2023 04 28 15 53

The Chinese are getting ready for the American promises of world war 3

...Agree with the sentiment but please don't lump “The West” all together.

The being dumbed down to stupid level bit, there are stupids in America, and then there are stupids in non-American Western countries. You simply cannot compare the levels of stupid. American stupids are stratosphere level. Everyone else is still within the biosphere, a bit stupid but not that level of stupid.

I don't know if Quora has mostly an American audience, but I can say as a non-American living outside of America that I have yet to come across USA level of stupid where I am. Although the US government is really good at forcing non-US Western governments into matching the US level of stupid. My observation is about Western citizens, not their governments. We are not the same level of stupid.

We are in the thick of it. I anticipate some great change throughout this year. Ya all best be on the top of your toes. That’s for sure.

Let’s begin…

This Can’t be Happening!

Self-harm is one thing, but this could be fatal

Apr 28, 2023
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The US has jailed Harvard’s Professor of Chemistry, a renowned nano-chemist, for teaching nano-chemistry to Chinese students.

And kept him out of China for two years.

All nice and legal.

They charged him with failing to declare his taxable income from the Chinese university and for lying to the FBI when questioned and fined him $50,000, along with $34,000 restitution to the IRS.

Disgraced and bankrupt, Professor Lieber will serve two days in prison, six months of home confinement, and 18 months of supervised release, ensuring that he can’t teach in China for at least two years. (This goes way back. The US detained a famous Chinese nuclear physicist for years in the ’50s, too).

At the time of his arrest in 2020 Prof. Lieber was the peak of his career and favored for a Nobel. He hasn’t taught a class since. He is one of the people who gave America the lead in nano-chemistry and he was essentially gunned down just when he was making his greatest contributions.

Why did the US destroy this priceless national asset at the peak of his career?

To send an unmistakable message to the scientific community, “Don’t help the Chinese”.

And guess who’s helping the Chinese?

2023 04 28 15 19
2023 04 28 15 19

Joseph Stieglitz said that, of all America’s current problems, the quality of its decision-making is the gravest. That nails it, and this exemplifies it.

https://youtu.be/v1IA-0xur2U

Argentina to stop using the USD and start using the Chinese Yuan

Just a matter of time, the dollar will become a useless currency outside America. US economy will collapsed faster than imagination.

Article HERE

Korean leader gets butt-fucked by Biden

It was another day when Korean netizens were so angry by their own president.

2023 04 28 15 49
2023 04 28 15 49

After the South Korea-US summit on the 26th, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife attended a dinner held at the White House that night. During the dinner, Yoon talked about his favorite American song “American Pie” when he was a student, and sang a part live at the invitation of everyone.

After the singing video was uploaded back to South Korea, some Korean netizens were furious again, denouncing it as a “national humiliation”, “Those who didn’t know thought we chose an artist, not the president”. Some people mentioned earlier reports that Yoon worked hard to practice English “in order to impress the hearts of the United States”, and complained, “The president stayed up late to learn this?”

Bangladesh to Pay Russia $300 Million in Yuan for Power Plant

Bangladesh to Pay Russia $300 Million in Yuan for Power Plant – Bloomberg

Article HERE

You Can Now Get Cat Sticker To Cover Up Racist Graffiti You Find On The Streets

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Depending on where you live and what part of the city you are in, chances are you probably walk or drive by some racist graffiti on walls, lamp posts, or on the ground quite often. Well, someone had enough of it and made these brilliant cat stickers to cover them up.

More: Cracks Appearing Distro h/t: sadanduseless

cat stickers1
cat stickers1

Sure, you could always report the graffiti, or attempt to clean it up yourself, but there’s just something so satisfying about taking care of it in the most clever way possible! Not only are you covering up some terrible text or picture, but you’re giving everyone a new awesome message to read that’s positive, and it has a picture of a cat that’ll draw everyone in!

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cat stickers5
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cat stickers4
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cat stickers3

Taiwan: Washington’s Quest to Provoke A Chinese War

Creole Shrimp & Rigatoni with
Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausage

2023 04 19 15 01
2023 04 19 15 01

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 15 min | Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces Al Fresco Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausage, sliced on the diagonal into 1/4 inch thick slices
  • 3/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning
  • 12 ounces dry rigatoni pasta
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup fresh white onion, chopped
  • 1 poblano pepper, fresh, seeded and chopped
  • 2 fresh cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, unsalted
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light, unsalted butter
  • 1 pound raw medium shrimp, 31 to 40 per pound, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, preferably Italian parsley
  • 1/2 medium fresh lemon, zested with grater

Instructions

  1. Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with 3/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning and set aside.
  2. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain the pasta, return to the pot and keep warm.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet medium-high heat add the onion and poblano pepper. Cook the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and chicken sausage, and cook one additional minute.
  4. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, hot sauce and butter. Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the shrimp. Cover and let sit for 3 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through.
  6. Stir in the reserved pasta water, chopped parsley and lemon zest.
  7. Pour the sauce in the pot with the pasta.
  8. Toss the pasta to coat.
  9. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese.

Clayton Morris: This is pure insanity and no one is stopping it!

Waiting for the End of the World

World’s largest battery maker (CATL) announces major breakthrough in energy density

2023 04 28 15 47
2023 04 28 15 47

In one of the most significant battery breakthroughs in recent years, the world’s largest battery manufacturer CATL has announced a new “condensed” battery with 500 Wh/kg which it says will go into mass production this year.

“The launch of condensed batteries will usher in an era of universal electrification of sea, land and air transportation, open up more possibilities of the development of the industry, and promote the achieving of the global carbon neutrality goals at an earlier date,” the company said in a presentation at Auto Shanghai on Thursday.

CATL’s new condensed battery will have almost double the energy intensity of Tesla’s 4680 cells, whose rating of 272-296 Wh/kg are considered very high by current standards.

CATL chief scientist Wu Kai says the condensed battery integrates a range of innovative technologies, including the ultra-high energy density cathode materials, innovative anode materials, separators, and manufacturing processes, offering excellent charge and discharge performance as well as good safety performance.

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2023 04 28 15 4a8

What makes CATL’s announcement this week truly groundbreaking is that the condensed battery will go into mass production this year.

This Is What Disney Princesses Would Look Like If They Were Anime Characters

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For many years Disney princesses and their strong personalities have been inspiring illustrators, photographers and artists who keep trying to re-imagine the cartoon beauties’ iconic looks. Today we’ll show you what Disney’s royal ladies would look like if they were anime characters, as drawn by a talented Pakistani artist, Maryam.

h/t: brightside

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Dulac Dirty Rice

Dulac Dirty Rice has it all. It gets color from the bell peppers, crunch from the pecans, sweetness from the raisins and saltiness from the bacon.

dulac dirty rice
dulac dirty rice

Yield: 8 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 package ZATARAIN’S® Dirty Rice Mix
  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/4 cup pecan pieces
  • 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Instructions

  1. Cook ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain fat; set aside.
  2. Add water to same skillet; bring to boil. Stir in Rice Mix and ground beef; return to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is tender.
  3. Remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
  4. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in medium skillet on medium heat. Add pecans; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to rice mixture.
  5. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet. Add bell peppers and raisins; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until tender.
  6. Add to rice mixture; stir until well mixed.
  7. Sprinkle with bacon and green onions before serving.

Putin just DESTROYED NATO’S top Ukraine leaders with this attack, U.S. is silent.

San Francisco Target Places Entire Aisles Behind Security Glass Amid Shoplifting Crisis

Thursday, Apr 27, 2023 – 07:40 AM

A viral TikTok video shows a Target store in San Francisco, with at least one entire aisle of products behind security glass amid years of failed social justice reforms that have sparked a shoplifting crisis.

Footage of the store’s interior posted to TikTok last week showed at least one aisle of cosmetics and toiletries under lock and key. The New York Post reported the store’s “entire inventory is on lockdown.” The store is located on Folsom Street near the city’s Mission District, an area known for lawlessness.

In a statement to Fox News, a Target spokesperson said:

“Like other retailers, organized retail crime is a concern across our business. We’re taking proactive measures to keep our teams and guests safe while deterring and preventing theft.

“These mitigation efforts include hiring additional security guards, adding third-party guard services at select locations, and using new technologies and tools to protect merchandise from being stolen.”

The spokesperson continued:

“We are working with legislators, law enforcement, and retail industry partners to support public policy that would help achieve our goals of creating a safe environment in our stores and keeping our doors open in communities across the country.”

It comes as no surprise that Target has a history of contributing millions to “national social justice initiatives.” Some of these progressive initiatives, aimed at reforming policies in predominantly liberal urban areas, have had unintended consequences. For instance, the easing of theft rules in California led to a surge in shoplifting.

Target may be hesitant to shutter its stores in San Francisco due to its commitment to progressive values.

However, other retailers have had enough and have fled the metro area. Just last week, Whole Foods closed its flagship store in the downtown district due to “high theft” and hostile visitors.”

YouTuber Guilty For Selling ‘Metal Cards’ That DoJ Says Are “Machine Gun Conversion Devices”

Thursday, Apr 27, 2023 – 11:00 AM

A Wisconsin gun dealer whose YouTube channel has 180,000 subscribers was convicted of “conspiring to transfer unregistered machine gun conversion devices” that were nothing more than metal bottle openers etched with patterns called “lightning links” that, when milled, can convert a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle into an automatic machine gun.

Gun dealer Matthew Hoover, who operated the CRS Firearms channel, was found “guilty of conspiring to transfer unregistered machine gun conversion devices that they referred to as “Auto Key Cards,”” the Department of Justice wrote in a press release. He was convicted of four counts of transferring unregistered machine gun conversion devices and faces 45 years in jail.

Also facing severe jail time is Kristopher Justinboyer Ervin. The DoJ said he was convicted “of seven counts of transferring unregistered machine gun conversion devices, three counts of possessing unregistered machine gun conversion devices, and one count of structuring cash transactions to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements.”

Ervin faces a maximum penalty of 110 years in federal prison. Sentencing for the two is scheduled for July 31.

Hoover and Ervin sold lightning links, etched into metal cards, which he referred to as “Auto Key Cards,” from around $40 for one version to more than $180. Hoover touted the cards on his YouTube channel.

2023 04 26 12 04 30
2023 04 26 12 04 30

In one video, he said:

Auto Key Cards “are awesome because they’re stupid cheap.

 “You could drop it in your rifle or, you know, if you’re actually gonna do this legally, this is just a bottle opener. 

“What this is, is a novelty.

“So if someone sees it, they’re like, ‘hey, what is this?’ You explain to them that because laws are so ridiculous and so out of control, if I were to cut on these lines, I would become a felon. How ridiculous is that? It’s just a conversation starter.”

The DoJ said it took ATF agents about “40 minutes” to remove the pieces from the metal card via a Dremel rotary tool.

Last Thursday, defense attorneys for the men argued the firearms law doesn’t cover their clients because it doesn’t restrict items that could ‘potentially’ be made into conversion devices.

“As long as you do not cut it out … you have not broken the law,” Ervin’s lawyer, Alex King, told juries. 

Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor told jurors before they began deliberating:

“Where is the line? That’s really a question you all will have to face.” 

Meanwhile, firearm expert Brandon Herrera made the point, “If selling a template is treated like selling a machine gun itself — then how is distributing a 3D printing file any different issue?” 

Here’s more from Herrera:

China passed another milestone in its bid to reduce reliance on the dollar, as yuan usage in its cross-border transactions jumped ahead of the greenback’s for the first time in March.

main qimg 41fcc9b6829cea5595b869f4748ad5b2
main qimg 41fcc9b6829cea5595b869f4748ad5b2

The local currency’s share of China’s cross-border payments and receipts rose to a record high 48% at the month end from nearly zero in 2010, according to research by Bloomberg Intelligence citing data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The dollar’s share declined to 47% from 83% over the same period, the figures showed.

The ratio is calculated based on the volume on all types of transactions, which includes securities trading through the links between mainland China and Hong Kong’s capital markets. It doesn’t represent transactions used by the rest of the world — the yuan’s share in global payments was little changed at 2.3% in March, according to Swift.

“The rise in yuan usage could be a natural consequence of China opening up its capital account, with rising inflows for China bonds and outflows for Hong Kong stocks,” Stephen Chiu, chief Asia foreign-exchange and rates strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) research wrote in a note.

The rising share allows local firms to reduce the risks of currency mismatch in transactions, a spokeswoman at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said at a Friday (April 21) briefing. China will further expand yuan settlement in cross-border transactions, the State Council said in a guideline aimed at boosting foreign trade issued Tuesday.

This surprised even me.

2023 04 27 18 29
2023 04 27 18 29

To be clear, these are nuclear ARMED submarines, not nuclear POWERED submarines, which is what Australia is supposed to be getting.

This is FORKING BONKERS.

2023 04 27 18 30
2023 04 27 18 30

A nuclear armed submarine in South Korean waters would be able to hit Beijing within a few minutes.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was fought over land-based missiles (far less dangerous) in a territory that was 90 minutes away from Washington DC by missile.

This is so much worse.

This is even worse than just giving nuclear missiles directly to South Korea. At least those missiles would be ground based.

Yes, missile interception tech is far more advanced now than it was in the 1960s, but there’s zero margin for error when it comes to nuclear missiles. A single hit would mean tens of millions of casualties, as well as the decapitation of Chinese leadership.

I suspect that this deal was the quid pro quo for South Korea effectively donating 500,000 artillery shells to Ukraine.

I honestly don’t know how Beijing should respond to a provocation of this scale.

This is beyond the pale, and should be ringing alarm bells all over the halls of power.

Whatever Xi has planned for Taiwan, he needs to move up the time table because Biden is not going to stop here.

President Biden’s “Build Back Better” Initiative is being implemented by the USDA (The United States Department of Agriculture).

They have created a webpage

, and are now engaged in trying to get money to fund it.

So far, as far as I can determine there aren’t any hard and tangible funding sources. They have managed to obtain a small number of promises that are conditional on this or that. But as of today, this is an unfunded initiative. The funding of $4B have went to the USDA to organize the program and build a webpage. But there are no funding sources for actual structures.

From the webpage…

USDA is currently in the process of creating funding opportunities and will announce opportunities for our customers in the coming months.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its intent to invest more than $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains through the Build Back Better initiative. Funding announcements under the Build Back Better initiative will include a mix of grants, loans, and innovative financing mechanisms for the following priorities, each of which includes mechanisms to tackle the climate crisis and help communities that have been left behind…

In short…

  • The USDA government agency was funded with $4B up to oversee the effort.
  • Their job is to collect money from private companies and individuals.
  • There have been NO TANGIBLE collection of funding for any projects under this initiative at this time.

I’ve lived for substantial time in 3 Asian cities (Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen), and they all surprised me on the upside. In the case of China, here’s why I like it:

  • it’s modern, and continues to develop all the time. They have modern cities, excellent transport infrastructure (highways, airports, high-speed trains network which is unmatched in the world, excellent public transport and taxis), excellent hotels, malls, restaurants and cafes, beautiful parks, etc.
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main qimg 87556a0b3d155a7955c5c08ed274bd61 lq
  • There’s a feeling of safety and freedom in Chinese cities, which impress with their size. There’s no one to tell you what to do, and you can see from the behavior of the diverse crowd, people just do what they want. In most places you won’t see any police. In some others they are present in security posts. They just do their job, i.e. sit there silently and behave reasonably, adding to the security and order. Do you know that police in China doesn’t have firearms? They are just like a part of the crowd, only doing their job.
  • friendliness of Chinese people. You will always get help, no matter that you can’t speak a word in Chinese besides 你好, or they can’t speak English. They’ll spend their time and go out of their way to explain you how to get somewhere, or how to buy a train ticket, they’ll patiently and enthusiastically explain how to get what you need. They’ll be positive and practical all the time while helping you.
  • they are non-dogmatic. The people are simply pragmatic and hardworking, they want to live good lives, and feel responsible for their well-being. They are not brainwashed (something which is actually more typical to Western countries, and you can see it on Quora too). The main philosophy of China is just common sense and being a good person.
  • business is in the genes of Chinese. Small shops and restaurants are ubiquitous, which makes me think self employment and small business must be a major kind of employment. The government creates excellent business infrastructure. For example, the hi tech city area in Shenzhen is very impressive and has lots of spaces to support innovations and startups. China hosts some of world’s biggest trade shows and exhibitions. It’s easy to see trends in the world economy here.
  • they are connected and communal. It’s easy to talk with people and make friends, especially if you are open and respectful.
  • technologically, China is of course advanced in many ways. For example, electric transport has been very developed here for years. You can find electric bikes, personal transportation vehicles (like kick scooters or mono wheels), electric taxis and cars, even electric buses (the photo below is a bus charging station).
  • some things are convenient. The Chinese messenger app (WeChat) is very advanced and makes it easy to make payments and much more; it’s a technology marvel. For example, in some cafes you can scan QR code on your table, which brings up the menu on your phone; you can make an order and it will be sent to your table. You can pay with your mobile phone almost everywhere, you don’t need cash or credit card. It’s fine to leave your wallet at home if you have a phone with you.
  • still kept (and in some cases even exaggerated) some of its sweet traditions. Well, their language itself is ancient to begin with. In the very developed Chinese cities you’ll see many people still trying to live simple ways. Outdoor tai chi, dragon boat festivals, traditional medicine, etc., add charm to the urban culture.
  • it’s vast and intellectually stimulating. It’s very geographically diverse, has rich history, and Chinese are passionate about learning and self development, they’re smart and focused. I love book shops here and book cafes; Shenzhen’s central book store claims to be the largest in the world.

Overall, China is fast pace, generally efficient, straightforward, but you need to get used to it and learn ways of doing things. They may be not what you are used to coming from another country.

Not looking good moving forward

De-Dollarization Is Happening at a ‘Stunning’ Pace — Bloomberg

2023 04 27 19 49
2023 04 27 19 49

The dollar is losing its reserve status at a faster pace than generally accepted as many analysts have failed to account for last year’s wild exchange rate moves, according to Stephen Jen.

The greenback’s share in global reserves slid last year at 10 times the average speed of the past two decades as a number of countries looked for alternatives after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered sanctions, Jen and his Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd. colleague Joana Freire wrote in a note. Adjusting for exchange rate movements, the dollar has lost about 11% of its market share since 2016 and double that amount since 2008, they said.

“The dollar suffered a stunning collapse in 2022 in its market share as a reserve currency, presumably due to its muscular use of sanctions,” Jen and Freire wrote. “Exceptional actions taken by the US and its allies against Russia have startled large reserve-holding countries,” most of which are emerging economies from the so-called Global South, they said.

Jen is the former Morgan Stanley currency guru who coined the dollar smile theory.

Last year, Bloomberg’s gauge of the greenback surged as much as 16% as the conflict helped fuel a rise in global inflation that triggered widespread interest rate hikes which sank bond and currency markets alike. It finished the year up 6%.

Biden’s Dollar Weaponization Supercharges Hunt for Alternatives

Smaller nations are experimenting with de-dollarization while China and India are pushing to internationalize their currencies for trade settlement after the US and Europe cut Russian banks from the global financial messaging system known as SWIFT. There’s also concern the dollar may become a permanent political tool, or be used as a form of economic statecraft to put extra pressure on countries to enforce sanctions that they may disagree with.

The US currency now represents about 58% of total global official reserves, down from 73% in 2001 when it was the “indisputable hegemonic reserve,” the Eurizon pair said.

That said, the dollar’s role as an international currency won’t be challenged anytime soon as developing countries don’t yet have the ability to divest from the greenback for transactions due to its large, liquid and well-functioning financial markets, Jen and Freire wrote.

Still, the persistence of those conditions “is not preordained” and there may come a time when the rest of the world actively avoids using the dollar, they wrote.

“The prevailing view of ‘nothing-to-see-here’ on the US dollar as a reserve currency seems too innocuous and complacent,” the two wrote. “What needs to be appreciated by investors is that, while the Global South is unable to totally avoid using the dollar, much of it has already become unwilling to do so.”

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ANTI

Contrast Why so many Foreigners go to China to the argument I had recently with a former penpal who I thought would help me with my move.

https://controlc.com/4a9474a1

All of the gaslighting, Vault-7 propaganda and Anti China rhetoric were so dense I would have had a better chance of getting away with mugging an MTA Securityman than I would, convincing her that my decision to move to China was sane and rational given what was going on now. She actually thinks I would fare better in a post-collapse America (despite having always been abused and ignored here,) than I would, going to a nation whose society will still be fully functional.

I just got a job as a cleanup guy, cleaning houses all over NYC. I am going to save up my money to make my big move.

ANTI

She’s got all of my accounts blocked after that massive brouhaha instigated by Radiation-wavelength machines manipulating her into spouting all of that sinophobic swill.

That’s okay. she’ll figure out sooner or later that my decision to move to China was far less suicidal and insane than she was ELF-manipulated to assume.