When I was in seventh grade, my father bought me a hat for Christmas. It was some kind of furry alpine hat with flair and it even had a feather in the top. Man! Oh man! was I ridiculed by everyone in the class for wearing it. My other classmates all wore orange hunting caps, but I had my Alpine masterpiece…

I got to be the brunt of many a joke because of this hat.

Anyways, one day, one of the loudest boys who made fun of my hat, took me aside and told me in private that he liked my hat and thought that it was really cool. Well… good for him. I appreciate it.

If you are a parent, please take the time and give some thought to what your children might think of your fashion choices…

Today…

What is the most outrageous “fee” you’ve ever been charged?

I own the building in the picture, 6–8 Commerical Street, Castleford, West Yorkshire, England.

(picture omitted)

My financial advisory company occupies the two two floors. The electricity Supplier Opus Energy tried billing me for a standard charge to supply the non-existent number 10 Commercial Street, so I wrote to them as below –

Dear Sirs

Account Number ********** Invoice Number ***************

Your bill (scan attached) has nothing to do with me.

1. I own 6-8 Commercial Street, not number 10. There is no number 10. It does not exist.

2. I have never signed a contract with you for any premises whatsoever.

3. The meter to which this refers has a label attached to it saying ‘Dead’. You say that the bill is for my ‘connection to the network. I am not connected to the network via your company but via British Gas. I have 2 meters with British Gas, one for the 1st floor and 1 for the 2nd (top) floor. The baker and hairdresser on the ground floor have their own meters. I refuse point blank to pay you for a dead meter that supplies absolutely nothing.

4. The reading on your meter – 94717kwh – is the same as it was on the day I bought the building, 1 March 2017.

5. The ‘balance before this bill’ of £33.08 plus VAT should presumably be directed to the previous owners if anyone, though they did not own 10 Commercial Street either. If they were paying you in error then that is their problem. I do not intend to make the same mistake.

In view of the above:

1. Please cancel this invoice and ensure no more are sent. You are not supplying me with electricity; British Gas is.

2. Please arrange for your engineers to safely remove your meter without affecting my supply or that of my tenants.

3. I reserve the right to charge you £1 per day rent for the wall space your meter is taking up backdated to the date I acquired the property.

This argument went on for two years! They eventually threatened to take me to court. I said “Okay, get on with it. I’ll see you in court.” At that point somebody with a brain in his head (their legal department I’m guessing) looked at it and dropped the demand. Case closed.

Mexican Pepper Steak

Ingredients

• 6 steaks
• 1 cup red, ripe Anaheim chiles or 3 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions

1. Choose your favorite steak.
2. Grill the steaks al carbon and serve them topped with the chiles or bell peppers.
3. To prepare the topping, heat butter in a skillet over medium heat.
4. Add garlic and chiles or peppers and sauté them until they are soft.
5. If you are using bell peppers, add black pepper, to taste.

China permanently stops exporting two important minerals for manufacturing electronic chips

In a significant development, China has made the decision to permanently cease the export of two crucial minerals essential for the production of electronic chips. This decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for the global electronics industry.

The move comes as China aims to prioritize its domestic technology sector and strengthen its position in the global market. With the halt in the export of these minerals, manufacturers of electronic chips worldwide will face challenges in sourcing the necessary materials, potentially leading to supply chain disruptions and increased costs.

As electronic chips are vital components in various devices, including smartphones, computers, and automotive electronics, this decision by China is likely to impact the availability and affordability of these products globally. It may also prompt countries and companies to explore alternative sources or develop new technologies to mitigate the impact.

The implications of China’s decision on the electronics industry are significant, and stakeholders will need to adapt to this new landscape. Stay tuned for further updates on how this development unfolds and its potential ramifications for the global technology sector.

What is the worst thing about the U.S. politics?

I’m convinced we are going to see a politician die on TV — and not because of an assassination.

Neither of our two likely presidential candidates can run up a flight of stairs without great risk. Even back in January 2021, the top three candidates (Trump, Biden, and Sanders) would have each been the oldest president ever at the start of their terms.

Mitch McConnell’s eyes are rolling back like a ref is giving him a standing 8 count against Mike Tyson. His publicized medical report said there were no signs of any problem. But politicians decide if medical reports are released. For context, Trump’s doctor also said he was in “extraordinary” good health.

I’ve also stopped buying into Biden’s speech impediment excuse. Watch a few of his younger speeches — there’s a huge difference. Notably, he was also one of the youngest senators in history at age 30. At the time, he said, “The seniority system has more drawbacks than merits”.

God bless Biden for hanging in there but even as a left-leaning moderate, I can’t watch anymore. Per a NYT piece, even his aides are extremely nervous each day, worried he’ll fall or make another serious gaffe.

Politicians have never been a bastion for youth —but a revival is in order. I watched the Republican debates and saw a number of bright candidates, who’d be a much better alternative to Trump. But we are boxed in as usual. Even my parents, who are die-hard conservatives, have lost their enthusiasm.

It’s either a fascist narcissistic billionaire or a democrat who forgets which country he is in.

What a mess.

So what gives?

Why is it so hard to find a fresh 40-something with bold, good ideas —and more cognitive shelf life?

For starters, there’s an incentive problem. The US political system favors experience — but not experience in drafting policy or leading. It favors experience in building allies and raising money.

You might wonder: Why doesn’t a wealthy donor support a younger politician? Because political donors aren’t altruistic. They want people with power, who can use that power to benefit them.

We have abysmal representation for young voters— especially when it comes to issues like climate change. I see countless older politicians advocating for the use of coal when it’s one of the most dangerous sources of energy on a per KWH basis. We have embarrassing, recurring viral moments of politicians completely misunderstanding technology and social media.

But incumbent politicians are devilishly difficult to dethrone, particularly after they’ve been in office for a few terms. They have name recognition and access to enormous campaign financing. They are on TV constantly, dropping zingers on their opponents. And —there are no term limits.

There’s a reason you rarely see 80-year-olds running for their first term.

The only means of entry seems to be through extreme partisanship, which is why you see so many young and over-the-top politicians.

We are to blame

Voters often prefer candidates who are closest to themselves in age. Moreover, we tend to vote for demographics that align with us, and voter turnout remains terrible for young people.

It isn’t just politicians getting older. The average age of incoming S&P 500 CEOs has increased by 14 years over the previous decade. Two-thirds of the nation’s wealth is held by Americans 55 and older, despite them being less than one-third of the population.

The age in Congress dropped slightly after the midterms, with an average age of 58. The average age in the Senate is 64. Meanwhile, the average American is only 38.

We live in a technical age, with sophisticated and evolving artificial intelligence sweeping across every sector. Meanwhile, 72-year-old Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is still using a flip phone.

Many of these leaders were born in the 1940s and were shaped by an era that has blinded them to massive problems at our doorstep. How can you care about climate change if you aren’t concerned about what 2050 looks like?

Biden looks and seems much older than he did only a few years ago. Trump lost his marbles long before he hit his 70s.

And age is causing problems in the actual procedures of governance. Senator Diane Feinstein (90) has well-documented health problems issues that have held up passing legislation.

The lack of a filtration system

There are no real physical demands of the job. This isn’t construction in equatorial heat. If you have a sound mind, and sometimes, even if you don’t, you can stay in office.

Perhaps the job is too easy. Most of us have stressful work that involves tons of multitasking and recurring deadlines we lose sleep over. We look forward to retiring. If people are eager to leave office in a coffin, maybe we haven’t asked enough of them. CEOs rarely last work past decline as they do in politics. They are typically shown the door or leave when they hear the creak of it being opened.

And is that how you’d want to be remembered as a politician? As a cantankerous curmudgeon who refuses to leave?

Sure, there is an appeal to age and experience. Wisdom isn’t inherited. But only to an extent. We need younger blood in office now more than ever.

And so to the people voting, on both sides of the aisle, and both sides of the hill, consider giving fresh voices a chance. Being president has morphed from being a popularity contest —to being a contest of which politician you hate the least. It doesn’t have to be this way.

And more broadly, this is a reminder that just because things are done a certain way, doesn’t mean they should always be done that way. Keep an open mind and good heavens, exercise your right to vote.

HOW I SEE THE USA AS A EUROPEAN (after 6 months)

“Cultural shocks? Differences between Europe and the USA? Regrets, struggles, positive surprises? In this video, I want to share with you some of my impressions of the United States after spending 6 months traveling the country. So, do you reckon I should come back?”

US is Waging a Hybrid War on India.

By S.L. Kanthan

America loves wars. And it wages wars on enemies and allies alike.

Recent events this year indicate that the US is waging a hybrid war on India. It started with a BBC documentary that recycled Hindu-Muslim conflicts from 20+ years ago; then, allegations against Indian billionaire Adani by an American company; followed by calls for better democracy by Soros; and now the latest bombshell accusations from Canada against the Indian government regarding the murder of Sikh separatists.

By the way, the word “allies” is just a euphemism for vassals. Modern wars are hybrid in nature — they include hot wars, economic wars, tech wars, trade wars, propaganda wars, spy wars, political wars and so on. The US wages hybrid wars on its vassals to make sure that the vassals don’t collude or start making independent decisions. Thus, the US spies on its European allies, stages soft coups in allied countries, wrecks their economies when they get too strong, and even forces them into proxy wars. This is standard procedure, and India is now getting a taste of it. With Soros’ involvement, there might even be a color revolution.

To counteract America’s hybrid war, India should re-embrace China! Yes, bring back Huawei 5G, TikTok, Alibaba etc., and the US will back off quickly. That’s smart, “Chanakya” geopolitics.

In this article, we will discuss one of the powerful modern tools for regime change — use of NGOs by the US foreign policy establishment. Then we will discuss why India is under attack and how India can fight back to protect its sovereignty and focus on rapid growth.

How the Attacks are Unfolding

2023 started with a BBC documentary on Modi that rekindled the controversies about the Hindu-Muslim riots 20 years ago. (I thought the documentary was pretty good; and the Indian government should not have banned it). The US and its Western allies are like a geopolitical Godfather and his consigliere.

The BBC documentary was not a coincidence as evidenced by the Hindenburg report that came a couple of days later in a one-two punch fashion. The allegations of fraud have eviscerated $100 billion of (corrupt?) Indian oligarch Gautam Adani’s wealth. He quickly fell from the 2nd wealthiest man to #25 in the Bloomberg Index

.

Then came George Soros, the king of color revolutions, who linked these two incidents, attacked Modi, and called for a “democratic revival” in India. This was the final confirmation of America’s war on India.

The latest attack is from Canada, a member of the Anglo-American Empire and Five Eyes. Don’t mistake me — it’s very likely that the Indian government in some level was involved in the shooting of the Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The media is now reporting that there are incriminating recordings of Indian diplomats in Canada. Not surprised at all.

The whole thing was an entrapment. Just like how the US ambassador in Iraq told Saddam Hussein that if he invaded Kuwait, the US wouldn’t do anything.

In India’s case, it’s likely that someone from the CIA (or even the Mossad) gave the green light for the assassination, while other groups collected the evidences.

(Note that India’s intelligence group, R&AW — which is like the Indian CIA — has carried out such assassinations of Khalistan or Islamist terrorists in Pakistan before. However, to carry out such acts in a NATO/G7 country — killing a Canadian citizen in Canada — is quite brazen and probably a massive geopolitical blunder by India).

What is America’s goal? Either regime change or forcing Modi government to change some of its domestic and foreign policies.

Another sign of the escalating hostility is the sudden change in the tone of the Western media. Look what the influential journal Economist says

:

🔹“India is invariably weaker than its leaders publicly proclaim”

🔹“If the investigation confirms Indian involvement in this crime, it is time for a tougher line.”

🔹“On its own turf, India has muzzled the press, cowed the courts and persecuted minorities”

Understanding America’s Overt Regime-Change Ops

A quick history lesson here is important. During the Cold War, the CIA blatantly assassinated many leaders of sovereign nations all over the world to “stop the spread of communism.” The real reason was, of course, to extend American hegemony globally and ensure cheap supplies of raw materials as well as open markets for American products.

However, by the 1970s, a lot of allies started to complain, since murdering political leaders was a bit too much even for the co-conspirators and obedient puppets of imperialism. Thus, in the 1980s, the US polished its regime change operations and came up with the idea of revolutions through propaganda and soft power. This was the result of people like George Soros and a myriad of organizations like NED and NDI.

Thus, the US shifted many of its operations from covert to overt. Rather than knife-and-dagger, try to overthrow leaders openly!

In 1991, Allen Weinstein, the founder of NED, admitted

that, “ A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”

The goal was to spend billions of dollars in “NGOs” in developing countries, especially those that are resistant to American influence. In an Orwellian fashion, these “non-governmental” organizations are funded and directed by the US government! The term “NGO” just means that they are free from the governments of the countries where the NGOs are located.

These NGOs create a vast array of groups including those that promote “journalism,” “free speech,” “women’s rights,” “environmentalism” etc. Plus, to give some legitimacy, they also include groups that allegedly help fight poverty or illiteracy. However, all their actions are focused on promoting pro-American sentiments and Western corporate interests. The leaders of these groups can make a lot of money and enjoy celebrity status. They can attend workshops in Europe, get to testify before the US Congress, write articles for the NY Times, appear on CNN etc. If they are really good, like that North Korean defector Yeonmi Park, they can make $10,000 a speech, making up absurd stories.

You can see these US/EU-funded fake NGO groups now, in 2023, in Myanmar, Thailand, Belarus, Kazakhstan etc. For more than two decades, they were busy in Hong Kong, until they were completely dismantled by China two years ago. The separatist movement in the Xinjiang-Uyghur region is also fueled by the same people. Other places that were recent victims of US-led protests include Venezuela, Syria, Libya, Cuba and even the so-called Arab Spring.

In Ukraine, they started in the early 1990s and lasted until 2014, when the Nazi-led and US-orchestrated Maidan Coup overthrew a democratically elected leader. Since then, the Ukrainian NGO groups have shifted their energy to 100% anti-Russian propaganda.

George Soros, the General of Color Revolutions

While the US government funds groups like NED and NDI to create chaos in not-so-subservient nations around the world, these groups still had direct links to the US government, which was embarrassing at times. Thus, the US deep state picked George Soros as its henchman or general. He was a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, had strong anti-Russian and anti-communist feelings, and was the perfect pick.

And Soros has been extraordinarily successful. In an interview, he boasted

, “After the fall of the Soviet Empire, I picked up the pieces and created the Soros Empire.”

With Wall Street’s help, the CIA made him a billionaire. With insider information, Soros made his first billion by shorting the British Pound in 1992. Then, subsequently, he made more billions during the Asian financial crisis, Russian crisis, and Mexican crisis during the late 1990s. Get rich by destroying others!

He started his grassroots movements in the late 1980s — first in Hungary, then expanded to Poland and even mainland China.

Soros played a significant role in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Soon after that, China banned him and his organizations. A couple of years ago, Putin finally banned Soros; and now even his native place Hungary is trying to ban him!

Soros and his groups play the long game. For example, his “Open Society” group brags about how it has spent billions of dollars in Ukraine since the 1990s.

A characteristic of his movement is the use of colors — like:

• “Rose Revolution” in Georgia in 2003
• “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine in 2004
• “Tulip Revolution” in Kyrgyzstan in 2005

In each of the above cases, when a pro-Russia leader won the election, Soros turned on his useful idiots and provocateurs, who started large protests. Then, the US/EU governments would cry crocodile tears about human rights, freedom, and democracy. US/UK media operating in those countries would carry out intense propaganda campaigns about corruption. Then the governments were forced to hold another election, in which the pro-US leader won by a small margin.

The interesting and obvious phenomenon is that when a pro-US government is established, Soros quietly shuts down all his “grassroots” organizations. All those protesters and influencers quietly vanish in thin air. Thus, the people are left with the same corrupt system but with different or worse rulers.

Take Ukraine, for example.

• In 2004, Ukraine became slightly pro-US after the first color revolution;
• In 2014, Ukraine became a total American puppet.

What did the Ukrainian people gain? Nothing but poverty and destruction.

In 2021, before the war started, the average pension in Ukraine was just $150 a month. Ukraine was still the poorest country in Europe. Worse, the Ukrainians got a comedian president, rule by the same oligarchy, Nazism, civil war, Russian invasion, millions of people turned into refugees, and utter destruction of the entire country.

While the US has groups like the National Endowment of Democracy (NED), people like Soros are even more effective. Why? It gives US deep state “plausible deniability” — “Hey, he’s just an individual, not the US government.”

For Soros, he enjoys immense power — to manipulate millions of people and overthrow governments. Of course, the new puppets installed in these countries will let Soros and his financial buddies in New York and London make enormous amount of money through various “reforms” such as privatization. So, for example, Soros’ hedge fund would be able to buy a natural gas field, a bank or an airline for pennies on the dollar. The investment money belongs to other oligarchs and financial institutions in the US/Europe, and Soros gets a juicy commission. This strategy of OPM — Other People’s Money — is more discrete and smarter than Soros himself becoming the owner of a new bank or an airline — then, even the average useful idiot of the color revolution will be able to connect the dots.

For example, after the fall of the USSR, vampires like Soros descended upon Moscow, handpicked Russian oligarchs and politicians- based on their loyalty to US/EU, and looted hundreds of billions of dollars.

What India Needs to Realize

Indian leaders should understand the complexity of this network. Indian FM Jaishankar only attacked Soros personally, which gives the wrong impression. George Soros is part of the US/EU Deep State — a group of elites from the foreign policy establishment, Wall Street, military, spy agencies, and the media.

Similarly, Canada is not a tiny country acting alone. Whatever Trudeau says or does is a reflection of the collective decisions made by the Five Eyes — US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Of course, the US is the boss.

Also, in order to circumvent pesky constitutional limits, the Five Eyes do dirty work on each other’s countries. So, British agencies spy on certain Americans; and the CIA/NSA spy on diplomats in Canada, and so on.

Canada is a key designated member of the Five Eyes to attract separatists from all over the world — Sikh separatists from India, Uyghur and Hong Kong separatists from China, Islamists from Syria and so on. These groups are geopolitical pawns for the Western countries to harass developing nations, rivals, or simply any country not being “cooperative” — a.k.a. obedient.

Thus, it’s not just BBC or Hindenburg or Soros or Trudeau attacking India. The entire Western establishment is targeting India.

And the attacks are not going to stop, unless the Modi government gives into the US demands. And what does the US want? I am not sure, but here are my guesses:

• Stop buying weapons from Russia. Instead, buy US weapons.
• Allow US military bases in India.
• Stop helping the expansion of BRICS, especially with the addition of Saudi Arabia and Iran. (This threatens the petrodollar hegemony).
• Be more anti-China. (Recently, the Indian government has been trying to downplay the tensions with China. When there were some border conflicts, it was the British media that leaked the news. Also, India-China trade has been booming. It looks like the Modi government realizes its mistake of over-hyping anti-China sentiments).
• Allow privatization of India’s financial sector — let US giants buy shares in Indian banks, insurance companies, stock market exchange etc.

America is a Brutal Empire

Many Indians have no clue about the real nature of the U.S. partly because of immigration and partly because of the abysmal job of the Indian mainstream media. For example, how many Indians know that the U.S. blew up the Nord Stream pipeline? It’s pure terrorism, like a 9/11 on Germany, America’s “ally.”

Most people also don’t know that the U.S. has armed and funded Al Qaeda since the fall of the Soviet Union — as seen in Chechnya, Kosovo etc. ISIS was also a U.S. creation in the proxy war against Syria. And the U.S. has been funding, recruiting and training Nazis in Ukraine for a decade; U.S. Pentagon also established bio-weapon labs in Ukraine and quickly ordered them to be destroyed when Russia invaded. There are many more such examples of atrocities committed by the USA.

Whatever it takes to maintain the American primacy.

Now, think for a moment what the U.S. would do to create more tensions between India and China. For example, could the U.S. have rigged the GPS system of Indian soldiers in Ladakh in 2020?

India’s Solution: Strategic Ambiguity

I have already written about India has been getting colonized by the US — India, the Crown Jewel of American Empire

. The US elites must have concluded that they now have sufficient control over India that they could blatantly engineer a regime change.

By the way, the U.S. has done this twice in Australia — once in 1975 when Australian Prime Minister Whitlam was removed from his office by the CIA

. In Brazil, the NSA leaked an audio tape

to remove President Dilma Rousseff, when she wasn’t acting like an obedient puppet.

Consider that India’s 5G is all 100% foreign and from US and its close puppet allies. Plus, Indian leaders all probably use Gmail, Outlook etc., which are all spy tools for US deep state. Thus, all forms of communications — phone calls, text messages, emails — in India are under American surveillance.

The spying on Indian diplomats in Canada should wake up Indians to one more gruesome fact: The US is also spying on key business and political elites in India through 5G, Google Pay, WhatsApp, e-commerce (Amazon & Flipkart), Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Amazon AWS cloud, undersea fiber optic cables and so on. Go back and read Edward Snowden’s revelations from a decade ago. Even hard drives and semiconductor chips have back-doors for the NSA to spy. Don’t be fooled by the Indian CEO faces in some US hi-tech companies.

Finally, imagine if the US sanctions India. It will ruin the Indian economy. Imagine if Google Pay, Whatsapp, Amazon, Flipkart etc. get turned off at the snap of a finger! Thus, India becomes very vulnerable when it depends on US technology so much.

The current American chutzpah in attacking India can only be explained by India’s distancing itself from China. Without any powerful ally other than the US, India is hapless. India must rectify this immediately with a shot across the bow: Seek detente with China! It will absolutely blow the American mind.

Bring back TikTok and watch Facebook and Google cry! Bring back Alibaba or AliExpress and watch Amazon shake in its boots! Approve Huawei 5G for India’s networks and watch the CIA weep about how it can’t spy on Indian elites! Let China build some massive infrastructure projects in India — from clean coal power plants and solar farms to airports and highways. Create joint ventures with Chinese firms to create massive manufacturing ecosystems.

India’s strategic ambiguity will get it better deals from China (including technology transfer in some areas) and force the U.S. to curtail its imperialist actions.

If you’re worried about the border disputes, see my blog

on some ideas on resolving them.

Conclusion

India is at a critical inflection point. The next two decades will determine India’s 21st century. Thus, it’s a geopolitical imperative that India navigate this exigent period carefully and wisely. This is the time to focus on growth and prosperity, while making sovereign decisions. India’s focus and goal should be:

• Maintaining Strategic ambiguity while balancing China and the West
• Stopping any nefarious regime change operations… and
• Resisting being a geopolitical pawn of the American Empire

Huawei Stealing American Technology? Ha ha… We’re ‘Stealing’ America’s Technology of Tomorrow!

The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement emphasizing that Huawei, a Chinese company, is excellent but faces prejudice due to its Chinese origin.

Meanwhile, in the United States, there is a department called the “China Task Force,” led by Mike Gallagher, which aims to tarnish China’s image and suppress Chinese technology companies.

Even before the US government released an official report on Huawei’s Mate60 smartphone, which featured the Kirin 9000S chip developed domestically, Mike Gallagher called for a halt to all technology exports to Huawei and SMIC.

He also accused Huawei of relying on US technology to produce the Kirin 9000S chip.

These accusations from US politicians are not new and have been ongoing since May 2018, with claims of national security concerns and technology theft by Chinese companies like Huawei.

In response to these allegations, Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, stated that if Huawei had stolen US technology, it would mean stealing technology that the US hasn’t even developed yet.

He suggested that the US may be attempting to suppress Huawei because it is ahead in technological advancements.

https://youtu.be/0sh9AVy_gSE

What countries will you never visit again?

Egypt was a nightmare.

It is an omen of what social collapse and government breakdown looks like. I’ve been to many countries, but unlike any of these places, there were no traffic rules properly enforced in Cairo. Some streets are absolute wrecks of apocalyptic chaos. Honking everywhere, shattering your ears. Swerving cars with cracked windows. Smog pouring out exhaust pipes. I saw a woman pulling a donkey and cart on a congested highway surrounded by cars. Many cars break down on roads.

The pyramids were overrated and very difficult to appreciate due to the madness around them. This included all sorts of merchants or vehicle operators screaming at you or fighting each other. They are also fringed by what is essentially the slum construction site of Giza with donkey faeces and piles of litter everywhere. Many buildings look like they are crumbling and I heard they appear like this on purpose because painting them technically means they are complete and thus available for taxation. So the population has seemingly agreed to not paint their buildings.

Much of Cairo is falling apart. The old city really is about to roll into a coffin. The sheer scale of people flowing down the small streets was extraordinary. At some points it was almost impossible to move without pushing through crowds. The dining options were not great either. Some places stunk of raw meat or looked unbelievably unsanitary. I saw a man sitting in a cafe looking nonplussed as he seemed to be covered in exhaust smog with his ears being obliterated by honking.

Your instincts are screaming at you everywhere. The pictures online are nothing like experiencing it in reality. The best place is your hotel, away from the chaos. I’ve seen inside perhaps an average home and it seemed well organised and clean, but the outside world is unmitigated lunacy.

The tourist industry is also probably the most aggressive in the world. Many of those working within it actively scam tourists as a major aspect of business dealings. This is ingrained in almost every aspect of it from tour guides to hotels. You cannot trust the prices they quote and they also demand tips quite hawkishly. Cafe owners will mislead you and taxi or tour drivers will take you to so-called museums which are gift shops where owners sit you down to try and sell you stuff. Even in Luxor, ticket sellers demanded tips.

The tourist industry is also very dystopic and along Egypt’s east coast, it is basically an infinite line of resorts for many miles. All of them are heavily guarded by the military and police because one incident against a tourist bankrupts the industry for months or over a year. The military is necessary here, but seeing machine guns and road blocks everywhere puts you on high alert, being afraid that some crazy person is going to burst into the resort and rampage around or it could be one of the guards. Of course, this doesn’t happen and terrible events are very rare, but the thought remains.

Finally the sun. It is so powerful and without sunglasses you will be squinting everywhere. The sun is very intense. This can’t be helped geographically, but with all the traffic congestion it makes the country exceptionally broiling.

I hope the country can fix itself. There are good people who I encountered, but they are very far away from the tourist industry.

Immigrants have started to Leave Canada in 2023 – WHY?

True 100%. We decided to move out of Canada due to lack of access to health care and influence of gender ideology in schools.

What did you say at a job interview that automatically landed you the job?

It was not what I said but really what I did. I brought a pen.

It may seem like a small thing, but I truly think it made a huge impact. When I went to my interview I was handed a packet of documents that outlined the responsibilities of the position I was hoping for. I immediately brought out a pen and as we went over each bullet point I made notes. For instance things that she hoped the hire would take on complete responsibility for, I put a star next to. If she mentioned a software or computer program the company used, especially if I was not familiar with it, I wrote it down to look up later. On things I wanted clarification on, I marked down the new information I was given. I was called in for a second interview.

I brought my pen again, and I brought all that information from the packet. I had researched the program that was mentioned during the first interview. I referred to points made previously. At one point I even brought out a small notebook to jot another note down. I was called in for the final interview.

Not going to lie, I did not need my pen here, nor did I get the opportunity to use it with the VP of HR who was conducting the last phase. She told me she wanted to hire me right then, and if it were not for assessment needed for my department it would be a done deal. I went outside and took my assessment. I did horrible. I am not the best at math, and I had not used fractional math for years so I am sure I got every question wrong. The rest of it I aced. Since math took up over half, I was sure I was out. I cried all the way home, even though they told me strait up it was not pass/fail so much ad they wanted to see where I needed training.

I was called two days later and offered the job. I am sure it was because I came prepared with a pen and showed how serious I was taking things. Take a pen with you.

A large-scale rally calling for the withdrawal of Yoon Seok-yeol weightlifting

To retire Yoon Seok-yeol weightlifting, which works evil in the entire area of puppet The struggle of all walks of life is expanding day by day.

On the 16th, Yoon Seok-yeol Station was retired from all areas, including Seoul The 3rd Pan-National Congress of the withdrawal of the Yoon Seok-yeol Regime was held.

The rally participants said, ” I can’t live like this.”, “We gathered here to Change Resources and Information.

November, we held the “People’s Gun Contest” and announced the withdrawal of the Yoon Seok-yeol regime. I’m going to have a total struggle for it.”I decided.

Yoon Seok-yeol, chairman of the Democratic Ro-gun, is not only in Seoul, but also in all over the world.On this day, he said that he was raising the eccentricity of the regime’s departure. We have been informed of the situation of the rally that is taking place in the entire area of the puppet.

He continued, ” If we don’t struggle together against the Yoon Seok-yeol regime, we don’t fight together.” We can only be forced to continue to work for a long time.”Once again the protest of the people who brought down the Park Geun-hye regime Let’s organize. We in this position will take the lead, and the people will step out together..”, “In November, the Yoon Seok-yeol regime with the people’s guns stopped your runaway.> , <There’s no place for you guys to live.>Let’s declare it unabashedly.”It was a great place to stay.

On the other hand, the participants of the 3rd Pan-National Convention for the withdrawal of the Yoon Seok-yeol Regime on this day “Japan Radioactive Polluted Water Marine Dumping” held in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Korea in the afternoon! Yoon Seok joined the 4th Pan-National Convention and condemned the defeat of the Yeomanry I raised my voice even more.

In order to stop the runaway of the Yoon Seok-yeol regime, the speakers said, ” Everyone from all walks of life We must unite as one.”, “One day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day, one day Of course, I ask you to be responsible for non-walnut Japan’s nuclear pollutant second world war. We must order the impeachment of Yoon Seok-yeol to the National Assembly in the name of the people..”He strongly insisted.

“Only COWARDS fear World War 3!” Sean Penn on giving more money to Ukraine

Ugh.

Minute Steak Parmesan

Ingredients

• 5 minute steaks
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Dash of pepper
• 1/4 cup soda cracker crumbs
• 1 (8 ounce) can pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Dip steaks in combined egg, water and pepper. Coat with mixture of crumbs and half of the cheese.
2. Brown in hot oil; drain on absorbent paper.
3. Arrange in baking dish; cover with pizza sauce, and top with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

What is the most amazing thing you overheard because people didn’t think you understood their language?

I owned a carpet cleaning company

We worked for a LOT of apartments. A lease renewal clean was done by the apartment complex once a year for the tenants lease renewal. The apartment community paid for the clean so it was free for the resident and we did not move furniture as part of the deal.

Clean an apartment for a Spanish couple. SHE complained (in Spanish) the entire time that I was doing a horrible job and I needed to move everything. Me, the VERY white Gringo-American just kept cleaning and asking the husband, in English, if everything was alright. HE explained, in English it was fine and kept telling his wife, in Spanish, that it was fine amd to stop complaining. SlThis went on for the entire clean.

Getting done, packed up and heading out, I looked at him and in English asked if they needed anything more. Nope was his reply.

I turned to her amd in SPANISH said, “Thank you for the job, please open your windows a crack to help the carpets dry. It should take about 2–3 hours. Have a good day.”

Her mouth fell and she said NOTHING.

I walked away satisfied.

I invited my husband’s family for Thanksgiving. No one ate my meal and it was really embarrassing. I later found out that my mother-in-law cooked a large meal and fed everyone before they arrived to my house. Should I say something? What should I do next year?

My mother in law did something similar to me. She was a terrible cook and her two grown daughters asked if they could all come to our house for Mother’s Day one year. I knocked myself out fixing dinner for 14 people but ordered 2 pecan pies and a cake from an expensive bakery since I didn’t have time to make desserts too.

Everyone arrived and complimented the table but my sister-in-law pulled me aside and told me their mother had insisted on taking them to a buffet at a restaurant an hour before the time I had set for our dinner.

Only my husband and our kids ate. Everyone else pushed the food around embarrassedly. I was furious and finally couldn’t hold back. I looked at my mother in law and said I wished she hadn’t taken them out to eat when she knew I was cooking for them.

Instead of apologizing she giggled and said “My bad.” I’ve never forgotten that smug look on that witch’s face.

The next time anyone asked me to cook for a holiday I politely said no, we were having a small feast with just the four of us and I stuck with it.

People who pull that kind of stunt are emotionally stunted and don’t deserve anything from us except contempt.

USA on the Brink of Chaos: How Americans Are Living the End of the American Dream

In case you were unaware about how things are going in the United States today.