites we’re operating from worldwide."
"I’d be more than happy to help," I managed to say, in spite of the huge grin.
We shook hands.
*
The storm raged on, but rather than the anxiety it roused earlier, I felt calmer as the night progressed.
"You must be famished," the Doctor said, and flicked a switch. A panel slid aside revealing a well-appointed galley kitchen.
We discussed details over an amazing spaghetti vongole at an electronically slid-out table, while the storm’s muted rumbles dissipated to a barely noticeable level. He revealed that the capsule was actually named C.A.P.S.U.L.E, an acronym for Capture/Analysis Processing System for Utilising Lightning Electricity. He offered little else about the project of course but we talked extensively about the future deliveries. I ended up sleeping over on his sofa while he worked through the night, energised by the day’s successes.
*
When I stepped out of the hull’s rusted hole in the morning, after bidding the Doctor farewell for now, it was like the C.A.P.S.U.L.E. had transported me to another land. From east to west the entire sky was a sharp blue. The sea lay as still as sheet glass and seagulls glided without a care while an egg yolk sun pierced the horizon.
I grabbed my shoulder straps and started the trek back up the incline toward the clifftops. I glanced back at the wreck. The deep burnt umber mass sat on its bed of starkly contrasting grey boulders. Obvious, yet hidden in plain sight. I smiled. I had perhaps been aa touch foolhardy in my approach, but now, as part of something that would help millions, I knew I could no longer afford to be. I’d made it through the storm, but it seemed there were more adventures to come.
I AM A BLASTED TREE
Written in response to: "Set your story during — or just before — a storm."
HAAKON RAGNSKJOLD
The lizard, it seems, had brought his own lightning to the buffet.
Not a hundred feet from me another bolt of lightning exploded. I was thrown against the white rock. My head cleared and I saw a man appear. He was dressed in rags and tatters. He saw me and swiftly approached.
When he drew near, I was shocked at his appearance. His hair was black and matted. His eyes were yellow and watery. His skin yellow, like parchment. I had no strength left. If he meant me harm I could not fight him. He was as tall as the white rock I'd rested against—a giant of eight feet.
“Do you understand the English tongue?”
I nodded.
“I do not know where I am. I thought I was dead. I should be dead. I went out to die. I know the thunders of heaven struck me. I am a blasted tree. The bolt has entered my soul.”
The creature looked into my eyes. Up this close the full impact of who, and what, I was seeing took my breath away. I could well understand how his creator had recoiled from his creation in horror, calling what he saw hideous. The man was indeed hideous. Yet, I could see there that he had chosen the features for their beauty. But that this thing lived had turned its beauty into ashes.
I tried to cam myself. I had no doubt this being could tear me limb from limb if he wished.
“Were you struck by lightning,” I asked. “Your clothes. There are burnt patches.”
“I have wanted to die. For all I have done I deserve to die. I gathered the wood for my pyre. Fire came from above. I felt its agonies. Wilt Thou burn out all the evil I have done? Let its pain grant me redemption and forgiveness. Let me scream in its agonies as that my suffering may surpass that which I inflicted.”
Lost in his soliloquy, the creature looked at me, seemingly for the first time. His hand stroked my face.
“You, too, are scarred. You are like me.” He leaned in close.
“Are you like me in other ways? Did he make you too?” I could not read the creature's thoughts, nor gain insight as to his intentions. Did he think I was a second of his creator's efforts?
The creature shook his head. “No. You have been scarred and flawed, but the hand of God has made you. You need not fear me. Vengeance' has gained me nothing. I took the life of those who had never wronged me. I have suffered and suffered for the evil I did the innocent, who never did me wrong. You have done me no evil.”
He set his hand on my shoulder and it seemed those eyes looked deep into my soul.
“Will you be my friend?”
I admit I was taken back by this request. I knew exactly who, and what I was dealing with here, though it was impossible for me to understand how these things could be. Certainly, to refuse this request would be perilous. But to accept it without being truly sincere, and acquiescing only out of fear would not do. If I said yes, it must be out of a sincere heart, and not just an attempt to escape death. I had already endeavored to kill myself on Mount Washington—if I die now, I would only be gaining my wish, however belatedly.
The fact is, if the story was true, this man might never had had a friend in his entire life. How like him I felt. There was no need to search my soul. Could I deny to another sufferer that which I had so longed for in my life, and never really had?
I raised my hand to his shoulder. “Of course I will.” And I saw how well his creator had made him, for those tear ducts were now flooded.
We talked for long after that. I had often thought of the story. The monster had often been characterized as evil—yet, was it not his creator's rejection of, what was without a doubt his own child, that had resulted in those acts he did? Certainly they were wrong. But the creature had long put such intentions far from himself. Indeed, his resolve to destroy his very own self witnessed to the desire to atone.
“What is your name?'
“Jhäeggr. And you?”
“He never even gave me a name. I was so hideous in his eyes that he could not regard me as a child of his labors, but a deserving inhabitant of the dunghill. Though I am unlike all men, and have none of the rights they may call their own—may a man not strive after such wishes? May a man not try to attain what others have by right? May he not be willing to pay a great price for his freedom, though others are freeborn?
“I thought I should call myself Adam, since I, like that first Adam, was created by the hand of his Father. But I was certainly not made in my father's image, as he was in His. I am truly a monstrous thing. And I should not have been. But was my father not monstrous, who turned away from me in disgust? I was indeed the thing you see, while he was fair, comely and straight. But as I was in visage, he was in heart. So I do my father proud. He has paid for his crimes. I will honor my father, who am so monstrous as was he. I am Victor.”
“That is another way we are alike, Victor. I, too, picked a name for myself.”
“There are many ways we are alike. Our names, which we have chosen. That we have endured terrible scarring. That we both seek a mate and have always been denied. And...you too went out into the frozen wilderness, as did I, to put an end to your life. Why did you seek to do this?”
“I was tired of being alone as I was. Like you, I had no companion—not even friend to lighten my load. You were denied that—but did he not start to build you...?”
“It was all I asked of him. He reneged on our contract. So close it came. Do you understand my rage? Bad enough he brought me into existence and did not take responsibility for me. But to create another, to so lift up my hopes—and then take an ax to her before she had even tasted of life? Hard enough to lose what you did not even know you had—but to see the fruit near ready for the plucking, snatched from your grasp, thrown down and ground down by hateful tread. He declared it was to protect man, he feared what the two of us would do—but what I did far outshone the mightiest of his fears. If anything had ever made me an enemy of the human race, it was that solitary act of murder—torn from my grasp, murdered before she even drew her first breath!”
I had never imagined such depths of feeling. Rage enfolded him like the lightning storm that had embraced me. But in a moment it was gone. And great, wracking sobs overcame him. Though deep down I feared this being and knew not what would follow, I could not deny the fellow feeling. I set my hands on his shoulders. Not even looking at me I knew that never had he had another to suffer with him and be to him a sympathetic ear.
The face that looked up to me was that of a different man. With that deluge of sorrow, and with another to share his grief it was as if he had truly become human. I was not fooled. He had always been human, but enduring unconscionable suffering had driven him near to madness.
He had recovered himself. There was a curious expression on his face. “You, too sought to destroy yourself. But why?”
“I told you. I couldn't endure the suffering any longer. I had no more purpose to live. It was better I was gone. I would inconvenience no one any longer”
Victor looked at me strangely.
“I should never have been given life. By destroying myself I might atone for what I had done. My ashes might then be of some use to at least fertilize the earth. But what would your death prove? You were no blasphemy to life like I was. God had made you. You are lawful life—yet you wanted to destroy yourself. Help me comprehend this.”
“Victor—my own mother did not want me to be. Months before I should have been born, I was torn out of her womb. This I learned long after. If my own mother didn't want me...”
“Why then are you still living if they meant to take your life?”
“A nurse found me. I was on the steel table, gasping out my life. She endangered her own job. She snuck me out of there. She gave me a chance.” I did not like the look on Victor's face.
“And this is how you reward this woman's sacrifice? You were scheduled to die. Your life was spared.”
“Look at me—look at my face! Who will love me as I am? I haven't a single hope in hell of that! Do you think I want to keep on living like this?”
I couldn't conceive how someone that big could move so fast. I didn't see his arm moving. I felt the blow as he back handed me. I must have flown fifteen feet. The astonishment hurt worse than getting struck.
“Your self-pity disgusts me. You think you're so hideous? Look up at the face that a creator couldn't even bear to set his eyes on. Then tell me if you think you're hideous. I am a blasphemy—but you, you're life is lawful. You have not the right to take what God's given you. You would have died had He not put that nurse there. You would have died had not that thing found you in the forest. You would have died had not the lightning taken you to this place like it took me. It took me! It found a use for me! No reason for you to live? You've been given a reason! You're needed for something more important than your own little life. If it wants me, as lawless as I am—how much more you?” Victor's eyes softened.
“I am sorry I was so hard on you. Give me your hand. I'll help you up. Do not despair. Someday someone may find you. I found someone a long time ago. It was her I told my story to. No one before her had ever failed to recoil from me in disgust. She could not be the mate I sought—and yet, what she became—that was so much more. If I inspired her—she in turn inspired me. Each, the other's muse. I will never forget her.
“So if I, who am a monster, was that one time, able to find such a one, dare you think to have less chance than I? Do you think yourself more monstrous?
“Something has brought us both to this place. Chanced us new possibilities. I see it. Can you not see it as well, my friend? Come—let us see what fortune has set our steps upon. There is life in both of us. Let us see what we can make of it. Will you come with me?”
I nodded. Victor was right. Self pity. There was no room for it, not when this great new adventure had opened up the doors. Several miles away I saw another flash of lightning light up the azure sky.
MC HotDog 熱狗 Feat. 艾怡良 Eve Ai 【怨偶 Tough Love】Official Music Video
Burger-Bean Spaghetti Pie
Looking for a dinner pie? Then check out this ground beef spaghetti pie packed with spicy chili beans and three types of cheese – a hearty meal.
Prep: 40 min | Total: 1 hr 5 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Crust
- 7 ounces uncooked spaghetti or vermicelli
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Filling
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can spicy chili beans, undrained
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can zesty diced tomatoes seasoned with mild green chiles, undrained
- 4 ounces (1 cup) shredded hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 ounces (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain.
- Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Beat egg in large bowl. Add butter, Parmesan cheese and chili powder; mix well. Add cooked spaghetti; toss to coat. Spoon mixture evenly into sprayed pie pan, pushing mixture slightly up sides of pan to form crust.
- In large saucepan, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.
- Add chili beans and tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese; mix well. Spoon evenly into spaghetti-lined pie pan. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until filling is set and crust is light golden brown.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- Cut into wedges to serve.
Nutrition
Per serving: 600 Calories, 34g Total Fat, 33g Protein, 40g Total Carbohydrate, 4g Sugars
Why is there not a peaceful solution to Taiwan like the one in Hong Kong?
You have to understand, the last thing DPP wants is peaceful reunification. Before Lai Ching-te, no one called the mainland "foreign hostile force" and vowed tough measures. How much room do you think he left for a peaceful solution?
One more thing you may not know, DPP has never stopped its destructive actions against the mainland.
Recently, the mainland police cracked a case. On May 20th, the Tianhe District Branch of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau issued a Police Report stating that a technology company in Guangzhou was attacked by hackers. The police immediately launched an investigation. On May 27th, they issued another Police Report stating that there had been important progress in the investigation of the previous hacker attack: the network attack suffered by the company was carried out by a hacker organization related to the DPP authorities. Their "Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command" lanched the attack.
On June 5th, the Tianhe Branch issued a reward notice, offering rewards for 20 key criminal suspects from Taiwan who were involved in carrying out the cyber attacks. Informants providing effective clues to the police, as well as individuals who assist in capturing the relevant criminal suspects, can receive a reward of 10,000 RMB. The issuance of the notice means that this case has been successfully solved.
The crackdown by mainland public security organs on Taiwan criminal groups shows that the public security organs demonstrate very high efficiency in investigating cybercrime, with professional investigative methods. Shortly after receiving reports and issuing alerts, the police quickly conducted investigations, gathered evidence, traced the source, and identified the criminals. This indicates that in combating "Taiwan independence" cybercrime, law enforcement agencies have significant advantages in network technology defense, and are already well-versed in the main personnel, criminal methods, and patterns. For example, information about 4 DPP "internet army" members was previously made public.
The deterrent effect of this law enforcement operation is self-evident. The individuals on the wanted list are just a very small number selectively publicized by the law enforcement department. As long as they dare to continue to act as the "Taiwan independence" network criminal henchmen for the DPP, they will be targeted by the law enforcement department. Once solid evidence of their crimes is established, they will bear the lifelong consequences of judicial accountability.
Inspiration
Beyond the Veil
Written in response to: "Set your story in a place where the weather never changes."
James Scott
This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.
“Wait. Quiet. There’s more,” she commanded, “Against the river sits a settlement. Rudimentary buildings, some incorporate timber, I see shadows of beings, walking upright as we do. There is intelligent life here! This is…incredible! I…I struggle to put words to the magnitude of this discovery.” Pana said, breathless and gazing out in wonder at the tiny outlines of the creatures below.
“Dr. Meya…Pana! Get back here! Right now! Please. We are not equipped for first contact with an indigenous people. You could be in real danger!” Rifer’s voice, tinged with panic, rang through the headset. Shaking her head, she saw the wisdom in her faithful assistant’s words. She had risked enough. Deciding to turn away did not come without disappointment though. As she took a wise step back toward the cover and safety of the rain forest, movement caught her eye, dragging her vision back to the settlement below. Their body language, pointing and raised voices could not be mistaken, the unknown creatures had seen her. Several were mounting what looked like beasts of burden and moving at speed to intercept her. At the same moment, an alarm on her wrist began ringing out, signalling a dangerously low moisture level in her skin. Time was up.
Fear striking true for the first time, she ran. Pana took long strides, as fast as she was able, back towards the towering trees. She had always been an academic, never excelling in sport and now she suffered for the narrow lifestyle she had chosen. Still she ran with everything she had and as she did so, the moisture levels shown on her monitors plummeted. She did not need them to tell her what was happening. Her skin was growing tight, dry and uncomfortable. Her breath came in gasps, her eyes and mouth felt like sandpaper. She would make it, the water was close enough, but it would be cutting it fine. The life-giving rains would provide, as they always had before, she just had to reach out to their embrace before it was too late. Her pace slowed under the duress; but she forced her legs onward. Fire burned in her underused muscles. The sounds of alien creatures grew louder behind her. After an eternity, she was within reach of the forest. A few more seconds and she would have been safe. It was soul crushing, after the long slog across the foreign landscape, to be cut off by a strange being riding an even more unusual animal on that final push. She stopped dead, noting the long spears the riders held aloft and raised her hands, so close to an unreachable safety.
Despite being accosted by an alien species, Pana could not help but absorb every facet of their appearance for later recording. Each of the beings were of a same colour. It was bizarre. Light brown as an almond and evenly smooth all over. They had sporadic protrusions of hair that was much like the kind that covered small mammals in the forest. Decorated with bird's feathers, for she did not think they grew from their bodies, and wearing little more than enough to cover their genitalia, these people were as foreign as she must appear to them. They rode four legged beasts of a kind she could not compare, larger than any tree cat or bush pig and they held their master's high above Pana’s head height. The rudimentary sharp weapons they carried were menacing and there were four of them, all heavily muscled, which was more than enough to hold her academic body frozen in place. She longed to communicate all she saw to those just beyond the cover of leaves and falling water, the wall of which was so agonisingly within reach, but she dared not startle the local species, for fear of their retaliation.
“Monstruo!” One grunted at her.
“Tlaloque!” Another yelled in annoyance at the first.
Her instruments were flashing and beeping increasingly quickly and a pain like she had never felt began creeping across her skin. Never had she gone beyond a few moments without water cascading over her body. Her eyes felt as if they were shrinking in their sockets and her throat was beginning to close. She had to do something, she could not just stand there waiting for them or the sun to finish her. So, she attempted to communicate. Not knowing what they had said, she had intended to introduce herself, to greet them with arms open and initiate first contact on behalf of her entire people. Instead, her throat was so dry, so constricted that all it could do was erupt a hoarse and sudden croaking, followed by a squealing intake of breath.
Clearly alarmed, they did not speak. They did not understand. They did not wait. Something simply thudded into her back between her shoulder blades with a force that knocked her to her knees. She could feel the weight of the spear sticking into the dry air. She did not need to see it. They had assumed her a danger, before she could even present anything different. Shock overtook her body, disbelief and denial rampant through her mind. Only one thing cut through the fog and that was her lifelong pursuit to preserve knowledge. It summoned in her the strength to clear her throat and whisper to her team,
“RUN! WARN ATLANTIS!”
With the words travelling through her headset and to the ears of her fellows, she accepted that she had protected them. Her fate would not become theirs, or any other of her kind, thanks to the data she had gathered that day. With that, she closed her eyes, raised her face to the sky and imagined the comforting cascade of raindrops against her skin. Pana Meya let go of any regret her hubris had brought and chose to revel in the discoveries that would bear her name.
NASA Pulls Off a Miracle: Voyager 1's 'Dead' Thrusters Revived After 20 Years!
Would the Spruce Goose have actually flown, apart from on its test flight? Would it have made it across the Atlantic?
Several years ago a British university programmed the specifications and parameters of the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" into a flight simulator which had been developed for testing aircraft designs. You can read about it here: Tycoon's plane 'could have flown'. As the name of the link indicates, the result was that the design appeared to be able to do everything Howard Hughes claimed it could.
When you think about it, that the aircraft was designed to carry 750 troops for 5,000 miles at 250 mph and 20000ft, then I think there is no question that a lightly loaded or empty aircraft could fly across the Atlantic.
Image source: Spruce Goose May Fly Again to Bring Even More Visitors to Maui {NRL} | Maui Insight
However, there was one problem with the design that the simulator did not replicate, which was that the aircraft’s engines and propellers were not wholly reliable. Hughes had understandably opted to use the most powerful radial engine that was commercially available at the time: the Pratt and Witney R-4360 Wasp Major
as used on the Boeing 377. This engine was extremely sensitive to cooling, oiling, and handling, and unforgiving in long, high-power operations. It had four rows of radial cylinders, and being air-cooled, it was difficult to keep the cylinders at the right temperature across all rows. Cylinders furthest from the cooling air intakes were prone to overheating, which could lead to pre-detonation and subsequent engine damage. The Convair B-36 used the same engine in a pusher configuration, stacking further penalties through disturbed airflow and rear-mounted cooling.
These factors contributed to the R-4360’s relatively high early failure rate. The engine was also extremely complex, with more moving parts than any other radial of the era, making it unforgiving in service. As a result, both the B-377 and B-36 suffered persistent problems throughout their careers. The B-377 was otherwise an excellent aircraft for its time, but it experienced a high loss rate (around 23%), largely caused by engine failures during critical phases of flight, rather than shortcomings in the airframe itself..
[Edit 18/12/2025] Also, although the study indicated that the "Spruce Goose" was technically viable, it also showed that it operated with very slim performance margins: climb rates would have been low, performance highly sensitive to weight and conditions. An engine failure during climb would have been potentially critical.
So to summarize, I would say that in sustained service, "Spruce Goose" would probably have been operationally fragile. But at least we know it would have flown.
For those of you who have been following me (not MM) for years, I hope that you consider me as someone who will take his Ls and admit when he’s wrong.
I bring this up because I am increasingly beginning to suspect that I am wrong about the biggest question in Chinese foreign policy: Taiwan.
…
I think that peaceful reunification is in the cards. At least I see a plausible path towards it. Not probable, just plausible.
To be 100% clear, even such a peaceful reunification would be against the wishes of the majority of the Taiwan population. However… when it comes to things that really matter, democracy takes a backseat to the power of the political, economic, and military elites of a country.
What makes me think that a path towards peaceful reunification is possible is this:
KMT chair likely to meet Xi Jinping in mid-March | Taiwan News | Feb. 9, 2026 09:13
—
IT’S DIFFERENT THIS TIME
And yes, I am aware that the chairman of the KMT has met with the head of state of PRC before, twice (2005, 2016).
But this time… it’s different.
In 2026, nobody who is anybody in Taiwan still thinks that the status quo can be maintained indefinitely. The writing is not only on the wall, it is glowing in neon. And when the ship is clearly sinking, the rats start making plans.
Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), the current KMT Chair is also quite different from her predecessors. Not only is she a recent convert to the Blue cause, she’s also the staunchest supporter of the PRC ever to grace the chair. Her comments make it crystal clear that she is in favor of reunification. This makes her unpopular in Taiwan (and she knows this), but her real audience is in Beijing, not Taipei.
For someone in her position, the only logical move is to facilitate a peaceful reunification favorable to the KMT. She needs to make a deal while Taiwan still has cards to play. If she does nothing like her predecessors, then she will have no leverage when PLA drones block out the sun over Taipei.
—
POPULAR OPPOSITION BE DAMNED
Now… you may ask: “how tf can the KMT pull off a peaceful reunification without the majority support of the Taiwanese people?”
And to that I say: “Easily”.
Or have we forgotten that the Taiwanese people meekly lived under a brutal KMT dictatorship for 40 years? The Taiwanese are not a people with strong knees.
The KMT does not need popular support. They need military support. They need to convince the generals of the ROCA to stand down… and that shouldn’t be a difficult task. These generals know, better than anyone, that resistance is futile. Standing down is the only sure route to survival.
—
ROADMAP TOWARDS PEACEFUL REUNIFICATION
This is the roadmap for peaceful reunification:
- KMT Chair Cheng Li-Wen meets with Xi JP in March and the two hash out the terms of KMT’s post-reunification role in Taiwan’s governance.
- Cheng takes this offer to the ROCA leadership, secretly, one by one, to get their buy in.
- KMT wins the 2028 presidential election, and gains a majority in the Legislative Yuan (this might actually be the hardest part of the plan)
- Literally in the middle of the night, the president and parliament shove through a bill that’s effectively reunification. The ROCA stands down, and PLA forces begin to land within days.
- Once enough PLA boots and drones are on the ground, it will all be over. The DPP leadership will be arrested. Protests will be quelled. And the KMT will recognize the PRC as the sole legitimate China, dissolving the ROC for good.
—
NOT GREAT, NOT TERRIBLE
Now… is this course of events likely?
No.
Is it plausible?
Yes.
It’s certainly a lot more plausible than 23 million Taiwanese suddenly deciding to join the Chinamaxxing trend and voting for reunification in a national referendum.
—
Would I be happy if this took place?
Somewhat.
I place is #2 in terms of desirability.
The ladder goes like this from most to least desirable:
- The PLA invades Taiwan, the Americans and allies join in. China emerges victorious.
- Peaceful reunification.
- PLA blockade forcing reunification
- PLA invasion forcing reunification
- PLA defeat against either Taiwan or the US
—
I rank peaceful reunification as more desirable than a 1-to-1 war with Taiwan because such a war will only hurt China’s reputation as a peaceful superpower without proving that China is more powerful than the US. That would be the most desirable outcome.
If China can achieve reunification peacefully, then it can keep being glazed by Leftists around the world for being the good guy alternative to the American Empire. If it were to invade or even blockade Taiwan into submission, that would be very damaging for China’s reputation.
But if China goad the Americans into a war over Taiwan and defeat them… well… that would be fvcking epic.