China and the UAE will conduct the “Falcon Shield-2023” joint training exercise in NW China in August, marking the first joint training between the two national air forces, the Chinese defense ministry announced Monday.
And Ukraine is going to blow Russia to pieces with American made drones…
Gonzalo Lira is escaping Ukraine, with no help from the US State Department. And “President” Biden is taking a nice long nine-day long beach vacation after Victoria Nuland appointed herself to the number three spot in the US government.
Massive rain in China. Massive heat in the USA.
Massive changes all the way around.
BREAKING! China’s U.S. Invasion plan EXPOSED in captured documents | Redacted w Clayton Morris
So China is invading the United States…?
LOL. Really?
Video here…
Why aren’t some old people scared of dying?
There is a time to leave the party. You have had a good time, have had your fill, you’re a bit wobbly from too much drink and conversation. The crowd has thinned, at least of anyone you know. In fact, most of your family and many of your friends have left already. You find less and less in common with the other guests and it becomes an effort to put on a fresh face and pretend you care about petty concerns.
The newer guests are still living it up and it gives you comfort to know they will keep the party going without you.
If you stay any longer you fear you’ll make a fool of yourself. You might pee your pants or babble incoherently. No matter how hard you try, you can’t always hear what others are saying. If you stay any longer you just know you are going to become a drag and your hosts, while concerned, will have to divert time and attention to you which might be used more constructively elsewhere.
You look around and realize, the party is no longer one where you fit. They are dancing to tunes you don’t recognize and they use words not in your lexicon. You are really not interested in adapting to new ways. Peace and quiet seems more prized than frantic activity.
The thought crosses your mind: it’s time to go home.
What are some of the most notorious kidnappings in history?
Imagine being kidnapped and buried alive. It all began when children between the ages of 5 to 14 were on there way home from summer school in Chowchilla California, when three masked men with guns hijacked the bus they were in.
The Kidnappers forced the hostages into 2 vans and drove them for 12 hours to a rock quarry. Then put the hostages 12 feet down a hole into a tracker trailer that had been buried under ground.
Realising that no one was coming to save them and with the roof caving, the bus driver and one of the students began digging themselves out. 16 hours after they had been buried they reached the surface, to the surprise of quarry workers.
The Children were all reunited with there families, while the three kidnappers were caught, but because the police phones lines were busy with media and family members, the kidnappers never even got to demand the ransom.
My Chinese pal claims that the best way to quickly become a billionnaire in China is to get involved in China’s endless construction projects that use cheap, substandard materials. If true, can China’s construction projects stand the test of time?
You answered your own question
“Endless Construction Projects”
China does have endless Construction Projects
It means the chances of them using cheap substandard materials is very less
If they had a few projects then yes, it makes sense
If you have endless projects, it means the cost of production will be very low and thus you can get good quality products at lowest cost
Say I need Steel for 50 projects
I would be tempted to cut corners because cheap steel costs $ 800 vs High Quality Steel costing $ 1600
Thus it’s worth it
Say I need Steel for 4500 projects worldwide
The High Quality steel costs me $ 600 and the Cheap Steel costs be $ 550
It’s not worth it for a mere $ 50 to risk Jail and Execution if there is a collapse
It’s called ECONOMIES OF SCALE
China has reached the scale where such necessities are no longer warranted
At this scale, the best materials are produced at such a low cost that there is no incentive to use cheaper and substard material
Your Friend is listening to Western Rumours or he still thinks it’s 1995
What did someone say to you that instantly made you realize their life was in danger?
My wife and one of her friends were at a popular lake beach in our home state. They were both THOROUGHLY pregnant and were wading in the water. I was relaxing on the beach in the warm air. All of a sudden, they are giggling and laughing, and they call over to me, ”Look at our hair!”
I must have turned white as I saw their hair was standing straight up. In a flash, I yelled, “GET OUT OF THE WATER!! NOW!!!”
For those that don’t understand, it means that there was a giant electrical charge potential between the water and the air, meaning a possible lightning strike. It was sheer luck that the potential never built up enough to cause the strike, but they would have been ground zero….
What is something that needs to be said?
This is Jordan. She is a Youtuber who travels across the world and posts videos of her experiences on her channel.
Recently, she came to India for her travel project and was staying at a hotel in Delhi with one of her friends. It had almost been three weeks that she was in India now and her experience was mostly positive, although many a times she was harassed by the local public who tried to touch her and say abusive things to her. But it was when she was about to leave India that her experience turned traumatic.
Her friend left the hotel four days before she had to. The hotel employees found out about this and knew that she was all alone in her room then. All of a sudden, these people started stalking her. They would follow her upto her hotel room. Some employees would ring her up and start talking sexually to her. It didn’t end there, now they wanted to enter her room by making up false reasons. They would switch off the mains of her AC (which she clearly heard from inside the room) and tell her to open the door becuase they needed to fix the AC. The other time, they would turn off her room’s wifi and again give her the same bullsh*t. But Jordan could clearly see their shadows outside the room and knew the consequences of her opening the door, so she never let them in. They would keep on using the same tricks everyday to get in, but somehow Jordan kept her cool and kept on telling them that she was busy or that the switch isn’t broken as she heard them turn it off. This kept on going for like 3–4 days and she couldn’t get out of her room at all, leaving her no choice but to sacrifice food and water completely.
Finally the day arrived when she had to leave India. She left her room early in the morning, around 4 a.m because that was the only time when no-one stalked her outside her room. Can you imagine the trauma she might have suffered during those door- bangings and awkward phone calls, with she being miles away from her home?
Who is to blame for this horrific incident? How would our image as a nation be portrayed when everyone watches her video on Youtube and comes to know about this? And most importantly, how safe are these foreigners in our country?
As of now, actions have been taken against the concerned hotel and it has been shut down. But should that be enough?
These aren’t even the complete details of what exactly happened to her. She felt that it was important for her to talk about this incident and not be quiet, and so did I. Here’s the link to her video:
This Happened in India // Sexual Assault
The Chip War is over! The USA has been made to cry “Mamma!”
China Makes U.S Regret, Surrender In Chip WAR While Sinking U.S Allies!
What’s the worst case of hoarding you’ve ever seen?
Bruce Andrew Roberts took hoarding to a whole new level. He was a wealthy recluse that lived in Sydney Australia, and a chronic hoarder who kept everything. When he died in 2017 the house cleaners found a lot of stuff, including the mummified body of the man he murdered.
Shane Snellman
It’s believed that Shane Shellman broke into the house and Roberts shot him, but instead of calling police he wrapped up the body in carpet, stuck it in the spare room, surrounded with 70 bottles of air freshener and lived with it for the next 15 years.
When is love a waste of time?
My ex-husband derived a lot of pleasure from extensively researching things before buying them.
He one day decided he wanted to get me a yoga mat. He spent an entire weekend reading reviews and cross referencing relevant information.
While typically he was highly efficient this time by the end of the day he was in a state of analysis paralysis. He was overwhelmed. He didn’t know what to do.
I walked over to his screen and pointed at a mat and said “just get this one. I like the color.” I wanted to set him free but I didn’t. He required another day before he could make a final decision.
When the mat finally arrived I seldom used it. I liked yoga back then but it wasn’t the sanctuary it is now.
Today, after years on that trusty mat I appreciate it in ways I could not have foreseen.
It’s not too heavy to roll up and carry and yet it’s thick enough to protect my knees. It’s rough so I never slip on it, and it’s easy to wipe clean. It has held up well despite the fact I’ve used it for so long.
It’s the perfect mat.
Love is never a waste of time. We give it lavishly, madly, and it studs another person’s life with treasures they continue to find in unexpected places long after they are no longer a part of our regular life.
I confirm this every time I roll out my mat and set it down on the smooth wood floor of the yoga studio.
What is it about women that confuses men so much?
It took me about ten years of marriage, and about seven years of having mostly female coworkers, before I stopped being confused by:
The tendency of women in my life to seek out unnecessary friction.
That is, why they’d get annoyed or even angry with me when I agreed with them on something. My inner monologue was often variations of: “Why are you mad? I’m literally agreeing with you. You’re creating a conflict where there isn’t one.”
It usually manifested itself when decisions had to be made that affected the women and myself. Like this:
Woman in my life: What do you think of this choice for the thing that we both use?
Me: I like it.
Woman: What about this one?
Me: I like that one, too.
Woman: Which do you prefer?
Me: Whichever one you like best is fine with me.
Woman: [Visible anger.]
My inner monologue: I’m agreeing with you. Why are you mad at me?
Finally, after one such unnecessary conflict with my wife, she told me a secret: being agreeable all of the time is not a good thing. Not having opinions about most things doesn’t mean that you’re easy to get along with; it means that you don’t care. At least, that’s how women interpret it.
So, I started forming opinions about things when women asked for my opinion, and it’s worked wonders. Even if, deep down, I’d be happy with any decision, I still state a preference for one decision, and defend it if necessary.
This has helped me out a lot at home and at work. Just last month, there was a schedule change and my three coworkers (all women) and I had to decide on the order in which we’d take our breaks, since only one of us can go on break at any given time. The truth was that I would have been happy with any break time because, honestly, it’s not like we’re doing manual labor and need to rest our bodies. I do half of my teaching while sitting down anyway, writing on an iPad which is then projected onto a screen for my students to see. I never leave work exhausted. Anyway, my coworkers were putting a lot of thought into their requested break times, so I figured I should, too. I picked a time, and, even though it was a time that another one wanted (I didn’t know that when I picked it), they all seemed to appreciate the fact that I had an opinion, and then built the rest of the break schedule around what I wanted.
Experience has taught me that if I’d just taken whatever was left after my coworkers picked what they wanted, the women would have left the meeting angry at me for being so agreeable.
It’s like there’s a base level of friction women are comfortable with, and that level is above the “zero level” where a lot of men, like me, dwell.
I think this is why the only people I know who actually enjoy reality television are women. Watch Bravo sometime… a channel with shows targeted toward women… and notice how many of their shows basically revolve around completely unnecessary conflicts between “real” people.
Men Are Going Abroad For Love And Modern Women Are FURIOUS!
Western culture is destroying relationships. PERIOD.
In terms of his acting life, what was actor Brendan Fraser’s wrong decision?
The biggest “wrong decision” of Brendan Fraser was that he was too much of a “company man”. You know, the company man, the model employee, the man who goes that extra mile, all the time? That was Fraser as an actor. Say a movie wants to keep the budget a little lower. Or wants it’s scenes to look more realistic… they’ll insist you do your own stunts, and you say yes, every time.
We’re all built differently, no two bodies are the same. But it’s rare for a man to do his own stunts and sustain countless injuries in the field and not have one’s body break down. Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise are MAJOR outliers in this area. As for Fraser, he reportedly had hundreds of contusions, a partial knee replacement, and his vocal cords needed to be repaired, among many surgeries. Fraser also had to do a laminectomy, in which a patient’s vertebra bone is removed. Basically… he broke down, physically.
Brendan Fraser, today, looks like a far cry from his former self — he has aged less well than other actors. Because actors aren’t really supposed to take on that much hard physical work. The profession of stuntman doesn’t exist for no reason. Fraser’s badly mangled body is proof. Don’t be a company man — learn to say “No.”
When was the first time you truly understood the concept of privilege?
Around age 15, I realized that I was privileged in one particular way compared to many of my friends.
When I was 8, my best friend… the kid next door… moved away when his parents got divorced. I learned later that the mom left in the middle of the night, taking the kids with her, because the father was abusive and a heavy drinker.
When I was 11, I’d sometimes ride my bike to another friend’s house a few blocks away. But I always had to call ahead of time, to make sure his father wasn’t “in a bad mood.” I didn’t understand it at the time, but that was my friend’s way of describing when his dad was drunk. A few years later, the mom finally left the dad. Twenty years and a lot of drugs later, that old friend of mine finally died of an overdose, but that’s a different story.
When I was 13, I’d often go to a different friend’s house after school. He happened to live near the school, so a group of other boys and I just hung out there a lot after school. We liked it there because there was never any supervision. He was being raised by a single mom who worked a lot and didn’t pay much attention to what her son and his friends did at her house. He came over to my house a few times, too, and my parents noticed that things started missing every time he came over, so they told me to quit hanging out with him. Years later, when he was 16 and in high school, that (then former) friend of mine got his girlfriend pregnant. She was still in middle school… she’d hang out at his house, unsupervised, after school.
When I was 15, a new classmate showed up in the middle of the year. She ended up being my high school crush. While chatting with her one day, I found out that she moved from New York in a hurry in the middle of the year because her father was a heavy drinker and abusive, and her mother finally had had enough and skipped town, and ended up in my little hometown.
[It was around this age I started to realize how lucky I was to have a father who was not only present in my life, but who didn’t drink or do drugs or abuse my mother. He went to work in the morning, came home in the evening, and spent time with his family. He barely even swore. I called it luck back then. Today I’d call it privilege.]
When I was 16, I got my driver’s license, and I was able to go all over town to hang out with friends at their houses. I settled into a pattern of hanging out at the same three friends’ houses. One had no father at all, and the mom was one of those “I’d rather you do it here at my house, since you’re going to do it anyway” kind of parents. She’d buy the booze and cigarettes for him and his friends on the weekend. I didn’t drink, but I’d sometimes get cigarettes from her.
Another friend had a stepfather who was nice, but about twenty years older than her (very attractive) mother. I didn’t see another older man/younger bride combo until I worked in the wealthy Chicago suburbs years later. By then, I understood what was going on there.
The final friend’s house I hung out at in high school… he was an only child and lived with his mom and dad, who were his biological parents. One was a teacher, and one was a businessman. That friend was my fellow computer nerd friend. He’s the one who got me into BBSs. He went on to graduate from a major tech university and now runs the computer system for a different university.
In my mid 30s, when I finally got on Facebook and reconnected with several dozen old high school classmates and friends, a pattern started to emerge: my classmates who had what I had … sober parents in a stable relationship who paid attention to their children … almost always ended up in stable relationships and with stable jobs as adults themselves.
I truly believe that the single biggest privilege a person can have is parents who love each other, love their children, and aren’t abusive or neglectful. If you have that in your life, you’re already on the right track.
Brian Berletic: China has DESTROYED Blinken’s Fake Diplomacy as US-China War Nears
What is the most important thing in life?
1. There’s still a plan in the unplanned.
2. Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.
3. The present moment is all you have.
4. Sometimes it feels like the lyrics to a song you’re listening to were written just for you.
5. You’re not born a winner or a loser. You’re born a chooser.
6. Invest in people who invest in you.
7. Your vibe attracts your tribe. If you are picky in relationships, try this application.
8. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.
9. Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
10. Not everyone you talk is your friend, and not everyone’s opinion matters.
11. Don’t change for change’s sake. change becomes truly rewarding only when you do it with intent.
Russia warns STOP this or else or risk nuclear attack
NATO is striking at the heart of Moscow via Ukraine. Russia has called this a terrorist attack and the West is saying that it could push Russia to the brink of a nuclear war. Is that what they want?? Can we have cooler heads prevail here please for the sake of us all?
What have you changed your mind about? Why?
Classroom screen time for my students.
I just wrapped up my 14th year as a middle school teacher. Every single year I’ve taught, in four different schools, students have had 1:1 tech. I embraced this tech to make my life easier. I used Edmodo and, later, Google Classroom, to post stories for students to read, post assignments for them to do online, collect those assignments online, grade those assignments online, etc… In my English classes, students would usually spend about 50% of their time online.
Initially, I was one of the few teachers where I taught that fully embraced the tech. But, over the years, more and more of my coworkers have embraced it. Last year, I realized that it’d gotten to the point that, some days, students were spending so much time on their laptops at school that their laptop batteries couldn’t make it through the day.
Some parents started to get weary of how much time their kids were spending on screens while at school. As a parent myself, I agree with them.
So I’ve spent the few months planning and prepping to go as screen-free as possible in my classroom next year. My boss is helping me out with this because she, too, as a parent and educator, realizes that we should probably cool it with so much screen time during the school day. We’re getting new, physical English textbooks (as opposed to online versions), and new, physical vocabulary books for the students. We’ve also invested about $1,500 in bookcases for my classroom, which I installed myself, so students always have easy access to a 4,000-or-so book classroom library. When I announced plans for the classroom library, my students’ parents were very excited and several of them donated books for it.
My boss was also able to get some comfortable reading chairs for my classroom.
(I will be honest, this classroom makeover is as much for me as it is for my students. I’m stuck in that room all day, and have every intention of using the comfortable reading chairs myself on my planning periods.)
In the past, whenever I could make my life easier by putting things online for my students, I did. But, going forward, I’m going to only resort to putting things online if absolutely necessary. It will be a bigger pain in the ass for me, keeping track of physical books and assignments, making physical copies, etc… But I think it will be better for the students in the long run.
We’ve had a real problem the last two years of students, when they had nothing else to do (or when they just didn’t want to do what they were supposed to be doing), instinctively opening their laptops and playing video games to pass the time. Next year, we’re hoping that they’ll instinctively reach for whatever novel they’re reading instead.
Gonzalo Lira
This is his video after he left prison.
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
When I was younger, I was the Assisstant Manager of a Pizza Hut. I was moved to this particular store with the expectation that the Store Manager who was there had set me up to become the next Store Manager. When he resigned I was passed over for a 23 year old nobody with no experience or work ethic. He worked 25 hours a week and had me do most of his duties on top of my own. He would often show up in the middle of dinner rush with his posse, ask how things were, I would tell him it was terrible and we needed help, he’d see that we did, and say things like “Sounds good” and walk out.
Week after week people in my Store were getting overworked and burned out. I constantly hounded my Area Manager to let me hire people, often being turned down. He woul even turn down temporarily allowing neighboring stores to send their workers to my Store to keep up with demand. So week after week we would have at least 1 person quit.
Even when I was allowed to hire ONE person, that person would freak out on day one because of the workload pushed upon all of us. They would typically last 1 day, maybe a week, before quitting.
One day we were told we were having a store meeting with the Area Manager so I typed up my resignation letter preemptively and attended. We were told how terrible our customer service scores were (mostly hold time issues or delivery time issues because we couldn’t keep enough people to staff the whole store, so delivery drivers were cutting and boxing pizzas, answering phones and taking orders, THEN delivering them) and how we needed to shape up. I spoke up and said we desperately needed more employees and I was waved off again. So I finished my shift that night, put my resignation letter in the fax machine with my end of day paperwork, locked the door, and dropped my security key and door keys in the mail slot. The next day I was inundated with phone calls from the Store Manager and Area Manager, which I ignored for a few hours. Then I picked up, the Area Manager begged me to come back and said he’d do anything if I came back.
“A raise?”
“Sure, whatever you need.”
“4 more employees?”
“No, you know you’re not getting that.”
*hangup*
I never talked to them again.
China issued a new ban after USA & Europe clamored to counter China’s ban on gallium and germanium.
News from HK
HK court declined an injunction from the AG to ban the rebel song “Glory to HK” which incites HK breaking away from China. The song has been mistakenly broadcast as the Chinese national anthem on several international sport events. Some are believed to be intentional with foreign assistance for the purpose of keeping the concept of colour revolution going on. Google has the song on the top of list of Chinese national song which helps the confusion.
COUNTRIES THAT EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO JOIN BRICS
✔️Algeria
✔️Argentina
✔️Bangladesh
✔️Bahrain
✔️Venezuela
✔️Guinea
✔️Greece
✔️Egypt
✔️Indonesia
✔️Iran
✔️Mexico
✔️Nigeria
✔️UAE
✔️Tajikistan
✔️Thailand
✔️Tunisia
✔️Turkey
✔️Syria
✔️Saudi Arabia
✔️Ethiopia
Are products purposefully made not to last?
Absolutely it’s called planned obsolescence .
Exemplified by Charles Brannock.
He invented this:
People told him to make it out of plastic so it would break and they’d have to buy new ones.
He refused and made them out of steel.
Same thing with Tonka trucks. Made of STEEL. I still have mine from my childhood (it was left in Hong Kong when I left here and I found it when my grandmother died and we were cleaning out her house).
Wait, Australia did WHAT to Julian Assange?
Australia has reportedly asked the U.S. to stop persecuting Julian Assange, which in and of itself is surprising because Australia has had amnesia about Assange for over a decade. The U.S., predictably, says that it can’t do that. The U.S. seeks to punish Assange for publishing true information about the government’s own war crimes. This will have serious implications for journalism in the future. Assange is a fly in the ointment of the U.S.’ plans to increase the “tempo” of visits of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia plus expand the Aukus treaty for Australia to host weaponry for the U.S. and U.K.
Reuben Soup
Ingredients
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained (reserve 3 tablespoons juice)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 pound chopped corned beef
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Heat broth to simmer, and add bay leaves, sauerkraut and the 3 tablespoons of sauerkraut juice. Cook for 30 minutes, then strain. Set sauerkraut aside.
- Return broth to boil, then add the milk and heat gently to avoid curdling.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, add flour and cook for about 2 minutes, whisking frequently. Slowly add flour mixture to pot to thicken soup, stirring with a wooden spoon. Soup should be thick and creamy.
- Return reserved sauerkraut to pot. Add corned beef, pepper and sour cream, and remove the bay leaves. Heat to serving temperature, but do not boil.
- Serve with rye bread and butter.
Why did we ever agree to the One-China policy in the first place?
You single-handedly created this situation.
Chiang Kai-shek refused to officially split China into 2 pieces.
You needed Beijing to weaken Soviet Group.
You knew that Beijing didn’t have the power to overtake Taiwan by crossing the strait.
So you started to go close with Beijing, because you were confident that the whole situation was under control even if you admitted Taiwan being part of China.
You tried to start a color revolution in China when you saw USSR was on the edge, like you did for many times around the world.
You tried to strangle China after the collapse of USSR.
You failed both.
So you began to cooperate with China in 1993, because you were confident that China will stay low forever.
You were sure that China’s bad debts would trigger an explosion and then destroy the country in late 90’s, so you turned your focus from Asia to middile east and started the 2nd Gulf War without UN authorization, because you were virtually invincible.
You realized in the mid 00’s that instead of going down, China was actually rising.
You started a media warfare to smear China before 08 Beijing Olympics, because you knew that it was the last chance before the west could see the real China.
You failed that too and caused yourself in deep trouble in 07 and 08.
You needed China to save your arse by purchasing your treasury.
You realized that China was your No.1 foreign debt holder.
You start to panic, and tried to move your strategical focus back to Asia, hence the Asia-Pacific Rebalance.
Your worries about China kept growing, because China’s GDP, along with other aspects such as military.
You finally realized that you cannot contain China after launching the trade war.
You began to redo everything you did during the previous cold war and pray to god for having the same result.
“This is the end of the UNIPOLAR order” Africa Russia Summit Recap 2023
Why is the West ignoring the Russia-Africa Summit? Because they don’t want to see the cooperation these two regions are fostering. Redacted correspondent Mike Jones was there and he shares just how much economic collaboration is happening, despite the West’s best intention to disrupt that from happening.
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
I owned a home that had a pretty little meadow (about 1–1/2 acres). The front portion was planted in native grasses that grew to about 1 ft tall. Then there was a bigger section of native wild flowers. Then there was our garden (surrounded by a deer fence). The upper portion of the meadow was lined with poplar trees.
One night one of our local yahoo teenagers decided it would be fun to do donuts in our meadow.
The next day I dropped a poplar tree (about 10 inch diameter) across the upper part of the meadow and carefully limbed it. I hid it in the grass as well as I could. We worked our tails off to recover as much of the garden as we could.
Sure enough a couple of weeks later, they were back. Except their pickup hit an unexpected obstacle that ruined the front end and it got stuck when it bounced over the tree trunk. When I woke up and saw what I had caught, I got a logging chain and padlocks and locked my “catch” to the tree trunk. Soon there were irate teenager that wanted their pickup back. My shotgun, German Shepherd and I disagreed with that idea. An irate father showed up and demanded I release my catch. I will be glad to release it when the upper and middle parts of the meadow are restored and I am compensated for all the vegetables that were ruined. That didn’t seem fair to him, so he left and came back with a sheriff’s deputy. The deputy listened to both sides of the story, told dad and son that what I wanted sounded reasonable. He then proceeded to inform me (in front of them) the process for claiming my catch and obtaining a clear title. He also told me what the impound fee was at the local impound lot, reminding me that the fee should be declared as income on my taxes. I was warned that if I dropped another tree across the truck, I was responsible for cleaning up any soil contamination. If that was what I chose to do, I should properly drain all the fluids from my “yard art.”
The kids started work the next day. When everything was repaired and they agreed to pay $200 per month until the next planting season, I released my catch.
At What Cost?
Another coping meme
| Godfree Roberts Aug 1 |
Our media have striven for seventy years to predict China’s collapse while ignoring its successes. But some successes are just too big to hide and, in those cases, journalists know exactly what to do.
In this post the media, faced with undeniable Chinese successes, cope by trying to diminish the accomplishments: all Chinese achievement must have been bad investments. Hence the directive.
The directive
“When writing about China’s achievements, question their purported cost.”
The results
Radio Free Amanda has compiled them.
Transcript
Global Markets – 1st quarter 2007 : China powers ahead – but at what cost? – Fin Law, Feb 09, 2007
China pumps up the Cambodian economy, but at what cost? – Taipei Times Apr 07 2011
Luxury Property in China: Boom, but at what cost? – Spears, Oct 18 2011
Tibet: Tourism Rises, but at what cost? – UNPO, Dec 28 2011
China brings jobs to Ethiopia but at what cost? – Horn Affairs, May 31 2012
China: smartphone market domination…but at what cost? – GFK, Feb 27 2014
China wants the Gold but at what cost?? – Disturbing Road to Olympic Stardom- Linkedin, Aug 14 2016
Podcast: China Aims for Bluer Skies Ahead, but at what cost? to Commodity Demand?- SPGlobal, 2017
Peter Bart: Hollywood Has Appetite For China’s Big Bucks, but at what cost??- Deadline, Mar 2 2017
China is driving a boom in Brazilian mining, but at what cost?– China Dialogue, Jul 27 2017
Chinese Tech Firms Are at the Cutting Edge of Artificial Intelligence — but at what cost?– Global Voices, 28 Aug 2017
China Invests in Environment – but at what cost? – US News, Apr 20 2018
China’s Belt and Road poised to transform the Earth, but at what cost?– Mongabay, Apr 24 2018
China’s Belt and Road poised to transform the Earth, but at what cost? to the environment?- Eco Business, Apr 25 2018
China May Become the World’s Leader in AI, but at what cost?– China File, Jul 30 2018
President Xi pledges $60 Billion to African Countries, but at what cost?– Medium, Sep 8 2018
Vatican–China relations are warming up, but at what cost?– East Asia Forum, 23 Oct 2018
Gene-edited babies: China wants to be the world leader, but at what cost?– The Conservation, Nov 26 2018
China’s economy looks to be stabilising, but at what cost?– France24, Apr 17 2019
China’s Big Cities Get Cleaner Air, but at what cost?– Caixing, Oct 26 2019
China is getting smarter – but at what cost?– BBC, Dec 24 2019
Hou Jianbin wants to educate China. but at what cost?– Protocol
A better, stronger China after the epidemic? but at what cost?– Think China, Feb 21 2020
China May Forge Ahead of the Us in AI Chip Race, but at what cost to Both?- CIGI, Apr 9 2020
China’s Three Gorges Dam may be safe for now, but at what cost?– Dams, Rivers and People, 27 Jul 2020
Serbia has rolled out the red carpet to China – but at what cost?– Euronews, Oct 08 2020
The BRI’s Footprint in the Lower Mekong Region Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam all need infrastructure—but at what cost?– RosaLux, Dec 15 2020
Chinese PD-1s secure broad reimbursement, but at what cost?– Pharmaletter, Dec 28 2020
Green Transition in China: but at what cost?– Green Europe Journal, 16 Jan 2021
Wuhan one year on: The city that appears safe from Covid – but at what cost?– Telegraph, Jan 23 2021
China’s economy grows, but at what cost? (vid)- SCMP, Jan 27,2021
China Is Imposing Strict Lockdowns To Contain New COVID Outbreaks. But There’s A Cost– NPR, Sep 2 2021
China keeps virus at bay but at what cost?– Sioux City Journal, Sep 21 9 2021
China keeps virus at bay at high cost ahead of Olympics- ABC News, Sep 21 2021
China celebrates Meng Wanzhou’s return as a victory — even at the cost of its global image – CNN, Sep 28 2021
Clean Air at What Cost? The Rise of Blunt Force Regulation – US China Dialogue, Oct 21 2021
China Rewriting Economic Narrative – But At What Cost? – BMF, Oct 27 2021
China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Efforts Come With a Cost – New York Times, Nov 12 2021
China is now controlling the weather. What’s the environmental cost? – Euronews, Dec 9 2021
Ultra-leftist voices are making themselves heard in China, but at what cost? – SCMP, Dec 24 2021
What is the poorest dinner meal that you can remember eating during a time of financial hardship?
After I graduated from law school, I had no money left – not even enough to pay for gasoline to get to my new job. So, a friend of mine gave me $50 to buy gasoline. That $50 had to last until I got paid – a month away. Shortly after I started working, my employer told us that we would be going to the state Capitol for training. The group of new employees went out to eat together for every meal, but, needless to say, I could not afford to go with them. So, I stopped at a grocery store and purchased a bag of 6 rolls and a bottled soft beverage. I spent all of my down time alone in my hotel room (paid for by the state). I ate one roll a day during that week and took only sips of that beverage each day. I drank plain water where it was offered for free. No one knew that I was so poor that I could not buy food. Rather, they thought that I was anti-social and that was the reason I never went out to eat with them. Poverty hurts in many ways and on many levels.
The Forgotten Era: What Really Happened AFTER the Dinosaurs Went Extinct ?
🌍 Today, many extinct animals are more familiar to us than some species that are still alive. Among them are the dinosaurs. The diplodocus is more famous than the aardvark, and the tyrannosaurus more famous than the peramete. Dinosaurs are part of popular culture.
For over 160 million years, these majestic creatures dominated the Earth, occupying most ecological niches and leaving little room for other species. On five occasions, the Earth was confronted with major upheavals that had a fundamental impact on its subsequent history.
When they disappeared during the fifth mass extinction, the dinosaurs left an immeasurable void. But one man’s misfortune is another man’s gain, and this void enabled the evolution of mammals and birds, which are now highly diversified groups of animals.
Without this extinction, dinosaurs would probably have continued to dominate life on Earth, and other animals would not have had the opportunity to make their mark.
Mass extinctions change the rules of the game, redistributing the cards by condemning certain groups and giving new opportunities to others. When the dinosaurs disappeared, our distant ancestors survived.
What did the Earth look like after the extinction of the dinosaurs?
Strange Diplomacy: Victoria “F*ck the EU” Nuland
She’s Lost 20% of Ukraine w/100,000+ KIA (& was promoted to Deputy SecState)
Apr 24, 2023
“Victoria Nuland exemplifies the neocons who have led US foreign policy from one disaster to another for the past 30 years while evading accountability. It is a bad sign that President Joe Biden has nominated Victoria Nuland for the third highest position at the State Department, Under Secretary for Political Affairs.” (ronpaulinstitute.org 2/11/21)
“The war began with the violent overthrow of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, a coup that was overtly and covertly backed by the United States government in the service of NATO expansion.” (Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia, Jeffrey Sachs 3/8/23)
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Since Victoria Nuland overthrew the democratically elected government of Ukraine in 2014 during the Obama/Biden Administration (along with then Deputy Director of National Security Anthony Blinken), the aggressive anti-Russian policies of the former Assistant Secretary of State for European & Eurasian Affairs & now President Biden’s Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs have led to the loss of 1/5th of the country: Crimea, Kharkov, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye & Kherson.
The architects of the Ukraine disaster: Nuland & Blinken
On December 13, 2013 Nuland claimed during a speech at the US-Ukraine Foundation the US had spent $5 billion on a “secure, prosperous and democratic Ukraine”, then passed out cookies to protestors in Kyiv before her color revolution (with the help of pro-Maidan snipers) created the bloody scenario necessary to remove democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych from office.
“Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovich, a strong candidate for president, said he would keep the country out of NATO if he wins the January 17 election but said he remained committed to taking it into the European mainstream. The 59-year-old Yanukovich, a former prime minister, told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda Ukraina that he would keep Ukraine out of military blocs, including the NATO alliance, membership of which has been one of Yushchenko’s goals.
‘Ukraine, quite simply, has been and will be a state outside any blocs. We will not aspire to enter either NATO or the ODKB,’ he said, referring to the Russian-dominated Collective Security Pact that brings together some ex-Soviet allies.” (reuters.com 1/07/10)
Almost a month before the Ukrainian president was overthrown, a January 28, 2014 phone call between Nuland and US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt discussing who they wanted to replace Yanukovych post-Maidan was taped and released on YouTube February 4th. After Victoria stated, “So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing and have the U.N. help glue it and you know…fuck the EU”, Pyatt responded “Oh, exactly”; they then agreed “Yats” (Arseniy Yatsenyuk) would become the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Russia likely released their call to enlighten the world as to who was behind the coup d’état.
Nuland & Ambassador Pyatt passing out cookies in Maidan Square, Kyiv
Soon after Nuland’s coup, The Guardian newspaper wrote about another phone call: It is the audio of a telephone conversation between Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton. The call was initiated by Paet on 25 February 2014 and only he can be heard speaking:
“In the call, Paet said he had been told snipers responsible for killing police and civilians in Kiev last month were protest movement provocateurs rather than supporters of then-president Viktor Yanukovych. The Estonian foreign ministry confirmed the leaked conversation was accurate. It said: ‘Foreign minister Paet was giving an overview of what he had heard in Kiev and expressed concern over the situation on the ground.’
During the conversation, Paet quoted a woman named Olga – who the Russian media identified as Olga Bogomolets, a doctor – blaming snipers from the opposition shooting the protesters. ‘What was quite disturbing, this same Olga told that, well, all the evidence shows that people who were killed by snipers from both sides, among policemen and people from the streets, that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides,’ Paet said.
‘So she also showed me some photos, she said that as medical doctor, she can say it is the same handwriting, the same type of bullets, and it’s really disturbing that now the new coalition, that they don’t want to investigate what exactly happened. So there is a stronger and stronger understanding that behind snipers it was not Yanukovych, it was somebody from the new coalition,’ Paet says.
‘I think we do want to investigate. I didn’t pick that up, that’s interesting. Gosh,’ Ashton says.” (the guardian.com 3/5/14)
In a December 19th interview in the Russian magazine Kommersant, George Friedman, who was the founder and CEO of Stratfor, the ‘Shadow CIA’ firm, said of the overthrow of President Yanukovych on February 22, 2014: “It really was the most blatant coup in history.”
“The massacre by snipers of anti-government activists and police officers in Kiev’s Maidan Square in late February 2014 was a defining moment in the US-orchestrated overthrow of Ukraine’s elected government. The death of 70 protesters triggered an avalanche of international outrage that made President Viktor Yanukovych’s downfall a fait accompli. Yet today these killings remain unsolved.
Ivan Katchanovski
Enter Ivan Katchanovski, a Ukrainian-Canadian political scientist at the University of Ottawa. For years, he marshaled overwhelming evidence demonstrating that the snipers were not affiliated with Yanukovych’s government, but pro-Maidan operatives firing from protester-occupied buildings.
Though Katchanovski’s groundbreaking has been studiously ignored by the mainstream media, a scrupulous study he presented on the slaughter in September 2015 and August 2021 and published in 2016 and in 2020 has been cited on over 100 occasions by scholars and experts. As a result of this paper and other pieces of research, he has been among the world’s most-referenced political scientists specializing in Ukrainian matters.” (thegrayzone.com 3/12/23)
“The war began with the violent overthrow of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, a coup that was overtly and covertly backed by the United States government in the service of NATO expansion. During his presidency (2010-2014), Yanukovych sought military neutrality, precisely to avoid a civil or proxy war in Ukraine. But this stood in the way of NATO enlargement to Ukraine and Georgia that the US had pushed for from 2008 onward.” (Dr. Jeffrey Sachs: ekathimerini.com 3/8/23)
It didn’t take long for Vladimir Putin to respond to Nuland’s coup d’état, because he knew NATO’s goal was to seize Sevastopol, Russia’s Black Sea naval base on the Crimean Peninsula. Just five days later, on February 27, 2014, he installed a pro-Russian government with a declaration of independence declared on March 16th. Russia reunified Crimea on March 18, 2014, formally reclaiming the strategic Black Sea peninsula Catherine the Great captured from the Ottoman Turks in 1783, but was transferred to Soviet Ukraine by Nikita Khrushchev in 1954. A referendum was then held based on UN statutes of self-determination, with 90% of the population voting to rejoin Russia.
Ethnic Russian provinces in Eastern Ukraine unhappy with Nuland’s coup initially sought the same autonomy enjoyed by Quebec & Catalonia, but were rebuffed by the US puppet government in Kyiv, with Ambassador Pyatt declaring them terrorists. Armed militias in Donbass & Luhansk then seized government buildings and called for independence. In April 2014 Ukraine launched an Anti-Terrorist Operation against the separatist forces and reclaimed most of Donbass. In response, Russia launched a “humanitarian convoy” including military personnel and equipment, which pushed Ukrainian forces back from its border. On May 2, 2014 dozens of “separatists” were burned to death in the Odessa Trade Unions Building by “nationalist” Ukrainians after demonstrations in the city, a rallying point for ethnic Russians to this day.
On September 5, 2014 Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk Peoples’ Republic (DPR) & Luhansk Peoples’ Republic (LPR) signed the first of the infamous Minsk Agreements, which required Ukraine to recognize limited autonomy for Donbass and enshrine it in a new constitution. Instead of granting that autonomy, Ukraine continued to exert its authority over Donbass by force.
Minsk I Agreement
In January 2015, DPR & LPR troops seized Donetsk Airport, the last bastion of Ukrainian forces in Donbass. Retreating Ukrainian troops were then caught in a cauldron at Debaltseve by those same DPR & LPR troops. In panic, German Prime Minister Angela Merkel flew to Moscow to stop the massacre and along with Presidents Putin & François Hollande of France agreed on a Minsk II Agreement under the Normandy Format to halt the carnage.
As we now know from recent statements by Merkel and Hollande, the Minsk II Agreement was a ruse to rescue the encircled Ukrainian Army and allow them to rearm for a future campaign against Russia:
“In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit last week, former German chancellor Angela Merkel revealed the West’s real intention behind its negotiation with Russia and Ukraine to promote a ceasefire in 2014. She admitted the Minsk agreements were an ‘attempt to give Ukraine time’ and that Kiev had used it ‘to become stronger.’
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Merkel’s remarks were ‘completely unexpected and disappointing.’ As the US media New York Post pointed out, Putin felt betrayed by the West following the Minsk agreements. ‘It has turned out that no one was going to implement the agreements,’ the Russian leader pointed out.” (globaltimes.cn 12/12/22)
“Hollande came clean on Wednesday about the fact that the international agreements for which France acted as guarantor were little more than a ruse to buy the Ukrainian regime some time while it upgraded its military with equipment and training from NATO.
Minsk II Agreement
‘Since 2014, Ukraine has strengthened its military posture. It is the merit of the Minsk Agreements to have given the Ukrainian Army this opportunity,’ the former French president told a Ukrainian outlet.” (english.almyadeen.net 1/2/23)
As if to reconfirm the Minsk Agreements went as planned, Hollande was duped by pranksters Vovan and Lexus (pretending to be former Ukraine President Poroshenko) into stating: “Everyone thought it was Putin who was playing for time. No, we were playing for time to strengthen Ukraine.” (Vladimir Kuznetsov & Alexei Stolyarov 4/5/23)
The ruse worked, with Ukraine building Europe’s largest army while shelling its Donbass region from layered, interlocking & mutually supporting hardened fortifications developed & enhanced over 9 years. Training and preparation by NATO instructors over this period, to include satellite support and AWACS feeds, created the most formidable military in Europe on the Russian border.
“In 2016 the United States deployed a land based air defense system — i.e. Aegis Ashore — in Deveselu, Romania. Aegis Ashorek is a land-based version of the missile system now on Aegis cruisers in the U.S. Navy. Then, last year, the United States set up the same system in Redzikowo, Poland. Only one little problem — the Aegis Ashore system can also be used to launch nuclear tipped Tomahawk Cruise missiles.These two systems have the potential to put a nuke in Moscow within 10 minutes of launch from Poland or Romania.
This threat situation is similar to the one the United States faced in 1961 when the Soviets deployed nuclear missiles to Cuba. Just as the United States correctly viewed those missiles in Cuba as an existential threat, Russia also sees that U.S. placement of missiles as an existential threat to Moscow.” (Larry Johnson sonar21.com 5/10/23)
According to the UN, from Nuland’s February 2014 coup d’état to Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, Ukraine shelling of the separatist Donbass region resulted in over 14,000 casualties (news.un.org 9/9/22). In the months before the invasion, Russia reached out to the West, requesting security guarantees as NATO marched towards its border: continuing to supply Ukraine with military advisors, billions in advanced equipment as well as funding numerous bio-labs.
For example, on November 30, 2021, President Putin warned NATO against stationing troops and weapons in Ukraine, saying it would cross a red line. Western media outlets reported on December 7, 2021 that President Biden told Putin “where to shove his red lines” during their two-hour video summit. In retrospect, however, the tipping point for Russia most likely was President Zelensky’s suggestion at the Munich Security Conference two weeks before the invasion that Ukraine might pursue nuclear weapons.
After receiving an official non-response concerning NATO expansion from the US State Department on January 27, 2022, Foreign Minister Lavrov diplomatically stated, “The content of the US response on security guarantees allows you to count on a serious conversation, but on secondary topics. There is no answer to the most important question – about the non-expansion of NATO to the east and deployment of strike weapons that can pose a threat to the territory of Russia, which we consider unacceptable.”
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to suggest late last week that his country could pursue nuclear weapons as a way to defend itself from Russian aggression as Russian President Vladimir Putin sends forces into separatist regions of Ukraine that he recognized as independent as of this week.
‘Ukraine has the nuclear technologies created back in the Soviet times and delivery vehicles for such weapons, including aircraft, as well as the Soviet-designed Tochka-U precision tactical missiles with a range of over 100 kilometers. But they can do more; it is only a matter of time. They have had the groundwork for this since the Soviet era,’ Putin said. ‘In other words, acquiring tactical nuclear weapons will be much easier for Ukraine than for some other states I am not going to mention here, which are conducting such research, especially if Kiev receives foreign technological support. We cannot rule this out either.
If Ukraine acquires weapons of mass destruction, the situation in the world and in Europe will drastically change, especially for us, for Russia,’ Putin continued. ‘We cannot but react to this real danger, all the more so since, let me repeat, Ukraine’s Western patrons may help it acquire these weapons to create yet another threat to our country.’” (dailywire.com 2/23/22)
Speaking of weapons of mass destruction, Victoria Nuland confirmed the existence of bio-labs across Ukraine at a Congressional hearing on March 8, 2022, with subsequent reports confirming the DTRA (Defense Threat Reduction Agency) had been funding them for decades.
Sen. Marco Rubio: Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?
Victoria Nuland: Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we’re now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how we can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.
“Judicial Watch announced today it received 345 pages of records from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a component of the U.S. Department of Defense, revealing that the United States funded anthrax laboratory activities in a Ukrainian biolab in 2018. Dozens of pages are completely redacted, and many others are heavily redacted. The records show over $11 million in funding for the Ukraine biolabs program in 2019.
The records were obtained in response to a February 28, 2022, Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency for records regarding the funding of Black & Veatch involving work of any manner with biosafety laboratories in the country of Ukraine.” (judicialwatch.org 11/10/22)
Confirmation of DTRA funded bio-labs in Ukraine wasn’t all, Nuland’s guarantee of the Nord Stream pipeline destruction signaled that destroying Russia is her obsession, to the point of ideological blindness.
“‘If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,’ undersecretary of state for political affairs Victoria Nuland told a press briefing.
Asked how she could make that assertion with confidence, Nuland replied, ‘We’ve had extensive consultations at every level with our German allies. I’m not going to get into the specifics here today, but we will work with Germany to ensure that the pipeline does not move forward.’” (cnsnews.com 1/28/22))
In a January 2023 Senate hearing a year after her Nord Stream 2 pipeline destruction promise, Nuland bragged about blowing up critical infrastructure in Europe on 9/26/22: “Senator Cruz, like you, I am and I think the Administration is gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.”
“Russia has spent months pummeling the country with missiles, seeking not only to cause destruction but also deplete Ukraine’s air defense stocks. Ukrainian soldiers have described acute shortages of basic ammunition, including mortar rounds and artillery shells. And upwards of 100,000 Ukrainian forces have died in the year-long war, U.S. officials estimate, including the most experienced soldiers.” (politico.com 3/15/23)
Nuland graduated from Brown University in 1983 and served as Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot from 1993-96 before becoming Deputy Director for former Soviet Union affairs.
“Nuland served as Vice President Dick Cheney’s deputy national security adviser from 2003-2005, during the illegal U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, a painful chapter in U.S. history that left over a million Iraqis dead and thousands of U.S. soldiers in body bags.
In 2005, Nuland became ambassador to NATO, where she lobbied Europe to participate in the disastrous U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. In persuading other governments the U.S. could win that war, she sold a lie across Europe to prolong a near 20-year occupation that left Afghanistan broke, with 6 million children and adults at risk of starvation.
Nuland has repeatedly stated that she wants to destabilize other regions in Russia’s nuclear neighborhood: Belarus and Kazakhstan, because they are too friendly with Russia. What critics say she really wants is regime change in Russia, a country of 193 million people, 150 different ethnic minorities and 6,000 nuclear weapons.” (consortiumnews.com 3/8/23)
According to Wikipedia, Victoria is married to Robert Kagan, a foreign policy commentator for the Brookings Institute. Apparently, the Kagan/Nuland family business is manufacturing consent for continuous war among the DC political elite: that’s some strange diplomacy:
“In the summer of 2011, Nuland became special envoy for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe[14] and then became State Department spokesperson.[15]” (wikipedia) In May 2013, Nuland was nominated to act as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, where she was supposed to employ diplomacy in relations with Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states.”
“In 1997, Kagan co-founded the now-defunct neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century with William Kristol.[4][6][14]Through the work of the PNAC, from 1998, Kagan was an early and strong advocate of military action in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan as well as to ‘remove Mr. Hussein and his regime from power’.[15][16] After the 1998 bombing of Iraq was announced Kagan said ‘bombing Iraq isn’t enough’ and called on Clinton to send ground troops to Iraq.[17] In January 2002, Kagan and Kristol falsely claimed in a Weekly Standard article that Saddam Hussein was supporting the ‘existence of a terrorist training camp in Iraq, complete with a Boeing 707 for practicing hijackings, and filled with non-Iraqi radical Muslims’. Kagan and Kristol further alleged that the September 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence official several months before the attacks.[18] The allegations were later shown to be false.”
“We are at the edge of war with Russia and China on issues which we partly created, without any concept of how this is going to end or what it’s supposed to lead to.” (Henry Kissinger to wsj.com 8/12/22) Why did Kissinger & Nixon go to China in 1971/72, to keep China & Russia from allying. What has Victoria Nuland accomplished: fused China & Russia together in a military alliance.
“‘After my appointment as the defense minister, my first visit is made to Russia in order to demonstrate to the outside world the high level of Chinese-Russian relations,’ Li Shangfu said before the beginning of talks. The trip is also intended to stress Beijing’s ‘firm determination to strengthen strategic cooperation between the militaries of China and Russia,’ he added.” (rt.com 4/19/23)
“Eight years before his death in 2005 at 101, George Kennan marshaled his Russia expertise again when he warned that in extending ‘NATO’s borders smack up to those of Russia we are making the greatest mistake of the entire post-Cold-War era.’” (foreignpolicy.com 1/23/23)
Not only did Victoria Nuland ignore State Department legend George Kennan’s sage advice, but also that of the current CIA Director in a 2008 cable when he was Ambassador to Moscow:
“Russian Opposition Neuralgic and Concrete: Ukraine and Georgia’s NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, they engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region. Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia’s influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests. Experts tell us that Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic-Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war. In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face.” (Wikileaks)
Alexander Mercouris of The Duran captured the DC War Party best: “If you’re a neocon you have no reverse gear, they are going to double down, triple down, quadruple down,” and right on cue:
“The (spring) offensive is largely the brainchild of US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland. She is the éminence grise in the Biden administration when it comes to Ukraine.
Nuland has not made any secret of her ambition for Ukraine to take back Crimea. Nuland, who is rigidly anti-Russian and anti-Putin, would like to see the Putin government collapse: achieving that in her view requires an absolute victory by Ukraine over Russia, meaning that Ukraine will retake every square meter of its lost land. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agrees.” (asiatimes.com 4/12/23)
If there was ever any doubt about the Nuland/Neocon plan for the future of Russia, they defined it clearly in Foreign Policy magazine: “Russia’s poor performance on the Ukrainian battlefield, and the growing belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat shouldn’t be taken at face value, has emboldened Western analysts and Russian dissidents to publicly call for ‘decolonization’ of Russia itself. They are referring here to the vast Russian Federation, the successor of the Soviet Union that consists of 83 federal entities, including 21 non-Slavic republics.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, an independent U.S. government agency with members from the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and departments of defense, state, and commerce, has declared that decolonizing Russia should be a ‘moral and strategic objective.’” (foreignpolicy.com 4/17/23)
“This has not, as Vladimir Putin and others claim, become a proxy war between the United States or the ‘collective West’ (the U.S. and its European and other allies) against Russia. In the current geopolitical arena, the war is now effectively the reverse—a proxy for a rebellion by Russia and the ‘Rest’ against the United States. The war in Ukraine is perhaps the event that makes the passing of pax Americana apparent to everyone.” (Fiona Hill news.err.ee 5/14/23)
“The same people, the neocons, who ran that [Iraq] operation, lied to us about weapons of mass destruction, tricked us into that war, and who we thought were now out of government forever, pariahs, in disgrace, they’re now all back in the Biden administration with a new project.” (RFK jr, Joe Rogan Experience 6/14/23)
“Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has resigned, and her last day in office is June 30. Her departure has triggered near panic inside the State Department about the person many there fear will be chosen to replace her: Victoria Nuland. Nuland’s hawkishness on Russia and antipathy for Vladimir Putin fits perfectly with the views of President Biden. Nuland is now the undersecretary for political affairs and has been described as ‘running amok,’ in the words of a person with direct knowledge of the situation, among the various bureaus of the State Department while Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on the road.” (seymourhersh.substack.com 6/15/23)
“Blinken’s speech highlights once again that the Biden Administration has no intention of ending this conflict peacefully. The plan, which members of the administration including Blinken have explicitly admitted on numerous occasions, is to use Ukraine to achieve the larger geopolitical goal of weakening Russia. In other words, the Ukrainians are cannon fodder in a U.S. proxy war against Russia.
Blinken’s statement is consistent with reports in Foreign Affairs magazine last September citing numerous American former security officials that Russia and Ukraine had actually reached a tentative peace agreement in April 2022. That deal was scuttled after Boris Johnson, doubtless at the behest of the Biden Administration, visited Kyiv on April 9. Later, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who was trying to mediate between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenski, stated that the U.S. and its allies blocked his mediation efforts.
The pattern here is clear. Not only is the administration deceiving the American people about the motives for this costly and tragic war, but by continually escalating it they put the whole world at risk of nuclear conflagration.” (RFKjr 6/19/23)
Ukraine Counteroffensive, June 2023
“In an interview with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag published on Sunday, Stoltenberg declared that ‘peace cannot mean freezing the conflict and accepting a deal that is dictated by Russia.’ Stoltenberg added that ‘only Ukraine can define the conditions that are acceptable,’ an explicit endorsement of Kiev’s vow to drive Russian forces back to pre-conflict borders and seize the Russian territory of Crimea.
‘If NATO, through the mouth of Stoltenberg, once again declares that they are against freezing, as they say, the conflict in Ukraine, then they want to fight,’ Lavrov told a press conference. ‘Well, let them fight, we are ready for this, we have long understood the goals of NATO in the situation around Ukraine, which have been formed for many years.’” (rt.com 6/20/23)
“According to the latest intelligence reports, Russia believes that the Ukrainian armed forces now intend to cover their failed counter-offensive in the Donbas by using US-supplied Himars multiple launch artillery and UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, possibly in the longer range domestic version, to attack the Crimea.
If this happens, says Shoigu, Russia will consider both the United States and Britain to have fully entered the war as co-belligerents. And Russia will immediately respond to any such attack on its territory by destroying ‘the decision making centers’ of the Kiev regime. This is a fairly transparent threat to ‘neutralize’ their government apparatus and personnel, logically including President Zelensky.” (gilbertdoctorow.com 6/20/23)
We have 30 years of Victoria Nuland to thank: “Moreover, America’s ability to rally the world is much diminished, in no small part because respect for the US is much diminished, the result of internal divisions and widespread global opposition to the US interventions in Iraq in 2003 and in Libya in 2011.” (Richard Haass: foreignpolicy.com 6/22/23)
“The point of the F-16s, in my opinion, is to specifically make sure they take off from NATO territory in order to bait Russia into going after the airfields located in Eastern Europe, I think that’s what the Neocons really want. I think the Neocons know the F-16s are not going to be a game changer, they know the Russians will deal with the F-16s, but they want to make sure those F-16s take off from airfields in Eastern Europe to go to Putin and say what are you going to do about it now? We have F-16s taking off from Romania. Here’s another red line, are you going to hit Romania? I think the Neocons want to get to that point.” (Alex Christoforou, The Duran 6/23/23)
Neocons have no reverse gear: “American intelligence officials briefed senior military and administration officials on Wednesday [June 21] that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group, was preparing to take military action against senior Russian defense officials, according to officials familiar with the matter. U.S. spy agencies had indications days earlier that Mr. Prigozhin was planning something and worked to refine that material into a finished assessment, officials said.” (nytimes.com 6/26/23)
Following Prigozhin’s coup attempt: “Blinken has piled up a consistent record for being horribly wrong on his assessments on Russia — starting from the deathly blow the ‘sanctions from hell’ were expected to give to the Russian economy; Putin’s hold on power; Russia’s catastrophic defeat in Ukraine; Russian military’s deficiencies; Kiev’s inexorable military victory, and so on.
In this case, he has reason to feel embittered particularly because of the spectacular unity of the Russian state, political elite, media, regional and federal bureaucracy, and the military and security establishment in rallying behind Putin. Arguably, Putin’s political stature is now unchallengeable and unassailable in Russia and the Americans have to live with that reality long after Joe Biden’s departure from the scene.” (M.K. Bhadrakumar indianpunchline.com 6/26/23)
“‘They [the West and Ukraine] wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other, so that soldiers and civilians would die, so that in the end Russia would lose, and our society would break apart and choke on bloody civil strife,’ the president [Putin] said. ‘They rubbed their hands, dreaming of getting revenge for their failures at the front and during the so-called counteroffensive, but they miscalculated.’” (rt.com 6/26/23)
Evgeny Prigozhin
“Western nations must have helped businessman Evgeny Prigozhin organize his brief insurrection last week, according to Viktor Zolotov, commander of the National Guard of Russia. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday on the sidelines of a ceremony at the Kremlin awarding decorations, the senior official expressed certainty that the mutiny ‘was inspired by Western special services, because, as they said, they knew about it several weeks ahead of time.’
Media reports claimed that the US intelligence community had prior knowledge about possible trouble coming from Prigozhin and his private military company Wagner Group. Washington has vehemently denied any involvement in the turmoil, which it called a domestic Russian affair.
Zolotov claimed that ‘Prigozhin’s camp’ has been deliberately leaking ‘focused’ information about a possible mutiny coming sometime between last Thursday and Sunday. He suggested that Western agents may have been directly involved in conducting the operation.” (rt.com 6/27/23)
“According to Lavrov, the Americans have been too vehement in their denials about having nothing to do with the June 24 mutiny in Russia, while ‘the Europeans were much more explicit about their interests in this particular situation.’ For example, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the main conclusion he drew from what happened in Russia was confirmation of the fact that the EU had to continue arming Ukraine to ‘finish off’ Russia.” (tass.com 6/28/23)
“The fact that the CIA briefed the Gang of Eight in Congress on Prigozhin’s planned uprising two days prior means that the CIA had information from a human source. It could have been a recruited CIA asset or someone recruited and controlled by a foreign intelligence organization. But someone close to Prigozhin was blabbing. Or maybe it was Prigozhin himself.
I find it noteworthy that the Biden Administration went to extraordinary lengths to insist it knew nothing about the coup and certainly did not encourage it or support it. Oh no. Biden, Blinken and Nuland do not want Putin overthrown by force. Perish the thought.” (sonar21.com 6/28/23)
“Pity the Washington columnists and national security correspondents who seem to rely heavily on official backgrounders with White House and State Department officials. Given the published results of such briefings, those officials seem unable to look at the reality of the past few weeks, or the total disaster that has befallen the Ukraine military’s counter-offensive.
There is an enormous gap between the way the professionals in the American intelligence community assess the situation and what the White House and the supine Washington press project to the public by uncritically reproducing the statements of Blinken and his hawkish cohorts.
The Washington press in recent days seems to be slowly coming to grips with the enormity of the disaster, but there is no public evidence that President Biden and his senior aides in the White House and State Department aides understand the situation.”(seymourhersh.substack.com 6/29/23)
The Neocons are going to double down, triple down, quadruple down: “CNN reports the Biden administration is strongly considering approving the transfer of cluster munition warheads to Ukraine. The weapons are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which has been signed by U.S. allies including the U.K., France and Germany. Ukraine, Russia and the United States never signed the treaty.” (democracy now.com 6/30/23)
And if the Neocons quintuple down by sending F-16s: “U.S. or NATO personnel tasked with maintaining any F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine would become ‘legitimate military targets’ for Russian strikes, a former U.S. Air Force commander has told Newsweek.
Countries that supply fourth-generation fighters such as F-16s to Kyiv will likely also need to send contractors or military personnel who have experience maintaining the sophisticated jets, according to retired Lt. Gen. Charlie “Tuna” Moore, former deputy commander of the Cyber Command.” (newsweek.com 7/6/23)
“Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned the US against supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions which have been banned in more than 100 countries due to the severe risk they pose to civilian populations.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NGO sounded the alarm over media reports that the US government is considering whether to approve deliveries of the deadly weapons, which Kiev has been requesting for months. The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a senior White House source, that Washington was expected to greenlight the move. CBS said on Wednesday that the US could make a decision as early as this week.” (rt.com 7/6/23)
“President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday. The move, which will bypass U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent, comes amid concerns about Kyiv’s lagging counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops and dwindling Western stocks of conventional artillery.” (washingtonpost.com 7/7/23)
Jens Stoltenberg
“The US is willing to offer Kiev a sort of security arrangement currently offered to Israel instead of membership in NATO, President Joe Biden told CNN in an interview previewed on Friday. ‘I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,’ Biden said of Ukraine. ‘I don’t think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war.’
Membership in the US-led military bloc means the commitment to defend all of its territory, so ‘if the war is going on, then we’re all in a war. We’re at war with Russia, if that were the case,’ Biden told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.” (rt.com 7/7/23)
“The allies will give political approval to the first detailed war plans on how to defend all of NATO territory since the end of the Cold War…Those plans, drawn up by General Christopher Cavoli, the American commander of allied forces in Europe, cover more than 4,000 pages and tell countries in specific terms what is required of them to defend themselves and their allies.” (nytimes.com 7/10/23)
“Many of the foreign mercenaries who flocked to fight for Kiev have met an inglorious end on the battlefields of the Ukrainian conflict. While Western governments appear rather tight-lipped when it comes to discussing their nationals fighting alongside Ukrainian militants and neo-Nazi gunmen employed by Zelensky, Western media outlets periodically run stories about this or that foreign ‘volunteer’ getting killed while fighting Russian troops.” (sputnikglobe.com 7/11/23)
This short video, which surfaced online on July 10, allegedly depicts the aftermath of a clash between the Russian military and a group of foreign mercenaries – “adventurers”, as the social media post’s author described them – in the vicinity of the Lugovoye village in Zaporozhye Region of Russia.
“Russia on Tuesday said France’s decision to send long-range missiles to Ukraine is ‘erroneous,’ and countermeasures will follow to mitigate risks. ‘Of course, it remains to be clarified and found out exactly what (effective casualty) radius we are talking about. This, from our point of view, is an erroneous decision, fraught with consequences for the Ukrainian side. Because, naturally, this will force us to take countermeasures,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.
He added that the West’s supply of new weapons to Ukraine ‘only aggravates its fate. These decisions (to supply heavier weapons) cannot, are not able to turn the course of the special military operation. They can only aggravate the fate of the Ukrainian, Kyiv regime,’ he said.” (aa.com.fr 7/11/23)
Of course Victoria Nuland and the Neocons were always going to escalate by quintupling down, they have no reverse gear: “Kiev will ‘likely’ get F-16 fighter jets from Washington’s allies in Europe who may have some to spare, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday. While many NATO countries have offered to train Ukrainian pilots, so far none have pledged to send actual airplanes.
‘On the F-16 fighter jets, President [Joe] Biden took the decision some weeks ago, working in close consultation with allies, to begin the training of Ukrainian pilots on those jets,’ Sullivan told Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos from Vilnius, Lithuania, where he is attending the NATO summit. ‘That training will take some time, and then there will be the transfer of F-16s, likely from European countries that have excess F-16 supplies,’ Sullivan added.” (rt.com 7/12/23)
“By continuing to provide more sophisticated arms to Kiev, ‘the US and its NATO satellites create the risk of a direct armed confrontation with Russia, and this may lead to catastrophic consequences,’ Lavrov warned in his interview with Lenta.ru on Wednesday. The plans to supply F-16s to Kiev is yet another example of an escalatory move by the West and in itself is ‘an extremely dangerous development,’ he stated.
‘We have informed the nuclear powers – the US, UK and France – that Russia can’t ignore the ability of these aircraft to carry nuclear weapons,’ the foreign minister continued. ‘No assurances [by the West] will help here,’ he warned. In the midst of fighting, the Russian military isn’t going to investigate whether any specific jet is equipped to deliver nuclear weapons or not, he added. ‘The very fact of the appearance of such systems within the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be considered by us as a threat from the West in the nuclear domain,’ Lavrov said.” (rt.com 7/13/23)
“There are other signs of internal stress, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland has been blocked from being promoted to replace the much respected Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. Nuland’s anti-Russian politics and rhetoric matches the tone and point of view of Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken,” but Democrats are worried about their Ukraine policy ahead of next year’s elections. (seymourhersh.substack.com 7/13/23)
The Russian navy’s training class ship Perekop sailed into Havana. (Patrick Oppmann/CNN)
As the Neocons continue to escalate in Ukraine, the Russians counter in Cuba: “A Russian navy ship docks in Cuba as tough times bring the old friends together. ‘We are condemning, we are rejecting, the expansion of NATO towards Russia’s borders,’ Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel told Russian-controlled network, RT, in a rare interview in May. He also blasted US economic sanctions on Russia, while heralding Russian ‘projects of cooperation and collaboration’ under development in Cuba.” (cnn.com 7/13/23)
We know Victoria Nuland and the Neocons have no reverse gear, after the Cluster Bombs & F-16s were green lighted: “President Joe Biden has authorized the deployment of up to 3,000 U.S. military reservists to Europe as part of a long-term operation in response to Russian actions in Ukraine. Biden issued an executive order on Thursday authorizing military leaders, including the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, to mobilize ‘select reserve forces’ in an effort to augment Operation Atlantic Resolve, which began in 2014.
The move comes shortly after Biden attended a two-day NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, this week where the president recommitted to the alliance, and amid Ukraine’s continued push to join NATO.” (newsweek.com 7/14/23)
“By ordering the deployment of 3,000 more reservists to Europe, US President Joe Biden is preparing to fight Russian forces on the ground in Ukraine, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said. ‘Biden has lost his way,’ Kennedy tweeted on Friday, arguing that the president should focus on America’s domestic problems instead of trying to achieve ‘global military dominance. I want people to understand what this troop mobilization is about. It’s about preparing for a ground war with Russia,’ he said.” (rt.com 7/15/23)
“The West is evidently disappointed that Kiev’s much-lauded counteroffensive has failed to produce any results and has led to high levels of Ukrainian casualties, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Kiev has received ‘colossal amounts of resources,’ including all kinds of Western weapons and ‘thousands of foreign mercenaries and advisers,’ but has still failed in its campaign, Putin stated during a government meeting on Friday. The leader praised the bravery, resolve, and professionalism of Russian soldiers and officers. He also argued that Western military equipment had proven to be inferior in some ways even to Soviet-era weapons.” (rt.com 7/21/23)
This is what they mean by failing up: “US President Joe Biden requested that Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland serve as acting Deputy Secretary of State following current officeholder Wendy Sherman‘s upcoming departure from the role, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.” (urdupoint.com 7/24/23)
“The Biden Administration played a vital role in both recent deadly attacks on the Crimean Bridge, providing Ukraine with the necessary technology, US journalist Seymour Hersh reported on Thursday, citing a US official. ‘Of course it was our technology,’ the US official was quoted by Hersh as saying. ‘The drone was remotely guided and half submerged—like a torpedo.’
When Hersh asked if there was any thought before the bridge attacksabout the possibility of Russia’s retaliation, the official responded with ‘What will Putin do? We don’t think that far. Our national strategy is that Zelensky can do whatever he wants to do. There’s no adult supervision.’” (sputnikglobe.com 7/27/23)
“At least 15 people sought medical aid after an explosion rocked the Russian city of Taganrog on July 28. The Russian Ministry of Defense described this incident as a terrorist attack perpetrated by the Kiev regime. Ukrainian forces carried out the attack using an S-200 surface-to-air missile converted into a surface-to-surface munition, the ministry said in a statement. The missile was detected and destroyed in mid-air by Russian air defense units, with the debris landing within the city limits.” (sputnikglobe.com 7/28/23)
“Western countries have spent years steering Ukraine towards a conflict with Russia, as they planned to use Kiev as a tool to undermine Russia’s national security, President Vladimir Putin claimed on Friday. He argued that Russia’s retaliation, including its ongoing military operation in the neighboring state, was justified.
‘This problem was not created yesterday. It was instigated by certain forces in the West, which for a long time were preparing a hybrid war against our country, and did everything to transform Ukraine into an instrument of undermining the foundations of the security of the Russian Federation,’ Putin said during a meeting with the members of the African peace mission in St. Petersburg, following the two-day Russia-Africa Summit.” (rt.com 7/28/23)
“Even if Moscow will be somewhat strategically weakened, whatever the outcome, it’s the US – in the view of Chinese scholars – that may have committed its greatest strategic blunder since the establishment of the Empire: turning the Ukraine Project into an existential conflict, and committing the entire Empire and all its vassals to a Total War against Russia.
That’s why we have no peace negotiations, and the refusal even of a cease fire; the only possible outcome devised by the Straussian neocon psychos who run US foreign policy is unconditional Russian surrender.” (Pepe Escobar, Zerohedge.com 7/30/23)
“‘NATO has been training the Ukrainian army since 2014, NATO partners have been providing the Ukrainian armed forces with the necessary weapons and training since 2014,’ the head of the military bloc [Stoltenberg] said.” (@smotri.media 7/30/23)
Victoria Nuland has not only “fuck[ed] the EU”, but the US as well:
“The collapse of U.S. influence over Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s new alliances with China and Iran are painful emblems of the abject failure of the Neocon strategy of maintaining U.S. global hegemony with aggressive projections of military power. China has displaced the American Empire by deftly projecting, instead, economic power. Over the past decade, our country has spent trillions bombing roads, ports, bridges, and airports. China spent the equivalent building the same across the developing world. The Ukraine war is the final collapse of the Neocon’s short-lived ‘American Century.’ The Neocon projects in Iraq and Ukraine have cost $8.1 trillion, hollowed out our middle class, made a laughingstock of U.S. military power and moral authority, pushed China and Russia into an invincible alliance, destroyed the dollar as the global currency, cost millions of lives and done nothing to advance democracy or win friendships or influence.” (RFK Jr. 4/3/23)
“If Zelensky’s cowardice allows America’s foreign policy neocon scum to push Ukraine into a doomed offensive, it will be the most wasted effusion of blood yet in this catastrophic ‘proxy war.’ And it will be the most disgraceful ending possible to the Neocon’s 30 years ‘forever war’ that dropped the United States from a half century illusion of dominant hegemony to an also ran with an obsolete defense establishment and a wrecked economy, all in less than 2 years…” (Thomas Lipscomb domigood.com 5/3/23)
The Brooklyn Bridge UFO | The Weirdest Story You’ll Ever Hear
Philly Cheese Steak Soup
Ingredients
- 18 ounces rib eye or eye roll steak, frozen, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
- 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 11 ounces Cheddar cheese soup or cheese sauce
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut each sandwich steak into 1/2-inch strips.
- In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, in hot butter, cook onion and green pepper until tender, stirring occasionally.
- Add steak strips. Cook until meat is browned, stirring often.
- Stir in soup. Gradually stir in milk, water and cheese. Heat through.
Do the average Chinese people hate the government?
I’m British having lived and worked in China for 14 years. Married to a Chinese and have 300 Chinese employees in my factory.
In my experience the Chinese people have a healthy suspicion of all people in authority, particularly those in Government; and they are particularly cynical about corruption. Most Chinese I know, and have discussed the matter with, are extremely happy with President Xi Jinping, and they mostly support his opposition of the US’ ridiculous trade war. Most are extremely happy with his handling of the economy and reduction of official corruption in the last half-decade.
In the last year nationalism has been on the rise, and they completely support the idea of a New Long March to resist the Americans. Chinese are voting with their Renminbi: they are choosing not to buy American brands, even the USD 350 billion+ that is Made in China under US brands for the Chinese domestic market.
Foreigners who have not lived in China, or have not been here for an extended period of time, often cannot understand why anyone would be happy living in a so-called non-democratic society. My answer would be this: do you want a vote every four years, or do you want a competent government that gives the people everything they need to be successful? Voting, or not voting, guarantees nothing. Democracy sometimes delivers result, often not. Autocracy sometimes delivers results, often not.
China has a unique system of government that works for them – really works for them. I don’t think any Zhongguo Tong (foreign China expert) would recommend trying the Chinese model in any other country. Likewise, why on earth would China want to adopt the US model.
So in summary, does the average Chinese person hate the government. No they don’t, far from it, but they do have a very healthy cynicism about all authority no matter where it lies. In fact, I doubt that most Chinese people even think about this question. If they get 3 points on their license, and a 2,000 yuan fine, for jumping a red light, they sure as hell hate that the government for putting a camera above the intersection to catch them. That’s the level at which most Chinese would hate the government if they hate them at all. I can’t imagine most Americans are too happy getting a speeding ticket; but does that mean they ‘hate’ the Federal Government as a result?
China overtaking US – NATO member’s PM: the balance is shifting and Washington must accept that its hegemony is about to end, Viktor Orban has said
The world is facing the biggest power shift in decades, with the US poised to lose its leading position to China, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday.
This could result in a major conflict between Washington and Beijing unless the US accepts that it cannot be the “winner” forever, he warned.
“[China] has become a manufacturing powerhouse and is now overtaking America,” Orban said in his annual speech in the town of Baile Tusnad in Romania’s Eastern Transylvania.
In just 30 years, China has undergone the industrial revolution that took the West around three centuries, the Hungarian prime minister said, adding that America is about to say ‘goodbye’ to its status as the world’s only superpower.
Beijing is also challenging the values Washington seeks to portray as universal, Orban said. China considers American values to be a “hostile ideology,” he said, adding that “there is some truth in it.”
Such a development would certainly not sit well with Washington, which will want to remain “on top of the world” forever, Orban warned. He said attempts to challenge existing hegemony had led to major conflict on multiple occasions in human history. “There are no eternal winners and eternal losers,” he added.
A conflict between the two great powers is likely but not unavoidable, the Hungarian leader believes. The world needs to find a new balance, and the two opposing parties should recognize each other as equals, he said. Major nations have to “accept that, today, instead of American dominance, there are two suns in the sky,” Orban added.
He also painted a grim picture of Europe’s future by saying it’s about to lose its dominant position in the global economy. Orban blamed the West’s anti-Russian policies for this development. The EU is already “rich but weak,” he said, adding that it would further lose its competitive advantages as a result of its determination to impose sanctions on Russia.
The idea that Russia can be separated from the world economy through various restrictions is an “illusion,” he warned. The EU has already witnessed the results of its erroneous decisions, Orban said, adding that “others buy Russian energy instead of us, and we pay more for energy than ever before.”
According to Orban, the UK and Italy would drop out of the world’s top ten economies, and Germany would fall to 10th place, down from its current fourth position. A significant part of the European economy is still linked to Russia despite all the rhetoric about sanctions, he said.
Hungary has emerged as one of the major critics of Western policies amid the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev. Budapest has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and peace deal in Ukraine, and has criticized the EU for sending arms to Kiev. In June, Orban told the German tabloid Bild that a Ukrainian victory on the battlefield was “impossible.” Hungary has also insisted that anti-Russia sanctions are hurting Europe more than they hurt
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
I worked as an office manager at an engineering firm in the 90’s. We sent and received many of our deeds and surveys via fax machine back then.
While there was an internet and email, spam hadn’t become the massive issue that it is today. What we would get at our business were entrepreneurs sending unsolicited advertising by way of fax. It wasn’t just annoying but costly in fax machine paper rolls.
There was this one guy who was a particular nuisance. He would send several faxes a day and always with a DILBERT cartoon pasted to the bottom of the page. It finally got to the point where I was forced to call his business and request he cease and desist.
Rather than stop, he made a point of doubling his faxes to our number.
Like I said, there WAS an internet in the previous century, and one of the sites I used to frequent was a cartoon page that happened to carry Scott Adams’ strip. So few people actually used social media back then that it wasn’t entirely uncommon for a media person to provide their personal email address on a website. I even carried on a terse exchange with Roger Ebert once over a factual error in one of his movie reviews.
So I wrote to Scott Adams, pointed out that someone was reprinting DILBERT without his permission, and provided contact information for the perpetrator.
Not three hours later I got a phone call from the fax bomber asking that I call off the dogs.
Evidently Adams forwarded my email to his law firm and they made their presence felt.
In India, generally the students who do not perform well in Academics are looked down upon as Evil and treated as lesser mortals. How are the lesser intelligent students treated in the Foreign countries other than India?
In Singapore – A Plumber takes a 3 year course after finishing secondary school. He is called a Certified Professional. Once he gets his certification – he can charge a service charge for his work. An Average plumber makes S$ 34125 a year which is around 65% of what an Engineer makes (S$ 52000 a year).
Plumbers can drive their own bikes or even cars, take their kids out to the Mall on Saturdays, Eat at KFC or McDonalds or even in other restaurants and go on a Vacation once in a few years.
In US – A Plumber is called a Services Professional. He charges between $ 60 – $ 300 an hour for his professional charges and owns his car and even a mortgage.
In these two countries and in 25 more – being a Plumber or a Carpenter or an Electrician is defined as being a Skilled Professional (CHINA) or Certified Professional (Singapore) or Services Professional (USA).
In India – a Plumber is simply someone who fixes pipes. A Plumber is automatically deemed to be just above a servant. Same for a Carpenter or a Electrician. They are all considered to be inferior
Generally speaking – Indians are CLERKS
200 years of clerical work for the British have made us clerks to such an extent that even our Doctors and Engineers are clerks preferring to by heart and mug up solutions than understand and work on fundamentals.
Students need not learn. They just need to get marks. It doesnt matter if 10 minutes after the paper – the student remembers zilch. As long as the student gets 95% marks – its all fine.
As i have always maintained –Average Students will be Average.
Countries like US or China or Singapore have a place for Average Students. They can move to suitable vocations where they can excel and shine without needing any academics.
In China – a Below Average Student whose score did not merit college – can work on a Vocational Program to Semi Skilled Construction and rise to become a Foreman in a Construction Company. It is an honorable job.
In USA – a Student can join an Air Conditioner Servicing Program and make a Good Career out of servicing Air Conditioners.
In India – Sadly you dont get the marks – there is simply no vocation which wont be met with disdain or insulting looks.
Mothers weep when their children get 80% marks. Mothers weep when their children dont become engineers. Fathers hide from relatives because their kids got only 70% in their XII standard exams.
Parents would prefer to take out huge loans to get their kid into Engineering college rather than allow the kid to find his vocation and explore.
Its why Predators can succeed so well in India with respect to Education who will be crushed and thrown out of any other country.
Turning vanilla flavoring into pure dopamine!
In today’s video, I’ll be making a neurotransmitter called Dopamine! This compound regulates many functions in the body but is mainly associated with feelings of motivation! So follow me today as I turn vanilla flavoring into dopamine!
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
It wasn’t said to me, it was said to one of my colleagues. I worked at a small new car dealership in New England. I had worked there for over five years as a manager, when the current owner sold the dealership. The previous owner was a really nice human being, and he had a gentleman’s agreement and handshake with the new owner that he wouldn’t let any employees go or change anybody’s pay plan. The new owner came in and introduces himself to everyone in the sales department. He proceeded to tell us what a nice guy he is, and how he went to church seven days a week.
The first few days that he was there, he went back to one of the other department managers outside of sales, who had worked there for over 25 years. He walked in and introduced himself as the new owner and without even a conversation told him to pack up his desk, that he was fired. The second thing he did was slash all the managers’ pay plans by almost half. I give you this information as a background so you understand the morals and lack of honor this gentleman has.
Fast forward five weeks. They had hired a young man to take the position of sales manager, reporting to the general sales manager. The young man was married, and his wife had cancer, and was going through chemotherapy.
When he interviewed for the job he made it clear to the owner that he needed to be off on Wednesdays, because that was the day he took his wife for chemotherapy, which was a two-hour drive each way. The owner understood and agreed. The sales manager started the next week.
About three weeks later in the Saturday morning sales meeting, the owner stands up and says that he is taking out a double full-page ad for a sale starting that day and running for one week. He said that all days off were canceled. The young sales manager spoke up sheepishly, reminding the owner he had to take his wife to chemotherapy that coming Wednesday. The owner stood there and actually said, and I quote:
“I don’t care if your wife has cancer, I don’t care if you have cancer, I don’t care if you’re f****** dying!!! I said all days off are canceled.”
I was stunned beyond belief! I was almost certain I had imagined it. I couldn’t even think those words could come out of the mouth of another human being, especially your employer, about one of his managers, much less any human being!
Shocked, I glanced around the table at the other managers and the sales people, and the look on their face was one of disbelief. I looked at him, and asked him inquisitively, “Excuse me?”
He responds that unless we had a hearing problem, we heard him just fine.
I sit there stunned for probably two minutes, although it felt like hours. Disgusted, I get up and walk out of the meeting and go into my office. I closed the door, and sat there for the next 45 minutes thinking. Finally I get up, leave my office, and walk into the owner’s office.
I resign on the spot! No notice, no nothing. I told him he didn’t deserve notice, and that I was leaving immediately. He asked me what the hell I’m doing and who the hell do I think I am. I tell him I’m a human being, but I don’t know what he is, and I don’t work for Monsters!
I’ve never walked out on a job in my life, ever, but this “man” deserved no respect because he didn’t give any.
The last thing I said to him as I walked out the door was “Have a phantasmagorical day!” with my middle finger raised up in the air in the salute he deserved.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Full Episode
Maggie and Negan travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.
Its been years since I watched this series.
I find the latest incarnation … prescient.
Maybe I grew out of this…
…perhaps its because I left the USA, and it no longer “feels right” to me any longer.
Do Japanese people forget to give tips when traveling abroad and eating in a restaurant?
They are not used to give tips. Last time I visited Japan (2019) , went into a nice restaurant, was so happy with the service.
I gave the female some extra money.
She was really offended and upset:- “Don’t you believe we have a decent salary? Keep your money for yourself “.🙏
I can live with that. Pay people decent salaries, so we get rid of tips! Japan and Nepal, strictly believe good service is simply part of life, so tipping should only reward good service.
Do you pay extra in a grocery store?
Btw, it’s banned in China. I can live with that as well 🙂
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
I was homeless and trying to study at college while living on the streets. I had no money for food or bus fare etc and was struggling to walk miles to college with little to eat. I managed for a while until I collapsed in class. At the hospital I tearfully told my professor that I’d have to leave. He asked me to give him a few days and he’d be there when I was discharged. At discharge he turned up with 4 of my classmates. They had rented me a room, paid the deposit and first months rent, gave me basic furnishings and made it look nice. Food was in the fridge. The professor had organised a bus pass and a grant to cover books and food for the year. It was the kindest thing anyone ever did for me. They gave me a home. And they gave me a future.
Can Xi Jinping keep China’s stability together for a long time?
I’m not sure what you mean by “stable” in a very rapidly changing and increasingly unpredictable world.
I will assume that you mean would he be able to keep China peaceful and out of conflict.
I assume that Xi’s view is that it is not in China’s interest to go to war with anyone because it would hurt China’s economy and lead to potential instability. When politicians start wars, they always assume that the war will be short after securing their political goals. The problem is that wars are very unpredictable, and always go out of control.
Xi’s main challenge is that the single nation China is most likely to have a war with is the US. The US sees China as a huge threat to its global leadership role, and feels that time is on China’s side, not the US’s. For this reason, US politicians are using Taiwan as an issue to provoke China into a conflict with the US.
From the perspective of many in the US, it’s now or never.
Xi has no control over any actions the US may take.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Say hi to this guy. He works at a restaurant in Beijing.
I go to his restaurant every day (approx) to have my lunch. The restaurant follows self-service and a token system. So, the moment someone orders food, he will give him/her a token number. He will announce your number when the food is ready. Post that, just go to the counter, collect and enjoy your meal.
I don’t know his name. He doesn’t speak the languages that I speak. We don’t talk. He only remembers me with my face since I am probably the one who doesn’t look Chinese here.
Our relationship is very simple. I visit the restaurant and he places the order by himself. He knows what I eat there. I have never seen him serving a customer to his/her table. But, for me, he brings the food to my table without me even asking for it. Then, he says something in Chinese which means (I guess) enjoy your meal.
When I pass by the restaurant, he passes me a smile. When I leave, he passes me a smile. When I reach the counter to order food, he smiles.
Once, the restaurant was extremely crowded. There was hardly any place to sit and even stand near the billing counter. He stopped taking more orders for a minute just to grab the plate and serve my food to my table. I am sure his customers were giving me an angry look back then.
Since last 3 months or so, this is it. I can’t think of anything nicer than this, that too from an unknown person who can’t even talk to me.
As a housekeeper, what is the most “F-that” situation you’ve had in your career?
I had a business cleaning houses for 22 years. I had this lady that was an alcoholic. Every week I would throw away at least for gallons of empty vodka bottles. One morning when I got there the drapes were not open. I knocked and there was no answer. The door was unlocked so I went in. There was dark spots on the carpet in the living room. I shouted her name and no answer. Thinking she was in the bathroom I started cleaning the kitchen. The kitchen was more messy then usual. I went into her room and noticed dark spots on the floor. She was moaning on the bed. She had me help her to her bathtub to wash. There was poop and blood all over everywhere. She did not want me to call the ambulance. Instead I called her son who lived in a mother state. I told him the situation. He said please stay and watch her until the ambulance arrived. I did. I finished the house and left. Her son called me later and thanked me. If I had not come that day she would have bled to death from ulcers. I hate alcoholism.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
When I was running from an abusive situation, i lived in a shelter on welfare. After my 2 month stay was up, i had to find a room to rent or they’d send me to a homeless shelter (the one i was in was for female abuse victims and their children if they have any. Since there was a high demand for rooms there, the stays were short). I ended up finding a room that was 500$ per month. On welfare as a si gle person with no kids, I got 709$ per month. I went to view the room and the landlord asked me why I wanted to live there. I explained the situation and he immediately said yes. I ended up moving in not even a week later. He let me live there for free with unlimited wifi and cable TV included for 8 months of my 13 month stay with him. After the 8 months I had a job and could pay the rent, but even then he said if I couldnt make the rent to let him know. Hed share his food from his fridge with me, give me cash money randomly with notes that said things like “buy whatever you want” and “have a nice day”, hed offer to give me rides to the store and job interviews, he offered to get me a bus pass (85$ for one that lasts a month), hed invite me to share BBQs with him, his wife and the other 4 tenants. He bought everyone Christmas gifts (a box of Ferrero Roche chocolates and a 50$ amazon gift card). He never asked for anything back. He became more like a friend to me than a landlord. He was amazing
Song Starts Global Movement; People WORLDWIDE “Get” What The Man Sings About . . .
World Hal Turner 18 August 2023
This video is blowing away the music charts. It resonates with so many people in the West. This song is on fire.
As you read this, today is Friday, August 18, 2023. Two nights ago, on my worldwide TALK Radio show, I played a new song by Oliver Anthony called “Rich Men North of Richmond” and reported to my global audience that this song has struck a chord with common, everyday, working people throughout America. The next day, the song topped Apple Music Charts for GLOBAL distribution.
I take no credit at all for the song reaching the top of the GLOBAL chart, but I certainly hope and pray that I helped.
This song speaks to the real life, everyday struggle that you, and me, and every other common, working-class person, lives. It speaks to the reason for such struggle: The rich men north of Richmond (Virginia) – that is to say, Washington, DC.
The song has real global appeal and a user on Twitter, now called “X,” edited together a video of Podcasters around the world, all listening to the song together, online. Some of them actually had tears in their eyes.
I think it’s because they finally came to realize, we are ALL hit by the situations created by these “Rich Men north of Richmond.” NONE of us is immune. It is a struggle for ALL of us common folk. THe song brings to the forefront the realization that ALL these troubles, all the strife, all the fighting, all the division – pitting groups against each other – is ALL being done by the “Rich men north of Richmond.”
Below is that video of the Podcasters worldwide, of all ages, races, shapes, and sizes, listening to the song. Watch the reactions. It is soooooooo powerful. In those reactions, there are real tears from folk who KNOW how hard it is nowadays just to live. In their faces there is almost relief that THEY are not alone in this struggle; the realization that all of us are being affected, badly. And moreover, we are ALL so very tired of this bullshit.
Revolution…
…is brewing.
“Chinese are voting with their Renminbi.”
There is a growing movement here in South East Asia where we are deciding to buy American products last. Most products have equivalent that are cheaper, almost the same quality (they’re after all, majority made here in Asia or China). Why should we fund American who antagonize, vilify, bully, discriminate, racially abuse Asians/Chinese.
“Foreigners who have not lived in China, or have not been here for an extended period of time, often cannot understand why anyone would be happy living in a so-called non-democratic society.”
As mentioned countless times by Col Douglas Macgregor & Prof Mahbubani, the ultimate Chinese society is one like Singapore. “Democratic” in name but ruled authoritarian style, where the people are safe, can do business unimpeded & (almost) corruption free. Singapore do have freedom, democracy but no guns. Women can walk down the street at 2am & not have to worry. Singaporeans too have a healthy cynicism about the authorities & politicians but by and large, would not trade what they have for the “American way”.
America (& the collective west) should just mind it’s own business, let others live the way they want & not meddle in other countries political, cultural way of life. We are happy eating rice & don’t not wish to switch to potatoes. America (& the collective west) should solve it’s own problems at home, fix the crumbling infrastructure & help the poor, destitute people at home instead of meddling in the affairs of others.