Everyone in Boston loves the snow.

Who’d figure? Let me explain.

First of all, the great and grand snow squalls are called ”Northeasterner’s”( also called “nor’easter“). A weather cell hovers over the Atlantic ocean, and then migrates to Boston… then then unloads a shit-load of snow on everyone.

It is truly amazing. My last experience was in 1 April around 1997. Eight feet of snow in four hours.

Well, of course, the roads are impossible.

But…

If you have a snowplow on your truck… wait, because the local government will PAY YOU GOOD MONEY to clear out specific streets and roads. No shit.

It’s a great program, and works wonderfully.

Other states, such as Indiana and Pennsylvania should really give this system a try. Hint Hint.

Different places… with different laws and policies. Isn’t life grand? That’s why travel is important.

…

Today…

What are the most fascinating “weird but true” historical facts you know about?

I have an amusing anecdote involving Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy from 1943–1945.

The imposing naval figure above was a daring submarine commander in World War One. In the lattermost stage of his career he was responsible for fleets of warships, hundreds of thousands of personnel, and the mightiest war-fighting vessels of his nation. He reached the height of naval command and was covered in honors. He was even briefly Head of State.

But with a steep rise came an equally steep fall. After Germany’s surrender in 1945, he was in a Allied prison cell, awaiting trial at Nuremberg. To while away the time, one of Admiral Friedeburg’s adjutants taught him and his fellow prisoners how to play the game Battleship.

Of course, the game requires an opponent. Who else did he find to play against him but his fellow Commander-in-Chief, Hermann Göring. Those who once directed wars and decided the fates of nations, now directed fantasy fleets across pads of paper. Göring tried to sink Dönitz’s warships with as much gusto as if he was directing his Luftwaffe’s bombers against them personally, and he did not like to lose. Once the Admiral protested,

“Hermann’s cheating! If he doesn’t like where my shells are falling, he marks them in on different squares!”

You read that right: a Grand Admiral was reduced to playing Battleship, sparring against none other than Hermann Göring, who was a dirty cheater. If that’s not hilarious yet completely in character for both of them, I don’t know what is!

In the right way

CIA in China

The CIA I mean the NED is hiring and paying shot wages. No wonder we run circles around them.

But would you whore off your soul for such a pitiful amount?

She fucked up

Creole Andouille and Shrimp Jambalaya

This jambalaya recipe will become an extremely popular dish with family and friends because it’s filled with tasty sausage, boneless chicken thighs, shrimp, fresh vegetables and rice…let’s be honest…it screams comfort food!

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (13.5 ounce) package Johnsonville® Andouille Rope Sausage, cut into coin-slice pieces
• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into dice-size pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons Creole or Cajun seasoning
• 2 ounces tomato paste
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups uncooked long grain converted rice
• 1 pound cooked shrimp, thawed
• Parsley and green onion, to garnish

Instructions

1. In a skillet, cook and stir sausage and chicken in oil over a medium-high heat until browned; about 5 minutes.
2. Add vegetables and Creole seasoning, cook and stir for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add tomato paste, cook and stir for 2 minutes.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors blend; stirring occasionally.
5. Add stock and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning and make sure it is a little over seasoned because rice absorbs a lot of flavor.
6. Add rice, stirring well. Return to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
7. Turn off heat, uncover and stir rice.
8. Fold in shrimp and cover for 20 to 25 minutes to let rice finish cooking and shrimp heat through.
9. Garnish with parsley and green onions.

To make in a multi-cooker

1. In the multi-cooker, add the oil, onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic.
2. Select sauté setting, cook and stir occasionally until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Add seasoning, tomato paste, tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar, stock and rice.
4. Secure lid on pot and close pressure-release valve.
5. Select rice/porridge setting and pressure cook for 7 minutes; use quick release to depressurize.
6. Add shrimp.
7. Secure lid on pot and close pressure-release valve. Select egg setting and pressure cook for 2 minutes; use quick release to depressurize.

High Value

Why does Argentina, a prestigious defender of human rights, accept to belong to the BRIC, where Russia, China, and Iran are denounced by Amnesty as serial violators of Human Rights?

Why do you care what Amnesty International says?

BRICS is an economic organization, and if you care about human rights, you should be upset at many countries which are allies of the west.

Your thinking is very muddled, and it is apparent that you let just one criteria be the judge of your economic decisions, when economics and politics are completely separate issues. The world is changing and it is important to be flexible.

A Chinese mystery

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

The Unspoken Line

At the prestigious “AAAA” firm, Mr. Stevens was known for his level-headed approach and patience. As the Head of Department, he’d mentored many and had rarely ever lost his temper. But there was one incident that everyone in the office remembered.

A young intern named Jake had recently joined the team. Ambitious and eager, he sometimes came across as overconfident. One day, during a team meeting, a colleague, Mrs. Ramirez, proposed an idea she’d been working on for months. Instead of providing constructive feedback, Jake laughed dismissively and said, “Do you really think that old-school idea would work? Maybe it’s time you retired and made way for the new generation.”

A hush fell over the room. Mrs. Ramirez, a veteran with 20 years at the company and revered for her innovations, looked hurt but stayed silent.

Mr. Stevens, usually so composed, turned to Jake, his face stern. “In this company, we value respect as much as we value innovation. If you cannot provide the former, you have no place here, regardless of your skills or ideas.” By the end of the day, Jake’s internship was terminated.

It became a tale that echoed in the corridors, not as a threat but as a reminder: talent without humility means nothing.

I would do anything…

How do I politely refuse a request from my boss to go make her coffee or any other job that is not my responsibility?

Before I moved to the U.S.; I worked for my boss for 5 years. He was a big-ish deal of my company and I worked under his direct supervision.

It was a very normal thing when I picked my boss up from one vendor’s office at 11.30am to another vendor’s office for another meeting at 1.00pm. He used to ask me to get him a sandwich and a coffee so he could eat in the car while listening to my briefing about what’s the next meeting about. He could just tell me, ‘My flight arrived at 5.30pm Thursday, and I want to fly back Friday evening. I want to meet Mr.X for dinner’ and I would contact Mr.X’s office, try to arrange the meeting, make the reservation for dinner, and jot down a list of things Mr.X might want to discuss and the status of all ongoing matters for him. I also always carried an extra box of my boss’s name card, just in case he ever forgot and needed a backup.

I was hired to manage a computerized lottery system nationwide (43 cities). None of the above was in my job description. Yet, I did them gladly, just because I could, and I felt like I did make his life a little bit easier.

When I told him I would move to the U.S shortly, he offered me three extra months of pay added into the last paycheck, so I could have a little ‘runway’ to settle things down in a new country. At my farewell party with the team, he told me, ‘You’re not just one employee to me, you’re my brother-in-arms’.

While I totally understand others’ reasons for not wanting to be bothered to ‘make me a coffee’; I still think it won’t hurt if I go a bit further in terms of doing things for others.

Maybe I’m just too naive.

A real woman

Did you ever see karma hit someone who deserved it so befittingly that it was eerie?

When me and my husband split up my landlady decided to evict me and my son because she wanted to be able to rent the house for more money. We’d lived there for 10 years and even spent money out of our own pocket for small repairs. Our rent was only $400 a month. Went back a year later. The house is falling apart and is sitting empty. There was a workers permit laying on the front porch. It was really faded and I could make out it was for electrical work. I tried the front door and it was unlocked. 2 of the rooms looked like they had been half painted. You could tell no one had been in there for quite some time. The back porch had completely fallen apart. I guess she realized it was going to cost her more than she was willing to spend to get this old farm house up to the standard to rent for $1200. And now she is bringing in no income for the house. Bet she’s regretting kicking us out now.

Not staged

Do you think it’s fair for Arkansas to order that the Chinese-owned Syngenta to sell farmland in the state on the grounds that China is subject to US arms export controls?

Fair doesn’t factor in the U.S. vocabulary list at all. A nation who is the only nuclear bomb user don’t know the word fairness. A nation that used Agent Orange and Nepalm fire bombs on Vietnamese civilians don’t know fair. A nation build on the backs of ten of millions of African slaves never knew fair. An nation that become a nation after genociding and carrying out biological weapons of western influenza on its natives certainly don’t know fair.

Stop mixing up US and fairness. It is like oil and water. It will never mix.

Has the body of Shani Louk, the Israeli-German woman thought to have been kidnapped by Hamas fighters at a music festival in Israel, been found?

Her skull has been found and identified by authorities.

Her body has not been found.

Reports are that she was brutally raped and beaten by Hamas soldiers after her kidnapping.

Which raises a huge question.

This is supposed to be a religious war.

A jihad against the infidel and usurper Israel. A war to restore control of the Middle East to Islam.

Islam has very rigid rules on sexual behavior, especially for women. In many societies they must be totally covered.

Yet the warriors or Allah are gang raping their victims and parading them around nude in the streets.

Why?

It is against their religion.

Did they receive special dispensation from Allah to rape and parade naked women around?

Or do they really not believe what the Koran says.

Or do they choose to disregard it?

Or do the rules only apply to women?

I realize here is a certain level of hypocrisy in all religions.

But the level here is deafening. To fight a religious war for Allah but violate all the tenets of the faith.

Shani Louk was one of the victims of Hamas disregarding their faith. Of being hypocritical.

I had to call the store…

What was a red flag that made you stop talking to a person immediately?

A new gal started in my dept. at work and she seemed really nice. We both started early so began talking over coffee before the others straggled in. After a couple of weeks though, I saw that the humor I had admired so much at first was really a thinly disguised nastiness. She would make fun of her handicapped husband, and then laugh raucously. Everyone else was joining in, but I recognized that what she was putting forth were her true feelings disguised as humor.

Some of the things she joked about was hiding her spouse’s wheelchair before she left for work, and then watching him on the cameras she had placed around the house while she was at work. (The man was blind and unable to walk, yet she thought it was so hilarious.) The saddest part was that the supervisors and bosses, as well as the co-workers all thought it was hilarious, too. They laughed even more when she showed them the videos she had recorded of his struggles.

I transferred out of that department as quickly as I could after that. I couldn’t stand to work with people who thought being a bully was funny.

What strange law did you accidentally break when you were in a foreign country?

I play flute, and years ago I spent four months busking around Europe. I had three encounters with police:

The Netherlands. Playing in Amsterdam, a mounted cop pinned me up against the wall of a building with his horse. The horse stepped on my flute case (open on the ground, full of coins) and broke it. The cop told me this was illegal and scared me to death; though I wasn’t hurt. After he left, while I was picking coins and stuff off the ground, some older men came out of the pub across the street. They helped me get everything and invited me into the pub to play in there, where they asked if I could play some Frank Sinatra for them (on the flute?) I did my best, and they were very generous.

Switzerland. I was playing in a square in Geneva, making a ton of money. Suddenly some cops pull up to me in a van and tell me to get inside. My travel companion was having coffee nearby and she came running over. The cops explained that this wasn’t allowed in Geneva, drove us to the outskirts of the city, and dropped us off. Message received.

Sweden. Playing in a square in Stockholm, a uniformed cop came over and listened while I ran through a movement from a Bach sonata. (First played straight and then the Jethro Tull version, part of my act.) When I stopped, he told me that that was beautiful but that sadly, it wasn’t legal in Stockholm. Then he put some kronor in my (new) flute case and wandered off.

What is your best dating advice?

For years, I often heard women complaining about the dating scene, and men who didn’t “Do what they say they were going to do.”

It struck a chord with me as I went through my 20s, and grew increasingly impatient with flaky friends and people who were constantly, and egregiously late to things.

I realized that the people who were the flakiest, and least likely to honor their word, were also the people who had far more problems in their life. Their careers were stagnating. Their relationships were turbulent and problematic.

Their lack of commitment to their word correlated to a bunch of other character flaws, for which they were paying a steep price.

I have since kept a strong radar pinging for people who fail to follow through on even tiny commitments.

My advice to you — and one that I’ve painfully followed — take a knightly approach to your word. This means saying no to things you aren’t sure you can follow through on.

If you explain yourself and say, “I don’t want to make a commitment I am not sure I can honor.”

They’ll usually understand and appreciate it.

This is especially true in dating. Women hate, hate flakey dudes.

Someone was stealing my lunch at work

What is the rudest thing that a new neighbor has done to you immediately after you had moved in?

My home burned down in 2012, end of January. Lost everything, including all my pets. Lived in a motel for 8 days, 5 of which my aunt gave me money for. My boss and cousin helped me find housing in a highrise, primarily seniors. Snoopy seniors.

I was sitting on my floor on blankets since I had no furniture. But I did have a TV and free basic channels from the building’s antenna. I could hear whispering in the hallway, right by my door. “Why’s she sitting in the floor? Why doesn’t she have furniture. Maybe she got out of rehab.” Typical gossipy old ladies. The maintenance guy hadn’t replaced my peepholes in the door and they were looking through the holes. I yanked that door open so fast one almost toppled over her walker. Told them I was burned out, was a working woman who drove many of them to doctors and church. I was not putting up with their shit. They took off down the hall. I put duct tape over the holes, which I hadn’t thought anyone would be rude enough to look through. Notified the office the next day. Both ladies got a letter about respecting privacy. They were on camera, peeking into my place.

What are the most blatant examples of double standards and hypocrisy in America?

Here we see an image from in interview in which actress Amber Heard “fights back tears” after telling about the horrific domestic abuse she claims to have suffered at the hands of her former husband Johnny Depp. She’s sad. She’s pitiful. She’s a brave victim, telling her story… only she isn’t. She’s bullshitting.

The truth is, Amber Heard has a history of domestic abuse. As in, committing it. Before Depp she primarily dated women, and she has a tendency of flying off the handle with them physically. Domestic violence between women, like female partners beating up female partners, is historically massively underreported. So is violence against men, by women. There’s shame, and there’s stigma involved.

She was arrested for it, before. Got into a physical altercation with an ex-girlfriend. Hit her, in public, in an airport.

And the case was dropped. And she got away with it. Because she’s a woman. A pretty woman. Better yet, a pretty rich woman. All the nasty stories about Amber Heard were carefully buried for years. Until the moment her then-husband, Johnny Depp, had enough and defended himself physically.

He then became “the bad guy”. The man with many wild and rocky relationships, who in spite of his substance abuse had never, ever been accused of abusing any of his partners… was accused by the woman who had a history of abuse. And yet she was believed, by default. Why? Because she was a woman.

That’s the most blatant double standard I’ve witnessed in recent years — you can literally be a woman with a history of abuse and beat up your husband, slap him, call him names, cut off his finger and defecate on his bed (Heard did all these things to Depp!) and the MINUTE he defends himself physically? He’s labeled a ‘wife beater’ and all-but blacklisted from Hollywood.

Christians, do you think funding missions in China will weaken the tyranny of the Chinese government?

As a Christian and a lover of Chinese culture and history, I have to tell you that there is so much wrong with the premise of this question that it’s scary.

True Christianity (not the “new evangelical movement” we see in America) is strictly Bible based. Bible based Christianity is not political. Bible based Christianity isn’t interested in overthrowing governments. Bible based Christianity won’t send you on crusades to conquer nations and set up a state church.

Understand that I’m not just talking out of my butt like most US politicians and popular evangelists. I actually devoted years of my life earning a degree in theology. I have studied the history of the Christian missionary movement. I have studied the history of Christianity from the New Testament down to modern day. I have researched and written books on it. I’m not trying to brag but I give my credentials to explain that I know of what I speak.

The very attitude behind this question is why Christianity finds itself unwelcome in some countries; because the government fears that that in allowing Christianity that they are importing a Trojan horse of imperialism. This very line of thought is what got Christians killed in China’s Boxer Rebellion. Some of those killed did seek to claim parts of China for their country. Just like the political cartoon of the day, nations gathered around China as if China were a pie to be sliced up in pieces. Is it any wonder that China fought against it?

However, some true Christians suffered in China during that time. I want to tell you about one of them. His name was Hudson Taylor. Born in 1832, he was English and had studied medicine at The Royal College of Surgeons. He became a Christian at the age of 17 and committed to go to China as a missionary. But not just any missionary.

At this time in his life he began studying Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Mandarin. He earned a degree from the Royal College of Surgeons, and he studied the ways of Christian missions of that time period. He arrived in Shanghai in 1853.

He was not well received to start with. And had arrived during Civil War. He wondered what he could do to better fit into life in China. You see, he wasn’t there to convert Chinese people to English ways. He wasn’t interested in making them more like the West. He didn’t want to destroy Chinese culture.

In fact, he chose to embrace Chinese culture. He began dressing as a Chinese man. He shaved his head and grew a queue, as was the hairstyle of the Qing Dynasty. He began living among the Chinese people instead of at the Christian missions. He learned Mandarin, Cantonese, Chaozhou, Shanghaineese, and dialects of the Wu and Ningbo. He even learned them well enough to give them a New Testament in their language.

The established English missionaries were horrified. It was considered improper for him to live this way. They very nearly stopped his marriage because of this. They thought him a fool, but he didn’t care. He renounced the ways of the English and said that if he had a thousand lives he would give them all to China.

He traveled to remote villages and gave them free medical care and free schooling. And yes, he preached the gospel. But he genuinely loved China and the people of China. He and his wife adopted orphaned Chinese children and raised them with their own children. He buried many of his children and his first wife in China, but that didn’t stop him.

As time passed, the people that he ministered to came to love and respect him and his family, as well as those who came to work with him. He would only allow missionaries who were serious about giving their lives to China. To follow Hudson Taylor, you had to renounce English ways and live as the Chinese lived. In dress, language, and custom. He was turning the English Chinese, rather than making the Chinese English.

His living children grew up and his daughters married in China, living among the Chinese all their days. Hudson Taylor remarried, and continued there. He survived the Boxer Rebellion, probably in part because he genuinely loved China, but many of his followers were killed—58 missionaries and 21 children. He refused to accept money from the government as reparation, though other Englishmen criticized him for this, but he maintained he had not come to take from China but instead, to give.

His health caused him to leave China for a time, where his second wife died in Switzerland. He returned to China again, in 1905. He died in Changsha, Hunan Provence and was buried with his first wife.

Hudson Taylor was the right kind of Christian missionary. He had no use for politics, and no desire to please the English. He immersed himself in the culture and way of life of the Chinese people. He preached Christ, yes, but he lived as a Chinese. He gave them hospitals, schools, and churches, but he did it while living among the people that he loved.

I am convinced that Christians today would find themselves better received if they’d leave politics and government and American ways out of mission work, and focus on loving the people of their chosen mission field. God didn’t call Christians to make converts to Westernization. God could care less about Western ways.

God isn’t interested in overthrowing governments or turning China into a democracy. Show me in the Bible where God said to establish democratic governments. Chapter and verse, please. God doesn’t care about your democracy. He said to obey government as long as it didn’t command you to go against the Bible. In the event that government and Bible clashes, God was ok with civil disobedience in that area, but that didn’t mean topple the government. You want to win people to Christ? Then stop trying to make them like you.

American women with crazy expectations

Why do some people carry grudges for a lifetime?

My Dad and his brother started a feud when they were in their early 30’s and kept it going until they both died fifty years later. No, I tell a lie. My uncle forbade my Dad from coming to his funeral, so he carried the feud on even after his death.

The irony is that neither could explain what the feud was about, so I am convinced that it was a trivial matter that just grew, and neither of these two headstrong men could let it drop because that would be to admit that their years of feuding had been a silly waste. In a sense, the longer it went on, the stronger the feud became even as the memory of the cause became weaker.

It hasn’t been a total waste though. My cousin and I are very close. It’s united us. It has also acted as a lesson to the extended family, a kind of example of how not to behave.

The brothers were both child refugees from the Nazis and had very difficult childhoods. They were both angry young men, and perhaps that explains their decades of refusing to go to family events if the other was going, the forbidding of the other’s name to be mentioned, etc. I don’t want to get into amateur psychotherapy except to say they were both nuts.

What’s the best thing you’ve done for your employee? How did he react?

I have an employee that I assigned to a huge deal. He not only made it. He absolutely killed it. He did far better than my wildest expectations. I called him into my office and told him to contact our travel people and to book a ten day cruise (all expenses) to anywhere he and his wife wanted to go. He was speechless and then didn’t understand how he earned it. I explained to him that his contribution to the company was invaluable. Prior to the cruise he was a Departmental Manager. On the day he returned he was Named a Vice President. I always reward high performance and talent. The cruise didn’t cost me a thing. He’s repaid the cost many times over. Did I have to do that? No, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

What is the USA gonna do now?

China’s SMIC and Huawei have surged ahead in chip technology, defying the U.S. restrictions aimed at curbing their technological advancements, Burn J. Lin, a former TSMC vice president, told Bloomberg in a rare interview. He believes ASML lithography tools that SMIC already owns will allow the company to advance to a 5nm-class fabrication process.

“It is just not possible for the US to completely prevent China from improving its chip technology,” Lin told Bloomberg.

Despite the U.S. imposing technological constraints via sanctions, SMIC has showcased notable resilience and ingenuity by developing its 2nd generation 7nm-class fabrication process. It also achieved yields high enough for Huawei to make plans to supply 70 million smartphones. SMIC allegedly used ASML’s Twinscan NXT:2000i litho tool, which is a deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography scanner that can produce chips on 7nm and 5 nm class process technologies. Exports of this tool to China were curbedby the Dutch government earlier this year.

The resolution that the Twinscan NXT:2000i features (≤38nm) is good enough for 7nm-class single-patterning lithography mass production. However, when it comes to 5nm-class process technologies, a finer resolution is required. To produce it, chipmakers can use double, triple, or even quadruple patterning, a lithographic technique that involves splitting a complex pattern into several simpler patterns, which are printed sequentially to achieve higher precision and detail in semiconductor manufacturing. Usage of multi-patterning is a tricky process that affects yields, and the amount of chips per wafer that can be used, so typically its usage is limited due to economic reasons.

But being limited to tools that it already owns, SMIC has no other option but to use multi-patterning for finer resolutions. Apparently, it has managed to achieve yields acceptable to Huawei. As a result, one can ask whether the U.S. government’s curbs against China’s semiconductor sector work.

“What the US really should do is to focus on maintaining its chip design leadership instead of trying to limit China’s progress, which is futile as China is adopting a whole nation strategy to boost its chip industry, and hurting the global economy,” former-TSMC R&D VP Lin is reported to have said.

Interestingly, the U.S. sanctions seem to have inadvertently opened the doors of opportunity for SMIC. The restrictions imposed on TSMC, barring it from transacting with certain Chinese entities, have allowed SMIC to step in and capitalize on substantial orders. This shift has facilitated SMIC’s enhancement of its manufacturing techniques and technological capabilities.

The really harsh reality…

Looks what mothers actions (when she was single) did to her 13 year old boy years later.

What is the least intelligent thing you’ve ever seen a tourist do?

Visiting Banff National Park, touring motorists left their parked vehicles to take photos of the cute Black Bears and their cubs. One stopped and before long a dozen more. The bears were grazing on a meadow about 100 metres (300 feet) from the road. Some brave individuals without telephoto lenses tried to get up closer for a good picture. A mama bear sensing a threat to her cubs could reach those touring idiots in 6 seconds, not even enough time to open the car door and get in, let alone run the distance back to their car. It took Park Rangers about 5 minutes to notice the “bear jam”, and they were screaming at everyone to get back in their cars and disperse the traffic jam.

I discovered that driving down any infrequently used Canadian wilderness road, when descending a slope, if the engine was turned off to coast down, half a dozen heads popped up to see why the sound had ceased. It surprised me that so many bears were hiding in the growth on the sides of roads, and how close they were. I would not recommend hitch-hiking. Another time just as I was passing, a huge timber wolf appeared and just stood there looking at me as I drove past. The paws were bigger than my hand, and in the rear view mirror I could see he was still looking at me for some time.

What do you think of the opinion that Australia’s trade tensions with China are its own fault?

Of course.

Basically Australia deserves it. Not Aussies. Many are smart good people. They lose a meal a day because your racist PM Scott Morrison prefer to have alliance with Mike Pompeo and confirm that Australia is indeed a China hater and Chinese hater. You harvest what you sow! Aussies promptly kicked him out of office. But the damage is done.

Not only China. But Asian especially South East Asian lost trust and faith in Australia. It sees them as a U.S. stooge and a colonial minded nation thinking that it is ordained by god to be white man run roughshod over coloured people. We Asians has a jolt of awareness that Australia don’t want to be part of and partner to Asia. It wants to be a U.S. dog nation.

Asia don’t want and don’t need a U.S. assistant sheriff! So Australia need some soul searching if it wants to be a real partner or a colonial outpost. Asia is watching.

What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?

HiI was working as a security guard outside a 24:-hour McDonald’s in Australia around 2am. I was about 21 and a small-framed woman working alone and it was a bit of a rough area so I had to be careful.

A group of 5 or 6 teenager boys turned up and were standing around in the car park trying to pick fights with any guy who looked at them sideways. Mostly men were ignoring them but they were getting bolder and I was beginning to think I was going to have to call the police before things escalated.

Just at that moment a small thin guy exited the building. Everything about him said scared. He held the food bag in front of him like a shield, he was looking at his feet and walking fast trying to avoid any conflict with the boys.

Predictably one of the loudest lads zeroed in on him as an easy target to hassle and impress his friends. He runs over with the usual, “What are you looking at? Are you looking for trouble?” bullshit and the small man just sped up. I started to walk over to rescue him, thinking he was about to be beaten up by the group if they were allowed to proceed.

The guy ignored all provocation until the boy laid a hand on him. I have never seen anyone move so fast. The man dropped the bag grabbed the kid by the hair and pulled him backwards off his feet in a move he had clearly used before. He proceeded to punch the boy in the face 4 or 5 times til the kid was out on his feet.

There was a moment of shocked silence then the guy gently put the kid down and picked up his meal. He suddenly saw me standing there in uniform completely frozen in shock. The guy had yanked the kid’s head back so hard there were clumps of his hair on the ground.

As soon as he saw me the guy was like a lost kid. He said nearly in tears, “He started it. I just wanted to go home and have my dinner.” I just nodded and said, “OK off you go” because I sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him, and he drove away.

The kid suddenly came round, with a split lip, bloody nose, and a few loose teeth I would think. He was a bit dazed and I asked him if he needed an ambulance or the cops. He said no so I told him and his mates to piss off.

I have never seen a beat-down like that. From scared little guy to full psycho and back again in less than a minute. The guy must have been on parole or something because he wanted no piece of that fight before or after.

As for the kids, they learned an important lesson about picking fights with people you don’t know. Sometimes the little guy is not the easy bet. Sometimes people avoid fighting for your protection rather than theirs.

As my grandfather used to say, “Beware the wrath of the quiet man.”

Updated Response: thanks to everyone who up voted. When the incident occurred I was only 21 and very unsure of how to respond. Unfortunately the law in Australia is very clear. Security guards have no rights to remove people from anywhere and calling the police is often the worst response. While many people have criticised my actions that’s OK. The story illustrates as much as anything the lack of support guards have.

For those who could have done better, this reminds me of another of my Grandfathers sayings, “Everyone knows how to tame the mad bull, except the man who owns him.”

Road rage going too far…

Do you have 100% trust and faith in your government(US)? If no, why would you want to ban civilians from owning guns if it’s our only defense against a government you don’t trust?

Name a time when people with guns have ever stopped US government overreach. Want to know a secret? Most people prefer tyranny, as long as they aren’t the ones being tyrannized.

People with guns didn’t stop government racial segregation and Jim Crow. They cheered.

People with guns didn’t stop the mass interment of Japanese citizens in concentration camps. They cheered.

People with guns didn’t stop the police or government from lynching Black men. They cheered.

People with guns didn’t stop the police or government from persecuting gay men and lesbians. They cheered.

See, normal people know your felusional Rambo fantasies about “mY gUn WiLl StOp ThE gOvErNmEnT fRoM tYrRaNy AnD iNjUsTiCe” is a self-serving lie. No it won’t. You lot line up on the streets and celebrate government tyranny and injystice, as long as it hurts people you hate.

Gimme a break. You need guns to stop government oppression…ah HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Riiiiight. Sure you do.

What was the moment you cancelled the friendship with your best friend?

It’s been a couple of years now but this happened with a friendship that began in the early 90’s so that’s a long time. We had a slight falling out and it was over something I said, but her response to it changed me feelings of close friendship with her. I didn’t mind that it made her made or maybe offended her but she said friendship altering things that were beyond what the issue was. There was damage and issues that had evidently occurred that I just wasn’t aware of. I wish she had talked to me about whatever was going on with her towards me but, she didn’t. So when the opportunity arose she gave me more than I was ready for. It was a deal breaker for me and I think that, that is what she wanted. This may sound odd…….I miss her because we enjoyed a lot of things together but I’m okay with it at the same time.

Must South Koreans and Chinese pay their governments for living in the USA?

Hi, Joseph Mcmanus. Thanks for the very interesting question.

I’m Chinese and I spent a handful of years living in the States.

During my time stateside, I paid rent to my landlords.
I paid school tuition fees to the school I was attending.
I paid all living expenses out of my own pocket.

At no time during my handful of years in the States did I have to pay the Chinese government for living in the US.

Unless, as Frosty Shoat mentioned in their answer, you’re counting the cost of the passport as an expense for living in the US. But I don’t see how that is an expense exclusive to Chinese alone.

I hope that helps clear things up.

Hero Rufus

What is the best thing that has ever happened to you for being nice?

I saw a Facebook post from an acquaintance of the hysterical variety. “Can anyone help me move on Tuesday? I’m being kicked out of my place. “

Being the guy with a truck, and having that afternoon free, I said I would meet her at 3 and help move. So day of, I’m there at the appointed time and she’s nowhere to be found. The owner of the house is there and there’s a pile of stuff outside. I start hauling the stuff up to the Uhaul which fortunately is there and talking with the owner. Turns out my acquaintance is being kicked out because she hasn’t paid rent in 10 months and has left the landlord (her ex-sister in law) about $35,000 in the hole. They are going to have to sell the place to recover the money. She shows me around the place. It’s a bit of a mess but an absolutely lovely home. Quiet neighborhood but close to downtown Honolulu, views, parking. All the things.

I tell her that I love the place and before she talks to anybody else or lists it, to let us make an offer. My acquaintance shows up an hour and a half late, after the bulk of the work is already done. I finish helping her move, with a lot less sympathy now.

Six months later, after a lot of talking and negotiating and inspecting, we moved into the beautiful house! And because we negotiated directly we saved about $45,000 in realtors fees.

What real life legal events sound straight out of a movie?

A crime watch group in Homestead, Florida held a neighborhood crime watch.

This meeting took place outside on a back patio. The Chief of Police was meeting with all the participants and team members.

He was outlining all of the things to be on the look out for. He was going down the list of agenda items related to criminal activity.

As he was talking, they heard a loud engine sound. The BZZZZZZ of an airplane motor.

It got louder and louder.

Then.

vvvVVVVVVROOOOOOM

It streaks by.

And

<boom>

Something hits the ground.

Everyone is startled. Then they see a big box right next to them.

The officer goes to check it out.

What is in it?

Seventy-five pounds of cocaine.

The plane that had been flying overhead was on the run from Customs, and it was dumping its cocaine so as not to be caught when they landed.

Let me restate that – a box of cocaine fell on top of a crimewatch meeting.

The plane dumped its last box shortly after that before they landed and were arrested. (Source: What’s that falling from the Florida sky. It could be pork, poop — or worse. Miami Herald. Cohen, Howard)

Luckily that last box of cocaine only hit a church.

Just another day in Florida.

The argument from intimidation

What is the worst thing a woman can say to her husband?

The woman loved a man .

Both got married .

Both had children .

After few years of the marriage suddenly one day the woman announced her husband that she is in love with another man .

If he wants he can divorce her . But she won’t leave the other man .

The man had no choice but to agree her condition because of his children and social standing .

This is the worst thing in a man’s life to compromise with a cheating wife and spending entire life with that woman .

What is the fastest you wiped that smirk off your manager’s face?

I wrote a letter to my manager outlining his misbehaviours. I gave a copy to every one of his staff. In due course I was in the state managers office with the personnel manager there too.

The state manager told me he was going to take disciplinary action against me. I looked from one to the other and said:

I don’t often beg, but I am going to beg this time. I’m begging you. Please take disciplinary action against me.

They looked at each other and there was silence for about ten seconds.

Then I said:

You’re not going to do it are you?

And quietly the state manager said “No”.

I told them the meeting was over and went back to work.

That was not the end of the issue, but there were no consequences against me.

What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?

My dad … brought us up to NEVER LIE so when he blatantly lied to the State Trooper standing in the family kitchen one early afternoon I was dumbfounded!

My aunt (dads younger and only sister) married an abusive drug addict/alcoholic child abuser (his own kids).

My aunt had a black eye and lots of other injuries, new and old but she told of her husband having an abusive fit and while beating her he grabbed their three year old son and threw him so hard he went through the plaster and lathe board leaving his whole body as a marker to how hard he was thrown. My aunt called the police eventually (this was mid 1970’s) but her husband threatened if she told them what happened he’d kill the children (1 boy 3, and a girl 1.). She didn’t press charges because she knew he had guns and knew how violent he was.

About three days later two State troopers were in our driveway. They asked my dad if he owned a handgun. They also knew what had happened to my aunt and her little boy (small community).

My dad wanted to kill her husband but knew he wasn’t worth it. So, my dad’s younger brother obtained a gun I think it was a .45 handgun. My dad climbed in the window of his sisters house after his brother dropped him off … and he waited. The abusive husband/father came home, unlocked the door and was going about his business. At some point my father came into view with that gun. He made that scum get on his knees and beg for his life.The end of the gun was put in his mouth. As my father was asking him how tough are you now? Beating up your wife and 3 year old son is easy. How tough are you now? The scumbag pissed his pants while begging for his life.

I’m sure there were a lot more things said and done.

The gun went back to its owner. My dad was having coffee and a cigarette when he invited the cops in. He was so calm, cool and collected as he told the cops he didn’t do anything. He was home all morning. He LIED! Then one cop left and the other one told him, “it’s just me and you, I’d have done the same thing if my sister and nephew got beat up. C’mon, you can tell me. My partner is outside and he can’t be witness to you telling me what really happened.”

My dad calmly lied again and told the cop he knew nothing about it.

After they finally left I asked my dad why he didn’t tell the one cop that he did it. There wasn’t a second cop to corroborate his confession. My dad told me, “Oh yes there was! They don’t carry two way radios for nothing!

My dad was a badass. Just a humble middle class auto shop rat. He died last summer. I learned a lot about life from him.

***edit: I thought that the abuser of my aunt was dead. I recently asked a family member of his. He’s alive but in bad health, still drinking and drugging. He did leave the state but it was after my aunt divorced him. He had a girlfriend. He beat her up so bad she died. I don’t know anymore details than that. I have no idea why he isn’t still in prison. I only know my dad changed his sister’s life for the better and probably saved her life. Her daughter was younger than her son (who was 3 years old when the abuser threw him through a plaster and lathe board wall) and she only recently found out that my dad also changed HER life for the better by scaring the sh;t out of her father and giving her mother the strength to divorce him. I’m sure the a$$hole knew he’d be severely beaten if he ever touched my dad’s little sister again.

Did you ever see karma hit someone who deserved it so befittingly that it was eerie?

Driving an ambulance in response to a “Man down” call on a Saturday morning; lights and siren activated. My travel route took me over a twisting two lane road that was frequented by bicyclists. I encountered a pack of cyclists – maybe 40 – who wouldn’t yield to me. The winding road prohibited me from swinging into the opposing traffic lane to pass.

Took me several extra minutes to work my way to the front of the pack whereupon the lead rider flipped me off and offered me some salient verbal advice. Got past them, delayed in responding to a serious call.

Returning to the station afterwards, made comment to one of my co-workers, a fellow volunteer and a full-time police officer in the local jurisdiction. On the next Saturday, he donned his police uniform, drove his cruiser to the bike-traveled road and waited for the particular bicycle club to cruise thru the stop-signed intersection, en masse….their usual disregard. He pulled the ENTIRE pack over and wrote reckless riding tickets for each and every cyclist. Took him more than two hours!!!!

I went to court with the officer, as did the rest of our ambulance crew….some riders showed; many defaulted. After the 4th or 5th defendant appeared, the judge called them all up together —— maybe a dozen —— spoke for a bit and found them ALL guilty. Good karma day.

EDIT: And before I receive another comment going to legal procedures, please know that in our community, organized bicycle groups make frequent use of a gent who is well-known as the “Bicycle Advocate”. He commonly appears at proceedings where/when bicyclists are cited. On the appearance day discussed above, The Advocate was on-hand, standing up to assert his interpretation of the motor vehicle statutes as they do/don’t pertain to cyclists. The rhetoric is without legal support, and the guy is neither an attorney, nor does he actually represent a defendant. He’s very good at deflection.

With serial defendants and the same fact-pattern, the judge soon tired of the Advocate’s repeated and time-consuming speeches. He cautioned the guy a couple of times and eventually fined him $200 for contempt. He then called up the remaining defendants, asked them to declare an exceptional circumstance or individualized defense(s) to their citations. Hearing none, he passed the collective judgment. The individual defendant due process rights were, indeed, preserved by the judge’s line of questions prior to rendering his decision.

And, yes, I am an attorney.

Un-bound

What is the most unfair advantage a person can have?

Being born to the right parents.

This single coincidence tends to make more of a difference to a persons’ life than any other factor, including whatever efforts the person himself makes to try to improve his lot.

Who your parents happen to be has a tremendous impact on a huge range of things that shape just about everything in your life to a huge degree.

• It determines if you’re born in Sweden or in Somalia
• The genes they gave you determines whether you’ll be tall, intelligent and handsome or short, stupid and ugly.
• The genes also play a big role in whether or not you’ll be healthy, whether or not you’re likely to get a long list of diseases.
• If your parents are kind, compassionate and nurturing your start in life will be very different from if they’re cold, inconsiderate or abusive.
• The hobbies and interests they have in many cases have a lifelong influence on your own hobbies and interests.
• Their wealth and their income determines what material standard of living you’ll have for the first 20 – 25 years of your life, and in fact often for your entire life. (in most cases lazy sons of multimillionaires end up better off than hardworking daughters of slum-dwellers)
• They more or less entirely decide who is important in your life for your first 5 years. Such early formative relationships are very important for a child’s development.
• They determine what quality education you’ll get, this depends on their wealth, where they happen to live, and their priorities. You as a young child have low influence on all of this.

I’m not at all saying that it’s hopeless to get ahead in life if you had a bad start. What I’m saying is that having the right parents means getting to play life on “easy” mode, while having the wrong parents makes everything a whole lot more difficult.

If someone came to your house late at night and asked to use your phone because they need a ride home would you open the door or would you call from a window or the door yourself?

When I was 16, I was driving home from my boyfriends house which was a good 15 miles away. My car suddenly stopped working. It was dark and it was 1996, so no cell phones. I was out in the middle of nowhere! I saw a house and decided to walk up and ask to call my dad. I was TERRIFIED!

A woman answered the door but barely opened it. I told her that my car broke down and asked to call my dad. She asked me to give her his number and she would call from inside. I agreed. It was cold outside and I was shivering (both from cold and fear). She called him and asked if he had a daughter etc. Then she gave him her address and she invited me inside. I was still scared, but went in because I heard my dad was on his way there.

She made me hot chocolate and I sat by the fireplace, petting their dogs and chatting until my dad showed up. My dad got there about 20 minutes later asked if he could come pick my car up the next day and they said, “of course!” Her husband put his coat on and helped push my car off the road and into their driveway. We both thanked them sincerely and they said “If You ever need anything again, you come straight here!” The lady gave me a warm hug and said goodnight.

My dad sent a tow truck to get my car to the shop the next day and it was back in order with a new timing belt. I made sure to always take that route home just in case I broke down again.

Date Night

What types of antiques have considerably dropped in value?

Roll Top Desks….

My Mom loved Roll Top desks. She always wanted on one. So in 1975, she went to a local Sotherby’s auction and she emerged victorious but financially wounded. In 1975, she paid $1500 for a desk almost identical to this one.

In 2023 dollars, that cost my Mom about $8,500 dollars.

When my Mom died in 2022, we had a professional estate sale guy come to the house. Now my parents lived in the heart of Silicon Valley. He said…………you know, around here this item is really difficult to sell. Nobody wants them because they aren’t super friendly to computers. Anyone young with money around here, won’t be interested. We’ll be lucky to get $2500-$3000, even if we can find a buyer.

That puts my Mom’s purchase around $500 in 1975 dollars.

I’m actually glad she never knew…it was her crown jewel among all her antiques.

ALERT: LARGEST NAVAL FORCE SINCE WW2, ATTACK ON TWO NUCLEAR PLANTS, HEZBOLLAH DECLARE WAR IN 5 DAYS

Looks like a war buildup against Iran.

What’s the most enjoyable thing you’ve ever said to a manager as you’ve quit your job?

Not me but my dad. He was a supervisor, and had a less than stellar employee. My dad was offered a job with the potential for a promotion on the other side of the country. He was retired military so we had moved a lot, so he didn’t take it as he didn’t want to move us again. The job was offered to the problem employee; my dad was happy to see him leave.

Two years later, the guy comes back, only now, he was my dad’s supervisor, and made his job a living hell. For example: this was back in the days of overhead projectors (a precursor to PowerPoint). My dad was to give a presentation to some high-level people. He starts, but the projector isn’t working, so he had to give the presentation with hastily copied handouts. His boss had removed the lightbulb from the projector, and then chastised him for not “checking his equipment”.

He pulled a lot of similar unprofessional stunts. My dad had already retired from the military, and had enough years in to retire again. His physician told him that based on his medical problems, he could retire any time he wanted to, so my dad had him draft an undated letter stating he was retirement-eligible based on years of service and medical issues.

We had an expensive vacation planned, and were to leave on a Friday night. My dad had put in for vacation, so the boss was well aware of it. Ten minutes before he’s about to leave, the boss shows up, drops a file on his desk, and tells him not only does he have to stay late to get started on the project, but he’s cancelling his vacation.

My dad got a box, and started filling it with his personal items. The boss goes ballistic, so my dad pulls out the physician’s note, dates it, and says “I just retired” and walked out. It was a tad petty, but it was epic.

Wife Has MELTDOWN After Husband Secretly Discovers Her Affair, Plans A Strategy & Then Divorces Her!

Do firefighters really eat the food people bring them?

Yes and No.

We had a very nice lady come by our fire station with an “ice chest” full of hot tamales (which we purchased). Everyone who ate the tamales got food poisoning (including myself). We were not incapacitated, but close.

The question is, by eating food that is given to us, will we be able to perform our job of protecting our community? Could we fight fires? Could we perform rescues or fulfill our duties as EMTs? The answer could be “no.”

For example, on another occasion a family was nice enough to deliver a big plate of cookies and other homemade treats. The family appeared dirty and reeked of bad hygiene. We thanked them profusely (as was the polite thing to do). After they left their treats (unfortunately) went in the trash.

We had a few regulars who brought us pies, which we ate. It took a bit of a size-up on the individual delivering them, at first.

On some holidays a major restaurant chain brought us an entire meal, which we ate (it was prepared in a professional kitchen).

All the food that was brought to us was appreciated and accepted. It was never looked at as a bribe (we had no involvement in enforcement issues).

Coffee or tea offered on fire scenes? Now that is something I’d like to see adopted in America! A lot of winter fires were in below freezing temperatures. We were wet and cold. A hot drink of just about anything would have been much appreciated those freezing nights.

We once had a terrible fire, with much loss of life (Deadly Reno Fire

). It was across the street from the rear door of the original Harrah’s casino, in Reno, Nevada. The investigation lasted for two weeks. The casino set up a room for us with 24/7 coffee, tea and snacks. They also provided many meals, which they did at no charge. They expected nothing in return. They were just being good neighbors. Kudos to Harrah’s!

The best policy is “Unless you know the history of the food, it’s unsafe to eat.”

The boats

Al Copeland’s Basic Cajun Jambalaya

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 pound pickled pork, diced
• 1 pound smoked ham, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
• 4 cups beef or chicken stock or hot water
• 2 cups rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

Instructions

1. In large saucepan with lid, melt butter with oil.
2. Add onions and pork and sauté until onions are soft.
3. Add ham, garlic, thyme and parsley and sauté for 5 minutes.
4. Add sausage and cook until browned. Stir in stock and bring to boil.
5. Add rice, bay leaf and cayenne. Return to boil and cover. Simmer over very low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to see if all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. If necessary, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more water if liquid boils away before rice is cooked.

He should have been patient

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_nyfUtpSlZQ?feature=share

Can you give an example of how smart cats are?

My cat is four and a half months old. He’s part of our family for a month now.

As I was playing with him with the laser pointer about a week ago, he happily chased the red dot over the floor as always. But when he sat down to look at me, he suddenly looked over to my hand where I held the pointer, than back to the red dot and my hand again. His enthusiasm for chasing the moving red dot was suddenly gone. As if he understood that it was I who made the dot move and that wasn’t as interesting for him as a red dot that’s kinda “magically” moving on its own.

He also found out how to open drawers after watching me doing it two times.

And he’s been exceptionally quick to understand that I keep his “special” toys in the black plastic box on top of the shelf in our living room. As soon as I touch the box, he jumps off the desk and runs over to sit at my feet, waiting for whatever toy I might pick this time.

He’s extremely vocal and complains loudly when I chastise him whenever he does something undesirable, like playing with the computer chords (cuz he chews on them), jumping onto the kitchen table, scratching the wall corners instead of his scratching post, etc.

American Psychosis Chris Hedges on the US empire of narcissism and psychopathy

This is DAMN good!

https://youtu.be/Zp3gCeAI0ds