You know what?

I have (as of late) been drawn to the horrible stories about infidelity between married couples. Just terrible stuff really. And then one of my followers asked for help on this matter and I responded in a post.

When I get these urges, there are always deeper meanings underlying their intrusion into my consciousness. And it just occurred to me what is going on.

The “marriage” is the United States and China.

The United States is “having sex and fooling round”, and China knows all about it, but wants to keep the relationship stable.

So the United States denies, and denies, and then denies…

What are you talking about?
Nothing is going on?
You worry too much?
You are reading too much into the picture of me and a coworker…

…but the texting behind the back keeps on occurring, and the sex orgies still occur in (apparent) secret.

But China has a PI investigating everything and knows everything. China has transcripts of all the text message. China has videos of the sexual events taken from the phones, and the sexy pictures sent back and forth between them. China knows when, where, how and how often these events occurred.

But hasn’t shown its hand yet.

What will China do?

The normal thing (the most common event) is confrontation; a “lot of fireworks” and screaming and yelling, and then a hostile divorce.

But I really don’t think that China wants, or has any plans, to do that.

China does not want a divorce (a war; in any shape or form.)

However, if push comes to shove, China (as a partner) will make life a living Hell for the United States….

…if push comes to shove.

If all these non-stop provocations keep on occurring while the USA puts on the face that “all is just fine, nothing is going on. You are the one with the issue.“

And were a hard and harsh divorce were to manifest, it would be China who would hold all the cards. It won’t go in any way that the USA thinks.

…

All these are ugly thoughts.

The USA and China are (at least on the surface) making amends. Dating again, things are getting back to normal. Plane Flights are opening up. Businessmen are cutting deals and all the rest.

But the USA is still up to it’s old bag of tricks.

A “color revolution” in Burma by the CIA was just squelched. Lots of dead (CIA trained) insurgents.

“President” Biden got up and made a public warning to China to stop provoking The Philippines…

My gut feeling is that the Chinese know everything, and are just “waiting out” the United States. It will run out of money, resources, banking, finance, and cred sooner than later.

Ai! Hopefully the hidden texts, the late-night “meetings”, and all the rest will come to a quick and decisive end.

Hopefully.

One more year of Joe Biden. Sheech!

I don’t know if I can handle that. Oh Lordy!

I swear that he has his foot on the gas petal towards war and is FLOORING IT.

Yikes!

…

Today…

What is your opinion on the statement “China will never be as good as western civilization”?

Well China gave the west a 2 century head start and caught it up in less than 50 years! Go figure. The west don’t have civilisation it has a war mongering barbaric mind set that thinks they are ordained by god to loot and plunder. Colonialism U.S. not civilised it is a cruel, despicable act of stealing land and carrying out genocides to slaughter most of the natives.

Civilisation is like the Chinese and Confucianism edicts on discipline, respect, compassion, hard work, eagerness to learn, winning without fighting. Murder, slaughter, genocide done by the west to steal land and resources is barbaric not civilised.

Star Trek: The Silent Skies | 1920 Universe

This is AMAZING!

Zero-sum mentality in US won’t halt China’s tech rise — Global Times

American automaker Ford said on Monday it’s pausing construction of a $3.5 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the US state of Michigan until it is confident it can run the factory competitively, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Although the US government is flexing all of its policy muscles available to suppress China’s high-tech industry, US competitiveness in cutting-edge technologies has continued to decline as a result of multiple factors.

Ford’s decision comes as the company is in the midst of national contract talks with the United Auto Workers union, which wants to represent workers at battery factories and win them top wages, according to the AP report. Intense competition among global EV manufacturers has unsettled the US automotive industry, which had been a pillar of the US economy, as US automakers are under pressure both at home and abroad.

On the one hand, competition from international competitors, including Chinese EV makers, poses a challenge to American firms, especially as Chinese companies have accumulated technological and price advantages against the backdrop of fierce competition in the Chinese domestic market.

On the other hand, deep-seated problems in the US economy, including insufficient labor protection and the widening wealth gap, have erupted in a concentrated manner. The car industry, like other manufacturing industries in the US, is facing increased pressure due to rising production costs.

As reported by the AP in March, Ford’s EV business has lost $3 billion before taxes during the past two years. If the US automaker wants to catch up with rivals amid intense international competition, one option for Ford is to collaborate with top Chinese companies.

Ford in February announced plans to build the plant in Michigan, betting that making the batteries in the US would help it and Chinese partner CATL attract US customers to embrace a lower-cost technology pioneered in China, according to Reuters. Honestly speaking, Ford’s cooperation with CATL benefits the development of the US EV industry. However, the sector’s survival opportunities are being stifled by politicians in Washington. Republicans in Congress have been probing Ford’s battery plant plan over concerns it could leave Ford dependent on Chinese technology.

As reported by Reuters, Rep. Mike Gallagher said lawmakers were “encouraged to see Ford take a crucial first step to reevaluate its deal” with CATL. “Now, Ford needs to call off this deal for good,” he added.

Not only in the EV industry, but also in most high-tech and cutting-edge industries, some people in the US possess an extremely unhealthy and unfair zero-sum competition mentality toward China. However, it is evident that this thinking is counterproductive in promoting the development of domestic US industries.

Apart from Tesla, other American vehicle companies still have a relatively low share in the domestic and international EV markets. Although the US government has devised protectionist measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act, it is still moving slowly in terms of addressing domestic supply chain issues, particularly in the production of batteries.

Washington is working toward a zero-sum competition with China, with American firms serving as victims. What Chinese enterprises need to do is to confront external challenges, continuously enhance their competitiveness, strengthen technological innovation, seize the opportunities created by Washington’s zero-sum competition mentality – which has caused difficulties for American enterprises – and continuously strengthen themselves.

China is becoming increasingly competitive in EV manufacturing capacity and technology innovation. Chinese EV brands, such as BYD and NIO, have made significant strides in developing advanced EV technologies, including battery technology and autonomous driving features.

China holds a superior position in the EV supply chain, with about three-quarters of the world’s battery production capacity. Moreover, China houses more than half of the world’s processing and refining capacity for lithium, cobalt and graphite, which are essential materials for making EV batteries.

The West’s narrow-minded, zero-sum game mentality has indeed put some pressure on China in the short term, but it cannot fundamentally hinder technological progress. If the US always opts for dirty tricks against China instead of learning how to conduct healthy competition with Chinese enterprises and develop its own economic competitiveness, this will just lead to a larger gap between China and the US.

What is the reason for the opposition to Huawei? What is the US’s motivation for wanting to ban the company?

Huawei has grown into a technological monster.

If you don’t understand why I use the word “monster” to describe Huawei, please look at this picture. Here is a summary of the business Huawei is doing.

It is different from traditional foreign technology companies, such as Samsung, SONY, Nokia, and Alibaba, which only challenge advanced American companies in a certain field.

It has launched a comprehensive challenge to its American counterparts in almost the entire information technology industry.

It not only challenges, but has already achieved success in many areas, and this trend is getting faster and faster.

If the US doesn’t stop it, it will slap American companies on the butt in global markets. Just like Toyota and Honda slapped Ford’s ass back in the day.

Currently, high-tech companies are a key means for the United States to gain wealth from around the world. Once these high-tech companies are stepped on by Huawei, how can the United States maintain its status as a developed country and maintain Americans’ living standards?

Therefore, when American companies have no choice but to rely on the U.S. government to take action. Kill the monster before it grows up.
As for the reason: threatening national security

Senior shelter cat desperately hugs woman for adoption

“I adopted the oldest cat my shelter had. She was owner surrendered at the age 15 which I just thought was wrong. I named her Hope and she gave me 4 of the best years of my life. Thank you so much for adopting a senior cat. I wish you many years of happiness and love with her.”

REPORTS: Thousands of Ukraine Soldiers SURRENDERING To Russian Army

World Hal Turner

A special radio frequency being used so that Ukrainian soldiers can safely surrender to Russian forces is now chattering like never before. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are opting to surrender to the Russian Army.

These surrenders were seen even by Clayton Morris, an American journalist, who expressed his astonishment and said, “this is a story the western media does not want you to see.”

Ukrainian forces are laying down their Western-supplied arms and surrendering en masse! Using emergency radio frequencies, they’re receiving food & medical care and even sharing critical intel with Russian forces.

Is this the final chapter?

As Zelensky hears of mass surrendering of Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines he will likely be very concerned. Not about the soldiers; about what happens to him

The question now is who gets to him first. The Russians will want him but the west may want him too. Dead.

They will not wish to have him expose the money laundering, child sex slavery and child organ harvesting that has been going on in Ukraine; the Globalist Parasites cant allow that.

Either way its not looking good for the man in Green.

By most credible accounts, the recent Ukronazi+NATO attack in the Kharkov area was even more costly in KIA/MIA, wounded and lost hardware than the attack towards Kherson. The combined losses from these attacks are staggering.

Yet there are all the signs that the Ukronazi+NATO forces are preparing for even more such attacks.
The Ukronazi+NATO seem happy to trade human lives for territorial gains, no matter how small or how irrelevant that territory is.
The Russians seem happy to trade space and time to protect the lives of their soldiers and equipment.
We could say that the Ukronazi+NATO are trading bodies for shells.

Let’s remember the two goals set by Putin for the SMO: denazify and demilitarize. Both of these goals are human-focused, not terrain-focused. In other words, if a tactical-level withdrawal allows the Russian to kill scores of Ukronazi+NATO personnel and destroy their equipment, they will gladly accept the trade.

The other goal was to protect the LDNR. Kherson is not part of the LDNR.

Territory can be reconquered, equipment is hard to replace, especially complex weapon-systems.

Soldiers cannot be resurrected.

It is absolutely clear that Ukronazi+NATO are “betting the farm” into these offensives. Not only is the coming winter a major threat for them, but the political chaos in the EU and the US this fall and winter means that now is the time to try has hard as possible to conceal the magnitude of the disaster for the Ukronazi+NATO.

So, most of what is taking place now can be summed up in this simple question: who will run out of resources first: the Ukronazi+NATO in terms of manpower and equipment or the Russians in terms of firepower (mostly artillery, missiles and airpower)?

I think that the answer is obvious: Russia wins.

U.S. Plans To Ethnically Cleanse Gaza

This is, presumably, the U.S.-Israeli plan for the Palestinian people in Gaza:

Harry Sisson @harryjsisson – 1:44 UTC · Oct 11, 2023

Amazing: President Biden is working on a plan with other countries that would allow civilians to safely leave Gaza and cross the border into Egypt. This is great news. President Biden is making sure that innocent people don’t die due to the actions of Hamas. That’s leadership.

No, it is not leadership. It is ethnic cleansing, a war crime disguised as humanitarian gesture. It is ethnic cleansing of people who’s land has been stolen by Zionist settlers. These people would have no right of return to the homes and land they once owned. People who have been put into an open air prison, who have no access to electricity, water and food and are currently under intense attacks.

Egypt, the only country where they potentially could be moved to, is already bankrupt. It can not even provide for its own people. Two million new people from Gaza, all poor and some of them radicalized, would undoubtedly unbalance the Egyptian state.

Should such a plan be put into action it would guarantee that the resistance axis, Hizbullah and various other Sunni and Shia groups in the Middle East, would step in. The would attack Israel to prevent such a move.

The U.S. thinks it can deter resistance action by threatening to move in with its own forces. That’s why the USS Herald Ford, its newest carrier, was moved into the Eastern Mediterranean. Rumors have it that a second carrier will come in too.

But the resistance can not be deterred by that. The last time the U.S. tried to intervene in Lebanon it ended up with 241 dead Marines and had to retreat in shame. Hizbullah at that time was only a handful of men. Today Hizbullah has tens of thousands of very well trained men. Then there are also Iran and Russia:

agitpapa @agitpapa – 12:24 UTC · Oct 11, 2023

As I said in my analysis today of the NATO intervention in the Israeli northern front, it’s inconceivable that Russia should stay silent in the face of such brazen NATO overreach. This seat-of-the-pants, unmandated NATO panic move will speed up Russia’s pivot from pro-Israel to pro-Arab that started with the deaths of Russian airmen caused by an IAF aggression against Syria and was locked in with Netanyahu’s support for the nazi regime in Kiev.

The Russian military has long identified Israel as an enemy state and Putin is now conceding to them, acknowledging the failure of yet another one of his strategies, namely the political use of the Russian Jewish community in Israel via his “friend” Avigdor Lieberman. Russian Jews in Israel are virulently anti-Arab, so Putin tried not to upset them.

Today, however, with Bibi bringing in the full might of NATO to the Eastern Mediterranean to threaten not only Lebanon but Russian bases in Syria, it’s no more Mr. Nice Guy. With Patrushin and Shoygu holding the reins of state and a clear and present NATO threat on Syria’s doorstep, expect a strong and unexpected Russian intervention in the multifront Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war.

Have you ever applauded an act of vigilante justice?

When I was young I was pretty much left to my own devices as far as personal hygiene and was always had dirty clothes. My parents were drunks and as the youngest of 7 it was total chaos for me. For some reason though this girl in my class who was smart, funny and popular became my friend. She was just the best friend a girl could ask for. Her father was a prominent doctor and she came from a big loving family. Whenever she could she would include me in whatever she was doing.

We were freshman in high-school and were sitting having lunch and a girl who was just as popular invited my BFF to a party but told her not to bring me because her mother wouldn’t appreciate it if I brought vermin or disease into her house. My friend just stood up and told me that we had to get to our next class and didnt engage with her. The next Saturday was the party and I was home sitting in my room and my BFF showed up at the door and said she thought the party was boring and we ended up going to the movies and then to her house for a sleepover.

Fast forward about a week and the girl who had the party was talking about how her mother was upset because their house apparently smelled like something died in it. They couldnt figure out what the smell was. It was awful. My friend said to the girl that “maybe you have some type of vermin in your house.” She then said she didnt think she could hang with someone like her because there could be vermin in her house. This immediately caught my attention. I asked her about it later. She came clean and told me that when she went to the party – she brought with her some canned shrimp and discreetly placed the raw shrimp in places throughout the house. Under area rugs, on top of a grandfather clock even in the hem of the drapes in various rooms. She said that nobody fucks with me – and she would always have my back.

THAT IS A FRIEND

The Average Age Of Ukraine’s Army

Ben Wallace, the former Secretary of State for Defence of the UK, writes in the Telegraph:

Putin is desperately grasping at the final two things that can save him – time and the splitting of the international community. Britain can do something about both. We must help Ukraine maintain its momentum – and that will require more munitions, ATACMSs and Storm Shadows. And the best way to keep the international community together is the demonstration of success.

Ukraine can also play its part. The average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40. I understand President Zelensky’s desire to preserve the young for the future, but the fact is that Russia is mobilising the whole country by stealth. Putin knows a pause will hand him time to build a new army. So just as Britain did in 1939 and 1941, perhaps it is time to reassess the scale of Ukraine’s mobilisation.

Let us not pause for one day. Let us see this through. The world is watching to see if the West has the resolve to stand up for our values and the rules-based system. What we do now for Ukraine will set the direction for all of our security for years to come.

Think for a moment what the aside insert “The average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40” really means. Can Storm Shadows change that fact?

Roland Popp @RoPoppZurich – 5:43 UTC · Oct 2, 2023

Sollte stimmen, was Wallace da über das Durchschnittsalter an der ukrainischen Front sagt, 40 Jahre, dann sind die schlimmsten Mutmaßungen über Verluste weit übertroffen worden.
Paraguay 1870.

Translated from German by Google
If what Wallace says about the average age on the Ukrainian front is true, 40 years, then the worst assumptions about losses have been far exceeded.
Paraguay 1870.

Paraguayan War – Casualties of the war:

Paraguay suffered massive casualties, and the war’s disruption and disease also cost civilian lives. Some historians estimate that the nation lost the majority of its population.

Ukraine ain’t there yet. But looking at pictures of Ukrainian soldiers at the front Wallace seems to be right. If you are forty or above are you really still able to run, react and fight like when you were twenty? I am not.

The young Ukrainians are gone. They either have fled from Ukraine or are wounded, disabled or died. You can not mobilize what is no longer there.

A huge loss that will forever haunt that country.

End this war now!

Posted by b at 7:50 UTC | Comments (299)

Cincinnati Chili

Have your chili 3, 4 or 5 ways, Cincinnati style. This is also great on hot dogs, smothered with shredded cheese.

Yield: 5 to 6 servings

Ingredients

Chili

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons mild chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water

Have It 5 Ways

1 pound spaghetti, cooked
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed, drained and heated
Hot sauce (your favorite)

Instructions

Brown ground beef, onions and celery in a large skillet, drain off all fat.
Place slow cooker ingredients into a slow cooker and stir well. Cover slow cooker and cook for 7 to 9 hours on LOW, or for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours on HIGH, stirring during last part of cooking if using HIGH setting.
Cook spaghetti 1/2 hour before chili is done.
To have chili 3-ways, serve it with spaghetti, chili and cheese.
To have chili 4-ways, serve it with spaghetti, chili, onion and cheese.
To have spaghetti 5-ways, serve it with spaghetti, chili, beans, onion and cheese.
Douse chili liberally with hot sauce, if desired.

US Shutdown CANCELLED, No Money For Ukraine, Economy In Ruins

At the last minute, the US Congress passed a Stopgap Bill to keep money flowing for government spending. However, funding was cut to Ukraine in a shocking move. This is most likely political theatre as American support will likely continue. Here’s why the US government is trapped and borrowing money will never end!

What’s the most shameful thing a co-worker has done to you?

I was a store manager at family dollar and I inherited the store and like 6 employees. I was a new manager and didn’t have much experience in such a leadership role. Fast forward I am learning as the days go by. One of my employees come to me and ask me for a ride from work. I typically don’t mingle with coworkers or employees just to keep the possibility of drama down. Well long story short I ended up befriending this middle aged lady I worked with. She frequently got rides from everyone because she didn’t have a car. I ended up hiring another middle aged lady because she had to get a job to get her kids back from the state(I know I know not a good reason to hire someone but I was young soft hearted and above all a mother) so I gave her a chance. I worked around her visitation and allowed her to work a sporadic schedule. This went on for about two years. Well one day I came in on my day off which I frequently did just to make sure everything was up and running and things didn’t feel right. Everyday at a certain time the cameras cut off and reset to save memory or storage(one do them) well I see those two employees pushing carts full of merchandise to their cars along with other people. So I stop them and the people who were with them and ask them for receipts. They produced receipts for like 5 items but the amount of items In their carts greatly exceeded the receipt description. I fired them on the spot and they took two of four carts back into the store. Their family refused and I called loss prevention and police at this time. I was stressed out because she lost her job which means she was going to lose her children and I know it wasn’t my concern I just didn’t understand why she put her children in that position. They both had been stealing expired and new merchandise for the last 6–9 months. I was shocked at how they behaved so normally around me. I learned a lesson here though, I am more strict and don’t allow my heart to lead my professional decisions! I am an exceptional leader today because of my family dollar experiences!!

Have you ever had to fight with a family member about your own belongings in your own home space?

Not fight but they were hard to get back. As the younger brother, two years younger, of two older sisters, twins Lori and Tracy, I often had to go into their bedrooms and retrieve my stuff.

Yes it’s odd girls would be taking their brother’s clothes but mine did. Tracy would take my ball cap. She had a lot of blonde hair but that didn’t stop her from wearing my cap. She wore ball caps before girls wore ball caps and she got a lot of looks. She would also borrow a military style belt I had.

Tracy wore jeans ripped on the knees, purposely, to school one day before that came into fashion. The teacher sent her home. He told her that her knees were showing. She went home and changed into a short skirt and came back to school. The teacher stared at her shaking his head.

“Oh my God. My knees are showing. Should I go back home and change?” she said coyly. That was my sister. She was ahead of her time.

Lori would often take my school football jacket and wear it going to games with her friends. She often came to my games wearing it and cheered me on.

It was hard getting these things back sometimes and I’d have to sneak into their rooms that looked like cyclones hit them. Mom called them ‘Cyclonic Rest Areas.’ Fashion models since age 15, the girls had a lot of clothes and they were all over the rooms. You wouldn’t think they’d borrow their brother’s clothes having all those clothes in their rooms. Of course as soon as I got them back Lori would ask, “RJ, can I borrow your school jacket?”

I remember once I had to run out into the backyard to get the dogs out of the rain. Mom’s orders. The dogs never wanted to come in, even out of the rain. I had no shoes but there was a shiny pair of white boots by the back door. I was thirteen then. I put on the boots. I then ran outside and herded in the three dogs. Tracy, 15, was at the door with her friends. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING WEARING MY BOOTS? THEY ARE ALL MUDDY NOW!” She scolded. “Do you have any idea how much they cost?”

“Oh, but it’s fine for you and Lori to wear my ball cap, belt and jacket having them smell like perfume later!” I said to her as I took off her boots. She looked at her friends and laughed. She sighed. “Touché!” she said smiling at me.

I remember the girls were at a school football game I was playing in. One of the guys asked, “Is that Tracy wearing your cap RJ?” In those days, girls were not often seen wearing ball caps.

“Yep, that’s her,” I said.

“Wow! She sure looks a hell of a lot better wearing that cap than you do,” he said..

Thanks a lot!

Life Found?

What are the disadvantages of shifting manufacturing base from China to any other country for Apple Inc.?

As Apple found out, limited amount of skilled labor and poor quality output. Apple tried to assemble in India and found they had a 50% yield rate and about a fifth of its required manpower needs. Further, as word got around, Europeans are not buying ‘made in India Apple iPhones. Almost all developing countries are similar in condition and experience. Simple things like garments work fairly well, but assembly of high end mobile phones are a bit harder.

While India offered what appeared to be the greatest possibility, Vietnam is always cited. Vietnam has limited skilled labor, lack of electricity, and lack of infrastructure. Again, garments, toys, and simple assembly are possible, but complex items get poor results.

Further, the supply chain is non-existent, so parts have to come from the supply chain developed in China. For Apple, lesson learned. It has lost $70 billion in this exercise to move to India, only to return to China and expand its operation there. The labor costs may be higher, but still cheaper than the US and the skilled labor is in quantity that Apple needs plus the yield rate is almost 100% and the supply chain is well developed.

I would also mention TSMC’s attempt to build a 4nm fab in Arizona, only to find lack of skilled labor, and work culture below that of Taiwan. It appears TSMC has closed the fab, laid off the workforce, and for all intents and purpose, shut down its US operations.

What’s the most epic way you’ve seen someone quit a relationship?

This break-up is epic. And classic. It was the ultimate f*ck you and the horse you rode in on.

A former co-worker had this “boyfriend” for four years. Didn’t want to marry her. “Marriage is just a piece of paper” and all that guff. So this woman was diagnosed at a fairly young age with cancer. Boyfriend still didn’t want to marry her; really, he didn’t want to have to deal with making her medical decisions, caring for her, etc. It became obvious during chemotherapy when she needed tending to.

Luckily, she had adult children and friends who stepped in and did all of the heavy lifting he was unwilling to do—and unable, by law, to do.

The cancer turns terminal. So, of course there’s the issue of inheritance to sort out and other financial and legal matters. This woman wasn’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, but she did okay. She had a house that was paid for, and some investments. A nice pension and Social Security benefits, and of course, health insurance.

The ne’er-do-well boyfriend has a lightbulb moment: he could get the house, basically double his monthly living income, and get really good health coverage, if he just married her. So he proposed when she was at her very weakest.

Not being a foolish woman, she told him to take a long walk off a short pier. He scuttled away in disgrace and let her spend her final days in the company of those who loved her.

When she did die, it was very sad. She was too young and still had a lot of living to do. But at least Mr. “marriage is just a piece of paper” didn’t profit out of the deal. Her adult kids got everything instead. To this day, I hold her in very high regard for not letting him bamboozle her.

He got nothing, nada, niente, as it should always be for people like that.

Oliver Anthony Rich Men North of Richmond”REACTION” It Just Got Real

Did China lose money on its bullet train project?

China’s 18 main trunk lines of high-speed railways, only 6 lines are profitable, and the remaining 13 are loss-making.

In 2022, China’s high-speed rail suffered a total loss of US$15 billion.

Therefore, if all high-speed rail in China is regarded as a company, it is a company with huge losses.

But in the eyes of the Chinese, high-speed rail is not a business. They believe that high-speed railway is a kind of social infrastructure. The purpose of its existence is to provide basic services for the entire social and economic development without maintaining profitability itself.

Therefore, as a state-owned enterprise, China Railway Corporation must bear losses. The funds lost are subsidized by the government every year.

The question is, how can the Chinese government have so much money to subsidize high-speed rail?

The reason is simple. After the Chinese built the first key high-speed railway, the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, they were surprised to find that for every US$1 they lost on the high-speed railway, the economic growth generated along the high-speed railway would increase by US$1.8.
Three years after the high-speed rail was completed, tax revenue from governments along the line increased by 68%. The economic growth is 1.5 times faster than that of other regions.
This increased wealth is enough to build ten more high-speed railways of the same type.

At the same time, there are 140 core enterprises and 500 general enterprises producing high-speed rail parts in China, distributed in more than 20 provinces. A 200 billion yuan industrial chain has been formed, providing a large number of jobs.
Just look at the construction process of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, which involved more than 700 construction companies and provided jobs for 110,000 people.

Ultimately, high-speed rail became an engine of economic development in the eyes of the Chinese.

Wherever high-speed rail is built, wealth will be greatly increased. As for the funds invested in high-speed rail construction and operating expenses at a loss, they seem insignificant in the face of these increased wealth.

Have you ever met a dangerous person and not known it at the time?

I worked in a small rural hospital in the central part of Texas. This hospital happened to be in between two high-security prisons. It was not a rare occurrence that while being transferred, they would stop at our hospital for blood work, x-rays, cat scans, etc. One time they brought two prisoners to the lab for blood work. (they remained chained and the officers kept weapons at ready.) I drew blood from the first guy. He was charistically covered with prison tattoos; tears, a clock with no hands, and several gang tattoos. He had one I never saw before. On his cheek were the numbers 5150.

I asked the other guy what 5150 meant. He said that guy is completely nuts! Nobody messes with that guy! What does 5150 mean? He said it is Part of the California penal code. It means criminally insane. I don’t who he is or what he did but he sure was creepy.

P.S. I got to know the transfer crews pretty well. we developed a practical joke with the prisoners. For all of their toughness, many of them were afraid of blood draw needles. When I was done with the blood draw I put a pink Barbie band-aid on the site. Then I told them they had to keep it on until they were admitted to their new home. The guards would back me up and say that they had to have proof that the blood was drawn. So the possibly badest, craziest, most evil, person I will ever meet wore a pink Barbie band-aid in prison because of me.

The Pentagon claims “China has over 500 nuclear warheads.” How can they be so certain about China’s nation secret?

After a countless string of falsehood dangled by American leaders, government agencies, the mainstream media, thinktanks and intellectuals, why are we still debating if a particular American interpretation of China is credible?

Odds are it is false or embellished/exaggerated.

Remember this guy?

He made history becoming the first Cabinet-level official to be sanctioned by China, after passing a genocide determination on China’s treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang during his final weeks in office.

Surprisingly, few have spoken up for him, neither blue, nor red.

The State Department has quietly shelved his statement, with its lawyers concluding there was insufficient evidence to make the genocide designation. Antony certainly hasn’t acted on his predecessor’s words, even though the designation remains.

There was also balloon-gate, which was recently absolved by the Joint Chiefs.

“It was a weather balloon we shot down.”

It doesn’t matter how many warheads China has, because Zhou Enlai’s words remain relevant today.

“China has enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world once over”.

And that is enough.

If you are a police officer, have you ever stopped a car only to have it drive away as you walked up to it?

Yep.

Stopped a motorcyclist who blew through a 4-way stop intersection. The guy pulled over and after I got out of my car, took off.

I chased him down and again, he stopped. He continued to straddle his bike while I approached him. I asked him to shut down his ride and swing off of it. No compliance. I reached down and turned the ignition off and removed the key. He went ballistic and decided to fight. Guy was huge and clearly under some form of influence. Inhumanly strong.

Tried to mace him, only to have the wind push it back at me. I had left my baton in the car and all he wanted to do was grab my holstered service weapon. We had no portable radios. Frankly, he was besting me and all I could do was keep him from ripping my revolver away from me.

Very, very fortunately, a county traffic officer approached from the other direction and he called it in before diving into the wrestling match. A few minutes later, LOTS of needed manpower arrived and we got the guy down and cuffed. We got him to his feet and watched while he “stiff-legged” it back to my car. Went to put him in the back seat and he wouldn’t fold. Tucked his knees with my stick; nothing. We knocked him back down and shoveled him into the car for the trip to the jail.

Upon booking, he ripped his (artificial) leg off, hopping around and swinging it at the jailers and everyone else……again, subdued and hauled off…aggressive, foul-mouthed, non-cooperative. Next day at his arraignment, a totally different guy! Disabled Vietnam vet…..double amputee….off of his meds. Contrite and apologetic.

Even as the arresting officer, the magistrate gave me no opportunity to comment or o’wise condition the arrest. The vet pleaded guilty and drew a 60-day sentence for battery to police officer(s). To this day, not certain that justice was served, but rolling around in the street fearing for my life was an eye-opener!

Who is the rudest celebrity you have met, and who would be the nicest?

Many years ago, I was walking down a road in Bristol (England) and suddenly, a figure burst out of a door knocking me over, He stopped dead, and apologised profusely, helped me to my feet and noting my accent said ’You’re Welsh,- me too.’

He took me inside and got me a coffee, and we chatted awhile, and he said, ‘You don’t know who I am, do you? I had to admit I didn’t, So He said ‘I’m Tom Jones’ You know, the singer?

‘Bloody hell, I thought you were in America’, I said He replied ‘I had a date to appear in the Colston Hall and didn’t want to let them down’, ‘What can I do to be sorry?’ he said. ‘You said you were looking for a short-term job, weren’t you?’ ‘Yes’, I replied, ‘Let me help’, said he, and got on the phone and arranged a job for me there and them with a famous wine importer, saying he’d vouch for me ‘cos I’m Welsh.

I was well received and took up the job for the remainder of the time I spent in Bristol, and it opened a new horizon for me to explore in work which changed my life. So, I’ve often looked back to that chance encounter with a bloke renowned for being brutal – but who changed my life.

China is more ADVANCED than we realised!

Since returning to China, our minds have been blown by the rapid technological progress we’ve witnessed! In this video, @Huawei invited us to explore some of China’s most cutting-edge technologies, including robotic arms, futuristic robots, 5G factories, and mind-blowing augmented reality experiences.

LOL. The rest of youse guys are just NOW figuring all this out?

What are the chances that Japan would send military assistance to defend Taiwan if China invades them?

If the PLA liberates Taiwan by force, 99% of Chinese want Japan to send troops to intervene in the China’s internal affairs or China’s civil war.

As for why the Chinese think differently than you think, I think Asians understand.

Even the dispatch of 1 soldier from Japan is something the Chinese would be happy to see.

In 1937, the Japanese launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident under the pretext of the disappearance of 1 soldier, and began a full-scale invasion of China.

So, 1 soldier is enough excuse. New grudges and old grudges can be returned together.

What is the strangest complaint you have received at your job?

One evening in the London casino I worked at, I was having dinner in the restaurant with another client.

Then at a nearby table very old Greek man had a catastrophic failure of his bowels. This is a very exclusive Michelin equivalent restaurant. The restaurant unsurprisingly cleared, leaving me alone with the incontinent gentleman and his wife. I shamelessly pulled rank and had one of the wait staff wrap a table cloth around the unfortunate soul and then informed our reception that we would take the member home in one of our cars.

The car took the old couple home. The restaurant cleaned up the mess. And we were down one Bruges lace tablecloth. I thought the matter dealt with.

I received a phone call the next afternoon from the irate wife of the unfortunate guest. She took great pains to inform me that the quick thinking car jockey had covered the £100,000 Bentley’s back seat with something like clear plastic wrap. Obviously this was deeply humiliating to the couple. Especially to her faeces covered husband. The fact that he was wrapped in tablecloth after soiling himself in a packed restaurant was apparently not even comparatively humiliating.

The wife demanded I discipline the very rude driver. I agreed* and promised I would, and that the next time anyone fouled themselves in my presence at work I would not try to protect the interior of a hugely expensive car.

*Obviously I did not discipline the driver. He saved us an obscenely large valeting bill!

What blew your mind today?

America is one of the biggest criminals in this modern world. They fights for their economic interest. Media defames nations and leaders from the intelligentsia.

Today there will be talk of a leader whom most of the world considers as a dictator.

Who should have got the Nobel Prize. But got death. Unfortunately, people think them as a criminal.

Libya is an African country bordering the Sahara Desert. There 80% of the land is desert. Only 10% of the land is such that people can live. Most of the parts of the country are such where not a drop of water has fallen for 20 years.

When oil was discovered in the world, oil was discovered in every country. What was found instead of oil in Libya was astonishing.

500 meters down in the desert, a thick layer of water was found, its thickness was somewhere around 700 meters thick.

According to experts, this is so much water that it can give water to Libya for 2-3 thousand years.

Its importance can be understood for a country where 90% of the land is desert.

But extracting this water, sending it to other parts was nothing less than Bhagirath’s penance. The money needed for this work in 1960 was $25 billion. From today’s point of view, it will be above 100 billion dollars.

Consideration on this project was abandoned. But when Colonel Gaddafi became president, they started this work.

The West was opposed to Gaddafi. IMF, World Bank no one gave loan to Libya for this work.

Gaddafi took this impossible project forward by making arrangements with their own nation.

Engineers from South Korea helped in this. Later, UNESCO also trained engineers.

Large pipes were built. So wide that the metro train passes.

The project was inaugurated by Colonel Gaddafi on 28 August 1984.

500 meters deep, 1300 wells were constructed. Which used to carry water through a 4000 km long pipeline. So many dams were built that 12 Egyptian pyramids could be built. Astronauts can also see the well built in it.

$33 billion was spent by Gaddafi. The whole of Africa was expected to be green.

In 2008, the Guinness Book of Books included the project as the largest project ever.

People went crazy with joy when water reached the major Libyan cities of Tripoli, Bayanji. Irrigation started in 13 thousand hectares of land.

But in 2011, America attacked NATO by spreading propaganda against Gaddafi.

The surprising thing is that he dropped the maximum number of bombs on this project. Due to which more than 25% collapsed.

How Western countries have turned the boon to Africa can be seen in ruins.

Now urgently we will sell bottled water to Africa, some Mother Teresa will come and get her converted. The Nobel Prize will take the title of a saint.

Gaddafi was bad, so the people of his country would have understood, who are you people who dropped bombs and missiles.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, this is all he is saying. Your intention is not right. He says Britain robbed India 45 trillion dollars in 100 years. This is the research of UK universities only. India could not become a 5 trillion dollar economy in 75 years. So how much it will be looted can be estimated.

This project was made in collaboration with engineers from all over the world! What makes Gaddafi a great leader.

Burden X Steven James – Rich Men North Of Richmond Remix

Wow. This is a really good remix.

Transform yourself into a superhuman in just 6 months:

1. Fix your schedule and sleep at 9:00 PM to be awake at 4:00 AM.

2. Quit your excuses and work out for 30 minutes daily.

3. Include 2 eggs plus fresh fruits to optimize your health.

4. Prioritize 2 cold showers a day with no excuses. I promise your self-discipline will be boosted.

5. Listen more than you talk and be teachable.

6. Learn to say “NO” unapologetically and get busy minding your own business.

7. Attempt and read 50+ pages to sharpen your mind.

8. Learn a new skill every 3 months and spend another go-off days developing it.

9. Set on a morning walk after having 2 glasses of water immediately after.

10. Sleep a quarter of your day to reset your focus and boost your mood.

11. Put your phone away or uninstall your social network to save yourself from Aimanipulation.

12. Avoid sex, especially at the initial stages of your personal growth.

13. Please for no one else, do something for yourself for 6 months.

14. Go for 1000 hours without watching the news or talking politics and use the time to rest.

15. Make more money, and invest wisely to buy yourself anything without looking at the price.

16. Prioritize 4 hours of deep work a day over 8 hours of busyness and make time to improve yourself.

17. Make time for your close friends and family during your weekend.

18. Start a side hustle/business It’s time to learn how to build a side hustle to win big.

What has an employee said that immediately caused you to fire them?

My parents needed a new housekeeper because our old housekeeper was retiring, so with a very heavy heart — Hermione had become part of the family after all these years — they hired a new one.

And what a different person she was.

Vera was in her late twenties, good-looking, was energetic and quick, and had a smart mouth. We needed some time to adjust, but we immediately liked her.

Still, some things were really different. Sometimes she was caught red-handed leaving early, but she aways had some original excuse —

“My mom’s really sick. My husband needed urgent help. My boy needed an unforeseen ride. I started earlier than planned.”

It also happened a couple of times when my mom came home earlier than expected, that Vera was on the phone. (A classical rotary phone in the conversation pit in my parents’ living room.)

(Yes, dear reader. A rotary phone. With a cable.)

The excuse was always the same — urgent matters for sick people and needy children.

Till the day when my parents got the phone bill.

It was humongous, and an absurd number of very long calls had been made to an unknown number, each and every time during Vera’s working hours. When she alone was home.

It turned out that Very had a lover, and had used my parent’s house as a call center all along, so that her husband wouldn’t find out.

She was fired on the spot.

Not much later she left her husband for the lover, and that’s the last thing we ever heard of Vera. When Hermione heard the news some time later, she proposed to come back and spend one or two extra years in our family.

(We totally agreed.)

Besides a bat, what is something you can carry in your vehicle that is effective as a weapon, yet legal to have and won’t cause any trouble if a cop searches your car?

Purchase a marine air horn that works with a canister of aerosol gas. I keep two in my truck, one in each door panel. You may know them from hearing them at soccer matches in big stadiums. They are extremely loud and piercing. If you point one in a person’s face and discharge it with a long blast, the person would become discombobulated instantly. It is actually painful and can hurt eardrums. It would render them unable to hear for a minute or more and affect their equilibrium, causing trouble moving, walking, running, or aiming. The surprise effect is stunning; they do not expect anything like that. You then have the option of running and getting the hell away or physically counter-attacking. It is hard to defend yourself when your faculties are compromised. It is also hard to chase someone. Keep the horn in your hand and be ready to give them a second dose if needed. If you do the wise thing and run, you can keep doing short blasts as you are leaving. The beauty of this is that anyone who is within 100 yards of you will be alerted to that sound and will turn to look and see what is happening. The perp is put on full display and probably will abandon his assault attempt. This can be a lifesaver in a gas station scenario where you are pumping gas and getting approached by someone walking up to your car. I tried a test on a friend who was 3 feet away and his back was turned. A one-second blast, aimed at the ground, made him jump three feet and run about twenty feet away. He didn’t know what happened, he just wanted out of there. Think what a 10-second blast directly in the face would do!

This really works!

STAR TREK but is 1920 | Unreleased Movie Fan

What was the largest refund you ever got from a purchase?

Twenty years ago my wife and I saw an ad in the New York Times travel section. Round trip from JFK to Barbados on the Concorde, plus a week at the hotel of your choice (there were 5 hotels to choose from).

The Concorde? Let’s do it.

We called British Airways Holidays. (It was still the early day of Internet commerce. Back in 2000 you picked up the landline.)

“We’re flexible on dates,” I told the agent. “But the hotel has to be the Fairmont Royal Pavilion.”

No problem. The agent found a date that worked and took our money (about $13,000 all in). Pricey, but hey — the Concorde.

Two nights before our departure date there was a message on our home answering machine. “This is British Airways Holidays. We’ve had to make some adjustments to your itinerary. You will now be staying at the Royal Pavilion’s sister property, Glitter Bay.”

Sister property. It sounds like kind of the same thing. Except it’s not. Royal Pavilion is for adults only. Glitter Bay is for families with kids. Lots and lots of kids. We love kids. We raised two. But the reason we picked the Royal Pavilion was because we wanted to spend a week without kids.

I called British Airways Holidays. No answer. They’re not an airline. They’re just the travel planners for the airline and work from 9 to 5. We left a voicemail.

The next morning we called the Royal Pavilion and spoke to the General Manager of both properties. He said, “British Airways does this all the time. They take your money, and then they switch your hotel. Here’s what I can do. For the same price I can put you up in a large one-bedroom private villa at Glitter Bay. It’s off the beaten path, far from the kids, an easy walk to the Royal Pavilion, and you’ll have complete access to all our facilities and amenities. I’ll send my wife over to take photos of the villa.”

An hour later I got the pictures. It was incredible. We decided to take it.

British Airways never called back. The guest relations guy who met us at the airport in Barbados never told us we’d been switched to another hotel. He drove us to Glitter Bay. Or as we called it all week, Glitter Bait and Switch.

Let me sum up that week-long vacation: The Concorde was a once in a lifetime experience. Our villa was spectacular. But still, it wasn’t what we’d signed on for.

The General Manager was a total sweetheart. He suggested that I write to British Airways, but warned me not to get my hopes up for a refund.

We’ll just see about that decided the man who writes for a living. I spent days crafting the letter. A week after I sent it I got a call from a British Airways rep in London. She apologized for the “misunderstanding,” and asked how she could make it right.

I told her I wanted a public apology. An ad in the New York Times travel section telling the world what they had done and promising not to sucker in any more people. She said, “Sir, we can’t do that.”

I told her if she didn’t I would go public on this Internet thing that was still just taking hold and tell the whole world wide web what a bunch of crooks they were.

She said, “I’ll get back to you.”

A week later she called back. “We’d like to offer you and your wife an all-expense paid trip from New York to London,” she said. “We’ll fly you there on the Concorde, put you up in a five-star hotel, and fly you back first class on a 747.”

If she had seen the look on my face, she’d have known she had me. But she couldn’t see me. So I doubled down.

“Absolutely not,” I said. “You already flew me to a hotel I didn’t want to go to. Why would I want you to fly me to another place I don’t want to go to? I want a public apology. An ad in the New York Times.”

“Let me talk to my management,” she said.

Another week passed. She called back. “Sir, we absolutely can’t print a public apology. The best we can offer you is a full refund. Airfare and your entire hotel bill including meals and other amenities and services you may have charged. If you say yes, we will credit your American Express card with the entire amount.”

I grumbled, and told her that it wasn’t what I wanted, but she’d won. I begrudgingly accepted the more than $13,000 refund.

Then I hung up, did a happy dance, and told my wife the news.

The next day I called the General Manager of the Royal Pavilion and booked their best villa for a week the following spring. Three bedrooms. Perfect for me, my wife, my son, my daughter and their significant others. The cost of the villa, along with airfare (non-supersonic) for six people — a little over $13,000.

Best all-expenses-paid vacation ever.

—————————————————————

EDIT — Sometimes I post and hear crickets. But this one — over 100k views and 9k upvotes in less than 24 hours. That’s like Mach 2 in Quora terms. Thank you. Several people asked if they could see the letter I sent.

I’d have thought that after 20 years it would be lost to the ages, but I was amazed to see that it was still buried in my archives. It’s 1700 words, and I’d be embarrassed to reprint it. My recounting of the event on Quora was written with a smile on my face. The complaint letter is me at my pissiest.

But I can give you the highlights. Basically, the letter stated the facts. Re-reading it after 20 years, it’s clear that British Airways was even more underhanded than I remembered, so those facts were pretty damning. The manager of the Royal Pavilion taught me some of the tricks of the trade, and he explained why they waited till I was 48 hours away from departure, even though they knew they had overbooked weeks before. He also assured me that BA overbooked, not the hotel. I made sure they knew I was a very knowledgeable consumer.

My closing was this: “I feel violated and am angry enough to take my complaint to the FAA, the appropriate consumer fraud departments in New York, the travel press and travel newsgroups on the Internet. I also feel justified in pursuing legal action where I would seek compensation for both the cost of a lost vacation and for being the victim of dishonest business practices.”

But my best line was this: “Under no condition would I have considered a vacation at Glitter Bay, much less pay $13,186.90 for the privilege of living in the middle of a high rent day care center.”

It’s hard to go up against a corporate Goliath and win. But every now and then… I hope this is the kind of encouragement you need to never quit trying.

Russian Spetsnaz Captured German Army Officers in Ukraine! NATO Armies Suffer Heavy Losses!

Was the U.S. behind the Kursk Submarine Disaster?

Backstory

The Kursk was an Oscar II class submarine, one of the largest and most powerful subs ever built. It was armed with 24 cruise missiles and 24 torpedoes, some of them tipped with nuclear warheads.

It was supposed to be a show of force and a demonstration of Russia’s military capabilities.

But something went horribly wrong on August 12th, 2000 around 11:30 a.m. local time.

According to the official investigation, one of the practice torpedoes that the Kursk was loading had a faulty weld in its casing, which leaked high-test peroxide (HTP) inside the torpedo tube.

HTP is a highly reactive substance that can explode when it comes into contact with metal or organic matter.

The leak triggered a catalytic explosion that blew off both the inner and outer tube doors, started a fire, and killed or injured most of the crew in the first two compartments.

Two minutes and fifteen seconds later, another explosion occurred, much bigger than the first one.

This one was caused by the detonation of five to seven torpedo warheads, which ripped a huge hole in the hull, collapsed several bulkheads and decks, destroyed the fourth compartment, and killed everyone who was still alive in the front half of the sub.

The second explosion was so powerful that it registered as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake on seismographs around the world.

The Kursk sank to the bottom of the sea, at a depth of about 350 feet. The rear half of the sub was still intact, and some of the survivors managed to seal off the ninth compartment and activate an emergency beacon.

But they were trapped, with no way to escape or communicate with the surface.

Meanwhile, the Russian Navy had no clue what had happened. They did not realise that an accident had occurred until six hours later, when they noticed that the Kursk had missed a scheduled communication check.

They did not initiate a search and rescue operation until 16 hours later, when they finally located the sub on sonar.

But their rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather, poor equipment, and bureaucratic delays.

They tried to attach four different diving bells and submersibles to the escape hatch of the Kursk, but failed every time due to technical problems or human errors.

They also refused to accept help from other countries’ ships nearby, claiming that they had everything under control.

It took them five days to admit that they needed outside assistance, and by then it was too late.

On August 21st, British and Norwegian divers managed to open a hatch to the ninth compartment of the Kursk, but found no signs of life. All 118 sailors on board had perished.

….

Now, there are those who believe that the U.S. Navy had something to do with the disaster, either by sabotaging or attacking the Kursk. Why would they do that?

– To prevent Russia from testing or deploying new weapons systems

– To send a message or a warning to Russia about its military ambitions

– To cover up an accidental collision or confrontation between U.S. and Russian subs

– To distract attention from other issues or scandals in U.S. politics

These claims lack substantial evidence.

Some people claim that there were two U.S. subs near the Kursk at the time of the accident: USS Memphis and USS Toledo.

Memphis

They say that these subs were spying on or harassing the Kursk, and that they either collided with it or fired a torpedo at it.
But there is no proof that these subs were actually there. The U.S. Navy denies any involvement in the incident, and says that its closest sub was hundreds of miles away from the Kursk.
Even if these subs were there, they would have no reason to attack or sabotage the Kursk. The U.S. and Russia were not at war, and the Kursk was not a threat to them. It was only carrying practice torpedoes, not live ones.
And if there was a collision or a confrontation, why would the U.S. subs not report it or try to help the Kursk? Why would they risk an international incident or a nuclear war by hiding their actions?
Some people claim that the second explosion on the Kursk was not caused by its own torpedoes, but by an external source, such as a U.S. torpedo or a mine. They say that the explosion was too big and too loud to be from the Kursk’s weapons, and that it left traces of uranium or plutonium on the seabed.
Again, there is no evidence to back up these claims. The official investigation concluded that the second explosion was consistent with the detonation of five to seven torpedo warheads, each containing about 500 pounds of high explosives. The explosion was big and loud because it happened in a confined space, and because the Kursk’s hull acted as a resonator.
And there is no proof that there was any radioactive material on the seabed. The Kursk’s reactors shut down safely after the first explosion, and did not leak any radiation. The traces of uranium or plutonium that some people claim to have found were either natural or from other sources, such as sunken ships or waste dumps.

Verdict:

There is no credible evidence to suggest that the U.S. was behind the Kursk submarine disaster. It was a tragic accident, caused by a faulty torpedo and compounded by a series of failures and mistakes by the Russian Navy. It was not a conspiracy, but a catastrophe.

I shit myself

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQgs-bGp6yI?feature=share

“United States is pressuring the Netherlands to block the sale of EUV equipment to SMIC by Dutch company ASML is ultimately affecting China’s dream in technology”. How long US can resist China’s development?

The Chinese people are such a nation that when you give them comfort and enjoyment, they will self collapse, just like every dynasty change in China and the late Qing Dynasty.

But when external pressure is exerted to suppress the development of the Chinese people and limit their pursuit of happiness, the Chinese people will erupt in strong resilience, use their talents to break through the blockade, and ultimately achieve rise.

From resisting Japanese aggression during World War II to becoming the world’s second largest economy, the Chinese people have come step by step due to external concerns.

The characteristics of this ethnic group can be summarized by a famous quote from the Chinese Confucian philosopher Mencius two thousand years ago:Born in distress and died in peace and contentment

Coincidentally, the United States is such an ultimate concern from outside, and its extreme pressure and sanctions unite all Chinese people. Regardless of whether they support the government or not, they have found that only by overcoming American oppression can they have a happy life and a bright future.

China has a population of 1.4 billion, and the number of university graduates in China far exceeds the total population of Japan. China has over 70 million science and engineering talents, which is a huge treasure trove of human resources.

For example, the Huawei Mate60 series, which was just released in September, under four years of extreme sanctions and pressure, more than 100 companies listed by the US Department of Commerce worked together to break the world’s strictest blockade and create 7nm chips with independent intellectual property rights and production capabilities. This is the first time in the history of a company or industry’s battle against the world’s only superpower.

In the chip disassembly video, the encoding is all 2035CN.

CN is easy to understand, it implies China. 2035 needs to be explained as it represents China’s national research plan. If completed according to the plan, China will become the center of the world’s manufacturing industry and advanced technology by 2035.

It goes without saying where the sword points

The local manufacturing of high-end chips means that the bargaining power of Chinese local chip consumers will be epic strengthened – the space for manufacturers to rely on exclusive technology to obtain excess profits will be compressed, and domestic companies that need chips to drive their own products will welcome a round of “technology driven cost reduction and efficiency increase” – industries such as AI, new energy vehicles, autonomous driving, etc. will benefit from this.

If this is just a celebration of the country and the company, it’s not a big deal. But Chinese consumers joined the frenzy, using their own income to support this domestically produced phone with fully autonomous and controllable technology, and even sparked a wave of frenzy.

This high-end phone with an average price of over $800 sold over 1.6 million units in just 6 weeks, according to Counterpoint data. It is expected that the remaining few units will be sold over 5 million units in 2023, with a full life cycle sales of over 20 million units. Such sales have boosted Huawei’s sales forecast for 2024- reaching 60 to 70 million units. You know, this is the single market of Chinese Mainland, and $800 is not a small amount for a country with an annual per capita GDP of $10000.

Due to the release time of this phone, which coincides with the visit of US Commerce Secretary Raymond to China, Chinese netizens have divided and joked about Raymond and the US government, and even spliced the phone’s advertising image with Raymond’s photo, using the phrase “Raymond is a Huawei certified spokesperson” to mock the US blockade for not being able to stop China’s technological progress.

In the capital market, after the release of mobile phones, there was a wave of enthusiasm in the stock market – various semiconductor related stocks have been strengthening all the way, and SMIC International has ushered in five limit up boards in the stock market.

China’s capital market has always been cautious, but now it is full of confidence. How did you say this confidence came about? I have not yet achieved satisfactory results in the journey of technology with my strength.

The wave of new products from Huawei shows this trend: consumers use money to support the products of consumer electronics manufacturers, and manufacturers can collaborate with upstream chip factories to strengthen production processes after withdrawing funds, gradually increasing yield rates, reducing costs, and polishing production processes to maturity.

Then the chip factory uses the money earned to encourage upstream equipment and material suppliers to upgrade and iterate. This is a virtuous cycle, driven by a large amount of capital and technological capital intensity, and an upward spiral towards development and progress.

In addition to continuously developing on the path of EUV，DUV, China is also exploring other surpassing and disruptive technologies, such as chip lithography factories.

To understand the great significance of this scientific device, it is necessary to first briefly understand some basic knowledge of lithography machines.

As the most core equipment in the chip production process, the lithography machine mainly works by passing light through a specific mask, shrinking it through the lens, and projecting it onto the wafer – the wafer is coated with photosensitive photoresist, and after the development program, a specific pattern can be left behind.

This is the basic process of building integrated circuits on chips by a lithography machine. But with the development of technology, chips have become increasingly complex – in a limited space only the size of a fingernail, people need to put billions of transistors inside.

Therefore, the requirements for lithography machines are becoming increasingly high, specifically for the light source of lithography machines. Because if we want to achieve more advanced process technology, we must have shorter wavelengths.

main qimg 5cd8775c5fcc7cb9197c3b7b1f0741c0

Early lithography machines used ultraviolet radiation emitted by mercury lamps, also known as g-line light sources, with a wavelength of 436nm.

The most advanced process capable of processing was 250nm. Later, with the development of technology, it was replaced with an excimer laser light source, which can emit deep ultraviolet light at 193nm wavelength, also known as an ArF light source – under the ArF light source, the most advanced manufacturing process is only 22nm.

But the problem is that technological development has no end. The 22nm process cannot keep up with the booming development of the consumer electronics industry, and people need more advanced chips. 7nm/5nm/3nm…

Although these data are common now, industry scientists have long anticipated this trend, and in fact, they have been launching impacts on these process nodes since the 1980s. The result of the impact is that there must be a new light source – the 193nm wavelength of the ArF light source is still too long to meet the requirements.

The final solution to this problem is the Cymer company in the United States, which provides an extremely complex light source – extreme ultraviolet light with a wavelength of only 13.5nm. The working principle of this light source is extremely complex: a high-energy carbon dioxide laser is irradiated on a dripping target of tin droplets with a diameter of only 20 microns.

This bombardment causes the tin material to instantly produce plasma, which emits extreme ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 13.5nm – ultimately, these scattered extreme ultraviolet rays are gathered together through a complex lens group and projected onto the mask. This is the effort made by European and American companies and scientists to obtain an extreme ultraviolet light source with a wavelength of 13.5nm.

However, this type of light source actually has significant drawbacks. Firstly, it is too complex. In order to hit a tin target with a diameter of only 20 microns, a carbon dioxide laser needs to “shoot” 50000 times per second, and the evaporated tin target can also pollute the precision optical equipment inside the equipment – most importantly, the power of this light source is too low.

Under a 20kW laser bombardment, the radiation power generated by the plasma is less than 500W – not as powerful as a household refrigerator. Low power ultimately leads to impressive output; And the impressive output means that there is no scale effect and the cost remains high. But even so, this is currently the most advanced thing.

Now, it’s time to talk about our so-called “lithography factories”. Huairou HEPS and Xiong’an SSMB actually belong to the same category, as both study “synchrotron radiation”.

And synchrotron radiation is a type of light source. The history of synchrotron radiation light sources is very long: in 1947, scientists first discovered a phenomenon on electron synchrotron: when charged particles with speeds close to the speed of light deflect in an electromagnetic field, they emit electromagnetic radiation along the tangent direction of the motion trajectory – this is called “synchrotron radiation”.

This type of synchrotron radiation has many excellent characteristics, such as high brightness, wide energy spectrum, high collimation and polarization. Therefore, since the 1970s, scientists around the world have been studying light sources based on this synchrotron radiation. In Chinese Mainland, we have four generations of synchrotron radiation light sources: the first generation stands in Beijing (BSRF), the second generation stands in Hefei (HLS), the third generation stands in Shanghai (SSRF), and the fourth generation stands in Beijing Huairou (HEPS).

And Xiongan’s SSMB is actually within this category, but SSMB has taken a step further – Steady state micro bunching, a new light source solution developed by Professor Tang Chuanxiang’s team from Tsinghua University in collaboration with German and American scientists.

The specific technical details are too complex, so we won’t go into more detail. What we need to know is that the most attractive aspect of SSMB light source is that it can provide a variety of wavelengths of radiation, not to mention extreme ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 13.5nm. Soft X-rays with a wavelength of 5nm are also effortless, and the maximum power can reach 4kW, far surpassing Cymer’s “tin droplet bombardment method”.

Therefore, the implementation of SSMB-EUV light sources is expected to help China achieve leapfrog development in EUV lithography.

At the same time, the SSMB accelerator light source can provide coherent radiation from terahertz to soft X-ray bands with high average power and narrow linewidth, and its time structure can be adjusted in a large range.

It can provide unprecedented tools and means for cutting-edge basic research and applied basic research in physics, chemistry, energy, environment, and other disciplines.

The SSMB accelerator light source has attracted widespread attention from the scientific and industrial communities With the deepening of physical research on SSMB storage rings and the mastery of their key technologies, SSMB accelerator light sources can be expected as light sources for the lithography industry and scientific research.

Their performance will also continue to improve, and the cost will gradually decrease. At the same time, the application of SSMB accelerator light sources will also be more widely expanded.

In summary, we can see that China’s scientific research team is not blindly following and catching up with the West, but is also developing the next generation of technology in a new way while following – this is not a “curve overtaking”, but a dignified linear acceleration overtaking.

I even think that the domestic lithography machine industry is highly likely to replicate the success of China’s new energy vehicle industry in the future: comparing the traditional “tin droplet bombardment” lithography machine is like comparing the engine and gearbox of traditional fuel vehicles.

Time is not waiting for us, and it is difficult for us to reach the most advanced level in Europe and America in a short period of time. But competing for the brand new SSMB light source is like competing for new energy vehicles, where everyone is on the same starting line, and we are even the leading one.

Therefore, I would like to end with Mao Zedong’s famous statement: “Imperialism blockades us, then blockade it. After ten to eight years of blockade, all China’s problems have been solved

What’s the most ridiculous way a co-worker thought they could get away with something?

‘Steve’, a new person at work (it was about his second or third week) called in one morning to say that his grandma had died. He was told he could take some time off, and get back to us in a few days and let us know how he was doing.

Soon afterwards, co-workers noticed that Steve had unfriended them on Facebook. All except for his line manager who, we can only presume, he forgot to unfriend.

A few days later, Steve posted on Facebook, saying that he’d been robbed.

By a prostitute.

In Ibiza.

When he returned to work, Steve was called into a meeting with the line manager, who opened with: “Sorry to hear about you getting mugged.”
By all accounts, it was a short meeting.

Credit where credit’s due, Steve didn’t waste anyone’s time trying to claim that the Ibiza trip had been an attempt to deal with his grief – apparently, he owned up straight away that a friend of his had got cheap last minute flights to Ibiza, and he’d made the dead granny up to get time off at short notice. He was still fired though.

US Suspiciously Activates Global Fragility Act To Intervene In West African States

How does the US have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign nations? How would the dominant society feel if Russia and China intervened openly in American affairs?

What’s the most ridiculous thing a coworker told on you to your boss for?

For refusing to help a coworker and making them miss a deadline.

That was the story the guy gave to his boss, who confronted my boss about it, who brought the other boss into my office to get to the root of the problem.

My boss: Did you get X for John Doe?

His boss: He said you refused to help him, and I don’t appreciate people preventing my team from getting their work done.

Me: I haven’t talked to John Doe in ages, but let me check my records.

~pulls up database of work requests which I’d built myself for just such occasions~

Me: Oh it looks like he caught me after a meeting 6 months ago and mentioned it, and I asked him to follow up with details so I would know what to get him… but he didn’t contact me again.

His boss: Oh. Okay, well, that clarifies things.

Me: I’m here whenever he he has free time, or, if he doesn’t want to call or come over, he can just submit a request, telling me what he actually needs, on our intranet page.

My boss was cool, he was used to me being blamed and fully approved of my tracking every interaction I had with everyone I worked with (internal and external)… I was the only female technical staff and was young enough to be the daughter of most of the folks I worked with.

His boss was cool with me after that point… he knew anyone smack talking me wasn’t doing their job and was trying to blame-shift and he’d whip them into shape. He ALWAYS stood up for his guys, so I had mad respect for that.

What was the worst infestation you’ve ever had in your house?

I set up a worm composter inside my home and ended up with a fruit fly infestation.

It was over a decade ago and I was really into gardening and soil biology.

I had a regular compost bin in my backyard, but it was taking almost a year for my kitchen scraps to turn into finished compost.

I wanted a way to make compost faster and worm composting seemed like the best solution.

From my research, it was supposed to be really easy. You set up a tray with moist bedding and kitchen scraps, and you let the worms go to town. What could go wrong?

Apparently, a lot.

Take one:

When my worm composter and red wrigglers arrived, it was fairly easy to set up.

I placed the worm bin in my back patio, and I checked on them every day for the next few days. The worms seemed really happy.

On the fifth or sixth night, we had a heavy rain. When I went to check on my worms the next morning, I discovered a bunch of worms outside the bin.

When I looked inside, the tray was waterlogged and the few worms left inside had drowned.

Apparently, the heavy rain had caused a bunch of rain to leak into the composter, causing the mass worm exodus of 2008.

Take two:

I ordered more earthworms, and my husband fashioned a rain cover for the composter from a trash can lid.

After I set up the worms, things were going really well for several weeks.

One morning, when I went to add food to the trays, there was a bunch of dried worms outside the bin and a horrible stench coming from the composter.

When I looked inside, all the worms were dead and had already started to decompose.

I had started the worm bin in early spring when the weather was still mild. But as the weather warmed up, the bin apparently heated up too much and literally cooked all my worms, causing the great worm extinction of 2008.

Take three:

There wasn’t any part of my patio that was completely shaded, and even though I had placed the bin in the shadiest part of my patio, it still got too hot.

So I came up with the bright idea that I would set up the composter in my basement. It was climate controlled, and I would never have to worry about rain.

I ordered more red wrigglers and after I set them up, things were great for several months. The worms were munching through the trays, and I was getting rich, finished compost that I added to my garden.

One day, we noticed we were getting a lot of fruit flies in the house. The next week, they grew into a few dozen. Before we knew it, they turned into a full blown infestation.

As I walked through the house, the little pests would fly into my face and get lodged in my hair.

We had fruit flies peppering all the windows, trying to get outside.

At night, we itched and scratched as fruit flies wandered around in the air and crawled on our bodies.

There were so many swarming around our ceilings, that they would trigger our fire alarms, setting them off at odd times of the day and wee hours of the morning.

We tried everything to get rid of them.

We set up vinegar fruit fly traps.

We strung sticky fly strips from the ceilings and pinned fly paper everywhere.

We withheld water from our plants, letting them dry out completely between waterings to kill off eggs.

But still, the population kept growing.

For the life of us, we didn’t know where they were coming from, or why they were multiplying so quickly. That is, until one day, when I went down to add food to the worm trays.

I was pulling a finished compost tray out when it suddenly clicked. I knew that fruit flies laid eggs in moist soil. But it wasn’t until that moment when it occurred to me that I had been making moist soil right in my basement.

Trays and trays of dark, rich soil, teeming with nutrients. What fruit fly mama wouldn’t want to lay eggs in that?

At that moment, I knew that I had to give up my worms.

I took the trays of worms out back, to the grassy community area behind my house. And I said goodbye to my earthworms, as I carried out the great worm liberation of 2008.

Wisconsin Chicken Booyah
(Belgian Beef, Pork, Chicken Stew)

Wisconsin Chicken Booyah is famous in the Fox River Valley region — Green Bay, Wisconsin. Booyah and beer go great together. Booyah King, Bob Baye, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has been making Booyah since about 1946 in 100-gallon cookers.

Ingredients

1 roasting or stewing chicken (about 4 pounds)
1 pound beef stew meat, with bones
1 pound pork stew meat, with bones
1/2 cup minced parsley
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage
4 cups quartered potatoes
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup carrots, cut up
1 cup green beans, cut up
1 cup fresh peas
1 cup skinned, seeded, chopped tomatoes
2 lemons

Instructions

Put chicken into a deep kettle with the beef and pork. Cover with boiling water. Bring slowly to a simmer, remove scum from the top, and add herbs and seasonings. Simmer very gently, covered, about 1 hour.
Remove chicken and, when cooled, take meat form the bones and cut into pieces. Let beef and pork continue to cook until tender, 45 minutes to an hour more.
Remove and let cool enough to remove meat from bones. Add vegetables to the broth and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.
Grate lemon rind and set aside; remove white pith and seeds from the lemons, chop the pulp, and add to the broth. Taste for seasoning.
While vegetables are still crisp, return the meat pieces to the broth to heat through. Serve in large soup bowls and sprinkle with the lemon rind.

Servings: 12 to 16

What office rule made you say “Really?”

Oh, this is a fun one…

The Committee on Office Ambiance.

I kid you not.

This particular company had a major office building with hundreds of employees. All the offices were decorated in shades of burgundy and green. It was quite pretty actually.

Anyhoo… due to changing departments, I was moved from 3d floor NE to 3rd floor SW. As I’m settling into my new space (which was identical to the old space except I looked south instead of north out the window), the head of the Committee On Office Ambiance appears.

“Oh no no no!” says she. “You aren’t allowed to have original artwork in your office because you are not a manager.”

I glance at the generic painting on the wall, one like every office had. It was ugly as sin. But apparently it was an original rather than a print. Miss Committee snatches that piece of original art and returns with a print, which I liked better anyway.

But it gets better.

So years go by and eventually the hydraulics on my chair gave out. The chair would periodically drop me to the floor without warning. Rather annoying as you can imagine.

I ask my boss for a new chair but he says he doesn’t have the budget for it. I ask to fix the chair but he says he doesn’t have the budget for that either.

This is ridiculous, I think.

So one night I stay late. In the dark of night, I hasten my broken chair down to another office and steal one from an empty. But I get caught! Manager sees me switching chairs. Yells at me because he doesn’t have the budget to fix a chair either, even if that chair is in an empty office. Foiled!

I wait. I plot.

Another night comes and again I wait until not a soul is in the building. I make my switch and I’m not caught! Victory!

Next morning, I’m all happy in my new chair until Miss Committee stops by.

“Oh no no no!” says she. “That’s a burgundy chair! You must have a green chair to match your office.”

Out goes my nice chair and back comes my broken one. Foiled again.!

Once again, I wait. I plot.

Darkness of night. I steal through the building with my broken chair seeking one of identical color. Find it. Make the switch. Life is good.

Until Miss Committee stops by again.

“Oh no no no!” says she. “That’s a manager’s chair. You are only allowed a peon’s chair.” Back comes my broken chair. Foiled yet again!

I’m bemoaning my fate to sit on the floor for the rest of eternity when the maintenance dude happens by. He tells me he has a fix for chairs like mine. He takes it away and comes back in a few with a fixed chair. He’d put a pipe in the stem. The chair can never be lowered again, but what do I care?

I’m finally happy. Miss Committee is finally happy.

I tell this to some folks in the plant. One day, mysteriously, a Dilbert cartoon appears on my desk. Poor Dilbert’s chair is broken and he tries to steal one, only the accounting troll catches him and sentences him to prison at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my (fixed) chair.

I dare anyone to come up with something stupider than this tale.

My employer asked me to sign a resignation letter. I refused. They cleaned out my office, but they didn’t fire me. What do I do?

I had this experience. My boss had already let me know they were eliminating my position due to budget constraints. I wasn’t upset; I had seen the writing on the wall, and I had included a 90 day severance notice in my contract, since the company was known for poor budgeting and finances. In addition to my being let go, I was going to have to let go of several members of the office staff as well. That was fine, but I asked for some time to put everything in order for doing so, at least a week. We didn’t have an HR dept, and being in California, there are certain steps that need to be taken when letting someone go.

The owners didn’t want to wait and insisted I inform people immediately, giving them a two week notice of their termination. Obviously, there were a lot of questions from the employees being let go about benefits and unemployment, which the owners were unprepared to answer. One of the employees complained to me in an email about how vague the owners were being in their answers.

Well, a couple of hours later, I received an angry phone call from the owner’s wife, because this employee had spoken ill of her, and I hadn’t defended her. She and her husband were reading everyone’s emails and were unhappy to learn the people they were firing had little good to say about them. The next call I got was from the owner, demanding I resign immediately in writing for not defending his wife. Of course, I laughed and refused.

His next tactic was to demand I leave home for an unspecified amount of time to work with him on the east coast on new projects. This was the week of Thanksgiving. I had one more card to play: the owner of the company thought it was hilarious to send explicit photos to upper management. I had asked him in front of witnesses to stop; it was a whole other level of weird. I refused to go to the East Coast or resign on advice of attorney based on the hostile sexua environment at the company.

The moment I mentioned sexual harassment and attorneys, the owners went on radio silence. They wouldn’t fire me, and I received zero emails from them for the rest of my 90 day term. I still had to come in to work, but I just sat in my office. I did start taking my private laptop and a hotspot, though, and completed my masters thesis on their dime. I think they thought they were punishing me by making me come in to work for the remainder of my time, but in reality, they gave me an air conditioned, private office to complete a major project. So, thank you?

US Forever War vs Russia and China

In 2014 there was a coup. Soon after, there was a massacre in Odessa (dozens of people were burned alive). Ethnic Russians living in Ukraine were treated as subhuman. Their language and culture was being oppressed. A civil war broke out due to the rise in ethnic tensions.

For 8 years the Ukrainian military was indiscriminately shelling civilians living in Donbas.

If Zelensky honored the Minsk agreement and pledged neutrality, none of this would have happened. The 8 year civil war would have ended and Donbas would have remained part of Ukraine. War is the ultimate failure of diplomacy.

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My publisher went out of business. So I need to set it up using other means. -MM

I want to buy one of your books but it is out of stock on Amazon. Is there a way…

Thanks for that. *sigh* Life can be so interesting sometimes. -MM

Sometimes the words in the 'narrative' need to be precise, at least in terms of 'calendar time'., or else confusion…

" Thanks for the Russian missile movement update via ol’ Panicky-Hal, Metallicman. What would life be like without him!? Meanwhile…

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unuk

1 year ago

https://lonerwolf.com/existential-depression/

Ohio Guy

Reply to unuk

Holy crap, that’s a rabbit hole!
Thanks for that, though…I think, OG

congjing yu

Author

Reply to Ohio Guy

Yes it is.

DO NOT NOT NOT go down that rabbit hole. Think about campfires and hotdogs instead. (smile) -MM

Jeffrey Terwilliger

Reply to congjing yu

Too late. I got to the 15 signs, and found personal familiarity with ALL of them right now. And most of them for my whole life.
I think I was born this way. I remember wondering what in the heck I was doing back here, before I could even understand spoken words.
(Sorry, that’s eight x “I” or “my” in 4 sentences.)

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Wisconsin Chicken Booyah
(Belgian Beef, Pork, Chicken Stew)