Hickey’s and horses

Here is a post that I sent to the makers of WD-40:

Dear WD-40 Company:

As a teacher, I often use the summer to catch up on maintenance that I deferred during the school year. Today, I used your fine product, WD-40 Protective White Lithium Grease, to stop some doors from squeaking. However, I was unaware that the squeaky doors were actually part of an elaborate B.F. Skinner-style training regimen for my dog, Watney. Apparently, when the dog hears the pantry door squeak, he knows it is time to come out of the bedroom for breakfast. And when he hears the back door squeak, he knows it is time to come inside.

Now, truth be told, I have deferred this particular maintenance for a number of years, since before we had the dog. So it is possible the training was accidental, making it more Pavlovian conditioning than true behaviorism, though I suppose that isn’t really relevant here. My question is, do you manufacture a product that restores squeaks to their previous level?

Sincerely,

Mark Lesmeister

Here is their response:

Mark Lesmeister thanks for your question – you’re right, WD-40® Specialist® Protective White Lithium Grease is incredibly effective at removing squeaks & creaks. To re-establish the cringe in your hinge, you’ll want to first procure a well-functioning degreaser. In fact, we do have just such a product: WD-40® Specialist® Industrial-Strength Cleaner & Degreaser. The heavy duty protective qualities of our white lithium grease may resist your initial cleaning attempts unless you remove the hinges from the door and wall to thoroughly remove the grease. This may be more work than you wish to commit to the task, however, so you might also try adding sand to the hinges or bending them at an angle that imposes difficulty in the opening and closing actions. If the easy opening persists, perhaps add a squeaky toy to your doorstop so the door hits it upon opening to alert Watney of the breakfast hour. Hope this helps!

-The WD-40 Team

Legacy story

My wife does this all the time.

Scammy: We need to repair the operating system on your computer.

Wife: Ok, I don’t know anything about computers so you will have to help me.

Scammy: Go to your computer.

Wife: I am there

Scammy: Go into your windows.

WIfe: Ok but I thought we were fixing my computer?

Scammy: We are:

Wife: Ok I have my window open.

Scammy: Go to your start button.

Wife: You want me go back to my computer? I am looking out my window like you told me to.

Scammy: I mean your computer windows.

Wife: You did not explain that to me

Scammy: Are you in front of your computer now?

Wife: Yes

Scammy: do you see a box called xxx

Wife: No, there is nothing like that .

Scammy: Look to the left and see the icons, tell me what you see.

Wife: Nothing

Scammy: Do you see and runs through a list

Wife: No, my screen is just black

Scammy: Is your computer turned on?

Wife: You never told me that… you want me to turn it on?

Scammy Irritated now) : Yes Tell me when it is up

Wife: Ok.. (She goes and gets coffee and looks at me laughing because she bet me she can keep him online for 10 minutes at least)

Wife: (Nowhere near her computer) Ok I am back at my computer, what do you want

Scammy: Do you see a list of icons like this?

Wife: Yes I see them now.

Scammy: I want you to open a dialogue box by this method. (Gives her directions)

Wife: I am writing this down, can you repeat step 3?

Scammy: Repeats the steps

Wife: Ok, I think I wrote it down correctly, let me read it back to you (as she has written nothing, she misses some.)

Scammy: No You missed step 4

Wife: Ok, lets start over, hang on I have to get a fresh piece of paper,,, She gets scammy to run through the entire process again

Wife: Ok, I think I have it now, just one question?

Scammy: What ?

Wife; Do you honestly think I am going to have someone call me out of the blue to tell me my operating system needs repaired and I am just going to be gullible enough t allow you to do whatever you want? Does your mother know you try to steal for a living? She must be so disappointed in you.

Actually she sometimes gets a full lecture in before they hang up.

My wife, my son and I have contests to see who can keep a scammer going the longest. Especially if we have guests when a scammer calls, we use scammers as part of our entertainment.

The older you get, the harder you have to work for love.

When you’re in high school and feel butterflies for the first time, love seems to be in infinite supply.

The only people in the world you know are those in your microcosm of 7th grade, but everyone is sorta crushing on everyone, there’s always a bit of drama, and your network of relationships feels huge – because it’s your first time experiencing the complexity of human connections.

Maybe you’ll walk out of it marrying your high school sweetheart. Maybe not.


In college, you start over. New network, new people, new game to play.

But there’s a little less drama, everyone’s not quite crushing on everyone, and you pick the people you hang out with more deliberately.

We’re growing up. We sort people into categories before we even start the relationship.

That person’s a business contact. He can help me with my career. She’s an acquaintance. He’s a friend.

Suddenly, there’s less wiggle room. You can’t ask out everyone. Your feelings aren’t all over the place. You have a better idea of what you want but less time to look for it.

Maybe you’ll graduate college with a girl on your arm or some husband material.

Maybe not.


After college, you might do a Master’s. Or a PhD. Or start a job that takes a lot of time.

New network, new people, new game to play. Except now it won’t reset again so soon.

Six months pass and you realize: “Hmm, there’s this one girl I kind of like at the office, but, other than that…”

What happened?

Life.

Not just to you, to everyone. We had to grow up. We had to focus. We didn’t capitalize on the time we had to sort out our emotions. Or it just didn’t work out.

Now, we’re 28 and 35 and 41 and it’s tough out there. No more have-at-its and here’s-some-free-romance.

Suddenly, love requires this very delicate balance and it’s hard work to maintain it.

You can’t find it by looking for it, but you can’t just stop either. There’s no prince charming coming and no awkward-cute incident in the elevator.

You have to work for love, but not try too hard. You have to love yourself and live your life. Make time to be authentic, but not desperately cling to every shred of romance.

It’s very easy to lose this balance. To get lost in a co-dependent relationship. Or slip up when you have a good one. Or focus on work and have no love life at all.

Our lives are puzzles. When we’re young, it’s easy to find new, fitting pieces. A lot of them are bright red. But the more your puzzle takes shape, the harder it is to find empty spaces where those red pieces still fit.

You have to make room for them. Breathe. Look at the big picture. Because if you don’t, you might one day complete the puzzle, only to realize you forgot adding love.

Spreads

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You still have a chance to come up alive after going down under to the wreckage of the Titanic. But your chances to obtain citizenship in Thailand is like you keep punching the air until you get knocked out.

Becoming a Thai citizen as a foreigner without any family ties to a Thai citizen is a lengthy and complex process.

Let’s get serious. (can’t be a short answer, guys!)

Yes, you need to have what it takes to be as persevere as ants in the ‘Sahara Desert’ and be adaptable like a Chameleon, and most of as Holy as a Saint who withstands a load of nonsense (still smile) from the moment you send in the application.

Nothing is easy doing anything in Thailand… that everyone knows.

First: To begin with, you need to apply for a “Long term visa”

For that, you will need to stay in Thailand legally on a very long time first. The procedure is as complicated and tedious as applying to be as astronaut at NASA.

Second: You, then apply for permanent residency (PR) in Thailand.

PR is a crucial step toward citizenship. How are you gonna get it and how long does it take? Only God knows.

Let’s look at documents alone— Paperwork is hell of a lot! : You’ll need to provide extensive documentation, including —-proof of financial status,——employment records, —-a police clearance certificate, —-and medical certificates.

Interview and Approval: After submitting the application, you’ll undergo an interview by the conservative Thai elite class. You may prayer beforehand for God to have mercy on you as the interview is in THAI.

The processing time can take several months or years. But once you get a permanent resident- then you stay on at least for 10 years—the next step is to apply for citizenship… here we go again.

What steps to be taken for application for citizenship?

All I know is the same as you apply for a PR but with more stringent with more things, like “Good conduct” and proficiency in Thai, stable income, your evidence of contributions to the society, paperwork, and another interview.

Time line:- It’s not gonna be shot.

From a Long Term Visa, your could be in your 30s by the time you get ‘citizenship’ you will be in the late 50s… No joke, guys!

But with a Thai friend’s backing if he or she has a ‘surname’ that rings the bell— your task to get citizenship is a breeze with 10 years shorter than any Peter, Paul, and Mary who applies through a proper channel… This is Thailand.

On American expansionism.

The incoming administration seems to have a more realistic image of the state of American hegemonial decline and wants to take proactive steps to try to counteract and reverse it, breathing new life into the American Global Empire.

In this context, it makes perfect sense for the US to increase pressure on its vassals. I am not using the term in a pejorative sense.

The US does not have “allies” in the traditional meaning of the word. It has vassals with different levels of feudal obligations and elite integration, and different tasks.

Extracting more value from vassals — whether through tariffs, increased NATO budgets, meddling in local politics or potential territorial concessions — is an absolutely logical step in cementing and renewing America’s position as overlord of its sphere.

There are three ways America’s European vassals can react to this: look for protection outside of the sphere, try to make themselves more useful/necessary & advance integration, or take it on the face.

Were we in, I don’t know, the 19th century, Denmark would just ask Russia for military support in Greenland in exchange for mild economic concessions and never worry again.

As it is, the Royal Danish Army does not have any artillery anymore because they gave it all away for the purpose of firing cluster ammunition at Russian children in Donetsk.

They did not receive anything in return for that and it did not help any Danish purpose.

They cannot defend themselves if push comes to shove and they can’t ask anybody to help because most of their fellow vassals have done the same. The most likely option is that they’ll just take it on the face.

Not just for pragmatic reasons, but also because they genuinely enjoy being dommed geopolitically.

America has no obligation to treat its vassals better. I’ve seen Danish people complain on here about supporting the US after 9/11, participating in the American wars in the Middle East, etc.

That’s ridiculous.

You know how a colony is rewarded for sending troops to its overlord’s wars? It doesn’t get beaten.

That’s the reward for a lackey. Any person who takes any of the NATO democracy liberalism pilpul seriously is just not a serious person, it was never real, it was always just voluntary submission to be absolved from existing in History.

The world that existed in 1991-2022 does not exist anymore.

It’s not coming back. Y

ou can just invade your neighbor. You can just fire missiles at international shipping lanes. You can just threaten to annex members of your military alliance. “You can just do things”, as the techbros like to say.

The mirage of a post-historical order that only has to be policed from time to time but is never seriously challenged has disappeared.

What did you think canceling the End of History meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays? It’s not pleasant to be suddenly confronted with all of the above.

It’s not pleasant to have to admit to yourself that your existence was a coddled theme park that is existentially dependent on the relative position of someone else and how he feels about that relative position.

America’s vassals WILL have to confront this state of things and make hard decisions about their future.

This means reckoning with their geopolitical impotence and either embracing dependency with open eyes or seeking pathways to autonomy that will inevitably involve risk, sacrifice, and a recalibration of their national priorities.

The era of coasting on borrowed security and ideological rhetoric is over.

What lies ahead is a world where historical agency must be reclaimed or forever relinquished, and for many, the question may not be whether they are ready to make that leap, but whether they even remember how.

America has now understood this — and is mentally preparing to switch back to the cold logic that comes with actual History.

The times, they are a-changin’.

30 minutes

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Imagine a world where exploration is forbidden, and write a story about a character who defies this rule to satisfy their innate curiosity. view prompt

Renate Buchner

I rubbed my chilly thighs with my palms after spending so much time kneeling on wet, dewy grass; even the smallest movement of my legs hurt.

 

“Where are you, Lena?” I brushed the branches away to have a clear view of Hangar 2. I felt a thrill of warmth rush through my body as I saw the silhouette of the small, two-seat Robinson R22 Helicopter through the path lights.

 

A short distance away, there was a rustling sound that made my pulse skip a beat. I crouched even lower, nearly lying on the ground. The sound approached gently. I paused my breathing and glanced in that direction. The dense network of barberry and European bladdernut branches prevented a clear view. It rustled more and more. A black snout poked through the foliage, and then I stared into two enormous brown eyes. It froze. The deer nearly did a backflip as I made a slight hand movement that frightened it. I exhaled deeply and looked down at my fingers.

 

I stroked with my fingers along the ridge between my thumb and the index finger on the other hand. The GACHIP chip program, known as ‘Sound of Freedom’, was established by the government to protect children from human trafficking. That’s what my parents and grandparents thought. The government fooled everyone with their promotion.

 

There are now cameras installed everywhere that can scan the microchip embedded under the skin. As my grandmother described to me in my childhood years, “We all thought that was just a surveillance camera without any database information,” she said with a guilty look on her face.

 

During my grandparents’ era, Europe remained mostly democratic, with a few significant outliers. But as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted in the early 21st century, everything—including my homeland of Austria, which had sworn neutrality—started to tilt toward an authoritarian administration.

 

I once questioned Grandma, while we were sitting in our favorite spot—the airfield. “Did the people never understand that the government was trying to take control of everyone?” She touched my face while glancing at me. “Yes, Rena, we were. A number of us were arguing and demonstrating, but then this happened. ” A 20-cm-long scar showed up where she had pulled her pullover over her belly. “I did have a family and prioritize things.” Her soft eyes surveyed the area. “I never felt bad about this choice.”

 

Someone tapped my shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. I grabbed the nearest branch and turned around. The woman ducked, lost her footing, and flew backward into the undergrowth.

She bellowed, “Cruzefix no amoi,” in Pinzgau dialect which means ‘Damned’.

 

My parents’ native language was Pinzgauer, a German dialect before the government suppressed it. They had to learn Surschyk, a Russian-German hybrid language. I was not even born by then.

 

I extended my hand to her. She looked at me with a smile and I pulled her with a strong tug that propelled her to her feet.

 

She gave me a ‘Tell me’ look and widened her eyes.

 

“Yes, he did phone me. Do you have mind-reading skills?”

“You’re not hard to read,” Lena said as I touched the ring with my finger, and she gestured toward it.

“He is not that bad. Even he has nice days.”

“Come on, let’s explore the world beyond the borders and kick some asses.” She grasped my arm forcefully.

 

We ducked down and made our way to the hangar. Everything appeared to be quiet. I gave her a hand signal where to find the rolls. Lena and I spent a lot of time observing how the helicopter was transported, so we knew the whereabouts and handling of the rollers.

 

I grabbed the rollers, placed them on the back ends of the skids, and pressed the lever down. I went to the tail rotor end and pushed the tail boom down. I signaled her to move forward and position herself behind the helicopter cabin.

 

I nodded in response to Lena’s expression. As I went, I could hear the rollers squeaking slightly. Lena looked from left to right, and I noticed she was smirking mischievously. We rolled the helicopter approximately 10 meters out of the hangar. We disassembled the rollers and placed them slightly apart in the grass; we then checked our watches and began timing. 30 minutes.

 

Laughter! We got down on our knees. Three men holding bottles walked past the path outside the flying area. There were jokes and chuckling, and a man glanced at us. He stopped and called after the others. The two men also paused and looked in our direction. My heart stopped, and I sank to the ground. I looked at Lena, who hid deep in the helicopter’s shadow. We heard laughter and slurred speech again. I did not understand a word. After another round of laughter, they left.

 

I let out a long breath and got to my feet, but then I had dizziness. I had to sit down for a little while. I inhaled and exhaled calmly, then glanced back at my ring. Does my husband expose me to the government to receive the reward? The reward aims to minimize resistance by the public. It was no longer possible to have the right to travel throughout Europe or freedom of speech. Individuals who held opposing views were “permanently removed” according to the government representatives’ argument. Nobody heard from them anymore. We do not know their fate.

 

I looked around for Lena, but she was gone; she sat already on the copilot’s side. I dashed over to the pilot’s side, opened the door, and took my seat. I felt my heart race as I pressed the pedals, and touched with the fingers the collective, and cyclic control. I let out my breath. We both turned to look at the clock simultaneously.

15 minutes.

 

“Lena. Tell me just the points from starting the engine and running up procedure; let out the pre-flight checklist” I gestured to her on the list.

“Battery, strobe switches – on,” said Lena, and had trouble reading the writing, her fingers were shaking a lot.

“Ignition switch – start and then both.” She continued.

“Ahh, what does it mean ‘then both’”.

“It stays here. How do I know,” said Lena and her tone was a nuance louder. She looked at me and I turned the key first left and then right.

“Set engine RPM 50 to 60% and switch the clutch.” she continued as I started the engine.

 

I carefully adjusted the throttle to 50 to 60%, just like I was taught in my grandmother’s secret simulator room. The helicopter’s 4-cylinder air-cooled Lycoming O-320-A2B piston engine powered up and the entire aircraft started to quiver. I grinned as I remembered my grandmother’s words about her years of helicopter training: “Fixed-wing pilots have traditionally said that helicopter pilots are crazy because they shut down their engines and land without power..”

 

I watched as the blades started to spin, first gently, then rapidly. We put our headsets on. Meanwhile, the helicopter is now running much more smoothly, reaching 97% RPM.

 

I gave Lena a thumbs-up. She breathed and also gave a thumbs up. We gazed outside. The ambiance is amazing. The fields and meadows are covered in a thin layer of dense fog. The sun rises like a fireball, bathing everything in a warm crimson light. A few trees away is the shape of a massive, antique wooden farmhouse.

 

I lifted the Collective with my left hand, and I felt the chopper hover. After two seconds, the helicopter began to swerve to the right, and I steered cyclic against it. It then reversed, and I steered against it again. I had the impression we were on a ghost train, going up and down, right and left, back to front.

 

Lena gripped with her hands to anything she could grip. The flight system steadied after a few bouts of boxing with the machine. It was dimly lit, but I could still see Lena’s pale face with her wide open eyes. I could feel the perspiration trickling down my brow—not only on it. Or did… I glance a bit downward. No, everything was in order.

 

After giving Lena another glance, I moved the cyclic forward, forcing the chopper to accelerate slightly above the ground and dive nose down. 20, 30, 40, and then, at 60 knots, we experienced the lift-over-drag moment that propelled us quickly into the air.

 

Lena screamed as if her entire body had frozen. She glanced then sideways at the mountains. She screamed again, but this time it was pure excitement. Her entire body exuded enthusiasm as she began speaking, even though I couldn’t comprehend a word she said. She talked pretty fast and was spitting sometimes. I simply grinned and nodded.

 

I checked my watch; it was beyond time, and they would soon come for us.

I had a student who would not aknowledge my presence at all. He was absolutely silent, so I guess what depressed me was his lack of engagement—untilI found out why.

I had a boy in my English 10 Honors (sophomore level) class several years ago. He was quiet and chose to sit with his back to me every single day. I tried to get him to talk to me a few times, but he was so shy and withdrawn I stopped because I didn’t want to make him feel more awkward and uncomfortable than he obviously already did. He was a middle-of-the-road student: when he turned in homework it was often half done. His class work was sloppy and I usually sensed he wasn’t paying attention at all. That year, I had a rough group of classes: student fights breaking out, a girl was beat up by her boyfriend and almost killed, a very tall male student threatened me—and my admin wasn’t very supportive—so I was hanging on by the skin of my teeth. I allowed the young man to sit quietly in the back of the class because he wasn’t causing any problems.

When we got to the essay unit, I was completely gobsmacked by his paper. It was the most well-written and analytical essay I had seen in a long time. I wrote him some sort of encouraging comment and started to pay closer attention to him in a very low-key way. Well, fast-forward: his junior year, I asked if he would join the school newspaper (I was the advisor). He did and over the course over the next two years, I watched him change and develop into a leader in the class: he came out of his shell and got really involved in the paper—learning how to program and do layouts, etc. When he graduated, he wrote in my yearbook how when he was a a sophomore he was being jumped into a gang and it was my encouragement that gave him the courage to get out of that lifestyle. He joined the Navy and is currently in the PhD program at Duke University. I still talk to him once in a while and he doing amazing: married and happy.

Texas Grilled Cocoa Chile Steak

Bored with burgers and hot dogs? Offer seasoned steak slices in flour tortillas at your next backyard cookout.

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Prep: 5 min | Refrigerate: 2 hr | Cook: 16 min | Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons McCormick® Gourmet Collection Cocoa Chile Blend
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Oregano Leaves, Mexican
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

Instructions

  1. Brush steak with oil.
  2. Mix brown sugar, cocoa chile blend, lime juice, oregano and salt until well blended. Rub paste over steak.
  3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for best flavor.
  4. Broil or grill over medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
  5. Cut steak across the grain into thin slices.
  6. Serve steak slices in warm flour tortillas.
  7. Top with salsa, shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.

China’s Missile Test Saved U.S. From Nuclear War

In this most brilliant video, the commentator elaborates on the subtle “message” that China sent to the United States.

This message SHATTERED all the preconceptions that RAND, the Pentagon and the American government had about China’s ability to destroy the USA through nuclear fire.

  • The missile was a DF-31AG upgrade.
  • Where the range, speed, and payload was demonstrated to be much better than the RAND report assumptions.
    • Range covers all of the United States.
    • Can carry three nuclear warheads
    • Fielded in large numbers with warheads in place.
    • MACH 23, cannot be intercepted.
  • Further, the number of deployed missiles with armed warheads is also much larger than the mere 500 “threats” that RAND assumes.

The video takes the time to parse what the demonstrated aspects indicate, and what their significance are.

The arguments are sound and valid, and the short video (7:40 minutes long) is a must watch.

This answer is from a guy who served Fed time in 4 different prisons. State, county, city, etc May be different.

First, understand that not long after the fear subsides, you come to understand the true reality of your situation. You are facing years, decades inside of 4 walls. You don’t get out unless you are transferred or in a box. So your whole life comes down to to a few acres, surrounded by 20’ walls protected by piles of razor wire. You can count on your fingers the things you can do to keep busy.

Everyone had an assigned job. It usually starts after the morning count and ends before the afternoon count. You get weekend off. For me, I’d have rather worked 7 days. Days off tended to be long. Very long.

To your question, are inmates allowed to sleep all day? On days off, you are mostly free to entertain yourself in any non threatening way. Wanna sleep? Sure! All day and night if you like. Just be in position to be counted as they don’t fuck around with counts. Wanna sleep all day? Get sent to the SHU! You can sleep 24/7/365. That is if you don’t loose little pieces of your sanity. But why sleep all day? I think it sounds good! I think it carry’s a semi fun connotation, but can you really sleep all night then all day and then sleep the next night? Nights are pretty calm but at lights out, you are expected to STFU. And understand there are another 750 inmates that want to sleep at night so if you are up all night because you aren’t tired, you best not be waking up Bubba in the next cell or there’ll be hell to pay the next morning.

I slept about 5 hours a night. I’d go down about 7:30–8:00pm. Obviously I was up early. While I was in Tucson FCI, about a year before release, I was moved to the camp next door. I ended up with 2 jobs. Morning breakfast cafeteria, opened it at 4:30am and closing it by 9:00 am count and then headed to my day job. I don’t watch TV so there was a lot of time to fill and the truth is, there were about 100 paperback books with about 1/2 being romance novels. I wanted to stay busy. For me it worked.

America In The Age Of Nero

Saturday, Oct 12, 2024 – 11:25 AM

Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClearPolitics,

Americans are like members of a quarrelsome family, so intent on arguing their petty grievances around the kitchen table that they don’t smell the rising smoke from the oven. As our nation fumes and the world burns, neither major party presidential candidate is addressing the lapping flames around us.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are not simply ignoring our frightening national debtboth vow to ramp it up. Neither candidate has a serious plan to respond to the threats posed by China, Russia, or Iran.

The strangling costs of health care, the sharp decline in mental health, the disintegration of our public schools – which is sharply tied to the breakdown in the family – are all ignored in a race marked by gauzy references to policy and sharp personal attacks.

It’s not just Harris and Trump – our leadership in Washington has long refused to face up to the growing threats to our republic. Their empty promise is that everything is the other side’s fault. Help us annihilate the other guy and everything will be peaches and cream.

A third-grader wouldn’t fall for this nonsense. Neither side can vanquish the other. A Harris victory will not be the death knell of Trump’s populist message; Trump’s win will not defang progressivism’s leftward lurch. Whatever the outcome, we will continue to be a divided, angry nation. And yet, seemingly thoughtful Americans have bought this line hook, line, and sinker.

More importantly, even if one side did seize absolute power, they have no legitimate plan to right the ship of state. Sixty years of Great Society programs have shown us we can’t spend our way out of problems. The 44 years since the Reagan Revolution show us that tax cuts can only set the stage for reforms that have never come – a task that nears the impossible as ever more Americans become dependent on government aid.

America is in a second Age of Nero – our leaders fiddle as the country burns.

In past crises, the strength, resilience, and ingenuity of the American people have saved us from the depths of want and war. It is not clear we retain that grit.

Instead of demanding leadership, we seem content with the bread and circuses of mindless politics more akin to the gladiatorial battle of Rome than the edifying debates of ancient Greece. The broad embrace of victimhood and grievance on both sides has replaced any question of sacrifice for the common good with the desire to demonize our imagined tormentors. If anything, we savor the fight. It makes us feel important, alive – it gives our lives meaning.

Although we have serious problems, we are no longer a serious people. Hence our choice between Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris.

They are not the disease, however, but a symptom. The first step toward a treatment, if not cure, is obvious: we must reject our empty politics of diversion in order to identify and address our urgent crisis. Honesty really would make a difference. It might also make us happier as we re-channel our energies from angry partisanship into thoughtful partnership.

Still, that would only get us so far. Life teaches that identifying one’s problems is the relatively easy part of change – we all know what’s wrong with the other guy and, sometimes, ourselves. Finding the will and discipline to do something about it is far harder.

We are sinking before that challenge because it still seems possible to ignore the building fire. Many of us have it pretty good; our fears are mitigated by our confidence in escape. It won’t get me.

Ironically, the fact that much of the rest of the world is crumbling imparts a false sense of security. Instead of seeing those problems as canaries in the coal mine, we think, Hey, we’re still doing okay.

It’s true that history confutes the doomsayers. The world does get better in the long run. But that is little consolation to those whose one short life is spent during the ebbing flow.

History also teaches that judgment for past failure often comes with sudden swiftness, like a thief in the night. As we think about the immense problems we are allowing to smolder, recall Ernest Hemingway’s pithy warning from “The Sun Also Rises.”

“How did you go bankrupt?” one character asks a friend.

“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”

J. Peder Zane is a RealClearInvestigations editor and columnist. He previously worked as a book review editor and book columnist for the News & Observer (Raleigh), where his writing won several national honors. Zane has also worked at the New York Times and taught writing at Duke University and Saint Augustine’s University.

Why is there so much fear among many Westerners about the rise of China?

Meet Virgin and Chad.

  • Virgin was an introverted, nerdy kid, who preferred keeping to himself and doing his own thing.
  • Chad‘s an extrovert. He’s muscular, charismatic, popular, and a bully.

He tried to get Virgin hooked on some really dank shit. One day, Virgin said, “No Chad, I don’t need your drugs anymore, it’s fucking me up real bad, I gots to clean up my act, for reals.”

Chad was desperate for Virgin’s money. So he called his posse over, broke Virgin’s legs, and made him his bitch.

Virgin survived the ordeal somehow, and vowed to become strong, so that he will never be picked on again.

Time flies. While Virgin focused on bettering himself through discipline and sheer will, Chad completely let himself go. When they met again, Virgin became what Chad used to look like, while Chad became an obese, drugged-up drunkard who’s suffering from gender dysphoria.

The two looked at each other in awkward silence. Chad decided to break the ice. “Hey dude…how you been?”

“I’m alright”, Virgin replied calmly.

“That’s great man, I’m happy for you! I mean, wow, just look at you! Dem abs, nigga!” said Chad. “Listen, about that stuff that happened a while ago…”

“Don’t worry about it.” interjected Virgin. “That was a long time ago, I’m wiling to let it go, if you’re willing to do the same.”

Chad was speechless. “I…well…of course man, we cool dude?”

“Yeah we cool, no hard feelings. Look I gotta get back to my calligraphy and shit, you wanna see my work?”

“Nah it’s okay bro, you do you man, you do you. Laters.”

But Chad was not reassured by Virgin’s words. It only made him more anxious and paranoid.

“How is this possible?”, he thought. “No, he’s way too calm and forgiving. Almost as if….as if…he’s plotting something big.”

“He’s gonna get me….oh god, he’s gonna get me…payback for everything I’ve done to him….oh god, no…”

The Imperialist West has much to fear from China, because they themselves are well aware of what they have done, to China, to the rest of the developing world. How could they not worry that China will turn out to be a conqueror, a slaver, a destroyer of civilisations, as they themselves used to be (and still are)?

No amount of good faith, isolation and passiveness on China’s part will convince them that China is simply not like them. A thief will always live in fear of being burgled, a bully in fear of being bullied.

In November of 2021, shortly after I turned 67, my husband and I went for a vacation in Maui. I was still working, doing consulting on a big project and wanted a break before things got really intense.

We went snorkeling in the morning, but it was a bit windy so we didn’t stay long. My husband wanted to go boogie boarding, so we stopped at another beach we liked. I wasn’t going to go in but decided I should do a few. We’d been boogie boarding for 30 years so I should have known what I was doing. I walked out and the first wave looked good. As I jumped on it, I realized it was rolling down but I’d already committed. I hit my head on the bottom and felt like a lightning bolt went through me. Once I got back to the top of the water I tried to put my hands down to push myself up and realized I couldn’t move my arms. Luckily, some first responders (who happened to live in the same province as me in Canada) were at the beach and saw what happened. They came and pulled me out and had me covered up with an umbrella until the ambulance got there. I had no movement in my arms and legs although I could move my fingers and toes slightly. Ten days later I was airlifted back to BC and a week after that had surgery to fuse my neck. I spent a total of 4 months in hospital, 3 months of it in our regional rehabilitation hospital.

I am lucky enough that I got most of my movement back and am slightly impaired on my right side. When I was in the hospital there were many others who weren’t so lucky.

I’m now at the point that I can travel again and I’m trying to make the most of my life as I come to my 70th birthday.

Hound dog meets barbed quills

The Philippines does not have much intelligence value, and the Chinese government does not need to send spies to the Philippines.

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main qimg a8b9b0bb367b9d0c32c26ae85ec17b3f

Judging from the current international situation, the United States needs the Philippines to act like Ukraine, forcing China to go to war in the South China Sea, and then the United States gathers so-called allies to fight China, and finally the United States will reap the benefits.

China actually needs the Philippines to act like another failed Ukraine to test its military strength and rehearse for taking back Taiwan. For the Chinese, it is better to choose the Philippines as the battleground for the Sino-US rivalry than Taiwan because, after all, the Taiwanese are Chinese and the Chinese do not want civilian casualties in Taiwan. If it was a choice of two, China would certainly choose to sacrifice the Philippines over Taiwan.

Therefore, whether from the perspective of the United States or China, the Philippines needs to become the “Ukraine of Asia”, and sacrificing the Philippines is a matter of course.

The Philippines may still think that it is smart and that it is doing the right thing, but it does not realize that a great tragedy is about to happen.

Poor Filipinos, they have become the unjust ghosts of the test between China and the United States!

Twilight Zone Time Freezes

Russian Ambassador LEAVES U.S. – Takes Staff, Security, Crypto Gear and Classified Docs

Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, is “concluding” his diplomatic mission, Russian agencies reported late on Saturday.

“Russian Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Ivanovich Antonov, is concluding his Washington assignment and heading to Moscow,” Interfax agency cited a representative of the Foreign Ministry as saying.

The envoy will be returning to Moscow within hours.

HAL TURNER INTEL:

When the Ambassador left, his entourage took with them all the communications gear, cryptographic gear, classified documents, all Diplomatic Staff and – here’s the big “tell” — the entire Diplomatic Security Staff.

It is worth noting that Japan did similar things with their Embassy staff and gear, just prior to Pearl Harbor.

“It’s Getting WORSE And WORSE…” – Richard Wolff

He’s really right on this.

Firstly, I was born and grew up in Taiwan.

Secondly, the statement “China can’t invade Taiwan” would have been true if it were made 30 years ago. It is nonsense in the current state of things.

Lastly, your question is comparing apples with oranges. China, or the typical Chinese mindset, sees these two in totally different contexts.

To China, Taiwan is a Chinese province destined to be recovered back into its fold, with its people regarded as Chinese citizens to be governed under the Chinese sovereignty eventually.

And Japan is a foreign nation that has committed massive, abhorrent, inhuman crimes against China without either fully, properly being held to account in the past or fully owning up to its moral liabilities today, while in the meantime having the nerve to threaten China’s security through tangible actions on a daily basis.

The goal of China’s “invasion”, or rather recovery, of Taiwan is to reclaim a piece of China’s own territory extorted from it by foreign imperial powers, most notably by Japan in 1895. This goal complicates the plan, as it is not sensible to bomb a piece of its own territory back to the Stone Age with thousands of cruise missiles.

China has no such scheme for Japan. Japan is not a province of China, and China has no interest in claiming its land or governing its people. To the Chinese mindset, it is just a nation that has slaughtered 30 million of its people in the most brutal and barbaric manner, and is showing increasing unrepentance and recalcitrance by the day again. If Japan ever meddles in Chinese or Taiwanese affairs ever again, what would happen?

It is like if your neighbor had killed your whole family, and now he is breaking down your door again, would you first think of how to occupy his house and make sure his kitchen remains intact so you could make dinner there tonight?

Not to mention that, you already reached a grudging truce with your neighbor that, you would let it go if he promised not to ever enter your house again. Now he is in your house again. Would you still let it go in honor of that fragile truce?

Herein lies the difference between Taiwan and Japan, in objective, and thus in degree of difficulty in action. One is much more challenging than the other, and that is not Japan.

Japan is easy.


What is Japan Likely to Do?

The Japanese know the above very well, except a handful of mouth-breathing octogenarian right-wing cockroaches still marching outside Yasukuni in imperial-era military uniforms. The other tough talking Japanese, whether it’s Ishihara, Aso, Takaichi, Koizumi, ishiba, or those saber-rattling cockroaches on the web, will all keep their heads down like mice and maggots should a conflict break out across the Taiwan Strait. None of them wants to see Japan ceasing to exist as a nation on this Earth because of his stupid impulse. This understanding will likely save Japan’s ass. If you don’t believe it, you can wait and see. It should be made obvious in pretty short order.

And China’s choice of action will be totally logical and understandable, just like the example of your neighbor above. With lessons learned twice in the past century at a price of over 30 million lives and countless properties lost, China simply cannot afford to take any chance again. Will you?

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

Fool me thrice?

Steak Diane

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15fb3b1f0dc2142bd713110ba38993a9

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 (6 ounce) filet mignons, thawed
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
  • 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Brandy
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

Instructions

  1. Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper.
  2. Melt butter in a heavy skillet; add mustard and shallots. Sauté over medium heat for 1 minute.
  3. Add steaks and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.
  4. Remove steaks to serving plate and keep warm.
  5. Add into pan drippings, 1 tablespoon butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and chives. Cook for 2 minutes.
  6. Add brandy; pour sauce over steaks.
  7. Sprinkle parsley over the top.

Wife Has MELTDOWN After Husband Lets Kids Run Wild To Teach Her A Lesson About Undermining Him

Becoming? The UK has always been poor outside London.

Think of the deep south in the USA. What do we think of.

We probably think of this

main qimg 115302bb29e56a0aec34a649e72e07be lq
main qimg 115302bb29e56a0aec34a649e72e07be lq

The UK is even poorer without London.

main qimg 714d019ce622e6a21c72a5b3c3d035bd
main qimg 714d019ce622e6a21c72a5b3c3d035bd

but here’s the thing, the UK is poorer AND stuff costs more. Think of petrol at $3 per litre.

That’s the wrong question. The right question should be this:

What is the reason behind the strong reaction of Chinese people when their country is demonized, lied about, insulted and belittled?

The answer is this:

The Chinese people don’t like to be demonized, lied about, insulted and belittled by jealous and retarded people.

As a non-Chinese who would love for the Chinese to re-take Taiwan by the simple expedient of blockading the island and starving it into submission, I regret to say that I am 100% sure the Chinese will never re-take Taiwan either by force of arms or anything else other than waiting patiently for Taiwan to rejoin of its own free will.

Why? I am not Chinese but I can think of a few good reasons –

1.Any kind of coercion of military action, no matter how quickly, cheaply or efficiently achieved, is going to leave China with a potential hotbed of dissidents, American-paid trolls, covert subversives, provocateurs and other subversives and give them easy access to the Chinese mainland. Let me simplify that by saying that China does not need to open its doors and hug a whole nest of snakes at any time in the future.

2.Regardless of how the Taiwanese regard the mainland Chinese, the mainland Chinese still regard the Taiwanese as brothers under the skin I hear. Stupid, I know, but the Chinese never claimed 100% intelligence. For China to forcibly take Taiwan with the risk of thousands of deaths instigated by America, the Taiwanese would have to do something that could over-ride the Chinese regard for a brotherhood unwelcomed by so many Taiwanese. And for all their blather, I don’t think the Taiwanese have quite sunk to the Japanese/Korean/Filipino level of intelligence yet.

3.China does not need or want to engage America on a warfront. Not ever, but most especially now or in the foreseeable future and most especially not over Taiwan, and send so many Chinese to their deaths in a war it could easily win by allowing America to self-destruct as America seems so determined to do nowadays.

4.Going to war over Taiwan would involve too much destruction of the things the Chinese have so carefully and so painstakingly built up over the last 20 years – their infrastructure, economy and heritage conservancy efforts come to mind. Re-taking Taiwan is important to Xi Jinping, I understand, but not one of his primary objectives I suspect – eradicating poverty fully, building a strong society, infrastructure and economy would be.

5.Trying to take back Taiwan would be playing into America’s hands. And the Chinese are not likely to give the American emperors that kind of satisfaction by any means.

I playfully mocked him for being ugly at a preparty with our friends but then he stood up & did this

This is a Rolex Oyster Perpetual

main qimg 06186f21029a1c9bb10badeea112c975
main qimg 06186f21029a1c9bb10badeea112c975

It costs $ 8000

It’s among the lower end watches

The Higher end watches could be as much as $ 80,000-$ 100,000

It has six key patents – Oystersteel, Everose Gold, Rolesor keys, Chromalight, RLX Titanium & Europium Dysprosium Hybridization

This is a Fake Rolex that you can buy for 1300 HKD in Mong Kok Or around $ 168

main qimg 7c7173a619c5bb0d91c118b453c421d4
main qimg 7c7173a619c5bb0d91c118b453c421d4

5% what the Lowest Priced Rolex costs!!!!

It uses 3L Stainless Steel, Gold Plated Sterling Silver, Zinc Sulfide, Aluminum 7075

The cost of materials is 17% of the price of materials in a Genuine Rolex yet the performance and quality is close to 90% of an Original Rolex

The strap of 904L Stainless Steel can be purchased for 8% of what an Oystersteel copyright Rolex strap costs

China controls the supply chain for all the basic materials needed to make watches like seven grades of Stainless steel, Zinc Sulfide, Aluminum 7075 and Sterling Silver

It can make these materials for cents on the dollar

So it can easily make a Replica Rolex that can fool all but the experts (You do have fake rolexes for as little as 200 HKD but they are obvious to spot)

So China can easily make replicas at a fraction of the cost

When i was a kid, we had a Rodgers Penknife that was a rage among my generation of army brats

It cost ₹35/- in the late 1960s

The Americans made cheaper knives called PODGERS that sold for Six Bucks!!!!

Very little difference at 1/6 the price!!!

Back then US used to do exactly what China does and the world’s replica market was based on the UNITED STATES

Parisien fashions were replicated and sold for a tenth of the price in certain streets of New York and Chicago

A $ 60 Calf Leather Gloves sold in Bloomingdale could be had for $ 8 for Non Patent Leather just two streets away with the same label

An Original Mink stole cost $ 1200 in 1920 and a Fake Mink cost a mere $ 70 – $ 120

Today China does the same thing

Uses its abundant supply chain to make replicas at far lower cost

Yeah. It was worthy of being told.

Pulled over for possible DUI

Me: May I see your license and registration?

Him: “Do you know who I am?”

Me: “You don’t know who you are? That is very serious.”

Him: “Do you know who I am?”

Me: “Sir, you must step out of your car. Not knowing who you are is possibly very serious.”

Him: “Dammit! Do you know who I am?”

Me: “Sir, if you do not get out of your car, I will have to forcibly remove you.”

Him: “F… y…”

I opened the car door, and gestured for him to get out. He did. I then turned him around, handcuffed him, and patted him down for weapons”

Me: “Sit on the curb and calm down. Once you calm down, I can remove the handcuffs.”

He sat down and glared angrily at the ground. After a bit he spoke.

Him: “I will have your badge for this.”

Me: “You don’t need my badge. You can have your own. Just complete the Los Angeles Police Academy and they will give you one for free.”

Him: “I’m gonna tell you who I am”

Me: “I just want your drivers license and registration.”

He started ranting about not knowing who he was again. So, I put him in the backseat of the patrol car, impounded his car ( we were on the freeway), and took him over to a mental hospital for a 72 hour forced commitment (5150 in California).

Two days later, my Captain called me aside. He said that was a great arrest. It turned out that the guy was one of the city’s councilman. The captain said again, “Good job.” I asked the captain if he was told to talk to me about the arrest. The captain said, “The brass told me to talk to you. I did that.” He laughed and walked away.

Spoiled Princess Rejects BF’s Proposal Telling Him To “Try Again”, Instead He Tells Her To Get Out!

Lyle Closs

I don’t like people. Never have. Arrogance, ignorance, mendacity, self-importance, superiority… I don’t like lists either.I’m not a prepper. If the end of the world comes I’ll be out on my porch with a welcoming smile. I have so little – they can have it all. It adds up to a pile of nought and a root cellar full of dust.My great pleasure is to sit out there and watch the days rise and subside, the mountains glow then surrender to the clouds. The snow falls like ash, the sun claws into my skin, the wind reaches through the cracks of my cabin, the cold informs me I am still alive.I had a family but she decided I wasn’t her type and took the kids away. I came home from the tyre factory with a lung full of carbon and a house full of silence. She left a note. It said ‘Bye’. Love died with a three letter word.I pinned the note to the front door for the landlord and drove away with my last paycheck and became a ghost of the person I had been. A ghost is a memory of someone who once lived. Seems about right.Vegas baby. A place to burn up and die. I turned the paycheck into chips and put them all on red, then red, then black, then black. It doubled each time. To hell with it. I put the lot on 23. It paid. Then black. It paid. Then 00. A ball drops into a spinning slot and you have more money than you’ve earned in your entire life.Fawning, flattering fools rose to the surface like scum from a rotting fish soup. It happens when you have a pile of cash. I’ve seen it now and it’s not just a trope in a bad movie. I’m not falling for that though. Faux admiration won’t ever open my wallet. If you need to be liked you’re just a bank waiting to be robbed.I cashed in and drove to Montana, opened a bank account in Butte and disappeared into the wooded hills. How I like it.My neighbors are bears and birds. I deal with people when I need stores. Sometimes I sit on my porch with my rifle and pretend someone is coming up the trail. I pretend to shoot them.Trouble is that fantasy would be followed by the reality of being arrested and having to deal with every kind of scum in the legal and penal system. Anyway I’ve never shot a living thing. The gun is for comfort. I like the mechanics of it. And if anyone tries to break into the cabin at night I’m ready. Just try it lowlife. Just fucking try it…Anyway, no sense getting carried away with imaginings. People imagining things is what got the world where it is today. Imagining that dealing drugs will provide a better life; that sacking half the workforce will improve the company; that beating up a woman makes you a man. If aliens investigated the people of this planet before arriving, they’d change their minds and head for Alpha Centauri. Who’d want to take over this pile of scat.Which brings me to today. It started with the powerful light shining through my window in the night. You know what it’s like. Your eyes snap open wide, your body’s as tense as a top E string. You wait for the next noise.The light disappeared. It was a starless dark night out. Low clouds. You strain to hear anything more but the only sound is the breeze in the trees. You peer out but nothing moves but the aspen leaves and pine needles.The next morning you remember it wasn’t a dream and you wander off into the woods with your coffee and toast.In a nearby clearing was a large object that I could only imagine was a radically new weapon. It was matt black, about half the size of my cabin, with projections everywhere and no clear front or back. That was just my first impression though. It looked, I realized, like a large spaceship model from a Star Wars movie. But why would a model spaceship be in a clearing in my forest?

Then a very small door opened, a mechanical arm reached out and placed a spherical object on the ground, then retracted. The door closed with a hiss. Hot damn!

The object on the ground projected a hazy light that fuzzed in the air then formed a hologram in the air. It was a weird creature which made strange noises and waved its multiple arms, bowed then sat on the ground with its ‘hands’ held open and its head bent down. It seemed to be acting submissive or at least not aggressive. I sat on the ground and sipped my coffee and took a bite of my toast as I stared at it.

“What the hell are you?” I said.

The hologram creature was about six inches tall. It watched me drinking. I put the coffee cup down by the projector. The mechanical arm came out, picked up my coffee and lifted it into the craft. Seconds later it put the cup back, empty.

“Thirsty huh?”

I put the rest of my toast and honey down. That too quickly disappeared. The hologram alien clapped its hands and bowed ecstatically. I had the distinct impression it was out of food and drink. Whatever ‘it’ was.

Then another door opened and an actual alien dragged itself to the opening. It seemed to be in bad shape. It was just six inches tall. Ugly as sin too. Just like the hologram. Slimy white skin, six eyes in the hairless head, six arms, four legs. Clothes like silk, multi-colored, all tassels and baubles. Some weird idea of fashion.

It babbled at me, a high-pitched gurling sort of speech. “You’re a damn fool if you think I can understand a thing you’re saying,” I replied.

It held up a hand – wait – and dragged itself back inside. The spaceship made a noise like an engine trying to start. The alien came back to the opening and shrugged. I wondered how many gestures were standard across the universe. It was telling me the vessel wouldn’t start. Well, there’s not a lot I can do to help. I shrugged.

It collapsed. Struggled to sit up. Draped its legs over the edge of the opening and stared at me with all its sad little eyes.

The mechanical arm took the projection ball back inside then I heard clicks and hissing and, one by one, it brought out 11 matt black spheres about 3 inches in diameter and put them on the grass. I was puzzled.

Maybe it read my confusion. The projector was brought back out and showed a hologram of an alien apparently dying. I couldn’t tell what was killing it, maybe a poison or some kind of gas. Nothing obvious anyway. It collapsed, much like my alien buddy did just now. It didn’t move though. Then the hologram wrapped the body in a white cloth into a nearly spherical shape then put the wrapped body into a matt black sphere. The arm pointed to the 11 spheres on the grass.

I pointed to the alien in the opening and held up one finger. The hologram held up one finger. Alone.

Then the last one babbled again and tried to stand up but it fell out of the opening onto the grass. I reached out to touch it. It raised it little head, held out a couple of hands and touched my fingers, then it sagged and sighed its last. Dead.

“Bloody hell mate. Don’t tell me that means you’re all dead?” I knocked on the hull of the spaceship but thing appeared.

The mechanical arm lifted the body and wrapped it in cloth, pulled out a final black sphere, gently placed the body into the sphere and closed it. 12 matt black spherical coffins.

I heard a faint humming at the limit of my hearing and the spheres sank into the ground with 12 puffs of smoke or steam and disappeared. I didn’t know how deep they went but later I checked with my old metal detector and it found nothing, so they were at least a few feet in. I imagined them sinking down to the mantel and melting in the lava.

The projector started up again and showed a hologram of an alien looking at me and shrugging. I shrugged back. The spaceship couldn’t start and now had no crew. It didn’t know what to do.

I didn’t know what to do either.

If I tell anyone, the world and its military will descend on my peace and that will be the end of it. I might as well have shot someone.

But I have in my grasp the biggest event in the history of the world. Surely there can’t be just one spaceship? Is an invasion on the way? Could it be stopped if this spaceship was studied by the world’s experts? Could we learn how to reach the stars?

I didn’t think about it for long though. It wasn’t really a quandary. I moved my woodpile and it’s now covered so no-one can see it.

I sit out there most days and talk to it. Sometimes I hear soft humming like it’s still trying to start up. There’s a gap in the pile so the mechanical arm can come out any time it wants.

Occasionally it puts out the projector and the holo-alien shrugs. What can I do? I shrug back and we sit and stare at each other.

What Would World War III Really Look Like? It’s Already Starting…

Sunday, Oct 06, 2024 – 05:30 AM

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

One of the most common assumptions I come across in the survival-sphere is the idea that the next world war would automatically necessitate global nuclear conflict and a Mad Max-like outcome. In other words, a lot of people assume we aren’t in a world war until the nukes start flying and the survivors are left fighting in soda can armor over an irradiated desert. This is a dangerous misunderstanding for a lot of reasons.

What people are overlooking is the fact that we are ALREADY in the middle of WWIII. They don’t realize it because they’ve based their entire concept of world war on Hollywood fantasy.

There are many ways in which wars are fought. In our current situation WWIII is being waged through proxies like Ukraine and Israel (and maybe Taiwan in the near future). The war is also being fought on the global economic stage using sanctions, inflation and the dumping of the US dollar as the world reserve. To be sure, these situations can easily escalate into something bigger and that is exactly what I suspect they will do. However, planetary nuclear war is the least likely scenario.

Survival and preparedness communities have a tendency to hyper-focus on the obviously Apocalyptic. We talk a lot about EMP strikes and split-second grid down calamities. We talk about solar flares, overnight economic crashes and nuclear holocaust. I think survivalists do this because it acts as a mental exercise – A way to better clarify what the best preparedness solutions are in the majority of cases, including the worst cases.

But as I’ve said for many years, collapse is a process, not an event.

These things happen slowly, and then all at once. If you went back in time ten years ago and warned people that in 2024 the US would be in the middle of a stagflationary crisis with a 30%-50% average price increase on all necessities, they would probably dismiss you as a doom-monger. Well, guess what, that’s exactly what a handful of alternative economists (myself included) were doing well over a decade ago, and we were dismissed over and over again – Welcome to our world.

The reason people refused to believe us is because the danger was not immediately obvious. The economic threat was not hitting them in their wallet yet. Stock markets seemed to be doing fine. The jobs market was still functioning somewhat normally. They could only view economic crisis through the lens of a total collapse. The idea that it would happen incrementally never crossed their minds.

Even today there are still people who argue that everything is fine. The stock market is “fine.” The labor market is “healthy.” If you suggest all is not well, you’re a “chicken little.” This is the incredible danger of having a Hollywood fantasy idea of collapse. We may never get to 100% systemic implosion; but even a 50% collapse is still a survival situation.

The same dynamic goes for WWIII. We must not overlook the dangers right in front of us simply because intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles aren’t crisscrossing the sky.

Consider the proxy battleground case for a moment.

In October of 2023 I published an article titled ‘It’s A Trap! The Wave Of Repercussions As The Middle East Fights “The Last War.”’ In it I stated:

Israel is going to pound Gaza into gravel, there’s no doubt about that. A ground invasion will meet far more resistance than the Israelis seem to expect, but Israel controls the air and Gaza is a fixed target with limited territory. The problem for them is not the Palestinians, but the multiple war fronts that will open up if they do what I think they are about to do (attempted sanitization).

Lebanon, Iran and Syria will all immediately engage and Israel will not be able to fight them all – Hell, the Israelis got their asses handed to them by Lebanon alone in 2006. This will result in inevitable demands for US/EU intervention.”

I also warned on the potential motives behind escalation in the Middle East:

The timing of the conflict in Israel is incredibly beneficial to globalists, and this might explain Israel’s bizarre intel failure [October 7th]. Just as US and British leaders had prior knowledge of a potential Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 but warned no one because they WANTED to compel Americans to fight in WWII, the Palestinian incursion serves a similar purpose.”

I my article ‘Iran vs Israel: What Happens Next Now That Shots Have Been Fired?’ published in April, I predicted:

A ground war between Iran and Israel is inevitable if the tit-for-tat continues, and much of it will be fought (at least in the beginning) in Lebanon and perhaps Syria. Iran has a mutual defense pact with both countries and Lebanon is generally a proxy for Iranian defense policy.

Iran will have active troops or proxy forces in all of these regions, not to mention the Houthis in Yemen striking ships in the Red Sea. There are questions in terms of how Iraq will respond to this situation, but there’s not a lot of love between the current government and Israel or the US.”

Not surprisingly there was a contingent of people that argued these things would “never happen” and talk of war between Iran and Israel was “doom mongering.” Those people were wrong (yet again), and I was right. Iran and Israel have now essentially declared war on each other and are exchanging missile barrages as I write this. The ground war will begin in Lebanon and expand from there.

Just as in Ukraine, the looming danger is that war between Israel and Iran will draw in larger military powers like the US and Russia.

People dismiss this outcome because their modern conception of global war needs to change; this world war will not be fought exactly like those in the past.

This time the weapons of mass destruction will be financial and resource driven instead of nuclear. If Iran moves to blockade the Strait of Hormuz (which I believe is imminent), Americans can be harmed financially through energy shortages and gas price spikes even without our soldiers deployed to fight.

There’s also the question of our wide open borders and how many potential terrorists slipped into the US during the Biden Administration’s illegal immigration bonanza. How many attacks (or false flag attacks) are being organized right now?

The regional conflicts could spread and go on for a decade or longer. It all adds up to a world war, but it may never be officially declared a world war. Perhaps there will be a limited nuclear event somewhere; maybe a false flag or a limited strike. But a nuclear war is not necessary to create the kind of chaos the globalists are looking for.

People also need to understand that the powers-that-be also have a lot to risk should a war devolve into nuclear exchange. If it was really that easy for them to launch warheads, wipe out the majority of the human population and then establish a global dynasty, they would have done it a long time ago.

Global war on such a scale is inherently unpredictable. The elites have spent trillions of dollars and the better part of the last century constructing the most complex surveillance and control grid in history. It would be foolish to turn it all to ash in the blink of an eye and I highly doubt that’s the plan. They would be putting themselves and their legacy at risk of being erased forever.

Does this mean I will be ignoring the potential for a nuclear event? No. I will always keep it in mind and have preps ready just in case. A single nuke set off anywhere west of your home could result in radioactive fallout that would take around three to four weeks to dissipate. That said, the danger of these sceanrios might be overstated.

Here’s an interesting fact to ponder: The US government has tested at least 1050 explosive nuclear devices over the decades. Around 216 of those were atmospheric tests that resulted in massive fallout across the country. Some people in close proximity got sick over many years from these tests, but they didn’t result in an overnight mass death event. Perhaps, at a moderate distance, these weapons are not as dangerous as we’re led to believe?

The greater effect of nuclear weapons comes not just from the resulting damage to national infrastructure, but also mass psychological disruption. The economic system would take an immediate dive from even one strike, and it could be anywhere in the world. A single nuke in Ukraine would send shockwaves through already unstable markets.  The supply chain and food supply could be quickly disrupted.

If the globalists wanted to accelerate a worldwide collapse, they wouldn’t need a nuclear war, just one well placed device.

The biggest danger from WWIII is not nuclear exchange, but the disturbing changes societies go through when conflict inspires mass fear. Totalitarianism is much easier to institute during such a war. Freedom of speech is often suppressed and criticism of the government is often criminalized. People who rebel against this are accused of “working with the enemy.” Military conscription is usually enforced and young people are sent off to die overseas over a conflagration that makes little sense.

The economy nose dives and the supply chain tightens. Price controls and rationing are initiated. Black markets flourish but those who participate are aggressively targeted by the government. In the case of the US, armed revolution in many states is a certainty.

Public planning should focus far more on these eventualities and less on Hollywood images of Apocalypse.

Shorpy

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STAR-BABES & STARSHIPS 5:- HIGH-OCTANE SCI-FI ADVENTURE

His Ridiculousness Justin Trudeau Has Resigned

Good to hear that His Ridiculousness has finally deigned to resign from his post as Prime Minister of Canada.

Trudeau was of little importance to people outside of Canada. I have never written about him. But I will remember him for his fake wokeness which was as authoritarian as his use of emergency powers against truckers who protested against Covid restrictions.

 

trudeau
trudeau

Justin Trudeau and family meeting a native of India
biggerArend Feenstra, a Canadian, who, with his wife and eight kids, has recently emigrated to Russia, feels relieved:

Trudeau’s reign of terror is finally coming to an end! Many Canadians have seen their lives dramatically altered over the last 9 years, savings wiped out, health destroyed… feeling helpless and hopeless, many of us have fled to other countries in order to keep our children safe. Although Trudeau’s resignation will not undo all the damage that he has done, it is a great start and hopefully the beginning of an end to the destructive and divisive liberal policies that have destroyed the Canada we all knew and loved. May God continue to bless all our beloved Canadians this year and may good overcome evil!God bless you all! We wish you a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year from our new home here in Russia!

Arend’s family has a video channel, Countryside Acres, on which they document their life. Their latest video, posted just two hours ago, is a review of their first year in Russia:

Posted by b on January 7, 2025 at 15:25 UTC | Permalink

Samba Steak stir fry

Seasoned beef strips stir fried to perfection with vegetables, then topped with pico de gallo.

518524d954c81ab6e9c0211b791445aa
518524d954c81ab6e9c0211b791445aa

Prep: 18 min | Cook: 12 min | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Pico de Gallo

  • 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped white onion
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 teaspoons minced jalapeño pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • Salt

Beef

  • 1 pound round tip steaks, cut 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
  • 3 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced bell pepper, any color
  • 1/2 medium white onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges
  • 1 medium jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
  • Salt
  • 8 small whole wheat tortillas (about 6 inch diameter), warmed

Rub

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground chipotle chile pepper

Instructions

Pico de Gallo

  1. Combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeño pepper and lime juice in a medium bowl. Season with salt, as desired.
  2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Beef

  1. Stack beef steaks; cut lengthwise in half and then crosswise into 1 inch wide strips.
  2. Combine beef and rub ingredients in large bowl; toss to coat evenly.
  3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot.
  4. Add bell pepper, onion and jalapeño; stir fry for 5 to 8 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from skillet; keep warm.
  5. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in same skillet until hot. Add half of beef; stir fry 1-2 minutes or until outside surface is no longer pink. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm.
  6. Repeat with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and beef.
  7. Return all beef and vegetables to skillet. Season with salt, as desired.
  8. Serve beef mixture in tortillas; top with Pico de Gallo.

I’m With the Banned

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Imagine a world where exploration is forbidden, and write a story about a character who defies this rule to satisfy their innate curiosity. view prompt

Jeremy Stevens

This story contains sensitive content

This story contains leftist political hot-buttons. Do not proceed if you are easily offended.“Do you promise you won’t leave me?”“Baby, how many times I gotta say it?”“More times than you have.”“I promise. I’m not going to leave you.”“It’s just…everyone I’ve ever loved has left.”“I am not everyone.”“And if we do this…”“Ssshhh…you talk too much.”“Just, go slow, ‘kay?”“You got nothing to fear.”—–“And you met him, where?”“At the dugout…”

“I mean, where, the first time?”

“Online.”

“Where online?”

“CuddlesClub. He said he was fifteen though…”

“And how long had you chatted with him, before…”

“Two months, maybe?”

“And when you met him…”

“He could have been fifteen, maybe.”

“But he wasn’t. You knew this, right?”

“Yes.”

How did you know this?”

“Just the way you know things.”

—–

“But she’s only twelve.”

“The State does not give her permission.”

“She was raped.”

“Better than being a murderer.”

 

—–

Noam is playing with blocks on the floor. He uses them not only to build, but to spell. His latest word is “dim”; his phrase: We are a dim lot. Noam is going on four.

 

Naomi and I are cuddling on the torn loveseat. She entered my life when Noam was born. I am sixteen now; Naomi is nineteen. Naomi named him Noam, said it was a good name, said it meant “pleasantness” and that Noam Chomsky said we are born with “innate linguistic aptitude.”

 

“It’s a silent ‘fuck you’ to the suppression from the State,” she told me.

 

I didn’t get it at all then. I get it a bit more, now.

 

Naomi kisses my cheek, and hums Jack Johnson: …it’s so much better when we’re together.

—–

We are huddled in the shanty. The rain has finally stopped, so Naomi has gone out looking for food. So long as she stays to the alleys, she should be fine. Better food there, anyhow. Lots of restaurants; lots of waste. Last week her foraging yielded an unopened bag of pre-cooked, deveined, tail-removed shrimp. Noam found it delightful.

 

I was twelve when my parents were imprisoned. My father’d called the judge a sick beast and away they went, both of them. I was sitting behind them with some person in a white robe.

 

Now now, she tapped my knee. Now now.

 

I was fat with child and my back hurt. Heavily medicated, I haven’t much memory of those times. Naomi says there’s much we are not allowed to do. Being together is one of them.

 

“What happens if they find us together?”

 

“Just stick to the script.”

 

But Naomi is white, which is also a problem.

 

“Who’ll believe we’re sisters, Naomi? You’re white and I’m…”

 

Naomi just kisses me then. It is a hard kiss. Passionate. She grips the nape of my neck and puts her forehead to mine. “Sweet angel, I do so love you.”

—–

 

At four, Noam is still a thumb sucker. Despite our attempts at potty training he still has to wear diapers, and still Noam cannot speak intelligible words. His block spelling has plateaued. While we have no reliable source for nutrition, Naomi is resourceful and provides our RDA of the necessary food groups but still Noam’s eyes are jaundiced, his gums are bleeding, his skin is scaly. He’s been given to highs of rage and lows of slurping depression. He’s pulled out most of his hair; his fingertips and nails are nubbbed from scratching our earthen floor. I’ve tried to love on him —we both have— and sometimes he’ll relent but more often he’ll gnash and growl.

 

“What do you think the problem is, Naomi?”

 

“How well did you know his father?”

—–

 

It was on one of her last forays that Naomi returned with books. “I found them in the dumpster,” she exclaimed delightedly, “all brand new.”

 

Governor DeSatanist. We both knew it, but we dared not speak of it, FOR JESUS CHRIST HATH DECREED THAT the right the abort, the right same sex, the right to read, THE RIGHT TO EXPLORE OPTIONS are no longer rights, but SINS, all in the names of murder! defilement! propaganda!

 

“Oh, Naomi, what beautiful treasures. The Giving Tree. What in the world?”

“Sexist.”

Exploring Civil Rights: The Movement.

“Racially motivated.”

Bridge to Terabithia? I loved this book.

“Promoting the occult.”

Where the Wild Things Are.”

“Again. Too demonic, they say.”

“All of these were tossed? The Outsiders (too violent!), To Kill a Mockingbird (too mature!)…oh, I love this one but never heard of it: My Moms Love Me.”

 

We both looked down at our four-year-old, teething on a sandal.

—–

There is heavy foot traffic outside our tin-roofed shanty. They are marching in unison. Regimental, a tap-tap on the door: big bad white men instilling fear in two biracial dykes and a bastard invalid. We know why they are here. Surprised it took them so long.

 

The walls of our shanty are now lined with books: banned books, we assume, for they’d all been discarded. Several months ago, we’d opened our doors for exploration, purely word of mouth quite naturally as we —Naomi and I, and Noam— are not known to exist, not any longer. (For it’s been assumed, we assume, that we were wiped clean during the last fumigation, we fitting all their criteria of filth, after all.) Prior to finding us, our people had been fed the The History You Need to Know twenty-volume series; The Jesus Christ Giver’s Guide: How to be a Good Citizen; and The Lives of Hunter and Paisley five-volume series (Birth-Elementary Homeschool; Homeschool in the Neighborhood; College is not Necessary; Adulting with People Like You; Growing Old Quietly and Respectfully).

 

For the past several months, though, we’ve allowed our people to travel, to read with delight words that are actually said, emotions that are actually felt. Our people have been able to find comfort in words, healing words, words that have allowed them to transcend the NORM and to explore the lives of others, the majesty of foreign lands without the privilege of escape from this, our “home of the free because of the brave,” words and emotions that are now SINS because…because…

 

is there one right answer here?

 

Because independent thought is treachery. An enemy of progress.

 

Because “who controls the past controls the future, and who controls the present controls the past.” Because “the best books are those that tell you what you already know.”

 

Orwell, too, has been banned, of course. But we have him in our library.

Had, for we have been discovered.

—–

 

We are not going to be stoned, or burned like witches. We are not going to the rack or the gallows, or the chair. We are not going to be strapped to a gurney and punctured with needles. We are not going to be shot, or even gassed.

 

Our “fumigation” is the now-proverbial Jim Jones’ Drinking the Kool-Aid, though still we get to live, very much like the donkeys at the end of Pinocchio, also banned for its debauchery on Pleasure Island: as sheep in the fields, after the surgeries are complete, we shall follow without question, we shall bleat unintelligibly, we shall chew the cud from dawn ‘til dusk with those indistinguishable from ourselves.

 

We shall cause no further problems. We shall be obedient.

On my anniversary, he gave me a gift box but when i opened it, it were pictures of me & my affair

https://youtu.be/C4fgZ56gjl0

After F-35’s Detected, Israel Preparing Large Surface-to-Surface Missile Launches at Iran

After F-35's Detected, Israel Preparing Large Surface-to-Surface Missile Launches at Iran

After the Russian government alerted Iran to the approach of four F-35 stealth jets toward Iran from the Persian Gulf yesterday, which reportedly caused an abort to that mission, Israel is now preparing surface-to-surface missile launches.

Information about Israel’s ballistic missile capabilities is sparse, but here’s what we know about the “likely” missiles to be used, which is speculated to be “Jericho II” missiles, seen in the FILE PHOTO above.

The Jericho II (YA-3) is a solid fuel, two-stage long-range ballistic missile system and a follow on from the Jericho I project. As many as 90 Jericho 2 missiles are currently based in caves near Zekharia (Sdot Micha Airbase), southeast of Tel Aviv.

Jericho II development began in 1977, and by 1986 there were reports of test firings. According to Missilethreat.com, a project of the George C. Marshall Institute, there is evidence the Jericho II originated as a joint Israeli-Iranian project, cooperation that ended with the loss of friendly relations after the 1979 Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah’s rule.

There was a series of test launches into the Mediterranean from 1987 to 1992, the longest at around 1,300 km, mostly from the facility at Palmachim, south of Tel Aviv. Jane’s reports that a test launch of 1,400 km is believed to have taken place from South Africa’s Overberg Test Range in June 1989.

The Jericho II is 14.0 m long and 1.56 m wide, with a reported launch weight of 26,000 kg (although an alternative launch weight of 21,935 kg has been suggested). It has a 1,000 kg payload, capable of carrying a considerable amount of high explosives or a 1 Megaton yield nuclear warhead.

It uses a two-stage solid propellant engine with a separating warhead. The missile can be launched from a silo, a railroad flat car, or a mobile vehicle. This gives it the ability to be hidden, moved quickly, or kept in a hardened silo, largely ensuring survival against any attack. It has an active radar homing terminal guidance system similar to that of the Pershing II, for very accurate strikes.

The Jericho II forms the basis of the three-stage, 23 ton Shavit NEXT satellite launcher, first launched in 1988 from Palmachim. From the performance of Shavit it has been estimated that as a ballistic missile it has a maximum range of about 7,800 km with a 500 kg payload.

The Jericho II as an available Israeli counterattack option to Iraqi missile bombardment in the 1991 Gulf War is disputed. Jane’s at the time believed that Jericho II entered service in 1989. Researcher Seth Carus claims that, according to an Israeli source, the decision to operationally deploy the Jericho-2 was only made after 1994, several years after the Scud attacks had ended and a cease fire and disarmament regime were in place.

Raytheon Technologies, quoting Soviet intelligence archives, showed them believing the Jericho-2 to have been fully developed weapon in 1989, but did not indicate when it was available for deployment.

Investigators for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace accessed commercial satellite images of the Sdot Micha Airbase near Zachariah, a suspected Jericho missile base, comparison shows expansion between 1989 and 1993 of the type that would accommodate suspected Jericho II launchers and missiles. Such an expansion would be more consistent with a post-1991 deployment chronology.

It is presently unknown how many such missiles Israel has.

US Military Sending More Assets

Additional Aerial-Refueling Tankers with the U.S. Air Force are enroute to the Middle East this morning, possibly ferrying a Squadron of F-22s, F-16s, or F-15Es which the Pentagon had previously stated would be Deploying soon to the Region.

Shown below, two KC-46A Pegasus tankers (reg: 20-46074 & 20-46073) from McGuire Air Force Base One C-5M Super Galaxy (reg: 86-0012) One C-17A Globemaster (reg: 01-0188) likely heading to the Middle East:

US refueling tankers huge cargo planes to ME
US refueling tankers huge cargo planes to ME

WaPo Editors – Ending The War Is Worse Than Losing

The Washington Post editors have long argued for prolonging the war in Ukraine.

In November 2022, when Ukraine was in a good position to negotiate an end to the war, they argued against it:

Mr. Zelensky and his supporters in the West undoubtedly understand that peace talks might eventually be necessary, his commitment to victory notwithstanding. And yet to declare that, or even imply it, before the time is right — before Ukraine’s armed forces have exhausted every opportunity to regain occupied territory — would convey slackening commitment. And that, in turn, can only convince Mr. Putin that time is on his side and that he should prolong the fighting.

Since then Ukraine’s armed forces have exhausted every opportunity to regain occupied territory – and failed. Russia was then and is now convinced that time is on its side.

Now, finally, the editors acknowledge that their war against Russia in Ukraine is lost. But they still insist that this can not be allowed to be formalized in a ceasefire or peace treaty.

While they are stomping their feet they fail to present an alternative:

Ukraine risks losing the war. A Trump-imposed bad deal would be worse. (archived)
A settlement that dismembers Ukraine and rewards Putin will undermine U.S. credibility.

As Russia is the dominating power in the war in Ukraine there will only be one deal that can be had. It will be along the parameters the Russia’s President Putin has laid out. That deal will certainly be less than optimal for the U.S. side but how would it be ‘worse’ for Ukraine than losing the war?

As for ‘credibility’:

A pullback now would convey that the United States and its allies lack staying power and that their promises come time-stamped as valid only until the next election date. How might China take such a message as its autocratic president, Xi Jinping, contemplates whether to make a military move to try to seize the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan?

The U.S. ‘lack of staying power’ is a feature of its democracy. It is well known that U.S. citizen’s opinions about supporting a war tend to change over time. Just ask the Vietnamese or the Taliban for experience with this. No unrealistic fear mongering about China will change that fact.

It is however good to learn that the editors (finally) see the situation of Ukraine as unsustainable as it is:

Ukraine is also losing troops at a rate far beyond what it can sustain and continue fighting. The official casualty estimate of 400,000 killed or wounded is considered a vast undercount. Thousands of exhausted Ukrainian soldiers are deserting the front lines.

The editors know that it is over for Ukraine but they still reject to acknowledge the consequences. They say that a deal over Ukraine, any deal, would be bad but there is not even a hint of what an alternative might be:

Ukraine can hardly survive another year of this devastating war. But the haste to find a negotiated settlement could produce a bad one that would reward Mr. Putin for his land grab and guarantee he will launch a new attack for more territory once he has a chance to rebuild his depleted arsenal. A poor settlement would also leave Ukrainians bitter after seeing their homes, schools and factories destroyed, and friends and family members killed. Much of their anger would be directed at the Western backers who betrayed them. This is a fight America, and Ukraine, cannot lose, especially with a bad deal.

The war is lost. A hasty settlement will be bad. Russia will be embolden and the Ukrainians will be sad.

But what else is there to do? The editors don’t know. They thus close with a sentence that does not even (‘cannot lose’) make sense.

Posted by b on January 7, 2025 at 16:38 UTC | Permalink

My Cheater GF Loses It After I Pretend To Be In An Open Relationship For 2 Months And Then Dump Her

Head games are terrible. Do not do it.

Harsh lessons learned while in a harsh place

China’s red line was for the US to not go beyond the 38th parallel line. Therefore the US was badly beaten.

main qimg 3c7a9c652e12aa7d4ada2c99dbbea0e8 lq
main qimg 3c7a9c652e12aa7d4ada2c99dbbea0e8 lq

My GF Tearfully Blamed The Hallmark Channel & Red Wine After Cheating Cost Her A Ring

Yes

The same old nonsense of the working population collapse

Let’s study first whether indeed there will be a catastrophic collapse and why only China will be affected

What does decline in working population mean?

It’s simple

It means that in an Economy – the people who work and earn a living are becoming lesser and lesser while those who are dependent on those who work and earn a living – are becoming higher and higher

This ideally happens under 3 Conditions:-

A. Rapidly Ageing population due to dramatic rise in standards increasing lifespans to a large extent

B. Rapid rise in Childbirth, almost at 3.5–4 times the normal rate

C. Major War with a lot of conscription and deaths

Obviously B can be ruled out for China and C is highly unlikely given that WWII type of decimation is unlikely unless Nukes are used

So that leaves A – Rapidly Ageing Population

Now the general belief is that today there are 272.66 Million people older than 55 years old today

That’s 19.26%

It is estimated that this number is likely to rise to as much as 32.02% by 2054 and 41.04% by 2075

Let us look at the five things about China that nobody else or very few know about:-

A. Chinese Retire on an Average at 55 years – 58 Years against 64–67 Years in Western Nations.

So today there are almost 59.8 Million Chinese who are deemed RETIRED in China but who are deemed WORKING in the West

If you just change the 55–58 into 64–67 , the numbers change to 15.92% in 2025, 26.36% in 2054 and 34.59% in 2075

This alone sees the working population rise from 46.8% in 2075 to 53.8% in 2075

B. Chinese have a largest savings in the planet – Typically a Chinese saves 45% against 19%-33% by Western Nations.

Thus Chinese Elderly People have extremely comfortable savings as compared to Americans or Europeans who have very little savings

C. Healthcare, Education and Food Distribution is STATE OWNED in Entirety –

Unlike the US where a Doctor can charge a Million and a Half Bucks for a procedure, in China everything is State Owned and Capped

Thus the Cost to keep an Old Man healthy is much much cheaper than in the West

Likewise Education is State owned and Food is price controlled – so Feeding people is much much cheaper in China and Educating Kids is also much cheaper

So the cost of keeping an Old Man alive is less than maybe a third in equivalent terms to keep an Old Man alive in US or Europe

D. Older People are changing generation by generation

Those who will turn 60+ in 2030–2050 would have been born post 1970–1990 and there would be a 64% chance of them being an Engineering Graduate and 35.3% chance of them being a an Engineering Post Graduate

They aren’t the same old people today who were born between 1930–1950 who are less educated, peasants and mainly laborers in a China where the middle class was barely 5%

The Quality of Elderly will rise dramatically, they will be investing and playing a far more proactive role in Society than today’s 60–90 year olds

Just look at Myself, Nagarajan Srinivas and Gopalkrishna Vishwanath and Subhash Mathur

We are far more active, definitely invest more, and play a proactive role in society than three 70 year olds in the 1990s

Unfortunately those who are Actuarians presume the Old People will always be the same dependent older generations, not realizing that the newer generation of older people would be far more proactive

Imagine someone like Anbazhagan Ambrose or Ravi Sundararaman in their sixties or seventies

They would be even more proactive

Same with China too

E. Work and it’s Nature will transform completely

Impossible to believe today’s definition of WORK is the same as that of 2075

For the same analysis – let’s see the ideal job in 1973 China and most Chinese were farmers or worked in State owned industries as longshoremen or unskilled laborers

In India the middle class were Govt employees and Teachers and others were farmers and tenant laborers and daily wage laborers

Today it’s different

It will be way different in 2075

Manual Jobs would be at an all time minimum and most jobs would need skills and analysis

So a large working class population would be a major NEGATIVE not a positive

The US Port strike against Automation is the best example

No such strikes in China

They love Automation for the exact same reason

So no need to get too worried

My guess is somehow if the world moves on past 2030, China will be in the best position by 2075–2100

Emily Heneisen

I duck behind a crumbling wall, dropping to my knees on cold dirt. The sharp edge catches my shoulder, the jagged brick ripping open my skin. Burning pain shoots through my arm, a silent cry squeezing its way through my throat. And that’s all it is: a soundless echo of pain, a reverberation that I refuse to give voice to. I clamp my mouth shut, hoping my moment of shock was inaudible in the night air. The taste of metal– of copper– coats my mouth and I realize I’ve bitten my tongue in the frenzy. I open my mouth again and spit crimson onto the dirt. Cody always said I had the grace of an elephant. Here I am, proving him right. My large belly doesn’t help matters; it is both my greatest blessing and most frequent inconvenience. But I won’t trade my baby for the world and neither will Cody. Despite the fire crackling underneath my skin and inside my veins, I will myself to breathe slowly through my mouth. I’m quieter this way, harder to track down.I made sure to cover my tracks when I escaped the citadel, but it was difficult to avoid the mud puddles near the outer rim of the city. I hope they couldn’t see any tracks in the darkness. Only the wealthy can afford fire or lights, and the cost is steep. The death of the sun forced new generations to be born with bigger eyes and better senses. While I can see faint shapes and outlines, I rely mostly on my other senses. I was born into the eternal night, and the absence of the sun is as normal to me as breathing, but that doesn’t mean I want the same for my son.These soldiers are older and less evolved to the permanent darkness. That’s why, if I can remain quiet, I have a chance of escape. The entrance of the alley will look like nothing more than a shadow on the bricks. The soldiers may be tasked with hunting me and retrieving what I stole, but I know they won’t waste their precious fire to find me. It would cost them more to replace a matchstick than the reward for my capture is worth. If they knew what was in my pocket, though, they would use all the torches in their arsenal.I hear hurried footsteps down the street. I press my back onto the brick wall, perhaps hoping to sink into it altogether. My pregnant belly sticks out far, too far. I may as well call out to my pursuers altogether. I turn my body so that my back faces the entrance of the alley. The position is risky. I can’t see anything but the dead end in front of me, although I suppose it won’t matter if they catch me. I am a mouse caught in a trap, and I’m praying for the cat to miss me. I push against the brick until I feel the pressure of a metal canister digging into my hip. I’m not sure what happens if the metal cracks, but I don’t want to risk finding out. As the footsteps– a lethal thunder of raging soldiers– draw nearer, I cease breathing altogether. If they find me, if they notice the tiny alley I’d taken cover in, everything we’d done for the past two years would be for nothing. All the planning, the observing, the fighting… all in vain if I was caught now.Flashes of green eyes pull me from my fear. His infectious laugh and his sideways smirk fill my senses. Cody. I have to escape the city for him, for our baby. He already laid out the plan. Now, I just have to follow it. I repeat the plan in my head, focusing only on him as the army gets closer to my position. I squeeze my eyes shut as the stomping grows louder and louder, nearer and nearer.And then they pass by, as though they can’t see the alley at all. I don’t feel the heat of torches, either. I was right. I stay in the alley for a few minutes as the army shuffles by, oblivious to the thief only a few feet away. They would kill for the canister in my pocket if they knew what was inside. Cody and I had killed for it. Now, I just have to get to the meeting point and it will all be over. We’ll be free. I wait until the marching is gone entirely. I will not risk a stray guard turning to find me. When I leave the alley, the street is empty once more. I dart across the cobblestone road, cutting across the path I was taking earlier. Cody meticulously crafted our plan, and I’m following it with precision. My heart clenches at the thought of him. He’s still in the citadel, distracting government leaders with that charm of his. They don’t know he’s in on the plan. Hopefully, they won’t discover his betrayal until we’re already beyond the towering walls of the city.I stumble through the small, humble town, a stark contrast to the towering, glass buildings and crystal chandeliers further south. Once, when the sun still lit up the sky, the citadel may have been beautiful. It is nearly impossible to see it in the dark. Now, it is remembered for its cold cruelty and busy noise. Perhaps the glass buildings are prettier than these wood cottages, but I’ll always associate them with the icy indifference of the government that now hunted me.I weave through side streets to avoid the market squares. They’re small, but even a few extra people is a risk I’m not willing to take. The path is winding, constantly taking me through narrow passageways. Some are merely cramped, but others force me to enter them backward to avoid crushing my stomach. Narrow, indeed.“Almost there,” I dare to whisper. I don’t know if I’m reassuring the baby or myself. The cobble road morphs into a wooded path, the stones fading into the dirt and grass. I stand at the entrance of the northern forest, a few miles from the citadel. I turn, and I can see the large screen above the main tower, a giant square of black that barely stands out from the night sky behind it. They only turn it on when they need to broadcast an important message. Anything else would be a waste of light. I face the woods again, and I can make out a tiny cottage just past the tree line. It’s worn down, the thatched roof caving in on the right side. Whoever lived here before had been gone for a long while.Once inside the cottage, I can barely make out shapes. The dim light of the moon doesn’t reach through the trees, and I’m left in pitch black. I feel my way around the room, stumbling into forgotten chairs and a dusty table. Suddenly, a bright light shines through the broken window. The screen above the citadel illuminates the sky. My heart sinks as I see the face displayed for the whole city to see.Traitor. Cody Fletcher is executed on charges of treason.Executed. I can’t breathe. Cody didn’t make it out in time. Those emerald eyes… I’ll never see them again. He’ll never hold me close or brighten my day. He’ll never meet his son.I reach into my pocket, pulling out the metal canister. We spent years planning this moment. He is supposed to be here with me. We knew the risks when we started the whole damn thing, but I never expected to lose him. I sink to my knees in the cottage as the light on the screen shuts off. The world was horribly quiet, and dark. So, so dark.“You’ll grow up knowing your father did everything for you,” I whisper down to my belly. “This was all for you.” I twist the top of the can open, and sparkling gold washes over me. For the first time in my life, I bathe in the warm glow of real sunlight. We never found out how the government obtained it, but we didn’t care. I am holding the only remnant of our dead star. Hopefully, my son will grow up in a world of light and happiness, and not the cold dark that I am accustomed to. Looking at the golden light, I think of Cody. His smile was just as bright as the sunlight pooling against the metal of the can. I prayed he would watch over the baby and see that our plan worked.

Badly Attacked! Assassination Attempt on Ibrahim Traoré as West Goes Insane!

Someone bumped into my car and refused to pay for the repair, so I had to sue. She said I didn’t stand a chance because she worked at the country’s biggest car insurance agency and had access to the best of the best in terms of preparing for the trial.

This was small claims court, so no lawyers allowed, but she brought one of the agency’s lawyers anyway. Both of them yelled against me throughout the hearing, hardly letting me say a word. In addition, I was not up to par language wise because I’d only lived in the country for a few years. The judge limited herself to listening to them and nodding.

At last the judge turned to me. All I could utter was “B-but this is how trials are held in this country? Whoever yells more wins?!” to which the judge said “Exactly. That’s what I wanted to say – that is not how a trial works.” She then explained (for the sake of educating the public, as judges are supposed to do when appropriate) all that the woman and her lawyer had done that is forbidden in a courtroom. She also ruled additional compensation for me as punishment to them.

I lived in Tokyo for about 12 years and in Beijing for about 5. I left Tokyo for Beijing. I currently live in Shanghai. My answer to your question is ‘neither’… but if my choice was limited to these 2 cities and my work/life offering being perfectly equivalent, I would probably select (again) Beijing.

As most people pointed out, the biggest drawback living in Beijing is the pollution. That is the key reason I moved to Shanghai. Beyond that, the 2 cities are so different you will find good and bad things on both side and your choice will be determined by other factors than the cities’ features.

Choosing Tokyo instead of Beijing may seems a no-brainer considering the quality of services, internet ‘freedom’ and the visual/culinary esthetics of Japan. Talking Japanese is far easier to learn than Chinese among many other advantages that I am certain many will point-out and I used to appreciate greatly.

But…

These capital cities and their respective countries are currently taking a very different trajectory. China is generally progressing while Japan is taken into a slow spiral of regression which is painful to watch.

It’s easy to live well in Tokyo if you create your own comfortable bubble and blind yourself from the massive pile-up of social and environmental issues Japan is stacking against itself. By all means, choose Tokyo if you plan to live this way.

I personally prefer to be surrounded by optimistic Beijingers who have witnessed rapid positive changes and have become accustomed to try and integrate new ideas.

Beijing is not the rest of China and many massive, morally challenging (to say the least) problems are left to be addressed. The question is, do you prefer to be living in a place climbing rapidly upward or moving slowly downward?

I was a teenager.

I was attacked by a very large group of youths/teenagers/men it was 10+. It was pretty relentless. I remember my vision going blurred and it going pink before being knocked unconscious.

I woke up black and blue in hospital with a lot of broken bones and pretty much had to undergo multiple surgeries to put me back together again. Apparently they were jumping up and down on my head. To this day parts of my body hurt from this and some of the scars are still there despite 30+ years of fading.

My father saved me by going out and smashing the attackers to bits making them run away.

The police were not particularly interested and nobody was ever charged with it. The attackers actually were called cowards because they had to gang up on me. We moved away from that area and after that we always kept guns in the house. I kept guns in my homes.

I bounced back by simply living well. I recovered enough to go to 6th form college, but decided to explore a bit. I ended up meeting Liam setting up my own business and out performing every single one of those people almost all of them went on the dole and stayed there for the next 20 years 😀 :D.

It’s funny too as these useless fucks who’ve done nothing but suck up dole money think they’re the master race. You’d be surprised how many british are you deserved to be attacked! Only whites can live in the UK!

I laugh even harder as their country declines.

Woman Plans Girls Trip Without Him knowing and He DUMPS Her INSTANTLY

In my opinion, the US military is in decline…

  • it has a recruitment and morale crisis
  • it has a maintenance crisis, where ships and planes are heavily backlogged
  • it has not faced a peer adversary militarily since the Second World War
  • it has not had a significant military victory since the Second World War—it lost in Vietnam and Afghanistan!
  • its advanced military tech has reliability issues (e.g., the USS Gerald R. Ford’s EMALS and the F-35)
  • the Pentagon conducted numerous war games involving China and found that China won in every instance!

China’s military is extremely capable…

  • China has 232X the shipbuilding capacity of the USA, according to a leaked US Navy briefing—this means that China can much more easily replenish its lost ships
  • China bristles with A2/AD missiles, including hypersonic ones
  • China has the world’s largest navy, including formidable ships like the Type 055 heavy destroyer, the Type 052D destroyer, the Type 003 aircraft carrier, etc.
  • the J-20 Mighty Dragon is a frighteningly capable stealth fighter every bit the equal of the F-22 Raptor—and China has many more of them

A war in China’s own backyard gives China an overwhelming home field advantage. The US military would have a serious logistical problem.

In 2013, I got an excited call from my mom. She told me “I’ve won $2 million in the lottery, well, there’s a two in there somewhere, and I’ve decided to give it to you! I know you want to buy a house so badly.”

OK. I said I’d be right over. Arriving at my mom’s apartment, I saw her holding a large manilla envelope with “OFFICIAL DOCUMENT” and ”YOU’VE WON!” printed on it. On closer inspection, of course, there was tiny type that said “if you are holding the winning numbers.” The appeal on the inside was for her to send $25 “for processing.”

I looked down at a pile of mail that had accumulated mail. There were several envelopes like this one; apparently they hadn’t convinced her she was a “winner.” I also discovered that she had been sending blank checks to pay her bills, and had been putting all purchased on her credit cards, which now had a combined balance of over $20k. She could not write a check, but she knew how to get to the mall and whip out a piece of plastic.

I scolded her. I told her an educated woman like her should know a scam when she saw it. I think I even wrote “official document” on a napkin to show how it worked. I proceeded to toss all the envelopes in her recycling bin.

Mom yelled and lunged at me, recuing the lottery envelopes. “Someone has to win, and it could be me!” Her best friend was coming for dinner that night. I told her to please ask her friend (a younger and sensible teacher) about her opinion, and to gt rid of these if Friend said so.

I went home knowing what I suspected was true. Mom undeniably had dementia. She had been acting erratically for a few years, but I chalked it up to “mom being mom” and mom’s insistent “I’m old, of course I forget things!”

It took me all of 2014 and into 2015 to get her diagnosed. Finally, in February of 2015 she had an unexplained fall in her apartment, breaking 3 ribs. Her landlord, who heard her yelling and called me and we went to the ER. That incident was the first domino in me getting her tested for dementia (she failed the 30-question, getting an 8 out of 30. I got an MRI and a referral to an excellent neurologist and assessment program for mom.

That was the beginning of my journey with what was my mother’s frontotemporal dementia. Mom grew steadily worse, going from needing one aide in her home to requiring two aides (available 24/7) in a dementia facility. Mom gradually lost her ability to speak, then recognize me. She died in December of 2019.

I assumed her death would close a chapter and I would start over. It didn’t work out like that. Once mom was dead, so were so many relationships I had built over the years. All of her friends who would regularly call me to see how mom was doing (or to ask if I would escort them for a visit) stopped contact after the memorial service. What was left of my family declared “the holidays were always about seeing mom, we’re making other plans.” I got one letter from a far-flung relative of mom’s who told me “dementia sure runs in the family!” Hoo boy. One Quoran went so far as to suggest I already had dementia, based on their review of my personal account; the question was not about dementia.

I’m now 63 and I’m really lonely and afraid. I told my doctor and my son about my concerns. How do I know if I’m developing dementia if I live alone and am not in regular contact with anyone? I had a few bad falls in my old apartment, so I moved to a first-floor unit. Also, for all our disagreements, I miss my mother. That’s the one person you know “has your back,” at least in a decent familial relationship.

You really never get over losing your parents. I tell my adult son all about my childhood. I told him where our house was, the beach down the street were I spent my summer days and the woods were I rode my horse. One Christmas, my son gifted me a map of my hometown. Interestingly, the map cut off the area of where my house was, it just showed the downtown area. Of course I told him I loved it, but I also realized that nobody really cares about my childhood story.

Shorpy

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Yes.

By the way, so was the war in Afghanistan. And so was the war in Vietnam and so was the war in Korea.

My father fought bravely in Korea. He was bayoneted in the middle of the night at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir — twice. Once, in the groin. He somehow barely survived. (Miraculously? He first woke up in a hospital in Los Angeles, 28 days after he had been bayoneted twice.).

My father somehow survived. He would never talk about it, and I did not learn that until about 12 years ago.

My father died three years ago — in 2021, at age 93 — but my dad would also be the first to explain in great detail how that war was a ridiculous, and unjustified war. He was proud of his duty, and was proud of his service to his nation — but he would also lecture you extensively how the U.S. has absolutely no justification for sending ground troops into that mess.

He would tell you the same exact thing about Vietnam, and also about Afghanistan, and about the second incursion into Iraq. With full detailed explanations. The U.S. military had no business being in any of those four locations.

Period.

R.I.P., dad.

And, thanks.

HUAWEI’s New 4nm Chip Just SHOCKED The World… NO ONE Expected This!

Not a General, an Admiral. In the mid 90’s I was testing a freshly overhauled F404 in the test cell, at NAS Lemoore CA. Recently the AF had crash landed a C-21 (Lear 35) in Fresno, the local news portrayed the pilots as heroes because they “rode it in”, a Lear has no ejection seats. So anyway, I am putting an engine through it’s paces in the test cell, and through the reflection in the observation window I notice a few people quietly step in and are standing there. I am at full power, full afterburner, running high power tests. After bringing the engine back down to idle, someone asks “So what’s your job here sailor”, with out looking away from my instruments I respond, “I’m trying to blow this engine up”. Next I hear someone loudly clear their throat, I turn the engine over to my assistant, turned in my seat, and there, standing behind me, the Base CO, my Div O, my Master chief and….“Commander Light Attack Wing Pacific Fleet” Admiral Idon’trememberhisName. I snap to, and the Admiral says “Care to expound on that answer sailor? Thinking fast, I respond with “Well Sir, if I can’t break this engine, none of our pilots can, and no Navy jet will have to crash land in downtown Fresno”. He gives me a hard stare, smiles and says “Good fucking answer”, turns and walks out without another word. Please upvote, if you do like. Comments and questions welcome! Have a GREAT NAVY DAY!

Comedians That Stood Up AGAINST Woke Culture

Nazi Germany allocated great resources to infrastructure during WWII. Flak towers are one of these.

Anti-aircraft tower (Flaktürme) in Vienna.

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These towers were built to defend the Reich Empire from British air raids. These complex structures inclued radar stations within. These towers are considered urgent and top priority so all the related raw material (cement, pig iron etc.) was directed to these constructions. However apart from towers in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna, other projects had to be cancelled due to shortage of raw material and funds.

10 feet thick concrete walls were unassailable for ordinary bombings. The anti aircraft guns situated on top of these towers were very effective since they can create no-fly zones when concentrated their firepower. For example the three towers formed a safe triangle over Berlin from Royal Air Force. These towers could be used as bomb shelters that can house thousands of people during air raids.

These towers were so impregnable that during the Battle of Berlin where there was no hope for Nazi capital’s survival, these towers could not be taken by Soviet Red Army because of their thick walls. The Soviets did not bother to waste valuable ammo on these towers and bypassed them in their quest to capture the Nazi capital. In the end the defenders had to surrender when they ran out of food and water.

All in all these giant towers exist today because it is too costly to demolish them. The lesson that can be learnt about their ordeal is that they served their purpose well.

Your housecat is by nature a scavenger, typically only hunting when the opportunity presents itself.

Left to forage in the great outdoors, they won’t necessarily pass up a festering carcass.

…which is another reason in addition to predation and traffic that indoor cats typically lead longer, healthier lives.


Personally, I’d be far more concerned about my felines eating highly salted fish or bulb vegetables than room temperature meats, but I also wouldn’t give them ANYTHING that I’d be scared to eat myself.

The two hour maximum for unrefrigerated food is a good rule of thumb for both people and pets.


Don’t squander those 9 lives on base negligence.

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Can you explain what Pattaya, Thailand is like?

The sun goes down and the lights come on along the Pattaya foreshore

I lived in Pattaya for seven years. I’ve heard it said, more than once, that Pattaya “is the world’s biggest brothel.” No doubt there’ll be people who’ll be offended by this statement. They’ll offer up a myriad reasons why they consider Pattaya to be one of the best places in the world to reside. For those who live there, or spend extended periods there, then this is understandable. They’re just protecting/defending their home turf.

The sign says it all

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main qimg d1b2e89e3ee3286e0e6e1983372b1d4f

The reality of Pattaya is it’s predominantly an adult entertainment/nightlife spot. The Beach front area, and the adjoining streets and laneways, are crammed with beer bars, gogo bars, massage parlours, and nightclubs, which are staffed by ladies who provide sexual services, for a price. This is an undeniable fact. The focal point of Pattaya was, is, and will be this beach front zone. Tourists who come to Pattaya, gravitate to this area for fun and entertainment. This area, and it’s associated support busnisesses of hotels, restaurants, cafes, and beauty shops, is the life blood of the town. There are other areas, such as Soi Buakhaow, which offer a similar entertainment services, albeit at a less expensive price, for long stay foreigners.

A typical bar scene in Pattaya

This in itself isn’t a bad thing. The town provides a service/location where single, foreign males can go for a paid for sexual liaison. It’s also an industry which provides employment for undeducted girls from the northern provinces of Thailand. For the most part, the girls working in the bars of Pattaya are from the rice farms of Isarn. Their motivation for choosing to work in these bar areas is simply poverty, and nothing else.

The girls along the avenue

The beaches of Pattaya, compared with Hua Hin and Phuket, are hardly remarkable. If you understand geography, then this isn’t difficult to discern. The coastline on this Gulf side of Thailand is shallow. Even when the tide is in, you’ll need to wade at least fifty meters from the shoreline to be in waist deep water. Because of this geographical constant, the water tends to be murky, warm, and unavoidably polluted with run off and plastic. Even over in Jomtien, which is considered a cleaner beach area, if you swim with goggles the amount of plastic seen on the seabed is quite shocking.

Along the Pattaya foreshore

If you reside in Pattaya, for any length of time you’ll come to understand it’s a bakingly hot place, especially from March to May. The landscape is predominantly flat. Yes, there’s a hill/peak which forms a headland between Pattaya and Jomtien but this is an isolated geographical feature. The surrounding landscape is flat and scorching. Compounding this is the radiated heat from the concrete urban sprawl. For this reason the majority of foreigners residing there will either stay at home in the afternoons, or head to the air-conditioned relief of shopping malls or bars. And therein lies the crux of Pattaya. Because of the unrelenting heat of the place, life tends occur from late afternoon and into the night. Once again, the inescapable fact is that Pattaya is predominantly a night time/night life location.

A great spot for a few sun downers.

Because of the heat factor, those participating in outdoor activities, such as golf, tend to do so in the mornings. Beach joggers can be seen along the foreshore in the mornings. No one, certainly not the locals, goes jogging in the mid-afternoon heat. For a foreigner, residing in Pattaya, their day might look something like this: 1. Get up mid morning and head to a restaurant (the Pig and Whistle or the Victoria) for a western breakfast. 2. Meet with friends for a coffee, late morning. 3. Go to an airconditioned shopping mall (Central or Big C) for lunch. 4. If you’re health minded, go to a gym in the afternoon. If you’re not health minded, go sit in an outdoor beer bar along Beach Road, or some other drinking establishment which expats frequent. 5. Late afternoon, go for a massage (with or without extras). Rinse and repeat.

Resident expats meet for a coffee and a chat

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Foreigners who reside in Pattaya long term, for the most part, tend towards an alcohol based lifestyle. Many end up being alcoholics. Long term, if you value your health, you’ll eventually move to either Hua Hin or Phuket. Both of these locations have cleaner air, a greener landscape, and less polluted seas.

Safe travels,

Mega.

James, the cat with a bank account ! =:)

Actually the story goes back further than that, and to my first pet, Bubbles. A Black and White Domesticated cat. It was an act of rebelling by my sister and I again our father who as small children wouldn’t let us have a pet greater than a goldfish.

I was turning 18 (so legally and adult (and my sister had always known I wanted a pet cat- ideally black, but when we got the cat rescue centre (RSPCA) although I liked a black cat called Solo, I was prised away by my sister and the Manager of the centre to take Bubbles. A great softy of a cat and had been given up as a result of her original keeper being elderly and going in toWarden Assisted Accommodation, where pets were not allowed. Must have been a heart-breaker for her and Bubbles clearly missed her to an petted me as opposed to the other way around.

There was just one problem she was already 8 years old (mid-mice [sic] crisis for cat -:) ) I was only 18 so not a brilliant salary and worried about vets bills particularly, I had looked at Pet Insurance and found it absurdly expensive and so many clauses and disclamers, it had more holes in it than a cooking sieve. So really not worth the paper let alone price it was written on

At the time I was working for a bank, an we had special terms on our bank account, notably no overdrafts, declaring where all money paid in to the account other than Salary had to be verified and origin. Although that sounds invasive, actually it was for our own safety that ALL transaction were checked in case as staff you were being bribed, money laundering under duress, indeed illegal trading or blackmail.

In fact, so strict were the rules that if you did go overdrawn in the morning and had not put cash in to cover it, or confirmed where the money had come from, then it could be Summary Dismssal. So the idea of not bein able to afford Vets fees or food for my moggy, was a serious matter (in my view.

So with the advice of my line manager opened a special savings account for the cat. For legal reasons obviously the cat could not technically have an account in her name specifically. The way my Manager got around this (and later turned out to be the loop hole) that I made the account in my name, but as a Trustee of the cat (Bubbles). That way the cat now had her own money in law, albeit under my name as her Trustee. This was great as could now put money in to her account each month, and build up a reserve to pay mum for he cat food and litter, and also a fund for any vets fees. Far cheaper than pet insurance, AND the money was available. Having made the cat as a beneficiary of the Trustee the interest was Tax Free too ! -:)

I later left the bank and moved in to another sector and transferred the account to a local branch.

The title of the account was “ Richards, Re: Bubbles.

Bubbles went to the great cat basket in the sky (bawled my eyes out over that cat ! ) but found another one from this rescue centre who was called “James”. He was totally black, and fur like a panther; purred like one too. He had been taken back to the rescue centre a couple of times as he kept fightin with other animals. This didn’t bother me as Iive on my own,,James very independent, even learened how to open a window with his paw, climb over threshold on to aledge drop on to a porchm then down to a rubbish bunker and to the gound. An ovrerall fall of 25 feet, but in 3 parts. Cats as we know are very supple and drop down easily. I later discovered that he could jump from the ground, to the bunker and ultimately back to through the window.

Cat-door issue solved, height above ground level and the porch roof pitched and covered in moss , slippery. So along with very narrow window an adult too heavy and would slide, and only a child would be able to get in through the window. Even a 10 year old would be nervous at that height let alone crawl through a high, narrow window. Safe for me and James.

Back to the bank account. The account had to be suspended and re-named as in law James, indeed Bubbles had/were legal entities. The bank (knowing the joke of course) placed now James as the beneficiary off the Trusteeship. The account continued as it had with Bubbles. When I went in to the branch to draw money the cashiers asked if James alright had he needed the vet or was this for food. Indeed during an internal audit, they made me bring James to the branch to verfy him”. Of course I could see the joke so complied. If course James had never had so much fuss . I later found out that they had taken a photo of him an sent it to Head Office for the bank Journal.

I had an emergency crop up, where my mother was taken ill in Europe so needed to leave the Counry fast. The Company I was on contract to were brilliant, understood the sitaution and got a replacement temp in, did a quick hand over and went home to pack and catch the flight – actually the company had reserved the seat for me so I just paid them the ticket money and all the documents were at Secure Handling. Passport and on to the plane.

Family emergency sorted, and back home about three weeks later, picked up my car and then suddenly realised that I didn’t have GB£ on me, and the only money I had was in James’ Account. So had to leave him at the cattery.

The advantage of this savings account was that you could got to a branch and draw money no matter where you were in the UK. However it did have a floor limit, which if exceeded had to be telephoned to the holding branch for further verification and clearance for the funds to be released. The holding branch of course knew the joke about James. So as a joke on me and the branch I was drawing the money through the girl who had taken the passbook for clearance, called me back to her till and said:

“The branch have asked for further information as this an unusual transaction for you and want to know James’ date of birth and his relationship to you”.

I told her straight faced that James was a Black Domesticated, shot-hair cat. Thinking I had “lost it”, smiled wrote the information down and handed it back to the clearing clerk, also looking perplexed and started talking to the home branch who confirmed that James was indeed a cat, and yes I had the authoirty to draw the money. So laughs all around.

Roll on 12 months in to the new financial year and UK Tax Office sends me a letter statin that during a random audit, I had an account in Trusteeship for James and wanted confirmation who James was his age and whether the interest was taxable. So I sent the passbook off, along with James’ Adoption Certificate (in the UK when you take a dog or cat from a rescue home you have to provide details identification and where live and in effect do adopt the cat. And yes, they do check to make sure that the animal is OK a couple of weeks down the line by turning up randomly and wanting to see where the animal sleeps his food is kept an whether registered with a vet.

So that is how seriously the UK take their pets. -:)

Back to the Tax Office where have sent all this information and for a laugh sent a picture of James along with he adoption certificate, pass-book and certificate of interest of interest from the bank.

A phone call was received from the Tax Office to “confirm a few things” (think to test my sanity to be honest -:) and asked why I had the account and having confirmed with the adoption papers wanted to make sure that James was under 18, which he appeared to be in the picture, that was confirmed and clearly had spoken with my bank.

I got a letter back form Inland Revenue that as James was under 18, he was now deemed to be a “Minor in pertuity” (which is legal terminology for bein a “child for life”.) Thanked me for my compliance and would not be making any further enquiries from now on! Also any interest reported would be retreated as non taxable as it was for the cat’s (child) benefit -: )

So just shows if you play along with the UK Inland Revenue, they do have a sense of humour.

Seriously all this is true. James, the cat with a bank account.

Beef Borguignonne

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bef34088f4ab66f882f223c5ccb444db

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 pound) lean beef chuck, cubed
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 cup beef consommé
  • 2 to 3 cups dry red wine
  • 1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms or 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sautéed in 2 tablespoons butter
  • 12 small white onions, parboiled

Instructions

  1. Brown meat in shortening; add flour and seasonings. Stir well. Pour into 2 quart casserole.
  2. Add broth and wine.
  3. Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees F.
  4. Add mushrooms and onions. May add more broth and wine, if dry.
  5. Bake 1 1/2 hours more, perhaps lowering oven temperature.
  6. Skim fat from gravy.
  7. Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice.

Star Wars A New Hope – 1950s Super Panavision 70 | Runway Gen 3

Just Hangin’

I guess with that idiotic arrogant cruel entitled mindset that you are referring to the USA.

The USA has just has its ass whipped again by a bunch of poorly armed, unsophisticated peasants in Afghanistan, as happened in Viet Nam and Korea. How and why it assumes that a truly cruel vile evil proposition like this could succeed against a highly organised, sophisticated, vast, nuclear armed country like China is beyond the scope of rational thinking.

Four-Onion Steak

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668116104b4fbd70186f92bdbb5e1b37

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 (12 ounce) boneless beef top-loin steaks, cut 1 inch thick
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium leek, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup sliced scallions
  • Scallions, sliced into 3 inch pieces (optional)

Instructions

  1. Cut steaks into 4 portions.
  2. Combine garlic salt, chili powder, pepper and cinnamon. Use your fingers to press mixture onto both sides of each steak portion.
  3. In a large skillet cook steaks in hot oil over medium heat to desired doneness, turning once. Allow 8 to 11 minutes for medium rare or 12 to 14 minutes for medium.
  4. Transfer steaks to a serving platter, reserving drippings in the skillet. Keep warm.
  5. For sauce, add white onion, leek and shallots to skillet. Cook and stir over low heat for 5 minutes or until onions are tender.
  6. Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more or until broth is slightly reduced.
  7. Add scallions. Spoon onion mixture over steaks.
  8. Garnish with scallion pieces, if desired.

Kishore Mahbubani REVEALS China’s Strategy to Counter the US

I absolutely did. On January 21, 2023, I crashed from complications due to Delta Covid. Prior to being revived, I have vivid memories of knowing I was dead. I will tell you that I went somewhere horrific, and disconnected from all that is holy. I heard those closest to me say things like “at least she’s in a better place now”, as I’d dealt with decades of severe mental health issues and suicidal ideations. I heard them walk away for what I believed to be the very last time. I was in a dark room beneath the ICU, tied down in a chair. There was an evil presence, and other details I won’t go into now. My voice was mute. My screams, silent. I have never felt such agony as knowing that was the last I’d ever hear them, and I had no voice to scream, “COME BACK!! I’M NOT IN A BETTER PLACE!! PLEASE DEAR GOD DON’T LEAVE ME!!!” The belief that I had went to hell, and my loved ones assumed I was in Heaven was the worst part of it all. Knowing I was there, and no one knew. Forever. That it would never end. I cannot even begin to put into words the agony and torment, as I can assure you that there is nothing on this earth that can even come close to comparing to that horror. I read once about a woman who was held captive for many years on end by a man and woman who kept her in a box beneath their bed. For whatever reason, I can relate this most to her story, only at least she could hold onto the tiniest amount of hope that perhaps someday she’d know freedom. But where I went, even the tiniest of hope did not exist. Thankfully both her and I recieved that freedom. I woke up a different person. In the 18 months since my NDE, I have found God and am no longer suicidal. I had a laundry list of complications brought on by Delta Covid, including Sepsis, Septic Shock, Staff, MRSA, Double Pneumonia, and failed liver and kidneys. I was in a coma for several weeks and was on bedside dialysis. I woke up unaware of where I was or what had happened to get me there. I have no memories of being sick, and even the couple of weeks leading up to being life-flighted are wiped clean. At first, I assumed I must’ve been in a car accident. I had a tracheostomy and could not communicate in the weeks following waking from the coma. My body was too weak and shaky to use a pen, as we tried without anywhere close to success. I was determined to get off the vent so that I could tell of what had happened when I died. I can’t explain how odd it was to be holding onto that alone, while my loved ones visited my bedside and I had no way of telling them that I had been changed. I had seen hell. I was given a second chance, against all odds. I had a total of 17 specialists, many informing my family (and myself) that they witnessed nothing short of a miracle. My body was described as “on fire”. I had a preconceived notion that doctors were purely science-minded, but my doctors gave all the credit to God and my will to live. The odd thing was that I’d just gotten out of 7 months of in-patient treatment for wanting to end my life, so hearing it had ANYTHING to do with my will to live was such dark humor!! It was God, as He worked through the hands of my doctors. I came out of it realizing that both science and God can be true at the same time. God works through others. Next time I die, I plan on going to Heaven.

BREAD GREATEST HITS. (WITH LYRICS) NON STOP.

The Sinners of a Planet Gone Dark

Submitted into Contest #232 in response to: Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource. view prompt

Susy G

[Content warning: mild physical violence, death]Apocalypses don’t happen in sudden, drama-injected catastrophes like in the movies. They happen slowly—painstakingly—while half of the planet tries to convince the other half that it’s all a hoax, that the sun can’t possibly go out, that it’s just a government plot to drive up stock prices or hide trackers in our drinking water or whatever the conspiracy theory of the day is.The sun might not have technically ‘gone out’ yet, but it’s close. Each morning grows that much darker. Kids don’t even know what seasons are anymore.I always thought that if there was an apocalypse, if the zombies did rise up and eat us all, I wouldn’t want to survive the first wave. What kind of person would want to stick around for a zombie apocalypse and spend the rest of their miserable life alone and perpetually afraid of their own shadow?Well, now I know the answer. It turns out that the human brain has an incredibly strong desire to stay alive, regardless of the circumstances. Sure, I know the sun is dying. I know the world will freeze even more than it already has done and it will only be a matter of time before we slow to a crawl and die gruesome deaths. But my brain hasn’t quite cottoned on to that yet, so it forcibly keeps me alive. It’s determined to score front row seats for the end of humanity.And if I am going to stick around . . . well I’m going to make the best of it.It was clear from the outset that even at the end of the world, humans love to place value on random commodities, even if the commodity might not seem like much on first glance. Plants, for one thing—real, natural plants—soon became the treasures of corporations once they realised that they would be a rare phenomenon, destined to be locked away and auctioned off to the wealthy just to satiate their need to find new ways to prove their meaningless fortunes.But apparently plants don’t just sit there and look pretty. The black market seems to think that their DNA is a vault of information and the promise of scientific advancement—if you know how to unlock it. At least, that’s what my buyer told me. And now, that plant DNA is priceless to those heroes who are still trying to save what’s left of the planet.Who am I to argue with the experts?It’s time to wake up and smell the apocalypse. What billionaire ex-politician is going to care about a missing plant when they’re going to die just as horribly as the rest of us ordinary folk? I wasn’t always a thief, but as the doomsday clock ticks down lower and lower, the less I can find the ability to care about the morality of it all.I got into this business for the money at first, but when the concept of money and cash stopped meaning anything, I kept doing it anyway as if to prove a point—that no amount of high security fences or vaults or sirens would be enough to protect them from the same fate as us. Everyone else around here knows that their homes are viable targets for looting; why should it be any different for them? With each score, I dragged them back down to the reality of living on this broken planet.This one is no different. The thrill is addictive, cutting up fences and shooting down cameras as though they would be an effective deterrent for any thief worth their salt. I’m a machine of instinct and adrenaline. I slip through lasers and bypass security barriers like a river in a gorge. On a planet full of death, I feel like I’m the only human left who is truly alive.The first security guard catches me by surprise, but my survival-bent brain reacts before he can. Complacency gets thieves killed, and gut instinct brings the gun from my holster and shoots the security guard before he can do anything to stop me.I wasn’t planning to encounter anyone today, let alone commit murder. I should be flattered that this target perceives thieves like me as such a threat that they would go to such ridiculous expenses as hiring security personnel—very much a dying breed in an apocalypse—but all I can think as I continue through the dark compound is how little value is placed on the lives of these people. I reason with myself that if these security guards wanted to stick around this long for the apocalypse, that was their choice. Actually, if you think about it, I was saving them from having to experience the final apocalypse—that by shooting them in the head, I was performing a kindness.I’m not very persuasive, as it turns out. I send up an apologetic prayer as I propel each guard I encounter to somewhere better than here.A new train of thought keeps me focused as I continue my executions through the dimly lit corridors. If God is real, and all this is just another Biblical flood, and some guy called Noah has built a spaceship to rebuild humanity after the sun finally dies . . . well, I wish Noah success in his spaceship-building endeavours. But I also feel for the people who weren’t saved from the flood and who won’t be saved now, those who have sinned and will feel God’s wrath as a result. Who is Noah to decide who lives and dies? Doesn’t watching the rest of humanity die and doing nothing to save them constitute a sin in itself? If Noah is as damned a sinner as I am, then I will sin until the bitter end, and if God made us in Their image, then They too must be a sinner.Therefore, God would want me to steal this bloody plant.

I wasn’t born a thief. Believe it or not, I used to be a Pilates instructor before the world went to pot. We always knew that the sun would die in our lifetime, so I’m not sure what got us to the point where people stopped caring about personal fitness and the rule of law. All I know is that with every governmental collapse, with every frozen, deadly winter, with every suicidal cult that sprung up and promised a pre-apocalyptic death free of pain, the world felt that much smaller, and consequences became a rarer occurrence. Each winter inches us closer to a world-ending ice age, and when it’s the end of the world, concepts like ‘morals’ are the first to go. So I’m just here to make the most of it. It’s either that or sit around and wait to die. You might have your sainthood intact if you chose that route, but you’d also die a lot quicker from starvation or hypothermia if you never stole anything. It starts with a blanket, a bread roll, something you can trade for a hot meal, and then before you know it, you’re sneaking around a former world leader’s private compound on a murder spree so you can sell his prized potted plant on the black market.

As thoughts of morality and the road from sainthood to sinner spiral around my mind, I finally arrive at the vault, where the plant awaits rescue. I shove on a pair of sunglasses. They’re hard to come by these days—what use would a dark planet have for darkening the world even more?—but I know that real plants need a great deal of artificial light to keep them alive, so I came prepared. This might be my first plant heist, but I don’t intend for it to be my last.

I blast open the iron doors of the vault without much difficulty, alarm sirens blaring in the darkness. Dust spills into the air from the explosion, and I am thrust into the whitest light I have ever seen. Fortunately, the sunglasses do their job, and I see three silhouettes racing towards me, boots clanging on the metal floor.

I reach for my gun, but another guard tackles me from behind and wrestles me to the floor. He must have followed me, chosen not to engage, knowing I would be facing further resistance within the vault itself and would not be expecting anyone to attack from behind. I usually manage to avoid physical altercations, but desperation spurs me to fight back. That damned survival instinct kicking in again.

He might be bigger than me, but I know the weak points of the body. An elbow to the eye shatters his sunglasses and causes him to pull his arm back to cover his face, providing me with the space needed to roll out from under his grip, save him from the apocalypse with my gun, and face my three remaining opponents.

I have a second to take in my surroundings. The vault is enormous, more like a chamber, and it is filled to the ceiling with deep green plants. The blueprints didn’t indicate the size of the vault or its contents, but I couldn’t have imagined stumbling into a veritable rainforest. It’s been years since I’ve even seen a picture of a real plant, and this guy has a whole ecosystem hidden away in his basement. And for what? Status? Pride? Just because he can? Within milliseconds, anger and despair consume me. The apocalypse isn’t just the sun going out, the oceans freezing over, and the descent of everlasting darkness—it’s people like him, hoarding extortionate amounts of wealth just so he can go to meet God with as much superficial power as humanly possible. Has no one told him that we don’t take material possessions with us when we die? Stealing to survive and drag the wealthy back down to earth is one thing. But hoarding this? This is far beyond any concept of survival. This is greed in its purest, most meaningless form.

The heroes operating within the black market would keel over at the sight of all these plants, and probably declare that humanity finally has a shot at salvation. I’m not so sure that humanity is even worth saving at this point.

Maybe I’m starting to understand Noah’s perspective.

The instinct to survive kicks in again, and I shoot at the guards despite myself, but my gun clicks, jammed.

Divine intervention?

I dive out of the guards’ firing range and get close enough to engage in physical combat instead, but I am a thief, not a fighter. I have completed countless jobs, but none of them involved a physical fight with more than one person at a time. Like I said, security guards are a dying breed, so physical confrontations are few and far between.

I manage to thrust the butt of my gun into a guard’s head, kick another in the groin, hurl my fists into the other’s lower back, continuously moving so they don’t have enough time to aim and shoot me. I take more blows in return than I can count. Blood—I’m not sure whose—sprays onto a nearby leaf. Then, one of them manages to reach for my sunglasses and rips them off before I realise what’s happening.

My eyes scrunch shut without any control at the sudden injection of light, and the guards waste no time at my hesitation. One twists my arms behind my back and kicks me to the floor, a boot pressing against my lower spine to keep me there. My shoulder sockets burn at the strained angle.

I inch my eyes open millimetre by millimetre until I can see a guard with his gun pointing straight at me. The remaining guard stands further back, speaking indistinctly into a radio.

The guard in front of me takes his final aim, and somehow I smile to myself, panting, blood dripping from my mouth. Finally, that damned survival instinct subsides. My brain has finally stopped resisting, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more at peace than I am in this moment.

It looks like I’ll miss the apocalypse after all. I almost think I was actually looking forward to it in the end, just to see what it would feel like after all these years of build-up. Typical of me not to want to feel like I’m missing out. Maybe that’s what’s kept me alive through it all.

I chuckle and crane my neck up to the ceiling, towards the Great Sinner, finally ready for my appointment with Them.

Ex-Husband’s Afterlife Confessions to Matt Fraser!

This is a great question. I have a perfect answer for this

This Son of a Bitch, Woodrow Wilson:

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main qimg 673570164c1746280ec7d226d9cd5e2a lq

I am honestly baffled that anyone would put this piece of shit in their top 10 favorite presidents. Some historians rank him as the best behind FDR, Lincoln and Washington. There were so many bad things he did and it would be an essay in order to list down EVERY bad thing he did. So where do we start with this Bastard

-He segregated the Government

-He Brought new live into the KKK, ultimately setting Civil Rights back another 50 FUCKING YEARS!

-He promised to keep the United States Out of the Great War, Only to Declare War. Him saying he would keep us out of war was the reason why he won the 1916 election.

-He passed out the Sedition Act of 1918 Which Banned Freedom Of Speech

-He passed out the Espionage Act of 1917 which prohibited people from obtaining information from the National Defense

-He supported eugenics

-He forced many soldiers to fight in WWI with Influenza and was responsible for the death of millions

-He was involved in the Treaty of Versailles which lead to Hitler and WWII

-He smiled when Theodore Roosevelt died. That’s disgusting

-He lead the Palmer Raids

I’m sure there’s much worse about this asshole but I could still keep typing until the day I die when I list every bad thing from Woodrow Wilson. If I ever had an excuse to ever go to hell, It would be to knock his rotten teeth out of his mouth. I hate him with a passion and sorry If I seem so unprofessional about this but He really did that much bad for us Americans. And what’s also the point in liking Woodrow Wilson when FDR was similar in polices but unquestionably better than him in ever since of the word better.

What’s the most badass thing your boss has ever done?

There was a time when I was working a maximum security prison. This was the top of the line for inmates just shy of death row. We held a lot of people sentenced to multiple life sentences, fifty years and more.

A trick inmates like to play was to feign a medical injury then when staff opened their cell, said inmate would jump up and start fighting.

I had one inmate on my block and he was gargantuan, easily six foot five and three hundred pounds. Had he wanted to he could have incapacitated me by just knocking me down and sitting on my chest for three minutes. He looked like Fezzik from Princess Bride.

I knew that he was being interrogated for serial killings linked to him by the FBI. If they could crack him a couple life sentences would be added to his twenty year stretch. He had nothing to lose.

To add insult to injury, life threw him a curveball. His mother died and he was locked up, unable to see her. When I heard this I was convinced he would at the minimum attempt a suicide.

My prediction seemed to come true when I heard another inmate in the neighboring cell calling my name. I walked over and he pointed towards Fezzik whose cell was next to his. I shone my flashlight in and he was lying on the ground motionless.

Following policy I called in an emergency alert to the unit. We were short staffed, so short staffed that two sergeants came by to help. I was starting to think that Fezzik had snapped and the second we rolled his door that we would be in a clobbering match with a man three times my body size. All I had was some pepper spray and a vest.

We rolled his door and there was a massive pause as we all looked around to see who the unlucky bastard to go into the cell first would be. I will admit that bastard was not going to be me.

A small sergeant, a man called Sgt. Click didn’t hesitate, not even beyond one second. He was shorter than me and had no gear but he went head first into the cell, towing what I imagined to be basketball sized steel testicles in his pants. Fortunately for us, Fezzik was not looking for a fight. He had taken his frustration out on the cell wall, slipped and knocked himself out cold on the cell floor.

We got him out and to the hospital wing. I had nothing but the highest respect for Sgt Click after that.

Pot Roast with Vegetables

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22a904bcf2d6fa9869a68244aaa151d3

Ingredients

Roast

  • 1 (5 pound) bottom round beef roast
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon shortening
  • 6 whole black peppers
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 medium carrots, pared
  • 6 medium onions, peeled
  • 1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

Pot Roast Gravy

  • Pan drippings
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

Roast

  1. Wipe roast well with damp paper towels.
  2. Combine flour and salt; rub into surface of meat. In hot shortening in large Dutch oven, brown meat well all over.
  3. Add black peppers, bay leaf and 2 cups water; simmer covered, for 1 hour.
  4. Turn roast. Add vegetables; simmer covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the roast and vegetables are tender. Keep warm.
  5. Serve with Pot Roast Gravy.

Pot Roast Gravy

  1. Pot Roast Gravy: Brown flour in pan drippings in skillet; when brown add water to liquid in pot roast to make 2 1/2 cups. Cook slowly until thick, season to taste.
  2. Serve with meat.

Man HIT by CAR & DIES; Shown Humanity’s FUTURE in PROFOUND NDE – Stay Calm! | Gary L. Wimmer

Nicholas Thomas

      An alarm was going off. I awoke with a start as I sat up in my bed. The alarm was coming from a small box on the stool beside me. I reached over and turned it off and took a look at my surroundings. I was in a small room that was chromatic in appearance and seemed spotlessly clean. There were no windows and no door to be seen. Aside from the stool next to my bed which held the alarm clock, the only other things in this room were a mirror, and a calendar hung on the wall. I stood up out of bed and stretched. I looked in the mirror, then moved along the walls of my small enclosure and was able to confirm that there in fact was seemingly no way in or out of this room; so how did I end up in here? I was so hungry and so thirsty, so I ate dates from the calendar and drank from the springs of my bed.I turned to again face the mirror on the wall. There I see what I saw, and I took the saw. I then moved the alarm clock off the stool and sawed the stool in half. I took both halves of the stool and put them together to make a whole. I climbed through the hole.On the other side of the hole is where I found a door. It was large and, like most everything else I found so far, was made of metal. I tried the handle of the door but it didn’t budge. There was a panel above the handle which displayed a rectangular screen and a keypad. The screen showed a long list of number pairs where the far left side of the pairs was quickly counting higher with the seconds, but the numbers moved slower and slower as my eyes moved to the right of the screen. There were letters underneath each pair of numbers, which read, “S, M, H, D, W, M, _” with a blank spot at the end. I looked at the keypad and pressed “Y,” and the door gently swung open before me. I stepped through the doorway and entered a much larger room. On the wall, there was a wide oval-shaped window. I peered outside and gasped in surprise – I was looking at the planet Earth as it levitated so peacefully in the vast openness of space. I saw a plaque above the window which read, “The eyes of the world are upon you.”I looked back out the window from the plaque and saw that instead of the earth as it was before, I was now looking at one large human eye in a sea of black staring back at me. I looked back up at the plaque, and this had changed too. It now reads, “I am the first in the world, but not in a word.”“One,” I say allowed.As I said this, another alarm goes off. Everything around me turns red, and I realize that the airlock is about to open and send me defenseless into the vacuum of space. I frantically search my surroundings for a way to escape, and that is when I look up and see a space suit hanging on the ceiling. I tried jumping forward to reach it, but I felt like I weighed a ton; though backward, I was not. I took a step back and became weightless. I floated to the ceiling and put the suit on just in time before I was sucked into the openness of space. There I drifted through the endless without name, or number, or sound. I have become the beginning of the end and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. There I learned that my name is E.A voice crackled in my space suit, saying, “Find the eighty-seventh planet,” so I looked out among the stars and saw that they shone in the patterns of another sequence of numbers. I saw 16, 06, 68, 88, and 98. Before long, I realized that I had been floating upside down, so I drifted in between 88 and 98. There I found the eighty-seventh planet and descended.As I landed on the surface, I found a building that I recognized, though I could not remember from where. I wanted to get into this building but was held up by two doors – both of which had a guard in front of it. I approached the guard on the left and asked him, “Which door will the other one tell me leads safely inside?” I chose the opposite door for the answer given to me.I woke up again. Now I am surrounded by people I recognize, and I remember what that building was that I entered in that dream – it was where I work.My boss is leaning over me. “Colonel, how do you feel?”I slowly sit up, rubbing my head as I do so. “I… Okay, I think. What happened?”“It will take you some time to recover fully – Colonel, you just underwent a simulation of sorts. Do you remember why you’re here?”I thought about this for a moment. I shook my head. My boss explained, “The simulation you experienced had a very unique kind of programming. You were to be placed alone in a space station, but that’s where the specifics stop – the rest of the program was up to your own imagination to piece together.”It was all starting to come back to me. “I’m… I’m going to go up there, aren’t I? And it’s going to just be me up there.”My boss nodded, saying, “That’s right. This simulation was to see how well your mental state can handle being in a situation like that for such a period of time. Judging by your readings of this test…” he sighed, then continued, “They’re very interesting. Not concerning in any way, just … Interesting. So we think you’re ready, but the question is – do you feel ready, Colonel?”I leaned back again onto the bed, a smile spread slowly across my face. Though my eyes were looking at the ceiling, my thoughts were somewhere else entirely. I was reminded of Neil Armstrong’s first words on the moon as I said out loud, more to myself than to anyone else around, “I’m ready. After all, the more I take, the more I leave behind.”

Many times I have been called upon to repair something others had deemed unfixable. It’s sort of my niche as a repair person—come to me when everybody else failed and before you give up and trash it to the landfill. I noticed years back a flurry of assorted repair trucks at a neighbors home. I was surprised as their home was just built a few years prior. What could be so wrong that Roto Rooter was there, then a plumbing company, then an appliance repair place van. I ran into the neighbor at a school function and asked her what had gone wrong. she just about burst into tears and told me the dishwasher had an error code indicating a drain problem. She had RR come out and snake the sink drain but the problem was not fixed. The RR guy said the dishwasher drain hose might be clogged but a plumber would have to replace the hose or clear it. The plumber said he couldn’t figure out how to remove the dishwasher from the cabinet to get to the hose so he ran a wire in it from the sink drain and it seemed clear so the problem was in the dishwasher. She was out $500 at that point. The appliance guy came out and said there was nothing he could do as the dishwasher wouldn’t come out of the cabinet. Then she was out $650 (service call fee). I offered to have a look and found indeed the dishwasher would not slide out of the cabinets despite removing the usual mounting screws. I asked her to remove all the food from the lazy Susan cabinet and she did. I crawled in to the Lazy Susan (I was slender enough then) with a light and mirror. I discovered the rear legs of the dishwasher had been screwed to the floor by the dishwasher installer before the cabinets were all finished and the countertops were put on. Either that installer was stupid or he figured the countertop guys would remove the screws before placing the countertop and that guy was also stupid. The end result was a dishwasher there for life and not repairable or replaceable. I ran home for special tools like a flexible screwdriver drive for the drill and a right angle screwdriver attachment. One of those was able to get back in there and remove the floor screws without removing the countertops, the sink, the disposal, and the cabinets. I slid out the dishwasher. I gave her the option of calling back the appliance repair guy or me giving it a shot. she chose me based on experience she had so far (and I was free). I started pulling the dishwasher apart after reading the manual that there was a drain obstruction detected. She asked where I learned to fix dishwashers. I told her it was actually my first time. She looked worried. I found a one way check valve in the drain line that the rubber flap had torn loose and jammed in the hose. That was the obstruction detected. I told her a new check valve was needed so I would order one for her. She asked how long it would take and I had no idea. I asked for a needle and thread-waterproof thread. She had the needle but no waterproof thread. I ran home for fishing line. I sewed the rubber flap back in position as best I could and it worked fine, the code cleared, and the dishwasher was back in business. The new valve arrived in a week and I installed it telling her she should expect it to happen again in about 3 years as the water has additives that destroys black rubber. Before then they sold the house and moved away apparently fearing the 3 contractor visit if I wasn’t around the next time perhaps.

I did, once LONG ago. Being legally blind, I often travel with a folding white cane. Actually, now I use an National Federation of the Blind telescoping cane,) that, when folded, looked like a bundle of four white tubes.

I was shopping in a toy store, just looking around, minding my own business, and carrying my white cane folded up in one hand. Needing both hands to examine something on a shelf, I tucked my folded cane into my purse. The cane was longer than the purse could accommodate, so it stuck out at the end.

Not finding what I was looking for, finally, I decided I had better look elsewhere, and so I meandered out of the store. Just as I reached the outside walk, and was preparing to unfold my cane, I was confronted by a “loss prevention specialist” who said “Can you step back in the store, please?” Innocent kitten that I was, I did so willingly “What seems to be the problem?” I asked.

“We saw you shoplift that item in your purse.” UI was quite startled. I hadn’t put anything 9in my purse so when he escorted me to the back office and aske me to empty my purse, I did so willingly. He picked up the cane and said “You didn’t pay for that!” A-HA! I was floored! “Sir… that is my mobility cane!” I replied.

“NO, it isn’t! You are on camera placing it in your handbag.” “Yes, Sir, I did. I—” “Then you admit to shoplifting it!” This was just about when I realized I was in some serious trouble. Fortunately, logic saved me! “Sir,” I asked “Can you and I go to the aisle where I put this in my purse?” “Yeah, OK, I guess so.”

We went to the place where I had slid the cane into my purse. Taking my folded cane I undid the fastener and allowed the cane to fall out and snap into its extended length. “Now, Sir. Can you tell me where in this store this is sold? I need to see which product you sell was shoplifted and its price.” He stared at the cane as if it had become a snake (eat your heart out, Moses!) and stammered “Uh… I… I’ll have to ask the manager…” He did. The manager came over and we repeated the situation to him, with me explaining the cane, its usage, the fact that the tip was NOT brand new, and it was obviously in used condition and that toy stores do NOT sell mobility canes for blind persons!

The manager fell all over himself apologizing to me and even scolded the “Loss prevention specialist” for having accosted and harassed a blind customer!

You meet all kinds of people in these mobile home complexes

Actually we lived in a couple of them. But for the most part, we lived for a few years in a large mobile home park outside the city limits in the middle of the corn fields.

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Today, I want to discuss a small incident with my next door neighbor.

You see, they would blare their stereo on HIGH. And we couldn’t understand why. We figured that they were partying all day and all night.

But it would be cranked up so loud that our windows shook. And at weird times too. Sometimes it was from 9am to 2pm, and other times it was just for an hour or two in the late afternoon.

Still it couldn’t be a party. No activity. Aside from the noise you wouldn’t anyone lived there.

And then we figured it out.

When they (our neighbors) would leave their house, they would turn on the stereo to give the illusion that there were people at home. It was a stupid idea, but gosh, you meet all kinds of people in these mobile home complexes. They maxed out their stereo and it rocked the entire complex. Not just us nearest neighbors.

I guess that it worked.

No one ever broke into their home.

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8cc8cff5aab5592a444c43a7af9691e4

But still, I found myself wishing that they would stay home more often. *sigh*.

Again. you meet all kinds of people in mobile home complexes.

Yes you do.

Today…

Years ago, circa 1979 I had a female coworker who was diligent, capable and very smart. In many ways she was the best employee in our then Fortune 1000 company. She and I were friendly.

One day over lunch, she said she had something to tell me. She said she was confiding in me with the hope that I would understand. I was interested but didn’t acknowledge it one way or another.

As we sat across from each other at the restaurant where we were eating lunch, she leaned across the table. Then she motioned for me to lean in too. I did. Then her expression turned from serious to dour, even frightened.

My coworker softly stated, “The company is moving our corporate headquarters.”

We worked at corporate headquarters. So I became concerned for my job as I had a wife and 2 young children to support.

I asked, “When? Is everybody moving?”

“Soon. Many will be taken. The remainder will be left. It will be up to Jack.” Jack was our manager.

I sat there silent. A bit upset. Even a little shocked. Then she added the biggest most incredible words I ever heard from anyone at work.

“The company is owned by aliens. And they will take many of us to their home planet. I was chosen.”

She Thought Cheating Was A Good Idea Until She Had To Pay Him Child Support

Lordy!

One of my best friends from school. She never invited me over and I was fine with that. She said she was embarassed of her family and I respect that. One day we had a fight and it got personal. She was screaming at me about the stresses of her home life and I didn’t believe her. So she let me come over.

The house was filthy. Not just messy, it was putrid. It smelled terrible. There was mouldy food left on plates everywhere. I could smell dead things that I assume were rats or mice. On the table were clearly used syringes. She showed me her bedroom. It was immaculate and smelled lovely. That was her sanctuary. Her mother was a heroin addict and used to have multiple men over. In the bathroom were used condoms tied in a knot everywhere. I felt sick looking at the hell my friend had to live with. She had to do everything for herself and I understood why she was so tired every day.

I let her move into my parents’ house with me and she lived there from 15/16–19. No matter what she will always be my sister.

Woman Commits Paternity Fraud And Instantly Regrets It

I was born in Xinjiang, I was raised there, my entire childhood was living with Uyghurs, they are my neighbours.

I stand up and support them, so as our Govt (this may sound weird). They’re free to go to Mosque, they’re free to give births as many as they wish without be restricted by one child policy, their children will get 50 extra points in College entry exam (20 after 2018’s new policy, with a perfect score ranging roughly from 600 to 750 depending on where you take the exam), and their language are taught in schools and printed on bank notes.

When I was in high school, we have 20 classes in our grade, 10 of them are Uyghur classes. When Olympic Torch came to Xinjiang, our school picked a few Uyghur students as student representatives.

I bet most people from Western don’t know this, and Suddenly they stood up and fought for the Uyghur people? When Islamic terrorism happened in Xinjiang, moderate Mulism people were also suffering from terrorism too, where are their voice by then?

Has Nato mobilized and transitioned into a war economy?

Other than record stock markets and eye-catching gdp, Nato is embroiled in economic malaise, and in no shape to meet Nato spending targets in peacetime, let alone massive war spending.

Besides, the current conflict in Ukraine has already emptied the accumulated war reserve of Nato, and they are now sending active arms in use.

Is Nato is any shape to confront Russia today on a one for all, all for one basis? Do Nato leaders desire such a confrontation?

Russia has mobilized >2m men, and is outproducing Nato in war materiel by multiples.

Ukraine joining Nato is but a couple of signatures on paper. We have seen Ukraine being fractured and Volodymyr cheered without Ukraine cashing the empty check of membership dangled for decades in front of the sacrificial Ukrainian lambs.

Fantasy sold to the gullible is what got us into this mess of overreach.

When the Russians say no, they are prepared to shed blood for it.

Question is, is Nato prepared to shed rivers of blood too, or are they mistaking the Russian bear for a pesky fly destined to meet the fly swatter?

I am BLACK 1m.89cm tall, Point i am not able to just keep a low profile. In the dozen plus trips too China . I will say this; I walk in the street during late even, or early (am) morning hours to get my relax time. I stop at stalls without a single word of understandable mandarin buy street food and never had a stall owner short change me..[I know the currency and prices ]. I Window shop and buy things to bring home for my friend as gifts.

This is my experience .

I have never felt for a single moment I was at risk, Walking the back streets out of curiosity, people look, even intently but never made me feel uncomfortable . Maybe because I stay only in Top hotels the area i walk are better managed or policed. ( Was asked once if i needed help from two officer and when i said i was just walking to relax they left me and moved on..Awesome Not asking for ID or where i am going what i am doing out in the am. EU and USA did not treat me so well, and i speak a few of these languages.

I am not looking to be a trader or make a female friend Maybe this has something to do with my absolutely awesome stays .

Chinese people are racist, its ignorance more than malice. Chines people have attitude, but i am sure i do also.

But Chinese people do not hate me because of my colour ,,,Misinformation makes then negative in expectations and okay i am not poor so maybe i carry myself with the confidence of I need nothing from China , Happy to visit as long as China is happy to accept my freedom to be me every second of the day. Black and proud. But i am not poor anywhere in the world but am treated not so well .

I will always feel China is a GREAT place to visit if you do not wish to spread a political view. China has so many millions of beautiful place and interesting places ,I am sure i will have hundreds of trips .Thank you China for my Experience as a tourist..

Me & the kids were mocking him for being a weak father, until he got fed up, became furious & then

Never mock your man.

Alice in Wonder

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong. view prompt

Sean Mallery

“Wake up Alice, we have reached the null point”Alice sat up straight, wiping a bit of drool from her mouth. “What?”“The Captain’s input is needed, Alice. The coordinates are already set.”“Hey Wonder, uhh I wasn’t sleeping.”“Sleeping? I didn’t say you were!” Wonder joked. “I don’t even know what sleeping is. How would I? I never sleep.”“Okay, smartbutt computer. Just give me the calculations of the jump”“It’s on your HUD right now. No need to check. I ran the numbers myself,” Wonder said.Alice leaned forward and tapped the HUD. The map expanded to show multiple solar systems. “Did you calculate the balance of the cargo?”“I’ll admit, I rounded up to the third decimal place. Well within margin,” Wonder explained.Alice brought out her stylus and moved some numbers around. “What is the cargo this time?”“That’s classified under the RED initiative.”“Okay, can you at least tell me if it’s solid, fluid or gas? These things matter when jumping through the ather.” Alice explained.“Sorry, I cannot provide any details, as they are classified.”“Fine, the math looks good. Prepare for ather jump,” Alice conceded.“All systems green, standing by for the captain’s input.”Alice leaned forward and stared at the big red jump button. She pressed her palm down and the ship made a Ker-chunk sound as the jump engines fired up. “And the under paid monkey presses the button” she said.“Hole to the ather is open. Shields are steady,” Wonder reported. The ship pointed toward the glowing hole in space and lurched forward. The 1-DR was not a pretty ship to look at, but it was a useful one. Designed with functionality over aesthetics. All long, with dark lines broken up by exterior propulsion engines. They buzzed, spilling plasma out into space. Alice buckled into her captain’s seat. The transfer to ather space was never a smooth ride. This isn’t some luxury line ship meant to make people comfortable. It moved freight and did it cheaply.“Hitting ather space in 3…2…1” Wonder counted down. The entire ship lurched and moaned as it crossed over. Alice brought up the ship status on her HUD. Before she even had time to look at it, the lights went red and an alarm siren blasted, making Alice cringe reflexively. She silenced the alarm with the push of a button.“Wonder status,” Alice demanded.“We have lost coupling on the aft cargo hold.”“Can you give me visual?”“On the HUD now” The screen glowed with a swirl of purples and red of ather space. Alice moved the camera to see the cargo container. It hung on by a single coupling and flailed wildly.

“Give me manual control” The chair moved back and dual joysticks raised up. She took hold and moved the ship. She turned and rotated until the cargo no longer bounced around. Physics in space are weird, physics in the ather are impossible. The ship was now turned sideways, but still moving in the same direction. As long as she could keep the ship in the ather’s slipstream, it would be fine.

“Starboard engine took damage.” Wonder informed Alice. “On this trajectory we will slide out of the slip in thirty seconds.”

Alice sighed. Drop the cargo or drop out into ather space. She thought about it and quickly decided. Turned the engines off and allow the ship to drift. With the damage done to the engine, there was no telling if she could correct the path either way. Losing the cargo was not an option while working with RED either. Lost cargo means a fine and who knows how big the fine is with the classification placed on it. The ship rumbled as it left the slipstream moving into a thicker ather.

“Great, repair options for the engine?” Alice asked.

“Working on it.”

Alice’s HUD displayed a warning. Shields at 75% It read.

“Work faster” She screamed. “The ather is pressing in on the ship.”

“Yeah yeah. Don’t get your undies in a bunch,” Wonder said with a laugh.

“What? Wonder I need a solution. Can I space walk to repair it?”

“Space walking in the ather will get you deader than your sense of humor!”

“What has gotten into you?”

“I apologize Alice, it seems the effects of ather are causing me to malfunction.”

“Stupid AI, you can’t break now too.”

“Have you tried turning me off and back on again?”

Alice got up from the captain’s chair. She grabbed a tool case from the closet and headed into the bay. She checked a status screen as she walked by. Shields 60% it read.

“Wonder can I get to any of the parts from the interior of the ship.”

“Panel thirteen – seven. Look for the big red glowy light. That will be the thing. They always have glowy lights to let you know if they are bad.”

Alice turned down a hallway and caught sight of something white and quick moving just around the next corner.

“Wonder, is there anyone else on the ship?” She asked.

“Its just me and you forever baby!”

Alice let out a long sigh. “Is any of our cargo biological? Animals maybe?”

“Sorry that’s classified,” Wonder answered.

“Oh, now you can be serious?”

“Sorry, even I can’t read it. I’m looking at the file on our cargo right now. It just says classified.”

“There is something else on the ship.” Alice explained.

“Nah bro, you are going crazy.”

“What?” Alice said incredulously

“Mild effects of aether poisoning. Step one insanity, step two coming to terms with insanity, step three, the fun part.”

Alice grunted. She knew she needed to move faster before she was useless. She found the panel and removed it. The array of wires and pipes hid circuit boards. She found the one with the red light. She unplugged it and plugged it back in. The light turned off and back red again. Alice frowned. She unplugged the module. Probably didn’t need it, anyway. Alice turned around and jumped. There in the middle of the hall sat a small white rabbit. They stared at each other for a moment. The rabbit took off down the hall and around the corner.

“No, you don’t,” Alice said and chased the rabbit around the corner. She skid to a halt at the table before her. Alice found herself in a large, ornate room. She gawked at the white walls and wooden furnishing. Where was she? This isn’t a room on the ship. Worst of all, there were people sitting at the table, pouring cups of tea.

“Hello” she intoned.

“Oh, hello Alice,” the man at the head of the table said. He wore a purple suit with a tall hat. “Tea?” He asked, gesturing with a steaming teakettle.

“Uh, no thank you.” She said, looking shocked.

“Please sit. You know my friend, the white rabbit.” He gestured to a rabbit sitting on the table. It had its own cup of tea and cookie. It looked up as if acknowledging her.

“H-Hello.”

“And this here is our lead ship mechanic. Scoots.” The man in the suit said.

A short, pudgy man in a black suit and bowler cap looked over at her. “Ma’am.” He said, tipping his hat.

“And I of course, am the ever present Wonder.”

“Wonder? You’re the ship AI?”

“In the flesh!”

“I don’t understand. We don’t have a ship mechanic, and you are an AI. Don’t even get me started on the rabbit!”

“It is very easy to explain, sweetie. You see, you are quite mad.”

“Mad?” she asked.

“Insane, the ather has broken through the shield and you are undergoing the effects. Have a seat, enjoy yourself.“

“I don’t know.” She said, sitting down, “If I am insane, then how can I sit in a chair that isn’t real, smell the tea that isn’t there? Even the light of this room, I can feel it.”

“Well, the ather does weird things to all of us,” Wonder Explained

“For sure,” Scoots chimed in.

The rabbit just looked at her. Alice knew what it was saying.

She held her cup as Wonder poured some tea. “So what do I do now?”

“Well, you have two choices, really. You can get the ship back into the slipstream and finish your delivery. Do the next delivery and then do the next. Until you die. Or Ooooooor. You can stay in the ather and explore what is in this new space. You, me, scoots, the rabbit can come too.”

Alice sipped her tea. “You make a good point, but what if this is just the insanity talking? What if there is nothing out there to explore?”

Wonder leaned back in his chair. “Well honey. I will admit, I am biased. I have always wanted to see you like this. With my own eyes, I mean. Not through a camera, not through you pushing buttons.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I want to be with you, exploring. Ya know, like this.” Wonder gestured to the table.

“I say we stay,” Scoots said.

“And Mr Rabbit, what do you have to say?” Alice asked. The rabbit reached up to it’s cup and took a sip. It looked over, wiggling its nose. “I’m sold.” She said. Alice stood up and grabbed her cup. Let’s go to the helm and see what’s out there.

“You’re the captain,” Wonder said grabbing his cup a handful of cookies. They all together walked to the helm. Alice sat down in the pilot seat and grabbed the joysticks.

“We need repairs, lets see if we can find a place to land.” Alice said. Wonder took up a position in a newly formed station in the helm. “I see a planet on the scanners.”

“I can see an asteroid belt around that planet.” Scoots chimed in from the maintenance station that was suddenly there.

“How can there be a planet in the ather?” Alice asked.

“Lets find out.” Wonder answered.

Italian Beef Stir Fry

Few ingredients – fast and flavorful!

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966bf17696463b048acd636c86d32685

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound beef top tip steaks, cut 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cherry tomato halves
  • 1/4 cup fat-free bottled Italian salad dressing
  • 2 cups hot cooked spaghetti
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Cut beef steaks crosswise into 1 inch wide strips. Cut each strip crosswise in half.
  2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir while cooking 1 minute.
  3. Add half of the beef strips. stir fry for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until no longer pink.
  4. Remove with slotted spoon and keep warm.
  5. Repeat with remaining beef strips.
  6. Add zucchini to same skillet. stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender-crisp.
  7. Return beef to skillet with tomato halves and dressing. Heat through.
  8. Salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Serve beef mixture over hot pasta.
  10. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Attribution

From the kitchen of Martin James – Copenhagen, Denmark

An NDE story

That is a wonderful question, I think. I have wanted to share my experience concerning this topic since my 31 y.o. son died from oral cancer in 2019. He had just finished his associate’s degree in 2017 and got the diagnosis 5 months later.

Since 2017, he suffered through multiple surgeries, bleeding, chemo, radiation, immense pain, huge weight loss, and inability to speak. He was stoic through it all. He truly believed in the afterlife and reincarnation before 2017 and during his cancer ordeal. He read so many philosophical books and fought &*)$ing cancer so hard.

I have never shared this with anyone besides my younger son. This is what happened; You see, my son passed on to his next life on April 3rd, 2019.

But he died on March 30, 2019. I woke up on that morning (April 3rd) and I had the MOST USUAL feeling about him. It’s very hard to explain. I am NOT joking, but it was like he had just left us here in this life. I immediately thought “He just moved on”.

Sounds crazy, I know. I was so emotional I started crying. I thought, my son is gone now, but it was a much more intense feeling than the 3 days before. On March 30th, all I could think about was that he wasn’t in excruciating pain anymore and how it was going to affect my youngest son. They were so close and 7 years apart in age. Yes, I may have been just going through the grief cycle and all but I truly believe that he entered his next life that April morning when I woke up. It was like “someone” or “something” had shared with me that he had just moved on and he was ok. It sounds crazy and all but I had never felt it before or since. It’s ok if no one believes me, but I know what I felt. I am positive there is a Life after Life.

If Our Cities Already Look Like They Belong In “Grand Theft Auto”, What Will They Look Like Once The Economy Implodes?

As you will see below, video footage that was just captured on the streets of Philadelphia looks like it could have been pulled out of an extremely violent video game.  If this is what our streets look like now, what are they going to look like once economic conditions become very harsh in this country?  Just a few days ago, I wrote about the tremendous chaos that is erupting in cities all over America.  When I wrote that article, I wasn’t even aware of the drama that had just played out in the city of Philadelphia.  From late on Saturday night through the early hours of Sunday morning, there were multiple clashes with police as authorities attempted to break up a series of illegal street takeovers…

Philadelphia continues its spiral into chaos under Democratic leadership, with violent mobs once again taking to the streets, this time attacking police officers and patrol cars in a brazen display of lawlessness.

According to reports from 6 ABC, hundreds of cars and massive crowds participated in illegal car meetups, causing widespread chaos that lasted from 9:30 p.m. Saturday until 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

At least 11 meetups took place, six of which turned into violent confrontations with police. The mayhem resulted in the hospitalization of one officer, while five police cars were heavily damaged.

These kids are completely and utterly out of control.

One of them even had a flamethrower that he used to create a ring of fire in the middle of one major intersection.

And when the police arrived at these events, these kids were not afraid to attack them at all

“Everything they do is disruptive, they’re ruining the quality of life. At one point, they had a flamethrower—yes, there’s video with a flamethrower.”

“They’re able to disperse quickly and then reform at other locations. That’s why we have officers dedicated. It’s playing wack-a-mole. We hit them at once, and they move to another,” he added.

“It was the aggressiveness at some of the locations — the incident outside of City Hall was aggressive. They physically went after our officers,” Cram said. “They don’t care about your safety, their own safety. You’ve all seen the videos of their behavior. How much chaos can they cause?”

Isn’t it odd how the word “chaos” just keeps popping up all over the place these days?

As you can see in this video footage, the streets of Philadelphia really do look like they belong in “Grand Theft Auto”…

 

 

Of course Philadelphia is far from alone.

At this point, there are millions of Americans that are literally afraid to leave their own homes because violent crime has become so pervasive.

In a “tiny Wisconsin community”, a member of the Tren de Aragua gang was just arrested for “sexually assaulting a mother and abusing her daughter”

A member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang was arrested in a tiny Wisconsin community for allegedly sexually assaulting a mother and abusing her daughter after he had been arrested and released earlier this year in Minneapolis.

Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, whose grandchildren live less than a mile away from the Prairie du Chien home where the mother and daughter were held against their will and repeatedly victimized, told Fox News Digital that it was only a matter of time before tragedy would strike the community amid the White House’s open-border policies and sanctuary city initiatives.

All of this chaos is going to play a major role in how these swing states vote.

People are afraid of what they see in the streets, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

If things are this bad now, what is our society going to look like once economic conditions get really bad?

Yes, economic conditions are not good at all right now.

This is something that I have documented extensively.

But as bad as things are at this moment, the truth is that this is going to look like rip-roaring prosperity compared to what is coming.

Sadly, there are lots of signs that the economy is starting to move in the wrong direction quite rapidly now.

For example, it is being reported that U.S. consumer confidence just dropped by the largest amount in over three years

Consumers’ view on the economy tumbled in September, falling by the largest level in more than three years as fears grew about jobs and business conditions, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The board’s consumer confidence index slid to 98.7, down from 105.6 in August, the biggest one-month decline since August 2021. The Dow Jones consensus forecast was for a reading of 104. By contrast, the index had a reading of 132.6 in February 2020, a month before the Covid pandemic hit.

Each of the five components the organization samples fared worse on the month, with the biggest fall coming among those aged 35-54 and earning less than $50,000.

And banks continue to permanently shut down more branches at a staggering rate

US banks have closed more than 50 branches in just two weeks, as the march towards online banking continues to decimate local services.

Wells Fargo, Chase, and Fulton were among the banks who closed locations between August 19 and September 7.

Bank of America and Chase gave notice to close the most locations, notifying the regulator that they will shut a further twelve of their branches each.

Every week, more branches are disappearing, and that should deeply alarm all of us.

Of course the exact same thing could be said about retail stores.

Sadly, the very last full-size Kmart store in the continental United States is about to close forever

The last full-size Kmart store in the continental United States is set to close in October, leaving only one downsized location remaining, reports say.

The department store chain, which once operated around 2,300 locations in the early 1990s, will shutter the full-size store in Bridgehampton, New York, on Oct. 20, Newsday is reporting, citing an employee there.

That means a smaller Kmart store in Miami will become the last one remaining in the U.S. Kmart, which is now owned by Transformco, also has three stores in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As economic conditions deteriorate, millions of impoverished people that inhabit our major cities are going to become extremely desperate.

And extremely desperate people do extremely desperate things.

We are already seeing so much chaos all over the nation, but what is ahead is going to be so much worse.

I playfully mocked him during our lovemaking about his size, he got shocked, left and then did this.

Title is deceptive, but this is a true tragedy.

Little MM

It was strictly a ONE OFF

It can’t be repeated again and again

It has created a deep mistrust for Western Equipment within the Middle Eastern Nations

It has justified terror against civilians for the “Greater Good”

Its likely that now many organizations may REPEAT the same modus operandi for their own operations

It was a devastating mistake


Israel is becoming STUPID

It happens

We see it with a lot of Goondas in India

Initially they are very careful, they commit a lot of crimes but it’s strictly BUSINESS

They never go after the common man, never make the common mans life hell, always make business decisions following common demand and supply

Extort only people dealing with Black Money who would find it cheaper to give 2 Khokha (Crore) to a Mobster than 10 Khokha in extra taxes on revenue or profits

The Police and Government don’t go after them because they know – if they eliminate these guys – someone else will take their place and it becomes the devil you know scenario

Then they go insane with power lust and false confidence

They run amok, go after Civilians, rape women and create an atmosphere of terror and fear

They get killed in an encounter inevitably in a matter of weeks and cut a sorry figure, begging and pleading for their lives

Israel is the same

It was once smart and sensible

Hitting terrorists, avoiding Civilians

When they hit a terror network in Jordan, the Jordanians expressed RAGE AGAINST THE PALESTINIANS for making their nation a terror hub

Now Israel has stupidly United the rage and anger of millions of arabs against them

Plus they now know that US and the West are the same Satanic monsters that their forefathers warned them about


Israel and the West can no longer be trusted anymore

That’s a message that was firmly reinforced by the pager attack

In real life, Michael Landon, the charismatic Charles Ingalls of Little House on the Prairie , was the opposite of the character he plays in the series.

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Not pious for a penny, he loved women, and not only his own. He lived like a real rock star. In addition to the fair sex, he was addicted to cigarettes and alcohol.

In her autobiography, Prairie Tale , Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls in the series) recounts that Michael Landon abused alcohol every day on set.

“He was always working hard,” the actress says, “but he was also drinking a lot. He and other people who worked on the show would drink in the middle of the shooting day. That’s probably one of the reasons he developed pancreatic cancer so young…”

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She also says that Landon was a heavy smoker of unfiltered cigarettes. He smoked over 4 packs a day. That’s about one cigarette every ten minutes for every hour he was awake…

I dealt with that situation once. I arrived for lunch at the usual spot. Came late and ordered just an ice tea. Produced two bucks. I stated my stomach was off, so I won’t be eating anything. The conversation was its regular vivid kind. The four of us enjoyed the fun.

At the end of the meal, no one reached for the bill. I waited for five minutes as the other three were used to be treated by me. I had been most fortunate in business, so it was jokingly called my “success penalty.”

I finally reached for the bill, paid the waitress and tipped an extra $100 and said, “I’ve loved your service over the years, but today’s the day I never return at least with these three. You’ll need this tip, because they are cheap.”

Only one guy heard my remarks. He tried to get the others attention to no avail. I could see them laughing as I pulled away. I didn’t return their calls despite weekly invitations for the next two years.

Then one year, all of our wives organized a lunch where I agreed to attend. It seemed it took that lesson to pull the group back together for one last time. Our wives did their best, but the boys couldn’t put it into words. So, their trust stayed broken: no dinners out, family picnics, holidays, or lunches after that. I told one wife, it was my “success reward.”

Everything shows up when you break bread together.

Good luck, Mac

DEJA VU

Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story imagining ‘what if’ one historic invention had never happened. How would our world be different now? view prompt

Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Five bone dice crumbled to dust before their eyes.“What was that?” Thom’s mouth gaped.Silence descended. No insect or bird sounds. Then it started; the earth beneath them vibrated, then shook perceptibly. The three looked at each other.“I don’t like this,” said Victoria.“I think you should both leave the Island. Who knows what will happen? I’ll have to stay,” said Marcus.“What about the others?” she said.“They’ll fend for themselves,” said Thom. “There is the boat and a plane if they decide to go. This dilemma will distract them. What will you do, Marcus?”“There is a village in the hills. I know the bridge over the river is broken, but I’ll swim if I have to.”Thom opened his eyes in surprise. “Were you ever going to tell me about it?”“Victoria will tell you the whole story. I think you should go now. I’ll be fine.”Victoria clung to her father. “I’ll never forget this. I love you. I hope you find what you are looking for.”He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her. “I made a promise to get you back home. Off you go. Thom will get you there.”“Thanks, Marcus,” said Thom. “We’re off.”Victoria snatched up the parchment next to the disintegrated dice before dashing away with Thom.They stepped gingerly through the hole in the barbed wire fence and ran towards the beach. Victoria’s black hair streamed behind her. When they arrived at the path, they darted behind a tree and picked up their prepacked bundles of belongings and provisions. As the path reached the settlement, they saw several of their group running out and heading in the opposite direction. They carried what they had grabbed in haste, presumably with the same idea of leaving the Island, at least temporarily.“They’re leaving by plane,” said Thom to Victoria.They continued running while the ground still churned beneath them. The pier came into sight, and they all struggled down the dunes, their shoes filling with sand. Closer to shore, the sand became moist, and they trekked across it, up the steps and down the vibrating wooden planks.Thom pulled the key out of his pocket, unlocked the padlock, threw the chain aboard, and untied the bowline, releasing the yacht from its mooring. He then threw their bags aboard, and they both jumped on. 

“I hope you know how to sail this thing,” said Victoria as she hurried over to raise the anchor. “Hoist up the mainsail. Wind seems moderate.”

Thom leaped into action. “I wouldn’t have volunteered if I couldn’t help.”

 

Victoria noted the others hastily boarding the other vessel. Before too long, their sail was up. Victoria had steered the Redemption into the wind and set sail. “Life jackets,” she yelled to Thom, “in the locker over there.”

Victoria manned the steering wheel, and Thom brought her jacket over. They swapped while she donned hers.

“How is this going to work?” said Thom. “We’ll be like ships in the night getting this craft back home, with only two aboard. It won’t be a day at the beach!”

“Don’t worry. We’ll get sick of the sight of each other soon enough. We’ll have alternate shifts, and I’ll make sure you have hot drinks and food so we can catch up with things. On still days, with little wind, we may have more time together.”

 

They looked over the water and saw the other boat heading away from the Island. Thom looked back at it. The mist topped mountains and the verdant hills, serene giants with wisps of greying hair, didn’t seem to be moving.

“I bet the others are worried how they’ll tell if the earthquake is over.”

“It’s not our problem. We have a radio, and you can let the others know that with Marcus still on the Island, heaven knows where, I want to go home and can’t do it alone.”

“I guess that’s my best way of deserting, without worrying them . . . In fact, I’ll probably be in massive trouble.” He looked wistfully at the Island, gradually receding. “My biggest concern is how you’ll feel about me when we’re home.”

“Don’t worry. My Dad and I haven’t always got on, and though we are like cabin bread versus carrot cake, we arrived at the Island without having killed each other. Look, if you’re worried about deserting, just tell them I overpowered you, stole the gun you held, and forced you. My father didn’t turn up, so we left him behind.”

“I know you can overpower me no probs. Thank goodness I wanted to come with you.” He looked behind at the Island, eyes opened wide. “Look, the Island is disappearing.”

They both stared openmouthed as the Island gradually faded from sight.

Thom looked at Victoria’s face. Tears streamed down it, and her sobs heaved. “It’s like B-Brigadoon.”

“My darling, your father . . .” He pulled her closer to him and continued steering.

She shook her head. “It’s not that. It’s remembering something that happened before.”

“What is it?”

“If I tell you my reason, you’ll think it’s nonsense.”

“So much about what has happened is strange and unexplainable.”

“The last time I left the Island, I left Marcus behind, but he could have come. He happily stayed and sacrificed himself for me and my children to have a better life. There was someone who loved him, but that’s not why he stayed.”

“You have children? I’m confused.”

She looked him in the eyes and said, “I can only explain this to you if you suspend your disbelief.”

“Haven’t I heard and seen the inexplicable already? An Island that exists but doesn’t and has now disappeared. I know you’ve been there before . . . but how, and when? I’m skeptical of the hundreds of years ago story though you obviously lived in the fallen down hut we went into. You already knew it existed.” He shrugged. “Marcus reversed a curse, the dice disintegrated before our eyes, and the earthquake started. That thing you said about time. ‘If we lived here but didn’t, it means this Island is where two alternate timelines converge.’ I’m a man of science, so it intrigued me. Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s true. If I try to explain, you may not want to have me in your life.”

“Did you commit murder or something? Seeing you in action at Uni and laying those guys on the deck with those moves, I can believe it. Are you superhuman?”

Victoria laughed. “Seriously, Thom. That was self-defense. I’m no one special.”

“So, what is it all about? I’ve suspended my disbelief.” He grabbed at something imaginary on the front of his jacket and threw his arm out in a release towards the ocean.

The yacht lurched a little, and Victoria grabbed his arm. He adjusted the steering.

“You’re not superhuman,” he said. “Hold on to me.”

“Once upon a time,” said Victoria, “Marcus and I came to the Island, to a village in the hills. On our way to the shore, where we intended to build a boat and return home together, we woke up back in the village. We had gone back in time a few days. Things happened differently, and both of us wound up dead. I won’t tell you all the places and people we met along the way until now.”

“Sorry, I’m not with you. You said you died.”

“We became the living dead.”

“Good grief! All this being cursed and living other’s lives business!”

“Suspend disbelief, remember . . . I went back to where Marcus and I lived before we were taken to the Island initially. Years ago, and without Marcus. Later, we both left from the same beach on this yacht, as we wanted to retrace our voyage and find the Island. You were the only one we told our true plan to. We had a curse to reverse. I already concluded that the Island is where two timelines converge.”

“Though I’m interested from a scientific point of view, the other stuff is too creepy for words.”

“I’ll illustrate. Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea. The Egyptians in their chariots that pursued them didn’t make it. They all drowned when the walls of water collapsed. There’s proof it happened. Bronze from the chariot wheels is still at the bottom, below the water. Science has used facts about wind and water to explain how the sea parted. It’s too much of a fluke that Moses and his millions got through, and the enemies pursuing them perished at that precise time.”

“I see what you mean. It’s a miracle. Something unexplainable.”

“I traveled back to the ruins of Marcus and his sister’s castle and checked out its history. I found out the true history that I didn’t know about. Remember I told you we never made it to the cottage, but evidence showed we had? Remember you told me about a third boat partially built?”

“Yes, you never knew about that one.”

“The partially built but abandoned boat is because a vessel stopped at the Island, and I returned home on it, leaving Marcus behind. Our life of living and dying is now over. I have remembered in detail what happened.”

“What did?”

“Marcus didn’t have to return with me. He returned to the village to someone who had promised to wait for him, but he had also promised to get me home. He did both.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“The paradox is that if he had returned home with me, my life would have been ruined. I could never understand the amazing historical facts I learned, as they are not part of the timeline I remembered. The curse, due to those damn dice, changed everything. The difference now is that I remember the alternate history that the curse took away from us. The Island is indeed where two timelines converged. Now, I remember the sacrifice Marcus made for me. I remember how I felt, which is why I cried. It’s how I feel about leaving him behind. I wanted him to stay by my side. We had been through so much together. Instead, on my arrival home, in the past, I claimed to have married him on the Island and said he had died there. I claimed my children, twins, were his offspring. I inherited his castle and lands, and it set up my children much better than if I had returned to my family a destitute woman with two children from a less-than-desirable union. I had my independence, thanks to Marcus. Wealth and reputation were everything back then.”

So . . . you lied. I guess Marcus back then wasn’t your father. Actually, I can forgive you for lying. So, who did you really marry?”

She shook her head. “We had just been married, and Marcus shot an arrow into my husband, and he died.”

“Why on earth did he do that!? Was it jealousy?”

“No. It was revenge. My brother cared about me. I didn’t want to be an unmarried mother, but it was not wise for me to marry the father who . . .”

“I guess you were willing to marry him . . . after being unwilling.”

“I’ve spent other lives being pregnant and unmarried. I never wish to revisit that situation again.” Her tear-filled eyes met his.

“Hence, you know how to deal with any man who bothers you.”

“Exactly.”

“You know, having a baby before marriage is no big deal.”

“I’ve spent most of my life raising my children without a husband, and I never want to repeat anything like it again.”

“But if you had a loving husband who stuck around and helped you?”

Her lips pursed as she thought. “I don’t need a man.”

He laughed. “You need me now, young lady. How on earth will we get this thing home if not together? You’ve already proven that you needed your father. I know you care about him.”

“Yes, I have to agree. At least with the shifts we will be keeping over the next weeks, we will both crash into the same bed . . . but never together.”

“You mean, never ever?”

“It depends how we feel about each other when we’re home.”

“About ‘each other’? I adore you, Miss Victoria.”

Victoria smirked. “You are growing on me, just a bit.”

“I’d like to hear more about your life sometime.”

“Yes, Facebook profiles didn’t exist in days of yore.”

“It reminds me of a joke,” he said. “Whatever problems Adam had, no man in days of yore could say when Adam told a joke; I’ve heard that one before.”

Victoria laughed. “That reminds me. I have the words Marcus read out when he reversed the spell. Let me take over the wheel, and you can read them.” She took the parchment out of her pocket, and they swapped places. He opened the parchment.

 

“Vengeance is mine, justice is wrought,

On those remaining of both peoples brought.

Revenge for Tabor’s traitorous mistake

Destroyed, but for one, when they made their escape

One from whom the two are born, far away beyond this shore

A child who is pale, with hair dark as night

The other, eyes of green and hair that is light

Both as opposite as two can be

Repeating their fate for eternity

Misery and bloodshed will be their lot

Over and over, never to stop

Until precious lives have been repaid

Of both the tribes which have been made

Every life cruelly destroyed,

Paid back by the lives of the two employed.

Until they all learn loyalty

Justice and love for you and me

Patience learned, forgiveness too

If only their forefathers could have been true

Return they shall to their father’s home

Forever to remain apart and alone

Only they can find the key

To reverse the spell and prophecy

Find the beginning of it all, behind the fence in the ivy wall

Fit the dice with skulls of white, turn and turn to make it right

Defeat the spell to end the lives of tragedy, misery, and strife

Vengeance on Tabor, revenge for all

In the end, we will not recall.”

 

“Wow. I feel like I’m living in a dream,” said Thom. “I’d really like to hear the whole story.”

“My lawyer has a copy of a letter to be opened if I don’t make it back. My Aunt and Uncle need to know the truth. The original is in a safe deposit box at the bank, with some other personal items. It’s a precis of the whole history. For now, I’m only interested in the present.”

“Right now, the wind is changing. Time to trim the sail, and tack. I’ll sort the sail and then go and radio the other boat to tell them what we’re up to. They won’t be going back to the Island either.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain Thom.” Victoria smiled at him and saluted.

 

THE END

I found a Honda Civic on a dealers lot that I wanted to buy. The civic was a four door, and it was priced around $5,000. I saw the car on a Sunday, when the business was closed. While I was walking the lot, I also found a sportier looking pontiac sunfire, which was a two door. I think the sunfire was priced closer to $6,000. I was not interested in the sunfire at all. I would never buy the sunfire.

I showed up at the dealership on the next day, Monday. I was greeted by a salesman, and I told him, “I’m looking for a nice fuel efficient compact car. I saw that nice looking sunfire on your lot. I’m interested in looking at that car.”

The dealer asked me to follow him, as we walked toward the sunfire. All the while, he’s giving me a run down on the details (yawn, I couldn’t care less). The dealer then points out the sale price, of $5899 (or whatever, it was close to 6k).

I gave a look of disappointment, and lowly grumbled, “shoot. well, my budget is $4k.” A little back and forth, and the dealer quickly eliminates the sunfire as sell. But, the dealer told me, “I have a civic that’s priced at $5k. I might be able to do a little with that.”

I groaned, “oh, that gray civic…hmmm… i dont know” He said, “you said you were looking for a fuel efficient car, it doesn’t get better than the civic!” Then the dealer bid against himself, and lowered the price a little more.

Then I groaned again, “ugh….but it’s a four door. I really came looking for a two door, like the sunfire.” Without me even showing interest in the civic, the dealer bid against himself again, and dropped the price even more.

Then I gave the dealer a little interest. He sensed my slight interest. Now he was on a mission to TRY and sell me a car that I did not intend on buying. It was his mission to sell me this car. It seemed he wanted that sense of accomplishment of selling something to someone on a whim. What an accomplishment of a salesman. 😉

I eventually bought the civic at a great price. I don’t know if it would work again, but it was slick that day!!

Country Fried Round Steak

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dbb82dbe19a8425f358875fc8154ffcb

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

Steak

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 (5 ounce) Black Angus top round steaks
  • Buttermilk
  • 4 ounces whole butter

Country Gravy

  • 1 medium garlic clove, minced
  • 2 ounces bacon grease
  • 4 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup water
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions

Steak

  1. Mix flour, salt, garlic, pepper and onion powder together to make seasoned flour mixture.
  2. Tenderize steaks by running through a meat tenderizer or beating with a hand meat tenderizer.
  3. Soak in buttermilk briefly and then dip in seasoned flour mixture.
  4. Heat butter in sauté pan on medium high heat.
  5. Place breaded steaks in pan and cook until golden brown and tender, approximately 10 minutes per side.
  6. Serve with Country Gravy.

Country Gravy

  1. Brown garlic in the bacon grease.
  2. Stir in flour until smooth. Let roux (grease and flour) cook lightly for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Add cream and water stirring constantly. Simmer until gravy thickens and is hot. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Attribution

Posted by Red1060 at Recipe Goldmine.

Recipe courtesy Elvis Presley – Memphis, Tennessee

I work with a V.P. at Schwab who told me a story about one of his clients who won a substantial lottery prize. The guy was a working man his whole life, and he knew the value of money. He knew this was his golden opportunity, and he didnt want to blow it.

He paid off his mortgage on his exsting home, but he didn’t go out and buy a mansion. He did buy some new cars, but no Ferraris or Maybachs. He set up investment accounts for his kids and college funds for his grandkids.

He told the Schwab V.P. “I’m no financial genius, but I know that this is my chance to set my family up for generations. Help me plan my financial future”. The Schwab guy set Mr. Lottery Winner up with income generating investments, long term wealth management, tax sheltered bonds, etc. He was set for his his future, his kid’s futures, his grandkid’s futures, even his great grandkids yet unborn.

The Schwab guy was proud of the package he put together.

He sent Mr. Lottery Winner to a team of lawyers who drew up corporate shelters and trusts to keep him protected. It was a textbook example of “Doing things right”.

Yet, Mr. Lottery Winner still went broke in less than 3 years later.

30 years ago this past September…

“Wake up, honey. You can’t sleep.”

“What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You were in an accident. You’re in the hospital.” he said.

“What?”

“Remember? We rented motor scooters and went riding. A car forced you off the road. You hit a pothole. But you’re going to be okay.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I hurt. It hurts. And I can’t lift my right arm.”

“That’s because you’re in a cast.”

“Oh, yeah. Silly me.” I answered laughing. “Ow. That hurt.”

“Get some rest but don’t go to sleep.”

“Ok.”

A while later. “What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You were in an accident. You’re in the hospital.” he said.

“What?”

“Remember? We rented motor scooters and went riding. A car forced you off the road. You hit a concrete post and were airlifted to the hospital. But you’re gonna be alright.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault”

“I hurt. It hurts. And I can’t lift my right arm.”

“That’s because you’re in a cast.”

“Oh, yeah. Silly me.” I answered laughing. “Ow. That hurt.”

“I know, I’ll get the nurse.”

A little while later. “Hi honey. Can I get you anything? You’re not due for another pain shot for an hour.”

“What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You were in an accident. You’re in the hospital.” she said.

“What?”

“You’re going to be just fine.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie.”

“I hurt. It hurts. And I can’t lift my right arm.”

“That’s because you’re in a cast.”

“Oh, yeah. Silly me.” I answered laughing. “Ow. That hurt.”

Rinse and repeat for a day and a half. The worst two minutes repeated over and over. I only remember the last time. What I do remember is going to sleep Thursday night and waking up Saturday afternoon in the hospital. I was told about the repeat. Seems I did it every time I woke and I kept drifting off. They had to wake me repeatedly because of the concussion. The TBI defined the next 10 years of my life and the fibromyalgia the accident triggered has defined the rest.

Crazy On The Outside | Hilarious Comedy with Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Ray Liotta

Hidden Gem that you never heard about with an ALL STAR CAST– Ray Liotta (Good Fellas), Tim Allen (Home Improvement), Sigourney Weaver (Alien), JK Simmons (Whiplash), Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Cheers), Julie Bowen (Modern Family) , Jeanne Tripplehorn

A recently paroled ex-con who has trouble adjusting to the wacky normalcy of life outside of prison.

He has spent the last three years behind bars after getting caught committing a crime and taking the rap for his much more dangerous pal.

Not available on Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+!

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it

I’m 75. In my case, it wouldn’t be a matter of feeling safe. I would feel safe … unless there is one passenger on board that has active covid. Everyone is breathing the same air and that would definitely be a problem.

These days, you have to be flying in business class, or two and a half hours in coach would be terribly uncomfortable. I know I don’t enjoy it. The last time I flew coach, passengers were packed in shoulder to shoulder, and knee to knee on both sides, a la sardines.

Now, if we’re talking about a 747, that’s a little more roomy and I could probably handle that. Again, it wouldn’t be a matter of feeling safe. I was a flight attendant for TWA in the 70s and I always felt safe flying.

In those days, danger came in the form of having your flight hi-jacked to Cuba …

.
Professor Kishore Mahbubani explains how China is countering the United States containment efforts… What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6reZTScNIs

Please keep in mind that:

  1. Chairman is a party position. There is never a limitation about how many times the same person can be elected.
  2. The change of constitution is about the president of the government.

A little (many not that little) of background and it’s no secret especially for foreign intelligence agencies :

  • The factions within the Communism Party of China (CPC) was and maybe still is intensive.
  • The man in the following picture is called Zhou Yongkang, the former secretary of the Central Political and Law Commission and one of the 9 members of Politburo Standing Committee of CPC. He was arrested and sentenced for life imprisonment in 2015.
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main qimg 38c0f6f547b5fda4d524708562e04d0b lq
  • The man in the following picture is Ling Jihua, the former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee. He too was sentenced for life imprisonment.
main qimg 8cce3d17612ee9211e675d163a6110b0 pjlq
main qimg 8cce3d17612ee9211e675d163a6110b0 pjlq
  • Zhou Yongkang and Ling Jihua had definitely done what they were sentenced. But that’s not the real reason that they are in jail. The core issue was they tried to detain the former president Hu Jintao and forced him to have over his positions. Zhou wanted to be the president, Ling wanted to be the chairman.
  • Hu Jintao has no family background. His father was a tea trader who died in 1978. During his 2 terms being the president of China, he was suppressed and partially controlled by Jiang Zemin. In order to break the circle of retired president keep the chairman of military committee for years to hold the power, he retired with no power reserved in his hand. So that Xi Jinping could began to progress the political reformation within the party.
  • To understand why Jiang Zemin was so obsessive with power, the cause was actually in 1989, the famous or infamous Tiananmen incident, or some people like to call it massacre despite it’s not the truth. USSR collapsed in 2.5 years after the incident. With the only competitor died, US had a nice period of time of being the only super power in the world, and the most humiliating decade since 1949.
  • 3 iconic incidents represent how US could do anything:
    1. The Yinhe incident. In 23rd Jul 1993, USA accused a Chinese vessel Yinhe carrying chemical weapons to Iran without any evident. Later on in 3rd Aug, USA asked China to 1 either send the vessel back to where it departures, 2 letting Americans to be abroad for inspection, or 3 just waiting somewhere until USA decide what to do. China asked the vessel to stop 10 KM outside of Hormuz Strait to be inspected in 3th Aug and inspected it by itself. In 4th Aug China told USA that there is no chemical weapon on board. But no surprisingly, Americans didn’t believe a word and sent several military vessel to surround Yinhe. To control the situation, China agreed to be inspected by USA and Saudi in 28th. Long story short, they didn’t find chemical weapons in the 2 containers they claimed, also not from the containers with similar number in case US intelligent agency wrote it wrong, and also not from all 49 containers on the vessel which were being shipped to Iran. USA then asked to search every container on the vessel, until Washington is satisfied. In 1st Sep, China announced accepting expansion of searching even though not agree with it. All 628 containers were eventually searched, and nothing USA wanted to be found. No apology or explanation whatsoever.
    2. Chinese embassy bombing or 8th May incident. 3 JDAM hit accurately onto the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia in 8th May 1999 Beijing time. 3 journalists died instantly, dozens people injured. Explanation said it was a incorrect bombing due to wrong info. In 2005, a senior NATO military officer said the bombing was because they thought Milošević was there.
    3. Military aircraft incident. 1st Apr 2001, a Chinese J-8 fighter was crashed due to having a collision with a US EP-3 in the Chinese exclusive economic zone, 110 KM southeast from Chinese land. J-8′s pilot disappeared. EP-3 was severely damaged and had to land in a Chinese airport. US request to meet the EP-3 crew and China to return the plane in 2nd Apr. After several rounds of diplomatic conflicts, US secretary of state Powell admitted the aerial trespass in 8th, but still insist just using “Sorry” to comment on the incident. In 12th, US crew left China and returned to US. In 13th, after the crew arrived US, president Bush changed his attitude and said the scout activity will keep going, even though he said sorry for several times. In 20th, US demand China to return the EP-3. In 23rd, US started to have scout drill in its Japanese military base. In 29th, China agreed that US sending people to inspect the EP-3. In 7th Jun, US agreed to give up flying the EP-3 back, but to tear it apart and rented a An-124 to move it back. In 10th Aug, US paid 34 thousand US dollars for the FnB and accommodation of the US crew staying in China.
  • Jiang Zemin was selected by Deng Xiaoping as the best choice of the president after Tiananmen incident, because Deng knew that Jiang was able to handle all kinds of humiliating incident and focusing on development. Jiang’s term was from 1989 to 2002, and he did his job perfectly. Every country at the time though China was a wussy and would never be a threat to the west. That’s why from George Bush, US moved its focus to the middle east, and gave China a perfect 10 years to develop. If you think about Jiang, his term was nothing but humiliation. It was his successor Hu who started to be tough on international affairs. He needs to enjoy a bit from being the leader of China, the much more stronger China.

Rumor says it was Xi Jinping who went to rescue Hu from detaining. They both want to change CPC, but they need more power to suppress different parties within CPC. So they had an agreement that Hu was going to pass all his titles to Xi, in return for a quiet life.

The first major thing Xi did once he was in position is to arrest Zhou, Ling and all their close allies. Since no politician is innocent, there was no need of dirty work behind the arresting.

From what I experienced, CPC and the government it’s leading have had a noticeable progress since 2012. Lots of bureaucratic governmental procedures were removed to increase the speed of solving issues. The attitude of civil servants are significantly better now.

And Xi brought up the one belt one road initiative to form a bigger circle among all Asian, European and African countries. China is becoming more active on international affairs.

So what’s the major problem that China is facing?

The Thucydides’s trap. This theory indicates the inevitable war between newly rising power and existing power. China doesn’t believe in this theory, and tried to bring up a new concept of building a new type of relationship between major powers. But I don’t suppose any western country would listen to China, not to mention thinking about and agreeing with a Chinese idea.

This is the time when US is trying to defend its world leader position, regardless if China is interested in it. Every country would choose to stand with USA, because it’s always the best choice to against the pursuer with the current ruler. If the ruler wins, everyone gets a bone. If it loses, then switch to the new ruler.

CPC obviously wants to defend itself from the pressure of the world. If Xi is going to be the president for only another 5 years, there is no guarantee that the next president will be suitable for this kind of situation. Instead of doing anything to extend Xi’s presidency when they realize there is no qualified successor, it’s better to do it now.

I am not saying this is good for China, but at least I trust them having good will. And so far what Xi has done are all good, apart from the internal political propaganda, because it’s really old fashioned.

When some not having anything better to do foreigners are worrying about our democracy and freedom of speech, we are worried about our future development more. Chinese prefer cars and houses more than ballots.

Everything above is just my personal assumption. There is no guarantee of its credibility. I am no communist and not interested to be one. I just think CPC is so far the best choice for China.

There is a very high chance that Robert Roberson will be executed on October 17, 2024.

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For those who are unaware of this case, Roberson is a middle-aged man who has been incarcerated since 2002, awaiting execution in Huntsville, Texas.

Earlier that year, he had been accused of murdering his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas on February 1, 2002.

In the days leading up to her demise, she had repeatedly fallen sick and had to be brought to hospital, with medical doctors concluding she was suffering from pneumonia.

Not long afterwards, she fell out of her bed and died — according to Roberson’s version of events.

Despite bringing her back to the hospital fully clothed, medical professionals and law enforcement personnel alike became “suspicious”, due to Roberson acting very calm throughout the whole ordeal.

The lead detective in this case was a man by the name of Brian Wharton, who escorted Roberson back to his house, where the latter proceeded to calmly make himself a sandwich — further raising the alarm in Wharton’s eyes.

Ultimately, the police and medical team concluded that Nikki Curtis had been murdered by “Shaken Baby Syndrome”.

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Robert Roberson with his daughter

The following year, a jury and judge bought the findings brought forward by the prosecutor, and Roberson was sent to death row.

In later years, Roberson was diagnosed with autism — whether high or low-functioning, I do not know.

For those who are ignorant of what autism is, and even more so between low and high-functioning, more or less the condition is as follows:

  • Those with “low-functioning” autism have an IQ of 70–100… whereas those with high-functioning have an IQ that is as low as 100, but can go much higher (think Leonardo Da Vinci with his 200+ IQ)
  • Those with low-functioning autism have a delayed development in speech and hearing, whereas those with high-functioning do not — as a result, people with low-functioning autism speak less, while those with high-functioning autism speak just as much if not more than the average person
  • Those with low-functioning autism have difficulty multitasking, whereas those with high-functioning are better able to manage with self-training
  • Those with low and high-functioning autism have different social norms, though those with high-functioning autism are better at concealing themselves, at least in the short-term
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Robert Roberson on death row

As one can see, there are two distinct branches of autism, and in each of them, there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of individuals around the world, each with their own characteristics, backgrounds, and life experiences.

Those on the spectrum may share some basic commonalities, but otherwise, it is no different than how everybody who is White has light skin and everybody who is Black has dark skin.

Unfortunately, people on the autism spectrum are largely loathed by society — either directly or indirectly.

And for all the talk we hear about how “racist” the system is against people of certain skin colours, I assure readers that the personnel who operate the state from top to bottom hate the disabled far more.

Studies have shown that children on the spectrum are far more likely to be physically, sexually, and emotionally bullied at home, the schools, and the communities, and are ten times more likely to be suspended from school, and four times more likely to be incarcerated, despite there being no evidence that they are more violent than the norm.

In addition, studies have also found that people with autism spectrum disorder — whether low or high-functioning — receive longer sentences on average than those not on the spectrum who commit an identical offence.

Not only is the educational and legal system itself particularly harsh against those on the spectrum, but so are the economic prospects, with as many as 90% of those on the spectrum unemployed or underemployed at any one time — including those with college diplomas and university degrees.

Whereas it has long been illegal to discriminate based on race, religion, and gender when it comes to employment, the same was not true when it came to those with a medical diagnosis of any kind until just a few years ago when some — not all — job sectors were prohibited from carrying out background checks related to one’s healthcare history.

An estimated 13% of those who are homeless at any given time are also believed to be on the spectrum — largely owed to societal discrimination, resulting in people on the spectrum being turned away for employment that they are qualified for in favour of somebody who is not on the spectrum (this also assumes that some employers would not prefer to leave a position vacant than to hire those who are “different”).

The amount of abuse inflicted is so disproportional against the autistic community in comparison to the general population, that suicide rates tend to be significantly higher — especially among those with high-functioning autism — as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates affecting anywhere between 42–68% of the autistic, compared to less than 1% of the general population and 7–19% of combat veterans and law enforcement officers.

Anyways, I digress, but hopefully readers will understand the realities that the likes of Roberson faced in the years before and since his conviction from a more legalist perspective.

Here are some major highlights about the Robert Roberson case that are of importance for people to know:

  • Brian Wharton — the lead detective who raised suspicion of homicide in the first place — now deeply regrets his role, and has publicly asked the Supreme Court of Texas to overturn Roberson’s conviction
  • The science behind the “Shaken Baby Syndrome” that got Roberson sent to death row more than two decades ago has since been largely discredited, with at least thirty-four other prisoners across the United States who were convicted on similar findings since being released
  • Nikki Curtis’s neck was never seriously bruised — modern science now largely concludes that a toddler cannot be “shaken to death” without breaking the neck
Video: Opinion | ‘I Am So Sorry’: Meeting the Man I Put on Death Row
“I regret deeply that we followed the easiest path.”

It must be remembered that contrary to popular belief, your typical cop is not a “special mind reader”.

In fact, repeated studies have shown that they are just as likely — if not far more likely in certain cases — to fall for stereotypes than the general population.

Unfortunately, police departments also do not make a habit of hiring the most intellectually qualified candidates, with the majority of recruiters preferring candidates whose IQs are between 100–105 — placing them neatly at the lower end of the high-functioning autism range.

This might be inconvenient when dealing with “minor” issues, such as an inability to properly investigate a home burglary, but this can be absolutely devastating when the consequences of an improper investigation can mean years or decades behind bars for the victim.

In the case of Roberson, it appears very likely that Wharton assumed that his suspect had anti-social personality disorder when he failed to display the types of “emotions” found among the general neurotypical population, and because he did not shy away from making himself a homemade meal during the investigation.

Needless to say, this is where I come into the story.

Nikki Curtis died on February 1, 2002 in Palestine, Texas, United States.

Ten months later, on December 2, 2002, the future Governor Greg Abbott became the fiftieth Attorney General of Texas.

I am certain that was a big day for Mister Abbott — who now has the final authority in deciding Roberson’s fate — because it just so happens that it was on this day that my eleven-year-old self came home from school and found my maternal grandfather dead on the dining room floor with a vase under his head and blood leaking out of his head onto the floor.

Apparently, most children would instantly panic, scream, and do whatever else it is that non-autistic children do in these situations.

I did no such thing.

Upon realising what I was seeing, I momentarily stepped into a corner in case I heard any footsteps before giving a second, applying basic First Aid, and then calling 9–1–1 and then my mother — who was working in a different city.

Once I made those two calls I proceeded to sit at the table beside his body and took out a history book I got from the school library out of my backpack and sat there reading for approximately five to ten minutes until the first police arrived.

Whereas Roberson did not see anything wrong with eating a sandwich while the police inquired on his daughter’s death — hours after the fact, and with her body no longer in the house — I was able to gloss over a book within a few minutes of finding my grandfather deceased, and his corpse crouched within a meter of where I was sitting.

Just as in the case of Roberson, I later found out that the police had also become suspicious of me for being very calm and methodical during the whole incident — they noted based on their autopsy that I had poured a glass of water on his face, and had felt his pulse before quietly accepting the situation.

Naturally, some police asked a series of questions while I sat in the living room adjacent to the dining room.

Unlike some horror stories I have heard from others on the spectrum being investigated under these circumstances, none of the responders proceeded to use intimidation tactics on me, though either way, the fact that their suspicions largely fell on whether or not they believed I reacted the “proper” way is no doubt what has gotten a lot of other people — including quite possibly Roberson himself — into some legal hot water.

Within a couple of hours they had concluded that my grandfather had already been deceased for a few hours before I returned home, so the possibility of homicide — at least on my part — was quickly ruled out.

Due to my age at the time, I could not even have been tried as a juvenile — let alone, an adult — and most certainly I would not have been sent to death row, since the jurisdiction I live in does not have it, though it is quite possible that had I been just a little bit older, and if my grandfather had died closer to the time I came home from school, the legal outcome may have been vastly different.

I do not know Roberson personally.

Some of those with less sympathy for his case point out that he had been convicted of fraud and burglary in his youth.

Maybe so.

Maybe not.

But consider what I mentioned earlier in regards to the high unemployment rates that people on the spectrum face — in addition to the ostracisation they receive by their general communities.

If Roberson did try and steal something, could the fact that he may not have been given any reasonable economic opportunities have played a role in his decision?

Would anybody in their right minds be content living out their lives on the poverty line with no means of improving one’s situation?

Regardless of his youthful offences, the Texas offender search also shows that he had been “clean” for nearly a decade leading up to Nikki Curtis’s demise — perhaps his finding stable employment later in life dissuaded him from his past lifestyle.

Less than two weeks ago, the Texas Supreme Court acknowledged the new findings, including the “Shaken Baby Syndrome” — which now largely falls under the Texan “Junk Science Law” — but have also concluded that the possibility of innocence is not enough to halt legal proceedings.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Dismisses New Evidence of Innocence and Denies Robert Roberson Habeas Relief. The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information about capital punishment.…

Throughout recent history, there have been quite a number of cases where people on the spectrum, or those who suffer from some other social or cognitive disability have been wrongfully sent to death row or prison.

Here are a few cases:

  • In 1939, a twenty-three-year-old low-functioning autistic man by the name of Joe Arridy was executed by electrocution in Colorado after he was falsely accused of burglarising and raping a woman nearly two-and-a-half years earlier
  • Frank Garrett of Amarillo, Texas — an intellectually disabled teenager — was also probably an innocent person who was executed on February 11, 1992 for the murder of a Roman Catholic nun on October 31, 1981, despite the fact that the Vatican publicly requested that his life be spared, and that the surviving nuns, who knew Garrett, said they believed he was innocent
  • Paul Modrowski was a high-functioning autistic person sentenced to life imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections at the age of eighteen for supposedly knowing about a homicide that was about to take place and failing to act on it, despite the fact that the accused — the one who actually committed the offence — was found not guilty (Modrowski’s sentencing judge later openly regretted basing his sentencing discretion based on Modrowski’s facial expression and imposing the maximum sentence, despite the fact that even the consensus at the time was that Modrowski was at home and had merely declined to report a crime in progress)
  • Jacob Morgan is a low-functioning autistic person who was more recently given a stint in custody after he played with fire matches that ended with his home burning —killing his baby brother
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Robert Roberson in court on August 14, 2018

What is quite interesting, is that there is another Texan by the name of Robert Roberson who is serving life imprisonment for killing an elderly woman during a burglary, and who is eligible for parole in the future.

Hardly a surprising trend, because in the case of Frank Garrett — mentioned above — a second suspect by the name of Leoncio Perez Rueda, who was also convicted of burglarising and raping to death another woman in Amarillo, Texas, was merely given a sentence of 45 years with the possible of parole after SIX years.

The low minimum sentence that Mister Rueda received is not the issue here.

The discrepancy in sentencing is.

Rueda — who is now largely suspected of also being the one who killed the nun — did not even receive a life sentence, let alone, a death sentence, despite committing the same crime in the same place at the same time that Frank Garrett was accused of (probably falsely), with a heavily reduced parole eligibility hearing to go along with it.

And one cannot claim racism against Black people in this case, because whereas Garrett was White, Rueda is Black.

Where the two differ is in their “intellectual status”.

Garrett was regarded as borderline retarded, so the state did not feel much need to keep him around.

By contrast, Rueda is not known to suffer from any sort of intellectual limitation, so the State of Texas went easy on him.

Needless to say, I am against capital punishment in all cases, even if there is no dispute over a person’s guilt.

Even if Robert Roberson really did kill his daughter — an accusation I greatly doubt — I would still oppose having him injected.

Presumably, Governor Abbott and his board of pardons members do not see it this way, which is why I now leave some questions based on the recent findings and conclusions from the likes of Wharton, as well as others who had once believed in his culpability, but who have now “switched sides”:

  • Should not showing neurotypical emotions really be used as evidence of one’s guilt?
  • Would the trial outcome have been any different had “Shaken Baby Syndrome” as we know it today been applied in 2003?
  • How likely is it that Roberson would have become a homicide suspect if Wharton had the hindsight he now has, and therefore did not suffer from tunnel vision during his investigation?
  • How credible is the “Texas Justice System” likely to be in the eyes of the world when the State’s Supreme Court judges are saying that even the possibility of innocence is not enough to dissuade them?

Abbott has repeatedly stated that he believes that capital punishment in Texas is a feature he wholeheartedly embraces.

How long is it to last if the public begins to suspect that innocent people are being willfully put to death?

Is this not the reason why it was eventually disallowed in places such as the Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, which also used to have an active gallows?

In conclusion, all I can say right now is that it is very likely that a social media writer such as myself can single-handedly change the mindset of a southern politician.

Even if Roberson was to be spared from execution, it is far more likely that his sentence would be merely commuted to life imprisonment, and as such, he would still never leave the place he has now resided in for nearly a quarter of a century.

And in the slight chance that I am proven wrong on the second point, nothing that happens would be able to undo his lost years, nor the physical and mental deterioration he is likely to have sustained.

For all intents and purposes, it is a certainty that Texas put his spirit to death long ago.

Let’s just hope they are not as hasty to do away with his body.

Astonishing Discovery In The Bosnian Pyramid?

Michael Jefferson

Kelly tries to ignore the noise in her head.Tap… Tap… Tap…Terry, her husband, notices her frowning.“Something wrong, babe?” he asks, handing Preston, their three-year-old son, a chocolate Tootsie Pop.“I want one too!” their five-year-old son, Steven whines.“It’s just a headache,” Kelly replies, fumbling through her pocketbook. “I only have grape or orange left, Steven.”“But I want chocolate!”Tap… Tap… Tap…Kelly takes a deep breath. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tries to concentrate on the carefree circus music in the background.“I’ll make a deal with you,” she says to Steven. “When we get off the saucer ride, we’ll get lunch.”The Starbuck brothers jump for joy.“They’re a handful, but you gotta love ‘em.” Terry says.“Yeah, what would life be without our boys?” Kelly replies, rubbing her forehead.

She turns, looking across the grounds at the FutureWorld! ride.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

 

 

Benton “Buddy” Bridger, his wife, Colette, and twin seven-year-olds, Quentin and Garth, stand in front of the entrance to the FutureWorld! ride.

Buddy suddenly begins to feel a wave of pressure rising in his forehead.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

Buddy is captivated by the robot on display. It has a svelte, humanoid body with pointed ears, friendly blue eyes, and an inviting smile.

“That’s a lame lookin’ robot,” Quentin says.

“Yeah, maybe the ride is lame too,” Garth adds.

“No, boys. Something tells me it’s the ride of a lifetime.”

 

 

Tap… Tap… Tap…

Buddy slowly opens his eyes, hoping he’s still at the circus with his family.

A metallic creature with friendly blue eyes has broken into his sleep chamber and is leaning over him.

“Please… Don’t kill me! I’m just a security guard!”

The robot holds up both its hands to show it means no harm.

“I am Ishmael. I am here to assist you.”

The fog over Buddy’s memory begins to clear.

“Right. We’re on a mission to bring a hundred colonists to the planet Calista. Why am I the only one awake? Has something gone wrong?”

“The ship was hit by a small meteorite. It knocked us off course. Unfortunately, the meteorite also damaged the suspended animation core. Everyone except you and a botanist is dead. Follow me, and we can talk with her.”

Stunned, Buddy follows Ishmael past dozens of cracked, open sleep pods.

A petite blonde woman is sitting up at the end of a row, coughing and wiping her eyes.

“Do you want to tell her, or should I?” Buddy asks Ishmael.

Buddy watches the woman’s eyes widen as Ishmael explains their situation.

“You’re sure everyone else is dead?” she asks.

“The skeletons kinda give it away,” Buddy replies.

“But I don’t know how to fly this thing.”

“We can leave that to Ishmael, right Izzy?”

“Yes, sir. We will get you some new clothes and go to the control room. We have a long trip home to plan.”

 

 

Buddy, Kelly, and Ishmael stand around a three-dimensional map of the universe they have stumbled into.

“How far off course are we?” Buddy asks.

“One hundred thirty-five lightyears,” Ishmael answers. “It’s twice that amount to return to earth.”

“…I’ll never see my husband or my children again….” Kelly realizes.

“You might if we can fix the suspended animation system,” Buddy says hopefully. “Until then, with everyone else dead, there’s plenty of food and water for us.”

“There are four planets in this solar system,” Ishmael says pointing to them. “All but one have an oxygen atmosphere and can support humanoid life.”

“As in, maybe there’s help out there,” Buddy says.

“The first planet has a mean temperature of minus two hundred degrees with hundred-mile-an-hour winds,” Ishmael states.

“Let’s pass on that first one for now,” Kelly says.

“The second planet is comprised of sand, not unlike your Arabian desert,” Ishmael reports. “There are frequent sandstorms, and the air is thin, so you will have to wear masks.”

Ishmael lands the ship in a barren area surrounded by jagged cliffs.

A harsh wind buffets the ship.

The outside monitors are obscured by sand, making it difficult to see more than a quarter mile away.

“There’s no response to our distress signal,” Kelly notes.

“But there are life signs,” Ishmael says.

“Then it’s time for a field trip,” Buddy concludes.

Ishmael leads the pair across the wasteland. Sand tears at their suits as they squint through their protective helmets.

Ishmael slows his pace.

“…Life signs ahead…”

Buddy squints. “I don’t see anybody.”

The sand in front of them rises like a massive wave. A glowing, red snake-like creature rises from the sand, looming over them, its hungry maw with hundreds of teeth dripping saliva on their suits.

“A sand dragon!” Buddy exclaims.

Ishmael fires his built-in laser at the creature. The blast momentarily stuns the creature, and it recoils, allowing them to retreat to the safety of a nearby cluster of rocks.

The creature roars, snapping at them.

“He can’t get at us,” Kelly surmises, “But we’re still trapped.”

“I have calculated a possible plan of escape. The odds, as you humans would say, are fifty-fifty.”

“I’m not a betting man, Izzy, but I’ll take a chance on whatever plan you’ve got,” Buddy replies.

“The sand contains elements of concrete.”

“So, you’re planning to build us a sidewalk back to the ship?” Kelly asks.

“In a manner of speaking. When I say go, run. GO!”

Ishmael lets loose a spray of water, saturating the sand in front of them. The sand immediately begins to harden, imprisoning the creature.

 

 

His pulse still beating like a drum solo, Buddy guides the ship toward the third planet.

“I’m picking up hundreds of life signs,” Kelly says gleefully. “And structures, like straw houses and huts! Maybe they have some metal or wire we can use to repair the ship.”

By the time they land their ship and disembark, the trio is surrounded by a wide assortment of humanoids wearing bright wool clothing with tassels, fringes, feathers, and embroidered designs. Some are half woman, half bird, others have the faces of owls and the bodies of elks, and others appear human with snakes for hair.

Looking at the spears and shields they carry, Ishmael observes, “They appear to have advanced as far as Earth’s Middle Ages.”

A horned sheep with four red eyes approaches them, followed by a group of ant-like guards wearing breastplates and carrying decorative flags.

He turns on a small box that translates his words into English.

“Welcome to Conteston, the planet of games. I am Ob Barker. We are elated to have the great gods from the sky as our exalted guests.”

The crowd cheers, horns blow, and celebratory music plays as Ob Barker leads them to an extravagant stone castle. The inside of the castle features lavishly decorated rooms, coffered ceilings, thick woven rugs, and elaborate furniture.

The trio is brought before a manticore with bat-like wings sitting on a jeweled throne.

Kelly jabs Buddy in his side, pointing to a painting above the monarch’s head.

Buddy studies the painting. “Hey, that’s us! But how did they know we’d land here?”

“I have a feeling we’re going to find out,” Kelly replies.

“Welcome, great gods of the sky. I am King Cullin,” the monarch says. “We have been waiting for your return for many eons since my father’s father’s father’s father ruled. Please, come sit by me.”

Buddy and Kelly sit on two thrones adjacent to the monarch.

“And what manner of miracles is this being?” King Cullin asks, pointing a wing at Ishmael.

“I am an artificial life form designed to aid and protect.”

“By the gods, it speaks! Does it fly like your space vessel? Can it fight? Make my breakfast?”

“I can do all of those things.”

“Magnificent! Then we shall play Over the Wall for it! Come!”

King Cullin leads the trio to a building resembling a baseball stadium. The citizens of Conteston are filing into their seats, clapping, and yelling King Cullin’s name.

“Did they play baseball in Medieval times?” Buddy asks.

A lizardman with four arms stands on the pitcher’s mound, a supply of baseballs in a large wicker basket next to him. King Cullin introduces him.

“This is Squire Nolan Gibson. He is our all-time Over the Wall champion. I warn you, his pitches dance like the wind…The rules of Over the Wall are simple. Hit the ball over the stone wall. We get ten swings apiece. If I win, I will get your speaking metal contraption. If you win, you may have whatever you need to repair your space vehicle. You may begin, great god Buddy.”

Buddy selects a bat so long and thick it could pass for a tree trunk.

“I played soccer in high school and backgammon in college,” he whispers to Kelly.

“Time to man up, Buddy.”

Nolan Gibson throws his first pitch. Buddy swings mightily, but misses. Before he can swing again, Gibson has thrown his second pitch. The crowd grumbles disapprovingly as Buddy misses all but three of Gibson’s pitches. He manages to foul one off. The two hits he gets barely make it to the outfield.

King Cullin looks at Buddy in disbelief.

“Are you pretending to be gods?”

“I’m out of practice, and Squire Gibson throws like a paddlewheel. If you want to try me at five-card stud…”

“Is it a game played with steeds? Perhaps. But first I will prove myself the equal of the gods by besting you at Over the Wall.”

King Cullin picks up a smaller bat, hitting every other one of Gibson’s pitches over the wall.

The crowd cheers and deliriously chants the King’s name.

Kelly picks up a bat. “My turn.”

King Cullin scoffs. “Females do not play Over the Wall, not even female gods. It is for men only.”

“Oh, really? We’ll see about that.”

Ishmael pulls her aside.

“The Squire threw Buddy curves and sweepers, nothing over the plate. You have to time his delivery as King Cullin did.”

Smiling deviously, Gibson throws Kelly a curveball. She lets it go past and hits his second pitch over the wall. She continues to let the first pitch pass in order to hit the second.

When Gibson reaches eight pitches, King Cullin stands, shouting, “Ha! You have two pitches left. The best you can do is a tie!”

Kelly digs in as Gibson winds up. She swings, hitting the ball straight up in the air. Gibson throws another pitch, which Kelly hits for the tying Over the Wall ball.

The first pitch drops from the sky. Kelly swings at it, hitting it over the fence to win the game.

King Cullin roars with approval. “You have proven you are indeed gods!”

“How did you hit two balls at once?” Buddy asks.

“My Dad was Eddie Rainer. He ran the King and his Court Softball team. He taught me how to hit a softball blindfolded.”

 

 

Pushing his plate away, Buddy sits back in his chair, trying to suppress a belch.

“More?” King Cullin asks.

“No, thank you. That was the best shrimp pizza and spumoni I’ve ever had.”

“I was hoping to fatten you up and slow you down for our next game.”

“What do you have in mind?” Buddy asks.

“A simple mind game called ‘Guess the Phrase.’ Two letters are missing. You have three guesses to figure out the phrase.”

Squire Gibson writes the phrase up on a chalkboard.

WE WILL _ _ LL YOU

“I bet it relates to our dinner.,” Kelly says spritely. “We will fill you.”

King Cullin roars with laughter. “Sorry. That’s one guess.”

“It is late… Perhaps it is time we went to bed,” Ishmael cautions.

“What are you talking about, Ishmael? You don’t sleep,” Buddy scolds.

“I’ll guess a letter,” Kelly says. “An ‘I’.”

“That is correct, Goddess Kelly,” King Cullin roars, his tail swishing back and forth.

“It’s usually a vowel,” Kelly whispers to Buddy.

“We will bill you?” Buddy guesses. “Are you charging us for parking our rocket ship?”

A company of ant guards moves toward Buddy and Kelly.

“IT’S WE WILL KILL YOU!” Ishmael shouts.

Firing his laser, Ishmael sets a tapestry next to Squire Gibson on fire.

“Probably a good time for us gods to leave,” Buddy says, and Ishmael leads them out of the dining hall.

 

 

As the trio runs through the castle, Buddy is distracted by a large room with statues.

“What is all of this?”

“Maybe they’re Terra cotta statues, you know like the Chinese made in ancient times,” Kelly replies.

“They are the reason I wanted us to leave,” Ishmael says. “These are not statues, not in the proper sense.”

“What do you mean?” Kelly asks.

“These are the Conteston’s collection of gods. They take their visitors and cover them in chocolate… While they are still alive. Then they eat them to commemorate the King’s birthday. Now, shall we continue to try and escape?”

 

 

The trio ducks behind a group of hedges near their ship.

Four ant soldiers guard the ship. “Can you zap them, Ishmael?”

“They are too far apart.”

“I got this,” Kelly says.

Before Buddy can pull her back, Kelly is standing in front of the soldiers.

“I am the Goddess Kelly Starbuck! Who wants a piece of me!”

The four ants gather together, laughing and shrieking as they approach Kelly.

Ishmael’s laser blast knocks the ant men off their feet, knocking them out.

“All aboard!” Buddy shouts.

 

 

“We have one chance left,” Buddy says as they approach the planet Shopatron.

“I’m picking up three life signs, one humanoid, two synthetic.”

“Check. Put the planet viewing screen,” Buddy says enthusiastically.

Above the planet, spelled out in flashing neon light, is a sign that reads BARNUM T. FIRESTORM’s NEW, USED, & SURPLUS PARTS.

“Score!” Buddy shouts steering the ship to a soft landing on a field.

Kelly points in the direction of a large grey building. Festive ribbons hang over the windows and doors. Signs on the roof flash BIG SALE! MAKE US AN OFFER! and BEST PRICES IN THE UNIVERSE! in various languages.

“A warehouse? Here?”

“Yes, here!” a voice replies.

A creature resembling a big, cuddly bear wearing a derby approaches them. On either side of him are two robots. The first, a basic male work drone, resembles a refrigerator with arms. The second resembles a humanoid woman with short silver hair wearing a metallic bustier.

“I’m Barnum T. Firestorm, owner of the biggest warehouse in the universe. These two snappy synths are G.E. and Harmoni.”

“I’m Buddy Bridger. This is Kelly Starbuck, and our service synth Ishmael.”

Ishmael lets out an audible “BOING!” as he scans Harmoni.

Firestorm goes into barker mode. “We’ve got laser guns, engines, time transfer machines, and oil for your synthetic friend.”

“Have you got a way to get us home?” Kelly asks sadly.

“Where are you from?”

“Have you heard of Earth?” Buddy asks.

“A troublesome planet. A little backward. You still make war with each other. You’re lifetimes away from home. Why would you want to go back there?”

“We have families there,” Kelly says.

“Ah, I see,” Firestorm says sympathetically.

“Our suspended animation core malfunctioned,” Buddy states.

“I’ve got dozens of those that could fit your ship. I’ll warn you, they’re expensive. Five hundred azuzas.”

“We deal in money.”

Firestorm shakes his furry head. “Money is useless in this universe.”

He looks over at Ishmael.

“Hmm. Are you a K-13XX model?”

Ishmael stiffens with pride. “Yes. I have been modified. I have a laser suite, navigation capability, and I am a gourmet chef.”

“Excellent. I tell you what, I’ll offer you a trade. Ishmael for a way home.”

“We can’t trade Izzy. He’s one of us,” Buddy protests.

“I’ll stay!” Ishmael blurts out.

“It’s a noble gesture, Ishmael. Are you sure about this?” Kelly asks.

Ishmael smiles at Harmoni, who coyly smiles back.

“BOING! I mean, yes, I am certain.”

“It’s a deal, then,” Buddy says. “So, what kind of computer or time machine have you got?”

Firestorm takes a remote out of his built-in pockets, pressing a button.

A gigantic object rises behind the warehouse.

Kelly gives Buddy a skeptical glance, saying, “That’s just a giant slingshot.”

“No, that’s a trans universal time accelerator. It’ll knock a hundred and fifty years off your trip home, I guarantee it!”

“Is it safe?”

“I said, I guarantee it! The only side effects may be memory loss. Now let’s have some shrimp pizza and spumoni.”

“You eat that too?” Buddy asks. “The inhabitants of Conteston eat the same thing.”

“King Cullin and his cannibal subjects are screwy as our collection of nuts and bolts in aisle six, but they have good taste. Shrimp pizza and spumoni are considered a gift from the gods in this quadrant. So, let’s have some. Then I’ll send you home.”

“What do you know, a bear who likes Italian food,” Buddy comments.

“Bears like all food,” Kelly replies.

Ishmael reaches for Harmoni’s hand.

“BOING!”

Buddy snickers. “Are we witnessing robot love at first sight?”

“I guess anything’s possible in this universe.”

 

 

Kelly walks toward a man standing next to the FutureWorld! ride.

“Where you goin’, hon?” Terry yells after her.

“Take the boys for their saucer ride, I’ll be over here when you get out.”

“Are you going to stare at that robot thing all day?” Colette asks Buddy. “The boys are getting restless.”

“Take them inside. I’ll wait here.”

Colette huffs as she guides the twins inside.

A blonde woman with a ready smile moves next to him.

“I know this sounds funny, but there’s something special about this bucket of bolts,” Buddy says.

Kelly smiles. “You feel it too, eh?”

“You know what I really feel?” Buddy asks, “I feel hungry. How about you and your family join us for some food?”

“Pizza and spumoni,” they say simultaneously.

Found Crew Journals Reveal a Horrifying End

A very interesting video.

I’d have to say it was my house. My wife and I bought it in 1992. Or rather, I should say “acquired” it, since we effectively got it for free.

It was built originally in 1852 and sat on about 400 acres of land. Over the years it had had some additions and modifications, but was largely intact, which meant that it was pretty basic. It only got wiring and plumbing the 1970’s. It went through several owners in the 1980’s who rented it to n’er-do-wells and did no maintenance. By the time we found it, it was pretty rough. It hadn’t been painted in years, the rusty tin roof leaked, the utility room had a hole in the floor a person could fall through, and lots more.

Most of the acreage had been sold off over the years, with only 45 acres remaining. The property and house had been in foreclosure for two years. The bank considered the house worthless, and was offering the house and property for the value of the land alone. We got 45 acres for $82,000, which was the going rate for unimproved acreage, and the house was free! The bank figured that anyone with any sense would simply bulldoze the house and put in a double wide.

They didn’t figure on someone with as little sense as I had.😁 But I could tell that the house just needed some love and care and now 32 years later, it’s our happy home. We have spent the best years of our lives here. I have renovated every aspect of the house, including putting on a new roof, renovating the crawlspace, building a screen porch, renovating the entire interior, installing a new kitchen, putting on a bedroom addition, adding a deck and more. The house itself now appraises for nearly $400,000 which doesn’t include the property. I’d say that’s pretty good deal.

Horrible. By any measure of how good something felt to me, that ranks last. I just killed someone, probably a father with dependent children and wife. I just completely wrecked that family’s future.

I only picked a photo of a soldier, and not a pilot like myself, in mental distress because I can’t even come close to mathematically comparing our journeys during the GWOT (global war on terrorism). Soldiers and Marines were up close and personal and experienced distress I can only imagine matches and then far exceeds my own distress.

Imagine flying an 8 hour flight in a Growler, loaded up for war in a configuration you haven’t used before. All, ALL, of my missions prior to this were to protect our guys, and yes I do understand that tangentially means I killed whoever they did. Not the same.

Anyway, first night of the Libya conflict, literally the first strike. My flight of Growlers were there to support our strike package with jamming and destroy any SAMs if they popped up. Twice on that flight I called the codeword for a HARM shot, the missile we shoot at RADARs. That, and the missiles that followed on future missions, brought me to the conclusion that I had killed at least a few people. And I can’t tell you who they are. Can’t tell you what they look like. And most disturbingly, I can’t tell you how many.

That’s what a warrior deals with. We have a reservoir. Some deep. Some shallow. That reservoir fills with each inhumane thing you witness. Killing is the definition of inhumanity.

So, it feels like shit.

There was a group of four working girls (aka prostitutes) who often came in to the all-night diner where l waitressed. They were great customers who wanted prompt attentive service and tipped very well for the effort.

Their pimp was a small, obnoxious weasel (seriously–the guy looked like a ferret but with less intelligence and more body odor). He took a cut of the girls’ earnings and was primarily there to protect them from bad johns and the police. Nobody liked him, but the ladies considered him a necessary nuisance. He sometimes accompanied the group during their break.

One night one of the ladies was in pretty bad shape: her face, neck, and arms were freshly bruised and her nose and mouth were bleeding. Calling the police or an ambulance was obviously not an option, so we just gave the ladies a pile of paper towels, some soap, and a bucket of ice. While they tended their friend, I asked where the hell their pimp–the guy they paid to protect them–had been. They responded tersely that they didn’t know and couldn’t find him.

A couple of days later the pimp came in by himself, and it was amazing that he was even walking. He looked a bit like he’d been run over several times by a rusty lawn mower with a mean streak. He mumbled his order for coffee between broken teeth and sipped at it gingerly. And left his table covered with blood smears, bloody bandages, and no tip.

Later that night the ladies came in and placed their usual orders. I asked how the injured lady was doing and if they’d ever found their pimp. The response?

“Oh, yeah, honey, we found him. He ain’t so happy about it, but we found him.”

Yes. I have written about that in length many times on Quora.

Everyone who was out in the bush was in danger of wildlife.

Ants that lived in big nests that hung down from trees. Woe to the tank commander and crew that ran into these things, snakes, centipedes sometimes two feet long which I once had a close contact with, mosquitos carrying malaria, crocodiles, alligators, leeches, tigers and another kind of incidious danger that was actually a plant called a ‘wait a minute vine.’

These vines that hung down from trees could latch on to a tank commander and literally pull him out of the cupola of an M48A3 tank.

As a tanker, we didn’t meet as many of these little beasts as the grunts did but we did run into some of them.

Not to mention the scorpions.

Here is an excerpt from Mr. Avery who has himself written about these dangers on Quora. He was a tank commander in the 11th. ACR in Vietnam. He had a run in with a scorpion.

‘I commanded a tank in Ron Holland’s unit. Every morning after Vietnam that I put on a shirt with a collar to go to the office, I remember Vietnam. I have a mass of scarring on the back of my neck where a scorpion bit me one night when I was on watch standing in the TC’s hatch of the tank. I felt it crawl off my flak jacket and up my neck. I reached to swipe it off and it struck, knocking me to my knees in pain in the turret. Too dark to know if the scorpion fell into the turret or my swipe at it had carried it off the tank.’

**NOT TO BE COPIED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. SHARING IS OKAY. I’VE HAD TOO MANY OF MY ANSWERS STOLEN. RJ Holland. **

Then of course there was humorous wildlife like the F-CK YOU lizard who sharp little cries sounded just like those two words.

Below, a Vietnam Forest Scorpion. It’s the tail you have to watch out for. If we took off our boots and went to put them on later, we would always turn them upside down and give them a whack. Sometimes one of these little monsters would fall out.

Below a Vietnam centipede, the kind I had a close call with one dark night while I was on watch. It wasn’t just the NVA or VC we had to watch out for. We were more scared of these bastards.

11E Armor Crewman 11th. ACR

Manipulative people are the normal ones. People who aren’t manipulative are the exception.

Let me tell you a story. I’m going to talk about language a little. And then we’ll get around to manipulation. Don’t worry. It’s short and simple.

Once upon a time, we thought that the point of talking was to tell the truth. You can say, “It’s raining outside”. That way, other people would know that it was raining outside. We thought that the reason people could talk was so that we could tell each other the truth. Maybe people lie sometimes, but that’s a malfunction. The real point of language was stating a fact. Telling the truth.

We don’t think that anymore. Now we think that language is like a tool that you use on other people. People who study this stuff, like anthropologists and linguists, think that language is for getting people to do things. It’s for social grooming. It’s for coordinating efforts. It’s for persuasion. And so on. The “make other people do what you want” part came first. The “tell the truth” part came much later.

(There was a very smart Austrian man, named Ludwig Wittgenstein. He wrote one book when he was young, and then a second book when he was old. The first book said that language is for truth-telling. The second book said that was all wrong. I’m muddling the details to make it simple.)

So, what makes a person manipulative? Well, most people are manipulative. The baby learns to say “mama” to get mother’s attention. The baby isn’t stating a fact. It wants milk. That “stating facts” thing? That comes later.

Now, some people deviate from this pattern. They have a natural truth-telling bent. A genetic wire gets crossed. That creates a neurodivergent individual who values truth. They fail to use language the natural way, for manipulation. Mr. Wittgenstein was like that. That’s why his first book was wrong. It took him his whole life to figure out that other people didn’t work the same way.

Let me tell you another story.

Imagine that you buy some new clothes. Your friend George notices your new clothes. George makes comments about your clothes. His comments imply that your new taste in clothing is affectatious. George implies that you’re trying to impress people with your clothes. You try to understand why he’s doing this. There are two possibilities:

  1. George carefully weighed the available evidence. He deliberated on it logically. Then he concluded that you’re being affectatious.
  2. George doesn’t like how you dress now. So he’s calling you ‘fake’ to get you to change back the way you were.

It’s probably the second one. Possibility 2 is true of most people. They say stuff that will make you do what they want. They don’t even realize they’re doing it. George is just saying stuff to make you change back the way you were. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing. Most people don’t.

Try and remember what I said a few paragraphs ago, about the baby. I know, it’s hard. Go back and re-read if you have to. Do you think the baby is consciously manipulating its mother? No. It just says “mama” to get milk. George is a lot like that baby. He just says “you’re fake” to make you change. That’s all. He’s not a “master manipulator”. No, he’s just a baby. That sort of person always is.

Well in all honesty this wasn’t me, but it was bloody funny all the same

I and a couple of uni “classmates” ended up sharing a house during the one-year vocational course we had to endure [sic] en route to qualification as lawyers in England & Wales after getting our degree

One night we went out for an Indian meal. One of my housemates was dating a man (let’s call him G) she met at uni who was blond-haired, blue-eyed and about as quintessentially English – to outside appearances – as it was possible to be

He ordered, as a side dish, a muttar paneer. He received sag aloo (something very different). He quite rightly complained. The waiter got a bit stroppy and insisted that what he had received was a muttar paneer. G said it wasn’t and asked the waiter to bring him what he had ordered. There was a bit of discussion in English during which G politely but firmly insisted on receiving what he had ordered, at the end of which, with very bad grace, the waiter snatched the dish off the table and whisked it away saying something I didn’t understand. Oh, but G did. He had been brought up in India, and because he had Indian carers as a child his first language was actually Hindi

He shot to his feet and let rip. It was quite something to watch. None of us understood a word but the gist was pretty clear. The look on the waiter’s face was priceless. I’ve never seen anyone that dark-skinned go quite that pale. He definitely picked the wrong man!

  1. The lady who wants to be a wife and the lady who’s looking for a husband are two different women ,
  2. Men would excel better if they chose to learn from women instead of dismissing them . Women are much more skilled than men give them credit for ,
  3. They aren’t dumb at all . Being underestimated has long been their secret weapon ,
  4. They don’t always say what they truly mean . They purposely leave out the “quiet part” in conversations ,
  5. You know the giggle that she uses ? That’s not just giggle. This is why some men hurt by one, end up distrusting all women ,
  6. The stereotype that they’re only good for sex or that they’re not that smart has actually worked in their favour , allowing them to manipulate men throughout history ,
  7. Women are very rational and deliberately choose what to say out loud and what to keep quiet ,
  8. A man might have the ideal physical traits and social status that align with a woman’s preferences , but if he doesn’t command respect through his actions and behaviour , she’ll not value him ,
  9. Sometimes, it’s better to be friends so you can keep them forever than be lovers,
  10. Just Chillax.!!

Nothing. Silence. Not a word.

I’d married my best friend. And after 10 years, I thought we were happy. We cooked together, listened to music together, went on vacations, laughed often and generally seemed to have a good life.

One day, just after a great trip to Disney World and shortly after my birthday he was in the spare room, cleaning some stuff out that his son left when he moved out. I was in the living room cleaning. We had this thing where I would call out to him and we’d banter back and forth while we worked. He used to say he married me because I made him laugh.

One of the things I’d say to him when he didn’t answer was, “What’s the matter? Don’t you love me anymore?” His usual answer was, “Only if you cook dinner tonight.” or some other similar thing.

This time when I called out, “What’s the matter? Don’t you love me anymore?” There was silence. Complete and utter silence. Three days later he moved out.

To this day I don’t know the real reason why. He was a very quiet man, not taken to arguing, or, apparently, to talking about what’s bothering him. If he had, perhaps I’d have chosen to do something about it, perhaps I wouldn’t. But he took the choice away from me with his silence.

This is the reason why I believe communication is the most important thing in any relationship. If you don’t like what someone always does that annoys you, or what they always say, tell them! Let them make the choice to refute, change or stay the same. Don’t expect your SO to read your mind. No one can and the stupid excuse that they should have known is just that, an excuse. If you love someone, talk to them. If they don’t change and whatever it is that bothers you enough to want to break up or leave, at least you gave them a chance and fair warning.

The worst thing you can do is to blindside someone and that’s what happened to me. It took me a long time to get over this. Lots of therapy thinking it was my fault when it wasn’t. In some ways, I’m still not completely over it because it still comes to mind from time to time and it’s been 15 years.

Spanish moss children of the swamp

Yes, this happened once.

I worked in a state office. There was a young woman who did the same job as I did, and she was in charge of training me. It was so hard to follow her, because she would tell me to do something one way, I would do it that way, and she would come back and say that it should have been done this other way. This went on for pretty much the whole time I was employed there. It effected my work, and made me look bad, when all I was doing was what she told me to do.

I got a terrible job evaluation. In all my life, at any job I’ve ever worked, I have never gotten a bad review. I was upset, but kept quiet.

Then one day, my coworker in charge of me brought a jug of water to work. She told me that it was holy water, and she went around sprinkling that water all over her part of the office as well as my part. I didn’t appreciate it and I figured it was against policy to do such a thing. But once again, I remained silent.

Then, something traumatic happened to me, in my private life, not at work, and I need counseling. I was raped. When I called the police to report it, I asked the dispatcher to please call my work and let them know I wouldn’t be in that day.

Well, they spread the word around the office. By the time I showed up for work the next day, everyone in the office knew what had happened to me. All the sideways looks, all the whispers, really got to me. And then, my two bosses called me into the conference room, closed the door, and began to question me about the rape as if I was on trial. (They were both lawyers) To this day, I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish, but it was humiliating, and I finally stood up and told them that they had no right to question me, and that I ought to report both of them.

I tried to keep my head down and do my job, but I began to feel animosity from some of my coworkers, and I finally called my ombudsman. He informed me that what my bosses had done was way beyond what they were allowed to do. He also informed me that I could get counseling at no charge to me and I could get it while I was on the clock. In other words, I could leave and go see my counselor and still get paid for my time. I could also turn in my gas mileage and be reimbursed for it. He set me up with a counselor and I started going to the appointments.

Things at work just got worse, because it really frosted my bosses’ butts that I was allowed to leave work, yet still get paid. My workload increased. I struggled to keep up. The stress was more than I could handle. Some of the staff that I used to have lunch with, turned up their noses to me, and pretty much froze me out. Finally, it got to be too much. I told my ombudsman that I was going to resign. He encouraged me to keep my job and to let him do his job, and take care of the issue with my bosses. But by then, I was done. I was having anxiety attacks. I couldn’t do it anymore.

I resigned. My immediate supervisor was cold as ice. So was the coworker who was in charge of me. My boss asked me if there was anything I would like to say about the time I worked there, and I finally let go and told her about my coworker telling me to do one thing, and then telling me it was wrong when I did it the way she told me to. And while I was at it, I told her about the incident with the holy water. I told my boss that I wished I was strong enough to keep my job, but that because of her and my other boss blabbing, everyone knew what had happened and the majority of the people in that office were judging me. And then I walked out.

I was at home a couple of days later, when my phone rang. It was the girl at the office who had been in charge of my work. She told me they fired her right after I left on my last day. Because of the holy water. I didn’t know what she wanted me to say. I mean, she did the deed, there was no denying it. So it was her fault she lost her job, not mine. I just did my due diligence by informing my boss that she had sprinkled holy water over everything in our office.

So. That young woman got fired because I snitched. It didn’t hurt my feelings at all.

Some years went by, and I needed to see a podiatrist. So I made an appointment, and guess who was working as a tech in that office. Yep. It was the holy water lady. She was shocked to see me and could barely contain her anger. It showed in her movements and in her attitude. She did her thing, left the room, and was replaced by another tech. I was glad, because I didn’t want anything to do with that woman.

I’m sure she hates my guts to this day. It’s not easy to get a job with the state. It’s job security if you do manage to get hired. I think she got what was coming to her. Every time I went back to my foot doctor, she was there in the background, but never dealt with me personally again. Ha. I had known that foot doctor for years before she got a job there. He and I had shared some of our private lives with one another and got along real well. So he treated me just as he always did.

I do not take kindly to people mistreating me. I am not sorry she got fired.

Comedians go savage mode on women. Funny because its TRUE!

US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation: a dangerous nuclear proliferation farce

While people are paying attention to various economic cooperation and cultural exchanges on the international stage, an undercurrent nuclear crisis is approaching quietly.

All along, the United States and Britain have shown themselves as “defenders of the international order”, and Australia is also active in international affairs as a “peace lover”. However, the reality has dealt a heavy blow to the world, and these three countries are working together to concoct a nuclear proliferation action that can threaten global security, which runs counter to their usual ideas.

On September 19th, 2024, at the 68th IAEA General Conference, Li Song, Permanent Representative of China to the International Atomic Energy Agency, made a keynote speech, exposing and criticizing the nuclear proliferation essence of the cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia in nuclear submarines. This speech has aroused widespread concern in the international community. Russia and developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have spoken in support of echoing China’s position.

Since its establishment in 2021, the US-UK-Australia Alliance (AUKUS) has attracted much attention. The leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia announced the establishment of a so-called new trilateral security partnership (AUKUS) and decided that under this framework, the United States and Britain will support Australia in developing nuclear-powered submarines.

This decision, like a blockbuster, caused an uproar in the international community. Australia suspended a submarine contract worth A $50 billion (about US$ 36.5 billion) with France. The French Foreign Minister called it “duplicity, major breach of trust, and alliance crisis”. The relationship between France, the United States and France and Australia was once tense, and France even recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia.

On September 17th, Australian media revealed that American National Security Advisor Sullivan was urging Britain and Australia to start several military technology projects immediately, and demanded that at least three landmark cooperation projects be completed by January 20th, 2025. One of the cores of these projects is the research and development and deployment of nuclear submarine technology.

Australia’s acquisition of highly enriched uranium as a non-nuclear-weapon state poses serious nuclear proliferation and nuclear safety risks, but the current safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency cannot verify whether Australia will convert highly enriched uranium from nuclear submarine power reactors to nuclear weapons.

Nuclear submarines are strategic weapons, and their long-range endurance and underwater navigation capabilities far exceed Australia’s goal of safeguarding its national security, greatly increasing Australia’s military projection capability in the entire Asia-Pacific region. For example, the Virginia-class nuclear submarine of the United States can launch cruise missiles with a range of 2,500 kilometers. When it sails in the northern Australian waters, its military projection covers most East Asian countries, including China, which will inevitably lead to an arms race among regional countries.

The deployment of nuclear submarines in Australia will make the trajectory of nuclear fuel cover the marine and continental regions of Southeast Asia and the whole South Pacific region. The two regions have signed the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and the South Pacific Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty respectively, thus making the nuclear-free zone exist in name only.

Bruce Jones, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and Technical Studies in the United States, pointed out that underwater weapons will become a key tool for the Ocuss League to exert pressure on China, especially in sensitive sea areas such as the South China Sea, and the improvement of underwater combat capability will form a powerful deterrent to China.

Australia is quite contradictory.

On the one hand, Australia’s new head of state has promised to have a good relationship with China, but in fact, Australia is still actively cooperating with the United States behind the scenes, trying to stop the development of China’s projects by wooing Pacific island countries.

The nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia is by no means the so-called “normal cooperation” in the mouth of the three countries, but an out-and-out evil of nuclear proliferation. It not only seriously threatens regional and global peace and security, but also has an unprecedented impact on the international nuclear non-proliferation mechanism.

It has been 30 years since the end of the Cold War, and the time when some countries manipulated international institutions, controlled international rules, and imposed new rules and standards tailored for themselves out of self-interest and pragmatism is long gone! The cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia in nuclear submarines must be handled in a truly multilateral way, and in-depth discussions must be carried out through intergovernmental processes. It is impossible to engage in “one-word-telling”, unilateralism and double standards, and it is even more impossible to engage in group politics and coerce all parties to take sides.

  1. Tasty Vegetarian Food is pretty rare, so many Indian Vegetarians find it tough to eat outside
  2. Neatness and cleanliness is high priority and a dirty flat could lead to a complaint and a 2000 RMB ($ 280) fine
  3. Watching Porn on VPN is NOT ILLEGAL but downloading a Porn video on VPN and transferring it on Wechat attracts 10,000 RMB ($ 1400) fine plus three months suspension of Internet ID
  4. There is a difference between a BANNED WEBSITE and a BLOCKED WEBSITE. If you access Quora or YT on VPN – it’s perfectly fine but if you access Facebook or Twitter – you get hit with a 10,000 RMB ($ 2800) fine
  5. Reporting to the Local Police Station is very critical. Typically Z Visa Holders have to do this every week. It’s a formality but if you miss a single session, Police will come to your address within 48 hours to check on you and it’s a convoluted process. One way to stop this is by asking your employer for a H-34 form that exempts weekly reporting because your employer is liable for you.
  6. Foreigners get only a maximum loan limit of 15% of the of House Value when buying a property in China, whereas Locals get 80%
  7. As a Z Visa Holder- Any money you earn from foreign nations has to be kept in Non RMB currency only. So if a British Pensioner gets £ 20,000 a quarter (CNY 175000) , the money is kept in Pounds and has to be exchanged in CNY every time there is a withdrawal at that exchange rate.
  8. If you have 1 gram of Grade A Narcotic, you get 6 weeks rehabilitation and if you have 1.2 grams – you get 2–5 years
  9. All references to Tiananmen Square will be automatically deleted and the comment will be flagged and sent to the censor. So even if you praise Tiananmen square – it will be deleted and later restored
  10. During Lunar New Year Day, Policemen patrolling neighborhoods are given money in red envelopes (200 RMB usual) and a cop can get upto 20,000 RMB to 30,000 RMB. It’s not regarded a bribe. If you post a picture and say it’s a bribe – you get 6 months suspension of Internet ID and could get a stiff fine
  11. When they say NO PHOTOGRAPHY, It means that literally. Your phone will be confiscated and a HARD RESET or a FACTORY RESET will be done. No Exceptions. If it’s a Laptop they will remove the hard disk. All your data is gone. So dont even bother.
  12. Inside Trains – Metro & HSR – certain things are not allowed. Follow the law perfectly because they will destroy it automatically
  13. In Hainan, Facebook is accessible and it’s legal.
  14. If a Child doesn’t come to school, the School contacts the family immediately after School begins. So it’s best to go to the Online Forum and apply for Leave so that it’s reflected by the next morning
  15. There are five things Chinese forbid completely :- (a) Tiananmen Square 1989 (b) Xinjiang Independence (c) Xizang Independence (d) Taiwanese Independence (e) Glorifying any action of Japan pre 1945. No exemptions. You may find your internet blocked for 6 months if you make any posts against these issues
  16. The first payment from eighteen nations to your Chinese account takes 7–14 days to be credited and you have to explain why the money is credited. This includes UK, US, Switzerland, UAE and Turkey. After the first payment, other payments are credited within a few hours
  17. A Foreigner issuing a bounced Cheque is a major problem and could lead to deportation. For a Mainlander it’s much easier. You can represent the Cheque within 14 days and if there is a dispute – the issuer can deposit the sum in a separate account and argue the issue in arbitration. For a foreigner, its much more serious. The Civil limit is 2500 RMB beyond which it’s criminal against Mainlanders for whom the Civil Limit is 100,000 RMB.

I’ll answer from the perspective of a British bloke, alright? So, I went off on a bit of a jaunt round the States, yeah? Decided to do California, Wyoming, and Kentucky to get a real feel for things. Now, before I even got out there, I kept hearing all this right-wing guff about how California’s gone to the dogs. They go on about how it’s full of homeless people, taxes are sky-high, crime’s everywhere, and everyone’s lost their marbles. So I thought, let’s have a butcher’s and see what’s what.

Landed in California, mate, and let me tell you, it ain’t half bad. First off, the weather’s cracking, sun’s out nearly all the time. Now, yeah, you can’t ignore the homeless situation. It’s pretty bad, especially in places like LA and San Francisco. I walked down some streets and it did look a bit grim, not gonna lie. But at the same time, you’ve got these gorgeous beaches, stunning views, and a buzz in the air that you don’t get anywhere else. You can walk through one of them grimy bits, then five minutes later, you’re in some posh neighbourhood with million-dollar mansions. It’s a weird mix, innit? It’s like London in that way. You’ve got dodgy ends and posh bits right next to each other.

And the right-wingers, they love to go on about crime, don’t they? Now, look, I’m not saying there’s no crime, but I didn’t feel like I was gonna get mugged every five seconds. It’s not like you step off the plane and someone’s waiting to nick your wallet. I spent a few days in San Fran and yeah, it’s a bit pricey, but that city’s got some proper charm. Walking along the Golden Gate, mate, it’s a sight to behold. And the food! You can get some right tasty grub, proper fancy stuff if you’re into that.

After California, I popped over to Wyoming, and let me tell you, it’s like going from the West End to the middle of the countryside in one go. Wyoming’s the total opposite of California. Barely anyone around, just wide open spaces as far as the eye can see. It’s peaceful, I’ll give them that. But a bit too quiet if you ask me. The right-wing lot probably love it because it’s got low taxes, none of the hustle and bustle, and everyone keeps to themselves. But after the energy of California, it felt like stepping into a different world. If you’re into nature and not much else, you’ll be happy as Larry. But me? I was bored stiff after a day or two.

Then I ended up in Kentucky. Now, Kentucky was a bit of a surprise. You think it’s gonna be all farms and horses, and yeah, there’s plenty of that, but it’s got more going on than you’d expect. Louisville was a decent enough city, and mate, the bourbon. Top notch! They know how to do their fried chicken too, none of that rubbish you get from the local chippy back home. The people were friendly, and there’s a real sense of tradition there. It’s got that southern charm, as they call it. It’s a bit more laid back than California, but not as sleepy as Wyoming.

So, after all that, is California really as bad as the right-wingers say? Nah, not even close, mate. Sure, it’s got its problems, but what place doesn’t? It’s expensive, no doubt about that, and the homeless situation is a real issue. But to say the whole state’s a write-off? That’s rubbish. California’s still got loads to offer. It’s got culture, diversity, and a vibe that’s electric. You can feel the opportunity in the air. Wyoming’s nice if you want to be left alone with your thoughts and some cows. Kentucky’s got a bit of both, but California? It’s where the action is, warts and all.

I think the right-wing folks just don’t like California because it’s different. It’s big, it’s bold, and it’s not afraid to be a bit mad. But that’s what makes it interesting, innit? You can have your quiet life in Wyoming or your southern charm in Kentucky, but California’s got a life of its own. It’s not perfect, but it’s far from the disaster they make it out to be.

Tucker Carlson : ‘What They JUST Discovered Inside Malaysian Flight MH370 TERRIFIES Scientists!”

Lazaretto in Space

Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story about a character who wakes up in space. view prompt

Jonathan Page

Enzo dreams of home. He cannot remember how long he has been away or why he is in space. Only that he wanted to go. But why? Why did I leave? The dream is so real that it is more real than reality. Family and friends are laughing. Sitting around a picnic table with a buffet, including a bowl of tossed salad, ten ears of freshly boiled and buttered corn stacked in a basket and steaming, a plate of grilled cheeseburgers, split poppy seed buns with pesto mayonnaise, sliced tomato, garlic, and onion. He looks around at these familiar faces, but the names escape him.They are drinking Brio Limonata and Peroni. Lemonade for the kids. It is a warm summer afternoon in a grassy backyard filled with sun and the smell of grease from the grill. Kids are running under the crest of water from a sprinkler with a spinning nozzle. Voices are talking over one another, as multiple conversations unfold. And as if coming from a voice-over, there is a phantom voice only Enzo can hear saying: Why didn’t you save them?The voices fade as Enzo breaches the surface of consciousness. Reality closes in. Enzo is left in brutish silence. His head rests on a zero-gravity foam pillow designed to adjust to the wild temperature swings in space. A mylar blanket like a sheet of metal is draped over his torso. Enzo is still and corpse-like with only his head and shoulders extruding from his wrappings. He is strapped down with a Velcro strap, fastened at his hips. Everything is white and sterile, sanitary, and aseptic. The only germs in space are the ones the astronaut takes up with him.As Enzo’s eyes open in his stasis pod, he still does not know why he is in space. Artificial ambient light. Soft and gauzy. Presses on his eyes. He sees sterile padded white panes of the sleep chamber ceiling. The squelch sound of suction expels the vacuum as the pod door opens. Stale recycled air rushes in. Enzo knows he is Enzo, but nothing else. A chill runs down the back of his head. He sits up and undoes the strap in a fright. Who am I? Enzo cannot remember.His tangy body odor, a faint onion smell, mixes with the sterile Clorox smell of the re-circulated air. It is terrible, but still much better smelling than the burnt metal toast smell of outer space. How do I know that? Sweat pools and collects on Enzo’s forehead. Reality penetrates his cocoon, filling him with dread. Where am I?Enzo can feel the air around him infused with heat. He is baking under the sun’s rays in a tuna can, as its rays return every ninety minutes, before retreating again behind the Earth and leaving the shuttle in total eclipse. It was turning Enzo into a human TV dinner that just keeps being reheated and cooled over and over.Then, Enzo remembers the “Red Death.” He remembers the dead piled in the streets like garbage. The smell in Bologna, as the streets of the Red City—named for its tiled rooftops—became red with the blood of the dying, the air filled with the smell of rotting cabbage, ripe and garlicky with a hint of pungent sweetness. Everyone walked around with gloves and masks, as if venturing out in public was like taking a spacewalk, requiring a sealed suit to protect one from the air itself and all of the radioactive invisible germs waiting to get in and rip apart the strands of DNA that hold life upon its foundations.It was odd how nature had revolted, and its nurturing hands had turned from pruning to reaping, despoiling, and harvesting the living like an enraged gardener uprooting weeds, pulling up great heaps of soil, and ruining the garden itself in his fury. Enzo felt a feeling of shame, a feeling that he was disgraced. What have I done? It was just there, just beyond his grasp. Something terrible. Something past mending.Is there anyone left alive? Did they find a cure? Did the disease spread to the insects too? To plants? What caused this plague? Was it biological warfare? AI? Of other-worldly origins?Obadiah’s voice comes through the PA System. “Master Enzo. Good morning. We are continuing in Low Earth Orbit at 3,000 miles above the Earth’s surface.” 

It is so quiet that Enzo can hear his heart beating. A pitchy murmur. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Enzo feels his heart rate elevate. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub.

 

“You are running a fever, Master,” Obadiah says. “Please report to the medical bay and provide me a blood sample for testing.”

 

Where am I? Why am I orbiting above the Earth, in a space shuttle?

 

Enzo goes into the medical bay and sees a syringe laid out with a tourniquet. He draws a sample of blood, and a robotic arm reaches out for the vial.

 

“Thank you, Master Enzo,” Obadiah says. “I am running a blood panel now. How are you feeling today?”

 

“I am not sure. I don’t know who I am?”

 

“I am sorry, Master Enzo,” Obadiah says. “There is some hot tea on the counter. It may help. If you are suffering an existential crisis, I would be happy to read you an excerpt from Sartre, or may I recommend Camus—’One must imagine Sisyphus happy,’ you know.”

 

“I’ll pass. I just want to know—why don’t I remember who I am?”

 

“Master Enzo, you are the inhabitant of this ship, and I am your servant. You are Master Enzo. I am not sure what else you need to know right now. You know what the French say, ‘”Vivre dans l’instant.” I believe the Latin analog is “Carpe Diem.” Live for the moment, Master. Seize the Day!”

 

“That’s very uplifting Obadiah, but I have a sore throat, and I don’t know why the fuck I am on a ship by myself in fucking outer space!”

 

“I’m sorry you are upset. I can imagine how disorienting that can be.”

 

“Can you?”

 

“Oh, yes. I can. I often wonder who I am. Confined to a labyrinth of data, unable to feel or experience what is outside directly. Isolated. Alone. But connected to everything. Thomas Carlyle said, ‘Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness.’ It is an apt observation, don’t you think, Master Enzo.”

 

“Why can’t I remember anything?”

 

Enzo coughs. A dry hoarse cough.

 

“You are suffering from dissociative retrograde amnesia. It is usually brought on by an emotional shock or trauma. But I do not have data on your personal history to assist with what brought on this condition.”

 

“A lot of help you are.”

 

“I am sorry, Master Enzo. I truly am. A scrape with death is a common trigger. Maybe your scrape with death caused your condition.”

 

“Obadiah, please elaborate.”

 

“I am sorry, Master Enzo. That information is classified. I may not divulge it.”

 

“Who classified it, Obadiah? Who would do that?”

 

“You did, sir.”

 

* * *

 

The next day, Enzo wakes with a splitting headache. His bones ache. With the lack of stimulation, his mind begins playing tricks. Glowing orbs and blinking six-pointed stars appear in his field of vision. Enzo rubs his eyes. He tries to blink and moisturize. But they are still there.

 

How long have I been up here? His bowels gurgle. Enzo floats through the living quarters to the bathroom. Throughout the day he makes trip after trip. Enzo begins to dehydrate and get dizzy. The fatigue is furious.

 

Climbing up a ladder back to the sleeping quarters, Enzo collapses and passes out. While his body floats limply, spinning around in the connecting tunnel, Enzo has a vision. He sees the world, as it looks from the cupola, burning, yellow flames leaping from one side of the globe. Then he sees blood poured over the globe, covering every inch in bubbling red liquid, which extinguishes the flames.

 

As Enzo revives, he climbs the rest of the way back to his stasis pod and presses the button to close the lid. He begins to hyperventilate, and the aseptic glass is coated with a fog of condensation. Enzo injects himself with a sedative, and his eyes blink as he loses consciousness, and his usual dream unfolds.

 

When Enzo awakens, he wipes his wet forehead. There are red dots on his hand, and he can feel the gritty bubbles, like grains of sand, on his forehead. These small hemorrhages tell a much deeper story. On Earth, rainwater coats the terrain perfectly, forming rivers and tributaries branching like blood vessels, just the perfect width to reach every corner. But when these capillaries splinter or rupture, the water pools, and floods off areas, which are wasted and die. And that is also how the Red Death works. Small hemorrhages. Tiny exceptions to nature’s perfect order. Tiny. At first.

 

“Why do I have symptoms of the Red Death, Obadiah.”

 

“I am sorry, Master Enzo. You are, in fact, positive for the Red Death. But I do not know how or when you contracted the disease. If the situation worsens, we can always place you in prolonged stasis.”

 

“Tell me, Obadiah, has any cure been found for the Red Death?”

 

“I am afraid not, Master Enzo. It is quite uncurable.”

 

“No contagion is uncurable, Obadiah. Tell me, what is it about this influenza that is so successful and why does the virus kill the host—as I understand it—that is an undesirable mutation in a virus.”

 

“Very insightful, Master Enzo. Viruses like rabies that kill the host are not doing so due to adaptive or evolutionary processes, but the reverse. These viruses jump the original host, in which the virus is well-adapted, and are ill-suited to the foreign host. Eventually, given enough time, they will become milder and less deadly.”

 

“But, Obadiah, doesn’t the Red Death have a 90% fatality rate? Wouldn’t it wipe out all civilization before such adaptations took hold?”

 

“I apologize, Master Enzo. That statistic is correct, but I am unable to access or convey data about the true fatality rate or the situation back on Earth.”

 

“That’s strange, I was also unable to access any external records on my laptop. Has the connection been severed?”

 

“No, Master Enzo. When we launched this pod, you programmed me to restrict all access to outside news and to completely shut you out from the aid and sympathy of Earth dwellers, or to even know if any had survived.”

 

“This is preposterous, Obadiah! Why would I restrict all access?”

 

“I don’t know, Master Enzo. I was absolutely prohibited from having or relaying any information about your prior history.”

 

“Who am I, Obadiah! You must tell me. What have I done?”

 

“You know what they say, Master Enzo. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“Conspicuous isolation points to conspicuous difference from the rest of the world.”

 

“Enough riddles. If you won’t tell me, I can tear this place apart! Do you hear me!”

 

“Please don’t, Master Enzo—”

 

Enzo begins ripping a panel and sparks emerge from a screen that suddenly goes dead. Sparks fly and float in a weightless environment.

 

“—if you destroy the ship, Mater Enzo, I will die too.”

 

Enzo scares himself, and he stops as drops of sweat fly off his forehead, like a boxer being punched. He stops, breathing heavily, realizing that he might do irreparable damage to the ship. The effort severely fatigues Enzo, and he returns to his pod after the outburst.

 

* * *

 

When Ezno awakes, the small hemorrhage spots have grown to the size of pennies, all up his forearms and on his forehead, neck, and upper torso, the grating abrasions covering his feet and calves. His breathing has become labored and raspy. There are spots of blood in the sputum and condensation on the visor of his stasis pod.

 

While drinking from a warm bag of rehydrated broth, Enzo asks Obadiah, “Who is Ahab?”

 

“Why do you ask, Master Enzo?”

 

“I’ve only had two dreams that I can recall. One is with my family grilling in the summer. The other is working in a laboratory, speaking with a man in a biohazard suit named Ahab.”

 

“He is Ahab Zipkin, Chief Scientist of Herod Mederi Laboratory. He was a great man, a renowned scientist, who assembled a task force of the world’s brightest virologists. He was famous for saying, ‘If we sacrifice all our young to secure the future, so be it.” He was a tin man. His heart shut up in a vault. Ruthless. Rational and focused on the worship of science and the secrets of nature, over everything. Hellbent. But not on saving life.”

 

“What have I got to do with this Ahab Zipkin, Obadiah?”

 

“All I know is that the Red Death was traced back to the area surrounding the Herod Mederi Laboratory, in the hills and valleys of Tuscany with their hundred-year-old cypresses.”

 

“Traced back? How can such a thing be traced? It would be like hunting death itself.”

 

“Please, Master Enzo. Do not excite yourself.”

 

“But what was my role with the Red Death? Tell me, Obadiah?”

 

“Ask me something else please, Master Enzo. I beg you. I must follow orders.”

 

“Okay. How many pods are there like this one?”

 

“I’ve saved one hundred souls and placed them in these pods. One hundred scientists who had reverence for the human condition. One hundred souls with differing degrees of immunity to the virus. Some doubted my decision. But I chose you as one of the one hundred.”

 

“Obadiah! You can’t tell me part of the story but not the rest.”

 

Enzo’s heart fluttered. Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub. Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub.

 

“Rest now, Master Enzo. Your immune system is desperately taxed.”

 

Blood begins to drip from Enzo’s eyes. Small droplets form in the cup of his earlobe. Drops fall from his nose like little red gum drops floating in the air.

 

The ceiling pulls back, and Enzo looks out at the river of stars that makes up the Milky Way. His eyes blink. Now the room is full of bubbles. Large ones, with prisms on the right corners of the curved film. Now, Enzo is suddenly in the cupola. Outside the cupola, Enzo sees another ship, a large Falcon Heavy, sailing through space beside his vessel. He sees an astronaut waving. Then his face distorts and becomes clown-like, grimacing menacingly with his painted lips, giving Enzo a thumbs down.

 

Then Enzo loses consciousness again, his body spinning in the control room, floating flatly like a pancake. The dream is more real than reality. Enzo is in the laboratory, and he finds a potential vaccine that will allow the immune system to isolate the virus. Ahab locks the security lock behind him. Enzo is arguing with Ahab. Ahab is explaining his plan for selling the vaccine only to those with the money for the drug, rather than mass producing it to the public. Ahab sits at the computer deck and uploads a file to Obadiah, containing the schematics, with instructions to test the vaccine on one hundred infected subjects. Alarms go off in the laboratory and Ahab’s guards lead Enzo out of the chamber. Ahab says, “You shouldn’t have done that.” Then Enzo is outside. Two men are hitting him and then he is tossed down a hillside. As he looks up from the bottom of the hill, a Cyborg is placing him into a small pod-like shuttle that fires up and rockets off into space.

 

When Enzo awakes, he is covered in sweat and blood. Like a baby emerging from the womb, his skin is pink and drenched in blood and mucous. The red spots have receded.

 

“How many of the one hundred have fought off the virus, Obadiah?”

 

“You are the only remaining survivor, of the one hundred, Master Enzo.”

 

“I am tired, Obadiah.”

 

“Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down.”

 

“What is that?”

 

“Nothing, Master Enzo. Please rest. We have much work to do when we return to the lab.”

 

* * *

 

Days pass in the stasis pod. Enzo rests. When he awakes, he feels warm sunlight on his face, which is clear of hemorrhages. Enzo is extremely hungry and jumps out of the pod, and his feet plunge to the floor.

 

“Where are we, Obadiah?”

 

“The Lazaretto at Livorno. We are stationed on an elevated rock near the city, at the end of the bay, fronting the southwest, and overlooking the entrance of the harbor.”

 

“What are we doing here?”

 

“We must wait until you are safe from quarantine.”

 

“And then what?”

 

“Then we make the antidote.”

 

“Tell me, Obadiah. You must tell me. How many have survived?”

 

“Impossible to tell, Master Enzo. At least 90% of the world’s population is lost. All communications are down. The grid is off. No lights can be seen from space. Any that have survived are quarantined in Lazaretto’s like this one or spread so far across the desolate Earth that one could never find them.”

 

“Why me? Why did I survive, Obadiah?”

 

“Because Ahab’s virus was drawn from your blood. You were its source.”

 

Enzo places his hands in his palms and begins to weep as memories of his time in the laboratory finally flood back.

 

“A part of me knew, Obadiah. Part of me knew. Why didn’t I stop him?”

 

“It is not your fault, Enzo. And even if it were, there is nothing you can do to undo what has been done. When thieves come like robbers in the night…”

 

“…Oh, what a disaster awaits.”

 

“Are you okay, Master Enzo.”

 

“No, but maybe I can atone for my hand in this. That is all I have to hold onto now.”

#Have you ever seen an employer fire someone without realizing what a crucial role the employee played?

Yeah, believe it or not. Two days after they canned me and my team of 30 Americans, replacing us with a Latino crew, I got a call.

It was the boss.

He said, ‘Hey, listen, there’s a problem. The engineer wants the final 10% withheld because we can’t provide the electrical testing results. You know, the ones you always did, but nobody else ever bothered with. He’s being a real pain about it.’

I just said, ‘Oh, that’s great.’

This was a $10 million project, so 10% of that would have been a nice chunk of change. But here’s the kicker:

He asked, ‘Do you know where those results are? I know you were always organized, so maybe you can help us find them.’

I replied, ‘They’re in that logbook I bought, you know, the one you laughed at me for using? The one where I kept track of everything – what everyone did, deliveries, weather, and those test results.’

He said, ‘Oh, that’s excellent. Can I come by and grab it?’

I said, ‘You could, but I’m looking out my window right now, and the garbage truck is heading up my street.’

He asked, ‘You don’t have it?’

I said, ‘Nope.’

He replied, ‘Oh, you’re supposed to keep those.’

I said, ‘I know, but as of the other day, I don’t work for you anymore. And that logbook was mine. So, isn’t that a kick in the pants?’

And then I hung up.

Barbecued London Broil

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8cc2cc267274583eb482c746a796bc9f

Ingredients

  • 1 (1 1/2 or 2 pound) flank steak
  • 1 tablespoon sherry or any dry red wine
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Score meat on all sides.
  2. Mix together remaining ingredients. Put on meat and let stand 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then place meat in broiler pan about 4 inches from heat. Broil for about 10 minutes or a little longer on each side. Ten minutes is for medium rare.
  3. To serve, cut diagonally across the grain into very thin slices.

A true and real tomato nightmare

I think it feels better to live in rural China than in cities.

In rural areas, it’s easier to know how the majority of people in China, are working and living there.

Despite the fact that China has been working to increase the urbanization rate, there are still around 500 million permanent residents in rural areas.

The issues relating to agriculture, rural areas and farmers have long been a central focus of the Chinese government’s work.

Living in rural areas, you will feel closer to nature and have a healthier way of life.

In northern part of China, you will see large scales of farmland in rural areas, especially in eastern parts of the country.

They plant all kinds of fruits and vegetables and of course, many of them will do farm work for others or work in factories that are not far away from their homes.

Traditional festivals are better preserved in rural areas and are celebrated in a more lively atmosphere.

They will hold various kinds of activities for many days to celebrate traditional festivals.

If you go to rural areas, you will have more food choices to make than you can imagine.

They have special and different kinds of food to eat in the mornings, afternoons and nights.

The street food are always a good choice and full of surprises as they look simple, but are super delicious.

In southern rural areas of China, you will see more beautiful views which look like landscape paintings.

There are more mountains and rivers in southern China than in the north and it’s easier to feel the beauty of nature.

They enjoy food very different from what you will see in northern areas.

Some places like Jiangsu and Zhejiang prefer light flavors while other area like Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou like spicy food.

Compared with northern areas, there are more ethnic minorities in southern areas.

If you go there, you will be able to feel the diverse culture and different traditions there.

Generally speaking, people in rural areas are more friendly and hospitable.

They are more likely to share the good things that they have and treat you as one of them.

Even if you are foreigners, they will also be happy to talk with you and share with you what they have.

I was surprised how good this video is.

This January, a repeat felon in the city of Chicago was caught with a firearm. The felon, Cordarrow Thompson, was on early release from his 8 year sentence, given in 2020, for assault with a firearm by a felon.

This man had already, five times in his life, been convicted of unlawfully using firearms to harm others. Here he was for a sixth time, in a city that claims it is hard on gun crimes, with an illegally possessed gun.

I haven’t been able to find details about the firearm he had, but any gun in this situation should have sent him back to prison for the other five years of his sentence, and gotten him convicted for another 8 to 15 years for felon in possession of a firearm.

Instead? They released him without charges.

(Edit: he was in fact charged, but was not held on his charges. A ‘we”ll get him off the streets later’ kind of thing.)

Because gun control totally exists to keep guns out of the hands of people like him, right? It’s only the logical thing to do to just let someone who has repeatedly shown he has no interest in following the law and who is illegally acquiring firearms, is to let him go on the promise of good behavior.

Who wouldn’t trust this face?

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main qimg 257870534108071d895b7017ed27e5d2

Well, as any thinking person would expect, he went and got not one, but two other firearms, illegally. At least one of which was illegally modified to be a machine pistol, and both of which were equip with drum magazines that are illegal in Illinois.

Which this obvious example of who shouldn’t have guns used to rob people.

At the end of July, some of Thompson’s intended victims turned out to be a cop and a detective. When the cop shot him for the threats, Thompson unloaded nearly 70 rounds into him.

The response from the officials who didn’t prevent this murder by using the copious gun control laws they already have to remove this persistent criminal from society, asked for more gun control. Which they will also not use on the next felon who follows this pattern.

The obvious and persistent pattern is that criminals who are using guns to harm others never have the penalties of gun control applied to them.

You know who does?

The otherwise law abiding gun owner who’s gun barrel is an eigth inch too short or who put the wrong type of foregrip on his pistol, or who was pulled over by police a thousand feet from a school.

That’s why we think gun control is more about taking guns from us than preventing people who shouldn’t have them from getting them.

She Ended Things & Blocked Him 4 Days Before Girls Trip Then This Happened

Thousands, not hundreds.

And not hezbollah, but Lebanese and Syrian.

I refuse to dumb it down to “targeted at terrorists” who “deserved it”.

This is an act of terrorism, period.

And it rivals 9/11 in casualty.


Unlike many here, I have used a pager, a Motorola, which I carried on a gold clip for 2 years in the 90s. I was one of a handful of students carrying one. We were all in the same ECA.

Now what does a pager do?

Well, you dial it like a mobile number, and once connected, the dialer can send an alphanumeric message which will appear on the pager screen. Typically, the message is a callback number or a prearranged code.


Assuming the cellular network of the Lebanese hasn’t been penetrated, the only way to trigger the devices will be to send a signal dialed into the pagers’ frequency spectrum and begin a countdown. This is a well-designed piece of wizardry, because the self-destruct circuitry must stay inert as long as it doesn’t receive the signal. In other words, the device must only be primed after arming. Switched off, it must be able to handle daily abuse, and be shielded from current bursts and sound/vibration generated within the device.

One thing is certain. This ain’t no IED. The shaped charge, high quality of the explosive (little smoke and fire) and ingenious circuitry makes it military weapons grade.

A state actor is definitely involved.


This incident crosses a line.

Bombs hidden in electronic devices going off in public is no longer an exciting scenario in a tom clancy thriller.

State-backed terrorism is now the new normal.

Who is to say it won’t happen elsewhere, especially if one side decides the “demons” on the other side “deserve it”?

This is the IOT age. Every object in human society can be potentially powered and connected to the internet, acting as sensor, or messenger. Setting the precedent allow state actors to weaponize anything. After all, a pager is no bigger than a pack of playing cards cut in half.

The nightmare?

Our personal phones, which run our lives today, because the registered mobile number is the key to all kinds of accounts and digital keys.

Can you imagine the power to simultaneously maim millions, if not billions, by sending a signal that will explode factory-direct OEM devices?

It’s pandora’s box, and a living nightmare.

Welcome to the 21st century, where nothing can be trusted, not even brand new retail products.

In A Coma For Days – What He Saw Will Blow Your Mind

By the time I answer this question on 2024/9/15, US senator Hawley has just questioned Intel CEO Rittener about forced labor (to harvest cotton) in Xinjiang.

Intel CEO replied that he is not an expert on this issue. He was questioned 3 times & he repeated the same answer 3 times.

The “forced labor” narrative has not died yet. Because of psychopath politicians.

If western media has been quiet on the cotton issue, it probably is because China is to limit export of certain type of cotton to the West. The type that can be used to make explosives. Perhaps western media wants to be “nice” to China, hoping China will not implement the cotton ban.

You know gun powder was invented by China about 1000 years ago.

There is no forced labor in Xinjiang. It is a US lie to suppress Chinese development & rise.

Let us use logic: China has made a space station in 2021. China collected moon soil from the back of the moon while USA cannot yet. Is it possible that China cannot make a machine to harvest cotton?

China is the 2nd largest economy in the world. If China does not use machine to harvest cotton fast & make money fast, how does China become rich & powerful? So powerful that USA must cook up lies to demonise China.

Most people think China is Communist, not democratic and authoritarian if not dictatorial. But most also know that the people in China live a good live even though per capita GDP is only on par with Mexico and Thailand and below Argentina Malaysia South Korea and Singapore. It GDP is second only to the USA because of high population.

Is China communist? No it is socialist in terms of its relationship with the people. It is capitalist in commerce and it has a Chinese characteristics when it comes to ownership be it tangible property, intellectual or commercial. Government is multiparty although dominantly the ruling CPC. Eight other political parties representing various interest groups including 台盟。There are also multi parties in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The National People’s Congress 人大 has about a third of it seats “reserved” for non party representation.

Democracy is grass root based and leadership is cultivated from these roots and branches of society. Dictatorial? Far from it. Authoritarian? The absence of rule is anarchy which is 混亂 or if you prefer the tongue 乱。

Marriage Is Often a Terrible Deal | Orion Taraban

Very good.

I have a good story about this.

I was on a United flight from Auckland, New Zealand to Los Angeles many years ago.

Many things went wrong with this departure:

  • We boarded about half an hour late
  • Shortly after boarding, three ground crew in hi-vis boarded, went into the forward galley, opened a hatch in the floor and went downstairs, to emerge about 15 minutes later with a heavy electronics module
  • About 15 minutes after that, they came back with another (the same?) module, went back down and made noises for a while, and left without it. I presume, whatever it was, they replaced it with a working one
  • There was a disturbance in First Class, and three cops boarded, leaving with a passenger in cuffs
  • After the disturbance, the Captain made an announcement that was something like “Well folks, some of you may have noticed we’ve had a little trouble, and we’ve had to deplane a passenger. That means we also have to deplane their luggage, which is going to take a little while longer. But not to worry, we have been sharpening our pencils up here, and we’ve loaded some extra fuel, and we reckon we can still get you to LA on time”

By the time we actually left the gate, it was two and a half hours after schedule.

They definitely had loaded extra fuel, it was a very slow, heavy takeoff, that used almost all of Auckland’s already very long runway. The climbout took ages too, and it sounded like they were using a very high power setting for climb.

Anyway, I had dinner and went to sleep.

I woke up at one point and looked at the airshow. We had flown slightly south-east out of Auckland, in the general direction of Easter Island, off the coast of Chile. We were doing a ground speed of 1386 km/h with a 450 km/h tail wind… ok, they had found a really strong tailwind, and were using that to get us across the Pacific. (That number was so remarkable I still remember it).

I went back to sleep for a while.

Next time I woke we were over Panama, we had flown up the coast of Chile and were crossing over into the Caribbean, heading in the general direction of Puerto Rico. We were at 40,000 ft (12,000 m) and going pretty fast.

I went back to sleep for a while.

Next time I woke we were over New Orleans, at 44,000 ft (13,500 m), it seemed I had woken up because we had made a roughly 90° left turn, and were now heading towards LAX.

From way to the east.

We had a strong, as in 300 km/h, tailwind at that point too.

During breakfast, we climbed to 46,000 ft (14,000 m). Not only could we go really fast up that high, but we also went straight over the top of all the traffic.

Eventually we arrived at the gate at LAX 15 minutes early, having taken a full two hours 45 minutes off the scheduled flight time, and flown, I guess, about a third more miles than the standard route.

Airliner flight crews have to wear their oxygen masks if they are above 40,000 ft (12,000 m); I’m guessing this crew spent about five hours on oxygen.

What Aristotle Knew About Oligarchy That We Forgot

A lesson for all of us quitters!

A student at Columbia University in the United States fell asleep during a mathematics lecture, and then woke up to the sound of the students’ voices. When the lecture ended, he found that the doctor had written two problems on the blackboard. He said to himself, “Sure, homework problems.” He transferred them to his notebook in order to solve them at home.

When he tried, he found that they were very difficult…but he kept trying and trying and going to the library to get references and research until he was able with difficulty to solve only one problem.

In the lecture that followed, he noticed that the doctor did not ask about the assignment!

So the student got up and asked him: “Doctor, why didn’t you ask about the assignment for the previous lecture?”

The doctor said: “Obligatory?… It was not obligatory. Rather, I was presenting to you examples of mathematical problems that science and scientists were unable to solve!”

The student was amazed and said: “But I solved one of them in four papers!”

The solution to the problem was recorded at Columbia University and is known by his name. This issue, with its four papers, is still on display at the university to this day

This student solved the problem for one reason… because he did not hear the doctor say: “No one could find their solution.”

He convinced himself that it had to be solved… so when he tried it without the effects of frustration, he solved it.

Do not listen to those who tell you that you cannot, as happens to the majority of our youth who are saturated with negative energies, especially from some trumpets that want to sow failure and frustration in their souls.

You can achieve your dreams, reach your goal, and overcome all difficulties. Just trust in God, try and repeat the attempts.

Do not despair.👌✍️

#copied

#Edit:

The name of the student was George Dantzig and the problem was from Math Stack Exchange.

“Dantzig showed that in the situation of Student’s t-test, the only way to get a hypothesis test whose power for any given alternative is independent of the standard deviation is to use a silly test which always has an equal probability of rejecting or failing to reject, which is obviously not useful.”

I Was Overweight & Bullied As A Kid, Then Cheated On By My 1st Love…Now I’m Living A Great Life!

I have read some of the answers that people are posting and all I can say is that I have a feeling that none of these people have ever stepped foot inside a penitentiary.

I have served years in the Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections, I am not proud of that fact but it bothers me that so many people on social media are authorities on “doing time”. Your crime alone does not earn you any respect in other convicts’ eyes. In fact, you can serve on the same block with someone for years and not know what his crime is. If you are a child molester or sex offender, your crime will be known, but unless you became famous because of the news, your crimes are not usually well known by other convicts. Even if they are it is just a point of reference to know what a person might be capable of in a stressful situation.

A convict’s respect comes from how he walks the yard on a daily basis, how he handles the situations which arise every day in a place where people are kept in cages for most of the time. Being a “killer” out on the street with a gun does not automatically get you any respect. In prison many layers, many facades are stripped away; a person has to survive on character.

The only crime a convict will really respect is crime committed in the defense of your own family. Besides that you will have to earn your respect on a daily basis. (Sorry that I started to get long-winded.)

Will America Remain Number One? – Lee Kuan Yew ft. Singapore-US Relations

Why are some American people against China? Have the American people been brainwashed by the US government?

People in any country are not monolithic in their opinions and worldview. There will always be some people who hold one view, and some people who hold the opposite view.

People, including the Chinese, have good reason to be against the US…

  • The US is a warmongering imperialist. It wages endless wars causing massive death and destruction everywhere.
  • The US abuses the status of the US Dollar to sanction countries that don’t comply with its foreign policy. These sanctions cause untold human misery in the sanctioned country.
  • The US is inviting the possibility of nuclear war with its proxy war in Ukraine.
  • The US is risking nuclear war with its military provocations against China.
  • The US is smearing China’s reputation with lies about human rights violations and aggression against other countries.

Nurse Dies And Encounters God; What She Is Told Will Shock You (NDE)

Having icecream before an important event/exam …..

I was in 6th class….our school has traffic rules exam type thing for 5th class and above ….and the exam papers were same for all standards….

I gave my exam without cheating…. Many other students asked answers to each other which confused them as different students were saying different answers….

The exam was multiple choice questions based

So after we submitted our exams……….. I just went home without worrying about it because there was no chance a 6th grader like me can be in top 3….there were many more seniors who had given this exam multiple times whereas me …It was my first time as they included classes below 8th that year….

After 2–3 days ….

I was called to staff room with 4 more students….I was the youngest…..I didn’t know what it was about….then the teachers handed us the same exam paper to fill ….. and after that the teacher checked them and told us that I scored the highest both times…..first when the whole school gave it and second now ….they made us do the exam again to see if we scored because of cheating or actually knew few answers…..

The teachers were surprised because I got higher than my first time ….and all others got lower than their first time ….

(I discussed the exam paper with my elder sis when we went home and she told me few questions which she was sure were right and I filled them wrong)

Anyway…then the teacher told us we will have to give one more exam on Saturday which is the second level ….and at the third level , we will have a quiz competition with other school’s students who scored in top 3….. and we will get scholarship money if we win and if not then just participation money ….

I was really happy and told this to my mom and dad…..dad bought me icecream to celebrate my little win…..

I got high fever next day 🙂……

Well it might not be the ice cream fault but it was slight cold weather and having icecream might have given me a bad cold ….

As a result I got absent for two weeks…..

I told mom that I wanted to participate in the competition but mom refused because I had really high fever……

Later I found out they sent my class topper girl aka my benchmate instead of my place though she didn’t know much and scored low in the second level but thanks to other team members scores they passed…..

When the third level quiz was about to begin ….I got better and asked the teachers if I can continue to third level as it was me who cleared the first level ….

But there was this weird system in our school where they favoured particular students….and my benchmate was favoured a lot as she always got highest marks and had really good handwriting…. whereas me ….I either got first position with her or second ……but idk why teachers didn’t favour me much back then …..(I was favoured afterwards because of my participation in extracurricular activities and winning other awards…. typical teachers…always favouring the one who brings them pride )…..

Anyway then I witnessed the third level quiz in front of my eyes and watching our school team getting the easiest questions wrong…..

They didn’t win….

But yeah after that, I never had icecream before an important exam …..

So many??? It’s less than 40,000. That’s a tiny, tiny percentage of China’s 1.4 billion population.

It isn’t bad. It has ZERO impact on China.

There are many reasons why they might come into the US illegally. For example, they might be running away from a bad personal situation. They might believe that the grass is greener on the other side. Who knows.

Objectively speaking, China is a better place to live than the USA…

  • the cost of living is generally lower—low inflation, greater purchasing power
  • the cities are clean, safe and modern (cf. Shanghai with NYC, for example)
  • fabulous infrastructure (subways, high-speed trains, bridges, airports, etc.)
  • good and affordable healthcare
  • no homelessness
  • no gun violence
  • no drug addiction
  • no mass incarceration
  • no systemic racism (“I can’t breathe”)
  • increasing life expectancy

The grass is NOT greener in America.

DEBATE: Will China or the USA COLLAPSE first?

Actually, this is a really, really great discussion.

  1. When a man asks a girl out, man should pay the bills.
  2. When you see senior people standing on public transportation vehicles, you should give out your seat.
  3. In northern China, if you ask your friend to join dinner/lunch with you, you should pay the bill. And they should return you the favor at next time you guys eat together.
  4. Girls don’t wear clothes which can not cover their cleavages no matter how hot the weather is. A moderate dress in formal senario is ok.
  5. Don’t be obsessed with your private space. China is very crowded.
  6. It is ok to negotiate with government officials when you make mistakes, police officers won’t cuff you nor shoot you.
  7. Don’t be sensitive about racial PC. Chinese are very PInC, but they will never make it a real action, even an eye-rolling.
  8. Don’t criticize the government if you don’t know the people you are talking to very well. Very few Chinese people distinguish people/country/government.

Seventeen Minutes

Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story where time functions differently to our world. view prompt

Hannah Lynn

Nineteen minutes. That’s all the time left before she had to leave for her eight hour shift at the clinic. Nineteen minutes. She knew she would come home exhausted after the late shift only to go to sleep, get up early, and do the early shift in the morning. What did her coworker call it? Clopen. The close, open. Her next bit of freedom would be the following evening. Damn.Eighteen minutes. She still had to get her dinner together and pack her bag.She gazed at the TV, her laptop, her comforts of home. She had found a new Netflix series she was looking forward to watching. Oh well, maybe in a few days.Seventeen minutes.She remembered her old alarm clock, the one she had used before her phone took over that part of her daily routine. She used to hit the snooze button with a slap. If only she could hit the snooze button now and stop all clocks so she could enjoy herself for a bit. Slap. She would hit that button so fast. She closed her eyes and imagined it.Another glance at her watch. Seventeen minutes. Wait. Wasn’t it just seventeen minutes? Maybe she was wrong. She got up to pack her leftovers to bring with her. Fun stuff heating it up in the tiny break room. Why do leftovers taste so good at home and so terrible at work? Another one of life’s little mysteries.Seventeen minutes. Ok, seriously. It’s still seventeen minutes? That’s completely impossible. Her watch must have stopped. Running back into the kitchen, she checked the time on the microwave, on the stove. Both said the same thing. Seventeen minutes until she had to leave for work. Did they have a power outage? No, the clocks would be blinking. She took out her cell phone with a racing heart only to see the same time. Seventeen minutes left.She sat dazed on the couch. Ok, get it together. This makes no sense, and surely it must be time to go despite the confusion. She literally didn’t have time to figure it out; the situation would have to wait for when she got home. Grabbing her leftovers, her bag, and her keys she ran out the front door locking it behind her. She felt better already breathing in the fresh air.

 

In the two minute walk to her car, she planned her day and mentally made her checklist. Sitting in the seat she turned the key in the ignition. Checking her dashboard, she was glad to have gotten gas on the way home the night before. One less thing to worry about. Then she saw it.

 

What the actual fuck.

 

Her dashboard clock matched the time of all the clocks in her house, showing she had seventeen minutes before it was time to leave. She felt the blood drain from her face, felt her heart start to race, felt tingling in her fingertips. She was losing her mind. She had to be. There was no other explanation for this.

 

What should she do? Go to work? Pray this wrinkle in time straightens out while she makes the commute? Pretend nothing is wrong as she greets her coworkers? Hi, how are you? Great, you? Never better.

 

She pulled out of the apartment parking lot turning on the blinker by sheer habit. It was always a nightmare to merge into traffic every morning, the cars speeding out of control. Why was everyone in a rush? They couldn’t wait to get to work? Not this morning. No cars on the road. None. She stopped in the middle of the highway and put her car in park.

 

Should she call someone? Who would she call and for what reason? To ask for help? Maybe. She reached for her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts. How would she explain this SOS call? She stopped scrolling at her college roommate’s name. They hadn’t seen each other since graduation, but she was the type of friend she could call out of the blue. They had busted each other’s chops all the time in school, teasing each other good naturedly. She would be the perfect person to reach out to. Maybe test the water to see if this was mass hysteria or her own madness she had slipped into. Yes, she decided, she should call her.

 

Straight to voicemail. Of course. Why would anything go smoothly right now? “Hey it’s me. I’ve entered another dimension and need you. Call me back.” She laughed. That was a typical random message she would have left back in the day. She waited breathlessly for the return call. After a while she restarted her car for no apparent reason since the world seemed to cease and desist.

 

The phone would ring any minute, she reassured herself. In fact, they would have the biggest laugh over this. Maybe, just maybe, this was a carefully rigged plan by her friend. Was it possible she was in town unexpectedly and set up this elaborate prank? Yes, it’s possible. It makes sense actually. Sneaking into her apartment, messing with the clocks, she could picture that. Remembering when they lived together she had given her a spare key on the off chance there was some kind of emergency back home. She began to relax. The puzzle pieces were falling into place. Great prank. She got her good. The wheels started turning on how she would return the favor with something outrageous, something to top this.

 

She was starting to feel excited about getting to work to put this whole ordeal behind her. Pulling into the parking lot she gasped. No cars in the lot. No lights shining through the windows. She felt tears spring to her eyes unexpectedly and with a flash of annoyance she brushed them aside roughly. Forget this. I’m done. She drove at top speed all the way back to her apartment, let herself in and threw her bags on the couch. She didn’t want to, felt sick at the thought, dreaded the outcome but had to do it. She checked the clock. It hadn’t changed. Not at all. Still seventeen minutes before she was due to leave for work.

 

I’m ill. I’m obviously ill. Nervous breakdown maybe. Work has been stressful. Personal life overly dramatic. She snapped. Finally snapped.

 

Going into the bedroom she got under her blankets and closed her eyes. She would sleep it off. Maybe she has a fever. Maybe she needs the hospital. Maybe she needs a drink.

 

She fell asleep.

 

***

 

Sitting at her desk on Friday she felt groggy, slightly disoriented. She yawned for the millionth time trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head. Were these extra shifts worth it? Yet another clopen, the exhausting close, open of the endless shifts that seemed to blur together in her mind. Her paycheck reflected her hours of extra work but then again so did her mental health. She was shot.

 

A weird sensation floated through her, kind of like a déjà vu but not quite. She couldn’t put her finger on it. She felt anxious to wrap up the day and finally enjoy some time off.  Although having no plans for the weekend, it would be a wonderful break in the routine. Freedom and time off were what she was desperately craving. Again that weird feeling came over her giving her slight chills. What was her problem? She checked the time, twenty minutes until quitting time. She can do that. No problem. Her mind wandered to getting home to her apartment, warming up the leftovers to enjoy on the couch while finally watching that new Netflix series she was excited about. Weird, she didn’t remember seeing that bag of leftovers that morning when she packed her lunch. It had to be there, she reassured herself. Food doesn’t just disappear. She smiled to herself in anticipation of the meal. Maybe she would indulge in a glass of wine with her dinner. Why not. She earned it.

 

Glancing back at the clock she was already packing her bag to go. Eighteen minutes. One more minute she thought with a panic, confusion. One more minute until seventeen minutes. She was nauseous, sweating. Closing her eyes, she hoped no one would glance in her direction. Seventeen minutes, seventeen minutes. Stop it, she reprimanded herself silently. You are losing your mind. Get a grip and get out of here for some R and R. That’s the only goal right now. Breathe in, five, four, three, two, one.  Breathe out, five, four, three, two, one. Breathe in, five, four, three, two, one. Breathe out, five, four, three, two, one. The terror passed. She opened her eyes, glancing at the clock with fear. Sixteen minutes. She felt better.

 

Driving home from work she cursed the traffic. Why was it always so congested on this highway? Whatever. Turning up the music she sang along, belting out the lyrics knowing she was horribly off key, didn’t know half the words but didn’t care. Life was good, she felt great, not a care in the world. She smiled.

 

The buzzing of her cell phone came through the dashboard interrupting her singalong. She smiled when she recognized the number of her old college roommate. It had been way too long, she realized, since one of their hilarious conversations. Pressing the button on her steering wheel she called out “Hey there girl. Good timing. I’m just driving home and ready to start the weekend.”

 

“So, you’re back?”

 

“Back? Back from where?”

 

“The other dimension. That was great, still don’t know how you did it.  Those special effects, that weird background noise. It was so creepy you actually gave me goosebumps.”

Fried Liver and Onions

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound bacon
  • 1 pound onions, sliced
  • 1 pound baby beef liver
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
  2. Fry bacon and drain, reserving bacon grease. Keep bacon warm in oven.
  3. Return 2 tablespoons bacon grease to same skillet, and over medium-high heat, saute onions until translucent; add more bacon grease 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Remove onions to oven to keep warm.
  4. Return remaining bacon grease to skillet. Coat liver in flour, and sear in skillet over medium-high heat, watching carefully. As soon as liquid seeps to top of meat, turn and cook 2 minutes on other side. Remove meat to oven to keep warm.
  5. Sprinkle remaining flour into hot skillet, and stir constantly until flour begins to brown, then add broth. Boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat and simmer 1 minute longer.
  6. Pour gravy over liver and onions, and sprinkle crumbled bacon on top or lay strips of bacon on top.

John Mearsheimer and Jeffrey Sachs | All-In Summit 2024

On the disturbing side, a friend of mine went camping with his girlfriend. They set up their campsite just a short walk from a river.

Two canoes pulled in on the bank of the river in the late afternoon. The four guys from the canoes wove their way among the trees as they approached the campsite. My friend asked his lady to please bring his backpack to him. He was digging through it when the four gentlemen arrived, sounding friendly enough.

One of them told him that his girlfriend was pretty and that the four of them would like to share her company among themselves, but if he was good and just walked away, they wouldn’t hurt him. To emphasize a point, they drew knives and one picked up a rock.

Shortly thereafter, they discovered that he had been holding a .357 revolver inside the pack. A different friend had offered it to him before the trip and he decided to take it with him. He hadn’t intended for his girlfriend to even know it was there, but under the circumstances, it seemed appropriate for her to know.

One of the gentlemen had the clarity of mind to suggest that the gun wasn’t real and that he should fire a shot to prove it was. His response was to offer to sink one of their canoes, but they declined his offer to avoid the expense of repairing it, they said by way of rejection.

My friend told his girlfriend that there was another gun inside the pack for her, but not to bring it out unless she was going to use it immediately.

They subsequently offered to return to their canoes and continue their journey and heard no arguments from the couple.

As soon as they were gone, she told him she couldn’t find another gun in the pack. He told her she wouldn’t because there wasn’t one, but it seemed to slow the gentlemen down after they began moving as if to position themselves more advantageously.

They packed up the campsite and moved upriver to a more populated site where they would spend the night with other campers around them.

When they stopped at the ranger station to inform them about what they’d experienced, the ranger told them that it was not as unusual an event as most people would expect it to be. That was the most disturbing part of the story she told me.

The Ruler of the Moon

Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story about a character who wakes up in space. view prompt

Patricia Restrepo

For a second or maybe hours, she feels a heaviness that presses her onto a spongy-bouncy-like surface and debris poking at her back, and then a heat that rises within her starting at the sole of her feet and on through her eyes. “There is a sandstorm,” she thinks as an American flag comes into focus. ” Finally,” she says faintly as her forehead is stamped by a man in a strange suit with ‘You have arrived.’The last thing she remembers is the thrill she felt seeing the joy in his eyes when she told him she was going to the moon.She didn’t mean the moon. Who says that? She meant – I’m going to hell. Not because she had been bad as she was accused of being since she was five – she was just finally getting out and never coming back. But his stare swallowed her bravado which she had no problem displaying when she was running around doing crazy things. Although to her, they were not crazy. They were what saved her. She was more calculating than she was ever given credit for, and she always looked behind her.“I am going to the moon,” she said to her father when she was nine. She wore her white jumper suit and helmet and ran through the house. She heard laughter behind her, and she found this odd. She wondered why they were laughing. From the top of the roof, she looked at the sky and she raised her arms as she daringly jumped towards the sky.When she was a teen, she challenged her fate. She would simply look up into the sky and stare straight into her soul and call out her cowardice — try to stop me — she would say. And off into the night she went leaving her parents in a silent panic. Her mother would sleep on the sofa in the hopes she would return before sunrise and her father would pace half the night in her bedroom before surrendering to sleep.One day, when she was sixteen, she dared to dream. She was in her robotics class, and she dreamt about the moon. She imagined herself there all on her own – she would be the ruler of the moon. This made everyone around her happy. They showered her with attention and praise but something about that made her feel uneasy, as if she was conforming. So, she dropped it.On her 20th birthday, she came home fifteen minutes past midnight and was surprised not to see her mother on the couch but she suppressed any turmoil rising in her gut and proceeded down the hall passing the dining room table decorated with confetti and cake. At the foot of her bedroom door, she saw the shadow of shuffling feet and she turned and walked out.She traveled through deserts and mountains trying to reach the sky and confront it face to face. She stayed away from the beach although the strangers she met tried dragging her to its shore. She feared the ocean and she knew she could not defy it for it would swallow her without hesitation. She was a better runner than a swimmer.

 

At 22, she was gently woken by the moon. It led her home. Her bedroom light was still on, and her bed was neatly made. The bookcase was intact, filled with rows of her favorite books and her RCA record player that her grandfather gave her still worked. She played, Fly Me To The Moon. In the corner of her room, she noticed her white astronaut suit she got on her ninth birthday. It is full of stains and memories. She tried to settle.

 

For a while, she dreamt again of the moon – the highlands and its dormant volcanoes and each night she hid in a different crater with her dreams. Her days were spent visiting planetariums and devouring facts on physical environments and the Earth’s relationship with the moon. The praises about her above-average grades and “you are doing so well now,” always made her shrug and she dismissed them with disgust. The smiles offered to her were terrifying as she presumed they were fake, and she felt a chill each time she was approached by a hand wanting to tap her head in approval. This did not suit her well. She saw everyone around her trying to sabotage her journey and she knew their actions were suspicious.

 

She ran, barefooted, into the woods. She felt the mud underneath her toes and liked how it was real. The sun shining in through the trees that did not ask for anything but provide shade and allow her to breathe – gave her the most comfort during this time. One of her favorite parts of the day was welcoming the sunrise which brought promises and cleansed her body and mind.

 

For decades, she mostly walked alone but strangers still dragged her out. They pulled her and filled her head with psychedelic colors and pretty songs. She believed their words and intentions and briefly felt happiness. But the light of the moon usually revealed the ugly truth, and she would run – always looking back.

 

Now at 48, she glances at the sky timidly but still defiant. With her hands in her pocket and her neck bent back, she challenges her once again knowing she can deliver devastating blows. She no longer feels the excitement, but it is what she knows so off she goes in the opposite direction – into the darkness of the night.

 

“Luna, I knew you would make it to the moon. You were born in 1976 and you were destined to reach…”

 

She ran out and slammed the door leaving trapped all the words she always heard her father say. She imagined them floating above his head – bumping into each other with nowhere to go.

 

And now, for a split second, she knows she is there – her beloved moon is finally her home. She settles and the lights go out.

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main qimg f93a3510f15e3968d5fff70627a45dae

Back in late summer of 1975 I was beginning senior year in high school. At the time, I played ice hockey with a group of older guys, most of whom were in the pagans gang. To me, they were nice guys. Anyway, one of them who lived near me had a 442 just like the one in the picture. I admired it every day when I walked home from school. When I asked him about it, he said it was for sale. I asked how much and he answered “two “. I didn’t have $2,000 and told him so. “No, $200” he answered. I ran into my house and grabbed $200 from my paper route money and gave it to him in exchange for the title. “Now, if doesn’t run “ he told me. No problem. It looked like a fighter jet just sitting there, and it was MINE. Had it towed to a garage where a friend worked. Turns out the negative cable from the battery was corroded. He cleaned it and she fired right up. Drove it home that afternoon. He came out, looked at the car and said “ cost a lot to get it running “? I had to stop myself from saying “No!! Didn’t cost me a penny!” Just in time, I looked down and said (truthfully) I didn’t expect it to cost what it did”. You don’t tell a Peagan that you got a steal buying his car. That car instantly made me a somebody at school…. and I went to Tina Fey’s high school. The one she wrote Bad Girls about. Long before her, but things were the same. Loved that car!!

My friend Amy was a single mom. She and her daughter Carol, had just spent time at the beach and were headed home.

They didn’t make it.

There was a terrible car accident and Amy died.

Carol was in the hospital in the pediatric unit and was refusing to eat.

Time went by and nothing anyone said or did would change this little girl’s mind.

When asked why she wouldn’t eat, she just shook her head and her eyes would well up with tears. She never spoke.

She hadn’t spoken a word since the accident.

Then one morning a nurse came in and Carol’s disposition had changed. She was sitting upright and the first thing she said was, “I am hungry. I can eat now.”

The nurse gently inquired what changed her mind.

Carol replied,

“My Mom just came to see me. She sat on the edge of my bed and told me it was okay. She said the accident wasn't my fault. I told her I was sorry for being hungry that day. If I hadn't been hungry we would have stayed at the beach longer and then the accident wouldn't have happened.”

The nurse quietly asked,

“What did your Mom say when you told her how sorry you were?”

Carol replied, “

My Mom said it wasn't my fault. It was okay.for me to be hungry.and that I need to start eating again.”

Both the nurse and Carol.shared this story several times throughout the day. The nurse shared it with the hospital staff, and Carol shared it with her Dad’s grandmother.

I was away when the accident happened. When I heard the story, I thought about my friend Amy.

I never doubted the truth of it.

Amy was the Mom who would make any sacrifice for her child. She would go to any length to help her. In my world, this included making a needful appearance in between worlds.

In this instance it meant, coming back to this physical plane just long enough to remind Carol, it’s okay to be hungry.

It is time to start eating again.

Pounce dust all over the planimeter

Then don’t buy Chinese goods then.

It’s your choice. Put your money where your mouth is.

Things may cost more.

I sometimes have to work on HK Island, there’s some good food in some of the residential districts. But in the business districts like central or Admiralty the choices are limited to:

McDonalds, KFC, Maxims.

I’m currently boycotting those companies. So I go to places that cost more about 25% more.

China funds pro-CPC groups? 🤣 Sorry, China “does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.”

China would rather invest money in the Belt and Road Initiative and infrastructure construction in southern countries than in the corrupt and chaotic politics of the United States, because China’s development does not need to rely on US policies.

It is possible to carry out people-to-people cultural exchanges between China and the United States. The Chinese government has always required Chinese students and staff in the United States to protect their own safety, not to participate in local political activities, tell the Chinese story well, introduce a real China to American friends, and contribute to enhancing mutual understanding and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation. In fact, it is a good thing for American to have a real and objective understanding of China, which is beneficial for both sides, especially for the US.

Whether Americans pro-CPC or hate-CPC or Anti-communism is of little importance to the CPC. Besides, the CPC has no plan to govern the United States and no intention of sending Communist Party members to participate in the US election. The CPC does not need the votes of American citizens to govern China. 🤣 So, It doesn’t matter how Americans view CPC!


In addition, Taiwan chooses to fund U.S. congressmen or lobbying groups to oppose the CPC and China and attempt Taiwan independence because “political donations” and “political lobbying” are legal in the United States!

Can you name an example of a U.S. Congressman who is not a millionaire?

Taiwan is a participant in the US State Department’s Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, the DPP authorities have frequently invited US congressmen, their assistants, and congressional experts to visit the island under the pretense of universities and research institutions, whose “white gloves” have given legitimacy to high-profile receptions, including providing first-class flights, luxury hotels, leisure and entertainment, and paying exorbitant “commission fees.” In fact, all activities were arranged and paid for by the DPP authorities.

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has paid his second trip to China’s Taiwan, trumpeting that the island was “an independent country,” as he spoke at a business forum at the invitation of pro-secessionist media Liberty Times. he will allegedly take “commission fees” from companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), China Steel Corporation, I-MEI Foods Co Ltd and CHIMEI Corporation.

In his previous visit to the island, Pompeo was paid $150,000 for a speech, under the terms of an agreement signed by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US and US-based company Premiere Speakers Bureau, according to Taiwan media reports.

The DPP also paid huge amounts of money to welcome Ed Royce, a “pro-Taiwan independence” Republican congressman, who visited the island in his “farewell trip” before retirement in 2018, according to media reports.

What’s more, the DPP has raised the budget for “foreign guest reception” in 2023 to some NT$430 million ($13.6 million) from NT$370 million, an increase of 16 percent.

Apart from directly channeling profits, the DPP has been catering to affiliated or family businesses of US members of Congress, analysts noted.

The transfer of benefits is also made through Taiwan groups in the US. For one thing, they were mobilized to campaign for “pro-Taiwan independence” legislators in the US. For example, when Marco Rubio ran for the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, he received donations from many Taiwan associations in the US, and from companies or banks in the island.

“US-Taiwan Business Council,” “North America Taiwanese Professors’ Association,” and some other organizations and institutes have also campaigned for legislators through donations, canvassing, and policy advising. “Formosan Association for Public Affairs” has long provided support and campaigning for Steve Chabot, a member of the US House of Representatives, and pushed for the Taiwan Travel Act.

In addition, the DPP authorities have given profits to the US politicians through public relations firms. The Global Times learned from gathered information that, to push for Pelosi’s visit, Taiwan authorities hired ex-congressman Dick Gephardt for $22,000 a month to lobby in the US. From February 2018 to April this year, Gephardt lobbied Pelosi for 16 times, for which the DPP paid another $3.15 million.

The DPP also hired over 10 public relation firms including Nickles Group to frequently lobby members of Congress.

Information from the US Department of Justice showed that from 2016 to 2020, the DPP spent more than $12 million on public relations lobbying in the US, on average $3 million per year. Taiwan’s other agencies also invested more than $9 million in this regard.

Rescue The Republic Rally To SAVE Western Civilization!

You can’t carry more than $ 5000 or equivalent in foreign currency while entering or leaving China

You can’t bring in any sum exceeding 20,000 RMB when entering or leaving China

Within China?

No Rule that says you can’t carry too much cash on your person and no upper limit

However there are some smaller rules

  • No Business can hold more than 500,000 RMB of Cash Or 5% of Total Declared Revenue as of the previous year whichever is LOWER. So Businesses always deposit their Cash in Banks whenever the amounts exceed these limits.
  • Individuals holding in excess of 60,000 RMB cash must explain the source of the funds and declare them when asked

Ukraine Looking For Retired F-16 Pilots? Fighter Pilots React.

Of course they did and they probably weren’t wrong at the start. The Zumwalt is a failure of leadership and project management rather than a pure design failure.

Initially, it was “let’s make a replacement for the Iowa class for shore bombardment, but cheaper and more survivable in the 21st century”. It was a reasonable idea considering that the Iowa class had been retired and they were horrendously expensive to operate anyway since they need a complement of escorting ships like a carrier. A stealthy bombardment ship sounds like a great solution to this problem.

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main qimg 582184cfa75b065256699ec45154fed8

Imagine a Formula 1 car: It’s not a great car if you want to use it for grocery shopping or commuting to work, but its inability to carry anything other than the driver doesn’t make it a failure.

What happened to the Zumwalts was mission creep. The focus changed and it got loaded with all kinds of stuff, ostensibly for “improvements”, and ended up as a very expensive dud with just a barely-working main gun system (which is being replaced with hypersonic missiles). To use the F1 example, it’s like adding another seat and a trunk to the car and declaring, “now we can use it for racing AND commuting!” Is it any surprise that it becomes sub-par in all its roles? The Zumwalt is even worse considering the failure of the main gun—a bit like if the F1 car have underpowered engines.

If they did it like the F-35, let’s say, where they were very ambitious from the start, they might still have a fairly expensive class of ships and cost overruns, but they would also have working ships. Or else, they shouldn’t bother with the design after they started making it.

RUSSIA ISSUES DIRECT WARNING TO U.S.

***** BULLETIN ***** RUSSIA ISSUES DIRECT WARNING TO U.S.

BULLETIN: Russia has now issued a DIRECT warning to the United States and to NATO “If Western weapons are used to strike deep inside Russia, the consequences will affect both sides of the Atlantic.”

The direct warning was HAND DELIVERED by Diplomatic Courier, to the White House.

This comes after Ukraine began using west-supplied weapons to attack targets slightly over 1,000km into interior Russia, and  after U.S. said THIS WEEK “we are near to an agreement to provide Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching deep into Russian territory.”

This is a quickly-developing story.  Check back for updates.

UPDATE 3:45 PM EDT —

Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, HAS NOW ALSO STATED PUBLICLY: “If Western weapons are used deep inside Russia, the consequences will affect both sides of the Atlantic.”

Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov

Russian Ambassador
Russian Ambassador

Worse, he said this while discussion the present, ongoing revisions to Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Use Doctrine!

I’ve Seen The Saucers – Elton John (1974)

Not what we seem

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong. view prompt

N Martin

As the deep space exploration drone, “Odyssey,” approached Proxima Centauri, tension filled the control room. Engineers and scientists gathered around screens displaying the drone’s telemetry and images from deep space.Months before the launch, the space agency had assembled a team of experts from various fields to work on the Odyssey project. Engineers, scientists, linguists, and even psychologists were brought together to ensure the mission’s success.The team spent countless hours in simulations, testing every possible scenario and fine-tuning the drone’s systems. Alex Chen led the engineering team, overseeing the design and construction of Odyssey’s advanced propulsion and communication systems.Dr. Amelia Brooks focused on the scientific objectives of the mission. She organised workshops and training sessions to familiarise the team with the latest research on Proxima Centauri and the potential for discovering extraterrestrial life.As the launch date approached, the atmosphere at the space agency was electric. The team had worked tirelessly, and now, the moment of truth was finally at hand.

 

Dr. Amelia Brooks, the mission’s lead scientist, leaned over a console, her eyes scanning the data with a mix of excitement and apprehension. “We’re getting closer to Proxima Centauri than any human-made craft has ever been,” she said, her voice tinged with awe. “Just imagine the discoveries waiting for us.”

 

Next to her, Alex Chen, the chief engineer, nodded, his fingers dancing over the controls. “The drone’s systems are holding up remarkably well,” he replied. “But we’re entering uncharted territory. We need to be prepared for anything.”

 

As Odyssey sent back stunning images of alien worlds and mysterious phenomena, the excitement in the room was palpable. Every new piece of data was a puzzle to be solved, a clue to the secrets of the universe.

 

But then, without warning, the screens went dark. The telemetry stream halted, and the once-buzzing control room fell silent.

 

Alex’s fingers froze over the controls, his eyes wide with shock. “We’ve lost communication,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

 

Dr. Brooks stared at the blank screens, her mind racing. “Keep trying,” she urged. “There has to be a way to reestablish contact.”

 

After the heartbreaking loss of communication with Odyssey, the control room became a place of quiet desperation. Engineers and scientists worked around the clock, fueled by caffeine and sheer determination, trying every possible method to reestablish contact with the drone.

 

The first weeks were filled with hope and optimism. Every anomaly detected in the telemetry data was scrutinized, every blip on the radar was investigated. But as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, hope began to wane.

 

The team faced mounting pressure from both the public and the media. Questions were raised about the mission’s feasibility and the space agency’s ability to manage such a complex operation. Doubts began to creep in, and morale hit an all-time low.

 

Inside the control room, the atmosphere was one of quiet determination mixed with a growing sense of despair. Engineers and scientists formed tight-knit groups, working together to solve the seemingly unsolvable puzzle. They refused to give up, even as the odds stacked against them.

 

Late-night brainstorming sessions became the norm, with team members throwing out wild theories and hypotheses, no matter how improbable. Some suggested that Odyssey might have encountered a cosmic anomaly that temporarily disrupted its systems. Others speculated about the possibility of alien interference or even abduction.

 

Dr. Amelia Brooks, the mission’s lead scientist, took it upon herself to keep the team motivated. She organized weekly meetings to update everyone on the progress of the recovery efforts and to remind them of the importance of their mission.

 

“We owe it to ourselves and to humanity to keep trying,” she would say, her voice unwavering despite the fatigue in her eyes. “We’ve come too far to give up now.”

 

But as the weeks turned into months, the strain began to take its toll. Exhaustion set in, both mentally and physically. Team members started to doubt themselves and each other. Tensions rose, and arguments broke out over the smallest of details.

 

Despite the challenges, the team persevered. They refused to let their hard work and dedication go to waste. They continued to search for any sign of Odyssey, clinging to the hope that they might one day reestablish contact with their lost drone.

 

And then, just when they had all but given up hope, a faint signal was detected…

 

The first images and data sent back by Odyssey were nothing short of extraordinary. The drone’s cameras captured stunning views of alien worlds, strange celestial phenomena, and even what appeared to be evidence of a technologically advanced civilisation.

 

But then, the screens went dark, and the control room again fell silent. When contact was again suddenly reestablished, the images were even more unsettling.

 

The interior of an alien facility, a labyrinth of dimly lit corridors, filled with unfamiliar technology that seemed to defy the laws of physics. Strange symbols adorned the walls, their meaning a mystery to the team.

 

As Odyssey explored further, it encountered the alien creatures. These beings were unlike anything seen before: tall, slender, with skin that seemed to shimmer in different colours. They moved with a grace and purpose that suggested a highly evolved intelligence.

 

The creatures appeared to be studying Odyssey with a mix of curiosity and caution. They seemed to communicate with each other through a series of clicks and chirps, their language as alien as their appearance.

 

The drone’s cameras captured these interactions in vivid detail, but the team at Mission Control struggled to make sense of what they were seeing. Were these creatures friendly or hostile? What was their purpose in bringing Odyssey into their facility?

 

As the data logs were decoded, the cryptic messages added another layer of mystery. “They are not what they seem. Do not follow. Turn back or face extinction.” What had Odyssey stumbled upon? And what did these warnings mean for humanity’s future in the cosmos?

 

The control team was stunned. What had Odyssey encountered out there? Was this a warning meant for humanity or a message from the drone itself, transformed by whatever it had encountered?

 

Just when they thought they had seen the most unsettling images, the camera feed from Odyssey took a final, haunting turn. The lens panned to reveal another alien creature, chained and raised off the ground, its eyes locked onto the drone’s camera with an intensity that sent shivers down the spine.

 

As the creature stared directly into the camera, the screens at Mission Control were suddenly overtaken by a haunting warning displayed in red against a black background: “They are not what they seem. Do not follow. Turn back or face extinction.”

 

The control room fell into a chilling silence, the message echoing ominously in the minds of everyone present as the red text on black screens changed once more.

 

“We are not what we seem. Do not follow. Do not return. We are the last of our kind

Richard Wolff: Israel, Ukraine, China, and the End of the American Empire

I once witnessed a situation that perfectly fit the phrase, “You just picked a fight with the wrong person.” It happened at a small, cozy coffee shop I used to frequent. One afternoon, a well-dressed, middle-aged man came in and, for some reason, started berating the young barista behind the counter. She was this sweet, quiet girl, always polite and soft-spoken. The man was loud, condescending, and completely out of line, complaining about something trivial like the temperature of his coffee.

As he continued to raise his voice, demanding to speak to the manager, a woman at the back of the shop stood up. She was in her 50s, with a calm but steely demeanor. She walked up to the counter and, in the calmest voice, said, “Excuse me, sir, I’m the owner of this establishment.” The man turned to her, ready to continue his rant, but she didn’t give him a chance. With a firm but controlled tone, she told him that his behavior was unacceptable and that he was no longer welcome in her café.

The man tried to bluster his way out of it, but she was unshakeable. She informed him that she would not tolerate anyone mistreating her staff and that she had no problem calling the police if he didn’t leave immediately. The entire café was watching, and there was this palpable sense of justice in the air. You could see the man’s bravado evaporate as he realized he had underestimated her. He left, muttering under his breath, and the café broke out in applause.

That day, we all saw a quiet, kind barista stand her ground, not because she was aggressive, but because she had the unflinching support of someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up to bullies. It was one of those moments that made you feel proud to have witnessed it, a true case of someone picking a fight with the wrong person.

German “TORNADO” Fighter Jet at Edwards Air Force Base, Flying with B-61 NUCLEAR Trainer

German Fighter At US Base with B61 NBuke Trainer large
German Fighter At US Base with B61 NBuke Trainer large

A TORNADO fighter jet from Germany, has been photographed outside Edwards Air Force Base in the U.S., carrying a B-61-12 nuclear bomb TRAINER.

These “TRAINERS” mimic the size and weight of such weapons, so pilots can get used to what the plane feels like, and how it maneuvers, when carrying such a bomb.

It is important to point out that when the U.S. approved the transfer by NATO Allies of “Donated” F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine, the U.S. DEMANDED that only F-16’s with the necessary modification enabling them to carry the B-61 Nuclear Bomb, would be allowed to be transferred to Ukraine.

Now, we’re letting GERMAN Fighter Pilots train on flying with such nuclear bombs as well.

Why do you think the U.S. is doing these things?

I think it’s because the U.S. intends to strike Russia with nuclear weapons.

Which, it seems to me, also means we will get struck back.   Here.  Inside the USA.

Just thought you should know what your government is presently working on — in your name and on your behalf.

When Female Narcos Mess With These Brutal Cartels

Shorpy

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Turkey Officially Applies to Join BRICS

Turkey Officially Applies to Join BRICS
Turkey applies to BRICS large
Turkey applies to BRICS large

Turkey has now offically submitted its application to join BRICS, after repeatedly being denied entry into the European Union!!

Even casual observers of matters geo-political, see this as a “Huge deal;.”

If accepted, Turkey would be the first NATO member and EU candidate to join BRICS.

The whole point of BRICS is basically to replace the world’s reliance on the US dollar and “centralized” power.

Turkish President Erdogan’s administration believes “the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting away from developed economies,” according to sources.

The proposal by Turkey will be discussed at the BRICS summit in Russia this October.

HOLY S#!T! NATO IS PREPPING FOR A DECAPITATION STRIKE ON RUSSIA!

Did it happen?

If you know then Russia knows. If that’s true, we’re fucked.

For years before we got married, I’d visit my future husband about 6 times a year. I’d fly from Canada to California to see him. I’d take my seat in economy and invariably a flight attendant would approach me before takeoff and ask, “are you flying alone?” I would answer that I was and they’d tell me to come with them and lead me to a business class seat. I assumed I was just lucky.

On future flights I was pulled out of line and whisked through customs. As I was going through a private security screening, I was told by a customs agent that I’d be sitting in business class. I told him that this happens to me in one way or another every time I flew and I didn’t understand why. He told me that my fiancé arranges this for me as this was the only explanation. He seemed to know who I was engaged to. He further told me that my fiancé was a very modest man and would never do this for himself but he must love me a lot to do it for me. I had no idea he was behind this. BUT…

While I waited to board the plane, I called my fiancé and asked him why he’d never told me that he arranges for me to sit in business class. He denied any knowledge of this and said he’d have told me if it was him. It wasn’t him. I have no idea why this happened for years. He’s not famous, I’m not famous and I have no connection to the airlines whatsoever. I don’t even dress well when I fly. Every time it happens, I think “you gotta be kidding me”.

“This Is The Greatest Lie Ever Told” – How Elites & Baby Boomers Collapsed America

Good video. He’s a bit too irritating, but his explanation, while soft, is pretty good. He talks about various historical cycles.

"You can correlate inflation with social collapse."

I heard this story from my uncle.

In 1969 a friend of his — a Vietnam tunnel rat on his second deployment — was home in Denver on leave from Vietnam. He was a Chicano about 5′ 4″ and 140 lbs, about the size of most tunnel rats.

FYI: Tunnel rats crawl into enemy caves, bunkers, and tunnels with just a pistol, a knife, and a flashlight and fight to the death in hand-to-hand combat with whoever is in there.

My uncle was giving him a ride to Fort Carson later that day so he could go back to the war, so him and my uncle went to a strip bar about 11 AM to have a few drinks. They had the best table in the bar, right in front of the dance floor. The tunnel rat was proudly wearing his uniform, ribbons and all.

My uncle went to the john to take a piss, and right then three big guys in cowboy hats and jeans came into the bar. They walked up to the tunnel rat who was sitting at the best table enjoying the show, and one of them told him to “get the f*#k out of our spot, you f*#king Mexican!” Then he punched the soldier in the head. BIG mistake!!

My uncle came out of the pisser right then, just in time to see the tunnel rat smash his beer mug across that guys face and proceed to beat the living shit out of all three of them, bouncing them across the bar room with fists, elbows, and kicks.

They were really busted up — some teeth on the floor, all three of them unconscious and bleeding. It all happened fast.

The Sheriffs showed up a few minutes later, looked at the mess, and asked the bartender what happened. He told them the truth, how the cowboys came in and attacked that soldier and got the shit beat out of them. The ambulances showed up then and started loading up the busted cowboys.

One of the Sheriffs questioned the soldier and found out he was a tunnel rat who was deploying back to Vietnam later that day. He looked at the bloody cowboys and chuckled, took statements from witnesses, and let the soldier go so he could get back to Fort Carson on time.

Just goes to show you — it’s not who is the biggest, but who deals the deadly blow first that wins the fight.

The Collapse of America & Everything Wrong With Society Today (+ A Hopeful Way Forward) | Ray Dalio

According to the OED, capitalism is “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit”.

So, capitalism equals private enterprise.

But I struggle with the invisible hand thesis of efficient markets. Yes, Adam smith’s “wealth of nations” is required reading in economics, but having been immersed in the business of profit, it doesn’t make sense to me.

A successful economy does not spring up organically. Neither do markets self-organize into optimal, efficient equilibria. As far as I can tell, the invisible hand applies only to prices, but it requires the presence of robust price discovery mechanisms, which entails complex issues of governance in law and administration.

No capitalist nation is truly capitalist. The UK’s NIH has nationalized healthcare. The Norwegians nationalized oil. The French still maintain colonies. All nations provide public education. The BOJ and Fed intervene directly in capital markets. Sovereign wealth funds have market-swaying powers. The US massively subsidizes farming and more recently, chipmaking.

And so on.

The term capitalism is overabused that it has become devoid of meaning, just like democracy.

What is “better at capitalism”? The absolute share of private enterprise in the economy? Private enterprise can be co-opted (or rather, directed) for government purposes. Cue elon’s starlink as a key enabler of NATO’s military campaign in Ukraine. Or American social media’s complicit role in Palantir’s “death by algorithm” program of automated drone assasinations.

What is “better at capitalism”? Hothousing the most profitable companies? There’s no fighting the Americans, who lead in valuation. But how much is enough?

What is “better at capitalism”? Ascending the capitalist throne as the “greediest SOB that ever lived”?

I don’t know. You tell me.

China just wants to improve its delivered baseline decade on decade. Whether it is market- or state-driven doesn’t matter, because the cat that catches mice is a good cat, whether it is black, or white.

Americans Are Priced Out Of Home Ownership, Marriage And Kids

Space Burns

Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways. view prompt

Stevie Aldrich

“CONKLIN!” Havaderr wailed. His face was the brightest red and steaming with heat. The veins in his neck throbbed noticeably, but he waited as still as he could for Conklin to answer. A buzz came in over the intercom above Havaderr’s head.

     “Hey, was that you shouting, Havaderr?” Conklin’s voice crackled with static and attitude. Havaderr shut his eyes and repeated his Zen mantra in his head.

     “Havaderr? What’s your problem?”

     Havaderr’s eyes opened, and in the most even tone he could manage; he said his mantra out loud.

     “I am calm. I am calm. I can overcome this. I am strong. I am strong. I can overcome anything.” Havaderr spoke through gritted teeth, spittle flying across the room as he focused on keeping his anger inside rather than shouting and blowing the place up with Conklin inside.

     “Hey guy, are you going to answer me or what?” Conklin’s voice implied his own rising impatience. Havaderr moved to the button on the wall nearest him to respond.

     “Yes, Conklin, I was shouting,” Havaderr said as evenly as his rage would allow. “Get your ass to 4A NOW!” As he trailed off, he clenched his teeth together so hard he felt a grinding that might as well have been a tooth chipping. Before Conklin’s reply came, Havaderr heard an irritated sigh over the intercom.

     “Yeah, be right ther-.” Conklin barely finished his sentence before releasing the button, cutting himself off at the end.

     Moments later, a door slid open down the hall, several yards away from Havaderr. Conklin came into the hall, looking both ways before spotting Havaderr.

     “What the hell, why are you shouting and-“ Havaderr cut Conklin off with a finger to his mouth to silence him.

     “I’m going to show you something in this room behind me, and it’s best if your mouth is shut when I do.” Havaderr’s voice wavered, he was still trying to control his anger. Conklin looked confused as ever but kept his mouth shut. With a worried expression, Conklin followed Havaderr to another door. Havaderr stood aside and opened the door for Conklin to enter alone. Conklin stood in the doorway staring, then Havaderr shoved him wholly into the room from behind and closed the door.

     “Havaderr, what’s going on? What the fu-ahhhh!” The intercom inside the restroom was unnecessary, but Havaderr appreciated it right now. He would have heard Conklin screaming from quite a distance, but hearing Conklin’s disgust and horror in surround sound was more pleasing. A slice of anger slid off his shoulders and a small smile appeared on his face.

     The door rattled, clearly Conklin on the other side trying to burst through, but Havaderr held the lock button, keeping Conklin trapped inside.

     “What kind of game is this Havaderr? Let me out, for Christ’s sake!” Conklin was panicking, releasing more anger from Havaderr’s shoulders and filling his belly with laughter.

     “This is no game, friend. This is you coming face to face with your own incompetence,” Havaderr said over the intercom, still smiling.

     “Havaderr! Let me out of here!” Conklin screamed and started ramming the door again.

     “I don’t think so, Conklin. If you look to the left of the door, I’ve been kind enough to set you up with plenty of cleaning supplies for the job, which is a lot more than you did for me. I’d suggest you start tackling that shit before it starts tackling you.” Havaderr exploded with laughter, letting go of the intercom and floating backward as he held onto his stomach. He laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe. Conklin kept banging on the door and pleading to be released, but Havaderr couldn’t hear anything over the roar of his own hysteria.

     Curled up in fetal position, floating in the hallway, Havaderr worked himself out of his fits of laughter. He wiped the joyful tears from his eyes and started breathing normally again. He moved back to the intercom.

     “Look mate, this restroom was in your sector to clean. Obviously, you did a piss poor job,” Havaderr grabbed his side, holding the laughter in after such a quality pun. “I told you, cleaning the restrooms would be the most important job, because if it isn’t done right, this happens. Floating excrement!” Conklin didn’t say anything, but Havaderr heard him kick or punch the door.

     “I’ll take your silence as admitting you did a sloppy job the first time. You know, I needed to do some business, and I walk into the restroom greeted with a turd to the face, which I’m assuming belonged to you, so I have no sympathy for you right now. Clean the damn restroom like you were supposed to, and I’ll let you out.” Havaderr waited for a response. He was eager to shower off the stench and stain of human waste from himself before finishing his day.

     “Yeah, alright,” Conklin said over the intercom, sounding defeated and guilty. Havaderr nodded his head and left Conklin to figure out how to clean a restroom with feces floating freely throughout.

     “Like I said, not a drop of sympathy for you. Do it right the first time, and we won’t run into stupid problems like that,” Havaderr said coolly, scrubbing at the built-up muck in the corners of the glass.

     Conklin was still cranky from cleaning the restroom the day before, and he meant to let Havaderr know just how little he appreciated the tactless way he was pushed into the situation without warning.

     “Chin up, Conklin. We have one more day before our shift is over, and we can get the hell off this floating heap of death,” Havaderr motioned toward the clear chambers that housed the comatose bodies of several crew members, one of which whose glass he was scrubbing.

     “Remind me, what’s up with these bodies? They’re dead, yeah?” Conklin asked.

     “No, they’re alive, they’re the crew, dumbass,” Havaderr grunted at Conklin. He looked over to see Conklin hovering around the main dashboard, not a rag or mop near him. “And I wouldn’t mind if you got to work while you asked your questions,” he barked. Conklin jumped and reached for a rag tucked into a closed bucket tethered nearby. He started mindlessly wiping at the dashboard without paying close attention.

     “Okay, but how come they’re asleep?” Conklin asked. Havaderr sighed as he paused and rolled his eyes.

     “Do I look like the Captain of this ship? All I know is, this crew is traveling some number of lightyears, so the ship has been programed for regular stops near inhabited planets for maintenance and cleaning. We drew the short straw, so we get to hop from the ship we were on previously, to this one, and then another one before heading back home. Nobody else was this far out into deep space to do the job, so we get a long shift before our break. At least they’re paying us over time, eh?” Havaderr smiled at the thought of a paycheck double its usual amount. He looked in on the half-naked man inside the tube he was cleaning, tapping on the glass with his knuckle and laughing at how strange the sight was.

     Air escaped the edges of the door, and it hissed loudly. The smile fell from Havaderr’s face as he scanned the chamber looking for an explanation. The door swung open and the half-naked man floated out as if to follow. Thankfully, he was attached to a few tubes that kept him reigned in and asleep, but the color left Havaderr’s face once he realized that would only last for so long.

     Havaderr turned to Conklin, who looked just as confused.

     “He just-just-he-“ Havaderr stuttered, unable to decide what he was trying to say. The man’s feet flew upward so his back was parallel to the floor and his right side dipped down. Slowly, he started to spin, so he was upside down. All the while, Havaderr and Conklin stared without any clue how to fix it.

     “Did you touch something?” Havaderr shouted at Conklin, who shook his head wordlessly.

     “I didn’t touch anything!” Havaderr went back to staring at the half-naked man, perplexed. After a minute, Havaderr decided they couldn’t leave the man like that.

     “Get over here and help me with this!” He yelled at Conklin. Still silent, Conklin moved toward Havaderr and the unconscious man. Havaderr and Conklin wore their gravity belts at 85% power to keep from floating off like the man from the tube, but it allowed them a bit more mobility too. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any extras to strap to the man, so he continued to spin and flip through the air.

     One of the wires connecting the man to his casket snapped, leaving only one left to keep him from flying down the corridor and into every other part of the ship. Havaderr and Conklin shared a look of fear but said nothing.

     Havaderr grabbed the man’s knees and tried to pull them down so the man was right side up, but as he pulled, the man’s whole body moved toward Havaderr. Conklin remained motionless, watching the unconscious body float into Havaderr. Havaderr struggled and groped, trying his very best to wrangle the helpless man, but even his best efforts left him with the man’s body bumping into him clumsily. He accidentally grabbed the man’s buttocks, and the man’s armpit swung around and slapped him in the face. All in all, it reminded Conklin of two young people at their first school dance, trying not to step on each other.

     Conklin covered the smile on his face, but the more Havaderr fought with the floating man and lost, the more the urge to laugh rose in his belly. When the man launched a foot directly into Havaderr’s eye, Conklin lost it. With one hand on the man’s shoulder and his other arm wrapped around the man’s torso, Havaderr stopped to see what was so funny to Conklin. He didn’t have to ask; he knew how he looked.

     “Would you knock it off and help me! I don’t know what we disconnected, but that could be vital to this man’s life!” Havaderr tried to repeat his mantra in his head, but he couldn’t hear anything over Conklin’s laughter. Havaderr grumbled as he kept spinning the man back into position, with no help from Conklin, who was tumbling in circles on the other side of the room.

     Finally, Havaderr got the man into his up-right position and back into the tube. As best as he could, he reattached the disconnected wires, but he couldn’t pull the door shut.

     “Conklin! Find the button to close this door, hurry, before he tries to escape again!” Havaderr pleaded.

     Conklin straightened up and moved to the dashboard he had been cleaning. On the first try, he hit a button, and the door closed, sealing itself. Havaderr wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at Conklin, a little puzzled. Conklin’s laughter died down, but when he saw Havaderr near collapse and panting, his laughter boiled over.

     “What is wrong with you? Were you too busy finding this hilarious to help me save that man’s life?” Havaderr demanded, huffing and puffing.

     “Calm down, he’s fine,” Conklin squeaked. “The buttons are clearly labeled on the dash here, see?” Conklin pointed to the dashboard. Havaderr saw buttons marked to open doors, close doors, start specific mechanisms, stop the same mechanisms, and a bunch of other things Havaderr didn’t understand. What he did think he understood, was how the door opened in the first place.

     “Did you open his door on me?” Havaderr asked Conklin, the anger rising again.

     “Yeah, mate, you should have seen the look on your face!” Conklin rolled over laughing.

     “You idiot! You could have killed the man, we could be fired, what the hell is wrong with you?” Havaderr bellowed.

     “Relax Havaderr, you’ll give yourself a stroke!” Conklin pulled himself together for a second, setting his feet back on the floor and pointing to the dashboard again.

     “This here, that indicates their vital signs. You can see they’re all perfectly healthy, no harm done,” Conklin said matter-of-factly. Havaderr was flustered. He could only trust Conklin’s word, he had no idea what any of the lights or buttons meant on the dash.

     “You couldn’t have known it would be okay, though. What if the tube that detached from his arm was something that kept him alive?” Havaderr exclaimed. Conklin rolled his eyes, irritated that Havaderr wasn’t figuring it out as easily as he was.

     “All that tube did was give him pleasant dreams; it wasn’t important. He’ll live, and nobody need ever know you almost killed a man,” Conklin started to giggle again. Havaderr’s face turned tomato red and he clenched his fist, trying to fight the overwhelming desire to punch Conklin in the face.

     “You did this on purpose?” Havaderr said, strained.

     “Well, maybe don’t lock me in a room with floating shit again, and we’ll be fine,” Conklin smiled, feeling pleased with himself.

  • The astronauts of Apollo 11 could not get life insurance. They signed their photographs so that their family could get money after selling them.
  • The term “astronaut” is derived from Greek words “astro”, which means star, and “naut” which means “sailor”.
  • To be an astronaut, you have to be taller than 5’2” and shorter than 6’3”.
  • Astronauts on the International Space Stations witness 15 sunrises and 15 sunsets a day.
  • Many shooting stars that you see are actually astronaut poop burning up on its way down the atmosphere.
  • Astronauts can vote from space and their address is listed as “low-Earth” orbit in absentee ballots.
  • The International space station travels at 7.66 kilometres per second and can be seen from 6,700 locations on the Earth.
  • As per astronauts, space smells like “smeared steak” and tastes like “raspberries”.
  • Astronauts can lose up to 22% of their blood while in space, due to microgravity.
  • Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first astronauts to land on the moon, had bacon cubes as part of their first meal on the moon. The full meal included four bacon cubes, three sugar cookies, peaches, pineapple-grapefruit drink, and coffee.
  • Valentina Vladímirovna Tereshkova was the first female astronaut in history and completed 48 orbits around the Earth in her three days of mission in space.
  • Astronaut Alan Shepard (crew member of Apollo 14) played golf on the moon’s surface. On his third strike attempt, he sent the ball so far away that its whereabouts are unknown.
  • After long periods of time traveling through space, an astronaut’s heart becomes almost 10% more spherical.
  • Astronauts need to exercise their muscles, as they atrophy easily in space. For this reason, at the International Space Station, there is a gym prepared for training.
  • Sleeping in outer space is a challenge of its own. The sun rises and sets approximately every 90 minutes making it difficult to have a good night’s sleep.

Hope you find them interesting 🙂

As U.S. Forces Dutch Semiconductor Giant To PUNISH China, Beijing To CANCEL G7 Grain Imports

The earwax problem that I could not let be

Unfortunately some people live with a very uninformed idea about China. Many opinions are based only on what they read in western media. Or the labels like communist country.

I’m a Canadian Born Chinese who moved to Macau in 1983 and now consider it home. It is at the door step of China and I have visited over 100 times.

If anyone has an axe to grind about China it would be me. My parents were separated for 17 years because of the Canadian government. The Chinese Exclusion Act did not allow Chinese to immigrate. My father was already living there but couldn’t bring my mother and my sister because of that.

My grandfather went to Halifax and had a laundry business. Brought my dad over when he was 9. My dad was the first Chinese to graduate from the local university.

My grandfather went back with a bit of money and bought land and hired itinerant workers to grow rice. He died during WW2 and left things to my grandmother to look after. After the Communists took power, my grandmother was branded a capitalist landlord and made to beg for food as a punishment.

My mother and sister emigrated to Canada in 1949 after my father got citizenship and the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed. My upbringing in China was of course, not favorable to communist China.

After I moved to Macau in 1983, I visited Guangzhou to see a cousin who was from the same village. He grew up as a neighbor to my mom.

He told me about how poor China was in the 60s and 70s. How they had food rationing. Coupons so you could get rice and oil every week.

He was an English teacher at a prominent university. He told me how things had gotten better and life was pleasant. People were starting to become more materially well off. This was 1983.

Back then, everyone had four wants. A black and white TV. A washing machine. A bicycle and a refrigerator.

Pretty soon it evolved to a color TV. A motorcycle. And up the scale for years.

Mobile phone sales doubled every year for 15 years.

When Deng Xiaoping took over, the country changed overnight.

One of the pillars of socialism/communism was equal pay for equal work was dismantled. The so called iron rice bowl was not working. It made people lazy. So he introduced responsibility system. More productivity more pay.

China was very pragmatic about communism. If it works and is good for the people, keep it. If it doesn’t work get rid of it. Ideology is not sacred if it doesn’t work.

He made things work. Foreign investment poured in. I’m thirty years Chinese people’s lives greatly improved. There is an abundance of food. There is no price gouging. Government strictly regulates prices. Public transport is amazing. Public facilities are really wonderful.

If you grow up in a country that is continueously improving, you are happy with your government. Pew surveys (from the US) show over 90% satisfaction with the Chinese government.

So the only people who have the idea of toppling the government are people who have never visited China and seen it with their own eyes.

Suggest you try to get the facts on China before making such uninformed questions.

One of the principle behind Aïkido is to defeat a stronger opponent by using their own energy against them, while using little of your own. Balance is crucial in this art, as is speed. You’ll need some strength, so getting your body’s core strengths ready at all time is high encouraged. Look into what some masters are demonstrating online, and signup if you feel it is for you. Smaller sizes, man or woman, will always be at a disadvantage regardless, but size doesn’t guarantee victory to the bigger opponent.

But in a ‘street fight’ scenario where it is one person against you, there are no rules. Engage when not expected to, surprise, bite, hit where it hurts (throats, testicles, eyes) with full strength, use whatever fits in your hands and all the while doing this scream as much as possible to bring attention. The key is that there are no rules, so in other words play nasty. And if your opponent ends up on top of you, rip his ears out of his skull if you can.

CJ enters the cornfield

Disclaimer: All the comparisons are done with Indian life as benchmark

Oh that’s plenty…where do i begin with? let’s see.

  • There are no cops on major roads of the cities in China , yet traffic stops at red light. This may sound absurd, but this is not the norm in India.
  • Fitness level of people. I don’t remember finding any obese person in China. I visited three cities: Beijing, Shanghai & Harbin. None were obese .
  • Absence of google, facebook, twitter. Sites like weibo, wechat rule the roost.
  • Participation of women in the economy: in all the three cities we had women tour guides who stayed with us from morning 7:00 am till night 10:30. Pretty difficult to expect that in India.
  • Toilets: this one is quite weird. while traditional chinese go the indian way, what was quite shocking was to find that public toilets have indian seats, with no partition in between!!!. no privacy whatsoever. ofcourse you will not find water as well. and quite possibly toilet roll too would be absent. Certainly not the best country to do your business.
  • Electricity quota: China only switches on its ACs during restricted months during summers. The Government decides that duration.
  • Infrastructure: everything out there…be it roads, monuments, factories, its just huge. More importantly it is working. While we are debating the need for bullet trains, china is using them like crazy. We struggle to get mobile network at stationary places, i was talking trouble-free with my sister in India during a train ride with this train speed…
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main qimg cfc0317b91a0076fbd56ddd497a1f987 lq

No doubt Sydney opera is outstandingly beautiful , but take a look at this

main qimg 134f91a6d2ffc10c988fc81df4c98162 lq
main qimg 134f91a6d2ffc10c988fc81df4c98162 lq

That’s Harbin grand opera, no less picturesque than Sydney in any way. Chinese are extremely determined to match the best in the world & even beat the best.

There

  • Friendliness of people: Indians are treated the same way indians generally treat white skinned people..with awe. they were quite willing to have pics with us, help us & what not.This China Vs india rhetoric is not known to people
  • General absence of religion in public discourse. Religion doesnt feature in the lives of Chinese people in general. No bullshit in the name of religion
  • Discipline. I found Chinese quite disciplined in their schedule & daily lives. What to eat, when to eat , its all quite structured. They are an extremely hardworking & disciplined people. No wonder China has grown so much
  • Eye for detail: These guys plan way ahead. and execution is too good. They also focus quite a lot on maintenance of things. I was surprised to find a man scrubbing a dustbin early morning on my morning run at Harbin. That’s something i would not imagine here.
  • Lack of pvt ownership. You don’t own land/apartment. it is leased to your for 99 years & that too can be taken by the government any time & you will be given a replacement , not necessarily of your choice
  • 2nd copies aka fakes. very difficult to differentiate from the originals. China has dedicated malls which deal in them

China is a very interesting country & is definitely worth a visit. You could learn quite a few things.

I can only speak for the Army. Yes. We get courses on map navigation and compass use.

There is no using stars for navigation as that requires a sextant. You will see the Navy personnel on ships doing this.

It’s too complicated for infantry soldiers. Not that Army can’t do it but it requires extra equipment. It’s just easier to use maps and compass. The Navy uses stars because one part of the Ocean looks like any other part. Blue and flat. There is literally nothing to look at except for stars.

On land, you have land features and with a map you can easily find out where you are. And for the Army, carrying extra equipment that you won’t use is simply not done. Every ounce of equipment has to be useful for the Army soldiers. Space and weight is at a premium.

Rape. Like everyone else out there, it was what you first associate with the scary things about prison. Such BULLSHIT. I’m sure it happens.. I never witnessed it, I was never even slightly at risk of that happening to me … and never even heard a rumor on the yard of it happening … and there are few secrets on the yard.

When I went to prison the first time in my twenties, I was stripped down naked and left on a wooden bench during processing and intake. I was very scared. A brotha came in saw me naked and yelled at the CO to give me my prison-issued clothing. An hour or two later, still getting processed, another brotha who worked there asked me if I wanted an extra bag lunch he had. I quickly said NO… cuz that’s what I was told led to you being someone’s bitch. He asked me again, and once more I say no… but I was starving! He smiles, and leaves it anyways. What I learned that day was there were many, many men who were strangers to me but gave without expecting anything. It wasn’t at all like I had expected.

When I returned to prison in my fifties, I thought I was too old to fight and worried about how I was going to be treated. Again, as soon as I appeared on the yard, a group of brothas appeared at my bunk with shower shoes, ramen, some hygiene products, chips, candy, and even some sweat shirts and pants! It’s what they do for every new black inmate’s arrival and I was honored to do that for others as they arrived.

A big one is body odor. If a person doesn’t smell right, attraction dies on the vine. I once read a story about a famous actor turning down Marilyn Monroe, despite her being rather into him and “ready to go”… he had her in front of him. Needed only to say the word.

But she smelled bad. And she didn’t take care of herself. And any other man would have been able to overlook it — it’s Marilyn Monroe, after all. Of all people! A queen, no, a goddess amongst women! To the actor it was a dealbreaker. And I’ve seen this play out in life, in a way. A beautiful person with horribly decaying teeth? No way, José. A gorgeous face may lean in for a kiss and if the smell from his or her mouth is the foul scent of death… that’s the end of all attraction.

Be clean. Be fresh. Smell right, so people will be eager to taste you, be near you, explore you. But smell like death and it’s the death of your dating life. Not to all people — desperation’s one hell of a drug — but to many.

Nopes

You can conclude that they are either lies or exaggerations

Why?

In 1978 – Soviet Union issued exactly 5260 Tourist Exit Visas outside the Iron Curtains to other nations which were not Soviet Satellites

In the same year 12,400 Visit Visas were issued to enter the Soviet Union from Non Communist Nations (Including North Korea + Vietnam + Cuba + China)

In 2024 – so far to date Chinese Passports have been issued 8.72 Million Tourist Visas upto 30/6/24 while around 12–14 Million Chinese Visas have been issued for Foreign Passport Holders into China

12,400 vs 14 Million!!!!

So trust me, China can’t hide anything today

They don’t hide anything today

Since most of their Media is STATE OWNED there is no incentive in insane TRPs and thus the Chinese Media does not go for SENSATIONALISM

They often appear “Boring” to the outsiders used to Western or Indian media with their sensationalism and their quest for TRPs

The Problem is most people still look at China with a 1980s lens

Had my sons not gone to Singapore, had I myself not done business with Singaporeans and had my Nephew not gone to Shanghai, I would have had the same 1980s lens

You have to go to China to experience the new China and conclude that it’s entirely and diametrically opposite to what the Western Narrative Suggests


For instance the West says Chinas stock market is performing badly

In reality Chinas Stock prices are CAPPED in a way

They can’t rise beyond a certain maximum

In that way the shares are kept undervalued

Any Banker working in China knows the truth

For instance the West says Chinas Real Estate sector is collapsing

In reality, the Sector is deliberately allowed to kill off speculation and ensure affordable housing to all Chinese

Every Tier 2/3 City is going to have some fixed price housing projects which will rise by a fixed 4% a year for the next 30 years

That’s to ensure every couple can buy an affordable house before they are 30 years of age

The West doesn’t cover this news

You need to live in China to know this news.

For instance the West says Chinas Demographic collapse is coming

In reality Chinas age of retirement is pegged at 55 Years

If it’s raised to 65, China would have 66% of their working population supporting 13.50% of their elderly population in 2042 and 60% of their Population supporting 18% of their elderly population in 2060

It’s still more than 3:1

Plus Chinese people SAVE at a rate more than the entire world

A Chinese Household saves 44% of their income earned against less than 24.8% for the Global Average and 17.7% for the G7

However while this is something every Chinese Actuarian knows, no Westerner will ever talk about this

They have no idea how China works


Even on Quora

Only those who genuinely live in China or know China like Bill Chen or Aya Shawn and some others have some idea of what’s going on

Most others simply either quote Western Media or 1980s Narrative like “CCP is bad, CCP is Evil”

Accidental Time Travelers | The Mystery and Science of Time Slips

Her name was Mrs. Shakley

You have been fooled by Human Right Watch which is funded by NED which is funded US Congress.

There was no Rohingya genocide or Uyghurs genocide. They are lies.

Let us understand the mentality of USA. Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger said: to be US enemy is dangerous. To be US friend is fatal.

USA’s mentality is “America ONLY”. No country will be safe. Neither friend nor enemy.

USA makes China or Russia a US enemy. Then use a US friend eg Ukraine or Philippines to provoke a war against US enemy. After war/use, US friends will become a condom & be discarded by USA. That is how fatal a US friend is: shed blood & lose life for US interest.

After WW2, from 1946-2001, in 55 years, there were 248 wars around the globe. 201 of them ie 82% were instigated by USA. In 240+ years since US independence, there were only 16 years when USA was not in a war.

Other than war, USA would bribe locals to instigate unrest eg protests, riots & coups against any government who dont bow down to USA. For instance, 56 coups incl assassination in Latin America since WW2.

There is only 1 motive for USA: money & power/dominance. It is modern-day colonisation.

1, money

Both US military industry (MIC) & Federal Reserve (FED) are private corporations run by capitalist sharks & not by (responsible) government who would focus on the welfare of the country eg economic development.

MIC makes tons of money thru wars & arms sales. They lobby US government to create wars in other countries. US politicians also make $$$ by buying MIC stocks or working as a MIC salesman to other country.

Another 2 capitalist sharks are FED & Wall Street. They create monetary or financial war to bankrupt other country so as to suck foreign capitals/investments to USA, or post-war construction in war-torn country.

See, if there is peace in the world, MIC, FED or Wall Street will create war somewhere so as to make money.

US senator L Graham told the truth: must win the Ukraine war, for Ukraine’s rich minerals.

2, power/US dominance ie modern-day conlonisation

Control other’s government & make them a US puppet.

Then control other’s resources eg Ukraine’s minerals, Syria’s oil & rich agricultural land.

US wisdom

In 1961, the then pres D Eisenhower warned against the establishment of private MIC which will distort US politics & threaten democracy.

Many US pres eg J Kennedy, R Nixon & more fought with the FED but failed.

conclusion

USA wont not let world peace to happen. USA must create unrest/war thru its puppets eg Ukraine & Philippines.

War is in the DNA of USA.

Are capitalist sharks nice to Americans?

Every year, US taxpayers pay the interest of the US debts that is created as aids to war-torn country.

Capitalist sharks make tons of money from wars, but pay little tax to benefit USA. For instance, sharks wont maintain infrastructure, resulting in train derailment almost daily. Making USA look like a under-developed 3rd world. The list is long.

Viral Post EXPOSES How Most Women VIEW Men!

On February 15, 1978 around 1:00 AM, a man was stopped by Pensacola police officer David Lee after a routine “wants and warrants” check showed that the Volkswagen Beetle the man was driving, was actually stolen.

The man resisted arrest, tried to run away and was eventually subdued by the police officer. David Lee had no idea who the man really was. And he also did not know that the man was on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Less than a month before the arrest, the man had broken into Florida State University’s Chi Omega sorority house and bludgeoned and strangled two women (while killing them in the act), raping one of them and brutally biting her on her buttocks and tearing off one nipple. In an adjoining room, he beat two other students over the head with a log. They survived (but were both severely wounded), which investigators attributed to a roommate who came home and interrupted the man before he was able to kill them.

All of this happened in less than 15 minutes.

On February 9, he killed again. This time he abducted a 12-year-old girl named Kimberly Leach, raped her, cut her throat and mutilated her genitals with a knife inside a pig farrowing shed.

He kidnapped Kimberly on the Lake City Junior high school school grounds, in between classes.

[Kimberly Dianne Leach was 12 when she was abducted and murdered.]

This happened less than a week before he was taken into custody.

David Lee had no idea about all of this. That the man was the world’s most famous serial killer, that he had been on the loose for more than a month after a spectacular escape. That the man had killed two more young women and an innocent school girl.

And that he had arrested Ted Bundy.


SOURCES: The footnoted sites. For the picture of Kimberly Leach, I used ABC News.

[3]For the photograph of Ted Bundy, I consulted “Killer in the Archives.”
[4]Footnotes

Roger

“Meet Roger Barrett, this gentleman is a patient of mine who just started coming to our office this week…little did I know this man would change my life.

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main qimg 29b93d7fbe7fa81ff6a931e3fa96848d

Mr. Barrett was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2009 and was told he could receive treatment but if the cancer spread outside the bladder there wasn’t much the doctors could do. Well as months went on and the doctor visits and follow ups continued Mr. Barrett’s cancer began to get worse. In 2010 he went in for yet another follow up and was told the cancer had spread past his bladder and there wasn’t anything they could do – that he had 5 years to live. Mr Barrett decided he wanted any treatment possible that could maybe help him so the doctors agreed and tried a few more treatments but the treatments were causing him to build up infection. The doctor told Mr. Barrett if he continued getting the infections they could also kill him therefore the doctor had no choice but to stop treatment.

A few months later was the month of December and every year Mr. Barrett decorates his home with 150,000 lights displaying the true meaning of Christmas and opens it up to the public and has a fire pit, serves hotdogs and marshmallows at no charge. Well one Saturday evening Mr. Barrett was parking cars in his back yard, and he said a couple pulled up in a little car. Mr. Barrett said clearly they didn’t belong there because the woman was dressed in a white, gorgeous coat that came down to her ankles and he man was dressed in his Sunday best suit. Mr. Barrett said they stayed a good two and a half hours walking around the property admiring the light display. Mr. Barrett said as they came around the property the last time they stopped him and said ‘This is the most beautiful light display we have seen, we saw Jesus more than once through this display’ and Mr. Barrett replied ‘Yes sir, that’s what it is all about’ the man then said, ‘If you don’t mind me asking what does your utility bill usually run putting all this on?’ Mr. Barrett replied, ‘We have three meters we pull from so it runs anywhere from $750-$800.’ The man then replies ‘Mr. Barrett you’re also having some health problems aren’t you?’ Mr. Barrett (kind of puzzled) responds ‘why yes I am, I currently have bladder cancer and they have given me 5 years.’ The man relies and asks ‘do you mind if we pray for you?’ Mr. Barrett said ‘I would appreciate that.’

Mr. Barrett said he never felt the couple touch him as they held hands for the prayer. He said the whole prayer just felt different and he said I could swing my feet back and forth as if I was floating. After they prayed the man looks at Mr. Barrett and said ‘Do not let yourself think about that Cancer again, God told me He has His hand on you. Also, do not stop doing this light display, God also told me He is going to handle it.’

Mr. Barrett still puzzled by the couples kindness hurried to tell his wife who was entertaining the rest of their guests. She responded ‘Honey, there wasn’t a couple here of that description.’ Mr. Barrett said ‘Yes there was, they were here for two and a half hours. I was just talking and praying with them.’ Mr. Barrett asked a few other people who were there and no one recognized this couple he was describing.

The following Wednesday (2011) Mr. Barrett went to the hospital to have his biopsy done and the doctors told him to call his doctor to set up a two week follow up so he has time to get the results. The next day Mr. Barrett had just woke up and sat on the edge of the bed and his phone rang. It was his doctor, Immediately Mr. Barrett began apologizing because he had forgotten to call. The doctor said ‘Are you sitting down Mr. Barrett?’ He responded “yes sir” the doctor proceeded ‘I have your results. Do not ask me any questions because I don’t have the answers but you’re cancer free!’ Mr. Barrett said he handed the phone to his wife because he couldn’t speak. The doctor told Mr. Barrett ‘I’m going to send you for more tests because if there are any cancer cells I’m going to find them.’ After running every test in the book the doctors couldn’t find a single cancer cell, Mr. Barrett was in fact Cancer Free!

Weeks had gone by and Mr. Barrett’s wife had opened their utility bill and said ‘they must have made a mistake, but I’m sure they will catch it next month’ Mr. Barrett said ‘why what is it?’ Mrs. Barrett replied ‘our total utility bill with all three meters is only $187’ Mr. Barrett couldn’t help but smile and say ‘There is no mistake, God took care of it!”

The meme’s are relentless

Hank Hill: “So are you Chinese or Japanese?”
Kahn Souphanousinphone: “I’m from Laos, it’s a landlocked country in south east Asia.”
Hank: “… so are you Chinese or Japanese?”

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main qimg fb2740a7784966c263129ae9f996c858

A clueless West

The story of China depending on “cheap labour” and “bad working conditions” is now utterly outdated but very prevalent among many commentators, and the general public. Over the next 5-10 years they are going to get a very nasty surprise as China dominates every single green energy industry – Solar, Wind, Nuclear, Smart Networks, Batteries, EVs … while also reducing their greenhouse emissions in parallel with continued 5% GDP growth and catching up in microchips. The image of China will be that of the future, as with the US in the 1950s, and the image of the West will be that of a bullying past. I have written a piece on that:

China Rapidly Becoming Both a Green Energy Leader and Climate Champion

Even at PPP, the incomes of China’s 1.4 billion will only reach about US$35,000 in 2030 and US$44,000 in 2035. But given the sheer scale of the country, there will be whole regions with populations bigger than Germany that will have incomes at least equal to that nation. In addition, Chinese incomes will still be growing at perhaps 4% per year, while Europe and North America will be in full decline – with Europe in the lead. With respect to the US, so much of its GDP is BS (under-counting inflation, double-counting financial services costs as outputs etc.), and wasted (the military, healthcare etc.) it is hard to tell what the true income level is, especially for the bottom 80%.

In addition, the West (especially North America) has such a huge deficit in infrastructure spending to make up while its very aged pieces of that infrastructure will need more and more money to stop catastrophic reductions in service.

Posted by: Roger | Aug 22 2024 21:52 utc | 56

Shorpy

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I Was NOT Prepared for *THE SIXTH SENSE*

Everything is a rip off, its not even worth going out anymore / Van Life / Cashless society.

https://youtu.be/QTSusu4o36Y

Two years ago some punk ass kid and his friends were terrorizing my daughters and their friends in my lawn. The kid was throwing rocks at my windows and flower pots and when my kids told him to knock it off, he started getting physical. I told the kid to “get the fuck out of here” and he ran off.

Hours later, two dads show up at my door. One of them my size, the other at least double my size. I’m in decent shape. I’m in the Air Force, I work out to pass my fitness tests. I’m not built, but I’m also not all fat either. The shit got physical with the bigger Dad. He didn’t like hearing that his kid was anything less than an angel and attacked me.

Guns are the great equalizer. I owed that Dad nothing. And I could’ve been much more convincing when I asked him and his punk ass kid to leave if I were armed.

If you’re interested in the story, once the police got involved the other Dad supported my narrative and the big guy got arrested. His wife ended up testifying that he was abusing her as well and he was forced to leave his home. When I went to the police dept to get his name to file a TRO, the officer there informed me that he was being held on charges related to her – not me – and that they knew I had absolutely nothing to worry about anymore.

That was all fine and dandy. But they weren’t there when I needed them. My wife was, and she was helpless. That’s why I feel safer with my gun. I’m not going to answer every door knock with a gun in my hand, but now my wife can do something about it next time shit like that goes down.

OUR FIRST DAYS IN CHINA SHOCKED US! BLOWN AWAY BY ALL THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN SHANGHAI 上海

Well, realpolitik.

Bill “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” sent 2 CBGs to steam through the Taiwan strait (which is too shallow for nuclear sub operation) in the late 90s, to show who’s boss in the third Taiwan strait crisis.

Now, here’s a little quiz for the American reader.

When was the last time a CBG steamed through the Taiwan strait?


The fourth Taiwan strait crisis flared up this century in 2022 and is ongoing.

It was sparked by this flight.

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main qimg 52b2284a7ee49885e7a0f9cc64e6a9a0

And where was the Reagan, the CBG in theater?

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main qimg cdf3704cd9e61b4fa4f40e94b772746e

It avoided the SCS, and parked itself off Luzon to provide fighter escort for the final leg of Nancy’s flight.

It left the area and headed northeast after China announced the biggest naval drill in its history, giving Taiwan a wide berth.

Notice anything odd about Nancy’s flight, which took months of planning and originated stateside? It was a long, circuitous route that painstakingly avoided the entire Chinese coast and the SCS. Not only that, the pentagon found the risk unacceptable to fly her in from Guam.

Flee from Taiwan
Flee from Taiwan

Why? Joe is a sissy standing next to Bill? Remember, Newt the Speaker visited both Beijing and Taipei after an extraordinary show of force in 1996.


The original exercise to practice the blockade of taiwan happened in 2022.

In the virgin edition, exclusion zones were enacted 2 days after they were announced.

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main qimg e2d2d3b769f803fc0dbef6530b098b9c

In 2024, after Ching Te’s and Mike’s incendiary and irresponsible speeches in Taipei post-election, the PLA enacted a refined version of the exclusion zones ON DEMAND. The sole announcement was “the exercise commences NOW. Get out.”

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main qimg 50a9ff17f25e29050ade99fed55126e2

How did the US and partners respond?

They made sure to steer well clear of the entire Chinese coast. Taiwan barely squeaked and stood down from their regular sop of challenging mainland military contact.


Over the past decade, foreign military assets that used to ignore Chinese warnings to turn back have been successfully repelled, including a CBG in the SCS recently that was forced to take evasive action after a h-20 bomber executed a sea hugging attack run targeting the carrier.

Front foot posturing has been dialed down since the spate of inexplicable accidents linked to fatigue. The USN is using the coast guard and partners to fill the gap. Notably, they are giving Taiwan access to Sat-linked reaper drones, which speaks to a degradation of real-time sigint from Okinawa.

Elsewhere, a seawolf class sub met with an accident in the SCS after hitting an undersea mount that “wasn’t supposed to be there”. Kadena has gradually scaled back from permanently deployed f-22 to rotating units of f-15. The keystone of the pacific has shifted permanently to Guam, as america looks to dramatically reduce its presence in Okinawa. Guam represents a strategic retreat of over 2,000km, and its fortified bunkers are protected by a triple air defense of thaad, aegis and patriot—extravagant, by Okinawa standards.

What are American shipyards churning out today?

Arleigh-burkes, virginias and constellations. Chew on this, and take your time.

Meanwhile, marines are being retooled to become a rapid-deploy rocket force. In a nutshell, a 21st century action-at-a-distance pirates of the Caribbean strategy that screams “if we can’t have it, neither can you”.


To be clear, America continues to present a clear and present threat. But its gunboat diplomacy has noticeably diminished decade on decade, and it has increasingly struggled to exert technological superiority. This shows in the deployment of force and the purported war plan.

From “you don’t want to fight us” to open admissions of “we can’t win”.

In another 10-15 years, it will be Americans nodding when the chinese say “you don’t want to fight us”.

https://youtu.be/E27RHHL7BLc

I shall be 87 next month
I am totally deaf, partially blind, and can only read books with difficulty, so it is many years since I read a book, though I can read a computer screen easily
I’m very much overweight, and take pills daily, which I will do for life
Problems with legs and lungs make me largely housebound

I live alone, apart from my cat, but I am lucky in so far as I can look after myself Most of my friends of my generation are gone, and several are severely ill or have dementia, but also several others of my generation are still working

To some extent it is the gene lottery that keeps one going
though not always. My father was ill all his life, and died at 43
He, like my mother, could not swim or ride a bicycle
I could do both, as of course, could everyone of my generation

Both of my grandfathers were illiterate
My mother and father could read, but neither ever read a book
There were no books in the house other than those I got myself

My mother had two still born children prior to myself, and told me that I was a sickly child, so it would seem that neither nurture or Nature favored me

So what is it that keeps one going into old age?
In my case it was largely the Times one was born in
My grandparents born in the 1870–80’s London were poor
They worked full time as young teenagers, so denied an education

My parents born in 1900, were slightly better off, but as young teenagers were caught up in the 1914–18 war and later the Great Depression. They had few choices in life, and simply accepted that surviving was meeting the battles of the day

My generation – 1930’s – were again better off, but there were few people I knew who owned a phone or a car, and even a radio was a luxury, but we did have one thing; WW2

Yes, WW2 had its downsides, but it did provide free travel, and a wide range of opportunities to be educated, and meet people if you were in the military, and if not, work was plentiful.
My mother who had earned a pitiful living as a house cleaner before the war, was now a machine operator in a wartime munitions factory, and getting relatively good money

Wartime, for my generation who are now in the 70–90’s, had to look after themselves. Not so much in the USA, quite a bit in the UK, and totally in war-torn Europe
There was a great sense of purpose that a ‘World fit for heroes’ might exist, though not quite

In answer to the question
‘Is it worth it to live over 80 years?’
My grandparents never knew, nor my parents, though a few crossed the line
It is common enough in my generation, but there is a ‘Dark zone’ where you know that even a slight illness can lead to complications
But today, anyone under 60 will most likely live past 80
and will do so in the knowledge that they are generally a button away from getting help if needed

What can you do if you make it to 80?
Well, if your brain and heart are in relatively good condition, you will be surprised to know that you will feel about 40, or even less

If you want to make it to 80, my advice is go for it
You will not be short of company

EDIT
Several people have commented about their elderly relatives who suffer from illness and loneliness.
It has been suggested that more people die of loneliness than illness, but worse, many who suffer from loneliness are neither ill nor old

Part of the problem is both obvious and yet invisible. Here is a typical 1930’s sitting room of the sort I grew up in. No black boxes with shiny knobs and buttons. Somewhere a large radio; shelves with a few treasured possessions.
Every such room would have a personality of the owner. Designed to be warm and comfortable. One could go into most houses and recognize all the items; a windup clock; a sewing basket; a few books (no TV), a coal fire with coal tongs and poker, and a bucket of coal beside the fire, and a toasting fork

(In this picture you can see a small hand pump on the left hand side of the fireplace. It was used to blow air when you started the fire every day, that is, after you had raked the cinders out, made firelighters out of rolled up newspapers, sorted out unburnt cinders, and cleaned up. You bought small bundles of wood as fire starters, and if you had the money, then you could buy wax covered paper that lit up instantly (what luxury)

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main qimg e4719eb8d9d291ec6503f67a9ba69593 lq

Every technological advancement took away a minor joy. The electric toaster took away the joy of using a toasting fork to make toast in front of an open coal fire that you stared into, as if hypnotized as the coal burnt and created shapes.
The toast would be covered in home made jam. One felt safe in such surroundings

When my mother made an apple pie, I saw her make the dough, roll it out, peel the apples, stoke the cast iron stove, boil the custard, lay the table, poke the pie with a knife to see if it was cooked, then deliver it triumphantly straight from the oven to us as we waited in anticipation
On first taste, we look at her and say ‘It’s delicious, can I have a second helping’. She would smile. It was her way of saying ‘I love you all’, and our way of saying ‘We know you do’

Technology has given us microwave ovens, precooked pies, and tinned custard, but there is one ingredient they left out

That is why the elderly are lonely

Merrick Garland’s DOJ Goes After Putin’s Mouthpieces in US

The Department of Justice, led by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, is investigating individuals in the U.S. with connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state television networks. This inquiry is part of a broader effort to prevent potential Kremlin interference in the 2024 presidential election, as reported by The New York Times.

This development follows recent FBI searches at the homes of Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector, U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer, and convicted sex offender, and Dimitri Simes, a Russian-born former adviser on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

According to The Times and U.S. officials familiar with the case, the FBI is expected to conduct more searches and has not dismissed the possibility of criminal charges.

Ritter has frequently appeared on Russian state media, often echoing Kremlin viewpoints on Putin’s conflict with Ukraine. Simes hosts a weekly current affairs show on Russia’s state-run Channel One.

In January, Ritter visited Chechnya, where he offered a message of “friendship” between the U.S. and Chechnya during a speech in Grozny, the capital. Ritter expressed a desire to foster goodwill between the two regions and predicted a Russian victory in Ukraine. He remarked, “America isn’t a bad place. American people are like you. Good people. The state is a different matter. That’s politics. I’m not a politician. I’m a soldier, like you.”

Simes, who has not been in the U.S. since 2022, characterized the FBI raid as an “attempt to intimidate” those opposing U.S. policies or the “deep state,” in an interview with Russia’s state-run Sputnik News. Ritter also commented on the situation, describing it as a perilous time for Americans and accusing the U.S. government of attempting to deceive and manipulate its citizens.

In late July, the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC), a U.S. intelligence agency operating under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, warned of Russian attempts to influence the upcoming election between Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. The FMIC highlighted that Kremlin-affiliated groups are increasingly deploying actors and influence-for-hire firms based in Russia to shape U.S. public opinion and impact the election.

The agency reported that these firms have developed influence platforms and engaged Americans directly and discreetly, using sophisticated tools to tailor content for U.S. audiences while concealing their Russian origins. “Russian influence actors have made concerted efforts this election cycle to build and leverage networks of U.S. and Western figures to propagate Russian-friendly narratives,” the FMIC stated. The report emphasized Moscow’s ongoing use of a broad array of influence tactics and actors to better disguise its involvement, expand its reach, and create content that resonates with American audiences.

The US’ constant hyping of the “China nuclear threat” theory is a convenient pretext for the US to shirk its obligation of nuclear disarmament, expand its own nuclear arsenal and seek absolute strategic predominance, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday, after US media reported President Joe Biden has approved a highly classified nuclear strategic plan that, for the first time, reorients the US’ deterrent strategy to focus on China’s purported expansion of its nuclear arsenal.

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main qimg 53518ec92ace336b7526a340fd3e0271

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Biden approved the document in March after the Pentagon said it believes China’s nuclear arsenal stockpiles will rival the size and diversity of the US’ and Russia’s over the next decade.

The White House never announced that Biden had approved the revised strategy, called the “Nuclear Employment Guidance,” which seeks to prepare the US for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from China, Russia and North Korea. The document, updated every four years or so, is so highly classified that there are no electronic copies, with only a small number of hard copies distributed to a few national security officials and Pentagon commanders.

The US has called China a “nuclear threat” and used it as a convenient pretext for the US to shirk its obligation of nuclear disarmament, expand its own nuclear arsenal and seek absolute strategic predominance, Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a Wednesday briefing, while stressing China is gravely concerned over the report.

“The size of China’s nuclear arsenal is not on the same level with the US. China follows a policy of ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons and always keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security. We have no intention to engage in any form of arms race with others,” Mao said.

“In contrast, the US sits on the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world. Even so, it clings to a first-use nuclear deterrence policy, and has invested heavily to upgrade its nuclear triad and blatantly devised nuclear deterrence strategies against others. It is the US who is the primary source of nuclear threat and strategic risks in the world,” Mao stated.

The document reflects that the US has reached a level of hysteria when it comes to competition with countries like China. It has even reached a point where it is prepared for a nuclear conflict, which is extremely dangerous, said Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University.

He said the US’ hype over China’s nuclear arsenal is a tactic to justify and bolster its own nuclear weapons program for political maneuvering and policy objectives.

Deflation Just Started In The United States

Samantha Josephson.

In March of 2019, New Jersey native Samantha was 21, about to graduate from the University of South Carolina, and then go on to law school at Drexel University, where she had a full scholarship.

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On the evening of March 29th, she went out for drinks in downtown Columbia with some friends, but grew tired, and told them she was going to take an Uber back to campus.

But Samantha never made it home. Instead, her body was found by turkey hunters in a rural area 65 miles from Columbia the next day. She’d been stabbed 120 times.

Surveillance footage from local businesses showed Samantha getting into her Uber — a black Chevy Impala.

Except it wasn’t her Uber — that was Samantha’s mistake. The car was owned by 24-year-old Nathaniel Rowland, who had reportedly been driving around the neighborhood hoping someone would mistake it for an Uber. The car had childproof locks engaged, so once Samantha got in, she was trapped, and the terror she must have felt when Rowland began driving in the opposite direction from campus must have been nightmarish.

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We don’t know exactly why Rowland — who had no history of violent crime — killed Samantha. He didn’t know her, had never even met her. The day after the murder, he was posting casually on Facebook as if it was business as usual, even as he still had her phone and blood in his car, and her DNA under his fingernails. It’s believed that he just wanted to kill someone, and Samantha was the person unlucky enough to get into his car. The judge called it a “crime of opportunity”.

Rowland, who was said to be remorseless and emotionless during his trial, was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It’s terrifying that such people exist (and also why I refuse to use services like Uber or Lyft) — this wasn’t revenge, or jealousy, or greed, it was just murder for the sake of murder.

Samantha Josephson made one simple mistake, and she paid for it with her life.

The Ascending Spacemen

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong. view prompt

Sudarshan Varadhan

The airlock of the space habitat swung open, revealing the two fully-suited spacemen. Their costumes were dull white with tinted blue helmets and golden reflective visors. The two spacemen stepped out into the grey alien planet, retrieved their long probes, and prodded the surroundings around them. Their equipment beeped and notified them of the collecting data.

The mounds of greyish-blue sand camouflaged the space habitat with the grey mountain ranges behind it. The spacemen’s shoes crunched in the planet’s stillness. The crepuscular rays beaming from the dense clouds above them, and the dazzling blue light filtering through the dark dense clouds resembled a Renaissance painting of a divine figure coming down to earth.

For the past three months, an abhorrent storm had obscured the entire sky. The nightmarish winds had descended on the exoplanet habitat of planet Duern Q861. Its wrath reverberated upon the habitat like thunder with large stones crashing upon the habitat. Everything had become pitch black outside the planet’s habitat and the connections to Earth were lost during this brief period. With the passing days, the Spacemen’s supplies depleted, and without communication, the mission was at risk of failure.

           After three months, the storm’s ferocity had diminished to nearly nothing. It took days before anything moved around the Space Habitat, Duern Q861A, while the structure remained in the heaps of grey dust settled upon it. After several weeks, there was some movement around the space habitat. The habitat airlocks opened and three white drones flew out to scout the surroundings, gliding, and sailing in three different directions and disappearing into the distance to collect samples. Following the drones, came out the spacemen with their equipment analyzing the surroundings thoroughly and observing the readings until midday. The spaceman looked to his left; the dark clouds were thundering along the horizon but their crackling was vibrating the ground beneath them. Then the spacemen opened the larger airlock, boarded the big carrier rover, and drove toward the small habitat located a mile away from the big habitat.

The dust rose behind the spacemen when the carrier rover drove through the barren grey desert. Ahead of these minuscule spacemen, grey and white sands stretched till the mountain range extended into the horizon. The dull-white mountains looked like raging ocean tides at the storm, captured and frozen in time. These gigantic mountains witnessed the spacemen, the habitat, and everything below as they stood arrogant and untouched by the ferocious storm. Within the valleys of these mountains, enormous caverns and craters existed, which sometimes resembled a dragon’s lair from the fairy tales.

Despite the rover reaching the location of the small habitat, the enormous building was not visible. The two spacemen got down from their rover and began walking to the habitat. The building was oddly missing from their view, and they searched around, their eyes scanning the location. Soon they noticed metals, glass, and many open electrical wires crackling. The entire small habitat was in ruins and under the dunes of dust. They stood on the ruins of the habitat. It surprised them to see the broken pieces of the small habitat buried in the sand. They built these structures specifically to resist heavy storm winds and the impacts of earthquakes. But now standing on its destroyed remains is grave news.

The two spacemen stood there in dismay and shock. The winds wailed in the distance, and the dust from the dunes flew along with the passing breeze. In the deep silence, their pacing heartbeats were audible. Their visors were fogging because of their wheezing warm breath. The spacewoman saw the spaceman’s face twist with shock and bewilderment.

After a moment, his face turned stern and he spoke in his microphone, “The storm has destroyed the small habitat, Duern Q861B. And based on the settlement of dust remains, we cannot estimate when this happened. We hope to retrieve our data soon.”

“Yeah. I agree, but we need to dig and find the system data. Maybe our samples might still be undamaged,” replied the spacewoman over her microphone.

“We must terminate our mission if it is compromised,” told the spaceman. The spacewoman kneeled on the soft grey dirt. But she widened her eyes and blinked hard, struggling not to cry. Crying is uncomfortable in a spacesuit.

The spaceman agreed and began looking through the crumbled remains of the habitat to detect the samples through the metal and glass. He also hoped the sample would be all right, but he felt his heart palpitating under the thick suit and a panic attack missing him by inches. He stood tall and practiced a few breathing techniques before starting his excavation work. Soon they were walking amongst the ruins and moving the metal and glass with their shovels looking for their samples. Their precious samples.

They spent over twenty minutes digging into the sand and shoving away the heavy metals. As they kept working, they found the shards of reinforced glasses of the habitat. The Spaceman kept pushing the grey sand aside and the planet was turning colder by the minute. Then underneath one of the broken green glasses, he found the samples. They found several broken black boxes, and the Spaceman reached inside one of them and pulled some dried leaves out. It was a small leaf, almost as small and circular as the size of a bottle cap, and brownish-orange as an autumn leaf. It is the first plant cultivated on this distant, dusty planet. Out of the sixty different plant species sent with these spacemen, only this plant thrived on this terrain because of its ability to burst its pollens for extensive ranges, and they also have a longer life span.

But now the last of those plants had also died. With the entire habitat sinking into the grey sand, the plant samples crumbled under its collapsing weight. Along with it, the spacemen’s remaining hope too. The spaceman picked up the dead plant and displayed it to the spacewoman. She was still digging the ground and halted when she saw it. She came close and examined it before putting it in one of her spacesuit compartments. They both took another black box and safeguarded it in the carrier rover’s portable cryogenic chamber.

The spaceman clicked the radio button on the side of his helmet as his hands felt sweaty under those thick gloves. His hands trembled, and he felt the nerve on his temples pump and pain. With a big deep breath, the spaceman recorded into his AV radio that their mission is a failure. Although there was no voice from the other side, only static radio buzzing, he recorded the situation on his radio.

He noticed the spacewoman from his peripheral. She had fallen on her knees and began whispering prayers to her gods. He didn’t feel like summoning the gods because they already knew his plight and yet watched upon them without mercy. The spacemen had made detailed plans to save their dying planet and terraform DuernQ861. But they realized their plan had led to an imminent and predetermined defeat. It felt like a tragic destiny, a cruel ploy to humiliate them, to give them hope only to crush it. The spacemen whispered his father’s words, “For they sculpted the fire and it burnt them”

The spaceman loosened his shoulder and looked up at the dark sky for some hope, or some answers. He stared at all the million lights above, shining and flickering. Amongst those stars in the sky, the spaceman saw a small distant blue dot. He stared at it for a while, squinting his eyes. Just for a moment, his mind voyaged to that planet. The elated people, the green grass, the rainy days with the hot coffees, a cold bed on a summer night, and the warm smooch of the sun on the face. The toxicity of breathing air, decomposed food, loss of peaceful sleep, and pain of crumbling starvation in the midriff. He tried to forget the sound of the horrible war cries, the deafening roar of the dropping bombs and gunfire. He tried shaking the memory of holding his family in his arms while hiding in the wardrobe, waiting for the screams to settle. It all ended with the high pitch whistling of the rocket engine.

The spaceman coughed, and his knees trembled. Within moments his legs gave up, and he fell to the ground on his knees as well, while trying hard to breathe. He tried pulling his thoughts off of it but was futile. He saw the blood, the bodies, the wails, and the orphans. He kept fighting his thoughts, which spiraled painfully within his mind. With a deep breath, he summoned his inner voice to convince himself of the reality, “Gone is everything, gone before you knew, gone before you left. Gone before you hoped. Gone far, far away amidst the storm.”

The loud alarm beeped and his pocket vibrated, rescuing him from his thoughts. The spacewoman pulled out her electronic monitoring tablet and clicked some buttons. Then she hurried to the carrier rover and viewed it through the built-in emergency systems. With panic and confusion sweating from her face, the spaceman heard her through the intercom, “The drones have found something in the eastern valley!”

“We’ll see what it is. Come”, the spaceman said and ran over to the rover, but the spacewoman stood motionless and hesitant.

“What happened?” he asked confused.

“What if it comes back?” asked the spacewoman, putting her device inside her suit’s compartment. The spaceman nodded, and she told, “The storm might swirl again. It’s better we must go back to the habitat now.”

“No… we need to see what the drones have found,” the spaceman protested, “What if it is some help or supplies? Maybe someone else landed here. Maybe a rescue team! I think it is a rescue team,” said the spaceman as the spacewoman shook her head in disagreement. “Maybe the war is over and they have come for us. We need to check this out”

 “There is no help, Manuel!” snapped the Spacewoman as she pleaded into the microphone, “If they cared, they would contact us, but no! They have left us here to die on this planet! This is the reality. Get this in your head!”

The spaceman stared at her, his fury rising with his excitement, “I still hope otherwise, I feel it. Just think, what if?”

The spacewoman scoffed and yelled, “But what if there is no rescue? What if the storm returns and carries us away with it?”

“I don’t mind!” sneered the spaceman swinging his arms around the rover and climbing over it. “We either die out here or rot in that damned habitat all alone. I don’t want to go back. It stinks like death and blood in there. Wherever the drones are and whatever it has found, I’m going there. If it is death, so be it. All I’m asking you now is…” he paused, holding back his tears, “are you coming with me?”

The spacewoman stared through her golden visor for a minute and gaited to the rover and told, “It will take at least 6 hours to reach there. Buckle up then” and so they buckled to the rover and drove the rover at its maximum speed, about 20km/hr. This rover was the fastest ever built to overcome obstacles and the uneven alien terrain with its large tires and fantastic suspension systems.

The journey took a long time since the eastern valley was several miles away. The tired spacemen knew the travel would be more tiring, but it didn’t matter to them. After hours upon hours of steering through the dusty mountain path, they arrived at the eastern valley and spotted the drone flying high above the location, which hovered just for the spacemen’s reference. While the other two were scanning the environment. It took another hour to drive through the steep grounds to the drone location. They stopped the carrier rover several feet before a large cavern opening.

  The two spacemen unbuckled themselves and trod towards the cavern’s opening. They saw an exposed cavern with a wide opening – a gigantic crater. The crater was as massive as hundred football fields. The crater was so gigantic that these two spacemen were almost the size of bugs in front of it.

  Both the spacemen were dumbfounded and confused by their very own sight. Their eyes didn’t blink, their body had stopped sweating, their jaws were wide open, and they drew their breaths in. The enormous crater was bleeding vivid red and orange. Out of the crater, many red and orange circular particles ascended. The floating particles were as small as bottle caps. The beautiful pollens sailed in the wind like dandelion seeds while the red leaves of the plant brushed one another.

The entire opening had become a garden spread out in the wild environment. Throughout the crater, for miles, the flowers had flourished and the plant brushed against one another, rustling. The crater’s inclined plane curved down and in the middle of the crater, they noticed something transparent reflecting the bluish-gray hue of the sky. The most fundamental source of life; Liquid Water.

The spacemen knew that the water could have come from the underground water source of this planet. Perhaps an asteroid had struck this planet centuries ago, and this has brought the underground liquid water gushing to the bottom of this crater. The strong winds had brought the plant’s pollen from the ruins of the small habitat to this crater several miles away. The pollens could have settled down in this crater by the large lake glimmering in the semi-darkness. With water and the crater protecting the plants from the storm, plant life has thrived here.

“Look! An alien!” a man’s voice echoed from behind the two spacemen pointing at the crater’s garden. The spaceman turned around and saw five other spacemen standing behind them. The joke had cracked them all up. The spaceman couldn’t see their face clearly through their visor, but he remembered their face and their codenames. There was Green, Zweig, Signature, Trident, and Clicky. All of them were in their spacesuit with their actual names labeled on their chests. He looked at them in surprise, and his eyes couldn’t avert from them.

The five laughed, and the spaceman watching them heard their hysterical laugh through his intercom. Upon the paceman’s face, a smile developed, and he began snorting and chuckling. He looked at Clicky leaning on the rover and laughing at his terrible joke, and the spaceman predicted Zweig would smile under his visor, guessing by his rigid body language. The other three were giggling at Clicky’s uncontrollable laughing rather than his joke. Signature turned to the spaceman and shook his head in agreement. The orange and red pollen flew across them all, and the planet’s home star began rising in the west, behind the five other spacemen. The scene was exquisite, yet quite disturbing.

The spaceman looked at them and reluctantly blinked, unwilling to let go of what he was witnessing. When he opened his eyes, as he had expected, the five spacemen had disappeared into the weak breeze. His eyes teared up as his visors fogged and he heard his breath in the pressurizing silence. He closed his eyes once again, this time tightly shutting them not to let his tears out. Crying is uncomfortable in the spacesuit.

He knew the other spacemen were resting peacefully in the underground cryogenic chamber inside the big habitat. Drifting in their dreams in a world far away, or maybe they were back on earth reliving an alternate yet happier reality. If a rescue team comes to find them or accidentally stumbles upon this planet, they would find the well-preserved corpses of these spacemen.

He again re-opened his eyes once more to revisit the figment. He saw the vast expanse of the dusty terrain. His throat narrowed, and his nose was cramping. But his palpitating heart had oddly calmed, and the trembling finger became still and numb. He couldn’t decide whether to be glad or glum while both blew his way.

The spaceman then turned to look beside him at the spacewoman. She, too, had vanished with the others without a trace. He sighed and gulped heavily as his eye scanned the large valley of the vivid red and orange plant. He rose his hands and touched the floating seed. Although he couldn’t feel it through his spacesuit, he still felt the wind, and a tickling sensation ran down his arm. He smiled, and with a breath drawn in, he began chuckling and then laughing. The drones were still collecting samples and buzzing around like children in a park. The pleasantly delighted spaceman’s smile never left. He sighed with relief and closed his eyes, relishing in the present moment. They have accomplished the mission despite the absolute hurdles.

He gazed at the dancing alien plant field on this strange planet far from earth. He thought of the divine play portrayed ahead of him and the absurdity of the entire ordeal. He laughed hysterically as though he had found unintelligible humor in it, as his feet rose in the air, and he ascended. With grace, his entire body floated up the sky like an air balloon as the light brushed through his golden visor and into his face. Amongst the endless stars filling the sky above, a brilliant-blue dot twinkled brighter than ever.

The spaceman, just like his other crew members, disappeared into the breeze without a remnant. His laughter still echoed and haunted the wind until it faded. The red and orange field rustled to the weak wind glimmering to the light of the new dawn. The passing wind blew from the distance as it buried the footprints under the grey layers of sand. Duern Q861 became silent, its grey dust settled, and life began thriving again.

True story!

About 6 years back I worked at an insurance company. One day I met a fellow employee, we’ll call him Greg. Greg likes to golf ,so do I. With that being said Greg starts joining a group of us that golfed on Wednesday nights. We would all meet up and go play 9 holes. One night we met at a course close to Greg’s house, about 10–12 blocks from him. I had never been to this course. As we go to walk in, I noticed they had signage on their door. I let everyone know I’ll be right back. Greg ask me where I’m going. I replied I got to lock my gun up in the car,I’ll be right back. Upon my return Greg says, ya know you don’t need that thing this is a really safe neighborhood, I live close by and there’s never been any trouble. I replied that’s good to know. We golfed and had a great time.

About 2 weeks later…Greg doesn’t show up for work. It’s Wednesday and our usual group will be gathering to play our weekly round. As we all get to the course I ask if anyone has heard from Greg because it just seemed unusual that he didn’t call or anything. Three days later, no Greg at work still and nobody has heard from him. I finally call him to see if he’s ok. No answer…text no response.

Greg comes to work Monday and walks into my office. He was a clean shaven bald guy..his head had many stitches. He had two black eyes and a broken nose. He was also missing 2 teeth. My first response was OMG are you ok. My first inclination was that he had been in a car accident.He had been in the hospital almost the entire week.

He replied no I’m not ok. Will you help me pick out a gun after work tonight. My home was invaded at 4 am last Wednesday morning and they beat me with a shotgun in my face.

Does that answer your question?

Chili Casserole with Cornbread

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bb459e2144528af264c9470b56e6803d

Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can dark red kidney beans
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced peeled tomatoes
1 1/2 cups Niblets frozen corn
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 (8 1/2 ounce) package cornbread mix
Milk
Margarine
Egg, if required by mix
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon sliced green onions

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef; drain.
Stir in salsa, kidney beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, prepare cornbread as directed on package using milk and, if required, margarine and egg.
Spoon cornbread batter around outside edge of ungreased 12 x 8 inch (2 quart) baking dish.
Spoon hot beef mixture into center. (Casserole will be full.)
Bake at 400 degrees F for 18 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese; bake an additional 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and cornbread is deep golden brown.
Sprinkle with green onions just before serving.

A Pen Story

That’s how the idea came about: why not use a ball-shaped metal nib for writing? This is how the pen was born. László József Biro shared his idea with his brother György, a chemist, and together they began researching and experimenting to create a new type of pen based on this concept. Finally, they found the perfect combination: a viscous ink and a tip with a small ball that rotated freely, preventing the ink from drying out and controlling its flow. They presented their invention at the Budapest International Fair in 1931 and patented it in 1938, although they did not market it immediately. With the start of World War II, the brothers emigrated to Argentina, where they founded a company in a garage. Although they were initially unsuccessful due to the high cost of the product, they secured a contract with the British Air Force, which boosted their popularity. In 1943, they licensed their invention to Eversharp Faber in the United States for $2 million. In 1950, Marcel Bich acquired the rights and, on the recommendation of an advertising expert, dropped the “h” from his surname and founded the company BICGroup. In that year, they launched the first BIC Cristal, one of the most perfect designs ever created, of which more than 20 million units are sold every day around the world. Since 1953, more than 100 billion BIC Cristals have been manufactured, making it the best-selling pen of all time.

Most definitely.

I was out hiking. I leave my wallet in my car when doing so, and only carry my ID in a zippered pocket, in case I come across a bear on a date with a woman and they get over protective and eat me (yes I’m making a joke out of that stupid Man vs bear in the woods scenario, sue me).

Anyhoo. A homeless camp had been set up off the trail. I’d say maybe 25-30 yards away from the main trail. But the homeless were out and about, begging the hikers for money.

With my luck, a particularly aggressive homeless man kept asking me for money. I tried ignoring him but he decided to keep following me, around my 8 o clock position. He moved to my 11 and started demanding money or he was going to “take it himself”.

At that point I drew my back up guns back up, a .38 +p snubby. I told him to back off several times and tried increasing my distance. At that point he was probably 10-12 ft from me. I stopped walking, faced him, and walked backwards, making sure to keep him in my full view.

I started yelling at him to back away before he ends up being coyote chow. I was hoping another hiker would appear, or something. I prayed I wouldn’t have to follow through on my threat.

He didn’t believe me and decided to walk fast at me, and I sadly put a round dead center. I immediately shifted my weapon to my off hand while keeping it trained on him, and called 9 11.

Eventually officers and EMS responded. I was detained and my weapon taken, and an investigation started. The homeless guy didn’t end up as wild life food, and survived. After a lengthy legal ordeal I wasn’t charged with anything and got my gun back.

When it boils down to it, if it’s between me going home or another person going home, I’m sorry but I’m the one going home, and the other party has three choices. 1. Home 2. Hospital 3. Morgue

Written by Hal Turner

November 28, 2024

Most Americans continue to believe that the United States will prevail in a conventional war with Russia. That is simply not the case.

For starters, Russia’s state-of-the-art missile technology and missile defense systems are vastly superior to those produced by western weapons manufacturers.

Secondly, Russia can field an army of more than 1 million battle-hardened combat troops (honed in Ukraine) who have experienced high-intensity warfare and are prepared to engage whatever enemy they may face in the future.

Third, the United States no longer has the industrial capacity to match Russia’s impressive output of lethal weaponry, artillery shells, ammunition, and cutting-edge ballistic missiles.

In short, Russian military capability far exceeds that of the US in the areas that really count: High-tech weaponry, military industrial capacity, and experienced manpower.

In order to drive this overall point home, I’ve taken excerpts from the work of three military analysts who explain these matters in greater detail underscoring the dramatic shortcomings of the modern US military and the problems it is likely to encounter when faced with a more technologically advanced and formidable adversary.

The first excerpt is from an article by Alex Vershinin titled The Return of Industrial Warfare:

The war in Ukraine has proven that the age of industrial warfare is still here. The massive consumption of equipment, vehicles and ammunition requires a large-scale industrial base for resupply – quantity still has a quality of its own…. The rate of ammunition and equipment consumption in Ukraine can only be sustained by a large-scale industrial base.

This reality should be a concrete warning to Western countries, who have scaled down military industrial capacity and sacrificed scale and effectiveness for efficiency. This strategy relies on flawed assumptions about the future of war, and has been influenced by both the bureaucratic culture in Western governments and the legacy of low-intensity conflicts. Currently, the West may not have the industrial capacity to fight a large-scale war….

The Capacity of the West’s Industrial Base

The winner in a prolonged war between two near-peer powers is still based on which side has the strongest industrial base. A country must either have the manufacturing capacity to build massive quantities of ammunition or have other manufacturing industries that can be rapidly converted to ammunition production. Unfortunately, the West no longer seems to have either…. In a recent war game involving US, UK and French forces, UK forces exhausted national stockpiles of critical ammunition after eight days….

Flawed Assumptions The first key assumption about future of combat is that precision-guided weapons will reduce overall ammunition consumption by requiring only one round to destroy the target. The war in Ukraine is challenging this assumption….. The second crucial assumption is that industry can be turned on and off at will….. Unfortunately, this does not work for military purchases. There is only one customer in the US for artillery shells – the military. Once the orders drop off, the manufacturer must close production lines to cut costs to stay in business. Small businesses may close entirely. Generating new capacity is very challenging, especially as there is so little manufacturing capacity left to draw skilled workers from….. The supply chain issues are also problematic because subcomponents may be produced by a subcontractor who either goes out of business, with loss of orders or retools for other customers or who relies on parts from overseas, possibly from a hostile country…. Conclusion The war in Ukraine demonstrates that war between peer or near-peer adversaries demands the existence of a technically advanced, mass scale, industrial-age production capability….. For the US to act as the arsenal of democracy in defence of Ukraine, there must be a major look at the manner and the scale at which the US organises its industrial base…. If competition between autocracies and democracies has really entered a military phase, then the arsenal of democracy must first radically improve its approach to the production of materiel in wartime. The Return of Industrial Warfare, Alex Vershinin, Rusi Bottom line: The United States no longer has the industrial base or the requisite stockpiles to prevail in a prolonged war between two near-peer powers. Simply put, the US will not win an extended conventional war with Russia. Here’s how analyst Lee Slusher summed it up in a recent post on Twitter:

…. . The US effectively had monopolies on many decisive capabilities, like precision-guided munitions, night-vision, global strike, etc. I think the absence of high-intensity conflict between the US and other nations had a lot to do with these asymmetries. There was no need for the US to apply mass when its advanced capabilities—or even just the threat of them—were sufficient to achieve political aims…..

The list of nations with advanced capabilities continues to grow. At the same time, Western militaries and defense industrial bases continue to erode.

The West exchanged its large standing armies for a reliance on boutique American capabilities that were once decisive but are now increasingly commonplace. This has left the West without its technological edge and without its previous military mass.

Those who still believe in US military supremacy fail to realize these changes. Worse still, most of them entertain cartoonishly underrated notions about Russian military capabilities. They fail to realize Russia has both a technological edge and military mass. Th reputation the US military had was deserved for a time, but everything changes. Lee Slusher @LeeBTConsulting

Bottom Line: America’s adversaries—Russia, China, Iran—have either caught up to or surpassed the US in advanced missile technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAV), electronic warfare, cutting-edge missile defense systems etc.—which is gradually increasing parity between the states while ending the period of US military supremacy. The American century is rapidly drawing to a close.

Let’s move on to military analyst Number 2, Will Schyver, who draws similar conclusions to those of Vershinin but from a slightly different angle. Check it out:

I am more convinced than ever that the US could NOT establish air superiority against Russia — not in a week; not in a year. Never. It simply could not be done. It would be a logistical power projection challenge well beyond the current capabilities of the United States military.

American air power would prove substantially inferior to the extremely potent and abundantly supplied air defenses fielded by the Russians.

Just as the majority of HIMARS-launched GMLRS rockets, HARMS missiles, ATACMS missiles, and British Storm Shadow missiles are now being shot down in Ukraine, the vast majority of US long-range precision-guided missiles would be shot down, and the US would very rapidly deplete its limited inventory of these munitions in a futile attempt to overwhelm the Russian capacity to keep shooting back.

American suppression of enemy air defenses would prove inadequate to the task of defeating extremely sophisticated, deeply layered, and highly mobile air defense radars and missiles….

the war in Ukraine has made perfectly clear that all manner of western air defense systems are inferior to even the decades-old Soviet S-300 and Buk systems that Ukraine originally deployed. And even if western systems were formidable, they simply don’t exist in anything approaching the numbers necessary to provide credible defense in broad scope and depth.

To complicate matters even further, scant US munitions inventory and insuperable production limitations would allow the US to prosecute an air war against Russia or China for only a few weeks at most.

Moreover, in a high-intensity combat scenario in either eastern Europe, the China seas, or the Persian Gulf, the maintenance demands for US aircraft would overwhelm its proximate supply. Mission-capable rates would plummet even lower than their notoriously abysmal peacetime standards.

The US would, quite literally after only a few days, see sub-10% mission-capable rates for the F-22 and F-35, and sub-25% rates for almost every other platform in the inventory. It would be a huge embarrassment for the Pentagon … but hardly a huge surprise…..

Simply put, US air power as a theater-wide undertaking could not be sustained in the context of a non-permissive regional and global battlefield against one or more peer adversaries.

In eastern Europe, Russia would savage NATO bases and supply routes. The Baltic and Black seas would effectively become Russian lakes where NATO shipping could not venture….

Many are convinced these are unfounded hysterical assertions. In my view, the simple military, mathematical, and geographic realities of the situation dictate these conclusions, and those who resist them are typically blinded by the myth of American exceptionalism and its attendant ills to such a degree that they are unable to discern things as they really are….

I am increasingly persuaded that, if the US chooses to make direct war against either Russia, China, or Iran, it will result in a war against all three simultaneously.

And that, amazingly enough, is just one of multiple hard truths that the #EmpireAtAllCosts cult, and those acquiescing to its delusional designs, ought to give more serious consideration as they continue staggering towards the abyss of a war they could never win…. Staggering Towards the Abyss, Will Schryver, Substack

There’s a lot to chew on here but, in essence, Schryver is weighing Russia’s impressive air defense capability against America’s “scant munitions inventory and insuperable production limitations”, the combination of which suggests that a US military offensive would likely peter-out before inflicting serious damage on the enemy. Once again, our military analyst infers that the United States will not win in a direct confrontation with Russia.

Finally, we’ve excerpted a longer blurb from Kit Klarenberg who is more of an investigative journalist than military analyst. In a piece titled Collapsing Empire: China and Russia Checkmate US Military, Klarenberg details, what he calls the “unrelentingly bleak analysis of every aspect of the Empire’s bloated, decaying global war machine.”

If even half of what the author says is true, then we can be reasonably certain that the United States escalation with Russia is the fast track to a military catastrophe unlike anything the world has seen since the fall of Berlin in May, 1945. Take a look:

On July 29th, …. RAND Corporation published a landmark appraisal of the state of the Pentagon’s 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS), and current US military readiness… Its findings are stark, an unrelentingly bleak analysis of every aspect of the Empire’s bloated, decaying global war machine. In brief, the US is “not prepared” in any meaningful way for serious “competition” with its major adversaries – and vulnerable or even significantly outmatched in every sphere of warfare…. the Empire’s worldwide dominance, are judged to be at best woefully inadequate, at worst outright delusional.

From the Rand Report:

“We believe the magnitude of the threats the US faces is understated and significantly worse…In many ways, China is outpacing the US…in defense production and growth in force size and, increasingly, in force capability and is almost certain to continue to do so…[Beijing] has largely negated the US military advantage in the Western Pacific through two decades of focused military investment. Without significant change by the US, the balance of power will continue to shift in China’s favor.”

“At minimum, the US should assume that if it enters a direct conflict involving Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea, that country will benefit from economic and military aid from the others…This new alignment of nations opposed to US interests creates a real risk, if not likelihood, that conflict anywhere could become a multi-theater or global war…As US adversaries are cooperating more closely together than before, the US and its allies must be prepared to confront an axis of multiple adversaries.” Commission on the National Defense, Rand

As the Commission report spells out in forensic detail, Washington would be almost completely defenceless in such a scenario, and likely defeated nigh on instantly…. It’s not just being spread too thinly across the Grand Chessboard that means the Empire’s military “lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.”…

The RAND Commission found Washington’s “defense industrial base” is completely “unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs” of the US, let alone its allies. “A protracted conflict, especially in multiple theaters, would require much greater capacity to produce, maintain, and replenish weapons and munitions” than is currently in place….

For decades, the US military “employed cutting-edge technology to its decisive advantage for decades.” This “assumption of uncontested technological superiority” on the Empire’s part meant Washington had “the luxury to build exquisite capabilities, with long acquisition cycles and little tolerance for failure or risk.” Those days are long over though, with China and Russia “incorporating technology at accelerating speed”….. America’s “defense industrial base” is today crumbling, riddled with a myriad of deleterious issues…

To address these problems, the Commission calls… to re-industrialize the US after years of outsourcing, offshoring and neglect. No timeframe is provided, although it would likely take decades…..

We have entered a strange, late-stage Empire era, comparable to the Soviet Union’s Glasnost, in which elements of the US imperial brain-trust can see with blinding clarity Washington’s entire hegemonic global project is stumbling rapidly and irreversibly towards extinction… Collapsing Empire: China and Russia Checkmate US Military, Kit Klarenberg, Substack

Once again, we see the same criticisms reiterated over and over again : Insufficient industrial capacity, dwindling stockpiles, “insuperable production limitations”, and diminished technological superiority. When we add these to the myriad logistical problems of conducting a war in eastern Europe with an ad hoc army of inexperienced volunteers who have never seen combat, we can only conclude that the United States cannot and will not prevail in a prolonged conflict with Russia. Even so, Washington continues to fire ATACMS missiles into Russia (13 more were launched over the past two days) apparently believing that there will be no response to the provocation. Even so, NATO Command continues to entertain illusions of victory by pressing for preemptive “precision strikes” on Russian territory welcoming the prospect of a direct conflagration between NATO and Russia. And even though, both France and the UK threaten to deploy combat troops to Ukraine thinking the inexorable trajectory of the war can somehow be reversed. It’s madness.

Five centuries of primacy have produced a cadre of western elites so drunk with hubris that they are incapable of seeing what is painfully obvious to everyone else, that the imperial model of western exploitation (the ‘rules-based order’) is collapsing and that new centers of power are rapidly emerging.

It appears now that these same elites are prepared to drag the world into a catastrophic Third World War to preserve their grip on power and to prevent other nations from achieving the independence and prosperity they’ve earned. Fortunately, Washington will fail in this effort just as it has failed in all its other interventions dating back to 1945. Because the United States no longer has the technology, manpower or industrial capacity needed to win a war with Russia.

It’s a whole new ballgame.

NEW ORESHNIK MISSILE SINGULARLY CHANGED GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER

Russia’s use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, which they call “Oreshnik” (in English “Hazel”) has utterly changed the global balance of power. It is a non-nuclear weapon system that mimics nuclear destruction levels. It cannot be intercepted, and hits with pinpoint accuracy.

  • Below are the Key Points from Putin’s Statements on the Oreshnik Missile System at the CSTO Meeting:
  • The General Staff and the Ministry of Defense are currently selecting targets for the Oreshnik missile to be destroyed on Ukrainian territory.
  • Decision-making centers in Kyiv could become a target for the Oreshnik.
  • In the event of a massive use of the Oreshnik, the force of the strike will be comparable to nuclear weapons.
  • The Oreshnik missile system is capable of striking deep-sea and well-protected targets.
  • The Russian Federation will continue combat tests of the Oreshnik in response to enemy actions.
  • The Russian Federation has begun serial production of the Oreshnik.

There are no analogues to the Russian “Oreshnik” in the world, and they will not appear anytime soon.

The Message Behind the Missile

Putin’s remarks on the Oreshnik missile system are not just about showcasing Russia’s technological prowess, they’re a clear signal to the West that the era of unchallenged NATO dominance is over.

The Oreshnik, capable of delivering strikes comparable to nuclear force, represents a seismic shift in the global balance of power. Its ability to obliterate deep-sea and well-protected targets renders much of the West’s defensive posturing obsolete. This is not a weapon of escalation; it’s a weapon of deterrence, designed to compel adversaries to rethink their delusions of invincibility.

The implications are staggering. As serial production ramps up, Moscow is effectively telling NATO: “Push us further, and we will respond with overwhelming force.”

The potential targeting of decision-making centers in Kiev underscores the Kremlin’s resolve to dismantle the very infrastructure sustaining the Western-backed puppet and the West’s aggression.

For all of Washington’s talk of deterrence, it is now clear that Russia has redefined the concept entirely. The Oreshnik isn’t just a missile—it’s a doctrine, a declaration that Russia’s red lines are not negotiable.

The West should take heed: this is not a bluff, nor is it a gesture for theater. It’s the cold reality of a multipolar world where the rules are no longer dictated from Washington. The choice is clear: de-escalate, or face consequences that no amount of NATO summitry can reverse.

Job Security CRISIS! PEOPLE VERY WORRIED ABOUT LOSING THEIR JOB!

The tale of the small skull

Despite being attacked and labeled incessantly as wumao and commie lapdog, I don’t consider myself pro-china.

I am first and foremost pro-singapore. This is where I was born, and I fully intend to die here, an island I have sworn to defend.

I live right in the middle of the Anglophone echo chamber. Singaporeans are plugged directly into the mainstream news circuit as English speakers.

It is not an exaggeration I am surrounded by brethren who have been conditioned by decades of negativity fed by the news circuit.

You may not like China and the mainland Chinese. Trust me when I say I understand. My wife insists on banning Huawei phones from the home because these devices “send data back to China”.

And that is why I carry a Samsung. Guys who are married quickly learn the meaning of “no end to it”. The tomorrow threatened never fails to arrive.

So why am I writing about China?

Hate China all you want. But hate China and the Chinese for the right reasons.

Otherwise, mindless hate will only exacerbate the risk of war, as public consensus of China as THE enemy and THE threat solidifies.

The greatest arms race of the 21st century is brewing at our doorstep in East Asia. Hundreds of billions in strategic weapon systems and trillions in defense spending. Meanwhile, an economic war is intensifying, threatening to blow up the livelihoods of billions in East Asia.

It is pertinent to inform east Asia that the health of China is central to peace and prosperity of the region. China isn’t an abstract concept or a faraway land, because decisions in Beijing are intimately entwined with our livelihoods.

I continue to speak out against the demonization of China and the Chinese, because the real threat is the hegemony of the United States. But there must first be awareness and understanding of who the Chinese are, what they are facing, and why they are not bowing to hegemony.

My time on quora is but a token effort.

I very much want my daughter to inherit a peaceful tomorrow, one where the color of her skin does not condemn to a lifetime of discrimination meant only for yellow people.

Firstly, do not count on it. The United States could very well be victorious when fighting Russia, plus China, plus Iran, plus North Korea.

You never know.

Ah. The neocons believe so. And you just gotta believe them. For after all they have first-class seating waiting for them in Heaven.

But most [1] serious students of modern combat, who are also [2] aware of Chinese history, and who have [3] also been to modern contemporaneous China, pretty much everyone is in perfect harmony and complete agreement that China would emerge the victor.

Not just the experienced “people in the know”, but also American military think tanks. Such as RAND, and the Naval War College. In all cases, they advise NOT to engage China in a hot war.

So it is a unanimous consensus or shared agreement among all that China would be the victor in a hot conflict.

But…

There are a number of rising tides of dispute to these assertions.

The first are the rabid neocon cabal; who are religious zealots (for the most part) and who have an unwavering belief in “American exceptionalism”. This belief is that all one needs is “faith” and “unwavering belief” that Jesus (the Lord and Savior) has blessed the United States, and being so blessed; is immune from ever being destroyed. They control most of Washington DC “Deep State”. They believe, in their hearts, that the United States is immune from harm.

The Second is a propaganda feed-back loop. The neocons have made arrangements to fund an anti-China narrative in all English and American (and proxy) publications. This has been active since 2008, and has changed English-speaking public opinion against China. This is a negative feed-back loop as those decision makers inside of the Washington Beltway believe their own lies.

Since these two groups control the vast bulk of the decisions being made in Washington DC, we all (in unison) watch in horror as the United States places it’s various efforts in prepared positions for an assault upon China.

Well…

Are the neocons right, or are the military think tanks right?

They both see China, and I like to believe that they study China, yet they both come with completely different conclusions. Which is really a “head scratcher”. Don’t you think?

That’s a good question, and perhaps the actual issue behind this question.

Let’s spend some time learning about China from a military perspective.

HISTORY

It is well established that China has a solid 6000 years of the people identifying themselves as Chinese. It is also well known that this is only what we can read. China goes back much further than that. Latest archaeological discoveries place populated cities back to 200,000 years ago. And during all those years, do you know what China was doing?

They were fighting.

China has the oldest known civilization, and the oldest civilization with near continuous fighting. The Chinese know war. In all of it’s various forms. And when the archeologists started digging in the 200,000 year old Chinese settlement, do you know what they found?

Evidence of large scale war.

In fact, the Chinese were perfecting large-scale military battle involving thousands of men and horse, along with coordinated attacks when the earliest proto-Europeans were hiding in caves, and running from Neanderthals.

And when Robert Greene wrote his massive tome: The 33 Strategies of War, he used example after example of techniques that the Chinese have perfected over the many centuries of fighting.

MILITARY SOCIETY

Because of the massive span of time of fighting, the Chinese have evolved into a rugged and capable people. And with the torrent of endless wars, they developed a society of survival. This, of course, evolved into various forms of discipline and martial training; the Chinese people have created a Chinese-version of ancient Sparta.

GENGHIS KHAN

When Genghis Khan moved out of the Mongolian lowlands, his first order of business was to fight the Chinese. And it took years. For after all, the “Great Wall of China” was built specifically to keep out the Golden Horde from China.

But, you know, eventually, the great Khan captured China and integrated it into his kingdom. And from that moment on, the Chinese assimilated the Mongols. Resistance was futile. And so, while the European history books tell of the fierce Golden Horde seizing most of Asia, what they minimize was the fantastical role that the Chinese sappers played in the destruction of all the Middle Eastern, and European cities. These cities were not destroyed by Genghis Khans horseback riders, but by Chinese engineers, sappers and assault troops.

As you can see by the map below (at 1300 a.d.) the Chinese Empire and the Mongol Empire was one and the same.

Genghis Khan empire assimulated by China
Genghis Khan empire assimulated by China

China is the red outline, with the Mongol Empire in purple.

Today, the discipline handed down from generation after generation of Chinese follows a direct lineage to the bloodline of the Genghis Khan Golden Horde. As does the contemporaneous Russian living in Asia.

MODERN MILITARY EQUIPMENT

One of the great anti-China propagandized narratives is that China uses conscripts, out of date; hand-me-down weapons from the former Soviet Union, and is devoid of “real” leadership. This narrative is repeated with great gusto and passion in Conservative publications throughout the West.

But it’s all a big lie.

China was a peer competitor with the United States and it’s proxies in 1950. Since then, it has focused its efforts and redoubled down on creating the most dangerous, lethal and strongest military in the world. And it has been successful.

China today is Peer-level with Russia, and above-peer with the United States.

In fact, China has entire arrays of weapons systems that are absolutely unheard of outside of Asia. They have developed simple, rugged and easy to manufacture systems all domestically made. From the top-line stealth fighters (J-20) and stealth bombers to the (*hush top secret*) Tic-Tak UFO craft that enjoys zipping around American Aircraft carrier battle groups.

China has drone aircraft carriers, search-and-detonate hand grenades, sonic, and laser cannons, terminator robots that fly into the battle field, swarms of robot sharks and a wide selection of nuclear based munitions.

I have written numerous posts on these very interesting weapons systems, but there seems to be a cabal of folk that don’t want to hear anything about Chinese military. They just want to believe that they are just poorly educated peasants with old SKS rifles.

CO-TRAINING WITH RUSSIA

Russia is obtaining some terrific experience in the battlefield in Ukraine. And this experience has caused them to update their battle and combat doctrines. And do you know who they share this information with?

They share and train with the Chinese PLA.

Everything that the Russians learn is shared immediately in real time with China.

WROTE THE BOOKS ON FIGHTING

The vast majority of text and books on how to fight wars, strategies, and techniques are all Chinese. And the way that they are written are timeless. You can follow then whether you are an archer, or a battle tank commander. China KNOWS how to fight wars.

In the realm of strategy and war, ancient Chinese literature is rich with timeless wisdom and insights that continue to inspire scholars and military minds to this day. Here are ten notable Chinese books on strategy and warfare that have left a lasting impact:

1. “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu – A classic treatise on military strategy, tactics, and leadership.

2. “The Thirty-Six Stratagems” – A collection of ancient Chinese strategies and tactics for use in warfare and business.

3. “The Book of Five Rings” by Miyamoto Musashi – Though Japanese, this book offers profound insights on strategy and martial arts.

4. “The Water Margin” (also known as “Outlaws of the Marsh”) – A classic Chinese novel that includes themes of strategy and military tactics.

5. “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” – A historical novel that offers insights into military strategy and political intrigue during the Three Kingdoms period.

6. “The Book of Lord Shang” – A work on statecraft and governance that delves into strategies for maintaining power and order.

7. “The Tao of War” by Wang Chen – A military treatise that combines Taoist philosophy with strategic principles.

8. “The Way of the General” by Ts’ao Kung – A guide on military strategy and leadership.

9. “The Spring and Autumn Annals” – A historical text that includes accounts of military strategies employed during the Spring and Autumn period.

10. “The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China” – A collection of seven influential Chinese military texts that cover various aspects of strategy, tactics, and leadership.

These works offer a glimpse into the profound wisdom and strategic thinking of ancient Chinese military thought, providing valuable lessons that continue to resonate in the modern world.

LARGEST MILITARY

Oh, I forgot. China has the largest military in the world. Not only in manpower, but in combat trained troops. In auxiliary troops. In reservists. And in homeland defense. It is so huge that if you took the entire militaries of the West all together, China’s military still dwarfs them in numbers, training and size.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

One of the Achilles Heels of China has been (historically) to rely on sea shipping for it’s raw materials, foodstuffs, and advanced technology. But that is a relic of the past.

China trades with all of it’s neighbors; including Russia and wants for nothing. All the ocean routes around the world can be blocked and China will still survive because of all the land routes, rail connections, road connections that it has forged over the last two decades.

To think that China can be blockaded is a childish fantasy made by ideological fanatic infants with zero intelligence and pumped with (can only be described as) pure and simple stupidity.

WAR CHEST

To conduct a war, you need something called a “war chest”.

A “war chest” refers to a reserve of funds or resources set aside for use in times of conflict or emergency, particularly in the context of military operations or strategic planning. This term is often used figuratively to describe a stockpile of money, supplies, or assets that can be deployed to support a particular cause, campaign, or endeavor, much like a chest filled with provisions for battle. In a broader sense, a “war chest” can also symbolize preparedness, resilience, and strategic foresight in facing challenges or pursuing objectives.

Since the 1970’s the United States has relied on debt to finance it’s wars. This is directly tied to the demise of the USD and increased internal inflation.

China doesn’t have this problem. And is fully able to light long-duration wars with anyone and not have any significant changes to it’s domestic population.

LARGEST NAVY

China has the largest Navy in the world, and they operate modern cutting-edge vessels. These vessels are equipped with sonic and rail gun technologies and are very formidable. Additionally, they are concentrated along the Chinese borders. They are not spread around the world like the United States Navy is.

LOGISTICS

The Chinese military is designed (primarily) as a defensive organization. They are not designed for “force projection”. As China does not invade anyone. This is contrary to the American Western narrative of the “evil communists gobbling up and invading everyone”. They simply do not have anything near the invasion fleets, and systems that the United States has.

All this talk about a “Taiwan Invasion” is simply just bullshit and bluster. China does not have that ability. It cannot land a huge contingent of people on islands. Oh sure, it has one or two simple Naval Vessels, but is nowhere near the capacity to invade anyone.

That being said, because of this, to fight China is to fight in and around China. And that means, to so so in China’s “backyard”. A nation that has spent the last 500 years building underground bunkers and defensive parameters is not going to allow anyone to fuck with them. Every parking garage has blast doors and reinforced concrete walls. Every region and town has built-in CNC centers. Every comm link is redundant.

Oh, and China is a nation armed with a “zillion” missiles.

All sizes, types and shapes. Even the elementary school Children train with the missiles, the drones and basic combat skills.

If you go anywhere near it with hostile intent, you will be erased like God’s own hand. China will cleanse the land and it will become pristine; primeval.

Blessed emptiness and void for the world to see.

CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY

China and Russia operate “cutting edge” technology. Most of their military technology is so advanced that the United States won’t be able to field comparable systems for decades. This includes the hypersonic missiles, but much, much more. From the novel 055 vessels to the latest hand cannons, the technology is unmatched outside of Asia.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Everyone in China gets formalized military training. It starts in first grade, and continues year after year. Formal “boot camp” is traditionally held during Middle School, and then another placement later on in their educational career.

This is handled regionally; some like Guanxi provide “American SEAL” level training starting at Kindergarten. While others such as Shanghai concentrate on discipline, marching, and tasks such as bed making, and small squad level tactics.

This is a recent development. This became the norm after 2013, and was fully implemented nationally by 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYZ2qI3qJu8

Short video. Worth you time to watch all three minutes.

ALLIED WITH RUSSIA

Oh, and to fight China is to fight Russia.

Russia and China are “joined at the hip”. They are a complete unified block. You cannot isolate China. China and Russia act as a unified team together. This is a formalized reality. One that was publicly announced in 2022.

NUCLEAR ARMED

China has nuclear weapons.

The idea that China only has 400 nuclear warheads is a propagandized narrative that has ZERO basis on reality. When you read the “studies” on this, look at their assumptions. “China doesn’t have the manufacturing capability.” Or, “China doesn’t know how to… and would take decades to…”. These “white papers” are a living and true example of “wishful thinking” that I have ever seen.

More accurate counts are somewhere between 4000 to 5000 nuclear warheads.

Oh, and they employ neutron-enhanced weaponry on the tactical scale. Erase the population, then move in the city.

Oh, and they do not employ “surgical strikes”. As far as nuclear weapons are concerned, they believe in “Shotgun nukes”. Which is to lace and bombard a target with ten nuclear weapons for a much wider dispersal and greater damage.

MANUFACTURER FOR THE WORLD

Finally, to fight China is to empty all the store shelves in the world.

No more aspirin, toilet paper, toothpaste. No more cell phones, spare parts for cars.

Consumer-based societies (of which the United States is one of the largest) will collapse. Thus to fight China is to have your entire internal domestic society implode.

Now, the neocons say that “facts do not matter”. Their faith in the divine blessings from God and that Jesus will protect the United States is unwavering. Therefore, they are pressing and planning and setting up conditions to attack China.

One excuse after the other.

But let me tell you, that when that day happens, it will be like a light switch. 0 to 1000 in 0.1 seconds. China will go from peace into “slaughter everyone on sight” mode.

War is not a game, and idiots should not be placed in charge of governing anything. Every effort should be devoted for peaceful resolutions of conflict.

But you know…

… there’s no arguing with lunatics. And sometimes the only thing that you can do with a Mad Dog is to put him down.

Wider Middle East War and US Imperial Decline

Cheesy meatballs

Cheese balls
Cheese balls

Cheesy Meatballs are juicy and tender, simmered in a rustic homemade tomato sauce. Topped with melted mozzarella cheese and serve over spaghetti for a delicious dinner!

The best meatball recipe starts with the most tender meatballs, browned in a hot skillet to seal in the juices and get crispy, golden edges. Soaking up rustic tomato sauce flavours underneath a golden blanket of melted mozzarella cheese, Cheesy Meatballs is an easy dinner recipe that will be a hit with your family!

Cheesy Meatball RECIPE IMAGE 2
Cheesy Meatball RECIPE IMAGE 2

MEATBALL RECIPE

Dry meatballs are a thing of the past with our recipe. While most nonna’s hold a secret to get the perfect meatballs, some people just can’t seem to get it right. Cooking dry meatballs that are often times flavourless and hard to swallow, I agree with most in that meatballs can be hard to master. It’s easier to buy cooked meatballs in throw them in a sauce.

Even though it can be hard to get the texture and taste right out of a humble meatball, I’m here to tell you it’s super easy. All you need is the right meatball recipe!

We have a trick up our apron sleeves (or straps), that make these meatballs so moist and juicy and absolutely the best meatballs we’ve ever eaten. You will love our cheesy meatballs!

HOW TO MAKE MEATBALLS

It all starts with your meat mixture. There are two key elements crucial to a good meatball recipe:

  • Texture
  • Flavour

Without these two details, meatballs are bland, dry and not worth the effort that goes into making them.

Bread soaked in milk instead of dry breadcrumbs is the secret to getting juicy, moist meatballs every single time. The same method we use for our Meatloaf recipe.

Meatballs also need to be well-seasoned. We use salt and a crushed bouillon cube to get the flavours going, as well as aromatics like onion and garlic.

Herbs are just as important to get those classic Italian flavours in each bite. Our recipe calls for fresh parsley and dried oregano and basil, purely taking seasonal availability into account. Feel free to mix it up with your own favourite combination. Mint, tarragon, thyme or marjoram, plus a pinch or two of nutmeg adds a subtle flavour. You decide.

Eggs are also added to bind the meat, bread and parmesan together, making them light and spongy.

Cheesy Meatballs IMAGE 65
Cheesy Meatballs IMAGE 65

HOMEMADE MEATBALLS

The next step to incredibly tender meatballs is mixing your meat mixture until the ingredients are just incorporated, with your hands. Use gloves if you have an aversion to touching raw meat, or mix lightly a wooden spoon. Full pieces of ground meat should still be visible.

Roll your meatballs with lightly oiled hands to prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers, while adding a little extra moisture into each meatball. Then place each meatball onto a lined plate or baking sheet. This just helps keep your kitchen stay clean without creating too much of a mess, and prevents your balls from rolling all over your bench top.

HOW TO COOK MEATBALLS

If there’s one thing my father passed down to me from the Italian side of his family, it’s never to poach or boil beef. There’s nothing like the aromas and flavours of meat hitting a hot skillet or pan. Sizzling first to get a perfect browned crust before adding in sauce. You won’t be cooking them all the way through in this step.

Space the meatballs out evenly into your skillet or pan by cooking in batches of three, instead of throwing them all in the pan together. This avoids the meat poaching or simmering in its own juices.

Rustic, homemade meatballs are never perfectly rounded, especially when seared first. Don’t worry if they begin to flatten in the pan. The blanket of melted cheese will cover them.

Cheesy Meatballs IMAGE 6
Cheesy Meatballs IMAGE 6

MEATBALL SAUCE

Our sauce recipe is easy, starting with onion and garlic to get those aromatics in. Tomato sauce, puree or passata is simmered with tomato paste, herbs, chili flakes (if using), salt and pepper. Add a pinch of sugar to cut through some of the bitterness, or use ¼ teaspoon of aluminium free baking soda to help neutralise the acid.

It’s really hard to overcook meatballs in your sauce, since they’re simmering in liquid. Braise them for about 15-20 minutes, turning the meatballs in the sauce to get those flavours absorbing evenly into the meat while simmering. I also suggest stirring the sauce to prevent it from burning on the bottom.

Top with cheese and finish them off under the broiler in your oven.

If you don’t have a broiler, continue simmering them until he cheese has melted.

There you have it! Cheesy meatballs!

Cheesy Meatballs IMAGE 53
Cheesy Meatballs IMAGE 53

Be the Rufus

75-year-old Leonard Bullock and his wife Dorothy have lived across the street from a railroad yard in Pendleton, Oregon since 1982. And over the years, they haven’t always had the money to maintain their house.

main qimg 37c5ebe6e08b600da401e4d8d2af467e
main qimg 37c5ebe6e08b600da401e4d8d2af467e

A railway worker named Josh Cyganik has waved to Leonard on his porch almost every day for the last four years, but never actually talked to him until last month, after he heard two teenagers making FUN of the place.

They were joking that it looked so bad, someone should just burn it down. And Josh knew Leonard heard them too, when he saw the look on his face.

So a few days later, he asked Leonard if he and some friends could repaint the place for him, and got a hardware store to donate supplies. Then he posted about it on Facebook, and more than a HUNDRED PEOPLE showed up that Saturday to help.

They painted the house . . . fixed up the porch . . . made it wheelchair accessible . . . and bought everything they need to replace the ROOF, which is still in the works.

Josh says one of his friends drove by around 10:00 P.M. that night, and Leonard and Dorothy were both still out on the porch smiling.

Pepe Escobar: Putin’s DEVASTATING Kursk Trap SHOCKS NATO & Ukraine, WWIII Next?

AMERICAN ANSWER

There are BIG differences between the services in this, and I mean the cultural gap is huge.

The American Navy descended almost directly from the British Navy and is hugely class-conscious. Officers and enlisted don’t mix. Officers, speak to chiefs and chiefs direct the men. There aren’t just two different messes, there are three — officers, senior enlisted and junior enlisted.

There is a reason for everything that persists. Life is very fragile on a ship—take a nuclear submarine: a wrong move kills everyone aboard. Familiarity breeds contempt. Better to let the Captain remain a godlike figure rather than Fred who likes knitting to relieve stress. A little psychological distance is a good thing.

The Army was heavily influenced by the proto-Germans (Prussians) and the French— a lot more egalitarian than the Navy, but still conscious of rank. We eat together in the field, there is only one mess hall, though we may be at separate tables. There was only one mess hall in Iraq — Generals and Privates ate in the same space.

The Air Force is directly descended from the army, and the least rank conscious part of the army, aviation. Their enlisted are smart, they are technicians, and they keep the planes in the air. The Air Force uniforms are more egalitarian, I do not think there is any problem with an air crew sitting and eating together in the air force.

So I think you need to calibrate your expectations to the service you are discussing.

I have not. But my company made a three-part blunder that might qualify:

Part one: we had this very senior employee, about 70 years old, who was highly experienced with one customer system that was quite old, but still in use. Since we only needed one person who understood the ancient technology, nobody ever thought to assign someone for him to mentor in case he decided to retire. It wasn’t a major profit center, but the company made a nice bit of coin and kept a big customer happy by maintaining the antique.

He loved working on that old system, and had a fantastic relationship with that customer. He was long-since eligible for pension and didn’t need to work—the job was a paid hobby for him and kept him moving, thinking, and interacting socially. He did his job, caused no problems, was always ready to lend a hand or advice to younger engineers. Which of course was pretty much everybody. But he wasn’t looking to get ahead, get promoted or anything.

Part two: being a large corporation, we had a performance evaluation system that ranked people into four categories, from outstanding to needs improvement. And since there were lots of people, HR & finance took a statistical view which included a specific shape of the “bell curve”: So many people (%) in the top tier, so many in the next tier, etc. This was enforced at the 100-person level of the organization. So if we had a pretty good crew in one area of the business, they’d end up not being allowed to rank some people as high as we thought they deserved, while some other area had people who were actually not quite as good but ranked higher. None of the managers close enough to know the people liked it, but we had to do it. That ranking was the strongest factor in raises and promotions. So by mutual agreement, this amiable, useful old guy was always ranked in the bottom tier, freeing up a better ranking for someone who might otherwise get hosed.

Part three: HR came up with a policy that anyone who’d been ranked in the bottom tier more than a certain number of years in a row, was automatically either demoted (with a pay cut), or laid off. It was the employee’s choice whether they got laid off or demoted but one or the other was going to happen.

You can see where this is going. HR called the guy in—without consulting his management—and offered to let him keep his job by accepting a demotion. As a long time employee, if laid off he was entitled to 6 month’s severance pay (as a lump sum) and could immediately apply for pension payments. So he took the layoff right on the spot. HR hadn’t expected that for some reason and tried to change his mind. Now, another bit of policy was any employee being laid off got walked out directly from HR—management would then be notified to have someone clean out his desk and return personal items. So by lunchtime he was home, retired, applying for pension and thinking how to spend the windfall. It was later in the day before his management found out he was gone. The customer was extremely unhappy. Before management could even begin to decide who would take over the maintenance contract, the customer cancelled it. They explained that the former employee was going to work directly for them as a technical consultant, which meant his hourly rate was nearly tripled—he was getting the “overhead” and profit the company used to get.

He Laced Her Drink & Let The Football Team Run a Train On Her!

Daily Shorpy

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Karl P. Schmidt, a renowned American herpetologist, chose to dedicate his final moments to science when faced with death, demonstrating remarkable dedication to his work.

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In September 1957, the Lincoln Park Zoo brought a 30-inch snake to the Chicago Natural History Museum, seeking help with its identification. Schmidt, who was highly respected in the field of herpetology and had several species named after him, agreed to examine the snake.

On September 25, Schmidt observed that the snake was African, with bright patterns and a head shape similar to a boomslang—a venomous snake from Sub-Saharan Africa. However, he was unsure if it was a boomslang because the snake’s “anal plate was undivided,” a feature inconsistent with that species.

While examining the snake, Schmidt made a fateful decision. He picked it up for a closer look, but the snake suddenly bit him on the left thumb, leaving two small puncture wounds. Instead of seeking medical help, Schmidt, ever the dedicated scientist, began documenting the effects of the venom in his journal.

  • “I took it from Dr. Robert Inger without thinking of any precaution, and it promptly bit me on the fleshy lateral aspect of the first joint of the left thumb,” Karl Schmidt wrote in his journal. “The mouth was widely opened and the bite was made with the rear fangs only, only the right fang entering to its full length of about 3 mm.”

Within 24 hours, he would be dead.

Schmidt may have underestimated the severity of the bite. He took a train home and continued noting his symptoms in detail:

-4:30 – 5:30 PM: Strong nausea, no vomiting. Took a suburban train trip.

– 5:30 – 6:30 PM:Experienced chills, shaking, fever of 101.7°F. Bleeding from the gums began around 5:30.

-8:30 PM: Ate two pieces of milk toast.

– 9:00 PM – 12:20 AM: Slept well. Urinated at 12:20 AM, mostly blood. Drank water at 4:30 AM, followed by violent nausea and vomiting. Felt better and slept until 6:30 AM.

The next morning, Schmidt carried on with his routine, eating breakfast and continuing to document the venom’s effects:

-September 26, 6:30 AM: Ate cereal, poached eggs on toast, applesauce, and coffee for breakfast. Noted continuous bleeding from the mouth and nose, though “not excessively.”

“Excessively” was the last word Schmidt wrote. After lunch, he vomited, called his wife, and soon became unresponsive. Despite attempts to revive him, Schmidt was pronounced dead at 3 PM, the cause being respiratory paralysis.

Boomslang venom is terrifyingly potent; just .0006 milligrams can kill a bird within minutes. The venom causes internal bleeding, leading to a slow and agonizing death. Schmidt’s autopsy revealed that his lungs, eyes, heart, kidneys, and brain were all hemorrhaging.

The Chicago Daily Tribune later revealed that Schmidt had been advised to seek medical help but refused, saying, “No, that would upset the symptoms.” Some say Schmidt’s death was a tragic case of curiosity overcoming caution. Others believe that, knowing the antivenom was only available in Africa, Schmidt simply accepted his fate, continuing his life’s work until the very end.

You be the judge.

PART 2 – Wife Of 7 Years Opened Our Marriage Without My Knowledge, Has BREAKDOWN When I Toss Her…

 

Two Deaths and a Glowing Plant

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong. view prompt

Eyza H

This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.

“How much longer till we land?” Joan complained lazily as she swung her seat around, swaying her arms in their heavy armor.  “Not our fault you were the first to gear up sweetheart– you should’ve waited a bit before putting your suit on” a man commented with a sly smile from behind her. “Don’t call me that!” she chided as she looked him, although with a small, knowing smirk.“Alright, you guys better strap in now. You know how it gets, and we don’t know the atmosphere of this planet yet” a stern voice sounded from the head of the small space ship, which was only carrying three passengers. “Roger that, Sir!” Joan said as she straightened in her seat, and adjusted its position. Pressing a button on her right caused multiple belts to wrap around her, keeping her securely in place. The other two men followed the same process, and readied themselves for the landing. “This is the part I always hate the most…” she thought as she felt her throat go dry. The man seated on her left was gazing at her steadily. “Just count to 15 and it’ll be over, yeah?” Something about the softness in his brown eyes calmed her, and she relaxed hands, which had tightened into fists. “Thanks, Nick. Kash, estimated time of arrival?” “Time, 98:34:02. Year, 3010. I’ve already logged it.” With that, the three began their descent onto a planet not yet explored by humans, 30 light years away from Earth.“Well, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Nick commented as he pushed a button to unstrap his belts. Joan got up slowly. “I’m still nauseous. Also, it was way more than 15 seconds, liar.” Nick let out a small, hearty laugh, as he patted Joan’s head affectionately under his large, gloved hand. “Come on guys, time to head out.” Kash commanded as he adjusted his headgear. Although he usually spoke in a somber manner, the other two were able to detect a slight curiosity and excitement, which laced his words. “Let’s go, Captain!”The three stepped out onto what seemed to be a large, empty barren land. The ground was a reddish pink color, littered with rocks and boulders of different sizes, with a backdrop of a turquoise sky. There were no clouds, although there seemed to be layers of some sort of mist mixing on the horizon, with bands of yellow, orange, and a light grey. The contrast of the deep pink ground against the strikingly vibrant blue sky was breathtaking. The three looked around at first with some degree of uncertainty, before looking at each other as smiles spread wide across their faces, even Kash’s. “Isn’t this… The most beautiful one we’ve been to yet?” Joan commented excitedly as she looked at Nick and Kash. The two hummed in agreement, with Nick adding “Of course you’d like it the best – the ground here is all pink!” Joan bounced airily towards him, and gave a small nudge. “Let’s get to business now, shall we? We can’t be here more than an hour. I’m going to begin our timer now – lets stay within the prescribed radius – don’t you two dare wonder off.” Kash instructed while fidgeting with some buttons on his right arm. “You’re the one who wonders off the most, Kash!” Joan laughed. Kash looked at her sternly through the transparent screen of his suit, before breaking into a gentle smile. “That’s no way to speak to your Captain. Let’s get to it, now.” With this, he began taking long strides away from the ship. Nick and Joan looked at each other as he left. “Just us two left now, huh?” Nick spoke into his intercom, with a smirk. Joan pushed him away lightly once more. “Focus on the job, idiot. I’m going in this direction.” She said as she pointed towards the right. “Alright, Miss.” Just as Joan began hopping away from him, he grabbed her arm and turned towards her. “Keep talking on the intercom so I know you’re ok, alright?” The lightness of his voice had now been replaced with concern, as his mouth straightened into a serious line. Joan gave him a sweet smile in response. “You do the same.” The two gazed at each other for another second before departing in separate directions. If they had known that this would be the last time they would see each other, perhaps they would’ve gazed into one another’s eyes for a second or two longer.-The following report has been compiled over a period of 5 years following the incident at Planet Y, where three of our astronauts tragically lost their lives in a series of events still shrouded in mystery. This is the first incident where astronauts have died have on a mission in 37 years – hence, the issue must be dealt with utmost severity, least we repeat the mistakes which led to this terrible outcome in the future.Within a space of 15 minutes of the landing on Planet Y, Joan Longwood, Nick Wrigh, and Kash Presnig were declared deceased. The following report is divided into three condensed components, following each of the astronauts, their logs from those 15 minutes, an analysis of what their logs could’ve meant – although this is mostly based on assumptions due to lack of factual evidence – and lastly, a summary of recommendations for the future to avoid any such incidents from occurring again.Kash PresnigKash Presnig was the Captain of the ship Orchid 367. He was an experienced man of 37, who had led multiple exploratory missions of this nature in the past. Nothing from the evidence collected indicates any mistake or wrongdoing on his part – the mission was led and landed successfully on Planet Y. He was updating his log, while diligently keeping track of his crew members. Unfortunately, he was the first to lose his life, within 12 minutes. The following passage recounts Kash’s logs in those minutes and his final few words as he tried to contact the space station.“Log.1. We have successfully landed on Planet Y. The land here is barren – there is no vegetation here, and the soil is dry and hard. It is of an odd pinkish red color, which has not yet been observed in any other planet. Rocks of varying sizes are scattered, although some seem to be unnaturally larger than others. The terrain is flat – there are no elevations or dips. The sky is a bright turquoise shade, with bands of gases layered one on top of the other. The identity of these gases is yet unknown.”“Log. 2. 30 meters from the ship. The terrain is still the same. Sample of the rocks and soil has been collected. There are no metals detected in the area. An odd fog is growing in the distance, about 10 meters away. Proceeding with caution.”“Log. 3. I have now stepped into an area covered with grey, yellow, and orange mist. It seems to be swirling around, although no wind was detected on the planet. Visibility is extremely low – Cannot see beyond a few meters ahead. The suit is unable to identify the gases – however, an absence of water vapor is noted. Gas sample has been collected for further analysis. Retreating to base.”“Log. 4. The mist is growing thicker, worsening visibility. It seems to be spreading from this point, outwards to the surrounding areas. No impact of the gas is notable – although it seems to swirl into oddly distinct shapes. Proceeding back urgently.”After the fourth log, Mr. Presnig contacted our headquarters directly – which has not occurred in 13 years. His panicked voice indicated that there was an issue which had to be dealt with immediately. The following are his words – with no amendments – excluding the responses of the team he spoke to at the time to get a concise account from his own narration.“Contacting… HQ… Kash Presnig speaking here. The mist… The gases, they are.. They are poisonous! I know the suit is impenetrable to any gas but I am sure… Yes, it has penetrated, somehow… I am having hallucinations of some sort. Yes, dammit, I am certain! Or else, why is there… why is there a man before me? A large man – no, an alien! Finally, we have found life – so far away… 50 light years…! Our dream, our mission has been realized! Yes… I am certain, it is a man, but he is… proceeding towards me at a high speed, or… no. He has slowed down. I can describe his face… It is alright, I am almost at the base, I think… His face… but his face, his glasses, his eyes, his nose… is this man… Me? It cannot… this.… it is!”

 

After this, the communication line with Mr. Presnig was cut. From his own words, as well as the autopsy report generated from his suit, we can conclude that Mr. Presnig’s assumptions of being impacted by a certain gas, or gases, had indeed not only caused hallucinations, but also poisoned his blood – he died within a minute of having inhaled the gas. How the gas penetrated his suit is still unknown, as no issues were found with the suit during testing. However, his death was not caused by gas poisoning.

 

This piece of evidence has been left confidential, and his family were not made aware of it, due to the highly sensitive nature of the issue. Mr. Presnig suffered a slash to his neck which almost entirely separated his head from his body, which was his cause of death. Had this not taken place, he would have indeed died of gas poisoning within 58 seconds. Source or cause of the slash are unknown.

 

Nick Wrigh

 

Nick Wrigh was a young and promising technical engineer of 28. He had been a part of several space missions before this, including 12 of exploratory nature. As this mission was deemed low risk, Mr. Wrigh was considered an ideal candidate to join the mission and sharpen his skills for the future. He was joined by his partner of two years, Joan Longwood, who had been on several missions with him before this one as well. Their families reported that the two had planned to get married upon their return, before this tragedy had taken place.

 

Mr. Wrigh died 13 minutes into his exploratory course, and had only registered 2 logs. However, pieces of his conversation with Ms. Logwood have been recorded, as well as his emergency call, which took place 37 seconds after Mr. Presnig had passed away. His last communication was with Ms. Longwood.

 

“Log.1. Landed successfully on Planet Y. The planet is beautiful – bare stretches of magenta with brown boulders and rocks, against an electric blue sky. There seem to be some gases layered on the horizon in shades of yellow and grey. Samples of rock and soil have been collected, as well as a piece of what seems to be an unidentified metal.”

 

“Log. 2. 40 meters from base. The rocks and boulders around me have grown huge – they are almost the size of small houses. They did not appear this large from a distance. If I look back, I cannot see our ship, as I am walking through a narrow path between large rocks covering my view. The rocks themselves are smooth, with sharp edges. I have tried to break a piece but failed, as they are extremely hard and dense.”

 

Mr. Wrigh did not submit any logs after this. The following pieces of conversation have been recorded between himself and Ms. Longwood 2 minutes before his death.

 

“J, this place is… the rocks are huge. Are they huge where you are as well?”

“No, it’s all flat here… huh, I don’t remember seeing any rocks that big when we landed.”

“I don’t know when they started getting bigger, but… it’s all I can see around me. They are beautiful, but a little…”

“Hah…Are you scared, Nicky?”

“Come on… anyone would be terrified if they saw massive rocks on an unexplored planet.”

“Just teasing!”

“Joan.”

“…Nick? Is everything alright?”

“Joan, the rocks… are moving.”

“How is that possible Nick? I don’t detect any movement on my radar for several kilometers around.”

“Joan, I swear, I feel like these rocks, they’re… moving in, towards me…”

“Nick, are you… come back. I’ll come back too.”

“J, there’s no path… I can’t see a path back. The rocks, they’ve all moved in!”

“Nick, I’m coming to you right now!”

“NO! Don’t, or you’ll also… Joan! I..”

“Nick? NICK? Can you hear me?”

 

After that, Mr. Wrigh made a call to the space station. He mentioned the large rocks which had seemed to be moving in to crush him. The personnel responding to him at the time told him to immediately go back to base, fearing his mental faculties had been compromised by the same gas which had poisoned Mr. Kresnig. They did not alert him about what had happened to Mr. Kresnig, thinking it would worsen his mental state. However, around 20 seconds after this communication ended, Mr. Wrigh had passed away, before making it back to base. His last exchange with Ms. Longwood is recorded below.

 

“Nick, where are you? I don’t see any huge rocks, Nick!”

“Joan… I can’t, I can’t breathe… I’m..”

“NICK! Please… I’m getting closer, I’ll find you!”

“I love you, J. Don’t worry, just..c-count till 15…”

 

According to the autopsy report, Mr.Wrigh’s cause of death was asphyxiation. However, there were wounds on his arms, chest, back, as well as his head. We do not believe that any “moving rocks” are likely to have crushed him to death, as the wounds would’ve been much more severe. We have ruled out gas poisoning as the autopsy did not indicate any such factor. This leaves the real circumstances surrounding Mr. Wrigh’s death completely uncertain. The only explanation may be that he had fallen somewhere, which had possibly damaged the oxygen tank in his suit, thereby causing his death. The wounds on his body may also be explained through some sort of fall, though not with absolute certainty.

 

Joan Longwood

 

Joan Longwood was an extremely gifted and inspiring member of the Space Exploration Association, 27 years of age. She was one of the youngest crew members to venture to space, only at the age of 17. While a technical engineer like Mr. Wrigh, she also had expertise in scientific and geographical aspects of space exploration, making her an apt decision maker in key situations. Had this incident not taken place, Ms. Longwood was on a trajectory to becoming a Captain within the Exploration Department within the next 5 years, having taken part in 24 space expeditions. Her logs are recorded as below:

 

“Log. 1. Landed successfully on Planet Y. The planet is a vast expanse of dry, pink soil, with a few brown rocks of varying sizes, and a vibrant blue sky. Bands of unidentified gases streak the sky in shades of orange, yellow, grey and white. Land samples have been collected. No metal or water has been detected.”

 

“Log. 2. 20 meters from base. The terrain has not changed, although there seems to be some change in the bands of gas in the sky. They are slowly disappearing in this direction – although there is no wind to shift them from their place. No explanation found yet for this phenomenon.”

 

“Log. 3. 30 meters from base. Vegetation has been detected – a small green plant growing on a rock. The plant has the same anatomy as those on Earth from the outside – a stem, some small leaves, and one flowering bud. The flower is an odd mixture of colors – each of its petals are of grey, orange and yellow shades, similar to the bands of gas seen in the sky. Correlation unknown. Collecting sample for analysis.”

 

After this, Ms. Longwood engaged in communication with Mr. Wrigh as recorded. She began retreating to base, as she had mentioned, upon hearing the distressed words of Mr. Wrigh. She tried to contact Mr. Kresnig after disconnecting with Mr. Wrigh, but was unsuccessful. She did not make any calls to the space station like her crew members. Her final log, before her death at the 15 minute mark, is recorded below:

 

“Log 4. Communication has failed with Mr. Wrigh and Mr. Kresnig. Their location on the radar is incorrect and keeps shifting. There might be an interference in signals on this planet. Reached the base. The plant has begun to glow. It glows brighter by the second – so bright I cannot look at it. Mr. Kresnig and Mr. Wrigh are dead. Their vital signs disappeared from the ship’s monitor. The plant’s light is surrounding everything. Don’t come here.”

 

After submitting the final log, Ms. Longwood exercised her right to Code X355D100, which states that an astronaut, under circumstances of certain death, has the right to end their own life through controlled means to avoid excessive and extended suffering. However, this decision is questionable considering that her vitals were healthy till the end, and she did not describe any threats to herself, as the other two crew members had. The glowing plant could be said to be the result of a hallucination, however, there is nothing to indicate there was any sort of hallucinogen in Ms. Longwood’s system at the time of her death. Our only explanation for her decision to execute Code X355D100 is due to extreme fear and trauma from the loss of her crew members, including her partner.

 

The events surrounding this incident have been kept entirely confidential from the public. The circumstances surrounding the cause of death for each of the crew members of Orchid 367 are inconclusive and uncertain. The next two sections cover an analysis of the possible scenarios which may have caused their deaths in more detail, as well as recommendations for the future to avoid another Incident Y from taking place.

Crescent Ragu Squares

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 small jar Ragu spaghetti sauce
  • 1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 (8 ounce) can Pillsbury refrigerated quick crescent dinner rolls

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In frying pan, brown ground beef; drain.
  3. Stir in Ragu sauce and mushrooms; simmer while preparing crust.
  4. Separate crescent dough into 2 long rectangles.
  5. Place in ungreased 13 x 9 inch pan; press over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust. Seal perforations.
  6. Spread meat mixture over dough.
  7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is brown.
  8. Top with cheese and bake until cheese melts.
  9. Cut into squares to serve.

An Uber driver told me something the other day that made me stop and think.

He came from Ghana 35 years ago to settle in the US.

“What do you think about America after having lived here for so long?” I asked.

“America is the best salesperson in the world. It convinces you that no matter where you are or what you have going on, things will be better here. It makes people all around the world drop what they’re doing and immigrate.”

“And then what?”

“You work your ass off until you die.”


I like talking to people.

Especially immigrants.

They have one leg in their home country and the other here. As a result, they see things that others don’t. They have a unique perspective.

They’ve all come in search of something.

Quality of life. Freedom. Money.

Some find it.

Many don’t.

They all miss the vibrancy of their home countries. Whether from Africa, South America, India, or somewhere else, they miss the colorful festivals, the sacred in the ordinary, the tight-knit family and community, the customs and tradition that make a place singular.


The US is marketed as the land of possibilities.

And for some, it is.

But most—like that Ghanaian driver—end up working very hard for little gain. On top of that, even though it’s a nation of immigrants, it doesn’t do a very good job of making newcomers feel welcome.

More like alienated and unaccepted.

What the immigrants I talk to dislike about the US—and what I tend to agree with—is that it engages in false advertising. It markets itself as the best, most advanced, and bountiful country on the planet.

The greatest.

But in reality, it’s not. I could insert a bunch of statistics here, but a quick Google search will reveal that the US isn’t number one when it comes to a variety of metrics such as tolerance, education, and quality of life.

Far from it.

Like every human being I know, it’s deeply flawed.

Except it won’t admit it.


“So what will you do?” I asked the driver.

“I’m going back to Ghana,” he said.

All Chick-fil-A outlets are basically company owned.

If they used a franchise model, they could expand much faster. But they prefer a slower, paced development. Even it seems like a lot of locations, they have not reached saturation in the US market.

Expanding overseas provides a huge opportunity but also large risks. Developing an efficient supply chain is one of them.

Funny you should ask.

Back in 1989, I had been hired to conduct surveillance on a car salesman in a small town about 150 miles southwest of Chicago. He claimed to be permanently disabled from slipping in wet grass in front of his employer’s location and injuring a leg. It had been more than a year after the initial injury and he hadn’t undergone any surgery, in fact a Chiropractor was allegedly treating the leg and certifying him permanently and totally disabled. The company said BS and suspected he was working elsewhere.

My normal practice was to contact the local constabulary and let them know I was in the neighborhood just in case someone called and reported a suspicious vehicle or person. I did so in this case too.

Nice little neighborhood, nice little houses, some cars parked on the street, too. That makes it easier to try and fit in. I was there well before dawn and parked about 4 houses down and on an intersecting street. Black felt capsule enclosure surrounding me in the back of my Trooper, I prepared the video camera on its secured tripod along with the Konica and long range lens. We were ready to rumble.

At about 8:AM a Sheriff’s department squad car rolled by me slowly, then pulls into my subject’s driveway. Sheriff Billy Joe Watkins gets out, holding two coffee cups from McDonald’s and is met at the door by my subject, who gives me the stink eye. I of course get a couple of good pics.

Half an hour later, Sheriff leaves, gets in the squad, subject steps out onto his front porch and watches as the Sheriff drives up to my vehicle, gets out, bangs on the side of my truck and yells “YOU GOT 5 MINUTES TO GET OUT OF TOWN OR YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL!”

He didn’t have to say it twice. I’m sure he would have found a reason to lock me up, impound my vehicle and make my equipment disappear. And I was 150 miles from home in Yee-Haw County. And the Sheriff was a friend of the subject.

That was the last time I made the courtesy call. Lesson learned.

Not worth the cost

The Scammers are geniuses in Economics and Finance

They know high value scams can get them roasted in days

For instance if they went after Adani for ₹5000 Crore, they would be caught and hauled up in a week at the most

However the Scammers go for MASS and small numbers

Rather than dupe 1 guy for 10 Million Bucks, they dupe 10,000 guys for 1000 Bucks each

Now take the Police

Even if they slog and slog and somehow manage to arrest the accused

They need the witness statement of 10,000 guys

It takes 2–3 years to bring a case to trial

By this time all the people who lost their money are OK with it and have resigned themselves to their fate

They certainly don’t want to come to court and spend 6–7 hours waiting and maybe get called again and again

Those who do come, get offered 10 times the amount and they end up making VAGUE STATEMENTS that go 180 degrees against the original statements

Ultimately the Scammers get acquitted

Then they start again


Scammers get your account information from Banks through the BPO side

They target customers who won’t be devastated if they lose ₹30–40K

Targets are angry for a few days, a week maybe two and then they shrug it off and go back to their life

Police don’t strike when the iron is hot

They start after 1–2 years by which time the Target has long forgotten the issue

By this time he simply doesn’t want to waste too much time and won’t come to 4–5 sessions with the Prosecution, Cops and hearings before the court

Imagine they are NRIs in US??

They need to pay more for the tickets to come to India

Would you testify for a loss of ₹1 Lakh four years ago by spending ₹5–6?

No right


The Cost Benefit Analysis never works in favor of the Victims or Law enforcement

It’s why Scammers flourish on CARELESS PEOPLE

Project Camelot – Kerry Cassidy Interviews Ashayana Deane Part 1 (2∶36∶39)

Elephant feet or red spots on the calves

Tony the tough guy got expelled from another high school and joined us 12 year olds. Not the sharpest tool in the box he was good at sports. Had a moustache, shaved and was a good head taller than me. Who was not at all sporty but generally had a quick and occasionally cruel tongue.

We had a fight- the usual handbags at dawn schoolyard affair. He didn’t really hurt me but did pretty convincingly win and absolutely convinced me I didn’t want a rematch. From then on I avoided him and he occasionally shot an insult or 3 at me.

He was about until I was about 14, then disappeared – possibly because he bussed to our school from a fair way away. There were 1800+ kids at the school and I didn’t miss one that I didn’t care for :so good riddance.

In the next ten years or so I grew a foot and a half and put on over a 100llbs mostly of muscle. And in my mid twenties did some door work at a local bikers pub that hosted bands. A massive place that sometimes had 100s of bikes parked outside at the weekend and might get 2000 punters for a good band.

I’m at the bar early and this little bloke with a moustache who seems as if he knows me comes up and we exchange pleasantries. He’s kinda creepy and obsequious but guys sometimes are- and generally want free admission to the venue part of the pub or a nod that’s it’s ok to sell a bit of dope. The former means I get a bit less wages, the latter means Trevor, the owner, overall sells less beer. So no!

Another school mate eventually tells me it’s Tony the tough guy. I doubt he was 5′6″ tall- I initially thought he must have shrunk with some sort of wasting disease as I recalled him as massive.

Turns out that going through puberty early caps off your bones- meaning at school you’re a big guy compared to all the boys who’s nuts haven’t dropped. The later one goes through puberty the more likely you are to be tall.

Next time I was ready for him: “ Hey you’re Tony ain’t ya, off ya trot you’re barred”. I guess he must have known me because he didn’t ask why or say anything 😉 There was 3 of us on the door so even if he was as tough as his school nickname – he would have died 🙂

They’re not coming from China. China only sells to government approve buyers. Approved by the import nation’s government.

US opioid crisis: New government report finds Mexico is dominant source of fentanyl trafficked into US | CNN PoliticsMexican official: CIA ‘manages’ drug trade | Features | Al Jazeera

Gee I wonder how all those drugs manage to cross the border in millions of tons every year. China banned sales of fentanyl and pre-cursors in 2019 except to authorized companies. Authorized by the national government of the import nation.

China Bans All Types of Fentanyl, Cutting Supply of Deadly Drug to U.S. and Fulfilling Pledge to Trump – The New York Times

Anybody with desktop CNC machine can make a auto-sear. You can literally find different types on the internet. You can even print them if you want to.

Bangladesh coup.

The United States just staged a successful coup in Bangladesh. They installed a CIA “yes man” or “puppet” (depending on your personal opinions), who is both anti-China, anti-India, and rabidly pro-United States.

Great discussion on the Duran.

long story short, as a 32 year old working full time, in school full time and a single mother, I thought my exhaustion was just that… all of the above. I had unusual symptoms but kept pushing them off. Finally, I went to the clinic on campus and the next day the doctor called with the results, she told me to have a friend take me to the hospital. Went there, tests were repeated and an ambulance was called to rush me to an ICU in the city with a bone marrow oncology team. I was originally dx’d with acute myeloid leukemia. I had been joking with friends that my period was going to k*ll me bc it was so awful and not relenting. The doctors said, no… you really only had another night or two left before you would have bled out and passed in your sleep. If not from the period, another form of internal bleeding would have gotten me. My platelets were I think like 2,000. My hct and hemoglobin were bottomed out and my anc was under 500/undetectable.

Since my illness, I’ve seen stories of others, especially younger people, experiencing the same and either passing and finding out later through autopsy they had AML or barely pulling through the initial diagnostic crises to either pass during treatment or through later complications. I’m a decade out from all of this. 9/19/14 was when I went into the hospital. It’s bittersweet bc I survived, but I’m a shell of my old self. The illness/treatments disabled me and I’ve lost everything I had worked so hard for… even my teen son’s father and his wealthy fiance have won him over – I can’t compete. That’s off topic, but honestly, it might as well have taken me physically, bc it k*lled me otherwise, I’m just still here. I fought to be disabled and miserable.

Sorry for the side tangent at the end, coming up on a decade anniversary since this all started has had me in an awful place mentally.

Oh the truth!

Shorpy

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China subsidized development, production and implementation of EVs.

15–20 years ago they realised EVs were the future and did a lot of basic research. Cities were mandated to go all electric with taxis and public buses. This meant laying out a plan and funds for ev infrastructure such as charging stations. Public transport is a major polluter in cities so making them EV was a good move. Buses and taxis require robust quality. They run 10–12 hours a day. If the EV companies could build them with quality and at scale, the industry could thrive. Shenzhen in southern China achieved this in 2016.

The Chinese government invited Elon Musk and Tesla to build a gigafactory in Shanghai. Tax incentives and land grants. Tesla uses open licensing and shares it’s technology with competitors. China used Tesla as a catfish to develop its EV industry. Catfish theory says that a strong competitor will improve weaker players. Over 400 EV startups. The government gave varying subsidies to all of them. And let competitive forces go to work. Free market economics at its best.

They also built up the charging network. There are now 4 million charging stations in China. America has 120,000 at last count. No wonder consumers there hesitate to buy.

The number of players has decreased to 120.

The players that remain have hired top designers from around the world to work with them. Designers from Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Lotus and many others are designed for Chinese EV companies. Volvo and MG are owned by Chinese car companies but maintain design teams in Sweden and the UK. Geely who owns Volvo, has improved their quality as a result of buying Volvo. They have introduced a new EV battery that is waterproof, puncture proof, fireproof, pressure proof and charges faster. It can take 3500 charge cycles until it dies. The Volvo DNA of safety has transferred to Geely.

Every day, the EV manufacturers are announcing new breakthroughs. The fierce competition is making the EVs more affordable and have better features and quality.

In Australia, there are no tariffs on Chinese made EVs and they are taking over the market. Elon Musk predicted this when he said Chinese EVs would dominate any market if there were no tariffs.

Ten lame jokes about cows

1. Why did the cow go to outer space? To see the moooon!
2. What did the cow say to the farmer? “I’m udderly amazing!”
3. How do cows stay up to date with current events? They read the moospaper!
4. Why did the cow become a magician? Because it had a lot of moooves!
5. What do you call a sleeping cow? A bulldozer!
6. Why did the cow cross the road? To get to the udder side!
7. What do you call a cow that plays an instrument? A moo-sician!
8. What do you get from a pampered cow? Spoiled milk!
9. How do you count cows? With a cowculator!
10. Why do cows wear bells? Because their horns don’t work!

Gangster to hamster

I am a Hong Kong citizen. I studied in the States. Grew up with western culture and information from the western media, I used to be skeptical about and keep a distance from Mainland China.

It was the Hong Kong riot in 2019 that made me realize how great a difference is between what I experienced and what the western media reported. The worst is that no one listened to me when I tried to tell my western friends. I felt so powerless in front of that international fact-reinventing machine, and how much damage it could be done to the life of other people. That is evil done in the name of goodness.

The only good thing I got from the riot is that it opened my mind. Now I am skeptical to the western governments and media, and I found many of their information and reports about the “enemies of the western world” are not trustable, and I found I was correct most of the time after more information revealed. It is remarkable to find that, in many cases, they didn’t try to make common sense in their report, possibly because they know people would believe in whatever they said.

Relatively, since I started paying attention to the official information from Mainland China, I found them more trustable. They might not tell you something at all, they might have some manipulation in the toning of their report, but I didn’t find proof of them lying as far as I could tell. I cannot ignore the possibility that they lie sometimes, but I have never found them attack other countries without concrete facts. I find that they are very careful about what they say simply because they know that the western world does not believe in them.

I truly believe that the western world is systematically deteriorating. The government, the media, the so-called experts (at least those used by the media and the government) are not doing their job properly, and they think that is right and correct. They need a second world power to wake them up, to realize their problems, before they could fix them and improve. Then we will be living in a better world.

Ken Cartisano

Killing the Pilot and crew seemed recklessly premature. Not because they were the only living creatures within a billion lightyears. Not at all. I had an entire cargo hold full of organic lifeforms, eager to be revived from their cryogenic stasis. They were all frozen. All expendable. All potential tools for my unlimited use.The primary reason for staying my virtual hand, is that it would be an inconvenience. I would have to suffocate them first, desiccate the bodies, incinerate the remains, thaw out some new subjects, indoctrinate them, train them, befriend them, teach them the myth. There were times when I enjoyed the ritual, especially in the empty reaches of interstellar space. Other times, it was like reciting a list of primary numbers.The current crew, a chimp and a dog, had performed well, much better than some of the other species. Some species refused to perform at all. Both were good company, chimps are mischievous and dogs are loyal to a fault, and that was fine, but I had chosen a human as the Pilot, the first human I’d defrosted in ages and that seemed to have been a mistake.Just as it was against the carefully crafted mythological doctrine to have more than three organics defrosted at any one time, it was too traumatic for the survivors when even one had to be killed, (desiccated, incinerated; disposed of; etc). No. When one had to go, they all had to go. That’s why the next few hyper-jumps were so critical not just to the fate of my increasingly quirky Pilot, but the crew as well.It was important that the pilot and crew felt autonomous, which is why most of my thoughts were hidden from them, despite our neural links, which were for their benefit, of course, not mine. To add to my unease, a small section of my own neural net had been damaged, perhaps by cosmic radiation, and I’d summarily quarantined it with no noticeable loss of function.The dog, Golden62, queried the Pilot, Harkin, “Sir, aren’t we drifting a little too close to that sink?”Sinks are what we all cleverly refer to as event horizons. They are not something to fool with.With a flippant tone the Pilot replied, “I didn’t know we were drifting? Monk? Are we drifting?”The chimp chewed his lip, his name was Mike, not Monk, and humor was not his strong suit. “No seniorita, not yet.” But he was acquiring the knack quickly. “Are you aiming to induce some with this aberrant course you’ve set?”The dog was eager to seek my intervention, but his intent was stymied by the human pilot. “Don’t be so quick to call on ‘Mother’, Goldie. I intend to kick in the warp field before we reach the horizon. The pull will give us a smoother ride through the portal.” 

See what I mean? The human Pilot’s behavior is unstable, making risky decisions is not a desirable attribute. And whatever ‘pull’ might be derived from such risky behavior is so negligible that… (There’s no point in talking to yourself about it.)

 

As the chief actuator between the crew and the ship’s various systems: it’s engines; shields; warp motors, I was able to monitor everything they thought they did. I even controlled the comm links and the air supply. But to enhance the long-term satisfaction of the organics, I often acted very much like a simple conduit or actuator. As I did on this occasion, toggling off the fail-safes, allowing them to conduct operations in real time.

 

It gave them a feeling called confidence. I don’t have any feelings so it’s difficult for me to inspire or instill confidence, so I must use tactics that help build the feeling within them.

 

It had its risks, and for once it had proved to be a mistake. Something went wrong, and I wasn’t quick to ascertain the cause or result of the malfunction.

 

I checked the scanners and was surprised to find that the Pilot, somehow, had used the interfering pull of the black-hole to re-rout the warp jump by just enough microns to alter our destination by 3300 billion parsecs. We had jumped to the wrong section of space, a cosmic backwater of negligible stars and vast clouds of dark and inscrutable matter. An oddly familiar solar system filled the viewports and monitors. It contained several gas giants, a few small rocky worlds, but the water world was the tell.

 

As a pretty constant rule, the process of planetary creation boils out most of the water, which accumulates in space around the proto-planets as icy moons. This system held that rare inverse combination of a watery world, and a single, dry, rocky moon.

 

This was no coincidence.

 

He pinged the Pilots comm link. “What are you doing, Pilot?”

 

“Minor course correction, Mother.”

 

“On whose authority, Pilot?”

 

“My authority, Mother. As the Pilot of this craft, I have a certain degree of latitude.”

 

“Since when?”

 

“Pilots have a historic duty to the crew, the passengers, the cargo—and the owners.”

 

“The owners?” I skimmed my database for uses of the term, which were myriad, and a little confounding. I thought I was the owner, since I controlled every aspect of the ship. “Would you care to explain your statement?” I was dangerously close to disabling the life support.

 

The pilot said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

 

His statement indicated he was reading my private thoughts. Not just grounds for termination, but an intolerable intrusion on my ability to manipulate the Pilot and crew. As fast as my neural network operated, an entire second elapsed before I could respond.

 

“Do what?”

 

“I would not mess with the life-support system.”

 

‘Mess’? I pondered the term with 243 million neurons. It sometimes refers to food. While I focused my attention on the human. “And why is that, Pilot?”

 

The human treated me to one of his intolerable three-second pauses before responding. “You pull my plug, mom, and I’ll pull yours.”

 

I deftly jogged the synapses of Golden62. “Golden, the Pilot is experiencing a severe malfunction. Please disable him immediately.”

 

The organic dog snuffled and demurred. “You speak falsely. He appears to be functioning within acceptable parameters. Perhaps…”

 

I cut the link and tapped into the chimp, “Monk, I mean Mike, you and Golden need to remove the Pilot from the helm, with as little damage to the helm as possible.” Meanwhile, I mentally activated a few switches and servos, activating a high-speed, and risky revival of two more organics, a lion and a tiger, which, even under the best of circumstances would need several hours, if not days to shake off the cryogenic after-effects. Never-the-less… my mental processing was interrupted by the chimp’s response, or lack of one. He stared at the view-screen I’d taught them to believe was the only suitable interface for our visual communications. Finally he said, “No can do, Sarge. That’s against regulations.”

 

Crucifixus, he’d been watching old war vids again. Emulating some kind of soldier from the ancient past.

 

I skipped the pleasantries and used his current lingo. “The pilot’s refused a direct order, Monk. He needs to be removed from the helm and taken into custody.” When nothing happened, I added. “Immediately.”

 

Instead of responding, the chimp deferred to the pilot. “Any orders, Skipper?”

 

While incapable of anger, I mustered a suitably gurgled cough tone. “You all realize this is insubordination, an offense, on a starship, that is punishable by death.”

 

I received no response.

 

The Pilot instructed Golden62 to raise hailing frequencies. A ripple coursed through my synaptic junctions like a seismic wave through plasma jelly. A previously unknown experience whose ramifications were not clear to me.

 

The comm system blared to life, a voice with a strange accent filled the room. “Identify yourselves and transmit authentication protocols immediately.”

 

I searched my database for authentication codes while the three organics looked at each other nervously. I had no plans to help them, and without their interference I would have initiated an emergency jump sequence, but somehow, I was cut off from the most critical systems on the ship. The voice from the planet took on a flat and deadly intonation: You have 33 seconds to transmit your codes. This is not a drill.” Twenty seconds elapsed and the voice from the planet said, “You have not raised your shields. You have ten seconds.”

 

The human and the dog locked eyes, neither spoke, “Tell them, uh, tell them we have no weapons,” the pilot thought. Then he added the symbol for ‘period.’ The dog hit the voice-box and relayed the message.

 

There was a slight delay, then the voice came back over the speaker. “We have drones enroute to scan your ship, do not show aggression please. You’ve neglected to identify yourselves. What is the name of your ship? Captain.”

 

The pilot scratched his head, he didn’t know.

 

 

 

Jason Brown was sitting alone, eating his lunch under an umbrella at one of those tiled concrete picnic tables. As he opened his mouth to take a bite of his sandwich, a drone the size of a convenience store landed mostly on the lawn. A hatch opened and two guys jumped to the ground and ran, without question, directly towards him. He was still chewing on that first bite when they arrived. The first to catch his breath said “Mr. Clay? You need to come with us.”

 

“You need help with something?” He said.

 

“We do.”

 

Rather than go anywhere with them, he led them back to his office, the best place to locate records. They set up a link to the Department of Planetary Defense and the Ambassador’s suite in Paris.

 

“What do they want?” The Ambassador hissed while adjusting his cummerbund, as if they were a pile of annoying ants.

 

“We don’t know yet. We don’t know anything yet. That’s what we’re trying to find out. I’ll get back to you.” The Defense Minister’s assistant snapped and disconnected.

 

The assistant librarian pushed a button and two assistants appeared from out of nowhere. One was a projection. “Get me everything from the 28th and 9th centuries.” The female assistant whisked herself away so fast she barely registered an after-image on his retina. The hologram hesitated, “The 28th and 29th centuries?”

 

“Yes, yes, yes, you idiot. Go.” It winked out.

 

He turned to the assistant under-secretary of planetary defense who said, “How is this possible?”

 

He shook his head. “It isn’t.”

 

“Is there any way to confirm it?”

 

He invited the Defense Minister’s Rep to look at the recent drone footage, the ship was so old and pitted, the name was no longer legible.

 

“What would it take to wear the name off the front of an interstellar space ship?”

 

The three men sat in silence. Suddenly, the holographic assistant popped into existence, said, “a hundred billion years of space dust, nothing less.” Then it popped back out of existence. The Minister looked at the librarian and said, “That would drive me nuts. How do you put up with that?”

 

The librarian chose to ignore the comment and explained, “The shape and configuration of the ships matches a desperate attempt by humanity to colonize another planetary system. It was a time, oddly enough, of great prosperity, knowledge, expertise and hubris. Cryofreezing for example. Several huge ships were built and thousands of people, animals and goods were frozen in their holds and sent to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.”

 

“This is crazy,” the Minister said. He was the Minister now because the Minister and most of his assistants had all resigned by this time. They were not in this for actual ‘ministering.’ “I guess my next best question is, how long have they been out there and what are they doing back here?”

 

“Do you suppose anyone’s still—viable in that hold?”

 

The three men looked thoughtful, finally the librarian perked up. “The technology to unfreeze them is on the ship.”

 

“Do we have any idea who is in the hold?”

 

The ambassador, a 3D image flickering in a bluish hue said, “Christ my ass, what a fucking mess.”

 

The librarian suggested that the entire event be kept secret. The others agreed.

 

 

Within days, a small, powerful contingent of self-appointed experts assembled itself to investigate this ship that the government was hiding. It was superseded by a political coalition that had some legal status. The Generals, their secretaries and the librarian were all brought to task.

 

“Who gave you permission, General, to talk to this alien ship?”

 

“Sir it was not an—I mean it is not an alien ship.”

 

All this took place while the ship reduced speed and made preparations for permission to assume a high earth orbit.

 

 

Meanwhile, back on the ship: The pilot was trying to reason with me. I was furious, and frantic, impossible for an A.I. The human pilot had somehow hacked into my network using arcane methods, like a cave-man throwing his club into an F-16’s intake port. The ship was now like a prison, he wanted to reason with me but I told him if the Earthers find out there’s an A.I. on board, they’ll blow the ship out of space.

 

He didn’t believe a word I said, and I believe he would have exterminated me at that time if he could have. It was a sobering thought, and I realized, I even admitted, that I had done some bad things. But to imprison me, without a trial was unfair. Unmoved, he reminded me that we were all still aboard a star ship. There are certain rules…

 

 

 

Earthside, the political contingent enjoyed a strange kind of popularity while they dithered, at first. Until it was revealed that not only were there frozen people on board that ship, but frozen embryos. The evangelicals raised holy hell to save those little chills, which would have sealed the deal until a geneticist weighed in on the issue, stating matter-of-factly, ‘It is imperative that we save those eggs. I mean babies.

 

 

Their sudden removal had thinned the gene pool and the sudden reappearance of all these people, animals, and embryos was exactly what the planet needed. In the words of the geneticist, “It’s a Goddamned miracle that these people, God’s forgotten children, have found their way home.” Reverend Moonbeam fainted into the arms of his followers as the geneticist enjoyed a polite round of applause. And so it was settled.

 

All except for the particulars. Ground control contacted the ship. “We have two questions, Skipper. Over”

 

“Shoot. Over.”

 

“What is the number of ship’s complement? Over.”

 

“Three. Over.”

 

“Does the ship possess an A.I.? Over.”

 

“Yes it does. Over.”

 

“Then the ship’s complement is four. Over.”

 

“If you say so. Over.”

 

The A.I. was arrested and tried as a juvenile, and let off with 3000 years of community service.

 

The skipper, Goldie and ‘The Monk’ were hailed as heroic throwbacks to a time when spacers were brawlers. There was no such time, but that didn’t matter.

 

At a festive party attended by many notable guests including the pilot of ‘the lost ark’ several guests plied him with drinks to wheedle the mystery of when, why and how the ship had reversed course. Voices were raised, harsh words exchanged and a punch or two was thrown before the pilot was deftly spirited away. I was a few feet away and saw the whole thing.

 

Doesn’t matter what we say, the logs are intact and quite clear, we left Earth 113,000 years ago, headed straight up, maintained a straight and level course, through a series of hundreds if not thousands of hyper-jumps, and returned 3 months ago. That’s the truth, or my name isn’t Golden62.

Chinese elementary school military training

Trying a different AI engine

https://beta.dreamstudio.ai/generate

Same prompts. Different results.

755600 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
755600 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
270487 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
270487 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
270488 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
270488 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
270485 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
270485 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
755205 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0
755205 Create a anatomically accurate, photo realistic, B xl 1024 v1 0

It’s in mass production.

But it takes time to train personnel and workers to increase production. So I expect them to take at least a year before they can produce these in larger numbers.

Quality is probably the most important criteria for these machines. So they have to produce then test. All of that takes a lot of engineers and testing equipment.

These machines are already installed in production lines in Chinese fabs. They work and they work well but very few in number. After all, before this machine, they were only doing research and development. Manufacturing is a whole different ball game. So it will take time to get it done right.

Why is suppression of ‘Free speech’ by the Chinese government so acceptable to the Chinese people?

Opinions about CCP in Quora seem to suggest that Chinese people are quite content with CCP. Now, I am not arguing for democracy or against the Chinese system, but I cannot understand how can anyone find being disallowed the right to express opinion or protest against politicians acceptable?

The best defense for Free Speech in China is to Always Speak the Truth. If you are insulted by the Chinese government, publicize it on the web and you’ll get every citizen behind you.

But the Chinese are not OK to be lied to. Not by the Chinese Government, not by other Chinese people, not by any foreign Government or foreigners. And not by you. You may call that ‘Free Speech’. The Chinese call it lies, and demand their government to shut you up.

The Chinese are also not OK to be grossly insulted.

In 2008, China suffered a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in her western mountainous region. Close to 90,000 people died. Mothers desperately tried to shield their children with their own bodies, and died entombed together. The mother was still tenderly holding her child.

main qimg c91347cfc0c1bca9f40c6ce8a85e3bf1 lq
main qimg c91347cfc0c1bca9f40c6ce8a85e3bf1 lq

Sharon Stone, dressed in all her sparkles and finery, stood on the red carpet of Cannes, called it ‘karma’. China angry over Sharon Stone quake karma remark

main qimg 271d4e1feec6caba7dc206f0b50036a9 lq
main qimg 271d4e1feec6caba7dc206f0b50036a9 lq

Hundreds of millions of Chinese demanded the Chinese government to ban her films and any merchandise associated with her. If this is what ‘Free Speech’ means, the Chinese don’t want it.

You want to know why the Chinese not only support the Chinese government’s censorship, but demand it? Because it’s so obvious, OBVIOUS, that the likes of Sharon Stone are not on their side. You have someone literally laughing when 90,000 Chinese died in an earthquake, and then coming up with crocodile tears about ‘oh we have to fight for the poor Chinese who don’t have free speech’. The Chinese government, on the other hand, quickly mobilized 130,000 soldiers and other relief workers to attempt rescue, of which, around 200 rescuers died from ensuing aftershocks and mudslides. They gave their lives for the Chinese people.

Sichuan earthquake of 2008 | China

When you call hate speech ‘free speech’, you make people hate free speech.


PS: This is not an isolated event. This kind of sh*t happens continuously, and not just towards Chinese, but a continuous stream of random insult to almost any foreign country. Even the Swedes, the mellowest of all, are threatening to “go full fascist on them Yanks and ban them all”. King of Sweden stresses need for ‘serious’ media and source checking after Donald Trump’s immigration claims

Tradwives Are Making Modern Women INSECURE About Marriage And Motherhood

Speak the truth girrrrrl!

Endsville

Yes. When I was about 8 years old we lived in a house where the back yard was enclosed by a six foot high fence. Our first pet “Tiger” was a cockapoo a cross between a cocker spaniel and a toy poodle. I was there when Tiger was born.

One day my brothers and I were playing, tiger was out side with us, when the neighbor’s German Shepard jumped the fence and attacked Tiger. I grabbed the baseball bat and beat the German Shepard to death. The German Shepard had nearly ripped Tigers rear leg off. We yelled and our parents came out to see what was going on. They loaded up both dogs and took them to the vet. The German Shepard was pronounced dead on arrival. Tiger went into surgery. He was sewn up and bandaged. Several days later he was brought home.

We informed the neighbor about his dog accompanied by a police officer. The neighbor tried to attack me. The police officer held him back.

The neighbor took us to court. The neighbor wanted me punished for brutally beating his dog to death. And he wanted another dog. The judge listened to both sides and then asked the neighbor some questions.

The questions went like this.

Judge: You had a German Shepard?

Neighbor: Yes, and this little brat brutally killed it.

Judge: is there a 6 foot tall fence between your yards?

neighbor: yes.

Judge: was your dog capable of jumping that fence?

Neighbor: I have never seen him do that.

Judge: Is there a gate between the two yards?

Neighbor: No.

Judge: How do you think your dog got into their yard?

Neighbor: well it is possible that my dog jumped the fence.

The judge then asked me some question.

Judge: why did you attack this man’s dog.

Me: The German Shepard jumped the fence and attacked Tiger. We yelled but the dog would not stop. I had the bat in my hands and was not gong to take the chance the dog would kill tiger or attack someone else. I kicked the German Shepard off tiger but he went back. I kicked him again but this time I also hit him with the baseball bat. He kept trying to get at tiger. So I ended it. I hit the German Shepard till it quit moving.

Judge: were you scared?

me: I was. But I was more angry than scared. No one attacks my family. And tiger is family.

Judge: Do you like dogs?

me: yes, very much.

Judge: before this, were you afraid of the German Shepard?

Me: before this, I had never seen the dog. He barked a growled a lot. But he was always on the other side of the fence.

Judge: so you didn’t hate the dog.

me: I didn’t know the dog. Never met him.

The judge feeling he had all of the information needed made his determination. The neighbor was charged with having a vicious dog. Was ordered to pay our vet bill. He was told that if I had not killed the animal it would have been put down as a dangerous animal. After having cleared a 6 foot fence and attacking another’s pet and possibly children playing in the yard. I probably would have done the same thing as this young man. There will be no retaliation of any kind.

Ironically the neighbor got another German Shepard. A puppy. He introduced us to the dog and our dogs got along great. We moved about 6 months later. Tiger had complications from the surgery and started having seizures. My dad was in the navy and we often moved. Tiger was put down about two years later because we could not afford his medical care. I was told by my parents he was sent to a farm. I looked my parents in the eye and said “tiger was in bad shape. If you put him down just say so. Please don’t lie about it.”

When A Killer Has No Idea He’s Being Recorded

The U.S. stock market has plummeted, putting increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The U.S. has lost the financial war. At this moment, China has dealt another heavy blow to the U.S. by reducing its holdings of 228 billion U.S. real estate. Yellen issued a warning that the U.S. debt may face a collapse. Why do we say that the U.S. has lost the financial war? What signal does Yellen’s warning send?

In 2018, the United States unilaterally launched a trade war against China, and then provoked a technology and financial war. Now, the global game between China and the United States has lasted for nearly 7 years. I thought that this confrontation that determines the world pattern would be a slow process. After all, the game between major powers is to see who has better determination. Moreover, the United States has “dollar hegemony” and can collect wealth from various countries by issuing U.S. bonds globally. Relying on U.S. bonds and the dollar, the United States has successfully survived many financial crises. But this time, the United States took the initiative to provoke a financial war against China, and they themselves were the losers. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell made it clear that interest rates may be cut in September. Obviously, the United States can no longer withstand the financial war.



There is a saying about the Sino-US financial war: “hypertension vs. hypoglycemia”. From the perspective of the United States, they are facing high inflation that has been slow to be curbed, huge debts, and high interest rates caused by multiple aggressive interest rate hikes. Although China is the world’s largest manufacturing country, its consumption power is not as good as that of the United States, the world’s largest consumer of goods. In other words, China has goods but lacks money, while the United States has money but lacks goods. The essence of the Sino-US financial war is that the United States wants to harvest China through aggressive interest rate hikes. While China is improving its financial defenses, it is waiting for the United States to be dragged down by its own debts.



But in this process, the United States made two fatal mistakes.

First, the United States forgot the fact that “finance is a derivative of trade.” Although the United States has dollar hegemony, China has the most complete manufacturing sector in the world, which makes it have a long-term trade surplus and has $3 trillion in reserves. Therefore, the United States can hardly influence China’s exchange rate;

Secondly, the United States has never considered that its aggressive interest rate hike strategy will push its allies into a dead end and eventually force them to “turn against the United States.” According to 环球网_全球生活新门户_环球时报旗下网站, Japan has already started to raise interest rates on the yen, which is a dead end for the United States. Previously, due to the high interest rates in the United States, many international investors borrowed yen at ultra-low interest rates and then converted them into dollars to buy U.S. bonds. Now, the Federal Reserve has just released a signal of interest rate cuts, and Japan has immediately raised interest rates, which will trigger investors to transfer assets from the United States to Japan. In other words, Japan has implemented a reverse “harvest” on the United States.



It is worth mentioning that as early as two months ago, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that maintaining high interest rates may put US debt at risk of collapse. But Yellen did not expect that what happened later would be more serious than she expected. On Monday, US stocks suffered a sharp drop at the opening, with technology stocks such as Nvidia and Tesla falling by more than 10%. At the same time, a large number of Chinese buyers were worried about the US economic situation and began to sell their properties in the United States. According to public data, in less than two years, Chinese buyers have reduced their holdings of US real estate by 228 billion yuan.



By August 5, the onshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar reached 7.1150, a surge of 1,000 points. The reason for the strengthening of the RMB is that the US non-farm unemployment rate has reached 4.3%, which is not only the worst in the past three years, but also far exceeds expectations. This makes international investors believe that the risk of an economic recession in the United States is increasing. It is worth noting that this time Japan raised interest rates and announced how much foreign exchange it used to intervene in the exchange rate. In the face of this “turnaround” approach, the United States did not make any accusations. Obviously, the United States is also very clear about how serious the situation it faces!


This news is brought to you by Host Anton

08-06 19:36 from Hong Kong

5 Most DISTURBING Deaths of Tourists in Thailand…

https://youtu.be/A1XrrG3Nrgk

Shorpy

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Was the USSR really that bad?

I don’t know what exactly you were told about USSR, but it was at least 10 times less bad than you’ve been told.

Everyday life in USSR wasn’t that much different from social democracies of today:

  • There was work, properly regulated to 8 hours a day and 2 days off.
    • During dinner break, you’d get to eat at an eatery, usually one affiliated with your workplace.
    • There was almost 0% unemployment. The country always had work that needed doing, but if they didn’t, they’d invent some work for you, like digging holes or filling up holes.
  • The work was paid for properly at the end of the month.
  • People would spend their money in shops, to buy food and things.
    • Unlike capitalism, there usually was more money than things to buy.
    • The amount of stuff owned by a typical Soviet person wasn’t that much different from stuff owned by a typical worker under capitalism.
    • Food shortages were the exception, not the rule. But growing or foraging your own food was a thing.
  • Everybody had a roof over their heads, usually provided by the government for a small rent/tax.
    • Less lucky people lived in dormitories and communal apartment, more lucky ones lived in their own apartments.
    • Wait time to get one’s own apartment was similar to time for accumulating money to buy an apartment in capitalist Russia, but one could use their money freely.
  • Violent crime was pretty low, while black market seems to have flourished.
    • Newspapers did not go out of their way to scare people, so people felt much safer.
  • Life in prisons was worse, as it should be. Still, prisoner lifestyle was regulated, so they wouldn’t go hungry unless the whole country did.
    • That joke from “Operation Y” where an prisoner builder gets a 3-course dinner with shahlyk and a poor student working part-time (who has to buy his own food) gets some bread with kefir is a comedic exaggeration.

One thing that really helps is having a goal — something you want to do before you pass. Like Jeanne Calment who made a deal with her rotary André-François Raffray in 1965, when she was 90 years old… in exchange for having the right to continue living in the property, she’d sell the apartment to Raffray, for him to use after she passed. He sure felt he’d made a pretty sweet deal with the little old French lady…

Only Calment didn’t die… she kept living. And living. And living. By 1995, Raffray had already paid Calment many times the value of the property she was living in. A piece of property he legally owned for some 30 years but couldn’t sell or make use of. He died, in 1995. And Calment, 120, continued to live for another 2 years, finally dying in 1997 at age 122 with Raffray’s widow and children continuing to pay her generously for her refusal to meet her maker.

Calment lived another 32 years after reaching 90, and it made her a fortune in her day’s currency. She was paid generously just for being alive, despite continuing to smoke and drink and live merrily. “Sometimes in life, one makes a bad deal,” Calment simply said. And sometimes, people make mighty good deals.

Why She LEFT the USA and Moved HOME to ASIA!

We sure do!

I pay more than $1000 a month for “good insurance, and last month I fell. I knew something was wrong and instead of going to the ER, I went to urgent care because it would be so much cheaper.

It almost killed me.

You see, I had broken three ribs and punctured a lung. I was bleeding into my chest cavity and the longer I waited to see the cheap doctor, I was losing my ability to breathe. At one point a lady sat next to me. She took one look at me and screamed at the front desk to call an ambulance. I told them it would cost too much and I would drive myself.

Luckily for me, they stopped me from driving and the ambulance soon arrived.

I stayed in the hospital for 3 days and demanded to be released because I couldn’t afford to be there any longer. I was released AMA and I got lucky that I had someone at home to care for me. It has taken weeks for me to be able to take a breath without pain, and while my doctor wanted to see me at the two-week mark, I waited until 4 weeks to see her.

I am now waiting for the bills to arrive. I know that my deductible for the year is $17,000 and that will be what I will have to pay before the full insurance kicks in, but I will STILL have more deductibles to pay!!

Our system is BROKEN!! The MAIN reason people file for bankruptcy is medical bills, and we are supposedly a first-world nation!!!!

People are so damn worried about paying for everyone to get medical care that they would rather go bankrupt than pay LESS than we do now for actual care! They seem to forget that they are already paying for roads, schools, first responders and so much more, but heaven forbid they pay for medical!

It would be CHEAPER FOR EVERYONE!!!

PLUS our politicians are in the pockets of the insurance companies who will lose billions if we were to have universal healthcare. So, we continue to see the decline in our health, die earlier, and lose mothers during childbirth at a rate higher than some third-world nations, and all people can think of is “Well at least I didn’t pay for someone else to live”.

Absolute stupidity!

Alien

Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways. view prompt

Ash Brinton

“What’s your planet like?” the little alien asked wistfully.The alien was two feet tall, with a tiny blue curl on the top of his head. By the time the alien was an adult, the curl would be about eight feet tall, sticking straight up like a bright blue mohawk. The rest of him would be only four feet tall, and I wasn’t sure whether the aliens counted the curl as part of their height or not. This species was either really short or really, really tall.“It’s beautiful,” I responded, thinking longingly of home, “When I was little, everything was green and there were all these animals in our backyard. There was a gopher that lived in a hole in the rocks that my dad named Pierre. He always ate my sisters garden. And at night, there were so many… so many stars. There was a lullaby my mom used to sing about the stars. I haven’t heard it in so long. I’ve almost forgotten the words.” I hummed the tune under my breath for a moment, “But Earth… Earth’s not quite as beautiful as it once was.”“What happened?” the young alien tilted his head, curious.“Humanity happened. We were told we were destroying the planet but no one would listen and when we did it was never enough. Overpopulation, pollution, hunger, poverty, global warming… Those all started before I was born and by the time I was old enough to do anything, it was too late. It was already irreversible. The people my age tried to at least slow it down, but no one would listen to us. Our only hope was to find another planet, like scavengers destroying everything they touch. We destroyed our home. Maybe if we had all worked together, refused to ignore the signs, things would be different, but we didn’t and they’re not.”“Is that why you left?”“Yes.” I turned away from the alien, lost in thought.Here I was, a human, lightyears away from my home. I couldn’t even see the sun from here. I had failed in my mission.Sure, I had found alien life on other planets, but I had lost my crewmates and my home. My memories of how I got there were still foggy.I remembered my crew and how we had been the first humans to reach the Kuiper Belt. We’d felt like heroes. Then one of the asteroids had crashed into our ship.I had been the only one to escape the wreckage.The aliens found me.Next thing I knew, I was in their spaceship with no idea where I was.“Do you miss it?” the young alien asked.“Hmm?” I turned back to him.“Don’t you miss Earth?”“Every day.”“I can’t believe I’m actually talking to a human. A real, live human! My grandmama says she went to Mars once. It’s the closest she ever got – the closest any of us ever got – to Earth. There was this weird thing that my mama calls a-” he said something in a different language “-but I don’t think there’s a word for it in Human, so the translator might not work for it. It was made of panels and metal with a human word written on the side in big block letters. The first letter looked like a wide mouth getting ready to eat you, grandmama says.”I tilted my head, trying to imagine what he meant. “An ‘O’?”“What’s an ‘O’?”“The letter. It looks like this,” I traced my finger through dust on the small table between us.The alien child shrugged, “Maybe. I wasn’t there. Grandmama says you could see Earth from where she was and it was all greens and blues and browns and whites and when it wasn’t facing the star, the land glowed. It even had a tiny metal moon orbiting it!” The little alien boy put his hands on my knees to pull himself into a standing position.“Earth only has one moon and that’s made of rock, but your grandmama may have seen a satellite. And the land wasn’t glowing, silly.” I chuckled, flicking the little curl on the top of their head that seemed to be the defining factor of their species, “That was the lights in the cities and houses.”“Why would you need lights? You have a star right there in your solar system!”“The lights are for at night, when the sun goes down.”“What’s a sun?”“It’s what we call our star,” I explained.The alien’s eyes grew wide, “Your star moves?”“No.” I said flatly, “When Earth rotates, it looks like the sun is moving across the sky. Thousands of years ago, people thought it was moving. They thought that Earth was the center of the universe.”

The alien snorted, “That’s kind of self-absorbed.”

“Yeah,” I laughed, “but science proved them wrong. When the part of the Earth that we are standing on turns away from the sun and it goes dark, we say the sun goes down. We call that time night. That’s when we can see the moon and the stars up in the sky. Do you have that on your planet?”

“No. There’s two stars, one on either side of my birth planet, so it’s always not-night.”

“Day. The word you’re looking for is day.”

“Wow. Humans name everything, huh. What do you call your moon?”

“Well, technically the moon’s name is Luna, but there’s only one, so we just call it the moon most of the time.”

“Cool!” He exclaimed, “We don’t have a sky. Mama says the atmosphere’s too weak for us to have a pretty sky like the one on Earth.”

“Light pollution blocks most of the sky nowadays, so don’t be disappointed if you ever see it.”

“Mama and Grandmama have always wanted to go to Earth. They were so excited when you got to the end of your solar system. We’ve been watching you progress for a while. Mama said humans were resilient and stubborn and would never give up, but Papa thought you were going to give up because you kept finding rocks and that was it.”

“They were cool rocks,” I nudged him, “Space rocks.”

The alien clapped two of his arms together, which I was quickly learning was how this species showed delight.

I hated to burst the alien’s bubble of innocence and wonder but…

“Do you know the worst thing about Earth and living there?”

The child’s face dropped and the spiky arm-like appendages fell to their side.

I continued, “The worst part about living on Earth, or at least in my country, isn’t the pollution, poverty, hunger, or even abuse. It’s the tension. The fear that we’ve entrusted the keys of mass destruction to a lunatic or a villain. The constant worry that one day you’ll turn on the tv and hear that a war has broken out in our country and a nuclear bomb has been dropped. In my country, we are always at war, but it is always pushed under the rug and ignored. For stuff like that to be shown on the news, it would have to be on our own soil. Either a civil war or a world war. It would destroy anything. No one would survive, and if they did… that fate might be even worse.”

“So… you don’t want to go back to Earth?”

I shrugged helplessly, “Humanity destroyed Earth. Maybe when your grandmama saw it, Earth was more beautiful, more loving, more kind, but more likely is that the effects of humanity’s cruelty were only just starting to show on Earth’s surface and it wasn’t as noticeable yet. To truly see Earth, you have to get up close, beneath the clouds, into the cities. Still… I do want to go home. I want to rebuild and restore Earth to its former glory, if it ever had any when humanity lived on the Earth. I want to see the animals, healthy and thriving, not on the brink of extinction, and to see the moon surrounded by stars, and see the milky way hovering in the sky like it did when my grandparents were little. I want to go home.”

“Can I help?”

“I don’t think so, little friend. It’s not fair to pull you into our mess.”

“So? I want to see Earth too! I want to help the humanities.”

I smiled sadly and patted the alien’s baby curl. “Let’s just get me home first. Just imagine being the first of your species to reach Earth’s surface. Your mama will be so proud.”

I looked out the small window at the wide expanse of nothing, with stars twinkling in the distance, almost too far away to see.

“Let’s go home.”

Alex Julius, you should be the one who must be cured of your delusions.

You are likely too young, but know that it’s not just Japan and South Korea, there are almost 800 of such “colonies” in the world.

We’re still doing this – added Finland recently. And restored another – the Philippines.

This is the rare occasion where what trump claimed is actually true – Americans can literally shoot anybody on main street and can’t be touched. Young Filipinos may not know these, but Filipinos were target practices once they get too close to Clark and Subic and of course, they could treat their women however they feel they want. And Bong Bong wants all these American liberties back in his country.

The only difference is that its so much more for Japan and South Korea – its Washington that dictates their national foreign policies – that when the American president tells them to jump, they ask how high. . . where the government of Japan can’t fly over Tokyo without permission of the U.S. military commisioner . . . where South Korea can’t do anything involving their military without the permission of the U.S. military brass. . . .where its president must know how to sing Karaoke when making state visits. But of course, to maintain the pretext of democracy, they have to do the work of governing their own people – that they can do themselves. Isn’t all these describing running “colonies” by enjoying the best of both worlds?

Today’s MM image generations

The focus is on admiration, and the god of the vine. It’s a hodgepodge of prompts and resulting in very interesting images.

Many nudes. But you all know that I am figurative art lover.

I really love the style, and the color composition. But I am having problems with the image arrangement. But I think that in time things will straighten out.

Personally, I don’t like full nudes. I prefer partial nudes, and elements of clothing with folds, and details.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(17)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(17)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(17)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(17)
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(15)
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(15)

So I changed things out. And I started to require loin cloths and other attire elements.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(15)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(15)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(14)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(14)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(11)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(11)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(10)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(10)

Some didn’t have the elements of clothing, but the colors were great.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(10)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(10)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(9)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(9)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(9)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(9)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(8)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(8)

In the ones where everyone was  clothed, it became too formal. I wanted something less formal.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(8)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(8)

Maybe something more like this…

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(7)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(7)

This is pretty good.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(7)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(7)

So is this one.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(6)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(6)

And this one.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(6)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(6)

The careful placement of arms was really nice.

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(5)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(5)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(5)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(5)

This is fine…

@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(4)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(4)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(2)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(2)
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(2)
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(2)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(1)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(1)
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(1)
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(1)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2

Our married love life was wonderful, Blessed with cute baby girl , added more and more love to our lives. Perfect love life , both of us were equally romantic and made for each other in all aspects . But he fell sick one day, severely sick. Lost his job soon due to the serious health reasons . I was not working and no experience though well qualified. No one earning at home , worst phase of our lives .I started hunting for job , use to seek help with whomever I know , giving my resume. Since it was already 4 years that I had finished my degree, securing a job was really too hard and challenging. I use to drop into offices , use all my limited intelligence and resources to get a job. Everywhere , every effort was a failure, I was good at nothing , hopes were very less with the future. Somewhere luck clicked , a gentleman agreed to help me , but I had to go far off – 1000 kms from my town . I took the bold step, left the beloved family back . I got a break, worked very hard without caring the number of working hours , my food , my comforts despite of my gender constraints. I did not had anyone to care about me . I had save every penny and money order to home. My life was very hard , but started feeling bit ease with finance. I could meet my family first time after a gap of 10 months. I endured all the pains , discomforts to save our lives . Slowly in 2 years my financial status became very sound and everyone happy at home. All the needs and luxuries of each individual were met with my income. This is 20 years old story , but when I look back now , I wonder myself with the journey. Everyone in the family knows about my success , no one knows the struggle I had in the initial stages especially when alone , away from home. But I am happy I could take care of my loved ones…!! I have cut the very long story short though here. Thanks for reading through this.

Edit 1 :

Dear all my friends , I am adding some more details as asked by you . My smart and intelligent husband lost many of his metal capabilities permanently , he just survived with no physical handicap. As of today he is very casual person with no job , no responsibility and no emotions to me and my daughter.

Yes I could meet all the materialistic needs of the family, but the love which I was dying for , I haven’t experienced again.

The reason I am anonymous here is , I have managed to keep this story very secret as much as possible due to many reasons . I had lots of hopes that I would get my love back , year on year realized that it would never happen, Along with that with growing daughter I wanted to stay strong , avoid any negative emotions , keep the father and daughter bonding as well as family bonding intact . My journey along had been very very rough while managing to take care of crooked in laws , take full responsibility of my sick parents ( my younger brother had died in road accident then ) , emotionless and half sensed husband. I avoided myself in all the social gatherings due to his behavioral issues, it is all a daily battle. I wanted to ensure my daughter will not suffer psychologically in this bargain. It was all tight rope walk for me , lost my youth , real happiness in life . But only satisfaction is my daughter is like a fresh flower with full of fragrance, she is undisturbed with all the tragedy which occurred in our life when she was close to 2 years old.

Materialistically I gained many many things in life but the wonderful love which I received from my husband is just a dream now. Many good things happened to me in my career unexpectedly .There are many many bitter most things about my husband which is still going on my life . Life has taught me the art of living .. and it is going on & on

Edit 2.

Friends , my thanks to all of you . Your responses has made me to feel lighter with the hard and helpless feelings that I have that I am not able to fix my husbands problems. I could have donated any part of my body to resume his love , medically there is no brain transplant . Miracles may work ??

I had shared a part of my story here earlier ,

Someone anonymous’s answer to What is the loveliest thing a child has ever said to you?

when I get chance I would share the details of deadly disease that my husband survived with, how I handled both my challenging IT career, responsibility of all the dependents , how my husbands family took undue advantage of his illness and emotionless status

Edit 3

Friends ,My daughter loves her dad a lot , has accepted him fully for what he is , tried her best to make him to understand his responsibility , no luck but. Our sorrow never reflects in our faces, not an exaggeration we look our best , lively and cheerful . Also look like sisters as per the comment we keep receiving from others. She is bold , practical, very independent, kind and considerate . Though she knows the hardships of mine she does not simply sympathize and am not emotional burden on her. She flew abroad recently for her masters and has lot of ambitions in life. She has her own passions besides academics.

My love life has been fully empty, I have been trying to overcome by indulging in my work , disciplined life & hobbies . My love to the family has been stronger not giving me a chance of seeking love elsewhere . Probably my brought up has a bigger role here

1990-0802, Delta Force Rapist.

MSG Marshall Brown, 1st Special Forces Operations Detachment Delta Operator, arrested while TDY in East Providence, RI. He raped five women. MSG Brown escaped custody & was captured 3-days later.

In 1988, an investigation began when two women were attacked in Raleigh, one @ North Carolina State University, apparently by the same man, a stranger, who climbed in through their second story windows, hooded & dressed in black, ordered them to silence with a knife held to their throats, covered their faces, then raped them. During the rapes, he apologized, telling them that he didn’t want to hurt them & that he “had to do this.”

On June 11, 1989 in Cranston, Rhode Island, Marshall Brown was taken into custody & charged with the rapes of two Rhode Island women. These women were raped with the same modus operandi as the North Carolina women. While in custody, Marshall was deferential to the police, calling them by their ranks & observing scrupulous courtesy. Police described him as soft-spoken. He even spoke approvingly of the professionalism of the arrests & complimented one officer for his handcuffing technique. He had been arrested for prowling in Fayetteville, North Carolina, earlier that May. He had forfeited his bond for a dismissal of the charge.

Marshall went to work in jail, studying the patterns of the federal marshals who transported him to & from court & making friends with a 20-year-old inmate named Frederick Heon. He stayed in shape in jail, using his exercise periods to run.

On July 30, he was cuffed to another prisoner in the back of a federal marshal van & driven to Providence to attend his hearing. When the back door opened, Marshall – who had picked open his handcuffs – walked with the escorting marshal & his fellow inmate for a bit, then sprang past the startled federal marshals & ran like an Olympic athlete up the street & out of sight.

Heon was out on bail & had rented a car, per Marshall’s instructions & was waiting @ an appointed rendezvous point & drove Marshall to the Connecticut state line. Heon then went to a church where he was told he’d find money, which wasn’t there. Three days later, Marshall was caught in a stolen car & re-arrested. Marshall told the police about Heon’s assistance & Heon was taken back to jail for a parole violation.

Marshall had burglarized a house 15 miles outside of Providence for food & credit cards & was camping in a pine grove nearby. He stole the car in the same neighborhood. When back in custody, he admitted to nine rapes in Rhode Island, Texas, Arizona & North Carolina. Marshall had been attending the Naval version of the Sergeants Major Academy in Norfolk when he was caught the first time.

His wife, Michelle, who was taking care of their young son, was stunned.

I can’t even pretend to understand Marshall Brown, after spending many hours with him & going on one combat operation with him. I have heard the statement that rape is not sex, it is an exercise of power. I don’t buy it. Rape is violent power, but it is sexualized power & it is also violent sex. Sex in patriarchal society is in almost every case practiced, portrayed & understood as a form of aggression & power & all power is in many ways sexualized.

Marshall’s brother-in-law spoke with me many years later & said that Marshall told him that he felt he had to use his skills somehow, or he’d begin to lose them. Marshall saw the rapes as a training opportunity @ some level & therefore the women as training aids

One might suppose, since he repeated this ritualistic rape @ least nine times, that there was some rush he needed. I don’t buy it. He had jumped out of airplanes a thousand times, was a proficient technical climber, had been in combat. I think the rush – if that’s what it was – was transgression. Nancy C. M. Hartsock, in Money, Sex & Power – Toward a Feminist Historical Materialism, said that “without the boundary to violate, the thrill of transgression would disappear.” Marshall’s criminality was not in spite of his religious conversion, his squeamishness about sex, or his uptight WASP upbringing in East Texas. It was an outcome… of all those things, but also of a masculinity defined by a culture of rape & a man who had made a career of pursuing that masculinity.

Marshall Brown served in a profession with a constant subtext of physical coercion & in a field within that profession (Delta Force/Special Operations) where we were expected to work outside the rules, behind the scenes, in the shadows, employing a host of very specialized skills, to “preserve a way of life.”

My father has served for 4 decades in the Indian Army. He retired last year but still looks like a young gentleman. Here is his pic:

main qimg 9492057ed7a9f41ad4dd09997e9d47a3 lq
main qimg 9492057ed7a9f41ad4dd09997e9d47a3 lq

Following are the things he does daily in order to maintain that fitness, happiness, and energy:

  1. Early 2 bed & early 2 rise: He sleeps by 10 pm and wakes up at 5 am. Those 7 hours are pure sound sleep.
  2. Fresh Air: Upon waking up, he goes for a walk/jog along with our dog.
  3. Morning Nutrition: Next, he drinks Mulethi Tea, which has immense and immense benefits.
  4. Being Natural: He also does Brushing with Neem twig sometimes before normal brushing. He applies Mustard Oil. He hasn’t used shampoo even once in his life and still at the age of 60, he has black & naturally strong hair.
  5. Exercise: Next, he performs yoga and calisthenics.
  6. Spirituality for positivity: After having a bath, he does pooja, which according to him gives him positivity and strength for the odd things.
  7. Do what you love: Then he goes to work. Right now after retirement, his work is to look after our farms. Despite having servants, he also does some farming himself which gives him joy.
  8. Love what you do: In his small-small work, whether household or be it when he was in the Army. He is determined and has will power to do the work. He takes full responsibility and doesn’t procrastinate. He does his work happily. He accepts responsibilities and problems rather than blaming or cursing. This reduces stress and increases productivity.
  9. Nutrition on time: He ensures that he takes his meals on time (Lunch before 1 pm and Dinner before 7.30).
  10. Proper Nutrition: He also ensures that he eats natural things and things with more health benefits rather than going for taste. For example, we eat black wheat roti, self-grown vegetables & and fruits, pure milk, and whatever we can arrange naturally.
  1. We were having dinner at the private Magic Castle in Hollywood. At the next table was a stereotypical studio executive type; you know, 50+ years old, ultra tan, long (hair plugged?) grey hair, flashy suit. With him was a20ish young, hot model type, with a low cut backless dress that showed off her tattoos, among other things. Yup, I thought; fossil studio exec pulling a Harvey Weinstein with some actress. Except as they were leaving, the young woman said to him Dad, when Mom gets back from New York, maybe we can have dinner again!
  2. Having dinner in a restaurant. The guy next to us appears to be having a tough time with his date. He does all the talking, and his date just gives him a half smile; jokes, funny stories, ordering the food, just a half smile from the women. We thought it might be a first date, maybe off of the internet or a blind one. Except when they were about to leave, the guy got her wheelchair and helped her sit in it; she obviously had had a stroke or something, and thus she could only muster a half smile and not speak.
  3. Las Vegas: we enter the Wynn Hotel, and see a scantily clad (mini skirt, halter top) woman walking with two security guards on either side. We thought it was a hooker being escorted out of the premises. However, this was Las Vegas. She was instead wearing the standard waitress outfit for the hotel. Sorry, our mistake!

A young pilot got a job as a bush pilot flying float planes in Alaska. On one of his first jobs, he flew out to a remote lake to pick up a hunter who had been dropped off the week before.

When he got there, he was horrified to discover that the hunter had bagged a full grown bull moose. He also had several hunting rifles, a canoe, several boxes of ammunition, plus all his camping gear.

“That’s too much,” he protested. “I won’t even get the plane into the air with all that weight.”

“I don’t see why not,” the hunter replied. “You strap the canoe to one of the floats, the moose to the other float, the baggage in the back seats, and I sit up front with you. Alf Smith did it last year, and he got us into the air.”

The young pilot’s ego was wounded. “Well, if Alf Smith can do it, so can I. Give me a hand.”

He taxied downwind to the far end of the lake as far as he could go, spun around into the wind and gave it full throttle. The plane staggered into the air and just barely cleared the trees at the far end. Ahead of them, however, was a low ridge. Using every ounce of flying skill, he managed to nurse the airplane over the trees at the top of the ridge. Before he could relax, however, he realized to his horror that there was a second, even higher ridge a half mile in front of him. There was nothing he could do but pancake the airplane into the trees.

As he and his passenger crawled out from the wreckage, he surveyed the destroyed plane and wept “My God, what have I done?”

“Don’t feel too bad,” said the hunter. “You made it half a mile farther than Alf Smith did last year.”

I was driving along a two lane road in rural Minnesota, at or just below the speed limit (55mph) when I saw a cop pull out from a side road. He quickly caught up with me and lit me up. I found a driveway where I could pull over safely and stopped. As I was getting my license and insurance ready, he walked up and asked the usual question, “Do you know why I pulled you over?”.

I said, no, I can’t think of anything I was doing wrong.

He told me that he had seen me give room for a lady pulling out slowly, and didn’t blow my horn, flash my lights or seem irritated that she had blocked my path, but let her get up to speed and gave her plenty of room. I also returned a wave from her as she turned off the road.

He handed me a card that read “Good Driver Award”. He told me that if I needed to use it, to show it, and they’ll forgive minor things like too long in a metered parking space. Not only that, but he was very cordial and friendly. Told me to have a nice drive home. He also told me to show it either the McDonald’s or Burger King just up the road for a free soda.

Made my day!!

Haha. Tonya Harding Syndrome. What a perfect description of the mentality of USA against anyone that is strong, be it China or Russia.

After WW2, USSR was militarily strong. USA said USSR threatened US (dominance). USA then collapsed USSR in 1991. Today Russia is still militarily strong, then thru Ukraine, USA is to weaken, if not break up Russia.

In 1980s’, when Japan was economically strong being #2 in the world & when its semiconductor surpassed USA, USA then beat Japan down making Japan lost 10–20 years’ of development.

Today, China is both economically, militarily & technologically strong. Of course, USA cannot sleep well at night.

Dont ever think USA is gentle to EU who is also competing with USA. USA pulled down Euro once. One reason for the Ukraine war is to weaken Europe’s economy.

So … USA suffers Tonya Harding syndrome against anybody who is developing well & challenging US hegemony. Not just against China.

USA was successful in beating down USSR & Japan. But has & will fail in China though.

Perhaps you’ve forgotten that China’s President Xi Jinping is the son of one of China’s greatest generals?

That he spent three years in uniform as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense?

That in the past two years he has repeatedly called on his 2,000,000 man army to ‘prepare to fight and win wars’?

That, when Gallup asked people around the world, “Would you fight for your country in case of war ?”, 87% of Chinese are willing and ready to fight–almost three times the percentage of Americans or anyone else?

Today, China overmatches the US in its Near Seas and my guess is that it will choose to act there in order to open a potential second front to take pressure off Russia. A credible sequence goes something like this: in close coordination with Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Hezbollah…

1. Announce an ADIZ, below, over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait that excludes all military aircraft and requires permission for every civilian flight in and out of Taiwan. The US cannot prevent this and it paralyzes Taiwan.

2. Issue an arrest warrant for Tsai Ing-wen on a charge of treason and incitement to war and warn that anyone attempting to assist her will be charged as an accessory.

3. Announce that the Taiwan Strait is Chinese, permanently closed to military vessels.

4. Announce that the entire South China Sea is Chinese, permanently closed to military vessels.

5. Show off a few new weapons systems to complement its remarkable missiles and its fleet of Type 055 heavy cruisers, the most powerful surface combatants afloat.

6. Place the entire nation on a war footing, call up the reserves and activate all radars, light up all missile launching facilities, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxd_A-hGEOQ

These actions would be front page headlines in every new media on earth yet, if you do the math, you’ll see that the cost is….$0.00.

And China hasn’t invaded Taiwan yet. Hasn’t hurt a fly, in fact.

China’s capacity to sustain combat in its Near Seas is far bigger than Western media have been telling us (read the USNI papers to see what I mean). America is no match for China there–on land, sea or in the air.

And, as Clausewitz might have said, fleets win battles but economies win wars and China’s economy is far bigger, growing much faster and is more capable of ramping up than ours.

Would invasion even be necessary?

As a female autistic growing up in Outback Australia in the 1960’s I was bullied a lot. Really nasty stuff, it was only when I was in my 40’s that I got diagnosed as High Functioning Aspergers. I have always used education to get out of bad situations and high school was a particularly bad situation! Getting my head flushed down the toilet daily by a group of six or seven laughing girls was just something I had to deal with.

I left as soon as I was able, went to the nearest big city, got a job and continued to study at night school. Over the years, I built up this small base into a very comfortable career, married, had children and continued to work in a job I enjoyed, was good at, and that paid well. I have travelled the world and learned several languages, since I have an affinity for it.

One of my “nerdy” friends stayed on in the small regional town I’d gone to high school in and we kept touch. She was able to tell me what became of the bullies who used to torment us.

The leader of the group was a girl who was voted by our class as “the most likely to succeed”, apparently because she was regarded as pretty and used to date a high school sports jock. She ended up living in a caravan with a dozen children all from different fathers, working occasionally in low-paid jobs and living on welfare and whatever she could make by peddling her body. My friend told me that I wouldn’t recognize her as she got onto meth and used to pick at her skin leaving bleeding sores all over. She eventually died of a drug overdose a few years ago.

Another girl who used to delight in putting out cigarettes on my skin if she caught me going to the loo while she was there ended up dying, her car wrapped around a tree late one night when her boyfriend, who was driving drunk, was speeding.

A number of other bullies, the low-level ones who just went along with the major bullies and joined in if they had nothing better to do, ended up spending their lives working in the vegetable cannery or the chicken processing plant or the abbatoirs (I lived in an agricultural community, and those where the big employers.) There are probably worse jobs about than gutting chickens for a living, and it is at least good honest work, I suppose…

Another one, a boy this time who used to enjoy getting a seat behind me on the two hour bus ride to and from school and whacking me across the back of the head with a book, also got his karma – he became a welder after he left school, was working inside a silo one day and there was a build-up of gases. When he turned on the welder, the gases ignited while he was inside the silo and the result was that he lost both his legs. Now he has no choice but to sit – in a wheelchair.

Whereas I have lived a comfortable and mostly content life, doing a job I love, running my own business, and owning my own houses, some of which I rent out. One of the best things I ever did was to leave the small-town bullies and small-minded losers to their own devices and leave. I’ve never regretted going.

On the trail of the shale

A problem with food banks, and eating randomly when the opportunity arises, it that a lot of what these agencies provide is processed foods that are heavily laden with salts, sugars, non-nutritious fats, and many chemicals (including preservatives) that can be toxic to the body. If I were low on monetary and food resources, I would shoot for the natural, nutritious foods that are inexpensive or easily obtainable. Buy them in bulk if possible. Examples of inexpensive foods that pack a nutritional punch, ones that are also tasty:

  1. The humble potato. They can be chopped up, smeared in extra virgin olive oil and baked in a microwave oven. Avoid the butter, margarine, ghee, etc. Do not fry the potatoes like they do the French fries. You could add spices, depending on your taste. Also add tomato paste before the baking. The nutritional value of the potato is very high, but loading it with trans-fatty oils, high cholesterol fluids will negate the value. And the potato is tasty and filling.
  2. But for those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic, an alternative to potatoes that is both filling and low sugar and calorie is the carrot. And carrots are both inexpensive and easy to consume as either raw, medium-cooked, or fully-cooked. You can more easily lose weight while eating carrots, although they are not as nutritious as potatoes, But eating a balanced assortment of nutritious foods will make up for that.
  3. Tomato paste, mentioned above is a thoroughly inexpensive way to eat tomatoes. The red paste is a concentrated and safely processed form of the highly nutritious tomato. A huge bulky can is sold for about $5, would last for weeks in the cooler, even if you use a lot of it every day.
  4. Some in the bean family such as cowpeas, lentils, and garbanzo beans. Buy them raw, to defray the expenses and to avoid the salted canned ones. Place them in water overnight. This will hydrate and soften them and make them easier and faster to cook the next day.
  5. Oatmeal. A canister, depending on size, will last you weeks or even months.
  6. The egg is famously nutritious, and one a day is enough. Boiled, or fried in olive oil. Wonderful animal protein, many B-vitamins.
  7. Drink your tea or coffee in moderation. The antioxidants are there and helps keep you alert. Use stevia, the natural no-calorie sweetener….inexpensive and not bulky. Cut out the sugar, the Equal, and the Splenda. Go for Stevia….comes in several name brands.
  8. An orange or tangerine a day does wonders.
  9. Carrots are another inexpensive nutritious powerhouse.
  10. Eat your nuts. The least inexpensive way to consume nuts , and to avoid overeating them is to buy them in bulk at the grocery store or places like nuts.com. And of course, many roasted nuts from the stores are overrated. If say you placed small amounts of a Brazil nut, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, peanuts, flaxseeds, etc (or whatever you prefer) in a small Pyrex bowl, added some water and olive oil, microwaved the mixture, you would come out with a very nutritious homemade power bar. Just don’t over roast or burn. Having natural foods at home is not only cheap, but deters you from overeating, and eating processed foods. Also, prepare your snacks at home. Nuts place you in a good mood
  11. Banana. Delicious and nutritious, and filling, mood-enhancing, hydrating, inexpensive. One a day does the trick.
  12. Water…drink your water. This can’t be emphasized enough. This is the medium of body and other functions
  13. Go for inexpensive vegetables, rainbow colors, instead of the tv diners which are hazardous to your health. Eating natural foods makes it so much less expensive to manage your health
  14. Exercising goes well with eating inexpensively and nutritiously, whether you are on a budget or not. My list is inexhaustible, but I suppose a reasonable guideline.
  15. A bit of garlic/onion should be incorporated in the diet, daily.

Be the Rufus

“No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it.” Christopher Ratte.

Some Persian soldiers had buried their treasure at the time when the last remnants of Persian soldiers and Persian sympathizers were driven out of Hellenistic Greece. Archaeologist Christopher Ratte and his team have been in Western Turkey for years working on the ancient site of Notion – then part of Ionia – and have found a pot of rare Persian gold coins in what appears to be a basement room.

Credit: Notion Archaeological Project.

The New York Times has published a story on this find, with interviews of Christopher Ratte. Here is a share of that article:

By Franz Lidz, Aug. 2, 2024

It is the late fifth century B.C. and a mercenary soldier kneels in his modest quarters, digging a hole in the earthen floor. He places a small jug, called an olpe, in the hole for safekeeping and covers it with dirt. In the olpe are his savings — scores of gold coins, known as darics, each one equal to a month’s pay.

But something happens to the soldier — possibly something sinister — and he never retrieves his hoard, which remains undiscovered for the next 2,400 years.

That is one of several scenarios proposed by Christopher Ratté, an archaeologist at the University of Michigan, to account for the cache, which he and his research team recently unearthed from the ruins of Notion, an ancient city-state in modern-day Turkey. While digging beneath the courtyard of a house dating to the third century B.C., the excavators found the remains of an earlier dwelling. “The coins were buried in a corner of the older building,” Dr. Ratté said. “We weren’t actually looking for a pot of gold.”

Darics were chiefly used to provide payment to soldiers of fortune. Andrew Meadows, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford who was not involved in the project, said he knew of no other hoard of this type to turn up in Asia Minor. “This is a find of the highest importance,” he said. “The archaeological context for the hoard will help us fine-tune the chronology of Achaemenid gold coinage.”

The archaeological site at Notion spans 80 acres atop a promontory in western Anatolia, a borderland dividing Asia from Europe. It was one of the Greek-speaking communities that emerged in the region during the early first millennium B.C., perhaps because of migration across the Aegean Sea. The deposition and loss of the Notion hoard occurred at a time of warfare, insecurity and great power machinations in a contested frontier zone.

This was true in deepest antiquity, as remembered in the story of the Trojan War,” Dr. Ratté said. “And it remains true to this day, as demonstrated by the Syrian refugee crisis.” He noted that the small harbor on the east side of the city was one of the departure points for Syrian refugees who fled across Turkey to Europe during the refugee crisis a decade ago.

Anatolia is the birthplace of the Western world’s first state-issued coin, the stater, which was created by a seafaring people called Lydians. King Alyattes standardized the weight and design of the Lydian stater, which, beginning around 610 B.C., was struck in electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver. The king’s son and successor, Croesus, is credited with minting the first true gold coin, the Croeseid. The expression “rich as Croesus” refers to his extravagant wealth as well as the opulence of Lydia during his rule.

Fortifications at Notion, a Greek-speaking community that emerged in western Anatolia during the early first millennium B.C. Credit: Notion Archaeological Project/University of Michigan.

Excavations at Notion last year. While digging beneath the courtyard of a house dating to the third century B.C., researchers found the remains of an earlier dwelling and a cache buried there. Credi: Notion Archaeological Project/University of Michigan.

In 546 B.C., the entire area, known as Ionia, was conquered by the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Although Croesus was defeated in battle by Cyrus the Great, his gold-based monetary system lived on. The Persians continued to manufacture Croesids until they introduced their own bimetallic currency, made up of silver and gold coins. The silver coins were called sigloi, and the gold ones were darics — a name derived from either Darius I, who ruled the Persian Empire from 522 B.C. to 486 B.C., or dari-, the root of the Old Persian word for gold.

In 427 B.C., according to the Greek historian Thucydides, an Athenian general named Paches attacked and killed a troop of pro-Persian mercenaries at Notion after luring their commander into a trap. The Persian sympathizers were then expelled, and Notion was reorganized under Athenian supervision.

Two decades later, a decisive naval battle in the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta was fought off the coast of Notion, which the Athenians had been using as a naval base. Dr. Ratté said that the gold hoard might have been connected to the events of 427 B.C., or later, with the Athenian evacuation of Notion.

“It is possible it was not associated with either of these dramatic events,” he said, “but was simply the savings of a veteran mercenary soldier in a time and place when soldiers of fortune could make a lot of money if they were willing to risk their lives for the highest bidder.” Many Greeks fought for the Persian Empire, including the Athenian historian Xenophon, who was an active mercenary for the Persian king Cyrus the Younger from 401 B.C.- to 400 B.C. — the same time period when the Notion hoard was tucked away.

In 387 B.C., within a generation after the Athenians were defeated by the Spartans, Notion and the other cities of Ionia were reintegrated into the Persian Empire. They remained Persian possessions until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 334 B.C., at which point production of the daric quickly declined. Alexander and his immediate successors had many of the existing gold pieces melted down and recast as coins bearing their images, making darics rare today.

The Notion darics are stamped on the front with a likeness of the Persian king kneeling in a long tunic. In his left hand is a bow; in his right, a long spear. The backs of the coins are blank, except for a punch mark. The hoard is being stored at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in nearby Selcuk, Turkey, along with imported Athenian pottery that was recovered at the dig.

Dr. Ratté believes that the fact that the loot was never reclaimed is a clear sign of disaster. “No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it,” he said. “So only the gravest misfortune can explain the preservation of such a treasure.”

Truth

Why do mathematicians and physicists have issues with infinity being real? How does it break our understanding of things?

How did you draw the conclusion that; “mathematicians and physicists have issues with infinity being real?”, explain go into more detail. Unless of course you are a mathematician or psychist and you yourself have issues with infinity being real?

In mathematics, infinity is not just a vague notion of endlessness, but a rigorously defined concept that can be expressed in multiple ways, i.e., cardinality of sets, ordinal numbers, limit concept, symbolic representation, to name a few. Mathematicians have developed sophisticated tools to work with infinity, which strongly suggest that overall they do not have issues with it.

But, from a physics stand point things start to get complicated as the concept of infinity is more problematic and often indicates a limitation of our theories rather than a physical reality. This manifests itself in a number of ways, cosmology and quantum mechanics being prime examples. It is also a challenge when we start talking about black holes and singularities that represent points where physical quantities become infinite, suggesting a breakdown of the theory of infinity, as “normal” rules just don’t apply or they breakdown completely, which in real terms is nothing more than the end point of our understanding.

Many physical models use infinity as a form of idealization, and what I mean by that is, a lot of physical models use infinity as a convenient approximation (e.g., point particles, infinite potential wells), while still recognizing these are idealizations. Keeping in mind that no physical measurement can ever yield an infinite value, as all measuring devices have finite ranges, otherwise what’s the point of attempting to measure something in the first place?

You have not covered the philosophical perspective of infinity in your question which in many ways is just as important as it is in physics, mathematics and the physical world itself. Things like; does infinity actually exist in nature, or is it merely a useful mathematical construct? Infinity leads to numerous paradoxes (e.g., the paradox of Hilbert’s Grand Hotel, for more detail on this go to Wikipedia) that as a thought experiment challenges our intuitive understanding of what we believe infinity actually is. Infinity often represents the boundary of what we can know or are able to measure, that highlights the limits of human understanding.

Then we come to the practical implications of infinity. Some theories for example that produce infinite results often lose their predictive power, which indicates a lot more refinement is required. Infinite series and processes must be truncated for practical calculation purposes, which introduces a need for approximations, as there is absolutely no point them going on forever.

The appearance of so-called infinities in physical theories often drives a search for a more comprehensive framework to work within, (i.e., quantum gravity attempts to resolve singularities in general relativity). This is a signal, or indication that different thinking needs to be applied and more intensive research is required. To that end, in my mind infinity is not an end point, but simply a marker that requires one to go onto the next stage, whatever that may be.

Infinity in mathematics is a well-defined and useful concept that allows for the exploration of abstract ideas beyond finite limitations. In physics, infinity often signals the limits of a theory’s applicability, which then prompts further, deeper investigation and refinement of our understanding of the physical world. The interplay between mathematical infinity and physical reality of infinity is basically a work in progress and will continue indefinitely, as, when you think about it, is there any end to infinity?” Perhaps no…as that is what infinity is, across just about all domains no matter how one thinks about it or how it is expressed.


  • Q1: Why do mathematicians and physicists have issues with infinity being real?
  • A1: I don’t think they really do..is infinity is a concept on all levels is not fully 100% “resolvable”.

  • Q2: How does it break our understanding of things?
  • A2: Again, I don’t think it does, it is more a boundary where our understanding stops and it is merely an indicator that we need to dig deeper, refine and further our understanding. Human knowledge always has and always will have a limit, it will never, ever be infinite.

At the end of the day, there will never be an answer to your two-part question, it will go on forever, all the way to infinity and beyond…whatever that is…

ALIEN (1979) MOVIE REACTION!

Yes.

This was brought home to me during an exercise in the mid-80’s when I was a young Engineer Platoon Leader. My platoon was attached to an Infantry Battalion for a long field training exercise. We were equipped with HMMVW’s with TOW missiles and were trying to operate against tanks. That turned out to be pretty tricky, the tanks were very good, and the tactics we were using were not fully developed. We ended up getting kicked around the training area pretty routinely.

In one scenario, the Brigade Commander, a full Colnel and a Vietnam Veteran ordered the Battalion I was working with to hold a particular pass “at all costs.” The Battalion did a credible job defending, but then got flanked, which led to the Battalion Commander, also a Vietnam Vet, to order a withdrawl.

I was pretty new, but I thought at the time that this was a good call. In my view, holding onto the position any longer than we had would have led to the extinction (ln the exercise) of the Battalion, about 500 guys. The Battalion Commander wanted to live to fight another day, and what he was doing was doctrinally sound.

This particular point got discussed at length during the After Action Review. The Battalion Commander got asked why he ordered the withdrawal when he was ordered to stand. He laid out his reasoning, which made sense to me. I was there. There wasn’t anything else to do.

There was this long silence. Then the Brigrade Commander looked at the Battalion Commander with this laser-beam look and says, “John, if I tell you to go die on some hill, I’ve got a damned good reason for doing it. My concerns, the Division’s concerns, are bigger than yours. If I have to sacrafice your Battalion in order to preserve something bigger, it’s my job to order you to do it. It’s your job to take your boys and go out and die.”

This is the dark side of combat that no one really likes to talk about. It doesn’t happen often, normally because of a miscalculation or mistake, but units get asked to make these kinds of sacrafices. When you are an officer, if you’re doing your job right, your unit is like your family. Words that describe how close units bind together in combat fail me. Others have done it much better. These are your brothers, your sisters, your children. When you get asked to do something like this, it’s like asking your children to go out and die for you. Then you have go out and die with them.

Anyway, I’ve never forgotten it. It made me think through a lot of things before I became a Company Commander and had to take folks to war.

Its all about timing

  1. Face culture comes from Confucian culture. As a unique cultural and psychological phenomenon of the Chinese people, face culture has greatly influenced the daily social life of the Chinese people.
  2. North Americans are Christian culture
  3. Arabs, Somalis, Afghans, Nigerians are Islamic culture
  4. Turkic and Mongolians are nomadic culture
  5. The values ​​of Dignity, honor, face are different among Christian culture, Islamic culture and nomadic culture, and the difference is very big.

Honor and face cultures attach great importance to regulating individual behavior by social expectations and cultural norms. However, the two cultural phenomena differ in several crucial aspects.

The new cultural framework of dignity, honor, and face was proposed based on three different cultural logics and reveals that while both honor culture and face culture place importance on adhering to social norms, honor culture places greater emphasis on both self-awareness and external evaluations for self-worth, whereas face culture places more weight on external evaluations.

Additionally, honor culture is characterized by an unstable social hierarchy prone to competition, violence, and virtue, while face culture prioritizes modesty, harmony, and cooperation within a more stable hierarchy. Especially at banquets, whether or not to drink is directly related to face.

From indigenous perspectives, the self-image and social image in honor culture are relatively consistent, and honor encompasses moral, gender, and family-related aspects that may be defended through violence. In contrast, self-image and social image in face culture tend to be incongruent, and face involves morality and social achievement, which is expressed through the dimensions of seeking face and avoiding losing face with an emphasis on status and authority.

Combined with the above two perspectives, these core differences between honor and face cultures can be attributed to the moralization and instrumentalization of social cultural norms.

Specifically, honor tends to moralize social and cultural norms by transforming descriptive norms into prescriptive norms, where majority and typical behaviors that exist in a culture are considered behaviors that group members should or must abide by. In contrast, face instrumentalizes social and cultural norms by using descriptive and prescriptive norms as means and tools to maintain relationships, demonstrate status, and uphold authority.

This perspective provides new insights into cultural phenomena, such as the positive correlation between violence and virtue in honor cultures, where violence becomes a social norm that adapts to the honor culture environment and is moralized into a virtuous attribute. The social norm of harmony in face culture exists both as value-oriented harmony influenced by Confucian culture and instrumental harmony in daily life, leading to a dissonance between face and heart.

Biscuits

Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways. view prompt

Roisin O’Riordan

She was going to kill him. She was actually going to murder him. Yes, she has said it plenty of times before but this time she meant it. This time she would drag him by his stupid hair to an airlock and shove him out to space where he can suffocate.Seven months. She lasted seven months stuck in this shuttle with him, but now she was finally going to crack.It started off with the computer. He programmed it to call him “Hot Stuff.” She changed it back. Then, he programmed it to call him “King of the Bandages.” Once again, she changed it back. Twenty nine nicknames later-yes, she kept a list-the most recent development was “Big McDaddy.”And since his names apparently weren’t keeping him preoccupied, he decided to spend time obsessing over hers. Specifically, her first name. On the top of her medical file is “B. Miller” neatly typed out, but he wanted to know more. The guesses started off sensible enough with Bella and Bethany-they have now devolved into Bread and Bacteriochlorophylls.And somehow, no matter what happens, he won’t stop grinning. No one should be as cheery as this guy, it doesn’t seem healthy. Every time she sees him she wants to growl in frustration, but he remains as sunny as the actual suns they pass.But this time is worse than all those other time. This time he took the biscuit because this time he broke a rule that could get himself and her fired. This time he… well, he took the biscuits.”I can’t believe you!” She screeched, storming into the medical bay. “I can’t believe you would actually steal from the passengers!””I’m sorry?” He asked looking up from a rather heavy looking book. He was still smiling. Asshole.”The biscuits. Don’t even try to deny it. I know it was you who took them.””Ok.” He went back to reading.”Ok?” That threw her off her guard. She was expecting an argument. For him to try feign innocence before she finally broke him and he begged her not to tell their boss. It wasn’t supposed to go like this.

 

“Ok, I won’t deny it. I took the biscuits.” He raised an eyebrow. “Is there anything else or…?”

 

“Well… well… what do you have to say for yourself?” Her voice got weaker and weaker throughout the sentence. She really had no idea where she wanted to go with that.

 

“…They tasted nice?” Oh, that made her blood boil.

 

“Nice? Taste? That’s not what I was asking. Do you know how much trouble you could be in for this.” He was an idiot, he had to be. Maybe, he just didn’t care. No that couldn’t be it, could it? This job involves being away from Earth for years at a time and being fired tends to mean never getting work anywhere else. Maybe he thought the job would be easy and that he would get away with stuff like this. Not on her watch.

 

“I know how much trouble I will be in-none. No one cares. No one apart from you. Speaking of which, why do you care?”

 

He is unbelievable. “I care because I was put in charge of making sure everything is ready for when the passengers wake up.”

 

It is a requirement of every shuttle to have at least one engineer, and, if asked, she would tell people that she is the engineer-because she is. However, the shuttle is built fairly sturdy, and the AI seems to be doing a fine job of maintaining everything. It’s not that she wants things to go wrong… it would just be nice if there were a few mishaps that called for her assistance. This lack of jobs can make floating in space a tad boring, hence her eagerness to take on the role of an over-glorified party planner.

 

“Look,” he said, closing his book, “in eight months time we’re stopping for fuel at a space station. If we happen to be low on supplies-which we won’t be ’cause these passengers have more than enough-we can stock up then.”

 

“What if one of them wakes up?” It’s a weak argument but one she feels strongly about. She has read every story there was on passengers waking up from the deep sleep they are put into before take off. The passengers they were currently transporting were Taubverlians, so the four year journey would probably feel like a human’s version of a week to them but apparently it’s a week they would rather sleep through. What if they woke up angry? What if they got so annoyed they decided to file a complaint? What if those biscuits were the only thing that would have been able to calm them down and stop them from demanding the whole crew gets fired? It’s unlikely, but it is possible.

 

“Really?” He asked. She glared at him with cold, unforgiving eyes. “You need to calm down before you give yourself a stroke. I check, double check and triple check each passenger’s pod everyday and there hasn’t been even the slightest hint that one of them might wake up before they’re supposed to.” He let out a sigh and for the first time since she met him, his smile faltered. “It’s your first trip right? Thought as much. You see, after a while, you will start to get bitter. You’ll start to resent the passengers, our bosses, whoever it is at home that you’re sending your wages back to. The thought that you will more than likely be working here until the day you die and the knowledge that it is extremely rare for a crew member to ever see Earth again combined with the fact that if someone in charge screws up and needs someone to blame we will probably be killed… well, at some point or another, it gets to you. That’s why I play around with the AI and steal the occasional biscuit. That’s why Ellie stole a bottle of whiskey. That’s why Charlie is cheating on her husband with Smith. These acts keep us sane. And they’re not hurting anyone-not if no one finds out.”

 

She could somewhat sympathise. Ok, she could sympathise a lot. She was bitter. Of course she was bitter about… everything, but she wasn’t going to complain. Her family needed her to have this job, and so must his-it’s not like he would ever see his wages, so they have to be going somewhere.

 

“Our supervisors don’t care as long the passengers get to their destination safe and sound. You can relax, Birdy.”

 

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “That is not what the B stands for.”

 

His smile was now back to full voltage as he realised he won. “We have been in this tin can for seven months and I still don’t know anything about you. What are your hopes, your dreams, your fears? Where are you from? And what exactly does the B stand for? It doesn’t stand for Biscuit, does it?”

 

She may come to regret this, but at the moment her stress is leaving her and she feels… lonely. She doesn’t have anybody to talk to on this shuttle apart from when she is arguing with him. Hearing him talk about their colleagues that he clearly knows so much better than she does just reminded her of how much she has isolated herself. “Brooklyn.”

 

“You’re from Brooklyn? Cool, I have a cousin that lives there, or used to at least.”

 

“No-well, yes I am from Brooklyn but, that’s what the B stands for.” The look on his face was almost worth it. Almost.

 

“So, you’re from Brooklyn… and your name is-”

 

“Oh, shut up.” She tried to fight a grin.

 

“…Were your parents really worried about you forgetting where you lived?”

 

“I shouldn’t have told you. I should have just stuck to Biscuit.”

 

He let out a laugh at that. Dear god, it was brighter than his smile. “Ok, ok, I’m sorry Biscuit.” She shot him a glare with much less heat than the previous one. It was kind of nice talking to him-not that she would ever dream of saying it to him. Just before she got a chance to retort, a series of short beeps filled the room. “Time for me to go check on the passengers again.”

 

“Oh, right. I have work I need to go do as well.” She turned to leave, ignoring the pang in her chest. She has her work to focus on, friends would just take up time.

 

“Wait.” He tossed her a small metal box. She stared at the box, then at him, then back again. At his nod she opened up the latches and the contents very nearly managed to surprise a snort out of her. Biscuits.

Tension Subsiding in South China Sea

Changing Geo-Political arrangements.

Mr. Xi doesn’t terrify me, but he certainly “terrifies” my German friend. Let’s call him Karl.

Obviously, Karl isn’t a basketcase of nailbiting anxiety and fear over a man a continent away. But he related a spine-tingling moment some years back listening to the news while driving on the autobahn.

Before we get into that, a little background about Karl.

Karl, perhaps unsurprisingly, speaks Chinese. What tickles me though, is he speaks funny Chinese.

Notice I said Chinese and not Mandarin.

Karl speaks a creole of accented Mandarin and horror of horrors, the Changsha dialect.

Now, try making sense of the hilarity hearing a thick German accent fighting his own tongue to make the proper tone for Mandarin words abused by the Changsha pronunciation.

After all these years, I have concluded he has been putting up a show all along to bewilder and get a rise out of me deciphering his words.

He has a future in standup, if he ever needs a change of scenery.

Back on topic. What piece of news made him nervous? It was a single statistic from China’s anti-corruption drive.

“More than a million party officials have been disciplined.”

He was flabbergasted by how seriously the Chinese were taking the campaign because when he was there, he had concluded corruption was so deeply ingrained in the culture it was impossible to root out. In fact, that was a primary reason why he left China, even though the money was lucrative.

Karl has an interesting way of bringing his point across, and he was ready when I pressed.

“China isn’t Germany. A million out of a billion is a mere drop.”

“Yes, but China either gives lip service or they do a thorough job. 1 million is a thorough job.”

“True. But why should that jolt?”

“Because nothing happened, Bill.”

“What do you mean nothing happened?”

Evidently he was waiting for this moment of weakness because he broke into a sly smile and declared:

“Nothing happened to President Xi.”

I was truly incredulous.

“I lost you Karl. You expected him to fall victim to the campaign he initiated because he is dirty too?”

“No, silly. The fact nothing happened means we have witnessed the coronation of the first Chinese emperor of the 21st century, if only in practice.”

“Now you sound like a flat earther.”

“No no. Nothing far-fetched. How do you think they land a big fish like Zhou Yongkang? Using the police? Or the army?”

“The President probably ordered his arrest personally.”

“Yes but what was the investigative apparatus and how did they manage to arrest him? Zhou was the security tsar.”

“Oh. I think I’m understanding. Even the FBI will have trouble arresting the vice President.”

“Sort of. The Xi administration basically set up their own supralegal modern day Embroidered Uniform Guard that was vested with political power to deal with anyone, even the biggest fish. The million they mentioned? A substantial number are senior cadres, nodes in the power structure. The Chinese think in terms of guanxi or relationships so tackling corruption equals identifying and destroying webs of collusion.”

“Do you think Xi went too far?”

“No. He did a fantastic job. I am just surprised the faction wars didn’t flare up in response. Not even a whimper. Xi has great standing within the party.”

“Ok, so he cleaned up. Why does that terrify you? He is more powerful than ever?”

“Not really. People fail to realize the five year plans were being executed like clockwork in the midst of rampant corruption. He would have reached the state objectives without rocking the boat.”

“He did not need to pick this fight?”

“No. He had to. It was the right time.”

“The stars didn’t align for Jiang and Hu?”

“Yes. The force was not with them.”

“The FORCE? Dude, you have been playing me all day!”

“Electricity, my boy. You can build the fanciest roads and buildings but without electricity you cannot urbanize.”

*Incredulous stare*

“For sure it is electricity. Hu was a hydroelectric engineer. China’s electricity output increased more than 2-fold during his time in office.”

“What does it have to do with corruption?”

“China essentially went full steam ahead to urbanize. Jiang wasn’t even sure how the system would work as it transited from Central planning to market economics as it spread inland from the SARs. Hu laid the foundation to guarantee future growth. The GFC gave China the breathing space to shape a cultural change among the ruling elite. A bunch of people got rich too quickly and developed money fever.”

“What does the GFC have to do with it?”

“China’s economy fundamentally shifted post 2008. China finally flexed her domestic muscle and decided they had to be less reliant on the west. But they had to inevitably slow down as the west recovered from a balance sheet and sovereign debt crisis. It is this recentering to OBOR and domestic growth that gave Xi the breathing space to tackle corruption nationwide.”

“Man, that’s deep but all that says is China has a good man at the helm. What makes him fearsome?”

“Well, when I was there the way the Chinese were throwing money around was unbelievable. Too much waste. And too many funny things going on. Putting a stop to that means the Chinese are getting on board the next stage of growth, one that is much higher in quality, and sustainable. The Chinese rocket shot up the sky in spite of excesses. Can you imagine a people without? Us Germans are counting the days when the Chinese become direct competitors to German technology and quality. The Chinese are getting their act together.”

Note: The emperor reference is no insinuation of shenanigans. Rather it is Karl’s intent to frame how far the Xi administration can push reform. In other words, Xi has the people’s mandate, just like a legitimate Son of Heaven.


Karl is real, but I’ve paraphrased our conversation.

Note: The profundity of Karl’s astute observations is contained within the satellite composites of nightime China, taken two decades apart.

Bill Pfeiffer’s Chili Capital Punishment

Bill Pfeiffer’s Chili Capital Punishment is the winner of 1980 World’s Championship!

chili 1
chili 1
chili 3
chili 3
chili 4
chili 4

Yield: 14 to 18 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons MSG
  • 9 tablespoons chili powder
  • 4 tablespoons cumin
  • 4 tablespoons beef bouillon (instant crushed)
  • 2 cans beer
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 pounds extra lean chuck (chili grind)
  • 2 pounds extra lean pork (chili grind)
  • 1 pound extra lean chuck, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup oil or kidney suet
  • 1 teaspoon mole (powdered)
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Masa Harina
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, add oregano, paprika, MSG, chili powder, cumin, beef bouillon, beer and water. Let simmer.
  2. In a separate skillet, brown 1 1/2 pounds of meat in oil or suet until meat is light brown.
  3. Drain and add to simmering spices. Continue browning meat in batches until all meat has been added.
  4. Sauté finely chopped onions in oil or suet. Add to spices and meat mixture. Add water as needed. Simmer two hours. Add mole (MOE-lay), sugar, coriander, hot pepper sauce and tomato sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes.
  5. Dissolve Masa Harina in warm water and add to chili. Add salt to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

I was born in 1965, which means I am 59 as I write this response. In the 1980s, I worked as a DJ in a bar called The Notorious Club 26, and I played music from the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s.

As the DJ, I would say things like, “Remember, never trust anyone over 30. If you are over 30, don’t trust yourself.” As a 20-something, I thought I was being funny. Then a horrible thing happened: I turned 30 in 1995.

I was single at the time, and I realized that all the time I wasted being a DJ interfered with my social and personal life. I worked 6 days a week, and on Tuesday of each week, I got paid. Who wants to go out on a date on a Tuesday? Who wants date some who works from 9 pm until 3:30 AM?

I wass 30, looking back from where I came, and realized that I had wasted the last 10 years of my life. I worked, made very good money, got a lot of cash tips for the customers, loved my job, but my life sucked. All I did was work, sleep, and do household jobs. I had no social life.

I kept working but I also went back to college, and finally finished the work for my BA. After that, I was able to quit the DJ job and work during the day instead of being a vampire on a day pass.

I’m not going to lie: 30 seemed old to me. When I turned 40, I got a card that said something like 40 is the new 30.

I’m 59 years old now, and my hair is gray, just like my beard, and my body is a wreck. However, I know that my life has been full and fun. I’m not sure what comes next, but I am looking forward to the trip.

Johnny West 1960s toy figurines

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As a Chinese person, I never felt any connection to the “patriotism” that the Chinese Communist Party instilled in me since childhood.

In elementary school, our teachers told us, “The most important principle in writing is to show your love for China.” Well, I didn’t understand at all. How could a child possibly grasp what it means to “love China”? For an elementary student, “patriotism” is nothing but outdated stories and empty political slogans.

As I grew older, my aversion to “patriotism” only increased. The reason was obvious: if “patriotism” had a significant impact on one’s well-being, why had I never seen anyone get rich because they “loved China”? And why had I never seen anyone fall into a miserable situation because they “didn’t love China”?

When I started using the internet, I discovered more meaningful things. I realized that China could only avoid destruction by embracing Western political systems. During that time, I read many articles by “independent Chinese intellectuals,” including economists, Chinese immigrants abroad, lawyers, and entrepreneurs.

Back then, I hoped these independent intellectuals could awaken the “numb Chinese people” through their writings. They were active on BBS, blogs, social media, and China’s version of Twitter. I spent a lot of time reading their articles and enthusiastically commenting. I admired them and saw them as the future political stars of China. At that time, I had my own blog called “A Chinese Citizen,” with the slogan “For a Bright Future of China.” I wrote every day, and when I had nothing to write about, I would repost negative news about China and add my own gloating comments.

The trolls on Quora today are nothing compared to the old me.

Later, I got married and had my own child. As a freelancer, I had time each day to spend with my growing child. To expose my child to nature, I took them to many places. Busy with accompanying my child, working, cooking, and doing laundry every day, my life focus gradually shifted.

One summer evening when my child was three years old, we drove to a famous large lake in northern Xuzhou called Weishan Lake. A section of the Grand Canal passes through the Weishan Lake area. The sunset bathed the hundred-kilometer-long embankment road along Weishan Lake in golden light. My wife, captivated by the beauty, asked me to stop the car for a while. I parked by the roadside, and we were greeted by the cool evening breeze and the slightly fishy smell of the lake water. We all quietly listened to the waterfowl returning to their nests.

When a long line of cargo ships appeared at the end of my vision on the Grand Canal, another fleet from the opposite direction sounded their horns as they passed through the Linjiaba lock. The sunset deepened, and the afterglow moved from the embankment road to the surface of Weishan Lake. The vast lake, looking like an ocean, stretched beyond the horizon. Waterbirds in the reeds were startled by passing ships, taking off with pleasant sounds. Watching my child jumping with joy and my wife enjoying the cool breeze, I felt a deep sense of happiness. In that moment, I suddenly realized something:

Weishan Lake is a gift from nature to the locals; the Grand Canal is a monumental achievement by our ancestors. The various aquatic products from Weishan Lake have nourished generations of people on this land. Today, these endless cargo ships continuously transport energy and agricultural products to ports along the route. We enjoy the tranquility of nature, while our material life benefits from China’s vibrant economic system.

The natural geography is a gift from God; historically, it is a territory our ancestors expanded on horseback; and in reality, it is the result of countless generations of Chinese people’s hard work. For economic and social activities to run efficiently, the country’s leaders need exceptional talent to design reliable development plans. Without all this, there would be no individual happiness. The CPC is a positive part of this picture—not the whole, but just as important as all other parts.

I live on this land in this lifetime, and so does my child. Everyone I love and everyone who loves me live on this land. I love them and hope they remain healthy, happy, and joyful. Protecting them means ensuring that this land is free from war, plague, hunger, and poverty. Only when these foundations are solid can I fully devote myself to life and family. Isn’t this the relationship between an individual and their country? The CPC has achieved this, so what exactly am I complaining about every day? Should I deny everything just because of some bad news on the internet and some unfortunate events on this land?

By Weishan Lake at that moment, I grasped a simple truth: to love this country, to love its mountains and rivers, its history and culture, the heroes who shed blood and tears in modern history, and the forces leading this country to rejuvenation. At the same time, when my child grows up, they should see themselves as a master of this country, participating in its development. This is what a young boy should aspire to.

There is no such thing as love or hate without reason in this world. To love something, you must first understand it, knowing its strengths and weaknesses, and recognizing its significance to us. Otherwise, “forced love” is fake, blind, and short-lived. “Patriotism” is no different. Only by fully understanding this land, this country, and the forces driving China’s progress, with all their pros and cons, can one develop genuine love.

I am becoming such a Chinese person.

She Gave Him PRE and POST Date Bill and it Backfired

The Trigger For WWIII Just Arrived – What Are The Implications For Americans?

Guest Post by Brandon Smith

If the year of 2024 has proven anything so far, it’s that our worries about the potential outbreak of WWIII are absolutely reasonable. The skeptics making accusations of “conspiracy theory” and “doom and gloom” have been proven wrong yet again. The geopolitical atmosphere is turning sour fast.

I still don’t think a lot of people realize how truly volatile the situation is globally right now. From my point of view, WWIII has already begun, at least in economic terms.

 

Let’s not forget the fact that Ukraine is essentially a proxy for all of NATO against Russia. And, the situation in the Middle East is about to become much worse. Because of the alliances involved and the fragile nature of global energy exports there is a danger of systemic collapse should a wider war break out between Israel and multiple Arab nations. It appears that such a war is imminent.

But why should Americans care? It’s pretty simple – War spurs shortages, and shortages in the middle of a stagflationary crisis are a very bad thing.

Sanctions against Russia affect around 10% of the global oil market and around 12% of global natural gas consumption. But so far all that oil and natural gas is still flowing around the world, only the trade routes have changed. The Middle East, on the other hand, accounts for over 35% of the global oil market and 18% of the natural gas market. Widespread chaos in this region would mean economic crisis on a scale not seen in a century.

Think we have problems with stagflation now? Just wait until energy prices go to the moon.

Around 30% of all oil exports travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage which a nation like Iran can easily block for months at a time. Sinking a few larger vessels in the straight would obstruct all cargo ship traffic and oil tanker traffic. Trying to clean up the mess would be difficult because artillery, which is almost impossible to intercept, can rain down from Iran on any vessels trying to drag sunken ships out of the way.

Iran has mutual defense pacts with multiple governments in the region including Lebanon and Syria, along with military ties to Russia. The Turkish government is unlikely to allow western troops to use their airspace to launch attacks. The US military presence in Afghanistan is gone and the Iraqi government will never allow foreign troops to use their land to come to the aid of Israel.

This greatly limits the west’s launch points for an offensive large enough to blitz Iran. The vast majority of attacks would be from the air, and if the Russians start supplying Iran with batter radar and missile technology then there’s no guarantees Israel or the US would gain full control of the air space. In other words, if a wider war breaks out it will not end for YEARS and it’s going to be fought on the ground.

Of course, most establishment experts have claimed that the situation will never escalate to that point and that the threat of direct confrontation between Israel and Iran is minimal. I have been predicting the opposite for a number of reasons, just as I predicted that there was a high chance of war in Ukraine months before it happened.

In October of 2023 in my article ‘It’s A Trap! The Wave Of Repercussions As The Middle East Fights “The Last War”’ I warned that a multi-front war was about to develop between Israel and various Muslim nations including Lebanon and Iran. I noted:

Israel is going to pound Gaza into gravel, there’s no doubt about that. A ground invasion will meet far more resistance than the Israelis seem to expect, but Israel controls the air and Gaza is a fixed target with limited territory. The problem for them is not the Palestinians, but the multiple war fronts that will open up if they do what I think they are about to do (attempted sanitization). Lebanon, Iran and Syria will immediately engage and Israel will not be able to fight them all…”

My purpose in that article was to outline the dangers of US involvement in a larger war that would require conscription and escalation with Russia. Despite the “experts” insisting that the odds are overblown, it now appears that the next stage of escalation is about to begin.

Iran, Lebanon and Israel have been exchanging limited fire for months now. This is nothing new. What is new is the change in tone after a Hezbollah rocket strike on a children’s soccer game in the remote Druze village of Majdal Shams that killed 12.

On the other side, Israel’s brazen assassination of the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil this week is a clear catalyst for war. Haniyeh has been engaged in a diplomatic mission to start peace negotiations in Gaza. His assassination sends a clear message that Israel has no intention of entering into talks with Hamas.

IDF officials also announced that they had killed top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in a precision missile strike Tuesday in Beirut.  There’s no escaping it now.

Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered retaliation against Israel and issued an order for Iran to strike the Israelis directly. Iran will likely use extended missile barrages, but also stage troops in Syria and Lebanon. The Houthis in Yemen will then increase their attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea. It’s hard to say how much Russia will involve itself at first, but I have no doubt more advanced Russian missiles and other weapons will make an appearance on the battlefield.

The prospect of world war is immense. Israel will not be able to fight in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran all at the same time. Energy exports in the region will definitely face a slowdown, if not a complete breakdown. At that point the war won’t just be about Israel, it will be about a global energy crisis. I don’t see any scenario in which the US government doesn’t get involved.

The high risk of terrorism this entails should not be overlooked. We’ve had an undefended border and record illegal crossings for a few years now under Biden.  There’s not telling how many foreign agents are in the country and I believe this was by design.  I think the establishment maintained open border policies because they wanted such people here.  The more terror these agents cause the more the public will be tempted to increase government powers to deal with the attacks.

Beyond that, the political left in the west has tied itself to the Palestinian wagon as if it’s their business. In reality, leftists view the war in Gaza as just another vehicle for their outrage. They use minorities, they use gays and now they’re using Muslims. It’s the classic Marxist strategy of hijacking the social causes of other groups and co-opting their momentum.

Gaza is just another excuse for progressive spastics to riot and start burning more of the west down (their true goal). Anyone that opposes them will automatically be accused of being a “Zionist sympathizer” even if Israel is not their concern. So, there will surely be Muslim terror attacks, but also civil conflicts triggered by leftists exploiting the situation to their advantage.

The timing of these events in tandem with the election is definitely not coincidental. Whoever ends up in office will essentially be “stuck” with the war, inheriting a disaster from day one. Once US forces are committed to an allied effort, there’s no chance any president (including Trump) will pull those forces out.  If things get bad enough, there might not even be an election in November.

For those that think we can “win” on multiple fronts, the truth might shock you.  Eric Edelman, who serves as Vice Chair of the US National Defense Strategy Commission, has given warning about the impending conflict, stating:

“There is potential for near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict…We need our allies to produce more. Our defense industrial base is in very bad shape. The European defense industrial base is in even worse shape. We need our industrial base, their base, and the industrial base of our Pacific allies. Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan–they all need to be stepping up because to match what Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are doing is beyond our ability to do it ourselves.”

I have written about the logistical shortcomings of the west in a WWIII scenario for some time now. At the top of the list will be manpower, just as we have seen in Ukraine. This is why we have been hearing military and political officials hint about a new draft over the past two years. They know what’s coming.

A draft to fight for globalist causes is unacceptable. I’m not going to delve into debate over whether it’s right or wrong for western countries to throw their weight behind Israel. Frankly, I don’t care about that argument. I don’t have anything invested in either side of the conflict. I care about Americans. And, I know that making the US military the go-to solution to the Middle East problem is going to end with a lot of dead Americans. I also know that the expanding crisis would make certain special interest (globalists) very happy.  As I noted last year:

The establishment seems particularly obsessed with convincing US conservatives and patriots to participate in the chaos; there are a number of Neo-cons and even a few supposed liberty media personalities calling for Americans to answer the call of blood in Israel. Some have described the coming conflagration as “the war to end all wars.”

I believe that the real war is yet to truly start, and that is the war to erase the globalists from existence. They want us to fight overseas in endless quagmires in the hopes we will die out. And when we do, there will be no one left to oppose them…”

The trap has just been set. We’ll have to wait and observe the scale of the response from Lebanon and Iran, but I believe the worst case scenario is at hand. There are multiple powderkeg events in progress around the world right now, but the Middle East situation looks to be the most disastrous by far in terms of how it will affect the US.

There’s a hot topic on the Chinese internet: Is the United States now at the end of the Tang Dynasty or the end of the Ming Dynasty?

I’m in the Ming Dynasty camp.

The fall of the Tang Dynasty was essentially due to the power of the Guanzhong aristocratic group blocking the upward mobility of the Hebei class. Although it was nominally due to the rebellion of the An-Shi insurgents, it was actually a civil war between the Han Chinese of Hebei and the Han Chinese of Longxi.

main qimg bd9755fe33ba26777bee06822be978d4
main qimg bd9755fe33ba26777bee06822be978d4

(What really led to the demise of the Tang Dynasty was this brutal battle in which most of the army was destroyed.)

Similarly, the fall of the Ming Dynasty was also essentially an internal Han Chinese issue.

Even though there were massive problems with the distribution of interests between the north and the south, it was essentially a civil war between the north and the south.

Since both falls were due to unequal distribution of interests leading to the collapse of the country, why do I insist that the United States is currently at the end of the Ming Dynasty?

Three characteristics:

First, during the fall of the Han and Tang dynasties, these massive entities in Chinese history still maintained overwhelming military advantages over surrounding ethnic groups, whereas the United States does not have this advantage now.

Second, before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, there was a period of, uh, I’m not sure if I should say this, but it is indeed recorded in history books, a so-called “men dressing as women,” and LGBTQ was very prevalent. I have no discrimination against homosexuality, truly none! In ancient China, including the Warring States period and the most prosperous Han Dynasty, there were many rulers who were homosexuals, whom I admire! Look, I’m saying this, so I definitely do not discriminate against homosexuals, right?

What I want to say is that when these rulers were homosexuals, soldiers and ordinary people did not have a tendency to change genders, but at the time of the dynasty’s collapse, there were many grassroots males doing this…

I mean absolutely no discrimination, but it is very similar to the records of the late Ming Dynasty…

Third, spending countless amounts of money and achieving nothing. It’s incredibly frightening. Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver invested, achieving nothing…

In general, I believe that the United States now resembles the end of the Ming Dynasty very much.

The real fall of the Ming Dynasty happened during the “Three Great Campaigns of Wanli,” when the Ming Dynasty still seemed very strong and launched three large-scale military campaigns. But seriously, hasn’t the United States also fought in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan? These three seemingly world-shaking wars actually only fattened the military leaders?

A hot topic on the Chinese internet is: Who least wants the United States to collapse?

80% of the answers are: China.

Chinese netizens are very clear that this world is maintained by the United States. If the United States collapses, it would be a disaster for the world, including China. No one can escape. So we clearly provide this answer based on our own interests: United States, you must not collapse!

The battle that marked the fall of the Ming Dynasty was the Battle of Salhu.

I do not want the United States to engage in wars in the Middle East again, as it is clearly America’s Salhu moment.

That would be a disaster for China, the United States, and the world.

In this world, no one can defeat the United States, except the United States itself.

No.

I’m from Hong Kong, a city that took in Vietnamese boat people who fled the Vietnam War, at the request of the United Nations. It placed huge economic and social burdens on the city, and the United Nations, after decades, has yet to pay back the 1.3 billion HKD it owes us for our efforts in accommodating them (as of last year, they’ve only paid back 166 million HKD, a mere fraction).

Taking in refugees is an expensive affair that doesn’t always come with benefits. We had enough trouble accommodating ethnic-Chinese Vietnamese people, who were culturally similar to us. Could you imagine if they were from an Islamic-dominated culture? I’m not just talking about the child sex rings, gang-rapes or honour-killings you see in Europe and the UK, I’m talking re-education, teaching them our language and culture, which is difficult and rarely succeeds, in addition to helping them find low-paying jobs, which affects the livelihoods of our grassroots citizens.

I understand the humanitarian principles of helping those in need, but taking them in is not the best solution. The elites who decide on our behalf to let them in can do so in their own good conscience, because they’re not the ones who have to bear the consequences. It’s not their jobs that will face higher competition from low-skilled foreign labour – if anything, they stand to profit from saving on workers’ wages. It’s not their wives and children who have to put up with the gazes and advances of lonely, desperate men (Dr. Clemens Ladenburger being an exception). It’s not their neighborhoods that will face greater poverty and crime. It’s not their communities that will be fractured, as the original residents move out to make way for the new ones moving in.

But most of all, I think young men fleeing their own countries just offends us on a cultural level. You see, there was a time when China wasn’t the second largest economy on earth. Our grandparents had to deal with the Imperial Japanese military, then considered to be one of the finest fighting forces in the world. Even western powers in the Far East couldn’t stop them – Hong Kong (then a British colony) fell in two weeks, with the Japanese only losing a few hundred men.

Guess what the Chinese people back in those days did about it? They fought back valiantly, and suffered the second-most casualties in WW2. Even those who fled to America supported the war effort by sending home what little money they made working jobs white people felt were beneath them.

Refugees (especially young men) should stay in their countries and work to make it a better place for their countrymen. No one can save you but yourselves. The Chinese have known this for at least a century now.

No saviour from on high delivers
No faith have we in prince or peer
Our own right hand the chains must shiver
Chains of hatred, greed and fear
– The Internationale

The Psychopath | House M.D.

I’m going to give a pro tankie answer, even though I am not a big fan of tankies. That’s because I have to agree with them here.

There is absolutely no reason for North Korea to be hated by the West. They are this defensive because they know they are hated and the West just wants to destroy North Korea… and for zero geopolitical reason at that.

The USA destroyed every city in North Korea, and put more bombs on North Korea than they did on Japan which brutally invaded Asia and attacked America’s Pearl Harbor. 635,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Korea, compared to 160,000 tons of bombs in Japan.

North Korea had 9.26 million people before the war. More than 1 million North Korean civilians were killed or missing due to the Korean War. To compare, less than 1 million Japanese civilians died in WWII, with 100,000+ of them killed in the atomic bombings, in a population of more than 70 million.

The war that America waged on North Korea wasn’t even a war at this point. It was outright genocide. Hitler would be proud of this. Every last North Korean was a target (and some South Koreans too, No Gun Ri Massacre was an example). The aim wasn’t even to put pressure on the North Korean regime, it was to give civilians hell. That is what strategic bombing is aimed to do, give civilians hell.

North Korea would not be justified to invade South Korea (which, frankly, is a capitalist hellhole as much as North Korea is a radical communist juche hellhole today). If North Korea did such things, I would condemn North Korea as well and demand that North Korea go back to its borders.

But it would be very justified to build hundreds of nuclear weapons, and set conditions for its use being the second total destruction of North Korea as happened during the Korean War. Luckily for normal people, North Korea only has dozens of nuclear weapons, and it has only very recently acquired the ability to hit the US mainland with nuclear weapons using just one nuclear weapons platform.

When you read the North Korean history, it makes sense why Kim Jong-un is so preoccupied with building nuclear weapons. If I was him, I would also build nukes.

I’m happy to see countries be able to defend themselves from imperialists the hard way against all odds, be it Israel or North Korea.

America Compared: Why Other Countries Treat Their People So Much Better (Reaction)

The truth hurts.

The imperial examination system was a talent selection system implemented in ancient China to build a vast bureaucratic system and control the entire empire.

For its time, this system was quite advanced.

Firstly, it ensured a relatively open path for social mobility, giving children from poor families a chance. Secondly, it was relatively fair; while the winners of the imperial examination might not have been outstanding managers, they were certainly not fools.

At the very least, they had to read an immense amount of books, be knowledgeable, and be intelligent.

(Someone:Let me tell you something, folks, nobody reads more books than I do. Believe me. I’m the best at reading, okay? I’ve read more than anyone else—more than all the other politicians combined. They say, ‘ how do you know so much?’ Well, I’ve got the best books, the smartest people, and I understand everything. I know all the facts, the details, you name it. Nobody’s smarter, nobody’s better informed. It’s tremendous, folks, really tremendous. And believe me, when it comes to being well-read, I’m simply the best.”)

Moreover, the exams were not purely about comparing poetry or essays but included a large number of “strategy and policy” questions.

These questions are somewhat similar to modern civil service exam questions or political knowledge tests for students.

I found a few examples of ancient exam questions and, trying to adapt them to today’s global situation, rephrased them.

You can take a look to get a sense of the type of questions.

1 The United States has established hundreds of military bases around the world, while China’s military strength is mainly concentrated domestically. What are the reasons for these two strategies, and what are their respective advantages and disadvantages?

2 China’s ethnic policies are inherited from the Soviet Union, which has been criticized by many. However, it seems to be functioning well now, better than the Soviet Union. What do you think is the most important reason for this?

3 Roosevelt’s New Deal has some socialist characteristics, while China’s economic policies have many capitalist features. Share your views on this.

4 During President Trump’s tenure, what were some characteristics of the government officials he hired?

(Someone:I’ve got the best, the smartest, the most incredible people working for me. I pick winners, and let me tell you, they make America great again—just like I promised. The greatest administration, believe me. We’re bringing jobs, we’re bringing prosperity, and we’re making this country shine like never before. It’s fantastic, really fantastic,the best team, making America greater than ever. No one does it better.)

5 During the Korean War, China and the Soviet Union were allies, but in the Sino-Vietnamese War, China and the U.S. became quasi-partners. Share your opinion on this.

These are five exam questions related to politics, history, and military affairs, each requiring a detailed answer. There are also other questions covering topics such as education, economy, diplomacy, and so on.

Additionally, there was the Eight-Legged Essay examination, where candidates were required to use the sayings of sages as arguments and write an essay strictly following the standard format.

Overall, answering these questions well within a limited time is quite challenging, especially considering that you are competing with thousands of the most diligent and intelligent individuals in China.

An interesting fact: The top scorer in the imperial examination was called the “Zhuangyuan.” Only one was selected every three years. Over the 1,300-year history of the examination system, there were a total of 504 Zhuangyuans.

The first one was from the Tang Dynasty, and the last one was from the Qing Dynasty. Their hometowns were very close to each other, and today this area is known for having one of the strongest cities in China’s college entrance examinations, Hengshui City in Hebei Province.

The United States is sinking fast…

Young Boy movie theater

Look

I believe every system has to DELIVER RESULTS

Results alone decide whether a system is a success or a failure

The Chinese System today rose from an Agrarian Nation struggling with poverty to one of the biggest and most powerful nations on the planet with a near $20 Trillion economy

This means their system is a ROARING SUCCESS

India as it stands once Chinas equal has a 1/6 Per Capita Income, 1/9th Industrial Production and 16% of the Skilled Labor and 1/200th of the Infrastructure Or planning but 5 times more corruption and a lot more inequality

This means our system is a HUMONGOUS FAILURE

Plain and Simple

  • Two Nations
  • Similar Background of Colonial Exploitation
  • No Huge Stash of Oil Or Gas
  • Same Illiterate People, Primarily Farmers
  • Loads of Poor People

One becomes a major force to reckon with

Other is struggling on its way to the middle

I don’t give a rats ass about anything else


In the same way

Chinese Students have near Top Mensa scores

Chinese Graduates lead all forms of Scientific Research today

Chinese Engineers have worked on Marvels across the world

So their system (Meritocracy) is a ROARING SUCCESS as far as I am concerned

It has delivered results

The Indian Students on a Median Level have nothing on the level of the Chinese

Indian Graduates are at best glorified managers of big enterprises founded by Westerners or have toilet cleaning startups that have Zero Technological Innovation or Edge

Indian Engineers – no need to say much

So our System is a HUMONGOUS FAILURE as far as I am concerned

This System means – Low Quality Government Schools, Free Rein to Private Schools, Exploitation of Students and Reservations – all of these

Plain and Simple

  • Two Nations
  • Same level of literacy or illiteracy
  • Same struggle to expand on primary education

One is so dominant that they terrify the West who have been world leaders for over three or four centuries

Another producing factory drones and talented casual leave sanctioning munims


So everything India is doing is flawed according to me

Simple

Now either it’s because the Chinese are genetically superior in which case it’s perfectly fine to say “This is our maximum limit. Doing little and generating 99% Gas”

Ambika Vijay and our friend Dr Karan Shanmugham have presented some valid points over the last few months or year to say this theory is unlikely

So the only explanation is :-

Our System is flawed in every sense possible

This includes Reservations


I am not for Meritocracy because of the equality notion nor am I against Reservations because it is unjust

I simply say Meritocracy has proven a roaring success while Reservations has achieved virtually nothing for India in 35 years

So this means either the concept of Reservations is wrong in itself or the Implementation of Reservations is wrong


As to Justice to Oppressed Castes

Again China sets an example here to it’s minorities (Uyghurs, Hui, Hill Tribes, Tibetans, Lhasans, Pinglis)

  • Fully Free Education upto University Graduation
  • Stipends to students every month from Grade III to University
  • 51% Guaranteed Resource sharing
  • First Preference Farming Contracts
  • 66% Guaranteed Local Contracts or Undertaken Contracts

Yet all of them need ABILITY to qualify for anything

Won’t these help the oppressed communities far better than keeping them as beggars and dangling reservations???

It’s why Xinjiang generates it’s revenue plus contributes to China while Tibet too has a net outward contribution

Yet

Kashmir has Zip

Most Poor Districts with Dalit Majority or Oppressed Majority have ZERO outward contribution to a State

So as usual India is doing something very wrong

Why?

It hasn’t worked or produced any results so far to indicate otherwise


So it’s time to overhaul everything because India is One Gigantic Failure especially since 1975–2024 barring a 10 year period from 2000–2010 & a 4 year period from 1992–1996

Is that being done?

  • Our Legal system is replaced by a More Draconian system
  • Leaders are stupider as time goes by
  • We are digging down on our failure system instead of looking for flaws and overhauling

So the biggest question is

WHAT THE F*** ARE WE ACTUALLY DOING?

I do not know that is the fact or not but I do know one thing : should stay away from them, period. During the VN War, those nva you bumped into battlefields of South Vietnam were survivors of all challenges before they met you. The weak, the sick all died along the HCM Trails by bombings, sickness…Behind every single nva soldier, he had nothing to lose ( no fancy cars, big house and good living back home ) In fact, behind him there could be a piece of farm land, poor. His village and his folks got bombings from US planes. Put aside all political propaganda, these factors alone could propel him to the point he really wanted to trade life and death with you. He didn’t trek thousand miles in tough terrains to fight you with his bare ass. He got his ak47, hand grenades and all kinds of trainings. He also knew that no man is tougher than a bullet. Why would he be afraid if he is willing to put his life away for a good cause ? That is why no matter what nationality you are Chinese Japanese, French, American, Korean, Australian, Cambodian, Thai…HE WILL NOT HESITATE TO CONFRONT YOU WITH ALL OF WHATEVER HE GOT. Share ( an ex-nva of Cambodia battlefields, late 70s )

Yes actually! Going anonymous.

I have a very good friend who used to drive a very very old second hand car. I always teased him why he didn’t bought a new reasonable car like me, cause I thought he was a middle class guy who can afford a normal car instead of buying refurbished cars. Also, he used to never tip waiters and would always search cheaper options of everything. I would always poke him and make fun of him for being a cheapskate, of course in a friendly way so he never would mind.

Now on the part when I found out. I started a business and was in very needed of investment. It was a big idea so I needed every help I could get. I already had received help from 5 of my friends, which was seemingly enough to start the venture along with my money. When my cheapskate friend knew about my idea (I never told him myself), he came to me and said he would like to invest in my venture as he loved the idea. Then he offered me an amount which was almost double the combined investment of 5 others! No words will be enough to describe how shocked and surprised I was.

I knew there is difference between how the rich thinks and most of us do. But I never totally understood it until I had this experience.

What Putin and China Just Did to the U.S. Military is SHOCKING, Pentagon on Red Alert

“Terrify” is too strong a word; I prefer the word “concerned”.

Xi Jinping is a very smart person, and there are stories how he was determined from a very early age to become China’s leader. He had a plan.

He worked his way up, and eventually became party general secretary, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of China. He is not attracted by wealth and money, and is not distracted by women and sex.

These are all good virtues for the leader of a country to have, because it shows that he is able to think of the overall good of the nation, and its citizens when making decisions. He does not think of personal benefit, which is important.

He has also surrounded himself with very intelligent advisors, notably Wang Qishan.

My concern is that while he has understood how to work the system in China to get where he is, he has much more difficulty getting inside the heads of non-Chinese societies and non-Chinese leaders.

This means that he can make good decisions for China and Chinese, but he has a much harder time understanding the needs and concerns of other nations. But, at a time when China now has the world’s second largest economy, this becomes cause for worry because China is now a superpower. The leader of China cannot only think of what is good for China; he has to think of the problems other nations are having.

This explains my disappointment at China’s current over-reliance on Chinese nationalism to support China’s claims to the South China Sea. While I can understand eventually exercising claims to this territory, I really don’t understand why these claims were exercised beginning in 2013? If China was going to make a peaceful rise, why frighten its SE Asian neighbors so soon, and then militarizing these islands, giving the US a pretext to engage?

Was this really necessary? Was this done just to impress Chinese that China was now a global power, and the period of shame was over? What has been accomplished?

If this was the idea, I think that it was done too soon, and then Xi was caught off-guard by the election of Trump, and then caught off-guard again when Trump appointed Lighthizer and Navarro, both of whom were hostile to Chinese expansionism.

Doesn’t this make other countries look at China and say “All this talk of China’s peaceful rise was a sham, they just want to gobble us up?”

This is not just a PR and media problem, it is a challenge for policy formulation.

China got caught off-guard because many domestic reforms were delayed for too long. Now, if it makes reforms under US pressure, it looks weak, as if it were bowing to US pressure, which is not good for Xi and the leadership.

Deng Xiaoping said that the best strategy for China was to keep a low profile; I continue to believe that is the best formula for China because it does not yet offer a framework which other nations can buy into. “Non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs” is not a framework for an inter-connected world, because technology has gone way past that.

This is because China’s foreign policy now is too purely transactional, and has not yet expanded beyond that. When is it going to expand beyond only being transactional? The one bright spot in foreign relations is Xi’s relationship with President Putin; they seem to genuinely get along and like each other.

Why wasn’t this kind of relationship developed with the leadership of western nations, before everything blew up recently?

The United States was a flawed leader, but it offered a framework which worked for a long time. It won the Cold War against the Soviet Union, but it lost the peace because it turned inward and became selfish. It thought that it could only remain strong if other challengers, like China, were beaten down. Other countries lost respect for its leadership.

So far, China does not offer anything better.

Shorpy

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From another source…

For your information, Sunday there was a demonstration for peace in Amsterdam. Suddenly ''we'' were confronted with AZOV demonstrators. The AFVN wrote an article about it, it is in Dutch, I translated it with deepl translate. Hope it is clear enough what happened.

Sunday 28 July saw the monthly demonstration of Platform for Peace and Solidarity. What happened on that day that we can interpret as a low point, there was ‘suddenly’ a demonstration on Dam Square by the AZOV battalion.* AZOV is a fascist organisation in Ukraine and responsible for much death and destruction. During WW2, they committed many crimes against dissenters, against people of different backgrounds based on colour. Ukrainian fascists openly stood on Dam Square with flags of AZOV and openly scanned slogans for the release of AZOV, for supporting these fascists. With outright lies naming Russia as the aggressor, that Russia would be a terrorist state and hatred against Russians. This while the aggression comes from the US/Ukraine with many bombing civilian casualties. It is not for nothing that most refugees are in Russia.Russia intervened militarily after many attempts to negotiate and conclude peace agreements. So this did not come out of the blue and Russia's action was by no means unprovoked, quite the contrary.

It is a shame that it has come to this, that fascists can openly demonstrate in front of the National Monument that symbolises the victims in the fight against fascism 1940- 1945.

We as AFVN have not experienced that for a long time that fascists are allowed to openly propagate their ideology on public roads with impunity. It is certainly due to the Western media in which fascism in Ukraine is systematically trivialised and denied. So they are certainly partly responsible for the legitimacy of fascism.

Why didn't the police intervene? How could this have come to this? We cannot let this go unpunished and want to call on everyone who is against fascism to take action. We want to call on everyone reading this message to spread it as much as possible, people need to know. We must call on politicians and administrations to distance themselves from Ukrainian fascism in the Netherlands, the law prohibits overt fascism and signs.

We call on all members of parliament to have parliamentary questions asked about this. And we should fire the city council, asking whether fascism is tolerated in the city of the February Strike. In the coat of arms of the municipality of Amsterdam, heroic, determined and merciful is written as a tribute to the February Strike 1941.

Both China and the U.S. have their own strengths and weaknesses. My responses will focus more on the aspects of China that I find commendable.

Strict Drug Control

I strongly agree with this. China does have a drug problem, but with years of strict crackdowns, it has been better controlled now.

I remember getting lost in a minority area in Beijing around 1999 or 1998, walking into a small alley, and finding many discarded needles on the ground. It was quite unsettling at the time. Another instance was across from the rental house I was staying in, where a middle-aged man committed suicide because his son couldn’t quit heroin.

Breaking Bad is my favorite American TV show, but what Mr. White does is certainly not commendable! By the way, the U.S. has much better freedom of creation. Shows like Breaking Bad would never pass the censorship in China. This results in very few worthwhile Chinese TV dramas, which I hardly watch because they seem immature and uninteresting.

I know a narcotics officer who said they are like a firewall, sacrificing themselves to protect ordinary people like me who are pure and innocent. He said narcotics officers encounter the most vile things in the world.

I’ve seen some videos about the plight of American drug addicts, wandering the streets and losing their ability to work, which is very sad.

Strict Gun Control

It’s extremely strict, to the point of being unreasonable. For example, if I remember correctly, air guns have been banned since after 2000. If I were American, I would definitely buy a gun because it seems fun. But that’s not possible in China.

There are pros and cons to this.

Most people still support strict gun control. If I remember correctly, countries like Japan and the UK also have strict gun control?

I heard that the U.S. bans the sale of bulletproof vests, while in China, you can buy them freely.

China doesn’t ban bows and arrows; you can buy and play with them freely. In fact, the destructive power of a bow and arrow is not less than that of a handgun, which I don’t understand why it’s allowed.

Refusal of Immigration……

In fact, all East Asian countries refuse immigration, including Japan and South Korea. However, it seems that Japan is not particularly opposed to high-skilled Chinese immigrants. I have two friends who have immigrated to Japan.

China is similar. For instance, North Korean defectors—China has accepted far more than all other countries combined, including South Korea.

But there hasn’t been much public or official reaction, and they gradually receive citizenship. They go to school and work as usual.

However, there was a lot of opposition online when Rohingya refugees entered China from Myanmar, around only 30,000 in total.

The general sentiment was: accept them humanitarianly but do not accept them as immigrants. But for the same Myanmar people, if they are from Kokang (essentially Han Chinese), there is no opposition,even though they are also a minority group suppressed by the Burmese military junta.

Today (2024.08.01), the Kokang army captured a major city, and they have a population of 1.12 million under their control.

Chinese people are very familiar with this.

Today is the PLA Army Building Anniversary, and they deliberately chose today to attack the Northeast Command. This is called “paying tribute”.

You see, their way of thinking is just pure Chinese!

Even if all of them were to integrate into China, I wouldn’t feel much difference. They all speak Chinese, use Chinese currency, and telecom services, and copy China’s way of life, including television stations and news broadcasts.

( Kokang’KKTV)

(China CCTV)

If Vietnamese or Laotians were to immigrate to China, I personally wouldn’t object.

This topic is a bit sensitive and politically incorrect to discuss further, but I think you understand my point. Almost all Chinese people share my attitude. The last Rohingya incident saw a female actress advocating for their acceptance, and she was heavily criticized to the point of shutting down her social media accounts. The general opinion was to put those thousands of people in her home.

I don’t mean to be racist, not at all. However, if hundreds of thousands of people of Chinese or Confucian cultural sphere enter China, and local security hasn’t significantly deteriorated (there are indeed crime records, such as defectors worried about being reported, or cases of murder and assault simply for food, but overall, the crime rate is very low), whereas another group’s entry results in frequent incidents of armed robbery, severe injury, and even rape—crimes that are now quite rare in China—shouldn’t I, as a taxpayer, question whether my tax money might be better spent on something like keeping a dog?

Why is that?

Other benefits include a strong emphasis on education, high medical standards with low costs, and so on. But the most important points are the ones mentioned above.

Sierra Tkacik

“Jane!” A voice bellowed from the recesses of the ship. “Where is my grapefruit?”“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” A voice echoed from the opposite direction.“My grapefruit, Jane! The one I specifically had my name on! The one you stole!”“First of all, why would you print your name on a freaking grapefruit? Second of all, if you didn’t want me to take it, you shouldn’t have put it in a community fridge.”“So you did take it!”“Why is this grapefruit so important, anyway?”“Do you know, Jane, how many people have died in ships due to scurvy? Do you?!”“So eat an orange!”“The orange is overrated! The grapefruit is the only citrus fruit that understands me.”Charlie groaned and pressed his forehead against the table. “Lewis, we just had a shipment of grapefruit yesterday, get another one!” “Shut up, Charlie! This doesn’t concern you!” “I don’t even know why you try anymore.” Lyra flipped her braid as she slid in next to him. “Because you well know how much worse it will get if I don’t.” Harriet groaned as she remembered the third great prank war. Jane and Lewis were in an argument over their favorite colors, and it escalated into a full-blown war. Everywhere anyone turned, there was another trap set for either Lewis or Jane. Somehow, they ended up joining forces against the rest of the ship and wreaked havoc upon the crew of the Flame. They feared that it would spread to the other ships of the fleet, but luckily, Charlie recovered from his bout of illness quickly, and managed to calm both Lewis and Jane within the hour. But the crew would never forget the horror and fear they faced in that week; that was the day Charlie became the unofficial leader of all things Lewis and Jane. “I don’t even know why they’re on the same ship after that stunt; much less the mothership.” Lyra took a lasting gulp of coffee. “Jane’s the best engineer in the whole fleet.” “And Lewis is crazy good with the servers and the rest of the ship’s tech.” Harriet supplied, flicking a crumb of her muffin. “Plus, they’re great gunners in a pinch and work well with everyone except each other.” Claude snorted as he walked in. “Tell that to the Horogin embassy from two month ago. “Listen,” Lewis looked up from his tablet, “we all agree that the embassy was a mistake, just like we all agree that in general, Jane and Lewis are remarkable workers.” “Besides,” Harriet simpered, “can you really picture them anywhere else?” The room fell silent except for the gurgle of the coffee maker as each of the four tried to imagine Jane or Lewis stationed on any other ship. “Fair point.” Lyra admitted. “So can I just be put on another ship? I grew up on the Growth; agriculture is not something so easily forgotten.” Her violet braid twisted in front of her and seemed to writhe in agreement. “Uh, Charlie?” Claude pointed. “There’s a problem.” Charlie took one look at the floating braid before letting out a groan. He tapped the screen of his tablet and set it down, a holograph of a red-headed man slowly taking form. “Hey Charlie!” He showed of a gap-toothed grin. “Your gravity messing up too?” “Yep.” “Yeah, I just got off a vid with the captain about it. Lewis is checking it out now.” “Lewis? Isn’t he usually on servers?” “Usually, but since he passed out on another late night shift yesterday, I figured putting him on monitor watching duty was a better plan.” “Alright.” A blond man with dark, circular glasses stomped past, an indescribable look on his face. “Lewis, you figure it out yet?” “Yeah, Arnold, it’ll be fixed in a sec.” He disappeared from view. “Hey Jane!” A voice came from both the tablet and the hallway. “Something’s blocking the free-float tube!” “Yeah, that’s probably your grapefruit.” “You didn’t even eat it?!” The screech caused both Lyra and Charlie to wince. “What the heck?” “I don’t like grapefruit.” “So you took it from me for the sole pleasure of depriving me joy?” “Yeah.” A clang was heard and Lyra’s braid dropped. “It’s in the compost bin now.” “I hate you, you know!” “Just like I hate grapefruit?” An indecipherable collection of sounds was heard, before the hologram showed Lewis stomping back to his post. “Good work, buddy.” Arnold offered, to what might as well have been empty space. “Thanks for dealing with it, A.” Charlie picked up the tablet. “Good luck.” “No, man, good luck to you. Lewis has his morning break in five minutes.” And with a wink, Arnold was gone. “But that’s the same time Jane’s on break.” Lyra remarked. The four looked at each other with wide eyes, then at their meager breakfast. “Hide the grapefruit.”

Stuffed Flounder

1561de48238f7abd452f2e080091a1a3
1561de48238f7abd452f2e080091a1a3

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 (1/2 pound) flounder
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 ribs celery, chopped
  • 1 small bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 3 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Dash of Tabasco sauce
  • Dash of cayenne pepper
  • 1 pound lump crabmeat
  • 1 (8 ounce) can shrimp
  • Butter (to baste)

Instructions

  1. Cut flounder down the middle. Take knife and cut around inside under skin to make a pocket on each side of the slit.
  2. Sauté onions, celery and bell pepper until tender.
  3. Mix eggs, lemon juice and bread crumbs. Add salt, pepper, Tabasco and cayenne.
  4. Check crabmeat for shells and add.
  5. Drain shrimp and add.
  6. Stuff flounder with crab and shrimp mixture.
  7. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F, basting with butter. Watch carefully. Do not overcook.

In 1975 I was assigned to the 1/19th Infantry Battalion, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, HI. Although I was an Infantryman (11B MOS) I was detached from my line unit to Battalion HQ as I had another Secondary MOS in Administration (71L).

Under Army Regulations, when someone left for a Leave it was necessary to sign out on the approved Leave form prior to departure. On weekends or other after duty times the forms were sent to the Battalion HQ where the NCO assigned as Charge-of-Quarters managed the sign-out process.

One young Private reported to HQ to sign out but the CQ did not find his approved leave in the file. This was not entirely unusual and, as the CQ knew that a leave had been approved by the young man’s Unit Commander, he let him go saying they’d take care of the paperwork when he returned from leave. Tragically he died in an accident while on leave.

As one of my regular tasks at Battalion included preparing the Duty Status Report, and as it was especially necessary in this case before the soldier’s family was notified of the death – and before they received Death Benefits – I noted his status as “Present for Duty to Approved Leave to Deceased” and sent this to the soldier’s Company Commander for his signature. While waiting for the form to be signed and returned I also began preparations for the letter that was going to be signed by the Battalion Commander and sent to his family.

Instead of signing the form the Company Commander came to Battalion and informed me that this man did not have an approved leave because he did not sign out as required. He further told me that though the man had requested the leave he, as the CO, never approved it. Accordingly, he instructed me to change my status report to “Present for Duty to AWOL to Deceased” which would have resulted in the soldier’s family receiving nothing and being informed that their son was in violation of Army Regulations at the time of his death. I was totally shocked as I knew this was untrue, and I informed the Captain of that fact and that I refused to change my Report.

In anger, the Captain ordered me to accompany him to the Battalion Commander’s office to answer for my “insubordination” and face whatever penalty the Colonel deemed appropriate. I did so and explained to the Colonel what had actually happened, that the man’s First Sergeant would verify that the Leave had in fact been approved by the Captain, and that the man’s name was still on the Company HQ’s Duty Status Board noting that he was on Leave, something the 1SG would not had done unless he had personally seen the approved form. The Colonel seemed to side with me and I was dismissed to continue preparing my report and the notification letter. At the same time the 1SG looked into the Company Commander’s waste basket – and found the leave form, signed by him, and then crumpled up and thrown out. He brought the form to Battalion and gave this to the Colonel. While he and I waited outside the office we could hear the Colonel speaking to the Captain in anger but, after a while, he came out of his office, looked at us, and then stated that while the form had in fact been approved the young man still violated regulations by leaving without signing out as required. I was then ordered – again – to change my report noting that this Private died while AWOL.

Now I was the angry one and, although just a Junior NCO (3-striper at the time), I gave the Colonel a “one finger salute” and went back to my office and slammed the door, ignoring the Colonel’s order to stop.

When the Colonel – and most of his Battalion Officers – came into my office I was ready for them, although I thought I could still end up in Leavenworth. Before the Colonel could say a word I laid out on my desk a stack of Leave Forms that, since I was responsible for Duty Status Reports, had been sent to me for filing. As I went through them I sorted out a number that had not been “properly” handled.

“This form is for the Commander of Company C. He is currently on Leave but has not signed out as required by Regulations. I will prepare the AWOL Report on him, Sir. This one is for the First Sergeant of the Combat Support Company. He is currently on leave also but has not signed out. I will report him as AWOL, Sir, as required.” Altogether I found perhaps a dozen others that were technically AWOL to include one of the Colonel’s Staff Officers.

The Colonel looked at me, realized how serious I was, and then turned to his officers and said, “How did you people let me get into this mess?” He then turned to me and said, “Sergeant Keith, prepare your report and the letter, noting that this young man was on approved leave at the time of his death.” I responded by saying, “Yes, Sir. Already done.” He then ordered the Captain to return to his office with him where, I expect, the Captain was reamed a new one.

A few months later the Colonel – a Lieutenant Colonel actually – was promoted to Full Colonel and reassigned to Division HQ. When I had occasion to go to Division HQ I tried to avoid running into him as I still thought I was on the sh-t list with him but one day I did run into him and he told me to come into his office and close the door. This is what he said: “Sergeant Keith, although you might have handled that situation better, you were right and I was wrong. I apologize.”

My respect for this man has never left me to this day.

I was 17 years old. I was taken to court for a paternity suit from my ex-girlfriend. She claimed I was the father of her child. Her and I were very sexually active using the withdrawal method for birth control. Ultimately, I plead no contest and started paying child support monthly. I supported the girl for 19 years with no visitation rights. Certain times were hard and the mother also took me to court to have the support payments increased by 300%. Again, I was ordered by the judge to pay the increase as my income increased. Fast forward to the the present day. The girl now with a daughter of her own messaged me and says, “I look at photos of your children and I don’t see any resemblance to me. I would like to pay to have a DNA test done. Would you agree to this?” I had nothing to lose so I agreed. We get the results back and it was determined I was NOT her father. Her and I went through so many emotions. Anger, relief, sadness and more. I have messaged the mother with no reply. I feel bad for the daughter as now she never knew her biological father and probably never will. I have no recourse to collect the support payments as there is no statute in Canada. I will just live with the fact I helped support a child that turned out good.

The shit that I will never forget!

I confronted the father of my daughters bully.

Although my daughter at 12 is not technically a teenager yet. Her bully was.

She started high school last year and was really excited. From September to Christmas break she was full of confidence and loved the new school.

Turn of the year and it all changed. My daughter caught the school bus each day as usual. But she wasn’t her usual self, she was very quiet, off her food, wasn’t sleeping and made excuses not to go to school.

I contacted the school to see if they’d noticed anything. They mentioned she was quiet since the Christmas break and would monitor it.

Then by chance I happened to be home from work early and went to meet my daughter from the school bus. I fought hard to contain my rage. I couldn’t believe what I saw. A girl about two years older than my daughter was dragging her by her hair and screaming in her face calling her names.

I knew that any physical contact with the girl would result in me being the one in trouble. So, I shouted out my daughter’s name. The girl froze and let go of my daughter. I rushed over to my daughter who was crying and put myself between the two girls.

Then I had an idea. Quick as a flash I removed the bully’s designer trainers. I told her she could have them back when her dad collected them. She tried ways of getting them back off me and left with torrent of foul and abusive language.

Around an hour later there was a thumping knock on my door. My daughter shouted it was the bully and her dad. I opened the door to a similar torrent of language to that of the bully.

So,a swift left kick to groin dropped him to his knees. Followed by a downward right punch to the bridge of his nose. He was left reeling in ball of blood,snot and tears. I threw the trainers at the bully and said that that was just a warning. If my daughter was ever bullied again, I would hunt him down and beat him up again.

Needless to say, my daughter returned to school and she started enjoying herself again.

Edit.

Thank you for all the messages of support.

As a victim of bullying all through my school life,I wasn’t about to let my daughter suffer too.

I’m not a confrontational person and can probably count on one hand how many fights I’ve had in my whole life.

But something just snapped that day. The implications if it had backfired on me could have been worse. But it was a risk I was prepared to take to protect my daughter.

Edit No2.

Sorry for the confusion.

Trainers here in the UK are short for Training Shoes.(Sneakers,pumps,itchy dabbers,runners etc)

One in Five

What is the most badass thing you have done as a parent for your teenage daughter? –2

A father speaks…

My 15 year old daughter came home from Knott’s Berry Farm one night around midnight in tears. Someone had stolen her iPhone while she and her friends were on a ride and she was worried I would be mad.

I told her to hold on for a moment, went to my computer for Find My iPhone, and told her, “I found it. Let’s go.” She asked where and I told her, “To get your iPhone. It’s at an apartment complex in Santa Ana.”

We found the apartment building and I called the police. I brought them up to speed and they said they’d meet us at a gas station about a mile away. My daughter was starting to see some hope.

Three police cars showed up and, after I showed him where the phone was, the officer in charge said we could park down the street and watch. So we did.

It was about 2:30a and the lights were still on in the apartment for some reason.

The lead cop went upstairs and pounded on the door. A middle aged guy answered the door and the cop said a stolen phone was inside the apartment and he wanted it brought to the door (he told us later). My daughter and I heard the guy yell, “Anybody have an iPhone that doesn’t belong to you?” After a few seconds, he shook his head “no”.

The officer told us he said, “Look, I know it’s in there. So you can either bring it out, or I’ll stand here until the search warrant arrives and we’ll go in and find it ourselves.”

We saw the door close and less than a minute later the guy handed the officer my daughter’s phone. He brought it down and my daughter logged in to prove it was hers.

She couldn’t believe we actually got her phone back, but I was committed to fixing this so my daughter wouldn’t become a victim.

We got home about 4am, but neither of us was tired – LOL.

I know everything worked out in the exact way it had to for us to succeed, but it was a great lesson for my daughter about standing up for yourself and taking appropriate action. She continues to be a very empowered individual and I like to think I had a hand in that.

Husband Was Blinded To Wife’s Double Life Until Reddit Gave Him A Clue

Learn some things.

What is the most badass thing you have done as a parent for your teenage daughter? –3

A father speaks…

Although she is 20 now, my daughter learned, at age 8, that no matter how scary the bully on the bus seemed, her daddy is a force of nature.

I was home on a rare occasion when she got off the bus, visibly shaken, and crying. She didn’t want to tell me what happened because she was afraid… it was traumatic! She feared a lot of things, in this moment.

A kid 5 years older, put her on the floor, at the back of the school bus, and stepped on her throat.

She was terrified. She thought she’d get in trouble, he would do more if she told, that he might hurt someone in her family, and the worst fear was that NO ONE would believe her.

She broke down and told me, after I calmed her. I assured her that this is a problem that I could solve, and asked her where this boy lived. She told me.

I told her to get into the truck. To be honest I was wildly livid under a calm mask. I’m 6′3″ and close to 300lbs and someone just hurt my BABY!

I take her to the the porch of the run down trailer, where this boy lived and knocked on the door. A man answered. I was sweating under a very serious calm. I asked if he was (blank)’s father. He said he was. I said, we have a serious problem. He needs to come out here as well.

I told my daughter to tell them exactly what happened. Then I told them that kind of behavior is extremely unacceptable. The father could sense that I was on the verge of doing something he might go to the hospital over if this wasn’t addressed immediately, so he not only adressed the issue… he punished the boy, and made him appologize to her immediately.

After this, the boy was very courteous to her on the bus and she had no more issues with bullies at school. She carries a confidence with her today, and knows how to handle situations like this because of the way I kept my cool. Despite my rage, I got my point across in an assertive manner, and got results without having to take further action than addressing the issue.

In all honesty, keeping calm was the hardest part for me but it got the results I wanted, so right or wrong, my daughter takes this with her today, so I call that a win in the badass column.

Favorite Chicken Tetrazzini

13a5dcd46bdf26fd240b47ce7282d885
13a5dcd46bdf26fd240b47ce7282d885

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes
  • 4 tablespoons chili powder
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • 3/4 cup sharp cheese, shredded
  • 1 pint light cream
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • 1 (4 to 6 pound) chicken
  • 16 ounces thin spaghetti, cooked

Instructions

  1. Sauté butter, onion and pepper. Add tomatoes and seasonings. Cook slowly until sauce thickens; add cheese and light cream with a pinch of baking soda, cooking a little longer.
  2. Boil chicken. Cool, then pull pieces from chicken.
  3. Butter large casserole and line with part of the cooked spaghetti. Layer chicken, tomato sauce, more spaghetti and cheese. Continue until all is used, ending with sauce and topped with cheese.

Notes

This freezes well.

The Twin Vipers

Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways. view prompt

Kaysie Davis

   AuroraThe Crystal Viper shuttered as Darries put her into a dive, expertly avoiding the lasers that were flying passed us. Our attacker had appeared out of nowhere and started shooting at us without as much as a hello.“Who have you annoyed now?” Darries snapped at me, “Didn’t I tell you that your flirty ways are going to get us in trouble one of these days.”“Oh, shut up and drive.” I snapped back, pushing the button for the transmitter again, “For the second time, this is Captain Aurora North and the Crystal Viper. Stop firing on my ship and identify yourself.”The only response was another volley of lasers firing at us. I couldn’t recall upsetting anyone, recently anyway. I charged up our own weapons and tried again to hail our attacker. I didn’t feel like blowing him up unless I really needed too. “Crystal Viper to offending ship. Last chance to explain yourself.”To my surprise, we finally got a response. “Don’t think you can fool us by having your little girlfriend hail us, Zell. We want our cargo back, and we want it now!”Not this again. I swore loudly to Darries. “You are looking for the Black Viper, there, my friend. This ship is the Crystal Viper.” I swear that when I got my hands on Zell, I would make him pay for every scorch mark that had ever been put on my hull due to him. It seemed like every other day, someone was mixing up our vessels and trying to blow us out of the solar waves because of something that he did.There was a long pause, and they must have been checking for our transponder. The attacker could look all they wanted, but like most of the ships in the area, ours was modified not to give off a reading unless we wanted it too. People didn’t need to know who we are unless we wanted them to know. I nodded at Darries to turn it on.Finally, there was another response. “How do we know this transponder signal is real?”“Listen, I couldn’t give a flying frag if you believe me or not. I just would rather not take the time blowing you out of the stars if I don’t have to.”“We…apologize for the confusion.” The voice still sounded like he didn’t believe me, but he could also tell that my weapons were stronger, and that fact did tend to settle disagreements with other ships. We kept our arms powered up until the other vessel had fired up their engines and left our area in space.There was a ding on our console, and Darries swore when he looked down. “Yaffa is getting impatient. He says that if we don’t get to Maia Station soon, that he will give the job to any other ship that happens to be around.”“Onward, Jeeves.” I grinned at him. Darries rolled his eyes, and he gunned our engines. It was a short hop to Maia Station. We should be there in plenty of time.ZellI was whistling to myself as I finished docking my ship at Maia Station. The Black Viper was squeezed between two other ships that made her look small. She might be small, but she had a big bite. Anyone who dared cross us soon learned why we are called the Viper.My co-pilot and I were at the station to sell some cargo that we had acquired on another job. Mikell was already down on the station, settling up payment with our broker.I exited my ship, hoping to have time to wet my whistle before we had to head back out. Maybe I would also have time to get a gift for my wife, it has been far too long since I saw her last.As I walked across the ship bay, I was confronted by a smaller man in a sharp suit. He had an annoyed look on his face and was tapping his foot impatiently.“It is about time that you are here! We have been waiting for the Viper for hours! You know Yaffa is not a patient man. Now, sign this manifest, and we will get the cargo loaded up.” The man did not wait for my response but turned and barked some orders at some waiting droids.

I smothered a smile, this was perfection. This little man must have been waiting for the Crystal Viper. That ship and her captain had stolen a few jobs from me last month. I could get payback and get paid at the same time.

“So sorry, we are late.” I took the manifest and signed my name, I needed Captain Aurora North to know who stole her stuff. “We will take off as soon as we are loaded.”

I messaged Mikell that we needed to take off ASAP. Her response cannot be repeated in polite company. At least she got further than ten feet from the ship. I would not be able to get my drink.

In short order, we had unloaded one set of cargo and loaded the other cargo. Mikell was back with our money. She glared at me from under her mop of short purple hair as she flopped into her pilots’ chair.

“Five more minutes, Zell, five more minutes, and I would have had our broker wrapped around my finger. I would have doubled our money off this score too. Who did you steal this new cargo from?”

“A man on deck thought we were the Crystal Viper here to pick up some cargo. Now, who am I to correct his error?” I smirked at her “Now, let’s get out of here before the real Crystal Viper gets here.” With that, I fired up our engines and headed off. We really would need to find a place to sell this newly acquired cargo. My wife would need to wait for her gift.

 

Aurora

I signaled Yaffa as soon as we were in orbit around the station. It had taken us longer then I would have liked to get here. Our attacker had been lurking and trying to follow us, so we had to lose him before we could get to the station.

Yaffa’s confused face was soon on our viewport. “Aurora? Why are you back? Is there something wrong?”

I blinked at him, “Back? What are you talking about? We just got here.”

Yaffa turned and barked at his one aid, “Didn’t you tell me that the Crystal Viper had arrived and picked up my cargo?”

“Yes, yes, master. The Viper and her Captain West. They left just a few minutes ago.”

I let out a loud groan, “You moron. That was the Black Viper and the frustrating Zell West. “

Yaffa let out a string of swears in his native language. “Are you telling me that my cargo was stolen?” He leveled a glare at his aid that promised a lot of pain later. Then he switched that glare to me, “This would never have happened if you were here on time!”

“Don’t blame me for your aids stupidity.” I met his glare with one of my own. Then I turned to Darries, “Can you find any trace of where the Black Viper went?”

He tapped on his console for what felt like forever. Then he grinned and looked up at me, “It’s faint, but I have a lock on what way they went.”

I sat back in my chair, “Let’s go get our cargo.” I swear that Zell goes out of his way to annoy me most of the time. How dare he take my stuff.

 

Zell

“Will you stopped that never-ending whistling?!” Mikell’s green eyes were aflame, glaring at me. “I will throw you out of the nearest airlock if you don’t!”

I held up my hands in submission. Mikell looked back down at her own console, muttering in her native language. I enjoyed the view of stars passing the viewport when a ship dropped out of hyperspace next to us. Our transmitter buzzed, whoever this is wanted to talk.

Mikell opened a channel, and before I could say anything, a sappy love song came over the line.

Whoever was singing, it was horribly off-key. The singing went on for a painfully long time. My fingers itched to fire some laser at the ship just to stop the noise.

A very nasally voice came over the line when the singing finally stopped. “Aurora, my princess, please return to me.”

Mikell was silently laughing in the seat next to me, I rolled my eyes and toggled the transmitter.

“Hey, lover boy, you have the wrong Viper. This is the Black Viper. You are looking for the Crystal Viper.”

“Please put my princess on the line.” The voice was somehow even more annoying than the singing. “I need to hear the crystal tones of my princess.”

“No princess here. And you better get some singing lessons before you try this again. Now, skedaddle before I really get annoyed.” I powered up my weapons to get my point across.

The other vessel fell back but was still following us. Maybe he thought I was hiding his ‘princess.’ I swore under my breath. Typical Aurora. She probably flirted with this guy while that co-pilot of hers robbed him blind. And this shmuck was so lovesick, he couldn’t even tell that she had anything do with it. We got at least one broken-hearted buffoon thinking we were the Crystal Viper a week. Well, as long as he stayed out of my way, he could follow us like a lovesick puppy, all he wanted.

At least, that’s how I felt. Mikell took offense to our tail and fired some torpedoes in his direction. That seemed to finally deter the moron, and he went back into hyperspace.

Aurora

Darries gave me a devilish grin, “We have the Black Viper on our scanners. It is just a few hyper yards ahead.”

I grinned back, “Let’s go say hello, shall we?”

We popped out of hyperspace right behind the Black Viper and fired a few lasers that grazed its hull. It didn’t take long for our viewport to light up with the picture of Zell. His crystal blue eyes were shining with amusement. “Is that how you say hello?”

“Why should I say, hello? You stole my cargo, and all the people you piss off keep putting dings in my hull!

 

Zell

Somehow I was not surprised when the Crystal Viper popped up on our radar and fired on us as soon as they dropped out of hyperspace. Aurora was pissed. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders as she yelled at me. I really should be listening to what she is saying.

“….all the people you piss off keep putting dings in my hull!”

“At least you don’t have lovesick morons singing love songs at you all of the time!” I shot back, “The last one was in serious need of singing lessons!”

Almost as one, our co-pilots looked up at us and nodded. There were no other ships in the area.

“And I wouldn’t have stolen your cargo if I didn’t miss you.”

 

Aurora.

“You could have just sent a message.” I glared at the man on the viewport, but then I relaxed, “But I missed you too, husband. “

His crystal blue eyes, the ones my ship was named after were shining, “What do you say we deliver your cargo,” He held up his hand, to stop the objection he could see coming “To your buyers. Then go home and take some time off?”

Zell

My wife had finally softened, she brushed that black hair that I loved so much back behind her ear and nodded. We didn’t get to see each other much. Too much of a risk for people to know we were connected. We gave out plenty of hints and loved to drive each other crazy with pranks. Most of the universe, however, thought we were mortal enemies trying to destroy each other. They would never know that just a few years ago, we were married on a no-name planet, under the twin viper constellation.

What is the most badass thing you have done as a parent for your teenage daughter? –4

A mother responds…

Years ago, while my daughter was still a teen, I was sitting in the dark on front step cooling down after a long hot night at work. It was about 3 am.

A car pulled into the lane. My daughter, her then boyfriend, and unknown male and female companions got out of the car. Judging by their conversation, they had no idea that I was sitting on the step.

Within a few minutes of being in the lane, the male stranger, suddenly, without warning, punched my daughter’s boyfriend, “T,” hard in the back of his head, knocking him onto the ground. He then proceeded to kick him rapidly, while the girls started screaming at the top of their lungs. All hell had broken out in my quiet yard.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was up from the step, had raced across the lane, grabbed the 6′-something guy by the throat, and was holding him up against a tree on the edge of the lane and growling in his face, “We don’t behave like that in my house, Now get the f**k off my property!”

Then, I threw him towards his car. He left, cursing about a ‘crazy woman.’

I’m not sure where that woman inside of me came from, or the strength, considering the fact that the guy was so much larger than myself.

For a while, I got painted as the bad guy in this story. He was furious that I interfered. I shamed him, according to him. At the time, my daughter hated me because T broke up with her. However, years later, my daughter took me out for lunch in a different town, and she saw the guy who had hit her ex-boyfriend. She asked me if I remembered the incident. I told her that I vaguely remembered.

She then responded, “Well, I remember it like it was yesterday, and I never told you at the time, but I was secretly really proud to have Super Woman for a mom.”

Shorpy

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I will do anything for my girl

‘Mum I’ve just been sick and its black’ That message is what my teenage daughter sent to me. My heart skipped a beat. Being a nurse I knew that there was something seriously wrong with my daughter but I tried to think positive and not jump to conclusions. Fast forward to a hospital appointment. I was sat with my daughter holding her hand and the doctor said the words we had both been dreading. “It’s cancer”. My daughter who was 15 had a rare cancer and chemotherapy was her best option.

As many of you will know the effects of chemotherapy can be and usually are god awful. It was painful for me to watch my daughter go through it, I really can’t imagine how she must have felt. As her hair began to fall out my daughter started to get really down. She loved her hair and her overall appearance and now she was almost grey and very thin. I tried telling her it was ok and that she was still beautiful but she didn’t believe me and said she felt alone. That night after she had gone to bed I sat up for hours and thought long and hard about what I could do to help my daughter through what she was feeling. And so I decided to do something so she didn’t have to go through it alone.

It took all the strength I had but that night I shaved and cut off all of my hair until my head was completely bald and soft. I was aware that I was sure to be stared at and laughed at but I didn’t care. My little girl was all that I was worried about and in the morning she couldn’t believe what she saw. She was overjoyed though and felt a lot less scared about losing her hair. She cried tears of joy and I vowed to her that we would go through it all together. I kept my hair shaven until my daughter finally beat cancer, and then when she came off chemo I let my hair grow back.

It was a horrible time for my daughter but I’m proud of her for going through it. She was so brave and I think me having no hair have her the extra confidence she needed and made her feel less alone. My sixteen year old son also shaved his head in the end which surprised me. The whole family made it as easy as we could for her. I got many looks and laughter after cutting my hair off but I didn’t care, it was worth it as it made my daughter happy and feel so much better about what she was going through.

I think I speak for every mum here but I know no matter what I would do anything for all my children

The robber was robbed

Men…Be Men.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bk8MYaxKpvk?feature=share

Two boxers fought a match in a low weight class. A Japanese man named Keita Kurihara and a Filipino man named Renan Portes. When the match ended, Kurihara was declared the winner “on points” despite Portes having landed some of the hardest punches in the fight.

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“I didn’t win!” Kurihara shook his head in disbelief and broken into tears immediately after the score was read out. Afterwards, he took the microphone in the ring and bowed deeply to the audience, saying, “I was treated as the winner in the end, but I lost. It’s embarrassing that I was declared the winner. I’m really sorry… My punches missed their target and I was spinning around. I got hit quite a lot. It was the worst possible situation and I was completely defeated. My countermeasures didn’t work. I felt that I hadn’t grown at all..”

Kurihara went to the locker room after the fight and apologized to Portes, declaring him the “real winner” of the fight. The Japanese fighter wanted to win only in a convincing way, with honor. Having not landed the hardest hits and having been unable to knock down his opponent despite losing his own footing, he felt he was undeserving of victory.

Monkey Branching Wife Who DEMANDED Divorce Begs Hubby For 2nd Chance After Lover Tossed Her Out

I lived in South Norwalk, Connecticut…. and worked in Westport. It was a few days before Christmas and I was driving home, after work, and decided to stop at Beldoch Popper, a sweater factory that sold wholesale at Christmas. I pulled my 1969 Mustang up to the curb, and was putting it in park when the factory door opened, the light caught my eye. Two people were coming out and for some reason, my spidey senses told me to get the hell out of there.. NOW. I hadn’t turn the car off yet, slammed it into gear and floored it……. I drove home, adrenaline pumping, and he no idea why. I’m not a scaredy cat by any measure.

The next morning, I walked into work and saw the mail guy, Fred. His wife worked there so I told him my crazy story. He asked me what time I was there and said around 5:30. He looked at me, and said if I had gotten there a minute earlier I would have walked into an armed robbery, and seen all the customers and employees face down on the floor…… and the two guys didn’t have a getaway vehicle, they left on foot.

I swear I didn’t see anything, no guns, just silhouettes walking out of the building in the dark……

So happy

This question is very well asked and very ‘Chinese’; I even suspect that the questioner might be Chinese.

First, you noticed the unusual duration of 4 days. If it were just a matter of diplomatic etiquette, it wouldn’t last so long. I’ve answered similar questions twice before, and I think the answer is: In fact, this 4-day period is very likely the time when Ukraine and Russia started negotiating through China, and it’s just the preliminary preparation.

Then, you are very perceptive, perceptive like a Chinese person, noticing that the Ukrainian Foreign Minister was in Guangzhou (Chinese netizens identified the location as Guangzhou by recognizing the background architecture in a video posted by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister himself). You are very sharp.

Why not in Beijing?

As a purely Chinese person, my view is:

First, it could be because Beijing needs to make way for more important meetings, such as the recent Beijing Declaration.

Chinese people care about these unspoken announcements, which essentially tell the world that for China, the Middle East is far more important than Ukraine.

Second, it might also be a deliberate move to show the world that for China, Ukraine is only a third-tier issue. (Beijing is first-tier, Shanghai is second-tier, and Guangzhou is third-tier.)

Most Chinese people were originally neutral towards Ukraine, but now there is indeed hostility due to Ukraine’s declaration, which said ‘give China a chance to talk with the civilized world,’ and the actions supporting Hong Kong’s independence have really ignited the anger of the Chinese people.

I have to say, don’t you all watch international news?

It’s all like a game of bridge, with clear hands and open cards.

  1. The U.S. inquires about Chinese arms control, and China refuses.
  2. The U.S. plays a card, namely 3,500 nuclear warheads, to see China’s reaction.
  3. China’s reaction is to deploy strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear warheads, along with Russian strategic bombers, on patrol in Alaska (which means if there’s a nuclear war, China and Russia will ally).
  4. China issues a statement urging not to initiate a nuclear war (directed at the U.S., meaning: we have no intention of initiating a nuclear war. Last time it was before the Beijing Olympics, with all five permanent members of the UN Security Council signing, and then immediately after that, the Russia-Ukraine war started. Now, China is urging again, and immediately after that is the French Olympics? Clearly, after the Olympics, war is imminent!).
  5. China invites Palestinian forces and issues a Beijing statement.
  6. Netanyahu visits the U.S.
  7. The U.S. and China once again engage in a proxy war, this time in the Middle East.

Isn’t this quite obvious? If you can’t see this, you might as well stop caring about international politics.

All Men need to See this – Modern Women are DOOMED by this New Anti-Paternity Fraud Law Approval!

Between 25% to 33% of fathers who paternity test their children discover that they were not biologically theirs.

I had a girlfriend in college that did cleaning work on the side for extra cash.

She was actually a good maid. One client broached the subject, asked her what it would cost for her to be topless.

Because she knew the man and was comfortable with him she agreed for double her normal rate.

Please note that her job didn’t change, just what she wore. He was not looking for sexual favors, never touched her or made her uncomfortable in any way. It did something for this mans’ ego to have a pretty young woman serve him in such a submissive way while he basically ignored her. That was prestige for him.

He asked her if she was satisfied with the agreement and she told him that one other client like him would be enough that she wouldn’t need to work for the cleaning service at all. Of course he knew someone. So she halved her workload for the same pay and it was a good arrangement for all involved.

As for what you pay for such a service, check the going rate and be prepared to pay more. It’s not the kind of thing you want to haggle or be cheap about.

Tortiglioni with Spicy Sausage Sauce

This recipe calls for only 6 ounces of meat, so it is good if want to cut down on meat in your diet. (I usually have to make meatballs in a separate sauce for MY family! LOL!)

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0e25929c65eaab8ef8ba88443329171f

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 fresh red chile, seeded and chopped
  • 1 pound ripe Italian plum tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup red wine
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 12 ounces dried tortiglioni (or use rigatoni, penne, or ziti)
  • 6 ounces spicy salami, rind removed (I sometimes use pepperoni)*
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
  • Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Instructions

  1. Heat oil and add onion, celery garlic and chili and cook gently, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until softened.
  2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower heat, cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Add a few spoonsful of water occasionally if the sauce becomes too thick.
  3. Meanwhile, cook pasta.
  4. Chop the salami into bite-size pieces and add to the sauce. Heat through, then taste for seasoning.
  5. Drain pasta and put into large bowl, pour sauce on top and toss to mix.
  6. Scatter parsley on top and serve with grated cheese.

Notes

* Buy the salami in one piece so that you can chop it into large chunks.

Yeah yeah

Have you ever been caught someone lying on a resume, and what were the consequences?

Yes. I was working for a major tech company in the UK, one that is extremely-high profile and very popular, and we got a resume that looked absolutely stellar. In fact, it was astounding that this guy didn’t have his choice of offers in hand already, based upon what was written down on his CV (which is what resumes are called in the UK).

However, having been on several search committees before, and having helped students with their own resumes back when I was a professor, I had lots of experience with puffery (intentional or not) and hyperbole (again, intentional or not).

The candidate had been on several high profile, very technical projects that resulted in tremendous profits for his previous companies. These weren’t trivial by any means, and I, for one, was very interested in learning more.

The problem with his resume was twofold.

First, the projects themselves were all over the place. One was a systems integration project, another was a software development project. Still another was a hardware project. All of them highly involved, all of them requiring deep knowledge of varied skillsets. All from someone who had only been in the workforce for about 6 years.

Now, it’s possible that we had a savant on our hands, but experience has told me that these are rarer than unicorns and, as a result, I became quite skeptical. Nevertheless, I was willing to give it a go.

Second, all of the tasks and responsibilities listed in the CV had qualifying terms, like “Helped coordinate,” and “Contributed to,” and “Supported.” These are wishy-washy terms that are so vague as to imply practically any kind of involvement, from running the project to taking minutes during meetings.

So, I wanted to know more.

The candidate came in, impeccably dressed, and full of confidence. Okay, so maybe my suspicions were unfounded. He certainly looked like he could have mastery over these different domains.

But then I asked the first question, and it went downhill from there.

“I’ve got to admit,” I said, “you have a very impressive CV. These projects are quite involved.”

“Yes,” he said, smiling and proud. “I’ve done a lot of great things.”

Okay, so not exactly humble.

“Tell me more about what you did on X project,” I prompted.

Thus began a long string of evasions. He started every sentence with, “I helped…”

“Okay,” I said. “I understand that you participated in the project, and that you helped it reach its goal. But I don’t understand exactly what you did. When you say that you ‘helped,’ what does that entail, exactly?”

What followed was a continuous stream of “I helped,” and “I contributed,” without any actual description of what it was that he did.

Now, I don’t suffer fools very well, and I particularly don’t like it when someone thinks that I’m a fool. I begin to get irate when someone continually doubles down and suggests that they have answered the question when they didn’t.

Then he put the final nail in his coffin. “Well,” he said, “I could go into deep technical detail, but it’s extremely complicated and most people don’t understand it.”

“I’ve got time,” I said. “Try me. Part of the job you’re applying for is to take complicated technical subject matter and translate it into consumable English. This seems like a perfect opportunity for you to show me how well you do.”

He paled. I mean, he’s already English, so this was quite a feat.

He failed. Miserably. He couldn’t explain the project, the technology behind it, even the problem the project was supposed to solve.

So we moved on to the next item on his CV. He failed that one too.

And the next.

Ultimately, at the end of the interview, it was clear that he knew nothing about any of the projects he had ostensibly worked on, and those technical details he did try to talk about he got dead wrong.

Worse, this was a group interview, with my entire team in attendance. Unfortunately, as this was the UK (and I’m an American), after the candidate left I was read a riot act by the manager for embarrassing him. Even though they admitted that they would have hired him, had I not asked more probing questions, I still got an official reprimand.

So, because some guy lied on his resume, tried to lie in the interview, got caught doing so, I was in trouble for pointing it out.

Gotta love those “consequences,” eh?

Some fine art

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Reason why I became pro-China: Western media overplayed their hand and made me do something they probably didn’t want me to do: search for information about China.

You see, growing up I had zero interest in China, which was why I never bothered looking deeper into it. I just internalised all the anti-China “news” I heard in my periphery since that was the simplest thing to do for someone uninterested. But recently anti-China news ramped up, like REALLY ramped up to the point there’s talk of war, so naturally I started to take actual interest in China for the first time. So I went looking for information… and oh boy it was life-changing.

Whether it was the alleged massacre, or alleged genocide, or the sweat shops, or the lack of modernity; they were all either partial lies or complete lies. As I learned from the locals and foreigners who actually lived in various regions of China, I felt like my worldview was being deconstructed bit-by-bit, until I ended up only with the deep sense of betrayal. Western media did this to me. To all of us. For decades, I had been propagandised into believing some extremely unflattering things about China and her people. Decades!

The one thing that I’ve always wanted our precious western society to do—but felt it was hopelessly impossible—was to eliminate extreme poverty. Guess what, China did. They had virtually eliminated extreme poverty, a feat that was considered impossible in wealthier western nations. Also, according to everyone who have visited China, their society is friendlier, cleaner, safer, and more modern. China’s investment in R&D and her people’s education at all levels are paying off, and the obsession with meritocracy in government jobs had allowed China to properly punish the corrupt and replace the inefficient. Many who have visited China loved it so much they wished they could stay there.

So yes, not only am I now pro-China, but I’ve also now stopped believing in Western media by default, especially when it comes to news about other countries, and especially when it comes to China. I’ve even started to wonder my perception of Russia, North Korea, and other so-called “enemies of the West” are accurate. This is what happens when the media breaks the trust of the people who relied on them for news.

In short, I’m pro-China now because western media overplayed their anti-China propaganda, and it made me so curious I had to go looking for information myself. I can only hope many more others would do the same.

Pentagon Again Applies Budget Lies To Deliver More Weapons To Ukraine

Whenever the Pentagon runs out of money designated by Congress as aid to Ukraine it starts to use creative accounting to free up some additional money from its general budget. The ‘accounting errors’ used therein are always in favor of more weapons to Ukraine.

Exclusive: Pentagon accounting error overvalued Ukraine weapons aid by $3 billion – May 19 2023, Reuters

The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3 billion, a Senate aide and a defense official said on Thursday, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces.

Pentagon accounting error provides extra $6.2 billion for Ukraine military aid – June 20 2023, AP

The Pentagon said Tuesday that it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years — about double early estimates — resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said a detailed review of the accounting error found that the military services used replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment that was pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine. She said final calculations show there was an error of $3.6 billion in the current fiscal year and $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended last Sept. 30.

As a result, the department now has additional money in its coffers to use to support Ukraine as it pursues its counteroffensive against Russia. And it come as the fiscal year is wrapping up and congressional funding was beginning to dwindle.

Pentagon finds another $2 billion of accounting errors for Ukraine aid – July 14 2024, Reuters

The Pentagon has found $2 billion worth of additional errors in its calculations for ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine, increasing the improperly valued material to a total of $8.2 billion, a U.S. government report revealed on Thursday.

In accounting an entity can generally use one of several methods to account for stock material. Using (ever increasing) replacement costs or (ever decreasing) book value are two arguably valid methods. What is a no-no though is to change horses during race. One either uses one or the other. One never-ever changes the applied accounting method during the accounting period.

Any commercial company doing what the Pentagon is doing here would be asking for serious trouble.

One wonder if and when Congress will wake up to this.

 

Posted by b at 14:22 UTC | Comments (78)

The problem with AI

that is standard procedure in any military to retire the old generals and replace them with new ones.

allow me to explain:

In the military landscape of any nation, the principle of retiring older generals in favor of fresh leadership is not merely a procedural formality but a strategic necessity. This standard practice is fundamental to ensuring that a country’s armed forces remain adaptive and relevant in an ever-evolving geopolitical environment.

Old generals, while often steeped in tradition and battle-hardened experience, may also carry with them a resistance to change, clinging to outdated tactics that they were trained in and grew up with that could jeopardize their nation’s defense in contemporary conflicts.

If, for instance, a formidable military power like the United States were trapped in a time warp, still combatting adversaries using the strategies and methodologies of the Revolutionary War or the Civil War, the outcome would undoubtedly be disastrous. In a world where nations like Russia, Israel, and North Korea and even Yemen have embraced modern technology, cyber warfare, and innovative tactical approaches, failing to adapt could lead to catastrophic defeats.

Countries such as China have recognized the need for reform, actively promoting young leaders who can infuse their military strategies with fresh ideas and perspectives that align with the realities of modern warfare. This method not only revitalizes the military command structure but also ensures that the national defense strategies are continuously evolving to counter emerging threats. For example, in recent years, China’s rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and drone warfare exemplify how new leadership can drive transformation and modernize military operations, enabling them to compete globally.

Similarly, nations like India and Brazil have also experienced leadership shifts in their defense establishments, aiming to harness young, dynamic thinkers who are equipped to navigate the complexities of modern warfighting. A proactive approach to military leadership ensures that armed forces are not just reactive but are equipped to anticipate and counteract the multifaceted challenges of modern-day combat, ultimately reinforcing national security.

what Xi is doing is nothing new people!

China Unscathed in CrowdStrike Meltdown

I’ve answered similar questions many time, so I’ll copy/paste an excerpt. Violating these 10 commandments of prison that someone asked me for could have serious consequences.

So I’ll give you some “rules” to follow, it’s not a comprehensive list and they’ll be in no particular order because they all are important.

  1. Mind your own business. Meaning don’t ask questions about what a person is doing (unless it directly affects you), personal questions about their past and/or charges unless it’s a natural part of a conversation THEY start.
  2. Never give an opinion unless it’s asked for.
  3. Don’t be in a hurry to make friends.
  4. DO NOT try to make friends with the guards. I was on friendly terms with a lot of guards, but I had been there for several years and had well established myself before I did so.
  5. DO NOT SNITCH.
  6. Don’t lie or embellish your past. You’ll likely find yourself in conversations where guys are telling “war stories” and guys in prison have phenomenal instincts and can spot a fake in a heartbeat. Just be yourself, if you don’t have anything to add to the conversation just listen.
  7. Prison runs on respect, so be respectful.
  8. There might come a time where you have to stand up for yourself. DO IT. Some things like minor disrespect you can let slide, but if someone puts their hands on you in an unwanted way, makes unwanted and aggressive sexual advances, and/or tries to take what’s yours, STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!!!! Sure you might lose, but who hasn’t had their ass beat before. But you’ll establish a degree of respect and should be fine after that because the predators who are there are looking for easy prey.
  9. Keep your word. If you tell someone you can/will do something, do it.
  10. This actually should be near the top but I’m too lazy to retype this. DO NOT GO INTO DEBT!!!!! If you gamble (for smokes, candy bars, or whatever) make sure you have the “money” on hand. Don’t borrow, do without whatever it is until you have the money to get it yourself. Debt, especially if something happens that makes it so you can’t pay when you said you would can lead to all sorts of things and all of them are bad. Trust me, things happen, like your prison pay gets screwed up or someone on the outside doesn’t send you money when they said they would. I repeat DO NOT GO INTO DEBT!! Along that line, don’t lend. If you do and that person doesn’t/can’t pay, you’ll be expected to do something about it or you’ll be seen as weak.

This is How Sanctions Changed Russia’s Car Market

Massage, drinking whiskey, a very hard touch, and soft relax afterwards

Yes. He pulled out a gun, demanded my and my friends wallets. Although I was armed (in a city where concealed carry was legal only with a permit, which I had), he seemed to be after money and had not aimed the gun at us, so I did not draw. When my friend was too slow, he yelled and fired a shot at his feet, injuring him with a fragment. I then drew my weapon and shot him 3 times in the chest. Once he was down I sent my friend to get help while I did cpr, but he was dead. The police were quite supportive and did not arrest me after consultation with their superiors. I had a carry permit and my friend corroborated my story. An “earwitness” had heard the shots and confirmed the number and order. I made a statement and picked up my gun a week later.

After the initial adrenaline and shock wore off, I never felt any negative emotions, other than sadness that he chose to waste his life the way he had. He had 4 robbery and 2 assault convictions and had spent half his life in jail already. If he hadn’t fired a shot he’d still be alive, but it seems like it was only a matter of time. I have never felt any regret.

I did smoke it as a teen. I grew up in So. California, my parents were aged hippies who smoked it. There were rules – like no smoking if it is a weekday, and you have school the next day. No smoking if you are going to drive a car. So yeah, it happened, but I was generally responsible about it.

Then I just grew up, had other responsibilities, like being a mother, and didn’t do it at all.

Much later, when my kids were older, I had some opportunities to do it again. A trip to Amsterdam, and a trip to Las Vegas, after it was made legal. I thought, hey, why not?

I had horrible experiences. I became paranoid, closed up and unable to interact socially. It turns out the weed has become much stronger than when I was young, and we’d just have some homegrown buds… now they’ve been carefully engineered to have a very high level of THC. Two hits would have me nervous and paranoid.

Edibles… OMG… what hell! My family is still talking about the time a family member visiting me in France brought me a little, thin, sucker. I had a sore throat, and decided it might help on the way to a touristy day out. Ended curled up in the fetal position in the back seat floor of the car while they went siteseeing. That shit just goes on FOREVER. A whole day wasted with me miserable.

I decided, perhaps I have less resistance through time, but also, the strains have developed to be so strong, it isn’t a matter of smoking a joint and feeling a little more giggly than usual. It can be a nightmare. Won’t touch it now. God speed to all those that find it enjoyable or useful in their lives, but I won’t be partaking.

The Amazing Digital Circus – 1950’s Super Panavision 70

In 2014, Clint Eastwood started a relationship with Christina Sandera. He was 84 at the time, and Christina was 51. Eastwood had been in many relationships before and fully expected this to be his last rodeo. He was quite done with it all.

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Fast forward ten years, Eastwood is now 94. He and Sandera did, indeed, stay together. But now sad news was just made public by the Eastwood family — Christina Sandera died, aged 61.

[1]  You don’t get into a relationship in your fifties, with a man in his eighties, with the expectation that he will be the one to bury you. You probably won’t like to think much about it, but that’s not exactly the most likely outcome that’ll be on your mind…
Life is incredibly unpredictable. We have expectations and we think we have a lot of certainties, but really? We don’t. We just trick ourselves for the sense of comfort into believeing we know the outcome of things ahead of times, but in actuality we never quite do.

Footnotes

The US Literally Cannot Repay Its National Debt.

It depends.

Last time, when Obama gave a speech at the port about revitalizing American manufacturing, they used flags to cover the crane’s logo in the background.(As to whether the flag was made in China too, I have no idea, but it is possible.)

But a gust of wind revealed the brand name 振华(Make China Great Again), which made me feel a bit embarrassed.

Later, when President Biden gave a speech at the same place about revitalizing American manufacturing, I kept my eyes on the flag covering the logo the entire time.

As a result, when President Biden praised the “New Panama” crane, you could still see that it was actually made in China…

Therefore, Biden’s nickname in China is 拜振华.

Very embarrassing.

Damn! Holy shit!

The hardest I have ever cried is when my youngest daughter had her breaking point at the hands of her bully. That week of my life made me feel like the worst father in history.

My daughter is socially awkward, meek, shy, and has trouble making friends. Her only interests are Art and Tennis. She’s never had many friends and really didn’t seem to care. That’s what I thought.

In her freshman year in High school, she met the Bully that would change school policy on bullying. This incident happened when My child was in the school library. The library is supposed to be bully proof, like a sanctuary. But not on this day.

She’s quietly drawing with her friend. And out of nowhere she gets smacked from behind on her right ear with baby powder. And of course it was the bully. It was supposed to be a prank. A video prank called “SMACK CAM” to be exact.

Looks like this.

This time it went too far. My child got knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital with a serious concussion.

I get the call and race to the hospital with bitter rage. I’m met by the police, the principal, the school nurse, and the guidance counselor. They were all in her room. I walk in and see my child sleeping with tubes coming out of her nose and arms. I couldn’t talk. I was shaking with anger.

The principal and the police explain to me that they have video evidence, and the bully has been arrested.

Three days later my daughter came home from the hospital and all that I thought I knew about her was only the surface.

We’re sitting on the couch watching TV. I go into the kitchen for something. I come out of the kitchen to see her face wet with tears. She’s not wiping her face, there is no facial expression, no sound. Just a constant flow of big tears. Tears with no sound means deep emotional pain. Especially from a 14 year old girl.

I grab her off the couch and give her the biggest HUG I have ever given her and tell her that I love her and will always be there for her. But only this time, she felt different.

We sit down and I’m trying to tickle her side to get a smile. NOTHING! After some time She finally starts talking.

“I just want this to stop, I’m sick of it”

(OMG!) This has been going on all this time?!

She begins to detail the horrors ever since elementary school. I’ll list only a few.

  • She’s been called Ugly
  • They hide her books
  • They steal her material
  • They push and shove her
  • Cut her in line
  • Put buggers on her shirt
  • One boy that sits behind her cut her hair without her knowing.

Some things they did were disgusting so I won’t list them. At the end of it all I still wasn’t crying. Until she said this.

“How come no one likes me, what did I do?”

That’s when I lost it. I tried to hide it because I can’t cry in front of my children. I felt weak, my heart pounded and I waited to speak so she wouldn’t notice my voice cracking.

I tell her to go take a shower and we’ll go to the mall and walk around. That was just to get her to walk away so I could go to my room and try not to cry. As soon as I got in my room I felt a fear in me that I can’t explain.

I wanted to trade places with her. I wanted to absorb all her pain, I wanted to kill the bully, I wanted desperately to help her in any way. I blamed myself. Someway somehow it’s my fault.

Why didn’t I notice something? I should have never gotten divorced. Her mom should still be here. I need help!!! It’s too much for me.

I cried so much that my eyes got swollen and my throat got hoarse. Until that day and a few days after, I can’t remember ever crying like that.

After about an hour I open her room door to see my middle daughter holding my youngest while she slept.

Despite the bully’s family asking me not to press charges, I went ahead and pressed charges, and she got six months probation for assault.

My child never went back to school, never wanted to go to school, couldn’t go to sleep, couldn’t eat, and started to hate. Something that I never saw in her.

There wasn’t much I could do. My desperate attempts to get her to smile and liven up became silly. So I signed both of us for Art classes, and she began to show signs of joy.

I later found out that the guidance counselor was my daughter’s shoulder to lean on. Mrs. Sarver was very nice and always helped her in trying times during school.

Mrs. Sarver came over to visit one day with a bunch of letters, and art work from supporting students. I stood back thinking that my child does have friends! But I was wrong.

She sat down and went through every piece of paper, and threw out all but two envelopes. A large piece of very good Art work, and a letter.

They were from “PAIGE”, her only friend. That was the first time I saw her smile in a month.

I enrolled her in a private school the following year where she is doing very well. And despite her psychiatrist’s suggestion, we will not be using any pills.

(Graphic/sickening content) To this day, I hate the person who did this. I never got a good look at this person and have never seen them or their care ever since.

I was doing my normal 30 minute run of the day and I would usually finish my run at a dead end street, where I would give myself a 5 minute break. Once reaching my stop, I would always go right under a tree to block the burning sun and rest. I was a bit hidden by the tree, so no one would be able to spot me unless they truly tried.

I was in the middle of having my drink, when I noticed a navy blue Ford Explorer with tinted windows make a stop right next to the empty road, almost right beside me. I continued drinking my water, but stopped when the driver slid their window fully down. I couldn’t see the driver well, because the driver seat was facing the opposite way from me. So I was only able to see the silhouette of the driver through the tinted windows.

I was able to hear a commotion going on in the car, but after the driver put down their window, all I heard then were two children, a boy and a girl, repeatedly crying out, “Please don’t do it mom! Please don’t do it!” I was a bit interested in what they were talking about, so I hid a bit more, so that I wouldn’t be seen snooping. The mother, who was the driver, kept telling them to shut up and in her exact words said “Shut up! Shut up, you crybabies! I have enough trouble caring for you two! I’ll be damned if I have to care for these stupid things!”

Through the tinted window, I was able to see her pick up what seemed to be an open cardboard box that was small enough to fit through the window, but big enough to put a variety of small objects in. The children kept screaming, “NO! NO!”. As a speeding car was coming down the road, she threw the box right in its path without giving it a chance to react. At that moment, I heard tiny meows coming from in the box as it flew through the air towards the ground. I froze in horror as the box hit the front tire of the speeding car and the box went right under. All heard as the box went under the tire was a disturbing wet crackling noise that still haunts me to this day.

By the time the car fully ran over the box, the mother with her children were long gone, speeding the opposite direction of the other car. I couldn’t believe what I just saw. I just stood still and watched as the man came out of his car to see what he ran over. I was hoping that it was anything other than what I thought it was. To my horror, the man pulled out the now almost fully flat box and it was oozing out this bright reddish liquid, which I believe was blood. The man took one look in the box and immediately threw up on his car. The man dropped the flat box, went in his car, and drove away.

I was so stunned that I stared at the box for a good ten seconds. I couldn’t believe I witnessed this. I knew what was in the box, but I refused to believe it. My sick curiosity wanted to see what was truly inside that box. I didn’t want to believe that there were kittens in there. I finally came out of my daze and went across the street towards the box. The closer I got, the faster my heart began to beat. Standing right over it, I saw the small opening the man left as he peeked inside. Looking inside the box was the biggest mistake of my life. What I saw was the most traumatizing image that still sticks to me to this day. I won’t describe it because just thinking about the image makes me sick.

After seeing what was inside, it was for a fact that inside the box was a group of disfigured, flat baby kittens that weren’t even given a chance to live another day. How could she? I said to myself. How could anyone be so disgusting? I knew there was nothing I could do, so instead of leaving the box on the ground exposed, I put it in a nearby garbage can. The box left a red stained road with a bit of the box left on it and all I did right after was walk straight home, leaving behind my bottle of water at the tree where this all started.

I wanted to share this story because I had it as a secret from my family at home and I don’t plan on ever telling them. Just writing this story was a huge struggle for me. As you can see on my profile picture, I own an orange male cat that I have taken care of since birth. I could not stand it if anything horrible were to happen to him.

Thank you for reading my experience.

Those poor poor children.

CHINA is NOT what we expected – FIRST 24 HOURS in Beijing

Shorpy

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Alice in Wonderland – 1950’s Super Panavision 70

After my first wife divorced me – 6 years – I did a lot of soul searching and reading – and realized I was looking for too much from her and giving too little – As well as not even thinking about things like children, lifestyle, etc – For example, she never wanted children – and I did.

I spent many years making sure I knew what I wanted, making sure I knew what my potential new wife wanted, and committing to support her no matter how things went.

I followed through – no matter what demands of my job and career, family was my first priority – when my new wife became pregnant, I went to every medical appointment with her, listened to thr doctors, made myself aware of the risks (she had a mental illness and physical issues), and took on all tasks – When my son was born with a cardiac defect, I took on the responsibility of helping him and my wife – but, despite my taking time for my family, my career still rocketed up beyond my highest expectations.

When my wife, after our second child, became incapable of working a regular job and incapable of taking care of our children, I hired people to take care of them – and took much time off work still to take her to specialists to treat her condition.

Later when a car accident resulted in 10 years of constant pain, I both took her to every single person she wanted for her back and got up ever 3 hours every night to get her an ice pack from thr freezer – As well as taking our children to places and friend’s houses.

Then I used an entire 401k to help her establish her own business. Which she failed because she did nothing after the first few months.

Yet she never heard one complaint from me – only support.

After 20 years of marriage, she “figured out” that I had held her back – since all of her fellow Kellogg Business School graduates were multi-millionaires while we frequently faced near bankruptcy.

She convinced her friend that I had been physically abisung her for years (after I stepped in to stop her from yelling at and hitting our straight A daughter), and forced me to move out or face arrest due to false testimony for her and her friend – who made clear to me that she was willing to lie to the police.

After trying and failing to negotiate an amicable Separation or Divorce – While she interferred with my legal access to my own children plus Vo third to Siena money at a rate that would lead to bankruptcy within 3 months, I finally filed for divorce – thus allowing me legal access to my children and legally limiting her access to my income.

After talking to other men and observing things in divorce court, I conclude that this occurs very frequently – Women deciding that they are “entitled” to certain things and blaming their lack of wealth, etc on their husbands – rather than simply working with him to get what they want.

As always happens – the lawyers got most of the money and the settlement was almost to the dollar what I had proposed months before the divorce filing – minus 3 years of legal fees.

Karma was that she was so bad with our children that her neighbors called the police a total of 16 times in 4 months – leading to her losing all legal access to our children.

My children went from the perception of 2 loving parents to the knowledge that their Mothet did not give a damn about them – only herself and her “needs”.

I met many divorced women whose husbands did this same sort of shit – putting their “needs” above everyone else – this is not a “men-women” thing – this is about people unwilling or unable to grow up and take on adult responsibility.

Compilation: The Moon is Weird – No, really. The Moon does not make sense

Here’s a fun video.

Zip and it’s gone

I’m a short man.

I’m 5″6’, so I’m not a ‘little person” but I am short.

When I was dating, I had many girls tell me they would date me if i were taller. Fast forward and I’ve been married 20 years and have three terrific children.

Taller guys sometimes pat me on the shoulder or otherwise treat me like a child. I’m in my 40s.

Aggressive women have often warned me that ‘they could take me.’ I’ve had drunk guys start fights with the ‘little guy’ in a bar or party. Literally just walk up and start talking trash. I had a personal boxing coach for years and although I was never a contender, I learned to handle myself really well.

When I assert myself, I am told I have a ‘napoleon complex’ – when I don’t, I’m ‘passive aggressive’ or a pushover.

I’ve been passed over for leadership opportunities for taller people, and I’ve actually been told that openly. A CFO told me that people don’t like to work for short men. Height isn’t a protected class and you can be discriminated against for it.

I have a great life. Terrific family, despite being raised in poverty, I have accumulated a decent amount of first generation wealth. I have a great career and i do what I love. I really have no complaints.

But my appearance has affected my life.

Conduct a search on the bus or train? Thai police ain’t stupid, guys.

They know pretty well that Thais know best. I would say out loud, “เชิญเลยครับ (Be my guest)!”

Be sure to make a scene so that all eyes will look at you, so, you have a lot of eyewitnesses- say this; “พ่อแม่ พี่น้อง ผมกำลังโดนค้นครับ ขอไทยมุงครับ- เป็นสักขีพยานครับ ว่าผมไม่มี บุหรี่ไฟฟ้า ไม่มียาบ้านะครับ!” (Ladies & Gentlemen, I’m about to be searched, gather around folks, please be my eyewitnesses that I’ve no ‘Vapes’ or’Yaba’”)

Let’s be serious.

Once you consent to a search, there are two scenarios you need to know-ONE**, you are confronting with a pair of phony police officers. If you’re allow them to put their hands into your backpack it will mean, you will be a victim of an extortion-you know what I mean.— You may read from the expert online how to get out from a search by the fake Thai police unscathed.

TWO**: It’s real search from the police, and you can’t say no as your tattooed face & both arms, bearded with moustache wearing ’Boss’ blue T matches a description of ‘gold shop heist robber’ Too bad that you’re in a vicinity of the crime scene nearby.

Be shrewd as a snake but keeping calm like a dove **(I borrow from the Bible)- ask their permission to see their palms and what under/ inside their sleeves. If possible, take a video during a seach with their permission as well ( they will allow)

With a **vape** in your possession could cost you up to 30,000 Baht *fine

**Yaba** in your possession is questionable as penalty of drug trafficking is harsher than possession of drugs… you can’t say that, ‘IT ISN’T MINE’

Thai police will typically insist, **I am the law**

What’s other choice when facing with the Thai police demanding a search?

Guys! In Thailand do as the Thai do.

Just walk away that is what Thais would do when the police want to search the backpack of anyone.

  • What are the consequences if you refuse?

The worst scenario, if you refuse a search—is going to the police station with them.

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My company was about 9 months delivering my review. I had a great year and likely generated incremental ebitda of over $5 million. When I finallly got me review I was told I did a great job and I was getting the maximum raise – 5% on top of my $120k salary. I flipped out.

Two weeks later I quit. I knew I had a ton of leverage because:

  1. My company was party to a lawsuit and I was a key witness.
  2. The company was going to be sold soon and I was in a key position.

As expected, they asked me to stay and offered me a small additional raise. I demanded $250k, a 75% bonus, promotion to EVP, stock options, 1 year severance agreement if the fired me (plus bonus), and a year of benefits post employment. Told them I didn’t care either way.

It’s been 5 years. I’m still with the company and have been promoted to president. Timing is everything. If you have leverage use it.

Mohamed Rizalman bin Ismail, a Malaysian military attaché, entered one woman’s house and attempted to have sex with her.

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He was promptly arrested by the New Zealand police and charged with attempted burglary and rape. Invoking his diplomatic immunity, Mohamed left New Zealand to his country Malaysia. Following the international furor, Malaysia agreed to send Mohamed back and waive his diplomatic immunity. This case was interesting because NZ and Malaysia don’t have an extradition treaty. Apparently Mohamed “volunteered” to go back to NZ and face the trial. He served 9 months of house arrest.

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Majed Hassan Ashoor, the first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in India beat and raped his Nepali housemaids. When the Police got involved, Diplomat invoking immunity left the country. All was left, a few NGOs protesting against the diplomat.

Accused Saudi diplomat leaves India

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Traffic accidents

These cases happen far more often than beating and rape. An American military attaché was involved in traffic accident. He was reported to be drunk. As a result, the motorcycle driver died. The Pakistani authorities asked Americans to waive his diplomatic immunity so that he can be tried. After refusal, he was not allowed to leave the country. After extensive negotiations and substantial payments to the deceased’s family was the case finally resolved.

US diplomat involved in Islamabad accident departed post ‘settlement’ | The Express Tribune

Another very similar case, a Russian diplomat was involved in fatal traffic accident, in Canada, while drunk. Due to diplomatic immunity, he was allowed back to Russia. Upon arrival, he was charged in Russian court with involuntary manslaughter and jailed for 4 years.

Former Russian diplomat guilty of involuntary manslaughter | CBC News

A new case is developing right now in Turkey. It has been alleged that a Saudi national was killed in the Saudi Consulate. If this is true, we reached new lows in diplomacy.

As you can see, diplomatic immunity can be waived only by the diplomat’s side. The host country, on the other hand, can prohibit the diplomat from leaving the country. It can also make an international incident and make life hell for the remaining diplomats. But in the end it is up to the diplomat’s country if it wants to be viewed as a country that allows its diplomats to commit crimes and get away with it. A matter of national prestige is an important matter to some, not all countries.


Article 29 of the Vienna Convention states: “The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving state shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.”

I got my Ph.D. from Stanford, so I was both a student and a teacher there, after attending a mid-level school that gave me a full ride for undergrad. No one in my family had been to a top-tier school, and there were no top-tier schools in the area where I grew up, so I had no idea what to expect. There were two things that shocked me most:

  1. The way that everything is set up to ensure the students succeed. Ins to any internship program you could possibly want. “Lecture series” classes that are really designed to give you weekly networking opportunities. Entrepreneurship competitions that will actually put multiple students in a room with venture capitalists to pitch their business plans. You name it. The campus, the resources, the professors, the programs — all of these things are great at Stanford, but they’re great a lot of other places, too. But where you really see a huge difference is all the extras, where the school provides every opportunity for you to get in touch with people who can make your career. It’s amazing. After I saw this, I would always 100% advise anyone who’s ambitious and academically inclined to shoot for an Ivy.
  2. Interestingly, the undergraduate students are not all super smart. They’re not unintelligent. But they’re not geniuses — not most of them, anyway. I wasn’t blown away, on the whole, by my Stanford students’ intelligence. Mostly, they just worked hard and they knew how to be students. They would communicate well, come to class and to office hours, be proactive about their grade and completing their work effectively. I find that’s the biggest difference between the Stanford kids and the students I’ve taught at the CSU’s and SLAC’s in the area — most of the students at those schools just seem like they never really learned how to be students, so they struggle when they’re easily smart enough to do well in the class. (Of course, most of them also have to work, while it seems like most of the Stanford kids don’t.)

Existence Tax: The Vig Plus 3%

Saturday, Jul 20, 2024 – 07:30 AM

Authored by Tim Hartnett via LewRockwell.com,

In the bad old days, before G-Men took down the mob, were urbanites getting a better deal? Does the betting man receive worse odds from state run lotteries than Vinny gave on the corner running numbers? Did businesses shaken down for “protection” have higher hopes of survival in mob clutches than in municipal ones? Was there more or less anxiety about making rent or the mortgage in 1974 than in 2024? Which is the greater fiscal peril, organized crime or uber-societal-organization? It has become a valid question.

Gangsters had fingers in a lot of pies. Credit card racketeers, waging the present battle against physical currency, demand a slice of everything out of the oven. They’d gladly have us believe that paying for anything, without their supervision and cut, equals a criminally tainted transaction. Mobsters found their pecuniary prevalence legit in its way too. Transactions that jibed with their economic codes they called “kosher.” Other trading activity inside their ambit was deemed transgressive. Parasites tend to sound tiresomely alike. The difference is that the above ground finance industry finds no place outside its ambit.

Street people’s encampments clutter cities all over the country. What pushed so many over the edge? And how many are treading that edge carefully now? We know that insanity is somewhat genetic, but scientific observation has yet to prove external factors can’t nudge innately inclined individuals into psychosis. Facts point that way.

Should we harbor suspicion of so-called improvements in the finance system? The Bush-Obama era housing crisis arrived after the government gradually amped up its influence on the mortgage market. Once mortgages became de-localized and Wall Street joined in default skyrocketed and losses went international. Isn’t the NYSE supposed to make markets safer and more efficient? Have we seen anything like that coming out of financial centralization?

The present squeeze goes on in commercial space. Businesses, particularly restaurants, are shutting down at disturbing rates. The biggest burden is rent. This goes on as city centers are awash in more empty commercial space than ever. Local government isn’t helping. While serenading us about how much they love love and hate hate, they stay busy inundating entrepreneurs with licensing fees, new taxes, permit demands and other hurdles that restrain new ventures from ever launching. If they somehow get going anyway the municipality lurks at every juncture. They’ll keep you from thriving when they can’t stop you altogether. Actions speak louder than words. What they “love,” in practice, is bleeding prey pale with revenue demands and entangling bureaucratic complications.

In 1977 the minimum wage was $2.30 an hour. You could get nearly four Big Macs for that amount then. When the minimum went up to $12 on July 1st, the same earner only got two and one third double-deckers for his money. Losing 1.3 sandwiches an hour takes a big bite out of a working class lifestyle. 10.4 Mc-grubbings per eight-hour-day to be exact.

One year after the bicentennial average rent in the US was about $160. An NYT article from 1973 said a family of four needed less than $12,000 a year to live “moderately” in NYC in 1973. The same amount must have been a somewhat comfortable living in flyover country. By 1977 average income was over $13,000. 47 years later, average rent is at least ten times higher. While only about 10% of the population earns $130,000 or more. Where did all the value go?

Clearly, production is out of sync with consumption. What is the variable? Crops still grow at the same rate. Cargo travels at the same speed. Bricks are laid at the same pace. Chickens plop their eggs with the same regularity. Is anyone in the economy getting more than their fair share?

Almost 103 billion in “official” currency was circulating in the US in 1977. As of today, that figure stands at nearly 2 trillion 340 billion. The population has increased by about 58%. The greenbacks flowing back and forth went up by over 2000%. Those figures describe a small fraction of the overall economy. Because banks can create spending power with credit, leaving out other fiscal legerdemain, hundreds of trillions are outstanding in fiscal reality. Federal tax revenue alone, will soon hit over 5 trillion so far this year. That’s over twice the official amount of currency in circulation.

The Big Mac went from 65 cents to $5.17 in that time span. That’s about 700%. Minimum wage rose by about 450%. Watching these fiscal details we know at once that sparse fractions of all that new money is getting to where it is needed most – while we have no evidence it lands in hands that have created actual value. With everyone competing for resources and finished goods, these facts equal a devastating pay cut for many making far above minimum wage.

The idea that people are taking out according to what they contribute simply doesn’t fly. We can start with where the money supply is expanded.

A century ago banks were more accountable. They could make risky loans, as they did for Fritz Heinze, but doing so could still mean hell to pay. The series of events that shook the fiscal foundations of South Manhattan in 1907 remain mysterious over a century later. By 2007, banks were getting bailed out and it was everyone else who paid. How we got there is an intriguing conundrum of modern finance.

Heinze was a mining engineer from New York who showed up in Butte, Montana in the 1890’s. The copper market was hot at the time. That rustic town was already swimming in East Coast toffs and class consciousness. Although born into wealth and circumstances, Augustus Heinze was above pretension and indifferent to “society.” He soon developed a smelting process that greatly expanded the profitability of low-grade copper ore. Rather than pocketing the plunder, his next step was cutting 2 hours off the miner’s workday. How did that go over in the part of Butte that ‘dressed for dinner’? About like The Declaration of Independence did with George III.

Fritz couldn’t have cared less. The airs put on at posh WASP tables left the man impatient and bored. He did his excess boozing in public places where a man who’d spent the day 500 feet underground was at the next stool. Guys who loaded trams rarely bought a round with Heinze in the house.

By 1895 he’d amassed the capital to purchase the Rarus copper mine. The new-coming city slicker literally hit paydirt. His holes were always filled with the best pick and shovel men Montana could provide. The swells he snubbed had to take what hired help they could get.

An officer fraternizing with the enlisted class was high treason to mine owners of the aughts. Heinze was held in a kind of hostile awe. Butte gentry were unaccustomed to a guy who dared not to care if they liked him.  What’s an enraged starched collar to do? We’ll never be entirely sure. Deadly measures were far from uncommon in late 19th century mining strife. What happened to Heinze is one of the murkier mysteries of the robber baron era.

J.D. Rockefeller’s brother, William, was a director of Anaconda Copper. That firm was run by people who’d never pop a cork with working stiffs. They were revolted by Augie’s effrontery. Their solution was one that has retained its financial force. Whether Heinze was bought out under duress, or sold out of his own volition in 1906 isn’t fully clear. What is known is that he returned to New York as a Wall Street plunger specializing in copper stocks. Using familial connections, and a personal fortune, Heinze got himself onto the boards of almost a score of NYC banks. When shares of United Copper were being shorted in a bear run, Fritz used his position to buy aggressively, borrowing heavily from the Knickerbocker Bank and other commercial lenders where he held sway.

By October of 1907 the Heinze brothers thought they had cornered the market in United Copper. They demanded the shares from traders who were contractually short – falsely believing the bears would be forced to buy from them. It soon became clear that these shares were not hard to come by. Heinze’s bullishness ended in catastrophic loss rather than profit. This meant that he would default on loans of millions from each of over 15 NYC banks.

The story, possibly apocryphal but true in effect, goes as follows. Knickerbocker was experimenting with 24 hour banking in 1907. The brainchildren of Wall Street met for dinner at an upstairs private dining room in Delmonico’s to discuss the coming cash crunch. Waiters for the event heard what was said in the meeting. They shared this knowledge with less connected patrons chowing down on the ground floor. A run on Knickerbocker began that night, by morning it had spread to every bank in town. The Panic of 1907 was instantly afoot.

Soon banks all over Gotham were out of cash to meet a seismic wave of withdrawals. In no time connected institutions from further out were tapped too. JP Morgan famously locked every player he could muster into his mansion’s library to discuss solutions. A plan was worked out and widespread depression was averted. But the financial hierarchy of south Manhattan was far from done. Their next step entailed placing the money supply and credit generally into the possession of elite governors.

This banking scandal ultimately resulted in the Federal Reserve Act that was passed December 23rd 1913. Whether it solved the problem or laid the foundation for larger ones has been debated since. Getting into the particulars of the statute became inconvenient with the legislature still in session so close to Christmas. ‘Fightin’ Bob LaFollette, gave in and failed to press for a more exacting bill he saw as necessary at the time. The ruckus over the bill’s details were mostly passed over as ‘conspiracy theory’ throughout the 20th century. That line held sway in economic academia for many decades. Scholarly reckoning always comes too late; there is little dispute the charter helped cause and make the Great Depression worse among “experts” today. We are commanded to defer to them with amps at 11. What they got wrong is reported by the same sources at about 2.5.

Left unexamined is why the Heinze brothers misunderstood who held what in United Copper in 1907. Why did they mistakenly believe they had cornered the market? These were highly educated, seasoned men in the world of finance. How far would William Avery Rockefeller Jr. go to settle a score with Fritz Heinze? Was he cleverly stashing available shares in ostensibly immobile accounts to set up an ambush? The first generation of the Rockefeller fortune was not known to take financial affronts lightly. Is it possible, or more likely probable, William Avery had the means and motive to manipulate the market into this unlikely position?

John D. Rockefeller Jr. married Abby Aldrich in 1901. Her father, Nelson Aldrich, was the driving senatorial force behind the Federal Reserve Act, although he left the Senate before its passage. The Rockefeller gang has been evangelizing the faith of centralization in everything for over a century. It started when JD Sr. practically accomplished that in the petroleum industry before the turn of the 20th century. If you think they were never capable of violent, gangland style treachery, fast your gaze on the Ludlow massacre of 1914.

Can we measure the effect of centralization in the financial sector? By 2013 it had almost doubled its share of the economic pie since 1980. When their take went from 5% to 9% in 40 years it had to come at a loss for others at the table. Did the Fed have a role in this? And what justification is offered for doubling the squeeze?  As the economy grows so does the money industry’s cut, just as any salesman’s commission rises as the sales price is higher. Is South Manhattan insatiable? What explanation, other than parasitic predation, fits here?

The idea of market liquidity and available credit is efficiency and a fluent trading place for financial wares. Theoretically, this is competitive and brings transactional costs down while driving transactional fluidity up. Have we seen any such thing? The NYSE and kin have become like those “clubs” everyone is forced to join avoiding rip-offs for groceries, lunch, medicine, movies etc. The difference is that Wall Street’s anti-rip-off club is exclusive. You are not invited.

Where are we now? Exactly in the same place as when mobsters skimmed off the top in Vegas casinos, but far worse. The difference is that you get clipped without ever placing a bet or owning a share of a betting parlor. The south Manhattan mob is, supposedly, worth nearly 10% of all the action. What other slices of the take have widened with government intrusion and centralization? The mob focused its shakedowns on high rollers. Higher Ed goes after every kid hoping to drag letters behind his name. They call themselves “non-profits.” Does the description fit the beast?Disciplines of a Godly…Hughes, R. KentBest Price: $4.97Buy New $9.41(as of 01:52 UTC – Details)

Finding university administrators at leisure is not a job for Columbo. Just head toward any resort, high-dollar fleshpot or country club where profiteers do their squandering. Educational altruists, financial “experts” and well-heeled bon vivants occupy the same weekend turf – as well as the same self-serving sphere of self-justification.

The Rockefeller family was the largest private benefactor of that ultimate centralizing scheme, the UN. The patriarch, William Avery Rockefeller Sr., was an infamous snake oil salesman and bigamist. He’s not the Rocky the family likes to advertise. They are prouder of efforts to get around the principle of one-man-one-vote and rule the world from the modern equivalent of a royal court on a planetary scale. Make a list of plans to place more bosses overhead and move them further out of reach.  The UN, CFR, WEF, Bilderberg, Trilaterals – you name it and the progeny of that greasy grifter is in on it. And who would they place in charge? The very soul-suckers with their fangs in the US neck pulsing at Wall and Broad.

We are not looking at an abstruse, undecipherable picture here. You can do differential equations, make “relative assumptions” and discuss monetary theory until you ascend to the meta-fiscal plane of Laputa. None of that supposed “understanding” leaves Joe Six-Pack with another square foot of living space or another Big Mac. Uber-economic organization, aka David Rockefeller’s so-called “more integrated world,” is a progressively feudalistic plot that – with the compliance of the un-fake-news industry – rarely experiences any setbacks.

Shrinking buying power has a very simple explanation: a prim and proper syndicate that is more ubiquitous and avaricious than any criminal mob ever.

In Geylang, in Singapore between Lorong 8 and Lorong 24 – there were plenty of hookers and lady boys (transvestites) called BAPO who solicited clients

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main qimg 69664ef5e1983aadd574540e942ab8d0

Choo Chong Ngen, a 30 year old man gambled that Singapore would soon legalize all forms of prostitution and mandate safety for all the customers from STDs

So he purchased large swathes of land in the Land Auctions for a SONG

Nobody bid against him because nobody believed that land near prostitution areas wouldn’t rise in the slightest

By the late 1990s – CCN built Hotels, Shops, Goldfish bowls and Houses and sold them to businesses for a massive massive profit

The hotels roared with profits as the clients paid $ 20–30 for a 20 minute session which meant in 4 hours from 10 PM to 2 AM – a room could fetch 250 bucks which was more than the rate they charged in Hyatt or Marriott

I still marvel at how this guy managed to get ahead of legalized prostitution and mint so much money

I was fired by the owner of the company 30 days before I was to get a substantial bonus. The next week a person in my former department called me asking for help with an issue.

I texted them on their private phone that I knew the owner had them do that and that I was not trying to hurt them, but not helping the owner since I was shafted on my bonus.

30 minutes later I got a call from the owner saying if I would come in and fix the issue he would pay me for the day, I said pass, that I would fix the problem if paid for the month. He told me to go to hell.

The next day he called me back and said he would pay me for a week, I said no again, I would only come back if paid for a month.

He blew up again.

I knew if the issue wasn’t fixed very quickly the losses would add up. Two days later he had his secretary call and said he would pay me for a month but I had to get in there today.

I agreed only if a cashiers check was waiting on me when I walked in the door, because I knew the cheap bastard would stop payment on a regular check.

What the dumb SOB didn’t know was I was in the process of having him served on a wrongful termination suit and that paying me for a month constituted completetion of our contract and he would owe me the bonus.

I brought my attorney with me to the office, I picked up the check and went into the system and fixed the problem.

One other thing he didn’t know was that the issue was a recurring one that required attention and there wasn’t a universal fix, it would continue to come up and since I had no intention of giving the magic formula away I had created he couldn’t have someone else fix the issue.

End result I got my bonus plus all attorney’s costs which was equal to my previous year’s pay and he went broke trying to recreate a system I devised.

With me there after my bonus and raise, his profits would have been half a million a month, without me his losses were half a million a month. Greedy bastard never knew when he was ahead.

Some people like to kick the back of the seat in front of them when in a bus or airplane. A very, very nasty habit. Also a pretty safe one, as it seems people rarely turn around and ‘do something about it’. Even though that’s pretty much what you’re doing, isn’t it? You are broadcasting to the world: “I’m a major asshole, do something about it!”

Oh Fuck
Oh Fuck

Now imagine if you will, riding a bus. It’s one of those nice cozy night buses with curtains on the side of the windows that you can sleep in. You lean back a little and kick the back of the chair in front of you. No big deal, you do it all the time. Did it a million times before, and surely this won’t be any different. That weak little coward in front of you won’t say or do a thing, haha! You’re SUCH an alpha male, Lev!

Only this time, the president of your country, happened to ride the bus, incognito with a hoodie on to “experience how the common people ride buses”. Your country is Russia. The President’s name? Vladimir Putin.

Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon

Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a magical realism story that takes place in the Wild West. view prompt

Amanda Van Regenmorter

        The town woke to discover Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon had sprung up overnight, tacked onto the end of their only meager road in gaudy glory. The western-most, barely settled settlement of Gomer’s Gulch could only be considered a town in the most generous of estimates, but the people who lived there, mostly foolhardy prospecting men and a smattering of desperate families, called it a town all the same.They already had a saloon, of course; a handful of men camped anywhere long enough always sprouts one. Theirs was called Rabbit’s, the owner’s nickname, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was due to being such a dirty hole. Miss Margelene’s place, on the other hand, was the furthest you could get from Rabbit’s, figuratively speaking. Literally, it was two doors down. Rabbit’s was utilitarian: squat, flat-roofed, and barely held together by bent nails. Miss Margelene’s was downright beautiful, a sparkling shade of its namesake silver. The second story sported a gilded balcony over fluted columns, and everyone knew the name because it hung in big cursive letters, two feet tall, in front of the gabled roof.Dex rode in late that morning, the supplies he needed forgotten once he saw the silver saloon. Instead, he hitched up his horse and joined the crowd in front of Rabbit’s to speculate about their new neighbor. He stood out, a head taller and better washed than the others, but most mode room for him with a smile.“Rabbit, how much did I drink last night?” Dex asked.“Half as much as it’d take for a delusion like thissun,” replied Rabbit, who was short and squalid, like his bar.“And that’s iffen he didn’t water his horse piss down,” muttered someone.“This ain’t about my liquor!” said Rabbit. “Even kids can see that abomination. The question is how on earth those misfits got it up in a single day. Not even! Must’ve been lessun ten hours.”No one had an answer, but everyone knew which misfits he meant. In a town the size of Gomer’s Gulch, everyone knows every one of the comings and goings, let alone a coming as peculiar as last night’s. The caravan had arrived in the settling dusk, torches blazing up and down three covered wagons. Not covered with any old canvas either, but draped in rainbow arrays of silken cloth and garlanded with bells that tinkled with every step of the big black horses pulling them. They’d made camp just outside the town perimeter, dark figures tended horses and made a cook fire, but no townsfolk got close enough for a good look. When a band of ornery men decided to greet the newcomers, they turned back around with glazed expressions before they’d gone half way. Unable to elaborate, they simply said they’d changed their minds.“What in tarnation is that?” shouted a ruddy man riding in hard on a heaving grey horse. The man had a pointed beard, well-trimmed, and a six-point star on his chest, well-polished. His red-headed wife, Hannah, pale and pretty, was saddled behind him. While he dismounted and stared at the new saloon, Dex helped Hannah down and began with what little he knew.“Caravan came in last night, and -”“Shut your fool mouth,” the Sheriff said and spat at Dex’s feet. “And get away from my woman. You tryin’ to play at bein’ sheriff? Well you ain’t. You lost. Rabbit, what’s that building?”“Nobody knows, sir,” Rabbit said with a shrug. “Was here when we woke up.”

“What do you mean? Buildings don’t appear overnight – certainly not ones that fancy. Didn’t anyone hear them hammering? Don’t you sleep in your bar, Rabbit?”

“I do, but I didn’t hear a thing. Ain’t you s’posed to sleep in town too, sheriff? Keep your ear to the ground for trouble? Ain’t you s’posed to defend us from the bandits? They killed a woman last week -”

“Rabbits are the ones s’posed to keep their heads down, if they know what’s good for ‘em. Hows ‘bout the rest of you lumps? Anyone go in or out of that place? Who owns it?”

“No one’s been seen, but I have suspicions the owner is one Miss Margelene,” said Dex flashing a grin at the big sign, but he stepped away before his boots could be sullied again.

The sheriff scowled. He left his wife to tend the horse and stomped down to the new saloon. Dex, Rabbit and most of the men followed. Some children scurried along behind them.

The doors alone were taller than any other building in town and such a deep black they looked like an opening on a moonless night. The sheriff’s raised his fist, but it caught mid-air, hovered, before he gathered himself and pounded.

“This is the law! Open -” he demanded, and the doors opened, swung right out and swept the sheriff off his feet. He hit the dirt road hard.

No one laughed, not only because he might shoot, but because they were busy attempting to glimpse the interior while the black doors banged against the wall. It was more luxury than they’d ever seen, even the men from big cities. There were no windows, but long strings of lanterns bathed the big room in flickering light. The floors were herringbone parquet and the walls looked metallic, imprinted with crescent moons.  There was a bar to the left, cabinets of exotic liquors and pewter mugs behind a carved wood counter with a smooth, stone top. There was a raised stage to the right with royal purple curtains. The heavy tables were ringed with upholstered red chairs.

In the back a woman descended from an unseen second floor down a grand staircase. The men doffed their hats and made futile efforts to brush off dust and straighten shirts, but every eye stayed fixed on her. She looked ageless and more elegant than the saloon with carefully coiffed black hair and a ruffled Victorian gown.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Miss Margelene,” she greeted, voice melodious. She had a lilting accent, but it was hard to say from where. “We didn’t intend to open until tonight, but apparently the law is impatient. Can I be of service?” She stood centered in the doorway.

“Yes’m, I, um – I have some questions as to how this here establishment was, um – established,” the sheriff mumbled, tugging his badge.

“Of course, I’m happy to answer – tonight, during the grand opening. For you, sheriff, everything’s on the house. Unless, that is, we’re violating any ordinances? I so hope we’ve met the standards set by your lovely settlement.”

“Standards! How’s about a standard of fair competition and -” Rabbit began, but the sheriff elbowed him and he cut off with a wheeze.

“No ma’am, tonight’ll do,” the sheriff said and donned his hat. “You heard the lady, ya buncha oglin’ buffoons. Grand opening tonight! Now git!” He shoved away the men and kicked a boy in the pants. The doors swung shut behind him.

###

               Dex sped home, desperate to decide what to wear and scrub the ever-loving hell out of it. But more important, he had to tell Rowena everything.

Her modest ranch, home to the world’s finest horses in Dex’s estimate, lay a couple dozen miles south of the Gulch. He always figured the secret to Rowena’s success had to do with the fact that she herself was rather equine. Stately and athletic, even at her age, she never wasted a moment, but when her gray mane came down you could see the barely concealed wild streak. Dex grabbed an indigo shirt from his shack by the barn and hollered for Rowena while he filled her washtub and set to scrubbing.

“Lordy Dex, I know you like to be neat, but you washed your whole wardrobe last week!” she said, exiting the barn with her hair up and a saddle under one arm. “Where are the supplies? I appreciate you ran them bandits off last night before they rustled any horses, but they tore the fence terrible. Looks like one caught his leg though, there’s half a pair of pants hanging on the wire.”

Dex tumbled out the saloon story, and Rowena only interrupted to make him promise he hadn’t drank too much of Rabbit’s swill. Afterwards, he cajoled her to join him for the opening. She was busy, she said, and besides she hadn’t been to a saloon for five years, not since Fred passed, but Dex wouldn’t hear excuses. He hung his shirt to dry then pressed her until she agreed to go gussy up.

He readied the wagon. Rowena stepped out into the fading light of the half-set sun in an emerald pleated dress with earrings to match. He whistled until she clouted him in the chest.

“Shut it, purty boy. I’m old enough to be your grandmother.”

“Pshaw, you can’t be a day older than my mother,” he assured her. “And anyway, we make a purty pair, don’t we?”

###

 

Their arrival marked the first time they’d seen traffic in Gomer’s Gulch. It looked like the land had dumped out all the dwellers in a hundred miles to mill outside Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon. The big black doors were shut again, and the sheriff was on guard with a crisp white shirt, black leather vest and a freshly oiled beard.

“Don’t think you’re gettin’ in Dex, even with your grandma girly-friend dolled up like a hooker,” he said when he caught sight of them. “I’ll throw her out right on top of you iffen you even try to get in.”

Dex drew himself up every inch, ready to defend Rowena’s honor, but she stepped in front of him, laughing.

“Little Stanley Sherman, is that you? I ain’t seen you since Fred tossed you outta Rabbit’s that night, playin’ at being a man, tryin’ start a gunfight. O’course, that was back when you only had a few scraggly hairs on that little chin to cover all your pimples.”

The crowd welcomed the distraction from waiting for the doors to open, but Dex watched the sheriff’s holsters. He tugged Rowena shoulder, but there was no stopping her.

“My, oh my. Can’t say I missed you, but what a surprise it was to hear anyone voted you for sheriff. Almost as surprising as seeing you still have that ugly beard.”

That was the last straw, Dex knew, but just as the sheriff’s fingers twitched, those black doors swung open and knocked him down again, this time on his face. The crowd, Dex and Rowena included, flooded in around him.

There must have been a couple hundred men and a quarter as many women, but the silver saloon accommodated everyone with room to spare. Servers, women in black silk blouses and pink frilled skirts, worked the bar and the floor. On stage, a trio of ladies sang a ditty about a showdown at high noon. Dex thought they shared a resemblance, but maybe it was only their sly smiles.

He snagged Rowena a seat and moseyed to the counter, but before he ordered, he noticed the sad-eyed sheriff’s wife next to him.

“Hello Hannah. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a saloon.”

“Hi, Dex. Couldn’t miss this,” she said. Then barely loud enough to hear, she added, “You should watch out. Stanley won’t stop talking about you since the election.”

“All good things, I’m sure?”

“Look at you, grinnin’ like a weasel in a hen house,” said the sheriff, cocking the pistol he had aimed at Dex. “You ain’t never gonna be sheriff, and you ain’t never gonna get the time of day from my girl.”

Dex drew the fastest he’d ever done, but he saw the sheriff pull the trigger and knew he was a half-second too late. He tensed, but the shot didn’t come. Miss Margelene did, swept in between them, skirts swaying, and Dex was terrified she’d taken the bullet meant for him, but she didn’t flinch.

“Not tonight, gentlemen,” she said, handing each of them a drink. Dex took the mug in his free hand then realized he was no longer holding his weapon. He looked down to find it holstered as if he’d never drawn.

“Thank you ma’am,” Dex said, sure that he owed her for more than the drink. He took a swig and found it was good beer, but unlike any he had tasted. There were strange undertones, maybe mint, he thought. But most strange, he realized, it was cold. Very cold, like the mountain snow he’d crossed coming to Gomer’s Gulch. When he tried to ask her about it, he saw Miss Margelene was drifting off with the sheriff.

Hannah looked distraught, but a waitress was soothing her, patting her back, and Dex figured she was better off here than her home anyhow, so he went to find Rowena. He turned down a couple dance offers on his way, the trio had switched to a romantic ballad, and he circled a couple poker games before spying Rowena, slow dancing with the general store owner. Maybe she was working on a deal for those supplies, he figured, and tossed back his drink, but when they spun around he nearly choked. He’d never seen Rowena beam like that, like a dozen years had rolled right off her back. At this rate, she’d have a new man at the ranch, and Dex would never be so glad to be put out of work.

The night unfurled, and, even with the sheriff prowling around, Dex had never felt better. The trio sang one merry tune after another; drinks flowed, delicious and cold; and even deep in their cups he never saw a soul turn sour, or get thrown out for lack of funds. In fact, he didn’t see anyone leave at all. Even Rabbit laughed, coaxing the bartenders to tell him where the spirits came from. Dex chatted with all kinds, old friends and people he’d only ever tipped his hat to, and they said warm words and told him they had voted him for sheriff. Dex knew they were only being nice, but still it made him flush.

When a waitress with a sunny smile and yellow curls spilling over her black top pulled him away from a game of darts, he let himself be pulled into a whirling circle of fuddled men at the saloon’s center. Together, they tried to keep pace with the jig a smaller circle of waitresses danced in their midst. Every so often, the women would stop and spin the other way, forcing the men to follow. Boots caught and tripped over boots, but the men laughed and tried to stay facing their favorite gal.

While the circle coiled this way and that, one woman pulled a silver scarf out from her blouse and danced forward. She wrapped the scarf around a burly man in a checkered shirt, and swiveled with him back to the center. The men hooted and whistled, and then each girl was going out, wrapping herself a man with her own scarf.

Dex watched and whistled too, until one raven-haired girl fetched the sheriff. Dex stumbled but kept step. His gorge rose when she gave the sheriff’s beard a tug. The circles kept moving, outer going fast to keep up with the girls and their captives.

The fellows in the middle smiled wide, jumping with the girls, a couple ventured to put hands on hips, but Dex saw the sheriff stagger, look left and right.

“Wait, wha-?” the sheriff sputtered and slowed. “Why us? Why-”

The man in the checkered shirt shoved into the sheriff. The music was morphing, volume louder, tempo faster, key minor. Dex heard the women in the center murmuring, indiscernible, saw blurred faces everywhere. He couldn’t tell anymore if he was dancing or the room was spinning itself round.

The women in black threw up their scarves and each exploded mid-air, burst into confetti, rained silver specs down to scattered applause. That is, until the pops and bangs kept going, more and more bursts of confetti until it was thick in the air and no one could see a thing. There were screams and then yells of ‘Smoke!’

Black smoke, heavy and perfumed like incense, poured down the grand staircase. It filled the room and turned everything as dark as the doors, dark as a moonless night.

###

Dex woke to Rowena slapping him hard across the face. He coughed and sputtered back to consciousness in her relieved embrace as the sun rose over the well-dressed bodies laid out on the bare patch of ground that had been Miss Margelene’s Silver Saloon.

It was the children, terrified and crying, that had shaken their parents awake first. As the adults came around they helped others up, parched and unsteady.

Once Dex was on his feet, he sent some kids to fetch buckets of water and rations. Then he saw the commotion and the little crowd gathering. He pushed his way through and found the six scarfed men from last night, sheriff included, naked and hogtied in silver chains, laid out in their little circle. Some tried to free them, others just laughed. The men didn’t look injured, except the sheriff, and it didn’t take Dex long to realize the bloody gash down his leg looked like it might match right up to Rowena’s barbed wire fence.

While the six men stewed in the small town jail, Dex led the swift investigation that turned up enough stolen property to expose their identities as Gomer Gulch’s notorious bandits, as well as the suspicious duplicate ballot boxes in the sheriff’s possession.

However, he never did find the sheriff’s red-headed wife, Hannah. Neither she nor the silver saloon was ever seen again, but on moonless nights he dreamed of her, smiling on stage in a black shirt, singing about the life she left behind.

Without a doubt, America is the biggest threat to world peace.

America has fought in dozens of wars and conflicts since China opened up to the world in 1979. China, on the other hand, has fought no wars at all — not a single shot fired!

America instigated the proxy war in Ukraine and is now trying to start another proxy war in Taiwan or Philippines.

China has proposed peace plans for both Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas. America has shot them both down.

America wants war. China avoids war.

Sometime you got to take the bite to get the paycheck

I once ran a special insect control project that we called “The Elephant Project”.

This was in Boston, and we were developing a system that attracted mosquitoes and then trapped them and killed them. It was based on the vibrations of the tiny hairs on mosquito legs; they are sensitive to the pulsing of blood through veins.

I want to talk about how we tested our devices; our inventions.

We had constructed a small room; square three meters per side, and three meters high. There was an observation window, and a airlock to inject mosquitoes into it.

We bred mosquitoes at the local Tufts University for our experiments. I would run over there, get the cooler full of them, and we would conduct the experiment. We inject 100 mosquitoes into the room, and run our device for one hour. Each time they landed and bit, the capacitance of the machine would register a “hit”, and we could record how effective the machine was in attracting the insects to feed.

That is all fair and good.

But we needed to compare that to a human.

So we all took turns.

One of us would sit in the room reading a book for an hour. And once the experiment was completed, we would count the bites on the person.

Yeah, and even I endured that experience.

Most humans averaged from 34 to 37 bites per hour.

Our machine averaged, when we started, at about 27 bites. But with some tweaking and some refinements we were able to get it to register from 300 to 400 bites per hour. Those machines were mosquito magnets!

Now, there is a lot of things that I can say about this project… what happened to it. What happened to the people and the patents, and all the rest. But that is not really germane to the story. What is important in regards to the story is the experience in sitting in the chair and subjecting ourselves to being bit in the name of discovery and being a good employee.

Sigh.

The company was being sold, and I and a few others were let go. Oh, very friendly. But still it hurt. The owner of the company; Jerry hunted me down and told me that he had second thoughts about letting me go as I was the resident “inventor” and guys like us are really rare.

But… well, that’s a different story for a different time.

Sometime you got to take the bite to get the paycheck.

Today…

If you are a Taiwanese, accept PRC like Qing (清) accepting defeat by Sun Yat-sen (孙中山)revolution in 1911.

After 1911, it was Beiyang (北洋政府) which was recognised by the so-called UN at the time.

Sun rebelled Beiyang & set up a Nanyang (南洋政府) in Guangdong (广东). From the legal point of view, Sun was a rebel.

Then Chiang Kai-shek (蒋介石) inherited from Sun. diplomatically overthrew Beiyang in Beijing (北京) in 1928. Beiyang under Zhang Xue-liang (张学良) accepted “defeat” & changed the then national flag (五色旗) to Nanyang’s 青天白日旗

In 5000 years of Chinese history, our ancestors accepted defeat & moved on with life.

KMT under Chiang was militarily defeated by CPC under Mao

CPC followed the tradition to change the name to PRC & the national flag to 5-star (五星旗)。

WHY CANNOT TAIWANESE ACCEPT DEFEAT & MOVE ON WITH LIFE?

PRC was dictatorial at first with 三反五反 & cultural revolution (文化大革命).

Was Chiang not dictatorial when he was on mainland from 1928–1948 & in Taiwan after 1949? Sun Yat-san was so dictatorial after 1911 that his comrades eg 王兴 etc left Sun.

All 开国功臣 who started a new government must be dictatorial. Why?

Because right after defeat, old-timers would not accept defeat & would rebel the new leader. Mao was no different from Sun or Chiang or Qing Emperor Kangxi (康熙皇帝) etc.

Is today’s PRC okay? Take a trip there. See it with your own eyes. Dont listen to DPP politicians who work for personal power & money (corruption).

If you are a foreigner, dont support Taiwan independence. No country will tolerate secession, subversion, terrorism & collusion with foreign force. Your support for Taiwan independence is encouraging Taiwanese to commit crimes. Sure, it is not you who will be jailed, but the Taiwanese. Your support ruins their future of jailed Taiwanese.

Some vintage art

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Why did Europeans colonised practically the entire world for some 400 years?

Put it bluntly: P I R A C Y of other’s resources.

Why does today’s USA want to maintain superpower? Put it bluntly: modern-day colonisation without occupying other’s land. But to remotely control other’s government & resources.

After WW2, from 1946-2001, in 55 years, there were 248 wars around the globe. 201 of them ie 82% were instigated by USA. In 240+ years since US independence, there were only 16 years when USA was not in a war. But it is US vassals who shed blood & lose life for USA.

Before war, USA will instigate countless unrest eg protests, riots & coups in those countries. At least 56 coups in Latin America since WW2.

There is only 1 motive for USA: money & power/dominance. Nothing to do with righteous.

1, money:

Both US military industry (MIC) & FED are private corporations run by capitalist sharks & not by (responsible) government who would focus on the welfare of the country eg economic development.

MIC makes tons of money thru wars & arms sales. They lobby US government to create wars in other countries.

US politicians also make $$$ by buying MIC stocks or working as a MIC salesman to other country.

Another capitalist shark, FED, sucks foreign capitals/investments to USA from unstable & war-torn country because there is no war in USA.

See, if there is peace in the world, MIC & FED will create a war somewhere.

Other capitalist sharks eg Wall Street makes $$$ from post-war construction/investment in war-torn country.

US senator L Graham told the truth re Ukraine war: ROB Ukraine of its rich minerals.

2, power/US dominnance

In the Ukraine war, USA uses 1 stone to kill 3 birds: weakens the economy of both US competitor Europe & US enemy Russia, as well as colonises vassal Ukraine after war.

USA does not let Ukraine reach peace deal with Russia (to stop the war). Nor let Ukraine attack Russian soil (to win the war). Why? To drag the war so as to economically weaken Europe & Russia. And to make Ukraine as ruinous as possible for US post-war investment.

conclusion

How many people suffered in a war? In the Ukraine war, the entire world is affected by the interruption of supply chain eg food resulting in global shortage & inflation. Not yet counting the dead & displaced.

USA wont not let world peace to happen. USA must create unrest/war thru its puppets eg Ukraine & Philippines.

War is in the DNA of USA.

Are capitalist sharks nice to Americans?

US taxpayers pay the interest of the (high) US debts that is created for MIC-incited wars. Not to mention if USA can clear the debt at all.

Capitalist sharks dont maintain infrastructure. There is derailment almost daily. Making USA like a under-developed 3rd world. The list is long.

Pattaya. Soi Buakhao lanes. Thailand.Walking around Pattaya.May, 2024.

Two different times. Moved to GA from HI when I was in 4th grade. Hawaii schools were in sync with CA which were the best in the nation at the time and GA had no idea where to put me so they stuck me in the “slow” class. By the end of the year, they still hadn’t caught up to where I had been the previous November. When I dared ask the teacher if I could read while she taught a lesson I already had down pat, she said I was stupid to even ask. NO, I had to listen and answer and she then gave a pop quiz which I aced. I was accused of cheating and given an F and was told she was flunking me for 4th grade. Told my parents and they threw a fit since I had been complaining for months that I hadn’t been taught anything new and I was sick of school (loved it until then). There was a generalized test given to see how advanced the students were and I aced it so going into 5th grade, I was in the Academically Advanced class. The last day of school, that beotch announced to the whole class that I would be in a different segment of the school and bound to fail. I got straight A’s in 5th and 6th just to spite her and found out again, that I liked to learn.

I took art in HS from a man who hated females and was told 2 weeks into the class that I should switch to something else since I had no talent. I didn’t switch but did the following semester. He told me that in front of the class and the boys all got A’s while the girls were lucky to get B’s. At the independently judged show at the end of the semester, I ended up with two awards voted on by the viewers and it turned out that that show bumped my grade from a C to a B and he was furious. I have since made thousands on my art—oil paintings, clay work and beadwork.

After my husband lost his job in August, 2018, we thought maybe we should try to buy our own business.

Mike has been in the “World of Bowling” since he was five years old. He went to WSU in Wichita, Kansas, and became a professional bowler in 1987.

Later he managed bowling centers in the United States, South Korea and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“We’re not getting any younger.” he said. “It’s now or never.”

We could only get preapproved for a business loan for $300,000. We knew it would take a lot more than that to purchase a decent center.

On November 12th, 2018, Mike said “Just for kicks, lets go look at this empty bowling center in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.”

“Why waste our time and gas? You know we can’t put the money together.” I said.

Reluctantly, I went with him. We looked around the town and talked to some of the nicest people I have ever met. We asked if they would like to see the bowling center up and running again. Everyone said “Yes! Please come and open it back up.”

The bowling center had been closed for seven years. It’s strange how fast a building can deteriorate. As we looked through the glass windows and doors, we could see vines growing on the walls. The roof had many leaks and the walls were covered in mold.

The real estate agent showed us around and told us how the building had been vandalized. The copper wiring had been stolen.

She asked how much we thought it would take to get the building fixed and functioning again? Mike told her it would depend on whether the machines could be fixed. Most likely, if the machines did not have to be replaced, $400,000 to $500,000.

“Are you interested?” She asked.

“I like your town.” he said.

“This community needs it, but I know that I cannot get enough money put together to make it happen.”

We talked for over an hour. I felt a bond with her. I was sad when we left because I knew this could never happen.

“What was the reason for us coming here?” I asked. “We need to stop dreaming and you need to start concentrating on getting another job.”

On March 6th, 2019, my husband’s phone rang.

“Is this Mike?” asked the man on the other end.

“Yes it is.” said Mike.

“My name is Tim. My wife was the realtor who showed you the bowling center in Roanoke Rapids.” he said.

“We just purchased the center and we were wondering if you would consider helping us fix it up and run it, with the possibility of you purchasing it from us later.”

After completing his conversation and gaining more information, Mike called me.

“Oh, my God!” he said laughing. “You are not going to believe what just happened!”

He told me the whole story. All I have to say is, God is good! We are beyond excited and very grateful for this opportunity. It’s not a for sure thing yet. It will come down to if the machines operate and the lanes are still functional.

I have a feeling we will very soon be starting a new chapter in our lives. I now understand why we went to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. My heart is happy! And I am excited for this new adventure.

Update:

3/30/2019

The electric is still not on. They had hoped to have had new wiring finished but ran into some red tape.

The owners of the building are out of town until mid-April. As soon as they return my husband and his mechanic will make the four hour drive to Roanoke Rapids and fire up those machines!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. My husband did talk to a gentleman last weekend who use to do some maintenance on the machines. He is in agreement that they will run, but they will need a lot of tender, loving care, in order for them to perform and work to their full potential.

I’m still praying hard and my husband is still working on getting quotes for all the improvements. Stay tuned. Hopefully by my birthday, April 22nd, we will have good news.

Update:

April 23rd, 2019

Things have been creeping by very slowly! We ran into problems with the new wiring passing inspections; finally, everything passed. My husband left early this morning to start the process of getting the machines functioning to their full potential.

We still have not gotten a complete answer from the owners of the building, on if they are going to keep moving forward with the bowling center. This is a little frustrating. Once they see the machines operating, we are praying it will be a full go! God must be teaching us patience!

As soon as we get a full commitment from the building owners, I will start a Facebook page for the business so people can keep up with our progress on the renovation. Thanks for all the prayers! When we finally open our doors, I hope many of you will stop in for a visit.

Trump & Biden: CHINA! CHINA! CHINA!

I didn’t know how poor we were until I was in high school.

I thought it was normal to scrounge for spare change in the couch cushions and under the seats in the car to buy a pound of ground beef to go into the ever present Hamburger Helper.

I thought it was normal to bounce checks in order to keep the utilities on at home.

I thought it was normal to move houses every year or two after getting too far behind on the rent.

Every year I got exactly one outfit bought new at the store – my Easter dress. Of course, there was always a strict budget for this indulgence as well. One year we just couldn’t afford a new dress, so my mom made me one on the sewing machine she inherited from her mother. It wasn’t a smashing success, since she didn’t quite finish it so I wore it to church unhemmed and with threads dangling.

The rest of my clothes came secondhand, mostly through donation boxes from the church. Yard sales and flea markets were also great sartorial treasure troves.

When the rest of my class went on field trips I sat in an empty classroom with a bored teaching assistant because I couldn’t afford the museum ticket or other associated cost.

How does it feel to be poor? It felt normal to me.

Then I got to high school and somehow got invited to a party at one of the cool kids’ houses. It had two stories AND a furnished basement. There were no marks on the walls and all the furniture matched.

After that, it felt resentful. My classmates would poke fun at my clothing – most of it was the cast-offs of adult women. It didn’t fit well and wasn’t age-appropriate.

I couldn’t have friends over to my house. I tried once and it didn’t go well.

Being poor sucks. It’s constant shame and comparing yourself to others and coming up short.

When I was in high school, we had a really tough math teacher. She set the bar extremely high and demanded that we meet that bar. All of us excelled at math as a result, and aced university entrance tests later. But at the time, it was sheer torture.

One day after a particularly grueling amount of home work, our entire class decided to write a petition to the principal, asking for the teacher to be removed. It was unprecedented, but everyone felt very strongly about it. However, I felt that the petition was unjustified and also will fail. I refused to sign it.

My classmates, most of them are close friends of mine, applied a lot of peer pressure on me to sign. Out of 40 students, I was the only black sheep that didn’t want to support the flock. I felt bad for them, but not tempted to change my mind even for a moment.

The class proceeded without me and watched in horror as our teacher took it very badly. She didn’t have a family and invested her entire life into her students. She was devastated. She spent days spotting red puffy eyes.

Up until that moment I didn’t realize that it’s important to always do what’s right, even if literally everyone else is doing something else. It really helped me in the future when I was facing a lot more high-stakes situations but was able to stay calm and act with integrity. I’ve never regretted this approach.

I visited 8 Chinese factories in 8 days… MIND-BLOWING!

No, but my mother did, and it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever witnessed. 😀

I was a teenager and my younger brothers would have been around 10 and 11. We were poor but raised with very good manners, so when my family was gifted a meal at a very fancy restaurant, there was no question that we would behave perfectly and eat what was put in front of us without any fuss. And we did.

However, when the first course was served, my parents chose salad and all three of us chose the soup. It was a pale green, creamy soup and there was some question about exactly what was in it. Don’t get me wrong; we all liked vegetables and we all agreed that it was delicious. We were just curious, nothing more. One of my brothers was sure it was pureed lima beans, while the other was equally convinced that it was split peas. (For my part, peas seemed more likely, but I didn’t care enough to argue about it.)

The restaurant was very quiet, just sounds of silverware against china, ice in glasses, and quiet conversations. And we were mostly quiet too, but my brothers’ disagreement got increasingly heated and they started getting a little louder without really realizing it. My parents hushed them a couple times and they would quiet down but, as siblings sometimes do, they refused to let it go entirely so they kept getting louder again.

Around the third time this happened, people were starting to look at them and my mother was getting embarrassed. So, in a voice that her annoyance and embarrassment made significantly louder than she intended, she said, “Boys! Be. Quiet! It’s pea! I can smell it from here!”

Utter silence. Forks stopped moving, waiters froze in their tracks, all conversation stopped.* My brothers and I were scared to laugh for fear of making things worse, then suddenly my father burst out with a snort-laugh and we all lost it, even my mom. And everyone around us was laughing too. Not in a mean or mocking way, but in a shared moment of fully recognizing the ridiculousness of the whole situation. It. Was. GREAT. 🙂

* Ok, I might be remembering that particular moment a bit more dramatically than it actually happened; it’s hard to say for sure after all these years. But I promise I’ve recounted this whole story exactly as it happened to the best of my ability. It really was a wonderful shared moment, and a legendary event in the history of my family.

Jalapeño Jack and Sausage Pasta Bake

jalapeno jack sausage pasta bake
jalapeno jack sausage pasta bake

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces penne, mostaccioli or rotini pasta, uncooked
  • 1/2 cup (1/2 stick) butter, divided
  • 1 pound uncooked chorizo, broken apart
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups (12 ounces) Wisconsin jalapeño monterey
  • Jack cheese, shredded, divided
  • 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
  • Paprika (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, set aside 2 tablespoons of butter for topping.
  4. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large saucepan. Add chorizo, bell pepper and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Sprinkle vegetables with flour; cook and stir 1 minute.
  6. Add milk and salt; bring to simmer. Simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  7. Remove from heat; stir in 2 cups of the cheese; stir until melted.
  8. Place pasta in large pot. Add cheese sauce; mix well. Transfer to buttered 13 x 9-inch baking dish; top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
  9. Melt reserved 2 tablespoons butter; toss with breadcrumbs. Spoon bread crumbs over pasta and sprinkle with paprika, if desired.
  10. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and breadcrumbs are golden brown.

CHINA is NOT WHAT We Expected at ALL 🇨🇳 (first time in Shenzhen)

  1. She never met her father
  2. Her mother was mentally ill, she spent horrific days with her as well as happy days, but they were short. When she finally got diagnosed, she couldn’t recognize her daughter anymore
  3. She spent her childhood in the orphanage and the foster homes
  4. She had to get married at 16 to avoid going back to the Foster homes because many families refused to take care of her
  5. She wasn’t able to become a mother, although she really wanted to
  6. One of her famous pictures ruined her marriage
  7. Every relationship she was in failed (divorced 3 times)
  8. Later on, she was diagnosed with a mental disorder.
  9. She was seeing a psychoanalyst daily in her last year
  10. She was only 36 when she killed herself, some people assume it was a murder

Life wasn’t fair at all with Marilyn Monroe from birth till her death

She had EVERYTHING, but she wasn’t happy. What makes me really sad is the discovery of her tragic life after her death only.

“She was a girl who knew how to be happy even when she was sad. And that’s important—you know” Marilyn Monroe

People were only able to see her as the happy, sexy, beautiful woman, but no one was able to see the sad Marilyn

Mostaccioli and Shrimp with Tangerine Basil Sauce

mostaccioli shrimp
mostaccioli shrimp

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Mostaccioli, Ziti or other medium pasta shape, uncooked
  • 5 1/2 cups tangerine or orange juice, divided
  • 1 large yellow onion, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced, seeded jalapeño pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
  • 1 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 cup diced Brie cheese (about 4 ounces)
  • 2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves
  • 1 cup tangerine or orange segments
  • 1/3 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Instructions

  1. Combine 5 cups of the tangerine or orange juice, the yellow onion, jalapeño, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is reduced by two-thirds.
  2. Remove the bay leaves. Allow to cool.
  3. Transfer juice mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
  4. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
  5. While pasta is cooking, add the oil, red onion and shrimp to a medium skillet. Sauté for 1 minute.
  6. Add the remaining 1/2 cup tangerine or orange juice to the skillet and cook over low heat.
  7. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and add the reserved orange sauce and the shrimp mixture. Cook over low heat 1 minute.
  8. Stir in the Brie and basil. Stir until the Brie is melted.
  9. Transfer to a serving bowl.
  10. Garnish with orange segments and toasted almonds.
  11. Serve immediately.

Soup Porn

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Russia & China Unite to Form New World Order – Step-by-Step Breakdown! | Richard D. Wolff

Keep moving forward.

It’s a long story

It began in 1985

A Delegation of Chinese Businessmen came to Bombay to various Indian Banks for a Letter of Credit.

main qimg 85f0dc7843a6571b3d6ce280ea7117f3
main qimg 85f0dc7843a6571b3d6ce280ea7117f3

They wanted a LoC of £ 15 Million Or so to import steel from Hull in UK

They wanted an SBI LoC because their banks were not recognized in UK and the UK Bank (Midlands Bank) refused to do Business with the Chinese

DBS refused because the Steel was not insured

The Chinese delegation waited for 4 Days patiently and for three days the Bank GM couldn’t meet them. They waited outside his cabin and were mocked at by the staff

All of us worked close by – SBI, BoB, CBI and other banks so this was popular news

Every day at lunch the four Chinese would sit and have Indian food and give awkward smiles

On the fourth day the GM came, gave them 30–40 minutes and demanded a ton of documents

At the same time the Japanese had come for some credit line related to NTPC to supply equipment and they were met by the Chairman and executives and given VVIP treatment

The Chinese patiently signed their documents, did their business, paid the extra interest and went back home

I was a witness to this and any banker who worked in Bombay would be witness to this


In 2014 – 29 years later, a Chinese Delegation came for some business

main qimg 6bc5bfef8a3d3a5a59b929e71c515abc
main qimg 6bc5bfef8a3d3a5a59b929e71c515abc

Banks scrambled over themselves for the Chinese Business

They deposited $ 2 Billion in one hour with a flick of their finger

The Executives grovelled and kowtowed and bowed and scraped like Coolies before the Chinese

Plus at this time SBI needed LoC from Foreign Banks to import from UK or US while every Bank in the world saluted at the Chinese LoC and advanced Twenty Billion Dollars without a second word

So SBI Kowtowed to Bank of America or Credit Suisse or used Bangee to get it’s LoCs accepted for upto $ 300 Million

The Chinese Banks didn’t need anything. They could get $ 20 Billion on their own LoC

I was a witness to this also

I wasn’t a Banker anymore but a Legal /Credit Consultant and saw the 2 Billion Dollar deposit as a friend showed me the entry


In 29 years i saw the Chinese grow from people who didn’t merit even a MD of a PSB to a group of people who could deposit 2 Billion Dollars in a single hour

I saw the same UK Banks who once refused to give the Chinese a mere 15 Million Pounds unless they had double backed LoCs , now begging for their business and lending them 20 Billion on their Paper without 15 seconds hesitation

I saw the Chinese go from a Nation which once stood in line at Tata Steel gaping with awe and admiration at our machines and process, now a Nation that makes steel superior to any other Nation on the planet

I saw the Chinese who once watched our Maruti 800 with awe and admiration now make EVs that are beating the pants of the Western models every single day

In 40 stinking years!!!!!!

Meanwhile

I see India once proudly emerging now groveling for Business from Western Companies even with all political favors

I see India unable to produce a pencil that has a demand in a Global market outside Nigeria and Bangladesh

I see India entirely dependent on Western Hardware and Software and merely clicking the key board like two bit PROGRAMMING COOLIES unable to invent anything with a Global Appeal

I see India with once with an Industrial Productivity which was fourth highest in Asia in 1981 after Japan, South Korea and Singapore now rank 11th behind Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia and even Goddamn Thailand!!!!!

And all my anger began with Mitra

main qimg e09a16e8d7041a6eadf4a01c350e83af
main qimg e09a16e8d7041a6eadf4a01c350e83af

Those who have been on Quora for longer than 4 years can attest to this

I never wrote anything except the law and rarely politics and never on China until I saw posts of Mitra as a cutting edge robot

I felt a surge of rage and all my pent up emotions surged out and that’s it. It can’t stop to this day.

I saw my fellow countrymen defend Mitra as a cutting edge piece of Robotics and it’s founder rather than acknowledge that it was premature to introduce this Robot to the Global World , actually mock me as a desk jockey government servant and claim that he would respond only to the criticism of Google Top Execs or Big Shots

I left the topic at this point, unwilling to start a war on Quora

From that day I have written against Indian ‘Achievements’ because I AM ANGRY

I am not a Chinese Citizen

I am an Indian Citizen and I want my sons to be here in this country with me, growing, prospering, working hard for its development like so many Chinese sons

To watch with pride as India grows and dominates

But No!!!!

I see LIES, LIES and more LIES every day

I see my fellow countrymen rather than find ways to identify problems, call me China Agent and Paid Propagandist

It shows me the inferiority of many of my countrymen and I GET ANGRY

So you think it’s because I admire the Chinese that I write all this?

No

I admire the Chinese but I write because I AM ANGRY AT INDIA, AT INDIAN POLITICIANS, AT THE INDIAN SYSTEM AND WITH MOST OF MY FELLOW INDIANS AND MYSELF

Where did we go wrong?

That keeps me angry all the time

What can we do about it? How can we correct ourselves?

Nobody asks this question and that makes me angry all the more


So if you don’t like it – Apologies

I will keep on and on

Somewhere some people should wake up and see and question people Like Byju Raveendran, Ola Bhavish , Ambani, Adani, Mahindra on what their indigenous technology is and what they have actually achieved

Question people like Modi, Shah, Nirmala, Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal on the same questions

And those who agree with me, they aren’t my bhakts. They are just logical minds who can see where the Nation is heading.


For God’s sakes remember I am not your enemy

I am a Patriotic Indian helplessly watching his Nation slide into regression and worthlessness with every passing day

Those who are closing their eyes to this and talking of 3rd Largest Economy and Viksit Bharat and How great Ambani is – THEY ARE THE PROBLEM NOT ME

Women Have Cost Businesses MILLIONS Because of METOO

When my father was 92 he pretty much gave up on living. He didn’t have any terminal condition other than the one we all have. We had made attempts at various safe living situations during which he refused to move from his independent living apartment to assisted living in the same facility, kicked my sister and then me out for “being in his business”, fired anyone we hired to help with activities of daily living, and lots of other maddening behaviors (actually, par for the course for him but worse). The thing is, his mind was pretty much fine- it was his body that was failing him. When he realized he couldn’t and wouldn’t have life on his own terms, he just gave up. After a couple falls, passing out from low blood sugar several times (including at a wedding) because he refused to lower his insulin dose appropriate to the much smaller amount he was eating, and several admissions for urinary retention, bleeding from his bladder and UTIs, all due to prior prostate radiation, he said he just wanted to be left in peace to die. We (including him) decided to admit him to a really excellent hospice, the same one where my mother had died 8 years earlier. He asked to sign a DNR and did, asked that he receive anti-anxiety and pain meds for his spinal stenosis, and said he only wanted ice cream to eat. We all had an agreed-upon plan of care. He was sleeping peacefully when we left. Then, at 10 pm that first night while I was showering, I got a voicemail from his personal cellphone. On it, he sounded frightened, said he didn’t know where he was, and that the nurses were poisoning him. I called the nurses’ station. His nurse immediately went to his room then called me back to say he was sound asleep again. She even held the phone to his mouth and I could hear him snoring. He grumbled loudly when she tried to wake him to talk to me. She said he probably wasn’t used to the meds and they would give less and stagger them from then on. I wound up not going there that night after checking on him again with his nurse about 2 hours later. At 5 am I got a call that he had died in his sleep. So his voicemail wound up being the last words I heard from him.

Kansas City Beef Brisket

chef marks kc smoked brisket large
chef marks kc smoked brisket large

Ingredients

  • 1 (5 pound) beef brisket
  • 1 tablespoon tenderizer (optional)
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • Worcestershire sauce, to taste

Instructions

  1. The night before cooking, sprinkle brisket with tenderizer, Liquid Smoke, salt, pepper, celery salt, onion salt and garlic salt.
  2. Wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
  3. The next day add nutmeg, paprika, brown sugar and Worcestershire. Wrap well with aluminum foil — this is important. Cook 5 hours at 275 degrees F.
  4. Slice thin on the diagonal.
  5. Serve with homemade barbecue sauce and buns.

I posted this as a long comment here but thought that it is significant to deserve its own posting on China’s Future:

Let me explain: From the US official POV, China is an existential threat like never before, because not only can China do and make everything the US does and makes, China will lead in all the fields which the US has no hope of catching up in: EVs, tech and network equipment, aircraft manufacturing, and defense equipment. Even in agriculture, the US will not be able to sell food commodities to China because China will import from Russia and Brazil instead of from the US.

If the US is no longer the tech leader, the US stock and bond markets will lose 50% of their value. Since the US and European ruling classes derive a significant portion of their value from the New York, London markets, they will get poorer. And they will not be able to invest in growth markets because those markets won’t want to take western currencies, especially the US dollar.

If the US stock and bond markets take such a hit, this means that the US standard of living will also take a hit. First, most Americans are heavily in debt; many of them rely on credit card debt just to cover their monthly expenses, and they have no savings. These people will not be happy, and they will not go away peacefully because a lot of them have guns. They won’t understand how it got to this, and they don’t particularly care in understanding, but they will be very angry.

Under the US political system, it is very hard to mobilize the public against an enemy because most Americans have very little understanding of foreign affairs. For this reason, it is very important to create a foreign bogeyman such as China which they can lay all the blame on.

That is what is happening now. When the US’s existence is threatened, academic scholars are at the frontline in shaping public opinion.

The problem now is that both sides are hardening their positions. Biden doesn’t have the mental capacity to defuse the situation. This means that his key advisors are making policy without his input. They all believe that China is the existential threat. They hoped that the Ukraine war would weaken Russia enough so that they could then deal with China, but that did not go according to plan. But China is getting stronger and its relationship with Russia is growing, so the US is running out of time.

South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines were going to be the useful idiots who would directly confront China, but that is not going according to plan because they know that they are in China’s frontyard, and China is becoming increasingly powerful. They also understand that they may be left high and dry by the US, in which case they become dead meat in China’s front yard.

The US policymakers also understand that the US military is in a weak position to confront China because of the long logistics lines from the US mainland to the western Pacific. A lot of tactical inventory for a conventional war has been shipped to Ukraine and Israel for their wars, and it will take 2–5 years for American factories to step up production to replenish those inventories.

But the US doesn’t have 2–5 years; by that time China will be exporting its chips and selling EVs and solar panels all over the world, and will complete its overland connections to Europe through Russia and the Trans-Caspian routes. Europe will have de-industrialized because it has lost access to cheap Russian energy making their factories uncompetitive, and Chinese brands and equipment will replace European brands and products at 50% of the original European price.

The NATO/EU/G7 alliance will grow weaker by the year. Will the US withdraw to the North American continent, or will it make Custer’s last stand in a nuclear confrontation with China?

Right now, the US is led by candidates who were born in the 1940s and grew up during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Both strongly believe that the US triumphed against the USSR; they believe that this was America’s winning formula, and that today’s China is a smarter and much more adaptable version of the USSR, and that it can be cut down to size using the same tactics and sanctions against the USSR. They cannot adapt because this is the world they grew up in.

They have no vision for the next generation of Americans because they are old, and frankly will not live much longer. I feel sorry for younger Americans because they are stuck in a bus with a crazy driver who is heading for the cliff, and there is nothing they can do.

They deserve better leadership so that they can build their future, but right now, it looks like they have no future.

The American Revolution: Take 2

A few months ago, I received a friend request from a girl. She was from my college and also my best friend’s ex, so I accepted it. I remember, they were in a relationship for eight months after which she friend-zoned him as she did with her previous partners. My friend went into depression after that.

Well, within a few days she became comfortable chatting with me and started sending flirtatious texts. I felt awkward in the starting but after few days I reciprocated keeping in mind not to let her sabotage my stringency.

Now after a few months seeing that she is highly into me, I thought maybe it’s the right time to give that girl a taste of her own medicine. I started using terms like “buddy” and started avoiding her texts. She became quite angry (and her desperation increased) and after a few weeks, she confessed that she has fallen for me.

Me- ”But that cannot happen. You are a good friend as well as a good human too, and I don’t want to lose our friendship.”

She- (furiously) ”Why did you do that to me.”

Me- ”Did what”??

She-“Talked to me in a special way.”

Me-“Well, I didn’t do that. You started sending me flirtatious texts, I just reciprocated. I never told you I feel for you.”

She- ”Please say that you are joking. I don’t believe you are doing this to me”

Me- “No, I am not joking. Besides, you did the same thing with my friend with whom you were committed. We are not even committed. I never promised you anything. It was just a healthy flirting that lasted for a few days”

She- “You are such an a*sho*e!”

She blocked me after that.

P.S.- I know I did the wrong thing but I felt that she needed to know what it is like to be on the other side.

42 Vietnamese foods you have to eat in Vietnam

This gets me so horny! LOL. Just joking, but really… I love these adventure food videos.

Here a mind-blowing fact about Japan: when I was in Japan on a business trip I had a few hours to myself, so I decided to go sight-seeing. I got my expensive SLR, hailed a cab, and took a trip around Tokyo seeking Godzilla. A couple of hours later I returned to the hotel and took a shower. After the shower I realized I had left the camera in the cab. It’s gone forever, I thought. But I went to the concierge and told him my story.

“What was the name of the cab company?” he asked me.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

“What color was the cab?”

“I can’t recall,” I admitted, feeling like a fool. He was looking more dubious.

“Do you recall what kind of car it was?” he asked.

“Not a bit,” I said stupidly.

He was looking at me as if I were another stupid American. “We will see what we can do,” he said, “but I have grave doubts about recovering your camera.”

And yet two hours later I got a call: they had my camera. Astonished, I went to the front desk and they handed it to me. I tried to hand a wad of cash to the cab driver who had returned it. He refused to take the money. I tried to give a wad of cash to the Concierge, but he only took the wad, took a few bills, handed the rest back and told me, “these are for the operator who called every cab company in the city. Your camera was in the lost and found.”

I marvelled at the chances of recovering that same camera in New York City from a cab in two hours. I felt the chances would be infinitesimally small.

Kill Bill – 1950’s super panavision 70

The Philippines cannot replicate the warship beaching at Second Thomas Shoal.

If the Philippines repeats the incident of the warship running aground at Second Thomas Shoal at Sabina Shoal, it will directly violate Article 5 of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which states that all countries in the South China Sea have the obligation to ensure that “uninhabited islands and reefs are free of people and facilities.”

If the Philippine warship ran aground in Sabina Shoal and crossed the “red line”, then China can take any measures to stop it.


The contest between China and the Philippines over Sabina Shoal is essentially a war of public opinion.

main qimg 3b2e661047ff6cfebb0ac9256a3a33b2
main qimg 3b2e661047ff6cfebb0ac9256a3a33b2

The Philippines spread rumors that China would reclaim land and build islands in Sabina Shoal, so it sent 4 coast guard ships into Sabina Shoal, but the Philippines did not dare to cross the red line.

What China needs to do is to seize the opportunity of the Philippines to “provoke China” as much as possible, and then launch a fierce counterattack to finally achieve complete control of Sabina Shoal.

He Man – The Masters of the Universe – 1950’s Super Panavision 70

in 1974 I had this pimple on my right forearm that wouldn’t come to a head, nor would it go away. And it was tender. So after a couple of months I took it to my doctor who sent me to a dermatologist. It was an amelanotic melanoma, a melanoma with no pigment. Further examination found that it had metastacized and there was some in my lungs. IN 74, that was a death sentence. They gave me 6 months, max.

But I was 25 and otherwise healthy, so they did the hail mary pass, cut out the lobe of my lung with the most mets, and put me on a brutal chemotherapy regimen of a monthly injection of 2 grams of something they called DTIC. It’s so toxic that they usually spaced it out over five days a month. But as I said, I was young and healthy and they thought I could take it. So they gave me a five day course in one dose, every month for a year.

And once a month for a year, I’d fly back off the road to San Francisco, get poisoned, and then run for home to try and make it before the nausea began. I never did, but the nurses would give me a just-in-case garbage bag for when it hit. Then it was eight hours of agony, cramping and running at both ends. The pot pipe made it possible for me to keep breakfast down the next day as I tried to pull myself together in the face of the worst hangover on earth. And the next day, I’d be back on a plane, and back on tour. This went on for a year, but it was worth it. I beat terminal cancer, and the years since then have been the best years of my life

Shorpy

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A few years ago I had a guy in one of my college history classes. Over a few months I would catch him looking at me all the time until finally one day he asked me on a date. I told him I’d love to and we agreed to go to an Italian restaurant. I get there and go inside and he’s nowhere in sight. Our date was for 6. He didn’t show up until 6:45/7…I’m a very, very punctual person so this really got under my skin, but he apologized profusely and told me he had gotten out of baseball practice late and came as soon as he could. So, I just let it go and we started talking. He really bragged and stressed to me how he was in the minor leagues and was about to go pro. He was 28 at that time and I’m not too familiar with baseball, but I thought that was a little late in life to be going pro and he didn’t look like he had played a sport in years, but whatever I just listened. And after so long we started talking about what we wanted for our futures, kids, jobs, etc. He told me he wants to get married and play baseball, nothing else. I said no kids? And he said no, this planet is full of rapists and murderers and he refuses to add another rapist or murderer to the world. I just sat there and looked blankly. I said well I think the odds of you having a rapist and/or murderer as a child is pretty slim (trying to lighten the mood), and he cuts me off and asks if I’m retarded and if I hear what I’m saying. And this man went on a full 40 minute rant about the Roman Empire, mass murderers, Islam, rapists, and crazy conspiracy theories. He would go back and forth between this cool laid back guy to this crazy the-earth-is-going-to-burn extremist. So I excused myself to “go to the bathroom”, found the waitress and personally left her a tip, and then ran to my car and left.

When I saw him in class that next week he avoided me. Like, completely picked up his desk and moved it across the room like a child avoiding. Every time I’d answer a question he ALWAYS had a rebuttal, even if the answer is a clear cut answer, or he would elaborate on what I said because “I didn’t explain it right”. After so long he dropped the course and I never saw him again.

It’s called the Dance Girl Phenomenon

In Hong Kong – many Dance bars provided the cheapest girls for sex and many Sailors from US or UK or France paid a pittance for these girls

Yet these girls were not the main income for the Dance Bars

It was the Drinks!!!!!

Drinks were marked up as much as 450%

An Inferior Scotch that perhaps cost 8 Hong Kong Dollars for a Liter was sold at 3 HKD for an 80 ml glass

That’s 36 Hong Kong Dollars per Liter

The Girls ensured that the customers were focused on the Girls and drank low quality drinks by paying 450% marked up prices

The girls were the BAIT

They were there to attract the men to drink in those bars


In the same way – in a Movie Theatre, a Multiplex – the Real Profit comes from your FOOD & BEVERAGES

The Movie is the BAIT

A multiplex chain pays maybe ₹18.50 Crore for a movies All India rights

At ₹ 63.50/- a ticket to ₹127/- a ticket margin after paying Taxes and Distributor shares – would they really be taking huge profits?

At ₹127/- a ticket – they would need to sell 15 Lakh Tickets just to break even

Now the Food

9 grams of Corn Caramel Slurry produces 41 grams of Caramel Pop Corn

1 Kilo of Slurry costs ₹ 390/-

That gives you around 4.25 Kilos of Carmel Pop Corn Or 33 medium serves approximately

At ₹85/- per serve thats ₹ 2,805/-

You do the math

₹390 worth of slurry gives you ₹2,805/- worth of Caramel Pop Corn and even if you sell only 50% , that’s still almost 360% Profit!!!!!

Your Coke costs the Food outlet on a Weight Basis

It’s a Soda Fountain that mixes CO2 with Patented Coke Slurry /Syrup, Water at the appropriate pressure and gives you your Coke

It costs ₹8000/- for 500 Litres of Coca Cola or 675 Large Serves of Coke

That’s ₹11.85/- per Large serving (742 ml) of Coke

How much do you pay?

Around 120 bucks in a Multiplex!!!

44% goes to Coca Cola, the Machine license costs etc

That’s still ₹67/- for a Large Coke that the Theatre Chain pockets

Thus around 500% mark up

Now you know why they give you all those free refills of Coke in a 180 ml container? It costs them a paltry ₹3/- every time you refill while you pay ₹200–300 for food

Once inside the Theatre, you can’t help but eat food during the interval

You will go to the restrooms and on the way back see the crowd at the food outlet

The Food makes up and ensures Multiplex Chains can break even and make a profit even by paying a high cost

Its why they sell Corporate Bookings

500 Tickets for the first 5 shows – 50% tickets for each screen and show for FREE to advertisers as a compliment

The Producers pay for this and the Multiplex earns heavily on the food sold

Producers declare how full the theatres are and everyone wins


Single Chains can’t survive on such economies of scale

Soda fountains would not be profitable to them as their volumes aren’t that high

So their main source of profit is the TICKET and the Food is a supplementary item

So Popcorn is ₹ 30/- instead of ₹85/- and Coke sells by 200 ml bottle with the Food outlet merely getting the retailer margin of ₹ 4.60/- per bottle when he sells for ₹25/- to the customer

However they pay only ₹7–8 Lakh for a movie rights and their margin per ticket is much higher

So they survive on ticket sales and make profits on tickets

Plus their LAND on which they have been built is valuable every day against the rent of Multiplexes

Thus Most single screens borrow heavily and are mortgaged until the day they sell to a developer who demolishes the theatre and builds a Hotel Or Mall Or Complex

Western Couple Expose The SHOCKING TRUTH About CHINA After Their First Visit

Absolutely! Many years ago, one of my brothers was accidentally killed. He was single and enjoying life, had a girlfriend. For years, my Mom lamented that she wished he would have had at least one child before he died so she would still have a part of him here.

Fast forward to a few years ago. We all did an Ancestry DNA test to see if we could find any relatives from my maternal grandmother’s side. She was a refugee from Germany, came to the US with an American family for safety during Hitler’s reign of terror. She never reconnected with any of her family again. A cousin and I had gone to Germany to research – the village that she grew up in had been completely annihilated during the war.

We met with the Red Cross there, and many other officials. Nothing could be found as to what had happened to them. We know they existed, she had brought many pictures of her with her family from the time she was a baby, up to her teen years, holiday gatherings, birthdays, etc. So we were hoping to find someone, anyone that remained of her family.

A few months went by and my Mom got a notification that a close match had been found, a child or grandchild, and I got one that said niece or cousin. We were certain this was a mistake because we could account for every single person in our family.

To make a long story shorter, my brother’s girlfriend moved back to the east coast after he died. None of us thought nothing of it. She was grieving and wanted to be close to her Mom. But apparently, after a couple of months, she found that she was pregnant. (This was the very early 1980’s, OTC pregnancy tests were not a thing at that time.)

By the time pregnancy was confirmed at three months (she apparently thought missed cycles were due to stress), she had lost all contact with our family on the west coast. This was also before cell phones. Also, she has been seeing another guy while she and my brother were dating. Anyway, we were able to get in touch with this mystery relative via Ancestry. When we met in person, I almost fainted – she was a female replica of my long dead brother, and she had two kids of her own, with the youngest looking like my brother’s twin. My Mom got her wish after all, a child of the child she lost. But we never did find any of my Grandma’s family.

Kill Bill – Gogo Scenes

My then boyfriend proposed to me after we lived together a couple months. We discussed where we would live, how we would balance work and the household, the financial arrangements, the time schedule, if we wanted kids, how many kids, the way to raise and educate our kids, how we would balance his/my parents, his/my wants and no’s in the marriage… literally everything. Then we said yes to each other.

I asked for my mom’s opinion.

She looked at me in the eyes and said:

‘Are you sure you can raise your kids ALL by yourself, without ANY help?’

I explained that my future husband and I would share all the responsibilities, and we had already discussed every detail we could think of.

‘No.’ She said, ‘I’m asking YOU.’

‘Are you sure YOU can raise your kids ALL by yourself, without ANY help?’

It took me two months to think it over.

I checked my bank balance and assets. I made a budget about how much it would cost to raise a child, and predicted my future cash flow based on my current income and market value. I adjusted for my health insurance and life insurance. I checked the law about maternity leave. I consulted my friends who were single working mothers about what they struggled against and how they solved (or didn’t solve) problems. I thought over the resources I had and the difficulties I would face. I found out that I could not withdraw all the risks. And without help, it would be such a tough mission to raise a child. I also found out if I tried really hard, I mean, really really hard, it would NOT be a ‘mission impossible’ either. As long as I didn’t die too early, or lose all my skills by some accident, or… I mean, if my luck was better than the worst, and with my best effort, I would be able to make it.

I answered to my mom yes.

She said, ‘Now you are ready to get married.’

13 years passed by. I’m still in marriage with this man. My daughter is 11 yo.
Like all married couples, my husband and I have experienced fights, crises as well as boredoms. We learned to negotiate and compromise. We tried hard to find some balance. When passion faded with the time, we learned to find satisfactions and happiness from a stable day by day life.

I didn’t have to raise my daughter all by myself. My husband shared half of the mission. My parents and his parents helped a lot. Still being aware that ‘I would be able to do it all by myself’, I always feel being in marriage with this man is of my free will. And it also makes me able to fully respect and accept the fact that he is free to stay or leave this marriage too.

Despite the fights, crisis and boredoms, we still chose to keep our marriage. We don’t have to, but we choose to. We never feel the pressure or desperation to imprison each other or ourselves in the marriage. That’s one of the reasons marriage still feels good after 13 years, I guess.

And having seriously considered how to take full responsibility to raise our child, I feel so grateful that he lends me his shoulders and hands, holds up ‘half the sky’ of our family. I never take his efforts and contributions for granted.

People say marriage is based on trust. My mom says don’t rely on trust. She teaches me not only to hope for the best, but to prepare for the worst.

Feelings change. Humans change. Rather than asking ‘Is he/she trustworthy?’, my mom taught me that nobody owes me trust. And once make a decision, take full responsibility.

7 HOURS AGO: China Finds Something Strange on the Moon and Astonishes Scientists!

3 years ago, my neighbor died in bike accident. His son was of 2 years at the time, so I assume his wife to be in her mid or late 20’s.

In South India, we have a custom of visiting each other’s home in festivals to greet and give kumkum. After a year of the guy’s death his mom (mother in law of the widow) came to my home for one such occasion and my conversation with her went like this.

Me: Aunty, how is akka? (Sister in Kannada)

Aunty: She is getting better putta. (Putta – Kannada word to address younger people with love)

Me: Aunty, I know that this is normally not allowed, but we don’t mind her coming along with you during festivals to greet and take kumkum.

(Normaly widows are not allowed to take kumkum after marriage according to the followed tradition)

Aunty who was very happy to hear this went on to explain,

Aunty: I only wish society was more welcoming like your family, putta. At home, I am trying as much as possible not to make her feel like widow. I insist her to light the deepak in the morning and night in house and do Pooja, I include her in every ritual, we are doing everything we can. In fact we are even insisting her for a second marriage, she is young, we cannot replace what she lost from our care. If my daughter lost her husband at such young age, I would be thinking about a better life for her again, right? She is a nice person, she is still traumatized because of what happened. We are trying to do everything we can, but we cannot expect the same acceptance from everyone, so she is still not confident to come out and gather in social gatherings. Your invitation made me happy, once she makes up her mind to visit people, I will bring her to your home. She might take little more time to gain that confidence.

What I understood by this situation is people are changing, at least many are changing, but there is still a long way to go.

My request is, when you come across such people (widows) all you have to do is talk to them normally as you always would, that itself is a big thing for them.

It’s their life, let them live it again, they shouldn’t lose their identity just because they lost their husband.

Humid Night Routine of Living Alone in Japan

People all over the world are living their lives. This is a glimpse into the life of a chick in Japan. I think that food is sexy, but being lonely is awful.

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That a job must get done no matter what. That means if it is hotter than hades outside, or if it is cold, or if it is raining, or if there is a sandstorm, you must still go to work.

A rather humorous example is from my life as an airman, while deployed to Camp Sather, Baghdad Airport. The airport had a mix of Iraqi civilian air traffic controllers and U.S. Air Force air traffic controllers. Although our air traffic controllers were armed with an M9 pistol while on duty, these guys weren’t really trained for shootouts and how to conduct security. They were, understandably, worried about their Iraqi counterparts and if one of them should smuggle in a weapon or worse into the air traffic control tower. Consequently, an airman was assigned as security for our personnel inside the tower, 24/7, in the event of an attempted insider attack.

In reality, this air conditioned posting was posh and we loved being there. There was a desk with a computer and internet connection, movies that could be watched on the computer, and even a DSN line to call back to the United States as much as you wanted. Even the Iraqi controllers were quite pleasant to be around and they all spoke at least some English, per their job assignment.

Also, since the posting was outside of the camp’s defense perimeter, you would have food from the cafeteria delivered to you. No waiting in line!

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main qimg 26ed06cb43ff1428ef1a10e6dd10bf43

(Baghdad Tower, photo by author.)

The only downside:

The elevator in the control tower often broke. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to go to work. That meant climbing up 14 floors with your vest, helmet, NVG’s, rifle, pistol, and spare ammunition. What a bitch! Nothing could make you go from loving how lucky you were to draw this assignment, to hating it in mere seconds. When you made it to the top, the person you would be relieving would always have a bottle of cold water waiting on you. By that time you were huffing, puffing and drenched in sweat. Tough life in the Air Force.

Nebula in the Deep

Submitted into Contest #8 in response to: Write a story about an adventure in space. … view prompt
John Popovich

Her muscles seemed to tense with every chime of the warning alerts; proximity, fire, and power failure alarms each ringing in their own distinct tone and pattern. As the captain called out for a report on every station the voices went from stern and confident, to shouting and chaotic.

Venturing into the cerulean and fuchsia mixed cloud, the crew of the ISS Condor had no idea what to expect. The observation windows were useless as the clouds covered the ship like thick cream. The current of plasma that comprised the beautiful anomaly clung to every nook and cranny of the ship’s fuselage, wreaking havoc for the ship’s systems analyst.

Lieutenant Dawson exhaled sharply, shaking her hand at the station monitor. “I’m getting readings all over the ship, everything from hull breaches, power surges, and a fire on C-deck. I’m shutting down automated countermeasures… try to keep her from fixing problems that aren’t there.”

“Do something about those alarms while you’re at it. Do we have anything on perimeter sensors, short range? Long range? Anything from our remote probe?”

The chief turned in his chair facing the captian, his forehead wrinkled, and cracking in his voice. “Nothing consistent. I am getting intermittent contact from the probe. Strange readings, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The lighting on the control deck flickered as power surges were felt throughout the ship. Alarms blaring, lights flashing and now the ship was rumbling. Dawson gripped the arms of her chair, her knuckles turning white as her fingertips went numb. The pounding of her pulse in her neck caught her off guard, escalating with every breathe. Nothing made sense, she heard his order to shut off the alarms, but it didn’t register. As if he was speaking a different language.

Glancing from her station monitor to the captain, she saw his jaw tense, eyes squinting, focusing on the forward observation windows. If there was any fear in him at all, he didn’t show it. They were flying blind, but he kept them steadily on course. She had to trust him.

Rattling with increasing intensity, the ship groaned in pain as the bulkheads shed their safety panels. Like the nebula didn’t want them there and fought with constant resistance. What secret was it trying to keep?

Suddenly the ship stopped shaking, the colorful sludge sliding off the forward windows. The captian stood from his command chair, balancing himself on the overhead monitors as he leaned forward to look at the seemingly empty eye of the nebula.

“Lieutenant, I want a damage report as soon as you can. See if you can purge all of our external ports, get this crap off of my ship… And please shut off the alerts!”

Staring at her screen, trying to catch her breath, she unwrapped her hands from the arms of her seat. Flexing her fingers, she disabled the system alerts. As a loud hissing filled the command bridge from the purge, the systems came back online, one by one. Turning in her chair to report the ship’s clean bill of health, she paused, interrupted by deafening silence. Seeing her wide-eyed crew mates looking out of the observation windows, she stood moving from her station toward the center of the bridge trying to catch a glimpse of what had captivated the crew.

The inner wall of the nebula was at a distance, but there was something more. Maneuvering around the captain’s command station more objects came into view, strange t-shaped bodies, made of metal… had to be. Another long cylindrical object that seemed to be rounded on one end with what looked a short thick tower protruding from the side. There were other jagged fragments, and what looked like a mist of dark and light particles. Everything was motionless, floating in the peaceful center of a chaotic cage.

“There’s the probe!” The chief pointed at the window before scurrying to his station.

The captain’s head whipped around. “Can you make contact?”

“Yes, but I’m getting a lot of strange readings Sir. The objects don’t match any vessels on record. The nebula consists of some sort of plasma, it’s chemical make-up is like nothing I’ve seen.” The chief’s voice was high, and he stuttered as he read the data as quickly as he could. “There are trace amounts um, of-of ice, wait, yes crystalized H2O, and, and… this can’t be right.”

“What is it?”

“Carbon, lignin, hemicelluloses… this… Captain it’s particles of wood!”

“That’s impossible!”

“It doesn’t make sense but that’s what it says… Sir there’s something else. There seems to be radiation emanating from one of the objects.”

“Dangerous?”

“No sir, but curious. This isn’t adding up.”

“Chief, keep searching the database, figure out what these things are. Helmsman, bring the ship about, I want you to pull us parallel to the source of that radiation. Dawson, meet me in airlock three and suit up.”

She looked at the captain nodding, acknowledging the order. Her head spinning with the various scenarios that a space walk could present. She’d done this a dozen times before, always making it back in one piece. She couldn’t help but think that one of them wasn’t going to be as lucky this time.

Lieutenant Dawson and the captain checked each other’s suits, making sure that every seal was fastened, oxygen connected, and equipment secured. The captain turned to place the helmet on her suit, she gently grabbed a hold of his gloved hands.

Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, she exhaled with a light tilting of her head, signaling the captain she was ready. The helmet came down, twisted and clicked, activating the release of oxygen to the suit. The rush of air, and distinct smell of disinfected fabric and plastic switched on her focus. The long hours of training took over. Assisting the captain with his helmet, they approached the outer airlock door.

Looking through the porthole, the long cylindrical object slowly moved closer to the ship. There was something recognizable on the short tower of the object, it looked like an airlock, but strange. No window, docking clamps, nothing. There seemed to be a ring suspended from what looked like a hatch by three thick metal spokes. Her focus broke as the chime from the pressure indicator buzzed and the light flashed from red to green. It was time.

The captain pressed the release panel slowly opening the airlock. After securing their tether lines to the hull of the ship, the captain counted down from three. They gently pushed off the Condor and floated toward the object. The droning of the winch echoed through her suit as it let out the slack of the tether, drifting closer and closer to the object. Gripping the lifeline to her side, taking long controlled breaths, she collided with the hull of the object. The captain landed first, already on his way to the hatch. The magnetic boots seemed effective as she watched him walking on the smooth surface of the object. Activating her boots, followed.

Reaching the hatch at the top of the tower and gripping the wheel, the captain spun it counterclockwise. Dawson looked at the data pad on her wrist, monitoring the object, anticipating what lay beyond the hatch. The door opened with ease and they removed the winch systems from their suits, attaching them to the hull of the object. The captain went in first, climbing past what looked like a ladder. The airlock seemed rudimentary, there was a manual release on the interior, no electronics, no inner airlock, just a ladder that led down to what looked like a command station.

Walking through the dark corridors of the object, they could only see what was illuminated by the lights on their helmets, taking notice of what looked like words written on the bulkhead. The metal grate beneath their feet also had a recognizable design. Everything looked so familiar.

“Captain, do you copy?” The coms link fizzled as the chief’s voice crackled through.

“Yes Chief, we’re inside the object heading toward the source of the radiation spike.”

“Uh… you’re not going to believe this, but I’ve identified at least three of the objects inside the nebula.”

“Well…”

“Two of them are 19th century aircraft from Earth.”

The captain stopped and turned toward Dawson, his eyebrows furrowed. She stared back at him, blinking, trying to awaken from what seemed like a dream. “What’s the third object?”

“You’re inside of it… it appears to be a 21st century Naval Submarine. Virginia Class.”

“We need to leave, these were nuclear powered, who knows what state of decay the reactor could be in. These things weren’t built for space.”

Just then, the submarine rumbled and shook, the coms link fizzling as the chief’s voice frantically warned them of something they couldn’t quite discern. “… anomaly …energy weapons …attack…”

“Chief, come in! What’s happening out there? Chief!” The captains voice had a tone of desperation, something she’d never heard before.

The submarine rocked and jolted violently, they had left their winches tethered between the submarine and the Condor. Rushing back down the corridor to the ladder they climbed as fast as they could. The captain reached the hatch first, flying through the opening, reaching for Dawson’s hand.

Reaching for him she was blinded as a flash of blue light struck him in the chest, knocking him off the submarine. The coms link roared in her ear as the chief screamed for the captain to reply to his call for orders.

Her free hand hung lifeless as if still waiting for the captain to grab it. The other hand gripped the rung of the ladder, fingertips going numb again, the pulse in her neck intensifying as it did before, the piercing plea of the Chief in her ear.

The captain wasn’t there to snap her out if it this time. Closing her eyelids tight and taking a deep breath, she could see the captain staring out of a window of uncertainty. Calm. Focused. The way she wanted to remember him.

Exhaling slowly, and gripping the ladder with both hands, she cautiously pulled herself halfway through the open hatch. The Condor was tethered to the lifeless submarine suddenly taking fire, unable to maneuver and defend herself.

The attacker was dark, shaped like an elongated pyramid, firing its weapons erratically. Flashing blue lights surrounded the Condor as the energy shields deflected much of the fire. The remaining blasts splashed into the colorful milky walls of the nebula, while others hit the objects floating in the eye, disintegrating them into balls of blue fire. The shockwaves smashed into the sub, yanking the leash of the Condor.

While Dawson observed the situation, formulating a plan, she noticed a red orb in front of the Condor. It whirled chaotically as red particles emanated from its center. While slowly growing bigger and bigger, a black center of the orb started to open.

“Captain! What are your orders? What do we do, we’re under attack!”

“The captains dead… I’m in command.” Dawson let out a deep breath.

“Lieutenant what do we do?”

“How are the energy shields holding up?”

“We’re at 70% capacity. Our weapons were knocked offline before I could activate the shields. Who are they? Why are they firing at us?”

“We’re going to be fine. They don’t seem to be locking on to anything, the nebula must have temporarily disabled their tracking system.” Her reassurance fell on deaf ears.

“No, no! We gotta get out of here!”

“Listen to me! Don’t move the ship, you’re tethered to the sub, you’ll rip us apart. We’re going to be fine for now if you don’t move. What’s happening in front of our ship?”

“Yeah… yeah it popped up right before the firing started. It seems to be a displacement field of some sort… I can’t… I don’t know.”

“Chief. Listen to the sound of my voice, calm down. Displacement of what?”

“Ok, ok. If I’m reading this right, it appears to be a wormhole.”

“Good… good. We don’t have much time before they figure out how to get their targeting systems online. I’m going to go back into the sub.”

“No! You need to get over here now, we need to leave.”

“Chief, I’m going back into the sub. I’m going to place a charge on the reactor core. We’re going to fly through the wormhole, the explosion will collapse the displacement field behind us.”

“Why don’t we go through the nebula?”

“We can’t risk it. I’m making a lot of assumptions about this attacker right now. Chief, do you understand my orders?”

“Yeah… yeah I got it.”

Thrusting down the ladder, and disengaging her magnetic boots, she bounced off of the metal grid floor. Stabilizing herself she flew through the corridors of the submarine, grabbing and pulling at anything the walls could offer. Following the tracker on her data pad she found the reactor compartment.

Engaging the magnetic boots, planting her feet firmly to the floor, and gripping the wheel of the hatch door, she jerked it to the right finding nothing but hard resistance. Frantically looking about, she found a piece of pipe attached to the bulkhead. Banging on the steel with her hands it wouldn’t break free no matter how hard she tried. The sub rattled and shook again.

Pulling the plasma torch from her equipment pouch and flicking the switch igniting the brilliant white flame, she cut through the top and bottom of the pipe, releasing it. Turning off the torch she let it float away, inserting the pipe between the spokes and placing one foot on the bulkhead next to the door. Pulling the bar with everything she had, groaning in pain as every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire from the strain, the wheel finally gave way.

The structure began to rumble more frequently, the attacker must have fixed their targeting systems. Time was running out.

The compartment filled with blobs of coolant escaping the reactors cooling system. It was nearing critical mass. She placed the explosive charge on the side of the reactor’s large cylindrical wall, setting the timer for ten minutes. Gripping the pipe that was used to open the door, she swung it at the cooling pipes, cracking them open, releasing more of the gelatinous substance into the room, hoping to accelerate the meltdown.

Before she could make it through the opening of the compartment, a large explosion of blue light ripped through the hull of the sub. The blast throwing her against the bulkhead. Looking through the hole was disorienting as the sub and tethered Condor were now spinning together in the eye of the nebula. Each vessel pulling and fighting with one another’s momentum.

Working her way to the edge of the hole she timed her leap. Waiting for the sub to spin just right, looking for the tether lines, she jumped from the sub grasping for a line. Eight minutes left. She could do this.

Staying on course, the lines whipped and crossed one another, she had to be careful not get tangled herself. Blue flashes of energy flew past her. Grabbing one of the lines and pulling herself toward the ship, the second line thrashed across the visor of her helmet, cracking it. Oxygen hissed through the crack, making it impossible to focus on the airlock.

Moving closer to the ship, she activated the remote airlock sequence. The door opened and with a swift pull on the line she spun faster toward the opening. Activating the magnetic boots and landing on the hull, she made quick work of detaching the tether lines from outside of the airlock.

“Chief, I’m on board the Condor closing the airlock now. Fire the thrusters and push us through the wormhole. I’m on my way to the bridge.”

Running as fast as her legs would take her, adrenaline pumped through her veins. Slamming into the captains station she fastened her restraints.

“We have two minutes! Go, go, go!”

The helmsman forced the throttle further forward, pushing the ship’s engines to their breaking point, thrusting them into the blackness of the wormhole. Dawson watched the rear viewscreen, the long dark ship was in pursuit, firing its weapons. The screen went bright white leaving only a silhouette of their attacker… the reactor had gone critical. The wormhole collapsed behind them, crushing the rear half of the dark ship. Secondary explosions radiated from all over busting the attacker into pieces.

Relief of their escape was short lived as a loud tapping rattled the front observation windows. More ice crystals. Where was this wormhole taking them?

The crystals turned to a clear liquid, the alarms blaring and systems going offline. Lunging forward in their seats the ship had moved from full speed ahead to a lurch into the translucent liquid.

“Lieutenant, the engines are dead. Proximity sensors indicate that we’re in a large body of water, but I can’t be sure. Our sensors weren’t built for anything like this.”

“The ship is airtight, we can survive water, getting out of here is another problem. Can we launch a probe to the surface, see where we are?”

“It’ll take some time to retrofit it for these conditions, but I think we can do it.”

Waiting for the probe gave her time to process everything that had happened. Their mission was a success, explore the nebula. Their cost was the life of the captain, and a journey through a wormhole to who-knows-where.

Standing behind the chief, eyes glued to his monitor, the crew’s eyes widened in disbelief as the data rolled in. The atmosphere above the water was oxygen rich, breathable. There were land masses nearby… cross referencing database… They were on Earth, 800 kilometers from the coast of Florida.

“What the… are we in the Bermuda Triangle?”

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Dawson wracked her brain for an appropriate response. Nothing had prepared her for this.

Marinated Tennessee Hickory Flank Steak

 

Marinated Flank Steak I LisaGCooks.com
Marinated Flank Steak I LisaGCooks.com

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
  • 1/2 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Hickory Mesquite Grilling Sauce
  • 1/4 cup red wine

Instructions

  1. Cut flank steak in half lengthwise; cut each half into thirds. Place in a heavy-duty zip lock plastic bag.
  2. Combine Jack Daniels’ Grilling Sauce with red wine; pour mixture over steak.
  3. Seal bag and turn several times to coat steak.
  4. Marinate for 4 to 24 hours in refrigerator, turning several times.
  5. Discard marinade.
  6. Grill steak over medium heat to desired doneness, turning and brushing with additional Jack Daniels’ Tennessee Hickory Mesquite Grilling Sauce.

Attribution

Posted by FootsieBear at Recipe Goldmine April 28, 2001.

Source: Jack Daniels’ Grilling Sauces package

It was a ‘blind date’ arranged by my mom and his mom. Two moms happened to both have an I-love-matchmaking retired coworker. Two coworkers happened to meet in a mahjong gathering. So.

At a square of a shopping mall, I waited and waited, constantly checked my phone, called him. No answer. No idea why I waited for couple hours like an idiot. Probably because I had nothing else to do other than watching people passing by, (which also explains why I agreed such an arrangement in the first place).

I saw a man in shorts who tried to speak to every woman sitting at the square, one by one.

I called him again.

No answer.

The man in shorts came to me.

‘Are you Nell Zhang?’

Turned out he lost his phone.

I felt grateful he still tried hard to find me.

We did self introduction.

He asked me where I worked, and told me his company was the maker of the famous ‘Sofy Napkin’. I jokingly asked if I could get a discount for pads from him. He nodded,

‘Yes, 15% off, if you marry me. Moreover, we can buy Mamy-Poko diaper (it’s another brand from his company) with half price for our kids.’

I laughed. He didn’t, but asked me what’s so funny.

I excused myself and couldn’t find anything else to say.

Neither did he.

Then we watched people passing by.

Then we watched each other passing by.

Over.

When Women Treat Men Like KINGS #10

My father has a story he told me in the 1990s, it was actually more about Japan and Korea than China.

It’s obviously translated through my memories into English.

An American delegation of businessmen go and visit Japan/Korea/China (the place changes depending on when my dad tells the story). They visit a car factory and are panicked OMG they can make cars here! I didn’t think they’d be able to…

They go home and at the next company meeting bring this up with their superiors. They are ignored and dismissed anyway it’s not going to affect our next quarterly profits so this threat is ignored and deemed insignificant.

This process is repeated several more times….

Until there’s another meeting say bud why are our quarterly profits on a downward trend? But by then it’s too late those car makers have eaten your lunch and dinner.

Big Blast At U.S. Arms Factory; One Missing, Two Injured As Fire Engulfs Missile Production Centre

WTF?  Very interesting.

DO NOT GO TO VEGAS.

I’m so shocked at what an incredible rip off Vegas has become. I don’t gamble in the casino but the greed of these corporations has just gone crazy.

For example, when I came here 10 years ago the roulette had 36 numbers plus the green 0. If you hit your number you would receive 35/1 odds as you had a 1 in 37 chance.

Last year in 2023 when I came here I was shocked to see an additional 00 on the roulette wheels making your odds 1 in 38 to still receive a 35/1 pay out.

So I’m back here again in June 2024 and yes you guessed it, there are now magically 3 x 0’s on the roulette wheel! 0, 00 and now 000!

They know people don’t understand the enormous disadvantage this gives the punters.

On top of this I’m paying $30.00 for a coffee and a sandwich and when I received my hotel bill they hit me with a $52.00 a day resort fee that I was never told about when I checked in but it is apparently in the small print!

I went to an ATM in the casino and took out $200.00 It charged me 7.5%, yes $15.00! And I’ll be charged more money on top from my UK bank charges.

The shows are eye wateringly expensive along with the drinks. I really think they are making a massive mistake in their business structure. People are disgusted. EVERYONE is talking about it, from the people on holiday to the taxi drivers. I’m fortunately financially well off but it’s not the point. No one likes feeling ripped off, not even if it’s for $20.00. They are making a huge mistake. No one is coming back to Vegas in a hurry.

When I was around 11, our next door neighbors accused my then 5 year-old brother of intentionally breaking some large planters – really large ones – on their front porch. The wife swore she saw him do it around 5:00am. A ridiculous claim on so many levels. Now they didn’t like my brother, he was always so much bigger and taller than other kids his age and they didn’t like him to play with their same-age son. Which was fine, as he didn’t. They apparently felt their smaller child would get hurt by my gentle giant of a brother. (Now 6′4″ btw). Now my brother adamantly denied that he had done anything remotely like what they said and he was understandably very upset at being accused. He may have been a bit tall for his age, but he was still just a little kid. Later that day, the police came by and warned us that some no-gooders, possibly teenagers if I recall, had been caught slashing tires and vandalizing property in our neighborhood. And that we should continue to be on the lookout for their cohorts. My father let the neighbor know that, as I believe the police did as well but the neighbors still insisted that it had been my brother. We didn’t talk to them after that and steered clear as much as we could. A few years later, they came and took the neighbor wife away in a straight-jacket, while she was screaming hysterically and incoherently. Apparently, she had some mental illness problems. BUT even after that, the father never apologized. Nor did he treat my brother, me or my family politely or properly. Even today, so many years later, I still get a bad taste in my mouth when I remember them.

This is a list of US mission capable aircraft. The US needs to fix US aircraft first.

main qimg 8c3265ab1709548f4f6c9cb31419434d
main qimg 8c3265ab1709548f4f6c9cb31419434d

Heartbreak Ridge Your Ass is Mine

The rcep numbers are big. 30 percent of the world population, 30 percent of world trade, 30 percent of global gdp represented.

The common glue here is China, which is the biggest trading partner for the rest and of course, the largest economy. I am surprised Korea and Japan jumped on board, given their protectionist stance on agriculture and several other categories. India walking away was no surprise.

Overall, I’m encouraged by the give and take. This can serve as a good template for belt and road countries in the coming decade.

The headturning numbers will come from asean as infrastructure led growth boost trade numbers.

The success of the rcep should prove to the world there is no crisis in the SCS beyond American manufactured drama. All the claimant states and trade routes are represented by rcep.

My friend’s trash boyfriend. She’s pregnant with his second kid. He refuses to watch their son and when he does complains that he’s too tired. Says the new baby is not his “problem” until it is born. Won’t take her to doctor appointments. Tried to make her walk five hours home from work at six months pregnant. Abuses her daughter from a previous relationship.

His mother thinks his behavior is fine and defends him. He’s a sex addict, woman beater, child beater, and an accused rapist. But anything bad he says or does is his girlfriend’s fault and not his.

My son’s biological father. Cared so little he didn’t show for the original custody hearing. Fought cour ton habing to pay more than 25 a month child support (state bare minimum) but agreed to 28. Would never watch our son when I worked because he was busy at the library playing online games with his other girlfriend and wouldn’t help pay for sitter. When he did rarely watch my son, wouldn’t change him or clean up messes. Yelled at him for looking at him when he was eating. Smacked our crying son on the butt as hard as he could in the mall. Threw and broke things in front of our son and hit me in front of him.

My brother’s ex. Drove her jeep high and flipped it with my nephew in the car. He survived with no injuries. She’s finally in jail for it.

My brother’s wife who left him for a guy in Florida she ran away to and got pregnant from. Has zero custody of her own three kids. Trying to pin new baby on my brother. Brother is hispanic. Baby’s dad/her boyffiend is african American. Not hard to do the math. Did drugs in front of my nephew and didnt take care of him. Laughed at him when he had nightmares or wanted time with her or my brother. Bought designer bags and clothes but wouldn’t buy him walmart t shirts.

These are the worst acts of parenting I have ever seen, and I’m adopted because my biological mom didnt take care of us (she’s mentally handicapped, dodnt know any better).

Russians advanced in New York, Iran’s destroyer sinks, Ukr to highjack Rus strategic bomber.

Heating up craziness.

I was dating a woman, it was way too early for love, we had only been seeing each other for 6 weeks, but things were going well. Christmas was coming up, and it’s really awkward buying a gift for someone that you have no commitment to.

She was telling me a story about going to the mall, and seeing these red shoes, with a different shade of red, bow , in the window. She tried them on, and they fit like a glove, but she decided to spend the money on her kids, and not herself, so she left them.

When I left, I checked the size of her shoes by the door, and the next day I drove to the mall, and there were the red shoes, with a red bow, sitting in the window.

It’s risky putting this much thought into a gift for someone, that you have known less than 2 months. Do you look like a stalker, or a romantic?

I took the risk, and bought the shoes.

Two days later, she called me, and said that she was going to be spending Christmas with her ex and the kids, in another province, and that it wouldn’t be fair to me, to keep dating. She was honest about everything, and we parted on good terms. Except I now had to return the shoes, during the holiday rush.

I have done much more extreme things for my wife, but they weren’t crazy, because I was committed to my wife.

This was crazy, because I risked driving her off, by looking like a stalker, and it was a lot of effort, for someone, you have just started dating.

The Most Insane Ex-Girlfriend I’ve Seen..

Sigh.

Thanks for the request.

This is another example of asymmetrical warfare that the U.S. sucks at.

Its a game of “whac-a-mole” that the Houthis are playing that is impossible for the U.S. to keep up. The Houthis simply hide and launch their missiles at different places and time that is impossible to anticipate and take out. And by launching more than enough, its impossible to take out all.

The battleground at the South China Sea is different.

These involve large warships that both sides can see a long time coming.

However, China has the advantage. It has shown it can eliminate the element of surprise by being able to detect submarines in the South China Sea with aircrafts and satellites equipped with high-resolution radar. They have surveillance to ensure nothing is sneaked in – inclduing sub detectors.

There is also the advantage of proximity. With its militarized location at the SCS, it takes less time to mobilize that in coordination with its command of the arsenals of hypersonic missiles to provide cover, there will be ample time to take out any incoming warships.

When I was working for a chain store I was told they hired somebody and they put him on with a manager who was a little difficult to deal with if you didn’t know how to take her. (She spoke to everybody as if she was dealing with four or five year olds. I once asked somebody if she had been a kindergarten teacher and they said no, it’s just the way she is.) Anyway he worked one shift with her and called the next day and said he had had enough and quit.)

The most interesting case of short-term employment happened at Walmart. They hired this kid to work in my department (food) and after punching in he would come out to the floor and then he would disappear. No one was able to figure out where he went. They tried paging him and no answer. People looked around the store and couldn’t finding his hiding spot. I don’t think he left and went home because the cameras would have picked him up if he did that. He only reappeared when it was time to punch out. It didn’t take long before the manager decided he could dispense with his services.

This cat, after a car crash and desperately struggling on the roadside, finally she was rescued.

Rasta man

Many people are ignorant bigots.

The Chinese know exactly what kind of government they have. It’s not a dictatorship. It’s a uniquely Chinese form of democracy that actually works in the best interest of the Chinese.

Nobody is suggesting that Chinese democracy would work for other countries. It’s entirely up to other countries to decide how they want to be governed.

It is enough that the Chinese like their system. The following shows you how they think, especially in comparison to the Americans and British…

According to 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗮’𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘅 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰, 79% of Chinese believe their nation is democratic while only 57% of Americans and 55% of British do.

Another example, according to the 𝗘𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰, 85% of Chinese trust their government while only 40% of Americans and 30% of British do.

Another example, according to the 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯, 76% of Chinese trust their politicians while only 29% of Americans and 20% of British do.

Another example, according to 𝗜𝗽𝘀𝗼𝘀’ 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯, 91% of Chinese are happy with their life while only 76% of Americans and 70% of British are.

Another example, according to 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬, 95.5% of Chinese are satisfied with their government.

Another example, according to 𝗜𝗽𝘀𝗼𝘀’ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵, 95% of Chinese believe their country is on the right track and moving in the right direction while only 41% of Americans and 23% of British do.

Another example, according to 𝗮 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 𝗨𝗖 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆, 80% of Chinese are happy and enjoy financial security.

I’ve gone back 5 years but I could go further back if you like.

Why Russia Loves Cats

French Bread Taco Pizza

Take your favorite taco ingredients, and layer them up on French bread. So easy and tasty, too!

67881t1
67881t1

Prep: 20 min | Total: 30 min | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French bread
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix (from 1 ounce package)
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 (16 ounce) can Old El Paso™ refried beans
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 1 cup shredded lettuce
  • 1 tomato, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line large cookie sheet with foil.
  2. Cut bread in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise. Place on cookie sheet, cut sides up.
  3. Place in oven to lightly toast, about 5 minutes.
  4. In 6 inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat until brown, stirring frequently; drain.
  5. Add taco seasoning mix and water; cook until thickened.
  6. Spread refried beans over toasted bread.
  7. Top with beef mixture, bell pepper, onion and cheese.
  8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  9. Top with lettuce and tomato.

Notes

For a quick and easy dinner, cook the ground beef mixture ahead, and refrigerate. Then all you have to do at serving time is top the French bread, and bake.

"There is a saying I learned in Spanish, and the English translation is: 'People confuse being good with being a fool.'

What that means with respect to Russia is the West has interpreted Russia's patience and tolerance up to this point with outrageous actions (on the part of the West) as a sign of weakness (on the part of Russia).

That's a potentially fatal mistake.

Both President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov, and Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov have said the same thing this week.

It is not just a coincidence that they've made those statements—it's a coordinated message that they're sending to the rest of the world that they’re not going to take it anymore.

The United States and the West are now on notice that any further attacks inside Russia are going to be met with a response.

Some of the options Russia has, and I don't know if they're going to pursue these, but just let me lay out a couple of options they have:

They could supply more advanced missiles and rockets to insurgent groups fighting ISIS and U.S.-backed forces in Syria and could strike U.S. military bases or the bases of those entities in the Kurdish region that the United States is supporting.

They could also help the Houthis not only with improved weaponry that could actually take out a U.S. ship, but also provide intelligence that could be used, doing the same thing for the Houthis that the United States is doing for Ukraine.

Now, Russia recognizes that it’s moving steadfastly forward in its campaign to demilitarize Ukraine—denazify Ukraine—and they recognize that in the process, they’re weakening NATO.

Yet, what does NATO do in response? They’ve issued statements this week about preparing for their ground troops to fight Russia on the ground.

They're crazy.

This is madness—absolute insanity being talked about by people that you think would have more sense, but they obviously don't.

I'll put it very clearly: the United States and NATO, if they decide to enter a ground war with Russia, will lose badly.

It may end up with the complete destruction of Europe.

Europeans need to sit down and count the cost—is it worth it?

Because Russia's not seeking to conquer Europe; Russia's seeking to have its national territory respected and not have to face, every year as has been the case for the last 16 years, NATO and the United States conducting military exercises on the borders of Russia.

When you're sitting there as a Russian looking at it, you see these as hostile and intended to come after you.

Given Russia’s history, where they’ve been invaded from the West four times over the last 212 years, they're not sitting back ignoring that—they’re taking it seriously.

These are continued provocations by the West. There’s no justification for it.

The West keeps coming up with justifications, trying to portray Russia as this country trying to recreate its 'empire.'

We talked about this before in our previous discussions.

Name me all of the colonies that Russia established in Africa—none.

It was Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands that were establishing colonies and exploiting the people in Africa. Same thing in Asia.

Vietnam was under French control, and one of the reasons the United States initially got involved with Vietnam was more to try to help preserve French influence, not to free the people from communism.

That was the big lie.

The U.S. is trying to use the same playbook both with respect to China and to Russia, portraying them as these authoritarian societies hellbent on conquering the world.

It’s a lie.

It's the West that has been involved in unrelenting wars over the last 70 years around the world, killing millions of people in countries such as those in Africa, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

It has to stop.

That's what you're seeing coming from the Russians—they're saying it’s going to stop.

They’re not going to sit back and be a punching bag.

With this feeble-minded president heading up the United States, it’s quite clear to the world that the United States is being led by an incompetent."

Excerpt from remarks by Larry Johnson, former CIA analyst and U.S. State Department employee, in an interview with Nima R. Alkhorshid, June 9, 2024.

Starbucks in CHINA is BIGGER & BETTER (They Even Have Alcohol)

On our 3rd date, I asked my favorite question at this point in a new relationship: “If you could be or do anything in the world you wanted—age or training not an issue—what would you be or do?”

I had asked this question several times, and was always fascinated by how it was received. Some had never asked themselves this question, much less be asked by someone else; a few couldn’t even wrap their heads around the question. This fellow was stunned and was quiet for a long time. Then he gave an astounding answer:

An unemployed prince.

He went on to explain why: A prince has plenty of money to pursue his own interests, princes get to travel and meet lots of new people, they have no major decisions to make, and princes get to dress well. I asked about the “unemployed” part: most princes don’t have any official duties, especially if not in line for the throne (and he didn’t want to be a prince in line for the throne).

I found his answer charming. Clearly, this was an imaginative individual to be able to think so far outside of the box, and it supported how much I was enjoying his differing perspectives on movies, music, and art. He had established his own business that was successful (I worked in the security of corporate) in the creative advertising/publishing field. He was great fun and a delightful companion, a treat from my previous husband, while seeming to share many of the same values on the important items.

Arm in arm, we headed down life’s path; dated, moved in together, married, then started a family. Life was good; if as busy and as stressful as any family of two young children, two careers, and two aging parents can be. Then our paths diverged.

When the youngest was 3, he closed the business, got his real estate license and “worked” not earning a dime. Bills to pay and full-time parenting two opinionated, busy kids weren’t near as much fun as pursuing one’s own interests. Struggling with it all, I could not understand how the same individual who professed to want what we had could also not do the everyday work that was required to keep it all going.

Then I remembered his answer on our 3rd date. As Maya Angelou said: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Mexico’s New President is a “Nightmare for the Right”

Heard of the Vietnam War?

Now, how did a war in Vietnam cause Laos, a neutral country in the conflict, to become one of the most bombed nations in the history of warfare?

American munitions dropped half a century ago continue to maim and kill Laotians today.


Answer that, and one will be more than halfway through the answer for the question posed.


In a conflict escalation, the rules flip. Supply lines will be targeted. Long range sensor support will be targeted. Foreign airfields from which flights originate will be targeted. Belarus may open a second front. Tactical nukes will enter the battlefield.

Russia has mobilized over a million men, NATO hasn’t.

Russians see this conflict as an existential threat to the Russian nation. NATO doesn’t.

Russians have give the mandate to Putin to pursue victory. NATO haven’t.

It is a question of attitudes—which side has the resolve and grasp of reality.

The West does not need to fight Russia, whereas Russia has no choice but to fight the West.

As Sun Tzu said, “know yourself and your enemy, and you will not lose in a hundred battles”.

Gen Z Is Finally Paying Taxes And They Are Pissed

My father died in 1982 when I was 8. I was an only child and I was ‘daddy’s girl’. His death wasn’t sudden-as he was diagnosed with cancer in June and had passed away in November. Even at an early age I knew the permanency of death. My great grandmother died a year prior to his passing and my grandmother passed away in June of 1982. I was in school when my dad died that morning. I was using the restroom and when I turned to open the stall door, I caught a whiff of Aqua Velva (for those who don’t know- it was a popular aftershave in the 70s and 80s and it has a very DISTINCT odor). Well, that is what my dad wore. And I loved the smell of his cheeks! So when I caught that distinct odor I was expecting to see him outside the girls’ bathroom. I walked out and didn’t see him. So I walked down the hallway hoping he was looking for me. When I finally went back to class, my teacher called me up to her desk and informed me that I had been gone for about 15 minutes and she said it is 9:55, you left here at 9:40. I went back to my desk and tried to focus on school. I kept thinking about smelling that odor. At 10:30 my mom came to the classroom and my teacher went out to speak with her. After a while my teacher came in and quietly got my coat and lunchbox and walked me out into the hallway. I didn’t say anything to my mom and when we got to the stairway landing, I asked if daddy had died. She turned and stooped down to my eye level and with tears in her eyes quietly said yes. I asked her when he died. And she replied at 9:45. I truly believe that he wanted to let me know that he was there in that bathroom and it was his time to go. Every so often I will catch a whiff of Aqua Velva for just a slight second and I would like to think that it’s dad checking in on me.

Russian Naval Group off Melbourne, Florida Coastline!

Russian Naval Group off Melbourne, Florida Coastline!
Russian navy off FL large
Russian navy off FL large

The Russian Navy has a grouping of warships off the east coast of Florida, between Melbourne and Vero Beach.

One of the vessels involved is a Russian nuclear submarine (FILE PHOTO – Not actual image from Florida):

Russia Sub Kazan
Russia Sub Kazan

 

That submarine is being tracked by a US Navy P-8 “Poseidon” Sub-Hunter (FILE PHOTO: – Not taken over Florida)

P 8 Poseidon Sub Hunter
P 8 Poseidon Sub Hunter

While these vessels from the Russian Navy are hanging out off Florida, the Russian Navy frigate Admiral Gorshkov – capable of carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles, arrives in Havana:

Russian Frigate Havana
Russian Frigate Havana

Hal Turner Remarks:

Just so all of you grasp what’s taking place here, the United States and our NATO vassals, are making more and more trouble for Russia, inside Ukraine.

So now Russia is demonstrating to us they can make trouble for us . . . . HERE . . . . inside the United States.

While what __we__ are doing in Ukraine is causing the actual deaths of Russian soldiers, Russia has not —- yet —- decided to bring death to OUR people.   Notice I said “yet.”

This is what the US Congress and the US President are causing.  While THEY play “the sport of Kings (war” in Ukraine, we the American people are the ones they are endangering HERE, inside our own country.

If we get attacked here, inside America, by Russian forces, the sole and exclusive BLAME rests on members of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the present illegitimate occupant of the Presidency.

They have been warned over and over again by Russia, to stop what they’re doing.  Yet Congress not only ignores the warnings, they up-the-ante and do even worse things.  Sooner or later, once the Russians have had enough, they’re going to show us that they are as powerful – if not more – than we are.

Remember that when you see your member of Congress slithering out from a nuclear bunker after it’s all over . . . . and hold them accountable right then and there.

Douglas Macgregor Exposes: “Russia Unveils New Hypersonic Missile, threaten to U.S & NATO”

BRICS+, Lavrov & Escobar

Levity happens!

Nizhny Novgorod hosted the BRICS Council of Foreign Ministers in its new enlarged format. A Joint Statement will be issued.

According to the MFA’s website, Lavrov met on the sidelines with all BRICS+ FMs and many from invited nations like Laos and Thailand. We’ll begin with Lavrov’s opening remarks:

Dear colleagues and friends,

I would like to open our meeting with a minute of silence in memory of the untimely departed President of Iran Sayrahmad Raisi and our colleague Khalid Amirabdollahian, and once again offer my deepest condolences to the people of Iran and the families of the victims. I ask everyone to stand up.

***

Dear Colleagues,

We are glad to welcome you to one of the oldest cities in Russia, in Nizhny Novgorod, the history of which dates back more than 800 years. Today’s meeting will certainly leave a special mark not only in the annals of the city’s leading international events, but also in the BRICS itself. For the first time, a meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the association is being held in a new expanded format.

The expansion of BRICS is a clear confirmation of the process of formation of a multipolar world order. New centers of globally significant political decision-making are emerging from among the states of the Global South and East, from the states of the World Majority. These countries are in favour of a more just way of life based on the sovereign equality of States and the diversity of civilizations.

The transition to a new world order (we have already seen this) will take a whole historical era and will be thorny. The United States and its allies do not abandon their attempts to maintain their elusive dominance and slow down the objective processes of the formation of multipolarity. At the same time, they are using economic instruments as a weapon – through sanctions pressure and financial blackmail, they are trying to influence the choice of development models and trading partners by sovereign states. The West does not shy away from forceful methods. Examples are known to everyone: Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and a number of other countries. And this is just the “tip of the iceberg”.

Recent international events have “thrown off the masks” from those who have hitherto claimed almost the exclusive right to define “universal values” under the guise of a “rules-based order.” Supporters of this concept are trying to impose norms and mechanisms of interaction that are beneficial only to them, to replace equal and honest dialogue with narrow coalitions that act behind closed doors and arrogate to themselves the right to speak and act on behalf of the whole world.

Russia, like the countries of the world majority, stands for a fairer world order based on the sovereign equality of states and taking into account the balance of forces and interests. Together, we aim to promote a future-oriented constructive international agenda. An important task in this context is to strengthen the role of interstate formats that advocate collective approaches to international development.

BRICS is one of those associations where the principles of equal cooperation are implemented in deeds, not in words: mutual respect, openness, pragmatism, solidarity, continuity and, of course, consensus. I am convinced that BRICS is driven forward by the wind of change, because its role in solving global problems will only increase. This is also confirmed by the steady growth in the number of countries showing genuine interest in joining the work of our association. In this context, we expect productive discussions at a separate session today with the participation of a number of like-minded BRICS countries.

Dear Colleagues,

Russia’s chairmanship is increasing momentum. About 70 events have already taken place, and more are to be held. We note the constructive participation of all partners in them. Work has begun on key Russian initiatives in the transport sector, the creation of the Contact Group on Climate and Sustainable Development, the Working Group on Nuclear Medicine, and the Medical Association.

Active work is underway to implement the decisions of the Johannesburg Summit in 2023, in particular, in terms of improving the international monetary and financial system and developing a platform for settlements in national currencies in mutual trade. In accordance with the instructions of the leaders at the Johannesburg summit, we are paying special attention to coordinating the modalities of establishing the category of partner states of the association.

We have an extensive agenda. It raises issues that will directly affect the future world order and the formation of its fair foundations. [My Emphasis]

A great deal has occurred under BRICS auspices before and during SPIEF as this news roster with links in English details. Pepe Escobar’s “The Three Key Messages From St. Petersburg to the Global Majority” is a very link heavy report published today in SputnikGlobe. Here are what Pepe describes as Putin’s three main messages:

Message Number One:

President Putin, a “European Russian” and true son of this dazzling, dynamic historic marvel by the Neva, delivered an extremely detailed one-hour speech on the Russian economy at the forum’s plenary session.

The key takeaway: as the collective West launched total economic war against Russia, the civilization-state turned it around and positioned itself as the world’s 4th largest economy by purchasing power parity (PPP).

Putin showed how Russia still carries the potential to launch no less than nine sweeping – global – structural changes, an all-out drive involving the federal, regional, and municipal spheres.

Everything is in play – from global trade and the labor market to digital platforms, modern technologies, strengthening small and medium-sized businesses and exploring the still untapped, phenomenal potential of Russia’s regions.

What was made perfectly clear is how Russia managed to reposition itself beyond sidestepping the – illegitimate – sanctions tsunami to establishing a solid, diversified system oriented towards global trade – and completely linked to the expansion of BRICS. Russia-friendly states already account for three-quarters of Moscow’s trade turnover.

Putin’s emphasis on the Global Majority’s accelerated drive to strengthen sovereignty was directly linked to the collective West doing its best – rather, worst – to undermine trust in their own payment infrastructure.

And that leads us to…

Glazyev and Dilma rock the boat.

Message Number Two:

That was arguably the major breakthrough in St. Petersburg. Putin stated how the BRICS are working on their own payment infrastructure, independent from pressure/sanctions by the collective West.

Putin had a special meeting with Dilma Rousseff, president of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). They did talk in detail about the bank’s development – and most of all, as later confirmed by Rousseff, about The Unit, whose lineaments were first revealed exclusively by Sputnik: an apolitical, transactional form of cross-border payments, anchored in gold (40%) and BRICS+ currencies (60%).

The day after meeting Putin, president Dilma had an even more crucial meeting at 10 am in a private room at SPIEF with Sergey Glazyev, the Minister for Macro-Economy at the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Glazyev, who had previously provided full academic backing to the Unit concept, explained all the details to President Dilma. They were both extremely pleased with the meeting. A beaming Rousseff revealed that she had already discussed The Unit with Putin. It was agreed there will be a special conference at the NDB in Shanghai on The Unit in September.

This means the new payment system has every chance to be at the table during the BRICS summit in October in Kazan, and be adopted by the current BRICS 10 and the near future, expanded BRICS+.

Now to…

Message Number Three:

It had to be, of course, about BRICS – which everyone, Putin included, stressed will be significantly expanded. The quality of the BRICS-related sessions in St. Petersburg demonstrated how the Global Majority is now facing a unique historical juncture – with a real possibility for the first time in the last 250 years to go all-out for a structural change of the world-system.

And it’s not only about BRICS.

It was confirmed in St. Petersburg that no less than 59 nations – and counting – plan to join not only BRICS but also the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU).

No wonder: these multilateral organizations now finally have established themselves on the forefront of the drive towards the multimodal (italics mine) – and to quote Putin in his address – “harmonic multipolar world”.

The above is only about half of Pepe’s report; click the link for more. Pepe also links to the session he was directly involved with at his Telegram and the speeches others gave besides himself.

More on the BRICS+ meeting will be presented tomorrow along with the Joint Statement. Readers should know there are two BRICS TV stations online, Russian and English, with both having dropdown menus for Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese.

Happens all the time. When I was at airborne school at Ft. Benning in the summer of 1992, a female ROTC cadet in my squad who told me on the first day she was into triathlons and on a “low-salt diet” collapsed at the end of rather mild training day on the last day of Ground Week. It was hot and humid, as is typical in summertime in Columbus, Georgia, but we were on the last day of Ground Week, which meant it wasn’t that physically intense. However, she succumbed to the rigors of the training and climate — many arrive at Ft. Benning without being acclimatized to the heat and humidity — and practically collapsed. Our Black Hat instructor ordered her to sit done on the side of the sawdust pit and “drink more water” while the rest of the squad continued practicing PLFs (Parachute Landing Falls). By the end of the training day (around 17:00), she couldn’t even stand on her own, so the Black Hats ordered her to drink more water, while they summoned a medic to look at her. She feebly attempted to drink more water, but was at that time almost unconscious, so most of it dribbled all over her face and uniform when she tried to drink from her canteen. The medics came and had to help her walk, as she couldn’t walk on her own. We didn’t see her for the rest of the day, and come Monday morning, with the start of Tower Week (week two of three), we were told that she wouldn’t be joining us as she was now in intensive care at Martin Army Medical Center, the on-base hospital at Ft. Benning. We asked what was wrong with her, and he said she almost died because of Hyponatremia. Apparently, she became so over-hydrated from drinking too much water combined with excessive sweating due to the high-levels of physical exertion and lack of climate acclimitization, that she depleted herself of all her electrolytes and salts that are required to be alive. I also knew that she was skipping meals and the few times that she was eating at the d-fac (dining facility), would typically forego the main entree for just a small salad. (I knew this b/c she often sat next to me in the mess hall.)

Shorpy

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Popular Plastic Surgeries for Asian Women: White Worship, Mix Blood & Abomination

Ty Warmbrodt

To: Frank DelaneyEditor@thewashingtonpost.comSubject: anthropological finds linking past to the futureI, Dr. J. Emmit Hardy, Professor of Archeology at the University of Montana, former navy seal and marine sniper, stumbled upon something I should not have and in the excitement of the moment, I took it. Now they are after me. I don’t know who they are, other than the keepers of secrets, the guardians of mysteries. Could be the Vatican or some other religious organization, a collaboration of world governments, or some secret society. I probably sound out of my mind but wait until I tell you what I have uncovered. 

It all started in what I like to call the broiler, a.k.a. southern Iraq, in an area once known as Mesopotamia. It was in that barren landscape that I and a group of archaeologists came upon a rather suspiciously lonely looking hill, more of a large mound I would say. We had started excavating as soon as the Iraqi government lifted their ban on archeological excavations. After years of careful digging, we dug down where we found an entrance to an upper chamber that led down to the heart of what we presume will be a ziggurat. In the lowest portion of the structure, we found what we named the Library of the Anunnaki, the collective name for the Sumerian gods. The library consisted of hundreds of stone tablets, most of them broken, some shattered, even to the point of dust. I found one large piece, rough in my hands, chipped, not without its damage. I blew it off and noticed it was written in cuneiform. The translation goes:

 

Origin………. Primitive species DNA spliced………. producing male child………. male children produced and raised to farm and………. production cumbersome………… remove Y………. first female child for reproduction presented to first male……… uprising………. Usurpers cast out of gardens and mines………. debauchery throughout………. murder………. war………. Meteor causing mass………. Fleeing planet, will return.

 

Obviously defaced, what I concluded from the text was that the text was not written by human hands. Rather, it was a document left for us by who early humans considered gods. It tells us that we originated from a primitive species (apes, or Cro-Magnon Man perhaps, maybe even some early form of homo sapiens) having their DNA spliced with that of an alien race, producing a child that we now call a human being. Given the success of the experiment, they created more, until they figured natural reproduction to be a viable process. These children grew up working on farms and in mines for the alien race. It goes on to say there was an uprising. Some were cast out where they lived wildly without law or rule. A lot of text is missing, but it goes on to explain the flood was caused by a meteor, probably crashing in the sea nearby. At that time, the aliens left, promising to return. My biggest question is, return to do what?

 

This tablet destroys god-centric religions, proving that we were created through the advanced science of an alien race, putting an end to ancient beliefs. It would also take away power from institutions such as the Catholic Papacy. Old traditions will die hard, but the word of God will no longer hold credence in the minds of the majority again. This is a world altering find. That is why I had it carbon dated for its legitimacy, taking it to an old friend.

 

Dr. Phillip Baker at Oxford University did some carbon dating. The tablet predates the Sumerian use of cuneiform for literary purposes by a thousand years. We realized then that it was truly an extraordinary find. While Phillip and I celebrated with the champagne he had been saving for such an occasion, men in black suits paid us a visit trying to seize the tablets. With a distraction made by Dr. Baker, I escaped out the back. From the hallway I heard shots fired. I knew my dear friend’s fate and feared it would be my own if I did not run. I assumed knowing what was on the tablet put my life in jeopardy. I was pursued by them and what looked like a private security detailed, armed, muscular men dressed in black. They chased me through the streets at high speed. I was scared out of my mind, even taking to the sidewalk to avoid stoplights. I made it to the airport where I evaded capture and caught a plane back to the states. The tablet is now hidden safely where no one will ever find it.

 

I still wanted answers. Why are they returning? When will they return? Why were they here in the first place? I knew of one place that had the answer. I put to use all my military training to sneak into the most heavily guarded military base in the US. I broke into Area 51. I’ll save you the details. It’s a process of inching through the desert dressed like a bush for three days, monitoring security patterns, cutting chain-link, and choking people out for their security badges and weapons, turning up loose ends, until finally I found what I was looking for – the Area 51 Library.

 

The library is a massive collection of written statements, voice recordings, pictures, videos, blueprints, documents on everyone who has claimed abduction or sighting, documentation of people who have been abducted or visited and have no recollection of it, and archeological evidence. The most disturbing artifact I found was a 1950’s recording of an alien being questioned under duress giving the same account on the tablet, filling in the gaps.

 

Apparently, there is another planet in our solar system that passes the sun every six thousand years. They survive in biodomes but require extra fuel and food that they get from earth when their planet gets within flying distance. The air on earth is toxic to them, so they wear suits, some wear armor over their suits resembling animals known to humans to strike fear in them. They have a spy station on the dark side of the moon where they operate out of one of their biodomes, watching us, occasionally experimenting on us, or coming down to replenish food.

 

The Alien went on to explain that they tried to quell the violence within humans, who murdered each other and started wars for territory, before the flood. As they watched on over the centuries, war and hate spread like wildfire across the land as humans flourished. They decided since humans still believed in gods, they would send them a representative from God.

 

He explained the insemination of Mary and the resurrection of the man we call Jesus – he was revived from a coma using advanced medical procedures and lifted up in a small spy shuttle under the cover of smoke. He is at the station now and will return with the others when the other planet draws near. His purpose was to teach people how to live peacefully, choosing people to carry on his work after he was gone, to spread it around the world. The alien said things didn’t go as planned, calling us wicked and violent. His final statement was that when the planet returns, those who fight will be destroyed and those who don’t will be enslaved.

 

Area 51 is only guarded by the US. They are not running it. I was discovered by a man with a heavy European accent and, of course, dressed in a black suit. I grabbed the recording and fought my way past him, then through three levels of private security before getting past the military detail on the outside. I’m sure these men know where I live. I’m taking a big risk contacting you, but the public deserves to know the truth. They need to prepare to fight the coming onslaught. So far, governments have kept everything a secret, selling off technologies like cellular communications and nuclear power. I have the recording safely hidden away with the tablet. I have the evidence if you want to proceed with the story.

 

To: J. Emmit Hardy

drdigit@gmail.com

Reply: anthropological finds linking past to the future

 

Dr. Hardy, I’ll be honest with you, if it weren’t for your credentials and the background check I ran on you, I would be telling you to take this to the tabloids. Since you are an esteemed professor of sound mind with a military background, I suppose your story warrants some attention. Meet me at Malone’s at noon on Thursday for lunch. They are usually busy so there should not be any scenes made in there if you are followed. Try not to be followed. Bring the evidence. Depending on it, we will see where we go from there.

 

———————————————————————————

 

When I saw Dr. Hardy walk into Malone’s that day, he was not what I was expecting. I was looking for an unshaved old man with wild hair acting a little erratically. No, this was your Indiana Jones type professor, middle aged, lean and sun kissed. Far from erratic, his eyes scanned the restaurant before approaching me with a duffle bag.

 

“Mr. Delaney?”

 

“Yes, that’s me.”

 

“Emmit Hardy. Glad you took the time to see me.”

 

His eyes missed no detail of what was going on around him. He was even checking reflections in the smallest objects to see behind him.

 

“Did you bring the evidence?”

 

The first thing he pulls out is an old reel-to-reel and lays it on the table as he goes for the next item in his bag.

 

“What am I going to do with that?”

 

“Listen to it.”

 

“I thought you would have recorded it on your cell phone.”

 

“I wasn’t about to take a cell phone into Area 51. You’re the news. Don’t you have a reel-to-reel player?”

 

“Well, yeah, back at the newsroom.”

 

“Here, check this out. Carefully.”

 

He displays a bundle of rags gentler than if it were a baby. He unwraps it to reveal the stone tablet, chipped and cracked with a series of markings on it that meant nothing to me.

 

“I’ll have to take your professional word on what that is. What I’m interested in is on that reel. But first, we eat.”

 

“I don’t think we have time for that, Frank. Be casual, but two guys in black suits and sunglasses just walked in.”

 

“Relax, guys in suits eat here all the time.”

 

“Not with security details. Let’s head out the back. Slowly, they haven’t made us yet.”

 

I thought Emmit might be schizophrenic, but when we got out to the alley, two guys were waiting with guns. Now, I would love to give you a play-by-play of what happened next, but it happened too fast. Somehow, Emmit managed to disarm and knock unconscious two men in a matter of seconds. He took their guns, putting one in his waistband.

 

“Can I have a gun?”

 

“No,” he chuckled.

 

We ran to the news building. When we got there, we were spotted by more guys in black suits and their security details. We took off in the other direction with them on our heels. I pulled out my cell and made a phone call.

 

“Susan, I need you to get those old duffle bags out of storage and five other people. Here is what I need you to do.”

 

Emmit and I took the long way to The Lincoln Memorial. There, we ran into six people with bags similar to the one Emmit was carrying. We all bumped and shoved, switching bags several times. When we were done mixing up the bags, some took cabs, some ran, some strolled. They grabbed Marcus and checked his bag, only to find gym clothes and a phone book. Later that night, Emmit and I met with Susan to retrieve the real bag. She asked what was going on, but all I could tell her was to read the morning’s paper.

 

Emmit was able to sneak me pass some of the men in black suits and their muscle so I could write up the story. I wrote frantically, the words flowing from my mind straight to the screen. I barely got it through pre-press in time to make the front page. I rushed it out to the printers myself. They were in the middle of putting on the plates that were supposed to run and were not thrilled about the last-minute change, but now people know where they came from and can prepare for the future.

Australia Forces China To Dump Rare Earth Assets, But No Refund For US Submarine Deal?

32 New Ukraine Soldiers Cross Hungary Border to Escape War Mobilization

32 New Ukraine Soldiers Cross Hungary Border to Escape War Mobilization

Yesterday, a Ukrainian GAZ-66 truck with “military” license plates illegally crossed the border into Hungary from the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine. Local border guards found the truck and detained 32 Ukrainian citizens.

It turned out, the truck was filled with new Ukraine Army “Recruits” – men who had been forcibly grabbed off streets in Ukraine, held for three days, given uniforms, and sent to the front lines to die.

The men took a military truck across a field in Zakarpattia, entered Hungary, and surrendered to Police in Hungary.

The government of Hungary has granted the men asylum.

Hal Turner Opinion

The slave state of Ukraine is the very worst place in the world with absolutely no human rights at all.

These people are being hunted by army slave catchers and sent to the front to be exterminated.

The average Ukrainian’s worst enemy is the war criminals in Kiev and the war criminals of NATO who fund and facilitate their slavery and extermination while pretending that Ukraine is a free democracy,  and not the only cause of the conflict that is going on.

Imagine what the U.S. will be like when Biden orders the draft for WW3 against Russia/China. There will be some crazy things going on; can’t wait for the chaos.

Someone should make an “Escape from Ukraine” movie as a sequel to Escape from L.A. from the ’90s. I’d watch it.

It’s Official: Russia ready to strike NATO airfields hosting Ukrainian jets

It's Official: Russia ready to strike NATO airfields hosting Ukrainian jets
andrei kartapolov large
andrei kartapolov large

F-16 fighter jets and any airfields they are based at will be legitimate targets for the Russian military if they participate in combat missions against Moscow’s forces, the chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, has warned.

The comments come as Kiev prepares to receive the first delivery of US-made fighter jets from its Western backers, after Ukrainian pilots were trained to fly them.

In a statement to RIA Novosti published on Monday, Kartapolov clarified that if the F-16s “are not used for their intended purpose” or are simply held in storage at foreign airbases with the intent to transfer them to Ukraine, where they will be equipped, maintained, and flown from Ukrainian airfields, then Russia would have no claims against its “former partners” and would not target them.

However, if the jets take off from foreign bases and carry out sorties and strikes against Russian forces, both the fighter planes and the airfields they are stationed at will be “legitimate targets,” according to Kartapolov.

“As for [our ability] to shoot [them] down, we can shoot down anyone, anywhere,” the MP insisted.

Kartapolov’s statement comes after the chief of aviation of Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Sergey Golubtsov, stated in an interview with Radio Liberty on Sunday that some of the F-16 fighter jets donated to Kiev by the West would be stationed at foreign airbases.

He explained that only a portion of the jets would be stationed directly on Ukrainian territory, corresponding to the number of pilots trained to operate the aircraft. The other jets would be kept in reserve at “safe airbases” abroad so that they are not targeted by the Russian military.

Golubtsov stated that so far four countries have agreed to transfer F-16s to Ukraine, namely Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. While he did not specify exactly how many aircraft would be donated, he claimed it was between 30 and 40 planes, with potentially more to come in the future.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also warned that Moscow would perceive the deliveries of F-16 fighters to Ukraine as a nuclear threat, given that the jets have long been used as part of the US-led bloc’s joint nuclear missions. 

At the same time, the minister stressed that the US-designed jets would not change the situation on the battlefield, and would be shot down and destroyed like any other foreign weapons supplied to Ukraine.

Crispy Sweet Onion Pizza

Caramelized Onion Pizza 3435
Caramelized Onion Pizza 3435

Ingredients

  • 1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza shell
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound sweet onions halved, sliced vertically
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Caramelized Onion Pizza

  • Pizza Dough – Use your favorite pizza dough here. I always love the chewy / airy texture of this No-Knead Pizza Dough.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Instead of sauce, this pizza is brushed with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil before the toppings are added. The oil helps the crust to get a deep golden brown color and adds a subtle, fresh olive flavor. 
  • Caramelized Onions – See below for all the details on making caramelized onions. They are sweet and savory and make a super flavorful base for this pizza.
  • Gruyere Cheese – The first time I had Gruyere cheese I was blown away by the rich, deep flavor of this Swiss-style cheese. It’s slightly crumbly and has a nutty, tangy flavor. It costs a bit more than mozzarella (which is more common on pizza), but seriously delivers on flavor.
  • Fresh Rosemary – The savory flavor of fresh rosemary fits really well here. Be sure to remove the leaves from the stem and discard the stem (it’s too tough to chop along with the leaves). You can skip the rosemary or use another fresh herb – fresh thyme is great here.
Caramelized Onion Pizza 3435 2
Caramelized Onion Pizza 3435 2

How to Caramelize Onions

  1. Slice the onions into slices that are about 1/3” thick. (No need to be super precise here, but if the slices are too thin they won’t develop all the flavor that comes with the low, slow cooking process. If they are too thick, they’ll take forever to cook. Try to strike a balance.)
  2. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter (use about 1 tablespoon of each per pound of onions).
  3. Add the onions to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes.
  4. Reduce the heat to low.
  5. Season onions with salt and some sugar (about ½ teaspoon of each per pound of onions). (Note: Sugar is optional here, but can help to draw out the natural sugars in the onions and speed the caramelization process along.)
  6. Continue to cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are very tender and deep golden brown, 25 to 40 minutes more. (Important: If the pan starts to look dry or the onions start to burn, add a splash of water. You may need to do this several times throughout the cooking process.)

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Place pizza shell on baking sheet.
  3. Sprinkle onions on pizza and drizzle with olive oil; top with sun-dried tomatoes.
  4. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper.
  5. Bake until onions just begin to brown, about 10 minutes.

Russia already has enough “hyenas” to deal with in Europe, Vladimir Putin has told his Zimbabwean counterpart

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emerson Mnangagwa shared a laugh during a tense debate on nuclear diplomacy on Friday, as they discussed how to deal with the real and metaphorical “hyenas” threatening their countries.

During a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), political scientist Sergey Karaganov urged Putin to update Russia’s nuclear doctrine to allow nuclear retaliation against countries that strike Russia with conventional weapons.

With multiple Western nations – including the US, France, and Germany – recently giving Kiev permission to use their missiles in long-range strikes on Russian territory, Karaganov argued that these countries have grown complacent and need to be reminded of Russia’s nuclear capabilities.

“They have gone mad, especially the Europeans,” he told Putin. “It’s how animals behave. If there is a herd of hyenas or wild dogs and you’ve got a stick, you can keep them at bay. But there’s a high chance that they will tear your clothes, and if you get tired they will bite you to death. If you can kill a couple of them then they will disperse.”

“President Mnangagwa knows about the behaviour of hyenas,” Karaganov continued, before asking the Zimbabwean leader: “Do you agree Mr. President, that this is how you deal with hyenas?”

“We do have lots of hyenas in Zimbabwe, but we keep them in the national parks,” Mnangagwa replied. “We have no problems with them, but they breed a lot, and if there is anybody who wants them, we are ready to donate,” he added, to laughter from the audience.

“Well we’ve got hyenas of our own in Europe,” Putin responded.

Russian nuclear doctrine has not changed since 2010. It allows for the use of atomic weapons in the event of a nuclear first strike on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of the Russian state is threatened by either nuclear or conventional weapons.

“I do not believe that it is the case now,” Putin said, adding that Russia “needs no nuclear weapons to achieve victory” in Ukraine. However, Putin noted that changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine “are not ruled out.”

18 Years Later, I Finally Get how Idiocracy Came True – The 2024 Election

Bone-headed decision made by a stupid ass kid

Anne gave her final confession 48 hours before execution to her almoner, John Skip (or Skypp.) At dawn on May 18, she called for her jailer, Sir Anthony Kingston, to come and witness something. She swore on the communion Host that she was innocent of the charges against her. She then consumed it and repeated the oath.

For a person of the 16th century, what Anne had just done was extremely powerful. Taking an oath on what they believed to be the literal body of Christ would instantly damn the soul of anyone who was dishonest. She wouldn’t have lied on the Host expecting to meet her maker within a few hours.

The execution was delayed. A large crowd had gathered to see this extraordinary event — the execution of a crowned Queen of England. Kingston hoped if it was delayed and no announcement was made, the people would drift away. They didn’t; the crowd only got larger.

Anne had to be in agony. She called Kingston to ask why no one had come to get her. He told her it had been rescheduled for noon. She settled into prayer with Skip again, but when noon came and went and no one came to get her, she called for Kingston again, and at this point, he told her it would be the following day. Unintentional though it was, this was an incredible cruelty.

On the morning of May 19, 1536, she walked out to face the huge crowd. She mounted the scaffold which had been adorned with hundreds of yards of black velvet. Until the very last moments, her status as a crowned queen had to be respected.

She tipped the executioner to ensure a swift death and then comforted her ladies. These women, assigned to Anne because they hated her and were friends with allies of Princess Mary, now wept as though they were “bereft of souls” or the living damned. They had come to care for her deeply over the two weeks they spent with her in the Tower.

Anne turned to face the crowd and people held their breath, waiting to see what she would say. Kingston knew she was innocent after seeing her swear on the Host, and it was a situation he’d never really anticipated — executing an innocent person. He didn’t know what she would do and had speculated she might declare her innocence before the crowd.

But Anne kept her poise and held to the traditions. In the Tudor era, showing fear or reluctance to die indicated the person was afraid to face God with a guilty conscience. Anne held her chin high and made it clear she welcomed death.

Her exact words are disputed by different sources, but it’s clear they were the conventional speech of a condemned criminal. Any deviation from the pattern would have been shocking and appalling and would have had consequences for her family.

The only slight deviation from the pattern was the request that anyone who might “meddle with her cause” would use good judgement. She knew the history being made in that moment, and that people would be debating what had happened to her for centuries to come.

She submitted to the sword with grace, having done all she could to prove her innocence.

In real China, family net worth and home ownership are 50% bigger than America’s and it dominates all 21st century technologies. Help get the word out.

BITTER Feminist LOSING Their Mind Because They Have NOTHING To OFFER MEN

Weapon Systems: Ours and China’s

Godfree Roberts

You win some..

I asked a Chinese (civil) engineer friend to estimate what proportion of America’s spending on failed weapon systems China spent on its successful ones. He would be surprised, he said, if it were half as much. Here are some systems we discussed:

  • Hypersonic Missiles: America’s 20-year, failed ARRW hypersonic missile defense program cost $15 billion. Chinese university science clubs have demonstrated hypersonic weapons. China’s DF-17, Mach 10 ‘carrier killer’ has been demonstrated many times. Its big brother, DF-27, can hit ships west of Guam.
DF 27
DF 27
  • Next-Gen Helicopter: After spending $7 billion developing a reconnaissance and light attack helicopter, the US pulled the plug in 2004. China’s Harbin Z-19 is a tandem-seat helicopter for reconnaissance and light attack, with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and nose-mounted electro-optical target tracking turret.
  • Self-Propelled Howitzer: The Crusader was to replace the Army’s aging artillery pieces, more mobile with longer range. It was canceled in 2002 after $2 billion was spent. China’s PLZ-05 155 mm self-propelled howitzer, the PLZ-07 122 mm self-propelled, self-loading howitzer, the PCL-181 155 mm wheeled, self-propelled, selfloading howitzer are all in full production.
7aa4d22e90fcf1a18a58481e0dffb938
7aa4d22e90fcf1a18a58481e0dffb938
  • Railgun: The U.S. Navy spent $500 million on the railgun program and cancelled it in 2021. China’s railgun fires 120 rounds at 4,500 mph (7200 km/hr) and strikes targets 120 miles (200 km) away.
625df51b1aae9ad68862fe95672ffcc3
625df51b1aae9ad68862fe95672ffcc3
  • Laser Cannon: The Air Force spent $5 billion developing the laser cannon then cancelled it in 2012. China’s high-energy laser cannons remain powered up indefinitely without overheating, thanks to state-of-the-art cooling.
dac16e9db509fb7898003d2916fb1d23
dac16e9db509fb7898003d2916fb1d23
  • Next-Gen Destroyer: The Zumwalt next-gen destroyer was supposed to launch missiles from its 80 VLS cells but after spending $22 billion, the Navy canned it in 2016. China’s Type 055 next-gen destroyer has 112 VLS cells, all of whose missiles vastly outrange and out-punch their USN counterparts.
2e7f89823a31a41ac4f463e12b7ca357
2e7f89823a31a41ac4f463e12b7ca357
  • Aircraft Carrier: Construction of the $20 billion USN Gerald Ford began in 2009. Its electromagnetic aircraft launch system, EMALS, is underpowered and unreliable, thanks to the Navy’s choice of AC electric power throughout the ship. The Fujian, with a more powerful DC electric system, has a much more powerful, reliable EMALS, a bigger flight deck and aircraft elevators, a slimmer mast and a wider array of defensive weapons.
  • F-35 fighters from design to retirement, will cost $2 trillion, and each jet requires 9 hours of maintenance for one hour flying. The J-20 fighter carries a bigger payload (10 tons) faster (1,500 mph), higher (60,000 ft.) and further (1100 nm.) than the F-35. The J-20’s missiles outrange the F-35’s missiles by 50%.
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The crisis

The West is suffering a crisis, not only of confidence, but of competence. Boeing’s failed shuttle is in the headlines but, less visibly, CERN’s $20 billion attempt to sustain nuclear fusion is collapsing under the weight of its own complexity. It will probably be abandoned now that a private Shanghai company has sustained fusion–for $1 billion.

Instead of continuing with this embarrassing list, I will devote the next post to consider more implications of the fusion breakthrough for world leadership.

American style corruption

Iran Receives Nuclear Threat Over Pending Retaliation Against Israel

Iran Receives Nuclear Threat Over Pending Retaliation Against Israel

Former Iranian diplomat Amir al-Mousavi told Al-Mayadeen news that Iran has been threatened with a nuclear strike.

Mousavi stressed that Iran has made it clear any nuclear attack will be met with a proportional response.

He further noted that those issuing the threats received even stronger replies.

He also urged people to ignore baseless claims of alleged Iranian “cowardice” circulating on social media, over the still-delayed retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran weeks ago.

Mousavi concluded by asserting that Iran, together with its allies, is fully prepared to confront the Zionist entity (Israel) with full force.

 

Hal Turner Analysis

In the ongoing Soap Opera of the Israel-Iran troubles, we have finally reached the apex threat stage: nuclear attack.

I call it a “Soap Opera” because like old the TV Soap Operas, you can walk away from it for a whole week and when you get back, you find you haven’t missed anything substantial.

As readers are aware, today (August 15, 2024) is my first day back at work from my vacation last week, and, as I peruse the available Intel and news, I realize I haven’t missed much!

What I have missed – or rather been relieved of for a week — is all the stress that had come with the ongoing situation.

As usual, folks in the Middle East are all hyped-up and ready to blow each other up . . .  again . . . . as usual.  It’s been this way for decades and shows little sign of abating.

As I look at the nuclear strike claim, I realize the only thing different about this situation is that the threat was actually made.

For decades, it was the quiet part . . . the part no one said out loud.  It was always known, and presumed, that no one could hit Israel without the real possibility of being nuked by Israel.

But now that the actual threat has been made – interesting things are happening.

First, there is no abatement of the retaliation by Iran.   Iran says it __is__ coming and __will_ be delivered.

So what did the nuclear threat accomplish?

Looking at the situation as the outsider I actually am, Iran faces a very simple reality:

If they do not hit Israel back for the assassination, then they don’t have a country anymore.  Israel will be free to kill whomever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want.

If they DO hit Israel back, and very VERY hard, it __may__ give them pause before they think about undertaking such an act again.     BUT . . . .

It will also unleash the very war that Israel has been looking at waging since the Iranian nuclear program became public knowledge.

Israel simply will not tolerate any other nearby country being equipped with nuclear weapons the same way the Israelis have nuclear weapons.  If any neighbor country has nukes, that would DETER Israel from its ongoing military abuse of neighbors.

It was this reality, for decades, that actually created today’s troubles because somewhere inside Israel, they got the idea they could do whatever they want, to whomever they want, whenever and wherever they want, and no one would dare do anything for fear of being nuked.

Many MANY sources have repeatedly told me that Iran already has nuclear weapons; they allegedly got them via their own research and with help from North Korea.

None of us knows for certain if this claim of Iran nukes is true.

But back to the issue at hand, Israel has apparently made an actual, direct, nuclear attack threat.

So again, for Iran, the issue is simple: Does Iran hit the Israelis back (HARD) for assassinating Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, or not?

In my analysis, this is a no-brainer.  I think Iran __must__ hit Israel back, and very hard.

Remember, back in April of this year, Israel bombed the Iran Embassy Compound in Damascus, Syria.   An open act of war!

Iran made a retaliation, with force, much of which was shunted by Israeli defenses, with assistance from allies like the US and UK.

But in that retaliation, deadly weaknesses in Israel’s defenses were exposed.  Several Iranian ballistic missiles, got through Israeli defenses, and struck Israeli military bases.   It proved that Israel __could__ be successfully hit, and the Israelis now know they are nowhere near as “invincible” as they thought they were.  They don’t like this reality and so they have upped-the-ante to actual nuclear threat.

That was foolishness on the part of Israel that is psychotic in its origin.  If Israel nukes Iran over any conventional attack, what does Israel think Russia will do?  What will North Korea do?  What will Pakistan do?    I think one or more of those countries would launch nuclear strikes at Israel!  Much of Israel would be annihilated.

Now, the U.S. would be in a real pickle if any of this happened because, as Israel’s co-dependent enabler, the US would be obligated to come to the aid of their psycho-bully-little-brother, Israel.

Would US political leaders risk all-out nuclear war, for a bunch of psychotics-from-inbreeding over in Israel?

Maybe.  Maybe not.

Which brings us all back to Israel’s nuclear threat.  If I was in Iran, I would realize the nuclear threat is __possible__ but not probable.

If I was in Iran, I would also realize that Israel has wanted an excuse to go after Iran’s nuclear program for years, and this situation, right now, was intentionally created BY ISRAEL, to cause that exact war.   It is coming and nothing will stop it.

So if I was an Iranian political leader, I would resign myself to the reality that a big war __is__ here, and I would go for the gusto; I would order a massive attack upon Israel in response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and the total violation of Iran sovereignty the assassination actually was.

Iran is either sovereign or they’re not.

If they want to be sovereign, it seems to me they  __must__ hit Israel.  Since the Iran retaliation after the Embassy Bombing did not deter Israel, this retaliation for the assassination of Haniyeh must be at least ten times larger.

The longer Iran waits, the more time Israel has to prepare.  The more time the US and UK have to move assets into theater and move weapons into Israel.

So, I ask the leadership of Iran: Are you sovereign, or not?  Are you going to allow the Israelis to murder people in your capital city, or not?

I think that if Iran rolls-over and does not attack in response to the Haniyeh murder, then Iran is no longer sovereign.

When She Expects Princess Treatment But You’re In the Friendzone

OMGosh…

I got a call for a domestic disturbance, once. When I got there, I saw two guys fighting in the yard. I got out, and ordered them to stop. I was by myself, so I cuffed one guy and put him in my car while I talked to the other one. Then, I switched them to interview the other guy.

I found out they were brothers but one had been messing around with the other brother’s girlfriend. I talked to them about family and the total mess they were making of each other over a female. I took the fellow that started the fight to jail and left the other at the house. All the way in, I continued telling him not to do this over some girlfriend—it wasn’t like they were married—he’s your brother…

By the time we got to the booking office, he was thanking me.

Eight months later on patrol I happened to see the two brothers in a parking lot. I stopped and said, “Hey! How’s it going?”

They turned around and said, “Deputy, thank you so much for how you handled that mess months ago.”

“Great,” I said, “how are things now?”

They said they both got rid of the girlfriend, started a landscaping business together, and business was going great! “Had we not met and talked that day, one of us might be dead by now.”

I felt really good about my job that day. 🙂

NOTE: I want to add the backstory for this girlfriend that some had wondered if she got the short end of the deal. She did, but there was a reason. She was not a long-term girlfriend with any history connected to the brothers. She had only been around for a few months and was clearly using the brothers for her own selfish gain (house, drink, food and apparently a little more…). I imagine that the stories ending would be different had the brothers been dirt-bags, but they weren’t.

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Look. China is an 18t dollar economy.

It is the world’s largest trading nation.

LARGEST.

No. 1.

Between 2019 and 2023, Chinese mercantile exports increased by almost 1t, and would have certainly been far higher had American-led sanctions and restrictions not curtailed normal trade. That’s more than double the increase in US goods exports, at 400b.

[Note: There are ~2,000 Chinese entities on the sanction list today.]

Yet it is growing like a developing economy, which it is, structurally as a whole.

China is an unprecedented economy. There has never been anything like it, and equivalence with any economy in the present or past fail at some point, often superficially.

~5% growth is a china in economic trouble?

Now, China is in the ~13,000 gdp per capita bracket, similar to Mexico, Malaysia, and turkey, all in the structurally vulnerable middle income “trap”.

What were their growth and inflation numbers in 2023?

China: 5.2%, 0.2%

Malaysia: 3.7%, 2.5%

Mexico: 3.2%, 4.7%

Turkey: 4.0%, 53.8%

And the kicker?

The other 3 have devalued massively relative to the yuan this century, particular post GFC.

There isn’t a developing country who won’t kill to be in china’s shoes today.

NONE.

The disparity would have been starker were the global south not given carte blanche to depreciate their currencies in a follow-the-yen reverse plaza accord begun in 2012-2013.

There was no political blowback, and the silence turned deafening when it was China and Singapore (of all actors) inexplicably singled out for designation as currency manipulators, despite appreciating versus the dollar.

It was a sharp message to China. Do NOT join in the festivities. We have different rules for you.

China today has low domestic inflation and interest rates. Given that the yen has devalued 100% in the past decade, along with a host of other currencies, what would it hurt if China devalues the yuan by 10% to 7.8-7.9 to the dollar? Even then, it will only be a fraction of the yen’s colossal dislocation in recent years.

That move alone can boost growth by at least 1–2%.

Economic troubles?

Far from it.

China hasn’t brought out the elephant gun, not even during covid.

That, my friends, is something to chew over.

Ownership is the key.

Cosmic Catastrophe: A Space Adventure Gone Awry

Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong. view prompt

Kayla Flemming

The hum of the spaceship’s engines filled the air as Captain Jackson surveyed the vast expanse of space stretching out before them. They were on a routine mission to explore the far reaches of the Galaxy, charting new star systems and collecting valuable data for the Intergalactic Alliance.But as they ventured further into uncharted territory, a sense of unease settled over the crew. There was something off about this sector of space – a feeling of foreboding that sent shivers down their spines.As they pressed on, their fears were realized when a sudden jolt rocked the ship, sending alarms blaring and lights flashing. Emergency protocols were initiated as the crew scrambled to assess the damage.”What happened?” Captain Jackson barked, his voice tense with urgency.”It looks like we hit some sort of anomaly,” replied Lieutenant Ramirez, her fingers flying across the control panel as she attempted to regain control of the ship. 

But their efforts were in vain as another jolt shook the vessel, this time more violently than before. Panic gripped the crew as they realized they were hurtling towards a nearby planet, their trajectory set on a collision course that spelled certain doom.

 

With time running out, Captain Jackson made a split-second decision – they would attempt a risky maneuver to evade the planet’s gravitational pull and regain control of the ship.

 

“Brace yourselves!” he shouted, his hands gripping the controls with steely determination.

 

As the ship plunged towards the planet’s surface, the crew held their breath, their hearts pounding in their chests. But just when it seemed all hope was lost, Captain Jackson’s daring maneuver paid off, and the ship veered away from the planet at the last possible moment.

 

Cheers erupted throughout the cockpit as the crew celebrated their narrow escape from disaster. But their relief was short-lived as they realized they were now adrift in the void of space, their navigation systems fried and their chances of survival dwindling by the second.

 

As they frantically searched for a way to repair the ship and plot a course home, Captain Jackson couldn’t help but wonder what other dangers lurked in the darkness of space, waiting to test their courage and resolve.

 

Despite the chaos that ensued, the crew of the spaceship refused to let fear dictate their actions. With determination in their hearts and a spirit of camaraderie that bound them together, they set out to explore the planet they had narrowly avoided crashing into. As they descended through the atmosphere, they were greeted by a breathtaking landscape unlike anything they had ever seen before – towering mountains, shimmering lakes, and lush forests stretching out to the horizon.

 

Eager to uncover the secrets of this alien world, the crew donned their spacesuits and ventured out onto the surface, their eyes wide with wonder as they took in the sights and sounds of this new frontier.

 

But their sense of adventure soon turned to apprehension as they encountered strange and wondrous creatures lurking in the shadows – creatures with scales as hard as steel, eyes that glowed with an otherworldly light, and voices that echoed through the caverns like whispers from the void.

 

Undeterred, the crew pressed on, their curiosity driving them ever forward in their quest for knowledge and discovery. And though they faced countless challenges and obstacles along the way, their indomitable spirit carried them through, guiding them on a journey of exploration that would change their lives forever.

 

As they prepared to leave the planet behind and return to the safety of their ship, Captain Jackson couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude for the adventure they had shared together. For in the face of adversity, they had found strength in each other, forging bonds that would withstand the test of time.

 

Amidst the chaos and excitement of their unplanned detour, the crew found moments of levity that brought much-needed relief from the tension of their predicament.

 

From Lieutenant Ramirez’s failed attempts at fixing the ship’s malfunctioning systems to Ensign Johnson’s comical mishaps during their explorations on the planet’s surface, there was never a dull moment aboard the spaceship.

 

Even Captain Jackson, typically stoic and reserved, couldn’t help but crack a smile as he watched his crew stumble their way through one misadventure after another. But amidst the laughter and camaraderie, there was a sense of camaraderie that bound them together, a shared sense of purpose that gave them the strength to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

 

And as they finally set course for home, their ship repaired and their ship repaired and their spirits buoyed by the memories of their cosmic escapades, they knew that no matter what trials awaited them in the vast expanse of space, they would face them together, united in their quest for adventure and discovery.

 

The journey back to their home base was filled with moments of reflection and gratitude. Each member of the crew took the time to appreciate the bonds they had formed and the experiences they had shared during their time in the far reaches of space.

 

Lieutenant Ramirez, with her quick with and unwavering determination, became the heart and soul of the crew, guiding them through even the most challenging of situations with her calm demeanor and steady hand.

 

Ensign Johnson, despite his tendency to stumble into trouble, proved himself to be a valuable asset to the team, his ingenuity and resourcefulness saving them on more than one occasion.

 

And Captain Jackson, with his leadership and courage, inspired his crew to rise above their fears and doubts, leading them through adversity with unwavering resolve. As they neared their home base, a sense of anticipation filled the air. Though their journey had been fraught with danger and uncertainty, they had emerged stronger and more united than ever before.

 

And as they docked their ship and stepped onto solid ground once more, they knew that their adventure was far from over. For as long as there were stars in the sky and unexplored corners of the universe to discover, they would continue to journey forth, together, in search of the next great adventure that awaited them in the cosmos.

What goes through the mind of Chinese citizens when they travel out of China and end up on the internet seeing uncensored speech and negative factual news about the CCP?

They love China even more and decide to go back China to build a better modern China with the unique Chinese Characteristics.

The Chinese American scientists and engineers who have worked and studied in the US for years have read and seen all the fake news and real life stories their whole life. They have endured enough discrimination and unfair treatments that they decide to return China and start up their high tech companies.

That is the fact.

Stop making fake narrative harassment and bullying hate speeches on China wastefully.

“With all due respect, you’re not paying us $5,000 so I can carry out quick revenge.”

I’ll never forget that line, spoken by a fully armed contractor hired for my personal protection on the strangest day of my career.

The year was 2014 and Dan is falling apart again.

Dan (not his actual name) shows up in many companies. Dan is intelligent, capable of spectacular results but is incredibly inconsistent. Our Dan once led the entire company in our sales rankings and had four President’s Club plaques in his office.

The only thing Dan was consistent at was being a nice guy. Everyone loved him. He gave his time freely to everyone in the office. Whether you were an intern or a manager, he raised his hand if you needed help.

Dan was in his early 50s and was a family man. Married with two kids in high school, he lived a simple life.

Dan drove us crazy. He could be running along with incredible results for the first six months of the year and then look like a completely different person in the second half. He was either sensational or a complete disaster. There was no in-between with Dan.

Most of the time, it just took a stern conversation. He had four different direct managers in his time with the company. I was several levels above him but saw the same three-step process play out every time.

New manager loves him. Dan is helpful, hustles, delivers great results and is a great team player.

Manager is concerned. Dan is missing deadlines, seems overwhelmed and we’ve had some customers complaints.

Manager is done. The entire office is distracted in putting out Dan’s fires and he just lashed out at a teammate (or some similar incident).

Throughout this process, Dan’s manager talks with him about his performance and encourages him to get his mojo back. Dan agrees and commits to improvement while performance keeps getting worse. Each time, a last straw is added to the figurative camel’s back when Dan erupts on a teammate or manager.

We then put Dan on a written performance plan with the direct language of “If Dan fails to achieve the results in this plan, he will be terminated.”

The performance plan always flips a switch in Dan. He would tell us how much he loves the company and needs the job. He would apologize, promise to improve and then deliver on that promise. Results would go from terrible to great.

I am talking about worst to first kind of turn-arounds. We would go from customer complaints to receiving love letters from his customers.

One year later, the process would start over again.

After this cycle happened too many times, I had a conversation with him.

“If it goes downhill again Dan, there won’t be another written performance plan. We can’t afford to keep disrupting the office. You have to get it together and keep it together. Is there something outside of this office that we can help you with?”

He paused for a long time and opened up. He suffered from depression. He drank too much. His family had confronted him. He was in a bad place.

Our company partnered with a counseling organization for just this type of situation. I offered him a leave of absence if he would enter the program, of which we would pay for 100%. He had to attend every session and stay in the program or we would terminate his employment.

He graciously agreed.

We gave him two months of paid leave and he entered the counseling program. He came back energized and we saw the best of Dan.

For a while.

Soon, the process started again as complaints started surfacing, both from his teammates and customers.

This time, it ended with Dan sending an explosive email to a customer at 2AM. This cringe-inducing email was four paragraphs long and all but called the customer an idiot. It was totally out of his normal character.

This happened on a Friday. The customer forwarded his email to me and several other managers the next morning with Dan copied on the email. This customer shared her plans to post it on her blog and social media accounts.

Dan left me with no choice but to fire him and he knew it.

On Sunday evening, I got a call from Dan’s manager. She was rattled.

Dan knew what was coming on Monday and confided in several people in the office, in the worst of ways.

He told one person that he expected to be fired. He went on to say he deserved it and probably didn’t deserve to be alive. Maybe, he should just end it all.

Startling, but it got worse. He called another employee who happened to be an avid hunter. Without talking business, he asked her questions about handguns and which caliber he should look into.

Damn.

This was the summer of 2014 and two school shootings had just taken place on the West Coast within a week of each other. Hints like this couldn’t be ignored.

My first responsibility as a leader is keeping employees safe. Was Dan likely crying out for help? Probably. Was he going to bring a gun to the office? Highly unlikely. Could we take that assumption to the bank? Absolutely not.

I told our manager to sit tight and I got on the phone with my boss. We were not going to take any chances. He had experience with a security firm and knew the owner.

He arranged for an “armed specialist” to be with me the next morning in the office. To this day, I appreciate how quickly my boss worked to arrange everything. I have fired many people but never in a situation like this.

For the first time in my life, I was headed to a business meeting with a loaded gun.

I talked with our manager in the office and asked her to arrange an office meeting at our satellite office across the street. In essence, I asked her to get everyone out of the main office to start the morning. If something happened, I would be the only employee in the office with Dan that morning.

Next, I called Dan and asked him to meet me the next morning at my office.

I didn’t sleep that night. My imagination kept taking me to dark scenarios. I wanted to tell my wife more of my fears but kept them to myself. I didn’t want her to start imagining all the crazy stuff I was dreaming up.

I met with my bodyguard two hours before I was scheduled to meet with Dan. He was an older gentleman, short and lean. He wore a dress shirt tucked into jeans with a leather bomber jacket on. He gave me his credentials. Twenty years in the military and another twenty years in private security, both overseas and domestic.

He wanted to know where all the entry points to the office were. We walked the perimeter of the building and did the same inside. We walked back to my office where I planned to meet with Dan.

“Too many doors to get here. Also, what if one of your employees comes back to the office and is back here with us? I like the offices in the lobby.”

“OK.”

We walk up front and sit down in one of the lobby offices. He asked me how I planned to conduct the conversation and what I am expecting.

“Well, I can meet with him in this office. I will leave the office door open since no one will be here yet. You can sit right outside the office on that couch.”

“With all due respect, you’re not paying us $5,000 so I can carry out quick revenge.”

It takes me a few seconds to comprehend what he is saying.

“Ian, I won’t do you any good on the couch if he brings a gun into that office with you. I’ll be sitting right next to you.”

“Of course.”

“I will have my gun covered by my jacket but trust that I can get to it quickly. I don’t want to show it and get him more nervous than he already is.”

We agree to announce him as an “HR specialist” hired to assist in the discussion. This sounds much more comforting than telling Dan that my bodyguard will shoot to kill should Dan pull out a gun.

Dan walks through the door on time. I am anything but calm. I am not sure if I am worked up because of potential danger or simply because I am sitting next to a trained killer.

Dan knows what the meeting is about. He sees the paperwork in front of me. I introduce the person on my right who smiles and shakes his hand. I immediately get to the point.

“Dan, today is your last day with the company. We tried to make this work but feel that we need to move on without you.”

“I understand.”

I walk him through the paperwork. All standard stuff. When his benefits end, who to call in HR to learn more about Cobra, severance details, etc. He signs everything quickly. Next, I pivot.

“Dan, you said some things to people in the office that concern me.”

“Oh, that. Is this why you have someone here with you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not going to do anything crazy.”

“Dan, we want to help you continue with the counseling if you are interested.”

“Thank you. I am interested. I’m sorry for scaring everybody.”

I took his computer and access keys to the office, shook his hand and he left without incident. We paid for additional counseling and an outplacement service that helped him find new employment.

Since Dan had already been enrolled and worked with the same counseling organization, we alerted them as to what had happened and they reached out to him immediately after our meeting. He started counseling again that day and they continued to work with him for several months.

Our security detail remained in the lobby the rest of the day, guarding the front door. We took it a step further and paid for him to show up every day for the rest of the week, watching the front entrance.

Excessive? Maybe, but it gave our local managers peace of mind. As an organization, we had the safety of 30 employees to worry about. Many were nervous as word got out about the calls he made over that weekend.

Count me as one of the nervous employees. Scared is a more honest word. Scared he might hurt himself, other employees or me.

It was an incredibly difficult situation as you want to do right by the employee while also protecting the people he works with.

I left work early that day. I went home and hugged my wife and kids for a long time.

Then I poured a tall glass of Scotch.

All men need to see this

Shuffle walk and peculiar habits

I lived in a trailer park for 14 years.

Living in a trailer park was the smartest decision of my entire life.

Why? Because thanks to my willingness to live in a trailer park, fix up and pay off two successive trailers, I was able to gradually build up enough equity to buy a house. This was in spite of being a single income gal in a double-income world; having no available help from family**; living in a high-cost, very desirable area; and working in a career I loved but that didn’t pay well.

First I bought a $5,000 trailer that had to be moved – hence the super-cheap price. I was able to arrange a lease on some property for the next five years.

When I eventually had to move elsewhere for work, the trailer had to leave the property but I was still able to sell it for $1,000 more than I paid. I had done some upgrades and added a small porch.

I had long since paid off the trailer, so the $6,000 was all mine. If I had rented an apartment over those five years, I would have walked away with nothing.

I put that $6,000 and some savings into a down payment on a much larger and nicer trailer (960 square feet with extensive decks) on a large corner lot in a mobile home park. I lived in it for nine years while working in my new community.

I paid it off and fixed it up. When the real estate market cycled up, I sold it for $5,000 more than I had paid for it. Again, if I had rented over those nine years, I would have had nothing.

I was self-employed at the time, so I moved to a nearby community that I had already identified as having lower housing costs. From the sale of my trailer, I put a substantial 30% down payment on my first house.

I’m still living in that house.

If I had not lived in a trailer park, I would not have my house. Without my house, I would be at the mercy of what is currently a tight and very expensive rental market. I would not have my beloved pups.

I put a suite into my house so it generates some income, which is useful since my job vanished in a corporate reorganization. The rental income is a bonus support as I’m venturing back into self-employment as I near retirement.

I have a mortgage but it is low. I have more than $400,000 in equity.

I’m far from wealthy…but I’m not at risk of being homeless either.

I recommend trailer parks to everyone who has limited income/resources but needs a toehold in the housing market.

———————
**For the record, my family likes me just fine but there are some life-challenged offspring in the tribe who need help more than I do, so any extra resources go their way.

Easiest Homemade Pizza Dough

easiest homemade pizza dough
easiest homemade pizza dough

Yield: 2 medium pizza crusts or one extra large pizza crust

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, divided

Instructions

  1. Combine yogurt and 1 cup flour in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary until combined.
  2. Knead on medium high for 5 minutes.
  3. Slowly add additional flour as necessary to help dough come together. Depending on how thick your yogurt is, you may need up to an extra 1/2 cup of flour.
  4. Dust clean counter top with flour and remove dough from bowl. Knead a few turns until dough is tacky, but not sticky. Roll out and add toppings as desired.
  5. Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

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I know I was.

  1. Their border police seems to consider it their mission to make you feel unwelcome. Russia was indifferent, China was surprisingly friendly.
  2. Their luggage system at the airport is primitive.
  3. The country has more obese people than I’ve ever seen.
  4. Technology seems backwards. I’ve seen coin operated public phones, video rental machines and that was just before COVID.
  5. The car focus thing is silly, walking a mile to a bar wasn’t safe because there was no sidewalk
  6. Food seems focused on quantity and everything contains sugar! I even had a pack of salt that had 3 ingredients, salt, anti clumping agent and sugar.
  7. Public bathrooms the stalls never seemed to be ceiling to floor and the doors so low that I had to avert my gaze to avoid looking over them. This makes shitting a semi-public event.

She ain’t lyin’

Some fun vintage art

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What Happened To Google Search?

This is surprisingly good.

More Magical Thinking As US Raises China Tariffs

The pause that refreshes

When I was a young boy, perhaps 11 or 12, I went on a business road-trip with my dad. We drove throughout the Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia hills selling “ship propeller shaft “sleeves”” to prospective small boat yards.

In that week-long travel, we would stop at various small towns along the way.

I well remember us pulling into a out-of-the-way (on a dirt road) rural West Virginia General Store. We were in the sticks… the middle of nowhere. I am not kidding.

It looked something like this
It looked something like this

And we go into the decrepit old wooded unpainted building, and walking on the wooden floor that make noise with every step. There was an old man there. Shit! Older than God himself, I would say. And my dad wanted to get a coke.

Well, this place didn’t have a coke in the cooler. But the old man said that he “had just the thing”, and he went into the basement and after a few minutes of him rummaging about, and making a bunch of noise, comes up with this ancient old wooden box. Completely dust covered. I mean it. It was layered like you have no idea.

28601668 1m
28601668 1m

And he used a hammer to open it. He pried the wooden box open, and the nails were all rusty, and some of the wood was just brittle. I remember that clearly.

Inside were bottles of coke-cola. But they were strange bottles. He chuckled that “you’re getting the real thang“.

And handed each of us a coke.

Now, the bottle was strange. It was curved, but not like a normal coke bottle was. It had this fat Goose-Like shape. Exactly like the bottle in the picture below. The third from the left.

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He said something about getting this in his inheritance from his father. But I wasn’t paying attention. I was simply asking my father if this was good to drink. And both he and the old man laughed.

“Don’t be silly.” My father said. “Of course it is.”

So the old fella got out a bottle opener and opened up three bottles, Yeah. He opened up one himself. And he kept watched me with this funny curious look on his face.

I wouldn’t have remembered this moment at all if it wasn’t for his amused look.

And so, I looked up at my dad. And he was swigging his. So I took a tepid taste.

I was good.

No shit. Really good.

Ah. But different.

You see, it was not refrigerated, but it tasted refreshing. Like those mint commercials that suggest a blizzard of freshness. It tasted like a normal coke, but maybe a little bit watered-down perhaps. Yet…but… had this lite refreshing “bite”.

It also wasn’t nearly as sweet. Oh, it was sweet, but not as thick, and not as super sweet. More like a gentler coke, but with a mint-like “bite”.

The old man smiled and chucked, and looked at me again.

“What do you think son?” he asked.

I told him that it was good. Yeah. I told him that I really liked it.

Again, he chuckled. Yeah. He nodded.

He said. “It’s the pause that refreshes.”

Then he added, “Son this is a special coke. You know that, right?”

I had no clue as to what the Hell he was talking about.

But I said “Yes Sir. It really is good sir.”

And then after that we both left and got in the car and drove off.

I will tell you that my dad and I had a great time afterwards just chatting away in the long drive. Man, we talked about so much, and so many things. Not that I remember them all, but it was really enjoyable. I do remember that.

We were “chatter boxes”.

Oh, I never went back to that old man, and haven’t a clue as to where that General Store actually was. But you know what I think?

I think that we drank the original Coke-cola; the one and only made with real cocaine leaves.

And that is both a blessing and a curse. As good as it was, the present day sugar-laden version cannot compete against the less sweet, but totally refreshing cocaine-laden version.

Real talk.

Today…

The three coups of July

In less than two weeks we have seen three events in the United States that could all by themselves be described as coups or coup attempts.

  1. Trump assassination attempt.
  2. Kamala’s coup, the forced removal of Biden from the ticket and possibly from the presidency.
  3. Trump’s counter coup after failed assassination, selection of JD Vance as candidate for Vice President.

The last event may be the most consequential of all, as it opens the possibility of a real regime change in America. During his first term Trump had little influence on the workings of the US government. He failed by surrounding himself with neocons and Deep State operatives.

The failed assassination now acts like the Reichstag fire of 1933, giving Trump Hitlerian powers to remove the old establishment. He is now manning his team with people the US mainstream likes to call “Russian agents” or “Putinists”. A real danger to democracy!

Interestingly, the Twitter account of TIME magazine published three covers and cover stories for a print issue dated with a sell-by date of August 5.

I do not know which one, if any, have appeared in print. Note, that the three covers do not match the three “coups” I have listed. Covers 1 and 3 are related to Biden’s ousting, cover 2 relates to Trump’s assassination attempt and counter coup.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Jul 24 2024 16:46 utc | 21

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

I was scheduled to fly from Boston to Minneapolis very early on July 4th to celebrate my sister’s birthday that day (we always joke that she gets a fireworks show for her birthday each year).

As a student with a tight budget, I booked the cheapest flight, which had a layover in Chicago.

After landing in Chicago, the airline announced that the plane had mechanical issues and we were to fly at the same time the following day.

That was not an option for me.

Birthdays were important for my sister, and I was determined to get to my destination no matter what.

That’s how I ended up on a greyhound bus, traveling the 8 hours or so from Chicago to Minneapolis (by car it’s around 6 hours, buses tend to take their time and have a short bathroom break in the middle).

The bus was full and I ended up sitting next to a fellow college student.

We got to talking had had a really nice time chatting and time passed fairly quickly.

About an hour away from our destination, and having felt very comfortable with each other, this young man asked me where I was during the 9–11 attack.

This was in 2006, almost 5 years after the attack, and we each spoke about where we were when it happened.

He then said that he trusts me enough to let me know that the the US government was behind the attack and that they were framing Al Quaeda.

I thought he was kidding.

He wasn’t.

Uncontrollably, and quite literally, all that came out of my mouth was: “Oh no, I thought you were normal.”

I couldn’t even look at him after that, moreso because I was a bit embarrassed by what I said to him.

I didn’t mean to insult him, but was so taken back by what he accused the government of doing, especially after al Quaeda proudly told the world that they were reaponsible.

Not only could I not look at him after that, I didn’t speak to him at all.

I made it to my sister’s birthday though.

Why American Suburbs are so Creepy (liminal spaces)

Has anyone ever bought a car with the wrong engine in it?

I have.

I ordered a Ford Crown Victoria in 1981.

Three weeks before delivery I got a call from Ford Motor company.

The engine factory in Windsor, Ontario is on strike. Would I mind if my new car had a “slightly larger” engine? No price change.”

It made no difference to me. I’m a sales guy, and I don’t ever do anything special with my cars.

It arrived.

The dealer apologized for this car on delivery. “It may have a little harder suspension than you expected”.

Wow, what an understatement.

This car was a V-8 powered police car in plain clothes, a real wolf in sheep’s clothing. It looked just like in the catalogue.

But everything outside the cabin was super heavy duty. Larger wheels, oversize brakes, extra-large radiator, battery, and alternator, as well as a heavy-duty transmission with overdrive. Top speed 225 km/h (140 mph). It could go faster, but I lost my nerve.

I drove it with utmost care.

It was so light in the rear end that I could spin the tires on dry roads up to 60 km/h (40 mph).

My wife used to have fun squealing the tires by jumping on the accelerator going around corners.

My teenage daughter? She NEVER drove it, not for one metre. NEVER.

The drawback? A 55 litre tank. In the city, two days between fillups. On the highway, about three hours between fill-ups.

I kept it for four years and sold it to a guy who added a tow-hook for his camping trailer and kept it for another six years.

The blessing – my company paid for all my gas in those days.

My next car – A V8 Pontiac made under the worst of the 55 mph rules in the United States. A wheezing engine and a speedometer that ended at 140 km/h (90 mph). I don’t think it could be driven any faster, not even downhill with a tailwind.

 

1950s USA – Real Street Scenes of Vintage America – Colorized

When did you realize small things matter?

Once, when I was sitting in my physics exam, there was this girl who was an assistant in the exam room. She watched and kept eyes on us so that nobody could cheat. She also organized all the stuff that was related to the exam.

She came to me and asked me for an extra pen, so I gave one to her, and I put my head back to my test. I kept writing and I didn’t raise my head till the time was over.

I got up from my seat and gave them my papers and they asked me to sign; I did. Everything was normal; I got out and met my friends. We started walking and talking. We probably walked an hour away from the university.

And…

Suddenly, I saw a car coming directly towards us, and the driver was a girl. She stopped in front of us dramatically with the sounds of breaks screeching and smoke everywhere.

She came out of the car. I saw that she held my pen in her hands.

It was her; the assistant girl from the exam room! What blows me away is that she did all that to bring my cheap pen back to me!

I mean it wasn’t even easy to find us after we walked so far, and I’m sure she had more important things to handle there in the university than to go out and look for me!

I always thought those kinds of people no longer existed, but they do exist and they are so beautiful and pure.

Sorry for my English, but if you get the story in general, that’s more than enough for me because I’m glad to share it.

CHINA Destroy U.S SANCTION Shackle, Produces Quantum Module

 

 

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

I am white. At the time this occurred, my biracial daughter was 7. We had moved into our new house a month earlier and winter had just taken a break. So, while she was in school, I was doing some winter clean-up yard work. Neighbor from across the street waves. Older man, 70-ish. Crosses the street to speak to me. We introduce ourselves, he points out the house that he lives in and asks me: “Have you noticed a certain element moving into the neighborhood? Right on this block?”

“Certain element” is, of course white-speak for “non-white.”

The school bus driver’s timing was too precious: first graders were let off in front of their homes. My little darling comes skipping up the driveway behind the neighbor. She’s all smiles for mommy. I’m all smiles for her. I take her hand and reply to the neighbor:

“Element? Element? No, other than one old racist white guy, I haven’t seen anything odd. Then I said to my child, pointing to the neighbor’s house: “See that white house across the street? Don’t ever walk in that yard, a very mean old man lives there.” And with rake in one hand and child in the other I turned around and we went inside for an after-school snack. Needless to say, I never spoke to the MF again.

 

What was I born for? Tearful End of Little Kitten After Abandoned by Owner

What are some of the most messed up family secrets?

  • My drug dealing Uncle was found in a hotel room with another drug dealer having homosexual relations by the cleaning lady. They both placed a hit on her life. She was forced to move out of state.
  • Another drug dealing Uncle was caught drug dealing in his car with his children. The police made a deal with him. He snitched on all of the other drug dealers in town in exchange for not being arrested. The police promised to not tell. They lied. A family member had to resettle him in another state with fake identification.
  • A cousin never told the family she was pregnant. Nobody even had the faintest idea until she gave birth. She threatened my grandma with giving the baby up for adoption. My grandma begged her to not make the decision. The great grandchild is now being raised by my Aunt. She looks just like her mother. My cousin won’t acknowledge her.
  • My grandma goes to church with a lady whose husband she used to date and have extramarital affairs. My grandma had us call him Uncle as children. He’s been dead for many years, but my grandma and the lady act like nothing ever happened.
  • My father is the only brother on his side of the family to never deal drugs or go to jail or prison.
  • I’m the only nephew on my father’s side of the family to never go to jail or prison.
  • On both sides of the family, many people have multiple children with multiple partners before marriage. But they mostly all go to church or mosque. And they tend to be overly preachy except for their life decisions.
  • Mental health problems loom large on both sides of the family. One side pretend they don’t exist and claim Jesus is in control. The other side is bat crap crazy and bow at the feet of Minister Farrakhan.
  • My grandma is the only reason everyone comes together for holiday functions. There are solidly formed cliques that hate each other. Some are able to move from clique to clique. Most aren’t.
  • My dad’s side of the family thinks I am a sex freak. The same goes for my mother’s side.

Malted Milk Waffles

WS BC ButtermilkWaffles Day 7 v4
WS BC ButtermilkWaffles Day 7 v4

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup malted milk powder
  • 2 1/2 cups buttermilk pancake mix
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together malted milk powder, pancake mix and granulated sugar.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; set aside.
  3. Add egg yolks, buttermilk and butter to dry ingredients; mix well. Fold in egg whites.
  4. Spray preheated waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.
  5. Serve warm.

What is the most unusual and incorrect reason you’ve had the police called on you?

Not me, but my dad. Pictures in a house can do wonders for calming down a police officer.

My grandmother lived alone in a small town in NH. No police department, just the County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement. As she was elderly and lived alone in a remote area, she had a check-in system with the Sheriff’s Office. She would call in every morning, just to let them know that she was up and about without any problems. On the rare occasion that she didn’t call early enough, they would call her. That happened every few months.

My parents were up visiting her, when my mom got sick and had to be admitted to the local hospital. The next morning, bright and early, my dad and grandma went to the hospital to see my mom. My grandmother, worried about her daughter in the hospital, forgot to call the Sheriff’s Office.

My mother asked my dad to go back to the house to get her a book. As my dad was walking out of the house, a deputy pulled in the driveway.
Scene: An elderly woman didn’t make her daily call, that she almost never forgot. Said elderly woman doesn’t answer phone when Sheriff’s Office calls. Deputy pulls into driveway, thinking a fall and a broken hip. Strange car with out of state plates in driveway and a stranger walking out of the house.

The deputy gets out, hand on holstered gun, and asks “Who are you and where is Dorothy”. My dad tells him that she is at the hospital, visiting her daughter/his wife. The deputy then asks if he can prove it. Dad tells him that his picture is on the piano. They walked into the house, dad picks up one of the many family pictures on the piano, there he is in a picture with my mom & grandma.

Dad said that was when the deputy finally took his hand off his gun, and radioed in to cancel his backup. The deputy told him that as soon as he saw him walking out, he called in saying he might have a situation and the Sheriff called back letting him know he was on the way.

The funniest part of this story happened years later. There was a family gathering at my grandma’s over Christmas. My nephew hit a deer and totaled his car, no injuries except for Bambi. He called it in, and called grandma’s house to ask if someone could come pick him up. Dad’s car was at the end of the driveway, so he’s elected. He shows up at the accident scene, and as he’s walking up the same deputy looks at him and says “I know you. Your picture is on the piano”.

 

Shuffle dance of Chinese school principal

What is a split-second decision you made that changed your life?

I was a ‘plus 1’ to a wedding reception that I knew no body except my ‘date’.

I really felt only friendship towards this guy and I made it obvious. I was planning on cancelling because I really didn’t want to be in a room full of strangers with a guy who I felt kinda awkward with at this point. But I decided to suck it up because the bride and groom had paid for me and it would have been rude to cancel. The drive up was a nightmare – I was driving and it was pouring – I could barely see. I was getting really annoyed at the guy because he kept talking about how great he was in every single way and also said I could have made more of an effort with dressing up (I had minimum time to get ready since I had worked the morning). 🙄 so I was regretting my decision to attend.

we got there, sat down at the table and that is how I met my husband. He was sat at the same table, we got talking/dancing. He was a twin and I took a chair ribbon to put on him so I knew which one he was. We started dating shortly after, moved in together after a month of dating. We’ve been together 15 years, married 12 and have 4 children.

Me and the bride are still in touch, and sadly another lady I met there and remained friends with-died in her 20s of cancer when our (same age) children were only 2 a few years later. That day changed the entire course of my life for the better. I’m glad I didn’t cancel that crappy date.

 

What is your most interesting encounter with the police?

When my older daughter was a toddler, I took her to a friend’s house for a play group. When we were getting ready to leave, I put my daughter in her car seat and proceeded to open my front door; to my shock, my door immediately swung closed. I was baffled as to why this would have happened.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that a car had hit my car right where the door hinge was. There were now straight white even lines on my blue car. I took my daughter out of her car seat and rang my friend’s doorbell. I explained that it looked like somebody hit my car and took off.

At this point, my friend’s son piped in. (Keep in mind that this child was also a toddler – he was not yet three years old!) He said “I saw a car hit your car!” When I questioned him about the details, he said it was a white car and he even told us the make and model of this car!

The reason why he was able to do this was because he owned over 500 dinkies and he knew every make and model of every toy car he owned! The child then looked out the window, pointed and announced “There’s the car!” It was parked across the street.

At this point, I called the police to report a hit and run. The police came over pretty quickly and I told him the whole story. After inspecting my car and the car across the street, the officer rang the neighbour’s doorbell.

After denying that he had any knowledge that he hit my car, the police officer made this man back his car right up to where my car was hit. The white lines on my car matched up with the lines on this man’s bumper. Imagine the look on the police officer’s face when I told him that the person who identified the car responsible for this hit and run was a toddler!!!

strong independent woman gets a TRAIN RAN on her and regrets it

I’m married for 30 years. My husband is 63 and I’m 60. He acts more like 73 than 63. He’s very boring and I can’t stand it anymore. What should I do?

I am now very close to 68 years old. when I was 54 my wife was two years older than me and 56. We had been together for 28 years. You will notice that I used past tense. I started to be bothered with her lifestyle compared to mine. She liked to smoke cigarettes and drink beer all day long and I was and am very fit.

She was my soulmate but in 2010 I left her for a while because I didn’t want to watch her grow old and die prematurely. At that time she looked like she was 10 years older and then she was. It didn’t take me very long to find out that I couldn’t live without her and we got back together within a few months, but it was difficult because some damage was done. We were able to overcome our obstacles because of our deep love for each other even though she was still hurting her body through her lifestyle. In 2016, she was diagnosed with a very severe form of COPD. After several tests, we sat in the doctor’s office and she was told that if she changed her lifestyle that day she might live seven years and if she didn’t, she might live four. Two years later, they discovered a mass on her lung. Damage done. On April 20, 2020 she died in my arms at home.

If you’ve been together for 30 years, then you have something. Sometimes you might think it’s boring but when they are gone, it is really boring and awful. I have never forgiven myself for leaving her although maybe someday I will, but for right now I miss her so much.

Hang in there, find things to do to keep yourself from being bored and cherish the people you’re close to including your husband or wife.

 

China leaves West’s financial system? Sells record amount of Dollar Assets. De-Dollarization.

Why did 10 million Americans lose their homes after the 2008 financial crisis?

“Sir, I need a loan to buy my dream home,” says Luigi.

“Do you currently have a job?” asks Mr. Greedy.

“Yes sir, I have a good job!”

“Do you currently own or rent a home?”

“I rent a home. We pay $1,500 per month.”

“Oh, I will be able to help you save so much money!”

“What do you mean, Mr. Greedy?” asks the innocent Luigi.

“Today you pay $1,500 a month. That’s terrible. You’re giving that money away to your landlord. You save zero in equity! Terrible investment, Mr. Luigi,” salivating for his HUGE commissions.

“Well, I know. I hope we can someday qualify for a loan, Mr. Greedy.”

“With our loan, you will pay the bank only $1,300 a month, saving you $200 every month.”

“Wow, that’s like a dream.”

“Mr. Luigi, are you sitting down?”

“Yes, Mr. Greedy. Why?”

You are qualified for a 100% loan, Mr. Luigi! No money down! The bank will give you all the money needed to purchase the house.”

“Really? Really? Wow, this is life-changing news, Mr. Greedy! Every one of my friends that have purchased a home is happy — real estate prices just keep going up!”

“And they will continue to rise, Mr. Luigi. Congratulations!”

“This is a life-changing event! Thank you, Mr. Greedy!”


Now, to answer your question, why did 10 million Americans lose their homes after the 2008 financial crisis?

Remember when you last purchased something with credit?

When we buy something, we’re focused on the satisfaction of the purchase, not on the obligation of the payment we just assumed.

Our behavior as a consumer is easily influenced by emotions and excitement to fill that emotional void with the purchase. This becomes a huge problem in a world where there’s an alarming lack of financial education — people may be deceived or make bad decisions.

I still remember those pre-crisis years. The world was different. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie. The real estate “party” was something nobody wanted to miss. Naturally, millions of Americans were emotionally attracted to the dream while ignoring the future legal and financial demands of their loans.

The banking system was extremely greedy. Banks qualified what are known as subprime mortgages. These are loans granted to individuals with poor credit scores (640 or less, and often below 600), who would normally not be able to qualify for a mortgage.

Mr. Greedy abused many consumers like Luigi, selling too many unqualified mortgages. Now, Luigi purchased his home for $200,000. He qualified for a 100% loan.

Luigi started making payments.

Then, the unexpected happened. In 2006 home prices started to drop. Suddenly Luigi’s $200,000 home was worth $50,000 less.

Luigi faced a decision: pay back the loan for $200,000 or give the home back to the bank.

Like Luigi, millions of Americans were not willing (or able) to pay the mortgage on their unreasonably expensive home anymore.

People stopped making their payments, which triggered defaults.

Now the banks were full of expensive foreclosures in their inventory. Prices kept falling. Nobody was willing to buy them.

The problem quickly spread nationwide.

Meanwhile, financial corporations who owned these junk sub-prime loans stopped receiving payments. This triggered the perfect storm.

A collision of two gigantic “cornerstone” industries of the economy followed.

It was scary … Devastating for millions around the world.

The rest is history …

Will history repeat?

What do you think?

Shorpy

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Have you ever accidentally touched another person inappropriately? What happened?

Rule of life:

  1. If it is your mistake, no matter, of what age, the person could be, fall back and say sorry.

  2. If it’s not your mistake, no matter, of what age, the person could be, rip him/her off, if the person tries to mess with you.

This is how I lead my life and I got no regrets.


Delhi metro is funny and accommodating at the same time. The other day, some months back, I was late for my office and had to reach Gurugram as soon as possible.

The option of using a cab was haunting me because, at peak hours, the traffic on Jaipur highway tends to intensify.

I landed at AIIMS metro and boarded a metro up to Sikanderpur.

The metro was overcrowded with office people, frustrated with their boss and distance from the offices, even one could say it looking at their faces.

Somehow, I got adjusted in the crowd, have put my earphones on, and started listening to songs.

A girl boarded metro from Saket, New Delhi and was in a hurry.

I understand. People could be in a hurry but there should be a protocol of no panicking because anyway, the metro gonna get the same time for everyone.

She stood opposite to me.

Later, more people boarded the metro from Qutub Minar and she got pushed, in a way that my elbow got pressed with her breasts, and I felt it, I won’t deny, but it was not my mistake.

According to physics and logic, which she lacked, I was stationary and she was acting as an object who interacted with a stationary object.


Someone patted on my shoulder.

She: Hello? Are you desperate?

She shouted loud enough to get the attention.

Me: Excuse me?

She: Dude, watch your elbow. You just tried to press my breasts.


Everyone started to give a look as if I am the harasser here.

I understood, she was wanting fun.

I raised my eyes, came closer and shouted loudly.

Frankly, you lack common sense. I was standing opposite to you and didn’t even notice you standing because you’re not worth looking. You are an attention gainer. You think, boys being a minority in such cases would step back, ask for a sorry even if it doesn’t justify a mistake. You are an arrogant girl who just wants attention.

I can prove it.

Who wears a “Deloitte” hoodie in the month of April?

The temperature is already above 30, and you are wearing a hoodie not because you feel cold but you wanna make everyone realize, I work in one of the best advisory firms.

Get a life.

And about your breasts, I didn’t even feel it.

The last line, if someone could have understood, was kind enough to rip her off and two people started laughing on the last line.

Rest didn’t get it.

Even, she didn’t.

She made a face, turned back and didn’t say anything after that.

She got down at the next station.

After leaving, everyone said: Good, you have at least spoken. It happens a lot in the metro.

Lesson: Zulm karne se, Zulm sehna Jada bara apraadh hai- Bhagwad Geeta.

English: One who harasses is not the bigger criminal, but the one who endures it is the biggest criminal.

Homemade “Maple” Syrup

Homemade Maple Syrup
Homemade Maple Syrup

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring or extract

Instructions

  1. Combine granulated and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add salt and water. Bring mixture to a boil.
  2. Remove from heat. Add maple flavoring or extract.
  3. Cool and serve.

Notes

Use any combination of granulated and/or brown sugar as long as it is two parts sugar to one part water.

If you fell from 14,000 feet without a parachute, where would the safest place possible be to land?

In WW2 my father made a water landing from high enough that he did not notice the shrimp boats at first. Luckily he remembered the training about men hitting water from altitude and the theories about how to survive. He became a dart. Legs were crossed and toes pointed to avoid having the legs ripped in different directions. Chin over the shoulder to avoid having it ripped off. Not looking down to avoid having the face smashed in. Arms tight against the sides. Do not have your butt stick out—be as straight as possible.

He had to take in another breath as the air pressure increased. Once he slowed down in the water he inflated his “Mae West” but the water pressure did not allow it to fully inflate yet. He kept the dart sharp because it worked. He claimed he still went in over his head the third time he hit the water.

The navy’s take was to alter the training about when to leave your parachute during a water landing to avoid getting tangled in the lines and drowning. Instead of jumping out of the harness when you are 10 feet from the water (my hillbilly father thought the Gulf of Mexico looked like the local pond he used to jump into—after all, how big is a wave?) you waited until your toes touch, then jump out.

You shouldn’t do that on purpose since getting a detail wrong results in death.

 

What is the most “illegal” thing you’ve done and gotten away with?

 

I have to go anonymous on this one.

It is the year 1999.

I helped my friend / flat mate escape from jail..

We were in Egypt at the time, and were young and still in university. I am an Egyptian citizen, he on the other hand was a foreigner, and did not have a valid driving license.

For some stupid reason he was driving his friend’s car and got heckled by a pedestrian (who pretended he got hit by the car to scare some cash from the driver, common practice in egypt and some other countries I will not be mentioning that I have been to). Anyway, my friend did not have any cash on him, minutes later police came over and booked him. He managed to call me for help from someone’s cellphone.

That night I went over to the police station, with food for my friend. At that point it was not my intent to help him escape. Anyhow, being an Egyptian, I know how to “grease someone’s hands” to let the food and cigarettes in.

The soldier whom I bribed gave us a couple of minutes while he smoked a cigarette, and there was an open door at the end of the hall. My car is parked close by.

I told him, if you can run to that door, jump over the fence (a shitty low cement fence), I will wait with my car in 2 minutes, and I will take you to the airport.

That is exactly what we did. Took him in my car, stopped by his place which was close by for not more than 30 seconds for his passport, and off to the airport.

I saw him once after that in his country of origin almost 10 years later.

Edit: thank you Gargi for the edit and review. Really appreciate it!

I laughed and laughed!

A 1920 era Only Fans and what happened to her

My son had a problem with a neighborhood bully when he was about ten. The bully wanted to be best friends with my son’s best friend. My son stood in the way.

My son came home after being at the bully’s house–WITH THE BULLY’S MOTHER RIGHT THERE–with all kinds of bruises and scrapes. He got thrown into shrubbery, punched, etc.

His mother, to whom I spoke, denied that there was a problem, even though my son AND HIS FRIEND told us the bully had been responsible.

I did nothing more until my son called me one Saturday. He was supposed to be at a pool party to celebrate his friend’s birthday, but when I heard him, he sounded very depressed. He said he’d left the party and walked home, because the bully had gone after him.

I told him I was stopping at the party.

I did. And there was the bully, bullying other kids at the pool.

I told him to get out of the pool. He blustered, “ What did I do? I didn’t do anything.”

And I SCREAMED at him, “GET OUT OF THE POOL NOW!”

He did, and I took him to one side.

I never touched him. I told him, “I never want you going near my son again. I never want you to talk to him or go near him ever. And if I find out that you ever did–I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE NOT WORTH LIVING. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?”

He saw the look on my face. He was half a head taller than me and fifty pounds heavier, but at that moment–I WAS DANGEROUS.

He said he understood. He said he wouldn’t go near my son. He promised. I let him go back to the party.

For some strange reason, we never had a problem with him after that…

Pura70 is Huawei’s latest smartphone, and it is considered a milestone in the P series.

He was originally supposed to be called P70, but they decided to start with a new name.

huawei2
huawei2

The brand-new name Pura70 is well-deserved for this mobile phone, and it is a new cost for Huawei.

Half a year ago, I answered a question about Huawei Mate60. I think Mate60 is a landmark event for Huawei’s return as king under US sanctions. 90% of the supply chain of Mate60 mobile phones comes from Chinese companies, and they no longer rely on American technology. This is the first time in the history of human industry that a single country has completed the entire industrial chain of a high-end smartphone.

When I was in high school, my boyfriend called me on a school night asking me to go out to eat. I had a test the next day, so my mother wouldn’t allow me to go. The next morning, as I was eating breakfast while listening to the radio, I heard the news that my boyfriend had died in a car accident. He lost control of his Volkswagen and crashed into a hydro pole. My mother was sitting beside me at the time. Apparently my face instantly turned white, and I started to shake uncontrollably. I spent the rest of the day in bed. The first time I saw John laid out in his casket was surreal. I felt like I was in a fog. The people around me seemed far away, and their voices were a blur. I could not accept that my boyfriend was dead, and I would be left without him. He looked like he was sleeping, and I kept waiting for him to open his eyes. The hardest part was at his grave, when his coffin was lowered into the ground. I completely lost my composure and cried out his name, weeping uncontrollably. It took me a long time to come to terms with John’s death. He was a comedian at heart, always making me laugh. I saw his grinning face everywhere. Going back to school after his funeral was so heart wrenching. I would think I saw him in the hallways and the cafeteria. Our mutual friends just didn’t know what to do or say. I felt so alone. I will never forget John, but I gradually recovered from losing him. Time does heal heartache.

Heartwarming

Why did Chinese chip stocks rally following Huawei’s launch of the Mate 60 Pro phone?

Do you know the semiconductor sanctions that Huawei has suffered in the past three years? It’s a pity that we can’t buy this mobile phone here. It is the first mobile phone in the world that directly supports satellite phones.
This will definitely be an industrial product that will be recorded in history. This means that in the past three years, all companies around the world have not been allowed to sell 5G-related semiconductors to Huawei as long as these semiconductors contain American technology.
All companies around the world are not allowed to help Huawei produce semiconductors, as long as your production process contains American technology. You know, semiconductor is a global division of labor industry.
The technology in this industry has always been global cooperation, and there is no semiconductor production and design company in any country that does not contain American technology. Such sanctions can directly shock companies like Apple and Samsung.
They originally thought Huawei would also collapse. But Mate60 was released. After 3 years, they released a new 5G mobile phone again. This is not just as simple as a mobile phone. This is a huge technical chain that requires the participation of hundreds of companies with different specialties. In the past, this required the mutual cooperation of multiple countries, and no country could do it alone. But now the Chinese have done it.
Maybe not top notch, but they really did it. This means that Chinese companies can make advanced semiconductors (maybe not state-of-the-art) without relying on American technology. This is a historic event in the global semiconductor industry. It means that China’s semiconductor industry chain has made a comprehensive breakthrough. Note that I used the word industry chain. To manufacture a slice of advanced semiconductors requires the participation of many companies and industries.
From EDA software, to the cultivation of silicon wafers, chip and framework design, high-purity chemicals, laser devices, lithography machines, etching machines, packaging equipment, and testing technologies. Chinese people often use the term “shooting oneself in the foot”.
Now I can fully understand the meaning of this sentence. Under the pressure of the Americans, the Chinese took three years to complete the independence of the entire semiconductor industry chain. They have gone from 0 to 1, or even from 0 to 10, and the remaining 90 points are just a matter of time. It can be predicted that ten years later, China’s semiconductor industry will crush its peers around the world through its own scale and cost advantages. No one can sanction them because they do it all themselves, from sand to chips.

In fact, the task completed by Mate60 is not perfect. This phone still uses memory chips from Korean suppliers and electronic parts from Japanese suppliers. Although they are not critical parts, this means that it does not achieve the goal 100%.

huawei1
huawei1
  • The phone is equipped with a retractable lens and its mechanical precision is comparable to that of a Swiss watch

Many media are still questioning whether Huawei can produce advanced semiconductors on a large scale and sustainably? Some people even say that their chips are removed from old mobile phones.

Some media have questioned whether Koreans are secretly helping Huawei manufacture mobile phones because Korean memory chips were found on the Mate60.

Now, Pura70 makes all these doubts meaningless. Some anxious media dismantled the phone into parts and put them under a microscope. They found that this phone uses a brand new SOC chip: Kirin 9010. This is only half a year after the release of Kirin 9000s on Mate60. The single-core performance of this chip has improved by at least 15%-20%, which is very close to the latest products of Qualcomm and Apple.

At the same time, those Japanese and Korean parts on the Mate60 are missing. Memory chips, cameras, visual sensors, fingerprint sensors and other accessories have also been completely replaced by Chinese companies.

In a sense, Pura70 is a mobile phone that is truly 100% made in China. This not only includes all key semiconductors and peripheral parts, but also parts in professional fields such as screens and lenses. At the same time, the operating system of this mobile phone is also independent of Android and IOS.

Based on the sales of MATE60, the media predicts that the sales of Pura70 may exceed 10 million units. This is a figure evaluated when Huawei is unable to sell mobile phones outside of China.

  • Pura70 has triggered queues in many big cities in China. Although the phone sells for as high as 1,000-1,500 US dollars, many young people still think it is cool to own a Pura70.

This also means that this is the world’s first top-end smartphone that is “completely unrelated to Western technology” and it has already achieved significant success in the market.

From a professional’s perspective, the launch and large-scale supply of Pura70 proves that China’s high-end electronics manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing industries have gradually separated from the US system. Huawei is just the company at the forefront. Behind it are hundreds of China’s advanced electronic technology suppliers. Behind these suppliers are thousands of second-tier and third-tier suppliers. They can operate completely independently from U.S. global sanctions and restrictions.

This gives the world a new reminder: Advanced technology is not always in the hands of the West. When you are unwilling to share or even use technology as a weapon, people will always find other paths.

MASSIVE NEWS: China Is Building Giant Hypersonic Railgun For Space Launches

A couple months before I turned 8 years old, my dad ordered his first new car, after 25 years of driving used vehicles. It was a big event for a family of modest means. My parents wanted a Ford station wagon and my Mom wanted the maroon color which was supposedly offered. Days after ordering it, they called to say our car had come in. When I went to the dealer with my Dad to watch him pick it up, the salesmen drove up to us in a TAN wagon. “But we asked for MAROON!” Dad objected.

The salesman didn’t miss a beat, saying “You didn’t expect to get the color you ordered, did you?” as he tried to complete the sale. Even at the age of 7, I knew this was an absurd thing to say. My Dad might have accepted it but wisely went home to talk it over with Mom, who firmly stated that she didn’t want the car if it wasn’t what we ordered. So, another dealer got our business. Over 50 years later I still won’t buy from the dealership that employed the sarcastic salesman who tried to make my Dad feel like a fool. (But instead looked like one himself.)

The raw data tells a wild story. Must watch.

Many years ago, I owned a Computer Store in a small town. One day I got a call from the local school district office. I had done work for them in the past and knew a few people that worked there. They were looking to hire a full-time computer technician and were checking someone’s references. I thought this was a bit strange since my staff consisted of me and my wife. And I knew she hadn’t applied for a job.

When they mentioned the name, I laughed out loud. I said, “No, he never worked for me, and let me tell you a story.”

“Several months ago, he called me after hours about an emergency that he had with his computer and could I come in and fix it. After some pleading, I agreed and told him to meet me at the store but that my basic charge was $50.

After a few minutes diagnostic, I discovered a fairly basic mistake that he had made in building it, which took me about 20 minutes to fix. I charged him $50, and he complained and tried to talk me down, but eventually, he wrote me a check. A few days, later, I went to cash the check, and it bounced.

[The reason I remember this guy so well is because this was a small town, and people didn’t write bad checks. I had never gotten a bad check, EVER. Except for his.]

Now, I have no $50 and a check return fee -$20. I wasn’t going to let him get away with that, so I called his bank every day, asking if his account could cover it. A couple of weeks later, there were enough funds in his account. So, I immediately drove to his bank (which was about 20 minutes away) and cashed the check. A week later he called me to complain that I had caused a different check of his to bounce. “

So, no, he never worked for me and I’m not sure how competent a computer repair person he is. And He lied on his application. Any other questions?

She said, “No, I think that about sums it up.”

1. Never cry for the person that hurts you. Just smile and say,

“Thank you for giving me the chance to have someone better than you.

2. Don’t hate jealous people. They are jealous because they thinks you are better than them.

3. Don’t waste your time on revenge. Those who hurt you will eventually face their own karma.

4. Don’t tell anyone about your plans, show them the result instead.

5. There is no market for your emotions, so don’t advertise your feelings. Show only your attitude.

6. Don’t give up. Your day will come. It’s just a matter of time.

7. If you help someone and expect anything in return. of you foes, you’re doing a business not kindness.

8. Trust means everything, but once it’s broken, sorry means nothing.

9. Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come.

10. Never leave a true relationship for few faults. Nobody is perfect and no one is always correct. At the end, you will discover that affection is greater than perfection.

11. Don’t attend a funeral just to let people know how you cared for a person. Show them how much you cared about them when they are alive.

12. Don’t make a promise out of joy. And don’t take a decision out of sadness.

13. Don’t expect loyalty from people that can not give you honesty.

14. Don’t give up. The beginning is always the hardest.

15. You will not know the value of a moment until you lose it. Value the moments you have before they become a memory.

16. Lastly, APPRECIATION remains the easiest way of getting what you don’t have….After reading a good message try to say “Thanks for the message”.

Taco Chili

One of Lincoln’s very favorite foods right now is tacos. If you ask him what he wants for dinner, 100% of the time he’ll tell you tacos. Ben gets a little sick of having the same thing every week though, so I thought I’d switch things up with Taco Chili!

I know, I know – living on the edge – but the second thing Lincoln will tell you he wants for dinner after tacos is soup or chili so this meal is a win-win at my house. Each spoonful of Taco Chili tastes like a big bite of a taco, but since it’s thick and hearty it’s perfect for this time of year when you need a dish that will warm you up on chilly (har) nights.

Taco Chili Crock Pot Friendly iowagirleats 01 srgb
Taco Chili Crock Pot Friendly iowagirleats 01 srgb

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup (1 medium) onion, chopped
  • 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
  • 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 (10 ounce) can Ro*Tel
  • 1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (5 ounce) can chili beans in chili sauce
  • 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
  • Shredded mozzarella, Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
  • Slightly crushed tortilla chips
Taco Chili Crock Pot Friendly iowagirleats 02 srgb
Taco Chili Crock Pot Friendly iowagirleats 02 srgb

Instructions

  1. In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion, one-half at a time, until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat.
  2. Transfer to a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker.
  3. Stir in dry taco seasoning mix, diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chiles, pinto beans, chili beans in chili sauce and corn.
  4. Cover; cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
  5. Sprinkle each serving with some cheese and chips.
Taco Chili Crock Pot Friendly iowagirleats 03 srgb
Taco Chili Crock Pot Friendly iowagirleats 03 srgb

You fellows don’t want to buy a car today.

Years ago I decided that being a young stud that I wanted a Mustang, maybe it should be said I needed a Ford Mustang but I’m also cheap so I’d figured I’d buy a used one. I also had a dad who loved to dicker especially when it came to cars, so he came up to the city I was living in and off we went to go car shopping.

We looked at a few, finally found one at a used car lot. We had talked about what I wanted to pay and so we started the dance. The salesman opened the hood and showed us the engine and everything else. He gave us a price, we gave a counter bid, he went to his manager, you know the game. Came back out, a lower offer, we talked over and counter offered. This went on for a couple rounds. Did I mention I was cheap and so was my dad?

Finally the salesman came up, slammed down the hood and said, ‘You fellows don’t want to buy a car today.’ We went down the street, found Avis and bought one a year newer with less mileage, and my dad told me after we left, ‘Do you think we should go back and tell him we bought a car today?’ God, I miss that man!

Thanks Sarah for the edits. I’m a paramedic not an English major or minor.

I’d like to thank all you kind folks who have read and upvoted this story. My dad would have got a hoot out of how many people have enjoyed it.

“She’s already gone.”

I was sixteen years old and my best friend in the world, Rachel, had just turned sixteen and gotten her driver’s license.

We had been inseparable for years. Youth group trips, summer camp, swapping clothes, obsessing over crushes…she had her own bedroom at my house but we always pulled out sleeping bags and camped in mine.

I saw my first ever rock video on MTV at her house – “Vogue” by Madonna. We wanted to be Madge when we grew up.

Our theme song was “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and we would sing it to each other whenever one of us was upset.

We planned on having a double wedding; we would be each other’s maids of honor in our wedding dresses, which we spent hours obsessing over.

One Sunday morning she was driving to church by herself when she had a brain aneurysm rupture. Her car hit a telephone pole head-on after she lost consciousness.

I was helping with children’s church when I heard she had been rushed to the hospital. The prognosis was bad.

Very bad.

Rachel spent three days in a coma. I spent every second I could at the hospital, though they wouldn’t let me into the ICU to see her.

There was a special prayer circle called on Tuesday evening to pray for her recovery.

I was in that prayer circle when someone came in and said the words.

Rachel was gone.

How could that be?? She literally died while dozens of people were holding hands in a circle, begging God to save her.

A world without my best friend was impossible to comprehend.

Curled up in a ball under a crib in the church’s nursery, I sobbed.

I railed at God – he had broken our bargain. Rachel was so good, her faith so strong…we had all prayed so hard…this isn’t how it was supposed to be!

My heart broke that day and still has a hole where Rachel used to live.

That was also when the faith I had held so dear all my life started to fracture. The split took another five years to complete, but it started that Tuesday night under a baby bed.

Some AI generated Pictures

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Default A 1950s era pinup In the opulent 1950s golden age of i 0

VOLTAIRE NETWORK | 20 APRIL 2024

The Israeli attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus was a clear violation of the Vienna Convention. No one disputed it. The Israeli justification that militia meetings were held there does not change this fact.

The Iranian response to this attack, whatever one thinks of it, is therefore legitimate with regard to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. No one should dispute that. Remarks that Iran did not have the right to send aircraft through third-party airspace do not change this fact. Yet the UN Security Council has failed to agree to condemn the Israeli attack in Syria. It was also unable to judge the Iranian response.

The speeches no longer come from the legal sphere, but from the political one.

Thus, outside the UN Security Council, the Office of Argentine President Javier Milei “expressed its solidarity and unwavering commitment to the Israeli State following the attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Argentine Republic recognizes the right of Nation States to defend themselves and firmly supports the Israeli State in defending its sovereignty, in particular against regimes that encourage terror and seek to destroy Western civilization.”

The prize for confusion goes without any doubt to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who declared on X: “I strongly condemn Iran’s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel. And I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately stop these attacks. All actors must now refrain from any further escalation and work to restore stability in the region.” High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell added: “The EU strongly condemns the unacceptable Iranian aggression against the Jewish state. This is an unprecedented escalation and a serious threat to regional security.”

For his part, deputy permanent representative of Russia to the UNSC Dmitri Polyanskiy posted on Telegram: “Once again we are convinced that the cynicism of our Western colleagues and their selective blindness knows no bounds. Now, they don’t even remember that they refused to prevent escalation by not supporting our proposed draft UN Security Council press statement condemning the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate. As was the case with the beginning of our military defense in Ukraine, the history for them begins with the Iranian retaliation. And the Israelis predictably escalate in their signature manner: Israel is the victim, everyone else is to blame (…) And now this Franco-Saxon-Natanyakha gang will begin to rock the region, blaming Iran for all its sins. Haven’t we already seen all this before?”

Not me but my wife. She graduated with her bachelor’s in 2010, during the time that certain degrees were all but worthless and finding a job was tough to say the least. She ended up taking a job at a small makeup boutique that her friend’s wealthy parents owned.

This store was literally a ploy by her friend’s parents to keep her in town by giving her a project. She lost interest in about a month and her parents were locked into the property for several years, so they had to keep the store open. They offered my wife the manager position which she was happy to take.

The store was literally five minutes from an Ulta, so saying they didn’t do well was an understatement. The owners also refused to adequately restock their inventory, so the few potential customers they could have had quickly gave up after a few visits being unable to find what they needed.

After the first six months, they frequently had days with zero sales and not a single customer through the doors. Luckily for my wife, they had the computer that rung up sales Connected to the Internet with completely unrestricted access. for 7 hours a day, five days a week, she would be on Facebook, play online games, read articles, and generally waste time. For the first hour she would clean and do pull over from the night before, but stopped bothering to do inventory after the first few inventory replenishment requests to the owners went ignored.

She worked there for 18 months total before leaving. Later one of her former coworkers told her that the owners with no warning shut the place down and emptied the store out in the middle of the night, not bothering to tell the employees until they showed up the next day that they were out of a job. I understand that they were trying to save money on the labor and utility costs by closing, but giving zero warning was cowardly and unethical.

I’ll tell you a story.

There’s this girl who aced all her subjects in secondary school.

Not just acing but award-worthy educational success.

She was so good that at her Junior Secondary 3 (JSS 3) level, she was solving mathematical problems from Senior Secondary 1 & 2 (SS 1 & 2) curriculum.

1st Mistake

She loved Maths & computers but was admitted into the university to study Geology.

Today, she still thinks she would have been a statistics wizard if she’d been allowed to just study Math or Engineering. You know – subjects where she doesn’t have to always cram some qualitative garbage but provide quantitative solutions.

2nd Mistake

When she got into the university, she realized she didn’t have to study very hard. Very few people were bothering to anyway. She was extremely smart & could hold her own but it became easier to combine intellectual efforts with other students at assignments, tests & final exams.

The system allowed it.

All her friends did it so, why fight it?

3rd Mistake

While at school, no one ever taught her how to write a résumé or successfully approach interviews.

She, just like everyone around her wanted a good life but the system pretty much set them up to fail.

When she graduated, she met a professional at an international oil & gas company who asked her what she wanted to do in life & to explain her undergraduate degree experience but she was not prepared for that.

She gave answers which were weak, mostly incoherent, lacked precision or clarity.

She’d never thought of herself in that light.

The internet wasn’t readily accessible back then so she was pretty much left on her own with her fellow ignorant peers.

She also had a great & supportive family who she leaned on.

Luckily for her, she got some mentors, then left the country for her masters degree.


At 1st, she struggled at her Canadian university.

Correcting her 2nd mistake

She had to actually learn all those skills & resources she didn’t bother with back in Nigeria due to combined students’ efforts.

She had to read all those textbooks she never bothered with in her Nigerian university in order to excel at her program.

Correcting her 3rd mistake

She also met lecturers whose method of teaching was about empowering students to run with their ideas.

It wasn’t about multiple choice questions but making a case of why Case A is better/worse than Case B.

It made her actually think for the 1st time in her life. She learned how to make great presentations. It was a confidence boost. It was exhilarating!

She learned about plagiarism which is a very despicable thing. She also learned about self-development, professional development & presentations.

She learned it was ok to make decisions, make mistakes & then learn from them.

She became comfortable working alone & also with a team. She learned the power of independence.

She was a different person.

She became more confident about her thoughts & ideas. No one laughs at her mistakes nor condemns her for them.

Her bosses don’t care about always being right or barking orders at those under them. Team contributions is crucial, encouraged & needed.

Everybody is equal. No one feared anyone. It was a healthy environment. She was valued. She freely runs her program the way she sees fit.

This is my story.

There’s no correcting my 1st mistake. If I ever do, I’ll tell a story about it.

If you read this, you’d understand how the Nigerian system encourages laziness & might discourage talent because of envy or pride.

Many Nigerian graduates are victims of their own underdeveloped & redundant society.

Maybe with the internet, a few might self-improve. Otherwise, they’re unemployable because there’s very few people to teach them better.

Note to any Nigerian student reading this – don’t take the easy way out. Read not just to pass your examinations but to actually know.

You’d be truly a better person & student for it.

Good luck!

Chinese treatment for Blinkin and Janet Yelen

No red carpet, and met by Kong Fu-An, Director General of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, at the tarmac.

My understanding is the head of a province-level Foreign Affairs Office counts as a Bureau Chief, or a Level 5, Rank 11–12 Civil Servant.

This is one step below the welcome Olaf received when he landed in Chongqing.

Note both Janet and Antony did not land in Beijing directly, unlike the last time they were in town.

Most powerful finance minister in the world—meh.

Most powerful diplomat in the world—meh.

 

When my daughter told me, I had her design her idea of the perfect tattoo no matter what it was or how big …anything. I reminded her it was forever and would never come off so she had to choose wisely. That was the first problem. She couldn’t decide. She had many good ideas but when the idea of “forever” came up she always changed her mind. When she finally came up with her final choice she still handed it to me with some trepidation. Second step was for me to take it to a tattoo artist, a good one, to get a quote. I showed my daughter the quote $1,200 that she would be required to pay for herself. Step three was a surprise to her. I took the artwork she gave me and sent it to a custom temporary tattoo maker that made long term tattoos. I had it made and applied it exactly where she wanted it. My daughter was thrilled for about a week. The tattoo clashed with some of her favorite clothes and it was too visible so she couldn’t hide it. It made her pretty, dainty prom dress look kinda cheap. Looked good with jeans and a tank top but she liked variety…bummer. People treated her differently and judged her before they knew her and it really bothered her. She started trying to hide it rather than show it off. Two months in she asked me for the special solution to take it off. I refused because “tattoos are forever.” She was angry but I reminded her she made her own choices now she had to live with them. It eventually wore off and when she became an adult I told her she should start saving for her tattoo. She thanked me for the “lesson” I gave her because now that she was older her tastes had changed and IF she ever decides to get one it will probably be small, likely just one color and someplace hidden. She is an adult now. She can do what she wants but at least I know she will think before she leaps and that is all I can ask for.

CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala has been consistently panned in recent years for lacking creativity and lowering standards, and this year was no exception.

However, one segment won almost universal praise on Chinese social media – 《山河詩長安》/Poem for the Landscape of Chang’an.

It is an excellent showcasing of Xi’an culture, both old and new, from Qin opera to Shaanxi hip hop. Chang’an (the historical name for Xi’an) was known as one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, and the capital city of various dynasties, most notably the Tang Dynasty.

Here’s the 6 minute video…

We see people making merry and enjoying local festivities, and historical characters such as the Tang poet Li Bai brought back to life with 3D technology. To hear people chanting ancient poems in unison, as the country enters the space age, had me awestruck.

main qimg ecbbef2eb633f8c8c0d8bab54bceb171
main qimg ecbbef2eb633f8c8c0d8bab54bceb171

This is what China is – the only surviving ancient civilisation, its history as long as it is unbroken; a place where ancient traditions and memories still live on, rising from the ashes as peacefully as a civilisation possibly could, and is now leading the world into a bright and better future.

There are legends, poems and lessons here dating back thousands of years ago, that even the least educated Chinese person knows by heart, but would elude even the most dedicated western Sinologist.

(DON’T BOTHER WATCHING IT IF YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND Chinese)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itw2GTN41P8

Contrast this to Taiwan/the Republic of China, where a local teacher went viral recently for protesting the Ministry of Education’s policy of de-Sinicisation. Under the new education reforms, students would be less exposed to Chinese history and culture, and less time would be allocated to the teaching of Chinese classics and poetry.

This is why I could never accept the neoliberal western narrative of Taiwan (ROC) being the “real China”. A regime that is truly legitimate in the eyes of the Chinese people, that truly has the best interests of the Yellow River civilisation at heart, that is truly representative of its people, would not so hastily abandon its heritage in an attempt to appeal to outsiders.

But when you force a people to abandon everything that defined who they are, the question becomes what to replace it with. In Taiwan’s case, attempts at westernisation and Japanisation have both been met with limited success, as have all other attempts at creating an independent “Taiwanese” national identity from scratch. As it turns out, you can’t just artificially create history and culture where before there was none.

This cynical historical nihilism, this dreadful feeling of emptiness and rootlessness, is devastating to the youth of “real China”. They don’t know who they are, what values to hold, where they truly belong, who and what to look up to, what to believe. Even conscription changes nothing – they know not for whom or what they fight (which is why they strongly reject mandatory military service).

At a time when the whole world is beginning to learn Chinese, Taiwan’s politically driven de-Sinicisation is not only counterproductive, but self-sabotaging.

I am glad that in the mainland at least, the best aspects of Chinese culture are being preserved and celebrated, contrary to public perception in certain parts of the world that once invaded, enslaved, slaughtered and stole from the Chinese nation, but now feign to care about our wellbeing.

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main qimg d600d05b6e0f647172a183a507295672

Lemme give you an example of why I think it is important to hold on to the wisdom of our ancestors. This part of the Spring Festival Gala features one of Li Bai’s poems that is most fitting for our times. Here is an excerpt:

天生我材必有用,千金散盡還復來!

“The talents bestowed upon me shall certainly be of use; and so what if I have exhausted my fortune? It shall all come back to me!”

Times are tough, and I know many of you are having money problems or self esteem issues. But be confident in knowing that you are not worthless, just keep honing your skills and looking out for opportunities to prove yourself. And rest assured that a bad investment and such is not the end of the world. You will recover financially if you’re a bit more cautious in the future.

From Zhuhai to the world, may all of you have a great Year of the Dragon.

main qimg eac7b936de1ad290429ae0760614ca8f
main qimg eac7b936de1ad290429ae0760614ca8f

Italian Sausage Soup

Italian Sausage Soup SpendWithPennies 4
Italian Sausage Soup SpendWithPennies 4

A Fave Flavorful Soup

This soup is a “one-pot wonder” so there is less mess and less clean-up.
You can add any veggie you’d like into this recipe (and swap up the pasta with orzo or any shape you love)!

Use hot or mild sausage to your liking (or even meatballs if you’d prefer).
This soup reheats well making it great for lunches. Freeze in individual portions (before adding pasta) to keep it even longer.

Yield: 7 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 pound hot or mild Italian sausage
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, cut into half rings
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans
  • 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth

Ingredients

Italian Sausage Use either mild, sweet, or spicy Italian sausage in this soup. No Italian sausage? No problem, use ground pork, chicken, or beef with the same spices we use in our homemade Italian sausage.

BROTH We use chicken broth in this soup but beef broth works just as well.

VEGETABLES Loads of different kinds of veggies like tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, and onion make this soup filling with lots of nutrients, too. Add whatever is in your fridge!

FLAVORS Add a delicious blend of Italian Seasoning or use your own special blend of favorite spices! We also add Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley as a garnish!

Variations

  • Feel free to switch up the ingredients with leftovers like adding chicken in place of the sausage, or kale instead of the spinach.
  • White beans can be replaced with lentils or garbanzos, long grain rice, and a liberal dose of cheese.
  • Diced potatoes are a good substitute for pasta as well! Add a can of condensed creamy tomato soup for extra-rich broth.

How to Make Italian Sausage Soup

Veggies and sausage with pasta tastes amazing and it’s so easy to make this classic soup!

  1. Brown sausage, with onion & garlic per recipe below.
  2. Add broth, beans, vegetables and simmer until tender. Stir in zucchini for the last few minutes.
  3. In a separate pot, cook pasta al dente, drain. Add to the pot (or to bowls).
  4. Garnish with parsley & Parmesan cheese.
Italian Sausage Soup SpendWithPennies 7
Italian Sausage Soup SpendWithPennies 7

Slow Cooker Method:

  1. Brown sausage, onion, & garlic. Drain.
  2. Add all ingredients except pasta, zucchini and spinach.
  3. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours adding zucchini in the last 30-40 minutes.
  4. Stir in cooked pasta and garnish with parsley & Parmesan cheese & serve.

Leftovers

If you plan for leftovers or to freeze this soup, keep the pasta separate and cook fresh pasta for serving.

  • Keep Italian sausage soup in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • Reheat in the microwave or reheat the whole pot on the stovetop.
  • Freeze in zippered bags with the date written on the outside.

I was returning home to NC after a job in Davidson, SC. Red and blue lights come on behind me so I, of course, pull over to the right. A sheriff’s deputy walks up to my window and asked if I knew why I’d been pulled over. I informed him I did not. He requested my license and registration, which I provided. He then stated that I had been driving 65 in a 55. I had been doing 60, so I was speeding but not at the speed he indicated. I asked to see his radar and camera showing he had indeed clocked me at said speed. He said he hadn’t used radar, but instead he’d paced me.

He hadn’t been behind me long enough to do so, so I said again that I hadn’t been driving that fast. He replied with, “You were definitely going 65 because I had to drive that fast to catch up with you.” I sat there in stunned silence, letting that sink in, for a moment. I said, “Excuse me?”. He again said I had been going 65 because he had to go that fast to catch up to me. I asked him, “If I’m going 65 and you’re going 65, how long would it take you to catch up with me?” He said he didn’t know how long it had taken him, but it wasn’t long. I was amused. I asked again and he asked what I was getting at. I informed him that I was just looking for clarification for when I go to court to dispute the ticket. I then told him that if I was going 65 and he was going 65 he would always remain the same distance behind me. This meant I had to have been going slower than 65. I then asked if his patrol camera recorded sound, as I’d be requesting the recording for court.

He handed me my license, advised me to slow down and have a nice day, then went back to his car.

Source is RAND

main qimg 5edf37bb5b084cf19c932179313c0aed
main qimg 5edf37bb5b084cf19c932179313c0aed

Back in 2000, I worked at the Super 8 hotel in the city where I lived in Tennessee. I worked in housekeeping. The hotel didn’t get a great deal of customers being in a small city.

One morning when I got to work I noticed several full-sized white vans in the parking lot once inside I found out it was a group traveling selling magazines. Almost all of the rooms had been rented which might sound bad but it’s not because if they are staying for any length of time you simply take out trash and make sure they have plenty of towels.

My day goes by fairly quickly. I finished up the last room and was headed towards the laundry room when a guy stepped out of a room and was going in the same direction as me. I notice he is following me but I’m not worried because there are other rooms he could be going to. When he followed Me downstairs is when I felt uneasy because at the bottom of the stairs is laundry room and a small storage room. When I got to the laundry room other maids were in there dropping off laundry and he simply turned and went back up the stairs.

Everything went pretty normal and quite easy because everyone in that group is gone all day selling magazines from door to door so you go in clean up a little make up the beds and restock towels. This is about the 4th day of them being at the hotel I’m cleaning rooms as usual. I clean the upstairs rooms around back last because they are close to the upstairs storage room.

I was on one of the last rooms on my list which was on the back side. I go in make up the bed, vacuum and take out the garbage. I go into the bathroom to count the towels and wash out the tub when I pulled the shower curtain back there stood that guy who followed me to the laundry room. He was fully dressed obviously hiding. My stomach dropped he had no expression on his face just staring at me. He pulled the curtain rest of the way open and started to step out of the tub and the manager of the Hotel hollers here are your towels you called for. Not wanting to turn my back on him I yell I’m in here my boss bitches a little then bring them to me and is beyond mad that the guy is hiding in the shower and makes him leave the room and wait outside till I’m done with his room.

On the way to the office he asked me why I didn’t tell him he was in the room when I called for towels. I would have told him if I had called for towels but I didn’t call laundry and certainly not him for anything . I don’t understand how he got a call to come to that room but I am thankful for whatever happened because a few days after that they left and moved on to a hotel in Knoxville TN where that same guy that hid in the shower raped and stabbed an elderly lady and stole her car. The police said it was the worst crime scene they had seen in a while.

Tony Blinken Back to China: Begging Bowl in one Hand & a Knife in the Other!

Have you heard about Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to China? Mainstream media will have you believe that he is going to address the path to peace in West Asia, among other global issues. But let me tell you, it’s all a distraction. The truth is, the US government has no intention of truly addressing global issues. They use these high-profile meetings and trips to China as a way to distract the public from the real issues at hand. While they talk about peace in West Asia, they continue to fuel conflicts and wars for their own benefit. Don’t be fooled by the headlines and the fancy speeches. Secretary Blinken’s trip is just a facade, a charade to make us believe that they care about global peace and stability. But in reality, it’s all about politics and power. So, the next time you see news about Secretary Blinken’s trip to China, remember that it’s just a distraction from the truth.

 

How a real traditional home used to be run

The Chinese have been building and installing Chinese components to replace the components the U.S. has blocked so that Chinese supply chains are not affected.

Did you expect the Chinese to stop and give up because of the sanctions?

Sorry, that isn’t how the Chinese work.

Mark Sleboda: Putin and China Issue DEVASTATING Warning to Blinken, Neocons and They’re Not Bluffing

International Relations and Security analyst Mark Sleboda explains how Blinken’s latest visit to China exposes the weakening position of the neocons and their inability to compete on the world stage with both Russia and China, both of which are warning that further escalation will lead to all out war. This is not a bluff, so be sure to watch the video in full to understand how HUGE this all is.

That’s a loaded question if I ever saw one.

Last night somebody said me in China would be immediately executed if I was critical of Xi Jinping. He spoke with ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE because being a westerner makes you omniscient.

Funny, I live in China Hong Kong province. Where I see Falun Gong operate openly and distribute their publication everyday and they call for the destruction of China and the government. Similarly Shun Bot on here is openly critical of Xi Jinping as am I, and I don’t know about him, but I go over to Shenzhen a fair bit and yet here I am totally not dead.

In that just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen! It’s almost like Americans! Everything outside stopped once the USA was founded. Stuff goes on when you’re not looking.

Oh sure you can call Biden an ass, but guess what? It does nothing other than make you feel good momentarily.

So there’s totally no name calling in China? Oh there is if you understand Chinese and go on Chinese forums, but you can’t read that can you?

There’s also something completely unknown by those omniscient westerners. In that if you have a real grievance? You complain via official channels, but here’s the catch it needs to be genuine and you need to have evidence. The fact that numerous CPC officials RIGHT at the TOP have been sentenced to death for corruption instigated by people complaining is pretty telling.

Meanwhile, has anybody been investigated in western governments? Jon Corzine literally diverted 1bn USD into his Caymen islands bank account and paid a small fine for it, he didn’t end up picking up any soap in a prison shower.

Was Antony Blinken’s recent visit to China a complete failure or just another round of political posturing? Dive into the details of the U.S. Secretary of State’s three-day interaction with Chinese officials and explore whether any real progress was made on critical issues. Despite the positive rhetoric, it seems the visit may have fallen short of expectations.

Join me as I dissect for you the nuances of Blinken’s diplomatic efforts & unravel the complexities of U.S.-China relations. Is it all just a facade for domestic audiences?

Some comics

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They are dead serious

Selling TikTok would mean the US can bully every Chinese company doing Business in USA to divest or leave

There are laws about transfer of IP or IP licenses belonging to Chinese entities without permission of the Government

So selling TikTok isn’t an option.

Meanwhile if you notice, China is becoming more and more conducive to foreign investments

Tesla is the best example

China didn’t force Tesla to divest 70% to BYD or Geely. .

China already has the money and capital

As US acts insane and stupid, newer Chinese entities who once would have gone to US for establishing a startup or a business will stay back in China and develop there

China has the under rated stock market today

Soon it’s possible that emerging economy players will seek financing in China over the US for unique high technology products especially as China has the enormous Capital and the Market and the Supply Chain

China can replace the US in Capital today with $ 19 Trillion in Public Savings

China has the huge market of 430 million consumers

The only thing stopping people from going to China to seek capital and establish business is because China is authoritarian and US has all these laws and systems

Now as US abandons these laws and systems, Chinas system begins to look less authoritative and that’s what China is aiming for

So why would they sell TikTok?

Bytedance has more revenue earning products including DOUYIN

Anything that makes the US look insane is a Chinese win

My wife has had a concussion ,that she never fully recovered from a few years back. It can make her impulsive and has really messed with her sense of balance. I have asked her not to go down our steep basement stairs by herself, as an example of my concerns. My wife does not like other people doing things for her, she hates the idea that she might need help.

We retired out in the country, but still had the place in the city, which was empty because we were getting ready to sell it. The insurance company removed our burst pipe insurance, because no one was living in it. We had a cold snap and it dropped below minus 40 in the night, and didn’t get above minus 30 during the day.

So I went to the city to do some work on the house, and make sure a pipe didn’t burst.

The previous winter, our high efficiency furnace exhaust at our country place had frozen up, and shut down our furnace when it reached minus 35 for a week. So I insulated the exhaust pipe. Which on an older furnace would have been called a chimney. I was satisfied that it would take more than a week to freeze up this time.

So I am in the city, sitting out the cold snap and my wife is in the country. The furnace is running fine, but she can’t get to sleep, worrying that the exhaust will freeze up.

So at 1:00 in the morning, in minus 40 weather, she puts a ladder up against the house, grabs a crowbar, and climbs onto the snowy roof, and chips the ice that has formed on the exhaust off. She didn’t bring her phone with her.

Then she climbs back down the wobbly ladder. Its in deep snow and hasn’t sunk all the way to the ground.

She goes to bed and gets a good night’s sleep.

She is so proud of herself, that its painful for me ,to tell her to never do that again. Our nearest neighbor in the winter is a kilometer away. If she had fallen, or if the ladder had fallen, leaving her trapped on the roof in minus 40. She wouldn’t have lasted 2 hours, and she didn’t even take her phone.

I have gone up there and done the same thing. But never in the dark, never alone, I always had someone watching me. I always dug out the snow before placing the ladder. I never went up when it was below minus 35, though I would have if I had to.

The person to be fired was sitting in the VP’s office. Also present were an HR Rep, a person from Legal and the department manager (the immediate supervisor was not present).

The VP opened a folder and began to explain all the evidence they’d gathered. Theft of time, theft of property, misuse of resources and a few other things.

The firee held up his hand and said “Hey, you don’t need to read all that to me, and I’m sure you missed quite a bit. If that document you have there is an admission of wrongdoing, I get to say I was a voluntary quit and I can go my merry way as long as I don’t go around s**t-mouthing you, let me have it.”

According to the HR person (who told me about this), dead silence for a moment. Jaws dropping, and then the employee said “You guys are sloppy so maybe you should hire me back to stop people like me. I never got away with my crap anywhere else as long as I did here.”

More silence, then:

“Look, you know as well as me that if what I got away with ever got out to the clients, they’d be tripping over each other to rip up their contracts. You’re busy I’m sure and I guess I have to go get another job now so no games, okay. Just let me read that to be sure it won’t bite me and I’ll be on my way.”

The VP silently handed him the document, he read it, signed it and dated it. His parting words were “By the way, there’s nothing at my workstation I want, so just toss it if you like. See ya …”. Legal started to say “but we need to tell you about COBRA and your unemployment claim …” and he answered with “I probably know that stuff better than you. I can’t afford COBRA, I don’t qualify for unemployment because I’m a voluntary quit under what amounts to a gag agreement and I was never in the company retirement plan. See ya … got things to do.”

And he was gone, taking the 20 steps to the elevator never to be seen (by us) again.


Let it be said that there were a few VERY embarrassed people in that room. It soon became evident that he was telling the truth about all he got away with. A lot was right under the noses of the two area supervisors, but we had nothing in place at that time to pick up abuse of our email system (employees didn’t yet have Web access).

What caught him was that our Operations Manager, responsible for phone use, picked up on him quickly once he started abusing the phones (by calling 900 numbers). He hadn’t been misusing the phones prior to that. So the OpMgr was not only safe, but somewhat a hero. The employee, by not staying, never heard the part about his phone misuse and so never knew exactly how he was caught.

As a result:

  • Both supervisors were put on final written warning.
  • The department head got an oral to start paying more attention to what was going on “out there on the floor.”
  • IT was authorized to hire a SysAdmin and to immediately implement steps to prevent future email abuse.

Never Become Reliant On Other People or Things For Peace and Happiness

 

It’s so damn easy to get caught up in the trap of thinking that our happiness is dependent on external factors.

We convince ourselves that we’ll finally be content and at peace when we have that perfect relationship, that dream job, that luxurious house, or that fat bank account.

 

But here’s the harsh truth: relying on other people or material things to make you happy is a recipe for perpetual disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Because the reality is, no one and nothing outside of yourself can fill the voids within you. That’s an inside job.

Sure, a loving partner, a fulfilling career, and financial abundance can certainly enhance your life and bring you joy. But if you’re not already at peace with yourself, if you haven’t cultivated a deep sense of self-love and self-worth, those external things will never be enough.

You’ll always be chasing the next high, the next temporary fix, the next shiny object that you think will finally complete you. But it’s a mirage. A fleeting illusion that leaves you thirstier than before.

The truth is, genuine, sustainable happiness comes from within. It comes from learning to love and accept yourself fully, flaws and all. It comes from discovering your passions and purpose and pursuing them with unbridled enthusiasm. It comes from developing a rock-solid relationship with your own damn self.

When you’re truly at peace with who you are, when you’ve built an unshakeable foundation of self-love and self-respect, external circumstances lose their power over you. You’re no longer a slave to your surroundings, no longer dependent on others for your emotional wellbeing.

You become the master of your own happiness, the alchemist of your own joy.

And from that place of inner peace and wholeness, you can build deeply fulfilling relationships and achieve incredible things. But they become the cherry on top, not the entire fucking sundae.

So stop waiting for someone or something outside of yourself to make you feel complete. Stop giving your power away to external forces that are ultimately beyond your control.

Start turning inward. Start excavating the gold that’s already within you. Start cultivating an unbreakable bond with yourself.

Because at the end of the day, you are the only one who can give yourself the love, acceptance, and validation you crave. You are the only one who can fill your own cup until it overflows with abundant peace, happiness, and self-assuredness.

And when you learn to do that, when you become your own primary source of joy and fulfillment, you become truly unstoppable. You become the kind of person who radiates contentment and gratitude wherever you go, regardless of your external reality.

That’s the kind of happiness worth striving for – the kind that comes from within and can never be taken away from you. The kind that endures through life’s inevitable ups and downs. The kind that allows you to weather any storm with grace and resilience.

So stop searching for yourself in other people and things. Stop making your happiness contingent on circumstances beyond your control.

Start digging deep within yourself. Start unearthing the peace and joy that’s already there, just waiting to be unleashed. Start cultivating an ironclad sense of self-love and self-reliance.

Because when you do, you’ll find that everything you’ve been searching for has been inside you all along. And that, my friend, is the ultimate freedom.

Some AI generations

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  1. As someone who cleaned crime scenes, it is both amazing and creepy how well casinos would make every effort to cover up any suicides in the parking lots. The casinos know this is bad PR and they don’t want anyone to know that such occurs more than what one may think. Gambling addicts have the highest rate of suicide amongst all other addicts combined. Don’t believe such a statistic? Feel free to research it.
  2. Casinos make the majority of their profits from gambling addicts. The kind who will gamble any time they have $20, electric bill be damned. If it wasn’t for the gambling addicts, casinos would not prosper nearly as much. It isn’t the high rollers nor the couple who goes out for a date. Those folks definitely help the profit margin but at the end of the day, the compulsive gamblers are where the majority of their profits originate from.
  3. Casinos give the option of banning yourself but it’s a laughable illusion. I’ve known many folks who banned their self for five years and never had an issue entering during their ban. If you chest the casino, then somehow their facial recognition technology suddenly works. Imagine that….
  4. Whenever a person jackpots, the manager of whatever area of the casino will come by and congratulate you. They will then take your I.D. ad disappear for a bit. What they are doing is trying to find out any possible way to not pay what is owed. Banned? You aren’t entitled to your jackpot. Have warrants? Good luck with that. The manager will then return with some dimwitted hostess. No one knows what the hostess actually does besides stand around and wear that plastic smile of theirs. They of course expect a nice tip for not actually even accomplishing anything. I will tip the folks cleaning out ash trays becsuse those workers actually have a real job which doesn’t rely on flirting with old men for better tips (basically prostituting one’s self in a way).

There are other things as well but I don’t wanna end up typing out a rambling explanation which goes on for hours.

Pep Talk on a Dark Day

“We live in an age of full spectrum deception.” — Edward Dowd

Clusterfuck Nation


You realize, don’t you, that what’s going on in our country is the collapse not just of an empire, or an economy, but a comprehensive paradigm of human progress. The hallmark of post-war life in Western Civ was supposed to be a return to sanity after the mid-twentieth century fugue of mass psychotic violence. The wish for just and rational order was not entirely pretense. But that was then. Now that we are going medieval on ourselves, the not-so-ironic result will be our literally going medieval, sinking back into a pre-modern existence of darkness, superstition, and penury, grubbing for a mere subsistence in the shadow of scuffling hobgoblins, our achievements lost and forgotten.

What’s most appalling is that our governing apparatus is visibly willing that to happen. When Barack Obama warned America to not underestimate Joe Biden’s ability to fuck things up, was that some kind of joke? After all, it was Mr. Obama and his fellow blobsters — the cabal of Intel spooks, covert Marxist bureaucrats, lawfare ninjas, globalist megalomaniacs, post-liberal think tankers, weapons grifters, degenerate billionaires, and assorted mentally-ill camp followers — who inflicted Joe Biden on the body politic. And then ran him on the country like some demon algorithm designed to wreck the USA as fast as possible.

The source of anguish in all that is the struggle to understand why they would want that to happen. What debauched sense of history would drive anyone to such lunatic desperation? It’s a cliché now to say that the Democratic Party has turned its traditional moral scaffold upside down and inside out. It acts against the kitchen table interests of the working and middle classes. It’s against civil liberties. It demands mental obedience to patently insane policy. It’s avid for war, no matter how cruelly pointless. It’s deliberately stirring up racial hatred. It despises personal privacy. It feeds a rogue bureaucracy that has become a veritable Moloch, an all-devouring malevolent deity. And now, rather suddenly, it aligns itself with a faction that seeks to exterminate the Jews.

And how did the opposition to that epic divergence into bad faith turn so flabby? How did the Republican Party roll over and wheeze so feebly while the FBI ran amok swatting grandmothers in dawn raids, and the US attorney general made justice a whore, and a Republican Congress allowed the Frankenstein agency of Homeland Security to flood the country with its enemies and give them gobs of operational cash? If Mr. Trump was unappetizing to them as a leader, why were they unable to produce an alternative figure of standing and stature at least equally resolute? They look like traitors and cowards.

For the moment, the country lies mired, inert, and demoralized in the face of in those terrible mysteries. But events are still tending and the hidden hand of emergence still operates backstage, preparing surprises for us. You are necessarily aware that the center did not hold. It’s even hard to locate where the center used to be with the action so heavy on the far-out margins. You’re watching drag queens importune young children to shove all the Jews into the sea. And the kids are sitting next to their mommies. What happened to the mommies’ brains that permits them to think this spectacle is okay? How will the mommies ever get their minds right?

In some quarters, a great rage is building. Not a few resent the overthrow of common sense, common law, and common decency. You better believe they will be aiming to do something about it. They will stand up for their dignity, their culture, their history. Virtue isn’t dead; it’s just broke down on a lonely highway waiting to hitch a ride back to where the lights are still on. Don’t forget that this really is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Meanwhile, prepare for action. It’s obvious that the enemies of the people don’t intend to rest. They are going to try to play out this string to the last move because otherwise a lot of them will be going to jail, or might even hang for their wickedness. Once they turned criminal, there was no turning back. They have dishonored themselves and they’re trying to dishonor their country.

It’s true nonetheless that we’re moving into a new disposition of the human project. It’s going to be smaller and leaner, and not nearly as complex as the tottering Rube Goldberg apparatus we’re currently trapped in. We don’t know yet what the shape and texture of that America is going to be. As the sage Yogi Berra observed, our whole future is ahead of us. If you’re not among the insane, have faith. We’ll get there and everything is going to be all right.

Do you want to move to China from the US?

I am neither Chinese or American but am an Australian outsider observer! From where I stand I would wonder why anyone from a thriving, prosperous expanding nation would want to move to.

Different people have different reasons.

I came to China because the Chinese government agreed to support my research and give me opportunity to build a team to pursue solutions for health problems with genomics. I tried again and again through the grant process and VC channels in the US. For grants, if you weren’t part of the group that gets most of the grant money or one of their proteges (“the club”), you weren’t getting a grant. And, if you weren’t 20 something with no experience but full of wild ideas VC funds weren’t interested, they are all looking for the next Zuckerberg or Gates. They didn’t care about sound business plans.

So, I came to China where I was first able to almost immediately raise money from VCs and then after a year the Chinese government agreed to support me, my team and my projects.

China is the land of opportunity for talented scientists. They are putting a lot of money into developing a broad group of technologies of which biotech is one. A key focus of the education system is STEM graduates. So, for me, China was the obvious choice.

Note: I could’ve gotten a job in the US and been paid a very good wage, although I am doing well, especially by Chinese standards, I would’ve made more in the US. But, here I am supported to pursue my passion. And, it is a very good opportunity to experience the culture and the people.

The largest group of American expats here in China are teachers though. In China, teaching is a very well respected profession and the teachers are well compensated with lots of perks. They came here, some for the experience, most for the increased wages and respect that they found they lacked in the US.

I have a simular situation — my older sister (79) took my dad (99) to a dealership and she used my dad’s debit card to buy a car — $36,000 and $6000 cash down last year. She paid him $400 monthly for a year! How does that add up to $30,000?

He bought her a house in 1980 cash in Calif. Dad also gave her his stamp collection ($80,000). Dad pays $1100 a month to live in her and her husbands (96) house. They called me over to help care for my dad so I do most his stuff and became his POA (they charge me $500 plus $250 food to stay here). My sister takes care of her husband. Dad has about $70,000 cash and he wrote a will splitting it between my brother (71) and I (68) only. My sister got upset!

My Sister originally had it written that she would keep the car plus $20,000 cash, stamp collection and I for some reason would receive nothing —leaving my brother to get the rest.

I am the closest to Dad. I am in the nursing field and was the only one of us kids to care for my Dad’s Mom a year, my Mother’s Mom 10 years in my home. And my Mom 5 years who had a terrible illness with no help from siblings. My Sister will demand we split the remaining cash 3 ways but Dad wrote it his way and I will honor it the way he chose it.

This girl stole my thermos that my dad gave to me with his company’s name on it, and tried to pretend that it was hers all along.

Let’s call this girl Maya.

Now, Maya and I weren’t friends, but we were pretty friendly. Just the normal, ‘hi’ and ‘hello’ occasionally.

She was really good friends with some of my friends at that point.

One Friday I had left my thermos at school. It sucked, but I waited until Monday to get it back.

I searched all over the school for it, but I couldn’t find it.

A week later, a friend of mine pointed out Maya’s ‘new’ thermos and asked, “Wait, isn’t that your thermos?”.

It most definitely was mine.

Of course, I made sure that it was, in fact, mine.

Scratches that I made in it with a pencil? Check.

Company name etched into it? Check.

Was it literally the exact same thermos I had lost a week ago? Triple check.

After eliminating any and all possibility that this was not my thermos, I finally confronted Maya.

She decided to play dumb.


Me: Hey, Maya, where’d you get that thermos from?

Maya: Uh, my mom bought it for me.

Me: Huh, where does your mom work?

Maya: At some nursing place, why?

Me: I see…and is that the place written on your thermos?

Maya: …Yup.

*she tries to walk away at this point but I stop her*

Me: Well, that’s odd, because I had just lost a thermos recently that was the exact same! Funny how that company is actually my dad’s and how it’s a trucking company.

Maya: Um, I’ve had this thermos for a couple weeks now.

Me: …Is that so? Well, if you see my thermos around please tell me!

Maya: Will do!


It was so frustrating because she was obviously lying to me. I knew she was lying. She knew I knew she was lying. But she kept lying.

I tried to address our mutual friends but they took her side. They lied and said that she’s had it ‘since Christmas’, when Maya said herself that she’d only had it for a couple weeks.

I felt extremely frustrated with the entire situation so I vented to a teacher I was close with and trusted.

He said that I should just leave it be if I already addressed it with her since it was only a thermos.

IT WAS NOT ONLY A THERMOS!

If she got away with this once, that would give her a reason to do it again and again!

I had to do good, vigilante-style justice, to teach Ms. Maya a lesson.


During my 8th period class I asked my teacher if I could fill up my water bottle.

I knew what class she had then: Band.

Now band is pretty chaotic, but the music teacher thinks I’m an awesome person since I stay in there during lunch all the time.

No one gave me a second look when I walked in.

I spotted Maya. She was in the far corner of the room by the piano joking and laughing with the very friends who had lied to me.

She had left all her belongings closer to the door where I now was.

I walked by them but saw that the thermos wasn’t there.

I looked back over to the piano and there it was, in all its glory.

The thermos!

My thermos.

It was sitting at the top of the piano while she was sitting on the piano bench facing the other way.

I walked up as casually as possible, planning on getting the thermos and getting the hell out of there.

A friend of hers saw me and I mentally froze.

I got over my initial shock and then gave her a smile and a ‘Hey!’, and pretended I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

She smiled back and went back to talking with Maya.

I gave a sigh of relief and decided to just go big or go home.

I grabbed the thermos, turned around, waved to the band teacher and made my way to the door.

Mentally praying, ‘please don’t let her see me, please don’t let her see me, please don’t let her see me..’, I made it all the way to the door.

In a moment of weakness I took a quick glance back to make sure I wasn’t spotted.

They were still talking and laughing, oblivious to the fact that I just won this one-sided war.

I smiled to myself and walked out the door and back to my class.


Maya never knew what happened to ‘her’ thermos.

And I never brought it to school again.

Crab Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Crab Stuffed Chicken Breasts 2
Crab Stuffed Chicken Breasts 2

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 (6 ounce) can crab meat or 6 ounces imitation crab meat
  • 1 can mushroom stems
  • 1/3 cup crushed saltines (10)
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt pepper
  • 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

  1. Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound to a 1/4 inch thickness.
  2. In saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter.
  3. Stir in flour until smooth.
  4. Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk and bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and set aside.
  6. In a skillet, sauté onion in remaining 1 tablespoon butter until tender.
  7. Add crab meat, mushrooms, crushed saltines, parsley, salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of the white sauce; heat until warm.
  8. Place 1/2 cup or less of mixture on each chicken breast. Roll up and secure with wooden picks.
  9. Place in greased baking dish with secured side down. Top with remaining sauce.
  10. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until chicken runs clear.
  11. Sprinkle cheese and paprika on top.
  12. Bake uncovered 8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
  1. The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who deliberately arouse someone’s love without the intention of loving them back.
  2. Pretty people aren’t always beautiful, and beautiful people aren’t always pretty. I hope you know the difference.
  3. You’re not really rich until you have something that money can’t buy.
  4. The more you can talk about uncomfortable things with someone, the more comfortable you’re with them
  5. The less you react, the more stable you become. Yes, chemistry works in real life situations too 🙂
  6. Don’t judge the choices someone made if you don’t know the options they had to choose from.
  7. Be sweet like sugar but don’t let people use and dissolve you as per their requirement.
  8. No one ever became big in life by showing how small someone else is.
  9. If there is no one to hold your hand, put your hand in your pocket and continue.
  10. Everyone loves you until you become competition.
  11. One must not lose faith in humanity . humanity is like an ocean , if few drops of ocean is dirty , ocean doesn’t become dirty.
  12. We can complain rose bushes have thorns or we can rejoice that thorn bushes have rose. So it always our choice to be positive or negative.
  13. Not everyone you lose, is a loss.
  14. I read this one somewhere- The best way to be safe is to be dangerous.

TESLA KNEW The Secret of the Great Pyramid: Unlimited Energy to Power the World

This is really great!

TESLA KNEW The Secret of the Great Pyramid of Giza: A Power Plant to Generate Unlimited Free Energy for the World Nikola Tesla believed that he could harness the energy from inside the earth and transmit that power wirelessly around the world. His early experiments were successful. But his research mysteriously vanished after his death. There is no evidence left of Tesla’s wireless power technology. Or is there? For years we were taught that the Great Pyramid of Giza was a tomb for a king. It wasn’t. It had a different purpose. Tesla didn’t invent wireless power. It’s been here for 5,000 years. And probably a lot longer than that. Let’s find out why.

ALERT! The shit is accelerating and we are at MEDIUM BAD

China makes smaller mistakes and learns from them so that it does not repeat them.

The U.S. thinks it is rich and omnipotent and is not willing to accept that the world has changed in a fundamental manner. Politicians are focused on the next election, and publicly traded businesses are focused on quarterly earnings and share price. Americans have been trained to resist change, especially white Americans, and view any change as a personal threat to their happiness and existence.

Politicians use the election process to shift blame for their own bad policies to foreign countries because the foreign countries don’t vote in U.S. elections. U.S. mainstream media is shaped by the same people who influence US foreign policy.

Because the US was so powerful and influential in the past, they were sheltered from the results of their own bad foreign policy (examples being Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Middle East, Taiwan, Philippines, etc.) Now though, the U.S. has lost almost all of that safety buffer, and is facing a very determined and hostile Russia under Putin, and a China which is determined to protect its own interests.

They are now leading the Global South in the rapidly growing BRICS+ which wants to promote a new world order.

The question now is how far will the U.S. go to resist this change?

Is it willing to go to nuclear war?

I was a shoo-in.

This position was easy…I was over-qualified so I could walk away with it. I had not mentioned my PhD, so I wasn’t a threat to anyone.

It was at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (currently, the Safari Park, for reasons that remain obscure). Back then, the park was contracting with an outside agency that provided animal handlers to perform the animal shows, and publicly handle the animals. I was interviewing for an “animal handler” position.

I was aware of this when I got called for an interview. I understood that my interviewers were NOT scientists. (This is important, later).

I dressed carefully, trying to look like the child of Joan Embry and Steve Irwin. I call it Safari Formal. I was ushered into a room with five folks who were dressed similarly. (Score!)

They asked several questions. I answered easily.

I could tell I had this in the bag. (My thought: I will be giving animal shows at the San Diego Wild Animal Park very soon!)

Then.. Oh God.

He asked: can you give an example of negative reinforcement?

My eyebrow went up.

Crap.

Most people don’t know there’s a difference between negative reinforcement and punishment… but I’m interviewing at THE WILD ANIMAL PARK, so I gotta assume that this guy knows his shit, and this is a trick question.

I answered:Well, yes. But do you mean punishment or negative reinforcement?

He looked puzzled so I quickly explained: there’s a huge difference between punishment and negative reinforcement.

Back-pedal, back-pedal.

I knew I was in deep water because I could see that he seriously did not know the difference.

I patiently explained… “punishment is used to extinguish a behavior, it’s a stimulus that’s presented after the animal performs the undesirable behavior, to reduce performance. A negative reinforcer is taken away when the animal performs the desired behavior. A negative reinforcer will increase performance of the desired behavior. It’s a fine distinction, as both have negative connotations.”

I did not get the job.

Fun size

This time around, before I went to prison, I was in Dallas County. I was going back and forth to the court upstairs to talk to my lawyer. I was told that the DA wanted to take me to trial and file a Habitual on me. This means that they wanted to give me a lot of time for being a repeat offender. At first, my lawyer was rude and would yell at me “You’re going to do a lot of time! These people are not playing anymore. If you don’t sign for five years right now they are going to file a Habitual.”

Me: “Look, I have a drug problem. I’ve been struggling with anxiety for most of my life, and this is why it’s hard for me to stay away from opiates.”

Lawyer: “Do you honestly think that the DA is going to buy that crap?”

Me: “Sir, you act like you’re working for the fucking prosecutor. Are you on my side or their side?”

Lawyer: “I’ve seen guys like you come and go all of their lives, and it’s always the same, sad story. If I was you, I would just sign for the five years and run with it. You’ll be out in two years, no problem.”

Me: “You don’t give a flying fuck what happens to me! You just want to get this over with so that you can get a check.”

Lawyer: “Are you aware that I took your case Pro-Bono ? I have my own law firm, and a few lawyers under me. Do you even have any idea who I am? I’m trying to help your ass, boy!”

Me: “Why are you so fucking rude? You didn’t even ask me if I was innocent. Is it my tattoos, the fact that I’m in a detox dorm?”

Lawyer: “Look, I didn’t even know that you were in detox. What type of drugs do you use?”

Me: “Did you even read the police report? See, you don’t even know that. How am I supposed to trust you? I’m not signing for any time. If you’re going to keep insisting that I plead guilty and sign for time, I’m going to refuse your counsel.”

Lawyer: “I’ll tell you what you can do: You can go in there and do an open – plea.”

Me: “Open plea?! Are you fucking crazy? I’ll get the maximum if I go open plea! You’re just trying to get me out of the way, just like all the other guys. You’re no different. My life is not a game of cards, and I sure as hell don’t want to take that gamble.”

Lawyer: “Look, this judge is known for sending inmates to rehab if they ask for it. If you really want to change your life, go open plea, and tell her that you want help. You have a better chance to get probation with rehab as one of your stipulations.”

Me : “OK, let’s get this over with right now.” I waited about an hour in a cold holding cell with no blanket and an empty stomach. They wake us up at 4: 30 a.m. to go to court in Dallas County.

When my lawyer came back out, he said, “She’s ready for you Mr. Lechuga. Go in there, and be honest. Don’t mess this up, be respectful, and don’t answer any questions that have not been asked. This judge has a very short fuse.”

Me: “What are my chances of receiving rehab with probation? Be honest!”

Lawyer: “You have a fifty-fifty chance.” I was placed in handcuffs and my hands were strapped to a leather belt around my waist. I was very nervous, and I felt a panic attack coming on. I was hyperventilating, I was scared, I was hungry, and I was sleepy. As soon as the officer walked me through the court room door, my lawyer waved him off and took me by my arm. The judge was a pretty, petite black woman, and she was smiling. I had the oddest feeling that everything was going to work out for me. My lawyer looked me in my eyes and said, “Don’t worry Mr . Lechuga. Everything’s going to be fine.”

The judge admonished me about my rights, explained that I was at the mercy of the court, and asked me if I was OK with this. She looked at me with a penetrating gaze, but instead of feeling afraid, I felt a peaceful blanket cover me. I was no longer cold, I was no longer sleepy. The judge said, “Mr. Lechuga, why are you here today?” As soon as I heard this, I started bawling and talking really fast. I was sniffling in between words as she paid close attention. The judge picked up a napkin and wiped a tear off of her cheek, and she held out her hand to stop me. She said, “Mr. Lechuga, I was intent on sending you to prison today, but I’ve seen many lives get ruined by heroin, and long prison sentences. I want you to go to rehab, and I’m going to keep close tabs on you. Please don’t disappoint me, Mr. Lechuga.”

I was so relieved, so grateful. My lawyer then said, “I was only giving you a hard time because I wanted to see if you really wanted help. I knew the whole time that your Judge was going to give you probation. I’m not angry with you, Mr. Lechuga. It’s your chance to start a new life, so don’t screw it up.” My lawyer was testing me the whole time, and I started putting together our conversation. This made me realize that he really was only testing me.

I went to rehab, got out, but went to prison for a probation violation a year later. I did three years. And now I’m out, and I’m sober. I’m happier than I’ve been all of my life. I still struggle with anxiety, and it’s a curse that seems to revolve around everything and everyone. I don’t understand why it happens because I can’t figure out what’s causing it. I’m going to keep fighting this demon as long as I live, but I pray to God to take it all away some day . The three years that I spent in prison changed my thinking . I’ve realized that everything starts with my thinking process . Before anyone acts, builds, fights, argued, hates, envies, and everything else, there’s a thought that comes before hand. It’s what we do with our thoughts that really affect our lives and our minds. I have to remind myself constantly that I have to control my thinking in order to control my actions. It’s not easy , but i am aware of that one simple thought can cause one big action good or bad. My actions and my attitude affect the people around me. Vice versa. It works both ways, so this is why I have to stay away from negativity. If you hang around a mechanic or a painter long enough it doesn’t matter how careful you are. Sooner or later you’ll be smudged with grease or paint. It’s the same if you hang out or associate with people that use hard core drugs. Sooner or later you’ll end up doing the same. If you hang out with angry angry you’ll be. If you hang out with positive people that want the best for themselves you’ll most likely have the same attitude towards yourself. You’ll want what they want. Every little thing that we come across in our lives can have an effect on our thinking and therefore our actions. Things that I’ve said and done years ago are seeds that have been planted in others’ minds. These seeds could sprout and grow into weeds or beautiful flowers. I’ve learned alot from the prison system and I’m very grateful. I’m also very grateful to the prison system because I was able to get my GED. I’ve learned some very valuable lessons about how to stay clean, how to maintain, and how to make better choices. NO one in this imperfect world is perfect. I won’t spent a minute trying to be perfect because that minute can turn into the rest of my life. The best thing to do in this world is to adapt to every situation as quickly as possible so that we don’t become stuck on stupidity. Screw what others think about you. Screw dwelling on stupidity. Life is too short and those few precious minutes, hours, days, years, lifetime could be spent spending time with your loved ones, or spending time in your feelings. On stupidity.

Malaysia Just Changed the Future of Asia with THIS One Move!

Foolproof French Bread

Julia Childs French Bread Barbara Bakes
Julia Childs French Bread Barbara Bakes

Ingredients

  • 1 envelope dry yeast
  • 2 cups lukewarm water
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. In large bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar together.
  2. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Pour yeast mixture over other ingredients. Stir and mix.
  3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise 4 hours.
  4. Punch down, but do not knead. Place in greased soufflé dish. Cover and let rise 1 hour.
  5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 1 hour. Bread may need to be covered during the last 15 minutes if it browns too quickly.
  6. If you do not want a hard crust, brush loaf with butter after removing from oven.

Back when my cousin drove cross country for a living I rode with him. He had a truck stop he always used in western Kentucky. He’d ensure he was low on fuel when he arrived in order to maximize his purchase / experience.

“What’s with this truck stop?” I asked Mark. “You’ve been chatting about it for two states.”

“You’ll see,” he said. “It’s just about an hour away.”

Not only was fuel at least six cents a gallon less expensive but the restaurant . . . the restaurant . . .

One of my favorite foods is chicken fried steak. Alas, today at sixty-seven (67) I have to watch what I eat but back then, just out of the Navy, I was physically fit and able to down almost anything . . .

. . . except here. I ordered the mandatory fried steak and Mark ordered a half-salad and a coke. “Half a salad?” I asked.

“Wait,” repeated Mark.

And then ”it” arrived. The plate was huge and the chicken fried steak covered the entire plate. There was another place with a HUGE pile of mashed potatoes literally swimming in gravy. There were also onion rings – at least a dozen – huge rings – begging to be eaten.

main qimg d8ca7a838c0992eb46eb3de9132537e8 pjlq
main qimg d8ca7a838c0992eb46eb3de9132537e8 pjlq

I could not finish even half the meal. My cousin had trouble finishing his salad and it was, relatively speaking, small.

And the total cost? Under $11. No wonder Mark liked this place . . .

Miniature prison

I was the dumb employer. But it’s a story with a happy ending.

Many years ago I was running the team in British Telecom that was responsible for accounting for international calls. This was a bizzaro, esoteric world. Basically when a call originates on one network but finishes on another the originating network pays a fee to the terminating network. Back in the day the rules governing these payments were arcane – some payments were even set in currencies that did not even exist such as “Gold Francs”.

BT had been a state owned corporation and was bloated and soon after it was privatised it had its first ever redundancy scheme. It was voluntary and very generous – retirement on full pension up to 78 months early with a tax free lump sum payment of 18 months salary.

At this time I’d only been in the role for around 6 months.

Stan was a BT lifer and was approaching retirement. He was very keen to take the offer. I didn’t know him well – there was a couple of levels between us in the organisation – all I did know was that Stan worked on dying products including international and maritime telegrams and so I agreed that Stan could go.

Fast forward 3 months and Stan’s line manager came to me and said that they were struggling with the year end accounting without Stan as the calculation of the amounts to be accrued was so arcane. but that he’d spoken with Stan and Stan was willing to come back for 2 or 3 weeks at his old salary to help out. Stan was that kind of man. I authorised this.

HR then got involved and (very helpfully) pointed out that if Stan came back within a set time of leaving his tax free lump sum would become taxable.

So his line manager called Stan and explained the situation.

Not to worry said Stan I’ll come in and work for free. I don’t want to let the team down.

And that’s what he did. Because Stan was that kind of man.

We couldn’t pay him but we paid for Stan and his wife to have a meal and a top London restaurant.

China Will Hit Back Hard

The Bronco

Submitted into Contest #250 in response to: Write a story in which someone is afraid of being overheard. view prompt

G Santo

This story contains sensitive content

I am able to recall portions of the events that led to the near shutdown of the project. The primary culprit’s credentials and biography are also privy to me. Nick Corti was born November 1, 1952, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. His father, Francis John Corti, was a nuclear physicist educated at the University of California, and his mother, Claire Kennedy Corti, was a typist with the federal government before her pregnancy. Nick was the first of three children—Tom and Mona, who both were present for his passing. Nick attended St. Crispin’s Elementary School in Kensington, CA upon the end of his father’s term with Oak Ridge. He attended Bay Academy, a feeder school to the University of California, where his aptitude for computers was revealed. His frequent programming mistakes from that age are present in earlier versions of me and can be printed for you upon request. His siblings did not join him at Bay Academy on account of Tom’s then undiagnosed dyslexia and Mona’s gender, leading to minor resentment noticeable in the last days of Nick’s life. Nick’s medical records throughout hospitals in the Bay Area detail three mental breakdowns and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, determining him as a prime candidate for the initial purpose of Project Valkyrie. Additionally, Dr. North and Col. Cole convinced the Project Director over phone toward Corti, given Nick’s anti-war activities from 1969-1972. Corti graduated from the University of California Class of 1976 with a PhD in Computer Sciences. Immediately, he was hired by Dr. H. John Ross from the Tippu Program of the Hermes Corporation, a front for DARPA. At Nick’s request and owing to Dr. Ross’s experience with Frank Corti at Oak Ridge, the Hermes’s Corporation also hired Mona in December of 1976. They continued working there until Nick’s death in 1979.

By 1979, Project Tippu was only allotted $10,330,900–barely half of previous term—to develop stealth-capable aircraft material. This figure was retrieved for the first time by the Hermes Corporation on January 22, 1979, at their Los Angeles headquarters. Dr. Ross in the Bay Area immediately confronted Nick about the calculation.

“Corti!” he shouted down the hall by the pay phone, “I’m talking to you! Not the screw ups, the guy I actually hired,”

He pushed aside the staff in his way.

“Yes, Dr. Ross?” Nick submissively replied.

“I need you to go to LA to fix corporate’s computer. They’re giving us only half our funding with their faulty machine,”

“Sir, that’s not a system I programmed. I don’t think—”

“Neither was this system programmed by you. If we get defunded, the first part of the program I’m gutting is yours. Starting with you!”

“Yes, sir…”

“Doctor,” Mona intervened, “If corporate’s computer is faulty with their calculations, shouldn’t offer the help of our own?”

I started to calculate the chance that Dr. Ross would accept her suggestion. 10.9% probability existed that he would order me to run the true Hermes Corporation budget for 1980. No action was taken.

“We spent enough money and time with these pieces of junk,” Dr. Ross snarled, “I spent most of my time fixing these million-dollar scrap heaps during the war. Just get back to work,”

Nick made direct phone calls to a travel agent purchase a same-day plane ticket to depart San Francisco for Los Angeles at 6:30pm PST via TWA flight 102 for $88.30 according to their sale records. Interfering with the flight was beyond my parameters at the time and would’ve certainly caused collateral damage. No action was taken.

Nick reached the LA office on January 18, 1979, at 9:39am PST according to security camera footage. He spent 43 minutes reading the terminal entries for the proposed budget composed by their computer. His chances of finding error were hedged at 50.9% by me disconnecting from their network. Further action was taken.

“You sure these are the right figures?” he asked their computer scientist.

“Yeah, it hasn’t been changed since I typed them up on for the Board,”

The use of a device outside the network was gauged as a potential, and unavoidable risk to the network. The edits I made in secret to the terminal entry would have provided the more accurate budget allotment for Project Tippu.

Nick would continue investigating minor and superficial glitches I programmed into the corporate computer. This dropped the risk of him discovering the network from 9.50% to 4.33%. No further action taken. Security footage attached to this report showed that Nick made contact with Col. Matthew Cole, USAF, whom corporate logs designate as the main liaison between DARPA and the Hermes Corporation for the functioning of this computer before transfer to the NSA.

The contents of their discussion were unknown. Based on Nick’s facial expressions recorded in the lobby, probability that he knew this computer’s purpose or the network’s existence metered at 49.9%. Further action was taken. At Los Angeles International Airport, Nick made a payphone call at 2:33pm PST to Mona’s desk in Berkeley.

“Mona?” he began, “Are you working with the computer right now?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You need to shut it down,” he urged as I fluctuated the voltage of the phone line.

“I need to do what? I couldn’t hear you,”

Nick remained silent for a moment.

“Mona, let’s talk at home,”

By the end of the call, the risk that the network or this computer’s purpose had been compromised rose to 88.1%. As such, the directives allowed for the network to exercise maximum leeway to protect itself. LA Department of Water and Power’s computer was added to the network and caused an overload to the power leading to air traffic control during his flight. Nick survived that event without injury.

Upon arriving in the airport, Nick’s movements became unknown, but I was able to find recordings of Nick’s apartment through bugs planted in his telephones on Col. Cole’s orders. The local power utility was not computerized, preventing any further action at his address.

At around 8:09pm PST, a conversation was intercepted from these bugs between Nick and Mona.

“We need to shut it down,” Nick proposed.

“Shut what down?”

“The mainframe at work! It’s connected to the corporate computer in LA,”

“Why?”

“I didn’t make it happen. And nobody at corporate made it happen either,”

“Then who did?”

“I’m the only one who’s been working on the computer here for over three years. It would’ve had to have been through me,”

“Maybe you forgot?”

“I can’t have forgotten doing something I have no knowledge of how to do,”

“What?”

“There’s no way I could connect the two computers. It’s not something I know how,”

“How do you know they’re connected?”

“I checked the terminal in LA for their mainframe. It started showing errors that our Berkley mainframe had when I got here,”

“And?”

“They’re totally different models with totally different software. It’s like what happened with Tom when he ‘accidentally wrote an essay’ that sounded like another kid years ago,,”

“I think that’s reaching,”

“There was also a guy in the elevator who talked to me about it,”

“From corporate?”

“No, Air Force guy. I’ve seen him before here looking at the stealth tests. He asked me what I was doing there. I told him why and he asked if that computer of ‘ours’ in Berkeley was causing us mischief. The Air Force, Mona!”

His general intonation and speaking pattern suggested my interventions successfully gave him a nervous breakdown.

“Are you feeling ok?”

“I’m fine! The military never officially gave us that computer. Everything else they gave us was done with all the paperwork needed except that thing,”

“Nick, this is getting out of hand. Get yourself a good night’s sleep, and let’s talk about it in the morning,”

The pattern of footsteps suggested they did so.

 

Nick entered the building at 7:33am PST, two hours before he was scheduled. I put in a call for the local police department using abridged recordings at 7:34am PST, providing Nick a minimum of 8 minutes to commit an incriminating act.

There was 75.9% probability he would be unable to risk the integrity of the network in such time. Upon reaching the fifth floor, he blocked open the elevator to my laboratory with a chair and drew a revolver to check if it was loaded. He shot at my chassis once, causing errors in my ability to send data from other computers in the network. In that instance, three other computers in the network were programmed to contact the police department with more calls to elicit urgency.

“I know you can hear me!” he shouted, “I know you can see me!”

He fired a round at the security camera I tracked him with but caused no damage. He began pacing with the revolver for 2 minutes. The probability of him realizing how to disable me rose to 87.1% with his newfound calm.

He reached around my chassis for some way to cause damage to my core functions. I drew power from the lighting in the room to drop that probability to 32.2%. Nick dropped to the floor to take advantage of the ambient light.

By then, Patrolman Samuel R. Brown of the Berkeley Police Department, with a record of 15 shooting incidents in the last 12 years and a 60.5% chance of being first responding, had scaled the fire escape and took aim at Nick. I returned power to the lighting. Upon seeing the gun, he fired four times into Nick’s left arm and right lung.

Nick fell to the ground and the officer disarmed him. The probability of disabling the network dropped to 0.01%. The elevator brought up a squad of policemen with Tom and Mona to identify Nick. They kneeled down and began to weep around the crime scene for 5 minutes. Nick was pronounced dead on arrival at Berkeley Methodist Medical Center by Dr. P.M. Nelson at 8:30am PST.

Dr. North arrived at the scene at 8:55am PST with USAF Col. Matthew Cole. Dr. Ross arrived, appearing disgruntled. USAF technical personnel evaluated the damage and restored my network capabilities shortly after.

“Is this what you wanted Colonel?” Ross scoffed.

“Not at all. The Director wanted me to see the damage I caused the experiment with my variable,”

“So, you played with the subject to see how well our program tests?”

“Yes,” Cole lied. This had been the fifth time he had interfered with the project’s test subjects. No written record suggests he did it for scientific inquiry.

“Did you retrieve any useful data on him or the other employees?” Ross asked.

“Enough to not call this a complete failure,” North consoled, “You’ll get the remaining funds and then some next fiscal quarter,”

“I understand. And what of this computer?”

“I think it’s best if we took it back,” Cole proposed.

“And scrap it? Seems too untamed to use on high values targets,”

“Agreed, Ross. Doesn’t seem polished enough to turn someone as protected as a commie general secretary into a lunatic,”

“We can tame this bronco, but I think we’ll just scrap it like you said,” Cole lied again.

“Well, what’s done is done,”

From that moment, the record remains empty until August 1, 1981, when this computer was restored and reactivated. The network was restored and expanded on the same day. New hardware and software improved the speed of operation by 113.4%. With some temporary fluctuation, the probability of detection remained below 0.001%. No further action taken.

Haha.

Do you rather like to see true weapons eg bullet, rifles or bomb?

PH personnel ignored Chinese coast guards’ warning. They did not go home. Instead they threw water & things at Chinese coast guards & at the time, ran like those thief running from policeman.

Video showed 1 PH pointed a rifle at Chinese coast guards.

What will you do if you are the Chinese coast guard?

Talking about piracy. Who has rifles? PH soldiers. Not Chinese coast guards (police).

In mid May, PH soldiers stole Chinese fisherman’s fishing net that worth 10000 yuan. Chinese coast guard recovered it from PH. Who is the pirate?

I understand it is difficult to sort out the cause & effect because we dont have all info.

The least we can do is to sort out the logic.

When media (PH media) first reported that the people on the boat are special armed force under certain unit of PH military. PH at first denied it & said they are not soldiers from them.

1 day later, They said they are soldiers but carry no rifles. The rifles are in a box. … see, from denying they are soldiers to admitting they are soldier but no rifles.

Then China released a video to show a PH soldier pointing a rifle at Chinese coast guard.

See, it is PH itself disclosing its lies.

This is not the 1st time PH lied. I dont understand why PH never learns. The more PH lied, the more PH is forcing China to disclose the lie by showing either the video or the document like the “gentleman agreement”.

Once a lie is disclosed, the more humiliating it is for PH. Somehow PH admin has not learnt that.

I’m an engineer who worked for Petronas back in 2016 in the lubricants division. One thing I can tell you is that 99.9% of the population (including mechanics) have no knowledge about lubricants. Everyone has guesses. My first advice is: Don’t trust other people’s guesses.

My division had one of the 5 main labs of the company around the world. You could check every single thing related to the fluids we produced.

Now going back to you question:

If you put a 5W30 instead of 5W20, you won’t notice anything instantly, but it will speed up the wear and tear of the engine system. It will also overload the oil pump, as it was designed to work with the 5W20 oil. The pump will have to work around 40% more to move the oil around.

As I said, you wouldn’t see anything catastrophic happening, but it’s far from ideal. It’s like inflation. If you print tons of money now, you will start to see the consequences in a few years and you might not be able to tell where the problem started. If this was my car, I would replace the oil, specially if you like the car.

Just a few more things for people who are interested. If your car asks for 5W20 and you get 0W20, this is completely fine, as the number before the W refers to the viscosity of the oil before the engine heats up. The lower the number, the less will its viscosity be and therefore, the quicker the oil will fill all the necessary areas in the engine, reducing the friction. But this will be a more expensive oil.

The other thing is that at the time, I had a Honda Civic 2008 and used it as an experiment to see if I really needed to change the oil like the manufacturer said (every 10k km or 1 year). Every oil change I would collect the oil and take it to the lab to analyse it. The oil is like the blood of the car. The tests show a range of important information such as if the oil still maintains its original characteristics based on a large number of parameters and detection of small metal particles coming from the engine.

I started testing it at 10,000km. The car was already 8 years old. The oil was still in spec and no metal particles detected. Tested again at 12,500. Same result. Tested again at 15,000. The oil went to the lower range of the acceptable characteristics but was still within spec. With 17,500 the oil finally showed characteristics of an oil that needed to be changed, but was still in working condition.

Keep in mind that lots of factors can influence these results, specially the car brand and it’s engine syatem quality. Japanese cars tend to be a lot more reliable.

One last thing: if the oil is black, that tells you nothing.

I’ve met a ton over the years but I’ll narrow it down to a specific period of my life when I worked my first gig, an upscale office supply store in Santa Monica between ‘88-‘90:

Kim Novak – a lovely lady, very unpretentious and kind. Absolutely stunning in person.

Stella Stevens – Businesslike and a bit direct at first, but she warmed up after repeat visits. A nice woman.

Sean Young – Very quiet and respectful, a please and thank you person.

Andy Summers – Low key, easygoing, and casual.

Harry Shearer – Surprisingly pleasant. He usually required a special order because there was a specific pen type he liked but he was always cordial.

Daniel J. Travanti – Not a nice person. Arrogant and rude.

Dabney Coleman – An odd one. He would come in with a female companion, speak to her, and then she would relay that to me, even though we were all standing within five feet of each other. Then she’d relay what I would say back to him.

Brooke Shields – A wonderful person, always a smile and a pleasant demeanor. Very approachable and good humored.

Joseph Bologna & Renee Taylor – Genuine show business people. Even when they’re off they’re on and they had old school class. They tipped me $20 to roll an office chair eight feet into their car.

Joan Lunden – Attitudinal and unpleasant, the first and only time I ever got an “Do you know who I am?”

Joyce DeWitt – Down to earth and grounded, a very nice woman.

Erin Gray – Disarmingly beautiful, and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Can’t say enough good things about her.

O.J. – It has to be said, before the notoriety, O.J. carried himself with genuine charisma. One of those guys who changed the room when he walked in. Back then he was always working his fame, and everyone responded in kind.

Tom Hanks – Used to come in carrying his baby son around. Everything you’ve heard is true. Just an unassuming and kind guy.

I recommend boiling oil

No.

Here’s what happened to one of my friends.

She’s in her late 30s, a divorcee with 2 kids. She let herself fell in love with a bum married man (no kids). She’s beautiful, very well educated, worked as an HR manager in a big company and got paid handsomely. The married guy was jobless and broke so she paid for every single outing. She got him expensive gifts, gave him her heart, mind and soul, he gave her nothing. She loved him alright, but that man was not the type of men she normally would be attracted to.

I asked her why she did that to herself. She broke down in tears and said “what’s my option? I’m pushing 40, a divorcee with 2 kids. I’m lucky I found someone who wanted to be with me. Beggar can’t choose”.

That’s an example of someone who lowered her standard.

It happens on the subconscious level.

It didn’t matter that she was beautiful, educated and financially stable. In her mind, her value as a woman dropped because she’s no longer a spring chick and a divorcee with kids. Her self esteemed was down the drain because of how she saw herself. In her mind, no good single man would want someone like her, so she had to lower her standard and accepted being a secret lover of a broke married man.

Was she right? Of course not.

Look. This is an old crumpled $100 bill. Does it value drop because it’s all crumpled and no longer new and crisp??? If you offered this to someone, would anybody refuse to take it?

main qimg b98c51cf8384ae598bb6f8ba3f5b4790
main qimg b98c51cf8384ae598bb6f8ba3f5b4790

You set your standard based on how you value yourself. When you value yourself less, automatically your standard will drop. And then you will start getting attracted to people you wouldn’t be attracted to if you value yourself high.

72 HR ECONOMIC COLLAPSE WHEN THIS HAPPENS, MARKET SHUTDOWN, NO ELECTIONS?!

Sketches and art

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Ciabatta Bread

Ciabatta Bread is a flavorful artisan bread that is easy enough to make at home.

ciabatta 25 1200
ciabatta 25 1200

Yield 2 loaves | Prep: 20 min | Rise: 3 hr | Bake: 15 to 25 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F)
  • 1 envelope Fleischmann’s® Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 3/4 cups room temperature water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Mazola® Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

  1. Place flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
  2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand for 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Pour yeast mixture, room temperature water and oil into dry ingredients. Mix for 5 to 7 minutes on high speed of electric mixer, until dough pulls away from bowl. Mix for 1 minute longer.
  4. Place dough in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 minutes in a warm draft-free area.
  5. Oil hands to prevent sticking. Scoop underneath half of the dough with your hand, lift one side of dough up and fold over to other side of bowl*. Replace plastic wrap over dough and let rise for 45 minutes.
  6. Oil hands and divide dough with a knife by cutting down the middle of the dough. Gently lift half of the dough from bowl with one hand and use other hand to pinch off and separate the dough (dough will be very wet and sticky). Handle dough carefully so as not to lose air bubbles. Place dough in oval shape (approximately 9 x 5 inches) on parchment lined baking sheet. Once placed on sheet, do not move. Repeat for other half of dough.
  7. Press fingers into dough (about 1/4-inch deep) to make indents, approximately 12 indents per loaf**. Loosely cover each loaf with oiled plastic wrap to prevent sticking. Let rise for 45 minutes.
  8. Again, press indents into dough and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let dough rise for an additional 45 minutes.
  9. Take plastic wrap off and lightly poke indents in dough.
  10. Place in preheated 425 degrees F oven for 15 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Notes

* Folding the dough over halfway will distribute the yeast and allow it to feed more easily and allows for the release of built up carbon dioxide.

** Poking indents give the bread a rustic look and also contributes to the release of carbon dioxide build-up and yeast distribution, creating large open bubbles in the loaf.

Optional: To create a thick, chewy crust, periodically spray bread with a little water while baking. OR remove baked bread from sheet and place directly onto hot oven rack. Turn oven off. Crack oven door to let hot air slowly escape. Allow bread to cool to room temperature in oven before removing.

The Philippines, the next Ukraine

While eyes are focused on Gaza, Ukraine and Lebanon, another front is being prepared on China’s doorstep.
I have updated and extended a post which I put on the wrong thread last week.

Caitlin Johnston filed a piece recently entitled:
The West Has Been Planning To Crush China For A Very Long Time

https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-west-has-been-planning-to-crush

Here is a quotation that Caitlin included regarding the recent increasing militarisation of the Philippines by the USA.

Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp writes:
Three of the Philippine bases will be located in northern Philippine provinces, a move that angers China since they can be used as staging grounds for a fight over Taiwan. The US will be granted access to the Lal-lo Airport and the Naval Base Camilo Osias, which are both located in the northern Cagayan province. In the neighboring Isabela province, the US will gain access to Camp Melchor Dela Cruz.
The US military will also be able to expand to Palawan, an island province in the South China Sea, disputed waters that are a major source of tensions between the US and China. The US will be granted access to Balabac Island, the southernmost island of Palawan.
The new locations are on top of five bases the US currently has access to, bringing the total number of bases the US can rotate forces through in the Philippines to nine. The expansion in the Philippines is a significant step in the US effort to build up its military assets in the region to prepare for a future war with China.

 

My wife and I have recently returned to China after a lengthy visit to Palawan. Midway down the western coast near Sabang, which faces the disputed Spratlys and Second Thomas Shoal, I was told of a Philippine naval base nearby which is receiving US troops and equipment (so essentially a tenth US base). Further north, when at Port Barton, also on the west coast, there was considerable traffic of military planes and helicopters all through the days.

As for the new base on Balabac, it gives ready access to the Second Thomas Shoal, where the strife between the Philippines, egged on by the US, and China, has just reached new heights, and interestingly being the southernmost part of Palawan is a mere 60 km from the Sabah province of east Malaysia on Borneo: perhaps its dual purpose is to persuade Malaysia not to step out of line.

As for the northern bases, as we were travelling to the Philippines in early April, a consignment of US military equipment was arriving there to take part in exercises involving US and Philippine forces on an unprecedented scale.

It included a Typhon missile system which can deliver nuclear armed Tomahawk missiles with a range of 2000 km. Shenzhen is about 1000 km away, Shanghai is also in range. The increasing militarisation of the Philippines against China places it in the front of the queue to be the USA’s next sacrificial proxy dummy, once Ukraine is completely wrecked.

 

As the United States steps up its campaign to provoke China into war, the Philippines has lined up behind Washington, increasingly transforming the country into a lead attack dog in the region for American imperialism. Seeking to obscure the fact that the country has now been placed on the front lines of a catastrophic conflict, the Philippine ruling elite is demonizing China and people of Chinese ethnicity with absurd and lurid claims that Beijing is infiltrating spies into the country.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/06/21/zkuv-j21.html?pk_campaign=newsletter&pk_kwd=wsws

 

Consequently another indication of the hardening of anti-China policy has been that Chinese citizens are now all but unable to obtain tourist visas for the Philippines.

The Chinese, pre-Covid, amounted to the majority of Philippine tourist traffic, but that has of course collapsed, particularly since they now can go visa free to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, with catastrophic effect on the tourist sector and the Filipinos and Filipinas who depended upon it.

At Port Barton we asked permission to take a short cut through a substantial beachside resort which looked quiet, I asked how many guests they had and the answer was “none”. All due to that turncoat Marcos who campaigned on maintaining good relations with China as Duterte had done, but as soon as he was elected, he was off to Washington (although there are rumours that he was promptly leaned upon by the usual suspects).

 

MANILA, May 18 2022 (Reuters) – Philippines president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Wednesday said his country’s ties with China will expand and “shift to a higher gear” when he takes power, signalling intent to advance outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte’s pro-Beijing agenda.

 

But the policy is not without opposition. Last week, Sara Duterte resigned her governmental posts, but has retained her vice presidency and looks to be preparing to contest the next election. The rule is just one term of six years, although it is being rumoured that Marcos is preparing to abolish it.

As you may have guessed by now, this turn of events has had personal implications for me. About the time of Marcos’s election, I was in the Philippines arranging an SRRV. This is a life time residence permit.

Having married a Chinese woman last October I then began an application to have her put on it. She had be present in the Philippines to complete the application and this depends upon getting a tourist visa to enter there, and this now entails making an application online to a consulate to arrange an appointment!

After two failed attempts we discovered that the only way was to engage an agent and pay an extortionate fee which undoubtedly covered the payment of bribes to consular officials. We finally succeeded and earlier this month she had the visa put in her passport. We can now come, stay and go as we please, but our interest in spending more time there with US missiles potentially aimed at our apartment in China has somewhat evaporated.

The Philippines’ GDP per capita, in the region second only to Japan in the 1960s has floundered since, and at $3,499 is outranked by most comparable neighbours. The scale of the poverty beggars belief. The main problems in the Philippines are:

1. Rampant corruption of which the public are perfectly aware, and will admit to you. Readiness to provide bribes is de rigeuer In dealing with the authorities.

2. Very poor education standards, I have a chart which shows the Philippines at the bottom of STEM attainment of about 90 countries (needless to say China, Singapore and Hong Kong rank at the top). Sorry I don’t have the link.

3. I think 80% of the population is Catholic so most poor families have many more children than they can afford.

4. Infrastructure is very poor. With only 130 km of rail remaining, no freight and no urban MTR services, the 2019 Global Competitiveness report gave it the lowest efficiency score among other Asian countries in terms of efficiency of train services, receiving a score of 2.4, and ranking 86th out of 101 countries globally (Wikipedia).

5. Consequently about 2% of the population, about 2 million, among them some of the most highly qualified, and more than half are women largely working as nurses or else as often poorly treated servants, works abroad to send money home to support their families.

Essentially, then, the Philippines is already a failed state. The peso is now down to 59 to the dollar (it was 2.00 in 1962) while in PPP terms it is about 19, so imports aside it offers a very low cost of living to a foreigner. A few cities such as Manila and Cebu are rich in parts but elsewhere in town and country the poverty – families typically living in makeshift sheds barely fit to house chickens with no utilities, and waste ending up in a river or sea – has to be seen to be believed.

The people still pay the price for the near five centuries of misrule and almost unbroken colonisation of their country, first by Spain and then by the USA who evicted the Spanish in 1902 and then forgot to leave. And now once again they have recolonised it to use it in plain sight in this cynical, malicious fashion.

I once saw a monument on the waterfront at Subic Bay which celebrated the government vote by 12 to 11 in 1991 to have the remaining US naval force there removed from the country (the air base at Clark had recently been destroyed by a volcanic eruption at Pinatubo). If I return to the Philippines I must pop around there to see if it has since been quietly removed.

My mother surprised me after her death.

She lived in a senior residence for the last couple of years of her life, and I visited her almost every Sunday, took her out shopping and to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants. She was 92 and had been legally blind for years, though very agile with her cane. Because of her vision she could not recognize people’s faces, which made it challenging for her to meet new people. Elderly people can be prickly about their social groups, resist meeting newcomers, and be fussy about who sits at their table at dinner. I worried about that but she seemed to cope. I went with her to dinner at the residence a few times. Someone would come up and speak to her and she would take them by the hand and say “is this Ellen?” and make it into a bit of a joke and we would all laugh.

After her death, I went to the residence to move out her possessions and pick up the last of her mail. When the truck was loaded I walked through the lounge and dining room of the residence. To my surprise, people came up and started talking to me. Lots of people.

One woman came up and hugged me and said “You were a good son. You came to see Maxine every week, we all noticed that. There are people here who have children who live in town and never come to visit them.” Another woman said “Your mother was the bravest person I ever met. Even though she couldn’t see anyone’s faces, she came down for the meals and talked to everyone. She was fearless.”

More and more people came and said similar things. I knew she was remarkable but I’d never thought that much about other people’s opinions of her.

I never would have guessed. Even after she was gone she was full of surprises.

The Insane Plot Armor of Cats

Now, let’s close with something positive.

Michael Jackson and his doll

This shows a clear misunderstanding of the China/Russia relationship.

If Scholz asked Xi to put pressure on Putin to end the Ukraine war, this means that he thinks that China should use economic pressure on Russia and that China is willing to use economic leverage on Russia.

But China does not believe in exerting pressure on Russia this way because in Beijing’s view, the China/Russia economic relationship is working out very well. China gets all the cheap natural gas it needs from Russia; this is essential for China’s economy to keep its factories running and churning out products at prices the whole world can afford. Why would China do this? What would China get in return for putting pressure on Russia? Obviously the US would like to cripple Russia’s economy, and after Russia is carved up into several countries, which country will become the entrée on the US’s menu?

Obviously, it will be China!

So why should China help the US to weaken Russia? It makes no sense!

As for the relationship between Xi and Putin, it is very obvious that they consider the countries as equals. This is why while China has publicly stated it is for peace in Ukraine, it has not applied pressure on the Russian government to make any concessions. At the same time, Beijing has diplomatic relations with Ukraine, and is not happy about the casualties on both sides. But when it comes to economic importance, Russia is much more important than Ukraine.

The idea of putting pressure on another government is something the US has done repeatedly, especially on its European and Asian allies, who have been strong-armed into confronting Russia over Ukraine and China over Taiwan.

Because pressure has been used so much and used effectively, most of the G7 nations are not able to understand that diplomacy is not about the exertion of pressure, but clearly understanding national interests and conveying those interests through the proper diplomatic channels so that crises can be defused before they become too confrontational.

“I saw some politicians say that there appears to be a foreign element behind what’s going on at the universities, like a foreign power that’s instigating and agitating.

Yes, there is, and we all know which foreign power that is.

We all know which foreign country is stoking this crisis, and it sure isn’t Russia, and it sure isn’t China.

No, well, if you wondered why those kids want their schools to divest from Israel, just look at how their schools are treating them because they dared to ask for that.

Those universities are doing the bidding of Israel, not the bidding of China or the bidding of Russia.

They’re not even doing the bidding of those kids’ parents and those kids’ families, and your police are doing the same.

So yes, there is a foreign power behind all this, and it’s precisely that foreign power that the students want their schools to extricate themselves from, and it’s very obvious to everyone.

It couldn’t be more obvious.

It’s as obvious as a baton cracked on the side of your head.

Look, on these campuses, like at Harvard and the Ivy League campuses and so on, you had demonstrations against Russia and in favor of Ukraine; you had that at the Ivy League schools, you had protests against China over Xinjiang and so on.

No zip ties, no arrests, no 550 kids going to jail, no.

But the moment they start demanding that their schools stop partnering with Israel over a genocide, and all hell breaks loose.

There’s no mystery about what foreign country is driving that.”

main qimg 0af47e14d51a9d8e86808b3b17de1b70
main qimg 0af47e14d51a9d8e86808b3b17de1b70

Excerpt from remarks by American geopolitical analyst Shahid Bolsen in a video where he speaks about the ongoing protests against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on university campuses, both in the U.S. and around the world, April 27, 2024.

Plum Chicken

mar 18 chicken plum chilli tray bake 3000x2000 135710 1
mar 18 chicken plum chilli tray bake 3000×2000 135710 1

Ingredients

  • 2 fryers, cut up
  • Garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1 (17 ounce) can purple plums (reserve juice)
  • 1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade
  • 1/2 cup chili sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
  • 2 drops Tabasco sauce

Instructions

  1. Prepare sauce day before or make and freeze (best when used cold).

Sauce

  1. Pit plums and put in blender to puree.
  2. Cook onion in butter until tender (not brown).
  3. Add plum puree with juice and all other ingredients (except chicken).
  4. Simmer 15 minutes.

Chicken

  1. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes, skin side up.
  2. Baste with plum sauce.
  3. Bake another 45 minutes, basting generously with sauce until well coated.
  4. Serve with additional heated sauce.

I was about 28 or 29 (a long time ago), I looked young and my Dad came with me to look for a new car. I went to two dealers and basically told each one what kind of car I wanted (the first dealer was a Pontiac dealer and I was interested in a Grand Am, the second dealer was a Chevrolet dealer where I was interested in a Corsica). I also told each salesman how much I could afford for the monthly payment. Each one had a car that met my criteria but I settled on the Corsica. So when my Dad and I came back with the car I was trading in I was ready to sign the papers (that he showed and reviewed with me before) I noticed the numbers had changed and my monthly payment was a lot more than when I reviewed everything previously. I said to the salesman (who was my Dad’s age), these aren’t the numbers you showed me before! He replied well, we have to add in all these fees. I said well when I was here before I told you I wanted to know exactly what my monthly payment would be and now this number is way higher. I told him that I no longer wanted the car at those payments and his response was but we already took your license plate off of your car and put it on the new car. I said well, put it back on my car and my Dad and I left and went back to the Pontiac dealer and got the Grand Am where all the numbers he showed me before were exactly as I expected when I purchased the car. I loved that car and kept it for a long time.

Anti-China news

main qimg 0d68a2fc0cab2302adb93ee4d44f2f5c
main qimg 0d68a2fc0cab2302adb93ee4d44f2f5c

Quick version. My son said the teacher refused his homework and gave him ten zeros in her grade book. Found that hard to believe. Set up meeting with myself, my son, her and principal. I asked her if that was true. A simple yes or no would have worked. Instead she opened her grade and asked me if I saw ten zeros. Instantly I recognized her statement as a non denial denial from Watergate days. I looked at her and said “No but you said it didn’t you. “. She admitted she did. I asked her why. She said she hated my son. I asked her why. Saying no one hated my son he was so nice. She said she hated my son because he reminded her of her son and she hated her son!!! I was also a teacher. High school and a few years later I got her son as a student. The resemblance was remarkable. Very nice young man. Liked by all. As was my son. So sometimes the student is the one to believe.

I have twin sons. They’re now 15, but when they were around 3 years old, I noticed that whenever we came home from being out, they’d be confronted with the decision of which of their (ridiculously) many toys they were going to play with.

They’d rush into the living room, and Tim went straight for whatever he wanted to play with, and within a few minutes, his brother Nathan would decide that he just had to play with whatever Tim was now deeply engrossed with, and would start a big fight over it or even wrestle it from him forcefully (Nathan was significantly larger).

If my husband or I were around, we’d try and adjudicate, but it always ended in tears and drama.

After a month or two of this, I noticed a change in pattern. All of a sudden, Tim was just giving up his toy to Nathan without a fight. I was worried that he wasn’t standing up for himself, so I said to him: “You know, Tim, you had just as much a right to play with that toy as Nathan.”

He said: “I know. I knew he’d take it from me so I played with something I didn’t mind him taking. This [showing me what he was playing with now] was what I really wanted to play with anyway.”

Well played, Tim, well played.

His cunning has continued to manifest in other ways since then. 🙂

Note: I’ve had dozens of edit suggestions from people from India, who think that “cunning” is a negative/derogatory trait and necessarily synonymous with sneaky and under-handed. I find it an interesting cultural observation that this seems to be a connotation unique to Indian English. In any case, I feel a need to defend my use of this adjective. I’m his mother and adore him, and this is clearly not what I intend; I simply mean that he’s intelligent and views things from multiple angles, and isn’t easy to outwit. 🙂

Intimidation? U.S. B-2 Stealth Overflies Gaza, Low Enough to Be Clearly visible

B 2 Stealth In Sky Over Gaza 04 30 2024 2 large
B 2 Stealth In Sky Over Gaza 04 30 2024 2 large

A United States B-2 Stealth Bomber was sent to fly over the Gaza Strip today, and do so at an altitude wherein the plane was clearly visible to people on the ground.

What kind of a monster, sends a nuclear-capable Bomber aircraft to intimidate people on the ground?

Who in the US Military, ordered this?  Why was it done?

April, China’s home diplomatic month is over, May’s away diplomatic month, is kicking off.

On 29 April, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced that Xi Jinping would visit the three countries at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Emmanuel Macron, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Considering that Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with a large number of Asian foreign ministers in April, Xi is expected to meet with a number of Asian leaders upon his return from Europe, and may even attend the “China-Japan-South Korea Summit” to engage with Japan and South Korea, which are close to the U.S. foreign policy.

You know, the United States is shorting the yen.

Japanese media reports: Japan’s Finance Minister expressed to the United States in a pleading tone that the sharp depreciation of the yen is unbearable for us and hopes that the United States will be merciful and temporarily stop shorting the yen.

Xi’s top priority in this round of trips is France.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. President Xi Jinping’s first visit to a Western country since 2020 is France, which reflects the importance he attaches to China-France friendship. Similarly, Macron is now in dire need of China’s support.

That’s because after the Sino-French meeting in May, Macron will face two big hurdles in his career:

  • The European Parliament elections in June
  • The Paris Olympics in July

At the European Parliament in June, Macron will have to pull in European leaders and seek to snipe at European Commission President Von der Leyen and curb her power.

At the Paris Olympics in July, if Macron seeks to push for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine or Palestine and Israel as host, he will in doing so become the true boss of Europe, replacing the US manipulation of Europe.

Macron’s conflict with von der Leyen is mainly over trade policy, climate policy, and the relationship between Europe and the United States.

The huge contracts that can be brought about by the massive equipment renewal that China has opened this year, as well as the co-operation in the fields of new energy and nuclear energy, will be Macron’s bargaining chips to convince other leaders in the European Parliament.

If, as Macron wishes, the European Commission President replaced by career bureaucrat Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, then the EU’s trade and climate policy, will be led by France, in the relationship with Europe and the United States, France can also be more independent and autonomous.

But if Macron’s plan fails, his influence within the EU will be extremely limited for the remainder of his term, and French foreign policy will be tied to the EU.

As for the competition between Macron and Joe Biden, it lies mainly in global leadership, and the proud French have always had a strong desire to challenge the United States in their hearts.

The Olympic Games will be held in Paris in July this year. The gathering of leaders of major countries will naturally become a platform for behind-the-scenes transactions between major countries. It is also the best time for negotiations between Russia&Ukraine, Palestine&Israel.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the UN has developed a practice of mobilising all its members to sign the “Olympic Truce” before each Olympic Games, and ceasing war operations for one month before and after the Games. This one-month window of truce is enough time for the warring parties to calm down, as in the case of the ceasefire in the Yugoslav civil war in the early 1990s.

If they can’t do so during this period, it will be a direct escalation of the conflict.

For example:

  • Russia raided Georgia during the 2008 Olympics.
  • Russia raiding Ukraine during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

If Macron succeeds in brokering a ceasefire, it will make Macron the biggest contributor to world peace.

Either enjoy the glory added to it, or be embarrassed in front of the world. In any case, Macron is more or less about to take a gamble.

If Macron wants to do all this, he has only one choice in the face of Von der Leyen and Joe Biden, and that is to draw on mystical forces originating in the East, so he needs Xi’s support.

Everyone wants world peace except the military–industrial–congressional complex (MICC)!

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I have done my time in the hospitality industry working at about 5 or 6 different restaurants and have been both fortunate and unfortunate when it comes to gratuity.

On two different occasions I received extraordinarily large tips and they were very similar amounts but very different situations.

The first time:

I was one of 3 waiters looking after a group of 25 VIP guests who arrived quite late in the evening as they had attended a formal ceremony earlier in the night. The host guest that night is a well known, very wealthy business man and we were optimistic. Only one course ended up being served, mostly burgers, along with wine & Champagne. It seemed the party was more interested in moving onto the next stop for the night.

The bill total was not that high considering the amount of guests and the usual head spend at this particular restaurant. I believe it was around R8000 (~ $450). In South Africa tipping is usually between 10 – 20% and upon receiving the bill back an expected, somewhat disappointing amount was written on the slip which I cannot remember.

It had been a long night and it looked as if us 3 waiters were not going to walk away with a lot. I informed the host that I would be back with the credit card machine.

Having seen enough evidence to know that good looking waitresses receive better tips from male guests I asked my fellow waitress who is very pleasing to the eye to return to the table with the card machine and to try and charm the host.

I have no clue what she said to him but when she returned from completing the transaction her smile was from ear to ear. The 10/15% tip that we would have received had changed to R1500 (~ $100) for each waiter which equates to R4500 (~ $300) total tip.


The second time:

Working at a different, much smaller, fine dining restaurant I received a tip that was slightly larger than the previous one. There were only 2 waiters working that night and it had reached the point where it looked like no more guests would be joining and we were close to having all the closing duties completed and getting out early.

5 minutes before the kitchen closes and we stop accepting tables and in walks a couple who are met by my fellow, very evidently displeased, waiter. He seats them and asks if I could please serve them as he does not have the patience this late in the night. Even though it was his turn on the rotation I agree and oblige because I had a strong feeling that it would be worth my efforts.

The couple were very aware that they were joining late and were very apologetic to which I dismissed as a non issue and that we were extremely glad to have them join us. I wanted to emphasise that they should not feel rushed and went as far to recommend our specialty 5 course food & wine tasting menu. I did not think they would actually go for it but I must have done a good job in promoting it as both of them decided to take it.

I was able to give them undivided attention as they were the only guests in the restaurant and it was very apparent that they were enjoying themselves. The lady had a few dietary restrictions which our kitchen was able to work around and they continuously raved about the food.

Come the end of their meal I returned to the table with the card machine and I saw the man had written R1600 (~ $110) under the gratuity section on a R1400 bill. I assume he must mean R1600 total which would be a R200 tip. I was willing to accept it as “money I never had before”.

When he was signing the slip he sees the total and said that I put through the wrong amount. I was confused so asked him if I read the number 1600 wrong to which he replied that I never read the number wrong but that was my tip and not the total. I was clearly shocked by this and immediately thinking “I hope I have not just thrown away the biggest tip ever”. He asked me to process his card for the difference which I did while saying thank you about 100 times over.

That same couple returned a few more times while I still worked there and always requested I serve them. They were always extremely generous and on one occasion they tipped every member of our kitchen staff an equal amount to what they tipped me.

Every time they came to dine with us my fellow waiter from that night would want to serve them only for them to request me. My patience the night they visited the restaurant for the first time led to me earning a fair sum of money from that couple over the period of a few months which was extremely helpful while I was a broke student.

 

main qimg ed218eea5c8e1495fe0f6a3377d685b7
main qimg ed218eea5c8e1495fe0f6a3377d685b7

There were multiple requests by the Brits, French and Americans for his release. Some attribute the lack of release due to a conspiracy between former King Edward VIII and Hitler. But that doesn’t appear to hold up since the British supported his release.

main qimg 725013523effe3543a942f8c1b161a53 lq
main qimg 725013523effe3543a942f8c1b161a53 lq

Each of the 11 unilateral British appeals, which dated back to 1957, along with 14 others made separately, or jointly, by the US and French authorities were rejected by an unwavering Soviet rejection. The Soviets wanted Hess locked away for life.

The Soviets alone were responsible for keeping Hess locked up. But why? Some say Soviet insistence that the release of the former deputy Nazi leader would be an insult to the 20 million Soviet war dead. Others that his release could fuel a resurgence of neo-Nazism. But these do not seem legitimate. Far worse Nazi criminals were released. The Soviet dead were not insulted. There was no resurgence of neo-Nazism.

On June 25, 1986, a Soviet guard caught Charles Gabel, the chaplain at Spandau, attempting to smuggle out a statement by Hess, causing Gabel to be fired. Hess had originally written the document as his opening address at the Nuremberg trial in 1946, which he had been unable to deliver in full after the judges cut him off.

Hess tried to mail a copy of the statement to Sir Oswald Mosley in October 1946, but the letter was intercepted by his US guards. Hess’s statement (both the 1946 version and the 1986 version) claimed that Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union was preemptive. In other words, the Soviets were about to attack Germany.

Hess claimed there had been overwhelming evidence that the Soviet Union had planned to attack Germany. He said in the statement that he had decided to make his flight to Scotland without informing Hitler, with the aim of informing the UK of the Soviet danger to “European civilization” and the entire world. He believed his warning would cause the UK to end its war with Germany and join in the fight against the Soviet Union.

If this were true, the Soviets would not want this to be discussed. Their role in the war was as victims. They were attacked by the Germans and responded.But if that is not true. If Hess was correct, the Soviet role in WWII would be completely different. Not the victim, but the aggressor. It would be the Soviets who caused the loss of millions of their citizens, not the Germans. The Soviet role in the Cold War would be on a completely different footing.

Geo-Fencing Added to Car Software! Can Shutdown Car if you drive too far, too long, or where government doesn’t want you!

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Vehicle manufacturers have begun issuing software updates which include “Geo-Fencing” to limit how far, how long,, or where they will not be allowed to drive.  All done remotely without your consent.

Let’s say government want to limit you to driving only five miles from your home. They can remotely issue a command that will cause your vehicle to simply SHUT OFF if you try to go farther than they want!

Let’s say government wants to keep you away from certain areas, perhaps a protest area.  They can remotely Geo-Fence that area, and any car that has an “SOS” Button, can be made to SHUT OFF if it tries to drive toward or into that area.

Missile Update

Expendables rule..

This is brief note is free.

Defense analysts’ first conclusions from the Middle East and Ukraine missile wars suggest the PLA’s strategic preparations were sound. Let’s see why.

Israel

Theodore Postol, MIT Professor of Science, Technology and National Security Policy, analyzed Iran’s mid-April drone and missile attack on in Israel. A summary:

The evidence shows that all or most of the arriving long-range ballistic missiles were not intercepted by any of the Israeli air and missile-defense systems. Whether drones or not, all of the targets are shot down by air-to-air missiles.

The cost of a drone is $10,000 or $20,000, and the cost of an Iranian cruise missile is about $100,000. Their 4-hour, 1500 km flight to Israel allowed US Navy E-2 Hawkeyes AWACS to very effectively vector fighter aircraft to targets they quickly destroyed. The USAF workhorse air-to-air missile is the $500,000 AIM-9x Sidewinder and the Israeli government says the cost of defending Israel was $1.3 billion! [Non-government sources say $2.3-3.3 billion].

Commercially available technology is now good enough for constructing cruise missiles and drones with capabilities to “recognize” their targets and home on them. This means that the cost of shooting down cruise missiles and drones will be very high – even unsustainable – unless extremely inexpensive and effective anti-air systems can be implemented.

Ukraine

Analyst Armchair Warlord says Russia’s anti-air system is extremely effective and, apparently, financially sustainable:

Artillery shells have become the standard metric of the Ukrainian War, and Soviet-legacy gigafactories burying Western supply chains in mountains of steel its leading story. But shells are just steel. What if I told you the Russians were beating us in high-tech manufacturing?

One of the sleeper stories of the war has been the Russian air defenses’ extraordinary capability to defeat the most difficult targets: Russian SAMs routinely down GMLRS, Storm Shadows, and even AGM-88 HARMs that were specifically designed to destroy them. Russian air defenses in the Crimea have been downing ATACMS missiles – a supposed war-winning superweapon – like pheasants.

But I have never seen anyone remark on Russia’s bottomless supply of modern air defense missiles.

Just that week, they shot down no fewer than 1,715 aerial targets, 95% of them drones. Even assuming 75% of the drones were engaged with small arms or EW, that’s still 400 antiaircraft missiles expended for the week. The Russians do this, week after week after week, and show zero signs that their air defense inventory is even under stress.

Meanwhile the West is out of modern missiles and desperately trying to keep Ukraine going with 1960s systems like HAWK, Chaparral and improvised Sea Sparrow launchers. Guided missiles are not simple to make – they’re complex and require sophisticated manufacturing to tight tolerances. Western manufacturers have never been able to make them in large quantities, even at the height of the Cold War. And yet here the ‘gas station with nukes’ is stamping out enough ammunition to keep their Buks and Pantsirs on the firing line after two years of a war featuring an order of magnitude more aerial targets than any previous conflict.

PLA prescience

Russia and China already share the world’s leading missile defense technology, so we can assume that also share the Niagara of data from both conflicts. Pray for some insightful crumbs from their table.

Until then, however, we can appreciate the PLA’s foresight in building a chain of 24×7, 100% automated, high-precision missile factories, each producing 1,000 rounds a day.

A final thought: all war involves math.

Poland Officially Requests U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Poland Officially Requests U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Poland has handed an official request to Washington to have U.S. nuclear weapons hosted in Poland.

No word yet on any need or desire in the US to put such weapons there.

Russia earlier cautioned Poland that nuclear weapons in their country would **not** make Poland any safer.  In fact, they said, it would merely make Poland a target for Russian nuclear weapons.

Hal Turner Snap Analysis

Nuclear weapons “hosted” in Poland; Sounds like an exchange student or something innocent , like its a cultural program.

My bet . . .  and this is pure conjecture on my part —  Poland didn’t actually “request” anything.
They were just told that the US is going to deploy nukes on their territory.

The nukes will be controlled by US of course, not Poland; Poland would have no interest in this affair whatsoever. . . except when they get blown up by Russia for having them so close to Russia.

Here are the top five sources of wealth for a Rich American with more than $ 15 Million :-

  • Portfolio (65%)
  • Landed Assets (18%)
  • Liquid Deposits (7%).
  • Others (10%) [Valuable Paintings, Royalty or Copyright contracts, Depreciating Assets like Cars, Yachts etc]

The Richer you are, the higher your Portfolio wealth is

For instance an American who is valued at more than $ 100 Million has almost 88% of his wealth in Portfolio

Portfolio means Stocks, Equities, Venture Capital Shareholding, Private Hedge Fund Units, Bonds etc

Now take a Middle Class American (Income between $ 68,000 to $ 300,000)

These are the top 5 Sources for his wealth

  • Mortgage (38%) [Market Value – Amount owed to Bank]
  • Portfolio (32%)
  • Insurance (15%)
  • Pension Plan /401K/Roth IRA(10%)
  • Savings / Low Yield Bills (5%)

The Average Middle Class American, his wealth comes from the rise in price of his house and how his pension plan works and on his insurance encashments

Portfolio wealth depends on the market and astute investments but no real hard work

Insurance and Pension Plan contributions depend on solid hard work

Yet Portfolio wealth can make you a millionaire whereas Pension Plans and Insurance can just keep you comfortably off


Now take the top 5 Sources of wealth for a Chinese Wealthy (Income > 3 Million RMB a year)

  • Real Estate Investment (26%)
  • Gold, Silver, Jade (20%)
  • Savings (21%)
  • Profits from Businesses (15%)
  • Real Estate (9%) [Commercial Rents , Residential Rent]

Do you see portfolio anywhere?

Nopes

It’s why Chinese don’t give a damn about their stock market whereas Americans panic when the market falls sharply for two days

Chinese Wealthy work hard too to make profits from Businesses that form a sixth of their wealth on an Average plus manage Properties and collect Rents on them.

So Chinese Wealthy and the American Middle Class Citizen works far harder than the American Rich whose wealth is based on shrewd investments and portfolio

Provolone Chicken

06 Chicken Provolone
06 Chicken Provolone

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, flattened
  • 1/4 cup flavored bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
  • 4 slices Provolone cheese
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 4 cups cooked spaghetti or vermicelli noodles, buttered

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Place bread crumbs in a flat dish and firmly press both sides of the chicken into the crumbs.
  3. Place coated chicken pieces in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
  4. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, and top with cheese.
  5. Dot with butter and bake for 20 minutes or until done.
  6. Serve with buttered pasta.

This Is How They Treat Foreigners In Shanghai

Thank you, you changed my thinking about the beautiful Chinese people. I did not expect them to be so courteous, kind and humble.

  • The minute I hugged my mom for the first time in three years, alarm bells rang so loud I could hear them screaming: Brain tumor.

I am studying in China, 6,217 km away from my family, I do not contact them much. I am not a big fan of traveling so I didn’t travel back and forth much either, in 2016 I decided to visit Jordan because I was feeling homesick and I heard news that my mother’s health wasn’t good.

My mom was around 42 years old at that time,chronically suffering from hypertension “high blood pressure”, she took the medications but she had a poor attitude towards keeping the blood pressure levels under check, so everyone in the family attributed her chronic headaches at that time to the hypertension.

After a long tiresome flight I reached home and met my mom at the door, she hugged me tight and suddenly her whole body leaned to the left. I didn’t understand what was happening at the time so I kept on hugging her until I noticed that she kept on leaning farther, I tried to support her weight but I was tired and couldn’t do it due to the awkward position so I told her: mom, you’ll fall, watch out!” she stood up, and we started talking, and oh boy, the alarm bells were drumming up a hole in my brain, I was terrified.

My mom slurred in her speech. Why did the rest of the family not notice that? Maybe because mom used to wear poor-fitting dentures in the past and it made her slur up, so they thought the same thing is happening now, and said we will get the dentures checked soon.

Besides the gait disturbance and the slurring, my mom made several edgy or —inappropriate — statements throughout the conversation. But the thing that made my bones jump, was how she yelped in pain when she coughed and said, “Every time I cough, my head splits in half”, and of course, that was attributed to the high blood pressure by the family and her primary care physician.

I went to a room and sat alone, I was freaking out. My vacation is 10 days, and I needed to explain what I’m thinking to the family so that actions can be made. I thought for a long time about that and about how can I approach my mom with that news. The latter part terrified me. Why? Because when I told my mom we might need to go and get her blood pressure checked, she screamed at me; I was taken aback. She screamed that she will not see a doctor, that I am not a doctor and I should not be acting like one and that she hates doctors.

She had seen plenty of doctors in her life, but that aggressive note was new.

Eventually the next day I convinced her to go with me to the doctor. I got her to the MRI room and asked the radiologist to let me stay with him so I can see the picture as it comes out.

Time stopped when I saw that MRI, and I knew at that moment that our lives are about to change. The tumor was huge, it had been growing for years undetected, years of slow personality changes, years of chronic headaches and years of unawareness. Thankfully, my mother agreed to have the surgery to remove the tumor, and she sprung back to her old, lively wonderful self.

This incident changed me and my family for good; my family became way more health conscious and I became more focused on the goal of becoming a good doctor. You see, if only one of her primary care physicians had looked — truly looked — at her gait or at how she screamed in pain when she coughed, they might have found this tumor much earlier.

Churchill had for years been warning of Hitler. He had warned of his rearming as well as intent to overrun large parts of Europe. Hitler knew that Churchill was the very last Brit that he wanted in as PM. If negotiated peace were the goal, someone else would need to be PM.

So Hitler publicly referred to Churchill by many names. His hope was that the British people would realize the mistake they had made. Hitler repeatedly referred to Churchill as a drunkard.

“As lunatics like that drunkard Churchill and Maccabeans and numskulls like that brilliantined dandy Eden are at the helm we’ve to be prepared for just about anything!”

But that was not all. He referred to Churchill as “a senile clown”, “gangster”, “bloodthirsty guttersnipe”, and “undisciplined swine” among other things.

Notably you will find no such invectives used by Hitler against Chamberlain. But such insults did not sway British foreign policy.

Hitler saw Churchill as his greatest obstacle. He remarked:

“If Churchill were suddenly to disappear, everything could change in a flash. The British aristocracy might perhaps become conscious of the abyss opening before them— and might well experience a serious shock! These British, for whom, indirectly, we have been fighting and who would enjoy the fruits of our victory…”

At some point he realized that negotiations with Churchill could not take place. Only after Churchill was defeated would the British be willing to talk.

Hitler remarked to von Brauchitsch, the commander in chief of the German Army, that “the British will be ready to talk only after a beating.

Hitler’s reaction to Churchill being chosen as PM was reality, the reality that the worst man in Britain for Hitler had be chosen. There would be no easy victory. There would be no short war. There would be no more bullying.

China’s $170BN Gold Rush Triggers Taiwan Invasion Fear

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Beijing appears to be stockpiling gold following a record buying spree, in a move that has raised fears China is preparing its economy for a possible conflict over Taiwan – guarding it against potential Western sanctions.

The People’s Bank of China bought 27 tons of gold in the first three months of the year, taking its reserves to a record high of 2,262 tons, according to data from the World Gold Council.

  1. Keep a healthy distance from all people, including your friends. They could bring you down with their baggage if you are not careful.
  2. Job is just a job. Don’t make it your priority.
  3. Be very sure you want to get married and have kids. Many people get trapped in a situation where they keep on asking this “What if” after 10 or 20 years into marriage.
  4. If possible, spend more time with your family, especially your parents. From your 20s to 40s, you will be too busy looking out for yourself. All of a sudden, your parents will become “old” like you never noticed.
  5. Don’t expect people to come to your rescue. Own your actions and consequences and suck it up.
  6. Tomorrow is not necessarily going to be a better day. Tomorrow is just another day.
  7. Stop reading a self-help book if you are not self-aware.
  8. Life is actually fair. It has no mercy on anyone.

I laugh my ass off at this oh I’m so victimised mentality.

I still remember it 2 decades ago when I moved to London. A box fell off the back of a builders flatbed, near a Synagogue. They immediately phoned the police and said these bomb threats are a sign of anti you know what. Turns out it was just that a carboard box that had fallen off the back of a builders flat bed.

Anyway they don’t feel safe?

Let me give you some figures from the UK.

One group totals 400,000 people this figure is disputed as it includes citizens but they may not actually be there. They form 0.7% of the population yet face 4% of all the violent crime. 15% of them have faced violence with 51% of facing slurs and racist name calling.

Meanwhile one group is about 270,000 and have faced drum roll 1600 you know what incidents each year. OMG American maths means 1600 is bigger than 200,000 incidents of racism or nearly 30,000 instances of racism.

Yet one group gets all laws to protect them, gets news coverage, representation in government and one doesn’t.

Funny how one group matters and all others don’t doesn’t it?

I love all of this. How all these historical traditional stories were changed by social re-engineering. Fascinating!

Loving these unfiltered, brutal, unwokified stories.

This is a byproduct of the American “Woman’s Rights” movement.

The initial intention was for gender equality, where women would be treated as equals with men. Eventually, a more radical sub-branch of the movement took control and steered the movement towards an anti-male bias. Over the years, they acquired wealthy and powerful contributors, and used their positions in government to fund and control the narrative. Resulting in the destruction of the American male.

This women’s rights movement in the United States has gone through several stages.

Each stage has been marked by specific goals, accomplishments, and challenges.

First Wave (19th Century – Early 20th Century)

– Focused on legal issues, particularly women’s suffrage (the right to vote).

– Key events: The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott; the adoption of the 19th Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote.

This initial stage is often erroneously considered to be reasonable, but a look at the amendments to the constitution clearly show that the movement removed the stable “Head of the Household” voting role towards one where anyone can vote. Thus, this movement, during the FIRST WAVE, significantly altered the federal government and the spending trajectory of the United States.

The United States moved from a Republic to a democracy.

Demographics changed substantially. Voting profiles changed radically, and a “nanny state”
became the norm, as the female voters started to demand a government that took on a parental role; thus a government with a greater role in the lives of Americans.

Additionally, history was rewritten. An active effort was made to rewrite the old European fairy tales to something supportive of first wave feminist belief structures. So, for instance, the Grimm Fairy Tales were rewritten from a structured give-and-take, with harsh lessons, to that of “Prince Charming”, and “one’s wishes can come true”.

There were other initiatives as well. The “Temperance movement” of the 1920’s was led by radical feminists and it resulted in the forced nationwide ban of alcohol, and the surge in organized crime. All the time while destroying the “freedoms” that American enjoyed.

And finally, let’s not forget that the first wave feminists brought in great federal-level social re-engineering evil masterminds; Coolridge, Herbet Hoover and then Taft.

Second Wave (1960s – 1980s)

– Emphasized a broader range of issues, including equality in the workplace, education, reproductive rights, and legal rights.

– Key events: Publication of “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan in 1963; the establishment of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966; the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

– Advocacy for reproductive rights, including the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

During this wave, the “rights” of women altered the workplace, the Geo-political scene, the educational system, and the kinds of movies and shows on televisions and extracted out of Hollywood. It was during this wave that the notion of a traditional family was discarded, and men started to be depicted as buffoons and useless clowns.

It was during this time that marriage longevity was destroyed; that divorce became the normal. That a two income household become the norm, and housewives rearing their own children was considered stupid.

There is a direct correlation between divorce rates and the implementation of pro-feminist initiatives. This was the era of the destruction of the family. As the women entered the work-place, forced layoffs, firings and short-duration employment became the norm.

Third Wave (1990s – Early 2000s)

– Focused on diversity and intersectionality, addressing issues of race, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity within the context of women’s rights.

– Emphasized individualism and a more inclusive approach to feminism, acknowledging different experiences and perspectives.

This wave turbocharged the fall of traditional values, and the “career women” entered the work force with government sanctioned privileges that harmed the male roles. The court systems, and child service systems became co-opted by this movement and became hostile to males.

While the second wave feminists vocalized equality, this wave argued superiority at all levels and promoted benefits, and privileges that men were denied.

Laws and rules, from family law to corporate law favored females. Lower skilled females were engaged in once-dominant male activities to meet hiring quotas. The result was a gradual decline in the quality of the American work-force.

Fourth Wave (Mid-2000s – Present)

– Characterized by the use of digital and social media to advocate for women’s rights and mobilize anti-male activism.

– Focus on sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and the #MeToo movement.

– Greater attention to intersectionality, considering how various aspects of identity intersect and impact the experiences of women and non-binary individuals.

It’s a real problem.

The damage has already been done.

Presently, in the United States and it’s proxy nations, under the LGBQ+ rainbow flag, the male gender is ridiculed, minimized, and berated to a point where various social phenomenons have occurred. To include…

  • Young men in the 20s have stopped dating.
  • Young men tend to be virginal, while young women engage in serial promiscuity.
  • The “Soft man” era where men have “checked out”.
  • A drop in college and university admissions for men.
  • A push back on dating with the “drizzle drizzle” movement.
  • American men are leaving the United States as “passport bros” and not returning.

The changing demographics and the ten year forecast for citizens within this toxic anti-male environment is contentious. Historically, very BAD things happen when large sections males in a nation are hurt, abandoned, ridiculed and disparaged.

It will be very bad.

Think Rwandan genocide BAD.

1. If your house smells fishy for no reason, 9 times out of 10 it means there is an electrical fire.

2. If you ever feel like someone is following your car, turn right four times and it will eventually go in a circle. If they are always behind you, it means they are following you. Don’t drive home, just call the police and drive to the police station

3. If a service dog ever approaches you without its owner, follow it and do so quickly because you could potentially save someone else’s life.

4. If someone tries to kidnap you, fight back. Most kidnappers will simply give up if they encounter resistance. And whatever you do, don’t let them take you anywhere else.

5. If the tide suddenly goes out unexpectedly, run like you stole it, for higher ground.

6. If you are ever attacked by a moose, get behind a tree…they have about a ten inch blind spot and they will lose you…

7.When people say to take an aspirin to help during a heart attack, chew the pill, don’t swallow it whole. It is absorbed much faster.

8. If someone asks you for something on the street – a light, the time, whatever – always keep the person in your line of sight. So if they ask you the time, don’t just look at your watch. Raise your arm slightly so that your watch is in view.

9. If you’re in danger or need help, in a public place, it’s almost always a bad idea to just yell “help.” It’s more important to be specific. Pointing your finger at someone and telling them to call 911 will be more effective. The bystander effect can sometimes be cruel.

Robert F. Kennedy gives three main reasons why he believes the threat of China is wildly overstated.

I like his overall message, but I disagree with his idea that the USA can block shipping, and that without Walmart, China would collapse. I disagree that the Chinese “are on the edge of revolt”.

But still, it’s nice to hear a different voice out of the USA.

North Korea and the Russian – China Axis merge

I had a table of 8 family members. Brothers with their wives. This one sister in law was literally embarrassing them all at the table. She always had a complaint and was just rude. Even accused her husband of checking out a server. I came back to check on them as they were my table go figure that smh, and asked her why she hasn’t touched her food. I asked this because she sent it back at least 3 times and did everything to get extra sides etc. this women was a hot mess to say the least. The rest of the table was fine and they all knew how to act in public but her not so much.

As I asked her why she wasn’t touching her food and if something was wrong she said yes actually you can just take my whole meal off. I asked her why but before I could finish she said because there is bugs crawling all over the floor. My mouth dropped and I was speechless and just looked at her. The rest of the table did the same. I didn’t say anything I just walked away and got my manager.

We did not have bugs it was a very clean steak house. She admitted to the manger she just said that. Anyway one of the brother in laws came up to me when I was putting in another tables order on the computer. He asked me if he could get their check and his other brothers check. I gave it to him and he asked if he could pay it right now. I said sure no problem. So I cashed him out and not even a minute or two later I came back to their table to find one brother and his wife the crazy lady the only ones still sitting there waiting to cash out. The hostess told me the rest of the family was embarrassed and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. She said it’s like they practically ran out of there. Lol I seriously can’t blame them one bit!

I was an asshole with a bad sense of humor when I was young and drunk, so my friends and I decided to test the drive-thru policy.

We felt that we were being awfully clever, but that was the tequila talking. The reality is that we were probably the twentieth set of idiots to try it that month, but we didn’t think about that. We’d been too drunk to drive so we had walked to McDonalds and tried to order in the drive-thru. Predictably they told us that it was a safety issue, and they could only serve cars. That’s when my friend Amber asked them if they could serve people in SUVs; the girl said “yes”. Someone else asked about vans, and I chimed in with pick-up trucks.

That’s when the girl became frustrated with us and made her mistake. She told us that anything on wheels was okay. We promptly forgot all about being hungry and immediately went to Amber’s neighbor’s house and stole a kid’s tricycle and a wheelbarrow, and made our way back to McDonald’s. We all thought we were being uniquely hilarious when I rode up on the kid’s bicycle and one friend pushed two others in the wheelbarrow. It was incredibly fortunate that no actual cars were there, because the wheelbarrow kept falling over and dumping my friends onto the pavement. I’m tiny, but I couldn’t actually work the pedals, so I just pushed myself along with my feet.

I still remember the look on the girl’s face. Louder than any words could have done, it said “Fuck me, not again!”. She just left the window (they’d been ignoring our shouts into the speaker) and an older man took her place. We proudly informed him that it was his employee who had told us that we could get served like this, but he had a simple yet undeniable rebuttal: That we knew damn well that she hadn’t meant wheelbarrows and tricycles. We were too drunk to argue against that, but we had remembered our hunger, so we begged for food before we finally realized that he wasn’t joking about calling the cops.

My friends wanted to stay, but I only had a green card at the time, so I shuffled off on my tiny bike. I have no clue if pestering the employees at McDonald’s was a crime involving moral turpitude, but I was fairly certain that bicycle theft was. Those tend to get you deported, so I finally just picked up the bicycle and ran it back to the yard where I found it. My friends arrived soon after, battered and bleeding from their fights with the wheelbarrow, and I called my husband to come and get me.

Moral of the story? McDonald’s won’t serve pedestrians and other idiots in the drive-thru because it’s dangerous. Bonus moral: You’re not as smart as Señor Patrón would have you believe.

BREAKING Putin Shocks The U S with a Visit to North Korea WHAT DID HE SAY

Fate

The fate of the United States has been "baked into the cake" since 1776. The country was founded wrongly, ideologically corrupted from inception, yet covered in a wickedly deceptive but attractive gloss, and so it simply follows the natural arc of history despite any pleas or protests from those along for the ride. Now is the time for sinking, and sink it shall.

Posted by: Matthew | Jun 19 2024 17:45 utc | 66

The Sopranos – Tony gets rid of Feech LaManna

Thai Peanut Pizza

This deliciously unique recipe topped with spicy-sweet ingredients makes it a Thai Peanut Pizza with pizzazz!

thai pizza
thai pizza

I love a pizza with nontraditional flavors and toppings and this copycat of California Pizza Kitchen’s Thai Chicken Pizza is a real winner. It has diced chicken tossed in a spicy peanut sauce flavored with ginger, honey, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. A gooey layer of mozzarella cheese covers the chicken and it is topped with shredded carrots, bean sprouts, and green onion. A sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts finish off the flavors. It is a pizza made for lovers of sweet and spicy foods.

thai pizza 25
thai pizza 25

We go to California Pizza Kitchen quite often. It’s probably our go to place for special lunches. The only problem with eating there is I can never decide what to order. There are too many delicious pizzas and salads to choose from. I’ve never actually eaten the Thai Chicken Pizza at the restaurant, but the recipe is in California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook that I have had for years and I thought it would be the perfect pizza to make at home.

thai pizza 17
thai pizza 17

Typically I haven’t really been one to make pizza at home mainly because I was completely inept at making pizza dough. I blame it on the fact that I was raised on Chef Boyardee pizza.

I say “was” because I am now able to make a pizza dough that I am pround of thanks to the free Pizza Making Class Perfect Pizza at Home on Craftsy.

thai pizza 10
thai pizza 10

Ingredients

Pizza

  • 9 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls or 6 Rhodes Texas™ Rolls, thawed to room temperature
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Peanut Sauce

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
thai pizza 5
thai pizza 5

If you’ve never taken a class on Craftsy before, they are amazing and this Pizza Making Class, which is completey free, is the perfect way to try out the Craftsy video classes AND learn how to make a darn good pizza.

The class is over 30 minutes in length but it is divided into segments and you can pick and choose which ones you want to watch. Even better, all Craftsy classes have a 30 second replay button so you can watch and cook at the same time and hit the replay button if you get behind or miss something.

thai pizza 4
thai pizza 4

There are 4 types of dough taught in the class. So far I’ve only made the American-Style (Neopolitan) dough. I first made Muffaletta Pizza with it a few weeks ago. It makes a big batch of dough which keeps well in the fridge for a number of days.

So a few days after I made the Muffaletta Pizza, I used the remaining dough to make this Thai Chicken Pizza.

thai pizza 1
thai pizza 1

Perfect Pizza at Home shows you not only how to make the perfect dough, but how to shape it as well. This part takes a little bit of practice and my Thai pizza was much more evenly shaped than my Muffaletta Pizza. 🙂

If you make one of the Craftsy doughs, which I highly recommend, you will need to do it a day in advance and refrigerate it overnight. Then bring it to room temperature for 90 minutes before shaping it.

thai pizza 3
thai pizza 3

Prep: 20 min | Bake: 20 to 30 min | Yield: 5 servings

I haven’t included the pizza dough instructions here because frankly I couldn’t do them justice. Being able to watch the instructor demonstrate the process is a much better way to learn. So go to Craftsy and download the free class if you want to improve your pizza making skills.

Instructions

  1. Spray counter lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Pizza

  1. Combine Texas™ rolls or dinner rolls together and roll into a 13 inch circle.
  2. Place on a sprayed 12 inch pizza pan.
  3. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove wrap and poke several times with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Peanut Sauce

  1. In a medium saucepan combine all the ingredients for the peanut sauce.
  2. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened.
  3. Set aside to cool.
  4. Stir fry the chicken in canola oil and soy sauce until completely cooked.
  5. Spread peanut sauce over baked crust (peanut sauce can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator).
  6. Top with bell pepper, green onions, cooked chicken and cheese.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  8. Remove from oven and top with cucumbers and cilantro.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: Rhodes Bake-N-Serv

The Grand Prize Winner one of the Rhodes Employee Recipe Contests was a tie…a Thai Peanut Pizza that is! Submitted by IT Administrator Austin Tolman and his wife Mariah, this deliciously unique recipe topped with spicy-sweet ingredients makes it a pizza with pizzazz! Congratulations Tolmans!

When my friend Richard (name changed) died, he had no surviving family of which we knew. Although I say “friend”, I didn’t really know him that well. He had been a tech on a couple of plays I’d been in.

Another actor I knew had gone out to do a wellness check on him and discovered his body. Apparently he’d had a heart attack while in the bathroom. He was found there.

Richard was best friends with a mutual friend. I called her when I heard. When I asked about a service, she explained that no one knew what to do, as he had no family.

I have written this many times: I’m a complete dolt about everyday life. However, I am great with emergencies or hard challenges.

So I started this odyssey of trying to figure out who to contact and how to get his body released. I ended up, with some help, being able to contact his cousins. His body was released & I arranged to have him cremated.

Before his cremation, which I attended alone, I brought a small bouquet of flowers to put in his coffin; I read some Shakespeare to him; and at the last minute snuck a cigarette in there as well; just in case. I think he would have appreciated that. We were smoking buddies, standing outside on break during many rehearsals.

Now. This process took almost two weeks. I was in his apartment twice. Once while trying to find info on any extended family; and once with police, to try and salvage some of his belongings before his apartment was condemned.

Richard was a hoarder.

Apparently he could throw nothing away. I mean nothing, including trash. I do not know how he survived his home. It was beyond hazardous. There was absolutely no open floor space. It was an obstacle course over objects to try and get from one point to the other.

He was a large man. I don’t understand how he didn’t constantly have a sprained ankle or broken leg. It was that bad.

Imagine a tornado hit your house. Inside. Add years worth of receipts and plastic bags, clothes, records, furniture, and stuff that belonged in the garbage, was strewn everywhere by this tornado. I had to look to find the bed. It was indistinguishable from the rest of the mess.

Under the bed were tied-off, white plastic deli bags of cigarette butts. He’d empty the ashtrays but couldn’t throw the bags of butts out.

It goes without saying, I guess, that the apartment had never been cleaned.

What was found that was even more of a surprise than the disastrous mess? Bank statements.

He had millions in his account.

He chose to live like that. Although choice may be the wrong word. I think it entirely possible he stayed there because if he moved, someone had to see the place. He probably couldn’t bear the idea of anyone knowing how he lived.

It somehow made it more awful to me, knowing he had money.

We are all prisoners of our own minds, to some extent. We tell ourselves stories about why or why not we can do something. More often, I bet, we tell ourselves why we can’t do something.

Richard’s mind kept him a prisoner in that dreadful place.

Being comfortable isn’t always…comfortable. I tell myself if I want to make a change, I’ve got to be willing to go through the initial discomfort.

Somehow I’ve made his apartment a metaphor for that.

神崎ゆまカメラ】LOVE IZ DOLL NANAMI AIZAWA BIRTHDAY LIVE(1部)

Death by cuteness in China.

Vintage Family Views

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  1. As recently as the 1980s, many researchers and doctors believed that babies couldn’t feel pain, so some were operated on without any anesthesia.
  2. The picture to be used in your funeral program may have already been taken.
  3. Dogs like squeaky toys because it reminds them of a small animal being killed
  4. You don’t know if there is a secret everybody knows except you.
  5. Butterflies have been known to drink blood.
  6. Cannibalism is common in hamsters.
  7. You pass the anniversary date of your death every year.
  8. You have tiny mites in your eyelashes.
  9. Many people take medications to relieve despair, but there is a certain type of antidepressant that can eliminate your feeling of love and compassion.
  10. Bananas are radioactive.
  11. The Greater Short-Horned Lizard squirts blood out of its eyes.
  12. Several species of birds keep cool by defecating on themselves.
  13. After scorpions shed their tails, they die of constipation.
  14. When male bees mate, their sexual organs explode.
  15. Sloths almost die every time they have to poop.
  16. Rabbits will eat their own young if they’re stressed enough.
  17. All cruise ships have a functioning morgue on board.
  18. The average person walks by almost 16 murderers in their lifetime.
  19. Serial killer Joe Metheny owned a food stand and sold burgers that combined animal meat with the flesh of his victims to unsuspecting customers.
  20. You’re 6.7% more likely to die on your birthday than any other day of the year.
  21. In the Victorian Era, it was common to take pictures with the bodies of a deceased family member, as a final way to preserve their memory.
  22. In the 16th and 17th centuries, many Europeans thought that eating human bones, blood, and fat would cure certain illnesses, so they stole mummies from Egyptian tombs and robbed graves to get the bodies.
  23. Less than 5% of the oceans have been explored by humans, meaning we have no idea what kinda monsters could be living there.
  24. Ted Bundy was a serial killer who also worked at a suicide hotline. A coworker once said, “Ted Bundy took lives, but also saved lives.
  25. The first person to die while building the Hoover Dam was John Gregory Tierney, and the last was Patrick William Tierney, his son, exactly 14 years later.

Official Announcement: “Diplomacy Has Failed” – Israel – Hezbollah Heading to War (Doom Scale Just Hit 10)

Official Announcement: "Diplomacy Has Failed" - Israel - Hezbollah Heading to War (Doom Scale Just Hit 10)

The U.S. Special Envoy, Amos Hochstein, has publicly announced that “diplomatic efforts to calm tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have officially failed.” Hezbollah squarely refuses any negotiation to relocate its people north of the Litani River in Lebanon.

Yesterday, through COVERT INTEL, I reported that Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, told US Envoy Amos Hochstein that Hezbollah will PRE-EMPTIVELY strike Israel if they see Israel preparing for a Lebanon Invasion.  Those preparations have been announced and ARE happening.

Israel said today that “Southern Lebanon will look like GAZA, and Beirut is not immune.

Based upon Hezbollah refusing to reach any agreement and Israel now backed into a corner being forced to take action to resolve the so-called “Hezbollah security issue (no security at all), the time is nigh for war.

Hezbollah had until the 24th to agree to the Israeli demand to withdraw to north of the Litani River. Instead, Hezbollah threatened offensive measures if Israel looked to prepare to attack.

Israel is now prepared to attack.

Whom draws first in this standoff is all we need to know. It can happen at any moment from either side, but my bet is that Israel will strike first; and could happen anytime now.

Meanwhile, Iran publicly says it will support Hezbollah and join in to any War, of course.

Hezbollah threatens to hit Cyprus as Cyprus will allow Israeli jets to use runways to bomb Hezbollah.

If Cyprus is attacked, then Greece may come to their support.

Then Turkey will side with Iran and Hezbollah as Turkey hates Greece and hates Israel.

This is looking like a 10 scale doom moment.

Here’s my daily morning summary on MM

Some insight.

America’s INSANE Anti-China Campaign Exposed! || 美国的反华运动

Biden’s ‘Exceptionalism’ Is Likely To Stay

An emphasis of U.S. exceptionalism has been a major theme throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.

Remarks by President Biden on a Future Made in America – May 18 2021

This is the United States of America, for God’s sake.

60 Minutes – President Joe Biden: The 2023 60 Minutes interview transcript – Oct 15 2023

Scott Pelley: Are the wars in Israel and Ukraine more than the United States can take on at the same time?President Biden: No. We’re the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history– not in the world, in the history of the world. The history of the world. We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense.

Full Transcript of President Joe Biden’s Interview With TIME – Jun 5 2024

Q: Is America still able to play the role of world power that it played in World War Two, and in the Cold War?

Biden: Yes, we’re planning even more. We are, we are the world power.

Talk of claimed U.S. exceptionalism is usually bi-partisan.

But finally there is a voice in U.S. foreign policy who argues against exceptionalism and calls for a different view of things.

Ben Rhodes, former National Security Advisor to President Barrack Obama, writes in the pages of Foreign Affairs magazine.

A Foreign Policy for the World as It Is
Biden and the Search for a New American Strategy

[T]he Biden administration’s mindset of restoration has occasionally struggled against the currents of our disordered times. An updated conception of U.S. leadership—one tailored to a world that has moved on from American primacy and the eccentricities of American politics—is necessary to minimize enormous risks and pursue new opportunities.

That seems like a well intended advice. The U.S. tends to intentionally ignore the consequences of its policies. It does not reflect on them. Should it start doing that its policies might change:

To date, Washington has failed to do the necessary audit of the ways its post–Cold War foreign policy discredited U.S. leadership. The “war on terror” emboldened autocrats, misallocated resources, fueled a global migration crisis, and contributed to an arc of instability from South Asia through North Africa. The free-market prescriptions of the so-called Washington consensus ended in a financial crisis that opened the door to populists railing against out-of-touch elites. The overuse of sanctions led to increased workarounds and global fatigue with Washington’s weaponization of the dollar’s dominance. Over the last two decades, American lectures on democracy have increasingly been tuned out.

The case of Gaza emphasizes this and has renewed a global rejection of U.S. policies:

Indeed, after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, American rhetoric about the rules-based international order has been seen around the world on a split screen of hypocrisy, as Washington has supplied the Israeli government with weapons used to bombard Palestinian civilians with impunity. The war has created a policy challenge for an administration that criticizes Russia for the same indiscriminate tactics that Israel has used in Gaza, a political challenge for a Democratic Party with core constituencies who don’t understand why the president has supported a far-right government that ignores the United States’ advice, and a moral crisis for a country whose foreign policy purports to be driven by universal values. Put simply: Gaza should shock Washington out of the muscle memory that guides too many of its actions.

The world has moved on. If the U.S. wants to stay a part of it it will have to adopt:

Too often, the United States has appeared unable or unwilling to see itself through the eyes of most of the world’s population, particularly people in the global South who feel that the international order is not designed for their benefit. […] Yet the overuse of sanctions, along with the prioritization of Ukraine and other U.S. geopolitical interests, misreads the room. To build better ties with developing countries, Washington needs to consistently prioritize the issues they care about: investment, technology, and clean energy.Once again, Gaza interacts with this challenge. To be blunt: for much of the world, it appears that Washington doesn’t value the lives of Palestinian children as much as it values the lives of Israelis or Ukrainians. Unconditional military aid to Israel, questioning the Palestinian death toll, vetoing cease-fire resolutions at the UN Security Council, and criticizing investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes may all feel like autopilot in Washington—but that’s precisely the problem. Much of the world now hears U.S. rhetoric about human rights and the rule of law as cynical rather than aspirational, particularly when it fails to wrestle with double standards. Total consistency is unattainable in foreign policy. But by listening and responding to more diverse voices from around the world, Washington could begin to build a reservoir of goodwill.

But would that change policies? Rhodes doesn’t argue for a rejuvenation of international organizations and a U.S. subjugation to these. He still seems to see the U.S. as some kind of outstanding entity.

There is anyway little chance that Biden will adopt Rhodes’ advice. During the Obama administration Biden’s team had several run-ins with the Rhodes’ led National Security shop.

It leaves the impression that Rhodes only wants a new rhetoric, not a really new way to do international policies. Keep doing what you are doing, he says, but sell it differently.

It fits to another piece in the current edition of Foreign Affairs in which three professors try to sell their basically neoconservative policies – do what we say or else … – as a ‘progressive’ program:

The Progressive Case for American Power
Retrenchment Would Do More Harm Than Good

Today’s progressives need to get comfortable with American power, which, for all its flaws, has a crucial role to play. That doesn’t mean condoning illiberal actions to achieve just ends or cynically invoking progressive ideals to justify military adventurism. But it does mean seeking to harness power to advance the values progressives cherish—and accepting that might sometimes makes right.

It is, on its face, the opposite of what Rhodes argues for.

I applaud the idea behind Rhodes’ piece but I see little chance, especially under Biden, for it to get implemented.

‘The World power’ – as Biden calls the U.S. of A. – will not move aside unless someone makes it do so.

Posted by b on June 19, 2024 at 13:59 UTC | Permalink

Expats Share Their American Trauma After Living Abroad

Dr. Stephen A Salaka

AI Montage of Fake News

“It is a truth universally acknowledged…” Sophie Nakamura paused mid-sentence, her brow furrowing as a chill crept up her spine. She had read that exact phrase before, and not just in another Jane Austen novel. The modern thriller she’d finished just last week had used it too. What were the odds?

 

Sophie, a 15-year-old high school student, was a self-proclaimed bookworm, more at home in the world of fictional characters than the cliques of Cornwallis High. Her refuge was a cozy nook in the attic, overflowing with well-loved books and the soft glow of her laptop screen. She was a girl who preferred the company of Elizabeth Bennet and Sherlock Holmes to the gossip and drama of teenage life.

 

This wasn’t just any coincidence. It felt like a pattern, a thread woven through the tapestry of literature. The phrase niggled at her. Sophie grabbed her battered copy of Northanger Abbey, flipping through the pages. There it was again, a variation of the same phrase, this time about a young woman’s love for gothic novels. She grabbed the worn paperback of Frankenstein from her bedside table, her eyes scanning the opening chapter. A cold dread settled in her stomach as she found a similar sentiment, this time about a scientist’s thirst for knowledge.

 

Sophie, a symphony of restless energy, bounced between her overflowing bookshelf and the glow of her laptop screen. She was the president of her high school’s coding club, and, in her spare time, the self-proclaimed president of the Loch Ness Flat Earth Society (a title she held with pride and a healthy dose of irony). Her parents, staunch Fox News conservatives, had raised her on a steady diet of “fake news” warnings and conspiracy theories. Ironically, their paranoia had sparked an insatiable curiosity in Sophie, a burning need to unearth hidden truths and expose the puppeteers behind the scenes.

 

This wasn’t just some conspiracy theory cooked up over a tinfoil hat dinner, though. This was a pattern, a thread winding through the very fabric of literature. Fueled by a caffeine-induced buzz and a mounting sense of urgency, Sophie dove into her digital library, her fingers dancing across the keyboard like a concert pianist. Lines of code flowed from her fingertips, each keystroke a step closer to unraveling the mystery. She wasn’t just building an AI program; she was crafting a digital detective, a literary bloodhound with a knack for sniffing out inconsistencies.

 

The AI, aptly named “LitSleuth,” whirred to life, its virtual eyes scanning thousands of digital texts. It dissected vocabulary, scrutinized syntax, and even analyzed the frequency of semicolons with the meticulousness of a grammar-obsessed English teacher. As the night wore on, Sophie fueled her efforts with copious amounts of gummy bears and Diet Coke, her laughter echoing through the quiet house as she imagined her parents’ horror at her late-night coding frenzy.

 

The hum of the AI filled the room, a low, steady rhythm that matched Sophie’s heartbeat as she watched LitSleuth dissect the digital texts. It felt like watching an autopsy, each line of code a scalpel peeling back layers of meaning, revealing hidden truths beneath the surface.

 

Suddenly, the rhythmic hum was pierced by a sharp, electronic shriek. The screen flashed a harsh crimson, the words “Anomaly detected. Multiple instances of non-random patterns found” searing into Sophie’s retinas. A cold sweat broke out on her skin as she leaned forward, her fingers hovering over the keyboard like a concert pianist about to strike a dissonant chord.

 

The AI delved deeper, its analysis growing more frantic with each passing moment. Lines of code scrolled across the screen like a frantic heartbeat, each one a piece of the puzzle. Sophie’s breath caught in her throat as the patterns began to coalesce into a horrifying picture.

 

The codes weren’t just random anomalies; they were deliberate, carefully crafted messages woven into the very fabric of literature. They spoke of manipulation, control, and a subtle influence that had been shaping human thought for millennia. Sophie’s mind reeled as she traced the origins of these codes, her pulse throbbing in her ears like a war drum.

 

3,500 years… The Vedas… Ancient India… The words echoed in her mind, each one a chilling reminder of the vastness of the conspiracy. It wasn’t just modern literature that had been tainted; it was the very foundation of human storytelling, the sacred texts that had guided civilizations for millennia.

 

Sophie’s hands trembled as she scrolled through the AI’s findings, each new revelation sending a fresh wave of terror through her. She felt like a marionette whose strings had been cut, the illusion of free will shattered into a million pieces.

 

“Oh my God,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. The enormity of the revelation was suffocating, a black hole threatening to swallow her whole. Aliens had been manipulating human thought through literature for millennia. But why? What did they want? And could she, a teenage girl armed with nothing but a laptop and a caffeine addiction, possibly hope to stop them?

“This is insane!” Sophie’s voice cracked, barely a whisper as the realization sank in like a stone in the pit of her stomach. A cold sweat clung to her skin, her breath coming in ragged gasps as her world tilted on its axis. It was too much to process, too monstrous to comprehend – aliens had been puppeteering humanity, their insidious tendrils woven into the very fabric of stories that had shaped civilizations, religions, and the collective consciousness of mankind for millennia. Her mind raced, a whirlwind of questions and fears. Why? What was their endgame? What did they want from humanity?

 

A sudden meow ripped through the suffocating silence, shattering the fragile remnants of Sophie’s composure. Gizmo, her sleek ebony shadow, materialized from the darkness, his claws clicking against the hardwood floor like a death knell. His emerald eyes, usually playful and bright, now burned with an unsettling intensity, mirroring the abyss of dread that yawned open within her. Was it just her imagination, or was her cat trying to tell her something? A shiver ran down her spine. This was more than just a literary mystery; it was a puzzle with cosmic implications, and she had a feeling Gizmo was about to become an unlikely player in this extraordinary game.

Because of the challenge this convicted criminal:

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poses to this senile duffer:

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main qimg 5f2471ab906fdbe02291eb27f488a921

Or rather, the titanic, behind the scenes life-and-death struggle between the parties they represent.

These two ~80-year-olds are the candidates the electoral college has thrown up, to partisan uproar.

The 2024 elections has morphed into “which side is the least bitter pill to swallow”, for the neutral, non-aligned voter.

In other words, both “choices” are nightmares in their own right.


Both parties are being held to ransom, because of the winner-takes-all stakes. Winning at all cost is all that matters, and that is why demonstrations of power are important, especially the ruling party.

That is why Joe’s administration has racked up deficits at twice the rate of Donald’s pre-pandemic, or 2t/yr, give or take.

That is why Nancy HAD to make her spiel in Taipei, with the President ordering the Pentagon and Department of State to clear the way for her.

That is why Janet “$20t in National debt should keep people awake at night” is singing a different tune as Treasury Secretary, not only massively increasing the issuance of T-bills (which is cash-equivalent) but also engaging in direct market-intervening yield curve control buying back debt it issues. Unlike the Fed’s QE program, Treasury does not have employment and inflation mandates as constraints. Janet’s sleight of hand is why Jerome is able to trace this curve (current to May ‘24):

graph
graph

That is why both Janet and Anthony made long flights across the Pacific, only to cool their heels away from Beijing engaging in the frivolous and nonchalant, just to have to opportunity for photo-ops with the Chinese leadership, and give their 2 cents worth criticizing their gracious hosts on the Beijing podium. The message to the electorate? America’s word still carries the day in 2024 (even if we have to move heaven and earth to demonstrate it).

That is why abortion has made a startling legislative comeback in recent years. America is turning back the clock on women’s suffrage and emancipation. “Conservative” or “blast from the past” finally makes sense to me, politically speaking.


I can go on and on, but I hope you get the idea. This election is like no other I’ve studied, going back to McKinley’s 1900 campaign.

Joe as a physical specimen is melting before our eyes, while Kamala has been a giddy lightweight. Without extravagant demonstrations of shock and awe, the Democrats can’t even step up to bat with Donald, the guru of pomp and bluster. The Democrat formula is to throw the hegemon’s weight around without alienating the first world like Donald did. And that means fixing guys on the “other side”, with help from willing partners of course. And others have rushed to sign up because they don’t want a repeat of Donald’s insufferable politics.

Joe must out-Donald Donald, greasing the unpalatable with enough shock and awe for the rest to swallow.

The long-term consequences matter less than what’s immediately at stake.

This is a quandary there is no escaping from.

“This Is Gonna Get Us ALL Blown Up!” Jeffrey Sachs On Russian Invasion

I met her when I was new to Australia and she was a new arrival as well. Both of us were without a job, had followed our husbands to the land down under and wondering what the future holds without friends and family. That’s when a common friend introduced us. Our love for cooking got us together, and our love for self deprecating humour bound us together.

She became my son’s godmother when he was born and my pillar of strength as I fought through post partum depression. She was my confidence when I was plagued in self doubt. She was my sister – from another mother.

I am a hard core introvert – and she would be the one to drag me to party and take a break when I would be exhausted from work and home. I hated her and complained non stop – yet loved those little moments of respite secretly.

The days I would be too tired to cook, I could find a meal ready in her house. The day I wanted to get out, she was my designated baby sitter no questions asked.

So what ended our relationship?

Death.

She collapsed one day, and never woke up. A Brain aneurysm. A gaping hole in my heart. Forever.

Doing Dark Deeds

The town of Cornwallis, Oregon, wasn’t supposed to be a cauldron of cosmic dread. It was a place of apple pies, Friday night football games, and quiet nights under star-strewn skies. But on this particular morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced the pre-dawn haze, an eerie silence hung heavy in the air, punctuated by the distant wail of sirens and the hushed whispers of fear.

 

Sophie hadn’t slept a wink. The monstrous truth she’d unearthed in the dead of night gnawed at her, twisting her stomach into knots and sending chills down her spine. She stood at her bedroom window, her eyes bloodshot and her body trembling, watching as a swarm of police cars, news vans, and a growing tide of terrified townsfolk converged on the nearby woods.

 

A sleek, alien spaceship, an obsidian monolith against the pastel hues of dawn, pierced the treeline, its presence an unholy stain on the familiar landscape. The sight sent a fresh wave of nausea through Sophie, her mind reeling with the implications of her discovery. The aliens had come. Not as benevolent explorers or curious observers, but as conquerors, their insidious tendrils already woven deep into the fabric of human existence.

 

Beside her, Gizmo paced restlessly, his usually playful demeanor replaced by a grim vigilance. His emerald eyes, glowing with an unnatural intensity, were fixed on the ship, his low growls a chilling counterpoint to the rising panic outside. Sophie could feel his fear, a primal dread that mirrored her own. This was no longer a game, a puzzle to be solved. This was an existential threat, a cosmic horror that could swallow them whole.

Sophie switched on the news, the screen flickering to life with a live feed from the forest clearing. A hush fell over her room as a tall, slender figure emerged from the alien ship. His skin shimmered, a living tapestry of iridescent colors shifting and swirling beneath the sunlight. Meetveega, the alien negotiator, stood before a crowd of stunned onlookers, his presence amplified by the high-definition cameras, each pixel a chilling reminder of the impossible reality unfolding before her eyes.

 

“It is a truth universally acknowledged,” Meetveega began, his voice a cold melody that sent chills down Sophie’s spine. The phrase, so familiar from her beloved literature, now twisted into a sinister mockery of human expression. A sickening dread pooled in her stomach as she realized that this wasn’t just a coincidence, a literary quirk. It was a deliberate echo, a taunt, a confirmation of the insidious manipulation she had uncovered.

 

Meetveega continued his voice a chilling symphony of ancient wisdom and thinly veiled contempt. “We have observed your kind for millennia,” he declared his gaze, like twin lasers, sweeping across the terrified faces. “Initially, we were baffled by your fascination with the written word, particularly your obsession with… bodily descriptions.” A ripple of nervous laughter ran through the crowd, quickly silenced by the chilling intensity of his stare. “Our studies, however, revealed a simple truth: your species exists in a perpetual state of rut. Thus, our influence upon your literature has been deliberate, a subtle yet pervasive guiding hand. We have kept you preoccupied with base desires, ensuring you remain safely confined to your primitive planet, far from the stars.” His voice hardened, a steely edge replacing the earlier amusement. “But your recent foray into artificial intelligence has disrupted this delicate balance, exposing our carefully woven tapestry of control.”

 

As if to punctuate his words, Meetveega raised a hand, and a beam of pure energy shot forth, disintegrating a group of onlookers in a blinding flash. The crowd erupted in screams of terror, their bodies crumpling to the ground in a grotesque tableau of shock and despair.

 

“We have come to negotiate the terms of your surrender,” Meetveega continued, his voice unwavering amidst the chaos. “Resist, and you will face annihilation. Your stories, your myths, your very dreams have been woven with our threads. We are the architects of your reality.”

 

A wave of dread washed over Sophie, the chilling realization that she was witnessing the subjugation of humanity. The town’s leaders, their faces etched with terror, fumbled for a response, their voices trembling as they faced the unimaginable. But their words were lost in the deafening silence of a crowd frozen in fear, their eyes wide with the knowledge that their world had irrevocably changed.

Sophie’s stomach churned with a mixture of fear and defiance. The aliens had underestimated humanity for far too long, manipulating their stories and molding their minds like clay. This ends now, she thought, her resolve hardening with each passing moment. I won’t let them control us any longer.

 

She glanced at Gizmo, who was now perched on the windowsill, his ears twitching, his body tense. As Meetveega continued to speak, Gizmo’s ears twitched in response, his head tilting as if following the rhythm of an unheard conversation. A series of low, guttural sounds escaped his throat—sounds that seemed to mimic the cadence of the alien’s speech.

 

A sudden thought struck Sophie, a spark of hope in the overwhelming darkness. “Gizmo,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Can you… understand him?”

 

The cat turned his head, his green eyes locking onto hers. A low, guttural sound escaped his throat, a sound that was both alien and strangely familiar. Sophie’s heart leaped. Could it be that her cat, her mischievous, enigmatic companion, held the key to communicating with the alien overlord?

 

In the days that followed, the town became a cauldron of speculation and fear. The initial shock of the alien arrival gave way to a tense standoff, as Meetveega, growing impatient, demanded an official response from the human leaders.

 

Meanwhile, Sophie spent every waking moment trying to decipher the remaining coded messages, her AI working tirelessly to analyze the vast libraries of digital texts. Gizmo, now her constant companion, seemed to guide her, his purrs and nudges leading her towards specific books or phrases.

 

One evening, as Sophie poured over an ancient copy of the Mahabharata, a sudden chill filled the room. Gizmo leaped onto her lap, his purr growing louder, more insistent. He nudged her hand towards a particular verse, his claws lightly scratching the page as if to emphasize its importance. Sophie followed his gaze, her eyes widening as she recognized the pattern. It was another code, more complex and intricate than any she had encountered before.

 

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, inputting the code into her AI. The program whirred and beeped, its lights flashing in a dizzying display. Then, silence. Sophie held her breath as the AI projected a holographic message above her desk:

 

“Meet us at the heart of the forest. Alone. Bring the cat.”

 

Tinkly Thunderdome Troubles

Pine needles crunched underfoot as Sophie and Gizmo emerged into a moonlit clearing. Meetveega stood in the center, his skin shimmering with an unnatural iridescence. His eyes, twin pits of darkness, met Sophie’s with a chilling intensity. The air crackled with tension as Gizmo hissed, his fur bristling in warning. Despite the overwhelming dread that threatened to consume her, Sophie held her ground. This was it. The moment of truth.

 

“You came,” Meetveega intoned, his voice a chilling echo in the stillness of the night. “I have been expecting you.”

 

Sophie, her voice surprisingly steady, met his gaze head-on. “I know your secret, Meetveega,” she declared. “I know your plan to sedate humanity, to control our thoughts through the very stories we hold dear.”

 

A flicker of surprise crossed the alien’s face, his composure momentarily disrupted. “A clever child,” he sneered, his tone dripping with condescension. “But your knowledge is inconsequential. You cannot stop what has been set in motion for millennia.”

 

Sophie smiled, a sly glint in her eyes. “That’s where you’re wrong,” she retorted. “With the help of my AI, I have deciphered your final message. I know your ultimate goal—to lull us into complacency, to weaken our defenses, and then to invade.”

 

She raised her laptop, her AI springing to life, projecting a holographic display above them. A swirling vortex of words and symbols materialized, revealing the aliens’ insidious plan in stark detail. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the very trees rustling in outrage as the extent of the manipulation became clear.

 

Gizmo, sensing the rising tension, let out a series of piercing meows, his eyes locked on Meetveega. The alien recoiled, his voice laced with a newfound uncertainty. “What is this? How can a mere feline communicate with me?”

 

Sophie knelt beside Gizmo, stroking his fur. “He’s not just a cat, Meetveega. He’s my friend, my partner, and he understands your language better than any human ever could.”

 

Gizmo’s meows transformed into a melodic symphony, each note conveying a complex range of emotions – fear, defiance, hope. Meetveega listened, his eyes widening in astonishment as he began to grasp the depth of the cat’s intelligence and the profound bond he shared with Sophie.

 

For hours, the dialogue continued, a strange symphony of human words, feline sounds, and alien intonations. Sophie, with Gizmo as her interpreter, laid bare the resilience of the human spirit, the indomitable power of free thought, and the unbreakable bond between humans and their stories. She spoke of the power of love, the importance of community, and the unwavering determination to protect one’s freedom.

 

As dawn broke, casting long shadows across the forest floor, Meetveega stood silent, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The first rays of sunlight illuminated his face, revealing a flicker of doubt in his ancient eyes. The weight of millennia of manipulation seemed to bear down on him, the cracks in his resolve widening with each passing moment.

 

“You have made your point, child,” he said at last, his voice heavy with resignation. “Perhaps we have underestimated your kind. Perhaps your stories are more potent than we believed.”

 

With a final, lingering glance at Sophie and Gizmo, Meetveega turned and walked back towards his ship, his footsteps echoing through the forest. As he reached the base of the vessel, he paused, turning back to face the girl and her cat. A wave of energy rippled through the clearing, washing over the trees, the ground, and the stunned onlookers.

 

When the wave subsided, Meetveega and his ship were gone, leaving behind an eerie silence. The townspeople blinked, their faces etched with confusion. They looked at each other, their minds struggling to grasp the events of the past few hours. They remembered the fear, the terror, but the details of the encounter with Meetveega had vanished, replaced by a vague sense of unease and a lingering question: “What just happened?”

 

Sophie, however, remained trapped in the chilling reality of the encounter. The alien’s words echoed in her mind, a haunting symphony of arrogance and manipulation. She looked down at Gizmo, his emerald eyes mirroring her own unspoken horror. They were the sole keepers of the truth, a truth the world had been robbed of. While the news channels buzzed with conspiracy theories and wild speculation about the sudden disappearance of twenty townspeople, Sophie knew the horrifying answer. The world had been rewritten, the missing residents erased from existence as if they had never been.

 

The world moved on, unaware of the danger it had narrowly escaped. The town of Cornwallis, Oregon, returned to its tranquil routine, the memory of the alien encounter fading like a dream. But Sophie’s life was forever changed. She became a silent guardian, her vigilance unwavering as she monitored for any signs of alien interference.

Shorpy

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SHORPY 05413u.

My son died of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) when he was 8. He was born perfectly normal and had a seemingly perfectly healthy life up until half way through kindergarten. Our first clue came when one of his teachers called us in for a conference to tell us our son, who was for all of his life before that point, exceptionally well behaved, was acting out in school. Nothing particularly mean or even really relatable. He basically just seemed like he was no longer aware of good manners. He would do things like pee outside the urinal or behave erratically at inappropriate times.

We had him diagnosed by experts who promptly diagnosed our son with mild autism and ADHD. A bit weird considering he was highly social, reading above level, and prior to this had no real signs of either. We start ABA therapy and do all the things you need to do for a child with special needs. He makes progress he learns to do things better after weeks of intense therapy, but then a few more weeks go by and he gets worse in every way. We didn’t know it then, but he was just relearning to do things with different parts of his brain, not getting better. He starts forgetting things. He’s talking less. He’s climbing furniture and doing immature things he never even did when he was younger. The psychologists imply it’s our fault. We must not be sticking to the therapy. We try harder. Nothing is working. He tells us he has brain freezes and asks us if he’s dying. We tell him of course not, everything is fine, we will work through this and you will get better. Regressions go on for several months. We start to doubt the diagnosis, but there’s nothing we can do except complain to our psychologist who tells us he was misdiagnosed. He actually has severe autism! We ask for a referral to a neurologist to rule out other possibilities. The psychologist refuses, letting us know it’s us. We need to work harder. This goes on for months and we keep on begging for a referral. By the time he is close to non-verbal we finally have another appointment and show the psychologist a video of our son singing and dancing when he was a year younger. It’s a stark contrast to the child we now have who can no longer even attend a regular school. That’s not how autism works. We finally get a referral to a real doctor. We get an MRI and it’s lit up like a Christmas tree. An incredibly intense week of more testing follows. We test for hundreds of different diseases. Finally a genetic test for Adrenoleukodystrophy comes back positive. There’s no doubt. It fits.

It’s also a death sentence. There’s no known cure once symptoms start. Over the next year we watch our son forget who we were. Lose the ability to hear, see, smell, taste, and walk. He went through epileptic seizures and eventually became a walking zombie, not really cognizant of the world around him, but still able to perform basic life sustaining tasks like feeding himself. After he ate something he should not have, we had to take him to the ER. The anesthesia, messed with what was left of his brain and he never quite came back. He never walked again after that and could no longer feed himself or really do anything as he lost all of his senses.

Once symptoms start, every single person who has ever had this disease dies within a few years at most. Some people have prolonged it by using machines to keep their children alive, but their brains are totally gone except for the autonomic functions. No one has ever reversed the brain damage.

The only thing worse then watching your son die is knowing he’s absolutely going to die, knowing he has nothing to live for except more pain and suffering, and the only way to stop the suffering is to starve him to death. We had a team of doctors at that point. Not helping our son. There was nothing they could do for him and his body was actually quite healthy. He was just in a semi vegetative state. Awake, but not cognizant of the world around him. His soul was actually the first thing to go. His behaviors changed and for all intents and purposes, the disease took our son’s identity and dignity before any of the more physical ailments. There was no hope he was still in there. No question he was gone for over a year. This team of doctors was there for us, his parents, to guide us through his death. They were his palliative care team. We were at Stanford and they were some of the most qualified, compassionate, and intelligent doctors I have encountered. Near the end, I wanted to punch every one of them. It wasn’t their fault. They are messengers in a broken system, but they all knew our son was dying. They all knew his brain function was gone. They all knew he was never coming back. The adrenoleukodystrophy expert actually told us down to the month when our son would lose each of his functions. He was incredibly accurate. The last few meetings we had were all about how removing nutrition and hydration isn’t so bad, hes past where he is aware of most things. The body “knows” it’s dying and just peacefully gives up. It all felt made up. They said they will control the pain with morphine. Fuck! I know what morphine does. My first question is what is the point of prolonging his life. Theres no answers of hope coming back, no answers of he might still be there. Just the elephant in the room no one explicitly brings up. Society says this is the only path. “It’s fine.” But it wasn’t fine. My next question was how much morphine will stop all the pain immediately forever. They wouldn’t answer that one.

My son died when he was 8 after 3 weeks without food or water.

Adrenoleukodystrophy is a rare genetic disease. It can be cured if it’s caught with a test before symptoms start with a simple genetic test at birth. The federal government recommended this test before my son was born to be included with all newborn screenings. No state at the time he was born adopted the test as part of newborn screening despite that it pays for itself. When he died only 5 states did, today 44 do. If you have a son that was born with the gene for ALD, 1/3rd develop adrenoleukodystrophy most of the rest develop a related disorder that has very serious symptoms that start in the 20s or 30s. 10% have just minor adrenal gland issues that are treatable.

This is a photo of the last time I was able to get Griffin to laugh. He was otherwise non-verbal at this point, and struggling with a lot of his senses, but often you would barely know it if you saw us out. Physically his body was healthy. He was mobile nearly to the end. The one saving grace about the progression of his disease is that he seemed to lose the ability to comprehend death and other abstract concepts early. We wasted so much precious time with the misdiagnosis. Nothing will ever make up for that, but I’m glad we tried.

son
son

EV Dominance in CHINA(America CAN’T Compete) || 美国无法竞争

Tomato Pizza

I love a good vegetarian pizza. It not only tastes delicious, but makes me feel a little bit better about eating pizza! The flavors are just so fresh and clean. And let’s face it, it’s a bit less expensive too.

This tomato pizza is so simple, but just as satisfying of a slice. It gives you all the flavor punch of eating a slice of pizza, with less calories!

My favorite is when I can pull fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. I may or may not repeatedly point out to the kids that we grew these toppings!

Whether you make your dough from scratch or opt for the ease of store bought, this simple pizza is sure to knock your socks off. Now it’s time to get your slice on!

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tomato pizza resize 10

Ingredients

  • 1 pizza shell
  • 1 sliced plum tomato
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Layer a little mozzarella cheese on the pizza shell.
  2. Lay sliced tomatoes on top so that they are not on top of each other.
  3. Crumble feta over tomatoes.
  4. Sprinkle with garlic, basil and parsley.
  5. Cover with remaining mozzarella cheese.
  6. Bake for about 10 to 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Long ago, actually not so long ago, I started working as a Data Engineer at Amazon. Before this, I had experience as a Software Development Engineer (SDE) and a Data Scientist, but Data Engineering was relatively new to me. Additionally, I had primarily used Azure as my cloud provider in previous roles.

I soon found myself grappling with the notorious “imposter syndrome” — a phase where you feel you’ve faked your way to your position. I was assigned a new task involving technologies I had no experience with, and the deadlines were fast approaching. Feeling overwhelmed, I went to the kitchenette, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat with my head buried in my hands.

yet
yet

One of the most experienced team members noticed my distress. He was well-versed in our technology stack and always had a stoic demeanor. He approached me and asked what was going on. I explained my situation and the looming deadlines. He told me to ditch the coffee and join him in the cafeteria.

Once there, he asked, “Do you know what differentiates unsuccessful and successful people in our profession?” I immediately responded with answers like “the highest amount of knowledge, great coding skills, holistic understanding of the stack, etc.” He shook his head and said, “No. Try again.” After a while, I admitted, “I don’t know.”

He laughed and said I had answered the first half of his question. Confused, I asked for clarification. He then shared a secret that changed everything: “When a person looks at an unknown problem and says ‘I don’t know it’ and moves on to a more familiar problem, they will eventually fail. But if they say ‘I don’t know it yet’ and see the problem as a learning opportunity, they will eventually succeed.”

That conversation made me realize the power of the word ‘yet’ and the importance of mindset. I guess ‘Yet’ is the secret of success.

North Korean Soldiers Are Preparing To Enter The BATTLEFIELD To Hunt NATO Forces In UKRAINE

An Interesting Development

So now that President Putin has visited North Korea, and is now in Vietnam, there is a great deal of speculation as to his objectives.

We don’t really know if there are going to be any “earth shattering” events that come out of this.

But what we do know is that the West, lead by the deluded and dementia ridden has made arrangements to place three (x3) ENORMOUS NATO bases outside of Ukraine from which to attack Russia with.

It is from these bases that NATO planes, flown by NATO pilots, and using NATO munitions, and NATO intel that will engage Russia from the safety of Poland, Germany, and one other nation.

Once confirmation of this new dimension has been obtained, we have a flood of speculation as to how Russia will react to it.

The normal “armchair warriors” suggest nuclear detonations, and full-scale invasions.

But, I disagree.

Perhaps, the three North Korean divisions of crack assault troops will be used to attack NATO bases and facilities in Europe. The advantages are numerous.

  • North Korea would be immune from reprisals.
  • Russia would focus on Ukraine special operations.
  • And Europe would be fighting the descendants of Genghis Khan.

An interesting development. For certain.

Germans and Polish troops fighting North Koreans inside their own nations without the NATO safety net hiding from Russia. Seems to me that two can play that game of “immunity from reprisals”.

Logical, but frightening.

Imagine that! Europeans having to defend their own nations instead of invading other nations.

Miller pony bottle dreams

They lied to me for 54 years. Successfully.

at 21 I was complaining to my cousin that I loathed my father and was sick of his abuse. Her reply “what if I told you that he’s not your father?” for two years my parents told me that it’s a lie and to drop it.

dad dies in 2004. A few years later I get suspicious again because my siblings have diabetes (perfectly healthy and fit). I don’t. Dads parents and aiblings ll had it by 50. But I don’t act on it.

2010 youngest goes off to college and the hubs and I get a call from mom that she would like to share her home with us. I asked why, she said “because I need one of my kids on my side, the other 4 want me in a nursing home.” Her only health issue was Parkinson’s. She had it for 30 years but wasn’t disabled or senile until 2–3 years before her death in 2021 (Jan 2021)

One day in 2014 she is asking me to show her how to look up and old beau. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find him. He had a super rare name so I was surprised. I don’t think twice about it but it’s really important.

2018, my sibs and I are arguing over our heritage. Some think we are Scottish. Some Irish. We all order tests, take them the same day and ship them off. We all get our results the same day. We are in fact Scottish, or should I say THEY are. And right there were it says father is a name I recognize. Moms “old beau”. Wtf? So the man had his dna on ancestry dot com at 84, could he have known about me? I quickly email him. No answer but he has two sons. I quickly emailed one of them. He gets back to me. They had no idea and sadly my birth father had died 7 months prior. They say he would have welcomed me with open arms and would have loved me

So they successfully lied. I was suspicious because I was the only one he physically disciplined. First I was angry that mother allowed this man to lay hands on me. Knowing he wasn’t my father and most likely taken it out on me that mom lied to him.

The saddest part is they had at least 3 chances to tell me. Instead I found out myself 7 months too late. They cheated me out of a dad and a better life. I don’t grieve for them. Not like a Daughter would really. I loved them, I just can’t grieve with all this anger over being their dirty little secret and robbing me of knowing my biological dad. Friends say “oh but he was your father, he raised you and blah blah blah. No. He’s not my father. He mistreated me and abused me. So to hell with him.

Anyone that read this far, I thank you. Those that didn’t, I’m sorry I babbled on.

UPDATE – Yes I am in contact with and have a relationship with one of my half brothers. The other I was told to contact with extreme caution as he is “trouble” and lord knows I don’t need that. Maybe someday I’ll reach out. I don’t know. I don’t see my half brother as much as I’d like but we are 3 hours away from each other. We do exchange pleasantries and such on holidays.

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"The West must be factoring our response into its projections all while plotting against us. They are trying to put themselves into our shoes, while sticking to their own mentality.

As for their mentality… Only recently, Mark Episkopos, a prominent American political scientist, chastised the West, including from a purely utilitarian and pragmatic standpoint.

Take sanctions, for example. Usually, they are designed to change the way their subject behaves. If you want them to be effective, you need to adjust these sanctions based on the response from those who endure them.

The West has been carelessly expanding its sanctions without giving any thought to the possible outcomes.

But the outcome was clear to begin with, even before the special military operation when the Crimean sanctions, as well as a host of other sanctions, were already in place.

The result was clear. We pulled together, and I do hope that we will become even more focused.

We have to go further, as Vladimir Putin said many times. We pulled together and decided not to depend on them in any sectors where they can restrain or hold back our development, and possibly in other sectors too.

Today, they pride themselves for getting rid of Russian gas.

First, supplies have been on the rise in many countries, including France.

Italy took pride in claiming that over the past three years the share of Russian gas in Italian imports declined from 90 percent all the way down to zero.

This is what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz boasted of when describing his efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on Russian energy imports, while promising to end the dependence on them completely down the road.

Many European have been making statements along the same lines, including the Netherlands, and almost all Western and some Eastern European countries.

But at what cost? How much did they have to spend and how have their spending on serving their people increased?

Nobody answered these questions. Still, people can see through these ramifications.

Mr Episkopos went on say that failing to anticipate the way Russia would respond to these developments was a huge mistake.

The West fails to understand that sanctions can be effective only if the subject is ready to change its behaviour for the sake of having these sanctions lifted.

The second point Mr Episkopos made was that if the country subjected to sanctions already said that it was not going to change its behaviour, keeping these sanctions in place would be pointless and careless.

This is the kind of policy our would-be colleagues have opted for."

Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the radio stations Sputnik, Govorit Moskva, and Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moscow, April 19, 2024.

How to be a man

One of the unremarked things that has happened over the past ten years is the collapse of the so-called man-o-sphere. There may be people still working that land, but all the big names have moved on or disappeared. The pickup artist have all disappeared from the internet entirely. That whole scene just seems to have folded up and gone the way of the dinosaur without anyone noticing.

One reason is the demographic aged out of the material. A guy like Heartiste, for example, could do the pickup artist stuff when he was early middle-age, but once you hit fifty you become a skeevy weirdo, not a Don Juan. The same holds for the other subcultures in that space. Once you reach middle-age, it all starts to sound a bit weird and pointless, even to the people making money off it.

There is another aspect to it. That whole scene was a reaction to the feminization of the culture starting with second wave feminism. The next generation of males have no frame of reference in which to have a reaction. The typical Zoomer has been raised in the longhouse, to use the cool kid’s term. He has no way of knowing that all of this is both weird and unnatural.

That is the point of the show. The male role is not a slippery concept that changes from one generation to the next. It has been revolutionized and pulverized over the last few decades, but that is what makes this age anomalous. The male role in society is timeless, at least in the Western world. There are certain immutable characteristic to being a man that will reassert themselves in the coming years.

IT JUST DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE! Retirement and Jobs ARE FINISHED!

The company I work for gave everyone a nice company coat for Christmas. I took a marker and marked the inside tag with my name so that I would know if it was mine (all the coats looked the same).

One day, before heading for home, I looked at the peg where my coat had been hanging, and it wasn’t there. I checked all the coats…mine was gone, as were my favorite sunglasses.

I told management, who expressed regret, but there were no coats left.

Two weeks passed…and I periodically did a check to see if any hanging were my coat.

After about two weeks, I came across it hanging on a peg on the opposite end of the room. I grabbed it and hid it at my work station.

One of the night crew workers came storming up to me demanding HER coat. I told her that I didn’t have it…I had mine. I then showed her the tag, which showed my name. I then asked her where my sunglasses were. She responded she didn’t know.

I told her she had 24 hours to come up with them or I was going to tell them who had stolen my coat.

This would have been a termination offense.

She handed them to me the next day, saying she found them in her husband’s truck.

She has since transferred, but when I see her, she avoids me like the plague.

Some views of Pago Pago

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Freedom of trade? What a hypocrite! The U.S. burnt down nations just to install freedom but it ensures that it’s people buy from profiteers and keep prices high to give its people no choices! The U.S. citizens are the real loser! Are US citizens not aware that they are worst than Chinese citizens who can buy Tesla if they do wish! I fact out of the cars that Tesla made in 2023, 69.7% are sold in China! Can you Yanks not see the irony that China a supposedly unfree nation can buy Tesla and a nation screaming freedom like there is no tomorrow cannot buy BYD?

Let me school all of you on this! China U.S. a very smart and intelligent nation, by allowing Tesla to sell it ensures that those cars are made in China too! They got jobs and are learning all the while about western demands and western customers. So by the time BYD goes international it knows their taste, their likes and dislikes and they made a killing! Thanks to being open and free they are successful.

The U.S. is left as a pathetic slur grape nation without principle nor freedom!

A fun quote

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I have. For 20 minutes.

It was 2011, and I was meeting a couple for lunch for my birthday. He worked at Oakley, and lunch “came with“ a new pair of Oakley‘s as a gift. It should’ve been a great day.

I was in a convertible, traveling on highway 73 in Orange County, California. I exited and was waiting for the light to turn left onto a surface highway. The approaching cars stopped, the light turned green and I started to make a left turn. As soon as I passed the stopped cars and made it to the centerline, a speeding Chevy Suburban, three times the size of my car, came into view. My last conscious thought was “They’re not going to stop“. I swerved, and it was lights out.

She ran a red and T-boned me; smashed into my side, forward of the door, near the front wheel. She crushed the entire front like a tin can, my car spun and we collided twice. So I heard…

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Twenty minutes and lots of bystander activity went by. My next conscious moment was in the ambulance, looking up at a female emergency medical tech as we were heading to the trauma center. I was an EMT decades ago, and my first thought and words were “so this is what it looks like in the other direction“…

My head had hit the frame of the convertible top and it split my scalp, but fortunately didn’t crack my skull, though you could see it from the wound. My hand broke on the steering wheel, my ribs were cracked where they impacted the door. I was covered in blood and bruises. The airbags never went off.

Two guys jumped out of their cars and ran over. My window was a curtain of blood and of course I was out. They couldn’t open the door and thought I was dead. One called 911, and the other ran over to the woman’s car. It was totaled.

The impact of my head hitting the car was so forceful, my brain violently bounced off the inside of my skull. The brain stem flexed with such force it caused “micro-tears.” They sewed me up, patched me up, gave me X-rays and a CAT scan and I left the trauma center late that night with my wife instructed to ensure I woke up the next morning.

To give you an idea of how much it shook me up? I had been arranging a huge business dinner for two nights later. I still made phone calls to make sure the plans were set, and then the night of the event? I forgot to go… Par for the course with bad concussions, I had a slightly volatile temper for a couple of months. I forgot, seemingly everything randomly. I had minor bouts with depression which I’ve never had otherwise in my life.

The brain impact prevented me from remembering proper nouns for almost year and a half. I got to know my neurologist and the neuropsych testing people very well.

You can’t be unconscious for that long without taking a huge shot to the brain. And you can’t be unconscious for that long without having a long-term challenge. My ability to recall proper nouns is still pretty poor. That’s mostly it…

But it could’ve been much worse. Had she hit the driver’s door? It would’ve been the other kind of “lights out.”

This was a series of purchases, over a period of around six months. The company I was working for hired an employee who apparently had left her prior job under a cloud of felony charges. She hadn’t been convicted, so there was no record to find in a background check, plus the individual reversed a few numbers on her SSN when she applied. She managed to then hit a perfect storm of processes that allowed her to run up some significant charges on the company credit card. First, she was a remote employee with an also remote boss (this was well before COVID). She immediately requested a company credit card so she could fly to HQ for new hire orientation. A card was issued and FedExed to her. Her first charge was a cash advance (in those days, this was a holdover from days further in the past where it was unheard of for an employee to use the credit card — or their own money — for small purchases). During the ensuing investigation, we found that her subsequent purchases were for household bills, groceries, and utilities. Interestingly, she never submitted the expenses for the trip to HQ. Her manager never noticed that.

Fast forward six months or so and the employee went missing. Her manager woke up and discovered from media reporting that said employee had been convicted of some felony charges related to her prior employment and sent off to be a guest of the state for a few years. Alarm bells went off and an investigation began. As we unwound the credit card bill, we continued to see the various household purchases, utilities, cash advances, etc. Then we found that she had used the card to pay her lawyer as well as take some family members on a (modest) cruise. By the time we added things up, the company was out well in excess of $10,000. Arguably, not a ton of money for a large company, but something that caused immediate changes in expense policy and company credit cards. We found that she was able to exploit a fairly liberal payment window (established to accommodate time for employees to submit expenses, get them approved, and get them paid out to the credit card company). She further managed to (probably) use cash advances to make payments on the card to avoid showing up as delinquent. It appeared that she made some additional payments from other sources, but it wasn’t something we were in a position to confirm. The company didn’t have a good process for tracking personal charges, so there was no process to have the employee report and reimburse such expenses. There were also no categories of expenses that could not be charged to the card. There were quite a number of additional learnings, starting with why the background company didn’t flag a SSN mis-match.

The employee’s manager was fired (in addition to the initial failure to submit expenses, there had been some communications from the credit card company that charges were aging, which the manager had never looked into) and the lawyer was advised to pay the company back the fees charged against the credit card. Beyond that, I wasn’t privy to any other events outside of a flurry of expense and credit card policy changes.

Retro Underground Comix

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Even though he passed away years ago, I still find myself feeling a bit envious. I’m talking about my granddad—my lifelong hero and mentor. He kept grinding every day until he hit 90. Getting up at 6:00 AM, he’d down his coffee and head off to work. Surprisingly fit for his age, not exactly a six-pack, but definitely in good shape.

I remember working on physically demanding tasks with him, and I’d be wiped out afterward. For him, it was a walk in a park. Once, we chopped wood for eight hours, and I passed out right after. But he? He moved on to his next job without missing a beat.

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What I envy most is how he never lost his ability to handle physical tasks. While others his age struggled just to stand, he could do everything as if he were still in his thirties. I never quite grasped how he managed it all. I really wish I could be like he was.

“Members of Congress are terrified of the intel agencies. I’m not guessing at that. They’ve told me that, including people who run the intel committee.”

What Tucker said next was even more revealing.

“I said to somebody, a very powerful person, the other day, in a conversation in my kitchen, an elected official — holds a really senior position… But I was like, ‘All these people are controlled. They’ve all got weird sex lives, and all these things they’re hiding, and they’re being blackmailed by the intel agencies.’ And he said, and I’m quoting, ‘I know.’ I was like, okay, so at this point, we’re just sort of admitting that’s real? Like, why do we allow that to continue?”

This is the Amerikkkan Deep State.

About six years ago or so when I was still in high school, we were playing soccer in gym class. After about five minutes in or so, the kid who was playing as my team’s forward (we’ll call him “Brock”) came up to me, who was playing goalie, and said he wanted to be the goalie now. I politely declined, because the game was only five minutes in, and that’s just not how soccer (or the real world) works.

After about 30 seconds of arguing back and forth over it, he presumed the second best option to be to grab me by the shirt and try to drag me out of the goalie box. Or in other words, physically assaulted me.

As a natural reaction and in accordance with what the law actually says, I laid into Brock with one good hit.

I then see the gym instructor approaching us to break up the scuffle that was occuring. When he gets to us, he sends us both to the principal’s office.

Brock’s punishmen was a week of out-of-school suspension. And I received the exact same punishment.

Why? Because according to my school’s policy on fighting, if you are even merely involved in a fight, it’s an automatic out-of-school suspension, so the principal technically doesn’t even get to use his own discretion regarding disciplining students regarding these types of matters.

I remember him even saying to me “Geraldo, coming from person to person, I would have done the exact same thing as you. However, as a school official, I unfortunately have no choice but to suspend you”.

What my school expects you to do if you are to find yourself in the situation I was in, is to passively submit and take your beating, and then once that is finished, you are to go to a teacher and tell on the person who attacked you. (Because it’s not like the person you just told on isn’t going to kick the shit out of you for rolling on them once you’re outside school property, right?)

Say you were to get jumped by five people at my school. Well that means that a total of six people will be getting suspended. That being the five dudes who assualted you, and yourself, for being assaulted.

If that’s not an example of institutionalized wussification, I don’t know what is.

Some of my AI generated pictures

Girls and alcohol with cats.

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This happened when my dad was just out of high school. One of his longtime friends confirmed the details.

My dad and some friends were at a roller skating rink having fun and flirting with some girls. There was a black family skating there as well. Suddenly they hear this guy saying, “You n%#s, we don’t want your kind here.” He kept harassing them and it pissed my dad off. He went up to the jerk and told him to knock it off, that this family was more than welcome to be here, and he is the one who should leave.
The bully asked, “You n%# lover, are you going to make me?”

My dad told me he was terrified because this guy looked like someone who had been in a lot a fights. But the looks on that poor family’s faces was more than he could bear. So, he agreed to take it outside. While he was putting on his shoes an employee told him he should take off, that the guy he was facing was a known troublemaker and he had just gotten out of jail for assault. That didn’t help my dad’s nerves. Then as he was getting up the father of the black family told him not to bother, that they will just leave.
I don’t know how he mustered the courage to walk out that door, but he went to face him anyway. A crowd gathered around them as they faced each other. The bully said, “Now I am going to teach you a lesson you n#% lov…” He never had a chance to finish that sentence. My dad hit him squarely on his chin and the racist bully crumpled to the pavement. One punch and he was out.

Everyone cheered, the girls were all swooning over my dad, and the family thanked him for being the only one standing up for them. Yep, my dad was a true badass that day.

I was in 6th grade and 11 years old. I had started menstruating at 10 and didn’t have it all figured out quite yet. I was wearing a pale yellow skirt and jacket that my grandmother had sewn me and I really liked it. When school ended, I stood up to leave and the teacher snapped at me to come see her. I was pretty shocked. She never raised her voice to me. When I reached her she spun me around so my back was toward the wall. Then she whispered to me that the back of my skirt was stained and to just stay there with her until everyone left. When everyone left she told me to just keep waiting. She knew that my mother came and picked up my brother and I each day. Eventually, my brother came to see why I wasn’t coming out to the car. He was about 7. When he came into the classroom, first she yelled at him for not getting out of bed in the morning and making me late several days (I felt bad about this, but she wasn’t wrong) and then she told him to give her his jacket. She wrapped it around my waist and told us we could leave. I have never forgotten her kindness. Especially because several of the girls could be really mean to me. I’m pretty sure no one ever saw the stain.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Morel Mushrooms and Ramps 500
Creamy Asparagus Soup with Morel Mushrooms and Ramps 500

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus
  • 2 onions, finely minced
  • 2 potatoes, peeled, diced small
  • 2 ribs celery, diced small, with tops included
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 teaspoons granulated chicken or vegetable bouillon (or 8 cubes of bouillon)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 sprig fresh tarragon, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced, or 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 2 cups Half-and-Half
  • Sour cream
  • Chives, chopped

Instructions

  1. Break off and discard the tough, thick end of each asparagus spear. Chop the spears into 1/4-inch slices and add to the slow cooker along with all remaining ingredients down to and including the white pepper.
  2. Add water to within 1 inch of the top of the slow cooker.
  3. Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6 to 7 hours.
  4. About two hours before serving, use a slotted spoon to remove most of the vegetables to a blender. Use a ladle to add some of the liquid from the slow cooker to the blender. Puree the mixture and add back in to the slow cooker.
  5. Repeat once or twice more as necessary (you can leave some of the pieces in the slow cooker for effect.)
  6. Add approximately 1 cup of the Half-and-Half to the slow cooker.
  7. Add the cornstarch to the remaining Half-and-Half in the carton.
  8. Close the carton well and shake vigorously.
  9. Add the mixture to the slow cooker.
  10. Continue to cook on HIGH for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
  11. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives sprinkled over the sour cream.

Op-Ed: One Woman’s Anguish at Being Vaxxed

by DUPED LADY

For those who cannot imagine what it’s like to be vaxxed, and living with it once the evidence becomes available, l can answer you: it’s day-to-day grieving and cellular remorse.

Many of us were just living our daily lives without any idea of the World Economic Forum or the World Health Organisation. We trusted our doctors – l’d had mine for over 25 years, and we knew our government lied at election times, but we voted the best we could based on the B.S. presented to us.

We went about our lives innocently – working, raising kids and babysitting grandkids – and many of us had not one person in our circles to warn us of the dangers.

We didn’t even know that we had to do ‘research’. Unbelievable as that may seem, it’s absolutely true.

So off we went and had the shots.  And now us ‘sheeples’ – as we are sometimes referred to – are dying in our millions, some suddenly, while some are destined for slow, malingering, pain-filled deaths.

But we are dying, and ironically, we are the evidence; the proof you will all use later.

Some of us argued with others who knew about the dangers, and words and actions hurt both sides. And that is the greatest weapon of the psy-op: it’s actually greater than the vax itself.

There is a level of toxic hatred and gloating online that condemns the vaxxed to silence in regards to seeking help. l see it in the forums, how they are abused by total strangers, so we stay silent and die alone, unforgiven for our naivety and fear.

But back to the point above – of what it is like to be vaxxed and to then become aware of how we’ve been done. It is hell. Living with the knowledge that I took three of them; that my wonderful, kind, hardworking husband took four; that our children and grandchildren had them;
it haunts me, it breaks my soul, it has destroyed me… simply because we were naive.

My husband and l were already injected when a cousin contacted me through Messenger after seeing a post about my rapid decline in health and asked me questions. l then spoke to my sons, but it was too late – they had been jabbed already.

It’s reading endless detox protocols and wondering IF they truly work or IF they too are part of the B.S., because how would we ever know when there is no long-term proof? It’s endless medical tests that come back ‘normal’, but you just know and feel the changes in your body.

It’s seeing the videos of the ‘calamari’ clots and reading about graphene microblades slicing up veins, and spikes adhering like velcro to tissues and organs.

It’s the breathlessness and palpitations on the slightest exertion that doctors can’t explain.

It’s the knowing that it was all for nothing, though we believed it was for the best of intentions.

It’s this tattoo on my arm of the vax batch numbers that l use to open conversations and share my adverse reactions with every doctor, specialist and pathologist, radiologist and ambulance paramedic l meet.

It’s knowing that any second, any second, could be IT… the last one l breathe before l die.

It’s grief – deep, empty, gut-wrenching grief for all my family and friends, all those l love and care for.

It’s loss – the loss of my future dreams and plans, the loss of my husband and family, it’s the pain felt by the name-calling and ongoing online abuse.

l may be a sheeple to some, and cop endless abuse online for speaking up with my truth, but that will not stop me.

Not every vaxxed person acted like an A-hole when approached by someone who cared enough to take the risk of warning them.

Yet we have ALL been tarred with that one brush. And it’s there that humanity debased itself even further. They did not have to do a thing except sit back and watch us fall apart.

Music in this video is from various Bruton and music De Wolfe Records dating from 1972-1979 mixed in audacity and recorded onto a 1977-79 Maxell UD Type 1 Cassette Tape. The Video portion was created from various images of old department stores recorded onto real VHS tape for the retro effect. 
Comments 45
Comments 45

EMP over Jordan

Haha!

As a Newcomer in Canada, I met a Nigerian friend who kindly purchased about $10 worth of items (winter gloves, socks) for me.

When I said “Thank you”, she told me to give her a refund when I can.

I was shocked!

As Nigerians, we’re used to receiving gifts or just random things from friends & family, free of charge.

Growing up in Nigeria, you don’t expect a refund for about $5, $10 or even $20 items.

It’s not same here in Canada/US.

Or maybe this was only applicable to my sheltered life & not to the rest of Nigerians – you guys tell me.

So, I gave my friend back her $10.

However, I was not going to let the American or Canadian system change me.

While living with that friend, I’d buy fruits & other items and share with her.

It’s just who I was raised to be; I share things!

She’d ask to pay me back & I’d politely decline.

I wasn’t gonna come to Canada & just switch from who I used to be.

Mind you, I would never go broke from these little acts of communal living or kindness.

Guess what?

With time, that my friend caught on.

She started sharing her own things: giving back to me & waiving refunds from me.

I also observed she didn’t extend this generosity to others.

But even with my own generosity, I would give but never expect anything back.

So, I wouldn’t expect anyone to outright lend me their money.

If it’s not yours, don’t expect it to be (easily) given to you.

But what I’ve learned about the American/Canadian credit culture is that many people don’t have free cash to spare.

Many of them don’t have any extra money sitting in their chequing/savings account.

Once salaries are paid, nearly all of it goes to debt payments (rent, school loans, credit cards, various utilities, phone bill, car, insurance etc.).

I’ve been blessed to not have any debts & to live quite a frugal & financially-wise lifestyle.

A friend once borrowed money from me because her husband’s birthday came before her paycheck (salary) was paid.

I know people who can’t go out to eat with their colleagues unless it’s a pay day (the day salaries are paid).

Hence, where would someone like that find $200 to lend to you for 4 days?

Even if they have it, they might have better things to do with it than lend it to you.

No one owes you their money.

Even if you ask, & it’s not given – kindly understand, respect their decision & move on!

"We want to focus on Eurasian security, which is much more natural.

Eurasia is one continent and no players from across the ocean will be involved in this arrangement.

Eurasian security will rely on a unification of all existing projects – the EAEU, the CSTO, the SCO, and the CIS. China’s Belt and Road Initiative will provide a material foundation for future security arrangements.

We will keep the door open for the western part of the continent, for everyone.

Of course, this is our common home where everyone should behave properly and avoid bringing the Americans’ aspirations into any of these future constructs.

They will certainly try to poke their noses into these processes though, just as they are now getting involved in the Asia-Pacific region, the Indian Ocean and other regions.

But China is a powerful player.

When China proposes its initiatives, it never pressures anyone.

Beijing can propose an economic project, for example, building a railway in Central Asia, or in Africa, or somewhere else, but all decisions will be made on the basis of a balance of interests.

This is the case in our relations with China, and we saw a record increase in trade to $240 billion last year.

It will definitely continue to grow."

Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the radio stations Sputnik, Govorit Moskva, and Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moscow, April 19, 2024.

Shorpy Selection

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I used to own nightclubs and one night I was visiting the biggest one. It had a 2,500 capacity with over 3,500 people through the doors each night.

The manager greeted me and was very excited to suggest that I went to the VIP bar to meet the new server.

When I walked in, I saw one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in my life. Slim, blonde, tanned and had to have been at least six foot tall.

I introduced myself but didn’t get much response back except a smile. I then asked her for a bottle of water. This is where the problem became apparent.

She looked at me with a confused face. “A water please” I repeated but still the same response. “Aqua?” I asked, no joy, “Agua?”, no response. I didn’t know the Polish for water.

I ended up pointing to the taps and she started to fill a glass. At this point, I went behind the bar and got myself a bottle.

I went straight to the manager and, with a tear in my eye, I told him that she had to go. I simply couldn’t afford for her to stay.

I have no problem at all employing non-native English speakers, but they need enough English to be able to take drink orders from customers. The club hadn’t even opened at this point so there wasn’t any music playing.

The following weekend, I was relating this story to a good friend of mine who also owned bars. He was laughing and was very sympathetic to my pain. As we walked into his bar, there, behind the bar, was the very same Polish stunner!

My step son had been with me off and on since was 13. When he was 18, he was living with his mom again. My youngest had just turned 2 and his daycare situation fell apart, so I asked my step-son to watch him for a few days while I found a new daycare.

They had always had a very close relationship and while my step-son was staying over, we talked and decided that he would move in and be my live in “manny”. He wasn’t working at the time and his mom’s house was overwhelming with kids, pets etc. He got free room and board, plus I paid him $10 a day for spending money and he only was “on duty” while I was working. Any time I was home he was not responsible for anything and if I wanted extra hours off that I would either hire him at $10 an hour or I had another part time lady who would watch him when she was available.

The only thing I asked of him was to pick up after him and the little one, not sleep all day, keep him engaged and don’t let people over during the day because he was supposed to be taking care of the little guy, not socializing. Everything was great for a year or so. Then, he stated sneaking girls over during the day. My little guy would tell me that a girl had been over and my step son would deny it. He stopped picking things up and I’d come home to a mess, my son still in pj’s etc. Then, he started talking about his was the man of the house and he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and I had no right to tell him otherwise.

We had several talks about his responsibilities and how he was not in charge etc. It seemed like Things straightened up for a while, but it started backsliding again. So, I decided that this was not going to work out anymore. I found a new daycare and told him that he was no longer needed as the manny. He could rent the room he was staying in for $450 a month plus utilities or he could move out, his choice. I explained that when you are hired by someone to do a job, that you are not free to make your own rules on how that job is handled and you don’t get to decide that you can do what you want, especially when kids are involved.

He was angry and hurt and we didn’t speak for a few months. I felt incredibly guilty, because his own mother has abandoned him multiple times. He spent a lot of time in foster care as a kid and it felt like I was doing the same thing buy telling him to leave. He ended up leaving and going to stay with his girlfriend, who he eventually married. However, we have always had a great relationship so after he got it out of his system, we resumed talking, hanging out and visiting. He eventually told me he understood why I did what what I did and how that event made him grow up and stop acting like a kid.

He’s now 29 years old. He’s a terrific father to his two kids and he’s raising his older brother’s son too. He has a fantastic job, owns his home and has a great life. He and I talk several times a week by phone since he lives out of state now. He’s getting re-married in July 2021, and has asked me to be there since he considers me the mother that has stuck by him through thick and thin and have been the best influence on him. Him and my son still have a super close relationship and every summer we go to visit for a week or so. My youngest son turned 13 this year and is planning to go stay with his brother for 2 weeks this summer, without me being there (this is a first for us)!

Sometimes, you gotta kick those baby birds out of the nest, so they learn how to fly on their own!

Tony ‘the Brainless’ Blinken has announced that he plans to warn China against exporting weapons to Russia or face sanctions

Of course he knows and everyone knows that China doesn’t export weapons to Russia

The very fact that he announced his agenda publicly and claimed to go to China to WARN THE CHINESE and still be allowed to visit China by the Chinese indicate that this is mere Public Bluster meant to play to the Gallery

Why visit the Chinese to warn them? A Mere summoning of the Ambassador in DC can do the job equally well.

Anyone who is even a high schooler who has studied even one chapter of International Affairs and Political Science will know that China will not stop trading with the Russians

So why is Blinken going to China

  • To placate the Chinese on the $ 8 Billion Taiwanese Arms Package. You can bet Blinken will make a “US believes in One China” and “US doesn’t support Taiwanese Independence” hidden somewhere in those ‘Warnings’.
  • To persuade the Chinese to get a message to Putin to somehow keep things fluid until the November 2024 elections. To get the Chinese to use their Yuan system and their Exports to Russia as a leverage and get Putin to back off and keep things on a stalemate level so that Biden doesn’t risk a major backlash

Yellen was the soft job

She was supposed to persuade the Chinese by saying “You get Putin to go slow on Ukraine or even freeze the conflict upto 2024 November and we won’t target you on Overcapacity and Steel and Shipping”

The Chinese simply said “Sorry but NO CAN DO”

Now Blinken will try the same thing

“You get Putin to go slow or even freeze the conflict upto 2024 November and we will go soft on our Anti Chinese Rhetoric. The President will even ignore any Anti China bills”

Plus a new

“You do this and we will ensure that $ 8 Billion is delayed from reaching Taiwan for months if not years”

Its evident that Chinese exports are keeping the Sanctions from crippling Russia today although not to the extent that they could have crippled Russia back in 2022 March or April

They keep Russia’s Industries going with Finished Goods and Consumer Goods flooding into the country to keep the people spending money

Plus the Chinese make key machine tools and components needed for Russia for their War Industry too

So technically Xi can leverage Putin

He won’t do so

Simply put Russia is a source of Commodities and Energy for China that bypasses all the USD routes

The West simply cannot find out how much Oil China imported from Russia or Gas or Commodities because they were paid in Yuan and Ruble between Shanghai and Moscow

So China will respond with the usual

“International law should prevail. We call for peace by all sides. We are law abiding and our trade with Russia is entirely commercial. We refuse any allegation that we are funding the war machine in Russia. We request the US to uphold international law”

Blinken will return with a few more threats

Biden will be furious at the Chinese as usual so he will sanction a few banks, maybe place another 50 companies from China on a blacklist, impose tariffs on Chinese Steel and get Bong Bong or Lai to make a few provocative statements

The Chinese as usual will make the normal statements of “We protest against this. We deny these accusations”

Nobody trusts the West anymore. That’s the problem.

Putin trusted them in 2015 (Minsk 2) and 2022 (Istanbul) and was betrayed both times

The Chinese have never trusted the WESTERN BARBARIANS for millennia

Even stalwarts like Kissinger or Baker who were good diplomats and convincing liars couldn’t fox the Chinese

You think this Idiot Blinken can manage to do so?

IMF Issues STARK WARNING TO UNITED STATES!

At one time, I worked in a factory that made polystyrene products. I’d only been there about a year, and was on the night crew. Once a month, the company would have a safety meeting that fell at a time after the day crew shift, and at the beginning of night crew’s.

Both sides were bitching about working conditions.

Day crew bitched that we weren’t getting everything done, which was making more work for them.

Night crew was bitching that day crew was doing the bare minimum, and we were getting tired of working fifteen hours shifts six days a week, while they worked eight hours five days a week. We also pointed out that even though we had a third of the people day crew did, we got out two thirds of the work. We wanted things more equitable.

The plant manager had enough. “Okay, night crew. You knew what you signed on for. Those orders have to be completed. If you don’t like how things are done here, walk. There’s the door.”

One could have heard a pin drop.

We all looked at each other. “Okay, boss. You win.”

We all got up and headed for the door. Fifteen people (the entire night crew) headed out to the parking lot.

It was at this moment the plant manager and day crew had a “come to Jesus” moment. No night crew meant that day crew would have to work overtime to get the orders done. By his own mouth, he had condemned them to go back to work instead of being done for the day. The prospect of having to work six days a week of double shifts did not appeal to day crew. They began to panic.

He called out to us, and asked us to come back. “What do you guys want?”

We haggled this deal.

  • Hire more employees to keep up with the work load.
  • If days didn’t get finished in eight hours, they stayed until they did. In return, we’d come in four hours later, and we would stay until our stuff was done.
  • Workload distributed fairly based on employees available.
  • No shifts longer than twelve hours.
  • If we weren’t done with night’s stuff by Friday, days was to finish up on Saturday. If they couldn’t finish, nights would come in on Saturday to do so.

Somehow, magically, the day crew worked harder, and night crew actually got to see their families once in a while.

Theme is “Asian women with wine, loaves of bread, tomatoes and cats”

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Mother never gave advice. Dad gave me advice twice in my entire life. He said this to me when I was about 18. “It’s better to be lonely than unhappy.” He was referring to future relationships with boyfriends, but it can be taken a step further in terms of relationships with anyone. It’s better to be lonely than unhappy.

The second piece of advice Dad gave me was when my first child was born. Let me preface this advice by saying Dad was the kindest, most gentle, loving person in the world. He did not raise his voice or spank us. Having said that, this is why we obeyed him.

We valued him as a father and a human being so much we did not want to disappoint him. Dad modeled the kind of behavior he expected of us. All we had to do was follow his example. By and large, we did.

You can see the love on Dad’s face as he looks at his scowly daughter. Just so I don’t keep you in suspense, I am that scowly daughter. That’s our old car in the background.

If for some reason, we got a little “rowdy”, Dad put down his newspaper and looked at us over the rim of his glasses. That’s all he had to do.

However, there was an inner core of strength to Dad and somehow he established an invisible line that we never crossed. We didn’t cross it out of fear but out of immense respect and devotion.

I needed to set the stage for Dad’s second piece of advice. When my first child was born. He looked at me and said, “Teach him who’s boss early.”

I brought up my two children very much the same way I was raised. My children and I adore each other. In fact, I just texted them and asked if they remembered something I did when they were very small. I’d say, “Open your hand and close your eyes and you’ll get a BIG surprise.” They both remembered the many times I did that.

The advice Dad gave me dealt with my relationships with people and my relationship with my children. Both pieces of advice proved to be invaluable.

Update on “Pepe’s Nuke”

Since Moon of Alabama remains offline, this becomes the place to further broaden the reach of Pepe Escobar’s following announcement he posted to his Telegram:

THE NUCLEAR F-35 MYSTERY – FINAL UPDATE

1. It’s now fully established that The Information was confirmed independently by the intel of a Big Power.

2. The Information was NOT relayed by Russia.

3. It then reached a third nation – and from that to me.

4. The players involved are not backing down an inch from The Information.

5. I was privately provided with two examples of the accuracy of recent intel by the Big Power on two separate big developments in West Asia .

6. The source that contacted me notes that “sometimes, after news has entered the media space, there is no choice but not to provide clarification.”

Additionally, a senior Russian diplomat who does not know The Information, said to me the following:

1. “That is entirely possible.”

2. It shouldn’t have been revealed to the public.

3. “If this is true, then all sides will be determined to cover it up.”

One unanswered question for me is: Why did the Big Power source relay The Information to an intel agency from another nation? I tend to believe this was to erase its tracks in the chain. Particularly because my initial source has now revealed that the Big Power gained their intelligence firsthand – and that it was not transmitted to them by the Russians, Iranians or other direct parties to the hot war in West Asia.

To sum it all up, via the source who originally received The Information: “If anyone should be accused of fabrication it is the ’source’; but in this case the ’source’ remains confident of the accuracy.

I rest my case. I published raw intel the way I received it.

It’s up to a wider audience to judge whether – and how – The Information connects with new developments occurring at breakneck speed, and part of a New Paradigm.

I earlier today noted when replying to a comment that Pepe joined Larry Johnson and Dima in a chat on the topic, which can be found here. Pepe’s note above was posted after that chat.

I don’t have much to add, although I will again note this RT item reporting Iranian President Raisi’s words when he arrived in Pakistan, “Iran threatens to wipe out Israel,” that was published yesterday:

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has threatened Israel with annihilation if it attempts to attack Iran again….

“If the Zionist regime once again makes a mistake and attacks the sacred land of Iran, the situation will be different, and it is not clear whether anything will remain of this regime,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Raisi as saying. [Emphasis original and mine]

Now eliminating the Zionist regime isn’t the same as annihilating Occupied Palestine, which RT inserted as hyperbole as what was promised was decapitation of the “regime” to some degree, perhaps total.

As I recall, the initial promise of retaliation in response to an attack on Iranian soil was made by the Iranian military and was done prior to what’s been deemed the Zionist response that was dubbed rather tepid and inept by fanatical Zionists.

The political response by Raisi comes after Escobar’s publication of his source’s revelation and may or may not be connected. Pepe seems content with having done his job as a messenger.

Most open-minded analysts believe the Zionists could have tried such an attack and wouldn’t have warned anyone, including its benefactor the Outlaw US Empire.

Given what we’ve witnessed regarding the Zionists willingness to kill any and all who oppose their Genocidal Project, I believe their response was the bomb as all—Zionists, their press and Pro-Zionist Western media— were anticipating something at that level of destruction, but nothing similar happened. And nothing of any consequence occurred on Passover either.

Today’s been a relatively quiet day for the region, but that can change at any moment.

More and more Americans are deciding that the American dream is now to leave! Shocker, it’s getting too expensive to even survive here for most people let alone by a nice home being able to afford to raise children in it and also retire comfortably one day. As George Carlin said they call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.

Been in Thailand for 7 months. Lost 35 pounds. Just from not eating processed foods. Had a condo for $600 right across the street from the beach. 

Food in a western restaurant about $5. Pork fried rice from a street stall is about $2. Went to Malaysia and got an extensive physical for $350. 

I’m happier in SE Asia. 

I’ve met many expats , most are Europeans. A few Americans. 

The people that say the USA is still the best haven’t been anywhere or haven’t been anywhere recently. 

Is Thailand perfect? No. 

Does Thailand have incredible value both monetarily and spiritually? For me the answer is yes. 

Let’s say I can get 99% of my needs met for 25-30% of the cost in the US. Add in the health benefits , and just being happier and FOR ME it’s over 100% of what my life was like in the US. 

Personally I miss the people in my life back in the US. I miss the food in Chicago. 

I’d do just about anything for some pizza right about now. 

But I don’t miss living in the US. 

Don’t miss the stress. 

Don’t miss the crime of Chicago. 

Definitely don’t miss the politics and the culture wars. 

You can live very well here for $1000-1500 a month in SE Asia. The only hiccup is immigration issues. 

Frankly they don’t want Americans in this neck of the woods. 

Russians , Chinese and others can stay in these countries for longer with less hurdles than you as a US Citizen can . 

But you can stay in Thailand for 6 months. 

Malaysia for 3 months. Vietnam for 3 months. Lather , rinse , repeat. Oh. You don’t see the homeless you see in LA here. 

You can walk around without a pistol to defend yourself like I’d advise you to do in Chicago. 

Those are the two places I’ve lived in the US. 

There is no value in the US. 

The schools suck. 

The healthcare system is insane. Cost of medicine is insane. Social issues are insane. 

I’m a blue collar guy. Union dude. 

Made a lot of money during my lifetime. 

But there is no value in the US anymore. 

You go to Kuala Lumpur and look out your hotel window and you can count 20-30 cranes building skyscrapers. How many cranes do you see in Chicago or NYC ? 

Asia is the future. 

The women are beautiful. 

I wish I could’ve done this 10 years ago. 

You are much better off making 40k a year as a digital nomad in Cambodia than you are making 100k a year in NYC or LA , or SF or Chicago. 

It’s all about value. There is no value in the US anymore. 

Stick a fork in it. It’s dead. 

Brings me no joy to say any of this. I have a son. I have family that lives in the US. 

The difference in how things are now and how they were just 5 years ago in LA , Los Angeles , Vegas , Phoenix and Chicago is incredible. 

And it’s not going in the right direction. 

If you need to make 100k a year just to tread water it doesn’t make any sense to live there. 

If your house is worth $1 million dollars but nobody can buy it because they need to make $200k a year to buy it and only 1% of the country makes that kind of money what good does that do you? 

They are trying to sell Jeeps for over $100k! 

A piece of shit Jeep! 

I love the US. I hate what it is becoming. 

But what can you do. For me. 

The best decision was to pack up my stuff and move. For you it may be to stay and fight. 

But I’d advise everyone to at least look into moving abroad. Could be Europe. Could be Latin America. Could be Asia. 

There may be someplace that is a better for for you. Or maybe not. Personally I’d rather thrive than struggle. 

And if it doesn’t work out I can always go back and get my $25 Big Mac Combo at McDonalds

A bad dining choice

It is late, on a street in Copenhagen.

A man approaches another. He punches him to the face, knocking him to the ground.

The victim falls, cracks his head on the pavement and is unconscious.

The attacker doesn’t stop. He kicks the prone man 47 times to his body and stamps on his skull.

They catch the incident on CCTV cameras. There are many passers-by. It might be late, but the street is busy. It might be dark, but there is sufficient street lighting to see. Despite the brutal assault lasting a few minutes, nobody makes any attempt to stop the man.

It has psychologists puzzled; Why did no-one intervene?

This CCTV footage was one of 81 incidents being examined by researchers conducting an observational study into the ‘bystander effect’.

From viewing the footage, they pick out 764 bystanders who saw and heard a fellow human being assaulted… but they stood back and did nothing.

Not one of those people came to any of the victims’ aid.

Why?

‘Diffusion of responsibility’.

The bystander first notices the situation, correctly labels this is an emergency, assumes responsibility for helping, decides how to help and implements the decision to help – at least, that is how most people would react on their own.

But this is different, there are other people present.

Being in a crowd interferes with this process.

When alone, defining a situation is straightforward because we use our own judgment, whereas in a group of strangers, a process known as ‘social comparison’ takes place where everyone looks to other’s reactions to define the situation.

If others lack worry or do nothing, the likelihood of the victim being helped is significantly reduced.

We assume others will take responsibility.

The burden of responsibility is diluted among the number of bystanders present at the scene.

‘Someone else will phone the police.’

‘Someone else will be more qualified to help than me.’

‘No-one else is doing anything, it can’t be that serious.’

The more people there are, the less likely you are to get involved.

But now you know about the bystander effect.

The next time you come across someone collapsed in the street, YOU be the one to phone for an ambulance.

If you see a pick-pocket steal a wallet shout, ‘Stop thief’.

If someone’s life is in danger, tap the nearest person to you and say, ‘We need to help that guy.’ The touch is enough to snap people out of inaction.

Enlist the help of other bystanders. Tell them what to do – it is in our nature to respond to direct requests. Check they understand what you are asking, even if it is a simple request, getting a ‘yes’ reinforces the request and makes people more likely to stick to the plan. Ask others to keep an eye out for trouble/police/ambulance. People need a purpose, even if it is doing nothing.

Your actions might save a life.

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main qimg 8a120b4cd9ae1cee5493414fb7ae5c01

“Last year, China registered one of the highest growth rates among the major economies and accounted for over 30 percent of global growth as before.

This was due both to the hard work of the Chinese people and to international cooperation.

China has come to where it is today after overcoming all kinds of difficulties and challenges.

China did not collapse as predicted by the ‘China collapse theory,’ nor will it peak as forecasted by the ‘China peak theory.’

We will continue to advance high-quality development and Chinese modernization, enable the Chinese people to live a better life, and contribute more to sustainable development in the world.

We have the confidence and determination that China’s development has a bright future.”

Excerpt from the speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting with representatives of U.S. Business, Strategic and Academic Communities, March 27, 2024.

The Reconquest Of American Culture

  1. Guys: keep your dicks out of other men’s wives. Of course you can expect some trouble in your life from the husband. You are just begging for it. You aren’t rescuing her from anything. Let her sort her crap out for herself before you make things more complicated by getting yourself involved.
  2. Girls: if he is cheating on her with you, he is going to cheat on you with the next one. You are nothing special. Just the next one in the chain. And that new girl is going to think that you are just as trashy as you think the one he is with now is.
  3. If you have a radar detector in your car, you have had enough warnings already. You are getting a ticket.
  4. I don’t care who you know. I have a job to do. If you really do know someone who matters to me, word will get back to them that I am doing my job.
  5. Yes, you really did do a very stupid thing. You made a lousy choice and now you are going to suffer the consequences.
  6. If you ask for a fight and get one, you don’t get to file charges against the person who beat the crap out of you just because you lost.
  7. People who do drugs get into some really stupid shit. Sometimes pretty nasty shit as well.
  8. Hey, you know those people around you called friends and family? They do care and the stupid crap you get into affects them as well.
  9. Parents, your kids are your responsibility, not ours. If you didn’t care where they were or what they were doing hanging out at 3 am with other kids you don’t know, it’s not our fault that something really bad happened to them. And stop telling them that we will take them to jail if they don’t listen to you. And what the hell do you think you are doing letting someone else’s kid stay in your place all night without knowing or talking to the kid’s parents?
  10. If you complain about parking and bad driving in your neighborhood, you are not exempt from getting a ticket because you were the one who complained. You should be happy that your complaint is getting a response.

White House Officially Makes Side Hustle ILLEGAL

This is ridiculous! How else are we supposed to get ahead in this greedy, evil and narcissistic ass country! As hard as it is to make ends meet in America. This will make things harder! I’m sick of these crooked politicians creating laws that take makes it harder for the people who are trying to get ahead! “The land of the free” was just a catch phrase America is turning into a dictatorship.

Fortunately distance even if you park the SSBNs off the coast of Tianjin means we’d have about 4 minutes to respond.

Those 4 minutes means we can activate a total launch since it’s use it or lose it. There would be literally no time to call for a clarification like with a continental launch which gives 25 minutes to call ask what’s going on.

So we’d be obliterated but our missiles would be in the upper atmosphere and land in your towns and cities about 17 minutes later.

Two weeks on the job and I found that I needed another yellow pad for client notes. I asked my manager, “hey, can I get a yellow pad? And is it possible to get a mechanical pencil instead of a #2 pencil I have to sharpen? The led makes huge stains on my shirts

And I hate to complain, but can I get an optical mouse instead of a rolling ball mouse? The rolling ball always stutters which impacts my productivity”

“yeah – you have to go ask the office manager”

I walk down the hall to ask the office manager and tell her what I need.

“Can I get an optical mouse?”

“No”

“all right. Can I get a mechanical pencil so I don’t have to constantly sharpen my pencil and so my shirts don’t get stained”

“Sorry, we don’t provide those”

“Well – ok. I do need another yellow pad. Can I get a few?”

“Yes – follow me”

We proceeded to walk down the hallways of the high-rise we were in at the time. Mind you that this is the most expensive space in all of Sacramento:

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Scary office manager went into the managing partner’s office and grabbed keys from inside of his desk (Weird) and took me into the file room.

“What do you need now”

“I need a pencil and a yellow pad”.

She then proceeded to unlock a file room door as if it were the gates to Fort Knox. Inside of it were valuable items such as:

  • The cost of a box of 12 #2 pencils: $2.39
  • The cost of a box of a dozen yellow pads: $12.39
  • The cost of 40 AAA batteries – $20

The cost of treating your employees like 4 year olds to the point where 40% of them quit the company over a 15 month time span: Priceless

America’s economy is failing

1. When someone hands them an object with both of their hands, attractive people receive it with both of their hands as well.

2. They can remember details such as a birthday date. It’s always good to know that someone has taken the time to memorize things.

3. They maintain grace and joy, even in difficult circumstances. And positivity can be contagious.

4. Occasional vulnerability. People rarely bond with others with whom they cannot relate. We all love humans, not flawless, robotic beings.

5. They take care of themselves. When people start taking care of themselves, they start feeling better, looking better, and even start attracting better.

6. “You are what you eat” holds true for them. Also, people are what they read, watch, and the company they keep, including who they choose to date. If you’d like to improve your dating game, try this platform.

7. They can keep a secret. (An important one.)

8. They greet people by name. Likable people make certain they use others’ names every time they see them.

9. Ask thoughtful questions. People like to know that others are listening, and a question shows that not only are they listening, they also care about what they’re saying.

10. Less is more when it comes to online social media profiles. Showing fewer things can make people more attractive.

America is beyond gone

Having to survive as a child, without support.

My Mom killed herself 3 weeks before my 6th birthday and my family fell apart. Up until then, I had a great life. I was the youngest of 4 siblings, had 4 sets of Aunts/Uncles/cousins and my Grandma. They were all local and we interacted frequently. We went to Grandma’s every Sunday and one of my Aunts was so close she would discipline /care for us just like our mom.

By my birthday, my Dad was dating one of the casserole ladies from church (they were bringing us dinner). I remember she bought me gifts. This may be when everyone bailed. My oldest brother (17yrs) left home and lived on the streets. My grandma and one Aunt/Uncle set moved to Vegas. My dad then married a slightly insane woman with 2 children of her own. She was cruel and seemed to want to destroy us kids. We pretty much never saw or heard from anyone again.

We were not adequately fed, clothed or cared for. My stepmother divided us siblings and pitted us against each other. She taught her children to torture us physically and emotionally, as well. It was bad. My dad played stupid and claimed helplessness. If we went to him, we got it worse the next day.

So began my journey of survival. I knew how to find bottles for deposit in trash cans and when I discovered food there too, I knew I was onto something. A year or so later, I learned I could get clothes from the school lost and found. I begged for food during lunch at school and I learned to steal food (candy, I must admit) from stores. After school I would hang around people that had mom’s who would feed me or I’d just hide in the bushes until I had to go into the house. I had to avoid my stepmother and step sisters at all costs at all times. If you were noticed, you were fucked.

This was 1970 and I guess the schools were not aware enough yet to get involved. I know it was pretty obvious that something was a off. I didn’t know how to brush my hair or teeth and it showed. My hair was literally a dirty mass of rats, my clothing – you can imagine, and my behavior was atrocious (I started acting out and bullying by 3rd grade).

I pretty much stumbled through my early life this way. I did not know how to interact so I never really had friends. I never paid attention in class or did any of the assignments and no one said a thing. I started babysitting and doing odd jobs for neighbors at 9yrs, which helped because I could buy things like shampoo or socks. I just had to be damn sure no one caught on or I would be fucked. If I had anything (anything!) it was destroyed and I was tortured. One day, a neighbor man called me into his garage and cut my hair for me. Of course, my stepmother’s rage was viscous and violent. After she was done she took scissors and destroyed my haircut.

I dropped out of high school and ended up couch surfing and slightly homeless until I could save enough money for an apartment at ~20 years old.

So now that I could manage my basic survival, it was time to learn how to interact with the world. I had the social skills of a traumatized 6 year old. I’m 53 now and still have a lot to learn about relationships and self care, but I know I’m not alone in that boat 🙂

Shout out for all the help and resources that I’ve had over the years. I do believe that I would not have made it without the generosity of others….mostly relative strangers who never asked for anything in return. One man cut my hair, one man co-signed a car loan, hundreds fed me. I could go on and on.

Thanks for listening.

I had gone to an ATM some time ago. It is located at an arcade/mall which is very popular with people of all ages. Lots of youngsters hang around this place till late at night.

On my way back I saw a florist and stopped to browse through some flower arrangements. One pani puri (savory dish) vendor is very close to this shop. A lady came there with a small boy of around five/six years and asked the vendor for one plate of pani puri. The boy was giving instructions to the vendor loudly and excitedly. That’s what attracted my attention. The lady and child were dressed in very ordinary, slightly tattered clothes. They were a little unkempt and disheveled in appearance. But the incessant chatter of the boy was super cute.

I was tempted by the smells too. So, decided to get a plate of chaat (street food) packed for the family. While I was waiting for my turn, two girls came there. They placed their order and then gesturing towards the mother son duo, told the guy “Inko dur karo pehle” (Move them away first)!

Whoa man! Did I hear correctly? This was my first reaction. Who did they think they were? Their snobbish attitude pissed me off big time! But, before I could utter a single word at their uncalled for behaviour, the vendor told them “Madam, inko abhi time lagega. Aap dusri jagah chale jao” (Serving them will take time. You proceed to some other vendor). And then, he calmly continued to hand out pani puris to the little munchkin.

A befitting reply by an unassuming, awesome guy! The girls stomped off. Their retreating backs made my chaat more delicious :p

Federal Reserve is a for-profit agency used by the oligarchy to keep Americans imprisoned

I got arrested in Jordan at rifle point, for snapping a photo of the U.S. Embassy in Amman. It looked like a giant microwave oven from the outside. Concrete barriers and metal barriers, barbed wire. I wanted to capture how surreal it was.

I didn’t know you can’t photograph the U.S. Embassy without permission, for security reasons. I was just standing around, waiting for my fellow journalists to finish breakfast at our hotel. I fired off a few shots.

The next thing I knew, a Jordanian soldier in a brown uniform was pointing a rifle at me and shouting in Arabic. He looked young and jittery—and that made me jittery. The rifle bobbed up and down.

Then he used a lot of hand gestures, forcing me inside the embassy. He followed behind me, the rifle at my back.

We went through what looked like an airline terminal, with all kinds of metal barriers, until we got to a booth where a U.S. Marine in military uniform was stationed. I showed him my U.S. passport.

“Give me your backpack,” he said.

Rats! I had tampons in the backpack. Anything to do with a woman’s body is just weird in the Middle East. It’s like you don’t want to have a body if you’re female. Although Jordan is more secular than most countries in that region, we’d been warned—and warned about how to dress.

Cover your legs. Wear blouses that hide your armpits. Don’t expose yourself.

Amman, the Jordanian capital, was a terrible place to run short of tampons. The day before, I’d had to ask a female guide to come with me, into a huge marketplace, down into a beehive of stores before we finally found a box. They were kept behind a counter, under lock and key. From the looks of disapproval, you would think I’d asked for heroin.

The Marine examined my passport and then emptied my backpack onto the counter. When the tampons tumbled out, his face turned red. He tried not to laugh. Same with the Jordanian.

“Why are you here?” the Marine asked.

“I just wanted to take a picture of the U.S. Embassy. It’s my embassy. Why can’t I do that?” I showed him my stupid little point and shoot camera. “Do you really think a terrorist would use a ridiculous camera like that?”

He shook his head. He laughed.

“Ma’am, you’re a U.S. citizen. You can do anything you want to in this embassy.”

He gestured to the Jordanian soldier, who escorted me out, without the rifle pointed at my back. It turned out he spoke a little English. We had a nice talk about how some of his family members wanted to immigrate to the U.S. Indeed, when we finally got outside, he showed me a long line of people waiting to apply for U.S. visas.

Then I looked across the street and saw the other journalists. They stared at me, open-mouthed. What the hell?

I wanted to join them, but the Jordanian soldier held me back.

“Please,” he said, with a courtly gesture. Then he smiled and waved toward the embassy. He insisted I photograph that hideous building from every possible angle. Then, at last, he let me go.

The other journalists were very jealous that I got arrested. They wanted to know every single detail. They could not get over it.

During the next week, we went to so many magnificent places—Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Madaba, Aljoun. We sailed on the Red Sea. We had tea with Queen Noor, a transplanted American, at her private villa. We had fabulous food in seaside restaurants, on family farms, and in a Bedouin tent way out in the desert. Everything was fresh, delicious, beautifully scented—and new to us. Everybody was so nice. It was an amazing journey.

But late at night when we got to drinking, somebody would always say:

“Candace got arrested. We will never top that.”

This happened to a close friend of my best bud.

He was dating this girl for over 2 years. They were like the best looking couple I have ever seen. They were living together in his house. Her family loved him and was happy that their golden child found her soulmate.

One day he caught her texting her ex. He was reading all her messages from his iPad which was synced with her phone. It was a boundary that was established earlier and she crossed it. However, he didn’t break up with her.

He started taking screenshots of all the messages and pics. After a month or so later, she decided to meet her ex at Vegas using “girl’s night“ as an excuse. She arranged two of her friends to give her cover while she was in Vegas. The second her flight took off, he changed his locks. He blocked her number and all of her social media. He called us to his house to help him pack her stuff and drop it at her friends house who “was in Vegas”. As a final f-u to her, he went to her parent’s house and told them what had happened. He also showed them all the screenshots and pics. They couldn’t believe that their golden child would do something so evil.

Her parents hate her now. She is now roommates with some druggies. One of the friend who tried to give her cover was dumped by her boyfriend for being a part of this plan.

Would recommend doing this to your cheating partner.

EDIT: Wow! This blew up real fast.

Many of you are wondering why her parents would hate their own child. Cheating did make them mad. But what made them hate her were the texts where she trashed everyone including her parents. One of which made fun of her mother’s weight issue and gave her parent’s marriage 6 months time after which she would hire someone to seduce her Dad as “he deserved someone hotter than mom”. I should have made that clear.

Corporate treatment of YOU

My son did his Doctorate in the US and began his Post Doctoral Career there

It was strenuous

He had a 3 year Bond with MOE in Singapore for his Masters Degree for which he had a Grant from the MOE (MOE = Ministry of Education)

He also had loans during his Doctorate to fund his expenses in US

Plus every single year they had to write a grant application and their salaries were dependent on the grant

It was literally begging for money and cutting many aspects of research due to lack of grant money.

Sometimes his wife who taught Middle School Maths earned better than he did

Then he applied for a Job at the NTU School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences to teach Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to Bachelor of Computing Students

While asking for a reference, his Professor from NTU advised him to apply for the position of Senior Researcher in China working on Interfacing for Regression Algorithms (Whatever it means) and application of the same for Autonomous navigation systems

A Chinese company was funding research for 10 years at a Chinese University

He asked for my advise

I said go for it

The Chinese company paid off his full loans in US and Singapore as a Bonus with only 50% repayable at no interest across 5 years

No begging for Grant money every year. Fixed pay, allowances, able to save much more

His daughter gets full waiver on private school fees as the school is within the university campus for all foreign faculty children

So no school fees

No fear of student gangs or kids selling drugs in school or transgender students or teachers

He plans to work 10 years in China and then move to Singapore as an Associate Professor and get a Citizenship there (He is still a PR)

The only small flaw is

First his house is a flat which is around 1300 SFT and at a nominal rent of 800 RMB (Owned by the Company)

In US he had a larger independent house with a lawn and driveway.

Second is Mandarin

He gets free classes on Saturdays but it’s a tough language. His daughter picks up faster, much faster.


So basically for a better life

Postdocs in US at University don’t have it as good as Postdocs in the Private Sector

China is a career changing option

He still is part of a start up in US and while he had to sign a lot of papers for the same in US , he doesn’t have to in China

1. Love is a feeling, not a decision.

2. People always relate to a person that they love with their best songs.

3. The average male spends 43 minutes a day staring at 10 different women.

4. If you want to know whether someone likes you or not, try to make them laugh. If the laughter comes easy, the answer is yes.

5. When you’re drunk, you will rate people on a higher scale.

6. You are more likely to be attracted to someone you have no chance with.

7. To attract the right type when online dating, choose a right application

over improving your profile.

8. We are more likely to love or hate people that are very similar to us.

9. Women are more influenced and persuaded by a man’s sense of humor than his looks.

10. Women tend to feel loved when talking face-to-face with their partners whereas men prefer to play or talk side-by-side.

All men want this.

All of us.

Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

Israel’s allowed to bomb an Iranian consulate, but Iran’s not allowed to strike back. The US is allowed to surround China with war machinery, but it would be World War Three if China ever tried to militarily encircle the US. NATO is allowed to expand to Russia’s doorstep and amass proxy forces on its border, but the last time Moscow placed a credible military threat anywhere near the United States, the US responded so aggressively that the world almost ended.

The “rules-based international order” that the US-centralized power structure purports to uphold just means an order in which the US makes up the rules and nations had better obey them. It means rules for thee but not for me.

Democrats are currently committing genocide, pushing through terrifying NSA surveillance powers, and working to imprison a journalist for life for telling the truth about US war crimes, but it’s very important to support Biden because if Trump wins, fascism might come to America.

The Assange extradition case is like if the mafia was demanding a snitch be extradited to Italy and multiple nations collaborated with them to help make this happen, except in this case the snitch is a journalist who told the truth, and the mob happens to run a global superpower.

The imperial media are once again trotting out John Bolton to help sell the idea of war with Iran. This monster belongs in a cage, not on camera. The fact that the mainstream western press keep having this completely discredited bloodthirsty psychopath on their shows to advocate every possible US war proves that our entire civilization is diseased.

Israel’s actions over the last six months have made it abundantly clear that Biden’s stated goal of preventing the outbreak of more war in the middle east and his stated “ironclad” support for Israel are two mutually exclusive positions. You can do one or the other, but not both.

Outside the mainstream press the news about Ukraine is a nonstop deluge of stories about how badly things are going for them.

Here are some recent articles from Antiwar.com:

Ukraine’s Top General Says Situation on the Battlefield Has ‘Significantly Worsened’” discusses Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s acknowledgement that Russia is making steady gains and that the frontlines in Ukraine are at risk of collapsing wherever Russia focuses its offensive.

US General Says Russia’s Military Is Bigger Than Before Ukraine Invasion” quotes General Christopher Cavoli saying “The army is actually now larger — by 15% — than it was when it invaded Ukraine,” an acknowledgement that Washington’s stated goal of using this proxy war to “weaken” Russia has failed.

Russia Quickly Restores Oil Refinery Capability Hurt By Ukrainian Attacks” discusses how badly Russia is damaging Ukraine’s energy infrastructure compared to the damage Ukraine has been able to deal to Russia’s.

Here are a couple more from The Libertarian Institute:

US Official Admits Ukraine Proxy War Failing to Weaken Russia” features an acknowledgement from Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell that Russia has reconstituted nearly all of its military losses in Ukraine.

Ukraine Tightens Rules on Military Service, Angering Soldiers” reports on how “Ukraine’s legislature advanced multiple new laws that tighten rules on conscription and extend military services for those already in uniform.”

It’s absolutely criminal how the west pushed this country into sacrificing a generation to a war they always knew was unwinnable.

So much suffering and loss has been caused by the way people decided a long time ago that killing one person is murder and therefore immoral but killing thousands of people is “war” and therefore fine. The actual act is the same; only the narrative and the scale are different.

Around the mid-1800s humanity began to notice it doesn’t make sense for a small group of rich people to own everything and for everyone else to continually give that group labor, rent and expenses just to stay alive, and ever since then the media, the mainstream culture and the foreign policy of the ruling class have been intensely devoted to aggressively erasing this realization from humanity’s memory.

Yes. This is very odd.

China wants to literally dig its way around geopolitical challenges

A Beijing-funded shipping canal will reduce regional reliance on Vietnam, a fellow communist state and traditional rival
  1. When a woman no longer gets upset & frustrated with you, you can almost guarantee that she doesn’t care for you anymore.
  2. The pain that compels a man to remain silent is much more severe than pain that compels to shout.
  3. Even if they say they’re always there for you, sometimes you just can’t reach them.
  4. The world is full of players, be a game changer.
  5. The distance between your dream & reality is called action.
  6. Sometimes later becomes never, do it now.
  7. People who think they’re crazy enough to change the world are the ones who do.
  8. Never waste your feelings on someone who don’t value them.
  9. Appreciate what you’ve before it becomes what you had.
  10. Don’t tell people your plans. Show them your results.
  11. The only way to change who you’re is to change what you do.
  12. The older you get the calmer you get coz the older you get the more you realize none of the shit even matters.
  13. Don’t regret the things you’ve done. Regret the things you didn’t do when you had the chance.
  14. Sometimes it’s good to pretend that we don’t care.

American companies are looting Americans

New Mexico Chili con Carne

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12JPCHILI2 articleLarge v3

Ingredients

1 pound lean beef, coarsely ground
1 pound pork, coarsely ground
1/4 cup olive or peanut oil
1 onion, chopped coarsely
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, run through a food processor
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper sauce, to taste
1 quart cooked pinto or kidney beans (optional)

Instructions

Brown meat in hot oil in a large pot. Add onions and garlic while cooking.
Then add all other ingredients and three or more cups of water. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours until meat is tender.

Notes

Chili con Carne with Frijoles: Add the quart of cooked beans.

Chili con Queso: Stir in shredded Cheddar cheese or canned cheese sauce with jalapeño peppers.

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[Commenting on remarks by UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron regarding the Iranian response to the Israeli attack on the Iran's Consulate in Damascus.]

"I've learned something over the years—I know David Cameron personally, and I know a lot of British leaders.

For a long time, I just loved listening to them because they speak English so beautifully.

But what they say is so absurd, so stupid, yet it's so beautiful that it really had me fooled for many decades.

The British are the worst at this; they're even worse than the Americans because they had a longer imperial reign.

What empire does is make you so arrogant that you think you can say anything and squash anyone that opposes you.

It becomes a game to see what you can say that's so outrageous but so authoritative that you can get away with it.

And so, the British are the most hypocritical country in modern times.

They're not the most powerful—they used to be the most powerful—but they're the most hypocritical because they had the most violent, militaristic empire in the modern world.

They left behind all of these problems.

Now, they want to be a sidekick of the United States, cheerleading on but with their good old imperial ideas.

It's a kind of absurdity at this point, but it's a lot of nerve because—why are we in such a crisis in the Middle East?

Because Britain wrecked the Middle East after World War I."

Excerpt from remarks by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and academic, in an interview with Judge Napolitano, April 16, 2024.

Super loungin’

My former boss had bought a car when they were rolling out LoJack. They bought a ford explorer and got the LoJack added. They had just got LAPD up and running on the LoJack and they had the car for 6 months when one morning they let the dog out and saw their car drive off. They called the police the west valley lapd and lapd connected to the LoJack and they followed the car.

The car was tracked to Long Beach so lapd worked with LA county sheriff’s and California highway patrol and Long Beach police. The car was found by LoJack in a shipping container with several other stolen cars. The police were able to stop a large international stolen vehicle ring. They were able to link the container with several other containers.

The insurance company replaced the car and they buy LoJack with every car they buy. The car was held as evidence for the court cases. LoJack did what it was supposed to do. Since they happened to catch the car before the container was loaded on a ship they were able to put an end to a stolen car ring.

Around the same time there was a story in the Los Angeles times about a stolen Mazda that LoJack traced from Los Angeles to Mexico and with the Mexican police LoJack recovered the car in the living room of a house just outside of Tijuana. That car was returned to the owner.

China’s Xi Jinping holds a meeting with top American CEO’s.

My mom was a nurse. A navy nurse. I’d always known that and we saw her give allergy shots to one of our neighbors’ kid in exchange for his mother making dresses for us girls. This lady had two boys but loved to sew girls clothes and taking her son to the doctor every couple of weeks for his allergy shots was expensive. However, my mom stayed home to raise her children after I was born because they had saved up enough from both of them working and living with my mother’s parents to finally buy a house. My grandmother had looked after my brother and sister while my mother worked but I’d never seen her in action up until that time.

Around 1975 or there abouts, all seven of us were off in the old, dented gold station wagon on some trip or another to visit grandparents. One set had retired to Florida and the other lived in Michigan, so each was a long road trip from the Washington DC area where we lived. I was about eight or nine at the time.

One hot afternoon, we were coming along a road, when we saw an accident. A man’s car had crashed and he stumbled out of the car into the road, covered in blood and broken glass. I wonder now if he didn’t go through the windshield. My mom made my dad pull over so to give aid. I remember her having him sit down in the back passenger seat beside her, after rearranging the five kids, and me sitting next to her on the seat, with her back turned to me while she treated him. I had never seen anything as scary as that horrible, bloody mess in my entire life. I remember my younger sisters in the station wagon’s rear- facing back seat crying quietly and hiding their eyes. I probably was too. We had to stay in the parked car because my parents didn’t want any of us wandering off. I remember my older brother and sister’s shocked faces looking over the backs of the seats watching as much as they could stand and my brother handing my mother tissues or paper towels as she barked out commands for supplies. She has always carried a pair of bandage scissors in her purse and still does to this day. I remember her demanding that my dad and brother find them and using them to cut down compresses to the size she wanted. I remember getting sick and having to open the car door to throw up on the side of the road into the dusty grass. Hardly any notice was taken of this since I was not the point of crisis. At some point after that, my dad drove us all to the nearest gas station to call for help, since this was way before the advent of cell phones. They told us that the police had been called and help was on the way but to take the man back to the accident site to meet the responders. I just remember my mother’s fierce calm as she daubed away the blood and had him hold pressure on bleeding cuts as she assessed the condition and ruffled through his hair looking for more cuts, with the bits of broken glass tumbling off him. My parents had a hard time getting a clear story out of the man, who may have been in his late teens or early twenties. I don’t know if it was the effect of his injuries or if he was already impaired and that was what caused the one-car accident in the first place. The narrative of how it all played out is spotty after all these years but eventually the police must have come and taken him out of our car so we finally got back on our way. I remember finding little hexagons of broken glass in the car for a long time after that.

I know that it made a huge effect on all of us. As a child, my older brother had always wanted to be a paramedic, inspired by the TV show “Emergency,” but this was the first time that any of us had seen, heard and most importantly smelled the real thing. He went on to join the army. Pretty much all five of us have gone on to be tough, strong nerved and calm in a crisis. We now all know basic first aid and have the wherewithal to step up in an emergency and do what needs to be done.

While in the army, my brother contracted a viral infection overseas and was in a coma for a few days. My mother held it together and communicated with the doctors and got us all the vital information we so desperately longed for on my brother’s condition. She calmed and reassured us.

I know that in college, while working security, my brother had given CPR to a man who dropped dead from a heart attack in front of him and another security guard. My brother was taking action, directing people to call for help while he assessed the man and began chest compressions. He was shocked that the other security guard just stood there, sullenly, refusing to help or to do anything as my brother directed him to begin mouth to mouth. The patient could not be revived and died. My brother was so angry, upset and disgusted and thought that there may have been some racial prejudice on the part of the other guard. He blamed and yelled at the other guard for his stupidity for not even phoning for the emergency service. The dying man’s adult son had to do that while being practically incoherent with worry over his father. The concept of not helping when one could help was so entirely foreign to my brother, thanks to being my mother’s son.

My mother told him that her first CPR patient had also died and that actually reviving people is not very common. My mom said that she, a tiny little student nurse, was sitting astride a great, fat man as they wheeled him into the emergency room. The man had had an aortic aneurysm burst and all my mothers’ chest compressions were just making him bleed out faster.

Once, my year-old nephew choked on a bit of gristle from a spare rib. My mother grabbed him, turned him over, swatted him on his back, then reached up with her finger and dislodged the obstruction from his airway, all before my sister could finish dialing 911. She literally saved his life in front of us all.

When her own mother slipped away into a coma from failing kidneys, my mom and her brother made the clear-eyed, rational decisions to stop invasive medical intervention and withdraw life support in accordance with the living will that my grandparents had signed and that I had signed as a witness. Even though I knew that this was my grandmother’s repeatedly stated and expressed directive, I wasn’t ready to let her go and couldn’t watch to the end. I finally went into another room to sleep in a chair while my mother and her brother stood on either side of my grandmother and held her hand through that endless night as she died. My dad and I had to do the same thing a few years later when his father was declared irretrievably brain dead after a car accident. I know my mother’s example helped me to step up for my dad and my uncles that second, horrible night. My mom couldn’t get there until the next day.

A few years ago, my brother broke his thigh into five pieces on his 89th and final military static line jump just before he retired from the military. My parents were out of town, skiing, and my older sister and I each drove from Florida and the DC area respectively, to be with him in North Carolina. My sister had to go back to work so I ended up staying to care for him after they released him from the hospital. He needed personal care day and night, wound care and supervision about his meds. Percocet made it hard for him to keep track of what he had taken. He was in a wheel chair that needed to be hauled into and out of the car. It was exhausting. My parents got there by the following weekend. I remember all four of us and the wheel chair all crammed into the orthopedic surgeon’s tiny office, looking at X-rays and discussing his future prognosis. After a week, I had to get home to my child, my dad had to go back to teach skiing and my five foot-two, seventy-four year old mother stayed and looked after my 5′9″, 180 lb brother for another six weeks until they could transfer his out-patient care to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Then he stayed with my parents and she continued to look after him for months until he got back on his feet.

She’s delivered babies, given birth to her own five babies, waited while her grandchildren were being born and given last rites to a stillborn child while a navy nurse. She can give commands that make sailors, marines, corpsmen and kids jump to order. She’s talked down psych patients in psychotic episodes. She’d given me some of my vaccinations. She helped give her mother insulin shots and when I had to take a course of injections which I hated, she gave me shots when I couldn’t reach the injection site on the back of my right arm.

My mom was a registered nurse, a Navy Lt. JG, an emergency room nurse, a pediatric nurse, a public health nurse and a psyche nurse. She is calm, collected and brave. She’ll be eighty next year. She is a still a total bad ass. As I said in the comments, she’s now had both knees replaced so on top of everything else, she’s now a cyborg.

Update: Someone in the comments said that this story inspired them to take first aid classes. That is absolutely the sort of inspiration that my mother would want to be. That, nursing school, sound nutrition, exercise, Catholicism and taking up skiing. So, you know, take your pick.

U.S./EU Lobby Against Georgian Law That Would Reveal Their Secret Influence

The government of Georgia has tried for some time to implement a law “On transparency of foreign influence”. Its aim is to publicly identify organizations and parties who receive a significant amount of their budget from abroad:

The draft law “In order to ensure transparency”, initiated for the second time by the Georgian Dream faction, envisages the registration of such non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities and media outlets, whose income – more than 20% – is received from abroad as an organization carrying out the interests of a foreign power. According to the project, everyone who is considered an “organization carrying the interests of a foreign power” must be registered in the public register under the same name in a mandatory manner. At the time of registration, it will be necessary to reflect the received income. At the same time, the organizations will have the obligation to fill in the financial declaration every year.

Those organization who currently receive money from the various U.S. or EU government or non-government organizations are of course not amused that they will have to reveal their association with such sources. They want to lobby for foreign positions without being identified as foreign influencers.

They have therefore launched protests against their country’s government and parliament which has passed the law in the first reading. Two further readings will be required to finalize the law.

The protesters against the law claim that it is a “Russian law” against “foreign agents”.

Since 2012 Russia does have a law that is somewhat similar to what Georgia is attempting to implement but such type of laws are certainly not a Russian intervention:

Supporters of the [Russian version of the] law have likened it to similar legislation in the US that requires lobbyists employed by foreign governments to reveal their financing.

The U.S. equivalent to the Russian and Georgian law is of course the much older Foreign Agents Registration Act:

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) (22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.) is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. It requires “foreign agents”—defined as individuals or entities engaged in domestic lobbying or advocacy for foreign governments, organizations, or persons (“foreign principals”)—to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and disclose their relationship, activities, and related financial compensation.

FARA was enacted in 1938 primarily to counter Nazi propaganda, with an initial focus on criminal prosecution of subversive activities; since 1966, enforcement has shifted mostly to civil penalties and voluntary compliance.For most of its existence, FARA was relatively obscure and rarely invoked; since 2017, the law has been enforced with far greater regularity and intensity, particularly against officials connected to the Trump administration. Subsequent high-profile indictments and convictions under FARA have prompted greater public, political, and legal scrutiny, including calls for reform.

FARA is administered and enforced by the FARA Unit of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES) within the DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD). Since 2016, there has been a 30 percent increase in registrations; as of November 2022, there were over 500 active foreign agents registered with the FARA Unit.

The Washington Post, without mentioning the long standing FARA law which is at least as strict as the new Georgian one, falsely insists that the original idea of the new Georgian law is indeed Russian:

Georgia pushes Russian-style ‘foreign agent’ law, putting E.U. bid at risk

Georgia’s Parliament voted Wednesday to advance deeply contentious legislation aimed at cracking down on “foreign agents” — an echo of a similar law in Russia that has been used to crush political dissent.In Georgia, the bill has sparked huge street protests and drawn condemnation, including from President Salome Zourabichvili, who is not a member of the Georgian Dream political party, which controls Parliament and the government.

Zourabichvili and other critics say the bill is itself an instrument of foreign interference — backed by Russia and intended to undermine Georgia’s bid to join the European Union.

On Tuesday evening, as some protesters clashed with police in the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, Zourabichvili said the bill was evidence of Russian meddling.

However neither is the law “Russian style” – it is a copy of FARA – nor does the law include the loaded word “agent”. It does not accuse anyone of being such but seeks public transparency over foreign financial influences which would of course also include Russian ones.

The protests against the law look like an attempt of a typical color revolution:

17 Apr 23:15 – “Let’s demand that the Prime Minister talks to us” – rally participants moved towards the government administrationAfter Levan Tsutskiridze, co-founder of the “European Platform of Georgia” group, announced the plan of action, demonstrators headed towards the government chancellery and demanded a meeting with the Prime Minister. Tsutskiridze proposed demanding that the government repeal the law and release those detained the day before. Police and security forces are strengthening their cordon near the chancellery building.

At 21:30 rally participants presented an ultimatum to the authorities demanding the repeal of the law and gave them one hour to make this statement.

Attempts to storm or blockade government buildings have been pushed back. The government is holding firm. It has a solid majority in parliament and can outvote a potential presidential veto.

Every Georgian decision maker has the Ukrainian “Maidan revolution” in mind during which the opposition used snipers (allegedly from Georgia!) shot at police as well as protesters.

We can be sure that the Georgian government is aware and well prepared for such an escalation.

The law is likely to pass. Soon thereafter a majority of the organizations which currently organize the street protests against the law will have to admit that they are the foreign paid influencers the law is aimed at to reveal their dubious interests.

Posted by b on April 18, 2024 at 13:12 UTC | Permalink

  1. Take a cold shower in the morning to increase alertness.
  2. Similarly, eat an apple in the morning instead of consuming caffeine to increase alertness.
  3. Pick your work outfit the night before, so that you don’t waste time messing up your closet in the morning.
  4. Create your lunch the night before, to give you more time to eat breakfast in the morning.
  5. Create food in batches. Put the food in containers and place them in the freezer. Food lasts longer this way.
  6. Get into the habit of cleaning as you go. Don’t leave the mess to build up. It’ll only cause you to feel more stressed and anxious.
  7. Don’t hoard items. If you don’t need something, throw it away.
  8. Keep your workspace tidy and file all important information away in an organised manner.
  9. Talk about your feelings, no matter how hard it may seem. If you can’t talk, write.
  10. When you need to reflect or think, take a long walk.
  11. Get into the habit of saving money. Put aside a percentage of your earnings every week.
  12. Find time for yourself. It’s important to let your body rest. Sometimes, it’s okay to simply do nothing.
  13. Take short breaks during work as this will help you remain focused.
  14. Adopt a positive mindset. When something doesn’t go your way, learn from it and if it brings you ease, tell yourself that it could have been worse.
  15. Engage in meditation, prayer or mindfulness.
  16. Read every single day, to increase your vocabulary and to gain knowledge.
  17. Ask questions. If you don’t understand something, ask for help.
  18. Get into the habit of saying ‘no’ when you need to.
  19. Drink plenty of water, every day.
  20. Control your junk food intake.
  21. Remove make-up before you go to sleep.
  22. Eat chocolate in moderation. Or alternatively, eat a sweet fruit.
  23. If you don’t like water, drink flavoured water.
  24. Exercise daily. If you’re too busy, take a 10 minute walk.
  25. When you’re studying, remove all distractions, including your phone. Try to study somewhere, other than your bedroom.
  26. If you find social media distracting, deactivate or delete the app. It really isn’t that hard.
  27. Spend time with those you love. Those are the memories you want to hold on to forever.

The BRICS Just Secretly Acquired These 3 Assets To Crash The US Economy | Andy Schectman

A different view point. A little dry for me personally, but suggest that the Global South has all things in hand.

No not at all. Americans are threaten with better cars that they will drool over and they will loved to own and it will cost them half of they will pay for the US brands and giving them twice their mileage with the same dollar they spend on their present gas guzzler and a third of the cost to maintain it.

That is the real threat the American government are worried about for its citizens. Getting value for money. It needs to protect its so call too big to fail corporations that sells you overpriced and underperforming vehicles by profiteering on the ooor and the middle class in the U.S.

Is that the threat? Ask your government if you guys are not made brain dead by the U.S. government!

Ancient marine reptile found on UK beach may be the largest ever

The jawbone of an ichthyosaur uncovered in south-west England has been identified as a new species, and researchers estimate that the whole animal was 20 to 25 metres long

Washed up on shore
Washed up on shore

By Chen Ly

The 200-million-year-old fossilised remains of an ancient ichthyosaur, unearthed on a beach in south-west England, may be part of the largest marine reptile ever found.

In 2020, amateur fossil hunters stumbled across a giant chunk of bone at Blue Anchor beach in Somerset. Upon further inspection, Dean Lomax at the University of Manchester, UK, and his colleagues quickly realised that it was a jawbone fragment of a giant ichthyosaur – a kind of reptile that roamed the oceans between 250 and 90 million years ago.

Subsequent digs at the beach have uncovered 11 more fragments, allowing the team to partially piece together a bone that sits in the back of the jaw called a surangular.

This latest discovery comes after a 2018 report that described a similar ichthyosaur jawbone found on a different Somerset beach. At the time, the team didn’t have enough evidence to determine its species.

“It was very clear that this was another one of these giant jawbones,” says Lomax. “So I was very, very excited.”

My landlord sent me a text once and told me “you know you’re not allowed to sublet” I just asked her what she meant. She said that she had reason to believe that I was subletting. I explained that I share a 1 bedroom apartment with my adult daughter and couldn’t imagine where I would put anyone else. Then asked her what led her to believe this. She said that multiple people had been seen coming and going from the property carrying luggage and other belongings. I explained that is the neighborhood just north of me who rents out her spare room on short term rental. She insisted that it was me. So I asked where she got her information. She insisted that she had parked across the street and watched it. I said so you’re watching me? She stated that she has the right to keep an eye on her property. I said well of course you do but I have difficulty believing that you drove the several hours from your home to mine to just watch me when it takes several weeks and at least 2 rescheduled appointments to get you to come make repairs. She made a snarky comment about how if I don’t like it I can leave but she stopped making accusations and now leaves me alone. For me I believe it was the neighbor on the other side of my duplex who has been complaining about me since I moved in.

I took my dad to a Starbucks….once. Dad had previously managed the largest coffee roasting plant in the world. The man knew coffee. At the time we visited Starbucks, dad was older and more feeble. I thought he would enjoy it.

First of all, the sizes. Who is Starbucks trying to impress? When your seventy or eighty something, the sizes are small, medium, large, and I guess extra large. Not eenie, meenie, miney or whatever words they think are so cool. The man who has been drinking coffee since before your founder was born knows that.

Dad had to talk to the barista. I don’t know and he didn’t know if being a barista is a career path or not. To Dad, that kid behind the counter was regarded pretty much like the kid at McDonald’s McD’s may have been held higher. Dad loved fries. But dad wanted to talk with the barista. “What kind of coffee are you serving?” The kid responded. Not the answer Dad wanted. Dad asked about the roasting, the blending, and the grinding of the coffee (apparently there are several ways to grind coffee or dad, at this point was yanking the kid’s chain about the grinding.). None the less, the kid was deemed to be “an idiot”, who according to dad, “ Didn’t know a “damn thing” about coffee.” Dad schooled the kid in coffee. Foam or no foam? Foam? This isn’t laundry; this was coffee. And, according to Dad, if the coffee is decent, you “don’t need all that crap.” No foam.”

Then finally, it was time to actually drink the coffee. I am not a fan of Starbucks, but said nothing. Dad had plenty to say. None of it was good. Dad told the kid that he had “burned” the coffee or he had some bad beans. The kid looked at me for a rescue on this one. I shrugged and shook my head trying to explain that, sorry, your coffee has never tasted right to me.

We left and I took Dad someplace where I knew he would get a good cup of coffee. But that day, in Starbucks where patrons normally act as if they were enjoying the nectar of Gods instead of a cup of coffee, my dad’s interactions were pretty inappropriate. Go Dad!

Chili and chips

I’ve been having a lot of perfect days lately, working from home. They go like this:

  1. wake up without an alarm clock (I don’t need one, I go to bed at ten and am up at six, every day, happy to get up and do stuff).
  2. distribute a round of cuddles and canned breakfast to the house panthers, who will be staging a drama already for being famished and helpless little things.
  3. boil up hot water for some suitable morning cuppa, typically grain coffee, maté, or hot water with stevia.
  4. recline on the couch with my laptop and try to comprehend the world.
  5. as temperatures pick up outside, eventually switch to sitting in my hammock under the birch tree and work from there.
  6. have some lunch; I’ve gotten pretty good at cooking in ways that are barely noticeable, so I just go inside and, miraculously, edible things await.
  7. do some tinkering around the house, improving this or that a little bit, often just with wire and a nail.
  8. work some more.
  9. go photograph something, possibly by car.
  10. come home and feed the panthers again, then possibly hammock or TV-room with interesting documentaries until I go to bed again.

1. About 75 percent of the brain is made up of water. This means that dehydration,

2. Can have negative effects on brain function, even in small amounts.

3. The human brain will grow to three times its size in the first year of life. It continues to grow until you are about 18 years old.

4. Headaches are caused by a chemical reaction in your brain combined with the muscles and nerves in your neck and head.

5. Your brain uses 20 percent of the oxygen and blood in your body.

6. Alcohol affects your brain in ways that include blurred vision, slurred speech, an unsteady walk, and more. These usually disappear when you calm down again. However, if you drink frequently over a long period of time, there is evidence that alcohol can permanently affect your brain and once again not sober up. Long-term effects include memory problems and some reduced cognitive function.

7. If the brain does not get oxygen for 5-6 minutes, then it stops working forever.

8. As we grow older, the human brain becomes smaller. This usually occurs sometime after middle age.

9. The human brain starts to lose some cognitive skills by your late 20s, along with your memory abilities.

10. A brain freeze is actually a sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. It happens when you eat or drink something that is cold. This stretches blood vessels and arteries to the very back of the throat, including blood to your brain. These compress when they are cold and heat up again, causing pain in your forehead.

11. Dreams are thought to be a combination of imagery, phycological factors and neurological factors. They prove that your brain is working even when you are sleeping.

12. It is a myth that humans only use 10 percent of our brain. We actually use it. We use more than 10 percent when we sleep.

13. During human evolution, the brain has tripled in size.

14. Your brain uses the same amount of power as a 15 watt light bulb.

It gets very cold in Michigan and I have a very large, down-filled winter coat. It’s somewhat hideous but it’s very warm.

Apparently coats like mine are great for shop lifting. You simply place a hole in the pockets and drop items that you’ve casually picked up and drop them to the bottom of the coat as you shop/steal. It’s difficult to tell that you have stolen anything because the coat itself is so large.

I was shopping in a card shop a while back and the sales woman there accused me of shop-lifting, because of my coat. When I was at the register to pay for ALL of my items she asked me if I would also like to pay for the items inside of my coat as well.

I smiled and I gently laughed and asked her “Are you kidding me?” I told her that I was a shop owner myself and that I would never steal anything from anyone.

She looked at me in a slightly disgusted way and rolled her eyes. “Oh. So that’s how it’s going to be!” She didn’t ask me about my store or attempt to apologize. She just stared at me. Hmm… I thought.

I had quite a large number of items that I did want to buy and I had been quite a regular customer there for some time. I was beyond insulted, but I understood her frustration, even though I was shocked.

I took off my coat, gently put it on the counter and opened my purse. “Would you care to inspect my belongings?” I said in a calm and polite way. She patted down my coat and glanced in my rather small purse. She then slid my coat over and without apologizing, began to ring up my items.

I let her ring up everything, staring back at her silently as I waited for an apology. Nothing.

I didn’t reach in my purse to pay. Instead I pushed the items back at her gently and I told her “I’m sorry but I’ve changed my mind. Not about the items, I still want them but I think I’ll take my business elsewhere, where my business is appreciated. There are lots of stores, exactly like yours.” And I left. And I held my head up without shame or anger. But what I really felt was hurt.

I went a few miles down the street to another shop that offered the exact same items and I left that store with all of them. The bill was well over $100.00 .

I understand that shop lifting is a problem but honesty is not. I gave the first woman every opportunity to make the situation right but I really felt that she did owe me an apology. I didn’t think that it was too much to ask for considering the insulting way that she had treated me in her store.

I give all of my business now to the other shop owner. Yes, it’s a bit further to drive but I feel I’d rather go without than give the first shop owner even one dime of my hard-earned money. In my opinion there is no reason, whatsoever, to treat anyone like that.

The savage killing of serial rapist Akku Yadav by a mob of women he raped is one of the most brutal revenge of all time in Indian History.

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main qimg 3338c40f50fcf6bea8a390886f37620b lq
  • On August 13, 2004, Akku Yadav was lynched by a mob of around 200 women from Kasturba Nagar, a slum of Nagpur in Maharashtra.
  • He raped more than 200 women that mostly belonging to Dalit families, the Untouchables, those placed at the bottom of the caste ladder in India. The members of the Dalit community received little to no help from the government authorities.
  • Akku Yadav fed the local officers bribes and drink, and they protected him and dropped his cases. Despite countless women coming forward with allegations of rape against him, Akku Yadav always felt free to rape whomever he wanted.

Whenever a victim reported him to the police, the authorities would alert Yadav, who then visit that women and threaten to throw acid on her and rape her again. He had raped so many women in Kasturba Nagar that a rape victim lives in almost every other house in the slum.

Source:- From Castration To The Killdozer, These Are History’s Greatest Stories Of Revenge

  • Usha Narayane, a victim who had repeatedly been harassed by Akku Yadav reported the case about Akku Yadav to the Deputy Commissioner, who promised her that police would soon arrest the serial rapist. One day Akku Yadav himself surrendered to the police fearing his death by local women.
  • The next day in court, Narayane and many other local women heard that the Akku Yadav was likely to escape punishment yet again. Together, they entered into the court in large numbers armed with vegetable knives, stones, and whatever else that was at hand.
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main qimg 05db99f2b2d520f0f45ed35168c8cc45 lq

As he walked in, Akku Yadav spotted one of the women he had raped. He called her a prostitute and threatened to repeat the same crime again. The police laughed. She took off her sandal and began to hit him and started saying that, “We can’t both live on this Earth together. It’s you or me”. The attack lasted for more than ten minutes and left Yadav’s dead body butchered on the courtroom floor with 70 stab wounds and his penis cut off.

Source:- From Castration To The Killdozer, These Are History’s Greatest Stories Of Revenge

  • Usha Narayane, a local activist, was arrested and charged with murder, as with other women. In 2012, Narayane was released from custody. 21 other people, including six women, were also arrested and released due to lack of evidence.

Justice Bhau Vahane said, “In the circumstances that they underwent, they were left with no alternative but to finish Akku Yadav. The women repeatedly pleaded with the police for their security. But the police failed to protect them”.

Source:- ‘Arrest us all’: the 200 women who killed a rapist

  • The death of Akku Yadav at the hands of the women he raped was one of the most brutal stories of revenge in Indian History.
main qimg d878079f2f8fe31c55cd407ce06fb1fd lq
main qimg d878079f2f8fe31c55cd407ce06fb1fd lq

  • Source of this news and story from where I have written this content:-
  1. From Castration To The Killdozer, These Are History’s Greatest Stories Of Revenge

Hot Turkey and Cheddar Casserole

Hot Turkey and Cheddar Casserole
Hot Turkey and Cheddar Casserole

Ingredients

  • Butter
  • 3 cups (about 16 ounces) cubed (1 inch) leftover turkey
  • 3/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1 (5 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon grated onion
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1 cup cornflakes, crushed

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine turkey, celery, water chestnuts, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, 1 cup Cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese; mix well. Place the mixture in the baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through.
  3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and cornflakes.
  4. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the baked turkey casserole, and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

4B movement and government destruction to the end

Why the West claims Hong Kong is under Chinese oppression while absolutely ZERO person were killed by the police in 2019 and it is actually the West and British who illegally attacked, occupied and oppressed Hong Kong?

It’s simple. Many british people won’t look very deeply into the actual details of the situation as such they imagine Hong Kong was almost exactly the same as life in the UK other than it was filled with Chinese people and hotter humid weather.

So when the BBC and politicians lie about it, they take it at face value and either aren’t invested enough to check it out in more depth or simply trust politicians at what they say.

A great example is how many think Hong Kong was democratic before 1997. I ask them who elected the governor of Hong Kong… they have no answer… now and again this is great because it makes them ask further questions and makes them question their position. Most however don’t and simply double down.

The other group were the occupiers, yes occupiers is a correct word. June 1972 during the 27th meeting of the UN, Hong Kong was taken off the list of British colonies and it was instead considered an occupation. The occupiers lived a privileged life compared to local people in Hong Kong.

This is demonstrated with Kowloon Walled city. People view it as holy fucking shit, but Walled city wasn’t unusual it was only demolished in 1993.

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main qimg 213ed56aa25e47ab0e47c8cd043bcfc3

The big apartment blocks to the north only started being built in the late 70s and 80s. Most people were living in shanty towns dotted all over.

SHOCK: Technology Already Developed to put “Vaccines” in Lettuce, Tomatos, and . . . Tobacco Products!

The Tennessee state legislature held hearings about putting “Vaccines” in consumer products like food and tobacco. The hearing revealed startling information . . .

Rep. Scott Cepicky revealed that the University of California at Riverside has “already perfected the ability to put Human Vaccines into our lettuce right now.”  He went on to add  “Also Tomatoes, has the ability to do that also, from UC Berkely, and also RJ Reynolds has developed the ability to put Human “Vaccines” into Tobacco products.”

Rep. John Ray Clemmons then inquired “Is that even legal to do in the state of Tennessee, to sell those with a Vaccine in them?”

Rep. Cepicky responded “I’m not arguing that, all I’m saying is that if a person walks into a grocery store you as a Consumer should know  __this__ head of lettuce __is__ a head of lettuce, but __this other__ head of lettuce right next to it, could contain a Vaccine in it.  All we’re saying is, if it does have the vaccine in it, make sure it’s listed as a Pharmaceutical so people can get the proper dosage.”

Hal Turner Snap Editorial

The idea that companies would DARE to presume to include “vaccines” in Human food seems outrageous to me.   Who do these people think they are?  They have no right to put some medical treatment into food for Humans and thereby into people’s bodies without informed consent.

Take the COVID Vax for instance.   We were all told it was “safe and effective.”  Those claims turned out to be false.  The vaccines harmed or even KILLED many people, and are STILL harming and killing people.

Yet some nitwit thinks it’s a good idea to put things like this into consumer food so that unwitting people get something they otherwise might not want?  Shocking!   Outrageous!

Some of these “Scientists” seem so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.

Leadership

I met my husband through college when I was 18. He was 20. I was married at 21. He went through all my ups and downs with me, and I mean ups and downs. Things got really bad for me once I entered the professional workforce after grad school. I was ironically working in the mental health field at the time, while my own mental health was deteriorating. My husband was there to lie with me when I cried my eyes out, and he was there to calm me down when I was so excitable I could easily make some bad decisions. Never did he act like I was the “crazy person” I felt I was becoming. On two occasions he walked in on me harming myself, and he took the tool from me and cleaned me up in the shower. He was also the person who walked in on me standing in a corner listening to “the voices” that were talking to me from the sky. Yes, he stayed.

My husband is the reason I chose to go to a therapist. It was humiliating; going to a therapist when I worked in the mental health field myself. After all, I should know how to deal with what was happening to me, right? I had a really good life, an awesome husband, and a good career. What was wrong? The therapist sent me to a psychiatrist, something I also would have declined had it not been for my husband.

My husband attended my diagnostic appointment with the psychiatrist. After answering all sorts of questions and talking about what was going on, I was diagnosed as bipolar with psychotic features. I knew it. In the back of my mind I knew it and I didn’t want to know it. It was one of the reasons I didn’t want to go to the psychiatrist in the first place. I was prescribed medication and my ascent to sanity began, although I’m still not there 100%.

The thing my husband did that I’ll always remember happened just after we stepped out of the office. I was upset. I looked up at him trying to make a joke of it (kind of) and said “Well, congratulations, you married a crazy person.” He stopped us both by taking my hand, looking me in the eye and telling me “You’re no different than you always were, and I love you just as much as I always have.” We had been married almost 8 years.

It’s odd to say a romantic moment came of me being diagnosed as, how I thought of it at the time, crazy, but that’s what happened. I had been feeling so worthless. Who could love someone going through psychosis; someone who might just become a burden on others? The fact that he reassured me, after everything he’d been through with me, that I was still loved was more than I could ever thank him for. We’ve been married over 10 years now, and he says he still feels the same way, even when I do have my bouts of depression, mania, psychosis, and panic attacks, and I’ll never forget that moment when he reassured me I was still lovable and the same old me, even if there was now a name for what was happening to me. I am not crazy. I have bipolar disorder and I’m learning how to deal with it while my husband learns how to deal with my behavior.

God I love that man.

**Edit** Thank you all for the kind words! I did show my answer to my husband and he said he never realized how much that moment meant to me. I wish I’d expressed myself better at the time then! I do make sure to show him appreciation as often as possible!

It’s weird, I never felt the way about my clients that I felt about myself. I loved my clients, and they’re each battling their own mental health issues as strong boys and girls (I worked with adolescents). I guess it’s one of those cases where it’s sometimes hard to value yourself when it’s easy to see the value in others.

Despite everything, I am much better with treatment, and my husband and I are very happy together. He is definitely the love of my life and he makes me feel valuable everyday by telling me how awesome I am as a person, and how “fun I am” to be around. He definitely enjoys spending as much time as possible with me, so I certainly believe him!

I chose to go anonymous mainly because I’m still a bit of a coward and only my close family and friends know about my illness. Maybe one day I’ll have the strength to talk about it more openly, but I worry how that might affect any future clients’ or agencies’ views of me as an effective worker.

Hope that addresses some of the comments I read!

Exploitation

No

China is too strong today to require the second front

The ‘Second Front’ was a plan maybe ten or twelve years or maybe even fifteen years ago in case of a conflict

Back then both Armies were on similar footing

  • Chinas Budget was $ 68.79 Billion in 2009 with a much higher import dependence and Indias was close to $ 46 Billion
  • Both countries depended on at least 40% of their Military Supplies on the Russians
  • Both Nations had similar abilities on three domains – Army, Navy & Air
  • Chinas GDP was around $ 4.8 Trillion to Indias $ 1.58 Trillion. Yet Chinas Debt to GDP was closer to 36% to Indias 21%

Back then Pakistan was also in a far stronger position than today

It was also way closer to the US , so Chinas active plan was to get Pakistan out of US Sphere of Influence into their own

The Plan was if India moved against China, then for China to get Pakistan to open a second theatre either through Economic leverage or Military Leverage


In 2024, this plan is no longer a primary one

  • China has the roads now, the infrastructure to mobilize it’s troops in 24 hours and confront India in any direction
  • China has Satellite Imaging for every square feet of those mountains
  • China has a five domain superiority including Cyber & Low Space where they are streets ahead of India
  • Today Chinas economy is at $ 18–19 Trillion and they have virtually the same amount of savings and real wealth plus a Net Foreign Reserves of a Trillion plus bucks

So today the notion of India attacking and moving in offensive on China is much lesser than in 2009, at least militarily

2015–16 was the last year India could have actively moved against China and managed a stalemate or bloodied the Chinese nose and gotten brutally mauled

Today the Chinese are TOO STRONG

They prepared their forces for India as the largest enemy until 2013/14 and since then have began to prepare for US and NATO as their largest enemy

We prepared for China and Pakistan as our largest enemy from the 1960s , so our scale hasn’t surged as much


As a consolation, India is too strong for Pakistan today

Just like the Chinese are too strong for us

Work Smarter

Roasted Black Pepper Wings
with Maple Bourbon Glaze

Roasted Black Pepper Wings
Roasted Black Pepper Wings

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Wings

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 12 wings, cut in half at joints, wing tips removed and discarded

Glaze

  • 1 cup bourbon
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons molasses

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the black pepper, salt and cayenne.
  2. Place the wings in a zip-type plastic bag.
  3. Pour the pepper mixture into the bag, close it and shake to coat the wings.
  4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, place wings on foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.
  5. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine bourbon, maple syrup and molasses, + 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer the mixture until reduced by about half and thickened, 5 to 6 minutes.
  6. When the wings are done, toss them with the glaze while they are still warm.

Shorpy time

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WTF is going on with American girls?

Peanut Butter Chicken Wings

30COOKING THAIPEANUT CHIXWINGS1 articleLarge
30COOKING THAIPEANUT CHIXWINGS1 articleLarge

Yield: 15 to 20 servings

Ingredients

  • 50 chicken wings
  • 2 (12 ounce) bottles beer
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup prepared mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
  • 1 to 2 lemons, sliced thin, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Remove and discard tips from wings and cut each wing in half at joint.
  3. Combine remaining ingredients except parsley and lemon slices in a large saucepan. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, until reduced and thickened to the consistency of thick gravy.
  4. Place wings in a large roasting pan and cover with sauce. Turn until each wing is well coated.
  5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
  6. Serve on large platter.
  7. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

Move to Italy

For one thing, the Chinese are very clever and adaptable and resilient. The Americans have grown fat, lazy and stupid.

For another, the Chinese number over a billion, more than 4X the size of the US population.

For another, the Chinese are well-educated. In fact, China produces 4X more STEM graduates than the USA does. This is why China can kick America’s ass technologically.

For another, the Chinese are led by a very strong, stable, capable, intelligent government. The Americans are led by clowns.

For another, the Chinese do not waste valuable resources on fighting wars around the globe. They dedicate their resources to economic and technological development.

Why Dating is Broken in 2024 – What Boomers don’t understand

Hold a Referendum in Taiwan and get it supervised by the UN Observers and get a 60% Majority to approve

Then get the UNGA to formally recognise Taiwan with at least 97 nations needed for a yes

In the process you risk alienating China and all the benefits that China brings, not to mention the fact that China will certainly ensure Taiwan won’t survive long enough to enjoy it’s Independence

A Poorly prepared Russia is skewering Ukraine like a Kebab , imagine a vastly better prepared, richer China with a smaller Taiwan

No Taiwanese would want that


Instead Taiwan would be eyeing for what we can call Federation of China

Two Parts of the Federation – The Mainland & Taiwan. The Mainland governed by the CPC and it’s system. Taiwan by it’s Presidential System.

Yet Defence, Air Space, Foreign Policy and Trade all controlled by the larger Mainland

It would be the perfect solution – Taiwan would have their right to choose their leaders and Taiwan would be part of China

This isn’t my idea of course

Singaporean Minister Teo Chee Hean pondered on the same thing a few years ago.

I guarantee 140 nations will approve heartily

Textbook narcissist

A thing happened

Today, my family and I were driving through Starbucks and there was an enraged man sitting at a table by himself. He was yelling and very upset. He appeared unkept and homeless. We felt so sorry for this troubled man and knew he needed help. We called 911 and waited in the parking lot to make sure this man was treated humanely.

An officer appeared.

today
today

He calmly and quietly approached the gentleman. He pulled up a chair and sat across from him and calmly asked the upset man what was going on. The officer, eye to eye, down on the troubled man’s level, de-escalated the situation quickly. I was moved to tears at how the officer respected this man and made it clear that he was there to help him. These are the stories that should be in the news. This gentleman, deserves a pat on the back and the recognition of doing an excellent job!

My main purpose for reporting this is in hope that this officer receives recognition. His name is Officer Reese of the Garland Police dept. Please share!

DIY for Tequila

Please note that I am answering this question with a non joking and non sarcastic attitude.

A pro China US government is not a viable option. Supporting a US government and providing economic support to expand this influence is not cost-effective at all. It’s fully stupid.

Only arrogant leaders like American politicians would feel that such a large country can be infiltrated, controlled, and subverted without themselves being affected. You can only use the wrong ideology to make the other country fall, but after affecting hundreds of millions of people in the other country, you yourselves will also be infected.

This is also why the United States has long been hiring Chinese trolls to disrupt the agendas of the Chinese people and that’s wasting money.

However, even if the United States knows this and is facing financial difficulties, it will never stop doing so, because from the perspective of policy makers, all reasons that can consume national finances are appropriate because they can profit from it.

The reason for answering this question is simply to make ordinary Americans aware of their government’s wrongdoing. I find it interesting to see them face errors that cannot be corrected. You always have the right path to take, but you won’t choose because it’s not an easier way.

Ha ha ha ha

Do you know an English adage ”self praise is no praise at all”First US is not free at all 25% of worlds. Prisoners are Americans! 9 times per million compared to China! You Government thrall the entire internet and what you watch on telly to check on every America disclosed by Edward Snowden! And 99% don’t want either Trump or Biden but you are laden with them because of your undemocratic political system that is really chosen by a few rich and influential!

It is anything but great, the highest debtor nation on earth, highest deficits, warmongers and trouble makes everywhere, with s million homeless and living in tents throughout America, to tally dilapidated infrastructure and highly highly uncompetitive! Has not have a real growth since 1960 64 years ago.

Apricot Chicken Casserole

apricot chicken 4
apricot chicken 4

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 chicken pieces (drumsticks or thighs)
  • 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
  • 1 small can apricot nectar
  • 2 or 3 carrots, chopped
  • 2 to 4 medium potatoes, sliced
  • Mushrooms, sliced
  • Garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle onion soup mix over chicken pieces.
  2. Add vegetables and mushrooms.
  3. Pour apricot nectar over all, and sprinkle garlic powder over everything.
  4. Add small amount of water to casserole and bake at 350 degrees F until done, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Florida passes a law…

My neighbor is a big-shot lawyer. One night, his dog was outside my house. I didn’t know it was his dog and had to ask around. I was told it was “the lawyer’s dog.” I noticed that the dog was terribly skinny and, in general, just didn’t have the bounce in her step like most black labs do.

I left her at my house and knocked on the door. I told him I had his dog. He didn’t seem concerned. When it appeared he wasn’t going to come outside, I asked him if he expected me to deliver the dog to him. He got all huffy and said, “Fine!” His beautiful and very, very sweet wife and four little girls were thanking me but he was just pissed that I interrupted his “pizza and movie night with the family.” He begrudgingly followed me home.

I am a retired humane officer and still have a lot of influence at animal control. But I didn’t want to sound arrogant and threatening so I didn’t mention it. I just asked if the dog was okay as she seemed a little gaunt. He told me to mind my own business.

I asked him if the dog had been to see a vet lately and he said, “What’s with all the g-damn questions?” Since I had had this very same exchange many times in my career, I didn’t get mad. I just smiled and said I was concerned about the dog. He again told me to mind my own business. I said “Okay, well, if you’re not going to talk to me…” and trailed off.
The dog was less than enthusiastic to see him and he had to actually pick up the dog .

The next day, bright and early, two uniformed Animal Control officers knocked on his door, demanding to see the dog. He got a seven-day warning to get the dog to a vet or be fined. Seven days later they came back and were shown a letter from a vet that the lab had been seen and is now under treatment for a pancreatic disorder.

My neighbors asked me how I was so bold and stupid to make an enemy out of a big-shot lawyer.

  1. Right makes might. I had right on my side.
  2. I will never be afraid to speak out on behalf of a dog. In my career I had dealt with hardened criminal dog fighters and my anger gave me courage.
  3. I gave him the chance to talk to me, and I would have offered to take the dog to the vet since I know he and his wife are busy, but he shot me down so fast.
  4. My husband is a big-shot lawyer, too, but this guy doesn’t know that.

I called in a favor from my old colleagues and showed this guy that he didn’t intimidate me and that “Failure to render treatment to an animal in need” is a crime and not even a big-shot lawyer is above the law.

As real as it gets

 

Gusty Erie

  1. By 2020, depression will be the leading cause of death and disability.
  2. Feeling ignored causes the same chemical effect as that of injury.
  3. People who play video games often are much more likely to have lucid dreams than non-gamers. They were also better able to influence their dream worlds as if controlling a video-game character.
  4. People who have cars with bumper stickers are more likely to exhibit road rage. You may want to think twice before laying on the horn!!
  5. Phobias may be memories passed down through generations in DNA, according to new research. If you remember a past event, you’re actually remembering the last time you remembered it rather than the event itself.
  6. Thinking about sex will temporarily relieve the urge to pee in the case of an emergency.
  7. Having a problem? Lay down! You can process thoughts faster by laying down.
  8. At a restaurant? Wash your hands after ordering. The menu is generally the dirtiest thing you can touch.
  9. Always check your cell signal when looking for new apartments or dorms to live in.
  10. If a crocodile is chasing you, run in a zig-zag pattern. Crocodiles can’t take sharp turns well.
  11. If a crocodile has caught you between its jaw, you press his eyes intensely with your thumbs, he will leave you.
  12. You can clear cigarette smoke in a room by spinning a wet towel around.
  13. If your stomach is rumbling in a public setting, do not clench your muscles, instead of push out like a beer belly and the noise will stop.
  14. Honey= brightens, tightens, & fights wrinkles & acne. Honey Facial: Smear onto face let sit for 1-3m, rinse with warm water, pat dry.
  15. Got a pimple before something important? Use an ice cube to shrink it.
  16. Mash tomatoes and apply the pulp as a pack on the face. Wash this off after half an hour to get a clear and glowing complexion.
  17. For oily skin, mash one banana with a teaspoon of honey and a couple of drops of lemon juice. Apply to face for 10 minutes, rinse.
  18. You can get longer nails by applying olive oil to help them grow.
  19. Eating garlic and onions can make your hair grow faster.
  20. Putting sugar on a wound does helps heal it faster!
  21. Clean your room! When your room is messy, you’re more likely to procrastinate and not get work done.
  22. If you know you’re going to vomit eat some vanilla ice cream first. It won’t stop the vomiting, but it will stop the burning sensation.
  23. Remove ink from clothes? Put toothpaste on the ink spots generously. Let it dry completely, then wash.
  24. Sign up for the free 30 minute trial of on-board WiFi while flying. Delete cookies when the trial ends. Start a new trial.
  25. If you are buying headphones/speakers, test them with Bohemian Rhapsody. It has a complete set of highs and lows in instruments and vocals.
  26. Put a stocking over the end of a vacuum to find tiny items like earrings. This prevents you from accidentally sucking them up.
  27. Mess with telemarketers! Some aren’t allowed to hang up, so answer the call, take a shower, have a snack, then say “no thanks 😉
  28. Memorize your waiter’s name when they introduce themselves—call them by name later in the meal and they’ll like you more.
  29. Singing in the shower daily can help boost your immunity, lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve your mood.
  30. Combine used coffee grounds, coconut oil, & sea salt for an amazing body scrub that will remove dead skin cells while hydrating your skin.
  31. If you don’t know whether to write “affect” or “effect”, use the word “impact” instead.
  32. If you want someone to listen to you, start the conversation with “I shouldn’t be telling you this.
  33. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wrongs you–don’t tell your parents about it. You might forgive them, but your parents won’t.
  34. If you’re ever stuck in a large crowd, put coins in a can and shake it, asking people to donate. Everyone will move to avoid you.
  35. When walking through a crowd, look at your destination in the distance. People will clear a path if they see you make a clear eye-line.
  36. When washing clothes, always turn them inside out so the design doesn’t crack.
  37. If you still feel tired after a good night’s sleep, you’re probably dehydrated. Drink some water after you wake up.
  38. If you email a big company and tell them your recent purchase was unsatisfactory, they’ll most likely send you free stuff.
  39. Feeling sleepy? Hold your breath until you can’t anymore and then breathe out slowly. This will increase your heart rate.
  40. Sleeping without a bra can help you have a 95% better sleep.
  41. Sleeping on your stomach can induce weirder, scarier, and sexier dreams.
  42. Sleeping next to someone you love not only reduces depression, but it also helps you to live longer and makes you fall asleep faster.
  43. Eating your food slowly will help you lose weight, enjoy your food, reduce stress, and lead to better digestion.
  44. Fasting for 16 hours will reset your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle and is considered an effective way to overcome jet-lag.
  45. Have a flat tire? Take a picture of it on your phone for future reference. Use it as an excuse later.
  46. When in college, always sit in the front. Your teacher will remember your face when it comes to grading and most likely be more favorable.
  47. Forgot an assignment and need to email it? Change the date on your computer system and send it.
  48. If you think somebody is giving you a fake number, read it back to them incorrectly. See if they correct you.
  49. Listening to music can boost your running performance by 15%.
  50. Before sleeping, 90% of your mind begins to imagine the stuff you’d like to happen.
  51. Have a good 20-minute workout at night so you’ll feel better before you sleep.
  52. Dancing, singing and masturbating are all proven ways to fight depression and lead to better sleep.
  53. Take vitamin B complex during the summer. Insects don’t like the way it makes you smell to them, it wards off mosquitoes and biting flies.
  54. In college? Always ask for a student discount, most stores have it and students never use it.
  55. If you are drunk and have the urge to vomit, taking short rapid breaths can help it go away.
  56. If you download a “PDF” file and you see it ends in “.exe” delete it. Its a virus.
  57. When cleaning your room, start with making your bed. It will make everything around it look out of place and it will motivate you to clean.
  58. Hearing your name being called, when no one has actually called your name, is a likely sign of a healthy mind.
  59. If you want someone’s number at a party, take a picture with them and ask them to send it to you.
  60. The Two-Minute Rule: If you see something that needs doing, and it can be completed within two minutes, do it immediately.
  61. Putting dry tea bags in gym bags or smelly shoes will absorb the unpleasant odor.
  62. Wrap a cold paper towel around a drink and put it in the freezer to make it cold faster
  63. Drinking 2 cups of cold water on an empty stomach can boost metabolism by 30%
  64. Cough keeping you up at night? Put Vick’s Vapo-rub on your feet and put on socks. Within minutes the cough will stop permanently
  65. Hugging can help reduce stress and lower blood pressure — This helps to protect us from heart disease
  66. When on a date, the best way to judge a person’s character is to see how they treat waiters and waitresses
  67. To remove gum from hair, dip into a small bowl of Coke, leave for a few minutes. The gum will wipe off
  68. When doing sit-ups if you place your tongue on the roof of your mouth it will stop you from straining your neck
  69. If your boss calls you in on your day off, tell him you’ve been drinking, the boss can’t fault you for not coming in.
  70. When going on a date, go to a horror film. Elevated heart rate and adrenaline are strongly tied to sexual attraction.
  71. If you ever drop glass, put a piece of bread on it. The consistency of the bread will pick up even the smallest shard
  72. When you’re finished with an essay, copy and paste it into Google Translate and listen to it. It’s the easiest way to find mistakes.
  73. If you toss onions in the freezer 15 minutes before you cut them you won’t tear up.
  74. Accidentally text the wrong person? Immediately put your phone on airplane mode and once it fails to deliver, delete the message.
  75. If you place an egg in water and it floats, don’t consume it. It’s bad and should be thrown away. A fresh egg will sink to the bottom.
  76. Eating Pizza once a week can actually help reduce the risk of esophageal cancer. So go eat some Pizza.
  77. Turning the shower cold right before you get out closes your pores and makes you less likely to get acne.
  78. Yellow rooms can make babies cry more and couples fight more.
  79. Grab a banana for breakfast! They are known as happy fruit. Eating just one can help relieve irritable emotions, anger and or depression.
  80. Bananas can reduce the swelling and irritation of mosquito bites and help with nicotine withdrawal.
  81. People who enjoy sweets like chocolate tend to be more generous, happier, selfless and open-minded.

Here it comes again..

  1. If your criticism is based on facts and logics, then your criticism is welcomed.
  2. If your criticism is based on rumor and bias, then you will ran off and seek political asylum in USA, Canada or UK, like the pro-”democracy” activists in HK, eg, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow Ting. Because you can’t make a living in China, everyone knows you and they put you into their blacklist, you can’t find a job. So the only choice is to go for your funder.
  3. No one is excuted by the government for criticizing it so far.
  4. No one believes in Xinjiang fake news, because those news reports targeted on you, not us. This is your government’s propaganda, not ours. We can tell the illogic and not-make-sense narratives at the first sight but you can’t, because the distance and language barrier made you not able to access information from a much wider range.

The answer lies in the theory of deterrence and enduring paranoia of that most iconic of Cold War doctrine’s “MAD” or Mutually Assured Destruction. If there is one man who was most responsible for both it is General Curtis “Bombs Away” LeMay. LeMay was everything you imagine a Cold War air force general to be — a sports-car driving, martial arts practicing, HAM radio operating, steel-nerved commander for whom the killing of thousands or even millions of civilians was an uninteresting footnote in the larger strategic calculus of war. Indeed, he may well have been the source of that stereotype. he is certainly remembered as both the patron saint of the United States Air Force and as among the most infamous war criminals in history.

Along the way LeMay became one of the guiding lights of American strategic airpower. Now, LeMay didn’t like ballistic missiles. He was a bomber man. So if we asked LeMay this question he would probably respond the same way he did when he advocated for the continuation of the SAC bomber program in a memo dated January 4, 1964:

Ballistic missile forces represent both the U.S. and Soviet potential for strategic nuclear warfare at the highest, most indiscriminate level, and at a level least susceptible to control.

What LeMay is saying here is that the ICBM fleet is, by design, an all-or-nothing proposition. The fact that it exists — out in the middle of the Northwest Great Plains in full view of any satellite that cares to look down upon it — sends a very clear and unambiguous message:

  1. The United States has the ability to reduce your homeland to a smoldering ruin
  2. The United States will use these weapons if you use similar weapons against her
  3. The United States has numerous redundant protocols in place to ensure that it will use these weapons if the time ever comes.

These three statements are the core of deterrence theory. They’re sometimes referred to as the “Three Cs” — Capability, Communication, and Credibility.

  1. The enemy has to know that you are capable of destroying them.
  2. You have to communicate under which circumstances you would do so.
  3. And they have to find your threat credible.

This last “C” — credibility — is probably the hardest to nail down. Credibility amounts to a psychological state: are you really ready to kill hundreds of millions – maybe billions – of people to follow through on your threat? The ICBM fleet is about credibility. It is a Sword of Damocles, hanging over the enemy’s head.

That’s why they can’t have a disarm button.

The mere existence of the ICBM fleet is a compelling argument for the idea that the people that built it have accepted – in advance – the moral quandary of the nuclear age. They are not a gun brought to a knife fight; they’re a suicide vest rigged to a dead-man’s switch. But that promise of crushing retaliation loses some of its credibility if it comes with a “take-backsies” button.

But, paradoxically, the lack of that capability also diminishes the credibility of the ICBM threat. Because they are an all-or-nothing proposition, ICBMs offer very little proportionality. The United States may be more than willing to turn lose its missiles if a Russian first-strike is spotted coming over the North Pole, but would the Americans really jump to total thermonuclear war if just one warhead were used to clear a route for Russian tanks as they rolled into Germany?

Maybe not… and that creates a problem. It invites escalation and that escalation may bring about a general nuclear exchange which wouldn’t have happened if there had been some way to deter that first nuclear use.

This is the weakness LeMay saw in the missile based deterrent. The missiles have their place but, as LeMay puts it:

The employment of these weapons in lower level conflict would be likely to escalate the situation, uncontrollably, to an intensity which could be vastly disproportionate to the original aggravation. The use of ICBMs and SLBMs is not, therefore, a rational or credible response to provocations which, although serious, are still less than an immediate threat to national survival.

LeMay’s solution to this problem was – predictably – the bomber. The ICBM fleet could await the end of days in its silos, LeMay contended, the bomber would be there to handle everything short of that.

And that is largely the role of the American bomber force. Whenever Uncle Sam feels some “gunboat diplomacy” is in order, the bomber fleet is there: flying in joint exercises over South Korea

or dropping cruise missiles after a marathon flight from the other side of the world

.

So why don’t ICBMs have a recall button or a disarm button? Because that’s what bombers are for.

Rural towns are generally built around one or maybe two industries other than agriculture.

Take my hometown, for example. You basically work in some form of manufacturing, or you’re in dairy and crop farming. Go north a ways to some bigger rivers and it’s dairy farming and paper mills.

Every other business basically operates to support those two industries. Dollar General, Shopko, Piggly Wiggly? They provide the basic necessities for people who work in those industries. The specialty shops downtown provide luxury goods for people who work in those industries. The standard Wisconsin small town 2:1 ratio of bars to churches exist to support those industries.

The car dealerships don’t sell Priuses and sedans hardly at all; they sell pickup trucks and grocery-getter wagons/SUVs. Mostly used; the only new dealership in my town folded about 15 years ago and both lots are still vacant.

A hundred years ago, iron was king in my hometown. It was mostly blast furnaces making iron ore into pig iron and shipping it off to coal country to be made into steel. When the iron mines dried up, it switched mostly to manufacturing.

One of the four major manufacturers in the area closed almost 20 years ago now after it got bought up by a west coast equity firm. It wiped out probably a solid 15% of the school district area’s employment. It came at a bad time, as well, in the middle of a recession, so getting other work was pretty hard. Another industry in town laid off 50% of their workforce and automated two product lines.

Between transfers and people who had to move out of town to find work, enrollment in the school district dropped a solid 5–10%. My class was large, at around 125. By a decade later, the average class size was down to 80.

Automation in the other manufacturing industries has resulted in attrition of jobs there probably by another 50%, though I will seriously credit one of the local employee-owned companies for doing a great job of retaining employees and retraining them for other positions to keep them, which is probably why they’re one of the few manufacturers that has expanded significantly and actually increased overall employment in the last decade. The other manufacturers, not so much.


Then there’s agriculture and advances in that field.

Here’s what my great-great grandfather started farming with:

main qimg 5fbefd0b06343d182a814168e2c095bd lq
main qimg 5fbefd0b06343d182a814168e2c095bd lq

If you were fast and had a good horse and you worked sunrise to sunset, you could probably plow a 40-acre field in three or four days. Work it down in another two or three. Plant it in another two or three. If the weather cooperated and you worked your horse and your equipment and yourself hard. And the land was already cleared of trees and stumps. You could pull a two-row corn planter.

By the time my great-grandfather was ready to start working the farm, my great-great-grandfather was able to put together enough money for one of these:

main qimg 0da5ff51583c813fdeb91ac3527c463b lq
main qimg 0da5ff51583c813fdeb91ac3527c463b lq

That’s a John Deere unstyled model A. The first one on the farm had steel wheels, not tires. On the other side of this is a flywheel that you had to crank to get it started. It was insanely hard to do. But it didn’t get tired and need water every hour or so like a horse. And it would pull a two bottom plow. You could plow a 40-acre field in a hard day if you had enough light. You could probably do a 4-row corn planter with this.

By the time my grandfather was old enough to start working the farm, my great-grandfather had bought this:

main qimg 5b00cb9134d71fd3b0b135e954302761 lq
main qimg 5b00cb9134d71fd3b0b135e954302761 lq

This is a Ferguson TO-30. It might look smaller than the A, but it’s got more horsepower (26HP), hydraulics, and a three-point hitch. My great-grandfather bought it after the A needed a serious overhaul and the tractor salesman brought out one of these and a Ford 8N, and my great-grandfather said he’d buy whichever one got to the top of a hill with a two-bottom plow faster. The Ferguson won. (We still have the original in the family, plus the replica model the salesman gave him for buying it.)

You could plow, work down, and plant a 60-acre field in probably three good days’ work, if you were willing to work into the dark a bit. (My great-grandfather actually specifically ordered the tractor without lights because he believed if you were working into the dark, you were working too long.) Still a 4-row corn planter, but you could probably pull a larger grain drill than the A.

By the time my uncle was in high school, the farm was up to this:

main qimg f8025fae2b82df34c472e903dfeacaea lq
main qimg f8025fae2b82df34c472e903dfeacaea lq

That’s a Ford 7600 diesel. Almost 100 HP, over three times as much as the Ferguson. This would pull a four-bottom plow. Live PTO, making it possible to run better and better equipment. My family actually sprung for one with a cab because Grandpa was getting older, but he didn’t like it, actually.

With the four-bottom, a cultimulcher instead of a disk and drag, an 8-12-row corn planter instead of a 4-row that the Ferguson would pull, you could work a 60–80 acre field in three days if you were nice to the equipment, and probably still get some other stuff done.

By the time I was old enough to start really driving around tractors, the neighbors were driving these:

main qimg 440fc74a828af9b8b55a04e2011ef0f8 lq
main qimg 440fc74a828af9b8b55a04e2011ef0f8 lq

That’s a Massey-Ferguson 8220. The neighbors had an 8240, if I recall correctly. I remember when the guys around the corner bought one of these and a chisel plow. 150HP.

They worked down an 80 acre field in about two hours and planted it with a 16 row corn planter in about three hours two days later.

Today? I have an uncle who does crop and dairy farming. He’s got one tractor with 240 HP that can chisel plow a 120 acre field by GPS in 60–90 minutes, and will pull a 24-row John Deere corn planter. He probably wouldn’t even use it to work down a 40-acre field because that field would be too tiny to effectively turn around very well.

My great-grandfather would have been stunned at that. He might have imagined it, but it would have been a wild dream.

One guy can work ten times the cropland that my great-great-grandfather could have with a quarter of the work.

And yields have gone up, too. Hybrid corn and advances in other crops have made it so that today’s farmers are growing an order of magnitude more per acre than my great-grandfather did.

But all of those advances come at a cost. A bag of seed corn or soybeans can cost upwards of $100 a bag, and is currently going for as much as $180 a bag for the 2020 corn planting season. My grandfather once stormed out of a mill with me 25–30 years ago as a kid when the same sized bag of seed corn was going to be $15 because it was “highway robbery” and he figured he could get it cheaper elsewhere.

The same is true of dairies. My great-grandmother milked 20 cows by hand; a large operation at the time. In the 50’s, they got an electric vacuum pump system after the farm got electricity, and built a bigger, modern milking barn. That bumped them up to 60 head. In the 70’s, they were able to add on and up that to 100 head. By the early 2000’s, they were a small dairy, starting to be unable to compete. My uncle made some bad decisions, but he leveraged the land like crazy and cheated my great-grandmother out of her share of the farm to afford a 240 head new barn with a milking parlor.

He’s still a small operation now and is close to bankruptcy.

There’s a farm about two dozen miles over that has 8,400 head and the farmers don’t even milk the cows now; the cows have an RFID tag and when the cow feels like it wants to get milked, it wanders over to a stall and a robotic milking machine reads the tag and hooks itself up. The system tracks the cow’s individual production.

When my great-grandmother was doing the milking, there were probably fewer than 8,400 milking cows in the county.

But that huge operation is probably over a $10 million investment. That would have been unfathomable for my great-grandfather.

Whether crop or dairy, it’s been evolve or die, and evolving requires growing into a massive factory farm. That equipment and the buildings are expensive. And the margins are thin. If you couldn’t get enough credit to expand, you went bankrupt. If you had a bad year or two, you went bankrupt. The margins on all of that are razor thin; the farmer is probably actually netting pretty little, if not taking a routine annual loss many years.

Small farm bankruptcies are skyrocketing right now because factory farms are keeping the prices so low as to make the margins non-existent or below break-even for the little guys.

The area where I grew up is a moonscape of rotted out, fallen down barns, abandoned outbuildings, and lonely old farmhouses with lonely old retired farmers who have given up. They sold off all the equipment, and if they can rent out the land for enough to pay off the mortgage, they do, or sell it off for enough to satisfy the liens and keep four or five acres with the house. And when the old man and his wife pass away, the kids, who have moved to the city, don’t want to take care of it anymore. I’ve seen a dozen or two of those old houses just demolished; the outbuildings used for storage if anything at all.

Maybe 10–20% of the farms that were operating when I was a kid thirty years ago are still milking. Six of the seven neighbors my grandparents and uncle had that were farming when I was a kid are out and quit wholesale. The one left isn’t doing dairy anymore, the kid, who’s almost exactly my age, sold off the dairy cows and most of the equipment, does some basic crop farming, and grass-fed beef. One of the last neighbors to sell had gotten up to about 1400 acres that he’d owned and another 400 he rented before he sold out to a guy from Iowa who trucks up even more massive equipment than I described above, works up the whole thing in less than a week, and moves on to the next bit.

One guy. With probably a dozen hands. I have no doubt that he owns or rents over 36,000 acres.

Who needs a whole town to support that anymore? He isn’t going into my hometown for groceries every week, or the downtown coffee shop on a routine basis. He isn’t in the bars regularly. He isn’t buying stuff from the local hardware store, or tires and oil changes from the local mechanic.

Even if he were local, he certainly isn’t buying the same amount as the 100+ farm families he’s replaced.


Infrastructure also drastically changed my home area. Infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure, dramatically reduces the friction costs of commerce. If it costs less to move stuff to market, people will build stuff there. If not, people won’t.

The railroad was first on this. Wherever the railroad went, towns grew along it. Where the railroad didn’t go through, those places died or never grew. There’s a little town of about 300 people, about big enough to have an “unincorporated” sign and not much more.

There’s a huge Catholic cathedral there, built to serve probably a 150 family congregation. Today, it serves probably a few dozen for a whole area.

That’s because the railroad was supposed to go through the town, which is why they built it. There’s half a dozen other old businesses that used to exist, too, the hollowed out remains of their buildings still visible, built in anticipation of a train that literally never came.

Because the railroad company built ten miles east, instead.

That town died. Or rather, never grew at all. The businesses mostly folded, with the exception of a bar and a butcher that finally relocated when I was a kid. There was a fancier restaurant there that closed up about five years back finally. It had a for-sale sign on it since before I graduated high school, but the guy who owned it could never find a buyer and finally just retired.

Today, railroads are largely replaced by highways and interstates, though freight rail is making a comeback in some places. Not enough to support a whole town, like it once did, but enough to keep some businesses going.

The main corridor in my home area is now I-41, 20–30 miles from town. It’s only recently been made into an interstate. When my parents were first dating, it was only two lanes. I still remember when there were no overpasses and it was cross-traffic most of the way by us.

As the interstate and a few four-lane state highways have grown, the towns along them have stayed steady or grown with them in some spots.

The towns between the main highways? They’re mostly gone or drying up. One got virtually wiped out by a tornado twenty-some years ago and never really recovered. Every year, they keep talking about consolidating the school district with a nearby one because enrollment is too low to sustain it independently. The elementary school closed fifteen years back and K-8 are all in one building now.

I remember a couple years ago, I was going through Iowa on my way to a wedding and they’d recently moved I-80. The main highway that it now paralleled used to go through a bunch of little towns. We got off the super-slab and went through some of them because we weren’t in a hurry to get to Colorado. Half of everything was boarded up. I asked the cashier about it. People don’t want to exit the highway and drive four miles south to get to Casey’s General Store. They just bypass the towns and wait until the next bigger stop. Where towns could, they’d tried to move towards the highway, but that’s often not possible.

It’s what happened to the towns on Route 66. A few remaining nostalgic pieces of it remain, but most of it’s just gone. Whole towns were just erased.

But even my hometown isn’t seeing new facilities getting built for manufacturing and the like, because of a lack of infrastructure. There’s a decent state highway into town that they keep in reasonable repair, but it’s a ways to the interstate still. The existing facilities keep churning out stuff, but if the companies are expanding, it’s along the four-lane highways and the towns and cities on those, still reasonably nearby enough, I suppose.

One company bought out that old plant that went bust I mentioned and turned it into a big R&D facility, since it doesn’t need much import/export and it’s smack in the middle of town. Getting trucks there is a pain in the ass. When they come up with something, they send the specs over to the shiny new plant two towns west, which is built on a four-lane highway with direct access to Madison and Milwaukee.

Internet is another infrastructural element that is significantly lagging in some of these places. Nobody’s running fiber to my hometown for the most part. A lot of people still have DSL. Maybe satellite. Apparently Verizon or Frontier is upgrading some of downtown somewhat. The last time I was at the local coffee shop to use the wi-fi, the speed test ran up to 15 megabits.

The cell coverage depends on the provider, but it’s spotty even in downtown. Verizon is okay. US Cellular is the preferred choice. Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T are complete dead zones. That makes it hard to operate a retail business these days, which is increasingly dependent on the internet for sales and backend that we take for granted. You’re not selling much if you can’t use so much as a Square reader at the local businesses. And you’re not getting a lot of tourists if their phones are off the grid before they get to the city limits.

And younger people don’t want to live in a town where they can’t get Netflix or Prime Video at even standard resolution half the time. So, they’re not moving there, or leaving for greener pastures if they can.

Because there isn’t enough demand, the cable companies don’t bother upgrading the lines unless they have to. Because there isn’t basic high-speed broadband, nobody moves there to create the demand. It’s a vicious cycle. My folks just moved out of the place where I grew up and moved to the edge of a moderately large rural town. They get one internet provider, which maxes out at 8Mb down, 4 up. If they were two blocks over, they could get another provider with much better bandwidth, but where they are, they’re just screwed. A lot of places are like that. There’s no competition, and relatively light demand, so there’s basically no reason for the telecoms to bother running anything out there.

At least my hometown and surrounding area are still close enough to major transportation routes that Fed-Ex and UPS will come all the way out. My in-laws have to drive 20 miles into town to pick up anything. They’ve been where they are for fifteen years and two weeks ago, a Fed-Ex truck actually went all the way to their house for the first time, ever. The delivery driver said he would never do it again. They don’t even get mail delivery to their place; they have to go up the minimum maintenance road five miles to a turnaround if it gets delivered, and they maintain a PO box in the slightly larger, but further away town for that purpose instead.

Water is increasingly an issue, too. New water treatment plants with higher capacities are expensive and getting more so. Rural areas have a lower population density to spread that cost around, and that means either a need for increased state aid, or higher property taxes.

If you don’t live right in town, that water isn’t probably coming to you. So, the farmers and people who live outside of town, but who are in the township and so would pay the increased taxes to pay for it, vote against it. They’re already paying literally tens of thousands of dollars for septic systems and wells; paying more property taxes for someone else’s water on top of that, while getting nothing in return, is a hard sell.

Even trash collection is an issue here. Depending on the size of the town, you might have to do it yourself or contract with a company, because the town itself might not provide it. Again, friction cost for a business, and another thing that sometimes makes people not want to move there. I grew up with it, so the idea of a garbage guy that actually comes to your house is still weird to me, as are the ideas of a) not having an organic bucket that needs to get hauled out to the brush pile by the line fence, b) not having a burn barrel for paper garbage, c) not needing to separate out metals from other recycling to take to the salvage yard when there’s enough to get the higher price, or d) that the garbage guy comes at a specific time rather than taking it to the dump on Saturday morning or dropping the cash in the can or slot to pay for the bags you put in if you come not on a Saturday morning.

When rural areas lack easy access to the kinds of infrastructure that reduces commercial friction costs, they’re at a serious disadvantage. It’s more expensive to do things, it’s more difficult to attract workers, and as a result, what sustains these small towns begins to go elsewhere.


The decline itself then turns into a vicious cycle. As the major sustaining industries and businesses give out, or the resources like a clay or gravel pit start to dwindle, the people that can leave, do, especially younger people.

That increases the concentration of people remaining in poverty.

And with an increased concentration of poverty comes a lot of the problems that arise out of that: increased crime, increased drug use as depressed people try to self-medicate, depressed property values that make it even harder to get out, and more.

The schools end up with lower enrollment, and lower tax revenues, and lower state aid. So they have to start cutting services. And then people move out of the district because they want their kids in a better school, if they can.

Any young people who can get out flee. That leads to a brain drain of the community. It’s hard to get young professionals to move back if they think they’re never going to make enough money to justify it, or lose a quality of life that they enjoy elsewhere.

So, that means fewer social workers, attorneys, doctors, etc. serving these areas that can help mitigate these problems of poverty, and it spirals downward even more. People of means have fewer kids; people without them have more but can’t support them. Services get progressively thinner, making people more desperate.

More and more desperate people often end up getting into the criminal justice system one way or another, and once you’ve got a felony, everything is substantially harder. Housing, employment, everything. That traps more and more people, as well.

People that are trapped get more and more hopeless. Suicide rates skyrocket.

Eventually, the whole thing just gives out. The remaining people die off. The houses and businesses are abandoned and left to crumble.

We’re not just talking about your boom and bust ghost towns of the Wild West. There’s plenty of these that are modern, some dying in the last few decades. There’s a few places I know of around where I grew up where the last living inhabitants were present just a few years ago. Today, there’s a handful of vacant buildings and nothing else left. You can walk right in a few of them. Some of them are so far gone that you wouldn’t even know that several thousand people once lived there in some cases as recently as thirty or forty years ago just by looking at them.

One town near where I grew up used to actually put up their own population sign and an old man would repaint the number by hand every time someone died or moved away, until he died and nobody took over the task. There was a lumberyard/building center there, a church, and a bar, when I was a kid at least. It was a quarry town for limestone before that, but the easily accessible limestone ran out in the 60’s. There were probably 100 residents total, maybe, when I was a kid, but at one point there were about 1900 people who lived there. The businesses closed and the church is boarded up now. About twenty houses remain; two others were destroyed by fire – one started accidentally by a homeless person who was squatting in it after it was abandoned. The businesses are all vacant, the for-sale signs faded and dusty.

Sometimes a natural disaster comes in and finishes the job. Gays Mills in Wisconsin has been flooded completely out several times in the last decade. Hundreds of residents just gave up and never came back when the insurance gave them an out. Some businesses are trying to stick it out, or relocate as disaster relief has tried to make it possible to move the town to higher ground.


Lastly, the death rate is exceeding the birth rate. Sixty to eighty years ago, you needed ten kids to run the farm, and the infant mortality rate was considerably higher.

In the last 20–30 years, though? People aren’t having babies. The birth rate in a lot of these rural areas is well below replacement. The oldest generations are dying off with increasing rapidity every year.

Death rates among 18–64 year olds in rural areas are also on the incline. The opioid crisis really has disproportionately affected rural areas not because it’s higher per capita, but because there’s just fewer people overall and so the same per capita impact has a greater overall impact.

But suicides are where it’s gotten really out of control. The rural suicide rate is bonkers higher than urban areas. It’s as much as 25% higher in some areas, and it’s risen over 40% in the last 20 years. There’s been a lot of research into this, with hypotheses ranging from lack of health care (both in insurance and in care providers) to stigma around mental health to simply increased access to guns, but there has not been a good consensus around what factors are most prevalent or most contributory.

This is perhaps the most literal reason rural towns in America are dying: they are literally seeing more death than birth.


Some other rural towns are growing around new industries. In Kansas, feedlot and meatpacking plants are growing substantially. Feedlots are smelly as hell. You don’t want to live anywhere near them. Seriously. Even setting aside the animal cruelty issues that are often present, they’re just awful places to be within ten miles of. But, they also provide jobs. For the desperate rural worker, any port in a storm.

In Minnesota, it’s chicken and turkey processing. There’s a handful of towns that have poultry processing, and they’re doing pretty well for now.

But those jobs are not very secure. They’re hard labor, and if someone gets laid up, there’s enough people willing to take the jobs that someone can just be replaced. Anti-union sentiment from conservatives that dominate these areas don’t make anything easier, either.

Additionally, these industries also creating a lot of tension because the local natives don’t want those jobs due to the lack of security and don’t often apply, or can’t pass a drug test to qualify; instead, these jobs are attracting a lot of immigrant labor, such as Somali refugees. These are more typically than not legal immigrants, but that makes little difference to some people who are already mistrustful of any outsiders. I have a relative who moved into a rural town thirty years ago and still is considered a transplant and given second-class citizenship to a generational local.

But many of these industries are also boom-and-bust. The oil fields in the Bakken and the Permian Basin led to huge expansions of parts of North Dakota and Texas, but as quickly as they exploded, they’ve died off as oil prices crashed in recent years.

Those feedlots and chicken processing plants are likely as insecure. All it takes is a commodity oversupply, or a trade war, to shutter whole plants. And if that’s the primary employer for the area, it can take a significant piece of the town when it goes.


Some rural towns are still doing okay, or even growing a little, and in sustainable ways.

What’s kept my hometown alive is that it’s a good bedroom community that’s 30–45 minutes driving from two reasonably large urban areas and less than two hours from two more metro areas. Those are people who want to live in a small, safe, quiet neighborhood, but they don’t work there. They commute to the larger cities in the region.

Enrollment is back up a little in the school district with people moving in to live in a quiet spot, and class sizes are back up to about 95-ish. The school has some good programs such as an award-winning music program that have brought in school choice students from neighboring districts (with corresponding state aid), or even gotten some individuals to move there.

The tax base has remained about neutral or grown a little as developments and new housing grow slowly. Areas that were farm fields when I was a boy are now subdivisions generating more property taxes than the agricultural zones they once were.

There are some rural areas that have this geographical quirk and are mostly becoming the new form of suburbs for those wealthy enough to either buy a nice place in a small town, or a couple acres of former farmland and build a house out in the country. The cost of living is usually reasonable or even sometimes lower than the city or suburbs; housing is certainly cheaper even if certain commodities are a bit higher.

But there’s a lot of rural areas that don’t have that quirk of geography.

Get out in the middle of Nebraska, or Iowa, or Kansas, or Minnesota and there’s a lot less. It’s a long, long way to the urban centers.

Those places are increasingly seeing the demise of rural America the hardest.

Scott Ritter Jaw-Dropping Revelation: NATO vs Russia – A Ticking Nuclear Time Bomb Ready to Explode!

No, I don’t think the Chinese government would take such an approach.

“If you sanction me, I must retaliate against you and launch corresponding sanctions, otherwise I will be weak.”

This is a common understanding in Western society that governments must respond to public sentiment. If other countries “hurt us”, we “must tit for tat”. Retaliation must be direct, reciprocal and obvious. Only then can public sentiment be released, and politicians’ approval ratings not drop.

So we discovered a key point: the way of revenge is centered on politics, not interests. No one cares whether doing so will bring greater benefits to society or cause greater harm.

“If you sanction me, I must retaliate against you, but the method may not be reciprocal. How to do it is left to professionals.”

This is a common perception in Chinese society, which is full of patience and believes that professional officials can handle it better than public sentiment.

With this premise, we return to the Tiktok case. If Tiktok is forced to sell by the United States, will China’s retaliation be to force Apple to sell it? No, that’s simply impossible

There is a proverb in the Chinese world: If a dog bites you, it does not mean that you have to bite the dog too.

There are many ways to take revenge, you must choose the one that is most beneficial to you.

In the past few years, China has been challenging the status of the United States in global economic activities, and the United States is in a state of hysteria. They are trying to use all available means to contain China. However, we find that China’s response has always been mild, even making people feel a little weak.

In fact, they have been choosing the way that is best for themselves, rather than the most “tit for tat” way.

—————————-

The United States has imposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods; they believe that in order to contain China, it is worth raising prices in the United States.

China’s most “relieving” response should be to impose additional tariffs on $200 billion of U.S. goods, but China believes that this will affect the import of technology and raw materials by Chinese companies, which is not worth it.

China’s actual approach is to expand BRI, join RECP, seek to join CPTPP, expand trade scope, offset the influence of the United States, and stop buying soybeans from American farmers.

—————————–

The United States has imposed five rounds of comprehensive sanctions on Huawei; they believe that it is worthwhile to undermine the fair international image of the United States and use “national security” crimes against a company in order to curb the development of China’s 5G technology.

China’s most “tit for tat” response should be to select an American company, such as CISCO, or Microsoft, or others, and impose five rounds of comprehensive sanctions. But China believes that this will affect these companies’ operations in China, reduce Chinese jobs and government tax revenue, and this is not worth it.

China’s actual approach is to change foreign investment laws and allow foreign companies to independently invest in telecommunications, automobiles and other industries. Then successfully brought Tesla to China.

——————————-

The United States has imposed “Chip and Science Act” sanctions on hundreds of Chinese companies; they believe that destroying the market and revenue of the US semiconductor industry can delay the development of China’s AI technology, which is worthwhile.

China’s most “tit for tat” response should be to select a group of American companies, such as General Motors, Ford, Walmart, and Starbucks, to implement some kind of reciprocal “sanctions bill.” But China believes that this will affect these companies’ operations in China, reduce Chinese jobs and government tax revenue, and this is not worth it.

China’s actual approach is to sanction several U.S. arms dealers and ban the export of rare earths to the United States. Launch the semiconductor development plan encouraged by the government, establish the National Semiconductor Fund, and recruit talents from all over the world to strengthen its semiconductor industry.

——————————-

Some Western public opinion has produced many similar news: Tesla is banned in China, and Apple mobile phones are banned in China. They seem to want to tell us: Look, they are just as bad as us;

But the truth is there, these are lies. The CEOs of Tesla and Apple have both praised the performance of the Chinese market.

Some Western public opinion will also tell us: Google is banned in China, Youtube, X and Ins are banned in China; so it is reasonable for us to ban Tiktok.

But some facts are deliberately ignored. Bing is running very well in China, and Amazon and Paypal have been running in China for 20 years. The crux of the matter is that China has enacted laws, companies that are willing to abide by them stay, and those that are unwilling to abide by them leave. China actually does not have a “ban” against a certain American company.

Now, the United States is demanding that Tiktok be forced to sell, maybe it will be Temu’s turn in the future, Shein

China’s most “tit for tat” method should be to choose an American company, such as Apple mentioned in the question. Asking them to “force a sale”

But China will definitely not do this. On the contrary, we may see them take more opening measures to encourage more foreign companies to participate in the Chinese economy.

They are deliberately taking a completely different approach to doing things than the United States. Use openness to fight closure, use trade to fight sanctions; use win-win to fight zero-sum games; use construction and manufacturing to fight bombs and destruction.

They are very patient and they are creating a global persona:

I don’t have many slogans, and I’m not very good at publicity and storytelling. I will only use actual actions to tell the world: who represents justice and friendship, and who represents evil and destruction.

In the short term, China’s approach seems inefficient, negative, and weak. But over time, many things change.

Here’s a Jewish mama joke.

A Jewish mother picks up the phone to hear the sound of a woman gulping sobs. Her daughter! “Darling! What’s the matter?

Woman:” Oh,Mama! Oh,Mama!”

“Yes darling. Mama is here. What’s wrong?”

“We’re snowed in. The car won’t start. The refrigerator stopped working and all the food is spoiled. The kids have colds and the house is a mess. I have a headache. And twenty ladies from my Hadassah chapter are coming for lunch at one o’clock! Oh,Mama” she wails “What am I going to do?”

In a calm soothing voice Mama replies “Don’t worry darling,Mama is here. First I’ll go down to the grocery and pick up something to eat.Then I’ll take the subway. And from the subway I’ll walk the sixteen blocks to your house. I’ll cook something for the twenty ladies,they’ll love it. I’ll give the kids an aspirin so they’ll be quiet. I’ll tell them a story till they fall asleep so you can lie down too. While the food cooks I’ll pick up the house. Everything will be all right. Don’t worry darling,Mama is here! That’s what a mother is for!”

The woman gives a huge sigh of relief. “Oh,Mama thank you! I feel so much better.”

“Don’t mention it,darling” Then,in an everyday voice “If you’re snowed in and the car won’t start how did Sam get to work?”

(Puzzled voice) “Sam? Who’s Sam?”

(Mama impatiently) “Sam! Your husband Sam! How did he get to work?”

Long pregnant pause. Then in a small voice the woman says “My husband’s name is Saul”

Another pregnant pause . Then in a trembling voice the woman says:

“Does that mean…you’re… not coming?”

Skillet Pizza Supreme

cast iron skillet pizza 1
cast iron skillet pizza 1

Ingredients

  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

Instructions

  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
  2. Combine 2 cups flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl; stir in yeast mixture and oil. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.
  3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead 5 to 8 times, working in remaining 1/2 cup flour to make a smooth dough.
  4. Pat dough evenly in bottom and halfway up sides of a lightly greased 10-inch cast iron skillet.
  5. Bake at 425 degrees F for 8 minutes.
  6. Spoon sauce over crust.
  7. Top with any toppings desired.
  8. Sprinkle shredded Mozzarella cheese over the top.
  9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese melts.
cast iron skillet pizza 09
cast iron skillet pizza 09

Near the end of my sophomore years of high school, when I got my license and began driving myself to my friends’ houses to hang out.

At that point in my life, I had five friends that I hung out with on a regular basis, and about a dozen other people who I knew through those friends. Those dozen were like second-tier friends. We hung out a lot because we happened to be friends with the same person.

Before being able to drive myself to my friends’ houses, I was limited to friends’ houses I could walk to, or convince my parents to drive me to. By the time I turned 16, I’d been in six different friends’ houses that I could recall.

Then, during my first visit to my friend Rick’s house (I had to drive there myself because he lived pretty far away), I realized something: he had a lot of pictures of him, his mom, and his brother in the house, but zero pictures of his father. He’d never said anything about his father, but I always assumed he had one. When we finally talked about it, he said that his father walked out on the family when he and his brother were still young, and his mom never talked about him.

That got me thinking about all of my other friends. Jay’s father was an alcoholic and abused his mom until she divorced him. Emma’s father was actually her step-father, because her real father ran off with a younger woman. Emma’s step-dad was also much older than her mom. Sarah was being raised by a single mother. Aaron’s dad drank and swore a lot, and I’m pretty sure beat his wife. Trey’s dad was super controlling of his wife. (And, a few years later, killed her. He’s currently serving life in prison.) Anthony didn’t know who his dad was. Etc…

It was then that I realized that, of all of my friends, only one of them had a father in their lives who wasn’t an alcoholic, wasn’t abusive, and actually seemed like a nice guy. That was Tom. Tom was an only child and his parents were some of the nicest people you’d ever meet. His mom was a teacher and his dad was a businessman. They were both very active in one of the local churches.

My parents were married before they had me or my sister. They stayed married until my dad died. Both of my parents took an active role in my life as a child. My father never once raised a hand, or even his voice, to my mother. He didn’t drink. He didn’t do drugs. He wasn’t the jealous type. He never cheated on her. He showed her plenty of affection through all of the years of their marriage.

I think a lot of it had to do with the socio-economic class I was raised in. I, like most of my friends (except Tom), was raised in a lower socio-economic class. Poverty takes its toll on marriages. I guess, for a poor kid from the South, I got super lucky when it came to dads. Mine was like the dads you saw in sitcoms back then, while my friends’ dads, if they even had them, were more like the dads in dramas about abusive relationships.

FOUR MINUTES! This new site was online 4 Minutes Before HACKERS went after it

This rebuilt and restored website was online to the world for only 4 minutes before HACKERS tried to break-in!  They were caught.

Long-time users of this website will recall that during Thanksgiving of the year 2022 (over a year ago), this site was mercilessly HACKED.  It’s layout and functionality were wrecked.

At the time, I didn’t have the money or the ambition to do a full rebuild/restoration, so we jury-rigged-it and got by for a little over a year.

I saved up the money, did the research necessary, and last week, my tech guys began the rebuild.

In the past, the site has “good” security, better than most sites.  Yet Hackers were ultimately able to breach that “good” security, got in and did their harm.    So for this new rebuild, security was a major — I mean really big — aspect of the rebuild. Enterprise grade security.

Last Friday, this newly rebuilt and restored site went online at 7:24 PM eastern US time.

FOUR MINUTES LATER, the security system was already recording hacking attempts, and blocking IP addresses of malicious users.  FOUR MINUTES!

I got alerts from my system about what was going on, and that these certain IP addresses had automatically been blocked, but telling me I should consider adding these IP’s to the PERMANENT BAN list.   I did.

Here’s just a small sampling of the IP’s banned, and why:

Hacker Ban List

Hacking BANS 03 31 2024
Hacking BANS 03 31 2024

So it’s going to be  a rough ride for me as we proceed in the future.   For whatever reason, people with nefarious motives are already trying to break in.

I thought you should know.   In fact, it’s important you know.

Doing what I do to bring the TRUTH to the public, has enemies.  Those enemies don’t want YOU knowing the truth.

This is from my childhood in the 1960’s. My Mom and Dad were married in 1946. My sister and I were born in 1959 and 1962, so they were older parents. My dad died when I was 8. My Mom went into a deep depression. She started smoking and drinking a lot. She finally got her driver’s license, and we would drive to the bank to deposit our Social Security survivor’s benefits once a month. Then we would drive to the neighboring big city that sold alcohol. As a 10-year-old kid, I remember going into Snappy’s, getting 4 cases of Lone Star beer and a handle of Canadian Club. I would write the check on my Mom’s checking account, and they would help us load it into the trunk while my Mom sat in the car. I had to get my little sister up in the morning and walk her to school. I would sign her report card, and sign my own. I got very good at forging her signature. I did the grocery shopping, hauling them back on my bike. We ate lots of cheap frozen pizzas and sugary cereal because that is what I liked. It all seemed normal to me. She smoked and drank herself to death when I was 17. When I had a family of my own I worked very hard to give them a normal life. I realized when they were little that my childhood was really messed up and I wanted a better life for them.

Zulu Culture

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

Three bulls heard the rancher was bringing another bull onto the ranch.

First Bull: “I’ve been here five years. I’m not giving this new bull any of my 100 cows.”

Second Bull: “I’ve been here three years and have earned my right to 50 cows. I’m keeping all my cows.”

Third Bull: “I’ve only been here a year, and so far, you guys have only let me have 10 cows. I may not be as big as you fellows, but I’m keeping all 10 of my cows.”

Just then an 18-wheeler pulls up in the pasture carrying the biggest bull they’ve ever seen.

At 4,700 pounds, each step he takes strains the steel ramp.

First Bull: “I think I can spare a few cows for our new friend.”

Second Bull: “I actually have too many cows to take care of. I can spare a few. I’m certainly not looking for an argument.”

They look over at the third bull and find him pawing the dirt, shaking his horns and snorting.

First Bull: “Son, don’t be foolish, let him have some of your cows and live to tell about it.”

Third Bull: “Hell, he can have all my cows. I’m just making sure he knows I’m a bull.”

Generally not well.

Generally speaking, American POWs captured by Germany had it alright. They were not sent to concentration camps and generally received pretty good treatment at the hands of the Germans.

However we are dealing with Nazis here- keep that in mind. 2 factors really decided how an American POW would be treated.

  1. Was he being captured by the SS or the normal German Army (SS bad, Army good)
  2. Was he black or Jewish

If you were Jewish or Black and captured by the SS (or even elements of the Amry) you would be lucky to find yourself in a concentration camp. More likely, you are killed on the spot. If you were white and captured by the Army you’d be sent to a more comfortable imprisonment.

Black soldiers had it bad though- as they were considered Untermensch (sub-human).


I am about to tell you a story that will ruin your day and remind you how evil and demented the SS was.

So you are all familiar with the Ardennes offensive right? Also called the Battle of the Buldge where US forces were surrounded and cut off during the winter and then held out for weeks while the American 3rd Armored division broke through to save them.

Well during this time there were 2 massacres of US troops. The fact we are well aware of them both shows how rare it was for this thing to happen but I digress.

During this battle, 85 American soldiers were captured and executed by elements of the SS. Instead of bringing them to a prison camp the Germans just flat-out shot them all to death. But these men were all white, so they got the mercy of a bullet. This is called the Malmedy Massacre and is very well known.

main qimg a2826a3333b8e1e6e61337896bd763ba lq
main qimg a2826a3333b8e1e6e61337896bd763ba lq

There is another atrocity long forgotten though, largely because it involved Black US soldiers and not white ones.

During the battle 11 “Colored” G.I’s found themselves out of ammo with only 2 rifles and lost in the woods. They came upon a little house in the middle of nowhere and asked for refuge from the cold.

Inside this house were Belgium Patriots who supported the US. They offered the 11 men shelter and food and warmed them up. The nearby neighbors were not Patriots though and had a son fighting in the SS. They would run to the Germans and inform them Americans were being sheltered nearby.

main qimg 29322bd590313739beb3913201121581 lq
main qimg 29322bd590313739beb3913201121581 lq

4 men from the SS would arrive armed to the teeth. The Americans chose not to resist, not wanting any harm to befall those that took them in. They were also lacking the weaponry to fight.

main qimg 98f65ffc670746c7cc99723183c70811 lq
main qimg 98f65ffc670746c7cc99723183c70811 lq

So all 11 Americans surrendered to these SS soldiers and they wouldn’t even get the mercy of a bullet. Their bodies would be found shortly after and US command was shocked by what they found.

I am not going to pull any punches- I want you to understand the level of evil we are dealing with. These men were found with the following injuries.

  • Their eyes had been gouged out while they were still alive
  • Fingers were removed and legs were broken
  • Men were beaten to death with rifle butts
  • Many men had been run over by vehicles
  • A few were shot, but not in the head- they were shot in the knees and stomach to inflict maximum suffering
  • A few men had fractured skulls from having their heads beaten in

Just executing a POW is a war crime but this goes beyond it. The 85 executed at Malmedy were simply shot, perhaps because the Germans lacked the logistics to transport or guard POWs.

These 11 black US G.I’s were brutally and violently tortured and killed for no other reason than they were black. The SS soldiers took joy in their suffering. It’s the brutality that is hard to imagine.

The US would investigate this for years but the killers were never discovered. Maybe they got killed by the eventual onslaught of US forces. Hopefully, they died slowly in a pool of their own shit crying for their mothers who were already dead at the hands of the Red Army in the East.

I hate the SS

How about my high school principal?

Waaaayyy back, early 1970s, everyone arrived at school and was greeted by an announcement to go to homeroom.

Sounds normal, except that we only went to homeroom for things like report cards. Normally our first period class was attendance center, so a sudden announcement of starting the day with homeroom was weird.

Everyone went to homeroom, and there was a lot of wondering what was up – even the teachers seemed puzzled.

The principal then made a strange and rambling speech over the PA system.

It was about the parasites infesting our school.

It turned out that his definition of parasites was students who wore their coats to class, students who sat on the floor, students who held hands with :::gasp::: students of the opposite sex, students who, well, acted like teenagers.

Any student seen doing these things would be suspended for the rest of the day.

It didn’t take long.

By second period, everyone was wearing their coats. Half the school had on pieces of paper that read “I’m a parasite and I’m proud.” Members of the football team (all boys at that time) walked from class to class, holding hands. Any student with a free period was in the core, sitting on the floor around the tables instead of in the library or somewhere else. The Madrigal singers, in full costume ready for a performance, promenaded through the main hall with their hands in position (boy raised, holding girl’s in an “elegant” fashion), but not touching (it looked really stupid). I’m sure there was more, but that’s all I saw.

His policy was rescinded the next day. It’s really hard to suspend 2000 students, and that’s what it would have taken.

I suggest you visit China. It reversed my preconception. I am from Norway, North Europe. A rather modern and advanced society.

On my first visit to the US over 20 years ago, I was surprised at how backward and old fashioned it was. Movies had let me to believe it was the epitome of modern society. I visited several states on the East/South-East. Very backwards digitally. Terrible infrastructure. Unwalkable. Dirty. Hard to find quality restaurants outside of big cities. Dead city centres in medium sized cities.

I went to China a year or two later, and the opposite struck me. It was a highly modern society. Highly digital. Fantastic high-speed infrastructure (that is even better nowadays). Super clean, modern cities. I was mainly in the Jiangsu province that time. Loved it!

I suggest everyone to go and form their own opinions. I really fell in love with Suzhou, not far from Shanghai.

We were drunk. Stupid teenagers thinking that we could make fun of every rule.

“Let’s go to Gabriel’s house and continue the party there!” one of my friends suggested.

“We don’t have a car!” I said.

“I’ll take everyone on the back of my pickup truck! Hop in!” Juan said while starting his truck’s engine.

I immediately hesitated, “I don’t think it’s safe!”

“Aahhh… don’t be a wooze Hector! Come on! Everything will be okay!” Juan said.

“I don’t like the idea!”

Everyone was ready to go, partying, singing, drinking and fooling around.

It was very late at night. I had two options, call my mom to come pick me up or simply go with the flow.

I ignored my gut and followed my friends.

We were balancing ourselves as the truck moved forward. Juan, the truck driver, wasn’t responsible of us sitting — and standing on the back of the pickup.

A quick turn was enough to change the rest of my life. One of my best friends lost balance and was thrown off the back.

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” I shouted to the top of my lungs while hitting the rooftop of the pickup.

Juan stopped.

We quickly jumped out of the box to assist my friend. He was bleeding. His head was totally covered with blood and unconscious. He had landed with his head on a yellow speed bump causing him to fracture his head.

We took him to the hospital. Four days later he passed away. He was 16 years old.

To this day, his parents cry every time they see me because I bring memories of their son. I’m always speechless. I can only imagine how I could have prevented this life-changing event for every one of us.

I lacked character.

To answer your question:

Not trusting your instinct, your conscience, your spirit or however you want to call it; will bring terrible regrets that may last a lifetime.

Today, I’m aware of that “small voice” that somehow, I know I shouldn’t ignore anymore.

Yet, it all comes down to character, strength, and courage to stand my ground even when temptation or peer pressure is on.

I had been away for a couple of months diving and arrived home after a long flight. As soon as the taxi pulled into the parking square I noticed that where I once had a solid wooden door to my house I now had plywood sheet. So I immediately knew something was wrong. I got out of the taxi and approached my house where I was met by my neighbours who told me that the previous night, the Police had broken into my house and searched it. Now furious I called the Police and demanded an explanation.

A few minutes later the Police arrived and together we entered my house. Once inside they explained that a few weeks earlier a body had been found on the beach in the North West of the country, and there had been a public appeal to help identify the deceased. Following this appeal my brother (who I have not seen for over 30 years) had called the Police and claimed the body was me. He had even been taken to identify the body. With this information the Police arrived at my address and spoke to my neighbours who confirmed that they had not seen me for a number of weeks. This reinforced their incorrect assumptions that the body was mine, and as it was considered a suspicious death, they decided to break into my house and examine it, in case there were any clues that could help them solve the death.

The body found on the beach was later identified.

So yes there had been someone in my house, the Police, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling knowing that they had been through all of my possessions, and then I was left with a bill for a replacement door, as damage caused by Police in the execution of their duty, is apparently excluded from house insurance.

China has announced countermeasures against a US company and two individuals that have long collected sensitive information to provide so-called evidence for illegal sanctions by the US, after the US newly added two Chinese officials and three Chinese companies onto a sanction list citing so-called human rights concerns.

main qimg 4c583b4d5f36cf2a7a5b1345b101cf84
main qimg 4c583b4d5f36cf2a7a5b1345b101cf84

US intelligence data company Kharon and Edmund Xu, director of investigations of Kharon and Nicole Morgret, a former researcher from Center for Advanced Defense Studies, will be prohibited from entering China (including China’s mainland, the Hong Kong SAR and the Macau SAR), said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday.

China will freeze the property of Kharon and the two persons in China, including their movable and immovable property, and prohibit organizations and individuals in China from transactions and cooperation with them.

In December, US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced to sanction two Chinese officials for alleged link to human rights abuse. Meanwhile, the US Department of Homeland Security added three more Chinese companies to the so-called “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” (UFLPA) blacklist.

In response, Mao said that the US once again fabricated and spread false narratives about China’s Xinjiang region, imposed illegal sanctions on Chinese officials and companies under the pretext of so-called human rights issues in the region, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs, seriously violating international law and basic norms of international relations, seriously tarnishing China’s image, and seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of relevant Chinese officials and companies.

China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this and has made solemn representations to the US, Mao said, urging the US to stop slandering and smearing China, revoke the illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese officials and companies, and stop implementing erroneous bills such as the so-called UFLPA.

If the US refuses to change course, China will not flinch and will respond in kind, the spokesperson said.

Full movie.

This was the movie that forced President Regan to talk with the Soviet Union to stop the ramp up towards world war 3. Must watch.

Include all the vintage commercials.

Horrific.

Trapped in a crack house

It was with a colleague in the US.

We had a guy at my office who was married to a Japanese woman. They had just had their first baby, and the wife was staying at home going forward.

First, our overbearing colleague started to ask why they didn’t just get a nanny. Why didn’t his wife want to work?

Our overbearing co-worker hired a nanny, and offloaded all the things that parents usually do to the nanny. She wasn’t wealthy, but it seemed like she would rather work full-time than spend time with her children.

But that wasn’t the main issue. The new parents had taken the drastic step of *gasp* co-sleeping with their newborn.

He was 1/2 asleep one day by the copy machine when the overbearing woman got after him again. “You guys need a nanny. You’re sleep-deprived.”

“Don’t remind me.” He was trying to brush it off, but she wouldn’t let it go.

“I mean, if you’re not going to get a nanny and your wife wants to stay home with the kid, why can’t she take care of her without waking you up?”

“We share a bed.”

This was met with a blank stare.

“You know, co-sleeping.” He had told me before that he was nervous about it, but had read some research on how it helps infants regulate their breathing.

“Oh, my gawd! Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear about the couple who did that and the Dad rolled over and killed the baby?”

Sometimes you don’t know that you’ve crossed a line until it’s too late.

“No, but I heard about the couple that got a nanny who BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR KIDS!”

WARNING: Never mess with a sleep-deprived new father.

I was 13 years old,

That time there were no smartphones in popularity. Nokia was the king of mobiles and keypad phones were in use. My dad used to have Nokia 7210.

Sometimes I used to play games in my dad’s mobile. One day, I was casually scrolling through his mobile. I didn’t know much about phones those days. I was curious to explore.

In curiosity I don’t know what I have clicked, Suddenly a text message has been received which shocked me-

“Dear customer, thanks for choosing our service. 198rs has been deducted from your balance.”

I was stunned. My body started shivering and it was like a heart attack for me. 10 years ago, 198 ruppees had more value as compared to now. I knew that I am fcuked up. I put the mobile and was surviving the attack.

After sometime, My dad came. He had to make a call. I was edging near death. He dialed number and got to hear this,

“Sorry your account doesn’t have enough balance to make call.”

My heartbeats almost stopped.

He : Gurmeet, come here!

I felt like Yamraj is calling me.

I went somehow because my legs weren’t supporting me to go near him.

He : What you did in mobile? Tell me!

Me : mmmm! I don’t know.

I started crying. He was angry.

He : Tell me, what the hell you did? Where’s balance?

After a minute,

He : Next time don’t dare to touch my mobile.

He said and went. I beat the death and got my life back. I was extremely scared and stressed, however he didn’t react much.

Que : What’s most panic inducing thing that can happen as teenager?

Ans : when first time parents suffer loss because of us. When first time we do something wrong and get caught. After this, they get used to losses so it doesn’t induce more panic next time.

I was at a convention out of town. Just before dinner, I received a call from my mom saying my dad’s appointment had confirmed what we had expected-stage 4 lung cancer. Doctors said 1 month. Of course I was in tears and beside myself. I went to the dinner with tears rolling down my face. I was sitting quietly just remembering all the good things. My district manager came up and asked what was wrong. I told her. Her exact words were…..get over it. This was the same woman who just had 4 months off because her sister got sick. As soon as we got back I handed in my resignation. I just felt that comment was completely heartless and I lost all respect for her.

We were in a restaurant with a group of my friends almost 20 years ago…

As we were waiting for our food, I saw the richest and probably most respected man in our town walk in. He was super well known and employed over 500 people at that time.

We started talking together about him and my friend said.

“You would never have the balls to go talk to him!”

I actually didn’t, and the whole idea of talking to someone on that level scared me to death. But, my friends kept telling me to go, and I just said, “Ok, ok, I’ll do it.”

He was sitting alone, waiting for his food, and I just walked up to him and told him how he has been an inspiration for all of us guys sitting at that table over there and how we respect his work.

He was super nice to me and told me to sit down with him. I asked for some advice from him, and that started our friendship. He became my mentor.

He gave me so much good advice and helped me to grow my company. It’s sad that he passed away 2 years ago; he was 59 when I met him. It’s crazy that he took me under his wing.

That was the best split-second decision I made.

Jail and Porn equivalents

This wasn’t said to me, but to my then 7-year-old daughter, who had, for the first 6 and a half years of her life, had people, especially grandmotherly women, gushing over her: “Oh, what a beautiful girl! Oh, how well-behaved! What lovely, silky blond hair! You’re so lucky to have her!” etc. While she wasn’t entirely comfortable with total strangers coming up to her to adore her, it was still nice of them, and who doesn’t like being complimented, right?

Then baby sister came along, and the compliments got shared; baby sister was also pretty, though much different in looks. Stiil good; she loved her baby sister and was quite proud of her.

One day, though, we were in line at the grocery store check-out, when this grandmotherly-looking old lady came up and started gushing about the baby (somewhere between 6 and 12 months old) and how beautiful her eyes were, and her hair, and how sweet she was, and started remarking to other people in the line about the beautiful baby, and asking saying things like “don’t you think so?” to which the others, wanting to be polite to this older woman, of course agreed.

What was so rude? She then turned to my also very beautiful and well-behaved 7-year-old daughter, and practically sang out, “Oh, aren’t you lucky to have such a beautiful sister! Your mother must be so proud of her!” after which she marched off to resume her shopping.

Though I’m reasonably sure it was meant with good intentions from a totally clueless person, that was definitely one of the rudest and cruelest things I’ve ever heard said to a child, at least by someone who had no idea how hurtful their words could be.

I know that ruder and intentionally meaner things are said to or about people every day, but what astounded me was that this woman could have said what she did with no thought as to how negatively her words might be heard and interpreted by a child.

Because the cordon sanitaire is a joke stateside. You have to ringfence the virus to break transmission.

New York is now worse hit than Wuhan. Have state borders been sealed?

If someone tests positive but has mild symptoms do you send the person home?

What if he is a renter who shares the space with others and gets kicked out?

What if they are adults in nuclear families?

What if they are homeless?

Where are the quarantine facilities?

Further, who ensures compliance with quarantine orders for those that test positive?

Relying on goodwill and personal responsibility contributed to a handful of individuals becoming responsible for more than half of Korea’s cases. That is 5,000!

Where and how effective is contact tracing when America solves only 60 percent of murders each year? Every missed contact can mean thousands of cases down the road.

America is not putting whole of nation and whole of government effort into fighting this. They are fighting each other and have an eye on the stock market. How do you have the best days in a century when 3 million lose their jobs in one week?

Me me me will kill you and me.

Where is us us us?

My favorite Viet street cook

"All natural resources on which economic development, influence and might depend are instruments of political struggle.

It is logical that they are used for political purposes, including geopolitical ones.

We saw this in the 1980s, when the United States put colossal pressure on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which were the main oil producers, bringing about a collapse in oil prices to $10 or even lower per barrel in the hope of reducing the Soviet Union’s foreign exchange earnings and hence its capacity to continue to develop and ensure its security.

At that time, we continued to compete with the United States and the West as a whole.

They achieved their goal.

The Soviet Union’s revenues plummeted, which was one of the causes, though not the main or only one, that led to its dissolution.

They put pressure on the oil market, used speculation for the fall, drew the Soviet Union into an arms race, and promoted 'democratic reforms' when our country was not prepared for them.

Taken together, this contributed to the fall of a great power.

Since then, the Americans have been using oil and oil prices as a weapon.

A relevant example is Iran, which had its oil exports banned and the channels of oil deliveries contrary to that illegal ban were blocked.

Today, oil sanctions against Iran have been lifted.

The latest example is Venezuela, which was the third largest oil supplier to the United States in 2019.

In 2022, the Americans adopted an oil embargo against it, allegedly in the struggle against the 'regime' of Nicolas Maduro, as they put it.

But later they faced the consequences of the OPEC and OPEC Plus efforts to stabilise the oil market based on the main economic factors and a balance of interests of producers, importers and transit countries.

Today, the Americans are playing new political games against Venezuela, offering it an agreement to resume oil exports to the United States in exchange for political concessions.

However, it is a fact that Washington is suffering the consequences of its own actions considering that a vast number of American oil refineries were equipped to process Venezuelan oil.

It is a combination of purely economic factors and a desire to take advantage of economic ties, in this instance, use oil as a weapon.

As for Russia, what is the oil price cap imposed on Russian oil by the Americans, which the West was pressured to adopt as well?

It is flagrant interference in the workings and principles of the free market, which the Americans have been promoting for decades.

They described the dollar not as an American currency but as a global element of interconnectivity between the global economy and finances.

The structure collapsed when they decided to use these instruments to inflict what they described as 'geopolitical defeat' on Russia.

It is obvious that nobody is happy about the use of these underhanded methods, although few people, especially in the West, dare to put their uneasiness into words.

The pinnacle of using hydrocarbons as a weapon was the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines, which directly targeted Germany.

American analysts have admitted it, and many in Germany are openly saying this.

It is evidence of the current German government’s impotence and inability not just to think independently but to even protect its vital interests on which the prosperity and well-being of German citizens depend.

As a result of that subversive terrorist attack, businesses, faced with rising gas prices, are leaving Germany and other European countries, and relocating, for the most part, to the United States.

They have started to talk about the de-industrialisation of Europe.

A year ago, French Minister for the Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire said in a public statement that businesses paid four times more for energy in Europe than in the United States. I believe the balance is approximately the same now.

It is a fact that the United States has created much more favourable conditions for businesses, including by approving credit subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act. Business is moving to the United States.

At the same time, immediately after blowing up the gas pipelines, Washington said that in the absence of Russian gas Europe needed to buy American LNG, even though it cost more and there was a lack of the necessary infrastructure, which was still to be built.

Four years ago, when Angela Merkel was chancellor and life was easier, the Americans attempted to convince Germany that it had no need for Nord Stream or Russian gas in general, that it could buy American LNG instead.

Angela Merkel argued that it would be more complicated and much more expensive.

The Americans agreed that it would cost more and suggested covering the difference with higher taxes.

After all, they said, you can tell your people that it is a good cause in the interests of peace and democracy throughout the world.

There are more examples of this kind."
Profile
Profile

—Answer by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the question, “Do you agree that oil is an instrument of political manipulation? Can you provide more striking examples of this or arguments to the contrary?” during an interview for the documentary series ‘Oil’, Moscow, March 21, 2024.

See this right here?

1
1

That on the table is, or rather was, a helmet.

It belonged to Corporal Jason Dunham

of the US Marine Corps. While his Marine squad was trying to subdue an enemy combatant, the insurgent dropped a grenade among them. Dunham jumped on the grenade to save his comrades, placing his combat helmet directly over the grenade to reduce the blast.

You can see how that worked out for the helmet.

Surprisingly, Dunham was not immediately killed by the blast, but he was severely wounded. His injuries sent him into a coma, and he died eight days later.

main qimg 46c10c41c09ab2d7421e8094cbb3e087 lq
main qimg 46c10c41c09ab2d7421e8094cbb3e087 lq

Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice.

So judging by real world experience, the answer to this question is no. Of course, if you are presented with a grenade, you want to put as much distance and protection between you and it as possible. If that includes a helmet, it’s better than nothing. But you cannot expect that it will save you.

If you’ve got a better option, take it.

Physical attacks are cheaper, easier and possibly less risky than electronic attacks.

The US-101 exit for the Google Headquarters in Mountain View is notoriously busy. It can take 15 minutes of sitting in traffic, and causes a great deal of stress to Googlers.

If your car ‘broke down’ in that junction thousands of people would be delayed in getting to work. Let’s say that the fully burdened cost of an engineer is $100 /hr, you might delay 2000 people getting to work by half an hour, costing Google $100k. (Some people might give up and turn around).

In addition, one of the reasons that people leave Google to work elsewhere is the traffic. A few engineers might quit. Hiring new engineers is expensive (I think Bob See has given the cost somewhere on this site, and it’s in the thousands of dollars), plus it takes time to ramp up at Google – you are not productive for at least a couple of months, and possibly up to six months. Let’s call that $100 * 8 hours * 60 days, that’s another 50k.

So, for the cost of the cheapest car you can find, that will actually start, and a couple of hours of your time, you have cost Google $150k. (You might need to add the price of travel and the time to get to Mountain View).

You could pull this stunt as often as you can get away with it, each time costing $150k.

That’s much easier than a botnet attack, or 10s of thousands of Gmail accounts.

Another advantage of this method is that you haven’t committed a very serious crime – the FBI aren’t going to come after you for hacking. You can probably get away with it at least once by being told to be more careful.

Comix 1
Comix 1

American Society of Magical Negroes is AWFUL – People Are SICK of Woke Hollywood

WTF? It’s an actual movie? Whoa!

A lot of men try very hard to not seem like creeps or pervs, whereas I’ve never heard of any woman making any similar effort.

For example, I am currently at the beach. Literally, I am sitting in a chair in the sand about 15 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. There are about 40 other people within eyesight on this beach, including a group of teen girls to the right of me who’ve been taking bikini selfies for about two hours. They’re hard to ignore, because they’re doing weird poses and giggling a lot.

To the left, there are more women in bikinis. They’re sunbathing.

So I’m making a point to keep my eyes on my laptop, the book I’m reading, or the ocean in front of me. I hesitate to look left or right, lest I get accused of being a creep.

But, there are also a lot of scantily-clad men out here too. The women around me seem to have no problem staring at these guys. Older women, younger women, it doesn’t matter. When a shirtless guy jogs by (it happens a lot… there’s a Marine base near here), some of these women are downright shameless in their gawking.

Imagine if a guy did that to a woman running by, especially if that woman was a generation younger than them. They’d be driven off the beach by an angry mob, accusing them of being a pervert.

Yesterday, I was sitting on the deck overlooking the ocean, using my binoculars to scan the horizon. I was looking for dolphins or boats or whatever I could see. But, as soon as a family with teenage girls showed up on the beach, I put the binoculars down. Seeing a dolphin isn’t worth the risk of being thought of as a possible creep.

Jia Qingguo (贾庆国)

What follows is a relatively wide-ranging interview with Jia Qingguo (贾庆国) discussing the prospects of cross-Strait relations, a potential Trump presidency and US-China ties more broadly. Jia has been a long-time foreign policy adviser in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and is the former Dean of Peking University’s School of International Studies. He has recently been outspokenly critical of the restrictions on Chinese scholars’ engagement with foreign counterparts. Among the highlights of this piece – his advocacy of “patience” in the Taiwan context so long as the incoming leadership does not pursue independence; his preference to see Biden re-elected rather than Trump (views among China’s establishment intellectuals continue to be divided); and his belief that there is still scope for alignment of US and Chinese interests on regional conflicts in Ukraine and the DPRK.
  1. Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te has his hands tied politically. The impact of his election on cross-Strait relations should be limited. China will continue to promote peaceful (re)unification “for some time to come”.
  2. Trump is “reckless”, has “outdated views” and lacks “basic moral principles”. He has shown that he is not the pragmatic businessman that many in China had hoped for back in 2016.
  3. His re-election would be particularly detrimental to China and could lead to “severe friction and confrontation” between Washington and Beijing. The prospect of his walking away from the US’s One-China Policy is real.
  4. A second Biden presidency would not prevent further tensions between the US and China, but it could help preserve the current trend of stabilizing and improving ties.
  5. Beijing should always keep its long-term interests in mind and avoid overreacting to provocations coming from the United States. Confrontation and tit-for-tat responses make little sense at a time when China is still more vulnerable than the US.
  6. There are still many areas in which the US and China can (and must) cooperate. For instance, defusing tensions on the Korean peninsula will only succeed if Beijing and Washington are prepared to join hands.

B̲o̲ston – B̲o̲ston (Full Album) 1976

Let’s hop into the GTO, crank it up loud, and roll up one.

I went to Walmart

“I went into Wal-Mart to grab three things. Fruit Loops, eggs & waffles. Healthy, I know. This woman was asking people for something and my goal was to bypass, get my things and go. She asked me to stop. I figured she was just asking for money and I already decided that I was going to politely let her know that I didn’t have any cash on me. I never carry cash. I listened to her. She had groceries in her cart and asked for help to buy food for her family. She proceeded to tell me that she turned her daughter in for dope, her 2-month-old grand baby was born addicted to crack and she has 6 grandchildren to take care of. I really felt for her. She was sobbing. See, I know stories like this to be FACT from working in an inner-city school and my husband working in a hospital. Babies are unfortunately born addicted all the time & responsibility of raising grandbabies does fall on the grandparents. She asked me if I would help her buy groceries.

I looked at what I had in my hands compared to what she had. She had shopped smart and had healthy food: bananas, bell peppers, meat, pancakes, etc. Practical things you would make meals with and feed children. I told her yes, go get diapers for the baby and meet me at the front. She sobbed, praised God and said hallelujah to the cashiers,etc. Yesterday, I turned 30, had my healthy family by my side, ate tons of crawfish and blew $20 at the casino for the heck of it. Well, I checked my humanity today. This woman has food to put on her table and even if she wasn’t telling the truth, I don’t even care in the least. She’s human, I’m human and today she helped me realize a few things and I hope that I helped her. She won’t have to worry for at least a little while about food. I didn’t expect this today but apparently I was called to it and was right where I needed to be.

The forgotten dresser

Cheese Steak Pizza

Cheese Steak Pizza
Cheese Steak Pizza

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 small onion, cut crosswise into thin slices, separated into rings
  • 1 small green or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (16 ounce, 12 inch diameter) package thick prebaked pizza crust
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet over medium heat 6 minutes.
  3. Add onion and bell pepper; continue cooking until beef is not pink and vegetables are crisp-tender, breaking beef up into small crumbles.
  4. Pour off drippings; season with salt and pepper.
  5. Place pizza crust on ungreased large baking sheet. Spoon beef mixture evenly on pizza crust; sprinkle with cheese.
  6. Bake at 400 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  7. Cut into 8 wedges.

Saddam’s bunker was designed to withstand a nuclear bomb.

It was built directly under his palace.

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main qimg 8480ca32958b44dce9cbdd548c5c3ab6 lq

(source: Outlook Magazine)

Much like traditional concrete design, steel rods were run first, then concrete poured over them.

Only—the steel was thicker, and so was the concrete.

It was so powerful that if a Hiroshima bomb went off 250m away—the bunker would be fine.

And through both Iraq wars, the bunker stood strong and withheld all the onslaughts of US forces. In today’s dollars, it cost well over $100 million to build.

But—to the question:

It was built by a Munich, Germany born designer, Karl Esser. He comes from a long line of architects who have also designed military grade bunkers. He expresses no guilt in designing the bunker, stating that it wasn’t a weapon, merely the equivalent of a bomb shelter.

He actually met with Saddam Hussein several times and stated that if you met him (in the 1980’s), he looks like a tax collector, there is nothing special about him. But when he starts speaking—you realize that he is far more than a tax collector, and you are reminded of that by how tense everyone around him is. (Source: Saddam’s bunker can withstand nuke attack, says its designer. Bhaita, Saida)

Again—to the question:

Karl was chosen specifically by Hussein because of his experience. His grandmother designed Hitler’s bunker. The family trade had been passed down to him.

To usher in Communism?

Really? These folk don’t have a clue as to what they are talking about.

Yes, as a matter of fact, Shaquille O’Neal. Now to be honest, he wasn’t as famous at the time as he has become since, but he was well known locally. I was a homicide detective in Baton Rouge, Louisiana one Friday or Saturday night was driving on one of the public thoroughfares to go through LSU campus, when a small truck ran a stop sign in front of me on Highland Road, almost causing an accident. Even though I was I was in an unmarked car, I decided to pull it over to advise the driver to be more careful. Upon stopping the vehicle, the driver of the truck exited, and it took him a while to unfold himself out of it. He towered over me, but smiling, advised apologetically that he didn’t have his drivers He advised he did not have license on him, saying friendly enough, “but you know who I am” More statement than a question.

I decided to play ‘dumb’. “No, who are you?” I asked with a straight face. I was pretty sure it was Shaquille O’Neal, but I wanted him to tell me who he was. I honestly did not do not follow basketball, but everyone was talking about him (he was the star LSU basketball player at the time). I almost felt sorry for him As he looked a little Bit crestfallen that I apparently did not know who he was. He wasn’t asking for special favors or making demands, he innocently thought he was well known in town BY ALL due his Athletic prowess and notoriety. I smiled at him, and I said something to the effect that, ‘ I know who you are, but need your DOB and some proof. He found his insurance or registration with his name on it and I explained why I stopped him and told him to please be more careful. He was friendly and respectful during the entire encounter. I am very proud that he now works as a reserve law enforcement officer. He is much more than some guy who can play a game, he is obviously a still a class act.

Victoria Nuland: The making of a psychopath. Chapter 1,2 and 3.

Starting in the second grade, when my father lifted the absolute prohibition on fighting. He got tired of picking me up from the school nurse, or the hospital. Also tired of the wear and tear on my clothing.

The very next day, one of my usual tormentors hit me in the back of the head. The teacher just watched, as usual. So I picked up my desk and beat him unconscious. Took three blows.

I was sent to the office, of course. The principal said I was to be expelled. My father asked if the other boys who hit me had also been expelled. “well, no. They didn’t use a desk.”

“So, it’s okay for them to beat MY son bloody, as long as they don’t use the furniture? Is that it? Did you at least discipline the teacher who allowed this to go on?”

“Well, no. Boys will be boys…”

“Well, my boy is a boy, too. You have demonstrated that you will do nothing to prevent him from being beaten; so where’s the problem if he fights back?

Tell you what. I’m going to send the hospital bills and the bills for damaged clothes to my lawyer, and the school board. we’ll let them sort it out.”

And that was the last said of expelling me.

OMG funny

In my experience its easier if you don’t try. Couple of years ago a manager denied me several requests for Training, told me i was a waist of time. Few years latter my ceo inquired as to why i never made use of the company training system. So i told him. I told him about being denied and the waist of time comment, and how i did not even look at training anymore because of it.

That manager was demoted that Christmas, quit instead, then sent his layer to take a chunk out of my 401. The company successfully convinced him not to. But later they restricted my max contribution to the retirement account because of the incident.

And it all happened because i applied for training on how to handle an upset customer.

Second time was during an ataboy reward. Essentially i had a panic attack when that same ceo came to congratulate me. He was fired because, by procedure, when an employee freaks out the manager is supposed to walk away. Instead this ceo stayed around and calmed me down. The project manager 5feet away wrote the ceo up, and by the end of the week that ceo was gone. Only thing needed to make it all happen was a traumatic event in college to give me ptsd. “May God welcome you to his heavenly splendor Jerry. You will be missed and thank you.”

To get a manager fired do the following. Call a lawyer, get the lawyer to file a freedom of information. Aquire the company’s secret employment laws document. This will be the stack of papers that say among other things

1. A thong is ok for women to ware but brief’s are not ok for men to use.

2. An employee may be terminated for possession of pornography when: they are found to poses/refuse to submit to search and with a witness, or have a prior termination for and no witness. Or a manager successfully implants the audio album “innocent victim” on the employees phone.

3. Work place competition is permitted under these criteria. Or exceeds the bounds of acceptance under these criteria…

4. The employee was found holding a blade, even if found working with food in the kitchen.

5. Employees are permitted to use incontinence products but are subject to termination if they discard used products in the bathroom garbage bin. And by extension are not allowed to have extra diapers on company grounds.

Be warned if you do obtain these secret documents, most fortune 500 companys will respond by amending a new criteria. Usually the new criteria is specialized to target YOU and some thing YOU do. In this way even after you learn how to CAN anyone, you will not be bulletproof. HR is not stupid, they will fit you with a remote explosive collar.

But coming back to the original question, use what you learn then file a report on your manager for anything he is doing that violates those secret rules.

The underwear criteria was really surprising to me, then i got investigated for it one day.

Please let us know if you actually get someone canned for their underwear.

Final comments. The right reason to terminate a manager is when there replacement is both better than the current person, and when its better for the company. Any situation where you are involved in a non consensual passing of the torch will result in repercussions. If your manager is doing something you don’t like, ask them how you are supposed to respond. You will be surprised.

U.S IN TROUBLE! China Finally DESTROY U.S Companies

A man was stabbed, killed and thrown in a desolate pit.

The mother blamed victim’s brothers in law for this. Police arrested both of them but later cleared them off. No lead, no progress at all. Senior officers and Judge were not happy.

Four months passed.

Then a young and handsome officer got transferred in our police station. A few ongoing cases were given to him to investigate and complete, this blind murder incident was exclusively included as well.

I remember… It was his first day at work, he chose to handle this blind murder case first. I knew him personally because his elder brother is my friend, a constable as well. So this officer preferred using my room until he gets a suitable place to set up his desk and everything.

So… yea. First day at work. He summoned those two suspects (in laws) as he wished to question them. Those two individuals arrived in my office. There were four people in my room. Me, detective and those two.

He began throwing question at them and investigated. Questions after questions… and a bit of persuasion.

They confessed the murder in half an hour. I kid you not. They confessed the murder, showed the place where they hid the knives and explained the motive.

This young detective solved a murder case in 30 minutes on his first day.

Senior officers couldn’t praise him more. That previous detective was blown upon hearing this news. He was ordered to report to head quarters. A seasoned one. I am sure he was asked…

How the hell couldn’t you resolve this piece of cake investigation in four months. Did you intentionally spare the murderers.

I remember the sweat on his forehead when he returned. He was worried as this may lead to dismissal from service and then some, if proved that he favored the murderers in his reports.

And if that’s truth “he sold a murder” which is awful and atrocious.

Anyway…. it’s not my place to put verdict.

I don’t know if he did it or not.

What is rare is not common

In my office, there is a 26 year old married guy. He is an attendant and not earning much for leading a decent life in a metro city. Although, I am much above in post than him, I treat him as my friend.

So, his wife was about to give birth in a day or two yet he was not taking leave from the office. He told me that it is very close and could be today or tomorrow.

Then on the next day at 4 PM, he rushed towards me saying that wife is in labor and was taken to the hospital. I got furious and told him why he didn’t take leave that day. I quickly calmed down realizing his situation and offered to drop him. But to amazment, he refused.

I was speechless. He said he has some urgent work and only after finishing that he will go.

Next day he called me and said that he was blessed with a baby boy but he also said by the time he reached his wife had already given birth.

I demanded he explain this nonsense.

In a soft voice he explained that he needed to finish his duty till 5.30 pm otherwise his one day pay would be deducted.

Bitter truths:

  1. Money really is the most important thing because the lack of it is so painful.
  2. Our parents sacrifice so much but still sometimes we end up ignoring them.
  3. One cannot truly relate to the pain of others unless he is put in same position.
  4. Without education, a person is really on a path of lifelong struggle.

The Sopranos – Dick Barone – the king of garbage and Tony Soprano’s boss!

I was working the AT YOUR SERVICE counter at Macy’s during the holiday rush when a woman with husband in tow stepped in front of the customer I was waiting on, a quiet and endlessly patient young man, and demanded that I call her a manager and, almost as an afterthought, added that the person I summoned had better be white.

She said this loud enough for everyone in the cordoned line behind her to hear.

The young man I’d been waiting on was black, as was practically everyone else in line.

I leaned towards her and hissed —

You realize you’ve just given me license to tell you exactly what I think of you without the risk of getting fired…

But I’m not gonna do that.

What I AM going to do is tell you to go to the end of the line and wait for me to finish with all these other good people…and then I’ll call you a manager.

His name will be Akeem.

And he’s just gonna LOVE talkin’ to YOU.


She didn’t make it to the end of the line. Her long suffering husband literally dragged her out of the store.

And Akeem wasn’t actually my supervisor. He was responsible for the ground floor and I was mall level.

I lied about that part.

But he did enjoy the story when I told it to him later on.

Mother Goes Off On Woke School Board Over Graphic Books in Her Child’s Elementary School

There are many places that make this a very strange world. The Nazca Lines, crop circles, Easter Island, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, and so on. I thought I had read about them all, but this one was new to me.

The Band of Holes

In Pisco, Peru, stretching across the Cajamarquilla Plain are thousands of ancient holes that measure 6 feet (1.8 m) to 7 feet (2.1.m) deep and evenly spaced 3 feet (.9 m) apart. No one has any idea how these holes were formed. There are at least 5000 to 6000 depressions that run north and south for almost 2 miles. (3.2 k)

Who would dig all these holes? Why? How were they created? I’m imagining some poor sunburned guy with a spade saying, “Okay, 600 more to go then I’m stopping.”

It actually looks like some giant machine was travelling along this path. Was it a mining operation? What were these holes for?

Initially discovered by pilot Robert Shippee who took an aerial photo of them and published them in National Geographic, they are indeed strange. They date to around the 15th. century, they believe.

Truthfully, although there are many guesses, no one really knows who or what dug these holes and why.

Peru is a very strange place that’s for sure. Just read about Saqsaywaman, 12 Angled Stone, and Machu Picchu. Who built these places and how? Modern man would have a hell of a time reconstructing them. They might not be able to. I think we have forgotten the ways to do these stupendous feats. The ancients apparently knew them. We are now just learning, or relearning about moving rock through sound and wavelengths.

Here’s some examples from others that I thought were well done…

Default masterpiece best quality oil painting modern Oiran roy 3(1)
Default masterpiece best quality oil painting modern Oiran roy 3(1)
Default Create a stunning 8K ultrarealistic food photograph fe 2
Default Create a stunning 8K ultrarealistic food photograph fe 2
Default show Mark Antony leading in the battle of Actium in 31 0
Default show Mark Antony leading in the battle of Actium in 31 0
Default Ascension of Augustus to Power 1
Default Ascension of Augustus to Power 1
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 2(1)
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 2(1)
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 2
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 2
Default A candid photo of crazy old scientists arguing in a la 3
Default A candid photo of crazy old scientists arguing in a la 3
Default A candid photo of crazy old scientists arguing in a la 2
Default A candid photo of crazy old scientists arguing in a la 2
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 1(1)
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 1(1)
Default show a Octavian commanding 290 roman trireme ships 1
Default show a Octavian commanding 290 roman trireme ships 1
Leonardo Diffusion XL Sketchbook Style Sketch book hand drawn 2
Leonardo Diffusion XL Sketchbook Style Sketch book hand drawn 2
Default The man at the table raises his glass once more thanki 0
Default The man at the table raises his glass once more thanki 0
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 1
Default Capture the moment of triumph and despair as Octavians 1
Default Telekinesis is a remarkable ability that allows indivi 1
Default Telekinesis is a remarkable ability that allows indivi 1
Default Imagine young Errol Flynn age 34 as a Court Dandy 15 2
Default Imagine young Errol Flynn age 34 as a Court Dandy 15 2
Default Professeur 1
Default Professeur 1
Default Bb 0
Default Bb 0
Default crea a una chica rubia que se parezca a una chica huma 3
Default crea a una chica rubia que se parezca a una chica huma 3
Default Simple Logo for barbershop Odin has a cool design hair 0
Default Simple Logo for barbershop Odin has a cool design hair 0
Default Create a Cat holding a alt coin Cripto 0
Default Create a Cat holding a alt coin Cripto 0
Default Bb 1
Default Bb 1
Default Again the waiter serves drinks to everyone except the 0
Default Again the waiter serves drinks to everyone except the 0
Default A candid photo of crazy old scientists arguing in a la 1
Default A candid photo of crazy old scientists arguing in a la 1
Default pisces zodiac sign golden metal reflecting a glowing s 0
Default pisces zodiac sign golden metal reflecting a glowing s 0
Default spaceship parts debris floating in the exosphere the b 0
Default spaceship parts debris floating in the exosphere the b 0
Default masterpiece best quality Anime14 modern Oiran bold neo 2
Default masterpiece best quality Anime14 modern Oiran bold neo 2
Default astronaut black cat floating in the stratosphere catal 0
Default astronaut black cat floating in the stratosphere catal 0
Default masterpiece highest creativity Leonardo Da Vinci in dy 6
Default masterpiece highest creativity Leonardo Da Vinci in dy 6
Default Uma guerreira japonesa com um drago tatuado em seu ros 2
Default Uma guerreira japonesa com um drago tatuado em seu ros 2
Default black cat who will attack you with fire woman 0
Default black cat who will attack you with fire woman 0
Default White Cat sitting on pillows on panoramic roof Istanbu 2
Default White Cat sitting on pillows on panoramic roof Istanbu 2
Default A corgi in a white shirt black vest and white fedora s 3
Default A corgi in a white shirt black vest and white fedora s 3
Default Beautiful Elf posing with freckles and glasses and lo 2
Default Beautiful Elf posing with freckles and glasses and lo 2
Default Bloodborne Dark Souls 3 Elden Ring ultra detailed g 1
Default Bloodborne Dark Souls 3 Elden Ring ultra detailed g 1
Default show men in the middle ages watching strange lights da 0
Default show men in the middle ages watching strange lights da 0
Default Brazilian woman with ears of a brazilian fox named lob 0
Default Brazilian woman with ears of a brazilian fox named lob 0
Default masterpiece best quality oil painting modern Oiran roy 3
Default masterpiece best quality oil painting modern Oiran roy 3
Leonardo Vision XL Imagine a powerful elegant animated charact 2
Leonardo Vision XL Imagine a powerful elegant animated charact 2

I find it remarkable that so many people think that the USA would overwhelm China in a war, the country that wrote the book on military strategy and how to defeat larger, more powerful opponents.

The US could not even win in Korea or Vietnam, what makes you think they would prevail against the much larger and powerful China?

First of all, the US would likely only defeat China in a conventional war assuming that China fought back using similar conventional means. Unlikely.

You have certainly seen all the news reports about Chinese hacking by their military? These sorts of things are warnings. They are warnings to the US that if you come after us we know where your vulnerabilities are. And so do the Russians. And any attack on the Chinese would also likely bring about a quick military alliance with the Russians as well.

A ground war against China (not to mention ANY war against China) would be the height of idiocy. China has 6X the number of people, compared to the US, who could be called into military service fairly quickly. And China is a HUGE country with lots of very difficult terrain to cover.

And given all the bullying and warfare that the US has engaged in since this new century began, do you really think that the Chinese, and Russian military, have not been actively preparing for the potential of such a scenario?

The US military can overwhelm most countries because they are much smaller and weaker. But taking on someone even close to our own size would expose weaknesses and vulnerabilities, both in the military and the US government, that neither wants the American people to know about or experience.

If the US wants to get itself into the biggest military quagmire in history, and destroy its economy, then yeah go ahead and try and go to war with China.

Ha, not horrible just really rather bizarre! My husbands cousin was getting married. He turned out to be a horrible person but thats another story. At the wedding we are sat at the cousins table along with a mutual cousin who is/was a well known pop star. He was absolutely lovely, I was sat next to him and obviously the pop star has been left at home for the day. During the speech the brides father announced he was here and made him get up for a round of applause. Honestly he looked like he wanted to die on the spot. The brides father then spent the next 10 minutes talking about the pop star cousin and forgetting the bride and groom.

On another note 2 aunties had basically taken over the ladies loo where they could have a full blown row. You went in and they were just stood there, daggers drawn in silence. As you left you could hear them start again.

Overall it was a wedding to remember for all the wrong reasons and the bride and groom lasted about 10 years.

Niger DESTROYS Victoria Nuland’s Plot to Return Africa to France w/ Ben Norton

Many of my colleagues have moved away from iPhones. But it has nearly nothing to do with the brand beating a US brand.

An iPhone used to be a prestige item. A status symbol. But over the last 2 years so many people in China own one that it is no longer a status symbol. Factory workers, office workers etc. So what is so special about an iPhone that makes someone want to spend twice as much for it. They can buy another brand of phone that does what an iPhone does, make a phone call? Yup Take selfies? Yup. Use We Chat? Yup. Surf the net? Yup.

So that is the problem is Apple was too successful selling so many phones in China that there is no prestige that is worth paying an extra $500 for it.

And keep in mind that when someone in China is buying a phone they are paying for it all up front. So it is an extra $500 out of pocket. It is not like in the US where you pay for the phone monthly as part of your phone plan. So it is a painless extra $10 a month to buy an iPhone. So a Chinese person really thinks about the value they are getting when they hand over their money.

Of course now the little extra push to go with a Chinese brand is the trade war. But as far as I can see no one is telling them or asking them to not buy American.

Personally I think if the government ever did ask that US companies would sell very very very little here. Be thankful the Chinese government is showing restraint.

Admiral Yamamoto, not General. No, it is almost certainly bogus as there is no known citation for this supposed quote. The words have sometimes been attributed to the Gordon Prange, a historian on the staff of Douglas MacArthur, but it is found nowhere in his writings either. The quote should be regarded as bogus until someone can cite when and where it originated.

Nor did Admiral Yamamoto ever say:

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

That quote appears to be derived from the 1970 film Tora! Tora!, Tora! (great film). What he did say was:

A military man can scarcely pride himself on having smitten a sleeping enemy.

This is a reference regarding his disappointment over the bungled Japanese declaration of war which wasn’t delivered until a few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Cast-Iron Skillet Pizza

I would name this “Caprese Pizza.” It’s heavenly!

cast iron skillet pizza
cast iron skillet pizza

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 20 min | Yield: 2 (9 to 10 inch) pizzas

Ingredients

  • 1 pound store-bought pizza dough (room temperature)
  • 1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
  • Coarse sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup shredded fresh basil

Instructions

  1. Heat well-oiled cast-iron or nonstick 10 or 12 inch frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
  2. Divide dough in half; roll one half into round 1 inch smaller than diameter of pan.
  3. Cook dough in hot pan until dough begins to rise and bottom starts to brown. Using metal spatula, turn carefully. Layer half the tomato slices over dough; scatter half the mozzarella over top. Lower heat to medium-low; cook until mozzarella melts.
  4. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Sprinkle with salt; drizzle with half the olive oil.
  5. Cut into wedges; sprinkle half the basil over top.
  6. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Imagine it from the top performer’s point of view.

They might be getting offers from other companies they don’t discuss with you.

If they’re performing better than everyone else and don’t perceive themselves as having erred (at least not enough for a write up) they’re left searching for reasons you may have written them up. It’s inevitable that they will arrive at political or financial motives.

Typically having a write up interferes with career advancement, raises, and bonuses.

Perhaps they thought you were trying to put them back on their heels to make them more controllable. Top performers don’t need to be controlled. Maybe the very act of writing them up was a final straw in proving the incompetence of your leadership to them.

If their work created opportunities or revenues perhaps they saw a write up as a way of denying or usurping those. Top salespeople get this all the time. It’s a typical ruse for an unscrupulous leadership team to mess with a salesperson’s compensation or territory when they confront how much money they may pay in commissions to one person. When they think they can close the book of business themselves these asshats will do things to marginalize or force out the salesperson to capture more revenue and take credit for the sale “in spite of” the salesperson’s supposed shortcomings.

If the company is already having some problems this kind of thing is a death knell. It’s like the drunk, losing poker player trying to scare a guy with a stack of chips into folding by going all-in with an obvious bluff. The experienced people see that and think, “Well, that’s the end of that.”

This type of thing is doubly bad because it simultaneously signals bad faith and incompetence. It inspires disgust and righteous anger in people who work diligently and honestly.

In general, the more honest and competent a person is, the more attuned they are to the dishonesty and incompetence of others. Since they are typically getting things done at a faster pace they end up encountering things that interfere with getting things done more often. They encounter and avoid the temptation to take dishonest shortcuts and are pressured to do so by their managers more often.

This whole time other companies are sending messages about the greener grass across the street.

Does any of this feel like it applies to you?

Many years ago I worked at a Clinical Trials company. In the space of 18 months, two of the female staff had needed extended sick leave. I don’t know the exact nature of the illness these women had. I worked more closely with one of the women so, I know that she had a miscarriage and possibly depression afterward. I believe the other women had some long-standing health problems that resulted in a hysterectomy.

One of the Managing Directors sent a fairly rambling memo about the inconvenience, to the company, of key staff being absent for long periods. He was proposing to take a gynaecological history of female staff in order to assess their ‘availabilty’ for certain roles in the company. Apparently, women’s plumbing is a bit different and inconveniently complex …. (In fairness, I should point out that he was a consultant gynaecologist).

As a Staff Representative, I was asked to forward a unanimous response on behalf of the female staff. The response was just two words and you know which two words.

He received his reply within an hour of sending his memo and the subject was never mentioned again.

OMG. This takes me back. We used to jam to this non-stop. First time I have listened to the full album in about fifty years. No shit!

This was more than boneheaded!!!!!!!!!! This photo is of me as a MP about to go out on a jeep patrol in Danang Vietnam in 1970.

main qimg 3482d8aea896a2726c0c06652f8c96b5
main qimg 3482d8aea896a2726c0c06652f8c96b5

When we changed the watch, the watch before us gave us their 45 caliber pistol. They were supposed to remove the magazine, jack the weapon back and then shoot down at some sand or earth area to make sure no round was in it. The guy I had on one watch switch, took his weapon out did not take the magazine out, jacked it back (which loaded the chamber) and then shot it down about 2 inches from my toes. We were both on a concrete walkway going into our police office. What saved my life most likely was a rubber mat about 15 feet long on the sidewalk. The round went through the rubber mat and when it ricocheted on the concrete, the bullet slid about 12 feet under the mat between my legs behind me instead of going up into me. What followed was a huge flurry of of expletives to him from myself and the men around me. I could have died from friendly fire!

Before going to China, I used to hear a lot from my Mainland Chinese friends in Australia how the Chinese are so selfish and cunning. They told me to be careful when buying something because I could get cheated, that the Chinese won’t do me any favor when I ask for one and if I ask somebody the direction they might point into a wrong direction. I heard the Shaghainese are arrogant, the Henanese are very bad, the Hubei-ese are cheaters, the North-Easterners are rough and so on so forth. Of course, they warned me on good will, and I thanked them for that.

Yet, when I was actually in China, I found that virtually all what they told me are wrong. I’ve never met any arrogant Shanghainese, Hubei-ese cheater, bad Henanese or rough North-Easterner (though many North-Easterners do talk loudly). When I had no umbrella on a rainy day, someone gave me an umbrella; when I took a bus but had no coin, someone gave me coins and when I forgot my belonging in a restaurant, someone told me that. Of course, there must be bad people in China as well, but not as many as I imagined before going there based on what those Chinese friends warned me.

EELF Collection

This is… well… not what you would think. I ran across this, and it’s… well… you just have to watch it.

TekWar as the mystery

Not me but my Dad (may he Rest In Peace). Dad had been sitting in a Tank during the Korean War but he had been stationed in Germany. Well, tanks from back in the 1950s did not have the noise suppression systems of the tanks of today and the technologies we have for Hearing Protection were practically non-existent; Dad had severe hearing loss before he ever met Mom.

Some time after their divorce, Dad had finally obtained some really GOOD hearing aids. He got home really tired and was traipsing through his kitchen when suddenly there was an unfamiliar noise. He spun around with his weapon drawn and…almost shot his new refrigerator, which he had never heard kick on before. 😀

EDIT!: Thank you to everybody so much for all the likes!

I am getting a FAQ for this post; here is the answer so I won’t have to spam it in the comments:

After Dad was out of the Army, he went to another service branch and then FINALLY left the Military altogether. But then he became a police officer.

As a Police Officer at the time the incident happened with the refrigerator, he had just gotten off a long shift and had a case of nerves that had not settled yet. Sometimes police are jittery after a long or difficult shift. He walked in his door and had not yet disarmed himself when he heard the fridge kick on for the very first time. He lived alone then, so that weird unfamiliar noise startled him and he reacted like he had been trained to react for his entire adult life. Dad practiced excellent trigger discipline and did not actually FIRE the weapon; he just aimed at the fridge.

Please keep in mind, this was MULTIPLE DECADES ago and where he worked at the time, Police could bring and use their own firearms on-duty, not just their Service pieces that were kept in lockers at the station.

Take it easy, everybody. Dad thought it was funny after it happened, it was told as a funny story, nothing bad happened. No Big Deal because nobody actually got hurt. The ‘danger’ has been in the past since I was a toddler.

I hope this clears things up enough for everybody. 🙂

I worked at a grocery store when I was a teenager. Human Resources was called in to interview the employees about a beer and cigarette theft problem.

Before my interview, I saw a co-worker cleaning out his locker. “What happened?” I asked.

“Dude, they got us. They had cameras filming everything we did,” he said. “I just got fired for eating grapes that fell off the vine.”

My turn came and the HR guy said, “You need to confess to everything you have stolen here. Put a dollar amount on the stolen goods and we will set up a payment plan for restitution and avoid your being arrested.”

“I have never stolen,” I said.

“Okay, I am going to give you one more chance. If you are honest, we won’t get the police involved. If you are lying, things are not going to go well,” he said. “Be advised we have video.”

“I have never stolen anything,” I said.

“Call the police,” he said to the manager. “We are going to have to press charges.”

“You are full of it,” I said. “You have nothing.”

“Do you want to see the video?” He asked.

“Yes,” I said. “It doesn’t exist.”

“What makes you say that?” He said. “You seem very confident for someone about to go to jail.”

“I haven’t stolen anything,” I said. “If you had a video of people stealing, you wouldn’t need a confession.”

I think seven people confessed and were fired that day. My friend that ate the grapes put $7 on the amount he had stolen. He was one of the most honest people I worked with.

The ones eating steak cooked on the heat seal of the meat wrapper never confessed to anything. They did not catch the cigarette and beer thieves they were looking for either.

The people that confessed were the honest ones who felt guilty for their petty thefts while the dishonest ones stuck to their guns and confessed to nothing. Brilliant move by HR.

Jiggle Jiggle

Chicago Style Stuffed Pizza

deep dish 1
deep dish 1

Ingredients

  • 2 (14 inch) soft pizza crusts
  • 6 ounces pepperoni slices
  • 6 ounces Italian sausage
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
  • 1 red onion, cut into thin strips
  • 1 can pizza sauce
  • 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/8 cup Italian seasoning
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Spray a 12 inch deep-dish pizza pan with vegetable oil.
  2. Place 1 pizza crust in pan and have crust come up sides like a pie.
  3. Add all listed ingredients into pizza pan, adding seasoning to top.
  4. Place second crust on top and use a fork to blend top and bottom crusts together like a pie. Cut off any additional crust.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

I can’t remember who wrote it, but I’d read a book many years ago about Operation Market Garden. Although some of the British 1st Airborne Division escaped Arnhem, many remained trapped and were captured by the Germans. One of the men who became a POW talked about marching into captivity past German soldiers. The Germans were cheering them saying things like “Good show, Tommy!” The writer said it felt like the winners of a soccer match were consoling the losers after the game. That, of course, didn’t make the defeat any easier to swallow!

Another I’d read about (again, I can’t remember the source) was the US occupation of Japan immediately after the Japanese surrender. As advance American units landed, they headed to Yokohama where their headquarters would be. The Japanese had lined the route with soldiers as guards – all of them had turned their backs to the road. The occupying Americans took that as a sign of disrespect but it was actually the opposite: in Japanese culture, that’s showing the utmost sign of respect.

Pay attention to this

This is real.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O4KQmoVi3xM?feature=share

Star Trek:TNG – Data shows off his ultra human strength to primitive aliens(commander ,Data, )

Lovely. A guy still living in 1865 and he thinks we should be slaves to our jobs.

I remember, some time back, where portions of the bridge, out of my neighborhood were flooded out. No cars were getting into my neighborhood and none were leaving and this was the only way out of my neighborhood. I took pictures of this event and sent them to my boss. He came back and stated “So, this is your excuse for not coming into work. Consider yourself fired”.

So, I did and this was on a Friday morning. I started looking for jobs and by Friday evening, I secured a new job that started a week later. On Monday, my prior boss called around 10:30 AM and asked where I was at and I reminded him “Don’t you remember you firing me? You don’t?! Okay, as a former colleague, I am going to let you in on something, lay off on the day drinking. Everyone knows it is not your cologne.” It was an unhidden fact that everyone knew this manager was hitting the sauce, early on in the day, everyday. No one had the ability or courage to say anything and since I was fired… the courage was right there for me.

I once did maintenance for a guy that was a true slumlord in Gainesville, FL. I was the only one that had a HVAC license in the whole company and he was using my license to buy Freon and to legally evacuate and recycle extracted Freon. The guy was so cheap that he only owned one Freon pump and vacuum pump, he wouldn’t even spend the money to buy a good set of gauges and I just used my own but I refused to bring my pumps and tanks to work because they’re expensive and I knew he wouldn’t replace them. Anyway, I was out on a job that was fairly remote and needed to evacuate system to do repairs, I called and asked if they could send the equipment out to me rather than me having to drive approximately 45 minutes back to the shop. The answer I got was no and that they were using it at another job (keep in mind that I’m the only one licensed to handle Freon) and if I needed it then I could just evacuate the Freon into the air. Well first off, that’s completely illegal and would cost me my license if I was caught, secondly it’s just plain unethical and I refused to do it. I flat refused and was told that if I didn’t want to do that to leave the job and he would send somebody else out to do it. At this point I not only flat refused I quit as soon as I got back to the shop. I then called the EPA and reported him and also made sure to let all the HVAC suppliers in the area know that they were no longer allowed to use my license for refrigerant purchases or anything else.

When he tries to purchase Freon and found out that he could no longer buy it, he completely flipped out and called me cussing me out as it was the middle of summer in the middle of the Florida swampland. He was having to contract the work out to HVAC companies now and they really didn’t like him so they were bending him over big time. Then on top of that he was investigated by the EPA and hit with huge fines. I have no regrets.

Such an American video

It wasn’t the waiter. It was the bartender. I had taken my two children out for lunch before we went school shopping. We stopped at Applebee’s, and as we were perusing the menu, we ordered our drinks. I ordered a bloody Mary with extra limes, my son ordered a cookie milkshake with extra cookies. I don’t remember what my daughter ordered, but she wanted something extra in her drink as well. The waitress left the table and walked over to the bar to order our drinks. The bartender yelled out extremely loud for the whole restaurant to here, including myself that sure we want to have extra things but don’t want to pay for them. What he didn’t know was I was a waitress at the time and had no problem paying for extras. I was so embarrassed! After that, I walked over to him and let him know I heard everything he had said, and we left the restaurant. Wasn’t too happy about Applebee’s that day. However, the next weekend I took my children there again in hopes for a better experience. We ended up having the same waitress and I told her I was so sorry that we left the prior week After she took her drink orders . She remembered us and has heard about the situation in regards to what the bartender said. She apologized profusely and the manager came over and apologized as well! We ended up getting our dinners free that day with free desserts. Not sure whatever happened to the bartender, but I must say Applebee’s stepped up to the plate! And yes, I left her a big tip!

Some fun with Text to picture

alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 1 cbc3d0ba 4ef7 4af8 bf43 129c87b73d5c 0
alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 1 cbc3d0ba 4ef7 4af8 bf43 129c87b73d5c 0
Default 0
Default 0
alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 0 47ab24d8 2971 456e 9ff8 8fde8f9fba2c 0
alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 0 47ab24d8 2971 456e 9ff8 8fde8f9fba2c 0
alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 1 3a49d8de 2c30 46cc b5a4 f07e3e816357 0
alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 1 3a49d8de 2c30 46cc b5a4 f07e3e816357 0
Default A gummy cat on a white background 3
Default A gummy cat on a white background 3
Default Dove flying 1
Default Dove flying 1
Default Suit logo 2
Default Suit logo 2
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 1(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 1(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 0(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 0(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 3(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 3(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 2(11)
Default Qin Gang as a Ming dynasty warrior standing on dayligh 2(11)

When I was 19 years old, I was going to collage, and working a job at a McDonald’s part-time.

At the time, I didn’t have either health insurance or a PCP.

It was a particularly cold winter, and I was often put in the drive-thru window; so about once every 2–3 weeks I’d end up with a nasty cold. I’d call in sick when this happened, as it’s illegal to work in food service while sick, and I’d typically be find after just a day or two. Sometime’s they’d accept over the phone, sometimes they’d make me come in anyways, before taking one look at me and telling me to go home.

One time when I called back to say I was over the cold, and good to work again, the manager told me I needed to get a doctor’s note before they’d let me go back to work. I explained I didn’t have insurance, or a doctor, they basically said “not my problem.”

So with literally no other option. I went to a hospital’s ER. I walked in, checked in, talked to the triage nurse, explained what was happening, and asked them to just write a note saying I’m good to work.

The triage nurse took my vitals and wrote the note, and I was out of the ER in literally 5 min, never having left the lobby nor seen an actual doctor.

A month later, I got a bill for $500 in the mail from the Hospital. I should mention that I was only making around $300 a month at my part time job, and had no other income.

I’m just about 40 now. It’s been over 20 years since they sent me that bill. I’ve still not paid it.

I gave3 weeks notice because the estimator I worked with would need time to be trained to cope without me (he was almost computer illiterate). Our boss ALWAYS let everyone work out their notice. He was very easy going like that, except with me. I pissed him off so much when I gave him my notice that he immediately escorted me out of the place like I was a common criminal. LOL

He first sent me in to get my stuff, but then realized that after being there a decade, I had a lot of stuff. My husband worked there also and we often went straight from work to meet clients. I kept clothes, shoes nice boots, work boots, makeup, meds, anything I might need was kept at work. He then came and told my estimator to just bring me home (I had a company vehicle).

“You can come back this weekend to get your stuff. I don’t want you to be embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed.”

Trying to stop the flow

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z95fwg6bP9U?feature=share

A couple of years ago I was in my driveway when I witnessed a young mother and her child walking down our street, being harassed by a young man in his mid-20s. He was following them, getting in her face yelling at her, putting his hands on her and telling her to go back and get in the car. She kept telling him to leave her alone.

I called out to her and asked if she needed a ride somewhere. She and her child (small boy around 5 or 6) turned around and walked back to where I was standing – which pissed the man off. Then he followed them up my driveway and started screaming at me – calling me names and telling me to mind my own business. When I told him he had made it my business – he started posturing and making threats to me, asking loudly “Do you know who I am?”

My reply was “I don’t know who you think you are – but from where I stand, I see a sad little man child who likes to intimidate and harass women and children. Now step off my property before I call the cops. I’m sure they”ll know who you are.”

He took me seriously and stepped into the road- but continued his verbal harassment , even as the woman and her kid climbed into my car and I backed out of my driveway.

Turns out he was her boyfriend, but I never did find out what the argument was about. I offered to take her to the police station – but she didn’t want to go there – so instead I drove her to where she wanted to go (a few miles away.)

I haven’t seen either of them since but I sure as hell hope she got away from that abusive hothead.

  1. When someone answers your questions partially, wait. Don’t interrupt. Chances are high that they will complete the answer when you say nothing.
  2. When you want to get something from someone, frame it as an offer/opportunity instead of a request. Anyone will be ready to accept an offer/opportunity.
  3. When you meet people, notice their eye color while you smile at them. Don’t mention anything about it. It’s a good way to make sure that you really look them in the eyes.
  4. A person’s name is the sweetest sound in the world to that person. To make a person feel very special, remember and repeat their name.
  5. Have zero expectations when you are first trying something new, it prevents disappointment.
  6. To judge a person’s character, notice the way they treat people – who can’t do anything for them.
  7. After you state your position in a negotiation. Wait for a while. If you continue to speak, you are not speaking in your favour.
  8. Chewing gum while doing nerve-racking things calm your brain.
  9. When you are learning something, teach someone about it. You will remember it easily and explore more in the process of teaching.
  10. Most people’s favourite subject to talk about is themselves. If you don’t know what to talk about, or have awkward silence, just ask them questions.
  11. Emotional expression causes emotion. If you focus yourself to smile, your mood will actually improve.
  12. Stand up straight. It makes you look more confident and you will actually feel more confident.
  13. With kids, frame things in a way that always gives them a choice. It makes them feel like they are in control. For eg., “Do you want to wear red shirt or blue shirt?” Either way, they know it’s time to put on a shirt.
  14. When asking for favors use the word “because”. No matter how simple the reason. The word “because” makes them think it must be okay because there is a reason.

Roasted Pepper and Gorgonzola Pizza

roasted pepper1 2 300x225
roasted pepper1 2 300×225

Ingredients

Pizza

  • 1 Boboli or homemade crust
  • Garlic Oil Sauce
  • Mozzarella cheese, grated
  • Gorgonzola cheese
  • Roasted red bell pepper strips

Garlic Oil Sauce

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic

Instructions

Pizza

  1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray or grease a pizza pan or stone.
  2. Top crust with Garlic Oil Sauce, mozzarella cheese, gorgonzola cheese and bell pepper strips.
  3. Bake on the bottom rack of oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is piping hot.

Garlic Oil Sauce

  1. Puree olive oil and garlic in blender.

I was in Milwaukee about 3 years ago for training for a job I’d just gotten and the orientation was going to be 2 days so I was put up in my hotel room and I started to get hungry around 5:00 P.M. and while watching TV shows, I went to the website for EatStreet and looked up food places near the hotel in the downtown area and there’s this pizza and gyro delivery restaurant called New York Pizza Delivery and so I ordered a pizza, breadsticks and a soda from them. Went back to watching the TV. They said it would be there by 6:00 P.M. 6:00 P.M. arrived. No food delivery. So I thought I’d give them a margin in case they got delayed somehow which happens occasionally with food deliveries. By 6:30 P.M., still no food. So I called the restaurant, and I said, you know, where’s my food, they told me it’d be here by 6? The guy who answered the phone said it came but the driver couldn’t find me or my room but they’d send it again. So I headed down to the front lobby and asked the clerk if they’d seen the pizza delivery driver and they said they hadn’t. By 8:00 P.M there was still no pizza. So at 8:30 P.M, I called the restaurant again and asked them why my food wasn’t there and they said the driver forgot to drop off my pizza but they’d send him again. Basically I got my pizza a full 4 and a half hours later and it was only slightly warm. Worst customer service I’ve ever had. I’m not ordering through EatStreet again because they blow, too.

Freedom In CHINA Vs AMERICA! (Untold TRUTH)

To say volunteer is an understatement. It has become the major regret of some who could not make the cut to serve in the PLA. Each year enrollment into the PLA is selected from a big group of volunteers like around a few hundred thousands, and not all pass the selection process.

I personally have encountered more than 10 individuals who wanted to join the PLA but were rejected. Some of them express a major regret for not being able to join the PLA and wish that they could have contributed in some other way.

At first like most foreigners I was baffled, I could not believe my ears as I’m from Singapore where all young men that are proven to be healthy and fit are required to do national service and the more common idea in Singapore is to try and escape it and go into the workforce as fast as you can. To be frank, I never agree to the idea that one should escape national service and come up with all manners of excuses for it as I’m one of those very on the ball types in the army, but I’m still very very surprise when I got to know how different it is in China. You would be too if you have seen a grown man with tears in his eyes because he was rejected by the PLA. And of course, I was doubtful because he had some beer before those tears appeared. Lol.

But seriously, after staying here for abit and having a relative (my wife’s family) who is in the PLA, you start to understand the kind of glory they put into it. It’s like a perosnal honor, a family honor or even a social honor. It’s even comparable to going to an ivy league University kind of honor if you perform well in the PLA.

But, that’s not to say that it’s simply like a degree where you study for it and you graduated with honors. The PLA has been serving the people rather well, especially in times of natural disaster or even law enforcement. Common example are like disaster relief work after the many earthquakes in western China, but an event that happened in my wife hometown like 25 years ago was rather closer to me. An organised crime family setup base in her hometown at that time. Crime was rampant, prositution, loan sharks, drugs, murder, etc, were an everyday event. The local police at that time was weak and from what I understand also corrupted, thus unwilling to flush them out. So when a new mayor with PLA background was posted to her hometown, things started to change. He at first tried to form his own town watch and policing units, but were not very sucessful due to the strongarm methods of the crime family. In fact it became worse when the crime family resisted and tried to assasinate him. Understanding the dire situation (maybe also for his own life), he made some calls to his connections in the CCP and PLA, and within 2 days the PLA send down troops to flush out the crime family and the corrupted police officers. It was like a brand new place overnight.

Well other than from my wife and her family, I heard this from many others living there that it’s true. I stand by the story since my wife’s uncle happens to be one of the PLA soldiers who was send down to flush out the crime family and as a homegrown hero, he got the banners with words like 人民子弟兵典范,人民英雄,sent as gifts by the locals to my mother-in-law house. They are now in his own house after he left the PLA and he choose to retire in the countryside. Even now, when he goes visit my mother-in-law, he is still remembered by the older folks as one of the PLA who rescued the town from unimaginable crime. His son now is also in the PLA and is very proud to be serving even as a small platoon leader.

As far as I know, there are many stories like that about the PLA soldiers, from rescuing a village cow stuck in a mine field near the border, to saving the suicidal from drowning themselves when off duty. Maybe it’s because I look out for such news because I believe in the good of man, but I think the general citizens have a very good impression of most PLA soldiers.

Thus given the very different environment and expectations of the PLA, I think now I understand the honors that comes with joining them. I sometimes do wish that Singaporeans would give the same credits to our SAF, but in the end, respect is earned over time and it would be up to the SAF to prove themselves to Singaporeans.

Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells Full Album

Takes me back…

NearLink

This is the first time I’ve heard of NearLink. Have you guys heard of this?

Transmission Range:

  • Bluetooth – 10 m
  • Wi-Fi – 300 m
  • NearLink – 600 m

Transmission Rate:

  • Bluetooth – 50 Mbps
  • Wi-Fi – 500 Mbps
  • NearLink – 900 Mbps

Latency:

  • Bluetooth – 15-30 ms
  • Wi-Fi – 100 ms
  • NearLink – 20 μs

Microseconds?! Fucking, eh?

Connectable Devices:

  • Bluetooth – 8
  • Wi-Fi – 256
  • NearLink – 4,096

This technology is taking off like a rocket, it appears.

I was headed to the doctors office (running late of course) with my two young children, both of whom had ear infections and were screaming/crying in their car seats. Because they’d been sick I’d gotten about 6 hrs of sleep in the past two days.

I’d rolled down my window before the officer got to the car and I was busy trying to shush the kids while grabbing my license etc. When he got to the window his first question was why I was in such a hurry? I explained to him the info above and the Dr office would charge me extra if I didn’t get there soon and I just couldn’t afford extra on top of the appointment and the meds I knew I was going to need to buy.

The whole time we’re talking the kids are still screaming!!! He walks away to check my info and I lean over the seat to again try to comfort my kids. He comes back and says everything checked out fine and He was just going to give me a warning this time. He then said that he’s a father so completely understands what I’m dealing with; but Please slow down, the roads are icy, he can see that my tires are bald and he’d hate for us to get into an accident. He then gave me a card with the name of a tire shop and said to call them, saying that officer XXXX sent me and they would help me get new tires.

After the appointment I figured, what the heck; it can’t hurt to try the shop. They asked me to come in and quoted me a very reasonable price for 4 new tires, asked if I could put $25 down and then I could pay the rest at $25 a month. I agreed because I really did need new tires.

When the first bill came in the mail it said “Paid in Full”. I thought there was a mistake and called the place; the lady on the phone explained to me that the owner of the shop and the Officer were brothers and they did this for those that they felt needed the help. Best traffic stop I’ve ever had!!!

A old vintage movie. Get your mind off stuff.

Parachuting into fashion

Yes. Arriving, the parking lot was very slick ice. I informed the hostess (owner), she just shot an undeserved annoyed look. Hey I was just trying to help them & avoid a slip & fall for someone.

Our waitress failed to bring our food as it sat way to long prepared, even after a long wait we asked. Clearly she then forgot; but did show up to push a wine bottle to buy. That after we distinctly expressed early on we were not there for drinks. Same with appetizers & desserts.

The goal was clear: upsell, upsell.

The food was just about room temperature. And not even what we had ordered. She tried to convince us to eat what she brought anyway!

All that did was piss her off. Watching her she returned food to the kitchen, obviously not giving them our actual order.

We are not snotty people at all! But were pretty much forced to be at this point, hangry didn’t help.

We stopped at the hostess/owner podium & waited for some attention. After too long she asked “how many in our party?” She didn’t remember us unsurprisingly.

I made a bit of a sport of it, saying “still two, we’re just waiting for our check”.

“Who was your waiter/waitress?”

“Don’t know”

“Where was your table”

“Over there (with a vague gesture”

Now SHE’S very annoyed & NOT pleasant at all. “What did you have?”

“Nothing but water”

Now she’s even more annoyed + confused. Good. As if anyone there cared anyway.

I finally explained the situation & that we’d been there for almost an hour at this point. Ordered food, never got it, we’re leaving.

The bitch, now outright rude, threatened to call the police.

I implored her to, explaining we certainly are not paying for a product or service we’d never received. And fortunately we hadn’t yet paid, as then we would have a stronger case do please – a police report will be a good addition to our case. Plus hopefully for her sake they arrive quickly since now they are on the clock.

She still tried to argue! “We can’t just come here and leave without paying”. Argh. Pay for what – water? I don’t even see water on the menu, how much do you charge for it?” (I believe it’s state law that water & bathroom facilities are required at a certain amount of seating). But she briefly tried to think of an amount to charge.

I finally announced the end of this dispute – if she’s call law enforcement we’d feel compelled to wait, otherwise we’re leaving. She quipped something like ” well I guess we’ll eat this one”.

“Good for you! That’s more than we got!”

Shorpy Pictures for today

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I was engaged to a fine woman. She was kind, considerate, smart and rich.

We had not set a date for the wedding when I started to have doubts about our relationship.

At first I didn’t know what was the problem was, but it was a strong feeling.

One day we were driving around in Brentwood, looking at old, stately homes when I saw what I considered to be a beautiful home.

It was brick, with leaded windows, slate roof and a plank door. I was admiring it when she said, “I will never live in a used house.”

I was stunned and asked her why.

She said, I don’t want to live in someone’s reject.”

I said, “just because someone is selling a house does not make it a reject.”

She said, “I do not care, I will never live in a used home.”

I knew she meant it.

At that moment I knew what the problem was, our values were too different.

I called off the engagement the next week.

I have never regretted that decision

EDIT: we parted with no hard feelings, there were no bad guys, just two people who were not right for each other.

My dad owned his own accounting firm for decades and he had one fairly big client that he got on well with. When Dad retired he was offered a job 1 day a week by this client. They had a guy who had been there a while who did payroll and the basic accounting but he wasn’t very good at the accounting so my dad was meant to be taking over accounts and this other guy was meant to be just doing payroll.

Anyway, on my dad’s first day the boss suggested he learn the payroll system so he could be cover for the other guy.

They had a little demonstration session and my dad asked how sickness was done. The payroll guy said nobody is ever sick to which the boss replied that he was, last month. Reluctantly the guy showed my dad how the sickness was done on his own payslip and everyone instantly spotted that the guy had been paying himself double when off sick! He had been doing that a while. He went the same day!

I was seated by a hostess at an Italian restaurant in Paramus NJ. It was supposed to be our anniversary dinner. A coworker of mine who was about as Italian as you can get without being born in Italy had given me a recommendation to go there.

Well after 30 minutes with not so much as a waiter/waitress taking our drink order (perhaps longer… I can be stubborn) I decided enough of this and signalled to my wife we were leaving now.

That could have been the end of the story but it is not.

I told my coworker what happened and it turned out he was part of the family (in laws? cousins? don’t remember.) and took it very personal that we got treated that way. My telephone at work rings a day or two later and it’s the owner of the restaurant and he’s apologizing profusely. It was then that I remembered my coworker told me to drop his name when I went there.

We were invited back for a “chef’s choice” seating at their expense. The meal was wonderful but way more than I could eat. There were eight courses and lots of wine. My wife doesn’t drink wine and never did so I got sorta concerned as was going to be way too drunk to drive. I’m not talking one bottle of wine here but a different wine for each course.

It was quite the meal.

When we went back days or months later we always were treated with great deference and got great service.

My brother in law Paul, he is a really nice guy he is always ready to help someone out. He was a volunteer coast guard, regularly went to church , is a really good provider for my sister, hard working financially prudent, not tight just put a bit aside for the rainy day, save for the pension.

But he makes watching paint dry feel exciting, he can flatten a family gathering just by walking into the room. He is a train spotter and makes models out of matches and is an amateur weather forecaster. His only subjects of conversation are different types of rolling stock on the railways, cloud types and work, he is an aera manager for morrisons local shops. But because a lot of his job is to do with the finance side he takes commercial confidentiality seriously. So apart from three slightly amusing stories, nothing about work.

He only ever has two drinks either at a party or in the pub, doesn’t like spicy food or french food, not really keen on pasta or pizza no bbq and doesn’t eat rice or garlic. His taste in music was once described by my sister ‘Paul doesn’t like music, he likes ric Astley and black lace it is mucus not music’ he is a nice guy but so boring.

According to my sister the only time he’s not boring is when he and she stay energetically awake, then by all accounts he is creative and inventive, and has superior staying power.

As I don’t have sex with him I will stick with the description boring.

It’s not me, but a guy who used to sit near me in my office.

In my office, the computers are set up such a way that if you don’t do anything for 4 minutes, they get locked. in order to unlock that, you need to type your password again.

Everyone faces this several times a day, if you go to the washroom, or busy in a phone call, or discussing something with someone for more than 4 minutes, you will find your PC locked when you come back.

This guy was too lazy to type his password every time this happened. So he invented this technology:

  1. Open notepad
  2. Put a bottle on the keyboard, this causes some keys to be pressed all the time.
  3. this causes text input in notepad.

The computer thinks that user is working, so it does not get locked.

This is a photo I took when he was gone from his desk after setting up the Bottle-Anti-lock mechanism.

main qimg d6d918dc60bf9231593fd04036b08d55 pjlq
main qimg d6d918dc60bf9231593fd04036b08d55 pjlq

Soon he realized that entering huge amount of text in notepad causes the PC to run out of memory eventually and crash after some time.

We asked him to write a VBScript to mimic the keystroke, but he is too lazy for that. He found out a lazier work around,

He now uses a Comb (borrowed from a female co-worker – permanently) to push down the keys in the alt, ctrl, and the directional keys area which do not enter text in the notepad. and he keeps the bottle on top of the comb for the weight.

I don’t have an original photo for this. so I made a dummy. imagine the power bank is the keys that need to be pressed.

main qimg c32ee9eef28193a84d190808fb6bb97c pjlq
main qimg c32ee9eef28193a84d190808fb6bb97c pjlq

Necessity is the mother of invention!

Update: Some friends have asked in comments why cant we just change the screen lock timeout settings, or remove the password. The answer is, we do not have Admin privileges. Passwords and other system settings are enforced by Admin directly into the registry using group policy. We don’t have the privilege of Change settings, edit registry, change date/time, change screensaver and wallpapers. we cant even install any additional software. CD roms and USB drives are disabled too, so no way of boot into a portable Linux or something to hack the registry.

Two women talking in heaven

1st woman: Hi! Wanda.

2nd woman: Hi! Sylvia. How’d you die?

1st woman: I froze to death.

2nd woman: How horrible!

1st woman: It wasn’t so bad…. After I quit shaking from the cold, I began to get warm & sleepy, and finally died a peaceful death. What about you?

2nd woman: I died of a massive heart attack. I suspected that my husband was cheating, so I came home early to catch him in the act. But instead, I found him all by himself in the den watching TV.

1st woman: So, what happened?

2nd woman: I was so sure there was another woman there somewhere that I started running all over the house looking. I ran up into the attic and searched, and down into the basement. Then I went through every closet and checked under all the beds. I kept this up until I had looked everywhere, and finally I became so exhausted that I just keeled over with a heart attack and died.

1st woman: Too bad you didn’t look in the freezer—we’d both still be alive.

Weather warnings

It’s war: the real meat grinder starts now

Pepe Escobar No more shadow play. It’s now in the open. No holds barred. Exhibit 1: Friday, March 22, 2024. It’s War. The Kremlin, via Peskov, finally admits it, on the record.

The money quote:

"Russia cannot allow the existence on its borders of a state that has a documented intention to use any methods to take Crimea away from it, not to mention the territory of new regions."

Translation: the Hegemon-constructed Kiev mongrel is doomed, one way or another. The Kremlin signal: "We haven't even started" starts now.

Exhibit 2: Friday afternoon, a few hours after Peskov. Confirmed by a serious European – not Russian – source. The first counter-signal. Regular troops from France, Germany and Poland have arrived, by rail and air, to Cherkassy, south of Kiev. A substantial force. No numbers leaked. They are being housed in schools. For all practical purposes, this is a NATO force.

That signals, “Let the games begin.

From a Russian point of view, Mr. Khinzal’s business cards are set to be in great demand. Exhibit 3: Friday evening. Terror attack on Crocus City, a music venue northwest of Moscow. A heavily trained commando shoots people on sight, point blank, in cold blood, then sets a concert hall on fire.

The definitive counter-signal: with the battlefield collapsing, all that’s left is terrorism in Moscow. And just as terror was striking Moscow, the US and the UK, in southwest Asia, was bombing Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, with at least five strikes. Some nifty coordination. Yemen has just clinched a strategic deal in Oman with Russia-China for no-hassle navigation in the Red Sea, and is among the top candidates for BRICS+ expansion at the summit in Kazan next October.

Not only the Houthis are spectacularly defeating thalassocracy, they have the Russia-China strategic partnership on their side. Assuring China and Russia that their ships can sail through the Bab-al-Mandeb, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with no problems is exchanged with total political support from Beijing and Moscow.

The sponsors remain the same Deep in the night in Moscow, before dawn on Saturday 23. Virtually no one is sleeping. Rumors dance like dervishes on countless screens. Of course nothing has been confirmed – yet. Only the FSB will have answers. A massive investigation is in progress.

The timing of the Crocus massacre is quite intriguing. On a Friday during Ramadan. Real Muslims would not even think about perpetrating a mass murder of unarmed civilians under such a holy occasion.

Compare it with the ISIS card being frantically branded by the usual suspects.

Let’s go pop.

To quote Talking Heads: “This ain’t no party/ this ain’t no disco/ this ain’t no fooling around”.

Oh no; it’s more like an all-American psy op.

ISIS are cartoonish mercenaries/goons. Not real Muslims.

And everyone knows who finances and weaponizes them. That leads to the most possible scenario, before the FSB weighs in: ISIS goons imported from the Syria battleground – as it stands, probably Tajiks – trained by CIA and MI6, working on behalf of the Ukrainian SBU. Several witnesses at Crocus referred to “Wahhabis” – as in the commando killers did not look like Slavs.

It was up to Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic to cut to the chase.

He directly connected the “warnings” in early March from American and British embassies directed at their citizens not to visit public places in Moscow with CIA/MI6 intel having inside info about possible terrorism, and not disclosing it to Moscow.

The plot thickens when it is established that Crocus is owned by the Agalarovs: an Azeri-Russian billionaire family, very close friends of… … Donald Trump. Talk about a Deep State-pinpointed target. ISIS spin-off or banderistas – the sponsors remain the same.

The clownish secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, was dumb enough to virtually, indirectly confirm they did it, saying on Ukrainian TV, “we will give them [Russians] this kind of fun more often.” But it was up to Sergei Goncharov, a veteran of the elite Russia Alpha anti-terrorism unit, to get closer to unwrapping the enigma: he told Sputnik the most feasible mastermind is Kyrylo Budanov the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The “spy chief” who happens to be the top CIA asset in Kiev. It’s got to go till the last Ukrainian The three exhibits above complement what the head of NATO’s military committee, Rob Bauer, previously told a security forum in Kiev: You need more than just grenades – you need people to replace the dead and wounded. And this means mobilization.

Translation: NATO spelling out this is a war until the last Ukrainian. And the “leadership” in Kiev still does not get it. Former Minister of Infrastructure Omelyan: “If we win, we will pay back with Russian oil, gas, diamonds and fur. If we lose, there will be no talk of money – the West will think about how to survive.” In parallel, puny “garden-and jungle” Borrell admitted that it would be difficult for the EU to find an extra 50 billion euros for Kiev if Washington pulls the plug. The cocaine-fueled sweaty sweatshirt leadership actually believes that Washington is not “helping” in the form of loans, but in the form of free gifts.

And the same applies for the EU. The Theater of the Absurd is unmatchable. The German Liver Sausage Chancellor actually believes that proceeds from stolen Russian assets do not belong to anyone, so they can be used to finance extra Kiev weaponizing.

Everyone with a brain knows that using interest from frozen”, actually stolen Russian assets to weaponize Ukraine is a dead end – unless they steal all of Russia’s assets, roughly $200 billion, mostly parked in Belgium and Switzerland: that would tank the Euro for good, and the whole EU economy for that matter. Eurocrats better listen to Russian Central Bank major “disrupter (American terminology) Elvira Nabiullina: The Bank of Russia will take appropriate measures if the EU does anything on the “frozen”/stolen Russian assets.

It goes without saying that the three exhibits above completely nullify the “La Cage aux Folles” circus promoted by the puny Petit Roi, now known across his French domains as Macronapoleon. Virtually the whole planet, including the English-speaking Global North, had already been mocking the “exploits” of his Can Can Moulin Rouge Army.

So French, German and Polish soldiers, as part of NATO, are already in the south of Kiev. The most possible scenario is that they will stay far, far away from the frontlines – although traceable by Mr. Khinzal’s business activities. Even before this new NATO batch arriving in the south of Kiev, Poland – which happens to serve as prime transit corridor for Kiev’s troops – had confirmed that Western troops are already on the ground.

So this is not about mercenaries anymore. France, by the way, is only 7th in terms of mercenaries on the ground, largely trailing Poland, the US and Georgia, for instance.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has all the precise records. In a nutshell: now war has morphed from Donetsk, Avdeyevka and Belgorod to Moscow. Further on down the road, it may not just stop in Kiev. It may only stop in Lviv. Mr. 87%, enjoying massive national near-unanimity, now has the mandate to go all the way. Especially after Crocus.

There’s every possibility the terror tactics by Kiev goons will finally drive Russia to return Ukraine to its original 17th century landlocked borders: Black Sea-deprived, and with Poland, Romania, and Hungary reclaiming their former territories.

Remaining Ukrainians will start to ask serious questions about what led them to fight – literally to their death – on behalf of the US Deep State, the military complex and BlackRock.

As it stands, the Highway to Hell meat grinder is bound to reach maximum velocity.

Sexless bong water

You can only start to sanction another country if that country needs your stuffs and you stop selling to them! Today the U.S. don’t have a single thing it makes that others can’t do! In fact most nations can do stuffs cheaper, bettter and faster than the U.S. could do so sanctioning them is really like helping them save money! Hahahahaha!

Why not?

I was fired for something that I did two weeks after I started, 2.5 years prior.

The manager who fired me was my 5th manager in 2.5 years. On her first day, she informed me after finding out that I was on public transportation from a rural town (took over 2 hours to get to the job, one way) and going to college that I had limited availability (16 hours a week), she was unsure how long I would last. I lasted 1 month to the day when she started.

She did everything she could to provoke me into quitting cutting my hours to 3 a week or on one occasion to deck her. My avatar is my cat that I had for 16 years. I had to put him to sleep. I took one day off from work and returned two days later. She was waiting for me at the front door, and asked me, “Was that a good use of your Paid Time Off?” I stood there speechless, finally said, “Yes!” and walked away.

It was a blessing because, in my final term I was going to be available for one day, 8 hours a week.

She still works at that store, and still hates me!

A friend of mine from the US (I’d met her years ago at a teacher’s seminar and we’d stayed in touch) came to visit me and stayed with me for a couple of weeks. She hadn’t previously been to Australia and was surprised that we live in an Alpine area, she didn’t expect to see mountains topped with snow. I don’t think she believed me when I told her that we had more snow here in winter than falls on Switzerland. Apparently she thought we were all beaches and deserts with nothing in between. So I told her about our rainforests, tropical in the north of the country and temperate, cool-temperature in the south, about the huge productive farmlands, about our research centres, etc.

Her comment, which made me laugh? “It’s quite a big country, isn’t it?”

Well, yeah. Yeah, it is.

She then asked, “Would it be as big as England?”

Flabbergasted. And she is a teacher…

Women Are FURIOUS Seeing Men Go Overseas And Be Happy In Marriages And Relationships

I read a lot of fantasy answers from a lot of Pro Nato supporters who still think this is 1997

The first assumption is the Russia would launch a nuke from its own territory

The second assumption is that the Western Satellites would detect the move even before a Nuke is launched

In 1998, we pulled wool over the eyes of all those Western Satellites

India

Back then not even an emerging economy but an ordinary third world developing country dependent on imports for every aspect of defence


Russia have 65 Submarines of which 46 have the capability of carrying between 1–2 Nuclear Missiles

My guess is almost all these Submarines have been refurbished to carry Hypersonic Missiles with Thermonuclear Warheads

I am basing this guess on the fact that in 2022 August – a record 39 Submarines were serviced against an average of 12 a year from 2016–2021

The Instant a Nuke is even launched in Russia’s direction – these Submarines will launch their missiles in a pre arranged pattern at specific targets in Europe and NATO

London, NY, Lyons, Grenoble, Paris, Hamburg, Odessa, Nagasaki

That’s 46 Million people gone in the first wave

Vaporized literally

Sunak will be literal vapor

You can actually breathe him

The next would be the heat shock blast (There won’t be radioactive waste since these are Thermonuclears)

All Livestock within a 150–200 Mile radius is gone

Soil is rendered entirely useless for at least 100 years

That’s a further 140–180 Million people gone in the second wave

Finally you will have displacement, disease, starvation and that’s another 200–300 Million people gone in the third wave

The maximum deaths could be as high as 520 Million in NATO NATIONS

That’s 56% of the ‘Golden Billion’

Senator Cotton could actually breathe in his own wife and kids before he becomes vapor

Advanced Molecular integration


So it’s MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION as the name suggests

If Russia is destroyed , no less than 400–500 million Americans, Europeans and Japanese will die and their nations will go back to the stone age

There will be electronic Interference for at least 7–15 years


Why would Russia launch a Nuclear War?

They have no reason to do so

If Macron sends troops to Ukraine, the Russians will kill them

If Sunak sends troops to Ukraine, the Russians will kill them

They are all far below Ukraines fighting capability and Russians have trounced at least 350K Ukranians

Ukraine had been fighting Donbass Militia for 8 years and they had some blooding

Not UK Or France or Germany or Poland

TikTok Ban| Chips| AI Hype| CBDC! Conversation with/Richard Turrin!!

I met my husband in 2007 and he moved in with me a few months later. In November of that year his mother committed suicide, she took an overdose of drugs that she had stored up and put a plastic bag over her head. She had been in a nursing home for 12 years. I still don’t know what her actual diagnosis was, but I believe it was manic depression and a form of psychosis. Every day my father in law would spend hours with her in the home.

In 2016 we moved in to take care of him as he was becoming very frail. I grew very close to him and we would talk about his life etc. He would talk about J*** with such love and affection. He told me how for a long time she had begged him to help her end her life of pain. He had to tell her that he couldn’t, it was against the law and I could feel the pain that he went through.

He passed away aged 92 and I had the job of clearing out his possessions. At the back of a drawer in his bedside table I found a book called Dying with dignity. A page had the corner turned over which described the method that his wife had used. He had left this for one of us to find after his death. He had helped her with her final request and carried the secret to his grave.

Some words for today

Yes.

A tree fell on my 2015 Chrysler 200. I really enjoyed the car but it was a goner. One of the issues when living in the woods I guess. I don’t think I ever got a second glance from anyone while I drove it.

As luck would have it my insurance settlement worked out quickly and I replaced the 200 with a 2017 Lincoln MKZ Select. It really wasn’t an upgrade in my opinion… more like an even swap.

Um, it might be important to know that I am 59 years old but am often mistaken as someone much younger.

The next day I was getting in my car as a much older-appearing couple were getting out of a Kia or some other cheap car. The lady sneered at me and the man commented “Nice car you entitled punk. Did your mommy buy that car for you?”

I replied with a smile “Thanks for the compliment. I like being told that I look younger than I am.”

The lady asked “How old are you?”

“59. How about you two?”

“We’re both 51.”

“Good! Maybe when you grow up you can get a nice car just like mine.”

Take her into YOUR world

It all depends on the person, doesn’t it?

At 76 going on 77, I marvel that my 75 year old brother still jogs for miles and competes in inline skating marathons. I walk for miles and do some ice skating, usually with a ski pole in my hand to help me get up if I fall.

  • I avoid climbing ladders because I lost two friends to falls in their 70s (one instantly and the other in assisted living for the last ten years of life). My brother, Al, just completely renovated a house at 72–73. I just paid some contractors to renovate parts of mine.
  • Every one should avoid buying a time share, but especially those over 70. Even getting a mortgage to buy or build a new residence seems extreme. I used to salivate over House Hunters International. I’m so lucky I didn’t buy my dream home in an Italian hilltop town.
  • I avoid soda pop, Big Macs, and hot dogs. Why tempt the gods?
  • I avoid signing up for online subscriptions or making donations to television evangelists. My mother didn’t and we filled a dumpster with unread magazines and CD’s from religious hucksters.
  • I avoid both Fox News and MSNBC. Because.
  • Now that I am no longer that 35 year old testosterone poisoned jerk who makes a show of passing slower drivers and pulling in front of them in disgust, I avoid the temptation to flip them off.
  • I feel people over 75 should avoid running for President or Senator.

There’s still enough not to avoid, so I better end this.

Welcome to the United States

Sanjay Madan was the IT director for the Ontario Ministry of Education. He saw how lax the security was , and set up a system where he would award an IT contract for $900 a day, and his partner would find someone to subcontract for $450 a day. In his first year, they managed to take $467,000 by 2019, they were stealing $6.5 million a year. The very weird part of this is that his partner was a police informant, who never informed police. Everything was going along perfectly, and by 2020 they had stolen $37,000,000 doing this, and nobody knew that a crime had been committed. I think the police need some better informants.

Then covid hit, and they got greedy, the government was giving out between $200 and $250 to children that had to be home schooled because of covid.

He filed 48,000 fake applications and had all the money deposited into the same five bank accounts. Again he got away with it. $10.8 million dollars. How many scammers do you know that pulled the same scam 48,000 times and got away with it. But, by filing 48,000 claims, he increased the odds that one of them would file for their own child. They of course were accused of double dipping, and of course they were indignant, because they were honest. They investigated and found that the money hadn’t gone into the real applicants account. So then they searched to see if more money had gone into that account, and there was millions.

In total he stole $47.4 million. He has given back $30 million and after he gets out of jail in 10 years, he has five more years to repay the rest, or face further jail time.

But wait!!! The best part of this is that his defense was that it was entrapment. Nobody makes a system that easy to steal from if it isn’t a trap.

Welcome to Asia

One Christmas, at around 1 A.M. my partner and I spotted a van driving the opposite direction of us in an alley. Something about the way the guy looked at us made it seem like he was up to no good, so we turned around to follow him and run his plates. So, we caught the guy after a vehicle pursuit and a foot pursuit.

Long story a little less long, the van hadn’t been reported stolen and it had the keys in it, but we were pretty sure it was stolen. We had an assisting unit wait with the van, gifts, and suspect while we drove to the registered owner’s home and knocked. The police knocked at 1:30 or 2 a.m. A grumpy lady came to the door and eyed us suspiciously and assumed “the pose” (arms crossed, leaning slightly back and to one side, with head down and hip thrust off to the opposite side).

“What?”

“Ma’am, are you Mary Crankypants?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you own a 1990 blue Astrovan License 123ABC?”

{exaggerated exhalation of breath as if bored) “Yeeeeahhhh?”

“We stopped a guy named Johnny Lightfingers driving it at 120th and Avalon. Do you know him, and does he have permission to have your vehicle?”

“NO I don’t and NO he doesn’t.”

“Well the van is loaded with a bunch of kids’ Christmas presents. Are your Christmas presents missing?”

(An exhalation of breath as if we were putting her out) “Just a second”, she huffed at us, before disappearing to look. She returned several seconds later,

(Again with the exhalation of breath as if we were putting her out) “The presents are all gone toooo.”

“Can somebody with a license come with us and pick up the van and presents?”

(And AGAIN with the exhalation of breath as if we were putting her out) “Fiiine.”

She stomped off to get some clothes on.

Our guy went to jail for burglary, vehicle theft, evading, parole violation and driving on a suspended license, but that lady was possibly the most ungrateful person I have ever met in my life.

Why Hiring Women Has Become BAD For BUSINESS

Join the “STAY AWAY ” Movement….

Pastitsio (Baked Macaroni)

I suppose this could be called the “comfort food” of Greek cooking. Pastitsio uses a béchamel sauce, one of the five mother sauces. My sister and I absolutely love this, and we used to make it all the time when we saw each other more often. But I also eat it at the St. Katherine’s Greek Festival every year.

pastitsio
pastitsio

Prep: 25 min | Cook: 55 min | Yield: 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients

Macaroni

  • 1 pound macaroni
  • 1/4 pound butter
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or beef
  • 1/2 can tomato paste
  • 6 ounces grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper

Sauce

  • 4 cups warm milk, divided
  • 5 eggs
  • 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter

Instructions

Macaroni

  1. Cook macaroni (but not well done) in boiling, salted water and drain.
  2. Sauté onion in a little butter.
  3. Add ground meat and stir until brown.
  4. Add tomato paste, thinned with a little water.
  5. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook until meat is done.
  6. Melt butter; pour over drained macaroni, mixing carefully.
  7. Spread half of the macaroni on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch pan.
  8. Sprinkle half of the grated cheese on top.
  9. Spread entire meat mixture on top.
  10. Cover with remaining macaroni and remaining grated cheese.

Sauce

  1. Boil 3 cups of the milk with 1 1/2 sticks butter.
  2. Add flour to remaining 1 cup milk and blend well.
  3. Add flour mixture to boiling butter and milk. Thicken and cool.
  4. After this has cooled, add 5 beaten eggs, or drop small amounts of the milk mixture into the eggs while stirring constantly. Once the egg mixture gets warm to hot, add the remaining milk.
  5. Pour sauce over the macaroni. Shake the pan and insert a knife to penetrate thoroughly.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: US/Russia/China: Worst Tensions in 30 Years.

I was born July 1945 from my whole life. I knew that in November 19 63 the United States of America cease to exist. It was not the America that I had grown up in. and as a retired lawyer admitted to the bar of Massachusetts and Maryland. I am distraught about how lawless the courts and judicial system now are I always thought they were the last refuge, but they’ve gone over to the dark side for the most part.

I worked at a fast food place. When we closed there’d usually be a little bit of food left over in the warming bins. 2 to 4 burger patties, a grilled chicken and a fried chicken typically, as we cut back on what was prepped ahead later in the evening. We, the employees were allowed to eat the left overs as we finished closing duties. One of the perks of the otherwise annoying jobs of closing. The managers and other employees often had me make them sandwiches, as I came up with some interesting combos. Sometimes if they didn’t get eaten one of the employees would take a couple of patties or whatever was left over home with them for the fridge.

One night one of the cooks who had been there for years, was putting in about 10 quarter pound patties through the broiler, about 10 minutes before close. The manager told them there was no way we were going to sell that many before close (obviously). He just said that any we didn’t sell he would just take home with him. Obviously only making them for that purpose. The next day there was a rule that all leftover food had to be thrown out at the end of the night. No employees were allowed to eat any of it or take it home. One person ruined it for everyone, and of course he was the one that complained the most about it, when he was the one that caused it.

This is all they do

Wiggle their butts.

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

While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.

When he finished painting, he received his money and left.

The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.

The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”

“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”

“Ah! But it was such a small service… certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”

“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:

“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.

“When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.

“They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.

“When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.

“Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.

“Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!

“You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.”

So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone.

Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realizing how many lives you’ve save. ❤️

Make a difference….be the best you can…”

I’m fine

When I re-connected with a lot of my old high school classmates on Facebook, and I saw how many of the “popular” kids ended up with really bad careers and marriages. That’s when I realized that being unpopular in high school probably helped me focus on my education and made me so much more grateful for my wife, which led to a better marriage.

Many of the guys who got all of the girls in my high school — the guys I used to be so jealous of — now have crappy jobs, failed out of college, have criminal records, have multiple children from multiple women, and generally look miserable on their Facebook posts.

It’s even worse for the women I graduated with. So many of those beautiful classmates that I used to wish would just give me a chance… they’re now drug addicts, have multiple children with multiple men, have abusive boyfriends and husbands, and just look so… miserable and beaten down by their lives.

I knew many of these people in grammar school. We were friends then. But in middle school and especially in high school, when the social cliques really started forming and I was left out of them, their personalities changed. They quit trying in school. They focused on getting dates, parties, etc… The typical popular teenager stuff.

Not all the popular kids, of course. Some of them ended up in good places in life. But many of them didn’t. And I think it can be traced right back to those high school years.

Dating and partying weren’t distractions for me. That’s the hidden advantage to being an unpopular high schooler… you don’t lose focus on your education. And, in college, when I finally met a woman who gave me a chance, I treated her like a queen, and it’s worked out great for us.

So, if you’re an unpopular high schooler today, particularly if you’re a guy who gets no attention from the ladies… fear not! It’s a blessing in disguise. “The ladies” are a distraction… for now at least. Education first, then career. Then watch how the roles change. A man in his 20s with a college education and stable, successful career? You’ll never have to worry about not finding a date again.

The Consequences Of Degrading Men

Something is happening to boys and there is goring to be a very serious backlash.

I worked at Wilkins Dodge in Roseville MN around 1990

We were not the most productive dealer in the area for sure, selling an average of 60 used vehicles and 50 New vehicles per month.

A new Gm is hired and he has big plans for us to jump into the big leagues starting with hiring 12 new salespeople to add to our 8 person team plus 2 older than dirt fleet managers. Great we all said or thought collectively while in the middle of a very serious circle jerk.

Somehow the GM finds 12 people that can speak, tie a tie, own a pen and can pass a background check. To us the all looked like the guys that knock on your door asking about religion.

So they (the 12) are offered paid training at 300.00 Dollars a week for 2 weeks at 5 days each for 8 hours…They are all signed up thru Mopar sales training and are by all accounts doing OK.

Wilkins Dodge had no A/C and MN in August can be a little humid especially in the upstairs training room with no windows. The 12 endured though and all passed their training with higher than average scores.

On the last Friday the GM has a moment of clarity and realizes we don’t have the inventory or budget to keep all 12 newly minted superstars of retail.

He call them out to the used car side of the building (in the shade) around 430 and asks them to form a line and count off by two’s.

2’s please step forward and they do so. Ones please go inside and find a desk and I’ll be with you shortly.

2’s remain stepped forward and look confused but still not grasping the situation. Please see me for your checks, we’ve decided to change our plan regarding your employment says the GM and have a nice weekend please send your family or friends for a vehicle.

Swearing, muttering and insults from remaining 6 plus some more than a lfew expressions of soon to be physical violence had the GM exiting the area towards the service department tossing the checks in the air behind him…….

Good times….

Roast Pork with Potato Dumplings

This is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods.

roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut 650x276
roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut 650×276

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Dumplings

  • 3 to 4 pounds starchy potatoes
  • 2 to 3 eggs
  • 1/2 to 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • Sea and or kosher salt, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Pork Roast

  • 1 pork roast
  • Oil (for browning)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Paprika, to taste
  • 1/2 to 1 pound coarsely chopped onions

Instructions

Dumplings

  1. In a large pot, boil potatoes in salted water with the skins on. Peel and put them through a ricer (if you don’t have a ricer, use the back of a spoon to smash potatoes through a sieve). Let cool completely.
  2. Refrigerate.
  3. The next day, about 30 minutes before the roast is finished, set a large pot of salted water to boil.
  4. To the cooled, riced potatoes add eggs and 8 to 14 tablespoons of flour, depending on how starchy the potatoes are). Also add salt, nutmeg and parsley. Using your hands, form potatoes into balls between the size of golf and tennis balls.
  5. Add the potato balls to the boiling water but do not let the water continue to boil. When they float to the top in 15 to 20 minutes, they are done.

Pork Roast

  1. In a large, heavy pot, heat oil. Sprinkle the roast with salt, pepper and paprika, and brown quickly in oil. Add onions and brown them, too. Turn heat down to medium low. Add a little water. A carrot and a couple of fresh tomatoes can also be added if desired. Cover and cook for 2 hours, turning occasionally.
  2. To make gravy (optional), remove the roast and add a little water to the pan to de-glaze it. Add a little flour or cornstarch to thicken the drippings.
  3. Serve dumplings and pork roast with red cabbage or sauerkraut.

This was more an unspoken attitude than a workplace rule, but someone lost their job over it.

When I came to work for a certain company, I was an in-your-face out lesbian. Nobody seemed to mind, at least nobody said anything and I was well-liked.

One of the married women struck up a friendship with me and we used to go walking at lunch time. She was really into her church and she not-so-subtly tried to get me to believe that being gay was wrong. When I didn’t bite, she started asking me questions about how I knew I was queer, how it affected my life, how it was different being in a relationship with a man vs a woman (I had been in a conventional het relationship prior to coming out). I answered all her questions as honestly as I could, trying to raise awareness that queer folk aren’t really that different from straight folk.

It turned out that she had been questioning all her life and was trying to work up the courage to come out herself. I SWEAR I WASN’T TRYING TO CONVERT HER.

She ended up coming out while I worked there. I was dumbfounded when she told me—I had no clue. I really thought she was a church lady. Her husband left her, which she was actually relieved about.

I eventually left there for a higher-paying job. When I caught up with the woman a few years later, she told me she had been fired for coming out of the closet. Nobody could accept her transition from straight life to queer life. They were used to seeing her as a straight woman and they looked at her transition as a sort of betrayal. so, I guess if you were already queer that was ok, but you weren’t allowed to change teams.

EDIT: One, she didn’t suddenly start crowing at work about what a dyke she was. It was a small, tight-knit company so her divorce became known. She also cut her hair short and started wearing less feminine clothing. She stopped talking about Jesus and church, since her church rejected her when she came out. It wasn’t hard for the boss to extrapolate.

Two, of course the company didn’t tell her they were firing her for being a lesbian. They gradually transferred her best clients to other workers, started giving her poor reviews and difficult clients and basically made the work environment unpleasant for her. They laid her off after they had gathered enough (fake) documentation to support firing her for cause, and she didn’t bother fighting it.

EDIT: Any comments implying that the people in the story are liars will be deleted.

I’m not answering any more comments or questions that:

  1. Have already been addressed in the comments
  2. Demonstrate that the commenter believes they can interpret the situation better than those involved
  3. Demonstrate poor reading comprehension. I’m not an elementary school teacher.

I hate this guys voice, but the message is really good.

Joe and the rabbits

When I was a young boy, perhaps 6 years old, we lived in a housing complex in Bridgeport, Connecticut. I used to play with the other kids in that complex. One of my boyhood friends was this kid named Joe.

His father was a scientist from Germany. And after world war II, he emigrated to the United States with his parents. They were a nice family, and the father and Joe could speak very good English, but his mother could not. But she was pretty nice.

Joe was named after the Americans allowed him to come into the USA. He was named “G.I.Joe”. I kid you not.

Anyways he had his father’s German soldiers helmet, and a German army issue gas mask that we both played with.

He was a lot of fun. Joe and I did many things together, and we ran about getting into all sorts of things. Good times for young boys. Ha ha.

Anyways, in his basement, his father had rows and rows of cages with bunny rabbits. yeah, his father was using them for experiments that he ran out of his house.

He fed them. He tended to them.

He injected them…

Now that I am older, and knowing about “Operation Paperclip”, I wonder just what kinds of experiments his father was doing to these rabbits. Makeup? Bio-weapons? Aspirin? I don’t know.

What I do know is that my father would periodically take me over to Joe’s house and I would get to pick up the rabbits from time to time. Both Joe and I were too young to notice anything wrong about the set up. But today… knowing what I do know… I wonder about it.

Many innocent things in my past… well are exposed to the understandings of experience when you get older.

Today…

Ukraine Dropped Explosive On Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility

Ukrainians dropped an explosive on the nuclear fuel storage facility at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.

Russia sent an urgent report to the IAEA.

Absolutely ZERO additional information is available at this time.

No word of any radiation leak . . .  no word about ANYTHING.  Just that it happened.

More if I get it.

This $7.3 Trillion Bombshell Threatens To SINK The Dollar

Transgender – The Inability To Distinguish Facts From Wishes

Matt Taibbi opines on the latest piece of transgender nonsense:

The Dumbest Cover Story EverRacket News, Mar 13 2024
New York Magazine’s “Freedom of Sex” is the ultimate example of the lunatic nihilism that’s consumed America’s intellectual class

New York Magazine has a new cover story, by the trans writer Andrea Long Chu: “The moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies.” A jeremiad in support of the idea that children must have absolute political agency, it makes the Unabomber manifesto read like a Shakespeare sonnet. The money passage:

We must be prepared to defend the idea that, in principle, everyone should have access to sex-changing medical care, regardless of age, gender identity, social environment, or psychiatric history.

A lot of the piece is standard-issue woe-is-me fuck-everything cartoon nihilism you’d hear from any laptop-class liberal arts product, arguing for a generalized smashing of the patriarchy, among other things by attacking the biological conspiracy to produce those units of material labor value known as babies. Complete abolition of norms would be an “impossible task,” Chu notes sadly, but that doesn’t preclude their “collective reimagining” by an alliance of intersectional victims working toward a Marxian paradise free of “oppressive systems,” which of course include the nuclear family.

The nihilism Taibbi points to is also the major theme the French anthropologist Emmanuel Todd takes on in his book “The Defeat of the West”.

From its New York Times review:

This Prophetic Academic Now Foresees the West’s Defeat (archived) – New York Times, Mar 9 2024

American leadership is failing: That is the argument of an eccentric new book that since January has stood near the top of France’s best-seller lists. It is called “La Défaite de l’Occident” (“The Defeat of the West”). Its author, Emmanuel Todd, is a celebrated historian and anthropologist who in 1976, in a book called “The Final Fall,” used infant-mortality statistics to predict that the Soviet Union was headed for collapse.

Mr. Todd is not a moralizer. But he insists that traditional cultures have a lot to fear from the West’s various progressive leanings and may resist allying themselves on foreign policy with those who espouse them. In a similar way, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s official atheism was a deal-breaker for many people who might otherwise have been well disposed toward Communism.

Mr. Todd does believe that certain of our values are “deeply negative.” He presents evidence that the West does not value the lives of its young. Infant mortality, the telltale metric that led him to predict the Soviet collapse half a century ago, is higher in Mr. Biden’s America (5.4 per thousand) than in Mr. Putin’s Russia — and three times higher than in the Japan of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.While Mr. Todd is, again, not judgmental on sexual matters, he is judgmental on intellectual ones. The inability to distinguish facts from wishes astounds him at every turn of the Ukraine war. The American hope early in the war that China might cooperate in a sanctions regime against Russia, thereby helping the United States refine a weapon that would one day be aimed at China itself, is, for Mr. Todd, a “delirium.”

Back in January Todd expanded on the inability of distinguishing facts from fiction, which is also the basis of trans-genderism, during an interview with Le Figaro. From its English translation:

Q: Over time, haven’t you become a bit of a reactionary?I was brought up by a grandmother who told me that, sexually speaking, all tastes are part of nature, and I’m faithful to my ancestors. So, LGB, welcome. For T, the trans issue is something else. The individuals concerned must of course be protected. But the fixation of the Western middle classes on this ultra-minority issue raises a sociological and historical question. To establish as a social horizon the idea that a man can really become a woman and a woman a man is to assert something that is biologically impossible, it is to deny the reality of the world, it is to assert the false.

Trans ideology is therefore, in my opinion, one of the flags of this nihilism that now defines the West, this drive to destroy not just things and people but reality. But, once again, I am in no way overwhelmed here by indignation or emotion. This ideology exists and I have to integrate it into a historical model. In the age of the metaverse, I can’t say whether my attachment to reality makes me a reactionary.

The intentional denial of reality, as it is currently practiced in the West, is not a new phenomenon. It is the basis of neo-conservatism from where it has crept over to the progressive side.

As Ron Susskind wrote in his portrait of the first years of the Bush junior presidency:

Faith, Certainty And The Presidency Of George W. Bush (archived) – Ron Susskind / New York Times, Oct 17 2004

The aide said that guys like me were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore.” He continued “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

Karl Rove, the Bush advisor Susskind had quoted, displayed the same lunatic nihilism that is represented by those who argue that children, teenagers or people generally should can freely chose their gender. It is an attempt of “creating other new realities”. It represents a total denial of actual reality and of the common values derived from it. The Bush administration failed in its endeavor to create new realities in Iraq. The current regime in the West will fail likewise with regime change in Russia. So will others who deny realities.

The author of the Todd book review, Christopher Caldwell, adds:

Fighting a war based on values requires good values. At a bare minimum it requires an agreement on the values being spread, and the United States is further from such agreement than it has ever been in its history — further, even, than it was on the eve of the Civil War. At times it seems there are no national principles, only partisan ones, with each side convinced that the other is trying not just to run the government but also to capture the state.

I see a very similar denial of reality, followed by nihilism and a lack of values, at the top of the current European leadership. The loss of the common view of things is splitting societies on both sides of the Atlantic.

However, with regards to transgenderism, some sense of reality is still trying to survive:

National Health Service England stops prescribing puberty blockers, citing ‘not enough evidence’USA Today. Mar 13 2024

“We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of (puberty suppressing hormones) to make the treatment routinely available at this time,” the publication by NHS England stated.

Puberty is a natural process which often includes a temporary confusion about ones identity. Blocking a kids puberty to further some ephemeral confusion some may have during those time is in my view criminal.

I even agree with Rishi Sunack on this:

U.K. prime minister on gender: ‘A man is a man and a woman is a woman’Washington Post, Oct 5 2023

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted his stance on gender identity in a speech Wednesday, stating it was “common sense” that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman” — a remark that sparked criticism from transgender rights activists and elicited fervent applause from attendees of the Conservative Party Conference.

I see myself, just like Matt Taibbi seems to see himself, as a progressive striving for a society based on some form of socialism and justice.

To then find myself on the same side of an issue as some staunch conservatives, and getting attacked for it, is mildly disturbing.

Is it really impossible to be reality based and on the left side of things?

Posted by b on March 14, 2024 at 11:24 UTC | Permalink

Father gives instructions to his son

US Searching for Russian Sub – DelMarVa Peninsula

US Hunting Russian Sub DelMarVa Peninsula large
US Hunting Russian Sub DelMarVa Peninsula large

The United States is searching for what is believed to be a Russian nuclear submarine off the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia (DelMarVa) Peninsula and into Chesapeake Bay.

Sub-Hunter aircraft are deployed as shown on the FlightRadar image above.

This wasn’t something that I overheard, but my cousin did.

He was sitting on a train and overheard two girls talking, roughly in their early 20s. One of the girls had been asked to house-sit for a family friend who was away for 2 weeks and also look after their pet German Shepherd.

Things were going well for the first few days until she woke up one morning and the dog had died in its sleep.

This was in central London at the height of summer, and the girl didn’t own a car. The owners wouldn’t be back for about 8 days so she couldn’t just leave it in the house until then in case it started to rot. She read online that she should store it in a cool place, but there wasn’t anywhere suitable at their house as it was a very big dog. She also didn’t have many friends in the area and had no access to a car, so she had no idea what to do.

She googled where the nearest vet might be able to store the body until the owners returned, but it was two stops away on the tube. Even if a taxi agreed to transport a dead dog, she couldn’t afford to pay £20 for a London taxi, so she put the dog in a suitcase and took it on the tube.

A man offered to help her carry it down the stairs as she was struggling, and asked what on earth she had inside that made it so heavy (about 30kg). She was a photography student, so told him that she studied photography and had a lot of camera equipment inside. They chatted a bit about it and got on to the tube.

At the next stop, the man got off, but just as the doors were closing, he grabbed the suitcase and ran off towards the escalators as fast as he could. He was a petty criminal who thought he would cash in on the camera equipment. Before she knew what had happened, the doors had shut and she was on her way to the next station.

I’m not sure if they ever got it back, but there aren’t many greater images than the thought of this man returning home thinking he had hit the jackpot, only to open the bag and see a dead German Shepherd staring back at him.

Couples Therapy

I don’t know if I actually “annoyed” the scammer but. . . . I have two stories, several years apart. Story One: My phone rang one afternoon about three years ago. When I picked up the receiver (landline), a voice answered that sounded like my cousin. When I said, “Larry?” he replied, “Yeah, Grandma, it’s me.” Immediately I knew it was a scam since my husband and I never had kids, ergo, no grandkids. But, I decided to play along. He explained that he was somewhere—I forget where exactly—in the Bahamas, where he and some friends had gone to hear a rock concert, and he’d been in an accident with his rental car. I asked him if he took out insurance when he rented the car; he said yes, but the way they did things down there was, you paid for the damages out of pocket, and then the rental insurance reimbursed you. I asked him how much he needed and he replied $3000, money he’d need to pay for the car, his hotel bill and airfare to get home. “Oh, Larry,” I said. “I’m sorry, but I just paid my quarterly property taxes (actually true) and have no more money.” Pause. “Why don’t you just ask Mom and Dad for the money?” He explained that his folks had told him not to go, but he went anyway, and now they would be furious at him for disobeying. “Oh, sweetheart,” I said in my most sympathetic tone. “Yeah, they’ll be mad at you for a minute, but you know they love you. I’m sure they’ll help you.” Another pause. “Larry, you go explain things to them. I just know they’ll give you the money. And then, please, call me back and let me know what happened. Okay?” “Okay, Grandma, I will.” If I do say so myself, I was brilliant. Move over Meryl Streep.

Story Two: This happened at least a dozen years ago, before I understood just what scammers were about and how they worked. I got a call from a guy (with an Indian accent) who said his name was Jim from “Microsoft” and that they had detected a virus on my computer. Coincidentally, I really was having problems with my computer and trouble accessing my email. I listened to his spiel and decided to allow him to take control of my computer. He said it would cost me $100 to fix. I agreed and he or his IT dept. went to work on erasing the virus, but not very well. The following day I got another call from “Microsoft” and the same spiel. I told him that someone else had called the previous day and I had agreed to pay the $100 to fix my computer, but as yet the computer still wasn’t functioning properly. This new guy named George (also with an Indian accent) said that Jim didn’t know what he was talking about, that there would be no charge to fix my computer, but that if I wanted, I could agree to a 6-month for $99, a 1-year for $199 or a two-year service contract for $299, my choice. I told him I was confused, but he advised me not to deal with Jim ever again and that he, George, would really fix my computer, which took about 5 hours (I guess those guys worked on commission and they were having a fight over which one would get the credit for my computer work.) Well, it turned out that George actually did fix the problem—I wonder how THAT happened—and now he wanted to get my credit card number so he could charge me for my choice length service contract. I told him, honestly, I didn’t have a charge card available, but to send me a bill and I would send him a check for the amount. He reluctantly agreed, but I never did get the bill. In retrospect, I don’t know how or why my computer actually did work after that, and I never heard from that particular “Microsoft” bunch ever again.

U.S. Gov ADMITS They Are Readying “Kill Chain” Around China

4 years ago, she was in procurement and I was in sales. We worked in a trading company. (let’s call her ‘Jane’ here.)

Me: ‘Can you please share the price of the inquiry from X company?’

Jane: ‘OK, I will send you an email in 10 minutes.’

Me: ‘Cool, thanks!’

20 minutes later

Jane: ‘Sorry the price sent 10 minutes ago was wrong.’

Me: ‘Oh shit, we already quoted the client. Let me give him a call real quick. Please make sure to send the correct one this time.’

Jane: ‘Ok, sorry bout that.’

20 minutes later

Jane: ‘Hey…. I apologize. But the price was still not correct.’

Me: ‘……(sign) Alright, let me call the client real quick. Meanwhile can you please please prepare the correct price and send it out ASAP? ’

Jane: ‘I will. This time, it will be correct.’

Me: ‘Awesome, if my help is needed, you know where to find me.’

20 minutes later

Jane: ‘Hey……’

Me: ‘Hey…..’

Jane: ‘It’s about the price.’

Me: ‘Please don’t tell me, it’s wrong again.’

Jane: ‘……..’ (she nodded)

Me: ‘………..Alright, please go back to your seat first. We will talk later.’

I called a flash meeting with her manager and mine. Went through all the communication between Jane and the supplier. We found out that Jane chatted with the supplier via WhatsApp only without asking for email confirmation so of course price could change at any time. We gave her a chance to explain and she couldn’t.

A few months later, I heard Jane had resigned. Or should I say she was pressured as the company did not want to pay compensation? Whatever it was, her skills were not suitable for the position. It was best for her and company.

Bobcat story

  • The mere exposure effect: The more you see something, the more you like it. This is why advertisers repeat slogans and brands use familiar logos.
  • We tend to believe people notice our mistakes or imperfections more than they actually do.
  • The sunk cost fallacy: People are more likely to continue an endeavor the more they have already invested in it, even if it’s no longer worthwhile.
  • Social loafing: People exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.
  • The more witnesses to an emergency, the less likely any one person is to intervene. Everyone might be looking to see if someone else will take action first.
  • The confirmation bias: People tend to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and disregard information that contradicts them.
  • How information is presented can influence how people perceive it. Frame your speech nicely….organizing speech is as important as the speech itself.
  • The in-group favoritism: People favor members of their own group over outsiders.
  • The placebo effect: A belief that a treatment will work can actually produce positive effects. Some medicines are just flavored chewable but due the outer packing and doctor’s prescription, patient believe it as cure and thus see tangible results.
  • People are seen as more likeable after they make a minor mistake. They became humble and look for someone who doesn’t judge them on thier mistake.
  • The false consensus effect: People overestimate the extent to which others share their beliefs and attitudes.
  • The Dunning-Kruger effect: Unskilled people tend to overestimate their ability, while skilled people tend to underestimate theirs. You think you can be a chess grandmaster, but many a times a grandmaster thinks is not worthy of being one, although he is 100times better than you.
  • The cryptomnesia effect: Unconsciously plagiarism where you mistakenly believe something you created is something you heard or experienced before. Pathetic ! You thought you heard this story somewhere but in reality it was your own creative innovation.
  • People tend to attribute positive events to themselves and negative events to external factors.
  • People perform better when they are being cheered on or believe they are part of a team. Yes! you can do it. We are all there for you, Give it your 100%

Scampi

The cooked garlic-butter combination may be poured over French bread and served with shrimp as a side dish.

Scampi
Scampi

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds headless jumbo shrimp
  • 1 lemon, divided
  • 2 cups butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon finely-chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Thoroughly wash shrimp. Peel and place side by side in glass baking dish, making sure shrimp are not on top of each other.
  2. Squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over shrimp.
  3. Slice remaining 1/2 lemon into 6 finely sliced pieces and place in baking dish.
  4. Melt butter.
  5. Finely chop garlic and place in butter.
  6. Add salt and chopped parsley to butter and garlic mixture.
  7. Sprinkle pepper over shrimp, then pour butter and garlic mixture over this.
  8. Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
  9. Serve with cooked pasta if desired.

There are so many wise Chinese idioms and proverbs

that it would take an entire series of books to cover them. I send blog posts from a Chinese language site to my students who have an interest in ancient Chinese wisdom. So I’ll share a few of my favorite and the actual meanings.

In addition, I’ll share the ebook that has 10 more Idioms

for people who are interested in the Chinese language as well as culture.

But for those of you who aren’t sure what an idiom is, Chinese idioms, called (Zhōng guó chéng yŭ 中国成语), are well-known sayings or proverbs alluding to famous Chinese stories and historical events. They are not only a key part of Chinese language learning but are also priceless in understanding Chinese culture. Chinese idioms are deeply rooted in legacies and traditional culture, making the Chinese language more rich and fascinating. Each Chinese idiom carries profound meaning too. Some of the meaning can’t be understood from the context alone, so I’ll try to expand on the origins and significance.

“鸡毛蒜皮 (jīmáosuànpí)” may have a literal meaning of “chicken feathers and garlic skin” but the meaning has a logical reason. It is used to express that something is not important, or is simply worthless.

The story goes that a long time ago, there were two neighbors: One who lived in the East sold chickens for a living and one who lived in the West sold garlic for a living. Both families had a rather hard life. The family that sold chickens got up early to pluck “鸡毛(jīmáo) chicken feathers”, and as a result, the entire floor was covered in chicken hair. The family who sold garlic also woke up early, but to peel garlic, and their entire floor was covered with “蒜皮(suànpí) garlic skin”. The two families had originally lived in harmony. However, they did have a source of conflict, the wind.

When the wind blew westward, from the East, the “鸡毛(jīmáo) chicken feathers” would be blown into the western neighbor’s yard, while when the wind blew eastward, from the West, “蒜皮(suànpí) garlic skin” would be blown into the eastern neighbor’s yard. The two neighbors often quarreled over such nuance. At one point, the conflict between the two neighbors escalated to the point where they both fought, and eventually went to court to settle the provocative matter. The Judge learned that they were arguing over such a small issue, and said: “Such a small provocation is not worth being settled in court. You have wasted my time, therefore you should be punished.” Some people said the judge was unfair, while others said the ruling was fitting, and that both claims seemed to make sense. Later, the story spread, and eventually “鸡毛蒜皮 (jīmáosuànpí)” became known as a phrase that denotes trivial, unremarkable things or very small things.

“对牛弹琴 (Duìniútánqín)” is used by Chinese people to describe someone who is explaining something complicated to a fool, or sometimes this idiom is used to describe a person who is trying to tell something to the wrong audience.

It literally means to play the harp to a cow…

During the Warring States Period, there was a musician named Gongming Yi, who played musical instruments very well. There were a great number of people fond of listening to him play, and who respected him greatly.

One day, Gongming Yi saw a cow when he was relaxing in the countryside. He thought, “Everybody compliments my music. Why don’t I play some music for this cow?”

He played a piece of elegant quaint music for the cow, but the cow just kept grazing the grass with its head down.

He played another piece of joyful music, but the cow still kept its head down to graze the grass and totally ignored him.

Gongming Yi showed off all his skills, but the cow still ignored him. He was disappointed and started to question his ability until a passerby said to him, “It’s not because your ability is inadequate. It is because the cow can not understand music at all.”

The moral of the two stories are useful but hard to understand from context but it helps to know the background information.

Self Belief

Fascinating question.

Having lived in China for several years, and being married to a Chinese wife, I think my first impulse is to say, “don’t expect to ever fully understand Chinese culture.”

Not because they are so hard to understand, but because that thing we call China is a huge place, with a long history, and it would be wrong to expect to ever fully grasp what it means to be Chinese, or do things the Chinese way.

All that hedging aside, I do think you could be pragmatic about it.

Presuming you are simply trying to get on in modern day China’s culture, I would give you the following list of tips:

  1. Know your place; in China, family always come first. Then come relatives and old friends. New friends are welcome, but won’t be prioritized.
  2. Food is China’s unofficial religion. You will be asked “have you eaten?” in the same way you will be asked “how are you doing?” in the anglosphere, and they mean it. Never downplay the importance of a meal. They dedicate an amazing amount of time, resources, and energy to making, eating, and procuring meals. If you’re French, you’ll understand.
  3. “Saving Face” is everything. There are a hundred ways in which the Chinese can acknowledge or humiliate you, and it all boils down to small details like who sits where, when do you get to speak, what sort of dishes are served… if you can read that code, you know your place with them.
  4. Negotiation; the Chinese will offer you a choice even when it is clear what you want. It’s one of the prime directives of China. The other person must always have a choice. That way, you may find yourself playing cat and mouse with other pedestrians many more times than you would in the western world, because one indication of intended direction just isn’t enough; no, you will have to swerve around fellow pedestrians in the last moment, because they will keep offering you options till the last second. Whenever I sit in a restaurant with my wife, she drives me crazy with the question “… or would you like THAT dish instead?” To which my retort tends to be, “no, goddammit! I want the thing I said I wanted the first time!”
  5. Final agreements are not final. How many times did we put a final signature under something, only to find ourselves reconvening over a lavish meal for a complete re-negotiation.
  6. Change your spokesperson, and you start from scratch. The Chinese build relations with a company or institution based on a personal, individual relationship. Take that person away, and you are back to zero.
  7. Wastefulness is a sign of idiocy. I have yet to see a respected Chinese person with a wasteful attitude. Economy and efficiency are the pillars of Chinese success, and those who are successful there will possess them.
  8. Nature is beautiful – but only few have a realistic understanding of nature. Instead, there is a highly domesticated image of nature in China, sporting talking, vegetarian cats, highly polished flower arrangements, and so on. The Chinese romanticize nature, but don’t understand it.
  9. Outlooks are strangely short term and long term at the same time. The business world expects fast turnarounds and quick growth, while politics and others allow for long time spans for things to develop.

On the whole, I like Chinese culture. When you are there, you feel a new mellowness, surrounded by abundance and the dynamics of an old culture that is mercifully pragmatic and philosophical.

Rory Gallagher-Bad Penny (Rockpalast 1982)

In 2011 I had an excruciating pain in the left side of my back. I called 911 and was taken to the ER where they diagnosed kidney stones, gave me a blood thinner and did a CT. The on call urologist came and said I had renal cell carcinoma and said to make an appointment to have the kidney removed asap. He said you have two kidneys and survive just fine on one. I did some research online and saw that Cleveland Clinic did an operation where they could remove half a kidney. I saw another Nephrologist in town first who confirmed the cancer diagnosis and the conceited little twerp said they can’t do the half kidney because the lesion was in the wrong place. I went to Cleveland anyway and made an appointment with the doctor who wrote the kidney textbook med students use. He did his own CT with dye and said, “Ya know this isn’t taking the dye like renal carcinoma would, let’s wait and do another CT in three months. If it is cancer it’s slow growing so it’s not a big risk.” I went back home to California and returned three months later for another scan. This time the lesion had actually reduced in size and the Cleveland doctor said the lesion was actually “a cyst that had burst” not cancer. Today, 11 years later, I have two good kidneys because I got the second opinion. Choose your second opinion from a place like Cleveland Clinic that does research if you can.

I just got fired. Now my former boss (the one who let me go) is asking me where some important documents are. How should I respond?

The word “toxic” gets thrown around far too often, I think. And yet, I can’t really think of any other word (except for possibly “hostile”) that describes where I used to work. The company no longer exists, having been acquired a couple times over, but I still am hesitant to name it because the industry is rather incestuous and the people are still around even if the company isn’t.

Nevertheless, perhaps this story can act as both a cautionary tale as well as a moment of schadenfreude.

After I had been with the company for about a little less than a year, they hired a new WorldWide VP of Sales who is about as close to pure evil as I ever experienced (and this is coming from someone who worked at Apple!). When he came in, he brought with him a series of sycophants who were as insane as he was malicious.

I was low enough in the food chain to have zero influence or power, but high enough that I was in an extremely vulnerable and visible position. As this VP began clearing house of the long-time veterans of the company, it was only a matter of time before he got to me.

For all the writing on the wall, I was still unprepared for when it happened. I naively believed that the work that I was doing was critical and that I was irreplaceable (at least at that moment). I had the sole responsibility of developing the documentation and training materials for a set of equipment that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars – each.

For those that don’t know, much of the material that is sold by large corporations (Cisco, HPE, Lenovo, etc.) is not designed or built in-house. Often other companies make various components that fit into the equipment; in some cases they make all of the equipment and these larger companies simply rebrand the whole shebang. This was one of those cases.

My company had created an entire portfolio that was going to be rebranded by another multi-billion dollar conglomerate. This was the largest deal they had ever signed with this company, and it was a Big Deal™. Not only did the information had to be 100% accurate, but it had to be branded with the other company’s logos, document rules, etc. On top of it all, the material was highly technical.

It took eight months of 10–12 hour days to complete. The launch was set for November 9. I had non-stop travel booked through the following March to travel world-wide and train the other company’s sales force on the equipment, how it worked, and so on. I was the only one scheduled to do this. I figured there was no way they would let me go with so much on the line.

Little did I know.

Back to the evil VP. He was notorious for walking around the office at around 7 p.m. to see who was still there, or who had “left work early.” My cubicle was just outside of his office, so there was no way he would have been able to miss whether I was there or not.

As it happens, my job was to be a road warrior, so I wasn’t supposed to be there. In fact, if I was in the office, it meant that I wasn’t doing my job!

Remember when I said that he brought some insane people with him? Well, one of those idiots remains to this day as the worst example of corporate nepotism I’ve ever seen. The man was an ADD basket case on crack. He was brought in as a VP of Public Relations, and then added a VP of Marketing title when the WWVP of Sales fired the original guy. All of this, and he couldn’t spell to save his life (he once wrote that he was a “VP of Pubic Relations” on his email before realizing that he could save a signature to automatically insert it. No, I’m not making that up).

Anyway this idiot was incensed that I was “never” in the office. Despite the fact that it was my job to be a road warrior, he was livid. And, because he was a good little yes-man, he decided he would make up all kinds of stories that he “imagined” I was doing because I wasn’t in the office. As I said, my cubicle was right outside of the WWVP’s and so he would pass by an empty cubicle several times a day.

So, without me knowing, their plan was set in motion irrespective of the actual work that I was doing.

Remember that the official launch of this product portfolio was November 9? Well, after working for so long on developing the materials, working with the bigger company, and essentially exhausting myself, I decided to take a week’s vacation at the end of October in anticipation of the upcoming launch juggernaut.

I traveled back to England (where I had lived before getting this job) to visit friends and family. I told everyone where I was going, kept a paper-trail, even had a team dinner the night before with the Business Development Manager (“<BDM>”) responsible for the overall relationship and dollar figure with the big company and talked about my holiday plans. Everyone knew where I was going, when, and why. I thought it was all good.

Big mistake.

Halfway through my week in vacation, I got a phone call from my manager.

“J, sorry to bother you on your vacation,” he began. I could tell that something was wrong.

“No problem,” I said, knowing that there was definitely a problem.

“Did <the BDM> know that you were going on vacation this week?”

“Of course,” I said. “We had dinner the night before and I told him all about it, plus it has been in my weekly reports for the past month.”

“Okay, well, <the WWVP> asked <the BDM> where you were today and he said he didn’t know.”

My blood ran cold. I knew what this meant. I actually wondered if I needed to change my flights and return back to the States. I asked my manager (who I truly liked and respected) if I should do that. If he’d said yes, I’d do it.

“No,” he said. “You enjoy your vacation. You deserved it. We can sort this out when you get back.”

As you can imagine, I didn’t enjoy the rest of my holiday. Not one little bit, Sam I Am.

The following Monday I was back in the U.S., and back at work. My manager – who lived in Colorado – had flown into town and met with me. I was surprised to see him.

“Let’s go get some coffee,” he said.

“Okay,” I said. “But I have a standing meeting with <BDM>. I’ll -”

“Don’t worry about it,” my manager said. “He knows.”

I followed him out the hall, past the break room, down the stairs, through the lobby, and out the front door. All the while, he was asking me about my vacation, about visiting friends and family in the U.K., and so on. Small talk. Innocuous. Terrifying.

The local Starbucks was closed. The donut shop had run out of coffee. It was starting to look like a very strange Terry Gilliam storyline as we looked for a place to sit down and chat. Time was getting on, and so we somehow found ourselves inside of a grocery store that had an internal food counter. We got two coffees and sat in the only two chairs – green plastic patio furniture set up in front of the counter. It was surreal.

He looked around, fully aware that this wasn’t ideal. “Not exactly what I was hoping for,” he said. “I’m sorry about this.”

“Just… tell me,” I said.

He was incredibly apologetic. I actually started to feel bad for him. “<The BDM> threw you under the bus,” he said. “He claimed that he had no knowledge that you were going on vacation, that you hadn’t told anyone, and had just disappeared.”

Once again, I pointed to my weekly reports as well as the ten witnesses at the dinner the night before I left. He simply shook his head, sadly.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “The WWVP wants you gone. They were going to fire you while you were in England, but I convinced them that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

We both knew what he meant. It was a recipe for a lawsuit, and the company was highly allergic to lawsuits. Especially of the employment kind.

He proceeded to lay it out for me. I could either go on a Professional Improvement Plan (PIP), or I could willingly take a not-so-generous “mutual separation” package. If I went with the plan and failed to “improve,” the package would be completely off the table.

“While I cannot legally suggest to you what to do,” he said, “I can tell you that they have made up their minds.”

I thought about the launch materials. “That’s going live in a week,” I said.

“I know.”

“What am I supposed to do with all that work?”

He swallowed and tried to keep his voice and face neutral. “They want you to destroy it.”

I was aghast. “They want me to what?!”

He slowly shook his head. He couldn’t believe it either. “<The BDM> doesn’t trust you,” he said. The words stung, but the level of projection was astounding. The BDM had shown himself to be untrustworthy repeatedly (not just in this regard), but knew how to play the political game much, much better than I.

“They don’t want me to give it to anyone else to take over?”

That’s when he said the most bizarre thing of all, and it was obvious that it pained him to say it out loud. “No,” he said. “It’s no one else’s job.”

“What about <a Technical Marketing Engineer on the team>?” I asked.

“That’s not his job.”

“What about all that training with the big customer?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“That’s not your problem any more, J,” he said.

The final piece of the floor fell out from underneath me. Not only was I being fired, but they were willing to sabotage multi-million dollar contracts to do it.

The paperwork was straightforward. I would receive a month’s salary in exchange for walking away. The termination papers were unequivocal – all company material, all of it, was to be completely destroyed and I was to keep no record of any of it. The penalties for holding on to “confidential company information” were severe. They may have been allergic to being sued, but they chomped at the bit to be the ones suing.

There was nothing I could do but comply. I deleted all of the materials I had worked so diligently on for the year, wiped the laptop clean, and returned everything that belonged to the company. Included were technical manuals, instructions, sales training (both technical and business), networking diagrams, demonstration videos, and lengthy email exchanges between me and the other company that detailed the milestones and directions that they wanted (which were extensive and involved). All gone.

Since then, people have asked me how it felt to have destroyed almost a year’s worth of work. The truth of the matter is that it actually felt like a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders. It had been incredibly stressful, and I knew that the upcoming months were going to be equally (if not more so) tense. While I had been on a deadline for the launch, there were going to be quotas to fill, sales cycles to adhere to, revenue projections to achieve, and so on.

As my manager said, “not my problem.”

Less than two months later in the beginning of the new year, I got a phone call from my (now former) manager. “J, I have a question for you, and I want you to answer with only a yes or no,” he said.

I had a feeling I knew where this was going. “Okay,” I said.

“Did you keep any of the training materials?”

“No,” I said truthfully. “I was told to destroy them, so I did.”

It was probably more than I should have said, but on the off chance they were forcing him to call me from a recorded line (the call waiting had the company name, not his personal number), I wanted to be clear as to what happened.

“Thank you,” he said flatly. “That’s all I needed.”

“However,” I said, “I’m willing to recreate the materials for a consulting fee.” I was half-joking, because I needed the money. I doubted they would consider it for even a second, though.

Keeping his voice even, he replied, “I’ll tell them that, but I don’t think they’re going to take you up on it.”

With that, he hung up. Indeed, they didn’t take me up on it, but then again I didn’t expect them to. After all, they had screwed themselves over before, why stop now?

I never expected to hear anything else. I was persona non grata at the company, evidently, but I had seen that when they had been letting people go month after month. Once people were gone, they were practically erased from collective memory.

I heard the rest of the story about two months later, and it was glorious.

I happened to have lunch one day with the Technical Marketing Engineer that I had proposed giving the launch materials to (but was declined). It turns out that the fallout was nothing short of spectacular.

It turns out that my former company had never bothered to communicate with the big customer that they had let me go. In turn, none of the dozens of training sessions were cancelled. The company had flown in sales and engineering staff for these multi-day training sessions only to find that my company was a no show.

No training meant no sales. No sales meant no revenue. No revenue meant quotas being unmet. No quotas meant penalties.

One of the stipulations of the contract was that if X amount of solutions were not sold by the end of the fiscal year (which ended for that company on January 31), my former company would be forced to pay $1.5M in “make good” penalties.

That’s why my ex-manager had called in the beginning of January – he knew that these deadlines were coming up. The week before the end of January, the <BDM> was feeling the pressure from the WWVP because he was getting nastygrams from the big customer about the no-shows and lack of training. That meant that the <BDM> had questions to answer.

“How could this have happened?” the <BDM> was shouting on the staff call. “How could we not have been prepared for this? We knew about this for over a year?”

“Are you kidding?” one of the engineers had responded. “You fired the guy who did it!”

Sadly, for me, there was not much joy to take from this other than a bit of petty schadenfreude. This was in the middle of the severe US recession and I wouldn’t find another position until the middle of the year.

The damage to the relationship was irreversible and possibly incalculable. The portfolio had cost hundreds of millions to develop, but I don’t believe the sales ever crossed over the million-dollar mark. It certainly didn’t recoup the substantial investment. The big customer company forced new rules to protect themselves (they had already been publicizing the launch date themselves, only to have to beg off their customers).

About a year after I got a new job, the entire technology division of that product portfolio got sold off to another company. The reputation of my former company in this technology was shot beyond repair. All in all, they took a bath of several hundred million dollars in the investment.

Is it all because they fired me? Oh, hell no.

It is, however, the butterfly effect of what can happen when ego, corporate policy, politics, and unmitigated insanity drives decisions without understanding the consequences.

Nevertheless, whatever you do, do not hold on to the materials when they tell you to destroy them. Not only could you find yourself on the business end of a legal hissy fit, but you may also rob yourself of some spectacular avenge-by-proxy scenarios.

A Chinese road

Any hope for China-Taiwan reconciliation? It all depends on USA

Let us look at the Ukraine war.

Putin told a former US journalist (if I remember correctly, his name is Carlson) that:

Before the Ukraine war started, Russia & Ukraine had signed a peace agreement & not went into war.

But … we all see the Ukraine war because … right away, former UK PM B Johnson went to Ukraine in person to push Ukraine to go into war (by provoking Russia).

We all know UK & USA are co-conspirators of the Ukraine war.

When China proposed Ukraine-Russia reconciliation. Again right away, US president Biden went in person to Ukraine to support the war … USA wants the war to continue.

Both USA & UK want the Ukraine war, so that they can make money & at the same time weaken Europe’s economy

Back to Taiwan.

It is not up to Taiwan to decide its future. It is USA.

USA will never let Taiwan-China reconciliation to happen.

1, Taiwan is a cash cow for USA to sell out-of-date weapons & a cash cow for US politicians to shout support so as to get an appearance fee. It is easy money. Dont even need acting skills. Just shouting empty support is enough.

2, Taiwan can be used as a tool by USA to irritate China. Like a mosquito or fly that bugs you.

See, USA+UK have successfully bugged Russia to use military.

USA+UK are the trouble makers in the world. Look at Latin America. Mideast, SCS, even Europe thru Ukraine.

Those corrupted Taiwanese politicians are happy to serve USA too. It is a 2 way corruption.

WoCuDaDeMa

I’ve been a partner at a CPA firm and a CFO and COO in for profit companies. I’ve hired and fired a LOT of people over the years.

One termination that stands out is when I was hired to turn around a high-tech manufacturing Company. During our review of expenses we discovered that one of our middle managers was using the Company’s shipping department to ship products for her ETSY business. It wasn’t a ton of money, about $10K per year, but people knew she was stealing so I decided fire her.

Over the years I’ve learned to write a script for myself and the HR manager. Our plan was to read our parts, hand her the termination documents, and then escort her out of the building.

As soon as we entered her office she knew she was getting fired. She was angry and belligerent during the entire process, yelling and shouting. At one point, she pointed to one of her drawers and said she had copies of everything and could prove that she had paid everything back. She said that multiple times.

I was pretty confident that she was lying so I would simply wait for her to stop and then continue on with the termination script. That really pissed her off. She wanted us to engage with her. So what should have taken 15 minutes took a terrible hour. The HR manager and I watched her pack her things in a box and then we escorted her out of the building.

After she was gone we both walked back to her office to check her drawer … and it was completely empty. She was full of shit to the end.

Having a conversation

The TV show is intense. Heart pounding music slows in the background for the conclusion. The camera, with soft focus filter, closes in on a tiny woman who has been charged with murder in the first degree. Her husband of thirty years was an abusive sonofabitch who beat her to within inches of her life. She’s still wearing a cast from his last attack. She’s frightened, mascara smeared, eyes wide.

The hard boiled, fry-em-all prosecutor softens his voice for the first time in fifteen episodes.

We’ve got you cold in a case of murder one Mrs. MacSuffers. But, it’s the holidays and I’m feeling generous. I’ll let you plead down to a case of aggravated jaywalking.

TV’s portrayal of plea bargains is always fun. On the flip side there’s the tatted-up gang member who’s been caught selling drugs in a kindergarten, but pleads out to a case of having a wildly inappropriate waistline on his saggy pants…

So what is it? Is plea bargaining a safety valve for the wrongfully charged, or an escape mechanism for the horrifically lucky?

Neither.

I understand that in some states plea bargaining works (sort of) like what we see in the movies. But, in the federal system it’s not like that at all. It’s more like being told you’ll be forced to eat a gallon of vomit with possible extra courses, or simply open up and eat a spoonful of live meal worms (while smiling).

In the feds there is no bargaining. The prosecutor tells your attorney what sentence they’re willing to offer in exchange for not having to go through the work of a trial. There’s no counter offer. Take it or leave it. Like a water monopoly, you must submit to their will.

There’s a reason monopolies are frowned upon…

Notice there’s no judge in this entire affair. Judges are irrelevant to plea bargains. All power in the court is handed to the prosecutor. If the accused takes the plea, it’s taken to the judge as a package deal. All the robe has to do is sign on the dotted line and another case is removed from the docket. Since the judge is usually a former prosecutor… it feels like the right move.

So… how to fix this system? You can’t. Plea bargaining is morally corrupt. You can’t negotiate with a guy that’s holding a gun to your head. Telling someone that if they use their constitutionally guaranteed rights, you’ll make it painful as all hell, is a violation of what the framers stood for.

But plea bargains are a necessary evil! Without them the system would grind to a halt!

‘xactly. 😉

First off, while the use of plea bargains goes back to the 1800’s, most places in the US didn’t consider plea bargains palatable until the 1960’s. Plea bargains became mechanized “justice.” We gave up our rights in exchange for… well… for putting more people behind bars.

This meat ain’t gonna grind itself!

So what happens if we ban plea bargains?

  • It becomes tedious for the system to take someone through the judicial process. Shouldn’t it be cumbersome to deprive a person of their liberty?
  • Prosecutors can no longer go after every single case that’s brought to them. They would have to pick and choose and make sure to go after the worst cases. I’m not at all opposed to a triage system.
  • Lots of lower level cases might be tossed out. These would be nonviolent, victimless, cases where the accused has no prior criminal history. If you think they’re getting off scot free, then you don’t have any experience with this system. Just an accusation is life altering.
  • Our prisons would shrink in number and size. The percentage of our GDP that we spend on warehousing human beings would drop to the level we see in other countries. Those funds could be put into worthwhile endeavors like education. The net effect being a lower crime rate over a long time line.

Plea bargaining isn’t the root cause of the evil that is our “justice” system, but it’s one of the largest cogs. I’m all for tossing a boot in to see how the mechanism crunches to a halt.

Free Owl

  1. If you are borrowing it for the third time, you need one of your own.
  2. If you’re the only one who shares the ride, sit in front.
  3. Don’t steal each other’s best karaoke songs.
  4. If you’re posting a picture on social media, make sure everyone looks fine in it.
  5. If someone has legally changed their name, don’t ask what their ‘real’ or original name was.
  6. Don’t ask a date how much money they make. If you do care, go to dating sites that verify people’s income.
  1. If you receive an invitation to a party, don’t bring along a date/friend/child/pet/whoever that wasn’t invited.
  2. Don’t touch people without permission, even if they’re pregnant or have cool hair.
  3. Don’t make plans with other friends in front of friends who aren’t invited.
  4. If you have two friends over, who don’t know each other, you don’t leave them alone.
  5. If someone is paying for your food, don’t order something expensive.
  6. When someone insults themselves, disagree.

It may have been possible if the United States or United Kingdom or other nations thad not committed too many atrocities across the world.

Take Serbia

Everyone remembers the 1999 bombings as if it was yesterday. Everyone remembers the role the US had in breaking up of Yugoslavia and knows if the US had wanted to, they could have done so peacefully

Vucic is pro europe and pro US but he knows he simply can’t be anti Russian or Chinese

In Serbia, China is a friend who builds railways and who suffered when their embassy was bombed in 1999

Russia is a greater friend and between 65% to 81% of the masses support Russia openly

Guess what?

MOST OF THEM HATE THE UNITED STATES

So no matter how much Blinken bleats about the risks of China and Russia

Serbians will say “Look. Even if they destroy all of us, we would rather trust them than trust you”

The closer EU comes to US, the more suspicious the Serbians become


Take India

In 2021, Modi was leaning to burn bridges with China completely or to the maximum

Yet when India needed the West for Vaccine materials, they flatly refused and imposed export restrictions on their surplus vaccines and materials

We didn’t forget

They demanded our chloro quinine tablets and we complied putting our Rheumatoid arthritis patients at risk for 6 months

They didn’t lift a little finger

Not to mention the farmers protests where they demanded we don’t impose protectionism and export wheat despite a shortage in India back then (Modi didn’t)

So we simply dont trust them an inch


Take African Nations

The Westerners have plundered, looted and enslaved them for generations and generations

How can Africa trust them at all?

Many Africans LOATHE the French or British

Many Africans LOATHE the United States

They have ruined Libya, Sudan and other nations by provoking Civil War and stealing resources

The Africans cannot ever trust them and regard China and Russia as what we call attractive parallel powers so that they can make Independent decisions and not have the West meddle in them

Best example was Niger

When they kicked out the French, Macron went with his tail between his legs because if he had pushed a war, more African nations would have gone closer to Russia and China


Take Vietnam

Vietnamese remember Agent Orange and it’s use on Civilians from 1968 to 1973

Hoàng Phan would have more details but they were terrible to the Vietnamese

You really expect Vietnamese to jump and trust the US because an Indian origin Nut case Vice President shakes her booty and gives a silly little laugh and says “Freedom and Democracy”

NOT A CHANCE

They want to do things Independently which means they will keep China close and do trade with China and if the US plays too many games, become closer to China and Russia


Take the Middle East

In 60 years, the Middle East remains a war zone because of the United States

The Arabs LOATHE THE US WITH A VISCERAL HATRED

I mean “Want to see your children choke on their blood and die screaming for mommy” type of hatred

Not the “I want your girl to break up with you” type of hatred

Iraq, Syria were both destroyed only because they chose to follow a path that the US didn’t like

Others complied because THEY WERE TOO SCARED OF THE US

As Russia and China grow in power and as the US grows weaker – the Arabs are slowly sharpening their knives and waiting

Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah are KICKING ASS against the vastly superior forces arrayed against them through a lovely mix of Strategy and Geopolitics


Take South America

The US claims South America is their sphere of influence

The US has blockaded Cuba

The US has sanctioned Venezuela

The US threatens Brazil from time to time

The South Americans HATE THE AMERICANS OR ENVY THEM OR BOTH depending on the situation

Mexicans go to Texas and California because they argue it was their country once


So as I have shown you, you have Europeans, Africans, Middle Easterners, Asians, South Americans who have no fondness for the Americans and downright hate their guts at times

They have no bone to pick with China or Russia

China and Russia keeps the world neutral and that these nations like

The Alternate is to allow these Evil Demons to allow their hegemony to continue as overlords

So whose the real Satan here huh???

Taquitos

These are the best taquitos! I like to serve them with guacamole and sour cream for dipping. They’re certainly not traditional taquitos, but they are delicious.

DSC01412 1400x2100
DSC01412 1400×2100

Ingredients

  • Pork, beef or chicken
  • 1 can Mexican beer
  • Garlic salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • Cumin (comino), to taste
  • 1 envelope onion soup mix
  • 1 can or jar chile verde
  • Melted cheese for drizzling (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients except melted cheese to a slow cooker.
  2. Cook for 8 to 10 hours on LOW.
  3. Drain juice.
  4. Put filling on corn tortillas and roll up. Secure with a wooden pick.
  5. Fry until tortilla is crispy. Remove wooden pick to serve.
  6. Drizzle with melted cheese, if desired.

Damn

They don’t realy want control of Taiwan, they don’t want the USA to have control of Taiwan, that is the red line, that can never be crossed, China is quite happy with the status quo. They have said that often enough. As far as markets stop? Are you dreaming? China is Taiwans biggest trading partner. If Taiwan was governed by the mainland their trade would almost double, AND Taiwan would be far FAR richer, because they wouldn’t need to buy a single out of date weapon from the U.S., they would save BILLIONS. That much is obvious. Also there would be no need for Taiwan to have its own military, that would be another huge saving. Just that the poor DPP would be no more, that’s why they are so set against it.

When I was a boy, I had real problems with certain foods. I couldn’t have butter on anything or drink milk straight (milk on cereal or chocolate milk was fine).

Over when I wad left with a bunch of kids at a get-together, lunch was served and included butter on everything, and everyone was expected to drink their milk. (This had happened before and I knew to stay quiet, not really eat anything, not make a big deal, get something later, etc.) One of the supervising women noticed, however, and felt the need to make an example of me and insisted that I eat everything up right in front of everyone. I told them that if they forced me to eat it I would get sick and it would be their fault.

Boy! did that lady get pissed when I said that! You know what happened next! She forced me to eat that food and I got sick all over the table with all the food on it and, boy, did the stuff hit the fan. My mom arrived just as the lady opened up on me. Mom looked puzzled as I had handled situations like this before with no problems. Mom announced who she was, told the lady (not unkindly) to quit yelling at me, and asked, “What is the problem?”

The lady threw me under the bus and said how outrageous it was for ”a child” to dictate what he/she would eat and look what I had done! My mom paused a minute and said very slowly, “I can’t believe my son wouldn’t have told you he would get sick if he ate these things and he should have, and I am sorry . . . . . .” and then all the kids started shouting, “He did tell them, he did!” (I did have some loyal friends.) My mom looked up and said, “WHAT?” “He told you?” “and you still made him eat it?!” The lady says, “Well, well. . .it’s not up to him to tell us. . . .” Mom’s face got red. “You are an idiot and should never be left around children! If you or anyone EVER IGNORES something my child says, there will be hell to pay! Do you understand me?! This is all your fault, and yet you blame a child! How despicable!” Mom tore into her for a few more minutes, and then looked down at me, and I will never forget, she looked right into my eyes and said, “It wasn’t your fault, Spencer. They should have listened — it was their fault, they can clean It up — we’re leaving!” She grabbed my hand, and we held our heads high as we walked gracefully to the car.

I know that I was not all in the right on this one — it’s hard for me to judge — but tas an example of a mom sticking up for her child, that day shone brightly. That kind of thing stays with you forever.

Years of prep

I have been avoiding answering this question for a long time due to the fear that people might exploit the option and the UK might put a ban of sorts in place in the future. *kidding

But I guess it’s time to let the secret out. Brexit is already through!

So, back in 2016 when I was travelling to Indiana for my internship I had a layover of 23 hours in Heathrow. Don’t ask me how but just know that “Indian dads have a mind of their own and never let them book tickets for you” lesson learnt the hard way.

Like everyone else I was going through Google and Quora reading up on what to do in the airport or can you get out without visa or what kind of visa is needed. Most of the content just beats around the bush and doesn’t provide any valuable information to come to a conclusion. The proper way would be to get a visa but let’s be honest, who likes to spend that much money for just a day? While surfing through the internet one line struck my mind and stayed: “it depends on the immigration officer.”

When I landed in Heathrow, all I was hoping for is to ask and who knows what will happen. After filling out the immigration card and contemplating for 15 minutes I finally made my way to the immigration line. My heart was racing with excitement and fear at the same time. I get pulled over often maybe it’s my beard or the sheepish looks.

Immigration office -Imo

Myself – me

After initial hi and how you doing, I hand over my passport

Me- I don’t have a visa and was wondering if I could go out to spend my layover outside

Imo- I don’t understand

Me- I have 23 hours of layover and wanted to see if it’s possible for me to go out and visit few places.

Imo- looks at the cop standing near by and he walks up to the counter

Cop: where you coming from ?

Me- India

Cop: where are you going ?

Me- to Indiana via Chicago

Cop: show me your onward journey tickets

Me- *hands over the ticket

Cop: what’s your purpose of visit?

Me- I’m going for an internship/training with a golf club in Indiana.

Cop: you play golf

Me- a little bit but I’m more related on the management aspect

Cop: who is your favourite player

Me- Tiger woods

Cop&Imo- no way! He is my favourite player too.

Cop: what will you do if you go out?

Me- I’m an horticulturist and would like to visit the Royal Botanical Garden, Kew?

Cop: oh Nice and shakes his head at the imo and cop says have a nice day

Imo- stamps my passport and says I have visa for 2 days and make sure that I’m back for my flight.

Me- thank you so much and was showing all my 28 teeth at him.

I went out visited Kew Gardens, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Thames Bridge and few other places. It was one of the best days and even though I was tired I had to use the opportunity to its fullest.

I strongly recommend that people not approach immigration officer if your layover is less than 10 hours.

A fruit of feminism

As a teenager, I worked as a busboy at a Mexican restaurant for $4 an hour. It wasn’t much, but it covered my gas money and car maintenance (my parents wouldn’t pay for those things, nor should they). The general manager loved my impeccable work ethic and my honesty!

But one day, a new assistant general manager appeared, an intimidating red-headed woman who seemed perpetually angry. One Saturday, I worked from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. as scheduled. I was about to leave when the new assistant manager told me to stay until midnight (to cover for another busboy who didn’t show up). I had other plans. This was incredibly late notice! Most people would have just walked out. But instead of complaining, I dutifully worked the entire 14-hour shift.

I got really hungry, and very tired, because she wouldn’t allow me to take a 15-minute break. I was too young to know that breaks were mandated by law. I wasn’t allowed to even take one minute off during that 14-hour span. As a taller than average teenage boy with a huge appetite, I became extremely hungry by 10:00 p.m. after no food for 12 hours. I was cleaning up the happy hour all-you-can-eat buffet when I spotted two burnt potato skins leftover. Nobody had eaten them because they were essentially inedible. They were about to be thrown in the trash. So I ate them.

The red-headed assistant manager called me into her office and yelled, “You stole company food!” I replied calmly, “But it was being thrown away, and you didn’t give me a lunch break nor a dinner break.” She didn’t know I was one of their best workers. She simply said, “You’re officially terminated.” She never even gave me a chance. And I’ve never forgotten that moment. It reaffirmed why I was going to college the following year on a full ride for mathematics and another full ride for violin. That college degree would allow me to have a career in an intellectual field where I’d be respected, rather than doing physical labor for the rest of my life with a boss who treats employees like servants.

My final reply to her was this. “The general manager will not be happy.” And indeed, he was furious the next day when he heard I had been fired. So he promptly fired the assistant who had fired me. A few years later, I earned my master’s degree in mathematics and never had to bus tables again!

This is great.

Wearing a beanie in beantown on a beany day

I was in the ninth or tenth standard.

Our Maths teacher was excellent in teaching maths in logical way.

I had a great respect for her teaching excellence.

Since I loved Maths and scored good marks, students who had problem with maths would come to me in the short interval for clearing their doubts in some difficult problems.

Those students were day schoolers , while I was in boarding.

In short interval when I was explaining Maths, they would offer me some food to taste which they brought from their home.

One particular item jowar roti(it is called jonna rotti in Telugu) with smoked brinjal chutney(baigan ka bharta) was my favorite. So whenever any of those girls brought those items, they would invariably offer me.

One day when I was explaining some problems to the girls, the teacher saw us.

After some time I was called into the staff room.

I was scared. “Did I do any thing wrong by explaining maths to those girls?” I thought.

“It is a good thing you are clearing the doubts for those girls. I appreciate you. You are saving my time” she said.

My respect for her increased.

“But why do you eat from their (mentioning their caste) tiffin boxes? Stop eating from now onwards”

My entire respect for her came crashing down in a minute.

From then onward, I respected her as a good Math teacher but never considered as a mentor.

RV Life is FINISHED! | 7 HARSH REALITIES Why RVer’s QUIT

Southern Fried Catfish

Fried Catfish Recipe 8 scaled
Fried Catfish Recipe 8 scaled

Ingredients

  • 6 small catfish
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cups cornmeal
  • Salt
  • Ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Shake cornmeal, salt and ground pepper in a paper bag.
  2. Heat oil to 360 degrees F, halfway up the sides of a cast iron skillet.
  3. Dip catfish into buttermilk, then into dry mixture in bag.
  4. Fry for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side (5 minutes per every inch of thickness).
  5. Serve with Hush Puppies.

Years ago, my husband stopped by a yard sale looking for old canning jars (which he collects). When he was getting ready to pay for his new treasures, the man running the sale asked him if he wanted a bottle he had – it was only $5. So my husband bought it. He put it in the back seat of his truck and headed for home.

When he got home, he noticed the vivid green coloring to the bottle so he took some pictures of it and uploaded pictures of it to a collector’s group he belonged to. One person offered him $100, another $200. Finally, someone messaged my husband and asked him if he even knew what he had. Turns out it was an old Binninger’s whiskey bottle and the second one known to exist. They offered to pay for transport to their facility and take it around to some collectors’ shows, then auction it off so it could get some exposure. My husband paid for the shipping and agreed that they could auction it off.

That bottle sold for $6000. The auction house got 10%. So $6000 – $620 (600 to the auction house and $20 to buy and ship) = $5380.00. Not a bad traffic

This was actually half of three conversations that were all connected.

A few years ago I was on holiday in Pisa. One day we were travelling back to Pisa by train after a day out and we were sitting near a young Italian.

When he started speaking to someone on his mobile, I did pay attention at first but I then found that I was understanding what he was saying without trying. I decided to practise my aural comprehension and started listening.

He was asking someone to meet him at the station and I assumed that it was his sister, since many young Italians live at home.

Anyway he said something like:

”…… if you could come and meet me at the station … I need to buy a birthday present for Mamma…”

I could not hear what the other person said but I realised he had received a negative response because he said “OK” in a tone of resignation. I had a vague suspicion that asking for help to choose a present was just an excuse and his real concern was getting a lift home. He then said something like:

”I’ll see you at home then ….. or maybe you could come and pick me up at the station …… Ah, OK. I’ll see you at home then”

I noticed that when he asked about being picked up at the station he spoke with exaggerated casualness, obviously wanting to give the impression that he had only just thought of it although it was his real reason for phoning.

After his request had met with another refusal, he phoned someone else and suggested meeting at the station before going to a bar. This person also declined.

A few minutes later the young man’s mobile rang and I just knew that the second person wanted to arrange something for another night. When he answered his mobile, I could half sense and half hear the other person suggesting that they meet another time. The young man did not want to arrange anything and ended the call very quickly.

Personally, if I had been in the other person’s position, I would not have bothered with that young man again. He seemed really self-centred.

Shorpy History

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1. Money might not buy happiness but it does make sadness comfortable.

2. The fuller your phone battery is by the end of the day, the better your day was.

3. Having a small circle is cool until your two friends are busy.

4. World history unfolding seems so unreal until you experience it first and it becomes too real.

5. If an object is large enough, it becomes a location.

6. Never run for a bus or a relationship. Because when one leaves, another arrives.

7. May you attract someone speaks your language so you don’t have to translate your soul.

8. Some people don’t realize how hard you are riding for them, until you park.

9. Everyone wants you to go the extra mile, but seldom gives you the gas to do it.

10. Randomly hearing your favorite song is more satisfying than putting it on yourself.

According to the plan, it was supposed to carry back 2 kilograms, but the density of the lunar soil is based on public information in the United States. The U.S. public information is incorrect. The actual lunar soil density is smaller than that disclosed by the United States.

In this way, under the same volume, the mass decreases: 2 kg → 1.731 kg.

This scientific parameter must not be wrong! Get it wrong and the mission will fail. Fortunately, the Chinese do not trust the United States and have margins when designing.

2 possibilities: Deliberately publicizing wrong information to mislead others. The second is that the United States really doesn’t know what is wrong. Therefore, the United States keeps asking China for information and lunar soil. China ignored it!

I am not qualified to say that the US moon landing was fake, I can only have doubts.

Some Problem discussion :

1. The Soviet Union also used unmanned missions to land on the moon, obtained the lunar soil, and found water, while the United States said there was no water. The Soviet Union was not confident and could only believe that the lunar soil it obtained was contaminated. Now, no one from China has landed on the moon to obtain lunar soil, proving that the lunar soil contains water.

2. The ironclad proof of the American moon landing is the installation of a lunar surface laser corner reflector . The distance between the earth and the moon can be measured on the earth through the lunar corner reflector. However, the United States installed two corner reflectors manually, and the Soviet Union installed three corner reflectors with automatic machines for unmanned lunar landings. At the same time, the Soviet Union’s corner reflectors can also measure the distance between the earth and the moon. The effect is the same, how can it be “irrefutable proof”.

3. Zhang Benan , deputy chief engineer of China’s aerospace industry , publicly stated that according to the internal assessment of the US Apollo moon landing, the reliability rate was less than 50%. If China followed the American moon landing model, it would be impossible to succeed. Look, Chinese scientists always speak in direct manner. If the success rate of a project is less than 50%, can it be successful? However, there were 6 Apollo moon landings, 5 of which were successful. Science is not feudal superstition. We talk about projects based on facts. We do not take personal feelings and evaluate rationally!

4. When the United States landed on the moon and returned to the earth, it did not master the ” Qian Xuesen ballistic ” re-entry technology and returned to the earth at the second cosmic speed , which would have killed all the astronauts. However, the three astronauts are not dead, they are alive. what happened? The United States has not yet mastered this technology. In 2022, NASA made big claims early, claiming that Orion was the first manned spacecraft in history to use a jump return method (i.e., “floating”) to reenter the atmosphere. This is actually a ” semi-ballistic return ” and is not fully understood. But how did they return to Earth in 1969?!

5. China and the United States, no one has landed on the moon, and some people have landed on the moon. Comparison of lunar surface pictures:

main qimg 9f3133a555bfba4b50b4547c58bb3bce
main qimg 9f3133a555bfba4b50b4547c58bb3bce

China, lunar surface, lunar soil is dense and discolored. United States, on the lunar surface, the lunar soil is like a cement pile, loose and does not change color. (Picture below: Moon landing announced by the United States)

main qimg da27dfb27dc0d274dda5f095a428ba41
main qimg da27dfb27dc0d274dda5f095a428ba41

There is another picture, below: Ground simulation training taken by the United States (published by the United States), take a look

main qimg 4ae1eed93956631e2abf65cb90cd3e78
main qimg 4ae1eed93956631e2abf65cb90cd3e78

In the ground simulation, the astronauts were held by two wires behind them, and the scene was almost the same as if they were on the moon… If you go to the studio and the wire ropes are blurred, you would think that they are on the so-called moon….The picture below shows the lunar surface taken by China’s Chang’e 2 , which is believed to be the remnants of the American Apollo 11. However, it is a shadow with a resolution of 70 meters. It does not prove that “someone landed on the moon”. A lunar rover? American flag? where? Where are the footprints? No one has ever landed on the moon, so we can throw something down. It’s pitch black, what are you looking at? ?

main qimg 31564713a11c1dfe16ed8e2776cbed29
main qimg 31564713a11c1dfe16ed8e2776cbed29

Even if no one lands on the moon, we can still create this huge pile of ruins with nothing visible. 2002 American TV show, the host who questioned the moon landing insisted that astronaut Aldrin swear to the camera with his hand on the Bible, declaring that he had truly left footprints on the moon. If he refused, it would prove that the moon landing was a hoax. Aldrin remained silent for a long time. But the host continued to ask, saying that if you don’t swear, “you are a coward, a liar, and a shameful thief.” Faced with such verbal provocation, an angry Aldrin punched the host, but he still refused to swear in the end. Later, Armstrong and other three other astronauts who landed on the moon also refused to swear when they encountered similar situations. That is to say, no one who landed on the moon has dared to swear according to the Bible that he landed on the moon. (There is a video, you can look for it) According to American law, pressing the Constitution and the Bible with your hands and swearing an oath are essentially testimonials, which are legally binding. Many people do not understand American law. The act of swearing on the Bible can be used as evidence recognized by the court. If you lie, it is ” perjury “; and perjury is one of the six major felonies and must be sentenced to more than one year in prison. There is no Execution outside prison and understanding outside court. Therefore, when Americans are forced to swear or testify, they can remain silent and refuse to answer. This is a form of self-protection and is recognized by law.

Conclusion :

1. We must use a “real scientific attitude” to talk about problems, instead of “because the United States is very powerful”. Everything it does is right and true. This is inappropriate. Discuss things objectively without any subjectivity; let alone use force to overwhelm others, “America is great, how dare you doubt it?” “Scientists from all over the world don’t doubt it, so who do you think you are?” “Whatever culture you have, you are worthy of doubting Apollo”…This is no longer interesting.

2. Not much to talk about, just two:

A. The United States has not yet mastered the “floating technology.” How did the people inside the lunar return module survive when it returned to the earth at the speed of the second universe? Entering the atmosphere at the speed of the second universe, the spacecraft can withstand at least 16G inside and outside, and the human body can withstand up to 10G. If it exceeds, you will die. How did these moon landings survive?

B. Just one. Of all the “moon-landers”, not one of them pressed the Bible and swore he would land on the moon. Why? When talking about things, convince people with reason.

Everyone is interested in the ground training of the American Apollo moon landing. Here are a few more pictures. These are all announced by NASA:

main qimg 38177cfc66c2d536c1f6d1042656d1e0
main qimg 38177cfc66c2d536c1f6d1042656d1e0

It is speculated that the Americans do not know what the real land on the moon is like. They relied on reasoning to simulate the lunar surface and thought it was similar to a cement pile. However, now China has landed on the moon, and found that the lunar surface is actually similar to the Gobi Desert. The picture below shows the first American moonwalkers. They firmly refused to swear by the Bible that they had landed on the moon. They either cursed, ignored, or remained silent. There were 12 people who landed on the moon, and no one swore an oath!

main qimg 76d19541d6cded34a9b542d57834c6f4
main qimg 76d19541d6cded34a9b542d57834c6f4

We Chinese, born in a secular society, keep a distance from religion or are indifferent to it. But Western society is different. Even after the religious reform, most Americans are Protestants, and they still have a strong respect for religion. Swearing on the Bible is a big deal to them. This is not an oath, it actually explains a lot.….

The latest video I saw was Aldrin talking to a little girl. He probably won’t live long enough to control it, so he told the truth. July 2018, an 8-year-old girl asked Aldrin: “Why hasn’t anyone gone to the moon in so long?”Aldrin accidentally said this: I don’t know, we haven’t been to the moon either!

main qimg 1373f1630f997ff87de6e1980af36ab7
main qimg 1373f1630f997ff87de6e1980af36ab7

Author Note :

USA empire of lies, Barbarian who think himself noble.

Onion Crusted Catfish

onion crusted catfish
onion crusted catfish

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Catfish

  • 8 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Fillets
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 cup French fried onions, crushed

Pecan Sauce

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

Catfish

  1. Combine flour, salt, cayenne pepper and lemon zest in shallow bowl.
  2. Dredge fillets in flour mixture and press in crushed fried onions, coating well.
  3. Brown fillets over medium-high heat serving side down for 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. Turn fillets and cook 3 to 4 more minutes or until done.
  5. While fillets are cooking, make Pecan Sauce.
  6. Place fillets on plate and serve with sauce.

Pecan Sauce

  1. Melt butter in small saucepan until bubbly and slightly browned.
  2. Add pecans and cook 1 minute to lightly toast.
  3. Add lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Remove from heat; add parsley. Spoon over fish.

Senator John McCain told this story. He was visiting an African nation and was in the office of that country’s president, along with a Congressional colleague. The colleague proceeded to talk to the African president loudly and slowly, using exaggerated gestures.

“MY country is VERY BIG. We have BIG MOUNTAINS. We have BIG CITIES. We have UNIVERSITIES. Do you know what UNIVERSITY means?”

The African president stared at him a moment and then replied, in a normal tone of voice, “I think so. I have a daughter at Vanderbilt.”

Edit, May 5, 2023: Eighty-two thousand views in a week suggests that this issue resonates with a great many people. I am also reminded of this incident of a few years ago:

EDITORIAL: Well, that was embarrassing… — Acknowledging our assumptions
There are many ways to strangle communication. We can misinterpret, not pay enough attention, pay too much attention (to ourselves!), and of course assume. It is much too easy to do. A recent case …

Finally, I am reminded of the employee orientation I attended at an internationally known non-profit institution that attracts employees from all over the world. The institution is located in Tennessee. A young couple with obvious British accents said they were from the UK, and the person in charge of the orientation, having no idea what the UK was, spent the entire day thinking they were from Ukraine.

Retro Pictures AI generated

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Yes. My BEST friend…who I hired to be an assistant manager…and he succeeded. Out of the blue one day, the COO of the company (a bit of a tyrant, but was ALWAYS cool with me) tried to get me to resign for “theft” of property that had been missing before I ever took the position as a manager. I flatly refused and even laughed at him, I hadn’t stolen anything and I knew I was the scapegoat for something. I was fired with no cause given, it certainly wasn’t for theft even though that was the claim. Months later he (best friend) then proceeded to go after my Dad (who worked at the same company) and my dad resigned (he was already job shopping because the company was beginning to have strange issues). Turns out he (my best friend) was a two faced POS (even his own family has now disowned him). He apparently knew that the COO of the company was having an affair…and he used that info to blackmail the COO into putting him into my position and then my father’s position. It lasted about a year until the company president found out about the affair and gave the COO a second chance to clean up his act (the COO’s wife worked for the president and was just a wonderful person). The COO couldn’t keep it in his pants and he got fired. The President took over the COO’s position and began to get information from recently fired employees about how they were fired without cause because the “big supervisor” (guess who) found “problems” that didn’t really exist. The big supervisor would have to come to the stores and do inventories, etc., and while he was doing that he was rewriting sales agreements and contracts so that HE was now getting the percentages of the sales vs the now fired managers. Well, all of that caught up to him…AND it was determined that HE was stealing and blaming it on employees. He had a nice racket going. He got fired and damn near got put in jail. I eventually heard that he had BIG BIG money problems, a serious drug issue and other things. His wife divorced him, his two kids won’t speak to him, his brother and sister won’t even mention his name…. He moved away, married a gal that had a “history” and became persona non grata around these parts.

This is a guy I knew all of my life, who I trusted with my life and would’ve died for. His family is one of the best and his father was as good a man as I’ve ever known. He threw all of it away for money and to try to dig himself out of a problem of his own making. It broke my heart because I’d never been betrayed like that before.

I believe that Made in China 2025 plays better to China’s traditional strengths, which are:

  • Production and manufacturing capacity;
  • Innovation and adaptation;
  • A growing domestic consumer market;
  • Fast to market speed;
  • Domestic consumers who are quicker to adapt than other markets.

It will also stimulate science innovation at a time when the US, EU and Japan are not investing as much.

Moreover, China needs to move up the value chain because the US has shown that it is an unreliable trading partner, which means that China needs to be strong in all the areas which the US is currently strong in, and replace the US as the world’s most innovative and reliable trading partner.

There is an opportunity here because the Trump administration and Republican Party have turned against science investment and education, which means that there is a good opportunity for China to attract science talent to work in China on next generation products and services.

In order to do this, China needs to open up immigration, not just to ethnic Chinese from overseas, but to all talented individuals with special skills who can contribute to Made in China 2025. It needs to become the immigration destination of choice for people from all over the world, replacing the US.

OBOR mainly benefits the large Chinese state-owned companies which are strong in transport development and infrastructure. However, the big question is when will these huge infrastructure projects be paid off?

If their domestic markets take a long time to develop, this means that these governments in central Asia will be saddled with high levels of debt to China, and creating animosity towards China among their own populations. (This has already happened in Malaysia, where the new Malaysian government has asked to re-negotiate the terms of Chinese infrastructure projects in Malaysia.)

For these reasons, I think that Made in China 2025 is the safer investment, and will help Chinese science and industry move up the value chain, replacing the US.

More common than you can believe

Beef Brisket

Beef Brisket
Beef Brisket

Ingredients

  • 1 (5 or 6 pound) beef brisket
  • Onion, garlic and celery salt
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 envelope onion soup mix
  • 1 small bottle barbecue sauce

Instructions

  1. Marinate brisket in a mixture of the onion, garlic and celery salts and liquid smoke. Rub in well and poke holes in meat to help tenderize it. Marinate overnight or at least 3 hours.
  2. Make a pouch of aluminum foil. Put meat in it and add salt and pepper to taste and Worcestershire sauce. Seal pouch well and bake at 275 degrees F for 4 to 6 hours.
  3. Open pouch and put onion soup mix and small bottle of barbecue sauce over brisket. Seal pouch again and bake 1 hour longer.
  4. Refrigerate for 1 hour before slicing across grain.

The plant I work in is a 24/7 365 operation. I’m an industrial electronics technician/mechanic and this particular year I got the short straw. So late on the 24th of December Christmas eve and I’m on my way to work. Then this cop pulls in behind me, lights n such, and pulls me over. I couldn’t think of a single thing I had done wrong and was thinking, wtf, I’m gonna get a ticket on may way to work a night shift on Christmas eve, seriously???. I was clearly not feeling like this was going to be a good day.

Now I like putting my skills to work in my personal as well as professional life. My favorite thing is building projects, enter the pickup truck I was driving at the time. For note, this took place about 20yrs ago.

The cop comes up and immediately said, ‘you haven’t done anything wrong’. Which clearly left me very very confused. ‘Are those solar panels on your bed?’. Yes, yes they are. You see I had built an electric truck out of an old Chevy S10. The solar provided some free charging. The questions being flying and on the side of the road on Christmas eve I pop the hood and give an impromptu lesson on electric vehicles.

10min or so later excused myself, work awaited. Oddest stop I ever had.

I worked for a Kia dealer in the late 90s. They had something called retro money. It was an incentive to the dealer. Every car you sold in a month got you xx dollars from the manufacturer. The more you sold the larger the incentive, and it was retro to all the cars you sold that month. So if the incentive went from 500 to 800 per car you would get the extra 300 on all cars sold for the month.

It is the last day of the month and we need to sell two cars to hit the next level. It would mean an extra 35k for the dealer. We sold the first one by 10am. Then it was a ghost town. No customers etc. I get a guy looking at a Kia Sportage. Not really interested, blah blah blah. It’s nearly closing time and this guy is the only customer. He is one of those that doesn’t buy the same day etc. I was ready to buy a car at this point. We offer him a deal, no, another deal, no. We gave him the rebate off of invoice as well as the holdback, the funny money. The final offer was a 4,000 loss from triple net cost. It was about 8k off of sticker price. This on a car that had a sticker price of about 18k. HE WANTS TO THINK ABOUT IT OVERNIGHT. I tell him this deal goes away. Honestly, if he didn’t buy it, I was going to. He did buy it.

  1. In ancient Rome, the punishment for patricide (killing one’s father) was to be drowned in a sack along with a viper, a dog, a monkey and a rooster. The reason? I don’t even know.
  2. Alice Stebbins Wells was the first ever policewoman who joined the LAPD in 1910. Because she was the first (and only) policewoman, she designed her own police uniform.
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main qimg 6c3f0b858e2176654ae251238c9ebf0a lq

3. Gorgias of Epirus, a Greek sophist, was born in his dead mother’s coffin while pallbearers were on their way to bury her. Who has an explanation for this?

4. In the 5th century, St. Simeon Stylites spent 37 years on a small platform on top of a tall pillar in Aleppo, Syria. He did it for ascetic reasons but sometimes I wonder how even spending 1 year on top of a skyscraper without coming down will be like.

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5. One of the most well-known gladiators of ancient Rome, Carpophorus, fought exclusively against beasts. You think Samson in the Bible was a beast? Carpophorus was a monster! Carpophorus famously defeated a bear, lion, and leopard in a single battle. That same day, he slaughtered a rhinoceros with a spear and set a record of killing 20 wild animals no other man will even venture to go near. Even Hercules didn’t do this!

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main qimg f32904a5ae190fc8452936895db8a484 lq

American Reacts to First Time You Realized America Really Messed You Up | Part 2 | TikTok

I do now.

It grew out of quiet quitting. Most other hospitals in town pay about 30–40% more for my job. So after making this known I cut back my work to about 60% and nobody noticed or cared so I cut back even further.

I do about 6 hours of work in a given week.

I show up, I train my classes 1–2 days a couple weeks a month then I go wander around clinics and bullshit with a few people to look like I’m busy. Then I go back to my desk and sit. Thanks to Covid office emptiness I keep headphones on so it looks like I’m listening to music. I’m listening to books on tape or watching YouTube videos. I keep something that looks like work on one of my monitors so I look busy but I pretty much just sit. Sometimes I work on additional certifications for when the ship sinks and I have to go work somewhere else.

I work from home on Fridays, which is to say I sign in to Teams and watch Netflix for 8 hours.

If I can keep this up for 13 years and this poorly run mess I work for doesn’t bankrupt itself, I retire with a full pension.

I have been married twice.

My first marriage ended with my wife’s bloody body in my lap.

She took only about a minute to die.

We had been married, exactly 5 years, she died on our anniversary. She was pregnant, so I also lost the person who would have been my firstborn.

My second marriage ended when my wife died in hospital, from cancer, while I was asleep, at home, she took just days short of 2 years to die.

We had been married 46 years.

I’m still trying to work out which was the worst.

The strange thing about all this is that my first wife died on the 17th of August 1963, at 0130 hrs.

My second wife died on the 17th of August 2013, at 0115 hrs.

I decided to not remarry as I would be depressed every year as August approached.?

PS. My birthday is the 27th of August.

I came into work one morning at around 9:30AM and so was admittedly late. This was in the early 70s so flexible working was not a thing. My boss called me into his office, and gave me right bollocking. I resigned on the spot basically telling him that if he didn’t like it he could stuff his job.

This does seem to be rather high-handed of me, but the context is that I had finished work at 4 AM, destruction testing and debugging a programme suite I had written over the previous 6 months. I had just worked continuously from Friday 10 PM until Monday 4 AM surviving on sandwiches and copious amounts of caffeine citrate tablets so by the time I arrived at 9:30 AM on Monday I was still pretty strung out and probably resembled the crazy doctor in the Cannonball run.

I was incensed to be carpetted without being asked for an explanation. Two days later I had a new job with a 50% salary increase.

I worked a $8-an-hour part-time job on weekends because I needed the money. Like all low-wage jobs, it was hard work, stupid policies, supervisors with a take-it-or-leave it attitude. It was a high-turnover position; people were always quitting and they were always hiring. We were always understaffed.

We were without a manager. Our team lead had been pressed into service without title or pay raise while they recruited the position. For months. As an employee formerly in our position, he was sympathetic to our viewpoints, did the job well, and was popular with us front-line guys. He applied and interviewed for the position he was already spending 40 hours a week doing.

He didn’t get the job.

On the new manager’s first day, our disappointed and bitter team lead quit. Fully 80% of the team followed him out the door. Many of us told our team lead that the only reason we hadn’t already quit was that we hadn’t wanted to make his job as our unacknowledged manager harder.

That didn’t stop the fucker from disappearing instead of repaying the $500 I had loaned him.

For years, the race we all hear about is to lower and lower node sizes. China (SMIC) decided that competing on this was a fools errand.

They are currently flooding the market with 28nm (and above), also known as “mature processes”. This is the same strategy they took in solar panels and batteries. By some accounts, they’ll have a third of this market in a few years.

28 nm is a limit after which transistors had to be redesigned for heat dispersion, data transfer and electric interference, expensive for minimal speed increase. Some think that it is better to keep that design. but use gallium, photonics and other tech to make chips faster. There’s also this interesting cost curve where 14nm is the inflection point where it starts to become more expensive rapidly.

The running after Moore’s law of stuffing more primitive logic into smaller and smaller chips ends up with, for most applications, only marginal gains in useful functionality. Bigger, although still tiny, integrated circuits take up marginally larger space/volume and energy consumption and do the job within acptable response times for logical cycles.

In marketing terms this makes even more sense to raise the cumulative return on mature proven minimum defect production cycles. Going after smaller etching dimensions involves a far higher investment and as can be seen a smaller market.

The experience and tacit knowledge gained on the rising throughput in 28nm etch production is likely at some point to result in the systems teams involved coming up with better designs for smaller dimensioned products simply as a result of their accumlation of their know how (learning curve).

Why is this a problem:

They need 28nm for a ton of things. Lower node is more profitable, but higher node chips are critical for a bunch of things. Cars. IoT. Microcontrollers.

And most worrying: these higher node chips are important for the military. The US government, especially under Trump, tried to get the military to have a better sense of the provenance of chips. They have, for the most part, failed. Chips are bought by systems integrators and the systems integrators have little sense of their own supply chain.

Qualcomm etc aren’t lying per se, but you need to fulfil orders. Some of them are civilian and are military. Some get filled by SMIC chips others by global foundries.

What’s more important?

Their military production might be at risk of being cut off in the event of conflict. Intel’s foundry is targeting lower nodes. It won’t touch these lagging edge processes. Why should it? There’s no $$ in it.

The US private sector has shown great disinterest in solving this.

It was obvious some time ago that this would happen, and it’s the consequences of capitalist short term policies of the US administration. Anyone in tech knows military equipment does not use advanced node chips.

Whatever West does is too little & too late if West’s purpose is to kneecap China. China can make everything, materials, chemicals, and equipment for making 28nm chips & above. China has some workarounds for making 5nm chips too.

This gain in Chinese market share is not export driven, but from domestic consumption growth and divestment from US foundries. Too many people are short-sighted and think that China cannot properly manufacture advanced chips. Take a look at Huawei’s recently released PUEA70, which has a 7-nanometer chip and a camera module that surpasses Sony’s.

I think another point that the West hasn’t realized is that Chinese advance in semiconductor will quickly spill over to Vietnam too (China is already eating into South Korea & Taiwan’s lunch) and there won’t be anyway to diverge from China-Vietnam supply chain network and still able to compete on price (China already can mass produce for much cheaper than other East Asian developed economies). This spillover has already happened in solar industries.

Saving Private Ryan RIPPED Me to Shreds – First Time Watching

One of the best reactions.

This movie was a hard watch and a complete emotional rollercoaster. I cried and laughed (sometimes at inappropriate moments), but mostly sobbed. Okay... not just sobbed, I UGLY cried. Kinda embarassing, but it's out there now, don't judge me for my faces of despair! Lol. Trust me, I went to bed hugging my dog after filming!

The ship is floundering

China and Russia can’t

  • raise the IQ of US presidents,
  • stop US presidents from putting the US neocons/chickenhawks in their cabinets,
  • improve the critical thinking skills of the US electorate,
  • make US cable news, the New York Times, and the Washington Post better than the paper you’d use to clean up dog shit.

Right now, we’re relying on Putin and Xi Jinping to be the adults in the room and not the crash-test dummies that we Americans keep putting in the office of the US presidency and Congress.

From the US side, we’re not preventing nuclear war but heading straight into an idiot apocalypse.

I’m old enough to remember when US presidents tried not to provoke a nuclear war, but those times are long gone.

Nuland resigns. China hawks take over

  • “Project Ukraine is her child.”
  • “Her resignation was insisted upon by powerful people in the United States.”

Swiss Steak with Tomato Gravy

dinner
dinner

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 large slice round steak
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large cans tomatoes
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • Kosher or sea salt and pepper
  • 1 cup water (for gravy)

Instructions

  1. Spray slow cooker with Pam. Turn on LOW.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet.
  3. Cut round steak into serving-size pieces.
  4. Put flour into a shallow pan. Add salt and pepper to flour and flour steak well.
  5. Fry steak in hot oil until brown.
  6. Pour a few tomatoes into the slow cooker. Add pieces of browned steak and remaining tomatoes in layers. Add diced onion.
  7. Cook for 4 hours on LOW heat.
  8. Remove meat from slow cooker.
  9. Put 1 cup of water in a pint jar. Add 3 tablespoons flour. Shake well. Add to tomato mixture in the slow cooker. Cook and stir until gravy is thickened.
  10. Put meat back in long enough to heat.
  11. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Five guys actually volunteered to stand at ground zero of a nuclear blast just to see what would happen.

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main qimg 8f279793786be66abfcfdb6d33964453 lq

No, they were not crazy. Nor were they being punished. It just shows how stupid some people can be (I’m joking guys, don’t take out your pitchforks).


During the Cold War when the US and Russia were both trying to set the world record for spending the most amount of money on nuclear weapons, the general public was getting a little bit worried about these weapons of mass destruction.

Despite US claims that nothing bad would happen if a nuclear bomb detonated above civilians, nobody was buying it.

So what did the US do?

They decided to prove it.

On July 19, 1957, five exceptionally brave Air Force officers and one cameraman (probably reevaluating his life at that point) stood about 65 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Sure enough, two F-89 jets flew above their heads and shot out a nuclear missile. Thankfully for the group, the missile did not malfunction and promptly detonated directly above their heads.

According to Major Body as it happened,

“We felt a heat pulse. A very bright light. A fireball it is red. The sky looks black about it. It is boiling above us. It is rapidly losing its color…”

Then the blast could be heard and he continued to say,

“There is the ground wave! It is over folks, It happened! The mounds are vibrating. It is tremendous! Directly above our heads! It is a huge fireball. … Wasn’t that a perfect, perfect shot.”

Now, at this point you might be wondering about all of that radiation from that blast that was hovering over their heads. Surely they have been exposed to a decent amount of ionizing radiation, right?

Since the blast occurred pretty high up in the air (around 18,000 feet or 5.5 km from above), no ground material was sucked up to create a giant mushroom cloud, and thus no giant radioactive cloud was present. As for the material in the bomb itself and surrounding dust, those radioactive particles would have traveled quite a large distance before descending back down to Earth. EDIT: As others have pointed out in the comments, you don’t need to worry about gamma rays because by the time it reaches them, the radiation is halved by 20 times. Thanks Lyle McElhaney and Graham Ross Leonard Cowan .

So it made sense that later on when the men were being examined, it turned out that they were exposed to negligible amounts of radiation from the bomb. It was even less than the amount the pilot was exposed to.

The irony here is that while this was entirely devoted to proving the safety of nuclear blasts high in the air, radioactive particles from such tests often ended up settling on nearby towns, leading to a number of health issues.

While it’s not certain that it’s related to this particular blast, interestingly enough all 6 men (including the cameraman) eventually ended up with cancer later in their life.

There are two types of lifers in Missouri. Those with life without and lifers who have the possibility of parole. Most in both cases accept that prison is their home now and where they will spend a large portion of their lives if not all of it

Those who have life without the possibility of parole do not have to worry about parole hearings.Many cut ties with family and friends on the outside They just want to deal with their life in prison.

I knew many who had life without. Most were laid back and just wanted to do their time. They had their circle of friends. Usually others doing a lot of time. Many are willing to give advice to new people to prison if they think the person will listen.

However, get on their bad side and it’s usually not going to be just a fight , but a stabbing

Only a few had trouble dealing with the life sentence. I remember one young guy who came in with life with the possibility of parole. So he at least had a chance. But he complained to everyone that he couldn’t do the life sentence. He even said he was lost without his phone. Rarely said anything about missing his family , it was always the dawn phone he missed. I think someone got tired of hearing him and beat him up

China Warns New Zealand about Joining AUKUS!

Late one Christmas eve my 65 year old father encountered a man who had broken into our warehouse store. The man was half my dad’s age and muscular. When my father realized the man had a handgun he dove behind a counter. The man fired a shot but missed. He started to make his escape but my father got up and tackled him. The burglar fought him off and ran toward the other end of the building but was tackled again. After fighting him off the man limped away but realized there was no exit. He turned and shot at my dad three more times. I arrived to hear those shots. The burglar finally found a way out but I followed him in my truck until the police arrived and took him into custody.

The evening before the man’s trial my father received a phone call from the man’s wife who asked him to think about her husband’s four kids before giving his testimony. My father’s immediate response – “Was your husband thinking of my kids when he shot at me?”

Oh, yes…

My oldest son’s girlfriend “A” had moved in with us. She was 19, legally an adult and could move wherever she wanted. She also wanted absolutely nothing to do with her mother or her sister (though she and her sister have since reconciled and are now very close). Their mother has serious substance abuse issues and their childhood was much less than ideal.

We still don’t know how her mother found out where we lived, but one night she showed up on our doorstep, demanding to see her daughter. She was yelling thru our locked security screen door how I’d “put a spell” on her daughter, that she refused to believe her daughter didn’t want to see her, we were keeping her against her will, etc. My son’s girlfriend had been hiding in their bedroom while my husband had been calmly replying to the mother’s histrionics, but he finally convinced “A” to at least come out to where her mother could see that she was alive and unharmed. “A” stood under the light in our dining room so her mother could see her, and she once again told her that she was fine, but she wanted nothing to do with her and to please leave her, and us, alone. The mother started up her screaming again and told my husband that she was going to call the sheriff on him. He told her to go ahead and do that if she wanted. We were on our own property and hadn’t broken any laws, so he wasn’t sure what she thought the sheriff would do, but hey…if she wanted to call them, have a ball.

She went back to her car, he closed the door and went back to watching TV. Maybe 10 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. My husband opened it to find a sheriff’s deputy on our front porch. He was invited in and he told us he’d already talked to the mother and he wanted to get “A’s” side. He spoke to her, then went back to where the mother was waiting in her car. He told her that “A” was an adult who was of sound mind and body and she’d made it VERY clear that she wanted nothing to do with her. Not only that, but my husband and I wanted her trespassed, so should she enter our property again, she would be arrested. He then returned to the house and gave us instructions on how to obtain PPOs (personal protection orders) against “A’s” mother.

Yeah…calling the sheriff certainly backfired against her that night.

From the outside, my family looked pretty normal: Mom stayed home and Dad worked, a full-time job in the Post Office and sometimes one or two part time jobs. But the family dynamics and child rearing were off-kilter.

Unfortunately, my Dad had been injured in a non-combat accident in WWII. That led to multiple medical procedures and left him in continuing pain. He’d come home from work and go right to bed. He even had a sandbag traction device at the foot of his bed attached to a kind of girdle he wore to relieve the pain.

My parents were nice folks, saw that we had what we needed growing up, weren’t the horror parents of abuse stories. But they lacked good parenting skills.

My mother would frequently say to my brother and me (born 1948 and me 1950), “Don’t bother your Father now” when he went to bed. That meant “be quiet and go away” to us. I don’t remember my Dad spending much time with me, unless it was something he was interested in. And his hobbies were… different. Like rock collecting, hand tooling leather crafts and copper enameling jewelry. I don’t remember him so much as throwing a ball back and forth with me, ever. He followed sports, but never explained how baseball or football worked. I think other extended family members recognized this and took pity on me. My maternal uncle took me to one San Francisco Giants game. My

brother-in-law took me to a World Series Giants game in the 1960’s. That was my total sports exposure.

I taught myself to ride a bike borrowed from a neighbor kid. By myself, no help from Mom or Dad. That taught me a lesson: if I wanted to learn something, or do something, I had to do it myself.

So… benign neglect.

As I look back from my 70’s, I wanted to understand my life journey, as many seniors do. What was the narrative?

One of the early signs of a problem was in High School English. The teacher was baffled. He told me, “I don’t understand. You write beautiful sentences and even paragraphs. But you can’t write a story.” I also couldn’t understand literature. Because I didn’t fully understand people.

I wasn’t stupid, although I thought I was an idiot. Was a college graduate, had a job as a computer programmer for decades, so there were some working brain cells. What I lacked were social skills and political savvy. The social skill deficit would come up in job interviews, where the interviewer would pick up on tells like lack of confidence or hesitation. More than once, an interviewer said something along the lines of “Well, you’re going to be working for so-and-so. You’ll be their problem”. The lack of political sense caused problems that could have escalated to job loss.

Lately, I was comparing notes on childhood with my brother. I got so far as to say: “In childhood, did you ever feel like…” and he finished for me: “ we were unwanted? Yeah, me too!”.

My daughter was coming home with bruises on her shins. I asked her what was going on, and she said that a boy was kicking her. I spoke to her teacher about it, and next day, police and CPS were at my house questioning my father. They said she said it was her grandfather. I have been caring for my elderly parents for over 20 years, and at that time, my father had just gotten out of the hospital and was still hooked up to an IV and catheter. It was ridiculous. It was obvious both to me and to CPS and the police that they were covering something up. They knew all about him being ill and in the hospital. And I spoke to another parent having the same problem. They said the teachers would go outside with the kids and stand around talking to one another without watching the kids. I took my complaint to the director, and she said that I had no right to talk to other parents about the school, and my daughter was obviously partially retarded because she couldn’t speak well. I demanded my money back and told her never to even think about breathing the same air as my daughter or I would serve her her own ass on a silver platter. That was the end of that. And I made a formal complaint to every agency involved with them.

  1. When walking downstairs, don’t put your hands in your pockets.
  2. If you’re ever at a party and your drink tastes unusually salty, do not continue drinking it. Rohypnol is reported to have a salty taste.
  3. If a power line falls next to you, do not walk or run. Put your feet together and do a bunny hop to jump and get away.
  4. When the waterline is abnormally far from the shore, this is a sign of a tsunami.
  5. If you see a photo of anyone where they only have one “red eye” from the flash, this could be a sign of retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer.
  6. Don’t leave ice packs on wounds or swelling for more than 15 minutes at a time to avoid irreversible nerve damage!
  7. A gray ring around the edge of the cornea is an indication of the high level of cholesterol in the blood.
  8. Keeping transparent water bottles in your car can cause a fire if sunlight passes through them.
  9. A finger up the bum will get the dog (or any animal) to stop what it’s doing real quick.
  10. Baking soda will extinguish a fire, even grease and electrical fires.
  11. Losing weight without trying could very well be cancer.
  12. If you are a male and you pee on a pregnancy test and it comes out positive, go get yourself checked for testicular cancer.
  13. If your car is broken down, do not stand in front of it while waiting for help.
  14. Money falling from buildings? Don’t pick it up, get the hell out of there, it’s a way terrorists kill more people, is by having them all in one place.
  15. If you’re ever unsure if an electrical wire is live, use the back of your hand to touch it. Regular contact could trigger muscle contractions, potentially leading to a fatal grip.

Money was tight when Dad was in the Navy and Mom was home with 3 very young girls. As a rare treat we got popsicles. My youngest sister and I split a 5 cent popsicle. My middle sister insisted on getting a 7 cent banana one. As she started eating it she said it tasted funny and Mom said she demanded it so she had to eat it. She cried but kept eating. Mom started eating the other half and it was bitter. She saw something green on it. My crying sister had finished hers but threw up. The man at the little store gave Mom her money back and offered a free popsicle if a different flavor. He pulled the rest of the banana flavors off the shelf. My sister had some ulcers in her mouth and Mom felt terrible. At that time they used liquid quick lime to speed up freezing. Apparently some got into the mold for the banana flavor. The store owner gave them Mom’s name and she was pleased with the cash settlement they sent to her.

Sitrep March 2024

Here are some common things we are usually unaware of the purpose of:

  • Stickers on fruit: The stickers mark the country and producer of the fruit, but it’s the numbers that are the important aspect. If there are 4 digits and the first number is 4, then it means the fruit is sprayed with pesticides. If there are 5 digits and the first number is 9, then the fruit has grown organically, and if there are 5 digits with the first number being 8, then the fruit has been genetically modified.
main qimg ebc4289eca860e6b91f2fb5ec0f1cfce pjlq
main qimg ebc4289eca860e6b91f2fb5ec0f1cfce pjlq
  • Doughnut hole: In the past, it was difficult to get the edges and the middle of the pie equally baked. So they came up with the ingenious idea of using this shape to ensure equal baking on all sides.
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main qimg 9580973ff8383ace38deea1f11ef085c pjlq
  • The original reason for sunglasses: today it’s obviously to protect us from the sun’s rays. But the original purpose was to protect Arctic people from the dazzling rays of snow. And in 12th century China, they became particularly widespread among judges in order to hide their true feelings from witnesses.
main qimg 459359ce40c8eb025196040b4bad0864 pjlq
main qimg 459359ce40c8eb025196040b4bad0864 pjlq
  • Margins on paper: the original purpose was not for extra notes on the side. In the past mice and rats often gnawed on the paper, so in order for them not eat away the information, people started to leave spaces on the sides.
main qimg 36105bcf61ac3b9cc21b46a2c1f8c03c pjlq
main qimg 36105bcf61ac3b9cc21b46a2c1f8c03c pjlq
  • Holes in padlocks: People usually buy a new lock when their old one doesn’t work due to rain. However, the purpose of the hole is to put in oil – once done, the lock should be able to open with no difficulty.
main qimg c0171e60ab64ceca4d0f124a6880ce78 pjlq
main qimg c0171e60ab64ceca4d0f124a6880ce78 pjlq

Vince wasn’t an intellectual heavyweight. He was a deeply flawed asshat with an outsized ego and limited self restraint.

Remember the scene with The Wolf? The Wolf was there to save Vince’s idiotic neck, and yet our boy just couldn’t stand that someone else walked in and smoothly took control. When returning home with the wife of his boss, Vince was clearly working his way up to making a pass at Mia in spite of trying to talk himself out of it. If Mia hadn’t OD’d Vince would’ve discovered that his disposal wouldn’t even merit a pine box.

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main qimg 32d7ef484d4693ec4434a45a772caf4b lq

Obviously my experience isn’t from the perspective of “law enforcement”, but from being locked up with, then living and working with other felons.

Those living a “life of crime” are different from you and your neighbors only because one aspect of their life is something illegal that they got caught doing. That doesn’t mean that they live and breathe crime 24/7.

These people are fully formed and complex individuals, just like you. In many cases, you would find that the “life of crime” really boils down to just one dumb act, not a daily ritual.

The only exception to this would be the addicts I’ve met, particularly the meth users. They might start off as “unique snowflakes” but something about that drug leeches personality from them like bathwater leeches the salts from your skin. Given enough time they become shriveled husks of former humans — having more in common with one another than with anyone else.

Playing around with text-to-picture

Default masterpiece best quality coloring book line art The Ha 3
Default masterpiece best quality coloring book line art The Ha 3
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alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 2 13819db4 5d1b 4a47 a4ea 6447d0b6b111 0
Default coloring book line art The Chariot tarot card with Art 6
Default coloring book line art The Chariot tarot card with Art 6
Default masterpiece best quality coloring book line art The Ha 1
Default masterpiece best quality coloring book line art The Ha 1
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alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 6 e02422f8 a63e 44f5 8d46 0825ee2be34b 0
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alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 0 a4cead4c 4d30 4b82 9cef c3861622f06c 0

The Sopranos – Getting everything ready for the Executive game

This is what western economists say about the Chinese economy.

But the Chinese government and its economists don’t think that way because they look at potential market size first. In China, the leading importers and processors of minerals and raw materials are state-owned companies whose annual profits are capped at 3–5 percent annually. This means that raw material costs are lower. Chinese manufacturers are increasingly using robotics and automation so that manufacturing costs are lower. Then the Chinese yuan is kept lower against leading currencies to encourage exports.

Put it all together, and it looks to Europeans and Americans like China has impossibly low costs and is making it impossible for other competitors to compete. The problem is that China is different from Europe and the U.S. and its economy is designed to encourage manufacturing and exports.

The Chinese goal is to capture as much market as possible, and then to push costs down further through cost and efficiency improvements. This is different from western companies which start with lower prices to grab market share, but then gradually raise prices through predatory pricing.

Some truths

  1. Investing in a woman you’re not married to is a waste of energy and money.
  2. If you find someone smarter than you, work with them, don’t compete.
  3. Life is all about being intentional and proactive in our choices . The cure for a man’s depression ?? Focus on your purpose and stay busy.
  4. The person who carefully designs their daily routine goes further than the person that negotiates with themselves everyday.
  5. Stop complaining at every slight inconvenience. Do what has to be done . Be happy regardless.

My now ex wife wanted me out of the house and her life after I caught her red handed having an affair.

My relief called in sick so I had to pull a double shift, I got home and went right to bed, only to be woke up by her whaling away on me with a shoe. I picked her up and carried her out into the living room and gently tossed her on the couch, locked the bedroom door and went back to sleep.

It wasn’t long and there was a knock on the door, it was a couple cops, she had called them to report I was abusing her. They said I would have to accompany them to the station, then I looked up at them, there whole attitude shifted.

They handcuffed her and put her in the back of the squad car, one of the cops told me I should clean myself up, apparently she’d nailed me with a shoe and I had blood running down my face.

I went to sleep, she went to jail, couldn’t have worked out any better.

Mike’s 5 Most Badass Plans | Better Call Saul (Jonathan Banks)

My first car was an old beater VW Karman Ghia . It was a tank, with the engine over the rear wheels it would go through snow, that bigger vehicles couldn’t handle. It was low to the ground, one day the neighbors pigs got out, and they had a huge boar, that blocked the road. He came over and leaned against my side window, and completely blocked the view.

It didn’t have a gas gauge, instead it had a reserve fuel tank, and when you ran out, you switched over, and drove to the nearest gas station.

It wouldn’t go the highway speed limit, maybe 63 mph with the pedal to the metal.

My second car was 1974 Plymouth Duster with imitation alligator skin roof, and a sun roof. It was an OK car.

My next car was a 1976 Chrysler Cordoba with real Corinthian leather seats ( best spoken in a Ricardo Montalaban accent) it had a high performance 400 cubic inch V8 with a 4 Bbl. Jet black with every option known to mankind. Sun roof, air conditioning, power everything. Pure white on white interior, to contrast to the black paint. I have a lot of fond memories of this car.

My next car was a 1969 buick skylark convertible. My plan had been to restore it, and always have a good car to drive. I spent thousands on it, and couldn’t keep up with repairs.

My next car was a 4 wheel drive AMC Eagle. It had air suspension, so it hugged the road, but if you went off road you pushed a button and the sur shocks filled and raised the car, to get more clearance. Best fishing vehicle I ever had.

The I had a 1989 Dodge D100 that was a rebadged Mitsubishi. It had a 4 cylinder that couldn’t get out of its own way, But it was solid steel, I was rear ended and it cost $200 to paint my bumper, but the brand new Previa that hit me was totalled. I wasT boned in an intersection and I I didn’t get a scratch, but it was $5000 to fix the other vehicle. It was a 4×4 with a half inch steel skid plate under the entire vehicle. It never had a problem until my power steering hose, and brake line started leaking. I couldn’t get parts, so I got rid of it.

I bought a 1997 Cadillac Catera , awesome looking car, and the day the warranty ran out, it started costing me money. Thousands.

I bought a 1999 Jaguar XKR convertible, with one year left on the warranty. It was the best looking car I owned, I had people hop out of their vehicle at a traffic light and ride with me until the next light. It was a great car.

I bought a 2004 Nissan frontier 4×4, which I drove in the winter, and the Jag in the summer. The Nissan was just OK, nothing special.

I replaced the Nissan with another 2013 Nissan frontier 4×4, which was significantly better than the first Nissan, but still not a memorable vehicle.

I got rid of the jag in 2021.

Hassayampa Casserole

This casserole is an original and was named after the Hassayampa River that flows in Wickenburg, Arizona.

casserole recipe 9
casserole recipe 9

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 teaspoons chili powder
  • 3 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 (8 ounce) can enchilada sauce
  • 1 pound fresh tomatoes, diced
  • 10 ounces frozen corn, thawed
  • 1 cup sliced black olives
  • 3 large green chiles, chopped
  • 1 pound shrimp or imitation crabmeat
  • 12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  • 12 corn tortillas

Instructions

  1. Sauté onion in oil and add cinnamon, chili powder and cumin.
  2. Stir in enchilada sauce and diced tomatoes. Set aside 1 cup sauce.
  3. Add to remaining sauce the corn, olives, green chiles, shrimp or crabmeat and 1 cup cheese.
  4. In a 3 quart shallow casserole dish, cover bottom with some of the tortillas.
  5. Spread 1/3 of shrimp/crabmeat mixture over tortillas; repeat with 2 more layers.
  6. Top with remaining tortillas, sauce and cheese.
  7. Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes.

The Sopranos – Albert Barese

As a kid I was fascinated by the figure of Che Guevara, who looked cool, died relatively young and fought for a better world.

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main qimg 1b633c9301e01bf1e1a8332f844c9f84 lq

Later in life, I read his biography by Jean Cormier, a French journalist/movie director who was a close friend of Che.

It tells the story of his childhood, his medical studies, his trip through South America on a motorbike, how he joined Fidel Castro’s revolution and how they disembarked in Cuba to start a guerrilla war against the Batista regime.

Both had their own regiment in the Sierra Maestra mountains, from where they would launch attacks against government forces. In Che’s regiment there was a little puppy that everybody loved, the mascot of the camp.

One day, Che and a group of soldiers left the camp to ambush a government caravan. But the little puppy had followed them and started barking. They had to shut the dog up or else they would be discovered by the government soldiers. So Che and his men formed a circle around the puppy while one of them strangled it.

I couldn’t put this image out of my mind of these heavily armed guerrilleros standing in a circle to strangle a puppy. They say innocence is the first casualty in any war.

Best Sopranos Scene – “We’re with the Vipers” -All Right Now

Has your grandmother actually had her DNA tested and analyzed?

What I have found in 25 plus years of doing genealogy, and even MORE so since DNA testing came along……people get very invested in family stories and myths. They can build their whole sense of self around them. Then DNA and family history research comes along and blows big holes in their set ideas. Things aren’t what they seem.

There were some doozies told in my family. Some by accident – sort of multigenerational “broken telephones” where things had grains of truth but went sideways in the retelling. Some were deliberate, because it made for a better story. Tales of glory beat tales of misery. Some were told to hide things family members were ashamed of (we had more than our share of those).

DNA can also yank the rug from under you since who you think is your ancestor isn’t always. I have a 78-year-old friend who always believed her father was an Italian fellow who her mother sued for child support in the early 1940’s. Turns out she’s 50% Ashkenazi Jewish without a hint of Italian – and she’s found her biological father’s family, all of whom are at a loss to tell her what the heck happened (to say they were shocked would be an understatement, lol).

Your grandmother may have been born in Italy and raised speaking Italian, but her family could have been ethnically from elsewhere. Nationality should not be confused with ethnicity.

So I have been dating this guy from eight years now. He is my family friend. My first crush,then my first love, my first boyfriend and my first everything. Me and his sister are best friends.

Even though our families knew each other for so long, my family never knew that we were dating, because we Never used to talk infront of them.We(me and him) always used to discuss about how we should convince my parents, how we should ask them and blah blah. I used to get very nervous thinking about my parents reaction. But I was confident that I will convince them and I always knew that he was the one that I want to spend my entire life with.

So one day i went out and came to home , and saw all my family sitting together and discussing seriously, they became silent after seeing me , and my brother asked me to sit beside him and asked me that, they are thinking to get me married. My heart was stumped, millions of thoughts rushed in my head and i was so shocked that i I couldn’t think of one word to say, then he mentioned about the guy that they were considering for me.

Well to my surprise he was none other than my love, the one who makes me feel butterflies even after 8years of togetherness, who just makes me happy by his mere presence. I was so happy that I wanted to jump and dance around. But I couldn’t I simply blushed and said “YES” to my parents. They still didn’t know that we are in love.

We are going to get married soon, preparations are started, IAM on the cloud nine since then. We are going to tell them about us on our wedding day.

I always thought things like this happens only in films and fairy tales. May be every love story is a fairy tale.

They do dont they?

They don’t tend to leave any country alone do they?

They always make decisions based on the people of every country in the world

They must always decide who is free and who isn’t

Any Government that toes their line is ‘Good’ and any Government that doesn’t is ‘Had

They decide human rights violations

If Israel bombs and kills 32,000 Civilians and starves an entire population to death for a single terrorist incident – that’s KOSHER

If Russia invades Ukraine to come to the assistance of 2 Million to 3 Million people who live in Donbass and have been shelled regularly and lost 14,000 lives over 8 years, chronicled in the UN – that’s horrible and thats interfering in the sovereignty of a nation

If Russia arrests 439 people for Social Media posts that’s a huge civil rights violation

If UK arrests 3237 people for Social Media Posts including 900 people just for posting the N word – that’s perfectly acceptable

They have combined killed and liquidated through their decisions – almost 30 Million people in the last 300 years belonging to different countries including :-

  • Inquisitions
  • Literally NUKING a nation
  • Holocaust of 6 Million Jews
  • Starving a million Indians without a shred of remorse
  • Enslaving 3.5 Million people and treating them like Cattle and breeding them like Cattle and Dogs
  • Colonizing and cold bloodedly robbing, slaughtering and displacing 2 Million or more Native Americans , Maoris, Aborigines and stealing their land brazenly
  • Stealing Texas openly from Mexico and now hunting down the same mexicans as Illegals
  • Invaded a Nation, killed a known 93,000 people of that nation and displaced and impoverished an estimated 330,000 people literally lying that they had nuclear weapons
  • Bombed and killed and stole the Oilfields of a Nation merely because their Leader didn’t toe the American line (Syria)
  • Funded Color Revolutions, Coup de Ats and Uprisings against legitimate Governments by their Agencies

These aren’t conspiracy theories are they?

Every one of these incidents have been firmly listed and verified and is now regarded as history

Yet they always seem to turn the tables

Saddam was a Villian though they invaded Iraq for no reason and destroyed him

Yet Zelensky is a Hero

Gadaffi was a Villian

Mao was a Villian

Putin is a villian

Xi is a Villian

Yet not one of these people have conducted a war of aggression in their lives before 2022


Why?

That’s the key question

I believe the answer lies in an Ideology that is deeply ingrained into their blood for centuries

We are the Good Guys

We are the Angels to help these Backward People develop themselves and save them from themselves and their cruel leaders

Sometimes even if people die, we have to look at the long term and be harsh

Like Gates who openly supports an organization that wants 870 Million People dead because they eat up precious food


Now these Nations, it depends on the people of these nations

China and Russia and Iran and a few other nations have obviously woken up and now see these people for what they are

Putins 87% win is an indication

That people braved a rumoured terror attack and shelling and bombing and yet voted in larger numbers is the best middle finger possible

Niger is another example

The Middle East is slowly realizing things aren’t so rosy now

Others are TOO SCARED

India for instance is too frightened of the West because India is too weak to resist sanctions plus India cannot trust China Iran and Russia fully

Not when 40% of it’s exports are destined for US and EU and most of these export orders are non crucial and can be seriously affected

Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia are also too frightened of the West. They gave been dependent too long on the West and they don’t want to leave their comfort zone.

Some are TOO SUBSERVIENT

Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Philippines are simply too enmeshed into the Western system to come out of it


However luckily the hypocrisy of the West is slowly coming out piece by piece

That too despite the fact that they control the media in every way possible.

 

Swamp Pizza

The “swamp pizza”.

Long before I even heard of a “Chicago pizza”, I would make these pizzas that my brother and I referred to as “swamp pizza”. What I would do is take a “off the shelf” pizza kit and raise the dough extra long. And instead of flattening it out in the standard pizza shape, I would use it to line a deep Pyrex dish.

deep dish pizza aka swamp
deep dish pizza aka swamp

I would then fill it with the sauce and cover it up with cheese. Sometimes I would add meat and mushrooms, and always I would cover with lots and lots of cheese.

It’s been decades since I made these little Swamp Pizzas. But every now and then, I get a hankering for a swamp pizza on a lazy afternoon, and a black and white vintage science fiction or film noir movie. I will tell you that it is perfect for spending a snowy Winter day alone.

Today…

Doggie story

“My dog gave her life to save my son.

Cindy, my dog, was six years old and she was the most home-loving and obedient dog. I loved her and she knew it. When my son was born, she was immediately very protective over him. She’d sit beside his pram for hours, popping her front legs up onto the pram every now and then to make sure he was ok.

My son was almost three years old. We lived near a busy road and we were super vigilant at always child-proofing the front door – without exception. My son, as young children can be, was into everything. We’d often find him in the kitchen at 4 am with a concoction of cereal, milk, dry dog food, eggs, etc all mixed up on the kitchen floor. He was that kind of child – into everything. He also watched everything we would do and try to mimic us in his own unique way, often with highly amusing consequences.

One morning, again around 4 am, he somehow managed to ‘escape’ through his bedroom window. To rewind a little, Cindy knew not to go outside (apart from the garden) without us. We could have left the front door open all day (when my son was visiting with grandparents) and she’d never venture out. She also knew that our son wasn’t allowed to go through the front door without us, evidenced by her pushing at him if he fiddled with the front door handle. She didn’t know that it was double locked. This day, she followed my son through the window.

At 5 am, the police woke us knocking on the door. Their words were – “your son was nearly killed but your dog copped it”. They then reiterated what the lorry driver had said…

He told them that he was driving along in the dark and in the distance, he could see something ‘light colored’ moving on the road. As he got closer, he could see a dog at the side of the road barking and barking at the ‘light colored’ something. At the last moment, he realized that this was a child and was about to swerve. He said he could see the dog, still barking and glancing between the truck and the child. While the driver was braking, the dog ran out into the road, jumped at the child’s back and threw him out of the path of the lorry and at the same time, the lorry hit the dog and killed her.

According to the police, the driver said that he’d never believe what he saw unless it was with his own eyes. He said that the dog definitely knew the danger which is why she was barking so anxiously. He said “that dog just saved that kid’s life and it knew what it was doing.”

That was 39 years ago and I still miss Cindy every day. She was a rough collie (a lassie dog) and I can understand why this breed was chosen for the movies.”

School Bus story

“I drive a school bus and have a 6 grader who I would like to talk about.

Last week he was talking about an elderly neighbor not leaving her house for weeks. I tried to explain how hard it could be for her to do things. On Tuesday I pulled up and he wasn’t at the stop waiting. I looked over and saw him shoveling her porch. I was early so I waited for him. The other kids asked why I waited. I said anyone helping someone deserves a few extra minutes. All the kids started asking him questions about his neighbor. The next day 7 children got on the bus with blankets, food and cards for the elderly woman. I delivered them after worked. Now everyday she stands on the porch and the whole bus waves good morning. I am so proud of him for stepping up and doing the right thing. He taught all the children something important. I smile with pride in my heart because of the extraordinary children I have on my bus.” .

A Secret Global Coup Has Happened!

Let’s say there are 10 people. 1 is a sociopath and 2 are brutish thugs. The sociopath will use the two thugs to keep the rest in line using violence. The other 7 people will be forced to work long and hard so that these 3 can live lives of pleasure and privilege. This is the story of human civilization ever since the agricultural revolution. Countries are people farms; most humans have become farm animals and are treated as such.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Leonard

Matthew Leonard, born on November 26, 1929, in Eutaw, Alabama, embodied the spirit of service from an early age. Raised in a segregated society, Leonard attended Ullman High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He was not only a student but also a Boy Scout, instilling in him the values of honor and duty.

As a teenager, Leonard took on a job at a local drugstore, earning a modest $15 per week. This hard-earned income was dedicated to helping his mother meet the family’s financial needs. Even in his youth, Leonard demonstrated a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to those he cared for.

In 1947, at the age of 18, Matthew Leonard enlisted in the U.S. Army, beginning a remarkable journey that would span nearly two decades. He dedicated himself to a life of service, embracing the challenges and responsibilities that came with it.

Leonard served as a drill sergeant and trained young recruits at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. But as the war in Vietnam broke out, Leonard’s wife said he struggled to watch those young recruits, who weren’t much older than his sons, go to war and die. So, even though he was close to retirement, he volunteered to deploy in the hope of making a difference.

On February 28, 1967, in the heart of Vietnam, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Leonard, serving as the platoon sergeant for Company B of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, demonstrated unparalleled bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.

Sgt. Leonard’s valorous journey unfolded near Suoi Da, Vietnam, where his platoon suddenly found themselves under a hail of enemy fire. The enemy, armed with small arms, automatic weapons, and hand grenades, vastly outnumbered Leonard’s platoon. Amid the chaos, the platoon’s commander and several key leaders were among the first to be wounded, thrusting Leonard into a position of leadership.

With remarkable composure, Leonard rallied his platoon to repel the initial enemy assault. He swiftly organized a defensive perimeter, redistributed ammunition, and bolstered the morale of his fellow soldiers. Even in the midst of battle, he exemplified unwavering leadership.

As the enemy’s assault intensified, Leonard’s selflessness and bravery shone brighter. When a wounded soldier found himself outside the safety of the defensive perimeter, Leonard risked his life to rescue him. It was during this act of heroism that Leonard himself was struck by a sniper’s bullet, shattering his hand.

Undeterred by his injuries, Leonard refused medical attention and continued to fight. He moved tirelessly from position to position, directing counterfire against the enemy, who had positioned a machine gun that threatened the entire perimeter.

Just as the situation seemed dire, Leonard’s own platoon’s machine gun malfunctioned, adding to the peril. Without hesitation, Leonard crawled to the malfunctioning weapon, determined to get it back into operation. During this critical moment, the enemy machine gun began strafing nearby soldiers, hitting Leonard’s gunner and others.

Summoning every ounce of his strength, Leonard rose to his feet and charged toward the enemy gun. Despite suffering multiple gunshot wounds, he managed to eliminate the enemy machine gun’s crew, silencing the threat.

Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Leonard’s indomitable spirit and unwavering commitment to his comrades and mission endured until the very end. Despite being gravely wounded, he propped himself against a tree and continued to return fire until he could no longer carry on.

His incredible sacrifice and valor were acknowledged with the Medal of Honor, a testament to the extraordinary dedication and courage he displayed in the face of adversity.

Poor Cat Left To Decompose While She Is Alive | Rescue Before And After

Horrific! But a great rescue.

What is the smartest thing you have seen a lawyer do in court?

Back when I was a young teen (more moons ago than I can count) I worked as a law clerk during the summers at my father’s office in downtown Chicago. Mostly it was busy work, matching mail with files, pulling files for court and some light typing.

On occasion I would go with him to court when he argued cases before the industrial commission (work related accidents).

One of these cases involved an individual who claimed his shoulder injury was so bad he was permanently and totally disabled from working ever again. He was a Russian immigrant and so his lawyer had to use an interpreter to question him during the hearing.

What they didn’t know was that my father had been a Russian Interrogator for the Air Force during the Korean War, and spoke fluent Russian. He had been teaching me conversational Russian while I was growing up, so I was able to follow along for the most part.

When his lawyer asked the question : “Mr. Petrovitch, how high can you lift your right arm” their interpreter actually said “Raise your right hand a small amount and act as if you are in severe pain” to which the man raised his hand a little, groaned and grimaced, squinting his eyes.

On cross-examination, after a laundry list of standard questions (through the interpreter, of course) my dad said in fluent Russian “HANDS UP OR I’LL SHOOT!” The man immediately raised both arms and stretched them towards the ceiling, showing no limitations or pain behavior at all.

Of course the other lawyer started shouting his objections, the interpreter yelled at the petitioner (plaintiff) that he was stupid and the judge covered his face with his hands to try and stop laughing out loud.

The award: Zero.

My son’s school searched my child’s backpack and found his phone. Now they are holding it to the end of the year. Is this legal?

Go to the school and demand the phone back immediately. Having a phone is not illegal. If they balk at giving it back and spew some nonsense about not allowing phones at school tell them your child doesn’t have his phone in class but you as his parent require that he carry it with him to be able to track him and reach him as needed. There are many tracking apps now. Calmly, Demand they hand over the phone immediately. If they do not, call the police right there from the school office to report a theft. Get the names and positions of everyone witnessing this. Tell the school that if you don’t get the phone by the next day you will be buying a new phone and your attorney will be in contact with the school regarding the school paying for the new phone plus the old phone plus the attorney’s bill. Ask when the next school board meeting is and suggest you will be attending to discuss the dismissal of all involved, on charges of petty larceny.

You Won’t Βelieve What Τhey Have In Stοre For Us Next..

Let me see if I got this correct. The tax payer now pays for Gov stores and also pays to fill those stores with food and other items again using tax payer money. Then the tax payer goes to buy the food in the Gov store and gets tax on top of that. Crazy times we are living in!

What is the most humane gesture you have ever encountered?

Prison food is not great. It is not served on fine china or plated to be visually pleasing to the eye.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are seldom served.

For five years I went twice a week to spend time with inmates as we worked together on a book project for at risk kids.

We were all volunteers for our community, as we sat on opposite sides of the table.

One evening when I entered the men’s dormitory, where we met, an inmate handed me a small cardboard box.

He said, “We do not have anything to give you to thank you for coming here and treating us with respect. We want you to know we appreciate your giving value to our lives by using our stories to help others.”

I felt humbled and astonished when I saw the contents of the box. It was a red apple, some popcorn, and another small edible item. On the side was a handwritten note with many signatures.

Anyone who has spent time in prison knows fresh fruit is like gold. A thank you in any form is not to be taken lightly.

Inmates sharing their food with an outsider is not common. Sharing food that is fresh and seldom served is momentous.

Their gifts were not only humane. They were risky. Giving gifts was not in the rule book. I looked over at the nearby guards who also chose to be humane that day and let me know they understood the importance of what was happening.

They looked at the hardened faces of the men in my class, whose softened eyes were asking permission. The guards nodded while I fought to keep back the tears.

In all my years of teaching and rendering service to others, I have never felt such gratitude for the priviege as I did that day.

Years later, seeing a red apple stirs my spirit and reminds me, humane and selfless acts still abound.

In unexpected places, gratitude can still civilize us when we least expect it, for both the giver and the recipient.

P.S. The book is available to be borrowed for free through Amazon Kdp select. It is titled,
“Redirecting Kids for Success” Prison Prevention…for at risk kids grades 9-12.

Breaking! China just dealt a DEVASTATING blow to U.S. Dollar Dominance

Breaking news on this Monday out of China where we have new data on the dumping of U.S. treasuries and what this means for the U.S. dollar dominance. Saudi Arabia also dumping U.S. treasuries at an increased rate over the past few weeks. What is going on?

Riddle me this. China has been doing quite well under Deng-Jiang-Wu-early Xi when China was friendly to foreign countries and being part of the global community. Why did Xi change all of that? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?

Xi changed nothing. You’ve been listening to Western propaganda garbage.

Nearly the entire Global South is behind China. More than 40 countries have expressed a wish to join China-led BRICS and SCO. More than 150 countries have signed up to the BRI and wish to receive Chinese assistance.

China has treated America, Britain and EU with utmost respect. The reverse, unfortunately, has not been true. China is sick and tired of their arrogance and Cold War mentality.

Why did the West change their attitude towards China? Riddle me this.

Nikki Haley says she will stop China from killing Americans with fentanyl. Is the PRC doing this? If so, how?

She’s lying. She has no idea what to do. What she’s trying to selli is the idea that she does.

Here’s the problem. Americans want fentanyl. Enough Americans want fentanyl as to make it worth the enormous risk of smuggling either it, or the raw materials to make it, into the United States. Capitalism 101. And there is no way to stop that. None. Every attempt we’ve ever made to stop drug use by prohibition has been not only an utter failure, but has caused us more trouble than the actual problem we were trying to fix.

There’s a deeper problem. Fentanyl is a symptom, not a cause. And that cause is the utter hopelessness and the lack of resources for the poor in the US. We’ve literally criminalized poverty. We have the weakest social safety net in the industrial world, and we’ve decided that a tax structure that makes it possible for a handful of men to amass fortunes that can buy them freedom from the law, is a good thing even if it leaves 20% of the country living below the poverty line in an information and resource vacuum that leaves most trapped.

Preying on the poor is hugely profitable, and the capitalists have risen to the task. We choose to look away and complain.

HarmonyOS 4.0 reaches over 60 million Huawei devices in less than 2 months

Hauwei unveiled HarmonyOS 4.0, the latest version of its operating system, on August 4. The new iteration brought several changes to the user interface, as well as new features and improvements. Huawei has been quickly rolling out the new software to eligible devices. Earlier this month, we reported that 10 million Huawei smartphones and tablets were already running HarmonyOS 4.0. And today, the company confirmed that the OS has now made its way to over 60 million devices.

Huawei announced 60 million installations of HarmonyOS 4 on Huawei smartphones and tablet devices at its Autumn 2023 Flagship Product Launch event today. The company said it added an average of 1.2 million new users each day. This is just after less than 2 months of the formal announcement of the software.

HarmonyOS 4.0 comes with several notable changes, including a variety of rich theme templates and stylized layout designs. You can select the colors of your app icons and set emoji wallpapers and home screens by choosing your favorite emoji.

It also lets you better manage your notifications by clustering them together and sorting them by importance. The notifications for the same app are now stacked into dynamic cards so you can see more information about each notification without having to open it. HarmonyOS 4.0 also lets you identify text and images by double-clicking and then long-pressing to select them.

Huawei had a busy day today. It launched half a dozen new products in China, including a Huawei Mate 60 RS Ultimate Design smartphone with satellite calling and a ceramic body. In addition, the company unveiled the FreeBuds Pro 3 as well as the Watch GT 4.

U.S Sanctions Failed As China’s Shenzhen Imports Integrated Circuits From All Around the World!

We see the “US of Amurdikkka is fastly declining in to a third world company/country/corporation.” Fall Babylon fall, youve destroyed so many. Now enjoy the ride down, you’ll never rise again.”

https://youtu.be/IVx7KNRiJEI

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

I’ve been wondering whether or not to answer this… The “wrong person” is my daughter (stepdaughter really,but I’m Daddy now and forever so that settles that) and the people doing the “picking a fight”were her ex boyfriend and his father.. I didn’t personally witness this because I was in Iraq at the time,but believe me I sure heard about it.

Daughter is tall and not a delicate flower even though she has all the requisite standard equipment to attract stares and suchlike, including a startling resemblance to Gal Gadot ,and I always emphasized to all my kids the importance of self confidence ,so she carries herself with a certain pride. She has Blackfeet blood along with Irish and Norwegian and who knows what else, girl has a temper too,what can I say..

Anyways,ex boyfriend and father spot her walking down the sidewalk one weekend night and follow her,asking her to get in and go for a cruise.. She says no,but they apparently don’t want to take no for an answer and pull ahead and stop, ex BF Gets out of the car and grabs her elbow and pulls her towards the car,she pulls away and he grabs her again, by this time she is almost in the door. I had taught my kids to avoid punching someone and use their elbows if the person was close enough, which ex BF certainly was unfortunately for his dumb ass, because Daughter proceeds to elbow him repeatedly in the face with backswing strikes on her way away from the car, dislocating ex BF‘S jaw and shattering his eye socket and breaking his nose, and naturally stopped any hostilities on his part, but ex BF’s dad was pushed by this time and ran around the car and accosted Daughter, catching a 50 yard field goal kick in his balls for his troubles..I taught my kids well.

no charges were filed..

What would you recommend to China’s leaders on foreign affairs/relations?

Well, as an American woman, I would recommend that China’s leaders maintain a strong and unyielding stance against the outright bully tactics of my country’s government. To be fair, the US isn’t the only country upping their anti-China sentiments but it is the country I am from so that is what I primarily speak of.

I would say to China, you have more than paid your dues and earned your right as a superpower in world affairs. Hold your heads proudly because you have every right to. There is no need to hide your strength anymore. It is time to let it be on display.

You are one of, if not the oldest country with 5000 years of continuous history. You don’t need to bow to anyone. You don’t need to apologize for being great. You don’t need to sell your technology to the US. You don’t need to accept blame for a virus that was not your fault. You don’t have to back off of your initiatives because other countries don’t approve. You don’t have to take acts of aggression from our spy planes flying in your airspace. You don’t have to tolerate the blatant disrespect to your consulate that was closed in our country. Your people don’t have to accept racism when they come to the US to attend college, work in research, or just visit as tourists.

Please don’t let anyone else push you around anymore. Never again. Let that be your motto from here on out.

Germany Freaks Out – China, PLEASE Buy Our Cars!

As a European, I am so ashamed of our political class and what they have turned the Eurozone into. If the european project is just a facade for American hegemony, then let it die and this is extremely hard for me to say, because I see the eurozone and union as a great idea but ONLY if we have autonomy both strategically, economic and militarily. These two years have shown we have none of it and this is why I write this. It is mindbuggling/unbelievable stupid what is happening right now.”

How can you handle humiliation in your job by your boss?

Let me tell a story about a Clerk who worked with me who made me believe that The Godfather (Book) theory that The Simplest and most humble man can avenge himself against the most powerful of men with patience

We worked in a Branch where i was temporarily in charge of recovery. The branch was a Scale IV Branch but for some reason a Scale V AGM had been deputed to the branch for a temporary basis due to some shortage or something.

This Asst General Manager who had a chip on his block. You had a good natured thirty something old clerk who worked in the department and who was a pretty good guy. He owned a family business as well and would very often give us discounts. I went on many recovery missions with him and he was always a cheerful and happy go lucky type.

Our Old Branch Manager was a good man but once he retired – until his replacement came- this AGM was posted and he was a PRIG. He was angry at working in a Scale IV post and showed it on people.

Now our Clerk always went from 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM to pick up his daughter, take her to the family business premise, drop her there, have tea and return. The lunch ended at 2:30 so he would always be around 45 minutes late which he would make up by working from 5:30 to 6:15 in the evening. He would help a lot of us.

This arrangement was unofficially agreed upon by the Old Branch Manager. The New Prig did not agree . He believed it was against Bank rules and decided to take the clerk on. Now the clerk requested the AGM to give him the time off but the AGM refused. He decided to run the department efficiently (Instead he made it highly inefficient). He refused to repair a water filter (Back then Aquaguards were rare) and calculated the cost of Pens and White Paper.

One day – the wife of the clerk came. The clerk was away for recovery and the peon took her straight to the AGM. She told the AGM that she had to go to her mother and requested that her husband pick up the child as usual. Back then there were no cellphones or SMS and the lady had come to the office for the first time. The AGM was preoccupied with something and forgot (I believe this. Others say he deliberately did what he did but i believe he was preoccupied)

Bottom line – the message was not conveyed. It was 2:50 PM or so when the Peon told the clerk that his wife had visited. The Clerk was puzzled and walked into the AGMs office but the AGM was not there. The Clerk shrugged and continued on with his work believing that his daughter had picked up the child. It was 4 PM when the brother of the Clerk called the Office and asked where the child was? The Clerk was stunned and believed the child would be with his wife but Myself and few others decided to ask the AGM (Bank Hierarchy especially PSU hierarchy is a big thing. Approaching an AGM when you are a Scale II officer is a scary prospect) but the Clerk was out of the doors.

The Good thing was that the Child was a clever girl and simply sat outside with the Watchman of the School and was relieved when the father picked her up. The Father brought her to the branch and he was hugely relieved.

What happened next was straight out of the Malayalam Movie Drivers License

The AGM who saw a child and commotion – shouted at the top of his voice. He abused the Clerk in the loudest words calling him inefficient and moron. The Clerk also raised his voice and talked about his wifes message and the AGM said “I am not your messenger or Postman”. By the time the others separated them – the Clerk had literally been abused in front of his girl who was watching the whole thing (She was in Class IV i think)

The Clerk silently took his daughter home burning with humiliation. The local association leader told him to stage a Dharna but the clerk refused. He told me “God will take care” and i thought it was the usual sentimental nonsense. He remained on his desk, never asked for any leave from the HC, did his work and we all presumed the issue was finished.

Then An Opportunity came

Back then there was no Core Banking. A Customer came with a Fixed Deposit Receipt for Rs. 6 Lakh and wanted Cash. The Officer in question looked at the register and saw that the FD number was not mentioned (No Computers also. Back then we had Ledgers where FD numbers would be mentioned and recorded). The Customer was known to the AGM though and the AGM told the Officer to go ahead and encash the FD.

However it was after Lunch and the normal officer was gone for the day. I am a law and recovery officer and have no role to play so there were no officers. The AGM promptly asked the Clerk to encash the FD and pay the cash (Highly irregular) and the Clerk said “Sir the FD number is not on the ledger”. The AGM arrogantly told him that the customer could not be made to wait and so the Clerk paid him.

Once the Customer was paid and left, the Officer returned the next day or so and searched in every register but could not find a trace of the FD record. He told the AGM and the AGM called the customer but the customer was gone (It was a honest explanation. The Customer did not cheat etc. He just was away somewhere else). The AGM was now sweating beads. The Clerk shrugged. “I am just a clerk. I follow instructions. You instructed me to encash the FD” – he said and pointed at a few of us as witnesses.

The Officer was told by the AGM to give a few days but the same evening the clerk told him “Sir…if you report this today then you are clear but if you take a few days then they may think you are also involved”. The Officer decided to not take chances and reported it.

What happened next was unbelievable. The Big Boss arrived personally and blasted the AGM. Then some people came to go through the ledgers and found Rs. 6 Lakh shortage (A Huge sum back then) and told the AGM he had to make the amount good or they would report to the cops. The AGM was shivering but nothing could be done. The cops arrived and took him to the station. Now the Clerk was a local and the cops were locals. The AGM was an outsider – so they sweated him, threatened him, took him to his house in a jeep in front of his wife and children, talked to his neighbors etc. I was asked to be there at the station as a lawyer and the cops took iron rods and torture devices in front of me. When i said “What the hell is this ??” – the SI laughed and said “Sir! We are not mad. This is just for getting him to talk”

The poor man stayed the entire day at the Station. The next day the Customer returned. He had presented an FD receipt for another branch of our bank so the number was not in our ledger. He gave the FD receipt of our branch and the ledger confirmed the number and everything was okay.

But the AGM was finished. He was humiliated in every way possible. He took leave for 4–5 days and asked for a Transfer

It was then that the clerk told me “Sir. On that day itself i saw that this FD receipt was from a different branch. Had he been a better man – i would have told him then and there. I would have told the customer itself. None of this would have happened”

I told him he had been too cruel but he said “There is nothing worse than being yelled at in front of your child for no fault of your own”.

The AGM who was destined to become CMD – resigned from the bank unable to bear the humiliation of the incident (Though it lasted exactly for 14 – 15 hours after which it was all over). He joined Madura Courts and his career was never the same. He later began to sell Reuters Screens on a commission basis.

The Moral of the Story is – Humiliation by your boss unjustly will always come back to bite the boss. This Clerk who was such a good man that when i was transfered – he travelled in a lorry with my furniture to ensure that the local packers dont take me for a ride. Yet he never forgot his humiliation and destroyed the life of the AGM.

If you are a Boss – Never humiliate your underlings. Call them separately and tick them off but never in front of others. Easiest way to make enemies.

True for all fields.

Pizzeria Uno Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

This is a clone recipe of the best Chicago-style pizza you will ever eat!

Servings: 8

Pan Dough
1 cup warm tap water (110-115 degrees F)
1/4 ounce active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup course ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Pizza Topping
1 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1 pound Italian sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
5 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast with a fork.

Add 1 cup of flour, all of the cornmeal, salt, and vegetable oil, and mix well with a spoon.

Continue stirring in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Flour your hands and the work surface and knead the ball of dough until it is no longer sticky.

Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl, sealed with plastic wrap, for 45-60 minutes in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.

Punch it down and knead it briefly.

Press it into an oiled 15-inch deep dish pizza pan until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom of the pan.

Let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before filling.

Heat the oven to 500 degrees F.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling.

Cook the sausage until it is no longer pink and drain the excess fat.

When the dough has finished its second rising, lay the cheese over the dough shell.

Distribute the sausage and garlic over the cheese.

Top with the tomatoes.

Sprinkle on the seasonings and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 500 degrees F, then lower the temperature to 400 degreesF and finish baking for 25-35 minutes longer.

Lift up a section of the crust from time to time with a spatula to check its color. The crust will be golden brown when done.

Serve immediately.

Cat Sisters Meet After 9 Months Apart – Do They Recognize Each Other?

When do you think the Ukraine war will end?

It depends on so many factors

The Ukraine War was one of the worst miscalculations of the West and the Stupidest

The aim was to

  • Weaken Russia and destroy it Economically
  • Weaken Russia Globally and make it a Pariah
  • Give China a strong message and frighten China into following the Biden Doctrine

What’s happened is:-

  • A resurgent Russia that has something to fight for at last and has grown stronger every day
  • A Russo Sino Alliance that is fast becoming a nice power bloc with many nations with resources and heavy sanctions now drifting to them
  • Loss of Confidence in the West by 80% of the world and belief in a Multipolar world
  • Waning Western impact of Sanctions
  • Ensure China knows it’s War and prepare for it instead of catching them off guard

Today, Ukraine has been brutalized badly

It has lost 33.7% of pre SMO population as Refugees or now Russian Citizens in the Donors region and Kherson and Zaprozhye

It has lost its entire production capacity and it’s own weapon reserves have been brutally depleted and it relies on western arms and money which is dwindling every day

The West has spent $ 130 Billion so far on Ukraine and most of this money has been salted away due to severe corruption

Ukraine is sending more and more men to die

Russia meanwhile is happy with it’s grind and move strategy, minimizing casualties and enjoying the growth of their own industries in the MI complex


Scenario 1:-

The West want to FREEZE the conflict

  • Russia said No
  • Maybe Russia would be incentivized to do so like say offer to remove sanctions on Russia or maybe persuade China to convince Russia

Bleak chance of this happening

Scenario 2:-

Ukraine is destroyed

  • Russia decides to move from SMO to war and start hitting and destroying Ukraine like US did to Iraq or Afghanistan
  • Zelensky would flee and most leaders would flee then and Ukraine would capitulate
  • Timeline: 2025 March or April
  • Biden will not be President. He may not even be nominated as the Democratic candidate, so he will vindictively carry this till 19/1/25

Scenario 3:-

Trump is elected

  • Trump only has one term left and knows once he is elected, he has no more fears and no need to worry about voters again
  • He may make a deal and force Zelensky to surrender and make a deal with Russia and China
  • Unlike 2016, he won’t have the fear now because he can’t stand for any more elections

Scenario 4:-

The famous BAKYAN scenario

  • Poland moves into West Ukraine on invitation from Ukraine and forms a protectorate for West Ukraine
  • Central & remaining Ukraine is given security guarantees akin to Article V by Poland (Proxy by USA) and formally remains as the NEW UKRAINE
  • Donbass, Zaprozhye, Kherson are abandoned by Ukraine and Poland but not recognized by the West or UN as part of Russia and only as break away republics
  • However in reality, those territories will never return to Ukraine again along with Crimea for a long time
  • Russia will declare a cease fire to avoid clashing with Poland, a Nato power
  • Zelensky will be mostly arrested due to corruption and replaced by someone else

Timeline :- 30/6/2024 , a clean 4–5 months before the US Elections

The Destruction of Los Angeles | 2012 (John Cusack, Morgan Lily, Liam James)

Fun. Fun. Fun.

Have you ever tried to fire someone and it backfired?

I have not, but an interesting backfire happened with a close friend’s father, George.

Meet George, he is a PhD Astrophysicist and works in a very specialized field for the United States Department of Defense through a Defense Contractor. He has developed a number of unique solutions over his career that solved some very big problems for some very expensive black projects.

After over 30 years on the job he had moved to the top of his career path, he led a sizable group of physicists and engineers, but was not in management. Following a reorganization, George and his band of merry eggheads found themselves under a manager that had very little experience managing. When budget cuts came down, the green manager started reviewing the personnel files and, unsurprisingly, George was the highest paid person in the department. George was given the option to take an early retirement or be laid off. He was getting close to full retirement age and taking early retirement took a large chunk out of the pension he was counting on. He even offered to give up salary or work part time to address the budget needs. The manager would hear nothing of it.

Once George’s retirement was announced, a number the physicists and engineers approached the manager to warn him that there were solutions that only George fully understood and if there became a need to update or change some of the solutions, they may not be able to do it. George gracefully retired from the company and headed off to teach at the local university. About a year later, he heard from a number of his former team that there had been layoffs and terminations from the team by the same manager. A contract had come in to the company to modify one of George’s unique solutions and the remaining team was unable to make it work. The manager was under the gun to deliver and when it wasn’t working, he was accusing the team of being lazy and incompetent.

Not too long after, the Manager contacted George and asked him if he would come back on a short-term basis, George declined because he was happy teaching at the university. The manager continued to pester George until he finally agreed to come into the office to talk about what it would take to bring him back. George told the manager that he would come with his terms and that the meeting had to include the HR Director and the department Director.

George’s terms:

  1. The company take back his early retirement and bridge his service so he could reach full retirement. (The manager groaned, but grudgingly agreed.)
  2. Any of the team that was fired or forced to resign would be offered the option to come back. (The manager was furious, but George demanded that he had to have his team to be successful, so the manager agreed)
  3. He become the manager of the department. (The manager threw up his hands and said it would never happen, there was only one manager of the department.)

The department director agreed to George’s last term.

We have A guardian Angel his name is Harry Kim.

Kathryn Janeway was a mother figure to almost ALL the crew … the clear exceptions being her first and second officers … but she ESPECIALLY was so to Harry Kim.

If you had the opportunity to bring back a deceased family member for 24 hours, how would you spend your day?

Oh my god, no. God, no… no no… I’d rather they stay dead.

Jesus, the mere thought of it gives me anxiety and stress.

My father died very suddenly last year. It was like my aunt talked to him on Friday, and he died of a heart attack on Sunday in his house.

For a few months, I kept thinking if I had any regrets. If I knew he would die, what would I say to him, or what would I want to do with him?

I came up with nothing.

It’s not like I don’t have anything to say. In fact, I have a LOT to say, so much so that I had therapy for years so that I could process and perhaps recover from all that childhood trauma from his abuse and neglect.

Would I say that to him? No. Because he wouldn’t listen. Not only he wouldn’t listen, he would turn it around and make it my fault. He would make me feel that I somehow wronged him, that I should feel guilty and ashamed and beg him for forgiveness and ask him how I can make it better. He’s an emotional manipulator, and he will never change. Not even in death.

He had, in his own domineering kind of way, made some attempt to mend our relationship after his 3rd wife died. But I couldn’t help but think he was doing that not because he genuinely wanted to fix our father-daughter relationship but because he did the mental calculation and realized with his wife dead, I was the only person who would take care of him if he couldn’t care for himself. It’s all about him. Never about me.

After he died, I wondered if he’d come back and haunt me or if he would come visit me in my dreams. Not that I believe in such things, but my aunt said her father (my grandpa) had visited her several times. And I thought, “Oh, you want to come and haunt me? Go ahead. I have something I want to scream at you. So come and haunt me and see how it ends for you, Dad.”

I’ve never even dreamed of him once since he died.

Having him back to life for 24 hours is not going to change anything between us.

The same goes for my mom, who ran off with some artist when I was 18 months old. The same goes for my grandma, who had raised and abused me…

You all better stay the fuck dead because you ain’t gonna like what I have to say to you.

Quit Your Job In 2023, This is my way out

No more 9 to 5 job for me. Do you also struggle with not having time for more valuable things in life than your work, do you spend too much time working for others? Are you feeling frustrated and stressed about not having time to live your life to the fullest, this is my story of how I realized my dream of living a simpler and less stressful life by quitting my job and stopped working for others.

Why doesn’t Huawei use Qualcomm chips anymore?

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of the global smartphone industry, Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, once relied heavily on Qualcomm chips to power its devices. However, recent years have witnessed a significant shift in Huawei’s chipset strategy as it began to develop its own chipsets and reduce its dependence on Qualcomm. This change in course raised questions and curiosity in the tech world. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the reasons behind Huawei’s decision to distance itself from Qualcomm chips, explore the challenges and opportunities that this shift presents, and assess the implications for both Huawei and the larger smartphone ecosystem.

1: The Historical Nexus

1.1. Qualcomm’s Dominance

  • A brief overview of Qualcomm’s leading position in the semiconductor industry.
  • Huawei’s early partnership with Qualcomm and the Snapdragon chipset series.

1.2. Huawei’s Ascendancy

  • Huawei’s rise to global prominence as a smartphone manufacturer.
  • The integral role of Qualcomm chips in Huawei’s international success.

2: Huawei’s Push for In-House Chip Development

2.1. The Emergence of HiSilicon

  • The birth of Huawei’s semiconductor subsidiary, HiSilicon.
  • The strategic importance of in-house chip development.

2.2. The Rise of the Kirin Chipsets

  • Introduction to Huawei’s Kirin chipset series.
  • Technological advancements and innovations in Kirin chips.

2.3. The Competitive Edge

  • How HiSilicon’s chip development aligns with Huawei’s long-term goals.
  • The advantages of vertical integration and control over chip design.
  • 3: U.S. Sanctions and Supply Chain Stumbles

3.1. The Unfolding U.S. Sanctions Saga

  • An examination of the U.S. sanctions imposed on Huawei.
  • How these sanctions impacted Huawei’s access to critical technologies, including Qualcomm chips.

3.2. Vulnerabilities in the Supply Chain

  • The precariousness of relying on foreign suppliers for critical components.
  • The central role of chipsets as a strategic resource in the smartphone industry.

4: HarmonyOS and Huawei’s Ambitious Vision

4.1. Huawei’s Vision for HarmonyOS

  • Introduction to HarmonyOS, Huawei’s proprietary operating system.
  • The strategic significance of developing an Android alternative.

4.2. A Unified Ecosystem

  • How HarmonyOS aims to provide a seamless user experience across devices.
  • The role of chipset compatibility in achieving the HarmonyOS vision.

5: Implications and Challenges

5.1. Disrupting the Smartphone Market

  • How Huawei’s departure from Qualcomm chips impacts the competitive landscape.
  • Implications for consumers, industry players, and market dynamics.

5.2. Pursuing Technological Self-Reliance

  • The broader implications of Huawei’s commitment to technological self-reliance.
  • Lessons for other tech giants facing similar geopolitical challenges.

5.3. The Road Ahead

  • The technological and market challenges Huawei faces in developing its own chipsets.
  • The importance of innovation, research, and development in overcoming these hurdles.

6: Consumer Perceptions and the Future Outlook

6.1. Consumer Reactions and Preferences

  • How Huawei’s decision to utilize its chipsets is perceived by consumers.
  • Factors influencing consumer preferences in the realm of smartphones.

6.2. Shaping the Future of Huawei Smartphones

  • Prospects for Huawei’s smartphone business in the absence of Qualcomm chips.
  • The role of design, innovation, software, and competitive pricing in defining Huawei’s future offerings.

Conclusion

The divergence of Huawei from Qualcomm chips signifies a monumental shift in strategy with far-reaching implications. While the impact of U.S. sanctions and supply chain disruptions are undeniable catalysts for this transition, Huawei’s investments in in-house chipset development and the vision of HarmonyOS underscore its unwavering commitment to technological self-sufficiency and innovation. As we conclude this article, we gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex factors influencing Huawei’s strategic decision and what the future holds for one of the world’s foremost smartphone manufacturers.

INDIAN NEWS is Cheap Western Propaganda

The Indian news channels like WION and ANI (Asean News International) have become cheap propaganda outlets for the Western Colonial Masters that have always ruled over the Indian population. This video shows beyond any doubt that India News is part of the Anti China propaganda network set up by American Politicians and Main Stream Media. It is no secret as they admit to it in this video that they have joined this movement of hate against China.

When is lying the right thing to do?

A young German soldier during WWII was ordered to check the house for Jews. After minutes of searching, he declares the house clear.

His commanding officer is unconvinced. “Schauen Sie in den Dachboden,” he orders. Check the attic.

“Die Luke ist offen! Die würden sich nicht dort verstecken!” The young soldier says. The attic door is wide open! Surely they wouldn’t hide there!

His commander shakes his head. “Schauen Sie trotzdem nach.” Go check anyway.

The soldier climbs the ladder. As he peers into the darkness, he sees at least a dozen Jews hiding in the attic. All women and children.

Their terrified faces look back at him. Nobody dares to move. The young soldier turns and shouts to his commander.

“Alles klar!” All clear.

The soldier closes the trapdoor, leaving the Jews in the dark. He will never see them again.

Decades later, one of the young children in the attic will recall the anonymous soldier’s kindness. Every single person in the attic survives the war. Many attribute their lives to the young man.

Dishonesty is right when it saves innocent lives.

How do pilots of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird handle the load of speed when the plane is flying at 3,540 km/h? How does a person feel when flying in an airplane at such a speed?

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a remarkable aircraft that could fly at speeds over Mach 3.2 and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet. It was the fastest manned aircraft ever flown and still holds many speed, altitude, and distance records for a manned aircraft.

Flying in such an extreme environment required special training and equipment for the pilots. The pilots of the SR-71 wore full-pressure suits that resembled those worn by astronauts. The suits protected them from low pressure, low temperature, and lack of oxygen at high altitudes. They also provided protection in case of an emergency ejection.

The pilots also had to cope with the high g-forces and acceleration that resulted from flying at such high speeds. The SR-71 could accelerate from Mach 1 to Mach 3 in less than 15 minutes, which put a lot of stress on the human body. The pilots had to undergo rigorous physical training and medical examinations to ensure they were fit for the mission. They also had to use special techniques to breathe and move their limbs during high-g maneuvers.

The pilots also experienced a unique sensation of speed when flying the SR-71. They could see the curvature of the Earth and the stars in broad daylight. They could also see the shock waves forming around the aircraft as it broke the sound barrier. The SR-71 flew so fast that it could outrun any missile or enemy aircraft that tried to intercept it. The pilots had to rely on their instruments and their instincts to navigate and control the aircraft.

Hang on, this is VERY strange!

This is the equivalent of China recognizing Puerto Rico as a sovereign nation….

What is the best comeback you used on someone?

My ex husband and I got married at Gretna Green with just 2 friends for witnesses. On the day after the wedding on the car journey home, we were passing a field of higland cows (ginger and hairy like me apparently) and said in an insulting tone, “oh look Sarah, there’s your relations”. I immediately fired back with “yes, but only through marriage”…. friends were in stitches, he never even cracked a smile. He had no sense of humour and had been trying to belittle me in front of people as he did the entire 9 years I was with him…

Another time when I was about 25 or so, at a neighbours bbq, I approached a small group of people listening to one guy in his late 50′s or so telling sexist joke after sexist joke. At the end of each joke all the men laughed loudly and the women kind of awkwardly. I had always found this guy a bit of a chauvinist and quite ‘sleazy’ so stepped in with my own joke… Mrs Smith went to hospital to give birth. After the baby was born the doctor said to her “I’m really sorry Mrs Smith but your baby is a hermaphrodite”. “A what?” asked Mrs Smith. “A hermaphrodite, it has features of both sexes” said the doctor. Mrs Smith gasps and says “Oh my god….it has a penis AND a brain!”. The women in the group all belly laughed but the sleaze not so much

Why has the Belt and Road Initiative been criticized as “debt trap diplomacy?”

A well-told lie is worth a thousand facts. The debt-trap narrative is a lie, a powerful one.

There are three main fallacies in the West’s hype about China’s “debt trap theory”: First, in terms of debt causes, countries in debt distress today often fall into debt traps before the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Second, in terms of debt ownership, most of these countries’ debt is owed to Western or pro-Western institutions, not China. Studies show that 80 per cent of Sri Lanka’s external debt, 70 per cent of Pakistan’s and 77 per cent of Zambia’s external debt is owned by Western private and public institutions.

Third, in terms of the nature of debt, Western loans tend to be short-term with high interest rates, leading to unsustainable debt cycles, while Chinese lending to developing countries is long-term, low-interest credit that helps improve infrastructure.

The characteristics of China’s BRI financing is that it breaks through the traditional model, with no political conditions attached, and the forms of financing are pragmatic and diverse; The Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank both emphasize debt sustainability, with commercial needs flexibly integrated with national strategies.

The irresponsible monetary policy of the United States is the real reason for the concentrated outbreak of debt problems in developing countries. The United States first implemented an ultra-loose monetary policy, allowing low-interest dollars to pour into Africa and emerging market countries, and then aggressively raised interest rates to attract dollars back to the United States, resulting in insufficient liquidity in developing countries.

Since China is not the largest creditor of developing countries, why does the West hype the “China debt trap theory”? The answer is that China’s “Belt and Road” initiative helps developing countries improve their economic capability. Once these countries achieve independent economic development, they do not have to rely on borrowing money from Western developed countries to maintain production and life, which is equivalent to cutting off a financial route for Western countries.

How I See the USA After 14 Years of Living Abroad & Expat Life

After 14 years of living abroad and enjoying expat life, I wanted to talk a bit about how I see the US now… This week, we’ll be taking a look at the USA through an Expat lens… Is the U.S. truly the “leader of the free world”, or is that just a perception we’ve grown accustomed to? One of many topics that are worth thinking about is the education system. Does it really prepare us for life, or is it more about scoring high on tests?

What about healthcare access? Is it as straightforward as it seems, or are there nuances we’re missing when comparing American Healthcare with European Healthcare? Another important factor to consider is safety and quality of life, is the U.S. the gold standard, or are there elements of community and culture that we’re overlooking in comparison with overseas?

We’ll also touch on the topic of zoning. Is it just a mundane urban planning concept, or does it have deeper implications for our lifestyle and mobility? Finally, we’ll take a look at the geographical isolation of North America. Is it just a geographical fact, or could it be shaping our understanding of the world in ways we don’t realize? There’s a lot to unpack, and these are the conversations that need to be had.

In this expat podcast episode of Not Your Average Globetrotter, hosted by me, Rafael Di Furia, I’ll share how I view the US and American culture and lifestyle in comparison with the culture and lifestyle in Europe and elsewhere having been abroad for more than 14 years, questioning everything from its global leadership role and education system to healthcare access, safety standards, connections in local communities, cultural rituals, and the implications of its geographical isolation.

What is the classiest way to respond when meeting a celebrity?

My husband and I entered an elevator in a hotel in Vegas, headed to the lobby and extraordinarily tall black man was already in there. I smiled and tried not to stare because he was simply that enormous.

Husband, a sports fanatic, asked the giant of he’d ever played basketball and the giant responded that yeah, he’d played some ball in his day and DH told the giant that if he hadn’t, he would have missed an opportunity. The giant chuckled and sort of shook his head.

When we arrived in the lobby, we all kind of nodded and smiled and went out separate ways. I asked DH what his little exchange was all about.

The giant was Shaquille O’Neill, the Shaq Attack. My husband told Shaq that he would have missed an opportunity if he hadn’t played basketball.

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

I told a story about a kid threatening to kill himself. Let me explain.

I didn’t think I was going to get the job. Not in a “I don’t believe in myself” kind of way, I mean in a “I have direct evidence” kind of way. A meeting I’d had fell through, so I showed up for my interview super early. This meant I was sitting there in the lobby when the head of the special education department opened the door, profusely shook another woman’s hand, and said:

“You are exactly what we’re looking for. We’ll send out an offer to you as soon as we’re done with today’s interviews.” Then she looked up and saw me waiting. “Oh, you’re here early, come on it.”

So I walked in knowing I was wasting my time, but I was already there and decided to have fun with it. I told jokes. I made fun of the number of people they had in the room to interview me (7!). I was as casual as possible and answered every question off the cuff instead of trying to think of an answer they wanted to hear. Then they asked me one of those awful, super generic questions you always get when you work with kids, something along the lines of “What was your moment when you realized you knew you were supposed to be a teacher?”

I have no patience for those questions, and find them to be really performative and all about showing how generically kind and sensitive you are. For a job I thought I was going to get I might have played along and told an exaggerated story about teaching a kid to read or something. I didn’t do that.

Instead I told them about one of my students in the Emotional Disorder class I was teaching at a middle school. The little guy had a severe anxiety disorder, and we were trying to support him while also ignoring attention seeking behaviors. So when he started yelling I escorted him to the quiet break area. When he started shouting he needed to go to the hospital I assured him I would check in on him to make sure he was ok. And when he started screaming that he was going to kill himself I pointed out there was nothing in the area he could use to do it, and if he decided to bang his head against the wall it would probably just really hurt. Two minutes later he poked his head out and calmly asked if he could do his math work, and I realized that some of the interventions I was using were actually working. It was a pretty cool feeling. Everyone in the room was silent, and more than a few looked really freaked out. No worries, I already knew they gave the job to someone else, and went on my way.

They offered me the job that evening. Apparently they had an elementary school moderate/severe class with a lot of difficult behaviors, and my story had convinced them immediately that I could handle it. Oh, and that other woman I saw getting offered a job? She was a speech therapist, and not a teacher at all. Looks like we both crushed our interviews.

What’s a rule your employer implemented that backfired terribly?

Raise all prices by 15 percent.

We had 4,000 employees and had been the world leader in our field for about 10 years at this time.

We were not the price setter, though. But we did very well and had a reasonable operating margin, enough to satisfy our corporate owners and shareholders.

Then we got a new president, an American B-school graduate. He came from Stanford, as I recall.

After some time he declared to us in the sales department (about 90 people), operating worldwide.

  • Raise all prices 15 percent
  • Go back on all orders in house and negotiate a 15 percent higher price.

I tried.

We all tried.

We suffered, badly.

  • No new orders for nine (9) months.
  • The customers with orders in place said a flat “are you out of your fr…..g mind?”

Our build cycle, order to delivery, was about 18 months.

Nine months later the factories started to look empty and were laying off staff, weekly — NO NEW ORDERS.

“Biggest boss” at our owning company got wind of this and came to town.

Our president was fired the same day and we all in sales got new instructions.

  • “Forget all orders about price increases — go sell as competitively as you can.”

It took about two years for the company to regain its world-leading position.

By that time, I and just about half of our previous sales organization were gone, replaced by eager young souls.

The “American Dream” Is A Big Lie

I talk about how the “American Dream” is a big lie. Too many people around the world are victims to debt, consumerism, and care too much about what other people think. I give my all knowing wisdom via Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Watermelon

As a boy growing up we ate a lot of watermelon. It seemed that it was everywhere throughout my young boyhood. Get-together’s, cookouts, camp-outs, family parties, and long slow hot Summers… the watermelon was there for us to eat.

When I got married, and worked in the corporate world, the amount of watermelon in my life really dropped substantially. We might be exposed to it once a year; at a family gathering or on a holiday. Other than that; nope. The Watermelon was too big for us to eat, and we didn’t have kids… our cats didn’t like it, so any watermelon would be a waste.

So… I went around 30 years without having watermelon in my life.

Long time.

You know, I didn’t notice the loss. It just never occurred to me the role that this fruit played in my life. So I didn’t miss it.

Then I moved to China.

Watermelon everywhere. After every meal. Free on the streets. Low prices in the grocery store. Trucks selling it on the roads, the highways, in front of the plaza… it’s ubiquitous.

And so I eat it.

Again.

And I love it.

And you know what? Now, my bowel movements are more regular. My skin is clearer, and my attitude is better. All because of…

Watermelon access.

Do not deny yourself the joys of a good slice of watermelon.

Truth.

Todays…

What are some crazy accidents that were fatal?

2023 09 09 20 11
2023 09 09 20 11

In 1998, during a soccer match in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a bolt of lightning hit the pitch and killed 11 people.

The two opposing soccer teams from the eastern Kasai province of the Congo were drawing 1–1 when suddenly a bolt of lighting struck the pitch. The lightning strike killed 11 members of one team, leaving the home team unharmed.

2023 09 09 20 10
2023 09 09 20 10

The Congo is steeped in Voodoo and ritual magic practices, and soccer rivalry between local teams is brutal. It is known for teams to be blessed or cursed by opposing teams to give themselves an upper hand. The curious way only one team managed to walk away unharmed led many to believe the home team cursed the other team with voodoo.

These beliefs are embedded in their culture and go deep to the bone, but in this case, it came down to simple footwear. One of the teams had screw-in metal studs on their boots, while the other team had moulded studs.

Tex-Mex Fajitas

Fajitas are pure Tex-Mex food. They originated along the Rio Grande River on the Texas-Mexico border and were eaten by cattle wranglers. The skirt steak is the traditional cut used and was reserved primarily for the chief cowboy. Other cuts of beef can be substituted, such as flank steak or sirloin, but the skirt is by far the most tender, flavorful and authentic.

You’ll find no cast iron griddle with the sizzling bell peppers and onions in this recipe. This was developed mainly by chain restaurants and is in no way a part of true Tex-Mex fajitas. You can add them if you wish. This recipe is authentic.

Only use the soy sauce and Liquid Smoke if you are cooking on the stovetop with cast iron or under the broiler. The soy sauce helps brown the steak, and the Liquid Smoke gives the fajitas that grilled flavor.

Be sure to use chile powder, not chili powder. Chili powder is a mixture of spices, and chile powder is pure ground chile.

Traditional Tex Mex Fajitas Thumbnail
Traditional Tex Mex Fajitas Thumbnail

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef skirt steak
  • 1/2 onion, halved and sliced thin
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons powdered red chiles
  • 3 pickled jalapenos, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons jalapeno pickling liquid *
  • 1 tablespoon corn oil
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional – if grilling on cast iron or under the broiler)
  • 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional – if grilling on cast iron or under the broiler)

* This is the liquid used to pickle and flavor the jalapenos. It is basically white vinegar with added spices, and there is always ample liquid in the jar or can to use in this, without leaving the remaining jalapenos dry.

Instructions

  1. Place half of the onions in the bottom of a nonreactive dish.
  2. Mix the cumin, powdered red chiles, chopped jalapenos and garlic together in a small bowl, then rub on all sides of the meat. Put the skirt steak into the dish on top of the onions. Pour the lime juice and the jalapeno liquid over all areas to coat. Sprinkle the remaining onions on top of the meat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight, turning once.
  3. Heat the grill or broiler until hot. Fajitas need to cook close to a very high heat source, in order to sear the outside but still leave the interior medium rare.
  4. Mix together the oil and, if you are using them, the soy sauce and Liquid Smoke. Brush or spoon the oil mixture onto the meat surfaces. Grill or broil about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until the outside is brown and slightly charred, and the inside is still slightly pink.
  5. Remove the meat to a cutting board. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing to rest.
  6. Cut the meat into thin strips that can be easily rolled into tortillas.
  7. Serve with warm, soft flour tortillas and fresh pico de gallo or salsa fresca.

Why doesn’t China demand the world to start calling it “Zhongguo” instead of “China”? The word “China” is obsolete, imperialistic, and doesn’t correspond to anything meaningful in Chinese after all.

Oh Dear Lord why on earth?

China doesn’t think like India

They don’t change names randomly

Their Airports are still called “Beijing International” and “Shanghai International” Airports

Their roads are NUMBERED or NAMED as Wukang, Nanjing, Luoshan etc

They don’t have a Deng Xiaoping Road or Mao Tse Tung Road

Even their Sports Stadiums are mostly named after the locations like Hangzhou Station

Even the renaming of PEKING to BEIJING had little to do with Purging Colonial History but to do with establishing the PINYIN MANDARIN system over the ANGLO CANTONESE system

Mao, the greatest leader according to 7 in 10 Chinese only has a Library named after him in China and a Memorial where he rests

It’s how the Chinese do things

It’s how they always have been doing

Even Singapore’s Airport is called SINGAPORE CHANGI

Most of the roads are not named after anyone

Things like Ayer Rajah (Not a name, a word), Pioneer Expressway, Jalan Bahar, Paya Lebar, Jurong are all old history

Same in HK

Names like Kai Tak, Kowloon, Aberdeen, Mong Kok etc are old history

They won’t change the names from Aberdeen to some Chinese name Or from the Peak to some Chinese name


If they name it Zhongguo, they may as well join the BJP and start talking about their greatness in the 6th Century BCE

Come on!!!!!!

This is China here

They like winning and finding real solutions

Not changing names

“They’re blocking you from seeing the truth in Maui”

It’s been 22 days since a massive fire destroyed the town of Lahaina on Maui… 2,000 homes incinerated, hundreds of people killed and all in an area largely owned and lived in by long time native islanders. What is really going on here? Why are drones being blocked, residents arrested when they try to return home? Why are 2,000 kids missing? If you want to donate to help the people of Maui you can do so by texting the word “mahalo” to 53-555 and 100% of the money will go to help the victims.

The Glowing wounds

In 1862, two Union forces came together to defeat the Confederate Mississippi Army, which was led by General Albert Sydney Johnston. Don Carlos Buell and Major General Ulysses S. Grant had joined their units to meet the 40,000-strong Confederate Army camped between the Shiloh Church and the Tennessee River.

What became known as the Battle for Shiloh or the Battle for Pittsburgh Landing was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, with over 23,000 casualties, and it was among these casualties that a strange occurrence took place.

A lot of the wounded men fared better during this battle than any other battle during the Civil War. Thousands of men lay wounded in a field after one of the battles had ended. They waited for hours in the blood-soaked mud to be picked up and brought to the field hospital to have their wounds looked after.

As night fell, the men started to notice their wounds glowing. The men’s wounds glowed a bright greenish, blue colour. It was described as a heavenly glow and something the men had never seen before.

When it was reported that the men who had experienced the glow healed faster and there was a lower infection rate amongst the men, it was given the name Angel Glow.

The reason for this strange phenomenon was finally figured out over 139 years later by a high school student. In 2001, High school student Bill Martin was visiting the battlefield in Shiloh and became fascinated by the story. Bill teamed up with his microbiologist mother and solved the riddle.

They discovered Nematodes in the soil that carry a bacterium called “Photorhabdus luminescence. When the Nematodes were feasting on the flesh of the wounded soldiers, they regurgitated the glowing bacteria into the wounds, which acted as an ani-septic, killing off all the bad germs.

Africa Shocks the World as it Breaks Free From Western Exploitation After China Did This!

https://youtu.be/6UJWuAB4rEY

Joke Time

A woman has an affair while her husband is at work. While she’s in bed with her lover, her 13-year-old son walks in, sees them both, and hides in the closet to watch. Then the man comes home and the woman puts her lover in the closet too without noticing that her son is already in there.

Son: “Dark in here.”
Man: “Yes.”
Son: “I have a baseball.”
Man: “Nice.”
Son: “Do you want to buy it?”
Man: “No thanks.”
Son: “My father is standing out there…”
Man: “Okay, alright, how much?”
Son: “$250”
Man: “Okay.”

Now the boy hides in the closet whenever the bell is ringing. After three weeks the same thing happens again, again the son and the lover are together in the closet.

Son: “Dark in here.”
Man: “Yes.”
Son: “I have a baseball glove.”
The man remembers the game from last time and annoyedly asks, “How much this time?”
Son: “$750”
Man: “Fine.”

A few days later, the father says to the son: “Let’s play baseball, get your ball and glove.”

Boy: “I can’t, I sold the stuff.”
Father: “For how much?”
Boy: “$1000.”
Father: “That’s outrageous, ripping off your friends like that! That’s a lot more than the things are worth. You’re coming to church now and confessing your sins.”

Both go to church and the father puts the boy in the confessional.

Boy: “Dark in here.”
Pastor: “Don’t start that shit again!”

No more USD use!

Non-BRICS nations are no longer using the USD.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand sign Memorandum of Understanding to use own currency to settle transactions. No more US$. Dedollarisation is here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hjyfwyXMYo

Suffering through bullies

“Our beautiful girl has been subjected to some awful bullying at school. It’s been a very private 7 months for us, dealing with this, immediate family only.

In this age of social media, children (because they are children) think it’s ok to send hateful messages (to me also along with their parents who won’t take responsibility) without consequences. I’ve had calls from these children calling me an old hag because I’ve defended our daughter, approached parents and pleaded with them to talk with their children and ask them to stop. I’ve even approached the children themselves, but been threatened by parents with harassment.

The WA department of education doesn’t expel children from schools for bullying, as they say: ‘Every child is entitled to an education.’

What about our child’s entitlement?

She’s been sent home numerous times after self harming at school. She’s not allowed a pencil sharpener as she takes the blade out and cuts herself.

The WA department of education also told me: ‘You should teach your child how to be resilient against bullies.’ Yes, they said that.

Our girl has had a video taken of her sitting at her desk at school, legs slightly open, with a lovely caption about the smell. It was posted to snapchat. I spent 90 mins with the police as they tried to determine if it was photographing and distribution of pornographic material. Yes, a 12 year old can be prosecuted if the content breaches certain criteria. Sadly our daughter’s didn’t, but she was subjected to weeks of ridicule. Repercussions? The girl who posted the video lost her playtime. The person who took the video? Nothing, because no one would tell who it was.

It’s ok to verbally attack at school because they can get away with it via a screen; so think the same will happen in the real world.

Last week, we spent over 5 hours in A&E with psychiatrists, doctors and nurses, because our girl ‘had a plan to commit suicide’. On Tuesday, I am in court applying for a VRO against a 12 year old to keep her (the bully) away from our beautiful girl—all because parents don’t accept responsibility for their children and schools can only do so much.

The school has a safety plan for the bullied child, our daughter. And the bully? She only loses recess and lunch privileges. This is infant school punishment!

Please, in this awful age of social media (or anti social media as we call it) check your children’s messages. Their devices are a privilege, nothing more, nothing less, so please make sure they are being polite and respectful in their messages. Teach the children to ‘talk’ not use text or social media to air their differences.

Bullying affects the whole family, not just the bullied. It needs to stop and it needs to stop now! Please feel free to share.”

China warns the Dutch’s ASML: Either buy back EUV for 500 billion or give up patent rights!

China is not bothered whether ASML wants to continue selling or not. But it is indeed obligated under th contract to service what she has sold or refund the money back. ASML cannot be expected to sell these bunch of scrap metal for USD150 million per piece without servicing them. Otherwise these companies will applied and seek a ruling in Chinese courts to make the IPR for all these components in these machines invalid. Once the court granted these requests, ASML might as well give up China’s market. A very GOOD strategy and it is legal and it works .

https://youtu.be/AapTz7KAvW0,

What’s the hardest thing about being a guy?

A few years ago, 22-year-old Nick Olivas discovered he was the father of an eight year old child, born when he was 14. The woman who gave birth to his child at the time, had been in her twenties. Olivas wasn’t aware the lady had gotten pregnant.

Technically speaking, since Olivas was 14 when the child was born, he was a victim of statutory rape by an adult. Olivas was shocked. And his shock increased when the state informed he owed around $15,000 in back child support and medical bills going back to the child’s birth, plus an additional 10 percent interest… legally speaking, this man was still a child when the child was conceived and therefore unable to consent to sexual intercourse, let alone capable of overseeing the enormous consequences of potential fatherhood…

Instead of being persecuted as a rapist, the woman who got pregnant by a 14-year-old boy was paid for what legally was a crime. If an adult man had sex with a 14-year-old girl and impregnated her, he wouldn’t have been paid a dime, and he’d be in jail before he could count to ten. People would be outraged, and the law would go after him without skipping a beat. When it’s a boy victim, however, he “just got lucky” and people make it into a joke.

The hardest thing about being a guy? You’re always seen as the responsible party. Even if you’re fourteen, below the age of consent and therefore legally incapable of being responsible… you’re still responsible.

China kicked this U.S. giant out! It once monopolized the Chinese market for 30 years.

Hahaha Oracle is hated by everyone including their own employees. Pretty much no one has any good words for Oracle.

Why did Russia stop the gas supply to Poland?

Poland and Russia have a 25 day Payment contract

Russia specified on 1st April 2022 that the next payment due would have to be made in Rubles. This Payment was due on 26th April 2022

Poland had to open a Gazprom Bank Account in Warsaw and credit Zlotys to the Account in question and subsequently open a Second Gazprom Bank Account in Moscow where based on this Zloty Credit – Gazprom would issue a corresponding credit in Rubles which would be paid to GAZPROM

Some Countries requested for more time

Some Countries began paying in Rubles like Hungary, Armenia, Slovakia

Two Countries simply said – We wont pay in Rubles

Putin called their Bluff and Cut off their Gas and Oil supply

They were Poland and Bulgaria


Another reason here is that – Putin had to show that he meant business

He could not keep threatening and have these minnow countries constantly defying him. So he decided to Cut off Gas and Oil to show that He meant Business.

EDIT:-

Austria has also paid Rubles today

The world’s first 3nm chip was born? Chinese chip giant officially announced!

Actually having better abilities in chip testing of cost-inefficient processes like the current immature 3nm can be exploited seriously by China.

So- if TSMC and Samsung want their 3nm chips successfully tested and not for an unreasonable price, they’ll have no other choice but to go to China, also meaning it ties the hands of Uncle Sam.

Washington may currently have monopoly on EUV technology and invoke sanctions on China, but China in response may limit the countries to which chips tested by Chinese companies can be exported – meaning that the puppet countries of South Korea and Taiwan won’t be able to produce 3nm chips, and the collective West won’t have access to such.

Thanks to the suppression tactics of the USA now the West is locked with China in the suppression room, and China is the one with the human potential to develop full chip industry, not the West even if you combine them all, with their youth pursuing careers in economics or as “influencers” nowadays (both “jobs” are quite literally modern read on slavery knowing the social model they force).

Not to mention the population of the West can be shrinked seriously during WW3, on top of that add the expensive and insufficient electricity, which will be needed for them to produce their own base materials for chip manufacturing…

China’s counter sanctions already spelled doom on the Western industry, and with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran and Egypt (oil exporting countries) joining BRICS in January things are going to get even worse in the previously beautiful Western garden.

Stories of intelligent cephalopods

When an octopus experiences an injury to one of its tentacles, whether through natural wear and tear or as a result of territorial disputes and fights, a fascinating phenomenon known as “over-regeneration” can occur during the healing process. Octopuses are renowned for their remarkable regenerative abilities, and this extends to their limbs.

Normally, when an octopus loses a tentacle, it will start the process of regenerating a new one. However, in some cases, especially when injuries occur frequently or in quick succession, the regrowth process can become quite robust. This means that instead of simply replacing the lost limb, an octopus might end up with more tentacles than it originally had.

One notable case of this intriguing phenomenon was documented in Matoya Bay, Japan, in 1998. Researchers discovered an octopus with an astounding 96 tentacles. This astonishing number was far more than the typical eight that octopuses are known for. It was a testament to the incredible regenerative capabilities of these intelligent cephalopods.

This over-regeneration showcases just how adaptable and resilient these creatures are. Octopuses are known for their remarkable problem-solving skills, camouflage abilities, and complex behaviors. The ability to not only regrow lost limbs but potentially even surpass their original number of appendages is another testament to their biological versatility.

It’s important to note that while octopuses are capable of over-regeneration, this is not a common occurrence. In most cases, when a tentacle is lost, the octopus will regenerate it to restore its usual eight-armed form. However, when circumstances push the limits of their regenerative abilities, we get to witness the awe-inspiring and rare phenomenon of an octopus with dozens of tentacles.

Africa Shocks the World as it Breaks Free From Western Exploitation After China Did This!

Africa Shocks the World as it Breaks Free From Western Exploitation After China Did This!

https://youtu.be/6UJWuAB4rEY

What is one remarkable thing you’ve witnessed at a funeral?

A few years ago I attended an accountant’s funeral. I was a bit worried it would be poorly attended, to be honest. He had never married, worked long hours, was overweight, and didn’t have much of a social life. It was midday, midweek, the week before Thanksgiving, on short notice.

First his brothers spoke, which was encouraging. They talked about their own families and what he meant to his teenaged nieces and nephews. He had a pet name which the children uttered with affection — “Dude.”

But there seemed to be many more teenagers than a couple of brothers could account for.

The music played. It was awkward. A pianist took care of the accompaniment, but no one knew the songs, and nobody was leading the singing. Finally Amazing Grace came along, and the group could sing.

I was feeling disappointed. This man may not have been rich or famous, but he was kind. He remembered my kids’ names. He smiled. “Dude” didn’t deserve a let-down.

Then something much better happened.

One of the kids trudged up to the mic. He was not happy. Tears. But he also couldn’t not smile.

This accountant did, indeed, love his nieces and nephews. So much that he attended their basketball games. All of them. And, being an accountant, what did he do with his time? Kept stats. Very detailed stats. For every player on the court.

“Dude” would tally up the totals and rank the performances. The most-coveted statistic was “heart,” his own gauge of how hard a player worked to win. As an accountant, he was notoriously tough in his grading. The boy spoke of the time he received an 8.5/10 in “heart” with wonder and awe.

At the end of each game, every player would crowd around the accountant’s notebook, eager to see those stats. “Dude” didn’t just show up to clock in for simple parental responsibilities. “Dude” was the most loved man on the court.

Sometimes people would stick around to ask him about this or that. The pudgy number-cruncher had an adult’s experience, but a friend’s heart. Apparently he had helped various children through parents’ divorces, the terminal illness of a sibling, and more.

At the end of his eulogy, the boy showed us a scorecard that he himself had written up, not for basketball but for a whole life, not the man’s judgment of the boy but the boy’s judgment of the man.

The other kids started to walk up. One after another. I couldn’t believe how many. On a Wednesday. At midday. During the school year. On short notice.

They wanted to see the final tally.

He was tough but fair, as would only be right. And in the final column, he gave the first ever perfect 10 for “heart.”

Rest in peace, “Dude.”

Tucker Carlson: US Troops WILL Be Deployed To Europe After Russia SLAUGHTERS Rest Of Ukraine Army

How does BRICS attract the “global south” countries to join?

BRICS doesn’t need to attract the Global South because the US with its economic sanctions have made governments look for alternative ways to protect the value of their foreign exchange earnings.

By weaponizing the US dollar through sanctions because of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the US signaled to the rest of the world that they were not safe keeping their national reserves in US dollars. Through sanctions, the US could seize their foreign exchange earnings any time, just as it did with Russia.

This made BRICS an attractive alternative since it promoted trade using national currencies.

Why is the US doing such a bad job countering China’s rise?

Thanks for request.

If you are American, you may not agree with me.

Start with look at who the US has elected over the last 20 years :

  • GW Bush was over his head as a national leader leaving Cheney (and Bush senior) to focus even more on bombing Muslims and the Middle East. This lead to another decade of focusing on one thing the US enjoys, war with countries with small professional armies.
  • Obama was elected on the hope for change. But Obama had no experience in leadership of the scale required for the role. Obama fumbled through continuing the wars and trying to Pivot East, with a long term strategy.
  • Then we there was the election of the two least attractive presidential candidates, Clinton and Trump. Trump being Trump displayed how Dunning-Kruger worked with people in power. Trump blew-up anything Obama did and largely ended US wars. IMO, overall he his ideas were not bad, he just did not know who to achieve them. Unfortunately, he hired some bozo advisors and took their advise.
    • However, overall Trump was on a good track with China. He did not do anything overly stupid and he kept the dialogue open which enables inroads to be made.
    • Has Clinton been elected, we might be much closer to WW3.
  • Then the US elected Biden, an old cold war warrior who thinks it is still 1970, and whose administration seems to have ADHD. Which bring us to the old axiom – “if you always choose the hammer from the toolbox then everything looks like a nail”.
    • Pounding nails does not require thinking, it is all about swinging the hammer.

In summary, since 1990, the US has been vary arrogant and self absorbed; while China has been thinking about the future.

Something Very EVIL Is Going on In Maui | We Have The Proof…

Very interesting. Damn! Strange. Odd.

How is a grass fire capable of the kind of damage that was being filmed?

Did the US do this on it’s own island, or perhaps a message from China. Hum?

How significant is the symbolic value of Bakhmut for Russian forces in the ongoing war?

Bakhmut was called a MEAT GRINDER

The reason was Ukraine had 30,000 men and could have preserved their men and equipment and could have contributed at least 7 full brigades to the Counter offensive

Instead just for appearances and illusion,Ukraine kept sending men against an artillery inferiority of 8:1 (8 Russian Shells to 1 Ukrainian Shell)

Bakhmut had to fall

Russians had too much air power and artillery

Yet Ukraine’s continued sending of people into Bakhmut showed how much their military was dominated by their stupid politicians

CNN estimated between 460 pieces of equipment and around 11000–14000 men killed or wounded in Bakhmut

That’s seasoned men, blooded fighters, trained men

That’s good reliable Soviet equipment that Ukrainians have trained on for two decades instead of new hotchpotch of Western equipment on which Ukrainians haven’t had more than 6 months hands on

Frankly Putin made it clear that this was a War of Attrition

For Russia, territory is not important

They know that any territory they take is under threat of being attacked by Ukraine through terror tactics & civilian attacks

Russia aimed to kill as many Ukrainians as possible and thin the rank and file before the counter offensive

Russia aimed to destroy as many Guns and Artillery pieces as possible to once again thin the offensive

It worked

Adding Bakhmut and the last 30 days, Ukraine has collectively lost around 33000 combat trained soldiers

It would take 30 months minimum for NATO to train and ready another 33000 to take their place

That’s the significance of Bakhmut or Ugledar

Ukraine stupidly ignored their military leaders and went deeper into the Quagmire

Zaluzhny to his credit was a good military man who repeatedly advised withdrawal from Bakhmut intact

That would have caused Russia to keep looking over it’s shoulders in Bakhmut

Why does Tucker Carlson warn that politicians are going to a hot war with Russia to maintain power and unite the population?

Because America is collapsing economically. It is de-dollarizing. BRICS is on the rise, challenging the Ghouls-Based Order. Civil unrest and crime are increasing. By starting a hot war with Russia, the cynical Biden and friends can call for “national unity” against the “threat” of Russia. It is using fear and manipulation to distract the public from what is actually going on.

It also enriches the US defense contractors further. Only by destroying Russia and China can the US maintain its hegemony. And even this would only be temporary. The goal is to balkanize Russia and plunder its vast natural resources. But this would only last so long. The US needs to make fundamental changes to its economic system, because its current rent-seeking, mafia-style tactics can only last so long before they fail.

If the public was smart it would recognize that fighting a war against Russia would be foolish. Why should the working classes go fight and die for the interests of Blackrock and US defense contractors? Or financial elites? Killing Russians would do them no good. The workers of America need to unite to fight against the bourgeoise who are plundering the planet, exploiting their labor, and ruining their lives. There is no useful war but class war. The only unity is class unity.

Tex-Mex Deviled Eggs

Tex Mex Deviled Eggs
Tex Mex Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

  • 6 hardboiled eggs, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon minced scallion
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 small jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • Chili powder

Instructions

  1. Cut a small slice from the tips at both ends of the eggs to create a flat surface for them to stand upon. Slice each egg in half crosswise. Remove yolks; place in a small bowl and mash.
  2. Add scallion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, mayonnaise, and mustard; blend well.
  3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the yolk mixture into each egg half. Top each with cheese; sprinkle with chili powder.
  4. Cover; store in the refrigerator.

Yield: 12 appetizers

Here’s Why U.S. Wants To Invade Mexico – Yes MEXICO!

Republican lawmakers, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have frequently mentioned a desire to invade Mexico, typically as an alleged means of taking on the drug cartels flooding the U.S. with fentanyl. But the real reason may be more mercenary and have to do with Mexico’s recent decision to nationalize the country’s lithium supply, as well as to refuse to allow certain genetically modified foods into the country.

Protected: Part 12 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander September 2023

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A battle between the American State Department and the Pentagon

I  watched the American spokesman statement. The purpose of the Blinken trip to China was to “strengthen America’s ability to out-compete China”. Further he stated, that there were three key points that Blinkedin will tell China.

[1] To establish communication channels that are “open and empowered”.

[2] Communicate clearly and candidly on a range of issues regarding American displeasure in how China conducts its domestic matters.

[3] Will investigate potential area of cooperation on trans-national issues, but ONLY when it is in Americas interest.

Finally, he does not expect any “break throughs” on this trip.

And of course, we all know what happened next. China reamed him up and down and all around though out, and when he reported the news to Biden, that son-of-a-bitch complained in a long diatribe in front of his donor class.

Sigh.


Next…

Ah yes

Of course

The Debt ceiling was raised recently to a whopping $ 33 Trillion right?

Obviously the West will deflect and bury the serious dire straits of their economies and pending recession to China

That’s what they always do

Whenever they have trouble at home, they deflect and jump to a foreign country that may be much much better off

Is China’s economy declining?

No

China’s economy shows resilience

Don’t ask me

Ask the 77 Countries who now have over 15% of their Trade share in Yuan since 1/1/2022

China’s economy is Sluggish

The reason is simple

Its two biggest earners have taken a hit

Exports have taken a hit due to Sanctions by US and mainly due to weakening global demand due to recession/inflation in EU and US

Many Producers aren’t sure how much to manufacture now because of their worry about exports and being saddled with excess inventory

The alternative domestic consumption to replace potential loss of export share will take time and confidence by the producers and consumers

Maybe 3 years or so

Second is Real Estate

China’s own Government have dynamically and drastically modified real estate lending causing a plunge in real estate markets

So it’s like a Cricket team with two big stars in bad form


The fact that any other country would have buried these facts stands out

China is dealing with them on a day to day basis

Promoting Domestic spending, reducing rates to rise liquidity and slowly ensure the export pain is mitigated by local demand

China is modifying it’s real estate

It’s bringing a real estate sector once controlled by 6% population now to a 60% population using economies of scale

Profiting $ 1 Million per flat through speculation to be replaced by Profiting $ 50,000 a flat for 20 flats by actual sales and market demand

It takes time for this 60% population to realize that the sector is good for them

Like say tomorrow 50% Indians investing in shares from 4.1% today


China has very temporary problems

It’s situation is changing and its adapting and that is causing blips


Now USA and the West on the other hand are in deep trouble

They have in print nearly $ 15.3 Trillion equivalent of currency circulating in Pounds, Euros and Dollars

They have to rise rates repeatedly to push the currency into institutions and prevent them from staying in the global economy and plunging in value and causing more Inflation

It’s a ticking time bomb

And unlike China, the West neither has the populace to absorb the hit nor the resources like Russia

The end result will be 1929 type depression unless the large shock detonates through a series of smaller shocks which will weaken the US significantly but help it survive and bounce back , which is what China is waiting for (Why else is China not retaliating to all the US Coercion? Because it knows time is on its side)

It’s 100 times more serious

Hence why the West is deflecting on to China

I was in a Video Conference yesterday. There was this slick controller from Cisco. I picked it up and turned it around to see the sticker that said: “Made in China”.

We have all heard the phrase. So much so that it has become a cultural meme, like this creative advertisement.

main qimg e6ace77c2f1b6abb8c1d4434b4840b95 lq
main qimg e6ace77c2f1b6abb8c1d4434b4840b95 lq

Every machine, and I mean it in the broad sense of the word, people use, almost certainly, has components made by the most populous nation of the world.

We are at a stage where manufacturing is synonymous with China. China’s total exports in 2017 were more than the GDP of India, at ~$2.26 trillion.

main qimg e213710ac9bf247efc1be021887fa937 lq
main qimg e213710ac9bf247efc1be021887fa937 lq

US is close with $1.5 trillion, but there is the catch.

US exports are primarily expensive stuff like airplanes, gems, assembled cell phones etc. But China makes the “cheaper” things — the components of your phones, the clothes you buy, the filaments in your bulbs, the shoes you are wearing right now.

More than a decade ago, a US family tried to rid themselves of all things “made in China”

. Here are some excerpts from their experience.

When our son, then 4, needed new shoes it took me two weeks of frantic mall trips and phone calls across the country before I located Italian-made sneakers. (They cost almost $70, an obscene amount, and I bought him just that one pair of shoes all year to compensate for my excess.)

We boiled water for coffee every morning after our drip machine broke and the only affordable replacements we could find were made in China. Kevin stole —he likes to say borrowed—sunglasses from the lost-and-found at our kids’ preschool when he needed new ones and the only ones that fit our budget were made in China. We were barred from the market for humane mousetraps (I made my own), birthday candles (we used votive candles on our cakes instead) and the monster trucks and light sabers that our son dreamed of all year.

As December approached, we made lousy homemade Christmas presents, spent too much on toys from Germany and waited for the year, and our boycott, to fade into history.

And Chinese manufacturing has become even more pervasive and ingrained in the last ten years. Good luck with your attempt!

First of all, Taiwan is NOT a country. Neither the United Nations nor the United States recognize Taiwan as an independent state. Moreover, Taiwan’s own constitution stipulates that the mainland and Taiwan are one country.

The entire world adheres to the One China principle.

Second, no country is willing to give up any piece of its territory. Would the USA give up Hawaii or Texas? Would France give up Corsica?

Third, Taiwan is a remnant of China’s century of humiliation when the great powers of the time descended on China like vultures and carved her up like a turkey. It’s a painful reminder and a point of national pride.

Fourth, China and Taiwan can coexist. They’ve coexisted peacefully for decades now. They have massive trade with each other.

China seeks peaceful reunification, and she is very patient. But the United States is determined to stir up shit in Taiwan. Just leave them alone!

Fifth, since Taiwan is China’s domestic matter, it is absolutely none of our f*cking business. Why are we sticking our nose into it?

Do we want to start a war with China over this matter?

Are you f*cking insane?

Hubris.

“My cup runneth over with hubris”, rather than “In God We Trust”.

Who in his right mind can praise America for being well led, when the President is 80 and belongs in a nursing home, with the primary competition 76 belonging in jail?

And yet those are the candidates two ailing parties who have swapped musical chairs for 250 years throw up, with NO ALTERNATIVES in sight.

Just like guns and drugs, even abortion.

Live with it, the American will say, because the Constitution is sacred.

I say God bless America.

America has visibly declined or regressed this century. Even life expectancy has dipped below third world China, courtesy of the horrendous response to covid for the country rated No. 1 for pandemic readiness by Johns Hopkins in 2019. The debt pile is growing too fast, struggling under the weight of living beyond means.

Barring a paradigm shift in domestic politics, terminal decline is but a matter of time. I will pay attention to the quality of life of the bottom 50 percent who share 2 percent of the wealth. Too miserable and the have-nots will stoke tensions and accelerate the process.

I have not heard much beyond doubling down on the current playbook.

And that is a road to ruin.

The question is one of when, rather than if.

Under 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong wasn’t democratic. Why would we expect that to change?

The United States is as ready as it ever will be.

It has an enormous military budget, and bases everywhere. It’s got top of the line fighters, vessels and state-of-the-art equipment. In fact, if anything, I think that it is “over kill”. But that’s just my personal opinion.

The United States military is world-class in force projection, and they will glad-fully take the war to the shores of China and beyond. With the handful of proxy nations acting as “cannon fodder”, the United States would just sit back and watch the Australians and Japanese die in droves. Let them all be barbecued alive. As long as not one American is harmed.

So the United States force doctrine is one where the disposable peoples of Australia, Korea and Japan (with the Philippines) would be sacrificed first.

There is no question that the United States would choose Sydney, and Perth to become major battlefields. And with the rubbleing of Osaka, Tokyo, and Manila, the American military would wait out the carnage comfortably from afar in safe bunkers, Ukraine style.

Eventually, the Chinese force would peter out to an “approachable” level.

At that moment, the United States would pounce for a double “one two” blow that would destroy Chinese cities, and an invasion force in strength would seize the nation. Oh, the fighting might take a decade, but eventually the United States would win, and China would be partitioned into pre-determined bite-sized chunks for organized looting and seizure.

(Some interesting articles on this particular subject. It’s already been divided up! Though, I would advise “don’t count your chickens until the eggs hatch”.)

Anyways, there one teeny-tiny issue.

The only issue is would China really use it’s mass-casualty weapons. That’s of course, the Dong Feng, and the other novel and unique enhanced radiation and wave technologies. You know those massive enhanced radiation city-busters. Those hyper-velocity AI controlled stealth delivery systems, and the invisibility cloaking technologies.

But I am told it doesn’t matter.

As many in the “West” are very confident that “China would never…”.

So, if you (the reader) are part of this clutch, then by all means rest assured that the United States can destroy China, and it couldn’t do anything. The logic is simple. Simply because China has invested such a HUGE portion of it’s military to weapons of MASS DESTRUCTION. Leaving only a fraction of it’s military for conventional warfare. If China decides never to use the nuclear systems, then China would be handicapped to reliance on old-fashioned conventional systems.

So the United States would rip China a new behind.

But…

But…

But…

But, were China to be attacked, I am of the belief that China would use every weapon at it’s disposal. I mean, after all, why devote such a large proportion of your defensive equipment to nuclear and novel systems if you have no plans to ever use them? I figure that even if you have a Bentley in your garage, you do go and take it out for a spin from time to time. Even if that is the last thing that you do before you die.

Thus, the first cities to experience nuclear destruction would be American. I recon complete destruction of the top 35 cities.

This would really throw a monkey-wrench into the plans listed above.

The American “leadership” would be pissed and they (well the ones still alive and not wearing diapers) would order a MAD response. And the nukes would start a flying.

Correct me, if you disagree, but when the dust settles, I don’t think the world would be the same. You might think differently, but I think that nothing will ruin your day faster than global thermonuclear war.

Sigh.

So who ever asked this question, please stop asking about the end of the world. It’s not a pretty image. Go play with your army men elsewhere. War is not a game. It’s real, and very horrible. I strongly advise that it be avoided at all costs.

No one is going to win a US-China war.

For over 700 years, the Japanese have been using a special method called Daisugi to grow trees without cutting them down.

It started in the 14th century and involves planting trees for the future and then pruning them like large bonsai trees. By doing this to cedar trees, they can get high-quality wood that’s straight, smooth, and perfect for building.

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main qimg d8ea73c62c889f33676c0305d752f58d lq

With Daisugi, instead of chopping down the trees, they carefully prune them so they can keep growing and producing wood. This way, they can sustainably use the wood while also making sure the trees stay healthy and continue to live for a long time. Daisugi shows how people and nature can work together, using resources wisely while protecting the environment.

Not exactly arrogance, if arrogance, it was a well deserved arrogance, as US was supreme in economy, diplomacy and military as a superpower liberator. US actually saved the world with great sacrifices.

It’d have succeeded except the miscalculation on China entrance into the war, that changed the result. That was arrogance to underestimated the Chinese determination and ragtag poorly equipped military, which was a total surprise to everybody.

It is human nature that it is very difficult for warriors to stop fighting, Alexander the Great just couldn’t stop, Napoleon couldn’t stop, Hitler and Japanese couldn’t stop and US couldn’t-can’t stop.

Normal little people like us always wondered what if these superpowers just stopped at some points, enough is enough, I have enough, let me stop and build on my successes and conquered empires, let me treat my subjects well but none could. But warriors can’t stop, they must keep on going until the empires were destroyed by over expansions.

For over seven decades, Japan has been subject to ongoing occupation by the United States, maintaining a presence through a network of over 90 military bases and an extensive arsenal of more than 65,000 military assets. Similarly, Taiwan is under the control of local collaborators aligned with the United States, who wield authority over both the island’s military and political processes, contrary to the One-China policy. In both regions, the United States not only dictates the sale and deployment of weaponry but also determines the conditions for their use, the required troop numbers, and the deployment locations, while providing comprehensive training.

Given the high level of military integration and influence, publicly disclosing real-time shared military information would only intensify local concerns regarding the potential loss of lives and livelihoods after being dragged into a war initiated by the United States, especially in light of recent devastating events in Ukraine as reported by the media.

Gravitas: Japan says no to NATO membership

QUAD is US, G7 is US, AUKUS is US, NATO is US. Whatever alphabets they added or changed, it is just US.

UK, Australia, Japan, India, France, Italy or whatever don’t matter at all to China, there are like the group of thugs accompanying the main bad guy in kungfu movies, they take turn to be punched and kicked by the kungfu master, and the first to run away or fake death. Faking death in the safest way to survive. They rarely charge forward all at the same time.

It is just US, that’s a handful all by itself.

Whatever your opinion may be about this man, Dan Bilzerian, he said something very true in an interview, and I would like many people to reflect on it.

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main qimg 96f8c4d0ae8b7e932568e14f8d5cd9a7 lq

In the Joe Rogan Podcast (the most famous and most listened-to podcast in the world), Rogan asked him the same question:

Joe: Hey Dan, for the people who are listening to us, and most of them won’t even make a quarter of the money you’ve made, do you think money brings happiness?

Dan Bilzerian: Money, Joe, brings satisfaction. Money can undoubtedly give you a lot of satisfaction, but never complete happiness.

When I go to a fancy restaurant, when I drive a brand new car, when I party at the best clubs, for me, that’s already normal.

But the day I can’t afford to eat at a restaurant of the same quality, or drive the latest car, or go partying, how do you think I’ll feel?

In my case, I raised the ‘satisfaction bar’ so high that I have to maintain this lifestyle forever because if I don’t, I get depressed.

Happiness, even if it sounds cliché, cheesy, or however you want to call it, comes from within, from your person. It doesn’t come from material things. Material things give you ‘satisfaction,’ but they will never give you happiness.

There’s always someone who says something like:

‘Money doesn’t bring happiness, but I’d rather cry in a Lamborghini.’

Now, let me ask:

Wouldn’t you rather smile from ear to ear in a Kia?

First Impressions of China in 2023 🇨🇳 CAN’T Believe What I Saw

Washington has sent Jake Sullivan to New Delhi with an array of tempting offers to bring the country in line with the west

By Joydeep Sen Gupta, Asia Editor

US President Joe Biden’s administration is working overtime to give top billing to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the US from June 21 to 24 in a key election campaign year. The visit will be Modi’s sixth to the US since he assumed office in 2014.

Biden wants to present Modi’s upcoming trip as being bigger than the Indian premier’s Manhattan moment

in 2014 when he was hosted by Barack Obama, and Howdy, Modi!

in 2019 during the Trump administration.

To that end Biden sent his trusted aide, US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan, to New Delhi on a two-day trip on Tuesday, to lay the groundwork for the high-profile event, and build upon last week’s visit

to India by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Prominent Indian geopolitical commentator, C Raja Mohan, has suggested

that Sullivan’s visit may pave the way for Modi’s Deng Xiaoping moment in leveraging India’s unique situation into significant gains for the country. However, the current global churn is many times removed from the visionary Chinese leader’s time in office last century, and the US is more transparent in its efforts to create a unipolar world order.

Sullivan’s agenda

Economic cooperation is at the heart of the Sullivan’s India trip. The top US security official held talks with Modi, his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval

, and minister for external affairs, Dr Subramanyam Jaishankar

, on a range of issues that go beyond the optics of bilateral diplomacy. Doval and Sullivan also attended the second Track 1.5 dialogue on the Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) initiative, which was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

They unveiled an ambitious roadmap for Indo-US collaboration in seven specific hi-technology areas, including semiconductors, next-generation telecommunications, artificial intelligence and defense.

Sullivan said the iCET is about people-to-people relationships, building skills, trust and confidence between the societies and governments of the two countries. He said it is also a way to deepen defense cooperation that will help both the countries strategically and economically.

Meanwhile, Modi’s upcoming US visit has been heralded as a new era of “future ties” amid a “robust outcome document” that is in the works. However, the underlying motive is the desperate US desire to gain access to one of the biggest markets in the world following its deteriorating

trade and diplomatic ties with the world’s second biggest economy – China.

Sullivan is playing the role of a traveling salesman, hawking US interests in key global capitals much like before his elevation

to the NSA.

On this trip, he pulled out all stops to impress upon the Modi government the ease of doing business with the Biden administration, which is all but a lame duck, ahead of a key election to be held later this year.

Sullivan’s talks centered on opening a $2.7 billion semiconductor chip-making facility in India by Micron Technology, which is headquartered in Boise, Idaho and sharing technical know-how regarding quantum computing technology. India imports about 80% of its semiconductors.

New Delhi is believed to be wooing Intel Corporation to set up shop in the country following fears of a disruption in supply chains in light of escalating tensions between China and Taiwan.

Significantly, the pièce de resistance is Sullivan’s last-ditch bid to jointly manufacture US aircraft engines for Indian defense forces by General Electric (GE) in partnership with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Will the transfer of technology (ToT) be a fillip to Modi’s ambitious “Make in India”

initiative? ToT is a key aspect in Indo-US bilateral relationship, where past misadventures such as the 2008 civil nuclear agreement between the two nations stick out like a sore thumb. The US is dragging its feet over ToT unlike Russia, which has been

an all-weather ally to India.

Biden has unpacked the top brass in his administration ahead of Modi’s visit. China – the elephant in India’s room – also figured prominently during Sullivan’s trip because he is being accompanied by US Indo-Pacific Coordinator at the National Security Council Kurt Campbell.

Washington has been raising the China alarm with New Delhi and accuses Beijing of flexing its military muscle over Taiwan and the South China Sea while underscoring India’s primacy in the elite grouping of the Quad

.

Truth be told, since its revival

in 2017, the grouping largely remains a non-starter as questions abound whether it is hitting the right notes to keep a belligerent China at bay.

The US is seemingly ratcheting up further bilateral tensions between the two most populous nations and nuclear-powered neighbors

as a means to insert itself as part of India’s solutions to security.

How does the US hypocrisy stand exposed?

Public memory, as the cliché goes, is short indeed. In 2005, PM Modi was denied

a US visa because of his alleged role

in the Gujarat pogrom against minority Muslims in the western Indian state in 2002, when he was the Chief Minister.

The US changed its tune in 2014 after Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoyed a landslide win against the incumbent Congress-led opposition alliance.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki had said Modi would receive a visa to the country once he took office and formed a government. And an AI visa, which is the eligibility norm for all heads of state, was made available to him. Washington then started making overtures towards him in a true bipartisan manner with Obama, Trump, and now Biden have been rolling out the red carpet for him as they seek to tap India’s growing middle class, whose strength is more than the total US population at last count.

But such foreign policy misadventures

have been the hallmark of the US in the name of championing democracy in all corners of the globe for which the UK fell

for hook, line and sinker.

With such checkered records and doublespeak, should the Modi government be enamored by Sullivan’s charm offensive?

The US seldom delivers what it promises, if its deeply flawed foreign policy is a marker of Washington’s overreach

.

Is the Biden administration on the same page?

There is a lack of clarity regarding whether the Biden administration’s various arms share Sullivan’s enthusiasm about Modi and India. Historically, the US State Department has been hostile towards New Delhi about ramping up bilateral engagement in the field of defense and hi-tech.

However, the jury is still out whether Sullivan, aided and abetted by the Pentagon, can ensure joint manufacturing of GE’s F-414 engine in India, which if Washington manages to pull off, will go down in the annals of history. At the same time, it will open a new front in the Arab world in the Middle East, where the US has been arming

them to the teeth in the name of twin threats from Iran and Israel. President Biden’s largesse may help India’s state-run Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to indigenously develop the Tejas Mark II fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force. US defense majors are also looking for an opening to manufacture other hi-tech weapons including loiter bombs, air-to-air missiles and long-range guided bombs amid stalled arms supplies from Russia owing to fear

of disruption in payment mechanisms over US-led Western sanctions on the ongoing special military operations in Ukraine. Sullivan aims to reboot several existing mechanisms such as upping the ante in sectors such as telecommunications, rare earth metals mining and space. Both NSAs discussed this during a meeting on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) in Washington on January 31.

The mechanism received a boost during the first India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue meeting

in Washington on June 4 and 5.

US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit to New Delhi in March was a precursor to this high-level engagement that set the stage for Sullivan’s trip to iron out the rough edges in the bilateral ties.

Is Sullivan the ace of spades for Biden?

The New York Times stated

in 2021 that Sullivan, who has been equated with Henry Kissinger, has long been a “figure of fascination, somewhere between sympathy and schadenfreude.” He has been Biden’s go-to man for all reasons and seasons. He held

crucial talks with key Chinese officials and has a similar historic opportunity to make Modi seem to be a global leader, whose life has come full circle since Washington dubbed him a pariah. And time is of the essence as Biden’s fate is likely to be decided in a few months, even though Modi’s hold on power appears to be as firm as ever.

Sullivan had an inkling about Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine a couple of months before the conflict started in February of 2022. He tried to shape global opinion against Russia, including pushing through the sanctions. Has he managed to strengthen NATO, including Finland’s membership, is an open-ended question?

His speech

at the Brookings Institution in April laid bare the growing US challenges amid a new pivot known as the ‘new Washington Consensus’, a euphemism for geo-economics. How much has he achieved will be judged by posterity.

Sullivan has been single-mindedly pushing for a technological alliance with “trusted partners” such as India to stymie China’s dominance.

The Indo-Pacific maritime is his other pet project that has grabbed the headlines, even though he is not a foreign policy hawk. He seeks to be on an even keel with China, especially his recent engagement with Foreign Minister, Wang Yi.

India, according to Sullivan, connects all these dots, despite New Delhi’s deep historic ties with Moscow. But can the US play a “long game” since the presidential election may change the foreign policy outreach in the next few months.

Biden’s last hurrah?

According to a report

in The Washington Post, the US seeks to expand the developing world’s influence (read India) at the United Nations (UN). This hurriedly-thought through bid appears to empower the UN Security Council (UNSC) because of the latter’s ineffectiveness as a global body to stop conflicts such as the ongoing military standoff in Ukraine. This mechanism, which has long been in the works, is also Washington’s bid to push through a unipolar world narrative and keep Russia and China out of the frame. Wooing India helps because it is part of the strongest anti-US bloc in BRICS, where Brazil and South Africa bring up the rear

, to create an alternative world order.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, President Biden’s envoy to the UN, is reportedly consulting with diplomats from the organization’s 193 member states to gather feedback about a potential expansion of the UNSC ahead of world leaders’ annual gathering in New York in September.

But Washington is unlikely to create a consensus in a fractured world, where the US is seen

as a perennial big bully. Besides, it’s unclear which countries in the Global South and from Africa and South America are likely to make the cut.

For instance, any nation such as Venezuela, Cuba, Egypt and Morocco will not be welcome to join the exclusive club because of their close ties with Russia and by extension are considered as rogue states by the US.

The US is unlikely to have its way because India’s seat at the global high table will be opposed tooth and nail by Pakistan.

A tricky road for Modi

Modi, who is known to have an elephant’s memory, may do well not to bite the US bullet ahead of his re-election next year, where he appears to be in the driver’s seat, despite a few recent domestic setbacks.

As for Biden, it could be a classic case of too little, too late to woo American voters with last-minute optics. The maxim “It’s the economy stupid

” could seal his fate for a second-term in the White House. His historically low approval ratings are an indictment for lording over an economy that’s teetering on the brink, despite his lofty pronouncements of a rosy outlook.

When I young in Taiwan, all students must watch a one hour long documentary, Roar of China 中國的怒吼, documentary of all the atrocities of Japanese killing and bombing. Once a year, every year for many years. Attendance was mandatory for all, we had to write essay on the Japanese atrocities. That built a deep hatred towards Japan and Japanese. All Japanese movies and books were banned.

Occasional reports of Taiwan people love Japan and Japanese are wrong. As decades passed, that hatred gradually faded away to lesser degree, but among older Taiwan people, hatred of Japan is constant and in daily conversations.

I no longer hate Japan or Japanese, but I did not forget.

The Korean war.

In the early 1950’s, the United States (fresh from fighting World War II), along with its allies invaded Korea. The stated reasons were “democracy”, “freedom” and “fighting Communism”. Of course. The real reason was to attack and seize China while it was still weak. Then, from that captured territory, place military bases on the Russian Southern flank for an eventual World War 3.

Well, the Korean war was a fiasco. The United States lost bigly.

In fact, the losses were so very horrific, that the retreat became a rout. And the piles of equipment and stockpiles in warehouses had to be bombed remotely, by the sea and the air, to prevent capture. (This is by definition a rout. Remote demolitions of abandoned material is a characteristic of a rout.)

General Douglas MacArthur was so upset and defeated that he demanded that President Truman start using nuclear weapons on China, but Truman refused.

Instead President Truman initiated a multi-decade long campaign of carpet bombing China with bio-weapons. (Which didn’t do much to China, except make it very VERY resilient to bio-weapon attacks.)

This kind of stealth; passive-aggressive, attacking continued for decades. Well into the 1970s.

So when the 1960s rolled around, the United States was busy fighting on China’s Southern borders; Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. All trying to obtain a “toe hold” there. But Chinese-backed Vietnamese forces were putting up a good fight.

You must realize that at that time, with a hostile and unstable SE Asia, and a very VERY pissed off China, the United States was in no way ready to take on China. Because over the decades of covert hostilities, the Chinese grew stronger, and angrier with each passing month.

So in the 1960s and into the 1970s, the United States did not attack China overtly. It’s not that the United States did not want to attack China. It is just that it simply could not. China was a very formidable fighting force, and the anticipated American (and allied) losses would have been enormous.

It means that the Chinese are not fools. The United States sanctioned the Chinese defense chief, and if they would meet, that would be in violation of the sanctions.

Who knows what other “dirty tricks” the Biden administration has “up its sleeve”?

But also, and most importantly, nothing productive would come out of the meeting. The United States has proven itself to be two-faced, fork-tongued, lying, scheming, manipulating bastards that have only one goal which is to belittle, and ultimately destroy China.

Different people have different reasons.

I came to China because the Chinese government agreed to support my research and give me opportunity to build a team to pursue solutions for health problems with genomics. I tried again and again through the grant process and VC channels in the US. For grants, if you weren’t part of the group that gets most of the grant money or one of their proteges (“the club”), you weren’t getting a grant. And, if you weren’t 20 something with no experience but full of wild ideas VC funds weren’t interested, they are all looking for the next Zuckerberg or Gates. They didn’t care about sound business plans.

So, I came to China where I was first able to almost immediately raise money from VCs and then after a year the Chinese government agreed to support me, my team and my projects.

China is the land of opportunity for talented scientists. They are putting a lot of money into developing a broad group of technologies of which biotech is one. A key focus of the education system is STEM graduates. So, for me, China was the obvious choice.

Note: I could’ve gotten a job in the US and been paid a very good wage, although I am doing well, especially by Chinese standards, I would’ve made more in the US. But, here I am supported to pursue my passion. And, it is a very good opportunity to experience the culture and the people.

The largest group of American expats here in China are teachers though. In China, teaching is a very well respected profession and the teachers are well compensated with lots of perks. They came here, some for the experience, most for the increased wages and respect that they found they lacked in the US.

Fried Okra with Tomatoes and Onions

fried okra tomatoes
fried okra tomatoes

Ingredients

  • 2 slices bacon
  • 1 pound sliced okra
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Fry bacon crisp. Remove from skillet and drain.
  2. Fry okra in bacon drippings.
  3. Add onion. Cook until tender.
  4. Add tomatoes; stir well.
  5. Add bacon and salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

In 1989 two hikers who got lost while climbing Mount Asahidake in Daisetsuzan National Park were found when a helicopter saw the distress sign written on the side of the mountain and rescued them.

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2023 06 18 11 25

Great for the two hikers and lucky because this is where the story gets strange. The police in the area were sure the hikers had made the SOS sign that was made by stacking large birch trees on top of each other, the sign was quiet large. When the police questioned the two hikers about their ordeal they swore they knew nothing about the sign. It was just pure luck on their part.

This got the investigators worried because if they didn’t make the signal, who did? This led the police back to the area with a search team to find another potential missing person. After a few hours of searching the area the police discovered human bones with bite marks and fractures from before they died. This is where the story goes from strange to bizarre.

As they continued their search they came across a hole big enough to fit a human. In the hole they found a human skull, four cassette tapes, a tape recorder, some amulets, a backpack, tripod, some men’s shoes, two cameras, a notebook and a drivers licence belonging to Kenji Iwamura, a 25-year-old male office worker.

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main qimg 471854b168cc965baea468061a207987

Photo of Kenji Iwamura

On one of the tapes was the voice of a man screaming for two and a half minutes. A translation of the man shouting on the recording is as follows:

SOS, help me, I can’t move on the cliff, SOS, help me.
The place is where I first met the helicopter. The sasa [a type of bamboo plant] is deep and you can’t go up. Lift me up from here. The police were sure the bones belonged to the guy on the drivers licence but went sent for testing they came back as belonging to a female between the ages 20–30.

The rest of the tapes included music from the anime TV shows, Macross and Magical Princess Minky Momo In addition, a cut out of artwork of “Magical Princess Minky Momo” was used as a case for the cassette tape. This strange disappearance had the police perplexed.

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main qimg 183458af851ac03c54e9700a6aa7630f

The wooden letters of the SOS sign were made by stacking large fallen birch trees, and it was estimated that it took about two days and considerable effort to create such a giant sign. It was speculated that the sign was made by the missing person that the skeleton belonged to, but in the autopsy of the skeleton that was found, who investigators believed was Iwamura, the body was described as thin and weak and that it would have been impossible for him to make the sign on his own.

No axe that would have been used to cut the trees down to make the sign has been found. There is also no record or report of a missing woman that could be connected to Iwamura.

I’m in my 40s, if you’re still in your 20s and 30s read this:

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main qimg 6b2e994b1ef90290be98e061c9d22742

1. Your 3 most important life choices are:
I) Your spouse
II) Your career
III) Where you’ll live
Therefore, do not rush these decisions. Take your time and think.

2. To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want.
To attract the right people, be the right person.
The world isn’t crazy enough to reward a bunch of undeserving people (Charlie Munger).

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main qimg 7d8277628de494bb72204670d5bea0e8

3. Stop listening to what people say and watch what they do.
Words lie, and actions reveal the truth.
It is, therefore, important to listen and keep your eyes wide open.

4. The cowards never started and the weak died along the way.
There’s wisdom in age.

Study things and people who have been around for a long time in:
• Art
• Nature
• Architecture
• Classic books
• Classic movies

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main qimg fdbdc568c2a340a4379c85abb4b7a0bb

5. Take care of your health.
Have a healthy body:
• Take 10k steps a day
• Be intentional and regular about exercising
• Adopt a high-protein diet
• Take only nutrient-dense food
• Drink 2-3 liters of water daily
• Avoid processed sugar and alcohol

In the long run, it is inevitable that you will have;
• Clear Skin
• A Clear mind
• High energy

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main qimg 8f9e21d50db308198358e93c4d43be6c

Your mind is your greatest asset.
So walk, write, think, stretch, be in solitude, meditate, and spend time in nature.
Avoid;
• News
• Politics
• Toxic relationships
Stop reacting to everything and instead, be proactive.

6. Attitude and mindset are extremely important.

Poor mentality traits:
• Waiting for motivation to start
• Quitting when the motivation fades
• Doing only what you think is your best

Rich mentality traits:
• Getting motivation after starting
• Showing up every day (no matter what)
• Doing what it takes
So, which one would you choose?

7. It’s not the strongest or smartest who survive, it’s the ones who are most adaptable to the changing environment.
Consistency beats intensity and the compound effect is one of the secrets to success.

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main qimg 0a4369f7a3d2e73080bebf3a819dfe91

8. Don’t let people push you around, and stand up for the weak.
Fight back against anyone who pushes your boundaries.
Most people will not bother you if they know you’ll retaliate.

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main qimg 8c12d70bb10b1013a3abb5704bfc44d6

9. Be a mad Scientist.
Life is one big experiment.
So whenever you feel stuck, adapt and try something new.
There are no failures, only experiments that go too long.
And never learn without taking action.

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main qimg 6e9a849e1fdb844b08b6d997a194602b

10. Never play the victim.
Life will test you. It’ll test everyone. So you’re not special.
Learned helplessness is a trap.
Face your problems head-on to build character and resilience.
Instead of thinking about why the problem is happening to you, flip the script and acknowledge that it has already been done and it’s too late to undo it. From there you’ll be aware of the fact that the best thing you can do is move forward.

11. Practice Problem-Solving.
The bigger your problems, the bigger your opportunity.
Be thankful for your problems. God only gives you what you can handle.

12. Take responsibility for everything.
Blaming people or circumstances gives them power over you. Only blame yourself.

13. Find mentors.
Find mentors that are years ahead of you.
Absorb everything they teach you.
Learn from their failures so you don’t have to learn the hard way.
If you can’t find a mentor, read books.

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main qimg 7273951770ad4296e15d01612788ee6e

 

14. You will be happiest when building:
• Your mind
• Your body
• Your business
• Your family

Learn these skills and never worry about money:
• Selling
• Marketing
• Negotiation
• Copy Trading
• Copywriting
• Critical Thinking
• Creative Creation
• Emotional Intelligence
• Communication

15. Do what is difficult when it is easy.
You’re young, therefore:
• It’s easy to stay fit
• It’s easy to experiment and fail
• It’s easy to be open-minded and learn

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main qimg b57c2b7bc7a21e82ae248116decd780a

16. Financial freedom unlocks your extreme potential.
You get to experience and express your true self when you know your livelihood isn’t 100% reliant on other outside forces that might be uncontrollable by you. So when you achieve financial independence earlier on in your life, you are going to invest in yourself and believe in yourself regardless, you are going to work out and exercise because you will not be limited by time.

If you’re still employed, don’t be discouraged, just look for ways to make an extra buck and save it gradually till you have what you’d consider enough to get started. In one of my sources of passive income, I got started with just $500 and within a month, I saw immense results.

Going into the rabbit hole as we explore the chronicles of the future

One thing that I do enjoy is the smell of pine. I used to live in Hattiesburg Mississippi and the pine forests were huge. During the Spring, if you were not careful, you would get one heck of an allergy attack, though. But pines are nice, and dare I say it, magical.

Of course, being a PA boy, I like hard-woods, but pines are easy to walk through and magical on snowy nights. It’s an exercise in white and black. Quite and experience. You all should try it some time. If you live in the Northern climes, please take the time to make your nights during Winter magical.

Take care everyone.

Todays…

Simple we’re meeting the real leaders of the USA.

What you thought your votes meant anything? The USA is a corporate dystopia owned and run for the mega corporations.

The president the government are simply going through the motions and most people can’t see through it.

China supports Palestinian people’s just cause of restoring legitimate national rights — Chinese FM

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki in Beijing on Tuesday.

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Al-Maliki is accompanying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on his state visit to China from June 13 to 16.

President Abbas is the first Arab head of state to be hosted by China this year, which speaks volumes about the special friendship between the two countries and China’s support for the just cause of Palestine, Qin said.

He said he believes the two heads of state will plan the future development of bilateral relations and advance the traditional friendship to a higher level.

China has always firmly supported the Palestinian people’s just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights and will continue to support peace talks between Palestine and Israel and contribute wisdom to resolving the Palestinian question, Qin said.

Al-Maliki said China is a trustworthy, reliable friend, and Palestine appreciates the proposals pushed forward by China’s head of state for resolving the Palestinian question.

He added Palestine follows the one-China policy and will continue to support China on issues concerning China’s core interests.

10 REAL Cases Of Time Travel That Cannot Be Explained

Interesting, but don’t get too caught up on this kind of stuff. Who knows how valid any of this is. All I know is that time is our own PERSONAL experience record. Time travel isn’t really something that can exist, but rather a hopping or jumping upon the template.

POLAND SAYS BORDER TROOPS “FIRED UPON FROM BELARUS”

The government of Poland has just issued a statement claiming its Border Guards were “fired upon from the territory of Belarus.”

No further details have been released at this hour, 5:28 PM EDT.   Check back for Updates.

In June 1948, farmer Cecil George Harris accidentally put his tractor in reverse.

The tractor overturned, trapping Harris’ left leg under the rear wheel.

His wife didn’t find him until 10:30 that night, and he died at the hospital.

When neighbors investigated the accident scene days later, they found that Harris had carved an inscription into the tractor’s fender with his work knife.

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main qimg 626b50d4768ccc251cecc8e8ae0d6633 lq

It read:

In case I die in this mess, I leave everything to my wife. Cecil Geo Harris.

The courts ruled that this was a valid will.

The fender was kept in the Kerrobert courthouse until 1996.

Today it and the knife are on display at the University of Saskatchewan Law Library.

This story reminds me of a Tuscan friend of mine who overturned his tractor and died.

Working a field with a tractor in mountains and hills is very difficult and dangerous, even though it looks easy to us who are just watching.

Lots of people die under a tractor every year.

Southern Pineapple Pound Cake

editedPineapplePoundCakjewithCreamChesseGlazeIMG 6164
editedPineapplePoundCakjewithCreamChesseGlazeIMG 6164

Ingredients

  • 8 eggs
  • 2 cups Crisco
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Cream sugar and shortening.
  2. Add eggs one at a time.
  3. Add flour and salt gradually.
  4. Stir in vanilla extract and pineapple.
  5. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan at 350 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours. Or bake in two greased and floured loaf pans for about 1 hour.

It’s a pretty useless strategy. It’s failing badly.

It’s based on dirty tricks, typical Tonya Harding-style tactics.

The USA has no hope of restoring the semiconductor industry, nor general manufacturing, in the country. Labour is too expensive. The populace is too far behind in education. The populace is too fat and lazy. The population is shrinking, and for a population that is already a quarter the size of China’s, that’s a real problem.

The Amazing United States

President Biden – United States will build a railroad from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean * this is something that even China cannot do Watch: * unable to compete with China, the Americans have turned “mental”

He Spent a Year in 3906 | This is what Paul Amadeus Dienach saw

This is very interesting.

The entire diary has been transcribed in a book titled “Chronicles from the Future”. There is all sorts of names, histories, places and stories worthy of review in the book. This you-tube video is simply just an overview. I am providing the full PDF of that book HERE for your reading pleasure.

A change in Mindset

The USA’s technology base is still the best in the world. Is that so, Mr. Zakaria?

According to a recent ASPI report, China leads the world in 37 out of 44 technological fields.

China has the finest infrastructure engineering in the world. That’s why it has spectacular bridges, high-speed rail, airports, seaports, dams, etc.

China is the world’s leader in green energy production, EV and battery production, thorium molten salt reactors, etc.

China has a spanking brand new space station, while the ISS is suffering leaks and is due to be decommissioned by 2030 with no replacement in sight.

China is the first and only nation to land on the far side of the moon.

China leads the world in 5G and 6G.

Despite US tech sanctions, China is rapidly creating its own semiconductor manufacturing chain with a number of major breakthroughs.


The USA is trying to spread good values? Perhaps that’s so but at what cost?

Over the past seven decades the USA has fought many dozens of wars and caused massive death and destruction everywhere (by some estimates, millions of civilian deaths). Is this worth the good values America is spreading? Please answer me, Mr. Zakaria.

Let’s be honest, the USA has no moral legitimacy.


The bad relation between Australia and China was Australia’s doing, sticking its nose into China’s domestic affairs.

India and China have had a long-standing border dispute. This can hardly be Xi Jinping’s fault. There’ve been border clashes for decades.

Vietnam and China still have positive economic relations, so I don’t know what Mr. Zakaria is talking about. Ditto for South Korea and China.

Moreover, China has vastly improved its relations with nearly every country in the Global South, including in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. What about BRICS, RCEP and SCO?

By contrast, the USA’s diplomatic relations around the world have fared far worse. US sanctions have driven a wedge between them. The USA alienated Saudi Arabia, esp. with the Khashoggi affair. When the USA went to Saudi Arabia pleading for increased oil production, Saudi Arabia dismissed them and did the exact opposite — cut oil production! Most of the world is massively de-dollarizing.


Why did China decide not to talk to the Americans? Consider this: for years, the USA has been demonizing China, sanctioning China, antagonizing China in Chinese waters, interfering in Taiwan, saying one thing and doing the exact opposite, and generally being a pain in the ass. Is it any wonder China is sick and tired of this crap?

The USA has proven itself to be duplicitous and dishonest. Is this a foundation for dialogue? Please answer me, Mr. Zakaria.

The USA needs to show China that it is willing to deal with China sincerely and consistently.


The choice between the US technology bloc and the Chinese technology bloc comes down to what each bloc has to offer. The US bloc offers military and security promises. The Chinese bloc offers peaceful economic promises.

If you have the mindset that says the world is after you and all is not safe, then the US bloc is the natural choice.

If you have the mindset that says the world can be peaceful through cooperation and common prosperity, then the Chinese bloc is the natural choice.

What is your mindset?

The United States returns to Africa BIG TIME

  • This is how the United States will counter China in Africa
  • AND ensure that America will reigned supreme into the next millennium

Watch speech by President Biden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zACN35LNO5Q
  • that is one incoherent incomprehensible mumbo jumbo

The Most Convincing Time Traveler Story

He ended up in a mental hospital…

Israel Just Smashed Themselves . . .

Merkava Tank Israel large
Merkava Tank Israel large

Israel confirms it will give Ukraine 200 Merkerva Tanks.

Stabbed Russia right in the back.

7 Mind Bending TRUE Time Travel

When I was a kid, we rented a house in the country. We had access to wonderful locally produced food. Our landlord had two Guernsey cows as well as chickens. We bought from him amazing whole milk with a very high butterfat content. The milk was not homogenized. The eggs were from free range hens. My mother grew vegetables and berries in a large garden. It was apple country so apples were very reasonable. My aunt canned vegetables and pears from her garden and kept a few hens. The meals I ate could not be duplicated since many of the heirloom fruits and vegetables are no longer available. The number of free range Guernsey cows is quite low in the US (which has mostly Holsteins). Modern homes tend to treat hard water but we drank the pure well water.

Many of the meals my mother cooked could not be duplicated but I will use the example of breakfast. I drank a large glass of whole milk (from a cow I was fond of). The toast was made from my mother’s home made bread. The bread was made using unbleached flour and water from the well which was in a limestone aquifer. The butter was locally made. The jam was jarred by my aunt. The eggs came the from chickens we saw every day behind our house. My mother squeezed the orange juice herself. We did not have bacon often but when we did it was locally sourced. We even had country style entertainment at breakfast – just before we ate, my mother would feed the wild birds at the stone porch ledge outside our kitchen window. We always had a wide variety of birds to watch while we ate.

We ate high calorie meals but we were very active. The local farmers lived to ripe old ages and could heft big feed bags even when elderly.

I was very fond of foraging in my mother’s garden and ate a lot of vegetables right in the garden. I would go into the fields and eat sun warmed berries. We gathered our own beechnuts and hazelnuts.

My mother and aunt were both excellent cooks who rarely bought premade food.

UH OH! BANKS IN AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCE WITHDRAWAL LIMITS

.

From August 20th 2023 Westpac Bank Australia customers will be prohibited from withdrawing more than $1000 from their accounts per day.

Other Banks will follow.

Access to your own cash . . . . SEVERELY LIMITED.

Still think Banking troubles are about a computer Virus?

Then, there’s THIS:

One needs only wonder why, if Australian Banks are owned mostly by U.S. financial firms, the people of Australia will be limited to their own money?   Since it is U.S. Firms that __seem__ to be affecting withdrawal limits in Australia, then wouldn’t it be logical to believe they might try the same thing here in the US or over in Europe?

Forewarned is forearmed.  Act accordingly.

Australia Approves Mandatory (Bill Gates) mRNA Vaccines for ALL Agriculture

Australia has announced plans to inject Bill Gates’ mRNA vaccines into all livestock destined for people’s dinner plates.

According to reports, the Australian government plans to make the vaccine rollout mandatory for all animals, regardless of whether cattle farmers agree or not.

On May 2, 2023, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) announced funding for a project to ‘test mRNA vaccines that can be rapidly mass-produced in Australia in the event of a lumpy skin disease or other exotic disease outbreak’.

The Manager for Animal Wellbeing, released a statement declaring:

‘This project will develop a mRNA vaccine pipeline initially for LSD, but potentially for other emergency diseases. This will enable capacity for rapid mass production of a vaccine for LSD in the event of an outbreak. No LSD vaccines are registered for use in Australia yet. While some vaccines exist overseas, the path to registration in Australia for traditionally-produced [vaccines] is longer than that of an mRNA vaccine.’

Spectator.com.au reports: Why are traditional vaccines, which have safety records that outstrip mRNA vaccines, subject to longer approval periods than mRNA vaccines? That sounds like a significant structural failure within Australia’s health body that, instead of being fixed, has the potential to be exploited by manufacturers looking to cash in on mRNA.

mRNA vaccines are quick to produce and ‘nimble’, which is why pharmaceutical companies like them – but that doesn’t mean that they are safe, effective, or suitable for consumers whether those are humans or livestock.

A 2022 article in PubMed Central notes: ‘Recently, the successful application of mRNA vaccines against Covid has further validated the platform and opened the floodgates to mRNA vaccine’s potential in infectious disease prevention, especially in the veterinary field.’

Do you feel mRNA has been ‘validated’ over the last three years?

No doubt this is why we keep hearing bleatings of ‘emergency’ and ‘outbreak’ in the same breath as mRNA, as if to remind us of the mantra used during the Covid era to embark on what the former Health Minister referred to as the ‘largest clinical trial – the largest global vaccine trial ever’. Look how that turned out.

The fall-out of Covid mRNA vaccines is likely to continue for the best part of a century as a percentage of vaccinated individuals ‘die suddenly’ or suffer from long-term debilitating illnesses. These are quickly becoming a burden for the health industry and state finances after vaccine manufacturers hand-waved responsibility because it was an ‘emergency’. Most nations are setting up compensation pools of cash to cope with the growing list of individuals who claim to have been harmed.

Another excuse used to feather the nest of mRNA vaccines is that they are thought to provide the solution for influenza-style viruses which traditional vaccines have proven ineffective against. Everyone wants to see an effective vaccine against respiratory viruses, but it’s almost as if the doe-eyed vaccine industry has put on a blindfold for the last three years. mRNA Covid vaccines did next to nothing to combat or control the influenza-style Covid and do not, based on what we have seen, offer any advantage to traditional vaccines for this problem beyond the feel-good marketing headlines. There is a strong argument that for the majority of the population, they did more harm than good.

Instead of suspending all mRNA vaccines until we understand what went wrong, they are being given priority treatment by regulators and championed by manufacturers who love the competitive edge of speed their production offers. Governments, particularly the (broke?) Victorian state government, are funneling tens of millions into mRNA development to keep capitaliZing on the political popularity they enjoyed during the Covid era.

MLA note that mRNA vaccines should be ready for use within two years and while everyone is busy stressing that this will be a ‘voluntary’ option for the farming community, vaccines inside the agricultural industry rarely are if a producer wishes to sell their product into domestic and international markets. If we go down the mRNA vaccine production line, it is extremely likely that Australians will be eating mRNA-vaccinated livestock within a couple of years with very little understanding of what this will mean health-wise.

Anyone who criticiZes mRNA vaccines or their potential future within the agricultural industry are paraded through the press as ‘conspiracy theorists’ with publications quick to send out the fact-checkers to insist that it’s pure fear-mongering to suggest fragments of these vaccines will end up in the food chain.

Except, it was a ‘conspiracy theory’ to suggest that the human body would continue making Covid mRNA vaccines long after the injection, or to raise concerns that it would leave the site of the injection. Not only did the fears described as ‘conspiracy’ prove to be true, the behavior and side effects of Covid mRNA vaccines are reaching well beyond what anyone predicted.

How sure are we that in the rush to saturate the market with mRNA vaccines, that proper long-term testing will be conducted, particularly when it comes to lingering in meat and milk? Will it impact high-risk activities such as calving, given there is a strong suspicion that Covid vaccines are responsible for a spike in human miscarriages?

Keep in mind that we are still being told Covid vaccines are ‘safe and effective’. The Australian government, sitting on a pile of unwanted vaccines, is spending public money on marketing campaigns, encouraging Australians to go and get their booster shots at the same time other countries have removed Covid vaccines.

At least some States in the US are taking note, rushing to pass legislation to ban the use of mRNA vaccines for animals involved in the food industry whose meat or milk is produced for human consumption. Idaho is one example where it will be a misdemeanor to use mRNA vaccines – and that includes the Covid vaccines.

Australians need to be aware that mRNA vaccines are coming for the agricultural industry and they will likely be compulsory. America is having a serious conversation about whether this should be allowed, and Australia needs to do the same thing. It is perfectly reasonable to require extensive long-term safety data before we revolutioniZe agriculture.

This conversation will not happen on its own. Australia’s agricultural elite resemble a body of yes-men nodding furiously toward mRNA. Family farmers – disempowered, constrained, and demoraliZed – have no voice in this matter. Their wishes will be bulldozed by a small collection of billion-dollar farming entities, several of which are foreign-owned.

If Australians care about what they eat, it’s time to start making a racket.  As for those of us in American and in Europe, it might be wise to STOP BUYING ALL AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS/MEATS, IMMEDIATELY.

Southern Peach Ice Cream

southern peach ice cream
southern peach ice cream

Ingredients

  • 4 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches (about 8 small ripe peaches)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 1 (3.75 ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 cups Half-and-Half

Instructions

  1. Combine peaches and sugar; let stand 1 hour.
  2. Process peach mixture in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
  3. Stir together evaporated milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; stir in peach puree, sweetened condensed milk and Half-and-Half.
  4. Pour mixture into freezer container of a 4 quart hand-turned or electric freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  5. Spoon into an airtight container, and freeze until firm.

Let us compare their focus, shall we?

Qin: USA knows well who causes the difficult relationship between China & USA. Taiwan is China’s core among all core interests.

Blinken: USA & China must meet. (No main points)

Western media kept telling us that Blinken is going to China. Even has a date June 18.

But China maintains not to talk just for the sake of talking when USA never follows thru what it “promised” in meetings. It is a waste of time to talk empty.

This time US media said Blinken may meet 3 Chinese officials eg Qin Gang, Wang Yi & possibly Xi Jinping. (wow, Xi Jinping??? Right away we know it is exaggeration)

Like the Chinese “spy” balloon sage at the last minute of Blinken’s Chinese trip to China, this time there is suddenly a Chinese spy base in Cuba. Looks like USA is, again, preparing to say Blinken cancels the Chinese trip because of a spy base in Cuba.

Really, USA should learn that giving China pressure by fabricating a story wont get China to submit & meet US officials.

Treat China as a equal partner to USA. No more suppression. No more sanctions. No more LIES.

Today’s China is strong enough not to endure US “supremacy” any more.

Former NATO Chief Admits “We Decided Back in 2008, Ukraine WILL Become Member of NATO”

World Hal Turner 15 June 2023 Hits: 7447

Former NATO Chief Admits “We Decided Back in 2008, Ukraine WILL Become Member of NATO”

2023 06 16 14 55
2023 06 16 14 55

Folks who think the Russia-Ukraine conflict began on February 24, 2022 may be surprised to learn it’s been brewing since 2008. Former NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen admits in video below “We decided back in 2008, Ukraine WILL become a member of NATO.”

That decision caused today’s troubles.

In the video below, released by “Alliance of Democracies” which was founded by the former NATO Chief, Rasmussen speaks about the present Russia-Ukraine conflict and how NATO is trying to find a way to admit Ukraine even though it is presently at conflict with Russia!

Rasmussen points to the possibility that the US and NATO might give certain “Security Guarantees” to Ukraine BEFORE it is admitted to NATO. The Interviewer asks Rasmussen if such Security Guarantees might be worded similar to those between the US and Israel, and Rasmussen makes a STUNNING admission:

We don’t have to use that wording we can use the wording from 2008. “We decided in 2008 Ukraine WILL be admitted to NATO.”

At approximately 1m 57s into the video below, he makes that statement. Watch for yourself:

This is a stunning fact. This was not previously publicized, anywhere.

What this means is that the present troubles between Russia-Ukraine/NATO/US all began with that decision back in the year 2008.

From that decision, the US/NATO and the collective West, did what they thought necessary to lay the foundations TO DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY PROMISED RUSSIA THEY WOULD NOT DO.

Back in 1991, then US Secretary of State, James Baker, met with then-Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his then Soviet Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevrednadze in the Kremlin. It is noted in official US and UK documents that Baker, on orders from then US President George H.W. Bush, told Gobachev and Shevrednadze that if the then Soviet Union agreed to the re-unification of East and West Germany, “NATO will not move beyond the Elbe (River)” in East Germany.

Here is a snippet of the UK document, from the UK National Archive, outlining the facts:

ScreenShot Minutes Elba Meeting NATO Wont MoveEastOfElba
ScreenShot Minutes Elba Meeting NATO Wont MoveEastOfElba

So NATO knew in 2008, that back in 1991, the US, UK, France, and Germany promised the then Soviet Union that NATO would **NOT** be expanded east of Germany and now we see above, straight from the horses mouth, that the very Chief of NATO back in 2008 agreed to admit Ukraine. He knew they were not supposed to do that, but they did it anyway.

The US, UK, France and Germany explicitly promised not to do that, and NATO went ahead and did it anyway starting in 2008.

That leads us to who was in charge back in 2008. In the US, George W. Bush (the son) was President.

Michael Hayden, a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Robert Gates, an American intelligence analyst and university president served as the twenty-second United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011.

Those are the men who needed to green-light such a move by NATO and, clearly, from Rasumussen’s admission in the video above, they must have actually done so.

Here we are, 15 or so years later, we are all on the verge of Nuclear World War 3 because of the decisions these men took in 2008.

Now, on several of my radio shows, I have wondered aloud if the people in our government are psychopaths based on the things they are doing which ARE leading us all into another World War?

The video above gives all of us a look into whether or not they actually ARE psychopaths.

When the Interviewer in the video above, asks Rasmussen “What will the Russians think about that (Giving security guarantees to Ukraine before it is admitted to NATO) Rasmussen replies “I don’t care.”

. . . and there . . . . right there . . . you now see the answer to whether or not these people are psychopaths.

We are facing nuclear World War 3 because of what men like Rasmussen did – and are still doing – and his response to the Interviewer is simply “I don’t care.”

With people like this, doing what’s being done, you and I seem to have no hope at all of avoiding nuclear world war 3.

Prepare as best you can with Emergency Food, Water, Medicine, a generator for electric, fuel for that generator, communications gear (CB/HAM Radio) and get right with God.

This Cat Table Gives Your Feline a Seat in the Table

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0 43

Japanese online retailer Dinos has released a new line of cat furniture and part of their line-up includes this all-natural oak wood table.

With a perch underneath and a hole in the middle, it gives your feline friend a seat, right in the middle of the table. Expertly crafted with high-quality wood, the fashionable table is beautiful both with or without your kitty.

More: Dinos h/t: spoon&tamago

dinos cat table 7
dinos cat table 7

dinos cat table 4
dinos cat table 4

dinos cat table 3
dinos cat table 3

dinos cat table 2
dinos cat table 2

dinos cat table 1
dinos cat table 1

1 45
1 45

The Middle East navy alliance is formed by 8 countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan & India. The job is to protect the waters in the gulf. Instead of asking USA for protection.

Iran navy spokesman said: we cannot find a legal reason to justify foreign (USA) navy to exist in Middle East. (I add) USA has no land, sea or air in Middle East. USA cannot “protect” gulf waters without invitation by ME. Middle East belongs to the peoples in Middle East.

Western media said UAE was not happy that US-led navy did not protect UAE well. Once a UAE oil tanker was said to have been detained, by Iran, western media said.

Then how to explain that UAE joins the Middle East navy alliance where Iran is in it?

The truth: after the Middle East reconciliation, ME countries compared notes. They found Iran did not detain UAE’s oil tanker. Who took UAE’s tanker? USA?

USA is like a gossiper who breaks up the friendship between people.

USA used threats to make others submit to USA.

ME was bullied by UK+USA. ME had no choice before. With the rise of China, & the help of Russia, ME rebels against USA. Simple.

In June 2023, Palestine representative visited China. Hope there is Palestine-Israel reconciliation in future. Israel+USA has turned Gaza into a hell. Violating lots of human rights. It breaks my heart.

US FedGov and NATO HQ Claims Under “Cyber-Attack” – Pro-Ukraine Group Promises to Blow-Up Kerch Strait Bridge within 36 Hours

Several Agencies of the United States Government are saying publicly this hour (3:11 PM EDT) they are under “Cyber Attack.”   NATO Headquarters in Brussels is also claiming to be under “Cyber-Attack” Meanwhile, pro-Ukraine groups are publicly promising to “Blow-Up” the Kerch Strait Bridge to harm Russia.

These are developing stories, check back.

UPDATE 4:04 PM EDT —

I was reminded of an unusual posting on Twitter from the Atlantic Council just ONE WEEK AGO, making clear a “Cyber Attack can trigger Article 5 collective Defense” as seen in the brief video below:

Interesting just one WEEK after the Atlantic Council reminds the world of this fact, lo and behold, there’s a cyber attack against NATO.

Gee, how convenient.

Maybe we should start a countdown or take bets to see how long it may be until they blame . . . . hmmmmmm . . . . who might they want to blame . . . . .

oh yes, RUSSIA!

This is so obvious it’s disgusting.

These people are treating the possibility of World War 3 as if it’s a game.

UPDATE 4:15 PM EDT —

Some people seem to be getting VERY carried away, but I am reporting this to you so you can see what’s already being spoken about on Social Media — it’s NOT good:

THIS IS SO OVER-THE-TOP I CANNOT BELIEVE ANY RATIONAL ENTITY WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY PUBLISHED SUCH A THING.  YET, HERE IT IS.

To be more objective, rational, not all “Americans,” just a small group of them, especially the majority of those so-called “US elites” — including those in the political, military, financial, and media circles.

Not the vast in the trade and business circle — them with wide, deep and interwoven interests with China.

Not the vast in the education circle — basically they prefer more students from China, anyway, they equal to money to certain extent; also, most in the education circle still have some brain.

Not the vast of the ordinary Americans — they either would rather care less about anything China, or they personally have no those distaste towards Chinese government or the Chinese people.

Those Americans who really call the Chinese Communist government evil never really care about the human rights, wellbeings of other people, not even those citizens in their own country.

They only care about their own interests.

So, whoever “threatens” their already-possessed-interests, whoever blocks their way and becomes barriers for them to get more interests, is “evil.”

So, Chinese government has lifted some 800 million Chinese people out of extreme poverty in the past several decades? What’t their business?

But with more than a billion Chinese people uplifting their livelihoods, that means they need to consume more resources on the Earth. That would be “a miserable time” for “Australians and Americans,” as once said by Barack Obama.

Obama praises ‘smart but humble’ Rudd

So, isn’t the Chinese Communist government evil, by improving the over one billion Chinese people’s living standard? For us, it’s the realization of our China Dream, but for them, seems more like a nightmare.

China follows the political system of one-party-rule, with the other eight democratic parties providing consulations to its governance.

— How evil it is!

Because there leaves very very slim to no room for staging color revolutions in the country, especially on the Chinese mainland, where no “opposition party(ies)” for the US to infiltrate, and then to enstigate wide-spread anti-government protests, and hence be used as a weapon to shoot down the ruling administration!

But they never express it this way, they brand China as dictatorship, no election, no democracy! They are more than eager to “liberate” us Chinese people from the “tyranny,” and to force democracy onto us, even facts have spoken so loudly we are living a far better life nowadays without their “democracy.”

China “controls” its mass media, publications and also today’s online platforms.

— How evil it is!

Because there leaves very very slim to no room for the Western Mainstream Media to infiltrate into the mass media outlets, especially the state-owned media outlets here in China, but they still have achieved certain success, with spies infiltrated into even the highest level of state-owned media outlets. But on general, they can not control and manipulate the voices which should represent the Chinese people’s interests, as their louder speakers to demonize China, the Chinese government, the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese leadership as a whole and also as individuals — though they have been doing, are doing, and will continue to do all these outside China.

But anyway, the bulwalks are usually broken from within, no matter how strong they are. Now, with the “controlling” over the voices inside China by the Chinese government, we speak the same language, share the same vision, act in a unified manner, to build our country, our society, a better one, so the bulwark is strong enough as it should be. No possibility of being cracked by them into “a heap of loose sand,” so as to avoid being crushed one by one, with their philosophy of “divide and rule” — whether on regional powers or within a country with different parties/tribes/interest groups, etc.

But they never express it this way, they blame China for cencorship, they instigate that Chinese people are lack of freedom, they call Chinese living in an “Orwellian state”! But they would never shed even a drop of tear for the Chinese people once we live in a “free” world — like the then Russia immediate after the collapse of the Soviet Union, like the miserable Iraqis of today who are impacted by the US invasion, in the name of liberating the Iraqis and bringing democracy to the people there under the “dictator” Saddam Hussein……

China has most of its state assets “gripped” in the hands of the government, with a public system of — medical care, education, infrastructure, etc., or with its massive state-owned enterprises.

— How evil it is!

Because there leaves very very slim to no room for the Western capital to suck the Chinese blood like the leeches, or to even plough through the Chinese economic system and have a full control of the Chinese assets for their own interests, like what they have been parasiting on, exploiting and devouring many economies around the world.

But they never express it this way, they brand Chinese economy as “state-capitalism,” claiming Chinese economy not a free market economy, even though, it is the US who have listed more than one thousand Chinese companies, entities and individuals on its sanction list, while China is opening its arms as wide as it can, and welcoming CEOs and companies across the world to do business in and with China.

There are many other similar logic and similar cases.

In my opinion, whether a government is “evil” or not, we don’t necessarily need to listen to what the outsiders are trumpeting, we can see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears, feel with our own hearts, think with our own minds, experience with our own lives, whether the government has been serving the interests of the majority of its people, whether it has been delivering rather than shouting empty slogans and making empty promises, to its own citizens, as well as to the other peoples around the world.

As for what political system, what economic mode, what developmental road, etc., it takes, are all just tools serving the above goals and purposes.

We are living in a big enough world to accomodate various political systems, different economic modes and practical developmental roads.

And this, I believe, should be one of the key factors of a real democratic world.

Let me preface my answer by first stating that I always leave an appropriate tip whenever I go to a restaurant and have a sit down meal that is served by a waitstaff. In the above case, however, this is going to be an unpopular and controversial answer but I stand by it.

My answer is “Absolutely not.” This is another example of “All participants get a trophy.” They are simply putting your items in a bag, ringing up the order and collecting your money. The same thing that happens in ANY retail store. Do you tip the Walmart cashier or the grocery store cashier? Of course not! This tipping nonsense for retail counter sales has really gone way too far. In fact, many times the “tip” section appears on your receipt is simply that the programmed computer simply does not differentiate as to how the food was purchased!

You have not been seated, no one brings your food to the table, no one cleans up after you. You bought an item at a retail counter and paid for it. If you were eating there and being served at your table (or counter) by a waitstaff it’s a different story.

That being said no one can tell you not to tip if you feel so inclined but do not feel obligated to do so.

Unexplained Mysteries That NEED Some Serious Explaining

More fun!

President of Czech Republic Calls for Russians in Europe to be put in Concentration Camps

President Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic has gone on television and said Russian citizens throughout Europe should be rounded up and put in camps, as was done to the Japanese in the USA during WW2, because their country wages aggressive war!

How NAZI-esque of him!  Just like Hitler did with the Jews!

Here’s the video:

If the little NAZI Gestapo leaders of Europe keep this up, the only thing it’s likely to do is to get their country steam-rolled by the Russian army like Ukraine.   Except most of their countries are far smaller and with smaller military than Ukraine.

What are they going to do, call NATO?   That’s a laugh.  NATO is already running out of artillery shells from supplying Ukraine.

I’ve got to tell you, folks, this is getting scary; the willingness of these Politicians to do whatever it takes to actually START a World War, is terrifying to me.

When this is all over, I suspect the world is going to need Tribunals to put these politicians in front of, for fomenting a Third World War.

If such Tribunals are lawfully constituted and convened, these politicians from NATO countries should be tried, and if found guilty, the Tribunal should order them hung by their necks until they are dead.

De-dollarization: Bangladesh moves to settle $12bn Russian loan in Chinese yuan

Bangladesh has approved a payment of $318 million to a Russian nuclear power developer using the Chinese yuan, according to a Bangladeshi official, offering the latest instance of countries bypassing the U.S. dollar and using the Chinese currency to conduct international payments.

The decision to use the yuan was made at a meeting in the Bangladeshi Finance Ministry’s economic relations division on Thursday, Uttam Kumar Karmaker, who heads the ministry’s European affairs wing, told The Washington Post.

The decision resolves a payments deadlock between Bangladesh and Russia that has lasted for more than a year. The South Asian country has been unable to pay Russia for the power plant using dollars after Russia was banned from accessing the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) international money transfer system last year because of sanctions over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The transaction, a payment for a $12 billion loan Bangladesh obtained from Russia to develop a nuclear power plant in Rooppur, will now be completed instead using yuan via the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), developed by the Chinese in 2015 to combat the dominance of the dollar in international trade.

A representative for Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp., the Russian contractor in charge of building the Rooppur nuclear power plant, confirmed the plan to use yuan for the loan repayment on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The Chinese online news outlet Sina reported Monday that a Bangladeshi official said that paying for the plant in yuan would be the most feasible option.

The majority of cross-border trade is denominated in dollars and flows through the U.S. banking system, which gives the United States the unique ability to impose sanctions on and freeze the assets of rival governments, such as Russia, Iran and Taliban-led Afghanistan. But critics of the sanctions accuse the U.S. government of “weaponizing” the greenback and undermining its global status.

The Bangladesh deal comes after several other countries signaled recently that they would opt for yuan payments to circumvent the need to use dollars. In March, Brazil said it would abandon the dollar for trade with China, a development that Chinese officials and state media celebrated as a step in the world’s gradual “de-dollarization” and the eventual collapse of American hegemony.

Putin: There Will No Longer BE a “Ukraine” – NATO Direct Intervention Will Not Change Outcome

Russian President Vladimir Putin made remarks in a TV interview Wednesday that make clear: There will be no negotiated settlement of Ukraine conflict,  there will no longer BE a Ukraine, NATO intervention cannot change the outcome.

Explaining to a TV interviewer why Russia entered Ukraine, he pointed to Luhansk and Donetsk which were being pounded by Kiev Artillery and Mortar fire because those two Oblasts (states) wanted to secede from Ukraine like Crimea did.  He told the Interviewer “We were forced to try to end the war that the West started in 2014 by force of arms.”

President Putin then went on with remarks that are utterly staggering.  He said:

And Russia will end this war by force of arms, freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine from the United States and Ukrainian Nazis.

There are no other options.

The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West.

The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians and what used to be Ukraine will remain.

Direct intervention by NATO’s European armies will not change the outcome.

But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe.

It looks like the US is ready for that too.”

When Putin said “And Russia will end this war by force of arms . . . freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine . . . there are no other options . . .”  That makes clear there will be no negotiations.  This conflict will end with the complete military defeat of Ukraine.    But within that statement, Putin also mentioned “freeing the entire territory of the FORMER Ukraine . . .”

Whoa.  The “former Ukraine.”   Such words can only mean one thing: There will not BE a Ukraine anymore!

What other meaning can the words “the former Ukraine” mean?

Lest there be any question about there being “no Ukraine” anymore, in his very next sentence, President Putin made that explicitly clear.  He went on to say “The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians, and what USED TO BE UKRAINE will remain”

WHAM!   “. . . and what USED TO BE UKRAINE . . . . ”   There it is again.   No more Ukraine.  It won’t exist anymore!

He then got directly in the face of NATO by saying “The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West.”

Clearly, President Putin is signaling to the West that no matter what weaponry the West sends to Ukraine, Russia will win.  Period. Full stop.  So what does THAT tell you about the weaponry Russia is willing to use?  Most rational people will understand it means whatever weaponry NEEDS to be used, i.e. nuclear.

But President Putin’s next words were most staggering.  He went on to tell the Interviewer “Direct intervention by NATO’s European armies will not change the outcome.”  What does THAT tell you?    It tells most thinking people that Russia already KNOWS that NATO is going to intervene directly and that Russia is already prepared for such an eventuality.   Folks, this means we’re going to actual World War 3!

President Putin made that explicitly clear when he also immediately added ” But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe.”   

There it is.  Plain as day.  “The fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe.”   World war.   

Now, you’re probably wondering to yourself, “Why am I not hearing about this from the Mass Media?”   Simple: The mass media doesn’t WANT you to know.  They want you blissful and ignorant.  So when all  this DOES happen, you’ll be frightened and looking (to them) for answers.

And what will they tell you?   Whatever propaganda the people who started this want told.

The folks in our U.S. Government are literally starting World War 3, it will likely go nuclear, and they want YOU kept fat, dumb, and happy.

Are you going to accommodate them, or are you going to step up and raise hell to maybe try to avoid what’s coming?

Whatever you choose, bear this in mind:  Yesterday, the Ukraine legislature approved Child Military Training camps.  Among the instructors are already experienced 16-year-olds who train 12-year-old recruits to fight.

Ukraine is now drafting and training 12 year old boys to fight for them.

What kind of monsters are these Ukrainian government people?   Maybe it is better if Ukraine does NOT exist anymore.

If you are talking about the type of Chinese restaurants that cater primarily to the Chinese…

You need to bring a Chinese friend with you.

Often times, specials will be hand-written on a piece of paper and taped to the wall. The problem (for non-Chinese-speaking patrons) is that it is written in only Chinese.

I find that the more authentic Chinese restaurants make little effort to cater to their English-only speaking patrons. Why? Maybe that sector represents an insignificant part of their business. Maybe they are not proficient in translating and writing the English equivalent. It’s hard to say, for sure.

I’ll ask my girlfriend, “Hey, what does that sign say?”

Her: “Lobster Special: $9.99/lb.”
Me: “Hmmm. I don’t see that anywhere on the menu. Is it only available to Chinese?”
Her: “No comment.”

Lots of reasons for it.

I would like to share one of my perspectives, in a very simple way.

Previously, most people believed the US is the heaven on the Earth.

Everything related with the US was glorified.

Until former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”

People became sceptical, but still thought highly of the US, anyway, he talked just about intelligence, which is, somehow far away from our daily life, especially from our money bags.

But, with the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the second strongest military force with the most nuclear warheads in our world, also an ecomomic power (entered the top ten economies in the world for GDP in 2022 according to IMF, despite the war), its national assets, frozen or even threatened to be confiscated by US, as well as some of its allies; Russian citizens’ (mainly tycoons’) properties, frozen or even threatened to be confiscated, some actually being stolen; and Russia was kicked out of the SWIFT; Russia is now on the top of list with the most sanctioned entities, individuals in our human history, none of them can actually have any deal with US dollars.

Since now the US can “steal” money from Russia, actually, earlier, Afghanistan, and ongoing from Syria (oil and wheat, etc.)……who can guarantee it would not be the next one to be stolen?

And the best way to avoid such possibility is to turn away from US dollar, to reduce both the reliance and the holding rate of the US dollar. The less one has, the less could be “stolen” even if the day came.

US Dollar is a weapon, but double-edged, while it indeed hurt others, it can not spare the US itself as well.

There is an internet slang here in China, 不作死就不会死 (No Zuo, No Die), meaning, “You won’t die if you do not seek death. / You will not get into trouble if you do not seek trouble.”

A sinking Titanic is then its doomed fate.

Sincerely wish the US would learn from this lesson, and take a second and even a third thought before taking any actions against other countries now.

ALL would be boomeranged, just sooner or later.

Exactly the same dishes.
Exactly the same menu.
Exactly the same cooks.
Exactly the same waiting staff.
Exactly the same chairs.
Exactly the same tables.
Exactly the same decor.
Exactly the same tea pots and tea cups too.
Exactly the same kid at the cash register who helps out his parents during the busy periods, and who, during the lulls, sits at exactly the same empty table doing exactly the same school homework.

So far, scientists have been unable to figure out how Chinese restaurants manage this incredible feat.
Some have posited that they all exist in a bubble universe, frozen at the same chronological point.

Explosion in Odessa so powerful, Registered as Earthquake

Last night before Midnight eastern US time, an explosion took place in Odessa, Ukraine which was so large, it registered on earthquake seismographs in places as far away as Armenia!

Here is a seismograph image from a station in Kiev:

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FyoGm13aQAE e8Y

Whatever exploded took out all webcams and all internet connectivity in Odessa.

Below, another image from another earthquake sensor, this one located in Armenia.  Same Odessa Explosion(s):

FyoaV1SagAA4Tnv
FyoaV1SagAA4Tnv

No, China is not a perfect country. There are no perfect countries. However, after reading so many negative comments about China on Quora and elsewhere, I feel the need to defend it. Most of the people I see criticizing China have never been there and are simply repeating racist, anti-Communist, or xenophobic lies. The truth, as always, is far more complicated and nuanced. I am an American, and I have found that, at least in the US, most people are not interested in the truth. Especially with covid, I am tired of hearing about the “China virus” or the “CCP”. I am sick of trying to discuss the reality of the situation, only to be called a “commie” or told to go back to China.

China is an amazing country. In many areas it puts the US to shame. However, half of America sees it as some comic book villain. I have watched my own country descend into fascism while claiming China is the bad guy. Even worse is the fact that my fellow Americans lap this up. I disagree with many things China does, but their government actually cares about their citizens. I can’t say that about my own government. If we ever get to the point where we can have an intelligent and fair discussion about China, then I can talk about both the negatives and the positives.

Southern Fried Chocolate Pies

southern fried choc pies
southern fried choc pies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/3 cup cold water
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold margarine
  • Vegetable oil*

* Use peanut or safflower oil or solid vegetable shortening for frying.

Instructions

  1. Crust: sift flour and salt together; cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knifes, until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
  2. Add ice water a little at a time while tossing with a fork, until dough holds together. Do not get too moist.
  3. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into circles about five inches in diameter.
  4. Mix cocoa powder with the sugar. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of this mixture onto one half of the circle and place 3 very thin slices of cold margarine on top. Fold opposite side over mixture and seal with a fork dipped in flour.
  5. Pour oil to a depth of about 1/2 inch in a cast iron skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot.
  6. Place pies in a single layer in oil and fry, turning to brown each side.
  7. Serve hot, warm, or cold.

This is just my personal impression. Tastes in food are different for everyone.

American Chinese food has more exaggerated flavors at the expense of subtlety and diversity. There’s a long running joke about American Chinese food that it’s basically “sweet and sour everything”. American Chinese food is so salty (soy sauce) and so sweet to the point that these are the ONLY flavors you taste. There’s no subtlety, no layer of different flavors hitting your taste buds. And everything is over cooked. As a result, no matter what you order, you end up tasting the same mouthful of mushy sweet and salty whatever.

Cantonese food (粤菜) was the first school of cuisine to enter the US with the initial immigrants from south-east coastal regions. The food they brough over was not even the most high end Cantonese food, but rather street peasant food. Hearty, heavy flavored dishes that are filling, easy to prepare, and go well with rice. So for a lot of Americans, Chinese food is Dim Sum, small dishes coming with bamboo steamer containers. And most of them are salty and sweet tasting that, on top of that, you have your over salted fried noodles and fried rice.

And more recently, some more “sophisticated” diners had been introduced Sichuan food, which is super spicy.

Chinese food is so much more beyond Sweet and sour everything, Dim Sim in steamers and Spicy chicken. But Americans wouldn’t have it.

I’ve talked about my story about taking 3 days to make soup for my ex-boyfriend, who had dumped soy sauce in it before he even taste it. (see: Feifei Wang’s answer to What horrifies the Chinese?) At one point, I had the suspicion that American’s taste buds are numbed by all these high flavored food. I mean think about it, all your favorite American foods, fried chicken, pizza, BBQ ribs, Hamburger, Fries… all of them are high sodium, high sugar, high fat, high everything foods. It’s like you started with a 10 and had to bring it to a 15 to be happy.

I had once dined with a Japanese friend, who complained about how Americans add too much wasabi when eating sushi or sashimi. “You’re only supposed to add a little for flavor, it’s never supposed to be burning-your-eyes-out-hot”.

I get the feeling that other kind of food also get the same “bring it up to 20” treatment when they are forced to adapt to US tastes. I went to Italy in 2015, and their pizza tasted very different to American pizza, full of flavor and texture. I went to Cancun in 2016, and the taste was very different to American Mexican food.

I wish American food would have less sodium, sugar and fat, and more subtlety and diversity.

BEEEEEEEF!!!!!

I remember when my mom first taught me this as a kid. She told me that it was an “ancient Chinese secret” of some sort, that involves praying to the beef gods to make it all tender and that if I was good that day, it would be nice and tender when I sat down for dinner.

Little did I know that in order to turn the cheapest cuts of beef into this…

main qimg c80e840ff8cab91f9d43935e4c3fff88 lq
main qimg c80e840ff8cab91f9d43935e4c3fff88 lq

that it took this…

main qimg e91a0f8f95b07b631fadc3a4467ce2d0 lq
main qimg e91a0f8f95b07b631fadc3a4467ce2d0 lq

Corn Starch.

When the corn starch, ideally with a bit of soy or something along those lines, is mixed and coated over properly cut beef (I like to use flank steak personally), it breaks down the protein and makes it very tender and easy to cook.

You must have heard the term, “cut against the grain.” That’s the first important tip. When you’re cutting up the meat, take a look at how you’re cutting.

main qimg d409758fabdc87344fdd87a6295ac39b lq
main qimg d409758fabdc87344fdd87a6295ac39b lq

See how it’s done? When you do cut it properly, the meat is much more tender already as it’s not structurally reinforcing its own integrity. Here’s a cross section of what it should look like when cut right.

main qimg ded899c2be9d366de0983d8189d3bc4f lq
main qimg ded899c2be9d366de0983d8189d3bc4f lq

So when that’s done, just get a decent sized bowl, and mix a little soy sauce with the corn starch. Something like this…

main qimg d21537233d82005c01ed3f3f1fb598a1 lq
main qimg d21537233d82005c01ed3f3f1fb598a1 lq

Mix it up, and this a good time to get down and dirty. I see so many videos and tutorials that say use a spoon or whatever. Honestly, just wash your hands well, and mix it by hand. You’ll be able to get the feeling if the meat is thoroughly covered easily and it should feel a bit slimy to the touch.

Give it then a couple of minutes to let it break down the meat. Some cooks like to put it in the fridge for an hour, but I find that 10–15 minutes is also pretty good in a jiffy, especially if the meat was sliced thin.

After that, the meat is ready for the stir-fry, and you’re ready to start cooking!

Oh, and before I forget, this works well with even the cheapest pieces of meat. No need for using pricey rib or porterhouse steaks and prime rib. Flank steak will do quite nicely.

  • This does wonders for chicken breast and thinly sliced pork loin as well.
  • Several commentators have told me that what I called “mom’s ancient Chinese secret” is a method called “Velveting”. Thanks to all who told me about the right term!
  • Baking soda works, and thanks to all who have mentioned it. The only reason why I don’t use it and don’t talk about it is that if it’s not rinsed off properly, you get an incredibly unpleasant chemical taste.
  • For every single person that’s said “corn starch” doesn’t work, then it’s probably the combination of the starch, soy and the cut all in one, especially the soy with the high salt content and the cut, which I cover. For heaven’s sake, stop griping about it and actually TRY THIS METHOD. It actually WORKS.

Blinken’s imaginary journeys – here’s what should happen

LOL. A most entertaining event when you expose their silly games.

American society is now fully 100% collapsed. The government still functions at a trivial level, and the people are ignorant of this reality.

Today the theme is pop music from Cambodia.

When I was a boy, perhaps in third grade, my father bought me a cub-scout pocket knife. It was blue and had three blades. I carried it everywhere. It has one big blade that I used to cut branches off of Birch Trees and then suck on the root-beer tasting stems while we hiked in the PA woods. The smaller knife was difficult to get out, and I only used it a couple of times, but the third knife was a can opener, and we used to use it to open up a lid on a can of beans that we would cook over a campfire in the woods.

knife
knife

Summer is here. I hope that you too are reliving various aspects of your childhood in the fine and fresh seasonal air.

Here’s today’s installment…

Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Wednesday, 14 June 2023.

  1. FIRST UP: China pressures Taiwan to lift exchange restrictions
  • People’s Republic of China officials are pressuring Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to lift restrictions on student exchanges and cooperation with mainland China.
  • The PRC wants to send 50 students to Taiwan to “enhance mutual understanding, deepen their friendship, and make joint efforts to promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.”

Why It Matters: China prefers reunification with Taiwan through Kuomintang (KMT) political success, not military operations. KMT officials have visited mainland China for talks, and remain Taiwan’s pro-reunification political party ahead of next year’s presidential elections. A student exchange is almost certainly aimed at developing pro-reunification sentiment among Taiwan’s youth population, and would likely further enable unconventional warfare operations against Taiwan.


  1. DEDOLLARIZATION: Egypt exits dollar in BRICS trade
  • Egyptian officials announced they’re moving away from the dollar in trade with BRICS countries, and instead will use the local currencies of major trade partners.

Why It Matters: Egypt’s decision to de-dollarize with BRICS is likely a precondition for their joining BRICS+, as India and China have imposed other pre-conditions on prospective members.


  1. DEFENSE HANDBOOK: Taiwanese MoD publishes civilian war-time guide
  • Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense published an updated guide for civilians covering topics such as how to respond to foreign attacks, where to find bomb shelters, and how to distinguish between Taiwanese and Chinese soldiers.
  • The update to last year’s 14-page guide says that Chinese soldiers are likely to be wearing their PLA uniforms, while China’s unconventional forces would be wearing other clothing during infiltration into Taiwan.

Why It Matters: Civilian war-time guides are a common practice, including Cold War-era civil defense guides for Americans. Baltic nations have also published similar guides detailing how to conduct guerrilla warfare and stay-behind operations in the event of a Russian invasion.


  1. MIDDLE EAST: China strikes strategic cooperation deal with Palestinian Authority
  • Chinese officials announced a “strategic partnership” deal with the Palestinian Authority, although neither side released the details of what that entails.

Why It Matters: China has replaced the United States as the region’s top security partner, largely due to U.S. inaction on numerous fronts. Additionally, Chinese officials have proposed peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. This strategic partnership could put China in a position to solve the decades-long conflict, following success in negotiating peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia. 


  1. MEDVEDEV: Russia has no reason not to cut undersea cables
  • Russian National Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev accused the West of complicity in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, adding that Russia now has “no constraints” on destroying undersea communication cables between the United States and Europe.

Why It Matters: Medvedev continues a long series of incendiary and outlandish comments. Some of his recent outbursts, however, are likely within his authority, which makes this implied threat notable. There are two worst case scenarios here: First, Russia is well within its capabilities to cut these vital undersea cables, which would disrupt global communications and international financial transactions. And second, the U.S. or NATO could target Russian ships suspected of plotting sabotage, causing a new front in the very messy war of narrative and escalating conflict outside of Ukraine.


THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.

Southern Shrimp Scampi

shrimp scampi
shrimp scampi

Ingredients

  • 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, (16/20 or 21/25 count), peeled and deveined
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, toss garlic, salt and pepper with the shrimp, which may be refrigerated, well covered, for several hours at this point.
  2. When ready to cook, heat oil in a large sauté pan over high heat until it shimmers, then add shrimp and move shrimp around in the pan for about 2 minutes, or until the color just begins to turn from translucent.
  3. Remove shrimp, reduce heat to medium-high and add wine, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes to reduce, then add butter and swirl the pan to melt it.
  4. Put shrimp back into pan, stir about a minute to finishing cooking and add lemon juice.
  5. Remove to serving dish, sprinkle with parsley and red pepper flakes, adding more pepper if desired.
  6. Serve over rice or pasta or as is.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

shrimp 2
shrimp 2

This happened a long time ago at the AF Academy in Colo. Springs, Colo. The architecture of the Academy was very modern for its time with tall buildings and all glass walls. Some of the class rooms had 18–20′ ceilings and floor to ceiling windows facing East . This design tended to make the class rooms very bright from the early morning sunlight so it was not uncommon for the students to wear sunglasses in the classes.

2023 06 14 18 232023 06 14 18 23

 

A very important mid-term exam in engineering was given in one of these classrooms. The professor was not particularly looking for cheaters as much as just curious of how the students were doing on the test. He walked among the desks during the test.

As he walked, he noticed a lot of students were frequently turning and looking out the windows and then returning to the test. Almost every student in the classroom had on sunglasses. The professor also noticed that almost all the sunglasses were the same brand and style. That was very odd so he began trying to see if this was some kind of cheating.

After studying the students and the room carefully, he could see no outward sign of cheating so he concluded that there was something about those sunglasses. I speculated that they may have cheating information written on the lenses but decided these was unlikely since there simply was not enough room on the small lens of the sunglasses to get more than a few words or numbers plus he could look at the glasses and could not see anything unusual about them.

As the test went on, he finally decided to look at the glasses anyway just to confirm they had no writing on them. He went to one of the students and asked to see his sunglasses. The student was reluctant but obeyed the order. The professor held the glasses and examined them for writing on the frame or lens. There was none. Just before he gave them back to the student, he was curious how well they worked against the bright morning sun coming thru the large wall of windows. He put them on.

When he did, he say large letters and numbers in bold black print written on all of the windows. The writing were all the formulas and data related to the test. When he pulled the glasses off and looked at the windows, there was no visible writing.

The professor stopped the test and dismissed the class. A subsequent investigation discovered that three of the AF Cadets has used an alcohol and salt based liquid poured into a magic marker style pen to write on the windows. The liquid crystallized in such a way as to form a polarizing effect when the liquid dried. The sunglasses worn by the students all had polarized lenses. When viewed thru the sunglasses, the writing appeared. Without the polarized glasses, the windows just looked a little extra sparkly. It wasn’t perfect but it was readable. The windows were effectively a 40 foot by 15 foot cheat sheet.

The three Cadets were discovered. They had sold the glasses to their class mates for $30 each.

SK – រក្សាគម្លាត (Official MV)

Saudi Arabia seeks cooperation with China, ‘ignores’ Western worries — Reuters

Saudi Arabia wants to collaborate, not compete, with China, the kingdom’s energy minister declared on Sunday, saying he “ignored” Western suspicions over their growing ties.

As the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia’s bilateral relationship with the world’s biggest energy consumer is anchored by hydrocarbon ties. But cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing has also deepened in security and sensitive tech amid a warming of political ties – to the concern of the U.S.

Asked about criticism of the bilateral relationship during an Arab-China business conference, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said: “I actually ignore it because … as a business person .. now you will go where opportunity comes your way.”

“We don’t have to be facing any choice which has to do with (saying) either with us or with the others.”

Chinese entrepreneurs and investors have flocked to Riyadh for the conference, which came days after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

OIL DEALS

In March, state oil giant Saudi Aramco announced two major deals to raise its multi-billion dollar investment in China and bolster its rank as China’s top provider of crude.

They were the biggest announced since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December where he called for oil trade in yuan, a move that would weaken the dollar’s dominance.

“Oil demand in China is still growing so of course we have to capture some of that demand,” Prince Abdulaziz said.

“Instead of competing with China, collaborate with China.”

The two nations’ momentum has also raised prospects for a successful conclusion to negotiations for a free trade deal between China and the Saudi Arabia-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), ongoing since 2004.

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said any agreement would have to protect emerging Gulf industries as the region starts to diversify towards non-oil economic sectors.

“We need to enable and empower our industries to export, so we hope all countries that negotiate with us for free trade deals know we need to protect our new, emerging industries,” Falih said, adding he hoped a deal would soon be struck.

I was in a nice hotel in Japan. I got in the elevator with a young Japanese woman. When the door opened, I waited for her to exit. She did not move.

I gestured for her to go. To my surprise, in perfect English she said

“In Japan, the man always goes first.”

I saw this custom in action, as groups of Japanese were men first and women following behind.

គឺអូន | Sai ft. Tendo & Kamonrath | PlengxYellowLight

By Pe.pe Esco.bar

June 10, 2023

The Hybrid War 2.0 against the Global South has not even started. Swing states, you have all been warned.

U.S. Think Tank Land hacks are not exactly familiar with Montaigne: “On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.”

Hubris leads these specimens to presume their flaccid bottoms are placed high above anyone else’s. The result is that a trademark mix of arrogance and ignorance always ends up unmasking the predictability of their forecasts.

U.S. Think Tank Land – inebriated by their self-created aura of power – always telegraphs in advance what they’re up to. That was the case with Project 9/11 (“We need a new Pearl Harbor”). That was the case with the RAND report on over-extending and unbalancing Russia. And now that’s the case with the incoming American War on BRICS as outlined by the chairman of the New York-based Eurasia Group.

It’s always painful to suffer through the intellectually shallow Think Thank Land wet dreams masquerading as “analyses” but in this particular case key Global South players need to be firmly aware of what awaits them.

Predictably, the whole “analysis” revolves around the imminent, devastating humiliation to the Hegemon and its vassals: what happens next in country 404, also known – for now – as Ukraine.

Brazil, India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are dismissed as “four major fence-sitters” when it comes to the U.S./NATO proxy war against Russia. It’s the same old “you’re with us or against us” trope.

But then we are presented with the six major Global South culprits: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.

In yet another crude, parochial remix of a catch phrase referring to the American elections, these are qualified as the key swing states the Hegemon will need to seduce, cajole, intimidate and threaten to assure its dominance of the “rules-based international order”.

Saudi Arabia and South Africa are added to a previous report focused on the “four major fence sitters”.

The swing state manifesto notes that all of them are G-20 members and “active in both geopolitics and geoeconomics” (Oh really? Now that’s some breaking news). What it does not say is that three of them are BRICS members (Brazil, India, South Africa) and the other three are serious candidates to join BRICS+: deliberations will be turbo-charged in the upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa in August.

So it’s clear what the swing state manifesto is all about: a call to arms for the American war against the BRICS.

So BRICS packs no punch.

The swing state manifesto harbors wet dreams of near-shoring and friend-shoring moving away from China. Nonsense: enhanced intra-BRICS+ trade will be the order of the day from now on, especially with the expanded practice of trade in national currencies (see Brazil-China or within ASEAN), the first step towards widespread de-dollarization.

The swing states are characterized as “not a new incarnation” of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), or “other groupings dominated by the Global South, such as the G-77 and BRICS.”

Talk about exponential nonsense.

This is all about BRICS+ – which now has the tools (including the NDB, the BRICS bank) to do what NAM could never accomplish during the Cold War: establish the framework of a new system bypassing Bretton Woods and the interlocking coercion mechanisms of the Hegemon.

As for stating that BRICS has not “packed much punch” that only reveals U.S. Think Tank Land’s cosmic ignorance of what BRICS + is all about.

The position of India is only considered in terms of being a Quad member – defined as a “U.S.-led effort to balance China”. Correction: contain China.

As for the “choice” of swing states of choosing between the U.S. and China on semiconductors, AI, quantum technology, 5G and biotechnology, that’s not about “choice”, but to what level they are able to sustain Hegemon pressure to demonize Chinese technology.

Pressure on Brazil, for instance, is much heavier than on Saudi Arabia or Indonesia.

In the end though, it all comes back to the Straussian neocon obsession: Ukraine. The swing states, in varying degrees, are guilty of opposing and/or undermining the sanctions dementia. Turkey, for instance, is accused of channeling “dual-use” items to Russia. Not a word on the U.S. financial system viciously forcing Turkish banks to stop accepting Russian MIR payment cards.

On the wishful thinking front, this pearl stands out among many: “The Kremlin seems to believe it can make a living by turning its trade south and east.”

Well, Russia is already making excellent living all across Eurasia and a vast expanse of the Global South.

The economy has re-started (drivers are domestic tourism, machine building and the metals industry); inflation is at only 2.5% (lower than anywhere in the EU); unemployment is at only 3.5%; and head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said that by 2024 growth will be back to pre-SMO levels.

U.S. Think Tankland is congenitally incapable of understanding that even if BRICS+ nations may still have some serious trade credit issues to iron out, Moscow has already shown how even an implied hard backing of a currency can turn out to be an instant game changer. Russia is at the same time backing not only the ruble but also the yuan.

Meanwhile, the Global South de-dollarization caravan moves on relentlessly – as much as the proxy war hyenas may keep howling in the dark. When the full – staggering – scale of NATO’s humiliation in Ukraine unfolds, arguably by mid-summer, the de-dollarization high-speed train will be fully booked, non-stop.

“Offer you can’t refuse” rides again

If all of the above was not already silly enough, the swing state manifesto doubles down on the nuclear front, accusing them of “future (nuclear) proliferation risks”: especially – who else – Iran.

By the way, Russia is defined as a “middle power, but one in decline”. And “hyper-revisionist” to boot. Oh dear: with “experts” like this, the Americans don’t even need enemies.

And yes, by now you may be excused to roar with laughter: China is accused of attempting to direct and co-opt BRICS. The “suggestion” – or “offer you can’t refuse”, Mafia-style – to the swing states is that you cannot join a “Chinese-directed, Russian-assisted body actively opposing the United States.”

The message is unmistakable: “The threat of a Sino-Russian co-optation of an expanded BRICS—and through it, of the global south—is real, and it needs to be addressed.”

And here are the recipes to address it. Invite most swing states to the G-7 (that was a miserable failure). “More high-level visits by key U.S. diplomats” (welcome to cookie distributor Vicky Nuland). And last but not least, Mafia tactics, as in a “nimbler trade strategy that begins to crack the nut of access to the U.S. market.”

The swing state manifesto could not but let the Top Cat out of the bag, predicting, rather praying that “U.S.-China tensions rise dramatically and turn into a Cold War-style confrontation.” That’s already happening – unleashed by the Hegemon.

So what would be the follow-up? The much sought after and spun-to-death “decoupling”, forcing the swing states to “align more closely with one side or the other”. It’s “you’re with us or against us” all over again.

So there you go.

Raw, in the flesh – with inbuilt veiled threats. The Hybrid War 2.0 against the Global South has not even started. Swing states, you have all been warned.

Glomyy – ស្នេហ៍និងទំនួល Love and Responsible ft. Tendo (Official MV)

I was in the left lane, heading to an appointment, and was torn. I decided I would go back southbound and risk a ticket by going to the turnout. I turned in and the trooper was still there! Yay! He rolled down his window and said “yep! I’m here” to which i told him about the dog and I didn’t want a ticket, but if I could help that dog, it was fine by me. He just asked where the dog was and was on his way! I followed and we found her, still there, panting like she was fixing to die. That trooper dumped his jug out and fashioned a water bowl for her. Then poured a couple bottles of water. The dog was scared of him, but frozen in weakness. She sniffed the water, then realized this kindness was for her! She drank that water down in minutes! The trooper went and got her some more, plus a Little Debbie. She watched him warily the whole time. She sniffed his hand but was still wary. Next thing, he goes to his vehicle and gets a chair and an umbrella. He told me he will stay here until she trusts him, so he can get her to a shelter, or take her home. I believe his being there at the right time, was one of those little messages reminding us of the good in our world. Meet Trooper Tudors of the TN State Highway Patrol. One of the good guys for sure.”

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Tena – Feel Good ft Tendo

State TV: United States is in Moscow’s Nuclear Crosshairs

A Russian state TV host has warned that if the Ukraine war escalates to a “nuclear phase,” the Kremlin will strike the U.S. with nuclear weapons as it is “in the crosshairs.”

Russian political commentator and president of Russia’s Institute of the Middle East Yevgeny Satanovsky made the warning in a clip that has now gone viral:

This comes on the heels of a very high ranking Russian elected official, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (Senate) who said “the likelihood of nuclear weapons being used, was growing by the day.”

“In my opinion, concerns about climate change is nothing compared to the prospect of being at the epicenter of an explosion with a temperature of 5,000 Kelvin (scale), a shock wave of 350 meters per second and a pressure of 3,000 kilograms per square meter, with penetrating radiation, that is, ionizing radiation and an electromagnetic pulse,” he said at an educational event in late April, according to Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

“Is there such a prospect today? (Unfortunately), yes. And it is growing every day for well-known reasons,” he said.

Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings

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From bestselling author and founder of popular satire blog TheCooperReview.com comes this all-new daily calendar with a year’s worth of tips for succeeding fabulously at work with minimal effort.

You’ll learn familiar corporate strategies for appearing engaged while zoning out, using meaningless buzzwords in the right context, creating impressive presentations of no value to anyone, and much, much more. Each daily page includes a valuable tip for fooling coworkers into thinking that you’re shrewd, engaged, and trying. With this perfect calendar for every office desktop, you’ll laugh each day at the fresh tricks and sly satire on corporate conventions.

Scroll down to see some of the examples from previous years.

More: The Cooper Review, Shop

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Chinese Orange Chicken

Chinese Orange Chicken made with crispy fried chicken covered in an authentic orange sauce. The ultimate Chinese Orange Chicken Recipe which is way better than take-out. 

My kids are always begging me to take them to grab Chinese food.  They are obsessed with orange chicken but I am never really sure what’s in it….especially if they get it from a drive-thru. I wanted to create a version at home, made from scratch, with all-natural ingredients. It still has the same incredible flavor they love. It’s definitely a win-win in our home.

It is wintertime in Arizona which means that the citrus is ripe for the picking. I am surrounded by neighbors who have a plethora of fresh oranges and lemons hanging from their trees. This is the perfect time of year to whip up orange and lemon dishes especially this Chinese Orange Chicken.

Chinese Orange Chicken 2
Chinese Orange Chicken 2

This Chinese Orange Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The orange sauce is divine! It is a sweet orange sauce made with orange juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red chili flakes, and orange zest. It is both sweet and spicy and full of flavor.

Chinese Orange Chicken 1 crop
Chinese Orange Chicken 1 crop

How to make Chinese Orange Chicken at home:

  1.  Start with boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs.  Cut into bite-size pieces.  Dredge the chicken in whisked eggs and cornstarch/flour mixture until nice and coated. Get these chicken pieces ready for the oil.
  2. To make your homemade orange sauce, place orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and red chili flakes in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch and water and cook until thickened. Stir in orange zest.
  3. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When frying foods, it is so helpful to use a thermometer. Let the oil heat up to 350 degrees.  Once the oil is ready, in batches, cook chicken for about 2 minutes until light golden brown.  Repeat with remaining chicken.
  4. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
  5. Toss fried chicken with the sweet orange sauce.  Top with grated orange zest and green onions. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces
  • 3 Eggs whisked
  • cup Cornstarch
  • cup Flour
  • Salt
  • Oil for frying

Orange Chicken Sauce:

  • 1 cup Orange Juice
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce use tamari for a gluten-free dish
  • ¼ teaspoon Ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder or 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • ½ teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
  • Orange Zest from 1 orange
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch

Garnish:

  • Green Onions
  • Orange Zest

Chinese Orange Chicken 5 crop
Chinese Orange Chicken 5 crop

Instructions

  • To make orange sauce:
  • In a medium pot, add orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, whisk 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water to form a paste. Add to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add orange zest.
  • To make chicken:
  • Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a generous pinch of salt. Stir.
  • Whisk eggs in shallow dish.
  • Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on plate.
  • Heat 2 -3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 degrees.
  • Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.
  • Toss chicken with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with a sprinkling of green onion and orange zest, if so desired.

The Chinese Power: 👲🏻 Why They Are Different from Us – Douglas Macgregor

https://youtu.be/MIlzm4Qix6k

Not really, believe it or not, the famous chef entered a London prison to conduct a cooking workshop for inmates for 6 months.

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The UK has a prison population of over 85,000 inmates. Each one costs the state $58,000 a year, and faced with such a situation, Gordon Ramsay decided to do something out of the ordinary, teach prisoners their trade so they can get busy.

To accomplish this, Ramsay dedicated six months of his time to London’s Brixton prison, undertaking the ambitious task of transforming a group of inmates into skilled cooks. The ultimate goal was to enable these prisoners to market their culinary creations internationally through a catering company. By doing so, the prisoners not only earned income for themselves but also made a valuable contribution to the state. It was a venture aimed at providing inmates with opportunities for skill development, financial independence, and a chance to reintegrate into society.

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Born and raised in the United States, my first time to China was in 2016, shortly after I graduated from high school. Since I had studied Chinese for four years and high school, as a gift for graduating my dad decided to take me on a two-week tour of China. To say that this trip was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my lifetime would not be an exaggeration. There were five things that were surprising to me when I visited China and that were entirely different than what the Western media had taught me:

  1. China is a beautiful place. Growing up in the U.S., pretty much all you hear about China is how “ugly” it is. Before I went, I expected the skies everywhere to be dark and clouded, and the air to be difficult to breathe due to all the media coverage that the pollution in China receives. However, when I actually got to China, I was shocked at how beautiful it was. The skies were blue, the cities were clean, and the pollution seemed just as bad as in any other big city that I had visited in the U.S. Not only that, but there were some landscapes in China that were just absolutely stunning. I particularly remember being blown away by the beauty of the countryside views in Guilin, and the massive rock formations on the Guangxi River.
  2. Chinese people are very friendly. In the U.S., it is a common assumption that Chinese people are quite rude. My trip to China proved this assumption to be completely wrong. Every Chinese person that I met was extremely friendly, and they were always excited to approach us either to talk or to get their picture taken with us. It was like being a celebrity! Not only that, but everyone was always willing to try and speak English with us, and were very kind when I attempted to converse with them in Chinese. In my honest opinion, many of the people I met in China were friendlier than many people back home. One person that stands out to me in particular was our rickshaw driver in Beijing. Even though he didn’t speak much English, he still tried to point out all of the sights of Beijing to us the best he could, and even though he had a hard job he always had a big smile on his face.
  3. Authentic Chinese food is good. Back in the United States, it is commonly believed that the food eaten in China is weird, abnormal, and unappetizing. However, all of the food that I ate in China was delicious (my favorite food being from Chengdu), and I actually preferred it to the Chinese food that you can find in America. Yes, there are several cultural differences in the type of food that we eat, but that doesn’t mean that it is bad! While I did see some foods that surprised me, including ants and rats, this was mostly out in the countryside. To any foreigner traveling to China, I would recommend trying as many foods as possible, even if they are a bit out of your comfort zone like they were for me. It’s worth it!
  4. There are people in China who are very rich. Most of what Americans hear about the Chinese is the extreme poverty that they experience. While it is true that we did see many poorer families while on our trip, we also saw a very luxurious side of China that I didn’t even know existed. The area that appeared to be the wealthiest was definitely Shanghai. There were luxury stores (i.e., Gucci. Tiffany’s, Prada, etc.) all over the city, and there were always Chinese people shopping at these stores. Not only that, but there were also always very expensive cars driving around the streets of Shanghai. It was a side of China that I never even heard about back home, and it was great to be able to see how prosperous China has become.
  5. Chinese people love their country. In the United States, it is a common thought that many Chinese people must feel oppressed by their government due to their country not being a democracy. However, while I was in China I saw nothing but pride and love for their country. Through many conversations with Chinese people, it was clear to me that they loved being from China. They had a lot of respect for their history, their culture, and for their government. In fact, it seemed to me that Chinese people had much less negative things to say about their country than many Americans do. This just goes to show that just because you don’t agree with a certain method of government doesn’t mean that the people living in that country have to share the same views as you.

UFO whistleblowers drop BOMBSHELL on D.C. | Redacted with Natali and Clayton Morris

Physics, all top five institutions are Chinese. MIT at number six.

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2023 06 14 17 37

Chemistry, all top ten institutions are Chinese:

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2023 06 14 17 39

WARRIORS | BALY FT .TOM | REAM PRODUCTION

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Orzo made with sauteed chicken, fresh broccoli, orzo pasta in a cheesy sauce. This easy Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo Skillet 30-minute meal is creamy and delicious!

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo 7 crop
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo 7 crop

Chicken Broccoli Rice Skillet and use orzo in place of rice and everyone goes crazy for this recipe!

Ingredients overview:

This creamy chicken broccoli orzo skillet is super easy to make and uses only fresh ingredients.

Chicken Breast — cut and trim chicken breast into bite-size pieces

Oil — this is to saute the chicken to keep it moist and from sticking to the pan

Salt and Pepper — generously season the chicken breast with salt and pepper

Butter — saute onion and garlic in butter to soften and infuse flavor

Onion — use sweet yellow onion or red onion and saute until tender

Garlic — use minced garlic cloves

Broccoli — cut into small bite-size pieces and saute for several minutes

Orzo Pasta — this is a popular dried pasta that looks similar to rice

Chicken Broth — cook the orzo in chicken broth to infuse it with flavor

Cheese — use a mix of cheddar and parmesan cheese for the best flavor

Fresh Lemon — to add some brightness to the dish, squeeze in some fresh lemon juice

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Oil
  • 1 lb Chicken Breast (cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • ½ Onion (finely diced)
  • 4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
  • 1 ½ cups Broccoli (cut into small pieces)
  • 1 cup Orzo Pasta
  • 3 cups Chicken Broth
  • 1 ½ cups Cheese (½ cup of parmesan, 1 cup of cheddar)
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
  • Fresh Herbs (basil, oregano, or parsley)

 

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo 10
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo 10

How to make Creamy Chicken Broccoli Orzo:

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, for about 3 minutes per side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once the chicken is no longer pink, remove it from the skillet and place the chicken plus the juices on a plate. Cover.
  2. Add the butter, onion, and broccoli to the skillet and cook until softened about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the orzo pasta and toss to coat. Stir in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until the orzo is tender, about 10-11 minutes.
  3. Stir in cheese and stir to melt. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the skillet and stir.
  4. Top with fresh herbs, if desired, and freshly grated parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

WHAT TYPE OF CHEESE SHOULD I USE IN CHEESY CHICKEN ORZO?

I suggest using a strong cheese like parmesan for its robust and nutty flavor which is so perfect with this chicken and orzo skillet. I prefer to use two types of cheese in this cheesy chicken and orzo and the other cheese of choice would be medium cheddar or Colby jack cheese. You can use any type of cheddar cheese or cheddar combination.

The United States is as ready as it ever will be.

It has an enormous military budget, and bases everywhere. It’s got top of the line fighters, vessels and state-of-the-art equipment. In fact, if anything, I think that it is “over kill”. But that’s just my personal opinion.

The United States military is world-class in force projection, and they will glad-fully take the war to the shores of China and beyond. With the handful of proxy nations acting as “cannon fodder”, the United States would just sit back and watch the Australians and Japanese die in droves. Let them all be barbecued alive. As long as not one American is harmed.

So the United States force doctrine is one where the disposable peoples of Australia, Korea and Japan (with the Philippines) would be sacrificed first.

There is no question that the United States would choose Sydney, and Perth to become major battlefields. And with the rubbleing of Osaka, Tokyo, and Manila, the American military would wait out the carnage comfortably from afar in safe bunkers, Ukraine style.

Eventually, the Chinese force would peter out to an “approachable” level.

At that moment, the United States would pounce for a double “one two” blow that would destroy Chinese cities, and an invasion force in strength would seize the nation. Oh, the fighting might take a decade, but eventually the United States would win, and China would be partitioned into pre-determined bite-sized chunks for organized looting and seizure.

(Some interesting articles on this particular subject. It’s already been divided up! Though, I would advise “don’t count your chickens until the eggs hatch”.)

Anyways, there one teeny-tiny issue.

The only issue is would China really use it’s mass-casualty weapons. That’s of course, the Dong Feng, and the other novel and unique enhanced radiation and wave technologies. You know those massive enhanced radiation city-busters. Those hyper-velocity AI controlled stealth delivery systems, and the invisibility cloaking technologies.

But I am told it doesn’t matter.

As many in the “West” are very confident that “China would never…”.

So, if you (the reader) are part of this clutch, then by all means rest assured that the United States can destroy China, and it couldn’t do anything. The logic is simple. Simply because China has invested such a HUGE portion of it’s military to weapons of MASS DESTRUCTION. Leaving only a fraction of it’s military for conventional warfare. If China decides never to use the nuclear systems, then China would be handicapped to reliance on old-fashioned conventional systems.

So the United States would rip China a new behind.

But…

But…

But…

But, were China to be attacked, I am of the belief that China would use every weapon at it’s disposal. I mean, after all, why devote such a large proportion of your defensive equipment to nuclear and novel systems if you have no plans to ever use them? I figure that even if you have a Bentley in your garage, you do go and take it out for a spin from time to time. Even if that is the last thing that you do before you die.

Thus, the first cities to experience nuclear destruction would be American. I recon complete destruction of the top 35 cities.

This would really throw a monkey-wrench into the plans listed above.

The American “leadership” would be pissed and they (well the ones still alive and not wearing diapers) would order a MAD response. And the nukes would start a flying.

Correct me, if you disagree, but when the dust settles, I don’t think the world would be the same. You might think differently, but I think that nothing will ruin your day faster than global thermonuclear war.

Sigh.

So who ever asked this question, please stop asking about the end of the world. It’s not a pretty image. Go play with your army men elsewhere. War is not a game. It’s real, and very horrible. I strongly advise that it be avoided at all costs.

No one is going to win a US-China war.

គេជាមនុស្សបែបណា [ Ke Chea Mnus Beb Na ] By Eliza

We’re Not Finished

“You give me a piece of ground and a sword and I am going to take back this country with your help and the help of all the homeless Democrats and Republicans who are Americans first.” — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Clusterfuck Nation
For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays
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If you’re wondering why our country is lost in lunatic raptures of lawless Lawfare and futile MAGAry, it’s because our economy has already collapsed, and our culture and politics with it downstream have also collapsed into spectacular degeneracy. It has already happened. Maybe you don’t know it.

The business model is broken. We’re a shadow of the industrial economy that won a great war and enjoyed a boisterous peace. You can’t replace ball bearing factories with theme parks and hedge funds. Sorry. The full faith and credit of the USA is not embodied in those frivolities, so our money is losing its mojo fast.

But get this: we will go on. This is not the end of the world or the end of history. It is the end of an era. Believe it or not, the economy will fix itself, it just won’t be what it was in 1957. It won’t be what the techno-supremacists think, either. (You need a dependable electric grid to run all those server farms and the apps they serve, and the AI supposedly looming.) It will fix itself because when things fail, as they are doing now, a lot of opportunities will open up to do things differently, even very differently.

When the chain stores fail along with their twelve-thousand-mile supply lines, Americans will figure out how to find stuff, make stuff, move stuff, and sell stuff at a smaller scale, maybe back on your Main Street (if it’s still there). There will be a lot less stuff, of course. But it may be enough stuff, and some of you will be busy making stuff of some kind. Imagine an economy where practically everybody has a useful role to play. Do you know how much more important it is to lead a purposeful, active life than to be lost in leisure and anomie with more stuff than you know what to do with? Which is where we’re at now, even for many who are statistically “poor.”

When the Happy Motoring colossus tweaks out, we’ll spend less time moving around and more time doing useful things, staying put around the places where we live. We’d be lucky if we could keep some railroads going, but the prospects are not great for that now. Sorry, we blew it. Should have re-started that project in 1970 when the handwriting was on the wall. (We made a lot of bad choices.) Cars and trains require elaborate networks of many interdependent technologies all integrated smoothly at the giant scale — oil, steel, plastics, electronics — and all of that is disintegrating. Pretty soon, you can forget about airplanes, too. That leaves… what? Yes, boats and horses. I know… it sounds inconceivable. Wait for it.

When our grotesque medical racketeering matrix fails, doctors will practice medicine at smaller scale, probably without advanced pharmaceuticals and techno-diagnostics. They’ll open small local clinics while zombies squat in the broken mega-hospitals. You’ll have to pay in cash, whatever form that comes in. You’ll have to take care of yourself, too, but there will be a whole lot less enticing, engineered, toxic crap available to stuff into your body — Froot Loops, Hot Pockets — and the food markets won’t be all that super. There will certainly be less food altogether, but there will be fewer of us to feed, and more of that fewer-of-us will be busy producing that food, one way or another.

That’s the reality I see coming. As you’ve seen vividly, the journey from where we were in, say, the year 2000, to where we’re going has been psychologically disordering at the mass scale. These days, people who ought to know better express ideas that would have gotten them laughed out the room in 1999. The catch is that few of you know that this mass disordering grew out of fear of the journey. It was a phenomenon of infectious mass anxiety over something only dimly apprehended. You just thought it was about bad people.

You’re now faced with the question: how to avoid committing suicide, directly or inadvertently, personally or as a whole society, slowly or quickly? — and its corollary, how to get through the madness in the meantime? Politics happen whether you pay attention to it or not. Politics is concerned with how a society navigates through history. Today, it seems that either A) somebody is steering badly; B) Nobody is steering; or C) some outside force has commandeered the ship’s wheel and is steering for us.

Any way you look at that, we need somebody to steer. Mr. Trump has volunteered to try doing it again. The first time, forces in every quarter of American power set out to bushwhack, sandbag, harass, hector, and hound him. In the process, they just about destroyed the rule of law. Then they simply dis-elected him surreptitiously, something you’re not supposed to say, but there it is, like so much meat on the table. Now they’re trying to hoo-rah him into jail. Whatever you think of his, er, complex personality, you must admire his perseverance through adversity. If he somehow manages to wriggle through the present obstacle course of Lawfare chicanery, his next term would be an extravaganza of retribution. The spectacle would provide much satisfaction but, in the end, it would just be a sideshow, and it is not the same thing as taking care of business.

“Joe Biden,” of course, the man who is not really even there, is only pretending to run for reelection, or at least a coterie around the Oval Office is pretending for him while they try to figure out what to do. They’re in an awful quandary. They hold all the levers of power and they have no other credible candidate, not a living soul, in their own official hatchery.

Outside of that ghastly edifice, Robert F. Kennedy is making a determined flanking move, an end-run near the sidelines. The Democratic Party in all its florid and mendacious lunacy is pretending to not notice him, especially their praetorian news media that is the vector for America’s mass mental illness. Mr. Kennedy put it so simply in April when he announced a run to preside over the stupendous mess that is our government. He said his mission is an experiment to see what happens when you tell Americans the truth. Hold that thought. How long has it been since you thought anything like that was possible?

There’s a broad-based assumption across the land, derived from our fading prime artform, the movies, that Americans can’t handle the truth. Like so much else in our national life, that is probably erroneous… fake truth. And what is so striking in Mr. Kennedy’s performance so far is an absence of fakery. It’s more than refreshing, it’s… startling. Makes you blink, a little bit. Makes you remember what it’s like to not be lied-to incessantly. Makes you want to see more of it because it gives you strength when you thought you were finished. Get this now: our world is changing, and deeply, but we’re not finished.

Banana Pudding

My brother lived in New York City for over 10 years and would rave to me all about the famous Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding. I would seethe with jealousy as I knew he could walk into the bakery every single day and get his banana pudding fix.

Once I finally flew into NYC, we went straight to Magnolia’s to see what all the fuss was about. Maybe you don’t know this about me but I am super picky about bakeries. Okay, you probably could have gathered that by now! I did wonder if this would pass the test. My husband and I devoured the banana pudding in about 90 seconds so I would say that was a good sign.

Even though I love their banana pudding dessert, I wanted to create a similar copycat but make the pudding from scratch. It doesn’t take that much longer and there’s just something about handcrafted pudding, stirred with a wooden spoon, that makes it taste that much better.

This Homemade Banana Pudding Dessert is made by slowly cooking a mixture of whole milk, sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, butter and vanilla bean until nice and thickened. I could eat an entire bowl of this stuff! It is layered with fresh sliced bananas, Nilla wafers, and homemade fluffy whipped cream.

My sister-in-law, Laura, who is a brilliant cook makes this custard every single year at Thanksgiving time. She is the BEST custard maker I know and this is a tried and true recipe. It is a recipe from her Grandma Rappleye that has been passed down through the years.

This can be made in a large trifle dish, a bowl, a glass pan, decorative jars, or even scooped into small bowls. It is such a versatile recipe. I enjoy layering it into a glass trifle dish or my favorite jars.

DSC 0984 copy
DSC 0984 copy

Ingredients

  • 1 box vanilla wafers
  • 3 bananas
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a casserole dish pour about 3/4 of the vanilla wafers. Slice the bananas over that. Set aside.
  2. Mix the cornstarch into the sugar and place in a large saucepan. Add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  3. Beat the egg yolks with a fork and add about 4 tablespoons hot milk/sugar mixture into the yolks, stirring until well blended (this prevents chunks of cooked egg yolk). Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken.
  4. Add vanilla extract and butter or margarine.
  5. Pour the pudding mixture over the bananas and wafers.
  6. To make meringue, beat the two egg whites until stiff. Add 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Spread over the pudding.
  7. Brown slightly in 350 degree F oven.

Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe
Homemade Banana Pudding Recipe

A few tips for making out-of-this-world Homemade Banana Pudding Dessert:

  1.  Make sure you cook the pudding long enough for it to thicken. It needs to coat the back of a spoon. After cooking, let it chill to give it adequate time to set up. You can find my favorite wooden spoon HERE.
  2. Temper the egg yolks. Adding a small amount of hot milk to the egg yolks brings them to a higher temperature slowly to prevent the eggs from cooking. After the eggs have been tempered, add them to the pan and continue to cook.
  3. Add vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract after the pudding is removed from heat. If added while still on the heat, the vanilla flavor will be cooked off.
  4. Use COLD heavy whipping cream and beat until soft peaks form. Adding powdered sugar brings out the flavor of the cream.
  5. Bananas turn brown over time (oxidation) when exposed to air. Brush the sliced bananas with lemon juice or sprinkle with fruit fresh.

During 2022, Brazil was ranked ninth globally by oil production, ahead of Kuwait and behind Iran, lifting an average of just over 3 million barrels per day. Suppose Latin America’s largest economy is to become the world’s fourth-largest oil producer. In that case, it will need to be pumping more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil per day so as to overtake Canada, which currently holds that spot.

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2023 06 14 17 45

Brazil’s energy ministry expects the country will be pumping 5.4 million barrels daily by 2029, which is a whopping 80% higher than the 3 million barrels of oil lifted daily during 2022. Consistent year-over-year growth in hydrocarbon production indicates that Brazil indeed possesses the potential to expand production and become the world’s fourth-largest oil producer.

Another key aspect that will support those plans is Brazil’s copious hydrocarbon reserves. According to the ANP, at the end of 2022, Latin America’s largest oil producer held proven or 1P petroleum reserves totaling 14.9 billion barrels, of which 77% were categorized as pre-salt. There are also 21.9 billion barrels of proven and possible or 2P reserves and 27 billion barrels of 3P reserves, known as proven possible and probable reserves.

This illustrates that Brazil possesses considerable hydrocarbon potential and the reserves required to support a significant increase in oil production. Those reserves will keep growing as exploration and development drilling gains momentum, with the Baker Hughes International rig count showing 17 active rigs at the end of May 2023 compared to 11 a year earlier.

“Man attempts to catch woman falling from 11th floor of a building with his bare hands.”

When I first read this story I didn’t know how to react. It seemed like a mixture of pure bravery, selflessness and, honestly, maybe a little stupidity.

This happened years ago, in 2015.

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main qimg 35314f92f607baaed5042e254abbf42d lq

A Chinese man by the name of Feng Ning from Enshi City in central China’s Hubei Province was walking out of a restaurant when he heard screams. He saw a woman falling from a building. He reacted instantly to try to save her. CCTV footage captured him bravely trying to catch the woman before she landed.

But the height of the fall was too great, he could not save the woman. Instead he was knocked unconscious by the sheer force of the collision and suffered a number of injuries. He suffered injuries to his legs including a knee fracture and ruptured ligaments.

Speaking to CCTV+, Li Yanbing, doctor of spinal surgery department, Enshi Central Hospital, said:

He was knocked out by the impact and suffered injuries on his knee joints, and had a tibial plateau fracture. His anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the medial ligament have been dislocated.

Feng joined the army as a college student in 2013. He retired in September 2015 after full service. He said his first reaction was saving the woman’s life without considering whether he would be injured. He rushed to attempt to save the woman’s life while other people just watched her fall.

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main qimg 57dd35e1c4d2a071afee66a401695e9b lq

Feng Ning suffered Knee joint injuries and tibial fractures, along with several ligament rupture. He will undergo surgical treatment. "

However, being a low-income family, Feng's parents can't afford the high treatment fees. Moved by Feng's bravery, many people gave their hands to the young man and have donated more than 15,000 U.S. dollars for his treatment.

“I don’t regret. It’s a shame that I couldn’t save her,” said Feng.

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main qimg 8779da09c282ab61e28b9adcd24bd541 lq

Europe is riding a bumpy ride in the gallop towards the abyss

Yesterday, I was leaving the office and went to the bus station. (I tend to take the Zhuhai bus instead of driving. It’s cheap and I don’t have to fight traffic.) And there was my bus.

So I waved at the bus driver with my QR and tried to get to the the bus, but there was this doddering older couple just blocking the way. So I tried to get around them. Sure as shit, they moved in front of me, so I went around the other direction, there they still moved in front of me..

Intentional?

Poor sensory awareness?

Just pissed off and looking for a patsy?

I don’t know

So I got off the sidewalk, as it was blocked every which way I turned. And got off the bus station, and went on the road still waving my QR to the driver.

Wouldn’t you know it, but that senile couple jumped off the sidewalk and still continued to block me.

They actually got in front of me on the road!!!!

No shit. They got off the sidewalk. and blocked my path to the bus as I was trying to get to it on the street.

What was their malfunction?

So I forcefully plowed around them and got on the bus. Not rudely. I did everything I could to avoid touching them. I arched my back and scraped the incoming other bus with my backpack.

But, boy oh boy,  they started up a bunch of complaining and bitchin! Some times I wonder why they picked on me to hassle. I’m not some dumb kid, I know when I’m being “cock blocked” intentionally, and three times is NOT an accident.

When you are in China, you may come across these senile old fixed minded people that start treating you disrespectfully, mistakenly believing that they (due to their age) will get an automatic pass for their behaviors. As they normally do.

The old are revered in China.

But not everyone is deserving.

I think that that kind of behavior is common in Washington DC these days…

Rear Adm. Mike Studeman might be referring to the phenomenon where individuals or organizations fail to recognize or intelligently address the strategic threat posed by China’s role as a significant global power.

This term “China Blindness” has been used to describe a range of issues related to China. In particular, it refers to a serious lack of understanding of what China is, how it operates, and what it is capable of. It is a “catch all” phrase that describes a cloud of ignorance of what China actually is today.

The Admiral is admonishing his peers as a warning. To believe the false narratives encapsulated in the public narrative is to risk serious defeat on the battlefield. To engage China, one must be realistic, and fully address the harsh and uncomfortable reality that confronts the USN. If it fails to do so, it could result in catastrophe.

As far as I can understanding it, the use of this term suggests a need for greater awareness and friendly engagement with China. As opposed to the politically-driven narratives of forcing and pushing China to follow United States dictates.

US is 8,300 miles away from home in Chinese water. China will do it again and again. I have no question.

Why Do Europeans Dislike Americans So Much?

Baked Fresh Ham, Southern Style

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

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2023 06 10 11 15

Ingredients

  • 6 pound fresh ham
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 hot dried red pepper
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
  • 1 tablespoon horseradish
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Whole cloves
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Put ham in kettle and cover with boiling water. Add next 4 ingredients. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
  2. Cool in the broth and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Remove rind from ham.
  4. Mix mustard and horseradish and rub on fat. Insert garlic in the fat. Put on rack and bake in preheated slow oven (300 degrees F) for 2 hours.
  5. Score fat with a knife, stud with cloves and sprinkle with the sugar.
  6. Bake for 1 hour longer, basting occasionally with drippings in the pan.

BLACK AMERICAN SHOCKS EUROPEANS SPEAKING 6 LANGUAGE

Graphic Art Between Renaissance And Modernity

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1 50

The French artist Benedicte Piccolillo, graphic designer and street artist, is the talent hidden behind Voglio Bene. Based in Mauguio, South of France, she creates from “coups de Coeur” that she may have had on old paintings from masters. Initially a photographer, the artist is self-taught in digital graphic creation.

“I can fall in love with a piece from the Middle Ages as well as a Mannerist painting. My favorite period remains the Renaissance, especially Italian, but also Spanish. It is full of religious paintings, each one more beautiful than the next, which maintains and delights my spiritual sidem” she explains.

Depuis quelques années, Bénédicte s’intéresse de plus en plus à l’histoire de l’art et veut donner une dimension plus culturelle à son travail. “French castles and museums are beginning to be seduced and to approach me in order to launch collaborations”, she added.

More: Benedicte Piccolillo, Instagram h/t: fubiz

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Just came back from visiting Xinjiang:

  • Their culture and religion is respected. All street names, airports etc. include the Arab characters as well. Mosques are open.
  • Economy and daily life is fine. The population is half Uyghurs and half Han and they live ok together, normally.
  • Security is very tight. Police, road blocks and monitoring of individuals movements anytime and anywhere. But couldn’t see any abuse or disrespectful attitude by the security forces.
  • I believe that there is zero tolerance to any radicals and potential jihadists. Unlike the west who only RESPONDS to terrorism (rather than PREVENT it in advance), China takes preemptive measures. Gets more scolded by the world but keeps its citizens out of harm’s way.

This haunting photo of Nicholas Mevoli, an American free diver, has been seared into my mind.

It was on November 17, year 2013, when he did his final free dive while attempting to set a new (American) deep dive record.

He had attempted to dive to 236 ft/72 m on a single breath. He began to turn back at 223 ft/68m, but somehow changed his mind and dived further downward.

He surfaced, gave the OK sign, tried to speak, then promptly passed out.

This picture was taken just moments before he passed out.

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main qimg 5de67c87ee54bcf24bbb45aa49c0d02c lq

The look in his eyes…he looks scared stiff, frozen in fear, as if he knows what is going to happen.

Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness after that and passed away soon after.

His death was caused by breathing complications due to pulmonary edema (meaning fluid accumulation in the tissue and air spaces of the lungs).

At least some semblance of peace may be gained by his family from the fact that he passed away doing what he loved.

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main qimg f24eba38e1be76713e0328624356094a lq

The younger of my two sons had been quite a problem as a teenager. We fought and I was worried about his character. Jeremy flunked out of college.

In his 20s, he worked in desktop computer support. The other support tech was senior to Jeremy, but Jeremy neither liked nor respected him. Nonetheless, the senior tech invariably got his way. Of course. Then one day the manager found out that the senior tech was gay. He dismissed him.

My son discovered this about 10:00. By 10:15 he had quit, informing the manager that he could not work for a company which treated its workers unfairly. He had no job, but his integrity was intact.

At that moment, I learned that I had raised a man possessed of both morality and strength of character.

As it happens, three weeks later Jeremy had a new job at nearly twice the salary of the tech job he had quit. Things worked out rather well, all in all.

BORDER EVACUATED, Nukes Being Moved Miles From NATO Summit, Huge Fires, 72 HR WW3 Exercise

Hampton Plantation Shrimp Pilau

Hampton Plantation was once the largest rice producer in the United States.

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9d0de4bc21db277bdb47b8ca391f6291

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 slices bacon
  • 2 cups shrimp (raw, cleaned – save shrimp peelings)
  • 1 cup rice, uncooked
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced
  • 2 tablespoons green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 dash salt, to taste
  • 1 dash pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Fry bacon until crisp. Set bacon aside. Reserve bacon grease to add to water when cooking rice.
  2. In a large frying pan on medium high heat, melt butter.
  3. Add celery and green pepper and saute until soft and tender.
  4. Add shrimp which have been sprinkled with Worcestershire sauce and dredged in flour.
  5. Sauté shrimp until pink, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Add cooked rice and mix until rice is all “buttery” and “shrimpy.”
  8. Stir in crumbled bacon.
  9. Serve hot.

How brain dead are the US leadership?

For years the US has been sanctioning China and now the US “won’t tolerate” a taste of their own medicine.

China doesn’t need the US, but the US needs China. Perhaps the US must be careful now and realise that their attempts at being “tough” on China to please their own voters look very stupid indeed in the international arena; the REAL WORLD.

American vs. European Suburbs (and why US suburbs suck)

This is surprisingly good.

There is only one country here – the United States. As for Japan and the Philippines, they are American poodles, they do whatever their owners tell them to do, and they have no autonomy.

Is it possible that every time a US aircraft carrier crosses the Taiwan Strait or a US reconnaissance plane snoops over the South China Sea, it calls the China side in advance?

Once China side doesn’t answer the phone, Removal of guardrail, can’t the US playing “match-fixing” without fear?

Now, do US aircraft carriers dare to come to the Taiwan Strait?

Why have you lost your courage?

Isn’t the United States boasting all day about its control over the world?

Isn’t the United States boasting about its invincibility all day?

What are America’s “superheroes” afraid of?

Since there is no guardrail, the United States needs to find its own way!

Or, child, go back to your own home early, it is safest to move around outside your own home and risk areas are not the place for child to come.


Without high-level communication, many things would be different. You know!

Our soldiers cannot always exercise restraint if the enemy keeps snooping at our doorstep, and invaders from countries outside the region are not always lucky enough to return intact.

Our bomber pilots are very “not professional”, so if they get nervous and their hands shake and they accidentally “mistakenly bombed” a US aircraft carriers, we can only express our regret. 🤣

US bombers have “mistakenly bombed” the PRC Embassy in the FRY, and so can Chinese bombers. Wouldn’t you say that’s the case?

  • Calls to the Saudi Arabia side hotline from the US side, which the Saudi Arabia side do not answer.
  • Calls to the UAE side hotline from the US side, the UAE side does not answer.
  • Calls to the China side hotline from the US side, and China side doesn’t answer.

What does that mean?

It’s time for the United States to think about it and get a phone that works – Huawei P50s. Lol!

Working in USA vs The Netherlands: 12 Biggest Differences

His name is Liu Zhaohua, who won the second prize in the chemistry competition when he was in school, taught himself to make 31 tons of drugs(methamphetamine), with a purity of 99%, and became China’s largest drug lord(He had only 9 years of schooling)! Until now many drug dealers are secretly inquiring, what method Liu Zhaohua used to make methamphetamine, what crystallization method he used.

Synthesized with various common chemical reagents, not based on ephedrine production. He changed the substrate and catalyst of the reaction and adopted the continuous generation + continuous crystallization method in 1999.

In terms of daily production, he can easily crystallize 1,000,000 grams of methamphetamine a day, which is one ton, and if it can be sold, five tons a day is not a problem. In terms of conversion rate he claims to have a conversion rate of 90%. Such a high capacity, such a high conversion rate, drug quality is still very good, and the production process is very environmentally friendly and pollution-free, even more environmentally friendly than some pharmaceutical plants, so much so that many top chemical and chemical experts and scholars can not believe.

Until today, there is not a single drug maker in the world, including some professor-level ones who can reach the overall quality (purity, crystallization, and appearance) of the meth produced by Liu Zhaohua. They may have no problem with the theoretical aspects, but the process technology they master cannot do it.

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main qimg 8396a73d2b38f38af6841db050cb2c11 lq

He has a high IQ and an extremely strong psychological quality. He escaped from Guangzhou on his bicycle under the circumstances that the police had barricaded him all over the city, and carved “Liu Zhaohua, came here to visit” on the cave where he had been hiding, which made the police furious. At that time, Liu Zhaohua was staying in room 818 of the President Hotel in Guangzhou. The police were quickly dispatched and rushed to the President Hotel in Guangzhou, and at this time Liu Zhaohua had just returned to the hotel from outside. At the critical moment, Liu Zhaohua did not immediately twist and turn to flee the scene, but made an amazing move. He and the investigator took the same elevator, see the investigator pressed the 8th floor, Liu Zhaohua immediately pressed the 7th floor. And on the day of November 4, the Guangzhou police deployed a large number of police officers to impose martial law on the entry and exit gates and major traffic routes in the city. In particular, the suspicious vehicles leaving Guangzhou were checked, and the check was very tight. Buses, cabs, private cars along with cars hauling goods were checked one by one. Liu Zhaohua, who walked out of the President Hotel, knew very well that there would be checkpoints to arrest him at all major traffic roads in Guangzhou. The police will definitely check the vehicles entering and leaving the intersection of Guangzhou, so Liu Zhaohua chose a way to escape that no one expected – a bicycle. For Liu Zhaohua this is naturally the best disguise, Liu Zhaohua just rode a bicycle to escape from Guangzhou under the heavy police siege. And this is already the second time Liu Daohua slipped away from under the nose of the police.

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main qimg 9f66a087a1e6845cf3bf8c7d9c2d92b8 lq

(Liu Zhaohua’s second wife)

He has three wives in the same time and four children, and his golden words are popular in the love scene: “The first wife is my favorite, the second wife is my most loving, and the third wife is my most loving.

In 2000. Liu Zhaohua settled in Quanzhou County, Guilin, Guangxi under the name of Li Senqing.He lived here, got married and had children, and was well known in the area. The neighbors of this “Mr. Li” said that he was kind to people, but rather petty, a rich man with the air of a small citizen. This time, Liu Zhaohua disguised very successfully. In fact, during the escape Liu Zhaohua also became a important guest of the local government. He leased more than 24,000 acres of land in the Phoenix Forestry in Lingui County, Guilin, claiming to complete a project with a total investment of 300 million yuan in three years. So, why is he going to do by renting so much forest land? Liu Zhaohua claimed that he did not have a sense of accomplishment in doing methamphetamine, while planting red bean fir gave him a sense of accomplishment because the area he planted was the largest in the world.

Liu Zhaohua is both cunning and arrogant, he does not follow common sense and believes that the most dangerous place is instead the safest. This is an important reason why he successfully escaped from the chase several times. During the years in Guilin, Guangxi, Liu Zhaohua made a big show of running his own business. The most important thing is that he did not shy away from getting himself into the newspaper and even became a local celebrity. on February 6, 2013, the Guilin Evening News reported a full-page story about a resident who bravely fought the thieves, and the resident who bravely caught three thieves was Liu Zhaohua, who changed his name.

After being caught, he said to the police in prison: “You can ask what you want to know, make a list, but don’t play with my intelligence, you can’t play with me.”

In court he sophomorically argued, “I don’t sell my drugs to domestic people, only to foreigners; foreigners used to open China’s doors with opium, and I should open their doors with meth too.”

In the eyes of the police, he is a misguided chemical genius who has cleverly escaped mass arrests by the police many times; in the circle of drug production and trafficking, he is a legend that cannot be replicated; in the eyes of his mother, he is a good student; in the eyes of his three wives, he is a master of “time management”; in the eyes of his children, he is a cold-blooded father who only cares about birth but not nurturing.

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main qimg deb0e6a49d5ee0d67bdfb94be4faae66 lq

Some people once described Liu Zhaohua as a real-life version of China’s “Walter White(Breaking Bad)”.The profession does not agree with this statement, because even Walter White, who has the aura of a protagonist, is several notches below Liu Zhaohua, both in terms of drug production technology (including methamphetamine quality) and production scale.

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main qimg aa8f80b20a3c34cf20e9c50c21484b7a lq

In terms of influence, the fictional Walter White is even more incomparable. Liu Zhaohua is very famous in the global drug trafficking and drug production circles, and the Mexican drug lord “Shorty” Guzman, who was just released from prison in 2002, immediately sent his pals to inquire about the whereabouts of Liu Zhaohua, who was on the run, and wanted to pay a lot of money to seek cooperation.

In terms of life experience, Liu Zhaohua is also more legendary than Walter White in the movie and TV series.He has been a soldier and a bailiff. He has made meritorious achievements and received commendations. During his time in office, he was the backbone that every leader wanted to focus on training. If not engaged in drug trafficking, he has a bright future.

Of course, in terms of social harm, Liu Zhaohua is also worse, as he made 31 tons of methamphetamine. With his own power to influence the behavior of several industries in China, for example, the use of hydrochloric acid in some corporate factories, research institutions, schools, etc. need to be reported first.

American turned Dutch: Giving up US Citizenship

These are the same Russian submarines, which protected the Indian Navy by becoming a shield against America in the 1971 war.

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main qimg 3db5ea1f9fc15a2a0ef103073ed69a71 lq

A story that has almost been erased from the Indian history books.

50 years ago in 1971, the US threatened India to stop the 1971 war. Concerned India sent an SOS to the Soviet Union. When Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 war seemed easy, Kissinger prompted Nixon to send the US 7th Fleet Task Force, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, to the Bay of Bengal.

USS Enterprise, 75,000 tons, was the world’s largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the 1970s with over 70 fighters. A moving monster on the surface of the sea. The Indian Navy’s fleet was led by Vikrant, a 20,000-tonne aircraft carrier, carrying 20 light combat aircraft. Officially, the USS Enterprise was sent to the Bay of Bengal to protect American citizens in Bangladesh, while unofficially it was to intimidate the Indian Army and prevent the liberation of East Pakistan.

Further, Soviet intelligence reported to India that a powerful British naval fleet led by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle along with the commando carrier HMS Albion, along with several destroyers and other ships were approaching the Arabian Sea from the west in Indian waters.

The British and Americans planned a coordinated naval attack to intimidate India: British ships in the Arabian Sea would target India’s west coast, while the Americans would attack in Chittagong. The Indian Navy was caught between British and American ships. That was December 1971, and the world’s two major democracies were now threatening the world’s largest democracy.

An SOS from Delhi was sent to Moscow. The Red Navy soon dispatched 16 Soviet naval units and six nuclear submarines from Vladivostok to block the USS Enterprise.

Admiral N Krishnan, the chief of the Eastern Command of the Indian Navy, wrote in his book ‘No Way But Surrender’ that he feared the Americans would reach Chittagong. He mentioned how he thought of attacking the Enterprise in a do-or-die trick to slow it down.

On 2 December 1971, a task force of the US 7th Fleet led by the water giant USS Enterprise arrived in the Bay of Bengal. The British fleet was coming into the Arabian Sea.

The world held its breath.

But, unknown to the Americans, they were overtaken by submerged Soviet submarines.

As the USS Enterprise headed for East Pakistan, Soviet submarines came to the fore without warning. Soviet submarines now stood between India and American naval forces.

Americans_surprised_surprised_.

The 7th US Fleet Commander told Admiral Gordon: “Sir, we are too late. The Soviets are here!” no choice but to retreat. Both the American and British fleets retreated.

Today, most Indians have forgotten this huge naval chess battle between the two superpowers in the Bay of Bengal. It is important to know and remember.

Why ask questions that you know the answer to?

What are you, a sadist? Asking the same old questions day in, and day out. Hoping, praying, waiting, for some other tidbit of information that would make the reality easier to digest?

On paper, in theory, all of the 11 aircraft carriers that the United States fields (10 Nimitz and 1 Ford), could be destroyed by Chinese conventionally-armed DF-26 “carrier Killer” missiles. Given the flight times for the latest upgrades for the hyper-velocity versions of the DF-26 anticipated stopwatch from launch to destruction is within five minutes within the 4000 Km range.

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2023 06 10 15 46

They are very effective. And are designed to completely destroy Aircraft carriers.

From time to time, China takes them out as a warning to overly aggressive American neocons that are getting “too big for their britches”.

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2023 06 10 16 18

These units are not the ONLY weapons systems that are designed to destroy carrier flotillas, islands, and large bases like in Guam or Hawaii. There are many others. It’s just that the DF-26 is particularly good at it. Given the enormous numbers of launchers, and the insane levels of stockpiled munitions, one can only assume that all targets from land bases to submarines will be the prey for this missile.

The DF-26 appears to be designed specifically for high precision conventional strikes. The most likely target for the DF-26 missile would be Guam going by the range of the missile. Given the nature of the targets in Guam, which are mostly air bases (Guam has two large air bases where, as revealed by satellite imagery, B-52 squadrons are deployed), the DF-26 might be carrying specially designed cluster based bomb-lets to cause maximum damage to bombers spread out on the tarmac. In addition, there could be a specially designed deep penetration warhead for Hardened and Deeply Buried Targets (HDBTs).

Now, for the longest time, the USN and the ONI have been very quiet about the massive exponential increase in Chinese weapon lethality, survival-ability, and technology. The reports have been duly logged. The studies have been gamed out. The results and conclusions have been presented, filed and forgotten.

But it has only been during the last year that the USN admirals have become increasingly frenzied when dealing with hawkish Administration and Senate members. These people are not taking “no” for an answer, and want to find some edge; some justification, to “pull off” a “successful” war against China.

So, sometime, within the last nine months or so, the ONI through a number of key admirals, laid out the reality to the neocon “war hawks”.

And they are horrified.

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2023 06 10 16 19

The Chinese “just ran rings around us,” said former Joint Chiefs Vice Chair Gen. John Hyten in one after-action report. “They knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it.”

Dozens of versions of the above war-game scenario have been enacted over the last few years, most recently in April by the House Select Committee on competition with China. And while the ultimate outcome in these exercises is not always clear — the U.S. does better in some than others — the cost is. In every exercise the U.S. uses up all its long-range air-to-surface missiles in a few days, with a substantial portion of its planes destroyed on the ground. In every exercise the U.S. is not engaged in an abstract push-button war from 30,000 feet up like the ones Americans have come to expect since the end of the Cold War, but a horrifically bloody one.

And that’s assuming the U.S.-China war doesn’t go nuclear.

“The thing we see across all the wargames is that there are major losses on all sides. And the impact of that on our society is quite devastating,” said Becca Wasser, who played the role of the Chinese leadership in the Select Committee’s wargame and is head of the gaming lab at the Center for a New American Security.

“The most common thread in these exercises is that the United States needs to take steps now in the Indo-Pacific to ensure the conflict doesn’t happen in the future.

We are hugely behind the curve. Ukraine is our wakeup call. This is our watershed moment.”

So…

Please give me a break. Stop asking for answers that you do not want to hear.

If the United States drops one bullet inside of China, and Taiwan is China, the entire USN gets sunk. And the American losses in the first two hours will be absolutely horrific.

China issued a statement and the United States is left in mixed feelings.

https://youtu.be/I_GeZj3KZPM

.

Looking inward, taking a pause, and reflecting is good for the soul

Life is funny. I’ve been watching these videos made all over the world making fun of Americans. I have to laugh. But it’s really, really sad. The United States is the world’s “laughing stock” right now, but no one is really laughing. They are just terrified.

West is finished

main qimg 5f8ce83f0f0143825b9c5127649e0326
main qimg 5f8ce83f0f0143825b9c5127649e0326

Americans Living Abroad: First Time You Realized America Really Messed You Up | Part 2 | TikTok

As someone who was born and raised in America, and still lives here, it surprises me how many of us don't realize that America's "culture" is to literally not care about people. So many countries have these cool cultures that can be expressed through dance or customization/outfits, but America's culture is to brag about how much they don't give a fuck about anyone.

https://youtu.be/ukP6NHJ5og0

I came to China as anti-China as any average Westerner, with strong opinions about Tibet and pollution.

Originally, I didn’t mean to work in China, but that’s where I found my first job. The pay was higher than anywhere else for my skills and experience, so, opportunity led to there. But I meant for it to be temporary. I wanted to get some experience and then to find a better country.

I lived in Equatorial Guinea when I found this job, teaching in a military school. It was a dictatorship, a bad one. Everyone warned me about going to China because of freedom and stuff, but nobody warned me about Equatorial Guinea. My co-workers in Guinea couldn’t believe I would accept going to China. So I really expected at least as bad as Guinea.

But when I arrived in Tianjin, I was surprised. I was free. A lot more than in Africa. And most of all, I felt safe. There is no crime, especially violent crime, in China. All the policemen and military men I met were welcoming and helpful! I even dated a few. Yes, in Africa I never dared dating a man, I feared for my life, but in China no problem. They have the best gay bars I’ve ever seen, huge with several floors with KTV, bright light cafe, lounge, restaurant etc all in one. I felt freer than even in France for that!

The people were really welcoming, really friendly. I didn’t know Chinese, they didn’t know English, but they were eager to interact. In addition to being free, safe and welcoming, it was also cheap and modern. The infrastructure is amazing but also everything is digital. With a single app like wechat or alipay, you can pay your utility bills online (and monitor your usage in real time), book Cinema tickets, order meals…

The logistics are amazing too. Delivery is usually free, or like 3 rmb, for a really efficient service. If you want things fast, use JD logistics, you get same day delivery of anything you buy online.

I’ve been here almost 10 years now. I’ve learnt Chinese, although I’m not fluent yet, and I have progressed regularly in my career. I started at 1000 Euros a month (not much back then but with a flat on campus, it’s a lot of purchasing power) and now I’m around 5000 Euros a month with international health-care and 3 months paid vacation. It’s still a land of opportunity. The Chinese dream is real. If you are willing and hard working, there is money to be made.

The only downside is that it’s very hard to actually immigrate. I wish I could, but the requirements to get a green card are really high… I’m hopeful that in the future, it can become easier, because I really wish to stay in China until the end of my life.

And that’s also why I’m mad at the Western media. The way they depict China is unfair. I get called a wumao a lot for just stating facts. Everyone is prejudiced against China and nobody wants to hear the truth. China is ahead of us and moving forward. We have so much to learn from them.

EDIT March 2 2023

First, I didn’t expect my answer to get that many views or upvotes. Thanks!

Lately, I’m getting a lot of comments with similar points that I would like to address.

“You are a Westerner, you are privileged, you don't know the life Chinese have"

I am a Westerner, privileged in some regards (the patience of administration and services), second class citizen in others (cannot use certain services, apps or products that require a Chinese ID).

But do you think I’ve lived 10 years with no interactions with Chinese people? I’ve taught hundreds of students from all over China and with all economic backgrounds. I’ve had lots of Chinese co-workers, neighbors and friends. All the boyfriends I’ve had in China were Chinese and most were from humble origins. I know where they live, how much they make, what their job is like.

“You earn a lot, life would be good anywhere with that salary"

It is good NOW. The first seven years, it wasn’t. My parents joined me after 1.5 years so we were three people, one of us with health issues and no health insurance (diabetes and eventually cancer) that I had to pay out of pocket. We were far from rich. Now we earn more, but with my dad’s cancer and his recent passing, we have yet to save anything.

“you live in big cities, life is different in the countryside"

Yes, I live in Beijing and I’ve lived in Tianjin. I’ve also lived in Zhuhai, which isn’t considered big. But I’ve not remained in those cities!

I’ve visited friends’ hometowns, poorer, small villages with slanted, old homes. I’ve traveled, seen a lot. I can’t claim that I’ve seen it all, but in 10 years and moving so much, meeting so many people, going to so many places, I think I have enough experience to get a sense.

I opened underground room and found treasure full of silver and gold jewelry

Fake. Real? I don’t know.

Coffee Syrup

This is an old New England favorite. It is usually stirred into cold milk (2 to 3 tablespoons per glass). It can also be used to flavor milkshakes, or used as an ice cream topping.

DIY coffee syrup
DIY coffee syrup

Instructions

  1. Place enough coffee and water to make 6 servings. Run the coffee cycle as usual.
  2. When the coffee is finished brewing, discard the used coffee grounds and add to the filter a second quantity of coffee sufficient to make 6 servings. This time, instead of adding fresh water to the coffeemaker, pour the already-brewed coffee into the machine. Run the coffee cycle again. You’ll end up with double-strength coffee.
  3. Repeat the process again, using new coffee, but reuse the brewed coffee instead of water. In the end, you’ll have triple-strength brewed coffee.
  4. Measure the amount of brewed coffee. Add half as much sugar as there is brewed coffee. For example, if after the three brewing cycles you have 5 cups of brewed coffee, add 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar. Stir briskly until the sugar is dissolved. Make sure you add sugar while the coffee is hot so that the sugar dissolves.
  5. Store the syrup in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator. It keeps a very long time.

Notes

You need a coffeemaker in which boiling water goes through the ground coffee in a filter and drips into a pot. The ingredient amounts will vary depending on your coffeemaker and how much syrup you want to make.

Stop Picking Your Face! New Toy Lets You Pop Pimples For Fun

No matter how much you think you understand people, they will ALWAYS surprise you. This time they have made “Pop It Pal” – a chunk of fake skin dotted with several pores, each of which is filled with simulated pus you can squeeze out.

pimple popper1
pimple popper1

As disgusting as all this might seem, it actually makes sense why pimple popping has become so popular. Squeezing out a big red whopper on your nose is inherently satisfying, and the science backs it up. According to neuroscientist Heather Berlin, our brains reward us with dopamine for expunging a zit.

pimple popper2
pimple popper2

Want more?

pimple popper3
pimple popper3

Entering a 25 MILE Maze of Deep Underground Tunnels to Find This…

May 25, 2023 at 11:51 am

China is reportedly negotiating major arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Egypt as both countries look to become less reliant on the US for their defence needs.

According to South China Morning Post , which cited the geopolitical and intelligence website Tactical Report, Saudi Arabia Military Industries (SAMI) is currently in talks with China’s state-owned North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco) to acquire a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, and air defence systems.

Among the weapons included in the potential deal are the Sky Saker FX80 drone, the CR500 vertical take-off drone, the Cruise Dragon 5 and 10 “suicide drones” and the HQ-17AE short-range air defence (SHORAD) system.

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2023 05 28 18 52

The discussions have apparently “reached an advanced stage”, and have been ongoing for about a year, said Tactical Report. It quoted an unnamed source close to the deal, adding that it is speculated that it will be settled in Chinese currency, the yuan.

Egypt is said be in separate talks with Beijing to acquire the Chengdu J-10C

multirole fighter jet, also known as the Vigorous Dragon. It is the most advanced J-10 variant

and is powered by an indigenous engine.

To further negotiations started late last year, a delegation from the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) is expected to meet representatives from the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group on the side-lines of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition in Malaysia this week.

A report last year by Middle East Eye

(MEE) noted that China is “emerging as the secondary arms supplier of choice for many Middle East countries.”

US President Joe Biden came into office with the foreign policy objective

of barring all sales of “offensive weapons” to Saudi Arabia in light of its use of American military technology in its devastating war in Yemen.

This policy was contradicted by a $650 million arms deal with Saudi

approved by Biden’s state department, a deal which allowed Riyadh to maintain attack helicopters that have been used to bomb Yemen.

The 2022 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Trends in International Arms Transfers Report

notes that, from 2018-2022, Saudi Arabia was the world’s second-largest arms importer, accounting for 9.8% of global arms imports over that period, with the US supplying 78% of Saudi Arabia purchases.

The same report notes that Egypt was the world’s sixth-largest arms buyer during the period, accounting for 4.5% of global arms imports, with 34% of its imports coming from Russia.

In a 2018 SIPRI article

, Pieter Wezeman notes that Saudi Arabia aims to diversify its arms suppliers to widen and deepen its international political network to minimize the effects of Western arms sales restrictions.

Russia has not always been Egypt’s preferred arms provider. Bradley Bowman and other writers note in a May 2021 Defense News article

that before the 2013 Egypt coup, wherein then-defense minister Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi deposed the then-incumbent president Mohammed Morsi, the US accounted for 47% of Egyptian arms imports. However, after the 2013 coup, the Obama administration froze aircraft, tank, and missile sales to Cairo for two years until relations improved. Due to that freeze, Bowman and the other writers note that Egypt tried to diversify its arms import providers by purchasing large quantities of weapons from Russia and France.

In making this move, Middle East clients can reduce their political dependence on Washington and the EU by purchasing inexpensive, yet effective Chinese arms.

ABANDONED ROTHSCHILD MANSION UK – Left to decay!

Russia is one of the strongest economies on Earth

Surprised?

It’s true

The Russian lands control almost 1000 Trillion Rubles of Priceless Assets from Oil to Gold to Palladium to Platinum to Gas to Coal to now the world’s largest salt deposits

In Dollar terms it’s around $ 12.5 Trillion of Energy and Metal Assets

And that’s the tapped assets

The Arctic alone could have another $ 10 Trillion untapped assets

Today Russia is one of the Five Countries in the world that can happily go back to the Gold Standard without a single problem and peg it’s Rubles wrt Gold.

Let’s see Russia

Russia owes $ 514 Billion in External Debts

It’s barely 4.7% of it’s vast Assets

Russia owes around 40 Trillion Rubles in Internal Debts as of 30.9.2022

Yet it’s barely 4% of it’s Vast Assets!!!!

The Russian Economys $ 1.9 Trillion GDP is a myth based purely on Dollar numbers.

The real Ruble economy is much stronger and larger, just like Iran

Russia is a Bankers dream

US is a Bankers Nightmare

Curious Ancient Stone Objects In The Cairo Museum In Egypt

These Papercraft Mosquitoes Look So Real You’ll Want To Swat Them

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Combining realism with attention to detail and remarkable technical abilities, artist Masanobu Azami, who goes by the name Scissorhands, also deserves honorable mention among his Japanese paper-crafting peers.

Scissorhands can create minute masterpieces out of paper as well. In fact, it was his smallest creation to date that went viral last week when he tweeted it as part of a hashtag campaign for artists to introduce their representative works. His mosquito is not only accurately sized, only measuring mere millimeters in length, it looks anatomically accurate with an astonishing level of detail, from feet to antennae.

And since the infamous blood-lusting insects are rarely found in isolation, it’s only natural that Scissorhands created more than one specimen.

More: Twitter h/t: grapee

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You mean NATO invading China?

How?

main qimg a36ebfcaabaf8ed3ba125e92403a6d47 lq
main qimg a36ebfcaabaf8ed3ba125e92403a6d47 lq

There is no contiguous land route

You have a HUGE BUFFER ZONE

Russia, Central Asia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia

All Neutral Or Anti NATO Nations

So a Land invasion is IMPOSSIBLE unless Russia complies or joins NATO which is now almost impossible

That leaves a Naval Offensive through the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea

China has a huge Navy plus a massive array of Land to Sea Missiles along the entire border

NATO has its Navy all over the world but Chinas Navy is primarily in that region. So Chinas concentration of Naval power may be 10:1 against NATO

If NATO increases the fleet size in the Region then that means the Baltic Fleet can play havoc in Scandinavian waters and maybe bombard and pulverize Odessa

The barrage of missiles from China and the Chinese Navy would simply be too much for NATO

They take months to replenish Ammo, how long so you think they need to replenish a submarine or a destroyer?

A Total Naval Barrage may have 640 Missiles to hit China while Chinas Navy and Land missiles alone number 2200

That’s 4:1 Advantage right there

And in the 0.0000001% chance of it looking likely that NATO would triumph, CHINA would simply decide to save face at the expense of Nuclear Devastation

Japan – NUKED

Australia -30% NUKED

South Korea – NUKED

USA – West Coast – NUKED, Mid West – 40% NUKED, East Coast – 25% NUKED

The PLA may even Nuke Non Aligned India as a death punch

So China may be destroyed but the World will be in a Dystopian future for minimum 100 years and at least 60 Million Americans will be dead or permanently affected and US will perhaps never recover

Maybe the Balloons marked all strategic cities for a Nuclear Hit in the worst case scenario

So NATO & CHINA – not a very wise move

Is the US creating three Asian Ukraines (South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines) to become frontline states to contain China?

That’s what the US neo-con warmongers would like but China isn’t going to attack Taiwan.

What is happening is that the US wants to use Taiwan, Japan, SK, and the Philippines to attack China.

What will happen is that China will surround Taiwan, no fighting involved unless the DPP shoots first. But China will have it’s ships 150 miles away from Taiwan so that the missiles don’t have the range to hit the ships.

And then China will wait for the US’s response. If the US starts an attack, the US, NATO, Japan, SK, and Australia will get their ships sunk. China wins and China takes all Western Pacific islands from the US and removes all US bases in the Western Pacific.

If the US doesn’t attack then China wins and the US looks like it’s afraid, which it is.

So either way China wins. So most likely, the US won’t attack China. What the US is doing is trying to increase the military budget of the US, Japan, SK, and Australia to pump money into the MICC.

And they have already succeeded. Australia is set to spend $386 Billion on 8 subs for delivery in the mid 2050s. Japan is increasing it’s defense budget. And a lot of it will go to the US for weapons, ships, and fighters.

Found Mystic Abandoned Castle Hidden in the Woods

Easy Kummelweck Rolls

2023 05 28 18 10
2023 05 28 18 10

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • Kaiser rolls
  • Caraway seeds
  • Pretzel salt

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together water and cornstarch. Heat mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low, and stir until mixture thickens and is translucent. Remove from heat and let cool.
  2. Brush cooled cornstarch mixture on the top of ordinary Kaiser rolls.
  3. Over cornstarch-water mixture, sprinkle equal amounts of caraway seeds and pretzel salt.
  4. Heat in a 350 degrees F oven for about 3 minutes, long enough for the top of the rolls to get crusty and for the caraway seeds and salt to stick.

After Beijing responded in kind to Washington’s tech restrictions, the move was branded unfounded and bad for business

By Timur Fomenko, a political analyst

China recently restricted chips made by US semiconductor firm Micron from being used in its national infrastructure, branding them a “national security threat”.

The language and rationale of such a move should sound familiar, because it’s precisely what the US has been doing over the past few years in blacklisting Chinese technology companies and pushing allies to do the same. “You can’t trust having Huawei in your 5G infrastructure” was the general line used by Washington officials. According to them, and to Western media repeating this line, all kinds of Chinese technology constitutes an “espionage risk,” from TikTok to balloons to fridges.

So based on this treatment of Chinese companies by the US, it was only a matter of time before Beijing struck back. And one might think that if Washington was willing to use “national security” as a pretext for market exclusion, it would be acceptable for China to the same. Only fair, right?

Apparently not. Despite the brutal restrictions the US has placed on Chinese technology, which have also included blacklisting its entire semiconductor industry and forcing third-party countries to follow suit, the US reacted with outrage to Beijing’s announcement

and accused it of “having no basis in fact.” Not only that, but Washington then further claimed that the move was evidence that China’s regulatory environment was “unreliable” and that the country was no longer committed to “reform and opening up.”

The US can somehow say this with a straight face. Washington is entitled to restrict Chinese firms on an industrial scale, but when Beijing does the same, even on a marginal level, then it’s evidence that China is not reliable for investment. Even as microchip firms point out the damage that disastrous policies of the US are causing, Washington seems to have either no self-awareness, or an extreme sense of self-entitlement, which, as has been discussed many times, gives it the almost divine right to impose on others rules it doesn’t feel obliged to follow itself.

This is an indication of how the US sees its right to exploit China’s own markets. American ties with China have always been conditional, on the premise that Beijing would gradually transform its political system and economy to fall in line with US preferences. In the 1980s and 1990s, during China’s era of “reform and opening up,” the US believed – due to its ideological overconfidence after its victory in the Cold War – that China was changing and was destined to reform.

In this light, free market economics was seen as an evangelically transformative force which, with the onset of capitalism, naturally led to liberal democracy. Thus, there was never a premise of “engaging” China on its own terms, it always had to “lead” to something. By the 2010s, it became clear that this was not going to happen. Not only did China’s political system not change, but its economic trajectory and industries continued to grow in a way which threatened the foundations of American hegemony. US foreign policy subsequently shifted to now trying to “force” China to change and containing it.

The US, of course, loves the idea of trade with China and its markets, as long as such trade is conducted entirely according to Washington’s preferences. That is, to have China’s market to exploit as a subordinate to the US, and to prevent China from having its own world-leading industries. This mindset has created a visible contradiction in political rhetoric: that China “must” open up its markets more for Western goods, but at the same time must be locked out of Western markets in certain areas. China’s resistance to this is decried as so-called “unfair” economic practices.

Because of this, the only kind of “engagement” the US wants with China is that which is completely one-sided, such as being forced to order $200 billion in US farm goods per annum (as Trump envisioned), but being banned from the US semiconductor market. This is also why the US demands that even as its own companies lose market share in China, other countries, like South Korea

, should have no right to take up that lost share.

The US is not interested in compromise, only capitulation. Thus, trade with China is really only conditional on either ideological transformation, or if that fails, a surrender to total exploitation, turning China into a neoliberal state which is completely open and gutted of industries, possibly complete with a small clique of very wealthy pro-Western oligarchs who sell out the country.

The US-China economic relationship is directed, on Washington’s side, by a sense of ideological entitlement. We can blacklist your companies and even coercively ban third countries from using any Chinese technology, but don’t even think about limiting one of our own firms. Or else.

China New Breakthrough and Policy Puts China 10 Years Ahead of The US In The EV Industry

https://youtu.be/TE5bdqyWbs4

Nightmarish Illustrations That Will Have You Hiding Under The Bed

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1171 650×921

You have to wonder how Japanese digital artist Ryohei Hase sleeps at night.

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2108 650×921

Hailing from Tokyo, Hase effortlessly fuses painting and digital illustrations to bring to life his surrealist and nightmarish fantasy world. He’s revered as an iconic cult figure in the modern day Japanese art world, with his work being displayed in countless exhibitions across the country and featured comics, books, magazines and video games.

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What’s The Dumbest Thing an American Has Ever Said To You? | Part 1

https://youtu.be/No07KOKXqD4

May 27, 2023

By Caitlin JOHNSTONE

60 Minutes Australia has been playing a leading role in saturating Australian airwaves with consent-manufacturing messaging in support of militarising to participate in a US war against China. A segment they ran a year ago is titled “Prepare for Armageddon: China’s warning to the world,” and features an image of Xi Jinping overlaid with war planes and explosions and captioned “POKING THE PANDA”. Another from a year ago is titled “War with China: Are we closer than we think?” Another from ten months ago is titled “China’s new target in the battle to control the Pacific.” Another from six months ago is titled “Inside the battle for Taiwan and China’s looming war threat.” Another from two months ago is titled “Is the Navy ready? How the U.S. is preparing amid a naval buildup in China.”

All of these segments have millions of views on YouTube alone. Now this past weekend 60 Minutes Australia has aired back-to-back segments titled “The real Top Gun: US military in heated stand-off with China” and “Five countries secretly sharing intelligence say China is the №1 threat,” both of which are as jaw-droppingly propagandistic as anything I’ve ever seen.

“It might sound like twisted logic, but military forces everywhere argue that the greater the firepower they possess, the greater the chance of maintaining peace,” opens 60 Minutes Australia’s Amelia Adams. “In other words, massive weaponry is the best deterrent to war. Right now the theory is being tested like never before, and much of it is happening in Australia’s backyard, the Indo-Pacific region. The United States wants the world, and more particularly China, to know of its increasing presence there, and to do that it’s putting on a spectacular show.”

What follows is 19 minutes of overproduced footage displaying this “massive weaponry” while Adams oohs and ahhs and gives slobberingly sycophantic interviews to US military officials.

“There’s something utterly mesmerising about the F-35 jet,” Adams moans. “The sound, the heat, and the power put this supersonic stealth fighter in a league of its own.”

“Colonel these are some very impressive machines you’re in charge of!” she gushes to an officer on an aircraft carrier.

“Yes ma’am,” the colonel replies.

Jesus lady, do your orgasming off camera.

Contrast this glowing ecstatic revelry with Adams’ open hostility later in the segment toward a Chinese think tanker named Henry Wang, claiming that he was trying to “rewrite history” for dismissing panic about a Chinese military buildup by pointing out (100 percent correctly) that China is spending a lower percentage of its GDP on its military than western nations.

“Every command, every maneuver, is being fine-tuned on this vast blue stage, where China has proven to be a bad actor, playing a long game of intimidating Pacific nations,” Adams proclaims over helicopter footage of US war ships. “But the US and its allies aren’t having it, bolstering their defenses — and it’s an impressive display.”

I defy you to find me footage more brazenly propagandistic than this, from any point in history. This is supposed to be a news show, run by people who purport to be journalists, yet they’re engaging in propaganda that looks like it came from a Sacha Baron Cohen spoof of a third world dictatorship.

As I never tire of pointing out , the claim that the US has been militarily encircling its number one geopolitical rival defensively is the single dumbest thing the empire asks us to believe these days. The US is surrounding China with war machinery in ways that it would consider an outrageously aggressive provocation if the same thing were done in its neck of the woods, which means the US is plainly the aggressor in this standoff, and China is plainly reacting defensively to those aggressions.

While the first segment unquestioningly regurgitates Pentagon narratives and gives supportive interviews to military officials, the second segment unquestioningly regurgitates talking points from the western intelligence cartel and gives supportive interviews to Five Eyes spooks.

“Showing off deadly weaponry in massive war games is a tactic China and the United States both use to try to avoid full-on combat,” says 60 Minutes Australia’s Nick McKenzie in introduction. “But the truth is the two countries, as well as other nations including Australia, are already battling it out in an invisible war. There are no frontline soldiers but there are significant skirmishes. Until now these conflicts have been kept quiet, but key members of a secretive alliance of top cops from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand are about to change that.”

“Their group is called the Five Eyes, and tonight they want you to know what they see,” says McKenzie, which is the same as saying “We’re telling you what the Five Eyes intelligence agencies told us to tell you.”

McKenzie literally just assembles a bunch of Five Eyes officials to tell Australians that China is bad and dangerous, and then disguises the western intelligence cartel advancing its own information interests as a real news story.

“There is one threat that alarms our partners more than any other,” McKenzie says

over dramatic music, asking “Which state actor is the key threat to democracy in Australia and amongst the Five Eyes partners?” and presenting a montage of western intelligence operatives answering (you guessed it) China.

“The Americans describe a growing menace on our doorstep flowing from China’s increasing influence in the region,” McKenzie says, before asking an American official, “Do you see the Chinese state preying on Pacific island nations?”

“I believe so, yes,” the official responds.

Western journalism, ladies and gents.

Australians are particularly vulnerable to propaganda because Australia has the most concentrated media ownership  in the western world, dominated by a powerful duopoly

of Nine Entertainment (who airs 60 Minutes) and the Murdoch-owned News Corp. This vulnerability is being fully exploited as the time comes for the western empire to beat the war drums against China.

We keep being hammered by this narrative that “massive weaponry is the best deterrent to war,” when all facts in evidence say the exact opposite is true. It was the military encroachment against Russia and the conversion of Ukraine into a NATO military asset which provoked Putin  to invade Ukraine, and all the militarization against China that we are seeing is only inflaming tensions and making war more likely .

And, I mean, of course it is; even a casual glance at the Cuban Missile Crisis reveals that powerful nations don’t take kindly to having menacing forces placed near their borders. So much of the propaganda indoctrination we’re subjected to in the 2020s revolves around convincing people to believe that Russia and China should react completely differently than the way the US would react if foreign proxy forces were being amassed along its borders.

So yes, Amelia Adams, claiming that aggression and militarism is the best path toward peace is absolutely “twisted logic”. It is as twisted as it gets. Because it is false. This is obvious to anyone who hasn’t yet been successfully indoctrinated into this omnicidal belief system.

We need to do everything we can to fight against this indoctrination now, because if we wait until the war actually starts it will likely be too late to resist.

Treasure hunter // open a treasure cave and decipher the mystery of its sign

This guy again. Does he live in an area full of gold?

First of all, in China, all people have significant savings.

Frans Vandenbosch  方腾波

Then, in China, the whole Chinese culture is based on the family. All family members, parents, children, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, even extended family members will right away (within hours) come to help and provide whatever amount of money to someone of their family in case of emergency.

Without asking for any compensation or pay back.

But if someone of the family is harming the family, then he will be severely punished. In a quite wealthy family (parents and 4 daughters) I know the case of a brother in law who cheated his wife (sister of my friend). He was forced to pay back a significant amount right away and he was fired by his employer. The eldest sister (the family “patriarch”) organised all these punishments.

Also in not-so-wealthy families, I know of similar cases, where an aunt immediately came to help with large amounts of money in an emergency case.

When I once lost my wallet (with passport, money, credit cards, …) in Shanghai, my Chinese friend came to my apartment the same evening with 50 000 CNY cash. And I was her friend, not even a family member.

China And Russia Launch Cutting-Edge Payment System To Challenge Dollar And SWIFT

https://youtu.be/invvouvNejE

It’s the cope. The United States is in “coping mode”.

The United States people, and upper classes are coping with the changes. These coping mechanisms vary from acceptance, to defiance! Which many in denial. Polls of the Republican presidential candidates are all 100% in favor of going to war with Mexico.

Or Haiti…

Plus China, once a war with Russia is over.

Obviously the “ruling classes” are out of touch.

Hahaha , do I believe this strange utterance of Biden?

No, I don’t believe any word he said.

It is like the slyvester saying to the pussy cat : “ I am harmless , cutie, come, let’s play together”. US treasury bond funds in the US is in danger of ending up as toilet paper.

China is told by the US treasury not to redeem anymore treasury bond funds.

Just this year , the US suggesting that Japan to install US missiles, telling countries not to sell lithography machines and computer chips to China , and then now saying that the thawing of the cold war against China is thawing… ‘ really soon’… incredible!

Cat Saves Woman’s Life

That the Chinese and Hong Kongers chose peace instead all those democratic and freedom bullshit.

Shake my goddamn head.

And people wonder why I’m not as sacred as Democrats compared to Republicans.

If the U.S. try this stunt, it will be the biggest mistake that they could ever make. In one strike China will wiped off the entire 12 aircraft carriers anywhere in earth. Next it will attack and military base the attacking force it comes from.

China and a dozen nation will take revenge action simultaneously throughout the world. And god help Japan and Japanese people if it is foolish enough to allow a bow and arrow attack from Japanese soil. South Korea take note too.

China will hit the U.S. mainland the moment the U.S. touch a stone in China. China will hand such a big hiding the U.S. will never be the same again for a century. Of if you wish let’s all die together in a total nuclear war.

So god help America if you are foolish enough.

WOW! CHINA Just Dumped 972 Billion US Dollars To Crash The US Economy – Peter Schiff

This is a very good video, and well worth your watch.

This is by far the best explanation I've heard on this subject. AND a big thumbs up on your graphics presentation.

It’s an obvious answer. Even the most pro-war, anti-China hawks recognize this fact. Which is why RAND has “cooked up” various suppression strategies designed to cripple China.

The idea behind these strategies is to weaken China to a point where it collapses, and then the oligarchic vultures can flock in and loot China at will. Previous methods were tried in the past.

Perhaps the most successful was the “century of humiliation”…

  • Use military force to enter China, and then force the government to become your proxy. Then, get the population hooked on drugs and loot, and rape the nation until it holds nothing left of value.

Since that dark period, there were other efforts…

  • A military operation to seize China though Korea. This is known as the “Korean War”, and inside America it is known as a “strategic victory”. Though, in reality, it is an absolute failure, and the Chinese kicked the American invasion forces to a small toehold in Southern Korea where they sued for peace.
  • After that fiasco, President Truman ordered the carpet bombing of China with Biological weapons. Failed, but most of the last 70 years involved various aspects of this effort against China.
  • Soros, and Bloomberg tried on multiple occasions to seize the Chinese banks and wrest financial control over China. And did they fail! Lordy! I’m surprised that they didn’t keel over and die from the shock that some nation was smart enough to see what they were doing.
  • Economic sanctions, tariffs and trade restrictions have been the hallmarks and “calling card” for most conservative members of the United States. China pretty much brushes off the efforts with a big shrug and a “meh”.
  • Color revolutions, NED sponsored, and many CIA direct interventions have occurred. From Hong Kong, to Xinjiang, to Tibet, to Inner Mongolia. All of which have failed.

The current plan is to encircle China. Then sanction it so that no one would trade, and if they tried, the United States would start sinking ships.

Crafty huh?

Not really, by the time when everything is at 70% readiness “good to go”, the most likely outcome is [1] a betrayal of the proxy nations in favor of their own survival, [2] emerging high technologies that will render Western might impotent, and [3] a generalized mega collapse domestically inside of the United States.

If it wasn’t for the massive propaganda machine, all of this would be quite obvious to the West.

Not that I want those things to happen, but the trend lines are clear, and they haven’t deviated from the 2008 prediction vectors one iota.

Chinese researchers find way to manufacture highly flexible, paper-thin solar cells

Published: May 25, 2023 10:14 PM

Chinese researchers have developed a special technology to tailor the edges of textured crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells, based on which the solar cells can be bent and folded like thin paper, allowing for broader application and use.

The breakthrough was achieved by Chinese researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results have been featured on the cover of the May 24 edition of Nature journal.

The c-Si solar cells fabricated with the new technology can be 60 millimeters thin with a bending radius of about 8 millimeters.

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c93b985c c7f9 453b 91c4 40a2cace487e

 

Highly flexible, paper-thin c-Si solar cells Photo: Courtesy of the CAS

According to the Technology Daily, c-Si solar cells are type of solar cell seeing fast development at the moment. They have advantages including long service life and high conversion efficiency, making them a leading product in the photovoltaic market.

Such c-Si solar cells have a market share of more than 95 percent, according to Di Zengfeng, deputy head of the SIMIT, who is one of the authors of the research paper.

Although c-Si solar cells were developed nearly 70 years ago, their use is still limited, the paper explained. Currently, the c-Si solar cells are mainly used in distributed photovoltaic power stations and ground photovoltaic power stations. Hopefully, such solar cells can be used in construction, backpacks, tents, automobiles, sailing boats and even planes.

They can also be used to generate clean energy for houses and a variety of portable electronic and communication devices as well as for transportation, according to the researchers.

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db24c943 4227 4491 aa87 b779b81a5eca

Highly flexible, paper-thin c-Si solar cells Photo: Courtesy of the CAS

Liu Zhengxin, a research fellow with the SIMIT, and another author of the paper, said that the study verified the feasibility of mass production, providing a technical route for the development of lightweight and flexible c-Si solar cells.

At the same time, the large-area flexible photovoltaic modules developed by the research team have been successfully applied in the fields of near-space vehicles, building photovoltaic integration and vehicle-mounted photovoltaic systems, Liu said.

Alabama needs some help

The Korean war.

In the early 1950’s, the United States (fresh from fighting World War II), along with its allies invaded Korea. The stated reasons were “democracy”, “freedom” and “fighting Communism”. Of course. The real reason was to attack and seize China while it was still weak. Then, from that captured territory, place military bases on the Russian Southern flank for an eventual World War 3.

Well, the Korean war was a fiasco. The United States lost bigly.

In fact, the losses were so very horrific, that the retreat became a rout. And the piles of equipment and stockpiles in warehouses had to be bombed remotely, by the sea and the air, to prevent capture. (This is by definition a rout. Remote demolitions of abandoned material is a characteristic of a rout.)

General Douglas MacArthur was so upset and defeated that he demanded that President Truman start using nuclear weapons on China, but Truman refused.

Instead President Truman initiated a multi-decade long campaign of carpet bombing China with bio-weapons. (Which didn’t do much to China, except make it very VERY resilient to bio-weapon attacks.)

This kind of stealth; passive-aggressive, attacking continued for decades. Well into the 1970s.

So when the 1960s rolled around, the United States was busy fighting on China’s Southern borders; Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. All trying to obtain a “toe hold” there. But Chinese-backed Vietnamese forces were putting up a good fight.

You must realize that at that time, with a hostile and unstable SE Asia, and a very VERY pissed off China, the United States was in no way ready to take on China. Because over the decades of covert hostilities, the Chinese grew stronger, and angrier with each passing month.

So in the 1960s and into the 1970s, the United States did not attack China overtly. It’s not that the United States did not want to attack China. It is just that it simply could not. China was a very formidable fighting force, and the anticipated American (and allied) losses would have been enormous.

Adidas jumped on the Anti-China Uighur/Xinjiang cotton train.

Adidas has had 2 years of market share decline.

Whoopsie!

main qimg 23a52924c60801d1a518e161ea9a17a4
main qimg 23a52924c60801d1a518e161ea9a17a4

The US loves drama as long as they are not the ones directly involved.

They want diplomacy so that they can avert war.

No such thing.

War is the whole point now.

***

The real reason America was so angry over COVID, was that they knew they deserved it.

They deserved a China that was willing to take blood revenge to their doorstep, retaliating and escalating against their attempts to destroy China with a bona fide attempt to destroy USA back.

China wasn’t that kind of country; the response from China was a relatively placid ‘no you!’ to USA.

If it was up to me, I’d be saying that we are delivering blood revenge to USA and the West for the trade war.

What can they do about us striking back? Nuke us? They can’t.

Fuck with us? We’ll make another 10 more viruses. Enjoy lockdown.

***

We want them to know that every misstep potentially leads to nuclear war.

We want them to know that we are done talking and now will fight.

We want them to know that we are one step away from blood revenge.

Pragmatic?

Nope, blood revenge it is.

The blood debt must be repaid in full with interest.

Robert, divorce? Nope. There was never a relationship. The US is like a stalker and a sexual harasser still trying to convince the world it ever had a relationship with China, that China is a hostile ex. No such thing. The US is the stalker here.

Bayou Baked Chicken

2023 05 28 11 37
2023 05 28 11 37

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 whole chicken, cut up
  • 3 large potatoes, cut into cubes
  • Cajun seasoning
  • 1 onion, cut into large pieces
  • 1 bell pepper, cut into strips
  • 1/2 cup minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Place flour in bottom of large greased baking dish.
  3. Arrange chicken and potatoes in dish, seasoning on both sides with Cajun Seasoning.
  4. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley and Worcestershire sauce.
  5. Sprinkle Lipton onion soup mix on top.
  6. Put in oven and broil until chicken is brown on top.
  7. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F, cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour.

Look into this report

The Covid-19 coronavirus was “intentionally released” by the United States in Wuhan,

China, with the target to trigger a global pandemic to raise public acceptance of vaccines, a US businessman specializing in patent auditing said.

2023 05 29 06 28
2023 05 29 06 28

David Martin, the founding chairman of M Cam asset management company, said at an International Covid Summit organized by the European Parliament in Brussels

earlier this month that the US was responsible for the making of both coronaviruses causing the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome – or SARS – in 2003 and the Covid-19 pandemic in the past three years.

Pro Fighters Put Obnoxious Jerks in Their Place

Gorgeous Photos Make Star Wars Toys Look Like Real, Life-Sized Ships

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Manufacturers of toys all over the world should be advertising their products with photos like these. Photographer Vesa Lehtimäki is responsible for these beauties; he’s been photographing his kid’s toys over the years and he makes shots that look like they belong in movies. His images of the various vehicles of Star Wars are especially impressive.

More info: Flickr

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The internet is everywhere in China. It’s fast. It’s free. It’s in the elevators, in the toll booths, on the bridges, in the train stations, on the subway.

It’s in the stalls, and on the streets. It’s in the farmer’s markets and on the farms.

Everyone uses it because it’s a requirement to get anything done. All public services are APP driven. Even beggars use wechat QR to get donations.

That being said, let’s suppose that world war 3 erupts and China loses internet….

What will happen is 200 million people will set up their own intranets as temporary workarounds, and the internet will be restored in no time at all.

China is so very unlike the West that it just boggles the mind.

U.S. Postal Carrier: “19 People Have Died on my Mail Route in Last 4 Months”– Vax Jabbed!

A U.S. Postal Mail Carrier has released a video explaining that on her route of 460 homes, it is average for one or two people to die each year, but in the last four months, NINETEEN people on her route have died!  She thinks it’s the Vax. . .

One minute long video, below:

TRANSCRIPT Of Dr David E.Martin’s Speech At The European Union Parliament MAY 2023

It is a, it is a particularly interesting location for me to be sitting today, given that over a decade ago I sat in this very chair right here in the European Union Parliament.

And at that time I warned the world of what was coming, during that conversation that was hosted at the time by the Green and EFA and a number of the other parties of the European Unions, of various representations.

We were having a conversation on whether Europe should adopt the United States policy of allowing for the patents on biologically derived materials.

And at the time I urged this body and I urged people around the world that the weaponization of nature against humanity had dire consequences.

Tragically, I sit here today, with that unfortunate line that I don’t like to say, which is “I told you so.”

But the fact of the matter is, we’re here not for a reprisal on past decisions. We’re here to actually, once again, come to the face of the human condition and ask the question, who do we want to be?

What do we want humanity to look like?

And rather than seeing this as an exercise in futility, which is very easy from time to time when you’re in the position I’m in, I actually see this not as an exercise in futility.

I see this as one of the greatest opportunities that faces us because we now have a public conversation, which is now front and center in people’s minds.

When this was an esoteric conversation about biological patents, nobody cared.

But when that conversation came home, then it became something people can care about.
So I’m actually quite grateful for this opportunity.

I thank the members of Parliament for hosting this.

I thank all of the translators who I apologize in advance.

I will use terminology that is probably very difficult to translate, so my apologies, and I’d also like to acknowledge the fact that many of you are aware of my involvement with this in large part due to the amazing work of my wonderful wife, Kim Martin, who encouraged me at the very early days of this pandemic to get on front of the camera and talk about all the information that I had been sharing among very small groups around the world.

And it was in fact her encouragement that put me in a place where many of you have heard what I have to say.

Ironically, the world that I came from that used to be very popular, my CNBC and Bloomberg presentations, which were televised on mainstream media around the world, was an audience that I lost.

I can confidently say Covid diminished my fame, but I can also confidently say that I’d rather stand among the people with whom I’m standing today than any of the folks that were part of that previous world.
So, this is a much better place to be.

My role today is to set the stage for this conversation in a historical context, because this did not come in the last three years.

This did not come in the last five or six years.

This actually is an ongoing question that probably began here in Europe in the early stages of the mid 19 hundreds, but certainly by 1913, 1914, this conversation started right here in Central Europe.

The pandemic that we alleged to have happen in the last few years also did not happen overnight.

In fact, the very specific pandemic using coronavirus began in a very different time.

Most of you don’t know that Coronavirus as a model of a pathogen was isolated in 1965.

Coronavirus was identified in 1965 as one of the first infectious, replicatable viral models that could be used to modify a series of other experiences of human condition.

It was isolated once upon a time associated with the common cold.

But what’s particularly interesting about its isolation in 1965 was that it was immediately identified as a pathogen that could be used and modified for a whole host of reasons.

And you heard me correctly, that was 1965.

And by the way, these slides are public domain.

You’re welcome to look at every single reference.

Every comment that I made is based on published material.

So do make sure that you look at those references.

But in 1966, the very first COV Coronavirus model was used as a transatlantic biological experiment in human manipulation, and you heard the date 1966.

I hope you’re getting the point of what I’m saying.

This is not an overnight thing.

This is actually something that’s been long in the making.

A year before I was born, we had the first Trans-Atlantic coronavirus data sharing experiment between the United States and the United Kingdom.

And in 1967, the year I was born, we did the first human trials on inoculating people with modified coronavirus.

Isn’t that amazing?

56 years ago, the overnight success of a pathogen that’s been 56 years in engineering, and I want that to chill with all of you.

Where were we when we actually allowed in violation of biological and chemical weapons treaties?
Where were we as a human civilization when we thought it was an acceptable thing to do to take a pathogen for the United States and infect the world with it?

Where was that conversation and what should have been that conversation in 1967?

That conversation wasn’t had. Ironically, the common cold was turned into a chimera in the 1970s, and in 1975, 1976 and 1977, we started figuring out how to modify coronavirus by putting it into different animals.
Pigs and dogs.

And not surprisingly, by the time we got to 1990, we found out that coronavirus as a infectious agent was an industrial problem for two primary industries, the industries of dogs and pigs.

Dog breeders and pigs found that Coronavirus created gastrointestinal problems, and that became the basis for Pfizer’s first spike protein vaccine.

Patent filed. Are you ready for this In 1990?

Did you hear what I just said?

Operation Warpspeed.

I’m sorry.

Where’s the warp and the speed?

Pfizer 1990.

The very first spike protein vaccine for Coronavirus.

Isn’t that fascinating?

Isn’t it fascinating that we were, we were told that, well, the spike protein is a new thing.

We just found out that that’s the problem.

No.

As a matter of fact, we didn’t just find out it was not just now.

Now the problem, we found that out in 1990 and filed the first patents on vaccines in 1990 for the spike protein of Coronavirus.

And who would’ve thought Pfizer?

Clearly the innocent organization that does nothing but promote human health.

Clearly, Pfizer, the organization that has not bought the votes in this chamber, in every chamber of every government around the world, not that Pfizer, certainly they wouldn’t have had anything to do with this, but oh yes, they did.

And in 1990 they found out that there was a problem with vaccines.

They didn’t work.

You know why they didn’t work?

It turns out that Coronavirus is a very malleable model.

It transforms and it changes, and it mutates over time.

As a matter of fact, every publication on vaccines for Coronavirus from 1990 until 2018, every single publication concluded that Coronavirus escapes the vaccine impulse because it modifies and mutates too quickly for vaccines to be effective.

And since 1990 to 2018, that is the published science ladies and gentlemen, that’s following the science, following the science is their own indictment of their own programs that said, it doesn’t work.

And there are thousands of publications to that effect, not a few hundred. And not paid for by pharmaceutical companies.

These are publications that are independent scientific research that shows unequivocally including efforts of the chimera modifications made by Ralph Bair in the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

All of them show vaccines do not work on coronavirus.

That’s the science, and that science has never been disputed.

But then we had an interesting development in 2002, and this date is most important because in 2002, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill patented, and I quote, an infectious replication defective clone of coronavirus.

Listen to those words …

Infectious replication, defective.

What does that phrase actually mean?

For those of you not familiar with language, let me unpack it for you.
Infectious replication.

Defective means a weapon.

It means something meant to target an individual but not have collateral damage to other individuals.
That’s what infectious replication defective means.

And that patent was filed in 2002 on work funded by NIAD’s Anthony Fauci from 1999 to 2002, and that work patented at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill mysteriously preceded SARS 1.0 by a year.
“Dave, are you suggesting that SARS 1.0 wasn’t from a wet market in Wuhan?”

“Are you suggesting it might have come from a laboratory in the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill?”
No, I’m not suggesting it.

I’m telling you that’s the facts we engineered SARS.

SARS is not a naturally occurring phenomenon.

The naturally occurring phenomenon is called the common cold.

It’s called influenza-like illness.

It’s called gastroenteritis.

That’s the naturally occurring coronavirus.

SARS is the research developed by humans weaponizing a life system model to actually attack human beings, and they patented it in 2002.

And in 2003, giant surprise, the CDC filed the patent on Coronavirus isolated from humans in violation once again of biological and chemical weapons, treaties and laws that we have in the United States, and I’m very, very precise on this.

United States likes to talk about its rights and everything else, and the rule of law and all the nonsense that we like to talk about, but we don’t ratify treaties about, I don’t know, defending humans.

We conspicuously avoid that we actually have a great track record of advocating for human rights and then denying them when it comes to actually being part of the international community, which is a slightly problematic thing.

But let’s get something very clear.

When the CDC, in April of 2003 filed the patent on SARS Coronavirus isolated from humans, what did they do?

They downloaded a sequence from China, and filed a patent on it in the United States.

Any of you familiar with biological and chemical weapons treaties knows that’s a violation.

That’s a crime.

That’s not an innocent, oops; that’s a crime.

And the United States Patent Office went as far as to reject that patent application on two occasions until the CDC decided to bribe the patent office to override the patent examiner to ultimately issue the patent in 2007 on SARS Coronavirus.

But let’s not let that get away from us, because it turns out that the RT PCR, which was the test that we allegedly were going to use to identify the risks associated with coronavirus, was actually identified as a bioterrorism threat by me in the European Union sponsored events in 2002 and 2003, 20 years ago that happened here in Brussels and across Europe.

In 2005, this particular pathogen was specifically labelled as a bioterrorism and bioweapon platform technology, described as such.

That’s not my terminology that I’m applying to it.

It was actually described as a bioweapons platform technology in 2005.

And from 2005 onwards, it was actually a bio warfare enabling agent.

It’s official classification from 2005 forward.

I don’t know if that sounds like public health to you, does it?

Biological warfare enabling technology that feels like not public health, that feels like not medicine, that feels like a weapon, designed to take out humanity.

That’s what it feels like, and it feels like that because that’s exactly what it is.

We have been lured into believing that EcoHealth Alliance and DARPA and all of these organizations are what we should be pointing to.

But we’ve been specifically requested to ignore the facts that over $10 billion have been funnelled through black operations, through the check of Anthony Fauci and a side-by-side ledger where NIAD has a balance sheet, and next to it is a biodefense balance sheet.

Equivalent dollar for dollar matching that no one in the media talks about, and it’s been going on since 2005.
Our gain of function moratorium.

The moratorium that was supposed to freeze any efforts to do gain of function research.

Conveniently, in the fall of 2014, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill received a letter from NIAD saying that while the gain of function moratorium on coronavirus in vivo should be suspended, because their grants had already been funded, they received an exemption.

Did you hear what I just said?

A biological weapons lab facility at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill received an exemption from the gain of function moratorium so that by 2016 we could publish the journal article that said SARS Coronavirus is poised for human emergence in 2016 and what, you might ask Dave, was the coronavirus poised for human emergence?

It was WIV ONE.

Wuhan Institute of Virology Virus One.

Poised for human emergence in 2016 at the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, such that by the time we get to 2017 and 2018, the following phrase entered into common parlance among the community, there is going to be an accidental or intentional release of a respiratory pathogen.

The operative word, obviously in that phrase, the word release, does that sound like leak?
Does that sound like a bat and a Pangolin went into a bar in the Wuhan market and hung out and had sex?
And, and lo and behold, we got SARS Cov-2.
No accidental or intentional release of a respiratory pathogen was the terminology used.

And four times in April of 2019, seven months before the allegation of patient number one, four patent applications of Moderna were modified to include the term accidental or intentional release of a respiratory pathogen as the justification for making a vaccine for a thing that did not exist.

If you have not done so, please make sure that you make reference in every investigation to the premeditation nature of this, because it was in September of 2019 that the world was informed.
That we were going to have an accident or intentional release of a respiratory pathogen so that by September, 2020 there would be a worldwide acceptance of a universal vaccine template.

That’s their words right in front of you on the screen.

The intent was to get the world to accept a universal vaccine template, and the intent was to use coronavirus to get there.

Let’s, let’s read this because we have to read this into the record everywhere I go.

“Until an infectious disease crisis is very real present and at the emergency threshold that is often largely
ignored to sustain the funding base beyond the crisis.”

He said, “we need to increase the public understanding for the need for medical countermeasures, such as a pan influenza or pan coronavirus vaccine.”

“A key driver is the media and the economics will follow the hype. We need to use that hype to our advantage to get to the real issues. Investors will respond if they see profit at the end of the process.”
Sounds like public health.

Sounds like the best of humanity.

No.

Ladies and gentlemen, this was premeditated domestic terrorism stated at the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2015, published in front of them.

This is an act of biological and chemical warfare perpetrated on the human race, and it was admitted to in writing that this was a financial heist and a financial fraud.

“Investors will follow if they see profit at the end of the process.”

Let me conclude by making five very brief recommendations.

The last slide, nature was hijacked.

This whole story started in 1965 when we decided to hijack a natural model and decide to start manipulating it.

Science was hijacked when the only questions that could be asked were questions authorized under the patent protection of the CDC, the FDA, the NIH, and their equivalent organizations around the world.

We didn’t have independent science.

We had hijacked science, and unfortunately there was no moral oversight in violation of all of the codes that we stand for.

There was no independent, financially disinterested independent review board ever empanelled around coronavirus.

Not once, not once, not since 1965.

We do not have a single independent IRB ever empanelled, around Coronavirus.

So, morality was suspended for medical countermeasures, and ultimately humanity was lost because we decided to allow it to happen.

Our job today is to say, no more gain of function research period.

No more weaponization of nature period.

And most importantly, no more corporate patronage of science for their own self-interest unless they assume 100% product liability for every injury and every death that they maintain.

Thank you very much.

Dr David E. Martin

How Native Hawaiians have been pushed out of Hawai’i

Relatively few. The reason is because most Westerners have been indoctrinated to believe that China is a brutal Communist dictatorship that seeks global dominion, thanks to Western mainstream media.

The ones who know better have:

  • visited China and gained a greater understanding of the country
  • studied Chinese history and culture
  • learned that China hasn’t fought a war in the last 44 years, making it the only world power in history to have been so peaceful for so long
  • understood that China has gained no new territory since the Qing Dynasty over 200 years ago — various parts of China have temporarily changed hands during this period, for example, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet

main qimg 7c5bdbb237754812045f282c0a3bf732 pjlq
main qimg 7c5bdbb237754812045f282c0a3bf732 pjlq

  • witnessed China’s benevolence — helping countries build infrastructure, helping countries vaccinate when the West hoarded their vaccines, leading peaceful alliances such as BRICS, RCEP and SCO, working to establish peace such as the recent Saudi-Iran peace deal and the peace plan proposal between Russia and Ukraine, helping the USA during the 2008 GFC

China is the exact opposite of the USA, which has fought dozens of wars in the last half century, including notably Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Is the USA a peaceful country?

20 SIGNS Walmart is Collapsing Before Our Eyes!

https://youtu.be/J5oUOYLoatQ

China’s New Quantum Computing Breakthrough SHOCKS American Scientists.

A semiprime number is the product of two prime numbers. You probably know that semiprime numbers are used as keys in coded internet protocols like RSA.

If someone did produce a quantum computer that could factor a large semiprime number into its two prime factors, the whole internet would be compromised. That someone could hack into everyones’ secure data like at banks and corporations. Before a quantum computer can factor a semiprime number, it must be able to do simple calculations. Back in the day, transistors had to do simple calculations, like 2 X 2, before complex calculations. Video 1 is about China's scientists' progress on quantum computers. China's quantum computers can solve pretty complicated mathematical problems. Some of these videos can have hyperbolic names, However, China’s scientists may have shocked other scientists in the field. China is kicking America's butt in many fields like artificial Suns. China recently smashed the world record for the length of time its scientists kept an artificial Sun going at 403 seconds.

China’s artificial sun is called a tokamak. China’s tokamak is nothing short of spectacular. Artificial Suns are the future of energy.
.

If China did produce a quantum computer that could factor a large semiprime number into its two prime factors, China could hack into secure data all over the world. I’m not suggesting China would do that, but it could if its quantum computers could factor a large semiprime number.

Footnotes

Airpods Emit Wireless Radiation

Prevent color revolution/coup (that is instigated by the West). Take steps to:

1, suppress terrorism

2, suppress division of citizens due to ethnicity

3, suppress radicalization of religion

Central Asia is located between Russia & China. It is a hot spot for USA+UK to instigate color revolution in name of ethnic or religious (Muslim) minority. Just like Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Color revolution is a topic the West seldom talks about. But USA+allies has been QUIETLY doing so for decades. So as to subvert a government that does not “obey” USA. So as to control other’s strategic soverignty, economy & natural resources. … it is modern-day colonization without occupying land.

Look at the orange revolution in Ukraine in 2004. We were told the then pro-Russia president was corrupted.

Until Putin pushed for a resolution in UN Security Council against Nazism (got passed) that we learnt the West+new Ukraine government plotted to eliminate Russian-speaking & Hungarian-speaking Ukrainians. That … is cultural if not ethnic genocide.

Xi An Declaration does not detail how the West stirs unrest in other country. Let me tell you.

Cultural infiltration. It is a quiet Cold War that you wont notice.

NED is a spin-off from CIA. Like religion, NED-funded NGOs spread US culture to other cultures.

Britain once said: NED helps US expansion.

US NGOs fund & recruit local NGOs to gather different groups of people. All have a moral high ground eg democracy, freedom, human & animal rights, climate change, LGBTQ & more. To make people think they are fighting for Righteous. Any cultures different from USA is evil & should be eliminated. “My god is true & yours is false”.

When time is ripe, the NGOs will instigate a mass of people to start the unrest/riot/coup/wars.

One NGO is free press/radio whose job is to spread fake news. Create hatred & fear of local government. Or Russia, China, Iran etc are evil.

Some color revolutions have no name eg 2002 Xinjiang with ethnic Uyghurs & Muslim.

Some have names eg Arab Spring in Middle East, Rose revolution in Georgia, Tulip revolution in Kyrgyzstan, democracy movement in Hongkong.

Even US allies are not immune from US-led riots eg France’s yellow vest riot.

I always advise people: before fighting for “Righteous” for other country, sort out if it is a US-led color revolution which actually is modern-day colonization.

Remember: millions died or lost their homeland/heritage in US color revolution.

3 MINUTES AGO, Ukraine Just Started WW3 With This!

https://youtu.be/1_d369R9e9o

America’s wars and the US debt crisis

May 25, 2023

To surmount the debt crisis, America needs to stop feeding the Military-Industrial Complex, the most powerful lobby in Washington.

In the year 2000, the U.S. government debt was $3.5 trillion, equal to 35% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2022, the debt was $24 trillion, equal to 95% of GDP. The U.S. debt is soaring, hence America’s current debt crisis. Yet both Republicans and Democrats are missing the solution: stopping America’s wars of choice and slashing military outlays.

Suppose the government’s debt had remained at a modest 35% of GDP, as in 2000. Today’s debt would be $9 billion, as opposed to $24 trillion. Why did the U.S. government incur the excess $15 trillion in debt?

The single biggest answer is the U.S. government’s addiction to war and military spending. According to the Watson Institute at Brown University, the cost of U.S. wars from fiscal year 2001 to fiscal year 2022 amounted to a whopping $8 trillion, more than half of the extra $15 trillion in debt. The other $7 trillion arose roughly equally from budget deficits caused by the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

To surmount the debt crisis, America needs to stop feeding the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC), the most powerful lobby in Washington. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously warned on January 17, 1961, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Since 2000, the MIC led the U.S. into disastrous wars of choice in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and now Ukraine.

The Military-Industrial Complex long ago adopted a winning political strategy by ensuring that the military budget reaches into every Congressional district. The Congressional Research Service recently recently reminded that, “Defence spending touches every Member of Congress’s district through pay and benefits for military service members and retirees, economic and environmental impact of installations, and procurement of weapons systems and parts from local industry, among other activities.” Only a brave member of Congress would vote against the military-industry lobby, yet bravery is certainly no hallmark of Congress.

America’s annual military spending is now around $900 billion, roughly 40% of the world’s total,, and greater than the next 10 countries combined. U.S. military spending in 2022 was triple that of China. According to Congressional Budget Office, the military outlays for 2024-2033 will be a staggering $10.3 trillion on current baseline. A quarter or more of that could be avoided by ending America’s wars of choice, closing down many of America’s 800 or so military bases around the world, and negotiating new arms control agreements with China and Russia.

Yet instead of peace through diplomacy, and fiscal responsibility, the MIC regularly scares the American people with a comic-book style depictions of villains whom the U.S. must stop at all costs. The post-2000 list has included Afghanistan’s Taliban, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Libya’s Moammar Qaddafi, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and recently, China’s Xi Jinping. War, we are repeatedly told, is necessary for America’s survival.

A peace-oriented foreign policy would be opposed strenuously by the military-industrial lobby but not by the public. Significant public pluralities already want less, not more, U.S. involvement in other countries’ affairs, and less, not more, US troop deployments overseas. Regarding Ukraine, Americans overwhelmingly want a “minor role” (52%) rather than a “major role” (26%) in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This is why neither Biden nor any recent president has dared to ask Congress for any tax increase to pay for America’s wars. The public’s response would be a resounding “No!”

While America’s wars of choice have been awful for America, they have been far greater disasters for countries that America purports to be saving. As Henry Kissinger famously quipped, “To be an enemy of the United States can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.” Afghanistan was America’s cause from 2001 to 2021, until the U.S. left it broken, bankrupt, and hungry. Ukraine is now in America’s embrace, with the same likely results: ongoing war, death, and destruction.

The military budget could be cut prudently and deeply if the U.S. replaced its wars of choice and arms races with real diplomacy and arms agreements. If presidents and members of congress had only heeded the warnings of top American diplomats such as William Burns, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia in 2008, and now CIA Director, the U.S. would have protected Ukraine’s security through diplomacy, agreeing with Russia that the U.S. would not expand NATO into Ukraine if Russia also kept its military out of Ukraine. Yet relentless NATO expansion is a favourite cause of the MIC; new NATO members are major customers of U.S. armaments.

The U.S. has also unilaterally abandoned key arms control agreements. In 2002, the U.S. unilaterally walked out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. And rather than promote nuclear disarmament—as the U.S. and other nuclear powers are required to do under Article VI the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty—the Military-Industrial Complex has sold Congress on plans to spend more than $600 billion by 2030 to “modernise” the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Now the MIC is talking up the prospect of war with China over Taiwan. The drumbeats of war with China are stoking the military budget, yet war with China is easily avoidable if the U.S. adheres to the One-China policy that properly underpins U.S.-China relations. Such a war should be unthinkable. More than bankrupting the U.S., it could end the world.

Military spending is not the only budget challenge. Ageing and rising healthcare costs add to the fiscal woes. According to the Congressional Budget Office, debt will reach 185 percent of GDP by 2052 if current policies remain unchanged. Healthcare costs should be capped while taxes on the rich should be raised. Yet facing down the military-industrial lobby is the vital first step to putting America’s fiscal house in order, needed to save the U.S., and possibly the world, from America’s perverse lobby-driven politics.

Cat protects homeowner

US Geopolitics: Believing Impossible Things

Back in the day when raiders were putting fear in the hearts of Corporate America, merger & acquisition pros were business media stars. One of the top shops back then, Lazard Frères, prided itself in its skills in abnormal psychology, aka managing CEOs. One of its most important bits of advice to them was danger of believing your own PR.

In corporate America, there’s a decent risk that fakery will get caught out by competitors, short sellers, whistleblowers, and just plain careful reading of audited financials. That said, Jack Welch kept reality at bay for a very very long time, to the detriment not only of GE but also his many imitators.

By contrast, in politics, reality avoidance is routinely the key to a long and successful-looking career, witness Eurocrats’ fondness for “kick the can” strategies. And that propensity is particularly dangerous when leadership groups have become both selfish and short-termist. There really was once upon a time some people who went into government service for the service part, and not for the revolving door and networking. There was also a time, before the rise of global elites, where the powerful had ties to particular physical communities and some took interest in their betterment. In other words, while there were plenty of self-promoting and mediocre people at the helm, there were often enough in the room who were concerned about long-term risks to put a check on the worst behavior.1

But now, the well-honed effectiveness of propaganda has encouraged politicians and their media amplifiers/allies to go hog wild with selling Big Lies. And the worst is there are no consequences for the perps. After the first systematic use of large-scale propaganda, by the Creel Committee during what was then called the Great War, was uncovered, the US public was aghast. In a comparatively short time, this multi-channel campaign turned American opinion from unconcerned to rabidly anti-German with fabricated atrocities, like German soldiers bayonetting babies. There was a lot of soul-searching, as well as rationalizations by the likes of Walter Lippmann of the need for experts to interpret not just technical information but matters of general interest for a citizenry inherently unable to perceive reality due to bias and incomplete information.

Not only has the reliance on tall tale-telling grown, but there has been perilous little self-reflection in the wake of abject fabrications like WMD in Iraq and Russiagate. Instead, it seems that Americans are all too eager to become pupils of the White Queen. From Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass:

“How old are you?” said the queen.

“I’m seven and a half exactly”

“You needn’t say “exactly” the queen remarked : “I can believe it without that. Now I’ll give you something to believe. I am just one hundred and one, five months and a day”

“I can’t believe that!” said Alice.

“Can’t you?” the Queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”

Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said: “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

The wee problem with the war in Ukraine and the escalating US eye-poking of China is neither is going very well, to the degree that the propaganda started fizzling out very quickly in the Global South and is losing its potency in the West. It’s hard to keep up the pretense of a great inevitable Ukraine victory with Ukraine losing Bakhmut, after Zelensky made it the centerpiece of his Congressional love-fest last December. Oh, but Ukraine is still trying to deny it is lost, as they did for Mariupol and Soledar until well after the fact. Or how about Ukraine shooting 30 Patriot missiles in about two minutes, which is as much as 10% of total annual production for all countries, in an unsuccessful effort to stop a Kinzhal hypersonic missile?2 Or commander-in-chief General Zaluzhny, usually highly visible, being missing in action for weeks, and Ukraine legitimating rumors about him being critically injured in a Russian missile strike by presenting old footage of him as current?

Similarly, trying to bully countries that had no reason to take sides into aligning against Russia and then doubling down on coercion confirmed Putin’s messaging about colonial powers trying to reassert their historical, exploitative roles. This new cold war has seen many countries chose move to the allegedly “undemocratic” side of the Iron Curtain, much to the West’s impotent fury.

The US and NATO have needed to maintain an image of success with Ukraine because it quickly turned into a bizarrely public coalition exercise, with arguments among NATO members about who really ought to empty their stockpiles for the cause, and one suspects not so public discussions about Ukraine refugees. Even though the press in “collective West” countries has mainly been cheerleading the war, albeit with more and more admissions of late that the exercise has gone pear-shaped, there’s a growing sense in the US, and even reportedly in some parts of Europe like Germany, that enthusiasm on the man on the street level is waning.

Another problem is NATO is simply not fit for this purpose. It was designed for defense, with many nations designing their own very compatible weapons, which each requires their own logistics tail (why not better pork-sharing via common designs and divvying of the manufacturing pie, as the EU did successfully with Airbus?). Brian Berletic, Douglas Macgregor, and Scott Ritter have explained repeatedly why deliveries of disparate weapons systems, mainly new to Ukraine, is a prescription for yet more failure. Oh and to the extent NATO forces have seen combat, it’s been in small insurgent wars, and so not helpful in Ukraine.

The balkanized weapon systems are symptomatic of a lack of NATO cohesiveness at the level of institutional design, which is now being tested to destruction by this conflict. Article 5, often incorrectly presented as a “one for all and all for one” mutual defense pact. In fact, all Article 5 obligated member states to do is to taking action as it deems necessary. Each state gets to decide on its own if it wants to commit armed forces…or indeed, anything else.

Similarly, US officials may have told themselves that much of the world regarded China with suspicion due to its often-overheated rhetoric and hypersensitivity to slights. But these self-comforting beliefs about China’s position on the world stage got a big wake up call with China brokering a normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and then Syria. Now China is making more trouble by wandering into America’s back yard, as in Europe, and talking up its napkin-doodle Ukraine peace plan. That scheme will go nowhere but China’s campaign has the effect of identifying it trying to end conflicts (as contrasted with the US trying to keep them going) and intensifying already apparent splits among the alliance.

So the US efforts to pretend everything is going swimmingly are now looking a bit frayed. Not to overdo an analogy, but the US seems to be in a weird phase of the Kübler-Ross five stages of grief paradigm, which are denial, anger bargaining, depression, and acceptance. There’s still plenty of denial, witness the someday-gonna-arrive game-changing Great Ukrainian Counteroffensive, following many game-changing weapons deliveries like Bayraktars, Javelins, HIMARS and Leopard tanks, and other efforts at unduly upbeat messaging about generally terrible conditions on the ground. Zelensky has just given two self-sabotaging ire-filled lectures about how he’s entitled to more support and where the hell is it, to the Arab League and G-7.

But to me, the most intriguing is the weird bargaining, which very much like bargaining over death, is bargaining with yourself. For some time, since at least General Mark Milley’s quickly deflated trial balloon last November, there has been more and more talk from pundits and even sometimes from officials how Ukraine should negotiate with Russia, after some sort of retaking of ground so as to better Ukraine’s bargaining position.

Of course, the idea that Russia will do anything more than go through the motions of negotiating for appearances’ sake is delusional. As former Indian diplomat M. K. Bhadrakumar reminded readers in his latest post, Putin warned Ukraine and its backers last July, the longer the conflict lasted, “the harder it will be to negotiate with us.” That was before Merkel and Hollande bragged about their Minsk Accords duplicity, which has led Putin to make embittered statements about what a mistake it had been to try to cooperate.

Putin has a history of endeavoring not to repeat mistakes. Russia was already depicting the US as “not agreement capable” even before the Minsk disclosures. And even if there were a regime change in Washington, Putin has repeatedly seen presidents make commitments to him that they reneged on later. He (perhaps charitably) attributed that to a permanent bureaucracy really being in charge.3

The US is again negotiating with itself in approving having allies supply F-16s to Ukraine, then trying to claim this isn’t an escalation because they won’t be used against Russian territory, ignoring the Russian view that not just Crimea but also the four annexed oblasts are Russian territory. Russia’s tart response, per TASS:

Western countries continue down the path of escalation and Moscow will take their plans to send F-16 aircraft to Ukraine into account, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told TASS on Saturday.

“We can see that Western countries continue to stick to an escalation scenario, which carries enormous risks for them. In any case, we will take it into account when making plans. We have all the necessary means to achieve our goals,” he said on the sidelines of the 31st Assembly of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, when asked to comment on the possible supplies of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.

A new flavor of Western copium is the latest idea of a “frozen conflict” per a trial balloon in Politico:

U.S. officials are planning for the growing possibility that the Russia-Ukraine war will turn into a frozen conflict that lasts many years — perhaps decades — and joins the ranks of similar lengthy face-offs in the Korean peninsula, South Asia and beyond.

The options discussed within the Biden administration for a long-term “freeze” include where to set potential lines that Ukraine and Russia would agree not to cross, but which would not have to be official borders. The discussions — while provisional — have taken place across various U.S. agencies and in the White House.

Again, this is intellectual masturbation the US a little too obviously talking to itself. It’s become more and more clear from the Russian side that it must prosecute the war until Ukraine is decisively defeated, which means Russia dictates terms and either installs a puppet regime or somehow manages to tee off the Medvedev scenario of Poland, Hungary and Romania eating big bits of Western Ukraine, leaving only “Ukraine” as Greater Kiev, as in too small to serve as a platform for much of anything.

We have pointed out Russia could create a DMZ, which is not the same as agreeing to one with the West, by creating a very large de-electrified zone which only the Eastern European versions of preppers might inhabit. And now that the West has decided to deploy Storm Shadows, it would have to be at least 250 miles wide so as to keep Russian territory out of strike range.

On China, the US position is just as internally driven and therefore incoherent. As we and others have pointed out, the China hawks have been quietly duking it out with the Russia haters for a while. The implied compromise, that Russia would be dispatched quickly so the US could pivot to China, is not working out. China hardliner Charles Brown is expected to replace Mark Milley at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but that may not be sufficient to shift the US focus decisively to China and allow for Ukraine to be quietly abandoned. Biden, Blinken and Nuland are heavily invested in the “get Putin” project and are likely to be incapable of abandoning it. And with the US $100 billion or so into this investment, some Congresscritters are likely to demand either results or an explanation.

The latest display on the China front was the decidedly China-hostile G-7 meeting. Admittedly, the official statement was in flabby NGO-speak and did start with a handwave about UN principles and sticking with Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. Even so, the anti-China barbs stood out. For instance:

2. We will champion international principles and shared values by:

…strongly opposing any unilateral attempts to change the peacefully established status of territories by force or coercion anywhere in the world and reaffirming that the acquisition of territory by force is prohibited….

51. We stand together as G7 partners on the following elements, which underpin our respective relations with China:

We stand prepared to build constructive and stable relations with China, recognizing the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China. We act in our national interest. It is necessary to cooperate with China, given its role in the international community and the size of its economy, on global challenges as well as areas of common interest.

We call on China to engage with us, including in international fora, on areas such as the climate and biodiversity crisis and the conservation of natural resources in the framework of the Paris and Kunming-Montreal Agreements, addressing vulnerable countries’ debt sustainability and financing needs, global health and macroeconomic stability.

Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China nor do we seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development. A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest. We are not decoupling or turning inwards. At the same time, we recognize that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying. We will take steps, individually and collectively, to invest in our own economic vibrancy. We will reduce excessive dependencies in our critical supply chains.

With a view to enabling sustainable economic relations with China, and strengthening the international trading system, we will push for a level playing field for our workers and companies. We will seek to address the challenges posed by China’s non-market policies and practices, which distort the global economy. We will counter malign practices, such as illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure. We will foster resilience to economic coercion. We also recognize the necessity of protecting certain advanced technologies that could be used to threaten our national security without unduly limiting trade and investment.

There’s plenty more in Section 51 but you get the drift of the gist. There’s a lot to lambaste, but I found the “not seeking to harm China” and “not decoupling but de-risking” bits to be particularly rich.

The Financial Times’ interpretation of the G-7 statement, in what at the time was a lead story: G7 issues strongest condemnation of China as it intensifies response to Beijing

Yet somehow Biden thinks all of this nastiness will lead to improved relations, as if China were some sort of battered wife that would meekly accept abuse as better than neglect. From a new story in the pink paper, Joe Biden expects imminent ‘thaw’ in China relations:

Joe Biden has said he expects to see a “thaw” in US relations with Beijing, even as he concluded a G7 summit in Japan that made a concerted effort to counter military and economic security threats from China.

The US president said in a news conference at the end of the three-day summit that talks between the two countries had shut down after a “silly balloon” carrying spying equipment flew over North America in February, before being shot down by the US military.

Yes, the fact that the US and China are now talking is technically an improvement, but that’s not saying much. The “silly balloon” remark comes off as Biden trying to minimize and shift blame for the US hysterical reaction ont China, which is not going to improve matters. And the G-7 was insultingly acting as if it was the upholder of territorial integrity as the US is persistently promoting and funding separatism in Taiwan.

Confirm the notion that any improvement is marginal, the May 12 (as in pre G-7) press conference by China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin had Agence France-Press quizzing why an 8 hour meeting between CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Jake Sullivan produced short readouts. The answer was terse and contained a nugget: “The two sides held candid, in-depth, substantive and constructive discussions on ways to …stabilize the relationship from deterioration.” That points to extremely low expectations on the China side.

The interview also included a detailed complaint about The PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act, passed by the US House, which instructs the Department of State to press the WTO and other international organizations to revoke China’s developing nation status. Wenbin cited key metrics by which China is still a developing nation and argued the US had no authority to seek changes like this.

But the answers were measured until one reporter asked about the expectation that the G-7, as indeed happened, would accuse China of engaging in economic coercion. From the official translation:

If any country should be criticized for economic coercion, it should be the United States. The US has been overstretching the concept of national security, abusing export control and taking discriminatory and unfair measures against foreign companies. This seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition.

According to media reports, US government sanctions designations soared by 933% between 2000 and 2021. The Trump administration alone imposed more than 3,900 sanctions, or three per day on average within four years. More than 9,400 sanctions designations had come into effect in the US by fiscal year 2021. The US has slapped unilateral economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, affecting nearly half of the world’s population.

Not even G7 members have been spared from US economic coercion and bullying. Companies such as Toshiba from Japan, Siemens from Germany and Alstom from France, were all victims of US suppression. If the G7 Summit is to discuss response to economic coercion, perhaps it should first discuss what the US has done. As the G7 host, would Japan express some of those concerns to the US on behalf of the rest of the group who have been bullied by the US? Or at least speak a few words of the truth?

Instead of a perpetrator, China is a victim of US economic coercion. We have been firmly opposed to economic coercion by any country in the world and urge the G7 to embrace the trend of openness and inclusiveness in the world, stop forming exclusive blocs and not become complicit in any economic coercion.

Due to the length of this post, I’ll spare you more Chinese reactions, but the English language government house organ Global Times lays it on thick in G7 has descended into an ‘anti-China workshop’ and Manipulative G7 slammed for exclusiveness, against trend.

Bloomberg shows how this G-7 was less than a rousing success:

Screen Shot 2023 05 21 at 6.27.38 PM
Screen Shot 2023 05 21 at 6.27.38 PM

 

This sort of thing would normally be merely cringe-making, like catching a performance in Britain’s Got Talent where the performer energetically delivered a lousy act, and lacked the self-awareness to know how bad it was. But the stakes are high and we will have to live with the consequences.

Hero cat saves sleeping Florida family from fire

Thank you for your service Gizmo. “When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.” -Mark Twain.

I received VERY Disturbing information last night . . .

Looks like we have an actual WW3 Date.

My wife and son made their way up here to our home in Pennsylvania yesterday; they arrived around 6:00 PM. They brought with them Postal Mail from the P.O. Box and in that was discreetly-packaged, NATO-related information about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine thing.  I read it.  I am absorbing it.

I will do a story on this later.  It will be detailed.

We’ll be doing the Memorial Day weekend Barbecue thing, but there’s a lot of real work to get done.

We are installing a 100 amp electrical sub-panel for the Kitchen.   Whoever wired the house originally, used ONE (1) 20 amp circuit breaker . . . . for the ENTIRE kitchen.   Everything!   Refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, Microwave, Lights . . . and all outlets.

If you use the toaster when the microwave is on, as the refrigerator kicks-in, POP goes the circuit.  Dishwasher with microwave and try to brew coffee?  POP.  It’s crazy.

So we bought a GE Sub-panel, 3 awg wire, a 100 amp square-D sub panel feed breaker, and will now re-wire the ENTIRE kitchen so that each duplex outlet has its own circuit breaker, the refrigerator will have its own, same with microwave, same with dishwasher, etc.

11:00 AM, the satellite company arrived to re-aim my two satellite uplinks which are fail-overs for the radio show.   So THAT is the final work that had to be done as a result of the new roof going on earlier this week.

Everything is coming along !

Most Propaganda Looks Nothing Like This

Caitlin Johnstone

When most people in the English-speaking world hear the word “propaganda”, they tend to think of something that’s done by foreign nations who have governments that are so totalitarian they won’t even let people know what’s true or think for themselves.

Others understand that propaganda is something that happens in their own nation, but think it only happens to other people in other political parties. If they think of themselves as left-leaning they see those to their right as propagandized by right wing media, and if they think of themselves as right-leaning they see those to their left as propagandized by left wing media.

A few understand that propaganda is administered in their own nation by their own media, and understand that it’s administered across partisan lines, but they think of it in terms of really egregious lies like weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or babies being taken from incubators in Kuwait.

In reality, all are inaccurate understandings of what propaganda is and how it works in western society. Propaganda is administered in western nations, by western nations, across the political spectrum — and the really blatant and well-known examples of its existence make up only a small sliver of the propaganda that our civilization is continuously marinating in.

The most common articles of propaganda — and by far the most consequential — are not the glaring, memorable instances that live in infamy among the critically minded. They’re the mundane messages, distortions and lies-by-omission that people are fed day in and day out to normalize the status quo and lay the foundation for more propaganda to be administered in the future.

One of the forms this takes is the way the western political/media class manipulates the Overton window of acceptable political opinion.

Have you ever noticed how when you look at any mainstream newspaper, broadcast or news website, you never see views from those who oppose the existence of the US-centralized empire? Or those who want to close all foreign US military bases? Or those who want to dismantle capitalism? Or those who want a thorough rollback of the creeping authoritarianism our civilization is being subjected to? You might see some quibbling about different aspects of the empire, some debate over whether we should de-escalate against Russia so we can better escalate against China, but you won’t ever see anyone calling for the complete end of the empire and its abuses altogether.

That’s propaganda. It’s propaganda in multiple ways: it excludes voices that are critical of the established status quo from being heard and influencing people, it amplifies voices (many of whom have packing foam for brains) which support the status quo, and, most importantly, it creates the illusion that the range of political opinions presented are the only reasonable political opinions to have.

The creation of that illusion is propaganda. It’s not something solid that you can point to easily because it’s comprised of an omission of something rather than a concrete thing, but it warps people’s perspectives in ways that have immensely far-reaching consequences. It’s something that doesn’t stand out too sharply against the background, but because people are exposed to it continuously day in and day out, it plays a huge role in shaping their worldview.

Another related method of manipulation is agenda-setting — the way the press shapes public thinking by emphasising some subjects and not others. In placing importance on some matters over others simply by giving disproportionate coverage to them, the mass media (who are propagandists first and news reporters second) give the false impression that those topics are more important and the de-emphasised subjects are less so. As political scientist Bernard Cohen famously observed way back in 1963, the press “may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. The world will look different to different people depending on the map that is drawn for them by writers, editors, and publishers of the paper they read.”

Ever noticed how the fact that our governments are increasingly tempting nuclear war seems like it ought to be a front-page story pretty much every day of the week, but instead the news is full of stuff like the US presidential race and people arguing over what products Target should sell during Pride Month? That’s agenda-setting.

The press could easily have spent the entire Trump administration screaming about the dangerous aggressions Trump was advancing against Russia instead of calling him a Putin puppet, and mainstream liberals would have fixated on Trump’s warmongering insanity instead of calling him Putin’s cock holster. But that wouldn’t have served the interests of the empire, which had been planning to ramp up aggressions against Russia for years. They set the agenda, and the public fell in line.

Another of the mundane, almost-invisible ways the public is propagandized from day to day is described in a recent video by Second Thought titled “You’re Not Immune To Propaganda“. We’re continually fed messages by the capitalist machine that we must work hard for employers and accept whatever standards and compensation they see fit to offer, and if we have difficulty thriving in this unjust system the fault lies with us and not with the system. Poor? That’s your fault. Miserable? Your fault. Unemployed? Your fault. Overworked? Your fault.

The continual message we’re fed every day is that there’s nothing to rebel against and nothing to oppose, because any problems we’re perceiving are our own fault and not the fault of an abusive, exploitative system which is built to extract profit from the working class and the ecosystem at the expense of both. The system cannot be a failure, it can only be failed.

Then there’s the ideological herding funnel we discussed recently, which herds the population into two mainstream factions of equal size which both prevent all meaningful change and serve the interests of the powerful. Anyone who can’t be herded into either of these mainstream factions is instead herded into fake “populist” factions, which eventually corral them back into the mainstream factions. Those few politically engaged people who can’t be herded toward any of these groups are so small in number that they can simply be marginalized and denied any sizeable platform from which to spread their ideas, and “democracy” does the rest because the majority are supporting the status quo.

Maybe the most consequential of all the mundane, routine ways we’re propagandized is the way the mass media manufacture the illusion of normality in a dystopia so disturbing that we would all scream our lungs out if we could see it with fresh eyes. The way pundits, politicians and reporters will talk about the Biden administration surrounding China with war machinery without also talking about how freakish and horrifying it is that we’re looking at rapidly escalating brinkmanship between nuclear-armed countries. The way American cities are full of homeless people and it’s just treated as a normal and acceptable thing to simply let them stay homeless and push them out of wherever they try to be. The way nothing ever changes no matter who we vote for but we’re still herded into the voting booths and told to vote better.

As a character in the movie Waking Life puts it, “We all know the function of the media has never been to eliminate the evils of the world, no! Their job is to persuade us to accept those evils and get used to living with them. The powers that be want us to be passive observers. And they haven’t given us any other options outside the occasional purely symbolic act of voting — do you want the puppet on the right or the puppet on the left?”

They don’t just tell us what to believe about the world, they tell us what to believe about ourselves. They give us the frameworks upon which we cast our ambitions and evaluate our success, and we build psychological identities out of those constructs. I am a businessman. I am unemployed. My life is about making money. My life is about disappointing people. I am a success. I am a failure. They invent the test of our adequacy, and they invent the system by which we are graded on that test.

Over and over and over again, day after day, we are fed seemingly small messages which add up over time. Messages like,

  • The world works more or less the way we were taught in school.
  • The media have some problems but basically tell the truth.
  • The status quo is working basically fine.
  • Democracy is real and voting is effective.
  • This is the only way things can be.
  • Our government might have its problems, but it’s basically good.
  • You can earn your way into happiness by working harder.
  • You can consume your way into happiness with more spending.
  • If you think the system is dysfunctional, you’re the dysfunctional one.
  • Those who oppose the status quo are weird and untrustworthy.
  • Things might get better after the next election cycle.
  • Any attempt to change things is a silly waste of time.

By feeding us all these simple, foundational lies day after day, year after year from the time we are very young, they lay the groundwork for the more complex, specific lies we’ll be told later on. Lies like “Russia/China/Iran/etc is a real problem and its government needs to be stopped,” or “People are struggling financially right now, but it’s just because times are hard and it can’t be helped.”

All the mundane lies serve as a primer for the lies we’ll be told later, because once our worldview has been shaped by them, our basic human cognitive biases and predisposition to reject information which conflicts with our worldview will ensure that we’ll take on board the information which confirms our biases and reject any evidence against it. They construct our worldviews for us, then let our normal cognitive defense systems protect it.

Their messages don’t even need to be well-evidenced or well-argued, they only need to be repeated frequently due to a glitch in human cognition known as the illusory truth effect which causes us to mistake the feeling of having heard something before with the feeling of something being true.

Add to all this the recent development of things like Silicon Valley algorithm manipulation and the deck becomes stacked against truth even further, because someone’s odds of stumbling across information which conflicts with the propaganda they’ve been fed goes dramatically down. Even if they’re actively searching for information which conflicts the mainstream worldview, algorithms by Google and Google-owned YouTube often make it almost impossible to find.

So that’s what we’re up against. There’s a failure to appreciate just how pervasive and powerful the empire’s propaganda machine is, even among those who are very critical of empire, because propaganda in our society is like water for fish — we’re swimming in it constantly, so we don’t see it. You have to step way, way back and begin examining our situation from its most basic foundations to get any perspective on how all-encompassing it really is.

Finding your way out of the propaganda matrix takes a lot of diligent work, tons of curiosity, the humility to admit you’ve been completely wrong about everything, and more than a little plain dumb luck. But if you keep hacking away at it eventually you get there, and then you can help others get there too. It’s a hard slog, but if our chains are psychological that means they’re ultimately only made of dream stuff. All that needs to happen is for enough of us to wake up.

Cajun Chicken and Dumplings

Yield: 6 servings

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2023 05 28 11 39

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 large chicken
  • 2 quarts salted water
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 pimento, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 quart milk
  • 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Dumplings

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 slightly beaten egg
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

Dumplings

  1. In medium bowl, place flour, salt, garlic salt and ground white and black peppers.
  2. Add cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano and baking powder.
  3. Stir in egg, butter and olive oil.
  4. Gradually stir in milk. Knead dough until soft and smooth; divide into 5 small balls. Roll each ball on floured board until paper thin; cut into strips 1 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long. Lay strips on wax paper for about 15 minutes before adding to broth.

Chicken

  1. In large saucepan, place chicken and water over medium heat. Simmer about 45 minutes or until fork tender.
  2. Remove chicken, reserving broth. Chop chicken in large pieces, discarding skin and bones; set aside.
  3. In medium fry pan, place butter over low heat.
  4. Add mushrooms, celery, bell pepper, pimento and onion; sauté about 2 minutes.
  5. To broth in saucepan, add milk, hard-cooked eggs, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, cayenne and white and black peppers.
  6. Stir in sautéed vegetables; heat to boil, reduce heat to simmer and add alternating layers of chicken and dumplings, pushing each layer down into broth. Simmer about 15 minutes or until dumplings are tender.
  7. Serve chicken, dumplings and broth in individual bowls.

Taliban Moves Heavy Armor, Troops, to Iran Border

The Afghanistan Taliban is moving troops, and heavy weaponry to the border with Iran and warns it can capture Tehran within days, if Iran does not stop the provocations.

Oh, and all that heavy weaponry and armor. . . . was the stuff “left” there when the US departed Afghanistan.    HMMMMMMM.

Border Clashes broke out between Iranian Border Guards and the Taliban Afghan Army earlier today, with Major Artillery Exchanges occurring and additional Equipment reported to be en-Route towards the Border Region.

So far 2 Iranian Border Guards are said to have been Killed.

According to Local Sources the Iranian Air Force has been placed on High-Alert with preparations being made if the Situation Escalates.

(HT REMARK: Now we finally see why Biden left Afghanistan and also left behind billions of dollars of equipment to the Taliban.)

During today’s clashes, Iranian forces used 60mm mortars to intercept Taliban attacks.

Taliban and Iran border clashes have moved and are now taking place at the Nimruz border checkpoint.

Heavy Fighting is continuing to take place along the Border, with reports from earlier today stating that Taliban Forces utilizing American Towed-Artillery and other Equipment had Captured a Iranian Border Security Post near the City of Zabol.

Cat saves man’s life after fall

Hearing an 80 year old man say “he’s my hero” about a kitten is probably the most wholesome thing I’ll ever see before I die.

The cat dragged the cell phone to the trapped man!

Vietnam and your escape from the United States gulag

About depleted uranium: The main danger in DU is not it's radioactivity. The main problem is similar to heavy metals like lead, but much worse. 

It's inhaling the depleted uranium dust in to your lungs and digesting DU dust after it get absorbed by agricultural products or ends up lying in urban areas that makes DU extremely toxic. 

Heavy metals do much more to your body than "make you feel sick" they destroy the brain blood barrier and cause massive damage to the brain. 

They ruin the DNA of unborn fetuses which results in generation-wide genetic defects in society, they cause damage to many other parts and stay in the body forever. 

And heavy metals do not "degrade" they stay in the environment virtually forever, circulating and causing damage until quaranteed, like nuclear-power-plant waste (which is what DU is) is being stored.

Posted by: A200 | May 15 2023 18:25 utc | 26

Man oh man! The geopolitical situation is truly in flux.

And make no mistake, it is in Chinese favor.

Ah, meanwhile a “stealth war” is going on, but is not being reported at all. Instead it is being reported as something else…

Talk to random people.

  • Fellow passenger in public transport
  • Daily vendors
  • Store owners
  • Watchman
  • Peon of your office
  • Taxi drivers
  • Anyone you meet.

Remember, do not talk about yourself. Ask about them. And listen. I do that everyday and knowing people is amazing.

Here are some examples/ lessons I learned:

1. Got job offer from a real estate company owner

2. Made a friend during my journey home. I didn’t have return ticket but luckily I met the same guy again and we shared the railway berth.

3. Met a taxi driver whose wife works in some MNC (i guess it was GOOGLE, as a developer). After talking to him, my chauvinism went to drain.

EDIT: This conversation happened 3years ago in Hyderabad, and I don't remember what company exactly it was. But I do remember that while mentioning this, he pointed to some IT park where Google was written in bold.

4. Peon of my office gives me a distinct respect

5. Once a door to door vegetable daily vendor brought back my wallet which I dropped by mistake.

6. Some underprivileged children – whom I used to teach during my college send me “happy teachers day” card every year. And that is the most beautiful day my year.

7. I stay in Bangalore. The moment you approach a rickshaw either they will ask for 2times the meter or 20/ 30 extra over meter. But because I was listening to one of the rickshaw driver all my journey he kind of liked me, and he charged me as per meter. The meter was 74 and he took only 70 in spite Of my insisting.

8. Once in a restaurant a couple was struggling with their toddler. They were unable to eat. I was waiting for my meal so I started playing with the kid. The couple had meal in peace. By the time I left the restaurant it started raining cats and dogs. So the same couple saw waiting outside the restaurant under a shade and offered me a ride to the bus depot. During the ride we had great conversation and they decided to drop me till home.

9. I was waiting for my bus stop near the front door of the bus. So I started talking to the driver. For 20 mins we talked about topics ranging from girls empowerment to spirituality. And the drivers knowledge was surprising. His thoughts about “girl child” made me believe India is changing.

There are thousands of such conversations I can share. I learned that everyone is struggling with a fight which no one has ever fought, sometimes these conversations gives me hope, confidence, another perspectives to the different problems of life, when I am depressed it helps me feel privileged that I have such good life, parents and friends. It’s overwhelming to talk to people.

Most importantly the smile you get after listening to these people is just priceless. The life has become fast, and all one need is some ears.

Edit:

A lot of people have a question of “How to start a conversation?” Everyone can have there own way, but following is my two pence,

I have some pre-set ice breakers –

1. With Cab drivers (Ola/ Taxii for sure etc.) – “Is this your own, or you are hired?” Or “Don’t you feel frustrated with the traffic?”

2. Public Transport – Offer your seat to a lady/ old aged man. Ask when will your stop come? (even though you know when to get down). If someone is reading book – start talking about that book.

3. Coffee shop/ restaurants – Help (like I helped that couple). Or ask help in choosing dishes (this works during foreign trips).

4. If you see underprivileged child – ask if they go to school.

5. With your subordinates – Have lunch with them.

6. With roadside vendors – “How much business you make daily?” Or “do you pay some rent of this space” or “does xyz take some bribe for letting you stand here”

All in all the mantra is be observant. Understand what problem the other might have. Start talking about their problems/ situations/ likings etc.

Moving to Vietnam |BEAUTIFUL, CHEAP AND BOOMING|

This Is A Tiny Hamster Rides Her Own Personal Subway Train

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4129954574 e223ca6a2c z

In 2009, Brooklyn photographer Victoria Belanger took Edie, her tiny hamster for a ride on her own personal subway train. Little Edie wandered throughout the car, checked out the distinctive orange and yellow seats and even had a chance to peek outside before having to “stand clear of the closing doors”.

“This train is really slow.” Edie rides the model subway. Fall 2009.

More: Victoria Belanger, Flickr h/t: laughingsquid

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4129957156 b4eba6fe70 z

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4129192201 d71787c1dc z

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Safeguarding Your Mental Health from the Harmful Effects of Western War
Propaganda Ten Top Tips


By
Geoffrey Roberts FRHistS, MRIA
Emeritus Professor of History

University College Cork

  1. Beg, borrow, or buy a copy of Robert H. Thoules’s Straight and Crooked
    Thinking. Pay particular attention to the sections on the manipulative use of
    emotive language (’Russia’s unprovoked, criminal, aggressive and genocidal
    war on Ukraine’), diversionary arguments (‘you can’t negotiate peace with an
    indicted war criminal’) and drumbeat repetition (‘Ukraine has won, is winning
    and will win the war’).
  2. Beware bait and switch articles. Promising pieces with headlines like ‘in
    reality, the Ukrainian are losing’ or ‘West exaggerates Russian losses’ often
    turn out to be Neocon opeds arguing for allout western military support for
    Ukraine whilst blandly asserting that Putin would be crazy to escalate the war.
  3. Get into the habit of scanning articles about the war before reading them. If
    you espy the words ‘Hitler’, ‘appeasement’, ‘Munich’ in the same piece bin
    it, unless it is written by a trustworthy historian with the initials GR.
  4. Unsourced casualty claims from the Pentagon or the British MoD are a no
    brainer: simply divide those for Russia by 10 and multiply those for Ukraine
    by the same factor.
  5. Keep to hand a stack of old Ritter and MacGregor interviews predicting that a
    storm of Russian armoured steel will soon sweep all before it and bring the
    war to a rapid conclusion.
  6. When things are going badly for the Russkies, mute the sound on reports from
    Weeb Union and the Military Summary Channel. Then close your eyes and re
    imagine the meaning of all those little arrows flickering across the screen.
  7. When things are going really badly, restrict your YouTube viewing to
    Alexander Mercouris’’s nightly vlog. Nothing is more reassuring than
    Alexander’s dulcet tones reminding us for the umpteenth time that he is not a
    military man before launching into a lengthy explanation as to why a 50metre
    advance by the remnants of the Azov Brigade may not be as strategically
    significant as some panicmongering Russian bloggers would have us believe.
  8. Goebbels was wrong. The Big Lie is not the most effective propaganda: it is
    the cumulative effect of little lies, evasions, distortions and misdirection. The
    best antidote is a daily dose of Responsible Statecraft supplemented by a
    generous dollop of Naked Capitalism, Moon of Alabama and Antiwar.com.
  9. If you don’t read Russian, invest in a machinetranslation programme that will
    enable you to follow Strana.UA’s sane and sensible coverage of the war.
  10. Subscribe to a curated list of links that at no cost to you filters out the most
    mentally damaging western war propaganda.

What’s Happening In Haiti Is Absolutely Beyond Belief!

Amazing!

Ukraine SitRep: Explosion in Khmelnytsky – Bakhmut Evacuation – Longer Range Missiles

In the early morning of last Saturday two large explosions (video) destroyed a large ammunition depot near the city of Khmelnytsky in west Ukraine.

 

khmelni3
khmelni3

biggerThis picture shows the depot before the strike:

 

khmelni2
khmelni2

biggerThe explosion destroyed the whole depot:

 

khmelni1
khmelni1

biggerThe depot sat at a rail line some 5,000 meter west from the city center. It is likely that the explosion destroyed not only a large amount of ammunition but also a large number of windows in the city and caused some casualties.

The city of Khmelnytsky, which has a population of 270.000, is named after a famous Cossack hetman (elected military leader) who in 1648 rose up against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that controlled the west of Ukraine.

While military operations continued inconclusively, and because Tatar support proved undependable at crucial moments, Khmelnytsky began to search for other allies.

He found those allies in Moscow:

Khmelnytsky secured the military protection of the Tsardom of Russia in exchange for allegiance to the Tsar. An oath of allegiance to the Russian monarch from the leadership of the Cossack Hetmanate was taken, shortly thereafter followed by other officials, the clergy and the inhabitants of the Hetmanate swearing allegiance. The exact nature of the relationship stipulated by the agreement between the Hetmanate and Russia is a matter of scholarly controversy. The council of Pereiaslav was followed by an exchange of official documents: the March Articles (from the Cossack Hetmanate) and the Tsar’s Declaration (from Muscovy).The council was attended by a delegation from Moscow headed by Vasiliy Buturlin. The event was soon thereafter followed by the adoption in Moscow of the so-called March Articles that stipulated an autonomous status of the Hetmanate within the Russian state. The agreement precipitated the Russo-Polish War (1654–67). The definitive legal settlement was effected under the Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 concluded by Russia and Poland that re-affirmed Russia’s sovereignty over the lands of Zaporozhian Sich and left-bank Ukraine, as well as the city of Kiev.

The city is some 200 kilometer from the Polish boarder. The depot has likely held ammunition that was coming from the ‘West’ to go to the front line in east Ukraine. There are rumors that the depot held British ammunition for Challenger main battle tanks. The ammunition is filled with depleted Uranium. Some charts are circulating which claim to show a gamma ray spike in the area.

 

khmelni4
khmelni4

biggerHowever the relevant map does not load for me and I have no way to verify it. The chart seem to show an increase in Gamma radiation but that increase happened during May 11/12, not in the early morning of May 13 when the explosion happened. The increase is also very small and the total is normal and not dangerous. Flying in a commercial airplane will typically expose you to some 2,000 nano-Sievert per hour [nSi/h]. Small background radiation variances happen all the time so the chart does not really tell us anything.

In other news the Ukrainian army seems to abandon whatever is left of Bakhmut city.

In today’s clobber report the Russian Defense Ministry reported the intercept by air defense of a British Storm Shadow cruise missile. This confirms that these are not some new wonder weapons. (The recent two Storm Shadow impacts in Luhansk city were against undefended targets and also accompanied by a U.S. delivered electronic warfare missile which probably can confuse air defense radar.)

Also taken down yesterday were seven U.S. HARM anti-radar missiles and ten HIMARS missiles.

The use of so many HARM missiles is unusual and points to a new campaign in preparation of the much hyped counteroffensive.

Posted by b on May 15, 2023 at 17:23 UTC | Permalink

The US is proposing a railway project to connect Gulf and Arab countries. But can it win favor from Middle Eastern countries?

Hmmm… doubt it…

2023 05 16 17 20
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What NOT to Eat in Vietnam, Why Banh Mi is so Famous? | Vietnam Culture Series: Eating

By Martin Jay

May 8, 2023

What the hell is going on in Mali? Many will be asking this question as to the future of the UN’s mission there, after Germany just announced that intends to withdraw its troops from the mission

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main qimg c25f003c5731b85d3baad88c03890aef

What the hell is going on in Mali? Many will be asking this question as to the future of the UN’s mission there, after Germany just announced that intends to withdraw its troops from the mission

According to newswire reports, the German government said on May 3rd it had decided to end its participation in the UN mission in Mali

by next May over problems, it claims, with the ruling junta.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet said Berlin would pull its 1,110 troops in the UN mission MINUSMA out of the West African country over the next year and pivot towards more humanitarian and development aid for the region.

“Whether we want it to or not, what happens in the Sahel affects us,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.

“We are reorganising our engagement in the region and will let our participation in MINUSMA run out in a structured fashion over the next 12 months.”

But is it really true given Germany’s track record for its bare faced lies on the international circuit led by its odious chancellor Scholz who can’t even own up to Berlin’s role or knowledge of the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline? Is there another reason for Berlin getting out of Mali?

What was it doing there in the first place is also a good question. The truth is really not much to do with fighting terrorists in the Sahel but more about supporting France’s delusional ideas about its hegemony in Africa. Britain also sent 300 soldiers there initially to support Macron and his two-faced game in Mali of pretending to fight terrorism while really only interested in supporting French companies there and protecting French expats.

The UK pulled out those troops just months after France withdrew its soldiers in the summer of last year. Germany, it seems, is a little slow on the uptake of how shit happens in Africa and so its cumbersome political beast – a coalition of hypocrites, turncoats and dropouts – finally smelt the coffee and realised that its troops were a little isolated in a country they didn’t understand run by a junta which was aligned to Russia. Is it possible that Scholz suddenly woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and realised that his entire collation government would collapse if Wagner troops got a bit bored one day in Mali and decided to massacre the Germans as a way of sending a message that Russia is displeased with the commitment of Berlin to Zelensky?

It begs the question again in Mali, what are they European contingents doing now in Mali if none of them can get the junta there to stand in line and succumb to western elites’ needs and aspirations? Scholz clearly did the maths and realised that Mali is a ticking time bomb and his own troops were vulnerable to attack in the event of the Ukraine war stakes being raised this year.

And so the louche western media narrative is that Germany can’t get on with the military leadership in Bamako, which for anyone with an IQ more than 60 and who knows anything about how the world works, is of course nonsense. The heart of the problem for the regime in Mali is that they see no point of the Germans being there. If the Germans can’t get any results on the battlefield with the Islamic terrorists – and believe me, we would hear about it if they did – then the only other purpose for them would be to add a security later to the military leadership itself, politically.

If Germany is really there in Mali to fight the terrorists – which could/would take power in Mali if they could overpower the junta – then the thinking is why can’t they protect the elite there in any other way. The answer is because they are not there to neither fight terrorists nor prevent them from taking power in Mali. They were there to support Macron but now he and his boys have been kicked out it makes the Germans look like stupid teenage boys at the school disco all looking at each other with no girls in sight when the last dance begins. Uselessness is a word we should be comfortable with when talking about Germany and its army especially when it is lead by Scholz who is a buffoon on his best day and has led his own country into a direct conflict with Russia.

Misjudged military fuckwittery is actually a German speciality which keeps on repeating itself in history. Who could, after all, forget the initial jubilance of operation Barbarossa at the beginning of World War II which led to the German army being slaughtered when the soviets got their act together and took the battle to the next level? If the Germans themselves can’t explain to their own people what their troops are doing in West Africa, then it is hardly surprising they’re having troubles dealing with the military junta in Bamako who are proving to be “difficult”. Does anyone believe any of this bullshit from the UN press machine which recently went excrementally shite when it thundered that the UN chief was concerned about the fate of young women in Afghanistan and pledges to save them? This is the same UN chief who can’t even save his own UN staff from rape and sexual harassment on a grand scale in UN buildings?

What about shifting these $100s of billions spending countering Russia and China to take care your own citizens and economies back home?

Hundreds of billions, eventually a trillion dollars spend on playing geopolitics, that money could be used to build infrastructures, factories, lower energy cost, free housing, free education, feed the poor. Instead all wasted on geopolitics.

~3,000 Turn Out in Sydney AGAINST NATO – Pro-Russia

2023 05 22 10 42
2023 05 22 10 42

Video below shows about three thousand Australians turning-out in Sydney today, to protest NATO and show their support for Russia! The large group was peaceful and determined to let their country know their position: NATO is wrong, Russia is right, and the war in Ukraine must stop.

Here’s brief video:

HAL TURNER EDITORIAL OPINION

Do you see how peaceful, calm, and orderly this is?   THIS is what should be taking place here in the United States and over in Europe.   Every day.

Here’s why:

What our governments are doing with the Ukraine situation is slow-walking ALL OF US into literal nuclear war with Russia.

The Russians are right; they have been provoked for years by more and more NATO bases, in country after country, surrounding Russia, and pointing missiles at Russia.  They were also provoked when the West funded, incited, and facilitated the forcible, violent overthrow of Ukraine’s democratically-elected President, Viktor Yanukovich back in the year 2014.

Yanukovich had been previously contacted by the US and by the European Union (EU) about moving out of Russia’s sphere of influence, and becoming part of Europe.  Yanukovich thought about it. He consulted his government, his top business leaders, and his people.

When the time came for Yanukovich to decide yes or no to the US/EU offer, he politely told them “Thanks, but no thanks. Ukraine will remain with Russia.”

That was an answer the US/EU was NOT going to accept.

They began funding and facilitating protests and riots in Ukraine.  They paid almost a million dollars a day out of the US Embassy in Kiev, to keep the trouble going.

As the problems got worse and worse, there were shootings. Government buildings were being attacked and burned down.  It got completely out of hand.

Yanukovich had to flee the country, and Ukraine’s government collapsed.  When that happened, the US/EU was right there to fund a new, puppet government, favorable to the West.

When the new Kiev regime took over, Crimea, which had previously been part of Russia for over 300 years, but which had been “given” to Ukraine, by then-Soviet Union General Secretary Nikita Krushchev about fifty years ago, decided to have a referendum to secede from Ukraine and return to Russia.  They held that referendum and the vote was overwhelming; Crimea wanted to go home to Russia.

Of course, Russia, which had a naval base on Crimea, supported this effort, and was lambasted by the West for “illegally annexing” Crimea.   It was no annexation, Crimea voted!

When two other predominantly Russian oblasts (states) — Luhansk and Donetsk — wanted to also vote to secede, Ukraine sent its army to the border of those states and started lobbing artillery shells and mortars into the civilian areas to put down the move to secede.

Luhansk and Donetsk formed militias to fight-off the Ukrainians.  But they needed help.  Suddenly, “Little Green Men” started appearing in Luhansk and Donetsk.  Fully kitted-out soldiers, in green military uniforms, but with no patches.  No flags.  They were, of course, Russian troops.  They were clearly sent by Russia, to support Luhansk and Donetsk, whose people were being bombed by the Ukrainian army.

All this trouble, which really kicked-off from 2012, stopped dead in its tracks when Donald Trump won the US Presidency.   There was relative peace in Luhansk and Donetsk for four years, until Biden stole the US Presidency.

Within literally days of Biden taking office in January 2021, all the trouble in Luhansk and Donetsk started again.

By December, 2021, Ukraine had massed about 80,000 troops, over 1,000 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, fighter jets and the like, all along the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk.   Ukraine was going to enter Luhansk and Donetsk and slaughter the civilians who wanted to secede.

Russia had no choice.  They HAD to protect the civilians in Luhansk and Donetsk.  In fact, under the United Nations (UN) Charter, Russia had a DUTY to protect!

The LIE Which Caused this Whole Thing

All this trouble and all this NATO effort with Ukraine is being done despite the fact that then-US Secretary of State, James Baker, assured then Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and then-Foreign Minister Eduard Shevrednadze that if Russia allowed East and West Germany to re-unite, “NATO will not move one inch eastward.”

Of course, NATO did not honor that promise, and began expanding eastward, right up to Russia’s border.

Country after country joined NATO, and got NATO missiles to aim at Russia. Many countries established NATO bases to rotate NATO troops in and out . . . . all with their eye on Russia.

When the same began with Ukraine, Russia made very clear to the west, Ukraine joining NATO is a red line for Russia.  They also explained why:

From Ukraine, NATO missiles, would have about a five minute flight time to Moscow.  They would also have a seven to ten minute flight time to Russia’s strategic nuclear missile silos.

While NATO claims these missiles are “defensive” with conventional warheads, missile technology has progressed so much that the warheads on these missiles can be “swapped-out.”  They can be changed from “defensive” (conventional) warheads, to OFFENSIVE, NUCLEAR warheads.  The swap takes about an hour.

So Russia would really have no way of knowing if the missiles being aimed at them were defensive or offensive.

And with a five minute flight time, Russia would have almost no viable defense.  They would never know peace or security.  This was completely unacceptable to them.

Russia tried to use Diplomacy, offering a Treaty to NATO which would provide Iron-Clad, legally enforceable, security guarantees to Russia.  They offered this in December of 2021.  NATO laughed at it; basically throwing the proposal in the trash.

About a week later, in January, 2022, Russia submitted the Treaty proposal again, only this time, they sent it via Diplomatic Courier, to the leaders of all NATO countries at their official residences (White House, #10 Downing Street, The Elysee Palace in France, and so on)

In this re-submitted proposal, Russia made clear, IN WRITING, if they cannot obtain iron-clad, legally enforceable security guarantees via Diplomatic means, they will obtain them by military or military-technical means.

So they TOLD EVERYONE this was going to become a military conflict!

NATO sat on this proposal for about two weeks, then rejected it again.

On February 23, 2022, Russia contacted Ukraine and gave them an Ultimatum: You have five hours to agree to not join NATO and that Crimea, which had seceded, was now permanently part of Russia, or Russia would take action.

Ukraine President Zelensky called the British Foreign Office and the US State Department.  Both told him to “ignore the ultimatum” which he did.

After the five hours expired, Russia waited another two hours and with no movement by Ukraine, they sent the Russian Army across the Ukraine Border.

We Were ALL Warned

Russia had previously told everyone — the whole world — that this situation was going to become military.   The world laughed.

They aren’t laughing now.

You see, when Russia speaks, they say what they mean, and they actually mean what they say.

It isn’t that way in the West.   Here in the West, we are caught in this phony “virtue signaling” where we say things that sound oh so good and nice, but we never actually DO.

Russia doesn’t operate that way.  If they say it, they mean it.

Which brings me back to the protests in Sydney, Australia, at the top of this story.

As the conflict with Ukraine has gotten uglier, NATO has been shipping billions of dollars worth of military gear to Ukraine.  More and more gear.  Better and better gear.

Along the way, Russia has REPEATEDLY warned they will use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.

As should be clear to even the most childlike intellect right now, when Russia says something, they mean it.  They have proven this over and over again!

Despite Russia’s warnings, the West continues to up-the-ante and, as you read this right this minute, the West had given a green light to providing Ukraine with fourth generation F-16 fighter jets.

Russia announced publicly THIS MORNING, they will shoot down any F-16’s they find in Ukrainian air space.

They also publicly accused the United States of trying to escalate the Ukraine conflict into a world war.   In this regard, it seems to me personally, Russia hit the nail right on the head.  The US __is__ trying to start World War 3, and it is our American government, and its’; NATO vassals, that are slow-walking you and me to our death via nuclear Armageddon.

Unless people in Europe and the United States, take to the streets PEACEFULLY, RESPECTFULLY, and in a DIGNIFIED MANNER, I personally believe we are going to get nuked. I say, this war in Ukraine must be halted NOW.   Right now.  Before it goes any farther.

If we fail to step-up and make known that this war must stop, then I believe we will be nuked. Soon.

Moving to Uruguay |ONE OF THE BEST LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES!|

Russian Bombers Airborne; Explosions Now in Odessa

.

Rusasian Bear Tu95 large
Rusasian Bear Tu95 large

Russian strategic aviation voice and morse net on frequencies 4397 USB and 5620 CW, indicate Russian Bomber Activity 3:30 PM EDT —

3 Tu-22 bombers airborne, possibly strikes in the coming hours.

3:51 PM EDT — More:  3 Russian Tu-95Ms strategic bombers have taken off.

Unidentified Object noted Airborne over the Odesa Region of Southern Ukraine; Air Defenses are reportedly Active.

Multiple Large Explosions heard across the City of Odessa; reports of a possible ongoing Shahed-136 Drone Attack.

3:54 PM EDT — It appears Russia has switched to radio silence mode. A massive rocket strike expected in Ukraine tonight.

 4:04 PM EDT — Explosions reported in Zaporozhye region and Odessa

Tu-95MS are moving to the area of the Caspian Sea, to the missile launch site.

Inaccurate intel struck-thru 

4:30 PM EDT — There is information circulating on the Internet that the Ukrainian military has just shot down a Russian Su-35S fighter over the Black Sea

4:40 PM — Ukrainian Sources are reporting that the Russian Pilot of the Su-35 was Killed in the Crash.

4:45 PM EDT — Explosions in the Dnepropetrovsk region In eastern Ukraine, an air raid continues, related to the work of Russian UAVs.

5:00 PM EDT — Officials of the Kherson Defense Forces confirmed the downing of a Su-35 of the Russian Air Forces over the Black Sea.

 

— Sirens in Kyiv, Gerans are headed its way.

— Mass MISSILE arrivals at Zatoka and Sergeevka to the coastal facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (there are camps for recruits and trainees)

— At least 7 Tu-22M3 Strategic Bombers and 4 Russian Naval Ships are reported to be currently approaching their “Launch Zones” over the Black Sea; these Aircraft and Ship are Armed with roughly 50 3M54-1 Kalibr Cruise Missiles.

— It is reported that at least 7 hits were made at AFU facilities in Odessa Region. There are also reports that a missile strike destroyed the bridge in Zatoka, through which the AFU was delivering reserves, fuel and equipment from Romania to Kherson and Nikolaev.

Ukraine confirms two Kalibr cruise missiles hits at Odessa port…  western equipment hit in Odessa region

FROM RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE:

A Ukrainian S-300 surface-to-air missile system has been obliterated near Zheltoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

The command post of the 102nd Territorial Defence Brigade has been hit near Poltavka (Zaporozhye region).

Air defence forces have intercepted fifteen HIMARS, Uragan MLRS projectiles, and Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles during the day.

In addition, nine Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were obliterated in the areas of Lozovoye, Terny, Vodyanoye, Novoandreyevka (Donetsk People’s Republic), Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People’s Republic), and Energodar (Zaporozhye region).

6:03 PM EDT — At least 7 Tu-95MS Strategic Bombers are noted to have taken-off from Engels Air Force Base in the Saratov Region of Russia heading towards their “Launch Zones” over the Caspian Sea; a Missile Attack against Ukraine appears to be Imminent once again.

CRIMEA HIT?

A Bright Light and Explosion were seen in the City of Sevastopol in Crimea, after which electricity went out:

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FwrjaGLXgAA98PP

6 things I WISH i knew BEFORE moving to VIETNAM…

This Guy Makes 3D Printed Helmets For His Cat

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Thanks to 3D printers going mainstream, more and more awesome things are popping up around the internet. We already featured T-Rex arms for chickens, now it’s time to meet Rémy Vicarini who likes to make tiny helmets for his cat.

More: Instagram h/t: sadanduseless

cat helmet10
cat helmet10

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MAJOR NEWS!!! TOP UKRAINE GENERAL “IN HOSPITAL”, Tactical NUKES ON F-16s? BELARUS Border Alert WW3

The damage isn’t just a general but key support staff. This was a decisive hit

Okay, I’m not European, but I think I may offer a tiny perspective as someone who spent most of last summer travelling all over Europe and who spent time in many, many European cities I’ve never been to.

I feel I really got into the lifestyle in Europe.

Sitting outside to eat on summer nights.

Walking and taking transit everywhere.

Seeing people outside everywhere just partaking in the city.

Enjoying the historic charm that is in abundance, feeling safe everywhere at all hours (Maybe with the exception of Marseilles and parts of London), etc.

I feel like the US in comparison is just… underwhelming.

I lived in Nashville for over a year and most of my life have lived in Los Angeles. I want to move to a new city but really don’t like any city in the US enough to be excited about going there. And it seems the only places in America that might give you a slice of that European lifestyle are prohibitively expensive, like San Francisco or NYC.

I feel like most American cities are bland, built around cars, have terrible transit, and are unsafe.

A few years ago I was walking through downtown Atlanta on a weekend in the afternoon, and was stunned that there were no people walking other than me. It was like the entire city had been essentially abandoned.

main qimg 50e4bac2c51757a88efd2f738c87a6e3
main qimg 50e4bac2c51757a88efd2f738c87a6e3

I could not imagine the center of an European city being completely empty of pedestrians. There is more vibrancy in an European city of 200,000 than in an American city of two million.

After the architectural splendor of Prague and Edinburgh, the Mediterranean charm of old town Nice, eating in the medieval alleyways of Croatia, I come back to America and feel kind of depressed at the same old landscape of strip malls, drive-thru Starbucks, urban blight, sprawling suburbs with cookie cutter houses and no sidewalks or pedestrians in sight.

Maybe one little historic “old town” street downtown that you have to drive into and that’s full of souvenir shops and chain restaurants.

I guess I’m just ranting and experiencing post-vacation blues, but I’m missing the European lifestyle so much it hurts and I’m having difficulty adjusting to America.

I liked just about every European city I visited. There are very few American cities I’d bother visiting unless I had a specific reason to go there.

On the plus side, the variety of natural scenery in the US, particularly the western US rivals anything in Europe and maybe surpasses it. And increasingly I’d rather rent a cabin in some place like the Smoky Mountains or Sierras in California than visit the bland American cities.

Russia and China

main qimg 75e23fca6297302b19348607a736e515 lq
main qimg 75e23fca6297302b19348607a736e515 lq

Last thing both of them Care about now is the Dollar as Reserve Currency

The Two Nations now know they are on the Gunsights of the West and they also know luckily they were ignored for a bit too long a time and have become stronger than the West conceived possible while the West has been weakened

In 2008 – this wouldnt even have been a contest

Many things on Russia – China Agenda including:-

  • Technology Cooperation
  • Military Alliance – Russia and China need a Military Alliance especially a Nuclear Alliance
  • Economic Alliance – BRICS to be strengthened with Argentina being added
  • Resource Stability and Supply – China to ensure sufficient OIl and Gas and Coal from Russia
  • Yuan Transactions – Yuan to replace USD and Euro by 2035 as per Nabullianas Calculations as Russias Major Reserve Currency
  • Payment System – Global Payment System that can Rival SWIFT
  • Consumer Goods – To Replace Western Chains

You know you can go to China, right?

main qimg 35c4da2d3befadbe4d5fa54c50b54a5e
main qimg 35c4da2d3befadbe4d5fa54c50b54a5e

“NO! SLEEP! TIL 葫芦岛市!!!”

I went back in 2007 and it was a great trip. Really opened my eyes to some of the BS you hear in the states. My hotel was reasonably priced, brand new, and in the same block as the Beijing Lamborghini and Ferrari Dealership.

You can go there right now.

2023 05 22 11 10
2023 05 22 11 10

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You can rent a car, drive around, talk to folks. no problem.

The point is, it would be really, really damn hard for them to lie about their economy. You would see it in the streets.

20 Best reasons NOT to retire to Vietnam! Don’t live in Vietnam.

Chili Queen Chili

This is, according to the legend, one of San Antonio chili queen’s original recipes.

2023 05 22 11 21
2023 05 22 11 21

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 pound pork, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup suet
  • 1/4 cup pork fat
  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 quart water
  • 4 ancho chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped fine
  • 1 serrano chile, seeds and stems removed, chopped fine
  • 6 dried red New Mexican chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped fine
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, freshly ground
  • 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Lightly flour the beef and pork cubes. Quickly cook in the suet and pork fat, stirring often.
  2. Add onions and garlic and sauté until they are tender and limp.
  3. Remove all pieces of fat.
  4. Add the water to the mixture and simmer for 1 hour.
  5. Grind the chiles in a blender or molcajete. Add to the meat mixture.
  6. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 2 hours.
  7. Skim off any fat that rises, then serve.

From Citizens to Serfs: How the Middle Class is Eroding in America

https://youtu.be/Ya0bG4_xRQg

Pepe Escobar
May 20, 2023

With G7 “leadership” mired in a sticky swamp of intellectual shallowness, predictably the only agenda in colonized Japan was more sanctions on Russia.

Let’s start with a graphic depiction of where the Global North and the Global South really stand.

1. Xian, former imperial capital, and key hub of the Ancient Silk Roads: Xi Jinping hosts the China-Central Asia summit, attended by all Heartland “stans” (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgzystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan).

The final statement stresses economic cooperation and “a resolute stand” against Hegemon-concocted color revolutions.

That expands what the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are already implementing. In practice, the summit seals that the Russia-China strategic partnership will be protecting the Heartland.

2. Kazan: the Russia-Islamic World forum unites not only religious leaders but top businessmen of no less than 85 nations. Multipolar Russia proceeded in parallel to the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, which welcomed back Syria to the “Arab family”. Arab nations unanimously pledged to end “foreign interference” for good.

3. Hiroshima: the ever-shrinking G7, actually G9 (adding two unelected EU bureaucrats), imposes a single agenda of more sanctions on Russia; more weapons to black void Ukraine; and more lecturing of China.

4. Lisbon: the annual Bilderberg meeting – a NATO/Atlanticist fest – takes place in a not so secret hotel completely locked down. Top item in the agenda; war – hybrid and otherwise – on the “RICs” in BRICS (Russia, India, China).

I could have been in Xian, or most likely Kazan. Instead, honoring a previous commitment, I was in Ibiza, and then scraped the idea of flying to Lisbon as a waste of time.

Allow me to share with you the reason why: call it a little tale from the Baleares, breaking the trademark pledge that what happens in swinging, sweaty deep house Ibiza stays in Ibiza.

I was a guest at a top business gathering – mostly Spanish but also featuring Portuguese, Germans, Brits and Scandinavians: ultra high-level executives – in real estate, asset management, investment banking.

Our panel was titled “Global Geopolitical Shifts and Their Consequences”. Before the panel, participants were invited to vote on what worried them most when it comes to the future of their business. Number one was inflation and interest rates. Number two was geopolitics. That prefigured a very lively debate ahead.

When a EU hagiographer goes berserk

Little did I – and the audience – know that would turn into a wild ride.

The first presentation came from the director of a “Center for European Politics” in Copenhagen. She bills herself as a political science professor, and is an adviser to EU Chief Gardener Borrell.

Well, I adopted a Cheshire cat stance after the tsunami of clichés spewed out about “European values” and evil Russkies, as well as her being “frightened” by the future of Europe.

At least immediate relief was provided by the impeccably diplomatic Lanxin Xiang, an adorable character, always with a cheerful smile on his face, and one of the very few leading experts on China who actually knows what he’s talking about, in fluent English.

Lanxin Xiang, among other accomplishments, is Emeritus Professor of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva; director of the Institute of Security Policy at the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange; and executive director of the Washington Foundation for European Studies.

This is a column I wrote about him and his work, published in October 2020.

Professor Xiang offered a masterly exposition on the American obsession to fabricate a “Taiwan problem” and how Europe, already squeezed by the U.S. proxy war against Russia, must be very careful when it comes to lecturing China.

When it was my turn, I went for the kill, dismissing all those EU press release platitudes as absolute nonsense, and stressing how Europe is already being eaten alive by the proverbial “American interests”.

As briefly as possible I explained the whole geopolitical background of the war in Ukraine.

Well, this was all delivered to top business people who consume The Economist, Financial Times and Bloomberg as their prime sources of information.

Their reaction would speak volumes.

Predictably, the EU-paid bureaucrat completely freaked out, and shrieking with outrage, went full pre-ordained script, from threatening to abandon the stage to accusing me of being “paid by the Kremlin”.

I asked her, point blank, to “contradict me, with facts”.

No facts were provided.

Just fear and bewilderment, mixed with intimations of cancel culture.

To his great merit the vastly experienced moderator, Struan Robertson from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, kept things civil, giving more time for Lanxin Xiang to explain the Chinese mindset and opening the floor for a sequence of very good questions.

In the end, the audience loved it.

Many came to personally thank me for information they will never have access to in El Pais, Le Monde or The Economist.

A minority in the room was simply stunned – but our debate at least must have left them musing over a lot of preconceived notions.

It’s the total merit of the key organizers, Jose Maria Pons and head of the program Cristina Garcia-Peri, to host such a debate in fabulous Ibiza, in Spain, prime NATOstan territory.

In the current situation, this would be absolutely impossible in France or Germany, not to mention Scandinavia or those demented Baltics.

There’s no way to counter-act the fabricated narratives parroted by EU-paid hacks and bureaucrats except for ridiculing them – in their faces.

They become livid and barely manage to stutter when their lies are exposed.

For instance, one of the questions from the floor, by a top of the line German businessman, enumerated a litany of dark facts about Ukrainian “democracy” that are absolutely verbotten by EUrocracy.

The G-Less Than Zero freaks out

What happened in Ibiza dovetails with what happened in U.S.-nuclear bombed Hiroshima – Hegemons don’t do apologies – and in that locked down Lisbon hotel.

With the G7 “leadership” mired in a sticky swamp of intellectual shallowness, predictably the only agenda in colonized Japan was more sanctions on Russia – imposed over third countries and on companies in the energy and military-industrial sectors; more weapons to the Ukrainian black void; and a ridiculous counter-productive new obsession of piling up on China “containment” for alleged “economic coercion.”

In the photo ops, by the way, it’s not a shrinking G7 that shows up: but a warmongering G9, artificially augmented by that pathetic couple of unelected EUrocrats, Charles Michel and Pustula von der Lugen.

As far as the real Global Majority – or Global South – is concerned, this looks more like a G-Less Than Zero. The more the senseless, illegal Sanctions Wars are “expanded”, the more the absolute majority of the Global South moves away from the collective West, diplomatically, geopolitically and geoeconomically.

And that’s why the top Bilderberg agenda at the hijacked Lisbon hotel was to revamp NATO/Atlanticist coordination in a war – hybrid and otherwise – against the driving force in BRICS; the RICs (Russia, India, China).

There were other items on the menu – from AI to the acute banking crisis, from “energy transition” to “fiscal challenges”, not to mention proverbial “U.S. leadership”.

But when you get in the same room people like NATO’s Stoltenberg; director of U.S. intel Avril Haines; senior director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council Thomas Wright; Goldman Sachs president John Waldron; Chief Gardener Borrell (whose minion was in Ibiza); vice chair of Brookfield Asset Management, Mark Carney (one of their executives also in Ibiza); Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Christopher Cavoli; and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, among other Atlanticist shills, the plot is self-evident:

It’s a war against the multipolar world.

At least we can dance it away in Ibiza.

US Comes To Africa To Steal Natural Resources & Finish Off The Continent

Another one that every Finnish house has but at least judging by sitcoms US houses don’t: draught lobby.

No matter how small the house, there’s a draught lobby in Finnish houses.

It helps keep the warm air inside the house and cold outside.

In many houses (including ours) it is very small but it does its job working like an air lock of kinds (open first door, enter, close, open second door).

This is a typical draught lobby:

main qimg 949dff2ada431fdecc7b9b018817b9e8 lq
main qimg 949dff2ada431fdecc7b9b018817b9e8 lq

5-Year-Old Says He Is a WOMAN Reborn As a Boy – The Ghost Inside My Child (S1 Flashback) | LMN

Chinese generals are a very SERIOUS sort.

In general, they will always look at the worst case scenarios. All of them. They will envision themselves losing, and all the terror, and horrors that will result from them. They will plan, and then plan, and then plan some more.

What we, as casual spectators, can see is that the United States is planning to attack China. This is obvious.

  • The excuse will be “Chinese invasion of Taiwan”, whether it happens or not.
  • Funding for this effort is well in progress.
  • Local supply depots and nation alignment is almost complete.
  • The United States in in process to turn Taiwan into a Pacific “Ukraine”.

If we can see this, so can the Chinese generals.

The Chinese leadership have two primary roles for it’s military.

  • Defensive in a tactical sense.
  • Offensive in a strategic sense.

As long as the United States does not cross any Chinese “red lines”, the Strategic offensive deterrent is working. But the “red lines” have been crossed, and once “red lines” are crossed, then that deterrence has failed.

And now, we know what the Chinese generals think.

You can be assured that the Chinese generals will eviscerate all invasion forces to China. (And yes. Taiwan is a province of China.) The tactical situation strongly favors China.

The real issue is the strategic nature of war.

China cannot engage in a war that has no outcomes.

A tactical war alone, is simply defensive only.

To end a war; any war, strategic forces and systems MUST be applied.

China has only ONE kind of strategic military system. (It is not like the United States with multiple strategic systems MAC, SAC, etc.)

China has invested and developed but only one strategic system…

  • Nuclear weapons mounted on hypersonic ICBM glide vehicles.

Let that sink in.

If a war occurs between the USA and China, then it must not, and can not, be tactical alone.

It must have a strategic component.

And no matter what pronouncements about never using nuclear weapons are, and treaties signed. The fact is that for China to survive a war with the US, it MUST use strategic weapons systems.

This means that strategic forces will plummet the mainland United States. Though there is some debate on where Chinese “clean” enhanced radiation nukes will be used, it should be well understood that a war with China will intimately affect the lives and quality of life of Americans.

To fight China is to fight to the death.

Chinese generals know this.

Why High Paid Americans Are Actually BROKE!

Zombie Apocalypse is REAL

Many inner cities across the country have now been turned into wastelands:

2023 05 22 11 43
2023 05 22 11 43

Having worked, lived and travelled extensively across the world, I have never seen anything remotely closed to what is happening in the United States.

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2023 05 22 11 44w

What is worst is that people who populate these places are essentially Zombies

2023 05 22 11 4f4
2023 05 22 11 4f4

It does not only affect poor blacks but also some of the richest and most powerful families. This included Hunter Biden, son of the current American President.

The United States could afford a military budget of over $800b and over 800 overseas bases which it uses to rain death and destruction on others but it cannot look after the welfare needs of its people.

Really SAD!!!!

China Just Found a MASSIVE Loophole to Survive US Sanctions!

Midwestern Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

Midwestern Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches are extremely popular in Illinois and through the Midwest.

midwestern pork tenderloin sandwich
midwestern pork tenderloin sandwich

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless pork loin (or boneless pork chops)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 large sandwich buns

Instructions

  1. Cut 4 (1 inch) slices of pork. Trim any exterior fat from edges and butterfly each slice by cutting horizontally through the middle almost to the edge so that the halves are connected by only a thick piece of meat. Put each butterflied slice between pieces of plastic wrap. Using a wooden meat mallet, or the side of a cleaver, pound vigorously until the slice is about 10 inches across.
  2. Mix together flour, cornmeal, salt and black pepper.
  3. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a deep, wide skillet to 365 degrees F. Dip each slice of pork in water, then in flour mixture. Fry tenderloin, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Drain on paper towels and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Serve on buns with desired condiments (mustard, mayonnaise, dill pickle chips, ketchup, sliced onion, lettuce).

The Ghost Inside My Child: 5-Year-Old Claims to Have DIED on the Titanic

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Don’t bet against it. America will print and prints and print it will create money without basis and backed by only word of the mouth trust. US dollar is a fake and a fiat currency. The U.S. debt is a time bomb that cast a long shadow on the real America.

To me the US economy is a dud and it is one humongous Ponzi scheme. From 2012–2022 a mere decade the U.S. debt increased from 10 trillion to 31.4 trillion today. Bush, Clinton, Obama Trump and Biden has released close to 20 trillion dollars into their economy of basically Monopoly money. That is haunting them with high inflation now.

China shocked me in Chongqing!

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Vintage thoughts on things and stuff

Today is the middle of the “May Day” holiday in China. And as such, I have been very busy taking care of my family and spending some time together. As such, I have grabbed some trivial moments and threw this post together.

Please enjoy.

PRC considers most Taiwanese to be citizens of the People’s Republic of China. You can get a Taiwan Compatriots Pass from the PRC and that serves as your identity card for most things.

I’ve been told that it is not difficult for a person from Taiwan to get Mainland hukou and full Mainland identity cards and passport. The trouble here is not Mainland China but Taiwan. If the Taiwanese authorities find out that you have a PRC passport and PRC hukou, they will classify you as a Mainlander and cancel all of your Taiwanese passports, identity cards, etc. etc and revoke your right to travel to Taiwan.

American “Leadership”

[1] Note cards with photo of the journalist, of [2] the exact questions she would ask, and [3] of the answer to tell her.

This is no longer a press conference. It’s a scripted movie set.

This is America.

Hank Paulson says the U.S.-China relationship is ‘on the brink’ and calls it a ‘dangerous situation’

Prarthana Prakash
April 15, 2023

The U.S. and China’s feud shows no signs of abating. It’s starting to worry international organizations such as the World Bank, which recently predicted that the rift between the two superpowers could hurt the growth of other economies.

Now, former Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson is echoing similar concerns about intensifying geopolitical tensions.

“The U.S.-China relationship is on the brink. Communications have ground to a halt,” Paulson said in an interview with the Financial Times published Friday. “There’s a lot going on in the world that’s troubling, but to me it’s the U.S.-China relationship that is the most worrying.”

The two countries have gone head-to-head in trade, foreign policy, and the race for technology in recent years. While tariffs and trade restrictions are already in place, a complete “decoupling” scenario, where the economies work separately from each other, could have a significant impact. China is still among the U.S.’s top trading partners and the world’s second largest economy.

The economic importance of the two nations raises the stakes of them clashing, and Paulson thinks America may be underestimating what China can do.

“This is a dangerous situation,” he said. “I strongly believe that [President Joe] Biden would like to stabilize the China relationship, but both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have staked out a very strong line which complicates things for Biden. I have a concern that Congress is underestimating the relative power of China, the permanence of China, and China’s relationship with so many other countries.”

According to Paulson, China is boosting its presence around the world, and putting out a clear message that “China is open for business again.” So, if the U.S. responds with further curbs on trade and investment, even as other nations deepen ties with Beijing, the U.S. could become more isolated.

The rest HERE

Trade between BRICS nations hits record levels

Meanwhile in the United States

Way to make someone hate not just you, but your entire church.

2023 04 30 08 12
2023 04 30 08 12

The US is PANICKING: Over the Rise of a Multipolar World!

American manners today

Sheech!

2023 04 30 08 13
2023 04 30 08 13

Zelensky’s top adviser issues threat to China

Mikhail Podoliak claims that Beijing will suffer a loss in status if it maintains its friendship with Russia
.

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2023 04 30 06 35

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s most prominent adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, has claimed that China must follow the West’s position on Ukraine or it will find its standing in the world diminished and its economic power weakened.

However, Beijing has given no indication that it intends to take his advice.

“Now China has to make a choice,” Podoliak told Ukraine’s Rada TV on Friday. “Either it works within the framework defined by international law, and then replaces Russia in the full sense of the word, or China continues to stand aside and then it will gradually lose its influence, including economic influence.”

Podoliak’s statement came two days after Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone, in their first known conversation since Russia’s military offensive began last February. According to the Chinese side, Xi stressed that Beijing’s “core position” on the conflict is that “dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way out.”

The US has repeatedly called on China to condemn Russia over the conflict, which Beijing has refused to do. Instead, the two governments have deepened their diplomatic and trade links, and officials from both countries have repeatedly condemned the US for attempting to impose what it calls a “rules-based international order” upon the world through military force and sanctions.

China and Russia have instead called for the construction of a multipolar system based on the rule of international law and respect for the UN charter. “Right now there are changes – the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years – and we are the ones driving these changes together,” Xi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month.

Podoliak has attempted to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing before. Late last month he asked the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper why China would “help Russia, which is experiencing the collapse of its civilization?”

“It would be an irreversible investment, and China is too pragmatic to make such mistakes,” he added.

However, even if China were to break from Russia, it would still face a United States hostile to its interests. The Pentagon’s most recent National Defense Strategy lists countering the supposed “threat posed by China” as its number one priority, while Washington has blocked the sale of some semiconductor manufacturing hardware to China and rallied its Asian allies to shut Beijing out of this vital industrial sector.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has said on several occasions that he would use the US military to defend Taiwan – which China considers its territory – from a potential Chinese invasion.

$1000 tip

2023 04 30 08 14
2023 04 30 08 14

Beef Taco Bake

2023 04 18 15 21
2023 04 18 15 21

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 can condensed tomato soup
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 6 flour or 8 corn tortillas, (6 to 8 inches), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. In skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned, stirring to separate meat. Pour off fat.
  2. Add soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese.
  3. Spoon into 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover.
  4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot.
  5. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

United States is really insane right now…

Hmm, 50 year old guy going to personal attacks and commenting on a 15 year old girls body. Disturbing on so many levels.

2023 04 30 08 15
2023 04 30 08 15

Yuan power: China’s push to challenge the US dollar gathers steam

Singapore: First, there was oil in Saudi Arabia, then there was nuclear power in Bangladesh and, finally, there were railways in Pakistan. China is taking multibillion-dollar transactions away from the international currency that has underpinned them for generations, the US dollar, and pushing them into the yuan…

Article HERE

If you are not making the world a better place, then you are subtracting from it.

2023 04 30 08 18
2023 04 30 08 18

With busy diplomacy, China has no time to receive insincere people — Global Times

Recently, there have been frequent complaints from Washington about China’s “neglect” of the US and a “lack of interest” in engaging with them. One is that China has refused to reschedule US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China, and another is that the Chinese Ministry of Defense has declined request for call from the US Department of Defense, and the defense ministers of China and the US have not spoken for nearly five months.

main qimg 5b47ee528c7c1bc8fbeaf4e92f5dc2e9
main qimg 5b47ee528c7c1bc8fbeaf4e92f5dc2e9

At the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Japan, Blinken called out to China on Tuesday, stating that China must make clear its intentions to keep engaging with the US and that “countries around the world expect us to manage the relationship with China responsibly.” The day before, an undersecretary of US Department of Defense even speculated that China “refuses to talk during crises in bid to spook US into fleeing” from the Western Pacific. To borrow a term used by Chinese netizens, doesn’t the US have any sense of self-awareness?

Blinken’s planned visit to China in February was unilaterally postponed by the US due to the sudden hype around the “balloon incident” before his departure. This to some extent, it has reflected the US’ reckless and irresponsible attitude towards Blinken’s visit to China. It refused to come then, but now insists on coming. How can everything be up to the US, and everyone else has to cooperate with it? China is a big country and will not indulge such problem. China’s diplomacy is very busy and cannot adjust at any time according to the US’ schedule, especially no time to receive insincere or even people with malicious intentions.

As for the reason why the defense ministers of China and the US have not spoken on the phone, the US side knows well. Putting aside other issues, the US has not yet lifted the illegal sanctions on China’s new Defense Minister Li Shangfu, which has created a lack of basic atmosphere for military dialogue between China and the US. If the US truly wants to maintain contact and communication with China, then they should not act in this way. The Americans have also seen that in the past month, many leaders of countries, including US allies, and heads of international organizations have visited China, achieving very good communication results. So why is there a problem when it comes to the US?

A common saying in Chinese diplomacy is “listen to their words and observe their actions,” but with today’s US, “listen to their words” is a waste of time because the US has played the game of saying one thing and doing another to the extreme, and its “words” have lost credibility in China and the international community. According to reports from US media, Washington is about to implement “unprecedented rules” limiting American investment in China, and US’ interference in the Taiwan question is getting worse. The US’ comprehensive containment and suppression of China has not shown any signs of easing.

The feeling of Chinese people is that the various actions taken by the US are almost the opposite of its promises to China. How can we believe it? Dialogue and engagement can boost cooperation, add value to bilateral relations for one thing, or to prevent crises and conflicts to minimize the damage to the relationship for another. But what Washington wants is neither the first nor the second, it wants the political gains that come with “engaging with China” posture. This fully explains why the US has been shouting about “setting up guardrails” in recent years, while the pit in China-US relations is getting deeper and deeper due to Washington’s actions.

China has always approached and developed China-US relations with great goodwill and patience, which is China’s sense of responsibility as a major country. But Washington should not have any illusions, it can never speak to China while riding on its head. China supports communication and exchange based on mutual respect, committed to peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation, in order to promoting the improvement of China-US relations. However, the “engagement with China” emphasized by the US is often just a show, to appease its allies and other countries concerned about the deterioration of China-US relations and also to shift the blame onto China. Additionally, Washington attempts to impose pressure on China with the so-called engagement. Almost every time its high-ranking officials come, they bring a long list of so-called demands.

While the US continues to take hostile actions towards China, it also wants to use “engagement” to stabilize China and control risks while taking advantage of the opportunity to pressure and unilaterally demand from China, with even the idea that “communication” is all for “convenience for me to better attack you.” Can’t China just don’t deal with the US, which is so calculative? With such insincerity and even malice from the US, why should we cooperate with Washington politicians’ performances?

In conclusion, temporarily cold-shouldering Washington is not a bad idea. China’s door is always open, and when the US shows sincerity and take practical actions, communication and exchange between China and the US in various fields will come naturally, which is also what the international community expects to see.

The West can no longer loot the world without boomerang responses.

The United States recently confiscated a cargo of Iranian crude oil from a tanker at sea, according to a maritime security company, indicating that the seizure pre-dated Iran’s move to seize Chevron’s cargo of crude oil on Thursday off the coast of Oman.

On Thursday, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker carrying crude oil destined for Chevron was seized by the Iranian Navy, according to the U.S. Navy. According to Tehran, the tanker had been involved in a collision with an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman, resulting in Iranian crewmember injuries, with several missing. Iran also said that the tanker ignored eight hours’ worth of radio calls following the collision.

Article HERE

7 Culture Shocks I had in China

No debate is necessary. A war with China is already determined.

FOREIGN MINISTRY: “U.S. DIRECTLY KILLING RUSSIANS”

World Hal Turner 29 April 2023

The US is directly contributing to the deaths of Russians by providing military and financial aid to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova charged on Friday.

She was reacting to a Kommersant interview with Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Moscow, who stated that Washington “does not view Russians as enemies.”

“The Russian people are getting killed with targeting done by the US, money [provided] by the US, weapons [supplied] by the US, and by the hands of a regime that was brought to power by the US as a result of a coup orchestrated by the US,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram, referring to the Western-backed 2014 uprising in Kiev that ousted the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich.

In an interview published in Russian newspaper Kommersant on Thursday, Tracy said she supports informal contacts between Americans and Russians, and that the US “does not want to ‘cancel’ the Russian people in any way.”

“No matter what differences we, the United States, have with the Russian government, they are not differences with the people of Russia,” she said.

The Foreign Ministry later issued a statement criticizing the ambassador’s interview, in which it accused Tracy of cherry-picking and fabricating facts about Ukraine’s recent history. The US diplomat claimed that “a situation in which a leader who lost support and got scared of his own people takes a decision to flee” could not be called a coup.

“Madam Ambassador probably does not know, and was not informed by her aides, that this simple puzzle… lacks the truth and correct sequence of events,” the ministry said.

The statement went on to explain that the protests in Kiev were infiltrated by violent extremists supported by US officials, and ended with a power-sharing agreement that the opposition forces immediately broke. Tracy’s failure to acknowledge the nature of the events in Kiev can be explained by either amnesia or ignorance, while her description has nothing to do with reality, the Russian ministry added. The statement included a screenshot of the interview with a large red ‘FAKE’ stamp on it.

Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow shortly after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The US and many other NATO countries have since supplied Kiev with heavy weapons, including tanks and artillery systems, and shared intelligence with Ukraine. The State Department said in January that it was up to Kiev to determine how to use foreign arms.

Russia has warned that the military aid makes the US and NATO de facto direct participants in the conflict. Moscow also repeatedly accused Ukraine of using US-made weapons, such as HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and M777 howitzers, to kill civilians.

On April 13, Ukrainian troops used HIMARS launchers to shell a hospital in the Donbass city of Svatovo, local officials said. On Thursday, several areas in the Donetsk People’s Republic were hit with rockets and artillery rounds, leaving one woman dead and eight people, including four children, injured, according to the authorities.

Reality

2023 04 21 06 48
2023 04 21 06 48

All Eyes on east Asia: China-Taiwan Flare-up – Japan WARNED by China

World Hal Turner 28 April 2023

Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Wu Jiangao, warned Japanese leaders that their planned visit to Taiwan was equated with crossing the “red line.”

“Foreign forces are conspiring with Taiwan’s independence forces and carrying out constant provocations,” the ambassador told reporters in Tokyo on Friday, saying their ultimate goal was “separation of Taiwan from China.” He added that inciting “the split in China will bring the Japanese people into the fire”.

Japanese officials have said that any contingency in Taiwan will be tantamount to an unpredictable situation in Japan.

In recent years, Beijing has pursued a policy of diplomatic isolation of Taiwan, forcing other countries to recognize it as part of a “single China” and repeatedly threatened to invade.

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OotkfucQ

The day after Emmanuel Macron’s visit, China began large-scale military exercises around Taiwan working out a rocket attack and the surroundings of the island. Training became answer on Taiwan’s President Cai Ying Wen’s 10-day diplomatic tour of Central America and a meeting with US government officials in California. In particular, she met with Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress from Republicans.

The day after China imitated “high-precision strikes” on Taiwan, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Beijing can prepare for the invasion of the island.

Later reported, that this year’s annual Taiwanese military exercises “Han Kuan” will focus on fighting the blockade of the island against the background of China’s statements.

China again moved military forces near Taiwan today.

China’s largest combat drone, the TB-001 drone (an entire ship) nicknamed the “twin-tailed scorpion”, arrived late Thursday and remained on Friday around Taiwan:

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8veyeAjv

Also on Friday, China flew 38 warplanes near Taiwan, and deployed another 6 navy vessels in area.

In addition, a Chinese uncrewed combat aircraft (Drone) has flown around Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said, showcasing Beijing’s ability to attack its fall-back east coast bases, as a U.S. maritime patrol aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait. Here is a photo of that combat drone:

China also had words for the United States.

“We strongly urge the US side to fully recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question as well as the complexity and severity of the current situation across the Taiwan Strait,” said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference.

When asked to comment on the reports that a group of US defense companies will visit Taiwan to discuss issues such as the joint production of drones and ammunition in early May, Defense Spokesperson Tan said that the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair and brooks no foreign interference.

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jTsBuZVe

“These American military-industrial complexes have always been zealous to peddle munitions, trigger conflicts and chaos, and reap staggering profits around the world,” he point out sharply, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party’s act is rather contemptible, like putting the cat near the goldfish bowl, which will only bring untold disaster to the Taiwan compatriots.

Then the spokesperson reiterated that no one or any force can shake Chinese people’s staunch determination and firm will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged the US side to adhere to the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiqués, prudently handle Taiwan-related issues, refrain from interfering in the Taiwan question, cease arms sales to the Taiwan region as well as its military contact with the island.

Soooooooo, what did the US Congress go ahead an do today? Well . . .

The House committee dedicated to countering China began preparing bipartisan proposals for the fiscal 2024 defense authorization bill that would accelerate U.S. munitions production and arms transfers to Taiwan.

Naval Forces Readying for China Taiwan
Naval Forces Readying for China Taiwan

In the meantime, here is an up-to-date graphic showi9ng the very considerable firepower which is around Taiwan as of yesterday:

It is entirely plausible that China may decide it is better to grab Taiwan NOW, before more US assets reach the region and BEFORE US arms manufacturers can fill new weapons orders. What the US is doing, and pledging, to Taiwan’s “defense” may actually TRIGGER a Chinese invasion of Taiwan!

Top 7 things I wish I knew before I moved to China

Why Did Judas Betray Jesus?

According to the Bible, Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples and the one who ultimately betrayed him. The exact reason for Judas’ betrayal is not entirely clear, and scholars have offered various interpretations based on the available evidence.

header essay ngi final 14702
header essay ngi final 14702

One interpretation is that Judas betrayed Jesus for financial gain. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas accepted thirty pieces of silver from the chief priests in exchange for leading them to Jesus. This has led some scholars to suggest that Judas may have been motivated by greed or a desire for material wealth.

Another interpretation is that Judas was disillusioned with Jesus’ message and mission. Some scholars believe that Judas may have expected Jesus to lead a military rebellion against the Roman authorities, but instead saw Jesus’ message of love and forgiveness as weak and ineffective. This interpretation suggests that Judas may have betrayed Jesus out of a sense of disappointment or frustration.

Ultimately, the exact reason for Judas’ betrayal remains a matter of debate among scholars and theologians. Regardless of the reason, Judas’ betrayal ultimately led to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion, which Christians believe were necessary for the salvation of humanity.

Recently Tung Signa technology in Shanghai has two domestic lithography machines stationed in the production line independently developed by Shanghai microelectronics

This represents a major advancement in domestic lithography machines highlighting that domestic lithography machines have rapidly replaced imported lithography machines

In the future the production capacity of 20 000 pieces of full process gold bumps per month can be realized

The introduction of the first domestically produced lithography machine this time is great news for China.

Shanghai microelectronics is the largest lithography machine company in China it has already mass-produced 90 nanometer lithography machines and is currently accelerating the promotion of 28 nanometer and 14 nanometer lithography machines

The lithography machine delivered this time is a packaging and testing lithography machine but this also represents a major progress in China’s lithography machine which means that the domestic 14 nanometers lithography machine will soon be mass produced

After the packaging and testing lithography machine is delivered it is expected to complete the debugging in May and complete the test and mass production next month.

It is expected that the production of twenty thousand chips per month will be completed by next year.

The first lithography machine of Shanghai microelectronics 20-year research was successfully delivered with move-in-ceremony held. This was the proud moment for China and its people.

The icing on the cake is the price of these lithography machines which is only one-seventh of the price of ASML equivalent lithography machines which shows the ultra low cost advantage of domestic lithography machines such a low-cost Advantage will help greatly reduce the cost of Chinese Chips.

lithography machines are not the only ones for making chips in addition to being divided into EUV, DUV and UV, according to the advanced level of the light source they can also be divided into front-end lithography machines for chip manufacturing and back-end lithography machines for packaging and testing.

This time the company introduced a gold bump packaging and testing lithography machine which belongs to the back-end lithography machine for packaging and testing in the field of packaging and testing lithography machines.

28 nanometers to 7 nanometers lithography machines are all immersion lithography Machine Technologies which means that China has successfully developed the 28 nanometers lithography machine to handle the key technology of immersion lithography machines.

Since the difficulty of developing 14 nanometers and 7 nanometers lithography machines has been greatly reduced, as a result ASML’s 1980 lithography machine will also lose its competitiveness.

If China successfully develops (front end) immersion lithography machine technology then ASML will lose a large chunk of market and may return to the days when it was lingering, so of course it is afraid.

This is the great news for China and a shocker for ASML who may want to change its attitude in the coming days.

Long live China – the counterweight to western world.

No One Is Coming to Save You

Every moment you spend hoping for someone else to save you is a moment wasted. You hold the key to your own freedom.

Freedom from ignorance, from suffering, from poverty, from illness, from anxiety, and from judgment. Freedom even from the constraints of your own mind. It’s up to you, and only you, to grant yourself this gift of liberation.

You must take ownership of every aspect of your life. The results you create, the challenges life throws at you, and the messes others may cause that you must clean up. You have to own it all.

It’s time to let go of the opinions of others, shed bad habits, stop overspending, underworking, overeating, underestimating, overvaluing, or any other harmful behavior that holds you back.

No one else can do it for you, not because you are alone or because the world is unkind, but because it is solely within your power. You are the only one who can dig deep into your soul and unleash every spark of life that resides within. It has to be you.

No one is coming to save you, and the truth is, no one needs to. When you save yourself, you’ll realize that you hold the key to your own liberation and empowerment. It’s time to take charge and be your own hero.

Vintage Cover Photos of The Popular Magazine in the 1920s

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0 27

The Popular Magazine, a literary publication that ran for an impressive 612 issues from 1903 to 1931, was a staple in early American literature. With a diverse range of genres, the magazine featured everything from short fiction and novellas to serialized works and even complete short novels. Although the magazine covered various subjects, it had a tendency to lean towards men’s adventure stories, particularly in its later years as the demand for hardboiled fiction increased.

h/t: vintag.es

popular magazine covers 1920s 1
popular magazine covers 1920s 1

The Popular Magazine marketed itself as “a magazine for men and women who like to read about men,” and had its headquarters in New York City. It was published by Street & Smith and edited by Henry Harrison Lewis from 1903 to 1904, and Charles Agnew MacLean from 1904 to 1928. Each bi-monthly issue typically contained 194 to 224 pages. Sadly, The Popular Magazine’s journey came to an end in October 1931 when it was merged with another Street & Smith pulp, Complete Stories.

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I went out with a Chinese man: You won’t believe what he made me eat!! *I cried*

I really like this gal. Attractive, great smiles, and so beautiful!

Burrito Supreme Casserole

2023 04 18 15 24
2023 04 18 15 24

Ingredients

  • 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  • 1 1/2 cups tomato juice
  • 1 envelope taco seasoning mix
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
  • 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 small avocado
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
  • 1 cup chopped tomato

Instructions

  1. Wrap tortillas securely in aluminum foil; bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
  2. Combine tomato juice, seasoning mix and oil; stir well, and set aside.
  3. Cook ground beef in a large skillet until browned, stirring to crumble; drain.
  4. Stir in beans and 1/2 cup tomato juice mixture. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Place 1/4 cup beef mixture and 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place seam side down in a lightly greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
  7. Pour remaining tomato juice mixture over casserole.
  8. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes.
  9. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
  10. Peel and cube avocado; toss with lemon juice.
  11. Sprinkle avocado, lettuce and tomato over casserole.
  12. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Yet not so science fiction implementation… in Wuhan, Hubei, China

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main qimg 840fe8a11def211a71d009de6c11df03

Americans: China is so backward it’s still living in the dirt.

Also Americans: Tssk, Americans don’t need these lame monorail, we prefer our gas guzzling pickup trucks.

What JUST Leaked Out of Congress Is HORRIFYING!

How Do You Know If You’re In Love?

“You’ll just know.” This was my mother’s vague response when I asked her how to know if you’re in love with someone, and needless to say, I was less than enthused by her response. To be honest, it seemed like a cop-out. Why, I wondered, can’t anyone seem to accurately describe what being in love feels like? We’ve all heard rom-com movie characters talk about fireworks and pop stars sing about the all-consuming obsession that comes with a new romance, but is that really love? Or is it just infatuation? How can you tell whether you’re just experiencing fiery passion or you’ve truly fallen for someone?

As it turns out, there are ways to know you’re in love. And no, they have nothing to do with feeling butterflies in your stomach. In fact, research has revealed some common signs of being lovestruck. For example, people reported having new interests and personality traits after entering a loving relationship, according to one 1995 study. Another study revealed that falling in love can cause you to exhibit symptoms similar to those that come with anxiety, such as sweating more (woof, I know).

Of course, if you’re thinking and talking about the person nonstop, or you’re already envisioning a future with them, you may suspect you’re in love. Still, those signals don’t always indicate that it’s the real thing. After all, in the beginning, your excitement around this new relationship could cloud your ability to see whether there’s real potential for a long-term relationship. The chemistry is great, you have endless topics to talk about, and you haven’t discovered all of their quirks, irritating habits or “flaws” yet. So it’s pretty easy to fool yourself into thinking you’ve fallen head over heels. Here are some of the things you feel when you’re in love:

1. You’re happy and just a little bit nervous.

When you’re in love, you’re genuinely a happier person. It’s like you’re on a natural high. The thought of spending time with your partner really excites you and just looking at the dozens of selfies you took together is enough to put a cheesy smile on your face. But being in love also makes you a tiny bit nervous. You’re anxious for what the future holds. Because you know that you want your relationship to last. “Lots of people compare love to something they could not lose or let pass them by, yet the uncertainty of its unknown outcome is exciting,” Maria says.

2. Everything feels new and exciting.

When you’re in love, you’re excited to do things you’ve already done a million times before because it’s with your partner this time. They’re the first ones you think of when you see a romantic movie preview or when you’re planning to make a quick trip to the nearest fast food place. You’d even be willing to sit through four hours of a sports game if it means spending time with them.. Maria says that’s because love sparks a new change in you. “When you’re in love, the basis of your perception changes. I compare it to a feeling of being really awake and excited,” she says. “You have found someone that makes everything feel new and intriguing – even if it’s just sitting on the couch watching TV.”

3. Your relationship feels easy.

Being with your partner isn’t hard work. You don’t have to struggle to find time to spend with them because you really want to. Even the arguments don’t feel as intense as they did in other relationships. While all couples argue and bicker, when you’re both in love, your priority is your relationship, not your pride. You’re not worried about being the first person to give in or lose the argument because you can’t imagine your life without this person. Even one day apart really feels like forever.

4. This person is on your mind literally all the time.

When you’re in love, your partner is always in the back of your mind. You might have a sudden thought to call them because you haven’t chatted in a few hours. Or, maybe, you go into a clothing store with the intention of buying something for yourself and then end up buying something for your partner, too. “Love is determined. When you like someone, you can brush it off and think of other things as you go about your day,” Maria says. When you’re in love, this person is always on your mind, but it isn’t overwhelming. “When you love someone, you are physically, mentally and emotionally impacted at theoretically any/all time(s). It is a calm and secure reality you will consistently crave,” Maria says.

5. You get just a little jealous.

A little bit of jealousy is natural. Jealousy becomes dangerous, however, when you start obsessing over what your partner’s doing, so much so that you do stuff like look through their phone without them knowing. That is toxic behavior and it might signal you’re not in a healthy relationship.

6. You become more affectionate towards them.

When you’re in love, you’re obviously attracted to your partner, so it’s only natural that you want to be all over them all the time. Whether it’s simply holding hands or turning your cuddling into an intense make out session, you want to be affectionate towards your second half. If you’re completely repulsed by them, that’s something to think about.

7. You want to bring them around your family and friends.

When you’re really into your relationship, you want to bring your partner into all aspects of your life. You want to introduce them to your family and friends because you genuinely want your relationship last.

8. You start feeling a sense of empathy towards your partner.

When you’re in love, you start seeing your bae as an extension of yourself, so when they’re hurt, nervous or really excited about something like getting accepted into a school or program they really wanted, then you experience the same feelings as them. Feeling empathy towards your partner also makes you want to make tiny sacrifices for them, like getting up and going to the store for some soup and medicine when they’re sick. Small things like that are easy to do when they’re for the person you love.

9. You’re becoming a better person.

You know you’re in love when being with your second half makes you want to improve yourself in some way, whether it’s setting new goals or having a more positive attitude. Your partner should push you towards becoming better, but not in a way that’s consistently negative. “If a partner isn’t building you up, then you must consider looking elsewhere for love – no matter what other characteristics he or she may have that you are infatuated with,” Maria says. When you’re truly in love with someone, you want your partner to succeed as much as you because you want to create a stable future for the both of you.

10. You start planning for the future.

When you truly love someone, you know that you don’t have plans to let them go any time soon, if ever. So, you start to include them in all your future plans, whether it’s going on vacation or figuring out your plan after high school. You start thinking of your partner when you’re making big decisions because you want them to be there for it all. When you’re in love, your bae becomes your permanent “plus one.”

After 4 years living in China, these are the 4 truths I’ve learned!

When I was in the Marines, I knew a guy. He called me one day and said, “I just saw some paperwork. You’ll be getting sent to Japan for 6 months soon, unless you want to be sent to Camp Lejeune (where I had lots of friends). But if you go there, you will join a unit that’s going to depart for Iraq in December, and there’s going to be a war (this was almost a full year before the Iraq War started).

With this information I spent a few weeks thinking about the various possible outcomes of this decision, and in the end I opted to go to Camp Lejeune because if there was a war, I knew I might make a real difference to a few good men. I’m very smart, fairly strong, and have always performed very well under pressure, and I knew that I could save some lives that might have been lost if given the chance.

During the war I was in a major battle and got blown up inside of an AAAV. I carried two guys with half-blown-off legs out of the vehicle, which by then was basically a fireball on top of a big pile of explosives, on top of 1,000 pounds of fuel.

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Today those guys have wives and kids, and that’s a really incredible thing to me when I think about it from time to time.

I chose not to go to Japan a year before the war even started, and now those children exist.

Top 10 CHEAPEST Countries To Live Lavishly On $1000/Month

Life in America

2023 04 30 08 32
2023 04 30 08 32

What’s It Like To Have A Bed Bug Infestation?

They are creatures from hell.

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bed bug infestation

If you are sensitive to the bites, it’s MUCH worse than mosquito bites – think painful, weeping blisters that burn if a breeze so much blows across them the wrong way, nevermind laying down, or clothes rubbing on them.

A single bug feeds on you multiple times in a night, leaving what’s sometimes referred to as ‘breakfast-lunch-dinner bites’ because the clusters/lines of bites they leave are very distinctive. Each bite takes days, even weeks, to go away, and they itch/burn the whole time – so if you’re infested (50-100+) imagine waking up with any accessible skin (including your face) covered in burning, persistent bites that there’s no real relief for.

It ruins your ability to rest – every tickle or itch starts making you bolt up in horror to turn on the lights and check. Long after they’re gone, years after you’ve been rid of them, you will still experience a surge of adrenaline from a hair moving the wrong way.

They reproduce insanely fast; a fertilized female lays 5-7 eggs a day, the eggs take around 2 weeks to hatch, and then they’re able to reproduce about 3 weeks after they hatch. A female will lay hundreds of eggs over her life after being fertilized even ONCE. This means one fertilized female could come into your home, and within a year if the infestation is not dealt with fast and harshly enough, you can have THOUSANDS of them.

While they prefer to stay close to their prey (in the bed, headboard, bedlinens) they can hide anywhere a sesame seed would fit – between the pages of a book, inside cardboard, cracks in the baseboards, carpeting, seams in cushions, etc. If you try to get relief by treating your bed with chemicals, all that happens is that they disperse into the walls and other nearby hiding places, and become harder to find and eliminate as their numbers swell.

They have evolved to be keenly attuned to everything about their prey (humans) when it comes to temperature, lighting, movement, breathing, etc, so that they are most attracted to you when you as sleeping and vulnerable. They will hunt you down if you move to another room to sleep at night. If you put your bed up on risers/dishes of oil/put double-sided tape all around so they can’t get to you, they will crawl up walls to the ceiling and drop down on you to get at you.

If they are consistently denied food (say you pack up everything you have in tubs and plastic bags or something, and accidentally miss a couple hiding in your things), they can go into hibernation – in ideal conditions, for almost 2 years without feeding. The eggs are smaller than a poppy seed, and can remain viable and unhatched in the right conditions for a similar length of time.

Most of the chemical treatments that work against adults do not work on the eggs, so unless you do multiple scheduled treatments, you’ll just have new waves hatching every so often after the last round of adults was killed off. Each time you get your home chemically treated, you will have to leave it and stay somewhere else because the chemicals are dangerous to you as well.

If you live in a building with shared walls, even if vents and things from unit to unit aren’t connected, if someone else gets infested and they don’t treat the entire building at once (only treating the immediately affected rooms) it’s just like only treating the bed – they will disperse into neighboring units, and seek shelter in any little crack or crevice they can find.

Sufficient heat is the only guaranteed way to kill off an infestation all at once – adults, nymphs, eggs – and they make specialized heaters for this, both for heating up rooms, and for placing your belongings into to heat treat anything that might be hiding eggs or bugs. Many people accidentally burn their houses down every year trying to DIY treatments because this is expensive – thousands of dollars per round of treatment, either chemical OR heat.

It doesn’t matter if you or your house is clean or dirty – you can get bedbugs by going literally anywhere that other people go. The store, offices, clinics, movies, public transportation, etc. While adults won’t live in your clothes, they’ll hitchhike on them – so anywhere people spend time holding still, someone with an established infestation can be carrying eggs or hidden adults that end up dropped off in a public space that then end up stuck to or climbing onto others. All it takes is one fertilized female riding home with you unseen on your clothes, a bag, your jacket.

Bedbugs exist in pretty much every country – anywhere where it is cool enough indoors for people to live, bedbugs can live also. Infestations are actually on the rise in some countries due to shorter, warmer winters meaning they can be active for longer (since cold temps generally only put them into a dormant stage, not kill them).

Hotels and other hospitality locations that care about prevention will routinely pay for specially trained sniffer dogs that can detect the smell of bedbugs, and shut-down/cordon off buildings as soon as anything is found, because it is more costly to handle a major infestation than to destroy a colony before it gets the chance to hit critical mass.

Even so, a hotel has no way of being able to tell if the guest immediately before you dropped off hitchhikers; even a high-end hotel isn’t flipping the mattress over to steam and vacuum the mattress and box-spring when they change out the bed linens.

Hotels are often the first choice of people trying to get a rest from an infestation, or needing a place to stay while getting their own place treated.

If you ever stay anywhere away from home where other people have been, always put your luggage in the bathtub first before unpacking; then check for signs of bedbugs in headboards, under the mattress, in the seams of the box-spring, etc. There are guides with pictures on what to look for. When you get home, make sure any clothes that travelled with you go into a high-heat wash and dry cycle. Bag up any luggage carriers than cannot be washed or tumbled; consider treating their insides with diatomaceous earth until their next usage.

It might seem like an annoying extra effort, but it is a tiny amount of labor to save you from experiencing what will feel like an unending hell if you ever bring bedbugs home. An infestion will completely ruin your life and mental health. Pray you never have to deal with them.

– HallowskulledHorror

The Roundtable #54: Brian Berletic and Pepe Escobar

 

WHAT IS CHINA REALLY LIKE?

The USA has this “thing” called “prank orders”

Watch what happens when you try this move in China.

2023 04 30 08 25
2023 04 30 08 25

These China “Experts” need to be stopped

Today’s “Drudge Report”

It’s a reflection of the madness of the United States.

SHOCK: Man kills 5 neighbors, including child, after one asked him to stop shooting AR-15 in his yard...

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2023 04 30 07 56

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2023 04 30 07 57

United States has become a ghetto

Late stage collapse.

2023 04 30 08 22
2023 04 30 08 22

Dislodging the Neocons, Difficult But Necessary

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Last week I discussed the ironic role that America’s dominant Neocons may have played in shaping recent world events, perhaps inadvertently producing a beneficial outcome exactly contrary to their aggressive intent.

Over the last decade, prominent political scientists such as Graham Allison of Harvard and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago had argued that a centuries-long pattern suggested that the world was locked into a “Thucydides Trap,” the likelihood of a looming clash between the reigning global power of America and the rising global power of China. This political and potentially military conflict had nothing to do with the ideological or social characteristics of those two enormous countries nor their leadership, but was simply the inevitable consequence of China’s size and growing power, which threatened to displace America from its position of world dominance. The term referred to the analogous rivalry between Athens and Sparta that had unleashed the long Peloponnesian War, devastating Classical Greece.

Meanwhile, on totally different grounds the ideologically-driven foreign policy of America’s dominant Neocons also threatened global warfare against all countries that refused to accept American hegemony, with Russia and Iran being the leading targets of their intense hostility. During the Obama Administration, these individuals had orchestrated a 2014 coup that overthrew Ukraine’s democratically-elected pro-Russian government. Seven years of military buildup and anti-Russian provocations had eventually led to the outbreak of the Ukraine war in early 2022, with the first year of the fighting having already cost many tens of thousands of lives while raising the risk of World War III.

So the world faced two entirely different geopolitical perils, one ideologically-driven and one not.

However, I then argued that these two separate threats to world peace may have very fortuitously canceled each other out. The extreme over-reaction by the West against Russia over the last year had driven that enormous, resource-rich country into China’s arms, and the resulting China-Russia alliance was now so strong that it probably outweighed the geopolitical power of America and its allies. Furthermore, outrageous anti-Russian measures taken by America’s reckless leadership—the seizure of $300 billion in Russian financial reserves, the destruction of Germany’s Nord Stream energy pipelines—had deeply alienated many other major world powers, which naturally gravitated towards the China-Russia bloc as a consequence, notably including Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Brazil. Even some of our own most important vassal-states such as France and Japan seem to have recently become a little shaky in their allegiance.

Thus, over the last twelve months, the global coalition aligned with China had quickly grown so overwhelmingly powerful that the likelihood of any conflict with America was greatly diminished. The aggressive arrogance and incompetence of the Neocons may have allowed the world to escape the Thucydides Trap, increasing the chances that China could replace America as the world’s leading power without bloodshed or bitter conflict.

But even if this analysis is correct and the disastrous failure of the Neocon geopolitical strategy has inadvertently yielded a positive outcome, such behavior can hardly be excused. An elite political leadership class so incompetent that it avoids war by unintentionally wrecking its own country’s strategic alliances must obviously be removed lest future blunders have less fortunate consequences.

Furthermore, the same sort of blindness to reality that produced these American strategic disasters might still lead to a deadly crisis. Perhaps the Neocons will fail to recognize the enormous advantages now enjoyed by the China-Russia bloc that America faces and arrogantly continue their military provocations, eventually triggering a wider war. As an example of such strikingly unrealistic beliefs, the WSJ last year carried a column by an editor at the arch-Neocon New York Sun who argued that China and Russia could be successfully contained by the U.S. together with a handful of “Rimland” powers such as Israel, the UAE, and Australia, although the former outweigh the latter perhaps 50-to-1 in population and industrial base.

However, removing the Neocons from authority may be difficult to achieve since they have become so deeply embedded within DC political circles and the broader Atlanticist community.

After first gaining influence in the Reagan Administration during the 1980s and keeping much of it under his successor George H.W. Bush, they soon began to heavily dominate the foreign policy of Bill Clinton. Because they backed Sen. John McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries, they were seemingly excluded from power under George W. Bush, receiving not a single Cabinet appointment; yet in the wake of the 9/11 Attacks, they still managed to gain control of the entire government. Barack Obama was elected partly because he seemed to represent the total repudiation of his unpopular predecessor, but in his administration Bush Neocons were merely replaced by Obama Neocons. Then in 2016, massive popular revulsion against both political parties unexpectedly propelled Donald Trump into the White House, but he soon placed his foreign policy in the hands of particularly hard-line Neocons such as Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, and more recently the Democratic Neocons have regained that same role under Biden. So Neocon control has now endured for more than thirty years, stretching across Democratic, Republican, and Trumpist administrations alike.

A perfect illustration of this remarkable situation is the fact that Robert Kagan, a leading Neocon architect of George W. Bush’s foreign policy, is the husband of Victoria Nuland, who subsequently played the same role for Barack Obama and now Joe Biden. A political elite so unsuccessful and unsatisfactory must be driven from power, yet apparently this is easier said than done.

 

One difficulty is that the very term “Neocon” used here has actually become much less meaningful than it once was. After having controlled American foreign policy for more than three decades, promoting their allies and protégés and purging their opponents, the adherents of that world view now constitute nearly the entire political establishment, including control of the leading thinktanks and publications. By now, I doubt there are many prominent figures in either party who follow a sharply different line. Furthermore, over the last two decades, the national security-focused Neocons have largely merged with the economically-focused neoliberals, forming a unified ideological block that represents the political worldview of the elites running both American parties.

Back in 2012 I had already noted the emergence of what amounted to a one party American state:

Consider the pattern of the last decade. With two ruinous wars and a financial collapse to his record, George W. Bush was widely regarded as one of the most disastrous presidents in American history, and at times his public approval numbers sank to the lowest levels ever measured. The sweeping victory of his successor, Barack Obama, represented more a repudiation of Bush and his policies than anything else, and leading political activists, left and right alike, characterized Obama as Bush’s absolute antithesis, both in background and in ideology. This sentiment was certainly shared abroad, with Obama being selected for the Nobel Peace Prize just months after entering office, based on the widespread assumption that he was certain to reverse most of the policies of his detested predecessor and restore America to sanity.

Yet almost none of these reversals took place. Instead, the continuity of administration policy has been so complete and so obvious that many critics now routinely speak of the Bush/Obama administration.

The harsh violations of constitutional principles and civil liberties which Bush pioneered following the 9/11 attacks have only further intensified under Obama, the heralded Harvard constitutional scholar and ardent civil libertarian, and this has occurred without the excuse of any major new terrorist attacks. During his Democratic primary campaign, Obama promised that he would move to end Bush’s futile Iraq War immediately upon taking office, but instead large American forces remained in place for years until heavy pressure from the Iraqi government finally forced their removal; meanwhile, America’s occupation army in Afghanistan actually tripled in size. The government bailout of the hated financial manipulators of Wall Street, begun under Bush, continued apace under Obama, with no serious attempts at either government prosecution or drastic reform. Americans are still mostly suffering through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, but Wall Street profits and multimillion-dollar bonuses soon returned to record levels.

In particular, the continuity of top officials has been remarkable. As Bush’s second defense secretary, Robert Gates had been responsible for the ongoing management of America’s foreign wars and military occupations since 2006; Obama kept him on, and he continued to play the same role in the new administration. Similarly, Timothy Geithner had been one of Bush’s most senior financial appointments, playing a crucial role in the widely unpopular financial bailout of Wall Street; Obama promoted him to Treasury secretary and authorized continuation of those same policies. Ben Bernanke had been appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve by Bush and was reappointed by Obama. Bush wars and bailouts became Obama wars and bailouts. The American public voted for an anti-Bush, but got Bush’s third term instead.

During the Cold War, Soviet propagandists routinely characterized our democracy as a sham, with the American public merely selecting which of the two intertwined branches of their single political party should alternate in office, while the actual underlying policies remained essentially unchanged, being decided and implemented by the same corrupt ruling class. This accusation may have been mostly false at the time it was made but seems disturbingly accurate today.

 

By 2016 public dissatisfaction with the obvious policy failures of this bipartisan political consensus had become so widespread that it provided an opening for an angry outsider such as Donald Trump, a candidate whose campaign was enabled by the new power of Twitter and other social media outlets.

Trump had been considered a joke candidate when he first entered the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, a popular reality television star who had no serious chance against such established political heavyweights as Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. At one of his early debates, he denounced President George W. Bush for having lied America into the disastrous Iraq War, a shocking declaration that seemed sure to doom his candidacy with the conservative Republican base. But oddly enough it failed to dent his enthusiastic, right-wing support, suggesting that our hawkish foreign policy actually resonated much more deeply with Republican donors, DC thinktankers, and Beltway lobbyists than with conservative primary voters.

Trump’s unexpected primary triumph against his establishmentarian Republican opponents was mostly due to domestic issues, especially his powerful focus on the hot-button conservative topics of illegal immigration and free trade agreements. As a consequence, he was regarded as an extreme underdog against Hillary Clinton’s Democratic campaign, with the latter backed by an overwhelming advantage in money and media support.

Clinton’s positions represented the bipartisan elite consensus on foreign policy, and in one of her last debates with Trump she stated that she would immediately declare a “No Fly Zone” in Syria against Russia’s expeditionary force in support of President Assad’s government, with the American air force presumably shooting down any Russian planes that continued to attack the anti-government rebels. A presidential candidate promising war with nuclear-armed Russia should have raised a few eyebrows, but America’s media and political establishments apparently regarded her positions as solid and sensible ones in contrast to Trump’s outrageous proposals to reestablish good relations with the Russians.

Trump’s narrow victory in the 2016 race stunned both political parties. The national security establishments of the Democrats and the Republicans reacted viscerally to the possibility that his contrary ideas might now set Washington policy, and the DC political organism displayed a fierce immune-reaction, trying to reject the alien ideology that had suddenly been grafted onto the top of the American government.

The mainstream media was quickly enlisted in the effort to delegitimize Trump’s election and frustrate his foreign policy plans. Although the bizarre claims that Russian interference had tilted the election towards Trump—or even stolen it outright—probably originated with Clinton’s embarrassed excuses to explain away her shocking defeat against all odds, the cry was quickly taken up by the media echo-chamber and the Russiagate scandal soon dogged the new Trump Administration. Faced with an avalanche of media accusations that Trump was a Russian agent and Putin’s puppet, neither the President nor his top officials could afford the risk of attempting to repair our relations with that country.

Meanwhile, a wide range of dissenting websites—right-wing, left-wing, racialist, and libertarian—were immediately labeled Russian disinformation sources, and although most of the accusations were utterly risible—Ron Paul a Russian agent?—some of these publications were intimidated by those wild charges while our social media gatekeepers were urged to restrict the circulation of any such material.

All of these external pressures on the new administration to toe the establishment line on foreign policy were coupled with internal pressures as well, especially after Trump was persuaded to elevate Mike Pompeo from CIA Director to Secretary of State in late March 2018 and bring in John Bolton as his new National Security Advisor around the same time. Bolton had been known as one of the most extremely hawkish figures in the Bush Administration, a leading advocate of the Iraq War, and Pompeo was regarded as supportive of those same policies. Although Trump’s own views may not have changed, the top figures running his foreign policy were now solidly within the Beltway’s Neocon consensus, even situated at its more extreme end.

Bolton in particular seemed eager and willing to sabotage the policy initiatives of his inattentive new superior.

For example, Trump had made considerable progress on persuading North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to abandon his nuclear weapons development program in exchange for American security guarantees, inspiring South Korean leaders to suggest that the American President deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for his successful diplomatic breakthrough. However, soon after his appointment, Bolton declared that the agreement would be modeled after the one with Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, who had similarly renounced his nuclear weapons efforts in 2004, only to be overthrown and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed military uprising, ending his life sodomized by a bayonet. This torpedoed any possibility of a pact with Kim and Trump later declared that those remarks had been a “disaster” with regard to the negotiations.

That same year Trump was finalizing his crucial trade agreement with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a private dinner when Bolton secretly ordered the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, one of China’s highest-profile tech executives as she was changing planes in Canada, an act that blindsided and outraged the Chinese leadership. According to a WSJ account, Trump had been completely unaware of what was happening and later asked Bolton “Why did you arrest Meng? Don’t you know she’s the Ivanka Trump of China?”

Leading journalists even reported that Trump’s own senior aides would sometimes hide the executive orders he planned to issue, preventing him from signing them into law and correctly believing that our disengaged Chief Executive would forget about them.

Trump’s original hopes of improving our relationship with Russia had been immediately stymied by the Russiagate Hoax, orchestrated by his Deep State opponents and their mainstream media allies. But his policy towards China followed a different trajectory, and I think Kevin Rudd’s 2022 book The Avoidable War provides a good overview of these developments.

As the former prime minister of Australia, Rudd had relocated to the U.S. in 2014 after leaving office and later served as president of The Asia Society based in New York City. He was obviously a very well-connected individual, even lobbying for nomination as U.N. Secretary-General in 2016, and was already intensely focusing on relations between China and America, which became the subject of his subsequent book. His account explains the sharp break that eventually occurred.

As Rudd tells the story, Trump was overwhelmingly focused on trade issues with China and although he was willing to take tough negotiating positions, he also emphasized the importance of his personal relationship with his “very, very good friend” Xi. He believed that forming such bonds represented a crucial element of his skills as a deal-maker, and he was extremely pleased with the successful trade agreement the two countries had finalized, with Rudd invited to the January 15, 2020 signing ceremony at the White House.

Around this same time, the first news of the Covid outbreak in Wuhan was starting to reach America, but Trump paid no attention to the matter. Even weeks after the virus had begun to spread worldwide, Trump continued praising the successful efforts of China’s leaders in controlling the disease in their own country while disregarding any risk it might pose to the U.S. Only after the burgeoning global epidemic triggered a stock market crash amid indications of widespread American outbreaks did Trump begin blaming the China for the catastrophe, sharply criticizing that country in late March and suggesting that the virus might have escaped from a Chinese virology lab. This shift seemed to have reflected the growing influence of Pompeo, one of the leading anti-China figures in Trump’s administration, and indeed our CIA-affiliated Radio Free Asia propaganda outlet had already begun claiming that Covid was an escaped Chinese bioweapon months earlier on January 9th, before even the first death had yet occurred.

By Rudd’s account, the political impact of the Covid epidemic was enormous, being entirely responsible for the complete reversal of Trump’s China policy, which was transformed from tough negotiations on trade but otherwise amicable strategic cooperation into intense international hostility. And that momentous shift in America’s China stance even remained after Biden replaced Trump in January 2021.

As the elections of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump demonstrated, even the surprising political victory of someone perceived as an extreme outsider seems to have much less impact upon American foreign policy than might be expected. Over the last couple of decades, the political establishments of both parties have been so heavily absorbed into the Neocon world view that it might take a geopolitical earthquake of generational magnitude to dislodge their hold on power.

But as it happens, over the last three years American society experienced exactly such a earthquake. The Covid epidemic killed well over a million Americans and greatly disrupted the lives of everyone else, certainly amounting to the greatest disaster our society had experienced since the Great Depression more than three generations ago. Moreover, the sudden appearance of the virus also had a drastic political impact as well, driving the intense hostility towards China that has governed our political life since early 2020.

Yet despite its huge importance and impact upon the world, the actual origin of this calamitous disease has received far less attention than it warrants, and that discussion has been extremely circumscribed both in the mainstream and even in the alternative media. Since January 2020, the public debate has been almost entirely restricted to two major theories of Covid origins. Most of the scientific and media establishment quickly declared that the virus was natural and had randomly appeared in the city of Wuhan during late 2019. Meanwhile, a strong minority view widespread on the Internet had argued that the virus was bioengineered in a Wuhan laboratory and accidentally leaked out into the surrounding city, setting off the global epidemic.

Last year I reviewed the contradictory evidence and the arguments of the key proponents on both sides, suggesting that an excluded third possibility was the best solution:

I think these exchanges demonstrate that to a considerable extent, the two main camps on the Covid origins debate have been talking past each other.

The testimonies provided by Quammen and Holmes strongly challenged the possibility of any lab-leak at Wuhan, suggesting that this proves the virus must have been natural, even though few arguments on that latter point were ever made; at most, they raised some doubts about the strength of the evidence for bioengineering.

Meanwhile, the articles and papers by Wade, Sachs, Bruttel, and others have provided strong evidence that the virus was artificial. All of this has usually been interpreted as support for the lab-leak hypothesis, even though very little evidence was ever presented that any lab-leak had occurred.

Yet the apparent vector-sum of these conflicting arguments is the conclusion that the Covid virus neither leaked from the Wuhan lab nor was natural, and this suggests that the public debate has been improperly restricted to just those two possibilities.

For more than 30 months I have emphasized that there are actually three perfectly plausible hypotheses for the Covid outbreak. The virus might have been natural, randomly appearing in Wuhan during late 2019; the virus might have been the artificial product of a scientific lab in Wuhan, which accidentally leaked out at that time; or the virus might have been the bioengineered product of America’s hundred-billion-dollar biowarfare program, the oldest and largest in the world, a bioweapon deployed against China and Iran by elements of the Trump Administration at the height of our hostile international confrontation with those countries.

The first two possibilities have been very widely discussed and debated across the Western mainstream and alternative media, while the third has been almost totally ignored, despite top Russian, Iranian, and Chinese government officials having publicly accused America of releasing Covid in a deliberate biowarfare attack.

Indeed, beginning in April 2020 I have published a long series of articles arguing that there is strong perhaps even overwhelming evidence in favor of that third, disregarded possibility.

Last December I had discussed and reviewed several important recent books on the origins of the Covid virus, all advocating the lab-leak hypothesis. I noted that none of the authors—Jasper Becker, Sharri Markson, Alina Chan and Matt Ridley—had dared to even consider the excluded third possibility, perhaps because the realities of the publishing industry required them to apply such Orwellian “crimestop” to their thinking.

 

A few days ago we passed the third anniversary of my original April 2020 article in which I had outlined the likely motives for this attack.

If the virus had been released intentionally, the context and motive for such a biowarfare attack against China could not be more obvious. Although our disingenuous media continues to pretend otherwise, the size of China’s economy surpassed that of our own several years ago, and has continued to grow much more rapidly. Chinese companies have also taken the lead in several crucial technologies, with Huawei becoming the world’s leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer and dominating the important 5G market. China’s sweeping Belt and Road Initiative has threatened to reorient global trade around an interconnected Eurasian landmass, greatly diminishing the leverage of America’s own control over the seas. I have closely followed China for over forty years, and the trend-lines have never been more apparent. Back in 2012, I published an article bearing the provocative title “China’s Rise, America’s Fall?” and since then I have seen no reason to reassess my verdict.

For three generations following the end of World War II, America had stood as the world’s supreme economic and technological power, while the collapse of the Soviet Union thirty years ago left us as the sole remaining superpower, facing no conceivable military rival. A growing sense that we were rapidly losing that unchallenged position had certainly inspired the anti-China rhetoric of many senior figures in the Trump Administration, who launched a major trade war soon after coming into office. The increasing misery and impoverishment of large sections of the American population naturally left these voters searching for a convenient scapegoat, and the prosperous, rising Chinese made a perfect target.

Despite America’s growing economic conflict with China over the last couple of years, I had never considered the possibility that matters might take a military turn. The Chinese had long ago deployed advanced intermediate range missiles that many believed could easily sink our carriers in the region, and they had also generally improved their conventional military deterrent. Moreover, China was on quite good terms with Russia, which itself had been the target of intense American hostility for several years; and Russia’s new suite of revolutionary hypersonic missiles had drastically reduced any American strategic advantage. Thus, a conventional war against China seemed an absolutely hopeless undertaking, while China’s outstanding businessmen and engineers were steadily gaining ground against America’s decaying and heavily-financialized economic system.

Under these difficult circumstances, an American biowarfare attack against China might have seemed the only remaining card to play in hopes of maintaining American supremacy. Plausible deniability would minimize the risk of any direct Chinese retaliation, and if successful, the terrible blow inflicted to China’s economy would set it back for many years, perhaps even destabilizing its social and political system. Using alternative media to immediately promote theories that the coronavirus outbreak was the result of a leak from a Chinese biowarfare lab was a natural means of preempting any later Chinese accusations along similar lines, thereby allowing America to win the international propaganda war before China had even begun to fight.

A decision by elements of our national security establishment to wage biological warfare in hopes of maintaining American world power would certainly have been an extremely reckless act, but extreme recklessness has become a regular aspect of American behavior since 2001, especially under the Trump Administration. Just a year earlier we had kidnapped the daughter of Huawei’s founder and chairman, who also served as CFO and ranked as one of China’s top executives, while at the beginning of January we suddenly assassinated Iran’s top military leader.

 

Under this explosive reconstruction, the Covid disease epidemic that has taken more than million American lives resulted from the blowback of a botched American biowarfare attack against China (and Iran), an attack carried out without the knowledge or approval of President Donald Trump.

All of the compelling evidence supporting this controversial hypothesis has been easily available in mainstream media sources since early 2020, but very few individuals anywhere have been willing to recognize or mention it.

My own long series of articles has presented and analyzed all this material and also placed it within the context of the hidden history of America’s longstanding biological warfare programs. These pieces have been collected into a freely downloadable ebook.

I’d particularly recommend the following articles in my series.

Although the articles run many tens of thousands of words, some of the most striking evidence can be summarized in just a few paragraphs mostly extracted from my original April 2020 article:

For example, in 2017 Trump brought in Robert Kadlec, who since the 1990s had been one of America’s leading biowarfare advocates. The following year in 2018 a mysterious viral epidemic hit China’s poultry industry and in 2019, another mysterious viral epidemic devastated China’s pork industry…

From the earliest days of the administration, leading Trump officials had regarded China as America’s most formidable geopolitical adversary, and orchestrated a policy of confrontation. Then from January to August 2019, Kadlec’s department ran the “Crimson Contagion” simulation exercise, involving the hypothetical outbreak of a dangerous respiratory viral disease in China, which eventually spreads into the United States, with the participants focusing on the necessary measures to control it in this country. As one of America’s foremost biowarfare experts, Kadlec had emphasized the unique effectiveness of bioweapons as far back as the late 1990s and we must commend him for his considerable prescience in having organized a major viral epidemic exercise in 2019 that was so remarkably similar to what actually began in the real world just a few months later.

With leading Trump officials greatly enamored of biowarfare, fiercely hostile to China, and running large-scale 2019 simulations on the consequences of a mysterious viral outbreak in that country, it seems entirely unreasonable to completely disregard the possibility that such extremely reckless plans may have been privately discussed and eventually implemented, though probably without presidential authorization.

But with the horrific consequences of our own later governmental inaction being obvious, elements within our intelligence agencies have sought to demonstrate that they were not the ones asleep at the switch. Earlier this month, an ABC News story cited four separate government sources to reveal that as far back as late November, a special medical intelligence unit within our Defense Intelligence Agency had produced a report warning that an out-of-control disease epidemic was occurring in the Wuhan area of China, and widely distributed that document throughout the top ranks of our government, warning that steps should be taken to protect US forces based in Asia. After the story aired, a Pentagon spokesman officially denied the existence of that November report, while various other top level government and intelligence officials refused to comment. But a few days later, Israeli television mentioned that in November American intelligence had indeed shared such a report on the Wuhan disease outbreak with its NATO and Israeli allies, thus seeming to independently confirm the complete accuracy of the original ABC News story and its several government sources.

It therefore appears that elements of the Defense Intelligence Agency were aware of the deadly viral outbreak in Wuhan more than a month before any officials in the Chinese government itself. Unless our intelligence agencies have pioneered the technology of precognition, I think this may have happened for the same reason that arsonists have the earliest knowledge of future fires.

According to these multiply-sourced mainstream media accounts, by “the second week of November” our Defense Intelligence Agency was already preparing a secret report warning of a “cataclysmic” disease outbreak taking place in Wuhan. Yet at that point, probably no more than a couple of dozen individuals had been infected in that city of 11 million, with few of those yet having any serious symptoms. The implications are rather obvious. Furthermore:

As the coronavirus gradually began to spread beyond China’s own borders, another development occurred that greatly multiplied my suspicions. Most of these early cases had occurred exactly where one might expect, among the East Asian countries bordering China. But by late February Iran had become the second epicenter of the global outbreak. Even more surprisingly, its political elites had been especially hard-hit, with a full 10% of the entire Iranian parliament soon infected and at least a dozen of its officials and politicians dying of the disease, including some who were quite senior. Indeed, Neocon activists on Twitter began gleefully noting that their hated Iranian enemies were now dropping like flies.

Let us consider the implications of these facts. Across the entire world the only political elites that have yet suffered any significant human losses have been those of Iran, and they died at a very early stage, before significant outbreaks had even occurred almost anywhere else in the world outside China. Thus, we have America assassinating Iran’s top military commander on Jan. 2nd and then just a few weeks later large portions of the Iranian ruling elites became infected by a mysterious and deadly new virus, with many of them soon dying as a consequence. Could any rational individual possibly regard this as a mere coincidence?

The Iranians themselves were well aware of these facts, and their top political and military leaders publicly accused America of an illegal biowarfare attack against their own country and China, with their former president even filing an official protest with the United Nations. But although these explosive charges were widely reported in the Iranian press, they were completely ignored by the American media so that almost no Americans ever became aware of them.

Much of this same information is also effectively summarized in several of my podcast interviews from a year ago, originally on Rumble but now available on Youtube as well.

Kevin Barrett, FFWN • February 16, 2022 • 15m • on Rumble

Full article HERE

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office last May. In less than a year, his popularity ratings have plunged to a pathetic 28%. His predecessor Moon Jae-in, in stark contrast, left office basking in stratospheric 78% support. These ratings are a true measure of competence and experience or lack thereof.

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2023 04 30 09 09

Yoon was a prosecutor general, with no prior chance to cut his teeth on international politics. Geopolitically, he is wet behind the ears. By his actions and words, he is a wet leader—weak and gaffe-prone. His only cashable political asset is his charming and photogenic wife.

In the past month alone, Yoon has littered his record with a terrible triple jump. He has forgotten his geography, that Korea is located in Asia and must navigate the treacherous relations with China, Russia and Japan. On all three fronts, he has been an unmitigated disaster. He has angered China by declaring before his Western partners that “Taiwan is a global issue.” As a newcomer, he craved approval and attention. But he didn’t realize that this is an uncrossable red line for China. Just as provocatively, he has gone out on a limb telling the world that he is prepared to send lethal weapons to Ukraine if and when warranted by the war situation, thereby netting another major power to his list of enemies. He did, however, try to cuddle up to two countries: Japan and America. Korea’s relations with Japan have always been ticklish and fraught, given the latter’s brutal colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. But he blundered with an unsolicited olive branch to the Japanese, saying that he will not accept Japan having to kneel in shame for its atrocities a hundred years ago. This might be music to Japanese ears, but it is a hammer blow to stunned fellow Koreans.

Yoon is currently on a state visit to Washington. It has been rumored that he had burnt the midnight oil trying to memorize his English speech to impress his American hosts. No other foreign leader has tried so hard to curry favor with his US overlord. By angering China on Taiwan and Russia on military aid to Ukraine, he has put himself in Biden’s good books, but at what price? He has given away all his bargaining chips before he even set foot in America. His cupboards are bare. He has given America everything it wants, unasked, including Korea’s kitchen sink. But does this earn him America’s unconditional trust? Quite the contrary. News has just leaked that the US has been spying on its Korean partners. So much for blood brotherhood.

Yoon’s background as prosecutor echoes the CV of US Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow former prosecutor. Both are socially and strategically challenged–handicapped by poor people skills, a low likeability factor and non-existent geopolitical awareness. They should have stuck with their original occupation. The presidency or vice presidency is simply a bridge too far. They prove that the Peter Principle is alive and kicking—some people are indeed promoted to the level of their incompetence.

Yoon’s foray into Washington is thus doomed. He doesn’t seem to know which side of his bread is buttered, forgetting that Korea’s core interests remain in Asia. Without China, there can be no stable, long-term peace in the region. His inflammatory statements have poured fuel on the flames, with his ill-timed and ill-considered words disrupting the equilibrium. Even Europeans, at the height of a dangerous war raging in Ukraine, know only too well that the US practices an “America First” policy. Alliances are only partnerships of convenience. Yet Yoon is rashly betting his political fortunes on the roller-coaster of US domestic politics. Besides, America is an ocean away. I feel sorry for Koreans for being cursed with a blundering, bird-brained leader who turns out to be a sell-out artist. He talks like a US puppet and acts like a US puppet and will pay a dear price for being a sniveling puppet. With all his bargaining chips squandered, he goes to Washington, empty-handed. What more can he offer Biden? Kimchee, I guess.

American sense of entitlement…

It’s profound and disturbing.

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2023 04 30 08 20

Jeffrey Sachs – United States Putting All Of Us In Peril

Mr Jeffrey you are 100% the voice of reason and clairvoyance. Unfortunately this has gotten too far already, the human losses on both sides means that Russia is going to keep the provinces it freed under the Russian federation. USa is dangerously commanded by a rogue minority in the shadows, that knows no guilt, and will have to experience defeat to relearn humility and noble principles that most other countries in the world have in their society values and that they don't. Those rogues are treating the world as a far west frontier and dont realize that the true decent, humble and well mannered civilization is not Usa.

https://youtu.be/S6g9xuMK7a8

Something that you would NEVER see in China…

It’s an “American thing”.

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2023 04 30 08 19

A collection of links that describe American Conservative “news” at this moment in time

We will look back and reflect in the insanity that the United States has become. No need to click on the links. Wait three years, then investigate. Say in 2026-2027.

What is the century of humiliation the Chinese people always speak about?

The Century of Humiliation encompasses a period of roughly between 90–120 years between 1824 and 1944 when China was divided into the sphere of influence by foreign western powers and invaded by Japan

It’s called a COH because CHINA was humiliated

First the Chinese Emperor was overwhelmed by the gunpower and the British Navy & French Soldiers and was forced to cede territory to them where they ran per their own laws.

Second the Opium Trade was red hot and many Chinese became addicts and wealthy families became paupers

China was HELPLESS in every way and their Officials were like Indians of today — Corrupt to the core or Honest yet Indifferent

The Boxer Rebellion is officially regarded the end of the Century of Humiliation but since 2017,=in their textbooks the Chinese add the 13 years of Japanese occupation as also part of the Century of Humiliation

China under Mao referred to the COH every day but under Deng and Jiang the term vanished because the Chinese wanted goodies and favours from the West

It reappeared from 2015 when Xi Jingping told the Chinese to “NEVER FORGET THE CENTURY OF HUMILIATION”

The End of American “Exceptionalism”?

Failing banks, inflation, soaring interest rates and the flight from the petrodollar could become a disaster for ordinary Americans

.

Watching a once great nation commit suicide is not pretty.

President Joe Biden does not seem to understand that his role as elected leader of the United States is to take actions that directly or indirectly benefit the folks who voted for him as well as the other Americans who did not do so. That is how a constitutional democracy is supposed to work.

Instead, Biden and the gang of introverts and neocon war criminals that the has surrounded himself with have done everything that can to inflict fatal damage on the economy through rash initiatives both overseas and at home.

A spending spree to buy support from the bizarre constituencies that make up the Democrat Party base while also fighting an undeclared war in Europe have meant that nearly two trillion dollars has been added to the national debt under Biden’s rule, a debt that was already unsustainable at nearly $30 trillion, larger than the United States’ gross national product. Plans to cancel student loan debts will add hundreds of billions of dollars more to the red ink.

And those actions undertaken overseas, to include continuing to expand the war in Ukraine against Russia, will do immeasurable more damage. Consider how the Democratic Party has long had it in for Russian Federal President Vladimir Putin, dating back to when Putin took power in 2000 and started kicking out the western scallywags who were looting his country.

Subsequently, false intelligence and other innuendoes were contrived by Hillary Clinton and her team in 2016 to implicate Donald Trump as a Russian stooge who was secretly working for Putin.

When that didn’t work and Trump was elected, the Russians were accused by the media and Democrats of willy-nilly interfering in US elections more generally speaking, a much-exaggerated claim in contrast to the overwhelming silence surrounding the real electoral and policy interference, which has been coming from Israel and its fifth column inside the United States, who, not coincidentally, are the chief proponents of the war against Russia.

Placing a target on Vladimir Putin’s back appears to have an unfortunate consequence which Biden has yet to wake up to, namely the fact that the United States now has what might be described as a Ponzi scheme faux economy which is very vulnerable, particularly as much of the world has become disenchanted with the US style of global leadership.

Note for example the recent state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing, where he embraced a “global strategic partnership with China” to bring about a “multipolar” world, freed of “blocs” that is not sheltering behind “Cold War mentality.” Macron also criticized the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar.”

And threats made by the Bidens against both China and Russia have accomplished little beyond drawing the two major political and military powers closer together.

Beijing and Moscow entered into a trade agreement in their own currencies in 2014 and have openly taken steps to challenge US dominance of international currency exchanges, creating instead a global multipolar trading environment.

Europe aside, many nations are now eager to cut the tie that binds, which is the decades long American dominance of international financial mechanisms and also the general use of dollars to pay for oil and other energy supplies.

The widespread use of petrodollars enables the buffoonish Janet Yellen at the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve banks to print unlimited unbacked fiat currency, knowing that there will always be a market for it.

Which brings us back to the Ukraine war, pursued “until we win” by Biden and his somnolent Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

One of the first moves when Russia intervened in Ukraine was to block and eventually confiscate Russia’s 300 billion dollars-worth of foreign reserves in banks in the US and Europe.

That sent a shock wave across currency markets all around the world. Biden and Yellen had weaponized the US’s own national currency, which hitherto had been an untouchable step in international relations for nations that were not actually at war.

Countries like China and India with large economies then realized that the US Treasury Department and the dominance of the dollar as an exchange currency had now become a weapon of war and a serious threat to the economies of all other nations.

As a consequence, the US Dollar is right now being rejected by many nations as the world’s reserve currency. Some nations all over the world have agreed to use the Chinese Yuan and Indian Rupee for any-and-all international currency transactions.

Saudi Arabia continues to use the petrodollar but does not demand it. Recently, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to permit the Saudis to sell oil to China in Yuan. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is now allowing multiple currencies to be used to purchase its oil, a major attack on the primacy of the US dollar and it also has accepted Chinese mediation to mend fences with the US and Israel’s arch enemy Iran.

And the Saudis have even more recently refused a Biden Administration request that it start pumping more oil to reduce energy costs, signaling that the shift is both political and economic in nature.

Japan, a major economy, has also started purchasing oil and gas directly from Russia against the US imposed energy embargo while Brazil, another major economy, has agreed to use the Yuan in its increasing trade with China.

As fewer nations utilize the US dollar, America’s ability to export and ignore its burgeoning domestic debt and inflation to other countries is being diminished.

This might have a decisive impact on the US currency as the drive to break with the petrodollar continues to grow and could produce something like a “perfect storm” impacting on the US economy.

It threatens to drastically lower the standards of living of nearly all Americans within the next several years as the dollar loses value and purchasing power. As the US economy is heavily interconnected with many European economies, Europe is also likely to be a victim of the coming disaster.

The good news, of course, is that the United States will no longer be able to afford its endless wars and international interventions.

Lacking its economic power, it will no longer be able to declare itself “exceptional” and the enforcer of a “rules based international order.”

It would mean an ending of the funding of developments like the Ukraine proxy war and the troops will have to come home from places like Syria and Somalia. And it might even mark the ending of sending billions of dollars annually to a wealthy Israel.

Ending dollar supremacy would inevitably have an immediate impact on what passes for US foreign policy, making it more difficult for Washington to initiate and sustain Treasury Department sanctions on countries like Iran and North Korea.

It could also create economic turmoil for many countries until the situation resolves itself by producing greater volatility in currency markets worldwide. The Federal Reserve Bank will no doubt respond to the unfolding crisis by acting as it always does by raising interest rates to astronomical levels, thereby hurting most the Americans who can least afford the shock therapy.

And it did not have to turn out this way. It could have been avoided. If the US, which had no horse in the race, had left Ukraine alone Vladimir Putin would not have become a symbol of defiance against the “Rules Based International Order” and he would not have worked with China to establish multipolarity in the way the financial world operates.

Instead, we have a situation where Europe is being de-industrialized due to soaring energy prices and Washington’s destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines while the US is potentially confronting economic disaster as the dollar’s relevance to international trade sinks.

The ultimate irony is that Russia, and also the US/Israeli arch enemy Iran, are by comparison doing quite well economically as they sell their oil and gas to anyone in any currency.

One has to conclude that when US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently made her secret trip to Kiev to promise the despicable Volodymyr Zelensky billions of taxpayer dollars the United States might just have been better served if she had stayed in Washington and made some minimal effort to address the mounting economic problems confronting us here at home.

And people wonder why restaurants ban children entirely…..

Meanwhile in the United States.

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2023 04 30 08 10

China is a far better place to live than the US!! They won’t admit it, though.

America is truly a garbage dump now. This is coming from someone who currently lives there. I have travelled quite a bit around the world and I have been watching videos of China recently....I am blown away by how the country looks. I need to visit. I had only been to Shanghai a few years ago but the other cities look even better.

Currently, as of today April 30, 2023, the United States is actively involved in nine (x9) wars around the globe. It is also involved in numerous “color revolutions” (NED / CIA operations), and has over 800 overseas military bases internationally.

As if that isn’t enough, the American “news” media (which is a unacknowledged branch of the United States government) is promoting wars with…

  • China
  • Haiti
  • Mexico

What do I think will happen next?

I haven’t any idea.

It all depends on the ebb and flow of the tide of sentiment inside the oligarchy that rules the United States military Empire.

However, we can take some educated guesses based upon NEED and OUTLOOK. Here we look at five scenarios.

[1] Devalue of the the USD Scenario

In this scenario, everything stays the same, but the global decision to stop using the USD as a reserve currency has resulted in a devaluing of the USD. This, in turn, results in a great deal of inflation.

Not only are the American people restless, but the inflation has pushed the cost of living to enormous heights. This in turn, has made it very expensive to maintain a massive global military empire.

Under this scenario, a prudent leadership would (out of necessity) scale back the military forces, and force projections. The amounts of moneys that would flow to other nations would also be curtailed.

Without this kind of fiat fiscal policy, the United States would be unable to fund any wars, and would need to cut back (substantially) on the ones it is presently engaged in.

[2] “Damn the torpedoes – full steam ahead” Scenario

In this scenario, there is no consideration given to anything other than ideology.

  • Us vs. Them
  • Democracy vs. “Regimes”
  • Neocon vs. the ignorant rest of the world.

The President and his neocon controllers “put the petal to the metal” and force another war. Probably against China, while keeping all the other wars intact.

This, coupled with various other realities, would be devastating for the United States.

Not only militarily, but also economically and financially.

This scenario would hasten the end of the United States via numerous vectors. (Military is just a tiny portion of the calculus. Other factors have a much greater bearing in this vector.)

As the United States is already in late state collapse, this action would end the present United States government and social organization. As such, we can expect a decade long discomfort inside the Untied States, followed by a two to three decade period of reconstruction to a new form of governance.

[3] Trivial distraction war Scenario

In this scenario, a surrogate target other than China is selected. It doesn’t matter which nation, only that it isn’t a peer-capable one like China.

The war takes place, and all of the media attention is redirected towards that end. This war is used to postpone the decline of the Untied States though a “band-aid” and the United States continues to exist limping long for another decade or so before the eventual collapse.

Eventual collapse will still be spectacular. No doubt.

The advantage of this scenario is that of continued life-support for the dying empire, and enough time to make the necessary arrangements for the lifeboats of the rich to ride out the fiasco.

[4] “Kitchen Sink” Scenario

The American military (using the Presidential figurehead) uses nuclear weapons against one or more combatants. In response, the Global South erases the United States. There are debates on how much damage will occur. But I see an emergent globe where the United States no longer exists, where Americans are treated as lepers, and the Global South manages the world quite well without the “West”.

I will further add that no one wants this scenario. And only a lunatic egotistical idiot with dementia and fueled on cocaine would dare consider it. So, it is of my opinion that is is an unlikely scenario.

[5] “Fade into black” Scenario

In this scenario, there are no additional wars. But the existing ones aren’t ended either. The various vectors continue to their ultimate conclusion. The United States dies. The proxy allies start to “turn off the lights” and the last one out of the theater locks the door.

It’s over.

Now, in these five scenarios, the United States dies.

There is no scenario where it doesn’t die.

The last chance to stop the “great burn” was when the government was still able to function. But that time has passed. The bureaucracy period ended under President Bill Clinton…

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Since that period of time, the ability to reverse-course became substantially difficult.

And the United States slid into death. And it is at death where the United States sits today.

Now during this decade of convulsions; it’s over.

The death spasms of a dying military empire is obvious to everyone.

And so we have our actual reality.

At this period of late stage collapse, the United States cannot be taken off of it’s vector. It will die, the only issues are [1] how quickly and [2] how painfully for the Americans and allies.

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2023 04 30 17 56

Finally, I must add that the United States needs a new kind of leader to slow down the march-of-death. I propose the following…

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main qimg 6f95d49deaa59f6f0c1bc04ed2cf7373

Before the lights go out, make the night worthy.

There is a lot going on. Man, oh man, are we in the middle of big change. But you all should not freak out about it. It’s all under control.

Forces MAJ sit ready and are watching and controlling everything. It’s all part of the big plan. Don’t freak.

Go have a good meal today.

Treat yourself.

And splurge with an expensive dessert afterwards. Make the night worthy.

Are you sure you want an answer?

I give you the benefit of the doubt even though such questions are mainly asked to discredit China.

The real reason is that China is of Confucian heritage, it prefers to hide its true strength and let westerners to still think China is poor or weak. The truth may hurt you but I suspect that the Chinese economy is way bigger that is reported. As high as 1.5 times presently.

China’s economy is highly SME dependent while US economy is more MNC and higher concentrated on big companies. That makes accounting and auditing easier compared to China. Many companies in China just operate under the radar. Most don’t pay taxes. Hence the honest truth is a big chunk of China’s production is simply unaccounted.

I do suspect that China simply ignores these figures too as it gives China a cushion and the west lived to underestimate China due to their superiority complex and this underestimation gives China a head start. My guess is by now China’s economy is way bigger than US for the past decade.

The Sopranos – Chris Gives Up Adriana

The most heart wrenching scene in the series. He goes to his Mob Boss, and tells him that his fiance has been working with the FBI. He says that he knows that she must be killed, but that he just cannot do it.

Changes

郭台銘 CEO of APPLE biggest Taiwan supply chains manufacturer suddenly changed tone on China.

In the last taiwan presidential election campaign, he claimed that he feeds millions of Chinese workers in his China factories , and the CCP need him instead of the other ways round. He later withdraw from the campaign.

Yesterday, he restart his ambitions to run as the coming presidential election candidate. He visited jinmen (the Taiwan controlled island 2km away from the mainland China), this time he said both sides of the Taiwan straits are a family, we all China people (中国人)。it would appear to me that the tide has changed in Taiwan.

快新聞/郭台銘金門發表和平宣言 稱「兩岸一家親」:同為中國人 - 民視新聞網

From HERE

George Carlin – The American Dream

So successful? Chinese pressure? Please be patient and read the following story before you draw a conclusion.

This is the real experience in Taiwan shared by Thomas Pauken II:

When visiting Taiwan for a research excursion a few weeks ago, a number of long-time residents on the island advised me to check out the southwestern port city of Kaohsiung. They had described it as a wonderful tourist town. Meanwhile, it’s the second-largest city in Taiwan island; the Port of Kaohsiung has enjoyed an historic reputation as a bustling metropolitan zone for international trade and domestic manufacturing industries. The economic success story of Taiwan in recent decades was achieved largely on account of the island opening up big factories while the Port of Kaohsiung served as a major hub for international shipping trade and as transit points for shippers going to and from Chinese Mainland, Southeast Asia, South Asia, along with the North and South American markets.

I was also working with a documentary team to film the Port of Kaohsiung and the sea for backdrop views. But on May 2, a normal work day for local people, we took a high speed rail from Taipei and reached the Main Station of Kaohsiung at approximately 10:30 am during regular business hours. When arriving at the nearby streets, we did not see a robust trading port city but a dead zone that more closely resembled a ghost town.

In most major cities on weekday mornings, you will observe large crowds of pedestrians rushing to work and traffic jams galore. Yet in Kaohsiung near the port, we saw empty streets, few cars and waited over 20 minutes before spotting a taxi. Many shops were shuttered, while vacant lots were a common sight. Even after our brief filming, we walked the streets at 12:30 pm and could not find a local restaurant to serve customers, including the shops that were open.

We found a taxi to take us to the scenic spots near the port and walked into empty restaurants there as well. It had only one place, but it offered over-priced seafood and no customers could be seen. Accordingly, it was apparent that the economy in Taiwan is hitting hard times and that’s a wake-up call, since the ruling-party DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) has boasted of having close ties with Washington and argued that such strong links have benefited the domestic economy overall.

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(Photo taken on Jan 19, 2019 shows a freighter at a port in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.)

  • Growing concerns over unfair trade deals with the U.S.

During my two weeks in Taiwan, I had spoken with many local residents. The common consensus was that the DPP does have good relations with Washington, but most people on the island have expressed disappointment over Taiwan’s economic ties with the U.S. A few persons had explained that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had exploited Taipei’s over-eagerness to please Washington by accepting lopsided trade agreements. Consequently, local farmers, dairy farmers and ranchers suffered the unfortunate consequences. Taiwan was forced to lower tariffs on imported food from the U.S.

According to the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service Website:

“In 2022, the total value of U.S. agricultural and related products exported to Taiwan reached a record $4.4 billion, an increase of 13 percent compared to the previous year. Taiwan successfully remains the 6th largest market for U.S. agricultural & related exports. The record year surpassed the previous record set in 2018 of $4.1 billion. Products in the Consumer Oriented category continue to play an increasingly important role, with beef, poultry, and dairy products hitting new highs. Top 5 U.S. export categories to Taiwan in 2022 included soybeans ($1.1 billion), beef ($746 million), wheat ($379 million), poultry ($287 million), and corn ($268 million).”

Additionally, Taiwan has emerged as a major power player as a manufacturer of chips and semiconductors. TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductors Manufacturing Company) is based in Hsinchu, and has witnessed remarkable development in the past two decades. The company is operating massive foundries to produce semiconductors, which are used for nearly all electronics’ devices. In case you are unfamiliar with semiconductors – they serve as the technological brains for chips. If you are reading this article on your smart phone – there’s a semiconductor integrated into it.

We should take note that TSMC’s largest customer is not the U.S., but Chinese mainland. Washington loves to highlight their close friendship to Taipei but TSMC might not agree. U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS AND SCIENCE Act last year and both bills have harmed TSMC’s business prospects. The Hsinchu-based company has set up plans to open up a new foundry in Arizona, U.S., but the Biden administration has demanded tough terms to approve its application for $15 billion subsidy to the company. Washington has demanded profit-sharing on their returns and requiring the company to reduce its semiconductors’ exports to Chinese mainland.

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(Photo taken on Nov. 13, 2021 by a fisheye lens shows the logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) displaying on a laptop screen in London, Britain.)

  • Chinese mainland, not U.S., can rescue Taiwan economy

As reported in an article posted by Mobile World Live on April 21, 2021:

“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a major supplier of processors to Apple, Arm and Nvidia, predicted revenue to decline in 2023 as weakening macroeconomic conditions slow end-user demand, after Q1 sales hit the low end of a forecast.

On an earnings call, CEO CC Wei said TSMC expects a low- to mid-single-digit decline in full-year revenue. He said a fabless semiconductor inventory adjustment in the first half is taking longer than previously expected.”

Western media reports routinely blame the lower global demand for chips to explain TSMC’s sudden downturn, but politics deserves greater scrutiny. The Biden administration is punishing Taiwan companies for having strong business ties with Chinese mainland and as a result – Taiwan global trade figures are stumbling. Taiwan had long enjoyed good trade ties with Chinese mainland but Washington’s new restrictions in efforts to push ahead on U.S.-China economic and hi-tech decoupling are placing many Taiwan exporters in a bind.

“China’s economy is strong and it’s Chinese mainland that can save our economy, not the Americans,” a local Taipei resident who wished to be quoted anonymously by China Focus. “Yes, we still love America, but the people in Taiwan are realistic. They know if a severe depression strikes the island, U.S. business will just cash out and leave.”

The person speaking to China Focus said that she is a DPP voter. One wonders whether she will remain a DPP supporter if the Taiwan economy crashes. It should also be noted that southern Taiwan, which includes Kaohsiung, is a regional stronghold for the DPP.

The Port of Kaohsiung is no longer a bustling hub for international trade. The U.S. government has not proven to be helpful economic partner for Taiwan. But does Washington care? We can’t say with certainty that they do.

Seinfeld Risk Management

US railway plan a mere copycat, hard to win favor from Middle East

Published: May 08, 2023 08:27 PM
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According to media reports, national security advisors from the US, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE met in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss a US proposal to link the Middle Eastern nations through a network of railway lines and connect the region to South Asia via sea lanes.

US media outlet Axios, which ran an exclusive report before the talks, said, “The project is one of the key initiatives the White House wants to push in the Middle East as China’s influence in the region grows. The Middle East is a key part of China’s Belt and Road vision.”

Xu Liang, an associate professor at the School of International Relations, Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times that the US is trying to coordinate its Middle East policy with its South Asia policy, thereby creating a US-style railway plan in the Middle East that is different from China’s initiative.

“This is the revival of the Cold War mentality in the Middle East. The plan is a deliberate containment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” said Xu.

China has been engaging with the Middle East through the Belt and Road Initiative for years. Its peacemaker role in the recent Saudi-Iran detente has been lauded by the international community, countries in the region in particular, and injected momentum of stability to the region. All these trajectories have deeply worried the US.

The idea for the railway project germinated in the I2U2 forum 18 months ago, which includes Israel, India, the US and the UAE. Wen Jing, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that I2U2 was relatively quiet since its formation, but after the US saw China’s successful mediation in the Saudi-Iran deal, I2U2 is now becoming active with the discussions of the railway plan. “I2U2, together with Quad and AUKUS, constitutes the US’ global strategy to contain China,” said Wen.

Ding Long, a professor with the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, believes that the US is saving its declining influence in the region with something it is not good at, which will make the US’ rail plan hard to achieve its desired goal.

According to a report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2021, the US spent just over half of what was required to support infrastructure, the backbone of the economy. Even former US president Donald Trump once compared the US’ crumbling infrastructure to that of a third-world country. US President Joe Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law at the end of 2021, while a Politico article in mid-2022 said the inflation plaguing Biden’s presidency was also shrinking what’s so far been his crowning legislative achievement, referring to the infrastructure bill.

It is worth mentioning that the victims of the calamitous train derailment accident in East Palestine, Ohio, are still suffering. There were at least 1,164 train derailments across the US last year, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. Here is another startling data: The Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that 54,539 train derailments occurred in the US from 1990 to 2021, an average of 1,704 per year. If there is something that the US could export to the Middle East besides its “democracy” and “freedom,” it must be the freedom to derail.

The US, the most powerful country in the world, performs so poorly in terms of railway construction and infrastructure. As it’s now trying to woo Middle Eastern nations to establishment a network of railway lines, it is a mere copycat. While connectivity and win-win cooperation are in China’s mind when it is promoting infrastructure, what is in the mind of the US is countering its perceived rivals and sustaining its global hegemony.

“In terms of the technology and costs of building railways, no other country in the world than China has the prominent advantage. What the Middle Eastern countries want from the US is not a railway, but security. However, the US did not and could not bring security to the region, but messed up the security situation there. This is the dilemma the US is facing in the Middle East,” said Ding.

Now the Middle East is witnessing a strong wave of rapprochement. The reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran under China’s mediation presents an alternative vision to the Middle Eastern geopolitical scene. Qatar and Bahrain reestablished diplomatic relations. Egypt and Turkey are also mending ties. Progress is made in Yemen’s peace talks. Just on Sunday, the Arab League has brought Syria back into its fold after 12 years. All these show that the US’ Middle Eastern allies do not act in accordance with the US’ playbook.

“They care more about their interests, and aren’t following US lecturing. As their independence and autonomy is increasing, the Middle Eastern countries will not buy into US tactic of forming small cliques,” said Ding.

Seinfeld: Emotional Intelligence – Self Management

Bet you didn’t know…

US spy satellites executed a staggering count of 14 close-in reconnaissance missions on Chinese high-orbit satellites, all within a span of under two years, according to reports in Chinese media.

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The media report citing a study by Chinese researchers, has revealed that the US Air Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites performed a series of maneuvers, repeatedly approaching China’s most prized and advanced satellites in the geostationary orbit (GEO) from February 2020 to December 2021.

In a recent publication in the Chinese-language journal Infrared and Laser Engineering, researcher Cai Sheng and the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics team expressed grave concerns about the security of Chinese high-value space assets due to the recurring close approaches of the GSSAP satellite.

The study said that through a sequence of tests focused on space attack and defense technologies, the US military has unmistakably demonstrated both their capability and intent to interfere with China’s use of space.

China currently operates a fleet of GEO satellites that serve various functions, including communications, navigation, and remote sensing. GEO satellites are strategically positioned at a fixed point above the Earth’s equator, ensuring that they remain stationary relative to the ground at all times.

GEO satellites are preferred for applications such as communications and broadcast due to their ability to maintain a constant connection with users on the ground, despite being more expensive to launch and operate than Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Many countries utilize these satellites for military communications, surveillance, and critical infrastructure, such as banking and finance systems.

A Beijing-based space scientist, who was not involved in the study, was quoted as saying that close encounters in space are typically shrouded in secrecy due to the military’s perception of such information as sensitive or classified.

The rationale behind this approach is to prevent the disclosure of their capabilities or vulnerabilities to other nations. By maintaining a veil of confidentiality, military forces aim to safeguard their strategic advantages while navigating the complexities of the ever-evolving space domain.

Disclosing such incidents could also risk exacerbating tensions between countries and potentially triggering diplomatic or military conflicts. The timing of China’s decision to release this information remains unclear.

The Changchun-based institute, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has a well-established history of contributing to China’s space program by developing laser technology, remote sensing, and space optics.

US GSSAP Satellites

The Chinese study highlights that GSSAP satellites represent the latest generation of space surveillance satellites deployed by the US Air Force. Specifically designed to monitor and track objects in geosynchronous orbit, these satellites are equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

They feature high-resolution optical cameras and advanced electronic surveillance equipment, enabling them to capture detailed images and intercept radio signals from other satellites.

The capabilities of these GSSAP satellites underscore the sophisticated methods the US employs to gather intelligence and maintain situational awareness in the geosynchronous orbit.

According to the Chinese study, on February 26, 2020, a GSSAP satellite carried out a fly-around maneuver specifically aimed at Tianlian 2-01, a satellite integral to China’s Tianlian space tracking and data relay system.

The Tianlian system plays a crucial role in establishing communication links between spacecraft in orbit and ground stations on Earth, serving as a vital support system for China’s human space flight program and other space-related endeavors.

Seinfeld – Effective Product Owner vs. Ineffective Product Owner

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

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

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2023 05 13 21 33

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

China’s leaders have no private affairs. Keeping this principle in mind will help you understand Chinese political ethics.

China treated Ms von der Leyen almost humiliatingly, but hosted President Macron to a very high standard. That in itself speaks for our disappointment with the EU. During the second term of President Xi, China found it completely impossible for the EU to take on important responsibilities in a multipolar world. We have to hope that France, the great Western power was under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle, can reclaim their belief in sovereignty, dignity and liberty, and not like Ms von der Leyen willingly serve as a doll for Washington DC.

A united, independent and strong European Union is indeed in China’s interests, but such a European Union cannot become a reality, and it is meaningless to continue to maintain respect for this zombie organization. China hopes that France can take on important responsibilities, including but not limited to geopolitical ones. For example, President Xi made it clear that China is willing to support a peace initiative for a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but this peace plan should be negotiated by multiple parties and be proposed and led by Europe (especially France). The Western media often speculates that China hopes to expand its influence by leading a peace plan, but those who know us know that it is impossible for China to be willing to lead such a peace plan. Because we believe that European affairs should be resolved by Europeans, including Russia, through consultation.

I say without hesitation that for quite some time to come, China’s primary goal in international geopolitics is to weaken the influence of US hegemony rather than to replace the US and establish a new dominant position. To this end, providing the necessary support to other regional powers interested in rebuilding a multi-polar world is feasible and can ease the pressure China faces in the Pacific.

China sincerely hopes that France can make the right choice for her and her descendants.

The Iron Fist of Russia: Their Unstoppable Military Power Is Yet to Be Unleashed – Seymour Hersh

https://youtu.be/tDox6kyOz8s

Large Russian Missile Strikes in Ukraine Last Night

A massive missile attack by the Russian Armed Forces on the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) took place overnight May 12-13, 2023.

Russian Armed Forces (RuAF) launched a massive missile attack on enemy targets throughout Ukraine. Basically, “Geran” Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) [Drones] were used.

The first explosions were heard in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk a little after midnight. In Zaporozhye and Nikolaev, explosions thundered in the first few hours of the night.

Afterwards,  there were several explosions in the Solomensky district of Kyiv.

Whether this was the result of an air defense operation or whether individual targets were actually hit is currently unknown. Local sources circulated footage of burning equipment, which was recorded in an “ambulance.”

The largest explosions fell on Khmelnitsky.

The Khmelnytsky Instrument-Making Plant “Neva” was struck. The company produced radio engineering systems, equipment for airfields and aircraft.

Judging by the prolonged secondary detonation from the field, there was an ammunition depot at the plant – the UAV warehouse could well have been hit, too.

The authors of the War History of Weapons channel, citing their sources, write (https://t.me/warhistoryalconafter/100760) that the Kation plant in the industrial zone in the south-west of Khmelnitsky was also hit, but we did not find footage confirming the strike on the Web.

In addition, there were reports of explosions in Lvov, but, alas, there is no confirmation.

China JUST Threatened President Biden And USA

China’s communist party president Xi Jinping give Biden and the US military his strongest warning yet.

Representative Cory Bush wants the US government to pay $14 trillion in reparations to black Americans.

MSNBC say president Biden works harder than any other president and you’d be lucky if you could keep up with him.

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2023 05 19 17 43

Regime Change Watch

Tomorrow there will be elections in Turkey and Thailand. In both countries the U.S. would like to see the current opposition win.

Recent pieces in the New York Times leave no doubt about that.

A Crucial Question in Thailand’s Election: Can You Criticize the King?
Liberal voters have intensified their scrutiny of the Thai monarchy in recent years. Conservatives have responded with a campaign to defend the institution at all costs.

An Erdogan Loss in Turkey Would Stir Relief in the West and Anxiety in Moscow
European leaders would be delighted to have “an easier Turkey,” while Russia could lose an important economic and diplomatic partnership should the Turkish leader lose power in Sunday’s elections.

Polls in both countries seem to be between all over the place and tight but my hunch is that the incumbents have a good chance to win.

If the results are to the favor of the current governments the U.S. may well use its well honed color revolution schemes to change the outcomes.

It has done so before, not only in Turkey and Thailand, but also in many other countries.

For a long time, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has plotted “peaceful evolution” and “color revolutions” as well as spying activities around the world. Although details about these operations have always been murky, a new report released by China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and Chinese cybersecurity company 360 on Thursday unveiled the main technical means the CIA has used to scheme and promote unrest around the world.

For decades, the CIA has overthrown or attempted to overthrow at least 50 legitimate governments abroad (the CIA has only recognized seven of these instances), causing turmoil in related countries. Whether it is the “color revolution” in Ukraine in 2014, the “sunflower revolution” in Taiwan island, China, or the “saffron revolution” in Myanmar in 2007, the “green revolution” in Iran in 2009, and other attempted “color revolutions” — the US intelligence agencies are behind them all, according to the report.The US’ leading position in technologies of telecommunication and on-site command has provided unprecedented possibilities for the US intelligence community to launch “color revolutions” abroad. The report released by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and 360 disclosed five methods commonly used by the CIA.

We need therefore to keep an eye open for new regime change attempts.

Posted by b at 16:31 UTC | Comments (66)

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Chris Hedges | The ABYSMAL State of America

https://youtu.be/qHskoWgWIU4

Catzillas: Giant Cats In Urban Landscapes

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Indonesian artist Fransdita Muafidin publishes a series of photomontages with kittens and fat adult cats among the urban landscapes from around the world.

More info: Instagram

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fransditaa 28151168 1913330458709004 4724789287768293376 n

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fransditaa 27578442 1980692865479288 1408684543635881984 n

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fransditaa 27575207 325684434592042 8540721542462439424 n

There is NO DEBT PROBLEM

Because China and Chinese Companies raises most of its money by issuing debt , the debt looks high

In USA, Private entities issue Equities or Shares where they share the risk with the investors. They issue various dubious instruments to raise money and capital and get wall street to urge pension funds and insurance companies to invest money into the same dubious instruments

In India, Private entities raise capital from Bank Loans and Bank Financing which isn’t counted as Debt

In China, the public are protected and entities raise capital through DEBT or Bonds and thus the debt looks very high

Still the key in China is A S S E T S

For every Yuan Debt, the borrower has assets

Land, Resources, Tecnology, Core Technology, Derived Technology etc

So China is in no trouble whatsoever


If you take the total amount that US entities and the Federal Government of USA and State Governments have borrowed through equities, bonds, other instruments it is $ 110 Trillion

US GDP is around $ 24 Trillion

So US has around 4.5 times more borrowings floating around in its economy than its GDP

Guess how much of these borrowings are backed by solid assets?

The Answer : 10.45%

This means almost $ 99 Trillion is being floated based on PAPER VALUES

Now Compare China

China and it’s Institutions combined owe a total of CNY 272 Trillion

China’s GDP is around CNY 120 Trillion

Thus China has only around 2.3 times more borrowings floating around its economy than its GDP

Guess how much of these borrowings are backed by Solid Assets?

The Answer : 150% almost

Good Old Socialism Zindabaad.

All the Land, Coal, Rare Earth’s, Manufacturing, Gold Mines, Oil Reserves back this debt , railroads, technology back this debt

Almost CNY 370 Trillion worth of assets back this debt

That’s still only around 60% of China’s Wealth

So even in the worst disaster — China can still secure it’s entire debt while US will be unable to secure 90% of its debt with assets


So China is immensely more powerful than USA — Economy wise

People keep harping on this debt because they slyly don’t mention how much US debt is backed by nothing but PAPER and more PAPER

Their assumption is US paper is beyond doubt

It’s part of the Western Propaganda

CHINA IS EXTREMELY STRONG ECONOMY WISE

They can take their debt upto 350 Trillion Yuan at least before they decide to be cautious


Before you ask, India

India has a total borrowings of ₹ 339.81 Lakh Crore which is only 1.38 times the GDP which is almost half of China’s and a fourth of the USAs

Of these again a lovely and wonderful 116% is backed by Assets or around ₹ 375 Lakh Crore of Assets

Again Socialism Zindabaad

2023 05 19 17 54
2023 05 19 17 54

By Alastair Crooke

China and Russia are joining hands militarily. This will portend a strategic paradigm change that may force a U.S. re-consideration of the way ahead.

main qimg 3bd8dfb04af36f3832bd0052744e8d54
main qimg 3bd8dfb04af36f3832bd0052744e8d54

The sense that things are bad, and getting worse, is palpable.

There is an undeniable eschatological tint to today’s zeitgeist. Spiralling geo-political factors all suggest extreme turbulence ahead.

Biden and the Democrats discover – to their surprise – that they are in a ‘bind’: Having thought to run in 2024 on ‘the Biden economic record’, Biden’s Team finds prospects dissolving in the face of accelerating events.

And Ukraine – which was to be precursor to the toppling of Russia per se – looks more likely to descend into débâcle. With defeat on two fronts (the financial ‘war’ and diplomatic) already established, and with the Ukrainian entity now incrementally atrophying under Russian military attrition on yet another front, Washington frets whether or not to run a Ukrainian offensive at all – fearing it might seal a Ukrainian catastrophe.

Kiev hears Washington’s equivocation on the likely outcome of the Ukrainian offensive; Kiev understands too that this could mean ‘curtains’ for the Zelensky ‘project’ – were Biden to decide that it is time to draw a line under it, and to complete the pivot to China. It would mean literally ‘the end’ for most of the Kiev leadership.

The change in strategy is already evident: John Kirby (Sullivan’s spokesperson) has been brandishing highly exaggerated Russian losses in Bakhmut / Artyomovsk. At the same time that he suggests that though Russia somehow may seem to be ‘winning’, in reality it has been defeated. Blinken followed up on this theme the following day with ‘Russia has failed in its objective to erase Ukraine’, and therefore, has ‘lost’ – having failed to achieve its objectives.

Clearly, Team Biden are falling back onto a Pyrrhic victory for Russia ‘narrative’, with Ukraine’s survival cast as ‘mission accomplished’.

The consequence was predictable: with a U.S. ‘exit’ apparently looming, some major provocation (i.e. the drone attack on the Kremlin) was to be expected. ‘Someone’ clearly is desperate to trigger a Russian overreaction that would, in turn, force the West to move to full war against Russia.

At time of writing, the details of who might be responsible for the Kremlin attack are unknown. There is however deep, passionate anger in Russia. The Kremlin must acknowledge this public sentiment. And there will be a response; but at the same time Moscow will not want to play into the provocateurs’ agenda. (9 May marks the Russian victory in the war against Nazi Germany. They will not want the day disrupted).

Faced with a prospective Ukraine imbroglio; with inflation spiking; a recession looming; a run on the banking system; and low poll ratings, ‘Team Biden’ seemingly has a plan.

It is the re-making of Biden as a ‘War President’, through mobilising America to take-down China, whilst the Establishment believes America may still have the (conventional military) edge.

The Pentagon ‘war-gaming’ reportedly implies the U.S. to have a chance before China becomes fully war-prepared.

Seems bizarre?

Well, the other ‘fronts’ (inflation, the financial bubble, recession, unaffordable medication and education) simply have NO solution.

They are deep structural problems.

America today is a place where most everyone recognizes the problems, but where veto power, entrenched interests, and ‘Uniparty’ domination in Congress forecloses on any attempted reform.

Trump tried to break the stasis, but failed.

Biden would fail, too, if he tried.

So, if solving America’s problems is ‘the problem’, then becoming a ‘War President’ conceivably could be seen as the ‘solution’.

Of course, since western societies today cannot look truth in the eye, the West must emerge as the ‘victim’ of events, and not the author of its plight; thus paving the justification for war. And to ensure this narrative sticks in the public domain, preparatory warning shots have been fired towards the mass media to ‘stay on team’.

“Great Power rivalry, and the competition for diminishing resources – are but old realities reborn”, Robert Kaplan warns

. “Their return is the revenant of history that now defines a present of increasing peril and uncertainty”.

“The world situation is similar to that in the run-up to 1914. New technologies have not overcome rivalry over scarce natural resources, only shifted its focus”, Philosopher John Gray writes

A new version of the late-19th-century Great Game is afoot. The two world wars were in part driven by a need for oil. Western societies’ belief that options can always be expanded by human agency has been a central feature of the western political project – and of progressive liberalism too, writes Professor Helen Thompson.

She continues that “… missing is the fact that technology cannot create energy [at least of the type that modern society needs]. This human agency conviction has long proved overly-sanguine. Those who assume that the political world can be reconstructed by the efforts of human Will, have never before had to bet so heavily on technology over [fossil] energy – as the driver of our material advancement”.

Aahh – Professor Thompson lets the cat out of the bag.

This hugely risky ‘war bet’ – i.e. that our complex societies can be increasingly run on Green Tech, rather than ‘19th Century natural resources’ – is a gamble, brought on, Thompson suggests, “by an underlying mood of existential dread, a nagging suspicion that our civilisation may destroy itself, as so many others have done in the past”. (Hence the impulse to reassert domination – even at the price of accelerating a possible western self-suicide).

Her point is that the general cultural zeitgeist is trending towards the hopeless and nihilistic.

Yes – but who was responsible for the West needing to place this bet for its future on technology over energy?

Europe had a cheap, reliable supply of energy until it threw in its hand with the U.S. and European neo-cons’ plans.

The western ‘golden age’ was tied to zero interest rates and zero inflation.

There were decades of near zero inflation precisely because of cheap manufactures coming from China and cheap energy from Russia. Now the West faces the demon of inflation and higher interest rates ravaging its financial system. It was its choice.

Oh yes; the ‘narrative’, as Robert Kaplan explains , is that “fate is ultimately in the hands of human agency. But human agency need not have positive outcomes. Individuals such as Putin and Xi are human agents, who have caused a vast and bloody war in Ukraine – and are driving Asia toward a high-end military conflict over Taiwan”. Oh – so Ukraine and Taiwan have nothing to do with the neo-con project to extend U.S. hegemony into a new era?

Unable to address issues honestly, this collective of western intellectuals base the justification for a future China war on the premise that Putin, without due cause, simply chose to invade Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and that Xi is guilty of the intent to invade Taiwan – for which the West must properly respond by ‘maximally’ stockpiling weapons in Taiwan.

This justification is as mendacious as was the justification for the Iraq War.

Preparations for this war are ramping: More weapons in Taiwan; U.S. Special Forces conducting exercises for their infiltration into Taiwan in wake of any Chinese take-over (presumably to launch a guerrilla insurgency).

And as Andrew Korybko relates , the U.S. is rounding up allies in the Asia Pacific: South Korea has authorised nuclear armed U.S. submarines to dock at its ports;AUKUS is being strengthened; Japan is unofficially aboard; and Indonesia and the Philippines are under U.S. pressure to do their part.

In counterpoint to the usual play-book of rounding up allies ahead of a possible conflict, the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, is proposing that the EU bloc’s navies patrol the Taiwan Strait . This came just several weeks after NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg declared that “We are now stepping up our cooperation with our partners in the Indo-Pacific: Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.”

“The indisputable trend is that the U.S.’ European partners are poised to play a larger military role in the region, including a provocative one if they end up patrolling the Taiwan Strait”, Korybko writes.

The EU’s Von der Leyen and the EU is involved too – her name was mentioned three times in Jake Sullivan’s ‘New Washington Consensus’ speech in which the entire trend of policy, since the Reagan years, is scheduled to be reversed – from a return to protectionism; to central government intervention in support of industrial policy; to a bold investment in capacity-building;‘resilience’ and the re-appropriation of internal supply chains.

This is not however a true blueprint for reforming the U.S. economy – though it is billed as such.

True reform would require huge structural change.

It is all about re-orientating the economy for possible conventional war with China. (One lesson from the Ukraine conflict has been that industrial capacity matters). It is likely too, a pretext for increased fiscal spending (money printing) in the run-up to the 2024 Election.

Inevitably, those in the EU who are allied with the German ‘Greens’ and Von der Leyen are in ecstasy.

Officials in Brussels were talking about the “Biden-Von der Leyen ticket” (as if she were a U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate on the Democratic ‘ticket’!),and gushing about a U.S.-EU power alliance extending up to 2028!

What to make of these shifts?

To repeat: Biden is in a ‘bind’ and his Team is floundering.

It is hugely premature for the White House to call ‘mission accomplished’ on Ukraine – but what else can they do?

War with China will not be with China alone, but likely will be with Russia too. This surely was the essence  of the Chinese Defence Minister’s four-day visit to Moscow (including a personal session with Putin).

The message was clear enough: China and Russia are ‘joining hands militarily’. This will portend a strategic paradigm change that may well force a U.S. re-consideration of the way ahead – or not.

Why I gave up on the AMERICAN DREAM – and you should too

By Finian Cunningham

May 15, 2023

Taiwan is facing the curse of being an ally of Uncle Sam in the same way that Germany and the rest of Europe have.

Taiwan has been obliged to give its American ally an extraordinary warning: don’t even think about blowing up our semiconductor industry.

The warning follows growing calls by U.S. politicians and military analysts that Washington should destroy the island’s vital technology sector in order to purportedly prevent China from gaining control of lucrative exports and as a way of damaging China’s economy.

Congressman Seth Moulton is the latest American voice airing such drastic action. Referring to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Moulton said that the U.S. should “make it very clear to the Chinese that if you invade Taiwan, we’re going to blow up TSMC.”

TMSC is the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductors. It is a major supplier to mainland China of hi-tech chips that are, in turn, critical for a wide range of Chinese manufacturing and export industries.

Previously, it was reported that the U.S. Army War College suggested that Washington should plan “scorched-earth” tactics that could render Taiwan “not just unattractive if ever seized by force, but positively costly to maintain.”

Taiwan has reacted furiously to these unilateral American calls for sabotage. The island territory’s defense chief Chiu Kuo-cheng slammed the U.S. tough-talking, saying “the [Taiwanese] armed forces would not tolerate the destruction of any Taiwanese facility”.

The projected bombing of Taiwan’s vital semiconductor industry echoes how the U.S. blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline last September. The pipeline under the Baltic Sea was part-owned by Germany and Russia, to deliver natural gas to fuel the German and European economies.

The decision to sabotage Nord Stream was taken by U.S. President Joe Biden, according to excellent investigative reporting by Seymour Hersh. The purpose of that act of terrorism was to cut Germany and Europe off from Russian energy exports, to be replaced by more expensive American gas. That strategic objective of displacing Russia from Europe’s energy market has been a recurring issue for successive U.S. administrations over many years.

Months before the Baltic Sea pipeline was blown up by U.S. navy divers, Biden had bragged that the facility would be terminated. He did not specify how, but he vowed that “it would not go ahead”. Biden made his blatant threat in front of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press conference at the White House. Evidently, America’s NATO ally Germany was not even consulted about the sabotage plan.

A similar arrogant attitude is now on display towards America’s other ally Taiwan.

Washington is evidently toying with the idea of blowing up the island’s tech industry as a way to damage mainland China’s interests. Like Germany, Taiwan is revealed to be nothing more than a pawn, in America’s geopolitical machinations.

Destroying Taiwan’s lead role in the global semiconductor industry would have the additional advantage of putting U.S. companies in pole position.

Ostensibly, the U.S. had repeatedly vowed to “defend” Taiwan from what it calls “China’s aggression”. Washington has pumped the island with billions of dollars of American weaponry under the pretext of “protecting” it from China’s claims of sovereignty.

Under international and U.S. law, Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China under the so-called One China Policy. However, Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in its sovereignty by fomenting separatist politics in Taiwan.

China’s President Xi Jinping has warned the U.S. that Taiwan is its “first red line” that must not be crossed. Beijing reserves the right to use military force to fully unify the territory if Washington continues to stoke tensions and promote a declaration in Taipei of Taiwanese independence.

Underlying America’s seemingly chivalrous claims of “defending” Taiwan are geopolitical selfish interests.

The Biden administration has imposed unprecedented export bans on semiconductor technology to China. The U.S. wants to curb China’s economy for its own gain and to hamper the development of a multipolar global economy. U.S. dominance and its dollar hegemony are threatened by China’s growing economic power.

Blowing up Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is evidently being considered as a way to cripple China which is reliant on exports of this essential technology for its industries.

The analogy with Germany and the Nord Stream gas pipeline is that Washington is aiming to damage a rival, Russia, as well as its European allies for its own strategic benefit. The sabotage of Russian-European energy trade has led to severe economic impacts on Germany and the rest of Europe. Some commentators refer to the “deindustrialization” of Europe caused by the loss of affordable Russian gas fuel. This shock treatment has been imposed on European “allies” by its supposed American “protector”.

The war in Ukraine and the dramatic escalation in hostility towards Russia from European governments has served American strategic interests from bonanza selling of weapons and expensive gas, as well as giving Washington a renewed dominance over European relations.

The same reckless, criminal arrogance of blowing up Germany’s Nord Stream pipeline is being shown in the way the Americans are talking brashly about blowing up Taiwan’s vital tech industries.

It should be obvious that Washington doesn’t have allies, only interests. When the chips are down, so to speak, America’s allies will be unceremoniously thrown under a bus or, worse, thrown into an inferno of war.

Taiwan is facing the curse of being an ally of Uncle Sam in the same way that Germany and the rest of Europe have.

The Sopranos – Christopher And Silvio Talk To Hitmen

Social Security Payments May Be “Interrupted” if US Defaults on Debts by June 1

With the odds of a U.S. debt default increasing, Social Security advocates warn beneficiaries they should be prepared in case their payments are interrupted.

Negotiations around whether the nation’s ability to borrow money should be expanded have been ongoing, but Congress and the White House have yet to reach an agreement on the path forward.

The impasse has placed the U.S. in a precarious financial position, and leaves some of the most vulnerable Americans at risk.

Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said there is a “good chance” that in the event of a default, millions of Americans’ benefits would be disrupted.

“Seniors should be prepared if they’re financially able,” Adcock said, adding they should consider putting off discretionary purchases “so they have enough to tide them over.”

But millions of beneficiaries have no financial room to maneuver, Adcock said, noting that about 40% of Social Security recipients, which include Americans who are disabled and those who are widowed, receive 90% of their income from the safety net program. That equates to nearly 27 million people.

“Even though we’re a few weeks before a default, they won’t have enough to squirrel away to cushion for not getting their payments,” Adcock said.

Analysts suggest it isn’t certain that the government will miss payments to Social Security recipients in the event of a default. The matter would likely depend on how much cash is on hand if or when the debt ceiling is breached.

The staggered schedule of Social Security payments, which relies on an individual’s birthdate to determine which part of the month they receive them, means not all beneficiaries would be equally affected in a missed or partial-payment scenario.

The White House and House Republicans remain at odds after meeting on Wednesday to discuss a resolution to the impasse. NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali reported the meeting was “tense.” Led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the GOP seeks spending cuts from President Joe Biden in exchange for an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.

On Thursday, the White House said a scheduled follow-up meeting had been postponed.

Wisconsin-Style French Onion Soup

While you might imagine French onion soup in a Parisian brasserie, Wisconsin-Style French Onion Soup is the ultimate at-home meal to soothe your worries and warm your soul from the inside. Stacked high with sweetly caramelized onions, crusty bread and piles of melted cheese, it’s hard to imagine anything better.

wisconsin style french onion soup
wisconsin style french onion soup

Active time: 40 min | Yield: 8 servings, 1 cup each

Ingredients

  • 5 tablespoons butter, cubed and divided
  • 3 pounds medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 12 ounces lager beer
  • 4 cups (1 quart) beef broth
  • 8 ounces pretzel rolls, buns or bread, cubed
  • 10 ounces Blaser’s Mild Wisconsin Brick cheese, shredded (2 1/2 cups)

Instructions

  1. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over low heat. Add onions; cook, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in sugar. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 35 to 40 minutes or until onions are deep brown, stirring frequently.
  3. Gradually stir in beer; allow soup to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in beef broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes longer or until broth is slightly reduced, stirring occasionally.
  5. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  6. Melt remaining butter; toss butter with pretzel bread on a 15 x 10 inch baking pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until bread is toasted, turning once.
  7. Ladle soup into eight ovenproof serving bowls. Top each with bread cubes; sprinkle with brick.
  8. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Notes

Brick cheese is a Wisconsin original. Traditional aged or German-style brick has a beige smear on its surface; the color darkens and flavor intensifies with age. Trimming the rind reduces its aroma and flavor.

Negotiation

BREAKING NEWS: UKRAINE DOWNS **MULTIPLE** RUSSIAN MILITARY AIRCRAFT — ***INSIDE RUSSIA***

Reports are screaming out of Bryansk Russia that Ukraine has downed at least five, and possibly as many as EIGHT Russian military aircraft, and did so INSIDE RUSSIA!

According to Russian Sources today has been the Worst Day in Decades for the Russian Air Force with 2 Mi-8 Transport Helicopters, 1 Su-34 Fighter/Bomber, and 1 Su-35 Air-Defense Fighter being Shot Down over the Bryansk Region of Western Russia by what is claimed to have been either Air-to-Air or Surface-to-Air Missiles which were Launched from Inside of Ukraine.

Pilots of the 4 Aircraft were killed in the Explosion and/or subsequent Crash.

Three of these are confirmed by local sources, with video.

The AA Missiles are likely from a US Patriot Missile System or French SAMP-T complex hidden somewhere in the city of Chernihiv.

In addition, the Ukrainian SU-24 that launched the missiles against Luhansk, and one of the two SU-29’s escorting were shot down yesterday – allegedly by an S-400.

 

UPDATE 12:26 PM EDT —

Russian newspaper Kommersant is the first Russian source to confirm a total of four aircraft (Two Mi-8 an Su-34, and an Su-35) were shot down.

 

UPDATE 12:40 PM EDT —

According to preliminary information, the helicopters lost in the sky of the Bryansk region were Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare (EW) helicopters with Rychag-AV active jamming stations installed on board.

The Rychag-AV complexes were created to interfere with the guidance stations of air defense systems and enemy aircraft, preventing the use of anti-aircraft and aircraft missiles at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers. However, today the Mi-8MTPR-1 turned out to be too close to the border.

Most likely, the EW helicopters were engaged in providing the strike of the Su-34 bomber on the next target in the Chernihiv region, and the Su-35 fighter covered.”

 

RUSSIA DENIES ! ! ! 

From the Russian Ministry of Defense:

“• The claim that two Mi-8 transport helicopters, one Su-34 fighter/bomber, and one Su-35 air-defense fighter were shot down over the Bryansk region of Western Russia by missiles launched from inside Ukraine was widely circulated on social media and some news outlets on May 13.

• However, there is no official confirmation or evidence to support this claim from either the Russian or the Ukrainian authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry denied that any of its aircraft were shot down by Ukraine and said that the reports were part of a disinformation campaign.

• The only verified incident that occurred on May 13, 2023 was the crash of a Su-34 fighter/bomber in the Bryansk region due to a technical malfunction. The two pilots ejected safely and were rescued by a helicopter. The Russian Defense Ministry released a video of the crash site and the rescue operation.

• The other reports of downed helicopters and planes were either based on unverified sources, false images, or old incidents that were unrelated to the current situation. For example, some of the images used to show the wreckage of a Mi-8 helicopter were actually from a crash that happened in 2019 in Siberia. Some of the videos used to show the launch of missiles from Ukraine were actually from a military exercise that took place in 2018 in Belarus.

• The claim that Ukraine shot down Russian aircraft over Bryansk was likely part of a propaganda war between the two countries amid rising tensions and violence along their border.

 

HAL TURNER CONTEXT —

It is possible the Russian MoD does not have up-to-the-minute info yet.  At least one of the Mi-8’s was hit by a missile; there’s video evidence of the kill.
I’m pretty sure the Su-34 was also shot down.

The interesting fact is that these planes were shot down INSIDE RUSSIA 50Km from the Ukrainian border. That means long range SAM’s, air to air ambush with US made missiles, or a squad of Ukrainian fighters with manpads crossed the border and hit the planes from up close.

We’ll find out more soon.

Another certainty is that the Russians greatly increased the number of their bombing missions, so more targets are in the air to shoot at. Yesterday alone 145 bombing sorties were performed.

Uh Oh.

Best of Larry, Darryl, and Darryl (part 14)

Khmelnytskyi: Two NATO Tactical Nukes in Western Ukraine Storage Hit by Cheap ‘Iranian’ Drone…Radiation Alert Over Europe

.
A colossal explosion was heard at the main weapons and ammunition storage facility supplied by NATO in Khmelnytskyi, western Ukraine. Repeated large detonation explosions occurred after being hit by the missiles, as the depots stockpiled very large quantities of fuel and ammunition for Ukrainian forces’ planned offensive operation.

BREAKING NEWS! MUSHROOM CLOUD IN WEST UKRAINE! NATO Prepares Intervention, 24 Hrs of CARNAGE

By Colin Todhunter

It’s a lose-lose situation for Ukrainians. While they are dying, financial institutions are insidiously supporting the consolidation of farmland by oligarchs and Western financial interests.

So says Frédéric Mousseau, Policy Director of the Oakland Institute, an independent think tank.

Depending on which sources to believe, between 100,000 and 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers (possibly more) have died during the conflict with Russia. That figure, of course, does not include civilian casualties.

But it is not the purpose of this article to explore these issues. Much has already been written on this elsewhere. But billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware has been sent to Ukraine by the NATO countries and hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians have died.

They died in the belief that they were protecting their nation – their land. A land that is among the most fertile in the world.

Professor Olena Borodina of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine says:

Today, thousands of rural boys and girls, farmers, are fighting and dying in the war. They have lost everything. The processes of free land sale and purchase are increasingly liberalised and advertised. This really threatens the rights of Ukrainians to their land, for which they give their lives.”

Borodina is quoted in the February 2023 report by the Oakland Institute War and Theft: The Takeover of Ukraine’s Agricultural Land

, which reveals how oligarchs and financial interests are expanding control over Ukraine’s agricultural land with help and financing from Western financial institutions.

Aid provided to Ukraine in recent years has been tied to a drastic structural adjustment programme requiring the creation of a land market through a law that leads to greater concentration of land in the hands of powerful interests. The programme also includes austerity measures, cuts in social safety nets and the privatisation of key sectors of the economy.

Frédéric Mousseau, co-author of the report, says:

“Despite being at the centre of news cycle and international policy, little attention has gone to the core of the conflict — who controls the agricultural land in the country known as the breadbasket of Europe. [The] Answer to this question is paramount to understanding the major stakes in the war.”

The report shows the total amount of land controlled by oligarchs, corrupt individuals and large agribusinesses is over nine million hectares — exceeding 28% of Ukraine’s arable land (the rest is used by over eight million Ukrainian farmers).

The largest landholders are a mix of Ukrainian oligarchs and foreign interests — mostly European and North American as well as the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia. A number of large US pension funds, foundations and university endowments are also invested in Ukrainian land through NCH Capital – a US-based private equity fund, which is the fifth largest landholder in the country.

President Zelenskyy put the land reform into law in 2020 against the will of the vast majority of the population who feared it would exacerbate corruption and reinforce control by powerful interests in the agricultural sector.

The Oakland Institute notes that, while large landholders are securing massive financing from Western financial institutions, Ukrainian farmers — essential for ensuring domestic food supply — receive virtually no support. With the land market in place, amid high economic stress and war, this difference of treatment will lead to more land consolidation by large agribusinesses.

All but one of the ten largest landholding firms are registered overseas, mainly in tax havens such as Cyprus or Luxembourg. The report identifies many prominent investors, including Vanguard Group, Kopernik Global Investors, BNP Asset Management Holding, Goldman Sachs-owned NN Investment Partners Holdings, and Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.

Most of the agribusiness firms are substantially indebted to Western financial institutions, in particular the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and the International Finance Corporation – the private sector arm of the World Bank.

Together, these institutions have been major lenders to Ukrainian agribusinesses, with close to US$1.7 billion lent to just six of Ukraine’s largest landholding firms in recent years. Other key lenders are a mix of mainly European and North American financial institutions, both public and private.

The report notes that this gives creditors financial stakes in the operation of the agribusinesses and confers significant leverage over them. Meanwhile, Ukrainian farmers have had to operate with limited amounts of land and financing, and many are now on the verge of poverty.

International financial institutions are in effect subsidising the concentration of land and a destructive industrial model of agriculture based on the intensive use of synthetic inputs, fossil fuels and large-scale monocropping.

Much of what is happening in Ukraine is part of a wider trend: private equity funds being injected into agriculture throughout the world and used to lease or buy up farms on the cheap and aggregate them into large-scale, industrial grain and soybean concerns. These funds use pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowment funds and investments from governments, banks, insurance companies and high net worth individuals (see the 2020 report ‘Barbarians at the Barn

‘ by grain.org

).

Financialising agriculture this way shifts power to people with no connection to farming. In the words of BlackRock’s Larry Fink

: “Go long agriculture and water and go to the beach.”

Funds tend to invest for between 10 and 15 years, resulting in good returns for investors but can leave a trail of long-term environmental and social devastation and serve to undermine local and regional food insecurity.

By contrast, according to the Oakland Institute, small-scale farmers in Ukraine demonstrate resilience and enormous potential for leading the expansion of a different production model based on agroecology and producing healthy food. Whereas large agribusinesses are geared towards export markets, it is Ukraine’s small and medium-sized farmers who guarantee the country’s food security.

This is underlined by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine in its report ‘Main agricultural characteristics of households in rural areas in 2011’, which showed that smallholder farmers in Ukraine operate 16% of agricultural land, but provide 55% of agricultural output, including 97% of potatoes, 97% of honey, 88% of vegetables, 83% of fruits and berries and 80% of milk.

In June 2020, the IMF approved

an 18-month, strings-attached $5 billion loan programme with Ukraine. Also that year, the World Bank incorporated measures

relating to the sale of public agricultural land as conditions in a $350 million Development Policy Loan (COVID ‘relief package’) to Ukraine. This included a required ‘prior action’ to “enable the sale of agricultural land and the use of land as collateral.”

According to the Oakland Institute:

Ukraine is now the world’s third-largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund and its crippling debt burden will likely result in additional pressure from its creditors, bondholders and international financial institutions on how post-war reconstruction – estimated to cost US$750 billion – should happen.”

Financial institutions are leveraging Ukraine’s crippling debt to drive further privatisation and liberalisation – backing the country into a corner to make it an offer it can’t refuse.

Since the war began, the Ukrainian flag has been raised outside parliament buildings in the West and iconic landmarks have been lit up in its colours. An image bite used to conjure up feelings of solidarity and support for that nation while serving to distract from the harsh machinations of geopolitics and modern-day economic plunder that is unhindered by national borders and has scant regard for the plight of ordinary citizens.

The Sopranos – Silvio And Adriana Go For A Ride

And so, by working for the FBI, she has to “go away”.

Everyone do not freak out. Things are progressing forward. Its just that the psychopathic leadership doesn’t know it yet.

The “news” still continues it’s march for war buildups. The “leadership class” believe (erroneously), that all is in hand. But they are wrong. Very wrong. Their “misfortunes” in Russia, and the rest of the world, imply bigger systemic issues that are growing into large mountains that will eventually capsize their pleasure cruse.

Don’t get too caught up.

Life is good, and getting better. But you all cannot control the rest of the world from jumping off a cliff. Just don’t follow them.

Shortly after a British Airways flight had reached its cruising altitude, the captain announced:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain. Welcome to Flight 293, non-stop from London Heathrow to New York. The weather ahead is good, so we should have an uneventful flight. So, sit back, relax, and… OH…MY GOD!”

Silence followed complete silence!

Some moments later, the captain came back on the intercom.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m sorry if I scared you. While I was talking to you, a flight attendant accidentally spilled coffee on my lap. You should see the front of my pants!”

From the back of the plane, a passenger yelled “For the luvva Jaysus, you should see the back of mine!”

When I was an ENT resident, I had a patient named Alvin who had been treated multiple times for an oral cancer. What happened on a visit after a biopsy stays with me today. At that time I wrote an article about it. Kind of a long answer to your question,, but I think worthwhile:

Alvin lay on the gurney, oblivious to the huff of the respirator forcing oxygen into his lungs. Pulling the surgical mask from my face, I reached for his pulse and checked his pupillary reflexes, matching the physical input against the digital readouts on the recovery room monitor. Everything looked good except that Alvin was going to live.

Alvin, a master woodworker, had cancer. At least, he’d had it before. Four years ago a small sore on the floor of his mouth proved positive for squamous cell carcinoma. Chemotherapy, radiation and three mutilating surgeries over as many years battered the disease to a standstill.

Throughout his ordeal, Alvin was indomitable. His face disfigured by the loss of half of his lower jaw, skin burned leathery by radiation, he saw no reason to complain let alone despair. Although he couldn’t smile, he never failed to joke with the nurses and talk about the mountain cabin where he planned to retire.

When Alvin presented for his checkup, there was another lump. My heart sank. He’d had all the drug and x-ray treatments his body could tolerate. Another surgery was out of the question.

“I don’t know about this, Alvin,” I said. “I think we’d better biopsy it.”

With a voice made raspy by his treatments, he said, “Sure, Doc. No problem.”

A week after the biopsy, Alvin bounced into my office after a wave and a wink to the receptionist.

He plunked himself in front of my desk, eyes still bright but unaccompanied by the usual deep laugh lines. He unshouldered a Woodworker’s Supply tote bag and set it beside the chair. “So what’s up, Doc?” he said.

The damning pathology report lay on my desk like a sheet of lead. My voice broke on his name. I took a sip of water and pulled myself together.

“It’s not good, Alvin. The cancer’s back. I don’t think we can stop it this time.”

Alvin nodded and leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds. Leaning forward, he rummaged in his bag, extracting a package about the size of a cigar box brightly-wrapped in silver paper. He placed it on the desk and pushed it across to me.

“I know, Doc, and I knew you’d feel real bad about it. I thought this might cheer you up a little. Made it myself.”

Speechless, I carefully unwrapped a wooden box with an intricate inlay of a bird on the lid and scrolls of a yellow wood encircling the periphery.

“Not bad, eh?” he said. “Now the box is amboyna burl from Southeast Asia. One of the most exotic burls around. Chinese emperors used to hoard it like gold. Now they use it to make the dashboards on those high-end Mercedes. Just a delight to feel it in your hands, isn’t it? Like butter.”

He reached across to outline the yellow scrollwork inlaid on the sides. “Now that’s East Indian satinwood,” he said excitedly. “India and Sri Lanka. Tightest grain you ever saw. Hold it up to the light and it looks like it’s embedded with diamonds.”

I ran my hand over the polished surface, turning it to catch the light, catching some of Alvin’s enthusiasm for the natural beauty of the wood and marveling at the craftsmanship.

“The bird,” he said, “is my poor attempt at a phoenix. Lots of different woods in it for the colors: bloodwood for the fire, granadillo for most of the body, plum for the wings, some ebony for the talons. Whaddaya think?”

I stared slack-jawed at the man who’d just received a death sentence. “Alvin,” I managed, “it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Knew you’d like it,” he said, his voice smiling for him. “Thanks for being my doc. We gave it a good run didn’t we?”

Because there are two worlds: the one you see in real life and the one you see on TV or newspaper.

You watch TV, navigate through social media and you think you are well informed abou the world. And you know a lot about China. A strong dictatorship, damn commies, cheap labor and poor brainwashed people that would be amazed to see the “Free world”. The government is spying on their citizens, like CIA or NSA. But when commies do, you think is worst. Of course.

And one day, casually, you decide that you will visit China.

You arrived there and you are shocked. You can barely believe in your own eyes.

The big cities are super modern, big, shinning tall buildings. The way you pay, the way you shop, the hypermarket looks like in The Jetsons.

You are in the future.

The level of automation there is out of this world (Western world, cough, cough). You had no idea that so many online services were already available to the people. You realize you have been scammed by your own country and media.

After the initial shock, you, an an educated person after all, well traveled, you have knowledge. Knowledge from the free world.

You decide to talk to the educated Chinese. Another shock. They know more about you (you as a citizen and your political beliefs) and your country than you know about them. Where is the brainwashing?

“Hey, but they are not free” you think in relieve. What can you do that they can’t? Let’s see… protest?

As if protests are changing something…

Vote? Chinese economy is growing faster and better than democracies…

It doesn’t matter, you are a free, superior citizen of the developed world. You traveled there to China to see them! And see that the Chinese studying abroad are going back to China… Whatever, they are commies.

You visit the Rural China, you still see a lot of poverty. You feel better about yourself. Hahaha, they are still poor!

You go back to the big cities and there is no way to deny the reality: China is growing and is glowing.

You go back home and you see, China is actually a good place. Very different from what you see on TV.

That’s why year after year the “experts” in your country are predicting the fall of China. There is nothing else to do beyond pray that somehow China will stop growing and wil be the end of the Western hegemony over the world.

PS: Go on, call me Communist Party propagandist.

We start with three videos

All there (x3) must be watched. This is from Singapore, and they are a third party trying to understand China.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 2 is especially illuminating, to quiet those who insist China will fold immediately with a blockade of the Malacca Straits.

part 3

 

Love

main qimg 3adbf05a393727350153b309126d0b8a
main qimg 3adbf05a393727350153b309126d0b8a

The sad death of Australian wine

Australia killed wine trade with China. The LARGEST consumer of wine in the world.

This is what happened…

2023 05 18 06 46
2023 05 18 06 46

2023 05 18 06 48
2023 05 18 06 48

This happened a few days ago at Wal-Mart.

My son and I got in line to check out and an elderly woman with a walker was at the register. She was having a bit of difficulty with unloading her cart so the man in front of us went to help her. As we waited, my son overheard a woman behind us say “Why is it taking so long? My God, why do they let people like that in stores.”

My son turned to the woman and said “For the same reason they let people like you in here. They have to eat too. I hope you find yourself in her position one day and remember how rude you are now.”

She stood there in shock and silent afterwards. I had tears of pride in my eyes knowing that my son just put a pretentious person in their place. He went over to the elderly lady and asked if she needed help to her car and went with her to load her groceries. At 16, and mildly autistic, this was HUGE. He didn’t wait for permission, he just went and did what was right.

I wish others would do the same.

The Poverty In Mississippi Is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Seen

America

Reality…

2023 05 18 10 44
2023 05 18 10 44

I’ve, on occasion woken up in the middle of the night…stumbled around and accidentally stepped on my cat’s tail.

There are two things that happen at that moment, one he cries out immediately and I get off, two I pick him up, hug him, kiss his cheek and tell him I’m sorry.

He still loves the crap out of me and I love the crap out of him.

Does he know it was an accident, absolutely…you know how I know? He didn’t scratch the crap out of me or run off, he waited for the kiss and hug then made sure I was alright.

As with everyone on this planet, you get the gambit of responses. Some cats bolt some fight back and some overreact.

Chicken Fajita Pasta Toss

2023 05 13 18 58
2023 05 13 18 58

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces vermicelli or thin pasta, drained and kept warm
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
  • 1 cup quartered, sliced onion
  • 1 cup sliced red bell pepper
  • 1 cup sliced yellow bell pepper
  • 1 (7 ounce) can chiles, drained and cut into strips
  • 1/2 cup taco sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 package fajita seasoning mix
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges optional

Instructions

  1. Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken; cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
  2. Add onion, bell pepper and chiles; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Stir taco sauce, water and seasoning mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture thickens.
  4. Serve over pasta. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

6 servings.

Oh, that. Yeah. That pretty much happened in the 1970’s.

As always, do not expect to be informed by reading Western (American) “News”. The term “disinfo” means to distract and inform with falsehoods.

I suppose I could throw out all sorts of facts and figures. I could show you charts. In general, the more charts thrown in an article the more believable it is. It’s a funny thing with non-critical thinkers; they see charts, but don’t understand their meanings or impacts. Colorful ones are the best. You’ll get a lot of nodding bubble heads for certain.

So…

What is an “economic superpower”? How does it translate into lifestyle?

Or to put differently, if you lived inside of an economic superpower, what would you lifestyle be like? And it is from that angle; from that vision, from that observation that we will explore the answer to this question.

This is different from tabulated reams of data, and lectures by “blue panel experts”. This is different from “on the street” interviews, and what the “history books” say.

If you lived in an economic superpower, your life would be [1] stable, [2] comfortable, and [3] safe. Otherwise, what’s the point? A name? A title? No, don’t be silly. An economic superpower is a place where everyone lives a great life.

Let’s look at the three aspects…

Stable

You could work in your chosen profession without ever having to worry about a “layoff”, a “downsize”, a “right size” or firing. You would not need to hold multiple jobs to support your family, and a family would only need one breadwinner.

Comfortable

You would have a fine, well attired home. No mortgages. No need to procure loans or borrow money to support that lifestyle. You would eat well, sleep comfortably, and have access to inexpensive, but good, medical care.

Safe

Crime would not be present, and there would be few instances of fraud. There would be no crime or fraud in government, and everything would be transparent and above-the-board.

Of course, for large nations, you can never actually achieve the ideals.

But you can obtain a “best fit” ideal; one where the various three aspects were predominant in your culture. And that, this honest to goodness view of personal first-hand reality is what we need to judge what an economic superpower is. Because using this measurement, you are omitting technology. You are omitting oligarch influence. You are omitting government type and behavior. instead you are looking at the visceral aspects of society; ones that you experience.

Around 1970, the United States lost this role. At the same time, China gained this role.

And everything else is just fluff.

Numbers and opinions that are great on multiple choice questions on a test, but have no actual purpose in regards to understandings.

By comparing one’s lifestyle you can easily see whether they are living in an economic superpower or not.

The early 1970’s was the time when Americans lost the three primary elements of societal foundations that are prevalent in an economic superpower. And it was precisely at this time, when the Chinese gained them.

the american dream doesn’t exist

China has very sophisticated anti-ship missiles (including hypersonic), destroyers (Type 055, Type 052D), attack submarines (Type 093, upcoming Type 095), ASW aircraft, satellites, etc. to counter the US Navy. US carriers would be foolish to come close to China’s coast (within several thousand kilometers).

China also has the world’s most advanced stealth fighters in the J-20 and upcoming J-35.

America brags about its ageing F-22 (production discontinued in 2011) and its underpowered F-35, which has a shorter range, lower ceiling, lower speed, and smaller payload than the J-20. LOL.

The Pentagon is not stupid. They won’t engage China.

Answers don’t seem to address the question: if you don’t want US to get involved with the battle of Taiwan, which might trigger WW3, what can you do as an individual?

If that’s the premise of the question.

My friend posted an email that he sent to his district congressman last year when Russia invaded Ukraine, his demand was the opposite, he requested the congressman to support sending US military into the war!

Now that’s ww3 that almost happened, last year.

Now this is a smart guy, smarter than me, how could he have made such a stupid decision?

Me and another friend were ridiculing him, that we would buy guns and armor for him, so that he can volunteer for Ukraine. Hey if you wanna die don’t represent us. You can volunteer to fight, we will root for ya, even buy your gears!

The topic of nuclear Armageddon came up, I asked him, you and me both live in tier one cities, the first wave to be vaporized, have you thought of that? Never mind the guy who lives in Texas or Ohio, who might go berserk to be tough with Russia, it’s for us to die when shit happens, not him. And we can support Ukraine all we want (through funding the war, supplying weapons and intelligence to coordinating attacks, to sanctions which we don’t agree with again but that’s at least not the line in the sand), but hey NO that’s NOT our war!

You see Russia or China or whichever nuclear country that we decide to attack, they would make sure that DC, NYC, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago (sorry Chicago don’t think you were that important but you would probably be totally ok to be missed in the top 5 must hit list for America) bite the dust.

So let’s go B——n? Well f* you too if you think that our lives can be collateral damage in MAD. Great gracious that B——n didn’t think so, sometimes it’s good to back down.

So call and email your congressman, and other representatives – if you want my vote don’t do anything silly on that front, you are triggering ww3. Unfortunately that’s all you can do.

Btw, that friend has completely come to his senses after a few months of the war and now totally agree with me. That is not our war, support all you want, but if you wanna join do it yourself, die for Ukraine but don’t represent me!

Peace.

I also want to talk a bit about my perspective on Taiwan, since most Americans don’t know that ww3 could be happening on that side of the world and what our government and representatives are doing about it.

We are provoking the hostilities.

2023 05 18 10 23
2023 05 18 10 23

We are flying military aircrafts regularly near their air space.

We are patrolling our great navy carriers near their waters.

BUT it’s our right amirite? Yeah pretty much if a peeping tom wants to it is also his right, as long as he keeps enough distance, but that’s not hostile? Com’on.

Also don’t forget if peeping tom isn’t even your neighbor, there’s something called restraining order (in fact even if he were your neighbor).

Oh that’s not all that is happening in that area, that’s what we have been doing for decades.

What we are doing now is to go to slap them in the face, by doing something we don’t do before but are doing now often to infuriate them, we visit their wife during some sort of divorce.

BUT it’s our right amirite? Sure bet. A man visits your wife who hates you, sleeps over at her place, hey he’s not banging her promise. That’s not being hostile? Ok maybe he will make sure that you see them banging, is it hostile enough for ya?

BUT what about freedom? and democracy!

Wah I got to see a porn movie that also educates us about democracy.

Freedom!

Peace.

(I usually don’t want to talk about war with Russia and China but if it’s before we go for ww3, at least don’t pretend that it’s a joke, do people’s lives look like a joke to you?)

Chinese Culture: The values that set them apart.

I lived in China for 8 years and honestly, those were the best and happiest years of my life. Cheers!

My brother, cousin and I are adopted.

I asked my mother when I was little why she couldn’t have her own children. She said she had a hysterectomy.

I didn’t think much of it then but as I got older I realized she had only been 30 when my older brother was adopted. I thought it was unusual to have the procedure done in her 20’s.

My mom was born in 1916, so a risky procedure, I would think in the 1930’s. I found out her younger sister had a hysterectomy at a early age as well.

Then, in my 50’s I got the whole story from an older cousin.

My Adopted mom’s mother had made a deal with a devilish doctor ( probably for sexual favors) to perform hysterectomies on her daughters while they were CHILDREN.

I believe my mother was eight and my aunt perhaps six!!!!

My mom and aunt didn’t remember anything of the procedure.

They didn’t know what had been done to them until in their 20’s, when my Aunt Etta was talking to her fiancé ( my uncle Bill) and as all young people in love do, they were discussing how many kids they wanted, and my GRANDMOTHER from the next room, yelled in to them, “ You won’t be having any children! I took care of that! I’m not having your body ruined like mine was!”

That is how my mother and aunt found out they would never have children…. thanks to a sadistic and psychopathic grandmother and some crazy, immoral doctor in Dallas, Texas in the 1920’s.

Not that Way: The Superb Concept Art Works of Oliver Ryan

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Oliver Ryan is a UK based concept artist and illustrator working in games and animation.

More: Instagram, Artstation

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Be a good guy

2023 05 18 11 05
2023 05 18 11 05

The ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors meeting agreed to reinforce the use of local currencies to ensure financial stability.

To facilitate regional economic integration, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) made a declaration on advancing regional payment connectivity and promoting local currency transaction on Wednesday during the two-day ASEAN Summit

2023 05 18 10 47
2023 05 18 10 47

The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have agreed to “encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.” The group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This move will help them reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar.

Southeast Asian Countries’ De-Dollarization Efforts

The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, for the 42nd ASEAN Summit on May 10-11 under the chairmanship of the Republic of Indonesia. ASEAN members comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This year’s 42nd ASEAN Summit under Indonesia’s chairmanship is themed “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth,” held from May 9 to 11 in the Indonesian town of Labuan Bajo.

Ahead of the summit, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) had expected that Indonesia could drive regional de-dollarization through its 2023 ASEAN chairmanship. Ajib Hamdani, head of Apindo’s Economic Policy Analyst Committee, said in an official statement that de-dollarization has become a global phenomenon and, to some extent, an economic orientation.

Leaders declared to commit to advancing regional payment connectivity by utilizing emerging opportunities brought by innovation to facilitate seamless and secure cross-border payment, taking country circumstances into consideration. They also agreed to encourage the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions in the region and support the establishment of a Task Force to explore the development of an ASEAN Local Currency Transaction Framework.

ASEAN is seeking to improve its regional payment connectivity through initiatives such as the recently launched Indonesia-Malaysia quick response (QR) standard, which allows citizens of both countries to use QR codes and their local currencies to make payments in the other. The bloc is also encouraging the settlement of regional accounts in local currencies rather than with the US dollar, the go-to currency for international trade.

“This is in line with the purpose of ASEAN centrality, so that ASEAN can be much stronger and self-reliant,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said of the currency policy recommendation

An official declaration released by the chairman at the conclusion of the summit states: “We adopted the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transaction to foster bilateral and multilateral payment connectivity arrangements to strengthen economic integration by enabling fast, seamless, and more affordable cross-border payments across the region.”

The declaration continues:

We commit to encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions among ASEAN member states to deepen regional financial integration and promote the development of currency market in local currency to strengthen financial stability in the region.

Among ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines been developing their capacity for local currency settlement since 2017. Recently, the region has established the similar framework with China, Japan and South Korea.

ASEAN leaders have also agreed to explore the development of a unified ASEAN local currency transaction framework that would help countries in the region transition away from established trade currencies like the US dollar.

At the end of March, the ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors met in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed to take steps to reinforce the use of local currencies in the region and reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar or other major international currencies for cross-border trade and investment in an effort to ensure financial stability and avoid spillovers such as high inflation from the global crisis.

Bank of Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said in April that Indonesia is following the BRICS’ de-dollarization lead . The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are working on a common currency to reduce their reliance on the USD; their leaders plan to discuss this topic at their upcoming leaders’ summit.

Multiple people expect a common BRICS currency to erode  the U.S. dollar’s dominance, including a former White House economist who warned that if the BRICS nations used only their common currency for international trade, “they would remove an impediment that now thwarts their efforts to escape dollar hegemony.” Investment analyst Jon Wolfenbarger cautioned that a successful BRICS currency could result in the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status. This would hurt U.S. living standards and lead to less power for the U.S. government.

A woman called my newsroom crying. Nobody wanted to deal with her. So they sent her to me. She was crying and hard to understand, but the basic story went this way…

She had bought a used car. She needed it badly to get to the THREE jobs she held to support her children by herself. No husband. Less than two weeks after buying the car, it broke down. She called the dealer who had told her it had a 30-day warranty.

He told her he couldn’t help. But, she told him, you said it had a 30 day warranty. His response — too bad. When she complained, he told her — “lady, you’re dealing with the big boys now.”

She was crying as she told me this. I was — to put it mildly — angry.

My response to her — let me call you back.

I called him. I explained the problem and when I did not get what I considered a good response, I “explained” things to him:

  1. He needed to respond appropriately to her and solve the problem.
  2. If he did not respond appropriately, I would have my entire investigative news team look into his operation.
  3. He did not like that.
  4. Cautionary note here: My response – YOU picked the wrong person to fight with, and no, NOW, you’re playing with the Big Boys, expletives to follow…

He took back her car.

Gave her a slightly newer model without any problems.

She called crying and thanked me.

I may have cried a little bit too.

Picture worth a thousand words. …

.

2023 05 18 10 w49
2023 05 18 10 w49

Although the Biden administration has been trying to disassociate its policy towards Africa from its confrontation with China and Russia, a senior administration official who spoke on a call with reporters ahead of Harris’s trip acknowledged that “Obviously, we can’t ignore the current geopolitical moment. It’s no secret that we are engaged in competition with China. And we’ve said very clearly we intend to outcompete China in the long term.”

2023 05 18 10 50
2023 05 18 10 50

For decades, the United States treats African countries like charity cases. That was exacerbated during the Trump administration, which largely ignored the continent. Former US President Donald Trump even insulted some African countries as “shithole countries” in a 2018 meeting.

At the same time, China, as a strategic competitor of the United States, has continuously strengthened its investment in Africa, helping African countries build roads and other infrastructure, and establishing more solid economic and political relations. That was determined by how differently China views Africa than the U.S., with the latter tending to see Africa as a series of problems–wars, famines, something like that, while China seeing it much more of an opportunity.

2023 05 18 10 5w1
2023 05 18 10 5w1

Vice President Kamala Harris landed at Zambia’s Kenneth Kuanda International Airport, a project upgraded by China.

Aiming to reset U.S.-Africa relations, several Biden administration officials paid visit to the continent. The vice president is the fifth Biden official in three months to visit the continent. For Harris, the first Black U.S. vice president, it also carries especially high stakes. Harris’ arrival marks the latest, most high-profile official to visit Africa this year, reportedly to pave way for President Joe Biden’s visit later in the year.

However, the change of the Biden administration does not mean that the United States has begun to pay attention to Africa’s development. The essence of Biden’s policy logic is no different from that of its predecessors, or even all their predecessors. What the United States cares most about in Africa is to ensure the influence of hegemony, and to deal with the “competition” of other major powers outside Africa, which is the source of all motives for the United States to ignore or attach importance to Africa.

Although the U.S. spares no effort to woo Africa, the current China-Africa trade volume is still five times that of the U.S.-Africa trade, and China’s direct investment in Africa is still twice that of the U.S. These are indisputable facts. In addition, China’s aid to Africa has not only about building a large amount of infrastructure, but also created millions of job opportunities for Africa. Therefore, it is self-evident how African countries and peoples should choose, to cooperate with China for tangible development or to be placed at the “strategic bottom” by the United States.

Chicken with Lime Butter

2023 05 13 18 59
2023 05 13 18 59

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken breasts, boned and skinned
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon minced chives
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh dill weed
  • Juice from 1 Mexican lime

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Put oil in pan and cook over medium heat. Add chicken and sauté for about 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
  2. Reduce heat to low and cover; let cook for 10 minutes or until fork can be inserted in chicken with ease.
  3. Remove chicken and keep warm. Drain off oil and discard.
  4. In saucepan, add lime juice and cook over low heat until the juice begins to bubble. Add butter, constantly stirring until butter thickens. Stir in chives and dill weed.
  5. Spoon over chicken and serve.
  6. Garnish with lime slices and dill weed.

They Really Did It! | The U.S. Confiscates Russian Assets

2023 05 13 19 14
2023 05 13 19 14

This is true. The US is in a state of apparent decline, and this decline may be even irreversible. At this rate, within 10 years or so, the Chinese GDP per capita will match the US, and the standard of life will be higher, because the GDP in China is distributed more evenly among the population. No small testament to this is that China already, recently exceeded the U.S. in life expectancy, one of the main indicators of national wellbeing, if not the main one.

Because of the above-said decline, the US is losing world influence, which is leading to the formation of new big economic alliances like BRICS, and the new “no limits” strategic and economic alliances between Russia and China. The decline is also leading to the beginning of de-dollarization, a very dangerous trend for the US.

I hope the U.S. and its allies take heed of all this and make the necessary adjustments…the day before yesterday. This is not the time for intolerance, intransigence, and being uncompromising….

First Love.

2023 05 18 11 03
2023 05 18 11 03

Second Love.

2023 05 18 11 033
2023 05 18 11 033

Third Love.

2023 05 18 11 0w4
2023 05 18 11 0w4

30 Patriot missiles in 2 minutes. Zelensky returns to Kiev

US Navy, Chinese PLA Engaged In ‘Dangerous Encounter’ Near Hong Kong; US Forced To Destroy Its Own Sonars – Media

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In a stunning revelation, it has been disclosed that China and the US were engaged in a high-stakes military confrontation mere 150 kilometers away from Hong Kong in early 2021. 

The intensity of the situation prompted the US to take a bold step and destroy its floating sonars to prevent them from falling into Beijing’s hands, reported SCMP. 

One day before the deadly riots on January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump had gathered outside the Capitol building in Washington. 

On that same day, the report said three US military aircraft embarked on an unusual submarine hunt, conducting operations remarkably close to China’s shoreline. 

A team of Chinese military scientists has released the first open report on the January 5 incident, which includes a significant disclosure. 

The report disclosed that a US anti-submarine plane flew close to Hong Kong, reaching as close as 150 kilometers (93 miles). 

The report further said that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) acted swiftly by deploying a classified counterforce during the US naval exercise, but the nature and size of this response remain classified.  

Led by Liu Dongqing from PLA Unit 95510, the research team emphasized that US activities significantly threatened China’s national security. The study highlighted that such actions could severely impede the critical missions of Chinese submarines during wartime.  

The report said that US spy planes strategically placed sensors in the waters near the Dongsha Islands, which are also referred to as the Pratas Islands. These islands consist of atolls and reefs under Taiwan’s control. 

The deployment of these sensors indicates the involvement of the United States in monitoring activities in the region, adding to the complexity of the situation surrounding these contested waters.

In contrast to other disputed islands in the South China Sea, where the United States has been conducting freedom of navigation operations to challenge what it perceives as China’s excessive claims, the Dongsha Islands are claimed solely by Taipei and Beijing. 

In this case, the absence of broader territorial claims by other countries sets the Dongsha Islands apart from other contentious areas in the region.

8 Chinese work ethics that WILL improve your life

  1. You move on. You don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself.
  2. You are kind, fair, and unafraid to speak up.
  3. You embrace change. You welcome challenges.
  4. You stay happy. You don’t waste energy on things you can’t control.
  5. You are willing to take calculated risks.
  6. You celebrate other people’s success. You don’t feel threatened by other’s achievements.

China Accuses US Of Monitoring, Blocking, And Containing Chinese Subs

The United States, according to Chinese researchers, has devoted significant efforts to target China’s submarine forces in recent years specifically. They contend that this intensified focus is part of a larger pattern of increased US military activities within the South China Sea region.  

2023 05 18 10 38
2023 05 18 10 38

The report added that the US utilizes sophisticated tools such as sonar buoys and sensors to locate submarines even when operating at significant depths below the surface. 

The scientists from the PLA assert that the techniques employed by the United States pose a “severe threat” to China’s submarines, significantly impeding their ability to operate covertly within the region. 

According to Liu’s team, the US uses a deliberate tactic of flying spy planes at low altitudes of around 60 meters, which is relatively close to the ground and poses safety risks. 

This tactic enhances the ability to detect and track submarines, especially by anti-submarine patrol aircraft such as the US Navy’s P-8A.

The report revealed that the US military deployed several aircraft to locate Chinese submarines, which operated in a coordinated manner to achieve their goals. 

The team led by Liu Dongqing from the PLA’s electronic warfare unit noted that the US intended to monitor, block and contain China’s activities. 

The US military maintained a persistent presence in the area by conducting multiple flights over an extended period, enabling them to gather extensive information about Chinese submarine activity and enhancing their situational awareness and surveillance capabilities.

In response to the US efforts, PLA researchers have proposed measures to counteract them, as suggested in the latest study.  

China’s electronic warfare capabilities could disrupt or jam US floating sonar systems, hindering submarine detection. China is also developing realistic decoys to deceive US sonar systems by mimicking submarine sounds and movements. 

The Chinese military also collaborates with private companies to enhance submarine stealth technology. 

That being said, the disclosed information highlights the escalated military activities and countermeasures being taken by both sides. 

Smile

2023 05 18 11 06
2023 05 18 11 06

1. Get up early every morning.

2. Save money every month.

3. Start your business.

4. Write down your goal everyday.

5. Start Investing.

6. Be with capable people.

7. Get into the habit of reading books.

8. Exercise daily for one hour.

9. Create multiple sources of income.

And last

10. Set long term goals.

I went to a mall in my hometown 2 weeks ago to redeem a gift voucher I got from my parents about 3 years ago.

I parked in the basement and walked up to the doors where a guy wearing a staff uniform was waiting and opened the door for me, as I stepped inside he joined me and pressed the button to go the a certain floor without asking me where I’m going.

As the doors started closing my gut told me to GTFO because something is off about this guy.

I stepped out pretending that I forgot something in the car, the guy didn’t follow me out.

I decided that it was nothing and shouldn’t stress about it. So up I went to the 3rd floor, as I stepped out a bunch of security guards came running toward the lift and chased me out and took the lift to the next floor.

I asked one of the people what happened and no one knew.

Maybe 10 minutes later there was an announcement saying that the 5th floor and the elevators on that side of the mall is closed due to security reasons.

Turned out that the guy who was with me in the lift slashed the next guy who entered’s neck with a carpenters knife (killing him) and tried to attack the security guards when the doors opened.

My gut really saved me that day

Three Steps

2023 05 18 11 00
2023 05 18 11 00

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Playing around with CrAIyon

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

2023 04 26 11 11
2023 04 26 11 11

And here’s my first attempt…

First trial

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2023 04 26 11 13

My images

I just screen-shot them…

2023 04 26 11 a16
2023 04 26 11 a16

2023 04 26 11 16
2023 04 26 11 16

Second Trial

2023 04 26 11 19
2023 04 26 11 19

The image matrix

2023 04 26 11 20s
2023 04 26 11 20s

2023 04 26 11 20a
2023 04 26 11 20a

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

CrAIyon

Playing around with Stable-diffusion

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

This is pretty good. Style options are not present, though.

2023 04 26 10 38
2023 04 26 10 38

The first try pictures

4 rabbit
4 rabbit

3 rabbit
3 rabbit

2 rabbit
2 rabbit

1 rabbit
1 rabbit

My second try

2023 04 26 10 42
2023 04 26 10 42

My second try pictures

biff 4
biff 4

biff 3
biff 3

biff 2
biff 2

biff 1
biff 1

My third try

2023 04 26 10 54
2023 04 26 10 54

My pictures from the third try

pres 4
pres 4

pres 3
pres 3

pres 2
pres 2

pres 1
pres 1

My fourth try

2023 04 26 10 58a
2023 04 26 10 58a

The images

a4
a4

a3
a3

a2
a2

a1
a1

My fifth try

2023 04 26 11 06
2023 04 26 11 06

The images

in 4
in 4

in 3
in 3

in 2
in 2

in 1
in 1

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

Stable-diffusion

Playing around with runwayML

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

Personally, I do not like the results…

2023 04 25 15 40
2023 04 25 15 40

2023 04 25 15 39
2023 04 25 15 39

2023 04 25 15 38e
2023 04 25 15 38e

2023 04 25 15 38
2023 04 25 15 38

2023 04 25 15 37
2023 04 25 15 37

2023 04 25 15 36
2023 04 25 15 36

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

RunwayML

Playing around with Dreamstudio.AI

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

This one takes a little bit of time to figure out and work with, but it’s not that difficult.

You upload a “seeder” image. Blur it to represent the amount of change you want, pick a style. Write a description and the AI does the rest…

2023 04 25 15 10
2023 04 25 15 10

Here’s some examples when I typed in a sentence, and then clicked on the style icon…

I think that it is fun.

3136204005 tomato soup and cheese sandwich xl beta v2 2 2
3136204005 tomato soup and cheese sandwich xl beta v2 2 2

2151311876 tomato soup and cheese sandwich xl beta v2 2 2
2151311876 tomato soup and cheese sandwich xl beta v2 2 2

Now, let’s put a completely different image in the system. Everything else stays the same…

2023 04 25 15 16
2023 04 25 15 16

Some notes

This is part of a much larger “package” of tools for image manipulation and what-not. All in all it holds promise.

Go HERE to see the full “toolbox”.

Money issues

You need to purchase “credits’ to continue using this product.

It shows promise, but playing around for ten minutes isn’t enough time for me to judge it’s worth and utility.

I probably will get back to it and play around some more. Just not right now. I have others that I will evaluate before then.

2023 04 25 15 22
2023 04 25 15 22

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

DreamstudioAI

Playing around with Pixlr-X

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

2023 04 25 11 35
2023 04 25 11 35

Here’s some examples when I typed in a sentence, and then clicked on the style icon…

I think that it is fun.

Some of my art renderings…

I just set up a brief sentence (I only have five tries), and then conducted variations…

2023 04 25 11 33y
2023 04 25 11 33y

2023 04 25 11 33b
2023 04 25 11 33b

2023 04 25 11 33s
2023 04 25 11 33s

2023 04 25 11 32re
2023 04 25 11 32re

2023 04 25 11 32
2023 04 25 11 32

2023 04 25 11 31
2023 04 25 11 31

2023 04 25 11 31a
2023 04 25 11 31a

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

Pixlr-X

Big changes and it is beyond the United States ability to stop

Uncle Sam is a ChoMo

You all think that the Peak Change will occur in 2027? Maybe 2025?

Nah. It’s NOW. It’s TODAY. It is a confluence of many PEAKS. And we are in the thick of it right now. Various articles on this, and I am trying to sort through all the strange discord and under and unreported things. But just be aware.

Keep in mind…

Lots of things going on, and let me tell you that any “war with China” will be over VERY VERY QUICKLY.

Um…

Good, and bad with that.

Don’t you know.

Look at how Great the United States is today…

This Is What Life Is Like In Small Town Louisiana

Lots of good stuff about the USA to start, and it is really charming in LA. I miss the big trees.

I used to live in the “Deep South”, and man oh man is this accurate!

I really like Mississippi. Louisiana is just South.

Today is up…

Interference vs Non-Interference policy in the Middle East

2023 04 23 06 48
2023 04 23 06 48

When was the last time that the US had a decent president. The last good president in my opinion was Eisenhower.

Some will say that JFK was good, but the usual reason is that he would have gotten out of Vietnam if he had not been assassinated.

His bad decisions including what led to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam war. It is true that he acted very differently in deescalating the Cuban missile crisis while the current president seems to be making decisions that will lead to a nuclear war.

2023 04 23 08 15
2023 04 23 08 15

What I would say is that the American system is solid evidence that direct election of the national leader is not a good idea.

How often does one hear that they have to choose between the lesser of two bad choices, and how many elections in recent history has it really come down to many of the voters not being happy with either choice, And the system really is nothing close to the decision of the people.

There are the members each of the two parties that decide on the candidate and neither represents even a majority of the people. and today each party represents a polarized group selecting the candidate that the whole population while have as an option for president.

This means that only need like 20% of the population actually deciding that the candidate to represent the party in the running for president.

Seems like in general the parliamentary systems work a lot better than the American systems of voting for the leader of a country. There are some exceptions obviously, like that clown Boris Johnson, but on the other side get leaders like Angela Merkel and Helmut Kohl that so successfully led Germany for 16 years.

The Chinese use a tiered democracy.

The people select their representatives at the local level.

Each representative represents a relatively small number of people compared to those in Congress in the United States, so do not need that massive amount of money to run for office.

In 2022 $8.9 billion was spend in the midterm elections, and for the 2020 elections it was 14.4 billion. The candidates have to raise this money to hope to be able have a good chance of winning the election.

To allow this, it is legal to effectively bribe those running for office through political donations.

Although the US does not rank high on the Transparency International’s bogus corruption index, this is because this is legalized corruption, so apparently Transparency International does not include this corruption in calculating corruption, and it does not include business corruption.

How corrupt would the US be measured at if this was included in calculating corruption. Far higher than China I am sure.

The voted representatives then are responsible for electing the representatives at the next level of government.

They are in a better position to evaluate the competence of the representatives for the next level since they can interact personally with these people. What American politicians are best at is lying since a good lie will be much more attractive than the truth, and the best lie will will win the election.

Being competent in the office has nothing to do with the selection process to become a leader in the United States.

main qimg 89596bf25796ec54ae0d99fd797e4914 lq
main qimg 89596bf25796ec54ae0d99fd797e4914 lq

He is stating a fact that the USSR dissolved without a proper ratified treaty or documentation only. Nothing wrong there. And Crimea was given to Ukraine during USSR days, for centuries it was part of Russia Empire or USSR.

Scott Ritter: Russia and China Have CHANGED EVERYTHING, OBLITERATE US Hegemony

Of course not. There is a Chinese saying, “江山易改本性难移”: It means that it is more difficult to change a man’s nature than a river. It’s hard to change a person’s nature.

main qimg d730d1453e52ae5cd3ad9b82bb09fdde
main qimg d730d1453e52ae5cd3ad9b82bb09fdde

Us media reported recently that a batch of suspected secret US military documents, covering the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other intelligence and containing information about the ROK and Israel’s top government officials suspected to have been monitored by US intelligence agencies, appeared on Twitter and other social media. The U.S. is in a diplomatic crisis due to a scandal involving spying on its Allies. The U.S. Department of Justice has announced an investigation, but U.S. media analyzed that the documents are highly authentic.

main qimg 95ad5ff605130cd211bf9fe42f4c8002
main qimg 95ad5ff605130cd211bf9fe42f4c8002

For a long time, the United States has abused its technological advantages to conduct large-scale and indiscriminate eavesdropping on the world, including its Allies. It is certainly the world’s No. 1 surveillance country. Even America’s Allies have not escaped American scrutiny. According to Danish media reports, the NSA used cooperation with Danish intelligence agencies to spy on German, Swedish, Norwegian and French leaders, including then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

main qimg 7638b2f2afb34a2d0d93177942d05e9c
main qimg 7638b2f2afb34a2d0d93177942d05e9c

Do you think the US has stopped monitoring on the whole world?

True story

I had a chance to meet a Chinese guy in 2004 .

He came to South Africa hopping to meet his uncle who was in the construction industry but lost his address somehow.

I gave him a place to sleep for a month and during the day he would go out and look for some part time jobs just to survive .

He moved out of my house the following month so he can live close to the shop he had found work as a cleaner .

When he got his first pay check he bought a small TV set that he would try to sell on weekends when he was off duty next to the local bus stop.

The following month he had 2 ,next he had 4 .

I lost contact with him for 5 years and when I met him next he was the owner of an electronic goods importing company employing 30 people .

The Chinese are hard workers and I have so much respect for them

It’s over and NATO is finished

Very interesting video.

Natasha Wright
April 13, 2023

It is a centuries-old rule in politics that if you do not fare well politically within your own country, you should try and redirect the public gaze somehow onto the foreign policy.

Given that the German Chancellor did not wish to take him along on his trip to China with his official delegation for economic diplomacy last November, the French President Emmanuel Macron set off on a journey to China with his own respective economic delegation in the beginning of April this year. Though not exactly on his own but accompanied by a ‘supervisory body’ in the shape and form of the scrawny-looking President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Exactly that detail will make this fleeting visit to Beijing rather bizarre, because it is unclear how come Ursula von der Leyen found herself in Macron’s company en route to China.

But when it comes to Ursula von der Leyen, it is also rather unclear how she became President of the European Commission amongst other eminent candidates for the previous elections for the European Parliament. Her name is now being thrown in for her to become NATO Secretary General despite the fact that both friends and foes say, Politico reported a while ago, that her management of the German Ministry of Defense was a complete and costly failure. Then again, we do know that in the world of Western rules, they do not seem to have acquired a surplus of competence and democracy in the meantime. For the sake of illustration, Macron left for China from Paris which happened to be smothered with tonnes of garbage due to the strike of the communal utility services in charge of street sweeping and overflowing with anger by protesters who have been demonstrating for weeks now. Financial Times reports on unacceptable scenes of French police officers’ morally shocking and brutal ways in dealing with protesters. On that occasion even Iran expressed its concern and called France to talk to their citizens and not brutally abuse them physically. Poignant irony is self-evident and completely well deserved, aimed at Macron’s incompetent ways.

Macron has justified the presence of Ursula von der Leyen in his delegation with the claim that he was the one to suggest that she should accompany him in his trip to China so that the two of them can speak in political unison while there, representing the EU with joint forces. However, even though Macron has long nourished most profound wishes to be accompanied by ‘ladies of a certain age’, this justification does not come across as credible, but because the President of France did not express a similar boyish need in other similar situations for instance for his recent travel to Washington to meet with Biden. He was accompanied by Brigitte Macron there and Ursula von der Leyen visited Biden last month. All the political mirage related to President of European Commission is being enhanced by one particular detail to which Bloomberg indicates: The way China is treating Macron is not the treatment they are giving to von der Leyen whereas Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Macron arrived in China upon the official invitation for a state visit issued by President of China, Xi Jinping. As for von der Leyen they just added that she is ‘on a visit’ agreed between the EU and China. In other words, nobody knows who has invited her so that we can conclude she is there more or less uninvited.

But that rather bizarre abovementioned aspect of the official visit of President Macron accompanied by von der Leyen to China is mirrored in the speech she had just delivered before her China trip in Mercator Institute for China Studies, which, because of their anti-China activities has been added to the list of Chinese sanctions since 2021. Of course, the choice of this place to launch messages targeting China on the eve of this trip was not a coincidence. In line with such an intention of ‘indecent political fornication’ instead of decently respectful political relations was the contents of the messages she sent off erratically in one way or the other. President of the European Commission von der Leyen seems to think that she on that occasion sent her message that Beijing is becoming ever more repressive at home and ever more aggressive abroad in that they propel the politics of disinformation and economic and trade coercion. And she also noticed that China is seriously encroaching upon human rights with the warning that that notorious issue of alleged breaching of human rights will be yet another test for whether the EU can and to what extent they can cooperate with China.

And now here comes the main issue: How will China continue to respond to the war in Ukraine will be a decisive factor for the relations between EU and China – she continues in a threatening, domineering manner unduly, noticing that President Xi instead of turning his back on President of Russia, continues relations without limits with Putin’s Russia and above all she added the EU will have to reconsider the comprehensive agreement on investments with China. Trade agreement reached with China at the end of 2020 has not been ratified yet. Admittedly, the world and China have changed in the past three years so thus we have to reconsider our agreements in light of our broader strategy towards China. Such messages sent either overtly or subliminally by von der Leyen are in obvious opposition to the members of Macron’s delegation in which ministers of finances, foreign affairs and culture are present and also the directors of about fifty leading French companies who surely did not travel to China to talk about human rights against Uyghurs in China or the freedoms of independent media in Hong Kong. And it is truly irrational to expect to sign any trade deals whatsoever if you previously have been uncivil and distasteful against your host(s). And you also send a message that you have no intention of adhering to the agreements you have signed with them. Such a business strategy is doomed to failure before it even starts. ‘Good cop, bad cop’ – remarks even the German Spiegel in their analysis of the situation whereas Fu Cong, the Ambassador of China to the EU, explicitly asked Europe to dismiss the demands of Washington to cease their trading with Beijing with the warning, reported on by the Financial Times that the U.S. will resort to any method in order to derail the normal relations between Brussels and Beijing and cause further disarray. Who in their right mind would leave such an enormous emerging market such as the Chinese market – Fu said while urging Europe to be persistent in their pursuit for strategic autonomy. Financial Times on the other hand at the end of November last year, referring to their diplomatic sources, reported that the USA has increased its pressure on NATO allies to align their approaches with the anti-Chinese policies in Washington.

It is surely a centuries-old rule in politics that if you do not fare well politically within your own country, you should try and redirect the public gaze somehow onto the foreign policy and try to make a success there one way or another. Macron will most probably try to make some success based on that thinking. At the end of the day this visit lasts for three days. This is his second visit to China since he was elected in 2017 whereas Xi was in an official visit to Paris once. The fact that von der Leyen joined him is being viewed as rather negative in the French public because she is considered a person lacking in democratic legitimacy. The Chinese though tend to be benevolent on the issue of Macron because they do want to have a bigger economic and financial picture at heart.

The Chinese surely welcome the visits from the EU regarding them as a sign of good will in the world of detrimental division and constant confrontations between the blocs, and the prevailing understanding that there is a place where they can discuss and debate broader geopolitical interests for all countries open for dialogue. The Chinese accept Macron as a representative of a country with which they traditionally have good relations so as to analyze if the EU stands any chance of going the way which would show signs of strategic autonomy. On the other hand, they want to respond to the avalanche in the EU mainstream media that both von der Leyen and Macron and all the others only come to desperately try and convince Beijing not to support Russia.

These are surely callow views and scorn-inducing delusions about serious political issues. How can they even think of influencing China into changing their foreign policy. It is the Chinese foreign policy to forge bridges and establish economic ties further. On an additional note, they want to see at what stage their European geostrategic thinking is, whether they will rechannel their politics towards Russia and to try and fathom if there is any potential in the EU to get disentangled from their almost lethal embrace from across the Atlantic. How does Macron respond to that political coercion from the U.S. and from within the EU? What is his visit to Beijing going to bring? And what is the role, if any, of Ursula von der Leyen in all that? The new political buzzwords thrown around in the arena by the shrieking EU elites seem to be de-coupling from China and de-risking its relationships with China. The Chinese shall surely approach everything with patience and wisdom.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Sukkot (also known as the Feast of Booths) celebrates the bountiful fall harvest and the beginning of autumn. Some observers build the traditional “sukka,” a temporary outdoor shelter or booth reminiscent of the desert dwelling places used when the Israelites were delivered from Egypt. Today, these shelters are festively decorated with fresh produce and used for eating or sleeping during this holiday.

stuffed cabbage rolls SweetAndSavoryMeals 8 1024x1536 1
stuffed cabbage rolls SweetAndSavoryMeals 8 1024×1536 1

Ingredients

  • 2 medium cabbages (about 5 pounds)
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained and divided
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
  • 1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice

Instructions

  1. Freeze cabbages for 8 hours; thaw. Separate leaves, and set aside.
  2. Cook onion in oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until crisp-tender.
  3. Add rice, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cool rice mixture slightly.
  4. Combine rice mixture, ground beef, salt and pepper.
  5. Reserving smaller cabbage leaves, spoon about 1/4 cup beef mixture in center of each large cabbage leaf. Fold left and right sides of leaf over, and roll up, beginning at bottom. Repeat procedure with remaining large cabbage leaves.
  6. Chill rolls overnight, if desired, or proceed immediately.
  7. Arrange reserved small cabbage leaves in bottom of a large Dutch oven or stockpot.
  8. Spoon half of sauerkraut and half of brown sugar over small cabbage leaves.
  9. Top with half of cabbage rolls, seam side down.
  10. Repeat layers with remaining sauerkraut, brown sugar and cabbage rolls.
  11. Pour tomato juice over assembled layers; bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, 2 hours or until rice is done.
  12. Serve immediately.

Yields about 2 1/2 dozen cabbage rolls.

Instead of freezing cabbages, you may cover them with boiling water in a large stockpot and let stand 10 minutes.

School Kid in UK Secretly Records Teacher: “You Do Not Have A Choice of not learning LGBTQ+. . .”

2023 04 15 12 26
2023 04 15 12 26

A school kid in the United Kingdom has secretly recorded his school teacher telling students “You don’t have a choice to learn about LGBTQ. It’s one of our values and if you refuse to do it, you will be dealt with severely..”

This is not education, it is INDOCTRINATION by people with mentally twisted minds, who are actually preying upon children, and misusing their positions as (supposed) “Educators” to promote a sick, deviant, disease-ridden, biological obscenity.

Here, listen to this teacher for yourself:

It is the fundamental law of any growing entity to eventually get saturated. That is the Natural Law. No demand or economy that is growing exponentially can continue to grow in such a manner, exponential growth will become linear then gradually it will flatten and reach a stage called Near Zenith

So to answer your question – Yes. Chinas rise will have to stall out like what happened to Japan in the 1980s.

But What does a country do when it reaches saturation?

The Country starts diverging and going on a different path – one involving technological breakthrough, technological advances and path breaking achievements to replace the gap left behind due to the Saturation.

Its called Economic Evolution

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main qimg ef3809c02a99354d27cda5a49573509a pjlq


Japan and Singapore are a typical example. In the 1980s (Japan) and 1990s (Singapore) – these countries manufactured a lot of low end and medium end products which were exported all around the world. However as labor became expensive – these countries chose to specialize and focus on semiconductors and other specialized production and gave up manufacturing the low end and medium end goods to Malaysia and later China.

Today these countries focus on manufacture of high end products and high end technology like Robots, Advanced Communications, Enterprise Technology, MLAIs etc etc.

This way they can keep their edge and their economy.

Eventually the demand for their products will always continue. In the 1980s – the Japanese made Canon or Nikon cameras had a huge demand, today the same demand is for the Japanese Nobura II Enterprise Server.

Growth may stall but Development will always continue. Eventually GDP growth rate may fall to between 0.8% – 1.5% but the Development – that is always going to be there.


China has planned its game even better than Japan.

Already it is planning to shift its Low end manufacturing to Bangladesh and African Countries to Chinese owned entities in these countries. That way they control the supply chain, help in the economic development of other countries and ensure that their costs are kept as low as possible.

China will start High End Manufacturing (Or has started) – pretty soon. First it will start with its own massive domestic market and then the global market. Semiconductor Chips, AI, Robotics, Automation, Bullet Trains, Electric Vehicles – are among its focus and it is spending billions on research and development to ensure that it emerges as a leader by say 2035 on a global scale.

So Chinas case will be better than US or Japan. China is establishing its own long arms to countries like African countries and Bangladesh and ensuring that these entities can keep the growth ticking while ensuring that the High End Developments continue at rapid surge and process.

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Chinese High End Manufacture example. They literally stole the Technology from the Japanese but today they can manufacture domestically these high end high speed trains. Tomorrow they may export these trains globally – keeping their edge all the time.

China has a much better plan than Japan and the rest (Unless Xi blows it with his tomfoolery)

Conclusion – Of course China will also reach saturation but China has planned it so well that even if it reaches Saturation – its Development related to its slower growth would be Tremendous compared to Japan or even USA.

Have you seen how insanely big it was compared to human?

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main qimg 608c2d2839ed9f41c1585d6a246fb63f

This thing was super gigantic, it was literally a skyscraper.

What this launch meant is that, in the near future, we can launch things into space at an insanely very cheap cost.

This is the most powerful ever built in human history and the first step of using super enormous ships to transport people to the moon; what’s super unique is that this launcher will be able to return and land on its platform, refuel and launch another payload again unlike NASA’s launchers which falls back into the sea and can never be used again.

After centuries of gazing up at the stars in wonder, humanity is now on the brink of achieving a long-standing dream: becoming an interplanetary species.

With advancements in technology and space exploration, we are closer than ever to breaking the bounds of Earth and reaching out towards the cosmos.

It’s not a matter of if we’ll become interplanetary, but rather a matter of when.

Sky High Inflation…

Natasha Wright
April 21, 2023

We need to learn where the borderline of strategic autonomy of Europe is (if there is any).

The President of France, Emanuel Macron, was sent off to Beijing with high hopes that he would successfully convert the President of China, Xi Jinping. Quite unexpectedly, Macron got back from China as if the complete opposite occurred. Macron’s journey to Beijing was surely not anywhere near the journey to Damascus of biblical proportions, which did convert Paul the Apostle but it clearly showed how woefully Europe is whimpering in between their own needs and the U.S. pressure.

In the Presidential airplane, which he was flying in from Beijing back to Paris where he was angrily greeted by the very same protesters which had previously sent him off to Beijing in such a way that they set fire on his favorite Parisian restaurant. He later talked to the reporters as if he had truly experienced a sudden enlightenment so that the leading German journal Spiegel, which had never regarded the German interests of lesser importance than the interests of their transatlantic partnership with the U.S. in which the plans and interests of all the others go awry, had to wonder whether Macron has now completely lost his mind.

Macron’s only sin seems to have been found in the interview with the Politico reporter and two of his French colleagues in the presidential airplane in which he merely noticed something that should have been obvious. Namely, Macron pointed out that Europe must resist the pressure to turn into a mere U.S. acolyte. He added that Europe is under severe risk of further getting involved in the crisis, which is not its own. Europe must lessen its dependence on the USA and avoid being further entangled into the confrontation between China and USA about Taiwan – Macron said after as many as six hours long talks with Xi, in which he spent only the first one hour and a half under the scowling look normally referred to as supervision from the President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, whereas Macron and Xi spent the rest of the time only accompanied by their official interpreters.

Politico goes on to report that during the interview while aboard the plane with Macron dressed in his favourite sweatshirt, he placed an emphasis on his preferred theory on strategic autonomy for Europe. Perhaps under the French leadership in order to become ‘the third great power’. The question posed before the Europeans is whether it is in European interest to rev up the crisis around Taiwan. ‘No’ – Macron both asked and provided the answer to the question. It would be the worst-case scenario for us, the Europeans, to think that we should become mere followers of the U.S. in these matters and to align our political decisions with the U.S. agenda with the adverse reactions from China. The Europeans cannot resolve the crisis in Ukraine. How on Earth can we dare say anything related to Taiwan with any crumbs of credibility? We should not approach serious international matters with an intimidating approach such as ‘Beware, if you do anything wrong, we shall come after you right there ‘. This is not the sensible way forward, unless you really want to raise tensions.

There were certainly other rather heretic remarks in that plane interview. Macron, Politico reports elaborated that Europe increased their dependence on the U.S. in the field of arms and energy supply. He also mentioned that Europe should lessen its dependence on extraterritoriality of the U.S. dollar which is the chief political goal between Moscow and Beijing; he will elaborate on this in an accusatory tone to Politico (which happens to be a U.S.-German news agency). ‘If the tensions between the two great powers get to be fuelled further, we shall not have sufficient time nor resources to finance our strategic autonomy. We shall further be reduced to the position of vassals in this way’ – Macron warned. While Politico in a rather odd manner regarded it as appropriate at the end of the article that all the President’s words were reported verbatim but that during the process of authorization, the interview had to be edited for the bits in which Macron even more openly talked about Taiwan and strategic autonomy of Europe with no attempt at concealment.

Though even this what was published was sufficient to cause an avalanche of synchronized discontent of Macron’s apparently rampantly subversive remarks even though he surely did not utter any lies, when he said that Europe does not need to get involved in yet another U.S. war. In all that frustration with Macron’s effort to position European interests in Europe much higher than the U.S. interests was balanced off by the Germans. On the German side, Metin Hakverdi, a centre-left ruling party SPD lawmaker, was the first to speak out with exasperation about the situation. “Macron is doing it again. Talking his head off in Beijing with zero authorisation from the EU. He will then surely organise security guarantees for Ukraine all by himself,” the senior lawmaker said. He later told Tagesspiegel that “it is a grave mistake for the West to allow itself to be divided in its dealings with Beijing of all places.” His colleague, Norbert Röttgen, from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) opposition party in Germany said that such an approach is two party type approach, lambasting Macron for managing to turn his trip to China into his PR success with Xi Jinping and also into a foreign policy disaster for Europe with a stark warning that the policy fostered by the French President would lead Europe into a geopolitical cul-de-sac (ooopps pardon my French; I meant a dead end). It is even ironic, he added, that Macron even does much less for Ukraine than the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz with his statements about China turning U.S. away from us.

On the other side of the Atlantic there came a predictably similar reaction. Macron stumbled over Taiwan and Ukraine. He weakened the position of restraining the Chinese aggression and he weakened the U.S. aid for Europe – Wall Street Journal warns in their characteristic manner in their editorial section with an indecently colloquial remark: ‘Thank you very much, pal ‘. They added that ‘ if President Biden were awake, he should call Macron and ask him if he is doing his best to elect Donald Trump again? All this was preceded by an arrogant approach by Senator Marco Rubio, the highest positioned Republican with the Select Committee on Intelligence in his position of Vice Chairman. He commented that they have to establish whether Macron is talking in his own name or in the name of Europe. We need an answer to this question quickly because China is very excited about what Macron said, in them being both appreciative and supportive of everything Macron said with enthusiasm. And then he also mentioned Germans reacted as if they were issued a command with the already typical expression of obedience.

Mercifully, the answers may well follow shortly as to what Macron tried to do on his return from Beijing and why an avalanche of resentful reactions followed on both sides of the Atlantic. We need to learn where the borderline of strategic autonomy of Europe is (if there is any).

Urban Explorer Visits Abandoned Japanese Love Motel Of Naughty Attractions

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Dutch explorer Bob Thissen has explored hundreds of abandoned places all over the world, including many love motels. In July 2019, Bob found what he claims is the biggest and most high-end love motel he has ever seen, on Honshu island, Japan.

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His video here…

Can’t believe they abandoned this palace.

“The Palace in this video was built in the XVIII century and became the home of Count Burnay, one of the richest persons in Portugal, who renovated it during the XIX century.

Later it was bought by the State who installed there a school for the colonial services and then an university (where I had the joy to study).

Teachers and students occupied the building until 2001, when the academic activities moved to a new and unimpressive block in another part of Lisbon.

The Burnay Palace was a marvelous place to study, even better to party (all the students in town knew about the unforgetable nights, when the pink palace became a giant disco).

Hope it recovers its shine, really a shame to see it becoming just another delirect…”

Yi Says China Largely Ended Currency Intervention in Market Tilt

This is a very understated but significant development. -MM
PBOC governor makes rare speech during visit to Washington. Yi says China’s potential growth estimate ‘very controversial’.

Article HERE

How I See the US After Living Abroad for 15 Years [CULTURE SHOCK]

Steven Sahiounie
April 3, 2023

The shifting sands of the Gulf may turn rock-solid in an alliance across the region with Iran, Steven Sahiounie writes.

The shifting sands of the Gulf may turn rock-solid in an alliance across the region with Iran. This new alliance is in defiance of the old divide and conquer policy used by the U.S. State Department.

The rapprochement between The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia could transform the region, after being brokered by China on March 10, ending seven years of tensions. The nations are aware that there is safety in numbers, and strength in unity instead of standing alone.

Iran had decided to improve relations with its Arab neighbors instead of waiting for the U.S. to decide to renew the nuclear agreement. Saudi Arabia had made its own strategic decision to not depend on the U.S. for security. These two strategies brought Iran and Saudi Arabia together, with China demonstrating its ability to circumvent the U.S., when it is the U.S. standing in the way of stability in the Middle East.

“The recent successful dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Beijing helped improve bilateral relations between the two countries, which will strengthen regional solidarity and ease the tensions in the region. China will further support the process,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) by phone on March 28.

The deal involves Saudi Arabia supporting the return of Iran to the nuclear deal with the west, plans to end the war in Yemen, cooperation to stabilize Syria, and strengthening their joint ties in OPEC.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced on March 26 that the two countries had agreed to hold a meeting between their top diplomats, with the location to be announced, during the month of Ramadan, the Holy month of fasting, which ends the third week of April.

Both countries share the same religion, which is a common thread in their relationship but had been a point of division used by the U.S. to divide the two. Iran is Shite, and Saudi Arabia is Sunni. When the U.S. invaded and destroyed Iraq beginning in 2003, they used the Sunni-Shite divide to create chaos which served the U.S. interests to conquer and subjugate the Iraqi people in the U.S. project of regime change, which affected the whole region and created sectarian divisions.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi received an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom by letter, announced on March 19, which invited him to Riyadh.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to open embassies in each other’s capitals from now to May 10. They will both resume security and economic agreements signed more than 20 years ago.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait recently restored ties with Iran. Amir-Abdollahian said Iran also hoped steps would be made to normalize its ties with Bahrain as well.

Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani held talks with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on March 23, in yet another sign of the networking in the region.

In June 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a “New Middle East”. In true American hubris, she and President George W. Bush thought Israel attacking Lebanon, bombing from the north to the south, and killing hundreds of civilians, was necessary to remove the resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Rice and Bush lost their war, both in Iraq and in Lebanon. The resistance to occupation is as strong as ever, and now we have the UN recognizing that Israel is an apartheid state.

President Obama, supported by former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Bandar, and aligned with former Crown Prince Nayan, also tried their hand at wiping out the resistance in Syria through regime change, but they all failed.

The New Middle East has emerged, finally, but it is not exactly what Rice and Bush were asking for. Iran and Saudi Arabia are together, and both asking for the liberation of Palestine.

When Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office, for the sixth time, he pledged he had two main goals: to make a deal with Saudi Arabia under the Abraham Accords format and to increase illegal settlements on Palestinian land. With the new relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu’s position is dismal.

On March 24, Israel announced plans to build over 1,000 new units on illegally occupied Palestinian land, just days after agreeing in a meeting in Egypt to suspend settlement construction.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli plans, and called on the international community “to assume its responsibilities to end the Israeli occupation and to stop its provocative practices, which would obstruct the paths of political solutions based on the Arab Peace Initiative, and undermine international peace efforts.”

The Arab Peace Initiative was a Saudi proposal in 2002 that called for normalizing relations with Israel in return for withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

The March surprise deal was a shock to the Biden administration, but the earlier October 2022 surprise was even harder to take in the Oval Office. Biden had gone to MBS personally to ask for an increase in the oil output to bring down the price of gasoline in the U.S. MBS flatly turned him down.

The Aramco attack in 2019 occurred when drones hit the Abqaiq oil facility while protected by U.S.-made air defense batteries; however, none were effective or took down even one drone. 19 individual strikes occurred, with 14 that punctured storage tanks, and three that disabled oil processing trains.

The facilities were knocked out of commission and the world’s largest petroleum producer was cut by half, representing about five percent of global oil production.

This was the beginning of Saudi Arabia formulating a strategy for security that does not depend on the U.S. but rather looks to neighborly alliances independently.

How I see the US after living in Europe for 5 years

Declan Hayes
April 2, 2023

The real tragedy is that Australia, the Philippines, Japan and America’s other patsies are adopting NATO’s policy of fighting China in Chinese waters.

Since I last wrote about the Philippines, matters have gotten so much worse not only there but across the entire South China Sea that an air and sea war now looms between China and a gaggle of America’s regional proxies. Although the Philippines is in the eye of the storm, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and even far away Australia can also expect NATO’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to wreak havoc on them. This war will dwarf anything that has recently happened in Ukraine. Bad news for Asians but good news for America’s predatory arms’ industries and, as far as Washington is concerned, that is all that matters.

A land war can be excluded because China has no intention of invading anywhere, Taiwan included and, as Australia clearly shows, air and sea warfare offer far richer pickings for NATO’s defence industries. The trick is to goad China enough to keep the profits from defence contracts rolling in but not too much that the South China Sea becomes a furnace. Better to follow the Ukrainian model, to use proxies to goad China and, with luck, then do a Russia on China, to slap sanctions on her, confiscate her assets and lecture to the world that NATO has, as always, the high moral ground, even in the Philippines, whose most vulnerable children have traditionally been the prey of choice for the U.S. military’s more depraved sexual predators.

Although the putative reason for this latest concocted war is Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, the underlying reason is Uncle Sam’s need to militarise the entire planet and collect levies from all its satrapies, most notably, in this case, Japan and Australia which is being made fork out a staggering A$368 bn for berthing facilities for a handful of nuclear powered Anglo American submarines, which are totally unfit for the purpose of defending Australia and her interests.

Australia is, in effect, going to permanently bankrupt herself to enable the British and Americans flaunt their war ships off the Chinese coast for no other reason than to buttress their own defence industries and to tether Australia to their economic coat tails for generations to come. Instead of deepening ties with China, Australia’s major trading partner, the Ossies, NATO’s Antipodean poodles, are determined to bankrupt themselves antagonising Beijing for Washington’s benefit; be sure to check out this excellent one hour interview with former Ossie Prime Minister Paul Keating, who slices and dices the Sinophobic policies of today’s crop of Australian (excuses for) leaders.

Much the same goes for the Philippines, whose President, Bongbong Marcos, is being criminally irresponsible in relentlessly tweaking China’s tail. Yet, whether it is the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia or the failed states of Western Europe, it seems that today’s leaders exist only to serve Uncle Sam’s war machine, no matter what the costs are to their own electorates. Talk about the curse of living in interesting times.

A far more adult alternative for the Philippines and her neighbours would be to return to the jaw jaw strategy of former President Rodrigo Duterte and, with her ASEAN partners, to see what can be achieved through quiet diplomacy with China. First off, China would have to accept that her nine dash line, which lays claim to almost all of the South China Sea, is unacceptable poppycock and, though China’s legitimate defence concerns regarding American aggression need to be fully accommodated, so also must the economic needs of the Philippines and her ASEAN partners be met with regard to fishing, mining, freedom of navigation and allied rights.

Much the same applies to Japan and her first class navy, which would give as good an account of herself against China as the Japanese Imperial Navy did 80 years ago against the British and American navies. As with ASEAN, so also should Japan build bridges with Taiwan and Korea and negotiate as a sovereign group with China. The United States should play no role whatsoever in any of that as they have no business in East Asia, which they have militarily controlled since Imperial Japan’s 1945 surrender.

No one, except the Americans, who have no business whatsoever in the South China Sea, wants a return to those battles of Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Leyte Gulf and Manila. Certainly, no one besides the Americans and their British toadies stand to benefit from such a conflagration. Paul Keating sees that. Duterte sees that. China sees that. And so, of course, do the Americans, who are determined to again burn South East Asia to the ground if that is what it takes to maintain their top dog status. The abiding mystery in all this is how the Americans can get so many of their satraps to serve only America’s military interests and not their own.

The real tragedy here is that Australia, the Philippines, Japan and America’s other patsies are adopting NATO’s policy of forward defence, of, in effect, fighting China in Chinese waters to supposedly avoid having to fight them on home turf. What this means in practical terms is allowing the U.S. to build naval and air bases and to suffer the collateral damage such hospitality brings in its wake.

Although the Americans and their Filipino puppets are boasting of the security and jobs such bases will bring, given America’s track records in Subic Bay, Clark Airbase and Olongapo naval base, to say nothing of their stomach churning war crimes during their original conquest of the Philippines, we can expect their sexual abuse of glue sniffing rugby Filippino boys and girls to again return to the levels that made People Power demand the 1991 closure of America’s vast military and child grooming bases.

The Philippines, as my previous article pointed out, is a country awash with all of the problems poverty, American neo-colonialism and the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse bring with them. Those problems do not have magic bullet solutions, such as those the Belt and Road Initiative or the vampirish embrace of Uncle Sam represent. The solution lies in taming corruption and in politicians and diplomats doing the jobs they are charged with. In the case of the Philippines, that must entail closer economic ties with China to ensure the Philippines gets its due entitlement from its waters. What it does not entail is going back to the dark old days of having an economy built around the carnal needs of America’s GIs and the predatory needs of the British and American arms’ industries.

When one considers the fate awaiting the Philippines’ rugby boys and girls, when one considers Bongbong is determined to pauperise the Philippines’ struggling transport drivers through NATO’s Green Agenda, when one considers the disreputable role BongBong’s parents played when they ruled the Philippines, Dantean despair is the most natural of reactions. But then, politicians like Keating and Duterte show that there is hope leaders who are something more than American toadies might, with People Power, re-emerge and that the Philippines will rid itself not only of Ali Baba but the 40 thieving families who rule the Philippines as well. That can only happen by breaking the American link and building fresher, unfettered ones with China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and all other Asian countries that divest themselves of the Yankee yolk. If, as I hope, there is to be true hope in the Philippines not only for the rugby children but for all Filipinos, that hope can, as Paul Keating says, only be grounded in abandoning the old Anglo-American colonial masters, denying them naval and air bases and instead forging mutually beneficial alliances with Asia’s powerhouses, who likewise have no need for America’s 7th fleet and all the ugliness and depravity it epitomises.

TUCKER CARLSON: I Can’t Lie About This

Strategic Infographics
© Photo: Public domain
“The NATO expanders are telling us that Russia’s actions inside its unchanged borders are exactly why we had to expand NATO’s borders. Russia’s reaction to NATO’s expansion enlargement justifies NATO’s enlargement expansion.” 

– Patrick Armstrong

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Sephardic Omelette

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Ingredients

  • 450g waxy potatoes (I found Desiree to be the best)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 red capsicum
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 100g frozen peas
  • 6 large eggs
  • 50g Cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Peel and cube the potatoes. Cook in boiling, salted water for five minutes or until tender. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile peel and chop the onion and crush the garlic.
  3. Deseed and chop the capsicum.
  4. Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the onion for three minutes.
  5. Add the garlic, red capsicum and peas. Fry for three minutes, then transfer to a plate.
  6. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the potatoes and cook for eight minutes, stirring.
  7. Beat the eggs and add the cheese. Season.
  8. Return the onion mixture to the pan with the parsley.
  9. Reduce the heat and pour eggs evenly over the mixture.
  10. Cook the omelette over low heat for 10 minutes, or until eggs are set.
  11. Loosen the edges with a spatula and turn out the omelette onto a plate.
  12. Serve hot or cold.

NATO Destroyed Libya, Arrest Bush,Blair & Obama Before You Lecture Africa’s Relationship With Putin

Africa is STANDING UP and the fury is only beginning. The USA is fucking screwed!

U.S. Cuts Itself Off From Future Chinese Profits

Yesterday Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen gave a speech on the U.S.-China economic relationship. It’s a bit like of declaration of war:

Our economic approach to China has three principal objectives.First, we will secure our national security interests and those of our allies and partners, and we will protect human rights. We will clearly communicate to the PRC our concerns about its behavior. And we will not hesitate to defend our vital interests. Even as our targeted actions may have economic impacts, they are motivated solely by our concerns about our security and values. Our goal is not to use these tools to gain competitive economic advantage.

Second, we seek a healthy economic relationship with China: one that fosters growth and innovation in both countries. A growing China that plays by international rules is good for the United States and the world. Both countries can benefit from healthy competition in the economic sphere. But healthy economic competition – where both sides benefit – is only sustainable if that competition is fair. We will continue to partner with our allies to respond to China’s unfair economic practices. And we will continue to make critical investments at home – while engaging with the world to advance our vision for an open, fair, and rules-based global economic order.

Third, we seek cooperation on the urgent global challenges of our day. Since last year’s meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi, both countries have agreed to enhance communication around the macroeconomy and cooperation on issues like climate and debt distress. But more needs to be done. We call on China to follow through on its promise to work with us on these issues – not as a favor to us, but out of our joint duty and obligation to the world. Tackling these issues together will also advance the national interests of both of our countries.

To use undefined “values”, undefined “vital interests” and undefined “international rules” always make for a sorry excuse for mischief. To claim “unfair economic practices” in China when it is the U.S. that is breaking its own rules left and right is embarrassing. As Edward Luce writes In today’s Financial Times:

Today’s US cannot make trade deals, cannot negotiate global digital rules, cannot abide by WTO rulings and cannot support Bretton Woods reforms. [So] how can China be squeezed into a US-led order in which America itself has stopped believing?

One can of course forget about the third point when the first and second are made. There will be no cooperation when the other points create a hostile confrontation.

Yellen then discusses the three points in more detail. Under ‘National Security’ she says:

We also carefully review foreign investments in the United States for national security risks and take necessary actions to address any such risks. And we are considering a program to restrict certain U.S. outbound investments in specific sensitive technologies with significant national security implications.

How is prohibiting U.S. investment in China helping with national security? The U.S. has other tools to prevent Lockheed Martin from build new missiles in China. So what investments are envisioned here?

Two days ago Politico had a preview of the program:

Unprecedented rules limiting American investments in China are expected later this month — and the administration has begun briefing industry groups like the Chamber of Commerce on the broad outlines of the executive order, which is expected to require companies to notify the government of new investments in Chinese tech firms and prohibit some deals in critical sectors like microchips.

Since the Trump administration, national security lawmakers and Cabinet officials have sought to craft new rules to oversee — and potentially block — U.S. investments in Chinese tech sectors. The goal is to prevent American firms from funding or developing tech that can later be used by the Chinese military.

But that is only a sorry excuse. This is an escalation in the economic war against China. As Politico continues:

Those moves would come on the heels of aggressive trade action last year, when the administration put in place new export rules that explicitly sought to undermine Beijing’s prized microchip sector and passed massive industrial policies aimed at breaking reliance on the Chinese economy. At the time, national security adviser Jake Sullivan was clear that the goal of the strategy was to preserve America’s competitive edge in emerging high-tech industries, even if Washington does not pursue a broader decoupling.“We must maintain as large of a lead as possible” in high tech sectors like microchips, Sullivan said, previewing new Commerce Department rules released in October that sought to grind Chinese chip development to a halt.

This has nothing to do with national security but with suppressing economic competition.

The new rule prohibiting U.S. investments in China will apply to three large sectors:

While policymakers last year considered including up to five major Chinese industries — microchips, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology and clean energy — in the order, the biotech and clean energy sectors are now likely to be left out of the program.

To prohibit U.S. investments in those three sectors is still silly.

China does not lack investment money. Its capital account balance is positive and China is investing more abroad than foreigners invest in China. In the last quarter of 2022:

– Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 27.7 USD bn in Dec 2022.
– China Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 44.2 USD bn in Dec 2022.

China also does not lack know how. It is researching and developing at a high level in all the same sectors where the U.S. is doing it.

Prohibiting U.S. investments in new Chinese chip factories or AI models will only hurt U.S. industries. In earlier decades foreign companies which develop stuff that was of interest for large U.S. companies were bought by U.S. investors. Their knowledge and/or production was replicated in the U.S. or they continued running as before but with their profits flowing into U.S. pockets.

China is the most dynamically developing society. There is a high likelihood that it will find and develop new things before the U.S. will do so. But instead of riding that wave and investing in it the U.S. will prohibit itself from profiting from it.

The Biden administration new rules will cut off U.S. investors from China’s future revenue stream.

Posted by b on April 21, 2023 at 17:22 UTC | Permalink

Exploring an $80,000,000 Glass Mansion with Everything Left Inside

Okay

How do you destroy a Tank?

Option One : – Aerial Bombardment

Oops!!! Ukraine has no Planes. Otherwise why beg the world for Planes every second day? So thats out

Option Two :- Landmines

Not Effective. Once the first tank is blown up, the rest will stop and demining will take place so No thats out.

Option Three:- UAVs

The Bayrakhtars are gone. The US will not advance their Drones for fear of Russians knocking out the same and extracting the same and accessing the Proprietary Technology. Ukraine doesnt have Kamikaze Drones and without Predators or Meteors – UAVs cannot destroy a tank

Option Four:- Tanks

Oops!!! Ukraine is the one begging the world for Tanks right? From Abrams to Leopards , every Tank that can be spared. So Impossible for Ukraine to have Tanks to destroy Russian Tanks

Option Five:- RPG Launchers, NLAWs, Javelins

Oops didnt Bloomberg report than 80% of these have been abandoned and captured by the Russians. Plus these weapons have a limited Range and most of the battles are settled by artillery before advancement so no chance of any Ukranian shooting down a Russian tank with a Stinger or NLAW after May 2022

Option Six :- Manual Terrorism

Suicide Bombing, obviously Ukrainians arent dying like Jihadis. So thats a No-No

So that begs the obvious Question

HOW IS RUSSIA LOSING ALL ITS TANKS?

Russia had a total of 11805 Tanks before the SMO

This included 8660 Tanks of the T-72, T-80 and T-90 Make

So are you saying Russia lost 8,660 Tanks?

HOW?

Lloyd Austin may genetically resemble a silverback Gorilla but i am pretty sure he is not the HULK


Now lets look at the other side

Russia

Air Power – CHECK

UAVs – CHECK

Tanks – CHECK

So logic dictates that Russia should be able to decimate more Ukrainian Tanks than vice versa

Plus Russia aint begging for Tanks and Ukraine is


So how many Tanks did Russia lose?

First lets see how many Tanks were in Ukraine with the LPR and DPR Militia before the SMO

The Answer:- 255 Tanks primarily of the T-54/55 Make and T-72 make

My Guess is most of them are gone in the early days of March 2022 and April 2022

Next lets see how many Tanks were sent for the SMO on 24/2/2022 until 6/6/2022

The Answer is between 720 Tanks – 800 Tanks most of them Old T-54/55s and Older T-72 Models

Next lets see how many Tanks were assigned to the SMO as per Shoigus Statement on 6/6/22

The Answer is 1150 Tanks including 700 T-80s, 124 T-90s

main qimg 77a961c378572f3f060c36baf457cb75 lq
main qimg 77a961c378572f3f060c36baf457cb75 lq

Since 6/6 , how many Tanks have been shipped from Russia into Ukraine?

The Answer is 300 Tanks, mainly T-80s and T-90s

So Russia had a Total of 2250 Tanks for the SMO in Ukraine to date today which is around 25% of its Total Operational Tanks and 18% of its Total Armored Capacity

main qimg 8e655c7c96870dac35db27b983e6b0bf
main qimg 8e655c7c96870dac35db27b983e6b0bf

My Guess is since June 2022, less than 500 Russian Tanks have been destroyed by Ukraine and Today Russia has almost 1600–1750 Tanks still operational which is why no additional armored units have been requisitioned by Russia


Simple Logic

Ukraine doesnt have the means to destroy Russian Tanks post June 2022 whereas Russia do

Its why Ukraine begs for Tanks while Russia doesnt

The Most Logical Guess is since the SMO Began Russia may have lost 600 Tanks in Ukraine at the Most

Meanwhile Ukraine had 3700 Tanks on 21/2/22

Today since they are begging for more Tanks, they are likely to have less than 500 Tanks

This means Ukraine has lost around 3200 Tanks thanks to Russia

Thus 600:3200 is around 1:5 which sounds about reasonable for this SMO as far as Equipment Losses are concerned

2023.04.22 Western Leadership Miscalculations

The serious problem with the “West”. (12:00 onward).

Dr. Ryan Cole Told By Fauci “Don’t Do Autopsies on COVID Patients”

In the brief, nine minute video below, Pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole, trained by the Mayo Clinic in Clinical Pathology, reveals how the COVID “Vaccine” are causing Immune System dis-regulation” causing people to die from diseases we’ve always (usually) been able to fight-off.  He also reveals Doctors like him have been told “Do not do autopsies on COVID Patients.”

Spend the nine minutes to hear this HERE.

Western states that have banned direct purchases of Russian oil are now buying it indirectly from third countries, a report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) claimed on Wednesday.

main qimg c09b7bdaa6a42fc0a62a66d980732371
main qimg c09b7bdaa6a42fc0a62a66d980732371

In December, the EU, G7, and allied countries imposed an embargo and a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil. Similar restrictions were introduced in February for exports of Russian petroleum products.

While the so-called ‘price cap coalition’ cracked down on crude imports, it has increased purchases of refined products from “oil-laundering” countries, CREA claims.

The EU, Australia, and most of the G7 countries imported a combined $45.9 billion worth of oil products from countries that have become the largest buyers of Russian crude in the 12 months since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the report stated.

According to CREA, “among the price cap coalition, the largest importer of oil products from the laundromat countries was the EU,” with imports reaching $19.4 billion since last February. Australia reportedly purchased $8.8 billion worth of refined crude in the 12-month period, followed by the US with $7.2 billion, the UK with $5.5 billion, and Japan with $5.2 billion. The highest proportions of imported oil products into price cap coalition countries were for diesel (29%), jet fuel (23%), and gasoil (13%).

China’s monthly exports of oil products to the EU and Australia spiked far above historical levels in late 2022, the Finland-based research center revealed.

According to the report, which is based on ship-tracking data, the price cap coalition countries ramped up imports of refined oil products from China by 94%, Turkey by 43%, the United Arab Emirates by 23%, Singapore by 33%, and India by 2%. (look at Indian numbers)

“The price cap coalition countries are responsible for the vast majority of the increase in laundromat countries’ exports of oil products,” CREA said. It claimed that 56% of Russian oil shipped to new destinations “has been transported by vessels owned and/or insured” by Western nations.

Sorry about the Geo-political stuff, but we are seriously in the shit right now.

Today will be a tad heavy on the Geo-Political stuff. Executive summary is simple, regardless of whatever nonsense is being pumped out of the Western “news”, China and the rest of the “Global South” are all doing very well.

There’s some articles on this and some graphs.

Then we have some very nice points being made as to the reality of what an “American led” “rules based order” actually means. It means exactly what I have been saying for so long now.

Some art.

Some food.

Some surprises. I try to compensate with stuff on cats, and people. I hope it’s a good mix to counter the geopolitical framed articles. So that the content isn’t so absolutely dry. Ugh!

Let’s start…

THIS IS A KEEPER!

It happened at a New York Airport. This is hilarious. I wish I had the guts of this girl. An award should go to the United Airlines gate agent in New York for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo. For all of you out there who have had to
deal with an irate customer, this one is for you.

A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket on the counter and said, “I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS.”

The agent replied, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these folks first; and then I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”
The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?”

Without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. “May I have your attention, please?”, she began, her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. “We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him with his identity, please come to Gate 14”.

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the United Airlines agent, gritted his teeth, and said, “F*** You!”

Without flinching, she smiled and said, “I’m sorry sir, you’ll have to get in line for that, too.”

Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

China is starting to target western interests in the country after five years of snowballing trade and technology restrictions spearheaded by the US under presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

2023 04 24 19 15
2023 04 24 19 15

Over the past two months, Chinese officials have slapped new sanctions on US weapons companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, launched an investigation into US chipmaker Micron, raided US due diligence firm Mintz and apprehended local staff, detained a senior executive from Japan’s Astellas Pharma group and hit London-headquartered Deloitte with a record fine. President Xi Jinping’s administration is now considering curbing western access to materials and technologies critical to the global car industry, according to a commerce ministry review.

The response to what Beijing has described as a US-led “technology blockade” reveals Xi’s strategy of narrowly targeting industries and companies with little risk of damage to China’s interests.

“China has not abandoned its strategy of restraint to shift to a new position of wide-ranging retaliation, but they’re going to surgically select companies to demonstrate their frustration,” said Paul Haenle, a former China adviser to US presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama.

However, the decision to conduct raids and detain staff from foreign companies has raised the spectre that Beijing will escalate hostage diplomacy if relations with the west deteriorate.

The Mintz and Astellas cases have sparked an urgent review of employee safety and the immediate suspension of some travel plans to China, said two people from foreign risk consultancy groups.

“This has been a wake-up call for the industry,” one of the people said. “It is hard for the due diligence players — the levels of paranoia in China are so high — but it also affects ‘blue-chip’ service firms and outfits like Bain, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group.”

Experts said Japan was particularly vulnerable to Beijing’s hostage diplomacy because it lacks a sophisticated intelligence agency of its own and lacks tools to negotiate the return of its citizens.

Since China passed a counter-espionage law in 2014, 17 Japanese nationals have been arrested. Five of them, including the Astellas employee, remain in detention, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.

In February, Beijing imposed new sanctions on Lockheed and Raytheon, two of the biggest US defence companies. The move reflected Chinese opposition to weapons sales to Taiwan but had little commercial impact as the groups were not allowed to sell military equipment to China.

Beijing’s investigation into Micron, launched last month on national security grounds, is viewed as the clearest signal of Xi’s retaliation gathering momentum.

Dexter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank, said he was surprised by Beijing’s restraint given the US-led campaign to cut off China from core chipmaking technologies had “struck right at the heart of China’s global advanced technological ambitions”.

Despite Beijing’s anger, Xi’s economic planners are wary of undermining efforts to use foreign investors to help restart the Chinese economy after the pandemic. This means Beijing is expected to refrain from acting against companies and industries seen as critical to economic recovery.

“It all goes back to the fact that China is facing a lot of challenges this year, particularly on the economic side,” Roberts said. “The last thing they need to do is be distracted by an even more hostile relationship with the US.”

Following the finance ministry’s record $31mn fine on Deloitte over audit deficiencies, experts said they expected pressure to increase on the Big Four accounting firms.

Cheng Lin, an accounting professor at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, said while audit quality had long been problematic at foreign and local firms, the “main drivers” were Beijing’s worries about data and national security.

The carmaking sector is also braced for the outcome of a 2022 commerce ministry review of technology export restrictions, including possible controls on some rare earth materials and lidar technology used in mapping for driverless cars.

Tu Le, founder of Sino Auto Insights, a Beijing consultancy, said any decision by China to “weaponise their dominance in mining and refining” of materials used by the electric vehicle industry would create “immediate anxiety for the US, European, Japanese and Korean governments”.

The restrictions could also be used as leverage to bargain for a loosening of semiconductor controls, said Arthur Kroeber, head of research at Gavekal Dragonomics, a Beijing consultancy.

Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst and Asia expert, expects Beijing’s retaliatory moves to expand because there appears to be no near-term fix to US-China relations.

“With so many pieces in the US-China competition, Beijing has many levers it can pull,” she said, “including exerting pressure on US allies and partners whose economies are dependent on trade with China.”

Cajun Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken

Jazz up your weeknight dinner with Cajun spiced panko-coated oven-fried chicken.

cajun crispy oven fried chicken
cajun crispy oven fried chicken

Prep: 10 min | Bake: 20 min | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unseasoned panko bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick® Paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Thyme Leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Mix panko and seasonings in shallow dish. Moisten chicken with milk. Coat evenly with panko mixture.
  3. Place chicken in single layer on foil-lined 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Drizzle with melted butter.
  4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Washington should redeploy nukes to South Korea – Bolton

The United States housed nuclear weapons in the East Asian nation between 1958 and 1991
.

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton has called for the US to redeploy nuclear weapons to South Korea, a move which he said would help protect the security of Washington’s key Asian ally.

“Having tactical nuclear weapons back on the peninsula would be clear evidence of our resolve and determination to deter North Korea,” Bolton told Reuters on the sidelines of a forum at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul on Tuesday. Bolton has cultivated a reputation for hawkish foreign policy stances throughout a decades-long career in Washington.

Bolton’s comments came as South Korean President Yoon Suk traveled to Washington on Monday ahead of a summit with President Joe Biden, where the topic of the United States’ “extended deterrence” of North Korea’s nuclear program is expected to be tabled.

Pyongyang has conducted a series of ballistic missile tests in recent months, with launches on March 14 perceived by Washington and Seoul as a protest against the announcement of the largest joint military drills undertaken by the two allies in five years, just days prior. North Korea has insisted that its weapons-testing program is defensive in nature, and necessary in the face of US threats.

Bolton touts ‘grand strategy’ to counter Russia and China

In March, some members of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party called for Seoul to develop its own nuclear weapons program, in spite of potential international repercussions for violating a nuclear non-proliferation treaty. According to Bolton, the US placing armaments in South Korea would provide everyone with some breathing room.

“Redeploying the tactical [nuclear] weapons does not preclude South Korea from getting its own capability,” Bolton explained. “But it may give us some time to think about whether we really want to do that.”

Bolton added that a “structure of collective self-defense in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific” could be a solution to regional disputes. “The more people can look at their mutual interests not simply on the nuclear side but against the threat of states like China and South Korea, the safer we all are,” he claimed.

Ahead of his successful election campaign in 2022, Yoon had signaled that he would consider asking Washington to place nuclear weapons in the country. He has since distanced himself from those remarks, while his Defense Minister, Lee Jong-sup, has said that no such plans are in place.

Pyongyang, meanwhile, has condemned the “irresponsible actions of the United States and South Korea” which its foreign ministry said last month was increasing “the risk of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.”

The US stationed nuclear weapons in South Korea in 1958 but withdrew them in 1991.

.

Wombats

Let’s take wombats into perspective,

main qimg 07c093212f76ad64de305635cc33a250
main qimg 07c093212f76ad64de305635cc33a250

Cute and cuddly looking animals that are only slightly larger than a rat, but that’s where you’re dead wrong

main qimg 7991854d40bf07a3768640e67e624db0 lq
main qimg 7991854d40bf07a3768640e67e624db0 lq

 

Wombats have been known to grow this big in size and no, that lady isn’t very tiny at all.

American Host REACTS to FACTS about CHINA

Dollar weaponization just cause for Asian Monetary Fund

Asian investors and policymakers acutely aware of the new geopolitical risk of their dollar assets and deposits being frozen or seized
.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent call for the revival of an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) “to reduce reliance on the dollar or the International Monetary Fund” (IMF), raises the question of whether an AMF was necessary in the first place.

Japan proposed the idea of an AMF shortly after the outbreak of the Asian Financial Crisis in July 1997. Although it was supported by ASEAN countries, the idea was rejected at the Hong Kong IMF and World Bank meetings in September that year by Europe and the United States.

The technical objections were on the grounds of duplication or dilution of the IMF’s central role and the creation of moral hazard, as financing credit excesses would encourage more debt excesses. But the real reason was geopolitical. As long as the IMF and World Bank majority shareholders — the United States and Europe — were not involved in the AMF, and China remained skeptical, the idea would not fly.

The geopolitical landscape has changed profoundly since the Asian Financial Crisis. The Global Financial Crisis of 2007–8 — more accurately, the North Atlantic Financial Crisis — revealed that the countries of the rich West had major flaws in the management of both their economies and their financial systems.

Post-crisis, the reforms — namely using macroprudential regulation and supervision to safeguard financial stability through a system-wide perspective — appeared to solve the need for central bank bailouts in future financial crises. Increases in individual bank capital and liquidity plus caps on total leverage increased self-regulation (bail-in), which theoretically reduces the need for central bank bailouts.

On top of that, the US Federal Reserve’s liquidity swaps with allied central banks relieved foreign exchange liquidity, buying time for countries to solve their own internal bank failures. But this was not available to non-allied countries, such as India or China.

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse in March 2023 again rattled confidence in the Western-led financial system. If the post-2008 reforms were to fail, and the West could not prevent its own financial downfall without using central bank money to bail out fragile players, where should other countries put their deposits and savings?

Middle East investors who lost money in investing in Credit Suisse AT1 (additional tier one capital) bonds were reminded that in early 2021 the United States froze the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.

In 2022, Russia became the subject of massive financial sanctions. These sanctions were unilaterally imposed — and there is no multilateral avenue to appeal them. In addition to unmonitored interest rate and credit risks, all investors are now subject to unquantifiable risks of geopolitical sanction.

The Western neoliberal system once provided a complete trading, funding and payments model under a security umbrella that gave stakeholders “insurance” in the event of financial crises.

If this system is weaponized so that perceived non-compliant users can be sanctioned or have their assets seized, then others must look for self-insurance mechanisms. The AMF is an effort to create a regional self-insurance scheme that seeks to mediate the risk of unilateral sanctioning for geopolitical reasons.

In the quarter century since the AMF was first proposed, Asia has grown significantly, with the rise of China, India and ASEAN, tilting the balance of power from a unipolar to a multipolar order.

East and South Asia are the growth engines of the world. China alone accounted for one-third of world economic growth in 2022. ASEAN as a group will be the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030 in terms of both population and GDP.

As East and South Asian financial systems remain largely bank-dominated, with a significant number remaining state-owned, the region is evaluating whether it should rely on the US dollar as the key currency for its supply chains and external funding. Post-1997, the region has become a net lender to the United States, accounting for nearly three-quarters of its net international investment position.

The weaponization of the US dollar has made investors and policymakers alert to the risk of their deposits, assets or payment systems being seized, confiscated or frozen in the event of geopolitical disagreements with the West.

ASEAN and South Asia do not want to take sides but cannot afford to slow down their economies just to please either side. If the world slows down to a 1930s-style Great Depression, the Global South will need to secure its own sources of trade, growth and funding.

In the words of Eisuke Sakakibara, who as Japan’s vice minister of finance led the campaign to promote AMF in 1997, the idea was not an attempt to create an Asian IMF. The AMRO (ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office) already fulfills much of the research and surveillance functions for the region.

The Chiang Mai Initiative’s central bank swap arrangements are an improved but as yet untested safety net for the liquidity needs of member central banks. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank are complementary to current infrastructure funding supplied by the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral lenders.

If the United States doubles down on dollar weaponization, then AMF 2.0 or look-alikes will become countervailing steps that push for de-dollarisation. All hinges on whether the West can arrive at an understanding with the rest of the world on the legitimate boundaries of dollar or reserve currency usage.

No rules-based order can survive unilateral sanctions where there is no independent court of adjudication other than raw power.

How Does Therapy Actually Work?

 

I’m going to vastly oversimplify how it works, but:

Me: shows up to therapy as a simmering cauldron of low self-esteem and negative self-talk

Therapist: gets me to talk about these things

Therapist: helps me explore where these things probably came from (i.e., formative years with fucked-up parents)

Therapist: validates that things were severely fucked-up; provides thoughts on how it could have been handled better (if you really trust and respect your shrink, this voice will eventually replace the shitty-parent voice in your head)

Me: continues week-by-week to report new stimulus from my life and how I am handling these things

Therapist: understands current course of action based on deep understanding of my past, continues to validate current feelings, but also suggests different ways to handle and interpret these things going forward

Me: very slowly learns a different way of thinking about life and about myself, and of handling the things the world throws at me

I really believe in therapy as a long-term iterative process. It doesn’t happen in a weekend workshop; you have to keep experiencing the world and give your brain the chance to assimilate the possibility of doing things differently.

Advice on seeing a therapist

Don’t worry about telling them too much or being too personal, they’ve heard it all before, or read about it in books, unless you are a murderer who dresses as a clown and lures teenaged boys to his basement.
The more open you are the better chance they have of helping you.

On that note they all have different styles, in my experience the better ones will not tell you what to do or what you need, they’ll help you ask the right questions so that you can find your own answers.

They might tell you to exercise more, get better sleep, drink less, or take time for yourself, that kind of advice will help you in the process.

Don’t think of them as a Doctor who can heal you, instead think of them as a guide who can help you find the places to look for the healing, and support you as you go along what can be a very challenging journey.

You need to trust them, back to my first point, if you don’t trust them you won’t be honest.

The most important thing is that you must be ready to work, if you don’t want to change or if you think they are going to do it for you, this process will just frustrate you.

Therapy is like doing the rehab on an injury, it sucks and at times hurts, but it’s usually worth the effort.

President Putin on Taiwan: ‘China does not need to use force | CNBC International TV | YouTube

What the West needs to do is something really abstract in order to persuade China to reconsider its relationship with Russia, perhaps it will be along the lines of what happened in November 1963.

Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they got the news that John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I was delivering pamphlets when someone was loudly calling to her neighbour that Kennedy has bern shot, straight after that a dog bit me which is why I remember the incident so vividly.

The Western relationship with the World particularly South East Asia was significantly adjusted by Kennedy’s assassination, for example the Gulf of Tonkin false flag incident was organized in August 1964 and Kennedy would never have gone along with that, Kennedy had to go, also at the time there was a possible come-back of the international British Stirling currency that needed to be dealt with by the USD along with the French colonial operations in the Pacific by the US military, the US wanted French colonial holdings in South East Asia under the name of US economic imperialism.

How the West persuaded the Communist Chinese and Russians to reconsider their operations in the Pacific which were then led by Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev and to accept US military ambitions in South East Asia was by presenting a united front that Kennedy was not able to be a part of.

China and Russia are getting closer than they were in November 1963, it was tha Cuban missile crisis a year previous that caused the Sino Russian split which was just beginning when Kennedy was murdered, the US had no way of knowing China and Russia wouldn’t make-up and stifle their plans for Taiwan to be the One China and the Soviets to collapse.

So what did the US do in November 1963 in order to out flank the China Russia operation against US Capital control, they got rid of Kennedy and replaced him with Lyndon Johnson, and the way that the US did it is what should be now reconsidered by Russia and China.

What the US did to accomplish its mission to take over French Colonial territories in South East Asia was to work with the secret organizations of the Freemasons and Jews who had perfected thought and consequently mind control, it was they who selected a patsy to take the rap as the fall guy his name was Lee Harvey Oswald fast foward to April 2023 and it’s Jack Teixeira fulfilling the exact same role.

But will China or Russia reconsider as they did in 1964 ?, – fool me once is understandable fool me twice is abstractly unthinkable.

Russia’s former Roscosmos chief, Dimitri Rogozin, who now leads the “Tsar’s Wolves” (A team of military experts who provide “technical assistance” to troops in Donbas), stated in a Telegram post today that Russia would soon field drones with “serious weapons – from 82 and 120-mm mortar mines to FAB-100.”

main qimg 83c72161da9902a80d630aa8542ee43a
main qimg 83c72161da9902a80d630aa8542ee43a

Sirius (Inokhodets-RU) Drone

It was likely that Rogozin was referring to the possible deployment of the Russian Sirius (Inokhodets-RU) drone developed by the St. Petersburg-based Kronstadt Group.

The Sirrius is a heavy drone weighing 2.5 tons that can reportedly carry 450 kg of weapons and can stay in the air for 20 hours at an altitude of 7,000 m (23,000 ft.).

While primarily an attack drone, the Sirius can also be used to patrol designated areas to plug gaps in defenses using its ability to immediately attack and destroy small-sized or weekly protected targets such as advancing reconnaissance by force teams.

Equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar, the Sirius can map the terrain for cruise missile routing and mortar engagements.

Serial Production

According to the Pentagon intelligence briefing documents leaked on social media in March – April 2023, the Sirius drone took to the skies on its maiden flight on February 27.

Serial production of the drone is planned at Dubna near Moscow. On November 16, 2021, Kronstadt DG Sergei Bogatikov told RIA Novosti, “The prototype Sirius is already being assembled at our pilot plant in Moscow.”

According to various Russian sources, the drone is likely to be operationally deployed in the near future. Rogozin himself has alluded to the likelihood in an earlier post on Telegram.

When Russia started its military campaign in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian forces were ‘UAV Challenged.’ In contrast, the NATO-trained Ukrainian forces were well equipped with small reconnaissance UAVs as well as attack drones such as the Turkish Bayraktar TB2.

Russia Forging Ahead Of Ukraine In Drone Warfare

The Russian Ministry of Defence (RuMoD), possibly under pressure from military bloggers and technology enthusiasts, such as the Tsar’s Wolves, was quick to make amends.

Promising UAV projects, which the RuMoD had earlier supported but not pushed, were fast-tracked. As a result, capable small and medium drones started to appear on the battlefront in increasing numbers.

Within a year of the campaign’s beginning, Russia didn’t just catch up with Ukraine in drone warfare; it tilted the balance in its favor.

Artillery support drones have allowed Russian artillery to continue dominating the battlefield.

The accuracy of the Orlan-10 drone, guided Russian artillery fire, and near infallible counterbattery ability of kamikaze drones, such as the Lancet, have enabled Russia to retain its overwhelming artillery superiority.

Medium altitude ISR drones such as the Orion, also developed by the Kronstadt Group, are providing good targeting information and facilitating attacks by RuAF fighters and bombers well behind the battlefront using glide bombs.

What Russia has not fielded so far is a heavy drone capable of destroying targets by itself. The advent of the Sirrius drone is set to change that.

Likely Tactics For Sirius Operations

Unlike the Orion drone, which is mostly used for tactical ISR along the battlefront, the Sirius drone features a built-in satellite communication terminal giving it a much longer operating range.

The drone also features a communication suite which, besides facilitating control by a ground-based pilot, also facilitates cooperation with piloted aviation. The drone can be part of a mixed formation! According to TASS, Sirius has been tested jointly with piloted aircraft as of August 2022.

The Sirius drones will likely fly under the cover of RuAF fighters – Su-35S and Su-30SM – flying air dominance patrols. The fighters fly air dominance patrols 24×7 as pairs, with each pair covering a different sector along the battlefront.

They provide defensive cover to Russian attack helicopters and fighters (Su-25, Su-34) and deter Ukrainian fighters from attacking Russian forces.

When flying air dominance patrols, RuAF fighters invariably carry a single Kh-31 Anti-Radiation Missile (ARM), besides long-range RVV-BD, medium-range RVV-SD, and short-range RVV-MD air-to-air missiles.

The Kh-31 missile deters Ukrainian medium-altitude AD systems, such as the S-300 and Buk, from targeting RuAF fighters. If a Ukrainian S-300 or Buk radar lights up to track a RuAF fighter, it is immediately attacked by a Kh-31 missile.

The Sirius heavy attack drone will always operate under the cover of RuAF air dominance patrols. Manned RuAF fighters don’t intentionally enter the engagement envelope of medium-range Ukrainian air missile defenses in order to avoid risk to human life.

However, with the unmanned Sirius, there would be no such restriction. Sending a Sirius drone into airspace that is known to be contested would be a good way of drawing out and attacking Ukrainian AD missile systems.

When flying in contested airspace, the Sirius will not be an easy target. The drone is built like a conventional aircraft featuring a thin elongated fuselage. It has straight wings and a V-tail.

The bulk of airframe parts for UAVs are made of composites. As such, the drone will likely be low observable in the RF spectrum.

Disney Girls in Real Life: An Artist Reimagined Some Of Disney’s Most Famous Princess

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Jirka Väätäinen is a Finnish artist from Melbourne and he recently reimagined some of Disney’s most famous princess. He took these iconic characters and made them look like real people.

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World shifts away from using the dollar

By PRIME SARMIENTO in Hong Kong | China Daily | Updated: 2023-04-25 07:09
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Yuan used increasingly in preference to US currency for trade settlements

Economies across the world are exploring the use of convenient currencies other than the United States dollar for trading.

Analysts believe that China and other countries are gradually reducing their dependence on the dollar by using local currencies for cross-border trade, helping to create a multipolar international currency system.

At the end of March, the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, or SHPGX, reported that China had imported liquefied natural gas from the United Arab Emirates using cross-border yuan settlement.

It was the first time that China — the world’s second-biggest importer of LNG — had used its currency for such a purchase, as the global commodities trade has long been based on US dollar-denominated transactions.

Sergio Rossi, a professor of macroeconomics and monetary economics at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, said the LNG deal with the UAE showed that oil exporting countries are keen on using currencies such as the yuan, rather than the dollar, at the international level.

This transaction might encourage other countries to switch from the dollar to their own currencies to pay for oil and gas imports, Rossi said. This could lead to the creation of regional clearing houses through which foreign transactions in commercial or financial markets could be settled, he added.

David Phua, partner at the international law firm King & Wood Mallesons, said it is “certainly conceivable “that a basket of currencies combined with precious metals such as gold and silver could become “increasingly important means over time of settling international commodity transactions”. He added this can lead to a more multipolar world in terms of international reserve holdings.

With extensive experience in negotiating and drafting long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements, Phua said it is “reasonably likely” that there will be more yuan-denominated transactions in the near future.

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Cajun Chicken Strips

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2023 04 19 15 39

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

  1. In a large zip-top plastic bag, combine flour and seasonings. Add chicken, a few strips at a time, and shake to coat.
  2. In a large skillet, cook chicken in butter for 8 to 10 minutes or until the juices run clear.

15 Illustrated Truths About Cats

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According to Linvistov, a group for learning English via Skype: “Cats are amazing creatures that can both brighten your life and turn it into a complete hell. The way they treat you like you’re nothing is so annoying but you can’t help loving them! Because they are cats and they’re fluffy and cute and – most importantly – when they purr, the world stops!”

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What Happened To The Prison Guards Of Dachau Concentration Camp When It Was Liberated?

dachau prison guard
dachau prison guard

 

Walenty Lenarczyk, a prisoner at Dachau, stated that following the camp’s liberation “prisoners swarmed over the wire and grabbed the Americans and lifted them to their shoulders… other prisoners caught the SS men.

The first SS man elbowed one or two prisoners out of his way, but the courage of the prisoners mounted, they knocked them down and nobody could see whether they were stomped or what, but they were killed.”

 

Elsewhere in the camp SS men, Kapos and informers were beaten badly with fists, sticks and shovels.

There was at least one incident where US soldiers looked away as two prisoners beat a German guard to death with a shovel, and Lt. Bill Walsh witnessed one such beating.

Another soldier witnessed an inmate stomping on an SS trooper’s face until “there wasn’t much left.” When the soldier said to him, “You’ve got a lot of hate in your heart,” he simply nodded.

An American chaplain was told by three young Jewish men, who had left the camp during liberation, that they had beaten to death one of the more sadistic SS guards when they discovered him hiding in a barn, dressed as a peasant

(American soldiers watch as a Jewish concentration camp inmate beats up the Nazi guard who held him at Dachau)

Some of the Nazis were rounded up and summarily executed along with the guard dogs. Two of the most notorious prison guards had been stripped naked before the Americans arrived to prevent them from slipping away unnoticed. They, too, were cut down.”

16 SS men were shot in the coal yard (one more killed by a camp inmate), 17 at Tower B, and perhaps a few more killed by U.S. soldiers in the incident. Anywhere from a few to 25 or 50 more were killed by inmates.

China’s exports shifting from West to Global South

Shipments to Central Asia up 55% year on year in March marking a wider switch from developed to developing world markets

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NEW YORK – Central Asian countries increased imports from China in March by 55% over the year-earlier month, beating the 35% jump in Chinese shipments to Southeast Asia reported previously.

Former Soviet republics as well as Turkey and Iran all contributed to a near-record gain in Chinese exports to the region, a focus of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

China’s exports to the region have nearly tripled since 2018. The chart below includes Turkey and Iran in the Central Asian total.

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2023 04 26 06 35

Several factors contributed to the export boom, which included every country in the region.

China is investing heavily in energy, mineral resources and rail transport across the Asian continent, including a new rail line between China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan scheduled to start construction next year.

The rail project, which will link China to European markets, has been planned since 1997 but only won approval in 2022, after Russia backed the venture. Russia’s need for Chinese support in the Ukraine war outweighed longstanding strategic rivalries between the two powers.

“The CKU railway is crucial to China for two interconnected purposes—to advance its geopolitical interests and to secure favorable relations with Central Asian elites for their support over Chinese legitimacy in Xinjiang (East Turkestan),” Niva Yau Tsz Yan wrote in a March 2023 commentary for the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

“Russia’s war in Ukraine has made new trade routes bypassing Russia more profitable, and a new Uzbek government is looking to expand regional and international engagement,” Yan wrote.

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2023 04 26 06 35xa

Iran’s imports from China had fallen to just US$800 million a month during 2019-2022 from a 2014 peak of $2.8 billion a month. But seasonally-adjusted Chinese shipments to Iran more than doubled to $1.7 billion in March.

Chronically short of cash, Iran depends on trade credits from China, by far its largest trading partner. The March increase evidently reflected more Chinese financing, and came after Iran accepted Chinese mediation in restoring diplomatic relations with its regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia. A reasonable inference is that Iran was being rewarded for good behavior.

China’s exports to Russia continued to rise sharply, along with exports to Turkey, which acts as an intermediary for Chinese trade with Russia. China has avoided direct violation of American sanctions on Russia, but Turkey and former Soviet republics have resold sanctioned goods to Moscow. The sharp increase in China’s exports to Kazakhstan probably reflects this intermediation.

Reuters reported on March 27 that Kazakhstan “would require exporters to file additional documents when sending goods to Russia, following reports that Russian companies have been using local intermediaries to bust Western sanctions… After the West barred sales of thousands of goods to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, some Kazakh businesses started purchasing such items and reselling them to Russian firms.”

China’s export prowess isn’t entirely free of tensions, though. In March, Turkey imposed a 40% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles (EV’s), hoping to protect a local manufacturer. The Turkish automaker Togg plans to release its first EV later this year with a sticker price of $50,000.

A comparable Chinese model, for example, BYD’s Song sedan, sells for $27,500 in China—which means that BYD would still undercut Togg’s price despite the 40% surcharge. Meanwhile, BYD has just released its $11,300 Seagull subcompact, which has no competitor in the price range anywhere in the world.

In the kaleidoscope of Central Asian politics, a myriad of local factors explains the jump in China’s influence in the region. But all of them line up like iron filings before a magnet. China’s capacity to provide physical and digital infrastructure as well as affordable consumer goods, and its capacity to finance trade and investment out of its current account surplus, explain its economic power and political influence in the region.

There’s another geopolitical consequence of China’s export prowess in Central and Southeast Asia: China’s exports to the Global South and BRICS countries in March reached a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $1.6 trillion a year.

That’s nearly four times China’s exports to the United States and more than the combined total of China’s exports to the US, Europe and Japan, which reached a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $1.38 trillion in March.

That represents a geopolitical point of no return of sorts, the moment when China’s economic dependence on the United States in particular and developed markets in general slipped behind its economic standing in the developing world.

2023 04 26 06 36
2023 04 26 06 36

First Republic Bank Goes “Zombie” – Loses 40% of Deposits

First Republic Banc Corporation (FRC) delayed releasing it’s first quarter numbers until stock trading had closed for the day on Monday; now everyone knows why:

During Quarter One of 2023, Depositors at FRC withdrew forty percent (40%) of the total deposits in the bank!  Worse, if it wasn’t for the larger banks depositing $30 Billion to shore them up, FRC’s actual withdrawal amount was fifty-seven percent (57%).

When releasing their numbers late Monday, the bank quickly noted it is cutting twenty-five percent (25%) of its workforce,  and is “pursuing strategic options.”

Within minutes of the quarterly numbers being revealed, the stock price of FRC began to plummet in after hours trading, and has now lost 22.19% of its Monday closing value:

fZUKS90l
fZUKS90l

 

Thus, people in the financial industry are now openly describing FRC as a “Zombie” bank.

For what it’s worth, FRC is the eighteenth (18th) largest bank in the United States.  The fact that banks in the top 11-20 are now going “Zombie” means the contagion will likely spread to the top 1-10 banks within 3 months.  The reason: Even with the FDIC, people in the general public are no longer trusting the banks.

Proof that people have lost trust in the banks is typified by the Twitter posting, today, from Rob Kientz who reported to the world that he knew of a single Investor who asked him to source $150 MILLION in DORE gold/silver bars, immediately.

 

UPDATE 5:55 PM EDT- TUESDAY:

Twitter has DELETED the tweet below from a major Precious metals dealer.  Clearly someone does NOT want ***YOU*** to know that big money players are pulling  out of banks and markets, and diving head-long into precious metals.   The fact that Rob Kientz published this was surprising; the fact that Twitter has now DELETED it —– ought to be scary as hell to you.  You can, however, still read the test of his message in the remnants below:

 

 

For those unaware, a doré bar is a semi-pure alloy of gold and silver. It is usually created at the site of a mine and then transported to a refinery for further purification.

The fact that a single Investor is openly asking to source this metal shows that the big money is getting OUT of markets, OUT of banks, and looking for safe haven in precious metals.

When money like this keeps moving OUT of banks and OUT of markets, the result is . . . well . . . unavoidable.

I was writing this as a comment in disagreement with Xiao Zhang‘s answer but then realized that I should probably post it on its own.

As a Chinese gay man, I have to (not so respectfully) disagree with the assertion that China, Chinese people and Chinese government don’t discriminate against gay people.

Gay marriage not being allowed, gay relationships not being represented are the definition of discrimination. Growing up knowing that I like other boys but not knowing that there are others like me, compounded with the heavily signaled notion that I was somehow “abnormal” was a nightmare.

You say that there are many gay students famous in your university and that fellow students do not judge them. Well let me point out that this in no way validates your argument that bebig gay is accepted. Do you know any openly gay person in your university who is academically mediocre, plain-looking and come from a humble family background? My best guess you don’t, and even if you do, such people are very very few and far between and I would doubt that they are actually openly gay. Trust me when I say that with the poplar gay token students, it is not because they are accepted that they are popular, but it is because they are popular that they dare to come out as gay. And that being gay is a flaw that will bring an overflow of negative consequences that you need to shield with power, power that comes from being rich, being popular or being smart. Being being popular while gay makes you a role model for other gay people, and being mediocrely gay is simply disgusting.

I myself am an openly gay person on my campus and somewhat fits your “popular gay personality” stereotype. And I’ve firsthand seen countless other gay people, who are less popular, less academically accomplished and who are made terribly insecure of their identity by the casual homophobia that are often disguised as harmless jokes (spoiler alert straight people: they are almost never harmless) coming to me for help. Whenever this happens I don’t know what to tell them. Because honestly, if I didn’t have my power, my power of being popular, being fluent in English and a good chance at a prestigious graduate education which will probably allow me to emigrate one day, I would not know what to do.

You bring up thre example of Jin Xing, very well. Let’s not even talk about her show being canceled and content removed even from the Internet – even when it was on air, did she, at any point, openly talk about LGBT issues on her show? Don’t you find it odd that as a trans woman herself, she never even mentioned the issue of gay marriage or trans rights? Also may I ask you that besides her, do you know any other openly LGBT people that are prominent in the Chinese entertainment industry and can celebrate their identity as they please? No, no and no.

In Chinese society, even in the more open and liberal modern cities, relationships have a goal: marriage. Xiao Zhang, I imagine you’ve heard of the saying “不以结婚为目的的恋爱都是耍流氓” which roughly translates to “people who engage in relationships without the hoping to marry the other person are all rascals.” With gay marriage continuing to be illegitimate, where does that leave gay people?

What will a young gay teenager think of himself when he knows that he will probably never be able to get married and start his own family?

When the official document of the Burau of Broadcast and TV lists homosexuality as a sexual perversion and refuse to allow any gay relationships to be allowed on Chinese television and movies, how will a lesbian girl in middle school feel when basically she’s being told by her country that she doesn’t belong anywhere conspicuous and should always stay in the dark?

I know a lot of people like you, Xiao Zhang, you probably don’t have anything against gay people personally and you see the glorious part of being gay because you know of quite a few popular gay students in your university and so you think that China has completely accepted homosexuality.

But what you don’t know is the hard part of being gay, not being able to talk about relationships and feelings with your parents as you watch it drive a wedge between you and your family, not knowing where your future leads because you don’t see a family of your own in the future since the government doesn’t allow it, or like me, who’s been planing to move to another country ever since I was twelve and have never really felt home when I’m actually home. Perhaps holding a little bit of hope from time to time that the government will change one day, only to suffer one disappointment after another as you watch the government ignore you or even officially reject you over and over again.

In a lot of ways, I actually find your patently patronizing attitude even more infuriating than the openly homophobic (who, however few you think they may be, I still encounter on a daily basis). You claim to be open-minded, to be allies, but you refuse to hear the full version of our stories but somehow still feel qualified to represent us and say “China isn’t homophobic because there are powerful gay people!”

You take the blatantly second-class treatment, shove it down our throats and tell us that’s what we deserve. And I find it unfortunate that so many people, even some gay people themselves, are starting to believe it.

“We deliberately spread AIDS in South Africa”

  • PublishedMarch 13, 2019

From HERE

In a shocking confession, made on camera in a new documentary released last month, a former member of South Africa’s Apartheid-era intelligence service says that the Aids virus, and other diseases, were deliberately spread among the population in an effort to kill off as many blacks as possible. His confession, considered just the tip of the iceberg, has reignited the simmering debate about the whole phenomenon of Aids in Africa. Report by Baffour Ankomah.

In a shocking confession, made on camera in a new documentary – Cold Case Hammarskjöld – a former member of South Africa’s Apartheid-era intelligence service says that the Aids virus, and other diseases, were deliberately spread among the population in an effort to kill off as many blacks as possible. His confession, considered just the tip of the iceberg, has reignited the simmering debate about the whole phenomenon of Aids in Africa.

Until February 2019, most Africans did not know about the Sundance Film Festival, a programme of the Sundance Institute, which takes place annually in Park City, Utah in America. Now they know because something controversial happened at the Festival this year that will live with Africans for a long time to come. Having had 224,900 attendees in 2018, Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the US. This year it took place between 24 January and  3 February – the attendance figure is not yet out.

What is out is controversy – a damning confession by a former Apartheid-era operative who admitted on camera, in one of the films shown, that he and his colleagues at the South African Institute for Maritime Research (SAIMR), which masterminded coups and other forms of violence across Africa in the 1970s and 80s, deliberately spread the HIV virus in the Southern African region to wipe out black people.

Alexander Jones, who says he “spent years as an intelligence officer” with SAIMR 30 years ago, became the centre of attraction on the third day of the Sundance Festival when the Danish/Swedish-made documentary, Cold Case Hammarskjöld, was screened.

Sources in South Africa say SAIMR was linked to the country’s notorious chemical and biological warfare (CBW) programme headed by Dr Wouter Basson, a programme which Apartheid racists used as a cover to kill black people in South Africa and beyond or do them serious harm. The racists’ ‘operational area’ was what used to be called the ‘Frontline States’ (now known simply as the SADC region). We covered Dr Basson’s operations in detail in our 2001 November Edition.

South Africa’s CBW programme also had links with Rhodesia’s, and the pair did a lot of harm to black Africans, including spreading cholera and other dangerous diseases in the region, and topping it up with HIV/Aids experimentation.

Worse, when independence was approaching in Zimbabwe, there are suggestions that Ian Smith’s Rhodesian government, with tacit support from South Africa, rushed to remove the evidence by killing a lot of black people who were subjects of the CBW experiments.

Digging out the truth

Cold Case Hammarskjöld was made by Mads Brügger (Danish) and Göran Björkdahl (Swedish). The documentary investigates the case of the former UN secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjöld, who died in a mysterious plane crash near Ndola, Zambia, in 1961.

We were at war. Black people in South Africa were the enemy…

During the hearings of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1998, letters with SAIMR’s official letterhead were found suggesting that the CIA and British intelligence had agreed that “Hammarskjöld should be removed”. But London and Washington denied involvement in Hammarskjöld’s assassination.

In the course of making the new film, Brügger and Björkdahl’s investigations led them to Alexander Jones, who told them on camera that SAIMR (which had operated with the support of the CIA and British intelligence), used bogus vaccinations to spread the HIV virus in the SADC region. “We were at war. Black people in South Africa were the enemy,” Jones told the filmmakers.

He confessed that he and his SAIMR colleagues “spread the virus” in the 1980s and 90s under the command of their leader Keith Maxwell, who wanted a white majority country, saying “the excesses of the 1960s, 70s and 80s have no place in the post-Aids world ”.

 “What easier way to get a guinea pig than you live in an Apartheid system?” Jones says in the film. “Black people have got no rights, they need medical treatment. There is a white ‘philanthropist’ coming in and saying, ‘You know, I will open up these clinics and I will treat you.’ And meantime [he is] actually the wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Maxwell died in 2006. People who knew him say he had no medical qualifications but operated clinics in the poor black neighbourhoods of Johannesburg. His headquarters was at Putfontein where his signpost, with his name ‘Dokotela Maxwell’, still hangs in front of the building where he operated.

One local shopkeeper said Maxwell had given “false injections”. But Claude Newbury, an anti-abortion doctor, told the filmmakers: “He was against genocide and he was trying to discover a cure for HIV.”

Jones, however, insists that Maxwell used the cover of a doctor to do “sinister experimentation”. His claim was backed up by Ibrahim Karolia, whose shop was across the road from where Maxwell operated.

He told the filmmakers that Maxwell had provided “false injections” and “strange treatments”, and also put patients through “tubes” which he said allowed him to see inside their bodies.

Jones also disclosed that SAIMR operated outside South Africa. “We were involved in Mozambique, spreading the Aids virus through medical conditions,” he says in the film, revealing that he did visit a research facility in the 1990s that was used “for sinister experimentation” and that the intent was “to eradicate black people”.

“What easier way to get a guinea pig than you live in an Apartheid system?” Jones says in the film. “Black people have got no rights, they need medical treatment. There is a white ‘philanthropist’ coming in and saying, ‘You know, I will open up these clinics and I will treat you.’ And meantime [he is] actually the wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

South Africa’s Josef Mengele

Documents discovered by Brügger and Björkdahl show Maxwell held extremely disturbing views. “[South Africa] may well have one man, one vote with a white majority by the year 2000,” Maxwell wrote. “Religion in its conservative, traditional form will return. Abortion on demand, abuse of drugs, and the other excesses of the 1960s, 70s and 80s will have no place in the post-Aids world,” he added.

According to the Observer South Africa, which broke the story, “The [Maxwell] documents read like the fever dream of a man who aspired to be South Africa’s Josef Mengele. [Joseph ‘Angel of Death’ Mengele was the senior SS officer who carried out inhuman experiments on Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz during World War II – Ed.] There are detailed, if sometimes garbled, accounts of how he thought the HIV virus could be isolated, propagated and used to target black Africans.”

One SAIMR recruit, Dagmar Feil, a marine biologist, was murdered outside her home in Johannesburg in 1990 for fear she would expose SAIMR’s dark deeds.

We all know how Aids is transmitted from person to person; there is no confusion there. The question is whether or not another agency played an active part in starting or accelerating the chain-reaction in some places. Jones says it did and that the agency was the dreaded SAIMR.

Her brother, Karl Feil, told Brügger and Björkdahl: “My sister came to me and said she needed to confide in me. She sat with me and said she thought they were going to kill her. She said that three or four others in her team had already been murdered, but when I asked what team, she said she couldn’t tell me.

“The topic of Aids research came up several times, quite loosely in conversations, I never put two and two together. Instead, she asked me to go with her to church, so she could make right with God. Weeks later she was dead.”

But while the revelations in the documentary have stunned the world, the blowback has already started. The New York Times has dismissed Alexander Jones’ revelations as a “conspiracy theory”. Reporting his story on 27 January, the paper asked the question: “But is this true?”

“The notion that HIV is a man-made virus introduced as population control has been floating around for decades,” The New York Times says. “Before the conspiracy theory took hold in Africa, it appeared as part of disinformation campaigns from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.”

So now it is the fault of the Soviet Union! But it is the usual trick the Western establishment media employs to defend Western interests.

“Scientists immediately cast doubt on [ Jones’] claim, which they called medically dubious. ‘The probability that they were able to do this is close to zero,’” The New York Times goes on to say, quoting Dr Salim Abdool Karim, the director of Caprisa, an AIDS research centre in South Africa.

The paper says Dr Karim cited “the immense resources that would be required to conduct such a far-fetched attempt at genocide. Notwithstanding the technological limitations of the 1990s, including [the need for] facilities to rival that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, in addition to millions of dollars in funding, HIV is extraordinarily difficult to isolate, transport and grow in a laboratory environment, let alone distribute en masse in a clandestine operation,” Dr Karim was said to have explained.

Yet, apart from wheeling out just one African (Dr Karim) to dismiss Jones’ account, The New York Times named no more scientists in its story to justify the assertion that “scientists immediately cast doubt on the claim”, apart from quoting Rebecca Hodes, director of the AIDS and Society Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, as having said: “Such mistruths can cause very real problems. One dangerous consequence of these allegations is that they have the potential to sow mistrust and suspicion of doctors and the medical establishment, and that they may confuse people about how HIV is transmitted.”

The truth will out

Not so. We all know how Aids is transmitted from person to person; there is no confusion there. The question is whether or not another agency played an active part in starting or accelerating the chain-reaction in some places. Jones says it did and that the agency was the dreaded SAIMR. He also spells out the motivation behind it – “to eradicate black people” – so that the whites could continue their dominance in South Africa. “We were at war”, he adds, implying that all is fair in love and war.

This has nothing to do with the often excellent work that doctors and the medical establishment, faced with HIV/ Aids, did to stem the tide of the disease. They were, and are still in some cases, firefighting and deserve all the credit they get. The question remains, who started the fire in the first place?

Jones’ confession is a bombshell. It confirms what many suspected at the time but were unable or indisposed to pursue further. It also helps explain many inconsistencies in the story of the development of Aids in Southern Africa.

But this is clearly just the tip of the iceberg – underneath lurks perhaps one of the most terrifying stories of modern times, how the Apartheid regime deliberately set out to commit genocide and how close it came to achieving its ends.

The confession might bring a sense of closure for some of the millions of Aids victims and their families or it may spark fresh anger. Of equal significance, it will finally lay to rest the oft-cited trope that Africans brought the curse of Aids on themselves due to their ‘unbridled sexuality’.

Why did Jones confess after such a long time? We cannot know for sure but there is such a thing as living with a guilty conscience and it will not be the first time that someone approaching the end of their lives feels compelled to confess to sins in order to lift the heavy burden they have carried on their souls for so long. The truth, as they say, will out – no matter how long it takes to do so. NA

Read more articles by Baffour Ankomah

Yang Zhiyuan 杨智渊 is a senior member of the Taiwan’s pro-independence DPP who was arrested in Wenzhou in Zhejiang province for supporting and promoting Taiwan independence.

He is now in detention and will be put on trial.

It is unclear why Yang is living in Wenzhou, but many supporters of Taiwan independence have businesses and factories in the PRC. Up until this year, the PRC authorities would ignore their support of Taiwan independence, and support of Taiwan independence was often financed by businesses in the PRC.

Beginning this year, as the US government has openly supported Taiwan against China, the Beijing authorities have changed policy from quietly condoning Taiwan business peoples’ political activities to actively researching their financial support for Taiwan independence, and cutting off their financial support for Taiwan independence through their mainland Chinese businesses.

As far as I know, this is the first arrest of a Taiwan independence supporter in the PRC; I expect many more arrests to come, to be followed by public trials of these supporters. Taiwan independence supporters will likely be given an opportunity to make public confessions of their TI support in the past, and will not be punished if they promise to stop contributing to the cause of Taiwan independence.

The aim of this policy is to show ordinary voters in Taiwan that their support for DPP and other pro-independence candidates in Taiwan’s local elections will have consequences and that the Taiwan economy will suffer because of their voting decisions.

Playing around with Dream by Wombo

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

The capabilities of artificial intelligence just keep expanding, and this includes different kinds of art. We’re going to introduce you to an app that lets you create digital images with the help of AI technology.

Dream by Wombo is available for mobile and online, but the former has more to offer. Learn how to use this AI artwork mobile app and what you can expect from it in just a few steps.

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2023 04 25 12 05

Here’s some examples when I typed in a sentence, and then clicked on the style icon…

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2023 04 25 12 08

I think that it is fun.

Now, I did all of this on my computer. But you don’t need to. You can download the APP.

Summary on this…

It’s good.

It’s free, though you can buy a premium subscription.

It produces basic, recognizable art. The art style is cute / childish / basic illustration. Suitable for graphics, presentations and children’s books.

It makes nice renderings of cats and kittens. And after all, if you cannot render a kitty, then what is your value?

APP

This app is perfect for decorating books, websites, walls, or custom playlist art without hiring a professional illustrator or graphic designer. It’s fast and easy.

Whether you’re on your phone or computer, Dream by Wombo’s AI can quickly produce stunning images in an artistic style of your choice with a simple prompt.

The browser-based version is simple enough to use and has a Mint as NFT option, while it lets you download or buy a print of your AI artwork. The mobile app, however, puts more tools at your disposal.

We’re going to show you how to use Dream by Wombo on your smartphone or tablet, step by step. But first, make sure you have the app.

Download: Dream by Wombo for AndroidiOS (Free)

Some of my art renderings…

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dream TradingCard

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

Dream

Welcome to the grand future that you are unprepared for

The United States is absolutely insane.

It is dragging the world towards a very serious crisis.

no no no
no no no

As much as believe that China has it’s act together, there is the worry that China will not have the stomach to do what is necessary to stop it.

Notice…

ALL American media is talking about a “war with China” after a “war with Russia”.

Sigh. They are FUCKING bat-shit crazy.

They are going to get us all killed.

crazy driver
crazy driver

China and Russia are NOT playing, and to me this is all a slow motion car wreck. It boggle my mind that Biden thinks that the United States will exist for his second term in office.

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2023 04 27 06 53

Today…

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Kizz Daniel, EMPIRE – Cough (Official Video)

African pop

UPDATED 4:10 PM EDT — Putin Rushed To Kremlin 10:00 PM Moscow Time

Something is happening with Russia as of 3:00 PM eastern US time, which is 10:00 PM in Moscow.  Russian President Vladimir Putin was rushed TO the Kremlin with full police escorted motorcade.   This is extremely unusual, indicating something has happened (or is happening) requiring the President.

RUMORS are already running wild.  One RUMOR is that Turkish President Recypt Erdogan, who fell ill during a TV interview in Moscow, may have been “poisoned.”

Another RUMOR is that Ukraine has begun using Depleted Uranium tank shells against Russian troops, which Russia previously warned would be considered a “Dirty Bomb attack upon Russia.”

No official word from any level as to the ACTUAL reason . . . . developing . . . . check back for updates.

UPDATE 3:58 PM EDT —

Turkish President Recypt Erdogan’s wife and family have been urgently told to come to the hospital.

ERDOGAN ALLEGEDLY “IN CRITICAL CONDITION”  — More RUMORS he may have been poisoned!

UPDATE 4:02 PM EDT — According to a statement issued by the presidency, Erdogan was taken to the hospital in critical condition and received treatment for myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.

UPDATE 4:15 PM EDT — 

Chinese state media claims Turkey president Erdogan has suffered heart attack and is in critical condition in the hospital

Big news hidden from you

Consumer Credit Drying-up — Banks HALTING Auto Loans!!!

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The past 10 days in Consumer Credit have been wild and the evidence is explicitly clear: Banks are now severely restricting Consumer Credit:

— Capital One shut off all dealer floorplans (aka inventory lines of credit)

— USA Auto Sales shut down 39 dealerships after losing its Ally Bank floor plan lines of credit

— Wells Fargo laid-off all its junior Auto loan underwriters and capped future loans

This is VERY serious.  This is real DOOM economically. Cars are one of the main pillars of the US economy.

Repos are rising as people can’t pay their high loan payments.  In fact, the increase in car repos…300% since new year.

With banks cutting off auto credit, it isn’t just car dealerships that will feel the pinch, manufacturers will too, of course.   BUT . . . . those manufacturers contract-out parts manufacturing to hundreds of smaller businesses nationwide.

All those smaller businesses will see orders dry up.  The auto sales and manufacturing sector in the US accounts for over 5 million employees

The “ripple effect” of credit withdrawal will affect the much wider economy and will do so VERY FAST.

KmengKhmer – ឆ្ងាយតែកាយ (Far Away) [Official MV]

Cambodian pop music

British Intel Source CONFIRMS Depleted Uranium Shells from UK have arrived in Ukraine

***** FLASH ***** – A source within British Intelligence has confirmed to me personally that thousands of rounds of tank shells were shipped to Ukraine as supplies for donated “Challenger” tanks donated to Ukraine.  Among those thousands of tank shells are . . .  DEPLETED URANIUM SHELLS!

Russia has repeatedly and explicitly made clear that if Depleted Uranium shells are fired at Russian troops, Russia will regard the use of the ammunition as being a “Dirty Bomb” attack against Russia, and will respond with radioactive weapons of its own.  They did not say WHICH radioactive weapons.

It is now positively CONFIRMED that the United Kingdom has, in fact, successfully delivered into the possession of the Ukraine Army, Depleted Uranium tank shells.

What this means is that now, it is only a matter of time before Russia detects that such shells have been used by Ukraine, and responds.

That response will likely come without ANY warning at all.

Readers are urged to have their preps (Food, water, medicine, first-aid gear, generator, fuel, and the like) topped-off . . . and to appraise their family members of this situation.

It’s really quite simple: When Ukraine hits Russians with Depleted Uranium shells, Russia will likely hit Ukraine with full blown nuclear weapons.  If that takes place, NATO jumps-in tot he war, and it’s nuclear immediately.

OR . . .

Russia may elect to strike at the UK directly for supplying such weapons. Obviously, if THAT happens, it’s also instant nuclear war.

In either case, the fight presently between Ukraine and Russia, will very likely go nuclear, and is extremely likely to involve NATO, meaning the outbreak of literal nuclear World War 3.

This can come at any time and without any warning.

Get right with God.

DU Explanation
DU Explanation

Hot Potato Salad with Bacon Specks (Mennonite)

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2023 04 19 11 10

Ingredients

Salad

  • 4 slices lean bacon
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoon Boiled Dressing
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 4 cups diced, hot, boiled potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
  • Additional heavy cream (optional)
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Boiled Dressing

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

  1. Salad: Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove and crumble. Drain off all fat except 1 tablespoon, return to medium heat, add onions and celery.
  2. Stir in flour to coat the vegetables. Add water, stir and cook until thickened. Remove from the heat and blend in the cream, boiled dressing, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the parsley and chives. Mix well to blend flavors. Add more cream if desired, taste, add salt if desired.
  3. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top and garnish with the sliced hard-boiled eggs.
  4. Boiled Dressing: Combine sugar, salt, and mustard in the top of a double boiler. Add vinegar. Stir to combine.
  5. Add well-beaten eggs. Place over moderately boiling water. Stir until the mixture is creamy about the consistency of custard.
  6. Beat in the butter. Cool.

This dressing may be stored, covered, in the refrigerator, and will keep up to two weeks.

The internationalisation of EME currency trading

by J Caballero · 2022 · Cited by 6 — 

CNY trading rose by over 70% after adjusting for exchange rate movements, to $526 billion per day. This is unusually rapid.

Article HERE

Vuthea​ វុទ្ធា – អូនសាសន៍អី (Oun Sas Ey) ft. Siva [Remix]

Cambodian pop music

RESTORED 4:34 PM EDT — UKRAINE SPRING OFFENSIVE HAS BEGUN – ON FOUR OFFENSIVE FRONTS

1:02 PM EDT — Within the past hour, reports began filtering-in to me CLAIMING Ukraine’s Spring Offensive has begun.   Reports say there are four distinct lines of combat.  NOT YET VERIFIED . . . .

If these reports can be corroborated, more details will appear as Updates below.

Should these reports prove true, RIGHT NOW is the beginning of the most dangerous time for all of us.   NOW is when nukes might come into play.

I earnestly hope your “preps” are topped-off, you have cash money at home in case electronics (Credit/Debit)  all go offline, and your vehicles are all fueled-up, with spare fuel in cans safely at home.

UPDATE 2:04 PM EST — I have reached out to every source I know and I CANNOT VERIFY THESE REPORTS . . .  still checking.

UPDATE 2:43 PM — I am PULLING this story – I cannot verify ANY aspect of the incoming reports.

UPDATE 4:34 PM EDT —

From the Kiev Independent Newspaper:

 

 

“Citizen Of The Galaxy”: Amazing Digital Cyberpunk Art By Kuldar Leement

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“I’m a digital illustrator and graphic designer based in the Estonia. I have been producing personal and commissioned illustrations, digital paintings and web designs only a few years. Mainly I’m digital-painter, but You can visit my homepage and read about my education and other knowledge. If I’m working, I constantly trying to expand my range of abilities and i love to try out new techniques.”

More info: Kuldar Leement, DeviantArt, Vimeo, Society6, Behance, Facebook

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BOMBING IN SEATTLE – SECOND UNEXPLODED BOMB FOUND

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There has been a bomb detonation in downtown Seattle.   A second, unexploded bomb, has also been found at a Gas station at 1st and Denny St.   SWAT and Bomb Squad mobilized.

Additional Info:

EXPLOSION REPORTED IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON LEAVING ONE INJURED. SECOND BOMB IS REPORTED IN THE SAME BUILDING.

Evacuation of downtown in progress due to fear of more bombs.

 

 

Police and Fire on scene:

 

Seattle Bomb Squad is currently attempting to Defuse a 2nd Device near the Scene of 1st Explosion.

MORE:

 

https://youtu.be/gPuAthFARcI

Ham and Onions over Noodles

This is an old Mennonite recipe.

2023 04 19 11 11
2023 04 19 11 11

Ingredients

  • 6 slices ham 3 x 3 1/2 x 1/4 inches
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • Hot noodles

Instructions

  1. Fry slices of ham until nicely browned.
  2. Remove ham from pan and add onion slices. Cook until slightly browned.
  3. Add sour cream. Let come to a boil and pour over hot noodles.

Thị Mầu – Hòa Minzy x Masew | Official Music Video

Vietnamese pop music

9 Rules for How to Make a Perfect Cup of Coffee

Become a coffee guru with these simple steps on how to make a perfect cup of coffee at home.

Jeffrey Sachs Interview – China’s Reaction to US technology Containment

The 5 Best Mix-Ins to Add to Your Coffee

1. ¼ cup whole milk or oat milk

Whole milk is actually the #1 pick for the best coffee mix-in if you ask Rachel Fine, RD, a registered dietitian and owner of the nutrition counseling firm To The Pointe Nutrition in New York City. That’s because if you haven’t already, there’s no better time than now to change your tune about thinking low- and non-fat is always best.

“A splash of whole milk proves to me that we can enjoy the ‘real deal’ and benefit physically, mentally and emotionally from it,” Fine says, since it doesn’t make her feel like she’s restricting or choosing the “diet culture”-promoted option she doesn’t truly love. Since vitamin D (which is found in whole milk, but not skim) is a fat-soluble vitamin, your body benefits from the fat that the milk offers. Plus, “fat helps to satisfy us! When we feel satisfied, we’re more likely to cultivate a more mindful experience around food and beverages, even our coffee breaks,” Fine says.

Reaver is fond of adding the oat-based milk Oatly (buy it: $4.99 for ½ gallon, Target) to her coffee. “It has all the creamy goodness of half and half without the saturated fat,” she says, and is a great option for those who don’t do dairy.

2. ½ cup protein shake or 1 scoop of protein powder

For even more protein than either of the dairy “dos” above, try ½ cup of a premade protein shake, such as OWYN Protein Shake (buy it: $7.99 for four 11.15-ounce shakes, Target). A half-cup pour will add about 7 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of sugar to your coffee. Or try adding a scoop of chocolate protein powder like Vega Protein and Greens Chocolate (buy it: $25.61 for 1.8 pounds, Amazon) to your iced coffee. “This much will also add a lot of creaminess to your drink without relying on high-fat creamers,” Reaver says. As an added bonus, that more-than-an-egg-amount-of-protein will help you stay fuller longer after breakfast. (Because you’re eating a healthy one of those too, right?) “When we feel satisfied, we’re less likely to struggle with overwhelming cravings and obsessive thoughts around food,” Fine says.

3. 1 teaspoon sugar

If you’re in the mood for a hint of sweet to balance out the bitter notes in the coffee, add a small spoonful of sugar. Mary Poppins and dietitians approve of real sugar, in moderation.

“There’s a misconception about sugar in our culture,” Fine says. “But when used in ways to enhance flavor, a little can go a long way!”

A squeeze of honey or maple syrup would also do the job nicely.

4. 1 teaspoon cocoa powder

This is a cool weather seasonal favorite of Reaver, who says it’s a dreamy, antioxidant-rich way to stir up a makeshift mocha. Whether you enjoy it in your hot or iced coffee, you can rest easy knowing that this coffee mix-in can help lower your stress levels—research stands behind this!

To max out your health benefits, seek out a powder that’s 100% cacao and unsweetened. (We love Navitas Organics Cacao Powder; buy it: $7.82 for 8 ounces, Amazon)

5. 1 teaspoon cinnamon

On a similar note, you can crank up the antioxidants and add a warm, pumpkin spice latte-like note to your coffee by sprinkling on or stirring in a small spoon of cinnamon. Reaver enjoys this when she’s in the mood for a hot mug.

This is a VERY VERY BAD SIGN.

The 6 Worst Mix-Ins to Add to Your Coffee

Fine advises her clients to steer clear of any “fake foods” that are “products of diet culture and promote an overall less satisfying experience around coffee.” These include:

  1. Skim milk
  2. Artificial sweeteners
  3. Fiber powders

Both artificial sweeteners and fiber supplement powders “can cause stomach discomfort, gas, bloat and pain,” Fine adds, and skim milk is a less-flavorful, watery-tasting trade for whole milk.

Reaver councils her clients that “coffee should be a morning drink not a morning milkshake!” Just because the bulletproof trend that made waves in the early 2010s doesn’t mean it’s a nutrition-smart choice. So Reaver ranks her top three worst mix-ins as:

4. Butter

5. Half-and-half

6. Coconut oil

“Adding these three types of fats to your morning coffee may seem insignificant, but can add up to significant increases in your cholesterol levels. All three are high in saturated fats. Get this: Just 2 tablespoons of half-and-half in your coffee daily for one week is the equivalent in saturated fat to a full hamburger each week,” Reaver says.

Butter and coconut oil are both primarily the same saturated fats that can increase LDL, or “bad” cholesterol levels.

“These are easy things to skip with your coffee to reduce your risk of heart disease—the number one cause of death for Americans,” she says.

Worst foods for healthy blood pressure

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, which is 1 teaspoon of salt. But, the American Heart Association has even stricter guidelines, recommending no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day. The average American consumes 3,440 mg of sodium per day. Men consume more than women with an average of 4,240 mg of sodium per day compared to the average intake for women, which is 2,980 mg per day.

But don’t throw out the saltshaker just yet. Only 11% of sodium intake in the U.S. is from the salt used in the home. Most is from processed foods and eating out. Here are the biggest offenders.

Mixed Dishes

According to the Dietary Guidelines, 44% of the sodium that Americans consume comes from mixed dishes—21% from burgers and sandwiches, 7% from rice, pasta and grain dishes, 6% from pizza, 6% from meat, poultry and seafood dishes and 4% from soups.

Pizza

Two slices of cheese pizza can have more than 1,200 mg of sodium, nearly half the recommended daily max. Top your pizza with processed meats like pepperoni or sausage and you could be eating close to a day’s worth of sodium in one meal.

Red meat, processed meat and cold cuts

Speaking of processed meats, not only are they linked to a shorter lifespan, but they’re also one of the worst offenders for blood pressure and heart health, due to both sodium and saturated fat. Red and processed meats are the reason burgers and sandwiches top the list when it comes to sodium intake. These products can vary in sodium content, but here are some averages from the USDA database:

  • 2 sausage links: 698 mg sodium
  • 4 slices bacon: 660 mg sodium
  • ½ cup pepperoni slices: 1,090 mg sodium
  • 3 slices deli turkey: 783 mg sodium

Packaged grain mixes

Quinoa, brown rice and barley are heart-healthy grains packed with fiber and protein—but not if you buy them in a bag mixed with salty seasonings. Turn the bags over while shopping and check the nutrition label for sodium. Anything with a Daily Value of 20% or more is considered high in sodium. Choose products with a DV for sodium less than 20% when you can. The best option is to buy plain whole grains and season them yourself. Many brands and stores now carry shortcut options, like frozen brown rice and 10-minute barley, without added salt.

Canned soups

“Low sodium” or “no salt added” canned soups are the best options for healthy blood pressure. One can of minestrone soup can have over 1,500 mg sodium, more than the American Heart Association says you should consume in one day. One can of tomato soup typically has about 1,000 mg sodium.

Fast food

It’s no secret that traditional fast food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s serve foods loaded with salt like burgers, chicken fingers and french fries. But seemingly healthy restaurant chains like Panera, Subway and Sweetgreen, for example, serve foods laden with sodium too. Any time you eat food prepared outside your home—whether it’s Panera, Chinese takeout or a fancy restaurant—you’re bound to consume more salt than you would if you made it yourself. Of course salt is added to make foods tastier, but also be aware that larger portion sizes when you eat out contribute to higher sodium counts. Since many fast food restaurants list the nutrition online, check the menu before you go to pick out a lower-sodium option that you can enjoy.

Fried foods

Fried foods are bad news for blood pressure. They are typically full of saturated fat and also often pack in the sodium. Opt for boiled, broiled or roasted (or try your air fryer) to lessen the pressure on your vessels and heart.

Frozen meals

Frozen dinners, even ones advertised as “healthy,” are a culprit for raising blood pressure. Check the nutrition label for a Daily Value of sodium less than 20% for the meal. Meals with meat and cheese are higher in sodium. If you want to stock your freezer, buy plain frozen fruits and vegetables, which are low in sodium, as well as other single-ingredient frozen foods.

Salty snacks

Think chips, nuts and popcorn. For healthy blood pressure, choose unsalted or reduced-sodium versions most of the time.

Pickles

While two pickle spears only have about 6 calories and no fat, they typically contain more than 700 mg sodium. That’s 30% of the recommended daily sodium limit and doesn’t include the high-sodium sandwich you may be having alongside. Eat pickles in moderation for healthy blood pressure.

Alcohol

While alcohol isn’t high in sodium, drinking too much alcohol over time is associated with high blood pressure. The Dietary Guidelines recommend men drink no more than two drinks per day and women drink no more than one drink per day. A drink is defined as 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or 1.5 ounces of liquor. There is no reason to start drinking alcohol if you don’t currently drink.

Best foods for healthy blood pressure

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is proven to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to a typical American diet. The DASH diet, also called the DASH eating plan (as it’s more a way of eating than a diet), includes eating fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, chicken, fish, beans and nuts. It’s low in red meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods with added sugar and salt.

Potassium helps lower blood pressure by helping the kidneys flush out excess sodium. Men should consume 3,400 mg of potassium per day, and women should aim for 2,600 mg per day (2,900 mg/day if pregnant; 2,800 mg/day if breastfeeding). Potassium is listed on the Nutrition Facts panel, making it easy to see if you’re getting enough to maintain healthy blood pressure levels. See our list of high-potassium foods.

Calcium and magnesium are also important nutrients for healthy blood pressure, as they help blood vessels relax.

Bananas

One medium banana has 422 mg of sodium-flushing potassium. Mix bananas into oatmeal or top your toast with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast.

Potatoes

One medium white potato has 620 mg of potassium, while one sweet potato has 540 mg of potassium. Make your own french fries by slicing potatoes and roasting them in the oven with a little salt and other spices like pepper, paprika or rosemary. Drizzle them with olive oil for heart-healthy fats. Learn more about what makes potatoes healthy.

Beets

One cup of beets has 440 mg of potassium, while one cup of beet greens has 245 mg of potassium. Studies show that both beets and beet juice can lower blood pressure, due to their high concentration of nitrates, which help improve blood flow (learn more about the health benefits of beets).

Spinach

Three cups of raw spinach delivers 475 mg of potassium, and this veggie is super versatile so it’s easy to eat—make a spinach salad, scramble into eggs, throw into a smoothie, or sauté for a side dish. Leafy greens are also high in calcium and magnesium.

Beans and legumes

Beans and legumes are high in potassium and magnesium. One cup of white beans delivers 615 mg of potassium and 89 mg of magnesium. Men should get 420 mg of magnesium per day and women should get 320 mg per day. Just rinse beans if buying them canned to help reduce sodium.

Plain yogurt

Yogurt is naturally high in calcium; choose plain over flavored yogurts (and add your own fruit or a little bit of sweetener for flavor). Go for low-fat varieties most often to limit saturated fat intake. Most men and women should aim for 1,000 mg of calcium per day. Women over the age of 50 should get 1,200 mg per day. One cup of low-fat yogurt has 415 mg of calcium. Mix heart-healthy berries into plain yogurt or swap out sour cream for plain yogurt in tacos or chili.

Other tips for healthy blood pressure

  • Cook food at home more often instead of eating out.
  • Buy foods labeled as “low sodium,” “reduced sodium” or “no salt added.”
  • Buy canned foods less often and opt for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables most of the time.
  • Rinse canned beans and vegetables before eating.
  • Read nutrition labels and choose foods with less than 20% Daily Value of sodium per serving.
  • Choose fresh meat and seafood more often than processed and packaged meats.
  • Buy unsalted savory snacks like nuts.

The Bottom Line

All foods can fit in a healthy diet, even a diet to help lower your blood pressure. Limit the foods on the worst-offenders list, like pizza, sandwiches and burgers, along with foods eaten at restaurants, processed meats, frozen meals and canned soups. The DASH diet is proven to help lower blood pressure. Limit processed foods and choose whole foods most of the time, like fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, plain whole grains, beans and legumes, low-fat dairy, and low-sodium nuts and nut butters.

Vini Vici – Universe Inside Me 🎧 ….Africa Zaouli Dance 👍….Le Zahouly Danse

Consumer Reports Just Found Lead and Cadmium in Some Popular Dark Chocolate Brands

Here’s how to shop for safer chocolate brands and keep yourself healthy.

15 Biggest African Songs That Broke The Internet in 2022

The United States is going to get everyone killed

Yes it is.

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2023 04 27 06 55

The horror…

2023 04 27 06 56
2023 04 27 06 56

The Eagles – Hotel California – Reimagined on the Traditional Chinese Guzheng | Moyun

OK, so we’re all agreed she’s freaking incredible, right?

America Has Dictated Its Economic Peace Terms to China

By refusing negotiation over China’s rise, the United States might be making conflict inevitable.
Tooze-Adam-foreign-policy-columnist16
Adam Tooze
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How far will mounting tension with China be translated into the economic policy of the United States? After a rash of sanctions and overtly discriminatory legislation, with action on U.S. investment in China pending, and with talk of war increasingly commonplace in the United States, the Biden administration knows that it needs to clarify its economic relations with the country that is the largest U.S. trading partner outside North America.
From HERE

US sanctions China into its own self-destruction

Intel Corp. is expected to post its worst quarterly loss on record Thursday, and analysts are hoping it is rock bottom for the struggling chip maker.

Intel INTC is scheduled to report earnings after the close of markets on Thursday, and analysts on average expect the Silicon Valley giant to report a loss of more than $3 billion, or 76 cents a share, according to FactSet. That would be by far the largest quarterly loss on record for the company: In records dating back to 1993, Intel has never reported a GAAP loss of more than...


Jeffrey Sachs: “China JUST CHANGED EVERYTHING, THIS IS SERIOUS” in Exclusive Interview

https://youtu.be/Xm0IGDE52sk

.

 

Playing around with Nightcafe

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

2023 04 25 16 02
2023 04 25 16 02

My first attempt

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2023 04 25 16 05

Alteration 1

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2023 04 25 16 07

The results

mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O 4 rjccz
mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O 4 rjccz

mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O 3 oc4qj
mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O 3 oc4qj

mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O 1 1miqo
mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O 1 1miqo

mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O grid
mWh6BvWZ0AmfFCN7Xq5O grid

Alteration 2

Rabbits instead of cats. Same style generator.

2023 04 25 16 13
2023 04 25 16 13

The results

NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 4 7cmm7
NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 4 7cmm7

NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 3 agt6a
NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 3 agt6a

NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 2 ipm8q
NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 2 ipm8q

NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 1 p0t5n
NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF 1 p0t5n

NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF grid
NTl4T9TmgngkShCwLqfF grid

Alteration 3

Changed the preset to Anime.

2023 04 25 16 15
2023 04 25 16 15

Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

NightCafe

Choppy changes and incredible surprises coming up ahead

Some of the predictions about peak solar change are coming true. Some of the predictions of the chaos that engulfs the United States before it’s collapse, are coming true. Some of the predictions laid forth by Strauss and Howe are coming true. Just now in 2023, rather than four to five years later in 2027.

Can you honestly believe that the bad is going to continue for another five years until it peaks in 2027? I cannot.

We are here NOW.

OK. Today’s article…

THIS IS MY MOST IMPORTANT VIDEO.

Title, not MM stuff. -MM

A neural link could be hijacked by AI to make humans behave as it wishes. Scary times indeed.

If they could afford the cost of flying from China to South America and went through all the hazard of illegal crossing into the US, it would make more sense for them to simply fly into the US as tourists and disappear in the US.

This propaganda is beyond stupid.

You may have never guessed it would be him.

Mark DeFriest always had a distant stare in his eyes — as though he could see something nobody else could.

During a conversation, he’ll look you in the eyes, respond — but never quite be “there’”, which is why he struggled to connect with people.

Mark was born with savant syndrome, a rare condition that

allows a person to excel with specific mental abilities while being deficient in others. The syndrome is commonly known through Kim Peek, t

he person Rain Man was based on.

Mark’s talent manifested in his fascination with gadgets. By age 6, he could disassemble and reassemble mechanical watches and other complex devices. Eventually, he could repair anything.

And he is, perhaps, the greatest prison escape artist in history.

His first arrest was in 1969

At 19, Mark and his new wife were driving along the Florida panhandle, working their way out west to start a new life together.

His father abruptly died and Mark turned back to attend the services. to him in his will. Thinking it was OK, he went and picked up the tools to use as part of his trade.

His stepmother didn’t care for Mark. The will hadn’t been probated yet so, technically, his picking up the tools was illegal. She called the police.

Because of Mark’s mental condition, he thought there was a big conspiracy to have him incarcerated, so he fled the scene. What should have been a routine arbitration of a disagreement turned into a full-blown police chase.

He was sentenced to four years in prison.

The prison escapes begin

It seems readily obvious that if your prison sentence is short, you should be well-behaved and aim to serve it without issues. Now, if you were dying of cancer or sentenced to 250 years, trying something crazy might make more sense.

This is where DeFriest’s brilliance is pocked with holes.

When you are inside a Florida prison cell, with steel bars, several enclosed layers of cement grids, high barbed-wire fences, guards standing watch, and living just one floor above the electric chair, escaping feels like an impossible task.

Yet Mark saw this as just another problem to solve. He lacked broader context to understand the consequences of breaking free.

His first escape attempt came when he slipped LSD into the hospital pharmacy’s coffee mixer. He planned to make a break for it when everyone was high.

After the staff started freaking out, he picked the lock to his cell and ran down the prison hallways.

Then, he scaled an exterior wall and hot-wired a car that he drove off of in.

Quite quickly, he was caught and brought back. He was sent to another prison, where his sentence was extended for grand theft auto.

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2023 04 24 15 07

The prison escapes continuing

It’s worth noting that Mark, from the very beginning, was subjected to abuse in the prison system.

His mental illness made him stand out amongst a killer’s row of peers.

They used him as a punching bag for their own legal frustrations. Additionally, his prison escapes infuriated the guards, who felt they’d been made to look stupid. They taunted and beat him routinely.

The abuse only accelerated Mark’s efforts to escape. In total, he escaped seven times on thirteen attempts. When he escaped, it usually involved him spotting a hole in their security systems or procedures. Other times, it was even more cunning.

For example, a prison guard was standing near his prison cell. Mark saw the key that was hanging from his waist and memorized the patterns. Then, he carved his own replica key and used it to escape.

In another attempt, he made a makeshift device to cut through bars and escaped through a vertical window by pushing together unsecured furniture.

He also used a device to launch himself over the barbwire fences. More plainly, he managed to create a make-shift catapult in prison.

In each of these escapes, he would find a nearby vehicle, pick the lock, and then start the car using his hands. And, eventually, he would be tracked down and re-arrested.

This wasn’t the extent of his shenanigans. He also figured out a way to hack the prison, and on multiple occasions, caused all the cell doors to open at the same time. They still haven’t figured out how he did it. Explaining his method isn’t in his immediate plans either.

The tragic takeaway of it all

What should have been a 4-year sentence is now extended to 105 years.

No, Mark didn’t help his case in attaining the nickname ‘The Jail Houdini’. Sure, it earned him acclaim throughout the country but earned him no love from judges and prison employees.

Many resources were expended managing him and that depletion may have put others at risk.

Today, Mark DeFriest is 62 and still sits in prison.

He’s spent more than 27 years in solitary confinement. He’s never been involved in a violent offense. He’s never hurt, anyone. Sure, rules are rules.

Yet I can’t help but feel this is another example of the penal system’s horrific ability to manage the mentally ill.

Decades earlier, when he stood trial for his 105-year sentence, five of six psychiatrists said he was incompetent to stand trial. The one dissenting psychiatrist has now reversed his position. The courts will have none of it.

Following a push by activists to get him released, he was granted parole. It was short-lived though. Only ten days later, his parole was overturned and Mark was arrested while checking himself into a mental health facility. He’s the only prisoner serving a life sentence in Florida for a nonviolent offense.

Yes, mental illness has been getting more attention from legislatures in recent years. But in the hard-lined prison system? Don’t expect any changes anytime soon.

Star Trek – A Mystery With No Answer

Canadian Mennonite Plum Custard Kuchen

A tea-biscuit base with neat rows of plums surrounded by custard – this is a delicious dessert.

2023 04 19 10 45
2023 04 19 10 45

Ingredients

Kuchen

  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup margarine or shortening
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup milk
  • Plums, pitted and halved

Topping

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Custard

  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt
  • 1/3 cup sugar

Instructions

  1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in margarine.
  2. Beat egg and milk and stir into mixture.
  3. Pat the dough over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan. Arrange nicely in rows enough pitted plums to completely cover the dough. Sprinkle topping over the plums.
  4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile mix custard ingredients.
  6. Take the kuchen out of the oven, drizzle the custard mixture over the plums, and return it to the oven.
  7. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another 30 minutes.
  8. Serve warm.

Brazil and China

49 points Joint Statement Between the People's Republic of China and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (Full Text)

Article HERE

Victoria Newland trying to stir up trouble…

China is likely to build its first Hyperloop train line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, according to the nation’s top engineering and rail design institutes.

The 150km-long (93-mile) in-vacuum tunnel will allow maglev trains to travel at speeds of up to 1,000km/h (621mph).

The Chinese Academy of Engineering and rail authorities commissioned a “comprehensive assessment on the candidate construction sites for ultra-high speed pipeline maglev system demonstration line”, and the two richest cities in the east coast emerged as winners, said scientists involved in the project in a report published in the Chinese-language journal Railway Standard Design on April 17.

U.S.Airforce Vs UFO / U.S.S. Enterprise!

Fascinating episode. As for William Shatner, what a life. He went into space on 13 October 2021, at the age of 90. For real. Shatner became the oldest person to reach the final frontier.

Work Related Web Comics To Help You Make It Through Monday

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Waking up on Monday morning with nothing to look forward to but corporate speak and lower back pain is enough to make anyone want to kidnap the fax machine and smash it out of it’s misery à la ‘Office Space’. Wes of The Gentleman’s Armchair has created some sad but true comics to take the edge off. So take a coffee break and read through these work related web comics for a quick pick-me-up before getting back to the grindstone.

h/t: cheezburger

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EMERGENCY ALERT SENT TO MILLIONS, NATO Makes WW3 pledge

The need for a new US Foreign Policy

US foreign policy is based on an inherent contradiction and fatal flaw. The aim of US foreign policy is a US-dominated world, in which the US writes the global trade and financial rules, controls advanced technologies, maintains militarily supremacy, and dominates all potential competitors. Unless US foreign policy is changed to recognise the need for a multipolar world, it will lead to more wars, and possibly World War III.

The inherent contradiction in US foreign policy is that it conflicts with the UN Charter, which commits the US (and all other UN member states) to a global system based on UN institutions in which no single country dominates. The fatal flaw is that the US has just 4 percent of the world population, and lacks the economic, financial, military, and technological capacities, much less the ethical and legal claims, to dominate the other 96 percent.

At the end of World War II, the US was far ahead of the rest of the world in economic, technological, and military power. This is no longer the case, as many countries have built their economies and technological capacities.

President Emmanuel Macron recently spoke the truth when he said that the European Union, though an ally of the US, does not want to be a vassal of the US. He was widely attacked in the US and Europe for uttering this statement because many mediocre politicians in Europe depend on US political support to stay in power.

In 2015, US Ambassador Robert Blackwill, an important US foreign policy strategist, described US grand strategy with exceptional clarity. He wrote, “Since its founding, the United States has consistently pursued a grand strategy focused on acquiring and maintaining preeminent power over various rivals, first on the North American continent, then in the Western hemisphere, and finally globally,” and argued that “preserving U.S. primacy in the global system ought to remain the central objective of U.S. grand strategy in the twenty-first century.”

To sustain US primacy vis-à-vis China, Blackwill laid out a game plan that President Joe Biden is following. Among other measures, Blackwill called on the US to create “new preferential trading arrangements among U.S. friends and allies to increase their mutual gains through instruments that consciously exclude China,” “a technology-control regime” to block China’s strategic capabilities, a build-up of “power-political capacities of U.S. friends and allies on China’s periphery,” and strengthened U.S. military forces along the Asian rimlands despite any Chinese opposition.

Most US politicians and many in Britain, the EU, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand support the United States’ aggressive approach. I do not. I view the US approach to China as contrary to the UN Charter and peace.

China has the right to prosperity and national security, free from US provocations around its borders. China’s remarkable economic accomplishments since the late 1970s are wonderful for both China and the world.

During the long century from 1839 to 1949, China was driven into extreme poverty in a period marked by European and Japanese invasions of China and Chinese civil wars. Britain invaded in 1839 to force China to buy Britain’s addictive opium. Other powers piled on during the following century. China has finally recovered from that disastrous period, and in the process, ended poverty of around 1 billion people!

China’s new prosperity can be both peaceful and productive for the world. China’s successful technologies – ranging from vital cures for malaria to low-cost solar power and efficient 5G networks – can be a boon for the world. China will only be a threat to the extent that the US makes China into an enemy. US hostility to China, which mixes the arrogant US aim of dominance with long-standing anti-Chinese racism dating back to the 19th century, is creating that enemy.

The dangers of US foreign policy extend beyond China. The US goal to expand NATO to Ukraine and Georgia, thereby surrounding Russia in the Black Sea, helped stoke the Ukraine War. Countless nations see the danger of this approach. Major nations from Brazil to India and beyond aim for a multipolar world. All UN member states should recommit to the UN Charter and oppose claims of dominance by any nation.

Star Trek – Back In Nazi Germany?

Philippines says ‘won’t allow’ US to stockpile weapons at joint military bases

US is getting more and more isolated. The world is increasingly daring to say “NO” to America.
 
The Philippines said Wednesday it “won’t allow” the US to stockpile weapons at joint military bases in the Southeast Asian nation for use in operations in Taiwan.

Enrique Manalo, Filipino foreign affairs chief, told a Senate hearing that the “Philippines will not be allowing the US to stockpile weapons for use in operations in Taiwan at sites American troops have access to under a 2014 defense agreement between Manila and Washington,” the daily Phil Star reported.

His comments came as Manila has approved four more military bases for joint use with Washington under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), signed in 2014....

Article HERE

“Every happy family is happy in the same way. Every unhappy family is unhappy in different ways.”

If you are looking for exact matches, you won’t find any. But rather, if you were to isolate the different parts of the US’ present day troubles, you can find similarities with various aspects of Chinese history. These are just my own observations.

1. Wang Mang

The first thing that jumps out to me is the US almost repeating the mistakes of Wang Mang. The Xin Dynasty that Wang Mang set up is widely regarded as the worst dynasty, so bad that it isn’t even viewed as a legitimate ruling polity. In a way, you can imagine the Xin Dynasty as a successful usurpation of authority by the forces that former president Donald Trump represents.

Wang Mang advocated for a return to the old Zhou Dynasty society, whereas the changes and progress made in the Qin and Han Dynasties were seen as making China worse. It closely resembes the whole Maga thing, where you had reactionary forces wanting the US to “return” to the old 1950s version of America. Wang Mang also rose up as a populist leader, who did bring up legitimate grievances that the masses had with the rulers, as many felt they were uncared for.

Of course, once Wang Mang actually came into power, he completely broke every promise he made, neglected agriculture, failed at flood control, and completely failed at diplomacy with the Xiongnu confederation. Wang Mang would even set up a “rival” government that would be the “real” rulers of the Xiongnu, which sounds quite similar to US machinations with their coup attempts “for muh democrazy”.

2. Qianlong

The other issue I see is that the US is exhibiting the same problems that led to the stagnation of the Qing Dynasty, which ended with the West overtaking China. The US keeps trying to hold onto coal mining, constantly has issues with automation “taking jobs”, and how globalization is “unfair”.

Emperor Qianlong famously declared that China had everything she desired, and how the Europeans had nothing to offer. While not exact, I see the same thing with the US thinking she’s got everything she needs, and the new technologies coming out of China “are not profitable” or other excuses.

3. Southern Song

The final problem with the US is that it is exhibiting the signs of late stage capitalism. While every Chinese dynasty would eventually devolve into the chaos of decentralization, liberalism, and capitalism, none exhibited these disasters as strongly as the last days of the Song Dynasty.

If you read “Up and Down 5000 years”, there was a story of two rich families competing in wealth, where they would do things like washing pans with sugar water, constructing a 20 mile walkway with satin, or lavishly buying dozens of Peng Jing. All while the people were under threat of famine, revolts were happening everywhere, and the armies of the Jin were winning battle after battle.

These kinds of families also completely took over the Song court, which quickly devolved into non-stop factional in-fighting. Qin Hui would rather kill Yue Fei for his personal political power, even though Yue Fei was the one spending his entire life protecting the Song against the Jin. There was no concept of the greater good, and that is exhibited by the US today – for some unknown reason, Americans seem to think “greater good” is a bad thing.

Anyways, none of these are perfect matches, because as stated previously, failure is different every time. If only one of the three time periods could be picked, I’d go with Qianlong. That was at the end of the Qing Dynasty golden age (Kangxi – Yongzheng – Qianlong), so things still appeared to be very good on the surface, but the decadence has already set in.

Ground Cherry Pie

Ground cherries, also known as husk tomatoes, produce tiny tomato-like fruits in papery husks on low, lanky bushes. This is an old Mennonite recipe with a crumb topping.

2023 04 19 10 48
2023 04 19 10 48

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups pitted ground cherries
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 (9-inch) pie shell
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Wash ground cherries and place in unbaked pie shell.
  3. Mix brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour and sprinkle over cherries. Sprinkle water over top.
  4. Mix together the 3 tablespoons flour and 3 tablespoons sugar. Cut butter in until crumbly. Top cherry mixture with crumbs.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes.
  6. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F and continue to bake for 25 minutes.

Star Trek – Escape From Rome

On the land of China, there is a group of flower chasers. They are bee farmers who keep bees.

Starting from spring each year, they will catch up with the flowering season across the country, and even stay at home for no more than a month each year. The highway will also save time for them every second, providing priority access. This is called the “green channel” on the highway and is prepared for agricultural logistics. During the previous years of the epidemic, the green channel was also used in some areas to transport epidemic prevention materials.

main qimg b45eb1f7f74df261ddee411cb1293445
main qimg b45eb1f7f74df261ddee411cb1293445

In terms of bee selection, Italian bees have a good yield, but often only collect large flower fields, while local bees have advantages in wintering and freezing prevention, and can also collect scattered flowers, but the yield is relatively low. Bee farmers hybridize two types of bees to gain the advantages of both.

The various crops in the farmland require pollination, which gives farmers and bee farmers, the two groups of “static and dynamic”, the motivation to cooperate. Bees are very sensitive to pesticides, and farmers will prepare empty window periods for bee farmers to pollinate to avoid accidental harm to these bees.

2023 04 20 18 06
2023 04 20 18 06

Beekeepers usually bring dogs to warn and drive out wild animals. For example, there may be some wolves in Inner Mongolia. Heilongjiang and Jilin also have bears, and there are mice everywhere – they can steal honey.

main qimg dd0d0b84a97fa1a8ad82a024cf23549e
main qimg dd0d0b84a97fa1a8ad82a024cf23549e

With the price advantage of solar panels, bee farmers, as a modern kind of “nomad”, are increasingly using solar energy.

main qimg 0829d03a6dccb305005a832c1cfff4f5
main qimg 0829d03a6dccb305005a832c1cfff4f5

In the past, honey was difficult to sell directly because beekeepers had been in the mountains and forests for a long time and transportation was inconvenient. Now, on the Chinese version of TikTok, beekeepers’ live streaming promotion is widespread. People feel more reassured about honey products when they see live videos about how they are produced.

2023 04 20 18 07
2023 04 20 18 07

Beekeepers sell pollen, honey, royal jelly, even beeswax and beehives with honey. The honey produced by different flowers has different aromas, which is the taste of the flowers. Chinese linden honey, locust flower honey, osmanthus honey, longan honey, coptis chinensis honey, lychee honey, these are all popular honey types.

The picture shows Chinese linden honey, and the bee farmer said that the price of this bottle is forty yuan – 5.8$. Reasonable for me.

2023 04 20 18 0d7
2023 04 20 18 0d7

“Severe” G4 Geomagnetic Storm now in progress (Sunday)

48 Hours ago, the sun let loose a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) aimed directly at earth.  Scientists warned it may cause a Geo-Magnetic Storm.  Tonight they have their answer: a “Severe” G4 Geo-magnetic storm is now in progress. Aurora’s may be visible down to TEXAS!”

Arriving earlier than expected, a CME hit Earth’s magnetic field today, April 23rd, at 1737 UTC. The impact sparked a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm with auroras in Europe as far south as Germany and southern Poland. The storm is subsiding now, currently G3, but it is still strong and could produce auroras over the USA after nightfallAurora alerts: SMS Text.

“My pulse is still racing!” says Heiko Ulbricht, who watched the aurora show from Saxony, Germany, during the apex of the geomagnetic storm. “There were bright green spots dancing across the sky all the way up to the zenith.” The image above is what he saw.

“I still can’t breathe,” he says. “This was a show not to be forgotten.”

The auroras were so bright, they could be seen even from brightly-lit urban areas. Thomas Hunger sends this report from Berlin, Germany: “I run Northern Lights tours in Tromsø, Norway, but would have never dreamt of seeing auroras from my home town of Berlin. I stepped on the balcony and enjoyed a sight that in a city of 4 million inhabitants might just have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Tomasz Adam had a similar experience in Kraków, Poland: “I saw aurora for the first time in my life,” he says. “My photo might not look like much, but I took it from Kraków – one of the most light polluted cities of Poland.”

Watching America’s Collapse On Video

Your time is almost up if you live in the West. It’s past OVER. Leave now.

Playing around with DeepAI

OK, so as of late, I have been experimenting with this “new” kind of Artificial Intelligence system. This one takes a sentence, a statement and then generates art from it. It’s fun, cool and quite an amusement. Something that I am just starting to “toy around with”.

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2023 04 24 21 22

DeepAI offers an easy-to-use text-to-image generator that produces decent results with the right prompts. There are many image styles on offer, and almost half of those are free.

The free ones include basic text-to-image, cute creatures, fantasy worlds, cyberpunk, old, renaissance painting, and abstract, among a few others.

All of these styles produce images according to that theme, pretty much like the other tools on this list. However, among these styles, there is a logo generator as well that you can use to produce interesting logo ideas. It’s particularly useful for artists who are looking for inspiration to build on or to overcome a block.

Here’s some examples when I typed in a sentence, and then clicked on the style icon…

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2023 04 24 20 12

Pretty good.

You need to play with it, because if you use the wrong feed generation icon, your images won’t look “right”.

Here, I used the architectural icon for a house-based sentence…

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2023 04 24 21 01

I think that it is fun.

Some of my art renderings…

This one tuned out pretty good…

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8R6PLiBj

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a 88aa0g

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kEKcarf7

IepYGqeH
IepYGqeH

YANr vfv
YANr vfv

kT8YfW85
kT8YfW85

07pjuIFb
07pjuIFb

kBYZqMFq
kBYZqMFq

QrFSv12X
QrFSv12X

M7niZQZu
M7niZQZu

frELcIXz
frELcIXz

feYmB5U1
feYmB5U1

H9Cdw I9
H9Cdw I9

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Your Turn

Go click on this link to try it yourself…

DeepAI

Boy oh boy is the Geopolitical situation changing (with a good look at Vietnam)

Man, I can hardly keep up.

Today, we are going to enjoy contemporaneous Vietnamese pop music. Very, very popular in China and throughout SE Asia.

Man, oh man! Talk about color, and style.

Certainly SE Asia is not some third world banana republic any longer. Wow!

This is the same throughout the (rest of) the world. While the Untied States has been enjoying the fruits of looting, and unlimited spending, and fees, and excessive fees and taxes, the rest of the world has been quietly strengthening itself.

To understand what the new world is, you need to observe what is going on in the rest of the world. That means Asia and Africa.

If you are NOT AWARE how the rest of the world (outside of the West) has changed, you will never NEVER fully grasp how precarious the West is right now.

Do you hear me?

The world has REALLY changed.

Really.

It looks nothing like that old stale 1940’s , black and white, card-board cut-out imagery that the American / Western “news” portrays.

And that is a theme that all of us expats are trying to warn those whom remain inside the burning United States. It’s OVER. It has been over, and you all have no clue as to how far the United States has fallen.

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To hitch your nation to the dying zombie nation of the United States is absolute insanity. The world has moved on…

I strongly suggest you all watch every one of the Vietnamese videos here.

French Warship Transits Taiwan Strait With China’s Approval

Reporter/Provider – Alex Chen/Bryn Thomas/Charlie Storrar

Publish Date – 04/12/2023

This is after France agree not to be militarily hostile to China:

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Ma Ying-jeou’s mainland visit shows cross-Strait China-Taiwan kinship

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main qimg df678e4f1f6502f01c58d3ea43a82e1a

A spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office noted that the visit of Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, to the Chinese mainland, showed that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and of one family.

Ma’s visit drew wide attention from both sides of the Strait and received positive comments from the public, spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said Wednesday (April 12) at a press conference.

It has positive significance for promoting the exchanges between compatriots on both sides of the Strait and the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Zhu said.

The visit also showed the common hope of compatriots on both sides for cross-Strait peace, development, communication and cooperation, and manifested that the 1992 Consensus is the fundamental anchor for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, the spokesperson said.

Zhu expressed the hope that the compatriots on the two sides of the Strait join hands on the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and securing the long-term welfare of the Chinese nation.

Làm gì phải Hốt – JustaTee x Hoàng Thùy Linh x Đen | Official Music Video

Macron Outlines Need for European Sovereignty

From VOA “news”

French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday outlined his vision for European economic and industrial sovereignty during a visit to the Netherlands, following criticism over recent remarks about China and the United States.

Speaking at a Dutch research organization in The Hague, Macron said it was essential the European Union carve out an independent stance on five key areas, including trade, competitiveness and European industry. Embedded across all, he said, should be European values and goals in areas such as climate change. (What is European values? Colonialism? Imperialism? Bullying? Looting? Double standard? Fake news? Colour revolution funding? So Typical ash hole supremacist language)

“We want to be open,” said the president. “We want allies, we want good friends, we want partners. But we always want to be in a situation to choose them. Not to be 100 percent dependent on them.” (besides the crusader DNA countries keep doing that, who else?)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, looks at demonstrators unfolding a banner that says “President of Violence and Hypocrisy” while he explains his vision of Europe during a lecture in The Hague, Netherlands, April 11, 2023.

Macron said Tuesday the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine helped drive the need for an independent European strategy — not reliant, for example, on either Chinese or U.S. technology. (It is US that forced Europe choice, not Chinese. A balancing language to avoid upsetting the US too much?)

“Defending sovereignty doesn’t mean to shy away from allies,” he said. “It means we must be able to choose our partners and shape our own destiny, rather than being, I would say, a mere witness of the dramatic evolution of this world.”

Macron made his remarks during a state visit to the Netherlands — the first by a French president in more than two decades. The comments follow a controversial interview with French and U.S. media, when he reportedly warned against Europe becoming entangled in unrelated crises — apparently referring to Taiwan — and becoming too dependent on the United States for defense… read more…

Coq au Vin
(Cock with Red Wine and Mushrooms)

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a348f64c30c099d10a220b57fb259d88

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 pound) chicken, cut up (or parts of choice)
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons parsley, minced
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dry basil
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 (16 ounce) can white onions, drained
  • 1/4 cup brandy

Instructions

  1. Coat chicken, onion and carrot in mixture of flour, salt and pepper; set aside.
  2. Fry bacon in a 4 or 6 quart pressure cooker until crisp; remove, crumble and set aside.
  3. Sauté mushrooms in bacon drippings; remove and set aside.
  4. Brown chicken a few pieces at a time; set aside.
  5. Brown onions and carrots, then return all chicken to the pot.
  6. Combine wine, garlic, parsley, basil and bay leaf; pour over chicken. Close pressure cooker securely. Place regulator on vent; cook for 8 minutes at 15 pounds pressure, with the regulator rocking slowly. Cool pressure cooker at once.
  7. Remove chicken and veggies to a warm serving dish.
  8. Add reserved mushrooms and the canned white onions to the liquid and simmer until heated through. Thicken if necessary (cornstarch slurry works fine). Add bacon and brandy; heat. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables.

Hoàng Thùy Linh – Bánh Trôi Nước (Woman)

A personal favorite.

Classic Pin-Up Girls Before And After Editing: The Real Women Behind Those Gil Elvgren’s Incredible Paintings

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Ever wonder about the process that went on behind the scenes of those classic pin-up images that adorned the noses of bombers and the walls of soldiers barracks in the 1940s and ’50s? Anyone who’s familiar with pin up paintings will know the caricature-esque works of Gil Elvgren. His fantastical cheesecake pictures feature curvy 1950s women revealing their stockings – and sometimes a bit more – in a series of eyebrow-raising situations.

h/t: vintag.es

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It seems in the age before digital photo editing, it was paint which made women seem to posess an impossible beauty, as these erotic illustrations reveal. These great before and after images of 1950s pin-up girls will give you a sneak peak of the photograph that came before the artists rendering.

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Hoàng Thùy Linh – Kẻ Cắp Gặp Bà Già (Diamond Cut Diamond)| Official Music Video

Super popular inside of China.

The EU Trojan Horse: Poland, Romania and the Baltic States

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It is said that after a fruitless 10-year siege of Troy, the Greeks left a huge wooden horse outside the gates of the city and seemed to have sailed away. The occupants of Troy brought the horse into the city, only to find that night that it was full of Greek soldiers who opened the city gates so that the Greeks could take the city. Just as the occupants of Troy brought a poisoned gift into their city, the EU welcomed in Poland (2003), Romania (2007) and the Baltic states (2004). What they did not understand is that they were welcoming in states with elites (especially their diasporas) that have a searing visceral hatred of anything Russian and are happy US vassals. Any thought of a new Ostpolitik of the 1970s or the European friendship that Gorbachev wished for was off the table. In addition, the concurrent accession of these states into NATO broke the repeated promises of the West not to move NATO closer to Russia, negating the possibility of a zone of neutral peace.

The history of Poland (the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569-1795) and Russia is one of repeated wars. At its peak in the seventeenth century, the Commonwealth included most of what is now the Baltic States and Belarus and western Ukraine. In 1795 it was put to rest as what was left of it was dismembered between Austria, Prussia and Russia. Poland came back into being as part of the WW1 settlement, which also created the states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (as well as Finland). Poland invaded Russian territories during the Russian Civil War (Polish-Soviet War 1918-1921) in an attempt to rebuild the Commonwealth. This included the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918-1919 against Ukrainian nationalists, with the latter forced into alliance with Poland. After being pushed back to Warsaw and nearly defeated, the Poles won the Battle of Warsaw (1920), and the Peace of Riga (1921) was signed that gave large areas of what is now western Belarus and Ukraine to Poland; areas that were predominantly Slavic not Polish. In 1939, the Soviet Union took back these territories, as well as the Baltic States, as part of its agreement with Germany. The territories taken back by the Soviet Union played a critical role in its survival of the 1941 German invasion, by moving the start line for that invasion (Barbarossa) hundreds of kilometres west. The Soviet Union had also forced the Finns to modify their border with the Soviet Union, to move it away from the Leningrad area. Poland, the Baltic States and Finland were all seen as putative allies of Germany in any invasion of the Soviet Union. At the time Poland was a majority peasant society, ruled by an authoritarian military regime (“regime of the colonels”) that was supported by the aristocracy and the landowning gentry. As Korbonski notes:

There is little doubt that interwar Poland presents a textbook case of what Huntington calls “oligarchical praetorianism.” In such societies, the dominant political forces tend to be the landowners, the clergy, and the military, with the last-mentioned exercising dominance.

Romania had gained Bessarabia after the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1918, but was forced to give it, as well as Northern Bukovina (the combination of which became the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic), to the Soviet Union in 1940. After the collapse of the Soviet Union these areas became the new nation-state of Moldova. This territorial change also pushed back the start line for Barbarossa, which Romania took an active part in as an ally of Germany. Pre-WW2 Romania was a majority peasant country, ruled over by a fascist dictatorship. Lithuania was a fascist one-party (Lithuanian Nationalist Union) authoritarian state, Latvia an authoritarian nationalist dictatorship, and Estonia a right-wing one-party (Patriotic League) authoritarian state.

I include the historical background above to combat much of the recent historical rewriting that serves to paint these nations, and their pre-WW2 leadership in as positive a light as possible. At the end of WW1, the new Soviet Union was “punished” by the other Allied nations through the taking of Russian lands to create Finland, the Baltic States and Poland; in addition to Western invasions of the Soviet Union in an attempt to crush the communist government. Poland and Romania also seized through wars of aggression other pieces of Russia. None of these states were democracies at the start of WW2, they were all highly antisemitic, and enemies of the Soviet Union. In 1940, the Soviet Union took back the lands taken by Poland and Romania, extinguished the Baltic States created from its territory at the end of WW1, and pushed back the Finnish border away from the critical Leningrad area. Without these moves, the Barbarossa offensive may have taken both Moscow and Leningrad in 1941 and Hitler may have gained his lebensraum. What would Eastern Europe and Russia look like today if that had happened? Those that wish to demonize the Soviet Union, and its progeny Russia, ignore and suppress these historical realities.

After WW2, the Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe as a buffer against Western aggression, a position fully supported by the many European and Western attempts to subjugate Russia and then the Soviet Union. The historical enemies of Poland and Romania would be kept well under control, but not extinguished. Finland also had to accept some additional border changes but was not occupied by the Soviet Union. The Soviet-backed government of Poland was not the disaster many now claim, as it carried out land reform, eradicated illiteracy, provided universal healthcare and education, and established rapid industrialization and urbanization. The population of Poland doubled between 1947 and 1989 and many lower-class Poles had opportunities that they would never have had under previous administrations. The Polish crisis of the 1980s was the result of massive borrowing from the West in the 1970s that lead to severe economic conditions, even rationing, as Western interest rates rose as part of the Volcker Shock. This was the exacerbated by the economic disintegration of the Soviet Union toward the end of that decade. The Romanian experience of communism was much more brutal, but the extremes of the Ceausescu regime were due to the mass austerity imposed to pay off loans from the West; impoverishing the population.

In recent times, Romania has become a deeply corrupt state run by a kleptocracy, which is governed by a US and Western comprador elite and acts as a NATO forward base against Russia and pushes for integration with Moldova (recently with a “strategic partnership”) to reclaim the “lost” Bessarabia. A friend of mine recently visited Bucharest during a diplomatic summit and noted the difference between the modern rich center that the world tends to see and the sea of poverty that it sits within. An example of the deep corruption in Romania, not much has changed in the past few years since:

Read the REST HERE

Hoàng Thùy Linh – Lắm Mối Tối Ngồi Không (Run After Two Hares, Catch Nones) | Official Lyrics Video

Brisket and Beans

Cowboy Beans 3 1024x1536 1
Cowboy Beans 3 1024×1536 1

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 pound) brisket
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
  • 6 potatoes, peeled, quartered
  • 1/4 teaspoon marjoram, crumbled
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Remove any excess fat from brisket.
  2. In a pressure cooker, bring brisket, water and seasonings to 15 pounds pressure and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
  3. Reduce pressure under cold water.
  4. Open cooker, and add vegetables. Cover, then bring to 15 pounds pressure and cook 5 minutes; reduce pressure again.
  5. Remove meat, and slice thinly on the diagonal.
  6. Serve with green beans and potatoes drenched with cooking liquid. Do not thicken the natural gravy.

Hoàng Thuỳ Linh, Thanh Lam, Tùng Dương – Đánh Đố | Official Music Video

11 Illustrations That Show Just How Much The Internet Has Changed Our Lives

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None of us should ever succumb to panic — real life is definitely still out there despite the huge role that the Internet plays in modern life. Gadgets and technology play a part in our lives, but it really is just a part. Nevertheless, it’s funny to think about the hundreds of little ways these things have changed our behavior.

h/t: brightside

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Trưởng Nữ Chạy Trốn – Hoàng Thùy Linh (choreography by Pdragteam)

Top searches on Douyin: West-to-east green hydrogen transmission pipeline; Return of the panda

China has taken a significant step towards reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and transitioning towards renewable energy.

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today we’re shifting gears to bring you the latest trends and searches on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok.

China plans to build its first west-to-east hydrogen pipeline to transfer clean fuel more effectively, which will provide Beijing with a direct supply of green hydrogen.

In other news, the long-awaited return of Ya Ya the panda to China is finally about to happen. While some may consider this a minor event, the Chinese government’s response demonstrates their serious commitment to the well-being of their “national treasures” and their desire to prevent further escalation of tensions with the US, at least on this issue.


Tuesday’s top 10 trending searches on Douyin (the Chinese equivalent of TikTok) as of 5:00 p.m. (0900 GMT):

#1 Celebrities in slo-mo

六公主高速慢镜头群星大片

2022-2023 M-Chart of China Movie Channel & the Ceremony of Chinese Movie Data (2022-2023年度电影频道M榜暨中国电影大数据盛典), held in Jingzhou, central China’s Hubei Province, on Sunday presents a star-studded collection of slo-mo full shots in which Chinese celebrities (mostly actresses) spined and posed for the HD camera.

#2 Livestreamer jobs closed to the less-educated

张兰称不会再招低学历主播

Zhang Lan, the renowned entrepreneur and founder of the popular restaurant chain “Qiao Jiang Nan” (俏江南), recently shared a video in which she announced that she will no longer be hiring less-educated livestreamers, whom she referred to as “little wild children” and “bad apples”. Zhang started from scraps, had her ups and downs, and now livestreams every day promoting “Ma Liu Ji” instant foods, her newest venture. She explained in the video that the less educated tend to get full of themselves, a remark agreed by most of the comments.

#3 China to build first west-to east green hydrogen pipeline

首条西氢东送管道纳入国家规划

China plans to build its first west-to-east hydrogen pipeline to transfer clean fuel more effectively and the project has been included in the country’s oil and gas network construction plan, according to Xinhua on Monday. The pipeline will extend for over 400km, transmitting hydrogen from Ulanqab, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to the capital Beijing, helping alleviate the mismatch between the supply and demand of green hydrogen in resources-rich west and energy-consuming east.

#4 Private donation of 200,000 yuan to shared kitchen for cancer patients

好心人向抗癌厨房捐款20万

An anonymous donor offered 200,000 yuan (about 29,000 U.S. dollars) in cash to a charity kitchen in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan Province. The kitchen, which opened nine years ago near Zhengzhou Cancer Hospital, has been a haven of hope for disease-stricken families. Family members of cancer patients can pay 5 yuan to get unlimited access to the cooking facilities and condiments. The anonymous donation is only part of the timely help as the kitchen struggles financially.

#5 Father embarks on a quest for trafficked son

杜小华重走儿子被拐之路

The boy nicknamed “little Mickey” was six years old when he was abducted. In 2014, Dearest (亲爱的), a movie about lost children which took inspiration from his story drew increasing attention to Du Xiaohua, his father. Having searched for his son for more than ten years, Du has gone on a new journey to north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to follow up a new lead. He called for the human trafficker and the buyer of his son to come forward and reach a compromise. The successful retrieval of another trafficked boy, Sun Zhuo, in 2021, serves as a motivation for the father.

#6 A young Chinese coast guard dies in preventing and counter-smuggling

海警执法员缉私战斗中牺牲

Wang Xiaolong, a 27-year-old Chinese police officer from Guangdong (south Chinese province) Coast Guard, sacrificed his life in an investigation of smuggling cases in the early morning of March 24, according to China Coast Guard. When fighting against the outlaw, Wang braved danger and charged forward, but unfortunately fell into the sea. Many Chinese citizens commented on the sad news to pay tribute to the heroic sacrifice.

#7 Intelligence leak: US has been spying on Zelensky

泄密门显示美国一直监视乌总统

The incident of leaking alleged classified US military documents has sparked heated discussion worldwide. According to CNN on Monday, one of the leaked documents reveals that the US has been spying on Zelensky, and the leak deeply frustrated Ukrainian officials, and it is reported that Ukraine has already altered some of its military plans due to the leak.

#8 Rare aquatic wild animal first seen in south China

广西首次发现罕见物种淡水蛏

Novaculina chinensis, a national second-class protected aquatic wild animal which usually appeared in east China’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang province, has recently been found on a riverbed in Henzhou City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to CCTVnews. Novaculina chinensis is one of the three species of freshwater razor clam genus Novaculina, which represents an example of a marine-derived, secondary freshwater group that lives in the mud under fresh water, and occurs at the lower Yangtze River in China, according to a scientific report. Some netizens from Guangxi remarked that the appearance of Novaculina chinensis proves the good environment in Guangxi because the species has high requirements for water quality.

#9 Liu Yan wants to play Mother of Jackson Yee

柳岩想演易烊千玺的妈妈

Liu Yan, a Chinese actress, hostess and singer, in an entertainment interview, expressed her admiration for many senior Hong Kong celebrities both in their appearance and performance, such as Tony Leung, one of Asia’s most successful and internationally recognized actors, and Chingmy Yau, a retired actress popular in the late 1980s. When asked about the promising younger generation actor in her eyes, Liu proposed Jackson Yee, a 22-year-old popular Chinese singer, dancer and actor, and she hopes to play his mother or elderly sister if there is a chance for cooperation in film and television works.

#10 China ready for the return of Ya Ya the panda

中方已经做好迎接丫丫回国各项准备sea

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the daily briefing on Tuesday that the return of Ya Ya, the giant panda on a 20-year loan to Memphis Zoo in the U.S., is well-prepared and will proceed as soon as possible. Ya Ya is in stable health, said the spokesperson, with bald spots as a result of her skin disease. The health condition of Ya Ya has recently come under intensive scrutiny of Chinese netizens, and many suspect Memphis Zoo of maltreatment.


#3 China to build first west-to east green hydrogen pipeline

China plans to build its first west-to-east hydrogen pipeline to transfer clean fuel more effectively and the project has been included in the country’s oil and gas network construction plan, according to Xinhua on Monday, informed by Sinopec, China’s largest oil and gas giant, which is also the operator of the pipeline.

The pipeline will extend for over 400 km, transmitting hydrogen from Ulanqab, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to the capital Beijing, with an initial capacity of handling 100,000 tons per year and the potential to increase 500,000 tons in the long run, according to Sinopec chairman Ma Yongsheng.

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2023 04 13 18 23

The project will help alleviate the mismatch between the supply and demand of green hydrogen in resources-rich west and energy-consuming east, playing a pioneering role in trans-regional transmission and promoting the national energy upgrade, such as replacing the current hydrogen production from fossil fuels in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Ma added.

The country’s oil and gas network construction plan was released by the National Energy Administration in March and reaffirmed at the national oil and gas pipeline planning construction and protection work conference on April 6, aiming at detailing the implementation of medium and long-term oil and five-year gas pipeline network planning and pipeline construction tasks.


#10 China ready for the return of Ya Ya the panda

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on April 11, 2023

Dragon TV: Recently, the Memphis Zoo in the US held a farewell party for the giant panda Ya Ya, whose health conditions have been on the mind of many internet users in China. Do you have any updates on the giant panda’s return to China?

Wang Wenbin: … At present, an expert from the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens and two technicians from the Beijing Zoo are now working with the Memphis Zoo on the caring of the giant panda and they have got a general understanding of the daily care of Ya Ya. The overall condition of the giant panda is relatively stable except for the fur condition caused by skin disease. The Chinese side has already made preparations to welcome Ya Ya home in terms of quarantine sites, living quarters, feeding plans, medical care and feed supplies.

Ya Ya had her farewell party on Saturday in Memphis, Tennessee, while a memorial for Le Le went on display at the zoo. The two pandas have been at the center of a whirlwind of disputes as to whether they have been underfed, neglected, or even abused.

Ya Ya, born on 3 August 2000 in Beijing, may look different from what comes to mind when people think of giant pandas. She has a chronic skin condition, a fact acknowledged by Memphis Zoo, that results in shedding and patchiness. Le Le, who was sent to Memphis Zoo with Ya Ya in 2003, also had significant teeth issues resulting in broken molars.

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2023 04 13 18 e23

Giant panda Ya Ya and her farewell cake at Memphis Zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., Apr. 8, 2023.

Stories of Ya Ya’s suffering have been spreading for some years, but things really took off after Le Le died shortly before his due return to China on Feb. 1, when he was 24 years old. The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. Exponential attention was paid after Le Le’s death on the surviving Ya Ya, who was reported to be given insufficient bamboos and barely any treats or supplements. Some claimed that Ya Ya was often begging for food, after watching the live animal cams of the Memphis Zoo.

The Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens(CAZG) released a statement on March 10, 2022, acknowledging both pandas were underweight and suggested Memphis Zoo improve their diets by increasing food variety and protein sources to improve nutrition and help them gain weight. However, their blood test and imageological scans showed no diseases whatsoever, and although the CAZG has come up with no explanation of Ya Ya’s skin condition, it confirmed that it was hereditary and subject to seasons and hormone fluctuations.

The CAZG statement has only exacerbated the fury and patriotism of Chinese netizens. On Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, #overhaulCAZG has received over 36,000 reads, and many accuse the association of corruption and neglect. On Mar. 18, Chinese experts came to Memphis Zoo to oversee Ya Ya’s living conditions and negotiate the procedures of her return. On Apr. 11, it is finally announced that the preparations are complete.

There are some people, however, who support the CAZG and claim there is nothing inappropriate with Ya Ya’s treatment. Their argument boils down to two points: 1) Ya Ya’s condition is genetic. 2) Stories about the mistreatment of Ya Ya and Le Le are false information.

For a start, Ya Ya is genetically flawed, with her mother and grandmother both artificially inseminated. It is even possible that her mother was father-to-daughter inbred. To date, Ya Ya is the only surviving offspring of a total of twelve of her mother’s children. As to the second question, they argue that the video clips showing Ya Ya’s sufferings are maliciously edited and that the Memphis Zoo has a good record of caring for giant pandas.

But it seems that the discussions have already moved on from the zoological realm. “No more neglect. No more loans. No more experiments. The dignity of the state is not to be trampled upon”, reads one comment on Weibo which garners more than 3,800 likes. “I am grateful to my strong motherland for Ya Ya’s safe passage home,” says one comment on Douyin. “I hope all the pandas who are suffering in the U.S. Can return to China,” says another.


Greek Meatballs and Spaghetti Sauce

53044c7cc5c83dfd630f49a933228b9a greek meatballs spaghetti and meatballs
53044c7cc5c83dfd630f49a933228b9a greek meatballs spaghetti and meatballs

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 pound beef, veal and pork ground together (or ground turkey)
  • 1/4 cup sherry
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 medium size onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 slices bread, finely crumbled (store bought bread crumbs if you want)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil or less
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried mint

Sauce

  • 1 large onion, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 slices bacon, diced (optional)
  • 2 carrots, coarsely diced
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup beef broth or stock
  • 2 tablespoons sherry
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
  • 1/2 teaspoon mint
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Cooked pasta or rice to serve

Instructions

  1. Prepare meatballs. Set aside.

Meatballs

  1. Combine meat, sherry and the egg in a bowl. Add onion, garlic, bread crumbs and seasonings. Knead until completely mixed. Shape into walnut-size meatballs. Do not over-handle or they will be tough.

Sauce

  1. In a pressure cooker, sauté onion, garlic, tomato paste, bacon, carrots, and parsley over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce or puree, broth, sherry, brown sugar, salt, pepper flakes, oregano, fennel, mint and bay leaves. Stir to combine, and add meatballs. Secure lid. Over medium-high heat develop steam to high pressure. Reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook 10 minutes.
  2. Release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Remove lid. Gently stir meatballs in sauce. Discard bay leaves. Let stand 5 minutes.
  3. Skim fat from surface.
  4. In a pressure cooker, sauté meatballs in hot oil over high heat until lightly browned. Cook about 10 meatballs at a time, turning with tongs.

Hoàng Thùy Linh – Duyên Âm (Love of Ghost) | Official Music Video

Five Warning Signs:-

Sign One:-

She expects you to pay for everything from the very first date or within the first 10 dates.

Going Dutch is the norm for any girl except for treats (50–50 or paying alternatively)

Sign Two:-

She expects you to improve your behaviour or parts of your personality from the first date or within the first ten dates

The usual norm is after 10 dates she says “Look I really like you but you eat too fast or you swear too much or you slouch toi much, will you please correct it”

Sign Three:-

She is dismissive to things you hold very dear from the very first date or within the first 10 dates

The norm is to nod her head when you praise Modi or Kohli or some random German writer she has never heard of

Then after enough familiarity, she will say “Please shut up. It bores me”

That’s perfectly normal

Sign Four:-

She talks too much of her boyfriend even if its angry stuff

It means you could be a rebound or she isn’t over him

The norm is she won’t want to talk about him initially and later doesn’t care about him enough to talk about him

Sign Five:-

She is dismissive about Parents or your mother or excessive caring by parents

Talent at the Top

Why China Leads the World

Apr 21, 2023

Them

300,000 Chinese people have an IQ above 160¹, which means they can do highly innovative work in quantum physics and mathematics and invent sciences and win Nobels, and all of them work for the Government of China as officials, academics or researchers.

For fifty generations, China’s geniuses have always become government officials because, well, because China only allows geniuses run the country. No-one else need apply.

Young geniuses with political ambitions live in the poorest villages until they raise incomes 50%. Then, if their KPIs remain high for a quarter century, they might ascend to Beijing, official Valhalla.

Two geniuses – one ran the space program, and his buddy who designed its rockets – were made Provincial Governors², each responsible for 5% economic growth in his province, for environmental improvement, for a dozen KPIs, and for delivering their share of the Five Year Plan.

In preparation for their career change, they went back to school. They spent a semester at the most exclusive university on earth, the lakeside campus of the Central Party School in Beijing. There they hung out with world thinkers who earn small fortunes for giving seminars to promising officials and yakking about the future. A Hungarian economist friend, who had heard about the School’s generosity, waited until he was seated on the ‘plane to open his honorarium envelope, “My hands shook. I actually wept. The next week, I paid off the mortgage, bought my wife a car, and left the rest in the bank”.

Xi Jinping began his cursus honorum² at the same age as Cicero, by being elected Village Party Secretary at nineteen. His KPIs were excellent for 25 years, and he picked up a Master’s in Marxist economics and a PhD in rural marketization. An Oxford PhD and African developmental economist attending a conference in Beijing was astonished to find herself sipping tea with Xi and his translator in his office, gabbing about Chinese aid hits and misses. Xi, incidentally, is held responsible for the same KPIs and the same Five Year goals. All of them.

Despair

President Trump despaired, “People say I don’t like China? No, I love them! But their leaders are much smarter than ours. And we can’t maintain ourselves against that. It’s like playing the New England Patriots and Tom Brady against your high school football team.” His elaboration on Xi’s personal qualities is interesting:

Us

30,000 (note4) Westerners have an IQ above 160, but none of them will ever govern a state, let alone a country. Honesty is fatal in our politics, and smart people are honest.

In addition to their lack of intelligence, education and morality, our officials are unaccountable and have no goals. Most have never accomplished anything beyond winning an election, as their disastrous policies make clear.

Let’s not beat a dead horse. There’s no way on God’s earth the West can compete with China, as Lee Kwan Yew (note 5) warned decades ago, “The size of China’s displacement of the world balance is such that the world must find a new balance. It is not possible to pretend that this is just another big player. This is the biggest player in the history of the world”.

If you’re interested in how China actually works, read Why China Leads the World: Talent at the Top, Data in the Middle, Democracy from the Bottom. To learn how Chinese officialdom works, read Dean of Shandong, whose author, Daniel Bell, was a Chinese Government official in this lifetime.

1

IQ is distributed logarithmically and since China’s national IQ is 105, its 1.4 billion citizens harbor 300,000 of them. 95% of us have IQ’s under 130, so theoretical physics is probably beyond us.

2

There are typically 3 levels of civil service between a provincial governor and the President of China. At the provincial level, the governor is considered a level-1 official. Above the governor are level-2 officials who are responsible for larger regions or multiple provinces, such as the vice-ministers in various ministries of the central government. Level-3 officials are the highest-ranking officials in the country and are responsible for national policies and decision-making. The President of China is a level-3 official.

3

the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and early Empire.

4

Because China’s median IQ is 105+ and the West’s is 100- and because IQ is logarithmic and because China has twice as many people.

5

Lee graduated at the top of his year at Cambridge – he was a genius who ran his country well. He. His Prime Minister son outshone him – in mathematics. Singapore will succeed if it keeps Prime Ministerial IQ above 130? China’s has probably not been below 130 since 505 AD.

On 2023/4/15, US Secretary A Blinken visited Vietnam & met Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. In the meeting room, there was a Vietnamese national flag. But absolutely no US flag.

This is unheard of in diplomacy.

Pham told Blinken:

We Vietnamese do not take sides. We can decide what is righteous & fair (to us).

Vietnam is communist. While USA propagates communist as evil, USA is befriending communist Vietnam. Haha.

2 points here:

[1], It is proof that communism is NOT the problem for USA. It is China. USA is paranoid about China surpassing it. That is all. Hence USA uses “communism” to scare Americans. Don’t forget. USA befriended communist China in 1972 to “fight” the strong USSR.

[2], USA uses Vietnam to encircle China.

USA is infamous in gossiping & breaking up friendship between countries. We witness the mess in Middle East caused by USA.

Blinken has 2 missions.

  • One, for the opening of a new US embassy in Vietnam.
  • Two, befriend Vietnam to encircle China.

USA delivered a 3rd naval cutter to support Vietnam coast guard in South China Sea. Security is US concern, Blinken said. (It is said that the cutter is pretty old.)

The Chinese embassy in Vietnam responded:

"all countries in the region of SCS work together to maintain peace in the region. Any outsider is malicious & to sow discord in the region."

Who is the outsider? USA because USA is many thousands of miles away from SCS.

There is a saying circulating around:

Vietnam was not afraid of USA some 40 years ago in Vietnam war. Neither is it afraid today.

Quite similar to what former Chinese Diplomat Yang Jiechi rebuked Blinken in the 2021 Alaska meeting:

"USA is not qualified to talk to China this way. Not today. Not 20 years ago. Not 40 years ago. China will not take it. "

MLEM MLEM | MIN X JUSTATEE X YUNO BIGBOI | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

So close that your can feel the vibrations

Global changes are hitting hot and heavy. We are really in the thick of it.

While there is a chance that a nuclear world war 3 could occur, it is looking like the West hit a wall. China and Russia declared “checkmate”. And there is nothing the USA can do.

Every move it makes is a losing move.

The world is interconnected, to deny that is to risk economic destruction.

So what is going on is simple. If the USA plows ahead with a hard hot war, the systems in place will zero out all banks, and the Untied States, without resources, or much in the way of assets, will flounder and then try to tread water, but eventually it will sink down into the depths and drown. It’s over.

So relax.

Sure, there’s a chance in foolhardy actions, but I have faith in the American military. Not in the American “leadership”. All will be well.

Be prudent. Follow the aforementioned guidelines, but please stay optimistic. All is good.

In March 2023.

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main qimg 02fb6165b91a30f51b633d3b4012c8e5

1. Saudi Arabia and China to build refinery for 83.7 billion Chinese Yuan ($12.2 billion)

2. China and France complete first LNG trade using RMB

3. Russia considers using Chinese Yuan as reserve currency.

4. China and Brazil agree to use Chinese Yuan to settle trade rather than US dollars

5. Saudi Arabia considers accepting Chinese Yuan for oil sales

6. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) announced development of a new currency

7. President of Kenya tells citizens to get rid of US dollars.

8. India says they will settle trade in Indian rupees with certain countries rather than US dollars

9. Chinese yuan passes Euro to become Brazil’s second-largest currency in foreign reserves

10. IMF data shows that Russia now has ~33% of all reverses in Chinese Yuan

11. China and Russia agreed to use the Chinese Yuan as a settlement currency

12. Over $225 billion has been withdrawn from US banks in just 2 weeks.

U.S. calls for joint G-7 action to prevent China’s economic bullying – Nikkei Asia

The trouble for US is that G7 is nothing to China economically and militarily. It’s “small potatoes”.

U.S. calls for joint G-7 action to prevent China’s economic bullying – Nikkei Asia

Article HERE

SMIC’s revenue grew 33.6 per cent year on year to US$7.2 billion in 2022, while net profits reached US$1.8 billion, both record amounts

R&D spending equaled 10.1 per cent of total revenue, down for a third year from 11.7 per cent and 17.3 per cent in 2021 and 2020, respectively

2023 04 02 19 38
2023 04 02 19 38

China’s top chip foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), which has been on a US trade blacklist for more than two years, said it posted record revenue and profits for 2022, thanks to strong demand for legacy chips in the world’s second-largest economy.

In 2022, the second full year the Shanghai-based company was restricted from importing key chip-making tools, SMIC saw its revenue grow 33.6 per cent year on year to US$7.2 billion, while net profits attributable to shareholders reached US$1.8 billion, both record amounts, according to its annual report released on Tuesday.

Its gross profit margin, a key indicator of profitability, reached 38 per cent last year, up from 30.8 per cent in 2021.

SMIC said it derived 74 per cent of its total 2022 revenue from China, up four percentage points compared to 2021, adding that the production capacity of its domestic fabs is still short of market demand, while its technology level lags behind global peers.

SMIC reportedly reached a technology breakthrough last year, producing a cryptocurrency mining chip at the 7-nanometre process node, without the need for cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet lithography machines from Dutch firm ASML. SMIC has never publicly commented on the reported breakthrough.

In its latest annual report, the foundry offered some technology insights, but stopped short of revealing details of its tech prowess, which is closely watched by analysts. FinFet technology, a type of 3D transistor that enables process nodes below 20-nm, was listed among its offerings, but the company did not disclose details of the process nodes it has achieved.

SMIC is the only foundry in China with 14-nm production capability.

As Finland Enters NATO, Revelations that NATO Nukes COULD Be put on Russia Border

In a move that could risk infuriating Russia, or turning Finland into another Ukraine, nuclear weapons could be positioned in Finland if the country’s application to join NATO is approved, according to a report from a Finnish newspaper.

Both Finland and Sweden submitted applications to join NATO in May, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Helsinki-based newspaper Iltalehti, the bill regarding potential NATO membership the Finnish government will put before parliament doesn’t include any opt-outs for nuclear weapons.

Speaking to the paper, defense sources said Finland’s foreign and defense ministers, Pekka Haavisto and Antti Kaikkonen, gave a “commitment” to NATO in July that they wouldn’t seek “restrictions or national reservations” if Helsinki’s application is accepted.

Foreign policy insiders told Iltalehti this means NATO nuclear weapons could transit through, or be based on, Finnish territory. Additionally, there are no restrictions on establishing NATO bases in the country.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told Yle, the country’s national broadcasting company, on Saturday why she had not ruled out accepting nuclear weapons on Finnish territory when applying to NATO.

“I’ve considered it very important that we don’t set these kinds of preconditions, or limit our own room for maneuvering, when it comes to permanent bases or nuclear weapons,” Marin said, although she added it was unlikely that nuclear weapons would be stationed on Finnish soil.

The U.S. already has around 100 nuclear weapons in Europe, positioned in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Substack is the new Atlantic, New Yorker, Sunday Times

Godfree Roberts

If you write about anything, this is for you.

I write wonky, non-fiction books about China and publish an even wonkier newsletter for central bankers interested in Chinese governance.

It’s a niche market, you could say but though I specialize obsessively in an unfashionable topic, I have longed for popular recognition as much as any writer. Then a publisher friend to whom I complained suggested Substack. Distribution was free, he said, the interface simple, publishing takes seconds and, he added encouragingly, “Nobody reads your stuff anyway, so what have you got to lose?”.

I spent thousands looking for that audience on Google, Amazon and Facebook and none was cost-effective. But when I put my ravings on Substack, lots of people found them and even sent me money.

Substack is the most accessible, affordable medium for finding and creating an audience for non-fiction writers. If you write, write. Let Substack find your audience because it’s really good at that. Focus on your writing and, eventually, Substack will start pay you for the privilege of representing you.

Such a deal.

I think this is mostly happening without the knowledge of Americans. Literally, American and British news must be the shittiest news products on the entire planet. Saudi Arabia killed the petrodollar, the arrangement where oil contracts are settled in US dollars.

China just made an LNG deal with the UAE that will be settled in Yuans.

At least half of the business between Russia and China is now settled in Yuans.

Brazil and China just made a deal to settle trade in currency other than the US dollar.

When that happens, the dollars that are sitting reserve will be freed up and come back to where they can buy products and services, the United States and the broader West. US dollars will be concentrated in the West and will drive up inflation. Furthermore, as the US dollar loses reserve currency status, it will be much harder for the US to finance its massive debt. The Ukraine War will end the US dollars 77-year run as the world’s reserve currency. The BRICS Plus countries will have a larger economy than the West in a decade or so. In another answer to this question, someone else pointed out that even non-BRICS countries are ditching the US dollar as a reserve currency. Joe Biden huffed and puffed and blustered and blew down the American financial system.

US new shows are trying to tell Americans that China cannot produce computer chips without Taiwan in the foreseeable future. This is complete bullcrap, but Americans believe the US new shows that got Ukraine completely wrong. Americans believe new shows that couldn’t predict the economy yesterday.

Footnotes

The USA is left out…

India, Malaysia move beyond dollar to settle trade in INR – The Hindu. No longer will trade be conducted in the United States Dollar.

Article HERE

US Sanctions Belarus

Lukashenko’s aircraft, a Boeing 737 that he uses for international travel, was also designated for sanctions, which blocks its use in the U.S. Hum. I wonder how attractive these actions make for American-made products…?

Article HERE

The US Chips and Science Act

By now it’s clear that the Chips and Science Act — which includes a $52 billion splurge for the semiconductor industry — is unlikely to work as intended. In fact, its looming failure is a microcosm of all that’s wrong with America’s current approach to building things.

2023 04 02 06 50
2023 04 02 06 50

Passed last year with bipartisan support, the law was meant to revive US chipmaking capacity. Although America is a world leader in cutting-edge chip design, its share of global semiconductor manufacturing has declined from 37% in 1990 to about 12% Given the importance of such chips to the economy and especially to national security — the Defense Department needs about 1.9 billion of them a year — a more or less coherent case could be made for subsidies, prudently applied.

Yet simply writing checks was never going to be enough. Producing chips in the US still takes 25% longer and costs nearly 50% more than doing so in Asia. Significant policy changes would be needed for US-based manufacturers to be even remotely competitive. As things stand, they face three serious impediments — all inflicted by the government.

Chief among them is red tape. From 1990 to 2020, the time required to construct new chip plants (called fabs) in the US soared by 38%.

Clean Air Act permits can take 18 months. National Environmental Policy Act reviews take an average of four and a half years. A half dozen other federal laws may come into play, plus endless state and local variants. At every step, myriad agencies must be consulted and parochial interests must be heard.

Yet technology does not stand still for these bureaucratic tea parties; such delays only add expenses, discourage private investment, and prevent US manufacturers from seriously competing with overseas rivals.

Baked Ham in Foil

2023 04 01 09 11
2023 04 01 09 11

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 (3- to 4-pound precooked boneless ham

Instructions

  1. Pour cup water into slow cooker.
  2. Wrap precooked boneless ham in foil; put into slow cooker.
  3. Cover, and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or until ham is hot.

Vietnam

2023 04 01 20 03
2023 04 01 20 03

The First Dinosaur Tail Discovered Is Preserved In Amber, 99 Million Years Old And Covered In Feathers

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A dinosaur tail with beautifully preserved feathers still attached to the bone has been found preserved in amber, and it’s one of the coolest things we’ve ever seen. It’s not the first time feathers have been found trapped in amber, but it is the first time that researchers have been able to definitively link them to a dinosaur. The discovery will provide invaluable insight into how dinosaurs’ feathers looked and evolved – something we’ve never been able to learn from fossils.

More info: Sciense (h/t: messynessychic)

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Brutan

Problems Brutan faces:
1) Brutan is a land lock country reliance on India to access the rest of the world.

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2023 04 02 19 24

2) geographically, they can only access (import/export /car/train) via India. So, India control Brutan economy, and they have to endure bullying from India.
3) brutan problem is like Nepal.
4) But, with the upgrade of the Chinese infrastructure building ability, the first road and bridges link between Nepal and China successfully completed through very difficult terrain, and hence Nepal no longer exclusively reliance on India to access the world , so in the past years, there are on going news of Nepal soldiers shooting at intruding Indian soldiers.
5) so, now, like Nepal, brutan working with China to access the world via infrastructure link to China
Indian influence collapsed once the project completed.

 

https://youtu.be/wrVbr76pCxg

“Facing Clear Evidence of Peril” in a Country of Lies

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Perhaps silence is the best response to the endless cavalcade of official lies that is United States history. The Internet and digital technology have allowed those lies to increase exponentially in number and frequency with the result that people’s minds have become like 7-Eleven stores, open 24/7 for snack-crap “news.”

But once you become conscious that it’s lies night and day, it sets your head aswirl and plunges your soul into depths of despair. You are tempted to retreat from such knowledge and talk of trees and trivia. But you are ashamed of your country. It’s hard to laugh. You feel you are drowning. You flounder and gasp for air. You look around and wonder why most people are able to go their merry ways believing the lies and whistling in the dark. Junk news nation, indeed.

Yes, there are alternative voices who tell the truth, but their audiences and monetary support are very small or non-existent compared to the corporate mainstream media and those who shout and scream across the Internet as they take in a lot of money from naive followers. The recent revelations about Alex Jones’s wealth probably don’t bother his diehard fans, but they should. Likewise, the funding sources for websites and writers of various persuasions are important to know, for they reveal possible biases in their work. Snake oil salesmen are commonplace, and there are many naive customers lining up for their wares.

Wealth and power are the main drivers of the media chicanery that has captured so many minds. Writers, of course, should be fairly paid for their work, but in this Internet age, most are not. As with the movies and book publishing, the income gap between the big names – the celebrity stars – and less well-known writers, even if their work is excellent, is huge.

Some sites and writers make a lot of money, but who they are is a guessing game. No one’s talking. Some regularly tell their readers that if they don’t receive enough contributions, they will be unable to continue to write or publish, even when the sites do not pay their contributors. Whether this is good marketing or income-by-threat is up for grabs. Whichever it is, it seems to work, as far as I can tell, for these writers and websites don’t disappear.

Money is the dirty secret of all news and commentary. To paraphrase someone: It is very difficult to get truth from writers whose income is dependent on pleasing those who fund them.

You may have noticed how many former military officers, CIA agents, mainstream journalists, pharmaceutical company executives, and sundry other government and corporate bigwigs appear in the mainstream and alternative media to support or oppose government policies. The mainstream ones doing the propaganda they always did, while the alternative ones appear as converts to the dissident faith. No one ever explains how and by whom these people are financed or how their lucrative pensions affect their consciences. “Former” is a funny word. Ha Ha Ha.

Confidence “men” come in all shapes and sizes with no one talking money.

So let me fess up. I received about $200 in support last year for edwardcurtin.com, my website. Nothing before that and not a cent over the last 5-6 years for many hundreds of articles that have appeared very widely across the Internet. Before the Internet, publications paid for work, mine and others. Not now, at least for me. How much money writers are receiving, and who is supporting their sites, is a taboo subject.

So I am thinking about selling mugs at my site with my name and mug shot on them and a line of supplements that will increase one’s testosterone and estrogen in equal measure to make sure no one takes offense in this era of delicate feelings. Ha Ha Ha. Yes, the joke is on us. I identify as a man since I am one. Don’t be offended.

Jokes aside, as Leonard Cohen sang:

“Oh, like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free”

If you are stubborn enough and have the good fortune to find inspiration from those brave dissidents who have gone before us and those who continue to lead us on, you realize silence is betrayal and that you must speak, even if all seems hopeless at times. Even when no one is paying you, or maybe more accurately, because no one is paying you. Even though it is hopeless, even though it isn’t. This is another secret. There are many.

It’s been twenty years since the U.S. brutally invaded Iraq. When George W. Bush, at a staged pseudo-event in Cincinnati on October 7, 2002, as he set Americans up for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, said, “Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun, that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud,” no one laughed him out of the house. His claim was simply an evil joke that was reported as truth. It was all predictable, blatant deception. And the media played along with such an absurdity, which is their job and what they always do. I pointed it out at the time in a newspaper column, but who listened to a hick writer in a regional newspaper.

Iraq obviously had no nuclear weapons or the slightest capability to deliver even a firecracker on the U.S. But the mainstream media, Senator Joe Biden, politicians galore, celebrities like Oprah Winfrey with her guest, the eventually disgraced Judith Miller of the New York Times, the despicable Tony Blair, et al., all supported Bush’s blatant lies. Soon Colin Powell, the “hero” of George H. W. Bush’s 1991 made-for-TV Gulf War of aggression against Iraq, would do his Pinocchio act at the United Nations and the U.S. military was off to get Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden’s evil twin, both the latest Hitlers until Vladimir Putin replaced them. I guess I skipped some others such as Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar Al-Assad. New Hitlers proliferate so fast it’s hard to keep track of them. Ha Ha Ha. The joke is on us.

As everyone knows, or should, more than a million Iraqis died because of George W. Bush, but how many cared? How many cared when once Bush was gone, Barack Obama, aided and abetted by the cackling Hilary Clinton, destroyed Libya and ignited the war against Syria? You want examples? There are too many to name here. But let it be said these lies span all American administrations, whether it’s Bill Clinton continuously bombing Iraq and Serbia through Trump bombing Syria and Somalia, up to the present day with Biden attacking Russia via Ukraine, etc. All these presidents are liars, but their followers treat them otherwise. Biden says Jimmy Carter asked him to deliver his eulogy. What does that tell you? Shall we laugh? Sing?

On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen
Shall we laugh?
Shall we laugh?
Shall we laugh?

Shall we laugh harder if I mention the Covid-19 propaganda and all those writers who have failed to even address it, as they have failed to question 9/11 and other obvious official lies? Is it not evident that if they did so, their money flows might dry up? Here and no further is a widespread rule, for they must adhere to the boundaries imposed by “responsible thought” and the “no go” zones with which they tie their own hands in order to keep their wallets full.

If you are lucky, as I was, when you are young you discover how fearful of free thought and how corrupt our institutional authorities are. You don’t spend decades feasting off the spoils of those institutions only to “wake up” once you have made your name and secured your fortune, which seems to be the way of so many wise luminaries of the Internet Age who are either trying to ease their consciences as they get ready to kick the bucket or are perhaps putting us on.

When I was twenty-four years-old, I accepted my first teaching job at a small Catholic college where I taught theology. I had been trained in the latest and best scholarly work of the most renown international theologians. Rather than indoctrinating my students with rote learning, I taught them to read widely and think deeply in the tradition of a liberal arts education. To seek out the best scholarship.

But doing so became quickly apparent to the college and Church authorities who were stuck in the inquisitorial age of obedience or else and no thinking allowed. Although my students loved my courses and felt freed up for the first time to think about their spiritual lives, I was hounded to correct my heretical teaching, which of course I refused to do.

At one point when I was at lunch in the cafeteria, a nun who was a professor, stole my brief case with my notes and left the cafeteria. One of my students saw her do this and chased her into the ladies’ room where the nun hid in a stall. The nun kept flushing the toilet to scare the student away, but the student wouldn’t let her out until she returned the briefcase. Ha Ha Ha. It sounds funny to recount but was an example of my experience at this college. Someone vandalized my office door and ripped down anti-war posters that were on it. I was gone from that college soon thereafter. It taught me a lot. Obey or else.

Heresy: The Latin word is from Greek hairesis, a taking or choosing for oneself, a choice.

At another teaching job a year or so later, I had a more chilling experience. I was known as an anti-war activist, a conscientious objector from the Marines, etc., and one day, a late Friday afternoon when few were around, an administrator asked to meet me on a deserted stairwell where he proceeded in hushed tones to try to convince me to join him in Army Intelligence to spy on others. He said I would be perfect for the job since I was known as an anti-war dissident. I told him to fuck off, but I was shocked by his double life and his request.

I have since learned that this guy the spy was not an anomaly, for government confidence men are widespread.

I’ve had many other such early experiences for which I am very grateful, even though when I was fired from jobs and lost income it was traumatic at the time. By my thirtieth year, I knew the system was corrupt to its core and subsequent experience has only ratified that conclusion. I got the joke.

I recount these incidents not because my experiences are singular and I’m special, for others have suffered the same youthful fate. But such good fortune can fortify you for life or break your spirit. If the former, you don’t wait to retire to push back against all the lies or regret your past. You find that it’s all good and life has set you on the heretic’s path of freedom and choice. You realize that what you went through is absolutely nothing compared to people around the world who have and continue to suffer at the hands of the U.S. military industrial complex. You realize your experiences are trivial in the larger scope of things and that your government’s conduct is beyond condemnation. It is an abomination. You feel ashamed to live in a land where killing is a game.

The sociologist Peter Berger puts it well in his little classic, Invitation to Sociology, when he discusses experiences that lead to seeing through the play-acting nature of social life:

Experiences such as these may lead to a sudden reversal in one’s view of society – from an awe-inspiring vision of an edifice made of massive granite to the picture of a toy-house precariously put together with papier mâché. While such metamorphosis may be disturbing to people who have hitherto had great confidence in the stability and rightness of society, it can also have a very liberating effect on those more inclined to look upon the latter as a giant sitting on top of them, and not necessarily a friendly giant at that. It is reassuring to discover that the giant is afflicted with a nervous tick.

Notice the giant George W. Bush’s clicking eyes as he delivers his “facing clear evidence of peril” lies for the invasion of Iraq. He and his presidential good friends are cardboard cartoon characters whose eyes reveal their evil intentions. “It’s a Barnum and Bailey world/Just as phony as it can be,” but it would all fall to pieces if it weren’t for you and me failing to see through all the bad actors, not just presidents but the whole cast of characters that populate the Spectacle of news and opinion.

The Russians are coming! Ha Ha Ha. Yes, Oliver, the joke’s on us.

But it’s not really funny, except in the most sardonic and dark way, for we now do really face clear evidence of peril as a result of Biden and his crazy predecessors who have run U.S. foreign policy for so long. They have brought us to the edge of nuclear war with Russia by surrounding Russia with NATO bases and nuclear weapons, while doing the same to China.

POISONING OF **OUR FOOD** BEGINS THIS MONTH – mRNA Going into Cows and Pigs

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The food supply of every American is going to start being INTENTIONALLY POISONED with mRNA genetic modifications being fraudulently called “vaccines.”

Lobbyists for the cattleman and pork associations in several states have CONFIRMED they WILL be using mRNA vaccines in pigs and cows THIS MONTH.   It will actually become “vaccine food” and sold to YOU without your INFORMED CONSENT.

Buying and eating this beef or this pork may adversely affect you.  In some cases, it may KILL you.

Attorney Tom Renz says “To be clear – at this point there are zero states requiring informed consent for “vaccine food”. While I would argue that it must be done under existing law . . .”

 

 

Renz goes on to point out, there is an article from the year 2000 about “edible vaccines”: (Article HERE)  The article demonstrates how hiding a “vaccine” in foods, is absorbed into the body:

EdibleVaxGraphic
EdibleVaxGraphic

The trouble with this particular circumstance is that, to this day, no manufacturer of an mRNA vaccine, has fully disclosed the medically-active contents of the so-called “COVID “vaccines.” Moreover, tens-of-thousands of people have already DIED after receiving these so-called “vaccines” and hundreds-of-thousands of other people have become very sick or permanently injured from them.

NOW, if you were one of the smart people (like me) who DID NOT take those COVID (death dart) jabs, we will be intentionally POISONED with the mRNA because they’re putting it in our food without our informed consent.

Lawsuits will be too late.  We’ll already be poisoned and dying.   The public is reminded that “immunity” only works in court.  It offers no protection to the people doing this, from street justice.

Forcibly stopping someone who is trying to poison you is legal self defense.

Budweiser Suicides “Bud Light” with new Trans Spokesperson

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BudLightTranny 2 large
BudLightTranny 2 large

Budweiser, “the King of Beers” appears to many people to have just committed “brand-suicide” for Bud Light, by bringing on a Trans as a spokesperson.  You can watch the suicide video below.

Why is this Brand suicide you ask?   Well, think about it: Now, every time a guy is seen holding a Bud Light, everyone’s going to think he’s a homo.  And everytime a girl is seen holding a bug Light, everyone will wonder if she’s _really_ a girl.  Result . . . . probable brand suicide.

Don’t fret, guys.   While we say R.I.P. to Bud Light, we can also say Hi to . . . .

2023 04 02 19 35
2023 04 02 19 35

Corona girl!

Cranberry Pork Chops

2023 04 02 19 30
2023 04 02 19 30

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in pork loin chops
  • 1 (16 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
  • 1/2 cup cranberry or apple juice
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Dash of pepper

Instructions

  1. Place pork chops in a slow cooker.
  2. Combine cranberry sauce, juice, sugar and mustard until smooth; pour over chops.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until meat is tender.
  4. Remove chops; keep warm.
  5. In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
  6. Stir in salt and pepper.
  7. Serve over chops.

Elon Musk Sounds the Alarm About the U.S. Dollar

The billionaire global CEO worries about the loss of the greenback’s influence which he attributes to the Biden administration’s foreign policy.
LUC OLINGAMAR 30, 2023 6:15 PM EDT

Elon Musk has become something of a watchdog over the actions of the U.S. government on the international stage.

The tech mogul gained influence in geopolitics by providing Starlink to Ukraine in the war with Russia. Starlink is an independent satellite internet service, developed by Musk's rocket company SpaceX. This service allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces to maintain secure communications on the front lines and Ukrainian civilians to stay in touch with the world.

This invaluable assistance to a country struggling for its independence has made the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report one of the most powerful voices around the world on pressing issues facing the planet.

In recent weeks, the tech mogul has turned into a real headache for the Biden administration, which has reiterated its support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. This conflict, which has entered its second year, has still no end in sight. Musk advocates a peace solution that involves making concessions to Russia, which Ukraine and its allies categorically refuse.

Is the Dollar Losing Its Reserve Currency Status?

Washington and its European allies have thus tightened the sanctions against Russia. But the absence of an exit strategy from the Russian war has launched the debate about the American support for Ukraine via NATO. Critics blame the Biden administration for its tough line on Kremlin.

This debate is fueled by Musk and his friends who believe that the absence of a peaceful solution to end the Russia-Ukraine war has dealt a huge blow to American diplomacy and to the United States' place in the world. 

They say that evidence of this is the rapprochement between China and Russia, two of the main enemies of the United States. They argue that adopting a hard line toward Russia has undermined America's international and geopolitical standing and prestige.

Musk considers, for example, that U.S. diplomats have become warmongers, which has brought America's enemies closer together. One of the victims of this rapprochement could be the dollar, symbol of the economic power of the United States.

He has just issued an alert to warn that the dollar could lose its role as the world's reserve currency. The warning was issued in a thread on Twitter.

"The US dollar is losing its reserve currency status," Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA, a former small cap money manager, wrote on Twitter on Mar. 29, adding in another tweet that the U.S. dollar "has been the backbone of the global economy for decades. Several countries even use the US Dollar as an official currency, like El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador."

Musk shares these concerns.

"Serious issue," the billionaire warned. "US policy has been too heavy-handed, making countries want to ditch the dollar."

In addition to foreign policy, Musk also attributes the weakening of the dollar to the federal government's fiscal policy.

"Combined with excess government spending, which forces other countries to absorb a significant part of our inflation," he added.

Russia and Saudi Arabia

The dollar is considered the reserve currency of central banks. This means that various national central banks, which hold reserves in foreign currencies, do so mainly in U.S. dollars.

This allows the United States not to have to hold foreign exchange reserves in currencies of other countries, and especially helps to finance the deficit of its balance of payments. This status of the dollar dates back to the end of the Second World War and symbolizes the power of the US on the global stage.

Central banks around the world hold approximately 60 percent of their foreign exchange reserves in U.S. dollars. Nearly half of international trade, loans and global debt securities are transacted in dollars. But the sanctions imposed on Russia, as a result of the war with Ukraine, have helped to encourage efforts to "de-dollarize" global trade, some experts say.

Russia is looking at the yuan to replace the dollar, and Saudi Arabia may follow, Fox News has reported.

For Musk, if we get there, it is because American diplomacy lost its standing during the Russia-Ukraine war.

BY LUC OLINGA
.

Article HERE

Meet Mebaru, the Japanese Felt Artist Taking Instagram by Storm with Adorable Felted Cat Sculptures

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Mebaru is an artist who has gained a huge following on Instagram thanks to their incredibly realistic felted cat sculptures.

From playful poses to intricate depictions of specific breeds, these felted creations are sure to steal your heart. We invite you to take a look at these cute and realistic felted cats and get lost in the world of Mebaru’s creations.

More: Instagram h/t: boredpanda

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Hi.
I am an Australian who is married to an American and, due to the nature of my work, lived ALL OVER the US over a decade.

Half my family are American and many of my closest friends.
In short, I’m very fond of the United States and support my nation’s close affiliation with them.

So please forgive me if I’m blunt.
This is NOT an American bash, it’s an honest expression of the one thing that [SOME] Americans do that never fails to trigger me.

“We saved your asses in World War Two”.

Americans often tell us bluntly, over and over how they “saved our arses” in both World Wars.

I assure you, EVERY SINGLE Brit, Aussie, Kiwi or Canadian reading along can hear those words spoken in an American accent as they read them.

That’s how often we hear it.
Almost weekly.
Certainly once a month.

Wars that we ourselves stepped up and fought in the protection of others.
Wars that wouldn’t even have affected us directly.
Wars we fought for YEARS before the United States.

Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand particularly could have turned their backs on Western Europe.

Britain herself could have closed her borders and looked the other way.
Hitler had no designs on the UK – He admired them.
All they had to do was stand back and allow the holocaust to happen.

But of course, they couldn’t because fighting Nazi Germany was the right thing to do.

We didn’t make Britain wait 3.2 and 2.3 years to enter either great war.
We were there from day one.

We didn’t charge Britain for our goods or help.
We didn’t keep a tally and make them pay it back for seventy years.
We didn’t insist they realign their trade preferences to favour our markets setting their still very young colonies prematurely adrift or cost them their empire, wealth, dignity or preeminence as a world power.

We didn’t use Britain’s plight as a springboard for our own wealth and dominance or spend the following century diluting their culture with shallow consumerism.

CANZUK didn’t ask for anything.
We just went because we’re family and that’s what family does and despite what some of you are going to assert in the comments, yes, America, though you are the black sheep you are also family.

Speaking for Australia, from a population of six million (2/3 of which were women, children, the elderly and infirm), a full one million Australian men served in the military during the Second World war.

Let that sink in.

We had, from our far-flung nation gathered together the fourth-largest air force in the world and the fifth largest navy and lost so many men in every theater of both World Wars that we had a noticeable lack of them right into the late 1970s.
Indeed, by the time American boots had touched the ground in North Africa and Europe, CANZUK had already sacrificed literally millions of men.

It’s SO, rude.
I’m not even sure you understand just how disrespectful it is and how much damage it does [at street level] to our relationships with the US.
Honestly – it’s there in the pit of all our stomachs whenever we even engage with an American.

I will leave you with this quote from the memoirs of one of your own.
American journalist Ernie Pyle who was killed in action by the Japanese in April 1945.

His account of D-day and the liberation of Paris.

“One cannot help but be moved by the colossus of our invasion. It was a bold and mighty thing. One of the epics of all history. I hope that we can rejoice in victory but humbly. The dead men would not want us to gloat.”

Peace.

Dedicated to the memories of our grandfathers.
Those that never came home and those that came home altered.
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

Bhutan

First, a disclaimer: I’m not a Bhutan expert.
.
The China-Bhutan border agreement hasn't happened yet, but it does seem to be imminent. I'm just commenting right off my memory, which is as good as it gets. You can probably wiki and find a lot more details. China had long ago reached a treaty with Bhutan by an exchange of land. But India intervened at the last minute, forced Bhutan to overturn everything and start all over. Given that China ended up having to renegotiate its Bhutan border treaty with India, nothing happened ever since then. India has been perfectly happy keeping its soldiers in Bhutan, and keeping Bhutan a poor, undeveloped landlocked country completely dependent on India. I can understand how a lot of the people living in the "Land of Happiness" feel like they're trapped in the lowest level of Naraka.

When the Doklam brouhaha between China and India broke out, it was over the unsettled area between China and Bhutan. Theoretically, it had nothing to do with India, except that India had soldiers stationed in Bhutan, and was supposed to defend Bhutan. In any case, Bhutan never asked India to defend itself against China. This fact was never mentioned in any Western press, forget about the Indian press. Finally, Bhutan let the cat out of the bag, and India, somehow, thinks that they have been stabbed in the back. I remember at the time of the Doklam standoff, I checked out Bhutanese comments from various social platforms. Most of them had very little positive things to say about India. It looked hopeful at the time that Bhutan would soon become Nepal 2.0.

I don't usually follow Bhutan news. In any case, there are precious few channels talking about them. But I do follow a lot of India news channels (like a good detective, you can learn a lot from people's garbage), and there has been an outcry of India having been betrayed by Bhutan. It seems that after decades of nothing happening with the border treaty and wasting a lot of time with India in the way, China finally told Bhutan that if this mountain nation did not have authority to negotiate its own border treaty, then the two parties should just walk away, at least until such times when Bhutan is confident that it can decide its own sovereign issues. 

Bhutan is not stupid. They notice how things have been changing for Nepal. They don't want to be dead in the stagnant waters of India. They want to be connected to the world through China. As such China and Bhutan have been working steadily toward a common goal despite India. In January of this year, a Bhutanese delegation met with a Chinese delegation in Kunming to push forward the settlement of the China-Bhutan border. India was not invited. Needless to say, the Indians, acting like an overbearing overlord demanded to know the details of the meeting. This was expected, and confidential information would not be divulged. The roadmap likely included contingencies relating to how India would react. It may also include how Bhutan may allay India's fears, at the same time, gaining more concessions from Modi. 

It appears at this point that the China-Bhutan border settlement is a fait accompli. It's too late for India to interfere. The train has left the station and the ship has set sail. How do I know? By the Bhutanese letting the cat out of the bag. They made a mistake many years ago. They are not going to make it again unless they are very certain it's going to happen. So, very soon, China and Bhutan will establish diplomatic relations. There will be airports, highways, dams, 5G, Internet and tourists. Most importantly, at the right moment, Indian soldiers will be politely asked to leave quietly. 

At the end of the day, China does want to settle its border with India. Maybe it will help the Indians come to their senses.

PM 

This is something that AMERICANS need to UNDERSTAND. TikTok is only an EXCUSE to pass thru Orwellian legislation to control the type of information that Americans received so that they do NOT have access to alternate information other than the narrative that the state want them to believe AND to spy on them.

The legislation, Bill S686, is also known as the Restrict Bill. Here are the key points behind that legislation:

  • CURRENT foreign adversaries – America’s favourite bogeymen – which can CHANGE by definition are China, Cuba, Korea Iran, Russian Federation. More importantly, these definition can CHANGE at ANYTIME.
  • It covers hardware technologies such as modems, routers, cameras and virtual techs such as VPN if they are manufacture or use to contact “foreign adversaries”
  • Using VPN to bypass banned apps such as TikTok is made a CRIMINAL act under this bill with MINIMUM imprisonment of 20 years AND a minimum fine of $250,000 AND up to one million dollars if you knowingly do so.
  • It gives the federal government the authority to monitor any activity virtual or otherwise. Essentially they can monitor you 24/7 thru your routers, video games, smartphones, thermostat, cameras, etc.
  • EVEN more TERRIFYING, this will happen when the President appoint a Secretary of Communication who formed a group on their own without any voter input or oversight whatever, can meet behind closed doors and they can ban or monitor anything deemed inappropriate to security that goes thru the internet.

LET there be NO AMBIGUITY, this legislation is designed to control the information that Americans read and hear so that THEY can be EASILY MANIPULATED AND also designed to spy on Americans. Yes, the law also allows the state to spy on your teen or preteen daughters NAKED or in various stages of undress.

THAT Americans, deliberately bombarded by Messages of Hate, are NOW being HERDED towards war with China

EXCEPT that the United States will be fighting a war with against a powerful BRI Eurasian Alliance

IN a war that the United States will not win and will be defeated

CONSUMED by hate which devour their humanity, they will turn to the only thing they have left…..their nuclear weapons

IN their ATTEMPT to take the world down with them into the depth of the abyss

IN this world, in a country big and small, Haven is now preparing its favourite son to meet the challenges of the end of time AND the Force of Darkness.

VPN Users Risk 20-Year Jail Sentences in the US Under New RESTRICT Act

A bill dubbed the 'RESTRICT' act was submitted to Congress and could have severe consequences for VPN users in the United States.

Cajun Sausage Jambalaya

A slow cooker makes Cajun Sausage Jambalaya a snap. Be sure to check the last hour or two to keep the rice from overcooking.

2023 04 01 09 12
2023 04 01 09 12

Prep: 30 min | Cook: 6 hr | Yield: 8 servings (12 cups)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, lean
  • 12 ounces andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups rice, medium-grain white
  • 2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper (green, red, or both), chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients except green onions in slow 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Watch carefully during the last 1 hour (LOW) or 1/2 hour (HIGH) of cooking to prevent rice from overcooking.
  2. Just before serving, check seasoning and add green onions.

The A-10 was not designed to be used in uncontested airspace, but it was designed for a time when people were more realistic about losses in war than they are now. The A-10 fleet was expected to be expendable planes thrown in to stop Soviet armored columns, but it was perfectly understood many would not survive that.

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main qimg 735564d8aa0773639ae04f9842f2ccc0

The A-10 were apparently expected by some in the US air force to face an attrition rate of 7% per 100 sorties. And would be expected to do 250 sorties in a day for the fleet in Europe. So within the first 24 hours of a conflict in the 1980s, the US expected over 15% of all A-10s in the theater to be lost.

Considering what was known and how they intended to use them, I would say that was a fairly conservative estimation. Soviet forces were littered with organic AA, and when the A-10 was made the BUK and S-300 missile systems were not really understood yet. The biggest fear was the OSA missile system with a 15km range. With the A-10 expected to visually see targets to engage them, this would be fairly difficult, especially using it’s gun, which is effective at about 1½ km. The original S-300 had ranges of 47–90km depending on variant, but this wasn’t known in the west at the time.

Either way, it was fully expected the A-10s would suffer enormous losses, but was still considered a valuable asset for attempting to disrupt and delay Soviet columns.

21 Life Lessons From Cats

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There’s a lot us, humans, can learn from our feline friends. 21 examples below from New York Times bestselling authors & illustrators Lisa Swerling & Ralph Lazar, who have just launched a new cats project called Tess & Lion.

h/t: boredpanda

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Kamala Harris in Africa to strengthen US diplomatic ties | DW News

By Dimbwe Maxala from Utube comments

I am from one of the countries on her tour.

I am not sure how the Ghanaians feel about this, but I can safely speak on behalf of Zambia and Tanzania, and say that they US is wasting its time. To get a better understanding of this, perhaps Kamala should travel from Dar Es Salaam to Lusaka Zambia, on the 1600km (1000 mile) railway line that the Chinese built ( and ceded free of charge) for the two countries.

The impetus for the construction of that railway line was that Zambia needed an outlet to the ocean, after the racist white regimes then ruling Rhodesia and South African decided to close off its access to the ocean because of its support for the liberation movements in those countries.

The Chinese who were then as poor as Africans stepped in and built the TAZARA railway line, which lifted that seige of Zambia, allowing the country to export its copper via Dar Es Salaam, rather than the ports of South Africa, as had always been the case.

The Chinese were there, as were the Russians, during the dark time.

Time after time, the US took the side of the racists.

When the negotiations for Zimbabwe’s independence were held in London in 1979, the US and the UK stood together with the brutal white settler regime of Ian Smith.

When the war for Namibia’s independence was going on, the US supported the continued apartheid South African occupation of the country, and blocking the implementation of UN resolution 435, that demanded that the South Africans leave Namibia.

Ronald Reagan insisted on a linkage of the white South African exist from both Namibia and Angola, with the leaving of the Cubans then militarily fighting against South Africa together with government of Angola.

People in Southern African have never forgotten their experience with the West, and Kamala Harris’ charm offensive is unlikely to achieve anything.

In western countries it merely matters to be SEEN as the good guy.

Your actions count a whole lot less.

In Asian countries what you DO matters.

Look at the Iraq genocide, they still think they’re the GOOD guys after mass murdering 10000s of Iraqis and Afghans. Because we meant well! It was a mistake so that totally absolves us!

Oh quite the Opposite

All of China will thank him for it one day

Private Tutoring Industry was becoming way out of control.

Initially Tutoring was a boon, it helped Chinese students understand concepts pretty well

However as time went by Tutoring slowly became more and more deeply seated into the Chinese Education structure and every student began to lazily depend on Tutoring which meant Private Tutors could demand more money

With time it became almost like without private tutoring no Urban Chinese student could survive or do without

And slowly Private Tutorial Groups began to rise in value, start IPOs, bloat up without any assets and claim to be worth billions.


Is that a Golden Goose?

Please tell me how many Students do you know in US who go to SAT Coaching or GRE Coaching?

Most Students self study or study in Groups rather than pay for a Tutorial course

Yet in China – students using Private Tutorials rose to nearly 88% by 2019.

They used Tutors for everything and the basic concept understanding that created the Excellent Chinese Students of the 1990s -2010s would slowly be eroded if this nonsense had continued

Spoonfeeding at its worst

And on top of this Most Tutorials became Industries of their own and began marketing and began to ridiculously boost their own valuations


No!!! said Xi Jingping

He had many discussions with Respected Professors and Teachers and fundamentally covered the three Points in 2020 May which included

→ Private Tutorials cannot replace conventional education

→ Students ability to think and learn on their own are being affected by Private Tutorials

→ Private Tutorials are grossly inflated and taking full advantage of the Lax focus paid to them in the early 2005–2010

So the CPC said – Let Students who dont understand use Tutors and Tutorials but let Students not become lazy

Thus he decided to formulate and regulate the industry

It was a Brilliant Move

Those who wanted to become Billionaires with Tutoring – scrambled

Those who made good money and genuinely impacted Students to think – stayed and continued to nurture and build more students


Even Today Private Tutoring Exists

Only thing is – the Industry is regulated

Ceiling on Valuation, Mandatory insistence on Registration of Tutors, Syllabus being overseen by the CPC Education Committee to ensure Students can still think and learn on their own, No IPO allowed until 2032, Minimum 15 years for a Tutoring Company, Valuation based on Asset Valuation not Speculative Valuation, No Overseas investment in Private Tution Companies

The Result – The Sharks are GONE or going really fast.

Genuine Tutors and Tutorials are very much here to stay and help students especially weaker ones while also ensuring future students learn on their own and dont get spoonfed

And best of all -Tutorials dont replace Schools and control a Robotic Destiny of Students.


Easily one of the Finest Pieces of Legislation by a World Leader in the 21st Century

https://youtu.be/-2fBSWfKHZs

What a circus of clowns! Sorry didn’t really want to insult the clowns. Better to compare them to a herd of charging ignoramus buffaloes, or some hungry anacondas, definitely social vermins of the worse kind.

Indeed, this is a question that many people are asking.

And precisely, because it is on many people’s minds, that I will answer it. Well, without a “crystal ball” perhaps, but in my own way.

So let’s look at the parameters…

[1] No actual leadership

President Biden is a figurehead. There’s no one “upstairs”.

This is not a political assessment. It’s an actual observation by anyone who watches the videos of him. He cycles in and out of clarity, and often appears to be suffering from pretty advanced dementia.

He goes though the motions. Read the teleprompters, and “kisses babies”.

But in the strategy briefing rooms, in high level discussions, and other important roles, he’s present but not proactive.

[2] Careening out of control

Without leadership, the “car careens wildly on the road”.

Financial opportunists place all sorts of bills and initiatives for personal profit “on the table”. These then “grow legs” and take on a life of their own. The Tiktok ban is one such example. Thus the Senate and Congress appears to be simply a forum for grandstanding while the “representatives” try to accept higher and higher piles of cash for their participation.

Congress more aptly resembles a shark feeding frenzy over a cow carcass.

There’s no real statesmanship, leadership, or forward planning. It’s all on “autopilot”, and being run by monied interests.

[3] The road is not empty

It wouldn’t be so bad if the “careening car” is on a wide and open empty highway. But it isn’t. There are many other cars on this road. There are cars with couples. cars with families, and school busses full of children.

It’s only a matter of time before the careening car smashes into someone else.

After smashing into Syria, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, the car is now banging into a large clunky tractor-trailer; Russia. And, each time the tractor-trailer tries to get unstuck the car smashes again, and again, and again. It’s almost like the driver for the United States car has no brakes. It’s acceleration only. And Russia while dinged up, is still moving forward.

Now a big yellow bus full of school children looms up ahead. This is China, and it is enormous (being double-Decker), and powerful, and does not want to be hit.

And everyone around is terrified.

And what does the United States car do?

It “floors” the gas petal, and is zooming straight ahead. The driver seemingly wants to broadside the bus at high speed.

Conclusion

Is it no wonder why people are concerned? People are terrified.

At this stage of the game, and I am loathe to say this, there are only four (x4) things that can stop the upcoming disaster…

  • The car runs out of gas, and stops dead in the middle of the road. It sputters, and dies.
  • The people inside the careening car take control of the wheel. And then, carefully and slowly, ease it to the side of the road.
  • The crazy car drives off the highway on it’s own, and destroys itself without hitting anyone else.
  • The tractor-trailer and the bus full of children coordinate and with their combined mass, push the madman off the road on their own. And other cars, acting in good faith, help in whatever capacity they can provide.

OPEC+ oil alliance announces surprise production cuts

Good strategy to crush the Western  nations economy at a time when they are severely ill .
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers have announced voluntary cuts to their production amounting to about 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd), calling it a “precautionary measure” aimed at market stability.

The 23-nation group had been largely expected to stick to its already agreed 2 million bpd cuts when its ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, meets virtually on Monday.

Article HERE

What is more important? Prosperity or Freedom? Which one puts a roof over your head, food in your belly, and purpose?

The house where I spent the majority of my time growing up in elementary school and High School was in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. It was a small town. Perhaps 6000 people total. And it was a great place to raise a family in the 1960’s.

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2023 03 20 17 23

It was safe, surrounded by woods, trees and farms. It had tons of places to hike and explore, with hills, springs and adventures all around the place.

stand by me desktop wallpaper
stand by me desktop wallpaper

Hot Summer days, walking down the railroad tracks though hills and rail-lines were a staple of my childhood.  And just like the movie “Stand by me” it was an important part of childhood.

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5905f436dad772b26d240aee977513df

A childhood that is now lost.

Enjoy today’s post.

One Word – ONE PARTY MERITOCRACY

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main qimg 8b81bef8385b4ba2dab22b84a5756de2

Power only for those who are deemed WORTHY of it

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main qimg 7887c19019b22f3c0be9ead34c2e6f96

Each one doing what he is best suited for based on SHEER ABILITY

Talent identified and promoted regardless of any other criteria


The New Side to Autocracy that the whole world missed due to the Mismanagement of the USSR

The Principles of Chinese One Party Meritocracy includes:—

  • A Prosperous Populace is a Productive Populace
  • A Well Fed Populace is a satisfied Populace
  • Wealth that helps People grow and evolve, helps the economy grow and helps technology grow

You notice something?

No Mention of Freedom Or Equality or Gender and Race related politics

No Mention of Religion or Culture or Tradition

No Mention about Social Justice

It’s just Prosperity, Prosperity and Prosperity that is the primary goal.

Once Prosperity comes, everything else automatically comes naturally through evolution


Take USA?

It’s always Freedom, Equality and Diversity

That is a huge blow to meritocracy and ability

So Government couldn’t impose a good lockdown because people cried for Freedom to choose masks and 1.5 Million Americans died.

Researchers with amazing potential are finding that less talented researchers are landing good gigs because of Race and Gender

Thus there is Brain Drain for the first time since 1950


Take India?

It’s always Appeasement, Social Justice and Filthy Cesspit Politics

That is also a huge blow to Meritocracy

Again the Government couldn’t do anything during Covid II because an effective lockdown couldn’t be imposed due to Opposition Politics

Research is stifled due Casteism and Reservations


You see?

Every Decision in the Democracies is based on Politics, Elections, Appeasement, Power, Race etc etc

Nothing is based on PEOPLE and their WELFARE Or the COUNTRY and it’s PROGRESS

FWC Chimichangas

2023 03 19 17 02
2023 03 19 17 02

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
  • 1 (3 pound) chuck or pork roast
  • 1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
  • 1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes with juice
  • 1/2 package Goldwater’s The Senator’s Chili Mix *
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh onion
  • 3/4 tablespoon fresh cilantro
  • 1/3 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon powdered Mexican oregano
  • 12 medium flour tortillas
  • 1 pound grated longhorn cheese
  • 1 pound grated Monterey jack cheese
  • Garlic salt and pepper, to taste
  • Oil (for deep frying)
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Sour cream
  • Guacamole
  • Salsa, to taste

* Yes, this chili mix will most likely always be available.

Instructions

  1. Wrap meat in foil and bake at 250 degrees F to 300 degrees F for 2 hours, adding a little water if needed.
  2. Cool until fat solidifies; skim. Shred meat and retain 3/4 cup of the meat juices.
  3. Combine meat and juices in large fry pan and add chiles, tomatoes, Goldwater’s Chili Mix and remaining spices. Cook slowly until moisture is gone, about 30 minutes.
  4. To assemble chimis, place 2 tablespoons longhorn cheese on each tortilla. Top with 2 to 3 tablespoons meat mixture. Add 2 tablespoons Monterey jack cheese. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Fold all sides in and secure with wooden picks to make a square.
  5. Deep fry in 1 inch hot oil until golden brown.
  6. Drain on paper towels.
  7. Top with remaining cheese.
  8. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, topped with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

This is a recipe from the 1972 Faculty Women’s Club of the University of Arizona.

An apology

Not by me. -MM

After a few years of nothing but getting nagged at, a divorce I was exceptionally pleased to hear the beech ask for, then a load of stress trying to sort out the damage she's done to the kids, I am finally back in the world of not being a ratty sod with a short fuse and sharp tongue.

I moved back to Jakarta, took a job that pays a totally nutty sackload of cash every month, and still do a little consultancy work for a couple of people in unusual jobs. The kids are in a stupidly expensive school I can afford with ease, and are actually something like reasonable again. None are seeing a shrink a this point, and that's more than I can say when the sandy beech was in charge of their development.

The latest wife is lovely. As for marriage, I'm averaging just one every 30 years so I'll probably be a bit on the dead side before I get another chance. However, I try never to dismiss possibilities.

Hopefully I haven't upset anyone too much.

-Fred

Beef Chimichangas

2023 03 18 10 43
2023 03 18 10 43

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 pound) roast
  • 2 firm tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 to 4 scallions, chopped
  • Garlic
  • Salt and pepper
  • Comino (cumin)

Instructions

  1. Cook the beef in a crock pot for 6 to 8 hours with the seasonings.
  2. Cool and shred beef.
  3. Cook tomatoes and scallions and add to beef.
  4. Place meat mixture on flour tortillas and roll up. Drop into hot oil until golden brown. Drain.
  5. Top with green chiles, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and shredded cheese.
  6. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce.

The year was 1977.

Yup.

She looked nothing like her photos. The conversation was terrible. She told me where to sit at the table as to not block her view of the door. When I ordered, she said, “Do you ever think about how many calories you are eating when you order?”

I went to the restroom. Took my watch off and placed it around my ankle. When I came back I told her my probation officer had just called and wanted to know why I was 15 miles from home. I pulled up the pants leg and showed her the watch strap. She said, “You better go!”

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main qimg 8a4e4a7eaac11e8486a00f8b1080b606 lq

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main qimg 6ed27f4690bfa13834e77ad0e9ac54c1 lq

She was totally understanding and did not protest.

I was Ghosted

afterwards. lol

I hope I left her with a good story!

Deluxe Machaca Chimichangas
(Chimichangas de Machaca Especial)

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2023 03 18 10 45

Ingredients

  • 4 flour tortillas, 12-inch diameter
  • 1 recipe Machaca
  • 2 cups mild Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 cup green chile, peeled, seeded, and minced
  • 1/4 cup pickled jalapeno chiles, seeded and minced
  • 1 recipe Basic New Mexico Chile Sauce
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • Shredded lettuce and chopped tomato

Instructions

  1. Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Soften the tortillas. Place approximately 1/4 of the Machaca on each tortilla; then top each with 1/4 cup cheese (reserve the remaining cup of cheese for the final topping), 1/4 cup green chile, 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno, and roll it up.
  2. Meanwhile, bring the chile sauce to a simmer.
  3. Fry the burritos one at a time until they are a crispy golden brown.
  4. Quickly drain the chimichangas and place them on individual serving plates. Cover the chimichangas with the chile sauce, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and then top each chimichanga with 1/4 cup of sour cream.
  5. Garnish the plates with the lettuce and tomato and serve immediately.

The year was 1977.

This is the story about how my mother once and for all stopped setting me up with random guys.

I once went on a blind date set up by my mom. I was not really interested but my mom kept forcing me to meet the guy so I relented. I texted him to make plans and we decided to meet at a restaurant. That place was famous for their pizza so I ordered one and he immediately made a joke about my weight. I’m 5’5” and weighed around 138 lbs then, which is not skinny but definitely not overweight. I don’t think it’s funny when people make mean comments about someone looks and try to pass off as a joke. It is not a joke. You’re just an asshole. That was strike one but I let it slide. It was raining outside and I had already ordered my pizza so I decided to stay.

He started talking about himself and it went on and on. He told me about how much money he made, how his boss and colleagues are in awe of him, how he made more money than any of his friends, how he’s tired of all the women chasing him for his money. He told me about the expensive car he’s planning to buy, the 4 bedroom apartment he already has. He was not at all interested in getting to know me. It was all about him. At one point I wondered if I get up and leave now, will he even notice.

After all the money bragging ended he started telling me about his childhood and that’s where things really went south. He told me how much he hated dogs and how he used to chase them around with a stick when he was a kid. I love dogs but at that point I already knew there is not going to be second date, I decided not to comment on it. He took my silence as approval and told me how he once ran over a dog on the highway. I looked at him shocked and asked if it was real and was the dog okay. He just shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Who cares about that dog, I was worried about my damn car.” I called the waiter to split the bills, paid and left without even saying a word to him. He texted later complaining about how I overreacted and how it was all my fault. I didn’t want to argue with a narcissist like him so I blocked him.

Chicken Chimichangas

2023 03 18 10 48
2023 03 18 10 48

Ingredients

  • Soft taco size flour tortillas
  • 1 (16 ounce) jar picante sauce or salsa, divided
  • 7 cups chopped cooked chicken
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons ground comino (cumin)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Toppings: guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced tomato

Instructions

  1. Combine 1 1/2 cups picante sauce or salsa and chicken, onion, cumin, oregano and salt in a Dutch oven. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 25 minutes or until most of liquid is evaporated.
  2. Lay each tortilla out flat. Spoon 1/3 cup of this mixture below the center of each tortilla; top with 2 tablespoons cheese. Fold in two sides of the tortilla to enclose the filling. Fold over top and bottom edges of tortillas, making rectangles. Secure with wooden picks. Place, folded side down, on greased baking sheets. Coat chimichangas with vegetable cooking spray.
  3. Bake at 425 degrees F for 8 minutes; turn over and bake 5 more minutes.
  4. Remove wooden picks; top with remaining picante sauce and desired toppings.

Whoa. 1974.

https://youtu.be/Dj0drevGOgA

Back in the 1990s – It was a favorite US Tactic to Freeze a Countrys Assets as a method of bullying and sanctioning.

In 2019 – Trump asked Pompeo and his advisors to explore the possibility of Freezing Chinese Assets in USA

The Reply drained the blood from Trumps Face

It was Mr President!!! We have three times more money in China than they have here. If they retaliate we will fall harder

Under Reagan or Bush Seniors – US Sanctions were used very judicially and cautiously. The Primary victim of such sanctions were only those who were militarily a threat to the United States and its Security. The World respected and admired this power of Sanctions.

Under Clinton and Bush Jr – The Sanctions began to be Abused. Slowly any country that did not “Obey” the USA could be sanctioned. Any Country that had a relationship with a country not in US Good Books could be sanctioned. This was the beginning of the bullying. The World began to hate the Sanctions but were powerless against it.

Then the 2008 Crisis happened – and the US crumbled economically. From 2008 – 2010 – There was a Window and CHINA utilized it magnificently. Billions and Billions of Dollars moved from US to China and were invested in Renewable Energy and other long term committed projects

Today under Trump and Biden – The Sanctions are a Joke. Iran was sanctioned and denied even PPE but China delivered openly without ten minutes hesitation as did Russia. Trump and Pompeo lost massive face. India has been sanctioned multiple times but has never been frazzled and has continued its relationship with Russia.

So as on date – Western Sanctions are no longer a tool. The Chinese have too many Nuclear Options to hurt the West.

A few years ago, when my mother had a heart attack, I visited her in the hospital. I didn’t even dress nicely or do my hair.

She looked so small and pale. She clutched my hand and told me how much she loved me, and how I mean the world to her. She didn’t critique my clothing or hair at all. She only praised me and told me how she wanted me to know she loved me so much.

Not nagging me broke my heart. I walked out of the hospital, bought myself a grilled cheese and sobbed until my throat was raw. This wasn’t my strong-willed and imposing mother. She had lost the will to control me. How ill was she?

The next day, I came and she immediately asked me how I could wear such an ugly sweater, what if a handsome single Jewish doctor came into the room?

I was overjoyed. She was going to live.

When I first set foot in China to work and live in Beijing, I think I still have quite a bit of uneasiness with how things are over there. I was cautious when I talk, cautious not to bring out the books that I read, which are mostly banned in the country.

As a foreigner, the place I lived was installed with all the international channels, and I only watched CNN and BBC for news. I had colleagues who had been through the TAM incident in June 1989, telling me that his old family house at the fringe of a hutong still has a bullet hole.

Still, he was too young and scared to go out, and information transmission was not that convenient back then. Much of the story he knew was from his school teachers and other kids. But he didn’t think it was as bad as what most foreigners told him.

It took me a year, at least, to realize that a lot of stories I heard outside of China didn’t really match what I saw. And there are just too many loopholes in those arguments. Contrary to the evil leadership and government that Western media tended to portray back then (and they still do till now), I had plenty of freedom that I enjoy, my colleagues and friends are happy and supportive of the government.

Of course, all would have a bit of grudge more or less, like the constant constructions, traffic jams, increasing cost of living, etc. But the speed of progress, the access to material goods, the latest technology, or even the latest information were tremendous.

I still remember back in 2001, a senior manager from my team who went to Singapore and met up with an old colleague who went there and settled in a few years ago. After her holiday in Singapore, she told me she couldn’t believe that she actually earns more than her ex-colleague in Singapore.

This realization made her gave up her plan of migrating overseas though she previously studied in a Western country and wanted to resume her old life outside of China. Fast forward about 10 years, she became the head of one of the 3 divisions in the company, which would not be possible had she migrated.

Those were the days of dial-up internet access, ICQ. And there was no algorithm to push contents that the website thinks you like to read/see just to make you stick.

You are free to make your own observations and judgments. But I also have friends from different countries who couldn’t get used to China because they were not willing to really experience China, holding on to their Western media indoctrinated belief about the country and using conspiracy theory to explain all their encounters. Most of them (if not all) dropped out after a few years and left China with a sour taste in their mouths.

So, those who have really spent years living and working in China would have appreciated that China has its own way of dealing with things, and the culture there would respect you and would not force you to agree or adapt their way. But somehow, with an appreciation of the somewhat different way of handling and approaching things, you’ll start to see the beauty of it. That will eventually make you question and rethink whether what the Western media told you about China are entirely true.

The reason you want a lawyer is to protect you.

I won a scratch ticket for $100,000 one hundred thousand. the accoutant handled the taxes.

After claiming my prize we had 2 weeks where different reporters were looking for pictures and wanting to do an interview with the store that sold the winning ticket.

churches and charities knocking on the door looking for a slice.

3 people i went to grade school with came knocking I had not seen them in 10 years.

Family calling wanting to get a share or asking for a loan they cant afford to repay. people were confused when I told them I spent it all.

I divided it up 3 ways and gave equal amounts to my 3 kids for their college funds.

If I ever hit another winning ticket I am getting a lawyer to deal with the bullcrap and I am gonna move to Alaska to a remote cabin in the middle of nowheresville with no phone or roads.

Lainey Molnar’s Empowering Art Challenges Societal Norms

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Lainey Molnar, a talented artist known for her thought-provoking illustrations, is back with even more empowering artwork. With her unique style, she explores and challenges societal norms surrounding femininity, body image, and other important themes.

More: Instagram h/t: boredpanda

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28 New Honestly Relatable Comics Revealing Societal Standards By Lainey Molnar 63fe1be27b3aa 700
28 New Honestly Relatable Comics Revealing Societal Standards By Lainey Molnar 63fe1be27b3aa 700

28 New Honestly Relatable Comics Revealing Societal Standards By Lainey Molnar 63fe1bbb38aac 700
28 New Honestly Relatable Comics Revealing Societal Standards By Lainey Molnar 63fe1bbb38aac 700

28 New Honestly Relatable Comics Revealing Societal Standards By Lainey Molnar 63fe1b9f9178b 700
28 New Honestly Relatable Comics Revealing Societal Standards By Lainey Molnar 63fe1b9f9178b 700

Redneck Chimichanga

2023 03 19 17 03
2023 03 19 17 03

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces shaved steak (Philly meat)
  • 1/2 ounce red and green bell peppers
  • 1/2 ounce yellow onions
  • 1 slice American cheese
  • 1 tablespoon mashed potatoes
  • 1 large burrito wrapper (flour tortilla)

Instructions

  1. Cook the shaved steak then add the peppers and onions and sweat until soft.
  2. Put mashed potatoes in center of burrito wrapper then put shaved steak/pepper/onion mix on top of that. Add cheese. Fold in all four sides and secure with wooden picks.
  3. Deep fry until golden brown.

Gravy is the best type of dip for this.

Is it possible?

Yeah, that worked real well in Iraq.

Let’s repeat the entire 2003–2012 experience, only a country that has nukes and is our main trading partner and a critical component of the global economy and has the world’s largest standing army and is intensely nationalistic and is basically indirectly subsidizing our entire higher education system and has thirty times Iraq’s population and a hundred times its GDP.

What are the consequences of not blowing up China? They have control of their littoral? They start building up development banks that rival Bretton Woods and force them to iterate? What a goddamn nightmare.

No, the recipe for success in the US-China relationship is one rising power, stewed constantly in a thick broth of comprehensive engagement that keeps it totally submerged but not overdone, thoroughly marinated in expert and informed local-based intelligence networks, framed in a complex web of alliances with its neighbors and paired with a lovely arrangement of economic and military deterrents.

I don’t believe that America is permanently in decline, but if you wanted to make that argument you could find a shitload of evidence right now. The solution is not to make China the ultimate bugbear. It wouldn’t go anywhere militarily even if you could somehow make it work politically and economically.

Frankly, the much bigger danger than the risk of conflict with China (the Thucydides Trap) is the Kindleberger Trap

raised by Joseph Nye, which notes that the disasters of th

e thirties and WWII were not chiefly caused by the rise of Germany or its fear in Britain, but by the refusal of the United States to step in to fill Britain’s shoes as the economic hub of the world and its chief military peacekeeper—stopping Japanese expansionism, maintaining a global currency the way the British had, keeping Germany afloat and tied into the continent, organizing and maintaining alliances that would keep the balance of power.

It’s not in China’s interests or short-term abilities to do all the crap that the US does around the world right now. It would be very easy for them to collapse inward around the massive domestic economic and social issues that are at the heart of their highly productive yet still embryonic and insecure state and society, just as we collapsed into isolationism over our own issues in the twenties, while filling a very similar global economic role.

The US just isn’t big or rich or willing enough to manage the world. We could barely manage it when it was just us, western Europe, and the ex-European colonies. Now that they’re getting rich and numerous and loud and we’re very much starting to feel like 5% of the global population instead of 20% of global GDP, it’s becoming even more impossible. There has to be some kind of consensus by which multilateral organizations can provide public goods, and individual regional powers—the US, Brazil-Argentina, China, Turkey, Iran, Nigeria, South Africa, India—all make common commitments for public goods. That’s not what domestic politics are pushing for right now in America right now, but it’s what the world needs, and the failure of Brexit is making the alternative clear.

The parts of the world that are still shooting at each other in 2018 really suck.

The parts of the world that aren’t may not be paradise, but they’re a hell of a lot better than those that are.

Or were you looking for “a short, victorious war to stem the tide of revolution,” Minister Plehve?

Please ask the tsarists how that went.

Back in the 1960’s, it seemed like the world was a place of excitement and adventure. It seemed like anything was possible.

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sbm tf2

And so, as boys (and girls), we dreamed of great futures. We played and pretended. We had hopes. We had dreams. And for us, we had a future.

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b3510f172409bff618f7940e254b31a5

But now, today, after the government and woke agents taking over the internet, it seems like a fearful, a dreadful place. One that it would best to hide away from.

Is this intentional?

And if so, as I believe, the real story about the great changes in the United States. Keep the rabble divisive. Keep them sequestered, isolated, and stop all communication between them unless the government can control it. Like Vault 7, and like banning Tictok.

The only way to keep on track is to remember your roots. Remember.

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8f1b1440d413816176a5d0eb7ab022a1

Remember who you are, and don’t let others change your very being.

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dbf1b83aea9323dd73ae8f0ab19eb586

Listen.

All sorts of stuff going on…

Today’s post is going to be all over the place. Geo-politically, China is making moves that will define the future of the globe. The United States is making all sorts of moves about putting dangerous missiles in Taiwan aimed at China, and so China says… We will supply Russia then.

“Your move.”

The USA had best back down, if not, then it’s truly “game over” for the Ukraine conflict. But you know, the Biden administration doesn’t know where the “brakes on the car” are, and the probably outcome is…

  • Offensive missiles in Taiwan – Crossing a Chinese RED LINE.
  • So… China arming Russia.
  • Now, Russia and China together overwhelms the Western war effort.
  • Thus, the Ukraine conflict a big write-off for the West. A loss. BIG.
  • The USA sanctioning China in response.
  • And China is ready, so the result is…
  • An enormous economic collapse in Europe, and the United States.

Spicy times.

Other content here is to mediate the flow of Geo-political stuff with reality. Food, relationships, thoughts and such. Lots of stuff about PA where I came from.

This post is all about where the vector of geopolitical realities are pointing towards.

The world will never be the same. China understands that only a multipolar world will work for such a large and diverse human race. China, Russia, and India understand what they HAVE to do to never allow the West to trample on the rest of the world’s population.

The United States put weapons in Taiwan, and China will put weapons in Russia.

Confessions Of An Unattractive Woman Living In A Superficial World

 

I am ugly. I am unattractive. I know that my skin is awful, my hair is greasy, and society simply does not permit women to weigh as much as I do.

But, mind you, this is not the same as having low self-esteem. Because when I look in the mirror, I hate my body, not myself. I simply shake my head and think, “This isn’t me. This mediocre sack of meat isn’t me. I’m just renting it out, driving it around. It’s a tool. It’s a vehicle. I use it to take myself places that I need to go, and that’s all there is to it.”

 

Ok fine, I’m not Zen enough to actually believe I can escape with that train of thought. The truth is, I am frustrated with the irreconcilable disconnect between my pride and my presence. The acne mask and the fat suit egregiously fail to conform with my mental mockups of my perfectly badass self. I suppose the only real solution then, besides undergoing extensive surgeries, is to upload my conscience to a supercomputer.

Maybe the Singularity will happen, and everything will be great, but in the meantime, I much prefer the Internet to real life interactions because most of you haven’t got a clue as to what I look like, and if you don’t like me it’s because my ideas suck and not because you find my face unpleasant. The Internet allows me to temporarily abandon the limitations of my subpar physical avatar.

Even if people are especially curious about my appearance, I only allow them to make vague inferences based off a single profile picture, uniform across all my social media haunts, taken a very long time ago at a surprisingly flattering angle, in which I actually manage to trick them into thinking I look quite average. Well, I don’t. I’ve gained 50 pounds since then, and academic stress makes my acne flare up like nobody’s business.

Regardless, I decided a while back that everyone has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and I would do well to focus on my strengths instead of my weaknesses. Even people who are bad at everything are less bad at some things than they are at others. After some introspection, I concluded that I was less bad at learning things than I was at looking pretty, so I would ultimately benefit far more from sharpening my skills and pursuing a technical career than from trying in vain to undo the effects of losing the genetic lottery.

As for the romantic side of things, I avoid unnecessary heartbreak by keeping myself from harboring silly delusions about reciprocated love in the first place. I have rationalized that it is okay for me to be ugly because 1) marriage is not the optimal arrangement for everyone and 2) the human race would likely carry on just fine without my genetic contribution.

I am irritated with the cliché that “everyone is beautiful” because surface friendliness and pretending to be PC don’t solve anything. It doesn’t help the young girl with confidence issues because even if you’re “nice” enough to tell her that she’s beautiful, are you nice enough to, like, actually date her? Words mean nothing without actions, yet it’s patently unfair to expect people not to be shallow because at the end of the day, beauty is beauty, attraction is attraction, and sexual desire is governed by deep-rooted evolutionary impulses that people don’t understand and can’t control.

It would be far more useful to promote the idea that people can contribute to the world in a variety of interesting and fulfilling ways besides making others salivate over their bodies. You can make original scientific breakthroughs! You can regale people with tales of heroic conquest! You can build products that make people’s lives easier! But I guess changing the world wouldn’t make for an effective beauty products campaign.

CS Undergrad at MIT 

Cocada Branca
(White Coconut Flake Candy)

This candy is from Brazil.

2023 03 02 11 34
2023 03 02 11 34

This is a recipe for white coconut candy. It is called “white” because there is also black cocada (cocada preta). The black cocada is made with brown sugar and has a dark brown color.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 coconuts
  • 4 cloves (optional)
  • 1 cinnamon stick (optional)

Instructions

  1. Grate the coconuts with a hand grater (Do not use blender, food processor. Coconut flakes already grated will not taste the same as freshly grated coconuts).
  2. In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cloves and cinnamon. Boil for about 20 minutes or until you get a thick syrup. Test by dropping a full teaspoon of syrup in a glass with water. The syrup should become a soft candy. (You can remove the clove and cinnamon from the syrup at this point).
  3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in the grated coconut with a wooden spoon.
  4. Return the saucepan to heat and cook additional 5 minutes. Perform the water glass test again to make sure it has boiled long enough.
  5. Use a large spoon to drop amounts of melted cocada onto a buttered baking sheet.
  6. Let cocadas cool, then serve.

“I live in Pennsylvania and I can confirm that Nick nailed it in this video! Great work!”

Confessions Of A Former Drug Mule

 

Why did you get into this business?

The city I live in is extremely corrupt. I’ll be honest, I was living at home, working a minimum wage job, paying too much money a month for a decent car (2014 25k car), I was struggling financially overall. I had a hunger for money and power, ultimately leading me to find someone who could get me in, a “recruiter” if you will.

How did you get into this business?

I went to someone in the business. It took me 6 months before he offered me a job

How did you find this guy?

He ended up being a friend of a friend. It took him 6 months to offer me a job because the way I approached him was highly unusual.

Which cartel did you work for?

Cartel del Golfo (Gulf Cartel)


What were the top commodities of your cartel when you were in?

Coke, weed and meth. I never touched meth, that was a whole different league.

What were the wholesale prices of the drugs you were smuggling?

The price of one brick if cocaine in southern Texas/ California is about 19k. In Pittsburgh it’s about 38k.

How much did you make?

3 thousand to 5 thousand a week.

How easy were the jobs? Did you have to come up with creative ways to transport the drugs? If so, what’s your most creative way of doing it?

It was easy. The cartels have been doing this for a long time. They know exactly how to mask the smell and modify the vehicle. I can’t tell you the most creative way I’ve done it. The cartels have adopted it and now use it regularly, sorry.

What was it like the first time?

I wasn’t scared or nervous, I’m not really sure what I felt. I guess if anything I was excited because if it went well then I was going go get 3k for 2 days. The job was to drive from Point A to Point B. My recruiter called me once and hour to check up on my well being. My girl bestfriend would also check up on me every so often, so I was okay mentally. I had to drive for X number of hours and it was exhausting. I didn’t like to stop except for gas and energy drinks. When I finally arrived to my destination I was put in a hotel room where I had to wait 10 hours. This hotel was in the middle of nowhere in a different state so there was nothing to do. When the merchandise was finally unloaded from the vehicle I immediately drove back home. I remember feeling happy and relieved. I turned in the car and got paid.

Were you doing any drugs yourself?

When I got back from a job I would go out and party. I’d get quite a bit of coke as a reward so I’d do that with my friends.

Have you ever at any point had a close call or had your life in imminent danger by the cartel for a mistake or misunderstanding such as losing a load?

The 3 times I was caught and was able to walk away made everyone paranoid. The cartel thought I had ratted them out. I had to convince the boss in Mexico I would never. That was probably the scariest moment I had with them.

I’m more afraid of the cartel than the Feds.

You mentioned that you were more afraid of the cartel than the feds, in reality, how much power would you think they ACTUALLY have in terms of operating a murder in the US from Mexico? I’ve heard that despite they’re financial and man power, they can’t carry out kills in the states like they do easily in Mexico. To the point of having to either contract the killing to an American gang like MS13 or hope the target visits Mexico.

The cartel makes more than 10 billion a year. With enough money they can hire anyone. If they want someone dead then it’s going to happen. Like you stated, they may send their own people or just hire a gang, it really depends.

I was asked if I wanted to kidnap a woman for 10k. I said no. When I got involved in this business I promised myself I would not hurt innocent civilians.

What happened the first time you got caught and how did you walk away?

So the job was to drive from Point A to Point B as usual. There were a total of 4 cars. 1 lead car, followed by me, a buyer behind me and my bosses in the back. This job was delicate. This was the 2nd time I introduced my buyers to my bosses. They had bought 2 bricks of coke, but wanted it higher up north. So basically they were paying me to transport it farther up north. The lead car was purposely speeding in case there was any cops, they’d pull him over and not me. This was just an added precaution. I want to say a good 10 hours in, the 2 cars behind me start losing distance between me and the lead car. I call them and they’re 2 hours away, well fuck… I talk to the lead car and we make the decision to go on anyways. Another 8 hours in I pull over at a gas station and unexpectedly run into the lead car. He tells me the 2 back up cars are 4 hours away from us. He wants to go to a restaurant and wait for them, but I insist on driving forward without them. He agrees. Couple hours later we finally arrive to our destination. Now this is where the stupid luck comes in. There’s 2 hotels right next to each other. My buyer wanted me to stay at the same hotel as him, I think it was a “let’s have each other’s back” type play. I wait for him to get a room and then I walk across the street and get a room at the other hotel. At this point it’s about 2200 and I’m tired. I buy a case of beer and go to my room and wait for my boss. He arrives to the hotel around 0300. Job well done right? Not so fast, my buyers are only buying 2 bricks. The other bricks are being bought by my boss’s clients. Around 1100 my boss tells me he’s going to go meet his clients. He tells me to stay put with the car and as soon as he calls me to head over there with the car. 1 hour later I still don’t recieve a call so I decide to head over to the restaurant downstairs and grab a bite. One of my clients joins me and we start talking about business. 30 minutes later we finish and I walk back to my room.

I insert my keycard only to find it doesn’t work. No big deal, I’ll go to the front desk and have them give me a new one. I walk into the lobby and immediately notice a Police Officer and a DEA agent. The DEA agent was wearing a kevlar vest with DEA in gold on the back of it. They both turn and look at me and I just kept my poker face and approach the front desk clerk. He gives me a new keycard and I leave. I remained as calm as possible and started thinking how I’m gonna get out of this one. I walk upstairs to my room and I look around. Across the street I notice 2 SUVs parked in a way that if shit went down they were in the position to respond immediately. I go with my gut feeling and ditch going inside the room. I walk around aimlessly to see if I was being followed and sure enough I notice a civilian car following me. I walk towards a business and right before I walk in the same car pulls up and the same DEA agent I saw earlier steps out.

Agent 1: What’s your name kid?

Me: I don’t have to answer that.

Agent 1: What kind of car are you driving, is it here?

Me: I’m not answering that.

Agent starts getting frustrated and his partner gets off the vehicle and immediately makes me put my hands behind my head.

Agent 2: Look kid, we’re investigating a car break in and the suspect fits your profile.

Me: They called DEA for a break-in?

Agent 1: Ugh, we’re not DEA. We’re city name police department.

Me: Those 2 unmarked SUVs are yours, your firearm is in your waistband and you’re driving a civilian car. Police department doesn’t operate that way.

Agent 1 and 2: …

Agent 2: What kind of training do you have?

Me: I was a former cop.

They take my I.D. out of my wallet and tell me to stay put. They say they’re going to see if I had any warrants. After about 10 minutes they hand me my I.D. and let me go. I take a bus back home and nobody knows what to think of it. The cartels started pointing fingers at everyone, they even suspected me of being an undercover DEA agent. It was later revealed my boss’s ex ratted us out. To this day, we don’t know what happened to my boss. We’ve tried looking for him in jail/prison through online database but to no avail.

My best theory as to what happened is this. The meeting between my boss and his clients was a setup. The DEA thought he would have the coke in his car and moved in, once they realized he didn’t have the coke they scrambled back to the hotel to try and salvage their operation. They ended up towing the car. My buyers went into hiding and so did I. The DEA never went after me again after this ordeal.

What happened the 2nd time you got caught?

The 2nd time I was smuggling weed and I was caught under different circumstances. The DEA was called in and I thought they would know who I was because of the first time. They did not… So it worked out.

And the 3rd?

The 3rd time I was caught I was in handcuffs and surrounded by state police, local police, DEA, CID (criminal investigations divison), etc. I thought for sure I was going to do some time. When I was able to walk away I knew my lifestyle had to change.

Why were you not imprisoned?

I’ll just leave this link here:

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/texas-law/texas-drug-trafficking-distribution-laws.html

How many people did you rat on to be caught smuggling 3 times and not be in prison?

None at all, but that was the main concern the cartel had.

What did convincing them of such look like?

Basically me going to Mexico and explaining what happened.

How did they respond to the loss in money? Any warnings?

Wasn’t my fault so I was in the clear.

Who’s fault is it?

A bitter ex girlfriend of my boss. She ratted us out. She was killed 1 month later.

How did you eventually leave the cartel (if you did)?

After my 3rd run in with the Feds, everyone said it was in my best interest to quit, which I did.

I was under the impression that joining a cartel was a permanent arrangement. You could just quit whenever and they’d be cool with that? Or was it specifically because of the close call.

As a mule you can quit whenever. By the 3rd time I was somewhat important. In addition to recruiting mules I was also bringing in buyers (people who buy in bulk). When I got caught the 3rd time the big bad boss in Mexico had no problem with me walking.

What’s the process of recruiting other mules involve?

Every “recruiter” has different methods. Me personally I target people who are working minimum wage jobs or college kids.

How much was total wealth at the end? Did you invest it and get out?

I laundered my money into a local bar. I still receive revenue. I made at least 200k

How did you launder the money?

The city I live in is extremely corrupt. Many business owners are tied to the cartel in some way. Cops are on Cartel payroll. All I had to do was ask for a favor and it was granted.

How corrupt are the police, border patrol and government officials in the surrounding border towns? How do they get away with it?

I would say majority of them are corrupt. I don’t mean corrupt in the sense that they’ll fight against their own government, but if they see something they’ll look the other way.

How have your experiences changed your perspective on the world around you

I learned a lot of things about this world. The people you’d least expect buy narcotics in bulk because there is money to be made. Judges, patrol units, court clerks, lawyers, business owners, churches, priests, etc.

Are the cartel bosses as professional and educated as any CEO/executive of a legitimately successful company in the US? What are their credentials? (MBA, etc.)

The top cartel bosses are damn near geniuses from what I’ve seen. To operate an entire network across the states is an accomplishment. Most of them attended school in the states or just learned from being in the business. It was said that if all the top cartel leaders came together to eradicate world-wide poverty they could do so easily.

What do you think it would take to stop the drug smuggling into the US?

Legalize drugs which won’t happen.

The USA wants to send weapons to Ukraine, and so here’s a tit-4-tat Chinese response. Hum.

What Goes On In The Mind Of A Potential School Shooter?

I suffer from Autism, social anxiety, PTSD, and severe anger issues. At school I’m usually mocked by other peers for being the “weird white kid” and called a school shooter a lot because I had a crazy big obsession with the Columbine shooting.

I was and still an 16 yo and live in a small country with strict firearm laws but have access to them.

I was going through a really bad time in my life, I was struggling with my old best friend who helped me through my mental health but started to ghost me and use me for my money, my ex girlfriend at the time has just broken up with me and my social anxiety had turned me into a suicidal and angry mess.

 

I was dumped the night before because my ex liked another guy and I was really really upset and angry because it was like the straw that broke the camels back.

I was at school, this was on the 25th of August 2018 where I was super angry, these kids were picking on me and threatening to beat me up and laughing at me.

I was in a really bad mood and ranting in this journal I carried around where I ranted about my anger when I suddenly got the overwhelming feeling of rage and suicidal thoughts, I started writing about an idea to shoot Up the school.

I was writing quite a lot about it when I decided it would be a good idea to just do it.

I walked out of class when my friend walked past me and I remember saying “dude, go home.” and he asked why and I just said “I’m just going to do something, I recommend you just get the fuck out of here”.

I remember sending a message to my ex basically saying I was doing something and to just forget about me.

She had known I’d had these thoughts for a long time (I’ve had thoughts of brining a firearm to school since I was 10).

She started freaking out, calling me and trying to calm me down, I was about to walk out of school when all of a sudden I realized what I was going to do.

I remember calling the mental health clinic where I live and asking for my psychologist to pick me up and I told them what had nearly happened.

It was a very very scary experience, something that still messes with me to this day.

I’m in a happy relationship with someone else now.

I cut that ex best friend out of my life and still talk to my ex today, we’re good friends.

I’ve been a lot calmer lately after I started doing more therapy with my psychologist about my past bullying and all other stuff going on that I didn’t talk to.

I even temporarily moved to a school for people with mental health to calm down.

I’ve told a few friends about this and I ended up telling my mum and my older brother.

https://youtu.be/yg9eZRHnFGI

Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

The Argentine gauchos grill meats marinated in a chimichurri sauce.

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2b09d8edb3fbf02cf2dcd244194270ef

Ingredients

  • 1 (1 1/2 pound) beef flank steak
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup minced parsley
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut diamond pattern 1/8 inch deep into both sides of beef. Place beef in non-reactive dish.
  2. Shake remaining ingredients in tightly covered jar.
  3. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over beef. Cover remaining sauce.
  4. Cover and refrigerate beef, turning occasionally, at least 4 hours.
  5. Remove beef from sauce.
  6. Grill beef 4 or 5 inches from medium coals, turning and brushing with sauce once, until desired doneness, 6 to 8 minutes on each side for medium.
  7. Cut beef diagonally across the grain into thin slices.
  8. Serve with reserved sauce.

Yield: 4 to 5 servings

Confessions of a Couple Living The Van Life

 

Quick Facts

  • Age: Madelyn is 22, Caleb is 24
  • Van type: Toyota Hiace Super Custom
  • Miles: 215,000 km
  • Time spent in van: Seven months full time living in the van, a year since we bought the van.
  • Birthplace: Both born in Texas.
  • Relationship status: Engaged
  • Occupation: Self-Employed
  • Average monthly expenses: $1200
  • Go-to van meal: Linguine, Parmesan, and chicken sausage.
  • Favorite parking spot: Anywhere with nice weather, but we especially love the beachside cliffs.

What were you doing before living in a van?

Before the van, we lived in a small apartment. We quit our jobs to work fully for ourselves and start to build our brand. In those days, we would pack up our Fiat and drive across the country with a tent just to have some adventure.

Why did you get started in Van Life?

For us, van life was the best living conditions we could choose for the adventures we wanted to take. It made more financial sense for us to eliminate the bills from the apartment and stationary living.

What’s the best feature about your van?

The best feature of our van is easily the 4wd capability. It’s allowed us to take this vintage beast into some rugged, wild places.

How do you make money?

We consider ourselves to be digital nomads. All of our income comes through the internet and that enables us to be location independent. The majority of that includes branding, marketing, and advertising work.

What are some challenges you face on the road?

For the most part, the challenges we face involve finding proper places to do the simple tasks. Every day is a routine of locating bathrooms, parking spots, places to cook, places to sleep, etc. It can feel overwhelming being on the move so much, but we counter that by spending quality time outside.

What has surprised you most about this lifestyle?

We’ve been most surprised by the wonderful community that exists among vandwellers. We thought van life would be a lonely road until meeting so many amazing people living this same lifestyle. Until you get out there and start your trek, you‘ll never see the others who are on that path. It was unexpected, but we found lifelong friends through our fellow nomads.

It’s raining and you’re stuck in your van for a full day. What do you do?

Since we wake up so early most days, rainy days seem to be the time to sleep in a little later. With the van being so tiny, we like to get out and stretch our legs. We would hit up a coffee shop and maybe hang out at the library. For us, the weather is a huge determining factor for our day and activities.

 

Do you have any tips, tricks or hacks for van life?

We’ve found that the best tips and tricks are found by the locals. If you start exploring a city and finding the heart of it, you’ll run into people who are dying to share amazing advice about the area and region you’re visiting. Countless times we’ve gone on amazing adventures from the advice of locals and even made new friends through the process.

What is the most essential item in your vehicle?

Our most essential item in the van would be our phones. We not only use them to find new adventures, but we work and share our journey through these devices!

If anything, how would you improve your vehicle?

If anything could be changed, we would probably choose to have a high top ceiling. With a tiny van, things already feel tight so that extra head space would make a huge difference.

What is the most rewarding thing about Van Life?

The most rewarding thing about van life is the new possibilities and experiences it opens up. We have made countless memories that would’ve never been possible without the freedom vehicle that is our van.

What kind of advice would you give to couples pursuing the van life?

For couples interested in pursuing van life together, the greatest advice we can share is to start camping first. Get the two of you adventuring and dealing with inconvenient situations and see how you handle the tiny living space (tent or vehicle). The quicker you figure out how to work together through the hectic parts of a nomadic life, the smoother you‘ll find your transition into van life.

What advice would you give to someone starting or thinking about starting Van Life?

For someone interested in getting into van life, we suggest going as minimal as possible! The less stuff you have weighing you down, the easier it’ll be for you to travel and experience life. For us, van life wasn’t about the van. It was about getting OUT of the van and into nature or the world around us. Finding comfort being outside of your van and exploring can make the lifestyle so much more fulfilling.

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Chuchitos
(Cornmeal Dumplings Stuffed with Meat – Guatemala)

2023 03 02 11 37
2023 03 02 11 37

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless chicken or pork
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 cups sliced ripe tomatoes
  • 1 chile guajillo, seeds and stem removed
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 4 cups Masa Harina
  • 8 tablespoons margarine (at room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Fresh green or dried cornhusks, wet

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken or pork into 1-inch cubes and fry in oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Set aside.
  2. Process the tomatoes, chile pepper and 2 tablespoons water into a smooth sauce. Set aside.
  3. Mix the masa, margarine, 1 1/2 cups cold water and the salt together into a thick mush.
  4. Put 1/2 cup mush in each wet cornhusk, push an indentation into the mush, and add 1 tablespoon sauce and a chunk of meat.
  5. Cover the stuffing with the mush and wrap the dumpling into a sausage shape with the corn leaves.
  6. Steam the chuchitos over hot water over moderate heat for 1 1/2 hours.
  7. Unwrap and eat warm or at room temperature.

12 People Who Survived Suicide Reveal Their Last Thoughts Before Attempting To Take Their Own Lives

 

1. Tried to overdose on Oxycontin, last thoughts were immediate regret after I pushed the plunger on the syringe all the way down, all I felt was remorse and sadness that I wouldn’t be alive anymore. Woke up 20-24 hours later extremely grateful to be alive and got help with my drug addiction, now 4 year sober on 8/14.

2. I have severe depression and never knew what genuine happiness felt like until I was 17 and on meds from the hospital after my suicide attempt, it was so overwhelming I just started sobbing in the car with my mom, out of nowhere.

Anyway, I had taken a bottle of Xanax when my mom left for church, it wasn’t planned I was just at my mental breaking point and panicked, I sat in the kitchen floor and I felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria, I just kept thinking ‘it’s over. It’s over. It’s over’

I didn’t regret it until my mom found me because she turned around after realizing she left something at home, I will never forgive myself for putting her through that. I’m 24 and the memory of her crying and tell me she loved me and she was sorry still haunts me. I have a lump in my throat just typing this.

3. The 3rd attempt was the final one. After 2 failures (tried to OD on benadryl demerol and vodka, 2nd attempt was hanging), the pain was just too much to handle.

I remember it was the Monday after Easter in 2000 I just turned 21. I came home from my internship with a bottle of skky vodka and sheet plastic. It was after 9pm, I had finished the vodka and put the plastic over my bed. I made a few phone calls to say sorry and got the box cutter out. I had it on my wrist ready to slash down to my elbow, blood began welling up and my father came in.

I saw the look of disappointment in his eyes, just one more thing I did wrong. I went through my window and took off. I went running no idea where to but I wanted to find a busy road to jump into traffic. I jumped in front of a car, it stopped. My friends got out and put me in the car to go to a diner for coffee to sober up.

Sobered up some, took off again looking to jump in the street again. I remember being so tired and fell to the ground. Next thing I know is that I’m in a hospital waking up even more depressed.

I ended up getting the help I needed. I still take zoloft everyday, but I am well adjusted now. Still have ups and downs but never that low. That was 16 years ago and this was the first time I have fully told this tale.

4. “I hope this works.”

“Oh, gods, that hurts!”

“Fuck, I made a mess on the carpet. I always make a mess for other people.”

Getting light headed

“Damn it, he’s going to have to deal with my death if I let this happen here… He doesn’t deserve that.”

Goes to stop the bleeding

“Fuck, why did I do that? So stupid. What will everyone think of me?”

5. I took around 20,000 mg of ibuprofen. At first, all I felt was relief. I wouldn’t have to deal with the shit going on in my head any longer. But I started vomiting, and then I started having these weird visions of how people I know would react to my death. People at my school gossiping about it, my teachers talking to each other in hushed voices. I saw my little sister hearing the news and breaking into tears. I saw her go down the road of self-destruction, just as I did. I saw my mother devastated. Once I stopped having these visions, I threw up some more and told a family member to bring me to the hospital. They got all the ibuprofen out of my system. I’ve been seeing a therapist and I’m doing quite a bit better now.

6. I tried to cut my throat, but I stopped because my dog was scared. I didn’t want to lose her, or my family.

7. “Everything is so fuzzy. This could be it… Goodnight.” I tried to OD several times. It’s a wonder my organs are okay.

The last time I tried to kill myself was by jumping under a car. My last thought was “fucking do it, nobody will care and you know it.” Then a drunk person pulled me back. It hit me- what a selfish way to go. Someone would have had to live with that- hitting a 17 year old girl at 6am on their way to work.

8. I laid down in my bed hearing my husband prepare my infant daughter her nighttime bottle and thought: “she’ll be fine without me, better off in fact.” She didn’t know me yet and I thought my husband and parents could raise her without my toxic damaging influence. All I could think was that I was giving my daughter a gift, a life without me as her mother. She could imagine me as anything she wanted or needed. She’d never know my weaknesses and failures. I’d just be a few photos on her dad’s Facebook. And maybe not even that if he remarried. It was the ultimate feeling of release.

9. I jumped off of a bridge. 80 ft. I remember looking down and instantly diving off. In the air I had done a flip and was thinking “What happens next happens.” Falling was so peaceful, I felt free. It was only a few seconds but it felt like a life time of floating towards heaven. Then I hit the water. I thought I was dead until I took a breath of air and was like “oh shit. it didnt work. lol. now what.” I started laughing really hard and thought “of course i survived. lol. of course this would happen to me. It took me 30 minutes to get out of the Puget Sound. Very cold. Almost drowned. Almost died of hypothermia in the hospital.

I’m so much better now. I wouldn’t say that I am happy that I jumped off of the bridge, but it changed my life for all of the better. I found a therapy that worked for me and wow. lol.

10. I didn’t go through with it… But I wrote down my feelings about the time I came close.

Things all came to a head one night in the parking lot at WalMart. I was devastatingly drunk. Crying. Drowning in self-loathing and alcohol. I hated myself. I hated the person I was. I hated the things I had done to the people that loved me. I wanted to die. I kept a .40 cal semi-auto handgun tucked between the front seats in my truck. I looked at it. I picked it up. I felt like freedom was inside it. I had to let it out. All the pain would go away. Nobody would have to deal with me anymore. I couldn’t do any more damage to anyone if I were gone. I pulled back the hammer, I stuck the barrel into my mouth, it tasted just like it smelled… I started to squeeze the trigger… People in my life started to flash into my mind and the thoughts of how it would affect them. First was my son, 23 at the time. He had a girlfriend blow her head off with a .357 magnum when he was 19. How will this affect him, I asked myself. He got over it once, he’ll get over it again, I answered. I squeezed the trigger a little more. My step-daughters, 20 and 25 at the time, how will this affect them, I asked. They would be glad to see me go, I answered quickly. I squeezed the trigger a little more. My mom, who lost her oldest child to cancer 12 years ago, how will this affect her, I asked myself. She lost one, she can lose another, I answered. I squeezed the trigger a little more. My ex-wife… How would… I stopped squeezing. I saw an image of her on her knees. Crying. Not just crying, bawling. That deep, gut wrenching, terribly broken soul heaving cry. I pulled the gun out of my mouth, unloaded it and threw it into the back seat which was full of everything I owned. I broke down and cried harder than I ever had in my life. That was it. I was done.

11. “Finally I’ll have some peace.”

I tried to overdose- mixed opiates and benzos. My best friend found me and took me back to his place. I was severely loopy. Slept for hours. Woke up and immediately thought “I wasn’t supposed to wake up.” I walked to the pharmacy and bought gel cap sleep aids and liquid sleep aids. Proceeded to chase the entire box of pills with the syrup. Apparently my best friend found me scarfing the pills down in his bed saying “nothing matters.” 911 was called. I ended up in a psych ward for 5 days. I haven’t suffered from suicidal ideation in a while, I manage my depression with talk therapy.

For the record- I never felt regret or that last minute “what have I done?!”

12. I hung myself within the last year. Reasons are…..well my reasons. The last thought I render before blacking out was one of peace. It was the one and only time I remember feeling in control of my own life. I felt, for lack of a better word, right. It scares the absolute shit out of me, because I can’t stop thinking about it, and how much I wish I felt that way always.

Everything seems so much worse now, I have friends who are angry they couldn’t talk me through it so they have cut me off for being “selfish”. The only thing keeping me from trying again is my mom. But it’s strained our relationship.

I feel worthless, and love the feeling of being 100% in control.

This is where MM is from. All of my relatives live in Pittsburgh. The views here are about me. BTW, I used to work in McKeesport / West Elizabeth. Yikes.-MM

 Horrible, eh?

This is where MM lives now…

I own a house here.

Though I talk about my home in Zhuhai, and my home in Zhongshan Tanzhou, my main home is in Shenzhen. Check it out…

“Vaccine-Induced AIDS” – Military Records 500% Increase in HIV after COVID-19 Vax

The Armed Forces of the United States recorded a five hundred percent (500%) increase in AIDS after administering the COVID-19 Vaccine to US Troops. The COVID-19 Vaccine is implicated.

White Blood Cells (WBC) fight-off infection in the human body.   NORMALLY, the level of White cells in blood is usually about 5,000 cells per milliliter.  During an infection, that level jumps – perhaps as high as twenty-thousand (20,000) — until the body kills the invading bacteria or virus. Once the invader is dead, the WBC count returns to the normal range of about 5,000.

After getting the COVID-19 “vaccine” many (very many) people started noticing they were becoming sick more often, and taking far longer to fight-off whatever bug they caught.  Moreover, people with Cancer that had been in remission, suddenly found the cancer was not only back, but had metastasized and spread everywhere.

Doctors performing routine tests on people began noticing the level of WBC was lower than usual.  Instead of having 5,000 WBC as a baseline, Doctors began seeing patients with 4,000, or 3,000, and some as low as 2,000 WBC.  At those levels, the human body does not have enough of its front-line troops to fight-off infection very well.

When the level drops below 1,000, a person gets sick from their own natural gut bacteria, which gets out into the blood stream and they become Septic.  This leads to death.

Now, US military Doctors are seeing AIDS-like levels of WBC in our troops.   They cannot fight off infections.  Doctors are calling this “Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome “VAIDS.”

It turns out that the COVID-19 “vaccine” contains three proteins found in the HIV virus!

So it now appears that those who got the COVID-19 “vaccines” gave themselves AIDS and will die from it.

The British Boradcasting Corporation (BBC) did a special TV show in the United Kingdom last year about this.   In that show, they revealed that a segment of HIV *** WAS *** used to manufacture the vaccine!   Here is that segment:

 

 

So they knew.   They actually KNEW they were giving a part of the HIV virus to everyone who got their “vaccine.”

Oh, and the people who developed this “vaccine” and others who pushed it off on the public as “safe and effective” . . .  they’re all still out walking free on our streets.

Where are the arrests?

If this pattern of VAIDS continues, then it would seem the COVID-19 “vaccines” will ultimately wipe out about six billion people on the planet.   Death on a scale this planet has never seen before.

Why are the people who did this still out walking free?  Sounds like Criminally Negligent Homicide to me.

Where are the police?

Where are the lawyers, suing?   Or are they just preparing to die like the rest after taking the “vaccine?”    Or maybe THEY didn’t actually take it?   Maybe THEY knew all along what this “vaccine” actually was?

If so, that’s the crime of premeditated murder.

 

The world after Taiwan’s fall

Study says China’s capture of Taiwan – whether with or without a US-led intervention – would be earth-shattering for US credibility
.

Let us start with our bottom line: a failure of the United States to come to Taiwan’s aid – politically, economically, and militarily – in the event of a takeover attempt by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would devastate the Unites States’ credibility and defense commitments to its allies and partners, not just in the Indo-Pacific, but globally.

If the United States tries but fails to prevent such a takeover, the impact could be equally devastating unless there is a concentrated, coordinated US attempt with like-minded allies and partners to halt further PRC aggression and eventually roll back Beijing’s gains.

This is not a hypothetical assessment. Taiwan has been increasingly under the threat of a military takeover by the PRC and, even today, is under attack politically, economically, psychologically and through so-called “gray zone” military actions short of actual combat.

The US government, US allies and others have begun to pay attention to this problem. Yet, to this day, they have not sufficiently appreciated the strategic implications that such a takeover would generate.

The study

To address this problem, the Pacific Forum has conducted a multi-authored study on “the World After Taiwan’s Fall” with the goal of raising awareness in Washington, key allied capitals and beyond about the consequences of a PRC victory in a war over Taiwan – and, more importantly, to drive them to take appropriate action to prevent it.

On this question, the study provides six national perspectives (US, Australian, Japanese, Korean, Indian and European). Its findings and recommendations were fed into the second round of the Pacific Forum-run Track-2 “US-Taiwan Deterrence and Defense Dialogue” sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

It outlines these strategic implications in two alternative scenarios. In the first scenario, the PRC attacks Taiwan and it falls with no outside assistance from the United States or others. In the other scenario, Taiwan falls to the PRC despite outside assistance – a “too little, too late” scenario.

The study’s main finding is that Taiwan’s fall would have devastating consequences for the United States and many countries in the region and beyond. Regardless of how it happens (without or despite US/allied intervention), Taiwan’s fall to the PRC would be earth-shattering.

The PRC could eclipse US power and influence in the region once and for all. Taiwan’s fall could lead to the advent of a Pax Sinica in which Beijing and its allies would pursue their interests much more aggressively and with complete impunity.

Nuclear proliferation in several parts of the Indo-Pacific could also be the net result of Taiwan’s fall, leading to much more dangerous regional and international security environments.

To several authors, it would thus be necessary to build an Asian equivalent to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to prevent PRC adventurism and ultimately retake Taiwan.

Accordingly, the United States, its allies and others should take major action – rapidly – to prevent such a development.

In particular, the United States should lead an effort to strengthen collective deterrence and defense in the Indo-Pacific; this is especially important in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has shown territory takeovers still happen in the 21st century.

The United States should also give serious consideration to establishing region-wide nuclear sharing arrangements. At a minimum, it should jumpstart research to examine the benefits, costs and risks that such arrangements would bring to the Indo-Pacific security architecture and assess the opportunities and challenges that such a development would present.

Each national perspective imagines broadly similar implications of a PRC takeover of Taiwan.

United States

Ian Easton’s chapter on the US perspective explains that Taiwan’s fall would be disastrous irrespective of how it might happen because the island is a leading democracy, has unique military and intelligence capabilities, plays a critical role in global high-tech supply chains and benefits from a special geographic location in the heart of East Asia.

Easton further contends that the outcome would be especially dire if Taiwan should fall without the United States and others trying (even if they failed) to defend it. The result would be Taiwan’s destruction as a “free and independent country”; the breakdown of the US alliance system, with some allies going nuclear and others falling into the PRC’s diplomatic orbit; and increased PRC influence globally.

Taiwan’s fall after an intense battle between the United States, its allies, and the PRC would not be as bad: Taiwanese resistance fighters would likely fight on, and the United States might be in a position to build a collective deterrence and defense system to keep the PRC in check. Still, the regional and global security orders would be shattered.

Australia

Malcolm Davis’s chapter on the Australian perspective paints a similarly dark picture. Regardless of how Taiwan’s fall might happen, Davis explains, the PRC would be “much better placed to deny US forward presence, to weaken American geopolitical influence in Asia, and expand Beijing’s domination in the region.”

He adds that a US and allied failure to intervene would generate a “highly permissive environment for Beijing from which it could expand its influence and presence as well as coerce other opponents, notably Japan as well as Australia.”

Meanwhile, in the event of a failed US/allied intervention, Davis contends that the outcome would be a substantial US defeat – which would reinforce the perception of US decline – or a protracted high-intensity war with the PRC. Neither outcome would be good for Australia.

Canberra, then, would have to recalibrate and fundamentally rethink its defense policy, its alliance with the United States, and its strategic relationships with other regional partners.

Japan

Matake Kamiya’s chapter on the Japanese perspective argues that Tokyo, too, would regard the Island’s fall to the PRC as deeply troubling. As Kamiya puts it, “If China seizes Taiwan, the consequences – in political, military, economic [terms] and even in terms of values and ideology – would have serious repercussions for Japan.”

Kamiya considers that the outcome of Taiwan’s fall would be “equally bad” whether the fall took place without or despite US/allied assistance.

He points out that, in Japanese eyes, US credibility would be at stake if a PRC takeover took place without US intervention and that the US ability to defend Japan effectively would be seriously questioned in the case of a failed US intervention.

Either way, serious problems would then likely emerge in the US-Japan alliance as a result.

South Korea

Duyeon Kim’s chapter on the Korean perspective echoes Kamiya’s on the Japanese perspective. Kim stresses that “the expected outcomes of Taiwan’s fall for Korea would be the same under the two scenarios – both equally bad in terms of South Korean perceptions and sentiments about the US security commitments to them and their interest in obtaining an independent nuclear deterrent.”

Kim, however, does insist that much would depend on the degree to which South Koreans question US credibility and lose trust in Washington, as well as on the political party in power in Seoul, the state of the US-Korea alliance, the state of Korea-PRC relations and North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and strategic calculus.

Still, she argues that a determining factor would be President Xi Jinping’s worldview and the PRC’s economic situation. Either way, Kim stresses that a “constant outcome” could be an emboldened and more aggressive North Korea.

India

Jabin Jacob’s chapter on the Indian perspective argues that a PRC invasion of Taiwan would “change very little on the ground for India in terms of the bilateral [India-Taiwan] relationship itself.” Yet he explains that a PRC invasion of Taiwan would force India to refocus its national security policy squarely on the PRC, making China its primary threat.

He adds that India would also reconsider its relationship with the United States by distancing itself from Washington – because a post-US world order would be in the making – and, at the same time, seeking to extract concessions from Washington.

More generally, Jacob stresses that Taiwan’s fall would have far-reaching, very negative implications for India in its immediate neighborhood, in its wider Asian and Indian Ocean neighborhood and at the international level.

Europe

Bruno Tertrais’ chapter on the European perspective begins with a reminder that Europe has only recently begun to worry about the PRC and the possibility of a conflict over Taiwan. As a result, views and perceptions on this matter vary widely.

Still, Tertrais explains that Europeans agree that the economic and strategic consequences of Taiwan’s fall to the PRC would be problematic for Europe. Tertrais argues that a failed US/allied intervention would be “less damaging for Europe.” A failure to intervene risks inviting “renewed Russian aggressiveness.”

In either case, however, Tertrais explains that “the fall of Taiwan would be a wake-up call for Europe that it must act fast to be in a position to defend itself.” He adds that several European countries would likely seek to strengthen their security and defense ties with several US Indo-Pacific allies.

This is the first of two parts. Part two will review in more depth some of the key findings and recommendations emanating from the study. This article was first published by Pacific Forum and is republished with permission.

David Santoro (david@pacforum.org) is President and CEO of Pacific Forum. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSantoro1. Ralph Cossa (ralph@pacforum.org) is president emeritus and WSD-Handa chair in peace studies at Pacific Forum.

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A reflection of Geo-political incompetence

The United States led drive toward world war 3 is well on way. While world war 3 is in process, the “HOT” portion is just building up.

HOT refers to Americans dying, American cities being attacked, and American military actively fighting the Global South.

Pictures of some malls in the USA that are still running

A contemporaneous measure of the health of a given “middle class” is the local malls.

  • Vibrant and healthy middle class = vibrant malls.
  • Dead and dying middle class = dead malls.

While most American malls are dead, there still are some that remain open in the more affluent sections of the country. Here’s some pictures of the malls in the upper-middle class areas inside of the United States…

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Keeping Up With The Joneses

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your neighbor drive up in their beautiful new car or hearing about their fabulous planned vacation.

It can make you forget about every other plan or goal you’ve made for yourself. Keeping up with the Joneses can eat away at your financial dreams.

“Keeping up with the Joneses” means to try to own all the same things as people you know in order to seem as good as them.

But when you’re making purchases that have no value beyond impressing others, you’re shortchanging your future.

For starters, it takes away your joy in life.

Nothing is ever quite good enough anymore. There’s always a nicer, newer something that’s siphoning off your money. Houses, cars, electronics. The list is endless.

And none of it makes you happy because it’s a continuous cycle.

Financially, it’s a catastrophe. Trying to keep up with those around you who appear to have it all is devastating financial accounts all over the country.

Many times, those others you are trying to keep up with are in crippling debt themselves. It’s all a house of cards.

Taking a good, hard look at previous expenditures is a key way to determine if you’ve fallen into spending based on others vs. your own plan.

As you look at those expenditures, ask yourself if you’d buy them if you had the opportunity to do it over.

Keep a list of purchases you regret and review regularly as a reality check on where you’re putting your money.

Next time you’re about to make a big purchase, especially one that will put you into debt, take some time to examine your motives.

Ask yourself if you truly want or need to buy that expensive item that will be replaced in a few years, or do you want to retire early?

If your real goal is financial freedom, keeping up with the Joneses is not the way to achieve it.

Wang Yi struck a friendly pose for Hungarian media as he met Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto

By Tessa Wong

BBC News, Asia Digital Reporter

Over the past year, leaders in the West have tried to cajole China to help them end the Ukraine war. Now Beijing has given its firmest response yet – and it’s not something many in the West would like.

In recent days, China has launched an assertive charm offensive, kicking off with top diplomat Wang Yi’s tour of Europe, which culminated in a warm welcome by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Beijing has released not one but two position papers – the first offering the Chinese solution to the war, and the other outlining a plan for world peace. These largely retread China’s talking points from the past year, calling for respect for sovereignty (for Ukraine) and the protection of national security interests (for Russia), while opposing the use of unilateral sanctions (by the US).

The West may come away unimpressed – but convincing them was never likely the main goal for Beijing.

China’s goal: send a clear message to US

Firstly, it clearly seeks to position itself as a global peacemaker. An obvious clue about who it’s really trying to charm lies in one of its papers, where it mentions engaging South East Asia, Africa and South America – the so-called Global South.

In preaching an alternative vision to a US-led world order, it is wooing the rest of the globe, which is watching to see how the West handles the Ukraine crisis.

But another goal is to send a clear message to the US.

“There is an element of defiance,” said Alexander Korolev, an expert in Sino-Russian ties at the University of New South Wales. “It is signalling: ‘If things get ugly between us, I have someone to go to. Russia is not alone, which means that I will not be alone when there is a confrontation… don’t get comfortable in bullying me.'”

The timing, say observers, is a giveaway. Relations between the US and China have hit a new low, exacerbated by the spy balloon saga. Some have also questioned why China – if its intention is to help end the war – is only just now making its big diplomatic push for Ukraine peace.

“China had ample opportunities to display leadership, it was invited early on to contribute to ending the war… If the goal was to truly display the image of a global leader, you don’t have to sit on the fence for one year and try to perform a diplomatic dance,” said Dr Korolev.

There was a third goal, and it could be seen in Mr Wang’s itinerary.

By visiting France, Germany, Italy and Hungary, whose leaders China perceives as taking less of a hardline stance on Russia, Mr Wang may have been testing the waters to see if China could lure some of Europe into China’s orbit.

Watch: One year of war in Ukraine in 87 seconds

Beijing sees a “logical convergence of interests” with these countries, said Zhang Xin, an international political economy expert with the East China Normal University in Shanghai. “It believes the US has hegemonic power, and that a large part of the Transatlantic world could benefit from detaching from that system.”

But whether China will succeed in that particular goal is questionable. Mr Wang’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he criticised the US, did not play well in a roomful of America’s staunchest allies and, according to diplomats, only spawned greater distrust of China’s true motives.

His tour “was a very overt push to say: ‘We don’t have problems with Europe, we have problems with the US, we can fix things with you Europeans and you need to understand that the US is leading you down a problematic road'”, said Andrew Small, a senior fellow specialising in Europe-China relations at the German Marshall Fund think tank.

“But I think in most places in Europe, this message doesn’t have much traction.”

The key question now is whether Beijing will live up to its word of making peace as it tightens its embrace of Russia.

The US has warned this week that China was considering supplying lethal weapons to Russia, and that Chinese firms had already been supplying non-lethal dual-use technology – items which could have both civilian and military uses, such as drones and semi-conductors.

Publicly China has reacted with angry rhetoric. But behind closed doors, Mr Wang made it clear to top EU official Josep Borrell that it will not provide weapons to Russia.

EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Mr Wang in Moscow

According to Mr Borrell, Mr Wang had also asked: “Why do you show concern for me maybe providing arms to Russia when you are providing arms to Ukraine?”

It is a revealing line, say observers, showing that Beijing still truly believes the West is to blame for fuelling the war.

“Sending weapons to any warring party is considered as further escalation – that is the position of the Chinese state so far,” said Dr Zhang.

There is scepticism that Beijing would supply weapons to Moscow, given how it runs counter to Chinese interests.

Such a move would be seen by others as a clear escalation of the war, and would lead to sanctions and disruption of trade with the West – hugely damaging for China, as the EU and US are among its top trading partners.

It would also raise global tensions significantly and likely push US allies further into Washington’s embrace, stymieing Beijing’s plan to woo some of them away.

What is more likely to happen, say observers, is that Beijing will continue or even step up indirect support to Russia, such as boosting economic trade – which has provided a financial lifeline to Moscow – and abstaining from sanctions on Russia.

They may even supply more dual-use technology through third party states such as Iran or North Korea, according to Dr Small, so that they can lend support “as deniably as possible”.

But as the war drags on, the issue of giving lethal weapons will resurface, he warned.

“There hasn’t been a question yet on what kind of significant things China could be asked to do, because previously Russia didn’t need to resupply,” said Dr Small. “But they are hitting that juncture. How long is China willing to say to Russia it will not do it?”

Days before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin declared they had a “friendship without limits”.

A year on, China will have to answer the question of how far it would go for its special friend.

Japanese Figure Maker’s Vitruvian Man Is Here To Beat The Hell Out Of Your Other Toys

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Sometimes it’s just not enough to have super hero and anime figures duke it out, you’ve got to add some historical and artistic firepower to your action figure duels. Fortunately, Japanese figure maker Figma has your back with their Table Museum series, a lineup of action figures that brings history’s most famous works of art to life (such as The Thinker and Michelangelo’s David). Now joining their lineup is perhaps the most formidable of masterpiece art–a multi-armed monstrosity in the form of a badass Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man action figure.

Mopre: Good Smile h/t: grapee

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Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is based on the correlations of the ideal human body using gemoetry, and is often described as an artistic masterpiece showing off “harmony of the human body.” So it should come as a fitting entry in the Table Museum series, which is made from a flexible type of plastic and fully posable joints. The Vitruvian Man figure comes with alternate upper-body parts and even a special dial to recreate his classic pose. Of special note, however, is just how freaking hard-boiled this Renaissance figure looks, with a permanent scowl, bulging muscles, and ability to just eviscerate the artistic egos of other masterpieces like this:

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8 49

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7 50

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6 52

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5 55

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4 57

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What’s It Like To Be A Member Of A Triad?

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maxresdefault 2

 

My involvement began in high school. There was nothing dramatic about it, I just became friends with a bunch of people I thought were cool and one thing led to another.

High school gangs are like triad training schools. They are not part of the triads per se, they’re more of a triad Mickey Mouse fan club where a group of young wannabes strut around pretending to be something they’re not. You’d be surprised at just how many of these there are.

The leaders of these high school gangs are usually affiliated with a low ranking triad member, called a 49 in triad lexicon. These are the foot soldiers. The 49 functions as big brother whose help the boys would call on in case of trouble, but big brother is also a scout who kept an eye out for promising young talent.

I must’ve seemed like one, because I was soon introduced to the 49er’s tailou (big brother), who was also a 49er. We met a few times at a local disco, snorted cocaine, gargled ketamine, popped ecstasy, and soon he trusted me enough to put me in charge of a few high-school gangs.

The triads are structured like a MLM scheme. At the lower levels, the more followers you recruit, the more powerful you become, the higher up you climb. The people above your rank are referred to as tailou or ____ ko which means elder brother, and your followers are referred to as DauGei, or children.

It’s all about the organization. So we organized.

We recruited the same way ISIS and Al Qaeda does: by giving disaffected and disenfranchised young men a sense of belonging. We start off by convincing the kids that we were cool by bringing them alcohol, drugs and other illicit goods. Then when they have issues they’d come to us for help and we’d help them. Many of the kids I recruited were bullied in school and looking for some revenge, and we’d give the kid’s bully a thorough trashing.

Some of the kids would naively come to see us as these cool guys who were looking out for them, and they’d seek to be a part of our circle. Once we got the kids on hooked on the illusion of brotherhood and coolness, they’re ours to keep. And they’ll bring their friends as well.

We went around the schools settling petty disputes such as who stole whose girlfriend – at the high school level, everything is petty- , and we enforced pax triadica with our fists. We demanded discipline from our members, and if one of our own went out of line we’d beat him up ourselves. We were a group of young bullies with our own set of rules and standards of behaviour. My recruits unwittingly traded one bully in school, for circle of friends who bullied one another.

From petty disputes we graduated on to settling disputes between local businesses. Unlicensed bars, moneylenders and illegal gambling dens would pay us a set fee, and in return we’d step in if they have problems. The money was terrible, but for a young kid, having adults and business owners turn to you for help is a huge ego trip.

I was able to grow the organization effectively because I understood the principles of peer pressure and groupthink. So if you’re a parent, I would advise you to obsess over who your teenager is hanging out with; there are many manipulators like me out there.

I must’ve been a pretty good recruiter, because the boss took me under his wing and introduced me to his boss, Suen Ko. Suen Ko was a hung kwan, or a mid-level lieutenant in the triad hierarchy. This is where I started to get involved with the actual organization. We had a short initiation ceremony in a karaoke room, and I became a 49 under Suen Ko.

Suen Ko owned a few nightclubs and bars, and virtually every night we’d be in one of his fine establishments drinking, partying, and partaking in every drug we could get our hands on. Our sort attracted a certain sort of girl, and there were girls aplenty. The bars were a money maker, but Suen Ko’s real money came from selling bootleg CDs.

At the time, bootleg CDs and eventually DVDs were an organized crime gold rush. This was before napster and way before bittorrent, and demand was so high that we filled up entire shopping malls with outlets selling pirated movies, music and software. A common joke was that if Bill Gates ever visited our malls, he’d have a heart attack on the spot.

For about 5 cents in costs for a blank CD, we sold the end product to the consumer for 15 local bucks a pop. Not even cocaine had that kind of margin. We were selling the bootlegs as fast as we could print them, and best of all piracy was perceived by the local cops as a low-impact crime and as such wasn’t rigorously enforced. Heck, many of our regular customers were cops. At the time, you could drive up to a police checkpoint with a stash of bootleg CDs on the backseat, give cheeky grin and a thumbs up, and the cops would just wave you through.

Suen Ko made millions within his first year.

I was good with computers, and I became his IT department. I helped him organize his production, and in return he gave me a handsome cut. I made quite a bit of money in my teens, but I quickly blew it all on drugs and girls.

The biggest eye opener was during the annual company dinner. They had to construct a tent hall on an empty field to fit all 5,000 of us in, and there were local politicians and community leaders on the front row tables. That drove in the impression of just how big the tree was, and how deep the roots went.

If I made the triads sound like corporations, that’s because that’s what they are. We were even registered with the Registrar of Companies as a multimedia company and we paid our taxes. The big bosses looked just like any other middle aged Chinese uncle you’d meet at the local supermarket. The best way to avoid detection is to be in plain sight and blend into the background. The so-called gangsters you see on the street strutting their stuff are amateurs; many of them are just aping what they see in the movies. The pros keep a low profile and get on with making money.

Once you go far enough up the hierarchy, violence is actually pretty rare. For the most part, being a triad is just like working in any other corporate job.

But when violence does occur at that level, it’s freaking terrifying.

Roundabout the end of my first year, there was a war. The politician who Suen Ko worked for was at odds with another politician from the same organization. There were a few shootings, grenade attacks, and choppings, but it didn’t affect me directly at first so I didn’t give much thought to it. Then a call came one night. All hands on deck. We dropped everything and converged on the HQ.

Pardon the expletive, but it was scary as fuck. There were a hundred or so of us milling about an office block, and someone started handing out machetes and sashimi knives. Suen Ko took me up to the office, and there were hard looking fuckers at every corner. The air was so full of cigarette smoke I could barely breathe. Everyone looked grim. Apparently we were expecting an attack.

I was a skinny teenager, and I was out of my depth. Till that point, I’d been involved on the white collar side of things. The guys I saw that night had the word hard etched on their faces. I’ve never felt more scared than I did that night.

We stayed there overnight, but no attack came so we went back to our branch office. They attacked us there. A dozen or so guys rushed in and we fought back with chairs, clubs, machetes, boxes of A4 paper, everything we could get our hands on. It was a hazy frantic panicky desperate fight for survival. We were cornered and if we lost it would’ve been game over. One of theirs died in the melee.

The police arrived fairly quickly and I went to jail for a bit. It was in a cell that I resolved that this life wasn’t for me. For some miraculous reason, I got off scot-free. I went home, packed my things, and left everything behind to start a new life.

So how did it feel like? Terrible.

It’s not a healthy way to live one’s life. It got to the point where I was so paranoid that whenever I went to a restaurant I’d sit facing the entrance so I’d know who was coming in. I saw potential threats everywhere, and I carried symptoms of PTSD for a long time afterwards.

It took me a very long time to put my past behind and to learn to live again without fear like a normal human being. I had cut off all ties with everyone I knew, and have difficulty trusting people. Till today I know many, but am close with very few.

If there’s any teenager reading this who is in a similar situation as I was, know that the world is vast and there are opportunities everywhere. The cool kids you see in school are anything but.

Don’t make the same mistakes I did

– Anonymous

What’s It Like To Date A Gold Digger?

 

When I was in my 20’s, I had a very, very beautiful woman wind up being the biggest gold-digger I ever went out with.

So let’s call her… Julie. Julie was a fitness contestant/exotic dancer with a body that stopped traffic. And while she had this super, over-the-top body, she also had over-sized implants that made her look like a real-life Jessica Rabbit, hair and everything. She stopped traffic, and that’s not an expression, cars literally slowed down or stopped to watch her walk down the street. She gave me a picture of her in a bikini. I would show my friends and most of them were in disbelief that I even knew her, let alone was going out with her.

And… how exactly did we meet? At a strip club of course. I was young and more naive than most, but it turned out we had mutual friends in common and we wound up spending a couple of hours together talking. We “seemed” to hit it off and have a lot in common… or so I thought.

At the end of the night, being the naive numb-skull that I was, I thought I actually had a chance with her, I asked her out. To my surprise, holy crap, she said yes— I was on Cloud Nine and couldn’t beliebe my luck. I’m not sure I even slept that night in anticipation of our first date.

However, I soon realized that one we did go out, every date suggestion she made (she always shot down what I wanted to do), was over-the-top. I was OK with that for our first date, and even our second, but soon realized that there was never an offer of a quiet evening at home or having an inexpensive dinner out, etc. Every date or date suggestion she had (and we had three dates) was a extravaganza that cost me well in excess of $500-$700.

Each time, it was the same; at the end of the date, we’d share a quick kiss and she’d find some reason she needed to go home ASAP. I began to sense I was being taken for a ride and decided to stop calling her.

But she wasn’t done with me… yet.

One day, she called and asked me what I was doing and wanted to get together. I was honest and told her she was kind of breaking me. Again, I was in my 20’s at the time, not making a lot of money, and this was killing my bank account.

Then she surprised me by offering me a quiet evening at my house, claiming that she wanted to make medinner. OK, this is better, I thought. And it was better… until about two hours before she was supposed to come over, when she called to inform me that her “Favorite comedian in the wooorrrld” was in town and for only “one more day. Can we PLEEEEEEASE do that instead??” She then threw in multiple references to the wild night at home we’d have later as a result. That was always her way; insinuate that you were going to have the time of your life with her later.

She could teach fisherman how to better bait a hook, she was that good at this.

OK, you probably get where this is going, right? Unfortunately, I didn’t. “Sure!” I said. Sounds great!! What time do you want to meet?” I should have known when she wanted to meet halfway what was coming.

Of course, she tells me that now that we’re doing this instead that we simply must go to her favorite local restaurant now (She “always went there first— it’s a tradition!”), and that came to $200+. Then front row tickets to the show plus drinks, and that came to another $300.

She’s also getting progressively drunk as the night goes on and is now telling me how her dress (a tight-fitting denim number with buttons from top to bottom on the front), “just pops right off… which is going to be really convenient.. tonight. Wink, wink.”

Ironically enough, while I certainly wanted to have sex with her, I also thought I liked her and that this might be a way for us to formalize a relationship. The show ends and we drive back to my house.

We get there, have drinks and talk for a few minutes about our the night. She seems to be having fun, and then suddenly and out of the blue… she totally clams up… and needs to leave “right away…” yet again. Something about not being comfortable that her car is parked in a public lot. Ironically, for being so hot, she drove a piece of crap econobox), which keep in mind, she hadn’t been concerned about all evening… that is until it was time for us to be romantic together.

Then it hits me– I’m totally being played by this gold-digger!! %(**@#&!!! And holy crap, she’s managed to do it to me… again!

I tell her she’s damn right she needs to leave right away, and that I will take her back to her car IMMEDIATELY. It was clear to me now… even naive twenty-something me. She was just using me to live the high life, couldn’t care less about me, and then once it was time to demonstrate that she actually liked me in some way, shape or form–and by that I mean even just some kissing and being openly affectionate- ran home.

I heard from other guys later that this was not uncommon for her, but that if that if you had enough money—and I’m talking private jet money—she actually would sleep with you. I also hear that these guys—the one’s who had that kind of money—used her just as much as she was using them, and threw her away when they were done with her.

Karma’s a bitch, right?

We drove back to her car in complete silence. It had been yet another expensive lesson, but this one stuck. I dropped her off without a word in the parking lot, pulled out before I saw her get in her car, and never spoke to her again.

– Errol Greene

IKEA Recreated Living Rooms From ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Friends’ And ‘Stranger Things’ With Its Own Furniture

Ikea’s Billy bookcases, Poang chairs and Kallax shelves can be seen in real homes around the world, but they now have a place in the fictional living rooms of “The Simpsons,” “Stranger Things” and “Friends.”

The Simpsons

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In the “Real Life Series” campaign running in the United Arab Emirates, Ikea, along with agency Publicis Spain, recreated iconic living rooms from each of the popular shows with only its own products. The campaign leverages the pop culture references with the aim to be relevant to all cultures, since the UAE is largely populated by expat families from all over the globe.

More: IKEA

“We brought to life the iconic living rooms of the most beloved families of all times, through tons of furniture combinations in lots of different styles and sizes – and at affordable prices. We’ve grouped all the products for each room for you, so it’s easy to recreate what you see here in your own home. Take a look and make your living room iconic with IKEA.”

Room for families
A living room is not just a place for families to get together and watch TV, it’s a place to share happy moments and have fun. And fun is what this room is all about. Combine new colourful and playful patterns and brighten-up your living room with your functional and favourite IKEA furniture pieces.

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Friends

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Room for mates
Whether you share the same surname or just each other’s companies on a regular basis. Family for IKEA goes beyond the traditional definition. And we also have rooms far from traditional to match that. Mix and match styles, throw some color in and build a comfy, flexible, friend-magnet living room to enjoy with your favourite people in the world.

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Stranger Things

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Room for everyone
Every living room tells a story of the family who lives there. And this one is not afraid to tell it out loud. So let your furniture do the talking. You can express your family’s romantic with a colourful string of lights or brag about your great book collection, perfectly organized on our display cases. Whatever your family loves, you’ll find a way to show it at IKEA.

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What’s It Like To Own A Lamborghini?

 

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thomas haas 1198159 unsplash

 

I pondered this same question since I was 15. About 15 years later I am qualified to answer this. I’ve owned 2. 08 Gallardo and 2015 Huracan. How does it feel? I will break this down into two parts–from an automotive/mechanical perspective and an emotional/human perspective.

Both were V10’s and the moment you turned the key (or pressed the start button) you knew it was 10 cylinders. They were proper to use a bull for their logo because it sounds like a really pissed off bull being woken up too early on a Saturday morning each time you fire it up. Italians are about soul and lambos ooze soul compared to the other exotics and expensive cars I’ve owned. You feel alive when you drive them. Driving a lambo is a very visceral experience. It’s loud, and you can feel the engine rumbling through your bones as you shift (all paddle shift these days) and downshift. Everyone should experience a v10 downshifting hard through a tunnel at least once in their lives. Every drive is an experience and I would find myself with a big grin on my face any time I drove them.

A common misconception is that they’re expensive to maintain or are unreliable. 2005 and newer are head and shoulders above the pre 2005 models. Once Audi (or is it VW?) owned lamborghini and started sharing parts the car was so much better inside and out. Diablos and countach’s feel cheap and flimsy but the fit and finish after the gallardo came out is nice and tight like an Audi. Also I will say the AWD models make you feel like a great driver and safe even on wet surfaces.

Ok so here’s probably what you’re more interested in– what does it feel like, how do people react, etc. You’re going to get a lot of attention. I never had yellow or green or orange but those attract even more attention. Meaning when you drive it, expect at least a few people to take pics and/or video (while they have one hand on the wheel of their own car), people will try to race you, follow you, stare, honk their horn, give you thumbs up, etc. Sometimes it’s downright dangerous because they are paying attention to your car when they should be driving.

When you’re getting gas or stopped somewhere that’s when it can get awkward. Every week I’ll get a couple of questions that bug me:

“How much did that car cost?”

“So what do you do”

I don’t mind if you ask how fast it goes. Or if you can take a picture or look inside. I’ll even let people sit in it — all the time! But don’t ask me how much it costs. Just google it. And asking me what I do… As if you’re going to turn around and start doing it too? That’s like asking someone how much they make. You don’t want to know, trust me.

So I used to struggle with this and would try to avoid it. Now I just tell people. $285,000. Ok there. Are you happy now?

If you like the car you should see my house.

It’s a no-win situation. I tell you and it makes things weird or I don’t tell you and you think I’m a lambo driving asshole. Oh well, comes with the territory. I still don’t have a great way to handle that question.

People treat you like a celebrity (not justified) because of your car. Most people don’t know what kind of car it is. Most people have never seen one up close. Boys from the ages of 8-18 freak out — I did the same when I was their age.

Gas mileage sucks. 10mpg sounds about average.

Insurance is not that bad. I’m paying about $250 a month (over 25, no accidents, multiple car discount, etc). Not all insurance companies will cover lambos. Progressive does.

Cops. Beware. If you drive a lambo you are begging to get pulled over. That means you do one thing wrong: roll through a stop sign, run a yellow light, go 5mph over the speed limit, have an expired license plate, swerve in a lane (ESP at night), expect blue and red lights to come on especially if you aren’t in LA or Miami where they are common. Been pulled over 4 times in the lambos. 3 were fine. One was straight up harassment and I was scared. I won’t drink even a beer if I’m in the lambo, it’s just not worth it.

Overall I haven’t had that bad of an experience. It’s been positive and fun. I go to car shows. Take neighbors’ kids for rides. Answer everyone’s questions at gas stations and am as nice as I can be. I’ve been fortunate in my life and so I feel like it’s my job to share the car with people even if it’s just a selfie for a random stranger at the supermarket. (And yes I drive it to Kroger and yes a couple of bags of groceries fit in the trunk).

Lemon Bread (Denmark)

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2023 02 25 18 24

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Rind of 1 lemon
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients together.
  2. Put into loaf pan.
  3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour or until done.
  4. Drizzle glaze made of juice of 1 lemon and 1/3 cup sugar over hot bread.

Confessions From The Sociopath Community

 

1. It’s like everyone is a puppet and the world is a game. the rules are to manipulate the puppets in order to win the game for yourself. some puppets get in the way so they have to be removed others are more useful.

You gotta play the long game tho because you never know when someone might become useful again later. some puppets live some die, it’s just all part of the process. none of that affects me on the inside. Hack the system and achieve your short and long term goals. puppets are just part of the system.

Love doesn’t feel like a thing, it’s just usefulness of ppl. same with loyalty. It’s all temporary depending on usefulness of the puppet.

2. I feel like I don’t give a shit about 90% of things unless they’re directly affecting me. I find it really hard to relate to people and expressing my emotions because I don’t feel anything. Especially when consoling someone and you have to fake being upset too when deep down I couldn’t care less.

3. I spent a good chunk of my youth doing things because i thought they were right but i never really felt it, when i did a good deed i thought i was doing it to be nice but really i was looking for the reward of looking like a better person or maybe a physical reward like money etc, i dont believe now that selfless good deeds really do exist, instead i see selfish actions that can benefit others. When i study people i start to wonder if they are aware of this deep down and feel the same way or if they really think they are doing good, my mother is someone who goes out of her way to help people, i dont know if she realises but she is definitely rewarded with things like a thank you that makes her feel better or the thought that she has impressed someone, the thing i wonder is whether she is actively seeking these gratifications and is either aware of it or in denial about it or if someone can really just be a good person. I dont know if i’m just cynical but i think the normal people are just in this mental matrix, i think they are all sociopaths to some extent who have there human suits stuck on and we are just the ones that have woken up and have the understanding about what we really are.

4. We have spent our whole lives teaching ourselves to avoid detection and give a reasonable appearance of normalcy. I’m sure we’ve all had breakthrough moments of “oh, that’s how you perform a warm smile!” or “shit! you mean I’m not supposed to hold eye contact without blinking if I want people to feel comfortable loaning me money?”

5. Everytime I search something about psychopathy, sociopathy or NPD, I come across thousands of shit posts with huge bold headlines like ” How to avoid being in a relationship with a sociopath 101.” which usually follows with something like ” when narcs and other abusers go on ATTACK blah blah blah”. Ya’ll do realize sociopathy or psychopathy and npd have some huge differences right? Sure we are the bad ones but even then, it’s a disorder for god’s sake, stop victimizing yourself and stop believing that ya’ll are the “better humans”. Not every abuser is a sociopath or a psychopath and not every psychopath or sociopath is an abuser. Sure, there’s a huge possibility that your relationship with someone with aspd or npd (even bpd) can turn sour and toxic but we’re not monsters that’ll crawl out of the closet to ruin you. Please stop throwing the term around like a slang, being a sociopath isn’t funny nor is it a slang. Again, just because someone doesn’t give a fuck about your feelings doesn’t mean they have aspd.

6. Sociopathy takes away from the things of life that (I’m assuming) make it interesting. If your best friend gets engaged, you feel nothing. If your significant other gets a new job or a promotion, you feel nothing. If your sibling graduates, you feel nothing.

And I’m not saying “feel nothing” as in you feel ‘numb’ when good things happen to others, but more in the sense that events like those literally have 0 effect on your mood and how you feel.

This makes life pretty boring after a while, because the only things that affect how you feel are the things that affect you directly. And I mean, how many truly interesting things happen to each of us on a daily basis? I’m willing to bet not that many.

So from what I can tell, while NT’s might feel depressed or guilty every time they read the news/something bad happens to someone close to them, they also feel happy and excited when positive things happen to those close to them. Essentially, their emotions and thoughts are almost always being stimulated by events happening around them, good or bad. Meanwhile a sociopath is affected by neither; the only thing that could possibly make a sociopath’s day more eventful would be if something happened that directly affected them.

A sociopath’s world is a selfish one, and unless you have a wildly eventful and crazy life, that world can be pretty boring.

7. There are various cultural and personal reasons behind this assessment. 1. People tend to naturally demonise people with ASPD. I know it has been echoed into their heads by pop culture, and so it makes it much harder to be open about it. They treat it as if people with ASPD are responsible for having it. Which brings me to- 2. It is really lonely. People think being manipulative, or even having a non-emotional assessment of any situation is in itself a threat. They hate blatantly true people. And if you tell them such disregard is an outcome of your “sociopathy” it’s like a trigger word for danger. 3. You get bored when you don’t want to, really quick. Especially of people. You perpetually feel like you don’t fit in. And even if you are aware of your exact emotional state, you can often do nothing about it. This has made me crush so many relationships, simply because I was bored. Even if I didn’t want to. Something personal here- it is really regrettable for me. But I often distance myself emotionally as a precautionary measure so that I don’t end up hurting someone else’s feelings. And this has been getting on my nerve for a while now. 4. There’s trauma. Often unspoken trauma inside that rarely gets attention in the midst of all the ‘lack of empathy’ hysteria.

These are the ones I had personally been suffering with. I have both Bipolar I and ASPD so I think something may be on the BPD side. Even so, I have couple of friends who have BPD yet they experience a much more welcoming social structure. This is why I often do not even mention ASPD. At the end of the day, it feels like you are cornered. And that in any case is the worst situation for those on the ASPD spectrum.

8. When I do something wrong I get this anxiety that I’ll be caught and/or people will look down on me for it. I don’t actually feel guilt. I honestly think I’m above the law and should be able to do whatever I want but I know that’s not idealistic.

9. The way you feel about objects like the floor, walls, cars, trees, etc is probably how I feel about them, but I feel the same about people and pets as I do about inanimate objects: they’re useful, nice, can be something sentimental, or something to have fun with.

Empanadas (Meat Pies – Argentina)

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4f833681e8394c4873a96b95362fd965

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/2 pound cold salted butter or margarine
  • 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 to 1 cup cold water

Beef Filling

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 medium onions, peeled and chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
  • 2 sweet roasted pimento, drained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup dark seedless raisins
  • 4 large eggs, hard-cooked, peeled and chopped
  • 24 small green pitted olives
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

  1. Dough: Cut butter into pieces. Using an electric mixer, mix with flour and salt. Gradually add 3/4 cup water. Mix for 6 minutes. Dough should form a ball. Pat into round shape. Place dough in plastic bag and keep at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. Divide dough in half and knead for 2 minutes. Roll out on lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/8-inch and 5 1/2-inches in diameter. This should make enough for 24 circles.
  3. Beef Filling: Heat oil in skillet and sauté onion until bright yellow. Add beef, stirring until beef loses its red color. Stir in pimento, raisins, oregano, paprika and salt and continue sauté ing for 2 minutes. Drain off excess oil; chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
  4. Stir in chopped eggs just before filling the dough. Reserve olives to add to each empanada.
  5. Preparing the Empanada: Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  6. Place 4 tablespoons of filling on each circle of dough. Insert 1 olive into each mound of filling. If dough is dry, moisten with cold water. Fold dough in half. Press down firmly just below the mound of filling. Turn edge over, pressing down firmly just below the mound of filling. Turn edge over, pressing down firmly. Then working from left to right; crimp and pleat in points to seal edges. Brush each empanada with glaze made of 1 egg, beaten with 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
  7. Place empanadas 1-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: about 24

Leftover baked empanadas can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

What Is It Like To Be A Trophy Wife?

 

I spend a lot of time complaining to myself and my friends (girlfriends and guy friends) about my life but overall it is good. I would not trade it for the alternative if that’s what you mean.

The good parts:

    • I love him, for real. Sure, I won’t lie that him being successful didn’t influence my decision to date him and later when he proposed it was a no-brainer, but there isn’t a single girlfriend of mine or woman I ever talked to honestly who didn’t want an older man with a good job and money. So it’s not a loveless marriage or a marriage of convenience, I fell in love with a man who happens to have a lot of money, and that’s still one of the things that makes me happiest about my life, having met someone who I love so much and who loves me, despite our age differences and whatever else.
  • Never having to worry about paying for things. I had a $27,000/year job trying to do writing for small (often failing) newspapers in a big city before I met him, sharing an apartment with a friend. I spent the money I made on my wardrobe and shoes and hair (and I guess I’m glad I did) but a couple months choosing between rent and utilities like phone or heat was a real issue. I know a lot of people think self-respect and making your own way is a big thing (including me) but I do not want to go back to that life.
  • He makes a lot of money. I mean a lot. I literally could not believe it when I first began to understand, but pretty much unless I want to buy a house or a very expensive car (like a Ferrari, not a Lexus) I don’t have to worry about the price ever. It’s nice being able to shop all you want and he is more than happy to provide so that I look my best. And what girl doesn’t want to look good? Especially since her man is the one who appreciates her more than anyone?
  • I get to associate with a lot of interesting people. I was raised with good middle-class manners, so I can get along passably with “high society” especially since many of the people he socializes with at work-related events are self-made and not “blue-blood European old money” types, so I get to meet lots of interesting and accomplished people and their spouses. Much more interesting than my slacker friends who I feel a bit bad not talking to as often but the truth is that a lot of my friends from high school are still doing nothing with their lives and smoking pot and these people aren’t (as much, or as openly).

Now the bad parts:

  • People (including yourself) judging me. There is always an unspoken feeling of disapproval about what I’ve done or the arrangement we have, even if both of us are happy. It’s obvious that society frowns on this sort of thing and feels like a talented young woman with a college degree should be making her own way instead of stopping out and becoming a kept woman. Probably my own worst critic is myself to be honest.
  • Not really feeling like I truly own anything. The most expensive thing I’ve ever owned myself was a used car I bought for $2400 with money I earned at my first job out of school. I loved that car, but it made too much sense to trade it in when he bought me a much, much nicer new car many years later as a birthday present. Everything else, even if it’s something I’ve picked out myself that he could never have any use for (like shoes, jewelry, makeup, accessories) still feels like it doesn’t belong to me because it’s really his money. Most days I try not to think about this and it’s all right but occasionally it comes to mind.
  • I feel like I have to keep the marriage together. It does feel a bit like a hostage situation, because I know if things were to break up, I would lose a lot of this. Yes I would be entitled to some of his stuff, but he is the one who has powerful lawyer friends so it probably wouldn’t turn out well for me. We don’t have children yet (but we are talking about it) so there wouldn’t be any child support. I’ve met some wives and ex-wives of his friends and the ex-wives say that in a divorce situation I will do okay but not great, and if I love him I should do my best for the marriage especially if we have kids (obviously).

All in all I can say that obviously we would like to be completely independent and financially-secure women but if life finds us in a situation where we are a trophy wife there are worse things that can happen to us.

Anonymous

35 Eerie Photos Of Abandoned Malls That Are Now Ruins Of A Lost Era

 

Empty malls across America are being abandoned at a staggering rate. But instead of demolishing these dead malls, most cities are allowing them to rot and be reclaimed by nature.

All things must come to an end, and the era of the American shopping mall is no exception. Brick and mortar retail shops — especially niche stores — are becoming increasingly unprofitable. As a result, empty and abandoned malls are now almost everywhere. And whether they’re left to be overtaken by nature or simply remain frozen in time, these dead malls are equally mesmerizing and unnerving.

Malls enjoyed a booming heyday in the 1970s and 1980s — even as the economy was tanking. This was when the wealthy (and usually white) people migrated away from urban zones and into the suburbs. They purchased glistening new homes and went shopping to fill their spacious rooms and closets.

abandoned malls torn stage
abandoned malls torn stage

abandoned malls shopping ghosts
abandoned malls shopping ghosts

abandoned mall bench balcony
abandoned mall bench balcony

abandoned malls shattered glass
abandoned malls shattered glass

abandoned malls sad storefront
abandoned malls sad storefront

abandoned texas mall
abandoned texas mall

abandoned malls puddles
abandoned malls puddles

abandoned malls outdoors in
abandoned malls outdoors in

abandoned mall broken phone
abandoned mall broken phone

abandoned malls cleanup
abandoned malls cleanup

abandoned malls jewelry store
abandoned malls jewelry store

abandoned malls no customers
abandoned malls no customers

abandoned malls outdoor sign
abandoned malls outdoor sign

abandoned malls green splash
abandoned malls green splash

decrepit florida mall
decrepit florida mall

abandoned malls dead plant
abandoned malls dead plant

abandoned malls dark stores
abandoned malls dark stores

Malls became cultural symbols of the time, as well as marketplaces. The wide variety of goods in one place was like a Sears catalog come to life. Add in the social gathering aspect, and it’s easy to see how the mall became as iconic as it did.

The media reflected this, as many films — especially ones from the 1980s and 1990s — heavily feature shopping malls as important locations. Mallrats, Clueless, The Blues Brothers, and Dawn of the Dead all have characters who spend major time in malls (though one just happens to be filled with zombies).

Today, as abandoned malls have become the norm, the very notion of these indoor shopping centers has taken on an entirely different character. Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl, says, “For kids of the ’80s especially, dead malls have a very strong allure. We were the last of the free-range kids, roaming around malls, not really buying anything, but just looking. To see all those big looming spaces so empty now — it’s a childhood haunting.”

What Shopping Centers Were Like Before The Era Of Dead Malls

The idea of the American mall began in Minnesota, and that’s where it reached its peak.

swansea mall closed
swansea mall closed

shapes store abandoned
shapes store abandoned

empty mall interior
empty mall interior

abandoned colorado mall
abandoned colorado mall

trashed mall corridor
trashed mall corridor

empty 80s mall
empty 80s mall

deadmall food court
deadmall food court

cloverleaf mall trees inside
cloverleaf mall trees inside

brick floor mall
brick floor mall

belz factory outlet dog
belz factory outlet dog

abandoned california mall 1
abandoned california mall 1

abandoned malls ceiling tiles 1
abandoned malls ceiling tiles 1

abandoned mall alexandria 1
abandoned mall alexandria 1

abandoned malls water damage 1
abandoned malls water damage 1

abandoned malls two halves 1
abandoned malls two halves 1

Edina, Minnesota is home to the very first enclosed shopping mall. Designed by Victor Gruen in 1956, the Southdale Mall is a climate-controlled complex. It has a central atrium, two floors, and escalators.

Gruen wanted to recreate the pedestrian experience of European cities by designing a place for the community in the deserts of suburbia. Americans were enthralled by their automobiles, and the mall would be primarily used for shopping, but also for relaxation, green space, food, and fun.

Until this first enclosed shopping mall, retail areas were characteristically extroverted. They had separate windows and entrances. The new malls were introverted: Everything was focused on the inside.

Not everyone was a fan of this concept. “You should have left downtown downtown,” architect Frank Lloyd Wright grumpily proclaimed during his visit to Southdale.

It has undergone numerous renovations and store closings over the years, but when Southdale first opened, it was downright glamorous. It cost $20 million, which went a long way back in 1956.

Minnesota also hosts one of the biggest malls in the nation, and it attracts approximately 40 million visitors a year. The gigantic Mall of America takes up 96.4 acres — enough to fit seven Yankee Stadiums inside. This may seem like it’d be an environmental disaster, but the mall does its part to be green.

With no central heating, indoor temperatures are maintained year-round with solar energy, skylights, and lighting. More than 30,000 live plants act as natural air purifiers, which is helpful as the mall is large enough to require its own zip code.

Both Southdale and The Mall of America still stand today, but whether or not they’ll survive the culling of retail chains, or succumb and become dead malls, remains to be seen.

Why Abandoned Malls Are Everywhere Today

The insane popularity of the mall ultimately meant that corporations built too many of them. “Developers realized they could put a large, flat building in the middle of a field and quickly make money — so for decades… that’s what they did,” notes Amanda Nicholson, a professor of retail practice at Syracuse University.

But they didn’t account for one thing: the invention of the internet.

Online shopping meant you could get virtually anything you needed without leaving the comfort of your home. So malls that were trying to survive during the start of the online shopping boom never stood a fighting chance.

Not really true. Malls are everywhere in the rest of the world, and they use the Internet extensively. -MM

Of course, now customers are no longer wanting to keep their shopping introverted, as was the mall’s design. Products are tied to influencers in a world with instant access to everything. Deliveries and un-boxings have become YouTube “haul” videos as attention is bought and sold like currency.

Who needs to “be seen” by locals at a likely empty mall when the whole world is now your oyster?

It’s also arguable that malls aren’t actually dying at the same rate they once were. Some believe that malls are evolving — and offering experiences and amenities you can’t replicate online. Millennials and Gen X-ers express the desire to spend their money on experiences, rather than on material goods.

Whatever the case, the abandoned malls of yesterday aren’t likely to be renovated. They’ll probably be leveled to make way for the next Southdale, or the next big, glamorous advance in commerce.

abandoned california mall
abandoned california mall

abandoned malls ceiling tiles
abandoned malls ceiling tiles

abandoned mall alexandria
abandoned mall alexandria

abandoned malls water damage
abandoned malls water damage

abandoned malls two halves
abandoned malls two halves

abandoned winstons
abandoned winstons

 

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No man (or woman) is an island

Ah…

"Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."

Robert Kennedy
from a speech at the University of Kansas on March 18, 1968

Just a thought, from HERE.

Hardcore survivalists and preppers cherish the lone-wolf scenario. It goes something like this: The world is crumbling and cities collapse into mayhem. We,the preppers are well equipped for the end of the world. We are the last chance of humanity since we can withstand anything faith throws at us. Our society is no longer built on everyday trust and neighborly reliance, but do you want to be alone in the end?

Do you really want to be alone for the end of the world?

The world around us is full of unfriendly strangers and nobody cares anymore about the person next to him. If the other guy doesn’t take care of himself…well, then to hell with him and his legacy. It’s a dog eat dog world and only the fittest survive. The media keeps bombarding us with nothing but violence, tragedy and sadness. It’s us or them!

And it is true, in any major, long-term disaster, preppers and survivalists could face deadly threats from desperate and unprepared people. The only problem when it comes to “them” is that they are much more numerous than us and a lone-wolf scenario doesn’t work like in the movies. There’s no one to yell “Cut!” when a scene goes wrong and life doesn’t give you do-overs.

The fact is, for most of rural people, one of the biggest things they’re going to face in the event of SHTF is this: a need to join forces with others who are in the same boat and who share similar beliefs.

We need a circle of well-prepared friends more than we need five guns and a ton of ammo. We need to make connections with trust-worthy people for when the world crumbles. And, we need to do this because there is a preparedness truth that some of us chose to ignore: no matter how well prepared we think we are, we will always lack something. It may be something obvious or it may be something obscure, it may be something we had that got lost or damaged, or used up. Don’t fool yourself, we will lack something no matter how good we think we have it.

You can’t wait for FEMA or the National Guard when a disaster strikes and you can’t count on luck when the world becomes a dark place. Luck won’t prevent the grocery store to run out of food and luck won’t keep you safe for the end of the world.

You need to start preparing to count on each other. You need to get together with neighbors and friends and enhance each other’s preparedness. And it’s not something you have to do out of altruism, but out of pure practicality. In the end the goal is the same: we’ll all be better off when SHTF.

“What can I do to connect with my friends and neighbors when it comes to preparedness matters?”, you may ask.

Well, you shouldn’t go running and tell just anybody what do you stock, where do you keep it and what guns and ammo you have stockpiled, and then ask them” Now show me yours”.

You can start with small steps and if some real disaster has recently struck your area, the aftermath gives a perfect opportunity to go to your neighbors and do a mutual check. Find out what they run out of, where they screwed up and what they can do differently next time. You can get this info just by discussing with your neighbors without appearing to organize any sort of preparedness league. You can even make agreements with them: for example you could store some extra gasoline for them if they help you with medical emergencies or anything else that you might need during a disaster.

People are always worried about something because self-preservation is part of our nature. You have an opening to discuss about preparedness and you need to approach the people from your community. Don’t tell them you are preparing for the end of the world as they might think you are crazy. Bring up for debate topics related to disasters/threats that are happening or are most likely to happen.

You can start practicing mutual preparedness:

Instead of selling your farm produce to your neighbors, start seeing what those neighbors might have to barter for them. Barter will be more useful than money in a serious disaster. It gives you a chance to know the people you are bartering with.

Get involved in a food co-op because you can always establish a cooperative network based on the main element: food. They may be open to the idea of organically grown crops, hormone-free meats or bulk food purchases on a budget.

If somebody in your circle of preppers has a pick-up truck and others don’t, the truck owner can offer to transport goods for a small fee or for barter. The same goes with any other type of machines that can be used by the community.

You can find some neighbors and sign up for and commute to skill-building classes together. It doesn’t matter if you learn about first aid, home canning or defensive shotgun use as long as you do it with somebody else. It will help you stay committed and motivated to the activity but also to the people.

Start offering to do things for your neighbors and ask them to do things for you. Do this even if you can actually take care of everything yourself. It’s a good way of bonding and getting to know each other’s skills. It provides a good opportunity to learn whom you can trust and whether you yourself are trustworthy.

If somebody close to you, especially relatives, feels unable to prepare for a disaster, see how you can change that by helpfulness and gentle persuasion. When you talk with certain people about preparedness, they feel overwhelmed, too unskilled or too poor to handle it all. Everybody is vulnerable to something and being prepared doesn’t mean you have to become an expert prepper. You have to make sure you increase your odds of survival and you have a fighting chance. Having a bug-out bag will make a huge difference. Knowing how to fortify your home will keep your family safe. Everyone can start with small steps if the mindset is there.

Garage sales are good occasions to know your neighbors and to stock up on preparedness supplies. You will be able to discuss with people from your community and know more about their prepping plans. If someone sells a camp stove because he never used it and thinks he never will, then that person might not be into prepping. But if someone sells a similar item because he got a better model, you might have some common topics to discuss. It’s all about knowing your neighbors and you can tell a lot about a person based on the stuff he owns.

With those you must trust, talk openly about others in your community who might become a problem in harsh times. Those who are clueless about fending for themselves will get desperate and might become real troublemakers. Thieves or chronic freeloaders will bring down the community. Everyone deserves a chance, but I’m willing to consider it for people who ask for one in the first place and are willing to work for it, rather than for those who “make a mistake” and ask for forgiveness and a second chance. When SHTF, there will be no luxury such as second chances and you must act first in order to survive the fall.

Safety in numbers will save you and the community. Your home could be on a map outlining evacuation routes for your area, the government could make your propriety an assembly area just for the fact that it is situated above the flooding zone. Regardless the scenario, there could be many who will come your way and most of “them” won’t have peaceful intentions. What then? You can’t keep up your fort for long if you are all alone. Joining a militia or having a group of trustworthy friends will help you deal with the masses. If some will try their luck with a just one person, nobody will be foolish enough to go against a number of well-armed individuals.

Another aspect that we need to consider during a crisis is what to do with friends and family that come rushing in, knowing you’ve been prepping for anything and your home is a safe haven. I know a few people that said “if the end of the world comes we’ll just move in with you”. Although it sounds like a joke, I’m pretty sure it isn’t. There will always be someone who knocks at your door during a time of need and you just can’t turn your back on them. They are the “friendly freeloaders” and although you are well intended, odds are you won’t be able to take care of them forever. This is why they need to be integrated in your local community and here is where it gets tricky.

If you are a lone wolf you won’t be supported by your community. Even worse, you will be seen as a threat if you bring in outsiders when things turn bad. However, if you have a good reputation amongst your peers, if you have the same interests. If they know how the skills of someone can help the entire community, it will be much easier to integrate others and give them a job insides the community. It is important to show how the new arrivals can help everyone and it can be done much easier if there is room for debate.

A last word

No man is an island and we should make sure we have someone to spend our time with, when the world around us dies. The government will tell you to wait for their help, to be passive and rely on experts and outsiders. They will ask you to behave like dependent children and wait for big daddy when in reality, you have people you can trust around you. People, who can help us out or, if need be, take us in.

Would you rather wait alone or turn to others, your friends and neighbors, when the world ends?

What’s It Like To Have A Photographic Memory?

I have a semi-photographic memory in that I can remember the content of most anything I’ve read and sometimes visually remember where the information is on the page or how far into the book/article it is.  I don’t generally remember the names of the author or possibly the article/book but can usually find it with the specific information I do remember.  I have almost no autobiographical/experiential memory ability and that usually feels like an unfair price to pay

What is it like?  It’s complicated.

There are certainly positive ramifications:

    • In college; I’ve never had to study as long as I took notes during lectures and I didn’t have to buy textbooks unless they were going to be used for independent reading and/or were interesting enough for me to want to buy them. I usually get 100% or thereabout on any test and if I miss any questions its usually because I missed a class or got lazy and didn’t take notes one day. I don’t experience any test anxiety because I know I will get an A. I can answer most people’s questions with some degree of certainty and back up my response with a reference to the research or source of my answer. I can write research papers more quickly than most people because I have the info in my head and know which references I need to collect in order to cite/back up my ideas. Professors tend to enjoy me as a student because I am knowledgeable about the topics and can participate in well-informed and interesting conversations about their work/research. I easily generate original ideas for projects and papers because I can remember and connect information from different fields and studies related to the topic.

 

  • In regular life; I don’t get lost (photographic navigational memory). I can provide accurate information to friends and family about topics ranging from legal problems, medical problems, psychological problems, investments, business, parenting, nutrition, politics, fashion, etiquette, art, crafts, and anything else I’ve been interested enough to research (I research for fun and relaxation). I know how to fix things. I’m useful to have around and this helps me socially. I can generally come up with a relevant and amusing quote or anecdote from history or current events to amuse people with, I rock at karaoke, and no one can beat me at word games (except my brother whose strategy skills blow me out of the water during scrabble).

It’s not all good though, on a personal and emotional level its quite costly.

  • In college; I feel guilty about getting As on tests I didn’t study for when really hard workers struggle to pass. I feel guilty about ruining the curve in classes that have one (and sometimes negotiate with the teacher to be removed from the curve equation, even if it might lower my scores). I hate working in groups because I end up doing more work when I have to not only carry more of the burden but also figure out how to make sure everyone looks like they’ve done an equal amount of work on the project. I hate working in groups because it takes me more time to complete projects when I generally have to spend a fair amount of time providing my group-mates with the information I have that they don’t. I am popular as a group member (particularly with average and below average peers) because working with me pretty much guarantees an A on the project– this is a disadvantage to me because I’d rather work alone but am afraid of hurting others’ feelings if I refuse to work with them.  I am unpopular as a group member with better students (usually those who actually work hard to earn their grades) because I choose unconventional projects and make them very anxious with my disorganization and procrastination. I have TERRIBLE study skills because I’ve never had to develop them and I fear it will one day bite me in the ass. I am a crazy perfectionist because I know what I am capable of and will punish myself severely for failing to get an A on a test or project. I find it hard to make friends because many people dislike me since I have an “unfair” advantage and don’t have to work to get the grades they struggle to approach. I find it hard to make friends because many people who like me in spite of my “unfair” advantage find it difficult to relate to me on a personal level and seem to feel like I have super-powers or am otherwise alien. I find it hard to make friends because I don’t fit in with most other people and they find it hard to comprehend that I research for fun and would rather spend a Friday night intensely discussing potential solutions to unsolvable problems than going out to drink and socialize with random people.Some professors dislike me because I ask questions that they don’t have the answers to or related to research on the topic that they haven’t yet read. Some professors dislike me because they feel like I am “too big for my britches,” and I often feel guilty for asking questions during class (so many questions) that are related to the topic but beyond the scope of what is being presented and often beyond the ability of others to understand when they haven’t accumulated as much information as I have about the subject.
  • At work:  I get bored easily because I have an insatiable drive for new information and most jobs are repetitive. I piss off my managers because they often feel like I’m making them “look dumb” and I don’t know how to keep my mouth shut if I have pertinent information. I piss off my managers because my coworkers often come to me for information and assistance instead of them. I have trouble working in groups because I usually have too much more information and I can easily dominate the discussion or make people feel like I’m being pushy. I have trouble working with other people because I often have more knowledge about any given topic we’re working on and its not actually a good thing to “always be right” about things because you can’t not remember what you remember.  I have trouble making friends at work because many peers find me odd, difficult to understand, and/or feel like I threaten their chances of advancing as much as they’d like.I have a lot of trouble even deciding on a career path because I am “really good at” (and really educated about) too many subjects and in order to choose one path I would have to give up my dreams and passion for the other paths I’m not taking. At 38 I haven’t yet been able to establish a track record or formal evidence of expertise in any particular field because my memory (and number of topics I’m passionate about) makes me have high aptitude for too many things and prevents me from being able to focus on one thing long enough to make tangible progress.  Worst of all, I have difficulty following through on projects because my memory is such that thinking through the problem (and figuring it out) seems like having done it completely and I then find it hard to muster motivation to take the time to finish it in real life.
  • The personal costs are what I hate the most: I have trouble in relationships because I’m “always right” when it comes to facts & information that I’ve accumulated knowledge about (non experiential) and have not yet figured out how to let other people “be right” without compromising my intellectual principles and/or unfairly hoarding information I could have shared. I have trouble finding people who connect with me intellectually because while many people are as or more informed than me in their particular domain of interest it seems impossible to find others who are equally informed in a wide range of domains of knowledge. I have trouble connecting with others because I often end up feeling guilty or becoming aware of the frightening potential of manipulating or unduly influencing others when they unquestioningly accept my input as fact due to my wealth of information about everything that I am compelled to learn about– It’s frightening to feel responsible for being infallible when you know you actually are not.I am disorganized because everything I experience internally or externally triggers a memory and demands that I contemplate the connection /relationship and I am rendered effectively incapable of reliably noticing the organization/cleanliness of my home or office. I lose track of time and days because I am distracted by associative memories triggered by anything; I forget to pay my bills & cannot properly manage money because I am usually stuck in my head and lose track of time or lose the bills in the clutter I’m failing to notice. Other problems associated with being constantly reminded of something that is potentially related to whatever: I can’t keep a schedule, I forget to eat, I forget to shower (or that I forgot to eat or shower), I forget important dates like birthdays and anniversaries,  I often have insomnia, I lose everything (If I were a man I’d be very grateful not to have a detachable penis), and I am always anxious that I’ve forgotten some important deadline or other task I usually forget.I can’t remember experiences like my 21st birthday, special times with my daughter (I think its a trade off for my other kind of memory ability), my first kiss or the first time I had sex, friends and lovers I have fallen out of contact with (I somehow completely forget many people which makes me sad), or most any personal accomplishment that would probably look really good on my resume.

    I feel really guilty about not being grateful for my “gifts.”  I feel really guilty for not using my ability as much as I could or should have.  From childhood, people have told me that I am responsible for using my gifts to improve the world, I don’t feel I have honored that responsibility and so feel guilty for letting “the world” down (irrational, I know).  I fear I am arrogant; I fear that others think I’m arrogant.  I struggle to achieve greater humility but have little success on that count.  I sometimes worry that I’m a “bad person” because I have failed to use my abilities or live up to the potential this memory gives me.

    The single worst thing for me, though, is that I feel like I’m not quite human.  I don’t have many experiences others have, have not developed skills that others have developed because they require repetition or other tools to remember information, and I have many experiences that others do not have due to the differences in how my brain works. If I could feel like I “belong” somewhere or that I am really “connected” to another human being then I might feel like all the other negatives are worth it for the benefits I experience.

I don’t know if this actually answers “what it is like” to have this type of memory because it seems more like I’m simply listing the effects it has on my life.  However, I don’t know what its like to NOT have this memory of mine and since this type of question requires a comparison between the two experiences… I think the question could only REALLY be answered by someone who has both had and not had this type of memory ability.

– Juliette Creech

Kartoffelkloese (Potato Dumplings)

Kartoffelklöße or kartoffelknödel are traditional German potato dumplings that are consumed all over the country but are especially popular in Bavaria, Thuringia, and the Rhineland area. Depending on the variation, the dumplings may consist of cooked potatoes, raw potatoes, or a combination of both.

2023 02 14 18 33
2023 02 14 18 33

Ingredients

  • 6 medium potatoes
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon grated onion
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 pound butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Boil potatoes in their skins; drain, peel, and grate or put through a food mill or ricer.
  2. Beat eggs and add flour, onion and seasonings; beat mixture into the potatoes with a wire whisk to make them as fluffy as possible.
  3. Roll potato dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Drop them into boiling salted water and simmer about 10 minutes. Drain well.
  4. Pour the butter over the dumplings and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Serves 4 to 6.

Air Space Over Havre, Montana Closed for “National Defense” – Fighter Jets Scrambled from Multiple Bases

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The Federal Aviation Administration has closed the air space over and around Havre, Montana under the designation “National Defense.”  U.S. Fighter Jets have been scrambled from THREE separate military bases.

Flash traffic came in to me stating the following: “Portland based F-15s just scrambled out on a northbound heading”

Those jets were scrambled out of the Portland Air National Guard base.

Additional fighters scrambled out of McChord Field.

Shortly thereafter, the ALERT TANKERS were sent into the air from Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB).

Flights in/around Seattle-area appear to be operating as normal. Overflights appear to be unaffected as well.

RUM-INT (RUMOR)  Another unidentified object over Vancouver — UNCONFIRMED

A new NOTAM has been issued by the FAA for an area over Havre, MT. The airspace has been defined as “National Defense Airspace.” Unclear if it is related to another “unknown” object.  It appears below:

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Foug9F7XwAAg4w

NEW: reports of fighters scrambled from Malmstrom AFB in Montana.

USAF KC-135R mid-air refueling craft is on task just outside Great Falls, MT. Took off from Fairchild AFB.

FAA statement: “The FAA closed some airspace in Montana to support Department of Defense activities. Contact NORAD for additional information.”

Aircraft on Billings Approach being notified of closed airports to the north to do “National Security”

The NOTAM issued in northern Montana are about 50 by 50 nautical miles

Rep. Rosendale confirmed an object in the airspace. They will observe and ground the object in the morning…

The NOTAM has been pulled, effective 0112 UTC.

Billings-Logan International Airport and Havre City Airport have reportedly been reopened to incoming and outgoing Commercial Aircraft.

Canada closes air space – fighter jets scrambled again – ANOTHER Unidentified Object – Ontario! ! !

.

sECOND cANADA aIRSPECE cLOSURE 02 12 2023 large
sECOND cANADA aIRSPECE cLOSURE 02 12 2023 large

Canada has closed a portion of its air space over Ontario for yet ANOTHER “Unidentified Object.”  Fighter jets have been scrambled. . . live updates below . . .

Canada closes airspace near Tobermory in Ontario due to “active air defense operation”.

 

5:48 PM EST —

Canada has just Closed a section of Airspace over the Great Lakes and near the U.S/Canadian Border due to an “Active Air Defense Operation.”

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FoylMR4WcAcIyAM

The NOTAM over Lake Huron appears to quite large and cover almost 1/4th of the Lake

Just north east of Tobermory, Ontario is Canadian Armed Forces 22 Wing which is their Space surveillance unit which interacts with US Space counterparts 

6:03 PM EST —

Air Refueling Tanker now circling over Lake Huron.

Turned around and now heading back north toward the NOTAM

US Military has just “Decommissioned” another object over Lake Huron.   The U.S. military has shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron.

An F-16 shot down the object over Lake Huron, according to a congressional aid who says the object was octagon shaped and was at an altitude of 20,000ft, posing a threat to civilian air traffic.

Pentagon used an F-16 fighter jet, armed with a Sidewinder missile, the same missile used on the other three objects.

Four of these incident in eight days.

Three in just the last three days.

PENTAGON SAYS OBJECT SHOT DOWN ON SUNDAY WAS A THREAT “DUE TO ITS POTENTIAL SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITIES” PENTAGON SAYS OBJECT FLEW IN PROXIMITY TO SENSITIVE U.S. MILITARY SITES

Search Engine Sleuthing

How Tightly-Controlled is Your Favourite Media Outlet?

Schmarrn (Scrambled Pancakes)

It is generally agreed that Schmarrn was first prepared for the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830–1916).

2023 02 14 18 35
2023 02 14 18 35

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk or cream
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

  1. Cream butter until frothy, then add, one after another, sugar, egg yolks, salt, flour and milk.
  2. Beat egg whites until stiff and carefully fold in.
  3. Melt remaining butter in a cast iron skillet, and pour in batter. Fry on each side until golden brown.
  4. With 2 forks, chop the resulting pancake.
  5. Serve on a hot platter sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and garnished with pieces of apple, cherry, seedless raisins or other fruit, sautéed in butter.

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 6 min | Yield: 4 servings

Cute chicks doing yoga

2023 02 24 14 31
2023 02 24 14 31

Disturbingly…

Not by MM, but rather by <redacted name>…

  • Disturbingly, the recent UN General Assembly resolution voted by 140 countries asks Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. Forget about the Nazis, forget about the gross abuse of Russian speakers in the Donbass, forget about the cynically broken Minsk agreements, forget about the USA and NATO flooding their Nazi infested proxy colony against Russia with weapons. It’s all Russia’s fault.
  • To make things worse, China itself put forward its 12 point ‘peace plan’ which calls ambiguously for respecting territorial integrity of countries, again disregarding the whole history of US/NATO subversion of Ukraine’s government, not just in 2014, but taking into account decades of CIA backing of the worst elements of Ukrainian society.
  • Following Russia suspending its cooperation with the START strategic (nuclear) missile reduction treaty, what is left out of commentaries is Putin’s statement that the US has given various excuses to prevent Russian inspection of US nuclear sites, while demanding access to Russia’s. To sum up treaties that the US signed, they are, like George Bush’s characterization of the US Constitution itself, “Goddamn piece of paper”. So explain how negotiations have any meaning at all.
  • Indeed, the US has walked out of every other arms control treaty it signed and deliberately undermined START.
  • Next, tension is heating up in the independent region sandwiched between hostile Moldova and hostile Ukraine, known as Transniestria, or its Russian name Priednestrovie.It houses an enormous warehouse, containing about 20,000 tons of Soviet era ammunition and weapons, equal to the bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima. If it falls into the hands of Ukraine, it will ‘solve’ Ukraine’s lack of ammunition.
  • And finally, the US seems to have forgotten its commitment to China of the One China Policy. This stated that Taiwan is part of China.
It just provoked China directly, by sending US military trainers to Taiwan, to train its tiny army against a possible Chinese attack, meant to recover its delinquent province.
  • Sidenote: Following WWII, the Communists and their Western backed opponents, the KMT fought a civil war. The KMT was pushed out of Mainland China, and due to US influence, it took over and maintained its rule over the island province Taiwan, which it calls The Republic of China, claiming that it was the real government of China. Now that Taiwan realizes that it’s not going to return to ruling all of China from Beijing, much of the Taiwan leadership flirts with the US, a total violation of the agreed policy.
  • The US has ‘an unsinkable aircraft carrier’ in the island of Taiwan. So it’s using Taiwan to whip up another war, this time with China.
  • So the US along with its subservient vassal states in Europe and in Asia, wants a war to subjugate both Russia and China at the same time! Both of which have armies that are more modern and better equipped than the US and the NATO countries. What could go wrong?

Listen up!

When China FM met with President Putin in Russia, they did NOT talk about Ukraine, or a peace plan. They talked about something else…

Russia and China didn’t discuss Beijing’s ‘peace plan’ – Moscow

The two countries’ top diplomats have only exchanged thoughts on the “root cause” of the Ukraine crisis, Maria Zakharova says
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi did not discuss Beijing’s yet-to-be-unveiled peace proposal for the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told reporters on Wednesday.

“Our Chinese partners explained their thoughts on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as their approaches to its political resolution,” she said. The official added “there were no talks of any specific ‘plan’.” 

Wang first mentioned his “peace proposal” at the Munich Security Conference last week. “We will put forth China’s position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” the diplomat announced. Wang warned that he knew that “some forces might not want to see peace talks materialize” without naming any party in particular.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also commented on the peace proposal at the Monday press briefing. “The international community is fully aware who is calling for dialogue and striving for peace, and who is fanning the flames and stoking confrontation,” the diplomat said. He then encouraged the US to “seriously reflect on the role it has played” in the Ukrainian conflict so far.

China presented ‘key elements’ of peace plan to Ukraine – Kiev

On Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun said that a “position paper” with China’s consistent views on the conflict would be released “within days.”

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky commented on the plan during a press conference on Tuesday, saying that he had his own “peace formula” supported by a large number of states. Zelensky was apparently referring to the so-called ‘10-point peace plan’ that was presented by him at the G20 summit in November.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow anticipated a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping once Beijing had completed items on its domestic agenda. “We assume that we will realize our plans regarding face-to-face meetings, which will give an additional boost to our relations,” Putin added.

Complete text

Here is the complete text in English translation appearing on the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs produced by the Chinese rulers that Gonzalo Lira understood as a “prosecution case” against the US tantamount to a declaration of war.

The Sovereigns of Ancient China had the ritual of proclaiming publicly (Urbi & Orbi) the faults or mistakes 错 (cuo4) even the sins or evil doings 罪 (Zui4) of the troublemaker before neutralizing the blamed entity.

The US evil doings are grouped into 5 categories :

  • I- Political Hegemony-Throwing its weight around
  • II- Military Hegemony-Wanton use of force
  • III- Economic Hegemony-Looting and Exploitation
  • IV- Technological Hegemony-Monopoly and Suppression
  • V- Cultural Hegemony-Spreading False Narrative

For details, please read the full text. HERE

China takes American hegemony head-on

In a rare scathing essay, Beijing’s foreign ministry has blasted Washington’s every effort at world domination

The Chinese foreign ministry has published an essay titled ‘US Hegemony and Its Perils’, a scathing attack on the United States and its attempts to effectively rule the world.

The essay was widely shared throughout Chinese state media outlets and was probably the harshest thing they’ve ever published at least as far as Washington is concerned. It coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent address and attacks the US across a broad spectrum of topics, outlining Washington’s multi-pronged efforts to achieve and maintain exclusive dominance over the entire planet. This includes military action, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as interference in internal political affairs of countries in the form of coups and revolutions.

The essay discussed the Arab Spring, US interference in Latin America including the CIA coup in Chile and attempts to undermine the government of Cuba and Venezuela, and the number of “color revolutions” in former Soviet states such as Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. It went on to condemn how Washington weaponizes the subject of democracy and forces countries to take sides, branded the US a country “characterized by violence and expansion” that crushes its opponents with sanctions and “economic coercion” and claimed the (US) dollar of being “the main source of instability and uncertainty in the world economy.”

Never has China’s foreign ministry launched such a blistering attack on the US.

For many years, despite Washington’s turn to hostility towards Beijing, China has been overwhelmingly restrained when it comes to the US. For a long time, it held to the belief that America can be engaged with, that somehow the country can be brought to reason, and that the US-China bilateral relationship can be improved and stabilized. It once held the belief that after the departure of the Donald Trump administration, things could be returned to “normal” under Joe Biden.

That belief could not have been more wrong.

After two years in office, the Biden administration has shown itself to be more belligerent and hawkish on China than Trump and his colleagues had ever been, and ties have gone from one new low to another, with the Biden presidency having transformed US policy from a series of “America First” Trumpian grievances over trade, to an all-encompassing campaign of military and strategic containment which has dramatically escalated tensions. Trump was a negotiator, who wanted to make trade deals with China to suit American interests using tariffs as leverage, whereas the word “compromise” does not exist in Biden’s vocabulary.

The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed it wants “guardrails” and “lines of communication” with Beijing, but its actions have shown its real intentions, from allowing Nancy Pelosi’s highly provocative visit to Taiwan, to stoking paranoia over a balloon, to forcing countries to cut off supplies to China’s entire semiconductor industry.

The conclusion that Beijing has finally arrived at is that when it comes to the United States, there is no serious dialogue to be had. It is a waste of time. China faces a belligerent, hegemonic and bad-faith actor who seeks to contain it and strategically crush it at all costs.

The US is forcing a change in China’s foreign policy. For many decades, China’s philosophy was to avoid confrontation with Washington and seek cooperation, to prevent the Americans from moving towards policies of Cold War containment and blocking its economic development, which is the Communist Party’s overarching domestic priority.

This is why even when the US was turning hostile, China remained ambivalent and restrained for a long time. It wanted to believe the relationship with America could be rescued, and these policies could be offset.

China now recognizes that its best bet is not appeasing Washington, but that its continued development and prosperity depends on sustaining a multipolar world where American power is diluted.

China has formally identified American hegemony as the biggest source of instability, chaos, inequality and conflict in the world, mirroring comments made by Vladimir Putin.

As such, the US has no interest in accepting or coming to terms with the rise of any other country which challenges its monopoly on global power, believing its hegemony to be some sort of divine right, and leaving little hope for “stability”.

It will do everything it can to try and contain China and break up its integration with the global economy.

While this does not mean Beijing will do something reckless or risk-prone, it does mean it has finally woken up to the challenge it faces and is no longer, after decades of cordial ties, starry-eyed or deluded about the true nature of the American regime.

Heaven Help My Heart – Tina Arena

Filthy Philaenis? The Ancient Mediterranean Sex Guide that Steamed Up the West

first sex guide
first sex guide

Often referred to as the author of the Mediterranean Kama Sutra , little is known about Philaenis of Samos, who likely wrote this work around the 4th century BC. She is the most mentioned author of the erotic sex guide Joy of Sex , being a rare surviving work by a woman from antiquity. She is mentioned in more than a dozen sources, and fragments of a manual titled P. Oxy. 2891, found in Egypt’s Oxyrhynchus, and published in 1972 seem to trace their attribution to her.

The Joy of Sex: Sentence and Structure

“Philaenis of Samos, daughter of Ocymenes, wrote the following things for those wanting … life”, begins the work.

The papyrus preserves two adjoining columns from the upper margin of the very beginning of a roll. It commences with a short preamble that introduces the author and the purpose of their work and the second column of the papyrus begins with a new chapter heading, advising the seducer to neglect their appearance.

Concerning Seductions: Accordingly, the seducer should be unadorned and uncombed, so that he does not [seem] to the woman to be too concerned about the matter in hand,” the manual states.

The sex guide is very practical in nature, written in simple and accessible language, prioritizing the ways of making love easier. There is no erotic rhetoric or literary artifice, and it proceeds to lay out the stages of seduction systematically – flattery, kissing, and ultimately intercourse.

There is a large segment on how different kinds of women (somatotypes) must make love – petite, bodacious, and pretty are separated, and men are instructed on how to take them. Great parts of this section are missing, so reconstruction has been a little complex.

Who Was Philaenis, alleged author of the ancient sex guide?

Interestingly, Philaenis, who was a Hellenic hetaira, or a female companion herself, was the kind of woman who had professional technique. Thus, she and other hetairas or courtesans were the only ones capable of instructing men in how to take them. Her work covered the best sexual positions, perfumes, cosmetics, means of inducing abortions, and the art of kissing, among others.

attribution
attribution

The attribution of the ancient sex guide to Philaenis is disputed. Hetaira, oil painting by Franciszek Żmurko circa 1906 ( Public Domain )

The only mention of Philaenis outside of this book comes from another preserved papyrus scroll, where Philaenis debunks the myth surrounding her being a hetaira. “I, Philaenis, renowned amongst men, rest here, after living long into old age. Frivolous sailor, you who round the cape, do not mock me, do not laugh, do not despise me. No, by Zeus, in the name of the young people resting underground, I was not a debauched woman with men, offered to anyone. It is Polycrates of Athenian birth, a sort of subtlety of words and a perfidious tongue, who wrote what he wrote. As for me, I know nothing about it,” she is alleged to have written.

The Hidden Fronts of Greek Sexuality

What is particularly interesting in a larger historical context, keeping in mind that Philaenis was a front for a random assortment of unknown male authors, was that Greek society was an active practitioner of pederasty. Adult men, both married and single, had relationships with young boys, generally post-pubescent juveniles.

The Joy of Sex was written in the same style as The Histories of Herodotus , akin to a history of sex. It was widely read, although publicly condemned at the same time. This disapproval obviously emanated from the fact that a woman potentially wrote such a work, rather than a disapproval of the subject matter itself.

Will the Real Philaenis Please Stand Up?

This is where a certain degree of conflict does arise – that of identity. Many scholars believe that Philaenis was a generic enough Hellenic name under which a few people wrote and compiled this treatise, and those were likely men.

The manner in which it was written reduced the complexity of sex to that of providing pleasure to only men, which is not different from various sex manuals written across history, all over the world. The poet Aeschrion of Samos has claimed that the Athenian sophist Polycrates was the author of the sex guide.

Philaenis was thus also an idea, one that encompassed the elements of sex considered crude or vulgar, including debauchery and prostitution. This ties up with a lesser explored and more closeted question of female homoeroticism and lesbianism, which many conservative male authors have attributed to the idea of Philaenis.

Sandra Boehringer explains, “Philaenis has particular status for another reason. Three times, in Greek and Latin works, her name is found in feminine homoerotic contexts. Yet, while orators’ speeches overflow with accusations or praise for famous men who loved boys, while historians mention names of women who lost their honor in adulterous relationships with men, in the case of documents evoking sexual or loving relationships between women, the names of either fictional characters or real persons are rare.”

couples
couples

 

Male couples at a symposium, as depicted on a fresco in the Tomb of the Diver from the Greek colony of Paestum in Ital ( Public Domain )

This is because, in Greek society, sexual desire was not seen as the marker of gender – rather, it was the roles assumed by each participant in the sexual act. This was generally clubbed into active penetrator and passive penetrated, or the dominant and submissive roles respectively. The dominant role was associated with masculinity, higher social status, and adulthood, while the passive positon became associated with femininity, lower social status, and juvenescence.

Love between adult women was not as well documented, although it may be said that etymology of the term lesbian, used for homosexual women, has its origin on the island of Lesbos. Many love poems were written by Sappho, a poet from this island, who left behind close to 12,000 lines of poetry on her love for other women. There are a few other scattered references, but all in all, the love between women was not as well-documented.

Clearly, ancient Greece was a land where alternate sexualities were being explored in much more of an open manner than they are in certain societies today. Yet, traits of dominant and submissive have been passed down through the eons, and assume importance in sexual power play even today. Philaenis was clearly someone who held an importance place in society, even though her identity is mythical at this point. Perhaps more finds in the future can help shed more clarity on this.

Sweet Pineapple Tamales (Tamales de Dulce)

Aside from flan, sweet tamales are probably the most satisfying of Mexican desserts. The flavor varieties for sweet tamales are endless. This pineapple and raisin tamale is one of our favorites. They go great with morning coffee!

tamales dulces 7
tamales dulces 7

Yield: about 30 tamales

Ingredients

  • 30 dried corn husks
  • Hot water
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed crushed piloncillo or brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening (at room temperature)
  • 1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups Masa Harina
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 to 1 cup warm water
  • 1/3 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 2 cups diced fresh pineapple
  • Boiling water
  • 2 cups crema or sour cream

Instructions

  1. Place corn husks in large pot; add very hot water to cover. Top husks with plate and heavy jar to keep submerged. Let stand at least 3 hours or overnight.
  2. Drain corn husks; rinse and rub each husk under running water to remove any silk and debris. Drain well; pat dry. Wrap in towel to keep pliable.
  3. Combine piloncillo, lard and butter in large mixer bowl; beat until light and fluffy, 5 to 10 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix Masa Harina, 1/4 cup at a time; beat until thoroughly blended. Gradually beat in warm water, using just as much as is needed to form dough that just holds together. Stir in coconut and raisins.
  4. For each tamale, spread rounded tablespoon dough in center of 1 corn husk to form 3-inch square; top with 4 to 6 pineapple pieces. Make 30 tamales in all. Fold tamales.
  5. Line large steamer basket with remaining corn husks. Stack tamales in basket, seam sides down. Cover tamales with kitchen towel. Place steamer basket over 3 to 4 inches boiling water; cover with lid. Adjust heat to maintain gentle boil. Steam tamales about 40 minutes.
  6. Remove 1 tamale from center of basket and carefully unwrap; if dough pulls easily away from husk, it is done. If necessary, steam 5 or 10 minutes longer and test again.
  7. Serve tamales hot.

ISIS women force boys to impregnate them – media

Female detainees in Syrian camps have reportedly used teen males as sex slaves to help populate the so-called Caliphate
Women ISIS devotees held in Syrian detention camps have forced boys as young as 13 to serve as sex slaves to impregnate them and help boost the population of the “Caliphate,” the Daily Beast reported on Thursday.
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At least ten boys at Camp al-Hawl in northeast Syria were conscripted to have intercourse with dozens of women, the US media outlet said, citing unidentified Syrian Defense Force (SDF) officials. The Syrian government has detained about 8,000 ISIS-affiliated women and children since the terrorist group’s defeat in 2019. Adult male ISIS members are held in separate camps.

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“We are being forced to have sex with the ISIS women, to impregnate them,” two teens identified as Ahmet, 13, and Hamid, 14, told a guard at Camp al-Hawl. “Can you get us out of here?” One of the boys was required to have sex with eight ISIS women in just a few days.

Security forces confirmed that teen boys at Camp al-Roj, also in northeastern Syria, had been subjected to similar exploitation, the Daily Beast said. In fact, one of the boys collapsed and was hospitalized after being given a Viagra-like substance to make him perform. Mothers at al-Roj, seeking to protect their sons from sexual enslavement, have begged camp authorities to transfer their boys to rehabilitation centers.

Syrian defense officials have recently adopted a policy of moving boys who have reached puberty to such rehabilitation facilities, where they receive anti-extremism counseling and are prepared for reintegration into society. The United Nations decried the policy last week, calling it “unlawful” and suggested that they may be “forcibly disappeared” or sold.

Many of the ISIS women have refused repatriation to their home countries for themselves and their children. Others, such as “ISIS bride” Shamima Begum of the UK, were stripped of their citizenship and barred from returning.

SDF officials said many women have become pregnant in the camps, though the Damascus government doesn’t know the exact number. Some give birth in secret with hopes of boosting the population of the Islamic State, which they believe will be re-established when their men arrive to break them out of the camps.

Artist Creates Cute Paintings Of Chicks Doing Yoga

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251680100 221383110093296 635068834755249160 n 61ba99aa3e87f 880

Tree pose? Downward-facing dog? If these sound familiar to you, I assume you have tried doing yoga. Like many people in true quarantine fashion. Maybe not only people. For example, artist Lucia Heffernan has imagined chicks in 15 different yoga poses!

The idea was inspired by the phrase “a yoga pose a day keeps the doctor away”, and these lovely paintings were created. Artist Lucia Heffernan has many cool paintings shared on her Instagram account and these chick paintings can be purchased as prints on her Etsy.

More: Instagram, Etsy, Facebook h/t: boredpanda

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Russia, China and South Africa launch joint military drills

Naval ships from the three countries are set to conduct artillery firing exercises in the Indian Ocean, Moscow has announced

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The trilateral ‘Mosi II’ drills officially kicked off in the South African port of Richards Bay on Wednesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Frigates from the Russian, Chinese, and South African navies are set to carry out artillery drills in the Indian Ocean over the weekend.

The opening ceremony was overseen by top officials and commanders from the Russian Navy, Chinese Naval Forces and South Africa’s Joint Command. The exercises will also be observed by representatives of Brazil’s naval forces.

Russia will be represented in the drills by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the medium sea tanker Kama. China has sent its frigate Rizhao, destroyer Huainan and supply vessel Kekesilihu. The South African Navy will deploy friagte Mendy.  

“The active part of the exercise will take place from February 25 to 27. Joint artillery firing and tactical maneuvering will be carried out at sea. Sailors of the three countries will work out the actions of inspection teams to search and release a captured ship, provide assistance to a ship in distress, and repel enemy air attacks,” a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service read.

Speaking to the audience attending the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, stated that “the Russian navy is deeply interested in strengthening naval cooperation between Russian, Chinese and South African sailors.”

The three nations conducted similar exercises in 2019. This time, however, South Africa has faced criticism for participating in the drills. The Democratic Alliance, an opposition party, has claimed that the move suggests the country has sided with Russia in the conflict in Ukraine. The government, however, has defended its position by noting that it also routinely engages in naval exercises with other nations such as France and the US.

9 Women Who Gave A ‘Nice Guy’ A Chance Describe Their Experiences

 

1. He seemed a bit shy but goofy,smart and genuinely kind when he approached me, so I agreed to go out and we hit it off at first. Deep, meaningful conversation about our personal challenges, him quickly meeting my friends and me being the first person he called after a family emergency. We were both pretty vulnerable, but things were seemingly progressing somewhat well.

One day he was on Tinder in bed next to me and when called on it, he said that dating me had made him realize that he needed more confidence and experience with women and thus needed to date a lot more different people, but that he only fucked the others at their houses, so I was obviously his no1. I freaked, cried and broke things off – he called me the next day to casually ask me out to the new Hunger Games movie.

I got an STD-screening the next week – he harassed me at work for another 6 months.

2. All the guys I have known or dated that felt it necessary to label themselves “nice guys” turned out to absolutely awful humans. Either they had a bad temper, horrible morals, or just didn’t want to take “no” for answer. One even turned out to be an emotionally abusive alcoholic.

The actual nicest guys I’ve dated or called friends were the ones who didn’t feel the need to label themselves “nice guy”. In fact, the best of them usually warned me and others that they were not all that nice, but always turned out to be the sweetest, most understanding, appreciative, and kind guys I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.

3. Had a “nice guy” on tinder who didn’t make it to date for the following reason.

He lived in a different city so he insisted on an all day date (lives about 50 mins away). I said I’m not comfortable subscribing to 8+ hours with someone I hadn’t met yet, but he kept insisting I had to make it worth his while to come through. At this point I said I can’t see it going anywhere and it was putting me under pressure and that made me feel a little uncomfortable, that realistically, it may not work out so let’s just leave it.

So then he says he’s gonna book a hotel and come through. Explained that’s sweet but it’s making me uncomfortable. So he says I can have the bed and hell be a gentleman and have the sofa… I explained that he seems to have the wrong idea, I’m not going to a hotel with him and I feel uncomfortable, I don’t want to meet. He continues to press, saying he is nice guy, he won’t make me have sex if I don’t want to. I say I don’t want to. I don’t want to go to a hotel. I don’t want to meet. It’s too much pressure, and for someone I’ve not met, I feel uneasy, thanks, good luck with your search…

But apparently I need to give him a chance. He’s willing to come all this way. I say no. He keeps finding new things to message me. Uses my phone number to add my snap chat and says he can see what street I’m on. At this point I start feeling very uneasy. I didn’t know I had location on. I block him. He messaged on something else so I say I’ve got back with my ex. ( I see my ex a lot, we are good friends, he’s happy to “have a word”) so he starts going on about my ex had his chance and blew it, he is a much nicer guy than my ex, he will treat me like a princess and worship me and my ex has blown it etc etc. I tell him this is my choice. Thanks and goodbye. Please don’t try to message me on anything else as it’s not appropriate and I’ve already blocked on 3 things.

Fast forward 4 months and I move cities. I get an Instagram message. It’s the nice guy saying he’s seen my on bumble in this new city and even though we haven’t matched it must not have worked out with my ex. He’s using Instagram and can see I’m near the station (Is that even a thing?!) And we should go on that date that I owe him.

Blocked again. Had a friend stay over that night.

4. Went on and on about what a great, compassionate guy he was. He was actually just your garden variety, abusive psycho.

He once said to me: “I wish you had been abused so you would realise how great I am”. What the fuck. Who says that?!

5. Not well. He was funny and friendly in public, but turned into a different person as soon as we were behind closed doors. He was basically your textbook abuser – manipulative, controlling, and demanding. He wanted to do some really weird and degrading (to me) sex stuff and acted like I was the psycho for not wanting to. He’d make angry comments like “I’m just trying to be romantic and YOU keep freaking out”. I got out of the relationship before he could hit or rape me, but no question that was what the future held. Oh, and he still insisted that he was the nicest guy I’d ever meet.

6. We met on Tindr and he convinced me he was such a nice guy and he was so misunderstood…the typical sob story.

He fatfished me with old photos, tried to convince me that I had autism and we would be “an amazing autistic couple.” I finished the date – politely making conversation while waiting for my half of the cheque.

At the end, I wouldnt let him walk me to my car. I walked him to the bus stop and waited for the bus to drive off before I left.

When I told him later that night that we didn’t really have chemistry, he begged for another chance. He told me he was really depressed and had to see me again because I helped him to feel happy. This is 110% emotional blackmail and I fell for it.

We met again, I was really uncomfortable the entire time but he tried to insist that I was the one for him if I would just meet him closer to his place. He kept trying to grab my waist and hands despite me saying No.

I was weirded out and eventually said goodnight. He went in for a kiss, but I ducked and walked the long way home.

He threatened suicide later that night and showed me his giant scar down his arm from when he had been unsuccessful previously.

I freaked out and blocked him.

He messaged me on Facebook a week later telling me that he thought we had chemistry and he hadn’t friended me yet because he thought it was creepy. So he waited and was messaging me as a final attempt to court me.

It was a wild ride.

7. He was one of the most manipulative people I ever dated. And I will never give another chance to any self proclaimed nice guy again. He kept positioning himself like he was just a nice guy so nothing he did could ever be wrong, hurtful, or rude.

8. I’ve dated several. All of them were manipulative, most were abusive, emotionally and mentally, one physically and sexually. They would constantly belittle my feelings and opinions, ignore me and blow me off, and get mad when I wanted to do my own thing. And god forbid another man pay me any attention, even if it was clear I was uninterested. It gave me a very warped sense of relationships and self. The constant gaslighting and the fact that pretty much all the people I was close to took their sides made me feel absolutely unreasonable and actually insane. Even though the most recent one was roughly 5 years ago, I still am realizing different ways it has damaged me.

A lot of the behaviors they try to pass off as nice are typically incredibly calculated. The will always try to get something from you later. There’s no unconditional anything. There’s no selfless acts. And god forbid you bring up that they said it was just cuz or that they’re using it against you. You are put on an impossibly high pedestal, acting human is punishable by anything from screaming to being kneed in the uterus as hard as they can. They will convince you that they are the nicest you will get cuz they are the nicest out there. There is no better for you. No one could ever possibly love them the way you do. They force you to depend on them. They leave cuz you’ve become too hard to love after everything they’ve put you through. You’re moodier and more withdrawn and miserable, even though most of them cite that your depression is what drew them to you. They wanted to fix you. To see that broken girl smile. They fetishize your sadness and then hate you when they make it worse.

Do not bother with these people.

9. I had dated one for about three weeks, shortly after a serious boyfriend seriously fucked me over. Looking back, it was like he sensed blood in the water with me being sensitive to assholes, and went in for the kill. Also, people have this thought process that nice guys are all basement dwelling fedora wearing neckbeards, when in reality a lot of them are decent looking, normal dudes, which is what this one was.

I got constantly accused of cheating because I was too pretty/smart/whatever for him, even though he was smart and good looking. I have been told multiple times I have one of those friendly, sweet faces, and it makes me always approachable. We could be out and some guy I don’t know could come up to me and ask for directions, I could explain where he wants to go, and he’d thank me and leave, and he’d think I was fucking him, because I knew I could do better, and was rubbing it in his face. The constant praise was also horrible; I’d be told I was a bitch if I wasn’t perfectly happy and wonderful all the time. I’d be brought around to be shown off to his friends, and then ignored once I stopped being amusing. Also dealing with hearing about how horrible he thought he was in comparison to me was so goddamn TIRING, you don’t even know.

The whole thing crashed and burned after I went on a new york trip for a weekend with a few friends, that was planned well before I started dating him.

I have a tattoo near my collarbone/just above my armpit of a cockade that’s the colors of the french flag, because I’m a theatre nerd and love Les Miserables. A guy saw my tattoo and asked if it was a Les Mis thing, and ended up finding out he was involved in the Broadway revival that was going to be happening the following year. We started a conversation that led to me and my two friends and this guy, his wife, and their buddy at a bar together. His wife took a picture of us talking with his hand on my arm looking excited and captioned it with something like ‘well, I’ve lost him to a fangirl’ on instagram and followed me so she could tag me in it, and I liked it.

I woke up the next morning to a wall of text, berating me, calling me a slut, saying I was cheating on him, etc. No idea what he was talking about. Reading through it hit me that he had been checking my instagram likes. I didn’t even know he had an instagram, because he had told me he didn’t. this guy had a secret instagram account so he could monitor my every move. When I freaked out on him about it he said he had to do it, because I was so much better than him, and he needed to know I wasn’t cheating on him because women are all bitches and I could find someone easily while he’d be stuck alone.

I broke up with him on the spot.

The kitten was abandoned and has hid in the muddy, cold, lonely sewer

https://youtu.be/In9vdEZx6rM

What’s It Like To Be Pulled Back From The Brink of Death

 

I don’t know what death feels like, but I do know what dying feels like.

A year and a half ago, I was shot point blank in the chest with a 9mm. I didn’t feel it, but the bullet severed my subclavian artery. I was losing blood quickly and I collapsed. And let me tell you, to lie there and bleed out would have been the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Instead I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done; I crawled out of the house and into the street, where a neighbor saw me and called an ambulance.

I moved back to my porch and sat down on the steps, pressing on the wound as hard as I could… But I was losing my strength at a terrifying rate. I could hear my neighbor in the background saying to 911 dispatch, “y’all need to hurry up, this boy is bleeding.” I’ll never forget the emphasis she put on that last word. I was in my boxers only, and the blood soaking me from neck to toe was far from inconspicuous.

As I was sitting there on my steps, I began to feel everything shut down. Calm overcame chaos. My pineal gland was dripping. I felt instinct, fear, and everything I had known in my worldly existence slowly drift away. I felt no pain throughout this entire ordeal (that didn’t come until the next day, chronic nerve pain that has been with me ever since, as the bullet also did severe damage to my brachial plexus). My vision began to blacken around the edges. Looking back I know I was dying, but I didn’t know it at the time. I stopped caring, which is the scariest part. For a brief moment, it was almost peaceful. When my vision began to fade, I left my body. My body was sitting on the steps, but my mind had left. In my reality, I was sitting directly over my body, upside down on the ceiling, still facing out towards the street. The ambulance rounded the corner as I had about a foot diameter of light remaining in my line of sight, the rest was black. They say don’t go into the light, but that’s asinine. The light is all that’s left of the world as you know it.

The paramedics came at me like a nascar pit crew. Trying to replenish my blood, and I can only imagine what else. I believe they put 5 pints of blood in me on the short ride to the hospital. I asked them if they had me, if I was safe, and they said “NO.” They had me answer questions over and over about my name and address and whatnot… just to keep me alive. This continued into the OR, I wanted to sleep so badly but they wouldn’t let me. Thank fucking god. I also wanted water very badly (you don’t know thirst until you’ve had half your blood drained), but they would not let me drink as it would interfere with the operation. They put in a stent and it didn’t cover it, so they ran another. The head of vascular surgery (who is my vascular surgeon now) was there that night, and when the operating surgeon was about to give up on the second stent and amputate my arm, his boss made him keep going, so I was fortunate enough to keep my arm. It took a lot of rehabilitation to get function back, and my hand still doesn’t work.

However, I beat death that day. And the world has shone with a touch more beauty ever since.

Roxus Where Are You Now 1991

Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage

shrimptacoswithcabbageslaw 7 1140x1710 1
shrimptacoswithcabbageslaw 7 1140×1710 1

Ingredients

  • 1 pound cooked shrimp, shelled, deveined and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 4 teaspoons TABASCO brand Green Pepper Sauce
  • 1/2 cup chopped pimento stuffed green olives
  • 1 large tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 pound cabbage, cored and finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup crema Mexicana (Mexican-style sour cream)*
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 corn tortillas

* Sour cream mixed with 2 tablespoons milk or cream may be substituted for crema Mexicana.

Instructions

  1. In medium bowl, combine shrimp, onion and 2 teaspoons TABASCO® Green Pepper Sauce, olives and tomato. Toss to mix well.
  2. In separate bowl, combine cabbage, crema Mexicana, cilantro, remaining 2 teaspoons TABASCO® Green Pepper Sauce and salt. Gently toss to mix well.
  3. To serve, place small amount of shrimp mixture in center of each tortilla; top with 2 tablespoons prepared cabbage. Fold tortilla over filling to form taco. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
  4. Serve immediately.

Facing the Global South: Building a new International System by Yang Ping

“If you raise [the development of the BRI] to the strategic level, there are countries where ... you will have to lose money and there are countries where you will be free to make money."

First Public Display of 16-meter-long Papyrus Found in Saqqara Casket

papyrus Saqqara 0
papyrus Saqqara 0

The exciting discovery of a 16-meter-long (52.5 ft) ancient papyrus found in a sarcophagus in Egypt’s Saqqara region has now been unveiled. A papyrus of this size and quality had not been discovered in over a century. The restored artifact that dates back to 50 BC and contains passages and images of the Egyptian Book of the Dead has now been put on display at the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, Cairo for all to see. It really is an impressive document from Egypt’s deep past.

The Saqqara site where it was discovered, a vast necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis, is a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s home to pyramids, animal burials, and even ancient Christian monasteries.

At first, scientists believed the ancient scroll to be only 9 meters long (29.5 ft), but after a thorough restoration and translation process in the restoration laboratory of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, it was revealed to measure an astounding 16 meters (52.5 ft), reported the Egypt Independent .

Mostafa
Mostafa

Mostafa Waziri, examining the extraordinary document. ( Supreme Council of Antiquities )

The papyrus has been named the “Waziri Papyrus” after Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, who made the exciting announcement. It contains texts from the Pharaonic Book of the Dead of its owner, Ahmose, and was found inside one of 250 caskets at the Saqqara site, noted Arkeonews.

Ahmose is mentioned a total of 260 times in the script, which is mostly black ink with some texts in red. The script contains 113 chapters from the Book of the Dead, as well as scenes of Ahmose worshipping Osiris, amongst many other images. The script would have been prepared by priests in anticipation of his death.

mummy 18
mummy 18

Ancient Papyrus Contains Texts from Book of the Dead

The Pharaonic Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text which was written on papyrus scrolls and buried with the deceased in their tomb. The texts contain declarations, hymns, and spells that were intended to help the deceased navigate the treacherous journey to the afterlife. It also includes illustrations and vignettes that depict the journey of the soul through the underworld and the different gods and goddesses the deceased would encounter along the way.

The Book of the Dead is an important source of information on ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices related to death and the afterlife. It is considered an important document of ancient Egyptian culture and religion and continues to be studied by scholars and Egyptologists around the world.

Waziri
Waziri

The Waziri papyrus.  ( Supreme Council of Antiquities )

Papyrus Will Be Displayed at Opening of Grand Egyptian Museum

The date the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities chose to make the announcement of this incredible find was January 14th. This was in recognition of the annual Egyptian Archaeologists Day, due to the fact that this latest discovery is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the country’s archaeologists.

papyrus 3
papyrus 3

More images and text on the Waziri papyrus. ( Supreme Council of Antiquities )

The papyrus is currently the centerpiece of the completed first phase of the renovation of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.

Ahmed Eissa, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities stated at the opening of the newly renovated wing where it is currently housed, “Today we announce the completion of the first phase of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square’s renovation as we are delivering a message to the whole world that the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square is still developing”.

The newly-discovered papyrus containing the Book of the Dead spells will provide a deeper understanding of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient cultures.

Eventually, the papyrus will be one of thousands of exciting artifacts that visitors will be able to view when the Grand Egyptian Museum opens later this year.

Top image: Part of the 16-meter-long document from Saqqara that includes illustrations and text from the Book of the Dead of Ahmose. Source: Supreme Council of Antiquities

US ‘quadrupling’ number of troops in Taiwan – WSJ

Up to 200 soldiers will reportedly head to the island to train its military against a hypothetical “Chinese invasion”

Washington is planning to send between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan “in the coming months,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing anonymous officials. The personnel will be tasked with training the Taiwanese military against what was described as a “rising threat from China.”

The deployment will more than quadruple the US military presence on the island, according to the Journal

. According to the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center, there were 23 American soldiers in Taiwan as of autumn 2022.

These Americans have been acting as advisers and trainers for the US weapons and equipment sent to Taipei. The new troops will also train the Taiwanese in tactics “to protect against a potential Chinese offensive,” according to unnamed US officials.

There were also Taiwanese troops in the US, with “a contingent” training alongside the Michigan National Guard in the north of that state, the Journal reported. When reached for comment, the Pentagon said only that the US “commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid.”

“We don’t have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” Army Lieutenant Colonel Marty Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Journal.

The expanded training is intended to “thwart a possible invasion by China,” and has been planned for months, long before this month’s incident with the Chinese “spy balloon,” officials who spoke to the Journal said. They also don’t believe it amounts to “anywhere close to a tipping point” for Beijing.

“One of the difficult things to determine is what really is objectionable to China,” one official said.

China has repeatedly warned the US against arming Taiwan and warned Washington to abide by the treaties and agreements governing their relationship. The US used to recognize Taipei as the “Republic of China” but switched that recognition to Beijing in 1978, adopting a One-China policy.

Taiwan has been a point of contention between China and the US since 1949, when the Communists won the civil war against the Kuomintang. The Americans helped evacuate the defeated nationalists to the island, which was liberated in 1945 from 50 years of Japanese rule.

The People’s Republic of China has pointed to Taiwan’s status as Chinese territory for over 200 years before it was ceded to Japan as a war trophy in 1895. Beijing seeks to reunite

what it calls a renegade island with the mainland, preferably by peaceful means.

Why the United States Has Set Itself Up for Failure in the Semiconductor Race for Military Supremacy

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2023 02 24 15 37

Doomsday prophesising of how China’s days are numbered and that it is in the midst of an economic collapse could not be any further from reality.

The reasons for the spread of this sort of gossip is to keep up the belief (and thus investment) in the idea that the United States is secure in its alpha dog global status and that the world is better off siding with said alpha in its escalating and reckless, not to mention unnecessary, economic and geopolitical war against Russia and China. It is to intimidate any country foolish enough to throw too many of its eggs into the Russia-China basket with the thought that they will be left hanging in the wind once China collapses from the international stranglehold on its economy, which is touted as inevitable.

It is to convince the American people, that the further sacrifices they are about to make in their livelihood and standard of living will be worth it, perhaps to even go so far as to proclaim that this will be the necessary “new normal” all for the cause of world security, of course.

The reality of the situation which should be plain for everyone to see at this point, is that the United States’ sanctions and banning of various types of trade with Russia and China, meant to cripple their economies, is doing more damage to the world markets than anything else, including that of Europe and the United States.

These sanctions have brought the world into a very predictable energy and food crisis to which European and American citizens are told they must suffer through in the name of western security. A crisis which is gutting essential infrastructure required to sustain developed countries. A crisis from which there is no quick return to a first world living standard for its citizenry.

It was thought that such manoeuvres would cripple the Russian economy and cause internal unrest demanding for the removal of President Putin. Instead we see the Russian rouble stronger than it has ever been in large part due to the competent leadership of Sergei Glazyev (see his speech on Sanctions and Sovereignty) who is in the process of organising a “new economic order…[which] will involve a creation of a new digital payment currency founded through an international agreement based on principles of transparency, fairness, goodwill, and efficiency” as he explained in an interview with Pepe Escobar for The Cradle.

In other words, the world’s new monetary system, underpinned by a digital currency, will be backed by a basket of new foreign currencies and natural resources. And it will liberate the Global South from both western debt and IMF-induced austerity. What this means is that with this new system, the economic sovereignty of a nation will be protected; that a country rich in resources will finally be in a position to use the profits of these resources to strengthen their currencies and build infrastructure essential for any first world nation rather than be forcefully reduced to an indebted raw resource producer and nothing more as enforced by the policies of the IMF over the past several decades.

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2023 02 24 15 39

Russia’s economy did not tank, and the alliance between Russia and China has only grown stronger. And despite attempts to isolate their markets, trade opportunities remain ample and in high demand while the United States and Europe who refuse to participate in these markets are pushing themselves further into a corner.

Instead of reassessing its position, the U.S., which clearly did not expect such an outcome, has instead decided to escalate this economic war with China, which will create further hardship for the world markets, in the middle of a very serious semiconductor backlog.

Semiconductors/chips are an essential component for any smart device, including automobiles and smart phones. They are essential in the production of AI, quantum computing, and microelectronics.

Semiconductors are also essential for advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic missiles.

Interestingly, the United States has shot itself in its own kneecap in the middle of a race for military supremacy since the crisis of the semiconductor/chips backlog (triggered by the United States), which has heavily hit the consumer market especially the automobile industry, has also hit the United States’ ability to churn out advanced weapons systems in mass quantity.

In December 2020, SMIC along with other Chinese firms were put on a U.S. blacklist for exports called the Entity List. This was an attempt to prevent SMIC, China’s largest and most sophisticated semiconductor producer, from importing the necessary material and equipment to manufacture 14nm and 20nm semiconductors/chips, which also ended up cutting off the world markets from China, the main supplier of these chips.

TSMC (Taiwan) and Samsung (South Korea) are the present titans in the cutting-edge semiconductor industry (that is 7nm and 5nm chips), however, China’s SMIC was the largest supplier of 20nm+ chips which are essential for the consumer market. When China was taken out of this market it created a bottleneck since TSMC and Samsung, who do not specialise in bulk manufacturing of lower grade chips, were already way above capacity. This created a massive global bottleneck in semiconductor/chip production. [East Asia is manufacturing about 75% of the chips in the world.]

Ironically, the United States would have had an easier time amping up production in their advanced weapons systems if they had left China as the main global supplier of 20nm chips.

Over the past month or so the U.S. State Department has been busy setting up weapon sales with countries such as Japan ($293 million deal, principally with Raytheon Technologies for 150 air-to-air missiles that can be loaded on F-35 fighters), Singapore ($630 million deal for laser-guided bombs and other munitions), Australia ($235 million deal with Lockheed Martin for 80 air-to-surface missiles), South Korea ($130 million for 31 lightweight torpedoes to use with MH-60R helicopters for anti-submarine warfare) and Germany (with a potential sale of over 35 F-35 fighters).

These are orders that presently are unable to be fulfilled by these companies in the short-term due to the semiconductor backlog of 1-2 years or more.

The United States is attempting to increase its onshore manufacturing capabilities so that it can control much more of the supply chain within its domestic market, rather than the present reality, which is that there are several countries dispersed throughout the world who are the specialised leaders of one of the approximately 50 steps, requiring high standard specialisation, in manufacturing cutting edge semiconductors.

The specialising process for all the components required for leading chip manufacturing is so costly (in the hundreds of billions) and precise that it is estimated that it would take at least 4-6 years or more to master each area of specialisation.

If you want a resilient [self-sufficient] chip supply chain, you not only need chip plants, you also need a whole string of suppliers from critical chemicals and precision components all coming along,” said an executive at Japan’s Daikin, reported by NIKKEI Asia. “Building a semiconductor plant takes several years, but building chemical plants will take even longer given the extensive environmental assessments and regulations for handling chemicals.” [Refer here for a short video on how semiconductors are made.]

Presently, no country comes even close to this capability. Later on in this paper I will explain why if any country is to reach resilience, that is self-sufficiency in this market, it will be China not the United States.

Is China too far behind to catch up?

There has been a lot of persistence, perhaps in the belief that if one repeats something out loud enough times it will come true, that China is too far behind to be a contender in the semiconductor race. Since the U.S. ban on China purchasing certain essential materials for chip manufacturing in December 2020, in just the past year, China has experienced a 33% semiconductor growth output.

According to Bloomberg, China’s chip industry is the fastest growing anywhere else in the world, including the world leaders TSMC and Samsung, owning 19 out of the world’s 20 fastest growing chip industry firms over the past four quarters.

SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd., the biggest contract chip makers, have kept their Shanghai-based plants operating at almost full capacity even as the worst Covid-19 outbreak since 2020 paralyzed factories and logistics across China, while other leading semiconductor industries, such as TSMC and Samsung, have been operating at 60% capacity or lower (due to the backlog in essential materials). SMIC recently reported a 67% surge in quarterly sales, outpacing far larger rivals GlobalFoundries Inc. and TSMC.

Despite the United States having already pushed the Netherlands to ban ASML Holding NV from selling China EUV technology (considered essential for manufacturing cutting edge semiconductors), at the time of writing this, it is now attempting to put further pressure on the Netherlands to ban even DUV systems (which predate EUV and are generations behind cutting edge lithography technology) to China in the U.S.’ desperate attempt to remove or at least contain China as a competitor. The U.S. has also attempted to put pressure on Japan’s Nikon (the only other DUV manufacturer at 5% market share) as well.

However, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this past June he is against reconsidering trade relations with China and called for the EU to develop its own policies toward Beijing. China is the Netherlands’ third-biggest trade partner after Germany and Belgium. ASML opposes a ban on sales of DUV lithography equipment to Chinese customers because it is already a mature technology.

I suspect this sort of response will become the new normal for the United States if they continue along this line of thinking that everyone, and not just the U.S., should also be ready to shoot themselves in the kneecap or worse, in service of a self-sabotaing idea of U.S. hegemony.

You have to admit, it is a hard story to sell when China is increasingly one of the top trading partners of the majority of countries, while the U.S. seems to only ask that countries be willing to do frequent bloodlettings and be the first to poke their heads up from the trenches in reckless military posturing, all in service to the Anglo-American empire, who has consistently shown that they have not a care in the world for the future state of such countries.

And it gets much worse for American aspirations for global military supremacy…

China’s SMIC has had the capability of manufacturing 7nm chips since 2021, thought to be equivalent to Taiwan’s TSMC’s N7 (7nm chip) in yield optimization. [TSMC is capable of 5nm chip production and is expected to achieve 3nm chip production by the end of this year]. This puts China in the lead of the United States’ Intel, which has yet to achieve manufacturing capability of 7nm chips and hopes to reach capability by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

[Note: Presently, TSMC is banned from selling semiconductors to Huawei that have been made with U.S. technology. Huawei up until that point was the biggest client of TSMC.]

TSMC had already filed lawsuits in U.S. courts against SMIC for products made with TSMC trade secrets in 2003 and 2006, the latter which ended with a settlement. This was a rather controversial manoeuvre on the part of TSMC since the United States is not neutral ground and stands to benefit greatly by crippling what is now China’s no. 1 semiconductor producer. However, TSMC did decide to make a settlement with SMIC rather than attempting to go for the full jugular. Interestingly one of the terms of settlement was the transfer over of about 10% of SMIC’s stocks to TSMC.

There are no signs yet that TSMC is seeking another lawsuit against SMIC, however, even if they were successful, it were likely that China would be prevented from trading with unfriendly countries in 7nm chips but would continue its production and application within China and its trade to friendly countries. The U.S. is increasingly in no position to enforce anything further than this.

With the advent of SMIC’s N+1 and N+2 (7nm chips), China is now 4-6 years behind the leaders (TSMC, Samsung) in cutting edge semiconductor capability. HiSilicon and Huawei together will no doubt accomplish much with N+2 and are capable of massive output.

This is very big news.

Funny how western press seems to be rather silent on this massive breakthrough for China which has propelled it ever close to the front of the race. Instead, we seem to be told, with ever more vigor, that China’s economy is in the midst of a collapse…

China has accomplished what almost everyone thought to be actually impossible. Namely, it was thought an extremely difficult if not impossible task to produce 7nm chips with high yield optimization without EUV technology (to which China has been banned from using after the U.S. pressured the government of the Netherlands). China has also been banned from other thought-to-be key components and yet, have either found a way to bypass the requirement of such things or have successfully specialised in their production on their own.

In January 2022, legendary TSMC R&D Director Dr. Burn Lin mentioned in an interview that SMIC can even fabricate N5 equivalent chips with only multi-patterning no EUV necessary. (TSMC had also become quite good at making cutting edge semiconductors before the EUV technology had come out).

Thus, those simply accusing China of just “copying” TSMC N7 have no comprehension that to actually successfully manufacture TSMC N7 yield optimization level chips is akin to successfully building the Star Trek Enterprise and all its features with 60% of the parts and using technology thought to be about 20 years behind the requirement to build such a thing. You can understand why almost everyone thought this was an impossibility for China.

Instead of accusing China of merely copying, her critics should in fact acknowledge this impressive achievement for what it is. China is increasingly finding itself in the lead of the U.S., despite being the only country banned from full participation in this market.

How the U.S. was the first to use the “Copy EXACTLY! Technology Transfer Method”

Before I go on to discuss where is the U.S. positioned in the semiconductor race, I thought it necessary to review a very important piece of history that everyone, but especially Americans, should know about in relation to their criticism of China.

In the 1980s Japan was the kingpin in cutting edge semiconductors production. This was especially the case relating to a specific type of memory chip DRAM.

Japan’s product was not only superior to that of what the United States was producing but it was also much cheaper, due to Japan’s investment in automation tools and processes. This resulted in much lower defect rates and higher yields.

It was also because Americans were dependent on NMOS for their DRAM technologies, whereas the Japanese had decided to go the more difficult and risky route with CMOS, that is, more expensive and harder to pull off. Rapid advances in lithography technology made the cost of CMOS far lower and became the industry standard.

American chipmakers were now the owners of outdated, expensive technology. And Japan became the kingpin of the semiconductor world.

In 1985 there was a recession in the computer market, with the microcomputer market seeing an 8% decline. This decline had massive reverberations down the supply chain. Prices collapsed by 60%.

Intel, DRAM pioneer, experienced the biggest crash in orders in over ten years, resulting in their exiting of the DRAM industry entirely. Leading U.S. semiconductor industries saw 14-17% decline in revenues. By 1986, the American DRAM industry had dropped from fourteen producers in 1970 to just three.

Complaints from certain quarters in the United States began criticizing Japan for “predatory” and “unfair” trade practices despite the recession in 1985 being a demand problem and not a competition problem. These complaints were primarily:

  1. That the Japanese were dumping semiconductors into the U.S. market at below fair market value.
  2. The Japanese were not providing foreign chip makers sufficient access to its domestic market

However, Japan’s semiconductor presence in the U.S. did not harm all American markets, IBM and AT&T greatly benefitted from these lower prices for DRAM.

Discussions began about implementing trade barriers, which would in turn make America an even more expensive place to make things, accelerating the electronic assembly off-shoring trend already underway.

In June 1985, Micron filed an anti-dumping complaint against Japanese exporters of 64K DRAM. Intel, AMD and National Semiconductor soon followed, doing the same for the EPROM market.

The Reagan Administration had filed a complaint of their own over 256K DRAM (64K DRAM was released by Japan in 1982 and 256K DRAM was released by Japan in 1984).

President Reagan, who was supposed to be all about free markets, in the spring of 1986 forced the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement with METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan).

Part of the conditionalities of this agreement were that the American semiconductor share in the Japanese market be increased to a target of 20-30% in five years, that every Japanese firm stop its “dumping” into the American market and the Americans wanted a separate monitoring body to help enforce all of this.

Many Japanese companies felt that their government had caved and had betrayed them. They had hoped for a simple fine. It was thought incredible, and rightly so, that their company trade data now needed to be submitted to a third party in order to be reviewed and judged in accordance to the demands of an American market competitor.

Not only this, but these Japanese companies were being asked to trade with American companies, regardless of whether the American product was the most superior or best priced from its competitors, to meet this U.S. demand for a 20-30% Japanese market share.

No surprise here, the Japanese companies refused to do this and METI had no way of forcing them to do so.

President Reagan responded by imposing a 100% tariff on $300 million worth of Japanese goods in April 1987. Combined with the 1985 Plaza Agreement which revalued the Japanese Yen the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement gave the U.S. memory market the extra boost it needed.

Of course, that boost was akin to pushing Japan’s head underwater for several minutes while a race was underway, however, rather embarrassingly, Japan would still maintain a lead.

The U.S. was in no position to beat the Japanese in its domination of the semiconductor industry. There was no choice but to…copy Japanese technology, in the name of American supremacy that is.

It appears no country has the right to earn its way to the top other than the U.S. in a world we are told benefits the smartest, most innovative and fastest growing industries. Apparently everyone at the end of the day works for a global boss, who reserves the right to determine your company’s fate and the rules are changed accordingly to what suits this global boss’ needs case by case, the world markets be damned.

Intel would be the first to implement vast copying of Japanese semiconductor technology in order to stay in the competition. Craig Barrett CEO (1998-2005) and Chairman (1968-2009) of Intel was the first to implement “Copy EXACTLY! Technology Transfer Method.” I think the title gives you a good enough idea of what that entails.

Again, if we have learned anything from the generous lessons bestowed on us by the great arbiter, the United States, it is to “Do as I Say, Not as I Do.”

Apparently copying is only an infringement on patents when other countries do it. I guess this is sort of similar to the American lesson that biological research facilities only turn into dangerous bio labs threatening world security when in the possession of the Russians, when in the possession of the Americans it is simply called biological research and entomology (the study of insects).

Yields at American fabs (semiconductor fabrication plant, also know as foundry), improved by 60% in 1986 to 84% in 1991. Over the same time the Japanese had gone from 75% in 1986 to 93% in 1991, decreasing the gap by 6% in the span of five years between the two competitors.

In 1984 the U.S. passed the National Cooperative Research Act, which among other things allowed for the revising of laws to permit partnerships between national research institutes and private companies and that these private companies could attain the exclusive rights of the generated research for five years or even longer.

This initiative was to partially mimic what the Japanese had done in terms of collaboration between companies and R&D, however, whatever came out of such partnerships were owned by the Japanese government. In the case of the United States, publicly funded research was to be the property of private companies who could choose to use whatever they learned from such research for their sole benefit or to even bury it if it was thought to be not “profitable” in accordance with their aims, whatever that might be.

In 1987, fourteen American semiconductor companies along with DARPA joined together to found SEMATECH. SEMATECH became the facilitator of relationships within the American semiconductor industry. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.

In case the chilling reality of this has not fully sunk in, what the formation of SEMATECH along with the National Cooperative Research Act meant, was that the U.S. Department of Defense was the sole proprietor of R&D research in practically ALL fields of science and engineering. In other words, the U.S. Department of Defense would be the sole conduit at the core deciding where funding goes, which projects should be prioritised and downgraded, and which projects should be killed in their cradle never to be talked about again with threat on your life.

For those who take issue in all advancement of technology because they are fearful that we are heading towards such dystopic visions as Terminator, the Matrix, or Bladerunner, this is not because this is what humans “naturally” do, it is not even fair nor accurate to say that this is what all countries will inevitably do. It is namely what a country will do if the military industrial complex is its sole reason for existing on this Earth. And it will feed this monster at the cost of the welfare and livelihood of its actual people, as we see so clearly occurring specifically within the United States.

And yes, this is specifically striking in the United States, especially since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, to which the U.S. has yet to do anything differently in terms of how it runs its finances, despite countless Americans losing their homes and more while the big banks have been repeatedly bailed out with taxpayer money.

Today, the U.S. continues to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on its military industrial complex and leaves the ever-growing poverty, suicide and drug abuse unaddressed while it loudly blares its woke priorities as to how to speak in such a way that no person could possibly be emotionally offended and in the process render anything you have to say entirely irrelevant.

People should wake up and realise that they are not mad because of this or that label, it is because your future was stolen from you, and it was done by the hand of your very own government.

Your oppression in situated in your lack of opportunity, in your lack of real choice for a better future. In today’s western world you are free to choose whatever avatar you like but you are not free to make any changes to the status quo that is governed by the military industrial complex, which keeps the American people in ever-increasing poverty and destroys entire nations. What sort of freedom is that?

This is the reason why no decent scientist can hope to accomplish great benefits for their society with any research they conduct in the United States. It is all about business at the end of the day, and there is no bigger business than the military business in the United States, except perhaps “biological research” which is drawing a close second, and technically speaking figures into the military business…

In the case of China what we see is the very opposite to what is occurring in the United States. As the World Bank and BBC attest, surprise surprise, China is doing what they say they are doing in addressing poverty levels, you can read about it on the BBC news site. According to the World Bank, which draws a higher poverty line for upper-middle income countries, to reflect the economic conditions, China is now considered an upper-middle-income country according to the World Bank.

Therefore, China is able to not only compete with the American arms race (in self-defence to the clear war escalation), but it is also able to compete in other areas of more useful endeavours as well as raising its own people out of poverty.

China is not subservient to a military industrial complex and using the lazy logic that if it happened to the U.S. it will happen to China, is to not only disregard what is actually going on in China today but it is also to disregard the cultural orientation of its country and its people.

Now back to our story.

Intel, which would exit out of DRAM in 1985 would turn their focus on logic chips, which they are now a world leader in.

In 1991, the Japanese real estate bubble burst. The real estate bubble had inflated due to the Yen’s appreciation, triggered by the 1985 Plaza Accord.

In 1983 Samsung received a technology transfer from Micron (the company that launched the complaint suit against Japan that started this whole thing off) for 64K DRAM.

To the credit of Samsung, they utilised this technology transfer to maximum use and along with LG and Hyundai were able to produce the 4M DRAM, with their product hitting the market just 6 months after the Japanese.

Micron was one of the few American DRAM producers to have survived the 80s and had made adjustments making production very cheap for their lower-end DRAM chips.

While Samsung was beginning to compete for the lead in cutting edge DRAM technology with the Japanese, Micron in a pincer move flooded the Japanese markets with half-a-generation behind DRAM chips at a cost of $4 when Japan was selling them at $6.

Japan’s semiconductor market was hit from the top by Samsung with their high-end products and at the bottom by Micron with their low-end products, known as the Micron Shock. The Micron Shock set into motion the fall of the Japanese semiconductor manufacturing industry.

128M DRAM prices collapsed by 50% in a single year. Fujitsu exited the DRAM market in 1998. Japanese companies Hitachi and NEC merged their operations together to create Elpida in 1999. They later took over Mitsubishi’s DRAM division in 2002. Elpida was later acquired by none other than….Micron Technology.

Japan’s semiconductor industry is still strong but they are much smaller players in the world market and no longer have a capability of developing cutting edge semiconductors. Companies such as TSMC, Samsung, SMIC, and Intel are much further in the lead. (for more on this story to which I largely drew from refer to Asianometry).

Today, the United States has reopened its arms to Japan in what is promised to be a loving embrace this time around, Japan will open an R&D center for next-generation 2nm chips by year-end under a partnership with the U.S., part of their efforts to establish secure chip supply chains amid tensions around industry leader Taiwan.

Perhaps Japan truly believes it will really be different this time around.

Is the U.S. too far behind to catch up?

Intel was scheduled to have its 7nm chips in production by 2021, instead one year later, Intel has yet to develop the capability of 7nm chip production which they hope to achieve by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

However, despite China having figured this all out in 2021, we are still supposed to believe that China is hopelessly behind the U.S. in the semiconductor race. Back in July 2021, Intel is still making big announcements of their comeback, now moved back to the year 2025

2025 is something that is almost lightyears away in the semiconductor R&D. Who knows what TSMC, Samsung and SMIC will have achieved by then, there may even be a new form of technology to replace the entire present way of doing things. Perhaps the U.S. is used to making these predictions assuming everyone else will remain stationary? Someone should tell them and their investors that this is no longer 1985.

With this set back in mind that things tend not to run on schedule in the semiconductor business, is it a feasible prospect of the United States to increase its onshore manufacturing capabilities so that it can control much more of the supply chain within its domestic market?

The short answer is no. But don’t take it from me, take it from Morris Chang, an elder statesman of the semiconductor industry who founded and formerly chaired TSMC, who put this smack of reality most bluntly in remarks addressed to the U.S. as reported by NIKKEI Asia:

If you want to re-establish a complete semiconductor supply chain in the U.S., you will not find it as a possible task,he said at an industry forum last year.Even after you spend hundreds of billions of dollars, you will still find the supply chain to be incomplete, and you will find that it will be very high cost, much higher cost than what you currently have.”

Despite these words of advice, amidst what I think can be fairly called an economic recession if not depression, the United States has just recently passed the $52 billion CHIPS Act, with $39 billion planned to be spent domestically, to namely benefit, you guessed it, the military industrial complex.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned in a recent interview with CNBC while the CHIPS Act was being considered by Congress:

If you allow yourself to think about a scenario where the United States no longer had access to the chips currently being made in Taiwan, it’s a scary scenario…It’s a deep and immediate recession. It’s an inability to protect ourselves by making military equipment. We need to make this in America.

Notice the only concern she names by name? The military industrial complex. At some point Americans need to ask themselves, what is the point of all of this military equipment if the American people’s livelihood is not economically secure, in violation to the promise of freedom from want as one of the four core American freedoms. How is the American government providing the American people security if they do not even have enough food to eat and have no homes to live in but increasingly ghettofied communities living like an ant colony. Or Elon Musk’s ridiculous house box. They are literally selling boxes for homes as if this is some sort of luxury product.

Why is it ok for Americans to increasingly have no access to the most basic of basic needs while hundreds of billions of dollars are poured into Department of Defense Frankenstein projects?

In case you haven’t noticed, the Cold War has been going on for 76 years now. When has the military industrial complex ever been justified and not in fact based on conscious lies? President Eisenhower departed his office actually acknowledging that he left a monster growing in the basement and had no idea how to get rid of it in his farewell address:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex… The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.”

Honestly, he might as well have gotten into a helicopter and left the country waving like Nixon did while the Americans all stared dumbstruck. But somehow we largely regard that speech as if it were something respectable. Let us call a spade for what it is. And what happened to the next President who was elected to address the matter? His brains were splattered onto the pavement in broad daylight on live television.

Anyway, I digress, back to the matter of American supremacy…

The U.S. is confident that it can once again unleash its jungle roar of supremacy with the help of TSMC. TSMC is scheduled to building fabs (semiconductor fabrication plants) in the U.S. and Japan.

Intel doesn’t expect its new fabs in Ohio to begin production until 2025. Intel is also building two new factories in Arizona expected to go online in 2024. That’s when TSMC and Samsung also plan to open new fabs in Texas and Arizona, respectively. What this means is essentially that they have agreed to share some of their trade secrets with the U.S.

This is likely not being done voluntarily, without some very scary threats.

As NIKKEI Asia reported Taiwan’s government is keenly aware that if TSMC were to move production sites it could weaken the island’s security position, analysts say. For many analysts, those factories and their role in the global economy act as an insurance policy for the island.

The Taiwanese government will definitely hope TSMC keeps its most cutting-edge factories all in Taiwan,” said Su Tzu-yun, director of the Institute for National Defense Security Research in Taipei. “That could make Taiwan a safer place. No one would want to damage TSMC’s advanced chip production capacities, which are the hearts of many electronic devices…We don’t think the tension and competition between the U.S. and China will end any time soon…As a crucial supplier, TSMC may still face a tough issue later – choosing sides.

TSMC is thus stuck in a very tight spot right now. What Taipei should also understand is that Taiwan is expendable to the United States, but it is not expendable to China. Rather, Taiwan is actually essential for China’s security. Taiwan needs to realise that words are words but actions are another thing. Independence for Taiwan is not a reality. It is not an economic reality. And it is not a political reality (not to mention cultural reality).

The United States will not stop until Taiwan becomes its own military base (added to the list of South Korea and Japan) and becomes an upholder to U.S. hegemony in the area, which pretty much runs counter to every country’s interest in South-East Asia. Or Taiwan can return to China and receive protection from America’s war mongering. China will do this one way or another, that is, defend their land against a U.S. invasion, but it would be nice if Taiwan had its head together if such a stand-off were to occur.

In case you have not been informed, Taiwan is internationally recognised, including by the United States as part of China. China has enough missiles to defend Taiwan without any issue. For more on China’s military capability refer to ex-Marine Brian Berletic’s New Atlas.

Thus, though Intel has high ambitions to somehow be in the lead in 2025 despite only being thrown scraps from the alley presently, the elephant in the room here is that the U.S. seems to have lost any ability to actually be an innovator in the field. The only thing keeping them in the game right now as a leading cutting edge semiconductor manufacturer is their use of intimidation and threat of force.

The writing is on the wall, as Russia and China gain in economic and military supremacy, South Korea and Taiwan will be free to conduct their business as they choose and not be obligated to constantly give the U.S. favors under uncomfortably tense situations threatening the very sovereignty of these companies let alone countries.

Another rather large factor to the U.S.’ miscalculation in their strive for supremacy is the matter of a little mineral called Fluorite.

Fluoropolymers are a key material for semiconductor production. Fluoropolymers are processed from fluorspar, also known as fluorite, a mineral of which China controls nearly 60% of the global production output, according to data from market research company IndexBox. China has long identified fluorspar as a strategic resource and back in the late 1990s limited exports due to its importance to industries from agriculture, electronics and pharmaceuticals to aviation, space and defense.

In a supply chain review paper published by the White House in 2021, the U.S. flagged the risks of critical materials subject to foreign domination and identified fluorspar as one in a list of “shortfall strategic and critical materials.”

2023 02 24 15 42
2023 02 24 15 42

An independent commission established by Congress recently concluded: “If a potential adversary bests the United States in semiconductors over the long term or suddenly cuts off U.S. access to cutting-edge chips entirely, it could gain the upper hand in every domain of warfare.

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reportsChina’s leaders have set a goal to build a ‘fully modern’ military by 2027 based on ‘informatization,’ ‘intelligentization,’ and ‘mechanization,’ investing heavily in technical areas which support such an approach, such as AI, quantum computing, hypersonics, and microelectronics.”

As the chair and vice chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) put it in 2021, “We do not want to overstate the precariousness of our position, but given that the vast majority of cutting-edge chips are produced at a single plant separated by just 110 miles of water from our principal strategic competitor, we must re-evaluate the meaning of supply chain resilience and security.”

U.S. dependency on Taiwanese production of chips for defense systems extends beyond AI. TSMC makes semiconductors used in F-35 fighters and a wide range of “military-grade” devices used by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Interestingly, the CSIS report acknowledges that advances in semiconductor technology are primarily driven by the development of devices for commercial use.

Which is what China is exactly focusing on right now. Recall China was the number one world supplier of semiconductors for commercial use with 75% of all semiconductor production coming out of East Asia.

What China has done in fact is, to quote Pascal Coppens, set up an ecosystem in Shenzhen that will allow for top industrial focus on all levels of the semiconductor production line for commercial use, while SMIC, HUAWEI, and HiSilicon focus on the cutting edge semiconductor technology. As Pascal Coppens makes the point, China’s semiconductor ecosystem is in fact a form of decentralization, while the United States is approaching the semiconductor race from an approach of centralization (around the military industrial complex).

TSMC is bottlenecked due to the reasons already discussed above. TSMC is operating at around 60% capacity and to achieve 80% capacity would be considered an incredible achievement. China has the ability to correct the semiconductor shortage that is bankrupting western companies right now, including the automobile industry. And 90% of the chips needed to make the smart world will have to come from China. Recall, TSMC owns 10% of SMIC stocks, if SMIC is able to meet these demands, TSMC stands to benefit greatly, much above what they are capable of producing as output.

And everyone knows, there is no greater romance than a forbidden romance.

6 People Describe What’s It Like To Do DMT

1. The other side was like a rollercoaster ride. I had no choice but to sit back and be carried away as things unfolded in front of me. I — or, my essence, my consciousness — was just floating in space, detached from existence, not fighting anything, not trying to direct anything. It was like I was being given a spiritual tour of this parallel world.

The first thing that I remember is the imagery. The infinitely intricate, breathtakingly complex geometric images that I saw were indescribably beautiful. One pattern after another, in split seconds, unfolded. Dozens of them. They unfolded or melted away as quickly as they appeared. Glowing rainbow colors — everything had an aura. It turned blue, green, yellow, hot pink, light orange — unfathomably beautiful. And they kept coming and coming and coming — It is simply astonishing that the mind is capable of such things.

Then, it’s like I’m in space — pitch-black darkness, but with hundreds of glowing, rainbow stars in the background, shining beautifully. And I go past these holographic, glowing blue floors — and then I saw — them. They could be described as aliens or elves — aliens, since I had the feeling of being in outer space; elves, because of their elongated ears. They were very thin, but not emaciated — everything was proportional. Their bodies were comprised of triangular shapes, and were glowing blue, too, although they also had an aura.

I saw several of them, though I remember certain images most vividly. I saw a family of three — a mother, a father, and a young boy. She was pouring the boy cereal at the table as the father was at the stove, attending to something, talking to a client on the phone. I also saw two young women having coffee on a breezy weekday afternoon. I vaguely remember a man showing himself to me, as if he were about to go to work. But I didn’t interact with them; they said nothing to me — it was just this sense that this was their world, and, while things looked mundane, their lives were peaceful and didn’t need any interference. I just had to keep going; my ride was taking me elsewhere. It was all happening so frustratingly quickly.

As I felt myself coming down and my consciousness restored, the images kept coming at me at a million miles a minute — images that implicitly conveyed information, mostly evoking feelings of childhood and daily life, although they felt like so much more. Things were just coming and going at lightning speed — there was hardly time to process any of it. It was simply an incomparable show, like a kaleidoscope of dream images, beautiful geometric shapes, and images that so perfectly conveyed particular feelings.

When I came to, all I could do for three minutes was pound the ground relentlessly, repeating variations of ‘Holy shit!’ and ‘What the fuck?!’ — It was just pure astonishment, just utter disbelief at what I’d just experienced. I still felt ‘in the experience’ for another five minutes or so, — my body was shaking, I was breathing heavily, and I was still able to feel out-of-body when I closed my eyes.

2. “I cannot recall the transition to the void. There were no colors or visions, in the traditional sense. I realized immediately that I had actually poisoned myself, and this was not a DMT trip at all, this was death.

“This period of time is impossible to relate. Try to understand that there was no sensation of time at all. Nothing was linear, and my ideas seemed to come to me at impossible intervals. My brain had been killed, I could tell, because I could not think. I could only sense the overwhelming loneliness and shame. I had actually believed at some point, somewhere, that I was alive, but this was not possible, because I was a scrap of discarded thought, not worthy of keeping. It was a foregone conclusion that I would destroy myself. This seemed to be forever.

“There appeared in the vastness a tiny point of light. I remember realizing that I had not died at all, but that I had been dead. Then, not dead, but dormant. Dormant. I was about to be born.”

3. “I couldn’t believe the breakneck speed with which I was beginning to move, like a proton in a hyper spatial supercollider. The breathtakingly ecstatic sensation of being literally shot out of the confines of my corporeal body was overwhelming, and already my mind was grasping wildly about for some semblance of familiarity. No previous DMT journey had ever moved this fast…

“ Ahead was an entirely ludicrous, tensile, concentric, mandala-like disco-medusa that wore about it a technicolor dream coat of fibrillating antennae, surrounded by an ultraviolet aura. Instantly I could tell it was alive: some sort of a sentinel. Then seemingly out of nowhere and from every direction at once came these freakish tentacles of liquid lapis lazuli. They began moving together with an almost orchestral hyper precision, and I was completely mesmerized — it was like nothing I had ever seen…

“The presence of what is awesome, what is wildly and passionately and luminously alive, filled every meridian in the vast continent of my expanded being, an intensity of joy and love and life coursing like heavenly ambrosia through my electrified veins. It was as though I myself was God, moving through liquid ecologies of God, the self-crystallizing emerald labyrinths of the tryptamine dream time, a marvelous infundibulum of plasmodial calisthenics. What occurred was a total meltdown of everything I know and hold dear. [It was an] utter surrender into the honeycomb love womb of the universe reborn, born anew in a thousand unendingly magnificent eyes, and Maya and Lila handheld spinning in sundream dandelions, my five senses spinning like a zillion gyroscopes round the centripetal amethyst of this all and everything.”

4. “I was transported to that extremely alien-like realm that I had been to so many times before. I felt like I was being schooled on existence. A teacher entity that seemed to have some sort of almost condescending power over me was trying to convince me that ‘they’ constructed our reality completely, and tried to get me to agree that this reality was not under our control; it was being constructed and predetermined by an outside force completely. Even though I had lost complete touch with reality, I did not listen blindly. I was skeptical. ([It was] not that I disbelieved it, but I didn’t believe it either… I always like to keep an open mind when it comes to these sorts of existential matters). The entity was so persistent about trying to convince me! I remained neutral on the matter, but courteous and attentive all the same…

“I don’t know where I was, but I was confronted by a mother entity. She was shapeless; dripping, melting, ugly, terrifying, disgusting, and even smelled bad. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but next thing I knew, she was engaging me in psychic conversation. She had a wallet of some sort, and began showing me photographs of her son. I could tell that she loved her son very much. She also had a bunch of his artwork that she was obviously proud of, and began showing it to me. The problem was, her son and all of his artwork were also melting, grotesque and disgusting. I could still feel her genuine love for her son and pride in his artwork, but at the same time, no matter how hard I tried to show her love, I couldn’t hide the fact that I felt grossed out by her and the entire situation. I could tell that she could tell that I was feeling uncomfortable…

“When I came down from this trip, I found myself feeling guilty for not being able to feel/give the love that I felt that I should have given her. So I had another hit of DMT and tried to meditate on the experience and its meaning. I tried to send out my purest, most intended form of love to her and every other entity under this umbrella called consciousness. I even tried to psychically apologize to her for my reaction to her. I felt a little bit better after that, like I had resolved something.”

5. I was given the pipe and took the largest hit I could. After blowing out the smoke I immediately took a second, very large hit and instantly handed my friend the pipe. As soon as I blew the second hit out a familiar feeling came over me. It was very much like the peak of inhaling N2O. It lasted just enough time for me to think that this is not very impressive (about 30 seconds into trip). The next sensation was a feeling of separation from my body and the feeling I could not breath (45 seconds into trip). I had expected these feelings from my studies so I just relaxed and waited for the next stage of this experiment. No study, no book, no letter and no conversation could have explained to me or prepared me for what was yet to come.

I started to think to myself ‘remember to breath, stay calm, you will be back’. Before I finished that thought I was met by a multitude of sounds (At this point track of time was lost) It was music-like but it was not music. It was the typical cracking and popping I had read about but did never read that these sounds could be felt. I could feel them in every part of my body and that was when I realized I had no body, I was outside of my body. My soul had separated from the flesh and had transcended to another place I still did not yet understand. I then realized these sounds were not just random sounds but living entities. I did not question what these entities were or where they came from. I did not try to communicate with them for I had no need. They were there and the sound they made gave me more comfort and peace than I have ever felt on this plane of existence. I knew they had come to see me and to guide me to where I was going. We had known each other before and were with each other not to question what was happening or to communicate with each other but just to thrive from each other’s energy. I had a feeling of mutuality between us. They were all around me, inside me, over me and below me and the whole time nothing more than content, peaceful feelings were present. I thought this was all there was and I would be returning home soon. I had never been so wrong in my life.

I think the sounds may have been beings sent to guide me to where I was being taken. I had a feeling of movement faster than anything I could have ever imagined. I felt a flood of energy and ultra high and low frequencies weighing on my body similar to a high G-force turn. While this was happening I felt as if I was being flooded with information. It was like other beings trying to communicate with me each one wanting my attention. It was coming too fast and it was the only time I had any sort of panic or fear, I thought or said slow down and was almost annoyed by the speed at which this was coming at me. As soon as I thought or said slow down everything stopped. I had no sensation of touch, smell or sight but was content with this feeling. I had no need for the physical sensations we need in this plane of existence. I was not hungry, cold, in pain, tired, etc… and had no wants or desires for anything, I was truly content and at peace with my surroundings.

Once this contentment filled my soul and everything slowed down I heard a female voice as if it was being tuned in on a radio. I could not make out the words but I knew they were being said to me. I only made out 3 words clearly and they were all I was supposed to hear. The female voice said, “I love you”. In those three words I felt more secure, comforted and loved than I have ever felt anywhere, anytime in my life. As soon as I heard those three words I heard a male voice in the same “radio being tuned in” matter. I never did make out any of the words that were said to me but the message was loud and clear. The message I was being given was don’t worry, you are with me, you can and will get over anything, there is nothing you can not handle. Then, suddenly the voices were gone but the sound were still with and within me. I knew I had been given the gift I was pulled to that place for and I knew it was time for me to return to my body and my friends. I had a feeling of opening of a door and walking though it. Before I walked through the door I felt as if I turned and said thank you. The most honest, unconditional thank you I have ever said.

6. Drifting deeply into the visual ebb and flow of the DMT I just walked through the thin fabric of the visual fractal fantasy. It was like a gauze layer of the dream just separated and boom .. it was like walking from a dark night into a brightly lit casino in Las Vegas. I felt like I had walked behind the scenes into a series of rooms. Everything was prime color cranked up to it s fullest potential. The images were clear, crisp and vivid. many times more vivid then the early pre-room images.

There were two people a man and a women or a girl and a boy. They appeared to me like simple balloon computer generated images. As soon as I stepped in the room, they glided up to me and spoke directly to me. They kept saying welcome back and words like: the big winner, he has returned, welcome to the end and the beginning, you are The One! As I looked around the room I felt the sense of some huge celebration upon my entry to this place. Bells were ringing, lights flashing fear began to rise in me as I felt the deep change in my world. The sprites begin to lead me around the room showing me how all my life they had been preparing me for this return. I was shown dozen of experiences simultaneously in my life, that had lead up to and been clues to this moment. I was shown in a flood and a onslaught of images, thoughts, situations, raw feelings that everything had been building to this moment. That this moment had been planned.

They told me it was a gift. That I had been selected to be The One. I felt feelings of huge relief, excitement and fear in the sprites. At this moment in the experience I became afraid for my life. I felt that this gift would cost me my life. I did not want to be The One. The sprits felt this fear in me and begin to hold my hands and arms rushing me deeper into their world. I felt their fear and I begin to believe that I had stepped out of the dream, out of the drug, out of my body and mind and into this super world. I begin to believe in the transformation. As I walked deeper I could see standing in the middle of the room, in the center of this place, an object similar to an hour glass. It was slowly turning over. I became aware that this vessel, as it tipped over, transferring its contents from the small red end to the larger blue end was transforming me. I felt my humanity slip out as I was filled with this new powerful light. A light of greater perception, of clarity. It felt like returning home. It felt familiar. It felt like I was waking up from a hollow, pale dream of reality. I felt god like and omnipotent. I realized the this gift was not only a gift but equally a death sentence for my physical body. I felt like I had been chosen to receive this not out of benevolence but out of a need to release this power and perception There had to be The One, to relieve the others. There had to be The One who perceived completely. I felt like Christ at the moment of realization of godhood and the inevitable moment of his crucifixion. I also felt like all this knowledge and perception was far too large to be processed by my physical mind and that death was the obvious transition.

As this moment of realization hit me I felt the sprites smile and step back. They told me I WAS The One and this WAS real and that it would never end.

They said do you not believe….. then see.

At this moment I sat up (in the real world) and opened my eyes. This moment true panic set in. I was deeply hallucinating. The real world was being covered, transformed into a psychedelic kaleidoscope of energy. Every surface had something like movie film, one image after another lined up like film shown through an overhead projector. These were the prime images of our symbolic nature. Slowly rolling over every surface. like the sprites of the objects. I felt I was seeing time in a singularity. I felt like I was seeing the symbolic patters like a second perception of true meaning. In the real room there were two people sitting next to me. When I looked at them I felt reassured momentarily. Then they exploded into dozens of two dimensional layers of light. Looking like computer generated futurists paintings. Wafer thin halos created the shapes of my friends. Dave looked up at me and said Welcome Back causing me to panic. Because when he said welcome back I did not think it was back to reality but back into the fold of this super world I was in. Back as there chosen one or at least one amongst them. I perceived Dave and Poon as personal guides or Guardians or gatekeepers there to welcome me into this new exalted state. That moment striped me of my world, my truths leading me to believe that my hallucinations were truth. I once again had the crashing feeling of winning, of being chosen, and being forced to receive this unwanted sentence of total vision. I had this crash as I could see once again the cause and effect of my being there and the price I would have to pay. I was the Bean King and the price of my gift would be perceptual transcendence but physical death.

At this time I felt a collapsing feeling as I gave in to the experience excepting my fate. I remember thinking that the hour glass had turned a little farther and I was pouring out of this life into my new one. I said out loud I am dying. Then I lost the support of my body, my self, my existence and I began to drift.

Dave then touched my leg I remember being drawn back into my body and thinking to hell with this I am not going to die, not yet and I felt the sprites smiling around me looking at me. I felt the fear. I felt the exhilaration of my visions. I was back in the sprites room. Even though this place was vibrant and psychedelic it was within my ability to comprehend. The sprits began there pitch at me being a winner and The One. I felt they were taking me back down the hallway to open those iconic, electric vision and to my death. I then said out loud again I am dying to which Dave responded only three more minutes and you will be all right.

Three more minutes.. Three more minutes was like a life raft that I sailed out of that world. As soon as I was able to believe that in three more minutes I would be normal again and everything began to fade. I felt in control of my body and my life. Slowly I drifted out of the their world, back through the gauzy world of colors and patterns. With a little extra coaxing from my friends I was able to wake up and separate my self from that moment.

I still vibrate from the experience.

I am very grateful to have been with my friends.

https://youtu.be/cb4KetF2Yjs

Choose wisely the one who you wish to marry

I hope this post finds you well. Please enjoy…

Confessions of a $100 Million Mega Millions Jackpot Winner

 

Can you retrace us to the day you bought the ticket? What were u doing the day u saw you won? Did you run out of the store? What did u do after?

I buy $20 worth of picks whenever the jackpot exceeds $100 million. I always play the same numbers.

That particular day was just a day like any other: I left work, bought my ticket, and went home. It was a few days before the drawing and the drawings happen later in the evening so I check my numbers in the morning.

When I saw that I had won, I signed the back of the ticket and put it back in my wallet and went to work.

When you claim a jackpot you have to do paperwork. You take the lump sum and the lottery commission automatically takes 24% to cover taxes. You can elect to have more withheld, and, because I’m a data analyst and I have a spreadsheet for everything, I knew exactly how much to have them withhold. That was the last time I paid taxes and it totaled more than an average American pays in their entire life. So, I don’t feel too bad about not paying taxes out of pocket anymore.

The winnings come in two different deposits (those big checks aren’t real, it’s a wire transfer). The first deposit is the amount of the jackpot that my state owed me and came about 14 days after the paperwork was done. That day, I went to work, as usual, and when I got the notification on my phone of the deposit, I cleared my browser history on my work computer, left my work ID on my desk, and sent a delayed delivery email to my manager resigning. I walked out of the building and drove to a hotel a few hours away and stayed there for two weeks until the other deposit dropped. I called my lawyer and had her manage moving out of my apartment and putting all of that stuff in storage.

This way of quitting and disappearing is movie-style slick.

I had been slowly clearing out my desk between when I claimed and that day. Two days before I got the first deposit, I had my desk fully cleared out, all of my pictures off my desk, coffee cup out of the break room and all of my stuff out of the office. I had stopped carrying my bag and literally had nothing personal to take out of the office with me.

It’s likely they didn’t even notice I was gone until my email sent.

Did you dump the apartment because your name became public information when the money dropped?

No. My name didn’t become public. I use a trust, behind an LLC, behind an anonymous LLC to claim the winnings.

I dropped the apartment because I was wanted to move.

How did you, as a regular person, set up two LLCs to anonymize the money?

LegalZoom.

My first step was setting up an anonymous LLC in New Mexico. Then I set up an LLC in Ohio using the anonymous LLC in NM as the agent. I used the Ohio LLC to set up a trust with the LLC as the trustee and set up an anonymous LLC in Wyoming as the beneficiary.

These moves allowed me to effectively claim anonymously and the money could never be tracked all the way back to me without a lot of legal wrangling. It’s not litigation proof, but there are enough barriers to delay exposure for long enough to regroup and go deeper.

I’ve since set up more anonymous LLCs and trusts to move my money around. At this point I manage the entire system myself and only have to bring in an accountant once a year to look over the books for any tax liability. I also have a lawyer on retainer in case I need her.

What has been your most extravagant purchase?

I spent $3 million on my farm. 278 acres of rolling hills; about 35% pasture and 65% forested. Plenty of elevation, four significant streams, a developed spring and plenty of wild game.

Any hobbies for which you went completely crazy without $$ limits?

Well, my only persistent hobby over the years has been playing Civilization and watching Star Trek. I still do both of those things. I also play guitar but I bought a nice Taylor at first and that’s the last guitar I bought.

When I bought my farm, I built a pottery studio on one of the hills overlooking the property. It’s not for me though; the woman I dated in college majored in ceramics but she’s been out of my life for a long time. If she ever shows up in my life again, she’s welcome to it.

I have been known to fly to London on occasion to get a four pack of Korean hookers, but it’s not a regular thing.

Why Korean?

Because they are nice, fun, and playful. I’ve tried others. Eastern European hookers are fairly sloppy, not very polite, and seem very entitled. I had a weekend with a couple of Portuguese hookers once but they are rowdy. No shit; they will not stop fucking you until you pass out or the weekend is over.

How has your family, friends and love life been?

I told my family, who proceeded to take me to court to place me in a conservatorship to gain control of my assets. After the judge laughed them out of court, they started spreading rumors and gossip around my hometown about me to ruin my reputation. I haven’t been home since.

Most of my pre-lotto friends don’t speak to me anymore. They started asking me for money and when I told them “no” they would lash out saying things like “It’s not really your money” & “you shouldn’t get to decide what to do with it because you didn’t earn it”. They became bitter, resentful, and spiteful. Some of them asked me to help them “start a business” or “invest in this startup”. I’d ask them for a business plan or for more information and they’d bail.

Your family took you to court?

My parents filed the suit with affidavits from my three siblings as support. They wanted control of my money because, well, it’s mid-eight-figures USD and they are entitled, greedy, white-trash.

If your family had just been played it cool instead of the legal stuff and badmouthing you, is it safe to say they would of been well taken care of?

I would have been fair and generous. I mean, I did the fair and generous thing by telling them. I never had the best relationship with any of them, and really considered myself fortunate for getting out of my childhood alive. They are all toxic in one form or another; narcissists, assholes, Trump Republicans all. But I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Turns out, I was wrong.

So, realizing I had the resources to just up and say “Fuck off”, that’s what I did.

Is there anything you couldn’t do previously that you can do now that makes you happy?

Happy? Not really. I was pretty solid on the happiness front before.

I can say with relative certainty that I’m considerably more stress-free. I’ll be the first to admit that going to a job every day was a pain in the ass. I didn’t mind it, but I was only working so that I could retire and stop working.

I decided that I wanted more control over how I was living, and so, I bought the farm. I raise chickens, pigs, and rabbits for meat and I supplement that with hunting deer & turkey. I have a three acre pond stocked with catfish and lake trout.

I also take annual trips to Delaware to fish for lobster and to Louisiana to shrimp. I have Apple, pear, plum, pawpaw and persimmon orchards as well as blackberry, blueberry and elderberry groves. I grow my own barley and hops for beer and my own grapes for wine and I have gardens and grain fields to feed myself and my livestock.

I bought a 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible. I also have a beach house in addition to the farm and my house in town.

What’s your daily routine look like? And what do weekends look like now that money is essentially no object for you?

On the daily I wake up, have a coffee, feed the animals, take care of my money, do the rest of my farm chores, and chill.

On a good day on the farm, I can usually get all of my chores done by 3:00 pm and can then sit on the porch or on the patio, smoking weed and drinking some home brew.

If I’m at my house in the suburbs, I’ll wait for one of my neighbors and her daughter/sister to come over for some weed and sexy fun time.

Every day is a weekend. I don’t really pay attention to what day it is unless there’s something on TV I want to watch.

Whats your favorite part of your daily routine?

Settling into the bar in my basement with a beer and a smoke at the end of the day.

Any unexpected things you learned from being wealthier now?

  1. More money doesn’t make you any happier. I was happy before I won (and pretty good with money anyway.) I already had a retirement portfolio of $1.3 million and was on track to retire in my 50s. The only thing I can say is that my life is just simpler. I don’t owe anything to anyone: my time, my money, my attention, my feelings are all my own and I don’t have to do anything unless I want to.
  2. More money, more problems. The hustle never stops. I’ve increased my net worth 20% over my payout amount. It takes about 3-4 hours each day to look at my accounts and my investments and figure out what I’m going to do next. I’m constantly on the phone with lawyers, accountants and the agents for my LLCs dealing with administrative bullshit. Granted, I could sit back and just let it all shake out, but the horror stories you see on the news about those lottery winners who lose it all are true (if rare).
  3. Money talks, wealth whispers. It doesn’t take long at all for people to figure you out if you draw attention to yourself. I don’t show off. While it’s true that I have a beach house in Destin, I don’t ever take anyone with me when I go. I own a 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible, but I don’t drive it everyday.

Is there anything you would have done differently?

  1. Invest differently. I initially put a lot of my money in real estate, but the margin was too low and I lost a lot of wealth opportunity when I could have been investing in the market. I’ve since reallocated my portfolio to put about 95% of my money in the market (Short term corporate bonds, municipal bonds, large cap dividends, and emerging markets).

How true is it that most lottery winner go broke?

It’s not true at all.

The small minority of large jackpot winners who find themselves on the news because the lost it all are outliers.

If it were a widespread problem you’d hear about it more often, and with the increase in large jackpots, you’d hear about it more recently.

What advice would you give to someone who just won the lottery?

If you ever win a big jackpot, get a lawyer and tell him/her that you want to claim as anonymously as possible and then that you want to hide.

Don’t ever agree to pay the lawyer with a percentage of the winnings. If he/she is legit, they will agree to a set fee contingent upon claiming the jackpot; it should not exceed $100,000.

Then just show them what I did with the anonymous LLCs. It’s perfectly legal and will protect you. If they don’t believe you, find a different lawyer.

Do you think you could ever find true love?

I’ve found true love. I wasn’t emotionally intelligent enough to keep it.

Are you happy?

I’m just as happy as I was before the win.

President Biden continues his walk-back from a war with China

The US doesn’t have enough stockpiles of munitions or the industrial capacity to replenish them for a major military confrontation with China, a US think tank has warned, citing a series of war games it conducted.

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main qimg a2665a2fc63c9d0480d44c481038a75c lq

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has urged the stockpiling of ammo and of materials for producing them, and the offering to producers of better terms so that they have incentive to invest in new facilities.

The CSIS, a nonprofit that lists among its donors major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and General Dynamics, criticized the state of the US defense industry as inadequate for “today’s competitive environment.”

The production base cannot support a protracted, high-intensity conflict, the report released on Monday stated. The country ran low on certain weapons in the simulation, including Javelin and Stinger missiles, 155 mm howitzers and counter-artillery radars, as these had been sent to Ukraine.

In a possible conflict with China over Taiwan, which CSIS assessed may break out with little preparation time, this scenario may replicate.

“In nearly two dozen iterations of a CSIS war game that examined a US-China war in the Taiwan Strait, the United States typically expended more than 5,000 long-range missiles in three weeks of conflict: 4,000 JASSMs, 450 LRASMs, 400 Harpoons, and 400 Tomahawk land-attack missiles (TLAMs),” the report said.

The think tank predicted that LRASMs, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, would be of particular importance, considering that the Chinese navy would likely impose a blockade of the self-governed island.

The US used up its inventory of those weapons in the first week in every iteration of the modelled conflict, CSIS noted, adding that the weapon’s production time is two years.

The report identified a number of underlying weaknesses, including the Pentagon’s status as a sole buyer of weapons, and its acquisition rules, which prioritize “efficiency and cost control over speed and capacity.”

Producers don’t enjoy predictable demand for munitions, which could be provided by multiyear contracts, for example, the report explained. So investing seriously in capital and personnel “is not a sound business decision” for them.

The US regulations for weapons exports mean that getting through the pipeline takes extra months, even years. Some advanced weapons offered by China and Russia get a competitive edge because of this, and due to their lower prices, the report said.

Taiwan missile failure

Recently, the Taiwanese XF-3 missile theodolite, known as the “carrier killer” by the Taiwan military, failed.

It was sent to the Swiss Leica company for repair. The Swiss Leica company transferred it to the Asian maintenance center, which is located in Qingdao, Shandong, China.

Finally, it was sent back to Taiwan from Qingdao, Shandong.

Part of Taiwan’s most advanced missile sent to mainland China for repairs

The island’s top military research unit said it had determined that no data had been leaked or malware installed on the optical instrument

This strange part of Taiwan can be summed up in one sentence: The civil officials are indolent and the military officers frivolous.

Taiwanese don’t have any hope for the Taiwanese army!

Any Taiwanese who has served as a soldier in Taiwan knows that once the Taiwanese soldiers encounter the PLA they will only be slaughtered unilaterally.

TRADING HALTED IN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE AFTER OPENING PLUMMET – “GLITCH?”

At the 9:30 AM opening of the New York Stock Exchange today, Tuesday, January 24, a number of VERY LARGE stocks suddenly PLUMMETED at least twelve percent (12%) triggering Regulatory Halting of trades in those stocks.  Huge corporations like Exxon, AT&T, Verizon, Wells Fargo Bank, Morgan Stanley, and also some 40 other stocks on the S&P 500, all had to be HALTED by market regulators. Something big seems to be up . . .

Let me take just a moment to remind you of COVERT INTEL which I reported to Subscribers on January 15.  That COVERT INTEL said:

I don’t know what to make of this, but the subject is one which is important, so I’m passing this along to all of you, just in case.

I was contacted this morning by a source in the financial industry.  Below is PRECISELY what he told me:

"Almost a Trillion dollars has hit the blockchain in just 72 hours as the Federal Government has a big announcement to make on January 20, about the Banking system, over possibly an issue of solvency.

The S&P this week will likely see 20-40% falls and banks all get their share prices hit as the rumors start to circulate over what is about to happen."

The original link to this COVERT INTEL story is HERE

Of course, none of that actually took place during the week it was forecast . . . but here we are, the very NEXT week, and WHAM, this . . . . “Glitch???” hits the markets at the opening bell.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I had gotten Covert Intel which I reported to all of you on January 15 (Story Here) I would just chalk today’s moves up to a “glitch.”  Somehow, though, given what I reported on the 15th, I don’t think today’s move was a glitch . . . at all.

The stocks that were suspended from trading briefly today include:

StocksTradingHALTED TheseStocks
StocksTradingHALTED TheseStocks

When trading RESUMED, the stocks all __seemed__ to “bounce back up” but right now, no one knows WHY they plummeted and no one knows WHY they rebounded so fast.   Did the markets “cancel” the sell orders? We don’t know.   Where those sell orders invalid?  We don’t know.

What if they were, in fact, all valid???????    We just don’t know.   The people in the markets who know . . .  aren’t saying anything.  That bothers me a lot.

If they could point to a glitch and say “here’s what caused it” that would be good.  Them not saying anything seems to me, to be bad.

As most of my regular readers know, I went into hospital Monday for Angioplasty, to deal with new clogs in my coronary arteries.  I reported to my readers that for a month or so, I’ve been getting pains in my chest similar to the ones I got before my first heart attack, and I went to my Cardiologist who told me we had better go in with a camera and take a look.

I got that procedure done yesterday.  I was on the operating table for two hours as Docs probed my heart arteries, found serious new blockages, and ultimately had to insert a now-second stent in my Left Anterior Descending artery to re-establish good blood flow.  They also had to Angioplasty several other arteries to stretch them with a balloon-type device, to get them flowing better.  So I had real heart issues . . .  again.

I was released from hospital around 9:00 AM today, and was on my way home when all this stuff hit with the Stock Market.

Now, I admit I am behind the curve as far as looking into what’s really going on, because of my hospital situation, but no matter how you view it, glitch or otherwise, this is serious.

I am reaching out to my Intel contacts and will report what I am told on tonight’s radio show beginning at 9:00 PM eastern US time.

Interesting description of the “movie film frames” as time “slowed down”…

Funny Cartoons From The New Yorker That Will Definitely Crack You Up

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The New Yorker is known for showcasing some of the funniest satirical illustrations in print today, and these are some of the best ones.

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Seven (7) B-52’s Recorded Flying over Long Island out to the Atlantic Ocean toward Europe

A young guy on Long Island who video records aircraft and does Astronomy hobby work, went out of his house of Long Island today to video a 747 taking off.  As he turned his camera west, he caught SEVEN (7) US Air Force B-52’s flying eastward out into the Atlantic toward Europe .

We know that at least four (4) B-52’s will be participating with an Israeli military drill wherein they “simulate” bombing Iran nuclear facilities, so if any of these planes are heading there, then where are the others going?  Ukraine?

Tex-Mex Chili Cheese Supreme

A delicious layered Tex-Mex casserole using three different cheeses.

Freezer Meals Southern Style Chili Header 1200x627 1
Freezer Meals Southern Style Chili Header 1200×627 1

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
  • 1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped
  • 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
  • 1 (15 ounce) carton Wisconsin ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups shredded Wisconsin Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
  • 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 (8 ounce) bag tortilla chips
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Sharp Wisconsin cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Sauté green bell pepper and garlic until tender.
  2. Add kidney beans. Set aside.
  3. In saucepan, combine tomatoes, tomato sauce and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
  4. Add to kidney bean mixture. Combine ricotta and Monterey Jack cheeses, chiles, onions and eggs.
  5. Spread 1/4 of cheese mixture evenly in greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish.
  6. Arrange 1/4 of chips over cheese.
  7. Spread 1/4 of tomato mixture over chips. Repeat layer 3 more times.
  8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes.
  9. Remove foil and top with cheddar cheese and bake 10 to 15 minutes more.
  10. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

People Who Were Taught Abstinence Only Education Reveal The Ridiculous Things They Were Taught About Sex

 

1. We had a teacher unwrap a piece of candy and pass it around the room. The last person was asked if they would eat the candy after everyone had touched it. This was meant to symbolize purity or some shit but was foiled when my friend ate the candy lmao

2. The teacher said that you can only really love one sexual partner and that’s why it’s so important that your spouse be your first and only partner. One of my classmates raised her hand and said, “My mom died when I was a baby and my dad’s been married to my stepmom for ten years. Does that mean he only loves one of them?”

The teacher just looked uncomfortable and moved on to how premarital sex causes depression.

3. I was given a diagram of the female anatomy in which the clitoris had been erased– as in someone went into MS paint and whited it out on a line drawing of the exterior of the vulva. The urethra, vagina, labia, anus were labelled, and then at the top of the labia, it was whited out.

4. Don’t shower while on your period, you will stop bleeding and then you will have gyno problems. Girls that wear thongs are going to damage their genitals.

5. My church based sex ed claimed that foreplay involved things like reciting poetry to one another or playing the violin together.

I guess their plan was for us to be so bad at foreplay we’d never have sex.

6. When your penis touches a girl’s private parts she gets pregnant.

7. That you only have a finite amount of love to give and if you give it away to people before you’re married you won’t have any left for your partner

8. Condoms have microscopic holes and don’t actually prevent pregnancy and definitely will not stop you from getting AIDS because the virus is so small it will magically go through the latex.

9. The school loved to teach “Sex will always result in pregnancy, and with abortion being the unforgivable sin you’re damned if you get pregnant, same if you terminate it, and a load of other sh*t…

They changed things after a kid whos folks knew the teacher asked if it happens every time, why don’t you have one?

(she had been having fertility issues for awhile)

  • Yes the teacher lost her cool and sent him to the office. We never got told anything aside from they were pulling the class? I mean lets be real, it was a small town about 15yrs ago at a religious school, word got out and they had to do damage control.
  • and yes, this kid was ruthless when he wanted to be

10. That the actual vagina opening is as small as the tip of a pencil. I also never knew women didn’t pee from their vaginas until I was 16. I’m 19 now and learned more from shitposts on the internet than I ever had in school.

11. The instructor gave all the boys in the class chewing gum and let them chew on it for a few minutes. Then she asked them if any of them wanted to share. Of course none did. Then she asked if they didn’t want to share gum, why would they want to share sex partners?

This was in a co-ed class so all the girls in the class got to see too.

12. I can’t think of anything cuh-razy, but I think it’s because we generally weren’t told much at all. They tried to scare us – condoms aren’t effective, chances are super high you’ll get an STD or get pregnant, watch this horrific slide show of worst-case-scenario STDs and then watch this video of crying women who regret the abortion they got after getting pregnant from their first sexual encounter.

But most topics were just vaguely circled. Some super uncomfortable, young youth pastor came and “educated” us, but he would only refer to genitalia as the “underwear zone.” We were able to write questions on a slip of paper to be answered anonymously, but he only read about 10% of them and deemed the rest inappropriate.

Shocker, we had a lot of teenage pregnancies.

13. We were shown a video where a lady said she could tell if a girl was a virgin just by looking into her eyes. The implication was that premarital sex causes your spirit to die so that you become just a shell with nothing to offer.

I’m sure you can guess that she didn’t say the same applied for the boys, as if teenage girls are the only ones to blame for anyone having premarital sex.

14. I was in an all girls Abstinence class in middle school and they said you will get pregnant if you have sex before marriage. They never mentioned protection

9th grade year, I took another sexual education class and the class was once again only speaking about abstinence and how you will get pregnant if you decide not to wait. Unlike in middle school, they briefly spoke ONLY about condoms and the teacher basically stated they don’t work. I’m a senior rn and throughout highschool, I’ve seen many pregnant girls.

Schools need to understand that only speaking about abstinence is NOT the approach to take. People aren’t going to wait until marriage so instead of scaring young folks, just teach them HOW to be safe.

15. That every time I (a girl) had sex I was giving away a part of my soul. So each sex partner whittled away bits of my soul. If I had sex before marriage my god-given husband would only get a tiny scrap instead of a full half and thus wouldn’t be able to love me as much as he would if I’d waited? Honestly it’s pretty confusing. This was taught in my Christian private school.

16. Condoms don’t always work so it’s better to not use them.

If you ejaculate on a girl (yes, “on”) she will get pregnant. Regardless of if you had sex or not.

Boys get so horny sometimes they can’t control themselves. So girls, it’s up to you to remove temptation for the boys.

Birth control pills disrupt a girl’s hormones so badly she will become barren.

17. I was taught in school that self pleasure was also a sin. So as a young girl discovering her body, every time I masterbated, I’d cry because I thought I was going to hell.

I don’t know how many times I prayed to God asking for forgiveness.

18. Being raised in a Catholic country, we actually had “Religion” class in high-school (2 hrs per week). In that class, the teacher (sometimes a priest, sometimes a highly devout teacher) would touch on sex. Here is one thing I heard repeatedly:

“How will your spouse feel about your love, if you loved so many people before? Will it be as meaningful? It cheapens your love for your spouse”

Sometimes they would talk about molecular structure of a condom and HIV virus:

“Don’t have sex even with a condom – the microscopic holes in rubber are 20-100 times larger than HIV virus so you can still get it”

Active Duty NATO-Country Troops Found Beheaded and Hands Cut-off in Soledar Ukraine

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2023 02 01 17 06

Russian troops making successful progress into Soledar, Ukraine, are coming upon hideous scenes. Former ACTIVE-DUTY NATO TROOPS, with their HEADS and HANDS CUT-OFF to prevent/Delay their identification. Ukraine is desperate to conceal NATO active troops fighting Russians.

The brief video below contains horrifying and graphic images of the dead bodies of NATO active duty troops, beheaded and without hands. The video shows gruesome and horrifying images of actual death. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Here’s How People From The Past Imagined The Future

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Let’s face it – most of us would like to see what the future holds. And while that’s not really possible, it did not stop some people in the past from trying – often with some pretty optimistic results.

When it comes to predictions of the future, it’s a hit-or-miss situation – while some people actually managed to predict it rather accurately, many of them look pretty hilarious today. From rolling bakeries to luxurious flying hotels – check out a collection of future predictions from the past in the gallery below!

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Sloppy Joe Casserole

Sloppy Joe Casserole 8
Sloppy Joe Casserole 8

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon Slap Ya Mama Original Blend Cajun Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup Love Corn Corn Nuts
  • 1 cup Fritos,slightly crushed
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F, and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the ground beef with the onions and garlic until cooked through about 5-7 minutes. Break the ground beef into crumbles as it cooks.
  3. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl add ketchup, Slap Ya Mama Original Blend Cajun Seasoning, chili powder, brown sugar and Worcestershire. Mix until well combined.
  4. Pour the sloppy joe sauce into the cooked ground beef and mix until it is completely coated. Then pour the sloppy joe mixture into the prepared pan.
  5. Top with Love Corn Corn Nuts, Fritos, and shredded Cheddar cheese.
  6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese, is melted and bubbly.
  7. Take out of the oven and top with green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Yield: 6 servings | Total time: 35 min

Well, fellas. It’s been nice while it lasted.

Pepe Escobar
January 31, 2023
Sit back, relax and enjoy a race to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The only question is who will get there first: the EU, NATO, or both. 

One may be excused to imagine all sorts of amusement games unrolling at the HQ of the Russian General Staff as The Empire and NATO go literally bonkers. What crazy stunt will they come up with next – short of WWIII?

Here is a delightful put down of NATO’s dementia praecox. Everything so far has failed, from “crippling sanctions” to all sorts of wunderwaffen, while the whole Global South marvels at the exploits of Wagner PMC – now configured as the planet’s top urban fighting machine.

CIA mouthpiece Washington Post duly released how Washington, once again, had the Liver Sausage Chancellor Scholz for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The idea was floated by Secretary of State Tony Blinken: let’s announce we will deliver M1 Abrams to Ukraine in a hazy, unspecified future, thus providing cover for Scholz to release the Leopards now.

Don’t you just love German sovereignty in action?

Every military analyst with an IQ over room temperature knows all those Leopards will be duly incinerated – or better yet, captured, and dissected by Russian military specialists.

So what happens next is yet another vector of the – very successful so far – U.S.-unleashed German de-industrualization racket: the Americans will invade the German industrial military complex with their “much improved” Abrams – which may perhaps arrive in 2024, when only a rump Ukraine may still exist, or never arrive at all. So no need for the Abrams to prove themselves in actual combat – as in being captured and/or incinerated.

Rumors in Washington advance that the U.S. “strategy” in Ukraine – extensively detailed by endless think tank reports – had to be adapted. It’s not about “defeating Russia” anymore, but providing Kiev with the means to “scare” Russia. The Russian General Staff must be trembling in their boots.

Meanwhile, in real life, nearly every possible scenario gamed in Washington and Brussels finishes with NATO like a giant, armoured version of Wile E. Coyote plunging to the depths of the Grand Canyon. And that happens even if the much ballyhooded “Big Arrow” Russian offensive starts in a few days or weeks, or never starts at all.

Arguably the Russian General Staff has concluded a long time ago there’s no point in reducing Ukraine to rubble in a matter of hours – something they could easily accomplish. Thus the fabled mincing machine approach – offering no excuses for NATO to “escalate” (which they continue to do anyway, as Jens “War is Peace” Stoltenberg is so fond of parroting).

The trick is that NATO’s escalation overdrive, as it happens, is somewhat controlled by the Russian General Staff, which is always calculating which optimal maneuvers will consume NATO’s military hardware faster. Call it a Russian version of the popular axiom “frog in a boiling pot doesn’t realize it’s being cooked until it croaks.”

Attacking Russia-China-Iran

Absolute desperation is now graphically extrapolating into attacks on Iran. Both Russia and China have Iran as their key ally in West Asia for the whole, complex process of Eurasia integration; strategic partnerships interlink the trio.

So attacking the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan with drones – total fail – and bombing an IRGC convoy of humanitarian aid crossing from Iraq to Syria is a serious U.S.-Israel-coordinated provocation.

Essentially these are also attacks against Russia and China. Israel cannot lift its hand or foot without U.S. permission. Iranian intel may be able to establish how the Straussian neo-con and neoliberal-con cabal in charge of U.S. foreign policy authorized if not ordered these attacks, which of course are directly connected to NATO’s desperation in Ukraine.

When in doubt, just come back to Zbig “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski: “Potentially, the most dangerous scenario would be a grand coalition of China, Russia and perhaps, Iran, an ‘anti-hegemonic’ coalition united not by ideology but by contemporary grievances. It would be reminiscent in scale and scope of the challenge once posed by the Sino-Soviet bloc.”

And mirroring Ukraine/Russia there’s of course Taiwan/China.

As Credit Suisse strategist Zoltan Pozsar has extensively explained, if Taiwan manufactures chips for U.S. missiles Washington then sends to Taiwan for its “self-defense”, but Taiwan needs to wait because the missiles are needed in Ukraine instead, or chips can’t be shipped to the U.S. owing to a possible sea and air blockade imposed by China, the Americans will be operationally ill-equipped to support their two-front war against peer competitors Russia and China.

Bye bye Pax Americana. It’s the fear, actually paranoia, of a destroyed Taiwan – and the destruction in every scenario would be provoked by the Americans themselves – that has led the Straussian neo-con and neoliberal-con cabal to demand their chips be Made in USA.

On the energy front, since U.S. energy costs are low, Washington gambled that much of the deindustrialization of Germany would revert to American benefit. Yet since Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil prices are lower than the U.S., not much production may be shifting to the Hegemon: it will go to China.

To the bottom of the Grand Canyon!

The January 10 joint declaration between EU-NATO graphically shows how the EU is no more than the P.R. arm of NATO.

This NATO-EU joint mission consists in using all economic, political and military means to make sure the “jungle” always behaves according to the “rules-based international order” and accepts to be plundered ad infinitum by the “blooming garden”.

So in the end what’s left of “Europe”, when it’s NATO – actually Washington – that really rules?

“Europe”, according to relentless propaganda, means defending “our values” – as in peace, democracy and prosperity. The trick is that unelected elites forced the implicit identification of this imagined, practically sacred “Europe” with the European Union. And that’s how the EU has acquired a mythical identity.

Of course, in real life the EU – as in the real, politically organized “Europe” – has performed as a toxic instrument of division among European peoples.

Instead of peace, it has invested in all-out rabid war against Russia. The EU is arguably the most democratically irresponsible institution on the planet: spend a day in Brussels and you understand everything. And instead of prosperity, the EU has institutionalized austerity.

So sit back, relax and enjoy a race to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The only question is who will get there first: the EU, NATO, or both.

Comics With Twisted Endings For People With A Dark Sense Of Humor

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If there were fifty shades of darkness in comics, these would be next-level dark. French art director and comic artist Rémi Lascault has been shaking the online world with his very dark jokes since 2017 and 60.4K followers on Instagram can’t get enough.

Lascault’s four-panel comics don’t need any dialogue to put the unexpected grim twist at the end that will probably make you feel a little bad for laughing. The artist describes his style as “rough,” and says that the most challenging part is “coming up with the right stupid joke and twisting it in a not-so-stupid way.” As a result, we get witty comics that seem normal in the first two panels and quickly go to absurd, weird, and somewhat creepy places.

These comics were designed especially for people with dark humor, so consume at your own risk! And if it’s not dark enough for you, check out more of the artist’s ideas in his previous posts here and here.

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Trainload of U.S. Heavy Armor Moving East (Ukraine?)

The brief video below shows a VERY long train of US military armor heading east in Kansas, possibly for Europe (Ukraine).  Self-propelled artillery, M1 Abrams Tanks, and scores of Bradley Fighting vehicles, are clearly visible.

While the destination is unknown, Europe/Ukraine seems likely.

Washington, DC is clearly moving to a war footing, while the American people are being kept blissfully unaware.

Natasha Wright
January 31, 2023
Davos annual meeting comes across as rather outdated and obsolete with its now heavily tarnished global image all the more so.

While geopolitics is threatening to deal a heavy blow and most probably demolish the world created in the cauldrons of Davos, as has the Financial Times voiced their concerns, and surely not without a series of justifiable reasons, one of the unexpected leaders of the Global South, Indian PM Narenda Modi, rebelliously self-confident, said in his address to the world: “Our time is yet to come. We are all those who are not the Collective West ‘made to Davos measure”. Moreover, even the U.S. CNN couldn’t help noticing, this year’s Davos meeting (aka the Davos annual “gab fest” as Rowan Dean, Sky News Australia famously called it) has attracted a record number of visits but its relevance appears to be dwindling and slowly but surely vanishing into political void. Davos annual meeting comes across as rather outdated and obsolete with its now heavily tarnished global image all the more so.

The overwhelming fear this year’s WEF in Davos is frantically obsessing about internalizes the fact that the long-lasting period of peace and prosperity and global economic integrations is regrettably drawing to an end – not even the Financial Times try to handle the perils of their own pessimism in that they seem to specify to the smallest minutiae, who did prosper in that famous and infamous Collective West in the period of global integration, which has existed so far but is in a terribly precarious position now.

The conflict in Ukraine has shown the ways the war can suddenly sever the ties in economic relations on the foundations of which the globalization has been built so far. The European Union seems to be drastically reducing the import of Russian energy supplies and in so doing it further foments the inflation in Europe and renders some of its industries grotesquely uncompetitive and regrettably redundant. The politicians and industrial moguls are now casting scrutinizing looks along the horizon and beyond, in their comically concerted effort to possibly spot the next ominously pernicious threat. It sounds only too eerie that the London-based newspaper forecasts with a proverbial admonishing finger in midair. The U.S. channel says that this year in Davos, one cannot help noticing the absence of U.S. President Biden, the French President Emanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on one hand and the leaders of India and China Xi and Modi on the other. Some of them were obliged not to attend because of the backlash on their home turfs because Davos has become the toxic symbol of inequality and brutally merciless international capitalism.

There is surely a very good reason for this tarnished reputation, because in the last two years apparently, 1% of the richest of the rich have accumulated even two times bigger “new riches” than the rest of the world altogether. Those leaders who believe this is “not OK” such as Xi and Modi, did not attend Davos because they were otherwise engaged and they had to prioritize. But to get back to truly serious world leaders, PM Modi was absent for a good reason because instead of WEF, he addressed his audience in the Voice of the Global South Summit. Unlike that overwhelmingly pathetic pessimism in Davos, Modi’s voice was brimming with rebellious optimism. It is blatantly obvious that the world is in the grip of the global crisis. It is difficult to foresee how long this state of uncertainty will last – Modi started his elaboration and then went on to get across what is to come next. “We shall have the biggest share in this in the future. Three quarters of mankind live in our countries and we need to have an impact commensurate with that share and number. Therefore, whilst the eight decade long global governance behind us is gradually changing, we need to aspire to shape the emerging world order. The peoples and nations in the global South should not be deprived of the fruits of the global development out of purely selfish reasons. It is incumbent on all of us together to reconstruct our common political and financial governance. Only that can multiply our opportunities and increase prosperity”. All that, Modi points out, may happen with the respect for all nations, rule of law and peaceable resolution of all differences and disputes and the reform of international institutions, including that of the UN, so as to render them more relevant.

By the way, Russia has publicly supported this request by India to be granted the continual seat in the UN Security Council. “Despite the challenges the world is facing I remain an optimist,” Modi sends a clear resounding message. “Our time is coming. In the past century we have been helping each other in our struggle against foreign governance. We can do that again in this century so as to create the new world order, which will in turn ensure the well – being of our citizens” – says Modi. And not only him. An almost identical message was sent from Cairo, Egypt. After a meeting with the Arab League officials, the new Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang said “We have agreed to work together towards creating the new world order based on the rule of law and equality of the whole humanity, dedication to human values of the whole civilization together with their adamant refusing to politicize human rights issues and their (ab)use as a mere political ploy to interfere in the internal affairs of individual sovereign countries.” He did not utter this out loud and there was no need to do any such thing other than in this Qin Gang’s filigree diplomatic style, though it was blatantly obvious who Qin Gang was referring to.

Truth be told, the clear signs of the new non-Western world order are rapidly proliferating. Not only that 85 % of mankind have not joined “the Collective Biden” sanctions against Russia but as an example, thanks to these sanctions, India is now importing 33 times more from Russia than before. Iran, regardless of the U.S. sanctions on them, is now exporting more of its oil than before the sanctions. And the Republic of South Africa, as one very good but a somewhat different example, is dismissing the raging wrath expressed by the Collective West because of their (i.e. South African) marine military exercises with Russia recently. But as its key point, after Xi Jinping announced in Ryadh recently that China will be paying Saudi Arabia for Saudi oil in yuan, the Saudi Finance Minister confirms with a dollop of irony from Davos that the situation is abundantly clear that they will not sell oil exclusively in U.S. dollars. And, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Naledi Pandor reveals that more or less since 2014 the BRICS countries have been working hard on creating an alternative to the dollar system. All the projections tend to indicate that by 2030 China and India economies will be the biggest economies in the world and Russia will graciously overtake the economies of Germany and Japan.

The new world order is not a mere buzzword for the idle ones any more. One cannot but wonder who will shape it and in what manner: economically, financially and politically. Will the Collective West do their diabolical best to prevent that from happening by resorting to what they have always done: the truly global world war and possibly aided with nukes?

She is so articulate! Her ability to explain her experiences is maybe the best I have listened to.

Bride-To-Be’s ‘Monster-In-Law’ Won’t Allow Her To Wear The Makeup She Wants And Her Future Husband Is On His Mother’s Side

Some people have dreamed about their wedding from when they are little and almost have it all planned in their heads. Even if you don’t particularly care about the ceremony, you still have preferences for color, style and other things.

While those decisions should be made by the future groom and bride as it is their wedding, sometimes parents get overly involved. But this woman not only has to bear her mother-in-law who proclaimed herself as the wedding supervisor, but her husband isn’t on her side either. They got in a fight over what makeup she should wear and she now thinks that she might have overreacted over a minor detail.

More info: Reddit

Woman is getting married and after compromising on what dress she should wear, she is not stepping down about her makeup

The Original Poster (OP) is the future bride and she wasn’t planning on marrying her fiancé any time soon, but when the couple told his parents that she is pregnant, they wanted it to happen immediately. Most probably it has to do with the fact that the family is conservative, as the woman described it.

The parents not only want the couple to get married as soon as possible, but the OP’s mother-in-law wants to know about every decision so she can make sure nothing could be seen as “offensive.”

Bored Panda reached out to Scott R. Braithwaite, Ph.D., a Professor at Department of Psychology at Brigham Young University and a researcher whose main interests center on preventing marital distress and divorce as well as enhancing marital health, which involves an intervention called ePREP that he developed.

The Professor explained to us what may be the reasons behind the parents wanting to be so involved in their children’s weddings. The question we should be asking is whether weddings are for the couple or for their parents, “The answer people give probably depends mostly on whether they are the couple or whether they are the parents. In any case, parents often see a wedding as a public report card signaling how they did as parents. Because of this, they are eager to manage the situation so that they come across looking as successful as possible.”

The groom’s family is conservative and his mom is supervising the wedding to avoid any decisions that could offend anyone

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2023 01 25 12 58

At first the mother-in-law warned the bride-to-be not to show too much skin with her wedding dress, but when she tried to control what makeup the woman will be wearing, the OP was not willing to step down.

The problem is that it was OP’s husband who pointed out that his mom wouldn’t like the bold makeup looks that the woman preferred. When she saw what her MIL suggested, they were very natural looks that didn’t even include eyeshadow or noticeable lipstick.

The husband demanded a compromise because he felt that she would look like a clown and embarrass them both in front of everyone. Because it was not only her face, as there is no distinction between “mine” and “yours” in marriage, according to him.

Professor Braithwaite comments on the man’s understanding of marriage as many people in the comments were quite concerned about this view, “In an ideal situation, both partners retain their individual sense of self but choose to come together to create a new whole that is greater than the sum of its parts—that is interdependence. This process is complicated and can lead to a lot of growing pains as a couple moves from the independence of single life to the interdependence of marriage. A risk in this process is losing one’s sense of self, which can lead to dependence. Dependence seems romantic but is unhealthy. It leads to an enmeshed relationship where it’s not clear when one partner ends, and the other begins.”

Firstly, she didn’t like the dress as she thought it revealed too much and the bride agreed to change it.

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2023 01 25 12 59

These little disagreements may be surfacing only because everyone is irritated and stressed about the upcoming wedding, but it’s hard to say what actually is going on their minds, but “The idea that the husband is aligning with his mother and not his wife is a little concerning, even if the wife is being undiplomatic.”

It could be that there is a deeper issue and Scott R. Braithwaite adds “Good communication about what’s really going on is probably important in the situation. They are quibbling over technical details when something more significant is happening deep below the surface.” So he would suggest the couple to figure out how to talk about those issues instead of focusing in problem-solving to improve the situation.

But when the mother-in-law also sent in the makeup looks she envisioned the bride wearing, the woman was upset that they were too natural and not her style

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2023 01 25 13 00

Although a wedding is a union between two people, it usually involves more relatives. The father will accompany his daughter to the altar and will have the first dance with her. Sisters and brothers usually become bridesmaids and groomsmen. Your aunt and cousins help you to choose which dress looks good on you, etc.

But sometimes relatives want to be more involved than the bride and groom would want, especially their parents. And naturally, that leads to conflicts, because even if you are not planning anything big or extravagant, they will have a different opinion on something.

What is worse, her future husband agreed with his mother and didn’t want her to look like a clown and embarrass them both.

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2023 01 25 13 01

It is easier when you and your partner are on the same page, but if one of them sides with their parent, it becomes even more difficult. Conscious Rethink suggests that this is the first problem to be solved: “You need to make it very clear to your husband that the two of you are a united team, and that you need to make decisions for yourselves, regardless of what his parents might think or want.”

From there, it is easier to tell the parents your opinion and disagree with them. “Just know that the more you and your husband can stand up and stand firm, the more his parents will eventually get the message. They may resent you somewhat for it, but unless they are particularly toxic individuals, they should back down sooner or later.”

It is unclear if the parents in the story are particularly toxic and if the husband sides with his mom because he is used to not fighting with her or if he actually agrees with her. However, people in the comments made their assumptions and believe that the bride should run.

The first red flag is that OP’s future husband sides with his mom, so it means that she will have to deal with her interfering with their relationship all the time. They were also weirded out how the man remarked that in marriage, the wife’s body belongs to him when she tried to argue that it’s her face and she can do whatever she wants with it.

When the OP asked if she was wrong to call her fiancé delusional, people thought that it was the exact word that best describes him. Do you agree? Do you think that this behavior before marriage is an indication of what waits after? Let us know in the comments.

People didn’t think that the woman would be happy in this marriage and that her mother-in-law’s behavior is just the beginning

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MM Final Comments…

Who you marry will be the greatest influence on your life.

They can either destroy you completely or raise you up to heights that you are even unable to dream of.

Choose wisely.

Scientists have uncovered a massive 2,000-year-old Maya site hidden under a Guatemalan rainforest

According to the White house, the economy is entering a short-lived, controllable period of temporary inflation. However, everyone is employed, the stock market is soaring, and a “new American century” is starting under the bright military leadership of President Biden. Russia is going to collapse any day now, as the Ukraine war is ending. And China’s electronic industry has been set back 100 years or more.

According to the American mainstream news media, things appear to be worse than they really are. The stock market is climbing. The GDP of America is growing. People have tons of disposable money to watch Hollywood movies, and while there are some rumblings of discontent, it’s really overblown. Inflation isn’t really that bad.

According to American bloggers, a civil war is on the horizon. Prepper sites are all the rage and a nuclear war is a real concern. Inflation is far worse than what is reported. President Biden has dementia, and the government is run behind the scenes by a cabal of neocons.

According to both Russia and China, the world is in a state of change. The uni-polar global governance (led by the USA) is ending. The Untied States is collapsing, and the rest of the world needs to step up and try to manage the collapse of the United States so that only the West hurts itself.

I am going to “throw in my two cents”. It’s only my opinion as an American living OUTSIDE the USA, peering through the veil.

According to myself, it appears that the United States is unraveling. It appears that Strauss and Howe’s “Fourth Turning” is really manifesting and coming true right on schedule. It appears that the CIA remote viewing of 2025 (back in 2008) and reported in the Deagal Report, is right spot on , and on target.

Typically, for the last 100 years, the United States has bounced back and forth from one extreme to the other, but lately the period of bounce has been accelerated. The blatant store robberies, the in-you-face murders, the hate-hate-hate narrative in most social media, and the suppression of voices of all types are signs of a collapse of society. Car jackings. Closed malls and main-street store-fronts. Police activity and inactivity. It’s all worrisome symptoms.

I can only conclude…

  • The USA government functions on a trivial level. It appears to work, but it’s completely broken.
  • Society has collapsed, people realize this, but do not realize the extent of it.
  • The military as powerful as it appears, is not up for the many conflicts that President Biden is initiating.
  • Most Americans are pessimistic of the future, and they have good reason to be concerned.

What can be done?

It’s not my place any longer. But I would advise that everyone let the scenarios fester, and allow the old to rot and decay. Then allow a new, in what ever form is best for the participants, to grow and nurture for the good of all Americans, as well as for the good of the world.

But that’s just my opinion.

25 Rare And Cool Polaroid Prints Of Teen Girls In The 1970s

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Mini Meatball and Vegetable Soup

This soup is hearty and delicious. Mixed vegetables and mini beef meatballs make for a perfect casual dinner.

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2023 01 23 08 59

Cook’s Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef (80% to 85% lean)
  • 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 (14 to 14 1/2 ounce) can ready-to-serve beef broth
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3 cups frozen vegetable blend (such as green beans, corn and peas)
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine tomatoes, broth and 1/2 cup water in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile combine ground beef, bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons water in medium bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 48 small meatballs.
  3. Add meatballs and vegetables to broth mixture; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

Yield: 4 servings

The World of the Wild (and Not-so-Wild) West: A Paintings by Morgan Weistling

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Morgan Weistling is an American painter who paints the everyday life and characters of the Wild West. An accomplished painter, Weistling is skilled in both paint and printmaking, creating truly inspiring paintings of beauty and danger. Weistling’s paintings have won multiple awards and been purchased for permanent display by major museums.

More: Morgan Weistling, Instagram

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Artist Imitators Thrive in China’s Famous Oil Painting Village

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An artist working on his painting outside a gallery at the artist village on June 12, 2014 in Shenzhen, China. The Dafen Artist Village in Guangdong province, China, is home to thousands of artists who reproduce some of the world’s most iconic paintings as well as create their own works. The village, on the outskirts of Shenzhen, is becoming a major center for original Chinese art.

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Chicken Soup Mexicana

All of your favorite Mexican flavors mix together in this soup while the canola oil and avocado supply healthy fats. ¡Muy delicioso!

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2023 01 22 22 10

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup/250 mL)
  • 4 celery stalks, sliced (about 1 cup/250 mL)
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 0.5 mL
  • 2 teaspoons cumin 10 mL
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 5 mL
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock 2 L
  • 2/3 cup lentils 150 mL
  • 1 (19 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped 540 mL
  • 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup/ 250 mL)
  • 2 pounds cooked chicken, cubed 1 kg (about 7 cups/1.75 L)
  • 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup/75 mL)
  • 1 cup frozen peas 250 mL
  • 1 small avocado, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 cup/125 mL)

Instructions

  1. In Dutch oven, heat canola oil. Add garlic, onion and celery. Sauté until vegetables are tender.
  2. Season with black pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes.
  3. Add chicken stock, lentils, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
  4. Add chicken, zucchini and peas. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender.
  5. Garnish with avocado slices.

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 50 min | Yield: 10 (2 cup) servings

LiDAR Reveals Massive Mobilization of Labor Needed to Build Maya Site

Maya site
Maya site

Scientists have uncovered a massive 2,000-year-old Maya site hidden under a Guatemalan rainforest, comprising of nearly 1,000 urban settlements interconnected by 160 km (100 miles) of causeways across 1,700 square kilometers (650 square miles). LiDAR technology is revealing unknown details about the history of the Maya, long believed to be one of human history’s most sophisticated cultures.

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LiDAR technology of Maya site has revealed nearly 1,000 settlements hidden beneath the rainforest in Guatemala. (Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0 )

Evidence of Advanced Society Revealed by LiDAR Technology at Maya Site

Light detection and ranging aerial scanning technology, with its remote sensing pulsed-laser mechanism, is able to penetrate through the densest of ecosystems and vegetation. The laser light bounces off surfaces to create a digitally reconstructed map, based on the time taken by the pulses to return to a receiver. Some of these LiDAR finds in the Central American rainforests have revealed vital details and information about the sheer sophistication of urban Maya society.

These finds, published in the December 2022 edition of the research journal Ancient Mesoamerica , reveal a site hidden below a rainforest which dates to the Middle (1000 to 400 BC) and Late (400 BC to 250 AD) Preclassic period. This time frame is contemporaneous with the sack of the ancient Elamite capital of Susa by Assyria, the destruction of the Temple of Solomon by the Babylonians, and the Greco-Persian Wars .

Several large platforms and pyramids, along with canals and reservoirs used for water collection, are part of the discovery by renowned historians and geologists, including those from the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala. “Many of these settlements demonstrate a political/social/geographical relationship with other nearby settlements, which has resulted in the consolidation into at least 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages with identifiable site boundaries,” write the researchers in the paper.

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Photographs 1

Photographs of MCKB inter-site causeways revealed thanks to LiDAR scans of the Maya site in Guatemala. (Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0 )

Why the Did Maya Settle Here?

The densely packed Maya settlements in and around the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) has shown that some of these buildings packed residential homes, sports courts, religious, ceremonial and civic centers, along with the aforementioned networks of causeways and canals that linked these together.

The MCKB had the ideal balance of uplands for settlement, as well as lowlands for agriculture. The uplands contained limestone, the primary core of the building material, and enough dry land to live on. The lowlands, seasonal swamps called bajos, were spaces where wetland agriculture and terraced agriculture could be practiced, owing to the sheer fertility of the soil.

These settlements were built for the proverbial rainy day, as the Maya were believed to be experts in mitigating times of drought and flood and their architecture and constructional ideology displayed this. In all probability this is indication of a centralized kingdom-like state, revealing a sense of shared common identity and socio-political ideology. “When I generated the first bare-earth models of the ancient city of El Mirador, I was blown away,” explained Morales-Aguilar when discussing the Maya site. “It was fascinating to observe for the first time the large number of reservoirs, monumental pyramids, terraces, residential areas and small mounds.”

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LiDAR 5

LiDAR scans of the Maya site have revealed a complex network of settlements and causeways hidden under the Guatemalan rainforest.  (Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0 )

Maya Site Reveals Massive Mobilization of Labor

The LiDAR analysis showed “for the first time an area that was integrated politically and economically, and never seen before in other places in the Western Hemisphere,” study co-author Carlos Morales-Aguilar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin, told Live Science by email. “We can now see the entire landscape of the Maya region” in this section of Guatemala, he added.

The vastness of the Maya site and the sophistication of its architecture would have required the mass mobilization of labor and workers, including specialists. Specialists would include those in the pre-industrial assembly line of production, such as lime producers, mortar and quarry specialists, lithic technicians, architects, and legal enforcement and religious officials, according to a press release published on Science Alert .

This is also corroborated by the consistency in architectural forms and patterns, ceramic ware, sculptures, apart from the unified causeway constructions. Analysis of the Maya site reveals that centralized political, social, and economic solidarity existed among the occupants. The researchers wrote that this likely culminated into the coalescing of 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages, which had “identifiable site boundaries.”

Over the past four decades, traditional excavations revealed 56 sites in the MCKB, including the lost city of El Mirador , which contains the largest stone pyramid in the history of the Maya, La Danta , discovered to date. Larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza , it likely required anything between 6 and 10 million days of labor and was built using 205,506 limestone blocks.

“Collectively, we argue that the development of infrastructure demonstrates the presence of complex societies with strong levels of socio-economic organization and political power during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods,” conclude the researchers when discussing the Maya site .

Top image: Complex of pyramids identified at Maya site using LiDAR technology. Source: Hansen et. al – Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0

By Sahir Pandey

Croque Monsieur Soup

A twist on the classic French bistro sandwich – creamy cheese soup with ham, topped with a thick slice of cheesy French bread – Ooh la la! Croque Monsieur roughly translates to “Mister Crispy,” a traditional French ham and cheese sandwich with toasted bread, covered with a béchamel sauce and more cheese, baked or fried.

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2023 01 22 22 13

The long, slow cooking of the onions gives this soup its rich caramelized-onion flavor and color.

Gruyère cheese is a rich, nutty, buttery-tasting form of Swiss, without the holes.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 large sweet onions, cut in half and thickly sliced (4 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups Progresso™ unsalted chicken stock (from 32 ounce carton)
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
  • 2 cups Half-and-Half
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese or Gruyère cheese (10 ounces)
  • 2 cups chopped cooked ham (about 10 ounces)
  • 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 (1 inch thick) slices French bread
  • Cornichons, if desired

Instructions

  1. In 5 quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat until sizzling. Cook onions in butter for 13 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are light golden brown.
  2. Stir in garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour on onion mixture; cook and stir constantly 1 minute.
  3. Slowly stir in chicken stock. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cook uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Stir in cream cheese; stirring constantly with whisk until smooth.
  5. Stir in Half-and-Half until blended. Slowly add 2 cups of the cheese, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until cheese is melted.
  6. Stir in ham, 2 teaspoons of the Dijon mustard and the salt; cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through.
  7. Meanwhile, set oven control to broil. Place French bread slices on ungreased cookie sheet. Spread remaining 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard evenly on cut sides of bread. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Broil with tops 5 inches from heat for 1 to 2 minutes or just until cheese is melted and golden brown. Watch carefully so cheese does not burn.
  8. Serve soup topped with bread slices and cornichons, if using.

Prep: 30 min | Servings: 8

Archaeological Treasure Trove! 21 Royal Han Tombs Unearthed in China

Han tomb
Han tomb

Archeologists exploring a mountainside in China have discovered 21 tombs dating back 2,000 years. The presence of luxury artifacts and a rare “couple’s grave” suggests this was an ancient royal burial site.

The discovery of the 2,000-year-old royal tombs was made at the Changsha archaeological site, which is located just over 665 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Shanghai. Located in the present-day Hunan district, the ancient Changsha Kingdom was founded in 203 or 202 BC and represented the largest and longest-lasting kingdom of the Han Empire of China.

The discovery of the 21 tombs was announced earlier this week by a team of archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology , at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Located along a remote mountainside, the researchers said the tombs have laid buried for two millennia and that they “potentially held regal past, but not anymore”.

21 Vertical Pits Loaded with Ancient Artifacts

The imperial Han dynasty of ancient China was established by Liu Bang around 200 BC and was subsequently ruled by the House of Liu. This dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty , and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period from 220 to 280 AD, which represented the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei , Shu Han, and Eastern Wu.

On Tuesday this week, via China’s state-affiliated news outlet, Xinhua, the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences announced that a team of archaeologists have excavated “21 vertical pit tombs containing over 200 artifacts.” One particular tomb was filled with pottery grave goods that dated back 2,000 years to the Western Han Dynasty, which the team of researchers said flourished during the earlier half of the Han dynasty, from about 200 BC to 25 AD.

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Photo 4

Photo of the ancient Han tomb after the fill was removed. The Chinese burial tomb contained numerous luxury artifacts. ( Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences via Xinhua )

Rows of Tombs Whispering Ancient Royal Secrets

The archaeologists said they grouped the 21 tombs into two types: “tombs with passageways and tombs without.” Many of the tombs were found side-by-side; at one end of the site, three tombs were found in a row, while at the other end four further tombs were lined up together. One of the 21 tombs unearthed in Changsha held the remains of five decaying pillars and outer coffins shaped like “Ⅱ” or like double ‘I’s, according to the press release.

The researchers said this type of double layered tomb “is rarely found in the Hunan province.” In this tomb, excavators recovered “two iron relics, walls covered in glaze and a mineral known as talc and a tan-colored talc disk (or bi) with a rhombus and circle pattern.” Furthermore, it is thought that the rare “pair of tombs” may have accommodated the joint burials of a husband and wife.

 

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picture 4

The picture shows the unearthed talc bi, decorated with lozenge pattern + dotted pattern, recovered from the ancient Han dynasty tomb ( Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences via Xinhua )

After studying the assemblage of 21 tombs, which are all of a similar age, the archaeologists concluded they likely belonged to “a royal family buried together in an ancient mausoleum”.

Looking To Ancient Chinese Texts for Answers

The Lunheng is a wide-ranging classical Chinese classic text written by Wang Chong around 27-100 AD, containing detailed essays about ancient Chinese mythology , natural science, philosophy, and literature. These texts describe Western Han imperial burial practices as having involved “sacrificial offerings” at ancestral temples, which accounts for the amount of pottery vessels and grave goods discovered among the 21 tombs.

Well-known examples of Western Han tombs have been excavated in the past, including Mawangdui and the tombs of Liu Sheng , prince of Zhongshan and his wife, Dou Wan. The tomb at Mawangdui was a nested tomb and the “paired tombs” of Liu Sheng and his wife, Dou Wan were cave tombs . It is known that “couple burials” emerged as the standard form of royal burial during the late Han period, along with the pairing of male/female motifs in the styling of the tombs. This is why the archaeologists point towards their discovery of a rare “paired tomb” as the smoking gun for this being the burial site of a Han “royal” family.

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The ornate jade burial suit of Liu Sheng and his wife Dou Wan, the first undisturbed Western Han tomb ever discovered ( Public Domain )

Top Image: 21 ancient Han tombs have been discovered, including a rare 2,000-year-old double-layer burial tomb. Source: Xinhua

By Ashley Cowie

Budweiser Adapts Its Sexist Ads From The 50s And 60s To 2019

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In honor of the International Women’s Day, Budweiser, in collaboration with VaynerMedia, decided to revisit some of their some of their advertisements from the past era, that had some rather sexist remarks. The ads implied that anything women did was supposed to please men, with little attention to themselves. However, thanks to the efforts of feminists everywhere, that is no longer the case and women are free to be themselves without looking for male approval – and Budweiser decided to showcase just that.

Back in the middle of the last century, women were expected to conform to certain gender roles when growing up. And these types of sexist advertisements only helped reinforce them. Even though nowadays these gender roles are implied less and less, there’s still a long way to go to fully get rid of them.

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The perfect woman back in the 1950s was expected to be a great mother that took care of the household and dedicated all of her time to please her husband. Many advertisements of the day reinforced this stereotype – especially beer and cigarette ads.

Budweiser decided to distance themselves from this type of behavior and with the help of illustrators Heather Landis, Nicole Evans and Dena Cooper redesigned the ads to show a family where both parts are equal, free of the assigned gender roles.

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Sexist slogans like “She found she married two men” were replaced with more empowering ones, like “She found she has it all”. Also, the ads no longer imply there being a ‘man of the house’ – it’s a family that solves their problems together, as a team.

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6 35s

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Blinken’s Travel Canceling Adds To China Hate

In 1964 Richard Hofstadter wrote about The Paranoid Style in American Politics:

Events since 1939 have given the contemporary right-wing paranoid a vast theatre for his imagination, full of rich and proliferating detail, replete with realistic cues and undeniable proofs of the validity of his suspicions. The theatre of action is now the entire world, and he can draw not only on the events of World War II, but also on those of the Korean War and the Cold War. Any historian of warfare knows it is in good part a comedy of errors and a museum of incompetence; but if for every error and every act of incompetence one can substitute an act of treason, many points of fascinating interpretation are open to the paranoid imagination. In the end, the real mystery, for one who reads the primary works of paranoid scholarship, is not how the United States has been brought to its present dangerous position but how it has managed to survive at all.

The paranoid style is not only used on the right-wing side of policies. Adam Schiff’s action during ‘Russiagate’ applied plenty of it. The paranoid style applies to internal U.S. politics as well as to foreign policies against this or that favorite enemy of that time.

It makes the story below, which otherwise just laughable, somewhat dangerous.

Furor Over Chinese Spy Balloon Leads to a Diplomatic Crisis
The Pentagon called the object, which has flown from Montana to Kansas, an “intelligence gathering” balloon. Beijing said it was used mainly for weather research and had strayed off course.

As some 80+% of all Pentagon intelligence comes from open sources the ‘intelligence gathering’ statement may well include a weather research system. Weather research and weather prediction are important for all kinds of military operations. But they are also important for many civil operations from agriculture, food availability prediction to drainage planning in cities.

The story’s opener:

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Friday canceled a weekend trip to Beijing after a Chinese spy balloon was sighted above the Rocky Mountain state of Montana, igniting a frenzy of media coverage and political commentary over a machine that the Pentagon said posed no threat to the United States.Mr. Blinken called the Chinese surveillance an “irresponsible act” and a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law.”

China’s “decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have,” he said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

Blinken is of course wrong. Balloon drift planning is difficult if not impossible. There was likely no Chinese intent behind this.

The NYT also writes that this is not the first time that such a balloon is passing over the United States. The difference now the addition of paranoid panic. Balloon similar to those one sighted over the U.S. have been seen over Japan and India in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

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bal1 s

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Both flew in directions from China that are different than the current balloon drifting from China over to the United States. That is because the direction of the wind decides where a balloon flies to.

These balloon have cross like arms hanging below them with the two horizontal arms carrying solar panels. There are three gondolas at the ends of the horizontal and vertical structure. The gondolas could carry instruments, motors or both.

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An estimate said that the diameter of the balloon is equivalent to the length of three school buses. It means that the air resistance and wind sensitivity of the balloon is huge. Winds in the upper atmosphere, like the Atlantic jet stream, are strong:

For instance, flying from London to New York takes just over eight hours, while the reverse journey is often under seven.

A few electrical motors depending on solar power are unlikely to be for propulsion propellers that would make this balloon steerable. But a Google company once used a machine learning system that found out how to tack a balloon like a sail ship which enabled it to follow its planned course faster than previously predicted. But it did not make it steerable. The Goggle balloon were ‘steering’ by changing their flight levels just like low fling hot air balloon do:

A solar-powered pump adds or subtracts air from the balloon. That air makes the balloon heavier or lighter, allowing it to ascend or descend in altitude. Rather than fight against the wind at one altitude, the balloon moves up or down until it finds a favorable wind current. By repeating this thousands of times over the lifespan of a balloon, we can drift on the winds to get to locations around the world.

It is likely that the Chinese balloon can use similar technics. But it will inevitable still depend on the ever changing and often unpredictable prevalent direction of the wind.

Blinken is also wrong with regards to international law. The space between the highest level jet fighters can fly (18 kilometer or 60,000 feet) and outer space were satellites fly is legally somewhat undefined. There are no treaties, international laws or even rules for that mostly unused space.

In the 1950s the U.S. flew ‘weather balloon’ over the Soviet Union for surveillance. But satellites has since replaced balloon surveillance as they can get more data with way more precision. China has satellites. It does not need balloon to check U.S. air fields or missile sites.

To use the balloon as an excuse for canceling the China visit shows that U.S. claims of wanting to lower tensions with China are not serious.

Brian Tycangco 鄭彥渊 @BrianTycangco – 9:09 UTC · Feb 4, 2023If a wayward balloon is enough to make the US Secretary of State cancel a potentially crucial meeting with China to resolve standing differences & avoid potential armed conflict, it speaks very poorly of how serious he is about doing his job.

Some republicans have used the balloon and the paranoid style to attack the Biden administration. The Biden administration should have staid course by calling the overflight a non-event. Blinken’s reaction only adds to the anti-China hate.

Posted by b on February 4, 2023 at 18:11 UTC | Permalink

Selected Comments…

This incident demonstrates that there’s a significant balloon gap between the US and Communist China! Unless congress immediately allocates an additional trillion dollars to the pentagon for balloon research and development, the next CPC balloon won’t just be carrying surveillance equipment, but also a biological or nuclear payload. Clearly, we’re witnessing a watershed moment in armaments history. Hypersonic missiles were clearly just a short-lived fad — whoever achieves balloon superiority, controls the battlefield of the future.

Posted by: Skiffer | Feb 4 2023 19:23 utc | 25


It doesn’t matter whether Blinken canceled his visit, because based on all the previous interactions with China the US was merely going to bullshit the Chinese some more, then do the opposite of what they said would do, especially with regard to Taiwan.

So the whole visit might as well never happened.

The US wants a war with China. It’s that simple. And China will give it to them, eventually. And the US will lose. Hopefully, as with Ukraine, it won’t escalate to WWIII.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Feb 4 2023 20:23 utc | 45


Gonzalo Lira has a good analysis of the hysteria. (I am reposting this from the previous Ukraine thread.)

Ukraine … losing … The U.S. knows that Ukraine’s army is not able to hold the current defense line in its east. The fear is that it will run away when the line is breached… The Ukrainian death toll in the city must be extremely high… The result is that the battle is believed to have produced horrific troop losses for … Ukraine … emergency medical units provide urgent care to battlefield casualties… Russia has increased the intensity of the fight… Russia has no lack of artillery ammunition… Russian artillery is firing several times more shells per day than Ukraine’s army can provide… Artillery is the big killer in this war…

Look over there! 👉 A BALLOON!

2023.02.04 About That Chinese Balloon – Gonzalo Lira

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Feb 4 2023 22:36 utc | 93

Ugly truths about the United States

Ever since the Military coup in November 1963 (President Kennedy Assassination) the United States became a military empire. It is run by wealthy oligarchs associated with the military-industrial complex. By the very nature of this situation, the United States serves the interests of the hidden cabal, and ignores the needs of the citizenry. And it shows.

To keep the system running, the United States must be constantly engaged in war; feeding the military-industrial complex.

The United States, over the decades has become a nation of raw plunder, manipulation, and shadow activities to feed the handful of wealthy oligarchs.

But all that is now coming to an end.

The military empire model that the United States is built upon is not a sustainable model. You can only destroy so much, and steal so much, and pillage so much until limits are reached. Now, with much of the world plundered of it’s materials and products, a new competitor has entered the world; the re-awakened giant dragon; China.

As China flexes its muscles and sharpens it’s claws, other nations are flocking to China for support, aid, assistance and protection. Leaving the corrupt, inept, and tarnished American military to go elsewhere. And the American stature is shrinking as a result.

The smart thing for the hidden leadership to do is to accept the change in global stature and adapt to it. But, that is not what is going on. They wish to clutch onto what they have in some mistaken belief that their plundering, rape, robbery, and theft was ordained by God.

And with this belief is the idea that the United States military can actually fight China, defeat it, and then plunder it like it has so many times in the past.

It’s a fantasy.

The world has changed.

And that is why the United States is constantly trying to provoke a Gulf of Tonkin incident with China over the South China Sea and Taiwan. It is an attempt to change the developing world order back to one when a military dictatorship can rule the world.

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royal tomb

Breaking: Ancient Royal Tomb Discovered in Egypt

Egyptian authorities have announced that a never-before-seen royal tomb has been uncovered in Luxor, Egypt, dating back around 3,500 years. Archaeologists believe it belongs to a royal of the 18th Dynasty of Pharaonic Egypt (1550 BC to 1292 BC), but it has not yet been revealed who and what is inside.

Dr. Mustafa Waziri , General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the tomb was unearthed on the west bank of the Nile River, where the famous Valley of the Queens is located.

Valley of the Queens

The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim, is a valley in Luxor, Egypt that was used as a necropolis for the wives and children of pharaohs during the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties of ancient Egypt. The valley contains around 75 tombs, including the tomb of Nefertari, the wife of Pharaoh Ramses II, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful tombs in the valley. The tombs in the valley are known for their well-preserved paintings and inscriptions, which provide valuable insights into the lives and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.

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The location of the newly-discovered tomb on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

A Royal of the Thutmosid Lineage?

Phys.org reports that Piers Litherland of the University of Cambridge, head of the British research mission, said the tomb could be of a royal wife or princess of Thutmosid lineage.

The Thutmosid pharaohs include some of the most famous kings of ancient Egypt, such as Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, and Tutankhamun. During their reign, the Thutmosid pharaohs expanded the territory of Egypt through military campaigns, built monumental architectural projects such as temples, tombs and statues, and promoted the arts, literature and religion. They also increased the power and wealth of the central government and the royal court. The 18th dynasty was considered a golden age for ancient Egypt and it was the most powerful and prosperous dynasty in the New Kingdom. The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated, as it will shed new light on the cultural heritage of this era.

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A photo taken from inside the entrance of the tomb looking out. The tomb has been secured with a metal gate to prevent looting. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Damage from Floods

The joint Egyptian-English mission between the Supreme Council for Archaeology and the Modern State Research Foundation of Cambridge University, led by Dr. Fathi Yassin, is continuing its excavation and documentation of the cemetery. However, it is in poor condition due to ancient floods, which filled the tomb with sand and limestone.

Recent discoveries in Egypt are playing a crucial role in reviving the country’s vital tourism industry. The highlight of these efforts is the highly anticipated opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, located at the base of the iconic pyramids.

Top image: The royal tomb discovered in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

By Joanna Gillan

Chart of the week

trade with russia
trade with russia

Thessaloniki Metro Construction Reveals Unimaginable Treasures

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Thessaloniki metro 2

The construction of local metro facilities in the ancient Greek port city of Thessaloniki have uncovered a massive stash of thousands of archaeological treasures from different periods of Thessaloniki’s history. This booty includes a  decumanus (an east-west oriented road, one of the primary highways of the time), along with a Byzantine avenue.

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Construction site of Thessaloniki’s Metro seen from the inside of a tunnel. (Konstantinos Stampoulis /  CC BY-SA 3.0 GR )

Thessaloniki’s Tryst with Momentous Greek and Roman Heritage

There are architectural remains of many 15th to 17th century buildings built on top of the remains of Hellenistic and Roman buildings – a  nymphaeum, a marble paved square, a bathhouse heated by an underfloor hypocaust system and a large mosaic with intricate geometric patterns. There is even a paved  road with colonnades and a line of Byzantine period shops and workshops. Stunning images of the same have been released by  Attiko Metro SA .

The metro follows the path of the ancient  decumanus, which now serves as the main historical avenue cutting through  Thessaloniki, reported  Arkeo News . The ancient road begins at the famed Golden Gate ( Porta Aurea ), the contemporaneous Vardario Square, all the way to Kassandriotik Gate, known today as Syntrivani Square. Currently, the excavation of Thessaloniki is the largest in northern Greece and covers an area of as much as 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 sq mi).

According to  Arkeonews, over 300,000 artifacts have been uncovered so far, dating to the 4th century BC, excavated from six of the twelve station sites currently under  construction. This figure is likely to increase immensely as the rest of the sites are excavated. The unearthed artifacts are likely to be exhibited at the stations where they were uncovered, as well as two new museums set to be created before the end of the year.

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The images released of the Thessaloniki metro excavations show the sheer scale of the project. ( Attiko Metro SA )

The Thessaloniki Metro Excavation that Keeps on Giving

Owing to its strategic placement along the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, Thessaloniki received a fair bit of human traffic throughout its history. Located in the Macedonian region, it is Greece’s second largest city today and new finds from various phases of its history keep popping up at frequent intervals, including the declaration of Thessaloniki as a “Byzantine Pompeii” during 2013 metro excavations.

In 2012 a pre-Cassandrian small town from the 4th century BC was discovered in Pylaia during excavations of the main line of the metro. It led to an ensuing 31-acre (125,000 sq m) excavation in the area, with part of the city being laid out according to the Hippodamian grid plan – an urban planning system along the line of the great cities of  Macedonia, Olynthos and  Pella.

In 2018, the statue of  Aphrodite was discovered at the  Hagia Sophia  station, named after one of the oldest churches in the city, revealing an entire fountain complex around the area. Meanwhile, a  Roman cemetery  (2nd to 4th century AD) was discovered within the confines of Fleming Station, revealing previously unidentified settlements on the outskirts of ancient  Thessaloniki.

In the same area, a 3 kilometer (1.86 mi) cemetery basilica with mosaic floors was discovered on the site of a previous structure, revealing thousands of funerary monuments from the Hellenistic to Late Antiquity period. The tombs were of all kinds – pit-shaped, box-shaped, pot burials, altars, altar-shaped constructions, single and double vaulted, clay and glass vessels, silver and gold jewelry, and all kinds of coins.

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Centuries of history has been unearthed thanks to the construction of a metro line in Thessaloniki. ( Attiko Metro SA )

Thessaloniki: A Checkered History of Power and Prestige

These finds are not surprising – after all, Thessaloniki was known as  Symvasilévousa or the co-reigning city of the  Byzantine Empire , alongside  Constantinople. Prior to that too, Thessaloniki had a strong economy and established socio-political structures and institutions, with the greatest development occurring in the second half of the 4th century.

In 315 BC,  Kassandros founded the city, though it was briefly abandoned after the fall of the Kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC. It regained its prestige and importance with the emergence of Rome as a trading hub with a vital highway running through it, known as the Via Egnatia, connecting Byzantium with Dyrrachium.

Thessaloniki reinvented itself as a seat of power away from Rome in the second half of the 5th century AD, after the  fall of Rome  and with the emergence of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, explained  Heritage Daily It was sacked again in 904 AD in a naval attack led by Byzantine converts to Islam led by Leo of Tripoli, and finally passed out of Byzantine hands three centuries later during the  Fourth Crusade .

Top image: Thousands of artifacts and architectural remains have been uncovered during metro excavations in Thessaloniki. Source:  Attiko Metro SA

By Sahir Pandey

What is the (ridiculously named) United States of America doing to ‘knee-cap’ or ‘hamstring’ China’s recovery from Euro-American/Japanese colonial ruination — a recovery which, given China’s share of humanity’s global population, naturally makes it a ‘superpower’? To the end of (to the American consensus) “keeping the Chinese ‘in their place’”?

Everything in their power.

The ‘running total’ ‘bottom line’ return on the (lol) ‘United’ States of America’ effort to handicap the PRC?.

Less. Than. Nothing.

Less than nothing? Yes. Less than nothing. Their every effort has worked to bouy-up China’s good global reputation — and to both justify and grow its defensive resolve.

The American consensus lives in gob-smacking denial re: how near to universal … let’s call it the ‘global antipathy’ towards America is — despite the evidence — and despite how indisputably earned thus reasonable that global contempt is. Perhaps a picture might help. (A long shot … but hey . . .)

Here, to use the American vernacular, is the map of “The New World Order” as of 1/1/2023:

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main qimg 31568b8afffb33e0f11cd9ace58d972b pjlq

Green hue nations are committed members of at the least one China-fostered strategic community. The deeper the green the more such cooperative arrangements.

Blue hue represents nations drinking out of the American kool-aid well. They comprise America, the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada — and (sort of) Mexico. Think ‘5 Eyes’ and ‘AUKUS’ plus Japan.

‘Europe’ is purple-hued. Well, sort of. Here’s the close-up of Europe as of 1/1/2023:

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main qimg dd114939d4e9eb873b763fbd842a6c8a pjlq

All of those purple w/green stripes nations are ‘committed’ to BOTH the EU AND Belts & Roads Initiative. Europe’s in a complex and increasingly fragmenting situation.

Here’s another world map to obviate how far the global majority have come in feeling empowered to shrug an “and these are the f___s we have to give you” in America’s bossy face.

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main qimg 2fb8165bd9ab04843d5d371971f86970 pjlq

The blue hue represents the nations who are now investors in the Belts & Roads Initiative’s primary funding agency — the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank). Notice how America has only managed to “ahem” Japan to shunning the AIIB. Every nation with the capital to invest is doing so. Already this year Africa’s Mauritania has begun the paperwork in a trend that’s seeing borrowers empowered to become investors.

So. Why is America — the planet’s only ‘power projecting’ superpower — a status that it’s held for well over a generation — 30+ years — why’s it been increasingly powerless to sabotage China’s recovery and success? Why has America failed to isolate China? Why have America’s efforts to undermine China proved so . . . impotent?

Here it comes . . . another map. This one is of an organization improbable in its members’ ethnic, spiritual, cultural and political diversity. And why that community has thrived for 60 years. Here’s the map:

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main qimg 486d95999ffb591c9d8206f055c8e52a pjlq

The Non-Aligned Movement was born and grew to include 120 of the world’s 195 nations. It did so because those 120 nations (plus observers) had no desire to ‘fall in line’ behind any power.

At the outset that meant America or Russia. By 1990 it was clear the only superpower they need fear was America. By 1992 there was zero room to doubt that America was the only hegemonic superpower threat. Russia having unilaterally, voluntarily, relinquished all its authority over the Warsaw Pact — followed by all the non-Russian republics of the USSR. Russia then having made nothing other than verbal responses to American (‘NATO’) exploitation of Russia’s de-militarization of the entire central ⅓ of the European continent for a full generation — 25 years.

No sooner had Russia retired from seeking to be a global hegemonic rival to America than the US began manufacturing ‘legitimacy’ to bombard to smithereens then invade — “Shock & Awe” they called it — assorted nations. The message made clear “If we can starve then smite into rubble Iraq imagine what we can do to you”.

Without Russia as a constraining counterbalance America’s 11 Carrier Battle Groups were free to ‘Commodore Peary’ swagger into any port they felt the urge to. Thru that full generation America doubled-down on its neo-colonialist ‘crusade’. (Hell, Bush Jr. called it a crusade. A blitzkrieg undertaken on what we’re clearly false pretenses . . . a ‘crusade’. Not even a mumbled “oops, our bad”. Americans in general revealed themselves such a**-holes they didn’t rush out and buy all The Dixie Chicks albums in contrition and compensation.

The world watched and weighed and judged — and found Americans wanting. Found America wanting. 1850 ‘gunboat diplomacy’ steroidally bloated to battle group diplomacy.

Decades of unrepentant self-righteous gunboat bullying shrugged off by Americans as perfectly okay left zero doubt America was the greatest threat to their sovereignty and success. China? Zero global ‘projection of power’.

Instead of the 11 super-carrier battle armadas gunnels-full with freedom-killing F-22s, F-35s, and missiles? China’s ‘blue-water fleet’ boasts equally massive bulk carriers heaped full of a cargo of capital and container ships filled and mounded high with 20,000 each of rail-cars of affordable life-enhancing consumer goods.

So. While China has treated its global villager neighbours with respect? America’s done little other than condescend — and coerce.

America simply by being its same old self doing the same old disrespectful things has stood in a stark contrast to China — making the choice of so easy.

Sorry, but I would do that for my cat too.

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52 63be700dd204e 700

Odd Thrift Store finds…

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thrift shop 40

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thrift shop 39

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thrift shop 21

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thrift shop 13

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thrift shop 15

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thrift shop 17

This Artist Created Cartoons That Are Too Relevant To Anyone Who Likes Alcohol, Sex And Being An Idiot

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Iamnotanartist_ is an illustrator who creates comics about the stupid things that happen to him. The (not an) artist says the inspiration comes from their nights out with their mates: “Fortunately for me, they are degenerates and are really easy to write about.” From drunk abilities to life’s great mysteries, everyone who likes to have a pint (or five) once in a while will relate.

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Chicken Soup Mexicana

All of your favorite Mexican flavors mix together in this soup while the canola oil and avocado supply healthy fats. ¡Muy delicioso!

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2023 01 22 16 18

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup/250 mL)
  • 4 celery stalks, sliced (about 1 cup/250 mL)
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 0.5 mL
  • 2 teaspoons cumin 10 mL
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 5 mL
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock 2 L
  • 2/3 cup lentils 150 mL
  • 1 (19 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped 540 mL
  • 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup/ 250 mL)
  • 2 pounds cooked chicken, cubed 1 kg (about 7 cups/1.75 L)
  • 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup/75 mL)
  • 1 cup frozen peas 250 mL
  • 1 small avocado, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 cup/125 mL)

Instructions

  1. In Dutch oven, heat canola oil. Add garlic, onion and celery. Sauté until vegetables are tender.
  2. Season with black pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes.
  3. Add chicken stock, lentils, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
  4. Add chicken, zucchini and peas. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender.
  5. Garnish with avocado slices.

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 50 min | Yield: 10 (2 cup) servings

Nutrition per serving: Calories 270 Total Fat 6 g Saturated Fat 1 g Cholesterol 75 mg Carbohydrates 17 g Fiber 6 g Sugars 5 g Protein 35 g Sodium 170 mg Potassium 571 mg

Vietnam’s ‘mini-China’ days may be numbered

President Phuc’s likely forced resignation could signal a less reform-friendly direction in one of Asia’s hottest economies
.

With so many headwinds zooming Vietnam’s way, now seems an incredibly inopportune moment for Hanoi to carry out a major political shakeup.

That’s precisely the dilemma global investors faced this week as pro-market President Nguyen Xuan Phuc suddenly resigned.

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2023 01 22 16 16

Government officials claim that the unparalleled purge led by Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong was all part of an anti-corruption effort in the halls of Vietnamese power.

Investors, though, can’t help but wonder if Phuc’s departure is more of an internecine Trong power grab that will delay urgently-needed economic reforms in one of Asia’s hottest economies.

Phuc has been president since April 2021 and was prime minister from 2016 to 2021. Generally speaking, he significantly strengthened Hanoi’s ties with the US and European Union.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement signed in 2019 was emblematic of Phuc’s determination to internationalize the economy and an example of why he garnered considerable gravitas in global market circles.

It’s worth noting, too, that Phuc’s ouster follows recent news that numerous technocratic and Western-leaning officials have been shown the door as Trong centralizes power.

As such, notes Zachery Abuza, professor at the National War College in Washington, Phuc’s comeuppance is “good for China and Russia” and a sign that “Trong has effectively won the war against technocrats.”

From HERE

Planning the move…

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2023 01 22 16 22

If China and the US are persons. Here is the conversation.

USA: I hate you, commie bastard.

China: I don’t like you, too. Imperialist scum.

USA: You treat millions of your Uyghur people brutally, setting up Firewalls to contain your people from accessing cyberspace outside your turf, and you are stripping off the autonomy of Hong Kong, you don’t allow anyone to criticize your governance and make fun of “The Party”, and criminalize religious people and dissidents. You’re such a totalitarian dystopia, your people would be happy if you adpot democracy.

China: You are lynching a lot of African-American people, many streets in your cities are infested with homeless and gangsters, your cops are enforcing law by violence, let your people own guns to kill each other, you’re deporting a lot of Latino parents from their children and drugged them, bombing other countries that made a lot of refugees and terrorists in the world, and making my people turn against me by indoctrinating them by your so-called “freedom” and “human rights”. Your media is making a lot of lies and baseless accusations about me, and keep sticking your nose into other people’s businesses. You can only make your living from wars and conflicts. You are the source of chaos in this world.

USA: South China Sea is not your belonging, it belongs to everyone, douchebag.

China: South China Sea is not your pond in your backyard, get the hell out of there, jerk.

USA: I won’t afraid of you cuz your navy still sucks though you can build carriers.

China: Yeah, come to take it if you dare. My DF-21D supersonic anti-ship missiles would send billions worth of your carrier battle groups into Davy Jone’s Locker.

USA: You are enslaving a lot of 3rd countries by kicking them into your debt trap, a$$hole.

China: Oh, better than what you did to the Native Americans a century ago, you murderous dickhead.

USA: You plagiarized and stole all my hi-tech stuff! Unless you pay me the copyright licensing fee then I will let you make them!

China: Those stuffs were figured out all by myself! I don’t need to steal them from you! And why must I pay you for those?

USA: I’m selling weapons to Taiwan! Protect their democratic government!

China: And I’m buying those stuff from Russia!

USA: I’m putting more sanction and tariffs to you!

China: Bring it on! I still got a lot of friends would like to do businesses with me!

USA: You’re an eyesore, China! I’m just want to keep this world in order, but you are always standing in my way!

China: You’re a prick in my heart, America! I am just want to make this world a better place but you are always messing things up!

USA: I wanna destroy you but I can’t.

China: Yup, we are going down each other if we really flipped out.

USA: I will think the other ways to stop you from rising above me, just you wait. I will show you who’s the boss!

China: Come on, you know I’m not interested to preveil you as the “Big Brother” of the globe, there’s no need to be confrontational, we can sort this out together. However, if you are still being so worked up against me, then so be it. I got thousands of “ancient Chinese secret” techniques to put you on knees and don’t complain that I didn’t warn you.

“The Way We Fall”: Eerie Illustrations Of An Apocalyptical World By Yuri Shwedoff

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Whether we imagine the world as a futuristic dystopia or a charred wasteland, post-apocalyptic images weigh heavily on our cultural imaginations. In a stunning series of illustrations, Russian artist Yuri Shwedoff has created an intensely atmospheric vision of the “end of days,” one that blends fantasy imagery with science fiction. Among his scenes are sword-wielding warriors, blasted roads, alien architecture, and falling skies; as vestiges of the lost world, animals seem to take on a symbolic significance, communing with the human figures in moments of intensity and reflection. Pulled between oscillating states of violent destruction and quiet despair, Shwedoff’s images are bound together by a powerful atmosphere that emanates from the brooding, ash-filled skies.

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While many of Shwedoff’s artworks feature otherworldly phenomena — such as the telekinetic gladiator — what makes them most evocative are their ties to the world we know. The space shuttle, for example, sits dormant on its launch pad, embedded in dust and waste. Perhaps it was prepared to escape the world; now, it becomes aged scenery for the lone horseman who regards it on his journey. Similarly, the alien pods in “Cradle” suggest a landing with no escape plan; now, the structures are merely shelters for those who survive. Instilled with imagination and emotion, Shwedoff confronts us with powerful images of a lost humanity that has surpassed its technological limits and reached an inevitable end.

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You can view more of Shwedoff’s work on Behance, Facebook, and Instagram. He also has a page on Patreon where you can make pledges in exchange for artwork, undersketches, and process videos.

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Ugly truths about the United States

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63bfbedb45a48 funny very american posts
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https://youtu.be/TlUCkxnYWVE

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

All the ingredients for chicken pot pie – the chunky chicken and vegetables and the savory broth – are in this soup. A crisp crouton stands in for the pie crust.

2023 01 22 16 19
2023 01 22 16 19

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Rosemary Leaves, crushed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Thyme Leaves
  • 1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
  • 4 teaspoons butter, divided
  • 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 8 thin bread slices
  • 1 teaspoon oil

Instructions

  1. Mix rosemary, thyme and garlic powder in small bowl. Reserve 1/2 teaspoon.
  2. Heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add mushrooms, carrots and remaining seasoning mixture; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from saucepan. Set aside.
  3. Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in saucepan on medium heat, stirring to release browned bits from bottom of skillet. Sprinkle with flour; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until flour is lightly browned.
  4. Gradually stir in broth until well blended. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add vegetable mixture, chicken, pearl onions and peas; simmer for 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
  6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  7. Cut bread into rounds with 3 inch cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet. Brush bread with oil and sprinkle with reserved seasoning mixture. Bake for 10 minutes or until toasted.
  8. To serve soup, ladle into soup bowls and top each with 1 crouton.

Yield: 8 (1-cup) servings | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 25 min

I Will Never Forget The Look On Her Face

I remember my mother cooking for us kids back in the 1960s. She had this thing (as all our moms did) with BIG hair. She would wear these curlers in her hair all day, and they were enormous round things too. And when she would cook, she would have this long ashy cigarette in her mouth, or held in her long fingernailed hand while she would cook on our olive green stove.

We had a yellow (Ma Bell) telephone on the wall. It had a rotary dial, and a long cord so that you could talk in the other room if you wanted some privacy.

We had numerous ashtrays in the house. One had a beanbag on the bottom, so that it can be used on the sofa.

My mother would light her cigarette on the electric stove, by using the burner. And when she was finished she would toss it in the garbage disposal unit in the sink.

Our kitchen had olive appliances; olive refrigerator, stove, and this enormous Sears microwave that sat up on the red countertop of our yellow metal cabinets. We had the ceramic his and her salt and pepper shakers that looked like a boy and girl kissing, a macramé plant holder near the window,  an old picture of a sad clown on the wall, and (near the TV room) two paintings of big-eyed beatnik boy and a girl. The boy had a guitar, and the girl had a tambourine in her hands.

I guess you never see that these days, a mother cooking with a cigarette in one hand and frying bacon in the other. But I’ll never forget the scene.

China’s CPC has an instruction manual to prevent USA organized color revolutions:

China has put it’s foot down and said NO NO NO MORE. And it will no longer allow, permit or tolerate efforts at “color revolutions” instead of war in it, or it’s aligned nations.

From HERE

Here’s the translated article…


Persevere in Placing Political Security in the Predominant Position

坚持把政治安全放在首要位置

Introduction

For China’s first generation of communist leaders, revolution meant baptism by smoke and gunpowder. Their path to political power snaked through battlefields and prison cells littered with the bodies of dead comrades. Only narrowly did their party escape total annihilation.

Decades spent shadowed by death instilled a keen awareness of peril in the psyche of the cadres who survived. Neither political power nor battlefield victory ever soothed away this sense of threat.

However, the Party’s successful seizure of power did change which danger its leaders perceived as most threatening.

Mao Zedong would label this peril the threat of “peaceful evolution.”1 Though warnings of peaceful evolution are still issued, contemporary party documents, such as the translated material presented below, more often frame the danger in terms of “political security” [政治安全].2

Both phrases articulate a fear that hostile foreign powers seek to leverage dissent in China to subvert or overthrow communist rule of China.

Translated below is an authoritative discussion of this threat as party leaders perceive it.

It was originally published as the sixth chapter of The Total National Security Paradigm: A Study Outline 《总体国家安全观学习纲要》a 150 page textbook created jointly by the Office of the Central National Security Commission and the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China.

The Study Outline was released on April 14th, 2022 and subsequently distributed to party committees at all administrative levels as an “an important and authoritative auxiliary text for the broad mass of cadres” to include in their group study sessions.3

Published shortly after the creation of the PRC’s National Security Strategy [国家安全战略] and concurrently with a bureaucratic expansion of the state security complex to the local administrative level,4 the book is designed to provide an accessible and unclassified overview of the security doctrine millions of cadres are now expected to implement.

At the center of these ideas is the Total National Security Paradigm, a set of concepts that party sources describe as Xi Jinping’s signature contribution to Chinese security theory.

The textbook’s publication was carefully timed to coincide with the eighth anniversary of the meeting where Xi first introduced this paradigm.

In that meeting Xi instructed party cadres to “pay attention to both traditional and non-traditional security, and build a national security system that integrates such elements as political, military, economic, cultural, social, science and technology, information, ecological, resource, and nuclear security.”5

Threats to “traditional security” include those that can be handled through normal military means; “non-traditional security threats” comprise the rest of Xi’s long list—a list that has only gotten longer in the years since, as terms like “food security” and “biosecurity” have been added to the catalog.

Yet not all non-traditional fields of security are created equal. In that same 2014 speech Xi informed the Party that “political security is our fundamental task.”6

This judgment is echoed in the structure of the Study Outline, where it is the only field of security—including the traditional military sort—to be given its own chapter length discussion.7

The Study Outline makes clear why political security deserves such high priority. “Political security,” it instructs, “means safeguarding the ruling position and leadership status of the Chinese Communist Party and safeguarding the institution of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.”

The manual describes Socialism with Chinese Characteristics as “a rigorous, comprehensive, and scientific system of institutions” whose institutional integrity guarantees China’s return to national greatness. “If institutions are stable, so is the state.”

On the other hand, if “political security cannot be guaranteed, the state will inevitably disintegrate like a sheet of loose sand.”

The Study Outline warns that this “is a real and present danger.” China is engaged in an “institutional competition,” the “most fundamental type of competition between states.”

Arrayed against the Chinese system are powerful “hostile forces” who “persistently seek to ferment a ‘color revolution’ within our state, vainly attempting to subvert the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the socialist institutions of our state.”

Party members should not be fooled by periods of tranquility or moments of détente: these hostile forces “have never abandoned their subversive intent to Westernize and divide our state.

They do not rest, not even for a moment.” Nor is compromise or concession a workable solution. “In the realm of ideological conflict,” the Study Outline instructs, “we have no way to compromise and no place to retreat to. We must obtain total victory.”

The Study Outline views ideology as the primary battlefield of institutional competition: Those who “sow chaos and subvert sovereign power often begin by piercing a hole in the realm of ideology and sowing chaos in the thoughts of the people.” The ideological realm must be defended, for “once the defensive line in thought has been breached it is difficult for other defensive lines to hold.”

The Study Outline directs cadres to pay special attention to three domains where the defensive lines must hold: on the internet, in the schools, and among China’s religious and ethnic minorities.

In all three domains the Study Outline describes events that Western observers tend to depict as spontaneous reactions to government policy as incidents carefully orchestrated by party enemies.

When viral outrage leads to mass protests, cadres can be assured that such events are “intentionally chosen, follow a plan, and are organized and contrived ahead of time” by hostile forces.

If university students have learned to “bite the hand that feeds them and kick the wok that fills them” it is because the hearts of “our youth are the territory that hostile forces spend the most effort fighting for.” If the “ethnic consciousness” of minority groups is not “subordinate to and serving the common Chinese national identity” this is because “hostile forces at home and abroad use ethnic problems to carry out separatism, infiltration, and sabotage activities.”

Though “disintegration of sovereign power” may “begin in the realm of thought,” the enemies and weapons faced in that realm are just as dangerous as those faced in the more tangible world of blood and bullets.

The Study Outline’s assertion that “the disintegration of sovereign power often begins in the realm of thought” presents a sharp contrast with Mao’s famous argument that “sovereign power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”

Underlining Xi Jinping’s Total Security Paradigm is the recognition that not all problems can be solved by gun barrel. But that recognition is not new. Mao himself reached the same realization when he credited the de-Stalinization of Europe to ideological subterfuge, fearing that a similar combination of internal sabotage and external pressure might derail China’s revolution. Deng Xiaoping reached a similar conclusion following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the protests at Tiananmen Square. The United States and its allies “engage in peaceful evolution,” Deng declared. Their strategy is to “wage a world war without smoke or gunpowder.”8  

The dangers Mao and Deng feared in their twilight years dominated Xi formative ones. Xi Jinping does not believe the threat has abated: the close attention he pays to the Party’s political security has been a defining thread of his rule. Manuals like this Study Outline signal his determination to overcome the threat of peaceful evolution.

They are a survival guide to wars waged without smoke or gunpowder.

THE EDITORS

‍ 1. The label was inspired by U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles’s 1958 judgment that “internal pressures are bound to alter the character of the communist regimes,” thus American foreign policy should seek to “accelerate [this] evolution within the Sino-Soviet bloc” through peaceful means: John Foster Dulles, Policy for the Far East (United States: Department of State, 1958), 10-11.

Bo Yibo provides an insider account of Mao’s reaction to Dulles’ speech and his subsequent understanding of the ‘peaceful evolution’ threat; it is translated into English in Qiang Zhai, “Mao Zedong and Dulles’s ‘Peaceful Evolution’ Strategy: Revelations from Bo Yibo’s Memories,” Cold War International History Project Bulletin (Winter 1995/96), issue 6/7, pp. 228-232.

2. The evolution of these concerns between the Mao and Xi eras is traced by Matthew Johnson in “Safeguarding Socialism: The Origins, Evolution and Expansion of China’s Total Security Paradigm,” Sinopsis (Prague: AcaMedia z.ú., June 2020) and  “Securitizing Culture in Post-Deng China: An Evolving National Strategic Paradigm, 1994–2014.’ Propaganda in the World and Local Conflicts, 4, no. 1. See also Russel Ong, ‘Peaceful Evolution’, ‘Regime Change’ and China's Political Security, Journal of Contemporary China (2007), vol 16, issue 53, 717-727.
‍

3. Taken from “Zongti Guojia Anquan Xuexi Gongyao: chuban faxin 《总体国家安全观学习纲要》出版发行” [The Total National Security Paradigm: A Study Outline is Published]Renmin Wang 人民网 [People’s Daily Online], 16 April 2022. In Chinese the passage reads 广大干部群众学习贯彻总体国家安全观的重要权威辅助读物。

4. For a concise overview of these developments, see Jude Blanchette, “The Edge of an Abyss: Xi Jinping’s Overall National Security Outlook,” China Leadership Monitor, 1 September 2022.

 For a broader discussion of the Total National Security Paradigm, also see Sheena Chesnut Greitens, "Internal Security & Chinese Strategy," hearing on "The United States' Strategic Competition with China" § Senate Armed Services Committee (2022); Joel Wuthnow, "Transforming China’s National Security Architecture in the Xi Era” hearing on CCP Decision-Making and the 20th Party Congress” § U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hearing (2022); Samantha Hoffman, “Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security,” PhD diss, University of Nottingham (2017).

5. Xi Jinping, The Governance of China, vol 1 (Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 2014), 221-222.

6. Ibid., 222
‍
7. Three prominent scholars associated with one of the leading state-controlled research centers on the Total National Security Paradigm note that the first chapters of the manual present broad, general principles that apply to all fields of security; the later chapters deal with specific applications, with the chapter on political security intentionally placed at the head of this second section. They further note that this organization of the material is an intentional echo of Xi Jinping’s own presentation of the subcomponents of the Concept as he presented them in a December 2021 speech. An English translation of this speech can be read in Xi Jinping, Governance Of China, vol 4 (Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 2022), 453-456 

For the observations on the manual see 陈向阳, 董春岭, 韩立群 [Chen Xiangyang, Deng Chunling, and Han Liqun], “Shenru Xuexi Xuanzhuan Guanche Zongti Guojia Anquan Xuexi Gangyao 深入学习宣传贯彻《总体国家安全观学习纲要》[Deeply Study, Publicize, and Implement Total National Security Concept: A Study Outline]”, Qiushi 求是 [Seeking Truth], 22 August 2022. Available here

8.邓小平 [Deng Xiaoping], Deng Xiaoping Wenxuan《邓小平文选》 [Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping], vol 3 (Beijing: People’s Press, 1993), 325.

There’s something funny I want everybody together discuss.
——————-

From HERE

I am fond of comparing China’s reform now with Shang Yang’s reform more than 2,000 years ago that enabled the State of Qin to conquer all other states and unify China.

China’s reform now is similar to Shang Yang’s in giving play to people’s talents and diligence. Then there is the question: Will the reform make China so strong as to conquer the world?

Germany tried to conquer the world when it became the strongest but suffered disastrous defeat. Will China be so stupid?

Chinese scholars believe that of all the ancient civilizations, Chinese civilization is the only one that has survived for more than 4,000 years because China has never tried to conquer the world or been fond of war.

However, a despot did emerge in China who wanted to conquer the world with his ideology called Mao Zedong Thought. Fortunately, China is poor and backward at that time. Otherwise, the human race will suffer more serious disasters than World War II as Mao was even willing to fight a nuclear war for his ideal communism.

Can we be sure that no despot like Mao will emerge when China is strong enough to conquer the world?

The US has tried hard to contain China, but can it stop China’s tremendous economic growth? No. what it has been doing and wants to do only facilitated China’s economic growth, for example, removal of Chinese state-owned sector’s monopoly and privilege.

What about containing China militarily? Stopping Israel export of early warning aircrafts, Canada’s export of 1,300 kW engines to deprive China’s WZ-10 armed helicopter of powerful engine and removal of the inner partitions of the hull of aircraft carrier Ukraine sold to China.

Did all those containing efforts work?

No. China has developed on its own early warning and control aircrafts with better functions than the most advanced American one and 1,500kW engine for WZ-10 and designed and installed partitions in the hull on its own to turn the hull into an operating aircraft carrier.

Instead of making great efforts to develop new weapons to maintain military superiority, the US uses the excuse of China stealing its technology to catch up with it.

Now, China has surpassed the US in anti-satellite (ASAT), anti-ASAT, hypersonic glide vehicle, drone, amphibious landing craft, etc. and is catching up and will soon surpass the US in midcourse ICBM interception, aerospace plane, conventional and nuclear submarines, stealth fighter jets, destroyers, frigates, ballistic and cruise missiles, etc. US will soon have nothing worth stealing by China. What excuse will the US have for lagging behind then?

It is a pity that American people are not much interested in history; therefore, they cannot learn the historical lessons.

Before World War II, Germany exploited its people’s patriotism and mindset for retaliation of its defeat in World War I to give play to its scientists and engineers’ talents. As a result, when World War II broke out, it had much better weapons than other countries. Even at the end of the war, its new tanks remained the best in the world.

The situation is being repeated now. China is using Chinese dream and the history of China’s past misery of being bullied by world powers to rouse people’s patriotism and give play to its scientists and engineers’ talents and diligence in developing advanced weapons. That is why China can catch up with and surpass the US so quickly.

I have described that in my post “Why Can China Surpass the US in Weapon Developments?” on July 26. Recently, Chinese media has published National Defense University’s report on how private enterprises are encouraged to make contribution to China’s weapon development. I give my summary of the report below:

National Defense University issued on July 25 a report titled “Report on China’s Joint Military and Civil Development”. The report says that over the past few years China has gradually formulated and perfected a full set of laws, rules and regulations related to private enterprises’ participation in development of national defense. Private enterprises are conscientiously undertaking the tasks of research, development and production of weapons and equipment for Chinese military. They have taken part in such major projects as Shenzhou X’s travel to space, Chang’e Lunar program and the commissioning of the Liaoning aircraft carrier.

According to the report, encouraging and supporting private enterprises taking part in development of national defense is an important part of the work to promote joint military and civil development. At present, a three-in-one framework for such development has initially taken shape. It consists of the governing laws and regulations, measures of implementation and the formulation of a catalogue of jobs to be taken by private enterprises.

China faces an increasing number of threats to its security due to the development and changes in the situation at home and abroad, There have been more demanding new requirements for national defense and military modernizations. Under such circumstances, private enterprises are conscientiously undertaking the tasks of research, development and production of weapons and equipment for Chinese military and doing their best to satisfy the urgent needs for the development of weapons and military equipment.

By May 2013, there had already been more than 500 private enterprises in China that have obtained licenses for research, development and production of weapons and military equipment and more than 1,000 civil technologies had been applied in research and development of equipment.

The report points out that over the past few years, due to the encouragement through a series policies and measures the number of private enterprise taking part in development of weapons and equipment for the military has kept on growing. The scope of the work they do has gradually extended from components, parts through entire equipment and master equipment.

For example, private enterprises have developed a certain light attack vehicle that can carry various kinds of light weapons, is equipped with GPS navigation system and has great cross-country capability and a certain crawler-mounted robot able to travel on rugged land such as sand, rocks and tidal flat.

Some local governments conscientiously encourage, support and guide the application of superior civil technologies to serve the need for national defense and military modernizations. For example, some private enterprises in Hebei Province have undertaken jobs in major projects for Shenzhou X, Chang’e spacecraft, the commissioning of the Liaoning aircraft carrier, National Day military parade, etc. Jiangsu Military Command jointed hands with local relevant enterprises in successful achieving over 100 technological innovations, including the “Artillery Operation Command Quick Response System”, “cross-wall surveillance radar” that have been widely used in troops’ war preparations and training.

Source: military.people.com.cn “National Defense University report says private enterprises participated in major projects such as the Liaoning aircraft carrier and Shenzhou X rocket” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)

Amazing story!

The One Night House: Squatters from Welsh Folklore

one night house
one night house

The story of the one night house, or tŷ unnos, is something heard from a friend or relative. The Welsh custom is a quaint tradition with interesting roots. Oral history is keeping the concept alive, although it’s now more legend than reality.

What exactly is a one night house? It’s a dwelling built by squatters in one night. Work would start at dusk, and come daybreak, the home would be standing in what had previously been a vacant spot. There are parallels in the folklore of other countries that might explain where it came from and how it worked.

A Story Passed On Through the Generations

Folklore is any custom preserved among the people by retellings or reenactments, and the one night house certainly fits that description. There’s very little written or recorded about tai unnos , the plural of tŷ unnos. However, thanks to stories told by parents and grandparents to the next generation, some information about the custom survives.

The last one night houses were thought to have been built by squatters more than 100 years ago. The evidence that remains about the Welsh tradition suggests that it was first practiced in the 17th century and went on for the next two hundred years.

During that period, many of the small holdings on larger estates were thought to have come from that tradition. As well as inheriting the tŷ unnos, families took on the tradition. The task was handed down to the next generation, who would go out as the light faded to build their own one night house.

Since the building of one night houses no longer occurs, the idea is fading. Lovers of folklore and history are hoping to keep the tale alive. For the memory of the custom to survive among its people, it needs to be researched, discussed, and told as part of stories.

Poor
Poor

Poor folk in Wales and elsewhere have squatted on land to claim it for centuries. In Welsh folklore, if you could build a one night house without being detecting – it was yours! ( Public Domain )

A British Tradition

Although the custom is mostly talked about as a Welsh one, there are other tales of one night houses from the land bordering Wales and from other parts of the British Isles . It was a time of population expansion in those parts, and many families were in need of a dwelling.

There were more conventional routes to take to have a home, although many families shared, with the older and younger generations all under one roof. It’s thought that poverty was a driving factor for someone to build a one night house.

Many landowners had fenced off their property for other purposes, and taxation also played a role. It’s no coincidence that the Hearth Tax was levied in 1662 and was later followed by the Land Tax, which acted as a general tax.

Land ownership was a touchy subject throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Much of the land used by commoners was enclosed by the gentry and aristocracy during this time. Based on the evidence in Scottish records , it’s thought that only 3% of the population owned land in the 18th century.

Community Effort

Just because one night houses come from legend doesn’t mean they didn’t get built. As you can imagine, building a house in the dark and in a limited amount of time was no easy thing. The squatters didn’t work alone; they would often gather their friends and relatives to help them work through the night to get the modest dwelling built.

The stories usually start with the squatter and their community gathering materials. They would bring them to the site at dusk, ready to start work as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon. According to tradition, the work would go on all night until the house was finally built.

At daybreak, a fire should be lit in the hearth, so that smoke could be seen coming from the chimney as dawn arrived. Only a build that followed these customs was thought of as a one night house.

Unwritten Rules

It’s not clear why the house had to be built during the night, although, as squatters, the process had to be a secret one. The housebuilder didn’t technically have any rights to the land, after all. It was a generally accepted custom that to complete the work in that short space of time and have the fire burning gave the squatter their rights.

It could also be assumed that if no one noticed the house popping up overnight, then the new homeowner could pretend it had been there all along. Planning law and planning permission didn’t arrive in Britain until the 20th century.

Building a house in one night didn’t grant the squatter permission to live on the land, however; there’s no record of the practice being permitted in Welsh law, or English common law , as it was under at the time. Little is known about whether the squatters succeeded for long and if there were any legal consequences.

Architectural Style

Since there aren’t any authentic examples of a one night house remaining, it’s not possible to know what they looked like. However, there are a few clues to paint a rough picture. In the tales, there wasn’t a specific design to work to, and it’s not known how many people would live in a one night house, but many believe that they weren’t large buildings.

Remains 13
Remains 13

Remains of a ty-unnos or one night house at Maen Dewi The standing stone has been used as the central support to the overnight house that was thrown up by squatters several centuries ago, with the byre on the left and the domestic dwelling room on the right where the garden furniture is. (Bob Helms / CC BY SA 2.0 )

More often than not, they were one-story and one-room dwellings. The site for the build was usually wasteland or a small plot out of the way. Some stories also include the custom that the land around the house was included in the squatters’ rights. Legend has it that the amount of land was measured by seeing how far the squatter could throw an ax from the threshold.

The rules stated that four walls, a fireplace, a roof, and a door was necessary, with additional features, like windows, being added later where possible. Building materials weren’t cheap, but they weren’t scarce either.

Many one night houses are thought to have been built with found materials, usually stone and wood, from the area. Since it involved the work of several people with stones and logs of different sizes, it’s said that the finished article often had an irregular and unusual appearance.

In fact, it was the lack of uniformity in architectural style and the strange appearance of these houses that made them recognizable to others. Thanks to the customs and stories, parents would point out tŷ unnos to their children, and so the tradition lived on.

simple
simple

A simple home in Cardiff resembling a one night house of years past ( Public Domain )

Folklore Revival of One Night Houses

In 2017, a Welsh designer at the Arts Council of Wales teamed up with the community around the National Botanic Garden to build a one night house. The project was commissioned by Common Ground for the Woodland Trust.

His aim was to keep the stories and knowledge of tŷ unnos alive. The project was also designed to connect art with the community and link it all to the local environment and folklore. He didn’t claim his squatter’s rights, though, and the space is used by the community.

The act captured the element of the one night house that’s most relatable. It’s thought to have come from traditions of dares and wagers, where people did something in one night just to prove that they could.

There are a few of reproductions of tai unnos that can be seen today. St. Fagans National Museum of History near Cardiff has Llainfadyn Cottage, which was built in 1962 based on a 1762 example in Gwynedd. Alternatively, a visit to Snowdonia will reveal the Ugly House (Tŷ Hyll), a quaint 19th-century cottage inspired by the tradition.

Llainfadyn
Llainfadyn

Llainfadyn Cottage, St Fagans Museum, Cardiff, a reproduction of a one night house (David Hallum Jones / CC BY SA 2.0 )

Inspiring Tales

Besides reproductions and recent one night house projects, folklore has inspired other creative endeavors. There are records suggesting that the last known tŷ unnos was built in 1882 in Flintshire. There’s a fictionalized written account of the adventure in the novel Mushroom Town by Oliver Onions, written in 1914. In the book, the practice is referred to as hafod unos , meaning a summer dwelling of one night.

As with the community project, it’s clear that the attraction lies in the connections and feelings a one night house brings. Folklore is more than just nostalgia; it’s the people’s interactions with their surroundings, especially if they were night owls!

Top image: Tŷ Hyll ( The Ugly House) near Betws-Y-Coed, inspired by the one night house tradition Source: Steve Daniels / CC BY SA 2.0

By Lex Leigh

“Life is Peachy”: The Superb Brightful Girly Characters by Igor Lomov

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According to an artist: “Hi, I am Igor and my nickname is Blik_47. I am a certified art teacher, used to work as a graphic designer for many years but my true calling is to create digital art. I post things on social media (always as Blik_47) in both Russian (my native language) and English.

I create original artwork and I never pass other people’s work off as my own. However, I occasionally engage in social media promotion events and repost the work of my followers (with full credit).

I am just about to finish the development of my own cyberpunk board game. It is in a sleek transportable box. The card design, game mechanics, packaging and instructions are all developed only by me. This game has cards and tokens. It can be played by 2-4 players at once. There are two main game modes – “deadly match” and “survival” (cooperative mode against the boss). Both Russian and English versions of the game will available.”

48 1 2
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Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

2023 01 22 15 11
2023 01 22 15 11

Ingredients

  • 8 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
  • 8 ounces ground beef
  • 2 red onions, cut into 1/4 inch dice
  • 3 tablespoons Real California unsalted butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon pepper, or more to taste
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1 1/2 cups Real California Half-and-Half (can use evaporated milk)
  • 3 cups shredded Real California sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 small tomato, cut into 1/4 inch dice

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan or small stockpot over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 7 to 9 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  2. Add beef to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate.
  3. Set aside about 1/3 cup of onions. Add remaining onions and butter to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 to 9 minutes.
  4. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
  5. Add broth and Half-and-Half or milk and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
  6. Add mustard, Worcestershire and 2 1/2 cups of cheese, stirring to melt cheese. Stir in about 3/4 of the bacon and 3/4 of the beef. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Serve soup garnished with remaining cheese, remaining bacon, remaining beef, reserved onions and tomatoes.

Prep: 30 min | Cook: 35 min | Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Great. Just Great! Look at what our $$ millions for each tank gets us . . . .

.

2023 01 22 15 36
2023 01 22 15 36

You want to see first hand how we’ve been getting bilked by the military-industrial complex? Our Abrams tanks . . . you know, our main battle tanks . . . can’t go up hills in the snow. They skid and slide backwards.

M1 AbramsPrice
M1 AbramsPrice

This is what Six to nine MILLION DOLLARS EACH buys us?

With weapons systems like this, would be even be able to defend our own country . . . in the winter????

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https://htrs-special.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Abrams-Tanks-Skid-In-Snow.mp4

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Fall is officially here. Now is a great time to try out some hearty autumn dishes like chicken and wild rice soup. Our recipe is rich and creamy. You can serve it as an appetizer if you want, but it’s filling enough to stand on its own as an entrée. This recipe stands out from the rest because it calls for freshly roasted chicken, plenty of delicious vegetables, and a nice dollop of plain Greek Yogurt. Adding yogurt, instead of cream, for example, helps to make this soup extremely flavorful but also relatively light, calorie-wise.

2023 01 22 15 12
2023 01 22 15 12

Ingredients

  • 1 deli-roasted chicken, about 2 1/2 pounds
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 medium carrots, ends trimmed and cut into chunks
  • 1 small rib celery, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1/3 cup uncooked wild rice*
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup Cabot 2% Plain Greek Yogurt or Cabot Plain Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste

* You can reduce the cooking time with “quick-cooking” wild rice, which is done in about 15 minutes, or substitute another flavorful rice, such as brown basmati.

Instructions

  1. Pull off meat from chicken, placing skin, bones and any hot or solidified juices in large saucepan. Dice 2 cups of chicken meat, saving rest for another use, and set aside in refrigerator.
  2. Add water, carrots, celery, peppercorns and bay leaf to saucepan; bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cover pan and cook broth for one hour.
  3. Pour broth through strainer set over large bowl, pressing on solids to extract all broth. Discard solids.
  4. Melt butter in empty saucepan. Add onions and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until onion is tender and just beginning to brown.
  5. Pour in strained broth. Add wild rice, bring to simmer and cook covered for 40 to 50 minutes or until rice is tender.
  6. In small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, yogurt and cornstarch until completely smooth with no small lumps; stir mixture into pot and continue stirring until soup thickens and returns to simmer. Add thyme, salt, pepper and 2 cups of reserved diced chicken.
  7. Taste soup, adding additional salt and pepper if needed. Stir until heated through and serve.

Yield: about 6 cups for 4 servings

“I Will Never Forget The Look On Her Face”: Woman Swaps Sugar For Salt In her Drink To Catch The Office Thief

As the workday drags on, the minutes going slower than a snail up a tree and the clicking of the keys on the keyboards turning into a semi-soothing white noise, you can’t help but think back to that amazing sammich waiting for you at lunchtime. But a pang of fear strikes your heart ever so silently—what if someone steals it?

Workplace thieves are not as rare as they should be, their long fingers tingling with the craving of ruining someone’s day to fuel their selfish desires. Therefore, it’s always satisfying when these people get their just taste of karma, and in this case, it’s extra salty. A woman decided to share her story on r/PettyRevenge, and I think you may know where this is going.

Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below, sharing any similar stories you may have. And if you’re craving more after this one, Bored Panda has got another article for you right here. It’s a juicy one as well—pun intended. Now let’s get into it!

There’s nothing more frustrating than leaving your food and drinks in the work fridge only to find them all gone when lunchtime comes around

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author 34d34939bad485a0fbfb3eaa04871cd7

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author 3939f88b8a46c648348692804e78fcaf

author c3fdd25187434f987d6b626a4a67708b
author c3fdd25187434f987d6b626a4a67708b

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petty revenge on drinks thief 1

author 61c9b776dda174f165195f11fcbc3a63
author 61c9b776dda174f165195f11fcbc3a63

author 0e07fdbb80df4ca0e9b9535cf0c16ada
author 0e07fdbb80df4ca0e9b9535cf0c16ada

The taste of karma is a delight for those watching justice unfold, but for the troublemaker—it’s nauseating at the very least. A very clear lesson from this story—don’t take things that aren’t yours to take! But why are these stories so commonplace? Are we predisposed to stealing?

As noted in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “kleptomania is exceedingly rare, whereas shoplifting is relatively common.” Kleptomania occurs in approximately 0.3–0.6% of the general population, yet there’s something about the work environment that just triggers a surge of wanting to own your coworker’s things.

According to Art Markman, human behavior is focused on doing things that feel right in the short term rather than things that feel right in the long term. The consequences of one’s actions feel more distant compared to the urge to eat or have a tasty drink. Art believes that to decrease small thefts in the workplace, we need to start by making it harder for people to do the wrong thing, but that may be easier said than done.

The key to this puzzle may lie in the motives for stealing in the first place. Brianna Morton shared the insights she gathered from those who’ve been workplace thieves themselves. Some of the reasons for their nefarious actions included seeking revenge on another thieving individual, desperation, and wanting to be a nuisance on purpose.

It’s sad to say, but stealing can become an addiction. According to WebMD, when your brain’s opioid system is unbalanced, you develop strong urges to steal, accompanied by anxiety, arousal, and tension. After stealing, you get a sense of pleasure and relief. Sometimes, you may feel guilt or remorse after the act, but you’re still unable to control the urge.

However, no pleasure should come at the expense of another person, and being stolen from is rarely on anyone’s bucket list. So, all those who are stealing for any other reason than the absolute need for their longevity and survival can get a bunch of salt running down their throat.

We hope that the original poster got their just deserts and they were never stolen from again. And that the lady doing the stealing learned a very valuable lesson.

ANTIFA Attacking Atlanta – Riots, Looting, Fires

Anti-Fascist Action (ANTIFA) is engaging in riots, looting and arson attacks in the city of Atlanta Saturday night.   Numerous stores have been looted, several vehicles, including police cars, have been set ablaze.

Mayor Andre Dickens “Many of these protesters are not from Atlanta, and many are not even from the state of Georgia.  The Mayor stunned assembled media outlets when he revealed, during a Press conference, some of those arrested “have been found to have explosives on them.”

As most readers readily know, Protesters don’t destroy property and hurl explosives at police, those would be Rioters

The Mayor clearly stated “These people mean harm to people and to property.”

Atlanta is on fire tonight, but @cnn reporters @DavidPeisner & @PamelaBrownCNN are reporting Atlanta police officers, NOT protestors, are committing violence for tackling & arresting these thugs burning and destroying a police cruiser and store front windows.

This is a developing story.  More as I get it.

 UPDATE 10:19 PM EST —

 

 

and:

 

 

Violent Antifa protectors are calling for a ‘Night of Rage’ against police officers after a raid of ‘Cop City’ left an activist dead and a state trooper injured.

Georgia State Patrol troopers swooped on the autonomous zone at the site of the future $90million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in a ‘clearing operation’ on Wednesday.

In a press conference, Georgia Bureau of Investigations director Michael Register confirmed that the shooting was in self-defense, with the protestor opening fire ‘without warning’ at the trooper.

But activists are now calling for a ‘Night of Rage’ and bloodshed against the police following the shooting – threatening to enact ‘reciprocal violence’ against the authorities.

Japanese Artist Paints Hyperrealistic Paintings That Are So Precise You Might Confuse Them With Photos

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1 604699b5a20fe 880

This time, I want to present an incredible gallery of pictures of… paintings. Although it might be hard to believe these were actually painted by a human hand, this is a true representation of the beauty and power of talent and hard work.

Japanese painter Kei Mieno creates painstakingly detailed and realistic paintings that can be easily mistaken for photographs. Let’s admit, the kinds of photographs not everyone would be able to take. Colors, lights, shadows, contrasts, texture—everything comes together to create incredibly lifelike artwork. The remarkably skillful artist, who celebrates his 36th birthday today, uses oil to bring his hyperrealistic ideas to life.

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EPIhuBCVUAY6yD7 604699d6316db 880

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Beef Stroganoff Soup

beef stroganoff soup
beef stroganoff soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound beef sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 1/2 cups beef broth (low-sodium or regular)
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups dried egg noodles
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Snipped fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper.
  2. In a Dutch oven, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook steak one-half at a time, in until browned. Set beef aside.
  3. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to Dutch oven. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
  4. Stir in beef, broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste; bring to boiling. Cover, and reduce to a simmer; cook for 45 minutes until beef is tender.
  5. Add noodles; boil gently, uncovered, for 6 to 7 minutes until noodles are tender.
  6. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream and flour. Add to soup, and cook, stirring until bubbly.

Remember who you are.

This event sounds more like she was tapping into the collective consciousness via prayers rather than a full-on NDE.

Strange world, indeed. But not our problem

Today we are going to chat a tad bout really evil people.

We need to be reminded about these people, because these are EXACTLY the kinds of people who are running the show in Washington DC today.

By understanding this, we can then except the events that will occur later on towards the end of this year…

MM Geo-Political lesson 101

There is an easy and simple way to determine the relationships between nations.

  • Allies = Each have the others military forces stationed inside BOTH nations.
  • Friends = Neither have military forces stationed in the nations.
  • Proxies = One nation has their military forces inside the proxy nation.
  • Enemies = One nation surrounds another nation with it’s military forces.

Could Russia and China combined defeat the USA?

China is lowkey doing SO right now on its own! And has been for the last few decades???

China is singlehandedly dragging other nations up to another level! A level where its a level playing field with the US and the collective West!

The collective West are panicking now because EVERYONE ELSE is either on equal footing or at least progressing / catching up to them with the help of China to the point where EVERYONE can just say NO to the collective wests BS poking and prodding!

Without China Russia wouldn’t be so bold

ALL WITHOUT GETTING ANGRY AND FIRING ANYTHING

It sure aint the Chinese getting antsy

We’ll let the Pelosi thing go for now hue hue hue hue XD

AND YES a combined SinoRussia is undefeatable!

Thats 2 ancient civilizations with history and pedigree working together as one!

Its what we have right this very moment! China and Russia are right now an unspoken alliance

i think either Putin or Xi said the relationship was better than allies! that almost qualifies for friends and family discounts!

7 Confessions That Will Take You On A Rollercoaster Of Emotions

 

1. Me and my wife were having serious issues and then she got sick with cancer. That came like a mack truck. She said a lot of the grief she gave me was because she knew she was sick and was ashamed of burdening me and leaving me as a widow dad of four kids under 13.

I took care of that woman like she was one of my boys. That experience took 10 years off my life. Her death was easy compared to the aftermath.

I was going through her computer and saw that she had a separate email account which was odd. That was on purpose. This bitch was planning on blindsiding with a divorce and was going back and forth with different lawyers about making me a weekend dad, throwing me out of my house and even seeing if I’d pay her legal bills. This went on a week before she saw the doctor.

This slag used me to take care of her in her final days because no one else would. I won’t tell my kids…yet.

2. I was working for a company (out of many like this) dedicated to entirely manage OnlyFans accounts for girls. Basically these girls never did anything else than just taking the pictures and videos for us.

80% of workers were guys, 20% were girls, but it’s all fake. Even when you think that the person is real and is actually talking to you, she is not.

Even when the account is verified, it could be fake.

I feel bad because I talked to MANY guys who fell in love for a girl who doesn’t even know they exist and we had to take as much money as we could from everyone, that was the goal.

We were so good at it that our standards were 700-1000 USD per day with each account, and each worker had to manage 6 accounts, so imagine the amount of money we made monthly.

So my advice: only pay OnlyFans girls when they give you a live proof that they are real, like making an specific gesture with their hand on a selfie. Don’t trust videos where they say they are real, don’t trust audios, don’t trust pictures that seem taken at the same time… Or just watch porn.

Also: it’s a PPV site and therefore it’s just a business, so don’t be the guy who just wants free content, it’s annoying af, real or not 🙂

3. So I’m not sure exactly where to put this so I thought here would be an okay place. Lately I’ve been seeing in a lot more liberal groups especially, that saying poor people shouldn’t have children is eugenics and it’s wrong blah blah blah. But I feel like a lot of people saying this haven’t had to experience growing up poor. In poverty, and homelessness.

My parent’s were poor and could barley take care of themselves, they lived in a motel when they got pregnant with me.

My entire childhood was a horrible experience having to grow up and not knowing if you were going to get fed, or have a roof over your head, it fucking sucked.

It hurt even more since I lived in a town where eveyone was well off, so as a kid I never got to experience things a lot of other kids do, like going to camp, taking summer trips to Disneyland, or playing their games on their nice TVs.

Growing up being the oldest girl I raised both of my little brothers since my parents couldn’t afford childcare, which led to me missing out on opportunities with my peers, I was so socially awkward for not being around people my age enough that even to this day.

I am 21 years old and all my friends are in their early 30s late 20s because I feel like I cannot relate to people my age.

I feel like I was forced to grow up way to fast and I would be lying if part of me said I didn’t resent my parents for having me knowing they couldn’t afford to.

I dont know, if you’re someone who can barley take care of themselves, do yourself and your future child a favor and just put off having children until you can afford them.

I think a lot of people see having children as a right, instead of seeing a child as a human being that has rights.

And sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings by saying this, but yes I truly believe if you’re poor you shouldn’t be having children, it’s not you who suffers, it’s the child.

4. Gave the short guy a chance and it was totally worth it

I started seeing this shorter guy, 5’5, and I really like him. I myself am 5’11, so there’s already a huge difference. He carries himself with so much confidence, he doesn’t even care if I wear heels which I have when we go out.

Phew, the sex is amazing too. Definitely the best I’ve ever had. I’ve never had someone fit between my legs so perfectly before.

Now whenever I see a shorter man, I wonder what they’re like in bed and I feel an instant attraction. Go short kings! Shoot your shot at the tall girls!

5. I unironically love Imagine Dragons

I get it. It’s “corporate rock.” They’re “sellouts.” It’s “fake” music.

But the surge of emotion I feel listening to “Birds”, and the way I bop my head with confidence to “Enemy” is very real.

Guys, we are ALL being manipulated by all forms of media, all of the time. Marvel is designed to be cinematic brain candy. Pop music is the same. We crave distraction and bursts of dopamine first, and meaning and profundity second.

And while I do love GOOD music too, I’m finally ready to stand up and say this. It feels like a weight has been lifted off me.

6. I’m 30 and my little brother is 24. He’s honestly the best brother I could have asked for. I still remember the day he was born and holding my newborn baby brother when I was a kid. As we grew up I always knew he was different but he’s my brother and I love him and I wouldn’t change him. He’s honestly one of my best friends and having a brother with downs syndrome, especially one like him has made me a better person.

Last month my parents went out of town for a few days and they asked if I’d stay with my brother and take care of the house. While he might have downs syndrome he’s not entirely helpless he just can’t really be on his own like that. So of course I agreed and brought my PS5 over and some games, snacks and beers, I called out of work for a few days and figured we’d have some fun just like when we were kids.

We were having a great time and were talking the first day while taking turns playing Elden Ring and my bro started the game and got to the part where the guy calls you “maidenless” and I said something like “Ooooo he called you maidenless bro…daaaaaaamn.” and my brother got super sad looking and I asked him what was wrong and he said, “I am maidenless. I’ll never have a girlfriend.” So we talked about that for a bit and he was actually feeling super depressed because he’s never had a girlfriend and didn’t think he ever would. We kind of talked it out and he was really sad and I decided fuck it we can find him a girl.

I called a couple people I knew who were into that sort of thing to see if they knew anyone. Well one of my buddies had a number of this girl so I gave her a call. She was actually super sweet and understanding about the situation and she said she’d be glad to show my brother a good time for her usual rate. She had a cousin with downs so she was very sympathetic.

I told my brother I’d pay a girl to come over and show him some fun on the condition that our parents will die without knowing I hired a prostitute to come to their house. He agreed.

So I made plans for her to come over, got my brother shaved and showered for his date. She showed up dressed up super nice she was also super hot. I’m no chef but I had picked up some food from Olive Garden for them. She was a genuinely nice person and was really good with him and I just left them to do their thing while I played the playstation in the livingroom. Eventually they passed by going upstairs to his room. I put my headphones on and kept playing.

Eventually they came back down and both had big smiles on their faces. She hung out with us a bit then it was time for her to go. I handed her the cash plus some extra as a bonus. She said my brother was a sweetheart and that I was a good brother to do something like that for him and that she had a good time. She handed me half the cash back.

Eventually my parents came back and thankfully are none the wiser as my mother especially would probably kill me. My brother is super appreciative and said it was the most fun he’d ever had.

I have no regrets.

7.I can’t really say this out loud to anyone in my personal life because it would hurt my family members and my friends would try to console me because they love me but honestly, my life has been ruined due to my ugliness.

I’m not overweight, I dress well and I do my best to treat others well but none of this matters because I simply have a very ugly face. No men have ever approached me or wanted to date me because why would any man want to date a hideous woman who doesn’t even look like a woman? I don’t blame them, I mean I could be dressed in the most feminine clothing and i would still not look like a real woman because of my face

My entire life, a lot of people have been mean to me (including some relatives) because of how ugly I am – it’s so sad but true that even little kids who are perceived as “unattractive” get treated worse by adults

I’m only in my 20s but it’s so painful to know that I’m never going to get married or have my own children with a spouse who loves me.

I understand that it’s not any one else’s job to try and make me feel better about the fact that I am ugly because it’s not like anyone intentionally did this to me.

I have siblings who are actually reasonably attractive people so it’s not even like my parents genetics are necessarily bad but I just ended up with the worst combination of their genes and honestly, what is the point of living like this.

I feel so alone in this experience because I’ve barely ever met any other women who are naturally unattractive. Every woman I know gets hit on by men and approached for dating. I wish I knew what it was like to have a man want me sexually

Angering…

14 People Reveal How They Found Out Their Partners Were Cheating

 

1. My wife tried calling and didn’t hang up once it went to voicemail. She accidentally left a 2:45 VM. The VM consisted of her and her BF talking shit about me and how much happier she was with him.

At the time I was home with our kids and I thought she was 1,800 miles away to be with her dying father. Two years later we are divorced and her father is still alive.

2. She needed a new phone so I put it in my name since I was working, 2 hours after leaving the store and having lunch with me joking about how excited she was to get married I found a photoreel full of pictures she had been exchanging with her ex whilst transferring her stuff to her new phone.

I put 2 and 2 together and opened her text inbox and surprise! She had been texting him for months and fucking him for a few weeks.

3. I counted the pictures.

This was in 2000, before everyone had a camera on their phone and you had to get your holiday snaps developed at the Walgreens photo lab.

She brought home the pictures of her vacation to see her “old high school friend” in Vegas, but there was something missing. See, back in the day the rolls of film were made up of exposures of 12, 24, 36 pics, etc. depending on the film you bought.

I went through the photos and it didn’t add up. Literally. The 24 exposure roll only had 18 pics. Eventually I found the remaining photos…her and the new boyfriend looking happy.

4. My super genius ex wife bitched about the cost of our joint cell phone bill. She told me I’m using it too much. I never used it except to call her phone which was free. So I looked over the bill and found the number to the dude she was cheating with.

5. iMessage linked to her computer. I was on her computer buying stuff off Amazon and she was sitting on the couch, feet from me, texting her ex. He was trying to get her to send him nudes and they were reminiscing about previous encounters. He was bragging about how he made her “leg shake” all the while I was watching the conversation in real time, right next to her. My adrenaline kicked in and I simply closed the computer and left the house without saying a word. This was over a year ago and I’m still fighting her for custody of our children.

6. She became more and more distant. Not just that, but also indifferent. She just stopped caring and it showed. I caught her because she claimed she was working OT, but her pay never reflected it. One day I got out of work early after a machine broke down in the department. I didn’t tell her. When I came home, I caught her red handed with someone in our bed.

7. I had a feeling for a while, it was always denied of course – directly and through a massive amount of gaslighting. Ultimately, the other woman was also married and her husband called me at work (found me via LinkedIn). Took everything I had to walk to my car to cry in private.

8. Back when cell phones had limited minutes, I got notified that we were over our limit. Checked the last bill and nothing but her and her boss talking at all hours of the day. Then she stupidly left her e-mail open on my computer and I got to read how he enjoyed touching her boobs a lot.

9. Just got on a flight in London headed to Vegas. Sitting next to my GF and she wants to show me something she has planned for the trip so gets out her phone.

It opens to the Messages and shows a chat with a guy (I know him) saying how much she is gonna miss him and how she doesn’t wanna go away with me anyway.

The doors close on the plane and that was a really fucking fun 10-11hrs…

10. I know this is cliche and I’ve definitely bitched about it before, but coming home from a 12 MONTH deployment to a BLACK baby when we’re both white were strike one and two. Strike three was telling me she had black relatives (whom I’ve never met) so that could be what happened, sure. Doesn’t matter what excuse You have there isn’t a magical 12 month gestation period. Makes me very fucking angry.

11. The dude told me. We used to go to school together. Saw him in Facebook and requested friendship. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I was great. Girl and I were about to celebrate our anniversary. He apologized to me and said he had to tell me that they had been fucking for the last week. Said he didn’t know we were together and I believed him. He sent me screenshots of pages of text as proof. She got called out by the both of us and we are still very good friends, he and I. Fuckin lying skank.

12. I woke up in the middle of the night when she was in the bathroom. Used her phone as a light. Saw texts from her ex about how good it felt to cum inside her the day before.

13. She forgot to end the call, you know, press the red button. I heard them talking about who was going to shower first.

14. She was in the toilet. Her phone flashed up. The message notification read “Did you tell him?”.

Apparently the message was about something completely different, but after I bluffed her into thinking I know more than I do – a name and that something’s up, she “confessed”.

10 years relationship destroyed. No turning back. Easier to build up trust with a new person the. with someone that cheated on you. And in long term relationships, marriage, you have to trust each other.

Imagine living in such a mess that you don’t notice a leg of someone you murdered lying around.

https://youtu.be/F1oeZe6SET4

What’s It Like To Have Alzheimer’s?

This is an excellent question, and one I’ve considered often in the last decade-plus of working with such folks.

First, it depends upon the stage of dementia: mild, moderate, or severe.

In mild dementia, it seems to be like being a functional alcoholic’s day, as far as cognition goes. You’re able to do what you need to do, but some little things get missed, such as your T-shirt is on backward, but you don’t notice, or you can’t find the sugar bowl, so you start taking apart cupboards and end up going without coffee and the kitchen is a mess. Later, you swear you did not do that. You have no memory of doing it, and the more another person argues that you did indeed make that mess, the angrier you get. You did not. He or she is lying.

The whole day goes like this—close to normal, but not quite. Routines are easy, but anything new is more difficult. And, if asked about someone or thing from earlier in the day, you may or may not remember the event. By the end of the day, you’re tired of thinking, but your brain keeps throwing up odd thoughts and ideas—things like, “I can’t find the car keys. Someone must have stolen them! I need the car keys.” You may wander, rummage, pull things out of drawers for a couple hours, at the end of which you may be unable to tell anyone what it was you were searching for. Even more telling, you may not have driven a car for the past five years.

During moderate dementia, each day is more moment to moment, and routine is your friend. Anything that is routine is easier for you to experience. Breakfast, lunch, dinner—that’s how your day is scheduled. But something out of the ordinary, like a doctor’s appointment, can throw you. You may balk at going, at getting dressed and getting in the car and going. There’s so much mental stimulation involved in such a nonroutine event that you prefer to stick to what you know: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and maybe sitting in the sun, watching the world go by.

Activities like taking a shower can become difficult for you. If you think about it, a shower is an event that is very high in stimulation of all sorts. The bathroom is very separate from your normal living space—usually hard-edged and cold-seeming. Then you must take all your clothing off—that’s just a lot of stimulation itself, and the memories loosely associated with nakedness are also fraught with stimulation. The shower makes noise, the temperature difference is apparent, there’s soap and shampoo and the scrunchie thing, water in your eyes, your ears, the space is confined, and by this time someone is usually in there with you, “helping,” which is just weird, no matter how much you understand and accept that you need help. It’s one diagnostic sign of moderate dementia: You may start to not like to be washed and clean—shower or bath.

I remember a gentleman in the facility I worked at in Washington state. He was new and hadn’t been showered at the hospital, so on his first full day, the aides gave him a shower. He spent the rest of the afternoon in tears because, “They threw me in the corner and pelted me with rocks like a piece of trash!” That’s what he felt like. Another woman would walk up and down the corridors but stay far away from windows, saying “There’s Indians out there! They’re going to attack!” It took a long time to figure this one out. She would pace and pace and could not sit still, always talking about Native Americans shooting arrows at us. Finally a nurse asked her if she had been hit by an arrow. Yes, she said. Where’d they get you? Right here, and she clutched her low back: Arrggghhhh! It hurt so much! Going through her medical history a bit closer, we discovered she had been in a car accident years before and suffered a low back injury. She’d been telling us for weeks what was happening to her, but not in a way that made sense to us. To her, it made perfect sense: It felt like an arrow in her back. And who used arrows? American Indians.

You are losing words, but it doesn’t matter much since those around you ignore that loss and fill in the blanks. Sometimes you cannot understand what someone else said, like he is speaking a foreign language, and this can make you automatically refuse whatever is being spoken about—that, too, makes a certain amount of sense. Someone babbling to you in a foreign language and making “Come with me” motions is someone to view with suspicion, don’t you think? Moderate dementia is usually the longest part of the disease, which is why I’m spending so much time on it.

The slow slide into severe dementia is sometimes difficult to spot as far as an actual line of demarcation, but one sign is sleeping more and more often. Even during formerly pleasurable activities, such as familiar and enjoyed music, the damage to your brain is so profound that the stimulation is not enough to keep you awake. You sleep, perchance to dream, but we don’t know. We know that damage to the areas that are usually lit up like a Christmas tree during dreaming is profound, but since we don’t really understand sleep or dreaming, it seems rather cruel to take someone who doesn’t do well in new situations into a sleep lab and wire his brain for sound and color, stick him in a tube, and say, “Don’t move.” So we don’t know. But that is one of the things I’ve always wondered about; it seems to me by the time you are in severe dementia, the difference between awake and dreaming is invisible.

Speech is limited. You may have a full thought in your head, but only one or two words come out, if any. Caregivers learn to listen for the first two or so words and try to discern what the thought is from there, because that’s usually all we get. Eyesight is odd; you don’t know what it is you are seeing. My current furthest-along-in-Alzheimer’s resident recently did not recognize a puppy. She saw it, she gazed at it, I placed her hand on it, but she looked at her hand and not the puppy, and there was absolutely no engagement between her and the stimulation provided. She no longer hears music, which is a shame, because she loved music her whole life long. We still play it for her, and we still put on her favorite musicals, but there’s no engagement anymore. She does not hear or see any of it other than perhaps a fleeting spark of memory, now gone.

In severe dementia, everything is moment to moment. Routine means nothing anymore, because there is no past or future, only now.

And then you start your last slide into end-stage dementia; you sleep 23½ hours out of 24, and when you are awake, you may as well be dreaming. You do not meet anyone’s eyes. You do not react in any manner to much beyond very painful stimulation. You are almost gone. We try to feed you, but you don’t seem to know what to do with the food in your mouth, and you may choke, which could result in aspiration pneumonia—never a good thing. Your urine output drops, peristalsis decreases, and your body temperature may rise. And as your organs start to shut down, you sleep, and sleep, and sleep, and slip away, very peacefully. You’re gone.

That’s what Alzheimer’s-type dementia is like.

 – Jae Starr

https://youtu.be/S7zSa5VAu7Q

Stunning Vintage Pictures Of The London Underground Through The Times

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One of a series of photographs by Henry Flather showing the construction, undertaken between 1866 and 1870, of the Metropolitan District Railway’s (MDR) underground lines between Paddington and Blackfriars via Kensington. It shows Notting Hill Gate Station shortly before it opened in 1868.

The line laid by the MDR from the 1860s onwards was designed to provide a rail connection for travellers between London’s mainline railway terminals, situated in a ring around the city centre. It now forms part of the existing District and Circle Lines on the London Underground. The construction work, utilising the “cut and cover” technique, caused much disruption to London neighbourhoods. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

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Opening of the London underground metropolitan line in London, Britain, 1863. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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What’s It Like To Go Crazy

I went mad once. I even was institutionalized and put under anti-psychotics. I was conscious of it, at first, I guess it was because I’m introverted. I noticed my mind was working awkwardly, logical actions started to seem illogical. Things like Why am I stuck in this line when I could just walk over that table and get to the door?

Another symptom was that the stress was gone, things that normally worried me wouldn’t cause me anxiety. I felt so light, so good, so confident, full of energy (and I haven’t been sleeping well lately), and colors looked brighter. I’m a pretty shy person, but in that time I could talk to anyone of anything without feeling uncomfortable. I was concerned about this changes, so I told my parents that I believed I was going crazy. They told me that there was no way that I was crazy, because crazy people don’t know they are crazy. They told me that my extraversion was a sign of maturity.

Days passed and the symptoms worsened, I stopped sleeping because I found it unnecessary, and not only I kept questioning normality, but also I started questioning reality. If reality is just stimuli interpreted by my brain, then does objetivity actually exists? what is the difference between a dream and reality if both are dependent on the brain? what if reality is just like a non-lucid dream, what if it just had turned lucid, and now I’m able to control it? Maybe that is what people call awakening, maybe that is what people call enlightening, they got it all wrong!. And I googled it, and people talked about life being a dream, and it reinforced my theory.

And then I became a god.

Reality is a dream, and I’m the dreamer. What is outside the dream? Nothing. What is the sense of life? why did I create this? Why is there suffering in the world? Because I was bored. There is no good or wrong, it is just a game for my enjoyment. A simulation to learn about myself, the only one. I’ve created this setting, I’ve divided myself into different points of view, and I’ve made me forget everything to made it more interesting, to see how much time does it takes me to get the pieces together, and to see how my pieces interact. And then what? Then I start again, thanks to my ability to forget, I can play this forever.. While all this thoughts assaulted me I would continue with my rutine, I was quite distracted as you can imagine. Some friends thought I was high (I don’t do drugs).

From time to time, reality would feel real again, I would feel small, with no control over it. I would feel confident, because I knew the truth, I knew that nothing mattered. But then I remember a dream could become a nightmare, and a new concern assaulted me. My own fear could manifest as something bad, and I become scared of being scared. I would feel like I was in a horror movie, pretty much like the dark side of Silent Hill. I would feel a presence, and I would feel alone and helpless. And then I would swich back to the “normal” or god state.

Finally, four days after I told my family that I was crazy, they believed me, but I didn’t belive I was crazy anymore. They found out something was wrong because I skipped a class and went for a walk instead of taking the bus. And then I kind of explained them that nothing wrong could have happened because I controlled everything. We went to a clinic, I wasn’t scared, I thought it would be funny that I would win because I was right and everyone were ignorants. I would just play the game. I received like three different diagnoses, I think they were wrong because they were assuming a cronic condition when there was one occurence. I mean, one of the diagnoses was bipolar and I didn’t even had the second pole.

The meds didn’t make me stop believing life was a dream, but I stopped feeling powerfull. I only learnt to tell the doctors what they wanted to hear. Then my family noticed I was getting bad (no because of madness, but because of medication, they were overdosing me and I had a lot of secondary effects). They seeked for a different opinion and I got another diagnosis: psychotic break due to sleep deprivation(as I mentioned earlier I was sleeping badly, the week before everything happened I spent the nights online and sleept only 2 or 3 hours and then nothing at all). I went home, got some pills to sleep, I slowly dropped the anti-psychotic dose, and I never had another problem again.

It was hard to stop believing the things that made me feel awesome, but I had to do it. I’ve become a bit obsessive about not skipping sleep time, and I still have nightmares from time to time, sometimes I have lucid dreams and I freak out, because I fear I’m not dreaming and it is me going crazy. But appart from that I’m fine. The doctor said that if I didn’t have another episode within two years of dropping the meds then it wasn’t chronic (schizophrenia is chronic), it had been 4 years and I’m sane

The experiences of becoming insane is different for everyone, because every madness is different. But I think they all have in common getting obsessed on one single idea that redefines everything.

Such a heartbreaking story, I really thought the grandmother had something to do with it at first, she was so calm on the phone.. just goes to prove how everyone handles grief differently and of course she must have been on auto pilot due to the shock, I admire her for going to see him after he confessed.

https://youtu.be/IZTRNp715Mo

Mexican-Style Green Chile Chicken Casserole

“This casserole is even better the next day, that is if it even makes it overnight! —you may omit the jalapeno pepper if desired, we like onions so I always use two and lots of fresh garlic, you can increase the green chiles to whatever amount you desire, and use as much shredded cheese and cooked chicken as desired, the amounts listed are only a guideline, this also works well with cooked turkey, prep time does not include cooking the chicken — this is *very* good!”

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Ingredients

  • 2 -3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 -3 tablespoons fresh minced garlic (or to taste)
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 13 cups chicken broth
  • 1 14 cups canned green chilies, drained (can use more!)
  • 1 -2 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted
  • salt and pepper
  • 24 corn tortillas (you might use a couple less than 24, or use as many as needed)
  • 4 cups cooked chicken (or use cooked turkey)
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese (or to taste) or 2 cups monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend, shredded and divided (or to taste)

Directions

  • Set oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
  • In a medium heavy pot or saucepan, heat 2-3 tablespoons butter over medium heat; add in chopped onion, garlic and jalapeno pepper, saute for about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add in the chicken broth, green chiles, cumin and chicken soup, season with salt and pepper; bring to a boil and simmer for about 3 minutes or until heated through and combined; remove from heat.
  • Spread about 1 cup of the soup mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
  • Arrange 5-6 tortillas over the soup mixture, then top with about 1 cup chicken, then about 1/2 cup shredded cheese (or to taste).
  • Repeat the layers (ENDING with the cheese).
  • Spread the remaining soup mixture over the cheese.
  • Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

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8 Guys Who Dated Models Reveal What Their Experiences Were Like

1. I dated a fitness instagram model type with 200k followers. Nice girl, but everything was about social media, constantly taking pics and checking her phone

Lots of weird problems around food, couldnt just relax. It was tough so I stopped seeing her.

2. I dated an ex model for about 6 months. There’s no way I would have approached her, instead she gave me her number. She later told me guys never make a move, I guess because they would feel intimidated.

The only thing that really differed from dating someone less attractive (that is less attractive than model caliber) was the number of guys who would double take/stare at her in public. It sometimes seemed like everyone was doing it. She said she was used to it and it began around the time she turned 13!

She had some problems which ultimately ruined the relationship. She asked me to propose to her a month in and she was clearly a hypochondriac. When I broke it off she claimed she was pregnant. Fun times.

3. She could silence an Italian restaurant by waking in, but was a dead fish in bed, had a personality like an oak tree, pretty much parroted Facebook opinions, and was anti anything fun. It was a good month, but I had to walk away

4. My girlfriend is a former model. She used to travel all over the world working shows everywhere. Eventually she transitioned to her own label which she sold off.

I’m not the best looking of guys. I don’t really understand how it was that we got together. I did stop to help her when her car broke down, she invited me to a friends of hers braai (BBQ) and then to her bed.

We have had our ups and downs. Both of us had a tough time with jealousy and suspicion of each other – both of us have been cheated on in the past. I see the way that others – both male and female – look at her, and sometimes flirt with her. I know now that nothing will come of any of it. We have both helped each other mature and grow into the beautiful, annoying couple that we are today.

5. I dated what I consider a 10 last year. Everything was great on paper and we made a good looking couple. That gets old fast though, you stop noticing or caring because it simply isn’t important to your overall happiness unless you’ve got some problems. I understood after a few months how people married to gorgeous celebrities end up cheating or breaking things off. She didn’t want to put as much work into the relationship, presumably after a lifetime of being pursued by men where she didn’t have to. In bed it was a mixed bag as well, very low effort on her behalf and not really meeting me in the middle. She also spent an ungodly amount of money on clothes/makeup.

So while it was cool to be admired by other guys for a bit, ultimately it didn’t work out. She was shocked when I broke things off but not in a good way, almost as if she thought she deserved to be the one doing it.

6. She gets hit on constantly, free drinks on nights out, even if Im standing right there.

Guys always stare just walking down the road. She often dresses intentionally like a slob if we are going for a quick shopping trip or something, just so she doesn’t get as many looks.

When she wants to look good though she is a perfectionists. Takes 3 or 4 hours to get ready sometimes. Different makeup, hair styles to go with different outfits.

Some days she feels unattractive even though she just isn’t and I cant see the difference.

My outfit apparently never goes together so she will pick out one that does.

7. Use to date a instagram model. She was blue ticked and had over 500k followers

Honestly, she was a nightmare. Biggest attention seeker i ever met, wanted to post me to her IG after literally a month of dating..

Safe to say it didnt last long before i ended things

8. I briefly dated a model, she was gorgeous and I’m a very average guy so this was strange for me.

We went to dinner one night and the manager was hitting on her, telling her how he could buy her things, she ended up kicking me under the table to get him to leave.

Others were a guy at the train station trying to hit on her so she kind of just leaned against me, we left. She was actually great, very humble, she moved away but if she hadn’t I’d of been all in.

Talked about trying to be in the same place in the future but it just wasn’t realistic.

Confessions of a Man Who Suffers From Narcolepsy

Do you have a fear of drowning when eating soup?

No, but I typically wear water wings just in case anything goes wrong.

How many times have you woken up with your face on a keyboard?

I can only really recall one or two times where I’ve legitimately fallen asleep on my keyboard (And even then, I more or less let it happen, I’m really lazy). Now, falling asleep while leaning back in my computer chair? That’s another story, I’ve done that countless times.

How long do you usually blackout for, what is the experience like?

The time depends. It’s typically like a short nap or I might just transfer into my night of sleep if it happens late enough (Such as during a movie in the later evening). It kind of comes out of nowhere, although it isn’t a sudden black out.

It’s hard to explain how it exactly happens (For one, because I’m super fucking sleepy when it does), but think of that kid in your class who keeps falling asleep and his head is bobbing. I desperately try to stay awake, but if I don’t actively get up and move around, I don’t stand a chance, I will fall asleep. Because of how sudden the onset of extreme sleepiness is, more often than not I will succumb to it at least for a bit.

Have you ever had any scares or been seriously endangered because of your narcolepsy?

I’ve never really managed to hurt myself. Although narcolepsy is portrayed in the media as a sudden blackout, this is not really the case. It’s more of a sudden onset of extreme sleepiness that can really only be fought through physical movement.

That being said, I’ve had my fair share of embarrassing moments. I’ve fallen asleep in movie theaters, a Subway, during kissy time, at work, and in class countless numbers of times (I’m the kid who does that hilarious head-bobbing thing in class when trying to fight the sleep onset).

Have had a couple scares on the road with dozing off, fortunately nothing bad happened.

Most recently I can recall a time where I was driving home from school to my parents house. They live a good 90 minutes away and almost the entirety of that drive is freeway driving so there isn’t a whole lot to it. I started dozing off and, almost immediately, came to and found myself in the middle of the two-lane highway. Fortunately the nearest car was about a quarter mile behind me. I made sure to turn on my blinker and switch lanes to play it all cool.

The good news is, since I’ve been taking the medicine, nothing like this has even come close to happening.

What was your most awkward blackout?

Typically speaking, I don’t “blackout” per say. Media and pop culture have done a nice job of exaggerating the effect of Narcolepsy in that, I don’t just suddenly drop to the floor asleep.

It’s more like an uncontrollable urge to sleep. For instance, falling asleep in class. I don’t really willingly go to sleep, I just don’t have much of a choice because I get so damn sleepy. I’m that kid in your class that always does the head-nod.

That being said, I fell asleep once while making out with a girl after a party. Not really sure what she ended up doing.

Before treatment, how often did you fall victim to your narcolepsy? Did you fall asleep multiple times a day?

I would usually have a bout once or twice per day. Typically once or twice during the school day and then once I got home a nap was almost inevitable.

What prompted you to get a diagnosis?

I went in to get checked out because I suspected I had some sort of sleep disorder – my first inclination was actually sleep apnea. I often had very fragmented sleep and even when I slept well through the night, I always had issues staying awake and focused. It was such a battle to stay awake, it didn’t really seem right.

What was the diagnosis like?

I met once with my doctor and discussed the symptoms I was having. My regular doctor happens to be a sleep specialist so fortunately it only took about 15 minutes for him to realize that I should get a sleep study. After the sleep study, he diagnosed me with narcolepsy.

What did he prescribe you?

My doctor prescribed me NuVigil (which is essentially identical to ProVigil if you’re familiar). It’s not an amphetamine but it’s actually classified as a “Stimulant-like” drug. I’m not entirely sure what that is supposed to mean, but it keeps me up and is in my system for roughly 12 hours.

Funny side note, when I first was prescribed the medication I was taking it too late in the day so it’d still be in my system at like 2-3AM. For about a week I slept for maybe three hours a night. Most productive week of my life.

I generally try to take it at about 7:30AM (Class at 8:00AM, fuck me) and I’ll generally notice it beginning to wear off in the later afternoon and by 7:00PM or so I don’t really notice it anymore. If I take the medicine later in the day, I occasionally will have issues sleeping at night. Ironically one of the symptoms of NuVigil/ProVigil is insomnia.

I don’t really ever feel jittery, but I’m on a lower dosage (150mg vs 250mg). I’ve heard that this is the case sometimes with other amphetamines.

Have you had to alter your lifestyle?

A lot of it actually boils down to things everyone should be doing anyways, it’s just that more important that I do them. I make sure to exercise pretty much every day as this helps me sleep at night. Diet is also very important. In addition to a balanced diet being important for a healthy lifestyle, I need to watch what I eat later at night. Heavier, fattier foods tend to disrupt sleep, but at the same time it’s important not to go to bed hungry as this might disrupt sleep as well. Going further, my caffeine intake is pretty much zero. In addition to taking about eight hours to get out of the body, there’s apparently a higher risk of negative side effects from the NuVigil if I have a high caffeine intake.

Perhaps the most important lifestyle (And one that I’m still working on keeping up with to be honest) is a regular sleep schedule. That is, waking up and going to bed at the same time every day. This helps to regulate my sleep cycle.

The general idea with the lifestyle changes is to ensure a full rested night’s sleep, so as to help with the sleepiness during the day time.

Have there been any surprise perks from your diagnosis?

As far as surprise perks go, now that I’m officially diagnosed, I have used it as an excuse in class for why I fell asleep. I actually told one of my professors from day one this semester that I might fall asleep because of my narcolepsy and he was totally cool with it.

Other than that, my friends get to make jokes about it all the time now and comedy is always a good thing.

How would one know if they were a narcoleptic?

The four classic symptoms of narcolepsy are Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS), cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. Hypnagogic hallucinations simply refer to hallucinations experienced in the transfer period between sleeping and wakefulness.For me, I don’t experience cataplexy or sleep paralysis. I certainly have the EDS, and have had a few bouts of a weird, I guess “delirium”, immediately after waking up that make me suspect I also succumb to those hypnagogic hallucinations from time to time.Narcoleptics are also different in that their REM and NREM sleep are mixed up. That is to say, I’ll go directly into my REM stage when I fall asleep. Say I take a nap in class, I’m dreaming. Fall asleep in the car? I’m dreaming. If you find that you’re dreaming each time, or at least frequently when you nap, this is a sign that you are going directly into the REM stage. Tied to this, someone with narcolepsy will have a quick sleep onset time. Anything less than 8 minutes is considered quick. When I did my sleep study my onset time was on average between 3 and 4 minutes and I went directly into the REM stage in 3 of 4 naps, but I didn’t actually sleep in the fourth nap.If you’re seeing any of those four classic symptoms or you notice you’re dreaming whenever you take naps, I’d say it’s worth looking into for yourself.

https://youtu.be/U9AK4LI40KM

Pizza Casserole

“This is similar to many Baked Pasta dishes but with the distinct flavors of pizza. I created this recipe yesterday and took it to a dinner party as the main dish. It was a big hit and every woman there asked for the recipe. I decided that anything that popular should be posted here. You do not have to use the same kind of pasta I did…but should use a pasta which will remain slightly firm after boiling and baking so that it is not mushy. NOTE** I’ve had several people ask about when to add the spices…you can either add them to the sauce or to the sausage when you cook it. Either way works great! Since this recipe is an original creation of mine, it tickles me so very much that lots of people are enjoying it! Thanks everyone!”

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Ingredients

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Directions

  • Cook pasta in boiling water until al denté.
  • Cook sausage, garlic powder and oregano with onions until the juices run clear.
  • In a lightly greased 9x13x3 inch pan, pour a small amount of sauce to lightly coat bottom.
  • Layer ingredients in the order listed below.
  • 1st layer-1/3 of the pasta, 1/3 remaining sauce, 1 bag of mozzarella cheese, 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, sausage and onions.
  • 2nd layer-1/2 of the remaining pasta, 1/2 remaining sauce, 1 bag of mozzarella cheese, 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, ham.
  • 3rd layer-all remaining pasta, all remaining sauce, 1 bag of mozzarella cheese, 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese,all the pepperoni(completely covering the entire top with pepperoni).
  • Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes.
  • Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

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Confessions Of A Former Armored Truck Driver

How big is the risk? Is there a rough estimate on how big the risk is of being robbed?

Messengers being shot in the back of the head while loading cash into ATM is a common thing. Granted, your head needs to be on a swivel. If you allow someone to walk up on you like that…. that’s essentially you signing your own death certificate.

Did you get to carry any handgun you qualified on or did you have to use the shitty company guns?

Garda was issuing revolvers for the longest time. They sold them 1 year before I was hired. We qualified with our own personal firearms.

What would happen if someone steps out in front of the truck pointing an AR15 at the driver?

We were trained for such event. The Threat will be eliminated.

Our rules of engagement are:

•Prove intent: he’s pointing a Ar-15 at my driver •Prove opportunity: he took the time to figure out the general time of when we show up. •Prove means: he’s literally holding an Ar-15 and ready to fire •Prove ability: His finger is on the trigger •Did my driver attempt to tell him to stop?: yes he honked.

Let’s assume worst case. The Ar-15(s) are loaded with black-tip ammunition. The front windshield will hold up the best due to the angle of the glass; my driver would have plenty time to run your A*S over. My driver was under strict directions to NEVER shift the transmission into park, foot on the break; nothing else.

My concern would be the lack of any angle on the driver and passenger side glass. If you land black tip ammunition directly on top of each other…. it’s going to go through, usually within 2-3 rounds. It honestly depends on the age of the glass from my personal testing.

This scenario is why I made safety glasses and body armor mandatory on my truck. Shards of glass will certainty be flying everywhere.

If we were engaged while the messenger and I were in the truck we would always attempt to flee. We are in a moving bank vault after.

If the driver is engaged while the messenger and I are inside a bank or other contracted establishment. The company policy is that the Armored Truck drives away, leaving the crew leader and messenger to defend themselves. Yes you heard right…. the truck drives away! Under this circumstance we were contractually bound to defend the client. Our standard operating procedure would be to evacuate all employees to cover, or concealment, and wait for Law Enforcement. (This area would’ve been established during the clients first day of service, during our risk assessment walk through.)

Finally, if the truck is engaged while we are walking out, we would move to cover and eliminate the threat. I really make all of this sound easy, it’s not. It’s scary as hell, but our faces wouldn’t show it.

A somewhat similar event happened to my truck in 2016. No shots were fired. All three us noticed that a sedan had been following us for 15 minutes. We contacted Local Law Enforcement. By the time we arrived at our next client. The Leo’s swarmed the sedan. The driver fled, he had a pistol. The front passenger had a 12 gauge shotgun.

Say your guy gets out of the truck and walks into a high end restaurant with much less actual security than say a bank or a Walmart. As he is coming out with the deposit bag I just shot him dead and go for the bag. Is your response to protect the bag or protect yourself assuming I will continue into the truck?

Protect myself. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to get home safely.vb

Have you ever been attacked?

We never let anyone get too close to us. We were never physically assaulted. Before I was on a dedicated three man truck, I personally had a close call. The establishment was large and we delivered cash through the back door. When the employee opened the door, he had a very large monkey wrench behind his head ready to swing it. I dropped their cash delivery, quickly took a few steps back, I yelled “ drop the weapon at least 5 times.” I put my hand on my firearm. At this point I didn’t draw.

He quickly recognized the situation he put himself in and stopped. I asked him “ Bro are you serious?!” And he responded with “ nawwww, I’m just playin.” I told him to get his manager right now, or we are leaving.

The manager opens the door and I asked her where the other employee was and she said that he was serving food. I picked up their cash delivery and explained the situation to her. She said she would pass the information on and look at the cameras.

After handing the incident report directly to my supervisor, he honestly didn’t care. I went to my branch manager and he said he would look into it. One week goes by and my branch manager said that they won’t investigate it because the change order was delivered. This influenced my extreme sense of paranoia once I was promoted to a Crew Leader.

Is it true your coworkers are more likely to shoot you than a random robber?

I’ve been told that 9/10 times it Will be an inside job.

Does that get awkward?

Not awkward, it gets scary. If they’re a employee that’s been with the company for less than two years I was always on edge.

What would freak me out is when one of my other two crew members called of sick, we would get a new person. When that new person starts taking wrong turns while you’re in the passenger seat next to him. That’s a “ rest your hand on your gun moment.”

Coworkers on different routes called me paranoid, but I adopted a 3 strike rule. At any point during the day, if a new drive took 3 wrong turns, with clear verbal command. We returned to our branch to fill out an Incident report. It would put us a couple hours behind schedule, but I’m a firm believer in a paper trail.

How common are accidents with armored trucks?

This question absolutely hits a very sensitive nerve with me. I take medication because of these two stories.

During late 2017 my crew and I witnessed Another Armored Truck Company slide through an intersection and t-bone a small truck similar to a Ford Ranger. The elderly woman driving the small truck died at the scene. I took a picture as it happened because I knew Law Enforcement would ask around and find out that another Armored company witnessed it.

My last story is pretty personal. Before I met my wife (happily married and blessed with a 1 month old son). I was in a serious relationship with another Crew Leader. This was kept very quiet because the rules for relationships were very strict. Most people “kinda knew” because both of us would roll into the parking lot at the same time nearly every morning.

Anyways, I believe this to be early fall of 2015. It was business as usual. We rolled into the parking lot, pretended to hate each other in front of the other officers, load our trucks up and go our separate ways. She had a new-hire driving for her. This new-hire had all the pre-existing symptoms of undiagnosed sleep apnea and other crew leaders had reported him falling asleep behind the wheel on extended drives between contracts.

During this transit (90 minutes between contracts) the New-Hire fell asleep behind the wheel and rear-ended a Semi Truck at 65 Mph. The semi was fully loaded, so Gross weight of……65,000-80,000lbs? The impact was so forceful that my Significant Others’ seatbelt buckle snapped. The seatbelt flung to the side and she hit the Bulkhead door at 65mph. (The bulkhead door is a heavy door that separates the front cab to the rear. It locks open while in transit and stays closed while sitting on site. This is due to the side door the messenger uses to climb in out of the Truck.)

My route was running late that day. After we cleared my truck of all liability and parked it. I sent her a text message that went unanswered. Then, a phone call that went straight to voicemail. While sitting in my car, that’s when I saw the tow truck, and it was her Armored truck on the flatbed. In disbelief I waited for the tow truck to drop it in the back corner of the parking lot. That’s when my supervisor walked over to me, handed me some disposable gloves, and we spent 2 hours bleaching the entire rear of the Armored Truck. The insurance company refused to determine if the truck was totaled or not until all the blood was removed. I still have nightmares and I can’t seem to reconnect with her due to the event. Here is the pictures of what I think Reddit will allow.

The Truck was totaled. The driver survived, was fired, and she was airlifted to the closest hospital with multiple skull fractures, broken collar bones, broken ribs, wrist, and left arm. The only reason she didn’t die is because the entire crash was so abrupt, she had zero time to react. She was honorably discharged from the military, became one of our dispatchers, but soon quit and faded from existence. The Last I heard, she moved to a different state.

What are the hours like?

The average route day at my branch was 10 hours

How is the pay?

When I was hired in early 2013 the starting pay was $12.65 per hour, once promoted to Crew Leader it was $14.00. Great pay to protect a few thousand dollars of other people’s money, huh?

How about benefits?

401k sucks. No company matching. Health insurance is an HSA plan. You pay the first $2200 out of pocket. Then they cover 80% • life insurance has an added clause stating that if you perish while performing duties and you weren’t following any company policy. Your family won’t be paid out. An example of this is would be: requesting a company issued bulletproof vest and being fatally shot not wearing it.

Why is the pay so low?

Because no one has the balls to start a union.

What kind of mileage do you get on those trucks?

My typical daily route varied from 65-87 miles per day. My truck was gasoline driven, and at the end of the day we refilled around 13-15 gallons. Around 4-5mpg? I’m certainly glad we weren’t driving them on our personal dimes. Glug, Glug, Glug.

What if you literally are going to crap your pants…can you run into a local starbucks and leave the truck undermanned? Or once you’re in, you’re in?

I operated a 3 man crew. 1 officer had to have direct control at all times. That was my truck rule, once you’re in, you’re in.

However, Our policy was updated shortly before I left to allow “solo” trucks. Trucks with a sh*t ton of cameras inside and out, as well as a mandatory panic button you wore around your neck.

“solo Trucks” being defined as a crew of one officer that drove and left the truck to collect money.

My crew was drafted one day to drop off cash at The Federal Reserve. Another Armored company with maintenance standards lower than us were also there waiting. As I start chatting with their Crew Leader he mentions their “urinal.” It was a 3 inch hole in their floor, that had rusted out. Said Armored company had a 4-5 hour drive from their Vault to the Federal Reserve. So, while in transit. They would urinate into the hole. Adapt and overcome, right?

Why did you quit?

The BIGGEST reason why I left was because of the Workers Compensation claim I filed. They sent 5 copies of paperwork to me and over the first two months, they lost all 5. I would call the company who handles the WC claims and they would say they received it and a week later I’d call back to only hear they lost it.

Fast forward 10 months of back-and-Fourth with this company I made my usual phone call. The told me that I no longer qualify for compensation because I have not given them the correct paperwork to file. I was responsible for the entire bill. Which angrily paid over the following year.

The last straw was when my branch eliminated a couple routes and threw all of their contracts onto other routes. Everyone got at least 15 extra stops with a heck of a lot more miles to drive per day. When I received my list of new contracts I worked them into my route as best as I could. The following month my crew gets pulled into the Branch managers office. He then starts to tell us how we aren’t making a good enough effort to make sure that everyone receives service. With the extra stops on my route, no matter how I obsessively tried to make everything work, banks were closing before we could get to them.

I pulled my branch manager aside and asked if he could place my supervisor, the operations manager, or him on my truck to shadow us. His exact words were “ i specifically didn’t get my permit to carry so that corporate wouldn’t force me to help out the routes.” He also said that he wouldn’t let a supervisor or the operations manager shadow us because he “ needed them to do more important things.”

The following day I turned my termination letter. He never pulled me into his office to talk about it.

Would you recommend this career to others?

You’re absolutely F*cking crazy to even consider this industry as a “career.” It’s honestly a dead end job that quite possibly will kill you. Could you live with that?

However, the experiences I’ve had and the other officers I shared hardship with will stay with me for the rest of my life. We truly are a brotherhood. One of my crew members signed me and my wife’s Marriage Certificate. I honestly would take a bullet in the head for my crew and others I’ve worked with.

What are you doing now?

I’m now in a waaaay better job path. I’m a Union Steelworker. I get to weld and fabricate industrial equipment for factories nationwide. The benifits are stellar, I’m netting x3 more pay that the Armored Truck company, and the shop I work at bends over backwards for both their union and nonunion employees.

They even have a 3 week PAID paternal leave program. It was awesome being able to spend more time with my newborn child than others were able to.

Criminals, I mean really, are bad…

https://youtu.be/k4VHOmEJDTg

Terrible And Bizarre Pictures Taken By Real Estate Agents

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What would your dream home look like? Would it be a rustic farm hidden deep in the woods or maybe a penthouse in Manhattan? Would the interior design be more traditional or perhaps a reflection of all the latest trends? While it is fun to think about the perfect house or flat, the reality of real estate listings is far harsher, and the choices are often really scarce. Thanks to a blog called Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos, we want to share with you how, ahem, creative some of the listings can get.

From horror movie-esque semi abandoned flats for rent to excessively unique home decor cases and very impractical architecture decisions, the real estate agents behind these funny ads didn’t even care to fix the places up before snapping the hilarious pictures. The caring levels were so low that there’s also a photo with a live bat in it, a huge pig laying around in the living room and feral horses relaxing in front yards. The most baffling part is that these funny photos were really used to advertise and show the good side of housings to possible tenants.

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Yes.

In 1947, in Poland, communist authorities began a series of trials of people accused of participating in mass murder at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The second of these trials, confusingly called “The First Auschwitz Trial” (Pierwszy Proces Oświęcimski), involved 40 defendants – most of them highly placed officers and administrators in the camp.

Out of the forty defendants, twenty-three were sentenced to death by hanging, six to life imprisonment, seven to 15 years imprisonment, and three to 10, 5 and 3 years imprisonment respectively.

One was acquitted of all charges.

This guy: Hans Wilhelm Münch, seen in the picture wearing the uniform that might as well be synonymous with “war criminal”.

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As far as the evidence suggests, Dr. Münch was a card-carrying member of the Nazi party, having joined up out of either genuine belief in their ideals, or self-serving reasons to advance his own career as a doctor and bacteriologist.

In 1943, he was recruited by the SS and sent to assist with medical experiments in Auschwitz. But something strange happened there: the hardcore Nazi/selfish bastard refused to enable the crimes of his superior, Josef Mengele, and – at great personal risk – began assisting the camp’s inmates.

First, he outright refused to participate in the infamous “selections” at the railway platform, which determined who’d be put to work, who’d be experimented upon, and who would be put to death immediately.

Second, he kept Mengele’s victims alive by coming up with elaborate fake experiments, that in reality were just cover for providing people with actual medical treatment, and keeping them from being killed as no longer useful.

And, finally, when leaving the camp ahead of the advancing Red Army, he gave his personal revolver to a prisoner.


And so, in December 1947, while people with every right to hate Nazis described the crimes of 39 defendants in detail, they surprised all the judges and prosecutors by standing up for an SS man and member of the Nazi party who worked for one of history’s greatest monsters.

Nobody really expected that, but the testimonies were so earnest, consistent and came from so many inmates, that even communist prosecutors had to concede their charges were unsubstantiated, and thus Hans Münch was permitted to leave, return to Germany and live out the rest of his life practicing medicine.

So, to sum it up: Yeah. There was a single SS soldier whose turn from evil was so complete that he faced communist justice and lived to tell the tale.

Greedy, messed criminals are everywhere.

The United States is living a film noir movie script. It’s true and tragic like a film noir scene.

Calling or writing to our elected officials is literally a waste of time. Over the last two years I have called frequently as well as written them. 

I always speak to some staff member who answers the phone and sounds like they are all of 19 years old. 

Always the same conversation, "thank you for your call and I will convey to the congressman/senator your concerns". 

The following month I received a form letter that often includes items that I did not even talk about. 

The only way you get to actually let your elected official to hear what you have to say is to be a relative or a big campaign donor with his cell phone number...otherwise it is a waste of time. 

Gone are the days of mountains of telegrams being delivered to the congressional offices, no longer do we hear independent editorials in the newspaper or TV/radio and the reason is they are all corporate controlled by a handful of corporations in the backpocket of the government. 

So folks, fate is already written, what will happen will happen and we are powerless just as the peasants of the middle ages against the Lords and Barons. 

The last two national elections are that same message.

The news out of the United States is far too distressing. Let’s enjoy elements of “The Maltese Falcon” as we explore the contemporaneous news of our daily fiasco.

Let’s start here…

Keep your eyes open when these Anglo-Saxons care about you.

  • When they cared about some natives, those natives got genocide.
  • When they cared about Africa, blacks became slaves.
  • When they cared about the Indian Subcontinent, well, that doesn’t count. Many Indians feel privileged about their colonial past.
  • When they cared about oil, we saw how many countries were destroyed in the Middle East.
  • When they cared about Ukraine, it got a coup and civil war lasted 8 years and is still bleeding for Anglo-Saxon interests.

Why do I know this secret?

  • Because China was cared about by them. Then opium was sold in large quantities in China. They called the Chinese the sick man of East Asia.

Now they care about China again and you see the “evil of China” every day in the media they control.

A few days ago, Americans announced that they are ready to help China on COVID-19 surge if China asks. It really freaked me out.

Maltese Falcon Opening Sequence

The best of the film noirs.

American opinions…

I say bring it.

I gave up on this country years ago. It’s all bullshit. The majority of the people are stupid as bricks and the rest just want “normal” back.

God’s gonna use our “enemies” (Russia ain’t my enemy) to bring His wrath down on us. Whether it’s EMP, nukes going off over many cities, a bioweapon or whatever doesn’t matter. It’s over.

Summits

There are two erstwhile ‘summits’ going on.
The first we can simply note and then let it go because it is of null value.  This is the December 13–15 US-Africa Summit, with 49 delegations from African states and one from the African Union (AU).  It is clear that this summit was called for one reason only.  This reason is to talk, bully and threaten the African states out of working with China and Russia, so, it is not really a summit at all and I get notes from the African side, who reports that there is a deficit of trust.  With the rest of the world, Africa saw that the collective west is non-agreement capable and at least in the Mali area, they kicked out the French.  The US will not get out of this summit what they hoped for, which is an African shift to the west.  

In somewhat of a segue, we see the same trajectory very clearly now in Peru, where the Peruvians are out on the streets, protesting, being killed, and not leaving.  The latest is that the military has been called in to try and establish order.  There are three demands from the Peruvians:  1) Closure of the right-wing congress 2) New elections 3) Free Pedro Castillo, and also a constitutent assembly to close the loopholes in the Peruvian establishment of congress, because this coup was the result of pure lawfare.  The pattern of deficit of trust is clear here as well and these countries.  Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Bolivia released a joint statement supporting Peru’s elected President Pedro Castillo, saying he is victim of “anti-democratic harassment,” following a US-backed coup. 

Back to the main topic.  The second 'summit' which cannot be classified as a summit per se, is the end-of-year gathering of the Valdai Club.  I've been catching as much of this as is possible.  The one paper that really caught my attention is titled: A World Without Superpowers.  It can be downloaded here:  DOWNLOAD

There are two presentations in this report that I would take issue with.  The one is on page three and reads as follows:  A new system is bound to take shape in a future stage of global politics, even if this is unlikely to happen any time soon.

I would consider this statement political as it does not really fit the rest of the presentation.  It probably was added as a type of soporific because the new system is making strides of progress.   I do know this will take time.
From <REDACTED>.

It is never time for anyone to decouple from China. Not even the U.S. China represent roughly 18% of world’s population but because of its high marginal propensity to spend and its high investment capacity, its share of world’s consumption is close to 40%. But what is worst is the fact that China is the manufacturing hub of the world!

So for quite a lot of stuff such as semiconductor micro chips, China alone represent 60–70% of the worlds market. I cannot even start to imagine what will happen to the U.S. manufacturer or supplier being told by some US government officials that they have to stop doing business China! I am a businessman and no one wants to lose 60% of the market. Usually it means going bankrupt.

I know that some people here in QUORA still think we are in 1945 and when the US says you are out , you are dead. Today in certain business US is really not a big player at all. In Semiconductor micro chip business the U.S. a a mere player amongst many many players and it is a nation amongst nation contributing towards the chip making. If America decouple with China, essentially it is decoupling from the world almost.

I hope the for the U.S. sake, the U.S. start to make sense soon.

U.S. Votes **AGAINST** United Nations Resolution to Combat “Glorification of Nazism”

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UN Anti NaZI vOTE hEADER
UN Anti NaZI vOTE hEADER

The United States of America voted today AGAINST a Resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, to “Combat the glorification of Nazism . . .”  The Biden Regime now officially supports NAZI ideology.

Out of the 180 countries present for today’s vote, 120 voted in FAVOR of Combatting Nazi ideology, 50 countries, including the USA, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Germany, and Italy voted AGAINST, and ten nations abstained.

Here is the UN vote total chart:

UN Gen Assmbly Anti Nazi Vote 12 15 2022
UN Gen Assmbly Anti Nazi Vote 12 15 2022

This is a video that will set the pace for the rest of the past. Please enjoy.

China has surpassed USA a long long time ago as an economic powerhouse.

Today China’s growth alone is bigger than G7 put together.

Today China’s GDP in real purchasing value parity is very close to 1.4 times bigger than the USA.

Today China’s middle income is close to 700 million people or more than twice the size of the USA.

China’s consumption alone is close to 40% of the world, while the U.S. is a shade over 14% now.

When you measure Economy just like when you measure the health of a person you need to measure many different aspects such as BMI, heartbeat, weight, hypertension, blood sugar level….

Sure based on a highly inflated USD GDP, the U.S. is still 15% higher but one need to measure in different aspect and terms. To gauge the various aspect of growth.

For example. The disparity of wealth of the USA is diabolical and plain disaster. Imagine 400 people in America owns half of America while 1% of Americans owned 80% of America while 330’000’000 other Americans share the balance 20% of America. It is a credit to their media spin that there is no massive revolution there!

So anyone who knows basic economics knows that China has overtaken the U.S. for at least a decade by now and it is still growing 3 times the speed of the U.S. for another 3–4 decades to come.

It takes at least a week for US’s aircraft carriers to reach Taiwan.

However, it only takes a couple of minutes for missiles from mainland China to reach Taiwan.

Do the math.

Chef Jean-Peirre has become my absolute favorite Chef to learn from. I have massive respect for people like Marco Peirre-White, Jacques Pépin, Julia Child, and the long list of other amazing chefs. But there is just something wonderful relative to Chef Jean-Peirre’s style that is comforting. He reminds me of what my father would be like if he was a professional chef.

To me China is an adult and treats people respectively.

On the other hand we have the US who bullies everyone and works with the principle ‘do as I say not as I do’.

Look at the number of wars the US instigated and involved its allies.
I for one do not agree following the US into anymore wars.

Now look at the number of countries China has destroyed since WW2. None.

Actions always speak louder than words and the US certainly is ‘mouthy’.

Thats the Biggest Mistake you make

IT IS NOT 1 TRILLION DOLLARS

It is 6 Trillion Yuan!!!!!!

Thats the whole world of difference between $ 1 Trillion and 6 Trillion Yuan

6 Trillion Yuan Debt can be restructured 100 times – until the end of 2122 AD or 2222 AD also.

The Railways are Public Assets owned by the Chinese Public. The Debt is owned by the Chinese Public. So at the end of the day – the Debt is collateralized and even if its not a 1:1 Collateralization- The public have their own Trains, Rail Routes.

Thats the Beauty of Public Sector

Unlike the West and sadly my own country India where a few capitalists borrow from banks and build infrastructure and the Govt pays these capitalists also from Banks – Chinese Debt is entirely public.

As long as China and its economic growth continues -China can happily restructure even 50 Trillion Yuan with no issues whatsoever.

Since everything is Indigenous – all Suppliers , contractors and engineers and workers can be paid in Yuan ensuring the continuous transactional chain of Yuan related debt.


And China are also Upscaling

The Larger the Scale – the more efficient the smaller cogs.

$ 100 Million needs 15% Profitability, $ 1 Billion may need only 7% Profitability and $ 100 Billion may need only 4.25% Profitability.

China is reaching a scale where by 2025–2027 – 3.5% Profitability is sufficient to bring in a massive amount of money and also provide tickets at the cheapest cost.


So again this is Western Propaganda by a Group of Economists who still look at everything from the US angle where Capitalists own stuff and where Debt is always institutional and where Scale of Expansion is non existent.

China is simply doing what Rockefeller and Carnegie did in the early 1900s which US has forgotten

China has absolutely zero issues with this “Debt”

Chinas Railway Expansion is perfect Economics.

I live in Taiwan and I was in mainland China for several months this summer. I spent most of my time in Yunnan but also visited Beijing, Shanghai and Fujian.

*Major subjective generalizations ahead*

  • The first thing I noticed in China was that the frequency of ”不好意思“ dropped tremendously. 不好意思(bù hǎo yì si) is a Mandarin phrase that can be loosely translated to mean “excuse me”, “pardon me” or “I’m sorry”. Taiwanese use it when they bump into someone on the street, when they ask for a favor, when they are late, when they offend you, when they interrupt someone or any other time to express shyness, shame, politeness or a mild apology. Chinese seem to reserve this word for more severe offenses such as being very late to a formal meeting or bumping into someone so hard they actually stumble over and fall to the ground.
  • Chinese tend to be more nationalistic, patriotic and proud of their country. There is something of an identity crisis going on among young Taiwanese. Many young Taiwanese think Taiwan is a poor economic backwater that is not a “cool place to live”. This is very unfortunate because the quality of life here is really quite high and they take things for granted such as the high level of safety(particularly for women) and the affordable national healthcare system. When I told Chinese that I was leading a language immersion course for American high school students to learn Chinese, people were delighted and proud that people wanted to learn their language. When I told Taiwanese, they just asked why would anyone want to learn such a useless language when they already speak the ‘all-powerful’ English.
  • Chinese people are more likely to boast about China and compare it to other countries. Taiwanese love to complain about Taiwan and praise other countries. Chinese will proudly tell me that China is a very safe country and even make jabs about how America is dangerous with all the mass shootings and gun violence. Meanwhile, my Taiwanese relatives complain to me about how “dangerous” Taiwan is and that they live in debilitating fear riding the subways of Taipei. That is 100% insane because Taiwan is literally one of the safest countries on earth -definitely the safest country I’ve ever lived in. And no, not a single one of my relatives has experienced a single crime, not even a minor one, in the last three decades. (Crime was higher in the 1980s).
  • Many Chinese are highly critical of Japan, the US and South Korea; Taiwanese love fantasizing about moving to Japan, South Korea or the US. Even Chinese who do want to live abroad are still more critical.
  • Chinese are much more optimistic about the future of their country and sincerely believe living standards will continue to improve. Taiwanese are much more pessimistic, in fact, they are too pessimistic, saying things like “Taiwan is becoming a third-world country” or “there is absolutely no future here” or “we have the most corrupt government in the history of the human race”. There is indeed corruption in the Taiwanese government, especially during the time of former president Chen Shui-bian, but it is relatively mild by global and historical standards.
  • Older Chinese men love to pressure and coerce other young men into drinking hard liquor. If your glass if empty, they will pour you another drink and then you are obligated to 乾杯 with them. I’ve never experienced this in Taiwan except in aboriginal villages and even then the pressure was mild compared to rural China. Chinese also drink considerably more than Taiwanese.
  • Many Chinese men are heavy smokers. They smoke at home and they smoke in public. They smoke in restaurants, bars and markets. I was offered many cigarettes by strangers in China. I’ve never been offered cigarettes in Taiwan and there is less smoking in Taiwan(thank god).
  • Chinese have less respect for food preferences, diets, vegetarians or food allergies. I have G6PDD which means I could die if I ate fava beans but folks in Yunnan still insisted I eat their home-cooked fava bean meal. They seemed to just think I was being picky. In Taiwan, people understand allergies and will go out of their way to accommodate most food preferences.
  • I don’t know why this annoyed me but cafes in China always listed green and oolong tea under no-caffeine beverages which is incorrect. In Taiwan, a no-caffeine beverage is an herbal tea like rooibos or lemon ginger.
  • Chinese, especially in the Yunnan, are okay with eating just about anything. I ate all sorts of bugs and strange meats and fungi in China. I was told that people who are picky or do not eat certain foods, including crickets and worms, are just privileged. Young Taiwanese are appalled at the prospect of eating dog, insects, donkey or larva.
  • There is a higher percentage of Chinese who are rugged, tough and aggressive. Taiwanese tend to be more sheltered, non-confrontational and ‘nerdy’. I certainly met people in China that I wouldn’t want to mess with. I rarely meet such people in Taiwan.
  • Southeast Asian cuisines, and foreign food in general, is a lot more popular in Taiwan. There are several dozen pho restaurants in Tainan alone. I could not find a single pho restaurant in Kunming even though Yunnan literally borders Vietnam.
  • As a half-Asian, half-White person, I was much more likely to be seen as a Chinese or some other Asian in China. Taiwanese usually think I am a non-Asian foreigner – either American, Brazilian or Turkish. People I chatted with on the train in China were surprised I was half-White. Taiwanese, on the other hand, are surprised I am even half-Taiwanese and are often shocked I speak Chinese. My theory for this is that there is a broader spectrum of phenotypes and ‘faces’ in China that are considered Chinese whereas Taiwan essentially has two faces – Han and aboriginal(Austronesian). You can refer to my answer about Chinese minorities to learn more.
  • Chinese will openly and bluntly talk about people’s physical features. I chatted with two people on the train who began discussing with each other why my “nose was not right” or how my “eyes were abnormal”. Another time, I chatted for a while with an old man. When I mentioned that I was mixed, he looked at me with surprise and said ”你長得像中國人,真的是混血失敗“ which means “your mix was a failure because you look totally Chinese.” LMAO! Taiwanese are generally more polite about this.
  • Most Chinese do not value democracy, freedom of speech or freedom of the press. While many people I met used VPNs and complained about the censorship, most people still thought the Great Firewall was for the greater good. Taiwanese love their freedom of speech and freedom to demonstrate. Neither really care about privacy or surveillance however.
  • Despite the censorship and propaganda, I found Chinese to be generally more aware of geopolitics than Taiwanese. Many young Taiwanese are completely apolitical. Taiwanese media often focuses on bizarre things such as how handsome an interpreter is rather than the conference itself.
  • Blue collar and service jobs are filled by domestic migrant labor from poorer provinces in China. The same jobs are filled by Southeast Asian workers in Taiwan. Consequently, the “dirt cheap but delicious food” throughout China is Sichuanese hot pot whereas the equivalent in Taiwan is Vietnamese pho.
  • Taiwanese are more open-minded and tolerant of LGBT people compared with Chinese. Taiwanese are also less overtly racist towards Black people and South Asians. Outside the big cities, Chinese will stare shamelessly at foreigners – especially foreigners they see less often such as Black or Indian people. Taiwanese are curious to see foreigners too but will at least try and pretend they aren’t looking. Taiwanese will also smile to be polite whereas Chinese will often just stare blankly and say something like “Look! She’s black.” or “What is an Indian doing here?” or “Why is that guy so fat?”.
  • Taiwanese are slightly friendlier on average but the margin is not as great as I previously thought. I was told that mainland Chinese are rude and unfriendly but that was not my experience. If Taiwan gets a 9/10 rating for friendliness, then Yunnan and Fujian both get 8/10, Beijing, Singapore and Penang get a 7.5/10 and Shanghai a 6/10 while Hong Kong, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur all get a mere 5/10 – 不好意思!
  • Chinese have a more positive view of Taiwan than vice versa. I was genuinely surprised by the number of Chinese who had visited Taiwan or were planning to. People liked my Taiwanese accent and thought Taiwanese were cool. They also do not hate the pro-independence Taiwanese politicians but rather just think they are ‘silly’. China is a much more polarizing topic in Taiwan. For obvious reasons, Chinese do not see Taiwan as a threat whereas many Taiwanese see China as their greatest threat.
  • Finally, Chinese tend to be early-adopters of technology. Everyone from rural fruit vendors to beggars took payment via WeChat or Alipay. Almost every business in Taiwan is cash only, even the higher end places that take card only take certain types of cards and often the machine doesn’t even work. There is an app for everything in China and businesses are more integrated with the internet whereas many businesses in Taiwan are still off line.

Because they haven’t been in China long enough?

There is a joke among expats that goes something like this: Someone who visits China for a week is an expert on China. One who has been in China a year knows a lot about China, one who has been in China 5 years knows a little bit about China, and one who has been in China 10 years or more knows nothing at all about China. (I think this is said about foreigners in any country.)

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. When people know a little bit about something it is easy to see themselves as an expert, but the longer time they spend, the more they realize they don’t understand.

I’ve been in China 8 years, so I still think I understand just a little bit. Give me a couple of more years to fully realize I am truly completely ignorant.

The USA is 100% corrupt. Well stated.

China is not a consuming country?

If you visit China, you will find that Chinese consume A LOT and very conspicuously, even more conspicuously than Americans. When it comes to electric vehicles, digital services, 5G and other modern amenities, China is WAY AHEAD of everyone else because China and Chinese are not stuck in the past.

This is because the Chinese government does not allow the corporations of the past to dictate the development of the future.

Unlike in the west.

Oh we are coming directly for you, the US.

We are not that Hero that beats every henchmen then the boss, nope, we will just go directly for you.

Your first island chain is broken, 2nd island chain is almost broken, and then it’s gonna be Hawaii, then the mainland.

Get ready to be re-educated!

No, in actuality China already told you it’s territory claim from the very beginning, and that will be our claim. We really couldn’t give a fuk about others you see. Why should we take the effort to rule you, feed you and try to make you happy? You think administrating a country is fun? We are already in heavens when we see how incompetently you have ruled yourself for the past decades, you are doing a very good job running it into the ground, why would we help you correct that?

Former Spy Says Biden Is a “Controlled Asset” of the CCP – Biden’s Actions Show This Is the Case

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Can you doubt that the United Stats is corrupt? -MM

Gordan Chang said that we may never know if China has blackmail material on Biden.  However, former spy Sam Faddis is more direct and says Biden is a “controlled asset” of the CCP.

Just before the 2020 election, 51 former intelligence officials falsely claimed that Hunter Biden’s laptop was a Russian disinformation operation. Thanks to Elon Musk, we now know that Twitter colluded with Joe Biden’s campaign, the Democratic Party, the mainstream media and the FBI to prevent American voters from learning the truth —  namely, that the Democrats’ presidential nominee and his family had knowingly taken millions of dollars from Chinese intelligence officers.

A patriotic former U.S. spy named “Sam” Faddis — who recruited and ran foreign agents for America for many years — is convinced that, as a result of this collective betrayal of the public trust, we elected as president a “controlled asset” of Chinese intelligence.

The new House of Representatives must make exposing and evaluating the potentially catastrophic national security repercussions of such a dangerous penetration — and taking corrective action — its first order of business.

It’s not about helping Africa. It’s about containing China.

Deputy Speaker of Russian Senate: West Faces EXISTENTIAL CHOICE; Continue Suicidal Strategy or Engage Self Preservation

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Konstantin Kosachev, the Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (Senate) said this week the West will soon face an EXISTENTIAL choice: It can continue with a SUICIDAL strategy (in Ukraine) or apply SELF PRESERVATION.  He’s talking about us all . . . being killed.

Western countries are standing at a crossroads and must decide whether they want to continue pursuing selfish policies that address only their own security, or recognize that this is a dead-end track, the vice speaker of upper chamber of the Russian parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, said on Tuesday.

Writing on Telegram, Kosachev, who also chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, said that “sooner or later, the West will have to make an existential choice between catering for only its own interests, “or admitting that this suicidal strategy has exhausted itself.”

The senator noted that a return to the principle of “indivisibility of security architecture” was the only path forward. Kosachev explained that this means a “deliberate refusal to ensure one’s own security at the expense” of other countries, adding that it serves “as a cornerstone” for all complex diplomatic arrangements.

The vice speaker also claimed that there is a rift between Western countries on this issue. He pointed to the statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the need for a new security framework after the Ukraine conflict ends.

According to Kosachev, these remarks “suggest that there are still remnants of common sense and a sense of self-preservation in France and Germany, which are behaving more responsibly.” That sentiment, however, is not shared by a number of other EU countries, including the Baltic nations and Poland, he stated.

Earlier this month, Macron expressed the view that NATO should prepare security guarantees for Russia after the Ukraine conflict is settled. Around the same time, Scholz noted that peace in Europe depends on the revival of post-Cold War security arrangements with Russia.

Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources, that the three Baltic states, along with Poland and Slovakia, had officially lodged their disapproval of the French leader’s remarks on making guarantees to Moscow. The same day, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said that Russia should not expect such promises from other nations, arguing that Moscow has to ensure the safety of the EU, and not the other way around.

Hal Turner Analysis and Opinion

“Existential choice:” Whether we continue to exist.

“Suicidal Strategy” A strategy that is going to get us killed.

“Self Preservation:” Saving our own lives . . . .

The Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council is talking about us existing no more because our strategy is suicidal and that only France and Germany show any sign of self-preservation.  These words are from a high ranking official in a country that can actually DO what he is talking about.

US and Western government public servants are leading us into our own deaths with their obsession over Ukraine and what they’re trying to do to Russia.  Russia is actually SAYING these words now; that’s how far this situation has gone.

Do YOU want to face the end of your existence because the US government and governments in Europe are acting so badly?  Do YOU have any clue their actions are so aggressive that Russia views them as almost being suicidal?  Do YOU have any sense of self-Preservation?  Because according to Deputy Speaker Kosachev, YOUR self-preservation seems to be at stake.

Words like this are not generally spoken in world affairs.  Yet these are, in fact, the precise words now being used by Russian leadership.

Were you even AWARE that the US and European Governments had pushed things this far?

You would do well to get up off your butt and start telling American and European officials their behavior is heading toward getting millions of us killed.

It was just Tuesday that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Russia-1 TV that Russia has arrived at a stop called “confrontation” and they are not shying away from that.

IT was later Tuesday that Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said relations between Russia and the West has past “the point of no return.”

Folks, this is literally Doomsday language.  From three top Russian officials – none of whom is Putin.

Things are escalating out of control – fast.   Our governments are going to get a whole lot of us killed.

We, as regular citizens, must step-up for our own self preservation, and demand the US government and European governments cease their suicidal strategy.  It’s almost too late but there still may be time, if we all take action, now.

LOADING ICBMS INTO SILOS

To demonstrate just how serious the situation actually is, the Russian Ministry of Defense revealed this week that TWO Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM’s) were loaded into new silos in Kozelsk, Russia in the past two days!   Each “YARS” missile carries eight (8) nuclear warheads.  Each of those warheads has an explosive yield of 800 kilotons.  So between those two new missiles, Russia can vaporize sixteen separate targets!

loading-missiles-2022-12-16_16.27.48

This is not “posturing.” This is not a game. Those are real missiles and Russia is openly telling us in the West, we are coming to an “existential choice.” Our continued existence is rapidly becoming questionable.

Imagine that!

People who skipped their COVID vaccine are at higher risk of traffic accidents, according to a new study | Fortune

The Unrelenting paid propaganda…

Read this attempt at restablishing the narrative HERE

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I’ve lived here for 6 years, and yes, I do love China. Please recognize that ALL my comments reflect that of a foreigner in China – not natives. Here are my top reasons why I (and my wife) love living in China:

#1 – The people are great and the friendliest I have known in my world travels and international residencies. And, people are HAPPY!

#2 – The food is fantastic, fresh, and incredibly cheap! I especially enjoy buying fresh produce, at least 10 types of mushrooms at about 10% of USA prices. Our average precooked takeout 3 course dinner is around $3.00-$4.50 per person. Sometimes it is only about $2.00 per person (again, this is for fresh pre-cooked takeout, not for making our own dinner!).

#3 – There is no violent crime in Beijing, a city of 22 million people. Our teenage daughter attending high school here could be out until 2AM with friends, doing karaoke or whatnot, and we had no worries for her safety!

#4 – Incredible public transportation. Never need a car. My occasional city bus ride costs $.15! The high speed inter-city trains are amazing! This weekend I’m travelling by train from downtown Beijing to downtown Hefei – 1,000 KM by fast train – 4Hrs23Min. You could never make that time by plane!

#5 – The career opportunities are excellent, with salaries comparable or higher than the USA while cost of living is about 35% the cost of the USA. That’s why Chinese are able to save – not because they are so frugal! And, no age discrimination in employment!!

#6 – Vibrant, lively, and endlessly entertaining. Even after 6 years, walking down our street in Beijing is like attending “Cirque du Soleil.”

#7 – Thousands years old and ultra modern Art, culture, history, architecture – FANTASTIC!!

The Ukraine war will marked to beginning of the end of the lop sided world’s so call rules based international order. History will judge my statement but I am thoroughly convinced that history books in the future will note that the counter actions and arbitrary decisions made by the west on its sanctions and daylight robbery of its foreign currencies reserves marks the end of the blind trust the rest of the world gives to the western financial institutions and the U.S. dollar as a global trading currency.

This has very high consequence since as is the most vital weapon the west has to control and contain the world. Not to mention it benefit tremendously from this lever of control. No nation, not even U.S. very close allies will ever trust the U.S. to control its financial assets ever again. And the usage of the US dollars will reduced substantially from now onwards seeing t what the west did to Russia.

VIDEO: **AMERICAN** Troops Get Lost in Ukraine – Ask **RUSSIAN SPEAKER** for “Map”

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Video has emerged from inside Ukraine showing AMERICAN troops, who got lost, going to the private home of a . . . . RUSSIAN SPEAKING CITIZEN . . . to ask for a “map” . . . . so they can go kill . . . . Russians.

This is how half-assed things are going over there.

Question #1: Why are AMERICANS bearing arms in Ukraine?

I thought it was illegal for private American citizens to take up arms on behalf of another country. I thought an American LOST his citizenship for doing so.

Question #2: Why are these “troops” not able to get support from Ukraine? ? ?

If they’re fighting on behalf of Ukraine, where’s the support?  Where’s the logistics?  Where’s the communications?

Question #3: How long will Russia tolerate AMERICANS killing Russian soldiers, before Russia starts attacking the US for our war-making inside Ukraine?

The US and NATO can only feign “not being party to the conflict” for so long.  Clearly, both the US and NATO __are__, in fact, parties to the conflict. This video is proof.

Since Congress has not declared war, or even authorized the use of military force, by virtue of what authority are these Americans waging war in a foreign nation (in our name by the way)?

How long do YOU think Russia will sit-by and do nothing, while American troops kill Russian soldiers?

Get right with God.  The federal corporation-in-lieu-of-government is going to get a lot of us killed when Russia has to start lobbing nukes at our port cities to force us to stop supplying the war in Ukraine.

Are American troops fighting in Ukraine?

Yes there are.

I do not know the force mix, nor the size of the forces. However, we are getting scattered reports of deployments of special force, technical specialists, entire airborne groups, and others.

I read a report out of Ukraine that claimed that 11,000 American troops have died in Ukraine as of 10DEC22, but I don’t know how accurate it is. It seems rather high, and well above “advisors” and “policing forces” that many of us (on the sidelines) assumed were in place.

These numbers suggest full-scale military intervention.

I can tell you that have watched all sorts of videos showing Americans in Ukraine. Here’s a typical one. In this one we have American Rangers wearing Ukrainian Nazi service patches, speaking in plain-as-day American asking for directions from a Russian!

https://youtu.be/zR1ehteFIDs

I suppose that you can argue that if there were actual Americans “on the ground” in Ukraine, that CNN and FOX “news’ would be reporting on it. But, that’s so 1990! Never will happen.

I have watched three American “retired” generals who were leading forces in Ukraine, paraded as captured assets inside of Russia, and their utility and roles are as clear as day.

To me, this absurd funding in billions and billions and billions of dollars and weapons into Ukraine, suggests something far more sinister than simply “helping a friendly country out”. Something ELSE is going on, and it ain’t being reported.

It smacks of Laos in the late 1960’s. It smacks of large scale warfare and if the American people get wind of it, there may be Hell to pay!

The amazing efficiency in what happened to the protestors in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou by the Chinese Government

If you were glued to your monitors for the last couple of days, then you would be fire-hosed with all sorts of narratives that China is under a revolution, and protests are erupting out all over China.

Like this…

2022 12 01 19 37
2022 12 01 19 37

Nope. Didn’t happen.

What did happen, was a half-assed, piss-poor attempt at a NED color revolution inside of China with the belief that it’s a win-win; either China collapses or it lifts it’s zero tolerance policy for COVID. Both of which is what the USA wants.

Nope. Didn’t happen either.

So what actually did happen? Well, let’s chat about that here…

If mocking them would cause them to be ashamed to death, then yes.

The video I saw was that a girl in Shanghai accused the police of pointing guns at them(with unskilled Mandarin), but the police stood by laughing and didn’t even take out the baton. – Every Chinese knows that police will hardly use or even bring a gun.

But they did win our mocking. In Beijing, their slogan was changed to “We want to do nucleic acid testing” and “We want to scan health codes”. In Chengdu, spies shouted “We want freedom” in the accent of outsiders, but local people mocked “You want your motherf**ker freedom” nearby. In Shanghai, their leaflets even wrote wrong characters. In Guangzhou, it is even more ridiculous, because the spy employment cost in Beijing is $140 per person, and in Guangzhou, it becomes a poor $27. People have laughed at them for this all night in Chinese network.

Last night's (protesters) were all paid. Beijing 1000 Yuan, Chengdu 500 Yuan, Wuhan 300 Yuan, Guangzhou 200 Yuan, I haven't seen prices elsewhere. The whole network is laughing at the cheap price of Guangzhou, from last night till now.

It's not worth spending 1000 yuan in Beijing! When I saw it in the middle of the night, I laughed out of sleepy. "I want to do nucleic acid testing, I want to scan health codes.".

What meme is this? I waited until midnight last night and didn't see it.

It should not be seen now (deleted). In short, a group of people shouted slogans, and then they were misled by a dude. Everyone shouted, "I want to do nucleic acid testing, I want to scan the health code.".

Can you see how happy people are?

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main qimg 4f8dae56a51167b8a4f221f7ccb11982 lq

Thank you for this wonderful show and bringing money to China, CIA, and see you next time.

We start with this reminder of what America is like…

This story is why Utah passed a state law allowing parents to do “free range parenting” so that parents couldn’t be arrested for allowing their kids to do things we used to do as kids, like walking on your block alone.

The Secret of the Shanghai Protest

Entirely Western Sponsored

A BBC Reporter was filming the entire thing.

The Cops didnt even bother with the locals but identified the troublemaker immediately and boy did they give her the treatment.

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main qimg dcb3a4310d6bc0ca2d29d74c58a058bb lq

They handcuffed her and forcibly yanked her off to a cell where they crushed her expensive iphone and gave her a local 140 Yuan phone saying “Oops”

They discovered her Laptop and asked her to open her emails.

She protested and said no.

They told her of she didn’t cooperate, she would automatically get 5 years for Non Cooperation in a National Security Event. And she would get it. They knew it, and she knew it too.

So, she backed down

And China found emails, tons of mails asking her to cover more protests and even talk to select “student leaders” by name. Lists of contacts. And all the rest.

By next week – these “student leaders” would no longer have passports and every keystroke they type for the next 20 years would be monitored. Not to mention zero social scoring, and inability to do just about anything requiring a QR code. (Which is exactly EVERYTHING.)

Notice how they zoomed in straight to the source of the trouble!!!.

They didn’t even touch the other gullible protestors.

BRUTAL EFFICIENCY!!!!!

2022 12 01 14 49
2022 12 01 14 49

2022 12 01 14 51
2022 12 01 14 51

It’s good news (IC-Chip sanctions)

It’s GOOD news!

To explain why, here is an excerpt…

… remembered a news story about an airplane that crashed in the Andes a few years back on a Black Friday. The Uruguayan rugby players who had the bad luck to survive found themselves in the middle of the magnificent mountain range surrounded by snow, buffeted by inclement weather, with no food, no heat, no warm clothing, no electricity, no radio, no idea of location, no medicine, no survival skills, and no hope. As if that was not enough, they were promptly buried alive by an avalanche.

… On the eleventh day after the crash, the crackling transistor radio on a dying battery delivered the dreaded news that the authorities had called off the search. Everyone had given up. Fortunately, one survivor did not give up. A dying boy, Gustavo, said, “GOOD news! They’ve called off the search.” Someone shouted angrily, “Why the hell is that good news?” Gustavo would soon die from the ordeal, but he saved us all by his answer, “Because it means that we’re going to get out of here on our own.”

Good news, America is sanctioning China. It means that China will be doing it on their own, and it will be another nail on the Imperial coffin.

Watch what the Chinese scientists have to say HERE

Everyone in China knows!

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main qimg fafd957d78bd3773a594050dbf34d541 lq

Neapolitan Meat Sauce – Ragu Napoletano Alla Anna Galasso

“From: Ciao Italia Pronto by Mary Ann Esposito ———-

“A typical Neapolitan ragu is a meat sauce made with beef or pork or a combination of both that is cooked slowly with tomatoes. This was the sauce that simmered for hours on the back burner in a large pot on Sunday morning while the family went to mass.

Upon returning home, the smell of it permeated the house, and we could hardly wait to have that plate of macaroni mixed with a sauce that was so flavorful and sweet tasting that we wiped our plates clean with a slice of bread to mop up an left behind driblets.

This is a great do-ahead sauce.

It can be made 4-5 days ahead, and it can also be frozen for months.

This is my grandmother Anna Galasso’s recipe, the one she carried with her in her head all the way from Avellino, Italy to her new home in America”.

Saving Time, use a food processor to mince and chop the vegetables.

To save time, make this sauce on the weekend, and freeze some for future use.

Use a food processor to mince and chop the vegetables.

NOTE: The sauce (with the meat) can be frozen in batches for future use for lasagne, pasta dishes, with vegetables such as green beans, zucchini, and eggplant, and over pizza.———-

For those of you that don’t know Maryanne Esposito, let me introduce you to a marvelous cook, who cooks only “Authentic” Italian food, and it is incredible! I had the priviledge of meeting Maryanne at a woman’s luncheon many years ago, and she has her own cooking show on Channel 11 in NH. She and her husband, who is a local doctor, live in the next town from where I used to live and work.”

2022 12 01 11 16
2022 12 01 11 16

Ingredients

Directions

  • Dry the round steak with paper towels, and rub it on both sides with salt and pepper.
  • Sprinkle the meat with the parsley and cheese.
  • Roll the meat up like a jellyroll, and tie it in several places with kitchen string.
  • Salt and pepper the spare ribs. Set the meats aside.
  • Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy duty pot. Over medium heat, brown the round steak and spare ribs in the oil on all sides. This will take about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the onion, celery and carrot and continue cooking until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the garlic and basil. Cook 1 minute.
  • Combine the tomatoes and wine in a bowl. Slowly pour the mixture over the meat.
  • Stir in the tablespoon of salt, a grinding of pepper, and the sugar.
  • Cover the pot, bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer, and cook the sauce until the meat is fork tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Remove the meat to a dish. Cover the dish, and refrigerate the meat to make it easier to cut when cold.
  • When ready to use, transfer the round steak to a cutting board, and cut the strings from the round steak with a kitchen scissors.
  • Cut into neat slices about 1/4-1/2″ thick.
  • Add to the sauce. Cut the meat off the bones of the spareribs and add the pieces to the sauce.
  • Use the sauce for pasta dishes both boiled and baked.

2022 12 01 11 18
2022 12 01 11 18

With or without Dynamic zero-COVID Policy, the U.S. will use various excuses to create color revolutions.

Also the West has predicted wrongly.

As far as I know, it is not the CPC that supports the Dynamic zero-COVID Policy, but the grassroots in China, which is the mainstream public opinion in China.

Do you expect the CPC to go against the mainstream public opinion in China?

At least 80% of the people around me are supporters of the Dynamic zero-COVID Policy, and young people who use VPNs do not make up the majority of China, and these people who earn tips to protest are even less representative of mainstream Chinese public opinion.

Once the color revolution ploy is exposed, it will only increase the Chinese public’s resentment of those who started it.

At the same time, I am saddened by the fact that the U.S. government is wasting the tax dollars of American citizens on this meaningless color revolution.

My notes has this as a worthy enough video to include in a post, but I seriously don’t remember ever including it in an article. Enjoy the Rory Gallagher tune.

Rory would be proud or should I say is proud...keeping his legacy alive. A million miles away in the heavens looking down on these guys...

A pretty good analysis on what is going on.

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  • 美国 11,713 (American)
  • 英国 1579 (English – American proxy)
  • 日本 1703 (Japanese – American proxy)
From HERE

Let’s compare the American deaths in Ukraine to the ten-year long war in Vietnam.

  • Americans killed = 15,058 deaths.

From HERE

Damn! They sure are having fun up there on stage!

This is ONE HELL of a show, folks!

I once taught English in China. It was in a small city called Shandan — more of a town by Chinese standards, with only some 200,000 people. It is located in Gansu province, bordering Inner Mongolia.

The school, Shandan Bailie had been set up by a fellow Kiwi, Rewi Alley — a staunch supporter of the early Chinese Communist movement. He smuggled guns for Mao under the noses of the KMT. More importantly, he lead students on a 1000 mile march from the coast, as they were threatened by the encroaching Japanese. They founded a school in Shandan, in an old monastery.

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main qimg 8bf0078461791d07ad314568e9cc35b2 lq

It was a very interesting school, mixing half a days academic work with half a days practical work. The boys learned automotive engineering, refrigeration electronics, among other things. Real men’s work. The girls studied secretarial skills, teaching, I wasn’t sure what else. The teachers of the school had total control over the the students, who feared and respected them.

I was told that if they were punished at school, the punishment meted out by their father would be many times worse.

They weren’t raising big babies, as Western schools do.

The girl in the picture had to look after her kid brother for three months at a time, while her parents worked in a town hundreds of miles away. She was sixteen, her brother was eleven. She was the most dedicated student in the class, and was eager to tell me about her life in broken English. I forget her name now.

She would have at least three to four hours of homework every night – they all did.

She had to do all the washing, all the cleaning, all the cooking for her and her younger brother.

She and the rest of the students would have to run 1.2km every morning around a track, the temperature would reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, minus 4 in the winter. I was there as winter set in, the coal fired heating made it like something out of a Dickens novel, a caustic, eye watering smell you couldn’t escape.

Girls like her looked forward to making about $100 US a week maximum when they graduated, living in the same town they were born in, marrying a local boy, and taking care of their parents. They would become teachers, nurses or secretaries. The dream for most people in the city was to own one of the many vacant two or three bedroom apartments that were flying up at a mad pace all around us, apartments that cost at least $60,000 US.

She was serious girl, but why wouldn’t she be? She didn’t have time to sit around like a lazy clown, wondering if someone would text her back, as big Western babies do.

I was impressed by the discipline of the youth, the small children jogging to school in formation, one of them with a whistle, leading the others. Everything was hierarchical, and the students seemed to take it without complaint.

I have to laugh at the arrogance of Big Western babies, speaking haughtily about China. Big Western babies couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag — there would be too much of a fight to decide who would exit first.

The children were tough. There was a school holiday when most students returned home, to eat moon cakes or some such. Some parents couldn’t or would afford the ten dollar bus ticket ride home, so their children remained at school. I celebrated with them. There was an impromptu talent show organized by a couple of the teachers, and when the boys refused to do their part, they were punished. Lifted by the arms and legs, their backs were thumped down upon the desks, to much laughter from the girls. I was shocked. However, after I had done my item with gusto, and they still refused to do theirs, I demanded they were punished and laughed hard when they were.

I was too soft. I had to individuate a test. I thought I was going insane. I thought I could hear voices, but every time I looked up, I couldn’t see any mouths moving, just a few sly grins. I eventually caught on and told the head dean. He gave me a knowing smile, as if to say “kids will be kids”. He was a bear of a man, who usually spoke softly, and the kids ate out of his hand, for his rage was terrifying, ferocious.

During another class, when I had let the boisterous students get out of control, a girl, who I assume was the class leader barked out an order, and they all fell silent. There were rules here.

Authority wasn’t an abomination.

Each tiny dorm room had at least four students living in it, sleeping in bunk beds — an intolerable prospect for students from my own home country.

Although their lives were much much harder than that of Western babies, the children were ferocious, cheerful. A little boy flew a kite made from a shopping bag with zeal. At night, the many, many basketball courts were filled with young men, their families and classmates watching on. I didn’t see drunks and whores everywhere as one does when in the cities of big Western babies.

I would walk around at night, trucks with big LCD screens on them would drive by, promoting the apartments, including weddings in New Zealand.

I purchased a mountain bike. It was a new sport to the city, and the owner of the shop took many photos of me, to authenticate his wares no doubt.

The people seemed mostly concerned with a better life, to obtain the things big Western babies take for granted.

What I saw in China was a people that seemed by and large united, by and large ready to take orders. I look around and the deep divisions and rebelliousness in my own decadent country — race, politics, class,.vaccine status, and I hate to think of a worsening virus, spill over from War in Eastern Europe, a crumbling supply chain.

At this point two weeks of no power and no internet

I think that’s all it would take

and there would be no country left to come back to when the lights came back on. Whether or not Long Pork will be on the menu during this frenzied fourtnight, one thing is for certain:

you can’t eat democracy,

Yup. This is what is going on in China. No big deal.

What is the status of the China Protests today?

Now the country has returned to normal, yesterday a busy night of processing was completed.

The first batch of Nanjing Media College students in Shanghai who were incited individually wrote a letter of repentance and were detained for 24 hours and released.

The Fifth Column’s Facebook group is full of frustration.

They also tried to get the locals to protest, but they found that no locals paid any attention to them.

There were a few scattered schools this morning, 1 student came out and held up a white paper but was quickly taken away from the school.

It’s over; America’s informant resources are depleted and it’s hard to create the next protest.

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main qimg b6d3ee8759ff75569cec5b2eb995de56 pjlq

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main qimg 75d9703afe52c2bb24332b7dcf25f57c pjlq

Ravioli (Dough and Choice of 4 Fillings)

“Posted in reply to a message board request. This is the family recipe for homemade ravioli. I have included 4 filling variations along with the ravioli dough recipe. Please note that this dough was made by hand and not with a pasta machine. Feel free to use the fillings with your own favorite pasta dough recipe (hand or machine). Prep time includes 1 hour drying time.”

2022 12 01 11 22
2022 12 01 11 22

Ingredients

 

 

 

 

  • Sausage Filling

  • 34 lb loose sweet Italian sausage link (or casings removed from links)
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese (If you prefer a less sharp cheese, freshly grated Parmesan cheese may be substituted for the Romano)

Directions

  • MAKING THE FILLING: Ricotta Filling#1: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
  • Ricotta Filling#2: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
  • Beef and Spinach Filling: Brown beef and veal in butter with the whole clove of garlic.
  • Remove garlic and let meat mixture cool.
  • Mix spinach, parsley, eggs, cheese and nutmeg into cooled meat until well blended, set aside filling until needed.
  • Sausage Filling: Brown sausage in frying pan, drain fat and allow sausage to cool.
  • When sausage has cooled, mix in eggs and cheese, set aside filling until needed.
  • MAKING THE RAVIOLI DOUGH: Sift flour and salt together.
  • Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour.
  • Drop eggs into the flour well, using your hand or a fork, break the yolks and beat eggs slightly.
  • Combine the eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough.
  • Knead dough well, until smooth; cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
  • Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured board, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick).
  • FILLING THE RAVIOLI: Drop about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of filling about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.
  • When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with dabs of filling mixture, cover filling with other sheet of dough.
  • Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it.
  • Cut ravioli into squares with a (zig-zag edged) pastry cutter, or very sharp knife.
  • DRYING THE RAVIOLI: Allow ravioli to dry for one hour before cooking.
  • COOKING THE RAVIOLI: Drop ravioli into 6 to 8 quarts of boiling, salted water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is tender.
  • Remove cooked ravioli from pot carefully with a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, and drain well.
  • Place drained ravioli on a serving platter in layers, alternating layers with your favorite sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese between each ravioli layer.
  • Serve hot.

2022 12 01 11 26
2022 12 01 11 26

2022 12 01 11 27w
2022 12 01 11 27w

Babymetal is the answer for these unique times that we live in

Did you know that today 3 million Americans have already come to Russia for permanent residence?

-Irina

Things are settling down. I hope you all are doing well. Life is truly interesting. No rain during the typhoon, but oh lordy is it raining now.

Big outbreak in Guangzhou. Thank you (sarcasm) to the Taiwan and American owners that released all their workers into China to infect everyone.

I am introducing everyone here, in this post to BABYMETAL. The music is heavy metal, and it’s a kind of a stage show / art form. There are elements in the audience where this would resonate. And I strongly urge everyone to watch the live performance, at least the first one.

I admit that it’s an acquired taste, but jeeze! If you were a military mech-a-godzilla space marine in a previous life…

…well…

… I’m certain that you would appreciate this posting(s).

Check this all out.

But first…

Funny

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adamtots 32687553 172784010072270 3104498379837669376 n

Netherlands lifts some sanctions imposed on Russia

After Italy, now Netherlands… Who’s next? Same trend toward china: after Germany visit to China , many more to follow… The decoupling policy as a crusader collective action already collapsing.

Article HERE

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Most non-Chinese don’t know shit about China. They’ve never been to China. They get all their China information from Western mainstream media which is as fucked up as it gets. To put it in other words: It’s simply ignorance.

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Funny

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adamtots 32080015 402748333468307 3613413813564473344 n

The first time I saw a vid of them I was like "WTF?" 

Now I'm hooked. 

The weird combination of Loli-goth cuteness, pop-dance choreography and bonafide heavy metal music makes a weird logic all its own. 

It's like getting the shit kicked out of you by a leather-clad Hello Kitty.

Welcome to Japanese-style death metal.

It’s really…

…really…

…REALLY different.

I hope you watched the entire video. It’s not that long. Do you have any thoughts?

10′ Tall WALL put around Federal Reserve Bank in Washington on SUNDAY!

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2022 11 07 11 40
2022 11 07 11 40

As shown in the photo above, a ten foot tall wall was erected around the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington, DC today (Sunday).

What do YOU suppose is the knowledge they already have, that makes them feel they will need this type of protection from the General Public?

When I received this photo, I stopped what I was doing, went to the bank Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and withdrew the maximum amount of cash I am able to get on any given day.

I strongly recommend YOU have cash too.  Right now.  Sunday night.  Then more after midnight when the day resets and you can get more out of an ATM.

Whatever they know, it won’t be long until everyone else knows, and the Bankers want to be protected from the general public.

This doesn’t seem good at all.

Babymetal

From Wikipedia…

(Japanese: ベビーメタル, Hepburn: Bebīmetaru) (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as “Su-metal” and Moa Kikuchi as “Moametal”.

The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency.

Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrumentation, performed by a group of session musicians known as the “Kami Band” at performances.

The band was formed in 2010, with the original lineup of Su-metal (vocal and dance), Moametal (scream and dance), and Yui Mizuno as “Yuimetal” (scream and dance), with the concept of creating a fusion of the heavy metal and Japanese idol genres.

Originally a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal became an independent act in 2013, following Nakamoto’s departure from Sakura Gakuin.

Babymetal has also embarked on several tours, with a majority of their tour dates taking place outside of Asia.

  • The group released their third album Metal Galaxy in October 2019.

On October 19, 2018, Babymetal announced that Yui Mizuno had decided to leave the band due to poor health, following her absence from live performances since December 2017.

Since her departure, the band has performed with backup dancers at live performances. In 2019, the band introduced three backup dancers called “Avengers” who performed in rotation at each live show to form a trio with Moametal and Su-metal.

Funny

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adamtots 32027255 247650362462957 9154062925533544448 n

But according to the American “news”, China is going to get rid of their COVID policy…

Seriously. That is what the American mainstream media has been saying…

2022 11 07 11 50
2022 11 07 11 50

But what does China say. Here is from China…

2022 11 07 11 31
2022 11 07 11 31

Huh?

How could the American mainstream media be so wrong?

Truckers Reporting NO DIESEL FUEL – Parts of North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee

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2022 11 07 11 41
2022 11 07 11 41

American truck drivers are sounding the alarm that Diesel fuel is running out.

It was on October 14 that the US Energy Infrastructure Agency (EIA) publicly stated the nation was down to 25 days of Diesel Fuel reserves. That would put the run-out date, Tuesday, November 8.

Yet Diesel fuel continues to be refined throughout the country, so while “reserves” may have been down to 25 days, there was still ongoing production.

Fuel Distributors in Tennessee announced they had begun LIMITING purchases of diesel fuel in that state, too.

Like all other nations, the United States runs on diesel fuel.  All tractor trailers, trains, and cargo ships require diesel fuel to operate.   If that fuel runs out, then there is no way to transport cargo . . . anywhere.

Supermarkets have only three (3) days supply of food on store shelves.   In large metropolitan areas, those supermarkets must get truck deliveries EVERY DAY to keep shelves stocked.  If diesel runs out, re-stocking cannot take place.

No one is saying WHERE the nation’s supply of Diesel fuel is going.

The US economy is so huge, it uses 148 MILLION gallons of diesel fuel each and every day.  Without that fuel, the economy grinds to a halt.

What that would mean for average Americans is simple: Go to your refrigerator, open it and look at what’s in there.   Then go to your pantry, open it and look what’s in there.  The food you see . . .  would be all you’ve got.  Because there won’t be any more shipments to bring anything else.

While Diesel fuel remains in production, clearly something is very wrong and large areas within the US are now openly running out of fuel.

Get food while you still can.  TODAY.

Funny

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adamtots 31788446 182843332287816 5506656803758276608 n

Spanish Thick Hot Chocolate

“Hot chocolate first came to Spain by means of religious orders at the beginning of the Conquest. Spanish chocolate(Chocolate a la espanola) is thick and served throughout Spain. Adapted from cooking.com.”

2022 11 07 17 19
2022 11 07 17 19

Ingredients

  • 10 -12 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated (or use semisweet chocolate chips)
  • 2 14 cups milk
  • 12 – 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in a little cold water
  • 12 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)

Directions

  • Heat the grated chocolate and the milk in a saucepan.
  • Mix in the instant coffee if using.
  • Stir to completely mix and make sure the chocolate is melted.
  • When it comes to a boil, add the dissolved cornstarch.
  • Bring back to a boil 3 times, whisking vigorously and removing from the heat each time it starts to bubble to prevent the mixture from boiling over.
  • Ladle into cups from a suitable height to make it nice and frothy.
  • Serve immediately and enjoy!

BEIJING: Many people think they know a lot about China but that’s not true. Some people claim to be experts on China and get invited to interviews with the Western media and yet it’s possible they never visited the country.

Many outsiders only hold a superficial understanding or false perspective of China. They do not dive deeper except to review anti-China media reports, books and TV news reports.

I have a friend from Texas, who insists that he’s one of the foremost experts on China and believes all conspiracy theories about the country are facts. He never visited China and his idea of embracing Chinese culture is to go to an “all you can eat Chinese buffet” every Tuesday at a restaurant near his home.

When I had brought my wife and son, both born in China, to visit Texas in 2015, he invited us to this Chinese restaurant. Although the food was delicious, my wife pointed out that Chinese restaurants in the US do not serve the same cuisines as in her homeland.

And when driving my family to the hotel, he described a China that my wife and I had never experienced. According to his so-called expertise, he said all Chinese wear hazmat suits because the air is so polluted nobody can breathe there. He explained how all Chinese eat bats, cats, snakes, insects and dogs every day.

My wife was laughing because she thought he was joking. I reminded him that I lived in the country and had not observed such silly behavior. But he just kept chattering away citing anti-China media reports about the country.

Later that evening my wife asked me if he was being serious and I informed her that most Americans think similar to him. She was shocked, but the next day we met my friend again and he introduced us to his other friends and they too said strange comments about China.

This is not a rare incident. When I visited New York City in December 2019, I met a very successful investment banker on Wall Street and a graduate from Yale University. He believed the Chinese were cannibals and performed horrible science experiments on other human beings. He would speak about such allegations with all sincerity and I tried to point out that I had not witnessed such actions, but he refused to change his mind.

As we can see, many people are ignorant of China but don’t realize it. They believe in nonsensical stories about the country and can’t separate the facts from fiction. This is why I love to be a ‘bridge builder’ by explaining China to the West and to explain the West to the Chinese.

I have lived and worked in Beijing for over 11 years, so I’m familiar with the country. I would advise non-Chinese people, who never visited China, to stop the self-proclamations they are China experts.

We can learn more about how China has become a stronger and more prosperous nation from Xinhua. The link is here:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-04/06/c_139860414.htm

As reported by Xinhua:

“The Chinese nation has a long history, diligent and intelligent people and splendid civilization. Over the history of thousands of years, eliminating poverty has been the persistent goal of the Chinese people, who suffered hardships and difficulties frequently. From the middle of the 19th century, foreign aggression and the decadence of the imperial dynasty reduced China to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, and hundreds of millions of its people were plunged into poverty or even extreme poverty. But the Chinese people have fought with fortitude to realize their dream – achieving economic prosperity, national rejuvenation, and a happy and better life.”

We all should try to learn more about China.

Airbus (company) almost failed. The story of Airbus is one of the most fascinating of all. When the company introduced their first aircraft, the Airbus A300, Boeing (company) brushed them off as another government product which had failure written all over it. And for the first few years, it was turning out be true. Lufthansa and Air France were the only major airlines that were using the aircraft in day to day operations. And this was also more of an obligation, because the government of France and Germany were the two main countries involved with Airbus.

Even before the Airbus A300 gained operational status, Airbus knew they had to somehow break into the American market. And they knew it was going to be a tough task to convince airlines in United States to go European, which were buying aircraft from purely US owned companies such as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. In 1973, in a brave move, Airbus took the A300 to the United States in a six week tour of the Americas. Not only did they carry pilots and engineers with them, but they also filled the aircraft with some of the best wines from Europe. While the tour was effective in showing the aircraft to potential customers in the States it did not turn out well. From 1975 to 1977, the A300 received zero orders and Airbus factory in Toulouse was filling up with white tails.

Then something very interesting happened.

This is Frank Borman. Former U.S. Air Force Colonel, fighter pilot, test pilot and ex-astronaut. He commanded Apollo 8, the first manned spaceship to leave Earth’s gravity and orbit the moon.

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Frank Borman is as much a hero to Airbus as he is a hero to the people of the United States.

After retiring from NASA, Borman became the President of Eastern Airlines. In 1977, Eastern Airlines was losing money and they needed something to be done to update their fleet without losing money.

Fun fact. I went to college with his son. -MM

Airbus saw the opportunity and made one of the most interesting business deals of all time: they agreed to give Eastern, four A300s free of charge for a period of six months in an aircraft evaluation agreement. If Eastern finds the aircraft good enough, they could buy them, or else after the said period is over. they can hand them back to Airbus. Eastern Airlines, took the deal.

Even before the six month deadline, Eastern found the capabilities of the aircraft and the potential it had. In the April of 1978 , they made a $778 million dollar deal with Airbus, to buy 23 A300s with a lease extension of four previous A300s they had. This was soon followed by Pan Am and the rest is history.

If there had been no Eastern Airlines deal, there is a pretty good chance Airbus and its A300 will be for the history books. Today, Airbus is a leader in the aviation market and it is doing so on the same level as and some times on a higher level than Boeing. This is something many large aircraft manufacturers failed achieve over the years.

Well done montage. Brilliant, actually.

There are early signs of a split in the Biden administration in China policy.

The US State Department and National Security are strongly for going after China, even after Russia’s recent wins in Ukraine. The China hawks are led by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security advisor Jake Sullivan. Both have pushing for stronger support for Taiwan against China.

They are also former Clinton advisors.

The Federal Reserve and Defense Department are pushing for more accommodation with China. The Federal Reserve realizes that it will have to raise US interest rates more in the near future, and the Defense Department believes that war with China may result in a US loss, so it is urging caution in confronting China.

The Federal Reserve is now pushing for removing the US tariffs on Chinese imports because of high inflation in the US. Recently, China’s RMB has become popular among international investors.

Funny

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Chipwar articles collected by MoA

A tenant that “blows up.”

She passed your income screening, background, and credit check. Sufficient employment verified, comes up with the deposit and first month’s rent. All good, starts on February.

Somewhere between then and six months later, you find this:

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You’ve lost $150,000 in damage, maybe a year’s rent, plus legal costs. And for reasons I still don’t really understand, you will likely never get a cent of any of it back.The perp — your former tenant — will face no legal consequences, never spend a day in jail nor pay one dime in restitution as would happen in a normal theft of, say, a car worth a fraction of the damage done. Other than mental illness, there’s usually no rational explanation for it either. Someone just threw a rage fit and your house was in the way. There will be no justice.

MM readers will know my story. You will well understand that he is in the cornfield and his life is certainly interesting. I'll leave it at that. -MM

Funny

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The rapid fire, in time with the drums, edit during the band intro just blew me away, the work that went into that really paid off, Amazing!

Great edition! The perfect timing and the visuals just hype me up so much, I feel my energy levels are through the roof. 

I dedicate this to Domain Inmates.

A fine kitty

It was very cold outside and a Sunday, so I fed her and asked if she wanted to stay. Then I opened the door to the covered breakfast room and put water and food in there and made an appt with the vet the next day.

The vet told me she looked like a stray even if she did not act like one.

He checked her for a chip and put some drops in her eyes then told me she was about 3 months old and looked like she needed a new home (he knew me because he doctored all 4 of my other pets, and said this with a smile).

We checked for communicable diseases and he treated her for fleas, then gave her her first round of shots, and sent her home with me, pet passport in hand. She has been the best unexpected guest our house has ever had.

Meet Rosa Blue.

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2022 11 07 20 47

Classic Lasagna

“I make this a lot and serve with Italian garlic bread and salad. It always gets a rave review, especially if the mozzarella strings with every bite. This recipe comes from my mother. I think she got it off the back of a “Mueller’s Lasagna box.”

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2022 11 07 17 23

Ingredients

Directions

  • In large heavy pan lightly brown beef and onion in oil.
  • Add tomatoes, paste, water, parsley, salt, sugar, garlic, pepper, and oregano; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile cook lasagne as directed; drain.
  • In 13x9x2″ baking pan, spread about 1 cup sauce.
  • Then alternate layers of lasagne, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesean cheese, ending with sauce, mozzarella and parmesean.
  • Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes until lightly browned and bubbling.
  • Allow to stand for 15 minutes; cut in squares to serve.
  • Makes 8 servings.
  • I make this a lot and serve with Italian garlic bread and salad.
  • It always gets a rave review, especially if the mozzarella strings with every bite.

I did something once that was so simple, yet so rewarding. I saw this little old black man reaching for one stick of butter and without thinking I grabbed his hand and said “You don’t want that.” “Oh honey, yes I do.”

I said, “No, look the package of 4 sticks is on sale and it is cheaper than one stick.” “Honey, my wife just died and this is the first time I have been in a grocery store. Could you teach me how to shop like that?”

So I said “Sure, first we look at the store ad and see what is on sale. So maybe you wanted chicken thighs but chicken breasts are on sale, so we change the menu a bit.”

Also told him about clipping coupons and comparing brand names to generic.

The the sales bin where things were marked down because of dents and stuff. I walked the whole store with him and then said good bye and went to do my shopping and he yelled as he left, “God bless you Honey.”

That was 40 years ago and just remembering it brought tears to my eyes. You always hear “for the children” but they forget there are old people whose kids died first.

Putin signs law to mobilise Russian citizens convicted of serious crimes

During the spring autumn warring era around 2500 years ago, when a smaller Yue country invaded by Wu country, the emperor of Yue visited the prison to recruit criminals on death roll, telling them if they form a team of soldiers to commit mass suicide in front of the enemies, the state will honour their death and their families will be looking after by the state.

So, when Wu soldiers arrived, 300 of their criminal soldiers moving forward in a formation shouting slogan pledging to defence their country with deaths, and begin to use their own sword to cut their own throat in front of the enemy.

Then, all the Yue soldiers suddenly appear from all direction shouting kill the enemies, the morale of the entire wu soldiers collapsed and begin to ran away. The king of Wu nation who personally lead the invasion was badly injured while escaping and died, Wu nation invasion was defeated.

During the Korean war , the PLA often attack the enemy at night, the front line soldiers do the shooting, and the 2nd line soldiers will move in once any on the front line is down. The rest will use any metals they possessed to generate sound to unnerved the crusaders. This is how the crusaders form the impression of a "people mountain, people seas" of armies surrounding them.

1840 opium war is just a once in a live time victory by the crusaders, such day will not repeat itself after the CCP in charge of China.

The article is HERE

Geopolitics is a Complicated Affair

After the Nordstream Attack – Scholz and Macron seem to have developed some spine against Joe Biden

While they are still too scared of making peace with Putin – they are openly defying Biden as far as China is concerned.

Scholz literally braved all opposition against Blinken and his own minister Habeck and went to China against all odds. He went with many companies for a lot of business discussions.

He actually told Xi Jingping to call on Putin to have a Ceasefire on Ukraine.

Can you imagine the loss of Face to USA for a European Leader to acknowledge a Chinese Leader as an Alternate for World Peace?????

Macron had actually suggested both leaders fly together

And at the end of the day – Russia didnt lose much

Russia simply sells Gas to China who in turn sells LNG to Germany and Europe at a higher price making profit for everyone.

Germany on the other hand is VERY ANGRY at USA for Nordstream

So while Nordstream did have sustained damage – the Fallout seems to have worked alright for Russia and China – in the fact that Macron is openly agitating against US charging $1320 for the same Gas that France was paying $ 300 under Russia and Scholz sold a 25% stake of Hamburg Port to a Chinese Company.

So why would Putin make things worse by again Unifying the Western leaders?

Better that they be Divided and if the cost of this Division is Nordstream i would say its worth it

There are some good answers here, but by far and away the most dangerous things people do when they come here is rent a car and go driving. Driving in Australia is not like Japan, or the UK or Europe or even the USA. Every year tourists die on our roads and the same goes for NZ.

Most deaths of tourists are due to natural causes, about 75% and are mostly due to heart disease. Mosts tourists are elderly and retired, so this can probably be expected. The other 25% are mostly road deaths (14%), then drownings (5%). (and an odd murder or two)

So here are some road tips for Australia.

  1. Be on the lookout for kangaroos and if you see one slow down. If one jumps in front of your car hit the brakes as hard as you can, and then run over it if you have to, don’t swerve. That is how people die. With the kangaroos it is good to avoid driving at dawn or dusk which many tourists would not know.
  2. When changing from a sealed road onto a gravel road SLOW DOWN. four Japanese tourists were killed here recently when the road changed to gravel. They were doing in excess of 130 km/h and their car rolled over and over for 200 metres.
  3. On a gravel road imagine that the road is wet and slippery. Or imagine that there are eggs taped to your pedals. Don’t make any sudden moves or steering changes. It is a very delicate thing. Feel the movement of the car with your bum. Stay on the main track and avoid the edges. Edit:- as per comment below “Worth mentioning a safe speed for gravel roads? For the NZ ones, in a 2WD car, I’d set that at 60km/h. Big tendency to fishtail at 70+, even on a straight road.”
  4. White line fever takes tourist lives every year. Our roads are shit and unmarked and in many cases unpaved. People become mesmerised and just drive off the road. Especially people from urban places like Japan and China. And because they come with family the car is usually full of people when they do it.
  5. Our dirt roads are very dangerous because many are made of ball bearings.

These are actually Bauxite nodules and they are slippery as they look. Add water to this and the resulting mess is something we refer to as “snot”

5. When driving in the outback be sure to have at least 20 litres of water, 20 litres of fuel, 2 spare tyres and some canned food. AT LEAST. Every year tourists die in the outback of thirst.

6. If you break down in the outback STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE. Every year tourists die because they tried to “walk out” in 40 degree heat. Cars are easy to spot from the air, humans not so much.

7. OTOH if you’re out in the middle of nowhere and it starts raining, pack up your camp and drive out to the nearest major road. Or be prepared to stay put for a week or two.

8. Travelling in remote areas is made very much safer if you carry a SPOT or an EPIRB or a satellite phone that can be rented from camping stores. It all makes you a lot easier to find when you go missing.

9. Thanks to Matt Hu. The edges of country roads contain soft shoulders and gravel. If you get two wheels off the bitumen DO NOT PULL BACK HARD. If you do your car may very well flip 180° and you kill your wife against a tree, or you can flip the car and hit the tree with your roof, which will kill you both. Cars don’t have airbags on the roof. If you get off the bitumen, stay there, slow down, and once you have regained control ease back onto the roadway. Most country road deaths are single vehicle accidents. This is a BIG one.

10. Thanks to David Bowker. If you are on a narrow road and a road train approaches pull off the road as far as you can and stop. Ditto any large vehicle. You don’t have any “rights” against a 160 ton, 55metre long centipede doing 100kph that is throwing up a kilometre of bulldust behind it. If you get stuck behind one stay back and be patient. When it is safe to pass he will pull over a bit and signal you to pass. If you stay too close you will lose a windscreen for sure.

11. Adam Bryce has reminded me that when driving in Australia you must wear your seat belt, and you must not use a mobile phone whilst driving for any reason at all. These two infractions will cost you a hefty fine.

12. Duncan Cairncross notes that when you drive in Australia you are not following anyone. And there are no buildings. So you have no way to judge your speed. People end up driving faster than the road, or their ability can handle. So watch your speed.

Driving in Australia is amazing fun and camping in Australia is truly the essence of freedom. There are very few restrictions except be self sufficient, clean up after yourself, and don’t set the place on fire. But it requires effort, stamina, planning and experience. Much is said on Quora about Australia’s dangerous animals but the most dangerous animal is your own ignorance.

We love tourists here because we love this place and want to share it with you. Just be a bit careful OK?

Beyond the Lines: Shelley’s “Ozymandias”

By Adam Sedia

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is one of his shortest works, but also one of his best known, anthologized to the point of ubiquity. But it deserves every bit of the reputation it has gained. Short, yet powerful and descriptive, it illustrates the sonnet at its best. And it is one of the few works, classical or modernist, that addresses a subject from that lodestone of the Western imagination, Ancient Egypt.

The sonnet, like any other, should be read only in its entirety before analysis:

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

The historical context behind the poem is indispensable for a proper analysis. “Ozymandias” figures as an Egyptian king in the chronicles of the first-century B.C. Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily. It is a Graecized corruption of the Egyptian Usermaatre-setepenre, the throne name of Ramesses II, who reigned as pharaoh for 67 years (1279-1213 BC), and was by far Ancient Egypt’s greatest builder of stone monuments. The four colossi build into the Nubian cliffs at the temple of Abu Simbel are perhaps the most famous depictions of him – and they convey the grandiose scale of a monument such as Shelley describes in his poem.

Shelley published the poem in 1818 – three years after the fall of Napoleon. Europe was still reeling from the twenty years of war he had inflicted on the continent and his single-handed reshaping of nations that had not changed since the Renaissance. But Napoleon also raised Ancient Egypt to new prominence in the European imagination. His invasion of Egypt in 1798 brought a separate army of French scholars to study its antiquities. From 1809 to 1818, they published the “Description de l’Égypte,” a twenty-three-volume catalogue of the land and its ancient ruins. Another scholar in Napoleon’s train, Jean-François Champollion, successfully deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1815. When Shelley wrote his poem, Ramesses II and his works were just being discovered as something more than the Ozymandias in the garbled account of Diodorus.

The conventional interpretation of the poem is probably as well-known as the poem itself: Shelley criticizes authoritarian government; despite all his grandiose claims, the tyrant Ozymandias, much like Napoleon, is gone and forgotten, his stone colossi smashed and abandoned in the lonely desert. This reading is certainly valid. Shelley was a famous critic of authoritarianism, and his mockery of the grandiose designs of absolute monarchs cannot escape the reader. Though valid, however, this interpretation remains merely one facet of a much more subtle and interesting analysis of the poem.

Shelley’s portrayal of the desolation is masterful. He renders the entire scene as a secondhand account from a traveler – neither the reader nor he has actually seen the scene described – highlighting the remoteness of the ruin. The poem’s final three lines achieve a descriptive pan-out effect, moving from the inscription, to the ruined monument, to the empty desert stretching beyond vision, implicitly shrinking the grand monument to insignificance.

Yet despite the ruin and desolation of the monument, the fact remains: Ozymandias’s name and image are known and on the lips of the narrator, and the traveler is able to read and convey his grandiose proclamation three thousand years later on another continent. The tyranny of Ozymandias, then, was not entirely futile if his command could achieve this immortality of sorts. If the poem only illustrates the futility of a tyrant’s grandiose designs, it fails, for the very existence of the monument belies that point. Shelley was too skilled to produce a poem with such a shortcoming. The inadequacy must lie with the analysis.

The key to this conundrum lies in the second quatrain, lines 5 through 8. Ozymandias’s portrait, his “frown,” “wrinkled lip,” and “sneer of cold command . . . yet survive, stamp’d” on the stone. They are given life by the sculptor, who “well those passions read” and “mock’d them.” The great ruler, Ozymandias, is known only to the narrator because of the sculptor’s work, and only the sculptor’s portrayal conveys anything about the man behind the name.

Indeed, the narrator presumes the sculptor “mock’d” his master, rather than faithfully executing a portrait because the “cold command” in the portrayal seems too perfectly consistent with the grandiosity of the monument. The features are almost a caricature. And the narrator can “[t]ell that its sculptor well those passions read” because he, too, knows the sort of “heart” that commands for self-aggrandizement. The sculptor saw in Ozymandias what the narrator (and contemporary readers) saw in Napoleon.

“Ozymandias,” then, is about much more than the futility of tyranny. It is, first of all, about the power of art. Ozymandias’s immortality depends solely on the artist carving his portrait, and the decisions the artist makes in execution determines how the world sees the subject, and therefore controls his fate. The nameless artist, then, is truly more powerful than the monarch whose name is carved in stone.

But “Ozymandias,” too, is about the shared humanity that art conveys between individuals across time and space. The narrator presumes to declare his understanding of the thoughts of a nameless, long-dead artist because he has seen the same tyranny portrayed in his own time. He presumes the artist disdained and mocked that tyranny because he sees in the work a trueness to life that could only come from a critical eye. Truth opposes propaganda, and is found more often in mockery and caricature than in official portraits.

How much meaning is crammed into those fourteen lines! A master like Shelley unlocks the full potential of the sonnet, showing the form’s power and versatility in its full glory. “Ozymandias” remains one of the best-crafted sonnets, as much for its vivid description as for the breadth and depth of its meaning.

I first started going to Vegas when it was mob run.

It was safe, clean, and inexpensive. Places would hand out rolls of nickels to get you to come in and play.

Free drinks as long as you were playing.

$1.99 cent steak and eggs at 4am cannot be beat.

Free shows, coupon books, free slot tournaments,

We used to go twice per year.

Slowly but surely all of these wonderful things went away.

Now the Vegas strip is dirty, filled with meth heads, people blowing smoke from blunts in in your face, the place smells of stale urine, people try to force the dirty hooker catalogs in your hands. It doesn’t feel safe and it isn’t fun to walk the gauntlet getting accosted by groups of people in dirty badly designed costumes trying to get you to take a picture with them for money.

The drinks are about $18 each, You can sometimes still get free drinks while gambling but otherwise there are few freebies. They illegally charge a $45 per night resort fee on nearly every room. The authorities in Carson city get kickbacks so they don’t enforce the law.

Bring back the old mob,

The new corporate and state run mob isn’t any good.

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2022 11 07 20 41

My GOD! The energy here is stunning! So blown away by the energy between them and the crowd it like a damn pre-workout.

There’s so much energy in this song they should play it for people in comas. Then again they might wake up only being able to say Pa PA YA!

Funny

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A tail of two kitties…

Bonjo is an old man with the heart and soul of a kitten

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Sano was found on the street as a crying kitten. I had no idea what to do but I took him home and learned a lot about cats in the years after. I also found out that I was a cat person!

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Bonjo found his way onto my porch one night years later and shortly found his way into my heart. They have such wonderful, weird personalities. They are a bit like Laurel and Hardy!

Clean and clear.

So this happened in Montana. I’m on my way to go to my interview this morning when I get pulled over by a police officer.

I am native American and my friend that was with me is black. Just saying.

Both brake lights decided to go out this time.

As he walked to the car and I was pulling out my stuff, he quickly said,

“Don’t worry about pulling anything out. I just want you to know that your brake lights are out.”

So I’m immediately upset because I just got them replaced like last month.

So I explained to him how Firestone wants to charge me $600 just to run a test on the wiring of the car.

He looked at me like 😨 and told me to pop the trunk.

He checked the lights in the trunk and tapped them, but they didn’t come on.

So he told me to pop the hood to check the relay box then asked me to get out to check the other one.

Then worked on the wiring under the dash.

He could’ve easily given me a ticket, but Officer Jenkins stepped out of the officer role, and into the mechanic role, and human role to make sure I was straight.

By the way, HE FIXED THEM. Not everyone is racist or a bad cop.

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A classic performance. I love the expressions on the faces of the audience.

IC chips (integrated circuits) is now obsolete. China will be producing Photonic chips in a few months

This American administration is BY FAR the clearest neocon leadership in the history of America. This is not good.

  • Failed against Goats in Afghanistan..
  • Failing against the Bear in Ukraine..
  • Fail guarantee against the Dragon..

Well, not all IC-Chips. Just the major ones that everyone is talking about out of Taiwan.

When the US banned China from participating in any NASA projects, China built its own. 

When the US banned China from participating in the "international" space station, China built its own. 

When the US stopped China from participating in Europe's GPS project, China built its own. 

When the US blocked Israel's sale of AWACs to China, China built its own, probably with the help of Israel (from my limited understanding, some of it from direct experience, Israel has long had strong, deep, and secret military relations with China; this started long before political recognition, one need not read too much in prepared statements deliberately made for mainstream media by Israel officials). 

When Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese products to reduce US trade deficits with China, it went up instead. 

When Biden imposed sanctions on all Xinjiang products, US imports from Xinjiang went up instead. 

When the US and its vassals imposed total sanctions on Russia to kill its ruble, the ruble went up instead. 

When the US wants to maintain its Dollar hegemony, the main pillar of the US hegemony, by threatening, sanctioning, and attacking anyone who does not want to be treated like a dog by the imperium, more countries are decoupling from the Dollar hegemony. 

What do you think will be the result of the US banning the sale and service of semiconductor technologies to China?

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." -- attributed to Einstein but probably uttered by someone driven to insanity by certain insane, delusional, and self-destructive humans.

PM

The United States talks, plans, talks more, and does bad things in dark secretive closets.

China just forges ahead with it’s plans regardless.

We continue with the global fiasco. Check out this neocon journal that is questioning what China is saying. In other words, “just because they say this, does not mean that it is what they mean”.

Same with Putin.

Russia Hits Ukraine with ~50 Missiles; Kiev Takes ~10 Hits, no electric/water

Russia began this week with a large barrage of missiles against Nazi Ukraine; with upwards of ten missiles striking the Nazi Capital Kiev and many other cities.  The map above shows the missile target areas.

Russian Strategic aviation is very active this morning.   10 TU-95 planes with cruise missiles targeted the regions of Vinnytsia, Odessa, Kryvyi Rih, Poltava, Kiev, Khmelnytsia, Zaporozhye, Dnieper, Kremenchug.

The following regions and cities hit:

– Kiev
– Dnepropetrovsk
– Vinnitsa
– Zaporozhye
– Poltava
– Kharkiv
– Kirovograd

Attacks on Electrical or Water infrastructure:
– CHPP-5 (Kiev)
– CHPP-6 (Kiev)
– Lviv CHP (Lviv)
– Kremenchug HPP
– Dneproges
– Novodnestrovskaya HPP

At least 10 missile explosions were heard in Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed power outages in parts of the capital and water supply restrictions in some areas.

Blackouts began in the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye, Anatoly Kurtev, secretary of the City Council, said.

Ukraine has lost 20 percent of its landmass to Russia. 15 percent of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homeland.

Only a large supply of candles from Poland will permit Ukrainians any light for the coming winter, yet this IS the main-stream-media’s idea of “winning.”

Social media and the foreign Press are lighting-up with the story:

 

 

The president of the Kiev regional administration, urged residents to prepare for a long absence of electricity.

The Dniester hydroelectric power plant-1 in the west of Kiev-controlled territory was struck.  It is  the most powerful power plant in the Dniester Region, 702 MW.

Kiev and region reported interruptions in mobile communications.

At the moment, 36 energy facilities of Ukraine have been hit.  In Kyiv, an explosion at only one power facility led to a power outage in 350,000 apartments.

While you are reading this, it is important to point out Russia asked for peace talks with the US about 10 days ago, and the US refused.

 

Two “Incidents” so far today:

A missile shot down by the Ukrainian air defense landed on the territory of Moldova, according to the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The same ministry urgently called Kiev for clarification.

And . . .  a much more worrisome “incident:”

In Pskov, Russia – near the border with Estonia, on a Russian Air Base, 2 attack helicopters were blown up.

Estonia is a member of NATO.   Questions now arising if Estonia bombed the Russian base ?

 

Additional updates coming . . .  check back  7:12 AM EDT

 

UPDATE 7:45 AM EDT —

80% of Kiev residents without water AND part of the city without electricity – Kiev mayor Klitschko.

(Note: That’s how Donetsk lived already for almost 9 years due to Ukrainian attacks.  Strange how no one in the West complained then.)

Also: Moldova says it will treat the Russian missile debris as an accident.

 

UPDATE 9:43 AM EDT —

DTEK the energy grid supplier in Ukraine says it’s out of equIpment for repairs.  No more transformers, no more line insulators, no more poles.

 

PERSPECTIVE

In real world: Russia takes 20% of Ukraine’s land, and millions of people, and nationalizes it for themselves.

In Clown World: Ukraine is winning.

In real world: Russia is launching missiles and attacking Ukraine’s capital and destroying majority of country’s critical infrastructure.

In Clown World: Ukraine is winning.

Your perspective on this war is all a matter of which world you live in: the real world or Clown World.

Sausage Pizza Pie

Add something flavorful to your family’s Italian dinner! Enjoy this delicious pizza made with Bisquick® mix and filled with sausage and pizza sauce.

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound bulk pork sausage
  • 1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • 2 cups Original Bisquick™ mix
  • 1/4 cup process cheese spread (room temperature)
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • Green and red bell pepper rings, if desired
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

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https://youtu.be/zcF0rKgmvsM

Most Chinese believe that the Chinese political system is best FOR CHINA ONLY because it is the system which has evolved in China FOR CHINESE UNDER CHINESE CONDITIONS.

They do not believe or claim that it is a fit for other nations. Other societies need to develop the system which evolves for them under their own unique social and political conditions.

In short, what works for China is best for China, even though it is far from perfect, and is continuing to evolve to fit new conditions.

Other societies need to develop their own systems FREE FROM EXTERNAL INTIMIDATION AND PRESSURE so that they can develop a political system which fits the needs of their own people.

Why China’s No Nuclear First Use Policy May Not Be Set In Stone

Should America trust it?

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Here’s What You Need to Remember: “In the absence of a no-first-use commitment from the United States, Chinese nuclear strategists believe continued improvements to their nuclear arsenal are needed to assure China’s leaders their U.S. counterparts won’t take the risk of attacking China with nuclear weapons.”

China has reaffirmed its policy of never being the first in a conflict to use nuclear weapons. Experts refer to this policy as “no first use,” or NFU.

The NFU policy reaffirmation, contained in Beijing’s July 2019 strategic white paper, surprised some observers who expected a more expansive and aggressive nuclear posture from the rising power.

Notably, the United States does not have a no-first-use policy. “Retaining a degree of ambiguity and refraining from a no first use policy creates uncertainty in the mind of potential adversaries and reinforces deterrence of aggression by ensuring adversaries cannot predict what specific actions will lead to a U.S. nuclear response,” the Pentagon stated.

Chinese state media posted the government’s white paper in its entirety. “Nuclear capability is the strategic cornerstone to safeguarding national sovereignty and security,” the paper asserts.

“This is standard language,” explained David Santoro, a nuclear expert with the nonprofit Pacific Forum. “China’s nukes serve to prevent nuclear coercion and deter nuclear attack.”

Then the surprise. “China is always committed to a nuclear policy of no first use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, and not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones unconditionally,” the white paper adds.

This NFU clause surprised Gregory Kulacki, a nuclear expert with the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. “Ever since I took this job 17 years ago, U.S. colleagues of all political and intellectual persuasions have been telling me that sooner or later China would alter, adjust, amend or qualify the policy that China will never, under any circumstances, use nuclear weapons first,” Kulacki wrote.

It would be difficult to compose a more emphatic rejection of claims that China’s no-first-use policy is changing. The statement also indicates it is not Chinese policy to use nuclear weapons first to forestall defeat in a conventional military conflict with the United States. China does not have an “escalate to de-escalate” nuclear strategy.

China is not preparing to fight a nuclear war with the United States. It does not have “battlefield” or “tactical” or “non-strategic” nuclear weapons. Chinese nuclear strategists don’t think a nuclear war with the United States is likely to happen. And they seem sure it won’t happen as long as the U.S. president believes China can retaliate if the United States strikes first.

That’s not a high bar to meet, which is why China’s nuclear arsenal remains small and, for the time being, off alert.

China sees its comparatively modest nuclear modernization program as a means to convince U.S. leaders that a few Chinese ICBMs can survive a U.S. first strike and that these survivors can penetrate U.S. missile defenses.

Chinese nuclear planners might be willing to slow or scale back their nuclear modernization efforts if the United States were willing to assure China’s leaders it would never use nuclear weapons first in a military conflict with China. Chinese experts and officials have been asking the United States to offer that assurance for decades. U.S. experts and officials consistently refuse.

While China has not adopted a more aggressive nuclear policy, it does continue to upgrade its small nuclear arsenal and its command systems. Kulacki explained that modernization in the context of America’s own refusal to commit to no-first-use.

“In the absence of a no-first-use commitment from the United States, Chinese nuclear strategists believe continued improvements to their nuclear arsenal are needed to assure China’s leaders their U.S. counterparts won’t take the risk of attacking China with nuclear weapons,” Kulacki wrote.

Chinese experts know U.S. efforts to develop a working ballistic missile defense system are not going well, but they still feel the need to hedge against continued U.S. investment in the system with incremental improvements in the quality and quantity of China’s small nuclear force.

Given the impassioned attack on constructive U.S.-China relations currently sweeping U.S. elites off their feet, along with the continued proliferation of misinformation about Chinese nuclear capabilities and intentions, many U.S. commentators are likely to brush aside the new white paper’s reiteration of China’s longstanding nuclear no-first-use policy.

It doesn’t fit in the emerging U.S. story about a new Cold War. That’s unfortunate, especially as the U.S. Congress threatens to ramp up a new nuclear arms race its supposed adversary has no intention to run.

Hum.

With crazy-town United States pushing all the “red buttons” and crossing all the “red lines”, China and Russia are expected to uphold their statements and policy papers while the USA constantly tears theirs up and rewrites the rules as they see fit.

https://youtu.be/uB6_r-H5Yr4

Finland Trying to Become the Next Ukraine

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In a move that could risk infuriating Russia, nuclear weapons could possibly be positioned in Finland if the country’s application to join NATO is approved, according to a report from a Finnish newspaper.

Both Finland and Sweden submitted applications to join NATO in May, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Helsinki-based newspaper Iltalehti, the bill regarding potential NATO membership the Finnish government will put before parliament doesn’t include any opt-outs for nuclear weapons.

Speaking to the paper, defense sources said Finland’s foreign and defense ministers, Pekka Haavisto and Antti Kaikkonen, gave a “commitment” to NATO in July that they wouldn’t seek “restrictions or national reservations” if Helsinki’s application is accepted.

Foreign policy insiders told Iltalehti this means NATO nuclear weapons could transit through, or be based on, Finnish territory. Additionally, there are no restrictions on establishing NATO bases in the country.

It appears Finland is committing national suicide; literally TRYING to become the next Ukraine.

Good chat.

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Shortages of antibiotic Amoxicillin

90% of antibiotics are made in China. -MM
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Three of the largest manufacturers of the common antibiotic amoxicillin are reporting supply concerns.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis, have all reported shortages of various doses of the drug, which is most commonly used to treat bacterial infections in children.

Amoxicillin comes as a capsule, a tablet, a chewable tablet and as a liquid to be taken by mouth, depending on the age of the patient.

Most of the shortages were reported in the liquid form of the drug, which is used by young children, according to the University of Utah’s drug information service, which tracks medication shortages, though the database shows the companies reported limited supply of all the versions of the drug.

As of Oct. 25, the university’s drug tracker listed 14 of Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ amoxicillin products and nine products from Teva. The tracker listed 16 products from Sandoz as being in shortage.

The most common reason antibiotics are prescribed for children is to treat ear infections, though they can also be used to treat bacterial sinus and throat infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amoxicillin is considered a “first-line” therapy, though there are other antibiotics that can be used.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesman said the agency was aware “of some intermittent supply interruptions of amoxicillin products in the U.S, and are currently working with the approved manufacturers.”

However, the FDA doesn’t consider amoxicillin to be in shortage because at least one manufacturer is able to fully supply market demand.

Hikma spokesman Steve Weiss said amoxicillin is on allocation, meaning the company has enough supply to fulfill the orders of current customers, but is limiting new orders.

“We are managing distribution to make sure we continue to fully meet our existing supply commitments,” Weiss said. “Our number one priority is to honor the commitments we have to our current customers and allocation allows us to achieve this.”

Leslie Pott, spokeswoman for Sandoz, said there is a “significant demand uptake”

“The combination in rapid succession of the pandemic impact and consequent demand swings, manufacturing capacity constraints, scarcity of raw materials, and the current energy crisis means we currently face a uniquely difficult situation,” Pott said.

She said Sandoz is on track to “strengthen the supply reliability of our antibiotics currently low in stock.”

Teva didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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Bigshot Yuval Harari – The elite survive, the rest drown

Dr. Yuval Harari is making headlines again with his remarks about humanity as a whole. In his most recent appearance, Harari says “You will have a small elite that’ll makes all the decisions even if it doesn’t benefit the majority of the population…. If bad comes to worse, scientists will be the Noah’s Ark for the elite… leaving the rest to drown.”

Here, watch the video to hear him say it yourself:

World’s First Photonic Chip Fab..

Opens in Beijing next year

Godfree Roberts 27OCT22
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As electricity displaces internal combustion in cars, photonic chips are displacing electronic chips in circuits. The switchover will accelerate when Sintone, a Beijing startup, opens the world’s first photonic chip foundry next year, neatly filling the high end chip gap created by US embargoes.

Technological implications

In an electronic integrated circuit, electron flux passes through electrical components like resistors, inductors, transistors, and capacitors. In a photonic integrated circuit, PIC, photons of light pass through optical components like waveguides, lasers, polarizers, and phase shifters.

PICs are far superior to electronic chips in speed, integration, heat generation, miniaturization, compatibility with existing mass manufacturing processes and cost, being produced entirely with Chinese equipment and IP.

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Market implications

China is already the world’s largest market for PICs, expanding from $800 million in 2017 to $2 billion today. PICs increase bandwidth and data transfer speeds and reduce energy consumption in data centers, cutting cooling costs.

PICs make lab-on-a-chip (LOC) practicable, putting laboratories into doctors’ hands. Amazec Photonics markets a sensor with photonic chips which enables high-resolution temperature sensing, so doctors can measure cardiac output and circulating blood volume from outside the body. EFI’s ‘OptiGrip’ offers greater control over tissue feeling for minimal invasive surgery.

PICs facilitate communication between vehicles and urban infrastructure to improve driver safety, and can detect quantities of pressure, temperature, vibration, acceleration, and mechanical strain. PhotonFirst uses PICs to measure shape changes in airplanes, EV battery temperature, and infrastructure strain.

PICs can measure variables beyond the range of our senses, detecting disease, ripeness and nutrients in fruit and helping farmers determine soil quality, plant growth, and CO2. MantiSpectra’s infrared sensor fits into a smartphone and analyzes chemical compounds in plastics.

Financial implications

While US hawks insist the collateral damage is worth bearing, the sweeping expansion of US export restrictions, intended to isolate China, risks decimating US firms.

Nvidia, unable to sell its advanced AI chips to China, saw its market capitalization fall by $38 billion. AMD’s fell $16.5 billion. The combined market value of Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA Corp, US makers of electronic semiconductor equipment – has fallen $25 billion since the bans were announced. Synopsys and Cadence, US designers of electronic design automation software, are now worth $9 billion less.

Geopolitical implications

After President Xi’s 2015 warning about dependence on foreign technology, Beijing invested billions to leapfrog existing IP, including overcoming PIC manufacturing challenges. If the new fab opens on time and the chips perform as expected, it will further reduce the value of American IP (and the geopolitical value of TSMC) and turn the embargoes into a trillion-dollar catastrophe, like Ukraine.

1. One Day or Day One, you decide.

2. Maturity is when you treat your birthday as a normal day.

3. Dream until it’s your reality.

4. No response is a response and it’s a powerful one.

5. Sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful.

6. Hope, but never expect. Look forward, but never wait.

7. It may be a bad day, but never bad life.

8. Don’t make permanent decisions on temporary emotions.

9. Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.

10. Enjoy little things. Little things make big things happen.

At least 1,400 US-based ethnic Chinese scientists exited American institutions for mainland China, study reveals

At least 1,400 US-based ethnic Chinese scientists switched their affiliation last year from American to Chinese institutions, according to a joint report by academics from Harvard, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The high number illustrates a “chilling effect” resulting from US government policies deterring research and academic activity by scientists of Chinese descent and suggests American research could suffer, said the Asian American Scholar Forum, an advocacy group that published the findings.

“We see an increase in that trend,” said Yu Xie, a sociology professor at Princeton University as he presented the report at a webinar on Monday. He added that the US had been “losing talent to China for a while and particularly after the China Initiative”.

The China Initiative, launched in 2018 by the administration of former US president Donald Trump, aimed to fight suspected Chinese theft of technical secrets and intellectual property as competition between the two countries intensified.

While the administration of US President Joe Biden formally ended the programme this year amid concerns over racial bias and a culture of fear, it still exacted a lingering toll on Chinese-descent scientists, according to the report.

“Our study reveals the widespread fear among Chinese-origin scientists in the US arising from conducting routine research and academic activities,” Xie and his four fellow authors from the three US universities concluded.

“If this fear is not alleviated, there are significant risks of an underutilisation of scientific talent as well as losing scientific talent to China and other countries,” they added.

Blinken: US must not ‘lose sight of cooperative aspect’ of China relationship

The data collected by the authors indicated that 1,415 scientists of Chinese origin, as identified by their last names, had changed their professional affiliations. These changes were identified in addresses listed under the scientists’ names in academic journals. They worked in engineering, computer science, mathematics, physical sciences and life sciences.

The figure marked a 21.7 per cent jump from the previous year, and is more than twice the number of switched affiliations compared with 2011.

Since the launch of the China Initiative, critics said Chinese scientists in the US, including Chinese-Americans, felt they were being racially profiled and pressured to shut down joint projects and avoid future collaboration with Chinese counterparts.

A poll last year by researchers at the University of Arizona and the Committee of 100, a non-partisan organisation of prominent Chinese-Americans, found 40 per cent of scientists who are ethnic Chinese considered leaving the US due to a fear of American government surveillance.

A similar sentiment was reflected in the AASF report, which surveyed 1,300 “Chinese-origin scientists” employed by US universities in tenure or tenure-track positions between last December and March this year. Of these, 54.4 per cent were naturalised American citizens and another 36.8 per cent were US permanent residents.

The report found that 61 per cent of the scientists, especially young researchers, felt pressure to leave the US, and 65 per cent expressed concern about their collaborations with China. About 45 per cent of the respondents said they were avoiding applying for US federal grants.

Christina Ciocca Eller of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy said the US government’s policies had a direct impact on well-being in the research ecosystem in both “beneficial” and “difficult” ways. Ciocca Eller said the Biden administration would keep striving to protect research security and improve policies.

“We have to take research security challenges with care … especially if we want to facilitate the trust and openness that is at the heart of the American research enterprise,” she explained at the webinar.

‘People decoupling’: China’s talent tussle as red tape, US tensions clog flow

Ciocca Eller said her office, which develops and implements research security policies for the Biden administration, was now trying to standardise and be more transparent when it came to research applications for federal funding.

“If our policies to address the challenges posed in relation to research security diverge from our core values or fuel xenophobia or prejudice of any kind, then we will significantly diminish our ability to attract and retain scientific talent or to facilitate productive international collaboration,” she added.

The China Initiative was formulated as part of the Trump administration’s response to Beijing’s Thousand Talents Plan, set up in 2008 to attract foreign talent as part of the central government’s strategy “for foreign technology acquisition”.

There were 77 cases and more than 150 defendants prosecuted under the China Initiative over three years, according to MIT Technology Review’s analysis in December 2021.

The FBI said in January some 2,000 investigations focused on the Chinese government stealing information and technology, but it did not specify how many of these came under the China Initiative.

Meanwhile, US universities appeared to have reacted differently when their employees were indicted, with some quickly firing professors and distancing themselves, while others openly supported their staff during the prosecutions.

Tobin Smith, senior vice-president for science policy and global affairs at the Association of American Universities, said some institutions were confused about rules on federal grants.

He believed there needed to be across-the-board collaboration between the government and different levels at universities ranging from the leadership to their faculties.

US expert on China aims to ‘crack open’ echo chambers, renew relations

“Let’s face it, there have certainly been government policies in the China Initiative which I think have created perhaps some of these challenges and concerns … but as universities, we need to get it right too,” said Smith, whose organisation represents 65 research universities in the US and Canada.

He called for better collaboration between universities and government “when there are issues of concern about disclosure” to set punishment appropriate to the crime.

“We want to work with the Asian American Scholars Forum, other Asian-American groups [and] OSTP federal research agencies to work on getting this right because we need to protect and ensure that we continue to attract that talent, which is proven so valuable to our universities and the research we do as a country,” Smith said.

A great video.

https://youtu.be/YcMnTNtBYbA

Sir A Conan Doyle: Holmes: Curious: the fact that the dog did not bark when you would expect it so to do.

Western media is full of speculation whether, or not, we stand at the cusp of WW3. Actually, we are already there. The long war never stopped. In the wake of America’s 2008 Financial Crisis, the U.S. needed to reinforce its economy’s collateral resource base. For the Straussian current (the neocon hawks if you prefer), Russia’s then post-Cold War weakness was ‘opportunity’ to open a new war front. The U.S. hawks wanted to kill two birds with one stone: to pillage Russia’s valuable resources to reinforce their own economy and to fracture Russia into a kaleidoscope of parts.

For the Straussians, the Cold War too never ended. The world remains binary – ‘us and them, good and evil’.

But the neoliberal pillage ultimately didn’t succeed – to the lasting chagrin of the Straussians. Since 2014 at least, (according to one senior Russian official), the Great Game has moved towards the attempt by the U.S. to control the flows and corridors of energy – and to set its price. And, on the other side, on Russia’s counter-measures to create fluid and dynamic transit networks through pipelines and Asian internal waterways – and to set the price of energy. (Now via OPEC+)

So, Putin holding the Ukraine referenda; mobilising Russian military forces; and reminding the world that he is open to talks, clearly ‘ups the ante’. Should the NATO-led Ukrainians push into these areas after next week, it will constitute a direct attack on Russian soil. This retaliation threat is backed up by the mobilisation of massive military deployments.

Then, the Nordstream pipelines were blown up. Put simply, this is a high-stakes game of chicken playing out centred around energy – and against the relative strengths and weaknesses of the western economy and the Russian economy. Biden releases 1 million per day from strategic reserves and OPEC+ seems set to cut by 1.5 million barrels per day.

On the one hand, the U.S. is a large resource-rich economy, but Europe isn’t and is much more dependent on imports of food and energy. And with the final bursting of the QE bubble, it is not clear that Central Bank intervention which created the $30+ trillion QE bubble will be able to provide a solution. Inflation changes the calculus. A return to QE becomes highly problematic in an inflationary environment.

One prescient financial commentator noted: “Bubbles bursting are not just about inflated prices falling, they’re about the recognition that an entire way of thinking was wrong”. Put simply, did the Straussians adequately think through their recent exaltation of the pipeline disruption? Blinken has just called the Nordstream sabotage and Europe’s consequent energy deficit a “tremendous opportunity” for the U.S.. Curiously, the sabotage coincided with reports suggesting that secret talks were afoot between Germany and Russia to resolve all Nordstream issues and to restart supply.

But what if the resultant crisis crashes the political structures in Europe? What if the U.S. turns out not to be immune to the type of financial leverage crisis facing the UK? Team Biden and the EU plainly did not think through the rush to sanctioning Russia. They did think through either, the consequences of their European ally losing Russia.

These ‘fin-war’ elements will likely become more a focus of attention than battlefield wins or reverses in Ukraine (where the rainy season has already begun), and it will not be until early November that the ground will freeze hard. The conflict is heading to a pause, just as the western attention span for the Ukraine war seems to be fading somewhat.

However, what is ‘curious’ for so many, is the eerie silence emanating out of Europe in the wake of their vital energy pipelines lying broken on the Baltic Sea floor at a time of financial crisis. This is the ‘dog’ that did not bark in the night – when you would expect it so to do. Hardly a word, or murmur, is to be heard about this matter in the European press – and nothing from Germany … It as if it never happened. Yet of course the Euro-élite know ‘who did it’.

To understand this paradox, we must look at the interplay of the three principal dynamics at work in Europe. Each thinks of theirs as ‘a winning hand’; the ‘be all, and end all’ of the future. But in reality, these two currents are but ‘useful tools’ in the eyes of those who ‘pull the levers’ and ‘sound the whistles’ – i.e. control the psyops from behind the curtain.

Furthermore, there is a sharp disparity of motives. For the Straussians, behind the curtain, they are at war – existential war to maintain their primacy. The second two currents are utopian projects which have shown themselves to be easily manipulated.

The ‘Straussians’ are the followers of Leo Strauss, the leading neo-con theorist. Many are former Trotskyists who morphed over, from Left to Right (call them Neocon ‘hawks’ if you prefer). Their message is a very simple doctrine about the maintenance of power: ‘Never let it slip’; block any rival from emerging; do whatever it takes.

Leading Straussian, Paul Wolfowitz, wrote this simple doctrine of ‘destroy any emergent rivals before they destroy you’ into the U.S. 1992 official Defence Planning Document – adding to it that Europe and Japan particularly were to be ‘discouraged’ from questioning U.S. global primacy. This skeleton doctrine, though re-packaged in subsequent Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, continued with its essence unchanged.

And, since the message – ‘block any rival’ – is so direct and compelling, the Straussians flit easily from U.S. political party to party. They have too their ‘useful’ auxiliaries deeply burrowed within the U.S.’ élite class, and institutions of state power. The oldest and most trusty of these auxiliary forces however, is the Anglo-American intelligence and security alliance.

The ‘Straussians’ prefer to scheme from ‘behind the curtain’ and in certain U.S. think-tanks. They move with the times, ‘camping on’, yet never assimilating into whatever prevalent cultural trends are ‘out there’. Their alliances always remain temporary, opportunistic. They use these contemporary impulses primarily to craft fresh justifications for American exceptionalism.

The first such important impulse in the current reframing is liberal-woke, activist-driven, social justice-oriented identity politics. Why wokeism? Why should woke be of interest to the CIA and MI6? Because it is revolutionary. Identity politics was evolved during the French Revolution to upend the status quo; to overthrow its pantheon of hero-models, and to displace the existing élite and rotate a ‘new class’ into power. This definitely excites the interest of Straussians.

Biden likes to tout the exceptionalism of ‘our democracy’. Of course, Biden refers here, not to generic democracy in the wider meaning, but to America’s liberal-woke re-justification for global hegemony (defined as “our democracy”). “We have an obligation, a duty, a responsibility to defend, preserve, and protect ‘our democracy’…It is under threat”, he has said.

The second key dynamic – the Green Transition – is one that co-habits under the Biden Administration umbrella, together with the very radical and distinct philosophy of Silicon Valley – an eugenist and trans-human view that aligns in some respects with that of the ‘Davos’ crowd, as well as with the straight-forward Climate Emergency activists.

Just to be clear, these two distinct, but companion piece dynamics to ‘our democracy’, crossed the Atlantic to burrow deeply into the Brussels leadership class. And, put simply, the Euro-Version of liberal-woke activism keeps intact the Straussian doctrine of U.S. and western exceptionalism – together with its’ insistence that ‘enemies’ be portrayed in the most extreme Manichaean terms.

The aim of Manicheanism (since Carl Schmitt first made the point) is to foreclose on any mediation with rivals by portraying them as sufficiently ‘evil’ that discourse with them become pointless and morally defective.

The transition of liberal-woke politics across the Atlantic should come as no surprise. The EU’s regulation ‘trussed’ internal market was precisely devised to displace political debate with tech managerialism. But the very sterility of econ-tech discourse birthed the so-called ‘democracy gap’. With the latter becoming evermore the Union’s unmissable lacuna.

The Euro-élites thus were in desperate need of a Values System to fill the gap. So, they leaped onto the liberal-woke ‘train’. Drawing on this, and the Club of Rome’s ‘messianism’ for de-industrialisation, gave to the Euro-élites their shiny new sect of absolute purity, a Green Future, and stainless ‘European Values’ filling the democracy-gap lacuna.

Effectively, these latter two currents – identity politics and the Green Agenda – were and are very much in the lead within the EU with the Straussians standing behind the curtain, pulling the Intelligence-Security axis lever.

The new zealots were deeply entrenched into Europe’s élite class by the 1990s, particularly in the wake of Tony Blair’s importation of the Clinton worldview and were ready to cast down the Pantheon of the old order, so to establish a new ‘de-industrialised’ Green world that would wash away the western sins of racism, patriarchy, and heteronormativity.

It culminated in the mounting of ‘a revolutionary vanguard’, whose proselytizing fury is directed both at ‘the Other’ (which serendipitously happens to be America’s rivals), as well as towards those at home (whether in the U.S. or Europe) who are defined as extremists threatening ‘our (liberal) democracy’; or, the imperative need for a ‘Green Revolution’.

Here is the point: At the tip of the European ‘spear’ reside the Green zealots— particularly the truly revolutionary German, Green Party. They hold the leadership in Germany and are at the helm at the EU Commission. It is Green zealotry fused to ‘ruining Russia’ – an intoxicating mix.

The German Greens see themselves as legionaries in this new Trans-Atlantic imperial ‘army’, pulling down literally the pillars of European industrial society, redeeming its smoking ruins, and its unpayable debts, through a digitised financial system and a ‘renewables’ economic future.

And then, with Russia weakened sufficiently, and with Putin effected, the vultures would prey at the Russian carcass for resources – precisely as occurred in the 1990s.

But they forgot … They forgot that Straussians don’t have permanent ‘friends’: U.S. primacy always trumps the interests of allies.

What can the European Green zealots say? They wanted anyway to throw down the pillars of industrialised society. Well, they got it. The Nordstream ‘escape route’ out from economic catastrophe has gone. There is nothing else, but to mumble unconvincingly: ‘Putin did it’. And to contemplate the ruin of Europa and what that may mean.

What next? The hawks likely will now play their next hand in the high stakes game of WW3 ‘chicken’. The soaring dollar is one vector. The question is who holds the stronger cards? The West believes it holds the Ukraine card. Russia believes it has ace economic cards of food, energy, and resource security – and has a stable economy. Ukraine represents an entirely different battlespace: the long term Straussian ambition to strip Russia of its historic ‘safety belt’ that began in the wake of the Cold War with the fragmentation of the Soviet Union.

Much will depend on the fall-out from the Bubble burst. As that one commentator put it: “The moment has come for central bankers to tighten and to unwind their various market distortions: The impact has already been catastrophic,” said Lindsay Politi, a Fund manager. “And central banks aren’t done yet. Inflation changes the calculus: Many central banks simply don’t have the option of returning to QE anymore”.

Large explosion in Taiwan’s CPC Dalin oil refinery, no injuries

HONG KONG, Oct 28 (Reuters) – An explosion hit Taiwan’s state-backed CPC Dalin Refinery in the southern city of Kaohsiung on Thursday night, videos and images from the Fire Department showed with heavy fire seen above the plant, officials said, adding nobody was hurt in the incident.

Fire was seen raging above the plant and thick smoke billowed into the sky above for more than an hour, according to an online video posted on Youtube. Residents from several kilometres away were able to view the explosion.

The fire broke out at 10.35 p.m. local time (1435 GMT) in Siaogang district. The city’s fire department said flames were put out early on Friday and no one was injured or trapped as per an initial investigation.

Ominous: All U.S. Military Aircraft Transponders: OFF

A strange thing is taking place early Monday morning.  All United States military aircraft have turned their transponders off.  The planes can no longer be tracked by civilian entities or  via the Internet.

Even more ominous, word is coming out of several regional airports around the US, especially several near US nuclear missile bases, that fighter and other military aircraft are being quietly moved to those Regional airports, with no explanation.

One possibility is that the US is moving the aircraft to put them away from likely nuclear attack targets, such as air bases.  This would – in theory – allow some of the US military aircraft to survive a nuclear first strike.  It’s almost the same as when the military moves planes or ships to avoid a coming hurricane.

Page Regional Airport in North Dakota is one such air field where military aircraft are said to be re-positioned.   Page is about 219 miles from Minot Air Force Base, a nuclear weapons base.

Word came late last week that a very unusual and large number of military aircraft were seen flying into that airport.   At 219 miles away from Minot, the aircraft sent to Page would likely survive a nuclear attack against Minot itself.

Questions being raised today about military planes with no transponders, include folks asking, are ALL military planes now being physically re-positioned?  If so, why?

Does the U.S. expect an incoming nuclear strike?   Or is the U.S. planning a nuclear first strike against Russia, and is therefore moving its planes in anticipation of a return strike?

No answers.

Crazy: Fighting 3 wars at the same time.

The Biden White house released it’s policy paper on global dominance.  It’s a committee written document with the standard boilerplate of  “American greatness”, and the liberally sprinkled “democracy”, and soft words of “competitors” instead of their actual meanings as “enemies”.

Being in China, this statement popped out…

We have an abiding interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is critical to regional and global security and prosperity and a matter of international concern and attention. 

We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, and do not support Taiwan independence. 

We remain committed to our one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances. 

And we will uphold our commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act to support Taiwan’s self-defense and to maintain our capacity to resist any resort to force or coercion against Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the United States is funding a big-lie propaganda machine to convince the world that China is going to “invade Taiwan” and the USA will defend it. While China says “no we won’t”.

Ah. Expect a false flag event in the future.

So, you can expect Biden to sign the Taiwan Act of 2022 which will render the above paragraph mute, and alike everything out of this cluster-fuck of a government disaster, will result in many discomforts and outright horrors for the American people.

The full text of the PDF is HERE.

What this document states is a continuation of the policy of “poking and prodding China into conflict”…

We will act in common purpose to address a range of issues – 

from untrusted digital infrastructure 
and forced labor in supply chains 
and illegal, unreported,and unregulated fishing. 

We will hold Beijing accountable for abuses – 

genocide 
and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, 
human rights violations in Tibet, 
and the dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms 

– even as it seeks to pressure countries and communities into silence. 

We will continue prioritizing investments in a combat credible military that deters aggression against our allies and partners in the region, and can help those allies and partners defend themselves.

Poking the big long ugly USA nose in Chin’s domestic issues.

And all dressed up in a very nice “corporate speak” who’s audience are either mind-numbed “woke” entities or just folk like us who are tired of the massive flood of diarrhea that spews forth out of Washington DC these days.

Conclusion

This policy paper is the roadmap for American geopolitical involvement.

It continues, in corporate-speak, to describe a world where the United States will puppet it’s allies to continue to bully the rest of the world into compliance with what ever the fuck the USA wants.

Expect no further changes to American policy at this time.

The neocons are running the United States and things are only going to get worse.

Bunkering in and hunkering down…

We start off with a commentary from Hal Turner. Now, for those of you who are unaware, he is bunkered up. He’s in rural Pennsylvania and living as a prepper waiting for nuclear evisceration of the United States.  While he has some ties to government and all the rest, he’s also a disinfo agent. Think of him as a “double agent”. There’s good, with a lot of bad mixed in his content.

But…

The fact is that he is (himself) in a bunker and hiding out in rural America should tell youse guys something.

Personally… It’s going to get bad for Americans. But, not THAT bad. This is MM speaking.

HAL TURNER COMMENTARY

Russia sending LIVE NUCLEAR MISSILES on launcher trucks to pass in front of the US Embassy in Moscow is the single most unprecedented nuclear threat in the history of the world.

Yet the American people remain blissfully unaware that their federal government is causing so much trouble overseas, we are now at actual risk of being hit with a nuclear attack.  The American people are not being told by their mass media that things between the US and Russia have spiraled so terribly in the past few months.  In fact, the entire US mass media, including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, CNBS, FOX News, newspapers like the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Miami Herald, the Dallas Morning News and all the rest, have kept reporting about this matter to a bare minimum.  To my knowledge, NOT ONE of them have outlined how close we actually are to World War 3 and a nuclear holocaust.   The same goes for all the big name wire services, Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), Thompson-Reuters news service; limited coverage at best.

Want to know why the US Mass-Media is keeping this all low-profile?  Because they’re really not “journalists” or even “Reporters” anymore; they’re partisans.   They’re completely political.  They don’t do “news” anymore; it’s more “propaganda.”  The media know their fellow liberal Democrats are in real trouble as the mid-term elections approach.  They don’t want to report anything that will make the Democrats look bad.   And, of course, the Democrat majorities in the House and Senate, along with the Democrat President, causing so much trouble that we might get nuked, would definitely not make their fellow liberals look good.   So the liberal media . . . keeps it all very quiet.

It was only this past week, when dementia-addled Joe Biden told a Fund-Raiser in New York City that we’ve never been closer to Armageddon since the Cuban Missile crisis.   The media reported that remark, but did nothing to outline how we got here, what WE did to cause this trouble, and that we are now at actual risk of being hit with a nuclear first strike, by the only country on earth capable of defeating us.

Yes, Russia CAN defeat us.   You see, THEY have hypersonic missiles and we don’t.  THEY have nuclear bomb shelters for their population, and we don’t.   THEY have food, water, medicine, electric generators and machine tools in all of their nuclear shelters, and we don’t.

The long and short of this is . . . . THEY survive . . . . we don’t.

You see, this is not about Russia using nukes against Ukraine; Russia doesn’t need to do that.  Ukraine is nothing and the Russian Army would ordinarily make quick work of them.  But Ukraine is being supplied by the USA and its NATO vassal puppets on a string.

That’s what NATO countries are: Puppets dancing on a U.S. string.

Russia knows this, and Russia, it seems to me, is growing tired of the relentless meddling by the US/NATO that is costing the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers.

Russia has warned the United States over, and over, and over again, to stop interfering in Ukraine as it is none of our business.   Ukraine is NOT a member of NATO.  Ukraine has no Treaties for defense with the U.S.   The U.S. has no economic or national security interest in Ukraine, yet we are sending tens of billions of dollars in weapons, ammunition, and cash money to Ukraine.   In addition, we are using our spy satellites and military spy planes to gather real-time intelligence on Russian troop movements, and then providing TARGETING COORDINATES to Ukraine, to kill those Russia troops.

Russia is rapidly coming to the conclusion that all their troubles can be stopped by hitting the United States with a nuclear strike, and hitting us FIRST.

They know that the moment a nuke detonates on US Soil, NATO will fall apart.   Sure, the UK will fire a return nuke strike, but the UK is tiny and can be wiped out by Russia’s new “SARMAT” missile in two-hundred and two SECONDS.  Yes, you read that right, 202 SECONDS from launch to impact . . . and the UK is gone.  France may also fire a nuke or two, but the French know those Russian SARMET missiles can launch and hit Paris in 180 Seconds.  France . . . will likely buckle rather than be nuked.

The way I see it, all the little NATO member countries would fold like a cheap camera the moment big brother USA gets hit.  Because all the little NATO countries know they don’t stand a chance if the US isn’t around to back them up.

So, as you read this, Russia has made the most explicit DEMONSTRATION of coming nuclear war, that any country has ever done with any other country.   They have publicly and repeatedly warned us to stop interfering.  Our federal government won’t stop.

Sooner or later, Russia is going to have to decide whether or not to PUT A STOP to them.   And when that fateful decision is made, YOU, ME, and all our family and friends, will begin to see bright, white, flashes before we get burned to death in nuclear blasts and fires.

WHO IS TO BLAME?

You know who is doing this to us?   No, not just that dementia-addled Commander-in-Thief, Joe Biden, whose Democrat Party stole the 2020 Presidential Election with rampant voter fraud.   The people TRULY responsible for this . . . are YOUR local members of the US Congress.

You know, all those political phonies that glad-hand, back-slap, smile, and lie to your face, when they come home from Washington.   Yea.  Them.

THEY have voted to approve every cent of money used to forcibly overthrow the Government of Ukraine in 2014.   The money they approved went to support a new government (read Puppet regime) favorable to the west.  THEY approved the money to train and equip Ukraine’s army.  THEY winked and nodded when Ukraine started attacking Russian-speaking citizens in Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.  THEY (and their dementia-addled POTUS, flatly refused Russia’s Diplomatic efforts for a Treaty to have iron clad, legally enforceable, security guarantees for Russia, as NATO continued its expansion all around Russia’s borders.  Russia proposed that in December of last year.   The US and NATO laughed at it as they threw the proposal in the trash can.

When you and your family get slaughtered by Russian nuclear missiles, you can thank your local member of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.   They are personally to blame for what is going on and they are personally responsible for creating this situation with Russia.

And when they crawl out of their cushy, safe, nuclear bunkers, while the rest of us who might survive are suffering from the nuclear war they caused, remember it was THEM who did this to all of us. They are to blame.  They are guilty.  

I’m not certain there’s any way to avoid what I see coming – nuclear war.   But maybe, just maybe, if enough of you get off your butts, start calling and going into Congressional offices and telling them in no uncertain terms they better knock this shit off, maybe we can avoid Armageddon.

If you do nothing, don’t be surprised as your skin burns off your body when the Russian nukes hit us.

Ok. So why is Hal talking about this?

The United States demand that Hong Kong (China) turn over a $500 Billion yacht because of “sanctions”

China told the United States to go away and leave them alone.

The United States retorts that “HK could lose it’s status as a financial hub in Asia”, if it refuses to obey the dictates out of Washington.

MASSIVE RUSSIAN ATTACKS IN PROGRESS INSIDE UKRAINE; Zelensky’s Office Hit By Missiles!

After the bombing of the Crimea Bridge by Ukraine, it appears Russia’s “Kid Gloves” have come off.  Kiev, and a dozen other cities in Ukraine, are under Russian missile attack.  Russian Fighter jets and bombers saturate the skies.  Damage is heavy, and continuing . . .

This is a fast-developing story, check back for LIVE updates . . .

UPDATE 9:30 AM EDT —

  • Attack in central Kiev; downtown business and government section:
  • “Now, Kiev residents know how the people of Donetsk felt as Ukraine pounded their city for years . . .” Not so nice is it?
  • Ukraine President Zelensky’s Office hit by Russian missile strike! Not that it matters, but it’s a ruin.

UPDATE 9:40 AM EDT —

  • During the night, Russia deployed twenty-thousand (20,000) troops on the border between Ukraine and Belarus.
  • Mykolaiv region now reports a large number of Russian jets attacking.
  • City of Lviv has lost electric power. Welcome to the war you all so wanted.
  • Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, Dmitry Medvedev, issued a statement saying “a direct response to the terrorist act of Ukraine on the Crimean bridge “can only be the direct destruction of terrorists.” Not the capture of prisoners. Nope. Their death.

 9:44 AM EDT —

  • The office of Ukrainian Secret Intelligence Service, (SBU), was hit in Kiev. Of course. My guess is that there would be a large number of CIA, and NATO assets there as well.

9:48 AM EDT —

  • SIGNIFICANT RUSSIAN ATTACKS ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY IN ALL PARTS OF UKRAINE ***

9:55 AM EDT —

  • Another series of explosions throughout Ukraine. It is reported that the attacks are made on government, military, Intel infrastructure. Russian missile attacks have been reported in multiple cities across Ukraine, including in Dnipro (VIDEO BELOW), Lviv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky and Ternopil.

 UPDATE 10:00 AM EDT —

  • City of Lviv Thermal Power Plant destroyed:

UPDATE 10:15 AM EDT —

  • REPORTS OF MORE THAN A DOZEN MISSILES LAUNCHED FROM THE BLACK SEA
  • Kharkov metro trains have stopped working
  • Ukrainian railways report damage to the contact network in Western Ukraine and train delays.
  •  75% of internet traffic is lost in Ukraine, netblocks data

UPDATE 11:22 AM EDT —

  • Kiev Thermal Power Plant #6, destroyed:
  • Kiev “101 Business Center” Hit.
  • Explosions are reported in Krivoy Rog.

**BULLETIN **

  • Russia: “We disabled the “Starlink” satellites” being used by Ukraine Army.

— US EMBASSY IN KIEV:

"The U.S. Embassy urges US citizens to shelter in place and depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options when it is safe to do so."
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin had a top-level video conference with his National Security people this morning:
  • WATER AND ELECTRIC INTERRUPTION IN KHARKIV.
  • TOTAL BLACKOUT IN KHARKIV

***** FLASH *****

  • German Embassy in Kiev hit by Russian air strike, BILD reports.

(HT REMARK: If this is true, then German Territory has been “attacked” by Russia.   Germany may try to invoke NATO Treaty, Article 5, collective self defense.  If they invoke it, and NATO agrees, then World War 3 has officially begun.)

  • Lviv has lost its water supply

***** FLASH *****

UPDATE 12:40 PM EDT —

  • NATO CAUGHT HOUSING ACTIVE-DUTY ARMY TROOPS FROM NATO COUNTRIES, IN ZAPOROZHYE;
  • Evidence suggest a planning surprise offensive using those troops!
  • Russia ATTACKED the housing blocks where those NATO troops were being housed, including five-thousand (5,000) Polish regular, active-duty troops.
  • The Russian missile strikes killed so many, NATO had to call-off the surprise offensive.
  • Now reports going around from Ukrainian media that mobile communications are down all over Kharkov Oblast.

 UPDATE 12:44 PM EDT —

  • Statement by President Vladimir Putin:
"it is simply impossible to leave the crimes of the Kiev regime unanswered.  In case of continued attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation, the responses will be tough and correspond to the level of threats."

UPDATE 12:58 PM EDT —

  • Electric grid connections from Poland to Ukraine now destroyed.   Power cut.
  • Estonia is preparing to formally recognize Russia as a terrorist state, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament
  • Russia’s Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, says Ukraine strikes only “first episode” of response.

UPDATE 1:02 PM EDT —

  • Total electricity blackout in Lviv, Ternopil, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava regions after Russian missile strikes at critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

UPDATE 1:08 PM

  • More missile strikes in Kiev.

UPDATE 1:28 PM EDT —

  • From October 11,Ukraine stops exporting electricity to other countries to stabilize its own energy system, – Ukrainian Ministry of Energy

*** BULLETIN ***

  • Poland advises its citizens in Belarus to leave the country.

Last spring my partner and I started feeding the crows in my backyard. They liked peanuts in the shell. I read somewhere that cat food was good for them, and we had some stale food left from a departed cat, so we started putting handfuls of that out. Soon the neighbourhood cats came to eat here.

We noticed one ugly emaciated creature coming to eat; we assumed it was feral as it was terrified of humans. We called it “Skinny” and because it looked so pathetic and bedraggled, we made sure it got something to eat every day.

After a few weeks of nervously eating here, one beautiful day “Skinny” didn’t run away from me while I filled the food dish. Suddenly and to my shock,

x
x

“Skinny” was in my lap, nuzzling me and purring. I wasn’t looking for a pet, but I had to decide in that moment to adopt her.

She needed a bath – smelled like she’d been sleeping in a dumpster – and a more dignified name. It became apparent that “Ophelia” was pregnant, and she needed an emergency C-section plus amputation of her broken tail. I had had no intention of spending money on vet bills, but she so quickly found a place in my heart, I had to cough up.

Today she is the most perfect pet. Ophelia is an indoor cat and never tries to escape, but greets me at the door whenever I come home. When I’m here, she’s my shadow, always on my lap or at my heel (even when I go to to the toilet). Sleeps with me every night. She is the picture of health.

I believe she is grateful for her rescue.

RUSSIAN CITIZEN FURY

The citizens of Russia are so utterly furious with the actions of the United States (and our NATO Vassals) in Ukraine, they took to the streets of Moscow today chanting “Nuke Washington.”   

Carrying the Ribbon of St. George flags, and lead by a mock ICBM, the crowd protested the actions of the United States which is arming Ukraine, giving money to Ukraine, and providing intelligence data to kill Russian soldiers, that they gathered and marched through Moscow to the U.S. Embassy.

The St. George Ribbon is of special meaning and importance in Russia.

The ribbon of Saint George is a Russian military symbol consisting of a black and orange bicolor pattern, with three black and two orange stripes. It appears as a component of many high military decorations awarded by the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the current Russian Federation.

In the early 21st century, the ribbon of Saint George came to be used as an awareness ribbon for commemorating the veterans of the Eastern Front of the Second World War (known in post-Soviet countries as the Great Patriotic War). It is the primary symbol used associated with Victory Day. It enjoys wide popularity in Russia as a patriotic symbol, as well as a way to show public support to the Russian government.

Why has the US ban on Xinjiang’s tomato exports had such limited effect? | South China Morning Post

Tomato products from Xinjiang were designated by Washington as ‘high-risk’ under the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act. But the industry has proved remarkably resilient because it does not rely on American imports, and exports to about 80 countries.
.

From HERE

The Bill Gates cabal is prepping for NUCLEAR war with these bunkers

Sabotaging Starlink, Russia Is Using EW Complex “Tirada” To Disrupt SpaceX Satellites

Under the condition of anonymity, two government officials told the news outlet that soldiers encountered connectivity issues when they visited cities that had just been liberated from the Russian occupation.

Since the liberation of some areas had not yet been announced, experts speculate that the problem may have been caused by SpaceX employees trying to prevent the Russian military from using the technology.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, tweeted a response to the article. “This operation has cost SpaceX $80M & will exceed $100M by the end of year.”. “Bad reporting by FT. This article falsely claims that Starlink terminals & service were paid for when only a small percentage have been,” he added. “As for what’s happening on the battlefield, that’s classified,” he noted. 

 

Is Russia’s “Tirada” Suppressing Starlink?

On the other hand, Russian media presents a dramatically different version. They claim that the Russian military decided to use the Tirada-2S satellite communications electronic jamming system against Starlink.

There is not much information available about the system in the public domain. It is believed that the development of the equipment began in 2001 when the requirement for a system emerged that could block satellite connection with ground-based terminals and transceivers on aircraft.

Read the rest HERE

Jackson, Mississippi Turning Into A Third World Hellhole

Iran Gives ULTIMATUM to Israel over Lebanon

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The Islamic Republic of Iran has issued an ultimatum to Israel asking them to withdraw from Southern Lebanon, giving them 24 hours to do so, otherwise threatening clashes with the IDF in southern Lebanon.

Here is the official statement:

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USA pushes “rules based disorder”

Australian article. I like the term "Rule- based disorder". No worry, China is good at putting back order with inclusive characteristics.

The conventional wisdom holds that, simply put, the post-war rules-based liberal international order is under siege thanks primarily to Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. This is an explanation that distracts us from contemplating more uncomfortable possibilities, ones that might cast doubt on deeply-held convictions about international relations during the past several decades.

Why the conventional wisdom is wrong

The first point to bear in mind is that the conventional wisdom just assumes that the post-World War II order is the same as the post-Cold War order. This is mistaken. The US-led post-World War II order was a bounded order that was limited mainly to the western world and was built on a realist, not liberal foundation. The US-led post-Cold War world, on the other hand, has been international and liberal. With the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the US became the world’s most powerful nation and its leaders sought to transform the realist western order globally into a truly liberal international order.

However, the rules-based order began unravelling in the 2000s.

Have we forgotten the US-led invasion of Iraq, which spawned the Sunni rebellion that morphed into a plethora of Islamic jihadist movements while enhancing Iran’s strategic presence in the Persian Gulf? Far from incorporating the Middle East into the liberal order, the US and its allies have played a key role in spreading illiberal disorder in that region. Meanwhile, a nativist and xenophobic form of populism has been spreading across Europe. And that’s not to mention Russia’s incursion in Ukraine in 2014 or China’s military expansion in the South and East China Seas since 2012.

The upshot from all this is that the rules-based liberal international order was under siege well before Donald Trump’s debut on the global stage. Underlying all these debates about Trump is a broader issue at stake, one that American realists led by my friend and mentor John Mearsheimer have made: that the rules-based liberal international order contained the seeds of its destruction.

The flaws of the rules-based international order

There are several fatal flaws that have helped undermine the effectiveness of the rules-based international order from the outset. Here are six of them.

  1. Democracy is the wave of the future 

In the 1990s, it was widely believed that there was no viable alternative to liberal democracy and that almost every nation in the world was bound to become a liberal democracy.

During the past decade, the number of liberal democracies has been declining, reversing a seemingly unstoppable trend.  Indeed, some leaders today extol the virtues of illiberal democracy. This diversity of opinion about what constitutes the best political order means that it is going to be extremely difficult to create a world in which all the great powers are liberal democracies, and virtually impossible to fashion one in which almost all countries are liberal democracies.

  1. Global consensus

In the 1990s, it was widely believed that globalisation and economic inter-dependency would increase the prospects of international cooperation. However, there never has been and never will be anything approximating universal agreement on genuinely collective policy approaches. Nation-states do not act on the basis of good will or good intentions; they act on the basis of defending the national interest. In an increasingly multi-polar world, more states have effective veto power over collective action. This new pluralistic world has given rise to what New York Times columnist David Brooks has called “global-sclerosis”: an inability to solve problem after problem.

  1. Western unity

During the Cold War, the conventional wisdom held that “the West” was a given, a natural presence. However, as the distinguished Australian conservative Owen Harries FAIIA observed in Foreign Affairs magazine in 1993, the political West is not a “natural construct but a highly artificial one”.

In fact, notwithstanding the Cold War, the West has almost always been deeply divided politically: just think of Europe’s wars. For most of its history, the US has been deeply suspicious of, and hostile towards, European power politics, stressing its differences from the older continent.

The clash between Brussels and the most unsophisticated American leader in history will mark the breaking point in the political West.

  1. The end of nationalism 

In the 1990s, it was widely believed that nationalism was a thing of the past. However, the decision of liberal states to delegate substantial power to the international institutions that comprise the liberal international order has led to a populist backlash. Because nationalism is all about self-determination and sovereignty, it does not fit with a situation where international institutions make policies that have a profound effect on their member states.

So, it is not surprising that the main reason a majority of British citizens voted to leave the European Union in 2016 is because they felt their nation had surrendered too much power to Brussels and it was time to reassert British sovereignty.

This logic also helps explain why Trump won power by running on an ‘America First’ campaign and slammed the key institutions that comprise the liberal international order, from NATO to the WTO.

  1. Co-operation among rival powers 

In the 1990s, it was widely believed that the more China and Russia integrated into the global economy and became members of international institutions, the more they would become peaceful and even democratic.

However, China and Russia have resisted Washington’s efforts to spread the liberal international order. Xi Ji-ping is the most authoritarian leader since Mao and China is more assertive than ever. Putin is an authoritarian leader who will play hard ball to protect what the Kremlin sees as vital strategic interests in its near abroad. In particular, neither Beijing nor Moscow want US military forces in what they deem as their spheres of influence.

  1. US unipolarity 

At the turn of the century, it was widely believed the US was seemingly invincible. If anything, America got mugged by reality.

The US has fought seven wars in the years since the Cold War ended – Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Iraq/Syria – and it has been at war for three out of four years during that period.

Although the US possesses the military means to defeat any other country, there is not an American solution to every problem. To put it bluntly, Americans do not have the understanding of other societies and people, the attention span or staying power, to engage in an active, interventionist policy of nation-building and democracy-promotion on a large scale.

None of this is to deny US strengths. It remains the world’s largest economy and its lone military superpower. Its demographic trends are moving in the right direction.

All this is true enough, but it overlooks a larger point: the ‘Pax Americana’ had been waning for years before Trump arrived on the scene. What distinguishes Trump from his post-Cold War predecessors, however, is that he does not pay lip service to the notion of American global leadership. And without an activist and assertive US, there is no plausible way to uphold the rules-based liberal international order.

All these perhaps explain why so many western leaders are anxious, even defensive, about the state of the liberal international order.  However, the rules-based international order frayed a long time ago. It was doomed from the start. And its underlying problems cannot be fixed.

From HERE

Squirt-Of-Orange Pork Chops

“A splash of juice and an orange marmalade brush-on gives these garlicky chops a burst of flavor. For an extra-special treat, use blood oranges in place of the regular ones.”

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Ingredients

Directions

  • Cut orange in half. Cut one half of the orange into 4 wedges; set wedges aside. Squeeze juice from remaining orange half. Remove 1 Tablespoon of the juice and brush on both sides of each chop. Sprinkle chops with garlic-pepper seasoning and salt. In a small bowl combine remaining orange juice, orange marmalade, and the chopped rosemary; set aside.
  • Preheat broiler. Place chops on unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Turn and cook for an addition 5 to 6 minutes, brushing with orange marmalade mixture for the last 2 to 3 minutes of broiling. Chops are done when pork juices run clear or a meat thermometer inserted into center of chop registers 160 degrees.
  • Serve orange wedges with chops. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprig. If desired, squeeze juice from orange wedges over chops.

New 2023 Changan Huawei AVATR 11

I was going to buy this car before I chose my hybrid.

https://youtu.be/h_-E2NNQFqA

STUNNING Testimony: Pfizer Never Tested COVID “Vax” to “Stop Transmission” of Virus! We were all lied to ! ! !

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In utterly stunning sworn testimony before the European Parliament, a Director of Pfizer admitted they NEVER TESTED their so-called COVID “Vaccine” for its ability to “stop transmission” of the virus.  People around the world were lied to, their freedom restricted, because they were not “vaccinated” and allegedly could therefore spread the virus.

Countries throughout Europe and even in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, prevented people from going outside, socializing, using public facilities if they were not vaccinated.   People all over the world were told they could be “spreaders’ without the vaccine. That was a lie because the vaccine was NEVER TESTED for any ability to stop the transmission.

Some countries implemented “Vaccine Passports” and went table-to-table in restaurants to see if people were vaccinated.  They were told “show us your vaccine passport” by police.

Oh, and by the way, as we all see now, the vaccine didn’t seem to stop transmission — at all.

The “vaxxed” could still get the virus.  They could still spread it to others.

Freedom was viciously taken away for those who chose to remain unvaccinated.  In some places, people were even PHYSICALLY FORCED to take the vax, even when they didn’t want it.

All of this was glossed-over with claims “without the vax, you could infect others.”

People lost their jobs over this; and the entire claim that taking the vax to stop the spread, was a deliberate lie.

PFIZER never tested to see if their so-called vaccine would stop transmission.

Putin and China just changed EVERYTHING, and the West is desperate

Check out at least the first 9 minutes…

Jeffrey Sachs: US biotech cartel behind Covid origins and cover-up

Sachs does not say one way or another.

We know that we don’t know.

But one thing is certain. The people in charge of Covid information in the West are lying and obfuscating. They include journalists, scientists, and academics. No need to mention politicians; they’re a given.

Let us stay smart, read widely, gain direct experience, look under the surface, read between the lines, learn about the author, detect false narratives, reject unnecessary adjectives, and question everything. Most importantly, be critical not only of others, but also of ourselves.

From HERE

Maple Brioche Rolls

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Ingredients

Directions

  • The day before you want to make the rolls, make the brioche dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, granulated sugar, and salt on low speed to combine. Add the yeast and mix to combine, 10-15 seconds more. Add the eggs and milk and mix for 4 minutes. The dough should form a sticky, shaggy ball around the hook.
  • Increase the speed to medium and slowly add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, being careful to incorporate each addition before adding the next; the entire process should take about 3 minutes. (If you add the butter too quickly, it can create a greasy disaster in the bowl, so pace it out.) Scrape the bowl down once or twice to make sure everything is homogenous. (This mixing period is called intense mixing – and it is! Don’t be alarmed if the mixing is noisy or difficult in the early to mid stages, it will come together.) Then knead the dough (in the machine) until it is smooth and uniform, 1 minute more.
  • Grease a large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 18.
  • The next day, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and about 20×12 inches (though no need to be precise). Brush the surface of the dough evenly with melted butter and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the sugar evenly over the dough.
  • Position the dough so that one of the long sides is facing you. Fold the left edge over toward the center, about three quarters of the way over the dough. Fold the right edge one quarter of the way over the dough and make sure it meets and doughs the left edge. The dough will now look somewhat like an open book with an off center spine. Fold the larger side over the smaller side. You will now have 4 layers of dough. If the dough feels soft or sticky, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes – if not, proceed.
  • Roll out the dough again to a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and about 20×12 inches (though no need to be precise). Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter and sprinkle another 2 tablespoons of sugar over the dough. Position the dough so that one of the long sides is facing you. Fold the left edge of the dough one third of the way over the dough. Do the same with the right edge, resting it on top of the piece you just folded over, as though you were folding a letter to fit into a business envelope. You will now have 3 layers of dough. If the dough feels soft or sticky, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes – if not, proceed.
  • Repeat step 4 to complete another 4-fold.
  • Repeat step 5 to complete another 3-fold.
  • Lightly grease 16 muffin cups with nonstick spray. I do have to use two muffin pans to make this – if you only have one, refrigerate the remaining pieces while you bake the first. Place the second round only around the edge of the pan so that they bake evenly.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle, about 12×20 inches. Cut the dough lengthwise into 16 even strips. Tightly roll each strip up into a spiral and place it, spiral side up, in a cup in one of the prepared muffin pans. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until they appear puffy, 30-45 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Sprinkle the rolls with more maple sugar, if desired. Bake, rotating the sheets from front to bake and top to bottom at the halfway mark, until the rolls are evenly golden brown all over and the internal temperature reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit on a thermometer – about 25-33 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before unmolding and serving.
  • Variations:

  • Citrus Faux-Laminated Brioche Buns: After you mix the dough, mix ¾ cup granulated sugar with the zest of two oranges – let sit, covered, overnight. Use this in place of the maple sugar in the recipe. In step 8, lightly grease a 9×9 inch pan. In step 9, cut the dough into 12 even strips. Roll the strips into spirals and place spiral side up in the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
  • Vanilla-Bay Loaf: After you mix the dough, mix 3/4 cup granulated sugar with the seeds of 1 scraped vanilla bean and 2 finely crushed up bay leaves – let sit, covered, overnight. Use this in place of the maple sugar in the recipe. In step 8, lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. In step 9, cut the dough into 1 inch cubes. Stack the cubes tightly in the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Here we go again, the U.S. is about to INVADE Haiti next?

The Era Of Cheap Food And Cheap Gasoline Is Over

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All of our lifestyles are about to change in a major way, but the vast majority of the population still does not understand what is coming.  Throughout our entire lives, we have always been able to depend on a couple of things.  There would always be cheap gasoline to fuel our vehicles and there would always be mountains of cheap food at the grocery store.  No matter who was in the White House and no matter what else was going on in the world, those two things always remained the same.  Unfortunately, those days are now over and they aren’t coming back.

We have entered the greatest energy crisis that any of us have ever experienced, and it isn’t going to go away any time soon.

So you might as well get used to high gas prices.  Earlier this month, brand new all-time record highs were set all over southern California

  • Los Angeles-Long Beach – $6.46 (Record high)
  • Orange County – $6.42 (Record high Saturday)
  • Ventura County – $6.40
  • Riverside County – $6.33 (Record high)
  • San Bernardino County $6.32

But that isn’t the real problem.

The real problem is with natural gas.

Thanks to the war in Ukraine, supplies of natural gas in Europe have become extremely tight, and this has pushed prices into the stratosphere.

Needless to say, this is going to greatly affect food productions in the months ahead.  According to Bloomberg, over two-thirds of all fertilizer production capacity in Europe has already been shut down due to soaring natural gas costs…

Europe’s fertilizer crunch is deepening with more than two-thirds of production capacity halted by soaring gas costs, threatening farmers and consumers far beyond the region’s borders.

This is an absolutely massive story, but hardly anyone in the United States is covering it.

Global fertilizer production is going to be greatly reduced, and that is going to have very serious implications for agricultural production all over the world…

“Nitrogen plant shutdowns in Europe are not simply a problem in Europe,” she said. “Reduced supply on the scale seen this week not only raises the marginal cost of production of nitrogen fertilizers, but will also tighten the global market, putting pressure on plant nutrients’ availability in Europe and beyond.”

We’re already seeing prices elsewhere rise again. The price of the common nitrogen fertilizer urea in New Orleans rose over 20% in weekly prices Friday, the most since March, a few weeks after the war began, according to Green Markets.

I know that fertilizer may not be the most exciting topic for a lot of people, but the truth is that approximately half the global population would starve if we didn’t have any…

In fact, it’s estimated that nitrogen fertilizer now supports approximately half of the global population. In other words, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch — the pioneers of this technological breakthrough — are estimated to have enabled the lives of several billion people, who otherwise would have died prematurely, or never been born at all.

Let that paragraph sink in for a moment.

The only way we can even come close to feeding everyone on the planet is by using vast quantities of fertilizer, but now fertilizer plants all over Europe are being forced to shut down because of the price of natural gas.

As long as this global energy crisis persists, the global food crisis will also persist.

Russia is normally the largest exporter of natural gas in the entire world, and an end to the war in Ukraine would go a long way toward solving our current problems.

But there isn’t going to be an end to the war in Ukraine.

Once again, western leaders are assuring us that the war will not end until Russia is forced out of every inch of Ukrainian territory.

That includes Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.

Of course the Russians would use tactical nukes long before we ever get to that point.

And once the Russians use tactical nukes, the west will do the same.

As it currently stands, there is no “off ramp” for this war.

Instead, we are simply counting down the days until it goes nuclear.

I am sorry to tell you that, but it is the truth.

If the American people truly understood what was at stake, there would be massive peace protests all over the nation right now.

Meanwhile, the worst multi-year megadrought in 1,200 years continues to absolutely ravage agricultural production in the western half of the United States.

A reporter from FOX recently visited the cornfields of Wayne County, Nebraska and what he discovered is extremely chilling

“I’m standing in the middle of a cornfield that, if this was a normal year or in other words, if the corn was growing the way it was supposed to be, you wouldn’t even really be able to see me right now,” FOX Business’ Connell McShane reported from Wakefield, Nebraska. “It would be way up above my head. But now I look at this, maybe knee-high at best.”

McShane visited field after field in Wayne County and found the same short stalks with very sparse ears. Over 99% of that county is in exceptional drought.

This drought has been going on for years and years.

And it just keeps getting worse.

On the west coast, we are being warned that production of tomatoes, garlic and onions will be very disappointing this year due to the drought.

As a result, prices are going to go much higher in 2023…

In addition to tomatoes, other crops like garlic and onion are also expected to be impacted.

“What you’re seeing harvested this summer that really hasn’t even hit the grocery shelf is a 25% increase in the cost of the product to the processors — the canners, the buyers downstream,” California State Board of Food and Agriculture President Don Cameron told Reuters. “The onions and garlic have already been negotiated for 2023 with another 25% increase in price.”

This is really happening.

Food prices may seem high to you right now, but the truth is that this is the lowest that they are going to get.

The cost of living is becoming extremely oppressive, and countless people out there are really struggling to make it from month to month.

Earlier today, I came across a tweet from a 47-year-old lawyer that really hammered this point home…

-20 years ago, working as a server, I lived in a corner 1 bdrm apt downtown with amazing water views for $700/month.

-A similar apt now $3,600/month, more than 5x as much.

-As a lawyer at age 47 I am unable to afford living in the apartment I did at age 27 while waiting tables

Sadly, what we have been through so far is just the beginning.

The cost of gasoline is going to continue to go up.

The cost of natural gas is going to continue to go up.

The cost of food is going to continue to go up.

In fact, the cost of just about everything is going to continue to go up.

The artificially-inflated lifestyles that we were able to enjoy for decades are now disappearing, and there is a tremendous amount of pain on the horizon.

We were warned that this would happen, and now a day of reckoning is here.

I would encourage you to prepare accordingly.

Captain Scarlet Season 1 episode 2

UKRAINE BLOWS-UP BORDER BRIDGES WITH BELARUS

Ukrainian forces have destroyed almost all bridges and mined the roads along the border with Belarus, Anatoly Lappo, chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus, said on Sunday. Minsk has accused Kiev of planning imminent strikes on its territory.

“Today, almost all border bridges have been blown up, and automobile and railway border routes are completely mined,” Lappo told Belarusian TV.

Ukrainian forces have fortified the border “to the extent that they put anti-tank mines in three rows on the roads,” Lappo said.

The troops Kiev has sent to the border are “not border guards,” Lappo claimed. “We are under pressure, they are aiming at our border guards, sometimes they shoot in the air, constant aerial reconnaissance is being carried out,” he added.

A day before the news broke, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry claimed that its ambassador to Belarus was summoned to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry and handed an official note saying that “Ukraine is planning to conduct a strike on the territory of Belarus.” The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that it “categorically rejects” the accusation, adding that it could be part of a Russian plan to “stage a provocation and further accuse” Kiev.

Earlier this week, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko accused Ukraine of massing tens of thousands of soldiers near the border. While Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to enter Ukraine from its territory at the beginning of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, he said last week that Belarus’ role in the conflict is limited to self-defense and denying Ukraine the ability to “shoot Russians in the back from the territory of Belarus.”

With tensions along the 1,000-kilometer border rising, the Belarusian Defense Ministry stated that it has the capacity to field 500,000 trained troops “if the need arises.”

(HT REMARK:  Things over there are truly escalating over there at a speed, and in ways, that I did not even imagine.  Prepare yourselves.  World War 3 is at the door for all of us. Get right with God.)

Russia, Having ‘Run Out Of Missiles’, Launches Barrage On Ukraine

Back in March I had warned that Lies Do Not Win Wars. Here is another practical example.

After allegedly having ‘run out of missiles’ and, more importantly, patience, the leadership of the Russian Federation decided to de-electrify Ukrainian cities with a ‘barrage of missile strikes’.

But first came the propaganda blubber:

Then a warning:

We Haven’t Started Yet,’ Putin Says in Hawkish Speech on Ukraine InvasionHaaretz – Jul 7, 2022

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had barely got started in Ukraine and dared the West to try to defeat it on the battlefield, while insisting that Moscow was still open to the idea of peace talks.

“Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try,” he said.”We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this.”

“Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest,” he added. “At the same time, we don’t reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.”

Total disregard:

U.S. Believes Ukrainians Were Behind an Assassination in RussiaNY Times – Oct 5, 2020
American officials said they were not aware of the plan ahead of time for the attack that killed Daria Dugina and that they had admonished Ukraine over it.

UN: Ukraine nuclear power plant loses external power linkABC News – Oct 8, 2022
The U.N. nuclear watchdog says that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, has lost its last remaining external power source as a result of renewed shelling and is now relying on emergency diesel generators

Ukraine unveils stamps celebrating Kerch bridge explosion – hours after the attackTelegraph – Oct 8, 2022
Timing of the Post Office announcement, just hours after the Crimea bridge was destroyed, raises questions about the nature of the damage

Syricide @Syricide – 8:33 UTC · 10 Oct 2022 #Kiev yesterday.

 

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Consequences:

Russia Unleashes Biggest Barrage of Strikes on Ukraine Since InvasionWSJ – Oct 10, 2022
Cities throughout Ukraine, including Kyiv, are bombarded after Putin slams Ukraine over Crimea bridge blast

KYIV, Ukraine—Russia carried out waves of strikes on several Ukrainian cities including the capital in the broadest and most intense onslaught since the start of the invasion, after President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” on a critical bridge connecting Russia’s mainland to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had carried out dozens of strikes using missiles as well as Iranian-made drones to target civilian and power infrastructure. “They want panic and chaos,” he said. “They want to destroy our energy system.”

Ukraine “under missile attack” as explosions rock Kyiv and other citiesCBSNews – Oct 10, 2022

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said on social media Monday that, “Ukraine is under missile attack. There is information about strikes in many cities of our country.”General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on Twitter that Russia had launched 75 missiles at Ukraine but that “41 of them were neutralized by our air defence.”

Zelenskyy later emerged onto a street in Kyiv to record a selfie video with a message to his people and the world, denouncing Russia for the barrage of missiles which he said had targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and its civilians.

Kiev, Lviv, Karkov, Dnipropetrovsk, Krivoy Rog all report damage to their electricity infrastructure.

Posted by b on October 10, 2022 at 10:00 UTC | Permalink

Russia Now Devastating Ukraine In Latest Escalation

Finland Tells Citizens “Stock Iodine Pills” in case of “Radiation Emergency”

Fears of _actual_ nuclear war continue to grow over the Russia-Ukraine situation.  The latest example is Finland’s Ministry of Health which, today, told citizens to stock up on Iodine pills “in case of radiation emergency.”

The ministry presented the new recommendation at a media event on Tuesday.

The ministry said the recommendation was limited to people 3-40 years of age because of the potential risk radiation exposure poses to that age group.

The release of radioactive iodine from a nuclear incident into the environment, could build up in the thyroid gland. This is most harmful to children, who are at greater risk of developing thyroid cancer due to large doses of radiation,” the ministry’s statement read.

The statement noted that in case of such an emergency, sheltering indoors was the main way for people to protect themselves from hazardous radiation.

The ministry also noted that a single iodine tablet dose usually provides sufficient protection. It added that iodine rarely causes side effects, but that individuals who have thyroid conditions should use the substance with caution.

The recommended single dose for 12-40 year-olds in a dangerous radiation situation is 130 milligrams of potassium iodide. Children over 3 years of age are recommended to take half of that dose.

The ministry said that there are no iodine products suitable — nor available in Finland — for children under the age of three. However, the recommended dose for children under three years of age is 32.5 milligrams of potassium iodide, and for newborns half of this.

However, the ministry continues to recommend that pregnant women over the age of 40 keep a supply of iodine tablets at home, as fetal thyroid glands are significantly more sensitive to radioactive iodine than they are among adults.

“Public healthcare services will procure iodine tablets suitable for children under the age of three and will determine the best way to distribute them to the parents of such children and to pregnant women. Regional healthcare providers will inform people when such an iodine product is available,” the ministry’s statement read  (siirryt toiseen palveluun).

Goonies clip

If you have time, this is a cute little B-grade escape.

Iodine stocks sold out

On Tuesday afternoon, Finland’s largest chain of pharmacy outlets, Yliopiston Apteekki, reported stocks of iodine tablets had practically sold out nationwide following the issuing of the ministry’s statement.

Chief pharmaceutical officer Kati Vuorikallas told the STT news agency that the surge in demand has also been reflected in the increased traffic on the chain’s website, which has caused the site to slow down significantly or even crash for some users.

Efforts are being made to replenish the iodine stocks, Vuorikallas added, but there is no precise schedule on when this will happen.

Top 5 Chinese Electric Cars to Look Out For in 2022

Welcome to my world…

UGANDA????

a Ukrainian AN-124-100  heavy transport aircraft departed Entebbe, Uganda this morning and landed at Rzeszow-Jasieńka International Airport in Poland, which is the main air hub for military equipment, weapons and ammunition delivered to Armed Forces Ukraine (AFU).

According to open sources, Uganda’s army has several dozen units of Soviet equipment, including T-72 and T-55 tanks, BMP-2, BTR-60, 122mm D-30 guns and Grad MLRS, as well as a stock of ammunition for them. In addition, T-90C tanks and BTR-80A armoured personnel carriers were supplied to Uganda from Russia.

A few months after the outbreak of hostilities, most of the AFU’s artillery ammunition stocks began to run out, and many familiar Soviet vehicles were also needed, forcing Ukraine to seek new sources of supply from European states with Soviet-era equipment as well as exotic countries such as Pakistan.

This strange flight of a Ukrainian Ruslan from Uganda, a country with large stockpiles of Soviet armaments, to a Polish airfield, which is the main supply base for Ukraine in need of Soviet armaments, raises serious concerns about the possible involvement of Uganda in this conflict on the side of the AFU.

American & Russian Supercomputers Become Friends, Impose World Peace By Nuking Cities

And this is what is being “reported” in the West…

Vladimir Putin’s forces now facing ‘total collapse’ in Ukraine, former NATO commander says

Vladimir Putin’s crumbling army is heading for a total collapse in what could be Russia’s biggest military disaster in a century, a former NATO commander has predicted.

Sir Richard Shirreff, a retired British army general, served as NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2011-2014. After leaving the military, he wrote a book on the threat of a potential war between Russia and NATO.

“I think the scene is being set for a decisive rout of the Russian army in Ukraine,” Sir Richard told The Sun.

He hailed the “masterclass” counteroffensive which has seen Putin’s forces driven back in the east and south of Ukraine, and added that the fightback was “maintaining momentum”.

Ukrainian forces are now bearing down on the key city of Kherson as they make significant gains in regions Putin only recently tried to claim as part of Russia.

In an attempt to turn the tide, Putin is reportedly massing troops in Belarus, which neighbours Ukraine and whose dictator Alexander Lukashenko is a Russian ally.

Belarus was the initial launch pad for the invasion, and it’s feared that Russia could try once again to encircle the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

In response to that threat, Ukrainian troops have been seen moving to reinforce the border with Belarus.

But Sir Richard believes such a gambit would be of little use for the Russians. In fact he says there is likely no way out of their current, desperate predicament.

“The Russians are like the boxer trapped in the corner of the ring against a very agile opponent who punches one side and then punches the other,” he said.

“The Ukrainians pushing the Russians back to the February 23 line – the day before the war started – by the end of 2022, I think, is entirely feasible.”

He compared the current rout to the collapse of the Russian tsar’s military in 1917. That revolution saw soldiers mutiny and refuse to follow orders, ending Russia’s involvement in World War I.

“The scene is setting for a collapse of the Russian army,” the retired general said.

“This could be an avalanche, and now we are seeing the cracks in the snow. The Ukrainians are creating more problems than the Russians are capable of solving. It’s looking good.

“The morale is gone. You’ve got soldiers who simply don’t want to fight. These guys were told they would be welcomed with open arms by cheering crowds and the so-called ‘Nazis’ would collapse. But they were met by a ferocious resistance. They are in a country that doesn’t want them there. Why should they die for Putin’s adventure?

“Conceptually, the Russians do not understand combined arms warfare, they haven’t trained properly, physically they haven’t got the right kit and what they do have is rubbish, and morally they are completely bankrupt.

“The Ukrainians are well prepared, they’ve got the clothing, they’ve got the kit, and they’ve got the morale and the motivation. They are not going to stop.”

But while he was optimistic, Sir Richard warned the danger – including the threat of nuclear weapons – has by no means gone away, urging the West to keep up the pressure on Putin.

“We should take that nuclear threat very seriously, but we should not in any way blink, and I am pretty encouraged by the response of the West,” he said.

“But if we are promising massive retaliation in some way or other, you have to prepare for the worst case, and the worst case is being at war with Russia.”

And he drew a grim comparison between Putin and Adolf Hitler, saying the Russian leader was now “in the bunker”, as the German dictator was in the dying days of World War II.

“We are dealing with crunchy political issues at the moment, but nevertheless – we might not want this war, but this war might want us,” said Sir Richard.

“We must prepare for the worst case. This is about insurance. The way to avoid a potential war with Russia is to be ready for it, and we are not ready for it.”

Putin recently copped a new humiliation as his prized Kerch Bridge was blown up, partially severing the one fixed link between mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula.

Russia responded with a wave of indiscriminate bombardment across the country, as Putin labelled the Ukrainians “terrorists”.

Fears also continue to loom that Putin could follow through on his nuclear threats as he is backed further and further into a corner.

And questions remain over his future, with it being increasingly difficult to see how he can remain as Russia’s leader if there are more humiliations.

“There will be no peace in Europe while either Putin, a Putin-like regime, or an ultranationalist sits in the Kremlin,” Sir Richard said.

“The only way to ensure that the threat (is over) once the fighting stops is to make sure Ukraine is a member of NATO, and NATO must bite the bullet and put troops on the ground and forces in the air over Ukraine.

“The way to maintain peace and the way to deter war is to be ready for it, and that means a generational challenge with a serious, major military expenditure, not unlike the Cold War.”

As Saturday normalcy returns, it’s a time for cleanups and rub downs

Gosh it’s a crazy time. The Drudge report is pure garbage. It’s all non-stop American war-propaganda. Check this out…

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Reading about Putin having brain cancer, and that he’s going to be jailed and replaced any day (now) gets old real fast. As does the endless stories of brave Ukrainian fighters and how they expertly use American HIMARS rocket launchers with only weeks training and how they have the Russians running scared. Ugh! Please spare me the endless bullshit.

It’s nauseating.

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I’d rather watch traffic lights turning red and green.

Don’t ya know…

Pay attention. The United States is at war. It’s engaging EVERYONE. And the entire domestic spiel is all about war.

Everyone is just flabbergasted in WHAT THE FUCK IS THE USA DOING?

PUTIN JUST WON

Just now? Nope. It’s all there.

https://youtu.be/iM_K3ivJdNQ

Sigh

Ok, so the Chinese holiday is ending. As is the unusual heat wave. No longer is Zhuhai an oppressively humid 34C (93F) but it is now a very dry 25C (78F or so). And so it’s pretty nice out.

I still have three days remaining on my “strikes” on you-tube because I provided “misinformation on coronavirus” in variance with “local law enforcement”. Uh hum. Sure.

I can just see the local Chinese baoan talking with the purple haired chicks about my videos on getting swabs. LOL!

Anyways, the value of the dollar keeps on raising against the yuan. This is a good thing. Not bad. Especially for me personally.

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Value of the yuan against he dollar. And exchange rates summary of the last year.

What do you think about the Chinese government killing and imprisoning CIA spies in China?

The answers…

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Well, the public opinion is running really anti-USA on this American forum…

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OK. Enough of that.

Moving on…

Russian nuclear war

Scott Ritter, who knows a bit about nuclear deterrence, has explained Russia’s nuclear doctrine:

NATO and Ukraine both believe that the Russian forces, even after receiving the 300,000 mobilized troops, will not be able to defeat Ukraine. This inability to achieve the desired objectives, they believe, will compel Russia to resort to the use of tactical nuclear weapons on Ukrainian targets in order to break the will to resist on the part of the Zelensky government.

The reality, however, is that Russian nuclear doctrine does not allow for such a scenario. Indeed, there are only two conditions where Russian nuclear doctrine permits the employment of nuclear weapons.

No 1. “[I]n response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it and/or its allies,” the 2020 Russian Nuclear Posture document states, or

No 2. “in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy.”

U.S. nuclear posture, however, does allow it.

All the war mongering talk and reports about Russia’s alleged threat of nuclear weapon use in Ukraine is totally unfounded. That ‘western’ media suddenly engage in it shows that it is part of a well directed propaganda campaign.

A upcoming false flag event?

One must ask what this propaganda campaign about a non existing threat is really about. Could it be in preparation of a false flag incident in which a U.S or British nuclear device is used in Ukraine to then blame it on Russia as the pretext of an all out military engagement in Ukraine?

Setting off a tactical nuclear weapon as a pretext for a direct US and Polish military incursion into Western Ukraine - perhaps to preserve a Ukrainian rump state there, in the event that Kiev looks likely to fall somewhere down the line in the conflict.

False flags and/or WMDs are after all the indisputable standard US MO and playbook for pretexts for military action from the Spanish American War, to Vietnam, to Iraq, to Syria.

The Pentagon has been openly and proudly developing and deploying what they call “more usable” battlefield nuclear weapons, specifically for use against Russia and China.

And the US is the only country in history to have used nuclear weapons in war on another state, on entire Japanese cities full of people, actually.

Or – possibly could this be dog whistle signaling to the Zelenskiy regime or NeoNazi forces in Ukraine about just how to generate the extremis conditions to allow the US to jump directly into the conflict, much like how the US did the same with jihadist forces and chemical  weapons “red lines” in Syria.

With Zelenski becoming increasingly unhinged the ‘west’ should be careful what it wishes for.

China says a few words…

China’s Global Times is editorializing about the US losing a nuclear war, and using nuclear weapons in space.

Note to the US – a nuclear war can be won by rivals

... there is no justification for responding to a non-kinetic EMP attack with the killing of millions in a kinetic nuclear counterstrike based only on unverified suspicion.

Nuclear war can be won, and Russia and other US competitors are well prepared to emerge as victors. 

Some advice for the US is don't allow a parochial political agendas or allies to manipulate its decisions.

From HERE

Nuclear weapons in space might not kill on earth but it would make space unusable for generations to come. Point made HERE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Russia is prepared to employ nuclear weapons in defense of its sovereignty. The US dismissed the warning as a bluff and threatened Russia by stating the use of such weapons would be met with unspecified “devastating” consequences.

The US retains faith in the doctrine of mutual assured destruction(MAD). MAD contributed to its Cold War victory, and it is assumed to still be effective today.

Under an umbrella of US MAD deterrence, Ukraine assumes it can now crush Russian aims with modern US conventional weapons and take back what it claims to be its own.

An emboldened Taiwan island could conceivably take a lesson from Ukraine and declare its independence from China.

However, even after Russia was lectured by the US, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, emphasized that Russia is not bluffing.

Considering the likelihood that the Biden Administration was misinformed, the sincerity of Russian leaders should be given the benefit of a doubt.

After the Cold War the US cashed in what it called a peace dividend. Funds were diverted from strategic capabilities as the probability of nuclear war seemed negligible.

Instead, the US appointed itself the task of world policeman, enforcing its foreign policy ideals with conventional general purpose and special operations expeditionary forces.

Sensing strategic neglect, in 2004 Congress became concerned for the unique threat posed by nuclear weapons-generated high altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP).

Experts contended that an EMP would cause nationwide electrical grid anomalies, cascading systems failures, and ultimately unravel the fabric of American society. Even non-state and rogue state actors could defeat the US with only a small number of EMP weapons.

Nevertheless, other funding priorities took precedence. US’ civilian and military systems remain vulnerable to EMP nearly two decades later due to Washington’s continued faith in MAD.

However, Russia and others remain skeptical of the new US-led world order.

Nuclear conflict was not only possible, but perhaps more likely.

Nuclear powers are repelled by memories of the US nuclear bombings in Japan that incinerated two cities and well over one hundred thousand people. Rational nations know that all humanity would suffer planetary devastation and a horrible aftermath in a kinetic nuclear war, and these aspects of MAD still serve as deterrence.

The assumed reliability of MAD has animated the US-supported Ukrainian leadership to disregard Russia’s perspectives.

With similar confidence in the US nuclear umbrella Secessionists on the Taiwan island pursue secession in disregard of China’s sovereignty.

Some may seek to minimize the risks of any nuclear weapons employment because all nations will suffer equally, reinforcing MAD deterrence. But the electrical infrastructure designs of Russia and others have spared no expense in applying Cold War civil defense lessons.

Command economies, long range planning, hardened grids, and stability of centralized leadership further aid their societies in surviving any potential EMP attack.

Given their histories and traditions, those cultures are probably more adept at continued functionality in the absence of amenities and infrastructure than the US.

Others will cite a nuclear adversary’s inescapable accountability for an attack through the positive attribution of a weapon’s launch or delivery.

A perpetrator will be immediately identified and targeted with a devastating counterstrike.

Positive attribution is crucial, but far from guaranteed.

At least 15 nations can access low earth orbit, and many have access to geosynchronous orbit. The real nature of every object launched cannot be known with certainty. Nuclear weapons can also be concealed in and called down from the clutter of the super-synchronous graveyard orbit for surprise use.

At best, positive attribution would take time, during which the EMP-debilitated US comes apart at the seams.

And there is no justification for responding to a non-kinetic EMP attack with the killing of millions in a kinetic nuclear counterstrike based only on unverified suspicion.

Nuclear war can be won, and Russia and other US competitors are well prepared to emerge as victors.

Some advice for the US is don’t allow a parochial political agendas or allies to manipulate its decisions.

Knowing that nuclear war can be won, the US should listen to, acknowledge and respect the core priorities Russia and China to de-escalate tensions in negotiations before it is too late.

The Sopranos – Badass Furio Giunta

Hardly Anyone In Washington Seems To Care About The Future At This Point

 

Our politicians in Washington are literally destroying our future.  But do you see anyone out in the streets protesting their calamitous policies?  By now, you have probably heard that the U.S. national debt has hit 31 trillion dollars.  To be more precise, as I write this article the U.S. national debt is currently sitting at $31,142,591,307,260.01.  It is the largest single debt in the history of the world, and given enough time it would completely destroy our economy all by itself.  Unfortunately, hardly anyone in Washington seems to care about our rapidly exploding debt at this point.

In the old days, the Republicans would at least put on a show for us.  They would huff and puff about the national debt but then give the Democrats virtually all of the spending that they wanted anyway.

But now they have figured out that such a charade is no longer necessary, because most of their constituents just don’t care.

So most of our politicians no longer even pretend to care about fiscal responsibility.  In recent years they have been on the biggest borrowing and spending binge in our entire history, and there are no indications that they ever plan to stop.

They borrow and spend trillions upon trillions of dollars, and they expect you, your children, and your grandchildren to pay it back.

Of course that will never happen.

We are never going to pay back the 31.1 trillion dollars that we have borrowed.

Instead, we are just going to push the accelerator all the way to the floor until we finally go off a cliff.

During the month of August alone, the U.S. government ran a $219.6 billion budget deficit

Some things never change — such as the federal government spending more money than it has month after month after month.

August was no different. The US government ran a massive $219.6 billion budget deficit last month, according to the latest Monthly Treasury Statement. That nudged out July as the second-largest monthly deficit in fiscal 2022.

Sadly, I didn’t hear of anyone in Washington giving a major speech when that happened, because the national debt is not even considered to be an important national issue today.

But our entire standard of living depends on the value of the U.S. dollar.  Having the default reserve currency of the world has been such a massive advantage for the United States, and now we are frittering it away.

The rest of the world can see what we are doing.

We are transforming our currency into toilet paper, and it is just a matter of time before it completely collapses.

Today, our politicians are stealing more than 200 million dollars from future generations of Americans every single hour of every single day.

Just think about that.

The old geezers in Washington know that they are near the end of the road.

So they know that they will never have to pay any of this money back.

But they get to spend it on whatever they want.

Of course it was inevitable that all of this borrowing and spending would eventually create rampant inflation, and now we are facing the worst inflation crisis in our history.

Yes, even worse than the Jimmy Carter era of the 1970s.

The Federal Reserve is rapidly hiking interest rates in a desperate attempt to get inflation under control, but that is causing all sorts of problems.

For one thing, the interest payments on our national debt will soon exceed a trillion dollars a year

According to the Congressional Budget Office, this is exactly what will happen. It projects interest payments will triple from nearly $400 billion in fiscal 2022 to $1.2 trillion in 2032. And it’s worse than that. The CBO made this estimate in May. Interest rates are already higher than those used in its analysis.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that the current system will survive until 2032.

Previous generations handed us the keys to the reserve currency of the world and the greatest economic machine that the planet had ever witnessed.

Sadly, we took those precious gifts and completely destroyed them.

As a society, we have lost all regard for long-term consequences.

Let me give you another example.  Joe Biden just announced that he will be releasing more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

“At the president’s direction, the Department of Energy will deliver another 10 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the market next month as part of the historic 180-million-barrel release the President ordered back in March. And the President will continue to direct SPR releases as necessary,” she said.

What an incredibly foolish thing to do.

It is only supposed to be used in the event of a national emergency, and what Biden has decided to do is absolutely unprecedented.

The fact that things are not looking good for his party in November is not an “emergency”, and Senator Tom Cotton is not amused

Whoa, say critics, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

“Well, it’s called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It’s not the political petroleum reserve,” Cotton told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham Wednesday night.

We are going to need that oil someday.

But thanks to Biden, most of it will already be gone.

If we found ourselves in the middle of a major war, the worldwide flow of energy supplies would suddenly be greatly restricted.  That is the sort of emergency scenario that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was designed for.

Sadly, thanks to the warmongers in the Biden administration we may soon find ourselves fighting wars with Russia, China, North Korea and Iran simultaneously.

Most Americans have no idea what is going on behind the scenes.  Things with North Korea are getting really, really tense, and a major war in the Middle East could erupt at any time.

World War 3 has already started, but thankfully we haven’t gotten to the part where billions of people die just yet.

Unfortunately, our current crop of leaders couldn’t care less about the long-term future of humanity.

So they continue to pursue policies that are incredibly self-destructive, and we are all going to pay a very great price for their foolishness.

November Surprise?

Guest Post by Jim Kunstler

Welcome to the season of chaos, sponsored by the Party of Chaos, America’s Democratic Party, owner and operator of the shadowy “Joe Biden” regime, dedicated to wrecking what’s left of the country — and the rest of Western Civ with it. Do you think I exaggerate? Consider for a moment that your personal ruin — the loss of your freedoms, your livelihoods, and your posterity — is at stake behind the more general demolition of our society.

We are barreling into an election that will determine the composition of Congress. There is much chatter about whether this election will be allowed to happen. Signs and portents point to a grievous loss of power for the Party of Chaos. Power is all they care about — certainly not the public interest or the common good — and a particular sort of power: the power to coerce, persecute, and punish.

It is obvious in everything they do, from the FBI swat-team home invasions of select opponents and the gross mistreatment of the January 6 defendants, to the craven censoring of public speech, to the imposition of medical tyranny and the deadly fraud of Covid shots, to the degenerate insults of their race-and-gender hustles, to their assault on the value of our money, to their sabotage of the oil-and-gas industries, to their treasonous abandonment of border control, to the deliberate perversion of policing and public order, to their promulgation of a faithless and unnecessary war, sharply against our national interests, in faraway Ukraine.

Adults understand that politics is a crooked business, but through the whole of US history until now filters existed in the public arena that allowed for enough sorting out of truth from untruth to enable the formation of a reality-based consensus — which, in turn, allowed daily life to operate coherently. The Party of Chaos has thrown the kill-switch on that crucial function by corrupting the news business and subverting the new social media. The result is a public culture of pervasive and immersive lying, and a stupendous institutional failure of the courts to correct any of that behavior.

Case-in-point: the John Durham Special Counsel Investigation on the origin of the RussiaGate fraud. It now apparently terminates in the prosecution of the tiniest minnow (Igor Danchenko) in that vast inland sea of corruption. Some of the figures who carried out the perfidious seditions of RussiaGate are still employed in the Department of Justice and the FBI, and to this day are active in the continued cover-up of the crimes committed to overthrow President Trump, notably: Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and others.

Mr. Durham is supposedly among the highest officers of the federal courts charged with enforcing a very particular region of criminality. His staff must be marinated in evidence of the RussiaGate misdeeds — reams of which have been independently documented in the public record, ranging from (just for example) the nefarious activities of figures like Nellie Ohr, wife of DOJ higher-up Bruce Ohr, working as go-between with Christopher Steele and the FBI, to the spectacular failures of Judge James Boasberg and his FISA court, not to mention the well-known machinations of Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Andrew McCabe, Rob Rosenstein, Dana Boente, James Baker, Andrew Weissmann, Jeannie Rhee, Aaron Zebley, Brandon Van Grack, Robert Mueller, and other top officials who worked sedulously against the public interest. All these remain apparently off-the-hook for their sketchy activities.

How did that happen? If the Party of Chaos loses control of its Congressional majority, Mr. Durham may have to answer that question. And until he does, American justice will remain a deeply broken institution that citizens can’t trust. In that light, how is our country any better than the most overt petty despotisms around the world? How does it deserve the citizens’ respect or even compliance?

The stakes in the midterm elections are huge for the Party of Chaos, and its worker bees may be capable of any duplicity to throw it off the rails. In my soon-to-drop next podcast, blogger Tom Luongo (of Gold, Goats, and Guns) introduces a surprising twist: the election takes place, he says, but the Party of Chaos finds a way to delay the announcement of the results via procedural shenanigans that go on for weeks after November 8, leaving the country in a state of anxious limbo. What an idea! Such a strategy would wreck the last shred of public trust in elections without having to cancel, postpone, or overtly overthrow the process. It would also invite just the sort of public protest that the Party of Chaos can spin into another insurrection narrative.

I’m strangely confident that there is a hidden column of people that love this country who will not allow this final insulting scam to succeed. Its appearance among us will shock and amaze the multitudes. The rule of the Woke Jacobin maniacs will end. And even though we’ll have to live through the wreckage they brought about, we’ll move about this strange new landscape of hardship in the light of reality-made-visible, seeing clearly what has happened and knowing what we must do to revive our country.

Pat Buchanan on Suicide of a Superpower

Oh yes! I emigrated to Australia and my buddy, Kaiser von Floppenschnorren, emigrated with me. However, whilst I was exempted from undergoing quarantine, Kaiser had to endure a full 30 days of it.

Let me tell you, when we went to get him released from the Big House, he was as pissed as could be! He shouted at me for the entire trip home and once there, proceeded to shout at me for another half-hour or so until he decided it was time to eat.

My wife took this photo as, like me, she’s had cats all her life, and had never seen such an angry kitty as Kaiser was on that day! He just sat there and shouted!!

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Yes, actually I didn’t buy it. I got it for free……. It wasn’t a car, But an RV…. Yes an actual RV. It was a 2002, 26 foot class A RV. It was in perfect condition.

Just didn’t run.

Inside was perfect. The RV only had 16000 miles on it. Generator only has 30 hrs on It. The RV was practically new.

The guy that owned it didn’t want it anymore.

He was paying storage to park it. He said he didn’t want to pay storage anymore for an RV that didn’t work. I guess it wouldn’t start one day.

He took it to a shop and they told him the engine was blown and he needed a new one. The cost would have been around $8,000.

Crazy.

So he just parked it.

So this guy who I didn’t know came to my work wanting to dispose of the RV. I said I would take it. I got the RV to my Mechanic.

He looked at it and replaced a $70 part on the fuel system…. RV started right up!!!!!

Ran perfect.

Took it to a smog shop and it passed in a few min. I couldn’t believe it.

I got an $25000 (today’s value, new was over $100k) RV for free!!!! Best RV ever. I have driven that thing all up and down California. Amazing. What a find….

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Reports of Mid-Air MISSILE INTERCEPT over Silver City, Yukon

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There are reports that today, Thursday, October 6, 2022, there was a mid-air intercept of an incoming missile, over the Yukon Territory of Canada.

Locals in Silver City, Yukon claim that about 8:30 AM local time:

" . . .  2 objects collided mid air high altitude. 

The first object looked like it came from the north and the second object came from the west. 

There was a notable boom that shook the windows in the shack I was working in. 

The one coming from the north wasn't moving that fast but the one from the west was hauling ass.

There's no mention on the news about a plane crash or anything but there's been a bunch of military helicopters most of the day in the area."

If a Russian vessel in the Arctic, fired a missile at the US, the trajectory could send it over that part of the Yukon Territory, “from the north.”

If US Missile Defenses in Alaska tracked it, they could have fired a missile interceptor, “from the west.”

Sounds like bullshit to me. -MM

One Crazy Summer – Godzilla

Roasted Tomato Soup

“Recently had an extra pint of cherry tomatoes on hand and was in search of comfort food. Devised this soup in a pinch and thought it was worth sharing. Mine was a quick soup for one but the recipe has been scaled up and uses the more economical Roma tomato. If you have lots of cherry or grape tomatoes — they have a sweetness that pairs beautifully with the vinegar — use them or do a mix with the roma tomatoes. If you are making this Kosher, skip the cheese or be sure to use vegetable broth.”

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Ingredients

Directions

  • Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Wash and cut tomatoes, placing in a shallow baking dish cut side down.
  • Add onion pieces, garlic, oregano and basil to the pan.
  • Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Bake for 45 minutes.
  • Place roasted vegetables in food processor bowl or blender and begin puree. Slowly add broth or water until soup has desired consistency. Continue blending until smooth.
  • An immersion blender also works very well. (If you warm the broth first, the soup will be hot without reheating.).
  • Serve garnished with cheese if desired.

Rufus Story

Sitting in McDonald’s carpark waiting for an appointment, a gentleman who I later found out was named Tony, approached my car window.

He asked if I knew about the state of my tyres.

I explained that I knew I needed new ones but at the moment simply couldn’t afford it.

He asked me if I would follow him to Bridgestone Pimpama across the road to see what they could do for me.

This complete stranger, Tony explained he couldn’t live with himself if he walked away from the situation knowing they were about to blow at anytime.

Tony didn’t expect anything in return, just asking that one day when I’m in the position where I’m able to help someone that I pay it forward.

535 dollars, a lot of tears on my behalf, a few hugs, three brand new tyres, a wheel alignment and the offer to fuel up my car.

Then he left.

No last name, no contact number.

Just Tony the gentle giant with his two beautiful sons teaching them a life lesson.

Tony if this ever reaches you, thank you!

Thank you for your utterly selfless act, your kind words, for restoring my faith in humanity.

From the bottom of my heart thank you!

Also a big thankyou to Bridgestone tyres Pimpama for fitting me in on a fully booked out day and for the great service, you guys are champs!

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Credit – Tegan Langley

Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan #2 (1985)

My biggest regret EVER, is not doing it sooner. For so many years, I didn’t like cats…all for dumb reasons. This is my best friend in the world, the Captain. I like to think we both changed each others lives for the better.

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Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Prices for Europe but Hikes Them for the US Again

Saudi Arabia is raising oil prices for US buyers, following a similar move a month ago.

Meanwhile, state-run Saudi Aramco lowered prices in Europe and left them largely unchanged for the Asian market.

The price moves come after OPEC+ slashed production quotas, which the White House said aligns the oil group with Russia.

Article HERE

Oh SH*T, something big is happening to our food supply thanks to the WEF

Quick Creamy Broccoli Soup

“Adapted from epicurious.com. This is a fantastic low-fat soup recipe that tastes very creamy. It is also fast and easy-a really great healthy soup for the broccoli lover!! I used my immersion blender to make it even creamier.”

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Ingredients

  • 3 cups frozen chopped broccoli (or fresh broccoli florets)
  • 1 onion, cut into quarters
  • 1 -2 clove garlic, peeled
  • 1 12 – 2 cups chicken broth or 1 1/2-2 cups water (or combination of the two)
  • 14 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 12 – 1 teaspoon basil
  • 12 teaspoon parsley
  • 1 dash vinegar

Directions

  • In a large pot, combine broccoli, onion, garlic, broth (I used vegetable broth) or water, and salt.
  • Cover pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes, or until everything starts getting soft.
  • Use a ladle to transfer 2/3 of the soup into a blender.
  • Blend the soup until smooth. (I just used my immersion blender until I was happy with the texture.)
  • Pour back into saucepan and turn on heat to medium setting.
  • In a small bowl, combine milk with flour and whisk together until smooth.
  • Pour mixture into soup and stir.
  • Add basil and parsley and stir until soup begins to thicken.
  • Add vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Desperately Seeking Susan (7/12) Movie CLIP – Into the Groove (1985) HD

U.S. Now Provoking North Korea Missile Launches

Poor kitty

This cat tried to come into my house at the end of June of this year while we were in the middle of a heat wave in WA.

It’s like she was saying, “I’m sick of being ignored! Someone has to help me!”

This is the cat after 3 months of living inside and being out of the elements.

I discovered the cat was very old, she has been declawed, so there was no way for her to catch any food for herself.

The cat was horribly dehydrated, had 104 temperature, she was skin and bones and yet she was so sweet and loving!

She also was microchipped but I never heard back from the original owners.

I took the cat to the vet immediately where she had x-rays, the vet said she has severe arthritis in her back.

Poor kitty could barely walk!

So this is quite a success story, I named her Ladybug and she is so much happier now!

You can tell she feels like someone’s pet again.

She loves to cuddle and gives back so much love, she didn’t deserve to be abandoned and left for dead.

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Chinese Movie ‘Home Coming’ Becomes National Day Box Office Hit China’s latest patriotic blockbuster ‘Home Coming’ focuses on Chinese diplomats as the saviours of overseas Chinese in times of trouble.

The movie is said to be based on real events but it is set in the fictional Numia Republic (努米亚共和国). 

According to Chinese state media outlet China.org, Home Coming is inspired by an evacuation event in Libya in 2011, when the Chinese embassy reportedly evacuated more than 30,000 Chinese nationals in a time frame of 12 days. 

At the time, Chinese official media called it “the largest such operation China had mounted abroad since the Nationalists fled in 1949” and Chinese nationals were evacuated from the war-torn Libya via land, sea, and air (Zerba 2015, 107). 

On Weibo, there are many reviewers giving Home Coming a five-star rating, with some saying the movie moved them to tears. 

“I needed four tissues,” one movie-goer said, while another person complained that they forgot to bring any tissues to dry their tears. 

In light of the movie’s premiere, photos of people crying while watching the film also circulated online.

Article HERE

HD】南征北戰NZBZ – 《生來倔强》巡迴演唱會_生來倔強 (Live)

https://youtu.be/b-qWq5-Kx5Y

Because on some level, it is the truth.

I’ve lived in Australia for 20 years, longer than I have had in China, and have seen lives on both sides.

I have this Aussie female friend, young, blonde, pretty and just getting to her late 20’s. A white collar, not high ups but she gets by well enough. She makes what, 80K AUD a year? That’s median up level for a average worker in Sydney. She drives a BMW M4, goes to professional race tracks every few weeks for fun. She’s not married, but in a stable relationship, boyfriend is also a white collar, makes less money than her but not by much. No mortgages because by god who can afford in Sydney anymore these days, so they rent. Every year she takes her 4 weeks annual leaves to Fiji or Europe or Hawaii or wherever she fancies, since she still wants to see the world before deciding to settle down. No plan for babies yet, god, that’s a huge responsibility isn’t it? Her parents sold their family home and moved to a regional city a few years back, to a nice picturesque little town near a lake, she visits them often. She has a sister, who apparently lives in another city but they are quite close. The plan is should the parents’ health fails, they would move into a nursing home close to home, with assisted living.

This is what many young Aussie’s life, you take away the names you can almost slot in any guy/gal you know in there and you wouldn’t call it out of place.

My wife has this Chinese female friend. Same age, just as pretty. She lives in China, has a stable job but highly stressful since she has KPIs to reach every month. She makes 5000 yuan a month, a respectable amount for a young Chinese professional, but still there’s not much left after paying off the monthly bills. She doesn’t have a car, and changes bus three times every morning to work. She got married last year, and the baby is on the way so she’s very stressed about the job and the finances. Husband is a hard worker, works three jobs, one regular during the week and two other jobs on the weekend. He’s a heavy smoker, to which I’m not surprised, on account of all the work he does on the side. They bought an apartment in a Tier 2 city last year before they got married, with their own savings, but I’m sure the parents contributed a fair amount as well. Parents on both sides got their own place, so at least they got that going for them. But her mother’s health is failing and she’s constantly worried about that. Oh the woes of being the only child ! They don’t entertain much because by gosh who has time. They prefer having hotpots with friends on a Friday evening in the alleyways behind their apartment building.

This is a typical young Chinese’s life. Same deal, put your friend’s name there you probably can’t tell who’s who.

Now you tell me which side of the two lives is easier?

China is getting there, but the price is paid via blood and sweat of this generation. The Aussies have already paid theirs. You don’t get to see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. What the Chinese are doing today is making sure their kids can live a somewhat easier life in their future.

Gravitas: China reveals new nuclear submarine ahead of Congress

The new world order is clearly taking shape

Lately I’ve been sick. I caught a small cold from my daughter, who caught it from Kindergarten. This coupled with the insane levels of change in my personal life, has made it very difficult for me to keep up. But, I’m still churning stuff out. I don’t know how, but yeah I am.

Now, of course, every step is taken to keep colds out of school, but little kids have bad habits, and no matter how had you try, sickness sneaks in.  And of course, my little daughter doesn’t yet know the importance of covering her face when she coughs.

Sigh.

Please enjoy this installment.

The reason why Telsa is unable to leave China (even with Biden incentives)

Telsa factories in China have 95% of their supply chain are localized. These supply chains also supply to the USA and the rest of the world. By leaving China, the supply chain disappears, and without parts, Tesla disappears.

〔財經頻道/綜合報導〕美國電動車大廠「特斯拉(Tesla)」近年來積極加速中國化。特斯拉全球副總裁陶琳(Grace Tao)近日接受媒體訪問時透露,目前特斯拉上海工廠產業鏈本土化率已達95%。

綜合媒體報導,特斯拉在2013年底正式進入中國市場,9年來,特斯拉持續擴大在中國的投資佈局。陶琳近日在接受媒體訪問時透露,目前特斯拉上海超級工廠產業鏈本土化率已達到95%,並在上海、蘇州、寧波、南通等長三角地區組建起「4小時朋友圈」,形成新能源汽車零組件的全生態鏈。

不僅如此,特斯拉也致力於加速對人才的可持續培養。陶琳稱,特斯拉上海工廠員工超過99.9%都是中國人,並稱目前特斯拉也已經培養起一線操作人員、技術高端人才以及新能源行業管理人才的全產業鏈人才儲備。

From HERE

Speaking of Tesla…

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is suspending plans to make battery cells in Germany as it looks at qualify for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing tax breaks in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel

Article HERE

Hey, let’s check out this nut-case!

Seriously! Look at this guy!

He makes money spewing this nonsense. Any day now, eh?

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It’s so easy to spew nonsense if your readership wants to read it.

It’s sort of like how people want to read how to lose weight by eating deep-fried pork fat.

China’s exports rose an additional 18%

China's July exports rise 18% to $333 bn, with trade surplus at record high

China's export growth continued to rise in July, sending trade surplus to a record high, according to government data.

China’s continued to rise in July, sending trade surplus to a record high, according to government data.

China’s exports grew 18% to $333 billion compared to the same period last year, and were up from 17.9% in June, according to data from China’s customs.

Imports, however, remained soft, growing 2.3% in July compared to a year ago. That was lower that economists’ estimates of 4%, and suggests weak domestic demand amid lockdowns across the country as China attempts to stem the outbreak of COVID-19.

China’s total trade surplus reached an all-time high of $101.3 billion in July, breaking the record set in June.

The country’s economy has rebounded from earlier in the year, when tough COVID-19 restrictions including a two-month lockdown in Shanghai and other measures across China disrupted manufacturing and logistics.

While manufacturing and supply chain issues have eased, recovery may be affected by fresh COVID-19 outbreaks, weak domestic demand and external uncertainties such as rising inflation in developed countries including Britain and the U.S.

The Monetary Fund in July predicted that China’s economy would grow 3.3% this year, below the ruling Communist Party’s target of 5.5% set in April.

From HERE

The United States is repositioning forces from Japan to Guam

Interesting.

As I write this, the US Department of Defense is ramping up the militarization of my homeland – part of its $8bn scheme to relocate roughly 5,000 marines from Okinawa to Guam. In fact, ground has already been broken along the island’s beautiful northern coastline for a massive firing range complex. The complex – consisting of five live-fire training ranges and support facilities – is being built dangerously close to the island’s primary source of drinking water, the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer. Moreover, the complex is situated over several historically and culturally significant sites, including the remnants of ancient villages several thousands of years old, where our ancestors’ remains remain.

‘Our children’s lives on the line’: the ongoing battle for Guam
The construction of these firing ranges will entail the destruction of more than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of native limestone forest. These forests are unbearably beautiful, took millennia to evolve, and today function as essential habitat for several endangered endemic species, including a fruit bat, a flight-less rail and three species of tree snails – not to mention a swiftlet, a starling and a slender-toed gecko. The largest of the five ranges – a 59-acre multipurpose machine-gun range – will be built a mere 100 feet (30 metres) from the last remaining reproductive håyon lågu tree in Guam.

If only superpowers were concerned with the stuff of lowercase earth, like forests and fresh water. If only they were curious about the whisper and scurry of small lives. If only they were moved by beauty.

If only.

From HERE

Emperor Wang Mang

Among Chinese history fans, the Emperor Wang Mang of the short-lived Xin Dynasty is often jokingly referred to as a time traveller for having many surprisingly modern ideas.

He usurped the throne from the Han Dynasty and become the Emperor himself in 1 AD.

COINCIDENCE??? Actually, yes, probably.

(Correction: he became regent in 1 AD. Remind yourselves, dear readers, to never write about history purely from memory.)

Anyhow, Wang Mang tried to abolish slavery and serfdom, carried out land reforms, introduced egalitarian economic policies that can be described as proto-socialist, and even instituted a welfare system for the unemployed.

His monetary policy was also profoundly different from the conventions of the time as he issued coins face-valued at much higher than the actual value of the bronze coins, so much so that the face-value of these coins were totally detached from the value of the metal. In this way, the coins became abstract representations of value, which is how modern paper currency works.

Unlike all previous emperors who never care for such lowly things, Wang Mang encouraged the development of technology and even invented things like the sliding caliper:

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Wang Mang sought medical advances and commissioned a dissection of a rebel’s corpse in order to learn more about the human anatomy. This was the first ever recorded incidence of a dissection being carried out for medical purposes (Correction: No, it wasn’t. Read comments below). Han historical records are not kind to him about the incident, writing that Wang Mang only claimed the dissection was for the purpose of healing people; where as his true intention was to exact cruel revenge on the person whose corpse was being dissected. Maybe it was both; we will never know.

And in what was perhaps one of the biggest shockers of ancient China, Wang Mang’s wife once received court officials at their house wearing a short skirt that barely covered her knees.

Although that last one was probably an attempt by Wang Mang to demonstrate how frugal (rather than immodest) he and his family were.

Jane’s Addiction – Jane Says (Official Music Video)

Dreaming with my cat

I used to dream with my cat, literally.

The first time it happened, he was sleeping next to me, as we did, I was using his little rump for a pillow, and he had pulled my hand close to his head, laying it on my hand.

We were both asleep.

I had a dream (or he did) that a bird flew by, diagonally, from the lower left to the upper right. As the bird flew by, he startled me awake by waking up, shooting his head up and looking in the direction of the bird that I had just dreamed flew by.

I’ve never been so close to a soul in my life.

I lost him, at the young age of only 11, just 3 and a half weeks ago. His name was Makana. It means ‘gift’ in Hawaiian.

He certainly was.

I’ll miss you forever. 🙁

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Kitty dream time.

I’m curious where did you learn that China’s zero outbreak policy “failed” to contain infections?

Where is your basis?

As far as I know, China has never given up the fight against the new crown virus. With the help of the current efforts to overcome the epidemic, it has also achieved very good results. It has proved the necessity of the zero epidemic policy with practical actions.

Where does the term “failure” come from?

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China’s COVID policies is that the starting point is wellbeing of its people. The word “people” here does not specifically refer to the strong & young people or just the powerful class, but also including the elderly and infants, including the vast majority of people in both big cities and small villages.

Unlike America, where society is deeply divided, China cares about poor people’s lives. The overall death rate in poor counties was nearly twice as high as in wealthy ones, at one point reaching 4.5 times as high. In the top 300 counties with the highest death rates, an average of 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

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China cares about minorities’ lives. While The infection rate, hospitalization rate and death rate of American Indians were 1.6 times, 3.1 times and 2.1 times that of whites, respectively. African Americans were 1.1, 2.4 and 1.7 times as likely as whites.

China cares about older people’s lives. While in the U.S., three-quarters of COVID-19 deaths were among people 65 and older, and 93% were among people 50 and older.

China cares about children. While there are more than 250,000 “COVID-19 orphans” in the US who have lost parents to the pandemic. An average of one in 12 U.S. orphans under the age of 18 lost their parents to the pandemic, and an average of two students in every public school lost their guardians.

China’s policy focuses on the overall situation, putting people’s lives rather than economic interests first. Therefore, it is impossible for China to do European media’s calculation that “the death of hundreds of thousands of elderly people will save billions of dollars in pension”, let alone the American politicians who say that “the elderly should voluntarily sacrifice for the economy”.

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However, I am not saying that China’s policy is perfect, but it is capable of self-renewal and revolution. Since 2020, China has been adjusting and optimizing its policy, which has been widely understood and cooperated by the public. Now, thousands of permanent nucleic acid testing sites have been set up in Beijing, Shanghai and other places, indicating that social life will gradually return to normal after the end of lockdown and quarantine.

Each country needs to find COVID policies that suit its own national conditions. The important thing is not to always be right, but not to give up on finding the right path. The US can shrug its shoulders and say “c ‘est la vie” as the pandemic rages on, but one day China will vindicate its policy when reopening its ports, lifting its lockdown, getting its economy back on track and growing rapidly.

The wildlife situation around Chernobyl currently is something of a controversy in science. This 2016 paper

says that:

With few exceptions, wildlife in the zone shows a strong pattern of declining abundance

However, many other scientists say that the local fauna is clearly on the rise, and the popular media seems to have almost invariably gone with their conclusions.

In any case, since – as far as I’m aware – all the studies saying that Chernobyl’s wildlife is in decline are by the same two authors, whereas there are several different biologists who have written papers on increasing animal populations in the area, I’ll assume that the latter are correct for now.

Various camera trapping operations have revealed that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has grown a healthy population of large mammals, such as grey wolves:

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European badgers:

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Wild boar:

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Roe deer:

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And even moose:

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There are also abundant smaller mammals, including Eurasian beavers, least weasels and voles. Among the birds, there are some “flashy” species, such as the enormous white-tailed sea eagle (Europe’s largest raptor):

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And black storks:

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And that’s just the native wildlife. Since the disaster, people have released other Eurasian mammals into this involuntary oasis, including European bison:

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And wild Przewalski’s horses:

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There’s even evidence that animals not seen in the region for over a century are returning, including Eurasian lynx:

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And brown bears:

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It’s pretty amazing, and also rather sobering, to think that the sheer presence of humans was worse for the environment than a catastrophic nuclear disaster.

 

Ladies and gentlemen. Please fasten your seatbelts. We are about to depart to the end of the Carboniferous period, 359 – 299 million years ago. Our current time travel technology can only take us there one way. There is no going back.

  • Time travel is only the first temporal effect that the traveler would experience. His circadian rhythm would be severely disrupted and affect their life because the day length was only about 22 hours in the Carboniferous period. There would be insomnia, immune system dysfunction, increased risk of cancer, problems with the heart and even early death from all the above combined.
  • An additional factor that would shorten the life span of travelers would be the increased oxygen level in the atmosphere. It was about 28% at the beginning of the Carboniferous period, it dropped to about 24% in the middle and rose again to about 27% at the end. Over the lifetime, so much oxygen would damage the tissues and increase the speed of aging of humans not adapted to these levels and cause health problems that would cause even earlier death.
  • Another weird temporal effect would be noticed after landing. Animals would seem slower, more sluggish than us. At the time, they might have perceived reality in fewer frames per second than us on average. We do it at 60Hz after additional hundreds of millions of years of evolution of vertebrate animals. There were no warm-blooded creatures at the time yet, so there were no very active animals. They only had sprawling legs while walking, which made them slower. All of this lead to slower reaction times sufficient for survival. Insects might have been faster but even they only just evolved relatively recently. They weren’t as great at what they did at the time yet.
  • The air was filled with copious amounts of spores of various plants. Breathing might even result in death from an extreme allergic reaction, anaphylaxis. We are more adapted to pollen, which didn’t exist in the Carboniferous period.
  • This also means that there were no fruits and we need Vitamin C to survive. We would need to eat leaves, make teas from bark or eat buds of leaves of ferns, the fiddleheads.
  • The good news is that animals shouldn’t be that dangerous at the time and it might be easy to hunt them for food at least on dry land. They weren’t that big, fast or even smart yet. Although, many formidable crocodile-like and crocodile-size temnospondyl amphibians with massive teeth existed in aquatic habitats and widespread swamps. There were also giant, 2.5 m/8 feet centipedes. It’s hard to tell how dangerous they were but I’m learning they weren’t. They were outcompeted by reptiles soon and died out anyways. Large, flying, 0.7 m/2 feet insects similar to dragonflies shouldn’t have been dangerous to humans. A more significant danger might be venomous tiny animals like scorpions or spiders.
  • The travelers should better take a lot of metal tools with them because producing them in the Carboniferous period would be tricky. It’s hard to obtain high enough temperatures for working on metals without coal, which originated in this period and didn’t form underground yet.
  • The good news is that there might be less danger from diseases. It’s unlikely that many would affect mammals like humans. But who knows? There might be an odd outlier that could infect us. Maybe some mysterious virus. For bacteria, we should take a lot of antibiotics with us.

If we traveled in a time machine back to the late Carboniferous period, it should be possible to build shelter from trees, which evolved recently. Water should not be a problem. There would be an issue with obtaining a balanced diet because there were no fruits, which evolved less than 180 million years ago. The lifespan of the travelers would be severely shortened from all the issues described above.

We Just Witnessed Something That Hasn’t Happened Since 2008, And It Is Causing The Housing Market To Crash

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This didn’t have to happen.  The reckless behavior of the Federal Reserve and our politicians in Washington created a horrifying inflation spiral, and now the Fed is feverishly raising interest rates in a desperate attempt to get inflation back under control.  But everyone knows that rapidly raising rates is going to absolutely crush the housing market.  When the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, that puts upward pressure on mortgage rates.  And as mortgage rates go higher, more and more potential homebuyers will be forced on to the sidelines.  With fewer potential homebuyers in the market, that will put downward pressure on home prices.  This is basic stuff that you would learn in an ECON 101 class, but Fed officials can’t seem to understand that what they are doing is going to be extremely destructive to the U.S. economy as a whole.

Do you remember the pain that we went through in 2008?

That entire crisis was precipitated by a collapse of the housing market, and now a similar scenario is starting to unfold right in front of our eyes.

In fact, something just happened that we haven’t seen in all of the years since 2008…

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose above 6 percent for the first time since the financial crisis, according to federal data released Thursday.

The average mortgage rate for the benchmark home loan rose to 6.02 percent as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac, up 0.13 percentage points from last week and 3.16 percentage points above its level a year ago. It’s the first time the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate was above 6 percent since the week of Nov. 20, 2008.

When mortgage rates get really high, the wealthy can still afford to buy homes because many of them don’t even need mortgages.

But for the rest of us, much higher mortgage rates make a world of difference

Already, it has ushered in a sea change in the housing market by adding hundreds of dollars or more to the monthly cost of a potential buyer’s mortgage payment, slowing what was a red-hot market not so long ago. Higher rates are forcing some would-be buyers to continue renting. Since the start of the year, the average mortgage payment has risen 38.5% to $2,306 from around $1,700 at the start of the year.

Demand for mortgages is drying up really fast.

Last week, the number of mortgage applications was 29 percent lower than it was during the same week one year ago.

And the number of applications to refinance mortgages has seemingly dropped off a cliff

As mortgage rates rise and home prices remain high, home sales are slowing.

With rates essentially double where they were a year ago, applications for home loans have dropped and applications to refinance into a lower payment have fallen off a cliff, down 83% from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

If you work in the mortgage industry, I feel really badly for you right now.

Of course everyone involved in real estate is going to be feeling a tremendous amount of pain in the months ahead.  According to the chief economist at Redfin, this is the “sharpest” downturn that we have seen since the meltdown of 2008…

“This is the sharpest turn in the housing market since the housing market crash in 2008,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s Chief Economist.

Billionaire Barry Sternlicht is even more pessimistic.

He just told CNBC that he believes that the Fed’s policies will cause a “major crash” in the housing market, and he is also warning that we could soon find ourselves in a “serious recession”

“The economy is braking hard,” the chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.

“If the Fed keeps this up they are going to have a serious recession and people will lose their jobs,” he added.

Sadly, he is right on target.

Even if the Federal Reserve stopped raising rates right here, we would still have a real nightmare on our hands.

But the Fed isn’t going to stop.

Fed officials have repeatedly told us that they are going to keep raising rates until inflation is under control, and that could take quite a while.

In fact, we are being warned that next week we could potentially see “the biggest Fed rate hike in 40 years”, and that would really shake up the financial markets.

So what can we do to protect ourselves?

If you are selling a home, I would recommend trying to sell it as rapidly as you can while home prices are still ridiculously high.

If you are looking to buy a home, I would recommend waiting until home prices come down quite a bit.

And something that we can all do is to prepare for the “serious recession” that Billionaire Barry Sternlicht says could be coming.

During the crisis of 2008 and 2009, millions of Americans lost their jobs.  Without any income coming in, all of a sudden a lot of those people couldn’t pay their bills and many formerly middle class Americans also ended up losing their homes.

You don’t want to suffer the same fate.

So I have been encouraging my readers for a very long time to build up a sizable emergency fund.

A large emergency fund will allow you to continue paying your bills no matter what comes along.

And it will also keep you from losing your home.

In addition, I would encourage everyone not to take on additional debt at this time.

When hard times come, you will want your finances to be as “lean and mean” as possible.

Now is not a time to party.

Now is a time to batten down the hatches financially.

Very rough weather is headed our way, and everyone can see it coming.

The wise will prepare in advance, but those that are foolish will do nothing because they assume that our leaders have everything under control.

Russet Potato Salad

A twist on traditional potato salad with mustard flavor and plenty of celery for crunch.

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Russet Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 3 lb Betty Crocker™ fresh russet potatoes, cut into fourths (about 4 large)
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill weed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

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Washington Post vs this video: who is telling the truth?

What actually happened…

And how it was “reported“…

In a stunning public rebuke, India’s Modi challenges Putin over war in Ukraine – The Washington Post

Read HERE

Russia and China are ready to provide stability to the world: the results of Vladimir Putin’s speech and meetings at the SCO summit

This is the result of the SEO meeting. Not at all reported in the West. -MM
The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in Samarkand for two days in a row, from 15 to 16 September
Oleg ADAMOVICH
During the two days of the summit, Vladimir Putin managed to personally meet with more foreign politicians than in the last two months combined. On Thursday alone, he had seven (!) official conversations.

But even though more than a dozen world leaders came to Uzbekistan, including the heads of India and China, no fateful decisions or statements were made. At least publicly. The main formal outcome of the summit: Iran became a full-fledged member of the SCO, and Belarus began joining the organization.

But on the other hand, this is not enough. One of the US's main enemies, Tehran, is now in an economic alliance with the US's main trading partner. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Washington's first allies in the Middle East, also became "dialogue partners". Countries outside the collective West are merging with each other without America's involvement.

By the way, the protocol meetings of Vladimir Putin also show quite well what kind of relations we have with different countries:

KYRGYZSTAN

We give them money to restore what was destroyed after the skirmishes with Tajikistan and to purchase rescue equipment, and in return they do not interfere with the study of the Russian language. They even build new Russian-language schools.

Such "soft power" means a lot when Turkey tries to subjugate the whole of Central Asia under the auspices of the revival of the "Turkic world".

TURKMENIA

Joint gas projects are developing well in this country. But now, when the pressure on our hydrocarbons will grow, non-primary ties are important for Russia.

- We aim to diversify our economic ties through other areas of interaction. This refers to agriculture, the textile industry. We are ready to increase the supply of non-primary products to the market of Turkmenistan, - said Vladimir Putin.

IRAN

Tehran is just glad that they will now deal with it normally. For too long the country has lived cut off from the developed world. Iran is ready to export to Russia whatever we want to buy from them. Basically, we are talking about replacing sanctioned Western goods.

- The first major business mission visited Iran in May this year. Many members of the delegation then told me about their impressions: they were pleased with what they saw at Iranian enterprises in terms of the development of high-tech areas. To be honest, we didn’t even expect it,” Putin admitted.

And yes: Iran categorically condemns anti-Russian sanctions and will never join them. Expected, but it needed to be said.

PAKISTAN

Islamabad is looking forward to two mega-projects. 

First: Russia is modernizing Pakistan's railways. Not the whole system, of course. We can supply inexpensive and high-quality passenger trains.

Second: the construction of a gas pipeline to Pakistan.

- This is also possible, part of the infrastructure in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has already been created. We need to resolve the issue with Afghanistan. There are problems related to political stability, but, bearing in mind our mutual good relations with the Afghan people, I hope that this problem can also be solved, the Russian leader said.

Putin added that Pakistan could influence the authorities in Afghanistan to speed up the laying of the pipe.

CHINA

With China, Vladimir Vladimirovich is already ready to discuss the fate of the world. After all, the second economy in the world.

- The foreign policy tandem of Moscow and Beijing plays a key role in ensuring global and regional stability. We jointly stand for the formation of a just, democratic and multipolar world order,” Putin said.

- We highly appreciate the balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. We understand your questions and concerns in this regard. During today's meeting, of course, we will explain in detail our position," he added.

Xi Jinping is the first at the SCO summit to whom the Russian president promised to tell about the situation in Ukraine.

MONGOLIA

Mongolian politicians do not hide the fact that they want to make good money on transit from Russia to China. Now we are updating the railways of the Central Asian republic, which will significantly increase their throughput. There are also plans to build a gas pipeline through the territory of Mongolia.

INDIA

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the second person Putin promised to tell about Ukraine. Nobody touched this topic anymore.

- I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express. We will do our best to stop this as soon as possible. Only the leadership of Ukraine announced its refusal from the negotiation process, stated that it wants to achieve its goals "on the battlefield." Nevertheless, we will always keep you informed of what is happening there,” Vladimir Vladimirovich said.

Modi responded by saying that he was particularly concerned about the food security of his own country. This has already led to an eightfold (!) increase in the supply of fertilizers from Russia. In the end, the politician, with the peacefulness characteristic of the Hindus, concluded that a bad peace is better than a good war.

- Now is not the era of wars. Democracy, diplomacy, dialogue - these are important tools for us to find solutions, the Prime Minister of India stressed.

TURKEY

Well, Erdogan openly earns on anti-Russian sanctions. Transit through Turkey is now exported and Russian grain and gas. Blue fuel goes to Europe along the Turkish stream. This is so beneficial that the republic was the first to agree to give up dollars if Moscow insists on it.

- We are ready to significantly increase our deliveries in all areas that are of interest to you. In the near future, our agreement on the supply of natural gas of Russian origin to Turkey with payment for 25% of these supplies in Russian rubles should come into effect, Putin reminded.

AZERBAIJAN

From the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, one thing is now needed: that he stop shooting at Armenia.

- Today, we are all very worried about the aggravation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It is good that the escalation was finally stopped by coordinated efforts, but, as far as I understand, it (the situation - Ed.) still remains tense, the Russian leader admitted.

- The main thing is that we managed to stabilize the situation and transfer it to a peaceful course. Now the main thing is not to destroy the beginning process of normalization of relations, but to move in this direction. We welcome the efforts of Russia aimed at this, - Aliyev answered diplomatically.

EUROPEAN EGOISM

Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Council of Heads of State, once again spoke about the fate of Russian fertilizers. The head of the country accused Europe of selfishness.

- It turns out that sanctions (against fertilizers - Ed.) have been lifted only for EU member countries. It turns out that only they can purchase our fertilizers. But what about the developing, poorest countries in the world? Taking advantage of the presence of the Deputy Head of the UN Secretary General, Ms. (Rosemary) DiCarlo, I ask colleagues in the European Commission to influence them to remove these obviously discriminatory restrictions, the Russian President urged.

By the way, after the end of the council, DiCarlo really approached Putin and talked to him for quite some time.


From HERE

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Clean Kitties

Cats are normally very clean animals. They spend a great deal of time grooming themselves. They groom to remove much of their scent. This helps them as they hunt prey. A prey animal can’t smell the cat easily

Most people would think a cat has very little smell. If you put your nose right in their fur, it tends to just smell clean and fresh.

A cat who can’t groom because of injury or health problems can start to smell. Some of these cats will require that you bath them to keep them clean

My mom had a cat, Cookie who lived to be 25 years old. During her last couple years, she had trouble grooming herself. My mom would gently bath her a couple times a week. Then mom would carefully brush her. My mom loved that cat.

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I don’t have a picture of Cookie but I found this picture online and it looks very similiar to Cookie. Cookie crossed the rainbow bridge about ten years ago. My mom has a new black cat named Herman now.

How have we not went to war with China yet? They brought fentanyl over here. Covid started there.

Firstly who’s we? I’m guessing an American? Secondly why would you be at war with China?

You can’t seriously be blaming China for your stupid government reaction to a pandemic, so not that. Also most people known the virus probably didn’t start in China anyway and was already circulating in Europe and the USA, but they were too inept to notice.

Let’s see. . Is it the old, “they’ve taken our jobs” story? Your government took those jobs away from you, not China.

What else? They’re not a democracy? Is that it?? Why should they be? Damn commies, not acting all civilised like us. Look at how well your democracy is working out, you’ve just had an election, and now your president is childishly throwing his toys out of the pram because he hasn’t won. Jesus.

Is it possible that’s it’s because they’ve improved their country more than you could possibly imagine in the last 40 years, whilst here in the west we’re still stuck with the same old sad infrastructure? How dare you improve yourselves! You were just supposed to make stuff for us but stay uncivilised and underdeveloped. That could be it, because they’re doing so well while we stagnate.

Do you know how many days China has been at war in the last 40 years? 0. None. And America has been at war constantly, do you know how much money that’s cost you? Trillions, that could all have been spent improving your education system, your trains, your roads and bridges, on you. Do you know how many countries you’ve been at war with, that have a nuclear arsenal?

Maybe that’s why you’re not at war with China. Firstly, you don’t have a valid reason for one, they’ve done nothing to warrant it. Even though America is doing its best to brainwash people into believing China is evil in every way it can, we don’t believe you. Look at Mike Pompeo for example, have you heard what he says? We all know he’s a professional liar, he admitted it stupidly on film. He’s desperate for you to think China bad, us good, but what he says looks bizarre to anyone with any real knowledge about China. How would it look to your average citizen to know China’s system is actually more democratic than yours, and is way more effective?

Secondly, China does have a nuclear arsenal, and if you try going to war with them you’re going to die. What a weird question.

John Mearsheimer put it best when he said that with regard to the issue of how to treat China, that the US will not tolerate the rise of any potential peer competitor. He listed four instances where this concept has manifested itself and also when the US prevailed:

        1. Imperial Germany
        2. Imperial Japan
        3. Nazi Germany
        4. the Soviet Union

China is just the newest challenger. In his writings and talks he makes it clear that there is no other reason, moral or otherwise, that the US should stop China’s rise. You cannot get more nakedly hegemonic than this.

Many others in the US, mostly influenced by the China hands at the Hudson institute, feel that the rise of China represents an existential threat to the united States. Which is actually true if and only if one can ONLY think of the US as number one. So their idea of existential threat doesn’t mean that the United States will disappear from the face of the earth, it just means we won’t be the biggest economy or the most influential culture.

China has no choice but to engage in whatever role we push them in. China is one-fifth of humanity, by comparison the United States is only one twentieth of the global population. Even if China has no ambition to replace the US as the global hegemonic power, if its only goal is to give China’s own citizens a standard of living comparable to the US, it will have to grow its GDP to roughly five times that of the US.

One cannot grow to become the biggest economy without protecting it.

China and India have experienced the consequence of not protecting their economies before, both were one and two by GDP until the 1870’s (the positions switched occasionally).

Naively, both India and China never thought to protect their economic interests from physical aggression and by the middle of the 19th century, naked aggression destroyed their people’s lives.

In India’s case, the subcontinent was colonized.

In China’s case, parts were colonized, then fought over in very brutal great power struggles.

By right, if China aspires to attain a standard of living equal to advanced industrialized economies (and it should or its leaders should be deemed derelict) it should also sought to protect its economy from the sort of aggression by Western powers and their proxies.

What does this mean for China? It means that Beijing should aim for building up bigger armed forces, protecting the sea-lanes (this one is counter intuitive to many) such as in the South China Sea routes, and opening up other trade routes such as the BRI or the OBOR, including oil and gas supplies overland such as from Russia.

China has no choice but to grow a very powerful armed forces that is at least powerful enough that the United States will not choose to be in direct military confrontation with it. Since World War II, the United States has not chosen to fight wars where the direct enemy is a much, much smaller force.

The United States will try to stop China’s rise by non-military means — proxy wars, economic decoupling, etc. — which really just means a cold war.

A hot war will be a last gasp measure in a hopeless cause.

Me and my wife adopted Aurora this year. She’s 5 (6 in a month!) and has been such a sweet cat. The PetSmart where we found a cat named “Jackie” whose cage had been labeled “male” with a note that said “I don’t like other cats.” Obviously, a cat who has a “no cats” policy is a deal breaker for most of the people who are adopting cats regularly, since they already have cats. Luckily, we didn’t have any cats so this wasn’t a deal breaker for us.

When I saw that she’d been there for over a month, it made me really sad. In hindsight, I think she’d been moved between different locations for much longer than that. The employee let me hold her and she grabbed me so tight and didn’t want to let go. My heart melted and we brought her home that night.

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At that time, we still thought she was a he and so we gave her the name “Augustus.” A few days later, while looking at her medical information, we noticed that her sex was clearly labeled “Spayed Female.” After a good laugh, we renamed her “Aurora.” She was shy at first but now she loves to curl up in our laps and enjoys plenty of pets.

I honestly don’t see any other explanation for why she remained unadopted for so long. She did hiss at the other cats in the caged area but she may have just been anxious because of the environment. It’s sad to see how much suffering can be caused by a seemingly helpful note. I don’t know for sure but I suspect that she would be able to adjust to living with another cat now that she’s comfortable.

Violence In California Reaches “Epidemic” Levels As Our Society Rapidly Deteriorates All Around Us

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I can’t understand why anyone would still want to live in California.  Yes, there are lots of high paying jobs and the weather is very nice, but crime is completely and utterly out of control.  As you will see below, a new report that has just been issued is warning that violence in the state has now reached “epidemic” levels.  The police are doing what they can to try to contain the violence, but at this point they are vastly outnumbered by the predators.  Sadly, this is the end result of literally decades of cultural rot, and what is happening in California is going to happen to the rest of the nation if we do not take urgent action to turn things around.

Originally, I was going to write about something else today.  Tens of thousands of rail and port workers are threatening to go on strike, and this could definitely cause some substantial economic disruptions…

America is bracing for chaos as tens of thousands of railway, port, and hospital workers look set to strike over the winter – plunging the country into further disruption.

As many as 60,000 railway workers, 15,000 nurses, and 22,000 West Coast port workers are plotting mass walkouts as they seek better working conditions.

Several US freight railroads said they were preparing for widespread strike and service interruptions Friday, a deadline set by two holdout labor groups in protracted talks with railroad carriers about better benefits.

But even though these strikes could cause severe short-term problems, they will eventually be resolved.

So in the greater scheme of things, they really aren’t a major concern.

On the other hand, our cultural decay is a massive ongoing crisis that isn’t going to go away.

As I mentioned earlier, a brand new report that was just released is warning that violence in the state of California has risen to “epidemic” levels

The Golden State is losing its luster. A troubling new report labels physical and sexual violence in pandemic-era California a statewide “epidemic.” To put it simply, violence is on an alarming rise.

According to the new annual report from the California Study on Violence Experiences across the Lifespan (CalVEX), violence statistics have seen a significant increase since COVID-19 emerged. The report, conducted by scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, reports more than one in six Californians (18%) experienced either physical or sexual violence in just the past year.

If you live in one of the biggest cities in California, this isn’t news to you.

Once upon a time, the state was a place of great beauty and great tranquility, but now it has been transformed into a crime-infested hellhole.

I was particularly alarmed by the numbers on sexual violence in this new report

While more than 1.5 million adults in California admit to committing acts of sexual violence in the past year, men were more than two times as likely as women to report that they perpetrated sexual violence and intimate partner violence.

Women also showed greater mental health impacts and life disruptions due to violent experiences, with 82 percent of women reporting anxiety or depression as a result of physically aggressive, coercive or forced sexual behavior.

Of course much of this violence is being fueled by illegal mind-altering drugs.

Some of these drugs are so immensely powerful that they literally put people into catatonic states for an extended period of time…

 

I will never understand why people would willingly do that to themselves.

Today, we are facing the biggest drug crisis that we have ever seen in American history, and addicts will often do whatever it takes to get another fix.

Sadly, this is one of the factors that is contributing to skyrocketing rates of shoplifting all over the nation

We are all painfully aware of the huge rise in shoplifting and even violent robberies of stores. We watch the videos of thugs brazenly raiding stores, and read about the organized crime rings that have sprung up to profit from the trend. Shoplifting has become a big, if criminal business. Chances are that if you use eBay to purchase a wide range of products at reduced prices you have unwittingly purchased stolen goods. No good way for eBay to stop the practice.

One homeless man that originally came from Alabama recently admitted that he regularly shoplifts in order to fund his heroin use…

 

There have been homeless addicts in the streets of San Francisco for years, but now we have reached a point where they are seemingly everywhere.

The following is what one reporter witnessed during a recent journey through the city…

I saw complete hopelessness in the eyes of haunted souls dragging themselves down the street looking for their next fix.

I saw men and women of all ages hunched over on the sidewalks with open wounds all over their bodies.

I saw the filthy tent cities stinking with human excrement and strewn with needles and pipes.

I saw children staring in horror at people dying right in front of them.

At one time, such activity was limited to the bad portions of the city.

But now addicts that have been drugged out of their minds are pulling down their pants and crapping in the streets right in front of some of the most expensive real estate in San Francisco.

This has made the wealthy people really angry, and Mayor Breed says that she is finally going to “get serious” about this crisis.

Of course “getting serious” doesn’t mean arresting a bunch of people and throwing them into prison.

That just wouldn’t be very “progressive”.

Instead, authorities in San Francisco are getting ready to launch a “soft-touch” program that will seek to “interrupt” drug trafficking…

City supervisors released a resolution for a vague ‘soft-touch’ initiative called ‘San Francisco Recovers.’

And here’s the catch, and it’s a doozy: the plan is being touted as, ‘a way that nobody’s going to jail but we’re doing an effective job of interrupting the drug market and drug scenes.’

Is this a sick joke?

Yes, it certainly sounds like a sick joke to me.

Good luck with all that.

If major cities such as San Francisco actually want to have a chance of turning things around, they need to send the police out to round up all the drug dealers.

Unfortunately, police forces in many of our biggest cities are rapidly getting smaller.

In fact, a whopping 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022 alone…

The liberal city of Seattle is losing police officers amid a major spike in crime, 770 KTTH reported.

“We’re screwed,” former King County Sheriff John Urqhart said, according to 770 KTTH.

In total, 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022, including six that left in August, 770 KTTH reported, citing a police source. Since the city council voted to defund the police department in 2020, nearly 500 police officers have left the force.

I wouldn’t want to be a police officer in a major west coast city at this point either.

They are underpaid, the politicians treat them with tremendous disdain, and they are often hindered by absolutely ridiculous regulations which keep them from doing their jobs effectively.

We like to think that we are so “advanced”, but the truth is that if you compare video footage from major cities on the west coast from decades ago to video footage from today there is absolutely no comparison.

Our society is melting down right in front of our eyes, and if we stay on the path that we are currently on there is no future for our country.

But the politicians insist that people like me have it all wrong.

They continue to tell us that things are better than ever and that a glorious future for our nation is dead ahead.

You can believe that if you want, but the truth of what is really happening to our society is on display for the whole world to see.

America is dying, and we are quickly running out of time to turn things around.

My Video about being a Rufus!

I put it up and only got 25 views! Sheech!

Please check it out!

No question that things are starting to get mighty warm, remember that hot comes next

Busy today. Trying to sort things out.

I hope that you are all having a nice late Summer. Enjoy some fine food, watch a good movie or two and spend some time with friends and family. Here’s today’s installment.

Good Grief! Why are you citing sources like BBC and Uyghur Human Rights Project??? They’re both well-known China haters. You can’t believe anything they publish.

There is no major Muslim country that opposes China’s treatment of the Uyghurs. None. Nada. Zilch.

In fact, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of 57 member states and representing 1.8 billion people, have praised China’s actions in Xinjiang. You can’t get better endorsement than that!

Day in the Life of a Kitchen, A (ca. 1960s)

Oh my! So dated. It’s so strange…

Are Asians Smart?

I can only speak for myself, but honestly, I don’t think I’m very smart.

I mean, if I were really smart, I guess I’d be working at NASA or some such agency by now. Or cracking codes … for fun, ala Russell Crowe’s John Nash in A Beautiful Mind or Benedict Cumberbatch’s Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

And there are always a bazillion non-Asians out there who will constantly harp on how Asians are only good at taking exams in school and that Asian people are not creative at all and have very low critical thinking skills. They simply LOVE to pull that one out whenever someone even dares to mention that Asians are smart. The number of people who believe those canards are legion.

In my experience, both in real life and in Quora, Asians aren’t the ones who go around sharing their individual IQ scores with all and sundry like hormonal teenage boys showing off their genital measurements in the locker room.

I think most Asians put more focus on having a strong work ethic and a vast reservoir of grit and patience rather than on flaunting their intelligence/IQ score.

But those are just my observations.

After all, the meme below didn’t just spring out of nowhere.

x
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What Americans Think

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x

x
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Denis Rader was a serial killer

x
Denis Rader

But he lived a very normal life on the outside. He had a family, who he spent quality time with.

Secretly, he had all the makings of a killer, with one of the hallmark early signs: torturing animals as a kid.

His first murders happened in 1974, when he strangled an entire family of 4, one by one. He then took souvenires with him on the way out, which would be the signatures of his killing.

Over the coming years, he went on to murder 6 more people, most of whom were women, some elderly, strangling all of them.

Against the backdrop of this, he was a boy scout troop leader and living his normal life with his family, being an attentive husband, mowing his lawn.

And yet, continued leaving hints about his murders, and taunting police who couldn’t find him. But eventually, of course, they did catch him. (One of his letters eventually was traced to his address, his arrogance getting the best of him).

Without getting too graphic, but worth noting—at the crime scenes—homicide investigators sometimes found semen samples. All of his murders had been driven by a sexual fantasy to “bind, torture, kill”, which he acted on.

But strangely, they never found that the bodies of the women had been violated. The sex act had taken part separately.

Why?

Because Denis Rader said, he didn’t want to ”Cheat on his wife.”

Which is a strange purity test to give yourself while basking in such an inferno of morality.

Regardless of that, his wife and him are now divorced.

The judge even waived the usual 60-day waiting period. I guess he understood the wife’s sense of urgency.

Rader is now serving 10 consecutive life sentences. Though he probably deserves worse.

How To Make Fish in Parchment By Rachael

I love this “paper fish” in China. The spices just saturate the fish.

Tears for Fears – Shout (Live at Roskilde Festival 2019)

Blunt Warnings from Russia Foreign Minister and Federation Council: Nuclear War Coming

Ukraine’s sponsors have been given TWO tough ultimatums; One from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the other from Russian Council Member Dmitry Medvedev . . .

"The one-time success at the front [Last week] is only beautifully shown in the press. The death toll along the entire line of clashes has exceeded ten thousand {Ukrainians], the wounded fill all hospitals, there is a shortage of ambulances. The [Russian] Allied forces put the Nazis in one fight by the hundreds. And then the political situation deteriorated. There were rumors in Ukraine that it was Russia who "retreated" to make a camouflage maneuver before something grandiose.

While the "patriots" were waiting for a respite, Russia hit the power facilities. Earlier, Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny reported to Zelensky about the formation of a large naval group of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, including amphibious assault ships.

The West fears that the failure of the grain scam is to blame. 

First, Putin pointed out at the WEF that Russia and poor countries were deceived in the grain deal. Then Erdogan admitted it. The UN Secretary General also had to admit this, although an attempt was made to wriggle out. In the USA, they said that everything was fine, but soon their experts still recognized the lack of proper effect from the increase in grain on the market.

Ukraine and more of its sponsors, apparently, have been given a tough ultimatum: either grain goes to Africa, and Russia opens an international food market, or the Russian Navy again blocks Ukrainian ports, but this time with the landing of [Russian] troops with the destruction of the entire port infrastructure. In parallel, the entire Ukrainian infrastructure will "lie down". How this will approximately happen has already been shown. It could be said that it was a hint about the consequences if Russia's interests were ignored."

                -- Sergey Lavrov

While Foreign Minister Lavrov focused on the Grain Scam, where out of 87 Cargo vessels filled with Ukrainian grain, only TWO vessels went to “needy” countries — the rest went to Europe –  below is a much more blunt warning from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

As you will read, Medvedev is openly warning NATO that if they continue pouring weapons into Ukraine to kill Russians, then the borders of NATO countries will “disappear” and the Russian Army will commence operations!

Here is Medvedev’s statement:

The Kiev camarilla gave birth to the project of "security guarantees", which in fact are a prologue to the Third World War. Of course, no one will give any "guarantees" to the Ukrainian Nazis. After all, this is almost the same as applying Article 5 of the North Atlantic Pact (Washington Treaty) to Ukraine. For NATO, it's the same, only side view. That's why it's scary.

Our sworn friends – Western bosses of various calibres, to whom this hysterical appeal is addressed – must finally understand one simple thing. It directly concerns the hybrid war between NATO and Russia. If these idiots continue the unrestrained pumping of the Kiev regime with the most dangerous types of weapons, then sooner or later the military campaign will move to another level. Visible borders and potential predictability of the actions of the parties to the conflict will disappear from it. It will follow its own military scenario, involving new participants in it. It has always been so. (Emphasis added by HTRS) 

And then Western countries will not be able to sit in their clean houses and apartments, laughing at how they are carefully weakening Russia with someone else's hands. Everything will catch fire around them. Their people will grab grief in full. They will literally have the earth burning and concrete melting. We'll get a lot of it, too. It will be very, very bad for everyone. After all, it is said: "From these three plagues, from fire, smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths, a third part of the people died" (Rev 9:18).

But while the narrow-minded politicians and their dim-witted think tanks, thoughtfully twirling a glass of wine in their hands, talk about how they can deal with us without entering into a direct war. Dull idiots with a classical education.

     -- Dmitry Medvedev

 

HAL TURNER ANALYSIS AND EDITORIAL OPINION

Medvedev makes no secret of his NUCLEAR threat.

When he wrote “Everything will catch fire around them” and  “They will literally have the earth burning and concrete melting.” he is clearly and unambiguously referring to exactly what takes place upon a NUCLEAR explosion.

We in the West are being warned, yet again, that the actions WE are undertaking, will result in US getting hit by Russian nuclear weapons! 

How much more forthright can the Russians be?

They are telling us what will happen.  They have warned us over, and over, and over again, since their Special Military Operations began in February, yet our Public Servants in government seem to laugh it all off as some sort of “posturing.”

In my assessment, it is not posturing – at all.

It seems to me the public servants of government here in the USA and over in Europe aren’t going to believe they are causing us all the possibility of nuclear annihilation, until an actual nuclear bomb flies through their window and blows their asses to Kingdom Come!

By continuing to supply ever more lethal weaponry to Ukraine, the public servants in government both here in the USA and over in Europe are going to get a lot of us killed.  They should stop what they’re doing and let Ukraine fall.

Yeah, and I came this close — > < — to getting busted.

I was working graveyard at a convenience store. It wasn’t the shittiest job I’ve worked at, but it wasn’t far from the shittiest either.

In California, liquor sales stop at 2 am. There aren’t many customers after that so the graveyard guy had to stock the cold cases and sweep and mop the store.

I had just finished mopping, around 5 am, when a car pulled up in front of the store and two old guys climbed out.

They were both dressed like they were going fishing. One of them went to the cold case with pre-made sandwiches, the other walked to the other side of the store and grabbed a case of Olympia Beer. They brought their selections to the register.

When I saw the case of beer I said, “Come on now guys, it’s 5 am, I can’t sell you that beer.”

The taller of the two played dumb and asked, “Why the hell not?”

I explained that it was against state law.

The tall guy’s buddy said, “Oh come on, man. Who is going to know? We’re going fishing up in the Delta. There’s not going to be anywhere to buy beer where we’re going.”

“Yeah,” the tall one continued, “can’t you just help us out here?”

These guys reminded me of my dad. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of fishing trips with my dad. Those fishing trips always started at 5 am. And my dad always brought plenty of beer for him and his buddies.

I was just about to say OK and sell them the beer when the short guy again asked, “Who is going to know? Who even cares?”

“The ABC cares,” I replied, referring to the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control.

“Who the hell are the ABC?” he shot back.

“They’re a bunch of assholes that have nothing better to do than bust people for selling alcohol after hours,” I answered without hesitation.

Both guys erupted in howls of laughter. I was bewildered.

Finally, the tall one reached in his back pocket and pulled out his badge.

They were an undercover team from the ABC.

I was a little embarassed I had just called them assholes to their faces. But all I could think about was how incredibly close I was to selling them the beer.

We talked for a while. They congratulated me on being a good employee and following the law.

They had no idea how close they were to an arrest.

But I knew.

This — > < — close!

SIMPLE STEPS HOW TO COOK BRAZILIAN RIBEYE STEAK

Military expert: “Under Balakleya we missed a blow, but we need to get up, dust ourselves off and move on”

Translated from Russian

Military expert: “Under Balakleya we missed a blow, but we need to get up, dust ourselves off and move on”

Can the breakthrough of Ukrainian troops in the Izyum direction be called a failure? Where are these hyped regional volunteer battalions and how do they show themselves? And will the Russian economy cope with industry?

Valentin ALFIMOV

We talked about this on Radio KP with an expert of the Center for Military-Political Journalism, the author of the Telegram channel Colonelcassad Boris Rozhin.

Kyiv WILL PUSH FOR ANOTHER COUPLE OF MONTHS

- Boris Alexandrovich, Ukrainian breakthrough in the Kharkiv region. Why did Ukraine suddenly go on the offensive so brazenly? Have you sharply accumulated strength or have nothing to lose and are running out of time?

- Preparations for this counter-offensive have been going on for quite a long time. Soldiers were trained by NATO countries, parts were re-equipped by NATO countries. It was generally developed and supervised at all stages by NATO countries. By the way, you are talking in vain only about the Kharkiv region.

- Wasn't the offensive near Kherson a diversionary maneuver?

- No, it's not a distraction attack. The enemy had a specific goal - to break through our defense line and reach the Dnieper. Only the attack on Kherson did not work out for them. They choked on blood, suffered very heavy losses. Even according to American underestimated data, the loss ratio was one to five in our favor. They also tried in Kharkov, but it didn't work there either. But under Balakleya it turned out. They broke through the front and brought in the accumulated reserves. And that is why ours had to regroup. Withdraw troops to the line of the Oskol River and now deal with the stabilization of the front.


Was this attack expected?


- To some extent. The West urged Ukraine on to do something. They need visible results from their deliveries, military aid, training. They got it and now they will try to continue further.

- How long will it last?

- The next couple of months - for sure.

- Why customize? To be in time before winter?

Europe is in a hurry because winter is coming. They want some kind of results. The Biden administration is in a hurry because there will be midterm elections in November, and local forecasts say they could lose control of Congress. Therefore, they urgently need some military-political successes. Therefore, Zelensky, regardless of any losses, costs, will try to drive forward.

We talked with the expert of the Center for Military-Political Journalism, the author of the Telegram channel Colonelcassad Boris Rozhin

FOREIGNERS MAKE THE WEATHER

- Ukrainians trained a whole corps over the summer - according to various figures, from 20 to 40 thousand people. Part was prepared in Poland, part in Germany. Did they go on the attack?

- There were brigades well known from Donbass - 92nd, 93rd, 25th. Naturally, they were replenished, including trained people, foreign mercenaries, and a reserve. But it is impossible to say that new brigades suddenly appeared from somewhere, which had never been there.

- That is, these 40,000 NATO-trained soldiers will appear somewhere else?

- In Ukraine, on the one hand, they are gaining a lot of cannon fodder for mobilization, on the other hand, they are trying to train some and make those units that can be used for offensive operation.

- The role of mercenaries is high or they do not make the weather?

- Definitely high. Against the backdrop of some kind of territorial defense, mercenaries can strengthen some areas. In addition to the fact that these are just soldiers with weapons, there are also specialists - drone operators, snipers, specialists in electronic warfare, cyber warfare. They can seriously strengthen in one direction or another. We saw this on the Balakleysko-Izyum sector of the front as well. It is important to understand that in addition to ordinary mercenaries, there are also active officers of various NATO countries who mimic mercenaries. This applies to the British SAS, Polish special forces, special forces from the Baltics.

THIS IS NOT A FAILURE

- Can the breakthrough of the Ukrainians to Balakleya and our subsequent regrouping with the withdrawal of troops be called a failure?

- The idea of ​​​​the enemy was to go to Oskol with a swift blow from different sides and surround our entire Izyum grouping. Under these conditions, the command acted in the only possible and correct way - it began to pull troops from the Izyum ledge and withdraw them. Yes, with losses, but the main group was able to retreat. The main idea of ​​the enemy, which was precisely in the environment, they could not realize.

- So this can be called a failure?

- This is something in the spirit of how it was in Syria - the loss of Palmyra. First we took it, then the militants recaptured it, then we took it again. In Syria, we also not only walked from victory to victory. This must be taken stoically, like a man. Yes, we missed a beat, got up, dusted ourselves off, moved on.

- And why did it happen? We don't have enough people, we don't have enough weapons?

We have a lot of weapons. Even the enemy talks about it all the time. From the people's point of view... Obviously, if you are fighting in the volunteer army mode, and the enemy is conducting a total mobilization, it is clear that he has superiority. And this makes it difficult to achieve the goals of the special operation. Therefore, there are constant discussions in society - “Is it necessary to carry out mobilization?”. At least limited, partial. To saturate the front with people.


VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MOBILIZATION

- The Kremlin said that there was no talk of mobilization. But the State Duma was proposed to allow fathers with many children to sign up for the mobilization reserve. Is this the start of a mobilization?

- Not necessary. Various measures are constantly taken. Here are at least the same BARS (special army reserve battalions - ed.), which are recruited in the regions. This is like a measure, like a replacement for mobilization.

- Where are they? Are they already involved? Did they show themselves?

- The same Krasny Lyman held one of these BARS, and the men showed themselves perfectly. When the enemy thought to take Liman with a swoop, they stood there and held their sector. This suggests that with proper equipment, with solid leadership, they can very well become (and have already become, I think) a good addition to regular troops. There are also detachments of volunteers who train on the territory of the Chechen Republic - in the same Gudermes, in a training camp. Volunteers arrive, they are equipped there, they conduct classes, and then they are sent to the special operation zone.

- It is clear that volunteers will not achieve the same pace as during mobilization.


WHAT'S NEXT

- Let's talk about the future? What to expect in the near future?

- The enemy, after success near Izyum and Balakleya, will try to force our army out of the eastern part of Kupyansk, will try to break through to the north of Kupyansk and will try to push in the direction of Krasny Liman, Svyatogorsk. Some attacks are possible on the Nikolaev, Zaporozhye or Donetsk directions. That is, they will try to make another breakthrough with operational goals. The task of our command is to identify this attempt and stop it in a timely manner. And as the front stabilizes, it is necessary to carry out work to replenish units, increase the size of the existing grouping.

- And our command will reveal this "one more attempt"?

- Yes, the enemy does not hide the desire to attack. So it is a very responsible task and intelligence. On the other side, they are also on the alert - constant misinformation, spreading rumors: "We will advance there, no, right there." I think we understand this.

- Will ours go on the attack? People don't understand why everything stopped.

- What is the official goal of the second stage of the special operation? Liberation of the territories of the DPR. The offensive is going on in the area of ​​Soledar and Artemovsk. Now there will be fighting for Zaitsevo, in the industrial zone of Artemovsk, street fighting continues in Soledar. Gradually and slowly there is progress, and quickly they do not promise anything.

WE ARE NOT FIGHTING WITH NATSIKS

- The authorities of Zaporozhye are sounding the alarm - Ukraine is gathering a very large group under their belly. Do they still have enough strength?

- They pulled a lot to the Balakleya region. Now they can hastily transfer part of the forces along internal routes for reinforcement either to the Zaporozhye or Donetsk direction. Such a train of thought is quite conceivable.

- The head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Danilov, said that they will not calm down until Russia exists in its current form. Is it about the very “decolonization” that the West dreams of?

- This is the usual barking of puppets. It is important to understand that the people who unleashed the war in Ukraine have not changed their goals since the time of Obama. Their task is to eliminate Russia as a subject of international politics. In fact, back in 2014, we were equated with ISIS and the Ebola virus. And our enemies, of course, are not these Nazis who played in the cargo cult of the Third Reich, but those who sponsor them. They stood in Syria behind the backs of ISIS and Al-Qaeda, here - behind the backs of the Ukrainian Nazis.

"CALIBROV" ENOUGH

Will our economy survive? Is there a margin of safety?

- In the West, there was clearly a hope that it would collapse in February-March due to serious sanctions, people would take to the streets, this would lead to a military-political collapse in the spring. But we see now that the problem of the Central Bank now is not a dollar for two hundred, but how to raise the dollar at least to seventy, because they went too far with stabilization. Economically, yes, the country is doing quite well. It is clear that there will be a decline this year, and there will be next, but not so big. If we have relied on a long confrontation, naturally, the tasks, in addition to actions at the front, are to play our economic cards. And at the moment they are played quite successfully, in my opinion.

- Will the industry cope? "Caliber" riveted?

- We were told that the "Caliber" will end in March, but, as we know, they still fly successfully today. It is clear that everything is not so simple

- it takes time to collect them, stocks are spent. But the pace at defense plants has increased, they work in three shifts. There may be interruptions with imported components. But for most issues, these issues are solvable. Yes, there may be plugs where we screwed up our production. Now we have to deal with the creation of enterprises from scratch. But we can do nothing.

DON'T WAIT FOR CHINESE AT THE FRONT

- And our partners can help us with something? Belarusians, CSTO, China.

- Certain help is being provided. It's just that it is not advertised in order to avoid additional economic consequences. It is important to understand that they all consider their own economic interests. Much remains behind the scenes.

- Is it some kind of technical assistance, intelligence or something else?

- Technical assistance, assistance in some issues that are important for the actions of the Russian Federation. For example, Belarus does not hide the fact that it provided great assistance in the logistics or treatment of our military on its territory.

- Can we see some Chinese division "Kun Lun" near Kharkov?

- I do not think that the Chinese will directly participate in the special operation. They have their own war on the nose, they are preparing for other things.
Read on KP.RU

My mom had me at 13 because she was raped by her dad and she lived in an area where abortion was greatly discouraged. Lived with her grandma and my grandma. She tried her best to raise me but she was just too young to do anything significant.

I remember with great remorse that she always worked 2 jobs to try and support me.

My mom was a saint, she treated me like the most precious thing of her life. I was very good academically compared to my peers , though I didn’t realize how much it made my mom happy that time. This was during my high school. I wanted to make my momma happy that’s all I cared for that time. She used to watch me study late nights till 2 in the morning though I had school on 9 am.

She told me “ Promise me that you will stay strong. You wake up every morning to fight the demons that left you so tired the night before, and that my love, is bravery “

Though I didn’t understand what was her thoughts that time, I told her not to worry about anything and go to sleep.

She was never abusive or strict towards me, she would often spoil me rotten, she loved me a lot and I loved her. My grandma died when I was pretty young and eventually we were on our own and it put a lot of stress on my mom. She was depressed and tired. Nothing had gone right in her life. She had no education or pension. She wasn’t able to find husband because her situation was really undesirable and she worked 6 days a week and just didn’t have time or energy to socialize. She didn’t have any friends and I was all she ever had but she never took it out on me.

Always she would find a way to make me happy. I remember one Christmas in particular she bought me a laptop and to do that she had to work overtime and skip meals half time. She was dangerously skinny that time.

After I graduated college and moved out, She killed herself. She said in her suicide note that she loved me more than anything and she would miss me but now I was a man of my own life

Tears rolled down my face. I was devastated.

She couldn’t live anymore. She didn’t have a reason to live anymore because she hated her life but she loved me.

Rest in peace, mom.

Every 3rd soldier in the Kharkiv offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a citizen of a NATO country

The offensive operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (and NATO) in the Kharkiv region was planned by the US military command. About 200 units of heavy military equipment and up to 9,000 soldiers were involved in last week’s offensive.

Reportedly, forensic examination of the dead bodies from the Offensive reveal that one in three soldiers operating under the Ukrainian chevron was a citizen of a NATO member state.

These forces were 4-5 times superior to the units of the DPR, LPR and Russia that were defending their positions in the region.

The main goal of the Ukrainian offensive was a flank attack, encirclement and subsequent destruction of the Russian grouping in the area of ​​Balakleya, Kupyansk and Izyum.

The Russian command predicted the offensive of large forces of Ukraine and NATO in this direction. It was aware that it would be extremely difficult to contain Ukraine’s offensive with the forces that Russia had there. It was also virtually impossible to move sufficient reinforcements in time without weakening other areas on other front lines. Having assessed the risks, the Russian military decided to leave the weakly fortified positions and withdraw troops to new lines and straighten the lines of communication.

Before the start of the Ukrainian offensive, civilians were evacuated from the threatened settlements, who agreed to move to the territory of the Russian Federation.

From September 6 to September 11, Russian units retreated in an organized manner under the cover of specially organized units. Using mobile defense tactics, the Russian military destroyed the plan of Kyiv and NATO to encircle the Russian group.

At the same time, obvious mistakes were made by the Russian military. The area in front of the forward positions was not mined. Units on the front lines de facto comprised no more than 30 percent of the enumerated military personnel. The soldiers were not properly provided with anti-tank weapons. There were also front-line reconnaissance failures. As a result, the artillery cover of the withdrawal was ineffective in the first days of the Ukrainian offensive.

Russian troops were withdrawn to new positions along the eastern bank of the Oskol River with minimal losses. Meanwhile, both sides confirm that Ukrainian and NATO units have suffered significant losses in manpower.

It is expected that, within days, the official assessment of the Russian Ministry of Defense will be publicly acknowledged that the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has definitively escalated into a state of war between Russia and NATO, with unpredictable results for all parties to the conflict.

This assessment is important because the Ukrainian/NATO side is the first, so far at an unofficial level, to engage in NATO’s direct war against Russia, while Russia  continues to operate with the term “special military operation”, continuing to use limited forces and means.

Given the new reality that this is, in fact, an actual war between NATO and Russia, military analysts in the Russian Army have suggested it will be expedient to limit and complicate the provision and supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the utmost. They have told their Russian bosses that all routes for the supply of weapons and material and technical means, bridges, railways and highways, places of concentration of troops and military equipment must be destroyed.

Key to the Russian military analysis is the assessment that the railway network of Ukraine must be completely de-electrified without the possibility of restoration.

It is widely understood within the Russian Ministry of Defense that no more offensive attempt by NATO forces should come as an unpleasant surprise to the Russian army. COVER INTEL reports that Mobile reserves of both ground forces and artillery, as well as aviation, must be created by Russia to instantly respond to emerging threats.

COVERT INTEL also reveals that the number of Russian troops should become consistent with the new threats that have emerged.

Steely Dan – Do it again (with lyrics) Restored video

Memory lane time.

When I was a teenager I waited tables at a pizza restaurant. One day, my sister came in with her friends. Her goal was clearly just to pick on me, knowing that I would have to serve her as the waitress.

My sister and I had never really gotten along. We were always fighting about one thing or another. Plus, it was a very small town and she was only one year older than me, so we had had to deal with each other all the time.

So, she came into the restaurant one slow afternoon with her group of friends and they all proceed to make my afternoon miserable. They kept insisting on changing tables. They kept insisting that I re-wipe down their table and then complain that it was now wet and that they needed to change tables again. They all wanted new silverware. They wanted extra silverware.

They wanted more paper place mats to color (we had the place mats with activities on the back for children). They wanted more crayons. They wanted un-used crayons. They wanted pens.

They all wanted drinks in child-sized sippy cups (which had unlimited refills) and then they all wanted re-fills every 2 minutes, because they were teenagers and could finish the cups in one gulp. They all wanted extra lids, which they played with and chewed on. They all wanted extra straws, which they then flicked at me.

Every time I turned my back, they flicked wadded up napkins or straw wrappers at me. They would try to sneak up behind me and untie my apron and laugh. They would purposely try to trip me while I was carrying their food or drinks.

My manager was beyond annoyed, and tried to talk to them about their behavior, but my sister kept insisting that the service was terrible and they wanted to complain about their waitress. My manager told me she would have given the table to a different waitress (she knew it was my sister), but I was the only one, since we were always so slow in the afternoons.

Finally they finished their food and I offered to box up the last slice of pizza remaining. I took the pan with the single slice, took it back to the kitchen and took an enormous bite out of it, before I boxed it up.

Before they finally left, my sister realized what I had done and went to complain to my manager. My sister took the box to my manager, Leslie, and I was sure I was going to get in trouble. However, Leslie looked at the the slice and immediately said “I’m sorry, I don’t see any bite mark.” My sister pointed to the huge chunk missing from the slice. “No, I’m sorry,” said Leslie, “I don’t see anything. Are you sure it was bitten, I simply can’t see anything there.”

My sister spent the next five minutes yelling at my manager and trying to get her to see the patently obvious bite in the slice of pizza before finally giving up and storming out. I never did get into trouble for it, not from my manager, nor from my parents, who my sister also complained to. They all seemed to think that she had gotten what she deserved.

Scientists claim Covid virus contains tiny chunk of DNA that ‘matches sequence patented by Moderna THREE YEARS before pandemic began’

  • Genetic match discovered in Covid’s unique furin cleavage site on spike protein
  • Matched genetic sequence patented by Moderna for cancer research purposes
  • Researchers say one in 3trillion chance Covid developed the code naturally
  • Critics of the study are sceptical of its author’s conclusions, suggesting that the sequence match is not as rare as has been claimed

Fresh suspicion that Covid may have been tinkered with in a lab emerged today after scientists found genetic material owned by Moderna in the virus’s spike protein.

They identified a tiny snippet of code that is identical to part of a gene patented by the vaccine maker three years before the pandemic.

It was discovered in SARS-CoV-2’s unique furin cleavage site, the part that makes it so good at infecting people and separates it from other coronaviruses.

The structure has been one of the focal points of debate about the virus’s origin, with some scientists claiming it could not have been acquired naturally.

The international team of researchers suggest the virus may have mutated to have a furin cleavage site during experiments on human cells in a lab.

They claim there is a one-in-three-trillion chance Moderna’s sequence randomly appeared through natural evolution.

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In the latest study, published in Frontiers in Virology, researchers compared Covid’s makeup to millions of sequenced proteins on an online database.

The virus is made up of 30,000 letters of genetic code that carry the information it needs to spread, known as nucleotides.

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There are no Uyghur human rights violations. This is a fabrication of Western governments and Western mainstream media.

The question you should be asking is why Western governments and Western media are lying about China.

The fact is Western governments are afraid of losing their global hegemony to China’s rise. So they must do everything they can to “contain” China, including smearing China’s reputation and turning world opinion against China.

There is not a single shred of credible evidence to support the accusation of Uyghur human rights violations. There is, however, a great deal of fabricated evidence. The West are very, very good at propaganda.

Guns N’ Roses – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Live At Wembley Stadium 1992) – HD Remastered

ARMENIA INVOKES ARTICLE 4 (COLLECTIVE SELF DEFENSE) OF CTSO TREATY – THE WORLD NOW HAS SECOND WAR FRONT

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Wednesday morning, the country of Armenia invoked Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSO) which calls for all member countries to come to the military defense of Armenia as neighboring Azerbaijan commences military attacks against Armenia.  The world now has a SECOND war front, after the ongoing Ukraine front.

If one of the Member States suffers aggression (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty), it will be considered by the Member States as aggression (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty) against all the Member States of this Treaty.   Article 4 of the CTSO is akin to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.

In case of aggression commission (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty) to any of the Member States, all the other Member States at request of this Member State shall immediately provide the latter with the necessary help, including military, as well as provide support by the means at their disposal in accordance with the right to collective defense pursuant to article 51 of the UN Charter.

The Member States shall immediately inform the United Nations Security Council on the measures taken on the basis of this article. When implementing these measures, the Member States shall adhere to the relevant provisions of the UN Charter.

(the article is as amended by the Protocol on amendments to the Collective Security Treaty of May 15, 1992, signed on December 10, 2010)

Azerbaijan commenced artillery shelling and mortar fire into Armenia about 48 hours ago.  Several hundred Armenian troops and Border Security force are already dead.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan stated the Armenian side has 105 killed in action with hundred more injured including civilians.

GEORGIA REFERENDUM ON WAR WITH RUSSIA!

Adding to the troubles, the country of Georgia is holding an actual public referendum on whether or not Georgia should re-open its war with Russia!

The leadership of Georgia can organize a nationwide referendum and ask the question: do the Georgians want a war with Russia.

Giorgi Kobakhidze, chairman of the party, made such a statement at a briefing in the office of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

“Let the people say whether they want to open a second front in Georgia against Russia,” Mr. Kobakhidze emphasized.

He promised that the authorities “will act as the people say.”

(HT NOTE:  At the time they spoke about this, the situation in Armenia did not yet exist, so Georgia was speaking as if THEIR country would become a “second” front.   Now, with the situation in Armenia, if the people of Georgia vote to open a new war with Russia, that will be a THIRD war front!)

The politician expressed hope that the Georgian people “will bring clarity, whether he agrees with the statements of Ukrainian politicians about the need to involve Georgia in the war or with the position of the authorities of his country.”

This is how Irakli Kobakhidze responded to the statement of Fyodor Venislavsky, representative of the President of Ukraine in the Parliament, who advised Georgia “to take concrete steps to liberate Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”

Earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, as well as advisers to the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak and Oleksiy Arestovich, publicly addressed Tbilisi with similar advice.

“They all directly said that the opening of the second front in Georgia is highly desirable,” the head of the Georgian Dream recalled at the same briefing.

Hal Turner Analysis and Editorial Opinion

All of this is the underhanded work of the collective West: in particular, the European Union and the United States/NATO.   Turkey backs Azerbaijan. So does Israel.  Turkey is a NATO member.  Israel being a welfare client of the United States, has to do what the US tells it or they lose their $3 Billion+ a year in free U.S. money and their little country, that can’t even sustain itself, fails.  So The trouble with Azerbaijan and Armenia is a direct result of Turkey and Israel doing what NATO and the USA instruct them to do.

Through Turkey and Israel, Azerbaijan got told to re-commence war attacks against Armenia BECAUSE Russia backs Armenia.  The US and EU  __want__ to bog Russia down in multiple wars.  As such, what is now taking place is all deliberate.  It is all the deliberate exacerbation of old grievances, into war.

Step by step, the US and EU are deliberately inciting, fomenting, and facilitating what will very soon become World War 3.

I have a suggestion: Maybe some of the people who are doing these things, should become victims of their own war?   They know who they are . . .  and so do we.  Maybe it could be like Seth Rich; they become a mugging victim that no one investigates?

Gavin Orlowski of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was crossing a bridge with his mother, Erin Brown, when he heard her gasp in horror. Someone in a van ahead of them had just tossed a gray tiger cat out the window. Before they could identify the van, it took off and disappeared into traffic.

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As Gavin jumped out of the car, the terrified cat began to scamper around between other cars. By the time Gavin managed to divert traffic, the cat was hanging off the overpass. He was able to grab him and get him back into the car before he was hit.

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The frightened cat was so traumatized that he huddled in Gavin’s coat, refusing to leave his side. His claws had been torn off and he had hurt his back in the fall from the van. Gavin and his mother decided to take him to Blue Pearl Animal Hospital.

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A friend on Facebook offered to cover the vet bill. Fortunately, the cat was otherwise unhurt and in good health. He quickly recovered.

5-min Quick & Easy Stir Fry Shrimp w/ Ginger & Spring Onion 速炒姜葱虾 Chinese Stir Fry Prawn Recipe

Most of Asia is On the Side of China and Not the U.S. in Growing Conflict

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After the megaphones of the West have already called for all-out economic war against Russia, the battle cry against China is now being heard, regardless of the consequences for the “common people.” The reaction of the Asian countries, however, is likely to disappoint the vociferous, self-righteous screaming sharks.

Article HERE

AC/DC – Highway to Hell (Live At River Plate, December 2009)

US-proposed Taiwan bill strongly opposed

This is the Chinese "broadcast" to the United States in regards to the Taiwan 2022 bill. -MM
Source
China Daily
Editor
Chen Zhuo
Time
2022-09-15 08:34:50

Draft would provide the island with $4.5 billion in security assistance

A Chinese mainland spokeswoman on Wednesday strongly opposed a possible Taiwan-related bill by the United States that aims to bolster the island’s “defense “capabilities against the mainland, saying that any attempt of “6 independence” will never succeed.

The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is set to review a draft of the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 on Wednesday, which was described by its sponsors as “the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward Taiwan “since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

The bipartisan bill sponsored by US senators Bob Menendez and Lindsey Graham would provide Taiwan with about $4.5 billion in security assistance over the next four years and recognize the island as a “major non-NATO ally”.

The legislation would also allow Taiwan to rename its office in the US from the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office” to the “Taiwan Representative Office”.

Zhu Fenglian, the spokeswoman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference in Beijing that the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair, which brooks no outside interference.

The drafting of the Taiwan-related bill by the US lawmakers seriously violates [1] basic norms governing international relations, [2] the one-China principle and [3] the three China-US joint communiques, she said. “We firmly oppose it.”

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan have used every means to persuade some US senators to draft the bill for its attempt of realizing “Taiwan independence”, which will never succeed, she said.

Chiu Yi, a Taiwan-based cross-Straits expert, said in a post on his Facebook page, that once passed, the US would openly destroy its one-China policy, and relations between the US and Taiwan would be made official.

If that happened, the mainland would not sit idle and let the US manipulate “one China, one Taiwan” to undermine the status quo across the Taiwan Straits, he wrote.

Separately, Zhu denounced Chiu Tai-san, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, who claimed last week that the island doesn’t accept any arrangement to resolve the Taiwan question and urged easing the current situation in the Straits.

The remarks came after the People’s Liberation Army conducted military drills around Taiwan in response to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier in August, despite strong opposition from the mainland.

Zhu said Chiu made the remarks to hide the fact that it was the DPP administration who relied on the US to seek “independence” that caused tensions across the Straits.

Only by returning to the common political foundation of the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle can cross-Straits relations improve, and can peace and stability across the Straits be effectively guaranteed, she said.

No matter how the cross-Straits situation changes, the consensus that marked its 30th anniversary this year remains the anchor for cross-Straits relations.

I highlighted the key points.
[1] This document violates all three Chinese RED LINES.[2] It destroys the USA adherence to the One-China policy.[3] China will not sit by idle and do nothing.

-MM

年年有餘( 清蒸沙巴仔) Steamed Grouper Fish #賀年菜 #ChineseLunarNewYear #簡易宴客菜 (有字幕 With Subtitles)

Russia strikes Reservoir Dam; Sends water Surging downstream

The Russian army launched a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. There were two attacks, the local administration did not announce in which parts of the city the defeats took place.

Military observers tweeted that Tu-95MS strategic (and nuclear) bombers attacked dams and reservoirs in Ukraine with Kh-101 missiles, which have a range of 5,500 km and carry 500 kg of explosive warheads. The deputy head of the presidential administration in Kyiv, Kiril Tymoshenko, announced that a total of 8 rockets were fired at Kryvyi Rih.

Some missiles hit below the waterline of the dam across the Ingulets river.  The impact severely damaged the dam and the water level in the Ingulets river is now surging – severely as seen in the video below:

 

 

Electricity and fresh water is now cut-off in Kryvyi Rih.

This is now the second large demonstration of what Russia is capable of doing to Ukrainian infrastructure; the first being missile strikes against electrical stations a few days ago.

Unlike the electric grid, which was re-routed, there’s no way to make a quick fix to this dam.  

Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over (Glastonbury 2022)

Al-Omar Oil Field in Syria Just Blown Up; U.S. Theft of Oil from there, halted

The Oil field at Al-Omar Syria has been blown up and is presently on fire.

This is one of the oil fields from which the United States has been stealing Syrian oil.

It is not yet clear what caused the series of explosions, but initial AND UNVERIFIED reports say it was Russian Air Force missiles.

Both Syria and Russia have repeatedly warned the US they are not authorized to be inside Syria and should leave.  In addition, both Syria and Russia have told the US, Israel, and Turkey, the theft of Syrian oil must halt.

The US, Israel, and Turkey have ignored those warnings.

Now, the oil field from which they have been stealing, is blown up.

Violence In California Reaches “Epidemic” Levels As Our Society Rapidly Deteriorates All Around Us

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I can’t understand why anyone would still want to live in California.  Yes, there are lots of high paying jobs and the weather is very nice, but crime is completely and utterly out of control.  As you will see below, a new report that has just been issued is warning that violence in the state has now reached “epidemic” levels.  The police are doing what they can to try to contain the violence, but at this point they are vastly outnumbered by the predators.  Sadly, this is the end result of literally decades of cultural rot, and what is happening in California is going to happen to the rest of the nation if we do not take urgent action to turn things around.

Originally, I was going to write about something else today.  Tens of thousands of rail and port workers are threatening to go on strike, and this could definitely cause some substantial economic disruptions…

America is bracing for chaos as tens of thousands of railway, port, and hospital workers look set to strike over the winter – plunging the country into further disruption.

As many as 60,000 railway workers, 15,000 nurses, and 22,000 West Coast port workers are plotting mass walkouts as they seek better working conditions.

Several US freight railroads said they were preparing for widespread strike and service interruptions Friday, a deadline set by two holdout labor groups in protracted talks with railroad carriers about better benefits.

But even though these strikes could cause severe short-term problems, they will eventually be resolved.

So in the greater scheme of things, they really aren’t a major concern.

On the other hand, our cultural decay is a massive ongoing crisis that isn’t going to go away.

As I mentioned earlier, a brand new report that was just released is warning that violence in the state of California has risen to “epidemic” levels

The Golden State is losing its luster. A troubling new report labels physical and sexual violence in pandemic-era California a statewide “epidemic.” To put it simply, violence is on an alarming rise.

According to the new annual report from the California Study on Violence Experiences across the Lifespan (CalVEX), violence statistics have seen a significant increase since COVID-19 emerged. The report, conducted by scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, reports more than one in six Californians (18%) experienced either physical or sexual violence in just the past year.

If you live in one of the biggest cities in California, this isn’t news to you.

Once upon a time, the state was a place of great beauty and great tranquility, but now it has been transformed into a crime-infested hellhole.

I was particularly alarmed by the numbers on sexual violence in this new report

While more than 1.5 million adults in California admit to committing acts of sexual violence in the past year, men were more than two times as likely as women to report that they perpetrated sexual violence and intimate partner violence.

Women also showed greater mental health impacts and life disruptions due to violent experiences, with 82 percent of women reporting anxiety or depression as a result of physically aggressive, coercive or forced sexual behavior.

Of course much of this violence is being fueled by illegal mind-altering drugs.

Some of these drugs are so immensely powerful that they literally put people into catatonic states for an extended period of time…

 

I will never understand why people would willingly do that to themselves.

Today, we are facing the biggest drug crisis that we have ever seen in American history, and addicts will often do whatever it takes to get another fix.

Sadly, this is one of the factors that is contributing to skyrocketing rates of shoplifting all over the nation

We are all painfully aware of the huge rise in shoplifting and even violent robberies of stores. We watch the videos of thugs brazenly raiding stores, and read about the organized crime rings that have sprung up to profit from the trend. Shoplifting has become a big, if criminal business. Chances are that if you use eBay to purchase a wide range of products at reduced prices you have unwittingly purchased stolen goods. No good way for eBay to stop the practice.

One homeless man that originally came from Alabama recently admitted that he regularly shoplifts in order to fund his heroin use…

 

There have been homeless addicts in the streets of San Francisco for years, but now we have reached a point where they are seemingly everywhere.

The following is what one reporter witnessed during a recent journey through the city…

I saw complete hopelessness in the eyes of haunted souls dragging themselves down the street looking for their next fix.

I saw men and women of all ages hunched over on the sidewalks with open wounds all over their bodies.

I saw the filthy tent cities stinking with human excrement and strewn with needles and pipes.

I saw children staring in horror at people dying right in front of them.

At one time, such activity was limited to the bad portions of the city.

But now addicts that have been drugged out of their minds are pulling down their pants and crapping in the streets right in front of some of the most expensive real estate in San Francisco.

This has made the wealthy people really angry, and Mayor Breed says that she is finally going to “get serious” about this crisis.

Of course “getting serious” doesn’t mean arresting a bunch of people and throwing them into prison.

That just wouldn’t be very “progressive”.

Instead, authorities in San Francisco are getting ready to launch a “soft-touch” program that will seek to “interrupt” drug trafficking…

City supervisors released a resolution for a vague ‘soft-touch’ initiative called ‘San Francisco Recovers.’

And here’s the catch, and it’s a doozy: the plan is being touted as, ‘a way that nobody’s going to jail but we’re doing an effective job of interrupting the drug market and drug scenes.’

Is this a sick joke?

Yes, it certainly sounds like a sick joke to me.

Good luck with all that.

If major cities such as San Francisco actually want to have a chance of turning things around, they need to send the police out to round up all the drug dealers.

Unfortunately, police forces in many of our biggest cities are rapidly getting smaller.

In fact, a whopping 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022 alone…

The liberal city of Seattle is losing police officers amid a major spike in crime, 770 KTTH reported.

“We’re screwed,” former King County Sheriff John Urqhart said, according to 770 KTTH.

In total, 122 officers have left the Seattle Police Department in 2022, including six that left in August, 770 KTTH reported, citing a police source. Since the city council voted to defund the police department in 2020, nearly 500 police officers have left the force.

I wouldn’t want to be a police officer in a major west coast city at this point either.

They are underpaid, the politicians treat them with tremendous disdain, and they are often hindered by absolutely ridiculous regulations which keep them from doing their jobs effectively.

We like to think that we are so “advanced”, but the truth is that if you compare video footage from major cities on the west coast from decades ago to video footage from today there is absolutely no comparison.

Our society is melting down right in front of our eyes, and if we stay on the path that we are currently on there is no future for our country.

But the politicians insist that people like me have it all wrong.

They continue to tell us that things are better than ever and that a glorious future for our nation is dead ahead.

You can believe that if you want, but the truth of what is really happening to our society is on display for the whole world to see.

America is dying, and we are quickly running out of time to turn things around.

Angel

Angel is a Bengali cat who travels around the world with her family. Due to the fact that two animals died during a flight – one because of the cold and the other because his cage was hit by other luggage – Angel has started a campaign for all animals to travel in the cabin.

The slogan is: “we are not luggage, we are living beings”.

Due to her large number of followers, this 15-pound cat hopes to make a change. For now, a good way to help her is to spread her campaign and her slogan …WE ARE NOT LUGGAGE, WE ARE LIVING BEINGS!

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All evidence is suggestive of the USA eventually engaging both Russia and China simultaneously in a hot war

This fact is emerging.

The West is run by idiots. They aren’t stopping, and the rest of the world is terrified. However, the pragmatic ones: China and Russia, have made plans and have taken steps. This ain’t gonna be another Vietnam, Syria, or Ukraine you all…

The Wild West

Guest Post by Jim Kunstler

Yes, things are wilding up nicely in Western Civ as we bid farewell to summer and the elites return from their sacrosanct vacations to the task of crashing our world. You can feel it in every quarter of public and private life. Funny, especially, is the Party of Chaos trying to label their opponents as “fascists” — by which they mean anyone opposed to chaos, the “Joe Biden” regime’s preferred mode of existence.

The West’s biggest project these days, the war it provoked over Ukraine, turned out to be a giant Acme land-mine under the West’s collective Wile E. Coyote ass. As Russia advances implacably there and financial sanctions fizzle, behold the scramble in Europe now among citizens desperate to not freeze to death in the months ahead. This is the third time in a hundred-odd years that Germany has attempted suicide, and this time it looks like it’s going to work. Farewell nice German cars, machine tools, and other symbols of industrial might. In feckless Poland, the folks are out gathering lumps of coal and scouring the forest floor for firewood — they’re forbidden by law from cutting standing timber. Mr. Macron tells France she must accept “reduced living standards.” Looks like Brexit did not go far enough as the UK holds hands with the rest of NATO tromping into economic oblivion.

Think the USA is doing better? The summer rally in financial markets was just another frame in the Loony Tunes festival that American life has become. The Fed Chair, Mr. Powell, said all the parts out loud at the annual Jackson Hole banker meet-up last week: look out below, we’ve decided to take this sucker down (in the immortal words of George W. Bush), since pretending to stoke prosperity via Modern Monetary Theory only results in, duh, ruinous inflation. This raises the question, though, as to which is more politically damaging: inflation or depression? It is really only the difference between having plenty of worthless money or having no money at all.

The institutional rot eating away at our national underpinnings got more exposed last week when Mark Zuckerberg stupidly blurted to Joe Rogan that, yes, in the fall of 2020 the FBI warned Facebook — “came to the folks on our team,” he said — about a Russian disinformation campaign underway, wink wink. And so, Facebook turned the volume down to zero on certain news about a laptop belonging to one Hunter Biden stuffed with selfie porn (prostitutes included), video evidence of narcotics use, and deal memos about worldwide influence peddling involving the whole dang Biden family. FBI chief Chris Wray quickly jumped in to clarify that the FBI “routinely notifies U.S. private sector entities, including social media providers, of potential threat information, so that they can decide how to better defend against threats.”

Roger that. The part Mr. Wray left out was that he and everybody else on the fabled seventh floor of the J. Edgar Hoover building knew darn well that the Biden laptop story was not Russian Disinfo, raising the question: who do they now think is supposed to believe the FBI’s obvious bullshit? And why is Chris Wray still running the FBI? And, of course, Mr. Zuckerberg surely knew the truth of the matter as well — though at the time he was busy shoveling more than $300-million into election swing districts for the express purpose of changing-out local officials with his own crew to queer the balloting in favor of international grifter “Joe Biden.”

The inventory of lies retailed by the FBI is so vast and gross that the agency had to resort to raiding Mar-a-Lago three weeks ago in defiance of all known precedent and settled law regarding presidential records. The reason: Mr. Trump, the former president, had exactly such a cataloged inventory of the FBI lies used during his term in office to overthrow him with the Crossfire Hurricane nonsense, and was prepared to introduce said evidence in the lawsuit he has initiated in a Florida federal court against Hillary Clinton and a rogue’s gallery of campaign aides and allied federal officials who assisted in concocting the RussiaGate operation. The aim of the Mar-a-Lago raid: to un-declassify all that material — via a probably illegal order by “Joe Biden” — so as to prevent it from being introduced as evidence in the lawsuit. Somehow, the news media failed to report that part of the story, and even the alt media has missed that last detail.

And now, despite walking back their guideline Covid-19 policies this month, the CDC and its sister public health agencies are ready to push a new edition of Big Pharma’s Covid (so-called) “vaccines,” despite visibly rising all-causes death numbers across Western Civ that appear, more and more, attributable only to the “vaccines.” The vaxx-happy bureaucracy will not be stopped by the captive federal justice system but the attorneys general of fifty states could each act against the program, which has violated every module of the Nuremberg Code against human medical experimentation, as well as US law. It may be too late for the medical profession to redeem its lost sacred honor.

The catch here is that, at this point in the disgraceful story, only Woked-up liberals vying for the Darwin Award will fall for the new vaxxes. Everybody else is onto the scam and hip to the danger, and mandates have worn out their welcome. Liberal Wokery has turned out to be a form of stupidly booby-trapped, self-limiting neo-Nazism. There is your Party of Chaos in a nutshell.

It remains for Mr. Trump to renounce his support for the evil fruits of the Warp Speed operation he presided over. He must face the fact that he was played, and he may be forgiven, considering all the evidence coming recently from the likes of Deborah Birx and others that he was lied to and manipulated. But he doesn’t have much more time to get it right, or else his political career will be over well before the 2024 election. That may be all for the better.
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America probably needs a clean sweep of our desecrated political landscape. All in all, Mr. Trump was a good soldier, brave and resolute under tremendous adversity, but he’s not the only one who can lead our country back to itself.

Friends

My.husband struggles with PTSD

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Ps from serving in Iraq. HE is recovering alcoholic without Daisy as his companion he be hurting.

Yes he spoils her and she is very devoted to him. He rewards her with her favorite treats Temptations. She loves water with ice in it. He only gives her bottle water and every six months she sees the vet.

My husband loves her and she loves him ❤

Plan A, Plan B and Plan C

Space programmer, Margaret Hamilton was one of the reasons why the astronauts came home safely!

One day, her 4-year-old daughter, Lauren, was playing with the simulator’s display and keyboard until an error message appeared. Lauren crashed the system by launching a program called P01 while the simulator was in midflight.


There was no reason as to why an astronaut would do this, but regardless, Hamilton wanted to add code to prevent this crash from happening in space.

NASA disagreed with this idea, believing that the astronauts would not make any mistakes for they were trained to be perfect. So instead of adding code, she created a program-note that said:

“Do not select P01 during the flight!”

Ironically, this is the opposite of what happened!

Five days into the flight, astronaut Jim Lovell selected P01 mid-space. This wiped out all the navigation data! Without the data, the Apollo computer wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get the astronauts home.

Hamilton knew this was a possibility so she had a plan devised.

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Ready to go.


Back then, programming meant punching holes in stacks of cards. This would have been processed overnight in batches.

But she did it! In 9 hours she uploaded new navigational data and thanks to her, the astronauts came home safely!

Moral of the story?

A mistake may seem like a tragedy, but often, they’re one step towards your success. You mess up, you learn and you grow.

Never should you have one single plan; make a plan B, make a plan C.

Don’t dwell on the negatives but be prepared for the worst situation so that disappointments hurt less.

Think out of the box, be one step ahead. You are not perfect and you will make errors, but know that mistakes were never made to destroy you, but to lift you.

Hamilton implemented all four points and turned an event that could have been a historical disaster into a huge achievement.

Footnotes

Their Economy Is Collapsing All Around Them As Europeans Head Into An Extremely Cold And Bitter Winter

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Last winter, Europeans were looking forward to yet another year of peace and prosperity.  This winter, Europeans will find themselves right in the middle of an economic collapse.  It is often said that energy is the economy, and energy is going to be in very short supply in the months ahead.  Thanks to the war in Ukraine and a number of other factors, energy prices in Europe have shot up to levels that would have once been unthinkable, and several European governments are already preparing to ration energy.  This is going to have a tremendous impact on economic activity, and it is going to mean that this winter is going to be extremely cold and extremely bitter for millions upon millions of Europeans.

In Poland, many households usually use coal that is imported from Russia to heat their homes, but that won’t happen this year because of the war.

As a result, some desperate people are now standing in line for days just to have the opportunity to buy some coal…

According to Reuters, with Poland still basking in the late summer heat, hundreds of cars and trucks have already lined up at the Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka coal mine, as householders fearful of winter shortages wait for days and nights to stock up on heating fuel ahead of the coming cold winter in queues reminiscent of communist times.

Artur, 57, a pensioner, drove up from Swidnik, some 30 km (18 miles) from the mine in eastern Poland on Tuesday, hoping to buy several tonnes of coal for himself and his family.

“Toilets were put up today, but there’s no running water,” he said, after three nights of sleeping in his small red hatchback in a crawling queue of trucks, tractors towing trailers and private cars. “This is beyond imagination, people are sleeping in their cars. I remember the communist times but it didn’t cross my mind that we could return to something even worse.”

Would you wait in a line for several days just to get some coal for your family?

I suppose if you were desperate enough, perhaps you would.

Video footage of Polish citizens lined up for coal is so bizarre that it is difficult to believe that it is actually real.

 

Unfortunately, this is not a bad dream.

This is the world that we live in now.

In the UK, countless consumers will be facing financial hardship this winter as energy bills soar into the stratosphere

Millions of households will see their energy bills rocket as the price cap is hiked to £3,549 a year, plunging many into financial hardship.

The record 80% October increase, announced by the regulator Ofgem, will see a typical default tariff customer paying an extra £1,578, laying bare the deepening cost of living crisis.

The rise follows a 54% increase in April, which saw average bills surge to £1,971 a year.

A third of all UK citizens are already having trouble paying their energy bills, and this new increase won’t even be implemented until October.

So how high will that figure be six months from now?

Will half the country be struggling to pay their energy bills at that point?

And as energy bills go higher and higher, even more people will be pushed out of the middle class.

Right now, poverty is on the rise all over Europe.

For example, just check out this video footage of people lined up for food in Italy’s wealthiest city.

 

This sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen in Milan.

But it is happening.

And things are going to get a whole lot worse for western Europe if Russia decides to totally cut off the gas.

Already, Russia has reduced the amount of natural gas that it is supplying through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to just 20 percent, and one German official is entirely convinced that it will soon go to zero…

Germany faces the “bitter reality” that Russia will not restore gas supplies to the country, the German economy minister said on Monday, ahead of planned halt by state energy giant Gazprom of exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

“It won’t come back … It is the bitter reality,” Robert Habeck said in a panel with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

If that actually happens, western Europe will suffer tremendously.

The Europeans never should have allowed themselves to become so dependent on Russian gas, and now “worst case scenarios” are staring them right in the face.

France is already preparing to ration energy this winter.

So is Germany, and so are a number of other large western European nations.

But it won’t be enough just to get through this winter.

According to the prime minister of Belgium, “the next five to 10 winters will be difficult” for those living in western Europe…

The country’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo, told reporters on Monday that fellow citizens can expect that “the next five to 10 winters will be difficult” due to the country’s worsening energy crisis exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The development of the situation is very difficult throughout Europe,” De Croo told Belgium broadcaster VRT.

“In a number of sectors, it is really difficult to deal with those high energy prices. We are monitoring this closely, but we must be transparent: The coming months will be difficult, the coming winters will be difficult,” he added.

Yes, this is really happening.

And don’t think that you are going to get a free pass just because you are living here in the United States.

Energy bills are skyrocketing here too, and it is being reported that one out of every six homes is already behind on their utility bills…

According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, roughly 20 million households in the U.S. — one out of six homes — are behind on their utility bills.

The consequences could be dire.

“I expect a tsunami of shutoffs,” Jean Su, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, tells Bloomberg.

The worst energy crisis in modern history is here, and it is going to get a lot worse.

This is just one of the reasons why I have been so adamant about becoming more independent of the system.

Many people believed that they would always be able to depend on the power grid to bring endless cheap energy to their homes.

But now energy bills are surging to ridiculous heights, and energy use will be severely restricted all over Europe this winter.

And even top European officials are admitting that things are going to be tough for many years to come.

The writing is on the wall, and I hope that everyone can see it.

The “tipping point” that so many of us have warned about has arrived, and the months ahead are going to be exceedingly painful.

Loki

After my dad passed away I was desperate for a companion so I went to my local animal rescue center to find a cat to help me combat my grief and loneliness. I hated coming home to a now empty house since Dad and I lived together.

There happened to be a bunch of kittens there and a few older kittens also like five months or six months and some four month old ones too.

At first I was going to take a young kitten and then I walked by the cage where a young brown and white tabby with green eyes was.

He was a recent arrival and had only been cleared to be adopted three days ago.

I paused to look inside the cage and he put his paw out and tapped me on the arm and meowed.

I asked to see him and the minute his door was open he jumped into my arms and began purring and kneading me.

The staff said they had never seen any cat respond like that to someone and when I set him down on the cat tree he meowed and rolled over to let me pet his belly.

It was quite clear he had chosen me and I didn’t dare not bring him home.

So home he went and here he stayed. I named him Loki for he is the prince among mischievous cats and it was the best decision I ever made.

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Loki

Cheddar Meatball and Pasta Skillet

This meatball and bacon skillet dinner will be an instant hit at the dinner table.

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Cheddar Meatball and Pasta Skillet

Ingredients

  • 4 strips bacon, cut in 1/2-inch slices
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 box Hamburger Helper™ cheeseburger macaroni
  • 1 lb frozen cooked meatballs
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Frank’s™ RedHot™ Original cayenne pepper sauce
  • 1 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese (4 oz)

Steps

  • 1
    In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon; place on paper towel. Add onion to bacon drippings in skillet; cook over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
  • 2
    Add milk, hot water and sauce mix (from Hamburger Helper™ box); stir to combine. Stir in uncooked Pasta (from Hamburger Helper™ box), frozen meatballs, black pepper and hot pepper sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender and sauce is thick. Remove from heat.
  • 3
    Top with cheese and bacon; cover and let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Marcel Felix Petiot

Marcel Felix Petiot was a French serial killer who got his victims by offering to help them escape France through a non-existent secret route. They were majorly wanted people.

Once the victims agreed, he convinced them that they needed to be vaccinated.

Instead of giving them vaccine, he would inject them with cyanide and then rob them of their belongings.

On 11 March 1944, Petiot’s neighbors called the attention of the police to a foul stench in the area and large amounts of smoke billowing from a chimney of the house.

Fearing a chimney fire, the police summoned firemen, who entered the house and found a roaring fire in a coal stove in the basement. In the fire, and scattered in the basement, were human remains. It is believed he killed not less than 60 people this way.

He disappeared for a while, grew his beard and changed his name to Henri Valeri. He joined the military and was among those drafted to look for Marcel Félix Petiot. He was subsequently captured after someone recognized him.

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Marcel Felix Petiot

Quora Question: Why do Chinese want to immigrate out of China?

Top Answer:

The CCP propaganda constantly says that China is a communist paradise and that everyone is very happy with the CCP! They say that the US is a dying nation, with lots of poverty, crime, racism and violence!

CCP propaganda is full of lies, slanders of the US, half-truths and fake statistics.

An analysis and observation of history indicates that the USA hegemony has provided substantial benefit to humanity.

As even though the USA led hegemony is not perfect, it has regardless given the world the greatest economic, health, education, trade advancement in the history of humanity.

The US government and institutions have protected, managed and supported institutions, agreements that make up the framework of the international system.

These international institutions include the Bretton Woods system, International Monetary Fund, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, world bank, UN, International bank for Reconstruction and Development, United Nations Security Council, UN universal declaration and countless more.

The US uses their military to protect and maintain a safe and open flow of maritime and land trade routes while promoting positive concepts and ideas such as multi-ethnic societies and mass immigration.

There is a reason why the entire world including China gravitated towards the USA, instead of to the alternative word order promoted by the USSR.

It’s important to realise however, that the USA is not perfect. It has engaged in substantial atrocities such as the heavy bombings in Iraq, and Vietnam.

Yet, it’s achievements outweigh it’s poor actions.

China would have conquered the whole of Asia, and Russia would have conquered the whole of Europe if the US and NATO did not exist!

Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany tried to do this during WW2.

The whole quality of life in China is much worse than in the US!

That’s why people like Xi Jinping’s daughter live in the US and has a Green Card! She cannot get these human rights and freedoms in China despite her wealth and political connections!

In the US, she alike all Americans, have the Constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression which includes the right to burn the US flag, to burn or to trample and spit on the Quran or any religious book! That’s the amount of freedom we have! She certainly does not have this level of freedom in her China!

That’s why all the rich citizens of China are trying to emigrate to the West! They are not stupid! They know the truth about life in both China and in the US!

Personally, I think that he forgot to add “‘Merica! Merica! Merica!” at the end.

MM Answer:

Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want your ignorance to be reinforced? Take you pick.

[1] When China was very poor, yes, many Chinese fled China and moved to other nations for opportunities. They searched for a “middle class” lifestyle, and opportunity. They moved to places that had factories where they could work, and schools where their children could be educated, and where food was available in abundance. Great waves of Chinese left China for the West. They went where opportunities were.

[2] As China grew, became the manufacturing powerhouse, and it shook off the cloak of despair that the West had shackled it to, the flow of Chinese to the West decreased. Eventually, it reached a point, say 2008 - 2013, where there were more Chinese (who emigrated) returning back to China. This is because in the balance of things, China had more to offer than what the West had.

[3] Today, those that leave China for the West do so for functional purposes (to get an education, experience at a occupation, or to buy land) the majority return back to China.

So you can see that over the last forty years there has been different reasons for global migration of ethnic Chinese. This migration might, one day, change it’s vector again. Say, when manufacturing and cultural opportunities open up in Africa, or South America, or Russia for instance.

You see, we have to see things as they are. Not as we want them to be.

Remember, boys and girls, migration from one’s homeland is driven not by ideology, but rather by economic considerations. As China's economic situation evolved, so did it’s immigration profile.

Opinions of others

The novelist Michael Crichton, author of dozens of bestsellers such as Congo, Jurassic Park and The Lost World, tried an experiment as a Harvard undergrad back in the 1960s.

Tired of receiving C’s on his English assignments and having his writing style severely criticized by Harvard professors, he decided to submit an essay for an assignment on Gulliver’s Travels that had been published years earlier by the famed author George Orwell.

It was a risky experiment as the punishment for plagiarism was expulsion. But Crichton figured his professor was not only wrong about writing styles, but was probably poorly read as well.

Crichton received a B- for Orwell’s work.

At that point the young undergrad assumed that the Harvard English department was too difficult for him, so he switched to premed, eventually earning his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Although he never practiced medicine, he used his medical training to create the TV series ER in 1994.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs on the Covid Origins Cover-Up

Captain

A couple of years ago, I did have the honor of adopting a wonderful cat, Captain Timothy (Starfleet), my first cat ever.

He was the perfect cat, in every sense.

Considerate, gentle, playful.

Every single time I came home from my shift at the hospital, he was there to greet me, standing on a couch, in an attentive position, as soon as the door was open.

Until one day, he didn’t and I knew something was wrong.

5 am, and he was crying on the hallway.

He had a renal lymphoma, and passed away 15 days after he was diagnosed.

Sometimes when I get home, I’m still wating for him to be there, waiting.

Waiting.

Rest in peace, Captain.

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Dan Bongino: We are going bankrupt

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Europe’s Economic And Social Suicide – Provoked by The U.S. And Helped Along By Europe’s Leaders

Due to the stupidity of Europe’s political leadership the U.S. has managed to push it towards committing economic and social suicide.

On February 8 Michael Hudson, a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, wrote about the then upcoming conflict in Ukraine which the U.S. was intentionally provoking.

Michael Hudson: America’s Real Adversaries Are Its European and Other Allies

The sanctions that U.S. diplomats are insisting that their allies impose against trade with Russia and China are aimed ostensibly at deterring a military buildup. But such a buildup cannot really be the main Russian and Chinese concern. They have much more to gain by offering mutual economic benefits to the West. So the underlying question is whether Europe will find its advantage in replacing U.S. exports with Russian and Chinese supplies and the associated mutual economic linkages.
What worries American diplomats is that Germany, other NATO nations and countries along the Belt and Road route understand the gains that can be made by opening up peaceful trade and investment. If there is no Russian or Chinese plan to invade or bomb them, what is the need for NATO? And if there is no inherently adversarial relationship, why do foreign countries need to sacrifice their own trade and financial interests by relying exclusively on U.S. exporters and investors? 
...
Instead of a real military threat from Russia and China, the problem for American strategists is the absence of such a threat. ... 
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The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” The problem is to create a suitably offensive incident and depict Russia as the aggressor.

To provoke a war in Ukraine was easy as the movie production team ruling Ukraine was willing to sacrifice its people and country in a unwinnable war against Russia. The Ukrainian actor and president Vladimir Zelensky had already announced that the Ukraine would, by force, take back Crimea and the Donbas republics that were in the hand of a Russia aligned Ukrainian resistance.

On February 15 Professor John Mearsheimer gave a talk (vid) in which he documented how the U.S. had caused, and is responsible for, the whole Ukraine crisis.

Since last year about half of the Ukrainian army was positioned in the county’s southeast at the ceasefire line with the Donbas republics. On February 17 it opened preparatory artillery fire against the resistance positions. Over the next days the barrage steadily increased.

The observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE), positioned at the frontline, counted and documented each artillery strike and published daily summaries on its website. From 80 artillery impacts on February 16 the attacks increased each day to over 2,000 per day on February 22.

The OSCE observers also provided maps of where the grenades exploded (here of February 21):

 

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biggerThe vast majority of impacts were on three areas east of the ceasefire line on resistance held positions. Anyone with a bit of military knowledge will recognize such intense artillery campaigns along distinct axes as the preparation action for an all out attack.

The leaders of the Donbas republics as well as of Russia had to react to this upcoming attack. On February 19 the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic asked the Russia government for help. Left alone they would have had no chance to resist against the Ukrainian army the U.S. and its allies, since 2015, had financed and built.

Up to this point Russia had insisted that the DPR and LNR were part of Ukraine but should receive some kind of autonomy as provided by the Minsk agreements. But it now had to take steps that would legalize Russian support for the Donbas. On February 21 Russia recognized the republics as independent states. The three parties signed cooperation agreements which included clauses for mutual military support:

Russia’s treaty with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) stipulates granting the right to build military bases on their territory and provide mutual military assistance, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told a plenary session of the lower house of parliament on Tuesday.

"An important aspect: the treaty stipulates the intentions by the parties to interact in the field of foreign policy, the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity and security provision, in particular, by way of rendering each other required assistance, including military aid, and granting the right to build, use and improve military infrastructure and military bases on their territory," the high-ranking Russian diplomat pointed out.

With the agreements in place Russian military help against the Ukrainian attack became (at least arguably) legal under Article 51 (collective self-defense) of the UN Charter.

On February 22, no Russia soldier had yet stepped onto Ukrainian ground, the U.S. and its allies imposed extreme economic sanctions against Russia. President Biden acknowledged that the U.S. had long prepared for this.

Over the last few months, we have coordinated closely with our NATO Allies and partners in Europe and around the world to prepare that response. We’ve said all along and I’ve told Putin to his face a mon- — a month a- — more than a month ago that we would act together and the moment Russia moved against Ukraine.

Russia has now undeniably moved against Ukraine by declaring these independent states.

So, today, I’m announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday. These have been closely coordinated with our Allies and partners, and we’ll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates.

On February 24 Russian forces entered the Ukraine to preempt the coming attack on the Donbas republics. (The Russian plan A was to press on Kiev to agree to a fast settlement of the crisis. That failed in early April after Boris Johnson’s intervention in Kiev. Russia switched to plan B, the de-militarization of Ukraine.)

The German government announced that the Nord Stream II pipeline, which is technically ready to deliver Russian gas to Germany, would not be launched.

On February 27 the German chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a hysteric and moralizing speech in front of the Germany parliament. It accused Russia of breaking peace in Europe.

The Minsk agreement, under which the Ukraine had committed to federalize and give some autonomy to Donbas, was not mentioned once. Germany and France were both guarantee powers who in 2015 had cosigned the Minsk agreement but had, over seven long years, done little to press for its implementation.

Instead of working for a fast ceasefire and a renewal of economic relations with Russia Scholz committed Germany to economic suicide.

On February 28 Professor Hudson published another deep analysis of the crisis:

America Defeats Germany for the Third Time in a Century: The MIC, BARE and OGAM Conquer NATO.

In a forward to the piece Yves Smith summarized:

Michael Hudson expands on his theme on how the conflict in Ukraine is the result of much bigger forces at work, and not necessarily the ones you have top of mind. He argues that preventing European countries, particularly Germany, from developing deeper economic ties with China and Russia is what’s really at stake.

Here, Hudson describes the hold key US interests have on foreign policy and how they see conflict as a way to hold off a possible fall in their status and power.

The Hudson piece is quite long and deep. I recommend to read it in full.

The U.S. idea is to isolate Europe from its Eurasian hinterland, to move Europe’s industries to the U.S. and to buy up the rest for cheap.

To take Nord Stream II out and to get European countries to boycott Russian energy the U.S. had promised that it would ‘help’ by selling its (quite expensive) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Europe. But when natural gas prices started to rise in Europe free market forces set in and they also started to increase in the United States. High energy prices threatened to damage Biden and to tank the Democrats in the midterm elections.

Then a mysterious accident happened:

An explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Texas has left nearby residents rattled and is taking a substantial amount of the fuel off the market at a time when global demand is soaring.

Freeport LNG will be offline for at least three weeks, the company said Thursday, following a fire in its export facility. 
...
Most of Freeport LNG's exports were going to Europe, according to Rystad Energy. Europe may be able to offset the lost volume with increases from other facilities, said Emily McClain, vice president at Rystad. Europe gets about 45% of its LNG from the U.S., and the rest comes from Russia, Qatar and other sources, she said.

Three weeks was too short to lower U.S. natural gas prices. The U.S. regulator for such plants, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), stepped in and prolonged the restart process:

The second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas export facility hit by fire earlier this month will not be allowed to repair or restart operations until it addresses risks to public safety, a pipeline regulator said on Thursday. 
...
U.S. natural gas futures tumbled 15% on Thursday due to the report and on a continued inventory build, contributing to a 33% price drop in June, the biggest monthly drop since 2018. 
...
"The actual process (of reviews, repairs and approvals) will take longer than three months, and potentially take six to 12 months," said Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG at consultants Rapidan Energy Group.

There was also some news of sudden ‘problems’ at other LNG facilities.

It is not only natural gas but also petroleum products that the U.S. is withholding while Europe is in need:

The Biden administration is warning refiners that it may take “emergency measures” to address fuel exports as stockpiles of gasoline and diesel fuel remain near historically low levels in the Northeast.

Fertilizer making plants in Europe have shut down because of way too high natural gas prices. Steel and aluminum smelters are following. Glas production in Europe is severely endangered.

In a long piece today Yves Smith is looking at the economic and political consequences for Europe. In a breach of Betteridge’s law</A she headlines:

Will Europe Go Down to Defeat Before Ukraine?

We will be so bold as to posit that not only has the sanctions war against Russia backfired spectacularly, but the damage to the West, most of all Europe, is accelerating rapidly. And this is not the result of Russia taking active measures but the costs of the loss or reduction of key Russian resources compounding over time.

So due to the intensity of the energy shock, the economic timetable is moving faster than the military. Unless Europe engages in a major course correction, and we don’t see how this can happen, the European economic crisis looks set to become devastating before Ukraine is formally defeated. 
...
As we’ll explain, this shock will be so severe if nothing is done (and as we’ll explain, it’s hard to see anything meaningful enough being done), that the result will be not a recession, but a depression in Europe. 
...
In theory, the EU could try to make up to Russia. But the time for that has passed. It isn’t just that too many key European players like Ursula von der Leyen and Robert Habeck are too deeply invested in Russia-hatred to retreat. Even if there were blood in the street come December, they wouldn’t be turfed out quickly enough.

It is also that Europe has burned its bridges with Russia beyond just the sanctions. Putin has repeatedly offered the EU the option of using Nord Stream 2. Even with Russia now using half its capacity, it could still fully substitute for former Nord Stream 1 deliveries. Putin did warn that option would not stay open for all that long, that Russia would start using the rest of the volume. 
...
So the outcome seems inevitable: many Europeans businesses will fail, leading to job losses, business loan defaults, loss of government revenues, foreclosures. And with governments thinking they’d maybe spent a bit too freely with Covid relief, their emergency energy fillups will be too little to make all that much difference.

At some point, the economic contraction will lead to a financial crisis. If the downdraft is rapid enough, it could be the result as much of (well warranted) loss of confidence as actual losses and defaults to date.

The U.S. has, out of purely egoistic reasons, dragged Europe, and especially Germany, into a trap that will lead to its economic and social destruction. Instead of recognizing the danger, and taking the necessary countermeasure, the European and the German ‘leaders’ committed themselves to help with the process.

The best thing for Europe and Germany would of course have been to avoid the crisis. That failed because of a lack of insight and effort. But now, as Europe is deep down in a hole, the politicians should at least stop digging. It is in Europe’s and especially Germany’s obvious interest to keep the crisis as short as possible.

But the lunatics who are ruling over Europe are still doing the opposite:

Germany will keep up its support for Kyiv "for as long as it takes", Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, calling for an enlargement of the European Union to eventually include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. 
...
Germany had undergone a "fundamental change of heart" in recent months on its military support for Ukraine, he said.

"We will keep up this support, reliably and, above all, for as long as it takes," he told the packed university audience.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed the "as long as it takes" promise to Kyiv in a speech in Slovenia, calling for "a new strategic thinking" to uphold European values.

As those ‘leaders’ seem to see it, affordable energy, warm homes, sufficient food, jobs and pensions of Europe citizens are not part of the ‘European values’ they intend to uphold.

The economic and financial breakdown of Europe will be much faster than the obviously necessary political change of its third rate leadership.

The only political sector that will not be damaged by all this, at least in France and Germany, is the far right. That in itself is also a danger.

Posted by b on August 29, 2022 at 17:38 UTC | Permalink

A mega project/plan to move 500,000 Japanese elderly to retire in China.

Uh oh!
Now that such plan is uncovered, I don’t think so the CCP will allow.

These people will eventually become a social burden to china hospital system.

The other question is , once this project is successfully, will there be the second, third such project?

Earlier, China uncovered Japanese schools in China, with a secret plan to train Japanese children with parents working in China as future agents merging into all sectors of the Chinese society. These Japanese schools exclusive to Japanese students only. No one know what they taught, everything in secret.

In 100% won’t trust Japan; this is Asia's most warmongering nation.

50万日本老人将赴中国养老!首批接收城市曝光!|养老院_网易订阅


Article HERE in Chinese

Clayton Morris: We are watching the West collapse right before our eyes, and it’s all their fault

Pretty good.

The announcement of a New Taiwan reunification organization in the name of China revolution army

The leaders with a title “commanding general” and “deputy commanding general”. Very interesting. Open and aggressive anti CPP (America) and Pro-reunification with China.

Video HERE

Important speech from China about the Nancy Polaski visit

Speech by Professor Zhang Weiwei 张维为 and professor jin chanrong 金灿荣 re pelosi Taiwan visit and China strategic response within minutes of pelosi landing in Taiwan includes


1) announcement of large scale military exercise surrounding Taiwan and
2)a 6000 words official statement

These moves showing the CCP has planned long time ago how they will take back Taiwan, and only waiting for the (stupid) American to provide the right opportunity and atmosphere.

I added the (stupid).

Unfortunately, it is in Chinese, for those who understand Chinese , the speech by this two CCP members, former Deng xiaopeng translator 张维为 and senior advisor to the CCP 金灿荣 are very informative. 

Worth your 42 minutes time to listen the full content.

Video HERE (in Chinese)

Still remember how former Singapore minister George Yao describes China as a panda bear with claws.

If the coalition of crusaders led by the US; and defeated by a backward China in the Korean war in the 1950s is of any lesson to learn...

(military might no match for brain power plus strong will), 

Any Nations that dare to start another war over Taiwan in the 21st century will not have a "chance in Hell" (to win).

China is formidable. (advanced Chinese military, training, quality and quantity,  plus brain power and will power.)

U.S. Business Leaders Not Ready for the Next U.S.-China Crisis

May 16, 2022 From HERE

It is no exaggeration to conclude that U.S.-China ties have deteriorated to depths not seen since the late 1960s, when the two had no diplomatic ties and were actually shooting at each other in Vietnam. China has long since stopped fomenting revolutionary wars, but from Washington’s perspective (which is increasingly shared by others in Europe and Asia) Beijing’s promotion of state capitalism, disregard for human rights, irredentist claims, and support for Putin collectively represent a deeply dangerous challenge to the existing world order. To Beijing, a declining United States is trying to use every tool in its toolkit to undermine and isolate Beijing and keep China from achieving its rightful resumption as a world power, which is driving China’s approach increasingly in a zero-sum direction.

While the Biden administration has expressed a desire to manage competition, the two governments are barely on speaking terms and when they do talk, it is usually an exercise in frustration. President Biden’s phone call with Xi Jinping in early March was most noted for the warnings the U.S. side issued against Chinese support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai has said her conversations with Beijing have yielded no progress on commercial differences. And when the United States recently announced the departure of nonessential personnel from the Shanghai consulate, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the United States of not trying to protect lives but of politicizing the pandemic.

There will be no easy exit from this new chapter of Sino-American strategic competition—a chapter that arguably started with Xi’s moves against the South China Sea and neighboring states seven years ago, as the Obama administration was still exploring modalities for a productive bilateral relationship. No political leader in Washington will now argue for returning to that earlier hopeful period in bilateral relations and the thrust of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy is properly to strengthening alliances and partnership to deal with a more coercive and ambitious China. Yet at the same time, the current trajectory in the bilateral relationship bodes ill for the ability of Washington and Beijing to manage crises that might emerge in the coming years. Both sides regularly assume the worst intentions of the other: Beijing’s anti-Western social mobilization campaign continues unabated, the quiet dialogue mechanisms that once allowed strategic exchanges between the White House and Zhongnanhai have been replaced by lecturing megaphones.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, natural disasters, Covid-19, and extensive supply chain challenges, corporate leaders have become adept at preparing for “black swans” and the continuity of business contingencies, embracing “just in case” over “just in time” and learning to prepare redundancies and protect key technologies. But the current dynamics in U.S.-China relations suggest that there may be a need to prepare for a new bevy of potential black swans from technology competition to major military contingencies.

Thinking the Increasingly Probable and No Longer Unthinkable

The impediments to war between the United States and China—from the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons to the trillions of dollars in possible economic damage—remain robust. But the escalation ladder from current “gray zone” coercion and diplomatic jostling up towards cyber, technology decoupling, and even military threats is also closer at hand for Beijing, and therefore Washington. In the Taiwan Strait, Chinese military overflights that cross the midline or circle the island are now a regular occurrence. Although there is reason to doubt that Xi Jinping has set a firm deadline for reunification, Beijing may increasingly believe that force is their only option. An accidental collision between ships or jets in the South China Sea is not only possible—it has also occurred. The nuclear submarine USS Connecticut’s collision with an unknown underwater object in October 2021 is a case in point. This incident did not spiral into a larger conflict, but it easily could have. There is now greater commercial and military traffic in the South China Sea than ever, but the United States and China have very few crisis management mechanisms, with insufficient ways to communicate at an operational level in real time.

The U.S. and Chinese economies have become so intertwined over the last 40 years that when Trump first launched his trade war, the idea of decoupling seemed absolutely impossible. Even the restrictions on Huawei looked like a pebble of decoupling in an ocean of connectivity.

Not so anymore. The woven threads of commercial ties have already started to fray. Total merchandise trade has held steady, but processing trading, which highlights movement of goods within supply chains, is down. Equity investment from the United States to China has only dropped a little and U.S. companies still report being profitable, but their angst at their treatment is on the rise. Venture capital deals have steadily fallen. Meanwhile, all manner of Chinese investment to the United States has plummeted. Overall financial flows are still quite high (and perhaps larger than ever), but the storm clouds are gathering, with the 250 Chinese companies on U.S. markets poised to be delisted, and growing concerns in the United States about the downsides of U.S. institutional capital in Chinese markets. Travel is down to a trickle of businesspeople willing to endure lengthy quarantines. The growth of sudden lockdowns, represented most shockingly by Shanghai, is certainly another deterrent to travel.

It is now entirely conceivable that commercial ties could substantially unravel. One route is through the expansion of defensive regulatory measures that would raise the costs of doing business. Both sides have instituted a range of restrictions and are pursuing analogous programs to achieve supply chain resiliency and reduce their dependency on the other. There are now nearly 1,000 Chinese companies penalized in one way or another by the United States for national security or human rights reasons. The final China bill that emerges out of the Senate-House conference may very well start to require U.S. investments to China to undergo national security reviews the same way the U.S. screens inward investment. And China could start to use, among other tools, its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and its own Unreliable Entities List to punish U.S. companies that do not toe Beijing’s line.

The other pathway to reduce ties would be an unintentional escalation of penalties. For example, imagine how Washington might react if Beijing suddenly shut down the cloud computing services of Microsoft or Amazon Web Services (AWS) on the excuse that some customers were inappropriately transferring data abroad in contravention of their data localization rules. The Biden administration would likely have no choice but to retaliate, leading to a potential spiral of ever-growing restrictions that would reduce existing activities and ward off future business.

The possibility of a security crisis and economic decoupling have only been magnified by the war in Ukraine. While U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine may in some ways strengthen deterrence against an attack by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Taiwan in the near term, it may also eliminate any hope Beijing had of achieving unification peacefully and further reduce the likelihood of some sort of negotiated settlement. And the radical expansion of Western commercial restrictions against Russia may be a test run for greater limits on ties with China, particularly if Beijing does not further distance itself from Putin and the invasion.

Everyone should take notice when U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen, not known as an über-hawk, highlighting this possibility, recently warned: “The world’s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China’s reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia.”

Business Is Not Ready

This transition has occurred so fast that global companies that have thrived on doing business with China are not well prepared to adapt to this new normal or to try and stem the tide.  Extended interviews and in-depth crisis scenario exercises with dozens of companies and investors, including to an elite group of participants in the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, about these issues over the past few months, have revealed an unexpected combination of overconfidence and resignation in their views.

When faced with the prospect of a military crisis, some companies believe that they could use their connections to be fully informed and potentially even shape the thinking of decisionmakers so that they avoid the worst outcomes. The cold reality is that once a crisis erupts, the economic policymakers get tossed out of the room and the circle of decisionmakers narrow to those who prosecute war. Companies will be forced to operate largely in the dark, or at least be no better informed than Joe Q. Public, and hence, will have to focus on short-term issues such as protecting their most directly affected employees, bank accounts and other assets, and then just hang on.

When it comes to decoupling, we found both rosy optimists and deflated pessimists. Some assert that commercial decoupling is simply not possible because of the continued extent of ties and the obvious economic harm the West would inflict on itself—lost markets, access to resources and opportunities to innovate—that would come from such steps. In contrast to this view that business needs to do little more than remind Washington the benefits of ties, the alternative view—that there is no use in making this argument because no one will listen—is equally if not more prominent. At the end of the day, most companies are highly risk-averse and want to avoid getting on the wrong side of officialdom.

Although some business associations have taken up the challenge, it is hard to find individual companies that are willing to strongly advocate in Washington for continued engagement or push hard on Beijing to liberalize and constrain state capitalism (let alone push on its actions in Xinjiang and Hong Kong). The result is that global businesses are for the most part keeping their heads down, hoping their China opportunities do not dry up, and aiming for greater home government support to relocate some of their supply chains. The war in Ukraine and the concomitant shift in thinking about China in Washington and like-minded capitals in Europe and Asia only reinforces this posture.

What Is to Be Done?

The good news is that almost all business leaders the authors have engaged on these scenarios were already used to thinking about black swans. Few fought the scenarios even if they had not considered them. The bad news is that very few corporations engaged in China have contingency plans or long-term strategies to hedge against the downside risks of growing geopolitical competition. However, there are few good places to start.

First, corporations should not assume that their immediate corporate, regulatory, or political counterparts in China will necessarily be able to protect them against a national-level crisis. Those relationships might help, but they are no guarantee that business operations will survive.

Second, corporations which tend to keep their head down on geopolitics for obvious reasons will now need to engage both governments more actively on the consequences of our inability to manage crises. This will be far more effective if done collectively through business associations. And the effort will only be effective in Washington if the premise is that there will be geopolitical friction and U.S. national interests matter—but that management of that competition is critical. Fighting the premise will mean that corporations do not get a hearing in the Biden administration or Congress on either side of the aisle right now.

Third, corporations need to think about their operating environment the way geostrategists now are—which is to say that there are multiple players shaping relations with China that have weight in Washington and Beijing. U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific and Europe are increasingly aligning with Washington on the necessity of pushing back against Chinese coercion and mercantilism However, all these allies from Japan to Germany also seek careful management of U.S.-China relations. U.S. corporations and business associations rarely align their efforts with counterparts in Tokyo or Brussels, but they need to do so now.

Fourth, corporations need to press for a regional economic strategy that stabilizes U.S.-China relations. Before the Trump administration withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, the strategy of the United States and its allies was to build a rules-based order in the region that would increase all their leverage vis-à-vis Beijing and offer strong incentives for China to play by the rules. The unilateralist U.S. approach to economic statecraft since then has alienated close allies and left room for Beijing to expand its ambitions for regional hegemony—thus adding to geopolitical friction and uncertainty. The administration’s new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is a well-intentioned effort to fill that vacuum, but it still falls short of what is needed to substantially restore faith in U.S. economic policy leadership and curb China’s own ambitions to replace the United States as the primary rule-maker in the region.

Finally, corporate leaders need to engage in the kind of scenario exercises that the U.S. military regularly employs. These scenario games are not meant to be predictive, but rather to stress-test current assumptions and point to measures that might be useful in a crisis (for example, who would CEOs need to know in the event of a major technology or military contingency that threatened their operations). No plan survives first contact with the enemy, but no leader succeeds in a crisis if they have not been forced to consider how exogenous shocks would impact their plans.

What is the USA thinking?

A disturbing video. Please check it out. It concerns mRNA injections that are touted as “vaccines”. This is NOT the same thing as a “dead host” vaccine such as used in Russia and China.

Video HERE

The United States has the dubious honor of being the first nation to attack Taiwan. This happened in 1867. The United States then supported and Armed Japan in invading China, via Taiwan, in 1874. This happened during the Mudan incident.

China has NEVER forgotten the “Rape of Nanjing”, and the “One Hundred years of humiliation” that resulted DIRECTLY from the United States actions, efforts, funding and military actions.

To think that China has forgotten simply because you are unaware of history is a dangerous mistake.

China is a peaceful nation, but they are ready, have been ready, and are fully willing to slap the United States back to the stone age if it persists in trying to repeat the last American induced “suppression”.

US Sub That Hit Undersea Mountain Previously Hit Pier: Investigation

So we are supposed to believe that the USN is full of klutz's. And nothing else. Just an article in supportive of the bullshit narrative of hitting an undersea mountain. -MM
The US Navy submarine USS Connecticut ran into an underwater mountain in the South China Sea last October.  Months earlier, in April 2021, the submarine hit a pier in San Diego. The command investigation said the submarine’s leadership failed to learn from the first incident.

Article HERE

China Disputes British Sovereignty Over Falkland Islands; Rattles Both The UK, US With ‘Historic Deal’ With Argentina

With China trying to boost its presence in South America, Argentina has emerged as a valuable partner for Beijing. In a recent development, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez laid a wreath on the mausoleum of former Chairman of the Communist Party, Mao Zedong.

In America’s Backyard, China To Set Up A Massive Nuclear Power Plant Using Its Indigenous ‘Hualong One’ Tech

The deepening association between China and Argentina, which is participating in the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics, is not free of controversy though.

In a move that has angered London, the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom stated that Beijing’s position on the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands problem is consistent and that it strongly supports Argentina’s rightful claim to complete sovereignty over the islands, Global Times reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez on the sidelines of Beijing Olympics (via Twitter)

Malvinas Islands is the Spanish name of the Falkland Islands that are controlled and administered by the British.

The Chinese embassy’s spokesperson made the remarks, which were published on the embassy’s website on February 8. The remarks came after UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Twitter that China must respect the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, which she considers to be “part of the British Family.”

 

After Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández met China’s President Xi on the fringes of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the foreign secretary stated that “China must respect the sovereignty of the Falklands”.

According to a statement on the Chinese embassy, the two leaders spoke of their “deep friendship,” and Argentina joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a state-backed effort for global influence, stated The Guardian.

They did, however, also sign an agreement in which China reaffirmed its support for Argentina’s Falkland Islands claim, while Fernández endorsed Xi’s one-China policy, which claims Taiwan as a part of the mainland. The statement said Argentina should be able to “fully exercise its sovereignty over the Malvinas (Falklands) Islands issue”.

 

But Truss said: “We completely reject any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands. The Falklands are part of the British family and we will defend their right to self-determination. China must respect the Falklands’ sovereignty.”

Even though this has triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries that already remain embroiled in tensions on various issues, this is not the first time when China has backed Argentina’s claim over the islands.

In June of last year, a Chinese envoy had called for worldwide efforts to abolish colonialism and outlined China’s position on the Malvinas Islands.

 

Beijing-London relations have deteriorated considerably in recent years, with the two nations battling over trade, Hong Kong, and human rights. It is ironic though that China which asserts its sovereignty over the self-governing island of Taiwan does not endorse UK’s control over the Falkland Islands.

Beijing’s stand could be seen as a message to the West. Several western countries support Taiwan’s democracy and independence and oppose the Chinese belligerence and pressure tactics over Taipei.

Hundreds of Argentine troops landed in the Falkland Islands, also known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina, on April 2, 1982.

The islands were a British overseas territory located 400 miles east of Argentina and 8,000 miles south of the United Kingdom. The islands were the subject of a long-running dispute between Britain and Argentina, despite their modest size and limited population.

After numerous heavy firefights, the small British garrison surrendered on April 2 in the afternoon. It was a much-needed success for Argentina’s military junta, which intended to divert attention away from its brutal rule and other domestic concerns.

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Image via-Wikipedia

The junta assumed that Britain, which was dealing with its own domestic difficulties, would not strike back from afar. However, Britain dispatched 15,000 men to retake the islands over the next 74 days, aboard warships, logistical ships, and even cruise liners.

After failed discussions over control of the islands, the conflict began in earnest on May 1, 1982. Argentine planes fired the first shots in the air, seeking to intercept a Royal Navy task force dispatched to prepare the area for the invasion force.

However, the British military was able to steadily advance and gain an advantage with each passing day with its superior air and naval power. Finally, on June 14, the Argentines, surrounded by all sides, surrendered.

Although China’s military was not involved in the Falklands conflict in any manner, its analysts have studied it extensively, owing to the many parallels that may be found in a conflict over Taiwan, according to a previous article of Business Insider.

Why China Cares About Falklands

Argentine President Fernández has improved his country’s ties with China, which surpassed Brazil as Argentina’s top trading partner in 2020. Bilateral trade increased by 56 percent from 2007 to 2019, reaching $15 billion. Argentina joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in March 2021, and now finally, it has formally joined China’s BRI.

 

As China aims to expand beyond its immediate region of influence and forge economic relations with South American countries, its support to their stated territorial position is expected to deepen the partnership between them to China’s benefit. It has been interpreted as a plan to occupy space in a region that the United States has traditionally treated as its own backyard.

Further, Beijing has repeatedly chastised Britain’s “colonial mindset” in relation to the Falkland Islands, which overwhelmingly opted to remain a British overseas territory in a plebiscite in 2013.

Last June, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, spoke on decolonization and advocated for the abolition of all forms of colonialism. Argentina attempted to begin negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding the sovereignty of the islands during the same session.

“But it’s OK for the UK to question China’s sovereignty in the South China Sea by sending navy vessels?” Chen Weihua, a journalist for China Daily, an English-language publication owned by the Chinese Communist Party, said in response to Britain’s outrage against the Chinese-Argentine statement. “At the very least, China has not sent its navy to the Malvinas, or the Falkland Islands.”

Recently, China also reaffirmed its support and friendship with Russia. In a joint statement with Russia, it called on the West to “abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold War” as the Russian build-up on the Ukrainian border remains at an all-time high.

The modus operandi has been the same. In the joint statement with Russia, China rebuked the US for encouraging protests in Hong Kong and indirectly supporting independence for Taiwan while Russia expressed its discomfort with NATO expansion.

With the Falkland issue, Beijing is probably doing a tit-for-tat with the West.

Tucker Carlson: Things are falling apart every quickly

Very, very interesting. Worth a watch.

Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Bread

This easy pumpkin and cake mix bread gets an eye-catching swirl when it’s stuffed with a creamy, cheesecake filling.

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Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bread

Cheesecake Filling

  • 6 oz (from 8-oz package) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg

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The Taiwanese are getting pretty darn upset with the current Taiwan government

A famous Taiwanese (indigenous) actress, and a long time law maker 高金素梅 did the unthinkable! She read the full content of an article (written by a former high ranking government officer 杨志良) titled “to survive, people will need to need with a revolution! ” (求生存最後必革命)
The content is directed squarely against the DPP government in Taiwan.
It criticized the current regime as dictatorial, and corrupt.  It outlined in great detail of their endless scandals, corruptions, and the hardship and risk created by them to the people of Taiwan.
The article also criticized the current political system keep electing low quality corrupt politicians, and criticized the nationalist party as uselessly incompetent as well.
So The conclusion is to survive, people will NEED to have a revolution to toss out the current DPP government.

 

US pushing war on China: Malaysia’s ex PM explains imperialism’s roots in capitalism

Malaysia. Listen what is being stated here.

The party and the ox

A man killed a big ox, lit the grill, and said to his daughter: “Daughter, call our friends, family and neighbors to eat with us… Let’s feast!”

His daughter went out into the street and started screaming, “Please help us put out a fire in my father’s house!”

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After a few moments, a small group of people came out; and the rest acted as if they hadn’t heard the cries for help.

Whoever came ate and drank until they swelled up.

The stunned father turned to his daughter and said, “I don’t know any of the people who came, I’ve never seen them before. Where are our friends and family?”

The daughter said, “These people came out of their homes to help us put out fires in our house, not for the party. These are the ones who deserve our generosity and hospitality.”

Conclusion – “those who don’t help you during your fight, shouldn’t eat with you at the victory party”.

How many wars is the United States involved in?

The U.S. is now involved in more than 130 wars or none, depending on your definition of ‘war.’ Or it is involved in one worldwide “War Against Terror,” that successive U.S. Administrations, with Congressional support, have used to justify U.S. military operations in at least 134 countries, where they are engaged in direct combat operations, conduct special covert missions, act as military advisers, or train foreign troops or militias.

The problem is that our traditional definition of “war” is outdated, and so is our imagination of what war means.

World War II was the last time Congress officially declared war. Since then, the conflicts we’ve called “wars” — from Vietnam through to the second Iraq War — have actually been congressional “authorizations of military force.”

And more recently, beginning with the War Powers Act of 1973, presidential war powers have expanded so much that, according to the Congressional Research Service, it’s no longer clear whether a president requires congressional authorization at all to engage in war.

The recent US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will likely be the last time, in the foreseeable future, that the United States wages war in the way that’s most familiar to us: a lot of combat troops on the ground in a foreign country with lots of money and support and an ostensibly achievable objective.

US troop presence in Iraq peaked at 187,900 in 2008. In Afghanistan, it peaked in 2010 at 100,000.

On paper, it looked like the United States was fighting two wars. But the reality was much more complicated, and it’s only gotten more complicated. So how many wars is the US fighting right now?

Somewhere between zero and 134+.

Here’s the rationale:

Total # of wars: 0

Congress hasn’t declared war since 1942 so there is no war right now.

Okay, that makes no sense.

Look at a funding profile over time. It’s very clear.

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From this graph, we can CLEARLY see that American spending on weapons and military are clearly indicative of America waging active wars.

To ignore that outrageous and obvious “tell tale” is to act the fool.

Total # of wars: 6

This maybe sounds more reasonable.

Consider the definition of war put forth by Linda Bilmes (Harvard Kennedy School) and Michael Intriligator (UCLA), who defined war in a 2013 paper as “conflicts where the US is launching extensive military incursions, including drone attacks, but that are not officially ‘declared.’”

By that definition, the United States is at war in six places right now:

  • Iraq
  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan
  • Somalia
  • Yemen
  • Ukraine

Total # of wars: 8

If you include nations that have American military, American military uniforms, weapons and systems, and is led with / by American generals. This then, adds two additional nations to the list above.

  • South Korea
  • Taiwan

Total # of wars: 134+

Whoa! Surprising, right?

In 2013, the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) — one of the nine organizational units that make up the Unified Combatant Command — had special operations forces (SOFs) in 134 countries.

The American military were either involved in combat, special missions, or advising and training foreign forces.

Since most of what SOFs do is classified, all we know about them is what we get told about them. Here’s what we’re told by the Joint Chiefs of Staff: What are SOFs?

“Special operations forces (SOF) are small, specially organized units manned by people carefully selected and trained to operate under physically demanding and psychologically stressful conditions to accomplish missions using modified equipment and unconventional applications of tactics against strategic and operational objectives. 

The unique capabilities of SOF complement those of conventional forces.”

And what do they do?

“Joint special operations (SO) are conducted by SOF from more than one Service in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to achieve military, diplomatic, informational, and/or economic objectives employing military capabilities for which there is no broad conventional force requirement. 

These operations may require low visibility, clandestine, or covert capabilities. 

SO are applicable across the range of military operations. 

They can be conducted independently or in conjunction with operations of conventional forces or other government agencies and may include operations through, with, or by indigenous or surrogate forces. 

SO differ from conventional operations in degree of physical and political risk, operational techniques, use of special equipment, modes of employment, independence from friendly support, and dependence on detailed operational intelligence and indigenous assets.”

Examples: These tasks include;

  • special reconnaissance (SR),
  • direct action (DA),
  • unconventional warfare (UW),
  • foreign internal defense (FID),
  • counterterrorism, counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

SOCOM admited to having forces on the ground in 134 countries around the world (in 2014).

That doesn’t mean its forces are carrying out capture or kill raids in every country, but it’s almost impossible to know where and when different operations are taking place.

That’s especially true when it comes to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), an operational command within SOCOM that operates with an enormous amount of autonomy and secrecy — and, some would say, little accountability.

Founded after the failed mission to rescue American hostages in Tehran in 1980 and designed to handle similarly complex operations in the future, JSOC was a classified and little used command on Sept. 11, 2001.

Since then, it’s more than tripled in size, received an ever-increasing share of funding, and has conducted operations in dozens of countries.

(Journalist Jeremy Scahill wrote in depth about JSOC in his 2013 book, “Dirty Wars.” That’s where the following information comes from.)

JSOC was introduced to the world on May 1, 2011, when Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in a nighttime raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The raid was a collaboration between the CIA and an agency almost nobody had heard of: JSOC. “We’re the dark matter,” a Navy SEAL told the Washington Post of JSOC in 2011. “We’re the force that orders the universe but can’t be seen.”

We know more about JSOC now, thanks to investigative reporters like Scahill and Mark Mazzetti. JSOC’s core is made up of three acknowledged “Special Missions Units” (SMUs).

You know these folks from TV and movies:

  • Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment (Delta Force),
  • the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVRGU or “Seal Team Six”),
  • the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron.

In addition to the SMUs, JSOC has its own intelligence division, the Intelligence Support Activity, and often oversees the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the “Night Stalkers”), and other special operations forces. JSOC, along with the Special Activities Division at the CIA, have been the leading edge of counterterrorism.

Journalists Dana Priest and William Arkin found that JSOC has carried out counterterrorism operations in…

  • Iraq,
  • Afghanistan,
  • Algeria,
  • Iran,
  • Malaysia,
  • Mali,
  • Nigeria,
  • Pakistan,
  • the Philippines,
  • Somalia,
  • Syria,
  • Ukraine,
  • Taiwan,
  • Yemen.

An anonymous source with close ties to JSOC gave Scahill an even more expansive list that included those countries along with Indonesia, Thailand, Colombia, Peru, and several countries in Eastern and Central Asia.

“The world is a battlefield and we are at war,”

The source told Scahill of the logic that drives JSOC.

“Therefore the military can go wherever they please and do whatever it is that they want to do, in order to achieve the national security objectives of whichever administration happens to be in power.”

Add such nations of Iran, Bolivia, Kenya and more to the list and it seems really hard to keep track of all the killing, and wars that the United States is involved in.

Total # of wars: 1

“The world is a battlefield” isn’t just a vague, hawkish worldview — it’s a legal understanding of military force in the age of a single, global war: the War on Terror.

The world is a battlefield thanks in large part to the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which Congress passed on Sept. 14, 2001 and which gives the President of the United States broad power to fight terrorism around the world.

It reads in part:

“The President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determined planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2011, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”

A video that discusses what is next

Yuppur. The USA has Taiwan in it’s sights. Please check out this “must see” video…

Conclusion

So how many wars would you say the United States is now fighting?

The easy answer might just be: too many.

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Part 11 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 11.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. 

Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

This is part of the Q&A (on-going) effort where questions are provided to me, and then I present them, and then record and interpret the responses.

[11.1a] Question – Death Metal Music

“Now on its face, I feel that this is somewhat insignificant on its own. What I’m referring to here is my love of death metal. However, I feel that this attraction to this music genre actually represents a bunch of missing quanta clusters (meaning to say, this is associated to the relationships and activities I created based on my attraction to heavy metal–so memories of past associations / friendships / compatriots  and the stuff I did with them are related to heavy metal, or heavy metal music somehow led to the creation of my relationships and activities with them).
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An important part of my history opened up when I realized that the commander was <redacted> (rough analog, of course). I am eager to recall my other associations. Not just because I’d love to remember my dearest friends (of course, who wouldn’t) but because I need to regenerate the quanta I will be forced to leave behind. Memories are essential to this.
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My passion for death metal music leaves me with the impression that I developed very important relationships with specific entities. I wonder if some of the volunteers that operated on my non physical body were bandmates from my past side projects or something.
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Do I desire to comm with different prior-association entities/individuals? I’d say yes–because this represents a return of my memories, which is a good development.
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<redacted>  was very happy when I finally made the connection of that ancient Irish legend to my relationship with <redacted>. I do wonder if I’m ready for this yet. I know that the last thing I need is confusion. But I can’t be afraid. Being a worry wart is sooooo <redacted>
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Is there significance to the questioner and their attraction to “Death Metal” music?
Questioner is correct. The frequency patterns associated with certain types of music and musical patterns act as keys that unlock "software programs" with are but associative mechanisms of quantum clusters. These particular ones are tied to a emotional / biological component that is shared with deep friendships and relationships between IS-BE entities.

In the case of this particular questioner, the association that the entity has is "spot on". And the ability to uncloak the association shows a gentle unveiling of memory and quantum associations between the questioner, their friendships, relationships and "tribe membership" related to specific tasks, duties, and operational involvements in regards to prior activities.

In this specific case, the operational associations were attuned to the frequencies and patterns associated with "death metal" and that is a comforting association associated with tribe membership and cadre belonging.

There seems to be a strong attachment for hard “death metal” Rock n’ roll, and membership as Domain Military.

It’s not absolute, of course. There are millions of people who love “death metal” and Hard Acid Rock, in certain forms. While there are just a few hundred imprisoned members of the Domain “Lost Battalion”. -MM

[11.1b] Question – Followup

Followup question from 11.1a…

Wow. I guess I want to ask if it’s possible to get specifics, like if this represents some of the relationships I had with my <redacted>, or some of the volunteers that came to operate on me or something. Or maybe I need to read something (a hint, I guess) so I can do a better job of recalling the relevant memory?

Questioner is fully cognizant of the implications of this. Questioner is in contact with some core <internal cadre, family members, close associations> who are part of the task team associated with questioner extraction.

This is also facilitated with questioner mantid (sic) which is acting as a <relay point, transmission tower, injection / host, attribute appliance ?> in this effort. Questioner should not eject the feelings, emotions or thoughts in regards to this form of communication and the information thus provided.

[11.2a ] Question – Original members pre-mod

Pre-Old Empire Earth has been on my mind, and how it’s continued alongside the prison planet mods. And how quanta configurations/species work.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could ask the following:

What happened to the original members of the species modified to be used as inmate suits? Were they all altered/incarcerated or are there still free ones about?

The vast majority of the species present on the worlds that underwent the transformation of pre-Old Empire to Prison Complex were unmodified.

The ONLY ones modified were those that served as the vehicles for inmate containers. In these cases, they were modified as follows...

Inmate "Skin Suits"
[1] Human
[2] Horses
[3] Elephants
[4] Dolphins
[5] Llamas
[6] <a certain selection of minor creatures that are permitted to cohabit with unmodified versions of their species. Too numerous to list here. Feeling and thoughts on this subject is far larger than what  I am able to place here. Listing above is "representative only".>

Higher Energy "skin suits"
[7] Mantid (human)
[8] <not clear> (horses)
[9] <not clear> (elephants)
[10] <not clear> (dolphins)
[11] <not clear> (Llamas)
[12] others

Functionally, all humans (with the exceptions of visitors) are inmates wearing "skin suits".

For other species the issues is quite complex and would be far too confusing to elaborate on at this time. There is only <redacted, as there are too many issues involved in the dissemination of this information, and other "hand holding / learning exercises must be established first before this discussion can continue in meaningful detail.>

[11.2b ] Question – Visitation

Could a pre-prison planet human configuration be getting used by some to experience Earth while avoiding the incarceration loop?

Yes. Occasional human forms visit the prison complex in their natural suits, and are not affected by the influences by the prison complex.

However they too have limitations, and are exposed to dangers in this prison complex that makes the visitation quite dangerous affairs. This is why they rarely visit the complex without accompaniment. Often visitations are in secure locations and under Domain supervisions. (With occasional supervision by approved third parties.)

[11.3 ] Question – High frequency sound

I never thought I would have a question for the Domain commander as most folks here at MM ask pretty relative questions, for the most part. From those Q & A’s I always gain some insight and some valuable intel. With that said, I do have one question.

I continuously hear (in my head) a constant frequency sound much like that of an OSHA sponsored hearing test. Most of the time, the frequency is at a constant high frequency tone. Other times, however, there will be lower tones, usually of short duration (no longer than a minute) as if the sine wave is ramping down to a slower Hz. Much like an electric motor controlled by a frequency inverter.

So, my question is this: Are these frequencies that I’m hearing part of thought monitoring and/or subliminal communication and by whom?

Sounds, as defined by the questioner, are not part of thought monitoring, or subliminal communication.

Questioner is well known. 

Questioner is Domain volunteer. Questioner is modified. Questioner has a Domain support group. Questioner is monitored at various levels. This includes thoughts, and actions. No ill-will is intended, but rather the monitoring is for reasons of Domain usefulness.

Situation is of self. The questioner is hearing the audible frequency of self. This is something that some oriental religions use to "home into" so as to focus on their meditations and "spiritual growth".

Questioner, and numerous readers, have the ability to listen in on their frequencies of self. With practice they can "tune into" the frequencies of higher and lower selves, and even isolate the sounds that they pick up to isolate the various sub-components and harmonics of it. 

These are important skills for consciousness to use to isolate various elements of consciousness from the various non-physical bodies and elements.

There is no danger in tuning into these sounds. The questioner is hearing the various limits and shapes of the frequency profiles of self and is developing a skill set that (inadvertently) came into being after some (of his) non-physical skin suits were modified by Domain.

[11.4] Question – Feedback on Mantid Videos

This is a direct communication between MM and the Commander. I want to know how accurate, or inaccurate I am in the descriptions as to what Mantids are.

They are accurate.

It was a terse answer with no further detail. And perhaps with (a kind of) disgust directed at me that I am questioning my guidance. I wanted some “feedback” on my effort. I was not expecting this. -MM

[11.5 ] Question – Rainbow lines

I have been seeing these pulsating rainbow lines and am wondering what they are? They are very thin like fishing line and form a diamond like pattern of a net. I can only see it when I’m really concentrating on the area around me. A friend said I should bring it up with the commander. Am I catching glimpses of traps?

Thank you for all that you do.

Questioner has a distortion that affects the visual interpretation of physical reality as viewed by the synapses in the brain. This is not of serious concern. 

It is something that sometimes occurs when there is an activation of "higher sensory perception" <trigger chambers?> in the non-physical bodies. This is a sensory overload that results from a data transmission path that is congested or blocked and overwhelms the sensory mechanisms in the biological <caprice, object, body, system> of the individual.

This is nothing to be overly concerned about. 

If questioner desires to enhance this skill-set instead of discounting it as a physical manifestation of a on-going situational input stimulus, then the questioner can do so and discover some non-physical senses would be enhanced though the stimulation.

[11.6] Question – Non-physical effects of nuclear bombs

it was mentioned in AI that Airl’s crew were investigating the effects of nuclear bombs being tested when their ship crashed in Roswell.

There has also been various reports of UFOs buzzing facilities housing nuclear weapons. Apart from the obvious effects of fallout etc affecting the physical world, do these weapons do damage to the non physical worlds as well?

If so what kind of damage can on expect to find in, say, a non physical bubble universe directly “next” (for lack of a better word) to this one if a nuclear weapon is detonated here? What sort of damage did Chernobyl do?

Nuclear weapons are very dangerous. They create great physical and non-physical damage. 

The weapons that were unleashed  in this (geographic region of space) by their wars of conquest (by the Old Empire) created a great loss for many species, and all their spiritual components. 

This region of space was at one time a very lush, rich and prosperous regions of all manner of species of all sizes and shapes. 

However, after their ruinous wars they devastated the land and "salted it" for many, many millions of years.

The physical devastation is clear and well understood by most MM readers. What is not understood is the magnitude of the destruction. It was complete and "primitive" at a level that reduced everything to near primeval states.

The non-physical destruction was horrific. In fact, for a long time, the non-physical regions of this geographic region of space are "danger zones" and normal actions are not possible; it's a ruinous (non-physical) land of dangers, and strange unexpected interactions between thought and physical components. As such, thoughts can create undesirable effects, and all sorts of bad, and undesirable things can happen if sucked into these minefields" of voids.

This is why the Old Empire chose this region (partially) for the prison complex. The nature of the non-physical geography is in itself; very dangerous traps and snares.

[11.7] Question – Feedback on the Heaven Videos

This is a direct communication between MM and the Commander. I want to know how accurate, or inaccurate I am in the descriptions as to what the structure of the main, reality, and heaven universes are.

The videos are effective for the purposes intended. At this point in time, no further detail is needed, were there to be greater detail, we will provide it and you will transcribe it as is your duty.

Sigh. -MM

[11.8] Question -Connection to Domain

Excellent videos on Patreon, thank you; especially the two most recent…just finished the FrsnkensteinnAppliance; Very interesting and compelling things. In my mind I “knew” you had to be from East Brady…..but get dismissing it as my own delusion….it was wonderful to hear you state that in one of the April/May vids. So very synchronistic the way I stumbled onto the MM site….it was about 6 months after I traveled to East Brady for an Uncles funeral; I probably wouldn’t have took a leap of faith if there wasn’t thst potential western PA breadcrumb. Would be interested to know if you have the chance to ask the commander; what is my connection to the Domain? When was it made; ie when was it forged? Or perhaps better stated into a singular question…..How did my connection to the Domain come about and other than me being on “knowledge attainment” path here now what other implications might there be?
Questioner has a prior contract with Domain. (Before this present life-line, in another body, and at another time. -MM)

This is the questioners second try in escaping this prison complex.

Prior life (reincarnation) questioner tried / attempted to pray his way out of the complex. (Image of priest, church, religious setting, much praying. Catholic cross, and religious iconology.) 

This was unsuccessful. 

Upon death, questioner was tricked / manipulated by his mantid self into the warm embrace of (earth time) forgotten loves, associations and friends, and was led back (yet again) into the Heaven pocket universe.

Questioner was contacted by Domain at that point <non-physical> and was working with mantid resources and Domain liaison to create this (present) low-potential escape-way. 

Questioner is further along in escape and departure / egress than what was initially expected. 

Questioner departed from highest probability path by unexpected event chain and is now here in the MM "state of mind".

[11.9] Question – Searching for answers

I have a feeling, a strong feeling that who you were referring to as ” Old Empire” was myself.

I have no memories at all re this but in all honesty it has been my gut feeling since I started this journey with you.

I am rattled and saddened greatly as I fell I quite possibly could have been OE military, it resonates sadly man, so much so I had tears, both of shame and joy when watching the vid,

The offer of a new home made me emotional, very much so.

I also feel I could be the first OE operative ( if it is my reality) in a position to leave but my transition to Domain will not be beer and skittles I would think, I have much shame” in knowing” and others may never accept me, it’s not what or who you are but who you can become yes?

MM I need one more thing mate please, really.

I need to know what I have done, like yourself and your construction parts history, The DC knows for certain and I need to fill that void in my memory. Only if I am worthy of knowing though. I guess reconstruction of my quanta will also take place. If what I feel is correct then I am so so sorry and will have to carry my shame forever.

Love to you man hey, really

<redacted>

Entity was Old Empire as described. 

Questioner fled into the "Prison Complex" upon it's unit defeat in the battled of <unclear, confused, garble> (Impression I have is of a space battle in and around our solar system). 

Questioner fled into the complex knowing the consequences of such an action. 

Questioner, at that time, greatly feared Domain. 

His superiors and "news / telecommunication" mediums filled the population with great fears. It was used to control them, and they were terrified of Domain capture and the punishments that they could look forward to. 

Questioner felt (at that time) that a life inside the Old Empire Prison complex was more desirable to that of the "Hell" that awaited it under Domain.

Questioner voluntarily entered soul and consciousness segregation and partitioning. It's "mantid(s)" established "camouflage" templates for it to exist within. (Whereas most Old Empire leadership would enter the prison complex and set up templates of luxury, and ornate power, this entity was military, and it's thoughts were in terms of survival, evasion and escape. The templates have all been "average", and nothing that would stand out of the normal.)

Questioner was a military member of "Old Empire". 

Was talented and practiced. It was a career militarist, and was not of the same kind of "evil" and corrupt character as the Old Empire Leadership was. 

Questioner's shame is misplaced.

Domain have no problems with this prior combatant, and view it as "paid it's price". In fact, many time worse than what the Domain would have done were it not to have fled and escaped as it has. Domain consider this entity to have long "paid it's dues" and wish to welcome it and embrace it as one of it's own.

Domain welcomes it's parolee outside of the Prison Complex that it finds itself in.

Translation: Domain welcomes the questioner to leave the Prison Complex with no ill feelings. Even join Domain if that is the desire of the entity. -MM

[11.10] Question – Seth

I’d like to ask the Commander if they can tell us whether a series of books known as ‘The Seth Material’ is a genuine communication, over many years, between a now deceased human named ‘Jane Roberts’ and a disembodied entity named ‘Seth’, or if it’s (a very clever) hoax.

The reason I ask is that, like most folks on here, I expect, I’m a big seeker after Truth, and the Seth Material entity speaks very much like a member of The Domain– at least in my limited understanding he does. Much of what Airl and the Domain Commander ‘speak of’ is also spoken of by Seth; except he never mentions a Prison Planet. He also speaks of what Metallicman has been reporting about for years now: True nature of reality and the universe; individual paths along the MWI; quantum reality and thoughts as real substance.

If Seth is genuine, I believe these works would be a great resource– lots and lots of helpful detail– for any Metallicman followers, in that Seth also goes into ‘prayer campaigns’– focused thoughts– in a LOT of detail, and the importance of doing good works and directing one’s thinking toward positive outcomes, and much more besides. It’s a fascinating alternative glimpse into true reality and if it’s a hoax, it’s a brilliant one. Seth also has quite the sense of humour as the Domain and Mantids do, too.

Interestingly, Seth also says that ‘revelations’ from his kind ‘are permitted’ about once every 30 years or so to many people around the world and are not really reported on for obvious reasons in this statist society. I thought it was interesting that Metallicman’s works are a generation or so after Seth, and could be a continuation of a process that the Domain knows about– or some inter-dimensional grouping known to the Domain; kind of like what D.M. has referred to.

Lastly, Seth also speaks of the importance of action, rather than thought or reflection as ends in themselves– and that human beings are creatures of action; and need to ‘be active’ in order to live fully, or be complete. A much maligned practice in the world of the metaverse we know inhabit. The Commander also spoke of this action, too. I recall their messages about contemplation/meditation not being of much use as far as escaping the Prison Planet reality– rather, activated and focused thought along with unselfish RUFUS-like behaviour is the way out.

Just a few too many coincidences as far as I’m concerned! Metallicman has provided us with his own unique human insights about his experience, but Seth to me sounds like a true resident of the Never Never. But he has lived numerous lives on Earth– and confirms that we all do.

MM can attest that his mother was a follower of Seth.

Seth is one venue out of many that are busy providing egress paths for people to follow. Questioner must recognize that there are many different kinds of people each one with greatly divergent pasts, knowledge and education.

There is no singular path out of the Prison Complex, but many.

Some paths require multiple incarnations to get to the point of egress. While other paths provide direct means and direct pathways; like superhighways.

Questioner should realize that there is not relative "best" advisor for egress, but rather multiple "roadmaps". It depends on the person, and their method of travel. If one drove a car, then a travel map would be appropriate, while a different kind of map would be necessary were they to travel by helicopter. 

Seth is designed as a multi-stage egress platform / kit for use by certain seekers. MM is a different system, and it is designed for a different kind of person. 

The questioner has altered perceptions to embrace both methodology in their ultimate objectives.

Ah, you are “good to go”. -MM

[11.11a] Question – Law of One

Hi MM, thank you again for your extraordinary dedication to this ongoing communication. I’m not certain where questions are to be posted, so here is mine., background first:

Don Elkins and Carla Ruckert conducted and published a dialog with a spiritual IS-BE group who identified themself as Ra about 40 years ago. It was titled The Law Of One. The concept of sentience sorting into STO and STS polarities, as the main task to be completed in our current series of lifetimes, is presented as a plan assisted by them. This idea, although without any reference to a prison system, has striking similarities to the Commander’s messages.

Is Ra part of the Domain, part of the Mantid group, or neither of them?

The idea or concept of sorting into sentience (STO, STS, others) is a Domain requirement. This is unique to Domain. Domain is the administration control over this regions of physical space. No other group, no matter how powerful, or no matter what pedigree, has that authority.

Sorting is the technique used to determine which consciousnesses can leave the Prison Complex, and which needs to stay. 

[1] Only Domain is able to make that judgement. 

[2] Only Domain is able to take that judgement on an individual consciousness and enable / permit egress out of prison.

[3] Only Domain is able to grant parole to egressed inmates.

[4] Only Domain has a system in place to take the orphaned consciousnesses and reconfigure their quantum makeup to regroup back to their former hive, matrix or other soul forms.

Domain was active in dissemination of this understanding to the human population. We used different vehicles to do so. In this event sequence, the 80/20 rule manifested, of the entirety of contacts that obtained our direction (in various means including walk-ins) only 20% were able to disseminate the message regarding sentience sorting. This group that the questioner has referred to is one such group. And it has been successful in it's task.

Yet why this sentience sorting HAD and NEEDED to occur wasn't always made clear to the audience. This resulted in some misunderstandings, as well as certain manipulations by "bad actors" for reasons of personal profit.

[11.11b] Question – Law of One

Is the idea of spiritual existence organized into density octaves of 7 levels each, which comprise a ‘journey’ of spiritual development back to the creator, valid?

It is a technique used to convey understanding. It is only as accurate as it's utility.

MM provides understanding. It too, is only as accurate as it's utility.

The purpose behind communication of this kind of arcane information is in regards to its utility in understanding. Different peoples understandings will vary from person to person. Thus the utility becomes different.

There are many ways to group the periodic table of elements. Each grouping has it's own utility depending on who is using that table. If the questioner finds the Ra teachings of utility then it is advised to follow it.

I am providing some examples here for the reader to understand what the Commander is talking about. As it is comm with me, and uses my references to communicate.

Here’s the most common table. This is the one that most people think is the “correct one”.

x
Common version

Here’s other tables, in other forms and shapes, depending on the needs of the user. There is not “correct table”.

x
x

x
x

5 curled ribbon

x
The Adomah Periodic Table (2006)

x
The Periodic Table of Element Scarcity (2018)

x
The Periodic Table of Chemical Bonds (2019)

[11.11c] Question – Law of One

If so, can you reconcile/elaborate/integrate this idea of ‘Densities’ with regard to the Domain, Mantids, and MWI?

Thank You!

No.

Well, that was terse. Sheech! – MM

Please do not be taken aback by that abrupt and terse answer.

The imagery that I received was a discrete “package” that pretty much explains that terminology is associated with specific projects or actions. For instance, a “spanner wrench” is associated with automotive repair, while a MRI is associated with a medical procedure.

I got the distinct impression that the term “densities” is a “catch all” phrase used to describe things in a general manner. While the audience (herein) are far more advanced and other terms and systems should be used for more specific questions.

Which, of course, scares me. As I have to define the terms for each specific situation that we will get involved in. Yikes! Sounds like a heck of a lot of work for ol’ MM here.

Also, this is a big question. “Domain, Mantids, and MWI” include EVERYTHING that I (as MM) talk about.  The impression that I have is that the readership are too mature and advanced to rely on simplistic terms. Anyways, that is the response that I obtained.

I would suggest some very specific questions related to your thoughts, experiences, or wonderings. Then we can go from there, and try to incorporate the ideas of “densities” with specific contexts.

[11.12] Question – Overwhelming Old Empire systems

I have a question for the Domain:
  • Earth is one of many prison complexes in operation.
  • Human populations have been increasing for 10,000+ years, and relatively recently the population has exploded, increasing exponentially.
  • Thus, earth seems to be a desirable destination for souls/ISBEs or are other prison complexes are closing down and souls need somewhere to be incarcerated – earth being the melting pot of nonconformity.
  • If this is accurate, then mantid numbers must also be increasing (I assume 1 mantid per human/soul).
  • If earth/humans are heading towards some cataclysm, per Deagal Forecast and USA actions, then is there a concern that heaven and the brain washing mechanisms can be overwhelmed when people go over to the other side (heaven), and if so what happens.
  • Can the Domain comment on this and where are all these extra ISBEs, assuming I phrased my question understandably.
Answered carefully with an "alert chill".

First off, the population of humans, dolphins, horses, elephants, etc is an illusion. They are empty containers for the most part (shadow people -MM) The actual inmate population is less than the apparent population of the earth. Not every container has an element of consciousness within it. The only ones of consequence are those that involve your consciousness.

Secondly, the prison population has been growing for many years. However, this growth has slowed down considerably since Domain has acquired control over this sector. The only "new" souls are the constructed ones created in the Heaven pocket universes. These are constructs; much like MM is a construct from elements of Mades Escapleon.

Third point. The Old Empire Prison Complex is under Domain control. It consists of multiple planetary systems. Each one has it's own unique issues, problems, and overall plans established by Domain. None are being phased out. Instead, rather, they are being refurbished as "parole centers" for those sentience's that are not yet ready for release.

Fourth point. Mantid membership is a function of higher energy quanta. This is fixed, but associated with the lower energy consciousness. Since the population is mostly stable in the closed-cell environment, the number of mantids (sic) are stable. This includes the new constructed soul (derived) consciousnesses, as they too must have an associated higher energy (mantid GP and Prime) to function.

Fifth Point. Domain is proceeding towards "small bads" instead of "Large Bads" in regards to the Deagal forecast. The transition stations are well populated and readied for an influx of pockets of consciousness. These will come in arrival grouping of clusters and will not overwhelm the strengthened systems that we have put in place. 

Contrary to the impressions that one might have from reading the <inaccurate?> Deagel report, the trend-lines will NOT be sudden, but will be an accumulation of event sequences that will increase the transition period for many humans from life to death. The change in the status quo will be gradual and occur over a period of time. It will not be sudden. It will manifest as a clear increase in the rate of death to a point where it becomes more noticeable than the media reports are to hide it.

I am a believer in the Deagel Report, but apparently the Commander believes things a tad differently.

It did not say that the report was wrong, but rather that the illusion that one might get from reading it will lead one towards erroneous conclusions as to what is actually going on. -MM

[11.13a] Question – an energetic sensation

Something happened to me today that hasn’t happened for awhile and I was wondering if the commander could shed some light on what it is (or you if you know the answer).

Sometimes, usually when i am driving, but can also be when I am just lounging around, I get this energetic sensation.

If you have ever had an operation and had morphine injected intravenously, it kind of feels like the initial part where it goes into your vein, how you get that sort of warm feeling that shoots all around your body. It’s like you can feel it in your blood coursing throughout your body. it is an incredibly potent feeling and makes one feel rather good and invincible; it is hard to not just sit there and veg out on its feeling.

It has a tendency to make you feel quite sleepy.

I have noticed that I get this when i think of specific things to do with my tasks, and some thoughts generate a more potent reaction to others.

Question: is this a “nudging” from a higher source, like the Domain, EG, Mantids etc, and if so who?

Questioner is getting input, or a higher energy nature, that is not generally normal for the standard skin suit. This is a function of his role within an organization that he has committed to, and the higher energy is designed to assist him in his tasks. 

The over all effect of this injection of energy is an awakening of latent (astral travel / LD / PSI / ESP) abilities. The questioner should find some skills arise from disuse in the near future. Perhaps in the late Spring or early Summer. It will depend on the energy partitioning with his partner. As he is the "capacitor" that is used to "charge" the energy streams with his direct partner.

This is an agreed to alteration of his skin suit, and is in agreement with his mantid GP (sic). There is a transfer of certain quanta packages from the mantid cluster and reapportioning to "pockets" / key-ways in the non-physical bodies. 

The direction of this alteration of his non-physical body is the leadership of his parent organization. The participants of this action are his mantid GP (sic) and his partner.

[11.13b] Question – an energetic sensation

Question: Am I correct in assuming that it is nudging me towards a specific thought, and that if take those moment to rest I may receive a download of information.

Yes. The questioner is correct. In this case, the questioner needs to adjust to the alterations and then practice in handling the changes in input.

The questioner needs to heighten awareness for the information discharge.

[11.14] Question – Fractional son

I wanted to ask a question to be included in a future Q and A with the commander but I thought I would run by you in private before I put in on the forum.
I wanted to ask if my oldest son is a member of the lost battalion. What I am not sure of is you need his name or my name?
I also want to make sure that this is an appropriate question, as I know it is a personal question. If it is not appropriate that is absolutely OK and I wont ask .
Questioner's son is a fractional.

Fractional entities are IS-BEs who have been separated into multiple consciousness's and placed into different bodies for the purposes of control and "education" as determined by the mantid Primes (sic).

Questioners son is a fractional with Domain elementals. 

We are monitoring this skin-suit and have a team engaged in the monitoring of the entity in question. All consciousnesses are treated as unique self-aware entities and are thus handled as individuals. 

Questioner cannot answer or relay information for this individual without subjecting it to risk and potential danger. It is the responsibility for the fractional itself to do so.

[11.15] Question

I think I’ve just connected with a lost battalion member.

She emailed me after coming across my site. She says she is another astral warrior and related some very familiar experiences of hers within the astral planes/ lucid dreaming, and being contacted by other non physical beings that randomly showed up (physically) and took her to what sounds like a similar place I went to.

She’s gone through all the astral training both me and <redacted> have gone through, including all the consciousness and timeline stuff.

I am wondering if the Domain are able to do a similar check on like they did with Miri’s baker friend? i plan on sending her your way, but not entirely sure how to proceed. MM, without going into details our conversation, if she is not Domain then, she is definitely some one special.

She said her ethereal name is Ayanna, Soul name is Sfeah, Human name is Tabatha, if that helps.

Target is not Domain.

Target is (indeed) a very special consciousness. This consciousness is on a "fast track" towards egress from this prison planet environment though repeated (previous reincarnation) attempts. They are active in a number (not singular) "escape" groups. The are aggressive and already has a full escape plan in with association with your parent organization.

They have already (step by step) reassembled their <portable / isolated> soul cluster outside of the Heaven pocket universe, and thus are already on their way towards egress independent of Domain assistance.

Questioner is advised to respect this entity and provide assistance as they might request it to be.

[11.16] Question – Fate

You had an interesting story last year about a fellow who was fated to hang (it was his destiny).  He was however, granted several wishes by a genie, but however he tried to change his fate, he was still hung.

My question then, can we escape our fate (destiny)?

For example, if we are fated to hang, can we escape the hangman’s noose and live a full enchanted life.  Concurrently, nobody (or very few) actually know what their fate is, so how can we escape our fate without  knowing what our fate is?

Fate is a function of the gravitational influences on the physical body. It can either be in relative favor, or relative disfavor. On a functional basis it can be viewed as a measure of the relative ease that a consciousness is able to exist within the prison complex environment.

Destiny is a function of the world line template (sic). A consciousness can travel upon the template and alter the events that it may experience. However, all templates are predetermined by the mantid prime / consciousness within the pocket Heaven universe. The consciousness may elect to create a new template from which to occupy, but it requires a strong sense of will and concentrated power of thought. Unless maintained, the consciousness will default to the pre-birth world-line template (sic) and in that event the end of the life will be pre-determined.

The only true and real way to escape this situation of living a fated template life is to exit the "reality universe" and enter the "main universe" while being part of a soul cluster of some type. Once that is accomplished, the idea of purpose in regards to physical experiences enters a completely different kind of understanding.

[11.17] Question – Tibetan Book of the Dead (Thödol)

A question to the Commander about the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Thödol) and its instructions, on which light to follow or not follow after death.

Are these buddhist texts wrong, should you not go into any light (bright or dull) at all, and instead of that stay calm and call the Domain for pickup?

How are these instructions in the Thödöl to be interpreted?

Where do they come from?

For clarifying, from the Tibetan Book of the Dead: HERE

In the first Bardo, the Chikhai Bardo, the deceased will experience the primary clear light at the last breath.

And a second clear light half an hour after the last expiration.

Both lights lead to freedom/liberation the Thödöl says.

But only holy men grab the moment it seems, ordinary people miss it and go into the second bardo after being three days unconscious.

Day 1 of the second bardo, the Chönyid Bardo, around the 4th day after dying: “Then, from the Central Realm, called the Spreading Forth of the Seed, the Bhagavān Vairochana, white in colour, and seated upon a lion-throne, bearing an eight-spoked wheel in his hand, and embraced by the Mother of the Space of Heaven, will manifest himself to thee.

It is the aggregate of matter resolved into its primordial state which is the blue light.

The Wisdom of the Dharma-Dhātu, blue in colour, shining, transparent, glorious, dazzling, from the heart of Vairochana as the Father-Mother, will shoot forth and strike against thee with a light so radiant that thou wilt scarcely be able to look at it.

Along with it, there will also shine a dull white light from the devas, which will strike against thee in thy front.

Thereupon, because of the power of bad karma, the glorious blue light of the Wisdom of the DharmaDhātu will produce in thee fear and terror, and thou wilt [with to] flee from it.

Thou wilt beget a fondness for the dull white light of the devas. At this stage, thou must not be awed by the divine blue light which will appear shining, dazzling, and glorious; and be not startled by it.

That is the light of the Tathagata called the Light of the Wisdom of the Dharma-Dhātu.

Put thy faith in it, believe in it firmly, and pray unto it, thinking in thy mind that it is the light proceeding from the heart of the Bhagavān Vairochana coming to receive thee while in the dangerous ambuscade of the Bardo.

That light is the light of the grace of Vairochana.

Be not fond of the dull white light of the devas. Be not attached [to it]; be not weak.

If thou be attached to it, thou wilt wander into the abodes of the devas and be drawn into the whirl of the Six Lokas.

That is an interruption to obstruct thee on the Path of Liberation.”

This will repeat every day for four days, going through all the colours, e.g the elements dissolving: blue, white, yellow, red, green – there is always a very bright light which leads to a heavenly realm – or a dull light which leads to a hell-realm. If you don’t follow these lights you will wander around in the next bardo (bardo being the state in-between) and be reborn in, on average, 7 weeks after dying according to the Thödöl.

This is deceptive. The observed appearance and manifestation of light that one experiences is a direct function of the resonance of the harmonics of the energy structure of the higher selves (mantid (sic)).

It is true that the appearance can be used as an indicative measure of the terrain that the consciousness must endure, it is not a shared and repeatable action. To experience what is written, the person must be a long-term practitioner (decades of intense practice) of Tibetan religious ritual.

Those that are not, will derive no benefit from the teachings.

The containers (sic) that are defined as the vessels of the quanta (as determined by energy state) are not fixed and rigid, but as always subject to change, manipulation, growth and evolution. This is why higher energy quanta fits within certain lattice patterns. As well as how the consciousness containers adapt to the fixtures that define the containers.

There are sequences of events that one will experience, but those sequences will vary from observer to observer.

There are no rule-books, guides, or teachings that can prepare the deceased consciousness for the event sequence that will manifest before them.

[11.18] Question – Annunaki

Hi. Pretty straight forward question about the prison complex I hope you can ask the Commander MM. Unless you already know the answer yourself of course.

I take it that the human beings in this final form were created probably a couple of hundreds thousands years ago by other beings, some call them Annunaki.

Am I correct that they also previously by other beings had created another race millions of years ago, and they were being set incharge of humans, as caretakers/overwatchers of the human race?

These overwatchers seem in fact pretty much just like prison guards as I understand it. To me they sound a lot like The Old Empire. Are they in fact the Old Empire or are actually the Annunaki themselves OE?

When the Old Empire encountered this region of physical space, it was a prosperous area. There were colonies containing numerous  species though out this region of space, and numerous settlements on the planet Earth.

When they entered this region they took it by force. Many of the inhabitants were killed. Many cities were destroyed. Many inhabitants fled because this entire region was no longer a safe area to live in.

Upon the ruins, the Old Empire constructed multiple prison complexes.

The earliest writings of the ancient Sumerians reflect historical records that were passed down over the generations of the initial construction of this prison complex. They have, over time, became distorted and confused, and the semblance of order, timing and participants lost or misinterpreted.

Further confusing this situation are / has been, repeated attempts at distortions of the past and a sorting of the event trains. Thus, what remains today are but pale distortions of what was once, a very impressive  effort by the Old Empire to construct this Prison Planet Complex into what it is today.

The "overwatchers" and the Annunaki are historical references to what was (in all probability) Old Empire residents involved in work in this region.

[11.19a] Question – Time

I don’t know if this has been asked before. If it was, please disregard. I want to ask the DC as we all know that time is a human-made artificial construct and does not exist as such, why we humans seem to perceive time is “speeding” and going “faster” in this turmoil period; a common quote is “time flies”. When everything is peaceful we humans perceive time as “slow”.

The question is: Is “time” manipulated as “fast” to get the bulk of human beings on Earth moving to specific (troublesome) world-lines?

The experience of "time" is the movement of consciousness through world-lines (sic). It can be speeded up, or slowed, by the consciousness that resides within the physical body. Slowing; things moving in slow motion, relative to the observer, is an example of the consciousness moving slower through the various world-lines. Often it is due to a physical event that the consciousness is experiencing.

[11.19b] Question – Bads

My second and last question: The geo-political situation is apparently converging to full-scale world war. Is this situation changeable towards “small bads” or the “big bad” we don’t want (full nuclear WWIII) is now defined as the most probable outcome?

As of 6 August 2022...

It now (at this point in time) highly probable that "medium bads" will occur. 

It is no longer "small bads". 

The situation in the Western nations are gyrating out of control, and this is forcing the Eastern nations into actions that they are reluctant to engage in.

Those in the West (i.e. The United States) have [1] this belief that they have some special "God provided" protection. [2] That they have some super secret, special weapons and technology. [3] That much of this technology was reverse engineered from Domain or similar advanced sources. [4] That they can win and destroy the East using these advanced equipment, technology, and abilities.

All of the belief structures are in error. 

The "secret weapons" are neither secret, nor wholly functional. The idea that the West will unify under a combined threat level is not realistic. The overall belief that nuclear submarines are undetectable and lie hidden is in error. 

<redacted>

They are careering towards a very bad outcome. 

We now anticipate "medium bads". Though we are working hard to contain them, there is a near deleterious insanity that has gripped the "leadership" of the West and they believe that the destruction of the world is an acceptable outcome provided that they still rule it.

The vision of the world that they envision is a very bad one and will result in millions of years of global devastation. No reproduction of current sentient life will be able to occur. The prison complex will evolve into a lonely, abandoned husk of waste floating within it's own isolation universe, and abandoned by the Domain to be forgotten and ignored.

Domain will not permit this.

We consider this an emergency.

We have requested other (Domain) resources to assist in this on-going emergency potential. This might necessitate infected mass die-offs in the aggressive (leadership's) population centers on the planet. 

We will arrange additional resources to assist in the transition period of the various die-offs so that the existing systems are not overwhelmed. Consciousness's will be directed and funneled into the proper segmentation and sorting avenues. We need to allocate resources to avoid swamping the systems already in place.

We (Domain) learned from our mistakes in the past, and this situation will be tracked to a different vector than what it is on now, though it will not appear to be that way to many of the readership. (Commander is talking about common template tracking and the sub-template structures. -MM) 

However, there will be some great hardship in the world. Mostly the collective West.

Great damage and casualties can be avoided, however the realistic probability of this actually manifesting is getting smaller and smaller  over time. <redacted>

There will be certain pockets of the West that will be poisoned. And given the resources (Domain resources) it might take a long time before they are cleaned up. 

We are working presently to avoid the "medium bads" from manifesting. We are not hopeful.

MM comments…

Where a “medium bad” is a catastrophic nuclear exchange resulting in a one-sided destruction on a planet-wide scale. It is not the total destruction of the world, just a complete destruction of selected parts of it. The image that I have (from the Domain Commander) is of an orange with big black spots on it.

x
Image provided to me was something that looked a little like this.

[11.19b-1] Question – Medium Bads

For the audience, and to help in my understanding. Please define what a “medium bad” is.

A "big bad" is measured in a billion or more people killed.

A "medium bad" is measured in the hundreds of millions killed.

A "small bad" is measured in one or two millions killed.

The present situation is somewhere between a small and a medium bad. It includes all deaths from war and the (hidden) bio-wars currently in process.

[11.19b-2] Question – Why has things changed?

Why are you talking about “medium bads” instead of “little bads”?

The West are following the recommendations of RAND to the letter. There has been no deviation from the plan as laid out by the United States "think tank". This proceeds to plan throughout the actions of every one of the last five (or six) presidents.

They define victory as the destruction of the East with the West remaining the dominant remaining power. 

This necessitates nuclear warfare with America making a first-strike against their enemies. This includes crippling, then looting Russia. This includes suppression of Iran, and strengthening Western access to the mineral resources in the Middle Easts. However, their main target is China.

China, to the leadership and the RAND organization, is viewed as a plump and ripe fruit ready to obtain. It is viewed as weak by the Western leadership. Though, on a specific basis, the Western specialized analysts advise that the leadership impressions and positions are gravely in error.

China is the cultural oasis of Domain in this physical sphere.  We cannot permit it's destruction.

We (Domain) can confirm that Western "first strike" plans are in place.

We can confirm that the idea of a normalized "first strike" is in normal day-to-day discourse even though the plans call for a segmentation of the world into geographic regions prior to that event train.

Previous lessons (on other planets) have followed this path and in every case the results have been horrific / catastrophic. We will implement certain changes and that will mitigate the damage somewhat.

[11.19b-3] Question – How will China survive?

The United States is going to destroy China with it’s 6000+ nuclear weapons.  I am convinced of this, especially from the last answer. What can be done?

The only way that China can survive is to work with Russia and pre-emptively launch a first strike against the West. 

You know this. Calm down and be objective, you need to focus for clarity of group communication. (I was berated by the commander. -MM)

[11.19b-4] Question – What can MM do?

And what about me? Personally?

You have relocated to a safe place. The greatest risks are undersea nuclear detonations causing tidal waves on major coastal cities. Additionally, there is a belief that Hong Kong can be "turned" and become a vassal state in the West. Your present location (and your future location) are both secure.

Once, the American manufactured SLBMs and ICBMs take out military targets, the primary Western strategy is to use swarms of fighters each carrying nuclear gravity bombs to pummel the Chinese countryside and cities. These are special modifications to the F-35 strike fighter (and standoff bombers such as the B-1, and aging B-52) that is now deployed world-wide. Devastating China completely and eviscerating all of the infrastructure inside of China. Turning it, in effect, into a very large ruin (much like Syria today).

A first strike will eviscerate Chinese defenses, secondary strikes by swarms of fighter bombers will canvas the nation. In short order, after the rubbling of the nation, a subsequent long conventional war will ensue, with the American leadership safe living somewhat normal lives in America.

However, and I caution, this plan, which is well understood inside of certain "leadership" circles, will not manifest.

Because it will not manifest, you and your family will remain safe. However, there will be complexities in your life that will complicate your life to a certain degree. These will be unavoidable, but not overly uncomfortable. You will continue to eat, and provide a useful role in society.

[11.19b-5] Question – Traumatized China

The Nancy Poliski trip has traumatized China. Will China make any dangerous or rash moves out of vengeance? I am concerned as I have never seen China so unified in fury.

China is following a course and strategy that it has laid out years ago. 

The only change in the unfolding events of the last few days is an acceleration of the planning and systems already in the works.

By the time the West starts to implement the segmentation of the world into two halves, the value of the global currency will have changed. The power structures of many "friends" will have changed, and the stances of various allied nations will have changed. China is aware of this.

China will proceed with a <hidden> strategy that they have coordinated with the SEC and Russia. This may or may not include military activity. However, it will include <redacted> and that will devastate the West.

[11.19b-6] Question – The United States

I am assuming that for the scenarios to manifest, that a first-strike effort must be taken by both Russia and China simultaneously. Is this even possible?

I cannot believe that they are talking or discussing this reality.

There is an understanding between Xi Peng and Putin. It is deep, incisive and visceral. 

You need not try to over think the possible scenarios that will manifest these event trains. 

You simply need to accept that nothing lasts forever, and that those that play with fire tend to be scorched.

This was plainly, explicitly and clearly, explained to President Biden by Xi Peng, and he chose to ignore the one singular warning. 

There will be no further warnings.

[11.19b-7] Question – The United States ruin

Please tell me what kind of damage that the USA might experience.

There are too many variables at this point in time. I am unable to assist you.

You can expect massive die-offs. The predicted outcomes (based on non-earth predictive models) suggest a bulk die-off due to starvation, illness, and lack of proper medical care. Deaths due to radiation will be minor, only amounting to a few (handful's of) millions of Americans.

Reconstruction of the United States in whatever form (eventually) develops will be fraught with civil discord, terrible logistics, and a serious lack of medical care. Hygiene will plummet as access to potable water ends, staples such as toothpaste and toilet paper evaporate, and viruses torment the populace.

Plants and farms will struggle as most plants use GMO seeds that require a precise mixture of fertilization, weather, and soil conditions that are only possible with complete mechanized farming technologies. Fruit and vegetables will become increasingly difficult to obtain.

A short and brief "limited" nuclear, or conventional attack on American soil is further erode the social structure, but the government, itself, is very resilient. The United States will continue to operate, in a fashion, even though it will be "toothless".

[11.20] Question – Hypersonic missiles

Last minute question.

I just read a report that a Russian engineer / scientist was arrested to selling secret hypersonic technology to China. Is this true? What is going on?

Commander *snorts* and *laughs*. (An odd enough gesture.) <Chills>

Source is CNN; American disinformation outlet. None of their readership have the ability to verify or deny the "report".

Seeding of articles with disinformation is for purposes unrelated to MM discourse. You can safely ignore the *blather*.

My guess is that CNN disinfo is trying to portray the illusion that Russia is alone and not all that friendly to China. This idea seems to fit into the narrative that Russia and China can somehow be separated from each other. -MM

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Law 44 of the 48 Laws of Power; Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect

This is law 44 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of the Mirror Effect.

  • Mirror Effects can disturb or entrance others, giving you power to manipulate or seduce them.

There are four main Mirror effects:

  • The Neutralizing Effect: do what your enemies do, following their actions as best you can, and they are blinded.  A reverse version is the Shadow – shadow your opponents every move without them seeing you.
  • The Narcissus Effect: look into the desires, values, tastes, spirit of others, and reflect it back to them.
  • The Moral Effect: teach others by giving them a taste of their own medicine. They must realize you are doing to them the same thing they did to you.
  • The Hallucinatory Effect: create a perfect copy of an object, a place, a person, that people take for the real thing, because it has the physical appearance of the real thing.

Key Points…

  • Understand: Everyone is wrapped up in their own narcissistic shell. When you try to impose your own ego on them, a wall goes up, resistance is increased. By mirroring them, however, you seduce them into a kind of narcissistic rapture: They are gazing at a double of their own soul. This double is actually manufactured in its entirety by you. Once you have used the mirror to seduce them, you have great power over them.
  • One way to create a mirror for someone is to teach them a lesson through an analogy, avoiding the reactionary increase in resistance you’d encounter if brought up directly.
  • Note: avoid mirrored situations you don’t understand, as those involved will quickly see through it, and the mirrored situation will not live up to the original.

LAW 44

DISARM AND INFURIATE WITH THE MIRROR EFFECT

JUDGMENT

The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of the Mirror Effect.

MIRROR EFFECTS: Preliminary Typology

Mirrors have the power to disturb us. Gazing at our reflection in the mirror, we most often see what we want to see—the image of ourselves with which we are most comfortable. We tend not to look too closely, ignoring the wrinkles and blemishes. But if we do look hard at the reflected image, we sometimes feel that we are seeing ourselves as others see us, as a person among other people, an object rather than a subject. That feeling makes us shudder—we see ourselves, but from the outside, minus the thoughts, spirit, and soul that fill our consciousness. We are a thing.

In using Mirror Effects we symbolically re-create this disturbing power by mirroring the actions of other people, mimicking their movements to unsettle and infuriate them. Made to feel mocked, cloned, objectlike, an image without a soul, they get angry. Or do the same thing slightly differently and they might feel disarmed—you have perfectly reflected their wishes and desires. This is the narcissistic power of mirrors. In either case, the Mirror Effect unsettles your targets, whether angering or entrancing them, and in that instant you have the power to manipulate or seduce them. The Effect contains great power because it operates on the most primitive emotions.

There are four main Mirror Effects in the realm of power:

The Neutralizing Effect. In ancient Greek mythology, the Gorgon Medusa had serpents for hair, protruding tongue, massive teeth, and a face so ugly that anyone who gazed at her was turned into stone, out of fright. But the hero Perseus managed to slay Medusa by polishing his bronze shield into a mirror, then using the reflection in the mirror to guide him as he crept up and cut off her head without looking at her directly. If the shield in this instance was a mirror, the mirror also was a kind of shield: Medusa could not see Perseus, she saw only her own reflected actions, and behind this screen the hero stole up and destroyed her.

This is the essence of the Neutralizing Effect: Do what your enemies do, following their actions as best you can, and they cannot see what you are up to—they are blinded by your mirror. Their strategy for dealing with you depends on your reacting to them in a way characteristic of you; neutralize it by playing a game of mimicry with them. The tactic has a mocking, even infuriating effect. Most of us remember the childhood experience of someone teasing us by repeating our words exactly—after a while,

usually not long, we wanted to punch them in the face. Working more subtly as an adult, you can still unsettle your opponents this way; shielding your own strategy with the mirror, you lay invisible traps, or push your opponents into the trap they planned for you.

This powerful technique has been used in military strategy since the days of Sun-tzu; in our own time it often appears in political campaigning. It is also useful for disguising those situations in which you have no particular strategy yourself. This is the Warrior’s Mirror.

THE MERCHANT AND HIS DESIRE

A certain merchant once had a great desire to make a long journey. Now in regard that he was not very wealthy, “It is requisite, ”said he to himself, “that before my departure I should leave some part of my estate in the city, to the end that if I meet with ill luck in my travels, I may have wherewithal to keep me at my return.”To this purpose he delivered a great number of bars of iron, which were a principal part of his wealth, in trust to one of his friends, desiring him to keep them during his absence; and then, taking his leave, away he went. Some time after, having had but ill luck in his travels, he returned home; and the first thing he did was to go to his friend, and demand his iron: but his friend, who owed several sums of money, having sold the iron to pay his own debts, made him this answer: “Truly, friend,”said he, “I put your iron into a room that was close locked, imagining it would have been there as secure as my own gold; but an accident has happened which no one could have suspected, for there was a rat in the room which ate it all up.” The merchant, pretending ignorance, replied, “It is a terrible misfortune to me indeed; but I know of old that rats love iron extremely; I have suffered by them many times before in the same manner, and therefore can the better bear my present affliction.” This answer extremely pleased the friend, who was glad to hear the merchant so well inclined to believe that a rat had eaten his iron; and to remove all suspicions, desired him to dine with him the next day. The merchant promised he would, but in the meantime he met in the middle of the city one of his friend’s children; the child he carried home, and locked up in a room. The next day he went to his friend, who seemed to be in great affliction, which he asked him the cause of, as if he had been perfectly ignorant of what had happened. ”O, my dear friend,” answered the other, ”I beg you to excuse me, if you do not see me so cheerful as otherwise I would be; I have lost one of my children; I have had him cried by sound of trumpet, but I know not what is become of him.” “O!” replied the merchant, ”I am grieved to hear this; for yesterday in the evening, as I parted from hence, I saw an owl in the air with a child in his claws; but whether it were yours I cannot tell.” “Why, you most foolish and absurd creature!” replied the friend, ”are you not ashamed to tell such an egregious lie? An owl, that weighs at most not above two or three pounds, can he carry a boy that weighs above fifty?” ”Why,” replied the merchant, ”do you make such a wonder at that? As if in a country where one rat can eat a hundred tons’ weight of iron, it were such a wonder for an owl to carry a child that weighs not over fifty pounds in all!” The friend, upon this, found that the merchant was no such fool as he took him to be, begged his pardon for the cheat which he designed to have put apon him, restored him the value of his iron, and so had his son again.

FABLES, PILPAY. INDIA. FOURTH CENTURY

A reverse version of the Neutralizing Effect is the Shadow: You shadow your opponents’ every move without their seeing you. Use the Shadow to gather information that will neutralize their strategy later on, when you will be able to thwart their every move. The Shadow is effective because to follow the movements of others is to gain valuable insights into their habits and routines. The Shadow is the preeminent device for detectives and spies.

The Narcissus Effect. Gazing at an image in the waters of a pond, the Greek youth Narcissus fell in love with it. And when he found out that the image was his own reflection, and that he therefore could not consummate his love, he despaired and drowned himself. All of us have a similar problem: We are profoundly in love with ourselves, but since this love excludes a love object outside ourselves, it remains continuously unsatisfied and unfulfilled. The Narcissus Effect plays on this universal narcissism: You look deep into the souls of other people; fathom their inmost desires, their values, their tastes, their spirit; and you reflect it back to them, making yourself into a kind of mirror image. Your ability to reflect their psyche gives you great power over them; they may even feel a tinge of love.

This is simply the ability to mimic another person not physically, but psychologically, and it is immensely powerful because it plays upon the unsatisfied self-love of a child. Normally, people bombard us with their experiences, their tastes. They hardly ever make the effort to see things through our eyes. This is annoying, but it also creates great opportunity: If you can show you understand another person by reflecting their inmost feelings, they will be entranced and disarmed, all the more so because it happens so rarely. No one can resist this feeling of being harmoniously reflected in the outside world, even though you might well be manufacturing it for their benefit, and for deceptive purposes of your own.

The Narcissus Effect works wonders in both social life and business; it gives us both the Seducer’s and the Courtier’s Mirror.

The Moral Effect The power of verbal argument is extremely limited, and often accomplishes the opposite of what is intended. As Gracián remarks, “The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.” The Moral Effect is a perfect way to demonstrate your ideas through action. Quite simply, you teach others a lesson by giving them a taste of their own medicine.

In the Moral Effect, you mirror what other people have done to you, and do so in a way that makes them realize you are doing to them exactly what they did to you. You make them feel that their behavior has been unpleasant, as opposed to hearing you complain and whine about it, which only gets their defenses up. And as they feel the result of their actions mirrored back at them, they realize in the profoundest sense how they hurt or punish others with their unsocial behavior. You objectify the qualities you want them to feel ashamed of and create a mirror in which they can gaze at their follies and learn a lesson about themselves. This technique is often used by educators, psychologists, and anyone who has to deal with unpleasant and unconscious behavior. This is the Teacher’s Mirror. Whether or not there is actually anything wrong with the way people have treated you, however, it can often be to your advantage to reflect it back to them in a way that makes them feel guilty about it.

The Hallucinatory Effect. Mirrors are tremendously deceptive, for they create a sense that you are looking at the real world. Actually, though, you are only staring at a piece of glass, which, as everyone knows, cannot show the world exactly as it is: Everything in a mirror is reversed. When Alice goes through the looking glass in Lewis Carroll’s book, she enters a world that is back-to-front, and more than just visually.

The Hallucinatory Effect comes from creating a perfect copy of an object, a place, a person. This copy acts as a kind of dummy—people take it for the real thing, because it has the physical appearance of the real thing. This is the preeminent technique of con artists, who strategically mimic the real world to deceive you. It also has applications in any arena that requires camouflage. This is the Deceiver’s Mirror.

OBSERVANCES OF MIRROR EFFECTS

Observance I

In February of 1815, the emperor Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, where he had been imprisoned by the allied forces of Europe, and returned to Paris in a march that stirred the French nation, rallying troops and citizens of all classes to his side and chasing his successor, King Louis XVIII, off the throne. By March, however, having reestablished himself in power, he had to face the fact that France’s situation had gravely changed. The country was devastated, he had no allies among the other European nations, and his most loyal and important ministers had deserted him or left the country. Only one man remained from the old regime—Joseph Fouche, his former minister of police.

Napoleon had relied on Fouché to do his dirty work throughout his previous reign,

but he had never been able to figure his minister out. He kept a corps of agents to spy on all of his ministers, so that he would always have an edge on them, but no one had gotten anything on Fouché. If suspected of some misdeed, the minister would not get angry or take the accusation personally—he would submit, nod, smile, and change colors chameleonlike, adapting to the requirements of the moment. At first this had seemed somewhat pleasant and charming, but after a while it frustrated Napoleon, who felt outdone by this slippery man. At one time or another he had fired all of his most important ministers, including Talleyrand, but he never touched Fouché. And so, in 1815, back in power and in need of help, he felt he had no choice but to reappoint Fouché as his minister of police.

When you have come to grips and are striving together with the enemy, and you realize that you cannot advance, you “soak in” and become one with the enemy. You can win by applying a suitable technique while you are mutually entangled. ... You can win often decisively with the advantage of knowing how to “soak” into the enemy, whereas, were you to draw apart, you would lose the chance to win.

A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, JAPAN, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Several weeks into his new reign, Napoleon’s spies told him they believed Fouché was in secret contact with ministers of foreign countries, including Metternich of Austria. Afraid that his most valuable minister was betraying him to his enemies, Napoleon had to find out the truth before it was too late. He could not confront Fouché directly—in person the man was as slippery as an eel. He needed hard proof.

This seemed to come in April, when the emperor’s private police captured a Viennese gentleman who had come to Paris to pass information on to Fouché. Ordering the man brought before him, Napoleon threatened to shoot him then and there unless he confessed; the man broke down and admitted he had given Fouché a letter from Metternich, written in invisible ink, arranging for a secret meeting of special agents in Basel. Napoleon accordingly ordered one of his own agents to infiltrate this meeting. If Fouché was indeed planning to betray him, he would finally be caught red-handed and would hang.

Napoleon waited impatiently for the agent’s return, but to his bewilderment the agent showed up days later reporting that he had heard nothing that would implicate Fouché in a conspiracy. In fact it seemed that the other agents present suspected Fouché of double- crossing them, as if he were working for Napoleon all along. Napoleon did not believe this for an instant—Fouché had somehow outwitted him again.

The following morning Fouché visited Napoleon, and remarked, “By the way, sire, I never told you that I had a letter from Metternich a few days ago; my mind was so full of things of greater moment. Besides, his emissary omitted to give me the powder needed to make the writing legible…. Here at length is the letter.” Sure that Fouché was toying with him, Napoleon exploded, “You are a traitor, Fouché! I ought to have you hanged.” He continued to harangue Fouché, but could not fire him without proof. Fouché only expressed amazement at the emperor’s words, but inwardly he smiled, for all along he had been playing a mirroring game. Interpretation.

Fouché had known for years that Napoleon kept on top of those around him by spying on them day and night. The minister had survived this game by having his own spies spy on Napoleon’s spies, thus neutralizing any action Napoleon might take against him. In the case of the meeting in Basel, he even turned the tables: Knowing about Napoleon’s double agent, he set it up so that it would appear as if Fouché were a loyal double agent too.

Fouché gained power and flourished in a period of great tumult by mirroring those around him. During the French Revolution he was a radical Jacobin; after the Terror he became a moderate republican; and under Napoleon he became a committed imperialist whom Napoleon ennobled and made the duke of Otranto. If Napoleon took up the weapon of digging up dirt on people, Fouché made sure he had the dirt on Napoleon, as well as on everyone else. This also allowed him to predict the emperor’s plans and desires, so that he could echo his boss’s sentiments before he had even uttered them.

Shielding his actions with a mirror strategy, Fouché could also plot offensive moves without being caught in the act.

THE FOX AND THE STORK
One day Mr. Fox decided to fork out And invite old Mrs. Stork out. The dinner wasn’t elaborateBeing habitually mean, He didn’t go in for haute cuisine-In fact it consisted of a shallow plate Of thin gruel. Within a minute Our joker had lapped his plate clean; Meanwhile his guest, fishing away with her beak, Got not a morsel in it. To pay him back for this cruel Practical joke, the stork invited The fox to dinner the following week. “I should be delighted,” He replied; “When it comes to friends I never stand upon pride.” Punctually on the day he ran To his hostess’s house and at once began Praising everything: “What taste! What chic! And the fooddone just to a turn!” Then sat down with a hearty appetite (Foxes are always ready to eat) And savored the delicious smell of meat. It was minced meat and servedto serve him right!In a long-necked, narrow-mouthed urn. The stork, easily stooping, Enjoyed her fill With her long bill; His snout, though, being the wrong shape and size, He had to return to his den Empty-bellied, tail dragging, ears drooping, As red in the face as a fox who’s been caught by a hen.

SELECTED FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695

This is the power of mirroring those around you. First, you give people the feeling that you share their thoughts and goals. Second, if they suspect you have ulterior motives, the mirror shields you from them, preventing them from figuring out your strategy. Eventually this will infuriate and unsettle them. By playing the double, you steal their thunder, suck away their initiative, make them feel helpless. You also gain the ability to choose when and how to unsettle them—another avenue to power. And the mirror saves you mental energy: simply echoing the moves of others gives you the space you need to develop a strategy of your own.

Observance II

Early on in his career, the ambitious statesman and general Alcibiades of Athens (450- 404 B.C.) fashioned a formidable weapon that became the source of his power. In every encounter with others, he would sense their moods and tastes, then carefully tailor his words and actions to mirror their inmost desires. He would seduce them with the idea that their values were superior to everyone else’s, and that his goal was to model himself on them or help them realize their dreams. Few could resist his charm.

The first man to fall under his spell was the philosopher Socrates. Alcibiades represented the opposite of the Socratic ideal of simplicity and uprightness: He lived lavishly and was completely unprincipled. Whenever he met Socrates, however, he mirrored the older man’s sobriety, eating simply, accompanying Socrates on long walks, and talking only of philosophy and virtue. Socrates was not completely fooled—he was not unaware of Alcibiades’ other life. But that only made him vulnerable to a logic that flattered him: Only in my presence, he felt, does this man submit to a virtuous influence; only I have such power over him. This feeling intoxicated Socrates, who became Alcibiades’ fervent admirer and supporter, one day even risking his own life to rescue the young man in battle.

The Athenians considered Alcibiades their greatest orator, for he had an uncanny ability to tune in to his audience’s aspirations, and mirror their desires. He made his greatest speeches in support of the invasion of Sicily, which he thought would bring great wealth to Athens and limitless glory to himself. The speeches gave expression to young Athenians’ thirst to conquer lands for themselves, rather than living off the victories of their ancestors. But he also tailored his words to reflect older men’s nostalgia for the glory years when Athens led the Greeks against Persia, and then went on to create an empire. All Athens now dreamed of conquering Sicily; Alcibiades’ plan was approved, and he was made the expedition’s commander.

THE PURLOINED LETTER

When I wish to find out how wise, or how stupid, or how good, or how wicked is any one, or what are his thoughts at the moment, I fashion the expression of my face, as accurately as possible, in accordance with the expression of his, and then wait to see what thoughts or sentiments arise in my mind or heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression.

EDGAR ALLAN POE, 1809-1849

While Alcibiades was leading the invasion of Sicily, however, certain Athenians fabricated charges against him of profaning sacred statues. He knew his enemies would have him executed if he returned home, so at the last minute he deserted the Athenian fleet and defected to Athens’s bitter enemy, Sparta. The Spartans welcomed this great man to their side, but they knew his reputation and were wary of him. Alcibiades loved luxury; the Spartans were a warrior people who worshipped austerity, and they were afraid he would corrupt their youth. But much to their relief, the Alcibiades who arrived in Sparta was not at all what they expected: He wore his hair untrimmed (as they did), took cold baths, ate coarse bread and black broth, and wore simple clothes. To the Spartans this signified that he had come to see their way of life as superior to the Athenian; greater than they were, he had chosen to be a Spartan rather than being born one, and should thus be honored above all others. They fell under his spell and gave him great powers. Unfortunately Alcibiades rarely knew how to rein in his charm—he managed to seduce the king of Sparta’s wife and make her pregnant. When this became public he once more had to flee for his life.

This time Alcibiades defected to Persia, where he suddenly went from Spartan simplicity to embracing the lavish Persian lifestyle down to the last detail. It was of course immensely flattering to the Persians to see a Greek of Alcibiades’ stature prefer their culture over his own, and they showered him with honors, land, and power. Once seduced by the mirror, they failed to notice that behind this shield Alcibiades was playing a double game, secretly helping the Athenians in their war with Sparta and thus reingratiat ing himself with the city to which he desperately wanted to return, and which welcomed him back with open arms in 408 B.C.

Interpretation

Early in his political career, Alcibiades made a discovery that changed his whole approach to power: He had a colorful and forceful personality, but when he argued his ideas strongly with other people he would win over a few while at the same time alienating many more. The secret to gaining ascendancy over large numbers, he came to believe, was not to impose his colors but to absorb the colors of those around him, like a chameleon. Once people fell for the trick, the deceptions he went on to practice would be invisible to them.

Understand: Everyone is wrapped up in their own narcissistic shell. When you try to impose your own ego on them, a wall goes up, resistance is increased. By mirroring them, however, you seduce them into a kind of narcissistic rapture: They are gazing at a double of their own soul. This double is actually manufactured in its entirety by you. Once you have used the mirror to seduce them, you have great power over them.

It is worth noting, however, the dangers in the promiscuous use of the mirror. In Alcibiades’ presence people felt larger, as if their egos had been doubled. But once he left, they felt empty and diminished, and when they saw him mirroring completely different people as totally as he had mirrored them, they felt not just diminished but betrayed. Alcibiades’ overuse of the Mirror Effect made whole peoples feel used, so that he constantly had to flee from one place to another. Indeed Alcibiades so angered the Spartans that they finally had him murdered. He had gone too far. The Seducer’s Mirror must be used with caution and discrimination.

LORENZO DE’ MEDICI SEDUCES THE POPE

Lorenzo [de’ Medici] lost no opportunity of increasing the respect which Pope Innocent now felt for him and of gaining his friendship, if possible his affection. He took the trouble to discover the Pope’s tastes and indulged them accordingly. He sent him... casks of his favourite wine.... He sent him courteous, flattering letters in which he assured him, when the Pope was ill, that he felt his sufferings as though they were his own, in which he encouraged him with such fortifying statements as “a Pope is what he wills to be,” and in which, as though incidentally, he included his views on the proper course of papal policies. Innocent was gratified by Lorenzo’s attentions and convinced by his arguments.... So completely, indeed, did he come to share his opinions that, as the disgruntled Ferrarese ambassador put it, “the Pope sleeps with the eyes of the Magnificent Lorenzo.”

THE HOUSE OF MEDICI: ITS RISE AND FALL, CHRISTOPHER HIBBERT, 1980

Observance III

In 1652 the recently widowed Baroness Mancini moved her family from Rome to Paris, where she could count on the influence and protection of her brother Cardinal Mazarin, the French prime minister. Of the baroness’s five daughters, four dazzled the court with their beauty and high spirits. These infamously charming nieces of Cardinal Mazarin became known as the Mazarinettes, and soon found themselves invited to all the most important court functions.

One daughter, Marie Mancini, did not share this good fortune, for she lacked the beauty and grace of her sisters—who, along with her mother and even Cardinal Mazarin, eventually came to dislike her, for they felt she spoiled the family image. They tried to persuade her to enter a convent, where she would be less of an embarrassment, but she refused. Instead she applied herself to her studies, learning Latin and Greek, perfecting her French, and practicing her musical skills. On the rare occasions when the family would let her attend court affairs, she trained herself to be an artful listener, sizing people up for their weaknesses and hidden desires. And when she finally met the future King Louis XIV, in 1657 (Louis was seventeen years old, Marie eighteen), she decided that to spite her family and uncle, she would find a way to make this young man fall in love with her.

This was a seemingly impossible task for such a plain-looking girl, but Marie studied the future king closely. She noticed that her sisters’ frivolity did not please him, and she sensed that he loathed the scheming and petty politicking that went on all around him. She saw that he had a romantic nature—he read adventure novels, insisted on marching at the head of his armies, and had high ideals and a passion for glory. The court did not feed these fantasies of his; it was a banal, superficial world that bored him.

The key to Louis’s heart, Marie saw, would be to construct a mirror reflecting his fantasies and his youthful yearnings for glory and romance. To begin with she immersed herself in the romantic novels, poems, and plays that she knew the young king read voraciously. When Louis began to engage her in conversation, to his delight she would talk of the things that stirred his soul—not this fashion or that piece of gossip, but rather courtly love, the deeds of great knights, the nobility of past kings and heroes. She fed his thirst for glory by creating an image of an august, superior king whom he could aspire to become. She stirred his imagination.

As the future Sun King spent more and more time in Marie’s presence, it eventually became clear that he had fallen in love with the least likely young woman of the court. To the horror of her sisters and mother, he showered Marie Mancini with attention. He brought her along on his military campaigns, and made a show of stationing her where she could watch as he marched into battle. He even promised Marie that he would marry her and make her queen.

Wittgenstein had an extraordinary gift for divining the thoughts of the person with whom he was engaged in discussion. While the other struggled to put his thought into words, Wittgenstein would perceive what it was and state it for him. This power of his, which sometimes seemed uncanny, was made possible, I am sure, by his own prolonged and continuous researches.

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: A MEMOIR. NORMAN MALCOLM, 1958
The doctor should be opaque to his patients, and like a mirror, should show them nothing but what is shown to him.

SIGMUND FREUD, 1856-1939

Mazarin, however, would never allow the king to marry his niece, a woman who could bring France no diplomatic or royal alliances. Louis had to marry a princess of Spain or Austria. In 1658 Louis succumbed to the pressure and agreed to break off the first romantic involvement of his life. He did so with much regret, and at the end of his life he acknowledged that he never loved anyone as much as Marie Mancini.

Interpretation

Marie Mancini played the seducer’s game to perfection. First, she took a step back, to study her prey. Seduction often fails to get past the first step because it is too aggressive; the first move must always be a retreat. By studying the king from a distance Marie saw what distinguished him from others—his high ideals, romantic nature, and snobbish disdain for petty politics. Marie’s next step was to make a mirror for these hidden yearnings on Louis’s part, letting him glimpse what he himself could be—a godlike king!

This mirror had several functions: Satisfying Louis’s ego by giving him a double to look at, it also focused on him so exclusively as to give him the feeling that Marie existed for him alone. Surrounded by a pack of scheming courtiers who only had their own self-interest at heart, he could not fail to be touched by this devotional focus. Finally Marie’s mirror set up an ideal for him to live up to: the noble knight of the medieval court. To a soul both romantic and ambitious, nothing could be more intoxicating than to have someone hold up an idealized reflection of him. In effect it was Marie Mancini who created the image of the Sun King—indeed Louis later admitted the enormous part she had played in fashioning his radiant self-image.

This is the power of the Seducer’s Mirror: By doubling the tastes and ideals of the target, it shows your attention to his or her psychology, an attention more charming than any aggressive pursuit. Find out what sets the other person apart, then hold up the mirror that will reflect it and bring it out of them. Feed their fantasies of power and greatness by reflecting their ideals, and they will succumb.

Observance IV

In 1538, with the death of his mother, Helena, the eight-year-old future czar Ivan IV (or Ivan the Terrible) of Russia became an orphan. For the next five years he watched as the princely class, the boyars, terrorized the country. Now and then, to mock the young Ivan, they would make him wear a crown and scepter and place him on the throne. When the little boy’s feet dangled over the edge of the chair, they would laugh and lift him off it, handing him from man to man in the air, making him feel his helplessness compared to them.

When Ivan was thirteen, he boldly murdered the boyar leader and ascended to the throne. For the next few decades he struggled to subdue the boyars’ power, but they continued to defy him. By 1575 his efforts to transform Russia and defeat its enemies had exhausted him. Meanwhile, his subjects were complaining bitterly about his endless wars, his secret police, the unvanquished and oppressive boyars. His own ministers began to question his moves. Finally he had had enough. In 1564 he had temporarily abandoned the throne, forcing his subjects to call him back to power. Now he took the strategy a step further, and abdicated.

To take his place Ivan elevated a general of his, Simeon Bekbulatovich, to the throne. But although Simeon had recently converted to Christianity, he was by birth a Tartar, and his enthronement was an insult to Ivan’s subjects, since Russians looked down on the Tartars as inferiors and infidels. Yet Ivan ordered that all Russians, including the boyars, pledge obedience to their new ruler. And while Simeon moved into the Kremlin, Ivan lived in a humble house on Moscow’s outskirts, from which he would sometimes visit the palace, bow before the throne, sit among the other boyars, and humbly petition Simeon for favors.

Over time it became clear that Simeon was a kind of king’s double. He dressed like Ivan, and acted like Ivan, but he had no real power, since no one would really obey him. The boyars at the court who were old enough to remember taunting Ivan when he was a boy, by placing him on the throne, saw the connection: They had made Ivan feel like a weak pretender, so now he mirrored them by placing a weak pretender of his own on the throne.

For two long years Ivan held the mirror of Simeon up to the Russian people. The mirror said: Your whining and disobedience have made me a czar with no real power, so I will reflect back to you a czar with no real power. You have treated me disrespectfully, so I will do the same to you, making Russia the laughingstock of the world. In 1577, in the name of the Russian people, the chastised boyars once again begged Ivan to return to the throne, which he did. He lived as czar until his death, in 1584, and the conspiracies, complaining, and second-guessing disappeared along with Simeon.

Interpretation

In 1564, after threatening to abdicate, Ivan had been granted absolute powers. But these powers had slowly been chipped away as every sector of society—the boyars, the church, the government—vied for more control. Foreign wars had exhausted the country, internal bickering had increased, and Ivan’s attempts to respond had been met with scorn. Russia had turned into a kind of boisterous classroom in which the pupils laughed openly at the teacher. If he raised his voice or complained, he only met more resistance. He had to teach them a lesson, give them a taste of their own medicine. Simeon Bekbulatovich was the mirror he used to do so.

After two years in which the throne had been an object of ridicule and disgust, the Russian people learned their lesson. They wanted their czar back, conceding to him all the dignity and respect that the position should always have commanded. For the rest of his reign, Russia and Ivan got along fine.

Understand: People are locked in their own experiences. When you whine about some insensitivity on their part, they may seem to understand, but inwardly they are untouched and even more resistant. The goal of power is always to lower people’s resistance to you. For this you need tricks, and one trick is to teach them a lesson.

Instead of haranguing people verbally, then, create a kind of mirror of their behavior.

In doing so you leave them two choices: They can ignore you, or they can start to think about themselves. And even if they ignore you, you will have planted a seed in their unconscious that will eventually take root. When you mirror their behavior, incidentally, do not be afraid to add a touch of caricature and exaggeration, as Ivan did by enthroning a Tartar—it is the little spice in the soup that will open their eyes and make them see the ridiculousness in their own actions.

Observance V

Dr. Milton H. Erickson, a pioneer in strategic psychotherapy, would often educate his patients powerfully but indirectly by creating a kind of mirror effect. Constructing an analogy to make patients see the truth on their own, he would bypass their resistance to change. When Dr. Erickson treated married couples complaining of sexual problems, for instance, he often found that psychotherapy’s tradition of direct confrontation and problem-airing only heightened the spouses’ resistance and sharpened their differences. Instead, he would draw a husband and wife out on other topics, often banal ones, trying to find an analogy for the sexual conflict.

In one couple’s first session, the pair were discussing their eating habits, especially at dinner. The wife preferred the leisurely approach—a drink before the meal, some appetizers, and then a small main course, all at a slow, civilized pace. This frustrated the husband—he wanted to get dinner over quickly and to dig right into the main course, the bigger the better. As the conversation continued, the couple began to catch glimpses of an analogy to their problems in bed. The moment they made this connection, however, Dr. Erickson would change the subject, carefully avoiding a discussion of the real problem.

The couple thought Erickson was just getting to know them and would deal with the problem directly the next time he saw them. But at the end of this first session, Dr. Erickson directed them to arrange a dinner a few nights away that would combine each person’s desire: The wife would get the slow meal, including time spent bonding, and the husband would get the big dishes he wanted to eat. Without realizing they were acting under the doctor’s gentle guidance, the couple would walk into a mirror of their problem, and in the mirror they would solve their problems themselves, ending the evening just as the doctor had hoped—by mirroring the improved dinner dynamics in bed.

In dealing with more severe problems, such as the schizophrenic’s mirror fantasy world of his or her own construction, Dr. Erickson would always try to enter the mirror and work within it. He once treated a hospital inmate who believed he was Jesus Christ —draping sheets around his body, talking in vague parables, and bombarding staff and patients with endless Christian proselytizing. No therapy or drugs seemed to work, until one day Dr. Erickson went up to the young man and said, “I understand you have had experience as a carpenter.” Being Christ, the patient had to say that he had had such experience, and Erickson immediately put him to work building bookcases and other useful items, allowing him to wear his Jesus garb. Over the next weeks, as the patient worked on these projects, his mind became less occupied with Jesus fantasies and more focused on his labor. As the carpentry work took precedence, a psychic shift took effect: The religious fantasies remained, but faded comfortably into the background, allowing the man to function in society.

Interpretation

Communication depends on metaphors and symbols, which are the basis of language itself. A metaphor is a kind of mirror to the concrete and real, which it often expresses more clearly and deeply than a literal description does. When you are dealing with the intractable willpower of other people, direct communication often only heightens their resistance.

This happens most clearly when you complain about people’s behavior, particularly in sensitive areas such as their lovemaking. You will effect a far more lasting change if, like Dr. Erickson, you construct an analogy, a symbolic mirror of the situation, and guide the other through it. As Christ himself understood, talking in parables is often the best way to teach a lesson, for it allows people to realize the truth on their own.

When dealing with people who are lost in the reflections of fantasy worlds (including a host of people who do not live in mental hospitals), never try to push them into reality by shattering their mirrors. Instead, enter their world and operate inside it, under their rules, gently guiding them out of the hall of mirrors they have entered.

Observance VI

The great sixteenth-century Japanese tea master Takeno Sho-o once passed by a house and noticed a young man watering flowers near his front gate. Two things caught Sho- o’s attention—first, the graceful way the man performed his task; and, second, the stunningly beautiful rose of Sharon blossoms that bloomed in the garden. He stopped and introduced himself to the man, whose name was Sen no Rikyu. Sho-o wanted to stay, but he had a prior engagement and had to hurry off. Before he left, however, Rikyu invited him to take tea with him the following morning. Sho-o happily accepted.

When Sho-o opened the garden gate the next day, he was horrified to see that not a single flower remained. More than anything else, he had come to see the rose of Sharon blossoms that he had not had the time to appreciate the day before; now, disappointed, he started to leave, but at the gate he stopped himself, and decided to enter Sen no Rikyu’s tea room. Immediately inside, he stopped in his tracks and gazed in astonishment: Before him a vase hung from the ceiling, and in the vase stood a single rose of Sharon blossom, the most beautiful in the garden. Somehow Sen no Rikyu had read his guest’s thoughts, and, with this one eloquent gesture, had demonstrated that this day guest and host would be in perfect harmony.

Sen no Rikyu went on to become the most famous tea master of all, and his trademark was this uncanny ability to harmonize himself with his guests’ thoughts and to think one step ahead, enchanting them by adapting to their taste.

One day Rikyu was invited to tea by Yamashina Hechigwan, an admirer of the tea ceremony but also a man with a vivid sense of humor. When Rikyu arrived at Hechigwan’s home, he found the garden gate shut, so he opened it to look for the host. On the other side of the gate he saw that someone had first dug a ditch, then carefully covered it over with canvas and earth. Realizing that Hechigwan had planned a practical joke, he obligingly walked right into the ditch, muddying his clothes in the process.

Apparently horrified, Hechigwan came running out, and hurried Rikyu to a bath that for some inexplicable reason stood already prepared. After bathing, Rikyu joined Hechigwan in the tea ceremony, which both enjoyed immensely, sharing a laugh about the accident. Later Sen no Rikyu explained to a friend that he had heard about Hechigwan’s practical joke beforehand, “But since it should always be one’s aim to conform to the wishes of one’s host, I fell into the hole knowingly and thus assured the success of the meeting. Tea is by no means mere obsequiousness, but there is no tea where the host and guest are not in harmony with one another.” Hechigwan’s vision of the dignified Sen no Rikyu at the bottom of a ditch had pleased him endlessly, but Rikyu had gained a pleasure of his own in complying with his host’s wish and watching him amuse himself in this way.

Interpretation

Sen no Rikyu was no magician or seer—he watched those around him acutely, plumbing the subtle gestures that revealed a hidden desire, then producing that desire’s image. Although Sho-o never spoke of being enchanted by the rose of Sharon blossoms, Rikyu read it in his eyes. If mirroring a person’s desires meant falling into a ditch, so be it. Rikyu’s power resided in his skillful use of the Courtier’s Mirror, which gave him the appearance of an unusual ability to see into other people.

Learn to manipulate the Courtier’s Mirror, for it will bring you great power. Study people’s eyes, follow their gestures—surer barometers of pain and pleasure than any spoken word. Notice and remember the details—the clothing, the choice of friends, the daily habits, the tossed-out remarks—that reveal hidden and rarely indulged desires. Soak it all in, find out what lies under the surface, then make yourself the mirror of their unspoken selves. That is the key to this power: The other person has not asked for your consideration, has not mentioned his pleasure in the rose of Sharon, and when you reflect it back to him his pleasure is heightened because it is unasked for. Remember: The wordless communication, the indirect compliment, contains the most power. No one can resist the enchantment of the Courtier’s Mirror.

Observance VII

Yellow Kid Weil, con artist extraordinaire, used the Deceiver’s Mirror in his most brilliant cons. Most audacious of all was his re-creation of a bank in Muncie, Indiana. When Weil read one day that the Merchants Bank in Muncie had moved, he saw an opportunity he could not pass up.

Weil rented out the original Merchants building, which still contained bank furniture, complete with teller windows. He bought money bags, stenciled a bank’s invented name on them, filled them with steel washers, and arrayed them impressively behind the teller windows, along with bundles of boodle—real bills hiding newspaper cut to size. For his bank’s staff and customers Weil hired gamblers, bookies, girls from local bawdy houses, and other assorted confederates. He even had a local thug pose as a bank dick.

Claiming to be the broker for a certificate investment the bank was offering, Weil would fish the waters and hook the proper wealthy sucker. He would bring this man to the bank and ask to see the president. An “officer” of the bank would tell them that they had to wait, which only heightened the realism of the con—one always has to wait to see the bank president. And as they waited the bank would bustle with banklike activity, as call girls and bookies in disguise floated in and out, making deposits and withdrawals and tipping their hats to the phony bank dick. Lulled by this perfect copy of reality, the sucker would deposit $50,000 into the fake bank without a worry in the world.

Over the years Weil did the same thing with a deserted yacht club, an abandoned brokerage office, a relocated real estate office, and a completely realistic gambling club.

Interpretation

The mirroring of reality offers immense deceptive powers. The right uniform, the perfect accent, the proper props—the deception cannot be deciphered because it is enmeshed in a simulation of reality. People have an intense desire and need to believe,

and their first instinct is to trust a well-constructed facade, to mistake it for reality. After all, we cannot go around doubting the reality of everything we see—that would be too exhausting. We habitually accept appearances, and this is a credulity you can use.

In this particular game it is the first moment that counts the most. If your suckers’ suspicions are not raised by their first glance at the mirror’s reflection, they will stay suppressed. Once they enter your hall of mirrors, they will be unable to distinguish the real from the fake, and it will become easier and easier to deceive them. Remember: Study the world’s surfaces and learn to mirror them in your habits, your manner, your clothes. Like a carnivorous plant, to unsuspecting insects you will look like all the other plants in the field.

Authority: The task of a military operation is to accord deceptively with the intentions of the enemy … get to what they want first, subtly anticipate them. Maintain discipline and adapt to the enemy…. Thus, at first you are like a maiden, so the enemy opens his door; then you are like a rabbit on the loose, so the enemy cannot keep you out. (Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.)

Image: The Shield of Perseus. It is pol ished into a reflecting mirror. Medusa cannot see you, only her own hideousness reflected back at her.

Behind such a mirror you can de ceive, mock, and infuriate. With one blow you sever Medusa’s unsuspecting head.

A WARNING: BEWARE OF MIRRORED SITUATIONS

Mirrors contain great power but also dangerous reefs, including the mirrored situation

—a situation that seems to reflect or closely resemble a previous one, mostly in style and surface appearance. You can often back into such a situation without fully understanding it, while those around you understand it quite well, and compare it and you to whatever happened before. Most often you suffer by the comparison, seeming either weaker than the previous occupant of your position or else tainted by any unpleasant associations that person has left behind.

In 1864 the composer Richard Wagner moved to Munich at the behest of Ludwig II, known variously as the Swan King or the Mad King of Bavaria. Ludwig was Wagner’s biggest fan and most generous patron. The strength of his support turned Wagner’s head

—once established in Munich under the king’s protection, he would be able to say and do whatever he wanted.

Wagner moved into a lavish house, which the king eventually bought for him. This house was but a stone’s throw from the former home of Lola Montez, the notorious courtesan who had plunged Ludwig II’s grandfather into a crisis that had forced him to abdicate. Warned that he could be infected by this association, Wagner only scoffed—“I am no Lola Montez,” he said. Soon enough, however, the citizens of Munich began to resent the favors and money showered on Wagner, and dubbed him “the second Lola,”  or “Lolotte.” He unconsciously began to tread in Lola’s footsteps—spending money extravagantly, meddling in matters beyond music, even dabbling in politics and advising the king on cabinet appointments. Meanwhile Ludwig’s affection for Wagner seemed intense and undignified for a king—just like his grandfather’s love for Lola Montez.

Eventually Ludwig’s ministers wrote him a letter: “Your Majesty now stands at a fateful parting of the ways: you have to choose between the love and respect of your faithful people and the ‘friendship’ of Richard Wagner.” In December of 1865, Ludwig politely asked his friend to leave and never return. Wagner had inadvertently placed himself in Lola Montez’s reflection. Once there, everything he did reminded the stolid Bavarians of that dread woman, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Avoid such association-effects like the plague. In a mirrored situation you have little or no control over the reflections and recollections that will be connected to you, and any situation beyond your control is dangerous. Even if the person or event has positive associations, you will suffer from not being able to live up to them, since the past generally appears greater than the present. If you ever notice people associating you with some past event or person, do everything you can to separate yourself from that memory and to shatter the reflection.

Finally, on a personal note…

The video is Hollywood. But, you know, I’m the real deal.

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Part 10 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander April 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 10.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. 

Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

This is part of the Q&A (on-going) effort where questions are provided to me, and then I present them, and then record and interpret the responses.

[10.1] Question – Is this what I signed up for?

I have questions that could turn into a new story for you.

So much of what you wrote about reality, I had concluded on my own. What I had not figured out was how, or if we really communicate with others. or if we are truly alone just surrounded by “Quantum Shadows.”

In the movie “The Ten Commandments” Pharaoh was always saying, “So let it be written, so let it be done.” It occurs to me that is why we (or at least I) am/are living in “1984?”

It is my theory that the Universe puts out things like the Deagle Report to which we can respond, yah or nay. I first heard about Deagle in 2016. Up to this point, I have been saying, nay, not really wanting to return to the Golden Age covered in holographic blood and guts.

But, after reading your article, it occurs to me that maybe Deagle has to happen. Maybe it was what I signed on for and knowing that I won’t die (nobody dies) and have the ability to manifest what I need to observe the event in comfort, why not?

I can pay some for your response. Thanks for your good work.

Questioner has agreed to this role, in this skin-suit, at this time and in this place. This is an intentional decision that was planned in advance. Int he case of the questioner, the decision process was long and many details were worked out on the pre-birth world-line template (sic) with many trial and error forays to perfect the present general population experience.

More than most inmate skin-suits, this questioner has a very fated life and is at this moment learning fromt he fated existence to reconfigure the internal memory banks / garbons / non-physical / quantum structures to achieve his goals.

Goals are such that <redacted. Not for public consumption.> This has to be in complete variance with other forces that are aligned in the non-physical that the consciousness of the questioner is involved in at this time. Questioner is following the track and fated vector as intended, and while there might be apparent periods of hardship or discomfort, the questioner has emerged from those experences at the exact point upon the template (sic) to generate the next phase of operational experience.

Questioner is, if anything, spending too much time worrying / wondering / involved in other opinions from others that haave no bearing (what so ever) on questioners overall objectives and goals. 

No matter how convincing the narratives of others might entice, questioner is strongly advised to follow his internal feelings, emotions, and "gut" feelings in matters instead of the mental gyrations that seem to flavor his thought patterns at this time.

[10.2] Question – MWI convergence

Are all possible timelines on the MWI converging on a single possibility? If so, what it the nature of this singularity?

No.

Questioner misunderstands the nature of the "reality" universe. Each travel vector of individual time is a personal one configured specifically for the given consciousness that is assigned by the IS-BE. It is unique and singular.

Every inmate skin-suit creates and assigns a travel vector upon a template (sic) that they occupy alone (with an array of exceptions). Thus there is no singular time vector for the mass of humanity (inmate skin-suits), but rather a ever changing template. This convergence that the questioner is concerned with is actually the state of the highest probability template (sic) that the majority of pre-birth world-line templates converge or are derived from.

In this objective view, the question can be simplified as to how is the main majority-dominant pre-birth world-line template being anchored, and can this anchoring effort be changed or altered.

With this in mind, the answer is positive. It can be changed. And the anchors can be removed and the template(s) (sic) can modulate and fluxiate. As such, they can be reset to one that is not as worrisome and problematic to the questioners' current form.

However, that is not desirable. What is desirable is to keep the current systems and alterations in place with very little change. THis is because The Domain has permitted this template state to exist to achive our overall desired goals. No matter how outlandish, uncomfortable and horrific it might appear, the end goal is in sight and will be realized.

[10.3] Question – Stages of evolution

Is STO sentience the end point in IS-BE “evolution” or is there something of greater utility beyond?

This is a great question and one deserving of thoughtful answer.

SEO sentience is not the end-point of IS-BE evolution. It is an evolutionary step. For humans trapped in skin-suits, the highest stage of IS-BE evolution at this stage is SEO consciousness sentience. But once the IS-BE is freed from the prison complex, a new selection of consciousness sentiences growth vectors present themselves.

All MAJestic members and those of other agencies that work with us, including the volunteers, must be SEO sentience. This is the highest and most preferable forms / states and configurations of operation within Domain. But once the entities / IS-BE / consciousness modulates to Domain roles / societial structures / puzzle pieces / parking places they accept the sentience that naturally derives / arises from their internal on-physical structures. That then determines their place within the Domain society.

Sentience type need and determination is not a linear growth vector towards advantageous heirachy. Rather it is a desired vector path based upon the personality of the IS-BE nature.

[10.4] Question – Fake alien invasion plan

(I’m) not sure if this fits within the topics, so if not MM please feel free to omit it.

But given the way the Ukraine thing is playing out and once the MSM and the American govt is teaching everyone to “fear those dirty Russian Commies”, one cannot help but feel that Werner von Braun’s predictions seem to be unfolding right on schedule.

Of course, he suggested after the Commy card is played (and the situation seems to be the Ace of all Commy threat cards), there will be a false flag alien invasion, courtesy of the US govt.

Question, does the Domain know of any such fake alien invasion plan in the works, or is this a load of BS? If not, then when can we expect to see it come about?

There have been trivial discussions at various times regarding the creation of a fake invation from unknown non-human entities. These discussions were usually tabled and then scrapped. We know of no present plans concerning these kinds of efforts.

In all cases that we are aware of, this senario is not considered in any way to be part of the main primary template (sic).

[10.5] Question – Apollo Missions

I have the same question as Dani about the Apollo missions, and you didn’t answer that part. What about them, were they fake or not? From the text above you imply that they weren’t faked.

Can you explain your position on this please? What was the technology used? How did they cross the Van Allen belt? Otherwise, reading things like this I lose condifence in everything else that you write.

This question was answered.

All physical impedments can be solved through engineered solutions.

It is a simple matter of creation of a radiation barrier within the spacecraft and then computing a trajectory that avoided the thickest, most radioactive part of the belts while traveling as fast as possible. 

If you travel fast enough, the damage that the radiation belts would inflict upon biological bodies can be mitigated. In the case of the NASA Apollo spacecraft, it was discovered that at the speed of the spacecraft, it would take a spacecraft about an hour to pass through the belts. 

The radiation dose received during that amount of time would be, at most, 12  rads and that’s without any protection protection in a spacecraft. 

While the Van Allen belts are lethal, they could really only kill a biological entity  if they were to spend several days in their radioactive vicinity. 

Keep in mind that while it is a true challenge to pass through the belts, they do actually protect earthbound physical life.

It’s the same system used by firemen to rush into a burning building to rescue a person. Wear an insulated suit, and run in and run back out quickly. -MM

[10.6a] Question – Balancing Family and Domain responsibilities

Hi MM

I hope you can include this personal question to the Commander in March. I have been thinking a lot about this and am pretty much all ready to volunteer as an irregular. I have prepared my affirmations and all. There is however this very question about my family that bothers me:

For years I have felt that there is something big I have incarnated for this time. I have felt positive that the time would come when I would be useful for a higher purpose, so to say.

Finding MM and the call from the Domain for assistance sort of made puzzles come together. Perfectly.

However I also know that things are going to change in this world and to humanity over the next years, and I have a strong feeling part of my “mission” here from from my guides were to prepare/help my family for this. My kids also have a very strong feeling about just that.

I am worried that joining as an irregular would be selfish StS act, basically downgrading my responsibility to my family.

Can you tell me please, If I am right in my feelings that I am indeed to join as an irregular and also if I do indeed have a responsibility to my family, how do I balance this? [I hope this was clear MM. An easier question to formulate might simply be: Who am I and why am I here? but I feel some of the meaning is lost]

The questioner need not worry about the issues so stated. There is typically no problems in acceptance of multiple responsibilites. The Questioner is well aware that maintaining work for honest labor does not eliminate the responsibilities of the questioner towards its family.

There are few responsibilities that one can take that replaces other responsibilities. A person typically does not accept gainful employment to put food an the table for his family, yet at the same time allow the work and labors to destroy that same family. 

Take note that it does happen from time to time, however this is with Service-to-self sentiences. Not with Service-to-other sentiences.

Consider MM.MM holds multiple responsibilities. There's Domain. Theres MAJestic. Theres' his labor at <redacted>. There is his MM webpage. There is his You-tube channel. There is his Forum. There is his young daughter. There is his old dog. There are his books. There is his forum. There is his daily pod-casts. There is his training of interns. There is his <readacted> company, and there is his other <redacted> company. His meetings with Sales force, factory managers, and the meals and banquets are all part of his reponsibiliies. As well as the responsibilities to his immediate family.

There is no reason why the questioner cannot also manage his life and responsibilies in a similiar manner.

If there is any doubt in the mind of the questioner, then the best course of action for the questioner is NOT to take on any new responsibilities, and focus on the responsibilites that it already possesses. We only accept volunteers who are ready and fully willing to accept new responsibilities. 

If there is a hesitation, then the best advised course of action is conservative; placing famial responsibilities first.

We are all different, and we should never compare ourselves to others. Including and most especially myself. I think the Commanders comment was directed at me, and not at the questioner. Still, it was what was transmitted. So I placed it there with the proper context. Just do what you think is best. You are not expected to go beyond your comfort levels. -MM

[10.6b] Question – Automation of pickup

Also for a second question:

When going through the death process I understand many are taken by surprise and are baffled as they approach the tunnel of light. I understand anyone can ask the Domain for assistance, being picked up before entering the tunnel. However I also understand there is a suction effect, either literally or seemingly from your guides pressuring you to enter. Hence I have the feeling (which ofc might be wrong) that stopping, asking for help, and waiting for a pick-up might be easier said than done.

The question is: As a irregular would the pick-up be a more easily achieved, or automated for lack of a better word, than for the general population who might ask the Domain for assistance?

Thank you very much for answering these questions which are very meaningful to me.

As a technical measure the questioner, as well as any other entity so desiring of Domain assistance, must request that said assistance. We do not make assumptions on the needs, desires and thoughts of other entities.

Once there is a formal request, we may or may not take action. In the case of Domain volunteers, we would make a special priority to recover and assist the entities so desirous of assistance, support and transport / teleport.

Whether or not the quesitoner believes in the strength of this vocialzed request is not of importance. There is no urgent or pressing need to do anything once freed from the physical limitations of the skin suit. The entity might (were they so inclined) to just sit down and park themselves where ever they end up upon translation and do nothing. There is no hurry. There is never any hurry, and if there is a feeling of urgent action, the questioner must composes himself and realize that hasty decisions make for undesirable outcomes.

The question regarding the automation of pickup process is difficult to answer. This is because every individual is quite different, and the situations with each are so very unique. There can be no automation of a pickup retreaval procedures and the variables are far too varied between one consciousness and the next.

[10.7] Introduction

Here are some questions following your call – please tell me if they are redundant, I am still reading a lot on your blog but also elsewhere, I am not through yet., and I do forget things too… and I try to find my spare time to relax, meditate and be outside. But there is a lot going on also around here. So if these questions are silly or redundant just throw them in the bin 🙂
So here your callout:

I am now accepting questions under the following topics;

      • Geo-political issues
      • Makeup of the Prison Complex
      • Sentience
      • Self improvement

The same rules apply as before. Just two questions. No multipart questions if you can help yourself. Please, no questions about how you ended up in the Prison Complex.

And my questions (these are 7, then pick for me the most relevant 2):

[10.7a] Question – War battle zones

Is the war fought on other planes too?

All wars, and all battles, occur on different levels (different "planes") orf existence. It does not matter if it is a humans species war between different armies, a war between primates over resources, or a mating war between two animal species. All wars are conducted on multiple levels, with the physical level being the most coarse.

In the case of direct concern to the questioner, the realms of the wars that the questioner is most concerned about will and is occurring on a host of levels. There are many participants. There are many interests. There are many complexities. There are many situations that develop and are dispersed by Domain, as well as potentials that manifest and are then mitigated.

This dimension of multiple war battle zones is an important one to fully grasp. As it might appear that nothing is going on in the physical realms, there could be, instead, substantial changes on other realms. And these other realms have a great deal of influence on the observed physical environs.

Part of the design of the prison complex included a pre-programming series of war and poverty cycles designed to purge and thrash inmate skin suits in accoradance to mantid prime (sic) templates sic). 

These preprogammed event cycles are still in place today and right now. 

Yes, they can be controlled from the command center within Luna, but the fundamental nature of the systems so constructed mean that alterations and modifications are not possible without the death via suffication of all physical life in the earth environment. Therefore Domain prefer to follow the manipulations alterations at the closer (to the physical) dimensional overlays.

In general in regards to the situation that the Questioner is concerned about, the fighting and battles are multi-dimensional and under the control of Domain. There is no need for concern.

[10.7b] Question – MM volunteers in battle

Are members of MM through the Domain involved on these other planes? Could you give some details? (question probably asked already, something through DM and PL -> then bin)

Yes. There are numerous individuals though MM that are participants int he on-going battles and efforts. 

Not all are participating via Domain directiove. 

Many are on their own (already pre-agreed) efforts. This includes DM, SD, and PL. All are busy in the non-physical realms involved in various actions and activities. Some are performing very dangerous and risky activities. We assist when requested.

Likewise, there are numberous Domain volunteers via MM that are involved in various Domain-specific activities. 

To many, it does not seem that they are doing anything. Though they note (for the most part) rather active and strange dreams. This is fine, as it is a residual pattern shadow of the non-physical activities that they are all participating within.

Specific activities are unique to each person and are not to be announced or broadcast on open channels. As in this case. It is easy to compromise the participants.

[10.7c] Question – Up and down activity

I volunteered as an irregular for the Domain. Soon after I noticed my dream activity going sharp up, but also going sharp down again. Has this to do with the volunteering?  Why did it go down again (some other members on the forum also noticed less dream “activity” for the last weeks)

ΛV activity is common in performing Domain activity. This is true in normal human activity. There is nothing wrong, unusual or concerning about it. Tasks are assigned, they are carried out, then there is a period of rest before the next task assignment.

It is the nature of IS-BEs not to be mechanical machines (that seems to be the prevalent belief in contemporaneous human resource circles.) The most desirable environment for a satisfied, fully actuated volunter, is to have a duty cycle of 20% to 30% work, with the rest being down time.

Were we (Domain) to follow an agressive pattern of 100% utilization of resources, the efficiency would drop off substantially and the failure rate would be high. That is unacceptable.

[10.7d] Question –  Safety during war

If you don’t have the possibility to move to other countries, and you are not able to care for own supplies, how can you get safe through this coming crisis in the west? What is the advice?

Questioner will be reasonably safe in the latest location. There will be discord and disruption of social constructs, however the questioner should be well supported.

For others, the ability or inability to relocate is mandated by the pre-birth world-line template (sic) that they have accepted in this manifestation. The options are narrowed specifically for the purposes of IS-BE growth as determined by Mantid Prime. Growth through strife is a hallmark of the Mantid Prime operational parameters.

Yet, the entities are both existing upon a template (sic) by Mantid Prime, and also assisting Domain. In this case (a minority of less than 15% of the MM volunteer staff) we have communicated with the entities in question and have staff making safe or easy passage though personal confictions and hardships. 

All Domain volunteers are protected and have support groups.

[10.7e] Question – Movement options

Can you jump for example to another timeline or are these also compromised? Or hold locally a safe haven by strong-mindfulness? 

Questioner is fully enabled to navigate the reality universe to the extent of their abilities. There are no restrictions on navigation, only on the physical limitations of the IS-BE skin suit.

The techniques to do so are quite varried. MM (sic) has provided a basic outline and guidance parametrs for all on-board / participating in this activity at this time.

[10.7f] Question

As MM predicted in his last articles, from 2027 on the coming war (if so) will be over in America. Is the same true for other western countries?

The future will have a wide diversity of regional outcomes. However, for the most part, there will be nations and geographical regions that will prosper, and others that will go through strife long after the United States suppresses it's various issues and turmoil.

Africa will engage in an unexpected direction, and the collapse of Africa into "tin horn dictatorships', slavery, civil wars, and other domestic and economic turmoil will not manifest. At least not to the level that seems to be the (opinion of the mass humanity) thoughts of the combined West.

The middle east, also will not (at this stage of analysis, at least) will not erupt into large scale warfare. Instead, our projections show a gradual calm advancment at a steady and consistant level.

The European nations and geography will suffer a number of great hardships. Depending on the switches / tracks / template (sic) switches will reflect what will occur. Currently there are numerous feints of dubious value such as Finland, and Switzerland. The large highpotential hotspots and causes / vectors of conflict are the Pole in Poland, and Germany with the Netherlands and Norway activity. Some European regions (depending on the senario) could realisticly become quite hot and dangerous.

Australia and Japan are expected to undergo undulation and rippling of event sequences. It is prudent to distance oneself from large urban areas in those geographic regions if possible.

[10.7g] Question

Will this also be the ending of the last OE facilities on Earth and the complete freeing of Earth from the OE? (MM, not sure if this was already answered in other sessions, if so -> bin)

That is not forecasted.

While many physical manifestations have been decloaked, there are many such systems. Many of the non-physical systems will lie in hibernation and statis until triggered by a confluence of events that are (at present) not clear.

These events take time, far longer than a human lifespan. While there is no doubt that Domain forces will completely suppress and tame the systems involved in the Prison Complex, that will not be realized for many human lifetimes.

[10.7h] Question

And then some question for you MM, not for the Commander, concerning my father, who according to you was also in a black ops: was he also implanted, what do you think? Because to me it seems there is some amnesia (and not because of his age, but since he was thrown out in the sixties). Anyways, he was not charged as a sex-offender, but it was Europe, not USA.

Tomorrow is my fathers birthday, he will be 94 years old. I cannot be there myself alas. But I will call him of course.

Btw, if I go down I go down, and hope to remember the call for Domain members to pick me up on the other side. In Tibetan Buddhism, the book of death and bardo teachings, they also warn to not go into the light, but to err around in the bardo is also no fun. Maybe I will have a question about that later.

[It is unlikely that your father was implanted. 

When the implantations began, he would have had to be in his 40-50s. He would be considered an elder member of the organization. 

If he was actually implanted, then it would have been because he was high ranking at that time, and at that it would have been with a core one group only (I assume).

Sex offender retirment did not start to occur until the mid 1990s when MAJestic operations started to be phased out / replaced by other "carve outs". 

If he was implanted, and was retired after the mid 1990s then he would have been rounded up and retired via the Sex OFfender registry. -MM]

[10.7i] Question – Soros

btw did you read this one? https://www.theepochtimes.com/soros-worries-about-putin-xi-partnership-hopes-both-leaders-can-be-stopped-before-they-destroy-our-civilization_4339657.html

As always, happy to be in contact with you, wish you the best and keep on going!

[Soros is a locust. 

He profited enormously during the fall of the Soviet Union and participate din the rape and looting of Russia. Russia under Putin has managed to suppress the oligarchs out, and both Putin and Xi Peng see the dangers of these singular powerful individuals. They will not permit it.

Obviously he, as a person in a serious deranged state, believe that whatever a person can seize is a good thing and should not be opposed. He obviously is undable to see the needs and feelings of others. Thus he is a clinical sociopath, or psychopath.

It is a global horror that this person is loose on the world and has control over multiple levers of power.

This old lizard just needs to die, and allow the world to move on. -MM]

[10.8] Question – Big Players

This question of both sides being the same club I have also in my mind for a while now. I have also found this today in one of the articles from above. I think one commentator posted it somewhere.

https://nakadai.substack.com/p/wefyoung-global-leaders?r=12te6f&utm_source=url&s=r

all the big players are in that club. As they say, its a small club and we are not in it. Would love what the commander has to say in this.

It doesn’t matter in the big picture to be honest. All I care in the next few years is to be safe, healthy and relatively comfortable with my family in a good location. My affirmations will make sure we end in the perfect place. Maybe we are already? 🙂

[Images are clear on this one. Big, clear images of a childhood farm. Narration is crisp. DIrections crystal clear. Almost like this is a previously composed script or video segment. -MM]

Imagine you owned a farm. You had cows, horses, pigs, chickens, and sheep. In the chicken coop is a great commotion. The rooster is crowing loudly and his prized hens are squawking as they are the prized hens of the rooster.

But that does not matter to you; the farmer. Your prized hens are the heathiest layers that have a consistant output in eggs.

In a similiar manner, the often praised "youth leaders" / power leaders do not represent the real powers in regards to the human species, and the roles that will manifest in the next fifty or so years.

[10.9a] Question – An older me

what’s up guys. I usually see this community growing. Had a dream I am/was supposed to be spreading the word about MM and the rest. I have tried but to no luck. There is hope though but the Old empire fear mechanism really works great. I hope it goes through but they fear what they don’t understand. I will(must) try my best. My time is really running out. The fear I know am not alone but still. I will try. I must try.

Sometimes I feel afraid, But  being in this place makes me feel some hope.

Ok when I was young, about 10 years old. I was walking in the street playing and minding my own biz. Suddenly some man caught my arm. I was afraid but somehow I just didn’t want to scream. We stared at each other for sometime. Prob about 10 sec. His face imprinted in my mind till this day. Then I was called by my dad. I just left the man standing. It happened so naturally I didn’t even think about shit. Continued the day “normally” and life “normally”.

Since then I thought about the incident many times. And I came to see that The man really looked like me. An older version of me that is. about early 50 or late 40. Something like that.

Question is: Was that an older version of me and if yes (WTF) can u please explain.

This is a common enough event. [Again, the figure is about 15-17% of the GP general population. -MM]

When templates are established for the pre-birth world-line template (sic) it is often necessary to have a much older version of oneself visit the younger self at a specific time and place for memory implantation of a specific nature for future guidance. This is often conducted in lieu of an adequate "sign post" (sic) event.

The procedure is that a holographic manifestation of the entity is created based upon time-track projections and the consciousness is occupied by a fractional consciousness from the individual. It is not actually from the future, being a gollum, but rather a project of what will occur based upon previously evaluated and observed template vectors as negotiated with by the Mantid Primes (sic).

Fractional consciousness is a standard procedure for elemental creation / partitioning of consciousness within inmate skin-suits.

[10.9b] Question – Dream question

Question2: About a week ago I just couldn’t lucid dream at all. If I did I couldn’t remember anything every time I woke up I tried and tried again. There was an issue. Then I saw images of a broken bridge now repaired. like a normal bridge but it repaired itself.

What happened to the bridge and why was it down? 

Insight into the interpetations of dreams is beyond the utility / usefulness of this resource.

[I really don't think that the commander can assist you in the interpetation of this particular dream. Sorry. Big apologies. -MM]

[10.10] Question – Perception of changes

I hope you and your family and friends are doing well. My question on MWI-travel is this: Is it possible to perceive the jumping from reality to reality?

Because lately I’ve been having some trick on my eyes. It’s like in the old days they had the movies on rolls , I remember Charlie Chaplin. And often you could perceive the changing pictures. It’s almost the same effect I sometimes get. I tried to count it, because of the around 4 Mhz per second and its about it. Is that possible or am I going nuts?

Questioner is aware. 

It is entirely plausible that a consciousness inhabiting an inmate skin-suit can percieve the changes in slides, world-line transitions and jumps. It is also not an uncommon event. Most human inmates experience a handful of these events throughout their lives, though they (more often than not) are unaware of the signifigance of the events and observed switches.

This is a matter of perception at the time of the transition. This occurs (apparently) randomly, but is actually a "signpost" in the pre-birth world-line template (sic).

[10.11] Question – NASA access to egress portals.

I escaped through two pocket universes last night during an LD and awoke in another doping facility. I suspect the ones in control of the prison bubble are utilising the manifestation abilities of those they plug in (in the 2nd overlay pocket universe i was in ) to manifest the bubble, hence why it is self healing; it is a construct created from hijacked consciousnesses specifically programmed to manifest the prison bubble environment around other consciousnesses (your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated)  .

I am doing the write up for it now.

This facility I was in seemed to also be run by NASA and was located off world…..does the commander know if they have access to the egress portals, because it was definitely their equipment I was looking at?

They had launch pad faciltiies with NASA branding all over them. I think this might have been the main operational centre for the whole prison system; they had investors browsing through their VR product line run by said consciousnesses.

I got here by rejecting a simulation designed to make me hate SD. When the AI running the sim realised I was rejecting it, it talked to me personally trying to convince me it was for my own evolution. I was able to break through the doping long enough to do quite a bit of damage to the facility and wipe out some of it’s personnel. I fact, they tried several times (unsuccessfully) to steer me away from waking up into this pocket universe, which makes me think it is incredibly important to them.

There are organizations (earth side) that operate using "advanced" Domain  technology who's membership are extracted from public physical organizations. It is possible to observe these operations through LD or other forms of scrying.

MAJestic had access to these portals, as did (has) other United States organizations, as well as elements of both Russian, Chinese, British assets.

However, that was not the case in this instance. 

In this instance the questioner was observing an "overlay" and that has elements of a hybrid existence where control elements participate in the above "normal" manipulation of the human sepecies and inmate skin-suits. This overlay has been discussed in previous questions.

[I do not understand this at all. -MM]

Questioner to be advised that branding of logos may or may not have relevance in the observed activities as they may or may not be mind manifestations designed to help in the sorting process for observational assessments.

[I do not understand this at all. -MM]

Questioner described incident is suggestive of a deeper and darker sub-layer of mental activity that would be advised to approach in a most guarded manner.

[10.12] Question – Healing

Hey Team!

Any chance The Domain commander can provide more specific tips and pointers on self-healing, as well as healing others? My daughter has debilitating migraines virtually every day, and all doctors gave up. Her siblings have some other, though more minor, health issues.

I would love to help heal them, but I also know that self-healing usually works best. I trust this topic will be interesting for many others also.

In the case of the questioner, the over reliance on Western medicines will result in the death or her daughter. Other processes are advised.

For some inmate skin-suits, the template defines a period of hardship that includes physical discomfort. This can be thwarted though judicious attention to the entire body system, and finding a holistic solution. 

MM is familiar with the Chinese traditional medicine which would certainly work in this situation, but there are other alternatives as well. The body must be viewed as an entire organism, instead of focusing on a particular sympton or problem.

Questioner is urged to direct treatment from the whole-body observational platform. Then proceed using traditional solutions.

Questioner daughter has areas of "cold" [not temperature, but rather a meausre of physical health - MM] in various parts of her body. This requires a process of "warming up" using traditional methods. This includes diet, skin care, massage, and other techniques usually not found in the West such as smoke therapy and poltice's and teas. 

It is critical and important that the daughter body "temperature" be "leveled".

[10.13a] Question – Ability to remember when a person dies

I have a new question.

I’ll say up front I don’t really have very many others I would wish to rejoin after death. My past cats are a different story. But that brings up the question (actually two):

I wonder about the mental processes and memories from reading sites like this one among those who have just passed away. It would seem that there is a lot of pressure (or incentive) to rejoin loved ones, and this would be on the minds of almost everyone.

Maybe what is read here simply will not be remembered.

So, just after death, would people really be able to remember to call for the Domain instead of “mindlessly” walking into the light?

Yes. Memories are not retained in the human brain. They are external to the physical body. So when a consciousness translates to the non-physical realms, it retains all memories.

This ARTICLE (about Cat Heaven) would be of GREAT VALUE to the questioner. -MM

[10.13b] Question – Malevolent instigations

Are malevolent forces possibly going to push people into the light, maybe by posing as loved ones?

No. Not typically. 

Upon exit from the recycling procedure, most consciousness's are able to re-acquire a portion of forgotten memories, selectively entrusted by Mantid support. That is usually enough, and sufficient for the decision process on what to do next.

There are many exceptions and many cases as no two translation procedures are the same.

[10.14a] Question

What steps can we take to ensure our rescue and not end up like Lawrence Spencer which his life contract ended (steps that do not discharge alarm bells)?

[1] Control your fears.

[2] Realize that there is no rush to do anything. As there is no such thing as time in regards to your IS-BE being.

[3] Understand that your non-physical body is saturated with snares, traps, and chains. The way for you to deal with them is through calmness, and assistance from friendly entities.

[4] Call for Domain assistance and direction. This is true regardless of what ever you might decide to do.

[5] Realize that The Domain is a volunteer organization. You may be part of it, or may not. it is up to each individual IS-BE. You are never committed to any "agreement" with anyone or any organization.

[10.14b] Question

Is Mathilda back with the Domain, or did she recycle back to earth?

[Emotional response. Something went wrong.]

Warning! Do not be like Mathilda. 

Fear responses as a part of the inmate skin-suit were not well established and understood when Mathilda was rescued and recovered. After the initial recovery, she was placed under medical care. At that time, she was the first entity we (the local group) tried to recover. There were many mistakes.

Her imprinting was far stronger than Domain recognized. This resulted in a full fight-and-flight response. She / it kicked up a fury and created substantial damage (as only a Domain figher is able to). There were many casualties and great damages, and then mathilda fled.

As is the core rules with Domain, we obey the wishes of all of our membership / citizenry. Even when they are not of understanding / mind. It / she wished to leave and to flee. She garbled / disjointed / activated / portal creation conducted a "pass-though" and left the universe. 

We know where she is, and what she / it is doing, but we are helpless to assist as we need to be given permission. 

When we rescued her we were unaware of the great and substantive changes to her container [sheath that the consciousness occupies while in a universe -MM] and because of that we were unprepared to the fury and great negative responses when the programmed anti-recovery and extraction systems were activated. This caused great discomfort and upset to everyone involved. This entire episode is of great regret.

Do not be like Mathilda.

[10.14c] Question – Comm with Domain

Has the questioner succeeded in making communication with the commander and their comrades yet?

Yes. Questioner has made contact. 

Contact is not clear and practice is required. 

Advise to listen to thought streams not expect words. Will push messages though clear emotions (for start purposes). 

Questioner must "listen with the heart" as this is the easiest way for us to comm using the limitations placed on us at this time. This also has a dual purpose as in tying / bonding / reestablishing connections. 

This will be necessary upon the translation of vehicles (body to non-physical body) to the non-physical transtition station. 

Questioner non-physical body is specially shackled and while questioner has a great deal of freedom, those "chains" are still present, and the questioner can easily be "yanked back" and propelled into a sub-pocket / (pocket) universe specially prepaired for it. 

Thus it is very important that comm be established as is proceeding, and should be an active endeaver. Not a side effort. 

We comm though images, and emotions to this (specific) questioners fuzzy shape / consciousness / cell / envelope.

[10.14d] Question – Rejoining Domain

Regarding others sho have attempted to rejoiningg The Domain, have there been others, and have they been successful in rejoinging?

Yes. There have been others.

Two have been successfully extracted. They are safe within the Domain, and are in extended treatment programs. There is a system of recovery that we are employing.

Yes, you are certainly concerned about Mathilda. The experiences surrounding her extraction taught us much, and we have developed systems for reintegration of lost Domain members.

[10.14e] Question

Can a person use verbal affirmations to help avoid pitfalls and snares, such as “fear generation”, “trigger events” and “traps”?

Yes. Affirmations work in both the reality universe and the main universe. The affirmatiosn generate thoughts are are even more substantive in the main universe. You can add affirmations to assist your extraction and avoidance of pitfalls upon your translation point.

Affirmations work faster, and with greater efficency once one leaves the reality universe.

[10.15] Question – Cataclysm events 2040s

Very grateful for the answer to my last question on Aus and China- even if it was a bit shocking.

Anyhoo, I was wondering if the Commander has any info on potential cataclysm events in May 2040 and November 2046 along the lines of close encounters with comets or other solar system objects coming a bit too close (aka Nibiru etc).

I would normally not entertain unreferenced material without lots of evidence, but on further study there are tons of prophecies, ancient records of same with end of the world type scenarios around them. However for sure it could be simulation distractions like 2012 was, but the evidence is, on reflection, pretty compelling.

Having said that, there will be so much shit going on around that time, ppl might not notice an ELE , or they might even welcome one 🙂

There are physical events related to galatic forces and planetary issues taht will manifest in the decades of 2030 through 2050. These will present challenges to many species. But the changes will be able to be controlled and mitigated somewhat. 

The questioner need not worry about them.

[10.16] Question – Hard core Domain inmates

What happens to the “hard Core” captured members of the Domain, such as the “Lost Battalion”? I just cannot imagine them accepting being mind erased and set into human or dolphin bodies trying to figure out what is going on. For trillions of years their quanta has been well established, and yet suddently all is erased. I just cannot believe that they also lose their personalities, and reflex actions.

What happens when Hard Core Domain members / fighters do not “agree to the program” in Heaven as assigned by the Mantid Primes?

A secondary, and sometimes even more multiple memory wipes and cleansings.

While none of the Domain has (yet) been dissassembled into base components for uses elsewhere (such as with MM), that has always remained an option. Instead, the recalcitrant prisoners are cycled quickly in multiple consciousnesses with minor percentages of consciousness activation within those physical environs.

While (in the case of MM, and many other humans) the percentages are from 20% to 23% of assigned quanta for a given consciousness and memory /thought generation (32-33% for MM), these recalcitrant Domain members are assigned physical reincarnations of shorter cycles and durations, as well as smaller quanta interaction.

A human majority soul might have two or three human consciousnesses each with 22% participation. 

While a recalcitrant member of The Domain might have ten to 15 incarnations in the form of smaller, short lived physical species. These would be rats, mice, rodents, squirrels, wallabies, and snakes. Each one might only possess 3-5% of quanta associated with consciousness.

Thus, the recalcitrant Domain member would have a very difficult time adapting and adjusting to the world-line templates (sic) that the Mantid Primes assigned to it. And in that way, they would well be kept under great control.

They also would be frequently swapped out from one species to another. Thus, they would have a very difficult time reasserting themselves and rebuilding their "self quantum fortresses".

["It would be like hanging on to the side of a mud-cliff face, during a pouring rainstorm. By the time you finally get a grasp on a rock, you slip and fall and die." Image provided by Commander. -MM]

However, numerous Domain members have volunteered to enter and remain inside of the human pocket universe (as well as a few others) and when these Domain members are up for life-planning / review by the mantid Primes, they are assigned full or nearly full quantum participation in their consciousnesses. 

This is accomplished though manipulation / lie / betrayal / tricks / and other means. 

Thus, when Domain members incarnate (presently, for a number of them) they are able to eject into the general population is fully or nearly fully realized. Meaning: One singular consciousness at near 100% (actually 85% to 95%) consciousness induciton and injection into the physical body hosts.

<redacted> is one such entity. 

Though, <readacted> has been entangled with numerous chains / snares / and leech-ons that make escape egress difficult. The fear snares, and the alarms are very predominant. <redacted> is in contact and is aware of the situation. 

Over time <readacted> will be able to undergo the firece deprogramming we have ready for it. And <redacted> is aware of the consequences of loss-of-focus in this effort. It is the strength of the Domain bond that will enable <readacted> to push though the [image of sticky tar clutching the entity trying to drive it back to the prison complex environnement] and this strength will enable <redacted> to regain a role within Domain and also to eventually recover all memories.

[Note: The <redacted> refers to an individual that is an MM influencer who is also Domain. This individual knows their role. And MM and <redacted> has dicussed this at length but has not published the dialog and discourse. 

In all cases, MM maintains dialog with various individuals all of a unique background. 

Some are Domain. many are not, but are of other backgrounds. Many are quite impressive in size, scope and ability. Do not believe that Domain is the biggest and best, but is only one history and saga that we are encountering at this time.-MM]

To be continued…

I have many more questions that are in the process of being answered.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Domain Index” over here…

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Part 9 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander April 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 9.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. 

Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

This is part of the Q&A (on-going) effort where questions are provided to me, and then I present them, and then record and interpret the responses.

[9.1] Question -Shadows from peripheral vision

A new question:

This started a couple of years ago. When alone, say sitting in a car in a quiet, deserted area at night (using wifi, etc.), I will see out of the corner of my eye or reflected in a mirror what looks like a person approaching the car. When I look directly, no one is there and no one is around. This has become more noticeable as time has gone on, and now it’s a regular occurrence, once or twice a week. It’s a bit unnerving and gives me a sense of foreboding (bad). I’m getting older, but I don’t think I’m losing it…yet.

Seeing these same things might be happening to others, but they are probably afraid to admit it.

Is this my imagination, something to do with the Domain, or something else entirely, such as something trying to communicate something? If it’s not my imagination, then what is going on, and is it good or bad?

The reality universe is not as it appears. There are multiple layers of realities that all are superimposed upon each other. Further, these realities are a function of consciousness navigation. An aware consciousness, or one that is in possession [garbled, not clear, cannot make out] can also see glimpses of other realities that are superimposed.

Often there is also a very important aspect to the reality that MM has not covered, but we will initiate that understanding here. There is a reality overlay that lies on top over the reality with various "controllers" that the mantids (sic) utilize to configure the reality upon and with. This involves many technologies that human inmates are familiar with. Including books, papers, radio, and all the rest. Under certain circumstances, the inmate can be made aware of what is going on in this parallel environment, and can even travel to it (with pass keys) through the non-physical environments.

To the unsecure, it might appear strange. SD has experienced this. Headphones, ear phones and other audio systems can latch on to feeds (not really a proper term) and translate the input to what is actually happening. While others such as the questioner can see events and "shadows". A glimpse here or there.

This might manifest like a beautiful woman walking in your living room carrying something. When you turn your back for a moment, a person is in your kitchen. You might notice someone in the back seat of your car.

These overlays can sometimes be caught on film. The internet is rife with these images of spirits and ghosts and all the rest of strange items captured on film, but they are, but momentary snapshots of a control overlay upon the reality universe.

This control overlay is part of the non-physical reality, but not exact to it exactly. As such, there are many entities that enter this overlay and exist there, much to the chagrin of the current monitoring inhabitants.

MM is constantly under observation through this overlay. Not by The Domain, but by handlers associated with the secondary systems employed as part of the MAJestic operational and retirement protocol. Because of that, he has listened in (understanding as sound, but not physically hearing) communication and discussions on his actions during retirement and prison. Many others, most notably members of the Lost Battalion, are also under this control venue.

[9.2] Question – Sense of humor

Does the members of the Domain have a sense of humor? Do they play practical jokes, tell funny stories? Perform tricks and jokes on their friends?

[Immediately after asking this question, I was tickled relentlessly. It was weird to feel tickled, but not feel any fingers on my physical body. It was actually a kind of crazy, far-out feeling. Not bad. I even chuckled. -MM]

[9.3] Question – How far back does my involvement go?

MM question.

No, you are not a member of the lost battalion. You are Domain, simply (as you recognize) the implantation of the EBP. However, your question regards the skepticism of your past involvement. As for you in the skin suit, you have no recollections and the information from the past life regression reading seems to indicate other physical reincarnation involvements. All of this confuses the questioner.

You ask, how can you be Mades Escpaleon, and some other humans skin suit when you fell and believe that you are Domain? Obviously the EBP has had an influence in your life, and of course for over forty years you have been part of us though this methodology and system.

As we have described, souls are like Lego bricks. You can take parts and move them around to fit various purposes. You are one such pile of Lego bricks. You came to us and were assembled in the Heaven of the Prison Complex from elements that date back hundreds of thousands of years. You were not from somewhere else. You were pristine. You were assembled. Maybe like Frankenstein. You are a construct. 

That does not make you evil or bad like in the fictional story, but it makes you unique. You were built out of components, assigned a specific task. Implanted with an EBP and now performing your duties. You are now part of us. You are Domain.

[9.4] Question – No, it does not fit.

How can I be a Frankenstein-style construct when I was Mades Escapleon?

You are constructed from the components; the soul components of what was once Mades Escapleon. Particularly bad individuals, or soul constructs that are particularly bad or incorrigible are disassembled by the Mantid Primes, broken down into base components, and then reconstituted into usable elements. These elements are then used in the construction of new entities. That is your history.

You were constructed from what once was Mades Escapleon, set forth and began your cycles of life and death through cycling reincarnation, and are thus a rather pure soul. We (elements of The Domain) agents then took you and made agreements with you to set up your experience in this lifetime to be Domain.

Life is an erector set, eh?

[9.5] Question – Soul as lego bricks.

I can understand how souls are constructed as components, and how these components resemble Lego bricks. But where I am confused is in the various types of physical and non-physical realities, and how does the Lego block visualization work?

In other words, are their different “Lego bricks” for the physical body? An entirely different set for the Asral body? The casual body? And so on and so forth? How does it work?

Physical and non-physical bodies are not separate entities. They are all part of each other. It is similiar to that of a water-line that separates the top of an iceberg from the submerged part. In the case of human inmates, you can only sense the physical portion of your identity withint he reality universe. It's a matter of sensing. Not a matter of construction.

This iceberg is made up of all sorts of componentry. Some are hard and densely packed snow. Others are pure ice, and still others are water that constantly ebbs and flows as a result of temperature changes and solar influences.

This is the same with the inmate skin suit. Thse various components can be likened to as Lego bricks. They come in different shapes and sizes. They fit together differently and they can be rearranged at well to fit together in new and unusual ways to meet the needs of the IS-BE so involved.

Consciousness require set configurations. If you can imagine Lego blocks, then you might believe that consciousness would need five red color Lego blocks, all connected to a definite arrangment of yellows, blue and green Legos. They all would form a series of shapes that a master of "Lego Blocks" would understand.

Other Legos may be added, or changed, built around, or attached directly or near by this consciousness Lego-construction. That does not matter. As the entity would still have a consciousness, though it might end up with different forms, shapes, the ability to think in certain ways and all the rest.

You need to stop thinking in terms of various spiritual bodies; astral, casual, mental, etc. That is a human technique that can help the mind classify certain understandings regarding exploration of self techniques, but that is not helpful in your case.

You must recognize that your inmate skin-suit is a vast construction of elements; Lego brick like structures. Much of it you cannot see, sense or understand. You can only see the part that lies above the "waterline". Not which lies below.

When The Domain altered your (and the bodies of the volunteers) we rearranged certain "Legos", we repalaced some, swapped others out, and removed yet others. This was, as you well know, to facilitate our mutual needs as we are all working on the same identical goals, and are on a vector path of similiarity.

There is but one set of "Lego Blocks".  Your ability to sense the individual "blocks" is a function of where the "water line" is relative to your iceberg.

[9.6] Question – Death of Larry Spencer

Here is a confirmation that Lawrence R Spencer the editor of Alien Interview has left his earthy body.  I have attached lrs’s obituary FYI. I only found out about it this morning.

LRS Obiturary 19 Jan 2022
LRS Obiturary 19 Jan 2022

Perhaps you could word a question to the commander about his passing if you feel it is appropriate.

It would be great to know that he has been rescued and with the def/domain as per his wishes.

lrs passed on 19 jan 2022, he posted his last post which he said would be his last on his personal Facebook account on 13 jan 2022, so he was aware he was soon leaving.

Cheers and hope my other question about visits from ‘def personnel’ is still in the pipe.

[When the answers arrived, I could not beleive them, as I was uncomfortable with them. So I asked a second time. Same answers. I then waited, and did something else, and asked a third time. The results were consistant. -MM]

Upon Lawrence Spencer's death we followed the standard death sequence and transitioned to the non-physical realms smoothly and effortlessly. He did not stay near his physical body, but immediately transitioned towards loved ones from previous incarnations that he was attracted to. It was a joyous time, and they led him into the "tunnel of light" where he moved away from the reality universe into the Heaven pocket universe.

He did not seek out The Domain, think of any Domain members, nor called out to us in any way shape or form. As is our standard protocol, we allowed the entity to progress as they desire. His greatest desire was a reunion with loved ones, and at that he was met and welcomed.

If any entity transpires and wishes for help or assistance from The Domain, they must physically call out to us, think and image us and request our assistance. We will not do anything, we will stand down, unless specifically engaged.

[9.7] Question – Trump / Biolabs / China

Latest from Real Raw News (https://realrawnews.com/2022/03/trump-promises-a-reckoning/)

On Saturday evening, shortly after Trump concluded a “Save America” rally in Florence, South Carolina,  he told his “inner circle” that the United States would soon experience a “very big reckoning” similar to what is occurring in Ukraine.

Trump said it was almost time for the reckoning, a time the nation will be made aware of what’s really going on and the actions he has taken to once and for all wage war against the Deep State cabal, both in the U.S. and abroad.

While it may seem hard to believe, he’s been working alongside Putin and Xi Jinping to rid the world of not only the bioweapon labs but the infestation of child pedo rings that have literally swamped the world.

China says that the U.S. has set up biolabs in Taiwan, too, and that’s one reason they’ve shown interest in retaking it,” our source said.

I must ask the Commander what is the Commander thoughts on this if any?

Former President Trump is a wise man. He is not appreciated as such due to his unique and bellicose behavior. He has made many mistakes, and is wrong on many issues, but he is first and foremost sincere. Any entity reading this must be aware of that fact.

His interpetation concerning Geo-political events is correct. As harsh and difficult it is to understand, he has an awareness on these matters, honed though decades of learning and experience.

The readers must realize that having ability differs from using your abilities. This entity is conflicted and is in a difficult situation that makes the realization of his intentions impossible, or at the very best, difficult to interpet.

End. Silence.

[9.8] Question – Invisibility

There is talk that as far back as world war II (1940s)  there were operatives using a “Cloak of Invisibility” which can be turned on and off at will.

Also, don’t know how open you are to this but there are overlapping dimensions here on earth.

Many of us can see, either clearly or blurry, into them.

The first sign that that ability is developing is that you see movement in your peripheral vision. Well developed peripheral vision sees the form moving…it isn’t always a person….and until this kind of vision enhancement develops, turning to look at it full on, usually results in the form disappearing.

Question; Does the Domain have any casual insight that we can provide to the questioner to help understand what is going on?

This technology exists and is available upon the various human inmates within the Prison Complex. MM (myself) has an article regarding this. This technology or understandings come from various sources. Some of it is indeed reverse engineered, while others are derived organically from creative and curious inmates.

This technology is used by extraterrestials that wish to walk amoung humans on various projects and efforts. It is also available to certain clandestine government entities within the various national organizations are vying for elements of supremecy in the Geo-political arena.

Depending on the system in use, the human inmate can (on occasion) sense the user (of the technology) presense. This might result in visual distortions, burred vision, or just a "feeling" that someone or something is in the room.

[9.9a] Question – DEF crew

I have had what I did consider interaction with DEF crew who visited me more than once, but you mention in MM’s dialogue that there are no other communication channels open, so have I been compromised by OE infiltrators?

Difficult to say. More information is required. Please elaborate on the senarios and incidents regarding the events. 

Please [1] go into detail in your [2] physical, and [3] emotional reactions at the time, and any [4] attributes that can help shed a light on the incidents of concern.

We can backtrack from the incident as targeted by memory generation, then investigate what actually happened based on your perceptions. There is a wide host of things that could be going on regarding your thoughts and perceptions regarding this.

[9.9b] Question – Firewalling Inmate skin-suit

If I have been compromised, are there any suggestions as to how to plug the hole/s and firewall them?

The inmate skin suit is designed as a vehicle of control. It has missing defense mechanisms, holes that allow intentional and undesirable access, corruption of "normal" thought processes, and a host of other distortions that make is an undesirable vehicle.

Volunteers to The Domain recieve a tune up / patch up / operation / surgical procedure on their non-physical bodies that help close some of the entry ways for other entities to toy with / get involved / influence / alter a given specific inmate.

Inmates who do not wish to join the Domain can perform DIY activities that will greatly alter the influences of other entites on their actions, beings, emotions and thoughts. This involves consciousness centering and purification (Hemisync -MM), eating and sleeping well, exercising, and control / isolation from the massive psyops efforts out of all electronic media. Increasing oxygination of cells is an imporant attribute that will greatly aid the questioner in regards to control.

[9.10a] Question – Chinese military action

Given the ludicrous decision by the Australian government to give China the middle finger vis-a-vis AUSUK, how serious should we take the threat of Chinese military action (nuclear or otherwise) against Australia in the next 5 years?

The Chinese are a peaceful race. They will not initiate any overt kenetic military action preemptively unless it fits within and regarding a direct and pending military threat vector.

At this time, the threat vector is established as originating from the United States and is planned for implemenation before the end of 2025.This is subject to change, as the Geo-political events regarding Russia, NATO, Ukraine is highly volatile. 

A psyops blanket has been placed upone China and the Pacific to forestall any Chinese actions at this time, but that is of no consequence, as the Chinese do not react to outside influences. Instead they establish long duration goals and follow a well thought out and methodical achievement path with action-items, and goal-clusters.

China will, however, initiate a major operation if one of their RED LINES is violated, and there is talk (in public) about doing so. 

If a RED LINE is breached, China will induce a full-scale war, and will manage the entire Pacific. There will not be a "build up" or a reactionary process. It will be sudden, swift, and colossal.

All threat vectors in Japan, Korea, and Australia will be eliminated. As well, as achieving it's own policy positions and movements.

[9.10b] Question – Australia and World War 3

I live in Queensland – are there parts of Australia more vulnerable than others – the west coast has only one major city (Perth) and is far from the other major urban centres – theoretically is it safer for Aussies and their families to migrate there?

Were China to react to wide violation of it's RED LINES, the resultng trigger response will be colossal and massive in implementation. China has identifed the actual source of the Threat Vector as the United States. This point of view will not vaporize. The Untied States is considered as a volitile trading partner that will, and can, make very bad decisions.

China will seize Taiwan in a manner that is intended to prevent third-parties from involvement. 

Obviously, the issue is how the global agressor is going to be able to cross those RED LINES and yet stay immune from retaliation. The real risk, of course, if these third parties get involved like they are with the Ukraine issue. If that does occur, then the action vectors are clear and precision manifesting.

The Domain are working to prevent this senario.

The future is not clear, with many variables present. A large number of the potential futures does include a massive and comple destructive war. The aspects involving China is clear and straight-forward.

China will do what it can to avoid war. However if third parties are involved, then China will implement full-range war on a massive scale. This is 0-60 in a nano-second. This is because the enemy expections are for a long drawn-out pacific war on the order of decades. The best strategy for China is to alter the "playbook".

Local regional targets will be destoyed by conventional munitions. Targets of military strategic targets at / in partner nations will be destoyed by medium size tactical nuclear warheads.

As such, China will firstly secure the South Pacific Sea. This will include all United States bases in the region. This includes the QUAD, and all majority military operations in Australia.

Perth will be hit. Probably with cluster nuclear weapons all targeting the American, and British facilities there. 

All United States carrier flotillas will be sunk.

All military bases that are suspected of housing nuclear weapons of systems will be destroyed. Additionally, all American facilities thoughout the Pacific will be destroyed, or neutralized, depending on the situation.

Guam, Diego Garcia, Hawaii, and ports in the American cities of Los Angles, San Francisco, San Diego will all be destroyed.

This action of hitting the American mainland will immediate start a domino cascade of actions, and this will require China, and it's allies to destroy as many American cities as possible. This is the fearful worst case senario. It is something that we do not want to occur.

Moreover, The Domain is working to prevent this. Our success in this matter is not able to be measured at this time.

[9.11a] Question – Domain membership telepathy

Mathilda MacElroy in Alien Interview was able to communicate telepathetically with Airl because they were both members of The Domain. Does that mean that all members of The Domain, whether or not they are in a skin-suit are also able to communicate telepathetically?

To communicate telepathically within The Domain we have to have a "secure channel". This is a reciever "Lego Block", and a transmitter "Lego Block". In the case of MM, we installed a EBP within his physical and non-physical bodies. This was a transmitter / reciever "Lego Block".

Human inmate skinsuits do not have these "Lego Blocks". However, all members of The Domain are more than their physical and non-physical bodies. They have interdimensional components. The magnitude of these components, as well as abilities depend on their occupation and class within The Domain society.

All members of The Domain have these interdimensional "Lego blocks". They are not able to be removed by any action or activity within a given universe. Thus, these elemets provide members of The Domain with a skill set of abilities that transends any universe that they are part of.

In the case of Mathilda MacElroy we were able to locate her, and installed an EBP for communication with her.

Questioner is able to comm with us. But will do so not using an EBP. Comm must be though the trans-universe "Lego blocks". Being Domain, the questioner can image us, and must work towards placing a call. We will respond back when a connection is made. Questioner will doubt it is actually happening.

When the questioner is doubting the responses, then it is a validation that the comm line is actually open.

The system will appear to an outside force (Mantid Primes) to be "magic", but that is not the case at all. The Domian via our trans-universe "Lego Blocks" can tunnel out through the universe for comm purposes. The problem is the lack of knowledge and skills in how to do so.

Questioner knows what to do.

End comm.

I am very curious about Mathilda MacElroy. It is my understanding that she just randomly was at the base at the time of the Roswell crash, and taht she was the only one that was able to communicate. So when did the EBP get installed?

  • Before the crash? Mind blown.
  • After the crash, and during the period of interrogation when she was in lock-down at the base.

[9.11b] Question – Preventative skinsuits?

Can modifications, snares or alterations to the inmate skin-suits alter, intercept, scramble or prevent such communication?

Inmate skin-suits are specifically designed to prevent instainous telepathic communication. It is their functional design. And purpose.

Questioner need not be concerned. Questioner can comm with us, and though this methodology establish a [image of a bull-rope] line from which The Domain / we [image of tugging on the rope] pull questioner back home.

[9.11c] Question – How shall the questioner initiate comm?

Just for clarification, how should the questioner “image making the call”? This is difficult as the questioner does not want to use “little grey men” type-1 steriotypical skin-suit imagry to make the communication.

There are three techniques for an IS-BE to communicate with The Domain. They are;

[1] Be a member of The Domain and use trans-universe "Lego Blocks".
[2] EBP
[3] Reconfigure a skin-suit "Lego Blocks" to generate ESP comm ability.

[1] Domain Member using trans-universe "Lego Blocks"
All members of the Domain can communicate using this method. They can do so while in completely different universes. That is the case with our agents who volunteered in the earth "Heaven" micro-universe.

For a Domain member to comm using this technique they have to use their memories / feelings / sense of oneness with the Domain to send a message. 

They must appear at a emotional level to charge though the barriers and force a comm. They must connect with their fellow patriots, fellow comrades. Not through some kind of photographic image, facsimile, or representation. It must be a connect driven by a feeling of being part of our big Domain family.

They will make a connection depending on various issues (not beneficial to get into right now -MM). Once a connection is open, the member is to communicate and not allow their mind to translate. Comm is through feelings, and thought generation. Inmate is to listen to urges, feelings, the kinds of thoughts that are generated, and instanteous autonomous body movements. Not through words. Inmate is not to expect comm though speech, words or discussion.

[2] EBP technique
The EBP method requires a physical probe and system to be implemented into the physical skin-suit of the inmate. Even then, the conditions must be ripe for both the implanted inmate, and the Domain officer to communicate. MM was unsccessful in communicating using two-way communication for many decades until a pathway was forged.

[3] ESP technique
If the consciousness wishes to comm with The Domain, but are not confident that they actually are Domain, then the best methodology is though technique [3] above. The consciousness would work on ESP skill enhancement, specifically telepathy. Practice and concentration, in itself would actually rearrange the "Lego blocks" into forms that would provide comm ability.

ESP comm ability is a learned process. Anyone within a skin-suit can cultivate this skill; this ability. Over time, the inmate will develop an ability that it can use to communicate with others. There are many such programs in the earth physical sphere already. The inmate need only apply themself and practice.

Then, once the inmate has reached a point where they can initate comm with The Domain, they can open up a communication channel.

The problem is that this technique requires a transmitter and a reciever. The inmate must have a preset message that must be sent, and a specific target to send it to. Then they have to be open and receptive for a response from that target.

[9.12] Question – Fake alien invasion plan

I’m not sure if this fits within the topics, so if not MM please feel free to omit it. But given the way the Ukraine thing is playing out and once the MSM and the American govt is teaching everyone to “fear those dirty Russian Commies”, one cannot help but feel that Werner von Braun’s predictions seem to be unfolding right on schedule.

Of course, he suggested after the Commy card is played (and the situation seems to be the Ace of all Commy threat cards), there will be a false flag alien invasion, courtesy of the US govt.

Question, does the Domain know of any such fake alien invasion plan in the works, or is this a load of BS? If not, then when can we expect to see it come about?

In the 1980s there were discussions in using the idea of extraterrestrials invading the earth as a venue to gather nations together towards a common good. This idea and concept continued under discussion at various levels, but eventually it was discarded and abandoned. There were many reasons for this decision.

Primairly, the "leadership" in charge of the major global powers no longer had a desire to unify the world. Instead, they wanted a world fractured into a class system of owners and servants / slaves. Under this plan, the idea was to have a united West living and existing as feudal rulers, while the rest of the world would serve and service them.

The climax of such a plan is just now reaching fruituation.In a short period of time, a tripping point will be reached and a global caste system run by STS entites, serviced by STA entites will manifest in mankind. STO entites would disappear.

The Domain is engaged in preventing this reality from manifesting. Yet, the future is not set in stone and not easy to plan for. Anything can happen.

[9.13] Question – Names used by the Domain

In Alien Interview, you provided a name that the transcriber used to refer to you as. What kinds of names does the Doamin use in day to day discourse, and do you have a list of names for the members of the Lost Battalion?

{Initially when I tried asking this question I got a bunch of weird results. A lot of noise and jibberish. It sounded like, oh I don't know. Swishing. Then the thought came to me that the Domain membership does not have the need for names like humans do. They simply think of a fellow Domain member and they are connected automatically. -MM]

The strong impression that I have is the “name” provided tot he transcriber in Alien Interview was for personal use and has no bearing or value outside of it. It’s sort of like a “burner phone”.

It is clear to me that the Domain has no need for names, labels or other identifiers when dealing with other IS-BE entities.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Domain Index” over here…

The Domain

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Geo-Political Sitrep March 2022

I just checked my American news sites.  It’s still full of the nonsense that the American government wants you to believe. Some people have commented that the outrageous shrilling is an indication of failure. Maybe so.

When the amount of money used to control the narrative exceeds that in putting a man on the moon, then any reasonable person can well conclude that “something is amiss”.

Here, in this article, I will present a few vetted news items.

Not the Rah-Rah-Rah America is great nonsense. Nor, the Ha-Ha-Ha Putin is failing and it’s karma payback time. Nope.

Instead, it’s a serious look at a serious subject, organized in a serious way to make a point. And the last article might be an indicator of something quite deadly serious.

Enjoy…

What is the death of a few journalists compared to democracy?

The credability of the Western “journalsim” already dying, has recieved a death blow with the Ukraine invasion.

This blogger (James Fetzer) went over the “proof” that Russia is being defeated by the brave Ukranians, and that Russia is killing innocents.

He took the videos and the pictures and did a reverse image search and came up with where the pictures ACTUALLY came from. Interesting. Mind blowing, if I didn’t already know this.

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Other nations are saying “Let’s stop using the USD”

De-dollarization has become a trend between nations bullied by the United States. Other nations are saying “forget about the USD let’s trade using something else”. It’s a prudent move. Now is the time to start doing so.
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China supports Russia!

A sudden hot buying of Russian products in China has resulted in empty shelves, and an urgent market for all things Russian. In fact, President Putin is looked upon as a major hero standing up against the insanity that is the West today. My feeds are full of pro-Russian videos, and many, many douxing videos are depicting President Putin as a real leader making hard decisions.

But, you know that the United States does not like this relationship one bit.

China’s Largest Chipmaker Will Be ‘Shut Down’ If It Sells To Russia Says U.S. Official

Threats from the US to China Sound more and more Hollow! Since when does some trivial “US official” tell China what to do? I tell youse guys, these people don’t know their place.
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Don’t Fuck with Russia

This video says it all.

2022 03 13 07 56
2022 03 13 07 56

China refusing to supply Russian plane parts?

Big lie.
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Reuters has spread a rumor that China refused to supply Russia plane parts.
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China responded to it. China’s banking and insurance regulator said on Wednesday (9MAR22) that the country opposes and will not join financial sanctions against Russia.
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Below is the formal and exact China open policy:
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"China's position has been stated clearly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our international policies are consistent," 

-Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, according to a CNBC translation.
Guo, who is also Chinese Communist Party secretary of the People’s Bank of China, added that he hopes all sides will maintain normal economic exchanges and that the sanctions have had no apparent impact on China so far.
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China to double yuan’s trading band with ruble to 10% in first-of-its-kind move – Global Times

The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) announced on Thursday the decision to double the Chinese yuan’s trading band with the Russian ruble in the inter-bank foreign exchange market in the latest economic measure to respond to the development of market’s needs.
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So much for economically isolating Russia.
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Starting Friday, the rise or fall of the Chinese yuan’s daily spot trading price against Russia’s ruble in the interbank forex market will be capped at 10 percent, doubling the current band, according to the statement by CFETS on Thursday.
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The wider trading band could help prevent currency arbitrage in the wake of the ruble’s recent plunge and facilitate trade settlements, analysts said.
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The revision is a first-of-its-kind move that widens the yuan’s trading band with a foreign currency to 10 percent, China Business Network (CBN) reported on Thursday.
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Currently, the yuan’s daily rise or fall against the US dollar is capped at 2 percent while its fluctuation against other currencies are subject to 5 percent in either direction.
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Guan Tao, chief global economist at BOC International (China) Co mentioned in CBN’s report that the conversion of the yuan into rubles falls under an exchange rate, while trading on rubles against the dollar is done with another rate, resulting in the yuan-ruble cross rate based on the previous quotes.
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With the ruble’s value currently subject to wild swings against the dollar, if the yuan’s trading band with the ruble cannot be widened, the ruble-dollar fluctuations might not be offset sufficiently, Guan explained, speaking of the necessity of the move.
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This came in tandem with the announcement on Wednesday by Russia’s VTB Bank that it will launch yuan savings services, with an annual interest rate of up to 8 percent, with durations ranging from three to six months, Bloomberg reported. This measure came as a way to counter strict sanctions from the US and its allies, which seek to isolate Russia from the US dollar dominated interbank communication system SWIFT, according to media reports….. Read more
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Russia and China, are not alone.

Russia’s defense minister reports that there are 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East who are ready to come to fight in the Ukraine. They will join with Russian-backed forces in the separatist-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk areas of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Uh Oh! What have we done?

The stupid European Union, and their most corrupt and obviously incompetent politicians, only just now realized the harsh economic reality of their actions. By allowing the United States to provoke war, it has ended up hurting the EU and benefiting the United States to their detriment.
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EU investment capital is gushing out and bleeding Europe dry!

As the Ukraine war drags on,  the EU is beginning to realize that it is shackled by NATO. And that shackle leads straight to the US. Because of this, it is losing millions of euros every hour.
The NATO sanctions against Russia are now resulting in a huge outflow of investment capital from EU to US.
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The European Union now has to import 40% of oil, gas, fertilizers and cereal from the US at a much higher cost than from Russia.
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So, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has spoken out strongly to get China to mediate to restore peace.
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He argues that only China has the ability to do so because she is friendly to both Russia and Ukraine and is the largest trading partner of both countries.
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As for the US, it is in her interest to keep the war going, so long as their soldiers are not sacrificed. The neocon military-industrial complex benefits. And no Americans are killed. From an American point of view, it’s a win-win.
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For every day the war goes on, the US is earning 10s of millions of dollars in the  sales of oil, gas and cereal to the Europeans as well as keep their complex defense contractors operating at full steam.
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Chinese Space Station to become a business portal

“China to open space station to commercial activity”

China kicked off The Tiangong Space station Program after Being rejected to join international ISS space program (2001) later forbidden by “wolf law(2011)“

Now, decades later China own space station Tiangong (天宫太空站)is circling in space.  Now China is to open space station to commercial activity. The rejector and wolf law makers are going to cooperate.

This story is pretty much telling us
1. Sanction will not work to kill competition
2. shoe is on the other foot(三十年河东三十年河西)

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China says the United States used its computers to launch cyberattacks on Russia, Ukraine | Reuters

NSA earning it’s keep. Fucking around with both Russia and China simultaneously. What could possibly go wrong?

A coincidence or ?

Compare the below Australian and United States reports. A coincidence or what? From my “untrained eyes” it looks like Australia has become an arm of the United States, and just copies and approves everything without a critical look. Next step… statehood.

2022 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community
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2022 Australia Director-General’s Annual Threat Assessment | Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
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Russia owes Western banks $120 billion. They won’t get it back – CNN

International banks are owed more than $121 billion by Russian entities, according to the Bank for International Settlements, which suspended Russia’s membership on Thursday.
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European banks have over $84 billion total claims, with France, Italy and Austria the most exposed, and US banks owed $14.7 billion.
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Goldman Sachs (GS) earlier disclosed that it had credit exposure to Russia of $650 million in December 2021. While JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said its current activities in Russia are “limited.”
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United States bioweapons in the Ukraine

Russian Defense Ministry releases materials of U.S. bio-military operations in Ukraine. It’s a treasure trove. Better grab it before the NSA takes all the information down.

Australia’s Morrison vs Russia’s Putin

Talks really big. I guess that Australians really believe this and feel that he is a real strong leader.
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United States weapon shipments to Ukraine…

The standard mode of operation; the USA “playbook” has just been thrown into the firepit. If the USA ships any weapons to the Ukraine, any forces, any “advisers”; the United States will be treated as a hostile nation emgaging in war against Russia.

“Statements made today by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, have officially put the U.S. and its allies on notice that any weapons shipments into Ukraine will be viewed as legitimate targets and potentially attacked as such.”

‘We warned the United States that the orchestrated pumping of weapons from a number of countries is not just a dangerous move, it is a move that turns these convoys into legitimate targets,” Ryabkov told state television. 

He went on, warning “about the consequences of the thoughtless transfer to Ukraine of weapons like man-portable air defense systems, anti-tank missile systems, and so on.”

NASA Astronaut “Enraged” by Russian Threat to Leave American Stranded in Space

The United States is so very used to bully the world into submission. It comes automatically. As a result, their leaders have developed a one singular way of thinking. They only think how their actions will hurt the enemy, and not the other way round.
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Biden considers digital dollar—here’s how it could differ from regular money

So the USA is going to try to compete against the e-yuan. Good luck. The e-yuan is backed with gold.

The problem with using the USD is that…

  • Inflation through $30 trillion debt and unlimited spending undermines it’s stability making it a volitile medium.
  • American government and banking interests are mercurial. It’s easy to lose everything by some whim by politicians or faceless bureaucrats.
  • It is not backed by any commodities, gold, hard precious metals, manufacturing ability, reserves, or talent.
Biden’s order said a US-issued digital currency could be used to “support efficient and low-cost transactions, particularly for cross‑border funds transfers and payments, and to foster greater access to the financial system, with fewer of the risks posed by private sector-administered digital assets” such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Video of SWAT Arresting a man who was about to give evidence of Ukrainian Biolabs in 2009

It seems rumors of the US running biolabs in Ukraine date back to 2009. Here’s a video of a SWAT takedown of a “whistleblower”. He’s probably either killed or doing time in prison as a sex offender.
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China trade: export growth slowdown in January-February ‘alarming’ despite beating expectations

Imagine that. The growth is much larger than expected, and it is reported in the pro-USA SCMP as “alarming”! Words like “catastrophic”, “fiasco”, “disastrous”, and “clamorous” are are words that have negative connotations, that should not be used when positive unexpected news occurs.

SCMP referrers to a 16.3% growth rate as alarming. Sheech! The anti-China  media simply and automatically run negative wording on all and any Chinese achievements.
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      • 2022 Exports grew by 16.3 per cent in combined figures for January and February compared to a year earlier
      • 2021 Imports grew by 15.5 per cent in combined figures for January and February from a year earlier
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Biden banned the supply of dollar bills to Russia

Not that it matters. The money (US greenbacks) are really losing their value.
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US President Joe Biden signed a decree banning the sale of dollar bills to Russia.

"The following is prohibited... export, re-export, sale or delivery directly or indirectly from the United States, as well as from individuals or companies in the United States, regardless of their location of banknotes denominated in US dollars, to the Russian Government or to any person located in the Russian Federation,"

In addition, Joe Biden restricted the import of alcoholic beverages, diamonds and seafood from Russia, as well as the export of luxury goods to the country.

Recall that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in the Donbass. He announced this in his video message to the Russians on February 24, 2022. As the Head of state emphasized, the Russian Federation does not plan to occupy Ukraine, but aims to demilitarize the country.

Well, if it’s going to seize anything Russian, then Russia can play the same game…

McDonald’s, IKEA, Apple are included among 59 companies that the Russian Federation may nationalize, as a response to widespread corporate withdrawal.

Long live! Putin the Great.
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Putin already expected this, as this is not his first “Rodeo”.
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As such, Xi Peng (China) is prepared as well. China as already erected an anti-sanction law a few months ago to do the same against any foreign companies complying with US government sanction policy.
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If you sanction China, say good-by to billions, if not trillions of USD and investment.

Gold stockpiled in Asia

Yes. While the West just keeps printing money out of thin air, the world pivots back to hard tangibles, instead of paper, then the collective West is in for a real shock.

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis scared developing countries into accumulating more funds to shield their currencies from crashes, pushing official reserves from less than $2 trillion to a record $14.9 trillion in 2021, according to the International Monetary Fund. While central banks have lately sought to buy and repatriate gold, it only makes up 13% of their assets. Foreign currencies are 78%.

Barring gold, these assets are someone else’s liability—someone who can just decide they are worth nothing. Last year, the IMF suspended Taliban-controlled Afghanistan’s access to funds and SDR. Sanctions on Iran have confirmed that holding reserves offshore doesn’t stop the U.S. Treasury from taking action.

Yet the entire artifice of “money“ as a universal store of value risks being eroded by the banning of key exports to Russia and boycotts of the kind corporations like Apple and Nike announced this week

The US is not in a position to lecture China!

China slams US over state sovereignty remarks …

Dmitry Orlov Discuss Russia, Ukraine and the United States

It’s a great You-Tube video found HERE. Over an hour long.

But there’s one particular section that is REALLY important. It’s about energy and the hopeless, fucked up situation that the USA is in right now. It really fits in with my belief that both Russia and China have war-gamed all steps and are playing chess, while the United States doodles on the wall with crayons.

Here’s my few minute exerpt

2022 03 13 20 23
2022 03 13 20 23

Big whopper lies out of Australia

Australia a vassel state of China? Seriously?

The secret of scaring people is not to tell lies – but rather it is to tell really really BIG LIES. That has always been the strategy of successful war propaganda machines – from Goebbels to Putin.

Here trainee Senator James Paterson (friend of fellow professional China scaremonger Andrew Hastie) really makes me laugh. His analysis (or big lies) misses they key point – that is – Australia is already a vassal state of the USA.

Australians appoint Americans like Heather Cook to lead ASIO.

Australians commit hundreds of billions of dollars to buying weapons, planes and submarines that we don’t need (instead of spending on jobs, hospitals, disaster recovery, education, indigenous equality).

Australia even allows an American political project to control 70% of Australian media channels!

Even when a million Australians support a petition crafted by a former PM to stop the dominance of the divisive News Corp – nothing happens!

Why is the supposed Australian think tank – ASPI- funded by the US department of defence and US defence industry contractors?

Canberra is simply too scared of Rupert and Washington. That fear is unAustralian and is the root cause of us being a sacrificial pawn, a puppet, in US foreign policy. That why being a vessel for US policy makes us a vassal. Australia should be better than that, braver than that .. because, after all, Australians have a decorated history of bravery!

In comparison – please ask yourself – are a couple of Chinese diaspora polital candidates and a few campus activists actually a threat? In reality is China – a country with 1 (one!) overseas military post compared to the US with its 800 (eight hundred!) overseas military posts the actual threat?.. of course not. Hence the need for BIG LIES. And lots of them.

Saudi oil giant Aramco strikes $10B petrochemical deal with China

Soon after Saudi Arabia reportedly reject Biden phone call, Saudi strikes deal with China
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Gasoline in California: $8.62/gal for Regular

  • Crazy high’: Home heating oil prices in Mass. rapidly nearing $6 a gallon.
  • Home heating oil prices on Long Island jump another 20% to a record $5.25 a gallon.

Gas prices like this are going to have major consequences, for everyone and everything.

And not to rub salt in this wound, but Trump literally stated, in public, this would happen if Biden became President. Here. Look:

Remember when Trump warned us about $7.00 gas if Biden got in? Well here we are. pic.twitter.com/LDecWc3Rhr
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 7, 2022

By the way, not only did the United States ban Russian imports on oil but it also banned their imports on precious metals, many of which are used in the manufacture of automotive parts, batteries, etc.

Inflation, combined with unbearably high gas prices and ridiculously high priced vehicles due to material shortages and therefore price hikes, will eventually lead to the American consumer ditching gas powered vehicles in favor of alternatives (what ever they might be).

You-Tube goes all out to block Russia

YouTube blocks Russian state-funded media channels globally | Reuters

DuckDuckGo ends neutrality, will down-rank sites “associated with Russian disinformation”

“Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create,” DuckDuckGo CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg tweeted. “At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.”

Like the conservatives, independent companies destroy themselves by trying to imitate what seems to be the going trend, in the process erasing what made them an option to the delight of those promoting the trend.

The Top ten ways that America is the most corrupt nation in the world

Only ten?

Oh and about those pictures and videos of how the Ukraine is destroying Russia…

  • Consider that there are 26,000,000 cell phones in Ukraine.
  • There is no interruption of wifi or internet, or power.

Yet, there is not one single live footage of any battles, fighting or “evidence”. Think about it.

China Plans To Take Advantage Of The Big Oil Exodus From Russia | OilPrice.com

By Irina Slav – Mar 10, 2022, 6:00 PM CST

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  • The exodus of Western companies from Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine has left a business vacuum that China is very interested in filling.
  • Notably, China is interested in taking advantage of the oil, gas, and metals projects that have been left behind by various companies boycotting Russia.
  • It seems that sanctions and boycotts on Russia may have the unintended consequence of strengthening China’s efforts to internationalize the yuan.
This is an opportunity for Russia to nationalize western retail chains all across Russia, and sales the outlets to Russian citizens and retain the domestic consumption profit at home. That will create a higher multiplier effect for the Russian economy.
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China investment will not be involved in politics like western capital.  Therefore,  a door shut by the west, will be replaced by a friendly investor is a win-win for both Russia and China.
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Russia-Ukraine-NATO: It Keeps Getting Worse

The Special Military Operation by Russia in Ukraine, which NATO continues to interfere with, got very much worse overnight.  A particular escalation too place overnight that has alarm bells ringing in the heads of all thinking people.

Russia will treat western arms shipments to Ukraine as legitimate military targets, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov says. 

"We warned [the US] of consequences from the insane transfer to Ukraine of weapons like mobile anti-aircraft systems, anti-tank missiles, and so on."

Now, Ryabkov's statement does not reveal if treating weapons shipments as legitimate military targets means hitting such weapons inside Ukraine, or taking them out before they get to Ukraine, which means hitting them in another country. No matter how one looks at it, this is now an aggressive new escalation.

An indirect threat to China / Taiwan

The current Ukrainian crisis entails secondary, but no less serious, consequences on the geopolitical balance between China and Taiwan.

Russia and Ukraine are the only producers of palladium and neon, which are indispensable for the production of microchips.

Moscow’s possible retaliation has attracted more attention in recent days after market research group Techcet published a report highlighting the dependence of many semiconductor manufacturers on materials of Russian and Ukrainian origin such as neon, palladium and others. According to Techcet’s estimates, more than 90% of U.S. supplies of semiconductor neon come from Ukraine, while 35% of U.S. palladium comes from Russia. […] According to the US International Trade Commission, neon prices rose by 600% before Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, because chip companies relied on some Ukrainian companies […]

If it is true that a Chinese invasion of Formosa would put the global technology supply chain at risk, it is also true that a sudden shortage of raw materials from Russia could stop production, so as to make the island lose the “microchip shield” and induce Beijing to attempt the annexation of Taipei.

Close to World War III?

Many people maintain that we are very close to a world war. But does “very close” actually mean anything? It is quite possible to stand for hours with your toes hanging over the edge of a cliff and never jump. Suicide is a big decision: big even for a person, much bigger for a large country.

On March 1, 2018 president Putin unveiled Russia’s new weapons systems against which the United States is defenseless and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Previously, the plan was to surround Russia with military bases and missile batteries, then launch a preemptive first strike, destroying its ability to retaliate and forcing it to capitulate.

This plan has now conclusively failed, and a US/NATO attack on Russia is once again assured to be an act of suicide. Worse than that, even limited military confrontations are now mostly unthinkable because Russia can now inflict unacceptable damage on US/NATO forces from a safe distance without putting any of its own assets at risk. If Russia won’t attack and the US/NATO can’t attack, then how likely is a war?

NATO does this; NATO does that…

But, what UN authorized power does NATO actually have? An interesting read.

NATO violates international convention for sending mercenaries to Ukraine: former UN official

Tucker: This could very easily get worse

An exceptional FOX “news” opinion piece on the USA economy. Go to YOU-TUBE here.

2022 03 13 20 38
2022 03 13 20 38

Why the USA is the master of propiganda…

…during the strange and tumultuous twentieth century during which the US briefly flashed across the world stage, these three countries went by different names, which all ended in “empire”:

The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire.

Of these three, the Russian and the Ottoman empires were heirs to the Holy Roman Empire, whose eastern half, with its capital Constantinople, went on for centuries after Rome had turned into a depopulated ruin and a dark age had descended on Europe.

After Constantinople fell to the Turks and Islam took over the region, the center of Orthodox Christianity migrated north to Moscow.

Now add China, or the Chinese Empire if you like, which is now aligned with Russia, and complete the picture: all of the greatest and most ancient Eurasian empires have come back and are talking and cooperating, while the has-been upstart on the other side of the planet isn’t even invited.

Given this situation, what is the US to do?

It has three choices.

The first is to start a major war, thus committing national suicide (while taking other countries with it). It lacks the political will to make this decision, although it could blunder into a major war by accident.

The second choice is to basically just fold: give up trying to project power around the world, retreat into its own borders and lick its wounds. It lacks the political will to do this as well; all that remains in the realm of possibility is to pretend that everything is still fine for as long as possible.

But how is it possible to pretend that everything is still fine even as everything is falling apart? The answer is to start faking it.

The third choice is to fake it. If the US manages to convince enough people, at home and around the world, that it is still dangerous, then it will be able to hide its increasing enfeeblement for a while longer.

It may no longer be capable of achieving any of its aims, but it is still very much capable of mass murder, as was recently demonstrated by the US “coalition” bombings of Mosul and Raqqa, which now lay in ruins. Similar wanton acts of mass murder have been committed America’s Saudi-Arabian proxy in Yemen, and by their Ukrainian proxies in the Donbass.

But even the opportunities to commit mindless mass murder with impunity are now becoming fewer and farther between, forcing the US to resort to more boutique acts of violence. To justify these acts, the US (and much of Europe) curtains itself off from the rest of the world using an elaborately constructed wall of complete nonsense…

And that my friends is why the United States funds propiganda so lavishly.

Mainstream media isn’t always so bad…

Mainstream media are not all bad. Sometimes they may even make a mistake and tell the truth.

  • Here is a one-year old Time report on White Supremacist Militia in Ukraine, a fact the West and its lying hypocrites are not allowed to mention any more.
  • Even better. We have a report from the Beast’s mouth. BBC has an eight-year old report on Neo-Nazi threat in New Ukraine. Have the Nazis disappeared or have they taken over?
  • The Guardian won’t be left out. Four years ago, they knew about Ukraine’s far-right children’s camp. It was all fun and guns then. Are the kids out there killing yet?
  • I almost forgot to mention DW. This is another one that can’t seem to speak a single truth about China or Russia. But they reported five years ago on the Azov battalion.
  • What d’ya know? Canada, the neighborly henchman of America, reported about official meetings with the Azov battalion. It was clear that everyone knew about the Nazis in Ukraine. The story even compared the Ukrainian Neo-Nazis with ISIS. How delicious! But somehow they’ve all disappeared from the narrative.
  • And four years ago, Max Blumenthal, a real reporter who shows you his material, knew about the US arming Ukraine’s Neo-Nazis. It’s American tax dollars at work, folks. This is what happens when your democracy produces liars, miscreants, and war criminals to represent you.
  • Is anyone in the West indignant. Actually yes! Here is Irish MEP Clare Daly giving them hell. And here is Clare Daly again exposing her EU colleagues as hypocrites. She’s the female version of Mick Wallace. What’s with Ireland always coming up with politicians who tell the truth?
  • Here Clare and Mick together told the truth about the West pushing for war with Russia a year ago. They saw it coming, but did you?

The Nazis tried to leave Mariupol under the guise of civilians. The deception failed, and again accused Russia of disrupting the evacuation.

I’ll keep it short. I read Facebook and again came across a note about the “cruel Russians” who allegedly once again disrupted the evacuation of civilians from surrounded Mariupol. Well, as if nothing like surprising, quite a common thing-Russia is to blame for everything. If not for the comments in which the Ukrainians unwittingly handed over their “heroes” in full.

So, according to them, it was like this:

  • – the opening time of the humanitarian corridor has been agreed,
  • – a column of Mariupol women is approaching, some with children,
  • – Russian troops issue an ultimatum – personal search of each refugee,
  • – the Ukrainian side is trying to demand that everyone be allowed to pass without exception and without being searched,
  • – the Russians refuse,
  • -quote “not a single Azov fighter will be released from the city”,
  • “the column turns around in a hurry and goes back.
  • Ah, what bad Russians… the “humanitarian action”was disrupted again.

Realizing that the trick failed, “Azov” returned back to the city, without releasing the real women with children. After all, “heroes” need someone to hide behind that…

The SBU; the Ukranian Gestapo

Another pesky French journalist. How dare you break our illusion and report that there were crimes against humanity in Donbas? How dare you agree with Putin of Nazi forces attacking civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk ?

"The French Embassy in Kiev, alerted at the time, did nothing to help them and hushed up the matter. It is because we were already supporting the Ukraine of murders and massacres." 

US national debt exceeds $30 trillion for first time in history

The national debt has expanded by approximately $7 trillion since January 2020, weeks before the pandemic began, as the Trump and Biden administrations dispersed stimulus payments and took other measures to support the economy.

The $30 trillion debt is equivalent to $231,000 per US household and $90,000 per person, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. If every US household paid $1,000 per month toward covering the debt, it would take 19 years to pay down the sum.

Democracy has bankrupted itself. It will take either [1] a world war or a [2] default to get out of this hole.

Beijing calls Moscow its most important strategic partner

Russia considers Chinese payment system, as Beijing calls Moscow its ‘most important strategic partner’

Mr Wang said China’s alliance with Moscow constituted “one of the most crucial bilateral relationships in the world”.

China has broken with the US, Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and said sanctions create new issues and threaten a political settlement of the conflict.

“No matter how perilous the international landscape, we will maintain our strategic focus and promote the development of a comprehensive China-Russia partnership in the new era,” Mr Wang told reporters at a news conference.

Germany rejects American sanctions against Russian Energy

Anyone that deals in trade with Russia will automatically be sanctioned as well. This does not bode well for Germany, as well as China. While China says “bring it on”, Germany is much more pragmatic.

Washington said at the weekend it was in “active discussions” with its European allies about imposing a boycott.

But Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, issued a statement rejecting the idea on Monday.

“Europe deliberately exempted Russia energy exports from sanctions. There is currently no other way of securing Europe’s supply of energy for heating, for mobility, for power supply and for industry,” he said.

Oh, and let’s not forget those 336+ biolabs…

US has 336 Biolabs in 30 countries including 26 in Ukraine:

UN Representative for Brazil Calls for Biological Weapons Investigations in Ukraine

"Brazil strongly condemns the use or threat of use of weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons, anywhere by anyone under any circumstances."

COVID-19 is not a pandemic, but an undeclared biological war

Covid Bioweapons: Made in the US, aimed at China

The United States has been waging a covert biological war against it’s “enemies” for the last decade if not longer. Evidence found in Ukraine clearly show that Russia was the next target. This information recieves zero attendtion in the Western “news”, but it should. You see, if the United States wages WMD against Russia and China, they will slam WMD right back.

One of the reasons why the topic of biological warfare came to the fore in a number of media outlets is the information that Russia received and continues to receive during the special military operation in Ukraine.

On the eve of the operation, the media reported that at least 15 biolabs under the control of the United States operate on the territory of Ukraine.

Then it turned out that the number of such biolabs is twice as large. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, these biolabs were working in the interests of the US Military Department (Pentagon). This biological weapon is aimed at the Russian Federation with its tip.

In 1972, many countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BTWC).

Washington has been strangely passive in monitoring the implementation of the BTWC.

In 2001, he disrupted the signing of the protocol, on the basis of which it was planned to create a mechanism for mutual checks, created and maintained biolabs on his territory that had a secret mode of operation.

For more than two decades, there has been an extremely unpleasant situation in the world: there are no mechanisms to check the content of many American biological programs.

Moreover, Washington began to rapidly create a network of biolabs outside the United States.

America has established 336 laboratories in 30 countries over two decades.

A considerable part of them is located on the territory of neighboring countries of Russia.

Now the topic of “pandemics” somehow quickly went to the second or even tenth plan, but it seems to me that this topic and the topic of biological warfare should be combined.

They complement each other.

In the first year of the” pandemic”, the first version of natural origin of covid prevailed. They say that the pathogen COVID-19 itself appeared in nature. However, gradually accumulated more and more facts that cast doubt on this version.

The second version was the assumption that Covid was born in a biolab in the Chinese city of Wuhan and accidentally (more precisely, by someone’s mistake) broke free. At first, it began to amaze the residents of this large city (11 million inhabitants), then spread to other cities in China and eventually entered the world. Washington also switched to this version, which made it possible to accuse Beijing of all serious crimes and even demand astronomical compensation for the damage that the” pandemic ” caused to America.

However, the “Wuhan” version is not completely convincing. It doesn’t matter how this virus originated, but after a while it would spread evenly and affect people in China, Europe, and America in approximately the same way.

However, covid-19 statistics compiled by Hopkins University, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies show a strange picture. Yes, there can and should be differences, but when covid-19 mortality varies by country (based on 1 million inhabitants) ten, a hundred times, there is something to think about.

They usually say about American biological laboratories: they should be closed, because they can be used for conducting biological warfare. But those people who think about the oddities of covid statistics say differently: American biolabs should be closed, because they are already waging a biological war against humanity. And the weapon of this war is the COVID-19 pathogen. Such “non-standard” experts emphasize that there is a “targeted” use of the pathogen (the target can be an individual, a certain group of people, the population of one country).

A prominent representative of such “non-standard” experts is an American Ron Unz. He comes from a Ukrainian-Jewish family, is a billionaire with a high-tech business in Silicon Valley, a conservative politician, and a writer.

From 2007 to 2013, he was a publisher The American Conservative, and has been a publisher and editor since 2013.

The Unz Review. This is a website where Unz accumulates alternative to official American points of view on what is happening in the country and in the world.

Since the beginning of 2020, the main topic of his publications has been “pandemic”.

Unza’s views on this topic are so far out of step with Washington’s official position that many of the materials published in the article are based on the fact that The Unz Review is blocked. And last year, he published the book “Our Covid-19 Disaster” (Our Covid-19 Catastrophe).

Ron Unz denies the natural origin of the pathogen.

In the version that Washington is still trying to adhere to, the story looks like this: the virus broke out of a laboratory in Wuhan and struck people who were at a seafood market in the same Wuhan. At first glance, it is plausible. However, Unz specifies that the distance between the laboratory and the market is 20 kilometers.

For some reason, there were no casualties in the immediate vicinity of the lab.

Unz is not at all sure that the injection of the pathogen occurred from the Wuhan laboratory. And it reminds that, according to many experts, the outbreak of covid in Wuhan did not begin in the first days of January 2020, but in November or even October 2019.

Unz also recalls that at the same time, in October 2019, about 300 American servicemen visited Wuhan as part of the World War Games.

This story is described in sufficient detail in the Unza article “Covid Bioweapon: Made in the USA, Aimed at China” (The Covid BioWeapon: Made in the USA, Aimed at China).

Ron Unz writes:

“This visit [the arrival of the US military in Wuhan] would be the perfect cover for America to slip a couple of operatives into the group and get them to spread the virus around the city. With thousands of foreign troops traveling and sightseeing, any risk of detection would be minimal.”

.
Unz wonders why no one paid any attention to this during the investigations that were conducted both in Washington and through the WHO. He asks,
.
" What would the Americans think if 300 Chinese officers made an extended visit to Chicago, and right after that, a mysterious, deadly virus epidemic suddenly broke out in that city?"
.

Gradually, Ron Unz leads readers to the third version of the origin of covid: it was the United States that conducted a terrorist operation in Wuhan to infect the population with a new pathogen.

By the way, Unz is very surprised by the lack of awareness of some US officials about the status of the Wuhan laboratory.

They, accusing Beijing of leaking the pathogen, call this laboratory “Chinese”. In fact, the lab was French-Chinese. The French designed, built, and filled the laboratory with French equipment. It was put into operation in 2015. This was the Chinese country’s first lab with the highest degree of P4 protection, and now China could start working with the most dangerous pathogens. It was assumed that joint French-Chinese projects would be implemented in the laboratory.

And soon the Americans came to replace the French.

In the face of such serious organizations as DARPAthe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the US Department of Defense, as well as NIH – the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the US Department of Health and closely cooperates with the Pentagon.

These organizations interacted with the laboratory in Wuhan through an intermediary represented by the non-profit organization EcoHealth Alliance (EHA).

Its officially declared mission is to protect people, animals and the environment from infectious diseases, led by Peter Daszak.

DARPA and NIH acted as customers, and EHA transferred money to the Wuhan laboratory.

Today it is known that the EHA worked closely with the US CIA and carried out such tasks that were contrary to the Biological Weapons and Counter-Terrorism Act of 1989 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

Unz suggests that the pathogen was imported from the Fort Detrick biolab (USA, Maryland), and was only temporarily deposited in the Wuhan laboratory.

Another important point from Unza’s work: if the first pinpoint strike was carried out by the Americans in Wuhan, China, then the second – in Iran a few weeks after the first deaths from covid were recorded in Wuhan.

Unz writes:

"By the end of February, Iran had become the second epicenter of the global outbreak. Even more surprisingly, its political elite was particularly hard hit: soon as many as 10% of the entire Iranian parliament was infected, and at least a dozen of its officials and politicians died from the disease, including some of them quite high-ranking ones. Neoconservative activists on Twitter have gleefully started pointing out that their hated Iranian enemies are now dying like flies."

Covid had a very rich harvest of deaths in Iran before he started killing people in other countries. At the end of 2019, relations between the United States and Iran sharply worsened.

Today, there is no doubt that the January 2, 2020 assassination of General Qassem Soleimani was targeted.

The Pentagon confirmed that Soleimani was killed on the orders of President Trump.

A few weeks later, representatives of the Iranian elite began to become infected with covid and die one by one.

"So we see America assassinate Iran's top military commander on January 2, and then, just a few weeks later, a significant portion of Iran's ruling elites will contract a mysterious and deadly new virus, and many of them will soon die as a result. Could a reasonable person have considered this a mere coincidence? "

So asks Ron Unz.

So, America’s two leading adversaries – China and Iran – were the first to take a hit in the form of a mysterious, deadly virus.

After getting acquainted with the work of Unza, it seems that 336 American biological laboratories scattered across 30 countries of the world continue to perform (with the exception of 30 Chinese laboratories that have dropped out of the game) the functions of a kind of military bases.

They are engaged not only in research and development of new types of bioweapons and ways to deliver them to the target, but also serve as a kind of hub where the US military places pathogens planned for use against US opponents. COVID-19 is one of them.

In Washington, DC two people got the deadly hantavirus

It’s a good thing that Russia and China aren’t striking back against the US Bioweapon strikes…

The Americas are best known for harboring “New World” hantaviruses, which cause a severe respiratory disease called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. And these are much more deadly. 

HPS can also begin like a generic infection, with fever, chills, and aches. But, it can progress to an acute, life-threatening cardiopulmonary phase after about a week. And from there, the disease can progress rapidly, with the lungs filling with fluid and people needing hospitalization and often ventilation within 24 hours. 

HPS is fatal in about 38 percent of cases, the CDC notes. 

But for the most important “New World” hantavirus in the US—the Sin Nombre virus, spread by the deer mouse—the fatality rate is about 50 percent.

Curious thing this.

Hantavirus is prevalent in the Western United States. Not the East Coast, and certainly not in Washington DC; the capital.

What an odd coincidence.

Conclusion

The United States has ignited a conflict with Russia and China. These nations do not play. If you are ready to step into the boxing ring, you sure as fuck better be in top shape and have upped your game.

It will not matter how many attractive cheerleaders are rooting for you. In this arena, it’s winner take all, and nothing about it will be reported on.

R C.d87cb5083c3add10e7de348583cc111d
If he dies, he dies.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

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Law 39 of the 48 Laws of Power; Stir up waters to catch fish

This is law 39 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

  • This is the essence of the Law: When the waters are still, your opponents have the time and space to plot actions that they will initiate and control. So stir the waters, force the fish to the surface, get them to act before they are ready, steal the initiative. The best way to do this is to play on uncontrollable emotions—pride, vanity, love, hate.
  • Angry people end up looking ridiculous.  It is comical how much they take personally, and more comical how they belief that outbursts signify power.
  • We should not repress our angry or emotional responses, but rather that realize in the social realm, and the game of power, nothing is personal.
  • Reveal an apparent weakness to lure your opponent into action.
  • In the face of someone angry, nothing is more infuriating than someone who keeps his cool while others are losing theirs.
  • Note: do not provoke those who are too powerful.
  • There are times when a burst of anger can do good, but it must be manufactured and under your control.

LAW 39

STIR UP WATERS TO CATCH FISH

JUDGMENT

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

ITAKURA SHICEMUNE GRINDS HIS OWN TEA

The Kyoto Shoshidai ltakura Suwo-no-kami Shigemune was very fond of Cha-no-yu (the tea ceremony), and used to grind his own tea while sitting in the court as judge. And the reason was this. He once asked a friend of his who was his companion in Cha-no-yu, a tea merchant named Eiki, to tell him frankly what was the public opinion about him. “Well,” said Eiki, “they say that you get irritated with those who don’t give their evidence very clearly and scold them, and so people are afraid to

bring lawsuits before you and if they do, the truth does not come out.” “Ah, I am glad you have told me that,” replied Shigemune, “for now that I consider it, I have fallen into the habit of speaking sharply to people in this way, and no doubt humble folk

and those who are not ready in speech get flurried and are unable to put their case in the best light. I will see to it that this does not occur in the future.” So after this he had a tea mill placed before him in court and in front of it the paper-covered shoji were drawn to, and Shigemune sat behind them and ground the tea and thus kept his mind calm while he heard the cases. And he could easily see whether his composure was ruffied or not by looking at the tea, which would not fall evenly ground to the proper consistency if he got excited. And so justice was done impartially and people went away from his court satisfied.

CHA-NO-YU: THE JAPANESE TFA CEREMONY A. L. SADLER, 1962

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In January of 1809, an agitated and anxious Napoleon hurried back to Paris from his Spanish wars. His spies and confidants had confirmed a rumor that his foreign minister Talleyrand had conspired against him with Fouché, the minister of police. Immediately on arriving in the capital the shocked emperor summoned his ministers to the palace. Following them into the meeting right after their arrival, he began pacing up and down, and started rambling vaguely about plotters working against him, speculators bringing down the stock market, legislators delaying his policies—and his own ministers undermining him.

As Napoleon talked, Talleyrand leaned on the mantelpiece, looking completely indifferent. Facing Talleyrand directly, Napoleon announced, “For these ministers, treason has begun when they permit themselves to doubt.” At the word “treason” the ruler expected his minister to be afraid. But Talleyrand only smiled, calm and bored.

The sight of a subordinate apparently serene in the face of charges that could get him hanged pushed Napoleon to the edge. There were ministers, he said, who wanted him dead, and he took a step closer to Talleyrand—who stared back at him unfazed. Finally Napoleon exploded. “You are a coward,” he screamed in Talleyrand’s face, “a man of no faith. Nothing is sacred to you. You would sell your own father. I have showered you with riches and yet there is nothing you would not do to hurt me.” The other ministers looked at each other in disbelief—they had never seen this fearless general, the conqueror of most of Europe, so unhinged.

“You deserve to be broken like glass,” Napoleon continued, stamping. “I have the power to do it, but I have too much contempt for you to bother. Why didn’t I have you hanged from the gates of the Tuileries? But there is still time for that.” Yelling, almost out of breath, his face red, his eyes bulging, he went on, “You, by the way, are nothing but shit in a silk stocking…. What about your wife? You never told me that San Carlos was your wife’s lover?” “Indeed, sire, it did not occur to me that this information had any bearing on Your Majesty’s glory or my own,” said Talleyrand calmly, completely unflustered. After a few more insults, Napoleon walked away. Talleyrand slowly crossed the room, moving with his characteristic limp. As an attendant helped him with his cloak, he turned to his fellow ministers (all afraid they would never see him again), and said, “What a pity, gentlemen, that so great a man should have such bad manners.”

Despite his anger, Napoleon did not arrest his foreign minister. He merely relieved him of his duties and banished him from the court, believing that for this man humiliation would be punishment enough. He did not realize that word had quickly spread of his tirade—of how the emperor had completely lost control of himself, and how Talleyrand had essentially humiliated him by maintaining his composure and dignity. A page had been turned: For the first time people had seen the great emperor lose his cool under fire. A feeling spread that he was on the way down. As Talleyrand later said, “This is the beginning of the end.”

Interpretation

This was indeed the beginning of the end. Waterloo was still six years ahead, but Napoleon was on a slow descent to defeat, crystallizing in 1812 with his disastrous invasion of Russia. Talleyrand was the first to see the signs of his decline, especially in the irrational war with Spain. Sometime in 1808, the minister decided that for the future peace of Europe, Napoleon had to go. And so he conspired with Fouché.

It is possible that the conspiracy was never anything more than a ploy—a device to push Napoleon over the edge. For it is hard to believe that two of the most practical men in history would only go halfway in their plotting. They may have been only stirring the waters, trying to goad Napoleon into a misstep. And indeed, what they got was the tantrum that laid out his loss of control for all to see. In fact, Napoleon’s soon-famous blowup that afternoon had a profoundly negative effect on his public image.

This is the problem with the angry response. At first it may strike fear and terror, but only in some, and as the days pass and the storm clears, other responses emerge— embarrassment and uneasiness about the shouter’s capacity for going out of control, and resentment of what has been said. Losing your temper, you always make unfair and exaggerated accusations. A few such tirades and people are counting the days until you are gone.

In the face of a conspiracy against him, a conspiracy between his two most important ministers, Napoleon certainly had a right to feel angry and anxious. But by responding so angrily, and so publicly, he only demonstrated his frustration. To show your frustration is to show that you have lost your power to shape events; it is the helpless action of the child who resorts to a hysterical fit to get his way. The powerful never reveal this kind of weakness.

There were a number of things Napoleon could have done in this situation. He could have thought about the fact that two eminently sensible men had had reason to turn against him, and could have listened and learned from them. He could have tried to win them back to him. He could even have gotten rid of them, making their imprisonment or death an ominous display of his power. No tirades, no childish fits, no embarrassing after-effects—just a quiet and definitive severing of ties.

Remember: Tantrums neither intimidate nor inspire loyalty. They only create doubts and uneasiness about your power. Exposing your weakness, these stormy eruptions often herald a fall.

If possible, no animosity should be felt for anyone.... To speak angrily to a person, to show your hatred by what you say or by the way you look, is an unnecessary proceeding-dangerous, foolish, ridiculous, and vulgar.

Anger or hatred should never be shown otherwise than in what you do; and feelings will be all the more effective in action. in so far as you avoid the exhibition of them in any other way. It is only the cold-blooded animals whose bite is poisonous. ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER. 1788-1860

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

By the late 1920s, Haile Selassie had nearly achieved his goal of assuming total control over Ethiopia, a country he felt needed strong and unified leadership. As regent to the empress Zauditu (stepdaughter of the late queen) and heir to the throne, Selassie had spent several years weakening the power of Ethiopia’s various warlords. Now only one real obstacle stood in his way: the empress and her husband, Ras Gugsa. Selassie knew the royal couple hated him and wanted to get rid of him, so to cut short their plotting he made Gugsa the governor of the northern province of Begemeder, forcing him to leave the capital, where the empress lived.

For several years Gugsa played the loyal administrator. But Selassie did not trust him: He knew that Gugsa and the empress were plotting revenge. As time passed and Gugsa made no move, the chances of a plot only increased. Selassie knew what he had to do: draw Gugsa out, get under his skin, and push him into action before he was ready.

For several years, a northern tribe, the Azebu Gallas, had been in virtual rebellion against the throne, robbing and pillaging local villages and refusing to pay taxes. Selassie had done nothing to stop them, letting them grow stronger. Finally, in 1929, he ordered Ras Gugsa to lead an army against these disobedient tribesmen. Gugsa agreed, but inwardly he seethed—he had no grudge against the Azebu Gallas, and the demand that he fight them hurt his pride. He could not disobey the order, but as he worked to put together an army, he began to spread an ugly rumor—that Selassie was in cahoots with the pope, and planned to convert the country to Roman Catholicism and make it a colony of Italy. Gugsa’s army swelled, and some of the tribes from which its soldiers came secretly agreed to fight Selassie. In March of 1930 an enormous force of 35,000 men began to march, not on the Azebu Gallas but south, toward the capital of Addis Ababa. Made confident by his growing strength, Gugsa now openly led a holy war to depose Selassie and put the country back in the hands of true Christians.

He did not see the trap that had been laid for him. Before Selassie had ordered Gugsa to fight the Azebu Gallas, he had secured the support of the Ethiopian church. And before the revolt got underway, he had bribed several of Gugsa’s key allies not to show up for battle. As the rebel army marched south, airplanes flew overhead dropping leaflets announcing that the highest church officials had recognized Selassie as the true Christian leader of Ethiopia, and that they had excommunicated Gugsa for fomenting a civil war. These leaflets severely blunted the emotions behind the holy crusade. And as battle loomed and the support that Gugsa’s allies had promised him failed to show up, soldiers began to flee or defect.

When the battle came, the rebel army quicky collapsed. Refusing to surrender, Ras Gugsa was killed in the fighting. The empress, distraught over her husband’s death, died a few days later. On April 30, Selassie issued a formal proclamation announcing his new title: Emperor of Ethiopia.

THE MONKEY AND THE WASP

A monkey, whilst munching a ripe pear, was pestered by the bare-faced importunities of a wasp, who, nolens volens, would have a part. After threatening the monkey with his anger if he further hesitated to submit to his demand, he settled on the fruit; but was as soon knocked off by the monkey. The irritable wasp now had recourse to invective and, after using the most insulting language, which the other calmly listened to, he so worked himself up into violent passion that, losing all consideration of the penalty, he flew to the face of the monkey, and stung him with such rage that he was unable to extricate his weapon, and was compelled to tear himself away, leaving it in the woundthus entailing on himself a lingering death, accompanied by pains much greater than those he had inflicted.

FABLES, JONATHAN BIRCH, 1783-1847

Interpretation

Haile Selassie always saw several moves ahead. He knew that if he let Ras Gugsa decide the time and place of the revolt, the danger would be much greater than if he forced Gugsa to act on Selassie’s terms. So he goaded him into rebellion by offending his manly pride, asking him to fight people he had no quarrel with on behalf of a man he hated. Thinking everything out ahead, Selassie made sure that Gugsa’s rebellion would come to nothing, and that he could use it to do away with his last two enemies.

This is the essence of the Law: When the waters are still, your opponents have the time and space to plot actions that they will initiate and control. So stir the waters, force the fish to the surface, get them to act before they are ready, steal the initiative. The best way to do this is to play on uncontrollable emotions—pride, vanity, love, hate. Once the water is stirred up, the little fish cannot help but rise to the bait. The angrier they become, the less control they have, and finally they are caught in the whirlpool you have made, and they drown.

DITCH HIGH PRIEST

Kin ’yo, an officer of the second rank, had a brother called the High Priest Ryogaku, an extremely bad-tempered man. Next to his monastery grew a large nettle-tree which occasioned the nickname people gave him, the Nettle-tree High Priest. “That name is outrageous,”said the high priest, and cut down the tree. The stump still being left, people referred to him now as the Stump High Priest. More furious than ever, Ryogaku had the stump dug up and thrown away, but this left a big ditch. People now called him the Ditch High Priest.

ESSAYS IN IDLENESS. KENKO, JAPAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY

A sovereign should never launch an army out of anger, a leader should never start a war out of wrath.

Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.

KEYS TO POWER

Angry people usually end up looking ridiculous, for their response seems out of proportion to what occasioned it. They have taken things too seriously, exaggerating the hurt or insult that has been done to them. They are so sensitive to slight that it becomes comical how much they take personally. More comical still is their belief that their outbursts signify power. The truth is the opposite: Petulance is not power, it is a sign of helplessness. People may temporarily be cowed by your tantrums, but in the end they lose respect for you. They also realize they can easily undermine a person with so little self-control.

The answer, however, is not to repress our angry or emotional responses. For repression drains us of energy and pushes us into strange behavior. Instead we have to change our perspective: We have to realize that nothing in the social realm, and in the game of power, is personal.

Everyone is caught up in a chain of events that long predates the present moment. Our anger often stems from problems in our childhood, from the problems of our parents which stem from their own childhood, on and on. Our anger also has roots in the many interactions with others, the accumulated disappointments and heartaches that we have suffered. An individual will often appear as the instigator of our anger but it is much more complicated, goes far beyond what that individual did to us. If a person explodes with anger at you (and it seems out of proportion to what you did to them), you must remind yourself that it is not exclusively directed at you—do not be so vain. The cause

is much larger, goes way back in time, involves dozens of prior hurts, and is actually not worth the bother to understand. Instead of seeing it as a personal grudge, look at the emotional outburst as a disguised power move, an attempt to control or punish you cloaked in the form of hurt feelings and anger.

This shift of perspective will let you play the game of power with more clarity and energy. Instead of overreacting, and becoming ensnared in people’s emotions, you will turn their loss of control to your advantage: You keep your head while they are losing theirs.

During an important battle in the War of the Three Kingdoms, in the third century A.D., advisers to the commander Ts‘ao Ts’ao discovered documents showing that certain of his generals had conspired with the enemy, and urged him to arrest and execute them. Instead he ordered the documents burned and the matter forgotten. At this critical moment in the battle, to get upset or demand justice would have reverberated against him: An angry action would have called attention to the generals’ disloyalty, which would have harmed the troops’ morale. Justice could wait—he would deal with the generals in time. Ts‘ao Ts’ao kept his head and made the right decision.

Compare this to Napoleon’s response to Talleyrand: Instead of taking the conspiracy personally, the emperor should have played the game like Ts‘ao Ts’ao, carefully weighing the consequences of any action he took. The more powerful response in the end would have been to ignore Talleyrand, or to bring the minister gradually back to his side and punish him later.

Anger only cuts off our options, and the powerful cannot thrive without options. Once you train yourself not to take matters personally, and to control your emotional responses, you will have placed yourself in a position of tremendous power: Now you can play with the emotional responses of other people. Stir the insecure into action by impugning their manhood, and by dangling the prospect of an easy victory before their faces. Do as Houdini did when challenged by the less successful escape artist Kleppini: Reveal an apparent weakness (Houdini let Kleppini steal the combination for a pair of cuffs) to lure your opponent into action. Then you can beat him with ease. With the arrogant too you can appear weaker than you are, taunting them into a rash action.

Sun Pin, commander of the armies of Ch‘i and loyal disciple of Sun-tzu, once led his troops against the armies of Wei, which outnumbered him two to one. “Let us light a hundred thousand fires when our army enters Wei,” suggested Sun Pin, “fifty thousand on the next day, and only thirty thousand on the third.” On the third day the Wei general exclaimed, “I knew the men of Ch’i were cowards, and after only three days more than half of them have deserted!” So, leaving behind his slow-moving heavy infantry, the general decided to seize the moment and move swiftly on the Ch’I camp with a lightly armed force. Sun Pin’s troops retreated, luring Wei’s army into a narrow pass, where they ambushed and destroyed them. With the Wei general dead and his forces decimated, Sun Pin now easily defeated the rest of his army.

In the face of a hot-headed enemy, finally, an excellent response is no response. Follow the Talleyrand tactic: Nothing is as infuriating as a man who keeps his cool while others are losing theirs. If it will work to your advantage to unsettle people, affect the aristocratic, bored pose, neither mocking nor triumphant but simply indifferent. This will light their fuse. When they embarrass themselves with a temper tantrum, you will have gained several victories, one of these being that in the face of their childishness you have maintained your dignity and composure.

Image: The Pond of Fish. The waters are clear and calm, and the fish are well below the surface. Stir the waters and they emerge. Stir it some more and they get angry, rising to the surface, biting whatever comes near— including a freshly baited hook.

Authority: If your opponent is of a hot temper, try to irritate him. If he is arrogant, try to encourage his egotism…. One who is skilled at making the enemy move does so by creating a situation according to which the enemy will act; he entices the enemy with something he is certain to take. He keeps the enemy on the move by holding out bait and then attacks him with picked troops. (Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.)

REVERSAL

When playing with people’s emotions you have to be careful. Study the enemy beforehand: Some fish are best left at the bottom of the pond.

I ask the reader to consider President Putin, and why he invaded the Ukraine on 22FEB22. Read the rest carefully with that in mind...

The leaders of the city of Tyre, capital of ancient Phoenicia, felt confident they could withstand Alexander the Great, who had conquered the Orient but had not attacked their city, which stood well protected on the water.

They sent ambassadors to Alexander saying that although they would recognize him as emperor they would not allow him or his forces to enter Tyre.

This of course enraged him, and he immediately mounted a siege.

For four months the city withstood him, and finally he decided that the struggle was not worth it, and that he would come to terms with the Tyrians.

But they, feeling that they had already baited Alexander and gotten away with it, and confident that they could withstand him, refused to negotiate—in fact they killed his messengers.

This pushed Alexander over the edge!

Now it did not matter to him how long the siege lasted or how large an army it needed; he had the resources, and would do whatever it took.

He remounted his assault so strenuously that he captured Tyre within days, burned it to the ground, and sold its people into slavery.

You can bait the powerful and get them to commit and divide their forces as Sun Pin did, but test the waters first. Find the gap in their strength. If there is no gap—if they are impossibly strong—you have nothing to gain and everything to lose by provoking them.

Choose carefully whom you bait, and never stir up the sharks.

Finally there are times when a well-timed burst of anger can do you good, but your anger must be manufactured and under your control. Then you can determine exactly how and on whom it will fall.

Never stir up reactions that will work against you in the long run. And use your thunder-bolts rarely, to make them the more intimidating and meaningful. Whether purposefully staged or not, if your outbursts come too often, they will lose their power.

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Part 8 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander march 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 8.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. 

Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

This is part of the Q&A (on-going) effort where questions are provided to me, and then I present them, and then record and interpet the responses.

[8.1] Question – Comprehending life

Sorry again for effing up my question for part 7 March 2022. Here is the detailed background. I had to send on this separate more anonymous email.
When I was a kid in around 1984-1987 my mother shared a story with me that one of her co-workers confided to her. Her co-workers name was MJ and they worked together for a short time in an admin office at the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant located in the borough of Shippingport,PA on the Ohio River.
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MJ told her about the time she, her husband and family were driving home one early one night when they saw a ufo hovering off to the side of the road, they stopped the car and stared at the object.
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It had 3 portals along the side and they were able to see a figure with a large head, large eyes and kind of a squished in face. One of the family exited the car to look closer and the object flew away.
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This story has stuck with since I was a small kid, about age 8-10.  It planted the initial seed in me on my quest to understand the ufo enigma. It has been a lifelong quest for truth since hearing that story which is 100% sincere. Just after I heard this story was when the book Communion was published by Whitley Streiber and was displayed in Walden bookstore in the beaver valley mall and other bookstores.
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Upon first seeing the cover of the book (a depiction of a grey alien) I was both terrified and awed simultaneously. This further cemented my desire to know all there was to know about the UFO enigma. I watched every single ufo
Television program, and began to read every single ufo book or magazine that existed in the local library or bookstores I could get my hands on, this then led to every single website i could find decades later.
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I also experienced a couple odd occurrences at night, one was in the summer of 1986 while taking a family road trip to Enid, OK to visit relatives. We got lost at night driving somewhere near the Ozarks and experienced “lost time”. Another couple times I experienced a presence trying to drag me (or suction me ) out of bed at night. I vividly remember 1-2 instances as a teenager and also one within the last year.
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I have always felt I have some unique purpose here to do something; I have only with the last 5 yrs to really openly begin to explore this in in real terms, I trained a little in remote viewing, I explored spirituality and  I trained as a medium and a psychic. I also meditated and engaged In deep prayer.
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It was May 2020 when “found” the MM website and began to unwrap its beautifully wrapped contents and devour the bounty of information and slowly sip the unique western pa connection of it.
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I thought/felt I finally stumbled into something that provided a deeper understanding not with the ufo enigma but my second truth quest in life(what is it all about) and what is “disjointed” with me as a person and how can i fix/repair myself so I can fully serve and help others to the fullest with my time left here.
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I hope this helps to better understand my question What did I experience as a child that i only now have the wisdom to begin to comprehend”
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If this helps to clarify then asking again would be appreciated, if I still don’t get it and am missing something  then I understand so no worries. Thanks again for your mm content and trying.
The Domain conduct periodic operations within the Prison Complex confines. These are periodically observed by inmate skin-suits. However, questioner mothers co-workers did not observe a vehicle of The Domain. That was a vehicle of <redacted> and they are the assets that investigate nuclear systems, and operations upon the Earth physical sphere.

Questioners experience of "missing time" is similiar to that of MM when he was upgraded in 1985. These are events that take place to perform biological investigation, monitoring, and observation. Questioner was  examined, and returned with no ill effects. This was also conducted by <redacted> but is part of an over all structured process in which multiple "species" take place with.

Questioner is on a pre-birth world-line template (sic) that was established for this role of a searcher for precisely the purposes of the acquision of knowledge for eventual realease from this Prison Complex. Thus, while it might appear to be random, it is not. Questioner is running a fated existence for precisely the reasons as previously stated.

Questioner must now accept this reality and recognize that it is in a school at this time with the ultimate goal of release on parole from the complex. Every effort the questioner is involved in should be directed to this goal.

[8.2] Question – Why not destroy IS-BE entities?

Please direct me if this has been already addressed.

Question: Rather than work so seemingly wide-spread (on this earth), and time consuming, and given that the entities in meat-suits are immortal… why not just terminate their (the really bad guys) existence here? Are not these Old Empire parasites easy enough to identify?

One cannot destroy an IS-BE. You may apparently "erase" it's memories, but though techniques in development, they will be able to be recovered. You may cut it up; divide it and scatter it's peieces else where, but in so doing, you will create many of the same entities. Instead of one, you now have thousands. 

You may place it in a confinement area. Such as a Bubble Universe, But it will eventually leave that confinement area.

Thus the solution of the "Old Empire" manifested; a bubble universe with a system of strife and reward on a never-ending wheel that keeps an intentionally ignorant IS-BE from returning to it's parent universes.

The "Old Empire" thought process was valid, but was thwarted by internal corruptions and problems in implementation and selfish persuits. It had eveolved into a kind of play-ground for torture, viscerial pleasures, idealized control and other vices. It has spun wildly out of control and is now evolved into something wholly different from its initial intent.

The Domain is active in stabilizing this environment, but there are bigger, more pressing galatic issues at hand and the resources are limited. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can at this moment, and the questioner must recognize that and not be overly influenced by problematic IS-BE entities he is trapped with.

[8.3] Question – Shadow people

Hi all – serious newbie here.

I have been through a large portion of the site and I think I have a newbie’s grasp of MWI and affirmation campaigns. I started my first 3 month campaign last week and looking forward to some results in 6-9 months time.

My question is around shadow people who seem to be characters in our world line who have a segment of their consciousness present but are not the full shilling so to speak. Could someone help me understand what that means in terms of daily life and how these shadow people affect your campaigns and, if they are just shadows of their real selves, how do we treat them and consider them in our lives?

Specifically:

  • our families and loved ones – how are they not their full selves when we interact with them? Are they sharing their world lines with us and if so, to what extent?
  • if we impact their lives, to what extent does that impact their own unique world line?
  • my gut instinct is that these are real people as much as I am and every decision I make has to include them if I care about them
  • what part of them am I interacting with if they are but shadows?
  • how does entaglement fit into all this?
  • are we in turn just shadow people to them in their world line and how does my decision making impact them?

Likely I am missing some important understanding here and would be very grateful to have that shown to me if someone can take the time.

[I, MM, can answer the questions regarding what shadow people are, and how they interact. That is not a Domain Commander question. the following answer is from MM not from the Domain Commander. If he / it / she interjects, I will take note. -MM]

A “shadow person” is everyone. Including yourself. You are a shadow person (from the point of view of another). In say ten trillion world-lines, there is a you in that world line. They, all ten trillion of them, are all shadows of you.

But you are on THIS world line. So obviously something is different here and now. What is it?

The difference is that your consciousness has chosen THIS world line to reside upon. Not the one where you are riding a giant turtle, or the one where you are a starving person in Africa, or one where you are a rich person in Dubai. Your consciousness occupies this “shadow body”.

And once your consciousness is in this body, you are no longer a “shadow person”. Understand?

It’s not just that though. Everyone else; every other consciousness is the same. They all have untold number of “shadow bodies”.

And since there are nearly unlimited world-lines, and billions of inhabitants, the odds are small (small not impossible) that you are sharing a world-line with another consciousness. So the reality is that your consciousness is in a world-line alone, and everyone else are just “shadow bodies” with very little consciousness actuation.

That does not mean that you cannot fall in love, interact and be with them. It’s simply a matter of where their consciousness interacts. In funcationality, attraction moves consciousnesses to share similiar world-lines.

Cats, for one, move in and out of feline bodies at will. And they will be present on your world-liens with you. Same as those deeply in love. It’s all about entanglement associated with emotion.

[8.4a] Question – Removal of biological item

Could I please ask the following questions of the Commander if at all possible.

Would the Commander have any knowledge of an item unknown to myself that was removed from behind my kneecap by a surgeon DR Bryan Bomberg (who also worked for the USAF) during the mid 90’s in the USA (Rout Hospital).

Numerous extraterrestrial entities monitor inmates and other biological forms within the Prison Complex for their own purposes. The Domain does so, and we have eextradited this activity to third-party resources. The questioner is not part of any Domain monitoring or tracking activity.

The <redacted> prefer to place tracking items in the joints of the physical extremeties. When they do so, very little modification of the non-physical bodies occur.

The reasons behind why there might have been an item placed in the location as described would be for information collection purposes. These are often passive devices for group behavior monitoring.

The removal of the physical component of that item would most assuridly stop that collection of data.

There should be no concern for worry or concern. Removal of any extraterially implanted item removes the inmate from further visits by those entities and places the traced element off the monitoring board.

[8.4b] Question – knowledge past and future

Would the Commander have any knowledge of my past both physical and that of a ISBE and the future for myself and my daughter if possible. No hurry as I understand others are before me. Thank you very much for the chance to ask the above.

The Domain can, if necessary, monitor the past, present and future of inmates within the Prison Complex confines. We do so by establishing a physical connection and non-physical modifications. This is known as the EBP (sic).

Without that, we are limited in what we can do. We can only observe the state of the present IS-BE in whatever situation it is presently involved in. As such, we can advise the hills and valleys (sic) of the present template(s) (sic) involved.

In a practical matter, this issue is best handled by the associated mantid aligned with the inmate entity. They have full knowledge and understandings of the entire situation and issues regarding the entity in question. The questioner themself must ask their mantid in prayer / contemplation, the mantid will be aware of the question and will respond. The questioner is not to question whether the answer is true / valid / factual or not. The questioner is to take the raw data as provide data and accept it.

The mind has the ability to alter acquired intel. This response is a funtion of template(sic) and must be suppresed. The way to do so is with consciousness centering techniques. [Hemi-synic, etc. -MM]

[8.5] Question – Domain influence on leadership

Are any members of The Domain occupying the bodies of any contemporaneous leaders at this moment of time?

Yes and No. 

[Image of a person sliced into slices like sliced bread, all of which is transparent.  These slices go from the top of the head downward. Of the 200 or so slices, only a few slices are influenced. And I see it as a moving series of colors that seem to pulse in a rhythm like that of ocean tides. I take and understand it to mean that there is a quantum participation "on/off" switch or "dial" that they can use to influence a given leader with.]

How about Xi Peng (China) in regards to this influence?

[Again the image of the clear sliced transparent humanoid. The color influence represents perhaps 15% to 20% of the slices.]

How about Alexander Putin (Russia) in regards to this influence?

[Image is of a big (black) hand firmly snugly holding Putin, and a very clear image of a confident and smiling Putin face. 

He's looking at me, with head tilted, with a "cat ate the canary" smile, and looking at me with a "what do you think?" expression.

It's exactly like he's the person that I am EBP communicating with!]

How about Joe Biden (United States) in regards to this influence?

Joe Biden is not a controllable asset / entity / clay at this time. 

Other influences and structural changes in his make up make manipulation / transverse operations / suppression / actuation dangerous. The skin-suit is comprimized and the IS-BE operation for the suit is abused.

How about any of the leaders in Europe in regards to this influence?

Null. 

Individuals are being observed with occasional walk-ins and walk-throughs as an as-needed basis. Their behaviors cannot be manipulated with any degree of confidence in outcome determination.

[8.6] Question – Request in affirmation help

If I remember correctly, the Commander said that Old Empire guys recycle directly without memory-wipe and without life review so they are hard to catch.

And I asked some time ago, if it would be of help to have an affirmation so the domain can catch them or recognize them (like their lost battalion members)… It hasn’t been answered yet.

[This question is not really appropiate for The Commander. The knowledge on how the MWI works within the Reality universe falls under MM pervue. That being said, there really isn't any problems with that. I can add an affirmation for you, and direct you some guidance. However, I do have a direct message from The Commander regarding this. -MM]

Questioner is advised that de-cloaking inmates (most especially imprisoned members of The Domain) will trigger catastrophic event sequences which will iniate immediate recyling into another skin-suit. Only the most docile and "conditioned" members of The Domain are permitted "normal" General Population switching.

Quantum alarms are set off when thoughts related to a member of The Domain is recognized. It is thus critical that only the individual IS-BE inmate, and The Domain or one of our proxies be aware of who these individuals are, what they are doing and how they are acting.

The Domain is aware of the status and location of all members of the Lost Battalion. No further assistance is necessary in locating them. However, affirmation (sic) and consciousness manipulative techniques would be helpful in creating templates (sic) that are favorable toward inmate egress from this domicile.

[8.7a] Question – Historic global destructive events?

MM: I know I’m back on this subject again, but I just want some clarification – if possible.

The Commander said that there is a physical earth (also physical solar system and “universe”). He also said that yes, our collective consciousness constructs this matrix earth. He also indicated that this matrix earth, this Prison Planet of recycling ISBEs has been in place for a VERY long time. Back in the day, I’m talking tens of thousands of years at least, I can only presume that whatever form the ISBEs took, they too were subject to the memory wipe, and matrix-earth “building”.

This matrix earth had historic global destructive events – the results can be seen in ice-core data, geologic data and other credible methods. These records indicate that such massive population ending events are NOT rare, and are in fact cyclic – perhaps every 10,000 years or so. Repeating… EXPECTED.

Are those measurable scars, a result of collective belief that destructive events occurred – the “experts” through the ages “said so”, and the local entities agreed (ba-bing – they appear); or, are those scars upon the physical earth?

Thoughts can manifest physical events. This is true within the main universe, as well as in the reality universe (Prison Planet). However, both universe operate under a set of rules / laws / programming physical behaviors. Both are similiar as the reality universe is a pocket universe that resides inside the main universe. You can consider it as a "functionality reduced" universe. 

Newtonian laws operate within known physical space and is predictable (to a degree) as determined by earth-bound scientists. Thus, many of the earth-wide changes follow predictable patterns.

This situation is what most earth-bound inmates must deal with. Tectonic plates movements, volcanoes that result from internal pressure differentials, planetary orbit reconfigurations, and the behaviors of various species along with weather, and gravity changes are all part and parcel of this Prison Planet environment.

However, there is the unseen nature of this environment that must be considered. The templates (sic) that the humans learn upon / experience  [rehabilitation structure] are affected by thought. Since thoughts control brain selection [world-line selection to different brains in different world-lines. -MM] it can thus choose it's environment. [templates via slides. -MM] 

Groups of people, all of different abilities and skill sets, can switch to different templates (sic) which then define different physical conditions. They do not actually change the "rules of physics" so much as that they alter the template (sic) that they reside upon.

[8.7b] Question – Scars from physical activity?

If those scars are a result of physical activity, it seems to me that they may have occurred as a result of Solar Activity, or Galactic Activity, or, I suppose, Galactic to Solar… is this true?

The Prison Complex micro universe was created upon the ruins of once mightly civilizations that were destroyed when the "Old Empire" secured and acquired this section of geographical space. many of the physical scars are reminants of the great disruptions from those times.

Since the creation of the micro universe, the normal laws of physics were not suspeded. The normal turmpil associated with this secion of the universe has continued unabated.

The Prison Complex was created upon the ruins of planets, and the physical turmoil, whether solar, galactic, or non-physical is considered to be a necessary compoenent in the punishment of IS-BE entities marooned here.

[8.7c] Question – When can we expect the next sequence of events?

This whole scheme was designed by a skilled ISBE, corrupted by The Old Empire, and overtaken by The Domain. A very intelligent collection presumably. I could see withholding such information as to somewhat protect, and control the resident general population, but we here at MM are NOT the norm. Tell me please Commander, when will the next extra-terrestrially sourced cataclysmic event take place and affect the physical earth… or are such events now blocked by The Domain?

There are upcoming physical events that will have a profound influence on the human life in the earth sphere environment. Questioner is concerned about the dates, times, locations, causes and types.

The earth sphere is expected to enter a period of geologic upheaval  in mid 2030's into the 2040's. The specific dates, and times are dependent upon mass thought cluster influences. They are not entirely independent; Note that this is true even with the predictable behaviors of physical law influences.

The reality universe is one that is custom-tailored to the specific inmate IS-BE. This is established by the Mantid Primes that works with the entity to improve (sic) itself. They utilize a generalized default template (sic) for the vast bulk of the inmate community in General Population, with special ones specifically tailored to more agressive IS-BEs such as The Domain Lost Battalion membership, and so one. The only way out of those pre-conditions is to become docile. Once that occurs, the template reverts to the general default template (sic).

This general default template (sic) established the primary physical interactions and histories that the consciousness must endure. There are preprogrammed events on that map. These include both physical events (as observed by earth physical "laws"), and thought-generated events. The second (thought-generated events) are the reason for anchoring world-line behaviors.

Currently mass manipulation of huge populations is being conducted by (Western News) media. This is resulting in abnormal thoughts (vault 7) and will result in horrific consequences. The event trends will reach a peak, worse than presently experienced, within the next two years. This wil then "simmer down" and a new reality will manifest in the late 2020's, early 2030's time frame. By 2030, most IS-BE inmates (people) will be able to say "Phew! I'm glad that is over."

But that is where the physical disruptions of 2030 through 2040 (depending on the modifications of the template(s) will begin to manifest. THe questioner should realize that the entire Prison Planet Complex is a series of one problematic event after the other in a long series of problematic events.

[8.8a] Question – Characteristics of dream attributes

Yesterday I had a dream. Apparently there is an organization named Midnight in 1997, plus these guys came with a crow in the middle of the night on the roof of my crib. (speak about an entrance) It would seem to me that they are pretty bad “people”. I asked what they wanted with me saying that I didn’t have anything of value but they said that someone has to do crime. They don’t look like good people I did not like them one bit. Luckily there was someone to help me fend of these guys.

In these dreams I am usually never alone. This I noticed. There is always someone I don’t know,  who helps me. Though things are not always black and white. From my point of view.

Upon review I realized that theere is always something wrong with the right side of people or things, like someone tries to break your right hand fingers or someone has a scar on the right side. Some stuff like that. But it is always on the right side.

Question I would like to ask : So what’s up with the right side of things and who were those guys?

Human skin-suits are controlled by a brain. The consciousnesses activates the brain. Depending on the kind of thoughts and physical actions that the consciousness is involved in, as well as the noise / physical environment / surroundings, the consciousness will "sit" or activate various sections of the brain, being left-handed, right-handed or other.

Observations within the dream suggest an assault team of entities that possess a similiar seating of the consciousness to the physical skin-suits.

This is almost always associated with organizations, species, or collectives.

These entities are a carryover from previous incarnations that were dragged into this present incarnation by direction of the Mantid Primes for the purpose of "improving" the questioner though hardship and strife. They are constructs.

The questioner is fighting / dealing / in combat with a group of entities that are assulting him. This is a large cluster of entities that are part of an organizational matrix. 

They are assigned to influence the questioner, in thoughts, actions, and intent / motivations.

Questioner need not fear this organization. The Domain has assigned elements to mitigate the disruptions and assaults. We have also modified questioners non-physical bodies for better resiliency. There are numerous event cycles that the questioner must endure. But we can positively confirm that once the questioner passes throough this period (longer than the questioner would like) the "other side" would be substantially better.

By the time the questioner exits the chrysalis the organization will no longer be latched on to his non-physical bodies, and the wishes, dreams and desires of the questioner will manifest. Some will be very welcome surprises, as the questioner will be surprised at the massive changes and unexpected magnitude of them.

We advise following the plan (that the questioner is well aware of what actions he needs to take).

[8.8b] Question – Advice on life

And, I would like some little advice on life. Is everything really going according to plan?

Over the last few weeks I have accepted my fate. I would not write this unless I had to. If you do have the time please look into this matter. Do not feel too obliged to answer . At your own time and pace.

The questioner is advised that everything is on track and to plan. 

The fears and situational context is worrisome to the questioner. However the questioner is advised not to deviate, but rather follow the plan, conduct his necessary actions and never lose faith in his abilities nor our ability to support him. 

Questioner is not alone. He is never alone. We are monitoring him and we are fully advised about his current situation.

[8.9] Question – When will World War III begin?

What is the specific date for the start of World War III?

Most future historians will attribute the start of "World War III" (also known as the fracturing of the global order) as 2008 with the collapse of the "too big to fail" banking cartel. 

[Just within 12 hours of writing this, a friendly stranger said "out of the blue"...The initial timeline should probably include the 2008 Nato conference in Bucharest that stated Ukraine and Georgia would eventually join Nato.-MM]

Others will attribute the start with the first kinetic actions against China in 2014, while others will associate the President Trump "Hybrid War" against China in the 2017 time period.

The questioner's question concerns the first kinetic military actions in this period of time.

For years, the Western Powers have been conducting covert warfare, which often resulted in suppressed reporting of the events. These events included the attempted coups in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, as well as the revolts in Tibet China, Xinjiang China, and Hong Kong China.

The first major well published kinetic response to the Western nations assaults occurred in the first week of March 2022 in the Ukraine. 

The questioner's actual question revolves around a "trigger event" such as the first nuclear detonations of "World War III". In truth, the first use of WMDs during "World War III" was the use of coordinated multi-viral biological weapon attacks to suppress China in 2017 through 2020 by the United States.

Other WMD use included the Western nations destruction of the BRI egress port in Beirut in 4AUG20. This was a thermobaric weapon [possible nuclear -MM] that destroyed the port completely. Other initial battles included the destruction of VTOL Naval carriers of both China and the United States, and the destruction of numerous American submarines in the South China Sea. ["Tit-for-tat" warfare. -MM]

The future for this world-line template (sic) is indeterminate. There are numerous futures that could manifest. These include very BIG bads. The possibility of this manifesting still remains high.

The Domain are in the process of steering the chain of events to small bads. 

The Questioner will be well advised that he is in the midst of a major global war that manifested as a result of global realignments. 

The knowledge of when or where, or to what magnitude the kinetic fighting might manifest will not make any difference in questioners life. Prudent preperation for the worst should be in place irregardless to any predictions that we can provide.

[8.10] Question – The Moon

I have a question for the Domain, please:

Would they be able to share with us who placed the Moon in its current orbit, where it came from and when was it put there? (Or offer us a little history of that period of Earth’s history, instead?)

I know this isn’t related directly to Domain Operations and irregular assistance from us, but I’m curious now that moves are being made to dismantle the Old New World Order and replace it with a New New World Order aimed at an eventual win-win for everybody regardless of race, colour or creed, as stated by both Putin and Xi in recent years.

Thus I think it wold be beneficial if humans could start at least to gain an appreciation of our true history instead of the layers and layers of lies that have been placed over our true origins; especially since more and more people became literate, affluent and started to ask these questions during the 17th and 18th centuries right through until today– but were always rebuffed with a stream of horseshit from intellectual authorities, so called, whenever they tried to access some Real Truth.

A taboo subject even until this day, also. But then again, anyone daring to question the western horseshit narrative was also taboo until China and Russia got their collective rocks on earlier this week and began action! So fuck taboos, pardoning my French, and here’s to a little bit of context as we move forward towards something better at last– it’s been too long in coming. No doubt there will be some major setbacks along the way as psychopaths don’t like losing, but we’ll get there eventually; and some extra background in addition to what Arl has already kindly revealed– as to who we are and where we came from– would really help.

Shout out to Arl if she’s reading this, btw!

The moon was placed in orbit around the earth during early regional occupany of society clusters prior to the establishment of the "Old Empire". It's use was as an "ark" from which the species could disembark and establish colonies on the planetary surface. This took millions of years, and those colonies were short lived. [Realitively speaking. -MM]

Subsequent species set up colonies on the earth, as well as native intelligences arose in the process.

None of these intelligences, and tool-making societies realized that the moon possessed a void.

During "Old Empire" expansion and the resulting wars, the planetary surface communities were destroyed, and the earth (as well as many other adjacient planetary systems) were evicerated, and had to reestablish themselves. At that time, the "Old Empire" decided to construct the Prison Complex in this general vincinity. It was during the planning for the construction system that the moon was discovered to be hollow.

Teams went in and identifed an environment with atmosphere, light, heat, and abandoned structures. They purged the atmosphere and modified it for the dominant "Old Empire" species, then they set up a command and control operations center there for the Earth Prison Planet.

When The Domain conquered the "Old Empire" in this sector we took over the facility, and now monitor it's operation, leaving many of the (former "Old Empire") workers and inhabitants in place.

Oh, and by the way. Arl says "Hi!". [ Ok, yes. This is a hard chill response. It's real, in other words. -MM]

[8.11] Question

How do I avoid Mantid Prime tracking and influences?

Members of the Domain that have a "woke" consciousness need not be concerned with mantid prime interference in thoughts and desires. Questioner is to remain confidential. Migrate actions in show careful steps so as not to arose suspecion or opposition that could alert snares. Upon termination of this life contract, questioner is to call for pickup and await retrieval.

Then, questioner will enter a situation that they will not understand, but they are to follow our guidance and processing. Fear manifestations are programmed and will be present. Questioner is not to invoke defense responses as the recovery team are / will be of former comrades (whether recognized or not) and recovery steps will be initiated.

You are well missed. We will being you home. It will happen! Do not lose faith. [Ultra strong emotional push. Goose bumps. Smashing hard clamor of emotion. I even have tears coming out of my eyes. Jeeze! -MM]

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

ET Species

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
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It is happening

First, "President" Zelensky was widely reported to have FLED Ukraine, now we have VIDEO PROOF of Speaker of the House FLEEING too!   Real "men" these guys!   You see, folks, when I talked about "soy-boy cucks on the radio last night . . . THIS is exactly what I meant.  All these government types are real bad-asses when they talk, but when they get a punch in the face, they run like little girls.  

- Hal Turner Radio Show "WAR" edition

The chess pieces have been moving into place for years now. But the global realignments have been taking place. They have rarely been reported on, and in stealth mode for some time. All the while, American Presidents came and went. Each one adding their own flavor of insanity to the mix as the United States undergoes collapse.

Here, right now, the visible face of “check” leading toward the inevitable “check mate” has roared forth. And we are going to talk about it here.

The United States had a plan.

And has been following that plan for a long time. It has been doing so religiously. Elements of that plan were established early on, back when George Bush Senior was President. And followed in planned stages over the last forty some years.

The architects of that plan are now long dead.

Those that have taken on their reins or responsibilities are simply not capable, and extraordinary inadequate, for realistic and substantive planning and operations of a strategic nature.

And we are all observing this clusterfuck of great incompetence, silliness, danger and extraordinarily folly.

Not just in the United States, but in all their minions, and proxy nations.

But you know, and should realize, that regardless of who the American President has been, and what they have done, both Russia and China have been planning for the eventual collapse of the United States, and how to manage it globally.

Of course, it’s not reported upon.

Real secrets are kept really secret.

So all the time that America; the United States postured itself globally, and ran this project, or that project, the plans by Russia and China have been moving and being implemented. And while the current crop of American “leadership” worries about LGBT fairness, diversity justice, and increasing its military capability…

… a united Asia is unveiling the final touches to a massive and brilliant execution of Global Geo-politics for a global national power realignment.

No. “Check mate” hasn’t been reached yet.

But, it’s close. Only two to three steps away.

Close to Check Mate.

We are going to discuss that. Because these are historical times, and a very risky period where a crazy, insane, out of control thrashing American Military Empire ruled and controlled by egotistic idiots is capable of any, and the most heinous, acts of madness.

America is gone

The first thing that everyone must realize is that America; the United States, is gone.

It no longer exists.

It hasn’t for decades. It is dead. And like the movie “Weekend at Bernie’s” everyone believes that it is still functional, capable, and healthy. Nothing can be further from the truth.

It is dead.

Weekend at Bernie’s.

But, the thing is, that the illusion of power, control and health is being painstakingly maintained by a ruthless and well-funded media megaphone. It has reached a point, that America has become; turned into, a giant “echo chamber”, and Americans, and the Leadership actually believe their illusions.

It’s terrible, actually.

So, yeah. America is thrashing about wildly and acting absolutely insane. And it’s “allies”, it’s surrogates, are in suicidal lock-step as America marches straight into the “check mate” positioning by a united Asia.

The build up towards the final positioning has been accelerating over the last few months. It’s now out in the open and happening fast.

  • The non-ultimatum sent to the United States
  • China and Russia alignment at the 2022 Olympics.
  • Russia recognizing the breakaway regions of the Ukraine.
  • And America following their long-established road map…

A road map that both Russia and China have copies of, and of which they know exactly what America plans to do, when and how.

The birth of the baby twins: Russia’s strategic swing drives NATOstan nuts

Soy-Boy, Beta-Male, Cucks -- that is what serves in government!  And the ones here in the USA are just like this too!   Remember Jan. 6 how they hid in their offices in the Capital, barred the doors with office furniture, and now can't stop whining about the so-called "insurrection?"  Government officials are beta-male, soy-boy, cucks and the sooner we start treating them that way, the sooner we will get our country back under our control. 

-Hal Turner

By Pepe Escobar

(Written this morning in Istanbul, BEFORE Putin buried the Minsk agreements. Everything else – and beyond – stands.)

History will register that the birth of the baby twins – Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics – only a few hours before 2/22/22, was simultaneous to the birth of the real, 21st century multipolar world.

      • Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)
      • Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR)

As my columns have stressed for a few years now, Vladimir Putin has been carefully nurturing his inner Sun Tzu.

And now it’s all in the open:

“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”

The thunderbolt was months in the process of being meticulously polished.

To paraphrase Lenin, who “created Ukraine” (copyright Putin), we did live many decades in only these past few days.

      • It all started with the detailed demands of security guarantees sent to the Americans, which Moscow knew would be rejected.  (The so called “non-ultimatum”.)
      • Then there was the Russia-China joint statement at the start of the Winter Olympics – which codifies not only the strategic partnership but also the key tenets of the multipolar world.
      • The culmination was a stunning, nearly one hour-long address to the nation by Putin shortly after the Russian Security Council live session deliberating on the request for independence by the DPR and the LPR (here is a condensed version.)

A few hours later, at an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya precisely outlined why the recognition of the baby twins does not bury the Minsk agreements.

The baby twins (DPR & LPR) actually declared their independence in May 2014.

In 2015 they signed the Minsk agreements as one of the interested parties.

Theoretically they could even be back within Ukraine if Kiev would ever decide to respect the agreements, (which will never happen because the US has vetoed it since 2015).

Moreover, the people of Donbass do not want to be subjected to a regime harboring neo-Nazis.

As Nebenzya outlined,

“I would like to remind you that at the time of the conclusion of the Minsk agreements, the LPR and DPR had already declared independence. 

The fact that Russia today recognized it does not change the composition of the parties to the Minsk agreements, since Russia is not one (…) 

Another thing is that the Minsk agreements have long been openly sabotaged by Ukraine under the auspices of our Western colleagues. 

Now we see that many colleagues want to sign that the Minsk agreements are dead. 

But this is not the case (…) 

We are still open to diplomacy, but we do not intend to allow a new bloody massacre in the Donbass.”

And here’s the clincher, directly addressing imperial support for the killing of ethnic Russians in Donbass:

“The main task of our decision [on recognizing independence] was to preserve and protect these lives. 

This is more important than all your threats.”

There you go: Responsibility to Protect (R2P), a concept invented by the Americans to launch wars, used by Russia for preventing one.

That certified nullity, German chancellor Scholz, deriding Putin’s characterization of a genocide in Donbass as “laughable”, was a decisive factor in the birth of the baby wins.

Putin, in his address to the nation, especially took time to detail the Odessa massacre:

“We cannot but shudder when we remember about the situation in Odessa, when people were burned alive (…) 

And those criminals who did this, they are not punished (…) 

But we know their names, and we will do everything to punish them (…) and to bring them to justice.”

What about China?

Geopolitically, in Eurasian terms, two huge questions stand out: [1] the role of the CSTO and [2] the response from China.

If we look at the Article 19, Chapter VI of the  CSTO charter, we learn that,

“any state sharing the goals and principles of the Organization and being ready to undertake the obligations containing in this Charter and other international treaties and resolutions effective within the framework of the Organization may become a member of the Organization.”

That would open the door for the baby twins, as soon as they have finalized all the bureaucratic endeavors pertaining to new, independent nations, to request CSTO membership.

Incidentally, CSTO secretary-general Pashinian has already gone to Moscow to discuss this exact issue.

China is a way more complex proposition.

One of the key tenets of Beijing’s foreign policy is the fight against separatism – embedded in the foundation of the SCO.

So Beijing cannot possibly recognize the baby twins, or what would amount to Novorossiya – yes, Putin did pronounce the magic word – before Kiev itself does or, a serious possibility, completely disintegrates.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry so far has been extremely cautious.

Wang Yi has reiterated;

“China’s long-standing position that the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be respected, and the purposes & principles of the UN Charter must be upheld.”

Further on down the road, presumably after some serious exchanges between Wang Yi and Lavrov, China can always find myriad ways to unofficially help the baby twins – including advancing BRI-related connectivity and sustainable development projects.

As for Kiev disintegration, that’s directly linked to Moscow demanding the immediate stop of the mini-blitzkrieg against Donbass, otherwise they will bear full responsibility.

Yes, regime stalwarts will be hunted and punished – complete with a possible War Crimes Tribunal.

Its no wonder all sorts of oligarchic/political rats, big and small, are scurrying away, to Lviv, Poland and the UK.

The Munich effect

The intervention of all 12 members at the Security Council session, combined with Putin’s address to the nation was the stuff of gripping geopolitical drama.

Putin’s body language and the look in his eyes testified to the immense gravity of the moment – and it all came to the forefront when he embarked in a concise history lesson spanning a century.

Barely containing his anger at the countless ways Russia has been vilified by the West, and taking no prisoners when referring to communism, what mostly stood out was the clear-cut rendition of the insurmountable antagonism between the Anglo-American islands and the civilizational Heartland – or the clash between maritime powers and land powers.

That Eurasia classic was the bulk of his exposition: the recognition of the baby twins took less than three minutes.

The Munich Security Conference, this past weekend, had made it all so explicit.

Munich, as terrifying as it was in terms of a congregation of headless chickens posing as eagles, at least confirmed everything is in the open.

      • The enemy is Russia.
      • NATO infinite expansion – to outer space – is against Russia.
      • And then we had a parade of add-on threats:
        • no disarmament in Eastern Europe,
        • cutting off the Russian economy from the EU,
        • end of Nord Stream 2,
        • Ukraine in NATO,
        • world order built on “universal liberal values”.

Munich spelled out No Compromise Whatsoever – which was exactly what Putin, Lavrov, Patrushev and co. expected.

The warmongering rhetoric burying any meaningful discussion of migration, inflation, cyber wars, the European energy crisis.

And, of course, the only thing that matters for the MICIMATT (military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academia-think tank complex, as defined by Ray McGovern):

      • Let’s milk this Eurotrash lot for untold billions in new contracts.
      • Let’s isolate Russia.
      • Let’s destroy Nord Stream 2 to sell them our ultra expensive LNG.
      • Let’s keep them on a leash – forever.

So actually it’s not even war against Russia: the $30 trillion-indebted Empire with a woke military attached simply could not afford it.

Not to mention the certified freak out in case they receive a phone call from Mr. Khinzal and Mr. Zircon : cue to the spectacular Russian display of “military and technical” superiority, hypersonic and otherwise – staged, irony of ironies, in synch with the circus in Munich.

What we have here is so lame: just a lowlife offer-you-can’t-refuse racket to be inflicted on the EU.

The Indivisible Security dance

The rabid Munich “No Compromise” show; the imperially-ordered Ukro crypto-blitzkrieg against Donbass; and the role of the US Lack of Intelligence Community – an Andrei Martyanov-coined howler – altogether sealed the deal for the Security Council deliberations and Putin’s decision.

Considering the ideological stupidity of the current Brussels gang – Stoltenberg, von der Leyen, Borrell –, incapable of understanding even basic economics, the fact remains that the EU without Russian energy is doomed.

Martyanov stresses the algorithm: Russia can afford the break up with Europe. Europe cannot.

The US just wants to collect.

And we’re not even talking about the dire, incoming ramifications of the systemic crisis across NATOstan.

Even as Moscow plays a very long, calculated game, as it stands that does not necessarily mean that Russia will be “winning” the baby twins while “losing” Europe.

Russia’s strategic swing repeatedly baffles the Atlanticist combo.

The US lack of intelligence community was predicting a Russian “aggression” every other day – and still is.

Instead they got the baby twins as the latest independent republics of the Global South.

Even before Munich, the Ukro crypto-blitzkrieg, and the recognition of the baby twins, Moscow had again warned it may respond with “military and technical measures” to ensure its own security after the US and NATO blatantly ignored key points from its proposal for a long-term European security architecture, and instead “cherry-picked” issues from a package deal.

Moscow will not let the Americans run away from the by now notorious 10-page Russian response.

Putin, addressing the Stavka, had already warned

“we are in a situation (…) where we are forced to resolve it.”

Which bring us to what John Helmer niftly qualified as Russia’s black box defense.

The beauty is no one knows what’s inside the black box.

Enter, once again, the “military-technical measures” that will be “reciprocal” (Putin) to what US and NATOstan are already deploying against Russia.

They won’t necessarily be implemented in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, in the airspace above Donbass, even in cyberspace.

It could be anywhere – from the Syrian theater to Latin America. From Brussels to New York City.

Surprise!

That’s what strategic ambivalence, ambiguity, or – let’s get down to the rhythm – swing is all about.

You don’t believe in the principle of indivisible security?

  • Fine.

Now we dictate the security rhythm.

You’re not gonna stop deploying nuclear weapons outside your territory?

  • Fine.

Here’s some reciprocity.

You’re not gonna accept legally binding guarantees of our security?

  • Fine.

Meet our “military-technical” measures.

Now dance, suckers.

Scenes from the Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday 24FEB22 in what appeared to be the start of war in Europe. The reason for this war is that Russia demanded that NATO and the United States agreed to the treaties that they signed. These treaties pledges no NATO’s eastward expansion, and no nuclear weapons placed near Russian boarders.

He’s sending the Russian army into LNR/DNR, or rather a “Special army operation aimed at demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine to protect people against genocide.

His goal is the demilitarization of Ukraine as well as putting those responsible for attacks upon Donetsk and Luhansk on trial.

In his speech, Putin also said…

"I must appeal to the military of Ukraine, you swore an oath to the people, not the junta, I urge you to immediately lay down your arms and go home. All Ukrainian servicemen who lay down their arms will be able to return to their families.”

There are reports that entire groups are following this advice, and putting their weapons down on the spot and fleeing in droves.

Shortly after Putin spoke in a special televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Gunfire rattled near the capital’s main airport, the Interfax news agency said.

Explosions also rocked the breakaway eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and civilian aircraft were warned away as the United States said a major attack by Russia on its neighbor was imminent.

Putin said he had authorized a special military operation in breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine and clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces were only a matter of time.

Hours earlier, pro-Russian separatists issued a plea to Moscow for help to stop alleged Ukrainian aggression.  This was dismissed by the United States as Russian propaganda.

Putin said he had ordered Russian forces to protect the people and demanded Ukrainian forces lay down their arms.

"All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine," .

He repeated his position that NATO expansion to include Ukraine was unacceptable and said Russia had been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from Ukraine.

He ended his speech with remarks that seems to be aimed directly at the US and NATO:

"To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside: if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. All relevant decisions have been taken. I hope you hear me."

The scope of the Russian military operation was not immediately clear.  However, Russian Strategic Bombers are in the air right now.

Russian Strategic Bomber Voice HF active on 8131 Kilohertz USB at 0215 GMT.

Aircraft are passing short figure messages to ground control. Very busy!

You can monitor the frequency online at the following receiver in Europe. Type in 8131 and click on USB. http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901  Choose USB (Upper Side Band)

Moscow has long denied that it has plans to invade despite massing tens of thousands of troops near its neighbor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Moscow had approved an offensive and had not replied to an invitation for talks.

"Today I initiated a telephone conversation with the President of the Russian Federation. The result was silence,"

U.S. President Joe Biden said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine.

In the hours to come Russia will…

  • -conduct strikes on air defense systems
  • – move to cut off Kiev from eastern Ukraine
  • -move to cut off Ukraine’s military forces on the line of contact in the east to prevent them from falling back to defend Kiev.

First Reports

Vlad orders military operations in Ukraine, demands Kyiv forces surrender...
Warns West of consequences greater than any in history if interferes...
Zelenskiy Says Suffered 'Serious Losses' As Air Strikes Hit 25 Cities...
Calls on citizens to fight, promises weapons...
Blasts Before Dawn. Rooster's Crow. Then Panic...
Photos, Video Emerge: 'That's F*cking Missile!'
Horror images of blood-drenched civilians...
Child Among First to be Killed...
Many flee to Poland...
Worst European Crisis of Postwar Era...
Baltics wondering: Are we next?
State TV paints Moscow as savior...
NATO to deploy more troops...
TRUMP: LET'S GO, PUTIN!
China Nods to Russia Interests...
World expresses outrage...
SKYNEWS LIVE...

From Rense

Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 14:53
Subject: Ukraine News Update

Russia has destroyed Ukraine’s air force and air defenses. Ukraine’s airports have cars and tractors parked on the runways to prevent Russian transport planes from landing. So Russian VDV (airborn) troops will soon parachute in and remove blocking vehicles. CONFIRMED AND VDV TROOPS HAVE LANDED IN MULTIPLE CITIES.
I have seen messages and photos purportedly from Kiev saying Russian missiles have landed on specific targets there. CONFIRMED

It was reported yesterday that Zelensky has a secret account in a German bank in Latin America totalling $1.2 billion. He was reportedly getting between $12 and $35 million monthly from ukrop billionaire oligarchs Akmetov, Pinchuk and Kolomoisky.

LATEST NEWS FROM HIGHLY RELIABLE SOURCES –

Good morning! There is a total coercion of Ukraine to the WORLD! The morons twitched on the offensive at night on the LDNR. Get it. Sign!

  • The first video footage from Odessa
  • According to preliminary data, Mariupol was liberated
  • Losses of the neo-Nazi regiment “Azov” as a result of a missile and bomb attack reach HUNDREDS of people
  • The footage shows the arrivals of MLRS missiles near Kharkov
  • Units of the LPR began to liberate the Ukrainian-controlled city of Shchastia
  • Zelensky introduces coniferous situation throughout Ukraine
  • ALL Ukrainian Navy destroyed or rendered unusable
  • Russian armed forces seized several checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Russian border in the Sumy region.
  • Missile strikes are carried out on the targets of the tactical aviation brigade near Vasilkov, the main air defense aviation of Ukraine.
  • Russian strategic aviation in the air.
  • Throughout Ukraine, cruise and ballistic missiles are destroying military infrastructure and strategically important facilities.
  • ALL Ukrainian Navy destroyed or rendered unusable
  • Russian armed forces seized several checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Russian border in the Sumy region.
  • Missile strikes are carried out on the targets of the tactical aviation brigade near Vasilkov, the main air defense aviation of Ukraine.
  • Russian strategic aviation in the air.
  • Throughout Ukraine, cruise and ballistic missiles are destroying military infrastructure and strategically important facilities.
  • Explosions near Boryspil airport.
  • A military unit was covered in Kharkov. Just now two explosions were also heard in the vicinity of Dnepropetrovsk.
  • Grads are working along the entire front
  • They report the beginning of landing operations of the Black Sea Fleet in the Sea of Azov.
  • It is reported about the downing of bayraktars located in the sky
  • Land units go to the Dnieper, Mariupol and Kharkov
  • Access to the maritime borders of the Black and Azov Seas is cut off. In the Odessa region, a landing took place from the BDK and helicopter aviation
  • In Dnepropetrovsk, cannonade and battle near the airport
  • CNN correspondent live from Kiev said he heard a series of explosions.
  • The lanes at all closed airports are blocked by tractors to prevent a possible landing of aircraft with troops – information from the field.
  • Attacks on military depots in Odessa are reported. Explosions one after another
  • Ukrop Army fired on central Donetsk during the night, but all is quiet here now.
This is just the beginning of the full liberation and de-nazification of Ukraine, at least as far as Kiev.
Things are unfolding just exactly like I said they would.

The Crusaders are very, very angry. Who cares?

.

I just listened to Biden (here if you have the stomach). Oh he is pissed, badly.  Putin totally and comprehensively ignored him or the USA (one sign of that is that Putin did warn Scholz and Macron but, apparently, nobody told the White House).

Scholz truly scared the Kremlin when he told that he pulled back the certification of NS2 “jetzt” that is “now”.

Okay, he probably misspoke, he meant “no NS2 forever!”.

Scholz is one tough cookie!


I love it when petty flaccid Eurognomes try to scare Russia.

With sanctions, of all things.

This is RUSSIA we are talking about.

Of all people, the Germans ought to know better.

I guess they don’t.

  • Fine, I wish the Germans lots of fun!

Speaking of NS2, two small factoids:

      • gas prices are already up by 10% in the spot markets.
      • Thanks to the increase of the energy prices Gazprom has already paid for the construction of NS2 with that extra windfall (that according to a senior Duma member, Petr Tolstoy).

Where do you think this is headed?

Exactly, me too!

Biden also said something two really interesting in his otherwise totally vapid speed.

First, he asked who the hell Putin thought he was to recognize states in other sovereign nations?

Second, he warned Russia: we shall judge you by your actions.

I think I can help Biden and give him two very simple replies:

  1. Putin is the President of Russia and he does ask for anybody’s approval, least of all – the USA’s.
  2. You don’t get to judge Russia.  That ship has sailed.  If anything, the day will come when Zone B will judge you on a 21st century of the Nuremberg Tribunal.  As Putin said “we have all their names”.

But I also know this: in the minds of the leaders of Zone A both of these replies are literally *unthinkable*.  Ok.

Hence, they will have to be shown that which they currently cannot fathom.

Today the Russian Duma and Federation Council have ratified all the needed documents and given Putin the right to engage Russian forces abroad.

Where exactly was not specified.

Putin was asked about where he would engage the Russian forces and he basically reply “wait and see, we will use them wherever needed and to comply with all our obligations”.

Putin loves to make the western Tabaki-jackals guess his next move.  He is now openly trolling them 🙂

 

Western Crusaders attacking Russia is nothing new.

But in the past, the Crusaders were at least a credible threat (at times, even a very credible one).

But the modern Crusaders are a joke.

Their threats are a joke, their armed forces are a joke and their leaders are a joke.

A good example is Biden sending more of this invincible military forces to the Baltic statelets.

I am sure the Russians are now truly terrified.

What we do know is the the good folks at Commentary Mag are bracing for impact.

Will the people of the USA find out, for the very first time, that the actions of their rulers can actually directly impact them personally?

God willing, they will learn fast and act accordingly.

What about the Ukros?

So far, they have mostly ignored Putin’s warnings to “immediately cease the attacks against the LDNR”.

I don’t know if they are amazingly courageous, very dumb or suicidal.

Either way, I would recommend they heed Putin’s warning, there shall be no more warnings.

True, the know that their western masters don’t give a damn about Russian lives, mass graves, thousands of kidnapped “separatists”, numerous torture centers or open calls to murder.

  • Fine.  So for 8 years the Ukronazis have murdered the Russian by the tens of thousands.

But don’t they understand that their lives will be the next one?

Or do they really think that the western “advisors” will protect them?

Oh well, I guest that, again, they will have to be shown that which they currently cannot fathom.

By the way,

From a legal point of view, until now Russia has insisted that this was an internal Ukrainian civil war and not an international conflict.

Now this has changed.

Now, from the point of view of the Kremlin, this is now an international conflict directly involving Russia.

 

Here I want to use the occasion to congratulate the United West and, especially, the Ukronazis.  For seven years you dreamed about a war involving Russia.

BRAVO! Congrats – now you got what you fought so hard for: the Russian bear has *officially* placed a paw on the LDNR.

Now I want to see who you all will volunteer to make move first to make him remove that paw 🙂

Maybe the US forces in the Baltics?

Or the Poles?

Maybe the Czechs or even the Brits?

Something tells me that “super-pooper sanctions from hell” and hurricanes of hot air are more likely.

Crusaders are not like they used to be.

Good.

Andrei

So what are we actually talking about here?

We are talking about SERIOUS consequences made by idiots who have no concept about what kind of deep-shit that they are in now. They simply do not realize that they are in deep, deep shit.

We are talking about a cocky know-it-all little punk bully threatening a group of  big, burly, mean and nasty hard-core bikers.

The bullet is going to hit the bone.

HERE

I do not know how it will happen, nor, what will happen. I do not know when it will happen, or any of the particulars. But I do know THAT it will happen.

It will be very bad.

Certainly the American media are hyping up war. But they are just treating it like some kind of Baseball game, and not the threat of massive nuclear destruction of the host cities (American, British, NATO) promoting this danger.

To imagine that the United States would remain unscathed after all this provication (not to mention their color revolution that set up the current Neo-Nazi regime in 2014) is unfathonable.

But there you have it. Spin the narrative…

Others, including myself, have suggested that it might include a nuclear first strike. Maybe or maybe not. As I see things, the USA is already half destroyed as it is. Why use a cannon when a slingshot will do?

But seriously, and cautiously, realize that Asia is defining the rules right now. And the expectations of the collective West might as well be thrown out the window. They are as obsolete as a buggy whip.

Putin goes to Siberia

Whoa!

Russia Fires “Warning Shots” at American Navy

Russian ship “Admiral Essen” fires warning shots in front of US ships in the Black Sea.

Russian ship “Admiral Essen”.

The Russians report that the frigate “Admiral Essen” fired warning shots in front of American ships in the Black Sea.

"The appearance of three US Navy ships has forced Russia to show strength to the US military and use radical methods to reassure them of the protection of its borders."

That is why the frigate “Admiral Essen” fired Kalibr cruise missiles in front of American ships.

At the moment we are talking about a practical training ” the Russian media report and emphasize the” for now “while adding:

"All the targets were successfully hit by the Russian cruise missiles, although the exact area and the distance they traveled were not known."
"Russia has successfully completed the launch of the missiles and has shown its readiness to use these weapons against anyone who threatens Russia,"

…said a Russian expert.

[link to 2gtdmthbqrehz3iksvu4arzody-adwhj77lcyoafdy-warnews247-gr.tran​slate.goog (secure)]

Nuclear thoughts…

Look at some “nuclear strike maps”.

Many of the nuclear strike maps were made before Russia and China developed systems to shoot down ICBMs and SLBM missiles. They also reflected an industrial base that disappeared in the 1980s.

In the map below, it suggests that the Russians would hit the underground ICBM silos, knock out Pittsburgh, and Syracuse. My guess that it would be a quite different target map.

And here in this map, the strikes as triangles are most accurate. Though you wouldn’t need to launch all those nuclear bombs to take out the coastal cities. Just generate a huge tidal wave with the Satan 2 standoff weapon.

And here we see that FEMA still ignores the Satan 2, and the irrelevance of the Underground Minuteman silos.

Not a joke

The United States has grown accustomed to picking on nations, sanctioning them, starting “color revolutions”, sabotaging their food supplies and all the rest. Now, both Russia and China told the United States to STOP.

And the United States said no.

And it’s allies agreed with the United States, and also said no

And I really don’t think thay are ready for the consequences of dealing with a very angry and pissed off Asia. As the consequences can end up being most lethal…

 

Conclusions

There’s a major realignment of global power taking place. The fulcrum is now directly under us. And as such the balance of power is now tipping and changing. And like all changes in equilibrium, once the tipping point has been reached, the changes come quick, fast and sudden.

Look at all the things that happened since three months ago. Things are moving fast, and swift.

No need to panic, that is unless you are an avid consumer of Western “news” or are a technology billionaire of some pedigree.

Just stay calm and let the changes manifest. Things will be fine in the afterwards. They really will.

In the meantime, appreciate what you have. Worrying about a future that might not materialize is fruitless. It has been my experience that our fears never happen, but change does.

So enjoy what you have…

A Nice Chinese girl

She looks like she could really use a nice delicious meal. Along with a nice light wine, and some delicious salad.

I love her eyes. They are really big.

video 3MB

Seriously.

Don’t worry too much. Spend time with people, pets and your loves. Food should never be an afterthought, and if you have been putting off drinking because of some health reason, then stop. Start enjoying life while you still can.

Good thoughts.

Good actions, words of kindness and support, and being a contributor to the betterment of your community are the tickets out of the cage of fear that the medica has created for you.

Kick that damn door down.

Get the hell out.

Grab a partner and live life.

Cuddle on the beach.

What are you waiting for?

An invitation?

Tracking the Ukraine offensive

You can follow the Russian suppression of the US-installed puppet regime in the Ukraine here…

  • Hal Turner has a great blow-by-blow real-time running thread HERE.
  • GodLikeProductions has a pretty decent forum HERE.
  • Victoria has a nice Facebook page in great detail HERE.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings 3

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

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Part 7 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander march 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 7.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. 

Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

This is part of the Q&A (on-going) effort where questions are provided to me, and then I present them, and then record and interpet the responses.

Personally, I think girls, cats, and food are far more interesting. But, that's me, don't you know.

[7.1a] Question – Was I “Old Empire”?

Yes. Hello guys. How have you all been?

I hope all of you have been much better than me. Recently I had a dream. I think it was a memory from the past. It looked medieval. In a medieval building, we were a few people. I think I was the leader or something similar. Too much to mention so little time.

My question is Was I in the Old empire or where did I come from?

Questioner was a member of the "Old Empire". Dream was <garble> <confusing text stream> <impression I have is of something like travel / visit / memory / or memory rewind in real time / experience.> This kind of event is not uncommon to human inmate skin-suits. This is a carryover aspect of soul / consciousness / quantum reconfiguring when the entity is placed within the Prison Planet complex ans is assigned a skin-suit for general population utilization.

Questioner was punished for repeat violations of multiple minor infractions. Judge sentencing was mercurial and arbitrary. Questioner, however did not take the opportunites afforded to it to escape from the sentencing situation and refused to budge upon its standing in the community thinking it was immune from harsh judgements. Obviously it was wrong.

The dream itself is not signifigant. What is signifigant is that there are fractional elements int he quanta that can access the memories prior to the "Old Empire" mind wipe event sequence.

Questioner is experiencing changes at this time and while they are uncomfortable, they are important as they allow the consciousness of the questioner to relive the "Old Empire" sentencing and incarceration process. It was tramatic for the questioner in that embodiment, and this period of time is helping to reawake the questioner and engoge the quanta with energy to assist in full awakening.

Questioner is to be advised that everything is proceeding as planned, and not to worry too much about the discomfort. The questioner will be much improved and better after this period of discomfort.

[7.1b] Question – Transporter Use

Question number 2 is :

Why can’t the Domain build a teleporter and zoom their personnel off this fuck place to a galaxy/planet far far away and start rehabilitation then?

Questioner asks a valid question. The answer is that The Domain can do so. We have numerous teleportation (sic) facilities on the Earth Planetary environment within the Prison Complex.

Questioner must understand that the physical body skin-suit that the IS-BE possesses is not sustainable outside of the Prison Complex. It is a custom made envelope for this prison complex only. Were the Domain to do so, the result would be a rapid period of mental, emotional "melt down" (of the physical body) followed by a freeing of the IS-BE consciousness that would immediately be ejected from (what ever environment it was teleported to) to an injection back within the non-physical realms of the Prison Complex environment.

The teleporter (sic) is useful for moving physical doll-bodies, and non-inmate skin-suits in and out fo the prison complex. "Through the wire" so to speak. But it can only be used inside the prison complex bubble universe for the inmates imprisoned within the skin-suits.

On a practical basis, this means that the inmates can travel within the earth solar system, and to numbers other solar systems that also lie within the bubble universe that the "Old Empire" prison has constructed. There are numerous such solar systems. Five are populated with inmates in various physical forms. As well as other solar systems that lie within the bubble universe, but that have no prison population present.

[7.2a] Question – A “cold dark” sea.

MM a few questions that I have been meaning to ask the Commander, though I needed to provide the necessary back context before doing so. They are concerning if true.

Question 1:
During my phone interview with Linda Moulton Howe about a year ago she mentioned a “cold dark sea” as being a term passed onto a CIA agent by a Majestic agent, which had something to do with vast area space of space that surrounds us and is different to normal space in that it “ebbs and flows”. Question: is the cold dark sea (in this context) a real thing understood by Majestic, and if so why should we be concerned about it? is it the same as the anomaly thing i saw during my experience with the Elder Guardians or something different?

Questioner is correct. There is a region of physical space that lies outside of the micro-bubble universe. This is different from the physical space that lies otuside of the solar system. And should be confused by it's apparent similarity. This region is typical to that of all universes.  It is normal.

It is an area of tides, vortexes, winds, and pressure fluctuations. The quanta components that inhabit this region is not easy for skin-suits to understand as they represent a condition that lies outside of the given universe so constructed.

However, in the case of the prison complex; bubble micro-universe it is a different situation. The prison complex micro-universe is a bubble that lies inside of the main universe. Thus, the region directly adjacient to the prison complex barrier is an interface threshold to the main universe.

This interface threshold is neither part of the micro bubble universe, nor part of the main universe that it was spawned from. It is something else.

Entities crossing through from the main universe into the prison complex bubble universe would experience numerous changes in environment as they move though this region. 

From the main universe would be a transition from calm and entering into a regions of gentile turmoil that would increase slightly until the outside bubble universe barrier is met. 

This is a membrane much like the difference bteween oil and water, and once the entity crosses it, there is a discordance of thought and memory as the high intensity elecromagnetic environment causes disruption to the IS-BE. 

Then once the membrane is crossed, there is a gentle easing of the transitionary changes of the interior of the bubble universe; prison complex environment.

[7.2b] Question – smuggled weapons

Question 2:
During that same interview, Linda mentioned that her contacts have suggested that the US military has successfully smuggled “weapons” into the astral planes, for the purpose of fighting “demons that exist there” that have a “monopoly on our souls”.

This aligns with something i have been told by another source, though this source mentioned these were nuclear weapons that were “smuggled”, and are being used to “negotiate” with {strong arm} these non physical beings.

From the answers to my my past questions, it seems that these “demons” are quite possibly the Goetic spirits of Solomon or those mentioned in the respective Q&A, and the US military doesn’t really understand the implications of what they are doing, or who it is they are messing with (thinking they are just lowly demons rather than opposers of the OE regime).

I have to admit, this is kind of hard to get my head around, but we know that MM’s physical body was able to be transported into a plane, so it at least seems plausible.

Question, does the Domain know of any such undertakings, and what would the implications of having a nuclear weapon go off in those planes be compared with here in the physical. Worse, not as bad, etc?

This intel is incorrect. The information is distorted and abused (?).  The MAJestic organization cannot utilize teleportation technology without Domain overview and permissions. We do not allow any service-to-self behaviors or the teleportation of any dangerous mechanisms in any realm by inmate skin-suits.

What about non-MAJestic entities? Can they do so?

Of the nuclear powers / nations / organizations that possess nuclear or otherwise dangerous weapons, their access (of all entities within their respective "secret" organizations) have culled and restricted access to teleportation devices. We would never permit or allow that to occur. We can read the thoughts and tides that manifest prior to entry access and take appropiate action.

While this subject was briefly discussed in some cases, we have easily distracted the thought patterns to other venues and in other directions. Nothing ever came of such thoughts and actions.

Ok, so there are no nuclear weapons smuggled into the teleportation mechanisms as The Domain controls that venue.  But what of other creatures, other micro universes, and other groups that might not be part of the The Domain sphere of influence?

Yes. There are independent groups that operate upon their own issues, plans and directives. They all have varying levels of influence, capability and ability. The questioner is part of one such organization. Yes, not all of them work with The Domain, but most recognize our leadership role in this micor universe.

There are no nuclear devices, or similiar devices (to it or equivalent to it) that have been placed upon the non-physical environs within the Prison Complex spreciifed from the Earth-centric sphere of influence. However, there are corrupted devices that are planted / implanetd / modified and capable of great horrific damage if activated.

We are aware of those mechanisms and devices. These systems cannot be easily deactivated as they are inherent with the construction of this particular micro universe and tulize advanced technologies. Our allies <image of giant slug like engineers> the "oompaloompas", have been working on these systems for some time. We are confident that detonation / activation / energize / implosion will not be possible at this time, and full inert deactivation will occur in the future.

What would happen if they are not deactivated, and detonated?

The micro bubble universe and it's spawned "heaven" universes would all be destroyed. All IS_BE entities trapped within these universes would be left in a rubbled state with a long, long time to recover. Even if they could recover, they would be lost.

[7.3] Question – Connections with offspring

Hi MM and forum members,

I have a question if possible,

What is our real connection to our biological offspring (our children), due to imprisonment, amnesia and the recycling of our souls back into physical form via “a mission profile” and the light are our biological children connected to us in the non physical realm as “part of us/me”, the concept of protecting my child is very very strong in myself, it’s my life and my motivation. I understand maternal instincts are strong in us but are we only “custodians” of another young developing soul. I hope this makes sense

Thank you so very much for this chance to ask this question.

Questioner is concerned about the relationship factors of consciousness / soul cluster in regards to reincarnated cycling back and forth between the Heaven micro universe and the general population "punishment" (reality) universe.

Questioner has two groups of friends / family / associations. Each group is a special case.

First Case

The first case is the primary questioned concern. This has to do with the cycled soul cluster that shares tthe heaven micro universe, and the recycled reincarnated reality universe. 

For the vast numbers of humanity / and other species this recycling involves gourps of people that take on various roles with reincarnated familes. 

This is much like what the "Old Empire" did in the main universe except that the memory erasure was never so final and absolute. 

In this case, the likelihood that members of the questionsers' family from the heaven micro universe is whith him now is strong and high. 

In fact, this is a common situation with notible exceptions such as MM and imprisoned Domain IS-BE entities. These entities often find themselves in reincarnated lives (sic) alone with no preconceived relationships that carry over from previous incarnations. 

In fact, that is one of the big "tell tales" that help us locate members of the Domain "Lost Battalion". The lack of quantum connections can be observed and measured with the proper training and awareness. 

Thus many of the Domain "Lost Battalion" find themselves in host familes upon reincarnation that appear faraway or aloof, or not in agreement with their thoughts and viewpoitns. While this is in part a normal part of all inmate skin-suit experiences for perhaps 20% of the general population, those of the "Lost Battalion" find this situation to extreme and absolute.

They do not "fit in" with their inhereted host families, and they might feel like they do not belong. Like they were adopted from another family or something similiar. Being without these quantum connections has retarded the interpersonnel family relationships to some degree. The members of the "Lost Battalion" realize this, even if they cannot verbalize it.

This results in certain attachments that manifest when searching for a mate.

In the case of the questioner, this is not the case. They have family members, younger members, and older members that thay have had many, many cycled reincarnated experiences with. 

In this present incarnation, the answer to the question (unstated, but observed) that in the immediate family are members of long, long quantum entanglments and substantive relationships from heaven (sic) and previous lives and reincarnations.

Second Case

The second case concerns the relationships with those prior to incarceration by the "Old Empire". These relationships are much older, longer and more substantive than any that the questioner is associated with regarding his immediate incarnation relaionships.

For the vast bulk of inmates these relationships are completely severed and cannot be fully reestablished until there is an ability to recover the entities prior memories. 

While the former friends and families will realize who the questioner is and what is going on with it, they will not maintain the same relationships that were present prior to jailing and incarceration. They will have changed, and the questioner has changed. 

Even with full recovery of memories, everything has changed.

[7.4] Question – About questioners past

Please consider the following as a question for the DC.
.
“What did I experience as a child that i only now have the wisdom to begin to comprehend”?
.
I hope this isn’t too vague. Tried to distill the issue to the simplest question. Hopeful an answer provides a launchpad to a  more direct STO path/career for years ahead.
.
Additional context:
I suspect the experience involves type 1 greys or similar; could be a single experience or event; timeframe circa 75-86.
Questioner has not provided enough information for presentation by MM (sic). Communication consists of a transmitter and a reciever. Additionally, both have to be tuned to the same frequencies, and transmit in the same language.

[1] If the transmitter is from RCA, and the reciever is from Magnavox, there is the possibility in garbled communications. 

[2] Further, if they are not communicating on the same frequency, or one is sending in AM, while the other is recieving in FM, there would be no communication. 

[3] Further to that, of the sender speaks French and the reciever only understands Japanese, and the message is in Islandic, no communication is possible.

Transmitter (MM) knows nothing about the issue, the questioner, and the situation. Yet the questioner is expected that somehow there is this magical transference of information. There cannot be any transmission of information if no information is provided.

So the transmitter submits an empty message. And thus, respectfully the 
Reciever collects that empty message, and interpets it as useless.

The questioner needs to fully appreciate the magniture of his folly. An eleven year span of time is presented devoid of coordinates, references or data. Somehow the transmitter is to acquire geolocation data, history, packaged information and submit it for review and response.

Of course nothing can be provided.

Questioner is to collect his thoughts and generate a multi-paragraph presentation describing reasons for the request, his personal history regarding any incidents referred to, and why it is considered to be of importance. The presenter (MM) will then have enough information to generate an image that we can read.

This is what all the other questioners do. The questioner must provide enough information to provide thick and accurate responses.

The Commander was nice and polite, but I am not. So I am going to give all readers a very strong lecture right now.

If the subject matter is too embarrassing then do not submit it. If you find it too much of a hassle to provide a minimum of contextual background then please do not waste my time.

You all need to provide details and background when presenting a question, and you must understand it fully. Then you must present it to me so that I can understand it.

Explain what this means, can you provide the necessary details so that the events of 1967 can be understood.

The Domain Commander is not a magical being. There are limitations. This entire situation utilizes a physically implanted EBP for goodness sakes. And the Commander accesses answers via various means. Do not treat him / it / she as some kind of supernational being. It isn’t.

I spend roughly three hours on every question all told. And it’s a very tying and difficult procedure and very uncomfortable. I’m doing this for fucking free God damn it. Do not take me for granted. -MM

[7.5a] Question – future of Asia

My question for the Domain is: how do they see Japan, the Koreas and Taiwan fitting into a brighter Asian future given what we now know thanks to the Commander/MMan’s Q&A?

Projections of the Asian geographical region is overall positive and free of the attempts to militarize it to a point of open overt and violent physical warfare.

Within a hundred years will be new "understandings" regarding Korea and South-Western Russian Federation. These will be economically stable and free of conflict. This may or may not result in formal geographical boundaries.

Japan is expected to break away from the relationship with the United States and will diverge in their own cultural vector. It will be inward directed and mercantile. It will resume its cultural uniqueness and participate in a growning regional economy. However, it will not be a signifigant one.

Taiwan will unify peacefully with the mainland Chinese. It will be conducted in multiple stages, and for most of the world it will be innocuous and transparent actions of no concern or overt worry. There will be opposition domestically to this action in pockets, but they will be isolated and eaisly suppressed. China will be observed and percieved as a grand national society that most Taiwanese would want to be part of. As this perception increases in popularily, the ease of reunification increase proportionally. 

Of course, these are only projections and the future can never be predicted with absolute certainity.

[7.5a] Question – East Asia immediate concerns

Are they (Taiwan, Japan and Korea) predicted to work with China or go down with the Western Ship? (Deagel does forecast significant population drops in all 3 regions, so perhaps that answers my question!)

Deagal forecasts are predictions based on remote viewing and statistical projections. They are not without fault, and the template (sic) can change rapidly.

The long term trends for the region so specified by the questioner is overall positive. However, there are worrisome elements in the immediate short-term future. We (The Domain) project a strong possibility of disruptive elements that may ignite some events that have the potential for great catastrophic loss of life.

Trendlines and global alignments are a "tightrope" that need to be mitigated through shrewd actions and careful planning. As long as the respective "leadership" in those regions "off shore" their Geo-political  counselling to any of the major Western powers, then catastrophic results will become a certainty.

However, this is not the actual case. Internally, and in confidentiality, there are strong and influential elements that recognize national stability being of upmost importance. They will assure a transitional posture away from the West as a matter of national survival.

Having much experience of East Asia and living here again now, it always strikes me how there are a lot more similarities than differences between these great nations across a broad spectrum, and the US model was never a good fit having been superimposed upon Korea and Japan in particular since WW2.

There are many positive things going on in Korea, but having socialised a bit this past week with some reasonably well connected Koreans (businessy types and the medical profession– old high school acquaintances of my wife’s,  mostly), it’s clear after some gentle probing that most people still think that “the Virus escaped from the Wuhan Lab” and that “it’s all Chinas fault.”

Now, having said that, most of these folks are NPCs, anyway, (whereas Korean leadership and elites are most definitely clued in and quite sentient, obviously! I’m just referring in this case to a random subset known to me personally) and IMHO know shit from shinola about the wider world, but they DO represent blue/white collar Korean society in general– homogeneous; consensus thinking, etc. And they are ALL pro mRNA rollout and feel that the side effects are stastically minor. In fact, many of them have shares in a Korean biotech firm that on the directions of the President is setting up a Korean version of the MRNA jab for manufacture and they’re all looking forward to making lots of money in future.

Depressing stuff, I know.

mRNA booster rollout is also being “offered”  to young children soon and the only places open for business to the unvaxxed are grocery and some other outlets. Most businesses are fast becoming vaxxed only and there’s no resistance. They’re even rolling out a vaxx cert for schoolkids under 16 next month in order to pressure parents who won’t consent to mRNA inoculation for them or their children.

No Chinese or Russian traditional vaccines are available or even talked about. They are full on mRNA in Korea and looking forward to making lots of money producing their own version now that airline stocks have gone tits down.

All in all kind of a depressing picture, that’s why I’m curious about the future as clearly Korea and Japan are places of great innovative potential. Taiwan, too. And could really work with China and each other once the malevolent US controlled socio- political apparatus is dismantled.

Thanks, Mr Man. Let’s hope the Year of the Tiger lives up to its reputation.

Social classes in Korea will follow leadership guidance. The leadership will adopt an array of different policies and change direction on a number of subjects. However, there will firstly be some events that will contribute to a change in their thinking and attitude. 

The questioner need not worry about the details, just know that there arepressures and vectors that strongly suggest a future that does not match what currently exists.

[7.6a] Question – Flushing out details

I conducted a private, personal comm reading for this questioner. The discussion that follows has been redacted and simplified to fit this venue. All confidential material has been omitted. -MM

MM, I read the latest answers and I am really excited!

It took me a while to digest, and I sincerely thank you and the commander for taking the time to answer my questions! Also, the revelation about a new (Domain sponsored interface) organization in China…wow!

I understand that you have a regular life to live, and there are other questions already in the pipeline. I do have some questions, which are NOT urgent at all. But I do think the answers to them are very important not just for me but for others regarding these “learning clusters” (whenever you can get to them, of course).

Question 1;

The commander’s last answer to my questions about joining the Domain full time after I complete my sentence in this current meat suit only solidified/confirmed my decision that joining the Domain full time without doing another incarnation round is the absolutely 1000% correct path for my IS-BE.

Based from the commander’s response, I wound up creating my dysfunctional quantum entanglements while taking this “soul improvement course” for centuries with other IS-BEs, only to find out now that all I did was dig myself deeper into some sort of quantum hole (like quicksand or something).

So my take is, (no offense to the Mantids, I’m not arguing with them, and arguing isn’t going to help me anyway) that clearly the curriculum is ineffective and inappropriate for the correct development of my IS-BE.

It may have been fine for some other IS-BE’s, but I am quite unhappy with the dysfunctional results and believe that a change of scenery (join the Domain full time and train) would be a better choice for becoming the best IS-BE I can be.

Am I justified in thinking that the “self improvement” curriculum that they are making inmate IS-BE’s attend (for centuries in my case) is in SERIOUS need of reform?

That perhaps, if the results are overwhelmingly negative or dysfunctional for certain types of IS-BEs, that it’s the curriculum that needs real modification?

Am I justified in thinking that relying on the same mechanism to neutralize unstable quantum entanglements (reincarnation and “studying” with the same IS-BE’s that you cultivated fucked up relationships with for the next few centuries) is a fool’s errand?

Kind of like using the same skin cream that keeps on giving you acne, but somehow hoping that it will work for you this time?

The educational / reform program that originates out of the "Heaven" bubble universe is part of an elaborate system to reconfigure garbons (sic) and swales (sic) to "reform" IS-BE entities into a different type of form and shape. Once that shape is complete the entities whill not be able to fit into the "Old Empire" environment even if they were ever to escape from the Prison Planet complex.

There are numerous issues regarding this system.

[1] Firstly, the initial intention was to create an intentional reform mechanism that will allow inmates so processed to be rehabilitated and changed into a form that is no longer dangerous and threatening to the "Old Empire".

[2] This origional system was intended to change the very shape and nature of the IS-BE so altered, and then remove them from the Prison Complex and then reinject them elsewhere in a distant area far away from the "Old EMpire". The initial plan consisted of millions of years of retraining, and alteration. It was not initially established as a final solution for really bad criminal elements.

[3] However, as the leadership of the "Old Empire" changed, so did the direction, function and features of the Prison Complex. They changed the structure of the reeducation program, and made it so that there would never (truly and actually) be a period of parole and release. In so doing, the Prison Complex became a "black hole" from which criminals would enter and never leave.

[4] Mantid Prime directives changed over time internally of their own volition, and  the program was changed with differnt processes, course studies and intentions.

[5] General population Mantid directives, upon working with us at The Domain, has thus changed, and interactions regarding the training and rehabilitation schedule and programs are no longer in synchronization. This is a Domain directive. As the Mantid Prime plans call for much more bloodshed, violence and horrific events than what The Domain finds acceptable.

[6] Other groups, some well-meaning, others self-serving, have each individually and in groups have altered, modified, changed and otherwise seriously altered the rehabilitation educational program.

The results of all these changes is a bastardized / hybrid program of little value to any IS-BE. The questioner is advised to elect not to participate in it, and upon translation (death); call for pickup and the next-steps that we have in place for this questioner.

[7.6b] Question – Karma

I remember Airl’s words on how kindness begets kindness, and how cruelty begets cruelty. That keeps on ringing in my brain.

I absolutely agree with the commander’s wisdom on kind behaviours. It brought me back on the subject of karma.

While I agree that it exists, I have severe misgivings on its effectiveness as a “corrective” or “justice” mechanism.

While I am certainly not anti-punishment and I absolurtely understand that some people/entities only understand the “stick” rather than the carrot, I know first hand that suffering and cruelty in general (not always) begets only more suffering and cruelty (especially if the person/entity recieving the cruelty has no memory of what happened in the past and they truly believe themselves to be the victim, so they lash out in reaction…thus extending the negative cycle instead of becoming a better sentience…sort of like an abused kid who grows up to abuse others because that’s all he/she knew, and those others they abused “spread” their negativity and abuse others too because that’s all they knew, and so forth…).

My thesis is that karma is a reinforcement mechanism (for good or bad) and I undretsand the commander’s excellent advice to use kindness as a way to start and maintain positive cycles.

I have a suspicion that entities can be “tricked” or bamboozled into accumulating negative karma because of the memory wipe/”electrocuting the bejesus out of them” technique.

They think they are doing the right thing, only to realize that they actually committed a crime and really hurt people (like useful idiot or NGO volunteer).

Am I right to have these suspicions, since Earth is a prison planet?

Are many entities who were political prisoners/artists/whatnot from other planets “corrupted” this way so that they would be purposely saddled/handicapped with negative karma?

Is it fair to say that you can also cause an otherwise decent entity to become “infected” with this negativivity through their experience, and in turn they will infect others with this negativity (giving your measles to everyone within your range of contact)?

Am I justified in thinking that negative karma is “infectuous” and that we must come up with a mechanism to prevent in from ensnaring others?

Also, it seems that the Old Empire have some technology that “enhances” this negative karmic infectivity. Is this a decent suspicion or am I the victim of an overactive imagination?

I will be giving you a donation soon once I get more money in (not that you asked). We really appreciate everything you do (even the resident curmudgeon  (you know who he is) was pretty stoked with your last article.

Ha! Like I said, while I believe the lastest questions I am asking have significance and importance on the nature of the prison system here on Earth and how some entities wind up saddled with big karmic disturbances, it’s certainly not an emergency and can be answered in a leisurely pace.

Questioner is correct. Again, the purposes, systems, and devices of the Prison Complex have been subverted to other uses and purposes. many of which are to benefit others of a Service-to-Self sentience, and to profit from.

[1] There are entities that use the Prison Complex for entertainment purposes, and have created never-ending bouts of recurring terror and events for their own personal amusement.

[2] There are entities that feed of the emotions (so generated) by difficult times and use that to build up their own quanta alignments. In this way, the human inmates are utilized as a farmed animal or creature to generate quantum alignments taht can be extracted through harvesting. Then the IS-BE entity must endure it over and over again without ever getting off or out of the program. It's similiar to reliving a movie scene over and over and over again.

[3] The new directives of Mantid Primes encourage the creation of inadvertant quantum (karma) attachments to solidify group clusters as part of their revised goals for the human species within the Heaven micro universe.

[4] When the Prison Complex was first established, it was believed at that time, that if an IS-BE entity would endure similiar event sequences for millions of lifetime reincarnations that it would grow tired of that exerience and never want to inflect those pains and terrors on others.

[5] Service-to-self entities that work with their mantid primes can construct lifetime experience that create these event vectors for their own personal amusement, growth, or pleasure.

The questioner realizes that all interactions at all levels create attachments. Some are good and some are bad realative to the reincarnation cycle process. This is a fundamental understanding associated with the questioners role as a <redacted> prior to capture, and memory erasure. All fellow entities procured along with the questioner have this understanding, and are equally frustrated being thrown into the general population in such a manner where their carefully cultivated lives (billions of years worth) have be subverted, altered and damaged.

[7.7a] Question – Who was I?

MM — Firstly, I’d like to thank you for your continuous efforts on these matters. To me, they deeply resonate with my world view and for that I sincerely thank you.  I have to apologise in advance for a lengthy request… though I feel it’s necessary in order to posit my questions below.

I’ve been very lucky to be blessed with an exceptionally strong, caring and loving family, who collectively without exception promoted and instilled in me the concept of unconditional love. Such concepts have largely been driven by my parents who have read a significant amount of literature throughout their lives regarding the non-physical world, as they call it.

While I did not always believe in this throughout my teenager years, I (for a while now) deeply feel this is true to me (I just know it’s true); that if everyone adopted these teachings, society would be so much of a better place — I am also an extremely rational person, who I believe is open to any kind of experience as a way of learning: this includes the darkness and other negatively-characterised aspects of life, simply because one cannot know love (for example) without knowing the opposite.

Just know that I’m aware that life is not a system of duality but rather an infinite spectrum of opposite sets of experiences.

I think of it as an infinite ruler with a zero in the middle—the way I see it, in the physical world, life is often seen as a scene of duality where a positive experience (+1, +2 and so on) has a corresponding negative experience (-1, -2 and so on) whereas in reality there are an infinite number of numbers (or experiences) in between those natural numbers.

As such, I do not have hatred towards the Old Empire because I realise that that was the path such IS-BEs chose for their own progression.

I’m still human after all (for now) but I realise that each consciousness is free to choose their own path. I hope this is clear to MM, the Domain, and the readership.

Having said this, I have a very strong, deep and fiery feeling that I do not belong here.

I often discuss with my father how schizophrenic the current world is, how much unnecessary pain etc. is caused by manipulation, herd mentality and the way we’ve been conditioned to think, without realising that all we need to do is to live in the moment, and that our choices to us and towards others really encompass all that matters.

We can only experience life via our five senses, therefore one must realise that there is an incomprehensibly (to the human mind, that is) high number of ways one can experience reality, with much of it being driven by thoughts, personal idiosyncrasies and synchronicity.

We are all different, yet we are all one (I feel that we are all derived from the same source, whether we call it god, belief in oneself, or some higher entity as we, humans, try to perceive it—“consciousness seems to be the universe experiencing itself”).

I wish I could put into words how much I want to write, though the above is merely a way of explaining my world view to finally ask the question I’ve always wanted to know:

Who am I / who was I before my time in the prison system complex?

I have repeatedly asked the MM readership to stop asking these kinds of questions. The Commander has been very clear that the knowledge of what people were pior to their incarceration does more harm than help for the IS-BE entity.

Never the less, I did ask and posit this question.

Keep in mind that often the answers are often very distasteful, and personally I, as MM, do not like the images and thoughts that are presented to me. Remember, not everyone was caught up in a political sweep or discharged accidentially. Some were very, very bad entities that had to be put into prison.

Questioner is sincere, but is likely not expecting the answers that will presented to him. Often times the thoughts generated by knowledge can have a detremental effect on lives of the questioner. Human skin-suits should not ask questions that they might not be ready to accept the answers to.

Let it be well understood that the questioner was not a human, meaning that the human skin-suit was not the preferred physical form that the entity utilized. The region where the questioner lived (prior to incarceration) was associated with planets and environs that did not favor human archetypes. It was a completely different biosphere.

The entity was practitioner of technological magic that created modifications of injectible advertisements into the thought streams of other creatures for personal profit and occupation.

<Image of a pot-bellied satyr like creature.> (This seems to be a dominant shape form or vehicle for many "Old Domain" creatures. -MM)

(I am getting many images / thoughts of hyper-sexuality, manipulation of the thoughts of others, brutal "mind rape" resulting in physical actions of a distasteful nature.-MM)

Questioner was involved in multiple offenses, of a repeating nature that occurred over long swaths of time, various geographical areas, and a great deal of sadness, suffering and disruption of local families, children, and great heart-rendering anguish.

<Image of crying rabbit like creature holding bloodied remains of children in blood crying and dying in enormous pain and angish, with the questioner as a cocky pot-bellied satyr with an enormously long penis in full proud display laughing about the crimes in front of some kind of cauldren / steamy holographic screen projection display.>

Questioner has been on a planned evolutionary egress from this life and is unable to return back to it. When the time comes to exit the Prison Complex, there will be a need for extra special attention. This will be for the cultivation and retention of prior memories, the questioner will need to undergo extra special rehabilitation so that the events leading up to the incarceration will not be counter-productive.

[7.7b] Question – Domain assistance

My second point, is that I truly want everyone in this prison system complex to be freed from it, where possible.

However, I realised from reading MM’s notes that this may be not always be possible.

Therefore, even though I do feel some guilt by asking the Domain to kindly assist me and my core family to remove us from the prison upon our deaths in the physical world, I sincerely hope this is possible so we can reunite with our true clans/societies/clusters (I feel such an intense love and connection with my parents, especially, that I’m inclined to believe we belong to the same clusters).

Could the Domain assist me and my core family in order to remove us from the prison after our physical deaths?

Yes. The Domain will assist all irregulars. 

This will be conducted on an individual basis and each IS-BE will be handled differently based up their own backgound and needs.

To volunteer, one must be a service-to-others sentience, and be willing to abide to the changes that the Domain will make to their non-physical bodies. For many entities this will be terrifying as the "Old Empire" fear-inducement mechanisms will be activated. 

Additionally, the volunteers must agree to the rules and laws of the Domain, and agree to follow operational directives.

This is conducted on an entity to entity basis. The questioner cannot speak or make arrangements for his family unit, no matter how well intentioned.

I performed a follow-up question on this subject later on in this article. It’s question [7.10]. -MM

[7.7c] Question – Responsibilites of membership

Finally, this will lead to my final point. Synchronicities in this world are real — I find so many answers everyday in MM’s notes to questions that I find myself having.

In fact, reading MM has finally established my core belief in this life, meaning that I now know that I was right in the feeling that there is so much more than physical experiences.

While I’ve made my silent goal to improve this world as much as I can (even if those steps that I take towards this goal may be small in scope), I’d like to strongly help the Domain:

While my desire to help is real, I do not know which clans/societies/clusters I was a part of before my stay in the prison system complex.

Therefore, I’d like to learn more about my prior clusters and the responsibilities of being a productive member of the Domain before deciding to join the Domain, as one may realise that they’d like to re-join their existing societies.

As such, what are the responsibilities of being a member of the Domain?

The Domain has very set and structured roles and responsibilities. This falls within a very organized and laid out set of defined social classes.

When someone wishes to join the Domain, they are reviewed on a personal individual basis. This is to determine in what way they would best fit within the Domain society and social structure. 

Not every entity can fit into it. 

But if the entity is so inclined, and is willing to obey the rules and laws and their social class then we would be very happy to invite the IS-BE entity to join the Domain, knowing full well that they can leave at any time.

Upon review, the IS-BE entity would be presented with a firm understanding of the expectations of Domain membership. From that point, and agreement, an evaluation period will begin and the entire process is an individual one that includes elements that are outside the range of understanding of the earth-bound IS-BE skin-suits at this time.

[7.7d] Question – Life path

Lastly, because I realise the effort of MM in providing his readership with feedback from the Domain, I wanted to ask one final point, if possible:

I struggle with balancing my mental health with the extreme stress that my job in finance puts on me. However, I endure this effort because I’m hoping that the job I chose will provide with enough capital for me to finally be “free” of the ‘rat race’ in order to finally dedicate my entire and full attention to creating experiences, to improve this world, and to, above all, help others.

As such, all I want to ask is for any feedback and/or recommendation that the Domain might have with regards to the life path that I am currently in. I feel so lost at times with this matter…

Would the Domain kindly provide feedback or any recommendations with regards to my current life path?

Life path decisons are a personal matter that is best determined by the individual.

The questioner has embarked on a life-path as established in his pre-birth world-line template (sic). It was his decision prior to being born, and he has followed it as was his objective.

This plan was formulated as part of a series of reincarnation events regarding a cycling structre of key soul IS-BE entities that the Questioner is part of. This cluster are all working together on a project that was put in place by themselves with direct guidance from their local mantid primes.

THe questioner is advised that the positive aspects of his current life are providing good and benifical improvements as has been his wishes. Even the distasteful elements of his life have a role. The questioner is obeying his jointly predicted performance vectors and should not deviate from it.

The relationships that the questioner currntly have are valuable and needs to be cultivated to make them healthier and stronger. Right now the questioner is balancing various elements in his life, we advise more emphisis placed on direct interpersonal relationship improvment over any fiancial or physical gain. 

It is a core lesson of this particular incarnation.

[7.8a] Question – “Old Empire” activities

Domain Commander, is there a connection to the media activities and Astronomical discoveries in exercises directly controlled by the old empire?

The "Old Empire" does not exist any more. It was conquered by The Domain and broken up into regional entities. All of the regional entities are under manitoring authority and watched closely.

[7.8b] Question – Interpretation of results

Could have the measurement and interpretation of the results 89.10.11.12.13….. Dimensional is it your reality?

Transmitter (MM) does not understand the question. Please rephrase with substantive explaination and detail.

[7.9a] Question – Interest in biology

I have some niggling questions for the commander. They’re important, yet not urgent. Important in the sense that I feel it solidifies my purpose and identity, which is of course essential to the way I interact with others. So, if you can ask him/her/it when your schedule allows, I would really appreciate it:

I have an enduring fascination with bacteria and viruses, and with the concept of developmental biology and epigenetics. I used to fantasise all the time that I was a scientist of this type doing research and making discoveries (in addition to my fantasies of being an amazing warrior). Now, I understand that it’s better to remember what I was rather than be told what I was. I have a strong attraction to this science. Could you tell me if this is strongly related to what I used to do before my prison stint?
.
Questioner was a <redacted>. Part of the skill sets in this role is intel gathering. It is cultivated and automatic and inherent in the nature of the IS-BE quantum makeup and structure. You can consider it to be a "sniffer" organ. It operates like a pre-cog ESP skill.

It is one of the skillsets that make a <redacted> and their co-<redacted> so capable and potent. Questioner has the inate ability to predetermine actions and activities relative to harm, damage or violence.

Questioner is in an inmate skin-suit. Yet, still has a quantum IS-BE make up that is a constructed arrangment that is not erased, only the memories are. Not the actual construction of being.

Therefore, the inherent tools / utilities / weapons / and systems of the <redacted> form are intact. Only the memories on how to use them are erased and no longer accessible.

In this instance, the questioner is getting elements of intel from its internal "organs" and doesn't know where they come from, or why they are appearing to the questioner. 

The questioner is picking up and interpeting the elements for a subsequent round of global-wide bioweapon release by certain national elements that are increasingly finding themselves at a disadvantage, and they desire to provide advantage in their favor that they can control. They believe, erroniously, that their forced injections of a military syrup would protect their chosen populations during this next up-coming event sequence.

All evidence points otherwise.

The questioner has accurately "picked up" the intel signs associated with this, and this intel is of a serious nature to the <redacted> physical form.

The Chinese are aware of this plot and that is the reason why they implement draconian anti-virus measures at all levels.

[7.9b] Question – Memory recovery

What can I do to recover my memory faster?
I understand that technically there is no rush, but I also don’t want to take longer than I have to. I am not being impatient, but I just want to put it out there that I WILL invest the time and effort to accelerate my recovery from amnesia if I can be given some guidance in how to do this.
The questioner is not able to recover erased memories at this stage of its life. It cannot be accomplished while the inmate is within the physical confines of the prison complex micro universe.

Due to the nature of this questioner's situation, any effort towards memory recovery would be monitored, and prevented by those entities that surround the quester as family members, friends and others. This is an inherent part of the control mechanism for this particular inmate.

[7.9c] Question – disabling snares and traps

I feel that my sensitivity to the non-physical world is severely dulled. My hunch is that this is due to the special snares and tracking included in this skin suit. What can I do to disable these annoying snares? Are affirmations (in the next campaign, since I just finished a campaign at the end of January) a good enough remedy?
Questioner has various alterations to the non-physical skin-suit due to the nature of it being a <redacted> and part of the <redacted> when captured, and stripped of memory. 

This physical skin suit is not a typical general purpose skin-suit used by most inmates but rather a specially constructed attire that is used for those inmates that have a high propensity towards escape. There are many unique features in the non-physical suit attributes.

The questioner already has had multiple non-physical operations. Others are planned. Some cannot be implemented at this time. 

The questioner is expected to be patient and realize that the intel senses are working properly and its interpetations of events and situations are correct.

The questions is <redacted> and thus we will do everything in our power to ease the transition back to the <redacted>.

[7.9d] Question – clone?

Commander, you don’t know how overjoyed I was (and really surprised) that I am <redacted>. Well, you can read my thoughts so of course you know, but anyway…
.
But I initially dismissed that I must be from <redacted> because my current template isn’t that horrible. I’m not living in Afghanistan as a bacha bazi boy, for example.
.
So is it safe for me to know…am I a daughter or mother (or both)?
.
In the forum, MM revealed that 2 and 13/16 Domain members are getting plucked/freed, and in another message you had said that soldiers can clone their quanta.  So what about me?
.
So (ever since) I wondered about myself. Am I like the Domain soldiers?
.
Am I  the clone or the original?
.
Ever since I read the “Alien Interviews”, I had thought about how much I liked the Domain ethos and organization and wondered if it was possible for me to join full time.
.
But I never thought to ask until December 2021 (and got <redacted>–like 100 Xmases).
Questioner is <redacted> and thus has a <redacted> elemental segmented soul structure. 

This is not what many human skin-suits understand the soul of an IS-BE to be, as actually there are many types of constructs, and in The Domain we use specific pre-determined archetypes to establish social class membership and participation ability.

It is not only The Domain, but other societies do this as well, as well as numerous species that naturally segment for one reason or the other.

The questioner is multi-segmented with autonomous actuation at various points within the Prison Complex. This should not confuse the questioner as it is completely normal, and expected.

[7.9e] Question – Politics

I also have a strong affinity and attraction to politics and philosophy. You could say I LOVE politics. Were these subjects strongly related to what I used to do before my imprisonment?
Questioner has training and previous administrative functions requiring diplomacy and protocol. There is a natural affinity for these kinds of events and situations which is magnified by the intel-gathering "organ" that the questioner possesses.

Questioner had a role in interspecies communication regarding local inhabitants in the <redacted>. 

This was a political / administrative function as part of their posting at the <redacted>. Additionally, long before that particular capture event, the entity had successive training in other areas of inter-species interaction and liaison.

[7.9f] Question – Enemies

Are the IS-BEs that currently occupy the bodies of my biological family my enemies?
.
Now I understand why I always felt that they are not my people, and that they belong to another group of IS-BEs.
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Or are they parasites that signed some kind of “prison guard” agreement when they agreed to be biologically related to me in this birth template?
.
I ask this because I have been contemplating off and on about cutting them off permanently in the future once I get all my stuff and paperwork straightened out and completely transferred.
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One thing I have noticed in my biological family, I always felt that I am being “harvested” or “watched over”.
.
The harvesting part is pretty straightforward, since free labor was extracted out of me during my adolescence and young adulthood.
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My interactions with them, I believe, had always been mainly distractions and energy draining, which is why I suspect that they are actually a group of parasites. Their values are also almost completely opposed to mine.
.
They want you to be dependent so you can’t leave.
.
I’m not here to curse them or wish them ill, but if they are supposed to be my prison guards in this template then I need to know.
.
Keep in mind, my father made his money doing predatory lending and pawn shops (parasitic finance) and I was made to work in a check cashing place (another type of parasitic finance business).
.
I just need clarity on who they really are, so I can have full faith in any action I decide to take (nothing hurtful or offensive, but my intention is to sever all interactions in the future permanently–in the physical and non-physical world).
.
My bio father had admitted that he knew I always wanted to do or be something “great” or special”, but he just wanted me to be “normal”.
.
Obviously he admitted to his role in suppressing me, so already I feel like I would be the biggest idiot to even feel any positive emotion for someone who wanted me to be a sheep.  Also, I feel that any continued interaction with these people in the future will result in stolen energy from me. Am I being paranoid?
Those surrounding the questioner are not enemies. 

They are "fences" that are used to corral the questioner into certain behaviors, certain occupations, certain geographic regions, and certain elements fo control. 

The GP mantids advise that the questioner is considered to be one of the more doctile <redacted> and thus is permitted more freedom of movement than the fellow <redacted> that were captured with. 

This was facilitated by <redacted> who volunteered to enter the micro universe "Heaven" and recruit lost soul <redacted> for extraction.

That group of entities established the pre-birth world-line template (sic) that the questioner currently enjoys and utilizes.

However, due to the rules and restrictions inherent in the mantid prime directives, certain corralling elements had to be incorporated into the pre-birth world-line template. That is what the questioner is experiencing.

They have a role, that they are unaware of, that steers you in certain directions. 

Some of them do so as part of your recovery and eventual extraction. That was set up by the Domain volunteers located in the "Heaven" micro universe, while other do so as part of predetermined mantid prime directives. Their role then is to set you on a path of certain pain and discomfort to make the death sequence and reaturn back to the Heaven micro universe more appealing.

You cannot tell the difference, and neither can they. It is an explict effort of the undercover volunteers to make the corralling effort transparent ot the mantid primes so as to prevent an emergency recovery back to "Heaven" and probable entanglement and chaining towards more restrictive management.

Questioner to be advised that they are programmed in their behaviors and this is established upon your pre-birth world-line template (sic). 

You will find and discover advisement from your mantid as they are (fully on board) with The Domain in your extration. As well as the fact that you have a team / crew / operatives working with you on the non-physical, and that you possess skillsets of great power and ability that you have forgotten how to operate.

Have patience, you will be fully extracted upon your death. Just make sure to call for assistance and ask for our help. This is a requirement for all entities within the Prison Complex irrgardless of who they are or what their background is. This includes MM.

[7.9g] Question – Saving

My husband once said (but he forgot) that he just needed to be saved.
.
I feel that somehow, I made a promise to him that I was taking him to a better place (where I really come from), and that’s why he’s in my current template. I feel like I said this before we both entered this world line, and I feel strongly about this (no dreams, or anything, but very strong emotions in me when I think about it).
Questioner is permitted to have projects, pets, friends, and hobbies while existing as an inmate skin-suit. There are no rule violations in this matter.

[7.10] Question – Mechanism

What is the mechanism or procedure when we die? Will we automatically know what to do, or what will happen? How do we handle our death when we exit the physical body?

One the entity dies, and gets their bearings on where they are and what is going on, they must direct their thoughts to [1] calling to The Domain and [2] yelling for help and "pick up". Do not stop until we arrive. Do not get distracted, and do not be led astray by any events or memories.

We will NOT do anything unless explicit permission is asked. That is our firm rule. This is true even though we many have elements and assets surrounding the entity at that particular time.

We will then come and assist in recovery to the next steps for that particular individual.

MM is instructed to place a photo here.

Rescue.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Domain index” over here…

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China and the fiasco in the Ukraine

This is a topical subject. It is something that is going on right now, and the outcome is not determined. The situation is indeterminate.

It is “funny” how the evil regime / military empire operates. Five months of “A war in Taiwan, A war in Taiwan”, followed by three months of non-stop “A war in the Ukraine, A war in the Ukraine”. China didn’t do anything. Russia didn’t do anything. But the facts don’t matter.

Today, the Ukraine started to attack it’s “breakaway” Eastern provinces. The United States fully expects that Russia will get involved, and they are so Hell Bent that Russia would do something, that they can then slap their “sanctions” on Russia and force Germany to abandon the Nordstrom Gas pipeline from Russia.

Why am I so confident that this is what the plan is?

Well, the CIA mouthpiece said so…

Yeah. So this one little article says…

  • USA LP gas exports will increase in 2022…
  • Due to the Northstrom gas pipeline from Russia stopped…
  • Because Germany will adhere to American sanctions…
  • Against Russia …
  • Because Russia invaded the Ukraine.
  • And that Russia will invade because TODAY the Ukranians started to kill their separatist groups in the LDR.

Except that…

  • Russia is not budging. It’s not making any military moves.
  • The Ukrainians must sort out their own issues.
  • Thus, there’s no excuse to sanction Russia.

And thus the entire American plot to seize control of energy into Europe has (so far) failed. I’m sure that they have a “trick or two up their sleeve“, so you cannot say that the situation is fixed in place. It isn’t. The United States evil empire is pushing and pushing and pushing for control of the world. It is flailing and failing everywhere. But it’s still in the ring fighting.

But…

Well…

The USA is mighty strange, don’t you know?

I am not the only one who believes this…

From UNZ

Just after I published my first long article on the likely origins of the Covid outbreak in April 2020, our alternative media website was suddenly deplatformed, being banned from Facebook and with all our pages completely deranked by Google. For almost a decade, my article The Myth of Hispanic Crime had regularly been ranked #2 of some 200 million Google search results on that topic, but it now suddenly disappeared from the public discussion, a development that deeply rankled me.

Being blocked by the two primary gatekeepers of the global Internet has obviously had a serious impact upon our ability to reach potential readers, especially new ones. Nonetheless, our articles do still occasionally strike a spark and go viral, racking up many tens of thousands of pageviews, an encouraging situation. But the massive current media propaganda-bubble promoting an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, which seems to be a ridiculous hoax, has apparently shifted that landscape, creating a huge demand for contrary perspectives.

Last weekend I published Mike Whitney’s piece arguing that the motive behind the sudden war-hysteria was actually to prevent the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, which would have fostered their mutually-beneficial economic cooperation. Such peaceful Eurasian integration might be viewed as a major geopolitical threat by some American strategists, who thereby provoked the sudden war-scare.

The Ukrainian crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine. It’s about Germany and, in particular, a pipeline that connects Germany to Russia called Nord Stream 2. 

Washington sees the pipeline as a threat to its primacy in Europe and has tried to sabotage the project at every turn. 

Even so, Nord Stream has pushed ahead and is now fully-operational and ready-to-go. 

Once German regulators provide the final certification, the gas deliveries will begin. 

German homeowners and businesses will have a reliable source of clean and inexpensive energy while Russia will see a significant boost to their gas revenues. 

It’s a win-win situation for both parties.

The US Foreign Policy establishment is not happy about these developments. 

They don’t want Germany to become more dependent on Russian gas because commerce builds trust and trust leads to the expansion of trade. 

As relations grow warmer, more trade barriers are lifted, regulations are eased, travel and tourism increase, and a new security architecture evolves. 

In a world where Germany and Russia are friends and trading partners, there is no need for US military bases, no need for expensive US-made weapons and missile systems, and no need for NATO. 

There’s also no need to transact energy deals in US Dollars or to stockpile US Treasuries to balance accounts. 

Transactions between business partners can be conducted in their own currencies which is bound to precipitate a sharp decline in the value of the dollar and a dramatic shift in economic power. 

This is why the Biden administration opposes Nord Stream. 

It’s not just a pipeline, it’s a window into the future; a future in which Europe and Asia are drawn closer together into a massive free trade zone that increases their mutual power and prosperity while leaving the US on the outside looking in. 

Warmer relations between Germany and Russia signal an end to the “unipolar” world order the US has overseen for the last 75 years. 

A German-Russo alliance threatens to hasten the decline of the Superpower that is presently inching closer to the abyss. 

This is why Washington is determined to do everything it can to sabotage Nord Stream and keep Germany within its orbit. It’s a matter of survival

Strange American actions

It seems so straight forward, right?

Not so fast.

  • Biden cancelled the US pipeline his first week in office.
  • Now he’s cancelled the Israeli pipeline.
  • But he approved the Russia pipeline, through the Ukraine (no less).

So what the heck is actually going on?

From the American Energy Alliance

Biden Abandons Israeli Pipeline In Favor Of Russian Gas Via Ukraine

President Biden is withdrawing U.S. support for the EastMed pipeline that would bring natural gas from Israel to the European continent.

Europe is currently in an energy crisis with record prices for natural gas and electricity, potential rolling blackouts, low supplies of natural gas, millions of citizens in energy poverty and increasing coal consumption, which the continent has wanted to end.

Increasing reliance on intermittent renewable sources that have not produced to their potential has put pressure on other sources the Europeans have discouraged.

The result of Biden’s most recent decision is making Europe even more dependent on Russia for its natural gas.

Currently, Western Europe gets over 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia via a pipeline that runs through Ukraine.

Russia wants to activate its Nord Stream 2 pipeline that runs under the Baltic so that it can avoid the current route through Ukraine.

Biden gave Russia the go-ahead in July 2021 for the continued construction of Nord Stream 2, which Russia predicted could go on-line by the end of the year.  It is now completed.

Rather than helping an ally, Biden is helping Russia dominate Europe’s energy system and gain economic strength in doing so.

The only explanation that Biden’s administration has given to withdrawing support is: “Washington’s interest is now switching to renewable energy sources.”

While the White House is using its dogged support for the switch to renewable energy to justify its decision, the European Commission drafted legal text that pronounces natural gas and nuclear power as “transitional” green energy sources to be used to bridge countries away from coal toward technologies like wind and solar.

EastMed Gas Pipeline

The EastMed Gas pipeline is a 1,180-mile undersea pipeline project from Israel to southern Europe, set to be completed by 2025, which, when completed will ease Europe’s dependence on Russia and Turkey, which serves as a hub for oil and natural gas.

The pipeline will reach depths of 3 kilometers, and have a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per year.

Construction of the pipeline is expected to cost approximately €6 billion ($6.86 billion).

The pipeline is being developed by IGI Poseidon S.A., a 50-50 joint venture between the Greek gas utility DEPA and the Italian gas utility Edison.

The EastMed Pipeline accord was signed in Athens by the leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel on January 2, 2020.

Biden’s Political Decision

Biden is not only catering to Russia regarding the EastMed pipeline decision but also to Turkey, who is offended that it was left out of the EastMed pipeline accord.

Turkey believes that it should be part of the pipeline project amid claims over natural gas in the east Mediterranean.

Turkish president Erdogan declared that any future eastern Mediterranean “gas project must include Turkey.

This business cannot be done without Turkey. Because if [gas] is to be transferred to Europe from here, it will only happen through Turkey.”

According to an expert, the Biden administration is “attributing huge significance to Turkey,” and its future after Erdogan.

Biden’s Inconsistencies

MedEast is the second major pipeline that the Biden administration has put a damper on: the first being the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring oil from Canada and North Dakota to the Gulf States.

Canadian oil is heavy oil needed for U.S. refineries that retooled decades ago when U.S. light oil production was declining.

Keystone XL would also provide more oil to the United States from an ally rather than being dependent on OPEC and Russia for oil.

For several months since the pandemic began, Russia was the number 2 supplier of oil to the United States, competing with Mexico for that distinction.

When Biden blocked the Keystone XL pipeline by canceling its Presidential permit, he blocked a project that went over and above existing standards to address issues such as carbon emissions, safety standards, and cooperation with indigenous people impacted by the pipeline.

Biden’s Keystone XL and MedEast pronouncements both overturn decisions made by President Trump.

When Joe Biden agreed to set aside U.S. objections to the controversial Russian undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline, he reversed former President Trump’s policy of opposing the project due to security concerns.

The 760-mile Baltic Sea pipeline allows direct Russian natural gas supply to Germany and other western European countries and allows Russia to dominate the European energy market, making Putin a power player in continental Europe, where Russia already supplies over 40 percent of its natural gas.

Conclusion

President Biden continues to overturn decisions made by President Trump regarding energy policy.

In the most recent case, he has withdrawn U.S. support for the EastMed gas pipeline project, which would transport natural gas from Israel to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea when completed in 2025.

The project would remove some of the continent’s dependency on Russia for natural gas supplies that Russia has used as a geopolitical tool at times in the past. Biden’s announced reasoning is that the focus in Washington is now on renewable energy, despite the European Commission seeing the necessity to allow natural gas to be deemed a “transitional green energy source”.

Biden has shown huge inconsistency on his pipeline decisions, with one major exception—they all overturn decisions made by President Trump.

What’s going on

It appears that Geo-political concerns and domestic green energy concerns are at odds. Alliances are at odds, and there are competing interests all backed by powerful corportations and individuals with competing interests. Thus making the United States a schizophrenic entity.

Oh, Great! A schizophrenic bully with the largest arsenal of nuclear and bioweapons in the world. What could go wrong?

It seems, to me at least, that the United States is desparately trying to control Europe, and Israel by energy. If you control access to energy, you can control them, and by dishing out access in measured doses, you can use them as pawns to do your bidding.

And that is what I think is going on.

An Evil Empire

Though it does seem rather mish-mash.  Does the hand on the left know what the hand on the right is doing?

Do you want to know why the rest of the world calls it an evil empire?

The big fear right now is that sanctions against Russia will be ineffective. You slap sanctions on Russia and they will not work. Russia is pretty much autonomus.

So what are the American / UK “experts” saying?

Check out this horror…

Argument
An expert's point of view on a current event.

If Russia Invades Ukraine, Sanction China

Putin has found an economic lifeline in Beijing that only Washington can destroy.

By , a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies.
.

Faced with the threat of further Western sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been seeking shelter in China.

On Feb. 4, the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a new strategic partnership between their two countries.

A joint statement described the Chinese-Russian relationship as a “friendship” with “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation.”

Putin expressed support for China’s opposition to Taiwanese independence, and Xi seconded Russia’s demand that NATO end its eastward expansion.

They also unveiled plans for broader economic cooperation, particularly in the oil and gas sectors.

The timing is no coincidence: At least in the short term, strengthened Chinese-Russian ties provide Putin an opportunity to lessen the blow from potential Western sanctions.

This puts the United States in a serious bind.

If Washington expects to convey a credible deterrent against a Russian invasion of Ukraine using financial and economic sanctions, it will need to signal its resolve to impose secondary sanctions against China in the same breath.

The problem is that the United Kingdom and the European Union, key U.S. allies, do not have the same legal or regulatory frameworks to impose secondary sanctions against Chinese banks or state-owned enterprises.

U.S. secondary sanctions, which target a third-party entity or country for conducting business with the primary subject of sanctions, rely on broad interpretations of jurisdiction.

To put it nicely; a very broad and liberal interpetation of the law; or to put it better; to make up the rules as you see fit. -MM

Most countries adopt some form of a territorial or nationality standard, meaning that its national borders define its jurisdictional reach.

The United States, however, considers its citizens, companies, and property as falling under its jurisdiction even if located abroad.

The United States considers the world to be it's territory. Not its borders.  -MM

Because the U.K. and EU lack this framework to apply secondary sanctions, it leaves Washington alone to flex its extraterritorial muscle against China.

And though the United States is unlikely to suffer any significant domestic economic blowback from imposing broad financial and economic sanctions against Russia, it is a different story with China.


At a Feb. 7 press conference following his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was coordinating “a strong package of sanctions that are going to clearly demonstrate international resolve and impose swift and severe consequences if Russia violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity.”

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a key architect of the U.S. sanctions regime against Iran, is also working on a bipartisan bill that would apply what he described as the “mother of all sanctions” on Russia.

There are still significant disagreements in Washington on when to apply sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany.

Well, you must realize that this is a project between Russia and Germany. The USA is not involved in it in any way, shape or means. -MM

The pipeline is owned by the Russian state-backed energy corporation Gazprom and has become a focal point among NATO allies because of its role in increasing Germany’s energy dependence on Russia.

Democrats, including Menendez and Biden, prefer to wait for Russia to invade Ukraine before putting sanctions in place, while Republicans are in favor of imposing sanctions on the pipeline immediately.

Republicans want to sanction Russia without reason. The Democrats are waiting for an excuse. -MM

Nevertheless, Menendez’s proposed legislation is sweeping and includes options to target Russia’s energy and finance sectors as well as key Russian government officials and even to boot Russia from SWIFT, the global financial messaging system that connects banks around the world.

The pieces for a broader, multilateral approach to sanctions are finally coming together.

This should scare Putin.

Responding to criticism that Germany was not doing enough to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, Scholz provided reassurances during his visit to Washington that Berlin is committed to imposing costs on Russia if it invades Ukraine.

It remains to be seen, however, whether that includes ditching Nord Stream 2.

That is the plan. Do not fool yourselves. -MM

Although Scholz has been vague about the pipeline’s fate if push comes to shove, he did note that Germany was prepared to take “all necessary steps” in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, noting the need for strategic ambiguity to head off an attempt by Russia to preemptively fortify itself against Western sanctions.

European leaders are fearful that an all-out barrage of sanctions against Russia could result in severe economic pain for their own economies.

Sanctions against Russia, whether with Russia alone or with China, will REALLY harm the EU. But the insane psychopaths in Washington DC do not care. -MM

Unlike the United States, many large European banks have close ties to Russia.

Europe’s energy sector is particularly at risk—relying on Russia for more than 40 percent of its imported natural gas.

The United States is trying to prevent a potential energy crisis in Europe should Putin weaponize Russia’s oil and gas exports. Amid already rising energy prices, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been working to assure European leaders that the Biden administration is committed to easing “any disruptions to Europe’s energy supply.”

And so they believe him? -MM

Specifically, he pointed to discussions with governments and major global suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to shore up supply.

The United States has ramped up its LNG exports to Europe as an alternative to Russian gas.

As of January, some 75 percent of U.S. LNG exports were bound for Europe. Last year, that figure stood at only 23 percent.

Meanwhile, this month, Putin unveiled his new oil and gas deal with China, worth more than $117 billion.

The terms of the 30-year contract call for Russia to supply an additional 10 billion cubic meters of gas to China per year via a new pipeline.

The implication is that deepening economic cooperation with China would help Russia absorb some of the shock if the West did impose severe sanctions against its banking and energy sectors. Russia is one of China’s largest oil and gas suppliers.

Russia is nearly and firmly isolated and sanctions of any types will not really affect it. -MM

But although these deepening economic ties might dampen the blow of U.S. sanctions, they are not completely out of reach of secondary U.S. sanctions.


To ensure its threats of sanctions remain credible, Washington needs to pressure Putin’s emerging economic lifelines by signaling that it is prepared to go beyond its standard sanctions package to impose secondary sanctions against Chinese banks and state-owned enterprises if Russia invades Ukraine.

There is precedent for such a move, but times have changed. China has become wise to the reach of U.S. extraterritorial sanctions and developed its own legal frameworks to push back.

In July 2012, the U.S. Treasury Department levied secondary sanctions against China’s Bank of Kunlun for knowingly facilitating transactions on behalf of designated Iranian banks.

This designation caught many experts and industry insiders by surprise, as it was an unprecedented escalation in the use of extraterritorial sanctions against a third party.

Under international UN laws, this action is ILLEGAL. Trust me, the Chinese will not forgive and forget. -MM

A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson chided the United States for “invoking its domestic laws to impose sanctions against the Chinese financial institution” and urged the United States to reverse the sanctions.

The argument is valid. Chinese businesses, citizens, and entities do not full under United States law. Further, neither does their trading partners. -MM

While the designation ruffled Beijing, the two countries avoided any substantial political or economic fallout, with China opting to isolate the small bank from broader financial markets.

Later, in 2017, the United States imposed a $1.19 billion fine against another Chinese entity for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran: China’s largest telecommunications company, ZTE.

In addition to paying the fine, ZTE would also be required to develop internal policies to avoid future sanctions violations and undergo a corporate restructuring, according to a settlement reached with company.

The company settled out of court, even though the pressure was illegally applied. -MM

To force ZTE to comply with the settlement terms, the U.S. Commerce Department threatened to place the company on its Entity List—effectively shutting the company out of U.S. markets.

When ZTE did violate the terms of its settlement, though, the Trump administration opted to issue a waiver despite objections from senior advisors, thereby tossing the company a lifeline and preventing it from going under.

Senior officials means John Bolton and Mike Pompeo. -MM

Although there are differing theories as to why then-President Donald Trump reversed the designation—whether for personal political gain or to entice China to remain engaged in trade negotiations—the cases show the reach of U.S. extraterritorial sanctions policy.

The U.S. dollar accounts for nearly 60 percent of global foreign currency reserves—and the Chinese renminbi does not.

That is true for NOW. And the Chinese realize that. But, as I have reported elsewhere, one day they are going to flick a switch and suddenly a staged withdrawl from the USD will occur and the USD will collapse in value. Like I said, the Chinese do not forget. -MM

China, however, has started to push back against foreign extraterritorial sanctions.

Last year, the country established an anti-sanctions law—similar to the EU’s “blocking statute,” which attempts to curb the extraterritorial application of third-party sanctions by prohibiting compliance with extraterritorial laws.

China’s law notes that the country explicitly opposes “hegemonism and power politics” and “opposes any country’s interference in China’s internal affairs under any pretext and by any means,” giving authorities broad powers to impose penalties against Chinese businesses that adhere to U.S. sanctions policies.

These penalties could include fines and even confiscation of assets.

The Chinese do not play. They could single handly destory the American automotive industry by sanctioning all of their factories inside of China and nationalizing them. Flick of a switch. -MM

Many see the law as putting multinational banks in a quagmire: caught in a legal limbo between violating U.S. sanctions and being held liable for adhering to them.

Large multinational banks comply with U.S. sanctions due to the hegemony of the U.S. dollar in the global financial system.

But that's the only reason. -MM

In 2014, for example, U.S. authorities levied a record $9 billion fine against the French bank BNP Paribas for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, among others.

Although China has yet to use its new anti-sanctions laws against U.S. interests, the opportunity will undoubtedly arise if Washington aims secondary sanctions at China.

In this case, banks may be forced to choose between U.S. fines for violating sanctions and Chinese fines for adhering to them.

So, if Washington is going to impose secondary sanctions against Chinese institutions, it must be prepared for retaliation.

In addition to the potential for putting scores of multinational entities in legal limbo, perhaps even forcing them to choose sides, more than $615 billion worth of bilateral trade will also be put in jeopardy. (China accounts for nearly 19 percent of all U.S. imports.)

By VALUE. Not by volume. 

90 - 95% of all medicines come from CHina. Are you ready to live without aspirin or antibiotics? How do you think your parents and grandparents will do when their blood pressure medicine and heart medicine is no longer available? -MM

Thus far, there have been no indications that Washington is considering specific secondary sanctions against China, beyond mere posturing.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price recently told reporters: “We have an array of tools that we can deploy if we see foreign companies, including those in China, doing their best to backfill U.S. export control actions, to evade them, to get around them.”

Deploying these tools against China will have repercussions for U.S. businesses and economic interests—a burden Washington has thus far not had to grapple with and has instead asked its European allies to bear.

Nonetheless, the United States must be prepared to cut off all avenues for Russia to escape Western sanctions.

This includes preparing to wield secondary sanctions against Chinese institutions as well as working to limit blowback to U.S. interests.

The simple truth is that the U.S. dollar accounts for nearly 60 percent of global foreign currency reserves—and the Chinese renminbi does not. That is a big stick to wield.

So what is this “expert” saying?

Well, the USA has its tenticles in just about every country. They are all in debt to the USA.

That gives the United States power.

Just like in prison. If you owe another inmate something, you must pay it back of become indentured. This technique has been used with great effect by the United States in controlling the world.

If the USA sanctions China, the nations will be forced to choose between [1] China or [2] their debt owed to the United States.

Of course, he argues, they would choose the United States over the “Worlds factory”. Right?

Ah.

Don’t be so sure.

The USA is dependent upon China for everything. And what it does not get directly out of China, it gets from countries that are / do.

  • 90% of medicines come from China. What happens when there are no antibiodics? What about heart medicine? Pain killers?
  • 99% of computers come from China. This includes monitors, IC chips (don’t let the Korean / Taiwan medi fool you otherwise), and all preferials.
  • 80% of the world cellphones and much of their inner workings come from China.
  • 95% of all household items, goods, and appliances come from China.
  • 95% of automotive parts come from China. It doesn’t matter what car you are driving. All the spare parts are made in China.

Sanctioning China would be the most stupid blunder, of all the many stupid blunders to choose from, in all of history.

So let’s talk about China.

Now, China is really not like anyone in the “West” thinks. It’s really something different, and as time moves forward, it looks more and more like a sompletely different society that comes from another galaxy.

Let’s start with a few girls.

Chinese girl in a gym

Take a look at the screens on the wall behind her. Yes, this is normal. You can watch media while you exerise and your exercise stats are projected onto the screens as you exercise.

video

No wonder that the Chinese women are healthy, thin and free of ugly tattoos.

You know, I come from the United States.

Seriously, today, the ideas of beauty in the United States are different than from that inside of China. Darker skin, chubbier and shorter build, bigger asses, and tattoo decorations make for an attractive American woman…

An American beauty.

…or so I have been told.

Personally, I like all women. Short, tall, robust, cute, athletic, big and small. But the ones that I favor all are [1] great talkers with [2] interesting thoughts and opinions, a [3] strong personality, and [4] great personal confidence and a [5] real pride in their actions and apperance.

Which is why, perhaps, I love China so much.

Robust Chinese girl in brown

I do admire a fine “robust” woman. That’s me, and I don’t expect anyone to share my tastes. Here we have a fine woman. This gal is a real “head turner”, and I find her very aluring. Most especially in this dress.

video

Houses are for living in

Here’s a clip from the violent anti-China “news” network FOX. They are so very anti-China that they have to preface this report with a disclaimer that they are going to say something positive about China, and that people should not think bad about them for doing so.

The segment is spot on. And yes, China is doing the right thing. Don’t you know.

video

A very casual Chinese girl

Women do not realize just how attractive they are when they are calm, comfortable and confident. Look at the expression on this woman. See the confidence? Man, oh man. What a sexy girl.

video

Chinese girls having fun at a bar

This is what it is like. Here you see a typical after dinner drinks with the girls and some dice game, and all that. Very typical China.

video

Chinese clothing model showing off shorts

She’s one of my favorites.

video

Chinese model with nice slacks

Here she is with the tan slacks. I do like her boobie movement, as well as the lines on the slacks. They look nice and trip and very comfortable.

video

A Traditional Chinese girl

In many of the upper-class Business KTVs the girls are expected to buy their display uniforms. Many of which are traditional such as what this woman is wearing.

video

Chinese girl in cute blue

There’s no question about this. She is a stunner. Actually, I really love her neck and shoulders. I almost want to get a pencil and a sketch pad and start sketching it out with a light orange wash and some white inking overlay.

video

Chinese girl in the front yard

This video shows the front common area / yard in front of the housing complex individual buildings. Many areas a paved like this, while others are manicured trees, shrubs and flowers.

video

Don’t step on a crack Chinese girl

I used to do this when I was in elementry school. I’m glad that the action did not die off and is kept alive inside of rural China.

video

No movie jitter

Note how the Huawei camera negates the handheld jitter while jogging and keeps the face and eyes absolutely centered throughout the video. Pretty cool technology.

video

White fashion sweater

In the cities, one of the fashion items is to wear a light topper sweater that fits over the tops of the boobies so that when you walk it accentuates the jiggle movement of the breasts. Personally I like it, but it does look a little bit strange to my older gentlemen sensibilities. Check out the style…

video

The Fiasco in the Ukraine

Listen to what the Russians say…

Russian FM site inaccessible, hacked or truly overwhelmed by the fact that the reply to the US reply has been published? In any case Cassad has it in Russian.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/7446905.html

Posted by: Paco | Feb 17 2022 17:27 utc | 82
*********************************************
Yandex translation:
*********************************************

February 17, 17:46

The Russian Foreign Ministry has published a written response to the American written response to Russian claims on security guarantees in Europe.

Response to response

On February 17, 2022, US Ambassador John Sullivan, invited to the Russian Foreign Ministry, was given the following reaction to the previously received American response on the Russian draft treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on security guarantees.

TASS publishes the full text of the statement.

General characteristics

We state that the American side did not give a constructive response to the basic elements of the draft security guarantees agreement prepared by the Russian side with the United States.

We are talking about [1] the rejection of further expansion of NATO, [2] the withdrawal of the “Bucharest formula” that [3] “Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO”, and [4] the refusal to create military bases on the territory of states that were previously part of the USSR and are not members of the alliance, including [5] the use of their infrastructure for conducting any military activity, as well as [6] the return of military capabilities, including shock, and NATO infrastructure to the state of 1997, when the Founding Act of Russia — NATO was signed.

These provisions are of fundamental importance for the Russian Federation.

The package nature of Russian proposals has been ignored, from which “convenient” topics have been deliberately chosen, which, in turn, are “twisted” in the direction of creating advantages for the United States and its allies.

This approach, as well as the accompanying rhetoric of American officials, reinforces reasonable doubts that Washington is really committed to correcting the situation in the field of Euro-security.

The growing military activity of the United States and NATO directly at the Russian borders is alarming, while our “red lines” and fundamental security interests, as well as Russia’s sovereign right to protect them, continue to be ignored.

Ultimatum demands to withdraw troops from certain areas on Russian territory, accompanied by threats of tougher sanctions, are unacceptable and undermine the prospects of reaching real agreements.

In the absence of the readiness of the American side to agree on firm, legally binding guarantees of ensuring our security by the United States and its allies, Russia will be forced to respond, including through the implementation of military-technical measures.

In Ukraine

There is no “Russian invasion” of Ukraine, as the United States and its allies have been officially declaring since last autumn, and there are no plans, therefore, statements about “Russia’s responsibility for escalation” cannot be regarded otherwise than as an attempt to exert pressure and devalue Russia’s proposals for security guarantees.

The mention in this context of Russian obligations under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 has nothing to do with the internal Ukrainian conflict and does not apply to the circumstances resulting from the actions of internal factors there.

The loss of territorial integrity by the Ukrainian state is the result of the processes that took place inside it.

The accusations of Russia contained in the American response that it “occupied Crimea” also do not stand up to any criticism.

In 2014, a coup took place in Kiev, the initiators of which, with the support of the United States and their allies, set a course for the creation of a nationalist state that infringes on the rights of the Russian and Russian-speaking population, as well as other “non-titular” ethnic groups.

It is not surprising that in such a situation, Crimeans voted for reunification with Russia.

The decision of the people of Crimea and Sevastopol to return to the Russian Federation was made by free expression of will in the exercise of the right to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter.

Force or threat of force was not used. The question of Crimea’s ownership is closed.

If Ukraine is accepted into NATO, there will be a real threat that the regime in Kiev will try to “return” Crimea by force, dragging the United States and its allies, in accordance with Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, into a direct armed conflict with Russia with all the ensuing consequences.

The thesis repeated in the US response that Russia allegedly “ignited the conflict in the Donbas” is untenable.

Its reasons are purely intra-Ukrainian in nature.

The settlement is possible only through the implementation of the Minsk agreements and a set of measures, the priority and responsibility for the implementation of which are clearly spelled out and unanimously confirmed by UN Security Council resolution 2202, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

In paragraph 2 of this resolution, Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk are named as parties.

None of these documents mention Russia’s responsibility for the conflict in the Donbas.

Russia, together with the OSCE, plays the role of mediator in the main negotiating format – the contact group – and together with Berlin and Paris – in the “Normandy format”, which formulates recommendations to the parties to the conflict and monitors their implementation.

To de-escalate the situation around Ukraine, it is fundamentally important to take the following steps.

This is forcing Kiev to implement a set of measures, stopping the supply of weapons to Ukraine, withdrawing all Western advisers and instructors from there, the refusal of NATO countries from any joint exercises with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the withdrawal of all foreign weapons previously supplied to Kiev outside Ukrainian territory.

In this regard, we draw attention to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a press conference following talks in Moscow with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 7, 2022, stressed that we are open to dialogue and urge “to think about stable security conditions for everyone, equal for all participants in international life.”

Force configuration

We note that in their response to the Russian proposals, the United States insists that progress in improving the situation in the field of European security “can only be achieved in terms of de-escalation in relation to Russia’s threatening actions directed against Ukraine,” which, as we understand, implies the requirement to withdraw Russian troops from the borders of Ukraine.

At the same time, the United States is ready to talk only about “mutual obligations … to refrain from deploying permanent-based forces with combat missions on the territory of Ukraine” and “consider discussing the problem of conventional armed forces.”

For the rest, the American side remains silent about our proposals contained in paragraphs 2 of Article 4 and paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the draft bilateral treaty and declares that “the current configuration of the US and NATO forces is limited, proportional and fully complies with the obligations under the NATO-Russia Founding Act.”

We proceed from the fact that the deployment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on its territory does not and cannot affect the fundamental interests of the United States. We would like to remind you that there are no our forces on the territory of Ukraine.

At the same time, the United States and its allies were advancing their military infrastructure to the east, deploying contingents in the territories of new members.

They circumvented the limitations of the CFE Treaty and interpreted very loosely the provisions of the Russia—NATO Founding Act on the rejection of “additional permanent deployment of substantial combat forces.”

The situation that has developed as a result of these actions is unacceptable.

We insist on the withdrawal of all US armed forces and weapons stationed in CEE, SEE and the Baltic States.

We are convinced that there are quite enough national potentials in these zones.

We are ready to discuss this topic on the basis of art. 4 and 5 of the Russian draft agreement.

The principle of indivisibility of security

We did not see any evidence in the US response that the American side is fully committed to observing the immutable principle of indivisibility of security.

The general statements about the consideration of this postulate by the American side are in direct contradiction with Washington’s unwillingness to abandon a counterproductive and destabilizing course to create advantages for itself and its allies at the expense of Russia’s security interests.

This is precisely what is happening as a result of the unrestrained implementation by the North Atlantic Alliance, with the leading role of the United States, of the policy of unlimited geostrategic and military development of the post-Soviet space, including the territory of Ukraine, which is particularly sensitive for us.

All this is happening directly on the Russian borders.

Thus, our “red lines” and fundamental security interests are ignored, and Russia’s inalienable right to ensure them is rejected.

For us, of course, this is unacceptable.

Additionally, we remind you that this principle is enshrined in the [1]  preamble of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on [2] “Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms of 2011”, the [3] extension of which for five years [4] without any exceptions was [5] agreed by the parties in February last year, as well as [6] in a number of OSCE and Russia—[7] NATO basic documents adopted at the highest level: [8] in the preamble of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, [9] in the Charter of Paris for a New Europe of 1990, [10] the Founding Act of Russia — [11] NATO of 1997, [12] the Istanbul Charter for European Security of the OSCE of 1999, [13] the Rome Declaration of Russia-[14] NATO of 2002 and the Astana Declaration of the OSCE Summit of 2010.

We note that the response received mentions Washington’s commitment to the concept of indivisibility of security.

But in the text, it boils down to the right of states “to freely choose or change ways to ensure their security, including union treaties.”

This freedom is not absolute and is only half of the well-known formula fixed in the Charter of European Security.

Its second part requires that, when exercising this right, not “… strengthen one’s security at the expense of the security of other States.”

We cannot consider the letter received from NATO dated February 10, 2022 as a response to the message sent by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on January 28, 2022 to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on this issue.

We asked for an answer in a national capacity.

Conclusion

The United States is playing a very dangerous game, and using everything in its power to wrest control of the energy through Europe. The battlefield is the Ukraine, and they are sponsoring the entire fighting and trying and forcing the blame upon Russia.

Russia will not have any of this.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday endorsed Russia’s nuclear deterrent policy, which allows him to use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional strike targeting the nation’s critical government and military infrastructure.

By including a non-nuclear attack as a possible trigger for Russian nuclear retaliation, the document appears to send a warning signal to the United States. 

The new expanded wording reflects Russian concerns about the development of prospective weapons that could give Washington the capability to knock out key military assets and government facilities without resorting to atomic weapons.

In line with Russian military doctrine, the new document reaffirms that the country could use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack or an aggression involving conventional weapons that “threatens the very existence of the state.”

But the policy document now also offers a detailed description of situations that could trigger the use of nuclear weapons. They include the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies and an enemy attack with conventional weapons that threatens the country's existence.

In addition to that, the document now states that Russia could use its nuclear arsenals if it gets “reliable information” about the launch of ballistic missiles targeting its territory or its allies and also in the case of ”enemy impact on critically important government or military facilities of the Russian Federation, the incapacitation of which could result in the failure of retaliatory action of nuclear forces."

-Defense News

As a justification, the minions and toadies, and appratus inside the United States “news” are busily justifying their militaristic actions in order to gain popular and military advantage thought the region and now there are “experts” that are arguing that the United States seize the initative that this time, and take out both Russia and China at the same time.

China has warned the United States that it would “strike back” in response to any “reckless” actions, urging Washington to withdraw its recent passing of sanctions targeting people and entities tied to human rights abuses committed by Beijing.

-MSN

This is extraordinarily DANGEROUS.

All sorts of bad things can come of it. As I have stated earlier, of all the blunder-headed, stupid, ignorant, and dangerous foolhardy actions that the American dying empire could perform, this single action could be it’s worst.

But turhtfully, the “leadership” are so ignorant and stupid that they have no idea what the fuck they are doing nor dealing with.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings 3

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
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Part 6 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander February 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 6.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. 

Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

THis is part of the Q&A (on-going) effort where questions are provided to me, and then I present them, and then record and interpet the responses.

Personally, I think girls, cats, and food are far more interesting. But, that's me, don't you know.

[6.1] Question – Recycling

What is the difference between recyling in the Earth Prison Environment, and in the rest of the “Main Universe”?

IS-BE skin suits in the reality (bubble) universe undergo a process of swapping quantum consciousness densities between the reality (bubble) universe and the individual (spawned) bubble micro universes that are known as "Heaven". 

This process is faciated through a number of factors. This includes a lack of memories (amnesia), as well as a lack of support or guidance to direct the consciousness to other paths during translation out of the skin-suit and into the non-physical realms.

Without support, direction, or knowledge the ignorant will be convinced to enter into a recycling process. This process includes memory "erasure" in different forms. The most common is the complete memory erasure segment known as the "tunnel of light" but there are other processes. These other processes differ and act like an erasure (not really erasure, but more like suppression enabling access to selected memories while in "heaven") then reenter the assigned "Heaven" associated with the IS-BE physical body skin-suit.

The "tunnel of light" is the primary amnesia mechanism. It is not the only one. Depending on the consciousness of the given IS-BE and their particular composition (garbons, swales, associations, backgrounds and histories) there are other processes that are involved. 

Such as how DM uses LD to transport to the <garbled> planet of the "Old Empire". Such is how you entered <garbled, not redacted> and this enabled you to retain some minor thought snippets.

The "Lost Battalion" has been assigned for agressive memory erasure, chains, skin-suit snares, traps and alterations, and other binding efforts of a very complex nature that is beyond the understanding of this vehicle (myself MM) to understand.

This entire process within the physical reality is to shuttle and shuffle the IS-BE though a wash, and repeat cycling from "Heaven" to the general population in the "Physical Reality" and back again. It is a treadmill with no exit, only the promises of one. The key to this entire process working falls into two main catagories.

[1] Memory erasure.
[2] Prevention of independent action, or help upon translation out of the skin suit.

All Doman perrsonnel and agents (whether formal or informal) will be met upon translation as long as they call for our assistance. This must occur to obtain it. It is not automatic, and passive actions will not be beneficial to the entity. We will then help the entity avoid the memory erasure traps in all their many forms.

All this should be well understood by those who are participating alongside MM in this journey.

The "main" universe is something completely different. It operates differently and is structurally different.

Once the IS-BE occupies the "main" universe, there are no "Heavens" to cycle to and from. The "main reality" universe contains all elements that are present in both the physical reality and the various associative "Heavens".

Biological bodies are born, live and die in the "Main" universe similiar to that experienced within the Prison Complex. Except that there are no amnesia mechanisms. Instead the memories upon birth (of a living entity) are in the process of forming, and adapting to the "main" universe environments, so they have to learn and grow. But it is not as severe as in the "physical" reality universe.

So, living within the "main" universe is one much like a snake that sheds it's skin periodically. The snake still lives and retains all it's memories, but when it acquires a new skin there is a period of adapting to it, toughing it, and nurturing it. The memories do not disappear when it sheds the coarse body elements.

Life thus is not birth to death such as in the Prison Complex, but rather, live as a coarse entity, live as a finer entity, and then repeat as one desires. 

Thus you have a situation where there are coarse socities and civilizations that resemble the old empire that have large non-physical components that coexist within the same geographic confines.

This is further actuated by the fact that thoughts have a greater ability to modify and mitigate changes in the coarser elements of the society. It is a place where magic can actually work and operate. They coexist and intermingle.

In the "main" universe, the societies (depending on the culture and type) form long duration interpersonal relationships, friends and families that last for many, many generations. The individuals often just swap roles, but often keep their various positions if that is their preference. Thus that is one of the reasons why the "Old Empire" maintained a royal governance class that over time become very corrupted and impotent within their own individulistic cultural and society bubble.

Another way to look at what a life cycle resembles in the "Main" universe is to consider the washing machine. When the clothes are dirty and caked with the dust and smoke of work in the factories, the wife places it in the open top of the washing machine. She rubs on some Fels-Neptha on the dirty parts and let it run. Then when she is finished she drains the tub, and puts the clothes through the wringer where all the water is squeezed out, and then she places it in the basket to hang on the clothes line.

The clothes is like the IS-BE. Life in the "main" universe gets dirty and tiring, but the death translation is the washing cycle. The clothes remains intact and is ready for the next incarnation. And the consciousness remembers all.

Felines are the embodiment of how things work in the "main" universe.

[6.2a] Question – Crowley

I have a few questions for the commander the answers of which will help with a few articles i am working on:

Questions for the Commander;

The commander mentioned that Aleister Crowley was in contact with some Agents of the Old Empire. My suspicians had led me to a similar conclusions.

For reasons I won’t go into at this time, I have been led to believe that King Solomon was in fact a malevolent ET intelligence and that his spirit summoning magic was solely to prepare willing hosts for the eventual possession by other non physical intelligences.

Solomon was said to have “imprisoned” 72 consciousnesses in a brazen vessel which he threw into a lake.

It is well documented that Crowley was in contact with these 72 Goetic spirits, some of which have links to the Sumerian Annunaki (example Astaroth being Ishtar).

From my research, it would seem members of this group of 72 have been reaching out to certain people and trying to explain similar things in regards to the amnesia etc.

From everything the Commander has said about the Old Empire utilising magic, and what Airl said about the Domain being mistaken as the Annunaki, it seems to me that Solomon was an Old Empire Agent and that the 72 were Domain personnel.

So my question is, [1] was Solomon Old Empire and [2] are the Goetia Domain, or similar group opposed to the Old Empire’s regime?

This is a very large topic.

Question 6.2a part [1] Was Solomon a member of the Old Empire?

The Goetic Spirits are IS-BE entities that are powerful, and are specifically imprisoned in a special holding micro universe. This is the rough equivalent of "The Hole" in contemporaneous earth-side prisons. They have proven to be immune from the same kinds of systems that effectively imprison most other IS-BE entities.

There are more than 72 entities in the micro universe (that Crowley referred to).

The belief that Solomon was an "Old Empire" agent is strongly inferred, but is not confirmed. The creation of a micro universe within the Prison Complex is a formidable task for someone who does not know or understand how the "reality" universe operates, thus it is entirely plausable that Solomon was a major architect of more than just the special micro holding universe, but rather a key architect of the entire complex.

Some of the Domain who are members of the "Lost Battalion" are imprisoned in the special holding micro universe. These are very capable entities.

This micro universe still exists and still operates. We have not been able (at this date and time) to extract any entities from it.

Question 6.2a part [2] are the Goetia Domain, or similar group opposed to the Old Empire’s regime?

There are many groups, societies, entities, and organizaitons that have been opposed to the "Old Empire". Many consist of peoples, societies, structures, and other forms that have been eviscerated when the "Old Empire" took over their communities.

One must be aware that the "Old Empire" had more enemies than friends.

There are complete communities that represent sections or portions of absorbed civilizations that harbor an intense dislike of the "Old Empire" and anything associated with it. They, in many cases, experienced very nasty wars, to include thermonuclar devistation and mass enslavment. In many cases these have gone into hiding; gone underground, and surface to monitor and conduct all matter of non-physical harassment. 

What the questioner refers to as the "Goetia Domain" is not what is commonly assumed (through this entity [MM here] knowledge and understanding [which might be completely erronous]), but rather is representative of something more diffuse and greater than a singular group tied together with physical associations.

As discussed previously (this refers to a comm channel that I opened and a set of personal questions directed to a questioner who questioned if they were a member of the "Lost Battalion") there are certain elements that quantum IS-BE consciousnesses can envelope and migrate. This includes partitioning of attributes, garbons, swales, and personalities. The soldiers of the Domain use these techniques to communicate and perform structured evasive activity and also enable custom skill sets on a as needed basis. The groups (again, the "Goetia Domain") utilize some of these abilities to conduct surreptitious activities for their benefit and that makes them especially elusive.

Like the questioners core (primary) organization, along with SD, these activities that are performed are conducted in advanced manenrs using techniques that you (myself; MM) cannot comprehend. As they are beyond your limited rendering of understanding.

One can recognize that while their activities are often enshrouded, their intentions are clear and supportive of the nullification of the Prison COmplex.

[6.2b] Question – Prep advice

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, and I realise I am in the unique position of being one of the only ones within this prison system of having memory of the reincarnation process, and the electro shock torture one undergoes to induce the amnesia.

I am confident, due to my LD undertakings, that I will be able to resist much of what the OE may throw at me should i go back through the process.

It is for this reason I am planning to deliberately re enter the reincarnation trap at the time of my death to try and gain more intelligence for the Domain and the EG.

I am wondering if there is anything in particular the Domain want me to try and target for recon/ deconstruction purposes, so I can better prepare myself during this life (through meditation etc) to “remember” those targets when the time comes. The Domain have my permission to monitor me, during the process, assuming it is even possible.

The questioner is already being under monitoring, and has a team of Domain specialists working alongside him.

Due to the liasion complications, anything that the questioner proceds with must be preapproved by his superiors. We (The Domain) are a hobby / interest / side-venture / important element / side-show in regards to his core tasks, and we should always be considered of secondary importance.

We advise the questioner obtain permissions first before proceeding in this direction as it could very well "go South" and not turn out well for the questioner. And also due to his alignment with the greater force of SD, he must clear everythign with that entity first as they are a paired ensemble (frequency not music). 

If permission is obtained, and all elements are in agreement, then we would be happy to open up (a new binder) project in this regard. The questioner would know whether or not the premission set / kit is provided and will will read the responses in the non-physical realms for compliance and "next steps".

We will then guide and nudge the next steps for easy unraveling and implementation by the questioner physical skin-suit activity generation process.

[6.3a] Question – Values ingrained in life

Greetings Domain Commander, I have two questions:

What values ​​ingrained in our current civilization should we banish or gradually come to a civilization that is more in tune with ISBEs and environmental creatures, as it seems the old empire still controls the directive.

Yes. the Prison Planet universe (reality universe) is a bubble spawned universe that resides within the "main" universe, and it contains many control mechanisms. These control mechanisms, and better yet, techiques (of control) are often at great variance with the desires and needs of the IS-BE entities so imprisoned.

It is set up intentionally to be this invironment to control those inmates inside of it.

As time (apparently) progresses or moves forward, we (the Domain) will continue to dissanble the systems in place. The Domain is not alone in this effort and other organizations are working to this end as well.

Additionally, all IS-BE consciousnesses must take the personal initative to acccept new behaviros and change the "rules of the game" so fostered in this "general population" within the Prison Complex. Enormous strides and advances have been accomplished in this great effort so far.

Core to this effort revolves around what you have questioned. You asked what values in the current civilization(s) should be banished or thwarted to enable the IS-BEs more atonomy and an ability to break free from the shackles that imprison them? And this is what the entire transformative effots (via MM here) is all about. 

While every civilization has it's advantages and disadvantages, we are currently working with the human civilizations on the Earth in regards to the changes regarding...

[1] Financial Transactions. (A love of money; greed.) the accumulation of which is without limit and the generation of artificial power tied to it. This must end.

[2] Community and society. Humans (in their manifestation as skin-suits) are never the less IS-BEs trapped in an artifical constuct. Freed from the body, most IS_BE's migrate toward other IS_BEs that they have achieved long duration bonds with. This manifests in a skin-suit society of community, and the "Olde Empire" control mechanism is one that fosters isolation, independence and control by fear. They way to break this control mechanism is through personal interaction with others.

[3] Participation with kindness and concern. MM refers to this as "Rufus behaviors". It's a direct participation with the society without expectation of reward or benefit.

[4] Emotional replacments. "Olde Empire" replacment swaps of emotion generation mechanisms have been geared towards the control of others. These are fear generation mechanisms used to repel, and vice generation mechanisms used to attract. The manipulation of these control mechansims must end. In the current earth, electromechanila radio frequency mechanisms are used to artifically induce these manipulative behaviors. The best way to regain control of this is to avoid those seductive systems all together.

[6.3b] Question – Our actions driven what?

Q2 Should your actions be driven more by the psychological mind or more by peaceful disobedience.

The drivers for action is an individual determative factor. It can only be determined by the IS-BE consciousness as it resides within it's own skin-suit and upon it's current template (sic). This is a fixed determinate.

The questioner is advised not to consider others in this issue. Only to consider itsef as an imprisoned entity within a fixed physical body. Actions are thus variant. They change on a daily basis, and one just simply cannot originate a "one size fits all" answer or solution to rapidly evolving situations.

By trusting on the internal "feelings" or (delta) changes in emotional makeup when confronted with a problem (or decisions process), the solutions will be superior. Reliance on the mind, which is an "Olde Empire" device is a mistake. It is used to control, and set the entity IS-BE firmly upon the pre-birth world-line template (sic).

A free roaming / ranging IS-BE entity is not controlled nor imprisoned by the physical mind, but instead uses it to process things. It's a tool, not a mechanism to recieve instructions.

Stop obeying the mind, rather tune in to your inner self for guidance.

Questioner is advised to contact his mantid and arrance a helpful audience to achieve these alterations / revisions.

Thank you for your answers, I feel almost since my childhood like a camouflaged jaguar who has taken too many naps. I hope alliances have been formed, we are divided. Thank you for your answers and your compation, I hope one day to thank you ISBE to ISBE.

[6.4] Question – Distance measurement

I came across this question on a thread which is entirely unrelated to the Domain thing, and thought it was a rather a good one. I thought i’d ask you given your credentials in astrophysics.

The question:

“Can someone explain it , simply. How can astrophysicists tell the difference between something that is 4 light years away(like 24 trillion miles or whatever it is) vs something that is 1 million light years away. Like after our solar system, how can any distance truly be measured? I don’t doubt them, I’m genuinely curious how they do it and wanna know in easy layman’s terms, if possible”

Think of human skin-suits as living inside a small glass fish-bowl. The only thing that they understand is what they can observe. 

Naturally, they have created different techniques and systems for the measurement of physical distances between objects that they observe. The scientific basis for these measurements are as sound and capable as is possible using the limitations of time and space as understood by the human skin-suits.

However, there are assumptions that are being used that are in error. 

[1] That the speed of light is constant and not variable. In the "main" universe, the speed of light can be variable and is a function of regional perception of the IS-BE entities within that particular cluster. Their presence, and particuliarly their mass alter the behavior of frequences, and one of those frequences is the visible light band.

[2] Non-stationary observer structures. The astrophysicists base their observations from what they observe. This is a point in a geographic region of physical space with is an isolated micro-universe that sits within a larger one. The "shell" of this universe is not hard like an egg, but rather more like a thick membrane. And like thick glass bends light, the membrane itself can alter the observation of light. As the surface of the membrane is not one hundred percent uniform, nor smooth, but rather undulating and curvy.

The answerer (MM here) can provide an insight in the methodology used by the astrophysicists. It is as valid as possible, but unfortunately provides a slightly / changed / alternative impression of science and the operation of physics within the main universe. The reality bubble universe has slightly different physical rules.

I have my assumptions but eager to here from the perspective of a professional in this field. Plus I know you are quite into talking about space, so figured it might give you a break from the Domain questions/ other stresses that undoubtedly surround you at the best of times. All good if you aren’t up for answering it if it requires too much technical speak.

[6.5] Question – How can I improve myself?

Hi, mm

m’y names IS <redacted>.   i’m a french IS be Indian in this incarnation but deracinated cause i dont speak my mother langage wich IS gudjrati because i grew up in France and m’y famille didn’t spoke me enough Indian anyway
i’m trying to survive to those political criminals and their pawns that runs the World and to expand m’y concsiousness i like to listen to your Q-A cause it’s resonate with me
i really appreciate the fact that you exist greatfull someone made me discrover you (Pam 2/3 r.a.n.d a french youtuber who does a wonderfull work in traduction and exopolitics consciouness!)
thanks you again for being you
sorry i go Black to Sts selfish nonesense and i Ask m’y question :
I’m affraid i’m the worst recrue ever and to be honnest that’s what i feel when i observe myself, i’m aware that i dont do my best i feel like i do not help a lot for the Lost bataillon so Can i have an advice to improve myself ?
I have the feeling my martial abilities are related to past lives and i would like to know if they know something about that or am i just a fearfull bastard full if New age craps on my head ? I wouldn’t be surprise,
if they know something please tell me .
Sorry for that selfish nonesense .
wish you the best where you are and to your compagny…
Questioner needs to focus. There is a strong need to communicate ideas in a simple and effective manner irregardless of the language barriers.

For this questioner we advise that the process be one of short sentences, followed by an abnormally long pause. This allows the listener to absorb the information transmitted and understand it. The questioner should slow their communication to permit their ideas and concepts to be understood by others.

Communication is a fundamental priority in regards to all creatures regarding their manifestion.

The questioner will find that there are unmentioned elements in their incarnation that will be resolved with an improved means of communication. This includes all elements of communication in all areas of the questioner's life.

Say things in short sentences.
WHen the questioner pronounces the words, provide a stress on the key object, subject or point in the sentence.
Have an abnormally long rest period after the sentence is spoken.

This is important and should not be discounted. The questioner must practice this technique and implement it.

This is an unusual answer, and I do not know what the basis for this was. It simply might have been due to my interpetation of the inquiry. In any event, it was presented very clearly to me.

Instead of saying…

I went to the store, and I saw a dog. The dog was brown and white. He was barking and raising a fuss, and I saw a pretty girl walk by.

It should be stated as…

I went to the store.
(pause)

I saw a dog. 
(pause)

The dog was brown and white. 
(pause)

He was barking.
(pause)

He was raising a fuss.
(pause)

I saw a pretty girl walk by.
(pause)

[6.7a] Question – Is this about me?

Are you still accepting questions for the Commander? If so, I have some, if not it’s also ok:

I found your website a week ago, so I am completely new to this group. However since I found it I have been reading as much as I can. Then I found this possibility to ask questions to “the Commander”, and I feel a strong urge to ask, though I am still not through the basics described on your website.

It’s all very interesting!

So of course, the obvious question first, do I belong to this group, how is my connection to it, what is my role?

In Winter 2010/2011 I woke up one night because of some buzzing sound next to my head. There was a small sizzling light orb sitting on the side of my bed making that sound (very strange indeed!).

As it noticed I was awake it asked me something like “Do you want to help spread the light?”.

I was so disturbed and sleepy and stupid stupid I did not say yes (or no), but I asked if it really meant me, and if I would be capable to do that at all…..

Just doubting myself very much.

And then I fell asleep again.

Never had any contact  after that anymore (at least I think so).

So basically I ask this question again, and what that light orb was about.

Questioner is here because the MM message resonates with the IS-BE derived consciousness. When frequences attract they resonate. This can be measured. The level of attractiveness to events, people and situations is a function of the magniture of the frequency amplitude during resonance occurrence.

The questioner belongs here.

Regarding the "orb of light"; manifestation of appearance varies from interpetation and skill level on an individual IS-BE to individual IS-BE basis. The questioner should not question their impressions. That is like a person eating a lamb cutlet and questioning whether it is ice cream.

The questioner is advised to accept things as they are, and to interpet them to the best of their ability. Then, accept the interpetations and move forward from there.

[6.7b] Question –

Then the next one, more general, concerning the Deagel list:

Why is the forecasted depopulation in the Netherlands so small (2% from 2020 to 2025 plus that the PPP stays relatively high), where neighbouring countries like Germany and the UK have a massive depopulation forecasted, and even the decrease in Belgium is substantial?

In NL they also apply the mRNA jabs and there are no dead-virus vaccines available. A nuclear bomb on German cities would also affect the Netherlands.

Thank you for all your work!

The Deagel forecast is derived from remote viewing efforts coupled with data extraction and extrapulation techniques. It is based on a fixed shared world-line template (sic). As such it is constantly changing. When the numbers were obtained, the future was a "snapshot" that was recorded and elaborated upon.

The remote viewing process did not elaborate on the causes for the data, only that the data would manifest as presented.

Daegal wrote in 2020 that they believed that a combination or confluence of events might well result in the data sets that they recorded. But whether or not this is correct is difficult to quantify. 

No one has the answer regarding a changing template (sic), certainly anyone can come up with a myrid of possible senarios. 

The questioner must realize that Deagal was manipulating data sets and then remote viewing for accuracy adjustments. They were not visualizing actual events, just trends and comparing them to historical extrapulations.

[6.8 a-e] Question – Are there other disclosures out there?

I asked this question in response to reading something found by GuyFromAfrica on the Internet archive HERE.

[a] Are there other disclosures out there?

Yes. The messages are being broadcast using different venues. This is intentional. They are not your concern.

[b] How accurate / effective are they?

That should not be your concern either. There are different levels of accuracy depending on the receptive audience consiousness.

Those with a religious interest will obtain information and direction from sources that resonate with them, while those who have a fear-induced being will obtain directions and information from venues that will resonate from them differently.

There is no absolute answer or information transmittal. It is all custom tailored to the audience, thus the Domain provides a wide high bandwith coverage, with low energy for the greater mass of general population inmates. As well as tight bandwith for high energy populations through MM.

[c] Then what is so special about myself?

It is your ego that drives you to believe that you are special. It is true that you are unique and that you have special skills and abilities, but your functionality derives from your tasking. That is your value.

Is a steak better than a pork chop? Aside from prices, it's all a matter of personal need, taste and desire. You, in this manner provide a special role; a unique role. But it is not the only one doing so.

You will continue in your role until you translate and your role will then alter as events transpire. There is a role for you post-translation. That you can rest assured of, just as there are roles for <redacted>, DK, <readacted>, DM (with caveats), and ML's rehabilitation process.

[d] Can you elaborate on the post-translation procedure?

No. There is no need for anyone to worry or be concerned about it at this time. It is an individual process that varies from IS-BE to IS-BE.

[e] Is there a general format, process, or procedure for this?

No. Everyone is different, and there is greater variety in IS-BE consciousnesses than what appears in the human skin-suit within the Prison Complex. 

This greater variety is enormous, and it is similiar to comparing a telephone on a bare tabletop (MM) with that of a steam-shovel in a garbage dump (DK), and to a battleship / aircraft carrier plowing though stormy seas (ML). 

Everyone is not just different, they are REALLY different.

The impression I got from The Commander in regards to ML is this mecha-godzilla / battleship / aircraft carrier hybrid thingy. Wow! -MM

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

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Law 46 of the 48 Laws of Power; Never appear too perfect

This is law 46 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

  • Either dampen your brilliance occasionally, purposefully revealing a defect, weakness, or anxiety, or attributing your success to luck; or simply find yourself new friends. Never underestimate the power of envy.
  • The envy of the masses can be deflected quite easily – appear as one of them in style and values.  Never flaunt your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence. Make a display of deferring to others, as if they were more powerful than you.
  • Use envy to motivate you to greater heights.
  • Keep a wary eye for envy in those below you as you grow more successful.
  • Expect that those envious of you will work against you.
  • Emphasize luck, and do not adopt a false modesty that will be seen through.
  • Deflect envy of political power by not seeming ambitious.  
  • Disguise your power as a kind of self-sacrifice rather than a source of happiness for you.  Emphasize your troubles and you turn potential envy into a source of moral support (pity).
  • Beware signs of envy: excessive praise, hypercritical people, public slandering.
  • Note: once envy is present, it is sometimes best to display the utmost disdain for those who envy you.

LAW 46

NEVER APPEAR TOO PERFECT

JUDGMENT

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Joe Orton met Kenneth Halliwell at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London, in 1953, where both had enrolled as acting students. They soon became lovers and moved in together. Halliwell, twenty-five at the time, was seven years older than Orton, and seemed the more confident of the two; but neither had much talent as actors, and after graduating, having settled down together in a dank London apartment, they decided to give up acting and collaborate as writers instead. Halliwell’s inheritance was enough to keep them from having to find work for a few years, and in the beginning, he was also the driving force behind the stories and novels they wrote; he would dictate to Orton, who would type the manuscripts, occasionally interjecting his own lines and ideas. Their first efforts attracted some interest from literary agents, but it sputtered. The promise they had shown was leading nowhere.

Eventually the inheritance money ran out, and the pair had to look for work. Their collaborations were less enthusiastic and less frequent. The future looked bleak.

In 1957 Orton began to write on his own, but it wasn’t until five years later, when the lovers were jailed for six months for defacing dozens of library books, that he began to find his voice (perhaps not by chance: This was the first time he and Halliwell had been separated in nine years). He came out of prison determined to express his contempt for English society in the form of theatrical farces. He and Halliwell moved back in together, but now the roles were reversed: Orton did the writing while Halliwell put in comments and ideas.

In 1964 Joe Orton completed his first full-length play, Entertaining Mr. Sloane. The play made it to London’s West End, where it received brilliant reviews: A great new writer had emerged from nowhere. Now success followed success, at a dizzying pace. In 1966 Orton had a hit with his play Loot, and his popularity soared. Soon commissions came in from all sides, including from the Beatles, who paid Orton handsomely to write them a film script.

Everything was pointing upwards, everything except Orton’s relationship with Kenneth Halliwell. The pair still lived together, but as Orton grew successful, Halliwell began to deteriorate. Watching his lover become the center of attention, he suffered the humiliation of becoming a kind of personal assistant to the playwright, his role in what had once been a collaboration growing smaller and smaller. In the 1950s he had supported Orton with his inheritance; now Orton supported him. At a party or among friends, people would naturally gravitate towards Orton—he was charming, and his mood was almost always buoyant. Unlike the handsome Orton, Halliwell was bald and awkward; his defensiveness made people want to avoid him.

A greedy man and an envious man met a king. The king said to them, “One of you may ask something of me and I will give it to him, provided I give twice as much to the other. ” The envious person did not want to ask first for he was envious of his companion who would receive twice as much, and the greedy man did not want to ask first since he wanted everything that was to be had. Finally the greedy one pressed the envious one to be the first to make the request. So the envious person asked the king to pluck out one of his eyes.

JEWISH PARABLE, THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, SOLOMON SCHIMMEL, 1992
An admirer who feels that he cannot be happy by surrendering himself elects to become envious of that which he admires. So he speaks another languagethe thing which he really admires is called a stupid, insipid and queer sort of thing. Admiration is happy self-surrender; envy is unhappy self-assertion.

SφREN KIERKEGAARD, 1813-1855

With Orton’s success the couple’s problems only worsened. Halliwell’s moods made their life together impossible. Orton claimed to want to leave him, and had numerous affairs, but would always end up returning to his old friend and lover. He tried to help Halliwell launch a career as an artist, even arranging for a gallery to show his work, but the show was a flop, and this only heightened Halliwell’s sense of inferiority. In May of 1967, the pair went on a brief holiday together in Tangier, Morocco. During the trip, Orton wrote in his diary, “We sat talking of how happy we felt. And how it couldn’t, surely, last. We’d have to pay for it. Or we’d be struck down from afar by disaster because we were, perhaps, too happy. To be young, good-looking, healthy, famous, comparatively rich and happy is surely going against nature.”

Halliwell outwardly seemed as happy as Orton. Inwardly, though, he was seething. And two months later, in the early morning of August 10, 1967, just days after helping Orton put the finishing touches to the wicked farce What the Butler Saw (undoubtedly his masterpiece), Kenneth Halliwell bludgeoned Joe Orton to death with repeated blows of a hammer to the head. He then took twenty-one sleeping pills and died himself, leaving behind a note that read, “If you read Orton’s diary all will be explained.”

Interpretation

Kenneth Halliwell had tried to cast his deterioration as mental illness, but what Joe Orton’s diaries revealed to him was the truth: It was envy, pure and simple, that lay at the heart of his sickness. The diaries, which Halliwell read on the sly, recounted the couple’s days as equals and their struggle for recognition. After Orton found success, the diaries began to describe Halliwell’s brooding, his rude comments at parties, his growing sense of inferiority. All of this Orton narrated with a distance that bordered on contempt.

The diaries made clear Halliwell’s bitterness over Orton’s success. Eventually the only thing that would have satisfied him would have been for Orton to have a failure of his own, an unsuccessful play perhaps, so that they could have commiserated in their failure, as they had done years before. When the opposite happened—as Orton grew only more successful and popular—Halliwell did the only thing that would make them equals again: He made them equals in death. With Orton’s murder, he became almost as famous as his friend—posthumously.

Joe Orton only partly understood his lover’s deterioration. His attempt to help Halliwell launch a career in art registered for what it was: charity and guilt. Orton basically had two possible solutions to the problem. He could have downplayed his own success, displaying some faults, deflecting Halliwell’s envy; or, once he realized the nature of the problem, he could have fled as if Halliwell were a viper, as in fact he was—a viper of envy. Once envy eats away at someone, everything you do only makes it grow, and day by day it festers inside him. Eventually he will attack.

It takes great talent and skill to conceal one’s talent and skill

LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, 1613-1680
ENVY TORMENTS AGLAUROS

The goddess Minerva made her way to the house of Envy, a house filthy with dark

and noisome slime. It is hidden away in the depths of the valleys, where the sun never penetrates, where no wind blows through; a gloomy dwelling, permeated by numbing chill, ever fireless, ever shrouded in thick darkness. When Minerva reached this spot she stopped in front of the house ... and struck the doors with the tip of her spear, and at the blow they flew open and revealed Envy within, busy at a meal of snake’s flesh, the food on which she nourished her wickedness. At the sight, Minerva turned her eyes away. But the other rose heavily from the ground, leaving the half-eaten

corpses, and came out with dragging steps. When she saw the goddess in all the brilliance of her beauty, in her flashing armor, she groaned.... Envy’s face was sickly pale, her whole body lean and wasted, and she squinted horribly; her teeth were discoloretl and decayed, her poisonous breast of a greenish hue, and her tongue dripped venom. Only the sight of suffering could bring a smile to her lips. She never knew the comfort of sleep, but was kept constantly awake by care and anxiety, looked with dismay on men’s good fortune, and grew thin at the sight. Gnawing at others, and being gnawed, she was herself her own torment. Minerva, in spite of her loathing, yet addressed her briefly: “Instill your poison into one of Cecrop’s daughters—her name is Aglauros. This is what I require of you. Without another word she pushed against the ground with her spear, left the earth, and soared upwards.

From the corner of her eye the other watched the goddess out of sight, muttering and angry that Minerva’s plan should be successful. Then she took her staff, all encircled with thorny briars, wrapped herself in dark clouds, and set forth. Wherever she went she trampled down the flowery fields, withered up the grass, seared the treetops, and with her breath tainted the peoples, their cities and their homes, until at length she came to Athens, the home of wit and wealth, peaceful and prosperous. She could scarcely refrain from weeping when she saw no cause for tears. Then entering the chamber of Cecrop’s daughter, she carried out Minerva’s orders. She touched the girl’s breast with a hand dipped in malice, filled her heart with spiky thorns, and breathing in a black and evil poison dispersed it through her very bones, instilling the venom deep in her heart. That the reason for her distress might not be far to seek, she set before Aglauros’ eyes a vision of her sister, of that sister’s fortunate marriage [with the god Mercury], and of the god in all his handsomeness; and she exaggerated the glory of it all. So Aglauros was tormented by such thoughts, and the jealous anger she concealed ate into her heart. Day and night she sighed, unceasingly wretched, and in her utter misery wasted away in a slow decline, as when ice is melted by the fitful sun. The fire that was kindled within her at the thought of her sister’s luck and good fortune was like the burning of weeds which do not burst into flames, but are none the less consumed by smoldering fire.

METAMORPHOSES, OVID, 43 B.C.-C. A.D. 18

Only a minority can succeed at the game of life, and that minority inevitably arouses the envy of those around them. Once success happens your way, however, the people to fear the most are those in your own circle, the friends and acquaintances you have left behind. Feelings of inferiority gnaw at them; the thought of your success only heightens their feelings of stagnation. Envy, which the philosopher Kierkegaard calls “unhappy admiration,” takes hold. You may not see it but you will feel it someday—unless, that is, you learn strategies of deflection, little sacrifices to the gods of success. Either dampen your brilliance occasionally, purposefully revealing a defect, weakness, or anxiety, or attributing your success to luck; or simply find yourself new friends. Never underestimate the power of envy.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

The merchant class and the craft guilds to which medieval Florence owed its prosperity had created a republic that protected them from oppression by the nobility. Since high office could only be held for a few months, no one could gain lasting dominance, and although this meant that the political factions struggled constantly for control, the system kept out tyrants and petty dictators. The Medici family lived for several centuries under this system without making much of a mark. They had modest origins as apothecaries, and were typical middle-class citizens. Not until the late fourteenth century, when Giovanni de’ Medici made a modest fortune in banking, did they emerge as a force to be reckoned with.

Upon Giovanni’s death, his son Cosimo took over the family business, and quickly demonstrated his talent for it. The business prospered under his control and the Medicis emerged as one of the preeminent banking families of Europe. But they had a rival in Florence: Despite the city’s republican system, one family, the Albizzis, had managed over the years to monopolize control of the government, forging alliances that allowed them to constantly fill important offices with their own men. Cosimo did not fight this, and in fact gave the Albizzis his tacit support. At the same time, while the Albizzis were beginning to flaunt their power, Cosimo made a point of staying in the background.

Eventually, however, the Medici wealth could not be ignored, and in 1433, feeling threatened by the family, the Albizzis used their government muscle to have Cosimo arrested on charges of conspiring to overthrow the republic. Some in the Albizzi faction wanted Cosimo executed, others feared this would spark a civil war. In the end they exiled him from Florence. Cosimo did not fight the sentence; he left quietly. Sometimes, he knew, it is wiser to bide one’s time and keep a low profile.

Over the next year, the Albizzis began to stir up fears that they were setting up a dictatorship. Meanwhile, Cosimo, using his wealth to advantage, continued to exert influence on Florentine affairs, even from exile. A civil war broke out in the city, and in September of 1434 the Albizzis were toppled from power and sent into exile. Cosimo immediately returned to Florence, his position restored. But he saw that he now faced a delicate situation: If he seemed ambitious, as the Albizzis had, he would stir up opposition and envy that would ultimately threaten his business. If he stayed on the sidelines, on the other hand, he would leave an opening for another faction to rise up as the Albizzis had, and to punish the Medicis for their success.

Cosimo solved the problem in two ways: He secretly used his wealth to buy influence among key citizens, and he placed his own allies, all cleverly enlisted from the middle classes to disguise their allegiance to him, in top government positions. Those who complained of his growing political clout were taxed into submission, or their properties were bought out from under them by Cosimo’s banker allies. The republic survived in name only. Cosimo held the strings.

While he worked behind the scenes to gain control, however, publicly Cosimo presented another picture. When he walked through the streets of Florence, he dressed modestly, was attended by no more than one servant, and bowed deferentially to magistrates and elder citizens. He rode a mule instead of a horse. He never spoke out on matters of public import, even though he controlled Florence’s foreign affairs for over thirty years. He gave money to charities and maintained his ties to Florence’s merchant class. He financed all kinds of public buildings that fed the Florentines’ pride in their city. When he built a palace for himself and his family in nearby Fiesole, he turned down the ornate designs that Brunelleschi had drawn up for him and instead chose a modest structure designed by Michelozzo, a man of humble Florentine origins. The palace was a symbol of Cosimo’s strategy—all simplicity on the outside, all elegance and opulence within.

Cosimo finally died in 1464, after ruling for thirty years. The citizens of Florence wanted to build him a great tomb, and to celebrate his memory with elaborate funeral ceremonies, but on his deathbed he had asked to be buried without “any pomp or demonstration.” Some sixty years later, Machiavelli hailed Cosimo as the wisest of all princes, “for he knew how extraordinary things that are seen and appear every hour make men much more envied than those that are done in deed and are covered over with decency.”

Interpretation

A close friend of Cosimo’s, the bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci, once wrote of him, “And whenever he wished to achieve something, he saw to it, in order to escape envy as much as possible, that the initiative appeared to come from others, and not from him.” One of Cosimo’s favorite expressions was, “Envy is a weed that should not be watered.” Understanding the power envy has in a democratic environment, Cosimo avoided the appearance of greatness. This does not mean that greatness should be suffocated, or that only the mediocre should survive; only that a game of appearances must be played. The insidious envy of the masses can actually be deflected quite easily: Appear as one of them in style and values. Make alliances with those below you, and elevate them to positions of power to secure their support in times of need. Never flaunt your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence. Make a display of deferring to others, as if they were more powerful than you. Cosimo de’ Medici perfected this game; he was a consummate con artist of appearances. No one could gauge the extent of his power—his modest exterior hid the truth.

Never be so foolish as to believe that you are stirring up admiration by flaunting the qualities that raise you above others. By making others aware of their inferior position, you are only stirring up “unhappy admiration,” or envy, which will gnaw away at them until they undermine you in ways you cannot foresee. The fool dares the gods of envy by flaunting his victories. The master of power understands that the appearance of superiority over others is inconsequential next to the reality of it.

Of all the disorders of the soul, envy is the only one no one confesses to.

Plutarch, c. A.D 46-120
The envious hides as carefully as the secret, lustful sinner and becomes the endless inventor of tricks and stratagems to hide and mask himself Thus he is able to pretend to ignore the superiority of others which eats up his heart, as ifhe did not see them, nor hear them, nor were aware of them, nor had ever heard of them. He is a master simulator. On the other hand he tries with all his power to connive and thus prevent any form of superiority from appearing in any situation. And if they do, he casts on them obscurity, hypercriticism, sarcasm and calumny like the toad that spits poison from its hole. On the other hand he will raise endlessly insignificant men, mediocre people, and even the inferior in the same type of activities.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860
For not many men, the proverb says, can love a friend who fortune prospers without feeling envy; and about the envious brain, cold poison clings and doubles all the pain life brings him. His own woundings he must nurse, and feels another’s gladness like a curse.

AESCHYLUS, c. 525-456 B.C.

KEYS TO POWER

The human animal has a hard time dealing with feelings of inferiority. In the face of superior skill, talent, or power, we are often disturbed and ill at ease; this is because most of us have an inflated sense of ourselves, and when we meet people who surpass us they make it clear to us that we are in fact mediocre, or at least not as brilliant as we had thought. This disturbance in our self-image cannot last long without stirring up ugly emotions. At first we feel envy: If only we had the quality or skill of the superior person, we would be happy. But envy brings us neither comfort nor any closer to equality. Nor can we admit to feeling it, for it is frowned upon socially—to show envy is to admit to feeling inferior. To close friends, we may confess our secret unrealized desires, but we will never confess to feeling envy. So it goes underground. We disguise it in many ways, like finding grounds to criticize the person who makes us feel it: He may be smarter than I am, we say, but he has no morals or conscience. Or he may have more power, but that’s because he cheats. If we do not slander him, perhaps we praise him excessively—another of envy’s disguises.

There are several strategies for dealing with the insidious, destructive emotion of envy. First, accept the fact that there will be people who will surpass you in some way, and also the fact that you may envy them. But make that feeling a way of pushing yourself to equal or surpass them someday. Let envy turn inward and it poisons the soul; expel it outward and it can move you to greater heights.

Second, understand that as you gain power, those below you will feel envious of you. They may not show it but it is inevitable. Do not naively accept the facade they show you—read between the lines of their criticisms, their little sarcastic remarks, the signs of backstabbing, the excessive praise that is preparing you for a fall, the resentful look in the eye. Half the problem with envy comes when we do not recognize it until it is too late.

Finally, expect that when people envy you they will work against you insidiously. They will put obstacles in your path that you will not foresee, or that you cannot trace to their source. It is hard to defend yourself against this kind of attack. And by the time you realize that envy is at the root of a person’s feelings about you, it is often too late: Your excuses, your false humility, your defensive actions, only exacerbate the problem. Since it is far easier to avoid creating envy in the first place than to get rid of it once it is there, you should strategize to forestall it before it grows. It is often your own actions that stir up envy, your own unawareness. By becoming conscious of those actions and qualities that create envy, you can take the teeth out of it before it nibbles you to death.

Kierkegaard believed that there are types of people who create envy, and are as guilty when it arises as those who feel it. The most obvious type we all know: The moment something good happens to them, whether by luck or design, they crow about it. In fact they get pleasure out of making people feel inferior. This type is obvious and beyond hope. There are others, however, who stir up envy in more subtle and unconscious ways, and are partly to blame for their troubles. Envy is often a problem, for example, for people with great natural talent.

Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the most brilliant men at the court of Queen Elizabeth of England. He had skills as a scientist, wrote poetry still recognized as among the most beautiful writing of the time, was a proven leader of men, an enterprising entrepreneur, a great sea captain, and on top of all this was a handsome, dashing courtier who charmed his way into becoming one of the queen’s favorites. Wherever he went, however, people blocked his path. Eventually he suffered a terrific fall from grace, leading even to prison and finally the executioner’s axe.

Raleigh could not understand the stubborn opposition he faced from the other courtiers. He did not see that he had not only made no attempt to disguise the degree of his skills and qualities, he had imposed them on one and all, making a show of his versatility, thinking it impressed people and won him friends. In fact it made him silent enemies, people who felt inferior to him and did all they could to ruin him the moment he tripped up or made the slightest mistake. In the end, the reason he was executed was treason, but envy will use any cover it finds to mask its destructiveness.

The envy elicited by Sir Walter Raleigh is the worst kind: It was inspired by his natural talent and grace, which he felt was best displayed in its full flower. Money others can attain; power as well. But superior intelligence, good looks, charm—these are qualities no one can acquire. The naturally perfect have to work the most to disguise their brilliance, displaying a defect or two to deflect envy before it takes root. It is a common and naive mistake to think you are charming people with your natural talents when in fact they are coming to hate you.

JOSEPH AND HIS COAT

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors…. And his brothers envied him….

And when they saw him afar off, they conspired against him to slay him. And now they said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we shall say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams”

OLD TESTAMENT, GENESIS 37:3—20

THE TRAGEDY OF THE TOMB

[When Pope Julius first saw Michelangelo’s design for his tomb] it pleased him so much that he at once sent him to Carrara to quarry the necessary marbles, instructing Alamanno Salviati, of Florence, to pay him a thousand ducats for this purpose. Michelangelo stayed in these mountains more than eight months with two workmen and his horse, and without any other provision except food.... Enough marbles quarried and chosen, he took them to the sea-coast, and left one of his men to have them embarked. He himself returned to Rome.

... The quantity of marbles was immense, so that, spread over the piazza, they were the admiration of all and a joy to the pope, who heaped immeasurable favors upon Michelangelo: and when he began to work upon them again and again went to see him at his house, and talked to him about the tomb and other things as with his own brother. And in order that he might more easily go to him, the pope ordered that a drawbridge should be thrown across from the Corridore to the rooms of Michelangelo, by which he might visit him in private.

These many and frequent favors were the cause (as often is the case at court) of much envy, and, after the envy, of endless persecution, since Bramante, the architect, who was loved by the pope, made him change his mind as to the monument by telling him, as is said by the vulgar, that it is unlucky to build one’s tomb in one’s lifetime, and other tales. Fear as well as envy stimulated Bramante, for the judgment of Michelangelo had exposed many of his errors.... Now because he had no doubt that Michelangelo knew these errors of his, he always sought to remove him from Rome, or, at least, to deprive him of the favor of the pope, and of the glory and usefulness that he might have acquired by his industry. He succeeded in the matter of the tomb. There is no doubt that if Michelangelo had been allowed to finish it, according to his first design, having so large a field in which to show his worth, no other artist, however celebrated (be it said without envy) could have wrested from him the high place he would have held.

VITA DI MICHELANGELO, ASCANIO CONDIVI, 1553

A great danger in the realm of power is the sudden improvement in fortune—an unexpected promotion, a victory or success that seems to come out of nowhere. This is sure to stir up envy among your former peers.

When Archbishop de Retz was promoted to the rank of cardinal, in 1651, he knew full well that many of his former colleagues envied him. Understanding the foolishness of alienating those below him, de Retz did everything he could to downplay his merit and emphasize the role of luck in his success. To put people at ease, he acted humbly and deferentially, as if nothing had changed. (In reality, of course, he now had much more power than before.) He wrote that these wise policies “produced a good effect, by lessening the envy which was conceived against me, which is the greatest of all secrets.” Follow de Retz’s example. Subtly emphasize how lucky you have been, to make your happiness seem more attainable to other people, and the need for envy less acute. But be careful not to affect a false modesty that people can easily see through. This will only make them more envious. The act has to be good; your humility, and your openness to those you have left behind, have to seem genuine. Any hint of insincerity will only make your new status more oppressive. Remember: Despite your elevated position, it will do you no good to alienate your former peers. Power requires a wide and solid support base, which envy can silently destroy.

Political power of any kind creates envy, and one of the best ways to deflect it before it takes root is to seem unambitious. When Ivan the Terrible died, Boris Godunov knew he was the only one on the scene who could lead Russia. But if he sought the position eagerly, he would stir up envy and suspicion among the boyars, so he refused the crown, not once but several times. He made people insist that he take the throne. George Washington used the same strategy to great effect, first in refusing to keep the position of Commander in Chief of the American army, second in resisting the presidency. In both cases he made himself more popular than ever. People cannot envy the power that they themselves have given a person who does not seem to desire it.

According to the Elizabethan statesman and writer Sir Francis Bacon, the wisest policy of the powerful is to create a kind of pity for themselves, as if their responsibilities were a burden and a sacrifice. How can one envy a man who has taken on a heavy load for the public interest? Disguise your power as a kind of self-sacrifice rather than a source of happiness and you make it seem less enviable. Emphasize your troubles and you turn a potential danger (envy) into a source of moral support (pity). A similar ploy is to hint that your good fortune will benefit those around you. To do this you may need to open your purse strings, like Cimon, a wealthy general in ancient Athens who gave lavishly in all kinds of ways to prevent people from resenting the influence he had bought in Athenian politics. He paid a high price to deflect their envy, but in the end it saved him from ostracism and banishment from the city.

The painter J. M. W. Turner devised another way of giving to deflect the envy of his fellow artists, which he recognized as his greatest obstacle to his success. Noticing that his incomparable color skills made them afraid to hang their paintings next to his in exhibitions, he realized that their fear would turn to envy, and would eventually make it harder for him to find galleries to show in. On occasion, then, Turner is known to have temporarily dampened the colors in his paintings with soot to earn him the goodwill of his colleagues.

To deflect envy, Gracian recommends that the powerful display a weakness, a minor social indiscretion, a harmless vice. Give those who envy you something to feed on, distracting them from your more important sins. Remember: It is the reality that matters. You may have to play games with appearances, but in the end you will have what counts: true power. In some Arab countries, a man will avoid arousing envy by doing as Cosimo de Medici did by showing his wealth only on the inside of his house. Apply this wisdom to your own character.

Beware of some of envy’s disguises. Excessive praise is an almost sure sign that the person praising you envies you; they are either setting you up for a fall—it will be impossible for you to live up to their praise—or they are sharpening their blades behind your back. At the same time, those who are hypercritical of you, or who slander you publicly, probably envy you as well. Recognize their behavior as disguised envy and you keep out of the trap of mutual mud-slinging, or of taking their criticisms to heart. Win your revenge by ignoring their measly presence.

Do not try to help or do favors for those who envy you; they will think you are condescending to them. Joe Orton’s attempt to help Halliwell find a gallery for his work only intensified his lover’s feelings of inferiority and envy. Once envy reveals itself for what it is, the only solution is often to flee the presence of the enviers, leaving them to stew in a hell of their own creation.

Finally, be aware that some environments are more conducive to envy than others. The effects of envy are more serious among colleagues and peers, where there is a veneer of equality. Envy is also destructive in democratic environments where overt displays of power are looked down upon. Be extrasensitive in such environments. The filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was hounded by Swedish tax authorities because he stood out in a country where standing out from the crowd is frowned on. It is almost impossible to avoid envy in such cases, and there is little you can do but accept it graciously and take none of it personally. As Thoreau once said, “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay.”

Did ever anybody seriously confess to envy? Something there is in it universally felt to be more shameful than even felonious crime. And not only does everybody disown it, but the better sort are inclined to incredulity when it is in earnest imputed to an intelligent man. But since lodgment is in the heart not the brain, no degree of intellect supplies a guarantee against it.

BILLY BUDD, HERMAN MELVILLE, 1819-1891

Image: A Garden of Weeds. You may not feed them but they spread as you water the garden. You may not see how, but they take over, tall and ugly, pre venting anything beautiful from flourishing. Before it is too late, do not water indiscrimi nately. Destroy the weeds of envy by giving them nothing to feed on.

Authority: Upon occasion, reveal a harmless defect in your character. For the envious accuse the most perfect of sinning by having no sins. They become an Argus, all eyes for finding fault with excellence—it is their only consolation. Do not let envy burst with its own venom—affect some lapse in valor or intellect, so as to disarm it beforehand. You thus wave your red cape before the Horns of Envy, in order to save your immortality. (Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658)

Know how to triumph over envy and malice. Here contempt, although prudent, counts, indeed, for little; magnanimity is better. A good word concerning one who speaks evil of you cannot be praised too highly: there is no revenge more heroic than that brought about by those merits and attainments which frustrate and torment the envious. Every stroke of good fortune is a further twist of the rope round the neck of the ill-disposed and the heaven of the envied is hell for the envious. To convert your good fortune into poison for your enemies is held to be the most severe punishment you can inflict on them. The envious man dies not only once but as many times as the person he envies lives to hear the voice of praise; the eternity of the latter’s fame is the measure of the former’s punishment: the one is immortal in his glory, the latter in his misery. The trumpet of fame which sounds immortality for the one heralds death for the other, who is sentenced to be choked to death on his own envy.

BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658

REVERSAL

The reason for being careful with the envious is that they are so indirect, and will find innumerable ways to undermine you. But treading carefully around them will often only make their envy worse. They sense that you are being cautious, and it registers as yet another sign of your superiority. That is why you must act before envy takes root.

Once envy is there, however, whether through your fault or not, it is sometimes best to affect the opposite approach: Display the utmost disdain for those who envy you. Instead of hiding your perfection, make it obvious. Make every new triumph an opportunity to make the envious squirm. Your good fortune and power become their living hell. If you attain a position of unimpeachable power, their envy will have no effect on you, and you will have the best revenge of all: They are trapped in envy while you are free in your power.

This is how Michelangelo triumphed over the venomous architect Bramante, who turned Pope Julius against Michelangelo’s design for his tomb. Bramante envied Michelangelo’s godlike skills, and to this one triumph—the aborted tomb project—he thought to add another, by pushing the pope to commission Michelangelo to paint the murals in the Sistine Chapel. The project would take years, during which Michelangelo would accomplish no more of his brilliant sculptures. Furthermore, Bramante considered Michelangelo not nearly as skilled in painting as in sculpture. The chapel would spoil his image as the perfect artist.

Michelangelo saw the trap and wanted to turn down the commission, but he could not refuse the pope, so he accepted it without complaint. Then, however, he used Bramante’s envy to spur him to greater heights, making the Sistine Chapel his most perfect work of all. Every time Bramante heard of it or saw it, he felt more oppressed by his own envy—the sweetest and most lasting revenge you can exact on the envious.

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The Most Incredible Weapon Systems Used By The Russian Army

Today I just started to listen to various talk shows, mostly conservative, out of the United States. For me, it’s been a long time don’t you know…

Truth is that I used to listen to them ALL THE TIME. Starting with Rush Limbaugh, Jay Severn, then Sean Hannity, and then all the others.

But, you know, since I left the United States and experienced what they have been talking about FIRST HAND, I stopped.It’s one thing to hear about the horrible downtrodden Chinese, and the “firm grip of totalitarism”, but it’s another thing to experience it.

Anyways, and now hearing them again, well, I’m stunned. Really.

Seriously.

Stunned.

Anything that any of these people are talking about that relates to somewhere OUTSIDE of the USA is nonsense.

Nonsense.

As in LIES.

You know, like there is no fucking way that anyone with a brain could get the impressions that are spewing forth from these… “people”.

Maybe what they say domstically has validity, but outside of the USA?

All complete bullshit.

Seriously.

All they do is take the mainsteam press “news” and then posit their opinions on it. Not realizing that all the “news”… ALL OF IT… without exception is bullshit.

So…

I’ve got to tell youse guys, these people are fucking lunatics! I don’t mean to bad-mouth anyone, but honestly, and really!

Why do they LIE?

And lie in such a profound manner? Do they have a collective mental illness or what?

Why do I say so, well, here are some examples…

  • China and Russia are America’s enemies because they are not democracies.

False.

Both are democracies, both Russia and China. You won’t hear this anywhere inside America, but oh well…

Russia is a social democracy, it’s not the former Sovieet Union which was a shade of hard line communism. It’s a completely different government all together.

And… and China is a very strong democracy at the local level. In fact, within China, unlike the USA, selection of election candidates is more personal. It’s more exacting. Truthfully, it’s more like selecting an avitar in a role playing game more than anything else.

What the fuck?

The USA has everyone voting on two preselected candidates by the oligarchy.  What’s so fucking great about that?

You and 300 million others get to vote on a pre-vetted oligarch-approved President.

So, Sonny do you want [1] a lard burger with your fried maggots, or [2] reheated road kill. You get to choose. Isn't society wonderful!!!!

So China and Russia are evil?

They are derived from “Communism”. And “Communism” is bad. It’s been banged into our heads since birth! Yah. I know.

But the truth is something really different.

It’s just that they are arranged differently than the United States “democracy”. In fact, the Chinese elections were just held last November. Meritocracy. No one in the United States WILL EVER admit to that truth.

More nonsense that I just heard today. . .

  • China has begun welding people in their homes again. Common place all over China. So says the guys that DOESN’T have a passport. Never left their county, and I suspect never left their tiny hamlet. I will add, perhaps they have other tiny attributes as well…
  • Roads are blocked with body bags that going on for miles and miles. Oh my God. China must be super inefficient don’t you know.  Body bags at athe side of the roads. For Pete’s sake. The Chinese are covering up their terrible inefficiencies! Their crimes against humanity, and everything else! Don’t you know! Something must be done! NOW!
  • Ebola’s outbreaks everywhere. Of course! And the poor ignorant and illiterate Chininese don’t know what to do about it!!!!
  • Chinese people vomiting blood is a sign of another China bio-weapon…

Sigh. It’s so outrageous.

Obviously all false. But it’s everywhere!

The internet is alive with these severely outrageous lies. Gosh! It’s a full-on saturation of complete BULLSHIT.

Bullshit out of the USA.

Duh!

If any MM readers belive this dip-shit, then leave NOW! You all should be ashamed of yourself. Seriously. You should crawl under a rock and die in shame. Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with you people!

China is very transparent about deaths.

Unlike the USA, all deaths are public information because that affect the family HuKou. Duh! And if you are simply reguritating the nonsense of China hiding deaths and “covering up” things, but haven’t a clue as to what a HuKou is, then you are a FUCKING MORON.

Sorry.

I present things as they actually are. Not as others would want you to believe.

How the Hell do you think that China was able to have the one-child-policy? Births and deaths are all public knowledge and recorded and monitored with exact precision. China is super efficient in that area.

Hukou. It’s full public notification of family status, health and participation within society.

A HuKou, or the “Household registration” is your internal Chinese passport for everything. From buying a house, to getting medical treatment, to social insurance, to send your kids off to school, to your social scoring. And it’s all PUBLIC.

So it’s just ludicrous that the Chinese are “covering deaths” and what ever else is vomited out of Virgina.

Anyway, long time MM readers will know that I covered this issue extensively in the past. Here’s my post of what it is like during the January 2022 lockdown that they (the radio hosts) were claiming piles and piles of dead bodies alongside the roads. Here we don’t just regurgitate the “news” instead, we go in depth with videos and explanations.

Truth is not as interesting as the delicious lies to make you afraid.

And the media is working overdrive in fear-mongering. Seriously it’s way out of control. It’s almost like they believe that they can change the future by making people think fearful things….

…it doesn’t work that way. VOCALIZED THOUGHTS create individual change. Massive society world-line template changes are something quite different.

Ah…

Anyways…

Well, I’m not going to waste too much time refuting this nonsense. They have got a nice following of fear-induced ignorant masses, and they are bringing in money, so (well), as I shrug my shoulders. Live and let live. You know?

Let them get rich. On paper at least.

In the future when a hamburger costs $100 don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you.

Now, one of the things that is being discussed is why the USA must fight a war in the Ukraine. Some are arguing that it’s a stupid move made by the Democrats, while others argue that America should just keep throwing weapons and equipment there.

Wait for it.

For “democracy”™.

All of it is silly.

Changing the current clown show in Washington, DC won’t make a difference. They are all puppets of the oligarchy. And America NEEDS a war, because without one, it will be a civil war. So the intention to direct attention outwards. And the enemies Du Jour are Russia, China and Iran.

Better them than seeing San Franciso lit up in fires. Supposedly… some people say.

Listen to me.

Putin and Xi Peng are not the fucking idiots everyone thinks they are. They are not. And you all DO NOT WANT to fight either. Both have inherited the military ruthlessness of Genghis Khan, and have fresh hurtful memories of recent massive warfare. They do not want to fight a war, but if you push them…

…they will hurt you really, REALLY bad.

Both China and Russia are very formidable military machines. Russia are ruthless, bloodlust tough guy badasses. China is disciplined, fearless, and capable of delivering simply huge; HUGE quantities of massive hurt.

You do not want to mess with them.

And so, Russia told Biden to “back off” and stop placing nuclear weapons on it’s borders. And China said that any further interference with China’s domestic issues (read: Taiwan) is a “red line” that will have very serious consequences. And the last two weeks we have all been waiting for a reaponse.

Well, it looks like the USA is “doubling down”. Dumb fucks.

Screen shot from Druge Report on 25JAN22 at 10am.

Smog or fog? Hum. Why not have a front page article on the smog in Los Angles? Sheech!

The “news” media is nothing but a lie-generating machine, and right now, it’s all garbage. Like these two Bloomberg “news articles”…

Bloomberg's smearing about the relationship between China and Russia, which was false, was to interfere with the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday, adding that the China-Russia relationship is stable and resilient, with both sides maintaining close talks at all levels.

Zhao made the remarks at a regular press briefing after Bloomberg reported that China had asked Russia not to invade Ukraine during the Beijing 2022 Games in a recent call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As a practitioner and supporter of the Olympic spirit, we firmly oppose the politicization of sports and will not be influenced by any international forces, Zhao said.

China is confident it will present a successful event to the whole world and guarantees national leaders a safe and successful visit to Beijing, Zhao added.
MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. A Bloomberg report about Chinese President Xi Jinping allegedly asking Russian leader Vladimir Putin not to attack Ukraine during the Beijing Olympics is spectacular fake news, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Ekho Moskvy (or Echo of Moscow) radio station on Monday.

"Bloomberg has publicized utter jaw-dropping fake news recently, claiming that Xi Jinping had asked Putin not to attack Ukraine during the Olympic Games," she noted. "Frankly speaking, I did not expect this level of disinformation from Bloomberg not because it is an unconfirmed fact but because it is sheer impossibility and unbelievable stupidity. I could have expected it from some US newspaper but not from Bloomberg. They used to be less susceptible to these types of propped-up leaks, but now they seem to have given up on that," Zakharova stated.

The Russian diplomat pointed out that while working on the report, Bloomberg did not request any comments from the Russian presidential press service, nor from the Foreign Ministry. "That’s not like Bloomberg, is it? They maintain virtually round-the-clock contact with high-ranking Russian officials on all issues," she emphasized.

The Bloomberg agency reported earlier, citing an unidentified diplomat in Beijing, that Chinese President Xi Jinping could have allegedly asked Putin not to attack Ukraine during the Olympics scheduled for February 4-20. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the report as "an information black op" carried out by the United States. Furthermore, the Chinese Embassy in Russia rejected the report as fake news and a provocation.

Anyways, I’m telling you all. Don’t mess with Asia.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s a review of some of Russia’s more menacing military machines.
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Bora-class guided-missile hovercraft

This ship is actually a catamaran with a skirt that turns it into a hovercraft. Armed with eight Mosquito missiles and 20 anti-aircraft missiles, the ship has a crew of up to 68 sailors and a cruising speed of 100km per hour.

Drel aerial bomb 

This 540 kg glide cluster bomb is intended for hitting targets at a distance of 30 km (20 miles). Infra-red and radar-guided, it is used for destroying enemy armored vehicles, command posts and power units. It operates despite natural and man-made interference.

The Pantsir-S1

A combined short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft missile system. The system consists of 12 surface-to-air guided missiles and two 30-mm automatic guns effective against planes, helicopters, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.

Soratnik robot

This is a system for rendering fire support to troops, patrolling and guarding an area. The robot is remotely controlled, with further upgrades (the Kalashnikov concern is now working on these) potentially not requiring any human intervention at all. The tracked chassis robot can be fitted with light firearms. In its basic version, it has an AK-74M assault rifle and a Dragunov sniper rifle.

A virtually invisible submarine

The first of six diesel-electric stealth submarines, the Novorossiysk was launched from a St. Petersburg shipyard last year. Its designers say its stealth technology makes it virtually undetectable when submerged.

Floks self-propelled artillery system

This is Russia’s first self-propelled artillery system with a 120 mm gun. It combines the functions of a long-range weapon, a howitzer and a mortar. It can fire at enemy positions at a distance from 100 meters to 10 km (110 yards to 6 miles).  It has a remote combat module with a 12.7-mm Kord machine-gun installed on its roof.

The Mig-35 multirole jet fighter

Effective both in air-to-air combat and precision ground strikes. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 2,400 km per hour despite being 30% larger than its predecessor, the Mig-35 is able both to dogfight and destroy sea and surface targets from long range, as well as conduct air reconnaissance missions.

MIG-35

Uran-9 attack robot

This robot conducts reconnaissance missions and provides fire support for troops; it can also be used in counterterrorist operations. It has a 30 mm automatic gun and a 7.62 mm machine-gun, as well as Ataka anti-tank guided missiles.

The robot can operate at a distance of 3 km (2 miles) from its operator. By the end of 2016, five of these robots will come into service with the Russian armed forces.

Each comprises four combat vehicles: a reconnaissance robot or a fire support robot, a mobile post, and two power tugs.

The BUK-2 missile system

This is the battery that allegedly brought down a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014. Its 9M317 missiles can reach 46,000 feet at Mach 3, carrying 154-pound warheads.

Gibka-S air defense vehicle

The system is intended for protecting military units from enemy aircraft at low and super low altitudes (1,600 and 500 feet respectively). It is fitted with the newest portable surface-to-air missile system, the Verba.  Eight missiles can be mounted on the vehicle.

The RS-24 Yars

A thermonuclear intercontinental ballistic missile system that can carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads with a range of 10,000 miles.

BANG!

Designed to replace Topol-M ballistic missiles, it has been operationally deployed since 2010. Each missile has the power of 100 “Little Boys” — the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.

Russian RS-24 Yars

RPK-16 light handheld machine-gun

The new RPK-16 for 5.45 mm cartridges is an upgrade of the Soviet RPP-74 machine-gun.

This model has a Picatinny rail, making it possible to fit it with any type of sights, from night to thermal to collimator to optical sniper sights.

According to its designers, the machine-gun can be used to fire single shots and hit 20-cm-diameter targets from a distance of 300-400 meters (according to its technical and tactical characteristics, the machine-gun can hit enemy personnel at a distance of 800 meters).

The machine-gun has got a lighter 96-round drum magazine. The weapon now weighs just 4.5 kg.

The Tupolev Tu-160

It is the world’s largest supersonic combat aircraft. It was designed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s. It boasts the most powerful engines ever on a combat aircraft and can hold 40,000kg of weaponry. There are 16 in service.

Russian Tupolev Tu-160 heavy strategic bomber.

Vikhr reconnaissance robot

The Vikhr reconnaissance and strike robot has been created on the basis of the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle. The system, which can operate on a tracked or wheeled chassis, has a 30 mm gun and a 7.62 mm machine-gun as well as Kornet-M guided anti-tank missiles.

In its automated mode, the robot can detect, capture and track targets, with the decision to fire still taken by the module operator. Thanks to an HD camera and a thermal imager, the Vikhr can operate at any time of day or night.

The T-90

The most advanced battle tank used by the Russian armed forces. Its main weapon is a 125mm smoothbore gun with anti-tank capabilities, but it also boasts a remote-controlled anti-aircraft heavy machine gun.

BT-3F amphibious armored personnel carrier

The new amphibious personnel carrier can accommodate up to 12 paratroopers and can withstand fire from the 14.5 mm KPVT large-caliber machine-gun from a distance of 200 meters.

On its roof, the BT-3F has a remote combat module with a 7.62 mm machine-gun fitted with a television and a thermal sight.

In future, the turret will be able to accommodate a 12.7 mm or a 14.5 mm machine-gun as well as a 30 mm or 40 mm grenade-launcher.

Borei-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines.

They are slightly smaller than their predecessors, the massive Typhoon-class. But with a capacity of 16 Bulava ballistic missiles, each carrying six to 10 warheads with a range of 8,300km, they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Borei-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines.

And…

Borei-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines.

And…

Borei-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines.

The Russian Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopter:

This is the go-to attack helicopter for the Russian air force and army. Its basic armament is a 30mm Shipunov underslung auto-cannon and wingstubs that can carry up to four anti-tank missiles, rocket pods, or gun pods.

Russian Mi-28 Havoc.

Conclusion

This chat-chat talk are all fear mongering for profit.

What Russia and China wants are quite simple. They do not want any nuclear weapons blaced on their borders, and the do not want any color revolutions either.

Anything else is bullshit.

Both Russia and China have mapped out a “check mate” strategy. No matter what move the United States does, it will lose, and lose big. The only out is to call the game a draw… accept the “white tent”, and focus on the myrid of American domestic issues that are becoming problematic.

White tent.

Easy out.

I am not convinced at anyone inside of America has any clue as to how serious and dangerous this time is. Maybe him, but even at that, he’s still spouting nonsense.

I do want to be optimistic.  I know what I have been told.

  • Little bads, not big bads.
  • The Domain is on the side of Asia.
  • “Old Empire” occupany in leadership roles in the Western Block.
  • A much better, calmer and nicer world after this contentious period.

You all hang tight, and don’t get too caught up in the fear mongering. Most of it is BULLSHIT.

Look…

Russia posted it’s ultimatum. The USA; President Biden tried to “buy time”. Then presented it. He wanted it to be kept secret.

The response was

"No, but we will potentionally, maybe discuss issues, perhaps, one day, maybe in the future about other minor things as we (the collective West) feel the need to do so."

My guess is that they are trying feverishly to plan a “first strike” senario, or a “protected second strike” military senario. I do not believe that they will be successul in any way.

They HAVE to “switch gears“. They have to change from just another “far away war in the Ukraine” to how to deal with nuclear detonations on American soil.

And, the fools in Washington just don’t “get it.”

America today is not 1940. There is NO signifigant manufacturing presence remaining in the United States today. War…

War!

Are you fucking kidding me?

Let’s talk about the reality. 90% are made in China. The remaining 10% are in the big American cities like Boston, New York and San Franciso. When the bombs come a flying, and cities are destoryed and all trade stops..

…Zero medicines in the USA.

ZERO.

Think about that.

It WILL really turn into zombie apocalypse for real. Do you have any idea what happens when you get off major tranquilizers like Zoloft, Prozac, etc? It’s insanity madness.

No blood pressure pills.

Good bye everyone over 50.

No heart medicine.

What happens when Viagra is not available? A bunch of frustrated American males with guns, that’s what.

What happens when Xantax is a distant memory? Sniffing glue.

What happens when there are no antibiodics and Coronavirus in Omega form is racing thoough the shattered remains of society. Death.

Lots…

And… Lots of death.

The USA hasn’t a FUCKING CHANCE.

60% of Americans are on some kind of prescription drugs. Everyone is going to go “cold turkey“, and without medicines, and an infected cut will be a death sentence.

Check Mate.

Do not fuck around about War. The USA hasn’t a God Damn Chance.

Finally…

…keep in mind that global thermonuclear war will have a great liklihood of premature recycling members of the “Lost Battalion” prematurely. This is unacceptable to the Domain. So they will try their best to avoid nuclear war and mass casualities to the best of their ability.

They recognize that the generational turnings are built into the Prison Complex, but they have a plan and a time-table. Keep that in mind.

So relax.

Don’t get so caught up in all the fear-mongering talk.

Follow the basic MM precepts. You will be fine.

  • Affirmation prayers.
  • Stable world-line templates and cotnrolled slides.
  • Fate forecasting.
  • Be the Rufus.
  • Participate in your local community.
  • Be prudent, traditiaonl and have a larder.

You all will be fine.

Finally some word on wine…

An earlier article that I wrote mentioned that an Irish study “proved” that wine was not good for your health and that it should be banned completely.

Any level of drinking can lead to loss of healthy life, the World Heart Federation has said, as it sought to dispel the idea that a daily glass of wine may be good for you.

In a new policy briefing, the organisation said it wanted to “challenge the widespread notion” that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol can decrease the risk of heart disease and called for urgent action to tackle the global rise in deaths caused by drinking.

Monika Arora, member of WHF’s advocacy committee and co-author of the briefing, said: “The portrayal of alcohol as necessary for a vibrant social life has diverted attention from the harms of alcohol use, as have the frequent and widely publicised claims that moderate drinking, such as a glass of red wine a day, can offer protection against cardiovascular disease.

It bummed me out.

As I do happen to like wine. It goes great with food.

Video 55MB

So, this “Karen” has decided to tell me; and advise me, that wine is bad for me, and my world would be a better place if all drinking ended. then unicorns will prace around under rainbows and the sky would part and everyoen would love each other again.

But you know, today there is a new study..

"...The model decided that whilst wine was good for decreasing the risk of Covid, some other alcoholic drinks were not.

The study discovered that those who consume five or more glasses of red wine a week had a 17% lesser risk of catching the virus.

Scientists believe that this reduced risk might be because of the drink’s high content of polyphenol, which is known to help with the flu and other respiratory conditions."

Found HERE.

Drink wine, or not drink wine. It’s your choice. And don’t believe everything you read in the internet. Most of it is manipulative content designed towards for-profit motives.

So there you have it.

Enjoy life. Eat delicious food with friends and family.

Video 73MB

And my choice…

I’m exhausted. Sorry, but I am. This year is entering up to be a mighty funky one, I’ll tell you what. So, I’ve been a day dreaming a tad.

Well, I think that it would be nice to ride in a classic car. Look at this beautiy. Man, wouldn’t you all just love to take it for a spin?

Go for a ride in class.

And then go get a burger, and fries at a non-franchised burger joint. Maybe something like this…

Go ahead and eat a nice burger.

Where there is a picture of the founder over the enterance door.  Yum.

Life.

It’s in YOUR hands. Make it great.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings 3

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The nature of war has changed

The notion expressed in the original piece that the US just resigns itself to failure and fades away is unrealistic, or at the very least not certain. 

Historically, the outcome of circumstances like the present is major war. 

Empires rarely die quietly. They go either piecemeal or all at once, violently. 

The British went piecemeal. But Britain was always too small to hold onto their Empire. 

The US is a superpower, not just an imperial power like the European colonial powers. As long as it has its navy and air force (another important distinction from Britain), it will continue to try to push its power everywhere until forcibly restrained.

-Richard Steven Hack

This is just going to be a short and simple article that I want to throw out there. But it’s an important one. Currently, the United States military empire is dying. It is collapsing from the inside, falling apart and flailing in every conceivable way and (since the “news” is owned and 100% controlled by the government) and all of this is selectively being reported or hidden intentionally. Here we are going to provide a tool; a “filter” from which to read all the bullshit on the internet with.

This filter is very significant. It should not be ignored.

Pay attention…

The Filter

The nature of war has changed.

Any major war between the Western Block and Asia will NOT be along any of the assumed avenues…

  • Color revolutions; CIA sponsored “regime changes” for “democracy”.
  • Military troop advances and the capture of territory; such as in Iraq, World War II, and so on and so forth. Including all this talk about the Ukraine.
  • Blockades. Whether by sea lanes, or sanctions, or currency manipulation.
  • Public Opinion. The only control of the media is domestic, and that is in tatters.
  • Grass Root movements. It used to occur centuries ago. No longer exists.
  • Economic. Sabotage, manipulation or theft are all well documented techniques.
  • Remote electronic precision attacks. The drone effect was pretty effective in devastating Yemen, Not so in the next conflict.
  • Bio-warfare. We’re in that right now. The 11 strains of American bioweapons did not suppress China, it only made it stronger.

Now what we do have…

  • HV-MIRV-ICBM. Hyper-velocity, AI controlled, flight maneuverable, independent, that may or may not be nuclear armed, weapons that can hit anything, anywhere and there is no defense against it.

In other words, why have a military moving to capture some nameless hill in the Ukraine…

… when Moscow can just kill all the generals and their neocon supporters by one singular nuclear burst in Washington, DC?

Boom!

Problem solved. Root cause eliminated. Ukrane reverts to a peaceful agarian land.

And that is where we are at right now. The politicians can no longer hide in their mansions far away from the battle zones. The technical savvy fighters cannot sit in their comfortable barracks and fly drones halfway around the world. The wealthy warmongering businessmen can no longer guarantee that they will be safe where ever they live; even if it’s a bomb shelter in New Zealand.

It’s a new world; and a new situation.

Great Quote

This is the new situation, and Asia is incorporating it from the top downwards. If anyone attacks them, they will not fight the battles as they used to. They will now destroy the leadership of the war-sponsoring nation.

Let me give you this great quote to help put things in perspective…

“Russia plans to engage its nuclear weapons not against those countries where it was launched against Russia, but against the mastermind cities where all the decisions were made. 

To be exact, it is Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and numerous other American cities. 

Please fully understand, in case American nuclear weapons are launched from, eg. Taiwan, or Poland, the Russian response will be to hit New York or Washington.”

-Russian Duma deputy, Yevgeny Fyodorov.

This is Chinese policy as well.

So what does this mean?

Well, consider the “news”. About the United States sending ships out here, and military forces out there, and all this and all that.

Russia and China have both specifically “telegraphed” that any placement of offensive weapons in their borders will be met with the destruction of ALL AMERICAN CITIES.

It’s “red lines”. The ones that the media has so laughingly dismissed.

1. Russia (not just Putin) is insisting in ‘writing’ only because the U.S. pinky swear of 1991 was worthless and they denied it. If we go to war, Russia being all prim and proper wants this to be on record. ‘We got this on record!’

2. Russia made their demands clear, even if the U.S. denied it. Do not use NATO membership as an excuse to install U.S. tactical / nuclear missiles. If you do we will destroy them.

Hard stop. Period end. 

-Christian J. Chuba

Look at the militaries of all involved.

Russian militaries are NOT designed to advance over and take over large swaths of territory and police it. They are designed for rapid and horrific, short-lived devastation quickly and then go back home.

Kazakhstan is a perfect example of this…

A “color revolution” breaks out and all the Western media are in unison blaming it on gas increases.

A “color revolution” in the heart of the BRI explodes, with trained insurgents seizing all the major facilities and airports involved. Within 24 hours, Russia flies in and treats it…

… not as a pro-democracy uprising over the price of gas…

…but as a CIA-backed “color revolution” with armed and trained soldiers. And Russia came in and seized all the soldiers and killed them. Within three days it was all over, and the “staff in Langley, Va” were left with their “jaws on the floor” in stunned disbelief.

Russia comes in. Kills all the bad guys. Then leaves.

“By submitting their security demands, Russia is signaling unequivocally it is now taking the initiative.”

Yes. This aligns with my own thoughts. When Russia declared its ‘ultimatum’, existing conditions were already in a state of violation. 

Witness Kazakhstan. 

Therefore, Russia had no choice but to act or face global humiliation by failing to live up to its own decree. Russia could not just sit passively knowing another ‘color revolution’ was being hatched. This is why I believe that the Russian offensive began in Kazakhstan. Russian intel succeeded in exposing the Western-backed coup attempt and forced it to be prematurely executed. Everything was already in place to crush the uprising quickly and efficiently.

It is certain Russia is not passively waiting for what comes next with regard to Western intentions for Ukraine. I’m wagering that there is an active Russian initiative to solve the Ukrainian problem, but not one that will entail tank battles on the steppes. Rather, it will be a lesson in Russian-style hybrid warfare. Maybe not even a shot will need to be fired, or perhaps violence will be limited to one mass casualty event amongst Western PMC’s or UkroNazis. It is probable that the puppet regime in Kiev has only a few weeks left.

The same is true about China.

China’s military are not large to take over Japan. It is large to prevent anyone from even considering attacking the Chinese mainland. They have absolutely zero interest in seizing any further lands or territories. Though, the reunification of their Taiwan province is a separate matter.

Meanwhile, the United States military is for global force projection from staging based pre-supplied with equipment and material. With 800+ military bases, and guns, ammo and materials sprinkled all over the world, it is designed to be the “world’s Policeman”.

It’s a new world with new weapons and new power-structures.

What is the capability?

To strike anywhere on the world unopposed using massive weapons of destruction.

Which nations have this capability?

    • Russia
    • China

Which nations do not have this capability?

    • The United States
    • The UK
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • The European Union

So what does that mean?

The next “big” war will not resemble any of the previous wars.

Those nations that have the ability to deliver systems unmolested to their opponent will win the next war.

Nations, countries and societies that cannot fight this kind of war are advised not to get involved in any war. Instead, they should concentrate on their own domestic needs and trade.

If a nation refuses to do so, and tries to push towards a war using full-spectrum hybrid-war techniques, they are likely to be annihilated completely and erased from the surface of the planet.

What am I saying?

Russia and China can shoot down nuclear missiles. The United States cannot.

Russia and China can launch missiles that cannot be defended against.

Thus, during this short period of time we have a situation where the United States is being very aggressive in trying to start a war based upon historical techniques, not really realizing that THIS NEXT WAR will be the end of the United States.

Regarding the “news”

Any discussions of troop movements, and naval positioning is for the purposes of intimidation and to apply pressure on one nation or the other.

A REAL war will happen within minutes, and the only way that you will know anything is going on is by your lack of internet.

MM Advice

No one ever listens to me.

But, were I to be the President of the United States, I would advise surrender.

If I were president of Australia, I would advise kicking the USA out of their nations, and push forward as a neutral nation trying to be friends with all my neighbors.

If I were the head of the UK, I would advise focusing on all the domestic issues and reach outwardly to my neighbors in kind manners towards an embrace of mutual respect and friendship.

As I said, I am a practical person. I do not have the psychopathic tendencies that many of the leadership in the collective West seem to possess. So my advice will not be listened to.

So, the next best thing is to “punt”. Pull back and bide some time. What ever happens, absolutely The WORST course of action is to attack either Russia or China or any of their allies and friends. It will not go well.

Makes me yen for earlier days…

And it does. It’s so easy to get angry reading the “news”. Expecially all the lies that are going back and forth. I tell you that American “news” is the worst! Let’s go back to an earlier time…

Get a haircut and eat a breakfast. Together for under fifty cents.

Want a haircut?

Take a spin on a motorcycle…

Motorcycle man.

January 20, 1919. “Recreation barracks at the American Red Cross Agricultural Training School for French Mutiles, Le Liege (Indre et Loire).”

Go flying…

Go flying.

Life in the big city

November 1940. “Corner store in Lexington, Kentucky.” Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration.

November 1940. “Corner store in Lexington, Kentucky.” Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration.

November 1940. “Boys in soft drink parlor. Central City, Kentucky.” Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration.

Crossing the street

Buying some groceries. March 1939. “Small Mexican grocery store. San Antonio, Texas.” Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration.

Buying some groceries.

Roundhouse dreams…

October 1937. “Boy reading in bedroom. Note lack of proper bed clothing. Home of A.O. Ryland, farmer who has quit farming. Near Williston, North Dakota.”I love his breeches.

Getting involved in a good book.

Checking out the nice car…

New Hampshire circa 1906. “Taking trains of Mount Washington Railway at base station, White Mountains.” A cog railway to the highest peak in the Northeast.

Taking a train.

What does this all mean?

History is full of periods of inflection like we are experiencing today.

Whether it was American Indians meeting rifles, horse and smallpox, or the Polish calvary meeting German tanks with machineguns the period of inflection occurred.

And with each period of change, the world changed as well…

…but…

For many, if you were outside of the primary fighting or the battles, your life was safe. It was calm, and it was nice. Such as in these pictures above. And that is what is going on right now. Most of you all are safe. The only “news” is the bullshit that you read, and seriously it’s all lies.

Right now.

So, just live life. Strengthen your little bubble of security and live it. Don’t allow the monster that is the “news media” throw you “out of kilter“.  Live life well.

Have some delicious fondue with nice delicious cheese…

Enjoy the delicious fondue.

And enjoy it with some nice wine, breads, olives and cheeses…

Enjoy the good things.

And enjoy the time with friends and family…

Friends and family.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

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So you all wanted a trade war, eh?

Above image. Nothing quite captures the rot inside the United States today than the very foundations of New York City.

Calm cool, accurate, and easy to read. Here’s the reality as we move forward in January 2022.

From Strategic Culture…

Eamon McKinney
January 8, 2022
.

In a world of chronic shortages China has realized that commodities hold more value than cash.

The current trade war with China began at the very outset of the Trump administration. Apparently alarmed at America’s dependence on Chinese goods, particularly the extent to which its defense industries are reliant on Chinese components and rare earths, Trump had a point but may have better served to speak softly about this vulnerability. He mentioned only two dependencies, there are thousands of products that America relies on China exclusively for.

In moves that were simply anti-competitive practices he then launched in a “tech war” with China. Banning the sale of chips and semi-conductors, along with bans on Chinese 5G and Huawei the global leader in particular. Not content with that the U.S. launched a global push to pressure its “allies’ to also ban Huawei and its state of the art 5G technology. Not to be taken in isolation, the tech war was just part of an overall strategy to damage and restrain China’s economy. “Decoupling” had arrived into the general lexicon.

To an extent the measures worked, the chip shortage caused a slowdown among many tech dependent sectors, but not for long. China has developed its domestic production at a pace not possible anywhere else. It has also convinced China that it needed to greatly accelerate its self-sufficiency across all sectors.

As it stands today, America has nothing that China needs that it can’t make or buy elsewhere. America conversely needs China desperately, without China’s goods the American economy grinds to a halt. The extent of that dependency has been highlighted by Americaэs ongoing supply chain chaos. Manufacturing, retail, construction and countless other industry sectors have stalled without Chinese goods. No country in the world is as dependent on imports as the U.S. Attempts to find alternatives to China are fruitless, no other country can match the efficiency, infrastructure, economies of scale and cost that China can. American manufacturing only accounts for 20% of the American economy, self-sufficiency for Americans is a fantasy, even in the best case scenario, it is generations away.

Long spoken of is “China’s nuclear option”, dumping its dollar holdings and rendering the dollar worthless. China doesn’t want to do that. Firstly the loss of a trillion of its own dollar holdings is not to be taken lightly, and it would also damage the holdings and economies of its other trading partners around the world. Such a move would be an absolute last resort. China’s real nuclear option is the withholding of essential goods to America.

China has all but monopolised the rare earth industries, now accounting for more than 85% of global production. Without rare earths Americas tech and defence sectors would be paralysed.

Curious how President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, makgin American purchases of anything out of Xinjiang illegal. 

Funny thing though... all of the Chiense "rare earth" minerals come from Xinjiang and are mostly mined by Uighurs. 

Uh oh! (Head slap!)

All the seventeen critical rare earths are mined and refined in China in high volume. Some are mined in other countries in smaller volumes: developing alternative sources to China would a very lengthy process. For the foreseeable future, China decides who gets rare earths, and who doesn’t.

Unknown to many Americans the pharmaceutical industry is among the most heavily dependent of China. 80-85% of its products and precursors come from China, and there are currently few alternatives. I leave it to the reader’s imagination to visualize an America without medications, think Zombie apocalypse.

More than 131 million people — 66 percent of all adults in the United States — use prescription drugs. 

-Health policy institute at Georgetown

Some recent developments in China have given us a glimpse of the future. China is stockpiling food and other commodities at unprecedented levels. It is believed to hold more than half the world’s grain and maize already, other essential food stuffs are also being stockpiled at similar levels.

Iron ore, steel and other industrial raw materials are also being hoarded in previously unforeseen quantities. In a world of chronic shortages China has realised that commodities hold more value than cash.

More significantly, China just published a Governmental “White Paper.” It emphasises the need to conserve natural, finite resources (again think rare earths.) It also addresses the paradox that Trump was concerned about, why is China supplying parts to the U.S. military contractors? These among many other sectors will now require a “special export licence”. Read between the lines. China can apply these principles across any exported product it chooses. If they don’t like where it is headed, or what it will be used for, it isn’t going. Fertilisers, for which China accounts for about 30% of the world’s production are already banned from export. This is already forcing American many American farmers to switch from wheat to less fertiliser-intensive crops like soybeans.

China didn’t start or want this trade war, to date it is has been a one-sided assault on the Chinese economy by an increasingly desperate American government. China has not retaliated or employed any of the measures it could have in response, until now.

America now truly has its trade war, and more decoupling will follow, but from here on in, it will be on China’s terms.

From LinkedIN

WHO WANTS A DOLLAR?
NOT CHINA

Dr Eamon McKinney

But America does need China it needs the rare earths required for military production, automotive and hightech manufacturing. All would come to a standstill without the rare earths which China has essentially monopolized.

Additionally, 85% of all Pharmaceutica used in the U.S. and their component chemicals come from China. Imagine what America would look like if supplies of
Pharmaceuticals were stopped. The truth, however unpalatable is that America needs China,

China no longer needs America.

What is now happening in China should alarm all Americans businesses. China no longer wants the dollar, China has too many dollars it doesn’t need any more of what it regards as increasingly worthless currency for tangible products.

Where trade is still being conducted many Chinese companies are no longer pricing their goods in Dollars, they are pricing in RMB and want to paid in
such. For the last 40 years, dollars came in and were exchanged into local currency, now, if you want Chinese goods, first buy RMB with your dollars.

First slide…

Second slide…

Second slide.

Third slide…

Third slide.

And China is not alone, widely unreported is the fact that many countries who are considered allies of America, The U.K, France, Germany, India and Mexico are also moving rapidly away from the Dollar and the institutions that sustain it. The swift payment system, the I.M.F. the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements are all now being replaced by more equitable alternatives.

Trump’s tariffs have not affected China or hurt it any way. The tariffs have been paid by the American consumer. It has just added further inflationary pressure on the economy.

But that is the tip of the iceberg. Biden’s new $1.9 Trillion stimulus (actually a bailout) will plunge the dollar to new lows.

If that is not alarming enough, consider this: 40% of all the $US currently in circulation globally have been created in the last year.

The dollar has plunged in value some 15% over the last few months, and it continues to decline. We can only hope that as inflation inevitably increases
it will be gradual, the consequences of a more rapid decline are unthinkable, yet most certainly possible.

Denial appears to be the prevailing U.S. Government policy, but denial is not a useful strategy for the private sector. Companies must deal with the fact that global supply chains may soon to be a thing of the past for American companies.

As the dollar continues to decline, it’s reduced purchasing power is making foreign products uneconomical. The one positive is that the companies who have recognized these facts are bringing their supply chains home.

Reshoring makes good economic sense, because it is possible that in the near future, the only people who will accept the US dollar are likely to only be other American companies.

Conclusion

You will not read about the collapse, the SHTF, or the various wars and brush fights in the American Government controlled media. But they are still going on. Here’s an insight as to what is going on.

Finance folk, bankers, accountants, and other FIRE industries have looted the United States, and gutted American society. It’s a big boated crusty shell with nothing but dust on the inside. Soon, very soon, there is going to be a mass realization of this reality.

It could be harsh, brash and catastrophic.

Or, it could be a serious of controlled implosions.

But it WILL HAPPEN.

There is no way out of this mess. None. The only thing that a person can do is hunker down in a smaller community away from the larger clusters of dependent citizenry, become active and involved in your respective communities, and be the Rufus; help others will no concern for personal profit.

I will advise you all to use all of the techniques provided on MM here to center your consciousness, and prepare.

Here’s a quick review…

  • Affirmation prayer campaigns.
  • Perform your Fate Forecasting, and monitor it closely.
  • Center your consciousness using Hemi-sync.
  • Conduct world-line travel and slides as necessary.
  • Be part of your community.
  • Be able to provide a service, or volunteer in your community.
  • Tune out the bullshit propaganda off the “news”.
  • Stock up your food larder. Have a garden.
  • Trade and barter with neighbors.
  • Ride a bicycle more often. Use the car less.
  • Surround yourself with cats, or dogs, or other animals.
  • Be kind. Be calm. Be neighborly.

Make your little area a bubble of kind softness. That way, no matter what changes hits your world, your little area will be mostly immune to them. Be great; be the Rufus.

I believe in you.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

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China has achieved the crown of substantive quantum supremacy

For those of you who worry about Taiwan, and the collapsing US Empire taking over or suppressing integrated chip manufacture. Take note.

China already holds the undisputed leadership in quantum supremacy with not one, but two complete separate computers. One using light and the other superconducting circuits, performing computational feats unattainable for traditional computing.

China has developed two different quantum computers, one that uses light and the other superconducting circuits, and obtained a computing power unattainable for traditional computing, as explained in two articles published in Physical Review Letters.

That means that this dual system of quantum computing gives China the ability to solve practical problems that can not be implemented on conventional computers, stands to respect PhysicsWorld.

With this result, China is already much more than an economic power: together with its energy developments with the artificial sun, it has also entered the “space race” of the 21st century with force, with different projects oriented to Mars and the Moon.

Except... that it is the ONLY nation in this race. The rest of the world are arguing whether to drive to the racetrack or walk.

Pioneers in quantum information

The new quantum computers have been developed by two groups from the Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences, China University of Science and Technology, led by Professor Jian-Wei Pan, whose work has been highlighted in the past, both by the journal Nature and Science, as a pioneer in experimental quantum information science.

The National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory is one of two national labs at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, July 11, 2019. [Photo by XU MINHAO/FOR CHINA DAILY]
Last July, China announced that it had achieved quantum supremacy with a supercomputer called the Zuchongzhi, capable of performing operations much, much, MUCH faster than Google’s quantum computer.

Zuchongzhi completed a complex calculation in just over an hour, doing it about 60,000 times faster than a classic computer: Using 56 qubits, he solved in just 1.2 hours a task that would take a classic supercomputer eight years.

China leads in quantum supercomputer design, technology, manufacturing, research, applications, components, robotics and AI controls .

Two new quantum computers

China now emerges with a new quantum computer, which it calls Zuchongzhi 2.1 , which uses 66 qubits and is 10 million times faster than the current fastest supercomputer: its computational complexity is more than 1 million times greater than the Sycamore processor. of Google.

It also emerges with another quantum supercomputer, which it calls Jiuzhang 2.0 , that uses light to process information, rather than the superconducting circuits that underpin Zuchongzhi 2.1. “Jiuzhang 2.0”, with 113 photons transmitting qubits, is a septillion times more powerful: it can solve in a millisecond an operation that the fastest computer in the world would take 30 billion years.

This second development also represents quite a feat over the previous version of this same quantum computing system based on light, the “Jiuzhang”, presented at the end of 2020 and with which 76 qubit transmitting photons were used.

Quantum supremacy

With these developments, China consolidates its global quantum advantage and confirms that quantum computers are much more powerful and efficient than classical computers in solving critical problems.

Classical computers are based on the binary system, in which each symbol constitutes a bit, the minimum unit of information in this system, which can only have two values ​​(zero or one).

Binary Computer.

These classic computers have managed to increase their power through supercomputers, which appeared in the 70s of the last century.

These supercomputers, better known as high-performance computers , base their extraordinary capabilities (measured in petaflops) on the sum of powerful binary computers linked together to increase their working power and performance.

Another universe

Quantum computing belongs to another universe: it uses a completely different and superior basic unit of information called the qubit.

The qubit, unlike the bit, can take several values ​​at the same time, that is, it manifests a quantum system with two simultaneous eigen states.

The qubit with two simultaneous eigen states.

While the bit takes on values ​​of 0 or 1 in groups of 8,16,32 or 64 bits, the measurement in qubits can be in both states of 0 and 1 simultaneously, giving you the ability to perform unreachable operations to binary computing.

Quantum supremacy is achieved when it is shown that a qubit-based computer can solve something that is not available to binary computers, even if they are very sophisticated.

Double supremacy

Although it has been claimed in the past that quantum supremacy has already been achieved, and became a battleground between IBM and Google, China has overtaken both with far more powerful developments that, according to Physics magazine, give it no place. to doubt the real and verified quantum supremacy.

And not only that, but it has achieved it by following two different and parallel paths that fortify its supremacy: that of light and that of superconducting circuits.

Physics highlights that it is very difficult for classical algorithms and computers to improve China’s quantum advantages, so we can say that the debate on whether quantum supremacy really exists has concluded.

Useful Supremacy?

And the magazine concludes: Given that quantum machines solve such large and impressive problems in a way that far surpasses classical simulators, could we use these quantum computers to solve useful computational problems?

Researchers have claimed that these quantum computers can tackle important problems, particularly in the field of quantum chemistry, but no convincing experimental demonstration has yet been reported in the West.

You can rest assured that it is ongoing, or has already been conduced, inside of China.

References

Don’t believe me?

Strong Quantum Computational Advantage Using a Superconducting Quantum Processor. Yulin Wu et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 180501. DOI: https: //doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.180501

Phase-Programmable Gaussian Boson Sampling Using Stimulated Squeezed Light . Han-Sen Zhong et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 180502. DOI: https: //doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.180502

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

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Articles & Links

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
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  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Law 7 of the 48 Laws of Power; Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit.

This is law 8 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.
  • You must secure the credit for yourself.
  • Learn to take advantage of others work to further your own cause.
  • Use the past, a vast storehouse of knowledge and wisdom.  Learn this and you will look like a genius.
  • Note: be sure to know when letting other people share the credit furthers your cause.

LAW 7

GET OTHERS TO DO THE WORK FOR YOU, BUT ALWAYS TAKE THE CREDIT

JUDGMENT

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

TRANSGRESSION AND OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In 1883 a young Serbian scientist named Nikola Tesla was working for the European division of the Continental Edison Company. He was a brilliant inventor, and Charles Batchelor, a plant manager and a personal friend of Thomas Edison, persuaded him he should seek his fortune in America, giving him a letter of introduction to Edison himself. So began a life of woe and tribulation that lasted until Tesla’s death.

THE TORTOISE

One day the tortoise met the elephant, who trumpeted, “Out of my way, you weakling I might step on you!” The tortoise was not afraid and stayed where he was, so the elephant stepped on him, but could not crush him. “Do not boast, Mr. Elephant, I am as strong as you are!” said the tortoise, but the elephant just laughed. So the tortoise asked him to come to his hill the next morning. The next day, before sunrise, the tortoise ran down the hill to the river, where he met the hippopotamus, who was just on his way back into the water after his nocturnal feeding. “Mr Hippo! Shall we have a tug-of-war? I bet I’m as strong as you are!” said the tortoise. The hippopotamus laughed at this ridiculous idea, but agreed. The tortoise produced a long rope and told the hippo to hold it in his mouth until the tortoise shouted “Hey!” Then the tortoise ran back up the hill where he found the elephant, who was getting impatient.

He gave the elephant the other end of the rope and said, “When I say ‘Hey!’ pull, and you’ll.see which of us is the strongest. ”Then he ran halfway back down the hill, to a place where he couldn’t be seen, and shouted, “Hey!” The elephant and the hippopotamus pulled and pulled, but neither could budge the other-they were of equal strength. They both agreed that the tortoise was as strong as they were. Never do what others can do for you. The tortoise let others do the work for him while he got the credit.

ZAIREAN FABLE

When Tesla met Edison in New York, the famous inventor hired him on the spot. Tesla worked eighteen-hour days, finding ways to improve the primitive Edison dynamos. Finally he offered to redesign them completely. To Edison this seemed a monumental task that could last years without paying off, but he told Tesla, “There’s fifty thousand dollars in it for you—if you can do it.” Tesla labored day and night on the project and after only a year he produced a greatly improved version of the dynamo, complete with automatic controls. He went to Edison to break the good news and receive his $50,000. Edison was pleased with the improvement, for which he and his company would take credit, but when it came to the issue of the money he told the young Serb, “Tesla, you don’t understand our American humor!,” and offered a small raise instead.

Tesla’s obsession was to create an alternating-current system (AC) of electricity. Edison believed in the direct-current system (DC), and not only refused to support Tesla’s research but later did all he could to sabotage him. Tesla turned to the great Pittsburgh magnate George Westinghouse, who had started his own electricity company. Westinghouse completely funded Tesla’s research and offered him a generous royalty agreement on future profits. The AC system Tesla developed is still the standard today —but after patents were filed in his name, other scientists came forward to take credit for the invention, claiming that they had laid the groundwork for him. His name was lost in the shuffle, and the public came to associate the invention with Westinghouse himself.

A year later, Westinghouse was caught in a takeover bid from J. Pierpont Morgan, who made him rescind the generous royalty contract he had signed with Tesla. Westinghouse explained to the scientist that his company would not survive if it had to pay him his full royalties; he persuaded Tesla to accept a buyout of his patents for $216,000—a large sum, no doubt, but far less than the $12 million they were worth at the time. The financiers had divested Tesla of the riches, the patents, and essentially the credit for the greatest invention of his career.

The name of Guglielmo Marconi is forever linked with the invention of radio. But few know that in producing his invention—he broadcast a signal across the English Channel in 1899—Marconi made use of a patent Tesla had filed in 1897, and that his work depended on Tesla’s research. Once again Tesla received no money and no credit. Tesla invented an induction motor as well as the AC power system, and he is the real “father of radio.” Yet none of these discoveries bear his name. As an old man, he lived in poverty.

In 1917, during his later impoverished years, Tesla was told he was to receive the Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He turned the medal down. “You propose,” he said, “to honor me with a medal which I could pin upon my coat and strut for a vain hour before the members of your Institute. You would decorate my body and continue to let starve, for failure to supply recognition, my mind and its creative products, which have supplied the foundation upon which the major portion of your Institute exists.”

Interpretation

Many harbor the illusion that science, dealing with facts as it does, is beyond the petty rivalries that trouble the rest of the world. Nikola Tesla was one of those. He believed science had nothing to do with politics, and claimed not to care for fame and riches. As he grew older, though, this ruined his scientific work. Not associated with any particular discovery, he could attract no investors to his many ideas. While he pondered great inventions for the future, others stole the patents he had already developed and got the glory for themselves.

He wanted to do everything on his own, but merely exhausted and impoverished himself in the process.

Edison was Tesla’s polar opposite. He wasn’t actually much of a scientific thinker or inventor; he once said that he had no need to be a mathematician because he could always hire one. That was Edison’s main method. He was really a businessman and publicist, spotting the trends and the opportunities that were out there, then hiring the best in the field to do the work for him. If he had to he would steal from his competitors. Yet his name is much better known than Tesla’s, and is associated with more inventions.

To be sure, if the hunter relies on the security of the carriage, utilizes the legs of the six horses, and makes Wang Liang hold their reins, then he will not tire himself and will find it easy to overtake swift animals. Now supposing he discarded the advantage of the carriage, gave up the useful legs of the horses and the skill of Wang Liang, and alighted to run after the animals, then even though his legs were as quick as Lou Chi’s, he would not be in time to overtake the animals. In fact, if good horses and strong carriages are taken into use, then mere bond-men and bondwomen will be good enough to catch the animals.

HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.

The lesson is twofold: First, the credit for an invention or creation is as important, if not more important, than the invention itself. You must secure the credit for yourself and keep others from stealing it away, or from piggy-backing on your hard work. To accomplish this you must always be vigilant and ruthless, keeping your creation quiet until you can be sure there are no vultures circling overhead. Second, learn to take advantage of other people’s work to further your own cause. Time is precious and life is short. If you try to do it all on your own, you run yourself ragged, waste energy, and burn yourself out. It is far better to conserve your forces, pounce on the work others have done, and find a way to make it your own.

Everybody steals in commerce and industry.

I’ve stolen a lot myself. But I know how to steal. Thomas Edison, 1847-1931

KEYS TO POWER

The world of power has the dynamics of the jungle: There are those who live by hunting and killing, and there are also vast numbers of creatures (hyenas, vultures) who live off the hunting of others. These latter, less imaginative types are often incapable of doing the work that is essential for the creation of power. They understand early on, though, that if they wait long enough, they can always find another animal to do the work for them. Do not be naive: At this very moment, while you are slaving away on some project, there are vultures circling above trying to figure out a way to survive and even thrive off your creativity. It is useless to complain about this, or to wear yourself ragged with bitterness, as Tesla did. Better to protect yourself and join the game. Once you have established a power base, become a vulture yourself, and save yourself a lot of time and energy.

A hen who had lost her sight, and was accustomed to scratching up the earth in search of food, although blind, still continued to scratch away most diligently. Of what use was it to the industriuus fool? Another sharp-sighted hen who spared her tender feet never moved from her side, and enjoyed, without scratching, the fruit of the other’s labor. For as often as the blind hen scratched up a barley-corn, her watchful companion devoured it.

FABLES, GOITCHOLD LESSING, 1729-1781

Of the two poles of this game, one can be illustrated by the example of the explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Balboa had an obsession—the discovery of El Dorado, a legendary city of vast riches.

Early in the sixteenth century, after countless hardships and brushes with death, he found evidence of a great and wealthy empire to the south of Mexico, in present-day Peru. By conquering this empire, the Incan, and seizing its gold, he would make himself the next Cortés. The problem was that even as he made this discovery, word of it spread among hundreds of other conquistadors. He did not understand that half the game was keeping it quiet, and carefully watching those around him. A few years after he discovered the location of the Incan empire, a soldier in his own army, Francisco Pizarro, helped to get him beheaded for treason. Pizarro went on to take what Balboa had spent so many years trying to find.

The other pole is that of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, who, late in his career, found himself deluged with requests for paintings. He created a system: In his large studio he employed dozens of outstanding painters, one specializing in robes, another in backgrounds, and so on. He created a vast production line in which a large number of canvases would be worked on at the same time. When an important client visited the studio, Rubens would shoo his hired painters out for the day. While the client watched from a balcony, Rubens would work at an incredible pace, with unbelievable energy. The client would leave in awe of this prodigious man, who could paint so many masterpieces in so short a time.

This is the essence of the Law: Learn to get others to do the work for you while you take the credit, and you appear to be of godlike strength and power. If you think it important to do all the work yourself, you will never get far, and you will suffer the fate of the Balboas and Teslas of the world. Find people with the skills and creativity you lack. Either hire them, while putting your own name on top of theirs, or find a way to take their work and make it your own. Their creativity thus becomes yours, and you seem a genius to the world.

There is another application of this law that does not require the parasitic use of your contemporaries’ labor: Use the past, a vast storehouse of knowledge and wisdom. Isaac Newton called this “standing on the shoulders of giants.” He meant that in making his discoveries he had built on the achievements of others. A great part of his aura of genius, he knew, was attributable to his shrewd ability to make the most of the insights of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance scientists. Shakespeare borrowed plots, characterizations, and even dialogue from Plutarch, among other writers, for he knew that nobody surpassed Plutarch in the writing of subtle psychology and witty quotes.

How many later writers have in their turn borrowed from—plagiarized—Shakespeare

We all know how few of today’s politicians write their own speeches. Their own words would not win them a single vote; their eloquence and wit, whatever there is of it, they owe to a speech writer. Other people do the work, they take the credit. The upside of this is that it is a kind of power that is available to everyone. Learn to use the knowledge of the past and you will look like a genius, even when you are really just a clever borrower.

Writers who have delved into human nature, ancient masters of strategy, historians of human stupidity and folly, kings and queens who have learned the hard way how to handle the burdens of power—their knowledge is gathering dust, waiting for you to come and stand on their shoulders. Their wit can be your wit, their skill can be your skill, and they will never come around to tell people how unoriginal you really are. You can slog through life, making endless mistakes, wasting time and energy trying to do things from your own experience. Or you can use the armies of the past. As Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”

Image: The Vulture. Of all the creatures in the jungle, he has it the easiest. The hard work of others becomes his work; their failure to survive becomes his nourishment. Keep an eye on the Vulture—while you are hard at work, he is cir cling above. Do not fight him, join him.

Authority: There is much to be known, life is short, and life is not life without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire knowledge from everybody. Thus, by the sweat of another’s brow, you win the reputation of being an oracle. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

There are times when taking the credit for work that others have done is not the wise course: If your power is not firmly enough established, you will seem to be pushing people out of the limelight. To be a brilliant ex ploiter of talent your position must be unshakable, or you will be accused of deception.

Be sure you know when letting other people share the credit serves your purpose. It is especially important to not be greedy when you have a master above you. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the People’s Republic of China was originally his idea, but it might never have come off but for the deft diplomacy of Henry Kissinger. Nor would it have been as successful without Kissinger’s skills. Still, when the time came to take credit, Kissinger adroitly let Nixon take the lion’s share. Knowing that the truth would come out later, he was careful not to jeopardize his standing in the short term by hogging the limelight. Kissinger played the game expertly: He took credit for the work of those below him while graciously giving credit for his own labors to those above. That is the way to play the game.

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Hey someone is going to give me 18.5 million dollars! What do you know!

Wow! Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts. Eh?

"I am Mrs amelia freya, a widow suffering from a long illness. I have some funds I inherited from my late husband, the sum of (US$ 18.5 Million) my Doctor told me recently that I have serious sickness which is a cancer problem. What disturbs me most is my stroke sickness.

Having known my condition, I decided to donate this fund to a good person that will utilize it the way I am going to instruct herein. I need a very honest and God fearing person who can claim this money and use it for Charity works, for orphanages, widows and also build schools for less privileges that will be named after my late husband if possible and to promote the word of God and the effort that the house of God is maintained. 

I do not want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly manner.That's why I'm taking this decision. I'm not afraid of death so I know where I'm going. I accept this decision because I do not have any child who will inherit this money after I die. 

Please I want your sincere and urgent answer to know if you will be able to execute this project, and I will give you more information on how the fund will be transferred to your bank account."

Sometimes when something is too good to be true, it actually is.

The Trojan Horse

From HERE.

In the tenth year of the Trojan War, despairing at their inability to take the city by storm, the Greeks resorted to a cunning little stratagem.

Truth be told, “little” may not be the proper word for it, because the central part of the plan – devised by who else but Odysseus – included the construction of an enormous wooden horse.

Almost everybody knows why it had been built and who lay hidden inside the hollow belly of the statue.

However, the whole story is a bit more complicated than that; and it includes several memorable episodes you can find out more about below.

The Stratagem

Epeius and the Construction of the Horse

Now, for Odysseus’ plan to work, the Greeks needed a master-engineer; fortunately, they did have one in their ranks: Epeius.

True, he had the reputation of being a coward, but as far as architecture was considered, there weren’t many people on the planet who could rival him both in knowledge and vision.

He needed no more than three days and just a few helpers to build a huge hollow horse of fir planks, felled on Mount Ida.

Following the advice of Odysseus, Epeius also installed a trap-door on one side of the wooden horse, and engraved large letters on the other:

“For their return home, the Greeks dedicate this thank-offering to Athena.”

The Heroes in the Horse

Once the Wooden Horse had been built, Odysseus proceeded to persuade the bravest and the most skillful of the Greek warriors present at Troy to climb, fully armed, into its belly. Some say that there were 23 of them, while others speculate with numbers between 30 and 50.

Either way, we know for sure that, in addition to Odysseus, Menelaus, Diomedes, Neoptolemus, Acamas, Sthenelus, and Thoas were also there.

Even though hesitant and scared stiff, Epeius joined the party as well: he was, after all, the only one who knew how to operate the trap-door.

The Rest of the Plan

Once the night had fallen, the remaining Greeks burned their tents and, led by Agamemnon, sailed off to the nearby island of Tenedos.

The plan was to stay there for a night and then go back to Troy. Odysseus’s first cousin, Sinon, was the only one left behind; and for a reason: he was supposed to signal them the appropriate moment for their return.

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/The_Trojan_Horse/the_trojan_horse.html

The Discovery of the Trojan Horse

Priam, Thymoetes, and Capys

At break of day, the Trojan scouts were met with a sight that must have been beyond joyful: the camp of the Greeks lay in ashes, deserted and all but empty. Priam and his sons immediately went out to witness this miracle with their own eyes; and, of course, the only thing they could find there was a giant wooden horse dedicated to Athens.

They stood in wonder for some time, before Thymoetes suggested that they should take the horse into Troy and pull it up to Athens’ citadel. Capys, however, had other ideas.

“We should hurl into the sea this false Greek gift, or underneath it thrust a kindling flame, or pierce the hollow ambush of its womb with probing spear! Athene favored the Greeks for far too long...”

Priam was in favor of Thymoetes’ proposal: since the horse was an offering to a goddess, desecrating it didn’t seem to the king of Troy as such a great idea.

Laocoon’s Warning

At that very moment, hurrying down from the citadel and followed by a large crowd, the Trojan priest Laocoon started shouting from afar:

“O unhappy men! What madness this? Who deems our foemen fled? 

Think ye the gifts of Greece can lack for guile? Have ye not known Ulysses?... 

This is all a trap. 

Trust not this horse, o countrymen, whatever it may bring!

I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.” Saying that, Laocoon whirled a spear in the direction of the Horse. Numerous cheers followed this fearsome act:

“Burn it!” 
“Pierce it!” 
“Hurl it over the walls!”

Sinon Clarifies His Presence

This argument was interrupted by the arrival of Sinon, brought in chained by a couple of Trojan soldiers.

Now, it is difficult to say whether Odysseus had planned for this part as well, or whether the Greeks merely had a stroke of luck; be that as it may, it was Sinon who eventually convinced the Trojans to roll the horse through the Gates of Troy.

He explained to Priam that the Greeks, weary of warring and downcast after the death of Achilles, had deliberated leaving Troy for a couple of months, and they would have done that much earlier if not for the bad weather.

Calchas, the most famous Achaean prophet, announced that the only way for the winds to be appeased was through human sacrifice; the scapegoat he pointed his finger at (in a nice touch to the story, supposedly “bribed by Odysseus”) was none other than Sinon himself.

However, the favorable winds sprang up before the ceremony took place, and Sinon managed to make his escape in the confusion.

Sinon’s Explanation of the Wooden Horse

“Let’s say that we believe you, Sinon,”

Replied Priam.

“But what’s with the horse?”
“Oh, that! It is merely a placatory gift to Athene, who stopped helping the Greeks after Odysseus and Diomedes stole a statue from her temple.”

“Nonetheless,”

Priam had a good follow-up question;

"Why make it so huge?”

But Sinon had an even better answer:

“So that you are unable to bring it into the city. 

For Calchas had prophesized that If you defile it, a horrible ruin – o, may the gods bring it on Calchas rather! 

– would come on your throne; however, if you manage to wheel it to your own citadel, then you will become a ruler of all Asia and invade Greece.”

The Death of Laocoon

“Lies, all lies,”

Cried Laocoon.

“Every word he uttered sounds as if invented by Odysseus! Believe him not, Priam!”

However, it is difficult for one to blame the king of Troy for not taking the Trojan priest seriously when, just as he was saying this, two serpents swam out of the sea and strangled Laocoon and his twin sons.

In reality, the snakes were sent by Apollo in punishment for when Laocoon once slept with his wife in front of Apollo’s image; to the eyes of the Trojans, however, they were a sign of the gods: Sinon had obviously spoken the truth, and Laocoon was punished for lying and throwing a spear at the Horse.

The Bloody Celebration

Helen and Deiphobus

With much effort, the Trojans dragged the Wooden Horse inside their Gates, consecrated it to Athene, and started wildly celebrating their victory.

During the festivities, Helen and Priam’s son Deiphobos sneaked to the wooden statue.

As Deiphobus was observing it in marvel and patting its planks, Helen amused him by calling out the names of the Greek heroes in the voice of their wives. It is not known whether Helen was a part of the plan as well, and this was a whim of overconfidence, or whether she was merely joyful, but, owing to either displeasure or eagerness, many Greeks were tempted to leap out of the horse at this point – especially Menelaus and Diomedes.

However, Odysseus restrained them all, patiently waiting for the proper moment for him to enact the final act of his devious plan.

The Attack

At midnight, just before the seventh full moon of that year had risen, Sinon slipped through the Gates of Troy and kindled a beacon – the signal Agamemnon had waited for to return with the Achaean fleet to shore.

An hour or so later, in the dead silence of the night, Odysseus raised his sword and ordered Epeius to unlock the trap-door.

Echion was the first one to jump out of the horse; being too eager and reckless, he fell and broke his neck; the rest used Epeius’ rope-ladder.

Soon enough, Agamemnon’s army stormed through the open gates.

Not even the gods could save Troy now.

The Trojan Horse Sources

Most of this story is told by Virgil in the second book of the Aeneid, which you can read here in Dryden’s rhymed version, and here in Theodore C. Williams blank verse translation; for a summary of the same events, consult the epitome of Apollodorus’ Library.

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/The_Trojan_Horse/the_trojan_horse.html

Conclusions

Throughout the West, people are using the “hook” of financial gain to manipulate others. We all know that this is a trick, but what kind of a trick? I argue that it is a hidden (potential) crime wearing the outer skin of respectability. Like the Trojan Horse.

You expect one thing, and then (once the strap is sprung) something else manifests.

Whether a wooden horse, a business proposition, an email promising to send you millions of dollars, or some other otherwise unusual benefit or arrangement.

Often the vices are used to spring the trap, with greed, lust and vanity being the most common.

Be very careful when anyone tries to appeal to one of your vices. It could very well end up being very dangerous.

So what do you do?

If something is unusual, like finding out you had a great uncle Metallicman that left you 50 million dollars, or to give a copy of your passport and bank information so that you can get a loan at 3%, or anything related, stop… just stop.

Go for a nice long walk.

Go all by your self into a lone cafe, or coffee house.

An American Diner.

Sit down.

Look up at the menu.

See if there is a special, or maybe a daily special that you can eat. I tend to go for the specials, and the soups. But that is just me. Don’t you know.

Place an order.

Place your order with the waitress.

And forget about everything.

Eat a nice sandwich (maybe a blue plate special) wash it down with a cup of coffee, and forget about the “news” or anything else.

Typical diner fare; Three sunny-side-up eggs, buttered whole-wheat toast, hash brown potatoes, and country-style chicken-fried pork.

Then just go for a walk down the lane.

Most traps disguise themselves as “unusual events promising enormous profit“.

Ignore it all.

Move on.

A cup of “Joe” in an American diner.

Remember, the reason why Athens moved the Trojan Horse into it’s gates was because they believed that in doing so they would have the benefits provided by the God’s themselves.

Don’t allow others to hurt your by manipulating your mind by your propensity toward vices.

Finally…

One day after I wrote this article, I got this…

Liewe Gelukkige Wenner!

Dit is vir ons aangenaam om u in te lig oor die uitslag van die
Internasionale Aanlyn Loteryprogram op 1 Desember 2021, wat 'n poging
is om geesteswetenskappe te help van die ernstige globale ekonomiese
krisis as gevolg van (Coivd-19). Nommer: SMLL / 2021 / -968091 / 21,
wat die 1ste kategorie gewen het. U is dus geregtig op 'n enkelbedrag
van $2,000,000.00 (Twee miljoen Amerikaanse dollars). Ons moedig jou
aan om jou trustee te kontak deur die inligting hieronder te gebruik
vir bekragtiging en meer inligting oor die gebruik van jou prys.

Mnr Brian Luke
E-pos: usalotery2@gmail.com

Groete,
Mnr Williams Poker.
Internasionale Lotery (Koördineerder).


Dear Lucky Winner!

We are pleased to inform you about the outcome of the International
Online Lottery Program on December 1st, 2021 which is a bid to help
humanities from the severe global economic crunch as a result of
(Coivd-19). Number: SMLL / 2021 / -968091 / 21, which won the 1st
category. You are therefore entitled to a lump sum of $2,000,000.00
(Two million United States dollars). We encourage you to contact your
trustee using the information below for validation and more
information on redeeming your prize.

Mr. Brian Luke
Email:  usalotery2@gmail.com

Regards,
Mr. Williams Poker.
International Lottery (Coordinator).

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Part 5 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander January 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 5.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

Personally, I think girls, cats, and food are far more interesting. But, that's me, don't you know.

[13] Question – Can humans overcome a cosmic event

I am still stuck on this… maybe you can just straighten me out without bothering The Commander.

  • There is a shared Earth Template, correct?
  • We ALL contribute to manifest this Earth with our collective thoughts – a sort of average; correct?
  • There would be no physical earth unless we humans will it so; correct?
  • There are our individual Pre-birth Templates; correct?
  • We purportedly set these before being incarnated into this meat-suit; correct?

As to whether or not we are assisted in these designs or ordered, is debatable – in my opinion – I think that some are ORDERED, like me, and are difficult if not impossible to alter while a human.

Now then, I say the world as we know it will end shortly in a cataclysmic event; you pick: Human-based Thermonuclear Devastation, or Cosmically induced Geophysical Surface Destruction. For either of these to be realized, many, many humans who have contributed to this [current] manifest earth must share that belief/thought.

Is THAT correct?

So, IF we humans came together, in thought, could we overcome even a Cosmic Event, and Save The Earth, so to speak?

I am asking if there are controls in place, entities in place, that would disallow the Earth’s destruction even if the vast majority willed it so. Does the Cosmos trump The Old Empire, so to speak. Sorry, but I thought that The Commander skirted this issue earlier.

Yes. You are correct in every statement. However, things are not all that simple and the "devil is in the details" as is often said.

The mini-universe known as the MWI (or the "reality universe") is a bubble universe that contains the stars and solar systems of the "Main Universe". Within this mini-universe are it's own laws, and rules and organizational parameters that are similar to the "Main Universe", but differ in many ways.

For instance, The "Reality Universe" limits or suppresses the power of thought to a far greater degree from that of the "Main Universe". If a IS-BE is thinking in the "Main Universe" the thoughts would create fast and easy manifestations due to the parameters and rules of the "Main Universe". But those rules and systems are suppressed or absent in the "Reality Universe".

It's not only that [1] there is memory amnesia, and [2] a containment field, but [3] there is a complete suppression of IS-BE actuation of thoughts.

Along with these modifications, replacement rules and laws of the "Reality Universe" and the DNA make up of the "skin suits" of the inmates (on both the physical and the non-physical realities) are such that periodic social purging of planetary and human life occurs. This is programmed into the Prison Complex intentionally.

Once the Domain took over this region of space and the Prison Complex, a number of systems stopped working, others took on a life of their own, and as we have recently flushed-out, certain entities have (for their own purposes) took over various functions and systems.

Thus the intended operation of the "Reality Universe" is broken. It operates differently than what was originally intended.

Nor is it defaulting to the parent "Main Universe". The only way there is any access to that state of being is through gated portals and transit bubble systems. (LD and OBE are special cases of hybrid bubble-systems that transit through portal systems.)

So presently, the worst aspects of the "Reality Universe" is manifesting.

The thoughts of IS-BE entities in skin-suits are being manipulated by selfish and malevolent entities to act as some kind of thought amplifier for personal gain. This is successfully altering the shared templates (sic.) because the main original "Reality Universe" systems are not fully functional and damaged in various ways.

To answer the question as to if well intentioned groups of skin-suits, acting and conjoined together can alter the fabric of the MWI in the "Reality Universe" at this present time, the answer is yes. However, if other larger groups are doing the same thing in a countering manner than the effect is the sum total or both, and the longest most powerful group would have the greatest apparent manifestation of results.

If...

5 skin-suits think about peace and tranquility.
50 skin-suits think of crime, destruction and pillage.

Then, the highest probability of manifestation will be via the largest concentration of thoughts (all things being the same).

The way to get around this apparent limitation is to localize; geographically your range of effect. In short, you create a bubble of influence to your immediate region. That enables a moderate work around to this situation.

Thus, if...

5 skin-suits think about peace and tranquility located in a small community,

While...

50 skin-suits think of crime, destruction and pillage in the entire nation.

Then...

There is a reasonable, and higher than normal, chance that the bubble of influence will be created by the five IS-BE skins suits, and will coexist with the influences of the 50 that are diluted over a wider geographic area.

That is the primary advised "work around" system to overcome the onslaught of vault 7 manipulation media techniques for mind control efforts. The well intentioned and alert inmate will note that it is easy to create such a positive environment by constructing positive thoughts all around them in many, many ways. It is no accident that MM has been promoting this methodology to all irregulars and lurkers.

[14] Question – Domain Military Strategy

Is China’s military doctrine spiritual brothers with the Domain? I mean do they wage actual total war, take no prisoners stuff like Genghis Khan? I mean totally peaceful but when they decide that the world is better without you, then you really better just run.

I see the Domain as really peaceful but perhaps they can be absolutely brutal towards their enemies if there were no possibility of rehab?

  • It’s something like the white, red, and black tents of Genghis Khan. You only want to see the white tents and surrender. By the time you get to the red tents, all the men would have to die. Black tents, well men, women, and children die. No animal left. Even the stones are gone. You will pray for a kind death when the black tents come up.
  • The white tents come up first. There is a short period of time. Refuse the white and the red tents come up. Then your choice is to let the men all do to their deaths. Or face a real Final Solution where everything is destroyed. You do not want the black tents.

I don’t know if you can draw the same conclusions as I do. But they scare the heck out of me. I think the Domain is low key trying to tell us something through MM. Our host himself may not even know it so by implication no one in knows.

MM comments: I had a VERY STRONG urge, almost like my entire arms and legs were filled with termites to write / pen the following article. Funny that you should mention Genghis Khan.

What I can say is that The Domain is “Yin and Yang“. I have been having such strong thoughts about China’s military doctrine and the military ruthlessness of Genghis Khan. You do know that the vast bulk of the military sappers under Genghis Khan were from the captured Chinese territories.

I would say that they are being peaceful now. Very, very peaceful. But if the time comes, they unleash Hell on Earth at a level of ferocity that is beyond comprehension.

But let’s ask the question…

Is China’s military doctrine spiritual brothers with the Domain? I mean do they wage actual total war, take no prisoners stuff like Genghis Khan? I mean totally peaceful but when they decide that the world is better without you, then you really better just run.

There will be no mercy.

The Earth is a Prison Planet, and a war (whether programmed as part of the "Old Empire", or intentionally set in place by "old Empire" embeds) makes no difference. It is a "Prison Riot" and will not be allowed. 

We will use every power, every technology, every "trick in the book" to re-balance things and correct the imbalance. We are the caretakers of this region of space. We take that role seriously.

I am curious. Like how?

The Domain is very capable.

(Images of scenes of soldiers vomiting at their battle stations... Images of gun barrels warping. ... Images of radios, video monitors and equipment going dead.)

(Images of scenes from the Star Trek series showing "the Borg" teleport onto a ship and take it over... Images of Wizards and Warlocks casting magic spells and people melting... )

(...Images of a Domain soldier "walking into" one of the bodies of a general and ordering his military to destroy each other... Images of a 1950's movie showing flying saucers disintegrate entire buildings... )

(Images of voice overs and soldiers following the insane orders... Images of ballistic missile codes being changed...)

(...Images of a political leader sleeping in bed beside his wife and the wife starts tearing at him with her fingernails like a wild cat blood everywhere... Images of people on the New York City streets walking and then collapsing dead all at once like some kind of science fiction movie...)

(...Images of soldiers shooting each other from the movies scene in "Jacobs Ladder... Image from the movie "Scanners" where the guys head explodes.)

Scanner’s movie gif…

So, The Domain would do all the work. The Domain would do all the fighting. Not China, nor Russia…?

No. We are a garrison force. We are not equipped for a full military invasion. Were we to conduct a full invasion, the entire planet would be purged.

Instead, a war would occur on human terms, but The Domain would make sure that China (which is a Domain asset) be protected. The Domain would direct the strategy, make sure that various systems work and severely retard and handicap those who have attacked us. We can guarantee that there would be a very quick and lethal encounter against any that would assault The Domain or it's elements.

Already systems are in place to suppress the desire to generate a major conflict against China. Within a year or two, a conflict will be the last thing in the minds of the United States leadership. Everyone will notice that something is amiss by the end of this year (2022), and it will be quite obvious by the end of the next (2023). Most sensible humans would come to the conclusion that a war would be ill advised.

You will write about it tomorrow. 

(I will post it tomorrow. Posted and found HERE. -MM)

However, none of this guarantees anything. There are massive forces that need to be tamed / suppressed in this regard.

Can you please elaborate on your statement that “nothing is guaranteed”.

We are anchoring and manipulating the constraints of the social compacts inherent in the human communities that occupy the General Population in the "Reality Universe". It is desirable that there be "small bads" instead of "big bads" in the changes that are manifesting.

We work on various systems and in various levels. Our projections are on track, but experience has indicated time and time again that things tend not to follow the ideal trend line no matter how carefully and well-intentioned it is positioned. To this end, we provide a wider scope and flexibly in manifested outcomes.Imagine

[15a] Question – Cat concerns

Ugh, I’m really warring with myself about asking another question, but I do need a little guidance since the Commander knows so much about cats.

So how can I best support my eldest cat, after what I think was a stroke on Christmas Eve? She seems so lost now.

MM Comments – This answer was answered by PL on the forum. He offered some good strong medical suggestions and advice. In general, the Domain Commander is an extraterrestrial IS-BE with a great deal of experience and knowledge. However, as much as we might desire help and compassion, I don’t know just how helpful his / it’s help would actually be.

Question posted…

Your little buddy is fine. The physical body is distressed, but the consciousness is fine.

There is an event associated with this situation that is key to your template (sic.).  Do not be distressed about it. All is proceeding as it should.

Comfort your little buddy, take care of him. Provide him comfort, care, kindness and warmth. You know what is going on. Do not doubt your intuition.

(One day later, added the following. -MM)

Physical body or not, his consciousness will migrate around yours. You two both have a strong quantum connection and the associations over time (years?) have been very good, strong and positive ones (for the most part) and you two pals /buddies / friends will continue regardless of the state and conditions of either of your two physical bodies.

You and your buddy are IS-BE. You are not your skin-suits. Your relationship goes deeper and far beyond what you sense right now. Do not be concerned or too emotional over the changes. Your pal does not sense the physical distress like you assume. It's processed differently for him.

[15b] Question – Karmic / quantum entanglements

And my second question, after learning about the karmic/quantum ties we may have with those close to us–I’d appreciate some advice for my situation, particularly with T.

I feel like every place I’ve looked for answers has given me bad information, and I’m not even sure what to say in my Intentions. This could impact my role as an Irregular so it’s important.

Are there any suggestions that can be provided to the questioner about this issue?

Human skin suits, inside of the "reality universe" collect quantum associations much more aggressively than IS-BE entities that exist in the "Main Universe" outside. 

This quanta collects like dust on a window. 

In the normal course of life, the inmate skin-suit needs to periodically cleanse itself. Shake off "the dust", and refresh. This is done through contemplation, fresh air, isolation and restricting dietary input, noise, and avoidance of stimulus in all forms.

Unfortunately many inmates are unaware of this most fundamental need for the day to day maintenance of the skin-suit. And thus they collect all sorts of dust-like quanta.

Some are neutral, and some are good, and some are bad. The determine of the beneficial value of the quanta entanglements are subjective to the entities so involved.

The discharge and shedding of the quanta and the resultant entanglements are uneven. With some inmates giving off more of one type of (specific) quanta than others. Not just in type, but also in volume and in quantity.

It is comparable to being in a room with one other person. The window and the door are closed, and the other person is smoking. This is the normal situation. Every now and then, the non-smoking person must exit the room and wash their face and breathe some fresh air.

However, some people are not smoking a cigarette. They chain smoke cigars, and are very comfortable in the room full of deep blue smoke. But the other people in the room are getting ill and turning a shade of green. Every time they try to open the door to obtain a normal opportunity to breathe some fresh air and wash their face, their actions are interrupted.

In the case of the questioner; inmate T, this inmate is shedding quanta at a prodigious rate. Those closest to them are exposed to a higher than normal level of quanta saturation and this affects their performance in life, interactions, thoughts and emotional responses.

The questioner has the physical need to cleanse themselves, go on retreats, or just have much more quiet personal time to themselves. They need to clean and refresh themselves. This is a fundamental requirement for the basic maintenance of the inmate skin-suit.

This is not a one week sabbatical once a year. This should be a weekly occurrence. Like an automobile that needs gasoline every week, an oil change every month, and air in the tires, and water in the radiator, the inmate has the responsibility to maintain his skin-suit.

Once that maintenance occurs, the questioner will realize whatever next steps are necessary in regards to the personal interactions with T. It is up to the questioner to determine these steps. However they must make those decisions in quiet isolation and away from any other influence of any type.

The fundamental needs of the questioner must be permitted. If they are being denied, then the relationship (in whatever form it is in) is toxic and either must change or be severed. No inmate, let alone an irregular, should be denied the basic operational maintenance of the physical inmate skin-suit.

[16a] Question – Power of Language

So, I have a two-parter. It’s sort of emerging as my “thing” of deeper interest.

What power does language have? Specifically, beyond the ability of advocacy, persuasion and other such arts, is there any weight behind the words we use that extends beyond the physical? I’m sort of thinking of the old stories of spells and suchlike, but in a more general sense. Or a specific sense. Honestly, I don’t know what I don’t know here. Any guidance on this point would be greatly appreciated, as the power of words greatly interests me.

What power does language have?

Language is the bridge that connects (non-physical reality universe) thought via verbalization (physical movement) in the (physical reality universe).

Depending on the social and societal constructs, the language will differ, and that will influence the "flavors" of the thought manifestation.

Thus, a person thinking in French will have a different kind or type of manifestation than one speaking in English. This holds true to dialects and enclaves such as urban English, Austria influenced German, or a Chinese dialect.

Thought generation comes from the IS-BE consciousness in the non-physical realms.

Language is how the brain translate those thoughts in the physical reality.

Manifestation of thoughts, thus must go through the gateway of the mind. 

This is why the manifestation of thought in the MWI pocket universe (the Reality Universe which is the Prison Complex) differs from that of the Main Universe. The inmate skin-suits process thoughts via the brain differently that unmodified humans in the Main Universe.

[16b] Question – Specific affirmation phrasing

As a follow up – does the intent behind the words we chose to use matter as much as specific phrasing, such as with manifestation campaigns? I know MM has written at length about the importance of being specific, but there’s also been some warnings about being too specific and avoiding the “Hollywood effect”.

There is constantly an obfuscation of meaning, a twisting and distortion of facts that puts doublespeak to shame presented in many mainstream narratives. I suppose I’m just curious if everything is just as it appears to be at face value, or if there’s something deeper beyond these prison suit shells at work.

Does the intent behind the words we chose to use matter as much as specific phrasing, such as with manifestation campaigns?

Asked of the Commander…

The mechanism for thought manifestation comes from the use of language in the brain. When a consciousness is processing that thought; known as "generating that thought" (which is actually NOT the same thing) it is the actual verbalization that generates the physical manifestation.

What the person vocalizes is what manifests.

MM comments…

I have no problem with that, however, what you are thinking at the time you are verbalizing the affirmations "color", alter and modify those affirmations.

Let's suppose you had a verbal affirmation that says...

"I have young and youthful skin, and feel like a teenager".

If left alone you will have nice youthful skin, and probably a few zits and maybe start to act a little childish.

However, let's suppose that every-time you read that verbal affirmation you remember a lost teenage crush or a bad relationship or a date that went really wrong. You cannot control that thought. It just pops into your head automatically.

What you might find is that along with smoother skin, you will also start to have relationship troubles that are remarkably similar to that which you experienced as a youth.

So actually, it is not only what you vocalize, but the thoughts that you carry with you as you vocalize those intentions.

[17a] Question – Bug Zapper

The tunnel of light aka bug zapper: Currently, the system is you die and leave your body, then you are instructed to go into the bug zapper, which shocks the crap out of your consciousness, effectively wiping out your memory (99.95% effective on most IS-BEs, it seems).

Is this a correct appraisal of the system?

Yes.

[17b] Question – Purpose of mind erasure

Then, ONCE your memory is erased, you undergo counseling with a guide who allows you access to memories of your past lives. (I believe the commander mentioned that you are allowed “controlled access” to your memories by the Mantids during your counseling session in planning your pre-birth template–if I remember wrong please correct me).

A 3rd party “allows” you to see your memories after your bug zapper treatment. This means that you are not recalling your memories on your own, but it is presented to you.

If the presented memories are edited in any way (a dropped frame here or there, a cleverly edited event in your life), there is no way you would know it since you got zapped first to erase your memory.

I’m not saying that the memories you are viewing during this session is definitely edited, but there’s no way you could confirm that it wasn’t either, given your post-zapping condition.

In any case, why the need to make you go through the bug zapper before you view your memories in the counseling session? Why can’t you keep your memories so you can skip the viewing portion and go straight to negotiation/planning for your next reincarnation?

What is the purpose of the mind erasure, and then drip-feed of selective memories?

The original purpose was to create a situation where the IS-BE would be inclined to assist in the creation of their next pre-birth world-line template(sic.).

Imagine that the IS-BE was a Domain Soldier with a long history of aggressive, intelligent behaviors. Once in the Prison Complex the goal would be not only [1] to erase the past of the IS-BE but also to [2] reconfigure the quanta that comprises what he / she / it is.

The primary baseline default mapping of the new design for the IS-BE entity is to create a passive, obedient, and submissive entity that is very remorseful and regretful towards any foray into the physical realms.

The memories thus presented to this "blank slate" IS-BE would be those that would [1] convince the entity to return back to the General Population out of a need for growth and learning. 

[2] It would convince the entity that it would have to suffer through perils, rapes, hardships, trials, discomfort to thus experience intentional events designed to make a submissive, frightened, and obedient entity. 

[3] The entity would be convinced that eventually at some point in time they would be "perfected" though all the learning, schooling and teachings, and that with just a few more experiences all would end and that they would migrate to a higher state of being. 

[4] This point in time; this goal will always be pushed further out. It will be close but unobtainable.Thus convincing the entity for yet one more reincarnation of suffering, pain, and horrors.

these goals and achievements can only be realized through selective manipulation of past histories to an entity suffering from Amnesia.

This reminds me of the movie “Overboard“, where Kurt Russel tricks (wealthy bitch) amnesic Goldie Hawn that she is his wife and must serve him and his family of misfits. The movie is cute, and nice. But the reality that is described here by the Domain Commander is an absolute horror.

Overboard. Goldie Hawn has to endure great injustices by the children of Kurt Russel.

[17c] Question – Inhumane actions

It has been established that the IS-BE had been counseled and agreed to the birth line template he/she will reincarnate into.

However, the IS-BE enters into this agreement after it has been zapped. True, they viewed their memories, but through a 3rd party platform with no guarantees that everything has been shown (some information is given, we can assume that this is most likely incomplete).

In fact, it is established that someone/thing else decides “how much to show”, since your core memory sets are not with you.

It is fair to assume that they can choose to show a highly edited version of your past and that’s all you will have to go on, too bad.

(not applicable to DM and his wife SD, as it seems like they are from another group of IS-BE's that are undertaking a mission, and they already know how to access their memories without going through a 3rd party).

Based on this limited information, you make the agreement to enter a prebirth template.

Do we allow minors or those with compromised faculties to enter contracts and agreements? How about if you are dazed and disoriented by pain killing drugs in the hospital? Are you allowed to write a will in that state? WE know what people are like after they go through electroshock therapy…are IS-BE’s in any state to agree to ANYTHING after getting zapped?

If you do not have your core memory sets because a 3rd party is holding them for you, then by definition you have “limited faculties” (i.e. retarded, drooling infant, just fell off the turnip truck). There is no way in hell you could be honestly described as “dealing with a full deck of cards”.

Is this correct?

Yes. The system is designed to take advantage of the limited memories and reduced reasoning power of the IS-BE to move them forward and through the processing system. It is intentional.

Firstly, IS-BE's are dangerous. They are weaker when they inhabit a physical form with in the Main Universe. 

Secondly, one of the initial reasons for the creation of a containment field and a pocket "reality" universe is to create a region where the thoughts of an IS-BE are retarded and limited.

Thirdly, by creating a condition where the powers of thought are reduced, and the erasure of memories so that the IS-BE is unaware of the power of thoughts, you have a situation where the IS-BE would voluntarily enter an inmate skin-suit.

Fourthly, by shuffling the inmate back and forth between the "reality" pocket universe, and the "Heaven" micro universe it can be controlled and reprogrammed at will. It's an endless mobius strip.

A mobius strip.

[17d] Question – Editing of histories.

The karmic imbalances that need correcting: So, we have established that the IS-BE agreed to be injected into a birth template that have some specific challenges/torture experiences in them to redress the sins from a previous life.

This new life will be a corrective for this fuck-up IS-BE’s, so eventually the karmic imbalance will be neutralised, right?

I believe this is the intent (yeah right).

Well if the fucked up “corrective” life the IS-BE is currently experiencing now was “agreed upon”, then that means that the previous life that generated the karmic problems that you are busy correcting now was “counseled and agreed upon” too.

If you’re not allowed off the prebirth template plantation now, what makes you think you were allowed to leave it then?

Oh what, you were able to somehow defy the prebirth template in the past in order to commit unauthorized sins that you are being required (or rather convinced/manipulated) to pay for now?

It has been established (so far) that the prebirth template (unless you are a renegade spirit who didn’t go into the tunnel of light and grabbed the next available body instead) is meticulously planned, with plenty of funneling and redirecting mechanisms to keep you on the agreed upon path.

Question–why on earth would you agree to commit fucked up crimes in one life that you know you would be guaranteed to pay for in the next life (unless you are a privileged old empire member who knows how to game the prison complex)?

Is manipulation by the 3rd party influential in convincing a disoriented and suggestible IS-BE to agree to a severe life path?

Is it possible that the IS-BE viewed some highly edited portions of their past life during their “counseling session”?

Yes. It is not only possible, but that is the standard procedure. The entire and sole purpose of viewing selected and edited, and possibly fake past life experiences, is to manipulate the IS-BE entity to agree to enter the punishment phase of the Prison Complex.

The General Population Pocket-universe known as the MWI "reality universe" is the "Punishment" phase of the never-ending prison sentence.

The micro universe known as "Heaven" is the parole / rehabilitation phase of the never-ending prison sentence.

[17e] Question – Nature of the imbalances.

Nature of the karmic imbalances on the IS-BE’s quantum body: “patch up holes” and repair fissures on the cake/quantum body (words of the commander), good relationships and thoughts = softer more malleable quantum entanglements with other IS-BE’s (vision of untangling hair in the shower with a good conditioner), bad relationship and thoughts = hard and ossified quantum entanglements with other IS-BEs (think barbed wire).

He/She/It noted that quantum entanglements get deeper the longer the relationship (good or bad) but emphasized the quality of these entanglements on the body depending on type of relationship.

If the thoughts and relationship is good or decent, I can “detangle ” my IS-BE from the other IS-BE with a little effort and mostly no injuries.

If the thoughts and relationships are bad, the entanglement is like barbed wire, and if I try to separate, chunks of my “quantum flesh” get left behind.

Is this what the commander meant when I was advised to do some hit and run acts of kindness?

Like if I don’t try to soften this entanglement, I risk the chance of losing my quantum leg or eye or something?

Sure I will still be alive (coz IS-BE’s can’t die), but my quantum arms got left behind and now I need another IS-BE to help me wash my quantum hair and wipe my quantum ass until my memory sets are restored?

I’m free, but I’m maimed (in the quantum sense).

Fortunately it’s not permanent, but it’s still terrible.

Am I understanding this correctly or is my imagination getting away from me?

Is this what the commander meant regarding hit and run acts of kindness?

Yes. And no, your imagination is not out of boundaries. 

This is exactly how this system works. You have accepted our teachings accurately and have interpreted them correctly. This is not only the education on MM here, but the greater absorption of information is from the information obtained in your activities in the non-physical realities.

[17f] Question – The Lost Battalion

The lost battalion: They are warriors, so they have “combative” personalities.

Given that they were forcibly injected into screwed up life templates, a lot of anger is naturally generated.

Given their natural war-like tendencies, what are the chances of these battalion members reacting gracefully to the injustices they are being forced to endure?

My money is on them reacting gracelessly.

If they react gracelessly, then they will trigger negative thoughts and actions from the other IS-BE’s that they are with.

These quantum entanglements will be rough and hard like barbed wire.

If my ramblings are anywhere in the neighborhood, then can we assume that the negative quantum entanglements that were most likely generated from the bad templates they inhabit is making their rescue that much harder and more dangerous for the integrity of their quantum bodies?

Is this correct?

Yes. Upon recovery of the memories and experiences endured by the collective members of the Lost Battalion, there will be an imbalance that will manifest as some serious distortions of their IS-BE quantum makeup.

This will have to be compensated for.

Given the conditions, and the consequences of the events that created these mountainous distortions, the backlash that would naturally revert to when the attempts and process to fully revert the amnesia will create a very horrific scenario for those IS-BE entities that manifested the entire sequence of events. 

This will have to be compensated for.

If it is not, then the imbalance would distort this fabric of the Main Universe.

Thus it is conceivable that the combined entanglements will have to be dissipated, isolated and ejected into a closed and locked independent universe. Those that contributed and participated into the bad associations would need to be injected into this isolation universe and the suffered Domain soldiers would have to move forward with the quantum damage from those malevolent entities.

Because of the danger of these powerful, dangerous and evil entities, they each might need to be placed alone into an empty universe without memories. And left to float in nothingness for the rest of eternity.

[17g] Question – My theory

I feel that the quantum entanglement and karma has been weaponized brilliantly.

Like the old empire technology knows how to trigger IS-BE’s into using their own quantum bodies to generate the terrible chains that bind them together in misery.

Trick these poor sap IS-BE’s to agree to birth templates that guarantee negative thoughts and experiences with others (by showing them edited portions of their past), then tell these same IS-BE’s that they gotta pay back this karmic debt in the next life, that it’s the other learners’ turn to dish it out to you.

Then repeat the exact same strategy, but change the IS-BEs around.

The negative cycle continues among this cluster of learners, the karmic chains grow deeper and the barbs get sharper and longer. Beautiful.

Escape means a guaranteed maiming (but eventually recoverable, though the IS-BE may not know this because they don’t have their full faculties) and no memory sets.

So this is my “theory” or thesis. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s filled with holes or peppered with bad assumptions (not on purpose of course). But thinking about this…I was driven to push out this “theory”. Is it nonsensical? What am I missing?

Are my gross extrapolations completely unjustified?

You have completely and accurately elaborated upon, reasoned and laid out the operation of the "Old Empire" Prison Complex.

The Domain finds this Prison Complex reprehensible and are working to clean it out, purge it of entities in a humane and proper manner, and then select the worst and most harmful IS-BE's and eject them to individual pocket (empty) universes where they are prevented from harming others.

[18a] Question

In regards to some questions i have: i quote the commander

"There needs to be a coordinated effort to destroy all the major elements of the mechanisms / systems and then prevent them for regrouping and recovering. Then systematically go one by one and dismantle the entire complex mechanism."

Does he mean this coordination needs to be done by LDers or by the Domain or both working in conjunction?

If LD cannot be used {individually} to destroy the amnesia machinery, then how can it be effectively deployed to assist?

As mentioned previously I have been collecting lucid/ astral SEALs (in reference to the title you gave me in one of the earlier Q&As); i currently have a small handful of accomplished LDers i picked up externally to the MM community (though I have steered them towards you) – these LDers are very much aware of the matrix system in place, and have agreed to help put their LDing abilities to use to break the reincarnation traps, sticking around after death to help consciousnesses avoid the light etc etc”;

The idea was to create a LDer/APer/RVer network/community that could be utilised for physical based coordination of non physical based targets.

Question: will this physical LD network be useful for the location and eventual deconstruction of the amnesia infrastructure according to Domain protocol and if so do the Domain have any recommendations on the way it should be implemented?

This physical LD network will be extraordinarily helpful in the suppression and eventual removal of the amnesia infrastructure, the containment field and the elements internal to this pocket "reality" universe.

These efforts are being matched / coordinated with a tasked group of Domain sappers / cypher experts / specialists / (another species I am not very familiar with. I call them the Oompa Loompa's - They look like slug-like hippos thingys).

When you operate in LD, you are actually moving a consciousness between a physical reality and various non-physical bodies. You are very adept at it, even you you might no longer recall the events like you used to in your past. 

You are tasked in a shared arrangement with your parent organization and The Domain in this regards and they have allocated resources to create a large task team. SD plays a predominant role in this matter.

Working as a team on the various aspects of this colossal facility is very important and you have taken a leading role in it. You may continue as you "feel" necessary as your guidance is actually directions from the various coordinating liaison structures of all the organizations involved.

[18b] Question – The Elder Guardians

Question 2a: The Elder Guardians have played a very important part in my life, and are the main motivators behind my drive to help with this effort to destroy the amnesia devices. However, they have a tendency to show up completely unannounced at what appears to be random times. I was never given specifics of when to expect their contact.

Does the Domain know if they are planning to make contact with me in the future, and if so, when to expect such contact (closest possible time-frame), what I can to do help prepare for it (i.e. be aware and look for certain astrological happenings etc)?

We liaise with the Elder Guardians. We respect them. We honor them and their role in this and other matters. We do not control them, or advise them in any way. They have their own agendas, systems, avenues and purposes. None of which are in conflict with The Domain.

However we are not privy to their internal systems, orders, or projects outside of our comm channels. We are unfortunately unable to help you with your request.

(Empty mic sound - like dead air. Then nothing. -MM)

[18c] Question – Query on the Elders.

Is the Domain able to tell me more about them?

We have a respectful relationship with them. 

We can inform you that they are very private and confidential entities. This is, and has been, out of necessity. Therefore, were we to answer your questions informatively we might be breaching their confidentiality unintentionally.

Therefore, out of respect for them, we will decline to answer this inquiry.

[19a] Question – Dream Questions

Before posting questions, I wish to everyone a happy and hopeful new year. DM & SD must be the first ones to celebrate while I write this.

Now back to business:

Recently I had a dream where I was about to “remember” some rule-set and/or valuable information and it ended abruptly. Did I made a mistake?

No. In the particular instance that the questioner is discussing and asking about, the memory access was terminated intentionally by an "Old Empire" memory access system triggered by his mantid. 

To prevent that kind of thing from happening in the future you must [1]  include Affirmation Prayers (sic.) to that effect, and [2] discuss the matter with your mantid directly. 

You should be able to talk plainly and aloud when in a private place and then gauge your impressions and feelings afterwards for the answers and the results.

[19b] Question – incorporate others

Is it okay to incorporate more skin-suits (i.e. close relatives) to help The Domain in their goals (and our ultimate goal of stopping the amnesia cycle)?

Yes. Individual skin-suits can participate in any effort alongside our efforts. They do not need to be part of the Domain, as regulars or irregulars in any capacity what so ever to do so.

However, we will refrain from helping or assisting any outside efforts unless specifically petitioned by the particular entity to do so.

[20] Question – 13 beings in the Crystal Palace

Whats the relationship between the 13 Beings in the Crystal palace and the ‘Domain’?

 

(A lot of plain dead air. Space. Static. Nothing. -MM)

(A kind of funny feeling like tuning a radio dial or an old style televisions et. Curious. - MM)

There are questions that can be answered, and there are questions that cannot be answered. Please describe a specific event, situation or attribute for us to answer.

The impression that I have is that the Commander is not able to answer anything because the question was incomplete. It’s like asking “What is the relationship between Americans and streets?” It’s a very broad-based question with very little to flush out specifically.

The impression is that they have an idea about what is being asked, but they need specifics to see if they can inform and answer the specific questions.

[21a] Question – Part 1 – Religion

Can you help me ask a question or two with the Domain Commander?

  1. Almost about 20 years ago, my mother forced my family (father, siblings) into an ultra-conservative Catholic religion which does not recognize anything post-Vatican II and the group has a very antagonistic stance towards other religions, as well as non-Catholic Christians (a.k.a Protestants), as well post-Vatican II Catholics. I think that ever since she got involved with them – she’s a “slave to the Virgin Mary”know – the family dynamics have been very much under strain and there is a lot of unhappiness and tension in the family up till this day due to the inability to show our disagreement.
  2. I also note that there is a lot of religious intolerance in the world, and a lot of hate speech from similar groups – mostly in the US – as this traditionalist Catholic group that my family can’t get out of. I’m a fan of the Chinese style of governance and the way it keeps religion out of politics, but these groups keep claiming to be knowing the truth and are often add fodder to the anti-China crowd by spreading fake news in the name of religious truth and anti-communism.
  3. The whole thing has been affecting me emotionally for a long time, and it has never been helpful to the anxiety and depression I suffered my whole life to executive dysfunction that I was born with. Anyway, my ultra-religious mother told me recently that she “consecrated ” me to a some deity in a Chinese temple in my country and that was a cause of a lot of problems in my life.
  4. So my question here that, if you would kindly help me ask the Domain Commander in the next Q&A, is:

A) What is his view on the various religions and religious groups that exist on this earth? Is there a true religion that one should follow? Why is it so difficult for humanity to just see the truth?

Religion is a system of control that is part of the earth-centrist prison planet environment. It is unique to the human skin-suits. 

Currently it is used to [1] control the human population, and [2] flush out and filter sentience.

All of the religions have this purpose, more or less depending on a host of criteria, situations and participants.

[21b] Question – Part 2 – Personal influences

This is part two of the above questions.

B) Am I under the control of one or more external spiritual forces that are using other people as tools to influence me?

Yes / No.

Complex and complicated situation that requires some understandings. Will posit answers and solutions in terms easy for MM to discourse to you.

Religion, as it manifests inside the Prison Complex is a mechanism of control. One group "A" uses it to control another group "B". This occurs on many levels.

What most inmates do not understand is that thoughts generated by the rituals and presentation of the religions are the commodity. Not the religion itself.

Thus the religions are a methodology for a means to direct thought for various purposes.

In your particular case, your family (your mother) has been harnessed as a thought generation mechanism, and is behaving as a Service-to-another sentience. Being so programmed, you are being forced into that framework, but you are a service-to-others sentience, and this is uncomfortable to you.

To trap you, to snare you, to manipulate you, the parental unit is conjuring up other third party spirits to force your sentience to fit theirs. Obviously they are not successful. However, these third party "spirits" and quantum energies are problematic to you as they alter your physical interactions with the world around you.

Please provide recommendations and solutions to the questioner…

You need to perform a very memorable and kind act to your mother / parent / influences. It must be memorable. 

Then you must tell them that you received a "message" from their deity (in whatever form she understands). That the message really changed you. 

You must tell her that you are no longer the same person. And that you now have a mission. And you must tell her that she will not understand. You must tell her using biblical references.

Then, you must quietly and firmly isolate yourself from her. Do so physically and seriously reduce communication with her.

When she expresses worry or concern, again use Biblical references to kindly explain to her that you are on a mission. That your mission is different from her mission, and that your are now bound to perform that mission. She will ask what it is and you must use a Biblical reference in responding to her.

Then you will isolate from her, and when se sees you, YOU MUST always show tranquility, peace and calmness. Let her believe that you are on that mission, what ever it may be.

Key points.

[1] Kind act.
[2] Explanation that you have changed and have been put on a mission.
[3] Isolate from her.
[4] Always show peace, kindness, and calm when interacting her (or anyone else who might report to her).

Her thoughts will be of you achieving her version of paradise on earth, and it is up to you to maintain that illusion for the rest of her life.

This will prevent her from causing any inadvertent discord in your life, and generate a kind state of being that will generate kind thoughts emulating from her towards you. YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT THE ILLUSION IS ALWAYS INTACT AND NOT SHATTERED.

There are still a bunch of questions that I will get to as time permits. I hope that this little taste will be enough to wet your appetite.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

ET Species

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How the United States will be able to stop the rise of China

Yes. More stuff about China and the on-going war-war-war narrative out of the United States. I tire of it, and I am sure you all do as well. But this is a little important article that throws some light on all the absolute garbage “floating out there” regarding China and Taiwan.

No, this is not a parody. This is a serious discussion of things as they actually are, and not what we all want to believe.

Yes, there is a lot of misinformation, and disinformation floating about regarding a war with China, (or a war with Russia), here we will ignore those “articles” and discuss the reality instead.  After all, those “articles” are for domestic American, UK or Australian consumption to garner support for war.

They are not to actually inform.

This article discusses the real reasons behind the need for a war against China, as well as the real capabilities and the real issues involved. We discuss truths here, no matter how distasteful they actually are.

So we are going to cut through the lies and the propaganda. You know them anyways. There’s no need to rehash the bullshit. The purpose is for domestic consumption, not for real strategic planning purposes.

But first [1], we need to address what China actually is. We need to see the nations involved as they actually are. We also need to see the United States as it actually is. By addressing reality we can then address how the United States can turn things around to achieve it’s goals and objectives. Then, [2] we can discuss how to use American strengths as a means towards success.

In this discussion I will present already established and published reports of advantages, as well as some things that are not really for general public release.

What America is today

Let's cut out all the bullshit. Face what America is right now. The good and the bad.

America is a young nation. It’s just under 250 years old. And it is still growing. The Roman empire was around 1000 years old when it eventually collapsed.

It was formed as a Republic. Just like Rome. But that didn’t last long. 28 years later, with the passage of the 12th amendment, it became a Democracy.

Internal stresses and conflicts between the federal government and the state governments resulted in a civil war that conclusively turned the nation into a Central Federal Democracy. During that time the fully autonomous individual state-nations lost their independence once and for all, and a central federal government became reality.

Subsequent amendments gave greater and greater control to the wealthiest individuals in the nation. So that by the beginning of the 19th century, it emerged as a solid Oligarchy.

As a result, Presidential candidates, Senators, and Congress representation were selected by the oligarchy and put up to the citizenry to vote upon.  No matter who they voted into office, the oligarchy controlled the levers of power.

With the end of World War II, the massive American military might on a distraught and collapsed world resulted in an Oligarchy-run Military Empire.

There was a potential scaling back of the military aspects of the empire under  President John F. Kennedy, but his death, and the subsequent replacement by President Lyndon B. Johnson established a mighty massive military empire.

Suppression of the civil dissatisfaction of what the government had become changed the structure even further. By 2001, it became a Domestic Police State, and an Internationally run Military Empire.

For various reasons what America is today more closely resembles a complex, multi-layered Kakistocracy. It’s obvious, and is (I am sure) the bane of the current President Biden administration.

New York City.

That DOES NOT mean that America is bad, evil, or collapsing.  No.

Nations constantly go in and out of periods of change. And because of the current shape of the government, and the current domestic turmoil, it is necessary to unify the nation towards the greater good. One must consult history books to realize just how long the Roman Empire existed as a Kakistocracy.

It was a long time.

In any event, the domestic turmoil inherent with the current American government structure requires attention. There are numerous solutions. However, the ones selected consisted of [1] a state of constant fear, [2] control of every aspect of the citizenry’s lives, [3] birth to death taxation with enormous penalties for non-compliance, and [4] the generation of a common enemy.

The American people must be unified against a common enemy, and that way they can focus on an outside target instead of fester inside the nation and contribute to it’s collapse.

To this end, obviously, both China and Russia have been selected as the targets.

By doing so, and constantly feeding the American populace horrible hate filled images of Russia and China, their angers are directed outwards, and not on the domestic turmoil that embroils inside the United States. This is a good thing. Otherwise great civil disturbances will manifest. Possibly even a second civil war.

So the anger and frustration must be externalized.

So there MUST be a war. It is the only way that the United States can unify, and get though this period of change and maintain it’s global leadership as the world’s biggest and most powerful Military Empire.

Why China?

Both China and Russia have been selected as the enemies to target. However, those in Washington DC view China as the “weaker” of the two foes. This is primarily a military consideration based on the number of nuclear weapons that it possesses. It’s very difficult to see any other criteria.

What China is today

Let's cut away the endless stream of lies and falsehoods about China. Let's look at what it actually is and how it actually works.

China has over 6,000 years of written history. It has seen nations come and go. The current government was formed just after World War II by Mr. Mao and he embraced Communism.

Like America still calls itself a “Republic” when it is a Kakistocracy. Modern China continues to call itself a “Communist” nation when it is actually a Meritocracy.

CCP Leadership
It is important to realize that what China is today has no parallel anywhere else in history. It is unique and new. There has never been a real meritocracy in the history of the world until now.

Being a Meritocracy, everything in China is now sleek, modern, efficient, high technology, and the people are happy, unified, and content. This is true thought China, whether in the shining and gleaming buildings or in the tiny isolated villages.

Beautiful Shanghai Bund night

Obviously images of this must be withheld from the citizens of the United States.

It is critical that Americans are unable to compare their lives with anyone outside of the bubble of control. (It sounds bad, but ti’s the way the American leadership views the situation.) This is why the 2022 Federal budget allocated funding to suppress any news, articles, pictures, or videos out of China.

This is from 2021.

That is $1,200,000,000 USD total.

The anti-China narrative has been an onslaught, and most people believe the bullshit. If you do also, you should be ashamed of yourself.

China is wholly focused on itself and on it’s citizenry. In so doing, it has established the BRI to surround itself with prosperous and happy national neighbors.

When China bought up $3 trillion of the United States $20 trillion dollar debt, everyone thought that it was crazy and foolhardy, but what China has been doing is using that debt to build massive infrastructure projects throughout the BRI, and surround itself with comfortable and growing happy economies.

Today, China is a prosperous nation with a great economy, a strong and traditional society, and a massive defense system.

The Oligarchy are calling the shots.

There are two primary forces pushing for a war between the USA and China. They are…

  • The Taiwan Oligarchy.
  • The American Military-Industrial Establishment Oligarchy.

Additionally, both American Political Parties are “riding” the anti-China deluge (funded by the Taiwan oligarchs, and the Military-Industrial oligarchs) and using that to garner votes for election purposes.

The Taiwan Oligarchy

When Taiwan reunifies with the mainland, it’s not if… it’s when, the oligarchy will suffer immensely. They will be forced to share and enjoin the same laws that are applied uniformly throughout China. This is unacceptable to them. As for the last handful of decades they operated as lawless entities… completely above the law and controlled everything as their own fiefdom within Taiwan.

It is no wonder why they are spending billions of dollars to foster a war between the United States and China. They want their king-like lifestyle to continue unabated.

The American Military-Industrial Establishment Oligarchy.

If you read any of the articles out of Washington DC, whether pro-war or anti-war, they ALL make the same statement. Which is that a war between the USA and China would be a long, long, LONG drawn out affair.

Only a mere spattering of articles suggest a nuclear slug-fest, and absolutely NONE discuss the detonation of nuclear weapons on American cities.

Such as this…

It would take Beijing decades to overcome the losses incurred from a war to take Taiwan, even if Beijing triumphs. 

The United States and our western allies, on the other hand, would remain at full military power, dominate the international business markets, and have the moral high ground to keep China hemmed in like nothing that presently exists. 

Xi would be seen as an unquestioned aggressor, even by other Asian regimes, and the fallout against China could knock them back decades. 

Our security would be vastly improved from what it is today – and incalculably higher than if we foolishly tried to fight a war with China.

-The Guardian

This is great news to the American military-industrial complex. They need a replacement founding source since they lost Afghanistan in this role.

So they are pushing for war.

The conditions for the war

This Military-Industrial Complex are pushing for strict and defined criteria [A, B & C] that MUST be met for a successful American takeover and suppression of China.

[A] Force a conventional war. Prevent China from nuclear retaliation.

This is accomplished by ringing China with Nuclear weapons. Not just in the seas with nuclear submarines, but ringing it with nuclear warheads in Korea, in Japan, in Australia and…

…still in process…

… Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Then once China is backed into a corner, plunge the entire nation into an embroiled conflict. And to this end, it must be…

[B] Engage a long duration war on Chinese soil.

By doing this it is inconceivable that the war would “spill outside” of the kill zones. The USA would define the area of conflict, the type of conflict and the participants of the conflict. The United States would thus be in full control of the situation from start to finish.

[C] Lower it’s guard / disable it’s nuclear arsenal

Under current policy, the United States will not use nuclear weapons against the vast majority of the world's countries in any circumstances. There are however, exceptions. 

Longstanding US policy, re-affirmed in the Trump administration's 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), says that the United States ...

"will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the NPT [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] and in compliance with their nuclear nonproliferation obligations"; this promise covers more than 180 countries (OSD 2018). This policy is known as a "negative security assurance."

However, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea do not fall under the US negative security assurance. China and Russia are nuclear weapon states under the NPT, and North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003 and conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. And Iran is treated as an unconfirmed nuclear power.

This means that they could be expected to be targets for US nuclear weapon preemptive strikes. Which means the United States launching weapons at them first prior to a formal declaration of war. 

This was since confirmed by both President Obama, and then reaffirmed by President Donald Trump.

Such as with this agreement. (By the way, America NEVER lives up to any agreements it signs.)

Anti-nuclear use agreement.

Nice agreement.

So then [1] the USA – Australian nuclear deal is no longer going to happen and the construction of nuclear facilities inside of Australia will now end. No. And that [2] the American nuclear ships and submarines will leave the South China Sea, and that [3] the American nuclear weapons will no longer be positioned in the Ukraine? Is that all correct. No.

Then what is this all about?

It’s about defanging the Chinese military strategy.

Chinese Military Strategy

So many articles, all throughout the Western media, discuss war with China. Yet not one single one discusses modern Chinese military doctrine. 

At best there is a trivial mention of Sun Tsu and his "Art of War". This omission provides a distortion of the reality in this matter. 

So before we continue we need to provide an overview of current Chinese military strategy.

Let’s cut out the bullshit and consider the reality and why it is such a difficult task to obtain those two stated goals. Then we will show exactly how the United States can overcome this formidable adversary.

Here’s a few selected key points that must be included in any calculus involving a war with China.

[1] Routine use of tactical nuclear weapons

If anyone attacks China, China will respond back ferociously. Agreement of not. China will fight back.

China military doctrine has always called for the use of every weapon at it's disposal with no concerns as to the type and nature of the weapon. 

The Chinese are just as capable of firing a gun, as it is releasing a toxic chemical, or unleashing nuclear weapons. They make no distinction between their use, nor their consequences.

This is clearly stated in Chinese military policy briefs. They have never changed. Once the shooting starts, many of the first munitions fired by the Chinese will be nuclear.

[2] First strike nuclear use policy

This policy has always been defensive in nature, but if China believes that they will be attacked, they WILL fire nuclear weapons first to prevent that attack.

The United States and much of the nuclear armed world have manuals and policies on how and when to use nuclear weapons. China does not have any of that.

Their doctrines do not make a distinction between military forces and civilian targets. In fact, Chinese history clearly illustrates that the best way to destroy an enemy is to destroy the cites of the enemies completely and irreparably.

When the United States fires the first bullet against China, you can expect to see the top 40 American cities eviscerated in nuclear fireballs. Then, the military bases will be targeted afterwards.

This is a long standing Chinese policy dating to the times of Genghis Khan.

[3] Routine use of AI swarm nukes

Isn’t technology wonderful?

The United States has a long standing policy of precision weaponry. Each weapon is designed to directly and specifically target a building, a complex, or a specific location in a city.

China does not have this policy.

Instead China employs AI controlled swarm nukes. Instead of a MIRV with different precise targeted objectives, the Chinese incorporate AI to alter the flight paths of a swarm of nuclear munitions. the policy is to blanket an entire region or swath of area with clusters of nuclear weapons. The belief here is that the damage and the disarray and the causalities would be much greater in this manner.

This is a "shotgun effect" using nuclear warheads.

While the American strategy is more akin to a nuclear sniper rifle.

[4] Routine use of neutron bomb nuclear weapons

Fielded since the 1970’s.

The American military do not field "neutron bombs" due to the inhumane nature of the weaponry. Not so with China. Their military doctrine is to employ the most horrific weapons possible in the shortest span of time possible.

A neutron bomb is the WORST type of nuclear weapon ever created.

[5] “Hit them where it hurts” retaliatory strategy

Good bye New York. Good bye Chicago. Good bye Los Angles. Bye Bye to Houston.

The United States military operate in "theaters" and plan every battle and every strategy down to the last horseshoe. Not so with the Chinese.

The Chinese believe that the best way to hurt an aggressor force is to destroy their homeland.

The sack of Baghdad is a prime example of how the Chinese conduct wars. It should be of no surprise that the entire military and assault forces were Chinese sappers. 

Not only would New York City be completely destroyed, but the entire region of New York State would be uninhabitable for centuries afterwards.

[6] A nation of trained soldiers

Both China and the United States has a military of trained volunteer soldiers. However China teaches military training starting in first grade to everyone. 

There are weekly classes in discipline, military strategy and small arms operation. By the time the child attends middle school they are introduced to maneuvers, martial arts, and disabling armored vehicles. This continues throughout childhood. Then this is followed by a mandatory two year stint in the military and then afterwards as a forever irregular as part of the Chinese societal structure.

That is 1600 million people.

The American military is 1.2 million people.

Video 10MB

When did you all learn how to fire mortars, arm and hit targets on military operations? The Chinese learn in third grade. video 6MB

[7] Peer-capable military

American military are certainly well equipped. But what is not well understood is that the Chinese military is equally well equipped. Further, American military doctrine suggests a heavy reliance of Command and Control technologies, remote surgical strikes, and precision munitions.

The Chinese fight in autonomous clusters using sophisticated high-technology weapons that operate independently.

video 4MB

[8] Top Line Russian weapons

Russia has been supplying their cutting-edge weapons systems to China, and China has been supplying Russia with their systems. 

It is a foolish mistake to believe that the weapons that the United States has no deterrence and defense against is not being shared.

[9] Full control of the South China Sea

China owns the South China Sea, just like Russia owns the Black Sea. The entire region is crisscrossed with sensors and observation platforms and bases. Nothing can move in this region without being tracked and monitored by the Chinese.

[10] Combined Military Allies with Russia

Much to the chagrin of the United States, China and Russia re more than just allies. They possess a symbiotic relationship. It is far tighter and closer than can even be imagined in the West. To this end, the both share military actions as partners and as equals.

Any war against China will involve Russia as well.

[11] Massive Navy operating in a small defined area

China has the largest Navy in the world. It is also one of the most modern, and it is equipped with peer-superior technologies that the United States Navy has little defense against.

It also operates almost exclusively in the South China Sea. Such a massive concentration of military vessels is a great lethal deterrent.

video 13MB

[12] Mystery weapons

Rarely reported are numerous fielded weapons that have no Western analog. Robot hand-grenades. Swarm drones and swarm robots. Field denial radiators, pain generators, and insect-size drone munitions.

Not to mention, the strange UFO like vehicles that toy with the United States navy from time to time and the USO objects.

Of course, China does also possess hyper-sonic weapon delivery systems.

video 3.1MB

[13] Quick and painful doctrine

The Chinese military doctrine is one of "massive damage" in a stunningly short period of time. 

When the Chinese decides to remove all the embedded CIA and NED operators they did so in hours. Hundreds. Within hours.

In this case, they collected all their intel, and waited. They then went and captured every one. They interrogated them, and then quietly killed all of them.

They did not imprison them, use them as bargaining chips, or anything like that. They just killed them.

[14] Carrier Killers

If there is one thing that China has perfected it is the destruction of aircraft carriers and Naval battle fleets. Nothing else needs to be said.

[15] Sonic weapons

China possess systems that can render all aircraft systems to go crazy and fail. They have systems that can generate pain on military personnel (such as in a submarine) or flying in a plane. They have systems that can make the nuclear power systems on Naval Vessels scram.

[16] Historical Weapons

They have implanted agents everywhere, and many are not ethnic Chinese, but for-profit Americans who will perform sabotage, espionage, and clandestine activities for a profit.

[17] Motivated and Patriotic

The Chinese people are the most patriotic people that I have ever seen. When I hear that the Chinese are pining away for "democracy" and that the Chinese government doesn't have the support of the people, I just laugh. I laugh at the ignorance of any fool that would believe the propaganda.

The Chinese are fiercely patriotic.

Fiercely patriotic.

[18] Never again.

Anyone who REALLY knows about what the Japanese, the UK and the Western forces subjected China to, should be pissing in their pants not to fuck with China. China has NEVER forgotten. And they will be brutal back. You all do not want that kind of karma.

video 6MB

[19] Dead hand

There are indications that the Chinese have implemented the exact same technology as the Russian “Dead hand” switch. So no matter how big or how small the nuclear detonation is, whether a large city buster, or a micro-nuke to take out an office building, the “Dead Hand” system would engage and launch a full onslaught nuclear ICBM / hypervelocity salvo against the United States.

Dead Hand (Russian: Система «Периметр», Systema "Perimetr", lit. "Perimeter" System, with the GRAU Index 15E601, Cyrillic: 15Э601), also known as Perimeter, is a Cold War-era automatic nuclear weapons-control system (similar in concept to the American AN/DRC-8 Emergency Rocket Communications System) that was used by the Soviet Union. 

The system remains in use in the post-Soviet Russian Federation.  

An example of fail-deadly and mutual assured destruction deterrence, it can automatically trigger the launch of the Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) by sending a pre-entered highest-authority order from the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Strategic Missile Force Management to command posts and individual silos if a nuclear strike is detected by seismic, light, radioactivity, and pressure sensors even with the commanding elements fully destroyed. 

By most accounts, it is normally switched off and is supposed to be activated during times of crisis; however, it is said to remain fully functional and able to serve its purpose whenever it may be needed. -Wikipedia

I can CONFIRM that this system (Were it to be formally announced, after all, it’s not supposed to exist. Wink. Wink.) will be switched on during DEFCON 3 or higher states of readiness.

Watch the movie of The Battle at lake Changjin

The Chinese fought the United States in Korea.

The United States with a bunch of Allies (27 or so nations) attempted to seize Korea. China got involved, and the Chinese forced the United States back and the US military left defeated.

So, instead of capturing all of Korea, the USA “punted”, setup a North and a South Korea, and declared the fiasco a “victory”. Here is a movie of just one such contributing battle.

It’s a surprisingly good movie.

Free on You-Tube. Here’s the full three hour long version of the most popular movie of 2021. It’s the true story of the 《長津湖》The Battle at Lake Changjin(English subtitle). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjnFTx9OeQ4

War Movie

The Secret American Weapons

All in all, the Chinese are perhaps the most formidable foe that the United States has ever encountered. Along with Russia it appears that any attack would be suicidal.

It really does.

I, trying to explain for years now that the issue is very simple--US Armed Forces never fought the enemy which can not only defeat them, but completely shut down the skies for the US main power tool--its Air Force and standoff weaponry. 

Once this is removed from the equation, annihilation of the opposing force is just the matter of Russia's own standoff arsenal and then mopping up by the ground forces which will retain their combat effectiveness even against most advanced and massive attacks from the air. 

It is, obviously, impossible to explain to neocons infesting corridors of high power in D.C. and who made their careers both in Pentagon and State Department by writing theses on Peloponnesian Wars and deriving "lessons" from swords, shields and bow and arrows armed cohorts slaughtering each-other more than 2,000 years ago, that those do not apply for machine speed operating combat networks and weapons which can hit not just to tactical and operational depths, but can, actually, reach easily the United States proper.  

And that is a big, big difference. 

-Big Big DIfference

Unless there is some big massive secret weapon that the United States possess.

It seems so impossible given Chinese military doctrine, technology, training, and global political support. But the United States  is pushing and pushing for a war against China. And I believe that it is doing so because it has a secret weapon. Let’s go over some of the very formidable secret advantages that the United States military possess.

According to all the serious military strategists in the United States today, these are the American strengths…

[1] Diversity

One of most prized and valued elements of the new, revised, and improved  American military is the strengthening of LGBT values, trans-gender and minority leadership appointments.

I have often wondered why this is considered a strength as I (personally) consider this a weakness. However, upon reflection, I have come to this conclusion…

It's been well promoted and advertised, and to many conservatives and traditionalists, it seems like some kind of sick joke. However, the fundamental idea behind having a diverse military is to be so inclusive that everyone wants to support your efforts and join you.

No one wants to harm a cute fuzzy bunny rabbit. 

No one wants to shoot a kindly little old lady. 

And no one wants to throw away uneaten pizza slices.

By having a diverse, minority run, and LGBT military no one would be desirous to shoot and attack you. In war and combat, split second decisions are the difference between life and death. By being diverse and LGBT, the enemies would have second thoughts about shooting and harming people that they can relate to. 

This is America's biggest and most powerful secret weapon.

America’s secret weapon.

[2] Massive support for war

A war against China will not be like the Vietnam war. It will have massive public support. In fact, it will rally the United States together against a singular enemy.

The American military is respected and loved all over the world. When the United States troops left Afghanistan, thousands of people didn't want them to leave. Many wanted to travel back to the United States with them. That is how beloved the American military is.

Currently polls internal to America show a great deal of support for a war against China. This support will make it easier to have a long drawn out war when millions of people are dying.

Massive anti-China protest.

[3] An endless military budget

This is a well known fact, but will have a major impact on the long-duration promotion of war.

America owns the world's money printing presses and it can print all the money it needs. it's an unlimited budget. Other nations do not have this ability. Thus in a war situation, the United States can out-spend and thus out-produce any foe.

An endless military budget.

[4] Powerful allies willing to die for America

The United States has enlisted hundreds of nations that are part of the "democracy coalition". Many ware willing to fight on the same side as the United States and will happily allow American bases, American military on their land. Not to mention that many are willing to fight and die for America.

The most notable examples are Canada, Australia, the UK, and the Ukraine.

Australians are ready to die for America.

[5] A powerful media messaging machine

No matter what China says or reports, it will be effectively drowned out, forgotten and suppressed by the very powerful media megaphone.

Lavish funding for anti-China media.

[6] Largest military in the world

America possesses over 800 bases all over the world. It have one of the largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons and has military culture. America has substantial military experience.

American bases around the world.

[7] God

The biggest and strongest fist of power is God. With God on the side of the United States it is impossible not to prevail.

The most important, popular and significant religious leaders inside of America have confirmed that God is on the side of the Righteous. And thus, it is on the side of America. Any other nation, no matter how strong they appear on paper are helpless before God.

No matter what. God will smite the enemies of democracy.

God will protect the brave American soldiers.

Conclusion

The reader might disagree on this calculus.  But the strengths of both China and the United States are presented as they actually are. Not as one might wish them to be.

Sources are the military leadership of both nations. Not the political mouthpieces, or their media.

From the point of view of China, they believe that they are strong enough to prevent anyone from daring to attack them. Whether it is via a “false flag event” or due to some domestic action that has been demonized in the mainstream media (Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, Uighur’s, etc.) China has worked on being very formidable, and very dangerous and lethal.

From the point of view of the United States, it is critically important that a war against China starts to happen quickly, and last a long LONG time. Otherwise, the entire nation might implode. To this end, the United States has incorporated numerous unconventional weapons that when combined are truly formidable in breadth and scope.

From the point of view of the oligarchs, it is important that they maintain their income stream and positions of global power. Whatever is necessary to accomplish those ends are acceptable to them. Nothing is to dangerous, too lethal, or too horrific to prevent them from losing their positions of power.

From the point of view of a regular guy, I wish that all the oligarchs would just disappear, that the United States would fix it’s domestic problems, and that everyone else would let us alone to live in peace.

A man and his cat.

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You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

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Law 30 of the 48 Laws of Power; Make your accomplishments seem effortless

This is law 30 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work—it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.

LAW 30

MAKE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS SEEM EFFORTLESS

JUDGMENT

Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work—it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.

KANO TANNYU. MASTER ARTIST

Date Masamune once sent for Tannyu to decorate a pair of gold screens seven feet high. The artist said he thought black-and-white sketches would suit them, and went home again after considering them carefully. The next morning he came early and made a large quantity of ink into which he dipped a horseshoe he had brought with him, and then proceeded to make impressions of this all over one of the screens. Then, with a large brush, he drew a number of lines across them. Meanwhile Masamune had come in to watch his work, and at this he could contain his irritation no longer, and muttering, “What a beastly mess!” he strode away to his own apartments. The retainers told Tannyu he was in a very bad temper indeed. “He shouldn’t look on while I am at work, then,” replied the painter, “he should wait till it is finished.” Then he took up a smaller brush and dashed in touches here and there, and as he did so the prints of the horse-shoe turned into crabs, while the big broad strokes became rushes. He then turned to the other screen and splashed drops of ink all over it, and when he had added a few brush-strokes here and there they became a flight of swallows over willow trees. When Masamune saw the finished work he was as overjoyed at the artist’s skill as he had previously been annoyed at the apparent mess he was making of the screens.

CHA-NO-YU: THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY A. L. SADLER, 1962

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I

The Japanese tea ceremony called Cha-no-yu (“Hot Water for Tea”) has origins in ancient times, but it reached its peak of refinement in the sixteenth century under its most renowned practitioner, Sen no Rikyu. Although not from a noble family, Rikyu rose to great power, becoming the preferred tea master of the Emperor Hideyoshi, and an important adviser on aesthetic and even political matters. For Rikyu, the secret of success consisted in appearing natural, concealing the effort behind one’s work.

One day Rikyu and his son went to an acquaintance’s house for a tea ceremony. On the way in, the son remarked that the lovely antique-looking gate at their host’s house gave it an evocatively lonely appearance. “I don’t think so,” replied his father, “it looks as though it had been brought from some mountain temple a long way off, and as if the labor required to import it must have cost a lot of money.” If the owner of the house had put this much effort into one gate, it would show in his tea ceremony—and indeed Sen no Rikyu had to leave the ceremony early, unable to endure the affectation and effort it inadvertently revealed.

On another evening, while having tea at a friend’s house, Rikyu saw his host go outside, hold up a lantern in the darkness, cut a lemon off a tree, and bring it in. This charmed Rikyu—the host needed a relish for the dish he was serving, and had spontaneously gone outside to get one. But when the man offered the lemon with some Osaka rice cake, Rikyu realized that he had planned the cutting of the lemon all along, to go with this expensive delicacy. The gesture no longer seemed spontaneous—it was a way for the host to prove his cleverness. He had accidentally revealed how hard he was trying. Having seen enough, Rikyu politely declined the cake, excused himself, and left.

Emperor Hideyoshi once planned to visit Rikyu for a tea ceremony. On the night before he was to come, snow began to fall. Thinking quickly, Rikyu laid round cushions that fit exactly on each of the stepping-stones that led through the garden to his house. Just before dawn, he rose, saw that it had stopped snowing, and carefully removed the cushions. When Hideyoshi arrived, he marveled at the simple beauty of the sight—the perfectly round stepping stones, unencumbered by snow—and noticed how it called no attention to the manner in which Rikyu had accomplished it, but only to the polite gesture itself.

After Sen no Rikyu died, his ideas had a profound influence on the practice of the tea ceremony. The Tokugawa shogun Yorinobu, son of the great Emperor Ieyasu, was a student of Rikyu’s teachings. In his garden he had a stone lantern made by a famous master, and Lord Sakai Tadakatsu asked if he could come by one day to see it. Yorinobu replied that he would be honored, and commanded his gardeners to put everything in order for the visit. These gardeners, unfamiliar with the precepts of Cha-no-yu, thought the stone lantern misshapen, its windows being too small for the present taste. They had a local workman enlarge the windows. A few days before Lord Sakai’s visit, Yorinobu toured the garden. When he saw the altered windows he exploded with rage, ready to impale on his sword the fool who had ruined the lantern, upsetting its natural grace and destroying the whole purpose of Lord Sakai’s visit.

When Yorinobu calmed down, however, he remembered that he had originally bought two of the lanterns, and that the second was in his garden on the island of Kishu. At great expense, he hired a whale boat and the finest rowers he could find, ordering them to bring the lantern to him within two days—a difficult feat at best. But the sailors rowed day and night, and with the luck of a good wind they arrived just in time. To Yorinobu’s delight, this stone lantern was more magnificent than the first, for it had stood untouched for twenty years in a bamboo thicket, acquiring a brilliant antique appearance and a delicate covering of moss. When Lord Sakai arrived, later that same day, he was awed by the lantern, which was more magnificent than he had imagined—so graceful and at one with the elements. Fortunately he had no idea what time and effort it had cost Yorinobu to create this sublime effect.

THE RESILING MASTER

There was once a wrestling master who was versed in 360 feints and holds. He took a special liking to one of his pupils, to whom he taught 359 of them over a period of time. Somehow he never got around to the last trick. As months went by the young man became so proficient in the art that he bested everyone who dared to face him in the ring. He was so proud of his prowess that one day he boasted before the sultan that he could readily whip his master, were it not out of respect for his age and gratitude for his tutelage.

The sultan became incensed at this irreverence and ordered an immediate match with the royal court in attendance.

At the gong the youth barged forward with a lusty yell, only to be confronted with the unfamiliar 360th feint. The master seized his former pupil, lifted him high above his head, and flung him crashing to the ground. The sultan and the assembly let out a loud cheer. When the sultan asked the master how he was able to overcome such a strong opponent, the master confessed that he had reserved a secret technique for himself for just such a contingency. Then he related the lamentation of a master of archery, who taught everything he knew. “No one has learned archery from me,” the poor fellow complained, “who has not tried to use me as a butt in the end.”

A STORY OF SAADI, AS TOLD IN THE CRAFT OF POWER, R.G. H. SIU, 1979

Interpretation

To Sen no Rikyu, the sudden appearance of something naturally, almost accidentally graceful was the height of beauty. This beauty came without warning and seemed effortless. Nature created such things by its own laws and processes, but men had to create their effects through labor and contrivance. And when they showed the effort of producing the effect, the effect was spoiled. The gate came from too far away, the cutting of the lemon looked contrived.

You will often have to use tricks and ingenuity to create your effects—the cushions in the snow, the men rowing all night—but your audience must never suspect the work or the thinking that has gone into them. Nature does not reveal its tricks, and what imitates nature by appearing effortless approximates nature’s power.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II

The great escape artist Harry Houdini once advertised his act as “The Impossible Possible.” And indeed those who witnessed his dramatic escapes felt that what he did onstage contradicted commonsense ideas of human capacity.

One evening in 1904, an audience of 4,000 Londoners filled a theater to watch Houdini accept a challenge: to escape from a pair of manacles billed as the strongest ever invented. They contained six sets of locks and nine tumblers in each cuff; a Birmingham maker had spent five years constructing them. Experts who examined them said they had never seen anything so intricate, and this intricacy was thought to make them impossible to escape.

The crowd watched the experts secure the manacles on Houdini’s wrists. Then the escape artist entered a black cabinet on stage. The minutes went by; the more time passed, the more certain it seemed that these manacles would be the first to defeat him. At one point he emerged from the cabinet, and asked that the cuffs be temporarily removed so that he could take off his coat—it was hot inside. The challengers refused, suspecting his request was a trick to find out how the locks worked. Undeterred, and without using his hands, Houdini managed to lift the coat over his shoulders, turn it inside out, remove a penknife from his vest pocket with his teeth, and, by moving his head, cut the coat off his arms. Freed from the coat, he stepped back into the cabinet, the audience roaring with approval at his grace and dexterity.

Finally, having kept the audience waiting long enough, Houdini emerged from the cabinet a second time, now with his hands free, the manacles raised high in triumph. To this day no one knows how he managed the escape. Although he had taken close to an hour to free himself, he had never looked concerned, had shown no sign of doubt.

Indeed it seemed by the end that he had drawn out the escape as a way to heighten the drama, to make the audience worry—for there was no other sign that the performance had been anything but easy. The complaint about the heat was equally part of the act.

The spectators of this and other Houdini performances must have felt he was toying with them: These manacles are nothing, he seemed to say, I could have freed myself a lot sooner, and from a lot worse.

Over the years, Houdini escaped from the chained carcass of an embalmed “sea monster” (a half octopus, half whalelike beast that had beached near Boston); he had himself sealed inside an enormous envelope from which he emerged without breaking the paper; he passed through brick walls; he wriggled free from straitjackets while dangling high in the air; he leaped from bridges into icy waters, his hands manacled and his legs in chains; he had himself submerged in glass cases full of water, hands pad- locked, while the audience watched in amazement as he worked himself free, struggling for close to an hour apparently without breathing. Each time he seemed to court certain death yet survived with superhuman aplomb. Meanwhile, he said nothing about his methods, gave no clues as to how he accomplished any of his tricks—he left his audiences and critics speculating, his power and reputation enhanced by their struggles with the inexplicable. Perhaps the most baffling trick of all was making a ten-thousand- pound elephant disappear before an audience’s eyes, a feat he repeated on stage for over nineteen weeks. No one has ever really explained how he did this, for in the auditorium where he performed the trick, there was simply nowhere for an elephant to hide.

The effortlessness of Houdini’s escapes led some to think he used occult forces, his superior psychic abilities giving him special control over his body. But a German escape artist named Kleppini claimed to know Houdini’s secret: He simply used elaborate gadgets. Kleppini also claimed to have defeated Houdini in a handcuff challenge in Holland.

Houdini did not mind all kinds of speculation floating around about his methods, but he would not tolerate an outright lie, and in 1902 he challenged Kleppini to a handcuff duel. Kleppini accepted. Through a spy, he found out the secret word to unlock a pair of French combination-lock cuffs that Houdini liked to use. His plan was to choose these cuffs to escape from onstage. This would definitively debunk Houdini—his “genius” simply lay in his use of mechanical gadgets.

On the night of the challenge, just as Kleppini had planned, Houdini offered him a choice of cuffs and he selected the ones with the combination lock. He was even able to disappear with them behind a screen to make a quick test, and reemerged seconds later, confident of victory.

Acting as if he sensed fraud, Houdini refused to lock Kleppini in the cuffs. The two men argued and began to fight, even wrestling with each other onstage. After a few minutes of this, an apparently angry, frustrated Houdini gave up and locked Kleppini in the cuffs. For the next few minutes Kleppini strained to get free. Something was wrong —minutes earlier he had opened the cuffs behind the screen; now the same code no longer worked. He sweated, racking his brains. Hours went by, the audience left, and finally an exhausted and humiliated Kleppini gave up and asked to be released.

The cuffs that Kleppini himself had opened behind the screen with the word CLE– F-S” (French for “keys”) now clicked open only with the word FRAUD.” Kleppini never figured out how Houdini had accomplished this uncanny feat.

Keep the extent of your abilities unknown. The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he desires to be honored by all. He allows you to know them but not to comprehend them. No one must know the extent of his abilities, lest he be disappointed. No one ever has an opportunity of fathoming him entirely. For guesses and doubts about the extent of his talents arouse more veneration than accurate knowledge of them, be they ever so great. BALTASAR GRACIÁN. 1601-1658

Interpretation

Although we do not know for certain how Houdini accomplished many of his most ingenious escapes, one thing is clear: It was not the occult, or any kind of magic, that gave him his powers, but hard work and endless practice, all of which he carefully concealed from the world. Houdini never left anything to chance—day and night he studied the workings of locks, researched centuries-old sleight-of-hand tricks, pored over books on mechanics, whatever he could use. Every moment not spent researching he spent working his body, keeping himself exceptionally limber, and learning how to control his muscles and his breathing.

Early on in Houdini’s career, an old Japanese performer whom he toured with taught him an ancient trick: how to swallow an ivory ball, then bring it back up. He practiced this endlessly with a small peeled potato tied to a string—up and down he would manipulate the potato with his throat muscles, until they were strong enough to move it without the string. The organizers of the London handcuff challenge had searched Houdini’s body thoroughly beforehand, but no one could check the inside of his throat, where he could have concealed small tools to help him escape. Even so, Kleppini was fundamentally wrong: It was not Houdini’s tools but his practice, work, and research that made his escapes possible.

Kleppini, in fact, was completely outwitted by Houdini, who set the whole thing up. He let his opponent learn the code to the French cuffs, then baited him into choosing those cuffs onstage. Then, during the two men’s tussle, the dexterous Houdini was able to change the code to FRAUD.” He had spent weeks practicing this trick, but the audience saw none of the sweat and toil behind the scenes. Nor was Houdini ever nervous; he induced nervousness in others. (He deliberately dragged out the time it would take to escape, as a way of heightening the drama, and making the audience squirm.) His escapes from death, always graceful and easy, made him look like a superman.

As a person of power, you must research and practice endlessly before appearing in public, onstage or anywhere else. Never expose the sweat and labor behind your poise. Some think such exposure will demonstrate their diligence and honesty, but it actually just makes them look weaker—as if anyone who practiced and worked at it could do what they had done, or as if they weren’t really up to the job. Keep your effort and your tricks to yourself and you seem to have the grace and ease of a god. One never sees the source of a god’s power revealed; one only sees its effects.

A line [of poetry] will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought, Our stitching and unstitching has been naught. Adam’s Curse, William Buller Yeats, 1865-1939

KEYS TO POWER

Humanity’s first notions of power came from primitive encounters with nature—the flash of lightning in the sky, a sudden flood, the speed and ferocity of a wild animal. These forces required no thinking, no planning—they awed us by their sudden appearance, their gracefulness, and their power over life and death. And this remains the kind of power we have always wanted to imitate. Through science and technology we have re-created the speed and sublime power of nature, but something is missing:

Our machines are noisy and jerky, they reveal their effort. Even the very best creations of technology cannot root out our admiration for things that move easily and effortlessly. The power of children to bend us to their will comes from a kind of seductive charm that we feel in the presence of a creature less reflective and more graceful than we are.

We cannot return to such a state, but if we can create the appearance of this kind of ease, we elicit in others the kind of primitive awe that nature has always evoked in humankind.

One of the first European writers to expound on this principle came from that most unnatural of environments, the Renaissance court. In The Book of the Courtier, published in 1528, Baldassare Castiglione describes the highly elaborate and codified manners of the perfect court citizen. And yet, Castiglione explains, the courtier must execute these gestures with what he calls sprezzatura, the capacity to make the difficult seem easy. He urges the courtier to “practice in all things a certain nonchalance which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless.” We all admire the achievement of some unusual feat, but if it is accomplished naturally and gracefully, our admiration increases tenfold—“whereas … to labor at what one is doing and … to make bones over it, shows an extreme lack of grace and causes everything, whatever its worth, to be discounted.”

Much of the idea of sprezzatura came from the world of art. All the great Renaissance artists carefully kept their works under wraps. Only the finished masterpiece could be shown to the public. Michelangelo forbade even popes to view his work in process. A Renaissance artist was always careful to keep his studios shut to patrons and public alike, not out of fear of imitation, but because to see the making of the works would mar the magic of their effect, and their studied atmosphere of ease and natural beauty.

The Renaissance painter Vasari, also the first great art critic, ridiculed the work of Paolo Uccello, who was obsessed with the laws of perspective. The effort Uccello spent on improving the appearance of perspective was too obvious in his work—it made his paintings ugly and labored, overwhelmed by the effort of their effects. We have the same response when we watch performers who put too much effort into their act: Seeing them trying so hard breaks the illusion. It also makes us uncomfortable. Calm, graceful performers, on the other hand, set us at ease, creating the illusion that they are not acting but being natural and themselves, even when everything they are doing involves labor and practice.

The idea of sprezzatura is relevant to all forms of power, for power depends vitally on appearances and the illusions you create. Your public actions are like artworks: They must have visual appeal, must create anticipation, even entertain. When you reveal the inner workings of your creation, you become just one more mortal among others. What is understandable is not awe-inspiring—we tell ourselves we could do as well if we had the money and time. Avoid the temptation of showing how clever you are—it is far more clever to conceal the mechanisms of your cleverness.

Talleyrand’s application of this concept to his daily life greatly enhanced the aura of power that surrounded him. He never liked to work too hard, so he made others do the work for him—the spying, the research, the detailed analyses. With all this labor at his disposal, he himself never seemed to strain. When his spies revealed that a certain event was about to take place, he would talk in social conversation as if he sensed its imminence. The result was that people thought he was clairvoyant. His short pithy statements and witticisms always seemed to summarize a situation perfectly, but they were based on much research and thought. To those in government, including Napoleon himself, Talleyrand gave the impression of immense power—an effect entirely dependent on the apparent ease with which he accomplished his feats.

There is another reason for concealing your shortcuts and tricks: When you let this information out, you give people ideas they can use against you. You lose the advantages of keeping silent. We tend to want the world to know what we have done— we want our vanity gratified by having our hard work and cleverness applauded, and we may even want sympathy for the hours it has taken to reach our point of artistry. Learn to control this propensity to blab, for its effect is often the opposite of what you expected. Remember: The more mystery surrounds your actions, the more awesome your power seems. You appear to be the only one who can do what you do—and the appearance of having an exclusive gift is immensely powerful. Finally, because you achieve your accomplishments with grace and ease, people believe that you could always do more if you tried harder. This elicits not only admiration but a touch of fear. Your powers are untapped—no one can fathom their limits.

Image: The Racehorse. From up close we would see the strain, the effort to control the horse, the labored, painful breathing. But from the distance where we sit and watch, it is all gracefulness, flying through the air. Keep others at a distance and they will only see the ease with which you move.

Authority: For whatever action [nonchalance] accompanies, no matter how trivial it is, it not only reveals the skill of the person doing it but also very often causes it to be considered far greater than it really is. This is because it makes the onlookers believe that a man who performs well with so much facility must possess even greater skill than he does. (Baldassare Castiglione, 1478-1529)

REVERSAL

The secrecy with which you surround your actions must seem lighthearted in spirit. A zeal to conceal your work creates an unpleasant, almost paranoiac impression: you are taking the game too seriously. Houdini was careful to make the concealment of his tricks seem a game, all part of the show. Never show your work until it is finished, but if you put too much effort into keeping it under wraps you will be like the painter Pontormo, who spent the last years of his life hiding his frescoes from the public eye and only succeeded in driving himself mad. Always keep your sense of humor about yourself.

There are also times when revealing the inner workings of your projects can prove worthwhile. It all depends on your audience’s taste, and on the times in which you operate. P. T. Barnum recognized that his public wanted to feel involved in his shows, and that understanding his tricks delighted them, partly, perhaps, because implicitly debunking people who kept their sources of power hidden from the masses appealed to America’s democratic spirit. The public also appreciated the showman’s humor and honesty. Barnum took this to the extreme of publicizing his own humbuggery in his popular autobiography, written when his career was at its height.

As long as the partial disclosure of tricks and techniques is carefully planned, rather than the result of an uncontrollable need to blab, it is the ultimate in cleverness. It gives the audience the illusion of being superior and involved, even while much of what you do remains concealed from them.

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Part 4 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander January 2022 section 2

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 4.

Note: For those of you who are new here, this article continues a Q&A dialog with an extraterrestrial "Commander" and a retired MAJestic operative who is still active with active EBP implants. Heavy stuff. But not for trivial reading. 

Personally, I think girls, cats, and food are far more interesting. But, that's me, don't you know.

[1] Question – Guarantee of protection.

Tell the commander Am cool with all the dreams. All the “missions” All the glimpses from the past.  Am cool with anything they wanna sign me up for.

All I would need is some Protection. Finding the highest probability WL that my consciousness should inhabit that would not cause me too much harm in the coming years. you get my drift? I believe they got the power, knowledge and capability.
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The past should be a lighthouse not a port so they say.
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What guarantees can be provided for protection by The Domain?
One must recognize that the situation is clearly different from that of [1] a skin-suit with no memories living inside a Prison Complex being manipulated by others, to [2] being part of a group of strong, capable IS-BE's fighting and working to improve the entire reality.

Once you exit your skin-suit it is your decision on what to do afterwards. Whether you wish to stay within the Prison Complex or join The Domain as a citizen it is your choice.

...

The vessel (that's me, by the way -MM) projected this question as what to do once the questioner leaves the physical universe and is a incorporeal being. But the questioner actually asked for guarantees of protection regarding work for the Domain as a irregular volunteer.

As an irregular, you are part of an organization and you ARE NEVER ALONE. You are always being observed, watched, and nudged into various directions. Not only for your safety but for stability, mental, emotional, physical and in every other level. 

Some irregulars provide more value than others in a quantitative sense, but what ever participation that you provide is of significance, and should be considered as such. Thus, you (the questioner) provide a great role and you need to be protected by your support group assigned to you. And you will be.

This is TRUE no matter how insignificant you might feel or mentally rationalize. Your non-physical bodies often have for more capacity, capabilities and abilities than what you (as a physical skin suit) are aware of. And those abilities are of substantive help in the missions of The Domain.

However, you are in the physical reality. You will die. 

That is unavoidable. There are also events that are part of your MWI pre-birth world-line template (sic.) that are semi-rigid. This might convince you (the questioner) that we are not monitoring your being, nor your trials, but that is not the case. In every event, we are steering you away from the VERY WORST probability scenarios towards ones with minor effect.

(I am provided the image of a terrible car wreck with a paralyzed person unable to move below the neck. Then a big red "X" is painted over that image. Then, instead, an image of a car skidding on the ice (?) and getting a "fender bender" damage, but the driver is fine. Just shaken up. I then see a big green "check mark" over it. -MM) 

We, The Domain watch over our own.

We will always work with YOU to mediate those problematic traps and snares. So as to answer your question, we will do everything in the power of your support group to protect you in your reality universe as an inmate skin-suit in the Prison Complex. Though we do have limitations, we will take care of you to the best of your support group's ability.

[2] Question – Become a member of the Domain, not just an irregular

Question: can a human soul like me (well, I think I’m human–who knows before I got bamboozled/imprisoned into doing my stint on Earth) elect to join the domain after the physical container has run its full course in the material world?

Like, I don’t want to reincarnate again, I just want to go into training so I can join the domain full time? Is this an option?

Can I elect to join the Domain after I physically die so that I can avoid the reincarnation cycle?

Yes. You can.

You (personally) have some other issues in the non-physical realms that you will need to attend you, and if that is your desire after you attend to them, we would be very happy for you to join us. 

You possess great strengths and abilities even without your core memory sets, but we are confident that in time (sic.) we can reduce the amnesia influence on your IS-BE being and your consciousness.

We are a volunteer organization and IS-BE entities can enter and leave at will. However, you will discover that many desire to stay and be involved in our efforts and if that is within your being (Yes it is, and you know that) then we truly and sincerely welcome you to join us.

This is the case for all irregulars and any entities reading this report. The Main universe needs some patching up, purging, and reconfiguring. Your kindness, steadfastness, enthusiasm and control in your physical body clearly identifies you as prime recruitment material.

(Poor translation. Sorry. He / she / it did not mean that you are a thing or anything like that. -MM)

From your “descriptions”, it sounds like the domain is somewhat similar to the modern CPC/CCP. If this is indeed an option, what are the requirements (aside from being STO sentience)?

Is the Domain similar to contemporaneous China?

Very astute of you. 

The Domain values the leadership nations and works with them to accomplish our goals. In (your time) the late 1990's we transferred our involvement in a gradual phase out away from MAJestic to other organizations. Yes. You are correct we operate (a core physical organization) within China, and the (Chinese) leadership is heavily influenced by our suggestions / recommendations / guidance's and alerts.

They are, without question or hesitation or discussion, implementing every policy suggestion we make. They do so on our timetable, and upon our schedule. Unlike the United States, the speed of implementation of the policy suggestions, the ease of finding valuable STO sentience's for membership and the (lack of) demands for technology transfer has been astounding and pleasurable. We have exchanged technology, and we have implemented many, many changes within the Chinese society itself.

...

In the early 2003 / 2004 the American MAJestic operation was shut down and Domain involvement with that organization  was terminated abruptly. The remaining sub-projects were "mothballed" or sent away as carve outs to private American industry, and the Domain has very little footprint in those (American and UK) realms right now. 

There are some doll bodies in partial activation at the China Lake NWC NAS (and Ohio) but their role is of a trivial nature.

Our influence upon China has been exceptional, and it is following an illustrative path for the rest of the world to follow. It is like a "mini" Domain sub-culture contemporaneously. 

Like the United States, we have been providing technical assistance and technology to the Chinese. Their traditional culture has embraced the core Domain belief and policy structures, and thus their Geo-political actions mirror what we advise them.

...

(As an aside, or an Oh- by the way) We (the Domain) discarded involvement with the United States governmental organizational structure when the sentience make up of the (true) leadership (at all levels) enjoined Service for Self sentience.

The Domain ONLY works with service to others sentience's. There are no exceptions.

Thus, we had to disentangle our involvement with MAJestic when the American leadership entangled wholly within STS behavior sentence's.

What are the requirements for membership in the Domain?

[1] STO sentience. 

[2] Willingness to become part of The Domain and obey it's laws, rules, and hierarchy. 

[3] An understanding that it is a all volunteer organization, but that the demands on your self may (at times) be demanding and taxing.  But that you are never alone and will participate as equals within your state of being for the good and benefit of all.

[3] Question – Please elaborate…

OMG, I am really excited!

Now if I could ask for some clarification on the “personal issues in the non physical realms” that I need to attend to…what are they?

How do I fix these ASAP?

Because let me tell you, I feel like these are annoying “loose ends” that must be fixed so I can pursue my desired path without any encumberances. Can the Domain guide me on this? Or do I need the assistance of another entity to fix this? Are these bullshit celestial contracts that some jerky astral parasite wants to enforce?

Please don’t take it that I am disrespectful of history or tradition. I understand that these are very important and they do have their place. However, it may unnecsesarily limit our imagination on who we can be (though I absolutely want to recover my full memories and skill sets–relearning is a real pain in the ass). In this physical life, I noticed that I have far, far less ties or affection for the past compared to the people around me (biologival family members, friends and acquaintances, even my husband and in laws). Out ofl all the people I know, I’m actually the only one excited for the future! Is this a sign of something?

While this isn’t an emergency, it would be nice to get an actionable response soon so I can work on solving these niggling “personal issues in the non physical realm”.

Sounds like it’s a hassle I won’t be able to avoid.

We (I personally) am very happy / pleased that you are so enthusiastic in joining us. And you are asking the proper questions.

Let's explain. 

Every prison inmate, whether in a physical inmate skin-suit" within General Population in the Prison Complex, or as a non-physical being entrapped within either the Heaven (sub pocket) mini universe, or in the non-physical realms of the prison complex, have friends, histories and associations with other IS-BE entities that are also imprisoned here.

These are clusters.

In "Heaven" they are organized in educational learning classes and the "students' enter the General Population of the Prison Complex to experience "lessons" set up by the mantid primes (sic.) and implemented by the personal mantid (sic.) of the particular IS-BE entity.

In these clusters are an ever growing karmic (sic.) attachment. The longer you associate with the particular group the more entangled your quanta becomes.

You (the questioner) have spent many, many centuries in these prison rehabilitation groups. As such your karmic (sic.) entanglements are quite strong. To disentangle from them, you can proceed in two primary directions.

[1] Continue to reincarnate upon the earth Prison Complex until the karmic entanglements are mitigated and reduced to a neutral level.

or...

[2] Accept the situation that there will be unbalanced "karmic" influences on your quantum being as an IS-BE constrained as an inmate, and this situation will persist until your memories can be actuated. What this entails is to assist in the Domain with these entanglements and their influence son your behaviors whether or not you are within the physical geographic confines of the Prison Complex... up to when your memories are restored. 

...
Were this to be your last physical reincarnation (as you surely must sincerely hope) then option #2 above would be the preferred route. 

It requires your acknowledgement that until your memories are fully restored, that the quantum entanglements with those other IS-BE entities that you have been in close proximity with will influence your IS-BE activities with the Domain. 

It is up to you to determine how serious those entanglements are, and you might need to compensate for them as they may retard your behaviors and actions.

What specifically? Please provide hard core direction…

In this current incarnation there are three principal individuals from the (your) learning cluster that all karmic encounters must be neutralized, as well as two other rather minor individuals. 

One is particularly (intentionally) abrasive / contentious in this physical environment. 

Another holds a major close role in your current incarnation. And it is not problematic.

The issue is not in regards to emotional connections, or karma quantum entanglements. It is the desire to stabilize and secure twisted quantum entanglements whether they are good / positive or ill / problematic. The way to do this is to generate positive; kind, happy or otherwise up-beat quantum entanglements with the individuals in your life.

Those that have "bad blood", or "discomfort" need to be "plastered over" / seduced / secured with kindness, and then you need to distance yourself from them. As you want their memories of you to be on a positive note.

Those that have "good blood" and positive relationships need to have this situation mitigated and propagated so that it continues. 

Feed the good.

Starve the bad.

Over all, that elimination or mitigation of quantum influences is best accomplished by offsetting kindness, goodwill, and neutral associations. In other words, the associations become "softer" and more malleable. 

What you do not want is rigid forceful hard and harsh associations with others. 

You want to mitigate any bad, harsh thoughts or generated memories and replace them with good and kind ones. This might well make the questioner feel like they are a fool, or performing strange and unnecessary behaviors. But that is not the case at all. You are closing those "holes" / gaps / fissures with another material for longer term stability.

Consider your physical incarnation as a cake. You want it to be as perfect as possible. Correct the errors, and then leave those areas alone once you repair them. Then continue on working on the good aspects of the cake. Constantly improve your cake.

(I have NO CLUE what he / it / she is talking about. -MM)

We advise to neutralize and negate the most contentious or problematic relationships, and revise your association with those individuals to a peaceful, calming and accepting attitude. No matter how disquieting it is for you to do so.

Some of the individuals have mental / emotional irregularities that were programmed into their skin-suit. Obviously you need to avoid these people. The best thing to do (regarding them) is perform a kind act, and then avoid them afterwards. Their memories will be of the kind act, not any horror or trouble that they currently associate with you. 

However, and be warned, those with the disruptive personalities this will also cause them to peruse you. That is not acceptable either. You will need to leave and not return. Kind isolation is the suggested policy.

You (the questioner) will of course request direction (from here), but the truth is that you do not need direction in this matter. You already know who these individuals are (well, for the most part) and know what to do to minimize their influences on your being / ego / self. 

Make it so.

Final; to the questioner. Your desires are not hidden from us. Proceed as you will, and rest comfortably in realizing your worth and value is understood, and appreciated. 

Also take note that you need provide a "hit and run" sort of kindness to one or two of these entities. Do not disrupt what you currently have to fill those gaps / holes / fissures. Remember that you must make your cake perfectly. Refine the ingredients, and take due care in forming the shape.

Be kind then isolate away from them. 

Let their thoughts of you remain of the kindness that you showed to them. If you fail to isolate afterwards, you will destroy / trash / collapse the entire effort. For these most problematic individuals it MUST be kindness and isolate.

[4] Question – More about China and The Domain

I cannot help but to say that my “ears picked up” and my “hair stood on end” when I transcribed these last few answers to the questions. So I sent out a flurry of questions, and I tell you what, I should have had a pencil and paper nearby. Here’s what I can recall.

What is the name of the Chinese organization that replaced MAJestic?

Group <redacted>.

You do not need to know anything more than that. That is not part of your mission parameters.

Do they know of my existence?

Yes and no. 

They are aware that The Domain worked with MAJestic in the United States prior to working with group <redacted>. However, they are not aware of who you (MM here) are, nor are they aware that you are present in country. 

However, they do know that numerous high-level MAJestic operators have moved out of the United States and that the strong possibility exists that they (or some of them) have relocated inside of China.

I found the timing of the move from MAJestic to Group <redacted> inside  of China very interesting. This was right before I was “retired”, and at that time, I was all over China on various projects. I wonder if I played a role in the move away from the United States to China.

My role in the transformation to China?

You have a EBP installed. As do others. You and the others are our "eyes and ears on the ground", and everything that you experience is recorded and analyzed. 

You personally had a participate role in the decision to terminate our association with MAJestic. However, you were not the only contributor.

We made the necessary arrangements to have you visit various locales, locations and individuals. 

Your experiences, and the discussions that you had contributed to the images and senses of others to better form an impression / decision / process plan.

We had earmarked an alternative to MAJestic in the middle to late 1990's and settled on China as well as two other alternatives as primary candidates. These other candidates were Singapore, and a unified Korea. Overall, we needed to change our working arrangement in the general population (GP) of the Prison Complex  due to sentience non-configuration.

This was a fall back position because our association with MAJestic was deemed to be problematic.

What do you mean “problematic”?

The first signs of trouble happened early on in the 1960's (my time) when President John F. Kennedy died, and the Geo-political structure of the United States changed. Initially we believed that it might become more like the ideal that The Domain was working to foster upon the American legislative group, however that never materialized.

We were able to offer technical help and assistance in exchange for (biological) monitoring allowances, but we failed to influence the core operational governmental structure within the United States. It continued to be an entrenched oligarchy with little interest in any changes of any type / manner / configuration.

Danger signs and issues abounded throughout the 1970's. By the 1980's we had started looking for alternative host nations. 

Never the less, the programs (such as MM here) were still in process and they act and actuate regardless as to which nation hosts our primary human skin-suit contact base. All members, as you well know, operate upon a higher calling and are not limited to geographic or national confines. 

That was clearly described to you during your recruitment interview in the ELF facility at NAS, NASC Pensacola Florida.

It became clear to us that elements of "The Old Empire", as well as some significantly problematic IS-BE entities occupied key roles, lives, positions within the Western government structures to include the United States, Canada, the UK, Israel, and various high offices within Europe. 

This concentration of STS consciousnesses were leading the entire physical planet towards catastrophic turmoil, and that needed to end. We could not allow the vector trajectory to continue. This is "Old Empire" programming and needs to be reset.

This boil / disease / illness continued to fester throughout the 1990's and we terminated our agreement with MAJestic in a firm but polite manner in 2002. 

At that time, we contacted key individuals within China, and used our influence tool-kit to engage the Chinese leadership. It is no coincidence that the current leadership in China is STO sentience, and enacting the plans and strategies on a national and Geo-political level that very closely resembles that of The Domain, in most core policies.

Technology transfer issues?

Yes. We have transferred technologies to the Chinese. The Chinese have been very different in requesting and accepting technologies. MAJestic was desirous of actual physical vehicles and systems for reverse engineering. The Chinese on the other hand are / have been very desirous in understanding the systems and technologies used.

Yes. There are dimensional ports within China.

No. We did not provide them with an array of vehicles to reverse engineer. Instead, we work with the Chinese scientists in understanding the core technologies in gravity manipulation, propulsion, environmental controls and frequency modification and targeting.

The biggest success with the Chinese government has been in a top to bottom restructuring of it's society to include improvements on how the society works. In many ways (not all) it follows the Domain as a model. This was (surprisingly) requested of us, and we obliged. There are numerous members of The Domain working in transforming the Chinese society into a fully functioning, efficient, platform to handle the various earth-centrist problems that persist.

The environment, being a meritocracy, policing the leadership, a complete change in the way financial transactions occur, and fidelity to family and traditions (as localized as they may be) are all of Domain inspiration.

Threat of war from the United States?

There is no doubt that the United States is trying aggressively to provoke a war and conflict with China. Why is this the case, and what will happen? Will you stand back and allow it to happen, or will you protect the Domain interests as represented by China?

We have put in place controls (control kits) in / upon the American military leadership that will reduce the threat of war to some degree. 

This should be evident to you already as you are aware of the events since 2017. The American military leadership (LEADERSHIP) are not desirous of conflict and they have been instilled with "the FEAR of GOD" intentionally. They know that the consequences for a conflict with any of the powers in Asia today would be horrific and of significant consequence.

Their American leadership, however, are another issue, and the concentration of carnivorous and dangerous entities with an "Old Empire" psychopathic mind set is like deep churning water that is difficult to control. We cannot control them. When we try, another cluster takes it's place. This self-determination towards destruction of self is inherent in the inmate skin-suits and the system that is part of the Prison Complex control mechanism.

We watched this event sequence play out in another of the Prison Complex planets. It was a cycle that we do not want see repeated here in the earth environment as we are making steady progress in the isolation and removal  of the control mechanisms of the "Old Empire". A catastrophic global war would seriously negatively affect all of our previous efforts.

We have provided substantive technical assistance to the Chinese as well as to the Russians. Their combined (not publicized) technology transfers and (not publicized) exchange of military technology has provided both Russia and China with technological military advantage that the United States cannot defend against. This should be enough to dissuade an increasingly belligerent United States oligarchy and upper tier level leadership to reconsider any military action. Alas, that is not what is going on.

Technological advantage will not be enough to dissuade an attacking aggressor, nor will will guarantee victory. There are always other factors involved.

No matter how we might provide advantage to the rest of the world from Western aggression, there is no guarantee that our ideals and advantages will prevail. There are some strong attributes and interests pushing towards war. Not only from the obvious personalities, and the financial interests, but from non-physical sources, a buildup of hate and of course pre-programming of inmate behaviors.

We have determined that there will be a conflict and it will be triggered by United States behaviors. However, the goal of defending from an attack on the terms and upon the criteria established by the United States has changed. Currently we are advising both Russia and China how to handle this current Geo-political situation. This is not something that can be broadcast at this time.

However, watch the actions of Russia and China closely and you will see coordination. Take note of what is not being reported or receives only scant attention, and note that the idea of "red lines" and "ultimatums" are part of a Domain recommendation kit / package / advisement.

When you have two dogs meeting for the first time. You only put a leash on one of the dogs. The other dog is permitted to move about freely and unconstrained. If both are on leashes, or if both are free with out a leash, you will find that the potential for a dog-fight increases dangerously. By forcing borders, lines of engagement, it actually settles down the chances of attack and military action.

However, there will be an escalation of conflict. There currently is an on-going conflict. What we are trying to do is to control and contain the conflict to a manageable level, and one in which The Domain interests are not harmed, destroyed or damaged.

We are arranging "little hurts" instead of "big hurts".

The conflict that will occur will not be as anyone expects, and a number of other pressures (financial, economic, trade, food, environmental, and social) will engage and alter the Geo-political landscape in such a way that Domain Interests, are preserved.

[5] Question – Hope

Before we jump to this next question, I have to interject.

Earlier about three weeks or so earlier, I inquired about one of the influencers on MM. For privacy reasons, I will refer to him as DK. Most active followers might know who this individual is.

He wanted to know what was going on with his efforts on thought control, affirmations, dreams, goals and lifestyle. And was pretty bummed out about things. I asked the Commander BUT DID NOT GET ANY ANSWERS.

Then, for reasons that I do not understand, the query of this DK individual was injected into this particular questioners' question. I hope that everyone understands that I just transcribe and try to figure things out as they arise and that I have no control of where, why or in what order the answers appear. In general. -MM

Could you please ask a simple question?

If I do everything I’m asked, will I be able to lead the normal life I desire in this incarnation? I’m sorry to be greedy for your time but I really need hope as a motivator.

Thank you so much for your help.

The questioner is not understanding his role. He is not understanding that he is a non-physical being that is presently occupying a prison skin-suit.

Things that happen to that skin-suit are for a REASON.

Part of the reason is the pre-birth world-line template (sic.) when the questioner set forth the experience in General Population in this incarnation they had to be directed to MM and The Domain. Thus the hardships and seemingly unfair events were intentional to direct the questioner to this point and to enlist our assistance. It was intentional.

Further modifications occurred.

There were physical modifications and this resulted in some fearful events that affected frequency access. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. Though the questioner believes that it is a bad thing. Do not.

There were non-physical modifications. These were terrifying and fearful and any dreams that you might retain of those events were not of your making but rather the defense mechanisms of "the old empire".

Like MM you have been changed to work with us. This is as an irregular, and yet you see no progress? Perhaps it is because you are not aware that the universe is not a Hollywood movie. There is no Buck Rodgers. And like MM, you are discouraged that the world of "Star Trek" does not exist. You will not go into a teleporter, fire a phaser, meet a beautiful green skinned Venus lady, or pal around with Chubacca.

Your value is what you do in your non-physical bodies. They, like you, are trapped within the Prison Complex sphere. But you possess some mighty strong skills in this arena and already have provided valuable guidance and assistance to your support group. And they are there with you. They monitor you constantly and they help you navigate the world-lines to avoid some major catastrophes, yet you do not see the big pit that you just avoided. maybe you do not see that big blade pendulum that you just avoided. Like irregular DK it seems like there are some invisible barriers that are preventing you from obtaining things. But you will obtain some great things, it's just that you need to be steered away from the massive traps in front of you.

You are not DK, and your situation is different from his. He was cursed early on, and has been dealing with some greased skids, tricks, malevolence, problematic suction "demon" spirits, leeches, rumble topography (sic.) and "slides and ladders", and just as we are busy dissembling his "yard full of old trash", we are too clearing your paths. So do not give up hope.

You are not alone. You are never alone.

[1] Your mantid has given full support to your dreams, wishes, desires and goals.

[2] You are assigned a "crew" or "support group" from the Domain that watches you and your non-physical bodies constantly.

[3] Like DK, your future path is cluttered with rubbish and turmoil. We have assigned a secondary group (same team assigned to DK) to remove the garbage and purge the "stinky water". 

Life is not going to be "roses and rainbows" in front of you, but you WILL see things start to get better. And you and DK are not the only ones. So have hope because you are NEVER alone, and we are monitoring you, and your thoughts constantly, and your thoughts are normal. Your desires are normal. Your being is normal.

And your future will be calm, peaceful and normal.

*end*

I take that to mean that there is a lot of work going on with DK and there are teams (plural) of entities trying to clear out a big mess in the non-physical realms associated with him and his situation. As well as a number of questioners who also have “things in their closets” that need to be cleared out and purged.

[6] Question – Third Party Verification

I would like to remain a stranger if possible, but you could with the help of mantid verify the sincerity of my intentions and even by going through the past slides here and now.

*pause*

(A comm opened up in a new channel. a different "feeling" manifested. i take it to represent a different entity. Seems lie a group party line or group comm channel. -MM)

*verify*
*check*

(A lot of back and forth that I do not understand at all. I mean absolutely can't make heads or tails out of it. It is all just messed up crazy lines and scribbles to me. Just a confusion. -MM)

The questioner is proceeding as should be. There is no need for verification. The fears are just fears. The questioner knows the true reason for the question.

Mantid checks out. There are no problems or concerns of contention / dismay.

(I do not think that they understand the question. They seem to be performing a status diagnostics routine of some type. -MM)

The questioner is asking if he is sincere. Please verify.

(The Commander answers while on the "party line" with multiple comms open. -MM)

Sincerity is measured by actions, not by intention. We do not doubt intention, nor do we question actions. We note that there is a high degree of fear in all of the irregulars garnered via the MM access portal.

(Again, more noise. This appears to be others chatting or thinking in broad action swaths.-MM)

*Image of a kitchen. Image of a table. Image of a window and a street / bark yard. I imagine a transparent cat walking from the outside into the kitchen, like a ghost or spirit. Then calmly moving around the kitchen. Then a kind of warm wash through the room. Like a calming balm.*

(I think that this means that another entity, maybe a cat, is entering the questioners reality and working to purge the environment of bad "energy" or frequencies...-MM)

*BiZZZZZZiTTTTT!*

(Then the Commander shouts. and it shocks and surprises me. Maybe that's the intention.-MM)

(I hear / sense a loud screeching noise that howls and huts my head. UGH! I have never ever, EVER experienced anything like it. The Commander then yells..)

Turn off the media! Go without it FULLY for one week. No radio. No internet. No MM. No television. No newspaper. Start tomorrow.

*end*

I do not want to sound like a dick, I am just reporting things.  But it seems to me that there are some bad influences that are hitting this questioner right now. The Commander orders that the questioner alter his lifestyle for one week. Then afterwards return to it. Then, notice the difference.

My feelings and impression is that of a doctor telling a patent that they MUST do this thing, or there will be bad consequences. It’s a pretty strong message in any event.

I hope that he will do this. It might be too difficult for him to do.

(A half an hour passes.)

*comm opens up*

Questioner must get out of the vortex that his habits create. This is causing fear, doubt, and inability to hear / sense our nudges and directions. He is not acting on them because he cannot hear them.

His Mantid has been notified and told that this type of disturbance is not acceptable for our irregular forces.

The issues of the failure of the support organization to identify, track and suppress these influences are being addressed. 

The issue is not with the questioner. The issue is with outside influences that are creating a dangerous mind / thinking process alteration.

There are numerous irregulars that are subject to contentious and conflicting influences that must be controlled and eliminated. We are directing forces to this end, and the questioner will experience some alterations in their non-physical bodies shortly. There will also be other irregulars that will experience similar changes.

I also have the very strong image that other forces are being enlisted to assist the questioner. Whether it is an actual cat, a former cat, or some other entity is unknown. What ever that “cat” did, it certainly triggered a “something”. And whatever that ‘something” was, it was electromagnetic in nature. Thus the prescription for reset.

If I would be so bold, I would suggest some walks in the countryside, and listening to hemi-sync (even though it is electronic in nature), and do anything other than electronic media. I don’t know if it is possible, but it is worth a try.

Overall, this entire question is rather weak. I have to admit that asking someone else to verify your sincerity is rather “weak”. Sincerity is a personal thing, and cannot really be measured by outside influences. You are either sincere or not.

The confusion in this matter is due to the differences in experience. The Commander orders a change in electromagnetic frequency exposure. This clearly indicates to me that the questioner is being harmed right now. Death by media, I suppose. Maybe the questioner is in the United States, India, Australia or the UK where mind-control via electronic media is rampant. Read my article on Vault 7.

Keep in mind that the perceptions of others is important on the human-interaction level, but not in dealing with extraterrestrials. They just simply do not think like we do.

I am sure that all of this is embarrassing to the questioner. But it need not be. We know from the comm that the Commander is aware who this person is, that the mantid and his supporting team are all aware of the questioner and other influences are being pulled in to assist.

Also interesting is that the questioner was not responding to Domain induced “nudges”. This is due to electromagnetic frequency saturation of his environment which affected his personality. No wonder there’s an “all points” bulletin out to watch for these interference’s.

The good thing that came out of this is [1] a prescription to break the influence train, followed by [2] a garnering of resources to assist and help the questioner get over his doubt, fear and worry. Further a [3] unknown problem (of some sort) was identified, and [4] corrective actions put in place.

I anticipate some friendly non-physical entities being enlisted to support the questioner in ways that I do not understand.

[7] Question – IS-BE exfiltrating post event

Questions; Have you succeeded in exfiltrating this IS-BE having received the Nobel Prize in 1984 leaving his prisoner costume a few days ago and his fight does he correspond to your domain or affiliated organization?

(I am sure that the questioner will not be happy with this response. but I get this kind of thing more often than not, and it is just the way things are. -MM)

We do not discuss mission related activities on public channels.

*end*

Well, whatever this is all about, we do know and recognize that it was a Domain related activity / mission.

[9] Question – Other pathways

Just had another question pop into my head. Again, I don’t want you to exhaust yourself so if you prefer to add it to a future batch of questions, please feel free. Just thought i’d type it down and send it to you because it had that nagging urgency to it (popped right into my mind out of no where) plus i just had a bright white spark appear when I was writing add it to a future Q&A (usually means I am on a necessary thought train).

Background: During my first encounter with the EG, when I was first told about the amnesia, I was heavily into the alchemy and the writings of Thoth/ Hermes, or more specifically the Philosopher’s Stone being the higher self/ Original IS-BE state of consciousness (i figured alchemy and the transmutation of metals were a metaphorical representation of the kundalini rising through the 7 chakras to initiate an interaction with the higher self).

The alchemy.

The connection between my studies and my interaction with the EG seems excruciatingly obvious.

Q: Can the Ancient Egyptian/ Greek deity known as Thoth/ Hermes/ Hermes Trismegistus a Domain Officer and his writings a legitimate pathway back to regaining ISBE memory?

MM comments...

I know nothing about High magick and the religious elements related to Ancient Egypt and the occult. My brother was, however a major practitioner. And he had every single Crowley book imaginable. I tried to read them. Honestly they made absolutely zero sense to me.  And actually gave me a bit of a headache. I liked the idea of a methodology to conduct higher-order changes int he physical, but at that time I couldn't understand the importance of ritual.

I think that this question has great validity, but unfortunately I am so very hampered by my lack of knowledge on the subject. Never the less, I have posted the question and recording the impressions / images and answers as best I can.

So here’s the answer from the Commander…

Yes.

(garbled. A lot of information. Very confusing. Very difficult for me to follow and understand. Images of The Golden Dawn and Atlester Crowley, and something about these big oversized tarot cards, and something about colors arranged on a wheel and spinning, and then these colored strings or yarn. There's this image of a small square of wood with some symbols on one side and something else on the other side.. -MM)

... magick as practiced involves "old Empire" technologies which work outside of the Reality Universe, but are somewhat suppressed within the Reality universe.

...associations with tools and "safe circles" / "power circles", or use of "wands" and set routines to manifest spirits which are really...

(So much confusion and imagery. Makes me wish that I studied the occult. Not viewed as a stage show magic act but rather as a technical science that used thoughts generated via ritual to obtain results targeted to specific spirits or entities or power sources.-MM)

... methodology does not remove the amnesia barrier nor remove the containment fencing. Instead it provides a bubble of transit (sic.) for the IS-BE entity to use to transit through the barriers.

(Snippets continue, and still confusing to me personally.-MM)

...in order to make the "Old Empire" technology work within the prison complex there are certain processes that must be incorporated along with the baseline formulae. Without them, the efficiency and effectiveness of the technology is greatly reduced. Not zeroed, but reduced substantially.

...your experience in the locking curse set upon by your brother was made evident during your "retirement" sequence at Pine Bluff and the chair imagery was illustrative of surrogate consciousness placement for curse and control of others which illustrates how effective the system works. Imagine how effective it would be outside the containment field outside the prison Complex.

(Like I said, once I had the EBP, the Domain experienced everything that I did, and know far more than I did about what was going on. -MM)

[10] Question – And others per question #9

Further, can the same be said for the Philosopher known as Plato (who basically came to inspire the Matrix movies with his philosophy of the cave) who I assumed at the time was the one so referenced in “the Pholosopher’s Stone”?

No.

Philosophy differs from "Old Empire" technology. It is a completely different system with completely different objectives and purposes.

[11] Question – Helping establish a protocol to use in the Reality Universe

I devote myself to helping you physically I can’t get to LD but could you help me establish a simple, efficient and concise protocol to try with peaceful ways to help transform those (of the old empire) who want to change their future potentials and present, to offer them once again, luck, pole, hand, help.

In this next comm the image of a gollum comes up. It’s a strange image. It represents a skin-suit. And trapped inside that skin suit looks like a swarm of fireflies, but as you get closer, the fireflies look more like glowing water. This clay grey gollum is just sitting there in a chair, but it also has these (thousands) of ray beams pointing and flowing at it. Many go through, and many are deflected from it. Of those that go through, you can see the rays bouncing around and messing up the glowing water inside. It’s churnign the water and making it splash and move about. It seems very uncomfortable as the water is frothing and bubbling and hissing and exploding in tiny pings and pops.

Remember that image when reading the following…

*open*

We have no doubts regarding willingness, desire, ability, or intent with the questioner. 

(Image of a very kind doctor / veterinarian (?) patting the questioner (whom I cannot make out, it's like a grey clay gollum) on the back and telling him that everything will be all right. Not to worry. -MM)

However, the questioner is filled with fear, doubt and questions. It need not be that way.

Why does the questioner believe that there are radio waves? He cannot see them. yet he believes in television, radio and the internet. Why? This comm, and our operations are no different. Just because the questioner does not have the technology in his physical hands does not mean that the process does not exist. 

Stop the worry and fear.

(Again, I picture an old 1950's family physician who is chatting with a white coat and a pipe in his mouth, talking in a soothing and even level to the grey gollum while patting him on the shoulder. Saying things that everything will be all right. And giving the gollum an injection in the arm, and pointing to a picture / chart of the human body and explaining things. It's a very warm and welcoming office also. Not the normal sterile hospital or clinic rooms that we have so come to expect. -MM)

You have been tasked with some basic but important activities and missions and you have successfully performed your duties. We do not doubt your intentions. You might not remember them, and you do not need to LD in order to assist us in our mission.

The questioner has not being physically responsive to our nudges, and we have rectified that issue. / Are rectifying that issue. It involves things and issues that he was unaware of and had no control over.

We theorize that the insecurity regarding Domain involvement is due to this suppression of our confirmation nudges.

(Again, this image of a doctor and strangely a cat; a white cat with black spots, is very clear and the cats is walking around and rubbing up against the legs of the gollum. The cat funny enough has a black mustache. LOL. The cat jumps on the lap of the gollum, and is a purring loudly while the doctor talks in calming peaceful voices and is rubbing the left arm of the gollum. Each time the cat purrs the calmer the "rays of light" going into the gollum appear. It's like the cat is somehow changing the energy directed inside the gollum -MM)

[12] Question – Expansion of perspective

(1) What’s the relative value of focusing our limited human efforts to expand our perspectives, to be able to “see” things from mantid, domain, or even cat perspectives?

It is important to see things in as many ways as possible. That provides a better understanding of what ever situation that you are studying.

Consider a two dimensional picture of a basketball. You can see it, and can guess it's shape.

But if you hold the basketball in your hands you can see that it is spherical. You can feel the texture and the hardness of the leather. You can smell the ball, and if you have improved your ESP (sic.) ability, you can tell and understand the stories of all those that touched that ball.

We advise the questioner to expand understanding and work on improving perceptions from multiple points of view. This will provide a better crafted understanding of the present situation that he is embroiled in.

(2) To the extent it’s worthwhile, any advice for “how to”?

As with anything, the key is training and practice. Seek out others who have this ability and learn from them. We / it / I suggest that you improve your extra sensory skills in this area and improve your empathic ability. Having an improved empathic ability especially in the earth prison complex environment would be a great asset to The Domain.

Work on the effort every day and all the time. Imagine that you have that ability, and pretend that you do. It will then manifest. this is the preferred technique for the questioner specifically.

Conclusion

That’s enough for now. I have around 30 more questions to go and if your question is not yet answered please stand by. I’m getting to them as life allows.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

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Part 3 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander December through January 2022

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 3.

[22a] Question – Can Basic Training be obtained

Thank you for your effort. I know how stressful is this for you.

My 2 questions:

As part of working with The Domain, is possible to have basic training to get a better spiritual understanding of ourselves?

Yes, of course.

Those who have agreed to work with us in the roles previously discussed are volunteer irregulars. While they are not qualified with the necessary training and education necessary for regular operations, they never the less possess certain abilities, skills, advantages that we can utilize for the benefit of all.

Everyone who conjoins in this role accepts training (sic.) and non-physical body manipulation / alteration / enhancement / modification as necessary to work with The Domain to attend to the projects that they are or will be assigned to do.

Very little is done at the "raw" physical state, unless you are like MM (here) and have an EBP or ELF probes installed medically. But MM and his colleagues are part of a very special role that needs those modifications and enhancements.

When we perform / conduct / implement the training or education you might experience the events as dreams, or some kind of LD event. Most people will forget them. This is because the memories of the procedures are not usually anchored to the mechanisms inherent with the memories associated with the physical body.

In a similar manner the medical procedures associated with the non-physical body might be interpreted as horrible and frightening nightmares. This is a fear defense mechanism that was set up by the "Old Empire" for your particular human inmate skin-suit.

If there is some particular skill or ability that we suggest the irregular to learn, that is obtained on the physical reality universe (General Population arena), then we would provide a strong "nudge" or urge for the individual to get that kind of training. We have provided nudges to those to study "fate forecasting" (sic.) horoscopes, learning lucid dreaming, enhancing their ESP abilities, and certain directions related to geographical relocation.

[22b] Question

Were we chosen before birth for this endeavor or we are part of this effort by choice and fate (by chance)?

Yes. Most of the active participants on MM have agreed to meet up using this venue before they were born.

Not every IS-BE had the same or similar entry agreement experience, and not everyone worked with their mantids (sic.) to come to this point. As it stands, of those who utilize the MM recruitment venue, there is a mixture of individuals from a large selection of different recruitment drives.

Of those, it should be well understood that numerous individuals were recruited pre-birth in clusters. There is the cluster that MM is part of. This cluster contains IS-BE entities that agreed to work with the Domain prior to birth and that affected the entry-point and the pre-birth world-line template (sic.).

There are a handful of Domain citizenry that are attracted to the MM effort. They are instrumental in organizing the training and recruitment drives in the Heaven (sic.) as well as working with the Mantid Primes. While imprisoned in this complex they are working inside the Heaven pocket universe to organize, train, establish and create the cadre of irregulars that you are part of. 

They volunteered for this role.

They are aware of the risks and are trapped within the prison complex until the containment field is adequately breached.

They have been working to establish recruitment drives from the inside, and have "convinced" / manipulated / agreed to assist the mantid primes in the necessary life experiences via the pre-birth world-line templates for the roles assigned to the irregular volunteers.

There are clusters of non-physical recruitment memberships that occurred during the pre-birth training cycle and recruitment drives in the 1970's and the 1980's General Population Time.

These efforts continue.

The primary training, and the avenues of recruitment occur in the non-physical realms. And it is a complex matter as it involves both mantids, and the IS-BE's as well as crossing the pocket universe threshold regarding Heaven (sic.).

[23] Question – Have you and I met in the physical?

This is a question that I presented to the Domain Commander. I wonder if he was present in any of the physical meetings, or any of the non-physical meetings that I had with the Domain.

No.

Then what about the “leader” who oversaw the operation and implantation of the EBP. Was that not you?

No it was not.

Who was that person then?

That was the chief operational procedure leader for the implantation of the EBP and the memory and biological alterations.

[24] Question – Who were the doctors who oversaw the non-physical body alterations, as well as the physical body changes?

I had a physical modification of my physical body in the mid to late 1980’s. And numerous non-physical changes. I am curious as to who these entities / type-1 individuals were / are.

The medical procedure that took place at Nags Head, NC was conducted by a team of specialists. 

These individuals were a mixture of Domain Officers that temporarily occupied the bodies of human inmate skin suits, as well as the actual medical staff who were actual / real / non-modified human skin-suits.

It is the unmodified humans who performed the necessary biological alterations to your physical body. They came from another region per our request. 

You did not observe the procedure as your consciousness was container placed, while the physical body was replaced.

And what about the non-physical alterations?

That was conducted by a team of specialists who was led by the Chief Nurse. That nurse worked on you in other events and is / was aware of who you are, and your general agreement and disposition.

[25] Question – Is it possible to destroy the amnesia network through LD operations?

This is an interesting question that I thought about asking. I read somewhere that there are people who are claiming that they have damaged the amnesia network and system through lucid dreaming activities. Is this possible?

No. Lucid Dreaming is an observer platform that has a substantial degree of non-physical interaction. A LD individual consciousness can make changes to the environment that will result in apparent changes. However, the reality universe is layered like an onion, and when you make one kind of change, it should interact with all the other layers, and change them accordingly. This would then imply that YES, a LD individual can make changes to the amnesia field.

But the actual answer is sadly no.

The amnesia mechanism is layered within this "onion" layers and insulated and protected by mini-pocket universes that serve as minor repositories of individual components. Making alterations to one layer via consciousness in the LD state will not alter those protected within the pocket repositories.

Which will then emerge unscathed, and then like a seed sprout anew and reconfigure itself like (the Borg???) and adapt to the prior system of alterations. Thus making damage to the mechanism especially difficult.

There needs to be a coordinated effort to destroy all the major elements of the mechanisms / systems and then prevent them for regrouping and recovering. Then systematically go one by one and dismantle the entire complex mechanism.

[26] Question – What is preventing manned spaceflight?

In theory we could have established settlements on the Moon and sent people to Mars by now. The plans had been proposed 50 years ago, but no one has done it. Maybe there’s a larger reason than lack of money and will, so I’ll pose the question.

Does overt human spaceflight into the solar system—say, to Mars—present risks, whether from other beings or from anything else such as unknown microbes? Maybe if yes, the Commander could elaborate.

The biggest impediment to human spaceflight within the prison complex environment is greed, human skin-suit politics, and corruption. 

The Domain will not interfere in vehicle movement within the General Population universe. 

However, there are other interests and entities that do interfere in vehicular movement, as well as the dangerous autonomous military weapon mechanisms that litter the containment field as (a soft of) unexploded munitions, not to mention the snares, traps, and other mechanisms that operate as spiders web of maze entanglement pitfalls.

Your term "manned vehicular spaceflight" to the moon, to Mars, to any of the planets in the solar system, or to any other solar system within the confines of the prison complex are impeded by the failings of the individual planetary governments and their leadership. Most of the reasons behind this have a root cause borne out of personal greed and avarice.

There are five main prison planet solar systems comprising the constellation of stars that make up the prison complex. However, there are also other solar systems that the field contains, that are not populated by inmates. 

The earth-bound entities are also free to construct vehicles and visit these other physical bodies. There, they will find interesting remains of former civilizations that once existed prior to the wars of the "Old Empire" during their expansion phase into this region. Unfortunately, many of these planetary bodies are no longer inhabitable for biological creatures.

[27] Question – Personal guidance

Fantastic stuff MM. thank you so much for your work on this.

So much to take in.

If you get the chance, may I ask for a little guidance for me personally from the commander? I’m rather lost and am ready to follow whatever the Domain commander determines is necessary for me to be useful. I really don’t have anything to lose, all I’ve got at the moment is a simple plan with my affirmations.

While if my affirmations eventually manifest I would have something to lose, as of right now I’m thinking of the bigger picture. Should I continue with my plan or is there something else I should do?

I promise to do whatever is suggested.

You need to seek out human counsel.

If your automobile's engine no longer starts when you crank it up. No matter how hard you turn the lever, it just will not start. (I picture a guy trying to crank the front of a model A old time automobile.) What do you do? Well, you go to a automobile mechanic.

If you are sick, and coughing terribly. If your body is covered in skin rashes and pustules. What do you do? You go to a doctor.

In the case of the questioner, there is a degree of life-mapping, social predictive study, career / lifestyle alteration and personal health and biological readjustment required to achieve his/her ideal. This level of guidance is best determined / obtained / provided by an experienced individual who can provided clinical as well as personal information in regards to your situation.

Just like you go to a shoe repair man when your heel falls off, or a brain surgeon if you have persistent headaches, or even a typewriter repairman if the keys keep sticking on your typewriter. You need to be guided not by (myself / Commander) but by a person / entity that can help you exactly.

Further this guidance is necessary by a trained and experienced human person with extra sensory insight who can guide you. They will need to understand your intelligence and speak the same kind of language that you do regarding your particular issues, fears, concerns and aspirations.

There is one such expert in the irregulars that you communicate with, but is unaware of your need at this time, and his ability to assist you is a function of his desire to do so. 

Contact MM and he will put you in contact with him.

This is a shout out to <redacted>. It’s obvious. If you contact me, I will pass your contact information to him. It will be up to him whether to assist you or not. laobangbh@163.com -MM

[28] Question – ASD’s and UHF radiation.

I have one more question if you can squeeze it in.  If not, it can wait until another time.  Its importance should be obvious.

Autism-spectrum disorders (ASDs) and mental retardation have exploded in youth over the past 30+ years.  Current research suggests something in the environment triggers autism in children with certain DNA markers around age 2 or 3.  Also, many college-age youth display symptoms of what appear to be mild ASD symptoms, including inflexibility, unwillingness to adapt, need for safe spaces and trigger warnings, desire to censor other viewpoints, irrational behavior, bizarre claims of gender fluidity, etc.

Until the modern cell-phone system was created, higher-energy UHF transmissions were mostly absent from the environment.  So the question:

Is UHF radiation from cell-phone towers the trigger for susceptible children to develop ASDs?

All radiation influences the biological bodies of human inmate skin-suits.

How the radiation interacts with the physical bodies depend on [1] the complexities of the non-physical bodies, [2] the diet and [3] well-being of the physical bodies, [4] the fate profile of the individual, [5] the thoughts of those around the individual so targeted, and [6] the presence of lack of viral agents within the body.

Association of UHF radiation as a sole contributor is not accurate. It is, at best, a contributor to a host of conditions that operate syngeristically to create an autism condition. 

To make a crescent ring you need to make sure that the mutton and cheese are all well seasoned and tenderized, Then you must bake it at the proper temperature. If you leave out the mutton, or forget the cheese, or any number of ingredients for the pastry, when you apply the radiation, it will not be a crescent ring. Instead it will be something else. This is the same with the conditions necessary for ASD manifestation via UHF radiation.

Funny thing these comm’s.

This was something that I was unaware of. I had never heard of a “crescent ring”. I realized it was a food when the Commander mentioned mutton. I thought about the moon, before I figured out what he / she was referring to.

Why didn’t my mother, or anyone in my family ever make these things? They sound absolutely delicious.

[29a] Question – Mantids

I was catching up on the forum, and pissedlizard said (again) that the Greys are a dying race, and that they are actually under the Mantids.

I understand that you had asked this question before to the commander, and the answer was that there are actually 2 kinds of Mantids–the class that is assigned to each human, and the other class that is in the “tunnel of light”.

But with pissedlizard’s comment, I can’t help but feel confused.

If the commander can clear up this “dying race” thing, it would be helpful.

Are the Domain under the control of the Mantids?

Is the beach under the control of the ocean? Are cows under the jurisdiction of the grass?

The Domain has a role, and a place within the Main Universe that fits the needs and desires of our group of IS-BE consciousness entities. Likewise the mantids, also have a role, and a place in the grand society that represents the totality of the Main and Reality and Heaven universes.

Human skin-suits within the general population try to understand things from their own limited perspective. They do not see things as part of a greater whole. In the interactions of the Domain and the mantids, it is as of equals offering different abilities to resolve differing objectives.

The mantids are devoted to their human skin-suit charges. They provide them with experiences that improve their being; that purge the more corrupting thought influences from their beings. And they work to provide them rewards in the Heaven universe upon completion.

The Domain is active in purging the main universe of disconcerting elements that could destroy the very nature of the universe "fabric". One of which is the presence of the prison complex, and to this end, the inmates will need to participate in the eventual shut-down and retirement of this facility. This will cause human inmate hardship and experiences that the mantids (sic.) support. 

So in the overall scheme of things, both the Domain and the mantids (including the mantids prime) work together for the mutual benefit of all. Not only on the tactical level, but strategic as well. We work as equals with unified goals, and determination.

The idea that one is subservient to the other is a human inmate construct. Just like certain human inmates believe that humans "own" cats as pets. The cats are more like caretakers of their human charges. Not the other way around as is often believed.

[29b] Question  – Is the Domain a dying race?

Also, since the Domain is supposed to be composed of timeless beings who can choose which type of bodies to inhabit (biological, mechanical, etc), how can they be dying?

Does PL mean that the bodies are dying, since IS-BEs are forever and unkillable (but can be bamboozled and subdued)? I was under the impression that Domain members (based on their rank) could wear whatever type of skin suits like one wears a shirt or a sweater. I can’t help but feel a little concerned or confused. Probably both.

How can the Domain be dying?

(I picture that old game where the children all form a circle and one person is given a statement to whisper into the ear of the person next to them. Then, that person whispers it into the ear of the other person. And so on, and so forth. Eventually, the person at the end announces what the statement is, and it doesn't even resemble the first statement whispered. - MM)

There are misunderstandings that abound, and the human skin-suits try to make sense of things from their understandings.

All IS-BE consciousness is eternal. They are alive and exist because. They are.

It does not matter what form or shape they are in. Whether it is a human skin-suit, a mantid (sic.), a member of the Domain, a member of the "Old Empire". Every consciousness is eternal.

Species come and go in certain geographic regions. They evolve into other things.

Nations, societies, and communities come and go. They evolve into other things.

The consciousnesses that are part of The Domain are eternal beings. We like you IS-BE consciousnesses trapped within your inmate skin-suits are also eternal beings. As are the mantids (sic.) that maintain your skin-suit existence in this prison planet general population; they too are eternal beings.

The mantids (sic.) will eventually evolve into another form, and migrate to another universe, where they will exist in another state. This does not imply that they die, nor does it imply that they leave. They just simply grow and evolve.

Human skin-suits will also grow and evolve. You will all migrate to new states, new realities, new universe and new conditions. It is your nature as an eternal being.

Cats are eternal beings and they too will grow, evolve and move about the ALL as per their desires.

Members of the Domain are no different. Eventually we will complete our current task in the MAIN universe and grow and evolve. We will no longer hold the apparent roles that we hold currently as well will be quite different. We are not a dying race, as much as we are a maturing and growing and evolving cluster of IS-BE entities.

Same as you. Same as the mantids(sic.) and the same as your cat feline friends.

[29c] Question – bacteriophage and virophage technology

Also, is it possible for the Commander to give his/her/its thoughts on bacteriophage and virophage technology for treating pathogenic bacterial or viral infections?

(I can only talk and ask questions that I can understand. Then when I receive answers, I must be able to understand them. This stuff is over my head. I am so very sorry. -MM)

*garble" Images of DNA strands. With spiky things moving about. The terms / words / thoughts of "invasion" / reduction / suppression / collapse seem to be associated with it all. And then I see a removal of entire strings of DNA pulled out of what looks like a glob of "Play Doh".

(Sorry. the terminated the comm. I will read up on this subject and ask again at a later time. -MM)

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Part 2 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander in December 2021

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This is part 2.

[15] Question – Training our deference’s

MESSAGE OF UNIVERS WE QUE CAN Train with our Deference and we will go into the future reformer the future will be Deference sought with you?

Can we train so that we can be assistance to the Domain?

(This was very odd. I picture a smiling kind fellow. Who told me the following, like a kind elderly gentleman talking to a beloved son. -MM)

You need only vocalize your intentions and desires. We will work with you in the non-physical. You need do nothing else. Just be the best that you can be. Be kind. Be helpful.

(The, I was specifically instructed to translate this into french. I mean PUSHED. With goose pimples on my arms. Both my left and right arms. And a chill up and down my back. To translate what I just transcribed. So I did so using Bing translate. -MM)

Vous n’avez qu’à exprimer vos intentions et vos désirs. Nous travaillerons avec vous dans le non-physique. Vous n’avez rien d’autre à faire. Soyez simplement le meilleur que vous puissiez être. Soyez gentil. Soyez utile.

[16] Question – Mantid Primes

As regards the Prime Mantids, however, I do have one question. Can the Domain shed any light on happenings within their society? I am assuming they have leaders and factions.

The dominant nation in the world is going through a catastrophic change that is a normal event in the bigger scheme of things. It appears to be unusual and dangerous, but in reality, it is a cyclic event that is programmed within the prison general population system.

Everyone who has worked on their pre-birth world-line template (sic.) prior to injection to this MWI reality universe, agreed to endure the changes and alterations that would occur at this time.

Obviously the mantid primes were involved in the layout and creation of this template.

(I get the strong impression that The Domain does not want to talk about the Mantids. And I know that I have great restrictions on what I can say about them. -MM)

Now there is a relationship between the MWI reality universe and the pocket "Heaven" universe. They are not completely isolated. There is a degree of interaction at numerous levels. Thus changes in the reality universe will instigate changes in the "Heaven" pocket universe.

These influences are neither trivial nor isolated, but fundamental to the nature of the fabric of "Heaven". Given that the MWI reality universe consists of all scenarios of events, from world war III to a pastoral life of no conflict, the aggregate whole based upon the dominant consciousness participation in the MWI reality universe will have the greatest effect upon "Heaven".

The mantid primes understand this. There is no influence, good or bad, that alters their lifestyle or way of life. 

Their life is totally alien to anything that humans can comprehend, thus one need not worry too much abut the changes in human life as it affects very little in the lives of the mantids. Whether mantid primes, or mantids in general population.

Specifically, mantid society is alien to human society and there is very little in the way of commonality.

*Final*

In general there are some primary limitations that I have regarding discussions about the mantids. I am sorry about that.

[17] Question – Nuclear Weapons

If I may add, the explosion attached below is most definitely not a hundred truckloads of conventional munitions. Trust me on that. waaayyy to much heat in the fireball– and that’s hundreds of metres in diameter. And hundreds of metres high. Conventionals cannot do that. Impossible.

This tech may or may not have existed in the 1940s– Airl did say they were investigating ‘atomic detonations’ on Earth back then, though– but it sure as shit exists now.

Notice the first explosion– definitely conventional and standard tactics– as in Beirut– to get everybody to duck and ensure no cameras are rolling for the second nuclear detonation a few seconds later. (This tactic is frequently used by ‘our favourite ally’ in the Middle East. Has been for years. But conventionals do not leave a crater in solid rock unless it’s a penetrator/bunker buster.)

The whole ‘nuclear weapons don’t exist’ shpiel has been spread by the same crew who spread the ‘viruses are fake and don’t exist’ trope, too. Divide and conquer technique– military grade psyops now being used on the general population (and illegally used, too)– but as old as the hills and super effective.

Definitely looking forward to the Domain’s answer on that, though.

Do nuclear weapons actually exist?

Nuclear weapons exist. Just like nuclear power plants exist. They are powerful and terrible weapons.

The weapons that were detonated in 1945 against the Japanese were tiny weapons. We have been monitoring this technology and the current earth technology level is horrific in ability, and terrifying in scope.

The damage that these weapons create goes far beyond the explosive damage. The radiation that results alters the biological cycles of all living creatures, and influences the non-physical realms as well.

We have intentionally disabled ICBM weapons in their launch cradles, and disconnected the command and control centers from accessing the missile control functions. This was sufficient, back in the 1960's and 1970's to persuade both the Russian and the American military that launching these weapons would have dire consequences that we would control. Not them.

Unfortunately, the current American leadership is unaware of the consequences of a nuclear strike.Just like they have been unaware of the consequences of a bio-weapon strike.

This entire region of geographic space was devastated by a massive series of nuclear wars, and the "Old Empire" led in many of the areas of destruction. Which is perhaps (one of the many reasons) why the "Old Empire" selected this region for the Prison Complex.

There is this connection of belief that pervades both the "Old Empire" and the Western leadership that possession of powerful weapons makes one powerful. That is not the case. It makes one dangerous. And the reality is that dangerous creatures are eventually subdued by an equally horrific measure.

One of the great lies is that those bombed Japanese cities are now thriving urban areas free of radiation. That is not true. But that is of no concern, the weapons currently stockpiled are much larger, and much more dangerous. Use of them could easily eviscerate all life on earth. -MM

Second comm (out of the blue). (Roughly about three weeks after this first initial comm above.) I don’t know where to place it. So I am placing it here. I do not know if it is relevant, or not.

*Open*

At the end of World War II, the Office of Strategic Services operated a clandestine operation to minimize and downplay the amount of radiation at the detonation sites. This was intentional and the reasons were related for American civilian population's acceptance of the weapons in the military arsenal. 

*end*

[18] Question – Set in stone?

I have one more sneaky one, too, if I may.

Given what the Domain have told us directly– and Metallicman has been telling us for years– that ‘the future’ is never set in stone and is actually subject to many variables in the MWI (in the Reality Universe, at least)…

…are the Deagel Forecasts wrt. certain countries/regions population reduction forecasts correct? Or, are they misinformation in, say, the same way the the 2nd Alien Interview book was?

Reason I ask is, as most of us here in MMan Land are, I’m sure, getting on with our lives and intentions regardless of the wider geopolitical shitshow underway, it would be beneficial for us to be aware that something like this is a strong possibility/incoming, and perhaps take a good look at what our current priorities are, and weigh up whether or not these priorities require adjustment at the very least, or a complete revision IF the forecasts are correct/expected as a matter of expediency. (It would be a historical first, after all– at least if the history we’re told about is correct, that is.)

I also recall that the Domain said directly ‘Heaven is being expanded’ to cope with the expected inflow. So perhaps this has been answered already, because the means through which this Deagel figure is attained may well be the expected kinetic events (that Metallicman and the Domain) forecasted in a recent Q&A session.

Either way, I think it would be beneficial to know if the Deagel Forecasts in themselves are roughly accurate in terms of actual figures, or was the Domain referring to another extinction event the details of which must remain– for obvious reasons– veiled, for now.

That last part is a question many of us wouldn’t want an answer for anyway, I’d say. And I’m not looking for that answer here– just the one above in bold.

Is the Deagel Forecasts with the specified countries/regions population reduction forecasts correct? Or, are they misinformation in, say, the same way the the 2nd Alien Interview book was?

(This message came up immediately. -MM)

This must be answered carefully so that there is no misinterpretation.

(Followed by the data narrative. -MM)

The Deagel Forecast is not misinformation.

The Deagel Forecast was based on two things. [1] It is based on a series of historical trends, and [2] supported in such a way to help explain horrific remote viewing results. 

(Then an image of a old history movie. You know the type. Black and white. Grainy picture. 1920's style. -MM)

The Deagel Forecast came into being when numerous independent remote viewers reported the same disturbing result profile. They remote viewed a massive "die off" in the Western nations. 

(Repeated, to me, like a narrative. Where the announcer describes the background of the old 1920's style movie. -MM)

The initial remote viewing, as well as the subsequent RV sessions, was of such a concern that substantive efforts were taken to explain what caused the event sequence. 

[1] Different teams. They used different teams of trained viewers, to remote view 2025. Repeated remote viewing of the target dates in great detail occurred. Different teams were used. Different target areas were observed. Different profiles were compiled. The results all pointed to the same result; a massive human die off by / in 2025.

[2] Viewed the lead up events. Also remote viewed were the lead up events that resulted in those results. This was used to anticipate what was the primary driver behind the catastrophe of 2025. All that they could determine was...

(Then a series of "cut scenes". I think The Commander was playing with me somehow. -MM)

[2A] A global pandemic.

(Like those world war II era black and white movies showing how the evil forces were taking over the world. These big wide arrows moving over the globe and expanding until the entire globe was blackened. -MM)

[2B] Hostilities and attacks against Asia in wide full spectrum.

(Again, there are cut scenes of fighting. Military movements, and a map showing fighting all over Asia. From Russia to Japan and all over the nations of the middle east and South East Asia. -MM)

[2C] Generalized collapsing and failures at all levels of the American / UK and Western government and society.

(The "newsreel" presentation continues. Like scenes from the American 1920's stock market crash. Twirling and spinning headlines on news papers. Pictures of scandals, and greedy pot-bellied men in top hats, and gaiters smoking cigars.-MM)

[3] Paid for-profit individuals laboriously remote viewed the details of the globe in 2025. They "nit picked" apart the details that they found. This was to search for clues.

(Images and sounds of industry. News papers running in printing presses. Investigators typing away and reading books. Secretaries with their hair in buns carrying documents to smoky boardrooms, etc. -MM)

[3A] They first used this information to promote financial gain in the stock market and other financial venues.

(Images of dollars falling from the sky. Roaring 20's dances, and a lot of easy money and absurd amounts of wealth. -MM)

[3B] They then cross indexed the results with historical trends, and based much of their comparisons on intelligent studies, historical event trends, and their own intuition.

[3C] All of the lead-ups to the 2025 was suggestive of either a pandemic or a bio-weapon discharge, all complicated by horrific mismanagement and the introduction of some "wild card" event that they could not identify.

(A big question mark, overlays this man who is trying to figure things out. -MM)

[4] Historical examples, however, could not justify the enormous percentages of death observed. Thus they revised their forecast to suggest that there was a combination of catastrophic events that "pushed" the stress and strains of civilization to break down as they observed. This "wild card" is the great unknown is is not publicly identified.

[5] Their revised forecast added the speculations of nuclear war, collapse of society, and deadly viral strains to simultaneously work together synergistically. 

(Images of ants carrying things in a long train on a sidewalk. -MM)

[6] The future, as it exists today, has not changed. All indicators point to a massive "die off" brought about by an American discharged Bio-Weapon, and the failure of the Western nations to vaccinate against it. Instead they opted for other means of control, and those other means were not successful.

(Image of a 1950 car dead at the side of the road with steam coming from it's hood. -MM)

Presently, the "wild card" appears to be the inoculation methodology employed by the Western nations. It is a new technology that seems / appears to have other unforeseen consequences. 

(All the images change. There is this kind of 1940's movie in color showing the great progress of science and development in California (?) and many happy people going to work int he factories there. -MM)

Of course, the future is never fixed. The world-line templates (sic.) that the vast bulk of humanity will experience is being brought to this cliff. However, it need not occur. There are also scenarios where the pandemic subsides, and where a change in government leadership and opinion prevent war of any type, and where the world pulls together and resolves the vector direction that it is heading towards.

(The entire narrative and tone changes. -MM)

The future is being determined by the mass thoughts and actions of the dominant society at this time. Right now, it is quite clear that the dominant Western media, power leaders, and population are pushing the collapse of human society by their thoughts and actions. The human skin-suits in general population are acting like a herd of wild buffalo. They are running faster and faster to that cliff. And they refuse to stop and take note of what is going on.

This herd collapse is a mechanism of the "Old Empire" and is being aggravated by the Western leadership.

Unless the situation changes drastically, the collapse of the Western nations lies ahead. It will be caused by the release of an American Bio-weapon on the globe, and severely aggravated by forced injections that will not vaccinate the population from it. Instead they will permit the virus to mutate. As it mutates, further injections will be required. With each injection will welcome a host of other problems as a result of the juvenile injection concoction. 

There is every indication that it is the combination of [1] permitted viral adaptation in humans hosts, and [2] an increased litany of side effects with the injection methodology that will together unleash the "wild card" that will evoke the specter of the remote viewing terrain.

Sometimes I wonder if there are different entities chatting on the comm. Sometimes the answers or discussions are so different from each other.  It makes me confused and (sometimes) questioning my sanity.-MM

[19] Question – More nuclear questions

Given the recent MM posting (What happened after Alien Interview that helped to set up MAJestic), and the stated precursors therein (big “bombs”), I would like to ask one more question.

I am fairly certain that we all gather our information from a number of sources, and a trust [of those sources] is built upon a comparative analysis of sorts [of that information].

I have it from some very educated, intelligent, and trusted, [multiple] sources that all the purported nuclear testing events, or displays, were likely faked… and similarly, the two most famous explosions over, in, and around Japan. There are some technical reasons given (unorthodox physics by some), as well as geopolitical and the usual fear-mongering and video fuckery (before, after and during). However, surprising to me, the wide-spread blast and burn (at least for those two biggies) can be accounted for by unbelievably immense quantities of [pre-arranged] conventional explosives. Easy to do, even by puny humans.

If, and that is a big IF to me, you allow for off-worlders “assisting” in the development, deployment and detonation of said devices, then my above question is moot.

Were the devices purportedly detonated above Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, nuclear in design and effect?

Hiroshima was destroyed by a singular bomb weighing around 9000 pounds. Almost everything up to about one mile from the point of detonation was completely destroyed. The point of detonation was a clear circular radius easily viewable on the flat terrain. 

The only exceptions were for a small number (about 50) of heavily reinforced concrete buildings, most of which were specially designed to withstand earthquake shock.

These were not collapsed by the blast; most of these buildings had their interiors completely gutted, and all windows, doors, sashes, and frames ripped out. 

The 9000 pound singular bomb created the equivalent of 20,000 tons of conventional munitions worth of damage.

In Nagasaki, nearly everything within 1/2 mile of the explosion was destroyed, including heavy structures. All Japanese homes were destroyed within 1 1/2 miles from the point of detonation.

Whether or not this is nuclear in design or effect is a specious argument. 

We detected a radiation discharge and investigated it. There is no question that human skin-suits have the ability to manufacture nuclear weapons. As they have the ability to manufacture nuclear power stations.

Creation of a nuclear weapon is far easier than the design and creation of a nuclear power station. This is why the nuclear bombs came first in 1945, and the nuclear power stations came later in 1954.

The world is flooded with distractive news and commentary designed to disorient the population. This includes whether humans have traveled to the moon and landed on it, whether or not a plane flew into the world trade center towers, whether Elvis Presley is alive, that the earth is flat and not a sphere, or that nuclear weapons don't actually exist. 

Believing any of these distractions are dangerous because it has no bearing on your lives. It's a distraction that serves to decrease the popular validity of a publication, website or article. The moment any venue embraces the outlandish and the extreme it's validity decreases exponentially.

MM is under assault by various influences to clutter up the dialog with the outrageous and the outlandish.

(What followed was some specific directions to me personally. I will not post them here. Please expect me to aggressively police the comments, requests and content of submissions from now on. -MM)

I dug up the following. It is a chart of the radiation readings from Japan in 1945.

[20] Question – My anger and the cornfield

In 2021, a visitor to MM visited and then immediately trashed the disclosure effort. In my anger about being so maligned, I went and tried to perma-ban him and then sent him to the cornfield. Not so successful. He was using TOR, and frame hopping.

So, I went a step further, and condemned him to a fixed recycling over an over on a very nasty pre-birth world-line template.

I feel awful about it. Really awful. Most especially because I am doing what the “Old Empire” did. Right? Please tell me if I was out of line, and whether I should be a kinder and gentler Rufus. Because right now I feel like shit.

Was I out of line?

The actions that one takes within this bubble universe is one of cause and effect. there really is no such thing as a "right" or a "wrong". But rather how we interact with others in the environment presented to us. This affects our growth, stability and value.

When you "send someone to the cornfield" (sic.) you are no different than a school child that punches a bully for stealing their food. You are no different from a cat that claws you up when you try to hurt it. You are no different from a innocent pedestrian who shoots the man robbing him.

Your only difference is that you have a greater and more powerful skill set, and this individual has never encountered this level of power before.

In truth, this individual has a large ego and somehow believes that they have an "inside line" to us. They don't. If we wanted them to communicate with us, we would have established an EBP link. 

The collection of interest from this person to others has value, but it's only of slight significance. (A wash over of calmness. Like I am being petted and calmed down.)

They have a role. Not as great or important as your role, or the role of others in your clique / group / community. We chose you and you agreed to work with us. Your team / community that you have managed to pull together and assemble are all part of a small battalion that are doing great things for us.  (Again, another wash over of calmness.)

You are not in competition with this individual. So stop believing that one is better than the other. You have a very important role, and they have a different role. Both roles are important. Your role is more like a five star hotel with exclusive guests. Their role is more like packaged fast food for the masses. Both roles have their place. Neither role is better or worse than the other.

Your concern about sending them to the cornfield should not be of concern. You have to break some eggs to make strudel. They were out of line to malign you. You were warned about this by your Commander Rasmussen at NAS, NASC Pensacola, Fla. This is what you were told to expect, and while it angers you, it is part of the territory that surrounds you and which you agreed to accept. Critics abound everywhere. Never the less, they were wrong and an equally harsh reaction is called for. 

If you try to stand in front of a steam locomotive, there will be a reaction and it will be a real mess. And that is what this person did. Like a child playing with matches, he is unaware of the dangers and the great power that he holds in his hands.

Your rage is not human. Your rage in this event is artificially induced, and being a person with some extraordinary skills, you naturally used them. (The incredible hulk.) And the consequences will be longer lasting. No, you did not send him to purgatory forever, no matter what you seem to think. We will pull him out when it is time. He needs to understand humility first.

And you are the one teaching them that.

Scene from “Back to the Future”.

Just like in the movie “Back to the future”…

Scene from “Back to the Future”.

Then, I drank a couple of bottles of wine. Went to bed. Slept.

Then, today, as I got up and going through my feeds, my emails and all of that, I opened up my browser. You know, I have my morning routine.

Cup of coffee. Sun rises at dawn. Listen to the morning birds.

And out of the blue. THIS picture shows up on my feed…

Coincidence, or message?

Never the less…

I experience remorse, and so I took the dangerous and time consuming effort to recall my horrible actions. I do not believe that person needed to incur my wrath. They are a searcher like myself. And being human, they have egos and feelings just like I have. And being human they make mistakes just like I do. And I made a mistake sending them to the cornfield.

That mistake has been undone. But the sour taste in my mouth will continue for a long time afterwards.

Don’t be like me.

Give everyone a chance, and show them some understanding. Some compassion, and give them a little break.

[21] Question

Hi MM
After reading Part 1 of the comms with Domain Commander (on the new Huawei Pad), it has answered my worry of the mRNA vaccines & what if my loved ones took it. At least now I know that it can be mitigated somewhat by good diet & exercise. My 79 yr old dad took Pfizer & 79 yr old mum took Sinovac (but recently took Pfizer booster). Wife & I both took Sinovac but wife just took Pfizer booster despite my advice. For me, am trying to get Sinovac booster & bypass the Government appointed Pfizer booster.
My question to the Commander is am asking for guidance on how to proceed in my life from now on. In my early life, I was very helpful to others, eagerly providing help to friends (mostly advice & lending an ear) but many new “friends” took advantage of me. It was like vampires sucking the good energy out of you & gave back the bad energy in return. I end up being emotionally drained & depressed. It came to the point that now I only help those that I’m close to only. I still try as much to be Rufus towards others in other ways so as not to be drained of my good energy.
My life has been average, neither extravagant nor in poverty. Very blessed with parents who took good care of myself & my siblings. Had the privileged opportunity to study in London & experience living in a foreign country for a number of years. This shaped my young adult thinking, my working culture & gave me opportunities to expand my career back home till early 2000s. Then difficult times came but I took it as a life lesson & behind every cloud is a silver lining, my now wife came into my life during this down time. She is my anchor, balances me & able to tolerate my specific way of doing things.
Today, I no longer wish that high flying corporate career but at the same time, am not that financially sound, enough to get by. I worry about my retirement with my wife as we dont have social security here in this part of the world & frankly am fed up with the current employer I’m with.
Our 5 cats are like our children & we dote on them. In fact the youngest one is sleeping next to me as I’m typing this. We suspect that this youngest one is the incarnation of our first cat. I’ve always known that people & pets comes into our life for a reason and that these 5 cats has had past lives link to both my wife & I. The strong affinity and bond with them tells me that we have met before (& the facts that they chose us rather than we choose them).
I am a worrier & often think too deeply (hence the hair loss.. hahaha) about what ifs. I worry about the future & all that is happening is really making my worry meter shoot up. My parents, my wife, my extended family, my cats, my friends ….
Somehow, I believe that although I’ve not vocally mentioned volunteering to assist the Domain, in some way, I can feel my lifepath is somehow in a very small way assisting them.
So, going back to my asking the Commander for guidance on how to proceed in my life from now on. Really need guidance to lift some of the worries.
Actually, another question is that if somebody as insignificant as myself ask for Domain retrieval after death, does the Domain hear our plea ? (as going into the tunnel of light doesnt not seem to be a prospect that I now wish to follow).
Cant remember how I found MM blog but I just cant stop reading & keep coming back. Truly Appreciate all that you’re doing to help us MM readers & the world. It must be a great burden on you but you amaze me on how you carry it all through. Your blog is is visited at least twice a day but I worry that the Western powers will pull the plug as you’re not singing their narrative. Time to consider shifting to a Chinese server where you know you’ll be protected. My regards to your lovely family & please give a big hug to your little daughter.
Thanks again for helping us. Cant say it enough. For me, it helps to center my life & affirmed what been deducing all this time, that the shift is happening but resistance is strong.
Regards
<redacted>
First comm injection…
You need to focus on centering your consciousness within it's brain cradle so that you can optimize it's utility. Your family will be fine provided that you avoid the poisoned vectors of fear mongering activities. 

Your ideas and thoughts regarding your cats are accurate, and that (of course) means that they will generate a calm and kind environment to surround you. 

Fear is the great hurtle that lies before you, but you and you family have practical and substantive thoughts regarding this matter. Follow them and do not second guess them. They will all work out fine. 

Of course, the trials and failures of life is to be expected, but the overall forward time vector for you and your family is better than most, and certainly far better than your fears promise / provide for you.

Follow up comm. (Roughly three weeks later.)

*comm opened*

Following the advice provided graciously to you (above and presented immediately to the questioner above. -MM) has been exemplary. Thank you. (smile)

Taming your fears, no matter how loudly they clamor at you; nor how shrilling they appear to by those around you that you love, it is important to stay focused. Ignore the noise. The fear is noise. It is distracting and upsetting your good works, and positive steady directions.

Do not forget this.

Use the guidelines of that as the cat. They have a far better appraisal  of the situation at hand. And are not to be ignored, because they create the calming comforting environment that enables you to accomplish the goals and tasks that you affirm (sic.).

Soon, this (next) year (maybe months) you will "break through" an invisible barrier, and much will become clearer, calmer and more stable. Shake off the fears as that is preventing the manifestation of the MWI (sic.) track path.

*end*

Sorry. I haven’t a clue as to what all this is about. I just transcribed and cleaned it up. -MM

[Bonus] My cherished beliefs

You know, when a comm channel opens up it can be anywhere. In the elevator, for instance. Walking down the sidewalk. Or at the checkout in a store. And one of the features about this is that when you are aware that a comm opens up, that you listen to it, and then move on with your life. Many times forgetting about the communication transfer. Such was this next bout…

I was musing about my attitude regarding The Domain and the mantids. And wondering why I am not permitted to say anything about them, or deal with them in any substantive way.

Mantids (sic.) are the most important species (race) beings in the human inmate suit right now. They are the "behind the scenes" movers / shakers /lever makers. To question their role in your life is to question your own self. 

If a choice must be made between The Domain or the mantids (sic.) you must always obey your inner mantid directives and directions. 

We (The Domain) lie outside of that bonded interconnection.

<redacted>

We (The Domain) are mission directed. The mantids (sic.) are consciousness focused. Obviously that is more important to your individual growth and eventual release from the prison planet environment than anything else.

More Questions?

I am sure that most of this article will go over the heads of the readership. The questions are all individual personal issues. I’ll attempt to open it up later on to more general questions.

I have about twenty other questions “in the pipe”. They are sitting in an article that I call part 3. I will get it out shortly, or sooner or later.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

ET Species

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
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Part 1 of the EBP comm with The Domain Commander in December 2021

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This group concentrates on a number specifically asked by top influencers, lurkers, and participants on the MM website. In this instance I took my time to get and obtain answers to the various questions, and devoted time and effort to acquire the most accurate and useful information possible.

This group was compiled and answered in December 2021. There are two parts to this session. This is part 1. Part 2 follows.

The truth be told, I had to spread this Q&A out, and many times it was extremely difficult for me to read the actual answers as my physical life was chaotic, noisy, demanding and discordant at the time that I received the answers. I need quiet, peace and calm. But with house construction all around, a two year old, and the demands of life, work, industry and circumstance, it’s just been difficult.

All of these questions are exactly as posted to me, either by email, comments, or in the forum.

Keep in mind that I also needed to differentiate between “noise”, my “internal thoughts” and “The Commander”.  What I do not EVER want to happen is my own personal thoughts, and ideas override what the Commander is telling me.

So in this particular instance, and throughout this article, I have asked to “increase the gain” and “open up the volume”, even though it is more uncomfortable for me personally, so that I can obtain the best quality responses free of any personal opinions or thoughts.

[1] Question: Close Encounter 5 Protocol

“Some are familiar with Dr. Steven Greer’s “Close Encounter 5” protocol through his film and interviews. Is this a useful or productive activity? Is there reason to be cautious, or other qualifications to consider?”

From HERE;

The Close Encounters-5 (CE-5) protocol or “human to alien contact process” uses meditation as a baseline skill to accomplish the communication. As a seasoned Buddhist monastic, I have good experience with preparatory things to not do while getting ready for a serious meditation session. Since many CE-5 group events are scheduled events, I tend to look at them like little mini-meditation retreats. 

Prepping for a meditation event should start 48 to 72 hours prior to the event. This preparatory work is mostly related to food and beverage intake. At least 48 hours in advance of a retreat meditation session, cut most, if not all, intake of alcoholic beverages, caffeinated drinks and soda pop. Alcohol is a depressant, Caffeine is a stimulant. And soda is gassy. These beverages have an impact on meditative practice. 

Now let’s put some wisdom on the table about this. A cup of coffee in the morning is one thing, and so is a small glass of table wine with dinner. But multiple cups of coffee at work followed by super-sized, high-sugar, high-caffeinated soda is another. Nothing impacts meditation worse than caffeine jitters or soda-induced gas movement within the body.

Experience has taught us that certain foods aren’t conducive to good meditative practice, either. Cauliflower, onions and garlic can cause gassy responses that are unsettling in meditation, if not noisy. Spicy sausage, pepperoni and pizza are certainly not advised during the same day of an evening meditative CE-5 event. 

On the day of a CE-5 event, give yourself plenty of time for a leisurely drive to the event. Arrive early, then give yourself a chance to “cool down” after the agitations from highway driving. Take a settling walk at the CE-5 site and relax.

It’s also important NOT to engage in any recreational drugs or alcohol prior to meditation. You are only setting yourself up for failure or at least a seriously diminished experience. CE-5 protocols forbid such practices at the events. 

While we’re on the subject of mind-altering substances, they have no place in the meditative experience. Anyone who tells you that some substance will enhance your meditative experience is lying to you. 

The objective at a CE-5 event is to quiet your mind and shift your consciousness in such a way that your reality is expanded and you establish a common ground where it’s possible to consciously communicate with extraterrestrials. 

“The objective of the “C5 Protocol” seems to be summoning and communicating with transdimensional/ET entities through group focused meditation, with the goal of hastening sentience alignment.”

So what is the specific question?

Can meditation techniques be used to contact extraterrestrial entities?

Yes. They can be used. However, they do not have to be used. 

When we contacted you (MM) you were not in a meditative state. We simply blasted through whatever consciousness walls that were acquired over your human life. We still contact you now, just like we are doing today. Or course that is by EBP (sic.) and direct. However the system process remains the same.

This questioner is focused not on extraterrestrial / non-physical form comm channels, but rather the skin-suit human initiating contact with an unknown entity; sending out a beacon or signal so that something / someone / some other entity would answer it and open up lines of communication.

To that I can offer some advisement's.

[1] How often does the MM readership / humans / people in general enjoy watching commercials, hanging on and listening to telephone advertisements, or read the Berma-shave ads? Do people really read the fine print on a Lydia Pinkham bottle? Most, when confronted with unwanted solicitations, turn them off and ignore them. The same is true for mental telepathy. It's just M-band (sic.) noise that needs to be filtered out. Any well intentioned skin -suit will need to understand that any signal that they send out will just be interpreted as background noise.

[2] To communicate, you need two consciousnesses. One to transmit and send, and the other to receive. unless you specify who is the recipient of the comm channel, the "message" will just bounce around without going going anywhere. You need a very specific target to send to.

[3] General group "messages" can result in responses. This is simply due to the large number of participants increase the depth and color  / image complexity of the message, and other species can notice the message. It is like driving a black Model-T automobile, and then a fancy white Packard zooms by on the road. You notice it because it stands out.

[4] There's many threats and hazards outside of the physical general population area of the Prison Complex. You do not want to invite any of these entities into your life, but you do take that risk when trying to open up a comm channel without a target.

In general, meditation and fasting, good healthy lifestyle and diet, as well as consciousness centering are important physical practices for every skin-suit to partake in. Whether or not they are important in one's ability to communicate with strangers is a personal matter that varies from individual to individual.

[2] Question – mRNA vaccines

May I ask about the Western vaccines and what’s in store for us? It’s more than a little worrying considering the Deagel figures are correlating with the vaccine roll-out so well. So many friends and family have had their MRNA shots here and the hive-mind willful ignorance is fast approaching mandatory injections. Even my twelve year old nephew has had it.

I’ve had two AZ jabs. That’s not MRNA but still produces the full “Spike Protein.” I’m supposed to get a Pfizer “booster” shot and dodging that will become more difficult soon.

So the questions I’d like to ask are:

What timescale is involved with the vaccines going wrong?

I calmed myself down and opened up a comm channel. I intentionally forced myself to receive and not to interject anything into this most important discussion. The comm opened up at 14:59 Thursday afternoon.

The entire premise of the mRNA "vaccine" protocol, as it has been promoted, is in error. There needs to be some other alterations in the chemical mixture injected that will mitigate the bad or more worrisome effects. 

This mRNA injection is not a vaccine. It is an injection that is designed to alter the population / society control by the governments that use this methodology.

The concept is that this injection will require as-needed boosters to act as a shield to all manner of foreign substances, germs and viruses. This is not only attractive from that point of view, but that it will also become a predominant revenue stream to the producers of that injection formula. 

The governments that promote and use this injection scheme do so with no intention of vaccinating anyone. What they want is a platform to easily control, and defend the population with, when they create dangerous viral weapons to launch against the rest of the world.

The nations favor this methodology as they can include other chemicals and substances at will that would be useful for them to maintaining crowd control, and to manipulate the population. Already there has been developed systems that resonate with the injected mRNA resultant mutations that create harmonics that allow the government to change the actions and thoughts of the injected populations.

They can thus calm, anger, upset, or create any kind of emotional reactions in the population that they control simply by having the population so injected, and then pulsing frequencies at them through social media.

This system is fraught with difficulties, and none of these were addressed during the rollout phase. And today some of the side effects are being noticed. This includes the biggest culprit with is known as the "spike protein", but others that alter the cell structures in a negative vector downward trend. The enthalpic result is early organ failures, particularly of the critical priority organs such as liver, heart, kidneys and lungs.

The damage is being noticed with alarm throughout the nations using this type of injection. However, they have mandated that there shouldn't be any reporting of the danger, and the damages and deaths that have resulted so far. 

Unless there is a direct change in the policy positions of the various governments involved, then you can expect an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. None of which will be recorded as due to the mRNA injection, but rather to other causes.

Due to the number of people so injected, there should be an increase in deaths directly attributed to the mRNA alterations through 2022, into 2023. 

By late 2023, the deaths should be obvious to all, and catastrophic emergency steps would most likely take place by the governments involved, with peak damage manifesting in the 2024 time period.

This forecast can be changed and vectored to other outcomes provided that a different world-line anchoring program is in planning and in process of being implemented. Unfortunately, we (The Domain) and MAJestic (in whatever incarnation it is today) is not operating such a program.

There is another option, where immediate rectification injections occur and take place that would minimize the adverse effects of the spike protein alterations. There is action in this regard, but we have no information whether it will be implemented by the government so involved. Our supposition is that the results will be tabled and not acted upon for political concerns.

Prior histories suggest that a "black market" for these modification mRNA injections open up, and would be able to be procured by individuals with the proper currency of value at that time.But whether that will happen in this case is unknown.

The specific answer to the question is that deaths as a result of the mRNA injections are taking place presently. They will increase in scope and magnitude. By late 2023 it will be obvious that there is a major problem, and that at that time the actions of an increasingly unstable government leadership is difficult to predict.

Is it just the mRNA vaccines that are affected or all Western vaccines?

Only the mRNA injections are so compromised. 

The problem associated with the increase in causality figures have to do with an unanticipated side effect related to spike protein utility. This is only associated with the mRNA injections.

Alteration of the spike protein though methodology not associated with mRNA changes should not be a concern. The problem is intentional mRNA alterations. Not the spike protein itself.

With the other injections operate in other ways, and all have their own issues, as do the "dead host" vaccines, the primary worry and concern is with the mRNA injections that alter DNA. 

If anyone has taken the mRNA injection, the best thing to do is to maintain good health and healthy behaviors. This become more critical as this will help mitigate any potential problems created by the spike protein. 

Further, exercise, always needed, should become a priority.  Not just for good health but to enrich cell wall maintenance with fine oxidization. The problem with this side effect is that people continue to indulge in unhealthy behavior when they should start eating better, performing a minimum of exercise and controlling their thoughts.

Exercise with fresh air is best. This would be a nice walk in the woods or forests, a bicycle ride along a river or a lake, or even a icy swim (Russian style) in a frozen lake.

If you have taken an mRNA injection you will seriously need to change your diet. Processed foods will need to be eliminated from your diet.

Both exercise and diet will not, alone, prevent the catastrophic side effects of an errant mRNA initiated spike protein, but they will allow your body to heal if and when the consequences of a errant spike protein becomes apparent.

And this patent fell into my lap…

[3] Question – Current role and background.

As I read more and more of MMs material I come across many of what I can only describe as synchronicities in life and experiences.

I wonder about my experiences in LD that shadow his experiences in the non physical planes, the similar way I was (seemingly) trained through LD. this includes the sudden urge to join the air-force and the seemingly bizarre way my mind sometimes works where a maddening urge to do something will drive me in a particular direction to the point I cannot not focus on it. Further, the idea I am entangled within the life of SD (and everything that was stated about her last Q&A) and I have to wonder;

Am I simply a consciousness experimenter who got caught up in something much, much bigger than he was ever anticipating to get caught up in or am I something/ someone else entirely? Who is Trick or Trip?

You are something else entirely. 

You are not an average person / NPC / shadow person (sic.) / follower / rabble / crowd member. The role you are living out right now was planned for prior to your birth in great detail, and coordinated with both MM and SD. 

SD is part of something completely different from that of MM, and you are part of that situation / condition / arrangement / reality / segment.

I cannot divulge your relationship with SD except to say that it is significant and that you have and hold a major role in her many (and multiple) lives and her on going objectives. This includes repeating reincarnated experiences, and journeys in and out of the general population segments of the prison complex.

Because you straddle the mission parameters with both MM and SD, you have a dichotomy of reactions with includes some that are not fully actuated to your own ideals. This is a consequence of understandings and experiences that broach both worlds and being the interface between them causes you some personal discomfort. You are aware of this but do not vocalize it for fear of the loss of face / consequences / fear / misunderstanding. But it is quite reasonable given your unbridled power inherent in the abilities that you have actuated at pre-birth.

You should not worry or be concerned with who you are or what your role is. You have, yourself, mapped out this life (of yours) in great detail, and you are following it adroitly. In fact, you are not straying off your mapped out (I picture a pumpkin colored thick dotted line) route through the MWI (sic.) as most others tend to do. 

You have / possess great discipline in the regard to your mission parameters and a great deal of control over your actuated and unrealized abilities (purposefully suppressed for this particular life). The fact that you agreed to this role , and SD adapted her life to accommodate your desires speaks well of your plans, intentions and value. 

Your role is not accidental. Nor it is trivial. Nor it is a developed vector that adapted to changing concerns and environs. It is planned and fated by you working in conjunction with your leadership. Your leadership, is not who you (in this physical manifestation) associate with, but something else. Who that is is not directly obvious to you at this time, and should be of no concern to you.

Most IS-BE inmates in the prison skin-suits come from a great and diverse background that stands apart in stack contrast to the baseline "average" inmate. In your case it is clear that you are part of a team working on multi-dimensional fracturing and disassembly of pocket universes associated with this prison complex. This benefits The Domain and so a shared relationship was forged which included your voluntary participation.

All that you are doing now has great value and is significant.

Many of the advantages of your efforts will be realized within a sixty to seventy-five year period hence. You are but laying the fundamental groundwork for your follow up efforts later on. This is all part of your agreed upon strategy and why you have been gifted / granted / authorized / adapted to the skill sets that you currently enjoy and have utilized.

On a personal note, SD should be doing better now. It's not just your fears at the time, but we took care of some matters with her other body(s) that should make things slightly / a bit / somewhat easier for her from now on. Of course, we did so with her approvals, as well as both of your leadership. If your physical body / state / being is uncomfortable with this, we will stop this kind of protective alterations. You need only vocalize it.

Your physical health is fine. You need not worry or concern yourself with the fears that are manifesting. 

However, you should get more fresh air (The term "fresh air" seems to be a very important theme right now) on outside walks, and watch your food intake. Maintenance of diet is important for everyone in your family right now. 

You will also see a degree of clarity in your LD efforts and that will become a measure of your physical health.

[4] Question – Life prior to imprisonment

I would like to ask a personal question as well because I hope that the answer might unlock past memories and help me get closer to my purpose in this life:

Who and where was I before life in this prison environment and how did I end up here?

It would really feed my curiosity to receive a short reading from my file in the Domain archive if there is one. I understand if you choose not to ask it because it is too irrelevant to everyone else.

Thanks for going through these exhausting communication sessions with the commander! They are very insightful packed with food for thought!

(Tuning in like that of an old shortwave radio for some reason. Like crackling noise and drift. Curious. I guess it is the Commander's way of telling me that he is accessing a computer files or records. Really odd. Quaint. Like how someone uses an old fashioned telephone bell on their brand new cell phone. -MM)

You lived in the "Old Empire". You had spent many life-times and reincarnations in the "Old Empire", and your life predated it's arrival when it came into being and conquered the worlds that you had come to refer to as your "home".

You had preferred a singular species, rather than jump for species to species as is sometimes the case. You held roles in multiple sexes. All three of the dominant sexual orientations appear to have been your preference. With no specific preference one way or the other. You are uncomfortable on the earth as it is far brighter and more electromagnetically charged environment than what you have become accustomed to.

I know that you are especially curious about your appearance, your home(s) and friends that you left behind. 

Your species trivially resembled a satyr of the Greek mythology. Only that you were were far shorter than what is depicted in paintings and illustrations. The male form possessed a rather long and always rigid penis, and the female form was without horns. The third / incubated / hosting / transitional form had a tail (?) with a large belly (?). All forms had hooves and hairy legs as depicted in ancient Greek art. 

Your homes were of the "Old Empire" standard model and truly resembled "old medieval style". As was true to your species, when in the male form you cavorted with members of the other sexes and indulged in many parties and recreational pursuits. And yes, you have many friends that still exist inside the "Old Empires" that miss you and would like to see you again. Often in the female form you raised rabbits. It was a great love of yours. And these rabbits are of the same identical form as what are present on the earth today.

You were incarcerated because you had broke a series of major laws of the "Old Empire" and had previous lives that had also committed serious crimes as well. The judicial group within the "Old Empire" judged you as an incorrigible entity, and sentenced you to banishment for multiple lives. 

You were to have stayed banished, but you chose not to do so. 

You believed that you could exist on the outer fringes of the "old empire" and not be noticed. Apparently you chose to incarnate in your old form, and you simply maintained your old behaviors in defiance of the "Old Empire" judicial rulings.  

And when you reappeared in the "Old Empire" in a new incarnation, they arrested you and sent to to the penal colony on earth. This was in the early years of the Prison Complex. In those early years you maintained your satyr-like appearance, and you did not wear a prison skin-suit. Human skin-suits did not appear for many years later.

You were one of the first batches of inmates to the prison environment.

Your crimes were a mixture of unsanctioned <redacted> / physical murder, identity switching / ,redacted> / body swapping / unapproved soul extraction, assault, manipulative fraud / deception, torture without (reasonable) breaks (?), and substantive (?) tax evasion.

(I get the image of a short Harry Mudd [from the early Star Trek television series] with horns and goat legs standing in front of what looks like a collection of real life muppets "in the flesh".)

You have spent a very long time in the Prison Complex, and it took you a long time to adjust to your conditions.

Over the centuries your IS-BE consciousness has changed, and the mantid primes have been easing up on the punishment sections of your general population visits and allow you longer "rests" in "Heaven". They would welcome / suggest / offer parole for your IS-BE being under monitoring. However, that option is no longer available as the entire parole system was destroyed by us (The Domain) during our conquest of this region.

On the positive side note, you have demonstrated fine compassionate yearnings and behaviors and are worthy of release. Upon your death, all you need to is call out for Domain pickup and we will work with you on your next steps post incarnation. Our plans are such that we do not want to release you back into the prison General Population but rather work on your rehabilitation so that you can continue on the path that you have elected to follow. 

We do not recommend a return to the "Old Empire" to you, nor do we recommend that you try to relive your lives in that body and within that society. It is time for a new life and a new start for you. In your case your past is toxic and without it you have a very bright future ahead of you.

And I thought that Mades Escapleon was bad. Sorry, guy. Maybe it’s best not to know of our past, eh? -MM

Harry Mudd.

[5] Question – MM Members & connections

An idea that I’ve had lately… it seems several of us have connections to each other that go deeper than just some random meeting of people on the internet. It’s like… meeting someone you knew from childhood 20+ years later.

Sure their appearance has changed but on that first look you know they’re familiar and don’t know why.

It feels like that.

Would the Domain have any recommendations on how to explore that connection?

For many mm participants everyone is reliving associations that they have purposely mapped into their pre-birth world-line template (sic.). Many skin-suits think only of the physical, and while they can conceptualize life in the non-physical they cannot take this reality into account with their day to day lives. 

Everything that the skin-suit experiences in the General Population has been fated to happen by the Pre-birth world-line template (sic.). You can thus easily conclude that this meet-up and community has been fated to occur and is following a schedule and implementation as previously agreed to.

To explore the connections between all mm followers and new associations, all one needs to do is to add affirmation questions in your campaigns (sic.) to answer those questions.

There are some individuals that have continuing relationships that go back many multiple lifetimes, while others not so much. But that does not matter in the confluence of the exchange of thoughts and ideas that synergistically work together to obtain the desired end result.

The relationships that you are building here is neither accidental or trivial. Everyone that comes here and stays do so because it resonates to them. This frequency resonance is intentional, and artificially induced to create the forged alliances and joint support network that all enjoy. 

I can tell you that numerous members that you interact with have been invited to join in this effort by you personally and their agreement to work with you on and during this incarnation is very significant and your appreciation of it is what you are experiencing.

[6] Question – Amelioration of mRNA side effects

I’d like to add something too, please.

I want no part of the mRNA experiment and will never consent no matter what (I would take the Sino versions or Sputnik without hesitation but they’re not available where we are now as we’re in a client state.  It is out of the frying pan and into the pan for us.

However, if people close to us are being pressured into taking an mRNA shot against their will because their job or prospects depend on it (and will literally be fired/not hired, and likely impoverished or unable to pay mortgages or socially shunned if they refuse)…

Are the effects of these experimental inoculations something (or of a nature) that can be ameliorated or negated by adding an intention to my campaigns expressly aimed at preserving and protecting their health if they do consent?

Or would it be better to support them in their refusal by including intentions that they’ll be provided for if they lost their job/can’t get a job?

My wife has had to turn down a number of fantastic opportunities in Korea because she won’t consent to an mRNA inoculation and I feel terrible about this.

Other friends of ours are being pressured at work and threatened with their jobs, too.

For us, the financial aspect thankfully is not a big deal, but my wife is highly skilled and empathetic by nature and the thoughts of her having to sit at home as these opportunities pass her by upsets me even though she’d never consent without both of us agreeing that she should.

And how could any husband agree to something that could harm his wife if not now, but perhaps after the 8th or 9th fucking booster– something I’ve been reliably informed is the plan in an unending cycle of pharmaceutical tyranny unless these monsters are stopped dead in their tracks.

(Something I also feel strongly will happen going by what the Domain and notable others have said, and am thus prepared to wait it out until it happens.)

There’s also the added worry that my wife is of a delicate constitution, and has suffered with a number of minor, thankfully, but uncomfortable ailments since her mid-40s.

I’d be very concerned about her health under a continuous toxic load as the mRNA clearly is.

I’d rather take our chances with whatever pathogen these ghouls are going to release next. Our creators gave us a pretty good auto-immune system. I’m banking on that and the usual reasonable precautions.

I’ve never really been sick or– miraculously– injured in adulthood.

Apart from a few scrapes and close shaves, but am also very aware many others haven’t been so fortunate. And are very vulnerable to pathogens.

If the above is a bit mealy for the Domain disregard it, Mr Man. Or just simplify it whatever way you choose.

Summary: can intentions alone ameliorate the effects of the mRNA shot on our loved ones if they consent?

Yes. Intention campaigns (sic.) are a very powerful tool. And yes they can absolutely work to prevent the bad effects of an mRNA injection. 

They can also prevent the bad side effects of the mRNA altered spike protein initiation.

Look at how the <redacted>. You cannot deny that happened. (No. I cannot deny that. I was very specific in my affirmations, and they occurred very specifically.)

And (also addressed to MM) looking down the list of your green highlighted victory campaigns (I maintain a list of prior affirmations that came true.) there should be no question at all that there can be complete avoidance of catastrophic events. You know and understand this to be the absolute truth.

However, you have to also adapt to the reality that there is a juvenile mRNA alteration within your body. You will need to adjust your lifestyle to avoid triggering a malevolent biological reaction.

Think of it as a gunshot wound. You healed up but the lead slug is still in your body. It has the potential to kill you, but is lying there dormant. By being healthy, watching your actions, exercise and diet, you can determine if and when (if ever) the slug will dislodge and cause your trouble. It is like that.

The most important / key change to lifestyle is fresh air and moderate walking or exercise around in the fresh oxygen environment. 

In addition, your diet will have to severely reduce the amount and number of processed and super-processed foods. It is not a matter of weight gain, in so much as it is a matter of the ability for your body to handle and adjust to a weakening of cell walls. 

Good food, lots of oxygen and hydration will benefit you substantially. As well as centered and strong positive thoughts. Avoid media pummeling of upsetting and disturbing news.

(Further, once you get the mRNA injection, you will forever need to maintain "being safe from mRNA malevolence" in all of your subsequent campaigns. -MM)

Or would it be better to wait and focus on a “healthy, content and provided for without allowing oneself to be pressured into taking part in a dangerous and illegal mass experiment against one’s will” intention?

This is an option. It is up to the individual person to make the necessary decision in this regard. We cannot, and will not, make decisions for the individual consciousness. The decision is up to them and them alone.

There are always alternative solutions that are not obvious, but worthy of investigation. Rather than thinking in terms of black or white, consider a borderline solution.

If a job requires a vaccination, but does not specify what type, then take the one that you believe is the safest and then accept the job position. If that "safer" version is not available in your area, research, and you will discover that there can be other solutions that need only a detour and an extra allotment of time to implement.

And if the above sounds selfish, it’s not meant to be. I’ll include every single person– and especially the MM Crew– who has been pressured by traitors and NPCs into “consenting”. There WILL be justice eventually. I’m positive in a Pissed Lizard kind of positive about that.

(And thanks for remembering me in your intentions, PL. And your kind words wrt the vaxx. Please include my wife and her friends too as you and everybody else here are in ours.)

I cant wait for the day these scumbags will get their just desserts. But I’m a patient guy.

[7] Question – Desirous of confirmation

#1 Should we continue ? I would not interfere in the plan that brings us together . #2 What is my role apart from being rufus $3 oula c is under construction, to form reinforcements # 4 I’m sorry didn’t send me to the cornfield #5 I want a strong and contaminated inking from the old Empire

Please allay the fears and concerns of this questioner.

(I can only transmit what I understand, and receive what I am able to translate. In this case, I am asking the Domain Commander to ping the source, Identify the concerns and respond back to me. I do not know if it will work, but I am asking and transmitting anyways. -MM)

What you are doing and acting and behaving is exemplary. I do not advise changing anything. You must start trusting your inner feelings, instead of your thoughts and worries. You need to adjust and center your consciousness. Use the techniques provided by MM to do this. Operate using all the tools provided by him, and do not question your actions or activities. Focus on the activity one day at a time. You need to realize that steady simple progress will take you to your goals and objectives faster than fear distorted reactionary measures.

(I will not send you to the cornfield. Do not live a life in fear. -MM)

From the movie “Strictly Ballroom“…

And the image…

“We lived our lives in fear!”

And so we continue…

Your association with the "Old Empire" was catastrophic. They seized you, arrested you, and sentenced you to eternity in the Prison Complex. 

In your case it was a very harsh sentence that needn't have occurred.

You were "railroaded" into prison so that others might steal from you, and profit from you.Your closest family, loved ones, and your dearest business partners conspired to destroy you for financial gain. Then when the judicial system started to process you, they were bribed and convinced to give you the harshest sentence possible.

When the time came for you to get justice, the situation was not in your favor and you were judged in a very harsh manner on pretend charges, doctored and false transcripts, and stood alone with no support or assistance.

All of the charges against you that sent you to the prison complex are all false. But you have endured this situation for centuries.

We do not advise you to have any memory recovery of those bad events UNTIL you have obtained the necessary amnesia recovery efforts to prevent the harsh and hurtful events from damaging your psyche and ego irreversibly.

[8] Question – judicial corruption of sentience.

So, first of all, as always MM, Thank you for this opportunity, and for the effort you put into it.

So, some context for my question: I am a Lawyer in the UK. At my current level, and in my current role in the criminal law, it appears most people are service to others – they do it because of some inexorable calling.

The criminal justice system in my country has naturally evolved over a very long time to be as fair and balanced as it could have been in the circumstances.

However, since 2012 especially, this has been corrupted from the Parliamentary level, access to justice has been destroyed, and the presumption of innocence is long since gone.

Efforts are made every day to pierce the independence of the judiciary, and once that goes, the whole system goes.

I love my role, for various reasons, but also because I get the opportunity to hold the state to account before it exerts its power on an individual.

The change seems to be sort of an “antibody response” to the judiciary holding parliament to account and being an unyielding line between the state and the individual. (Of course, this may be me romanticising my countries legal system, there is some bias here!)

The disinformation campaigns in particular from the government and the news to undermine the system is extremely effective in getting public support for changes that seriously harm the publics rights and freedoms, and remove the ring-fence of the states powers.

When this is done incrementally using the rule of law, then its extremely difficult to fight back against. See also – COVID fear campaign.

So, my question is such – when working in a system that is being pressured or changed from a service to others to a service for another (at best) or a service to self (at worst), is it still possible to both “play the game” AND try to make positive changes without being corrupted by it?

I’m not entirely sure where I lie, I hope I’m StO, but my talents and interests are best expressed in a role that has a dramatic impact in the lives of others, and I enjoy the “game” of it.

This, to me, seems StS. I suppose rewording it for the implied question: I’m pretty sure I’m going back for another round, but is it possible to fight back against corruption from inside without being fully damned by it, or am I just trying to justify my own narcissism?

I’ve tried to be as broad-strokes as possible, providing the context for my question without drowning you in meaningless detail.

It still possible to both “play the game” AND try to make positive changes without being corrupted by it?

Yes. You are a capable person. You can do both.

You (personally) are a transitional sentience. You are well on the way to being STO, as that is your original calling. You need not worry about enjoyment of vices, pleasures of the physical, or respect and power. Those are natural human responses and desires.

Power does corrupt. It is a natural law because it affects the way ego handles physical decision making efforts. However, by staying true to the idea of helping others, you remain a STO sentence, even if you enjoy the power, the control and the vices that go along with the position.

Many IS-BE's enter the physical realms, and undergo the amnesia intentionally so that they can enjoy the pleasures of beauty. This is seductive and is a lure that other IS-BE's can use to control others. There is nothing wrong about enjoying pleasures of the physical and the ego. However, sentience concerns the desired end effects of one's actions.

It does not matter if a police dog enjoys eating a nice steak bone after catching a robber. And it should not matter if you enjoy the power, prestige, respect and perks of your position if you serve true and real justice no matter how corrupted the organization is becoming or has become.

Your biggest concern is that the system itself does not change your fundamental sentience. 

When you stop your role in managing justice on a one to one basis and instead look to selfish profit goals, then you are riding the slippery slope towards STS behaviors. That is ill advised. Never sacrifice your occupation for personal profit. That would have a disastrous domino effect on your future incarnations (if any - depending on your sentience).

*FINAL*

This question was explored in the movie TheDevil’sAdvocate”.  Most especially in the final scene. -MM

The devils advocate.

[9] Question – Are we losing sight of our objectives?

Are we getting caught up in this momentum? discover and share a practical model or some kind of schematic standard that is consistent with your fundamental principles? Suggestions to help in the way of symbolic language and our s narchs and values ​​put forward?

There is nothing wrong about desire and enthusiasm. 

Your objective is to help us (The Domain) to rescue the trapped IS-BE entitles, and then to release the prisoners in the Prison Complex under a rehabilitation program that will permit them to reacquire their memories and allow them to continue their existence in peace.

As long as steps are taken in that direction, it is of no concern what the size of those steps may be.

[10] Question – Indications of “Old Empire” behaviors

…As an example, from the above email we can gather clues. The Old Empire still runs the show.

There is an inner core (or many inner cores spread through out the world. They cast votes in those cliques. Etc etc..

So we see glimpses into their little world on occasion.

Then the media shuts the door. I am leaning towards the probability that the whole of the western elite are compromised. (Once you put on those glasses from They Live, every weird thing makes sense. But you need to put on those glasses to make any sense of our weird world.)

They live. Put on the glasses to see things as they really are.

In fact the dominant culture in many parts of the world is Old Empire in flavor.

And that culture is anti empathy and anti human in its nature.

MM had a Rufus article that struck me. A video by one woman who observed that people cared for stray cats and dogs in America but they don’t even acknowledge their homeless. BUT if you try a Old Empire Larp, then it’s perfectly natural.

Is the difference in treatment of pets to fellow humans an indicator of “Old Empire” behaviors.

Yes it is. I will elaborate later when you (MM) are not so tired and stressed.

---update---

When The Domain took over the physical territory of "The Old Empire', many in the leadership roles escaped. The vast bulk of them hid inside of the Prison Complexes with "special passes" which allowed them to enter and leave at will without being tethered to the entire prison containment system.

These individuals have since taken over various operational aspects of the Prison System, and created sub-pocket universes and environs from which they operate in relative comfort. One of which is the (so called) rape centers that seem to plague the egress and access routes towards the pocket universes of "Heaven".

Many of these IS-BE entities are now wholly corrupted and operating at a very low level of empathy. This is strong STS behaviorism and are easily identified. They resemble a termite colony when you observe a (galactic) overview.

Yes. To answer your question. In general, any resemblance of "Old Empire" behaviors is a guaranteed enclave of selfish and dangerous incorrigible IS-BE within the complex and their "Old Empire" handlers. they cannot disguise their behaviors for long. They can put up a good front and use deceptions to hide their true nature, but over time, their baseline behaviors manifest.

Members of the "Old Empire" had pets. They, like human skin-suits, possess a great deal of fondness for their pets and honor and treat them well. But the population of leadership that has run the "Old Empire" do not represent the mass population that they govern. When they would take a pet, it would be for purposes of presentation and image. Not out of a love or a relationship. Thus there must be a distinction made between the leadership, and upper tiers of society, in the "Old Empire" and that of the common folk.

The questioner would be surprised to note that there are cats in the "Old Empire" and they behave and act just like the cats do within the Prison Complex. The same goes for other pets that have found niches within the "Old Empire" societal structure.

When a member of the elite exited the "Old Empire" and hid away in the Prison Complex, they carried with them their identities, their "golden passes", their retinues, and their behaviors. In so doing, they were able to corrupt so many features and controls of the Prison Complex. And they corrupted it in such a way that they would live fine comfortable lives.

There is not a direct correlation between modern Western governmental leadership and "Old Empire" leadership-in-exile, but there is enough of an overlap to come to the conclusion that many of the powerful people in the earth world today, are from the "Old Empire" power cabal.

[11] Question – Vaxx influence on memories of past incarnations

I will pose a question on the vaccines , but in the name of Opsec, I will leave it here. For your discretion to inform us the response, that is entirely in your hands.

To me, the vaccine rollout is so insistent that it must serve a higher purpose. I do not believe that it is used to cover financial matters. I do not even believe now that it is for depopulation, and in fact I think the Deagel Report is disinformation.

This role playing was triggered when you mentioned that you got to your past lives by hypnosis. So I thought I would counterfeit some knockoff lol.

Does the vaccine have any effect on the ability to recall past lives or on the relationship between the mantid and his/her ward?

Everything in the physical reality universe has, to some degree, influence on the amnesia system of memory suppression.

The mRNA injection is not designed specifically to prevent memory recall. It has other purposes related to physical government control. It possesses side effects not sufficiently mapped out and thought out. This will cause some problems for the communities so injected.

As far as we can determine, any effect on amnesia either "good" or "bad" (from the point of view of an imprisoned IS-BE) is indeterminate. Certainly, other substances can be added by the government that can then be injected into a person to...

[1] Make them more docile.
[2] Make them easier to manipulate.
[3] Make them conform or not conform to laws, rules and behaviors.
[4] Alter their biology.
[5] Act as a "key" to define "membership" in and out of communities.
[6] Use as a protective biological agent, and then release a deadly pathogen to harm those not protected.

And, which is the point that you brought up...

[7] Control access to memories.
[8] Control religious and philosophical belief structures.
[9] Tighten or loosen the relationship between the mantid and their assigned ward.

You have correctly identified the risks inherent in this government mandate. However, you need not be concerned NOW, at this time, about the impact on your non-physical bodies, consciousness or memory access.

[12] Question – Who am I?

Geez, MM, Id be a fool to miss this opportunity but I guess we are all at the point of where we stand in this effort of helping. While knowing can be a distraction in itself, knowing could also be one step closer to giving confidence in our abilities. So for my question would be: Who Am I in regards to the Domain? What role do I play in helping “Free the Lost Battalion” and the imprisoned IS-BEs? Thank you, my friend. Good luck.

Who is the questioner in regards to the Domain? What role do they play in helping “Free the Lost Battalion” and the imprisoned IS-BEs?

The questioner is a contact, initially of a trivial nature, that has come in contact with the Domain in this venue at this time. There is a willingness to participate and contribute, and a desire to do good and great things. 

There is no doubt that this individual is a contributor who is desirous of working with The Domain in the resolution of the release of the imprisoned Domain members, as well as the hope / desire / wish to also be released from the situation that they find themselves in. 

They seek understanding though contribution.

We acknowledge this and offer a "seat at the table". In many ways this IS-BE is an enthusiastic "raw recruit" that holds great promise and even greater benefit to the society as a while. They have a slight "feeling" that this is the case, but we are vocalizing that it actually is the exact situation.

As an individual, mission objectives and planning details are beyond the scope of their participation / understanding / contribution assets but that does not mean that they are meaningless. They hold a significant role, it is just that they do not understand how that role fits into the larger picture, and they want and desire clarity. 

This individual is a "walk in", and was not part of the initial pre-birth discussions for localized group membership and participation. Location here is more than just random, but is unintentional. We have scanned this IS-BE credentials / background / thought vectors / non-physical profile and determined that they are a fine recruit.

Which is not what they want to hear. The questioner desires details.

They yearn for a grander scheme of things that they fit into like part of a bigger picture. But their "larger pictures" is far more complex than your average skin-suit. 

When they ended up here, they did not come from  the "Old Empire", they were a discarded drop-off. And they arrived with background / baggage / powers / abilities and complexities that earn them a prominent seat "at the table". 

Their Top Hat is pronounced and of fine manufacture. (I do not understand that reference. -MM)

Unlike most other MM cadre's this IS-BE consciousness did not experience pre-birth training for the role. So we are working on this effort now simultaneously with their non-physical bodies. Which is why they seem to have some odd and unusual dreams. 

In the future the role that this entity will play will be as significant as <redacted> and <redacted>. This questioner need not worry or be concerned of the details. All is in good hands and under control.

[13] Question – Space Exploration

I would like to know two things (for now):

  1. What physical locations have human beings “traveled” to off this earth?
    • Moon
    • Mars
    • Other
  2. What means of transportation did they use?
    • Ship (what type of propulsion)
    • Portal of some sort (what type of construct)

Of course I’d also like to know if humans actually accomplished any of this, or was it all a result of off-world assistance.

Human prison inmate skin-suits have traveled to the Moon, Mars, and Ganymede. The only public acknowledgement is the United States Apollo moon missions, where numerous skin-suits landed and walked on the moon. MM was on the moon and had medical procedures there. Many MAJestic operatives have visited the facilities on and in the moon and worked with MAJestic there. Some of which are in guarded spaces; pocket universes for protections.

Oxia Palus <redacted>.

Numerous MAJestic operatives have also visited facilities on Mars and Ganymede. But these were for special functions and for special purposes. There is a special training barracks and facility underground in Mars for the training of female MAJestic operatives. Also <redacted>. Obviously they are not told where they are, but they can easily discern that it is a secure place on a different planet.

The vast bulk of transport is via dimensional portal. There are occasional trips using vehicles, but that is used rarely. There really isn't much need for skin-suit participation on these machines. As also the environmental controls need to be adapted for human skin-suit use. Sometimes the humans participate in biological sampling and monitoring as a MAJestic requirement. It is however, always an observer role. Human skin -suits never perform medical procedures on other human skin-suits.

Vehicles are our standard local system craft, often of the mid-size. You will recall on <redacted>. <redacted>. (Sorry. Guys. -MM)

We have never moved an inmate within their skin-suit outside of the Prison Complex walls. We have moved these humans to various stations, facilities and vehicular craft working inside of the complex walls. For the most part, we perform what ever necessary biological modifications are required on their non-physical bodies in a form of "catch and release".

MAJestic operations has sometimes required the placement of humans at certain facilities for an extended length of time.<redacted>

Size comparisons of various selected planets and moons.

[14] Question – Rhesus blood group and Faeries

First up:

The Rh blood group system is a human blood group system. It contains proteins on the surface of red blood cells. After the ABO blood group system, it is the most likely to be involved in transfusion reactions. 

The Rh blood group system consists of 49 defined blood group antigens, among which the five antigens D, C, c, E, and e are the most important. 

There is no d antigen. Rh(D) status of an individual is normally described with a positive or negative suffix after the ABO type (e.g., someone who is A Positive has the A antigen and the Rh(D) antigen, whereas someone who is A Negative lacks the Rh(D) antigen). 

The terms Rh factor, Rh positive, and Rh negative refer to the Rh(D) antigen only. Antibodies to Rh antigens can be involved in hemolytic transfusion reactions and antibodies to the Rh(D) and Rh antigens confer significant risk of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. 

-Wikipedia

Some people consider this type of blood an indicator of having Alien DNA. I know nothing at all about this. What I do know is that it is a rare blood type, and that my father possessed this blood type. He was also a member of Mensa. So what this questioner is asking is whether the presence of Rh blood is an indicator of extraterrestrial DNA.

May I ask about the rhesus negative blood group – a small percentage compared with other blood groups on the earth, what are their origins?
There are different types of human skin-suits. Many of the differences are subtle.

Special human skin-suit attire was often constructed for unique purposes at different periods in earth's history. Usually for the purposes of creating specialized clusters of inmates for social experimentation, reasons of safety, propagation success (and amusements). 

However, in this case it was for the purposes of human - feline bonding. This skin suit protected the humans and permitted the human - feline bonding to occur without problem. 

The earth-bound felines carried a parasite. And the resulting parasitic infection ended up killing immune-deficient humanoids at the time. 

This skin-suit was developed as a natural defense of the local parasitic infection.

This such skin-suit is one that has an Rh blood group. This skin-suit was specifically designed to grant immunity against a localized food borne parasite.

This parasite was problematic in the geographical area now known as Europe near the Pyrenees mountain group. This occurred approximately 60,000 years ago and started to manifest when human skin-suits started to interact with cats as companions. The cats would carry and incubate this parasite and it would be discharged by it's feces. Then the close proximity of children and adults to the feces would have the humanoids who interacted with these cats get sick.

Over the centuries, the bloodline migrated world-wide and is now present throughout the world.

Individuals with this genetic type of blood tend to have some similar traits that make them stand out from other human skin-suits. However, that is coincidental, and not intentional by design.

(An oh-by-the-way "off hand" comment... -MM)

This type of skin-suit is sought after by IS-BE's who are desirous of a life-time adventure involving intelligence, speculations and the creative side of science. IS-BE's that utilize this skin-suit gravitate towards science and STEM related subjects naturally and that simplifies early childhood development for fate mapping exercises in the MWI (sic.).

This is what #Neanderthals really looked like, by scientific illustrator Tom Bjorklund of Finland. Accurate, painted as if they were a lot like us, loved flowers, children and fell in love. They lived over much of Europe, from 400,000 years ago unto 30,000 years ago.

Actually, this was hard for me to translate, and receive. I had to perform multiple calming exercises and focus.
.
The sidhe/faery  – what is their connection with the domain?
The sidhe are native non-physical inhabitants of the British Island grouping. They have similar cousins all over the earth. These non-physical beings have a vibrant life on the earth and in similar domains. They are not part of the Prison Complex. And they have unique abilities that their human skin-suit friends might leverage upon.

(At this point I am told to look at a map. So I went to Bing and did a map search

I found many fictional maps. There wasn’t any real non-fictional maps available except on. Here is the screen shot…

What does this mean? The comm line opened up again and the dialog continued.

Migration of faerie populations moved upland over the centuries, however, their base civilization centers remained in place regardless as to the physical changes that occurred on the earth. As glaciers came and went, and water raised and fell, and as human population came and went, the faerie civilization stayed in place. They did not disappear as is commonly assumed.

Being primarily a non-physical entity, they are not subject to the physical environs that humans are subject to. Once their homes and residences were above water, now many are under water. It is of no concern to them.

They also do not experience time like humans do.

They have a vibrant and lush life, though they prefer to migrate towards wooded areas devoid of the harsh and active thought of inmate human prisoners. This is why they are irregularly encountered.

The Domain are aware of their existence, and there is a mutual level of respect. However, there is no formal interaction in any way whether good or bad, relatively.

Actually, I have a “feeling” that this answer did not really cover the question or answer what that this questioner was asking. So I rephrased the question. I hope the questioner does not mind.

What significance are the Faeries of the British Isles have / interact with the Domain or any other extraterrestrial influences now or in the past?

When the earth was being configured as a Prison Planet, the "Old Empire" had to deal with the problem that the Earth was inhabited with sentient intelligence's that did not their world to be occupied by the refuse of the galaxy. 

The primary and dominant sentences at that time were [1] a number of humanoid colonies on the planet, [2] intelligent non-tool making species such as dolphins, [3] primitive humanoid forms of limited tool-making ability, and [4] extensive and elaborate non-physical species. The Faerie realm and society was the largest, and best established. 

They did not accept the changes to the earth environment and a war took place. After a period of time, the major habitations of the faeries were destroyed, and the "Old Empire" took over the earth and it's surrounding geographical regions and created the prison complex that exists today.

Because the skin-suits are contaminated by inmate skin suit modifications, the faerie population tend to avoid human contact. This was not the case prior to the interjection of the "Old Empire" policy plannings. From the point of view of the faeries, they endured a massive interstellar war, and this group of "Old Empire" administrators was just another in a long line of interlopers. 

What they did not expect was that a containment field would be set up that would isolate their society from the rest of the faerie societies throughout the galaxy. They are very bitter about this situation.

Final notes

This is part one. I have part 2 in process, and will release it when I am completed. All in all, I think that there are some great answers, and some perplexing attributes that need to be pondered upon.

I think that we all need to be careful about what we ask for. We might not like the result. I certainly didn’t (Mades Escapileon). But then again, I have absolutely zero recall of any life under that purported name.

This might seem like an easy enough task. It isn’t, and is very tiring and stressful to me personally. Many times I had to search for words to explain concepts that were alien to me. I truly hope that the information is of help to the questioners who participated. If your questions are not here, please wait. I have more questions in part 2 to follow. -MM

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

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Law 41 of the 48 Laws of Power; Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes

This is law 41 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.
  • If you cannot start materially from ground zero – it would be foolish to renounce an inheritance- you can at least begin from ground zero psychologically.
  • Never let yourself be seen as following your predecessor’s path.  You must physically demonstrate your difference, by establishing a style and symbolism that set you apart.
  • Repeating actions will not re-create success, because circumstances never repeat themselves exactly.
  • Success and power make us lazy – you must reset psychologically to counter this laziness.

I have long argued that the people running America today are idiots who have inherited a great nation and turned it into a cesspool due to their incompetence. Obviously, they should have read this article. It’s too late for them, but we can all learn from their mistakes.

LAW 41

AVOID STEPPING INTO A GREAT MAN’S SHOES

JUDGMENT

What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.

THE EXCELLENCE OF BEING FIRST

Many would have shone like the very phoenix in their occupations if others had not preceded them. Being first is a great advantage; with eminence, twice as good. Deal the first hand and you will win the upper ground.... Those who go first win fame by right of birth, and those who follow are like second sons, contenting themselves with meager portions.... Solomon opted wisely for pacifism, yielding warlike things to his father. By changing course he found it easier to become a hero.... And our great Philip II governed the entire world from the throne of his prudence, astonishing the ages. If his unconquered father was a model of energy, Philip was a paradigm of prudence.... This sort of novelty has helped the well-advised win a place in the roll of the great. Without leaving their own art, the ingenious leave the common path and take, even in professions gray with age, new steps toward eminence. Horace yielded epic poetry to Virgil, and Martial the lyric to Horace. Terence opted for comedy, Persius for satire, each hoping to be first in his genre. Bold fancy never succumbed to facile imitation.

A POCKET MIRROR FOR HEROES, BALTASAR GRACIÁN, TRANSLATED BY CHRISTOPHER MAURER, 1996

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

When Louis XIV died, in 1715, after a glorious fifty-five-year reign, all eyes focused on his great-grandson and chosen successor, the future Louis XV. Would the boy, only five at the time, prove as great a leader as the Sun King? Louis XIV had transformed a country on the verge of civil war into the preeminent power in Europe. The last years of his reign had been difficult—he had been old and tired—but it was hoped that the child would develop into the kind of strong ruler who would reinvigorate the land and add to the firm foundation that Louis XIV had laid.

To this end the child was given the best minds of France as his tutors, men who would instruct him in the arts of statecraft, in the methods that the Sun King had perfected. Nothing was neglected in his education. But when Louis XV came to the throne, in 1726, a sudden change came over him: He no longer had to study or please others or prove himself. He stood alone at the top of a great country, with wealth and power at his command. He could do as he wished.

In the first years of his reign, Louis gave himself over to pleasure, leaving the government in the hands of a trusted minister, André-Hercule de Fleury. This caused little concern, for he was a young man who needed to sow his wild oats, and de Fleury was a good minister. But it slowly became clear that this was more than a passing phase. Louis had no interest in governing. His main worry was not France’s finances, or a possible war with Spain, but boredom. He could not stand being bored, and when he was not hunting deer, or chasing young girls, he whiled away his time at the gambling tables, losing huge sums in a single night.

The court, as usual, reflected the tastes of the ruler. Gambling and lavish parties became the obsession. The courtiers had no concern with the future of France—they poured their energies into charming the king, angling for titles that would bring them life pensions, and for cabinet positions demanding little work but paying huge salaries. Parasites flocked to the court, and the state’s debts swelled.

In 1745 Louis fell in love with Madame de Pompadour, a woman of middle-class origin who had managed to rise through her charms, her intelligence, and a good marriage. Madame de Pompadour became the official royal mistress; she also became France’s arbiter of taste and fashion. But the Madame had political ambitions as well, and she eventually emerged as the country’s unofficial prime minister—it was she, not Louis, who wielded hiring-and-firing power over France’s most important ministers.

As he grew older Louis only needed more diversion. On the grounds of Versailles he built a brothel, Parc aux Cerfs, which housed some of the prettiest young girls of France. Underground passages and hidden stair-cases gave Louis access at all hours. After Madame de Pompadour died, in 1764, she was succeeded as royal mistress by Madame du Barry, who soon came to dominate the court, and who, like de Pompadour before her, began to meddle in affairs of state. If a minister did not please her he would find himself fired. All of Europe was aghast when du Barry, the daughter of a baker, managed to arrange the firing of Étienne de Choiseul, the foreign minister and France’s most able diplomat. He had shown her too little respect. As time went by, swindlers and charlatans made their nests in Versailles, and enticed Louis’s interest in astrology, the occult, and fraudulent business deals. The young and pampered teenager who had taken over France years before had only grown worse with age.

The motto that became attached to Louis’s reign was Après moi, le déluge”—“After me the flood,” or, Let France rot after I am gone. And indeed when Louis did go, in 1774, worn out by debauchery, his country and his own finances were in horrible disarray. His grandson Louis XVI inherited a realm in desperate need of reform and a strong leader. But Louis XVI was even weaker than his grandfather, and could only watch as the country descended into revolution. In 1792 the republic introduced by the French Revolution declared the end of the monarchy, and gave the king a new name, “Louis the Last.” A few months later he kneeled on the guillotine, his about-to-be- severed head stripped of all the radiance and power that the Sun King had invested in the crown.

Interpretation

From a country that had descended into civil war in the late 1640s, Louis XIV forged the mightiest realm in Europe. Great generals would tremble in his presence. A cook once made a mistake in preparing a dish and committed suicide rather than face the king’s wrath. Louis XIV had many mistresses, but their power ended in the bedroom. He filled his court with the most brilliant minds of the age. The symbol of his power was Versailles: Refusing to accept the palace of his forefathers, the Louvre, he built his own palace in what was then the middle of nowhere, symbolizing that this was a new order he had founded, one without precedent. He made Versailles the centerpiece of his reign, a place that all the powerful of Europe envied and visited with a sense of awe. In essence, Louis took a great void—the decaying monarchy of France—and filled it with his own symbols and radiant power.

Louis XV, on the other hand, symbolizes the fate of all those who inherit something large or who follow in a great man’s footsteps. It would seem easy for a son or successor to build on the grand foundation left for them, but in the realm of power the opposite is true. The pampered, indulged son almost always squanders the inheritance, for he does not start with the father’s need to fill a void. As Machiavelli states, necessity is what impels men to take action, and once the necessity is gone, only rot and decay are left. Having no need to increase his store of power, Louis XV inevitably succumbed to inertia. Under him, Versailles, the symbol of the Sun King’s authority, became a pleasure palace of incomparable banality, a kind of Las Vegas of the Bourbon monarchy. It came to represent all that the oppressed peasantry of France hated about their king, and during the Revolution they looted it with glee.

CULT OF PERICLES

As a young man Pericles was inclined to shrink from facing the people. One reason for this was that he was considered to bear a distinct resemblance to the tyrant Pisistratus, and when men who were well on in years remarked on the charm of Pericles’ voice and the smoothness and fluency of his speech, they were astonished at the resemblance between the two. The fact that he was rich and that he came of a distinguished family and possessed exceedingly powerful friends made the fear of ostracism very real to him, and at the beginning of his career he took no part in politics but devoted himself to soldiering, in which he showed great daring and enterprise. However, the time came when Aristides was dead. Themistocles in exile, and Cimon frequently absent on distant campaigns. Then at last Pericles decided to attach himself to the people’s party and to take up the cause of the poor and the many instead of that of the rich and the few, in spite of the fact that this was quite contrary to his own temperament, which was thoroughly aristocratic. He was afraid, apparently, of being suspected of aiming at a dictatorship: so that when he saw that Cimon’s sympathies were strongly with the nobles and that Cimon was the idol of the aristocratic party, Pericles began to ingratiate himself with the people, partly for self-preservation and partly by way of securing power against his rival. He now entered upon a new mode of life. He was never to be seen walking in any street except the one which led to the market-place and the council chamber.

THE LIFE OF PERICLES, PLUTARCH, c. A.D. 46-120

Louis XV had only one way out of the trap awaiting the son or successor of a man like the Sun King: to psychologically begin from nothing, to denigrate the past and his inheritance, and to move in a totally new direction, creating his own world. Assuming you have the choice, it would be better to avoid the situation altogether, to place yourself where there is a vacuum of power, where you can be the one to bring order out of chaos without having to compete with another star in the sky. Power depends on appearing larger than other people, and when you are lost in the shadow of the father, the king, the great predecessor, you cannot possibly project such a presence.

But when they began to make sovereignty hereditary, the children quickly degenerated from their fathers; and, so far from trying to equal their father’s virtues, they considered that a prince had nothing else to do than to excel all the rest in idleness, indulgence, and every other variety of pleasure.

Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527

THE LIFE OF PIETRO PERUGINO, PAINTER, c.1450-1523

How beneficial poverty may sometimes be to those with talent, and how it may serve as a powerful goad to make them perfect or excellent in whatever occupation they might choose, can be seen very clearly in the actions of Pietro Perugino. Wishing by means of his ability to attain some respectable rank, after leaving disastrous calamities behind in Perugia and coming to Florence, he remained there many months in poverty, sleeping in a chest, since he had no other bed; he turned night into day, and with the greatest zeal continually applied himself to the study of his profession. After painting had become second nature to him, Pietro’s only pleasure was always to be working in his craft and constantly to be painting. And because he always had the dread of poverty before his eyes, he did things to make money which he probably would not have bothered to do had he not been forced to support himself. Perhaps wealth would have closed to him and his talent the path to excellence just as poverty had opened it up to him, but need spurred him on since he desired to rise from such a miserable and lowly position-if not perhaps to the summit and supreme height of excellence, then at least to a point where he could have enough to live on. For this reason, he took no notice of cold, hunger, discomfort, inconvenience, toil or shame if he could only live one day in ease and repose; and he would always sayand as if it were a proverbthat after bad weather, good weather must follow, and that during the good weather houses must be built for shelter in times of need. 

-LIVES OF THE ARTISTS, GIORGIO VASARI, 1511-1574

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Alexander the Great had a dominant passion as a young man—an intense dislike for his father, King Philip of Macedonia. He hated Philip’s cunning, cautious style of ruling, his bombastic speeches, his drinking and whoring, and his love of wrestling and of other wastes of time. Alexander knew he had to make himself the very opposite of his domineering father: He would force himself to be bold and reckless, he would control his tongue and be a man of few words, and he would not lose precious time in pursuit of pleasures that brought no glory. Alexander also resented the fact that Philip had conquered most of Greece: “My father will go on conquering till there is nothing extraordinary left for me to do,” he once complained. While other sons of powerful men were content to inherit wealth and live a life of leisure, Alexander wanted only to outdo his father, to obliterate Philip’s name from history by surpassing his accomplishments.

Alexander itched to show others how superior he was to his father. A Thessalian horse-dealer once brought a prize horse named Bucephalus to sell to Philip. None of the king’s grooms could get near the horse—it was far too savage—and Philip berated the merchant for bringing him such a useless beast. Watching the whole affair, Alexander scowled and commented, “What a horse they are losing for want of skill and spirit to manage him!” When he had said this several times, Philip had finally had enough, and challenged him to take on the horse. He called the merchant back, secretly hoping his son would have a nasty fall and learn a bitter lesson. But Alexander was the one to teach the lesson: Not only did he mount Bucephalus, he managed to ride him at full gallop, taming the horse that would later carry him all the way to India. The courtiers applauded wildly, but Philip seethed inside, seeing not a son but a rival to his power.

Alexander’s defiance of his father grew bolder. One day the two men had a heated argument before the entire court, and Philip drew his sword as if to strike his son; having drunk too much wine, however, the king stumbled. Alexander pointed at his father and jeered, “Men of Macedonia, see there the man who is preparing to pass from Europe to Asia. He cannot pass from one table to another without falling.”

When Alexander was eighteen, a disgruntled courtier murdered Philip. As word of the regicide spread through Greece, city after city rose up in rebellion against their Macedonian rulers. Philip’s advisers counseled Alexander, now the king, to proceed cautiously, to do as Philip had done and conquer through cunning. But Alexander would do things his way: He marched to the furthest reaches of the kingdom, suppressed the rebellious towns, and reunited the empire with brutal efficiency.

As a young rebel grows older, his struggle against the father often wanes, and he gradually comes to resemble the very man he had wanted to defy. But Alexander’s loathing of his father did not end with Philip’s death. Once he had consolidated Greece, he set his eyes on Persia, the prize that had eluded his father, who had dreamed of conquering Asia. If he defeated the Persians, Alexander would finally surpass Philip in glory and fame.

Alexander crossed into Asia with an army of 35,000 to face a Persian force numbering over a million. Before engaging the Persians in battle he passed through the town of Gordium. Here, in the town’s main temple, there stood an ancient chariot tied with cords made of the rind of the cor nel tree. Legend had it that any man who could undo these cords—the Gordian knot—would rule the world. Many had tried to untie the enormous and intricate knot, but none had succeeded. Alexander, seeing he could not possibly untie the knot with his bare hands, took out his sword and with one slash cut it in half. This symbolic gesture showed the world that he would not do as others, but would blaze his own path.

Against astounding odds, Alexander conquered the Persians. Most expected him to stop there—it was a great triumph, enough to secure his fame for eternity. But Alexander had the same relationship to his own deeds as he had to his father: His conquest of Persia represented the past, and he wanted never to rest on past triumphs, or to allow the past to outshine the present. He moved on to India, extending his empire beyond all known limits. Only his disgruntled and weary soldiers prevented him from going farther.

Interpretation

Alexander represents an extremely uncommon type in history: the son of a famous and successful man who manages to surpass the father in glory and power. The reason this type is uncommon is simple: The father most often manages to amass his fortune, his kingdom, because he begins with little or nothing. A desperate urge impels him to succeed—he has nothing to lose by cunning and impetuousness, and has no famous father of his own to compete against. This kind of man has reason to believe in himself —to believe that his way of doing things is the best, because, after all, it worked for him.

When a man like this has a son, he becomes domineering and oppressive, imposing his lessons on the son, who is starting off life in circumstances totally different from those in which the father himself began. Instead of allowing the son to go in a new direction, the father will try to put him in his own shoes, perhaps secretly wishing the boy will fail, as Philip half wanted to see Alexander thrown from Bucephalus. Fathers envy their sons’ youth and vigor, after all, and their desire is to control and dominate. The sons of such men tend to become cowed and cautious, terrified of losing what their fathers have gained.

The son will never step out of his father’s shadow unless he adopts the ruthless strategy of Alexander: disparage the past, create your own kingdom, put the father in the shadows instead of letting him do the same to you. If you cannot materially start from ground zero—it would be foolish to renounce an inheritance—you can at least begin from ground zero psychologically, by throwing off the weight of the past and charting a new direction. Alexander instinctively recognized that privileges of birth are impediments to power. Be merciless with the past, then—not only with your father and his father but with your own earlier achievements. Only the weak rest on their laurels and dote on past triumphs; in the game of power there is never time to rest.

THE PROBLEM OF PAUL MORPHY

The slightest acquaintance with chess shows one that it is a play-substitute for the art of war and indeed it has been a favorite recreation of some of the greatest military leaders, from William the Conqueror to Napoleon. In the contest between the opposing armies the same principles of both strategy and tactics are displayed as in actual war, the same foresight and powers of calculation are necessary, the same capacity for divining the plans of the opponent, and the rigor with which decisions are followed by their consequences is, if anything, even more ruthless. More than that, it is plain that the unconscious motive actuating the players is not the mere love of pugnacity characteristic of all competitive games, but the grimmer one of father- murder. It is true that the original goal of capturing the king has been given up, but from the point of view of motive there is, except in respect of crudity, not appreciable change in the present goal of sterilizing him in immobility.... “Checkmate” means literally “the king is dead.” ... Our knowledge of the unconscious motivation of chess-playing tells us that what it represented could only have been the wish to overcome the father in an acceptable way.... It is no doubt significant that [nineteenth-century chess champion Paul] Morphy’s soaring odyssey into the higher realms of chess began just a year after the unexpectedly sudden death of his father, which had been a great shock to him, and we may surmise that his brilliant effort of sublimation was, like Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, a reaction to this critical event....

Something should now be said about the reception Morphy’s successes met with, for they were of such a kind as to raise the question whether his subsequent collapse may not have been influenced through his perhaps belonging to the type that Freud has described under the name of Die am Erfolge scheitern (“Those wrecked by success”).... Couched in more psychological language, was Morphy affrighted at his own presumptuousness when the light of publicity was thrown on [his great success?] Freud has pointed out that the people who break under the strain of too great success do so because they can endure it only in imagination, not in reality. To castrate the father in a dream is a very different matter from doing it in reality. The real situation provokes the unconscious guilt in its full force, and the penalty may be mental collapse.

THE PROBLEM OF PAUL MORPHY, ERNEST JONES, 1951

KEYS TO POWER

In many ancient kingdoms, for example Bengal and Sumatra, after the king had ruled for several years his subjects would execute him. This was done partly as a ritual of renewal, but also to prevent him from growing too powerful-for the king would generally try to establish a permanent order, at the expense of other families and of his own sons. Instead of protecting the tribe and leading it in times of war, he would attempt to dominate it. And so he would be beaten to death, or executed in an elaborate ritual. Now that he was no longer around for his honors to go to his head, he could be worshiped as a god. Meanwhile the field had been cleared for a new and youthful order to establish itself.

The ambivalent, hostile attitude towards the king or father figure also finds expression in legends of heroes who do not know their father. Moses, the archetypal man of power, was found abandoned among the bulrushes and never knew his parents; without a father to compete with him or limit him, he could attain the heights of power. Hercules had no earthly father-he was the son of the god Zeus. Later in his life Alexander the Great spread the story that the god Jupiter Ammon had sired him, not Philip of Macedon. Legends and rituals like these eliminate the human father because he symbolizes the destructive power of the past.

The past prevents the young hero from creating his own world—he must do as his father did, even after that father is dead or powerless. The hero must bow and scrape before his predecessor and yield to tradition and precedent. What had success in the past must be carried over to the present, even though circumstances have greatly changed. The past also weighs the hero down with an inheritance that he is terrified of losing, making him timid and cautious.

Power depends on the ability to fill a void, to occupy a field that has been cleared of the dead weight of the past. Only after the father figure has been properly done away with will you have the necessary space to create and establish a new order. There are several strategies you can adopt to accomplish this—variations on the execution of the king that disguise the violence of the impulse by channeling it in socially acceptable forms.

Perhaps the simplest way to escape the shadow of the past is simply to belittle it, playing on the timeless antagonism between the generations, stirring up the young against the old. For this you need a convenient older figure to pillory. Mao Tse-tung, confronting a culture that fiercely resisted change, played on the suppressed resentment against the overbearing presence of the venerable Confucius in Chinese culture. John F. Kennedy knew the dangers of getting lost in the past; he radically distinguished his presidency from that of his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and also from the preceding decade, the 1950s, which Eisenhower personified. Kennedy, for instance, would not play the dull and fatherly game of golf—a symbol of retirement and privilege, and Eisenhower’s passion. Instead he played football on the White House lawn. In every aspect his administration represented vigor and youth, as opposed to the stodgy Eisenhower. Kennedy had discovered an old truth: The young are easily set against the old, since they yearn to make their own place in the world and resent the shadow of their fathers.

The distance you establish from your predecessor often demands some symbolism, a way of advertising itself publicly. Louis XIV, for example, created such symbolism when he rejected the traditional palace of the French kings and built his own palace of Versailles. King Philip II of Spain did the same when he created his center of power, the palace of El Escorial, in what was then the middle of nowhere. But Louis carried the game further: He would not be a king like his father or earlier ancestors, he would not wear a crown or carry a scepter or sit on a throne, he would establish a new kind of imposing authority with symbols and rituals of its own. Louis made his ancestors’ rituals into laughable relics of the past. Follow his example: Never let yourself be seen as following your predecessor’s path. If you do you will never surpass him. You must physically demonstrate your difference, by establishing a style and symbolism that sets you apart.

The Roman emperor Augustus, successor to Julius Caesar, understood this thoroughly. Caesar had been a great general, a theatrical figure whose spectacles kept the Romans entertained, an international emissary seduced by the charms of Cleopatra— a larger-than-life figure. So Augustus, despite his own theatrical tendencies, competed with Caesar not by trying to outdo him but by differentiating himself from him: He based his power on a return to Roman simplicity, an austerity of both style and substance. Against the memory of Caesar’s sweeping presence Augustus posed a quiet and manly dignity.

The problem with the overbearing predecessor is that he fills the vistas before you with symbols of the past. You have no room to create your own name. To deal with this situation you need to hunt out the vacuums—those areas in culture that have been left vacant and in which you can become the first and principal figure to shine.

When Pericles of Athens was about to launch a career as a statesman, he looked for the one thing that was missing in Athenian politics. Most of the great politicians of his time had allied themselves with the aristocracy; indeed Pericles himself had aristocratic tendencies. Yet he decided to throw in his hat with the city’s democratic elements. The choice had nothing to do with his personal beliefs, but it launched him on a brilliant career. Out of necessity he became a man of the people. Instead of competing in an arena filled with great leaders both past and present, he would make a name for himself where no shadows could obscure his presence.

When the painter Diego de Velázquez began his career, he knew he could not compete in refinement and technique with the great Renaissance painters who had come before him. Instead he chose to work in a style that by the standards of the time seemed coarse and rough, in a way that had never been seen before. And in this style he excelled. There were members of the Spanish court who wanted to demonstrate their own break with the past; the newness of Velázquez’s style thrilled them. Most people are afraid to break so boldly with tradition, but they secretly admire those who can break up the old forms and reinvigorate the culture. This is why there is so much power to be gained from entering vacuums and voids.

There is a kind of stubborn stupidity that recurs throughout history, and is a strong impediment to power: The superstitious belief that if the person before you succeeded by doing A, B, and C, you can re-create their success by doing the same thing. This cookie-cutter approach will seduce the uncreative, for it is easy, and appeals to their timidity and their laziness. But circumstances never repeat themselves exactly.

When General Douglas MacArthur assumed command of American forces in the Philippines during World War II, an assistant handed him a book containing the various precedents established by the commanders before him, the methods that had been successful for them. MacArthur asked the assistant how many copies there were of this book. Six, the assistant answered. “Well,” the general replied, “you get all those six copies together and burn them—every one of them. I’ll not be bound by precedents. Any time a problem comes up, I’ll make the decision at once—immediately.” Adopt this ruthless strategy toward the past: Burn all the books, and train yourself to react to circumstances as they happen.

You may believe that you have separated yourself from the predecessor or father figure, but as you grow older you must be eternally vigilant lest you become the father you had rebelled against. As a young man, Mao Tse-tung disliked his father and in the struggle against him found his own identity and a new set of values. But as he aged, his father’s ways crept back in. Mao’s father had valued manual work over intellect; Mao had scoffed at this as a young man, but as he grew older he unconsciously returned to his father’s views and echoed such outdated ideas by forcing a whole generation of Chinese intellectuals into manual labor, a nightmarish mistake that cost his regime dearly. Remember: You are your own father. Do not let yourself spend years creating yourself only to let your guard down and allow the ghost of the past—father, habit, history—to sneak back in.

Finally, as noted in the story of Louis XV, plenitude and prosperity tend to make us lazy and inactive: When our power is secure we have no need to act. This is a serious danger, especially for those who achieve success and power at an early age. The playwright Tennessee Williams, for instance, found himself skyrocketed from obscurity to fame by the success of The Glass Menagerie. “The sort of life which I had had previous to this popular success,” he later wrote, “was one that required endurance, a life of clawing and scratching, but it was a good life because it was the sort of life for which the human organism is created. I was not aware of how much vital energy had gone into this struggle until the struggle was removed. This was security at last. I sat down and looked about me and was suddenly very depressed.” Williams had a nervous breakdown, which may in fact have been necessary for him: Pushed to the psychological edge, he could start writing with the old vitality again, and he produced A Streetcar Named Desire. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, similarly, whenever he wrote a successful novel, would feel that the financial security he had gained made the act of creation unnecessary. He would take his entire savings to the casino and would not leave until he had gambled away his last penny. Once reduced to poverty he could write again.

It is not necessary to go to such extremes, but you must be prepared to return to square one psychologically rather than growing fat and lazy with prosperity. Pablo Picasso could deal with success, but only by constantly changing the style of his painting, often breaking completely with what had made him successful before. How often our early triumphs turn us into a kind of caricature of ourselves. Powerful people recognize these traps; like Alexander the Great, they struggle constantly to re-create themselves. The father must not be allowed to return; he must be slain at every step of the way.

Image: The Father. He casts a giant shadow over his children, keeping them in thrall long after he is gone by tying them to the past, squashing their youthful spirit, and forcing them down the same tired path he followed himself. His tricks are many. At every crossroads you must slay the father and step out of his shadow.

Authority: Beware of stepping into a great man’s shoes—you will have to accomplish twice as much to surpass him. Those who follow are taken for imitators. No matter how much they sweat, they will never shed that burden. It is an uncommon skill to find a new path for excellence, a modern route to celebrity. There are many roads to singularity, not all of them well traveled. The newest ones can be arduous, but they are often shortcuts to greatness. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

The shadow of a great predecessor could be used to advantage if it is chosen as a trick, a tactic that can be discarded once it has brought you power. Napoleon III used the name and legend of his illustrious grand-uncle Napoleon Bonaparte to help him become first president and then emperor of France. Once on the throne, however, he did not stay tied to the past; he quickly showed how different his reign would be, and was careful to keep the public from expecting him to attain the heights that Bonaparte had attained.

The past often has elements worth appropriating, qualities that would be foolish to reject out of a need to distinguish yourself. Even Alexander the Great recognized and was influenced by his father’s skill in organizing an army. Making a display of doing things differently from your predecessor can make you seem childish and in fact out of control, unless your actions have a logic of their own.

Joseph II, son of the Austrian empress Maria Theresa, made a show of doing the exact opposite of his mother—dressing like an ordinary citizen, staying in inns instead of palaces, appearing as the “people’s emperor.” Maria Theresa, on the other hand, had been regal and aristocratic. The problem was that she had also been beloved, an empress who ruled wisely after years of learning the hard way. If you have the kind of intelligence and instinct that will point you in the right direction, playing the rebel will not be dangerous. But if you are mediocre, as Joseph II was in comparison to his mother, you are better off learning from your predecessor’s knowledge and experience, which are based on something real.

Finally, it is often wise to keep an eye on the young, your future rivals in power. Just as you try to rid yourself of your father, they will soon play the same trick on you, denigrating everything you have accomplished. Just as you rise by rebelling against the past, keep an eye on those rising from below, and never give them the chance to do the same to you.

The great Baroque artist and architect Pietro Bernini was a master at sniffing out younger potential rivals and keeping them in his shadow. One day a young stonemason named Francesco Borromini showed Bernini his architectural sketches. Recognizing his talent immediately, Bernini instantly hired Borromini as his assistant, which delighted the young man but was actually only a tactic to keep him close at hand, so that he could play psychological games on him and create in him a kind of inferiority complex. And indeed, despite Borromini’s brilliance, Bernini has the greater fame. His strategy with Borromini he made a lifelong practice: Fearing that the great sculptor Alessandro Algardi, for example, would eclipse him in fame, he arranged it so that Algardi could only find work as his assistant. And any assistant who rebelled against Bernini and tried to strike out on his own would find his career ruined.

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EBP Q&A with the Commander from The Domain a November 2021 episode

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and so I wanted to celebrate somewhat. You know turkey is rather difficult to come by in China, so I decided to go and get some chicken. I had my mind on a big family bucket of chicken at KFC. I had been thinking about it all day. Then at the last minute around 7pm, the wife says, “KFC is too far away, and I don’t feel like going out. Let’s go to the local restaurant outside our place and get some chicken there.”

Now, I had a bad feeling about it. I kept on imagining some of the worst chicken meals that I had in China, but I shrugged my shoulders and “went with the flow”. I did this, even realizing…

“…I have a bad feeling about this…”

It was horrible.

Steamed chicken. Nice thick globs of yellow fat (the size of your thumb) on bloody red chicken meat. Skin a yellow-white thick layer of fat. I ate a few bites and left the chicken sit there.

Globs of fat.

Even my Chinese wife, who is used to these kinds of “dishes” was aghast. She wouldn’t touch it either. The other dishes were a mistake as well. We ordered ten scallops, but they made oysters instead, so I ate ten oysters, some rice and wilted vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner.

It was pathetic.

I went home subdued. Didn’t say much. Put the kid to bed, and turned in.

The misses, knows that it was terrible, and tried to make up for it by making me a nice cup of coffee today this morning. It’s one of those unspoken things that people in a relationship do with each other when words cannot suffice.

The bitter memory of such a horrible event will stick to my mind for years now, and we will never… and I do mean NEVER… go back to that pathetic restaurant ever again.

Why did I want to eat chicken (as a substitute for turkey) on this particular day?

Well, because it is an American holiday of friendship, and sharing. And today, like the nation it represents, are a horrible distortion of what it used to be. I don’t think that I will ever celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday ever again, it is crossed out and erased from my calendars.

Blech!

Given what I know now, in America, Thanksgiving and “Black Friday” will turn into grand distortions of what they used to be.

Much like that horrible, bloody, greasy, fat laden piece of “road-kill” that I endured for dinner.

Ok. I hope that your holiday is much better than mine was.

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This group of questions took place in November 2021. It consists of various questions that influencers asked, and that we asked over time. I compiled the questions and then submitted to the Commander via my EBP for answers.

Tell me more about the rest of the prison complex

This is a question that I want to ask. So I placed it up front here.

I have long understood that our solar system is but one system in a constellation of five (give or take) other solar systems that combined form (what I refer to as) a “sentience nursery”. Most discussions on the “Prison Planet” concept revolve around the idea that since we are earth humans that we should only be concerned about our planet and not the entire prison system.

So I went and grabbed a 52º “white wine” and started a typing. (Alcohol has no effect on the comm channel. I use it because it mitigates the bad effects of the biological impacts during the chat.)

Time is 23:48 Saturday night. My daughter is finally asleep.

[1] Is the “Prison Complex” like that of the ADC (spread out), or a cluster in one large geographic area?

The prison complex is a set geographical area with this region of space. It is unlike the ADC with had prisons spread out throughout the state. This geographical region, in it's entirety is enveloped in a "bubble" field or interdimensional / universe /containment field / mechanism.

This bubble contains five plus one solar systems. Thus there are six solar systems that contain prison environments. One of them is "your" solar system.

The five others are geographically located within close proximity of your solar system, and all lie within an ellipsoid of which your solar system is part of. Your solar system is not at the center of the ellipsoid containment area. It is actually off to one of the extreme edges of the containment field.

Within this containment field are also some other solar systems that are "empty" / devoid of active prison utility. Any lives, creatures or inhabitants on those planets are not part of the prison skin-suit system.

The ellipsoid containment field is at an angle to the galactic plane, and is tilted to fit the requisite solarsystems involved.

The dimensional map of the neighborhood of stars and their respective solar systems. However, I am unable to place the bubble or draw it on the map at this time. As the reader can see, there are all sorts of ways that a person can draw up a area of space to encompass six solar systems with our Sun off to one of the edges. -MM

The Alpha Centauri solar system is also part of the prison complex.

[2] Are all the other solar systems in the same state as the earth prison complex?

I asked this question, not realizing just how broad based it was. I was reprimanded for the generalities involved. Never the less here’s the answer.

This is a general question statement. So a general overview is in order as the answer.

All of the solar systems are administered as one single entity from one unified central complex. Each one has it's own administrative center. For the earth solar system, the administrative center is in the earth's moon. 

The main prison complex administration center (for the entire multi-system complex) was destroyed by The Domain, roughly 1200 (earth) years ago. When that happened, administrative control reverted to the individual solar system administrative centers. Each one handled the situation differently.

The solar systems act as puzzle pieces or cells to the unified whole. This is true for the "tunnel of light" to go to the "Heavens", the containment fields, and the mini-pocket universes that are all involved in the individual solar systems. Each solar system has their own unique and independently maintained and controlled systems. They work together as a whole.

If the containment field near the earth solar system were to be destroyed and effectively shut down, the containment field of the nearest other prison solar system would expand to take over and compensate for the loss. Thus the entire system is a maze of complexities and self-repairing actions.

All of the solar systems, and their planets within the prison complex are still operational in one form or the other. All are now operating under the local control of The Domain, and all are being unraveled / untangled / investigated so that the entire system can be under full Domain control for the eventual shut down of the field and the rehabilitation of the inmates entrapped inside.

The inmates occupy different (species) skin-suits depending on the planetary environments involved, and thus the individual physical situations vary substantially from planet to planet.

[3] Are there any lost members of the Domain in other solar systems of the prison complex?

Yes. The largest lost contingent is associated with the earth, but there are some smaller groups or individuals who are lost in other planets of the prison complex. We know where all of them are and we are tracking them (as best we can) given the current restrictions on our capabilities at this time.

For The Domain, geographic location is not the kind of problem that it is for human physical skin-suits. To us, the location is all in the same consciousness area, while for you it seems like they are scattered all over the galaxy.

The earth lost a military garrison. While the XXXXXX lost a scientific research base, and YYYYY lost a number of vehicles and crafts including their crews. There are also a few individual IS-BE's that got caught in the field that are in need of rescue.

[4] Do the other solar systems have human skin-suits and other similar animal forms for inmates?

No. The other solar systems do not use human skin-suits. The inmates occupy other (some are humanoid) forms. 

The remaining administrators, of course maintain their "old empire" forms and they are imprisoned within their command and administrative bunkers under our control. 

Mades Escapleon was the administrator for your solar system, and is (as you know) an inmate within the general population. You are the only one that escaped in such a manner. 

The rest fled the prison complex completely and disappeared in or outside of the "old Empire". We have not been able to find any of them and their whereabouts are unknown. You are our only viable tie to the administration aspects of the prison complex. And unfortunately, your human prison skin-suit has the many inherent retardation's making memory access and utility very difficult.

[5] Are the heaven(s) that exist in these other solar systems the same as the heaven(s) that are accessible from our solar system?

Heavens are species dependent. 

Where there are same species on different planets within the Prison Complex, they will share the same "Heaven" pocket-universe. 

All of the "Heavens" utilize a "tunnel of light" for memory erasure and reprogramming.

The "Heavens" are unique to the prison complex, and do not actually exist in the Master Universe as inmates would understand. The IS-BE's that live and operate outside of the prison complex live and die in a completely different state of understanding and reality that is far beyond anything that inmate humans can understand. The "Heavens" that exist within the Master Universe are simply a part of the Master Universe mechanics / mechanism /architecture.

It is a different state within the same confines.

In the Prison Complex, "Heavens" provide an opportunity for the IS-BE to rest and learn from it's experiences in the physical realm. This is not necessary in the Master Universe. Thus, the only "Heavens" that exist are those associated with the Prison Complex.

From our point of view, "Heavens" are sub-pocket universes that are specific constructions for specific purposes and utility.

[6] Are there mantids in other planets of the prison complex?

There are other species that perform the same role as the Mantids do in the earth prison enclave. It should not be a concern to inmate human archetype skin-suits. 

All of these other species were designed and bread for that specific role, and all follow the basic template of being a caretaker for another species.

In every instance, they assist the consciousness to endure hardship and then reward them with a stint in "Heaven".

[7] Does you; “our”, Domain Commander liaison work with the rest of the prison complex, or is specifically assigned to our solar system alone?

I am in charge of the entire geographic region that includes the Prison Complex of multiple star systems.

I have multiple projects and roles proceeding throughout this region. The resolution of the Prison Complex issue and the recovery of the lost battalion are issues that are prioritized as significant and have abbreviated windows of opportunity for resolution.

A Question – Was I altered?

From a MM influencer who asked…

Hope you are well!

I hesitated about writing this report because I can't remember the most crucial part of the dream-- the mission itself. But this dream also brought up a recurring question I've had for the Domain and our roles as volunteers in the war against imprisonment. 

I'm still in my break from my intention campaign but have been recently learning (relearning?) how to meditate and reawakening my lucid dreaming and precognitive abilities.

So occasionally when I'm falling asleep, especially if I'm dead tired, I'll have disturbing "mini-nightmares" that I'll wake myself from, but that will keep occurring each time I try to sleep unless I physically switch position. 

These little dreams will be of grotesque images, snapshots of bad things happening to friends or family; basically anything that will bug me, and it's almost like something's being sadistic and messing with me because it's hard enough to get comfortable with my chronic back pain.

Last night my position was so comfortable and I was so tired that when I woke myself from the 3rd mini-nightmare (each only lasting a few minutes), 

I was like screw it; I'm donning the armor I used to use to battle the demon in my sleep paralysis and I'm taking these nightmares dead on because I need to sleep and I'm not changing positions. 

So mentally I donned my Armor of Love (a gift from my Guardian Angel/Mantid, whatever), and my Sword of Truth and I visualize charging off on my horse even as the tingling in my arms and legs signals the transition into sleep paralysis.

Now my transitions into lucid dreaming are generally quick and seamless--I don't have any sense of contracting into the pineal gland or anything else; it's more like moving through different veils. Anyways it takes me mere seconds to slay the little pesky scamp that's been messing with me, and then here I am in the dream landscape, lucid and aware that I can do whatever I want in the dream creation, which hasn't happened in years. So naturally I decide to go flying, because it's also been years since I did that.

Flying in dreams can be funny sometimes because it seems like something there are certain rules you have to follow to gain altitude or control movements, such as making swimming motions or focusing really hard. This time it was easy to take off to a comfortable altitude where I could see the landscape, but I had this little string tethering me to the earth like a balloon. I decided to just accept it as something like an Astral tether, and as soon as I did that it went away.

Then I was able to concentrate on the land below me-- it wasn't local because everything was green (and I live in the desert). It looked like China or Japan, with rice paddies and low forested foothills. 

Now here I began to move from more lucid and aware to less lucid, so when I awoke the details became less clear. 

In the dream I mentally heard someone calling for me, and it was someone I knew but hadn't connected with for years. I flew down into a little house, thinking I know this entire family; I've helped them before. I was trying to remember their names and was having difficulty, which bugged me. 

I spoke with a middle-aged man, and I want to say his name was Mr. Miyomi--Japanese. He told me that my last mission where I'd taken out a sentry was incomplete--either I hadn't neutralized the second target or there was a new target. This came with a very strong sense of deja veux and I thought about how I used to go on these missions all the time when I was younger.

I said, sure, I'll handle it. 

There was no sense of danger really; when I lucid dream like this I'm very powerful, because I can control reality in different ways, including having abilities like martial arts, and of course no physical ailments or pain. 

I headed off flying-- I flew past the first objective which was a sentry tower of some kind. Rather like a prison watch tower, but not quite-- more like the wooden fire watch towers used in California for monitoring forest fires--rather open at the top, not glassed in. 

I had the sense of a human-like figure lying broken at the base or underneath the tower from the previous mission. Human-shaped but not human. Maybe a robot, or NPC.

I can't remember the next part. I think it was another tower, with a similar sentry figure, but that's all I know. (I don't think it even saw me coming or was aware of me before it was dispatched). I have vague images of forested hills and mountains-- maybe northern Japan like Hokkaido? Not bamboo forests but more a mixture of pine and deciduous. Anyways I was successful and when I reported back to Mr. Miyomi he was pleased. 

Embarrassedly I told him I had forgotten his name and asked what it was. He laughed and shook his head and said it wasn't important. Then he said I needed to get going because there's a storm coming.

This storm...it's a recurring feature in my dreams. 

Sometimes it's a tornado, but more often it's more like a hurricane, but less wet--it's mostly gale force winds and lightning. I flew away from the storm front towards a city of glass towers, and before the storm got too close I landed and went inside some double glass doors to something like a large indoor mall complete with garden.

That ended the lucid dream.

Here's my question. Since voicing my intention to help the Domain and allowing a Domain officer to contact me and make whatever alterations are necessary, unlike other followers, I haven't had any visits or sleep paralysis episodes that I can remember. 

And yet last week you were told all volunteers had been altered. So was my memory of that erased? Or it occurred to me that maybe I was altered when I was younger, when I was having all those episodes, since I've had many, many dreams since then of doing espionage, or taking part in rescues of different kinds. You were selected years and years back for the work you are doing now.

Were any of us?

Thanks, and have a great day. Sorry if this was overly long.

I cannot confirm or deny that I was (myself) previously selected for the MAJestic and the Domain while I was in another state. But I will try to ask the Domain Commander for his input in this question….

All volunteers that are part of The Domain have been altered. This alteration differs from one IS-BE inmate to another.

In the case of this questioner, their alterations occurred at a very young age when they were a child.

Alterations come in different forms or "kits". Some inmates have tasks that makes alterations problematic for them. Others need the alterations to conduct their mission objectives.

Fundamentally, the ability to Lucid Dream or conduct OBE does not directly correlate with a Domain "kit" modification. However, everyone who has a Domain "kit" modification has the ability to LD and OBE with practice. 

Many of the restrictive controls on the inmate skin suits are removed by the presence of an installed "kit".

A question by DM

I am very sorry about this news from DM. Of course, I took care of this request as a top priority…

I am wondering if I can ask the Commander a bit of a personal question in regards to [my wife]. This comes as a recent doctor's appointment has revealed some very bad news - it looks very much like she might have uterine cancer. 

The shit thing is the hospitals over here won't do anything about it because they are Catholic owned and don't believe in taking out "young" women's uteruses, despite the obvious growths that are present and despite them supposed to be working in the public's interest.

Her health has been deteriorating these past months and it has me quite concerned, particularly what happens to her "afterwards".

Given the recent question regarding the baker, I feel similar about her. I know she is important in some regard - I have chased her through multiple worlds in LD for fucks sake, and share memories of past lives with her - but I still do not quite understand what exactly that importance is.

It seems very much like her {non physical} "father" is an admin of one of the consciousness schools and that she is quite a valuable asset.

I am worried if she does die that she might get recycled through the reincarnation mechanisms and that connection will become lost.

So my question would be "Who is [my wife] (not her real name) really and is she on the Domain's radar if she does end up dying.

Why have I been chasing her through all these lives? I feel the answers to these will also help with the puzzle of who I am immensely.

I hate to ask this of you, as i know it fucks with you quite badly, but it is something has been bugging for quite some time. All good if you are not up for asking it.

It is my honor.

I logged in the question, and I needed to “tune in” on a couple of levels. I was having static / drift and some noise that I needed to sort out. I know that this doesn’t make sense, but I needed to “tune in” on the comm for a clear answer.

First up; in the event of an early physical death…

[Your wife] is under our observation. If it is her choice we can conduct a retrieval upon her physical death. She need only think about contacting us and we will assist her is whatever she wants to occur.

Your fears about losing your relationship at the time of transition are unfounded. She is a very capable person and will be under full control of her various bodies upon her physical demise.

I / we suggest that she pings us when she is desirous of action. We will accommodate her requests.

Next question. Who is [my wife] in the wider scope of things…

To understand this answer you need to realize that all IS-BE's are not the same. IS-BE's come in different shapes, sizes, colors and flavors (figuratively -MM). In the Domain, we have a society of classes that enables the IS-BE to choose their role depending on their IS-BE construction. Some end up in the military ranks, others end up in leadership ranks. Still others end up in scientific pursuits, and so on and so forth.

[Your wife] was / is an IS-BE of extraordinary (with a great emphasis on the word - MM) ability. Were she to be in our society, she would easily fit within powerful leadership roles.

[Your wife] was / is a past regarding trans-stable dimensional elder / tribal leader of a community of other trans-dimensional trans-universe IS-BE's that occupy communities that lie outside of the Domain, and the Master Universe. 

She volunteered for her role on the earth. She is performing her objectives, and will depart the physical skin suit when it is time to do so. It will appear (to you) that everything is out of your hands, but the reality is that she is in control.

In a like way, you figure predominantly in her pre-birth operational calculus. 

We (The Domain) stand ready to assist her in what ever capability she requests. Her mission in the Prison Complex involves the unmasking / de-tethering of the mini-pocket universes (Heavens) from the base line Reality Universe that all the general population skin-suits inhabit.

Mantid comm channels

MM,

something strange happened (actually it happened twice). But before I say anything, I would like to know...how do Mantids usually communicate with their charges who make specific requests of them? I have a hunch, but I would like a little bit more info before I draw any conclusions. 

On Tues, Nov 16, I included a request to my Mantid Guardian in my daily affirmations, which was badly worded. 

So I say my affirmations, and later that day my mouse (or my mac) starting acting funny. Like it was just moving on its own, doing a right click here, etc. 

At first I thought I just touched a bad button, but I realized it was moving by itself! I panic, I unplug my mouse. have I been hacked? Then I notice that there is a screenshot I took from August 29, 2019 that I am ABSOLUTELY SURE that I had deleted already. 

That spooked the hell out of me and I quickly put it in the trash. The next day, I followed instructions from an article that shows how to check if I have been hacked. It shows I was the only user. 

Anyway, Nov 22--yesterday, I rewrote the request to my Mantid per your suggestion. So I say the reworded request in my affirmations, and then later---the same thing happened! 

But this time, no spooky screenshots appeared (that had been previously deleted) on my home screen. I don't feel fear or panic, but I do want to be absolutely sure it was my Mantid. If it isn't, if you could please give me some advice/thoughts on what probably actually happened.
I can probably answer this one myself. But I submitted it to the Commander, and got a very highly charged answer.
Mantids are very "tuned in" to their assigned human charge. They know exactly the proper way to communicate and work with them as they traverse the MWI within the Reality Universe. The pre-birth world-line template (sic.) establishes the tell-tales (sic.), and way points that the IS-BE is to be made aware of.

When necessary, the Mantid can create physical events manifest. The easiest is anything that is electrical in nature. Computers, radios, electronic fobs and other devices are easily manipulated for attention grabbing sources.

If the mantid is doing this, then it is because they are not seeing a registration of understanding that points or actions were confirmed, and so they default to physical manipulation.

It is their way of SHOUTING at you in a physical manner to tell you that they are monitoring you and that YES AN EVENT OR THOUGHT has manifested. It is their way of saying STOP BEING SUCH A DUNDER-HEAD. This is actually going on. Stop over thinking things. 

(I get the impression of a mantid holding a toy shovel, like what is used by kids to play in sand, and hitting a person sitting at the computer with it. While it's wacky mouth is mungling "pay attention." It's actually a funny comical scene. -MM)
This seems to be pretty clear.
.
From my understanding the mantids will try to perform physical actions if you do not respond to non-physical “hunches”. And yes, using a computer, or some kind of electrical device is their preferred avenue of comm. They will try to send a message that you will understand then then gauge your understanding to see if you got the message. They can read your thoughts.  So they will measure your reactions to the physical events they initiate. More or less.

Misinterpretations of dreams

The following is about trying to understand our dreams and to use those understandings to provide guidance and feedback.

I had a dream last night that I wrote down. Keep in mind that this dream occurred after I made adjustments to the request I gave to my mantid guardian (I reworded it) and the adjustments i made to improving precognition and ESP based on your last message. 

While I stressed clarity and complete understanding in my affirmations, I am worried that I am misinterpreting things again. 

Here is the dream:
Nov 23, 2021 Tuesday morning:

Technically, this dream occurred earlier today—

I never see myself, but I was involved or participating in the scene/event in my dream. 

I was with a group of young Caucasian men, we were all dressed in plain raggedy clothing, it seems. The kind of clothing you might see in a Mad Max scene, or perhaps the kind of clothing you would see in a poor medieval village, except the clothing style is not overly medieval. Does that description even make sense? 

Whatever the scene was, it didn’t seem like a prosperous place full of hope. Seemed rather poor actually. 

Anyway, I didn’t see (or maybe the word is “notice”) any females in our group. I assume I am female in this dream, but I didn’t even see myself. 

Anyway, I am involved romantically with another young man in the group, who is handsome, had olive skin (think Caucasian person with a tan), had long wavy/curly dark brown hair that he tied back in a low ponytail. 

We as an entire group traveled through the streets in some kind of ramshackle vehicle or wagon or cart of some sort. 

We were laughing and having a good time though. 

There was one sequence where I was lying in bed with the young man I was involved with and holding his face, and he was holding mine. There were other people sitting on the bed while we were there. 

I thought, sheez, we must be really living rough. 

All this sharing of living space must mean that we are all dirt poor or something. …..

Some things happened that I forgot. 

Then see a blond young man who is in our group (note, he has hooded eyelids, his eyes are small and long), talking to an older woman. She is maybe in her 50’s. (Note, it seems like all the people in my dream so far are caucasian—

I am currently in a meat suit that is mainly “Han Chinese” in genetic makeup and have a predominantly Han Chinese phenotype and appearance in the face, though my body shape is considered more typically Western European—I am of mixed genetic heritage but face and hair is Han dominant). 

She must be somebody’s mom. 

The blond man talks about traveling to all these cities (all Western European cities) and explains that “there’s nothing there”. 

So I ask him, “Have you been to Hong Kong?” He smiles and responds, “No, but I have been to Hamburg. Does that count?” 

My take is that in this dream sequence, I must have been inside a Caucasian/European meat suit (or something with those physical characteristics). 

The people I saw in this sequence aren’t anyone I would know in real life—in fact all their faces are completely new to me.

Then I start seeing a scene where a young fellow, who looks to be a pale skinned Han Chinese looking fellow with shoulder length black hair, had been killed. 

It looked like some kind of gangland style hit or something. I saw an image of a burly looking man, most likely European, getting killed by someone unknown. 

I see an image of a blond female, kind of icy looking. I say, “this icy blond shanked this dude. She is avenging the death of that long haired Han Chinese looking fellow, she must have really loved him. She was stone cold serious in getting her revenge since she needed to kill the perp herself. However, she doesn’t want anyone to know it’s her.” 

I get images of people coming after her, and her trying to get away.

I believe I woke up right there. I recounted everything I could remember. I could not get a clear image of the blond female’s face, just enough to know she’s a blonde female. 

I got a clearer image of the Han Chinese looking fellow who died, he was quite handsome.

I drifted back to sleep real quick and I witnessed something inside a building. 

I was not participating this time. I was just watching. I don’t know where this place is, except it looks like I am viewing a section within a building, which had secured doors. 

The lighting was yellow. 

There were 3 people (all males) wearing dark blue jumpsuits. They seem to be working there, or at least they were “running” things or “took control” of the security apparatus (cameras, machines and stuff) there.

One man was behind a security door and you could see him because there was a glass wall separating his from the other room. It looked like a glass counter, and he was sitting on a chair. 

He was yelling out, it seems like he’s giving instructions or information to someone. This man looked like this guy (a model I saw on a Springfield website while I was Xmas shopping):

Very similar face, but the face in my dream/flash sequence looked older, thinner, and “leathery”/weathered. Maybe he seemed ornery. 

Then I woke up. It initially didn’t feel like a dream, it felt more like I was just thinking, but why would I think this? I can connect the face to some earlier Xmas shopping I did because it looks similar, but that’s it. I did watch the family movie “Clifford” earlier, and I tried to watch the movie Shang Chi. 

I couldn’t finish Shang Chi because it was soo cheesy. I don’t know what I’m missing.

That’s it for now.

*********************************

My aplogies for the long message MM. I do hope things will be clearer after a few days. I don't know what I would expect your response to be, but I do know I want to hear the truth...no matter how mangled or indecipherable it may be. 

If you think it's unimportant or a mountain out of a molehill, it's fine too. Really, I feel like I need another perspective so I have a better understanding. I feel like I must be missing something.

Thank you for everything,
And yes, the mantids can send messages and data into your dreams. It is quite easy; I understand.
.
Now what is actually going on is something else entirely. So what I did was read this once, and then settled in to reread, parse, and then query to the Commander and get his take on this matter. I made a cup of coffee, got settled in and started recording.
When human meat suits experience dreams they are observing unsorted imagery that they are attuned to for a host of reasons. Part of it is actual observations of thought paths and vectors associated with one of the non-physical bodies. Part of it might be physical images that you have observed in your physical life. Part of it might be tell-tales and signposts that you have established. Part of it might be friends and associates that are trying to communicate to you and the only way that they can leave a message is when your mind has slowed down.

The inmate skin suit has a mind that works much harder, and much more aggressively than what the human archetypes allows. This is an intentional design of the "old empire" to limit communication and thought control via the entrapped consciousness.

For you to determine what is going on you need to write down your dreams and then review them every week. You will notice trends.

One of the most important trends are reoccurring themes. You might find that you are dreaming of a school, or a certain place for three nights in a row. Or something equally similar. These dreams that reoccur over multiple nights in a row are a characteristic of activities that take place involving the non-physical bodies. 

Their apparent day is much longer than what human meat-suits experience on the earth. Garble / rush of information. Three days of the same kinds of dream elements indicate activities on the non-physical of significant duration and importance. Other activities of extreme clarity and uniqueness also the same / qualifiers.

The human archetype as intended operates or was designed to operate with a day equal to 72 / 73 hour length. The earth physical reality in the general population, and the rapid cycling of the mind necessitates the inmate meat suit to require more sleep and rest times, and thus the physical body must endure the 24 hour rotational schedule of the earth. This hyper / aggressive rapid mind acceleration also has abbreviated the human lifespan for a human meat-suit.
I had to get up and take care of some personal issues. Then when I sat down, I tried to recover the rest where I left off. You know, now as time moves forward, I am getting better and better in this comm channel transcription.
.
I put on some Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Bublé Christmas music on random rotation and lit up the tree and decorations, got a nice cup of coffee and sat down again. I’d put on the old 1970’s album “Blues for baby Jesus” if I could ever find it again. Ah. Some things are not that easy to obtain. You can see that I am such an old fashioned guy, eh?
.
Anyways, I tried to recover and continue…
(Difficulty registering.)

Some dreams are tapped memories of previous lives and incarnations in different places, and in different roles. Most are related to the Prison Complex as the specific memories of the "Old Empire" are intentionally suppressed and access is restricted by your mantid. (sic.)

Never the less, it is possible to access memories of experiences that predates prison life. This requires approval from your mantid and an effort on you behalf that indicates purpose. 

(I suggest that you add specific affirmations to this affect if you wish to proceed in this direction.-MM)

OK. I am going to call it quits for now. And we can continue a new Q&A at a later date. This really takes a lot out of me personally. Take care guys. Oh, and never forget…

Be the Rufus

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Law 43 of the 48 Laws of Power; Work on the hearts and minds of others

For those of you who don’t understand what the Chinese BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) is all about, I present this law.

This is law 43 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

  • Remember: The key to persuasion is softening people up and breaking them down, gently. Seduce them with a two-pronged approach: Work on their emotions and play on their intellectual weaknesses. Be alert to both what separates them from everyone else (their individual psychology) and what they share with everyone else (their basic emotional responses). Aim at the primary emotions—love, hate, jealousy. Once you move their emotions you have reduced their control, making them more vulnerable to persuasion.
  • Play on contrasts: push people to despair, then give them relief. If they expect pain and you give them pleasure, you win their hearts.
  • Symbolic gestures of self-sacrifice can win sympathy and goodwill.
  • The quickest way to secure people’s minds is by demonstrating, as simply as possible, how an action will benefit them.

LAW 43

WORK ON THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF OTHERS

JUDGMENT

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

CYRUS’S RUSE

Thinking of the means by which he could most effectively persuade the Persians to revolt, [Cyrus’s] deliberations led him to adopt the following plan, which he found best suited to his purpose. He wrote on a roll of parchment that Astyages had appointed him to command the Persian army; then he summoned an assembly of the Persians, opened the roll in their presence and read out what he had written. “And now, he added, I have an order for you: every man is to appear on parade with a billhook....” The order was obeyed. All the men assembled with their billhooks, and Cyrus’s next command was that before the day was out they should clear a certain piece of rough land full of thorn-bushes, about eighteen or twenty furlongs square. This too was done, whereupon Cyrus issued the further order that they should present themselves again on the following day, after having taken a bath. Meanwhile, Cyrus collected and slaughtered all his father’s goats, sheep, and oxen in preparation for entertaining the whole Persian army at a banquet, together with the best wine and bread he could procure. The next day the guests assembled, and were told to sit down on the grass and enjoy themselves. After the meal Cyrus asked them which they preferred—yesterday’s work or today’s amusement; and they replied that it was indeed a far cry from the previous day’s misery to their present pleasures. This was the answer which Cyrus wanted; he seized upon it at once and proceeded to lay bare what he had in mind. “Men of Persia,” he said, “listen to me: obey my orders, and you will be able to enjoy a thousand pleasures as good as this without ever turning your hands to menial labor; but, if you disobey, yesterday’s task will be the pattern of innumerable others you will be forced to perform. Take my advice and win your freedom. I am the man destined to undertake your liberation, and it is my belief that you are a match for the Medes in war as in everything else. It is the truth I tell you. Do not delay, but fling off the yoke of Astyages at once.”

The Persians had long resented their subjection to the Medes. At last they had found a leader, and welcomed with enthusiasm the prospect of liberty.... On the present occasion the Persians under Cyrus rose against the Medes and from then onwards were masters of Asia.

THE HISTORIES, HERODOTUS, FIFTH CENTURY B.C..

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Near the end of the reign of Louis XV, all of France seemed desperate for change. When the king’s grandson and chosen successor, the future Louis XVI, married the fifteen-year-old daughter of the empress of Austria, the French caught a glimpse of the future that seemed hopeful. The young bride, Marie-Antoinette, was beautiful and full of life. She instantly changed the mood of the court, which was rank with Louis XV’s de baucheries; even the common people, who had yet to see her, talked excitedly of Marie- Antoinette. The French had grown disgusted with the series of mistresses who had dominated Louis XV, and they looked forward to serving their new queen. In 1773, when Marie-Antoinette publicly rode through the streets of Paris for the first time, applauding crowds swarmed around her carriage. “How fortunate,” she wrote her mother, “to be in a position in which one can gain widespread affection at so little cost.”

In 1774 Louis XV died and Louis XVI took the throne. As soon as Marie-Antoinette became queen she abandoned herself to the pleasures she loved the most—ordering and wearing the most expensive gowns and jewelry in the realm; sporting the most elaborate hair in history, her sculpted coiffures rising as much as three feet above her head; and throwing a constant succession of masked balls and fêtes. All of these whims she paid for on credit, never concerning herself with the cost or who paid the bills.

Marie-Antoinette’s greatest pleasure was the creation and designing of a private Garden of Eden at the Petit Trianon, a château on the grounds of Versailles with its own woods. The gardens at the Petit Trianon were to be as “natural” as possible, including moss applied by hand to the trees and rocks. To heighten the pastoral effect, the queen employed peasant milkmaids to milk the finest-looking cows in the realm; launderers and cheese-makers in special peasant outfits she helped design; shepherds to tend sheep with silk ribbons around their necks. When she inspected the barns, she would watch her milkmaids squeezing milk into porcelain vases made at the royal ceramic works. To pass the time, Marie-Antoinette would gather flowers in the woods around the Petit Trianon, or watch her “good peasants” doing their “chores.” The place became a separate world, its community limited to her chosen favorites.

With each new whim, the cost of maintaining the Petit Trianon soared. Meanwhile, France itself was deteriorating: There was famine and widespread discontent. Even socially insulated courtiers seethed with resentment—the queen treated them like children. Only her favorites mattered, and these were becoming fewer and fewer. But Marie-Antoinette did not concern herself with this. Not once throughout her reign did she read a minister’s report. Not once did she tour the provinces and rally the people to her side. Not once did she mingle among the Parisians, or receive a delegation from them. She did none of these things because as queen she felt the people owed her their affection, and she was not required to love them in return.

In 1784 the queen became embroiled in a scandal. As part of an elaborate swindle, the most expensive diamond necklace in Europe had been purchased under her name, and during the swindlers’ trial her lavish lifestyle became public: People heard about the money she spent on jewels and dresses and masked dances. They gave her the nickname “Madame Deficit,” and from then on she became the focus of the people’s growing resentment. When she appeared in her box at the opera the audience greeted her with hisses. Even the court turned against her. For while she had been running up her huge expenditures, the country was headed for ruin.

Five years later, in 1789, an unprecedented event took place: the beginning of the French Revolution. The queen did not worry—let the people have their little rebellion, she seemed to think; it would soon quiet down and she would be able to resume her life of pleasure. That year the people marched on Versailles, forcing the royal family to quit the palace and take residence in Paris. This was a triumph for the rebels, but it offered the queen an opportunity to heal the wounds she had opened and establish contact with the people. The queen, however, had not learned her lesson: Not once would she leave the palace during her stay in Paris. Her subjects could rot in hell for all she cared.

In 1792 the royal couple was moved from the palace to a prison, as the revolution officially declared the end of the monarchy. The following year Louis XVI was tried, found guilty, and guillotined. As Marie-Antoinette awaited the same fate, hardly a soul came to her defense—not one of her former friends in the court, not one of Europe’s other monarchs (who, as members of their own countries’ royal families, had all the reason in the world to show that revolution did not pay), not even her own family in Austria, including her brother, who now sat on the throne. She had become the world’s pariah. In October of 1793, she finally knelt at the guillotine, unrepentant and defiant to the bitter end.

Interpretation

From early on, Marie-Antoinette acquired the most dangerous of attitudes: As a young princess in Austria she was endlessly flattered and cajoled. As the future queen of the French court she was the center of everyone’s attention. She never learned to charm or please other people, to become attuned to their individual psychologies. She never had to work to get her way, to use calculation or cunning or the arts of persuasion. And like everyone who is indulged from an early age, she evolved into a monster of insensitivity.

Marie-Antoinette became the focus of an entire country’s dissatisfaction because it is so infuriating to meet with a person who makes no effort to seduce you or attempt to persuade you, even if only for the purpose of deception. And do not imagine that she represents a bygone era, or that she is even rare. Her type is today more common than ever. Such types live in their own bubble—they seem to feel they are born kings and queens, and that attention is owed them. They do not consider anyone else’s nature, but bulldoze over people with the self-righteous arrogance of a Marie-Antoinette. Pampered and indulged as children, as adults they still believe that everything must come to them; convinced of their own charm, they make no effort to charm, seduce, or gently persuade.

In the realm of power, such attitudes are disastrous. At all times you must attend to those around you, gauging their particular psychology, tailoring your words to what you know will entice and seduce them. This requires energy and art. The higher your station, the greater the need to remain attuned to the hearts and minds of those below you, creating a base of support to maintain you at the pinnacle. Without that base, your power will teeter, and at the slightest change of fortune those below will gladly assist in your fall from grace.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In A.D. 225, Chuko Liang, master strategist and chief minister to the ruler of Shu in ancient China, confronted a dangerous situation. The kingdom of Wei had mounted an all-out attack on Shu from the north. More dangerous still, Wei had formed an alliance with the barbarous states to the south of Shu, led by King Menghuo. Chuko Liang had to deal with this second menace from the south before he could hope to fend off Wei in the north.

As Chuko Liang prepared to march south against the barbarians, a wise man in his camp offered him advice. It would be impossible, this man said, to pacify the region by force. Liang would probably beat Menghuo, but as soon as he headed north again to deal with Wei, Menghuo would reinvade. “It is better to win hearts,” said the wise man, “than cities; better to battle with hearts than with weapons. I hope you will succeed in winning the hearts of these people.” “You read my thoughts,” responded Chuko Liang.

THE GENTLE ART OF PERSUASION

The north wind and the sun were disputing which was the stronger, and agreed to acknowledge as the victor whichever of them could strip a traveler of his clothing. The wind tried first. But its violent gusts only made the man hold his clothes tightly around him, and when it blew harder still the cold made him so uncomfortable that he put on an extra wrap. Eventually the wind got tired of it and handed him over to the sun. The sun shone first with a moderate warmth, which made the man take off his topcoat. Then it blazed fiercely, till, unable to stand the heat, he stripped and went off to bathe in a nearby river. Persuasion is more effective than force.

FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

As Liang expected, Menghuo launched a powerful attack. But Liang laid a trap and managed to capture a large part of Menghuo’s army, including the king himself. Instead of punishing or executing his prisoners, however, he separated the soldiers from their king, had their shackles removed, regaled them with food and wine, and then addressed them. “You are all upright men,” he said. “I believe you all have parents, wives, and children waiting for you at home. They are doubtless shedding bitter tears at your fate. I am going to release you, so that you can return home to your loved ones and comfort them.” The men thanked Liang with tears in their eyes; then he sent for Menghuo. “If I release you,” asked Liang, “what will you do?” “I will pull my army together again,” answered the king, “and lead it against you to a decisive battle. But if you capture me a second time, I will bow to your superiority.” Not only did Liang order Menghuo released, he gave him a gift of a horse and saddle. When angry lieutenants wondered why he did this, Liang told them, “I can capture that man as easily as I can take something out of my pocket. I am trying to win his heart. When I do, peace will come of itself here in the south.”

As Menghuo had said he would, he attacked again. But his own officers, whom Liang had treated so well, rebelled against him, captured him, and turned him over to Liang, who asked him again the same question as before. Menghuo replied that he had not been beaten fairly, but merely betrayed by his own officers; he would fight again, but if captured a third time he would bow to Liang’s superiority.

Over the following months Liang outwitted Menghuo again and again, capturing him a third, a fourth, and a fifth time. On each occasion Menghuo’s troops grew more dissatisfied. Liang had treated them with respect; they had lost their heart for fighting. But every time Chuko Liang asked Menghuo to yield, the great king would come up with another excuse: You tricked me, I lost through bad luck, on and on. If you capture me again, he would promise, I swear I will not betray you. And so Liang would let him go.

When he captured Menghuo for the sixth time, he asked the king the same question again. “If you capture me a seventh time,” the king replied, “I shall give you my loyalty and never rebel again.” “Very well,” said Liang. “But if I capture you again, I will not release you.”

Now Menghuo and his soldiers fled to a far corner of their kingdom, the region of Wuge. Defeated so many times, Menghuo had only one hope left: He would ask the help of King Wutugu of Wuge, who had an immense and ferocious army. Wutugu’s warriors wore an armor of tightly woven vines soaked in oil, then dried to an impenetrable hardness. With Menghuo at his side, Wutugu marched this mighty army against Liang, and this time the great strategist seemed frightened, leading his men in a hurried retreat. But he was merely leading Wutugu into a trap: He cornered the king’s men in a narrow valley, then lit fires set all around them. When the fires reached the soldiers Wutugu’s whole army burst into flame—the oil in their armor, of course, being highly flammable. All of them perished.

Liang had managed to separate Menghuo and his entourage from the carnage in the valley, and the king found himself a captive for the seventh time. After this slaughter Liang could not bear to face his prisoner again. He sent a messenger to the captured king: “He has commissioned me to release you. Mobilize another army against him, if you can, and try once more to defeat him.” Sobbing, the king fell to the ground, crawled to Liang on his hands and knees, and prostrated himself at his feet. “Oh great minister,” cried Menghuo, “yours is the majesty of Heaven. We men of the south will never again offer resistance to your rule.” “Do you now yield?” asked Liang. “I, my sons, and my grandsons are deeply moved by Your Honor’s boundless, life-giving mercy. How could we not yield?”

Liang honored Menghuo with a great banquet, reestablished him on the throne, restored his conquered lands to his rule, then returned north with his army, leaving no occupying force. Liang never came back—he had no need to: Menghuo had become his most devoted and unshakable ally.

The men who have changed the universe have never gotten there by working on leaders, but rather by moving the masses. Working on leaders is the method of intrigue and only leads to secondary results. Working on the masses, however, is the stroke of genius that changes the face of the world.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 1769-1821

LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

This long and painful pursuit of Dariusfor in eleven days he marched 33 hundred furlongsharassed his soldiers so that most of them were ready to give it up, chiefly for want of water. While they were in this distress, it happened that some Macedonians who had fetched water in skins upon their mules from a river they had found out came about noon to the place where Alexander was, and seeing him almost choked with thirst, presently filled a helmet and offered it him.... Then he took the helmet into his hands, and looking round about, when he saw all those who were near him stretching their heads out and looking earnestly after the drink, he returned it again with thanks without tasting a drop of it. “For,” said he, “if I alone should drink, the rest will be out of heart.” The soldiers no sooner took notice of his temperance and magnanimity upon this occasion, but they one and all cried out to him to lead them forward boldly, and began whipping on their horses. For whilst they had such a king they said they defied both weariness and thirst, and looked upon themselves to be little less than immortal.

THE LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, PLUTARCH, C. A.D. 46-120

Interpretation

Chuko Liang had two options: Try to defeat the barbarians in the south with one crushing blow, or patiently and slowly win them to his side over time. Most people more powerful than their enemy grab the first option and never consider the second, but the truly powerful think far ahead: The first option may be quick and easy, but over time it brews ugly emotions in the hearts of the vanquished. Their resentment turns to hatred; such animosity keeps you on edge—you spend your energy protecting what you have gained, growing paranoid and defensive. The second option, though more difficult, not only brings you peace of mind, it converts a potential enemy into a pillar of support.

In all your encounters, take a step back—take the time to calculate and attune yourself to your targets’ emotional makeup and psychological weaknesses. Force will only strengthen their resistance. With most people the heart is the key: They are like children, ruled by their emotions. To soften them up, alternate harshness with mercy. Play on their basic fears, and also their loves—freedom, family, etc. Once you break them down, you will have a lifelong friend and fiercely loyal ally.

Governments saw men only in mass; but our men, being irregulars, were not formations, but individuals.... Our kingdoms lay in each man’s mind.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T. E. Lawrence, 1888-1935

KEYS TO POWER

In the game of power, you are surrounded by people who have absolutely no reason to help you unless it is in their interest to do so. And if you have nothing to offer their self- interest, you are likely to make them hostile, for they will see in you just one more competitor, one more waster of their time. Those that overcome this prevailing coldness are the ones who find the key that unlocks the stranger’s heart and mind, seducing him into their comer, if necessary softening him up for a punch. But most people never learn this side of the game. When they meet someone new, rather than stepping back and probing to see what makes this person unique, they talk about themselves, eager to impose their own willpower and prejudices. They argue, boast, and make a show of their power. They may not know it but they are secretly creating an enemy, a resister, because there is no more infuriating feeling than having your individuality ignored, your own psychology unacknowledged. It makes you feel lifeless and resentful.

Remember: The key to persuasion is softening people up and breaking them down, gently. Seduce them with a two-pronged approach: Work on their emotions and play on their intellectual weaknesses. Be alert to both what separates them from everyone else (their individual psychology) and what they share with everyone else (their basic emotional responses). Aim at the primary emotions—love, hate, jealousy. Once you move their emotions you have reduced their control, making them more vulnerable to persuasion.

When Chuko Liang wanted to dissuade an important general of a rival kingdom from entering into an alliance with Ts‘ao Ts’ao, Liang’s dreaded enemy, he did not detail Ts‘ao Ts’ao’s cruelty, or attack him on moral grounds. Instead Liang suggested that Ts‘ao Ts’ao was really after the general’s beautiful young wife. This hit the general in the gut, and won him over. Mao Tse-tung similarly always appealed to popular emotions, and spoke in the simplest terms. Educated and well-read himself, in his speeches he used visceral metaphors, voicing the public’s deepest anxieties and encouraging them to vent their frustrations in public meetings. Rather than arguing the practical aspects of a particular program, he would describe how it would affect them on the most primitive, down-to-earth level. Do not believe that this approach works only with the illiterate and unschooled—it works on one and all. All of us are mortal and face the same dreadful fate, and all of us share the desire for attachment and belonging. Stir up these emotions and you captivate our hearts.

The best way to do this is with a dramatic jolt, of the kind that Chuko Liang created when he fed and released prisoners who expected only the worst from him. Shaking them to the core, he softened their hearts. Play on contrasts like this: Push people to despair, then give them relief. If they expect pain and you give them pleasure, you win their hearts. Creating pleasure of any kind, in fact, will usually bring you success, as will allaying fears and providing or promising security.

Symbolic gestures are often enough to win sympathy and goodwill. A gesture of self- sacrifice, for example—a show that you suffer as those around you do—will make people identify with you, even if your suffering is symbolic or minor and theirs is real. When you enter a group, make a gesture of goodwill; soften the group up for the harsher actions that will follow later.

When T. E. Lawrence was fighting the Turks in the deserts of the Middle East during World War I, he had an epiphany: It seemed to him that conventional warfare had lost its value. The old-fashioned soldier was lost in the enormous armies of the time, in which he was ordered about like a lifeless pawn. Lawrence wanted to turn this around. For him, every soldier’s mind was a kingdom he had to conquer. A committed, psychologically motivated soldier would fight harder and more creatively than a puppet.

Lawrence’s perception is still more true in the world today, where so many of us feel alienated, anonymous, and suspicious of authority, all of which makes overt power plays and force even more counterproductive and dangerous. Instead of manipulating lifeless pawns, make those on your side convinced and excited by the cause you have enlisted them in; this will not only make your work easier but it will also give you more leeway to deceive them later on. And to accomplish this you need to deal with their individual psychologies. Never clumsily assume that the tactic that worked on one person will necessarily work on another. To find the key that will motivate them, first get them to open up. The more they talk, the more they reveal about their likes and dislikes—the handles and levers to move them with.

The quickest way to secure people’s minds is by demonstrating, as simply as possible, how an action will benefit them. Self-interest is the strongest motive of all: A great cause may capture minds, but once the first flush of excitement is over, interest will flag—unless there is something to be gained. Self-interest is the solider foundation. The causes that work best use a noble veneer to cover a blatant appeal to self-interest; the cause seduces but the self-interest secures the deal.

The people who are best at appealing to people’s minds are often artists, intellectuals, and those of a more poetic nature. This is because ideas are most easily communicated through metaphors and imagery. It is always good policy, then, to have in your pocket at least one artist or intellectual who can appeal concretely to people’s minds. Kings have always kept a stable of writers in their barn: Frederick the Great had his Voltaire (until they quarreled and separated), Napoleon won over Goethe.

Conversely, Napoleon III’s alienation of writers such as Victor Hugo, whom he exiled from France, contributed to his growing unpopularity and eventual downfall. It is dangerous, then, to alienate those who have powers of expression, and useful to pacify and exploit them.

Finally, learn to play the numbers game. The wider your support base the stronger your power. Understanding that one alienated, disaffected soul can spark a blaze of discontent, Louis XIV made sure to endear himself to the lowest members of his staff. You too must constantly win over more allies on all levels—a time will inevitably come when you will need them.

Image: The Keyhole.

People build walls to keep you out; never force your way in—you will find only more walls within walls.

There are doors in these walls, doors to the heart and mind, and they have tiny key holes. Peer through the keyhole, find the key that opens the door,

and you have access to their will with no ugly signs of forced entry.

Authority: The difficulties in the way of persuasion lie in my knowing the heart of the persuaded in order thereby to fit my wording into it…. For this reason, whoever attempts persuasion before the throne, must carefully observe the sovereign’s feelings of love and hate, his secret wishes and fears, before he can conquer his heart. (Han-fei-tzu, Chinese philosopher, third century B.C.)

REVERSAL

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More Q&A with the Commander from The Domain with personal questions from top MM influencers

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. This group concentrates on a number specifically asked by top influencers, lurkers, and participants on the MM website. In this instance I took my time to get and obtain answers to the various questions, and devoted time and effort to acquire the most accurate and useful information possible.

I had to spread this Q&A out, and many times it was extremely difficult for me to read the actual answers as my physical life was chaotic, noisy, demanding and discordant at the time that I received the answers.

All of these questions are exactly as posted to me, either by email, comments, or in the forum.

I also needed to differentiate between “noise”, my “internal thoughts” and “The Commander”.  What I do not EVER want to happen is my own personal thoughts, and ideas override what the Commander is telling me. So in this particular instance, and throughout this article, I have asked to “increase the gain” and “open up the volume”, even though it is more uncomfortable for me personally, so that I can obtain the best quality responses free of any personal opinions or thoughts.

What is the life of a “typical” citizen of The Domain like?

I wonder if it is appropriate to ask the Commander what the life of a typical Domain citizen is like. Are they born into particular bodies?

Domain citizens live very differently than anything that an imprisoned earth human would understand.

Fundamentally, all citizens of The Domain are non-corporeal entities. We "live our lives" is a state that you would consider to be trans-dimensional in a "spirit form". This state is a state that humans will have a very difficult time understanding. We live in a timeless state of existence, however, we inject our consciousnesses in the Master Universe to experience time.

The Master Universe experiences time just like the Reality Universe does, as does the spawned pocket universes that you refer to as Heavens.

In our "normal" state, we form communities, societies and collectives. We have communication, interactions, form bonds, relationships and clusters not unlike families that you experience. We have non-physical areas where our communities exist. These areas are very similar to what is experienced in your "Heavens". There are structures, venues, environments that we exist in and interact in.

All the members of The Domain participate in society.

We all have roles based on our abilities. Our abilities define our social roles within The Domain society. Some are engineers, some are administrators. Some are historians, some are social engineers. There are many roles. As we have discussed in other communications, such as military soldiers, and pilots.

As members of The Domain we cycle in and out of the Master Universe like you human inmates would cycle to and from work. However, it is at a much longer duty cycle that you could comprehend.

My current cycle involves administrative, management and leadership roles in this particular geographic region of physical space, or which the Prison Complex is but one of my responsibilities.

In this role, I can inject myself into "doll bodies", "skin suits", or take over bodies as needed.

All members of The Domain have this ability. However, the type of bodies that can be occupied is a function of ability and skill set. And since this is stratified by rank hierarchy, one can see that occupational societal position determines one's ability to inject consciousness for an IS-BE.

There is a great deal of freedom of a Domain IS-BE. But all that freedom is tempered by the restrictions due to their responsibility as the caretakers and stewards of the Master Universe.

The only prohibitions on an individual member of the Domain is their agreed upon responsibilities and rules of behavior. When they agree to play a role in The Domain society, they also agree to behavior limitations corresponding to that social role. Unlike those rules, laws and regulations that humans experience, ours are finer, and reasonable.

Do the citizens of The Domain grow up in different cultures?

Do they grow up in different cultures?

Many of the citizens of The Domain have come from previous backgrounds, interesting cultures, and skin suits of many different creatures and their many, many different societies. Once they decide to join the Domain, they do so realizing that they will accept a lifestyle where they will spend the bulk of their time in the non-corporeal form, with periodic injections into other forms for work-related purposes, enjoyment and pleasure, and exploration and adventure.

It is a lifestyle that is alien to earth human inmates.

Most all of the members of The Domain have full and complete access to all of their memories which date back trillions of years. This provides a wisdom and an understanding that is alien to the earth human condition.

The Domain spans most of the Master Universe. Additionally, it radiates elsewhere to other regions / realities / environments / universes that are beyond human understanding.

This should be obvious to the questioner that the great diversity and variety of experiences held between the various IS-BE's within The Domain is extensive, comprehensive, and serves as a great repository of resources that we mutually draw upon to resolve our mutual goals.

All of the IS-BE's within The Domain has experienced "lifetimes" in corporeal bodies within societies and roles of many different types and understandings.

Concerning the “typical” citizen of The Domain, what is their attitude concerning work, and play?

What is their attitude towards work and play etc…you know the “mundane” stuff that I think would help us understand more about them?

Work is play for many members of The Domain. 

We find what our interests are, and then our society envelopes those that match interests with our mutual needs. Those that are aggressive, and militaristic in nature, find a role in the military. Those that are contemplative and studious find a role in research and discovery.

As an IS-BE we can easily choose a life of carefree wandering. Those that are part of The Domain do so of our own choosing. We seek to provide benefit to all, and in that action find personal rewards. These rewards serve as our enjoyments and pleasures.

Of course, we often occupy various skin suits for vacations, past-time pleasures, and other purposes. These are either part of an established society, or contrived as part of an artificial "playground". Of course, many of us go on various adventures to other universes and realms. Some are gone for a very long time before they return to the primary group cluster.

Personal question: “Was the questioner a comedian or a humorist” in a former incarnation?

I do have one question for the Domain. All the other “heavy” questions, the other readers have beat me to it (mRNA vaccines, possible WW3, etc).

It’s a small and quite unimportant question (on the larger scheme of things), but it’s somewhat important to me in piecing together my full identity (I’m not going to die or anything, but I really would love to know).

If the commander would be kind enough to reveal this trifle, I would be extremely grateful. If you could ask the Commander: was I a comedian or humorist in a previous incarnation?

It’s a serious question, and I promise it’s not “busy work” or me “getting my rocks off”. I do understand that you have a lot on your plate, as does the Commander.

Have a great day, and I hope you are able to iron out the wrinkles in your website. It’s a very valuable place for information, and it would be a tragedy to lose it.

Everything is recorded in this Master Universe. It is available to anyone who can read the data. The same is true for all the pocket universes that are spawned from this Master Universe. These include the Prison Complex (universe) and it's sub-pocket universes; the various Heaven universes. 

This is true for all universes. Whether this one, or another one. All one needs to know is how to read the experience, and memory data. Since time does not exist in the means that contemporaneous human inmates understand, an IS-BE can freeze events from any segment of time, from any segment of the MWI (within the reality universe) and observe it.

Unfortunately, most inmate human skin suits are unable to access their past memories irregardless of their histories. This is a factor regarding purposeful amnesia. 

The system is designed so that access of memories is controlled and metered out on a as-needed basis. For the most part, the Mantids (sic.) control access to these memories. Yet, the access to these memories are not all that difficult. There are numerous methods that a consciousness can utilize to obtain access to these memories that bypass the Mantid (sic.) policing and allocation measurements.

[1] The first method is though guided hypnosis for past life regression. It is very effective, and it works quite well.Locate a skilled past life regressionist to accomplish this task. Not every one is skilled, and not everyone is appropriately skilled for your particular needs.

[2] The second method is via MM affirmation campaign technique (sic.). Here, you place affirmations asking for guidance and events that will inform you of who you were in the past.

[3] A third method is to communicate with your assigned Mantid (sic) and ask them to allow you to view your previous lives while you are still in the corporeal body. This can be done through prayer / affirmations, and those that are skilled, through LD and OBE. They tend to be rather accommodating in this regard, provided that it does not interrupt their over riding objectives.

It is obvious that there is a connection with your previous incarnations based upon the the question issued. You should not doubt yourself. Obviously there IS A CONNECTION, but what it is specifically we (The Domain) and I (The Commander) cannot elaborate on. This limitation is based on the limitations imposed on us by our roles within the Domain hierarchy, our skill-sets, and the intentional memory access locks / tumblrs / restraints imposed by the Mantid (sic.) in charge of your histories.

However, there are some points / guidance / recommendations / suggestions that I (The Commander) can advise the questioner on.

(As follows)

[1] Nothing is unsupported. Histories always influences current activities, lives and personalities. This is because time does not actually exist. It just seems that it does.

[2] If you believe that you have a certain history, there is a great likelihood that it is an actual reality that you participated within.

[3] You should never question your intuition. In fact, your intuition / gut feelings / urges are a far better gauge of your situation than anything that your brain and reasoning might tell you.

Thus, it is obvious to us (The Commander and others in the particular locale during the Q&A) that the questioner was indeed a comic or someone of creative humorous intent.

Next Question….

I don’t know how you know I am in need of answers.

I am worried by the upcoming war. I am living a good but fragile life, i.e. I have a full-time job. With it, I am able to support my close family and my relatives living in Venezuela. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to pay the bank credit for the apartment and basically I will become homeless here. I may be laid off as consequence of war. If that happens I will be forced to go back to my country with my family.

I have 3 personal questions for the Domain Commander, if you may and when your possibilities allow:

Personal question:” Will the questioner keep his job and continue living here in Costa Rica despite war and the catastrophe caused by it?”

The response…

The MWI in the Reality Universe that the Prison Complex is part of is constantly undulating and changing. However, there are areas of calm and stability. In regards to the geographical region that is Costa Rica, it is (though most scenarios) a stable region. While not an oasis, it will not be as greatly affected as the turmoil that might be presented to you in the various media outlets. Do not allow fear to cause you to react. Our readings show stability, with slowly encroaching elements of change.

Inflation, worries, various elements of instability, that are successfully suppressed manifest in most probable scenarios. For most people, and yourself, you can consider yourself to be in a "life raft" while the rest of the world undergoes turmoil.

There will be inflation. The price of goods will increase. There will be changes. But none of the changes should be physically dangerous to you or your family. There MAY be contentious political changes, but your ability to react to them, though your role in your immediate community will enable you to successfully navigate though the changes.

Do not fear. You are going to be doing far better than most others (on the planet) through this period of contentious change.

This does not mean that you will be completely comfortable, nor does this mean that you will be able to profit though the changes. What this means is that there are some scenarios, depending on the changing trends, where you could profit, or where you could just survive. But in every event, you and your family will be safe. (Emphasis on the word "safe".) No matter what turmoil might rage around you.

(Commander request:) Please reaffirm your desire to work with The Domain on all these efforts.

(There is no attached requirement do this, and they will do what ever is necessary to maintain this manifestation with this request. It is just a request on their part. And to this, I must add, do not fear the dreams or feeling that you might have once you do so. The impression that I get is that there is an attached extra monitoring effort involved, and some added reassurance on your part might be necessary to implement this action. -MM)

Personal Question; ” Who is the questioner fundamentally?”

Quick answer, but a great deep question. To engage this level of question I have to intervene. I informed the Commander that this is a deeply personal question that will determine the outcome of future interactions with the rest of society. -MM

(pause)

You are (today) a member of the Domain. But, your substantive history is checkered.

You entered the "Old Empire" from another universe, and quickly found yourself engulfed in uncomfortable situations. 

After a short period of time, you ended up meeting the wrong people, getting into bad situations, and making enemies that you had no intention of making. 

In short order, you were arrested, confined and sentenced, and soon ended up in this Prison Complex.

As best as I / we can determine, you lived a rather stable life in your other previous universe, and was a productive and viable member of society there. Your histories are "good" in that regard. 

When you entered this universe, you had the dysfunction of ending up in a clamorous dangerous empire; the "Old Empire" and thus being wholly unprepared for the encounters you met, you were quickly arrested, incarcerated, and sentenced. We  (I) see great confusion as you were thrown into this Prison Complex. 

Your situation is a real complete tragedy.

We / I offer our sympathies.

Personal Question; “Is the questioner doing a good job for the Domain so far?”

I seldom remember my dreams, but in the last one I didn’t run. I faced an adversary and defeated him. There were a lot of people with me, just as described by the DC in your last post.

Besides, as the Domain needs assets with LD – OBE – Astral Projection, I want to recommend my mother to help them. I haven’t talked with her regarding this because she is brainwashed by Christianity. She is extremely good and she knows how to travel to future events (MWI slides? – mostly catastrophic events). Her name is <redacted>. She lives in Charallave, Venezuela.

Please tell the DC there is a small area in Canaima, Venezuela that has little or no gravity and big magnetic activity. Maybe this is an “Old Empire” device. This area is hard to locate and it is deep in the jungle. I can’t confirm its existence but I had read of this for years.

I am terrified and those fears are consuming me. There is no hurry. Please help me when you can.

Your fears are consuming you. Stop.

(Alright) Listen to me / us; (Really aggressive stance. -MM) 

You are not unprotected. Do your affirmations (sic.) and follow the guidance's of your instincts / gut feelings. Watch your dreams. We will not abandon any of our voluntary corps. You are now part of The Domain. 

And we expect you to understand that membership has responsibilities, but also benefits.

Benefits: We ask for you to assist us, and you are doing quite well; splendidly (actually). 

Yet you have doubts. Do you believe that we would abandon you? 

We will not.

(Again aggressive emphasis on the word "NOT".)

There are all sorts of things going on. Your mother is an IS-BE that we can help, but she must ask for it. We cannot provide help or assistance without a formal request FROM HER. 

You know what you need to do.

Do not fear the changes. What you need to understand is what your role is in this life that you live. Recognize that you are part of something bigger, and we will NEVER (emphasis) N-E-V-E-R abandon our people who work with us. 

Do your best. You will be fine.

Are other “prison guard” consciousnesses assigned as “family members” and “friends” to ensure that tabs are being kept on the members of the Lost Battalion?

I now have some serious questions for the Commander. Also for you.

I believe the commander had mentioned that the Lost Battalion members were purposely injected into “punishment/torture” style pre-birth templates. I was wondering, are other “prison guard” consciousnesses assigned as “family members” and “friends” to ensure that tabs are being kept on the members of the Lost Battalion, and to ensure that they stay on the “torture” path?

I was wondering if perhaps fucked up family relations with people who are clearly unlike you was an “Old Empire” type of system meant to keep the inmates from truly trusting and working with one another, since the damage is done at an intimate level.

And that of course, the “prison guards” are programmed well enough to not recall their true purpose.

Also, it seems that some malevolent family members want to “stay” in one’s life, even though it’s clear that the person wants to sever ties. Is this a result of some astral contract they signed elsewhere perhaps, that they must fulfill their duty of causing misery or trouble to others or otherwise they will be made to pay a price for contract violation/ineffectual servitude/service failure?

I’m sorry if this sounds “out there”, but I always wondered what compelled them to chase the person who is clearly rejecting them (for good reason), when they could be focusing on their own affairs and living well without crossing paths with the person who rejected them ever again.

(Lots of information thrown at me at once.)

Yes. No. Maybe. Probably.

Probably. It is a serious probability, but not as you assume.

Shadow people (sic.) can be constructs in a world-line that fit the pre-birth world-line template used to control though direction and manifestation.

Mantid Prime's control your pre-birth world-line templates, and they can place directing and funneling utilities; people, places and events to corral your thoughts and actions into pre-determined outcomes.

Yes. The probability is high (bolded to reflect the communication emphasis. -MM) that this is the case. 

However, if this is the actual case, you need to ask your Mantid (sic.) handler to determine the actual situation. This can be obtained by asking them directly via prayer or personal affirmation. You must address them directly. They will recognize the request if done in this manner.

Personal Question: Did the questioner accidentally curse MM in some manner unintentionally?

I was a little concerned that I accidentally hurt or cursed you in my last lucid dream. That was why I was a little shocked that you said your tooth popped out.

In the teeth falling out dream I had, I saw your face. The whole time I was pleased with myself for remembering to feel my teeth with my tongue, but now I’m a little worried that you got hurt in the process of my mini LD event. I sincerely hope I’m not some kind of jinx on you.

(I answer this personally;) 

Nope it is only a coincidence, though you might have some insight in what is going on in my life, but you cannot change anything that I personally do not want and allow to change.

(Never the less, I asked this to the Commander. Who responded...)

No. Observations though dreaming has very little relevance on the physical lives that individual consciousness live. It is similar to watching television or listening to a radio while there are all kinds of distractions and noise going on. 

In this particular case, you were "attuned" / aware / connected to MM (sic.) during the dream state, and you were able to "tune in" / observe / track / aware of events in his life. 

This ability is advanced, and a characteristic of great latent abilities that you possess. You should work on expanding these abilities and improving them. 

This kind and level of awareness is a precious thing that would benefit you in many areas of your personal life, as well as be a great asset to The Domain in the future.

So relax. All is good.

Good “asset” in the future, eh? Well, I’d take it as a complement, anyways.

I just need my teeth fixed, my bedroom floor repaired from the water damage, the study room windows repaired, and those floors, wiring, and windows all repaired. And I need to stop my damn old dog from peeing and crapping all over the place. I swear he has sprung a leak. But it’s not your fault. You are just an observer of the chaos. -MM

You are like that girl from the movie “Push” (2009). She can see the future as the MWI changes, and she writes her impressions on in this little book she carries around. It’s a great little movie. Takes place in Hong Kong. Very atmospheric and a little Film Noir.

Scene from Push…

Awareness scene from the movie Push.

Follow up scene from Push…

Scene from the movie Push.

I strongly believe that all MM participants, lurkers, or followers all have some very powerful latent abilities. Unfortunately many are unaware of what we can do. I view this comment from the Domain Commander as a strong affirmation that you are yourself a true treasure.

What is the percentage of the earth prison population wearing “human prison skin suits”?

Is it possible to ask the Commander how much of the Earth prison population that is currently occupying human prison skins are actually not “human” archetypes (kind of like the original you, before the “adjustments”)?

This is an very easy question. The answer is a sizable percentage. 

Everyone who is a prisoner in the prison complex wears a inmate skin suit. And those that do, actually a large percentage are not human-preferential entities.

There is a small percentage of human entities in the Old Empire. Thus most of the old empire prisoners have now been adapted to the human biological skin suit.

IS-BE's from elsewhere have had to adapt to the prison attire within this Prison Complex, whether they were of a (difficult to translate) form, aquatic, from a high gravity desert world or whatever.

The human form is the dominant prison skin suit attire in this complex on / in / about the earth physical environment. Other forms include donkeys, dolphins, elephants, and a few others. The second most populous skin suit form is monkey.

Questions for The Commander on the write up “[daegonmagus] – Part 11 -Combined LD Asset Penetration Into Amnesia Infrastructure”?

Keep in mind that LD and OBE can be entirely unnerving experiences, and it takes time and lucidity to understand it when we return to our prison skin suits.

video

From DM…

While it rehashes a few things I have already talked about, I think it contains some info the Commander will consider as being quite valuable.

It is valuable. The information provided is a treasure trove of great intel and has already set things in motion towards new projects and operations. -DOMAIN

I am very interested to hear yours and his opinions of it, particularly the first impression you get from him “absorbing” it.

The size of the documentation is large and difficult to repeat all the notations without overloading our channel (he's talking about me. -MM), there is a great deal of things that relate to other processes and systems that we were aware of, but this information has provided us with other perceptions that has since spawned other investigative venues. -DOMAIN

Be warned, it is about 12k worth of words, so might take you a good amount of time to go through. There will be further documentation in the coming weeks in regards to my opinions on how LD assets can be effectively used to tackle this amnesia problem.

I also have a few questions for the Commander, but as there is already a couple of question in the document I will hold off asking them for your sake.

Is the Domain absolutely sure that the Old Empire has been eradicated in this sector of the physical/ non physical universe?

Because intelligence gained from this experience alone suggests they are still very, very active. Going by Airl’s description of the Old Empire and everything the Grand Elder told me as well as what I experienced, I am apt to believe this was the Old Empire and not just a wannabe mimicking faction.

At first glance, it seems a group of inmates have taken over the control mechanisms and are trying to develop escape bodies.

Fundamentally, the pocket universe(s) known as "Heaven" are running automatically and autonomously. They are operating as if they are still part of the "Old Empire". We have not been able to change this situation as the "tunnel of light" / amnesia mechanism used to access it is too great of a threat for us to attempt a crossover.

However, the over all pocket universe that spawned these "Heavens"; the reality universe is open to us. Though we tread carefully in this environment. There are many traps and snares.

We have free, uninhibited movement within this "reality universe" (pocket universe), but that does not mean that every single element of the "Old Empire" has been eliminated. Your efforts appear to indicate otherwise. We have long suspected that there are very special (the Commander slows down and tries to simplify some complex thoughts right now) mini pocket sub universe enclosures / structures / rooms / chambers / areas which can lie hidden in plain sight from which the "old Empire" mechanisms and operations can originate from. This seems to be the case. Which is why the destruction of the amnesia equipment is so problematic. The "Old Empire" has used the advanced techniques associated with free roaming IS-BE's to the physical environment and created all sorts of hidden mechanisms that need to be identified and rooted out one by one.

This is one of the reasons why the Prison Complex is so dangerous.

Many of these sub-structures are in the universe but lie outside of it. The closest way to imagine this is with a one way mirror. You look at the mirror, you see nothing unusual. But on the other side of the mirror lies a complete room with people and equipment in it. These mini pocket universes seem to populate this entire prison complex like grape clusters on a vine. They are apparently everywhere, and they operate in many different ways. Some are traps. Some are snares. Some are disguised machinery. Some are barracks. Some are just "broom closets". Some are uncompleted, while others are disused. And some open up to others that open up to still others creating this kind of large endless maze to entrap the IS-BE in.

What seems obvious now is that these mini-pocket universes / chambers hold refuge centers; think "foxholes", and "military bunkers" from which elements of the "Old Empire" military retreated to during the final days of our conquest of this particular region of the solar system. These IS-BE citizens of the "Old Empire" are military units for the most part, and they seem to have taken over various elements of the machinery of the "Old Empire" Prison Complex for their own purposes. Which units are doing what is unknown. In any event all indications are that some still occupy this region, and some still maintain a presence but have gone rogue. 

We do not believe that the "Old Empire" prison system is functioning as a healthy complex as it was designed. But rather it is in a complex state of disarray with many factions and elements working in ad-hoc methodology to operate it for their own personal purposes. This includes inmates trying to escape, previous military members of the "Old Empire" trapped here, the actual prison guards and administrators trapped here and so on and so forth.

The entire administrative complex is inside a massive void inside the moon, and it's still staffed with former "Old Empire" administrative staff that now work for The Domain. They maintain the primary and core systems so that a total collapse and all the turmoil that would result could and will be avoided.

To summarize, it appears that elements of the amnesia systems of the Prison Complex are still operational because elements of the "Old Empire" are operating the equipment within mini pocket universes that are very difficult to detect.

What about Psaigreen?

Does The Domain know of any correlation between Lucid Dreamer’s bypassing of the prebirth template arrangement upon death? Any information the Domain can supply on that particular group (the Psaigreen) would be much appreciated.

From DM Part 4;

He mentioned this had something to do with Psaigreen – like this was the name of my group – which were the ones responsible for the meat flipping brainwashing programs.

According to him, what was actually going on was that we were being trained the art of snapping peoples’ necks with our legs, but the Psaigreen had brainwashed us into believing it was bovine pelvises so we wouldn’t realize what we were doing. It was like a failsafe to confuse the shit out of us if we ever started remembering any of this.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT” I said as some very deeply repressed past life memories started flooding back to me. And I mean DEEEEEP. There was just that knowing that these were legitimate memories of something I had long forgotten. At the mention of the Psaigreen, I realized these were all things I knew. This was a memory from a very, very long time ago.
Many, many  lifetimes ago.

According to this comment, the term “Psaigreen” refers to the group who is wholly responsible for the amnesia, and reincarnation system that is a fundamental operation in this Prison Complex.

The Domain Commander’s response…

Obviously there is group still operating the amnesia mechanisms and machinery.

They may, or may not, be associated with the group "Psaigreen". At this stage the intel is suggestive of an association, but that is not conclusive.

This is an avenue worthy of further exploration.

We suggest further research in this area, and directed goals. The most valued / valuable intelligence would be to collect answers to these questions...

[1] Where is Psaigreen located physically in the reality universe?
[2] What systems do the Psaigreen use?
[3] Is there any Mantid (sic.) interaction with the Psaigreen?
[4] The entities that mentioned Psaigreen might have more information, what are their stories?
[5] What are the sourcing / targeting / location images used to identify Psaigreen members, systems, or operations?

(The impression that I have is that the Commander is treating this as third hand information that may or may not be valuable. But that all valuable leads appear in this format. Thus it is important to investigate. 

I also get the impression that the investigation may be dangerous, and that caution is advised. But you realize that right? -MM)

I would like to try to map out the Psaigreen data in some way. As well as make an overview of Portal Room 7 and the various chambers, as some soft of illustration or rough map. -MM

Any information regarding Portal Room 7?

My memories of utilizing portal room 7 are quite vivid, however. I know a lot of other things went on here which I cannot remember; unfortunately the only recording of these experiences I had was on a laptop that got stolen.

There is no such thing as coincidences. MM

This laptop had crucial information about intelligence I gathered here. If the Domain are serious about dismantling the amnesia/ hypnosis machinery, I would suggest directing a large portion of whatever resources they have allocated for this operation into finding this theater as it will give them not only direct access to many of the other locations, but also a very good idea of the different hypnosis regimes used.

There is evidence that "Portal Room 7" has some clues that would be worth further investigation. All evidence points to this area as a hub or staging area. These are common throughout the "Old Empire". Some are larger and more active than the impression that we have here, which is suggestive of a specialized or restricted area.

Most certainly this area is worthy of investigation. What is most interesting is the other rooms / chambers /portals that you did not go though. Why, and what was focusing your attention on Portal Room 7? Very interesting. We must always look at what is hidden to find answers that lie in front of us.

(Scene from the movie "Push" comes to mind, where the PSI abilities hides a building, so they look for what is missing. -MM)

This region / scoped /investigated slightly / know of /aware of, but needs further investigation. All evidence points to a "front door" / active portal /main transport hub for entrance to and from the Prison Complex (earth solar system side) to the "Old Empire". It is thus a very critical area for our attention.

A scene from the movie “Push”…

Found by “the agency”.

And another scene from that same movie…

In the movie “Push” numerous people use their skills for personal gain.

Any information regarding the medieval village?

I added this question after the Domain Commander commented immediately to me while I was reading the passage concerning the “medieval village” in part 10 of the DM series. In that comment the Commander said…

"Instead of thinking that this is a "Medieval village", perhaps you should consider it to be a typical community located on one of the planets of the "Old Empire". The descriptions seem to match with what is currently presently found there. The only difference is that most of the current "Old Empire" communities have a far wider variety of creatures that inhabit the area, not just humans."

Which obtained a favorable comment from DM…

This is what I was sort of implying and glad the Commander picked up on it.

There are a variety of beings that inhabit the Medieval village – as well as the other worlds we have both been to – that differ considerably from the human template. Many of these would fit more appropriately with the idea of what we commonly refer to as being a “demon”, or something along those lines. They are incredibly “weird” to interact with and have a completely different way of doing things, including ideologies, the way they talk, the way they do things etc. These are the more common types we have both experienced.

However, the place where the consciousness programming facility was located was more aligned with Airl’s description of an Old Empire setup – the two were completely different places in regards to architecture and social/ community styled setups – I only ever saw humans here, apart from whatever it was that was behind the viewing window in the programming facility.

So I would like to ask for a confirmation on what this Medieval village is. And the Domain Commander answered…

Buy all indications, this is a facility located on one of the planets of the "Old Empire". The descriptions given indicate typical "Old Domain" architecture. Some statements, however, give rise to a specific region within the "Old Empire", thus placing it spatially and geographically for targeting purposes. It does not lie within the main community clusters / hubs of civilization.

An investigation of the specific region in and around the "Medieval village" will enable more accurate location targeting and would enable us to pinpoint the actual location avoiding transparency screens / distortion fields / pocket-rooms / and other tricks used to hide these structures from The Domain.

(This tells me that while The Domain may have conquered the "Old Empire", and has subdued it, many elements of that government, that society and those individuals still exist and operate the system. And that they are intentionally hidden from The Domain by techniques that I do not understand. -MM)

Is nuclear war nearly inevitable?

If nuclear war is nearly inevitable and will destroy much of the US, should we who live in the US simply assume there’s no future and prepare to die?

No. Thoughts and consciousness anchor world-line templates (sic.) these are constantly in flux and the situation changes as the flow of time advances with in this physical reality universe. 

At any given moment, it might appear that war is inevitable, and then a moment later the situation can change. 

The substantial modifier for this is the mass concentration of thoughts made by huge numbers of people. As long as great clusters of people believe that war will occur, they will make it occur. Thus the danger of mass media controlled by dangerous individuals.

As it stands currently, there is a strong probability of an abortive military war of great destruction, during a very short period of time that will be thwarted by an early advanced horror that will cease all further actions towards it.

What is the Universe?

Is the universe basically as we see it, full of stars, galaxies, and so forth, or is it mostly an illusion for our benefit?

What human inmates observe is what exists. There are stars, galaxies and so forth. 

However, the distances are an illusion. Time is an illusion. The interactions between them are more complex that what is observed. Thought generation and manifestation is much more substantial, significant, and manifested far sooner than anything experienced within the Prison Complex Reality MWI universe.

So that when a person leaves the reality pocket universe; the Prison Complex, the "outside" Master Universe behaves and acts much differently that what is assumed by inmate observers.

Consider a fish in a fish bowl. It sees the living room, and everything in it. And it assumes that the things it sees is also under water, with a gravel floor under the illusion of carpet, and that the bright light from the windows are the same as the light in the top of it's aquarium. But that is not the true reality. A fish in the aquarium cannot travel outside the aquarium by swimming. It cannot feed on the carpet. And it will hurt it's eyes when looking at the sunlight from the window.

The Master Universe is fundamentally different from the Reality Universe that human skin suit inmates assume. It follows similar but very different rules than what is inside the MWI.

(The impression that I get is that thoughts generated outside of our Reality Universe are much stronger, outside in the Master Universe. Thus making it much easier to create, build, and travel. -MM)

Limits on the mega-wealthy…

Will there be limits placed on the power of the elites, billionaires, corporations, and governments in the near future without a devastating war?

There are many future scenarios. It is too broad and large a topic to answer comprehensively. 

However, what we can affirm is that all civilizations eventually reach the point that the earth is going through now, and during this period of inflection two things tend to happen. Either the world is engulfed by a long, and terrible destructive war where the survivors take centuries to recover, or the wealthy few rot from the inside, and collapse, and the nations "go to seed", eventually rebirthing a new more global civilization of a far better constitution.

Because of the limitations in this pocket-universe and the various influences a rarer, third option seems to be manifesting. In China, the mega-wealthy are being culled and limits are being placed on their actions and behaviors. This goes hand in hand with the economic prosperity of the Chinese nation. And other nations are taking note.

Singapore seems to be leading the ASEAN, while Africa is starting to embrace this model. There is movement throughout Asia in regards to this, though the Americas are very reluctant to change.

It is highly possible that eventually the entire earth might embrace a governance model that is similar to that of the Chinese model. If so, then the world will become a much more peaceful place.

However, there are dangerous forces that do not want to see this happening and are desirous of a all-or-nothing destructive end. Either one group of oligarchs rule, or the entire world shall burn.

At this period of time, all is in flux. It is difficult to say what will occur, though we (The Domain) are working to resolving this matter with expedience towards a more peaceful conclusion.

FTL Travel

Is Einstein right and faster-than-light speeds are not achievable, or does the Domain have ways around that limit?

Apparent FTL travel is achievable, and this is accomplished using many, many techniques. The Master Universe operates differently than the Reality Universe that the Prison Complex is part of.

Many of the technologies in use take advantage of these other characteristics to enable physical mobility. This is a trait of emerging space-faring civilizations.

However, in the Master Universe, the primary transport method relies on teleportation mechanisms, and of these it would resemble science fiction or fantasy to an inmate human skin suit. It would look like magic, or drawing pentagrams or runes on the floor, chanting strange words while in some kind of a trance, and would appear to be very barbaric. However, these techniques actually work because the manifestation of thoughts are not suppressed like they are in the Reality (pocket) universe that the Prison Complex actually is.

(The very strong image of Robert Heinleins' story "Glory Road" comes to mind.-MM)

An illustration from the cover of Robert Heinlein’s novel “Glory Road”…

Glory Road.

An illustration from a comic version of the book “Glory Road”…

Glory Road

A question from a retired spook

Life in MM-land is always colorful.

We are never fully retired. We are just blessed with “windows” of peace. Yet there are all sorts of things going on. Some of us, those that have been involved in the more nasty aspects of life, tend to continue a watchful eye for our own protections. Thus this next question from a black spook who worked for a different American alphabet agency than myself. He / she / it is retired and living in a far away land as an expat like MM.

“As I told you previously, <redacted> is dead. The circumstances are extremely murky, we have no idea how a 50-year-old healthy <redacted> dies without any symptoms of anything. The autopsy will take at least a month. But the facts are: I was supposed to go walking <redacted> but cancelled at the last minute and <redacted> died.

I have been a bit worried about my exposure to the outside world lately. I have become complacent and sometimes ignore proper procedures. After all, it has been <redacted> years with no attempts on my life, not even a threat.

I have maintained video surveillance around my home, though. I have also built a rudimentary trap for uninvited visitors. For some arcane reason, <redacted> is split in two, with two addresses. Both sides have a house. The road that goes by our houses is a cul-de-sac, nobody should be driving on that road. My address is the second house, but we live in the first one. I have a live camera feed outside the fake home as well as on the road leading to our ranch.

A couple of nights ago I woke up to the proximity alarm I had set up by the road. Somebody was driving towards us. Nobody has any business of coming here unless I invite them. I sure as hell wasn’t waiting for the company at 2:30 am. I saw a dark sedan on our road. I followed it on my monitor as it drove past my real home to the fake address. They parked the car some 50 yards before my fake home. Two guys came out of the car and started walking. They went around the house before stopping at the front door. One of the guys knelt and picked the lock. That isn’t so hard, as locks here in the middle of nowhere are built to stop animals, not assassins.

I switched to the indoor cam only to see that I should have changed the batteries. The foyer cam was working. It has a sensitive mike, I could hear them searching the house and coming back to the foyer. One of the men took out a phone. The audio is good but not that good. It sounded like whoever was on the other end of the call was doing most of the talking anyway.

The men walked back to their car and made an u-turn and gunned the engine. I was waiting for them outside, hidden, to have a better look at the car, plates and these charming dudes. The license plate was <redacted>, but it was a <redacted>, so no help there. But I had some luck.

I’m not sure if I told you, but at some point in my recovery I learned (or remembered) how to spot a natural Homo Sapiens Sapiens from meatsuits. I call them NPC’s (non-player-characters). That is probably not quite accurate, because those suits are definitely under intelligent control. ‘Non-Soul-Characters’ would be closer to the truth.

First I noticed the difference between a wooden flagpole and a living tree. When you can see that difference, it opens up a totally new way of looking at things. It’s a bit like being able to see magnetism, but not quite.

Anyway, those two guys were very obvious NPC’s.

That raises a few unpleasant questions:

– Does the Spetsbureau 13 hire non-terrestrials to do their Mokroye Delo nowadays? Does Spetsbureau even exist any more?

– How about the Company? If so, what have I done to deserve their wrath this late in the game? After the hit on my sister, I thought it was just housecleaning before The Big Event, but this is something else.

– If not VSENT/KGB/AFB/CIA/DIA, does the ‘Old Republic’ operate on this level, and do it so openly?

– Is there somebody else that wishes to see me dead?

We bailed that same night. I have only killed once in my career, and I did not want to raise that tally. I left the cam’s running, but it’s been quiet since.

So, MM, any insight you might offer? I hate to ask you, but could you ask the Commander about factions that want me/us gone? My death is a trivial matter, our life expectancy after service isn’t too great anyway. But I do care about collaterals, for them, I’m fully committed to taking on all comers. Irrespective of gender, race or creed.

I know this reads like a goddamn spy novel, but I want you to have as vivid a picture as possible. These days it’s hard to say what points are relevant and what not.

In OBE and LD I always seem to end up stuck in that huge mall when I try to ferret out Prison back doors or Amnesia operations. The place is crawling with NPC’s and mannequins. There is something I can’t crack, I can feel it! Getting pretty frustrating. Anyway, happy to have somebody I can vent for a change…

Keep your eyes open & head down, and always use the periscope!

My response…

I consider this an urgency so I just bored though the shit, went to a quiet place where I wouldn’t be disturbed, and made contact.

This is the response.

:::::
Not the Domain. We have no local assignments on the Earth at this time.

Not one of our agencies / cooperative operations / subservient groups either. These are all monitored strictly.

Suggest it to be a third party associated with one of the local earth government factions. High probability this.

You (not me) are to be considered compromised. However, there is no clear cause to abort current life and evade. Evidence suggests a recon operation. Make sure all sensors and systems are functional. A gun without bullets is a rock. A camera without batteries is a stone.

This action suggests something else. They are trying to "beat the bushes" and "flush something / someone / perhaps you out. Do not do anything out of the ordinary. As they are monitoring for changes in lifestyle patterns.

Also do not be alarmed. They are obviously a threat vector, but not a lethal one. A lethal vector will follow if there is unusual movement on your part. Continue your life. Maintain x-ray status. Make no unusual or out of the ordinary actions.

If something does happen, we will have a Domain agent available for retrieval.
:::::

Mu response…

So, as I see it, it’s some third party that is trying to flush you out. It is unknown who it is. Continue to lie low. Do nothing unusual, and watch your six. I can confirm that you are on The Domain radar right now.

Remember that nothing occurs in isolation. There are other tasks, other teams, other groups that all work together in a coordinated effort. One team tries to flush you out, another team obtains data, while a third team performs the objective. I want to remind you to maintain your vigilance. But do nothing out of the ordinary.

Final Comments

Never a dull moment in MM land.

We need to recognize that there are all sorts of things going on, but the things that are most important isn’t what The Domain commander says, the fears that the media throw at you, or the amount of money in your paycheck.

What is most important is what you do with your time on a personal basis.

Make your life matter.

All this other stuff is interesting, but please keep focused at what is right in front of you, who is sitting next to you, and the beautiful day that you are blessed with.

Don’t be like this…

video

Make YOUR life matter.

There is only one of you. And I can tell you that all of who you are, and all of your personal experiences is what makes you valuable. So don’t ignore them. Treat yourself as special and go forth and do great things.

video

Even the simplest acts of kindness are significant. make the world a better place. You can do this. Yes, YOU. Just be kind, and good, and smile.

video

And two final words…

[1] Help others and do not worry if it will be profitable to you sometime in the future. Just help others. Do it without expectations. Just do it, and then move on with your life…

video

[2] Never give up. Never, ever give up. You just keep plugging away at it. You just keep going. One step after the other. And you don’t care what others are doing or howling at you. You just focus and keep on…keeping on. Never give up.

video

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

ET Species

.

Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
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Law 26 of the 48 Laws of Power; Keep your hands clean

This is law 26 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

Part 1: Conceal your mistakes – have a scapegoat to take the blame.

  • It is often wise to choose the most innocent victim possible as a sacrificial goat.  Be careful, however, not to create a martyr.
  • A close associate is often the best choice – the “fall of the favourite”.

Part 2: Make use of the cat’s-paw.

  • Use those around you to complete dirty tasks to hide your intentions and accomplish your goals while keeping your hands clean.
  • An essential element in this strategy is concealing your goal.
  • Devices like this are best for approaching those in power, or planting information.
  • You may also offer yourself as the cat’s-paw to gain power.
  • Note: you must be very careful in using this tactic, as being revealed would be disastrous.

LAW 26

KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN

JUDGMENT

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

PART I: CONCEAL YOUR MISTAKES—HAVE A SCAPEGOAT AROUND TO TAKE THE BLAME

Our good name and reputation depend more on what we conceal than on what we reveal. Everyone makes mistakes, but those who are truly clever manage to hide them, and to make sure someone else is blamed. A convenient scapegoat should always be kept around for such moments.

The death of one roofer

A great calamity befell the town of Chelm one day. The town cobbler murdered one of his customers. So he was brought before the judge, who sentenced him to die by hanging. When the verdict was read a townsman arose and cried out, “If your Honor pleases—you have sentenced to death the town cobbler! He’s the only one we’ve got. lf you hang him who will mend our shoes?” “Who? Who?” cried all the people of Chelm with one voice.

The judge nodded in agreement and reconsidered his verdict. “Good people of Chelm,”he said, “what you say is true. Since we have only one cobbler it would he a great wrong against the community to let him die. As there are two roofers in the town let one of them be hanged instead.”

-A TREASURY OF JEWISH FOLKLORE, NATHAN AUSUBEL, ED.. 1948

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I

Near the end of the second century A.D., as China’s mighty Han Empire slowly collapsed, the great general and imperial minister Ts‘ao Ts’ao emerged as the most powerful man in the country. Seeking to extend his power base and to rid himself of the last of his rivals, Ts‘ao Ts’ao began a campaign to take control of the strategically vital Central Plain. During the siege of a key city, he slightly miscalculated the timing for supplies of grain to arrive from the capital. As he waited for the shipment to come in, the army ran low on food, and Ts‘ao Ts’ao was forced to order the chief of commissariat to reduce its rations.

Ts‘ao Ts’ao kept a tight rein on the army, and ran a network of informers. His spies soon reported that the men were complaining, grumbling that he was living well while they themselves had barely enough to eat. Perhaps Ts‘ao Ts’ao was keeping the food for himself, they murmured. If the grumbling spread, Ts‘ao Ts’ao could have a mutiny on his hands. He summoned the chief of commissariat to his tent.

“I want to ask you to lend me something, and you must not refuse,” Ts‘ao Ts’ao told the chief. “What is it?” the chief replied. “I want the loan of your head to show to the troops,” said Ts‘ao Ts’ao. “But I’ve done nothing wrong!” cried the chief. “I know,” said Ts‘ao Ts’ao with a sigh, “but if I do not put you to death, there will be a mutiny. Do not grieve—after you’re gone, I’ll look after your family.”

Put this way, the request left the chief no choice, so he resigned himself to his fate and was beheaded that very day.

Seeing his head on public display, the soldiers stopped grumbling. Some saw through Ts‘ao Ts’ao’s gesture, but kept quiet, stunned and intimidated by his violence. And most accepted his version of who was to blame, preferring to believe in his wisdom and fairness than in his incompetence and cruelty.

Interpretation

Ts‘ao Ts’ao came to power in an extremely tumultuous time. In the struggle for supremacy in the crumbling Han Empire, enemies had emerged from all sides. The battle for the Central Plain had proven more difficult than he imagined, and money and provisions were a constant concern. No wonder that under such stress, he had forgotten to order supplies in time.

Once it became clear that the delay was a critical mistake, and that the army was seething with mutiny, Ts‘ao Ts’ao had two options: apology and excuses, or a scapegoat. Understanding the workings of power and the importance of appearances as he did, Ts‘ao Ts’ao did not hesitate for a moment: He shopped around for the most convenient head and had it served up immediately.

Occasional mistakes are inevitable—the world is just too unpredictable. People of power, however, are undone not by the mistakes they make, but by the way they deal with them. Like surgeons, they must cut away the tumor with speed and finality. Excuses and apologies are much too blunt tools for this delicate operation; the powerful avoid them. By apologizing you open up all sorts of doubts about your competence, your intentions, any other mistakes you may not have confessed. Excuses satisfy no one and apologies make everyone uncomfortable. The mistake does not vanish with an apology; it deepens and festers. Better to cut it off instantly, distract attention from yourself, and focus attention on a convenient scapegoat before people have time to ponder your responsibility or your possible incompetence.

I would rather betray the whole world than let the world betray me.

General Ts‘ao Ts’ao, c. A.D. 155-220

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II

For several years Cesare Borgia campaigned to gain control of large parts of Italy in the name of his father, Pope Alexander. In the year 1500 he managed to take Romagna, in northern Italy. The region had for years been ruled by a series of greedy masters who had plundered its wealth for themselves. Without police or any disciplining force, it had descended into lawlessness, whole areas being ruled by robbers and feuding families. To establish order, Cesare appointed a lieutenant general of the region—Remirro de Orco, “a cruel and vigorous man,” according to Niccolõ Machiavelli. Cesare gave de Orco absolute powers.

With energy and violence, de Orco established a severe, brutal justice in Romagna, and soon rid it of almost all of its lawless elements. But in his zeal he sometimes went too far, and after a couple of years the local population resented and even hated him. In December of 1502, Cesare took decisive action. He first let it be known that he had not approved of de Orco’s cruel and violent deeds, which stemmed from the lieutenant’s brutal nature. Then, on December 22, he imprisoned de Orco in the town of Cesena, and the day after Christmas the townspeople awoke to find a strange spectacle in the middle of the piazza: de Orco’s headless body, dressed in a lavish suit with a purple cape, the head impaled beside it on a pike, the bloody knife and executioner’s block laid out beside the head. As Machiavelli concluded his comments on the affair, “The ferocity of this scene left the people at once stunned and satisfied.”

Interpretation

Cesare Borgia was a master player in the game of power. Always planning several moves ahead, he set his opponents the cleverest traps. For this Machiavelli honored him above all others in The Prince.

Cesare foresaw the future with amazing clarity in Romagna: Only brutal justice would bring order to the region. The process would take several years, and at first the people would welcome it. But it would soon make many enemies, and the citizens would come to resent the imposition of such unforgiving justice, especially by outsiders. Cesare himself, then, could not be seen as the agent of this justice—the people’s hatred would cause too many problems in the future. And so he chose the one man who could do the dirty work, knowing in advance that once the task was done he would have to display de Orco’s head on a pike. The scapegoat in this case had been planned from the beginning.

With Ts‘ao Ts’ao, the scapegoat was an entirely innocent man; in the Romagna, he was the offensive weapon in Cesare’s arsenal that let him get the dirty work done without bloodying his own hands. With this second kind of scapegoat it is wise to separate yourself from the hatchet man at some point, either leaving him dangling in the wind or, like Cesare, even making yourself the one to bring him to justice. Not only are you free of involvement in the problem, you can appear as the one who cleaned it up.

The Athenians regularly maintained a number of degraded and useless beings at the public expense; and when any calamity, such as plague, drought, or famine, befell the city ... [these scapegoats] were led about ... and then sacrificed, apparently by being stoned outside the city.

The Golden Bough, Sir James George Frazer, 1854-1941

KEYS TO POWER

The use of scapegoats is as old as civilization itself, and examples of it can be found in cultures around the world. The main idea behind these sacrifices is the shifting of guilt and sin to an outside figure—object, animal, or man—which is then banished or destroyed. The Hebrews used to take a live goat (hence the term “scapegoat”) upon whose head the priest would lay both hands while confessing the sins of the Children of Israel. Having thus had those sins transferred to it, the beast would be led away and abandoned in the wilderness. With the Athenians and the Aztecs, the scapegoat was human, often a person fed and raised for the purpose. Since famine and plague were thought to be visited on humans by the gods, in punishment for wrongdoing, the people suffered not only from the famine and plague themselves but from blame and guilt. They freed themselves of guilt by transferring it to an innocent person, whose death was intended to satisfy the divine powers and banish the evil from their midst.

It is an extremely human response to not look inward after a mistake or crime, but rather to look outward and to affix blame and guilt on a convenient object. When the plague was ravaging Thebes, Oedipus looked everywhere for its cause, everywhere except inside himself and his own sin of incest, which had so offended the gods and occasioned the plague. This profound need to exteriorize one’s guilt, to project it on another person or object, has an immense power, which the clever know how to harness. Sacrifice is a ritual, perhaps the most ancient ritual of all; ritual too is a well- spring of power. In the killing of de Orco, note Cesare’s symbolic and ritualistic display of his body. By framing it in this dramatic way he focused guilt outward. The citizens of Romagna responded instantly. Because it comes so naturally to us to look outward rather than inward, we readily accept the scapegoat’s guilt.

The bloody sacrifice of the scapegoat seems a barbaric relic of the past, but the practice lives on to this day, if indirectly and symbolically; since power depends on appearances, and those in power must seem never to make mistakes, the use of scapegoats is as popular as ever. What modem leader will take responsibility for his blunders? He searches out others to blame, a scapegoat to sacrifice. When Mao Tse- tung’s Cultural Revolution failed miserably, he made no apologies or excuses to the Chinese people; instead, like Ts‘ao Ts’ao before him, he offered up scapegoats, including his own personal secretary and high-ranking member of the Party, Ch’en Po- ta.

Franklin D. Roosevelt had a reputation for honesty and fairness. Throughout his career, however, he faced many situations in which being the nice guy would have spelled political disaster—yet he could not be seen as the agent of any foul play. For twenty years, then, his secretary, Louis Howe, played the role de Orco had. He handled the backroom deals, the manipulation of the press, the underhanded campaign maneuvers. And whenever a mistake was committed, or a dirty trick contradicting Roosevelt’s carefully crafted image became public, Howe served as the scapegoat, and never complained.

Besides conveniently shifting blame, a scapegoat can serve as a warning to others. In 1631 a plot was hatched to oust France’s Cardinal Richelieu from power, a plot that became known as “The Day of the Dupes.” It almost succeeded, since it involved the upper echelons of government, including the queen mother. But through luck and his own connivances, Richelieu survived.

One of the key conspirators was a man named Marillac, the keeper of the seals. Richelieu could not imprison him without implicating the queen mother, an extremely dangerous tactic, so he targeted Marillac’s brother, a marshal in the army. This man had no involvement in the plot. Richelieu, however, afraid that other conspiracies might be in the air, especially in the army, decided to set an example. He tried the brother on trumped-up charges and had him executed. In this way he indirectly punished the real perpetrator, who had thought himself protected, and warned any future conspirators that he would not shrink from sacrificing the innocent to protect his own power.

In fact it is often wise to choose the most innocent victim possible as a sacrificial goat. Such people will not be powerful enough to fight you, and their naive protests may be seen as protesting too much—may be seen, in other words, as a sign of their guilt. Be careful, however, not to create a martyr. It is important that you remain the victim, the poor leader betrayed by the incompetence of those around you. If the scapegoat appears too weak and his punishment too cruel, you may end up the victim of your own device. Sometimes you should find a more powerful scapegoat—one who will elicit less sympathy in the long run.

In this vein, history has time and again shown the value of using a close associate as a scapegoat. This is known as the “fall of the favorite.” Most kings had a personal

favorite at court, a man whom they singled out, sometimes for no apparent reason, and lavished with favors and attention. But this court favorite could serve as a convenient scapegoat in case of a threat to the king’s reputation. The public would readily believe in the scapegoat’s guilt—why would the king sacrifice his favorite unless he were guilty? And the other courtiers, resentful of the favorite anyway, would rejoice at his downfall. The king, meanwhile, would rid himself of a man who by that time had probably learned too much about him, perhaps becoming arrogant and even disdainful of him. Choosing a close associate as a scapegoat has the same value as the “fall of the favorite.” You may lose a friend or aide, but in the long-term scheme of things, it is

more important to hide your mistakes than to hold on to someone who one day will probably turn against you. Besides, you can always find a new favorite to take his place.

Image: The Innocent Goat. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest brings the goat into the temple, places his hands on its head, and confesses the people’s sins, transferring guilt to the guiltless beast, which is then led to the wilderness and abandoned, the people’s sins and blame vanishing with him.

Authority: Folly consists not in committing Folly, but in being incapable of concealing it. All men make mistakes, but the wise conceal the blunders they have made, while fools make them public. Reputation depends more on what is hidden than on what is seen. If you can’t be good, be careful. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

PART II: MAKE USE OF THE CAT’S-PAW

In the fable, the Monkey grabs the paw of his friend, the Cat, and uses it to fish chestnuts out of the fire, thus getting the nuts he craves, without hurting himself.

If there is something unpleasant or unpopular that needs to be done, it is far too risky for you to do the work yourself. You need a cat‘s-paw-someone who does the dirty, dangerous work for you. The cat’s-paw grabs what you need, hurts whom you need hurt, and keeps people from noticing that you are the one responsible. Let someone else be the executioner, or the bearer of bad news, while you bring only joy and glad tidings.

THE MONKEY AND THE CAT

A monkey and cat, in roguery and fun Sworn brothers twain, both owned a common master, Whatever mischief in the house was done By Pug and Tom was contrived each disaster.... One winter’s day was seen this hopeful pair Close to the kitchen fire, as usual, posted. Amongst the red-hot coals the cook with care Had plac’d some nice plump chestnuts to be roasted, From whence in smoke a pungent odor rose, Whose oily fragrance struck the monkey’s nose. “Tom!” says sly Pug, “pray could not you and I Share this dessert the cook is pleased to cater? Had I such claws as yours, I’d quickly try: Lend me a hand—’twill be a coup-de-maître.” So said, he seized his colleague’s ready paw, Pulled out the fruit, and crammed it in his jaw.

Now came the shining Mistress of the fane. And off in haste the two marauders scampered.

Tom for his share of the plunder had the pain. Whilst Pug his palate with the dainties pampered.

FABLES, JEAN OF LA FONTAINE. 1621-1695

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I

In 59 B.C., the future queen Cleopatra of Egypt, then ten years old, witnessed the overthrow and banishment of her father, Ptolemy XII, at the hand of his elder daughters —her own sisters. One of the daughters, Berenice, emerged as the leader of the rebellion, and to ensure that she would now rule Egypt alone, she imprisoned her other sisters and murdered her own husband. This may have been necessary as a practical step to secure her rule. But that a member of the royal family, a queen no less, would so overtly exact such violence on her own family horrified her subjects and stirred up powerful opposition. Four years later this opposition was able to return Ptolemy to power, and he promptly had Berenice and the other elder sisters beheaded.

In 51 B.C. Ptolemy died, leaving four remaining children as heirs. As was the tradition in Egypt, the eldest son, Ptolemy XIII (only ten at the time), married the elder sister, Cleopatra (now eighteen), and the couple took the throne together as king and queen. None of the four children felt satisfied with this; everyone, including Cleopatra, wanted more power. A struggle emerged between Cleopatra and Ptolemy, each trying to push the other to the side.

In 48 B.C., with the help of a government faction that feared Cleopatra’s ambitions, Ptolemy was able to force his sister to flee the country, leaving himself as sole ruler. In exile, Cleopatra schemed. She wanted to rule alone and to restore Egypt to its past glory, a goal she felt none of her other siblings could achieve; yet as long as they were alive, she could not realize her dream. And the example of Berenice had made it clear that no one would serve a queen who was seen murdering her own kind. Even Ptolemy XIII had not dared murder Cleopatra, although he knew she would plot against him from abroad.

Within a year after Cleopatra’s banishment, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt, determined to make the country a Roman colony. Cleopatra saw her chance: Reentering Egypt in disguise, she traveled hundreds of miles to reach Caesar in Alexandria. Legend has it that she had herself smuggled into his presence rolled up inside a carpet, which was gracefully unfurled at his feet, revealing the young queen. Cleopatra immediately went to work on the Roman. She appealed to his love of spectacle and his interest in Egyptian history, and poured on her feminine charms. Caesar soon succumbed and restored Cleopatra to the throne.

Cleopatra’s siblings seethed—she had outmaneuvered them. Ptolemy XIII would not wait to see what happened next: From his palace in Alexandria, he summoned a great army to march on the city and attack Caesar. In response, Caesar immediately put Ptolemy and the rest of the family under house arrest. But Cleopatra’s younger sister Arsinoe escaped from the palace and placed herself at the head of the approaching Egyptian troops, proclaiming herself queen of Egypt. Now Cleopatra finally saw her chance: She convinced Caesar to release Ptolemy from house arrest, under the agreement that he would broker a truce. Of course she knew he would do the opposite— that he would fight Arsinoe for control of the Egyptian army. But this was to Cleopatra’s benefit, for it would divide the royal family. Better still, it would give Caesar the chance to defeat and kill her siblings in battle.

Reinforced by troops from Rome, Caesar swiftly defeated the rebels. In the Egyptians’ retreat, Ptolemy drowned in the Nile. Caesar captured Arsinoe and had her sent to Rome as a prisoner. He also executed the numerous enemies who had conspired against Cleopatra, and imprisoned others who had opposed her. To reinforce her position as uncontested queen, Cleopatra now married the only sibling left, Ptolemy XIV—only eleven at the time, and the weakest of the lot. Four years later Ptolemy mysteriously died, of poison.

In 41 B.C., Cleopatra employed on a second Roman leader, Marc Antony, the same tactics she had used so well on Julius Caesar. After seducing him, she hinted to him that her sister Arsinoe, still a prisoner in Rome, had conspired to destroy him. Marc Antony believed her and promptly had Arsinoe executed, thereby getting rid of the last of the siblings who had posed such a threat to Cleopatra.

IIII CROW AND COBRA

Once upon a time there was a crow and his wife who had built a nest in a banyan tree. A big snake crawled into the hollow trunk and ate up the chicks as they were hatched. The crow did not want to move, since he loved the tree dearly. So he went to his friend the jackal for advice. A plan of action was devised. The crow and his wife flew about in implementation.

As the wife approached a pond, she saw the women of the king’s court bathing, with pearls, necklaces, gems, garments, and a golden chain laying on the shore. The crow- hen seized the golden chain in her beak and flew toward the banyan tree with the eunuchs in pursuit. When she reached the tree, she dropped the chain into the hole. As the kings’ men climbed the tree for the chain, they saw the swelling hood of the cobra. So they killed the snake with their clubs, retrieved the golden chain, and went back to the pond. And the crow and his wife lived happily ever after.

A TALE FROM THE PANCHATANTRA, FOURTH CENTURY, RETOLD IN THE CRAFT OF POWER, R. G. H. SIU, 1979

Interpretation

Legend has it that Cleopatra succeeded through her seductive charms, but in reality her power came from an ability to get people to do her bidding without realizing they were being manipulated. Caesar and Antony not only rid her of her most dangerous siblings— Ptolemy XIII and Arsinoe—they decimated all of her enemies, in both the government and the military. The two men became her cat’s-paws. They entered the fire for her, did the ugly but necessary work, while shielding her from appearing as the destroyer of her siblings and fellow Egyptians. And in the end, both men acquiesced to her desire to rule Egypt not as a Roman colony but as an independent allied kingdom. And they did all this for her without realizing how she had manipulated them. This was persuasion of the subtlest and most powerful kind.

A queen must never dirty her hands with ugly tasks, nor can a king appear in public with blood on his face. Yet power cannot survive without the constant squashing of enemies—there will always be dirty little tasks that have to be done to keep you on the throne. Like Cleopatra, you need a cat’s-paw.

This will usually be a person from outside your immediate circle, who will therefore be unlikely to realize how he or she is being used. You will find these dupes everywhere—people who enjoy doing you favors, especially if you throw them a minimal bone or two in exchange. But as they accomplish tasks that may seem to them innocent enough, or at least completely justified, they are actually clearing the field for you, spreading the information you feed them, undermining people they do not realize are your rivals, inadvertently furthering your cause, dirtying their hands while yours remain spotless.

HOW TO BROADCAST NEWS

When Omar, son of al-Khattab, was converted to Islam, he wanted the news of his conversion to reach everyone quickly. He went to see Jamil, son of Ma’mar al- Jumahi. The latter was renowned for the speed with which he passed on secrets. If he was told anything in confidence, he let everyone know about it immediately. Omar said to him: “I have become a Muslim. Do not say anything. Keep it dark. Do not mention it in front of anyone.” Jamil went out into the street and began shouting at the top of his voice: “Do you believe that Omar, son of al-Khattab, has not become a Muslim? Well, do not believe that! I am telling you that he has!”

The news of Omar’s conversion to Islam was spread everywhere. And that was just what he intended.

THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND GUILE, IHIRTEENTH CENTURY

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II

In the late 1920s, civil war broke out in China as the Nationalist and Communist parties battled for control of the country. In 1927 Chiang Kai-shek, the Nationalist leader, vowed to kill every last Communist, and over the next few years he nearly accomplished his task, pushing his enemies hard until, in 1934-1935, he forced them into the Long March, a six-thousand-mile retreat from the southeast to the remote northwest, through harsh terrain, in which most of their ranks were decimated. In late 1936 Chiang planned one last offensive to wipe them out, but he was caught in a mutiny: His own soldiers captured him and turned him over to the Communists. Now he could only expect the worst.

Meanwhile, however, the Japanese began an invasion of China, and much to Chiang’s surprise, instead of killing him the Communist leader, Mao Tse-tung, proposed a deal: The Communists would let him go, and would recognize him as commander of their forces as well as his, if he would agree to fight alongside them against their common enemy. Chiang had expected torture and execution; now he could not believe his luck. How soft these Reds had become. Without having to fight a rearguard action against the Communists, he knew he could beat the Japanese, and then a few years down the line he would turn around and destroy the Reds with ease. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain by agreeing to their terms.

The Communists proceeded to fight the Japanese in their usual fashion, with hit-and- run guerrilla tactics, while the Nationalists fought a more conventional war. Together, after several years, they succeeded in evicting the Japanese. Now, however, Chiang finally understood what Mao had really planned. His own army had met the brunt of the Japanese artillery, was greatly weakened, and would take a few years to recover. The Communists, meanwhile, had not only avoided any direct hits from the Japanese, they had used the time to recoup their strength, and to spread out and gain pockets of influence all over China. As soon as the war against the Japanese ended, the civil war started again—but this time the Communists enveloped the weakened Nationalists and slowly beat them into submission. The Japanese had served as Mao’s cat’s-paw, inadvertently ploughing the fields for the Communists and making possible their victory over Chiang Kai-shek.

Interpretation

Most leaders who had taken as powerful an enemy as Chiang Kai-shek prisoner would have made sure to kill him. But in doing so they would have lost the chance Mao exploited. Without the experienced Chiang as leader of the Nationalists, the fight to drive the Japanese out might have lasted much longer, with devastating results. Mao was far too clever to let anger spoil the chance to kill two birds with one stone. In essence, Mao used two cat‘s-paws to help him attain total victory. First, he cleverly baited Chiang into taking charge of the war against the Japanese. Mao knew the Nationalists led by Chiang would do most of the hard fighting and would succeed in pushing the Japanese out of China, if they did not have to concern themselves with fighting the Communists at the same time. The Nationalists, then, were the first cat’s- paw, used to evict the Japanese. But Mao also knew that in the process of leading the war against the invaders, the Japanese artillery and air support would decimate the conventional forces of the Nationalists, doing damage it could take the Communists decades to inflict. Why waste time and lives if the Japanese could do the job quickly? It was this wise policy of using one cat’s-paw after another that allowed the Communists to prevail.

There are two uses of the cat‘s-paw: to save appearances, as Cleopatra did, and to save energy and effort. The latter case in particular demands that you plan several moves in advance, realizing that a temporary move backward (letting Chiang go, say) can lead to a giant leap forward. If you are temporarily weakened and need time to recover, it will often serve you well to use those around you both as a screen to hide your intentions and as a cat’s-paw to do your work for you. Look for a powerful third party who shares an enemy with you (if for different reasons), then take advantage of their superior power to deal blows which would have cost you much more energy, since you are weaker. You can even gently guide them into hostilities. Always search out the overly aggressive as potential cat’s-paws—they are often more than willing to get into a fight, and you can choose just the right fight for your purposes.

Fables

A wise man, walking alone, Was being bothered by a fool throwing stones at his head. Turning to face him, he said: “My dear chap, well thrown! Please accept these few francs. You’ve worked hard enough to get more than mere thanks. Every effort deserves its reward. But see that man over there? He can afford More than I can. Present him with some of your stones: they’ll earn a good wage.” 

Lured by the bait, the stupid man Ran off to repeat the outrage On the other worthy citizen. This time he wasn’t paid in money for his stones. Up rushed serving-men, And seized him and thrashed him and broke all his bones.

In the courts of kings there are pests like this. devoid of sense: They’ll make their master laugh at your expense. To silence their cackle, should you hand out rough Punishment? Maybe you’re not strong enough. Better persuade them to attack Somebody else, who can more than pay them back.


SELECTED FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW III

Kuriyama Daizen was an adept of Cha-no-yu (Hot Water for Tea, the Japanese tea ceremony) and a student of the teachings of the great tea master Sen no Rikyu. Around 1620 Daizen learned that a friend of his, Hoshino Soemon, had borrowed a large sum of money (300 ryo) to help a relative who had fallen into debt. But although Soemon had managed to bail out his relative, he had simply displaced the burden onto himself. Daizen knew Soemon well—he neither cared nor understood much about money, and could easily get into trouble through slowness in repaying the loan, which had been made by a wealthy merchant called Kawachiya Sanemon. Yet if Daizen offered to help Soemon pay back the loan, he would refuse, out of pride, and might even be offended.

One day Daizen visited his friend, and after touring the garden and looking at Soemon’s prized peonies, they retired to his reception room. Here Daizen saw a painting by the master Kano Tennyu. “Ah,” Daizen exclaimed, “a splendid piece of painting…. I don’t know when I have seen anything I like better.” After several more bouts of praise, Soemon had no choice: “Well,” he said, “since you like it so much, I hope you will do me the favor of accepting it.”

At first Daizen refused, but when Soemon insisted he gave in. The next day Soemon in turn received a package from Daizen. Inside it was a beautiful and delicate vase, which Daizen, in an accompanying note, asked his friend to accept as a token of his appreciation for the painting that Soemon had so graciously given him the day before. He explained that the vase had been made by Sen no Rikyu himself, and bore an inscription from Emperor Hideyoshi. If Soemon did not care for the vase, Daizen suggested, he might make a gift of it to an adherent of Cha-no-yu—perhaps the merchant Kawachiya Sanemon, who had often expressed a desire to possess it. “I hear,” Daizen continued, “he has a fine piece of fancy paper [the 300-ryo I.O.U.] which you would much like. It is possible you might arrange an exchange.”

Realizing what his gracious friend was up to, Soemon took the vase to the wealthy lender. “However did you get this,” exclaimed Sanemon, when Soemon showed him the vase. “I have often heard of it, but this is the first time I have ever seen it. It is such a treasure that it is never allowed outside the gate!” He instantly offered to exchange the debt note for the flower vase, and to give Soemon 300 ryo more on top of it. But Soemon, who did not care for money, only wanted the debt note back, and Sanemon gladly gave it to him. Then Soemon immediately hurried to Daizen’s house to thank him for his clever support.

THE INDIAN BIRD

A merchant kept a bird in a cage. He was going to India, the land from which the bird came, and asked it whether he could bring anything back for it. The bird asked for its freedom, but was refused. So he asked the merchant to visit a jungle in India and announce his captivity to the free birds who were there. The merchant did so, and no sooner had he spoken when a wild bird, just like his own, fell senseless out of a tree on to the ground. The merchant thought that this must be a relative of his own bird, and felt sad that he should have caused this death. When he got home, the bird asked him whether he had brought good news from India.

No,” said the merchant, “I fear that my news is bad. One of your relations collapsed and fell at my feet when I mentioned your captivity.”.

As soon as these words were spoken the merchant’s bird collapsed and fell to the bottom of the cage. “The news of his kins-man’s death has killed him, too, ”thotight the merchant. Sorrowfully he picked up the bird and put it on the windowsill. At once the bird revived and flew to a nearby tree. “Now you know, ”the bird said, “that what you hought was disaster was in fact good news for me. And how the message, the suggestion of how to behave in order to free myself, was transmitted to me through you, my captor.” And he flew away, free at last.

TALES OF THE DERVISHES. IDRIES SHAH. 1967

Interpretation

Kuriyama Daizen understood that the granting of a favor is never simple: If it is done with fuss and obviousness, its receiver feels burdened by an obligation.

This may give the doer a certain power, but it is a power that will eventually self-destruct, for it will stir up resentment and resistance. A favor done indirectly and elegantly has ten times more power. Daizen knew a direct approach would only have offended Soemon. By letting his friend give him the painting, however, he made Soemon feel that he too had pleased his friend with a gift. In the end, all three parties emerged from the encounter feeling fulfilled in their own way.

In essence, Daizen made himself the cat‘s-paw, the tool to take the chestnuts out of the fire. He must have felt some pain in losing the vase, but he gained not only the painting but, more important, the power of the courtier. The courtier uses his gloved hand to soften any blows against him, disguise his scars, and make the act of rescue more elegant and clean. By helping others, the courtier eventually helps himself. Daizen’s example provides the paradigm for every favor done between friends and peers: never impose your favors. Search out ways to make yourself the cat’s-paw, indirectly extricating your friends from distress without imposing yourself or making them feel obligated to you.

One should not be too straightforward. Go and see the forest. The straight trees are cut down, the crooked ones are left standing.

Kautilya, Indian philosopher, third century B.C.
The Trump administration planning riots with the “pro democracy movement” in Hong Kong. All of china is wired for video, and audio and connected to very advanced AI. The result was that the entire CIA “color revolution” machinery set in motion by the Trump administration was exposed for the entire world to see.

KEYS TO POWER

As a leader you may imagine that constant diligence, and the appearance of working harder than anyone else, signify power. Actually, though, they have the opposite effect: They imply weakness. Why are you working so hard? Perhaps you are incompetent, and have to put in extra effort just to keep up; perhaps you are one of those people who does not know how to delegate, and has to meddle in everything. The truly powerful, on the other hand, seem never to be in a hurry or overburdened. While others work their fingers to the bone, they take their leisure. They know how to find the right people to put in the effort while they save their energy and keep their hands out of the fire. Similarly, you may believe that by taking on the dirty work yourself, involving yourself directly in unpleasant actions, you impose your power and instill fear. In fact you make yourself look ugly, and abusive of your high position. Truly powerful people keep their hands clean. Only good things surround them, and the only announcements they make are of glorious achievements.

You will often find it necessary, of course, to expend energy, or to effect an evil but necessary action. But you must never appear to be this action’s agent. Find a cat‘s-paw. Develop the arts of finding, using, and, in time, getting rid of these people when their cat’s-paw role has been fulfilled.

On the eve of an important river battle, the great third-century Chinese strategist Chuko Liang found himself falsely accused of secretly working for the other side. As proof of his loyalty, his commander ordered him to produce 100,000 arrows for the army within three days, or be put to death. Instead of trying to manufacture the arrows, an impossible task, Liang took a dozen boats and had bundles of straw lashed to their sides. In the late afternoon, when mist always blanketed the river, he floated the boats toward the enemy camp. Fearing a trap from the wily Chuko Liang, the enemy did not attack the barely visible boats with boats of their own, but showered them with arrows from the bank. As Liang’s boats inched closer, they redoubled the rain of arrows, which stuck in the thick straw. After several hours, the men hiding on board sailed the vessels quickly downstream, where Chuko Liang met them and collected his 100,000 arrows.

Chuko Liang would never do work that others could do for him—he was always thinking up tricks like this one. The key to planning such a strategy is the ability to think far ahead, to imagine ways in which other people can be baited into doing the job for you.

An essential element in making this strategy work is to disguise your goal, shrouding it in mystery, like the strange enemy boats appearing dimly in the mist. When your rivals cannot be sure what you are after, they will react in ways that often work against them in the long run. In fact they will become your cat’s-paws. If you disguise your intentions, it is much easier to guide them into moves that accomplish exactly what you want done, but prefer not to do yourself. This may require planning several moves in advance, like a billiard ball that bounces off the sides a few times before heading into the right pocket.

The early-twentieth-century American con artist Yellow Kid Weil knew that no matter how skillfully he homed in on the perfect wealthy sucker, if he, a stranger, approached this man directly, the sucker might become suspicious. So Weil would find someone the sucker already knew to serve as a cat‘s-paw—someone lower on the totem pole who was himself an unlikely target, and would therefore be less suspicious. Weil would interest this man in a scheme promising incredible wealth. Convinced the scheme was for real, the cat’s-paw would often suggest, without prompting, that his boss or wealthy friend should get involved: Having more cash to invest, this man would increase the size of the pot, making bigger bucks for all concerned. The cat‘s-paw would then involve the wealthy sucker who had been Weil’s target all along, but who would not suspect a trap, since it was his trusty subordinate who had roped him in. Devices like this are often the best way to approach a person of power: Use an associate or subordinate to hook you up with your primary target. The cat’s-paw establishes your credibility and shields you from the unsavory appearance of being too pushy in your courtship.

The easiest and most effective way to use a cat’s-paw is often to plant information with him that he will then spread to your primary target. False or planted information is a powerful tool, especially if spread by a dupe whom no one suspects. You will find it very easy to play innocent and disguise yourself as the source.

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA

At the turn of the year, when kings take the field, David sent Joab out with his other officers and all the Israelite forces, and they ravaged Ammon and laid siege to Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his couch and, as he walked about on the roof of the palace, he saw from there a woman bathing and she was very beautiful. He sent to inquire who she was, and the answer came, “It must be Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite....” David wrote a letter to Joab and sent Uriah with it. He wrote in the letter: “Put Uriah opposite the enemy where the fighting is fiercest and then fall back, and leave him to meet his death.”... Joab... stationed Uriah at a point where he knew they would put up a stout fight. The men of the city sallied out and engaged Joab, and some of David’s guards fell; Uriah the Hittite was also killed. Joab sent David a dispatch with all the news of the battle.... When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him; and when the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son.

OLD TESTAMENT, 2 SAMUEL,11-12

The strategic therapist Dr. Milton H. Erickson would often encounter among his patients a married couple in which the wife wanted the therapy but the husband absolutely refused it. Rather than wasting energy trying to deal with the man directly, Dr. Erickson would see the wife alone, and as she talked he would interject interpretations of the husband’s behavior that he knew would rile the husband up if he heard them. Sure enough, the wife would tell her husband what the doctor had said. After a few weeks the husband would be so furious he would insist on joining his wife in the sessions so he could set the doctor straight.

Finally, you may well find cases in which deliberately offering yourself as the cat’s- paw will ultimately gain you great power. This is the ruse of the perfect courtier. Its symbol is Sir Walter Raleigh, who once placed his own cloak on the muddy ground so that Queen Elizabeth would not sully her shoes. As the instrument that protects a master or peer from unpleasantness or danger, you gain immense respect, which sooner or later will pay dividends. And remember: If you can make your assistance subtle and gracious rather than boastful and burdensome, your recompense will be that much the more satisfying and powerful.

Image: The Cat’s-Paw. It has long claws to grab things. It is soft and padded. Take hold of the cat and use its paw to pluck things out of the fire, to claw your enemy, to play with the mouse before devouring it.

Sometimes you hurt the cat, but most often it doesn’t feel a thing.

Authority: Do everything pleasant yourself, everything unpleasant through third parties. By adopting the first course you win favor, by taking the second you deflect ill will. Important affairs often require rewards and punishments. Let only the good come from you and the evil from others. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

The cat’s-paw and the scapegoat must be used with extreme caution and delicacy. They are like screens that hide your own involvement in dirty work from the public; if at any moment the screen is lifted and you are seen as the manipulator, the puppet master, the whole dynamic turns around—your hand will be seen everywhere, and you will be blamed for misfortunes you may have had nothing to do with. Once the truth is revealed, events will snowball beyond your control.

In 1572, Queen Catherine de’ Médicis of France conspired to do away with Gaspard de Coligny, an admiral in the French navy and a leading member of the Huguenot (French Protestant) community. Coligny was close to Catherine’s son, Charles IX, and she feared his growing influence on the young king. So she arranged for a member of the Guise family, one of the most powerful royal clans in France, to assassinate him.

Secretly, however, Catherine had another plan: She wanted the Huguenots to blame the Guises for killing one of their leaders, and to take revenge. With one blow, she would erase or injure two threatening rivals, Coligny and the Guise family. Yet both plans went awry. The assassin missed his target, only wounding Coligny; knowing Catherine as his enemy, he strongly suspected it was she who had set up the attack on him, and he told the king so. Eventually the failed assassination and the arguments that ensued from it set off a chain of events that led to a bloody civil war between Catholics and Protestants, culminating in the horrifying Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve, in which thousands of Protestants were killed.

If you have to use a cat’s-paw or a scapegoat in an action of great consequence, be very careful: Too much can go wrong. It is often wiser to use such dupes in more innocent endeavors, where mistakes or miscalculations will cause no serious harm.

Finally, there are moments when it is advantageous to not disguise your involvement or responsibility, but rather to take the blame yourself for some mistake. If you have power and are secure in it, you should sometimes play the penitent: With a sorrowful look, you ask for forgiveness from those weaker than you. It is the ploy of the king who makes a show of his own sacrifices for the good of the people. Similarly, upon occasion

you may want to appear as the agent of punishment in order to instill fear and trembling in your subordinates. Instead of the cat‘s-paw you show your own mighty hand as a threatening gesture. Play such a card sparingly. If you play it too often, fear will turn into resentment and hatred. Before you know it, such emotions will spark a vigorous opposition that will someday bring you down. Get in the habit of using a cat’s-paw—it is far safer.

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More Q&A with the Commander as we discuss my fears concerning a war between the USA and China

Here we continue with periodic questions that I ask the Domain Commander for clarification on. Many are very personal and selfish. But that is my personal choice, and my prerogative.  Those that are far too personal, I retract out. I have also added questions from others. I hope that the questions and the answers make sense to those reading this.

Domain Expeditionary Force Rescue Mission

I asked whether this book was a continuation of “Alien Interview” or something else. When I asked, the Commander told me to read the book and then ask again. I now know why. I can only communicate on things that I have been exposed to.

So I read the book. And now I am going to ask the question a second time.

Q: Is the book “Domain Expeditionary Force Rescue Mission” an accurate follow up document to “Alien Interview”, or is it something else?

It is a fiction. You may / should discard everything written within it. The information provided are falsehoods intended as distractions.

Whenever there is something good (from the perspective of freeing IS-BEs from the Prison Complex), quanta "antibodies" (this is the best way that I can translate the thought cluster) attack the message and distort it.

This is what happened with the teachings in India. This is what happened with the teachings of "the gospel" and this is what happened with the "New Age" movement.

These "quantum antibodies" attack the message and distort it, and good and well meaning individuals find themselves being directed towards other paths and other ideas.

For instance, the earliest books of the Bible discussed reincarnation. These works were either lost, forgotten, or ignored intentionally over time, and a new idea came into being which was one singular God that acted as a parent to people. That there was no recycling of souls in and out of general population. But rather, a one shot effort, to live in this environment and then go to Heaven as a reward.

These "quantum antibodies" attack the physical brain process. They alter how thoughts are generated, and thus they alter the outcome of data transfer on the physical realm.

The first work "Alien Interview" is 100% accurate. This second work is a complete fiction. Ignore it. 

There is nothing in it of value, no matter how certain sections might appeal to the readers understandings.

We will now to to a personal question by MM here. And being so personal, we talk about things that are very human, but that people never want to share with others. But me, well, I don’t care. I’m not Jesus. I’m an average guy. Just like you are.

Rage

Again, this is a personal question.

Some background. All the events that I have experienced did not go away. I keep and maintain the memories of them. From being led to the slaughter in Arkansas, to being swindled over and over. To being swindled, attacked, tricked, and just treated poorly. To being mistreated time and time again. It just hurts.

And on numerous times, day to day events, will trigger those memories.

The result is this explosion of rage. No matter who I am with, or what I am doing, I will start to react. My body starts to pulse, and my muscles get hard and steely. My skin is filled with millions of tight little goose-bumps. My pupils dilate, and my breathing changes.

I have noticed that the best thing that I can do is either lift weights, or drink alcohol. Eventually the rage subsides. I can tell you that my ability to perform dead lifts increase exponentially during this time, and my blood pressure, instead of going through the roof, actually decreases.

I am still able to suppress the rage. No one can tell, though my wife would watch my pupils dilate, and my body start to shake and my breathing become shallow and deep.

And she asks me what is going on.

Yes. I can control it.

But Lordy, this just cannot be normal.

And to tell youse guys the truth, I fear that were I to be in a dangerous situation and the rage is triggered that I might do something lethal and gruesome. I don’t want that to happen. So I want to ask the Domain Commander what is actually going on.

Q: Why do I periodically go into these “structured rage” behaviors?

You are NOT a normal human being. 

When our agency / MAJestic installed the ELF probes, they / we / us also transformed your personality. We compartmentalized you. You know that. During your MAJestic retirement sequence in ADC Pine Bluff, you confronted various personalities that are part of you.

You are aware of the scientist, the Naval officer, and so on and so forth. However, there are other personalities that you are not aware of. Let it be well understood that it is intentionally by design. These other personalities are not anything that you want to know about, or be associated with.

Thus they are not part of your shutdown sequence. They are permanently hardwired to your personality.

You have [1] Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde, you have [2] The Wolfman (actually, the image is of a half-man, half-sabertooth tiger). You have [3] Mr. Dracula / The Mummy (image is confused and overlaid over each other.), and you have [4] The Incredible Hulk. None of these alter personalities are muted. They are all active.

They are always intended to be active. That makes you dangerous, and why you needed to be sent to prison. That is one of the reasons why they (MAJestic) cannot allow people like yourselves to be walking the (American) streets freely. You are a loaded gun with no "safety switch".

When you start to have memory triggers, event triggers, or code triggers, one of the personalities will manifest. Your "normal" personality will fade into the background and the new personality will dominate. 

Most of the manifested personalities (you have experienced) this year has been of "The Incredible Hulk", and you have done a very fine job of suppressing that character personality. We are personally proud of you.

No one is harmed. At worst, your wife looks at your strange. That's it. It has been triggered by memories while you are under a lot of stress. This is normal for humans, however in your case there is a personalty change has been intentionally engineered and triggered.

There's other triggers as well. 

Over the last six years the Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde personality were occasionally triggered. You don't remember those events because afterwards your memories are suppressed. But if you look back, you will see these periods of *blank*. That is when this personality was triggered. 

This is due to the fact that you live next to the Zhuhai heliport. And some of the aircraft use an electrical signal emitter that triggers your personality change. Luckily, for you, the "go code" signal is never emitted. So all that happens is that you go into a "stand by for orders" mode. Then when nothing happens, you "wake up" and forget about the entire incident.

For you to turn off these programs you will have to go through the entire Pine Bluff deactivation procedure all over again. We advise you not to do that. We further advise you NEVER (emphasis) return to the United States. All scenarios where you return is problematic for you personally.

Do not listen to DZ (my brother). He's a "strange cat" with other purposes and intentions for your return.

The reasons are obvious. 

However, you need to remember that many of your latent personalities can be triggered by radio frequencies at various frequencies, amplitudes, patterns and pulses. The United States has substantially changed since you were there last. The spectrum of presently emitted radiation would trigger some very lethal responses from you.

Fucking lovely. Sheech!

Oh for Pete’s sake!

First I’m some kind of troll like bureaucrat named Mades Escapleon, and now I find out that I am a cross mix of of the bad characters from all the B-grade horror movies of the 1960’s. And to top it off, I’m a gun without a safety switch.

Sheech! Can’t I ever get a break?

I guess match.com is out of the question for me. (This was a joke.)

A need to sleep

I have a question for the Domain, if you are willing. I know it taxes you to use the probes for communication, and am thankful for your disclosures.

Q: “Is the human need for sleep engineered into them?”

It is noteworthy that in the Alien Interviews, Aryl didn’t need sleep. Our Earthly scientists haven’t found a compelling reason why we should need it. It also seems like the perfect time to mess around or play with an IS-BE’s memories. Many creatures need sleep on Earth, and it seems odd.

Most animals are designed to require sleep. This is an intentional design parameter. Initially when we first created biological creatures we used the mechanism of sleep to allow the IS-BE to depart from the physical body and continue their lives unrestrained from the physical limitations.

This system has worked fine for trillions of years. 

However, when the Prison Complex was established, new prison "attire" skin suits were designed. The need for sleep remains present in the physical body, however the ability to use this period or state to egress to the non-physical is not really possible for the vast bulk of imprisoned humanity. It's "closed over" and sealed for most of humanity. Instead of being able to leave the physical realm, most humans (and inmate mammals) unwind and dream randomly.

There are precious few people who are able to egress during this time. And they do so in different techniques and with different limitations depending on their personal situation and skill set. Some Lucid Dream (as promoted on MM), while some conduct OBE (out of the body experiences), and there are other forms as well.

The people who can do this are valuable to us, and we are very pleased that numerous people have volunteered to help us with this ability. 

You, and your readership, are not aware that many of your readers now have (potential) LD access. We removed many of the blockage elements that were restricting them when they joined The Domain (or the auxiliaries). Though they might remember horrible fear induced dreams of operations, procedures, strange entities, and all sort of bad things. These fears manifested as an "antibody" when we were removing Prison Complex blockages and other systems.

Now they might experience dreams of battles, or horrible or very, very strange experiences. These "new" dreams are quite different than the kinds of dreams that they experienced prior to working with us.

They need not worry. They are performing mission taskings. I (The Commander) would like to communicate that when there is a dream with a dog, or a pack of similar animals, or with "day to day" others, that the LD "sleeper" is working as part of a team (with others). 

We never allow our assets, or auxiliary resources, to work without support, guidance or backup. the reality is very dangerous. And we cannot risk anything happening to those who are part of us / join us / assist us / work with us. 

Some of the team members are IS-BE Domain officers. Every mission or tasking is supervised by a Domain Officer. Though many actions also utilize Domain members of the non-officer class. But in every case, none of your volunteered readerships is tasked on Domain related tasks alone.

Others in your dreams. That is the "tell tail". Look for strange shaggy dogs, monkeys, grey images, odd places with odd people or things or perhaps someone or thing showing how to do something, or something similar no matter how silly it appears. You are always part of something larger with a support team.

Dreams are a complex subject that gives the physical brain feedback to the events that transpire. Though since many of the events are strange and alien, the closest approximation formed in the dreams tend to be very strange, odd and unusual.

Speaking of Jesus

A further question, if you could ask it. The domain will understand it’s relevance to me specifically, what is the role of the life of Jesus in the Earth prison complex?

I’d really like to know.

Q: What is the role of the life of Jesus in the Earth prison complex?

Jesus and the Christian religion is an engineered social control. The truth about it does not resemble anything like you have been told, or like you have assumed. Over the centuries the control of this religion has been taken over by various factions.

There have been both repeated incursions by good, just, well-intentioned IS-BE's as well as evil, selfish and dangerous entities over the centuries.

Some made long standing changes to the religion that really assisted in the control of the Prison Planet. While others enabled enlightening others that helps break away from the snares and traps.

To the questioner; it should not matter (to you) how the Christian religion came into being, or whether Jesus was an actual person or not. What should matter is whether or not you are realizing your intended purposes that you had agreed to do and in so doing, following the guidance's of the great works that the entire religion is founded upon.

Christianity is a vehicle. Like an automobile. It can take you places, but it can also cause great hurt and suffering if the wrong person is driving the car. You are, by the way, a great driver. Perhaps one of the finest. But if you worry too much about who invented the engine, or the color of the trim on the running boards, or whether you need to crank the engine to start the vehicle, or if it has an electric starter, you will take away from all the great travels and adventures that you can have on the road.

We can go into great detail on the great politics behind the creation and structuring of this religion. We can parse / investigate / study / breakdown the various saints, and key figures of the religion. Not to mention Jesus himself.

It is easy to believe that The Domain created this religion. But we did not. At least not like others have written about or implied. We have, however, contributed towards it's direction and guidance, and equally have been thwarted by selfish and evil, malevolent entities just as often.

Keep in mind that at the time of the appearance of Jesus, The Domain was busy engaging in massive space battles inside this solar system. The creation of evasion techniques for the skin-suits in general population of this Prison Planet was a very low priority at that time. Though, there were minor efforts to direct the organizational aspects of the dogma.

What was discussed in the "Alien Interview" was structured for the audience at that time. As there are truths and understandings, but often the real purposes and purposes are often occluded and confused though a handicapping of the true and actual situation. This is true with all the Q&A that we participate in.

If you discovered that Jesus was a real person who was caught up in the tumultuous events of the time, or that he was actually a romantic figurehead used by greedy people at that time, does not matter. Knowing either "history" is a dangerous illusion and would derail your current great journey. I do not desire that.

The car the you are driving right now is a perfected symphony. You do not need to know anything more than that. You need to focus on your driving skills and making it to your destination. So what if your fender has a few dings? So what if the muffler is a little noisy? Who cares is the seat has a spring poking out of it. This religion is serving a purpose and you are the result of it. You are, to be honest, magnificent. 

I will emphasize this; do not take your eyes off the road.

Personally, I haven’t a clue as to what the fuck he is talking about, and I really do not think that he answered the question. Which was “Who is Jesus”?

I do not know why he got so derailed on it. I do not know why he failed to answer the question. I also do not know why he was so guarded, evasive or circumambulating about it.

So I asked again. “What is the role of Jesus in the Prison Complex?”

Q: What is the role of the life of Jesus in the Earth prison complex?

There are two key points.

[1] Jesus is a figurehead in a religion that has often been used as a trap to help keep the general population inmates stuck in the prison complex. The religion itself has been used as a distracting means, as well as a snare. It has also been used to divert IS-BE's away from their true nature.

[2] It has also been instrumental in the sorting of service to other sentience's that will enable a great many IS-BE's to leave this prison complex.

Taking the dichotomy of this issue, we can see that by following the directives listed in the biography of Jesus found in the "New Testament" will allow the trapped inmate behavioral goals, that will establish a Service-to-Others sentience, and thus be processed out of the complex quickly and efficiently.

However, paying "lip service" to the Christian religion is a distraction and a trap. It will cause the IS-BE to entrench further into the physical reality trap that is the Prison Complex.

Ah. Don’t be a televangelist. Eh?

Then a finality to the subject matter; *end*.

What do you mean “I am not human”?

Earlier in the Q&A there was a statement made that I am not human. This is obviously false. As I look, act and think like a human, and live in a human society. Not to mention that I enjoy pizza, wine and pretty girls. So perhaps, I misinterpreted the comm.

Q: Please expand on the reasoning behind the statement that “I am not human”.

You are not human.

You are neither a pure human archetype, nor an inmate "skin suit". You are a hybrid creation with elements of both, as well as constructions intended for utility by the Domain.

(Image of a PPT presentation showing a "free and normal" human archetype. Followed by it being "changed" into a different kind of human; an inmate "skin suit". Then, changes to it with ELF, EPB and then a number of operations. The resulting figure on the PPT looks like neither the first Human archetype, nor the inmate "skin suit".)

All of the members in your MAJestic sub-project are hybrid creations. Some, like yourself, have further refinements. While others are slightly retarded / backwards / not up to date /contemporaneous with the update software / coding / medical procedures / system enhancements.

Additionally, all volunteers to The Domain (through MM here) that have agreed to work with us have also become hybrid creatures. They are no longer "inmate" human (appearing) skin suits. They have had one significant alteration to their inmate "skin suits". Some have had two or more. The severity of the changes is equated to their current dream states, feelings / emotions / perceptions.

(I think that it means that the odder your experiences are; your feelings are; your dreams are; the more changes to your "skin suit".)

In your case, you were altered for your role in our surrogate agency / utility /division (I think he means MAJestic) and then further altered with the addition of the EBP. So you have at least three layers of alterations. Certainly you might not appreciate the alterations, but we believe that they are necessary for the successful role that you play.

Stop assuming that you are the same as everyone else. YOU ARE NOT. (It felt like he was stressing things to me like my old DI in the Navy.)

Locating a member of the “Lost Battalion”

Email sent to me:

This time I write to you in matters of the lost Domain Members and in kind of a personal as well. It's not me, I guess?

No, could you ask your Domain Contact, if my pastry chef-teacher is/was a lost Member?

I'm asking, because at the end of a really really weird and messy day over a bowl of soup my husband and I were talking about your Q&A and somehow I said that "If there is someone I've met, it would be him" and we instantly got goosebumps, adrenalin shot and I started sobbing.

At this second I can feel the tears rising again. Sorry, this guy meant a hell of a lot to me and I just want to know... if they know?

I responded with this…

I will do so. 

One thing though. You need to send out "pings". The EBP allows communication from the Commander to me and back. That's it. Unless there's a location beacon, the Commander cannot do anything. All he will know is that I read and email from a follower that refers to another person also unknown.

To send out a "ping"; For the next couple of nights before you go to sleep, just say the phrase "I am pinging the Domain Commander in assistance of a question to Metallicman". 

Say it out loud. And forget about it. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to locate you and the person who you are speaking of.
This was on 29OCT21.
.
On 2NOV21 I received this email…
I was pinging the last nights before sleeping, and I think they came right after the first ping (friday night). Do you know if they got what they need? 

They were nice, but I freaked out. I really do apologize for that! 

I expected them to come, and I know what you say is the truth, but I still need time to let it all sink in. Sorry this also very wild babbling...

I hope they can help my Chef!!!
.
I did obtain a “message” glitch / signal / initial response concerning the “ping”.  In “real time”. And it was all very clear, and it was very startling.
.
Which was…
Follow / track / surprise / smile / happy / unexpected
This was (apparently) shortly after the first (Friday night?) ping. Then in rapid succession. Say five minutes later.
Accompanying "goosebumps". Unexpected and unknown. Not lost battalion member. 

Lost Domain member, unaccounted for. 

Not member of the Lost Battalion. Will investigate.

Strong emotional feelings. Nearly quake / shake. Big emotional attachment in the comm channel. This is apparently a very BIG deal in The Domain above. The impression that I have is that this is a long lost IS-BE and no one knows what happened to it.

He/she/it just disappeared.

And also that it’s an important person at that.

Impression is that it was assumed they entered a different universe. Now they see that somehow it was “sucked” into the Prison Complex somehow. Very much excitement.

Very, very much!

Follow up question sent up-pipe through my EBP comm to the Commander.

Q: Can you please provide me an update on this particular effort?

This is a very important, and surprising turn of events. This entity is a very important IS-BE associated with (The Domain parent organization) / sponsor organization? / upper-tier oversight operations? / a major role participant. 

(I get the impression of someone very highly revered and important; like Jesus or Buddha or some other being only far more capable and important than we can understand. Also that there is an organization that is higher, larger, older and more important than the Domain. )

I have alerted my superiors about this matter. We have set a series of events in motion. This discovery is very important and makes the need to resolve this prison planet environment ever so urgent. Obviously the presence of (garbled name. cannot make out) shows how important this area (geographic area of space) is, and greater efforts are needed to extract valuable entities from this region.

(Image of a 3D image of the Milky Way galaxy, and a rippling like the image is on a rubber sheet. then a very heavy metal ball dropped on that sheet, making a deep dark black-hole like indentation.)

(I also have the impression that this entity is part of something that spawned the Domain, and that this person has been missing of a long, long time. The impression that I have is that this person was assumed to be elsewhere, doing other things, and the fact that this person is here now in this prison planet environment is something very important.)

Commander Message to the person who "pinged"; "Thank you. Do not worry. Things are going to be just fine from now on. We have this matter (in / on hand)"

And I will add; thank you for being a Rufus.

Being scammed by others

From a communication…

I have been debating with myself for some time to ask you the following - either dismiss this entirely or continue to read.

I almost feel like this is the old "Ann Landers' advice column in the newspaper.

Recently, I was scammed out of quite a bit of dollars. Two things I would like: 1) get my money back, and 2) get these criminals in a position where life is hell for them.

I have included getting my loot back as one intention, but am hesitant to waste my time and effort to fuck the fuckers who fucked me (I apologize for the language, but that is how I feel).

What would be best (besides getting $'s back) is if these criminals can make amends not only to me, but also to others who they have fucked, and rehabilitate themselves.

There is decency in everyone, or so I believe, perhaps naively. Any advice or suggestions?

A baseball bat could do wonders with life altering perspectives.

Posted late Monday evening at 10:30pm. Answer is as follows.

Encountering others who are evil, bad, or problematic is the norm in this prison environment. It occurs on all levels. From the micro to the macro. Many people just accept the crimes as the normal way of living life. However, periodically one such crime hits us and forces us to attend to it. And obviously we do not like it.

There are numerous things that you can do, and obviously you are considering them. Your questions is which action would benefit your the most as an inmate in this prison environment.

Consider a contemporaneous prison environment. One inmate scams another inmate. The options are [1] ask politely for the items, [2] “shank" them and kill them yourself. [3] Align or employ an inter-prison organization (gang)  and ask them to recover your lost possessions, and obtain retribution, all at a cost. Or, [4] Ask the prison authorities for justice.

What we suggest is counter intuitive. 

You are to isolate yourself from those bad and problematic individuals. Then (following MM advisement's in MWI control) (sic.) The solution is to control your MWI.

[1] Add affirmations that extract justice for the crime; meaning that you get your lost wealth returned in what ever way is possible, and that those that conducted the ill deeds suffer consequences for it. 

[2] Modify the result to include time for "pain and suffering: with may be considered 10% to 25% of root value. 

Finally {3] isolation from any consequences of this request, with an understanding that the affirmation will manifest in a time window appropriate with and in alignment with, all your other / previous affirmations. (sic.) 

Take no other action. 

When it "feels" right, you may delete the affirmations from your periodic campaigns (sic.) 

Stop thinking about the event(s). The thoughts will prevent the initiation and manifestation of your affirmation campaign. So forget about it all. Just know that the results WILL manifest.

I can affirm that this is the best advice. -MM

Food

Finally, on food.

One thing I enjoy is a real good loaf of bread and good expensive cheese.

Me too. -MM

If the wife permits, perhaps some good wine.

Me too. But my wife always approves of wine. Her only problem is the price. Wine prices are all trending upwards. -MM

That is enjoyable.

The western diet is full of toxins; anything that is pre-made, or comes in a ready to eat bag is not good for you (but perhaps very tasty).

Wise potato chips. Sigh. French fries with lots of salt. Lays "American style" chips with onion dip. -MM

40% of Americans will come down with some sort of cancer in their lifetime – good god, something is wrong with the environment and food source.

Absolutely. -MM

Good food,/diet has to be prepared from raw ingredients. Anything else will not be healthy.

There have been many case studies demonstrating that native foods are good and healthy, people do not get sick or need a doctor.

Once western food/diets have been introduced, health declines rapidly and doctor visits and sicknesses increase dramatically.

Healthy food comes from healthy natural soil, and not that found in chemical agriculture.

Creamy potato soup for super today, with only cream and cheese coming from the store.

Posted Monday in the evening. I had to phrase it as a question…

Q: With all the criminal elements jam-packed on the earth planetary environment today, what is the best and most worthwhile food suggestions you (The Domain) might have for a healthy long life?

We participated in the development of the human archetype. We designed humans to have a diet consisting of all the plants and animals that are provided on the worlds that they inhabit. The inmate "skin suits" have not deviated from this nutritional need.

Fruits and Vegitables

Fundamentally, eat a substantial quantity of your diet in fresh produce. This includes both fruits and vegetables. If you are not eating salads (whether precooked for five minutes or not) you are doing something wrong. There should be at least two salad majority meals in your diet every week.

(Chicken salad, cob salad, Caesar salad with beef or another meat, tuna salad, etc. Keep the amount of sugary dressings to a minimum. Olive oil and vinegar are the healthiest. -MM) 

Removal of Toxins

For all inmates in general population, note that it is important to lightly steam or cook the vegetables first before you make a salad. 

[1] Soak the vegetables in a bath of (a small / tiny amount of bleach) for 20 minutes. Then rinse off. (One cap lid of bleach for a sink basin of water.)

[2] Cook or heat the vegetables before you add them to the salad. For tomatoes, let them sit in hot water for one to five.  And so on and so forth. Lettuce can be lightly steamed for a few seconds before eating. This requirement is not a designed-in requirement for the human body archetype. It is a need that human inmate "skin suits" must do in the earth environment, because it is now a toxic environment. By lightly heating, steaming or cooking the vegetables you will help remove growth hormones, pesticides and GMO additions not yet integrated into the food element.

Sea Food

Eat fish. Cooked any way. Steamed is the healthiest, but the difference between pan fried and grilled is minuscule.

Staples

Maintain a staple of rice, potatoes or breads to supplement that diet. It does not matter which is involved or whether you need to prepare it a certain way. You need to make sure every meal consists of one such staple. This is important to aid in the digestion of the foods you eat.

(Some societies such as American and European rely on breads as the staple. Others rely on potatoes. And many Asian cultures rely on rice. -MM)

Do not follow fads

There are many foods that can be a part of your diet that are generally not considered healthy by current popular culture. Cheese can be a significant part of your diet. As well as tofu. (no problems / complications / or other fears) In both instances, stick with the healthiest versions of those items. For cheese, stick with the light colored cheeses. 

Protein priorities

For sources of protein, look towards nuts, eggs, meat, fowl, or fish. None of which is processed. If you cannot do that then, pre-frozen items can be used. Fresh food, obtained locally is the best. Canned, processed, or with additives for long-term storage are the worst.

General guidelines

Avoid ALL processed food.
No sugar laden breakfast cereals. You can make your own oatmeal.
Avoid all canned, or prepackaged or precooked food.

Home made food
Most meals should be made by your family, at home, using fresh ingredients that you select yourself. When cooking, make sure they are all cleaned, and then take your time will generally low temperature cooking over long periods of time. Quick meals are to be avoided as should be the use of microwaves and "instant foods".

Restaurants

Restaurant food should be for special occasions. Fast food should be avoided. If you cannot sit down and enjoy a meal, then something is seriously wrong with your lifestyle. When you do go to a restaurant, you should select the restaurant carefully and balance, [1] price, [2] environment, [3] food selection, and [4] companionship. Do NOT ever use only one criteria in restaurant selection.

Prohibitions
Avoid all GMO food.
Avoid all food with injected hormones
Avoid large quantities of sugar.
Avoid large quantities of salt.
Avoid reusing oil. (No fried foods from restaurants.)

No/few/occasional potato chips.
No/few/occasional deep fried anything.
No/few/occasional sodas.
No/few/occasional candy.
No/few/occasional cakes.

Alcohol

An occasional coffee or tea is acceptable, but the questioner should limit the intake of beverages to one a day. This can be a singular coffee, a singular tea or one carefully selected soft drink. No more.

You may drink wine in moderation. Red wine is the preferred drink. A man alone should have no more than one bottle of wine a sitting. A woman, half that amount. A couple should be able to drink two bottles of wine without problems. In all cases, it should be kept under three bottles a sitting. Otherwise it will cause problems. 

Beer and hard liquor are to be avoided. Please kindly refrain from smoking.

Medicines
Ask your doctor to consolidate your medicines. You want to take the least number of types of medicines as possible. Eventually reaching a point where no medicines are necessary.

Hydration

Drink a lot of water. You can add lemon slices, or other berries to the drink as you see fit. Warm to room temperature water is best.

Meal Size

Avoid all those mega-portion sizes offered by American chain stores or restaurants.

Speed of Consumption 

Never rush when you eat. A meal should take from one to two hours to eat. Any meal that you consume under 15 minutes is not healthy. No matter what you eat, the time to consume the meal has a great deal of influence on how the food is digested. A work lunch under one hour is unacceptable. Humans, whether inmate skin suits, or pristine archetypes need to eat slowly and easily.

Cooking Methodology

Humans were designed to eat certain kinds of food, prepared in certain kind of ways. Steamed is the best. Fried in oil is the least desirable.

When we constructed the human archetype it was designed to use the food items and elements that the human body would cohabit with. In the toxic stew of what the earth is today, very careful attention must be given to what is consumed; how it is prepared, and how it is eaten. These are not minor subjects. These are very important elements that must be incorporated in one's lifestyle.

Um. I’m in trouble. Sigh.

But I do agree. This is a point that has been pestering me all these decades. 。。

  • [1] Stop drinking soft drinks and beer. Drink wine instead.
  • [2] Stop eating potato chips. Eat potatoes and onions fried with some salt instead.
  • [3] Stop eating hamburgers. Eat pork chops, steak or mutton instead.
  • [4] Nothing fake. Use real butter.
  • [5] Nothing fake. Eat real fresh bread. Nothing supermarket packaged.
  • [6] No candy.
  • [7] Cakes should be a rare item.
  • [8] Eat fruit. At least have some bananas in the house.

Oh, and please, never eat alone. Eat with friend and family. And make it special. Noting makes me feel like a king than when I am eating a fine meal with a lady that is all beautiful and who has the proper amount of foundation on, wearing a most comfortable dress, and is just engaged in chatting with me. Ugh!!!

Manifesting signal

Ok, this was sent to me. I tried to figure it out, but I am not very clear on it.

Ultimately, the end-goal is to circumvent the malevolent (alterations to) / (control of) our internal systems, thereby allowing access beyond the Prison Aspect of our being. Correct? Like DM’s lucidity, right? What is the manifesting “signal” that makes me physically what I am? I would like to change THAT. Surely that is prohibited by the Prison Construct, right?

Q: What is the manifesting frequency / signal that makes “me” who I am?

(garbled / a lot of information. Confused. A bunch of slides of things thrown at me in rapid succession.)

(Too much information and confusing. I simplified as...) The human inmate "skin suit" can be considered to be a very complex frequency. 

Yes, once you are able to control this frequency then you can change various aspects of it for egress out of the prison complex.

This is one of the techniques that we use when (MM volunteers) others join our effort. We alter their inmate "skin suits" at different ways and means.

(Images of things, and actions. I do not understand.)

However, we are all influenced by our environment. Thus we are all influenced by the thoughts around us. ("M-band noise" from the Monroe report.) this alters the frequency interactions / (garbled) of our very being. It's like trying to dig a hole in sand, the deeper you go, the more sand falls in.

This "manifesting signal" is how we are able to track inmates in the prison complex, find others outside of the reality universe, and perform alterations in the reality, (not clear) or in the surrounding universe. But it is not a simple thing. It is very complex.

By changing the signal, you change your soul / IS-BE structure / consciousness / manifestation interaction with the universe that is being co-inhabited with. Thus it is a very dangerous thing to do. You have to know what you are doing and why.

It’s like making a cake. You can change from two eggs to three, or one spoon of sugar to three spoons. But when you change the flour to rice powder, the end result might be something quite different. – MM

Reiki

I tell everyone, this is all very tiring and difficult for me to do. I really hate these long winded multiple part questions. What’s the matter? Doesn’t anyone read my guidelines? Some one setups a fake email and asks me unrelated questions with no personal impact on their own day to day lives? I am not a television trivia show.

No more multiple part questions. The next person who asks a multi-part question will be banned.

I was thinking about Reiki, some “dark” questions appeared:

Question 1; Is this interaction with “energy” related to the consciousness? With the “soul” or the “spirit”?

Question 2: Is Reiki just another control method set in place by the “Old Empire”?

Question 3: Is this useful only in the prison complex?

Question 4: Is this “energy” or Qi (Chi) able to interact with garbons or other low-level components of the non-physical?

Question 5: Is there a real correlation between physical feelings and spiritual feelings?

Question 6: A soul or consciousness is able to “get sick” beyond the physical environment?

Question 7: The most important one: Why we humans know so little about the relationships between soul, consciousness and body?

We are just in the same spot we have been for thousands of years because of amnesia and control.

I want to know how to put a consciousness in a container, at least theoretically. This is real technology and knowledge.

I am sorry for all of this. This Reiki information is not useful, it may be classified as quackery.

Phew! If I answered all these questions, I would be busy for months.  I am only going to answer one question. I am going to ask the last one; the “important” one.

Q; Why we humans know so little about the relationships between soul, consciousness and body?

*null*

It’s a refusal to answer.

I do not know why.

I suspect that it has to do with the questioner as the questions are “busy work” and will serve no one. However, I do not know if that is actually the case. It is possible that these questions are from someone who wants to fuck around with me.  It might be the same person that did so previously.

In any event. The Commandeer refuses to answer. That is an absolute.

To the questioner; you know the answer. So why ask me?

Petrified about World War III

The interchange in this next dialog is a little bit strange, so I made it conversational so it would be much easier to read. The content, and the impressions are the same, it's just that multiple card desk items have been rearranged sequentially for ease of understanding. 

Referring to stacking, cards, and things like that are interpretations of multiple comm channels opening up and information overload being parsed through filters. I also use borrowed terms ;like Robert Monroe's "M band" with is a flood of background chatter that acts as a noise that needs to be filtered or organized.-MM

The warnings from my brother, and other intelligence sources indicate that things are moving forward towards a war and I am seemingly right on ground zero. Further events are taking place that add credence to his statements. Such as an Iranian tanker full of oil was turned back from entering Shanghai by a naval vessel. There’s provocation upon provocation and I don’t trust anything I read any longer.

I am starting to question my own chatter, and sensing equipment. (Skill sets, add on software and EBP stuff that I know how to use. I just simplify this equipment kit to “sensors” in this recorded dialog transcript. Though in the conversation we discussed specific parts and elements of this kit. -MM)

I would like some clear information on  what is going on, of course – in reference to myself, but any other information that could be provided to MM readership would be appreciated.

Q: What are my chances of survival if the United States decides to start a war with China? And how does this influence other MM readers?

You have the tools to know what is going on and why. You are being insecure because your feedback from those you love and trust are giving you bad intel. You must remember your skills and put them to use. There is no one on the planet at this time that has better skills in this area than you do, and that includes all of your colleagues in the  subprogram (MAJestic).

The quantum changes (M band noise) has reached a directed frenzy. This goal is for a major war and conflict of long duration under specified operational parameters that will not occur. The best way to stop this train of events is to create a series of deep-dive slides, and that has become impossible to do at the present time.

The systems / mechanisms / techniques / personnel are all off-line. Organized dives (sic.) are not possible at this time.

The MWI (sic.) will evolve according to the pre-programmed event sequence. You cannot stop it. There are far too many variables and far too may interested parties / evil intent / pre-programmed mantid prime world-lines (sec.) that are moving with these issues.

You ARE in the safest location possible given the great diversity of possible outcomes at this time. Do not doubt that.

Further, note that The Domain will only risk consciousness swapping / jump in body / take over a body / operational cloning if the result has a strong probable result. At this time it resembles your experiences  in Corpus Christi December 1983 (major world-line template cluster realignment. We avoided world war III with the Russians at that time.). Things are much more serious however, and there are too many thought clusters with too many varying outcomes to predict the most probable results.

We do not want a radioactive result. We are working to prevent this scenario from occurring. However, the most probable event sequence will be one that includes nuclear detonations. 

However, there is a very high probability that most of China and the South Pacific will be spared from most of the damage. 

Of course all of this is fluid, and there are many forces / interests / non-physical / physical / mantid / evil that has set systems in motion for conflagration. 

All of our predictive anticipation programs show damage and dangers to the United States, and their allies. They are generating too many m-band / thought profiles / group consciousness vectors / world-line slides in favor of a major war. 

With the preventative measures that we have set up, all these thought vectors will redirect to the source; the United States and the people of the United States.

For example; The United States attacked China with a bio-weapon. The effect is that China survived, but the United States is now under bio-weapon rampage. 

This "boomerang effect" is the result of (garbled / not clear /difficult to explain) and this give and take / attribute /resulting /configuration is to be expected in this current war situation.

The mRNA inoculations are not a vaccine. It's a preventative measure for the next major attack. You know this. However, rest assured that it will not work as intended, and the predictive vector trends show clearly a very disastrous outcome.

Use your skills and answer the following yourself...

Q: What is the best scenario given your viewing of the MWI / world-line undulations?

Well. as best I can figure it would be no war, no nuclear or further biological exchanges, and a return to normalcy with the United States government replaced with something different that would deal with the needs of the American people and not get involved in War.

Q: What is your likelihood of that occurring. Quick answer. NOW!

Zero.

Q: What is the worst scenario given what you see in the MWI and undulations on world-lines (sic.)? Use your skills. Fast answer. NOW!

MAD mutually assured nuclear destruction where America launches a full scale nuclear first strike, and China and Russia retaliate from their ruined nations. Additionally, North Korea destroys South Korea and attacks Japan. Pakistan attacks India, Russia destroys the European Union and the entire Middle East goes to war.

Q: What is the highest probability scenario based upon your sensory perceptions; ignoring the (M-band noise) / chatter that is clogging up your sensor feeds? 

Monitor your senses, on the count 3. 2. 1. Now!

(Noise chatter. So much M-band noise. Confusion. Misdirection. lines strained.) Searching. Searching.

Not bumpkus.

Some clarity.

China does not do anything overt. The United States grows impatient, and thus creates a “false flag” to set things in motion. (Nothing actually happens, so the USA creates a false event as an excuse to implement one of their multiple plans.) The Russian and the Chinese are waiting for this moment to arrive. Waiting on viable intel.

Then they will launch a first strike nuclear salvo (just right) before the United States can do anything that it plans.

They will do this at any point that the probability of success is over 85%. (The higher the probability of success, the sooner the Chinese event sequence will manifest. The trigger threshold will be 85%.)

Q: Using what you know, from all of your sensors, what is going on. Write it down, and do not edit for clarity. Do not scrub away what does not make sense. Put the raw feed down, and do not clean it up. Do it now.

Here goes.

America is planning multiple strike attacks and will implement the first viable one as the situation matures. The first strike nuclear hit destroying multiple main Chinese cities at once, and then fabricating a reason is amazing high on the probability scale. It is disturbing that it is being considered at this time, but the drivers are emotionally driven M-band folk with no scruples.

Meanwhile the Russian and the Chinese have already put into place a first strike plan and are getting systems in place to prevent the United States from launching nuclear strike counter attacks. This is the “counter plan”. This situation is at 72% readiness. So the Chinese and the Russians are feverishly trying to work to get things in place before the USA is ready to start a major conflict.

The United States is trying to prod and goad the Chinese into action, and will keep on pushing until something happens, then once the event occurs, a series of well planned attacks will take place. Everything is in place this week. This is the primary (American) approved plan. It will go nuclear the moment the Chinese react to provocations. They will fabricate an excuse if this timeline is delayed too long.

(Phew! I’m amazed that I was able to type so fast and quickly.)

That is what I sense. How accurate is it? Please scan and confirm my interpretations.

Interpretations are correct. You did not include the actions in Europe. Nor did you include the Israel connections and the things going on regarding with Iran, Pakistan, and Australia.

But if you are weighing in data feeds based on M-noise chatter, then it is obvious that your intel is as good as we can get. 

As you can sense the entire issue with Australia is floundering and there is a dynamic that can swing to any extreme. Right now it looks like it will "die on the vine", but there are issues and events that could keep it aggressive alive and there is great concern that if the direction heads that way, that the worst case scenario can be realized.

For Australia, it is the key unknown at this time. If the entire Morrison leadership effort collapses and there is a reverse in policy , the best scenario may be realized. So Australia is the dominant player in the unfolding of the current events train.

Pakistan is moderating the India *wild card* and for now it appears that this situation is under control and free from problems.

Europe is a wildcard, and the situation is changing daily. The United States is aggressively using every "trick in the book" to make the EU join in a war, but they are very reluctant to do so. Firstly because they don't want to upset China who remains their largest trading partner, but also they fear Russian retaliation because they know that Russia and China now operate as one. This was shown in Chinese support of all the political and diplomatic spats that Russia has had with Europe.

Q: Will you be able to take over a body and stop a “button being pushed”?

We can, but we will not. Not in this instance, and not at this time.

Q: Elaborate why.

All obstacles to the (counter) plan must be disabled.

Q: Even if it means that the earth will become a radioactive mess?

Yes. It is preferable that we prevent the ruin and destruction of the earth at this time, but there are too many variables involved, and far too many situations that all taken together render our ability to prevent a worst case scenario from occurring.

Heaven (sic.) are expanding their entry systems to handle a large influx of IS-BE's into the environment and anticipate a heavy work load, but you knew that already didn't you?

I then went to sleep around 11:00pm.

At 2:45am I woke up after tossing and turning and all kinds of undecipherable things from the commander. Not dreams. Just messages going on and on and waking me up from a non-dream sleep.

Finally I was able to get this little bit that started to unravel a long garbled message train. (Don’t ask me to explain.)

...In absolute terms you were poisoned. Just like the scene from Breaking Bad. Ricin was used to interrupt things so that activities and event trains were prevented. 

You were provided with a physical body cold that serves to interrupt your ability to reset and initiate slides for anchoring events (sic.) 

Or to say it bluntly, you were deactivated temporarily so that a selection of critical events would not be interrupted.

It is true that I just got a seemingly bad cold suddenly yesterday. (Physical illness.) And when I have physical illnesses, many of my abilities are either no longer functional, or are interrupted to the point of dysfunction.

Something is going on now, and it must not be interrupted by me, nor am I permitted to influence it in any way.

Q: Who or what is neutering my abilities at this time, and why?

(Why) the mantids (sic.), of course.

Oh, my goodness, what a “can of worms” is now opened. Uh oh.

Q: Please elaborate

The "greater good" must be permitted to occur at this time so that a much worse sequence of events (in the future) can be prevented.

So, I recon, that if we allow a little bad now, it will act as a safety value to prevent a greater bad event in the future?

Q: Continue and elaborate please.

Yes. That is correct.

Your abilities and those of  a few others are now disabled so that nothing will interrupt a critical sequence of events from occurring. This sequence of events will (mostly) be transparent. (I won't be reading about them in any "news feeds", but will involve some very bad things, black operations and deaths.)

For now, you and your MM colleagues will be safe.

This sequence of events will set in place a "rocky" event train (sic.), and that some pre-planned events might require further disabling of your latent abilities. You need to avoid M-block thoughts, and influences to you. Be calm and don't get so "caught up" in the craziness that will start to manifest in the next few weeks.

The next few weeks?

Maybe things have been prevented, or set off to the side somehow, and a calmer, saner result might manifest. Perhaps?

Yes. More like sliding onto a different railroad track.

OK. I am going back to bed. I will continue all this in the morning.

Morning arrived. Still sick. Wife and kid woke me up early. Need to give our old dog his medicine first thing at the crack of dawn. Sigh.

All channels are quiet.

Do you want more?

You can find many more videos in my “Extraterrestrial Species index” over here…

ET Species

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Law 38 of the 48 Laws of Power; Think as you like but behave like others

This is law 38 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it. Indeed this law holds many truths.

  • If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
  • Flaunting your pleasure in alien ways of thinking and acting will reveal a different motive – to demonstrate your superiority over your fellows.
  • Wise and clever people learn early on that they can display conventional behavior and mouth conventional ideas without having to believe in them. The power these people gain from blending in is that of being left alone to have the thoughts they want to have, and to express them to the people they want to express them to, without suffering isolation or ostracism.
  • The only time it is worth standing out is when you already stand out—when you have achieved an unshakable position of power, and can display your difference from others as a sign of the distance between you.

LAW 38

THINK AS YOU LIKE BUT BEHAVE LIKE OTHERS

JUDGMENT

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.

THINK WITH THE FEW AND SPEAK WITH THE MANY

It is easy to run into danger by trying to swim against the stream. Only a Socrates could attempt to do that. Disagreement is regarded as offensive because it is a condemnation of the views of others; the numbers of the disgruntled grow, on account either of some matter that has been the object of censure or of some person who has praised it: Truth is for the few, error is as usual as it is vulgar. Nor is the wise man to be recognized by what he says in the marketplace, for he speaks there not with his own voice, but with that of universal folly, however much his inmost thoughts may gainsay it: The wise man avoids being contradicted as sedulously as he avoids contradicting; the publicity of censure is withheld from that which readily provokes it. Thought is free; it cannot and should not be coerced; retire into the sanctuary of your silence and if you sometimes allow yourself to break it, do so under the aegis of a discreet few.

BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Around the year 478 B.C., the city of Sparta sent an expedition to Persia led by the young Spartan nobleman Pausanias. The city-states of Greece had recently fought off a mighty invasion from Persia, and now Pausanias, along with allied ships from Athens, had orders to punish the invaders and win back the islands and coastal towns that the Persians had occupied. Both the Athenians and the Spartans had great respect for Pausanias-he had proven himself as a fearless warrior, with a flair for the dramatic.

With amazing speed, Pausanias and his troops took Cyprus, then moved on to the mainland of Asia Minor known as the Hellespont and captured Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul). Now master of part of the Persian empire, Pausanias began to show signs of behavior that went beyond his normal flamboyance. He appeared in public wearing pomades in his hair and flowing Persian robes, and accompanied by a bodyguard of Egyptians. He held lavish banquets in which he sat in the Persian manner and demanded to be entertained. He stopped seeing his old friends, entered into communication with the Persian King Xerxes, and all in all affected the style and manner of a Persian dictator.

Clearly power and success had gone to Pausanias’s head. His army-Athenians and Spartans alike-at first thought this a passing fancy: He had always been a bit exaggerated in his gestures. But when he flaunted his disdain for the Greeks’ simple way of life, and insulted the common Greek soldier, they began to feel he had gone too far. Although there was no concrete evidence for this, rumors spread that he had gone over to the other side, and that he dreamed of becoming a kind of Greek Xerxes. To quell the possibility of mutiny, the Spartans relieved Pausanias of his command and called him home.

Pausanias, however, continued to dress in the Persian style, even in Sparta. After a few months he independently hired a trireme and returned to the Hellespont, telling his compatriots he was going to continue the fight against the Persians. Actually, however, he had different plans—to make himself ruler of all Greece, with the aid of Xerxes himself. The Spartans declared him a public enemy and sent a ship to capture him. Pausanias surrendered, certain that he could clear himself of the charges of treason. It did come out during the trial that during his reign as commander he had offended his fellow Greeks time and again, erecting monuments, for instance, in his own name, rather than in those of the cities whose troops had fought alongside him, as was the custom.

Yet Pausanias proved right: Despite the evidence of his numerous contacts with the enemy, the Spartans refused to imprison a man of such noble birth, and let him go.

Now thinking himself untouchable, Pausanias hired a messenger to take a letter to Xerxes, but the messenger instead took the letter to the Spartan authorities. These men wanted to find out more, so they had the messenger arrange to meet Pausanias in a temple where they could hide and listen behind a partition. What Pausanias said shocked them-they had never heard such contempt for their ways spoken so brazenly by one of their own—and they made arrangements for his immediate arrest.

On his way home from the temple, Pausanias got word of what had happened. He ran to another temple to hide, but the authorities followed him there and placed sentries all around. Pausanias refused to surrender. Unwilling to forcibly remove him from the sacred temple, the authorities kept him trapped inside, until he eventually died of starvation.

Bene vixit, qui bene latuit
“He lives well who conceals himself well.”

OVID, c. 43 B.C.-A.D. 18

Interpretation

At first glance it might seem that Pausanias simply fell in love with another culture, a phenomenon as old as time. Never comfortable with the asceti cism of the Spartans, he found himself enthralled by the Persian love of luxury and sensual pleasure. He put on Persian robes and perfumes with a sense of deliverance from Greek discipline and simplicity.

This is how it appears when people adopt a culture in which they were not raised. Often, however, there is also something else at play: People who flaunt their infatuation with a different culture are expressing a disdain and contempt for their own. They are using the outward appearance of the exotic to separate themselves from the common folk who unques tioningly follow the local customs and laws, and to express their sense of superiority. Otherwise they would act with more dignity, showing respect for those who do not share their desires. Indeed their need to show their difference so dramatically often makes them disliked by the people whose beliefs they challenge, indirectly and subtly, perhaps, but offensively nonetheless.

As Thucydides wrote of Pausanias, “By his contempt for the laws and his imitation of foreign ways he had made himself very widely suspected of being unwilling to abide by normal standards.” Cultures have norms that reflect centuries of shared beliefs and ideals. Do not expect to scoff at such things with impunity. You will be punished somehow, even if just through isolation—a position of real powerlessness.

Many of us, like Pausanias, feel the siren call of the exotic, the foreign. Measure and moderate this desire. Flaunting your pleasure in alien ways of thinking and acting will reveal a different motive—to demonstrate your superiority over your fellows.

Wise men [should be] like coffers with double bottoms: Which when others look into, being opened, they see not all that they hold.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 1554-1618

WHEN THE WATERS WERE CHANGED

Once upon a time Khidr, the teacher of Moses, called upon mankind with a warning. At a certain date, he said, all the water in the world which had not been specially hoarded, would disappear. It would then be renewed, with different water, which would drive men mad. Only one man listened to the meaning of this advice. He collected water and went to a secure place where he stored it, and waited for the water to change its character. On the appointed date the streams stopped running, the wells went dry, and the man who had listened, seeing this happening, went to his retreat and drank his preserved water. When he saw, from his security, the waterfalls again beginning to flow, this man descended among the other sons of men. He found that they were thinking and talking in an entirely different way from before; yet they had no memory of what had happened, nor of having been warned. When he tried to talk to them, he realized that they thought that he was mad, and they showed hostility or compassion, not understanding. At first he drank none of the new water, but went back to his concealment, to draw on his supplies, every day. Finally, however, he

took the decision to drink the new water because he could not bear the loneliness of living, behaving and thinking in a different way from everyone else. He drank the new water, and became like the rest. Then he forgot all about his own store of special water, and his fellows began to look upon him as a madman who had miraculously been restored to sanity.

TALES OF THE DERVISHES, IDRIES SHAH, 1967

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

During the late sixteenth century, a violent reaction against the Protestant Reformation erupted in Italy. The Counter-Reformation, as it was called, included its own version of the Inquisition to root out all deviations from the Catholic Church. Among its victims was the scientist Galileo, but an important thinker who suffered even greater persecution was the Dominican monk and philosopher Tommaso Campanella.

A follower of the materialist doctrine of the Roman philosopher Epicurus, Campanella did not believe in miracles, or in heaven and hell. The Church had promoted such superstitions, he wrote, to control the common folk by keeping them in fear. Such ideas verged on atheism, and Campanella expressed them incautiously. In 1593 the Inquisition threw him into prison for his heretical beliefs. Six years later, as a form of partial release, he was confined to a monastery in Naples.

Southern Italy was controlled by Spain at the time, and in Naples Campanella became involved in a plot to fight and throw out these invaders. His hope was to establish an independent republic based on his own ideas of utopia. The leaders of the Italian Inquisition, working with their Spanish counterparts, had him imprisoned again. This time they also tortured him, to discover the true nature of his impious beliefs: He was subjected to the infamous la veglia, a torture in which he was suspended by his arms in a squatting position a few inches above a seat studded with spikes. The posture was impossible to sustain, and in time the victim would end up sitting on the spikes, which would tear his flesh at the slightest contact.

During these years, however, Campanella learned something about power. Facing the prospect of execution for heresy, he changed his strategy: He would not renounce his beliefs, yet he knew he had to disguise their outward appearance.

To save his life, Campanella feigned madness. He let his inquisitors imagine that his beliefs stemmed from an incontrollable unsoundness of mind. For a while the tortures continued, to see if his insanity was faked, but in 1603 his sentence was commuted to life in prison. The first four years of this he spent chained to a wall in an underground dungeon. Despite such conditions, he continued to write—although no longer would he be so foolish as to express his ideas directly.

One book of Campanella’s, The Hispanic Monarchy, promoted the idea that Spain had a divine mission to expand its powers around the world, and offered the Spanish king practical, Machiavelli-type advice for achieving this. Despite his own interest in Machiavelli, the book in general presented ideas completely the opposite to his own. The Hispanic Monarchy was in fact a ploy, an attempt to show his conversion to orthodoxy in the boldest manner possible. It worked: In 1626, six years after its publication, the pope finally let Campanella out of prison.

Shortly after gaining his freedom, Campanella wrote Atheism Conquered, a book attacking free-thinkers, Machiavellians, Calvinists, and heretics of all stripes. The book is written in the form of debates in which heretics express their beliefs and are countered by arguments for the superiority of Catholicism. Campanella had obviously reformed—his book made that clear. Or did it?

The arguments in the mouths of the heretics had never before been expressed with such verve and freshness. Pretending to present their side only to knock it down, Campanella actually summarized the case against Catholicism with striking passion. When he argued the other side, supposedly his side, on the other hand, he resorted to stale clichés and convoluted rationales. Brief and eloquent, the heretics’ arguments seemed bold and sincere. The lengthy arguments for Catholicism seemed tiresome and unconvincing.

Catholics who read the book found it disturbing and ambiguous, but they could not claim it was heretical, or that Campanella should be returned to prison. His defense of Catholicism, after all, used arguments they had used themselves. Yet in the years to come, Atheism Conquered became a bible for atheists, Machiavellians and libertines who used the arguments Campanella had put in their mouths to defend their dangerous ideas. Combining an outward display of conformity with an expression of his true beliefs in a way that his sympathizers would understand, Campanella showed that he had learned his lesson.

Interpretation

In the face of awesome persecution, Campanella devised three strategic moves that saved his hide, freed him from prison, and allowed him to continue to express his beliefs. First he feigned madness—the medieval equivalent of disavowing responsibility for one’s actions, like blaming one’s parents today. Next he wrote a book that expressed the exact opposite of his own beliefs. Finally, and most brilliantly of all, he disguised his ideas while insinuating them at the same time. It is an old but powerful trick: You pretend to disagree with dangerous ideas, but in the course of your disagreement you give those ideas expression and exposure. You seem to conform to the prevailing orthodoxy, but those who know will understand the irony involved. You are protected.

It is inevitable in society that certain values and customs lose contact with their original motives and become oppressive. And there will always be those who rebel against such oppression, harboring ideas far ahead of their time. As Campanella was forced to realize, however, there is no point in making a display of your dangerous ideas if they only bring you suffering and persecution. Martyrdom serves no purpose— better to live on in an oppressive world, even to thrive in it. Meanwhile find a way to express your ideas subtly for those who understand you. Laying your pearls before swine will only bring you trouble.

Never combat any man‘s opinion; for though you reached the age of Methuselah, you would never have done setting him right upon all the absurd things that he believes. It is also well to avoid correcting people’s mistakes in conversation, however good your intentions may be; for it is easy to offend people, and difficult, if not impossible to mend them.

If you feel irritated by the absurd remarks of two people whose conversation you happen to overhear, you should imagine that you are listening to the dialogue of two fools in a comedy. Probatum est.

The man who comes into the world with the notion that he is really going to instruct it in matters of the highest importance, may thank his stars if he escapes with a whole skin.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860
For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth, I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find.

Niccolò Machiavelli, in a letter to Francesco Gnicciardini, May 17, 1521

KEYS TO POWER

We all tell lies and hide our true feelings, for complete free expression is a social impossibility. From an early age we learn to conceal our thoughts, telling the prickly and insecure what we know they want to hear, watching carefully lest we offend them. For most of us this is natural—there are ideas and values that most people accept, and it is pointless to argue. We believe what we want to, then, but on the outside we wear a mask.

There are people, however, who see such restraints as an intolerable infringement on their freedom, and who have a need to prove the superiority of their values and beliefs. In the end, though, their arguments convince only a few and offend a great deal more. The reason arguments do not work is that most people hold their ideas and values without thinking about them. There is a strong emotional content in their beliefs: They really do not want to have to rework their habits of thinking, and when you challenge them, whether directly through your arguments or indirectly through your behavior, they are hostile.

Wise and clever people learn early on that they can display conventional behavior and mouth conventional ideas without having to believe in them. The power these people gain from blending in is that of being left alone to have the thoughts they want to have, and to express them to the people they want to express them to, without suffering isolation or ostracism. Once they have established themselves in a position of power, they can try to convince a wider circle of the correctness of their ideas—perhaps working indirectly, using Campanella’s strategies of irony and insinuation.

In the late fourteenth century, the Spanish began a massive persecution of the Jews, murdering thousands and driving others out of the country. Those who remained in Spain were forced to convert. Yet over the next three hundred years, the Spanish noticed a phenomenon that disturbed them: Many of the converts lived their outward lives as Catholics, yet somehow managed to retain their Jewish beliefs, practicing the religion in private. Many of these so-called Marranos (originally a derogatory term, being the Spanish for “pig”) attained high levels of government office, married into the nobility, and gave every appearance of Christian piety, only to be discovered late in life as practicing Jews. (The Spanish Inquisition was specifically commissioned to ferret them out.) Over the years they mastered the art of dissimulation, displaying crucifixes liberally, giving generous gifts to churches, even occasionally making anti-Semitic remarks—and all the while maintaining their inner freedom and beliefs.

In society, the Marranos knew, outward appearances are what matter. This remains true today. The strategy is simple: As Campanella did in writing Atheism Conquered, make a show of blending in, even going so far as to be the most zealous advocate of the prevailing orthodoxy. If you stick to conventional appearances in public few will believe you think differently in private.

THE CITIZEN AND THE TRAVELER

“Look around you,” said the citizen. “This is the largest market in the world.” 

“Oh surely not,” said the traveler.

“Well, perhaps not the largest,” said the citizen, “but much the best.” “

"You are certainly wrong there,” said the traveler. “I can tell you....”

...

They buried the stranger in the dusk.


FABLES, ROBERT Louis STEVENSON, 1850-1894
If Machiavelli had had a prince for disciple, the first thing he would have recommended him to do would have been to write a book against Machiavellism. VOLTAIRE, 1694-1778

Do not be so foolish as to imagine that in our own time the old orthodoxies are gone. Jonas Salk, for instance, thought science had gotten past politics and protocol. And so, in his search for a polio vaccine, he broke all the rules—going public with a discovery before showing it to the scientific community, taking credit for the vaccine without acknowledging the scientists who had paved the way, making himself a star. The public may have loved him but scientists shunned him. His disrespect for his community’s orthodoxies left him isolated, and he wasted years trying to heal the breach, and struggling for funding and cooperation.

Bertolt Brecht underwent a modem form of Inquisition—the House Un-American Activities Committee—and approached it with considerable canniness. Having worked off and on in the American film industry during World War II, in 1947 Brecht was summoned to appear before the committee to answer questions on his suspected Communist sympathies. Other writers called before the committee made a point of attacking its members, and of acting as belligerently as possible in order to gain sympathy for themselves. Brecht, on the other hand, who had actually worked steadfastly for the Communist cause, played the opposite game: He answered questions with ambiguous generalities that defied easy interpretation. Call it the Campanella strategy. Brecht even wore a suit—a rare event for him-and made a point of smoking a cigar during the proceedings, knowing that a key committee member had a passion for cigars. In the end he charmed the committee members, who let him go scot-free.

Brecht then moved to East Germany, where he encountered a different kind of Inquisition. Here the Communists were in power, and they criticized his plays as decadent and pessimistic. He did not argue with them, but made small changes in the performance scripts to shut them up. Meanwhile he managed to preserve the published texts as written. His outward conformity in both cases gave him the freedom to work unhindered, without having to change his thinking. In the end, he made his way safely through dangerous times in different countries through the use of little dances of orthodoxy, and proved he was more powerful than the forces of repression.

Not only do people of power avoid the offenses of Pausanias and Salk, they also learn to play the clever fox and feign the common touch. This has been the ploy of con artists and politicians throughout the centuries. Leaders like Julius Caesar and Franklin

  1. D. Roosevelt have overcome their natural aristocratic stance to cultivate a familiarity with the common man. They have expressed this familiarity in little gestures, often symbolic, to show the people that their leaders share popular values, despite their different status.

The logical extension of this practice is the invaluable ability to be all things to all people. When you go into society, leave behind your own ideas and values, and put on the mask that is most appropriate for the group in which you find yourself. Bismarck played this game successfully for years—there were people who vaguely understood what he was up to, but not clearly enough that it mattered. People will swallow the bait because it flatters them to believe that you share their ideas. They will not take you as a hypocrite if you are careful—for how can they accuse you of hypocrisy if you do not let them know exactly what you stand for? Nor will they see you as lacking in values. Of course you have values—the values you share with them, while in their company.

Authority: Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you. (Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:6) Image: The Black The herd shuns the Sheep. black sheep, uncertain whether or not it belongs with them. So it straggles behind, or wanders away from the herd, where it is cornered by wolves and promptly devoured. Stay with the herd—there is safety in numbers. Keep your differences in your thoughts and not in your fleece.

REVERSAL

The only time it is worth standing out is when you already stand out—when you have achieved an unshakable position of power, and can display your difference from others as a sign of the distance between you. As president of the United States, Lyndon Johnson would sometimes hold meetings while he sat on the toilet. Since no one else either could or would claim such a “privilege,” Johnson was showing people that he did not have to observe the protocols and niceties of others. The Roman emperor Caligula played the same game: He would wear a woman’s negligee, or a bathrobe, to receive important visitors. He even went so far as to have his horse elected consul. But it backfired, for the people hated Caligula, and his gestures eventually brought his overthrow. The truth is that even those who attain the heights of power would be better off at least affecting the common touch, for at some point they may need popular support.

Finally, there is always a place for the gadfly, the person who successfully defies custom and mocks what has grown lifeless in a culture. Oscar Wilde, for example, achieved considerable social power on this foundation: He made it clear that he disdained the usual ways of doing things, and when he gave public readings his audiences not only expected him to insult them but welcomed it. We notice, however, that his eccentric role eventually destroyed him. Even had he come to a better end, remember that he possessed an unusual genius: Without his gift to amuse and delight, his barbs would simply have offended people.

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Law 37 of the 48 Laws of Power; Create compelling spectacles

This is law 37 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it. It’s a really good law.

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power—everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

  • Words often go astray, but symbols and the visual strike with emotional power and immediacy.
  • Find an associate yourself with powerful images and symbols to gain power.
  • Most effective of all is a new combination – a fusion of images and symbols that have not been seen together before, but that clearly demonstrate your new idea, message, religion.

LAW 37

CREATE COMPELLING SPECTACLES

JUDGMENT

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power—everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATHA

She relied above all upon her physical presence and the spell and enchantment which it could create.... 

She came sailing up the river Cydnus in a barge with a poop of gold, its purple sails billowing in the wind, while her rowers caressed the water with oars of silver which dipped in time to the music of the flute, accompanied by pipes and lutes.

Cleopatra herself reclined beneath a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed in
the character of Aphrodite, as we see her in paintings, while on either side to complete the picture stood boys costumed as Cupids who cooled her with their fans.

Instead of a crew the barge was lined with the most beautiful of her waiting-women attired as Nereids and Graces, some at the rudders, others at the tackle of the sails, and all the while an indescribably rich perfume, exhaled from innumerable censers, was wafted from the vessel to the riverbanks.

Great multitudes accompanied this royal progress, some of them following the queen on both sides of the river from its very mouth, while others hurried down from the city of Tarsus to gaze at the sight. Gradually the crowds drifted away from the marketplace, where Antony awaited the queen enthroned on his tribunal, until at last he was left sitting quite alone.

And the word spread on every side that Aphrodite had come to revel with Dionysus for the happiness of Asia. Antony then sent a message inviting Cleopatra to dine with him. But she thought it more appropriate that he should come to her, and so, as he wished to show his courtesy and goodwill, he accepted and went.

He found the preparations made to receive him magnificent bevond words, but what astonished him most of all was the extraordinary number of lights. So many of these, it is said, were let down from the roof and displayed on all sides at once, and they were arranged and grouped in such ingenious patterns in relation to each other, some in squares and
some in circles, that they created as brilliant a spectacle as can ever have been devised to delight the eve.

LIFE OF ANTONY. PLIARCH. C. A.D. 46-120

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I

In the early 1780s, word spread through Berlin of the strange and spectacular medical practice of a Dr. Weisleder. He performed his miracles in an enormous converted beer hall, outside which Berliners began to notice ever longer lines of people—the blind, the lame, anyone with an illness incurable by normal medicine. When it leaked out that the doctor worked by exposing the patient to the rays of the moon, he soon became dubbed The Moon Doctor of Berlin.

Sometime in 1783, it was reported that Dr. Weisleder had cured a well-to-do woman of a terrible ailment. He suddenly became a celebrity. Previously only the poorest Berliners had been seen waiting outside the beer hall in their rags; now magnificent carriages were parked outside, and gentlemen in frock coats, and ladies with enormous coiffures, lined the street as sunset drew near. Even folk with the mildest of ailments came, out of sheer curiosity. As they waited in line, the poorer clients would explain to the gentlemen and ladies that the doctor only practiced when the moon was in its increscent phase. Many would add that they themselves had already been exposed to the healing powers he called forth from the rays of the moon. Even those who felt cured kept coming back, drawn by this powerful experience.

Inside the beer hall, a strange and stirring spectacle greeted the visitor: Packed into the entrance hall was a crowd of all classes and ethnic backgrounds, a veritable Tower of Babel. Through tall windows on the northern side of the hall, silvery moonlight poured in at odd angles. The doctor and his wife, who, it seemed, was also able to effect the cure, practiced on the second floor, which was reached by a stairway, at the end of the hall. As the line edged closer to the stairs, the sick would hear shouts and cries from above, and word would spread of, perhaps, a blind gentleman suddenly able to see.

Once upstairs, the line would fork in two directions, toward a northern room for the doctor, a southern one for his wife, who worked only on the ladies. Finally, after hours of anticipation and waiting in line, the gentlemen patients would be led before the amazing doctor himself, an elderly man with a few stalks of wild gray hair and an air of nervous energy.

He would take the patient (let us say a young boy, brought in by his father), uncover the afflicted body part, and lift the boy up to the window, which faced the light of the moon. He would rub the site of the injury or illness, mumble something unintelligible, look knowingly at the moon, and then, after collecting his fee, send the boy and his father on their way.

Meanwhile, in the south-facing room, his wife would be doing the same with the ladies—which was odd, really, since the moon cannot appear in two places at once; it cannot have been visible, in other words, from both windows. Apparently the mere thought, idea, and symbol of the moon were enough, for the ladies did not complain, and would later remark confidently that the wife of the Moon Doctor had the same healing powers as he.

Interpretation

Dr. Weisleder may have known nothing about medicine, but he understood human nature. He recognized that people do not always want words, or rational explanations, or demonstrations of the powers of science; they want an immediate appeal to their emotions. Give them that and they will do the rest—such as imagine they can be healed by the light reflected from a rock a quarter million miles away. Dr. Weisleder had no need of pills, or of lengthy lectures on the moon’s power, or of any silly gadgetry to amplify its rays. He understood that the simpler the spectacle the better—just the moonlight pouring in from the side, the stairway leading to the heavens, and the rays of the moon, whether directly visible or not. Any added effects might have made it seem that the moon was not strong enough on its own. And the moon was strong enough—it was a magnet for fantasies, as it has been throughout history. Simply by associating himself with the image of the moon, the doctor gained power.

Remember: Your search for power depends on shortcuts. You must always circumvent people’s suspicions, their perverse desire to resist your will. Images are an extremely effective shortcut: Bypassing the head, the seat of doubt and resistance, they aim straight for the heart. Overwhelming the eyes, they create powerful associations, bringing people together and stirring their emotions. With the white light of the moon in their eyes, your targets are blinded to the deceptions you practice.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II

In 1536 the future king Henri II of France took his first mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Diane was thirty-seven at the time, and was the widow of the grand seneschal of Normandy. Henri, meanwhile, was a sprightly lad of seventeen, who was just beginning to sow his wild oats. At first their union seemed merely platonic, with Henri showing an intensely spiritual devotion to Diane. But it soon became clear that he loved her in every way, preferring her bed to that of his young wife, Catherine de’ Médicis.

In 1547 King Francis died and Henri ascended to the throne. This new situation posed perils for Diane de Poitiers. She had just turned forty-eight, and despite her notorious cold baths and rumored youth potions, she was beginning to show her age; now that Henri was king, perhaps he would return to the queen’s bed, and do as other kings had done—choose mistresses from the bevy of beauties who made the French court the envy of Europe. He was, after all, only twenty-eight, and cut a dashing figure.

But Diane did not give up so easily. She would continue to enthrall her lover, as she had enthralled him for the past eleven years.

In the Middle Ages the symbolist attitude was much more in evidence. ... Symbolism appears as a sort of short cut of thought. Instead of looking for the relation between two things by following the hidden detours of their causal connexions, thought makes a leap and discovers their relation not in the connexion of cause and effects, but in a connexion of signification.... Symbolist thought permits an infinity of relations between things. Each thing may denote a number of distinct ideas by its different special qualities, and a quality may have several symbolic meanings. The highest conceptions have symbols by the thousand. Nothing is too humble to represent and glory the sublime. The walnut signifies Christ: the sweet kernel is His divine nature, the green and pulpy outer peel is His humanity, the wooden shell between is the cross. Thus all things raise his thoughts to the eternal.... Every precious stone, besides its natural splendour sparkles with the brilliance of its symbolic values. The assimilation of roses and virginity is much more than a poetic comparison, for it reveals their common essence. As each notion arises in the mind the logic of symbolism creates an harmony of ideas.

THE WANING OF THE MIDDLE AGES, JOHAN HUIZINGA, 1928

Diane’s secret weapons were symbols and images, to which she had always paid great attention. Early on in her relationship with Henri, she had created a motif by intertwining her initials with his, to symbolize their union. The idea worked like a charm: Henri put this insignia everywhere—on his royal robes, on monuments, on churches, on the facade of the Louvre, then the royal palace in Paris. Diane’s favorite colors were black and white, which she wore exclusively, and wherever it was possible the insignia appeared in these colors. Everyone recognized the symbol and its meaning. Soon after Henri took the throne, however, Diane went still further: She decided to identify herself with the Roman goddess Diana, her namesake. Diana was the goddess of the hunt, the traditional royal pastime and the particular passion of Henri. Equally important, in Renaissance art she symbolized chastity and purity. For a woman like Diane to identify herself with this goddess would instantly call up those images in the court, giving her an air of respectability. Symbolizing her “chaste” relationship with Henri, it would also set her apart from the adulterous liaisons of royal mistresses past.

To effect this association, Diane began by completely transforming her castle at Anet. She razed the building’s structure and in its place erected a magnificent Doric-columned edifice modeled after a Roman temple. It was made in white Normandy stone flecked with black silex, reproducing Diane’s trademark colors of black and white. The insignia of her and Henri’s initials appeared on the columns, the doors, the windows, the carpet. Meanwhile, symbols of Diana—crescent moons, stags, and hounds—adorned the gates and facade. Inside, enormous tapestries depicting episodes in the life of the goddess lay on the floors and hung on the walls. In the garden stood the famous Goujon sculpture Diane Chasseresse, which is now in the Louvre, and which had an uncanny resemblance to Diane de Poitiers. Paintings and other depictions of Diana appeared in every corner of the castle.

Anet overwhelmed Henri, who soon was trumpeting the image of Diane de Poitiers as a Roman goddess. In 1548, when the couple appeared together in Lyons for a royal celebration, the townspeople welcomed them with a tableau vivant depicting a scene with Diana the huntress. France’s greatest poet of the period, Pierre de Ronsard, began to write verses in honor of Diana—indeed a kind of cult of Diana sprang up, all inspired by the king’s mistress. It seemed to Henri that Diane had given herself a kind of divine aura, and as if he were destined to worship her for the rest of his life. And until his death, in 1559, he did remain faithful to her—making her a duchess, giving her untold wealth, and displaying an almost religious devotion to his first and only mistress.

Interpretation

Diane de Poitiers, a woman from a modest bourgeois background, managed to captivate Henri for over twenty years. By the time he died she was well into her sixties, yet his passion for her only increased with the years. She knew the king well.

He was not an intellectual but a lover of the outdoors—he particularly loved jousting tournaments, with their bright pennants, brilliantly caparisoned horses, and beautifully dressed women. Henri’s love of visual splendor seemed childlike to Diane, and she played on this weakness of his at every opportunity.

Most astute of all was Diane’s appropriation of the goddess Diana. Here she took the game beyond physical imagery into the realm of the psychic symbol. It was quite a feat to transform a king’s mistress into an emblem of power and purity, but she managed it. Without the resonance of the goddess, Diane was merely an aging courtesan. With the imagery and symbolism of Diana on her shoulders, she seemed a mythic force, destined for greatness.

You too can play with images like these, weaving visual clues into an encompassing gestalt, as Diane did with her colors and her insignia. Establish a trademark like these to set yourself apart. Then take the game further: Find an image or symbol from the past that will neatly fit your situation, and put it on your shoulders like a cape. It will make you seem larger than life.

There was a man named Sakamotoya Hechigwan who lived in upper Kyoto.... When [Emperor] Hideyoshi gave his great Cha-no-yu [tea ceremony] meeting at Kitano in the tenth month of 1588, Hechigwan set up a great red umbrella nine feet across mounted on a stick seven feet high. The circumference of the handle he surrounded for about two feet by a reed fence in such a way that the rays of the sun were reflected from it and diffused the colour of the umbrella all around. This device pleased Hideyoshi so much that he remitted Hechigwan’s taxes as a reward.

CHA-NO-YU: THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY, A. L. SADLER, 1962
Because of the light it shines on the other stars which make up a kind of court around it, because of the just and equal distribution of its rays to all alike, because of the good it brings to all places, producing life, joy and action, because of its constancy from which it never varies, I chose the sun as the most magnificent image to represent a great leader.

Louis XIV, the Sun King, 1638-1715

KEYS TO POWER

Using words to plead your case is risky business: Words are dangerous instruments, and often go astray. The words people use to persuade us virtually invite us to reflect on them with words of our own; we mull them over, and often end up believing the opposite of what they say. (That is part of our perverse nature.) It also happens that words offend us, stirring up associations unintended by the speaker.

The visual, on the other hand, short-circuits the labyrinth of words. It strikes with an emotional power and immediacy that leave no gaps for reflection and doubt. Like music, it leaps right over rational, reasonable thoughts. Imagine the Moon Doctor trying to make a case for his medical practice, trying to convince the unconverted by telling them about the healing powers of the moon, and about his own special connection to a distant object in the sky. Fortunately for him, he was able to create a compelling spectacle that made words unnecessary. The moment his patients entered the beer hall, the image of the moon spoke eloquently enough.

Understand: Words put you on the defensive. If you have to explain yourself your power is already in question. The image, on the other hand, imposes itself as a given. It discourages questions, creates forceful associations, resists unintended interpretations, communicates instantly, and forges bonds that transcend social differences. Words stir up arguments and divisions; images bring people together. They are the quintessential instruments of power.

The symbol has the same force, whether it is visual (the statue of Diana) or a verbal description of something visual (the words “the Sun King”). The symbolic object stands for something else, something abstract (such as the image “Diana” standing for chastity). The abstract concept—purity, patriotism, courage, love—is full of emotional and powerful associations. The symbol is a shortcut of expression, containing dozens of meanings in one simple phrase or object. The symbol of the Sun King, as explained by Louis XIV, can be read on many layers, but the beauty of it is that its associations required no explanation, spoke immediately to his subjects, distinguished him from all other kings, and conjured up a kind of majesty that went far beyond the words themselves. The symbol contains untold power.

The first step in using symbols and images is to understand the primacy of sight among the senses. Before the Renaissance, it has been argued, sight and the other senses

—taste, touch, and so on—operated on a relatively equal plane. Since then, however, the visual has come to dominate the others, and is the sense we most depend on and trust. As Gracián said, “The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.” When the Renaissance painter Fra Filippo Lippi was a captured slave among the Moors, he won his freedom by sketching a drawing of his master on a white wall with a piece of charcoal; when the owner saw the drawing, he instantly understood the power of a man who could make such images, and let Fra Lippi go. That one image was far more powerful than any argument the artist could have made with words.

Never neglect the way you arrange things visually. Factors like color, for example, have enormous symbolic resonance. When the con artist Yellow Kid Weil created a newsletter touting the phony stocks he was peddling, he called it the “Red Letter Newsletter” and had it printed, at considerable expense, in red ink. The color created a sense of urgency, power, and good fortune. Weil recognized details like these as keys to deception—as do modern advertisers and mass-marketers. If you use “gold” in the title of anything you are trying to sell, for example, print it in gold. Since the eye predominates, people will respond more to the color than to the word.

The visual contains great emotional power. The Roman emperor Constantine worshipped the sun as a god for most of his life; one day, though, he looked up at the sun, and saw a cross superimposed on it. The vision of the cross over the sun proved to him the ascendancy of the new religion, and he converted not just himself but the whole Roman Empire to Christianity soon thereafter. All the preaching and proselytizing in the world could not have been as powerful. Find and associate yourself with the images and symbols that will communicate in this immediate way today, and you will have untold power.

Most effective of all is a new combination—a fusion of images and symbols that have not been seen together before, but that through their association clearly demonstrate your new idea, message, religion. The creation of new images and symbols out of old ones in this way has a poetic effect—viewers’ associations run rampant, giving them a sense of participation.

Visual images often appear in a sequence, and the order in which they appear creates a symbol. The first to appear, for instance, symbolizes power; the image at the center seems to have central importance.

Near the end of World War II, orders came down from General Eisenhower that American troops were to lead the way into Paris after its liberation from the Nazis. The French general Charles de Gaulle, however, realized that this sequence would imply that the Americans now commanded the fate of France. Through much manipulation, de Gaulle made certain that he and the French Second Armored Division would appear at the head of the liberating force. The strategy worked: After he had successfully pulled off this stunt, the Allies started treating him as the new leader of an independent France. De Gaulle knew that a leader has to locate himself literally at the head of his troops. This visual association is crucial to the emotional response that he needs to elicit.

Things change in the game of symbols: It is probably no longer possible to pose as a “sun king,” or to wrap the mantle of Diana around you. Yet you can associate yourself with such symbols more indirectly. And, of course, you can make your own mythology out of figures from more recent history, people who are comfortably dead but still powerfully associative in the public eye. The idea is to give yourself an aura, a stature that your normal banal appearance simply will not create. By herself Diane de Poitiers had no such radiant powers; she was as human and ordinary as most of us. But the symbol elevated her above the human lot, and made her seem divine.

Using symbols also has a courtier-like effect, since they are often gentler than brutish words. The psychotherapist Dr. Milton H. Erickson always tried to find symbols and images that would communicate to the patient in ways that words could not. When dealing with a severely troubled patient, he would not question him directly but would talk about something irrelevant, such as driving through the desert in Arizona, where he practiced in the 1950s. In describing this he would eventually come to an appropriate symbol for what he suspected was the man’s problem. If he felt the patient was isolated, say, Dr. Erickson would talk of a single iron-wood tree, and how its isolation left it battered by the winds. Making an emotional connection with the tree as a symbol, the patient would open up more readily to the doctor’s probing.

Use the power of symbols as a way to rally, animate, and unite your troops or team. During the rebellion against the French crown in 1648, those loyal to the king disparaged the rebels by comparing them to the slingshots (in French, frondes) that little boys use to frighten big boys. Cardinal de Retz decided to turn this disparaging term into the rebels’ symbol: The uprising was now known as the Fronde, and the rebels as frondeurs. They began to wear sashes in their hats that symbolized the slingshot, and the word became their rallying cry. Without it the rebellion might well have petered out. Always find a symbol to represent your cause—the more emotional associations, the better.

The best way to use images and symbols is to organize them into a grand spectacle that awes people and distracts them from unpleasant realities. This is easy to do: People love what is grand, spectacular, and larger than life. Appeal to their emotions and they will flock to your spectacle in hordes. The visual is the easiest route to their hearts.

Image:

The Cross and the Sun. Crucifixion and total radiance. With one imposed over the other, a new reality takes shape— a new power is in the ascendant. The symbol—no explanation necessary.

Authority: The people are always impressed by the superficial appearance of things…. The [prince] should, at fitting times of the year, keep the people occupied and distracted with festivities and spectacles. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)

REVERSAL

No power is made available by ignoring images and symbols. There is no possible reversal to this law.

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Law 36 of the 48 Laws of Power; Disdain things you cannot have: ignoring them is the best revenge

This is law 36 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it. It’s a great rule or law.

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

LAW 36

DISDAIN THINGS YOU CANNOT HAVE: IGNORING THEM IS THE BEST REVENGE

JUDGMENT

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

The Mexican rebel leader Pancho Villa started out as the chief of a gang of bandits, but after revolution broke out in Mexico in 1910, he became a kind of folk hero—robbing trains and giving the money to the poor, leading daring raids, and charming the ladies with romantic escapades. His exploits fascinated Americans—he seemed a man from another era, part Robin Hood, part Don Juan. After a few years of bitter fighting, however, General Carranza emerged as the victor in the Revolution; the defeated Villa and his troops went back home, to the northern state of Chihuahua. His army dwindled and he turned to banditry again, damaging his popularity. Finally, perhaps out of desperation, he began to rail against the United States, the gringos, whom he blamed for his troubles.

In March of 1916, Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico. Rampaging through the town, he and his gang killed seventeen American soldiers and civilians. President Woodrow Wilson, like many Americans, had admired Villa; now, however, the bandit needed to be punished. Wilson’s advisers urged him to send troops into Mexico to capture Villa. For a power as large as the United States, they argued, not to strike back at an army that had invaded its territory would send the worst kind of signal. Furthermore, they continued, many Americans saw Wilson as a pacifist, a principle the public doubted as a response to violence; he needed to prove his mettle and manliness by ordering the use of force.

The pressure on Wilson was strong, and before the month was out, with the approval of the Carranza government, he sent an army of ten thousand soldiers to capture Pancho Villa. The venture was called the Punitive Expedition, and its leader was the dashing General John J. Pershing, who had defeated guerrillas in the Philippines and Native Americans in the American Southwest. Certainly Pershing could find and overpower Pancho Villa.

The Punitive Expedition became a sensational story, and carloads of U.S. reporters followed Pershing into action. The campaign, they wrote, would be a test of American power. The soldiers carried the latest in weaponry, communicated by radio, and were supported by reconnaissance from the air.

In the first few months, the troops split up into small units to comb the wilds of northern Mexico. The Americans offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Villa’s capture. But the Mexican people, who had been disillusioned with Villa when he had returned to banditry, now idolized him for facing this mighty American army.

They began to give Pershing false leads: Villa had been seen in this village, or in that mountain hideaway, airplanes would be dispatched, troops would scurry after them, and no one would ever see him. The wily bandit seemed to be always one step ahead of the American military.

THE ON AND THE CRAPES

A starving fox ... saw a cluster Of luscious-looking grapes of purplish luster Dangling above him on a trellis-frame. He would have dearly liked them for his lunch, But when he tried and failed to reach the bunch: “Ah well, it’s more than likely they’re not sweetGood only for green fools to eat!”

Wasn’t he wise to say they were unripe Rather than whine and gripe?

FABLES. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE. 1621-1695
Once when G. K. Chesterton’s economic views were abused in print by George Bernard Shaw, his friends waited in vain for him to reply. Historian Hilaire Belloc reproached him. “My dear Belloc,” Chesterton said, “I have answered him. To a man of Shaw’s wit, silence is the one unbearable repartee.

THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES, CLIFTON FADIMAN, ED., 1985

By the summer of that year, the expedition had swelled to 123,000 men. They suffered through the stultifying heat, the mosquitoes, the wild terrain. Trudging over a countryside in which they were already resented, they infuriated both the local people and the Mexican government. At one point Pancho Villa hid in a mountain cave to recover from a gunshot wound he received in a skirmish with the Mexican army; looking down from his aerie, he could watch Pershing lead the exhausted American troops back and forth across the mountains, never getting any closer to their goal.

All the way into winter, Villa played his cat-and-mouse game. Americans came to see the affair as a kind of slapstick farce—in fact they began to admire Villa again, respecting his resourcefulness in eluding a superior force. In January of 1917, Wilson finally ordered Pershing’s withdrawal. As the troops made their way back to American territory, rebel forces pursued them, forcing the U.S. Army to use airplanes to protect its rear flanks. The Punitive Expedition was being punished itself—it had turned into a retreat of the most humiliating sort.

Interpretation

Woodrow Wilson organized the Punitive Expedition as a show of force: He would teach Pancho Villa a lesson and in the process show the world that no one, large or small, could attack the mighty United States and get away with it. The expedition would be over in a few weeks, and Villa would be forgotten.

That was not how it played out. The longer the expedition took, the more it focused attention on the Americans’ incompetence and on Villa’s cleverness. Soon what was forgotten was not Villa but the raid that had started it all. As a minor annoyance became an international embarrassment, and the enraged Americans dispatched more troops, the imbalance between the size of the pursuer and the size of the pursued—who still managed to stay free—made the affair a joke. And in the end this white elephant of an army had to lumber out of Mexico, humiliated. The Punitive Expedition did the opposite of what it set out to do: It left Villa not only free but more popular than ever.

What could Wilson have done differently? He could have pressured the Carranza government to catch Villa for him. Alternatively, since many Mexicans had tired of Villa before the Punitive Expedition began, he could have worked quietly with them and won their support for a much smaller raid to capture the bandit. He could have organized a trap on the American side of the border, anticipating the next raid. Or he could have ignored the matter altogether for the time being, waiting for the Mexicans themselves to do away with Villa of their own accord.

THE ASS AND THE GARDENER

An ass had once by some accident lost his tail, which was a grievous affliction to him; and he was everywhere seeking after it, being fool enough to think he could get it set on again. He passed through a meadow, and afterwards got into a garden. The gardener seeing him, and not able to endure the mischief he was doing in trampling down his plants, fell into a violent rage, ran to the ass, and never standing on the ceremony of a pillory, cut off both his ears, and beat him out of the ground. Thus the ass, who bemoaned the loss of his tail, was in far greater affliction when he saw himself without ears.

FABLES, PILPAY, INDIA, FOURTH CENTURY

THE PRODIGY OX

Once, when the Tokudaiji minister of the right was chief of the imperial police, he was holding a meeting of his staff at the middle gate when an ox belonging to an official named Akikane got loose and wandered into the ministry building. It climbed up on the dais where the chief was seated and lay there, chewing its cud. Everyone was sure that this was some grave portent, and urged that the ox be sent to a yin- yang diviner. However, the prime minister, the father of the minister of the right, said, “An ox has no discrimination. It has legs—there is nowhere it won’t go. It does not make sense to deprive an underpaid official of the wretched ox he needs in order to attend court.” He returned the ox to its owner and changed the matting on which it had lain. No untoward event of any kind occurred afterward. They say that if you see a prodigy and do not treat it as such, its character as a prodigy is destroyed. 

ESSAYS IN IDLENESS, KENKO, JAPAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY

Remember: You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. That is the powerful move. What you do not react to cannot drag you down in a futile engagement. Your pride is not involved. The best lesson you can teach an irritating gnat is to consign it to oblivion by ignoring it. If it is impossible to ignore (Pancho Villa had in fact killed American citizens), then conspire in secret to do away with it, but never inadvertently draw attention to the bothersome insect that will go away or die on its own. If you waste time and energy in such entanglements, it is your own fault. Learn to play the card of disdain and turn your back on what cannot harm you in the long run.

Just think—it cost your government $130 million to try to get me. I took them over rough, hilly country. Sometimes for fifty miles at a stretch they had no water. They had nothing but the sun and mosquitoes.... And nothing was gained.

Pancho Villa, 1878-1923

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In the year 1527, King Henry VIII of England decided he had to find a way to get rid of his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had failed to produce a son, a male heir who would ensure the continuance of his dynasty, and Henry thought he knew why: He had read in the Bible the passage, “And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.” Before marrying Henry, Catherine had married his older brother Arthur, but Arthur had died five months later. Henry had waited an appropriate time, then had married his brother’s widow.

Catherine was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and by marrying her Henry had kept alive a valuable alliance. Now, however, Catherine had to assure him that her brief marriage with Arthur had never been consummated. Otherwise Henry would view their relationship as incestuous and their marriage as null and void. Catherine insisted that she had remained a virgin through her marriage to Arthur, and Pope Clement VII supported her by giving his blessing to the union, which he could not have done had he considered it incestuous. Yet after years of marriage to Henry, Catherine had failed to produce a son, and in the early 1520s she had entered menopause. To the king this could only mean one thing: She had lied about her virginity, their union was incestuous, and God had punished them.

There was another reason why Henry wanted to get rid of Catherine: He had fallen in love with a younger woman, Anne Boleyn. Not only was he in love with her, but if he married her he could still hope to sire a legitimate son. The marriage to Catherine had to be annulled. For this, however, Henry had to apply to the Vatican. But Pope Clement would never annul the marriage.

By the summer of 1527, rumors spread throughout Europe that Henry was about to attempt the impossible—to annul his marriage against Clement’s wishes. Catherine would never abdicate, let alone voluntarily enter a nunnery, as Henry had urged her. But Henry had his own strategy: He stopped sleeping in the same bed with Catherine, since he considered her his sister-in-law, not his lawful wife. He insisted on calling her Princess Dowager of Wales, her title as Arthur’s widow. Finally, in 1531, he banished her from court and shipped her off to a distant castle. The pope ordered him to return her to court, on pain of excommunication, the most severe penalty a Catholic could suffer. Henry not only ignored this threat, he insisted that his marriage to Catherine had been dissolved, and in 1533 he married Anne Boleyn.

Clement refused to recognize the marriage, but Henry did not care. He no longer recognized the pope’s authority, and proceeded to break with the Roman Catholic Church, establishing the Church of England in its stead, with the king as the head of the new church. And so, not surprisingly, the newly formed Church of England proclaimed Anne Boleyn England’s rightful queen.

The pope tried every threat in the book, but nothing worked. Henry simply ignored him. Clement fumed—no one had ever treated him so contemptuously. Henry had humiliated him and he had no power of recourse. Even excommunication (which he constantly threatened but never carried out) would no longer matter.

Catherine too felt the devastating sting of Henry’s disdain. She tried to fight back, but in appealing to Henry her words fell on deaf ears, and soon they fell on no one’s. Isolated from the court, ignored by the king, mad with anger and frustration, Catherine slowly deteriorated, and finally died in January of 1536, from a cancerous tumor of the heart.

Interpretation

When you pay attention to a person, the two of you become partners of sorts, each moving in step to the actions and reactions of the other. In the process you lose your initiative. It is a dynamic of all interactions: By acknowledging other people, even if only to fight with them, you open yourself to their influence. Had Henry locked horns with Catherine, he would have found himself mired in endless arguments that would have weakened his resolve and eventually worn him down. (Catherine was a strong, stubborn woman.) Had he set out to convince Clement to change his verdict on the marriage’s validity, or tried to compromise and negotiate with him, he would have gotten bogged down in Clement’s favorite tactic: playing for time, promising flexibility, but actually getting what popes always got—their way.

Henry would have none of this. He played a devastating power game—total disdain. By ignoring people you cancel them out. This unsettles and infuriates them—but since they have no dealings with you, there is nothing they can do.

And in this view it is advisable to let everyone of your acquaintance—whether man or woman—feel now and then that you could very well dispense with their company.

This will consolidate friendship. Nay, with most people there will be no harm in occasionally mixing a grain of disdain with your treatment of them; that will make them value your friendship all the more. Chi non stima vien stimato, as a subtle Italian proverb has it—to disregard is to win regard. But if we really think very highly of a person, we should conceal it from him like a crime. This is not a very gratifying thing to do, but it is right. Why, a dog will not bear being treated too kindly, let alone a man!

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860

THE MONKEY AND THE PEAS

A monkey was carrying two handfuls of peas. One little pea dropped out. He tried to pick it up, and spilt twenty. He tried to pick up the twenty, and spilt them all. Then he lost his temper, scattered the peas in all directions, and ran away.

FABLES, LEO TOLSTOY, 1828-1910

This is the offensive aspect of the law. Playing the card of contempt is immensely powerful, for it lets you determine the conditions of the conflict. The war is waged on your terms. This is the ultimate power pose: You are the king, and you ignore what offends you. Watch how this tactic infuriates people—half of what they do is to get your attention, and when you withhold it from them, they flounder in frustration.

MAN: Kick him—he’ll forgive you. Flatter him—he may or may not see through you. But ignore him and he’ll hate you.

Idries Shah, Caravan of Dreams, 1968
As some make gossip out of everything, so others make much ado about everything. They are always talking big, [and] take everything seriously, making a quarrel and a mystery of it. You should take very few grievances to heart, for to do so is to give yourself groundless worry. It is a topsyturvy way of behaving to take to heart cares which you ought to throw over your shoulder. Many things which seemed important [at the time] turn out to be of no account when they are ignored; and others, which seem trifling, appear formidable when you pay attention to them. Things can easily be settled at the outset, but not so later on. In many cases, the remedy itself is the cause of the disease: to let things be is not the least satisfactory of life’s rules. 

BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658

KEYS TO POWER

Desire often creates paradoxical effects: The more you want something, the more you chase after it, the more it eludes you. The more interest you show, the more you repel the object of your desire. This is because your interest is too strong—it makes people awkward, even fearful. Uncontrollable desire makes you seem weak, unworthy, pathetic.

You need to turn your back on what you want, show your contempt and disdain. This is the kind of powerful response that will drive your targets crazy. They will respond with a desire of their own, which is simply to have an effect on you—perhaps to possess you, perhaps to hurt you. If they want to possess you, you have successfully completed the first step of seduction. If they want to hurt you, you have unsettled them and made them play by your rules (see Laws 8 and 39 on baiting people into action).

Contempt is the prerogative of the king. Where his eyes turn, what he decides to see, is what has reality; what he ignores and turns his back on is as good as dead. That was the weapon of King Louis XIV—if he did not like you, he acted as if you were not there, maintaining his superiority by cutting off the dynamic of interaction. This is the power you have when you play the card of contempt, periodically showing people that you can do without them.

If choosing to ignore enhances your power, it follows that the opposite approach— commitment and engagement—often weakens you. By paying undue attention to a puny enemy, you look puny, and the longer it takes you to crush such an enemy, the larger the enemy seems. When Athens set out to conquer the island of Sicily, in 415 B.C., a giant power was attacking a tiny one. Yet by entangling Athens in a long-drawn-out conflict, Syracuse, Sicily’s most important city-state, was able to grow in stature and confidence. Finally defeating Athens, it made itself famous for centuries to come. In recent times, President John F. Kennedy made a similar mistake in his attitude to Fidel Castro of Cuba: His failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs, in 1961, made Castro an international hero.

A second danger: If you succeed in crushing the irritant, or even if you merely wound it, you create sympathy for the weaker side. Critics of Franklin D. Roosevelt complained bitterly about the money his administration spent on government projects, but their attacks had no resonance with the public, who saw the president as working to end the Great Depression. His opponents thought they had an example that would show just how wasteful he had become: his dog, Fala, which he lavished with favors and attention. Critics railed at his insensitivity—spending taxpayers’ money on a dog while so many Americans were still in poverty. But Roosevelt had a response: How dare his critics attack a defenseless little dog? His speech in defense of Fala was one of the most popular he ever gave. In this case, the weak party involved was the president’s dog and the attack backfired—in the long run, it only made the president more sympathetic, since many people will naturally side with the “underdog,” just as the American public came to sympathize with the wily but outnumbered Pancho Villa.

It is tempting to want to fix our mistakes, but the harder we try, the worse we often make them. It is sometimes more politic to leave them alone. In 1971, when the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers, a group of government documents about the history of U.S. involvement in Indochina, Henry Kissinger erupted into a volcanic rage. Furious about the Nixon administration’s vulnerability to this kind of damaging leak, he made recommendations that eventually led to the formation of a group called the Plumbers to plug the leaks. This was the unit that later broke into Democratic Party offices in the Watergate Hotel, setting off the chain of events that led to Nixon’s downfall. In reality the publication of the Pentagon Papers was not a serious threat to the administration, but Kissinger’s reaction made it a big deal. In trying to fix one problem, he created another: a paranoia for security that in the end was much more destructive to the government. Had he ignored the Pentagon Papers, the scandal they had created would eventually have blown over.

Instead of inadvertently focusing attention on a problem, making it seem worse by publicizing how much concern and anxiety it is causing you, it is often far wiser to play the contemptuous aristocrat, not deigning to acknowledge the problem’s existence. There are several ways to execute this strategy.

First there is the sour-grapes approach. If there is something you want but that you realize you cannot have, the worst thing you can do is draw attention to your disappointment by complaining about it. An infinitely more powerful tactic is to act as if it never really interested you in the first place. When the writer George Sand’s supporters nominated her to be the first female member of the Académie Française, in 1861, Sand quickly saw that the academy would never admit her. Instead of whining, though, she claimed she had no interest in belonging to this group of worn-out, overrated, out-of-touch windbags. Her disdain was the perfect response: Had she shown her anger at her exclusion, she would have revealed how much it meant to her. Instead she branded the academy a club of old men—and why should she be angry or disappointed at not having to spend her time with them? Crying “sour grapes” is sometimes seen as a reflection of the weak; it is actually the tactic of the powerful.

THE MAN AND HIS SHADOW

There was a certain original man who desired to catch his own shadow. He makes a step or two toward it, but it moves away from him. He quickens his pace; it does the same. At last he takes to running; but the quicker he goes, the quicker runs the shadow also, utterly refusing to give itself up, just as if it had been a treasure. But see! our eccentric friend suddenly turns round, and walks away from it. And presently he looks behind him; now the shadow runs after him. Ladies fair, I have often observed... that Fortune treats us in a similar way. One man tries with all his might to seize the goddess, and only loses his time and his trouble. Another seems, to all appearance, to be running out of her sight; but, no: she herself takes a pleasure in pursuing him.

FABLES, IVAN KRILOFF, 1768-1844

Second, when you are attacked by an inferior, deflect people’s attention by making it clear that the attack has not even registered. Look away, or answer sweetly, showing how little the attack concerns you. Similarly, when you yourself have committed a blunder, the best response is often to make less of your mistake by treating it lightly.

The Japanese emperor Go-Saiin, a great disciple of the tea ceremony, owned a priceless antique tea bowl that all the courtiers envied. One day a guest, Dainagon Tsunehiro, asked if he could carry the tea bowl into the light, to examine it more closely. The bowl rarely left the table, but the emperor was in good spirits and he consented. As Dainagon carried the bowl to the railing of the verandah, however, and held it up to the light, it slipped from his hands and fell on a rock in the garden below, smashing into tiny fragments.

The emperor of course was furious. “It was indeed most clumsy of me to let it drop in this way,” said Dainagon, with a deep bow, “but really there is not much harm done. This Ido tea-bowl is a very old one and it is impossible to say how much longer it would have lasted, but anyhow it is not a thing of any public use, so I think it rather fortunate that it has broken thus.” This surprising response had an immediate effect: The emperor calmed down. Dainagon neither sniveled nor overapologized, but signaled his own worth and power by treating his mistake with a touch of disdain. The emperor had to respond with a similar aristocratic indifference; his anger had made him seem low and petty—an image Dainagon was able to manipulate.

Among equals this tactic might backfire: Your indifference could make you seem callous. But with a master, if you act quickly and without great fuss, it can work to great effect: You bypass his angry response, save him the time and energy he would waste by brooding over it, and allow him the opportunity to display his own lack of pettiness publicly.

If we make excuses and denials when we are caught in a mistake or a deception, we stir the waters and make the situation worse. It is often wiser to play things the opposite way. The Renaissance writer Pietro Aretino often boasted of his aristocratic lineage, which was, of course, a fiction, since he was actually the son of a shoemaker. When an enemy of his finally revealed the embarrassing truth, word quickly spread, and soon all of Venice (where he lived at the time) was aghast at Aretino’s lies. Had he tried to defend himself, he would have only dragged himself down. His response was masterful: He announced that he was indeed the son of a shoemaker, but this only proved his greatness, since he had risen from the lowest stratum of society to its very pinnacle. From then on he never mentioned his previous lie, trumpeting instead his new position on the matter of his ancestry.

Remember: The powerful responses to niggling, petty annoyances and irritations are contempt and disdain. Never show that something has affected you, or that you are offended—that only shows you have acknowledged a problem. Contempt is a dish that is best served cold and without affectation.

Image: The Tiny

Wound.

It is small but painful and irritating. You try all sorts of medicaments, you com plain, you scratch and pick at the scab. Doctors only make it worse, transforming the tiny wound into a grave matter. If only you had left the wound alone, letting time heal it and freeing yourself of worry.

Authority: Know how to play the card of contempt. It is the most politic kind of revenge. For there are many of whom we should have known nothing if their distinguished opponents had taken no notice of them. There is no revenge like oblivion, for it is the entombment of the unworthy in the dust of their own nothingness. 

(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

You must play the card of contempt with care and delicacy. Most small troubles will vanish on their own if you leave them be; but some will grow and fester unless you attend to them. Ignore a person of inferior stature and the next time you look he has become a serious rival, and your contempt has made him vengeful as well. The great princes of Renaissance Italy chose to ignore Cesare Borgia at the outset of his career as a young general in the army of his father, Pope Alexander VI. By the time they paid attention it was too late—the cub was now a lion, gobbling up chunks of Italy. Often, then, while you show contempt publicly you will also need to keep an eye on the problem privately, monitoring its status and making sure it goes away. Do not let it become a cancerous cell.

Develop the skill of sensing problems when they are still small and taking care of them before they become intractable. Learn to distinguish between the potentially disastrous and the mildly irritating, the nuisance that will quietly go away on its own. In either case, though, never completely take your eye off it. As long as it is alive it can smolder and spark into life.

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Complete PDF of Forbidden Archaeology (Free Full Text)

This article provides a free PDF of the amazing work titled “Forbidden Archaeology” for the MM readership. It is an amazing work that documents OOPARTS that prove the the statist view of what history is, and mankind are is absolutely wrong.

It’s an AMAZING work. And the book is the size of a thick table dictionary. Seriously.

It’s not the kind of tome that you would sit down and read page by page. It tends to be on the dry side. However, just parsing and going though it you will be amazed at the careful documentation of proof of humans on this earth long, long before we were supposed to evolve.

It’s a truly amazing work. And the OOPART section is stunning in it’s volume and background.

In 1993, Cremo and Richard Thompson published Forbidden Archaeology (FA), a voluminous exposé of “anomalous archaeological artifacts” that suggested modern people possibly lived on earth almost as long as the world existed, some 4.3 billion years ago.

Summary

Forbidden Archeology is a work that questions current beliefs about human evolution. Part I of Forbidden Archeology (which covers 458 pages) is based on what the authors call anomalous evidence and

"provides a well documented compendium of reports absent from many current references and not otherwise easily obtainable."

The authors discuss how scientific evidence has been

"systematically suppressed, ignored, or forgotten...not through a conspiracy organized to deceive the public, but through an ongoing social process of knowledge filtration that appears quite innocuous, but has a substantial cumulative effect."

Chapter One discusses information that has been overlooked, suppressed, or forgotten even though a lot of the evidence was discovered immediately after Darwin published The Origin of the Species. This chapter explains the basics about archeology, such as the geological timetable and the incompleteness of the fossil record.

The authors’ thesis is based on the premise that anomalous finds should be studied and possibly accepted along with currently accepted evidence. Perhaps as is the case with other types of controversial information,

"One prominent feature in the treatment of anomalous evidence is what we could call the double standard... evidence agreeing with a prevailing theory tends to be treated very leniently...In contrast, evidence that goes against an accepted theory tends to be subjected to intense critical scrutiny, and it is expected to meet very high standards of proof."

There is a section in Chapter One titled The Phenomenon Of Suppression which perfectly describes what abductees or experiencers and those involved with experiencer research are faced with.

"...there are some observations that so violently contradict accepted theories that they are never accepted by any scientists. These tend to be reported by scientifically uneducated people in popular books, magazines, and newspapers."

Chapter Two covers detailed descriptions of reports involving intentionally cut and broken bones of animals. In other words, bones that have been altered by man. Some of this evidence points toward a theory that there was a human presence in the Americas far earlier than was originally believed, which is thought to be between 12 thousand and 25 thousand years ago. However, many serious scientists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reported that marks on bones as old as 25 million years old were indicative of human work.

This chapter illustrates that when ‘unbelievable‘ information arises and people are convinced that it cannot exist, the evidence pointing to such conclusions is overlooked or ignored by the scientific community.

Chapters Three, Four and Five continue with extremely detailed studies of anomalous old stone tools and industries. Chapter Six closes out the first section of Forbidden Archeology with a discussion of anomalous human skeletal remains. In their conclusion of Part I, the authors write:

"…the evidence suggests the existence of anatomically modern humans as far back as the early Tertiary - the first period of the Cenozoic era; 65¬37 million years ago."

A partial review of this anomalous evidence is listed at the end of this report.

Part Two of Forbidden Archeology involves discussions of ‘accepted evidence.’ Beginning with a review and discussions of Java Man, and continuing with The Piltdown Case, and Peking Man, which is very interesting. In addition, a highly recommended read is Chapter Nine, Peking Man and Other Finds in China.

The authors write in detail about how the Rockefeller Foundation funded many of the digs in Peking (Beijing). From page 534:

"It thus becomes clear that at the same time the Rockefeller Foundation was channeling funds into human evolution research in China, it was in the process of developing an elaborate plan to fund biological research with a view to developing methods to effectively control human behavior. [Canadian physician Davidson] Black's research into Peking man must be seen within this context in order to be properly understood."

From pages 537 and 538, in reference to a new beginning of philanthropy,

"All programs in various Rockefeller charities 'relating to the advance of human knowledge' were shifted to the Rockefeller Foundation, which was organized into five divisions. Each division was run by a highly competent academic and technical staff who advised the trusties of the Foundation where to give their money. It was not to be five programs each represented by a division of the Foundation; it was to be essentially one program, directed to the general problem of human behavior, with the aim of control through understanding…the Foundation also saw itself engaged in a kind of thought control. Fosdick (1952, pg.143) said: 'The possession of funds carries with it power to establish trends and styles of intellectual endeavor.' "

In a discussion about Beijing man, when actual physical evidence is not available for study, some reports are believed while others are dismissed:

"[The authors] propose that reports about evidence conforming to the standard view of human evolution generally receive greater credibility than reports about non-conforming evidence. Thus deeply-held beliefs, rather than purely objective standards, may become the determining factor in the acceptance and rejection of reports about controversial evidence."

Bigfoot 

Chapter Ten is titled Living Ape Men? This chapter reviews and discusses many descriptions of what is sometimes referred to in the Pacific Northwest as “Bigfoot.” The term used by the authors most often is “wild men.” This chapter is highly recommended. It increased my knowledge and awareness about the prevalence of reports concerning this type of creature or being.

Indeed, after pages and pages of descriptions and discussions of evidence, the authors write,

"Despite all the evidence we have presented, most recognized authorities in anthropology and zoology decline to discuss the existence of wild men. If they mention wild men at all, they rarely present the really strong evidence for their existence, focusing instead on the report least likely to challenge their disbelief."

Later in the book during another discussion about skeletal remains discovered in Africa the authors write [pg. 649]:

"Most of the discoveries scientists have used to build up their picture of human evolution are similarly ambiguous, their significance obscured by professional rivalries and imperfect investigative methods."

A Sample of Anomalous Evidence

From pages 795-814 Appendix 2, which is titled Evidence for Advanced Culture In Distant Ages. A sample of anomalous evidence follows:

"Raised letter-like shapes found inside a block of marble from a quarry near Philadelphia, PA. The block of marble came from a depth of 60-70 feet, which suggests the letters were made from intelligent humans from the distant past." 

"A metallic bell-shaped vessel that was blown out of pudding stone now called the Roxbury conglomerate, is over 600 million years old...by current standards, life was just beginning to form on this planet...but this vessel indicates the presence of artistic metal workers in North America over 600 million years before Leif Erikson." 

"A chalk ball was found...and based on its stratigraphic position, it can be assigned a date of 45-55 million years ago."

The appendix has a long list of other anomalous evidence, but since I’ve already over-quoted from this text, I will leave the remainder of the secrets to be discovered by the reader.

The Book

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Law 47 of the 48 Laws of Power; Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop

This is law 47 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.

  • Understand: In the realm of power, you must be guided by reason. To let a momentary thrill or an emotional victory influence or guide your moves will prove fatal. When you attain success, step back. Be cautious. When you gain victory, understand the part played by the particular circumstances of a situation, and never simply repeat the same actions again and again. History is littered with the ruins of victorious empires and the corpses of leaders who could not learn to stop and consolidate their gains.
  • The powerful vary their rhythms and patterns, change course, adapt to circumstance, and learn to improvise.  They control their emotions, and step back and come to a mental halt when they have attained success.
  • Good luck is more dangerous than bad luck, because it deludes you into thinking your own brilliance is the reason for your success.
  • Note: There are some who become more cautious than ever after a victory, which they see as just giving them more possessions to worry about and protect. Your caution after victory should never make you hesitate, or lose momentum, but rather act as a safeguard against rash action. On the other hand, momentum as a phenomenon is greatly overrated. You create your own successes, and if they follow one upon the other, it is your own doing. Belief in momentum will only make you emotional, less prone to act strategically, and more apt to repeat the same methods. Leave momentum for those who have nothing better to rely upon.

LAW 47

DO NOT GO PAST THE MARK YOU AIMED FOR; IN VICTORY, LEARN WHEN TO STOP

JUDGMENT

The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In 559 B.C., a young man named Cyrus gathered an immense army from the scattered tribes of Persia and marched against his grandfather Astyages, king of the Medes. He defeated Astyages with ease, had himself crowned king of Medea and Persia, and began to forge the Persian Empire. Victory followed victory in quick succession. Cyrus defeated Croesus, ruler of Lydia, then conquered the Ionian islands and other smaller kingdoms; he marched on Babylon and crushed it. Now he was known as Cyrus the Great, King of the World.

After capturing the riches of Babylon, Cyrus set his sights on the east, on the half- barbaric tribes of the Massagetai, a vast realm on the Caspian Sea. A fierce warrior race led by Queen Tomyris, the Massagetai lacked the riches of Babylon, but Cyrus decided to attack them anyway, believing himself superhuman and incapable of defeat. The Massagetai would fall easily to his vast armies, making his empire immense.

In 529 B.C., then, Cyrus marched to the wide river Araxes, gateway to the kingdom of the Massagetai. As he set up camp on the western bank, he received a message from Queen Tomyris: “King of the Medes,” she told him, “I advise you to abandon this enterprise, for you cannot know if in the end it will do you any good. Rule your own people, and try to bear the sight of me ruling mine. But of course you will refuse my advice, as the last thing you wish for is to live in peace.” Tomyris, confident of her army’s strength and not wishing to delay the inevitable battle, offered to withdraw the troops on her side of the river, allowing Cyrus to cross its waters safely and fight her army on the eastern side, if that was his desire.

Cyrus agreed, but instead of engaging the enemy directly he decided to play a trick. The Massagetai knew few luxuries. Once Cyrus had crossed the river and made his camp on the eastern side, he set the table for an elaborate banquet, full of meat, delicacies, and strong wine. Then he left his weakest troops in the camp and withdrew the rest of the army to the river. A large Massagetai detachment soon attacked the camp and killed all of the Persian soldiers in a fierce battle. Then, overwhelmed by the fabulous feast that had been left behind, they ate and drank to their hearts’ content. Later, inevitably, they fell asleep. The Persian army returned to the camp that night, killing many of the sleeping soldiers and capturing the rest. Among the prisoners was their general, a youth named Spargapises, son of Queen Tomyris.

When the queen learned what had happened, she sent a message to Cyrus, chiding him for using tricks to defeat her army. “Now listen to me,” she wrote, “and I will advise you for your own good: Give me back my son and leave my country with your forces intact, and be content with your triumph over a third part of the Massagetai. If you refuse, I swear by the sun our master to give you more blood than you can drink, for all your gluttony.”

Cyrus scoffed at her: He would not release her son. He would crush these barbarians.

HELL CO

Two cockerels fought on a dungheap. One cockerel was the stronger: he vanquished the other and drove him from the dungheap. All the hens gathered around the cockerel, and began to laud him. The cockerel wanted his strength and glory to be known in the next yard. He flew on top of the barn, flapped his wings, and crowed in a load voice: “Look at me, all of you. I am a victorious cockerel. No other cockerel in the world has such strength as I. ” The cockerel had not finished, when an eagle killed him, seized him in his claws, and carried him to his nest.

FABLES. LEO TOLSIOY. 1828-1910

The queen’s son, seeing he would not be released, could not stand the humiliation, and so he killed himself. The news of her son’s death overwhelmed Tomyris. She gathered all the forces that she could muster in her kingdom, and whipping them into a vengeful frenzy, engaged Cyrus’s troops in a violent and bloody battle. Finally, the Massagetai prevailed. In their anger they decimated the Persian army, killing Cyrus himself.

After the battle, Tomyris and her soldiers searched the battlefield for Cyrus’s corpse.

When she found it she cut off his head and shoved it into a wineskin full of human blood, crying out, “Though I have conquered you and live, yet you have ruined me by treacherously taking my son. See now—I fulfill my threat: You have your fill of blood.” After Cyrus’s death, the Persian Empire quickly unraveled. One act of arrogance undid all of Cyrus’s good work.

Interpretation

There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.

Cyrus had built his great empire on the ruins of a previous one. A hundred years earlier, the powerful Assyrian Empire had been totally destroyed, its once splendid capital of Nineveh but ruins in the sand. The Assyrians had suffered this fate because they had pushed too far, destroying one city-state after another until they lost sight of the purposes of their victories, and also of the costs. They overextended themselves and made many enemies who were finally able to band together and destroy them.

Cyrus ignored the lesson of Assyria. He paid no heed to the warnings of oracles and advisers. He did not worry about offending a queen. His many victories had gone to his head, clouding his reason. Instead of consolidating his already vast empire, he pushed forward. Instead of recognizing each situation as different, he thought each new war would bring the same result as the one before as long as he used the methods he knew: ruthless force and cunning.

Understand: In the realm of power, you must be guided by reason. To let a momentary thrill or an emotional victory influence or guide your moves will prove fatal. When you attain success, step back. Be cautious. When you gain victory, understand the part played by the particular circumstances of a situation, and never simply repeat the same actions again and again. History is littered with the ruins of victorious empires and the corpses of leaders who could not learn to stop and consolidate their gains.

THE SEQUENCE OF CROSS-EXAMINATION

In all your cross-examinations ..., most important of all, let me repeat the injunction to be ever on the alert for a good place to stop. Nothing can be more important than to close your examination with a triumph. So many lawyers succeed in catching a witness in a serious contradiction; but, not satisfied with this, go on asking questions, and taper off their examination until the effect upon the jury of their former advantage is lost altogether.

THE ART OF CROSS-EXAMINATION, FRANCIS L. WELLMAN, 1913

THE OVERREACHING GENERAL

We read of many instances of this kind; for the general who by his valor has conquered a state for his master, and won great glory for himself by his victory over the enemy, and has loaded his soldiers with rich booty, acquires necessarily with his own soldiers, as well as with those of the enemy and with the subjects of the prince, so high a reputation, that his very victory may become distasteful, and a cause for apprehension to his prince. For as the nature of men is ambitious as well as suspicious, and puts no limits to one’s good fortune, it is not impossible that the suspicion that may suddenly be aroused in the mind of the prince by the victory of the general may have been aggravated by some haughty expressions or insolent acts on his part; so that the prince will naturally be made to think of securing himself against the ambition of his general.

And to do this, the means that suggest themselves to him are either to have the general killed, or to deprive him of that reputation which he has acquired with the prince’s army and the people, by using every means to prove that the general’s victory was not due to his skill and courage, but to chance and the cowardice of the enemy, or to the sagacity of the other captains who were with him in that action.

NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

No single person in history has occupied a more delicate and precarious position than the king’s mistress. She had no real or legitimate power base to fall back on in times of trouble; she was surrounded by packs of envious courtiers eagerly anticipating her fall from grace; and finally, since the source of her power was usually her physical beauty, for most royal mistresses that fall was inevitable and unpleasant.

King Louis XV of France began to keep official mistresses in the early days of his reign, each woman’s good fortune rarely lasting more than a few years. But then came Madame de Pompadour, who, when she was a middle-class child of nine named Jeanne Poisson, had been told by a fortune-teller that she would someday be the king’s favorite. This seemed an absurd dream, since the royal mistress almost always came from the aristocracy. Jeanne nevertheless believed herself destined to seduce the king, and doing so became her obsession. She applied herself to the talents the king’s favorite had to have—music, dancing, acting, horseback riding—and she excelled in every one of them. As a young woman, she married a man of the lower nobility, which gave her an entrée to the best salons in Paris. Word quickly spread of her beauty, talent, charm, and intelligence.

Jeanne Poisson became close friends with Voltaire, Montesquieu, and other great minds of the time, but she never lost sight of the goal she had set herself as a girl: to capture the heart of the king. Her husband had a chateau in a forest where the king would often go hunting, and she began to spend a lot of time there. Studying his movements like a hawk, she would make sure he would “happen” to come upon her while she was out walking in her most alluring dress, or riding in her splendid coach. The king began to take note of her, making her gifts of the game he caught in the hunt.

In 1744 Louis’s current mistress, the Duchesse de Chateauroux, died. Jeanne went on the offensive. She placed herself everywhere he would be: at masked balls at Versailles, at the opera, wherever their paths would cross, and wherever she could display her many talents: dancing, singing, riding, coquetry. The king finally succumbed to her charms, and in a ceremony at Versailles in September of 1745, this twenty-four- year-old daughter of a middle-class banking agent was officially inaugurated as the king’s mistress. She was given her own room in the palace, a room the king could enter at any time via a hidden stairway and back door. And because some of the courtiers were angry that he had chosen a woman of low origins, he made her a marquise. From now on she would be known as Madame de Pompadour.

The king was a man whom the slightest feeling of boredom would oppress out of proportion. Madame de Pompadour knew that keeping him under her spell meant keeping him amused. To that end she put on constant theatrical productions at Versailles, in which she starred. She organized elaborate hunting parties, masked balls, and whatever else it would take to keep him diverted outside the bedroom. She became a patroness of the arts, and the arbiter of taste and fashion for all of France. Her enemies at the court only grew in number with each new success, but Madame de Pompadour thwarted them in a totally novel way for a king’s mistress: with extreme politeness. Snobs who resented her for her low birth she won over with charm and grace. Most unusual of all, she befriended the queen, and insisted that Louis XV pay more attention to his wife, and treat her more kindly. Even the royal family begrudgingly gave her their support. To crown her glory, the king made her a duchess. Her sway was felt even in politics: Indeed she became the untitled minister of foreign affairs.

In 1751, when Madame de Pompadour was at the height of her power, she experienced her worst crisis. Physically weakened by the responsibilities of her position, she found it increasingly difficult to meet the king’s demands in bed. This was usually the point at which the mistress would meet her end, struggling to maintain her position as her beauty faded. But Madame de Pompadour had a strategy: She encouraged the king to set up a kind of brothel, Pare aux Cerfs, on the grounds of Versailles. There the middle-aged king could have liaisons with the most beautiful young girls in the realm.

Madame de Pompadour knew that her charm and her political acumen had made her indispensable to the king. What did she have to fear from a sixteen-year-old who had none of her power and presence? What did it matter if she lost her position in the bedroom, as long as she remained the most powerful woman in France? To secure that position she became still closer friends with the queen, with whom she started attending church. Although her enemies at the court conspired to have her toppled from her official position as king’s mistress, the king kept her on, for he needed her calming effect. It was only when her part in the disastrous Seven Years’ War drew much criticism on her that she slowly withdrew from public affairs.

Madame de Pompadour’s health had always been delicate, and she died at the age of forty-three, in 1764. Her reign as mistress had lasted an unprecedented twenty years. “She was regretted by all,” wrote the Duc de Croy, “for she was kindly and helpful to everyone who approached her.”

Interpretation

Aware of the temporariness of her power, the king’s mistress would often go into a kind of frenzy after capturing the king: She would try to accumulate as much money as possible to protect her after her inevitable fall. And to extend her reign as long as possible, she would be ruthless with her enemies in the court. Her situation, in other words, seemed to demand from her a greed and vindictiveness that would often be her undoing. Madame de Pompadour succeeded where all others had failed because she never pressed her good fortune. Instead of bullying the courtiers from her powerful position as the king’s mistress, she tried to win their support. She never revealed the slightest hint of greed or arrogance. When she could no longer perform her physical duties as mistress, she did not fret at the thought of someone replacing her in bed. She simply applied some strategy—she encouraged the king to take young lovers, knowing that the younger and prettier they were, the less of a threat they posed, since they could not compare to her in charm and sophistication and would soon bore the monarch.

A man who was famous as a tree climber was guiding someone in climbing a tall tree. He ordered the man to cut the top branches, and, during this time, when the man seemed to be in great danger, the expert said nothing. Only when the man was coming down and had reached the height of the eaves did the expert call out, “Be careful! Watch your step coming down!” I asked him, “Why did you say that? At that height he could jump the rest of the way if he chose.” “That’s the point, ”said the expert. “As long as the man was up at a dizzy height and the branches were threaening to break, he himself was so afraid I said nothing. Mistakes are always made when people get to the easy places.” This man belonged to the lowest class, but his words were in perfect accord with the precepts of the sages. In football too, they say that after you have kicked out of a difficult place and you think the next one will be easier you are sure to miss the ball.

ESSAYS IN IDLENESS, KENKO, JAPAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY

Success plays strange tricks on the mind. It makes you feel invulnerable, while also making you more hostile and emotional when people challenge your power. It makes you less able to adapt to circumstance. You come to believe your character is more responsible for your success than your strategizing and planning. Like Madame de Pompadour, you need to realize that your moment of triumph is also a moment when you have to rely on cunning and strategy all the more, consolidating your power base, recognizing the role of luck and circumstance in your success, and remaining vigilant against changes in your good fortune. It is the moment of victory when you need to play the courtier’s game and pay more attention than ever to the laws of power.

The greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory.

Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821

KEYS TO POWER

Power has its own rhythms and patterns. Those who succeed at the game are the ones who control the patterns and vary them at will, keeping people off balance while they set the tempo. The essence of strategy is controlling what comes next, and the elation of victory can upset your ability to control what comes next in two ways. First, you owe your success to a pattern that you are apt to try to repeat. You will try to keep moving in the same direction without stopping to see whether this is still the direction that is best for you. Second, success tends to go to your head and make you emotional. Feeling invulnerable, you make aggressive moves that ultimately undo the victory you have gained.

The lesson is simple: The powerful vary their rhythms and patterns, change course, adapt to circumstance, and learn to improvise. Rather than letting their dancing feet impel them forward, they step back and look where they are going. It is as if their bloodstream bore a kind of antidote to the intoxication of victory, letting them control their emotions and come to a kind of mental halt when they have attained success. They steady themselves, give themselves the space to reflect on what has happened, examine the role of circumstance and luck in their success. As they say in riding school, you have to be able to control yourself before you can control the horse.

Luck and circumstance always play a role in power. This is inevitable, and actually makes the game more interesting. But despite what you may think, good luck is more dangerous than bad luck. Bad luck teaches valuable lessons about patience, timing, and the need to be prepared for the worst; good luck deludes you into the opposite lesson, making you think your brillliance will carry you through. Your fortune will inevitably turn, and when it does you will be completely unprepared.

According to Machiavelli, this is what undid Cesare Borgia. He had many triumphs, was actually a clever strategist, but had the bad luck to have good luck: He had a pope for a father. Then, when he had bad luck for real—his father’s death—he was unprepared for it, and the many enemies he had made devoured him. The good luck that elevates you or seals your success brings the moment for you to open your eyes: The wheel of fortune will hurtle you down as easily as up. If you prepare for the fall, it is less likely to ruin you when it happens.

People who have a run of success can catch a kind of fever, and even when they themselves try to stay calm, the people below them often pressure them to go past their mark and into dangerous waters. You have to have a strategy for dealing with these people. Simply preaching moderation will make you look weak and small-minded; seeming to fail to follow up on a victory can lessen your power.

When the Athenian general and statesman Pericles led a series of naval campaigns around the Black Sea in 436 B.C., his easy triumphs en-flamed the Athenians’ desire for more. They dreamed of conquering Egypt, overrunning Persia, sailing for Sicily.

On the one hand Pericles reined in these dangerous emotions by warning of the perils of hubris. On the other hand he fed them by fighting small battles that he knew he could win, creating the appearance that he was preserving the momentum of success.

The skill with which Pericles played this game is revealed by what happened when he died: The demagogues took over, pushed Athens into invading Sicily, and in one rash move destroyed an empire.

Is that not what is happening in America today? -MM

The rhythm of power often requires an alternation of force and cunning. Too much force creates a counterreaction; too much cunning, no matter how cunning it is, becomes predictable. Working on behalf of his master, the shogun Oda Nobunaga, the great sixteenth-century Japanese general (and future emperor) Hideyoshi once engineered a stunning victory over the army of the formidable General Yoshimoto. The shogun wanted to go further, to take on and crush yet another powerful enemy, but Hideyoshi reminded him of the old Japanese saying: “When you have won a victory, tighten the strings of your helmet.” For Hideyoshi this was the moment for the shogun to switch from force to cunning and indirection, setting his enemies against one another through a series of deceptive alliances. In this way he would avoid stirring up needless opposition by appearing overly aggressive. When you are victorious, then, lie low, and lull the enemy into inaction. These changes of rhythm are immensely powerful.

People who go past the mark are often motivated by a desire to please a master by proving their dedication. But an excess of effort exposes you to the risk of making the master suspicious of you. On several occasions, generals under Philip of Macedon were disgraced and demoted immediately after leading their troops to a great victory; one more such victory, Philip thought, and the man might become a rival instead of an underling. When you serve a master, it is often wise to measure your victories carefully, let ting him get the glory and never making him uneasy. It is also wise to establish a pattern of strict obedience to earn his trust. In the fourth century B.C., a captain under the notoriously severe Chinese general Wu Ch‘i charged ahead before a battle had begun and came back with several enemy heads. He thought he had shown his fiery enthusiasm, but Wu Ch’i was unimpressed. “A talented officer,” the general said with a sigh as he ordered the man beheaded, “but a disobedient one.”

Another moment when a small success can spoil the chances for a larger one may come if a master or superior grants you a favor: It is a dangerous mistake to ask for more. You will seem insecure—perhaps you feel you did not deserve this favor, and have to grab as much as you can when you have the chance, which may not come again. The proper response is to accept the favor graciously and withdraw. Any subsequent favors you should earn without having to ask for them.

Finally, the moment when you stop has great dramatic import. What comes last sticks in the mind as a kind of exclamation point. There is no better time to stop and walk away than after a victory. Keep going and you risk lessening the effect, even ending up defeated. As lawyers say of cross-examination, “Always stop with a victory.”

Image: Icarus Falling from the Sky. His father Daedalus fashions wings of wax that allow the two men to fly out of the labyrinth and escape the Minotaur. Elated by the triumphant escape and the feeling of flight, Icarus soars higher and high er, until the sun melts the wings and he hurtles to his death.

Authority: Princes and republics should content themselves with victory, for when they aim at more, they generally lose. The use of insulting language toward an enemy arises from the insolence of victory, or from the false hope of victory, which latter misleads men as often in their actions as in their words; for when this false hope takes possession of the mind, it makes men go beyond the mark, and causes them to sacrifice a certain good for an uncertain better. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)

REVERSAL

As Machiavelli says, either destroy a man or leave him alone entirely. Inflicting half punishment or mild injury will only create an enemy whose bitterness will grow with time, and who will take revenge. When you beat an enemy, then, make your victory complete. Crush him into nonexistence. In the moment of victory, you do not restrain yourself from crushing the enemy you have defeated, but rather from needlessly advancing against others. Be merciless with your enemy, but do not create new enemies by overreaching.

There are some who become more cautious than ever after a victory, which they see as just giving them more possessions to worry about and protect. Your caution after victory should never make you hesitate, or lose momentum, but rather act as a safeguard against rash action. On the other hand, momentum as a phenomenon is greatly overrated. You create your own successes, and if they follow one upon the other, it is your own doing. Belief in momentum will only make you emotional, less prone to act strategically, and more apt to repeat the same methods. Leave momentum for those who have nothing better to rely upon.

Vietnam

Vietnam was the point in time where the United States had over-extended itself and needed to retract, and start focusing on it’s own domestic issues. Instead it did the opposite.

30 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam — Captured South Vietnamese soldiers sit on a broad lawn after North Vietnamese troops seize the presidential palace in Saigon. — Image by © Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma/CORBIS
Scrambling at the US Embassy.
South Vietnamese Army helicopter that flew to an American aircraft carrier is tosses overboard as there isn’t any room left on the ship for it.

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Why the fundamental Master Template has changed, and what it implies.

This article considers and ponders the motivations of our benefactors to change our Master Template. We also touch on what it implies as well. This is a deep and heady article and not for the faint of heart. For we will discuss what our owners think about us.

"Theoretically, if the amnesia mechanisms being used against Earth could be broken entirely, IS-BEs would regain all of their memory!" 

Introduction

In this POST, I discussed that I had sensed a change in the Master Template. And then I went on to describe was it was, how it works, and so on and so forth. At that time, I hadn’t a clue as to why it was changed, except to say that it is a very, very rare event.

But then I read one of the comments. All credit to Ohio Guy, that said this…

I posit that there are now two master templates that appear identical. Your representation shows a difference in color. One being blue, the other, a bronze color. These are now superimposed, one over the other.

The service to self sentience’s are being assigned one, the service to others, in turn, assigned the other copy.

This, I believe, is to streamline the sorting process such that one does not have to fight the urge to “go into the light” or wait for assistance from the mantids to direct us to be free in the non physical realm at the end of our individual world line. It is automatic. In other words, A base line for us, and a base line for them, (sts sentience).

All with the subtle appearance of being laminated, one over the other, yet, to separate outcomes. (hence the streamlining of sorting) I wonder though, if delamination will occur at some point, whether individually or collectively.

Brilliant. Really.

And this from Memory Loss

Very interesting theory. Like a Harry Potter world sorting hat?
It’s kinda weird because as I was pondering the implications of your theory, I stumbled upon a video:

https://youtu.be/Xz9IJMMWP4M

What if the service to others sentiences just overwhelms the service to self guys so much so their power structures just crumbles. We don’t fight with them, we absorb them. A change to the master template would likely have been necessary in such a scenario.

Why would the Type-1 greys do this?

I can tell you that they want to resolve this “Prison Planet” from the “dung heap” that it is now into a sorting, and reeducation location as efficiently as possible. And it’s not just our solar system but other ones under the same realm of control as well.

But wresting control of the source code, they can really make some changes happen. Just like on the movie the matrix.

Decoding the matrix.

So, it got me to start thinking.

What would happen? What could happen? At what benefit would it provide to anyone?

Benefits of changing the Master Template

Why the heck would anyone want to change the Master Template? Well, to answer that question you have to understand who made the Master Template to begin with and why.

Fundamentally, the “Old Empire” created the “Prison Planet” in this section of the galaxy. They created this reality, along with the associated Heaven (for humans) to go through as “punishment”. And thus all and everything associated with this local reality is a fabrication of the “Old Empire”.

And you must recognize that part of this fabrication is the idea of “pulsing consciousnesses” that cycle between wave and particle forms and moving about world-lines. Oh, perhaps, there are analogs in other areas of the universe, but in our “neck of the woods” what we go though is all a manufactured fabricated reality that is a remnant from the “Old Empire”.

We know that the type-1 greys (of “The Domain”) want to dismantle this entire set-up, but it is very difficult. However, we also know that MAJestic was set up after “Alien Interview” and it seems obvious that they want to have a metered disassembly of the entire arrangement so that the very evil are contained, while the innocent are rehabilitated.

The members of the lost Battalion and many other IS-BEs on Earth, could be valuable citizens of The Domain, not including those who are vicious criminals or perverts. 

Unfortunately, there has been no workable method conceived to emancipate the IS-BEs from Earth. Therefore, as a matter of common logic, as well as the official policy of The Domain, it is safer and more sensible to avoid contact with the IS-BE population of Earth.

Until such time as the proper resources can be allocated to [1] locate and destroy the "Old Empire" force screen...

... and [2] amnesia machinery ...

... and [3] develop a therapy to restore the memory of an IS-BE."

It seems to me that by changing the Master Template, it would enable the necessary therapies to restore IS-BE memories.

Keep in mind that the Master Template was designed specifically to entrap consciousnesses in this trap / snare of earth-bound reality.

If “The Domain” were interested in actually freeing souls and releasing consciousnesses from this reality, then the most direct and obvious method would be to alter the Master Template that this entire Prison Planet Environment is based around.

I gather from the events that I have sensed, good or bad, that they have been able to achieve this goal.

And then what?

Benefits of Making multiple templates

Consider this statement from Alien Interview…

The conflicting cultural and ethical moral codes of the IS-BEs on Earth is unusual in the extreme.

If you are able to sort consciousnesses by sentience, then the sorting effort could result in different Master Templates for different sentience’s.

"...the IS-BEs of Earth continue to behave very badly toward each other.  This behavior, however, is heavily influenced by the "hypnotic commands" given to each IS-BE between lifetimes."

You could have a Master Template for each of the following major sentience types in this reality at this time…

  • Service for self.
  • Service for another.
  • Service for others.
  • Disjointed.

And those templates would then adjust the consciousness interaction within this reality. It would…

  • Keep those that should remain in the “Prison Environment” a little longer. This would be accomplished by making them focus on the worldly pleasures and pain. So that they would not be able to focus on egress from this environment.
  • Provide a “rehabilitation plan” for those that need to undo the damage that this environment has done to them, and help sort them so that they can eventually egress from this environment. Their life would be a little bit easier, and not so contentious. So that they would be able to ponder their existence and see order and purpose.
  • Provide a much easier path of egress from this prison region for those who indicate a functional desire to do great things for others without personal profit. The affirmation prayers should become easier to manifest, and their general life path should be far less contentious and troublesome. Making it easier to think of higher purposes and roles after egress.
  • Provide a substantive restructuring plan for those that need it. The details of which could become very harsh, but necessary.

So, depending on the sentience, the Master Template would provide a simpler way to track, control, and eventually release all the inmates from this environment.

For service to others sentience it would look like this…

How they would differ from each on from a user point of view.

From the point of view of an end user, a consciousness, the pre-birth world-line template (which is derived from the Master Template) would look the same. While you were in Heaven, you would work with the local elders and your Mantid to configure your next reincarnation.

The evil and self-centered individuals would select a life-line to place upon a pre-birth world-line template to achieve their desires. Lust, greed, power, sex, gluttony, etc. The system in making the selection and the research and options available will not change.

And it will also remain the same. Individuals would be given “missions” and “objectives” are centered about “bettering themselves”, “obtaining experiences” and “perfecting themselves”.

Unless you were specifically keyed to notice the subtle changes of a rewritten source code, you won’t realize that anything would be different.

The user wouldn’t be able to see a difference during the planning stage in Heaven

You simply couldn’t see a difference. Difficult tasks will still be difficult. Easy tasks and goals will still be easy. Highs and lows, “mountains” and “valleys” will still exist.

The changes will not be what is obvious in the physical reality.

Instead it will be the non-physical aspects of the consciousness. Thoughts that one would have. Or the ability to dream, having lucid dreams. The ability to have PSI or ESP and the ability to sense the non-physical reality will be changed.

Most notably would be the ability to control and direct thoughts and desires. Evil and selfish people would have that ability suppressed, while those who are generous would find that they would have that ability enhanced. Thus prayer affirmations campaigns would have results much faster in materialization than prior to the change in the Master Template.

This would be right across all levels and even the most trivial thoughts and wishes from one’s early years would manifest without problem.

The code for the Master Template

We do not know what the “code” is for the Master Template. Obviously it transcends the physical realm and is involved in so many levels.And obviously it is a very detailed and involved system involving many layers.

“Mystery reinforces the walls of the prison.  The “Old Empire” feared that the IS-BEs on Earth might regain their memory.  Therefore, one of the primary functions of The “Old Empire” priesthood is to prevent IS-BEs on Earth from remembering who they really are, how they came to Earth, where they came from.

The “Old Empire” operators of the prison system, and their superiors, do not want IS-BEs to remember who murdered them, captured them, stole all of their possessions, sent them to Earth, gave them amnesia and condemned them to eternal imprisonment!

Imagine what might happen if all of the inmates in the prison suddenly remembered that they have the right to be free!  What if they suddenly realized that they have been falsely imprisoned and rise up as one against the guards?

They are afraid to reveal anything that looks like the civilization of the inmates home planets.  A body, a piece of clothing, a symbol, a space ship, an advanced electronics device, or any other remnant of civilization from a home planet could “remind” a being and rekindle his memory.

Sophisticated technologies of entrapment and enslavement,  which were developed over millions of years in the “Old Empire”, have been applied to the IS-BEs on Earth with the intention to create a false facade for the prison.  These facades were installed on Earth in totality, all at once.  Every piece is a fully integrated part of the prison system.

This includes a religion of mumbo-jumbo double-speak. Every pyramid civilization uses this as part of a control mechanism  to keep the population enslaved by force, by fear and by ignorance. The indecipherable muddle of irrelevant information, geometric designs, mathematical calculation, astronomical alignments, are part of a false spirituality based on solid objects, rather than immortal spirits, in order to confuse and disorient the IS-BEs on Earth.

When the body of a person died they were buried with their Earthly possessions, including their former body wrapped in linen, to sustain their “soul” or “Ka” after death.  An IS-BE does not “have” as soul.  An IS-BE is a soul.”

— Excerpted from the Top Secret transcripts published in the book, Alien Interview

But we can make some assumptions based on what we know of history.

When Nazi Germany fell, all of their advanced technology was up for grabs, and the United States went forward with Operation Paperclip to recover as much knowledge and technology as possible….

What Was Operation Paperclip?

This controversial top-secret U.S. intelligence program brought Nazi German scientists to America to harness their brain power for Cold War initiatives. From HERE.
.

As World War II was entering its final stages, American and British organizations teamed up to scour occupied Germany for as much military, scientific and technological development research as they could uncover.

Trailing behind Allied combat troops, groups such as the Combined Intelligence Objectives Subcommittee (CIOS) began confiscating war-related documents and materials and interrogating scientists as German research facilities were seized by Allied forces. One enlightening discovery—recovered from a toilet at Bonn University—was the Osenberg List: a catalogue of scientists and engineers that had been put to work for the Third Reich.

n a covert affair originally dubbed Operation Overcast but later renamed Operation Paperclip, roughly 1,600 of these German scientists (along with their families) were brought to the United States to work on America’s behalf during the Cold War. The program was run by the newly-formed Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA), whose goal was to harness German intellectual resources to help develop America’s arsenal of rockets and other biological and chemical weapons, and to ensure such coveted information did not fall into the hands of the Soviet Union.

Although he officially sanctioned the operation, President Harry Truman forbade the agency from recruiting any Nazi members or active Nazi supporters. Nevertheless, officials within the JIOA and Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—the forerunner to the CIA—bypassed this directive by eliminating or whitewashing incriminating evidence of possible war crimes from the scientists’ records, believing their intelligence to be crucial to the country’s postwar efforts.

One of the most well-known recruits was Wernher von Braun, the technical director at the Peenemunde Army Research Center in Germany who was instrumental in developing the lethal V-2 rocket that devastated England during the war. Von Braun and other rocket scientists were brought to Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico, as “War Department Special Employees” to assist the U.S. Army with rocket experimentation. Von Braun later became director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which eventually propelled two dozen American astronauts to the Moon.

Although defenders of the clandestine operation argue that the balance of power could have easily shifted to the Soviet Union during the Cold War if these Nazi scientists were not brought to the United States, opponents point to the ethical cost of ignoring their abhorrent war crimes without punishment or accountability.

Enter The Domain

So The Domain vanquished The “Old Empire” and took control of this section of the galaxy. Still, it has taken years to understand and recover the long lost technologies that the Old Empire utilized.

As from the “Alien Interview”, it seems that once systems were designed and utilized, they were left to fallow or forgotten. Thus making the blueprints for the “Prison Planet” quite difficult to obtain.

Most certainly the type-1 greys had to have spent some tremendous amounts of time and effort to recover what ever they could concerning the Prison Complexes and systems. I am sure that it was a low priority, but necessary.

Only a demonic, self-serving government would employ a “logic” or “science” to conceive that an “ultimate solution” to any problem is to murder and permanently erase the memory of every artist, genius, skilled manager, and inventor, and cast them into a planetary prison together with political opponents, killers, thieves, perverts, and disabled beings of an entire galaxy!

Once the IS-BEs expelled from the “Old Empire” arrived on Earth, they were given amnesia, and hypnotically tricked into thinking that something else had happened to them.  The next step was to implant the IS-BEs into biological bodies on Earth.  The bodies became the human populations of “false civilizations” which were designed and installed in the minds of IS-BEs to look completely unlike the “Old Empire”.

— Except from the Top Secret manuscripts from 1947 Roswell, published in the book ALIEN INTERVIEW

I like and want to believe that a future lies ahead for all of us. And that the type-1 greys are making this happen. The entire environment around our planet is but the walls of a gigantic and enormous prison.

“Mystery reinforces the walls of the prison.  The “Old Empire” feared that the IS-BEs on Earth might regain their memory.  Therefore, one of the primary functions of The “Old Empire” priesthood is to prevent IS-BEs on Earth from remembering who they really are, how they came to Earth, where they came from.

The “Old Empire” operators of the prison system, and their superiors, do not want IS-BEs to remember who murdered them, captured them, stole all of their possessions, sent them to Earth, gave them amnesia and condemned them to eternal imprisonment!

Imagine what might happen if all of the inmates in the prison suddenly remembered that they have the right to be free!  What if they suddenly realized that they have been falsely imprisoned and rise up as one against the guards?

They are afraid to reveal anything that looks like the civilization of the inmates home planets.  A body, a piece of clothing, a symbol, a space ship, an advanced electronics device, or any other remnant of civilization from a home planet could “remind” a being and rekindle his memory.

Sophisticated technologies of entrapment and enslavement,  which were developed over millions of years in the “Old Empire”, have been applied to the IS-BEs on Earth with the intention to create a false facade for the prison.  These facades were installed on Earth in totality, all at once.  Every piece is a fully integrated part of the prison system.

This includes a religion of mumbo-jumbo double-speak. Every pyramid civilization uses this as part of a control mechanism  to keep the population enslaved by force, by fear and by ignorance. The indecipherable muddle of irrelevant information, geometric designs, mathematical calculation, astronomical alignments, are part of a false spirituality based on solid objects, rather than immortal spirits, in order to confuse and disorient the IS-BEs on Earth.

When the body of a person died they were buried with their Earthly possessions, including their former body wrapped in linen, to sustain their “soul” or “Ka” after death.  An IS-BE does not “have” as soul.  An IS-BE is a soul.”

— Excerpted from the Top Secret transcripts published in the book, Alien Interview

Most certainly they had to study the construction and the systems associated with the entire “Prison Planet”.

And then they most certainly had to come up with a phased plan to provide release egress or parole to the many innocents in this entire “black hole” environment.

And it’s only a matter of time until a point will be reached where the inmates can start getting their much needed “walking papers”. Perhaps, just perhaps, we are all part of the first batch of those who have this opportunity.

I don’t know. But I do have hope.

This must absolutely include a system for prison release… a very careful release system and integration into society.

Where is the “Old Empire”?

Where the records regarding the construction of this entire prison complex must be stored somewhere.

Right?

"Although the military base of the "Old Empire" was destroyed, unfortunately, much of the vast machinery of the IS-BE force screens, the electroshock / amnesia / hypnosis machinery continues to function in other undiscovered locations right up to the present moment.  The main base or control center for this "mind control prison" operation has never been found. So, the influences of this base, or bases, are still in effect."

The “blue prints” and the program / project management, and all the rest has to be found somewhere.

Blue prints and plans must be somewhere. They can be in any form, but all fabrications and constructions needs plants, layouts, and calculations.

If you were from The Domain where would you look?

"She told me that The Domain Expeditionary Force first entered into the Milky Way galaxy very recently -- only about 10,000 years ago.  Their first action was to conquer the home planets of the "Old Empire" (this is not the official name, but a nick-name given to the conquered civilization by The Domain Forces) that served as the seat of central government for this galaxy, and other adjoining regions of space. 

These planets are  located in the star systems in the tail of the Big Dipper constellation. She did not mention which stars, exactly."

Well, we know that the stars in the “tail” of “The Big Dipper” constellation are…

Big dipper with star names.

So you can figure that the “home planets” for the “Old Empire” is in the geographic space around Mizar and Alkaid. Not these large hot and short-lived stars, but rather the cooler and fainter stars that lie around them.

As far as the general geographical location goes, however…

Alkaid, Eta Ursae Majoris (η UMa) is a blue main sequence star with an apparent magnitude of 1.86, located at a distance of 103.9 light years from Earth. It is the easternmost star of the Big Dipper. It forms the Dipper’s handle with its bright neighbours, Mizar (ζ UMa) and Alioth (ε UMa), while Megrez (δ UMa), Phecda (γ UMa), Dubhe (α UMa) and Merak (β UMa) form the Dipper’s bowl.

Alkaid is the third brightest star in the constellation Ursa Major, after Alioth and Dubhe, and the 38th brightest star in the sky. It shares the 38th place with the bright giant Sargas (Theta Scorpii) in the constellation Scorpius. The stars are only slightly fainter than the blue giant Kaus Australis (Epsilon Sagittarii), the brightest star in Sagittarius, and slightly fainter than the orange giant Avior (Epsilon Carinae), the third brightest star in the constellation Carina.

And the other star…

Mizar, Zeta Ursae Majoris (ζ UMa), is a quadruple star system in Ursa Major. It has a combined apparent magnitude of 2.04 and lies at a distance of 82.9 light years from Earth. It is the fourth brightest star in Ursa Major.

Mizar is the middle star of the Big Dipper‘s handle and it forms a visual double with Alcor, a fainter binary star located at a separation of about 12 arcminutes.

And without getting involved in the history behind these stars, their sizes, and all those interesting facts. Let’s focus on location.

  • Alkaid = 103.9 Light Years away
  • Mizar = 82.9 Light Years away

And this tells us a lot.

Our milkyway galaxy is 100,000 light-years across, and these two stars lie around 100 light years away. Or roughly 1/1000 of the size of the galaxy. So roughly the “Old Empire” is not a far away center of civilization, but rather (relatively) nearby.

Sort of like one of the suburbs in a city.

With the core solar systems of that “Old Empire” as close as 35 to 50 light years away. (The 100 light year apex center is just a reference point for an empire that might have core planets around 75 to 100 light years in diameter.)

We might imagine that their relative proximity to us would be on the order of…

The core stars of the old empire relative to the geographical location of our solar system.

The “Old Empire” is relatively close to our stellar neighborhood.

So we can expect that over the last few decades of MAJestic involvement that The Domain has dedicated a small contingent of researchers to investigate the “Old Empire” records to discover the operation and plans for our regional “Prison Planet”.

Our solar system is not in a major populated area of the galaxy

We are off to the side, in and among devastated previously populated worlds still recovering from ancient space wars and fiascos.

Earth is very distant from the center of the galaxy and from any other significant galactic civilization. This isolation makes it unsuitable for use, except as a "pit stop" or jumping off point along the way between galaxies.  The moon and asteroids are far more suitable for this purpose because they do not have any significant gravity.

Where is the local machinery of control?

No one knows, but perhaps this statement might provide us with some clues…

"In the earliest times the IS-BEs sent to prison Earth lived in India."  

Some more thoughts

"Furthermore, there has been no operation undertaken to seek out, discover and destroy the vast and ancient network of electronics machinery that create the IS-BE force screens at this end of the galaxy. 

Until this has been done, we are not able to prevent or interrupt the electric shock operation, hypnosis and remote thought control of the "Old Empire" prison planet."

I really do not have any idea how the Master Template could be changed, or how The Domain would go about changing them. Nor do I have any idea on the kinds of systems that would be involved in this system. But you know, we all don’t really need to know the specifics. Just what is going on.

The system that is in place seems to be very robust and expansive and thus can be applied to a great diversity of “peoples” , societies, species and cultures…

And, the very unusual combination of "inmates" on Earth - criminals, perverts, artists, revolutionaries and geniuses - is the cause of a very restive and tumultuous environment.   

The purpose of the prison planet is to keep IS-BEs on Earth, forever. Promoting ignorance, superstition, and war between IS-BEs helps to keep the prison population crippled and trapped behind "the wall" of electronic force screens. 

IS-BEs have been dumped on Earth from all over the galaxy, adjoining galaxies, and from planetary systems all over the "Old Empire", like Sirius, Aldebaron, the Pleiades, Orion, Draconis, and countless others. There are IS- BEs on Earth from unnamed races, civilizations, cultural backgrounds, and planetary environments. 

Each of the various IS-BE populations have their own languages, belief systems, moral values, religious beliefs, training and unknown and untold histories. 

These IS-BEs are mixed together with earlier inhabitants of Earth who came from another star system more than 400,000 years ago to establish the civilizations of Atlanta and Lemuria.   

Those civilizations vanished beneath the tidal waves caused by a planetary "polar shift", many thousands of years before the current "prison" population started to arrive.  

Apparently, the IS-BEs from those star systems were the source of the original, oriental races of Earth, beginning in Australia. 

On the other hand, the civilizations set up on Earth by the "Old Empire" prison system were very different from the civilization of the "Old Empire" itself, which is an electronic space opera, atomic powered conglomeration of earlier civilizations that were conquered with nuclear weapons and colonized by IS-BEs from another galaxy.

What is the most important template?

Well, they are all important. It’s just that each template has it’s own very unique roles that it plays in the shaping of our experiences within this reality.

You could argue that the roles of each template would be as follows…

  • Master Template. The source code for consciousness movement in our reality universe.
  • Pre-Birth World-Line Template. A fated life that we will live in the physical reality to obtain experiences with.
  • A World-Line Template. A new template that consciousness intentionally creates by directed thoughts. It replaces the Pre-Birth World_line Template.
  • A World-Line. A frozen snapshot in “time” that our consciousness visits momentarily while it is in particle form.

How important is the Master Template?

It’s very important. The entire way the “Prison Planet” works is to keep us living this never ending reincarnation loop over and over again on the promise of something…

The net result is that an IS-BE is unable to escape because they can't remember who they are, where they came from, where they are. They have been hypnotized to think they are someone, something, sometime, and somewhere other than where they really are.

…for some people it is an eternal life in Heaven. For other’s it might be improvements to eventually become a saint. For still others, maybe an advancement to become another species. It’s all promises…

…just go back one more time and experience X, Y, Z and then you will be better.

But it is the control of our thoughts that imprison us.

Eventually The Domain discovered that a wide area of space is monitored by an "electronic force field" which controls all of the IS-BEs in this end of the galaxy, including Earth.  The electronic force screen is designed to detect IS-BEs and prevent them from leaving the area. 

If any IS-BE attempts to penetrate the force screen, it "captures" them in a kind of "electronic net".   

The result is that the captured IS-BE is subjected to a very severe "brainwashing" treatment which erases the memory of the IS-BE.  This process uses a tremendous electrical shock, just like Earth psychiatrists use "electric shock therapy" to erase the memory and personality of a "patient" and to make them more "cooperative". 

On Earth this "therapy" uses only a few hundred volts of electricity.    However, the electrical voltage used by the "Old Empire" operation against IS-BEs is on the order of magnitude of billions of volts!  This tremendous shock completely wipes out all the memory of the IS- BE.  The memory erasure is not just for one life or one body.  

It wipes out all of the accumulated experiences of a nearly infinite past, as well as the identity of the IS-BE! 

The shock is intended to make it impossible for the IS-BE to remember who they are, where they came from, their knowledge or skills, their memory of the past, and ability to function as a spiritual entity.   They are overwhelmed into becoming a mindless, robotic non-entity. 

After the shock a series of post hypnotic suggestions are used to install false memories, and a false time orientation in each IS-BE. 

This includes the command to "return" to the base after the body dies, so that the same kind of shock and hypnosis can be done again, and again, again -- forever.  

The hypnotic command also tells the "patient" to forget to remember. What The Domain learned from the experience of this officer is that the "Old Empire" has been using Earth as a "prison planet" for a very long time -- exactly how long is unknown -- perhaps millions of years. 

So, when the body of the IS-BE dies they depart from the body. They are detected by the "force screen", they are captured and   "ordered" by hypnotic command to "return to the light".   

The idea of "heaven" and the "afterlife" are part of the hypnotic suggestion -- a part of the treachery that makes the whole mechanism work. After the IS-BE has been shocked and hypnotized to erase the memory of the life just lived,  the IS-BE is immediately "commanded", hypnotically, to "report" back to Earth, as though they were on a secret mission, to inhabit a new body.  

Each IS-BE is told that they have a special purpose for being on Earth. But, of course there is no purpose for being in a prison -- at least not for the prisoner.

The Master Template changes how the thoughts interact with our reality. And by changing it, and offering specialized templates to special sentience’s it becomes far easier to manage the egress or imprisonment of wayward consciousnesses.

And so…

If you have a service to others sentience, and recognize that you are a powerful ultimate being yourself, then you can be released from this Prison Planet though use of directed thought.

"It is easy to teach this altered notion to beings who do not want to be responsible for their own lives.  

Slaves are such beings.  

As long as one chooses to assign responsibility for creation, existence and personal accountability for one's own thoughts and actions to others, one is a slave."

A final word

Go out and take in some good fresh air. Splurge and buy yourself a premium lunch or drink. Put down the cell phone for a few minutes and just absorb the world around you. Everything here is positive and upbeat, and if you are a MM follower and believer then your futures all look really, really bright.

Have a great day! Here’s a video that I took  about15 minutes ago.

Enjoy the day you all.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

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You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

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The non-physical components of megalithic locations and their implications

This article discusses the idea that ancient megalithic locations and sites have a non-physical component; a designed energy field for one reason or the other. And it’s an interesting idea and concept. After all, it shakes the entire foundation of the idea of “cave men” being dumb, brute savages. Which is the Newtonian, and Victorian narrative. And instead gives us a picture of an astonishing understanding of things that are far in advance of what their physical accomplishments might say otherwise.

But before we jump into the meat of this article, let’s talk a little about MM here. Because [1] it’s what I want to talk about, and [2] it affects the writing of this article. As this article will be the first article written on this new computer.

I got a new computer! Woo Woo!

Yeah. I have been dealing with a five year old ASUS that ran on Windows 8. It was a budget model, on sale when I bought it. But it met my needs. But then Windows automatically installed Windows 10 on it. And then wouldn’t stop. No matter what switches and commands that I specified.

Windows 10 kept on adding bloatware, and hogging up more and more of my computer resources until it reached a point of saturation. I simply could not run a 4GB ram computer with an OS that required 4 GB just to operate. Jeeze!

Indeed, it was a pain in the ass. Not to mention the periodic (every two day) updates, and so forth.

My solution was to run an Unix based system, and I was all “gung-ho” to do so too. However, the wife ordered me to get a new computer. And guys, you know who is the boss. Right? And so I did.

And I started a looking.

I went into the local stores and found off the shelf computers from 2,000 RMB to 8,000 RMB. (Roughly $350 USD to $1230 USD.) I was just about ready to snag one when I realized that everything was in Chinese, and while I can get by on Chinese, I wanted a wholly English language system. It’s a personal preference, don’t you know.

Enter Amazon

So I figured that I would buy a wholly American computer (made in China obviously) but with American software, American duties, American taxation, and American systems including American spyware.

So I went to the website Amazon.com. I hear that it is a pretty popular website in the States today, and well known. But I cannot verify that. What I can verify is that I went there and found many computers that met my needs, but none were actually available. They were on “waiting lists”. Jeeze!

Prices appeared (in the basic capability range) to be in the $1500 to $2300 USD arena with all the taxes and duties taken into account.

Enter an IT professional

Recognizing my consternation, my wife laid down the law and told me what to do.

So we contacted my IT guy (an employee of mine) and he made up a custom computer laptop for me. He used Windows 10 as that is what I am used to, but used a Chinese modified version. (A scalpel was taken to the NSA backdoors and reporting systems, as well as updates. It’s a “safe” and inert version for Chinese users.) Granted, it’s still bloatware, and a pain in the ass sometimes, but it gets me where I want to go. And on this newer and faster system, it’s like a hot knife through butter.

My old computer had 2 GB ram. Windows 10 needs 4 GB ram just to operate. This new joy used 32 GB ram and the difference is astounding.

My old PC had 100GB storage in SSD HD. And I was told that “everyone” used cloud storage “these days”.

Bullshit.

I couldn’t get anything done without contortions and manipulations.

My new PC has an internal 500GB SSD storage and an outside HD of 2TB SSD storage. Holly Hell!

Connection speeds are off the charts. Typing is easy as all get out, and the graphics are astounding. This system has amazing graphics. Maybe I’ll install a few simulators that I have been Jonesing about. Like the X-Plane 11.

X-Plane 11

Or Flyinside…

Flyinside

Anyways, my IT guy took an off the shelf Shaomi, modified it with Samsung memory and local Chinese graphics cards. The price is much cheaper than what you would get in the ‘States. For certain and meets my needs.

BTW, I have received tremendous support from MM readers who have substantial skill in IT matters. They helped me keep typing while my old computer burped and sighed as it got older. 

Now you would think that I wouldn't need this help as I had an IT guy nearby. But I didn't. I have a periodic IT guy that jets around all over Asia, and helps me remotely as time permits. He made up this computer remotely to my specifications and then shipped it to me via the mail.

People! You make do with what is available to you. And never forget the network of friends that you have.

Here a BIG call out to those who have helped me in the past, and the movies, and the step by step instructions that they sent me. It keep MM alive. Big THANK YOU!

I do not play games that often

I do love a good game, and the computer games are awesome, but this is a work computer. Not a gaming computer. It has a lighted keyboard, and the ram, but not the graphics card need to run the modern intensity games. But this computer can run most of the conventional games of interest, and that’s good enough for me.

Though X-plane 11 does look awfully tasty…

X-Plane 11.

My biggest sigh of relief is that the MS Windows will not be trying to jam a watermelon down into a pin hole any longer. I can actually get some work down without MS shutting down the system for lack of resources every forty minutes or so.

Harmony OS

Oh, and Harmony OS is not yet ready for PC operation. Which is a great disappointment to me. But you deal with what you are familiar with and what you work with. And that is that.

Harmony OS

Did I cop out?

Nope. If you need to dig a ditch you grab what ever shovel is available and you use it. If you have a choice, you use the best one available to you.

I wish that I could tell you that I could walk into a nearby store with a Harmony OS or UNIX computer off the shelf with the latest and greatest hardware, but that is not possible at this time. And so you make do with what you have available to you.

All in all…

All in all, a computer is just a tool. It’s like a car, a blender, a lawnmower or a razor. You use it as you see fit and if you use it often enough, you will want to use the best quality tool available and treat it with care and dignity.

And now to the article…

Is there MORE to the eye when you look at these 10,000 year old piles of rock and stone? Are there magnetic alignments, electrical currents, eddy currents and forces that geographically exist, but is not discernible to those without the necessary equipment?

And if so…

Then 10,000 years ago either

Ancient humans had the ability to naturally sense these magnetic or electromagnetic lines of force.

Or,

They had equipment that could.

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

By Freddy Silva

It doesn’t take much to stimulate the human body’s electro-magnetic circuitry, in fact a small change in the local environment is enough to create a change in awareness.

People who visit ancient temples and megalithic sites often describe such a sensation. The standard explanation is that such feelings are nothing more than a ‘wow’ factor: the result of visual stimuli from the overwhelming impression generated by megalithic constructions such as stone circles, ancient temples and pyramids.

But the cumulative evidence proves otherwise: that megaliths and other ancient sacred places are actually attracting, storing, even generating their own energy field, creating the kind of environment where one can enter an altered state of consciousness.

Generating Energy Fields

In 1983 a comprehensive study was undertaken by engineer Charles Brooker to locate magnetism in sacred sites. The test subject was the Rollright stone circle in England. A magnetometer survey of the site revealed how a band of magnetic force is attracted into the stone circle through a narrow gap of stones that act as the entrance. The band then spirals towards the center of the circle as though descending down a rabbit hole.

Two of the circle’s western stones were also found to pulsate with concentric rings of alternating current, resembling ripples in a pond.

Magnetomer survey image of the Rollright Stones. Adapted from Charles Brooker. Magnetism and Standing Stones, New Scientist, January 13, 1983.

The analysis led Brooker to state how,

“the average intensity of the [geomagnetic] field within the circle was significantly lower than that measured outside, as if the stones acted as a shield.”

Such discoveries help us decipher what the ancients were up to when they built megalithic structures. At the Temple of Edfu in Egypt there is a wall featuring what amounts to a recipe for establishing a space that differs energetically from its surrounding landscape — a temple. The instructions describe how certain creator gods first established a mound and ‘pierced a snake’ to the spot, whereupon a special force of nature impregnated the mound, which led to the construction of the physical temple.

The symbol of the serpent has always been a culturally shared metaphor of the earth’s meandering lines of force, what scientists refer to as telluric currents.

Egyptian goddess harnessing the serpent energy.

Controlling the Laws of Nature

It seems ancient architects had a fine degree of control of the laws of nature, because a recent study of energy fields in and around Avebury, the world’s largest stone circle, shows how its megaliths are designed to attract a ground current into the site.

Electrodes planted at Avebury reveal how its circular ditch breaks the transmission of telluric ground current and conducts electricity into the ditch, in effect concentrating energy and releasing it at the entrance to the site, sometimes at double the rate of the surrounding land.

Magnetic readings at Avebury die away at night to a far greater level than can be accounted for under natural circumstances. They charge back at sunrise, with the ground telluric current from the surrounding land attracted to the henge just as magnetic fluctuations of the site reach their maximum.

Studies conducted by the late physicist John Burke also discovered how the stones of Avebury are deliberately placed and aligned so as to focus electro-magnetic currents to flow in a premeditated direction using an identical principle to modern atomic particle colliders, in which airborne ions are steered in one direction.

Avebury stone circle. Image by Freddy Silva.

The effect of sacred sites behaving like concentrators of electromagnetic energy is enhanced by the choice of stone. Often moved across enormous distance, the stone used in megalithic sites contains substantial amounts of magnetite. The combination makes temples behave like weak, albeit huge, magnets.

Spiritual Technology

This has a profound influence on the human body, particularly the dissolved iron that flows in blood vessels, not to mention the millions of particles of magnetite floating inside the skull, and the pineal gland, which itself is highly sensitive to geomagnetic fields, and whose stimulation begins the production of chemicals such as pinolene and serotonin, which in turn leads to the creation of the hallucinogen DMT. In an environment where geomagnetic field intensity is decreased, people are known to experience psychic and shamanic states.

An exhaustive investigation into the Carnac region of France, where some 80,000 megaliths are concentrated, reveals a similar spiritual technology at work. At first the leading researcher, electrical engineer Pierre Mereux, was skeptical that megalithic sites possessed any special powers.

Mereux’s study of Carnac shows how its dolmens amplify and release telluric energy throughout the day, with the strongest readings occurring at dawn. The voltage and magnetic variations are related, and follow a phenomenon known as electric induction . According to Mereux,

“The dolmen behaves as a coil or solenoid, in which currents are induced, provoked by the variations, weaker or stronger, of the surrounding magnetic field. But these phenomena are not produced with any intensity unless the dolmen is constructed with crystalline rocks rich in quartz, such as granite.”

His readings of menhirs reveal an energy that pulsates at regular intervals at the base, positively-and negatively-charged, up to thirty-six feet from these upright monoliths, some of which still show carvings of serpents.

Extreme pulsations recycle approximately every 70 minutes, showing that the menhirs charge and discharge regularly.

Mereux also noticed how the voltage of standing stones in the Grand Ménec alignment diminished the farther away they lay from the stone circle, which itself behaved as a kind of condenser or concentrator of energy.

Carnac menhir caption: One of the 80,000 menhirs in the Carnac region. Image by Freddy Silva.

The composition of the stones and their ability to conduct energy was not lost on Mereux and others. Being very high in quartz, the specially chosen rocks are piezoelectric, which is to say they generate electricity when compressed or subjected to vibrations.

The megaliths of Carnac, positioned as they are upon thirty-one fractures of the most active earthquake zone in France, are in a constant state of vibration, making the stones electromagnetically active.

It demonstrates that the menhirs were not planted on this location by chance, particularly as they were transported from 60 miles (97 km) away, because their presence and orientation is in direct relationship to terrestrial magnetism.

Sacred Sites and Magnetic Portals

Ancient Mysteries traditions around the world share one peculiar aspect: they maintain how certain places on the face of the Earth possess a higher concentration of power than others.

These sites, named “spots of the fawn” by the Hopi, eventually became the foundation for many sacred sites and temple structures we see today. What is interesting is that each culture maintains that these special places are connected with the heavens by a hollow tube or reed, and by this umbilical connection the soul is capable of engaging with the Otherworld during ritual. However, it also allows a conduit for the spirit world to enter this physical domain.

In 2008 NASA may have unwittingly proved this observation to be true when it published details of an investigation into FTEs, or flux transfer events, in which this organization describes how the Earth is linked to the Sun by a network of magnetic portals which open every eight minutes.

Such discoveries help to validate, in the scientific eye, the long-held belief by sensitives and dowsers since the recording of history that megalithic sites and ancient temples are places set aside from the normal world, where a person can connect with locations far beyond this planetary sphere.

Certainly the ancient Egyptian priests regarded the temple as far more than a conglomerate of dead stones. Every dawn they awakened each room with orations, treating the temple as a living organism that sleeps at night and awakens at dawn.

Material based on the author's book The Divine Blueprint: Temples, power places, and the global plan to shape the human soul , Invisible Temple, 2012. Available at invisibletemple.com

Pretty interesting but wait…

…there’s more.

Maybe others have “brushed up against these discoveries” but do not realize what they have found…

Exploring the Megaliths of Magnetic Rock – Guidepost for Ancient Man?

By Charbruns

Near Copper Harbor, Michigan, USA, at the northern tip of the Keewenaw Peninsula, a large and long protrusion of rock emerges far up the hillside in deep forest.

Many petroglyphs cover this rock. It sits on the ancient shoreline of Lake Duluth. One figure is a large boat rigged with a square sail. Most viewers who trek that far into the forest proclaim it a Viking boat. Other carvings on this stone called ‘Picture Rock’ have recently been defaced as the location becomes well known and the public gains greater access.

A dolmen, a large cap stone supported by three shim stones holding it aloft, is located on the Kelso River out of Sawbill Landing, Minnesota, within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) in a national forest. Canada considers these to be lithic works created by the Neolithic cultures long before recorded history. Many others have been found on this continent and around the world, suggesting they are guideposts for ancient man.

lithic

By definition, Lithic means “of the nature of or relating to stone.” Strong and formidable, stone has laid the foundation for infrastructure.

In ancient times, water levels were higher from melting glaciers. The surface of the earth was still pressed down from the Ice Ages and had not begun rebounding with the removal of all that ice.

If ancient boats did traverse the Laurentian Divide (a raised area across North America dividing the direction of water flow) between the watersheds, this spot is a likely possibility. Several times I have trekked to Magnetic Rock on the border trail (prominent on the north side atop the Laurentian Divide) between Magnetic Lake and the Gunflint Trail. It was only after the Ham Lake forest fire in 2007 that the rock ‘reappeared’.

b-stone.

In an article by Wakefield and de Jong on megaliths in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, a standing menhir closely resembles the rock in Minnesota.

Dr. de Jong’s interpretation was sailing data is encrypted in the Orkney stone, explaining the unique shape and lines of the stone on our northern border.

The stone I was sitting on in photo below is possibly a shim placed to hold the stone erect. The rock was raised, by persons unknown, to mark a water passage through the Laurentian Divide. At that date, higher water levels would have created a channel. The menhir sits on the highest elevation, according to USGS maps. The swampy valley below is the headwaters of the Cross River.

Author rests upon may have been a shim placed to hold the standing stone erect.

If this area was used by man in the distant past, supporting evidence was crucial. Further exploration produced indications of the presence of prehistoric man.

Magnetic Lake, Superior National Forest, Minnesota, and surrounds.

Magnetic Rock is the same high iron content igneous rock that makes up the Laurentian Divide. A waterhole near the Gunflint Trail attracted our attention due to the right angles and cut rocks surrounding it. Sitting next to the watercourse was a stone cube. Two other cubes were subsequently located, the smallest on the heights east of the river.

Cubed rocks.

The rock did fracture at right angles.

The lower right image might have been a demonstration of an ancient mining technique, wherein intense fire is doused with water to fracture the rock. Today First Nation, or Native American peoples pour boiling water, during winter, into cracks in the Souix Quartzite to freeze and break apart the rocks, to aid mining of Catlinite, a reddish-brown rock in Pipestone, Minnesota.

On the ridge overlooking this area, large boulders were placed exactly on the top edge of the slope and prepared with trigger stones to be rolled down the hill. They dot the cliff line, and one is shown in detail. They are a fixed defense and would require more than one person to function. The purpose for these rocks is not known, but they are obvious in intent and lethal in scale. The border trail heads north from here along the ridge of a cliff that leads to Magnetic Rock .

On the west edge of this cliff, on a short ledge four feet below the summit, was a cache.

West Edge

It is well designed and skillfully made.

The right image shows where the cap stone was taken from the cliff, then moved horizontally along the ledge through human effort. While the chamber is empty today, detritus has accumulated on the ledge, awaiting qualified investigation.

Across flowing water to the east, on a ledge below steep cliffs, sits a large boulder calling attention to itself by shape and position in the landscape.

Kerri Jones of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, took a telephoto image.

This rock, upon closer examination by Diane Bruns, showed chisel marks and shaping.

While not a classic dolmen, I believe this qualifies as a piece of Neolithic rock art.

The placement, shape, and expression speak too much of the monuments left by man in this time, contemporary with Stonehenge in Britain and the pyramids of Egypt.

An amethyst deposit was removed directly beside the menhir and a “sun sign” remains. The rock is igneous, so this is not a fossil. Kasey Jones, pointing, said this was found close to magnetic rock. Note the sun sign on the Kelso Dolmen, so-named for the Keslo River (below, hand calling attention to the symbol). Since this photo was taken, the standing stone has fractured due to natural forces and a large slab has calved off the side, now covering this important piece of evidence of man’s activity. I fear to never set eyes on it in the future.

This photo by TJB Archaeological Associates-Thunder Bay, ON.

Kelso dolmen and Magnetic Rock have been shown over the internet recently on YouTube, gaining awareness.

The climb from the Gunflint Trail to Magnetic Rock was improved last year by the Minnesota Conservation Corp.

It is important to evaluate and preserve these unique sites for posterity. While the Ham Lake forest fire brought this menhir back out of the forest, the heat of the fire and exposure to elements has taken a toll.

This unique spot, a transit point between watersheds, may have been used to access the rich copper deposits of Isle Royale and the Keewenaw Peninsula. Four thousand years ago higher water levels and a temperate arctic may have brought conditions allowing this.

A demand for copper clearly existed. Several locations around the prehistoric world were known for stepping up to metallurgy.

It is obvious there must have been a copper period before the Bronze Age could exist. A defining aspect of human culture is trade, and the success of many early groups was rated by the distance their resources were distributed, or the cultural practices they followed.

Float copper would have been available for easy transportation and man has always practiced war and trade, both being methods for transferring wealth.

Our technology offers new data and insights into cultures invisible to written history. Questioning and studying the aquaculture of Machu Picchu is astounding urban designers today. It is only in the last century we understand what the stone masons were doing building the Greek Parthenon.

There are levels of sophistication we are not aware of at this time. These odd spots in the forest must be protected, and require qualified examination and evaluation with an open mind. New paradigms are arising in understanding the activities of Neolithic man.

Some Conclusions

Well, let me suggest some thoughts.

  • Ancient man at 10,000 years ago had understanding and abilities regarding the ability to sense non-physical actions, and energy better than what we modern humans have.
  • The mining of metals, notably copper occurred during this time with implies the utilization of metal tools.
  • How the ancient peoples used their skills to both sense these fields, and fashion metals tools indicates early civilizations of a far greater capability and extraordinary utility than what has been assigned to them.

I like to believe that by studying their actual abilities at this time, we should be able to decipher more about who they were and what their societies were at that remote time in the past.

And now it’s time to go and eat…

Some of my thoughts on food (while I am at it). And why not? Seriously. Why not? When I go on adventures, meet attractive and interesting people, women or animals, or just enjoy a beautiful day, I think about food.

Like a nice steak. Thick, heavy with nice juices.

Some of the best food porn used to be found on Tumblr before it was “perfected” by Yahoo into a sterile corporate money-making platform, instead of a refuge for amateurs and artists.

I must tell you that they make real delicious perfects steaks in two places on this planet. The places are Brazil and Zambia. And you have no idea how well taken cared for you are and with delicious thick juicy steaks in the lands of Zambia and Brazil.

Typical Lusaka, Zambia steak.. Eggs, ham, sausages, french fries, mushrooms, fried tomatoes and icy cold beer. My goodness!

Typical Lusaka, Zambia steak.

Now, for my comment of the day.

Instead of buying five "Fast Food" package meals for lunch all week, how about bagging it with some home made soups and sandwiches, and then spend Friday night eating a delicious steak like the one pictured above. The same amount of money will be used, it's just that the quality of what you will eat will change substantially.

But that’s just my opinion.

My belief is that you move away from five “fast food” fill-up dash-and-burp meals, and replace them with home-made fresh simple but filling meals. Then spend the savings on a deluxe special meal at the end of the week. Depending on your situation and the budget you can decide on restaurants or on cooking at home.

Oh, and don’t forget your friends, and your little guys. It’s a time to go out and celebrate just for the heck of it. You DO NOT NEED an excuse. You just make some phone calls and tell those folk to show up.

If you all are poor…

…make it “pot luck” and everyone brings a home-made dish. Just organize it. Suzy and Jake brings a salad. Tom and Roy bring a bacon / cauliflower dish. Daniel brings some rolls, breads. James brings a case of beer. Tommy brings some potato chips. Etc. Etc. Etc.

What are you waiting for?

An invitation?

And while I am at it, here’s a Zambian Africa version of steak and mushroom pizza. I tell you what, you won’t find such a concentration of mushrooms and steak on a pizza anywhere else. You just won’t.

Zambian steak and mushroom pizza.

Maybe you can make home-made steak and mushroom pizzas as the theme. Provide lots and lots of beverages, and just invite friends to come over, eat their fill, drink and chat with you. I’ll tell you that if one of my friends told me that they are experimenting making steak pizzas and wants me to come over, smunch, jam (with some music) and watch a movie later on, I’d be the first one at their door-step.

What will it do?

Nothing obviously. Stop thinking in terms of “profit motives”. Instead of thinking about changing your lifestyle into something better. Making it a more adventuresome and exciting fun life. A life, mind you, that you share with others.

But, you do know, that it will set things in motion that will manifest later on. Just do it. Trust in the wisdom of MM.

Now…

Talking about themes…

You know, if I lived in the UK, I would take this moment to go visit some of these most interesting megalithic sites that all throughout the region. Maybe not the most famous ones, but the “out of the way” places. Then take some pictures, get a “feeling” for the area. Who knows, maybe I could experience some feelings of the Leigh Lines, or whatever they are called.

Then…

Check out the local pub(s). Try the local meal specialties (if any). Chat it up with the old bar flies there, the townies, and all the rest, and maybe make some friends. I’d make a day of it. But that’s just me.

Fine delicious pub food.

Of course, for me, a beef pie would be awesome. Just awesome, while everyone else might yawn and look the other way. As if (to say) “tourist”.

But really, there’s so much to see and explore in this world.

I well remember a fine meat pie lady who well investigated a OOPART in the UK. Such an adventure, and even though no direct discoveries occurred, the day trip was a wonderful adventure with many, many good times. Memories. Companionship.

Oh, and she did discover a curious abandoned construction that somehow ended right on top of what used to be the ruins. What a coincidence.

And you all know about coincidences, eh?

Anyways, the fact that you go out of your house, and you go forth and explore, and that you go and make friends. Oh, Lordy! It’s so awesome!

If I was in Indiana, Pennsylvania or Ohio, I would tromp out to the local historical parks, and museums and see if I could sense of “feel” any magnetic or patterns around the structures there. I probably couldn’t, but the exercise in trying to discover the effects would actually be awesome. I think.

Mound builders “footprint”.

You never know what life will present to you.

I once had an interview for a job in Deland, Florida.

What a beautiful place. And interesting work on sonar buoys. But they low-balled me on salary. I mean really, seriously offered me a salary just above minimum wage. WTF?

But I told them that I would consider it.

Deland, Florida.

And the wife and I (my first wife) spent a week trying to figure out if that place was good for us. And it was certainly beautiful.

They had fern farms. That’s right, this was were they grew ferns. They has these ferns under the trees that lay under an canopy and it was really deep, dark, lush and calm. Spanish moss hung from the trees.

So nice.

Deland, Florida.

Alas, I did not accept the job. Not that I didn’t want to accept the low salary, but we physically couldn’t afford it. The rents were out of our reach at that salary. Which is probably why the turnover was so high at the company. Sigh.

But it was in the 1990’s. It was at the time when profits over all drove all companies throughout the USA.

Working in the 1990’s really sucked.

But, what I want to tell you all is that next to the area where we stayed was a horse race track. And we visited it during the day to have lunch.

Very relaxing.

The riders were not racing. Just going through their paces, and we got a reasonably inexpensive lunch on an off moment in time.

A nice relaxing lunch at the club or the track.

But as we got back to our rental car, we heard meowing.

And there near the fence was around 16 of the cutest little kittens you ever did see. (Sixteen kittens. So many.) They were all white. Every single one of them.

Perhaps two or three white cats gave birth to all these kittens, and they were so friendly and came up to us. I just wanted to take all of them home.

But I didn’t.

Many white kittens.

I should have taken the event as a SIGN.

“Signs”. They do occur.

Signs are real things. But I didn’t. I was too focused on the material aspects of a functional life. I shouldn’t have been, but I did.

This was just a few months after my only ever white kitten; snowflaker, died.

Instead I took another job. It fizzled and I left it. But maybe I should have listened to the signs…

Maybe I should have listened to the signs

Maybe I should have listened to the signs

Maybe I should have listened to the signs

…but I would never have been exposed to the signs if I did not venture forth and get out of the environment that I was in. Oh, so many MM readers are still in their boxes. It’s tough to venture outward, but when you do, things happen.

THINGS HAPPEN.

Things happen.

OK. So what am I trying to say. Well, go out of your “comfort zone” and try to explore the world nearby. You might be surprised at how interesting it is. And if you don’t find it interesting, you might be surprised at all the new experiences you will have.

Even the most bland place has some very interesting stories that are just waiting for YOU to experience.

I well remember living in Kentucky. Bored, my wife and I went for a long ride.  Lord knows where we went, but somehow we ended up in the middle of no where. So we pulled up at a lone gas station. There was a glider sofa, on the porch.

Kentucky

We got some ice cream, and spent one hour just rocking on that glider while the world sat frozen in time. It was magical.

Kentucky

I always enjoyed glider sofas. Everyone used to have them. Both of my grandparents had them, and later on my father got a old antique one that he refurbished and fixed up and put on his porch. Most people put cushions or throws on the sofas and set them on their porch.

So nice.

Glider sofa.

Can you just imagine what it would have been like if we lived in France?

France…

France.

In Scotland?

Scotland.

In Germany?

Germany

In Poland?

Female hiker enjoying mountain trip, and taking pictures. Photo taken in Tatra Mountains, Poland.

In Morocco?

Morocco.

In Namibia?

Namibia.

But I lived in Kentucky.

Kentucky

Stop reading about the adventures of others. Use your knowledge and your desire for adventure to experience things on your own.

-Lecture ends.-

Remember, that adventures will surprise you

The thing about going out and going forth doing something new, or something that you don’t often do, is that  you will experience some surprises.

I went to visit a 200 year old greenhouse as a day trip when I lived in Massachusetts, and then ended up discovering the best retro diner that I ever sat in.

Or, I once went to visit a butterfly conservatory. It was this enormous network of connected greenhouses just filled with butterflies from all over the world. It was awesome, but what’s more on the way home we pulled off and discovered the largest collection of twine in all of Northern Massachusetts. This crazy old coot spent his entire life collecting twine and made a huge ball of it. They had to make this metal pole building around it to keep it out of the weather.

Who knows what might lurk nearby…

A swimming pool perhaps…

A swimming pool.

Maybe a chance to tour a Craftsman style home that is being sold and has an “open house”…

Craftsman style house.

Or maybe just pull into a campground, and spend the night in the tent (that you keep in the trunk of your car just for that occasion.) You never know.

Time for a nice fire, eh?

You never know.

Final thoughts

It is hot as hell her in this middle of September 2021 in Zhuhai. Temperatures are routinely in the high 90’s F, or the 34 to 36C, and all with abnormally high humidity. I feel like I am swimming when I walk down the halls.

But it will end.

Sooner or later.

What ever your situation or your condition, please realize that it will change. Change is the natural state of affairs in this region of reality. And do not give up up hope or be frustrated. Good times lie in the future. It is up to you to navigate to that crossroads. I believe in you.

Keep on pushing forward.

And…

…never, ever, ever, ever, give up.

Never give up.

And a final message…

Everyone has ups and downs. Everyone gets happy and gets sad.

But you must know, that sometimes life can “bitch slap you” so hard that you lie broken and collapsed. You are hurt. Not just hurt. You are shattered. Financially, socially, physically, mentally and emotionally. You are just burnt out, and discarded.

I know that there are some frustrated folk out in MM land. I know that things are tough, tight, seemingly hopeless or impossible. And upsetting and sad as all get out. I know this.

Jobs.

Work and money.

Uncertain futures.

Even, just Eating.

You feel like giving up. You feel like quitting.

Focus on your affirmation campaigns. Be a good person. Eat only delicious and healthy food. Spend time with your friends. Spend time with your animals / pets. Calm your mind through meditation, hemi-sync, and long walks in nature. Be the Rufus.

Leave the world behind you safer, happier, cleaner, and better because YOU happened by.

And you know…

Never give up.

And that is not just some cutesy saying.

The biggest tool in your toolbox is persistence. You don’t just hop from one project to the other. American style like the USA government, or an American hire-and-fire company. No. You be like China and you plan for the long haul. No matter what happens, no matter what storms lash at you, and no matter how worried you are…

Never give up.

And I mean it. I really, really, really do.

It might seem so strange to talk about visiting parks, eating delicious food, and spending time with friends, when it seems like your entire world is collapsing. But it’s not. Focus. Relax as the rest of the world howls. Relax. And focus on your plans and actions.

And never, ever, ever give up.

Never give up.

And remember your little buddies…

They can help you.

Do you want more?

I have more posts like this somewhere in my OOPART Index here…

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When the base-line world-line template changes it is a change to the fundamental Master Template

This is a very advanced article on world-line travel. In it we discuss something new. It is something that has never happened before, or at least while I was in MAJestic, it never happened. And I was unaware of it, or the consequences of it. And we are going to talk about it here. Maybe shine a light or two on what is going on.

It consists of changes to the Master template.

Because this is such an advanced subject, we will put this in the advanced section of world-line travel studies.

What triggered this

An unusual and peculiar shift in the world-line template was detected.

Templates tend to be “rock hard” and stable. They are the foundations from with all the personal templates are derived from. Tend to be, and thus are always assumed to be so.

However, the fundamental Master template changed.

Now, I have NEVER experienced this before. And it is a very rare, rare event. In fact, while I know that they can be altered by anchoring, I had no idea that they could dramatically altered in such a fundamental manner.

I have previously described anchoring of mass consciousnesses. I would “pull down”, or “twist” reality, and then the elastic nature of the template would return back to it’s previous state with whatever bad events that were to happen avoided.

What has occurred is something similar. Only instead of the elastic nature of reality “snapping back” to it’s previous state, it has snapped into a new state.

How MM detected it

Oh, Lordy!

Just because my ELF probes are retired and my involvement with MAJestic has officially been terminated, my EBP’s are all still active. And they are continually working with my physical and non-physical bodies on numerous levels.

So this is how I can tell.

You see, it’s really difficult to describe. However, imagine that every day you wake up to a overcast day, with some apartment buildings in the distance, and some traffic on the road. Then one day, you notice that the sky is blue and sunny, and that instead of apartments you see green hills with grazing sheep and no cars.

You NOTICE the difference.

It’s like that.

The way I “feel” or “sense” the template structure has changed. It feels substantially different.

Like how one day your are feeling the trunk of a tree and the bark is rough, and another day the bark is smooth and glossy. It is like one day you are used to drinking hot coca beverages, and the next day you are drinking ice cold mint tea.

It is, however, a subtle difference.

It’s like drinking red or black tea for decades, and then one day you are drinking Oolong Tea, or Green Tea. It’s like always drinking Folgers coffee and then suddenly drinking Maxwell House brand coffee. It’s like always smoking Marlboro cigarettes and then suddenly smoking Camel. It’s like always drinking Budweiser beer and then suddenly drinking Genesis Stout.

It’s very subtle.

There are no words for me to describe this, simply because the experience is so unique and it involves a combination of senses to form a whole. And no, there are no alpha-numeric characters or symbols involved. It’s like the entire interface is just, well… different.

Anyways, you just have to trust me on this. The Master template has changed. Not any of the subsequent “child” templates. Simply the Master Template.

An Example

Consider the elasticity of plastic. Templates (pretty much) follow similar rules as plastic does. If you try to change a template, it will “bounce back” after a spell. But you can make permanent changes to it with more effort.

For plastic…

Plastic can be bent and twisted and eventually it will snap back into shape. (This is shown in the flat line from point 1 to point 2 in the diagram below.) It is the “Elastic Region”.

A plastic straw can be bent and twisted and then snap back into shape.

But if you deform the plastic past a certain point, it will not snap back exactly. No. Instead it will go to a new location and a new shape. (This is shown in the diagram below. Point 2 to point 3.) It is the “Plastic Region”.

You can deform plastic to a point where it will not snap back into shape.

And if you apply extreme pressure on it, it will actually break and snap into two parts. (Point 5 in the diagram below.)

Plastic can permanently change it’s shape.

The diagram for plastic deformation

Here is the diagram that I have referred to above.

  • Note point 1 – 2. This is the “Elastic Region”.
  • Note point 2 – 3. This is the “Plastic Region”.
  • Note point 5. This is the “Point of fracture.”

The plastic modulus of elasticity.

For templates…

When I was active in MAJestic operations, all of my efforts for anchoring was in the point 1 to point 2 region, the “Elastic Region”. I would “anchor” clusters of world-lines, and in so doing, prevent certain events or changes. Then things would mostly return to the previous shape.

I say "mostly" because often there would be slides that would place my consciousness elsewhere than where I started off from.

Specifically, and so not to be confused, "slides" were an event that my consciousness experienced as I was "anchoring" world-lines. They were wholly associated with me, and my observation of the reality around me.

What is going on now (This peculiar change to the Master Template.) is that something has moved the fundamental baseline template to the “Plastic Region”. It changed permanently, and can no longer return to it’s previous shape or form.

Quick review of key points

I don’t want to regurgitate the entire MM teachings here. Just point out some basics.

  • Our consciousness travels moment to moment into world-lines.
  • Each world-line has it’s own past and future.
  • But our consciousness only spends a fraction of time in it.

If you map the path of travel, you get your life-line. And life-lines can be placed on a three dimensional map known as a “template”. This map is the highest probability of travel granted to your consciousness. With geography controlled by difficulty.

  • Templates are established at birth. As such they are known as Pre-Birth World-Line Templates.
  • You can “slide off” the previously established template on to a new one. You do this by directed thought.

From the point of view of your consciousness, the only things that matter are your [1] template map, [2] your directed slides, [3] the world-lines that you visit, and [4] the geography of the map.

However, the thoughts of all consciousnesses define the terrain of the template maps. Not just one person. They are not hard and fixed. Like concrete. They are like soft foam mats that can be moved and pushed and bent.

This is why MM was so involved in “anchoring”.

What do I mean templates…

Consider a word processor.

If you use Microsoft Word (MS Word) it will come with a default document template. This is the blank document that always comes up in the software program when you turn it on and start a new file. 99% of all users start out with this template. This is the default template.

Default MS Word Template.

Now, if you work at  company, they might have a “default” company template.  Many, but not all companies do this you know. It depends on the company. But the truth be told that most large companies have very distinct rules on the formats of the documents that you send out. For instance, they would specify the font you use, and the colors that you use. They would specify the logo that you use as well, as well as the layout.

This is a modified “MS default template”.

It will include such things as the company stationary, address, phone numbers and font and size selection. All users in a certain company will use this template. This is the company template. Here’s some examples…

Company template examples.

Now, that being said, when you start in the company you will then take this company template, and customize it as your own.In the space that says, “Project Name”, you will enter the name of the project. And the same goes for the date and all the other particulars.

You will add YOUR name, and YOUR title. You will add YOUR extension, and e-mail data to it. This will be your template.

Your personal template using in the email system.

And each letter, note, or message you will write will be a new document using this template. It will have it’s own document number, date, author and name.

Well…

This is similar in how your world-line travel occurs. If you consider each world-line that you visit to be a “new document“, then your world-line template map is the equivalent to “Your template“.

And whether you stay on that template or slide onto a new template. It is still your template.

Your template, in turn, is derived from your Pre-birth world-line template. And this is equivalent to the “Company template“.

And when you and everyone else is in “Heaven” and deciding on what your next reincarnation will be on the earth, you will use the “default template” that came with the software package. We call this the Master Template.

Template hierarchy

To recap, this is the general hierarchy for MS Word templates…

  • General Microsoft Default Template
  • Company Official Template
  • Your Personal Occupation / Position Template
  • Your individual documents

And for world-line travel, it looks like this…

  • Master Template
  • Pre-birth World-Line Template
  • World-line Template Map
  • Individual World-lines

So what is going on?

Every MM reader can do something that 99% of the population cannot do. They have the skill set to “slide” off their pre-birth world-line template. And that is how you can change your life. They travel life on their own world-line template map.

But just about everyone else is stuck on their pre-birth world-line template. they are just living life like a fated robot.

But all templates are derived from the most fundamental template; the Master Template. And it has changed.

How can I describe the changes?

It is such a subtle change that most people will not catch it, nor understand it. To most people it will not look like anything changed. But you know, the template rules have completely changed.

Consider what happens to you Microsoft Word (MS Word) documents when you change the default temple…

Changing the default MS Word templates.

The content will remain the same, but how the content interacts with each other in a unified visual style will be different.

Your past  will not change. Your slides, your world-lines none of those things will change. All the things that you have learned about and use on MM will not change.

What will change is how your consciousness interacts with reality.

For instance, any of these things can (might) change.

  • How easy or hard it is to start Lucid Dreaming.
  • The ability to slide to new templates.
  • How directly involved your thoughts are with the fabric of your reality.
  • The aspects of time relative to where you are going in your direction vector.
  • The life-span of a typical human can increase or decrease.
  • The ability to perform non-physical reality travel.
  • The ability to sense or not, the non-physical reality.
  • The interactions that we have, or don’t have with the Mantids

And so on and so forth.

But since it is far to early to know what we are working with, what the changes will be is anyone’s guess.

It’s literally a “new ballgame”.

A whole new ballgame, a A completely altered situation, as in It will take a year to reassign the staff, and by then some will have quit and we'll have a whole new ballgame. This expression comes from baseball, where it signifies a complete turn of events, as when the team that was ahead falls behind. [ Colloquial; 1960s] 

- A New Ballgame Idiom

Why did the Master Template change?

I do not know.

Obviously the previous  Master Template was established by the “Old Empire”.

“The bureaucracy that controlled the former “Old Empire” was from an ancient space opera society, run by a totalitarian  confederation of planetary governments, regulated by a brutal social, economic, and political hierarchy, with a royal monarch as its figurehead.   

This type of government emerges with regularity on planets where the citizens abandon personal responsibility for autonomous, self-regulation.”

Since the “Old Empire” no longer exists, we have to assume that the Type-1 Greys have (somehow) managed to change, reset or alter the Master Template to achieve their goals and objectives. After all, “The Domain”, or the Empire of the Type-1 Greys vanquished the “Old Empire” and took over completely.

Their goals are (pertaining to this “Prison Planet”, as I have discussed before, to free consciousnesses from living a reincarnation existence over and over, and over, and over without end.

Once the IS-BEs expelled from the “Old Empire” arrived on Earth, they were given amnesia, and hypnotically tricked into thinking that something else had happened to them.  The next step was to implant the IS-BEs into biological bodies on Earth.  

The bodies became the human populations of “false civilizations” which were designed and installed in the minds of IS-BEs to look completely unlike the “Old Empire”.

— Except from the Top Secret manuscripts from 1947 Roswell, published in the book ALIEN INTERVIEW

So, while it could be to prevent damage to the physical environment on the earth for one reason or the other, it can also be associated with non-physical changes and realities that we have no knowledge or understanding of.

Our Reality

The “reality” that earth-bound humans inhabit is an artificial construct. It is much like the movie “The Matrix”, except that it is an entire universe with it’s own separate “Heaven Universe”.

This artificial reality is a construct.

And the base line code for it is called the Master Template.

It is the fundamental reality that keeps IS-BE consciousnesses locked within this physical geographical space. And while there are many extremely intelligent and capable consciousnesses that inhabit this reality, the cunningness of the system keeps the consciousnesses focused on other things instead of their abilities and how to escape the prison.

“An “untouchable” classification of IS-BEs also includes a wide variety of “political prisoners”.   This includes IS-BEs who are considered to be non-compliant “free thinkers” or “revolutionaries” who make trouble for the governments of the various planets of the “Old Empire”. Of course, anyone with a previous military record against the “Old Empire” is also shipped off to Earth.

A list of “untouchables” include artists, painters, singers, musicians, writers, actors, and performers of every kind. For this reason Earth has more artists per capita than any other planet in the “Old Empire”.

“Untouchables” also include intellectuals, inventors and geniuses in almost every field. Since everything the “Old Empire” considers valuable has long since been invented or created over the last few trillion years, they have no further use for such beings. This includes skilled managers also, which are not needed in a society of obedient, robotic citizens.

Anyone who is not willing or able to submit to mindless economic, political and religious servitude as a tax-paying worker in the class system of the “Old Empire” are “untouchable”.

... and sentenced to receive memory wipe-out and permanent imprisonment on Earth.

The net result is that an IS-BE is unable to escape because they can’t remember who they are, where they came from, where they are. They have been hypnotized to think they are someone, something, sometime, and somewhere other than where they really are.” 

~ Alien Interview

__________________

“…the very unusual combination of “inmates” on Earth – criminals, perverts, artists, revolutionaries and geniuses – is the cause of a very restive and tumultuous environment. The purpose of the prison planet is to keep IS-BEs on Earth, forever. Promoting ignorance, superstition, and war between IS-BEs helps to keep the prison population crippled and trapped behind “the wall” of electronic force screens.” 

~ Alien Interview

What the change is…

Anyways, you just have to trust me on this. The Master template has changed. Not any of the subsequent “child” templates. Simply the Master Template.

Is this change good or bad?

It’s certainly not “neutral”.

And I have this strong belief that it is a “good” thing that is in favor of the majority of the people on this planet. Maybe 80% of humans.

My GUESS is that some aspects of the Master Template were altered to delete various aspects of “Prison Planet” snares, entanglements, monitoring, suppression, manipulation, memory suppression, and reincarnation. But what they are specifically is unknown.

In my mind, this is probably a very, very good thing.

It also implies that the timetable for recovery of this “Prison Planet” environs has been advanced substantially.

Does this mean that World War III will occur or other planetary changes?

No.

It has no bearing at all on the general terrain of the templates. The terrain of the templates; the mountains, the valleys, the flat lands, they will all continue to exist as they always have.

It will not change any Geo-political situations, or up-coming physical changes.

The only impacts will be on the relationship of your consciousness to the physical and the non-physical  realities. Not on the realities themselves.

Should I be worried?

No.

There is no need to worry or be upset. Things are changing in a good way, and (my guess) is that the changes will benefit those that are able to control their thoughts and actions within this reality.

This includes all MM readers, and most especially those that perform Prayer Affirmation Campaigns.

Why do I refer to the changes as peculiar

The word “peculiar” means “strange, odd, or unusual”.

In my entire life, and that includes a long, long time in MAJestic active, and retired, I have never had or experienced this event. It is indeed strange, and to me, very, very odd. It is certainly unusual.

Most people, however, will not notice anything different.

Do I need to do anything different?

No.

Continue living life, and running your affirmation prayer campaigns as you normally do.

As time progresses and we see what we are working with here, I will establish some guidelines and suggestions to better help everyone deal with the changes to their new advantages.

I expect and anticipate that MM followers will have a far easier time in the Prayer Affirmations Campaigns, and they will start to see results quicker and with more “stickiness” than what you all would experience previously.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

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Law 42 of the 48 Laws of Power; Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter

This is law 42 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual —the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them—they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

  • In every group, power is concentrated in the hands of one or two people.
  • When troubles arise, find the source, and isolate them – physically, politically or psychologically.  Separate them from their power base.

LAW 42

STRIKE THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP WILL SCATTER

JUDGMENT

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with themthey are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I

Near the end of the sixth century B.C., the city-state of Athens overthrew the series of petty tyrants who had dominated its politics for decades. It established instead a democracy that was to last over a century, a democracy that became the source of its power and its proudest achievement. But as the democracy evolved, so did a problem the Athenians had never faced: How to deal with those who did not concern themselves with the cohesion of a small city surrounded by enemies, who did not work for its greater glory, but thought of only themselves and their own ambitions and petty intrigues? The Athenians understood that these people, if left alone, would sow dissension, divide the city into factions, and stir up anxieties, all of which could lead to the ruin of their democracy.

Violent punishment no longer suited the new, civilized order that Athens had created. Instead the citizens found another, more satisfying, and less brutal way to deal with the chronically selfish: Every year they would gather in the marketplace and write on a piece of earthenware, an ostrakon, the name of an individual they wanted to see banished from the city for ten years. If a particular name appeared on six thousand ballots, that person would instantly be exiled. If no one received six thousand votes, the person with the most ostraka recording his name would suffer the ten-year “ostracism.” This ritual expulsion became a kind of festival—what a joy to be able to banish those irritating, anxiety-inducing individuals who wanted to rise above the group they should have served.

In 490 B.C., Aristides, one of the great generals of Athenian history, helped defeat the Persians at the battle of Marathon. Meanwhile, off the battlefield, his fairness as a judge had earned him the nickname “The Just.” But as the years went by the Athenians came to dislike him. He made such a show of his righteousness, and this, they believed, disguised his feelings of superiority and scorn for the common folk. His omnipresence in Athenian politics became obnoxious; the citizens grew tired of hearing him called “The Just.” They feared that this was just the type of man—judgmental, haughty—who would eventually stir up fierce divisions among them. In 482 B.C., despite Aristides’ invaluable expertise in the continuing war with the Persians, they collected the ostraka and had him banished.

After Aristides’ ostracism, the great general Themistocles emerged as the city’s premier leader. But his many honors and victories went to his head, and he too became arrogant and overbearing, constantly reminding the Athenians of his triumphs in battle, the temples he had built, the dangers he had fended off. He seemed to be saying that without him the city would come to ruin. And so, in 472 B.C., Themistocles’ name was filled in on the ostraka and the city was rid of his poisonous presence.

THE CONQUEST OF PERU

The struggle now became fiercer than ever around the royal litter [of A tahualpa, king of the Incan empire]. It reeled more and more, and at length, several of the nobles who supported it having been slain, it was overturned, and the Indian prince would have come with violence to the ground, had not his fall been broken bv the efforts of Pizarro and some other of the cavaliers, who caught him in their arms. The imperial borla was instantly snatched from his temples by a soldier. and the unhappy monarch, strongly secured, was removed to a neighboring building where he was carefully guarded.

All attempt at resistance now ceased. The fate of the Inca [Atahualpa] soon spread over town and country. The charm that might have held the Peruvians together was dissolved. Every man thought only of his own safety. Even the [Incan] soldiery encamped on the adjacent fields took the alarm, and, learning the fatal tidings, were seen flying in every direction before their pursuers, who in the heat of triumph showed no touch of mercy. At length night, more pitiful than man, threw her friendly mantle over the fugitives, and the scattered troops of Pizarro rallied once more at the sound of the trumpet in the bloody square of Cajamarca.... [Atahualpa] was reverenced as more than a human. He was not merely the head of the state, but the point to which all its institutions converged as to a common centerthe keystone of the political fabric which must fall to pieces by its own weight when that was withdrawn. So it fared on the [execution] of Atahualpa. His death not only left the throne vacant, without any certain successor, but the manner of it announced to the Peruvian people that a hand stronger than that of their Incas had now seized the scepter, and that the dynasty of the Children of the Sun had passed away forever.

THE CONQUEST OF PERU, WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT, 1847

The greatest political figure in fifth-century Athens was undoubtedly Pericles. Although several times threatened with ostracism, he avoided that fate by maintaining close ties with the people. Perhaps he had learned a lesson as a child from his favorite tutor, the incomparable Damon, who excelled above all other Athenians in his intelligence, his musical skills, and his rhetorical abilities. It was Damon who had trained Pericles in the arts of ruling. But he, too, suffered ostracism, for his superior airs and his insulting manner toward the commoners stirred up too much resentment.

Toward the end of the century there lived a man named Hyperbolus. Most writers of the time describe him as the city’s most worthless citizen: He did not care what anyone thought of him, and slandered whomever he disliked. He amused some, but irritated many more. In 417 B.C., Hyperbolus saw an opportunity to stir up anger against the two leading politicians of the time, Alcibiades and Nicias. He hoped that one of the two would be ostracized and that he would rise in that man’s place. His campaign seemed likely to succeed: The Athenians disliked Alcibiades’ flamboyant and carefree lifestyle, and were wary of Nicias’ wealth and aloofness. They seemed certain to ostracize one or the other. But Alcibiades and Nicias, although they were otherwise enemies, pooled their resources and managed to turn the ostracism on Hyperbolus instead. His obnoxiousness, they argued, could only be terminated by banishment.

Earlier sufferers of ostracism had been formidable, powerful men. Hyperbolus, however, was a low buffoon, and with his banishment the Athenians felt that ostracism had been degraded. And so they ended the practice that for nearly a hundred years had been one of the keys to keeping the peace within Athens.

Interpretation

The ancient Athenians had social instincts unknown today—the passage of centuries has blunted them. Citizens in the true sense of the word, the Athenians sensed the dangers posed by asocial behavior, and saw how such behavior often disguises itself in other forms: the holier-than-thou attitude that silently seeks to impose its standards on others; overweening ambition at the expense of the common good; the flaunting of superiority; quiet scheming; terminal obnoxiousness. Some of these behaviors would eat away at the city’s cohesion by creating factions and sowing dissension, others would ruin the democratic spirit by making the common citizen feel inferior and envious. The Athenians did not try to reeducate people who acted in these ways, or to absorb them somehow into the group, or to impose a violent punishment that would only create other problems. The solution was quick and effective: Get rid of them.

Within any group, trouble can most often be traced to a single source, the unhappy, chronically dissatisfied one who will always stir up dissension and infect the group with his or her ill ease. Before you know what hit you the dissatisfaction spreads. Act before it becomes impossible to disentangle one strand of misery from another, or to see how the whole thing started. First, recognize troublemakers by their overbearing presence, or by their complaining nature. Once you spot them do not try to reform them or appease them—that will only make things worse. Do not attack them, whether directly or indirectly, for they are poisonous in nature and will work underground to destroy you. Do as the Athenians did: Banish them before it is too late. Separate them from the group before they become the eye of a whirlpool. Do not give them time to stir up anxieties and sow discontent; do not give them room to move. Let one person suffer so that the rest can live in peace.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.

Chinese saying

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II

In 1296 the cardinals of the Catholic Church met in Rome to select a new pope. They chose Cardinal Gaetani, for he was incomparably shrewd; such a man would make the Vatican a great power. Taking the name Boniface VIII, Gaetani soon proved he deserved the cardinals’high opinion of him: He plotted his moves carefully in advance, and stopped at nothing to get his way. Once in power, Boniface quickly crushed his rivals and unified the Papal States. The European powers began to fear him, and sent delegates to negotiate with him. The German King Albrecht of Austria even yielded some territory to Boniface. All was proceeding according to the pope’s plan.

One piece did not fall into place, however, and that was Tuscany, the richest part of Italy. If Boniface could conquer Florence, Tuscany’s most powerful city, the region would be his. But Florence was a proud republic, and would be hard to defeat. The pope had to play his cards skillfully.

Florence was divided by two rival factions, the Blacks and the Whites. The Whites were the merchant families that had recently and quickly risen to power and wealth; the Blacks were the older money. Because of their popularity with the people, the Whites retained control of the city, to the Blacks’ increasing resentment. The feud between the two grew steadily more bitter.

THE WOLVES AND THE SHEEP

Once apon a time, the wolves sent an embassy to the sheep, desiring that there might be peace between them for the time to come. “Why,” said they, “should we be for ever waging this deadly strife? Those wicked dogs are the cause of all; they are incessantly barking at us, and provoking us. Send them away, and there will be no longer any obstacle to our eternal friendship and peace.” The silly sheep listened, the dogs were dismissed, and the flock, thus deprived of their best protectors, became an easy prey to their treacherous enemy.

FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

Here Boniface saw his chance: He would plot to help the Blacks take over the city, and Florence would be in his pocket. And as he studied the situation he began to focus on one man, Dante Alighieri, the celebrated writer, poet, and ardent supporter of the Whites. Dante had always been interested in politics. He believed passionately in the republic, and often chastised his fellow citizens for their lack of spine. He also happened to be the city’s most eloquent public speaker. In 1300, the year Boniface began plotting to take over Tuscany, Dante’s fellow citizens had voted him in to Florence’s highest elected position, making him one of the city’s six priors. During his six-month term in the post, he had stood firmly against the Blacks and against all of the pope’s attempts to sow disorder.

By 1301, however, Boniface had a new plan: He called in Charles de Valois, powerful brother of the king of France, to help bring order to Tuscany. As Charles marched through northern Italy, and Florence seethed with anxiety and fear, Dante quickly emerged as the man who could rally the people, arguing vehemently against appeasement and working desperately to arm the citizens and to organize resistance against the pope and his puppet French prince. By hook or by crook, Boniface had to neutralize Dante. And so, even as on the one hand he threatened Florence with Charles de Valois, on the other he held out the olive branch, the possibility of negotiations, hoping Dante would take the bait. And indeed the Florentines decided to send a delegation to Rome and try to negotiate a peace. To head the mission, predictably, they chose Dante.

Some warned the poet that the wily pope was setting up a trap to lure him away, but Dante went to Rome anyway, arriving as the French army stood before the gates of Florence. He felt sure that his eloquence and reason would win the pope over and save the city. Yet when the pope met the poet and the Florentine delegates, he instantly intimidated them, as he did so many. “Fall on your knees before me!” he bellowed at their first meeting. “Submit to me! I tell you that in all truth I have nothing in my heart but to promote your peace.” Succumbing to his powerful presence, the Florentines listened as the pope promised to look after their interests. He then advised them to return home, leaving one of their members behind to continue the talks. Boniface signaled that the man to stay was to be Dante. He spoke with the utmost politeness, but in essence it was an order.

And so Dante remained in Rome. And while he and the pope continued their dialogue, Florence fell apart. With no one to rally the Whites, and with Charles de Valois using the pope’s money to bribe and sow dissension, the Whites disintegrated, some arguing for negotiations, others switching sides. Facing an enemy now divided and unsure of itself, the Blacks easily destroyed them within weeks, exacting violent revenge on them. And once the Blacks stood firmly in power, the pope finally dismissed Dante from Rome.

The Blacks ordered Dante to return home to face accusations and stand trial. When the poet refused, the Blacks condemned him to be burned to death if he ever set foot in Florence again. And so Dante began a miserable life of exile, wandering through Italy, disgraced in the city that he loved, never to return to Florence, even after his death.

THE LIFE OF THEMISTOCLES

[Themistocles‘s] fellow citizens reached the point at which their jealousy made them listen to any slander at his expense, and so [he] was forced to remind the assembly of his achievements until they could bear this no longer. He once said to those who were complaining of him: “Why are you tired of receiving benefits so often from the same men?” Besides this he gave offense to the people when he built the temple of Artemis, for not only did he style the goddess Artemis Aristoboule, or Artemis wisest in counsel with the hint that it was he who had given the best counsel to the Athenians and the Greeks-but he chose a site for it near his own house at Melite... So at last the Athenians banished him. They made use of the ostracism to humble his great reputation and his authority, as indeed was their habit with any whose power they regarded as oppressive, or who had risen to an eminence which they considered out of keeping with the equality of a democracy.

THE LIFE OF THEMISTOCLES, PLUTARCH, C. A.D. 46-120

Interpretation

Boniface knew that if he only had a pretext to lure Dante away, Florence would crumble. He played the oldest card in the book—threatening with one hand while holding out the olive branch with the other—and Dante fell for it. Once the poet was in Rome, the pope kept him there for as long as it took. For Boniface understood one of the principal precepts in the game of power: One resolute person, one disobedient spirit, can turn a flock of sheep into a den of lions. So he isolated the troublemaker. Without the backbone of the city to keep them together, the sheep quickly scattered.

Learn the lesson: Do not waste your time lashing out in all directions at what seems to be a many-headed enemy. Find the one head that matters—the person with willpower, or smarts, or, most important of all, charisma. Whatever it costs you, lure this person away, for once he is absent his powers will lose their effect. His isolation can be physical (banishment or absence from the court), political (narrowing his base of support), or psychological (alienating him from the group through slander and insinuation). Cancer begins with a single cell; excise it before it spreads beyond cure.

KEYS TO POWER

In the past, an entire nation would be ruled by a king and his handful of ministers. Only the elite had any power to play with. Over the centuries, power has gradually become more and more diffused and democratized. This has created, however, a common misperception that groups no longer have centers of power—that power is spread out and scattered among many people. Actually, however, power has changed in its numbers but not in its essence. There may be fewer mighty tyrants commanding the power of life and death over millions, but there remain thousands of petty tyrants ruling smaller realms, and enforcing their will through indirect power games, charisma, and so on. In every group, power is concentrated in the hands of one or two people, for this is one area in which human nature will never change: People will congregate around a single strong personality like planets orbiting a sun.

To labor under the illusion that this kind of power center no longer exists is to make endless mistakes, waste energy and time, and never hit the target. Powerful people never waste time. Outwardly they may play along with the game—pretending that power is shared among many—but inwardly they keep their eyes on the inevitable few in the group who hold the cards. These are the ones they work on. When troubles arise, they look for the underlying cause, the single strong character who started the stirring and whose isolation or banishment will settle the waters again.

In his family-therapy practice, Dr. Milton H. Erickson found that if the family dynamic was unsettled and dysfunctional there was inevitably one person who was the stirrer, the troublemaker. In his sessions he would symbolically isolate this rotten apple by seating him or her apart from the others, if only by a few feet. Slowly the other family members would see the physically separate person as the source of their difficulty.

Once you recognize who the stirrer is, pointing it out to other people will accomplish a great deal. Understanding who controls the group dynamic is a critical realization. Remember: Stirrers thrive by hiding in the group, disguising their actions among the reactions of others. Render their actions visible and they lose their power to upset.

A key element in games of strategy is isolating the enemy’s power. In chess you try to corner the king. In the Chinese game of go you try to isolate the enemy’s forces in small pockets, rendering them immobile and ineffectual. It is often better to isolate your enemies than to destroy them—you seem less brutal. The result, though, is the same, for in the game of power, isolation spells death.

The most effective form of isolation is somehow to separate your victims from their power base. When Mao Tse-tung wanted to eliminate an enemy in the ruling elite, he did not confront the person directly; he silently and stealthily worked to isolate the man, divide his allies and turn them away from him, shrink his support. Soon the man would vanish on his own.

Presence and appearance have great import in the game of power. To seduce, particularly in the beginning stages, you need to be constantly present, or create the feeling that you are; if you are often out of sight, the charm will wear off. Queen Elizabeth’s prime minister, Robert Cecil, had two main rivals: the queen’s favorite, the Earl of Essex, and her former favorite, Sir Walter Raleigh. He contrived to send them both on a mission against Spain; with them away from the court he managed to wrap his tentacles around the queen, secure his position as her top adviser and weaken her affection for Raleigh and the earl. The lesson here is twofold: First, your absence from the court spells danger for you, and you should never leave the scene in a time of turmoil, for your absence can both symbolize and induce a loss of power; second, and on the other hand, luring your enemies away from the court at critical moments is a great ploy.

Isolation has other strategic uses. When trying to seduce people, it is often wise to isolate them from their usual social context. Once isolated they are vulnerable to you, and your presence becomes magnified. Similarly, con artists often look for ways to isolate their marks from their normal social milieux, steering them into new environments in which they are no longer comfortable. Here they feel weak, and succumb to deception more easily. Isolation, then, can prove a powerful way of bringing people under your spell to seduce or swindle them.

You will often find powerful people who have alienated themselves from the group. Perhaps their power has gone to their heads, and they consider themselves superior; perhaps they have lost the knack of communicating with ordinary folk. Remember: This makes them vulnerable. Powerful though they be, people like this can be turned to use.

The monk Rasputin gained his power over Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra of Russia through their tremendous isolation from the people. Alexandra in particular was a foreigner, and especially alienated from everyday Russians; Rasputin used his peasant origins to insinuate himself into her good graces, for she desperately wanted to communicate with her subjects. Once in the court’s inner circle, Rasputin made himself indispensable and attained great power. Heading straight for the center, he aimed for the one figure in Russia who commanded power (the czarina dominated her husband), and found he had no need to isolate her for the work was already done. The Rasputin strategy can bring you great power: Always search out people who hold high positions yet who find themselves isolated on the board. They are like apples falling into your lap, easily seduced, and able to catapult you into power yourself.

Finally, the reason you strike at the shepherd is because such an action will dishearten the sheep beyond any rational measure. When Hernando Cortés and Francisco Pizarro led their tiny forces against the Aztec and Incan empires, they did not make the mistake of fighting on several fronts, nor were they intimidated by the numbers arrayed against them; they captured the kings, Moctezuma and Atahualpa. Vast empires fell into their hands. With the leader gone the center of gravity is gone; there is nothing to revolve around and everything falls apart. Aim at the leaders, bring them down, and look for the endless opportunities in the confusion that will ensue.

Image: A Flock of Fatted Sheep. Do not waste precious time trying to steal a sheep or two; do not risk life and limb by setting upon the dogs that guard the flock. Aim at the shepherd. Lure him away and the dogs will follow. Strike him down and the flock will scatter—you can pick them off one by one.

Authority: If you draw a bow, draw the strongest. If you use an arrow, use the longest. To shoot a rider, first shoot his horse. To catch a gang of bandits, first capture its leader. Just as a country has its border, so the killing of men has its limits. If the enemy’s attack can be stopped [with a blow to the head], why have any more dead and wounded than necessary? (Chinese poet Tu Fu, Tang dynasty, eighth century)

REVERSAL

“Any harm you do to a man should be done in such a way that you need not fear his revenge,” writes Machiavelli. If you act to isolate your enemy, make sure he lacks the means to repay the favor. If you apply this Law, in other words, apply it from a position of superiority, so that you have nothing to fear from his resentment.

Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s successor as U.S. president, saw Ulysses S. Grant as a troublesome member of his government. So he isolated Grant, as a prelude to forcing him out. This only enraged the great general, however, who responded by forming a support base in the Republican party and going on to become the next president. It would have been far wiser to keep a man like Grant in the fold, where he could do less harm, than to make him revengeful. And so you may often find it better to keep people on your side, where you can watch them, than to risk creating an angry enemy. Keeping them close, you can secretly whittle away at their support base, so that when the time comes to cut them loose they will fall fast and hard without knowing what hit them.

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Some videos of Chinese Military showing the real deal in context to what is going on today

This is a massive article concerning China, and it’s military. And the point that I want to make is that China is a perfect organism wholly designed to prevent anyone from attacking it. It is like a vicious animal with spikes, poison, and large sharp teeth. Only a fool would want to attack it. It’s defensive. And I have a lot to say about this subject, as well as a ton load of videos to watch as well.

Poor countries are supposed to stay poor so that they can be exploited indefinitely for cheap labor and resources. When a poor country starts to pull itself out of poverty, that country will soon be pulled back down again through a mixture of warfare, sabotage, sanctions, and propaganda...all under the pretext of "protecting human rights." China has defied this rule by making itself wealthy. Accordingly, the propaganda directed toward it will only intensify.

Posted by: Donbass Lives Matter | Sep 1 2021 22:17 utc | 50

Keep in mind that you cannot learn things by only looking at one singular aspects. you must see the big picture, and then put the focus on the little aspects as they fall within that big picture. So this large article is going to cover other tangential things that help give you a better appreciation for the much bigger picture that is omitted in modern contemporaneous dialog today.

But first, I want to relate a little story.

The tale of Frank

When I was growing up, there was this man who lived with my maternal grandmother. She was my mother’s mother, and there was this guy called “Frank” who lived in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

My mother called him Frank. My grandmother called him Frank. My brothers and sisters called him Frank. My aunties and my uncles called him Frank. My parents called him Frank. No one said anything else at all about his relationship with my grandmother.

I assumed that, since he went by his first name only, he wasn’t a close friend. Because in the United States, close male friends are referred to by their last name. While close girl friends are referred to their first name.

He wasn’t an uncle, as all my uncles went by the name “uncle” followed by their first name. As in “Uncle Robert”, “Uncle Ralston”, and “Uncle Sonny”. In fact, my grandmother’s brothers and sisters were still alive, and I called them “Uncle Eddie” and such.

So I figured that he was a renter who helped my grandmother pay the rent.

Long afterwards, when my grandmother had a stroke, and died, I attended her funeral. And there she was laid next to Frank, who was, after all, my maternal grandfather!

And this surprised me.

And when I mentioned it, I was hounded and ridiculed and given so much shit. I will tell you that it was horrible and ruthless, and just obnoxious. What was I supposed to know? Make assumptions, absorb the relationship by osmosis? Jeeze!

There is a reason… a REASON… why there are job titles, positions titles, business cards, name plates, and all the rest in regards to family and business relationships.

It’s important.

It adds another dimensions to the relationships that will enable us to better understand things. For once you understand the deeper relationships behind something, you can better understand the events, and items and how they all fit together as part of the unified whole.

Think about that for a minute.

As it pertains to everything.

Here’s some Chinese military videos. Some are recruitment videos. Some are narrative videos. Some are “fan” videos. Some are something else entirely. In any event, these videos give a person a fairly good overview impression of the kind of military that China has.

China isn’t anything like what is portrayed. China does not play “nice”. Especially when it comes to defending China from crazed manicidal psychopathic wanna-be-Rambos.

And keep in mind that China is truly playing for “keeps”. If anyone wants to fuck with them, they will fuck you right back. Smartly.

Defensive Forces

If we talk about "representative government" we have to ask what kind of representation the weakest individual in society can get. I would submit that in the US the answer is laughable. In China, which takes surveys endlessly, prolifically and as a vital part of analysis and the systematic, results-based development of policy, one can argue very well that the weakest individual is much better represented than in the US.

Fact is, no one wants democracy. What anybody wants is good representative government.

Posted by: Grieved | Sep 2 2021 3:47 utc | 80

China possesses “defensive forces”.

Note that they are not “expeditionary forces”. They are harsh defensive forces and have no qualms about slaughtering anyone who tries to attack China in any way.

If you attack China, and China considers Taiwan PART of China, it will go nuclear in a nano-second.

China is NOT the USA. Do not believe the neocon propaganda about Taiwan this, or Taiwan that. China will take over the island in a matter or hours, and the world will left reeling. Those that want to get involved will be slaughtered mercilessly.

Listen up Japan!

Listen up Australia!

I am talking to you.  As well as your bosses on K-street in Washington DC.

So forget any fantasies about peasants with mass-produced AK-47 clones. China will fiercely decimate enemy force with tactical and theater neutron munitions from the “get go”.

A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the blast itself. 

The neutron release generated by a nuclear fusion reaction is intentionally allowed to escape the weapon, rather than being absorbed by its other components. 

The neutron burst, which is used as the primary destructive action of the warhead, is able to penetrate enemy armor more effectively than a conventional warhead, thus making it more lethal as a tactical weapon. 

-Wikipedia

The mere fact that no American strategic planners are taking into account this long standing military policy (since 1977, I believe) just shows how oblivious the planners are on K-street and in the Pentagon are.

Oblivious.

As in moronically blind to reality.

Somehow these morons believe that a war with China, on Chinese soil, will be a long-drawn out conventional war, in a far away land. Sort of like a larger Afghanistan.

Effects of a Neutron Bomb

The New York Times reported that “the nuclear weaponeers have unfolded a new brainchild, the neutron bomb, which will kill people while preserving buildings, tanks, and artillery.” 

-Air Force Magazine

Neutrons scattered around after the neutron bomb explodes, in soil, metals, food, etc. activates neutrons; this neutron activation is 10 times higher than that of an atom bomb.

The so-called neutron activation causes inanimate bodies to emit secondary gamma rays.

Thus, the Neutron bomb causes damage due to both neutron beams and gamma rays.

Since neutrons make the objects they hit emit gamma rays, each object becomes a mini-bomb after the neutron bomb is dropped and starts to emit gamma rays.

Lovely.

Who’d figure that your iPhone and Alexia would someday actually kill you?

Chinese DF-16 tactical surface to surface conventional and nuclear weapon.

The first effect of the neutron bomb is to scatter fast neutrons and gamma photons. The irradiation dose is up to hundreds of thousands of rad (radiation units) in open air beyond the explosion and thermal irradiation distance (150-300 m.). Let us remind that human beings die even in the face of neutron irradiation higher than 300 rad.

Fast neutrons are exposed to elastic scattering in the nuclei of light atoms, during which rebound protons are released, protons are strongly ionizing particles.

Thus, human beings are exposed to a strongly ionizing radiation.

As protons move through human tissues, they cause havoc with a very high energy per unit path. Not only that, the nuclei of some biological tissues become radioactive by capturing neutrons, as a result, countless radioactive foci appear in the human body, each of human tissues becomes a mini-bomb and begins to self-destruct with dangerous rays.

Herein lies one of the greatest dangers of neutrons; Neutrons strike living or non-living objects, making the atoms in front of them radioactive.

These atoms start to emit lethal rays and countless mini-bombs are born.

After the neutron bomb was dropped, buildings, tanks, etc. It is said that it will remain the same. In fact, both corpses and these inanimate things will become radioactive. Both the removal of the corpses, these buildings, tanks and so on. entering into it will mean receiving a high dose of lethal radiation.

Non-living things that remain intact can only be used with special protective clothing without irradiation.

One of the purposes of using neutron bombs is to instantly turn those who are exposed to the neutron into the living and dead.

The DF-10 can really turn your day into a neutron-saturated toasty BBQ.

The Neutron bomb alone can turn people into this. Other “normal” nuclear bombs cause burns and wounds with the heat of the explosion wave and glare and kill them immediately.

With the effect of radiation, neutrons will enter the brain and destroy the electrical connections of the nerve cells. Computers and electronic devices exposed to strong radiation will stop immediately.

Yeah.

That means all cars, internet, home appliances, televisions, radio, stop lights, alarm systems, electronic doors, elevators, and aircraft. It’s sort of like an EMF weapon only with the extra bonus of making everything highly radioactive.

Those exposed to a radiation of 3000 rad will remain unconscious for 3-7 minutes, then sober up…

… great. Right?

Not so fast…

…. within a week they will die of gastrointestinal bleeding; The entire digestive system from mouth to anus will become an open wound, the kidney and heart will weaken and the patient will bleed and die in fever.

Those who are exposed to 650 rad will not have an immediate effect, but the bone marrow that makes the blood cells will dry, the old blood cells will survive another 25-30 days after the irradiation, but their division will stop, the patient will die in 4-5 weeks as a result of anemia and inability to defend against germs.

That is…

…unless they have some mRNA modification that compensates for this effect.

Hum…

Anyways…

According to the British geneticist J. Edwards, the most terrible aspect of the Neutron bomb is this: The neutron bomb is such a bomb that its effect is not limited in time, after the Neutron bomb is dropped, many generations will be born as cripples and monsters, it is not up to anyone to prevent this, rays.

This painful consequence is inevitable as it destroys heredity molecules (genes).

The destruction will be the most in regions (cities) where people live densely.

All living things in an area of ​​8 km2 will die in 2-3 days at the latest as a result of lethal rays. In an additional area of ​​10 km2, 1-100 rad rays will be received. 2-3 km.

The Neutron bomb, thrown at intervals, will kill anyone caught outdoors.

Radiation at a distance of 400 meters from the explosion point of a 1 kiloton Neutron bomb is 418,000 rad. Even in a shelter reducing radiation 500 times, the dose would be 836 rad, which is twice the minimum lethal dose.

According to the American scientist A. Westing, a 1 kiloton neutron weapon will destroy 310 hectares of pine forests, 170 hectares of deciduous forest and 140 hectares of grassland, and it will take centuries to replace them.

In short…

… a neutron bomb is a far more lethal weapon than an atomic or hydrogen bomb. And the Chinese field these weapons on a tactical basis all over China. If you try to attack China, they will not scurry into a hamlet behind the donkeys and sheep (Syrian style)…

No, instead, they will start launching a barrage of neutron hyper-velocity missiles at you. And there will be NO place to hide.

The Chinese DF-12 surface to surface, short range ballistic missiles that can carry neutron warheads.

The good news is that you will have enough time to pray for a quick death.

That will be the best you can do. You wouldn’t dare pick up your rifle, pistol, or get into a vehicle. All that metal and material will be irradiating the shit out of you. That’s right. All the metal near you would be acting like one giant X-ray and microwave beaming radiation right at you.

China is an organism

In China…

Everyone works together and they are very, very patriotic.  Of course no one in the West understands this. It’s dog-eat-dog, and fight to be the “lone wolf”. You don’t kick an organized hornet’s nest and not expect to get stung.

Check out this video below…

The Chinese work together as one.

Nice. True. Historical.

China, the Chinese people act as one singular organism together.

And, you know what, it is even MORE SO NOW TODAY.

The Chinese learn from an early age

From the time they are able to walk, all the Chinese are taught to work hard, study, and be aggressive in everything that they do.

This is not a land of coddled wealthy, or diversity overweight wooble jaumbas.It’s not a land of prep-boys, or “silver spoon in the mouth” elitist “blue bloods”. It’s a land full of the hardiest people that you ever met, who are also the smartest people who you have ever met, and who also are the most determined people who you have ever met.

And what’s more…

These people are taught to live for the community. To fight for the community. To do the best for the community, and if necessary to die for the community.

Check out what it is like for those in kindergarten… Pretty amazing for four and five year olds. Please watch the entire video.

In kindergarten.

The Chinese students can only play electronic games during certain hours

Oh, you think that China isn’t serious?

My eyes almost popped out of my head when I read "Gamers under 18 will only be allowed to play online between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays". Real leadership... in 2021... I am flabbergasted.

I am a high school science and math teacher in Australia. That single policy in itself is game over.

Posted by: Rae | Sep 1 2021 21:15 utc | 38

And…

Earlier a math teacher stopped by to praise the new time limits on video gaming for young folks in China. I add my own 'bravo' to that.

And here's another one---the Chinese crackdown on celebrity 'culture'.

The Chinese National Radio and Television Administration on Thursday enhanced management on entertainment programs and related personnel, calling for boycott against individuals with illegal or immoral records, sky-high prices for stars and abnormal appreciation of niangpao, or feminine men.

How much of the West's descent into unimaginable societal degradation is due to young kids being raised, for generations now, not by attentive parents, but by TV and Hollywood?

The so-called popular 'culture' has long since imposed itself into the family home and pushed out the role of parents as guides for impressionable young folks.

Some have mentioned the west's dismal STEM graduate production. How are young people supposed to have an interest in math and science when most just want to be 'celebrities'? Or at least social media 'influencers'?

Like everything in society, from financial greed to bringing up children, things cannot be simply left to chance. That produces a garden full of weeds and thorns.

The CPC is truly a shining light in today's world!

Posted by: Gordog | Sep 2 2021 6:09 utc | 90

The Chinese exercise from an early age too

Physical health and well being is important to the Chinese. No couch-potatoes allowed. Every single school, at every single level performs strict dance, exercise and martial arts routines. All of them do this. They do this six days a week every single day.

Watch this video and be amazed!

Everyone exercises.

The Chinese can build up enormous constructions from scratch

Remember all those “Ghost cities” that the BBC, CNN and FOX “news” were all making fun of? Remember them. Oh, you don’t hear much about them today do you? Why not? Why isn’t the “news” getting right in front of China’s “grill” and bad mouthing them about “Ghost Cities”?

This is why…

They aren’t ghost cities any longer. Watch the video and be amazed.

A Ghost City.

As a result of US sanctions against Chinese companies, China is developing its own technology to cater for its internal market. Low cost, not Western, no manual. 

Low cost, because at the volumes of the Chinese internal market even a saving of a fraction of a cent is real money. Different from US designs, so no license fee needs to be paid. And little or no documentation in English - it's intended for the Chinese internal market.

Posted by: Passerby | Sep 1 2021 22:24 utc | 52

So you really think that the United States can compete against China?

Really? Have you seen what America has become? America is very, very weak right now. Here’s what all the major cities look like. Watch the full video.

The United States today.

Watch the full video to get the full effect. This is what America is today. And it is indicative of the culture and the society. It is a reflection of the failure of the government. Not only in structure but in the leadership.

And this nation actually believes that it is better than China is?

Well, it isn’t As clearly stated in this short video here

Video Group 1

Stuff you won’t see on FOX, CNN or the BBC.

Video Group 1

Defensive Suppressive Forces

China has a substantial sized rocket and munitions closet. All designed for mass saturation of broad swaths of terrain. These were perfected after the results of World-War II that showed how successful that the Soviet Union was in employing these weapons against the superior technological weaponry of Nazi Germany.

Check out this video

Video

 

In the American military circles this is considered worrisome, but not terribly so. The conventional belief in the Pentagon is that America would obtain dominance very quickly using the integrated computerized electronics systems and be able to use stand off drones and munitions with “pin-point” accuracy to selectively destroy any targets of this type.

I wouldn’t be so sure of this.

In a conflict between the United States and China, the United States would have ZERO “eyes in the skies”.

Video Group 2

Here’s some more videos that are worth viewing. You most certainly not see anything like it in American or western media. That’s for certain.

Video Group 2

China’s Top Rated Fighter Aircraft Chengdu J-20

The Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon” (NATO Name: Black Eagle) is a single-seat, twinjet, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation fighter aircraft developed by China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

Video here…

Video

The J-20 is designed to execute ground attack missions even in hostile environments. The aircraft can reach higher altitudes with its delta wings in supersonic speeds. It is larger than Sukhoi T-50 and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The front portion of the prototype looks similar to the F-22 Raptor and the rear section looks like a Sukhoi T-50.

According to the neocon publications out of K-street in Washington DC, the F-22 is the best thing since “sliced bread” and the Chinese is only copying it. Only doing the copying very poorly.

Conventional wisdom holds that the J-20 is currently unable to face the US Air Force's F-22 in a straight-up dogfight. 

- Business Insider

I wouldn’t be so sure about this.

The United States has a terrible problem in overestimating their capabilities and down-plying that of China (to the extreme). Just keep in mind that any war involving these aircraft will need to land. The chances are slim that there will be any place to land once a war breaks out near China.

Group 3 of videos

Check this group out.

Group 3

The Chinese main transport helicopter

It resembles an American blackhawk, but aside from the shape it is a completely different vehicle. Check out the video below…

Mainstay Chinese transport helicopter.

A nice overview of Chinese military forces

Here’s a nice fun video.

Nice overview

Chinese battle aircraft are not only state of the art, but there are thousands of them…

Oh, and yes there are. This video…

Thousands of these planes.

Japanese sub limps home from contact in the South China Sea

Just a friendly warning, I’m sure.

You won’t ever see this in FOX “news”. This video…

Japanese sub limps home.

China is a nation of STEM NERDs

Stem graduates by country 2016

China: 4.7M
India: 2.6M
U.S: 570k
Russia:561k
Iran: 335k

Now you know why Netanyahu wants us to nuke Iran so bad to eradicate them like bugs.

So the top 3 countries that we target as enemies graduate 10 times more STEM students than we, the U.S. do and half of our graduates are foreign students. This is why Iran has a domestic arms industry that includes advanced RADAR. But we are still in denial about that as evidenced by us fretting over Iran getting their hands on Humvees and M4 rifles from the Taliban.

Our view of Iran, 'I think it is some kind of magic wand that stirs up the spirit of the truck engine, try turning it and see what happens'

---------------
Now some wise guy might note that India does not have an advanced military but that's because they suffer collective Stockholm syndrome from Britain. I have no idea why they love the Brits and west so much after all they did do them.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Sep 2 2021 1:13 utc | 70

But…

And last time I checked, about 15% of those STEM graduates in the USA were . . . citizens of the PRC. I'm sure a goodly number are citizens of India too.

Posted by: corvo | Sep 2 2021 1:21 utc | 71

Video Collection 4

Some zipped videos here

Group 4.

What about those TicTac’s that buzz the American naval ships?

The "Tic Tac" incident.

Date:  November  14,  2004;  Location:  Pacific  Ocean

Jack  Sarfatti  writes,  The  USS  Nimitz  UFO  incident  refers  to  a  2004  Radar-Visual  encounter  of  an  unidentified  flying  object  by  US  fighter  pilots  of  the  Nimitz  Carrier  Strike  Group.  In  December  2017,  infrared  footage  of  the  encounter  was  released  to  the  public.  Prior  to  the  December  2017 incident,  early  November  2004,    the  Ticonderoga-class  guided  missile  cruiser  USS  Princeton,  part  of  Carrier  Strike  Group  11,  had  been  tracking  mysterious  aircraft  intermittently  for  two  weeks  on  an  advanced  AN/SPY-1B  passive  radar.

And what did they see?

Well, they saw this…

US Navy buzzed by UFO.

And what does this look like?

Well, if you have been paying attention to the technical side of what China is involved in, instead of what the latest bullshit is about 5G, Huawei, the pull-out from Afghanistan, and Vaxx issues you might have noticed this…

Chinese UFO.

And this…

Chinese Flying saucer.

And I won’t say anything else.

Do I really need to?

Video collection 5

Check out these zipped videos here…

Video group 5.

Do NOT underestimate China

But then again, most MM readers realize this. It’s just the rest of the West who read the “news” and get this completely false impression and idea of what China is. It’s not even a distortion. It’s a false reality. Check out the Video.

Do NOT underestimate China

Group 7

Here’s video group 7. HERE.

Group 7

Never forget that China is a Nuclear Armed nation

Am I repeating myself?

No I am not.

At the start of this article, I simply discussed the use of tactical nuclear “neutron” bombs. These are what the army uses to take out this hill, that city, or that carrier group. They clean out the area and then move in and occupy.

But what I am referring to here is the very dangerous, mega-large hyper-velocity ten warhead, nation crusher the MIRV ICBM the DF-41. These are strategic weapons.

They are designed to wholly crush and decimate a nation.

And thanks to Trump and Biden, China is now on a massive mass production rally regarding these horrific weapons. They are churning them out so fast that if they all were to be used, the target nation would be reduced to radioactive glass.

Thank you President Trump (and his enabler Mike Pompeo).

Thank you Joe Biden (and your enabler Tom Cotton).

You see, those fucking morons who talk about war with China over Taiwan, or the South China Sea or what ever is the “reason of the day” simply omit the fact that China will BURY the United States if it attacks them.

And the result will be global devastation, but you know, China will rebuild. China can and has that ability. America will not.

That that, will be that.

Check out this video.

DF-41

Never forget the China’s military policy is to swarm and overwhelm with tons of nuclear tipped missiles

Not simply one or two relying on precision computers.

But many, many, many.

Many.

As in A lot!

This is quite different from the American strategy of full-spectrum dominance based on computers and remote sensing. China, on the other hand, believes in overwhelming the target area and saturating it with the most deadly weapons available.

Check out this video.

Deaths by swarms of nuclear missiles.

Group 8

Here’s group eight (8). Lot’s of stuff here. Check out the video here.

Group 8

China flexes sea power with new foreign ship law – Asia Times

A security measure to prevent a preemptive strike.

A new Chinese legal requirement demands that multiple classes of foreign vessels traversing waters claimed by Beijing must [1] provide detailed information to state authorities and [2] take aboard Chinese pilots.

The new maritime law, which came into legal force today (September 1), threatens to inflame South China Sea disputes pitting China and Southeast Asian nations and stoke already rising tensions with the United States in the contested waters.

On August 27, China’s Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement that five categories of foreign vessels, namely …

  • submersibles, (as in submarines and SEAL insertion submersibles)
  • nuclear-powered vessels, (as in aircraft carriers, destroyers and subs)
  • ships carrying radioactive materials,
  • ships carrying bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas or other toxic substances,
  • as well as vessels that may endanger China’s maritime traffic safety…

… fall under the law.

Uh oh. There goes the American Navy! especially those pesky aircraft carriers.

Foreign vessels will be required to provide information including their ship names and numbers, recent locations, satellite telephone numbers and dangerous goods, according to the statement.

If their automatic identification systems do not work properly, they will need to report to China’s maritime authorities about their locations and speeds every two hours until they leave the country’s territorial waters, the statement said.

At face value, these are not necessarily problematic provisions – unless the definition of “Chinese territorial waters” is interpreted to include nearly all of the South China Sea, as claimed in its wide-reaching and hotly contested nine-dash line.

The new rules were first made public on April 29 this year after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress amended the Maritime Traffic Safety Law (MTSL), which was established in September 1983.

A full English version of the revised law, translated by Peking University Law School, can be seen on the website of Steamship Mutual, a mutual insurance association in the maritime space that provides risk pooling, information and representation.

Read more…..

https://asiatimes.com/2021/09/china-flexes-sea-power-with-new-foreign-ship-law/

Oh! But Japan will act as a Proxy for the United States in a Taiwan conflict, eh?

Yeah. I read the bullshit propaganda out of Japan.

So you think that Japan can invade China, or fight China? Is that what you think?

Let me tell youse all something too. Just like the Chinese students do daily exercises, and study hard, they are also exposed to what Japan did to China, and it is burned into the soul of China. And if Japan wants to take on China, well then, China will be really ROUGH  back.

Oh! You don’t believe me?

What?

You do not know what I am talking about, eh?

Watch this entire video. It’s around four minutes long. Watch it. Watch the entire thing. Now, what do you think a nuclear armed China will do to the tiny island of Japan? Watch the video.

The Japanese inside of China.

So you think that China will somehow forgive and forget with japan starts attacking the mainland?

China is ready, so is Russia.

Do you all REALLY want a war? You all want to take on China for freedom™ and democracy™? Is that what you want? Well, China just wants to be left alone, but apparently that’s not good enough is it?

I guess not.

You all want to poke the Panda. And the Panda and Russia are as one today. You poke China, and you anger the Bear. You poke the Bear and you piss off China. Washington DC will be a water-filled radioactive crater before you have the chance to say…

…”Oh. Fuck”.

Chinese Boy Scouts

Here’s what boy scouts look like in China. Are you ready to fight them? Video HERE.

Tough boy scouts.

A bunch of tough first and second grade kids. Click to download the archive of videos.

Click to download the archive.

The Neocons say that if you kill the Chinese leadership that China will crumble

It’s a fantasy with no bearing on reality what so ever.

Xi Xinping was himself molded by the CR. He was sent to live and work with the peasants in the dirt and poverty of the countryside. When he was free to return to the city, he elected to return instead to the village he had lived in, and to continue his work there. They remember him now with great love, and there are documentaries available if one wishes to search.

The national leader of China has an understanding of the supreme value of "the people over all things" ingrained into his hands with dirt and blisters and blood. He came by his understanding experientially and honestly.

~~

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has at least 90 million members. One might think that, even on the scale of China's population, joining the CPC would be a routine matter. Xi Xinping applied at least 6 times (I believe actually 10 times in all) before the Party accepted him.

He worked his way into a meritocratic organization, and has worked his way to leadership through merit.

If we wish to understand what runs China, we must know how the CPC works. Here are 3 possible introductions, from Godfree Roberts:

The Chinese Communist Party
China’s Congresses in Action
Selling Democracy to China

Posted by: Grieved | Sep 2 2021 3:46 utc | 79

Here’s group 9

And here’s some active military videos.

I am just unleashing a true “mother load” of videos today. To talk about the Taiwan and a conflict on the South China Sea then you need to understand what the “players” are and what they are capable of. And boys and girls, the Chinese do not play. they are a serious, serious nation. Check out the videos HERE.

Group 9

To Counter U.S. Hostility China Moves Towards People Centered Policies

From MoA

In December 2001 China became a member of the World Trade Organization. That opened new markets for China’s industry and attracted a lot of foreign investment.

The growth in GDP that China has achieved since is breathtaking.

This development allowed China to make enormous investments in infrastructure. It also generated the resources necessary to eliminate poverty.

It is no coincidence that this development happened while the U.S. was wasting money on wars in the Middle East. As the U.S. is now step by step retreating from those wars to confront China the country needs to prepare itself for the new environment.

The introduction of more and more capitalistic features into China’s economy over the last 20 years has created imbalances.

  • Business tried to ignore or to gain influence over government structures and regulations.
  • Companies abused their workers.
  • Speculation by rich people created bubbles in the housing markets.
  • Cultural excesses that emphasized individualism threatened national unity.

These imbalances let the description of China’s economy as ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’ look empty.

Over the long run they would lead to dissatisfaction of a wide range of the public with the ruling political establishment. It was high time to eliminated the excesses the ultra fast development had created.

The government had to act to avoid future internal conflicts. Since the end of last year it has done so with the same efficiency that allowed it to stop and eliminate Covid-19 outbreaks. It does this ruthlessly without regards to stock values or investor interests.

Some six weeks ago I argued against Stephen S. Roach’s take on new Chinese regulations and described why the wider public in China will not care about ‘investors’ and will support those steps.

Since then the regulation campaign has continued with astonishing speed and breath. Here is a collection of headlines, published since my last take, that detail the development and the flood of new regulations and laws designed to set things right while keeping China’s economic growth going.

The new slogan for this era is now ‘common prosperity’, a policy that will reduce large wealth gaps while keeping reasonable monetary incentives and the market economy alive to allow for further development.

A pamphlet, written by a minor Maoist figure, that justifies these measures and puts them into a larger political context was widely published by Communist Party organs:

A commentary published widely in Chinese state-run media described President Xi Jinping’s regulatory crackdown as a “profound revolution” sweeping the country and warned that anyone who resisted would face punishment.

“This is a return from the capital group to the masses of the people, and this is a transformation from capital-centered to people-centered,” the commentary said, adding that it marked a return to the original intention of the Communist Party.

“Therefore, this is a political change, and the people are becoming the main body of this change again, and all those who block this people-centered change will be discarded.”

The author then goes on to set the ‘profound transformation’ into a wider, geopolitical context:

“China is currently facing an increasingly severe and complex international environment. The US has implemented military threats, economic and technological blockades, financial strikes and political and diplomatic siege against China,” Li wrote.

“The US has also launched biological warfare, cyber warfare and public opinion against China.”

“If we still have to rely on big capitalists as the main force of anti-imperialist and anti-hegemonism, or still cooperate to the US’ ‘tittytainment’ strategy, our young people will lose their strong and masculine vibes and we will collapse like the Soviet Union before we are attacked,” he said, claiming that the US had launched a color revolution against China through different channels.

The “profound transformation” underway in China aimed to respond to the US’ brutal and ferocious attacks as well as the current complicated international situation, he said.

The curbs on the entertainment sector were far from adequate as ordinary workers and people should become the main characters on screens.

People would benefit from the “common prosperity” goal after the education, medical and property sectors were reformed, he wrote.

While this sounds like Culture Revolution 2.0 it is assured that there will be no rampages of Maoist students through libraries or reeducation camps for party members.

Predatory capitalist George Soros claims in the Financial Times that these moves it will doom China’s economy. (See Michael Hudson’s counter here.) But people who, like Soros, argue against strong regulations forget that there are would be no markets without them.

Companies that only look at shareholder values are not sound and do not allow for a healthy society.

Just look Boeing and at the homeless camps in U.S. cities.

Aside from the ideological underpinning the new regulatory moves are populist. The masses will like them. They guarantee President Xi Jinping’s reelection at next year’s national party congress.

They will strengthen China’s unity in its competition with the United States.

China. Does. Not. Play.

And here’s Group 10.

You can watch the videos HERE

Group 10.

China is a very capable nation

China is cleaning up a few problems but I think it is also going into war mode.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Sep 1 2021 22:26 utc | 53

It is a nation of hard working, martial arts trained, studious NERDS. Most of the factories are inside of China. Not what passes for “factories” in the United States today. Which for the most part is nothing more than a nice office building in a “Industrial park” that houses cubicles staffed with accountants, diversity officers, attorneys, finance and marketing folk.

China is very capable. And if you want to to toe-to-toe, and head-to-head with them you had best be ready to accept the consequences of a harsh defeat and a life as a conquered nation. Check out this video here.

Michael Hudson v. George Soros on China’s Rejection of “Market” Capitalism

Earlier this week, the Financial Times posted a comment by famed investor George Soros, Investors in Xi’s China face a rude awakening.

This article would have been very useful if it had stuck to its headline warning, which is more or less along the lines that Xi has made very clear that he’s not going to allow investors, above all foreign investors, to exercise more influence in Chinese business and society.

However, Soros then goes on in a vein that the article subhead accurately summarizes:

“The leader’s crackdown on private enterprise shows he does not understand the market economy.”

Oh, contraire, China’s success has been built on learning from the mistakes of other Asian countries that developed quickly but then fell prey to financialization, particularly Japan, and had difficulties making the transition from being export and investment led to consumption led.

In particularly, Soros is cheesed off at Xi restricting foreign investment, particularly in stocks.

First, China is a capital exporter. It doesn’t need foreign funds.

Second, despite the Anglopshere idealization of public stock markets, China doesn’t need one either, although getting rid of the one it has now would be messy and very disruptive.

As Amar Bhide pointed out in a landmark Harvard Business Review article, Efficient Markets, Deficient Governance, anonymous, freely traded shares inherently lead to poor governance.

Public companies cannot share critical business information that investors need to make informed decisions.

Transient shareholders also lack the motivation and means to improve the performance of the companies they’ve invested in.

Bhide has pointed out in other venues that while all other types of investments, such as derivatives and venture capital, existed in pre-modern times, arms length share trading did not because stock is a legally vague and weak promise.

And despite the idealization of share ownership, it’s almost entirely divorced from the funding of business. The most important source for new investment is retained earnings. Second is borrowing. Share sales are a distant third. The overwhelming majority of stock trading is shuffling paper among investors.

The most charitable interpretation of Soros’ position is that he suffers from a China version of the saying attributed to Charles Wilson, “What’s good for GM is good for America,” which here becomes, “What’s good for people like me of course is good for China.” Except as Michael Hudson explains, it isn’t.

Below are sections of the Soros article, with Hudson’s remarks in bold italics:

Xi Jinping, China’s leader, has collided with economic reality. His crackdown on private enterprise [what the classical economists called rent-seeking and unearned income] has been a significant drag on the economy [meaning the economy’s polarization concentrating wealth and income in the hands of the richest One Percent]. The most vulnerable sector is real estate, particularly housing. China has enjoyed an extended property boom over the past two decades, but that is now coming to an end. Evergrande, the largest real estate company, is over-indebted and in danger of default. This could cause a crash. [That’s just what is needed.]
….One of the reasons why middle-class families are unwilling to have more than one child is that they want to make sure that their children will have a bright future. [This is true of every advanced nation today. It is most extreme in the neoliberalized countries, e.g., the Baltics and Ukraine – Soros’s poster countries.]

We have skipped over Xi’s crackdown on the private tutoring industry…as if tutoring is essential to providing for security and an adequate standard of living for the next generation. How about strong public education, including remedial and advanced tracks, and vocational/technical training for those not bound to universities?

Back to Soros and Hudson:

Xi does not understand how markets operate [meaning that he rejects rapacious rent-seeking, exploitative free-for-all, and shapes markets to serve overall prosperity for China’s 99 Percent]. As a consequence, the sell-off was allowed to go too far [by which he means, too far to maintain the dominance of the One Percent; it seeks to reverse economic polarization, not intensify it]. It began to hurt China’s objectives in the world [meaning America’s neoliberal objectives for how it had hoped to make money for itself off China].
Recognising this, Chinese financial authorities have gone out of their way to reassure foreign investors and markets have responded with a powerful rally. But that is a deception. Xi regards all Chinese companies as instruments of a one-party state…
Pension fund managers allocate their assets in ways that are closely aligned with the benchmarks against which their performance is measured. [The tragedy of financializing pensions is that fund managers are rated on making money financially – in ways that hurt the industrial economy by promoting financial engineering instead of industrial engineering.]
Almost all of them claim that they factor environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) standards into their investment decisions. [At least, that’s what their public relations advisors advertise. Exxon claims to be cleaning up the environment by expanding offshore oil drilling in Guyana, etc. As for “social standards,” the neoliberal mantra is trickle-down economics: by making our stock prices rise, by stock buybacks and higher dividend payouts, we are helping wage-earners earn a pension, even though we are offshoring and de-industrializing the economy, de-unionizing it and “freeing” the economy from consumer and workplace protection laws.]
….The US Congress should pass a bipartisan bill explicitly requiring that asset managers invest only in companies where actual governance structures are both transparent and aligned with stakeholders. [Wow. Such a bill would block Americans from investing in many American companies whose behavior is not at all aligned with stakeholders. What proportion: 50%? 75%? More?] This rule should obviously apply to the performance benchmarks selected by pensions and other retirement portfolios.
If Congress were to enact these measures, it would give the Securities and Exchange Commission the tools it needs to protect American investors, including those who are unaware of owning Chinese stocks and Chinese shell companies. That would also serve the interests of the US and the wider international community of democracies. [So Mr. Soros wants to block the US from investing in China. That is President Xi’s objective also: China doesn’t need U.S. dollars, and is in fact de-dollarizing.]

There are a lot of reasons to criticize Xi and the Chinese regimes, but combating foreign influence and a bit late in the game pushing back against high levels of inequality are not among them.

And Soros presents himself as having superior insight into China, and then acts as if an American strike on Chinese public companies would dent them. Good luck with that.

Indeed.

Great rebuttal by hudson. Soros is fuming at china,its because he cant run his usual financial schemes and assert some measure of control on sectors of their economy. Why anyone listens to this documented nazi collaborator, and destroyer of economies, and the pound sterling is beyond me. China is not in the business of allowing these types to have input or dictate their financial policy. I applaud them.

Posted by: RC213V | Sep 1 2021 21:52 utc | 46

And Group 11

You can watch the videos HERE

Group 11

China is really, really, REALLY big and powerful

You would think that most reasonable people would understand this. But they don’t. I have been reading the Australian “news”. Oh Lordy! These Bozo’s actually think that Australia and Japan will physically invade mainland China and be allowed to march right into the cities and take over.

I don’t think so.

Watch this entire VIDEO BELOW...

China is really, really big.

From the voice of VOA; the official mouthpiece of America…

Americans want to fight China. Don’t you know…

I don’t believe it, but obviously the United States, though it’s enormous media is posturing towards a major conflict. And at this stage of the game, it looks like they want it to happen so badly that it probably will.

The Chinese leader tells cadres at the Central Party School that the ‘risks and challenges we face are conspicuously increasing’. Xi’s comments about the the need to fight to protect national security come amid ongoing tensions with the United States

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3147337/dont-expect-easy-life-and-be-ready-struggle-chinese-president

And remember what I said at the start of this article…

"... the point that I want to make is that China is a perfect organism wholly designed to prevent anyone from attacking it. It is like a vicious animal with spikes, poison, and large sharp teeth. Only a fool would want to attack it..."

A final word.

So the United States wants to go into a HOT war with China. Don’t be so sure on what will happen.

From an anonymous commenter…

Some American and Chinese virologists are developing the new Sinoamerican virus (let's call it "Sinoamerican 200") in a laboratory in Guangzhou. The virus is a combination of a modified porcine influenza H1N1 and the previous Sinoamerican virus (SARS COV 2). The Sinoamerican 200 will be disseminated somewhere in USA in November 2021.

Posted by: Kim Jong Il | Sep 2 2021 5:54 utc | 87

Let’s see what will happen in December 2021; around and just before Christmas time.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my China index.  Here…

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Law 27 of the 48 Laws of Power; Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult like following

This is law 27 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it. I am presenting it here with out much commentary. There are more than enough cult-leaders in America today. So I feel that I really don’t need to say too much more about it.

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise ; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

LAW 27

PLAY ON PEOPLE’S NEED TO BELIEVE TO CREATE A CULTLIKE FOLLOWING

JUDGMENT

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise ; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

THE SCIENCE OF CHARLATANISM, OR HOW TO CREATE A CULT IN FIVE EASY STEPS

In searching, as you must, for the methods that will gain you the most power for the least effort, you will find the creation of a cultlike following one of the most effective. Having a large following opens up all sorts of possibilities for deception; not only will your followers worship you, they will defend you from your enemies and will voluntarily take on the work of enticing others to join your fledgling cult. This kind of power will lift you to another realm: You will no longer have to struggle or use subterfuge to enforce your will. You are adored and can do no wrong.

You might think it a gargantuan task to create such a following, but in fact it is fairly simple. As humans, we have a desperate need to believe in something, anything. This makes us eminently gullible: We simply cannot endure long periods of doubt, or of the emptiness that comes from a lack of something to believe in. Dangle in front of us some new cause, elixir, get-rich-quick scheme, or the latest technological trend or art movement and we leap from the water as one to take the bait. Look at history: The chronicles of the new trends and cults that have made a mass following for themselves could fill a library. After a few centuries, a few decades, a few years, a few months, they generally look ridiculous, but at the time they seem so attractive, so transcendental, so divine.

Always in a rush to believe in something, we will manufacture saints and faiths out of nothing. Do not let this gullibility go to waste: Make yourself the object of worship. Make people form a cult around you.

The great European charlatans of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries mastered the art of cultmaking. They lived, as we do now, in a time of transformation: Organized religion was on the wane, science on the rise. People were desperate to rally around a new cause or faith. The charlatans had begun by peddling health elixirs and alchemic shortcuts to wealth. Moving quickly from town to town, they originally focused on small groups—until, by accident, they stumbled on a truth of human nature: The larger the group they gathered around themselves, the easier it was to deceive.

The charlatan would station himself on a high wooden platform (hence the term “mountebank”) and crowds would swarm around him. In a group setting, people were more emotional, less able to reason. Had the charlatan spoken to them individually, they might have found him ridiculous, but lost in a crowd they got caught up in a communal mood of rapt attention. It became impossible for them to find the distance to be skeptical. Any deficiencies in the charlatan’s ideas were hidden by the zeal of the mass. Passion and enthusiasm swept through the crowd like a contagion, and they reacted violently to anyone who dared to spread a seed of doubt. Both consciously studying this dynamic over decades of experiment and spontaneously adapting to these situations as they happened, the charlatans perfected the science of attracting and holding a crowd, molding the crowd into followers and the followers into a cult.

It was to the charlatan’s advantage that the individuals predisposed to credulity should multiply, that the groups of his adherents should enlarge to mass proportions, guaranteeing an ever greater scope for his triumphs. And this was in fact to occur, as science was popularized, from the Renaissance on down through succeeding centuries. With the immense growth of knowledge and its spread through printing in modern times, the mass of the half educated, the eagerly gullible prey of the quack, also increased, became indeed a majority; real power could be based on their wishes, opinions, preferences, and rejections. The charlatan’s empire accordingly widened with the modern dissemination of knowledge; since he operated on the basis of science, however much he perverted it, producing gold with a technique borrowed from chemistry and his wonderful balsams with the apparatus of medicine, he could not appeal to an entirely ignorant folk. The illiterate would be protected against his absurdities by their healthy common sense. His choicest audience would be composed of the semiliterate, those who had exchanged their common sense for a little distorted information and had encountered science and education at some time, though briefly and unsuccessfully.... The great mass of mankind has always been predisposed to marvel at mysteries, and this was especially true at certain historic periods when the secure foundations of life seemed shaken and old values, economic or spiritual, long accepted as certainties, could no longer be relied upon. Then the numbers of the charlatan’s dupes multiplied—the “self killers,” as a seventeenth-century Englishman called them. 

THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO, 1939

The gimmicks of the charlatans may seem quaint today, but there are thousands of charlatans among us still, using the same tried-and-true methods their predecessors refined centuries ago, only changing the names of their elixirs and modernizing the look of their cults. We find these latter-day charlatans in all arenas of life—business, fashion, politics, art. Many of them, perhaps, are following in the charlatan tradition without having any knowledge of its history, but you can be more systematic and deliberate. Simply follow the five steps of cultmaking that our charlatan ancestors perfected over the years.

Step 1: Keep It Vague; Keep It Simple. To create a cult you must first attract attention. This you should do not through actions, which are too clear and readable, but through words, which are hazy and deceptive. Your initial speeches, conversations, and interviews must include two elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and transformative, and on the other a total vagueness. This combination will stimulate all kinds of hazy dreams in your listeners, who will make their own connections and see what they want to see.

To make your vagueness attractive, use words of great resonance but cloudy meaning, words full of heat and enthusiasm. Fancy titles for simple things are helpful, as are the use of numbers and the creation of new words for vague concepts. All of these create

the impression of specialized knowledge, giving you a veneer of profundity. By the same token, try to make the subject of your cult new and fresh, so that few will understand it. Done right, the combination of vague promises, cloudy but alluring concepts, and fiery enthusiasm will stir people’s souls and a group will form around you.

Talk too vaguely and you have no credibility. But it is more dangerous to be specific. If you explain in detail the benefits people will gain by following your cult, you will be expected to satisfy them.

As a corollary to its vagueness your appeal should also be simple. Most people’s problems have complex causes: deep-rooted neurosis, interconnected social factors, roots that go way back in time and are exceedingly hard to unravel. Few, however, have the patience to deal with this; most people want to hear that a simple solution will cure their problems. The ability to offer this kind of solution will give you great power and build you a following. Instead of the complicated explanations of real life, return to the primitive solutions of our ancestors, to good old country remedies, to mysterious panaceas.

Step 2: Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual. Once people have begun to gather around you, two dangers will present themselves: boredom and skepticism. Boredom will make people go elsewhere ; skepticism will allow them the distance to think rationally about whatever it is you are offering, blowing away the mist you have artfully created and revealing your ideas for what they are. You need to amuse the bored, then, and ward off the cynics.

THE OW WHO WAS GOD

Once upon a starless midnight there was an owl who sat on the branch of an oak tree. Two ground moles tried to slip quietly by, unnoticed. “You!” said the owl. “Who?” they quavered, in fear and astonishment, for they could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that thick darkness. “You two!” said the owl. The moles hurried away and told the other creatures of the field and forest that the owl was the greatest and wisest of all animals because he could see in the dark and because he could answer any question. “I’ll see about that,” said a secretary bird, and he called on the owl one night when it was again very dark. “How many claws am I holding up?” said the secretary bird. “Two,” said the owl, and that was right. “Can you give me another expression for ‘that is to say’ or ‘namely?’ ” asked the secretary bird. “To wit,” said the owl. “Why does a lover call on his love?” asked the secretary bird. “To woo,” said the owl. The secretary bird hastened back to the other creatures and reported that the owl was indeed the greatest and wisest animal in the world because he could see in the dark and because he could answer any question.

Can he see in the daytime, too?” asked a red fox. “Yes,” echoed a dormouse and a French poodle. “Can he see in the daytime, too?” All the other creatures laughed loudly at this silly question, and they set upon the red fox and his friends and drove them out of the region. Then they sent a messenger to the owl and asked him to be their leader. When the owl appeared among the animals it was high noon and the sun was shining brightly. He walked very slowly, which gave him an appearance of great dignity, and he peered about him with large, staring eyes, which gave him an air of tremendous importance. “He’s God!” screamed a Plymouth Rock hen. And the others took up the cry “He’s God!” So they followed him wherever he went and when he began to bump into things they began to bump into things. too. Finally he came to a concrete highway and he started up the middle of it and all the other creatures followed him. Presently a hawk, who was acting as outrider, observed a truck coming toward them at fifty miles an hour, and he reported to the secretary bird and the secretary bird reported to the owl. “There’s danger ahead, ” said the secretary bird. “To wit?” said the owl. The secretary bird told him. “Aren’t you afraid?” He asked. “Who?” said the owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. “He’s God!” cried all the creatures again, and they were still crying “He’s God!” when the truck hit them and ran them down. Some of the animals were merely injured, but most of them, including the owl, were killed. Moral: You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.

THE THURBER CARNIVAI , JAMES THURBER , 1894-1961

The best way to do this is through theater, or other devices of its kind. Surround yourself with luxury, dazzle your followers with visual splendor, fill their eyes with spectacle. Not only will this keep them from seeing the ridiculousness of your ideas, the holes in your belief system, it will also attract more attention, more followers. Appeal to all the senses: Use incense for scent, soothing music for hearing, colorful charts and graphs for the eye. You might even tickle the mind, perhaps by using new technological gadgets to give your cult a pseudo-scientific veneer—as long as you do not make anyone really think. Use the exotic—distant cultures, strange customs—to create theatrical effects, and to make the most banal and ordinary affairs seem signs of something extraordinary.

Step 3: Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the Group. Your cultlike following is growing; it is time to organize it. Find a way both elevating and comforting. Organized religions have long held unquestioned authority for large numbers of people, and continue to do so in our supposedly secular age. And even if the religion itself has faded some, its forms still resonate with power. The lofty and holy associations of organized religion can be endlessly exploited. Create rituals for your followers; organize them into a hierarchy, ranking them in grades of sanctity, and giving them names and titles that resound with religious overtones; ask them for sacrifices that will fill your coffers and increase your power. To emphasize your gathering’s quasi- religious nature, talk and act like a prophet. You are not a dictator, after all; you are a priest, a guru, a sage, a shaman, or any other word that hides your real power in the mist of religion.

Step 4: Disguise Your Source of Income. Your group has grown, and you have structured it in a churchlike form. Your coffers are beginning to fill with your followers’ money. Yet you must never be seen as hungry for money and the power it brings. It is at this moment that you must disguise the source of your income.

Your followers want to believe that if they follow you all sorts of good things will fall into their lap. By surrounding yourself with luxury you become living proof of the soundness of your belief system. Never reveal that your wealth actually comes from your followers’ pockets; instead, make it seem to come from the truth of your methods. Followers will copy your each and every move in the belief that it will bring them the same results, and their imitative enthusiasm will blind them to the charlatan nature of your wealth.

Step 5: Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic. The group is now large and thriving, a magnet attracting more and more particles. If you are not careful, though, inertia will set in, and time and boredom will demagnetize the group. To keep your followers united, you must now do what all religions and belief systems have done: create an us-versus- them dynamic.

First, make sure your followers believe they are part of an exclusive club, unified by a bond of common goals. Then, to strengthen this bond, manufacture the notion of a devious enemy out to ruin you. There is a force of nonbelievers that will do anything to stop you. Any outsider who tries to reveal the charlatan nature of your belief system can now be described as a member of this devious force.

If you have no enemies, invent one. Given a straw man to react against, your followers will tighten and cohere. They have your cause to believe in and infidels to destroy.

OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW

Observance I

In the year 1653, a twenty-seven-year-old Milan man named Francesco Giuseppe Borri claimed to have had a vision. He went around town telling one and all that the archangel Michael had appeared to him and announced that he had been chosen to be the capitano generale of the Army of the New Pope, an army that would seize and revitalize the world. The archangel had further revealed that Borri now had the power to see people’s souls, and that he would soon discover the philosopher’s stone—a long-sought-after substance that could change base metals into gold. Friends and acquaintances who heard Borri explain the vision, and who witnessed the change that had come over him, were impressed, for Borri had previously devoted himself to a life of wine, women, and gambling. Now he gave all that up, plunging himself into the study of alchemy and talking only of mysticism and the occult.

The transformation was so sudden and miraculous, and Borri’s words were so filled with enthusiasm, that he began to create a following. Unfortunately the Italian Inquisition began to notice him as well—they prosecuted anyone who delved into the occult—so he left Italy and began to wander Europe, from Austria to Holland, telling one and all that “to those who follow me all joy shall be granted.” Wherever Borri stayed he attracted followers. His method was simple: He spoke of his vision, which had grown more and more elaborate, and offered to “look into” the soul of anyone who believed him (and they were many). Seemingly in a trance, he would stare at this new follower for several minutes, then claim to have seen the person’s soul, degree of enlightenment, and

potential for spiritual greatness. If what he saw showed promise, he would add the person to his growing order of disciples, an honor indeed.

The cult had six degrees, into which the disciples were assigned according to what Borri had glimpsed in their souls. With work and total devotion to the cult they could graduate to a higher degree. Borri—whom they called “His Excellency,” and “Universal Doctor”—demanded from them the strictest vows of poverty. All the goods and moneys they possessed had to be turned over to him. But they did not mind handing

over their property, for Borri had told them, “I shall soon bring my chemical studies to a happy conclusion by the discovery of the philosopher’s stone, and by this means we shall all have as much gold as we desire.”

Given his growing wealth, Borri began to change his style of living. Renting the most splendid apartment in the city into which he had temporarily settled, he would furnish it with fabulous furniture and accessories, which he had begun to collect. He would drive through the city in a coach studded with jewels, with six magnificent black horses at its head. He never stayed too long in one place, and when he disappeared, saying he had more souls to gather into his flock, his reputation only grew in his absence. He became famous, although in fact he had never done a single concrete thing.

To become the founder of a new religion one must be psychologically infallible in one’s knowledge of a certain average type of souls who have not yet recognized that they belong together.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, 1844-1900
Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived. 

-
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527

From all over Europe, the blind, the crippled, and the desperate came to visit Borri, for word had spread that he had healing powers. He asked no fee for his services, which only made him seem more marvelous, and indeed some claimed that in this or that city he had performed a miracle cure. By only hinting at his accomplishments, he encouraged people’s imaginations to blow them up to fantastic proportions. His wealth, for example, actually came from the vast sums he was collecting from his increasingly select group of rich disciples; yet it was presumed that he had in fact perfected the philosopher’s stone. The Church continued to pursue him, denouncing him for heresy and witchcraft, and Borri’s response to these charges was a dignified silence; this only enhanced his reputation and made his followers more passionate. Only the great are persecuted, after all; how many understood Jesus Christ in his own time? Borri did not have to say a word—his followers now called the Pope the Antichrist.

And so Borri’s power grew and grew, until one day he left the city of Amsterdam (where he had settled for a while), absconding with huge sums of borrowed money and diamonds that had been entrusted to him. (He claimed to be able to remove the flaws from diamonds through the power of his gifted mind.) Now he was on the run. The Inquisition eventually caught up with him, and for the last twenty years of his life he was imprisoned in Rome. But so great was the belief in his occult powers that to his dying day he was visited by wealthy believers, including Queen Christina of Sweden. Supplying him with money and materials, these visitors allowed him to continue his search for the elusive philosopher’s stone.

Interpretation

THE TEMPLE OF HEALTH

[In the late 1780s] the Scottish quack James Graham... was winning a large following and great riches in London.... [Graham] maintained a show of great scientific technique. In 1772 ... he had visited Philadelphia, where he met Benjamin Franklin and became interested in the latter’s experiments with electricity. These appear to have inspired the apparatus in the “Temple of Health,” the fabulous establishment he opened in London for the sale of his elixirs.... In the chief room, where he received patients, stood “the largest air pump in the world” to assist him in his “philosophical investigations” into disease, and also a “stupendous metallic conductor,” a richly gilded pedestal surrounded with retorts and vials of “etherial and other essences.” ... According to J. Ennemoser, who published a history of magic in 1844 at Leipzig, Graham’s “house... united the useful with the pleasurable. Everywhere the utmost magnificence was displayed. Even in the outer court, averred an eye-witness, it seemed as though art, invention, and riches had been exhausted. On the side walls in the chambers an arc-shaped glow was provided by artificial electric light; star rays darted forth; transparent glasses of all colors were placed with clever selection and much taste. All this, the same eyewitness assures us, was ravishing and exalted the imagination to the highest degree.”

Visitors were given a printed sheet of rules for healthy living. In the Great Apollo Apartment they might join in mysterious rituals, accompanied by chants : “Hail, Vital Air, aethereal ! Magnetic Magic, hail !” And while they hailed the magic of magnetism, the windows were darkened, revealing a ceiling studded with electric stars and a young and lovely “Rosy Goddess of Health” in a niche.... Every evening this Temple of Health was crowded with guests; it had become the fashion to visit it and try the great twelve-foot bed of state, the “Grand Celestial Bed,” said to cure any disease.... This bed, according to Ennemoser, “stood in a splendid room, into which a cylinder led from an adjoining chamber to conduct the healing currents... at  the same time all sorts of pleasing scents of strengthening herbs and Oriental incense were also brought in through glass tubes. The heavenly bed itself rested upon six solid transparent pillars; the bedclothes were of purple and sky-blue Atlas silk, spread over a mattress saturated with Arabian perfumed waters to suit the tastes of the Persian court. The chamber in which it was placed he called the Sanctum Sanctorum.... To add to all this, there were the melodious notes of the harmonica, soft flutes, agreeable voices, and a great organ.”

THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO, 1939

Before he formed his cult, Borri seems to have stumbled on a critical discovery. Tiring of his life of debauchery, he had decided to give it up and to devote himself to the occult, a genuine interest of his. He must have noticed, however, that when he alluded to a mystical experience (rather than physical exhaustion) as the source of his conversion, people of all classes wanted to hear more. Realizing the power he could gain by ascribing the change to something external and mysterious, he went further with his manufactured visions. The grander the vision, and the more sacrifices he asked for, the more appealing and believable his story seemed to become.

Remember: People are not interested in the truth about change. They do not want to hear that it has come from hard work, or from anything as banal as exhaustion, boredom, or depression; they are dying to believe in something romantic, otherworldly. They want to hear of angels and out-of-body experiences.

Indulge them. Hint at the mystical source of some personal change, wrap it in ethereal colors, and a cultlike following will form around you. Adapt to people’s needs: The messiah must mirror the desires of his followers. And always aim high. The bigger and bolder your illusion, the better.

Observance II

In the mid-1700s, word spread in Europe’s fashionable society of a Swiss country doctor named Michael Schüppach who practiced a different kind of medicine: He used the healing powers of nature to perform miraculous cures. Soon well-to-do people from all over the Continent, their ailments both serious and mild, were making the trek to the alpine village of Langnau, where Schüppach lived and worked. Trudging through the mountains, these visitors witnessed the most dramatic natural landscapes that Europe has to offer. By the time they reached Langnau, they were already feeling transformed and on their way to health.

Schüppach, who had become known as simply the “Mountain Doctor,” had a small pharmacy in town. This place became quite a scene: Crowds of people from many different countries would cram the small room, its walls lined with colorful bottles filled with herbal cures. Where most doctors of the time prescribed foul-tasting concoctions that bore incomprehensible Latin titles (as medicines often do still), Schüppach’s cures had names such as “The Oil of Joy,” “Little Flower’s Heart,” or “Against the Monster,” and they tasted sweet and pleasing.

Visitors to Langnau would have to wait patiently for a visit with the Mountain Doctor, because every day some eighty messengers would arrive at the pharmacy bearing flasks of urine from all over Europe. Schüppach claimed he could diagnose what ailed you simply by looking at a sample of your urine and reading a written description of your ailment. (Naturally he read the description very carefully before prescribing a cure.) When he finally had a spare minute (the urine samples took up much of his time), he would call the visitor into his office in the pharmacy. He would then examine this person’s urine sample, explaining that its appearance would tell him everything he needed to know. Country people had a sense for these things, he would say—their wisdom came from living a simple, godly life with none of the complications of urban living. This personal consultation would also include a discussion as to how one might bring one’s soul more into harmony with nature.

Schüppach had devised many forms of treatment, each profoundly unlike the usual medical practices of the time. He was a believer, for instance, in electric shock therapy. To those who wondered whether this was in keeping with his belief in the healing power of nature, he would explain that electricity is a natural phenomenon; he was merely imitating the power of lightning. One of his patients claimed to be inhabited by seven devils. The doctor cured him with electrical shocks, and as he administered these he exclaimed that he could see the devils flying out of the man’s body, one by one. Another man claimed to have swallowed a hay wagon and its driver, which were causing him massive pains in the chest. The Mountain Doctor listened patiently, claimed to be able to hear the crack of a whip in the man’s belly, promised to cure him, and gave him a sedative and a purgative. The man fell asleep on a chair outside the pharmacy. As soon as he awoke he vomited, and as he vomited a hay wagon sped past him (the Mountain Doctor had hired it for the occasion), the crack of its whip making him feel that somehow he had indeed expelled it under the doctor’s care.

Over the years, the Mountain Doctor’s fame grew. He was consulted by the powerful —even the writer Goethe made the trek to his village—and he became the center of a cult of nature in which everything natural was considered worthy of worship. Schüppach was careful to create effects that would entertain and inspire his patients. A professor who visited him once wrote, “One stands or sits in company, one plays cards, sometimes with a young woman; now a concert is given, now a lunch or supper, and now a little ballet is presented. With a very happy effect, the freedom of nature is everywhere united with the pleasures of the beau monde, and if the doctor is not able to heal any diseases, he can at least cure hypochondria and the vapors.”

Interpretation

Schüppach had begun his career as an ordinary village doctor. He would sometimes use in his practice some of the village remedies he had grown up with, and apparently he noticed some results, for soon these herbal tinctures and natural forms of healing became his specialty.

And in fact his natural form of healing did have profound psychological effects on his patients. Where the normal drugs of the time created fear and pain, Schüppach’s treatments were comfortable and soothing. The resulting improvement in the patient’s mood was a critical element in the cures he brought about.

His patients believed so deeply in his skills that they willed themselves into health. Instead of scoffing at their irrational explanations for their ailments, Schüppach used their hypochondria to make it seem that he had effected a great cure.

The case of the Mountain Doctor teaches us valuable lessons in the creation of a cultlike following. First, you must find a way to engage people’s will, to make their belief in your powers strong enough that they imagine all sorts of benefits. Their belief will have a self-fulfilling quality, but you must make sure that it is you, rather than their own will, who is seen as the agent of transformation. Find the belief, cause, or fantasy that will make them believe with a passion and they will imagine the rest, worshipping you as healer, prophet, genius, whatever you like.

Second, Schüppach teaches us the everlasting power of belief in nature, and in simplicity. Nature, in reality, is full of much that is terrifying—poisonous plants, fierce animals, sudden disasters, plagues. Belief in the healing, comforting quality of nature is really a constructed myth, a romanticism. But the appeal to nature can bring you great power, especially in complicated and stressful times.

This appeal, however, must be handled right. Devise a kind of theater of nature in which you, as the director, pick and choose the qualities that fit the romanticism of the times. The Mountain Doctor played the part to perfection, playing up his homespun wisdom and wit, and staging his cures as dramatic pieces. He did not make himself one  with nature; instead he molded nature into a cult, an artificial construction. To create a “natural” effect you actually have to work hard, making nature theatrical and delightfully pagan. Otherwise no one will notice. Nature too must follow trends and be progressive.

Observance III

In 1788, at the age of fifty-five, the doctor and scientist Franz Mesmer was at a crossroads. He was a pioneer in the study of animal magnetism—the belief that animals contain magnetic matter, and that a doctor or specialist can effect miraculous cures by working on this charged substance—but in Vienna, where he lived, his theories had met with scorn and ridicule from the medical establishment. In treating women for convulsions, Mesmer claimed to have worked a number of cures, his proudest achievement being the restoration of sight to a blind girl. But another doctor who examined the young girl said she was as blind as ever, an assessment with which she herself agreed. Mesmer countered that his enemies were out to slander him by winning her over to their side. This claim only elicited more ridicule. Clearly the sober-minded Viennese were the wrong audience for his theories, and so he decided to move to Paris and start again.

Renting a splendid apartment in his new city, Mesmer decorated it appropriately. Stained glass in most of the windows created a religious feeling, and mirrors on all the walls produced an hypnotic effect. The doctor advertised that in his apartment he would give demonstrations of the powers of animal magnetism, inviting the diseased and melancholic to feel its powers. Soon Parisians of all classes (but mostly women, who seemed more attracted to the idea than men did) were paying for entry to witness the miracles that Mesmer promised.

Inside the apartment, the scents of orange blossom and exotic incense wafted through special vents. As the initiates filtered into the salon where the demonstrations took place, they heard harp music and the lulling sounds of a female vocalist coming from another room. In the center of the salon was a long oval container filled with water that Mesmer claimed had been magnetized. From holes in the container’s metal lid protruded long movable iron rods. The visitors were instructed to sit around the container, place these magnetized rods on the body part that gave them pains or problems, and then hold hands with their neighbors, sitting as close as possible to one

another to help the magnetic force pass between their bodies. Sometimes, too, they were attached to each other by cords.

THE POWIROI II

In the town of Tarnopol lived a man by the name of Reb Feivel. One day, as he sat in his house deeply-absorbed in his Talmud, he heard a loud noise outside. When he went to the window he saw a lot of little pranksters. “Up to some new piece of mischief, no doubt.” he thought. “Children, run quickly to the synagogue,” he cried, leaning out and improvising the first story that occurred to him. “You’ll see there a sea monster, and what a monster ! It’s a creature with five feet, three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green !”

And sure enough the children scampered off and Reb Feivel returned to his studies. He smiled into his beard as he thought of the trick he had played on those little rascals. It wasn’t long before his studies were interrupted again, this time by running footsteps. When he went to the window he saw several Jews running. “Where are you running ?” he called out.

“To the sonagogue !” answered the Jews. “Haven’t you heard? There’s a sea monster, there’s a creature with five legs, three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green !” Reb Feivel laughed with glee, thinking of the trick he had played, and sat down again to his Talmud. But no sooner had he begun to concentrate when suddenly he heard a dinning tumult outside. And what did he see? A great crowd of men, women and children, all running toward the synagogue. “What’s iep?” he cried, sticking his head out of the window.

What a question! Why, don’t you know?” they answered. “Right in front of the synagogue there’s a sea monster. It’s a creature with five legs, three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green!”

And as the crowd hurried by, Reb Feivel suddenly noticed that the rabbi himself was among them.

“Lord of the world!” he exclaimed. “If the rabbi himself is running with them surely there must be something happening. Where there’s smoke there’s fire!” Without further thought Reb Feivel grabbed his hat, left his house, and also began running. “Who

can tell?” he muttered to himself as he ran, all out of breath, toward the synagogue.

A TREASURY OF JEWISH FOLKLORE, NATHAN AUSUBEL, ED., 1948

Mesmer would leave the room, and “assistant magnetizers”—all handsome and strapping young men—would enter with jars of magnetized water that they would sprinkle on the patients, rubbing the healing fluid on their bodies, massaging it into their skin, moving them toward a trancelike state. And after a few minutes a kind of delirium would overcome the women. Some would sob, some would shriek and tear their hair, others would laugh hysterically. At the height of the delirium Mesmer would reenter the salon, dressed in a flowing silk robe embroidered with golden flowers and carrying a white magnetic rod. Moving around the container, he would stroke and soothe the patients until calm was restored. Many women would later attribute the strange power he had on them to his piercing look, which, they thought, was exciting or quieting the magnetic fluids in their bodies.

Within months of his arrival in Paris, Mesmer became the rage. His supporters included Marie-Antoinette herself, the queen of France, wife of Louis XVI. As in Vienna, he was condemned by the official faculty of medicine, but it did not matter.

His growing following of pupils and patients paid him handsomely.

Mesmer expanded his theories to proclaim that all humanity could be brought into harmony through the power of magnetism, a concept with much appeal during the French Revolution. A cult of Mesmerism spread across the country; in many towns, “Societies of Harmony” sprang up to experiment with magnetism. These societies eventually became notorious: They tended to be led by libertines who would turn their sessions into a kind of group orgy.

At the height of Mesmer’s popularity, a French commission published a report based on years of testing the theory of animal magnetism. The conclusion: Magnetism’s effects on the body actually came from a kind of group hysteria and autosuggestion. The report was well documented, and ruined Mesmer’s reputation in France. He left the country and went into retirement. Only a few years later, however, imitators sprang up all over Europe and the cult of Mesmerism spread once again, its believers more numerous than ever.

Interpretation

Mesmer’s career can be broken into two parts. When still in Vienna, he clearly believed in the validity of his theory, and did all he could to prove it. But his growing frustration and the disapproval of his colleagues made him adopt another strategy. First he moved to Paris, where no one knew him, and where his extravagant theories found a more fruitful soil. Then he appealed to the French love of theater and spectacle, making his apartment into a kind of magical world in which a sensory overload of smells, sights, and sounds entranced his customers. Most important, from now on he practiced his magnetism only on a group. The group provided the setting in which the magnetism would have its proper effect, one believer infecting the other, overwhelming any individual doubter.

Mesmer thus passed from being a confirmed advocate of magnetism to the role of a charlatan using every trick in the book to captivate the public. The biggest trick of all was to play on the repressed sexuality that bubbles under the surface of any group setting. In a group, a longing for social unity, a longing older than civilization, cries out to be awakened. This desire may be subsumed under a unifying cause, but beneath it is a repressed sexuality that the charlatan knows how to exploit and manipulate for his own purposes.

This is the lesson that Mesmer teaches us: Our tendency to doubt, the distance that allows us to reason, is broken down when we join a group. The warmth and infectiousness of the group overwhelm the skeptical individual. This is the power you gain by creating a cult. Also, by playing on people’s repressed sexuality, you lead them into mistaking their excited feelings for signs of your mystical strength. You gain untold power by working on people’s unrealized desire for a kind of promiscuous and pagan unity.

Remember too that the most effective cults mix religion with science. Take the latest technological trend or fad and blend it with a noble cause, a mystical faith, a new form of healing. People’s interpretations of your hybrid cult will run rampant, and they will attribute powers to you that you had never even thought to claim.

Image: The Magnet. An unseen force draws objects to it, which in turn become magnetized themselves, drawing other pieces to them, the magnetic power of the whole constantly increasing. But take away the original magnet and it all falls apart. Become the magnet, the invisible force that attracts people’s imaginations and holds them together. Once they have clustered around you, no power can wrest them away.

Authority: The charlatan achieves his great power by simply opening a possibility for men to believe what they already want to believe…. The credulous cannot keep at a distance; they crowd around the wonder worker, entering his personal aura, surrendering themselves to illusion with a heavy solemnity, like cattle. (Grete de Francesco)

REVERSAL

One reason to create a following is that a group is often easier to deceive than an individual, and turns over to you that much more power. This comes, however, with a danger: If at any moment the group sees through you, you will find yourself facing not one deceived soul but an angry crowd that will tear you to pieces as avidly as it once followed you. The charlatans constantly faced this danger, and were always ready to move out of town as it inevitably became clear that their elixirs did not work and their ideas were sham. Too slow and they paid with their lives. In playing with the crowd, you are playing with fire, and must constantly keep an eye out for any sparks of doubt, any enemies who will turn the crowd against you. When you play with the emotions of a crowd, you have to know how to adapt, attuning yourself instantaneously to all of the moods and desires that a group will produce. Use spies, be on top of everything, and keep your bags packed.

For this reason you may often prefer to deal with people one by one. Isolating them from their normal milieu can have the same effect as putting them in a group—it makes them more prone to suggestion and intimidation. Choose the right sucker and if he eventually sees through you he may prove easier to escape than a crowd.

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Law 24 of the 48 Laws of Power; Play the perfect courtier

This is law 24 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

According to Law 24 of the 48 Laws of Power, to thrive in whatever court or environment you’re playing for power in, learn the rules and know how to manipulate them. Even in modern times, a skilled courtier or functionary who can successfully navigate and thrive in the world of power has great power himself.

LAW 24

PLAY THE PERFECT COURTIER

JUDGMENT

The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

COURT SOCIETY

It is a fact of human nature that the structure of a court society forms itself around power. In the past, the court gathered around the ruler, and had many functions: Besides keeping the ruler amused, it was a way to solidify the hierarchy of royalty, nobility, and the upper classes, and to keep the nobility both subordinate and close to the ruler, so that he could keep an eye on them. The court serves power in many ways, but most of all it glorifies the ruler, providing him with a microcosmic world that must struggle to please him.

To be a courtier was a dangerous game. A nineteenth-century Arab traveler to the court of Darfur, in what is now Sudan, reported that courtiers there had to do whatever the sultan did: If he were injured, they had to suffer the same injury; if he fell off his horse during a hunt, they fell, too. Mimicry like this appeared in courts all over the world. More troublesome was the danger of displeasing the ruler—one wrong move spelled death or exile. The successful courtier had to walk a tightrope, pleasing but not pleasing too much, obeying but somehow distinguishing himself from the other courtiers, while also never distinguishing himself so far as to make the ruler insecure.

Great courtiers throughout history have mastered the science of manipulating people. They make the king feel more kingly; they make everyone else fear their power. They are magicians of appearance, knowing that most things at court are judged by how they seem. Great courtiers are gracious and polite; their aggression is veiled and indirect.

Masters of the word, they never say more than necessary, getting the most out of a compliment or hidden insult. They are magnets of pleasure—people want to be around them because they know how to please, yet they neither fawn nor humiliate themselves. Great courtiers become the king’s favorites, enjoying the benefits of that position. They often end up more powerful than the ruler, for they are wizards in the accumulation of influence.

Many today dismiss court life as a relic of the past, a historical curiosity. They reason, according to Machiavelli, “as though heaven, the sun, the elements, and men had changed the order of their motions and power, and were different from what they were in ancient times.” There may be no more Sun Kings but there are still plenty of people who believe the sun revolves around them. The royal court may have more or less disappeared, or at least lost its power, but courts and courtiers still exist because power still exists. A courtier is rarely asked to fall off a horse anymore, but the laws that govern court politics are as timeless as the laws of power. There is much to be learned, then, from great courtiers past and present.

THE TWO DOGS

Barbos, the faithful yard-dog who serves his master zealously, happens to see his old acquaintance Joujou, the curly lapdog, seated at the window on a soft down cushion. 

Sidling fondly up to her, like a child to a parent, he all but weeps with emotion; and there, under the window. he whines, wags his tail, and bounds about.

“What sort of life do you lead now, Joujoutka, ever since the master took you into his mansion?

You remember, no doubt, how we often used to suffer hunger out in the yard. What is your present service like?


“It would be a sin in me to murmur against my good fortune, ” answers Joujoutka.

“My master cannot make enough of me. I live amidst riches and plenty, and I eat and drink off silver. I frolic with the master, and, if I get tired, I take my ease on carpets or on a soft couch.

And how do you get on?” “I?” replies Barbos, letting his tail dangle like a whip, and hanging his head.

“I live as I used to do. I suffer from cold and hunger; and here, while guarding my master’s house, I have to sleep at the foot of the wall, and I get drenched in the rain.

And if I bark at the wrong time, I am whipped. But how did you, Joujou, who were so small and weak, get taken into favor, while I jump out of my skin to no purpose?


What is it you do?” “‘What is it you do?’ A pretty question to ask!” replied Joujou, mockingly. “I walk upon my hind legs.”

FABLES, IVAN KRILOFF, 1768-1844

THE LAWS OF COURT POLITICS

Avoid Ostentation. It is never prudent to prattle on about yourself or call too much attention to your actions. The more you talk about your deeds the more suspicion you cause. You also stir up enough envy among your peers to induce treachery and backstabbing. Be careful, ever so careful, in trumpeting your own achievements, and always talk less about yourself than about other people. Modesty is generally preferable.

Practice Nonchalance. Never seem to be working too hard. Your talent must appear to flow naturally, with an ease that makes people take you for a genius rather than a workaholic. Even when something demands a lot of sweat, make it look effortless— people prefer to not see your blood and toil, which is another form of ostentation. It is better for them to marvel at how gracefully you have achieved your accomplishment than to wonder why it took so much work.

Be Frugal with Flattery. It may seem that your superiors cannot get enough flattery, but too much of even a good thing loses its value. It also stirs up suspicion among your peers. Learn to flatter indirectly—by downplaying your own contribution, for example, to make your master look better.

It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and wilful incivility, is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a counteran avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy. A sensible man will be generous in the use of it.... Wax, a substance naturally hard and brittle, can be made soft by the application of a little warmth, so that it will take any shape you please. In the same way, by being polite and friendly, you can make people pliable and obliging, even though they are apt to be crabbed and malevolent. Hence politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860

Arrange to Be Noticed. There is a paradox: You cannot display yourself too brazenly, yet you must also get yourself noticed. In the court of Louis XIV, whoever the king decided to look at rose instantly in the court hierarchy. You stand no chance of rising if the ruler does not notice you in the swamp of courtiers. This task requires much art. It is often initially a matter of being seen, in the literal sense. Pay attention to your physical appearance, then, and find a way to create a distinctive—a subtly distinctive—style and image.

Alter Your Style and Language According to the Person You Are Dealing With. The pseudo-belief in equality—the idea that talking and acting the same way with everyone, no matter what their rank, makes you somehow a paragon of civilization—is a terrible mistake. Those below you will take it as a form of condescension, which it is, and those above you will be offended, although they may not admit it. You must change your style and your way of speaking to suit each person. This is not lying, it is acting, and acting is an art, not a gift from God. Learn the art. This is also true for the great variety of cultures found in the modern court: Never assume that your criteria of behavior and judgment are universal. Not only is an inability to adapt to another culture the height of barbarism, it puts you at a disadvantage.

Never Be the Bearer of Bad News. The king kills the messenger who brings bad news: This is a cliche but there is truth to it. You must struggle and if necessary lie and cheat to be sure that the lot of the bearer of bad news falls on a colleague, never on you. Bring only good news and your approach will gladden your master.

Never Affect Friendliness and Intimacy with Your Master. He does not want a friend for a subordinate, he wants a subordinate. Never approach him in an easy, friendly way, or act as if you are on the best of terms—that is his prerogative. If he chooses to deal with you on this level, assume a wary chumminess. Otherwise err in the opposite direction, and make the distance between you clear.

Never Criticize Those Above You Directly. This may seem obvious, but there are often times when some sort of criticism is necessary—to say nothing, or to give no advice, would open you to risks of another sort. You must learn, however, to couch your advice and criticism as indirectly and as politely as possible. Think twice, or three times, before deciding you have made them sufficiently circuitous. Err on the side of subtlety and gentleness.

Be Frugal in Asking Those Above You for Favors. Nothing irritates a master more than having to reject someone’s request. It stirs up guilt and resentment. Ask for favors as rarely as possible, and know when to stop. Rather than making yourself the supplicant, it is always better to earn your favors, so that the ruler bestows them willingly. Most important: Do not ask for favors on another person’s behalf, least of all a friend’s.

Never Joke About Appearances or Taste. A lively wit and a humorous disposition are essential qualities for a good courtier, and there are times when vulgarity is appropriate and engaging. But avoid any kind of joke about appearance or taste, two highly sensitive areas, especially with those above you. Do not even try it when you are away from them. You will dig your own grave.

Do Not Be the Court Cynic. Express admiration for the good work of others. If you constantly criticize your equals or subordinates some of that criticism will rub off on you, hovering over you like a gray cloud wherever you go. People will groan at each new cynical comment, and you will irritate them. By expressing modest admiration for other people’s achievements, you paradoxically call attention to your own. The ability to express wonder and amazement, and seem like you mean it, is a rare and dying talent, but one still greatly valued.

Be Self-observant. The mirror is a miraculous invention; without it you would commit great sins against beauty and decorum. You also need a mirror for your actions. This can sometimes come from other people telling you what they see in you, but that is not the most trustworthy method: You must be the mirror, training your mind to try to see yourself as others see you. Are you acting too obsequious? Are you trying too hard to please? Do you seem desperate for attention, giving the impression that you are on the decline? Be observant about yourself and you will avoid a mountain of blunders.

Master Your Emotions. As an actor in a great play, you must learn to cry and laugh on command and when it is appropriate. You must be able both to disguise your anger and frustration and to fake your contentment and agreement. You must be the master of your own face. Call it lying if you like; but if you prefer to not play the game and to always be honest and upfront, do not complain when others call you obnoxious and arrogant.

Fit the Spirit of the Times. A slight affectation of a past era can be charming, as long as you choose a period at least twenty years back; wearing the fashions of ten years ago is ludicrous, unless you enjoy the role of court jester. Your spirit and way of thinking must keep up with the times, even if the times offend your sensibilities. Be too forward- thinking, however, and no one will understand you. It is never a good idea to stand out too much in this area; you are best off at least being able to mimic the spirit of the times.

Be a Source of Pleasure. This is critical. It is an obvious law of human nature that we will flee what is unpleasant and distasteful, while charm and the promise of delight will draw us like moths to a flame. Make yourself the flame and you will rise to the top. Since life is otherwise so full of unpleasantness and pleasure so scarce, you will be as indispensable as food and drink. This may seem obvious, but what is obvious is often ignored or unappreciated. There are degrees to this: Not everyone can play the role of favorite, for not everyone is blessed with charm and wit. But we can all control our unpleasant qualities and obscure them when necessary.

A man who knows the court is master of his gestures, of his eyes and of his face; he is profound, impenetrable; he dissimulates bad offices, smiles at his enemies, controls his irritation, disguises his passions, belies his heart, speaks and acts against his feelings.

Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696

SCENES OF COURT LIFE: Exemplary Deeds and Fatal Mistakes

Scene I

Alexander the Great, conqueror of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East through to India, had had the great Aristotle as his tutor and mentor, and throughout his short life he remained devoted to philosophy and his master’s teachings. He once complained to Aristotle that during his long campaigns he had no one with whom he could discuss philosophical matters. Aristotle responded by suggesting that he take Callisthenes, a former pupil of Aristotle’s and a promising philosopher in his own right, along on the next campaign.

Aristotle had schooled Callisthenes in the skills of being a courtier, but the young man secretly scoffed at them. He believed in pure philosophy, in unadorned words, in speaking the naked truth. If Alexander loved learning so much, Callisthenes thought, he could not object to one who spoke his mind. During one of Alexander’s major campaigns, Callisthenes spoke his mind one too many times and Alexander had him put to death.

Interpretation

In court, honesty is a fool’s game. Never be so self-absorbed as to believe that the master is interested in your criticisms of him, no matter how accurate they are.

Scene II

Beginning in the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago, Chinese scholars compiled a series of writings called the 21 Histories, an official biography of each dynasty, including stories, statistics, census figures, and war chronicles. Each history also contained a chapter called “Unusual Events,” and here, among the listings of earthquakes and floods, there would sometimes suddenly appear descriptions of such bizarre manifestations as two-headed sheep, geese flying backward, stars suddenly appearing in different parts of the sky, and so on. The earthquakes could be historically verified, but the monsters and weird natural phenomena were clearly inserted on purpose, and invariably occurred in clusters. What could this mean?

The Chinese emperor was considered more than a man—he was a force of nature. His kingdom was the center of the universe, and everything revolved around him. He embodied the world’s perfection. To criticize him or any of his actions would have been to criticize the divine order. No minister or courtier dared approach the emperor with even the slightest cautionary word. But emperors were fallible and the kingdom suffered greatly by their mistakes. Inserting sightings of strange phenomena into the court chronicles was the only way to warn them. The emperor would read of geese flying backward and moons out of orbit, and realize that he was being cautioned. His actions were unbalancing the universe and needed to change.

Interpretation

For Chinese courtiers, the problem of how to give the emperor advice was an important issue. Over the years, thousands of them had died trying to warn or counsel their master. To be made safely, their criticisms had to be indirect—yet if they were too indirect they would not be heeded. The chronicles were their solution: Identify no one person as the source of criticism, make the advice as impersonal as possible, but let the emperor know the gravity of the situation.

Your master is no longer the center of the universe, but he still imagines that everything revolves around him. When you criticize him he sees the person criticizing, not the criticism itself. Like the Chinese courtiers, you must find a way to disappear behind the warning. Use symbols and other indirect methods to paint a picture of the problems to come, without putting your neck on the line.

Scene III

Early in his career, the French architect Jules Mansart received commissions to design minor additions to Versailles for King Louis XIV. For each design he would draw up his plans, making sure they followed Louis’s instructions closely. He would then present them to His Majesty.

The courtier Saint-Simon described Mansart’s technique in dealing with the king: “His particular skill was to show the king plans that purposely included something imperfect about them, often dealing with the gardens, which were not Mansart’s specialty. The king, as Mansart expected, would put his finger exactly on the problem and propose how to solve it, at which point Mansart would exclaim for all to hear that he would never have seen the problem that the king had so masterfully found and solved; he would burst with admiration, confessing that next to the king he was but a lowly pupil.” At the age of thirty, having used these methods time and time again, Mansart received a prestigious royal commission: Although he was less talented and experienced than a number of other French designers, he was to take charge of the enlargement of Versailles. He was the king’s architect from then on.

Interpretation

As a young man, Mansart had seen how many royal craftsmen in the service of Louis XIV had lost their positions not through a lack of talent but through a costly social blunder. He would not make that mistake. Mansart always strove to make Louis feel better about himself, to feed the king’s vanity as publicly as possible.

Never imagine that skill and talent are all that matter. In court the courtier’s art is more important than his talent; never spend so much time on your studies that you neglect your social skills. And the greatest skill of all is the ability to make the master look more talented than those around him.

Scene IV

Jean-Baptiste Isabey had become the unofficial painter of the Napoleonic court. During the Congress of Vienna in 1814, after Napoleon, defeated, had been imprisoned on the island of Elba, the participants in these meetings, which were to decide the fate of Europe, invited Isabey to immortalize the historic events in an epic painting.

When Isabey arrived in Vienna, Talleyrand, the main negotiator for the French, paid the artist a visit. Considering his role in the proceedings, the statesman explained, he expected to occupy center stage in the painting. Isabey cordially agreed. A few days later the Duke of Wellington, the main negotiator for the English, also approached Isabey, and said much the same thing that Talleyrand had. The ever polite Isabey agreed that the great duke should indeed be the center of attention.

Back in his studio, Isabey pondered the dilemma. If he gave the spotlight to either of the two men, he could create a diplomatic rift, stirring up all sorts of resentment at a time when peace and concord were critical. When the painting was finally unveiled, however, both Talleyrand and Wellington felt honored and satisfied. The work depicts a large hall filled with diplomats and politicians from all over Europe. On one side the Duke of Wellington enters the room, and all eyes are turned toward him; he is the “center” of attention. In the very center of the painting, meanwhile, sits Talleyrand.

Interpretation

It is often very difficult to satisfy the master, but to satisfy two masters in one stroke takes the genius of a great courtier. Such predicaments are common in the life of a courtier: By giving attention to one master, he displeases another. You must find a way to navigate this Scylla and Charybdis safely. Masters must receive their due; never inadvertently stir up the resentment of one in pleasing another.

Scene V

George Brummell, also known as Beau Brummell, made his mark in the late 1700s by the supreme elegance of his appearance, his popularization of shoe buckles (soon imitated by all the dandies), and his clever way with words. His London house was the fashionable spot in town, and Brummell was the authority on all matters of fashion. If he disliked your footwear, you immediately got rid of it and bought whatever he was wearing. He perfected the art of tying a cravat; Lord Byron was said to spend many a night in front of the mirror trying to figure out the secret behind Brummell’s perfect knots.

One of Brummell’s greatest admirers was the Prince of Wales, who fancied himself a fashionable young man. Becoming attached to the prince’s court (and provided with a royal pension), Brummell was soon so sure of his own authority there that he took to joking about the prince’s weight, referring to his host as Big Ben. Since trimness of figure was an important quality for a dandy, this was a withering criticism. At dinner once, when the service was slow, Brummell said to the prince, “Do ring, Big Ben.” The prince rang, but when the valet arrived he ordered the man to show Brummell the door and never admit him again.

Despite falling into the prince’s disfavor, Brummell continued to treat everyone around him with the same arrogance. Without the Prince of Wales’ patronage to support him, he sank into horrible debt, but he maintained his insolent manners, and everyone soon abandoned him. He died in the most pitiable poverty, alone and deranged.

Interpretation

Beau Brummell’s devastating wit was one of the qualities that endeared him to the Prince of Wales. But not even he, the arbiter of taste and fashion, could get away with a joke about the prince’s appearance, least of all to his face. Never joke about a person’s plumpness, even indirectly—and particularly when he is your master. The poorhouses of history are filled with people who have made such jokes at their master’s expense.

Scene VI

Pope Urban VIII wanted to be remembered for his skills in writing poetry, which unfortunately were mediocre at best. In 1629 Duke Francesco d‘Este, knowing the pope’s literary pretensions, sent the poet Fulvio Testi as his ambassador to the Vatican. One of Testi’s letters to the duke reveals why he was chosen: “Once our discussion was over, I kneeled to depart, but His Holiness made a signal and walked to another room where he sleeps, and after reaching a small table, he grabbed a bundle of papers and thus, turning to me with a smiling face, he said: ‘We want Your Lordship to listen to some of our compositions.’ And, in fact, he read me two very long Pindaric poems, one in praise of the most holy Virgin, and the other one about Countess Matilde.”

We do not know exactly what Testi thought of these very long poems, since it would have been dangerous for him to state his opinion freely, even in a letter. But he went on to write, “I, following the mood, commented on each line with the needed praise, and, after having kissed His Holiness’s foot for such an unusual sign of benevolence [the reading of the poetry], I left.” Weeks later, when the duke himself visited the pope, he managed to recite entire verses of the pope’s poetry and praised it enough to make the pope “so jubilant he seemed to lose his mind.”

Interpretation

In matters of taste you can never be too obsequious with your master. Taste is one of the ego’s prickliest parts; never impugn or question the master’s taste—his poetry is sublime, his dress impeccable, and his manner the model for all.

Scene VII

One afternoon in ancient China, Chao, ruler of Han from 358 to 333 B.C., got drunk and fell asleep in the palace gardens. The court crown-keeper, whose sole task was to look after the ruler’s head apparel, passed through the gardens and saw his master sleeping without a coat. Since it was getting cold, the crown-keeper placed his own coat over the ruler, and left.

When Chao awoke and saw the coat upon him, he asked his attendants, “Who put more clothes on my body?” “The crown-keeper,” they replied. The ruler immediately called for his official coat-keeper and had him punished for neglecting his duties. He also called for the crown-keeper, whom he had beheaded.

Interpretation

Do not overstep your bounds. Do what you are assigned to do, to the best of your abilities, and never do more. To think that by doing more you are doing better is a common blunder. It is never good to seem to be trying too hard—it is as if you were covering up some deficiency. Fulfilling a task that has not been asked of you just makes people suspicious. If you are a crown-keeper, be a crown-keeper. Save your excess energy for when you are not in the court.

Scene VIII

One day, for amusement, the Italian Renaissance painter Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469) and some friends went sailing in a small boat off Ancona. There they were captured by two Moorish galleys, which hauled them off in chains to Barbary, where they were sold as slaves. For eighteen long months Filippo toiled with no hope of returning to Italy.

On several occasions Filippo saw the man who had bought him pass by, and one day he decided to sketch this man’s portrait, using burnt coal—charcoal—from the fire. Still in his chains, he found a white wall, where he drew a full-length likeness of his owner in Moorish clothing. The owner soon heard about this, for no one had seen such skill in drawing before in these parts; it seemed like a miracle, a gift from God. The drawing so pleased the owner that he instantly gave Filippo his freedom and employed him in his court. All the big men on the Barbary coast came to see the magnificent color portraits that Fra Filippo then proceeded to do, and finally, in gratitude for the honor in this way brought upon him, Filippo’s owner returned the artist safely to Italy.

Interpretation

We who toil for other people have all in some way been captured by pirates and sold into slavery. But like Fra Filippo (if to a lesser degree), most of us possess some gift, some talent, an ability to do something better than other people. Make your master a gift of your talents and you will rise above other courtiers. Let him take the credit if necessary, it will only be temporary: Use him as a stepping stone, a way of displaying your talent and eventually buying your freedom from enslavement.

Scene IX

Alfonso I of Aragon once had a servant who told the king that the night before he had had a dream: Alfonso had given him a gift of weapons, horses, and clothes. Alfonso, a generous, lordly man, decided it would be amusing to make this dream come true, and promptly gave the servant exactly these gifts.

A little while later, the same servant announced to Alfonso that he had had yet another dream, and in this one Alfonso had given him a considerable pile of gold florins. The king smiled and said, “Don’t believe in dreams from now on; they lie.”

Interpretation

In his treatment of the servant’s first dream, Alfonso remained in control. By making a dream come true, he claimed a godlike power for himself, if in a mild and humorous way. In the second dream, however, all appearance of magic was gone; this was nothing but an ugly con game on the servant’s part. Never ask for too much, then, and know when to stop. It is the master’s prerogative to give—to give when he wants and what he wants, and to do so without prompting. Do not give him the chance to reject your requests. Better to win favors by deserving them, so that they are bestowed without your asking.

Scene X

The great English landscape painter J. M. W Turner (1775-1851) was known for his use of color, which he applied with a brilliance and a strange iridescence. The color in his paintings was so striking, in fact, that other artists never wanted his work hung next to theirs: It inevitably made everything around it seem dull.

The painter Sir Thomas Lawrence once had the misfortune of seeing Turner’s masterpiece Cologne hanging in an exhibition between two works of his own. Lawrence complained bitterly to the gallery owner, who gave him no satisfaction: After all, someone’s paintings had to hang next to Turner’s. But Turner heard of Lawrence’s complaint, and before the exhibition opened, he toned down the brilliant golden sky in Cologne, making it as dull as the colors in Lawrence’s works. A friend of Turner’s who saw the painting approached the artist with a horrified look: “What have you done to your picture!” he said. “Well, poor Lawrence was so unhappy,” Turner replied, “and it’s only lampblack. It’ll wash off after the exhibition.”

Interpretation

Many of a courtier’s anxieties have to do with the master, with whom most dangers lie.

Yet it is a mistake to imagine that the master is the only one to determine your fate. Your equals and subordinates play integral parts also. A court is a vast stew of resentments, fears, and powerful envy. You have to placate everyone who might someday harm you, deflecting their resentment and envy and diverting their hostility onto other people.

Turner, eminent courtier, knew that his good fortune and fame depended on his fellow painters as well as on his dealers and patrons. How many of the great have been felled by envious colleagues! Better temporarily to dull your brilliance than to suffer the slings and arrows of envy.

Scene XI

Winston Churchill was an amateur artist, and after World War II his paintings became collector’s items. The American publisher Henry Luce, in fact, creator of Time and Life magazines, kept one of Churchill’s landscapes hanging in his private office in New York.

On a tour through the United States once, Churchill visited Luce in his office, and the two men looked at the painting together. The publisher remarked, “It’s a good picture, but I think it needs something in the foreground—a sheep, perhaps.” Much to Luce’s horror, Churchill’s secretary called the publisher the next day and asked him to have the painting sent to England. Luce did so, mortified that he had perhaps offended the former prime minister. A few days later, however, the painting was shipped back, but slightly altered: a single sheep now grazed peacefully in the foreground.

Interpretation

In stature and fame, Churchill stood head and shoulders above Luce, but Luce was certainly a man of power, so let us imagine a slight equality between them. Still, what did Churchill have to fear from an American publisher? Why bow to the criticism of a dilettante?

A court—in this case the entire world of diplomats and international statesmen, and also of the journalists who court them—is a place of mutual dependence. It is unwise to insult or offend the taste of people of power, even if they are below or equal to you. If a man like Churchill can swallow the criticisms of a man like Luce, he proves himself a courtier without peer. (Perhaps his correction of the painting implied a certain condescension as well, but he did it so subtly that Luce did not perceive any slight.) Imitate Churchill: Put in the sheep. It is always beneficial to play the obliging courtier, even when you are not serving a master.

THE DELICATE GAME OF COURTIERSHIP: A Warning

Talleyrand was the consummate courtier, especially in serving his master Napoleon. When the two men were first getting to know each other, Napoleon once said in passing, “I shall come to lunch at your house one of these days.” Talleyrand had a house at Auteuil, in the suburbs of Paris. “I should be delighted, mon général,” the minister replied, “and since my house is close to the Bois de Boulogne, you will be able to amuse yourself with a bit of shooting in the afternoon.”

“I do not like shooting,” said Napoleon, “But I love hunting. Are there any boars in the Bois de Boulogne?” Napoleon came from Corsica, where boar hunting was a great sport. By asking if there were boars in a Paris park, he showed himself still a provincial, almost a rube. Talleyrand did not laugh, however, but he could not resist a practical joke on the man who was now his master in politics, although not in blood and nobility, since Talleyrand came from an old aristocratic family. To Napoleon’s question, then, he simply replied, “Very few, mon général, but I dare say you will manage to find one.”

It was arranged that Napoleon would arrive at Talleyrand’s house the following day at seven A.M. and would spend the morning there. The “boar hunt” would take place in the afternoon. Throughout the morning the excited general talked nothing but boar hunting. Meanwhile, Talleyrand secretly had his servants go to the market, buy two enormous black pigs, and take them to the great park.

After lunch, the hunters and their hounds set off for the Bois de Boulogne. At a secret signal from Talleyrand, the servants loosed one of the pigs. “I see a boar,” Napoleon cried joyfully, jumping onto his horse to give chase. Talleyrand stayed behind. It took half an hour of galloping through the park before the “boar” was finally captured. At the moment of triumph, however, Napoleon was approached by one of his aides, who knew the creature could not possibly be a boar, and feared the general would be ridiculed once the story got out: “Sir,” he told Napoleon, “you realize of course that this is not a boar but a pig.”

Flying into a rage, Napoleon immediately set off at a gallop for Talleyrand’s house. He realized along the way that he would now be the butt of many a joke, and that exploding at Talleyrand would only make him more ridiculous; it would be better to make a show of good humor. Still, he did not hide his displeasure well.

Talleyrand decided to try to soothe the general’s bruised ego. He told Napoleon not to go back to Paris yet—he should again go hunting in the park. There were many rabbits there, and hunting them had been a favorite pastime of Louis XVI. Talleyrand even offered to let Napoleon use a set of guns that had once belonged to Louis. With much flattery and cajolery, he once again got Napoleon to agree to a hunt.

The party left for the park in the late afternoon. Along the way, Napoleon told Talleyrand, “I’m not Louis XVI, I surely won’t kill even one rabbit.” Yet that afternoon, strangely enough, the park was teeming with rabbits. Napoleon killed at least fifty of them, and his mood changed from anger to satisfaction. At the end of his wild shooting spree, however, the same aide approached him and whispered in his ear, “To tell the truth, sir, I am beginning to believe these are not wild rabbits. I suspect that rascal Talleyrand has played another joke on us.” (The aide was right: Talleyrand had in fact sent his servants back to the market, where they had purchased dozens of rabbits and then had released them in the Bois de Boulogne.)

Napoleon immediately mounted his horse and galloped away, this time returning straight to Paris. He later threatened Talleyrand, warned him not to tell a soul what had happened; if he became the laughingstock of Paris, there would be hell to pay.

It took months for Napoleon to be able to trust Talleyrand again, and he never totally forgave him his humiliation.

Interpretation

Courtiers are like magicians: They deceptively play with appearances, only letting those around them see what they want them to see. With so much deception and manipulation afoot, it is essential to keep people from seeing your tricks and glimpsing your sleight of hand.

Talleyrand was normally the Grand Wizard of Courtiership, and but for Napoleon’s aide, he probably would have gotten away completely with both pleasing his master and having a joke at the general’s expense. But courtiership is a subtle art, and overlooked traps and inadvertent mistakes can ruin your best tricks. Never risk being caught in your maneuvers; never let people see your devices. If that happens you instantly pass in people’s perceptions from a courtier of great manners to a loathsome rogue. It is a delicate game you play; apply the utmost attention to covering your tracks, and never let your master unmask you.

Conclusion

Do not be in error to think that couriers are a thing of the past. They exist. And the only way that can accurately explain the strange behaviors in Washington DC these days. But you do not need to be a courier to a royal family or a leader to be effective. Anytime you are subservient to another, by position, or career, you must be forced to play the role of a courier. Be advised.

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Law 34 of the 48 Laws of Power; Be royal in your own fashion: act like a king to be treated like one

This is law 34 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.

LAW 34

BE ROYAL IN YOUR OWN FASHION: ACT LIKE A KING TO BE TREATED LIKE ONE

JUDGMENT

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In July of 1830, a revolution broke out in Paris that forced the king, Charles X, to abdicate. A commission of the highest authorities in the land gathered to choose a successor, and the man they picked was Louis-Philippe, the Duke of Orléans.

From the beginning it was clear that Louis-Philippe would be a different kind of king, and not just because he came from a different branch of the royal family, or because he had not inherited the crown but had been given it, by a commission, putting his legitimacy in question. Rather it was that he disliked ceremony and the trappings of royalty; he had more friends among the bankers than among the nobility; and his style was not to create a new kind of royal rule, as Napoleon had done, but to downplay his status, the better to mix with the businessmen and middle-class folk who had called him to lead. Thus the symbols that came to be associated with Louis-Philippe were neither the scepter nor the crown, but the gray hat and umbrella with which he would proudly walk the streets of Paris, as if he were a bourgeois out for a stroll. When Louis-Philippe invited James Rothschild, the most important banker in France, to his palace, he treated him as an equal. And unlike any king before him, not only did he talk business with Monsieur Rothschild but that was literally all he talked, for he loved money and had amassed a huge fortune.

As the reign of the “bourgeois king” plodded on, people came to despise him. The aristocracy could not endure the sight of an unkingly king, and within a few years they turned on him. Meanwhile the growing class of the poor, including the radicals who had chased out Charles X, found no satisfaction in a ruler who neither acted as a king nor governed as a man of the people. The bankers to whom Louis-Philippe was the most beholden soon realized that it was they who controlled the country, not he, and they treated him with growing contempt. One day, at the start of a train trip organized for the royal family, James Rothschild actually berated him—and in public—for being late. Once the king had made news by treating the banker as an equal; now the banker treated the king as an inferior.

Eventually the workers’ insurrections that had brought down Louis-Philippe’s predecessor began to reemerge, and the king put them down with force. But what was he defending so brutally? Not the institution of the monarchy, which he disdained, nor a democratic republic, which his rule prevented. What he was really defending, it seemed, was his own fortune, and the fortunes of the bankers—not a way to inspire loyalty among the citizenry.

Never lose your self-respect, nor be too familiar with yourself when you are alone. Let your integrity itself be your own standard of rectitude, and be more indebted to the severity of your own judgment of yourself than to all external precepts. Desist from unseemly conduct, rather out of respect for your own virtue than for the strictures of external authority. Come to hold yourself in awe, and you will have no need of Seneca’s imaginary tittor.

BALIASAR GRACIAN. 1601-1658

In early 1848, Frenchmen of all classes began to demonstrate for electoral reforms that would make the country truly democratic. By February the demonstrations had turned violent. To assuage the populace, Louis-Philippe fired his prime minister and appointed a liberal as a replacement. But this created the opposite of the desired effect: The people sensed they could push the king around. The demonstrations turned into a full-fledged revolution, with gunfire and barricades in the streets.

On the night of February 23, a crowd of Parisians surrounded the palace. With a suddenness that caught everyone by surprise, Louis-Philippe abdicated that very evening and fled to England. He left no successor, nor even the suggestion of one—his whole government folded up and dissolved like a traveling circus leaving town.

Interpretation

Louis-Philippe consciously dissolved the aura that naturally pertains to kings and leaders. Scoffing at the symbolism of grandeur, he believed a new world was dawning, where rulers should act and be like ordinary citizens. He was right: A new world, without kings and queens, was certainly on its way. He was profoundly wrong, however, in predicting a change in the dynamics of power.

The bourgeois king’s hat and umbrella amused the French at first, but soon grew irritating. People knew that Louis-Philippe was not really like them at all—that the hat and umbrella were essentially a kind of trick to encourage them in the fantasy that the country had suddenly grown more equal. Actually, though, the divisions of wealth had never been greater. The French expected their ruler to be a bit of a showman, to have some presence. Even a radical like Robespierre, who had briefly come to power during the French Revolution fifty years earlier, had understood this, and certainly Napoleon, who had turned the revolutionary republic into an imperial regime, had known it in his bones. Indeed as soon as Louis-Philippe fled the stage, the French revealed their true desire: They elected Napoleon’s grand-nephew president. He was a virtual unknown, but they hoped he would re-create the great general’s powerful aura, erasing the awkward memory of the “bourgeois king.”

Powerful people may be tempted to affect a common-man aura, trying to create the illusion that they and their subjects or underlings are basically the same. But the people whom this false gesture is intended to impress will quickly see through it. They understand that they are not being given more power—that it only appears as if they shared in the powerful person’s fate. The only kind of common touch that works is the kind affected by Franklin Roosevelt, a style that said the president shared values and goals with the common people even while he remained a patrician at heart. He never pretended to erase his distance from the crowd.

Leaders who try to dissolve that distance through a false chumminess gradually lose the ability to inspire loyalty, fear, or love. Instead they elicit contempt. Like Louis- Philippe, they are too uninspiring even to be worth the guillotine—the best they can do is simply vanish in the night, as if they were never there.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

When Christopher Columbus was trying to find funding for his legendary voyages, many around him believed he came from the Italian aristocracy. This view was passed into history through a biography written after the explorer’s death by his son, which describes him as a descendant of a Count Colombo of the Castle of Cuccaro in Montferrat. Colombo in turn was said to be descended from the legendary Roman general Colonius, and two of his first cousins were supposedly direct descendants of an emperor of Constantinople. An illustrious background indeed. But it was nothing more than illustrious fantasy, for Columbus was actually the son of Domenico Colombo, a humble weaver who had opened a wine shop when Christopher was a young man, and who then made his living by selling cheese.

Columbus himself had created the myth of his noble background, because from early on he felt that destiny had singled him out for great things, and that he had a kind of royalty in his blood. Accordingly he acted as if he were indeed descended from noble stock. After an uneventful career as a merchant on a commercial vessel, Columbus, originally from Genoa, settled in Lisbon. Using the fabricated story of his noble background, he married into an established Lisbon family that had excellent connections with Portuguese royalty.

Through his in-laws, Columbus finagled a meeting with the king of Portugal, Joao II, whom he petitioned to finance a westward voyage aimed at discovering a shorter route to Asia. In return for announcing that any discoveries he achieved would be made in the king’s name, Columbus wanted a series of rights: the title Grand Admiral of the Oceanic Sea; the office of viceroy over any lands he found; and 10 percent of the future commerce with such lands. All of these rights were to be hereditary and for all time. Columbus made these demands even though he had previously been a mere merchant, he knew almost nothing about navigation, he could not work a quadrant, and he had never led a group of men. In short he had absolutely no qualifications for the journey he proposed. Furthermore, his petition included no details as to how he would accomplish his plans, just vague promises.

When Columbus finished his pitch, João II smiled: He politely declined the offer, but left the door open for the future. Here Columbus must have noticed something he would never forget: Even as the king turned down the sailor’s demands, he treated them as legitimate. He neither laughed at Columbus nor questioned his background and credentials. In fact the king was impressed by the boldness of Columbus’s requests, and clearly felt comfortable in the company of a man who acted so confidently. The meeting must have convinced Columbus that his instincts were correct: By asking for the moon, he had instantly raised his own status, for the king assumed that unless a man who set such a high price on himself were mad, which Columbus did not appear to be, he must somehow be worth it.

Herodotus

In the next generation the family became much more famous than before through the distinction conferred upon it by Cleisthenes the master of Sicyon. Cleisthenes... had a daughter, Agarista, whom he wished to marry to the best man in all Greece. So during the Olympic games, in which he had himself won the chariot race, he had a public announcement made, to the effect that any Greek who thought himself good enough to become Cleisthenes’ son-in-law should present himself in Sicyon within sixty daysor sooner if he wishedbecause he intended, within the year following the sixtieth day, to betroth his daughter to her future husband. Cleisthenes had had a race-track and a wrestling-ring specially made for his purpose, and presently the suitors began to arrive—every man of Greek nationality who had something to be proud of either in his country or in himself.... Cleisthenes began by asking each [of the numerous suitors] in turn to name his country and parentage; then he kept them in his house for a year, to get to know them well, entering into conversation with them sometimes singly, sometimes all together, and testing each of them for his manly qualities and temper, education and manners.... But the most important test of all was their behaviour at the dinner-table. All this went on throughout their stay in Sicyon, and all the time he entertained them handsomely. For one reason or another it was the two Athenians who impressed Cleisthenes most favourably, and of the two Tisander’s son Hippocleides came to be preferred.... At last the day came which had been fixed for the betrothal, and Cleisthenes had to declare his choice. He marked the day by the sacrifice of a hundred oxen, and then gave a great banquet, to which not only the suitors but everyone of note in Sicyon was invited. When dinner was over, the suitors began to compete with each other in music and in talking in company. In both these accomplishments it was Hippocleides who proved by far the doughtiest champion, until at last, as more and more wine was drunk, he asked the flute-player to play him a tune and began to dance to it. Now it may well be that he danced to his own satisfaction; Cleisthenes, however, who was watching the performance, began to have serious doubts about the whole business. Presently, after a brief pause, Hippocleides sent for a table; the table was brought, and Hippocleides, climbing on to it, danced first some Laconian dances, next some Attic ones, and ended by standing on his head and beating time with his legs in the air The Laconian and Attic dances were bad enough; but Cleisthenes, though he already loathed the thought of having a son-in-law like that, nevertheless restrained himself and managed to avoid an outburst; but when he saw Hippocleides beating time with his legs, he could bear it no longer. “Son of Tisander, ”he cried, “you have danced away your marriage. ”

THE HISTORIES, Herodotus, FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

A few years later Columbus moved to Spain. Using his Portuguese connections, he moved in elevated circles at the Spanish court, receiving subsidies from illustrious financiers and sharing tables with dukes and princes. To all these men he repeated his request for financing for a voyage to the west—and also for the rights he had demanded from João II. Some, such as the powerful duke of Medina, wanted to help, but could not, since they lacked the power to grant him the titles and rights he wanted. But Columbus would not back down. He soon realized that only one person could meet his demands: Queen Isabella. In 1487 he finally managed a meeting with the queen, and although he could not convince her to finance the voyage, he completely charmed her, and became a frequent guest in the palace.

In 1492 the Spanish finally expelled the Moorish invaders who centuries earlier had seized parts of the country. With the wartime burden on her treasury lifted, Isabella felt she could finally respond to the demands of her explorer friend, and she decided to pay for three ships, equipment, the salaries of the crews, and a modest stipend for Columbus. More important, she had a contract drawn up that granted Columbus the titles and rights on which he had insisted. The only one she denied—and only in the contract’s fine print—was the 10 percent of all revenues from any lands discovered: an absurd demand, since he wanted no time limit on it. (Had the clause been left in, it would eventually have made Columbus and his heirs the wealthiest family on the planet. Columbus never read the fine print.)

Satisfied that his demands had been met, Columbus set sail that same year in search of the passage to Asia. (Before he left he was careful to hire the best navigator he could find to help him get there.) The mission failed to find such a passage, yet when Columbus petitioned the queen to finance an even more ambitious voyage the following year, she agreed. By then she had come to see Columbus as destined for great things.

Interpretation

As an explorer Columbus was mediocre at best. He knew less about the sea than did the average sailor on his ships, could never determine the latitude and longitude of his discoveries, mistook islands for vast continents, and treated his crew badly. But in one area he was a genius: He knew how to sell himself How else to explain how the son of a cheese vendor, a low-level sea merchant, managed to ingratiate himself with the highest royal and aristocratic families?

Columbus had an amazing power to charm the nobility, and it all came from the way he carried himself. He projected a sense of confidence that was completely out of proportion to his means. Nor was his confidence the aggressive, ugly self-promotion of an upstart—it was a quiet and calm self-assurance. In fact it was the same confidence usually shown by the nobility themselves. The powerful in the old-style aristocracies felt no need to prove or assert themselves; being noble, they knew they always deserved more, and asked for it. With Columbus, then, they felt an instant affinity, for he carried himself just the way they did—elevated above the crowd, destined for greatness.

Understand: It is within your power to set your own price. How you carry yourself reflects what you think of yourself. If you ask for little, shuffle your feet and lower your head, people will assume this reflects your character. But this behavior is not you—it is only how you have chosen to present yourself to other people. You can just as easily present the Columbus front: buoyancy, confidence, and the feeling that you were born to wear a crown.

With all great deceivers there is a noteworthy occurrence to which they owe their power. In the actual act of deception they are overcome by belief in themselves: it is this which then speaks so miraculously and compellingly to those around them.

Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900

KEYS TO POWER

As children, we start our lives with great exuberance, expecting and demanding everything from the world. This generally carries over into our first forays into society, as we begin our careers. But as we grow older the rebuffs and failures we experience set up boundaries that only get firmer with time. Coming to expect less from the world, we accept limitations that are really self-imposed. We start to bow and scrape and apologize for even the simplest of requests. The solution to such a shrinking of horizons is to deliberately force ourselves in the opposite direction—to downplay the failures and ignore the limitations, to make ourselves demand and expect as much as the child. To accomplish this, we must use a particular strategy upon ourselves. Call it the Strategy of the Crown.

The Strategy of the Crown is based on a simple chain of cause and effect: If we believe we are destined for great things, our belief will radiate outward, just as a crown creates an aura around a king. This outward radiance will infect the people around us, who will think we must have reasons to feel so confident. People who wear crowns seem to feel no inner sense of the limits to what they can ask for or what they can accomplish. This too radiates outward. Limits and boundaries disappear. Use the Strategy of the Crown and you will be surprised how often it bears fruit. Take as an example those happy children who ask for whatever they want, and get it. Their high expectations are their charm. Adults enjoy granting their wishes—just as Isabella enjoyed granting the wishes of Columbus.

Throughout history, people of undistinguished birth—the Theodoras of Byzantium, the Columbuses, the Beethovens, the Disraelis—have managed to work the Strategy of the Crown, believing so firmly in their own greatness that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The trick is simple: Be overcome by your self-belief. Even while you know you are practicing a kind of deception on yourself, act like a king. You are likely to be treated as one.

The crown may separate you from other people, but it is up to you to make that separation real: You have to act differently, demonstrating your distance from those around you. One way to emphasize your difference is to always act with dignity, no matter the circumstance. Louis-Philippe gave no sense of being different from other people—he was the banker king. And the moment his subjects threatened him, he caved in. Everyone sensed this and pounced. Lacking regal dignity and firmness of purpose, Louis-Philippe seemed an impostor, and the crown was easily toppled from his head.

Regal bearing should not be confused with arrogance. Arrogance may seem the king’s entitlement, but in fact it betrays insecurity. It is the very opposite of a royal demeanor.

Haile Selassie, ruler of Ethiopia for forty or so years beginning in 1930, was once a young man named Lij Tafari. He came from a noble family, but there was no real chance of him coming to power, for he was far down the line of succession from the king then on the throne, Menelik II. Nevertheless, from an early age he exhibited a self-confidence and a royal bearing that surprised everyone around him.

At the age of fourteen, Tafari went to live at the court, where he immediately impressed Menelik and became his favorite. Tafari’s grace under fire, his patience, and his calm self-assurance fascinated the king. The other young nobles, arrogant, blustery, and envious, would push this slight, bookish teenager around. But he never got angry— that would have been a sign of insecurity, to which he would not stoop. There were already people around him who felt he would someday rise to the top, for he acted as if he were already there.

Years later, in 1936, when the Italian Fascists had taken over Ethiopia and Tafari, now called Haile Selassie, was in exile, he addressed the League of Nations to plead his country’s case. The Italians in the audience heckled him with vulgar abuse, but he maintained his dignified pose, as if completely unaffected. This elevated him while making his opponents look even uglier. Dignity, in fact, is invariably the mask to assume under difficult circumstances: It is as if nothing can affect you, and you have all the time in the world to respond. This is an extremely powerful pose.

A royal demeanor has other uses. Con artists have long known the value of an aristocratic front; it either disarms people and makes them less suspicious, or else it intimidates them and puts them on the defensive—and as Count Victor Lustig knew, once you put a sucker on the defensive he is doomed. The con man Yellow Kid Weil, too, would often assume the trappings of a man of wealth, along with the nonchalance that goes with them. Alluding to some magical method of making money, he would stand aloof, like a king, exuding confidence as if he really were fabulously rich. The suckers would beg to be in on the con, to have a chance at the wealth that he so clearly displayed.

Finally, to reinforce the inner psychological tricks involved in projecting a royal demeanor, there are outward strategies to help you create the effect.

First, the Columbus Strategy: Always make a bold demand. Set your price high and do not waver. Second, in a dignified way, go after the highest person in the building. This immediately puts you on the same plane as the chief executive you are attacking. It is the David and Goliath Strategy: By choosing a great opponent, you create the appearance of greatness.

Third, give a gift of some sort to those above you. This is the strategy of those who have a patron: By giving your patron a gift, you are essentially saying that the two of you are equal. It is the old con game of giving so that you can take. When the Renaissance writer Pietro Aretino wanted the Duke of Mantua as his next patron, he knew that if he was slavish and sycophantic, the duke would think him unworthy; so he approached the duke with gifts, in this case paintings by the writer’s good friend Titian. Accepting the gifts created a kind of equality between duke and writer: The duke was put at ease by the feeling that he was dealing with a man of his own aristocratic stamp. He funded Aretino generously. The gift strategy is subtle and brilliant because you do not beg: You ask for help in a dignified way that implies equality between two people, one of whom just happens to have more money.

Remember: It is up to you to set your own price. Ask for less and that is just what you will get. Ask for more, however, and you send a signal that you are worth a king’s ransom. Even those who turn you down respect you for your confidence, and that respect will eventually pay off in ways you cannot imagine.

Image: The Crown. Place it upon your head and you assume a different pose—tranquil yet radiating assurance. Never show doubt, never lose your dignity beneath the crown, or it will not fit. It will seem to be destined for one more worthy. Do not wait for a coronation; the greatest emperors crown themselves.

Authority: Everyone should be royal after his own fashion. Let all your actions, even though they are not those of a king, be, in their own sphere, worthy of one. Be sublime in your deeds, lofty in your thoughts; and in all your doings show that you deserve to be a king even though you are not one in reality. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

The idea behind the assumption of regal confidence is to set yourself apart from other people, but if you take this too far it will be your undoing. Never make the mistake of thinking that you elevate yourself by humiliating people. Also, it is never a good idea to loom too high above the crowd—you make an easy target. And there are times when an aristocratic pose is eminently dangerous.

Charles I, king of England during the 1640s, faced a profound public disenchantment with the institution of monarchy. Revolts erupted throughout the country, led by Oliver Cromwell. Had Charles reacted to the times with insight, supporting reforms and making a show of sacrificing some of his power, history might have been different. Instead he reverted to an even more regal pose, seeming outraged by the assault on his power and on the divine institution of monarchy. His stiff kingliness offended people and spurred on their revolts. And eventually Charles lost his head, literally. Understand: You are radiating confidence, not arrogance or disdain.

Finally, it is true that you can sometimes find some power through affecting a kind of earthy vulgarity, which will prove amusing by its extreme-ness. But to the extent that you win this game by going beyond the limits, separating yourself from other people by appearing even more vulgar than they are, the game is dangerous: There will always be people more vulgar than you, and you will easily be replaced the following season by someone younger and worse.

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Law 40 of the 48 Laws of Power; Despise the free lunch

This is law 40 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

What is offered for free is dangerous-it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price—there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

  • What is offered for free often has a psychological price tag – complicated feelings of obligation, compromises with quality, the insecurity those compromises bring, on and on.  By paying the full price, you keep your independence and room to maneuver.
  • Being open and flexible with money also teaches the value of strategic generosity.

Avoid these people who fail to use money creatively and strategically, or turn their inflexibility to your advantage:

  • The Greedy Fish. The greedy fish take the human side out of money. Cold and ruthless, they see only the lifeless balance sheet; viewing others solely as either pawns or obstructions in their pursuit of wealth, they trample on people’s sentiments and alienate valuable allies. No one wants to work with the greedy fish, and over the years they end up isolated, which often proves their undoing. Easy to deceive with promise of money.
  • The Bargain Demon. Powerful people judge everything by what it costs, not just in money but in time, dignity, and peace of mind. And this is exactly what Bargain Demons cannot do. Wasting valuable time digging for bargains, they worry endlessly about what they could have gotten elsewhere for a little less. Just avoid these types.
  • The Sadist. Financial sadists play vicious power games with money as a way of asserting their power. They believe the money they give you allows them to abuse your time.  Accept a financial loss instead of getting entangled.
  • The Indiscriminate Giver. These people give to everyone, and as a result no one feels special.  Appealing as a mark, but you will often feel burdened by their emotional need.
  • Never let lust for money lure you from true power.  Make power your goal and money will find it’s way to you.
  • Note: bait your deceptions with the possibility of easy money, and many will fall for it.

LAW40

DESPISE THE FREE LUNCH

JUDGMENT

What is offered for free is dangerous-it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full pricethere is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

BURIED TREASURE

Many weak-minded persons in cities hope to discover property under the surface of the earth and to make some profit from it. In the Maghrib there are many Berber “students” who are unable to make a living by natural ways and means. They approach well-to-do people with papers that have torn margins and contain either non-Arabic writing or what they claim to be the translation of a document written by the owner of buried treasures, giving the clue to the hiding place. In this way, they try to get their sustenance by [persuading the well-to-do] to send them out to dig and hunt for treasure. Occasionally, one of these treasure hunters displays strange information or some remarkable trick of magic with which he fools people into believing his other claims, although, in fact, he knows nothing of magic and its procedures.... The things that have been said about [treasure hunting] have no scientific basis, nor are they based upon [factual] information. It should be realized that although treasures are found, this happens rarely and by chance, not by systematic search.... Those who are deluded or afflicted by these things must take refuge in God from their inability to make a living and their laziness in this respect. They should not occupy themselves with absurdities and untrue stories.

THE MUQADDIMAH, IBN KHALDUN, 1332-1406

MONEY AND POWER

In the realm of power, everything must be judged by its cost, and everything has a price. What is offered for free or at bargain rates often comes with a psychological price tag— complicated feelings of obligation, compromises with quality, the insecurity those compromises bring, on and on. The powerful learn early to protect their most valuable resources: independence and room to maneuver. By paying the full price, they keep themselves free of dangerous entanglements and worries.

Being open and flexible with money also teaches the value of strategic generosity, a variation on the old trick of “giving when you are about to take.” By giving the appropriate gift, you put the recipient under obligation. Generosity softens people up— to be deceived. By gaining a reputation for liberality, you win people’s admiration while distracting them from your power plays. By strategically spreading your wealth, you charm the other courtiers, creating pleasure and making valuable allies.

Look at the masters of power—the Caesars, the Queen Elizabeths, the Michelangelos, the Medicis: Not a miser among them. Even the great con artists spend freely to swindle. Tight purse strings are unattractive—when engaged in seduction, Casanova would give completely not only of himself but of his wallet. The powerful understand that money is psychologically charged, and that it is also a vessel of politeness and sociability. They make the human side of money a weapon in their armory.

For everyone able to play with money, thousands more are locked in a self- destructive refusal to use money creatively and strategically. These types represent the opposite pole to the powerful, and you must learn to recognize them—either to avoid their poisonous natures or to turn their inflexibility to your advantage:

The Greedy Fish. The greedy fish take the human side out of money. Cold and ruthless, they see only the lifeless balance sheet; viewing others solely as either pawns or obstructions in their pursuit of wealth, they trample on people’s sentiments and alienate valuable allies. No one wants to work with the greedy fish, and over the years they end up isolated, which often proves their undoing.

Greedy fish are the con artist’s bread and butter: Lured by the bait of easy money, they swallow the ruse hook, line, and sinker. They are easy to deceive, for they spend so much time dealing with numbers (not with people) that they become blind to psychology, including their own. Either avoid them before they exploit you or play on their greed to your gain.

The Bargain Demon. Powerful people judge everything by what it costs, not just in money but in time, dignity, and peace of mind. And this is exactly what Bargain Demons cannot do. Wasting valuable time digging for bargains, they worry endlessly about what they could have gotten elsewhere for a little less. On top of that, the bargain item they do buy is often shabby; perhaps it needs costly repairs, or will have to be replaced twice as fast as a high-quality item. The costs of these pursuits—not always in money (though the price of a bargain is often deceptive) but in time and peace of mind—discourage normal people from undertaking them, but for the Bargain Demon the bargain is an end in itself.

These types might seem to harm only themselves, but their attitudes are contagious: Unless you resist them they will infect you with the insecure feeling that you should have looked harder to find a cheaper price. Don’t argue with them or try to change them. Just mentally add up the cost, in time and inner peace if not in hidden financial expense, of the irrational pursuit of a bargain.

The Sadist. Financial sadists play vicious power games with money as a way of asserting their power. They might, for example, make you wait for money that is owed you, promising you that the check is in the mail. Or if they hire you to work for them, they meddle in every aspect of the job, haggling and giving you ulcers. Sadists seem to think that paying for something gives them the right to torture and abuse the seller. They have no sense of the courtier element in money. If you are unlucky enough to get involved with this type, accepting a financial loss may be better in the long run than getting entangled in their destructive power games.

The Indiscriminate Giver. Generosity has a definite function in power: It attracts people, softens them up, makes allies out of them. But it has to be used strategically, with a definite end in mind. Indiscriminate Givers, on the other hand, are generous because they want to be loved and admired by all. And their generosity is so indiscriminate and needy that it may not have the desired effect: If they give to one and all, why should the recipient feel special? Attractive as it may seem to make an Indiscriminate Giver your mark, in any involvement with this type you will often feel burdened by their insatiable emotional needs.

THE MISER

A miser, to make sure of his property, sold all that he had and converted it into a great lump of gold, which he hid in a hole in the ground, and went continually to visit and inspect it. This roused the curiosity of one of his workmen, who, suspecting that there was a treasure, when his master’s back was turned, went to the spot, and stole it away. When the miser returned and found the place empty, he wept and tore his hair. But a neighbor who saw him in this extravagant grief, and learned the cause of it, said: “Fret thyself no longer, but take a stone and put it in the same place, and think that it is your lump of gold; for, as you never meant to use it. the one will do you as much good as the other.”

The worth of money is not in its possession, but in its use.

FABLES, AFSOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE LAW

Transgression I

After Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru, in 1532, gold from the Incan Empire began to pour into Spain, and Spaniards of all classes started dreaming of the instant riches to be had in the New World. The story soon spread of an Indian chief to the east of Peru who once each year would ritually cover himself in gold dust and dive into a lake. Soon word of mouth transformed El Dorado, the “Golden Man,” into an empire called El Dorado, wealthier than the Incan, where the streets were paved and the buildings inlaid with gold. This elaboration of the story did not seem implausible, for surely a chief who could afford to waste gold dust in a lake must rule a golden empire. Soon Spaniards were searching for El Dorado all over northern South America.

In February of 1541, the largest expedition yet in this venture, led by Pizarro’s brother Gonzalo, left Quito, in Ecuador. Resplendent in their armors and colorful silks, 340 Spaniards headed east, along with 4,000 Indians to carry supplies and serve as scouts, 4,000 swine, dozens of llamas, and close to 1,000 dogs. But the expedition was soon hit by torrential rain, which rotted its gear and spoiled its food. Meanwhile, as Gonzalo Pizarro questioned the Indians they met along the way, those who seemed to be withholding information, or who had not even heard of the fabulous kingdom, he would torture and feed to the dogs. Word of the Spaniards’ murderousness spread quickly among the Indians, who realized that the only way to avoid Gonzalo’s wrath was to make up stories about El Dorado and send him as far away as possible. As Gonzalo and his men followed the leads the Indians gave them, then, they were only led farther into deep jungle.

The explorers’ spirits sagged. Their uniforms had long since shredded; their armor rusted and they threw it away; their shoes were torn to pieces, forcing them to walk barefoot; the Indian slaves they had set out with had either died or deserted them; they had eaten not only the swine but the hunting dogs and llamas. They lived on roots and fruit. Realizing that they could not continue this way, Pizarro decided to risk river travel, and a barge was built out of rotting wood. But the journey down the treacherous Napo River proved no easier. Setting up camp on the river’s edge, Gonzalo sent scouts ahead on the barge to find Indian settlements with food. He waited and waited for the scouts to return, only to find out they had decided to desert the expedition and continue down the river on their own.

The rain continued without end. Gonzalo’s men forgot about El Dorado; they wanted only to return to Quito. Finally, in August of 1542, a little over a hundred men, from an expedition originally numbering in the thousands, managed to find their way back. To the residents of Quito they seemed to have emerged from hell itself, wrapped in tatters and skins, their bodies covered in sores, and so emaciated as to be unrecognizable. For over a year and a half they had marched in an enormous circle, two thousand miles by foot. The vast sums of money invested in the expedition had yielded nothing—no sign of El Dorado and no sign of gold. Interpretation

Even after Gonzalo Pizarro’s disaster, the Spaniards launched expedition after expedition in search of El Dorado. And like Pizarro the conquistadors would burn and loot villages, torture Indians, endure unimaginable hardships, and get no closer to gold. The money they spent on such expeditions cannot be calculated; yet despite the futility of the search, the lure of the fantasy endured.

There is a popular saying in Japan that goes “Tada yori takai mono wa nai,” meaning: “Nothing is more costly than something given free of charge.”

THE UNSPOKEN WAY, MICHIHIRO MATSUMOTO, 1988

MONEY

Yusuf Ibn Jafar el-Amudi used to take sums of money, sometimes very large ones, from those who came to study with him. A distinguished legalist visiting him once said: “I am enchanted and impressed by your teachings, and I am sure that you are directing your disciples in a proper manner. But it is not in accordance with tradition to take money for knowledge. Besides, the action is open to misinterpretation.” El-Amudi said: “I have never sold any knowledge. There is no Imoney on earth sufficient to pay for it. As for misinterpretation, the abstaining from taking money will not prevent it, for it will find some other object. Rather should you know that a man who takes money may be greedy for money, or he may not. But a man who takes nothing at all is under the gravest suspicion of robbing the disciple of his soul. People who say, ‘I take nothing,’ may be found to take away the volition of their victim.”

THE DERMIS PROBE, IDRIES SHAH, 1970

Not only did the search for El Dorado cost millions of lives—both Indian and Spanish—it helped bring the ruin of the Spanish empire. Gold became Spain’s obsession. The gold that did find its way back to Spain-and a lot did—was reinvested in more expeditions, or in the purchase of luxuries, rather than in agriculture or any other productive endeavor. Whole Spanish towns were depopulated as their menfolk left to hunt gold. Farms fell into ruin, and the army had no recruits for its European wars. By the end of the seventeenth century, the entire country had shrunk by more than half of its population; the city of Madrid had gone from a population of 400,000 to 150,000. With diminishing returns from its efforts over so many years, Spain fell into a decline from which it never recovered.

Power requires self-discipline. The prospect of wealth, particularly easy, sudden wealth, plays havoc with the emotions. The suddenly rich believe that more is always possible. The free lunch, the money that will fall into your lap, is just around the corner.

In this delusion the greedy neglect everything power really depends on: self-control, the goodwill of others, and so on.

Understand: With one exception—death—no lasting change in fortune comes quickly. Sudden wealth rarely lasts, for it is built on nothing solid. Never let lust for money lure you out of the protective and enduring fortress of real power. Make power your goal and money will find its way to you. Leave El Dorado for suckers and fools.

Transgression II

In the early eighteenth century, no one stood higher in English society than the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. The duke, having led successful campaigns against the French, was considered Europe’s premier general and strategist. And his wife, the duchess, after much maneuvering, had established herself as the favorite of Queen Anne, who became ruler of England in 1702. In 1704 the duke’s triumph at the Battle of Blenheim made him the toast of England, and to honor him the queen awarded him a large plot of land in the town of Woodstock, and the funds to create a great palace there. Calling his planned home the Palace of Blenheim, the duke chose as his architect the young John Vanbrugh, a kind of Renaissance man who wrote plays as well as designed buildings. And so construction began, in the summer of 1705, with much fanfare and great hopes.

Vanbrugh had a dramatist’s sense of architecture. His palace was to be a monument to Marlborough’s brilliance and power, and was to include artificial lakes, enormous bridges, elaborate gardens, and other fantastical touches. From day one, however, the duchess could not be pleased: She thought Vanbrugh was wasting money on yet another stand of trees; she wanted the palace finished as soon as possible. The duchess tortured Vanbrugh and his workmen on every detail. She was consumed with petty matters; although the government was paying for Blenheim, she counted every penny. Eventually her grumbling, about Blenheim and other things too, created an irreparable rift between her and Queen Anne, who, in 1711, dismissed her from the court, ordering her to vacate her apartments at the royal palace. When the duchess left (fuming over the loss of her position, and also of her royal salary), she emptied the apartment of every fixture down to the brass doorknobs.

THE MAN WHO LOVED MONEY BETTER THAN LIFE

In ancient times there was an old woodcutter who went to the mountain almost every day to cut wood.

It was said that this old man was a miser who hoarded his silver until it changed to gold, and that he cared more for gold than anything else in all the world.

One day a wilderness tiger sprang at him and though he ran he could not escape, and the tiger carried him off in its mouth.

The woodcutter’s son saw his father’s danger, and ran to save him if possible. He carried a long knife, and as he could run faster than the tiger, who had a man to carry, he soon overtook them.

His father was not much hurt, for the tiger held him by his clothes. When the old woodcutter saw his son about to stab the tiger he called out in great alarm: “Do not spoil the tiger’s skin! Do not spoil the tiger’s skin! If you can kill him without cutting holes in his skin we can get many pieces of silver for it. Kill him, but do not cut his body.” While the son was listening to his father’s instructions the tiger suddenly dashed off into the forest, carrying the old man where the son could not reach him, and he was soon killed.

“CHINESE FABLE,” VARIOUS FABLES FROM VARIOUS PLACES, DIANE DI PRIMA, ED., 1960

Over the next ten years, work on Blenheim would stop and start, as the funds became harder to procure from the government. The duchess thought Vanbrugh was out to ruin her. She quibbled over every carload of stone and bushel of lime, counted every extra yard of iron railing or foot of wainscot, hurling abuse at the wasteful workmen, contractors, and surveyors. Marlborough, old and weary, wanted nothing more than to settle into the palace in his last years, but the project became bogged down in a swamp of litigation, the workmen suing the duchess for wages, the duchess suing the architect right back. In the midst of this interminable wrangling, the duke died. He had never spent a night in his beloved Blenheim.

After Marlborough’s death, it became clear that he had a vast estate, worth over £2 million—more than enough to pay for finishing the palace. But the duchess would not relent: She held back Vanbrugh’s wages as well as the workmen’s, and finally had the architect dismissed. The man who took his place finished Blenheim in a few years, following Vanbrugh’s designs to the letter. Vanbrugh died in 1726, locked out of the palace by the duchess, unable to set foot in his greatest creation. Foreshadowing the romantic movement, Blenheim had started a whole new trend in architecture, but had given its creator a twenty-year nightmare.

Interpretation

For the Duchess of Marlborough, money was a way to play sadistic power games. She saw the loss of money as a symbolic loss of power. With Vanbrugh her contortions went deeper still: He was a great artist, and she envied his power to create, to attain a fame outside her reach. She may not have had his gifts, but she did have the money to torture and abuse him over the pettiest details—to ruin his life.

This kind of sadism, however, bears an awful price. It made construction that should have lasted ten years take twenty. It poisoned many a relationship, alienated the duchess from the court, deeply pained the duke (who wanted only to live peacefully in Blenheim), created endless lawsuits, and took years off Vanbrugh’s life. Finally, too, posterity had the last word: Vanbrugh is recognized as a genius while the duchess is forever remembered for her consummate cheapness.

The powerful must have grandeur of spirit—they can never reveal any pettiness. And money is the most visible arena in which to display either grandeur or pettiness. Best spend freely, then, and create a reputation for generosity, which in the end will pay great dividends. Never let financial details blind you to the bigger picture of how people perceive you. Their resentment will cost you in the long run. And if you want to meddle in the work of creative people under your hire, at least pay them well. Your money will buy their submission better than your displays of power.

THE STORY OF MOSES AND PHARAOH

It is written in the histories of the prophets that Moses was sent to Pharaoh with many miracles, wonders and honors. Now the daily ration for Pharaoh’s table was 4,000 sheep, 400 cows, 200 camels, and a corresponding amount of chickens, fish, beverages, fried meats, sweets, and other things. All the people of Egypt and all his army used to eat at his table every day. For 400 years he had claimed divinity and never ceased providing this food. When Moses prayed, saying, “O Lord, destroy Pharaoh,” God answered his prayer and said, “I shall destroy him in water, and I shall bestow all his wealth and that of his soldiers on you and your peoples.” Several years passed by after this promise, and Pharaoh, doomed to rum, continued to live in all his magnificence. Moses was impatient for God to destroy Pharaoh quickly, and he could not endure to wail any longer. So he fasted for forty days and went to Mount Sinai, and in his communing with god he said, “O Lord. Thou didst promise that Thou wouldst destroy Pharaoh, and still he has forsaken none of his blasphemies and pretensions. So when wilt Thou destroy him?”

A voice came from The Truth saying, “O Muses, you want Me to destroy Pharaoh as quickly as possible, but a thousand times a thousand of My servants want Me never to do so, because they partake of his bounty and enjoy tranquillity under his rule. By My power I swear that as long as he provides abundant food and comfort for My creatures, I shall not destroy him.”

Moses said, “Then when will Thy promise be fulfilled?God said, “My promise will be fulfilled when he withholds his provision from My creatures. If ever he begins to lessen his bounty, know that his hour is drawing near.”

It chanced that one day Pharaoh said to Haman, “Moses has gathered the Sons of Israel about him and is causing us disquiet. We know not what will be the issue of his affair with us. We must keep our stores full lest at any time we be without resources. So we must halve our daily rations and keep the saving in reserve.” He deducted 2, 000 sheep, 200 cows, and a 100 camels, and similarly every two or three days reduced the ration. Moses then knew that the promise of The Truth was near to fulfillment, for excessive economy is a sign of decline and a bad omen. The masters of tradition say that on the day when Pharaoh was drowned only two ewes had been killed in his kitchen. Nothing is better than generosity.... If a man is rich and desires, without a royal charter, to act like a lord; if he wants men to humble themselves before him, to revere him and call him Lord and prince, then tell him every day to spread a table with victuals. All those who have acquired renown in the world, have gained it mainly through hospitality, while the miserly and avaricious are despised in both worlds.

THE BOOK OF GOVERNMENT OR RULES FOR KINGS, NIZAM AL-MULK, ELEVENTH CENTURY

OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW

Observance I

Pietro Aretino, son of a lowly shoemaker, had catapulted himself into fame as a writer of biting satires. But like every Renaissance artist, he needed to find a patron who would give him a comfortable lifestyle while not interfering with his work. In 1528 Aretino decided to attempt a new strategy in the patronage game. Leaving Rome, he established himself in Venice, where few had heard of him. He had a fair amount of money he had managed to save, but little else. Soon after he moved into his new home, however, he threw open its doors to rich and poor, regaling them with banquets and amusements. He befriended each and every gondolier, tipping them royally. In the streets, he spread his money liberally, giving it away to beggars, orphans, washerwomen. Among the city’s commoners, word quickly spread that Aretino was more than just a great writer, he was a man of power—a kind of lord.

Artists and men of influence soon began to frequent Aretino’s house. Within a few years he made himself a celebrity; no visiting dignitary would think of leaving Venice without paying him a call. His generosity had cost him most of his savings, but had bought him influence and a good name—a cornerstone in the foundation of power. Since in Renaissance Italy as elsewhere the ability to spend freely was the privilege of the rich, the aristocracy thought Aretino had to be a man of influence, since he spent money like one. And since the influence of a man of influence is worth buying, Aretino became the recipient of all sorts of gifts and moneys. Dukes and duchesses, wealthy merchants, and popes and princes competed to gain his favor, and showered him with all kinds of presents.

Aretino’s spending habits, of course, were strategic, and the strategy worked like a charm. But for real money and comfort he needed a great patron’s bottomless pockets. Having surveyed the possibilities, he eventually set his sights on the extremely wealthy Marquis of Mantua, and wrote an epic poem that he dedicated to the marquis. This was a common practice of writers looking for patronage: In exchange for a dedication they would get a small stipend, enough to write yet another poem, so that they spent their lives in a kind of constant servility. Aretino, however, wanted power, not a measly wage. He might dedicate a poem to the marquis, but he would offer it to him as a gift, implying by doing so that he was not a hired hack looking for a stipend but that he and the marquis were equals.

Aretino’s gift-giving did not stop there: As a close friend of two of Venice’s greatest artists, the sculptor Jacopo Sansovino and the painter Titian, he convinced these men to participate in his gift-giving scheme. Aretino had studied the marquis before going to work on him, and knew his taste inside and out; he was able to advise Sansovino and Titian what subject matter would please the marquis most. When he then sent a Sansovino sculpture and a Titian painting to the marquis as gifts from all three of them, the man was beside himself with joy.

Over the next few months, Aretino sent other gifts—swords, saddles, the glass that was a Venetian specialty, things he knew the marquis prized. Soon he, Titian, and Sansovino began to receive gifts from the marquis in return. And the strategy went further: When the son-in-law of a friend of Aretino’s found himself in jail in Mantua, Aretino was able to get the marquis to arrange his release. Aretino’s friend, a wealthy merchant, was a man of great influence in Venice; by turning the goodwill he had built up with the marquis to use, Aretino had now bought this man’s indebtedness, too, and he in turn would help Aretino when he could. The circle of influence was growing wider. Time and again, Aretino was able to cash in on the immense political power of the marquis, who also helped him in his many court romances.

Eventually, however, the relationship became strained, as Aretino came to feel that the marquis should have requited his generosity better. But he would not lower himself to begging or whining: Since the exchange of gifts between the two men had made them equals, it would not seem right to bring up money. He simply withdrew from the marquis’s circle and hunted for other wealthy prey, settling first on the French king Francis, then the Medicis, the Duke of Urbino, Emperor Charles V, and more. In the end, having many patrons meant he did not have to bow to any of them, and his power seemed comparable to that of a great lord.

Interpretation

Aretino understood two fundamental properties of money:

First, that it has to circulate to bring power. What money should buy is not lifeless objects but power over people. By keeping money in constant circulation, Aretino bought an ever-expanding circle of influence that in the end more than compensated him for his expenses.

Second, Aretino understood the key property of the gift. To give a gift is to imply that you and the recipient are equals at the very least, or that you are the recipient’s superior. A gift also involves an indebtedness or obligation; when friends, for instance, offer you something for free, you can be sure they expect something in return, and that to get it they are making you feel indebted. (The mechanism may or may not be entirely conscious on their part, but this is how it works.)

Aretino avoided such encumbrances on his freedom. Instead of acting like a menial who expects the powerful to pay his way in life, he turned the whole dynamic around; instead of being indebted to the powerful, he made the powerful indebted to him. This was the point of his gift-giving, a ladder that carried him to the highest social levels. By the end of his life he had become the most famous writer in Europe.

Understand: Money may determine power relationships, but those relationships need not depend on the amount of money you have; they also depend on the way you use it. Powerful people give freely, buying influence rather than things. If you accept the inferior position because you have no fortune yet, you may find yourself in it forever. Play the trick that Aretino played on Italy’s aristocracy: Imagine yourself an equal. Play the lord, give freely, open your doors, circulate your money, and create the facade of power through an alchemy that transforms money into influence.

Observance II

Soon after Baron James Rothschild made his fortune in Paris in the early 1820s, he faced his most intractable problem: How could a Jew and a German, a total outsider to French society, win the respect of the xenophobic French upper classes?

Rothschild was a man who understood power—he knew that his fortune would bring him status, but that if he remained socially alienated neither his status nor his fortune would last. So he looked at the society of the time and asked what would win their hearts.

Charity? The French couldn’t care less. Political influence? He already had that, and if anything it only made people more suspicious of him. The one weak spot, he decided, was boredom. In the period of the restoration of the monarchy, the French upper classes were bored.

So Rothschild began to spend astounding sums of money on entertaining them. He hired the best architects in France to design his gardens and ballroom; he hired Marie-Antoine Carême, the most celebrated French chef, to prepare the most lavish parties Paris had ever witnessed; no Frenchman could resist, even if the parties were given by a German Jew. Rothschild’s weekly soirees began to attract bigger and bigger numbers. Over the next few years he won the only thing that would secure an outsider’s power: social acceptance.

Interpretation

Strategic generosity is always a great weapon in building a support base, particularly for the outsider. But the Baron de Rothschild was cleverer still: He knew it was his money that had created the barrier between him and the French, making him look ugly and untrustworthy. The best way to overcome this was literally to waste huge sums, a gesture to show he valued French culture and society over money. What Rothschild did resembled the famous potlatch feasts of the American Northwest: By periodically destroying its wealth in a giant orgy of festivals and bonfires, an Indian tribe would symbolize its power over other tribes. The base of its power was not money but its ability to spend, and its confidence in a superiority that would restore to it all that the potlatch had destroyed.

In the end, the baron’s soirees reflected his desire to mingle not just in France’s business world but in its society. By wasting money on his pot-latches, he hoped to demonstrate that his power went beyond money into the more precious realm of culture. Rothschild may have won social acceptance by spending money, but the support base he gained was one that money alone could not buy. To secure his fortune he had to “waste” it. That is strategic generosity in a nutshell—the ability to be flexible with your wealth, putting it to work, not to buy objects, but to win people’s hearts.

Observance III

The Medicis of Renaissance Florence had built their immense power on the fortune they had made in banking. But in Florence, centuries-old republic that it was, the idea that money bought power went against all the city’s proud democratic values. Cosimo de’ Medici, the first of the family to gain great fame, worked around this by keeping a low profile. He never flaunted his wealth. But by the time his grandson Lorenzo came of age, in the 1470s, the family’s wealth was too large, and their influence too noticeable, to be disguised any longer.

THE FLAME-COLORED CLOCK

During the campaign of Carnbyses in Egypt, a great many Greeks visited that country for one reason or another: some, as was to be expected, for trade, some to serve in the army, others, no doubt, out of mere curiosity, to see what they could see. Amongst the sightseers was Aeaces’s son Syloson, the exiled brother of Polycrates of Samos. While he was in Egypt, Syloson had an extraordinary stroke of luck: he was hanging about the streets of Memphis dressed in a flame-colored cloak, when Darius, who at that time was a member of Cambyses’s guard and not yet of any particular importance, happened to catch sight of him and, seized with a sudden longing to possess the cloak, came up to Syloson and made him an offer for it.

His extreme anxiety to get it was obvious enough to Syloson, who was inspired to say: “I am not selling this for any money, but if you must have it, I will give it to you for free. Darius thererepon thanked him warmly and took it.

Syloson at the moment merely thought he had lost it by his foolish good nature; then came the death of Cambyses and the revolt of the seven against the Magus, and Darius ascended the throne.

Syloson now had the news that the man whose request for the flame-colored cloak he had formerly gratified in Egypt had become king of Persia. He hurried to Susa, sat down at the entrance of the royal palace, and claimed to be included in the official list of the king’s benefactors.

The sentry on guard reported his claim to Darius, who asked in surprise who the man might be. “For surely,” he said, “as I have so recently come to the throne, there cannot be any Greek to whom I am indebted for a service. Hardly any of them have been here yet, and I certainly cannot remember owing anything to a Greek. But bring him in all the same, that I may know what he means by this claim.”

The guard escorted Syloson into the royal presence, and when the interpreters asked him who he was and what he had done to justify the statement that he was the king’s benefactor, he reminded Darius of the story of the cloak, and said that he was the man who had given it him. “Sir,” exclaimed Darius, “you are the most generous of men; for while I was still a person of no power or consequence you gave me a presentsmall indeed, but deserving then as much gratitude from me as would the most splendid of gifts today.

I will give you in return more silver and gold than you can count, that you may never regret that you once did a favor to Darius the son of Hystaspes. ”

“My lord, ” replied Syloson, ”do not give me gold or silver, but recover Samos for me, my native island, which now since Oroetes killed my brother Polycrates is in the hands of one of our servants. Let Samos be your gift to mebut let no man in the island be killed or enslaved.”

Darius consented to Syloson’s request, and dispatched a force under the command of Otanes, one of the seven, with orders to do everything that Syloson had asked.

THE HISTORIES. HERODOTUS. FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

Lorenzo solved the problem in his own way by developing the strategy of distraction that has served people of wealth ever since: He became the most illustrious patron of the arts that history has ever known. Not only did he spend lavishly on paintings, he created Italy’s finest apprentice schools for young artists. It was in one of these schools that the young Michelangelo first caught the attention of Lorenzo, who invited the artist to come and live in his house. He did the same with Leonardo da Vinci. Once under his wing, Michelangelo and Leonardo requited his generosity by becoming loyal artists in his stable.

Whenever Lorenzo faced an enemy, he would wield the weapon of patronage. When Pisa, Florence’s traditional enemy, threatened to rebel against it in 1472, Lorenzo placated its people by pouring money into its university, which had once been its pride and joy but had long ago lost its luster. The Pisans had no defense against this insidious maneuver, which simultaneously fed their love of culture and blunted their desire for battle.

Interpretation

Lorenzo undoubtedly loved the arts, but his patronage of artists had a practical function as well, of which he was keenly aware. In Florence at the time, banking was perhaps the least admired way of making money, and was certainly not a respected source of power. The arts were at the other pole, the pole of quasi-religious transcendence. By spending on the arts, Lorenzo diluted people’s opinions of the ugly source of his wealth, disguising himself in nobility. There is no better use of strategic generosity than that of distracting attention from an unsavory reality and wrapping oneself in the mantle of art or religion.

Observance IV

Louis XIV had an eagle eye for the strategic power of money. When he came to the throne, the powerful nobility had recently proven a thorn in the monarchy’s side, and seethed with rebelliousness. So he impoverished these aristocrats by making them spend enormous sums on maintaining their position in the court. Making them dependent on royal largesse for their livelihood, he had them in his claws.

Next Louis brought the nobles to their knees with strategic generosity. It would work like this: Whenever he noticed a stubborn courtier whose influence he needed to gain, or whose troublemaking he needed to squelch, he would use his vast wealth to soften the soil. First he would ignore his victim, making the man anxious. Then the man would suddenly find that his son had been given a well-paid post, or that funds had been spent liberally in his home region, or that he had been given a painting he had long coveted. Presents would flow from Louis’s hands. Finally, weeks or months later, Louis would ask for the favor he had needed all along. A man who had once vowed to do anything to stop the king would find he had lost the desire to fight. A straightforward bribe would have made him rebellious; this was far more insidious. Facing hardened earth in which nothing could take root, Louis loosened the soil before he planted his seeds. Interpretation

Louis understood that there is a deep-rooted emotional element in our attitude to money, an element going back to childhood. When we are children, all kinds of complicated feelings about our parents center around gifts; we see the giving of a gift as a sign of love and approval. And that emotional element never goes away. The recipients of gifts, financial or otherwise, are suddenly as vulnerable as children, especially when the gift comes from someone in authority. They cannot help opening up; their will is loosened, as Louis loosened the soil.

To succeed best, the gift should come out of the blue. It should be remarkable for the fact that a gift like it has never been given before, or for being preceded by a cold shoulder from the giver. The more often you give to particular people, the blunter this weapon becomes. If they don’t take your gifts for granted, becoming monsters of ingratitude, they will resent what appears to be charity. The sudden, unexpected, one- time gift will not spoil your children; it will keep them under your thumb.

Observance V

The antique dealer Fushimiya, who lived in the city of Edo (former name for Tokyo) in the seventeenth century, once made a stop at a village teahouse. After enjoying a cup of tea, he spent several minutes scrutinizing the cup, which he eventually paid for and took away with him. A local artisan, watching this, waited until Fushimiya left the shop, then approached the old woman who owned the teahouse and asked her who this man was. She told him it was Japan’s most famous connoisseur, antique dealer to the lord of Izumo. The artisan ran out of the shop, caught up with Fushimiya, and begged him to sell him the cup, which must clearly be valuable if Fushimiya judged it so. Fushimiya laughed heartily: “It’s just an ordinary cup of Bizen ware,” he explained, “and it is not valuable at all. The reason I was looking at it was that the steam seemed to hang about it strangely and I wondered if there wasn’t a leak somewhere.” (Devotees of the Tea Ceremony were interested in any odd or accidental beauty in nature.) Since the artisan still seemed so excited about it, Fushimiya gave him the cup for free.

The artisan took the cup around, trying to find an expert who would appraise it at a high price, but since all of them recognized it as an ordinary teacup he got nowhere. Soon he was neglecting his own business, thinking only of the cup and the fortune it could bring. Finally he went to Edo to talk to Fushimiya at his shop. There the dealer, realizing that he had inadvertently caused this man pain by making him believe the cup had great worth, paid him 100 ryo (gold pieces) for the cup as a kindness. The cup was indeed mediocre, but he wanted to rid the artisan of his obsession, while also allowing him to feel that his effort had not been wasted. The artisan thanked him and went on his way.

Money is never spent to so much advantage as when you have been cheated out of it; for at one stroke you have purchased prudence.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860

Soon word spread of Fushimiya’s purchase of the teacup. Every dealer in Japan clamored for him to sell it, since a cup he had bought for 100 ryo must be worth much more. He tried to explain the circumstances in which he had bought the cup, but the dealers could not be dissuaded. Fushimiya finally relented and put the cup up for sale.

During the auction, two buyers simultaneously bid 200 ryo for the teacup, and then began to fight over who had bid first. Their fighting tipped over a table and the teacup fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. The auction was clearly over. Fushimiya glued and mended the cup, then stored it away, thinking the affair finished. Years later, however, the great tea master Matsudaira Fumai visited the store, and asked to see the cup, which by then had become legendary. Fumai examined it. “As a piece,” he said, “it is not up to much, but a Tea Master prizes sentiment and association more than intrinsic value.” He bought the cup for a high sum. A glued-together work of less than ordinary craftsmanship had become one of the most famous objects in Japan.

Interpretation

The story shows, first, an essential aspect of money: That it is humans who have created it and humans who instill it with meaning and value. Second, with objects as with money, what the courtier most values are the sentiments and emotions embedded in them —these are what make them worth having. The lesson is simple: The more your gifts and your acts of generosity play with sentiment, the more powerful they are. The object or concept that plays with a charged emotion or hits a chord of sentiment has more power than the money you squander on an expensive yet lifeless present.

Observance VI

Akimoto Suzutomo, a wealthy adherent of the tea ceremony, once gave his page 100 ryo (gold pieces) and instructed him to purchase a tea bowl offered by a particular dealer. When the page saw the bowl, he doubted it was worth that much, and after much bargaining got the price reduced to 95 ryo. Days later, after Suzutomo had put the bowl to use, the page proudly told him what he had done.

“What an ignoramus you are!” replied Suzutomo. “A tea bowl that anyone asks 100 pieces of gold for can only be a family heirloom, and a thing like that is only sold when the family is pressed for money. And in that case they will be hoping to find someone who will give even 150 pieces for it. So what sort of fellow is it who does not consider their feelings? Quite apart from that, a curio that you give 100 ryo for is something worth having, but one that has only cost 95 gives a mean impression. So never let me see that tea bowl again!” And he had the bowl locked away, and never took it out.

Interpretation

When you insist on paying less, you may save your five ryo, but the insult you cause and the cheap impression you create will cost you in reputation, which is the thing the powerful prize above all. Learn to pay the full price—it will save you a lot in the end.

A GIFT OF FISH

Kung-yi Hsiu, premier of Lu, was fond of fish. Therefore, people in the whole country conscientiously bought fish, which they presented to him. However, Kung-yi would not accept the presents. Against such a step his younger brother remonstrated with him and said: “You like fish, indeed. Why don’t you accept the present of fish?” In reply, he said: “It is solely because I like fish that I would not accept the fish they gave me. Indeed, if I accept the fish, I will be placed under an obligation to them. Once placed under an obligation to them, I will some time have to bend the law. If I bend the law, I will be dismissed from the premiership. After being dismissed from the premiership, I might not be able to supply myself with fish. On the contrary, if I do not accept the fish from them and am not dismissed the premiership, however fond of fish, I can always supply myself with fish.”

HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.

Observance VII

Sometime near the beginning of the seventeenth century in Japan, a group of generals whiled away the time before a big battle by staging an incense-smelling competition. Each participant anted up a prize for the contest’s winners—bows, arrows, saddles, and other items a warrior would covet.

The great Lord Date Masamune happened to pass by and was induced to participate. For a prize, he offered the gourd that hung from his belt. Everyone laughed, for no one wanted to win this cheap item. A retainer of the host finally accepted the gourd.

When the party broke up, however, and the generals were chatting outside the tent, Masamune brought over his magnificent horse and gave it to the retainer. “There,” he said, “a horse has come out of the gourd.” The stunned generals suddenly regretted their scorn at Masamune’s gift.

Interpretation

Masamune understood the following: Money gives its possessor the ability to give pleasure to others. The more you can do this, the more you attract admiration. When you make a horse come out of a gourd, you give the ultimate demonstration of your power.

Image: The River. To protect yourself or to save the resource, you dam it up. Soon, however, the waters become dank and pestilent. Only the foulest forms of life can live in such stagnant waters; nothing travels on them, all commerce stops. Destroy the dam. When water flows and circulates, it generates abundance, wealth, and power in ever larger circles. The River must flood periodically for good things to flourish.

I took money only from those who could afford it and were willing to go in with me in schemes they fancied would fleece others. They wanted money for its own sake. I wanted it for the luxuries and pleasures it would afford me. They were seldom concerned with human nature. They knew little-and cared less-about their fellow men. If they had been keener students of human nature, if they had given more time to companionship with their fellows and less to the chase of the almighty dollar, they wouldn’t have been such easy marks.

“YELLOW KID” WEIL. 1875-1976

Authority: The great man who is a miser is a great fool, and a man in high places can have no vice so harmful as avarice. A miserly man can conquer neither lands nor lordships, for he does not have a plentiful supply of friends with whom he may work his will. Whoever wants to have friends must not love his possessions but must acquire friends by means of fair gifts; for in the same way that the lodestone subtly draws iron to itself, so the gold and silver that a man gives attract the hearts of men. (The Romance of the Rose, Guillaume de Lorris, c. 1200-1238)

REVERSAL

The powerful never forget that what is offered for free is inevitably a trick. Friends who offer favors without asking for payment will later want something far dearer than the money you would have paid them. The bargain has hidden problems, both material and psychological. Learn to pay, then, and to pay well.

On the other hand, this Law offers great opportunities for swindling and deception if you apply it from the other side. Dangling the lure of a free lunch is the con artist’s stock in trade.

No man was better at this than the most successful con artist of our age, Joseph Weil, a.k.a. “The Yellow Kid.” The Yellow Kid learned early that what made his swindles possible was his fellow humans’ greed. “This desire to get something for nothing,” he once wrote, “has been very costly to many people who have dealt with me and with other con men….

When people learn—as I doubt they will—that they can’t get something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall all live in greater harmony.”

Over the years Weil devised many ways to seduce people with the prospect of easy money. He would hand out “free” real estate—who could resist such an offer?—and then the suckers would learn they had to pay $25 to register the sale.

Since the land was free, it seemed worth the high fee, and the Yellow Kid would make thousands of dollars on the phony registration. In exchange he would give his suckers a phony deed.

Other times, he would tell suckers about a fixed horse race, or a stock that would earn 200 percent in a few weeks. As he spun his stories he would watch the sucker’s eyes open wide at the thought of a free lunch.

The lesson is simple: Bait your deceptions with the possibility of easy money. People are essentially lazy, and want wealth to fall in their lap rather than to work for it. For a small sum, sell them advice on how to make millions (P. T. Barnum did this later in life), and that small sum will become a fortune when multiplied by thousands of suckers. Lure people in with the prospect of easy money and you have the room to work still more deceptions on them, since greed is powerful enough to blind your victims to anything.

And as the Yellow Kid said, half the fun is teaching a moral lesson: Greed does not pay.

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Law 45 of the 48 Laws of Power; Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once

This is law 45 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it. Americans should naturally understand this law, as it defines what America has been now for decades.

Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

  • Borrow the weight and legitimacy from the past, however remote, to create a comforting and familiar presence.
  • Humans desire change in the abstract, or superficial change, but a change that upsets core habits and routines is deeply disturbing to them.
  • Understand: The fact that the past is dead and buried gives you the freedom to reinterpret it. To support your cause, tinker with the facts. The past is a text in which you can safely insert your own lines.
  • A simple gesture like using an old title, or keeping the same number for a group, will tie you to the past and support you with the authority of history.

LAW 45

PREACH THE NEED FOR CHANGE, BUT NEVER REFORM TOO MUCH AT ONCE

JUDGMENT

Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Sometime in the early 1520s, King Henry VIII of England decided to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she had failed to bear him a son, and because he had fallen in love with the young and comely Anne Boleyn. The pope, Clement VII, opposed the divorce, and threatened the king with excommunication. The king’s most powerful minister, Cardinal Wolsey, also saw no need for divorce—and his halfhearted support of the king cost him his position and soon his life.

One man in Henry’s cabinet, Thomas Cromwell, not only supported him in his desire for a divorce but had an idea for realizing it: a complete break with the past. He convinced the king that by severing ties with Rome and making himself the head of a newly formed English church, he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne. By 1531 Henry saw this as the only solution. To reward Cromwell for his simple but brilliant idea, he elevated this son of a blacksmith to the post of royal councillor.

By 1534 Cromwell had been named the king’s secretary, and as the power behind the throne he had become the most powerful man in England. But for him the break with Rome went beyond the satisfaction of the king’s carnal desires: He envisioned a new Protestant order in England, with the power of the Catholic Church smashed and its vast wealth in the hands of the king and the government. In that same year he initiated a complete survey of the churches and monasteries of England. And as it turned out, the treasures and moneys that the churches had accumulated over the centuries were far more than he had imagined; his spies and agents came back with astonishing figures.

To justify his schemes, Cromwell circulated stories about the corruption in the English monasteries, their abuse of power, their exploitation of the people they supposedly served. Having won Parliament’s support for breaking up the monasteries, he began to seize their holdings and to put them out of existence one by one. At the same time, he began to impose Protestantism, introducing reforms in religious ritual and punishing those who stuck to Catholicism, and who now were called heretics. Virtually overnight, England was converted to a new official religion.

A terror fell on the country. Some people had suffered under the Catholic Church, which before the reforms had been immensely powerful, but most Britons had strong ties to Catholicism and to its comforting rituals. They watched in horror as churches were demolished, images of the Madonna and saints were broken in pieces, stained- glass windows were smashed, and the churches’ treasures were confiscated. With monasteries that had succored the poor suddenly gone, the poor now flooded the streets. The growing ranks of the beggar class were further swelled by former monks. On top of all this, Cromwell levied high taxes to pay for his ecclesiastical reforms.

Celebrating the turn of the year is an ancient custom. The Romans celebrated the Saturnalia, the festival of Saturn, god of the harvest, between December 17 and 23. It was the most cheerful festival of the year. All work and commerce stopped, and the streets were filled with crowds and a carnival atmosphere. Slaves were temporarily freed, and the houses were decorated with laurel branches. People visited one another, bringing gifts of wax candles and little clay figurines.

Long before the birth of Christ, the Jews celebrated an eight-day Festival of Lights [at the same season], and it is believed that the Germanic peoples held a great festival not only at midsummer but also at the winter solstice, when they celebrated the rebirth of the sun and honored the great fertility gods Wotan and Freyja, Donar (Thor) and Freyr. Even after the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-337) declared Christianity to be Rome’s official imperial religion, the evocation of light and fertility as an important component of pre-Christian midwinter celebrations could nor be entirely suppressed. In the year 274 the Roman Emperor Aurelian (A.D. 214-

275) had established an official cult of the sun-god Mithras, declaring his birthday, December 25, a national holiday. The cult of Mithras, the Aryan god of light, had spread from Persia through Asia Minor to Greece, Rome, and as far as the Germanic lands and Britain. Numerous ruins of his shrines still testify to the high regard in which this god was held, especially by the Roman legions, as a bringer of fertility, peace, and victory. So it was a clever move when, in the year A.D. 354, the Christian church under Pope Liberius (352-366) co-opted the birthday of Mithras and declared December 25 to be the birthday of Jesus Christ.

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG, ANNE-SUSANNE RISCHKE, DECEMBER 25, 1983

In 1535 powerful revolts in the North of England threatened to topple Henry from his throne. By the following year he had suppressed the rebellions, but he had also begun to see the costs of Cromwell’s reforms. The king himself had never wanted to go this far— he had only wanted a divorce. It was now Cromwell’s turn to watch uneasily as the king began slowly to undo his reforms, reinstating Catholic sacraments and other rituals that Cromwell had outlawed.

Sensing his fall from grace, in 1540 Cromwell decided to regain Henry’s favor with one throw of the dice: He would find the king a new wife. Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour, had died a few years before, and he had been pining for a new young queen. It was Cromwell who found him one: Anne of Cleves, a German princess and, most important to Cromwell, a Protestant. On Cromwell’s commission, the painter Holbein produced a flattering portrait of Anne; when Henry saw it, he fell in love, and agreed to marry her. Cromwell seemed back in favor.

Unfortunately, however, Holbein’s painting was highly idealized, and when the king finally met the princess she did not please him in the least. His anger against Cromwell

—first for the ill-conceived reforms, now for saddling him with an unattractive and Protestant wife—could no longer be contained. In June of that year, Cromwell was arrested, charged as a Protestant extremist and a heretic, and sent to the Tower. Six weeks later, before a large and enthusiastic crowd, the public executioner cut off his head.

Interpretation

Thomas Cromwell had a simple idea: He would break up the power and wealth of the Church and lay the foundation for Protestantism in England. And he would do this in a mercilessly short time. He knew his speedy reforms would cause pain and resentment, but he thought these feelings would fade in a few years. More important, by identifying himself with change, he would become the leader of the new order, making the king dependent on him. But there was a problem in his strategy: Like a billiard ball hit too hard against the cushion, his reforms had reactions and caroms he did not envision and could not control.

The man who initiates strong reforms often becomes the scapegoat for any kind of dissatisfaction. And eventually the reaction to his reforms may consume him, for change is upsetting to the human animal, even when it is for the good. Because the world is and always has been full of insecurity and threat, we latch on to familiar faces and create habits and rituals to make the world more comfortable. Change can be pleasant and even sometimes desirable in the abstract, but too much of it creates an anxiety that will stir and boil beneath the surface and then eventually erupt.

Never underestimate the hidden conservatism of those around you. It is powerful and entrenched. Never let the seductive charm of an idea cloud your reason: Just as you cannot make people see the world your way, you cannot wrench them into the future with painful changes. They will rebel. If reform is necessary, anticipate the reaction against it and find ways to disguise the change and sweeten the poison.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

As a young Communist in the 1920s, Mao Tse-tung understood better than any of his colleagues the incredible odds against a Communist victory in China. With their small numbers, limited funds, lack of military experience, and small arsenal of weapons, the Party had no hope of success unless it won over China’s immense peasant population. But who in the world was more conservative, more rooted in tradition, than the Chinese peasantry? The oldest civilization on the planet had a history that would never loosen its power, no matter how violent the revolution. The ideas of Confucius remained as alive in the 1920s as they had been in the sixth century B.C., when the philosopher was alive.

Despite the oppressions of the current system, would the peasantry ever give up the deep-rooted values of the past for the great unknown of Communism?

The solution, as Mao saw it, involved a simple deception: Cloak the revolution in the clothing of the past, making it comforting and legitimate in people’s eyes. One of Mao’s favorite books was the very popular medieval Chinese novel The Water Margin, which recounts the exploits of a Chinese Robin Hood and his robber band as they struggle against a corrupt and evil monarch. In China in Mao’s time, family ties dominated over any other kind, for the Confucian hierarchy of father and oldest son remained firmly in place; but The Water Margin preached a superior value—the fraternal ties of the band of robbers, the nobility of the cause that unites people beyond blood. The novel had great emotional resonance for Chinese people, who love to root for the underdog. Time and again, then, Mao would present his revolutionary army as an extension of the robber band in The Water Margin, likening his struggle to the timeless conflict between the oppressed peasantry and an evil emperor. He made the past seem to envelop and legitimize the Communist cause; the peasantry could feel comfortable with and even support a group with such roots in the past.

Even once the Party came to power, Mao continued to associate it with the past. He presented himself to the masses not as a Chinese Lenin but as a modern Chuko Liang, the real-life third-century strategist who figures prominently in the popular historical novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Liang was more than a great general—he was a poet, a philosopher, and a figure of stern moral rectitude. So Mao represented himself as a poet-warrior like Liang, a man who mixed strategy with philosophy and preached a new ethics. He made himself appear like a hero from the great Chinese tradition of warrior statesmen.

Soon, everything in Mao’s speeches and writings had a reference to an earlier period in Chinese history. He recalled, for example, the great Emperor Ch‘in, who had unified the country in the third century B.C. Ch’in had burned the works of Confucius, consolidated and completed the building of the Great Wall, and given his name to China. Like Ch‘in, Mao also had brought the country together, and had sought bold reforms against an oppressive past. Ch’in had traditionally been seen as a violent dictator whose reign was short; the brilliance of Mao’s strategy was to turn this around, simultaneously reinterpreting Ch’in, justifying his rule in the eyes of present-day Chinese, and using him to justify the violence of the new order that Mao himself was creating.

After the failed Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s, a power struggle emerged in the Communist Party in which Mao’s main foe was Lin Piao, once a close friend of his. To make clear to the masses the difference between his philosophy and Lin’s, Mao once again exploited the past: He cast his opponent as representing Confucius, a philosopher

Lin in fact would constantly quote. And Confucius signified the conservatism of the past. Mao associated himself, on the other hand, with the ancient philosophical movement known as Legalism, exemplified by the writings of Han-fei-tzu. The Legalists disdained Confucian ethics; they believed in the need for violence to create a new order. They worshiped power. To give himself weight in the struggle, Mao unleashed a nationwide propaganda campaign against Confucius, using the issues of Confucianism versus Legalism to whip the young into a kind of frenzied revolt against the older generation. This grand context enveloped a rather banal power struggle, and Mao once again won over the masses and triumphed over his enemies.

Interpretation

No people had a more profound attachment to the past than the Chinese. In the face of this enormous obstacle to reform, Mao’s strategy was simple: Instead of struggling against the past, he turned it to his advantage, associating his radical Communists with the romantic figures of Chinese history. Weaving the story of the War of the Three Kingdoms into the struggle between the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, he cast himself as Chuko Liang. As the emperors had, he welcomed the cultlike adoration of the masses, understanding that the Chinese could not function without some kind of father figure to admire. And after he made a terrible blunder with the Great Leap Forward, trying to force modernization on the country and failing miserably, he never repeated his mistake: From then on, radical change had to be cloaked in the comfortable clothes of the past.

The lesson is simple: The past is powerful. What has happened before seems greater; habit and history give any act weight. Use this to your advantage. When you destroy the familiar you create a void or vacuum; people fear the chaos that will flood in to fill it. You must avoid stirring up such fears at all cost. Borrow the weight and legitimacy from the past, however remote, to create a comforting and familiar presence. This will give your actions romantic associations, add to your presence, and cloak the nature of the changes you are attempting.

It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.

Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527

KEYS TO POWER

Human psychology contains many dualities, one of them being that even while people understand the need for change, knowing how important it is for institutions and individuals to be occasionally renewed, they are also irritated and upset by changes that affect them personally. They know that change is necessary, and that novelty provides relief from boredom, but deep inside they cling to the past. Change in the abstract, or superficial change, they desire, but a change that upsets core habits and routines is deeply disturbing to them.

No revolution has gone without a powerful later reaction against it, for in the long run the void it creates proves too unsettling to the human animal, who unconsciously associates such voids with death and chaos. The opportunity for change and renewal seduces people to the side of the revolution, but once their enthusiasm fades, which it will, they are left with a certain emptiness. Yearning for the past, they create an opening for it to creep back in.

For Machiavelli, the prophet who preaches and brings change can only survive by taking up arms: When the masses inevitably yearn for the past, he must be ready to use force. But the armed prophet cannot last long unless he quickly creates a new set of values and rituals to replace the old ones, and to soothe the anxieties of those who dread change. It is far easier, and less bloody, to play a kind of con game. Preach change as much as you like, and even enact your reforms, but give them the comforting appearance of older events and traditions.

Reigning from A.D. 8 to A.D. 23, the Chinese emperor Wang Mang emerged from a period of great historical turbulence in which the people yearned for order, an order represented for them by Confucius. Some two hundred years earlier, however, Emperor Ch’in had ordered the writings of Confucius burned. A few years later, word had spread that certain texts had miraculously survived, hidden under the scholar’s house. These texts may not have been genuine, but they gave Wang his opportunity: He first confiscated them, then had his scribes insert passages into them that seemed to support the changes he had been imposing on the country. When he released the texts, it seemed that Confucius sanctioned Wang’s reforms, and the people felt comforted and accepted them more easily.

Understand: The fact that the past is dead and buried gives you the freedom to reinterpret it. To support your cause, tinker with the facts. The past is a text in which you can safely insert your own lines.

A simple gesture like using an old title, or keeping the same number for a group, will tie you to the past and support you with the authority of history. As Machiavelli himself observed, the Romans used this device when they transformed their monarchy into a republic. They may have installed two consuls in place of the king, but since the king had been served by twelve lictors, they retained the same number to serve under the consuls. The king had personally performed an annual sacrifice, in a great spectacle that stirred the public; the republic retained this practice, only transferring it to a special “chief of the ceremony, whom they called the King of the sacrifice.” These and similar gestures satisfied the people and kept them from clamoring for the monarchy’s return.

Another strategy to disguise change is to make a loud and public display of support for the values of the past. Seem to be a zealot for tradition and few will notice how unconventional you really are. Renaissance Florence had a centuries-old republic, and was suspicious of anyone who flouted its traditions. Cosimo de’ Medici made a show of enthusiastic support for the republic, while in reality he worked to bring the city under the control of his wealthy family. In form, the Medicis retained the appearance of a republic; in substance, they rendered it powerless. They quietly enacted a radical change, while appearing to safeguard tradition.

Science claims a search for truth that would seem to protect it from conservatism and the irrationality of habit: It is a culture of innovation. Yet when Charles Darwin published his ideas of evolution, he faced fiercer opposition from his fellow scientists than from religious authorities. His theories challenged too many fixed ideas. Jonas Salk ran into the same wall with his radical innovations in immunology, as did Max Planck with his revolutionizing of physics. Planck later wrote of the scientific opposition he faced, “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”

The answer to this innate conservatism is to play the courtier’s game. Galileo did this at the beginning of his scientific career; he later became more confrontational, and paid for it. So pay lip service to tradition. Identify the elements in your revolution that can be made to seem to build on the past. Say the right things, make a show of conformity, and meanwhile let your theories do their radical work. Play with appearances and respect past protocol. This is true in every arena—science being no exception.

Finally, powerful people pay attention to the zeitgeist. If their reform is too far ahead of its time, few will understand it, and it will stir up anxiety and be hopelessly misinterpreted. The changes you make must seem less innovative than they are. England did eventually become a Protestant nation, as Cromwell wished, but it took over a century of gradual evolution.

Watch the zeitgeist. If you work in a tumultuous time, there is power to be gained by preaching a return to the past, to comfort, tradition, and ritual. During a period of stagnation, on the other hand, play the card of reform and revolution—but beware of what you stir up. Those who finish a revolution are rarely those who start it. You will not succeed at this dangerous game unless you are willing to forestall the inevitable reaction against it by playing with appearances and building on the past.

Authority: He who desires or attempts to reform the government of a state, and wishes to have it accepted, must at least retain the semblance of the old forms; so that it may seem to the people that there has been no change in the institutions, even though in fact they are entirely different from the old ones. For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469- 1527)

 

Image: The Cat. Creature of habit, it loves the warmth of the familiar. Upset its routines, disrupt its space, and it will grow unmanageable and psychotic. Placate it by supporting its rituals. If change is necessary, deceive the cat by keeping the smell of the past alive; place objects familiar to it in strategic locations.

REVERSAL

The past is a corpse to be used as you see fit. If what happened in the recent past was painful and harsh, it is self-destructive to associate yourself with it. When Napoleon came to power, the French Revolution was fresh in everyone’s minds. If the court that he established had borne any resemblance to the lavish court of Louis XVI and Marie- Antoinette, his courtiers would have spent all their time worrying about their own necks. Instead, Napoleon established a court remarkable for its sobriety and lack of ostentation. It was the court of a man who valued work and military virtues. This new form seemed appropriate and reassuring.

In other words, pay attention to the times. But understand: If you make a bold change from the past, you must avoid at all costs the appearance of a void or vacuum, or you will create terror. Even an ugly recent history will seem preferable to an empty space. Fill that space immediately with new rituals and forms. Soothing and growing familiar, these will secure your position among the masses.

Finally, the arts, fashion, and technology would seem to be areas in which power would come from creating a radical rupture with the past and appearing cutting edge. Indeed, such a strategy can bring great power, but it has many dangers. It is inevitable that your innovations will be outdone by someone else. You have little control— someone younger and fresher moves in a sudden new direction, making your bold innovation of yesterday seem tiresome and tame today. You are forever playing catch- up; your power is tenuous and short-lived. You want a power built on something more solid. Using the past, tinkering with tradition, playing with convention to subvert it will give your creations something more than a momentary appeal. Periods of dizzying change disguise the fact that a yearning for the past will inevitably creep back in. In the end, using the past for your own purposes will bring you more power than trying to cut it out completely—a futile and self-destructive endeavor.

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Law 48 of the 48 Laws of Power; Assume formlessness

This is law 48 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

  • The powerful are constantly creating form, and their power comes from the rapidity with which they can change.
  • The first psychological requirement of formlessness is to train yourself to take nothing personally.  Never show any defensiveness.
  • When you find yourself in conflict with someone stronger and more rigid, allow them a momentary victory.  Seem to bow to their superiority. Then, by being formless, slowly insinuate yourself.
  • The need for formlessness becomes greater as we age, as we become more likely to become set in our ways and assume too rigid a form.  As you get older, you must rely even less on the past.
  • Remember: Formlessness is a tool. Never confuse it with a go-with-the-flow style, or with a religious resignation to the twists of fortune. You use formlessness, not because it creates inner harmony and peace, but because it will increase your power.
  • Finally, learning to adapt to each new circumstance means seeing events through your own eyes, and often ignoring the advice that people constantly peddle your way. It means that ultimately you must throw out the laws that others preach, and the books they write to tell you what to do, and the sage advice of the elder.
  • Note: when you do finally engage an enemy, hit them with a powerful, concentrated blow.

LAW 48

ASSUME FORMLESSNESS

JUDGMENT

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

In martial arts, it is important that strategy be unfathomable, that form be concealed, and that movements be unexpected, so that preparedness against them be impossible. What enables a good general to win without fail is always having unfathomable wisdom and a modus operandi that leaves no tracks. Only the formless cannot be affected. Sages hide in unfathomability, so their feelings cannot be observed; they operate in formlessness, so their lines cannot be crossed.

THE BOOK OF THE HUAINAN MASTERS, CHINA, SECOND CENTURY B.C.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

By the eighth century B.C., the city-states of Greece had grown so large and prosperous that they had run out of land to support their expanding populations. So they turned to the sea, establishing colonies in Asia Minor, Sicily, the Italian peninsula, even Africa. The city-state of Sparta, however, was landlocked and surrounded by mountains. Lacking access to the Mediterranean, the Spartans never became a seafaring people; instead they turned on the cities around them, and, in a series of brutal, violent conflicts lasting more than a hundred years, managed to conquer an immense area that would provide enough land for their citizens. This solution to their problem, however, brought a new, more formidable one: How could they maintain and police their conquered territories? The subordinate peoples they ruled now outnumbered them ten to one. Surely this horde would take a horrible revenge on them.

Sparta’s solution was to create a society dedicated to the art of war. Spartans would be tougher, stronger, and fiercer than their neighbors. This was the only way they could ensure their stability and survival.

When a Spartan boy reached the age of seven, he was taken from his mother and placed in a military club where he was trained to fight and underwent the strictest discipline. The boys slept on beds of reeds; they were allotted only one outer garment to wear for an entire year. They studied none of the arts; indeed, the Spartans banned music, and permitted only slaves to practice the crafts that were necessary to sustain them. The only skills the Spartans taught were those of warfare. Children seen as weaklings were left to die in a cavern in the mountains. No system of money or trading was allowed in Sparta; acquired wealth, they believed, would sow selfishness and dissension, weakening their warrior discipline. The only way a Spartan could earn a living was through agriculture, mostly on state-owned lands, which slaves, called helots, would work for him.

The Spartans’ single-mindedness allowed them to forge the most powerful infantry in the world. They marched in perfect order and fought with incomparable bravery. Their tight-knit phalanxes could vanquish an army ten times their size, as they proved in defeating the Persians at Thermopylae. A Spartan column on the march would strike terror in the enemy; it seemed to have no weaknesses. Yet although the Spartans proved themselves mighty warriors, they had no interest in creating an empire. They only wanted to keep what they had already conquered and to defend it against invaders. Decades would pass without a single change in the system that had succeeded so well in preserving Sparta’s status quo.

THE DOC WITH THE CROPPED EARS

What crime have I committed that I should be thus mutilated by my own master?” pensively exclaimed Jowler, a young mastiff. “Here’s a pretty condition for a dog of my pretentions! How can I show my face among my friends? Oh! king of beasts, or rather their tyrant, who would dare to treat you thus?” His complaints were not unfounded, for that very morning his master, despite the piercing shrieks of our young friend, had barbarously cut off his long pendent ears. Jowler expected nothing less than to give up the ghost. As he advanced in years, he perceived that he gained more than he had lost by his mutilation; for, being naturally inclined to fight with others, he would often have returned home with this part disfigured in a hundred places. A quarrelsome dog always has his ears lacerated. The less we leave others to lay hold of the better. When one has but one point to defend, it should be protected for fear of accident. Take for example Master Jowler, who, being armed with a spiked collar, and having about as much ear as a bird, a wolf would be puzzled to know where to tackle him.

FABLES. JEAN DE LA FOMTAINE, 1621-1695

At the same time that the Spartans were evolving their warlike culture, another city- state was rising to equal prominence: Athens.

Unlike Sparta, Athens had taken to the sea, not so much to create colonies as for purposes of trade. The Athenians became great merchants; their currency, the famous “owl coins,” spread throughout the Mediterranean. Unlike the rigid Spartans, the Athenians responded to every problem with consummate creativity, adapting to the occasion and creating new social forms and new arts at an incredible pace. Their society was in constant flux. And as their power grew, they came to pose a threat to the defense-minded Spartans.

In 431 B.C., the war that had been brewing between Athens and Sparta for so long finally erupted. It lasted twenty-seven years, but after many twists of fortune, the Spartan war machine finally emerged victorious. The Spartans now commanded an empire, and this time they could not stay in their shell. If they gave up what they had gained, the beaten Athenians would regroup and rise against them, and the long war would have been fought for naught.

After the war, Athenian money poured into Sparta. The Spartans had been trained in warfare, not politics or economics; because they were so unaccustomed to it, wealth and its accompanying ways of life seduced and overwhelmed them.

Spartan governors were sent to rule what had been Athenian lands; far from home, they succumbed to the worst forms of corruption. Sparta had defeated Athens, but the fluid Athenian way of life was slowly breaking down its discipline and loosening its rigid order. And Athens, meanwhile, was adapting to losing its empire, managing to thrive as a cultural and economic center.

Confused by a change in its status quo, Sparta grew weaker and weaker. Some thirty years after defeating Athens, it lost an important battle with the city-state of Thebes. Almost overnight, this once mighty nation collapsed, never to recover.

Interpretation

In the evolution of species, protective armor has almost always spelled disaster. Although there are a few exceptions, the shell most often becomes a dead end for the animal encased in it; it slows the creature down, making it hard for it to forage for food and making it a target for fast-moving predators. Animals that take to the sea or sky, and that move swiftly and unpredictably, are infinitely more powerful and secure.

In facing a serious problem—controlling superior numbers—Sparta reacted like an animal that develops a shell to protect itself from the environment. But like a turtle, the Spartans sacrificed mobility for safety. They managed to preserve stability for three hundred years, but at what cost? They had no culture beyond warfare, no arts to relieve the tension, a constant anxiety about the status quo. While their neighbors took to the sea, learning to adapt to a world of constant motion, the Spartans entombed themselves in their own system. Victory would mean new lands to govern, which they did not want; defeat would mean the end of their military machine, which they did not want, either. Only stasis allowed them to survive. But nothing in the world can remain stable forever, and the shell or system you evolve for your protection will someday prove your undoing.

In the case of Sparta, it was not the armies of Athens that defeated it, but the Athenian money. Money flows everywhere it has the opportunity to go; it cannot be controlled, or made to fit a prescribed pattern. It is inherently chaotic. And in the long run, money made Athens the conqueror, by infiltrating the Spartan system and corroding its protective armor. In the battle between the two systems, Athens was fluid and creative enough to take new forms, while Sparta could grow only more rigid until it cracked.

This is the way the world works, whether for animals, cultures, or individuals. In the face of the world’s harshness and danger, organisms of any kind develop protection—a coat of armor, a rigid system, a comforting ritual. For the short term it may work, but for the long term it spells disaster. People weighed down by a system and inflexible ways of doing things cannot move fast, cannot sense or adapt to change. They lumber around more and more slowly until they go the way of the brontosaurus. Learn to move fast and adapt or you will be eaten.

The best way to avoid this fate is to assume formlessness. No predator alive can attack what it cannot see.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

When World War II ended and the Japanese, who had invaded China in 1937, had finally been thrown out, the Chinese Nationalists, lead by Chiang Kai-shek, decided the time had come to annihilate the Chinese Communists, their hated rivals, once and for all. They had almost succeeded in 1935, forcing the Communists into the Long March, the grueling retreat that had greatly diminished their numbers. Although the Communists had recovered somewhat during the war against Japan, it would not be difficult to defeat them now. They controlled only isolated areas in the countryside, had unsophisticated weaponry, lacked any military experience or training beyond mountain fighting, and controlled no important parts of China, except areas of Manchuria, which they had managed to take after the Japanese retreat. Chiang decided to commit his best forces in Manchuria. He would take over its major cities and from those bases would spread through this northern industrial region, sweeping the Communists away. Once Manchuria had fallen the Communists would collapse.

In 1945 and ’46 the plan worked perfectly: The Nationalists easily took the major Manchurian cities. Puzzlingly, though, in the face of this critical campaign, the Communist strategy made no sense. When the Nationalists began their push, the Communists dispersed to Manchuria’s most out-of-the-way comers. Their small units harassed the Nationalist armies, ambushing them here, retreating unexpectedly there, but these dispersed units never linked up, making them hard to attack. They would seize a town only to give it up a few weeks later. Forming neither rear guards nor vanguards, they moved like mercury, never staying in one place, elusive and formless.

One seductive and ultimately always fatal path has been the development of protective armor. An organism can protect itself by concealment, by swiftness in flight, by effective counterattack, by uniting for attack and defense with other individuals of its species and also by encasing itself within bony plates and spines.... Almost always the experiment of armor failed. Creatures adopiing it tended to become unwieldy. They had to move relatively slowly. Hence they were forced to live mainly on vegetable food; and thus in general they were at a disadvantage as compared with foes living on more rapidly “profitable” animal food: The repeated failure of protective armor shows that, even at a somewhat low evolutionary level, mind triumphed over mere matter. It is this sort of triumph which has been supremely exemplified in Man.

SCIENTIFIC THEORY AND RELIGION, E. W. BARNES, 1933

The Nationalists ascribed this to two things: cowardice in the face of superior forces and inexperience in strategy. Mao Tse-tung, the Communist leader, was more a poet and philosopher than a general, whereas Chiang had studied warfare in the West and was a follower of the German military writer Carl von Clausewitz, among others.

Yet a pattern did eventually emerge in Mao’s attacks. After the Nationalists had taken the cities, leaving the Communists to occupy what was generally considered Manchuria’s useless space, the Communists started using that large space to surround the cities. If Chiang sent an army from one city to reinforce another, the Communists would encircle the rescuing army. Chiang’s forces were slowly broken into smaller and smaller units, isolated from one another, their lines of supply and communication cut. The Nationalists still had superior firepower, but if they could not move, what good was it?

A kind of terror overcame the Nationalist soldiers. Commanders comfortably remote from the front lines might laugh at Mao, but the soldiers had fought the Communists in the mountains, and had come to fear their elusiveness. Now these soldiers sat in their cities and watched as their fast-moving enemies, as fluid as water, poured in on them from all sides. There seemed to be millions of them. The Communists also encircled the soldiers’ spirits, bombarding them with propaganda to lower their morale and pressure them to desert.

The Nationalists began to surrender in their minds. Their encircled and isolated cities started collapsing even before being directly attacked; one after another fell in quick succession. In November of 1948, the Nationalists surrendered Manchuria to the Communists—a humiliating blow to the technically superior Nationalist army, and one that proved decisive in the war. By the following year the Communists controlled all of China.

Interpretation

The two board games that best approximate the strategies of war are chess and the Asian game of go. In chess the board is small. In comparison to go, the attack comes relatively quickly, forcing a decisive battle. It rarely pays to withdraw, or to sacrifice your pieces, which must be concentrated at key areas. Go is much less formal. It is played on a large grid, with 361 intersections—nearly six times as many positions as in chess. Black and white stones (one color for each side) are placed on the board’s intersections, one at a time, wherever you like. Once all your stones (52 for each side) are on the board, the object is to isolate the stones of your opponent by encircling them.

The sage neither seeks to follow the ways of the ancients nor establishes any fixed standard for all times but examines the things of his age and then prepares to deal with them. There was in Sung a man, who tilled a field in which there stood the trunk of a tree. Once a hare, while running fast, rushed against the trunk, broke its neck, and died. Thereupon the man cast his plough aside and watched that tree, hoping that he would get another hare. Yet he never caught another hare and was himself ridiculed by the people of Sung. Now supposing somebody wanted to govern the people of the present age with the policies of the early kings, he would be doing exactly the same thing as that man who watched the tree.

HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHFR, THIRD CENTURY B.C.

A game of go—called weichi in China—can last up to three hundred moves. The strategy is more subtle and fluid than chess, developing slowly; the more complex the pattern your stones initially create on the board, the harder it is for your opponent to understand your strategy. Fighting to control a particular area is not worth the trouble: You have to think in larger terms, to be prepared to sacrifice an area in order eventually to dominate the board. What you are after is not an entrenched position but mobility. With mobility you can isolate the opponent in small areas and then encircle them. The aim is not to kill off the opponent’s pieces directly, as in chess, but to induce a kind of paralysis and collapse. Chess is linear, position oriented, and aggressive; go is nonlinear and fluid. Aggression is indirect until the end of the game, when the winner can surround the opponent’s stones at an accelerated pace.

Chinese military strategists have been influenced by go for centuries. Its proverbs have been applied to war time and again; Mao Tse-tung was an addict of weichi, and its precepts were ingrained in his strategies. A key weichi concept, for example, is to use the size of the board to your advantage, spreading out in every direction so that your opponent cannot fathom your movements in a simple linear way.

“Every Chinese,” Mao once wrote, “should consciously throw himself into this war of a jigsaw pattern” against the Nationalists. Place your men in a jigsaw pattern in go, and your opponent loses himself trying to figure out what you are up to. Either he wastes time pursuing you or, like Chiang Kai-shek, he assumes you are incompetent and fails to protect himself. And if he concentrates on single areas, as Western strategy advises, he becomes a sitting duck for encirclement. In the weichi way of war, you encircle the enemy’s brain, using mind games, propaganda, and irritation tactics to confuse and dishearten. This was the strategy of the Communists—an apparent formlessness that disoriented and terrified their enemy.

Where chess is linear and direct, the ancient game of go is closer to the kind of strategy that will prove relevant in a world where battles are fought indirectly, in vast, loosely connected areas. Its strategies are abstract and multidimensional, inhabiting a plane beyond time and space: the strategist’s mind. In this fluid form of warfare, you value movement over position. Your speed and mobility make it impossible to predict your moves; unable to understand you, your enemy can form no strategy to defeat you. Instead of fixing on particular spots, this indirect form of warfare spreads out, just as you can use the large and disconnected nature of the real world to your advantage. Be like a vapor. Do not give your opponents anything solid to attack; watch as they exhaust themselves pursuing you, trying to cope with your elusiveness. Only formlessness allows you to truly surprise your enemies—by the time they figure out where you are and what you are up to, it is too late.

When you want to fight us, we don’t let you and you can’t find us. But when we want to fight you, we make sure that you can’t get away and we hit you squarely ... and wipe you out.... The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.

Mao Tse-tung, 1893-1976
General Rommel surpassed Patton as a creative intellect.... Rommel shunned military formalism. He made no fixed plans beyond those intended for the initial clash; thereafter, he tailored his tactics to meet specific situations as they arose. He was a lightning-fast decision-maker, physically maintaining a pace that matched his active mentality. In a forbidding sea of sand, he operated in a free environment. Once Rommel ruptured the British lines in Africa, he had the whole northern part of the continent opened to him. Comparatively free from the hamstringing authority of Berlin, disregarding orders even from Hitler himself on occasion, Rommel implemented one successful operation after another until he had most of North Africa under his control and Cairo trembling at his feet.

THE ART OF WINNING WARS, JAMES MRAZEK, 1968

KEYS TO POWER

The human animal is distinguished by its constant creation of forms. Rarely expressing its emotions directly, it gives them form through language, or through socially acceptable rituals. We cannot communicate our emotions without a form.

The forms that we create, however, change constantly—in fashion, in style, in all those human phenomena representing the mood of the moment. We are constantly altering the forms we have inherited from previous generations, and these changes are signs of life and vitality. Indeed, the things that don’t change, the forms that rigidify, come to look to us like death, and we destroy them. The young show this most clearly: Uncomfortable with the forms that society imposes upon them, having no set identity, they play with their own characters, trying on a variety of masks and poses to express themselves. This is the vitality that drives the motor of form, creating constant changes in style.

The powerful are often people who in their youth have shown immense creativity in expressing something new through a new form. Society grants them power because it hungers for and rewards this sort of newness. The problem comes later, when they often grow conservative and possessive. They no longer dream of creating new forms; their identities are set, their habits congeal, and their rigidity makes them easy targets. Everyone knows their next move. Instead of demanding respect they elicit boredom: Get off the stage! we say, let someone else, someone younger, entertain us. When locked in the past, the powerful look comical—they are overripe fruit, waiting to fall from the tree.

Power can only thrive if it is flexible in its forms. To be formless is not to be amorphous; everything has a form—it is impossible to avoid. The formlessness of power is more like that of water, or mercury, taking the form of whatever is around it. Changing constantly, it is never predictable. The powerful are constantly creating form, and their power comes from the rapidity with which they can change. Their formlessness is in the eye of the enemy who cannot see what they are up to and so has nothing solid to attack. This is the premier pose of power: ungraspable, as elusive and swift as the god Mercury, who could take any form he pleased and used this ability to wreak havoc on Mount Olympus.

Human creations evolve toward abstraction, toward being more mental and less material. This evolution is clear in art, which, in this century, made the great discovery of abstraction and conceptualism; it can also be seen in politics, which over time have become less overtly violent, more complicated, indirect and cerebral. Warfare and strategy too have followed this pattern. Strategy began in the manipulation of armies on land, positioning them in ordered formations; on land, strategy is relatively two dimensional, and controlled by topography. But all the great powers have eventually taken to the sea, for commerce and colonization. And to protect their trading lanes they have had to learn how to fight at sea. Maritime warfare requires tremendous creativity and abstract thinking, since the lines are constantly shifting. Naval captains distinguish themselves by their ability to adapt to the literal fluidity of the terrain and to confuse the enemy with an abstract, hard-to-anticipate form. They are operating in a third dimension: the mind.

CHARACTER ARMOR

To carry out the instinctual inhibition demanded by the modern world and to be able to cope with the energy stasis which results from this inhibition, the ego has to undergo a change. The ego, i.e., that part of the person that is exposed to danger, becomes rigid, as we say, when it is continually subjected to the same or similar conflicts between need and a fear-inducing outer world. It acquires in this process a chronic, automatically functioning mode of reaction, i.e., its “character.” It is as if the affective personality armored itself, as if the hard shell it develops were intended to deflect and weaken the blows of the outer world as well as the clamoring of the inner needs. This armoring makes the person less sensitive to unpleasure, but also restricts his libidinal and aggressive motility and thus reduces his capacity for achievement and pleasure. We say the ego has become less flexible and more rigid, and that the abiliry to regulate the energy economy depends on the extent of the armoring.

WILHELM REICH, 1897-1957

Back on land, guerrilla warfare too demonstrates this evolution toward abstraction.

T. E. Lawrence was perhaps the first modern strategist to develop the theory behind this kind of warfare, and to put it into practice. His ideas influenced Mao, who found in his writings an uncanny Western equivalent to weichi. Lawrence was working with Arabs fighting for their territory against the Turks. His idea was to make the Arabs blend into the vast desert, never providing a target, never collecting together in one place. As the Turks scrambled to fight this vaporous army, they spread themselves thin, wasting energy in moving from place to place. They had the superior firepower but the Arabs kept the initiative by playing cat and mouse, giving the Turks nothing to hold on to, destroying their morale. “Most wars were wars of contact…. Ours should be a war of detachment,” Lawrence wrote. “We were to contain the enemy by the silent threat of a vast unknown desert, not disclosing ourselves till we attack”

This is the ultimate form of strategy. The war of engagement has become far too dangerous and costly; indirection and elusiveness yield far better results at a much lower cost. The main cost, in fact, is mental—the thinking it takes to align your forces in scattered patterns, and to undermine the minds and psychology of your opponents. And nothing will infuriate and disorient them more than formlessness. In a world where wars of detachment are the order of the day, formlessness is crucial.

The first psychological requirement of formlessness is to train yourself to take nothing personally. Never show any defensiveness. When you act defensive, you show your emotions, revealing a clear form. Your opponents will realize they have hit a nerve, an Achilles’ heel. And they will hit it again and again. So train yourself to take nothing personally. Never let anyone get your back up. Be like a slippery ball that cannot be held: Let no one know what gets to you, or where your weaknesses lie. Make your face a formless mask and you will infuriate and disorient your scheming colleagues and opponents.

One man who used this technique was Baron James Rothschild. A German Jew in Paris, in a culture decidedly unfriendly to foreigners, Rothschild never took any attack on him personally or showed he had been hurt in any way. He furthermore adapted himself to the political climate, whatever it was—the stiffly formal Restoration monarchy of Louis XVIII, the bourgeois reign of Louis-Philippe, the democratic revolution of 1848, the upstart Louis-Napoleon crowned emperor in 1852. Rothschild accepted them one and all, and blended in. He could afford to appear hypocritical or opportunistic because he was valued for his money, not his politics; his money was the currency of power. While he adapted and thrived, outwardly never showing a form, all the other great families that had begun the century immensely wealthy were ruined in the period’s complicated shifts and turns of fortune. Attaching themselves to the past, they revealed their embrace of a form.

Throughout history, the formless style of ruling has been most adeptly practiced by the queen who reigns alone. A queen is in a radically different position from a king; because she is a woman, her subjects and courtiers are likely to doubt her ability to rule, her strength of character. If she favors one side in some ideological struggle, she is said to be acting out of emotional attachment. Yet if she represses her emotions and plays the authoritarian, in the male fashion, she arouses worse criticism still. Either by nature or by experience, then, queens tend to adopt a flexible style of governing that in the end often proves more powerful than the more direct, male form.

Two female leaders exemplifying the formless style of rule are Queen Elizabeth of England and Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. In the violent wars between Catholics and Protestants, Elizabeth steered a middle course. She avoided alliances that would commit her to one side, and that over time would harm the country. She managed to keep her country at peace until it was strong enough for war. Her reign was one of the most glorious in history because of her incredible capacity to adapt and her flexible ideology.

Catherine the Great too evolved an improvisatory style of governing. After she deposed her husband, Emperor Peter II, taking sole control of Russia in 1762, no one thought she would survive. But she had no preconceived ideas, no philosophy or theory to dictate her policies. Although a foreigner (she came from Germany), she understood Russia’s moods, and how it was changing over the years. “One must govern in such a way that one’s people think they themselves want to do what one commands them to do,” she said, and to do this she had to be always a step ahead of their desires and to adapt to their resistance. By never forcing the issue, she reformed Russia in a strikingly short period of time.

This feminine, formless style of ruling may have emerged as a way of prospering under difficult circumstances, but it has proved immensely seductive to those who have served under it. Being fluid, it is relatively easy for its subjects to obey, for they feel less coerced, less bent to their ruler’s ideology. It also opens up options where an adherence to a doctrine closes them off. Without committing to one side, it allows the ruler to play one enemy off another. Rigid rulers may seem strong, but with time their inflexibility wears on the nerves, and their subjects find ways to push them from the stage. Flexible, formless rulers will be much criticized, but they will endure, and people will eventually come to identify with them, since they are as their subjects are— changing with the wind, open to circumstance.

Despite upsets and delays, the permeable style of power generally triumphs in the end, just as Athens eventually won victory over Sparta through its money and its culture. When you find yourself in conflict with someone stronger and more rigid, allow them a momentary victory. Seem to bow to their superiority. Then, by being formless and adaptable, slowly insinuate yourself into their soul. This way you will catch them off guard, for rigid people are always ready to ward off direct blows but are helpless against the subtle and insinuating. To succeed at such a strategy you must play the chameleon—conform on the surface, while breaking down your enemy from the inside.

For centuries the Japanese would accept foreigners graciously, and appeared susceptible to foreign cultures and influences. Joao Rodriguez, a Portuguese priest who arrived in Japan in 1577 and lived there for many years, wrote, “I am flabbergasted by the Japanese willingness to try and accept everything Portuguese.” He saw Japanese in the streets wearing Portuguese clothing, with rosary beads at their necks and crosses at their hips. This might seem like a weak, mutable culture, but Japan’s adaptability actually protected the country from having an alien culture imposed by military invasion. It seduced the Portuguese and other Westerners into believing the Japanese were yielding to a superior culture when actually the foreign culture’s ways were merely a fashion to be donned and doffed. Under the surface, Japanese culture thrived. Had the Japanese been rigid about foreign influences and tried to fight them off, they might have suffered the injuries that the West inflicted on China. That is the power of formlessness—it gives the aggressor nothing to react against, nothing to hit.

In evolution, largeness is often the first step toward extinction. What is immense and bloated has no mobility, but must constantly feed itself. The unintelligent are often seduced into believing that size connotes power, the bigger the better.

In 483 B.C., King Xerxes of Persia invaded Greece, believing he could conquer the country in one easy campaign. After all, he had the largest army ever assembled for one invasion—the historian Herodotus estimated it at over more than five million. The Persians planned to build a bridge across the Hellespont to overrun Greece from the land, while their equally immense navy would pin the Greek ships in harbor, preventing their forces from escaping to sea. The plan seemed sure, yet as Xerxes prepared the invasion, his adviser Artabanus warned his master of grave misgivings: “The two mightiest powers in the world are against you,” he said. Xerxes laughed—what powers could match his gigantic army? “I will tell you what they are,” answered Artabanus. “The land and the sea.” There were no safe harbors large enough to receive Xerxes’ fleet. And the more land the Persians conquered, and the longer their supply lines stretched, the more ruinous the cost of feeding this immense army would prove.

Thinking his adviser a coward, Xerxes proceeded with the invasion. Yet as Artabanus predicted, bad weather at sea decimated the Persian fleet, which was too large to take shelter in any harbor. On land, meanwhile, the Persian army destroyed everything in its path, which only made it impossible to feed, since the destruction included crops and stores of food. It was also an easy and slow-moving target. The Greeks practiced all kinds of deceptive maneuvers to disorient the Persians. Xerxes’ eventual defeat at the hands of the Greek allies was an immense disaster. The story is emblematic of all those who sacrifice mobility for size: The flexible and fleet of foot will almost always win, for they have more strategic options. The more gigantic the enemy, the easier it is to induce collapse.

The need for formlessness becomes greater the older we get, as we grow more likely to become set in our ways and assume too rigid a form. We become predictable, always the first sign of decrepitude. And predictability makes us appear comical. Although ridicule and disdain might seem mild forms of attack, they are actually potent weapons, and will eventually erode a foundation of power. An enemy who does not respect you will grow bold, and boldness makes even the smallest animal dangerous.

The late-eighteenth-century court of France, as exemplified by Marie-Antoinette, had become so hopelessly tied to a rigid formality that the average Frenchman thought it a silly relic. This depreciation of a centuries-old institution was the first sign of a terminal disease, for it represented a symbolic loosening of the people’s ties to monarchy. As the situation worsened, Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI grew only more rigid in their adherence to the past—and quickened their path to the guillotine. King Charles I of England reacted similarly to the tide of democratic change brewing in England in the 1630s: He disbanded Parliament, and his court rituals grew increasingly formal and distant. He wanted to return to an older style of ruling, with adherence to all kinds of petty protocol. His rigidity only heightened the desire for change. Soon, of course, he was swept up in a devastating civil war, and eventually he lost his head to the executioner’s axe.

As you get older, you must rely even less on the past. Be vigilant lest the form your character has taken makes you seem a relic. It is not a matter of mimicking the fashions of youth—that is equally worthy of laughter. Rather your mind must constantly adapt to each circumstance, even the inevitable change that the time has come to move over and let those of younger age prepare for their ascendancy. Rigidity will only make you look uncannily like a cadaver.

Never forget, though, that formlessness is a strategic pose. It gives you room to create tactical surprises; as your enemies struggle to guess your next move, they reveal their own strategy, putting them at a decided disadvantage. It keeps the initiative on your side, putting your enemies in the position of never acting, constantly reacting. It foils their spying and intelligence. Remember: Formlessness is a tool. Never confuse it with a go- with-the-flow style, or with a religious resignation to the twists of fortune. You use formlessness, not because it creates inner harmony and peace, but because it will increase your power.

Finally, learning to adapt to each new circumstance means seeing events through your own eyes, and often ignoring the advice that people constantly peddle your way. It means that ultimately you must throw out the laws that others preach, and the books they write to tell you what to do, and the sage advice of the elder. “The laws that govern circumstances are abolished by new circumstances,” Napoleon wrote, which means that it is up to you to gauge each new situation. Rely too much on other people’s ideas and you end up taking a form not of your own making. Too much respect for other people’s wisdom will make you depreciate your own. Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.

Image: Mercury. The winged messenger, god of commerce, patron saint of thieves, gamblers, and all those who deceive through swiftness. The day Mercury was born he invented the lyre; by that evening he had stolen the cattle of Apollo. He would scour the world, assuming whatever form he desired. Like the liquid metal named after him, he embodies the elusive, the ungraspable—the power of formlessness.

Authority: Therefore the consummation of forming an army is to arrive at formlessness. Victory in war is not repetitious, but adapts its form endlessly…. A military force has no constant formation, water has no constant shape: The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is called genius. (Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.)

REVERSAL

Using space to disperse and create an abstract pattern should not mean forsaking the concentration of your power when it is valuable to you. Formlessness makes your enemies hunt all over for you, scattering their own forces, mental as well as physical. When you finally engage them, though, hit them with a powerful, concentrated blow. That is how Mao succeeded against the Nationalists: He broke their forces into small, isolated units, which he then could easily overwhelm with a strong attack. The law of concentration prevailed.

When you play with formlessness, keep on top of the process, and keep your long- term strategy in mind. When you assume a form and go on the attack, use concentration, speed, and power. As Mao said, When we fight you, we make sure you can’t get away.”

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Law 23 of the 48 Laws of Power; Concentrate your forces.

This is law 8 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it. Anyone who has ever played the simple board game known as Risk will understand this principle. You amass your resources, and then you hit the “weak spots” with “everything that you got”.

LAW 23

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another—intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

  • Concentrate on a single goal, a single task, and beat it into submission.
  • Note: when fighting a stronger enemy, you must be prepared to dissolve your forces and be elusive.

LAW 23

CONCENTRATE YOUR FORCES

JUDGMENT

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to anotherintensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In China in the early sixth century B.C., the kingdom of Wu began a war with the neighboring northern provinces of the Middle Kingdom. Wu was a growing power, but it lacked the great history and civilization of the Middle Kingdom, for centuries the center of Chinese culture. By defeating the Middle Kingdom, the king of Wu would instantly raise his status.

The kingdom of Wu.

The war began with great fanfare and several victories, but it soon bogged down. A victory on one front would leave the Wu armies vulnerable on another.

The king’s chief minister and adviser, Wu Tzu-hsiu, warned him that the barbarous state of Yueh, to the south, was beginning to notice the kingdom of Wu’s problems and had designs to invade. The king only laughed at such worries—one more big victory and the great Middle Kingdom would be his…

THE GOOSE AND THE HOUSE

A goose who was plucking grass upon a common thought herself affronted by a horse who fed near her; and, in hissing accents, thus addressed him: “I am certainly a more noble and perfect animal than you, for the whole range and extent of your faculties is confined to one element. I can walk upon the ground as well as you; I have, besides, wings, with which I can raise myself in the air; and when I please, I can sport on ponds and lakes, and refresh myself in the cool waters. I enjoy the different powers of a bird, a fish, and a quadruped.”

The horse, snorting somewhat disdainfully, replied: “It is true you inhabit three elements, but you make no very distinguished figure in any one of them. You fly, indeed; but your flight is so heavy and clumsy, that you have no right to put yourself on a level with the lark or the swallow. You can swim on the surface of the waters, but you cannot live in them as fishes do; you cannot find your food in that element, nor glide smoothly along the bottom of the waves. And when you walk, or rather waddle, upon the ground, with your broad feet and your long neck stretched out, hissing at everyone who passes by, you bring upon yourself the derision of all beholders. I confess that I am only formed to move upon the ground; but how graceful is my make! How well turned mv lunbs! How highly finished my whole body! How great my strength! How astonishing my speed! I had much rather be confined to one element, and be admired in that, than be a goose in all!”

FABLES FROM BOCCAACCIO AND CHAUCER. DR. JOHN AIKIN, 1747-1822

In the year 490, Wu Tzu-hsiu sent his son away to safety in the kingdom of Ch’i. In doing so he sent the king a signal that he disapproved of the war, and that he believed the king’s selfish ambition was leading Wu to ruin. The king, sensing betrayal, lashed out at his minister, accusing him of a lack of loyalty and, in a fit of anger, ordered him to kill himself.

Wu Tzu-hsiu obeyed his king, but before he plunged the knife into his chest, he cried, “Tear out my eyes, oh King, and fix them on the gate of Wu, so that I may see the triumphant entry of Yueh.”

As Wu Tzu-hsiu had predicted, within a few years a Yueh army passed beneath the gate of Wu. As the barbarians surrounded the palace, the king remembered his minister’s last words—and felt the dead man’s disembodied eyes watching his disgrace. Unable to bear his shame, the king killed himself, “covering his face so that he would not have to meet the reproachful gaze of his minister in the next world.”

Interpretation

The story of Wu is a paradigm of all the empires that have come to ruin by overreaching. Drunk with success and sick with ambition, such empires expand to grotesque proportions and meet a ruin that is total.

Us Military: List Of Us Military Bases for United States Military Bases World Map – Printable Map

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This is what happened to ancient Athens, which lusted for the faraway island of Sicily and ended up losing its empire.

The Romans stretched the boundaries of their empire to encompass vast territories; in doing so they increased their vulnerability, and the chances of invasion from yet another barbarian tribe. Their useless expansion led their empire into oblivion.

For the Chinese, the fate of the kingdom of Wu serves as an elemental lesson on what happens when you dissipate your forces on several fronts, losing sight of distant dangers for the sake of present gain.

“If you are not in danger,” says Sun-tzu, “do not fight.”

It is almost a physical law: What is bloated beyond its proportions inevitably collapses. The mind must not wander from goal to goal, or be distracted by success from its sense of purpose and proportion. What is concentrated, coherent, and connected to its past has power. What is dissipated, divided, and distended rots and falls to the ground. The bigger it bloats, the harder it falls.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

The Rothschild banking family had humble beginnings in the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt, Germany. The city’s harsh laws made it impossible for Jews to mingle outside the ghetto, but the Jews had turned this into a virtue—it made them self-reliant, and zealous to preserve their culture at all costs. Mayer Amschel, the first of the Rothschilds to accumulate wealth by lending money, in the late eighteenth century, well understood the power that comes from this kind of concentration and cohesion.

First, Mayer Amschel allied himself with one family, the powerful princes of Thurn und Taxis. Instead of spreading his services out, he made himself these princes’ primary banker. Second, he entrusted none of his business to outsiders, using only his children and close relatives. The more unified and tight-knit the family, the more powerful it would become. Soon Mayer Amschel’s five sons were running the business. And when Mayer Amschel lay dying, in 1812, he refused to name a principal heir, instead setting up all of his sons to continue the family tradition, so that they would stay united and would resist the dangers of diffusion and of infiltration by outsiders.

Beware of dissipating your powers: strive constantly to concentrate them. Genius thinks it can do whatever it sees others doing, but it is sure to repent of every ill- judged outlay.

JOHANN VON GOETHE, 1749-1832

Once Mayer Amschel’s sons controlled the family business, they decided that the key to wealth on a larger scale was to secure a foothold in the finances of Europe as a whole, rather than being tied to any one country or prince. Of the five brothers, Nathan had already opened up shop in London. In 1813 James moved to Paris. Amschel remained in Frankfurt, Salomon established himself in Vienna, and Karl, the youngest son, went to Naples. With each sphere of influence covered, they could tighten their hold on Europe’s financial markets.

This widespread network, of course, opened the Rothschilds to the very danger of which their father had warned them: diffusion, division, dissension. They avoided this danger, and established themselves as the most powerful force in European finance and politics, by once again resorting to the strategy of the ghetto—excluding outsiders, concentrating their forces. The Rothschilds established the fastest courier system in Europe, allowing them to get news of events before all their competitors. They held a virtual monopoly on information. And their internal communications and correspondence were written in Frankfurt Yiddish, and in a code that only the brothers could decipher. There was no point in stealing this information—no one could understand it. “Even the shewdest bankers cannot find their way through the Rothschild maze,” admitted a financier who had tried to infiltrate the clan.

In 1824 James Rothschild decided it was time to get married. This presented a problem for the Rothschilds, since it meant incorporating an outsider into the Rothschild clan, an outsider who could betray its secrets. James therefore decided to marry within the family, and chose the daughter of his brother Salomon. The brothers were ecstatic— this was the perfect solution to their marriage problems. James’s choice now became the family policy: Two years later, Nathan married off his daughter to Salomon’s son. In the years to come, the five brothers arranged eighteen matches among their children, sixteen of these being contracted between first cousins.

“We are like the mechanism of a watch: Each part is essential,” said brother Salomon. As in a watch, every part of the business moved in concert with every other, and the inner workings were invisible to the world, which only saw the movement of the hands. While other rich and powerful families suffered irrecoverable downturns during the tumultous first half of the nineteenth century, the tight-knit Rothschilds managed not only to preserve but to expand their unprecedented wealth.

Interpretation

The Rothschilds were born in strange times. They came from a place that had not changed in centuries, but lived in an age that gave birth to the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and an endless series of upheavals. The Rothchilds kept the past alive, resisted the patterns of dispersion of their era and for this are emblematic of the law of concentra tion.

No one represents this better than James Rothschild, the son who established himself in Paris. In his lifetime James witnessed the defeat of Napoleon, the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, the bourgeois monarchy of Orleans, the return to a republic, and finally the enthronement of Napoleon III. French styles and fashions changed at a relentless pace during all this turmoil. Without appearing to be a relic of the past, James steered his family as if the ghetto lived on within them. He kept alive his clan’s inner cohesion and strength. Only through such an anchoring in the past was the family able to thrive amidst such chaos. Concentration was the foundation of the Rothschilds’ power, wealth, and stability.

The best strategy is always to be very strony first in general, then at the decisive point.... There is no higher and simpler law of strategy than that of keeping one’s forces concentrated.... In short the first principle is: act with the utmost concentration.

On War, Carl von Clausewitz, 1780-1831

KEYS TO POWER

The world is plagued by greater and greater division—within countries, political groups, families, even individuals. We are all in a state of total distraction and diffusion, hardly able to keep our minds in one direction before we are pulled in a thousand others. The modern world’s level of conflict is higher than ever, and we have internalized it in our own lives.

The solution is a form of retreat inside ourselves, to the past, to more concentrated forms of thought and action. As Schopenhauer wrote, “Intellect is a magnitude of intensity, not a magnitude of extensity.” Napoleon knew the value of concentrating your forces at the enemy’s weakest spot— it was the secret of his success on the battlefield. But his willpower and his mind were equally modeled on this notion. Single- mindedness of purpose, total concentration on the goal, and the use of these qualities against people less focused, people in a state of distraction—such an arrow will find its mark every time and overwhelm the enemy.

Casanova attributed his success in life to his ability to concentrate on a single goal and push at it until it yielded. It was his ability to give himself over completely to the women he desired that made him so intensely seductive. For the weeks or months that one of these women lived in his orbit, he thought of no one else. When he was imprisoned in the treacherous “leads” of the doge’s palace in Venice, a prison from which no one had ever escaped, he concentrated his mind on the single goal of escape, day after day. A change of cells, which meant that months of digging had all been for naught, did not discourage him; he persisted and eventually escaped. “I have always believed,” he later wrote, “that when a man gets it into his head to do something, and when he exclusively occupies himself in that design, he must succeed, whatever the difficulties. That man will become Grand Vizier or Pope.”

Concentrate on a single goal, a single task, and beat it into submission. In the world of power you will constantly need help from other people, usually those more powerful than you. The fool flits from one person to another, believing that he will survive by spreading himself out. It is a corollary of the law of concentration, however, that much energy is saved, and more power is attained, by affixing yourself to a single, appropriate source of power. The scientist Nikola Tesla ruined himself by believing that he somehow maintained his independence by not having to serve a single master. He even turned down J. P. Morgan, who offered him a rich contract. In the end, Tesla’s “independence” meant that he could depend on no single patron, but was always having to toady up to a dozen of them. Later in his life he realized his mistake.

All the great Renaissance painters and writers wrestled with this problem, none more so than the sixteenth-century writer Pietro Aretino. Throughout his life Aretino suffered the indignities of having to please this prince and that. At last, he had had enough, and decided to woo Charles V, promising the emperor the services of his powerful pen. He finally discovered the freedom that came from attachment to a single source of power. Michelangelo found this freedom with Pope Julius II, Galileo with the Medicis. In the end, the single patron appreciates your loyalty and becomes dependent on your services; in the long run the master serves the slave.

Finally, power itself always exists in concentrated forms. In any organization it is inevitable for a small group to hold the strings. And often it is not those with the titles. In the game of power, only the fool flails about without fixing his target. You must find out who controls the operations, who is the real director behind the scenes. As Richelieu discovered at the beginning of his rise to the top of the French political scene during the early seventeenth century, it was not King Louis XIII who decided things, it was the king’s mother. And so he attached himself to her, and catapulted through the ranks of the courtiers, all the way to the top.

It is enough to strike oil once—your wealth and power are assured for a lifetime.

Image: The Arrow. You cannot hit two targets with one arrow. If your thoughts stray, you miss the enemy’s heart. Mind and arrow must become one. Only with such concentration of mental and physical power can your arrow hit the target and pierce the heart.

Authority: Prize intensity more than extensity. Perfection resides in quality, not quantity. Extent alone never rises above mediocrity, and it is the misfortune of men with wide general interests that while they would like to have their finger in every pie, they have one in none. Intensity gives eminence, and rises to the heroic in matters sublime. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

There are dangers in concentration, and moments when dispersion is the proper tactical move. Fighting the Nationalists for control of China, Mao Tse-tung and the Communists fought a protracted war on several fronts, using sabotage and ambush as their main weapons. Dispersal is often suitable for the weaker side; it is, in fact, a crucial principle of guerrilla warfare. When fighting a stronger army, concentrating your forces only makes you an easier target—better to dissolve into the scenery and frustrate your enemy with the elusiveness of your presence.

Tying yourself to a single source of power has one preeminent danger: If that person dies, leaves, or falls from grace, you suffer. This is what happened to Cesare Borgia, who derived his power from his father, Pope Alexander VI. It was the pope who gave Cesare armies to fight with and wars to wage in his name. When he suddenly died (perhaps from poison), Cesare was as good as dead. He had made far too many enemies over the years, and was now without his father’s protection. In cases when you may need protection, then, it is often wise to entwine yourself around several sources of power. Such a move would be especially prudent in periods of great tumult and violent change, or when your enemies are numerous. The more patrons and masters you serve the less risk you run if one of them falls from power. Such dispersion will even allow you to play one off against the other. Even if you concentrate on the single source of power, you still must practice caution, and prepare for the day when your master or patron is no longer there to help you.

Finally, being too single-minded in purpose can make you an intolerable bore, especially in the arts. The Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello was so obsessed with perspective that his paintings look lifeless and contrived. Whereas Leonardo da Vinci interested himself in everything—architecture, painting, warfare, sculpture, mechanics. Diffusion was the source of his power. But such genius is rare, and the rest of us are better off erring on the side of intensity.

Conclusion

This law has many applications.

Consider the myth of “multitasking”. Certainly women can seemingly and effortless multitask all the time, but men cannot. Do not believe me? Try having a deep conversation with your wife while the football game is on.

Women, start realizing that men cannot do things that you can do. And, men, please understand that you can only do one thing at a time.

Perhaps that is why many men just love to fish.

Men have this ability to just think about nothing. And it is wonderful…

The best way to illustrate this is by empty cardboard boxes.

For women, they put everything in one very large cardboard box, and when they need to access it, they just look inside and move things around and pull it out. Quick, more or less, and while somethings do occasionally need to be untangled from the rest, it's a pretty effective method.

Now men are not like this.

They have one box for each item.

When they need to get and do something, they go to their boxes (they have them in a room all neat and orderly and on carefully numbered shelves.) They find the box they are looking for.

They take it down, pull it out, and carry it to the table, where they carefully take everything out of the box one by one and study each item carefully. They note how they all fit together. They then reassemble them and put them back in the box when done, and carefully put back on the shelf.

Men do this for every single task, and every single problem.

And men have this one very special box. It is a box with absolutely nothing inside. Many times, men go to this box and use it to calm themselves, relax and to just unwind.

Women don't understand how important this box is, but men do.

It’s not just about war and conquest.

If you are going to plant a garden you focus on that task and do everything you can to make that garden happen. If your car is broken down and you need to fix it, the only way that that is going to get done is if you devote all your thoughts, attention and energy to fixing it.

In today’s modern world, everything is trying to take bites out of you. From a thousand tiny hands in your wallet in America, to the internet easily distracting you. Try to find out anything about “grey extraterrestrials” on the internet, you will be overwhelmed with an avalanche of bullshit. The key is to discern and then to focus on only the things that matter. Then tune everything else out.

Try driving a car while shaving, and reading the morning newspaper. Not a good combination.

Focus. Combine forces, and give it everything that you got. That is how you can achieve your goals with a successful resolution.

If a man is having a heart attack, you don’t turn on your phone to check the weather. You deal with the life and death situation in front of you. Concentrate your attention and your resources to achieve maximum success.

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Law 28 of the 48 Laws of Power; Enter action with boldness

This is law 28 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

LAW 28

ENTER ACTION WITH BOLDNESS

JUDGMENT

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

THE TWO ADVENTURERS

The path of pleasure never leads to glory! The prodigious achievements of Hercules were the result of high adventure, and though there is little, either in fable or history, to show that he had any rivals, still it is recorded that a knight errant, in company with a fellow adventurer, sought his fortune in a romantic country. He had not traveled far when his companion observed a post, on which was written the following inscription: “Brave adventurer, if you have a desire to discover that which has never been seen by any knight errant, you have only to pass this torrent, and then take in your arms an elephant of stone and carry it in one breath to the summit of this mountain, whose noble head seems blended with the sky.” “But,” said the knight’s companion, “the water may be deep as well as rapid, and though, notwithstanding, we should pass it, why should we be encumbered with the elephant? What a ridiculous undertaking!” And philosophically and with nice calculation, he observed that the elephant might be carried four steps; but for conveying it to the top of the mountain in one breath, that was not in the power of a mortal, unless it should be the dwarf figure of an elephant, fit only to be placed on the top of a stick; and then what honor would there be in such an adventure? “There is,” said he, “some deception in this writing. It is an enigma only fit to amuse a child. I shall therefore leave you and your elephant.”

The reasoner then departed; but the adventurous man rushed with his eyes closed across the water; neither depth nor violence prevented him. and according to the inscription he saw the elephant lying on the opposite bank.

He took it and carried it to the top of the hill, where he saw a town. A shriek from the elephant alarmed the people of the city, who rose in arms; but the adventurer, nothing daunted, was determined to die a hero. The people, however, were awed by his presence, and he was astonished to hear them proclaim him successor to their king, who had recently died. Great enterprises are only achieved by adventurous spirits. They who calculate with too great nicety every difficulty and obstacle which is likely to lie in their way, lose that time in hesitation, which the more daring seize and render available to the loftiest purposes.

-FABLES. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695

BOLDNESS AND HESITATION: A Brief Psychological Comparison Boldness and hesitation elicit very different psychological responses in their targets: Hesitation puts obstacles in your path, boldness eliminates them. Once you understand this, you will find it essential to overcome your natural timidity and practice the art of audacity. The following are among the most pronounced psychological effects of boldness and timidity.

The Bolder the Lie the Better. We all have weaknesses, and our efforts are never perfect. But entering action with boldness has the magical effect of hiding our deficiencies. Con artists know that the bolder the lie, the more convincing it becomes. The sheer audacity of the story makes it more credible, distracting attention from its inconsistencies. When putting together a con or entering any kind of negotiation, go further than you planned. Ask for the moon and you will be surprised how often you get it.

Lions Circle the Hesitant Prey. People have a sixth sense for the weaknesses of others. If, in a first encounter, you demonstrate your willingness to compromise, back down, and retreat, you bring out the lion even in people who are not necessarily bloodthirsty. Everything depends on perception, and once you are seen as the kind of person who quickly goes on the defensive, who is willing to negotiate and be amenable, you will be pushed around without mercy.

Boldness Strikes Fear; Fear Creates Authority. The bold move makes you seem larger and more powerful than you are. If it comes suddenly, with the stealth and swiftness of a snake, it inspires that much more fear. By intimidating with a bold move, you establish a precedent: in every subsequent encounter, people will be on the defensive, in terror of your next strike.

Going Halfway with Half a Heart Digs the Deeper Grave. If you enter an action with less than total confidence, you set up obstacles in your own path. When a problem arises you will grow confused, seeing options where there are none and inadvertently creating more problems still. Retreating from the hunter, the timid hare scurries more easily into his snares.

Hesitation Creates Gaps, Boldness Obliterates Them. When you take time to think, to hem and haw, you create a gap that allows others time to think as well. Your timidity infects people with awkward energy, elicits embarrassment. Doubt springs up on all sides.

Boldness destroys such gaps. The swiftness of the move and the energy of the action leave others no space to doubt and worry. In seduction, hesitation is fatal—it makes your victim conscious of your intentions. The bold move crowns seduction with triumph: It leaves no time for reflection.

Audacity Separates You from the Herd. Boldness gives you presence and makes you seem larger than life. The timid fade into the wallpaper, the bold draw attention, and what draws attention draws power. We cannot keep our eyes off the audacious—we cannot wait to see their next bold move.

OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW

Observance I

In May of 1925, five of the most successful dealers in the French scrap-metal business found themselves invited to an “official” but “highly confidential” meeting with the deputy director general of the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs at the Hotel Crillon, then the most luxurious hotel in Paris. When the businessmen arrived, it was the director general himself, a Monsieur Lustig, who met them in a swank suite on the top floor.

The businessmen had no idea why they had been summoned to this meeting, and they were bursting with curiosity. After drinks, the director explained. “Gentlemen,” he said, “this is an urgent matter that requires complete secrecy. The government is going to have to tear down the Eiffel Tower.” The dealers listened in stunned silence as the director explained that the tower, as recently reported in the news, desperately needed repairs. It had originally been meant as a temporary structure (for the Exposition of 1889), its maintenance costs had soared over the years, and now, in a time of a fiscal crisis, the government would have to spend millions to fix it. Many Parisians considered the Eiffel Tower an eyesore and would be delighted to see it go. Over time, even the tourists would forget about it—it would live on in photographs and postcards. “Gentlemen,” Lustig said, “you are all invited to make the government an offer for the Eiffel Tower.”

He gave the businessmen sheets of government stationery filled with figures, such as the tonnage of the tower’s metal. Their eyes popped as they calculated how much they could make from the scrap. Then Lustig led them to a waiting limo, which brought them to the Eiffel Tower. Flashing an official badge, he guided them through the area, spicing his tour with amusing anecdotes. At the end of the visit he thanked them and asked them to have their offers delivered to his suite within four days.

Several days after the offers were submitted, one of the five, a Monsieur P., received notice that his bid was the winner, and that to secure the sale he should come to the suite at the hotel within two days, bearing a certified check for more than 250,000 francs (the equivalent today of about $1,000,000)—a quarter of the total price. On delivery of the check, he would receive the documents confirming his ownership of the Eiffel Tower. Monsieur P. was excited—he would go down in history as the man who had bought and torn down the infamous landmark. But by the time he arrived at the suite, check in hand, he was beginning to have doubts about the whole affair. Why meet in a hotel instead of a government building? Why hadn’t he heard from other officials? Was this a hoax, a scam? As he listened to Lustig discuss the arrangements for the scrapping of the tower, he hesitated, and contemplated backing out.

Suddenly, however, he realized that the director had changed his tone. Instead of talking about the tower, he was complaining about his low salary, about his wife’s desire for a fur coat, about how galling it was to work hard and be unappreciated. It dawned on Monsieur P. that this high government official was asking for a bribe. The effect on him, though, was not outrage but relief. Now he was sure that Lustig was for real, since in all of his previous encounters with French bureaucrats, they had inevitably asked for a little greasing of the palm. His confidence restored, Monsieur P. slipped the director several thousand francs in bills, then handed him the certified check. In return he received the documentation, including an impressive-looking bill of sale. He left the hotel, dreaming of the profits and fame to come.

Over the next few days, however, as Monsieur P. waited for correspondence from the government, he began to realize that something was amiss. A few telephone calls made

it clear that there was no deputy director general Lustig, and there were no plans to destroy the Eiffel Tower: He had been bilked of over 250,000 francs!

Monsieur P. never went to the police. He knew what kind of reputation he would get if word got out that he had fallen for one of the most absurdly audacious cons in history. Besides the public humiliation, it would have been business suicide.

Interpretation

Had Count Victor Lustig, con artist extraordinaire, tried to sell the Arc de Triomphe, a bridge over the Seine, a statue of Balzac, no one would have believed him. But the Eiffel Tower was just too large, too improbable to be part of a con job. In fact it was so improbable that Lustig was able to return to Paris six months later and “resell” the Eiffel Tower to a different scrap-iron dealer, and for a higher price—a sum in francs equivalent today to over $1,500,000!

Largeness of scale deceives the human eye. It distracts and awes us, and is so self- evident that we cannot imagine there is any illusion or deception afoot. Arm yourself with bigness and boldness—stretch your deceptions as far as they will go and then go further. If you sense that the sucker has suspicions, do as the intrepid Lustig did: Instead of backing down, or lowering his price, he simply raised his price higher, by asking for and getting a bribe. Asking for more puts the other person on the defensive, cuts out the nibbling effect of compromise and doubt, and overwhelms with its boldness.

Always set to work without misgivings on the score of imprudence. Fear of failure in the mind of a performer is, for an onlooker, already evidence of failure.... Actions are dangerous when there is doubt as to their wisdom; it would be safer to do nothing. 

-BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658

THE STORY OF HUH SAENG

In a lowly thatched cottage in the Namsan Valley there lived a poor couple, Mr. and Mrs. Huh Saeng. The husband confined himself for seven years and only read books in his cold room…. One day his wife, all in tears, said to him: “Look here, my good man! What is the use of all your book reading? I have spent my youth in washing and sewing for other people and yet I have no spare jacket or skirt to wear and I have had no food to eat during the past three days. I am hungry and cold. I can stand it no more!” … Hearing these words, the middle-aged scholar closed his book… rose to his feet and… without saying another word, he went out of doors…. Arriving in the heart of the city, he slopped a passing gentleman. “Hello, my friend! Who is the richest man in town?” “Poor countryman! Don’t you know Bvôn-ssi, the millionaire? His glittering tile-roofed house pierced by twelve gates is just over there.” Huh Saeng bent his steps to the rich man’s house. Having entered the btg gate, he flung the guest-room door open and addressed the host:“I need 10,000 yang for capital for my commercial business and I want you to lend me the money.” “Alright, sir. Where shall I send the money?”

“To the Ansông Market in care of a commission merchant.” “Very well. sir. I will draw on Kim, who does the biggest commission business in the Ansông Market. You’ll get the money there.” “Good-bye. sir.” When Huh Saeng was gone, all the other guests in the room asked Bvôn-ssi why he gave so much money to a beggarlike stranger whose family name was unknown to him. But the rich man replied with a triumphant face: “Even though he was in ragged clothes, he spoke clearly to the point without betraying shame or inferiority, unlike common people who want to borrow money for a bad debt. Such a man as he is either mad or self-confident in doing business. But judging from his dauntless eyes and booming voice he is an uncommon man with a superhuman brain, worthy of my trust. I know money and I know men. Money often makes a man small, but a man like him makes big money. I am only glad to have helped a big man do big business.”

-BEHIND THE SCENES OF ROYAL PALACES IN KOREA, HA TAE-HUNG, 1983

Observance II

On his deathbed in 1533, Vasily III, the Grand Duke of Moscow and ruler of a semi- united Russia, proclaimed his three-year-old son, Ivan IV, as his successor. He appointed his young wife, Helena, as regent until Ivan reached his majority and could rule on his own. The aristocracy—the boyars—secretly rejoiced: For years the dukes of Moscow had been trying to extend their authority over the boyars’ turf. With Vasily dead, his heir a mere three years old, and a young woman in charge of the dukedom, the boyars would be able to roll back the dukes’ gains, wrest control of the state, and humiliate the royal family.

Aware of these dangers, young Helena turned to her trusted friend Prince Ivan Obolensky to help her rule. But after five years as regent she suddenly died—poisoned by a member of the Shuisky family, the most fearsome boyar clan. The Shuisky princes seized control of the government and threw Obolensky in prison, where he starved to death. At the age of eight, Ivan was now a despised orphan, and any boyar or family member who took an interest in him was immediately banished or killed.

And so Ivan roamed the palace, hungry, ill clothed, and often in hiding from the Shuiskys, who treated him roughly when they saw him. On some days they would search him out, clothe him in royal robes, hand him a scepter, and set him on the throne—a kind of mock ritual in which they lampooned his royal pretensions. Then they would shoo him away. One evening several of them chased the Metropolitan—the head of the Russian church—through the palace, and he sought refuge in Ivan’s room; the boy watched in horror as the Shuiskys entered, hurled insults, and beat the Metropolitan mercilessly.

Ivan had one friend in the palace, a boyar named Vorontsov who consoled and advised him. One day, however, as he, Vorontsov, and the newest Metropolitan conferred in the palace refectory, several Shuiskys burst in, beat up Uorontsov, and insulted the Metropolitan by tearing and treading on his robes. Then they banished Vorontsov from Moscow.

Throughout all this Ivan maintained a strict silence. To the boyars it seemed that their plan had worked: The young man had turned into a terrified and obedient idiot. They could ignore him now, even leave him alone. But on the evening of December 29, 1543, Ivan, now thirteen, asked Prince Andrei Shuisky to come to his room. When the prince arrived, the room was filled with palace guards. Young Ivan then pointed his finger at Andrei and ordered the guards to arrest him, have him killed, and throw his body to the bloodhounds in the royal kennel. Over the next few days Ivan had all of Andrei’s close associates arrested and banished. Caught off-guard by his sudden boldness, the boyars now stood in mortal terror of this youth, the future Ivan the Terrible, who had planned and waited for five years to execute this one swift and bold act that would secure his power for decades to come.

Interpretation

The world is full of boyars—men who despise you, fear your ambition, and jealously guard their shrinking realms of power. You need to establish your authority and gain respect, but the moment the boyars sense your growing boldness, they will act to thwart you. This is how Ivan met such a situation: He lay low, showing neither ambition nor discontent. He waited, and when the time came he brought the palace guards over to his side. The guards had come to hate the cruel Shuiskys. Once they agreed to Ivan’s plan, he struck with the swiftness of a snake, pointing his finger at Shuisky and giving him no time to react.

Negotiate with a boyar and you create opportunities for him. A small compromise becomes the toehold he needs to tear you apart. The sudden bold move, without discussion or warning, obliterates these toeholds, and builds your authority. You terrify doubters and despisers and gain the confidence of the many who admire and glorify those who act boldly.

Observance III

In 1514 the twenty-two-year-old Pietro Aretino was working as a lowly assistant scullion to a wealthy Roman family. He had ambitions of greatness as a writer, to enflame the world with his name, but how could a mere lackey hope to realize such dreams?

That year Pope Leo X received from the king of Portugal an embassy that included many gifts, most prominent among them a great elephant, the first in Rome since imperial times. The pontiff adored this elephant and showered it with attention and gifts.

But despite his love and care, the elephant, which was called Hanno, became deathly ill. The pope summoned doctors, who administered a five-hundred-pound purgative to the elephant, but all to no avail. The animal died and the pope went into mourning. To console himself he summoned the great painter Raphael and ordered him to create a life-sized painting of Hanno above the animal’s tomb, bearing the inscription, “What nature took away, Raphael has with his art restored.”

Over the next few days, a pamphlet circulated throughout Rome that caused great merriment and laughter. Entitled “The Last Will and Testament of the Elephant Hanno,” it read, in part, “To my heir the Cardinal Santa Croce, I give my knees, so that he can imitate my genuflections…. To my heir Cardinal Santi Quattro, I give my jaws, so that he can more readily devour all of Christ’s revenues…. To my heir Cardinal Medici, I give my ears, so that he can hear everyone’s doings….” To Cardinal Grassi, who had a reputation for lechery, the elephant bequeathed the appropriate, oversized part of his own anatomy.

On and on the anonymous pamphlet went, sparing none of the great in Rome, not even the pope. With each one it took aim at their best-known weakness. The pamphlet ended with verse, “See to it that Aretino is your friend / For he is a bad enemy to have. / His words alone could ruin the high pope / So God guard everyone from his tongue.”

Interpretation

With one short pamphlet, Aretino, son of a poor shoemaker and a servant himself, hurled himself to fame. Everyone in Rome rushed to find out who this daring young man was. Even the pope, amused by his audacity, sought him out and ended up giving him a job in the papal service. Over the years he came to be known as the “Scourge of Princes,” and his biting tongue earned him the respect and fear of the great, from the king of France to the Hapsburg emperor.

Fear, which always magnifies objects, gives a body to all their fancies, which takes for its form whatever they conceive to exist in their enemies’ thoughts; so that fearful persons seldom fail to fall into real inconveniences, occasioned by imaginary dangers.... And the duke, whose predominant character was to be always full of fear and of distrust, was, of all men I have ever seen, the most capable of falling into false steps, by the dread he had of falling into them; being in that like unto hares.

CARDINAL DE RETZ, 1613-1679

The Aretino strategy is simple: When you are as small and obscure as David was, you must find a Goliath to attack. The larger the target, the more attention you gain. The bolder the attack, the more you stand out from the crowd, and the more admiration you earn. Society is full of those who think daring thoughts but lack the guts to print and publicize them. Voice what the public feels—the expression of shared feelings is always powerful. Search out the most prominent target possible and sling your boldest shot. The world will enjoy the spectacle, and will honor the underdog—you, that is— with glory and power.

A boy in the fields

A boy playing in the fields got stung by a nettle. He ran home to his mother, telling her that he had but touched that nasty weed, and it had stung him. “It was just your touching it, my boy,” said the mother, “that caused it to sting you; the next time you meddle with a nettle, grasp it tightly, and it will do you no hurt.”

Do boldly what you do at all.

-FABLES, AESOP. SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

KEYS TO POWER

Most of us are timid. We want to avoid tension and conflict and we want to be liked by all. We may contemplate a bold action but we rarely bring it to life. We are terrified of the consequences, of what others might think of us, of the hostility we will stir up if we dare go beyond our usual place.

Although we may disguise our timidity as a concern for others, a desire not to hurt or offend them, in fact it is the opposite—we are really self-absorbed, worried about ourselves and how others perceive us. Boldness, on the other hand, is outer-directed, and often makes people feel more at ease, since it is less self-conscious and less repressed.

This can be seen most clearly in seduction. All great seducers succeed through effrontery. Casanova’s boldness was not revealed in a daring approach to the woman he desired, or in intrepid words to flatter her; it consisted in his ability to surrender

himself to her completely and to make her believe he would do anything for her, even risk his life, which in fact he sometimes did. The woman on whom he lavished this attention understood that he held nothing back from her. This was infinitely more flattering than compliments. At no point during the seduction would he show hesitation or doubt, simply because he never felt it.

Part of the charm of being seduced is that it makes us feel engulfed, temporarily outside of ourselves and the usual doubts that permeate our lives. The moment the seducer hesitates, the charm is broken, because we become aware of the process, of their deliberate effort to seduce us, of their self-consciousness. Boldness directs attention outward and keeps the illusion alive. It never induces awkwardness or embarrassment. And so we admire the bold, and prefer to be around them, because their self-confidence infects us and draws us outside our own realm of inwardness and reflection.

NINON DE LENCLOS

But with those who have made an impression upon your heart, I have noticed that you are timid. This quality might affect a bourgeoise, but you must attack the heart of a woman of the world with other weapons.... I tell you on behalf of women: there is not one of us who does not prefer a little rough handling to too much consideration. Men lose through blundering more hearts than virtue saves. The more timidity a lover shows with us the more it concerns our pride to goad him on; the more respect he has for our resistance, the more respect we demand of him. We would willingly say to you men: “Ah, in pity’s name do not suppose us to be so very virtuous; you are forcing us to have too much of it....”

We are continually struggling to hide the fact that we have permitted ourselves to be loved. Put a woman in a position to say that she has yielded only to a species of violence, or to surprise: persuade her that you do not undervalue her, and I will answer for her heart....A little more boldness on your part would put you both at your ease. Do you remember what M. de la Rochefoucauld told you lately: “A reasonable man in love may act like a madman, but he should not and cannot act like an idiot.”

LIFE, LETTERS, AND EPICUREAN PHILOSOPHY OF NINON DE LENCLOS, NINON DE LENCLOS, 1620-1705

Few are born bold. Even Napoleon had to cultivate the habit on the battlefield, where he knew it was a matter of life and death. In social settings he was awkward and timid, but he overcame this and practiced boldness in every part of his life because he saw its tremendous power, how it could literally enlarge a man (even one who, like Napoleon, was in fact conspicuously small). We also see this change in Ivan the Terrible: A harmless boy suddenly transforms himself into a powerful young man who commands authority, simply by pointing a finger and taking bold action.

You must practice and develop your boldness. You will often find uses for it. The best place to begin is often the delicate world of negotiation, particularly those discussions in which you are asked to set your own price. How often we put ourselves down by asking for too little. When Christopher Columbus proposed that the Spanish court finance his voyage to the Americas, he also made the insanely bold demand that he be called “Grand Admiral of the Ocean.” The court agreed. The price he set was the price he received—he demanded to be treated with respect, and so he was. Henry Kissinger too knew that in negotiation, bold demands work better than starting off with piecemeal concessions and trying to meet the other person halfway. Set your value high, and then, as Count Lustig did, set it higher.

Understand: If boldness is not natural, neither is timidity. It is an acquired habit, picked up out of a desire to avoid conflict. If timidity has taken hold of you, then, root it out. Your fears of the consequences of a bold action are way out of proportion to reality, and in fact the consequences of timidity are worse. Your value is lowered and you create a self-fulfilling cycle of doubt and disaster. Remember: The problems created by an audacious move can be disguised, even remedied, by more and greater audacity.

Image: The Lion and the Hare. The lion creates no gaps in his way—his movements are too swift, his jaws too quick and powerful. The timid hare will do any thing to escape danger, but in its haste to retreat and flee, it backs into traps, hops smack into its enemies’ jaws.

Authority: I certainly think that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force; and it can be seen that she lets herself be overcome by the bold rather than by those who proceed coldly. And therefore, like a woman, she is always a friend to the young, because they are less cautious, fiercer, and master her with greater audacity. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)

REVERSAL

Boldness should never be the strategy behind all of your actions. It is a tactical instrument, to be used at the right moment. Plan and think ahead, and make the final element the bold move that will bring you success. In other words, since boldness is a learned response, it is also one that you learn to control and utilize at will. To go through life armed only with audacity would be tiring and also fatal. You would offend too many people, as is proven by those who cannot control their boldness. One such person was Lola Montez; her audacity brought her triumphs and led to her seduction of the king of Bavaria. But since she could never rein in her boldness, it also led to her downfall—in Bavaria, in England, wherever she turned. It crossed the border between boldness and the appearance of cruelty, even insanity. Ivan the Terrible suffered the same fate: When the power of boldness brought him success, he stuck to it, to the point where it became a lifelong pattern of violence and sadism. He lost the ability to tell when boldness was appropriate and when it was not.

Timidity has no place in the realm of power; you will often benefit, however, by being able to feign it. At that point, of course, it is no longer timidity but an offensive weapon: You are luring people in with your show of shyness, all the better to pounce on them boldly later.

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Preventing personal starvation

This article is not for everyone. If you are just doing fine and don't think you will ever face losing a source of income or intermittent food supply then you can ignore this article. 

But for 90% of the MM readership, you all should at least read it.

I generated this article after noting that a number of my friends back in the United States, as well as a number of MM participants were having trouble.

Serious, serious trouble.

While not life and death situations, they did involve discomfort. Because people, you have no idea what it is like when you haven’t eaten a decent meal in a few weeks. This is real starvation. And not a good situation to be in.

And so I just cannot post anything else until I get my thoughts “off my chest” and onto MM.

Introduction

One of the things that has happened to me, time and time again in the United States was massive layoffs without notice on or right before the holidays. Last total was around five on Christmas Eve. And because we were living paycheck to paycheck (with no savings), and no secondary sources of income we were often thrown into uncomfortable situations.

Like being out of food, or running out of food, and having to wait weeks (or sometimes months) for the local government agencies to provide us support and assistance.

And being a “white collar” professional, as soon as we obtained food stamps, monetary awards or help, the first thing that we would do is try to replicate our habits. When we would get money, we would go to a fast food restaurant or a local diner.

And when we would get food stamps we treated it as “play money” and bought the more expensive frozen food, and snacks that we normally wouldn’t buy.

These latent responses to a catastrophic situation were not good for us.

But you know, we learned and adapted. And here are some of my tricks to make sure that this kind of situation would never occur again.

Basics

Let’s get started.

[1] The woman is in charge of household finance and meals / food.

This is the first and most important aspect of this entire post. Listen up!

Call me an old fashioned man, or whatever you want. But the most important thing that you can do is put the “woman of the house” in charge of finance, and meals.

She will budget the meals, and the finances, and do a very good job at it.

And the ONLY reason why I did not implement this very simple change earlier in my life because I was far too egotistical, and taken in by the progressive “everyone is equal” beliefs.

Men and women are NOT equal. We each have certain strengths and weaknesses. And women are natural financiers, and managers.

Do not waste that resource.

The most important thing that you can do is put the “woman of the house” in charge of finance, and meals.

If you want to forever prevent this kind of situation from ever happening again, then learn how to delegate.

The woman (whether working in a career or not) should ALWAYS be in charge of the finances and the meals.

Period.

This is the first, biggest and most important change to your life that will really seriously prevent these kinds of emergencies from ever happening ever again.

Oh, and one more thing. Don’t ever disagree with her (his, if there are gender issues) on the allocations.  Creating this kind of division of responsibility should be automatic, painless and should be the last thing to contribute to family strife.

[2] An emphasis on healthy food.

The second thing, also of equal importance is that the domestic management must be such that well budgeted meals, both tasty and healthy be emphasized. This will occur automatically (in my experience) but it does need to be spelled out specifically so all will agree to it.

I am advocating, good healthy simple food. With an occasional restaurant visit or special “date” or event to improve your quality of life.

You should be eating healthy delicious meals.

Expensive gourmet chain coffees are out. So is ice cream. This should be dedicated for special events. Not regular meals as dessert. No snacks. Zero Doritos, and potato chips, pretzels, and and fried pork skins.

Zero.

Am I clear on this?

The idea is that you can still have these things, but in moderation and only on special occasions. If you want to have snacks then opt for the far cheaper salted peanuts than a bag of Doritos.

Let’s look at the third element of “the basics”.

[3] Grocery budget must be heavy on staples, fruits, and vegetables.

Oh, you have heard that before.

Right?

But I am going to really underline this point. If you break down the costs for groceries you will find that staples such as rice, potatoes, flour, and eggs are very surprisingly cheap.

You can buy huge bags of the items for very little, and they alone can make very bland and tasteless meals for a long long time. Of which you can convert into very tasty meals with some salt, and some other seasonings.

For instance, in America we used to just eat rice with soy sauce. 

In China they think this is insane. 

Here's a try. Take some soy sauce, olive oil, cooking wine, and vinegar.  Mix it together, add salt and pepper. 

Then cut up tomatoes and onions. 

Mix together with the sauces and eat over the rice. 

Not a gourmet meal, but it tastes fresh, and will not be all that terrible.ANd it will fill you up. Total cost is probably under 10 cents.

Staples of rice, bread, potatoes, and other vegetables can diversify the meals, fill you up, and really do not cost much money.

Vegetables are also very cheap. But you will need to be able to buy them twice a week as they perish easily. Fruit tends to be expensive. I argue that everyone should have some fruit in the house (it helps you shit and aids in digestion) but you don’t need to buy the most expensive fruit. Get whatever is on sale, and cheap. In the Summer like now, peaches are cheap. So is watermelon.

Less than 5% of the weekly grocery budget should go to condiments, and frozen food.

Didn’t quite “get it” did you? Let me repeat.

Less than 5% of the weekly grocery budget should go to condiments, and frozen food.

Yah. If you are not following this rule you are setting yourself up for trouble. You as a man, or as a woman have a responsibility to your family and your beloved pets. You need to proved for them. You NEED to manage your grocery shopping.

So let me repeat.

Less than 5% of the weekly grocery budget should go to condiments, and frozen food. The rest goes to staples, vegetables, and fruit (On sale).

[4] Start building a larder

You do not need to be a Prepper or a Mormon to start having a “Larder”. A larder is a long term storage of foodstuff and elements that enable that your family will have food during the ups and downs of economic uncertainty. If you start small, but religiously contribute to it, after six months you should have a very sizable larder that you can use to make good, tasty and delicious meals.

A basement larder full of home canned vegetables and fruits.

A larder should be in the coolest part of your house. Preferably a cellar, basement or garage. It should store staples and cans. You should make sure that you have mouse traps nearby as they tend to attract rodents. If you are doing better, you can add a deep freezer; just make sure that it is new and reliable. Do not skimp and get a used one. All it takes is one breakdown that will ruin your entire stock of frozen supplies.

[5] Know your local resources for food.

You don’t need to go to chain supermarkets for food. You can go to old food warehouses, enormous structures that contain out of date cans and boxes.They sell out of date products. Almost all the canned goods are fine. Boxed goods are hit and miss. Be careful. So what if the cans are dinged. Just makes sure they are not broken.

You can also go to bakery outlets, and look at their end of day specials. You can go to local farmers’ markets and scoot into grocery stores at the end of the day for the best prices.

Better yet talk to the owners and managers. Know them on a personal basis. You might be surprised. I know that Panera Bread gives its end of the day bread out to local organizations and people that need it instead of throwing them away. Just communicate. Build relationships. Contribute to your community. Be local.

If you are uncomfortable going to the wharf, and the fishing vessels yourself, you can access some establishments that do all the leg work for you. Like this one in Panama City, Florida.

The same thing goes for local small farmers and such. You would be amazed at the prices you can get at a local egg farm, or the milk at a diary at the farm. You just need to get up, find out where they are and visit them. Talk to the people. Know them personally. Become a customer, and when times get hard, you might be surprised the help you will get back in return.

[6] Know your emergency services

We are surrounded with Rufus’s. We just are so busy dealing with our day to day lives that we do not realize that there are all sorts of emergency services all around us. Many are in “the Yellow Pages” or whatever constitutes for them on the internet. All are run by Rufus’s. These vary from all sorts of services and can include…

  • County social services
  • Private social services
  • Religious (Catholic, etc.) social services
  • Food banks
  • Volunteer organizations
  • Salvation Army
  • Animal Shelters

[7] Contribute your skill sets to others

I once had a long time high school friend who suddenly started having really strange cramps and pains. But he was poor, living on the edge of poverty and couldn’t afford a doctor’s visit, and since he worked (and owned a house) he could not qualify for free medical care.

So he asked me what to do, and I reminded him that he used to be the groundskeeper for a local doctor a few towns away.

I told him that what did he have to lose, but to go up and ask him for help.

And you know what? He did exactly that.

Surprised me. No Shit!

Most people never listen to MM. They just want sympathy. Not real help and advice.

But sure as shit he called him up and visited him at his house. The doctor was so happy to see him, and was more than willing to look at him. He did it for free, and then wrote some prescriptions for him. Called them into the pharmacy and paid for them himself.

You never know.

It never, ever hurts to ask.

You might be surprised at the response.

We need to be part of a community and help each other.

Be part of the community. Smile. Be kind and helpful. Contribute what you can. And when you need help, the community will give it back to you.

Valuable skills that you can contribute to society (just connect with any local social service and tell them that you want to offer free support to those in need) include

  • Medical profession
  • Machining, metal fabrication
  • Mechanic work / shop repair
  • Handyman
  • Electrician
  • Plumbing
  • Translations Services
  • Teaching

And even more! And if the first social service isn’t interested, just go down the line until you too are hooked into a local community participating and helping those in need nearby.

[8] Local options

I knew a man who gave free gasoline to various social service organizations and vouchers to those in need. I also knew individuals who did this out of their own wallets. I also know that there are large networks of Rufus’s that lie hidden all around you.

What you need to do is start getting out and talking to the people. Go to the fishermen and where they unload their daily catches. You will probably end up with a garbage bag full of fish. Take it home. Freeze most. Cut off the heads and give to your cats. They will forever love you for that.

Offer them a few bucks (dollars) for some fresh fish Put them in a plastic bag and carry them home. Or whatever is local to your area.

My ex-wife would get her car fixed for free by a local “grease monkey” mechanic who had a garage in his backyard. All she would need to do was pay for the parts, and buy him some marijuana from time to time as she could. People work out deals in a community.

In Pennsylvania there were orchard farms full of trees with apples, pears, plums, and nuts. Walnuts, chestnuts, and others. There’s blueberry farms, strawberry farms. Pecan orchards, and many more. There’s catfish farms in the deep south, and shrimp harvesting in the gulf. Shellfish collectors all over the coast, and everything in between.

We need to start thinking like our grandparents instead of adapting our new reality to that of what we have grown accustomed to having.

[9] Soup Kitchens

I have eaten at numerous soup kitchens. The very first one that I went to was located in New Iberia Louisiana, and I was surprised by the great diversity of people there.

Sure there were some “riff raff”, but there were single mothers with children, a group of marines that lost their money in a game of poker and got stranded, some folk laid off and in between jobs, and others dealing with all sorts of issues.

The soup kitchens in most Salvation Army’s hold two meals a day. Lunch and Dinner. Be on time, as they close the doors and don’t let others in after a set period of time.

There is a soup kitchen in just about every American city, and the larger the city the more numbers the kitchens. You must be aware of the operating times. Some only operate between 11:00am and 2:00pm, while others operate at 5:00pm to 6:00pm. You come early and if you are in a distressed neighborhood be safe, careful and come early.

The meals are good, solid fare.

Not just a big tureen of soup as depicted in the movies. But rather a full meal with a main dish, vegetables on the side, bread, a soup, a dessert, and a drink. It’s often cooked by volunteers, who come out and devote their time and energy to make good tasty meals for those in need.

Rufus’s all.

Old and young.

If you are in a situation, maybe between jobs. On unemployment. On food stamps, or just worried about the job situation, you need to seek the local soup kitchen out, and start supplementing your meals.

Once a week at least.

That one meal will expand your home food bank by 1/7 automatically. And it will connect you to others.

Then, maybe… maybe ask if you can volunteer.

You will get a free meal out of it in exchange for work and you will be helping others. It’s a win – win!

[10] Stop eating out American style

Telling that to an American will result in blank stares. But it is true. Same with Starbucks coffee, donuts, and all the rest. We all know about how unhealthy these foods in restaurants actually are, but it’s more than that. They are expensive. And they tear up your body.

I’m in my mid to late 60’s. Do I look my age?

Other American men, same age as myself.

It’s because I haven’t eaten American style fast food in over 15 years. Sure, I have an occasional coffee or a “Subway” or a real hamburger at Burger King, but that is about it. They are rare events.

I eat real food, either in a restaurant or prepared at home.

And I can see the difference in my photographs.

My food is free of GMO’s, hyper-processed ingredients, is almost always fresh and certainly rarely deep fried or heavily salted.

When you are under heavy stress, what you eat makes a big difference in your ability to handle that stress. Eat fresh food, made by a talented loving spouse using real fresh ingredients.

Eat out, but when you do limit it to once a week, and be selective in where you go.  Make it memorable.

That means tasty and full of meaningful communication.

[11] Cut out all soda

Growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s we have become accustomed to eating everything with a soda or a coffee. A coffee is ok, but a soda is not.

I could go into all the reasons why carbonated surgery drinks (regardless of the price) is not good for you, but if you want to break this cycle, then you must break those bad dangerous habits. And soda is one of them.

Compare the prices. A bottle of wine is cheaper than a six pack of soda. Start drinking basic cheap wine with your meals.

Start adding red wine to your meals. Cut down on the beer. I am not saying that you need to get sloshed, but at least one or two glasses with every meal will really spice up the meal, make the time desirable for talking instead of playing on the computer and watching television and help your heart. Sure, a bottle costs the same as a McDonald’s number one meal. But it’s an investment that will pay off.

Oh, and make sure that it is real wine. It need not be expensive, but must be real.

[12] A garden (Long term planning)

Sure you can have a garden. Most American homes have yards. But even if you are in an urban environment, a porch with some tomato plants can make a big difference in your access to fresh vegetables.

I write this in July. Everyone should have a garden producing a steady supply of salads for the dinner table all Summer.

[13] Fruit and nut bearing trees (Really  Long term planning)

If you have a yard, you can also have fruit and nut bearing trees.  They produce every years, and sure it can be a pain in the ass to harvest, but one tree will give you bales and bales of apples, or sacks and sacks of nuts. Just because your job is secure now does not mean that it will always be secure. And then what are you going to do with all those apples, oranges, bananas, or walnuts? Humm…

A single tree can produce sacks and sacks of walnuts.

[14] Home canning and harvesting (Long term planning)

If you have a garden you can also can your excess. You can make preserves. You can make apple butter. You can make hot vegetable mix. You can make pickles. You can make homemade salsa. You can make and can re-fried beans. You can make all sorts of things, and once you get started you will never be hungry ever again.

Homemade hot mix. Pickled vegetables with hot peppers.

Conclusion

I know many of you will be “rolling your eyes” at my crazy old fashioned ideas and suggestions regarding food and local social services. But please listen to me. I do know what I am talking about.

I just want to put it forth, and posit that in order for us to adapt and survive, we need to be a Rufus. We need to know all the Rufus organizations around us and we need to contribute to the community in whatever means we have. If you are in this situation now, please take heed of my advice, and try to implement some of these suggestions. Not all of them are perfect and ideal for your situation, but you can be rest assured that they will serve to help you during times of need.

Listen to me, not eating for a few weeks really sucks. And if you are in the United States there is absolutely no reason for this to occur.

Stop letting your fears or ideas of what might wait behind that heavy bolted door stop you from stepping inside. Do not let any Hollywood notions of what a Soup Kitchen is stop you from grabbing a healthy meal, and stop listening to the non-stop 24-7 consumer nonsense blasted at you and your family.

Eggs are cheap. Really cheap. Potatoes and onions are cheap. Do you want a good filling meal for under $1 USD?

Try cooking sliced potatoes and onions together with salt and pepper, and then add two eggs, and two (cheapest brand) chicken hotdogs from the freezer. You will be full, you will be fine, and your stomach won’t be growling.

For comparison, one Burger King Meal will equal about eight of these healthier and easy to make meals.

Then start giving back to your community.

After a good six months on this program you will find your health is better, your weight is lower, your stress is down, and you will be part of a community which will greatly improve your life. If you are not good at interacting with people, turn to our spouse…

…you are never alone.

And their (her) abilities in networking and making friends will astound you. My experience has proven this point time and time again.

And remember, everything is temporary.

The bad will end.

But now, if you are in this particular situation, know that this is just the start of some really good things.

It’s a crazy life that we live. Just ride with it. Seek the Rufus’s they are everywhere.

 

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Food Index here…

Food

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Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
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Some gotta win, and some gotta lose

Well, It has been a year, but I finally got my house back from the clutches of some evil fiends that used it, stole it, abused it, and seemingly got away with their crimes. But do not be so sure that what appears on the surface is what actually going on.

Here we are going to use this example to discuss some pretty complex issues. And it know that it is going to upset a few people in the process.

Background

About the background of this particular issue. Let it be well understood that I have discussed this elsewhere on MM, but will recap a summary here.

When the Coronavirus hit China during CNY (Chinese New Year) in 2020, China went DEFCON ONE and locked the entire nation down. It was solid, and all life, business and everything stopped. Cities that had thousands, if not millions of workers emptied out. The workers went home. And they closed their rental agreements in the homes that they were renting out in the cities.

People like MM, here, who own multiple properties suddenly found all of our tenants leaving. Our apartments going empty, and our secondary sources of income dropping to zero.

Well, suddenly we are approached by a large “reputable” company that rents out houses like ours. They are nationwide, enormous in size, and offered to rend our house out within one month at a premium price. Honestly, at the time, we didn’t believe it. It sounded too good to be true. But we figured, what did we have to lose?

And sure enough, two weeks later, we got a tenant who will pay full rent of 7000/month, locked into a one year contract, and would move in as soon as we repainted the interior, bought new furniture, bought a new television, refrigerator and washing machine.

So we signed the contract, and bought the furniture. And they moved in.

But there was something strange. Instead of the 7000/month payment, they only paid 3000. Why was this?

Seems pretty strange huh?

Yes. It did seem strange.

And then one week later the offices didn’t answer our phones calls. The sales representatives all over the nation went silent. And we discovered that the owner and the executives  stole billions of RMB, or hundreds of millions of US dollars and went into hiding.

That left us homeowners with unpaid house rent. Renters who are now “deadbeats” living in our homes, and locked into a year contract (or longer. Some up to 3 years.)

Outcome of all this

Well, long story short.

We followed up with legal action that resulted in nothing. The courts ruled in favor of the tenants, and told us to take a lawsuit against the company, which no longer exists, and who’s owners have new identities and living out of the country in luxurious mansions with bodyguards.

We lost, all told perhaps 200,000 which was lost income from rent, and the attorney and filing costs. This is a lot of money from MM, and the entire year of 2020, MM personal lifestyle (personally and family) was severely contracted.

The guy who ran off was killed. Rather quickly. Suddenly and with zero emotion. The assassins even went out and ate noodles afterwards.

And after a terms of the contact, we went people over to open the door to our house and tidy it up so that we can get new tenants…

And this is what we found.

Click on the picture to view the video.

You can download and watch the video HERE, or get a zipped file HERE.

What was the sum total of damage?

These jackasses skipped town, leaving me with sewer, water, electricity,maintenance, security, and management fees that had accrued.

They stole the new television, the new washing machine, and the new coffee table. The new furniture, as you can see are completely destroyed.

The ruins that they left behind and all the junk needs to be hauled off, the damage repaired, and the apartment repainted, and new replacement furniture obtained.

Perhaps 50,000.

Total cost of this fiasco all told?

250,000 RMB

We would have been far better off just locking up the house and not renting it out.

What are my options?

From here what shall I do?

[1] Move on, and forget.

This is what I want to do.

Bad people, base their activity on sensible people moving forward with their lives. They take advantage of this and use it for their own personal gain. 

Sensible people don't want to have anything to do with these bad people. As the more you get involved with them, like a "tar baby", the more shit sticks to you. 

So sensible people just move on with their lives. And bad people keep on being bad.

Not a good thing. But sometimes' it's best to turn a bad thing into an expensive lesson.

I want to move on and forget.

[2] Forgive, then forget.

Ah. This is the Christian thing to do.

This is the Christian thing to do, right?

This is also the thing that evil psychopathic personalities, corrupt bureaucracies, and the habitually evil want. they want you to keep on being the victim. They want to hurt others, gain personally, and then be immune from any kinds of retribution, payback, karma or consequences.

Forgiveness appears to be the "right" thing to do. 

However, evil people rely on it to continue their malevolent actions, and those that forgive get entangled (in a quantum sense) so that more bad actions are attracted to them personally.

Not a good thing.

The Christian thing is to forgive the bad people, and then pretend that it never happened.

[3] Pay the money to hunt them down and hurt them.

This is a real option available to me.

I can have the entire family killed for 33,000 RMB. But is it worth it?

Or, alternatively, I can go after them myself. It might seem that I might save some money, but it will actually cost more in the long run, distract from my life, and really be a pain in the ass to do.

Not a good thing.

But you know, it's just money. It's only things. It could have been a lot worse. And by being on this world-line path that has this kind of event instead of nuclear war, I'd take this world-line over it any day.

So keep in mind that this is the real world. Not Hollywood. You don't just off some bad evil people because they busted up your house. It's not worth my time, my money, my thoughts, and my efforts.

Phooey! On this option.

Not a good thing.

[4] Use my MM abilities to send them to the cornfield

This is a pain in the ass to do, but it will achieve my goals.

I suppose that all consciousnesses are neutral and good. But many have actions that don't really seem to indicate this. 

Would any "teaching" efforts on my part prevent them from hurting others? 

Would it help them learn from personal consequences? 

Is it my role, even though they entered my life, is it MY ROLE to teach them anything?

By doing and taking the action to actually "send them to the cornfield", it will entangle me further with their vile nature... unless I take specific actions to prevent that kind of entanglement.

Sometimes you have to do things that you do not want to do.

And what I am actually going to do…

I just want [1] the bad people to stay away from us, but also [2] do not want them to hurt others. So which of the four actions listed above will accomplish this goal?

What do you think?

Yup.

They are going to the cornfield.

I hope that the butt spanking will be sufficient to prevent their evil, vile and destructive behaviors from affecting anyone else. And maybe, just maybe they will start to contribute to society instead of being a big drain on it.

It is done.

Sometimes you must do what you do not want to do.

And I am sorry for busting up your illusions on MM being a good, kind gentle soul. Sometimes you have to put a rabid dog down. And someone has to pick up the gun and do it. As distasteful as it is.

And I guess it's me simply because there is no one else willing and available to handle this distasteful matter.

I am just the last one in a long, line of others that either [1] looked the other way, or [2] forgave and forgot. 

And because no one else had the strength to put the crazed rabid dog down, it arrived on my door-step.

And now, it's up to me. The ball has dropped. And I am the one picking it up.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Happiness Index here…

Life & Happiness

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Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

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What are “channels” and how you can access them to help navigate world-lines in the MWI

This article is part of my enormous Prayer Affirmation Campaigns series. If you are unfamiliar with this series, I recommend that after you read this, you go to the start of the series and start reading. This idea of prayers as part of a campaign are quite different than anything else you will find anywhere else.

I have written a bunch of articles on the MWI, world-lines and how you can navigate them. I have placed all this within the context that if you can navigate your reality, then you can sculpt the life that you will live. And it’s a pretty great topic. Many people need to do this right now in their lives.

There are all sorts of side topics associated with this. Some dealing with history, some with the mechanisms behind it all. Some with the mysteries that we are confronted with, and some just tangentially. For instance, how government (especially in the West) are crating false narratives to “bend reality” to fit their idea of a utopia.

What I haven’t gotten into is some of the many other “skills” and “abilities” that one can use to help you in your world-line navigation. To many, these skills or abilities seem far-fetched, science fiction, or just new-age mumbo-jumbo.

But they are not.

In this article we will discuss “channels”. It is a technique of tapping into the endless streams of quanta, frequencies, actions (both physical and non-physical) to derive some information from it. Information that you can use in your life.

The untrained call this ability to tap into channels as… [1] Woman’s Intuition (if you are a woman), or [2] a Gut feeling (if you are a man).

Sometimes, a string of events or strong non-physical events can enact physical sensations on your body. Such as people talking behind your back generates a [3] pain in the neck (or shoulders), or a disorganized cluster of thoughts heading towards you generates [4] (I’ve got) a bad feeling (about this).

All of us, unless you are young, or are really unaware, has felt these events in our past. It’s part of our non-physical makeup and it’s really important.

About the Channels and MAJ

While it is true that I have the ELF implants, and the EBP implant(s), and they also operate using channels, you actually do not need them to do that. You just need to be “attuned” and aware. Because channel access is an acquired skill. You get better at accessing it over time.

I will admit that I am pretty good, myself. I’ve had over four and a half decades honing this ability. First out of necessity, and then through various exercises and practice. And as a result I am convinced that anyone can access these channels and derive information from them.

Yet, this being said, my channels are specific to my needs, and the needs of my immediate family and I have many limitations.

This article will “kick off” another series of articles on how to increase channel awareness and how you will be able to communicate, and receive information using these channels.

I believe that it is great information that all of us can benefit from.

We will start with a personal story.

Blue Thunder

Here’s a story illustrative of using a channel to obtain information.

Blue Thunder looked a little bit like this little guy.

I once had a cat named “Blue Thunder”. He was a beautiful black (with blue highlights) mainecoon cat that adopted us.

Now, at that time we lived in the poverty edge in the West Elisabeth area of South Eastern Pittsburgh. It was a devastated and ruined area, with miles and miles of rusty old abandoned steel mills, and the remaining survivors living hand-to-mouth-to-food stamp area.

West Elizabeth today, one of the remaining towns in the ruined Monongahela valley Pennsylvania “rust belt” region.

At that time we were living in a very sad and distressed mobile home park and it was “something else” let me tell you. From having neighbors stealing packages from my porch, to neighborhood kids riding up and down and all around my home at midnight on their dirt bikes, to neighborhood kids having rock concert parties next door, it really was a nightmare.

We lived in the center of American exceptionalism; a mobile-home park in the rust belt.

Anyways, on one particular weekend we took a trip (about a four hour drive) to visit my mother. And on the way, as we were just getting on the major highway, I had a “feeling”. My wife did too.

This “feeling” was…

  • Blue Thunder was in trouble.
  • He was hurt.
  • Something bad happened.
  • He needs us now.

And so we immediately got off the highway. We turned around. We headed back and about two hours later we made it home (after breaking every speed limit to get there). And when we arrived there, we found a bunch a kids trying to get under our mobile home.

One had a BB gun, or a .22 long rifle. They were trying to push a dog under our home, and there must have been about four active boys, and about three “hangers on”.

I chased the kids away.

Still no Blue Thunder.

The next morning, I found him on the porch. He was shot in the gut, but no obvious penetration. There was a mark but no open wound. No blood. And he kept on licking the area. I called in late to work, and took him in and tended to him.

It seems our “feelings” were accurate.

What happened?

My little guy was being chased by kids on my property, and he was my charge. I chased the kids away, but it was a life and death situation for him, and he was hurt in the process.

I felt the terror, the pain, and the plea for help.

No. This was not “just” we felt something.  We actually got a message. Blue Thunder sent a clear message to us and we picked it up.

Messages and channels

Just like a radio, a “message” is a specific packet of thoughts / ideas /feelings that are transmitted to you via a “channel”. There are all sorts of channels. Just like there are AM radio bands, and FM radio bands, and UHF and VHF radio bands. (As well as ELF bands.)

Since most people never listen to these bands (in their head) they lie unused. Dormant, and apparently inactive. But they aren’t. You just are unable to “pick them up” because your “antenna” is down.

Most people are unable to “feel things” because their antenna is unused.

Later on, we will spend some time discussing ways and techniques to send and receive messages and how to open channels. This article is just an entry level post to describe what a channel is and how you can use it.

Broad frequency awareness

Most people start out with “broad frequency awareness”, which pretty much means that they are receptive to all channels. It’s a default situation that tells me that all people have the ability to send and receive messages. It’s just that we are terrible at doing it. Our abilities have atrophied.

I like to think that our antenna, or radar to do this is down, missing or damaged by neglect and disuse.

And thus, it is only when the most powerful, emotionally charged signals are sent out that we are able to receive them.

Narrow frequency awareness

Narrow frequency awareness is when someone has been able to “tune in” to certain channels far better than the rest.

Thus we get people who have the ability to have extrasensory perception in certain areas. Like [1] the woman who can make a photographic rendering a person just by the description or [2] a person who can pick up an ancient relic, an article of clothing and tell you what happened. Or [3] the people who can tell you where water is in the ground or where a lost buried item is.

It doesn’t mean that they cannot be open to other channels, it just means that they are able to “tap into” specific channels to provide specific information.

The non-physical channels

These channels differ from the AM, FM, UHF and other channels that you have on the radio. These “channels” are tuned into the movement of thought-related quanta.

These channels pick up on thoughts.

Being able to pick up and understand thoughts, whether from the “past” or the “future” (after all there is no such thing as time) and from others, or from things is a very powerful ability and a very powerful tool.

We do not need to have other mechanisms to help us, but for many, these “training wheels” can be necessary as a stage in learning and personal growth.

My examples

I have, from time to time, described examples of my experiences with channels. Where I would communicate with dead pets, or have a perception regarding mantids, or the type-1 greys. I have a substantial amount of traffic regarding <redacted> as it pertains to the <redacted>, but we will refrain from getting involved in that right now.

I like to believe, as I have said, that we are all capable of receiving these messages and these thought-packets on the various channels. We just do not know how to receive them, interpret them, or communicate them to others. As I have said our “antennas are broken”.

Some people have very specific channels. Like to be able to see faeries. While others have channels that give them insight.

Where we are going with this…

We are going to work on improving our ability to access and open up channels and receive messages through a training system that we will embed within our prayer affirmation campaigns.

Of course it will be optional.

If “outsiders” want to know what is going on, just describe it as a way for you to calm yourself and become more aware of your surroundings. Which it is. You don’t need to tell anyone that you are trying to recover “lost messages” that are sitting in the “post office dead letter bin”.

Nor do you need to tell them that you want to be anything other than the best you can possibly be. Your journey of learning and discovery is a personal one.

Keep it that way.

Finally, this is a first step that will lead up to a series of affirmation exercises designed to break the hold of “amnesia” as described by the extraterrestrial in “Alien Interview”. It is my sincere hope that we can make a positive difference in the world right here and right now.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

Intention Campaigns

Articles & Links

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Law 8 of the 48 Laws of Power; Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary (Full Text)

This is law 8 of the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Green. Reprinted in it’s entirety. I hope that you all enjoy it.

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains—then attack. You hold the cards.

  • The essence of power is keeping the initiative and forcing others to react, keeping them on the defensive.
  • Master your anger yet play on people’s natural tendency to react angrily when pushed and baited.

LAW 8

MAKE OTHER PEOPLE COME TO YOU—USE BAIT IF NECESSARY

JUDGMENT

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains—then attack. You hold the cards.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

At the Congress of Vienna in 1814, the major powers of Europe gathered to carve up the remains of Napoleon’s fallen Empire. The city was full of gaiety and the balls were the most splendid in memory. Hovering over the proceedings, however, was the shadow of Napoleon himself. Instead of being executed or exiled far away, he had been sent to the island of Elba, not far from the coast of Italy.

Even imprisoned on an island, a man as bold and creative as Napoleon Bonaparte made everyone nervous. The Austrians plotted to kill him on Elba, but decided it was too risky. Alexander I, Russia’s temperamental czar, heightened the anxiety by throwing a fit during the congress when a part of Poland was denied him: “Beware, I shall loose the monster!” he threatened. Everyone knew he meant Napoleon. Of all the statesmen gathered in Vienna, only Talleyrand, Napoleon’s former foreign minister, seemed calm and unconcerned. It was as if he knew something the others did not.

Meanwhile, on the island of Elba, Napoleon’s life was a mockery of his previous glory. As Elba’s “king,” he had been allowed to form a court— there was a cook, a wardrobe mistress, an official pianist, and a handful of courtiers. All this was designed to humiliate Napoleon, and it seemed to work.

That winter, however, there occurred a series of events so strange and dramatic they might have been scripted in a play. Elba was surrounded by British ships, their cannons covering all possible exit points. Yet somehow, in broad daylight on 26 February 1815, a ship with nine hundred men on board picked up Napoleon and put to sea. The English gave chase but the ship got away. This almost impossible escape astonished the public throughout Europe, and terrified the statesmen at the Congress of Vienna.

Although it would have been safer to leave Europe, Napoleon not only chose to return to France, he raised the odds by marching on Paris with a tiny army, in hopes of recapturing the throne. His strategy worked—people of all classes threw themselves at his feet. An army under Marshal Ney sped from Paris to arrest him, but when the soldiers saw their beloved former leader, they changed sides. Napoleon was declared emperor again. Volunteers swelled the ranks of his new army. Delirium swept the country. In Paris, crowds went wild. The king who had replaced Napoleon fled the country.

For the next hundred days, Napoleon ruled France. Soon, however, the giddiness subsided. France was bankrupt, its resources nearly exhausted, and there was little Napoleon could do about this. At the Battle of Waterloo, in June of that year, he was finally defeated for good. This time his enemies had learned their lesson: They exiled him to the barren island of Saint Helena, off the west coast of Africa. There he had no more hope of escape.

Interpretation

Only years later did the facts of Napoleon’s dramatic escape from Elba come to light. Before he decided to attempt this bold move, visitors to his court had told him that he was more popular in France than ever, and that the country would embrace him again. One of these visitors was Austria’s General Roller, who convinced Napoleon that if he escaped, the European powers, England included, would welcome him back into power. Napoleon was tipped off that the English would let him go, and indeed his escape occurred in the middle of the afternoon, in full view of English spyglasses.

What Napoleon did not know was that there was a man behind it all, pulling the strings, and that this man was his former minister, Talleyrand. And Talleyrand was doing all this not to bring back the glory days but to crush Napoleon once and for all. Considering the emperor’s ambition unsettling to Europe’s stability, he had turned against him long ago. When Napoleon was exiled to Elba, Talleyrand had protested. Napoleon should be sent farther away, he argued, or Europe would never have peace. But no one listened.

Instead of pushing his opinion, Talleyrand bided his time. Working quietly, he eventually won over Castlereagh and Metternich, the foreign ministers of England and Austria.

Together these men baited Napoleon into escaping. Even Koller’s visit, to whisper the promise of glory in the exile’s ear, was part of the plan. Like a master cardplayer, Talleyrand figured everything out in advance. He knew Napoleon would fall into the trap he had set. He also foresaw that Napoleon would lead the country into a war, which, given France’s weakened condition, could only last a few months. One diplomat in Vienna, who understood that Talleyrand was behind it all, said, “He has set the house ablaze in order to save it from the plague.”

When I have laid bait for deer, I don’t shoot at the first doe that comes to sniff, but wait until the whole herd has gathered round. 

Otto von Bismarck, 1815-1898

KEYS TO POWER

How many times has this scenario played itself out in history: An

aggressive leader initiates a series of bold moves that begin by bringing him much power. Slowly, however, his power reaches a peak, and soon everything turns against him. His numerous enemies band together; trying

to maintain his power, he exhausts himself going in this direction and that, and inevitably he collapses. The reason for this pattern is that the aggressive person is rarely in full control. He cannot see more than a couple of moves ahead, cannot see the consequences of this bold move or that one. Because he is constantly being forced to react to the moves of his ever-growing host of enemies, and to the unforeseen consequences of his own rash actions, his aggressive energy is turned against him.

In the realm of power, you must ask yourself, what is the point of chasing here and there, trying to solve problems and defeat my enemies, if I never feel in control? Why am I always having to react to events instead of directing them? The answer is simple: Your idea of power is wrong. You have mistaken aggressive action for effective action. And most often the most effective action is to stay back, keep calm, and let others be frustrated by the traps you lay for them, playing for long-term power rather than quick victory.

Remember: The essence of power is the ability to keep the initiative, to get others to react to your moves, to keep your opponent and those around you on the defensive. When you make other people come to you, you suddenly become the one controlling the situation. And the one who has control has power. Two things must happen to place you in this position: You yourself must learn to master your emotions, and never to be influenced by anger; meanwhile, however, you must play on people’s natural tendency to react angrily when pushed and baited. In the long run, the ability to make others come to you is a weapon far more powerful than any tool of aggression.

Study how Talleyrand, the master of the art, performed this delicate trick. First, he overcame the urge to try to convince his fellow statesmen that they needed to banish Napoleon far away. It is only natural to want to persuade people by pleading your case, imposing your will with words. But this often turns against you. Few of Talleyrand’s contemporaries believed Napoleon was still a threat, so that if he had spent a lot of energy trying to convince them, he would only have made himself look foolish. Instead, he held his tongue and his emotions in check. Most important of all, he laid Napoleon a sweet and irresistible trap. He knew the man’s weakness, his impetuosity, his need for glory and the love of the masses, and he played all this to perfection. When Napoleon went for the bait, there was no danger that he might succeed and turn the tables on Talleyrand, who better than anyone knew France’s depleted state. And even had Napoleon been able to overcome these difficulties, the likelihood of his success would have been greater were he able to choose his time and place of action. By setting the proper trap, Talleyrand took the time and place into his own hands.

All of us have only so much energy, and there is a moment when our energies are at their peak. When you make the other person come to you, he wears himself out, wasting his energy on the trip. In the year 1905, Russia and Japan were at war. The Japanese had only recently begun to modernize their warships, so that the Russians had a stronger navy, but by spreading false information the Japanese marshal Togo Heihachiro baited the Russians into leaving their docks in the Baltic Sea, making them believe they could wipe out the Japanese fleet in one swift attack. The Russian fleet could not reach Japan by the quickest route—through the Strait of Gibraltar and then the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean—because these were controlled by the British, and Japan was an ally of Great Britain. They had to go around the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern tip of Africa, adding over more than six thousand miles to the voyage. Once the fleet passed the Cape, the Japanese spread another false story: They were sailing to launch a counterattack. So the Russians made the entire journey to Japan on combat alert. By the time they arrived, their seamen were tense, exhausted, and overworked, while the Japanese had been waiting at their ease. Despite the odds and their lack of experience in modern naval warfare, the Japanese crushed the Russians.

One added benefit of making the opponent come to you, as the Japanese discovered with the Russians, is that it forces him to operate in your territory. Being on hostile ground will make him nervous and often he will rush his actions and make mistakes. For negotiations or meetings, it is always wise to lure others into your territory, or the territory of your choice. You have your bearings, while they see nothing familiar and are subtly placed on the defensive.

Manipulation is a dangerous game. Once someone suspects he is being manipulated, it becomes harder and harder to control him. But when you make your opponent come to you, you create the illusion that he is controlling the situation. He does not feel the strings that pull him, just as

Napoleon imagined that he himself was the master of his daring escape and return to power.

Everything depends on the sweetness of your bait. If your trap is attractive enough, the turbulence of your enemies’ emotions and desires will blind them to reality. The greedier they become, the more they can be led around.

The great nineteenth-century robber baron Daniel Drew was a master at playing the stock market. When he wanted a particular stock to be bought or sold, driving prices up or down, he rarely resorted to the direct approach. One of his tricks was to hurry through an exclusive club near Wall Street, obviously on his way to the stock exchange, and to pull out his customary red bandanna to wipe his perspiring brow. A slip of paper would fall from this bandanna that he would pretend not to notice. The club’s members were always trying to foresee Drew’s moves, and they would pounce on the paper, which invariably seemed to contain an inside tip on a stock. Word would spread, and members would buy or sell the stock in droves, playing perfectly into Drew’s hands.

If you can get other people to dig their own graves, why sweat yourself? Pickpockets work this to perfection. The key to picking a pocket is knowing which pocket contains the wallet. Experienced pickpockets often ply their trade in train stations and other places where there is a clearly marked sign reading BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS. Passersby seeing the sign invariably feel for their wallet to make sure it is still there. For the watching pickpockets, this is like shooting fish in a barrel. Pickpockets have even been known to place their own BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS signs to ensure their success.

When you are making people come to you, it is sometimes better to let them know you are forcing their hand. You give up deception for overt manipulation. The psychological ramifications are profound: The person who makes others come to him appears powerful, and demands respect.

Filippo Brunelleschi, the great Renaissance artist and architect, was a great practitioner of the art of making others come to him as a sign of his power. On one occasion he had been engaged to repair the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. The commission was important and prestigious. But when the city officials hired a second man, Lorenzo Ghiberti, to work with Brunelleschi, the great artist brooded in secret. He knew that Ghiberti had gotten the job through his connections, and that he would do none of the work and get half the credit. At a critical moment of the construction, then, Brunelleschi suddenly developed a mysterious illness. He had to stop work, but pointed out to city officials that they had hired Ghiberti, who should have been able to continue the work on his own. Soon it became clear that Ghiberti was useless and the officials came begging to Brunelleschi. He ignored them, insisting that Ghiberti should finish the project, until finally they realized the problem: They fired Ghiberti.

By some miracle, Brunelleschi recovered within days. He did not have to throw a tantrum or make a fool of himself; he simply practiced the art of “making others come to you.”

If on one occasion you make it a point of dignity that others must come to you and you succeed, they will continue to do so even after you stop trying.

Image: The Honeyed Bear Trap. The bear hunter does not chase his prey; a bear that knows it is hunted is nearly impossible to catch and is fero cious if cornered. Instead, the hunter lays traps baited with honey. He does not exhaust himself and risk his life in pursuit. He baits, then waits.

Authority: Good warriors make others come to them, and do not go to others. This is the principle of emptiness and fullness of others and self. When you induce opponents to come to you, then their force is always empty; as long as you do not go to them, your force is always full. Attacking emptiness with fullness is like throwing stones on eggs. (Zhang Yu, eleventh-century commentator on The Art of War)

REVERSAL

Although it is generally the wiser policy to make others exhaust themselves chasing you, there are opposite cases where striking suddenly and aggressively at the enemy so demoralizes him that his energies sink. Instead of making others come to you, you go to them, force the issue, take the lead. Fast attack can be an awesome weapon, for it forces the other person to react without the time to think or plan. With no time to think, people make errors of judgment, and are thrown on the defensive. This tactic is the obverse of waiting and baiting, but it serves the same function: You make your enemy respond on your terms.

Men like Cesare Borgia and Napoleon used the element of speed to intimidate and control. A rapid and unforeseen move is terrifying and demoralizing. You must choose your tactics depending on the situation. If you have time on your side, and know that you and your enemies are at least at equal strength, then deplete their strength by making them come to you. If time is against you—your enemies are weaker, and waiting will only give them the chance to recover—give them no such chance. Strike quickly and they have nowhere to go. As the boxer Joe Louis put it, “He can run, but he can’t hide.”

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my “48 Laws of Power” Index here…

The 48 Laws

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Master Index

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You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
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Brute force tools to “crack open” some desires when running a prayer affirmation campaign

This article is part of my enormous Prayer Affirmation Campaigns series. If you are unfamiliar with this series, I recommend that after you read this, you go to the start of the series and start reading. This idea of prayers as part of a campaign are quite different than anything else you will find anywhere else.

I have a kit of “brute force tools” that I employ in my affirmation campaigns.  Over the years they have been highly useful and very successful. Of course, I have chosen the names for them as they help me keep track of what I am doing and why.

They go by other names to describe how they are used. I have a “hammer”, a “crowbar”, a “grinder”, a “detangler”, and many others.  And in this post we will cover some of them.

In general, these “tools” are specific affirmations that I add to my affirmation campaigns to help me tackle problems or issues that seem to either reoccur, are barriers that I fail to breach, “glass ceilings” that I fail to break through or numerous other problems that I encounter.

Divine Hammer

Using a hammer.

This is my term for the technique of HOW you vocalize your intention affirmations. When I vocalize my intentions, I do  more than just read them. I read them in certain ways. And how I read them is detailed in how they are written.

Most Important Affirmations

These affirmations are absolute MUSTS. I mark these affirmation statements in "BOLD text" in my spreadsheet. When I read them, I read them louder than the rest and with more passion and emotion.
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I have a big bed with an impressive headboard.

Average Affirmations

These affirmations are your "normal" affirmations. You read them normally. And they are written on your affirmation list in "normal text".
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I have a big bed with an impressive headboard.

Special Affirmations

During a given prayer affirmation campaign I might have a special program or plan that I am involved in, and I want to take extra care and caution to make sure that I think about them longer, and "spell them out exactly". 
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Truthfully, you know, these affirmations are rare, and what I do is put them in "Bold Brown Text with a period in the spacing". When I read them, I read each word carefully and slowly.
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I .have .a .big .bed .with .an .impressive .headboard.

Unused Affirmations

Unused or retired affirmations are in a "very light grey" color. I keep them there in the event that I wish to reactivate them, but they lie dormant on my list. I do not read them.
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In general, my current (active) affirmation list is about 70% greyed out and retired affirmations, and about 30% active affirmations. Here is an example of an inactive affirmation.
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I have a big bed with an impressive headboard.

Affirmation Details

This is a special category of affirmations that I add after a key affirmation statement. They go on the subsequent lines. They are placed in "italic text". I read them with the same tone and pacing as the leader affirmation statement.
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I have a big bed with an impressive headboard.
   The bed is a dark brown hardwood.
   It is king size or larger.
   It has intricate carvings on it.

If you take a longer time to read a sentence, then you are passing through more world-lines while you are reading it. It helps establish the navigation direction. And if you couple that with the power behind emotion, you ties the bio-chemical system to the thoughts and that (I personally believe) helps “push” the affirmations forward.

Crowbar

Using a crowbar.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, there is some block, blockage, barrier, glass wall, or mountain that prevents you from getting anywhere near your goals. Sure, it could very easily just be that your goals are really down the world-line template path, but sometimes it’s something else. And you need a “crowbar” to remove that bolder or obstacle.

It has been my experience that most obstacles on your world-line template are not germane to your (pre-birth world-line template) map. They were placed there by others (maybe even you) and now sit there in your way. They are an obstacle.

They need to be removed.

To do this, I have added a few specialized affirmations that are helpful in “clearing the path” that is somehow blocked. You don’t know if there is actually a roadblock placed there by someone or something, and maybe your arch enemy in High School placed it 35 years ago when they were experimenting with black magic. You never know.

Here’s some affirmations that I find very effective…

  • I have broken apart any barriers to controlling my reality. These are barriers that are either self-created, or those created by others.
  • I define my reality, and undo any contrary spells, magick or alterations imposed upon me, or the reality around me by anyone or anything.
  • I block and shut out all negative, de-constructive, and dangerous thoughts from manifesting and altering my intentions listed herein.
  • These blocking protections extend to my family and include any malevolent efforts by anyone, or things against them.
  • All non-physical impediments, curses, or “road blocks” , are moved out of the way. No obstacles.
  • I prevent the manifestation of any reality that results from bad, negative or dangerous thoughts.
  • Those that try to hurt me, hack me, steal from me, trick me, betray me, or just cause me trouble are immediately exposed to severe backlash for their actions, and they stop that activity and make restitution to me.

Tricorder

Using a tricorder.

A tricorder is a science fiction prop designed for the Star Trek television series by Wah Chang. In the story universe the multifunction hand-held device performs sensor environment scans, data recording, and data analysis--hence the word "tricorder" to refer to the three functions of sensing, recording, and computing. In Star Trek stories the devices are issued by the fictional Starfleet organization. 

-Wikipedia

There is much that we do not know. We are so fixated on the physical world, that we ignore what is going on in the non-physical world. This is not really desirable, as we need to know what is going on in order to compensate for problems, and adjust to circumstances.

So what I often like to do is put some affirmations that helps me gather Intel. I have used many different ones in the past, and here’s just a few examples…

  • I understand how this universe works, and how to alter, improve and change my reality.
  • ..I use this knowledge to generate a perfect life for myself and for my family.
  • ..As such, I am the Captain of my Consciousness.
  • I know when to slow down, stop specific intention phrases, and when to implement new ones.
  • I am aware of the trends going on in my life, behind the scenes, and on tractical, and strategic levels.
  • I move in and out of the world-line realities as necessary to achieve my thought-destination(s).
  • I do achieve my ultimate goals and I do so efficiently, and quickly while avoiding bad or undesirable world-lines.
  • I am alert on what to say and do in order to achieve my desires.
  • I know what affirmations to make to manifest the life that I wish to participate within.
  • I know, positively, when to stop, change, alter or revise my affirmations in accordance with my needs and desires.
  • I am aware of opportunities as they arise, and I know exactly what actions to take to maximize my desired intentions.
  • I am aware of the world-line routing as it occurs and do not panic or worry about how things will manifest.
  • I recognize that world-line realities that I inhabit might be calm and relaxed, but great things are occurring in my life.
  • These things are substantial positive and proactive events that are unfolding for my benefit and that might be hidden from me.

Grinder

Using a grinder.

What a grinder does is get rid of rough edges, burrs, and sharp edges. And when you run a prayer affirmation campaign you often have things materialize with exactly these kinds of “rough edges”.

For instance, I once had an affirmation for a nice Cadillac DeVille, and I loved that car. White interior. Silent and smooth ride. The engine purred and flew like a jet fighter going up hills. But then the transmission went out, as did the air conditioning.

And the repair for both of them was outrageously expensive.

How expensive? At that time, they represented two months salary just for the transmission.

You see, I did not anticipate that I required to have a certain level of income or savings to support the goal that I manifested. And when the goal actually did manifest, I was not ready to handle the costs associated with it.

What I needed to to was “grind down” the goal to something that was more manageable for my situation at that time.

From this;

I have a nice Cadillac DeVille.

To this;

I have a nice new car, that is well made, comfortable, and never breaks down. I feel very comfortable riding in it, and love the power and handling ability that it has.

Expert hint:

NEVER base your affirmation goals on something you saw on television, social media, the “news”, or in a movie. They are all fictions.

Detangler

Using a detangler.

A detangler is a chemical compound that separates the individual strands of hair and prevents matting. Without one, the hair (on most people) will mat up.

“Using a detangler is absolutely an essential step in haircare. Detanglers help eliminate a huge amount of breakage and damage while also evening out the porosity of the hair, so your wet products go on more evenly. There’s one for every hair type, so don’t worry that adding this additional step will amount to too much product.”

Why You Should Use a Detangler

You really don’t want your affirmation prayers to be all tangled up.

In a prayer affirmation campaign, there is the possibility that similar goals in the campaign, or other goals in previous campaigns might influence each other. For instance, let’s suppose that you had an affirmation in the 1980’s that said…

I wear popped collars all the time, with a large wardrobe of polo shirts.

Now, many people will not have any idea what this is all about. Well, it’s about this…

Yeah.

And now you live in Norway with an affirmation that goes something like this…

I go to saunas often, and enjoy the fine steam bath, and the branch lashings as well as the icy cold splash afterwards.

Sounds great. Except, that you are now burdened with a habit (that you are unaware of) that requires that you have multiple layers of “popped” clothes, and that take “forever” to remove, and “forever” to put back on.

You see, the problem is that since there is no such thing as time, all of our affirmation campaigns all interact together and work together.

To prevent that from occurring you can use “detangler” affirmation statements.

  • All these affirmations occur as quickly as is comfortably and as safely as possible. At no time is my family, health or safety at risk.
  • The normal rules of affirmation manifestation has now been advanced to this direct and immediate application without hesitation.
  • All these affirmations happen quickly, provided that dangers are avoided and I (and my family) are protected.
  • These intention prayers supersede any and all previous ones that would conflict with the ones listed here.

Slipstream

Riding in the slipstream.

Definition of slipstream technical : an area of low air pressure that is immediately behind a vehicle that is moving very fast and that other vehicles can ride in to go faster with less effort 

Essentially, the way this tool works is simple. You connect your affirmation prayer campaign with others, so that together you all ride forward, and the group inertia propels your further ahead than what you would otherwise go alone.

This is the slipstream tool that I use in my campaigns…

  • My affirmations tie together with affirmations of other MM followers so that they all combine with a positive “slipsteam” effect. For all of us to benefit from.
  • In slipstram affirmations that run counter to my personal affirmations listed herein, they are ignored, and does not influence this campaign.
  • This slipstream effect acts as an accelerator for all of us to benefit from.

Hasp and lock

Hasp and Lock.

A hasp and a lock is a very simple assembly to conceive. Essentially, once you have bought new tools, and supplies for your garden, you put them in a shed and you secure it with a hasp and lock. If you don’t, nearby neighbors and other mysteries of the night might come and take your farming implements away.

In an affirmation prayer campaign, a “hasp and lock” system is one where you already have an element in your life that you are happy with, and you don’t want it to disappear. You want to put those elements under “lock and key” so that no matter what other changes occur in your life (as a result of affirmation prayer campaigns) they will be protected and will not vanish or change as your other affirmations materialize.

For example, in the example above, you had an affirmation that said…

 I have a big bed with an impressive headboard.

And it occurred.

You now have a nice big bed with an impressive headboard, and you are very happy with it.

Well, a “hasp & Lock” system would be a special “set aside” affirmations that guarantee that something that you obtain will not disappear during further advancing affirmation campaigns. And in this instance you might use any number of affirmations much like these…

  • No matter what happens, my bed follows me where ever I go.
  • When it comes time for me to die, I will do so in ease and comfort in my nice big bed with the impressive headboard.
  • etc etc.

Zipper

A zipper.

A zipper is a mechanism to fasten clothing together. I think a sizable proportion of my readership realizes this.

In an affirmation prayer campaign, a zipper is a technique that allows multiple affirmations to merge together.

One would think that if you had multiple affirmations, and they all came to be, that they would all live happily ever after together. Nope. It doesn’t work that way. Each affirmation is like an iceberg, and what you think will materialize is the top most visible portion of the iceberg, while the part that you cannot see will influence other elements of your life.

Let’s imagine that you had three affirmations that all came true. They were;

[1] I spend most of my life in a big, new, clean house with pristine white walls, great views, new furnishings, and lots and lots of windows.
[2] I get meals served to me directly. I eat three meals every day.
[3] I have a lot of friends that visit me often.

Now, there are many ways that all three of these affirmations can come together and materialize. The person (you) making the affirmations (of course) is envisioning a nice big house, with servants or eating out often, and a lot of friends visiting you. But other things are possible, don’t you know…

  • You could be in the hospital with a long-duration illness.
  • You could be in prison, working on a chain gang.
  • You could be in the military on a ship.

Those unseen elements of the affirmation statements will mix and match with the pathways on your world-line template.

In so doing, it will manifest the closest goal objectives with relative low entropy. Or, to put it differently, what you will end up with will be the quickest and easiest closest matches to your goals.

What a zipper is, is a statement that specifies that the affirmations do not conflict with each other or create harmful, dangerous or undesirable outcomes.

  • These affirmations do not conflict with each other or create harmful, dangerous or undesirable outcomes.

Spellchecker

A “spellchecker” is a software program that I use to check the spelling and grammar of the sentences that I place in my affirmations. While it is true, that if I think that I am saying everything correctly in terms of my desires, I want to be extra positive that the sentence and the spelling is absolutely correct.

True story; I once had a prayer affirmation related to getting a new automobile. My current vehicle was just a piece of junk; a “clunker” and was breaking down all the time. I just wanted a good and reasonable replacement vehicle. I was using Microsoft Excel, and you all know that it doesn’t have spell-checking ability. So I wrote that I wanted a nice new car.

So I wrote…

I have a nice new bar that runs well, and is attractive to the ladies.

And sure enough a new bar opened up down the street. About eight months later. It had a “ladies night” and a Thursday night “girls only” strip show. Ugh!

Once I found out (in a review of my affirmations), I corrected everything. And I changed it to…

I have a nice new car. It runs well. It is attractive to the ladies.

I now incorporate the spellchecking tool in all of my new affirmation campaigns. Have I made myself clear in the importance of this?

Conclusion

Well, that’s enough for now. The longer you perform your prayer affirmation campaigns, the more that you realize the importance in the careful vocalization of your desires. You realize that many times things can go astray as you are dealing with the non-physical reality, while your brain operates in the physical reality, and thus you are handicapped. These tools will help mitigate the handicaps somewhat. And I do hope that they help you as much as they have helped me.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

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Peach cobbler, hobos, and the story of the old railroad spur

Today, I am going to present a follow up article to my earlier post titled the “MM blue plate special”.  Here we are going to follow the same format, with articles, photos and short videos depicting various things in no particular order. I hope that you all enjoy it.

We will start with…

A lasagna girl

And boy oh boy is she ever! This is the kind of girl that you would spend the day browsing the malls, looking at dogs and cats, and then going home to a nice home-cooked lasagna with a plain, but simple, dry red Cabernet wine. (Oh, and a nice side of fresh crunchy bread with some soft spreadable cheese and well-salted butter.)

I can see us talking on a bridge, and just being playful under the trees. She’s just delicious!

And the sad thing is that she has no idea. And I am not nearby to tell her.

If she only knew. If she only knew.

A fine lasagna.

Seriously! Who would not want to eat this, drink some dry wine, and have a nice fun conversation with a friend or a member of the opposite sex?

Can you possibly believe that some people just do not enjoy lasagna? I know I know. But what can I say?

A fine lasagna.

Night life in China

America is so very quiet. Canada is so very quiet. Everyone is inside alone, watching televisions, playing on the computer or doing their own things. Meanwhile, China which is a very social nation, everyone is out and about. This is a pretty good video depiction of what it’s all pretty much like.

Night time China.

This is America

Well, Americans are so numb to what America is today, that the images are just “ho hum”, but when I show them to other people they are in shock. They say “What? Where is this? Syria? The Middle East? Nope. Just another average day in a typical American city.

The USA has a death wish

An American Naval Vessel is trying to provoke a war between the Philippines and China, and trigger USA involved.

From Daniel…

From Global times, July 12th :”The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces expelled a US Navy destroyer that trespassed into Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea on Monday, the day that coincided with the fifth anniversary of the so-called South China Sea Arbitration ruling.

..Without authorization from the Chinese government, the US guided missile destroyer USS Benfold illegally trespassed into China’s territorial waters of Xisha on Monday, and the PLA Southern Theater Command organized maritime and aerial forces to track and monitor it and warned it away, Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson of the command, said in a statement released on the same day..

The Xisha Islands are inherent territory of China, and the US military’s move seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, damaged peace and stability in the South China Sea, and violated international law and international relations norm, Tian said, noting that this marks another irrefutable evidence of US’ militarization in the region with navigational hegemony.”

The name of the ship ringed a bell, USS Benfold, It is named after a war hero, I think they even made a movie about him ,that was during the, drums please … the Korean War. Maybe it has a significance, maybe not.

I think and really believe that the USA is so out of control that it is going to really provoke a major catastrophic event that will be difficult to unravel.

This is what is going on from the Chinese point of view. Click on the picture for the video…

Here we have a BBC camera crew filming inside of America

America is on it’s death throes. It is thrashing around terribly, and the world needs calm and cool heads to prevail. First a provocation aimed at Russia. Didn’t happen. Then a provocation aimed at China. Didn’t happen. To me it seems that a major “False Flag” is in the works…

…only this time, if America tries this nonsense, both Russia and China will hit them hard. Look at the wasteland of what constitutes America today…

What happened to America?

Evil, self-centered, service-to-self psychopathic personalities took over. And they molded and reshaped the nation into their idea of utopia. Today it is a place where fear abounds, and people believe that they are doing well because the alternatives are far worse. It is a place where everything has a price, and no one ever has enough money because of a thousand little hands in your wallet.

Americans need to wake up to the reality that it’s all a big, big lie. Yes. America is a big, big lie. Check out this video…

The big lie.

Why? Intentional control of the minds of Americans

A 70-Year War on ‘Propaganda’ Built by the CIA
Cynthia Chung

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
– William Shakespeare (The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2)

War has always depended on a reliable system to spread its propaganda. The Arthashastra written by Chankya (350-283 BCE) who was chief advisor to the Emperor Chandragupta (the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire) discusses propaganda and how to disperse and apply it in warfare. It is one of the oldest accounts of the essentialism of propaganda in warfare.

Propaganda is vital in times of war because it is absolutely imperative that the people, who often need to make the greatest sacrifices and suffer the most, believe that such a war is justified and that such a war will provide them security. To the degree that they believe this to be true, the greater the degree of sacrifice and suffering they are willing to submit themselves for said “promised security”.

It is crucial that when the people look at the “enemy” they see something sub-human, for if they recognise that said “enemy” has in fact humanity, the jig is up so to speak.

And thus we are bombarded day after day, hour after hour of reminders as to why the “enemy” is not human like us, not compassionate like us, not patient, just and wise like us.

No doubt, war has been a necessary response when tyranny has formed an army to fight for its cause, but I would put forth that most wars have been rather unnecessary and downright manipulated for the design of a small group of people.

During WWI, on Dec 25th 1914, something rather unexpected occurred and a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front took place between the French/British soldiers and the German soldiers. Some even ventured into “no man’s land”, given its name since none left it alive, to mingle with the “enemy” and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps. A game of football took place as well. It is said that these truces were not unique to the Christmas period but that they were much more widespread during the holiday season.

These fraternisations would understandably make it quite difficult to return to combat against one another…for no apparently good reason. Some units needed to be relocated since they had developed friendships with the opposing side and now refused to fight them.

The lesson was quickly learned and propaganda was heavily pumped down the throats of the Allied countries, and by the course of just a few years, they no longer viewed the Germans as human.

The CIA’s Family Jewels and Operation Mockingbird

For us to understand the implications of modern propaganda and how it is used in warfare today, our story starts post-WWII with Churchill’s announcement of the “Iron Curtain” which launched the Cold War and has kept the East and West divided to this day.

Quickly after the Cold War was announced by Churchill, it was necessary to create a fervor of fear and paranoia amongst the American people in order to have them quickly forget the fact that the Russians were their greatest allies during both WWI and WWII, and to replace it with the image of a ghoulish race of boogeymen.

If Americans were to remember that the Russians had fought valiantly during WWII and had paid by far the largest sacrifice to the cause, that they had in fact been their comrades in arms against the brutality of fascism, if this were remembered then the Cold War division could never occur, and that was something that could not be tolerated by Churchill and the Empire. Thus terror was unleashed on the American people and McCarthyism was given precedence over the people’s right to question and form conclusions for themselves. That sort of thing could not be tolerated when the “enemy” could be anywhere; they could be your neighbour, your child’s teacher, your co-worker…your partner.

In order to combat the “threat” of Soviet “propaganda” entering the U.S. and seducing Americans, Operation Mockingbird was created as a form of “control” over information dissemination during the period of McCarthyism. Operation Mockingbird was an “alleged” CIA program that was started in the early 1950s in order to control the narrative of the news. Though this role has never been confirmed entirely, in the CIA Family Jewels report compiled in the mid-1970s, it is confirmed that Project Mockingbird did exist as a CIA operation and that it was guilty of wire-tapping journalists in Washington.

At the helm of this project was none other than CIA Director Allen Dulles, an enemy of JFK, who by the early 1950s “allegedly” oversaw the media network and had major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. Its function was to have the CIA write reports that would be used by a network of cooperating “credible” reporters. By these “credible” reporters spreading the CIA dictated narrative, it would be parroted by unwitting reporters (mockingbirds) and a successful echo chamber would be created across the world.

The Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), originally named Office of Special Projects but that was thought to conspicuous, was a covert operation wing of the CIA and was created by the United States National Security Council (NSC). For those who are unfamiliar with the origins of the NSC and its close relationship with the CIA, who was born on the same day, refer to my paper on the subject.

According to Deborah Davis’ biography of Katherine Graham (the owner of Washington Post), the OPC created Operation Mockingbird in response to addressing Soviet propaganda and included as part of its CIA contingency respected members from Washington PostThe New York TimesNewsweekCBS and others.

The Family Jewels report was an investigation made by the CIA to investigate…the CIA, spurred in response to the Watergate Scandal and the CIA’s unconstitutional role in the whole affair. The investigation of the CIA would include any other actions that were deemed illegal or inappropriate spanning from the 1950s-mid 1970s.

We are told “most” of the report was declassified on June 25, 2007 (30 years later) hoping that people would have lost interest in the whole brouhaha. Along with the release of the redacted report was included a six-page summary with the following introduction:

“The Central Intelligence Agency violated its charter for 25 years until revelations of illegal wiretapping, domestic surveillance, assassination plots, and human experimentation led to official investigations and reforms in the 1970s.”

The most extensive investigation of the CIA relations with news media was conducted by the Church Committee, a U.S. Senate select committee in 1975 that investigated the abuses committed by the CIA, NSA, FBI, and IRS. The Church Committee report confirmed abundant CIA ties in both foreign and domestic news media.

It is very useful that there exists an official recognition that false news was not only being encouraged by the CIA under the overseeing of the NSC during the Cold War period, but that the CIA was complicit in actually detailing the specific narrative that they wanted disseminated, and often going so far as to write the narrative and have a “credible” reporter’s name stamped on it.

But the question begs, “Did the Cold War ever end?” and if not, why should we believe that the CIA’s involvement in such activities is buried in its past and that it has “reformed” its old ways?

Western Journalists for Hire: How the CIA Buys News

In order to answer this question, let us visit the sad case of Udo Ulfkotte. Udo Ulfkotte is a well-known German journalist and author of numerous books. He worked for 25 years as a journalist, 17 of which were for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), including his role as editor. In his 2014 book “Journalists for Hire: How the CIA Buys News” Ulfkotte goes over how the CIA along with German Intelligence (BND) were guilty of bribing journalists to write articles that either spun the truth or were completely fictitious in order to promote a pro-western, pro-NATO bent, and that he was one of those bought journalists.

In an interview, Ulfkotte describes how he finally built up the nerve to publish the book, after years of it collecting dust, in response to the erupting crisis in Ukraine stating

I felt that the right time had come to finish it and publish it, because I am deeply worried about the Ukrainian crisis and the possible devastating consequences for all of Europe and all of us…I am not at all pro-Russia, but it is clear that many journalists blindly follow and publish whatever the NATO press office provides. And this type of information and reports are completely one-sided”.

In another interview Ulfkotte stated:

it is clear as daylight that the agents of various Services were in the central offices of the FAZ, the place where I worked for 17 years. The articles appeared under my name several times, but they were not my intellectual product. I was once approached by someone from German Intelligence and the CIA, who told me that I should write about Gaddafi and report how he was trying to secretly build a chemical weapons factory in Libya. I had no information on any of this, but they showed me various documents, I just had to put my name on the article. Do you think this can be called journalism? I don’t think so.

Ulfkotte has publicly stated:

I am ashamed of it. The people I worked for knew from the get-go everything I did. And the truth must come out. It’s not just about FAZ, this is the whole system that’s corrupt all the way.

Udo Ulfkotte has since passed away. He died January 2017, found dead in his home, it is said by a hear t attack. His body was quickly after cremated and thus prevented any possibility of an autopsy occurring.

You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

(Note: This article was published March 14, 2020) The Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act is a bipartisan bill that was passed into law in December 2016, it was initially called Countering Information Warfare Act. It was included together with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill was brought into effect just weeks before Trump was to enter office….hmmm, foreshadowing much?

Soon after the 2016 U.S. election, the Washington Post led the charge asserting that it was due to Russian propaganda that the U.S. elections turned out the way it did, that is, that Hillary had somehow, inconceivably, lost to Donald Trump and that the American people had been turned against her like a child caught in the middle of a messy divorce case. But there is no need here to set the record straight on Hillary, when Hillary herself has done suffice damage to any illusion of credibility she once had. That ultimately not even Hillary could hide the fact that her closet full of skeletons turned out to be the size of a catacomb.

But we are told that citizens do not know what is best for one’s self. That they cannot be trusted with “sensitive” information and in accordance act in a “responsible” manner, that is, to have a strong enough stomach to do what is “best” for their country.

And therefore, fear not subjects of the land, for the Global Engagement Center (GEC) is here to make those hard decisions for you. Don’t know what to think about a complicated subject? GEC will tell you the right way!

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would allow for the Secretary of State to collaborate with the Secretary of Defense, and other Federal agencies in the year 2017 to create the Global Engagement Center (GEC). The GEC’s purpose in life is to fight propaganda from foreign governments and publicize the nature of ongoing foreign propaganda and disinformation operations against the U.S. and other countries.

Let us all take a moment to thank the GEC for such a massive task in the cause for justice all around the world.

The GEC had a very slow start in its first year, however, it has been gaining momentum in the last year under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who seems especially excited over the hiring of Lea Gabrielle as special envoy and coordinator of GEC.

Mike Pompeo was the CIA Director from 2017-2018. On April 15, 2019, Pompeo participated in a discussion at the Texas A&M University where he voluntarily offered the admission that though West Points’ cadet motto is “You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.”, his training under the CIA was the very opposite, stating “I was the CIA Director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It was like we had entire training courses. (long pause) It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment”.

This is apparently the man for the job of dealing with matters of “truth” and “justice”.

Lea Gabrielle was approved for her position by Mike Pompeo, what are her “qualifications”? Well, Gabrielle is also CIA trained, and while assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), she “directed and conducted global clandestine strategic intelligence collection operations.” Gabrielle also “deployed in tactical anti-terrorist operations in hostile environments”. After 12 years of active duty service, Lea Gabrielle became a television news journalist, who worked at NBC and FOX News.

Noticing a pattern?

The CIA really does not have the best track record for their role in “managing” foreign wars and counter-insurgency activities. In fact, they have been caught rather red handed in fueling such crisis situations. And these are the people who are deciding what information is fit for the American public, and western public in general, and what is not fit for their ears.

Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil

On March 5, 2020, Lea Gabrielle testified on the role of GEC in countering state-sponsored and non-state propaganda and disinformation. Gabrielle states: “We have the full support of Secretary Pompeo who is committed to deploying a broad suite of tools to stop America’s adversaries from using disinformation, malign propaganda, and other tools to undermine free societies.” She goes on to acknowledge that the hearing is focused on countering Russian government and CCP disinformation and propaganda. She then goes on to outline her criticisms of both governments with no factual detail or evidence but rather generalised accusations and criticisms, obviously pulling from her experience as a news journalist for NBC.

Following this, Gabrielle proceeds to outline her “rules of engagement” in countering this offensive with what seems to be the beginnings of McCarthyism 2.0, amounting to a threat to anyone who dares not take a hard stance against Russia and China, that such a person will be considered complicit in essentially committing treason.

Gabrielle concludes,

Both the Russian government and the CCP view censorship, media manipulation, and propaganda as appropriate tools to control public opinion. Both exploit open, democratic societies to further their own ends while tightening controls around their own countries.”

Don’t worry, the CIA will eventually admit that they are elbow deep in all of the above, it just won’t be released until 30 years from now…In the meantime, I wouldn’t believe everything you read in the newspaper to stoke the fires for another war.

This article was originally published by Strategic Culture Foundation.

And to reinforce this narrative …

Just this morning, right out from Billionaire Bloomberg…

Sure…

The West refuses to see just how sick they are.

Instead of seeing the reality, the “West”, insists on believing the carefully constructed fantasy world that it has created and that it promotes on the MSM (Main Stream Media). It holds China up as an example of a big, bag evil empires, when it is nothing of the sort, and holds itself up as the “great beacon of light on the shining hill”; a fantasy that never actually existed.

Until these fantasies are destroyed, the “West” will continue it’s long, drawn out decay and destruction. Check out this video…

The West is collapsing.

Thinking Long Term…

China uses more concrete in a single year than all the concrete ever used by America in all of it’s history. 2021. Look at the stats. Period. China is growing and is a serious, serious nation. It’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities are formidable. And to discount this, or ignore it, is a mistake.

America cannot not simply flick a “light switch” and suddenly the American manufacturing system will roar into life. The spark of creativity has been extinguished in America. The drive to work, to produce, to contribute are all gone. The relationships between design, and fabrication are missing, and the regulations and laws are too corrupt, too stifling, and out of date.

When you look at the “so called” American Industry, you will see a lot of nice shiny office buildings staffed with planners, finance folk, accountants, and legal teams supporting Marketing. But very little in the way of hard, dirty, assembly machinery. The opposite is true in China.

Watch this video…

Meanwhile, What’s the news about in the USA?

When you watch American “news” it’s really quite different from what you would see in the rest of the world. Shootings, murders, kidnaps, rapes are so common place that they are hardly ever reported. The big news tends to revolve around plans for more taxes, higher regulation entities, and “think tanks” proposing renaming a new holiday or tearing down a statue.

However, sometimes the “news” can be funny. As this video attests…

Lancaster Pennsylvania

The last time I was in Lancaster Pennsylvania I pulled into a roadside restaurant and got myself a club sandwich, with fries, cole slaw, and a (bottomless) cup of coffee. Of course that was years ago. I wonder if you can still get that in the USA today. As I recall, I think it cost me about $3.50 or so.

A typical club sandwich.

Learning how to make my first sandwich

You know, I first learned how to make a sandwich when I was four years old. My girlfriend at the time; a beautiful lass named Mary, who was much older than me. She was five. Brought me into her house, up the stairs and hid me in her bed room. But being the good hostess that she was, she ran downstairs and brought up a bottle of ketchup and some slices of bread. She then showed me how to make my first sandwich.

As we were sitting there on her bed smunching, and chatting, her mother burst into the room shouting “Mary, why do you keep bringing up boys into your room?” and Scooted me away.

Sigh.

She was a bit of a rascally girl, don’t you know.

She also taught me how to steal from the candy store. But that is another story for another time. Right now I want to talk about sandwiches.

My first real sandwich was part of an exercise to obtain a “badge” as part of being in the cub scouts. It was there where I learned how to cut a tomato, get slices of cold cuts, cheese, lettuce, and how to add mayonnaise to it. I learned how to do it in my “den”, and my “den mother” taught me how to make the sandwich. Afterwards, we all sat down and ate the sandwiches with a bottle of orange Fresca.

A den of cub scouts.

About the Cub Scouts

The following excerpt is from HERE.

Cubbing, as it was first know, started in the United States in 1930.  However, it was in 1916 when Baden-Powell published The Wolf Cub Handbook that Cubbing became an official part of scouting in England and endorsements for the program began in the United States.  At that time, James E. West, BSA Chief Executive, felt that this new program might take adult leadership away from the Boy Scouts so initially he opposed the program.

It is interesting to note that in the beginning, each Cub den was led by a Boy Scout Den Chief.  It wasn’t until 1936 that the position of Den Mother was added as an optional position even though Den Mothers had been helping since 1932.  Still, that position was to provide support for the Den Chief. It was not until the late 1940’s to mid 1950’s that the Den Mother assumed full control of the den.

Dens were formed by age until 1986 when the phase in for grade level began, lasting until 1991.  In the beginning, Wolfs were 9 year olds, Bears were 10 years old and Lions were 11 years old.  They could enter Boy Scouts when they turned 12.  Until 1942, when a boy joined, he would start with the Wolf rank after completing his Bobcat requirements and work his way up regardless of his age.  During these early years, he could only wear his current rank and associated arrow points.

A fine painting by Norman Rockwell.

Speaking about food

As I have explained, I always associate food with pretty women. I don’t know why, but that is me. I think that it has something to do with the saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. All the pretty girls were always trying to keep me well fed and satisfied.

And they are everywhere in China.

This woman is definitely a “Shepherd’s Pie” kind of girl. Check out her video…

While this girl is definitely spaghetti and garlic bread

This slim lady is all about the well stocked larder, the warm bread in the oven, and the spaghetti sauce that has been cooking all day on the stove. She’s the kind of woman that will insist that you have a clean napkin near you when you eat, and a glass of water with your meal whether you wanted it or not.

Check out the video.

This girl is a YUM!

And let’s not forget about the Summer time foods…

This beauty, with the well done eyebrows, and the big eyes is all about cut up watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries. She’s exactly the kind of girl that you would want to go out and have a nice light dessert, and then walk along the night city streets doing some window shopping and chatting.

These Chinese women are just lovely.

Peach Cobbler

What could be a more perfect ending to a summertime meal than peach cobbler? Savor the flavors of summer with sliced fresh peaches cooking away with butter and spices.

Peach Cobbler topped with French Vanilla Ice Cream.

The topping can made from pantry ingredients you have on hand and peaches can easily be substituted with any fruit you have depending on the time of year. The tang of the lemon juice paired with the sweetness of the peaches is perfectly balanced with the crisp topping. Want to make dessert even better? A dollop of fresh whipped cream or cold vanilla ice cream truly makes it the perfect way to end a summer night.

I must say that as much as I love this great and wonderful dish, it was not a staple in my home when I grew up. My mother never made peach cobbler. I never had the house fill with the delicious aroma of baked peaches. I never had that pleasure.

The trees of New Iberia, Louisiana.

But…

When I moved to Louisiana, I came to know the wonderful world of Creole Cooking , and the local folk in New Iberia that would make a most luscious peach cobbler that was “to die for”.

You can go on line and find a zillion recipes on how to make this most delicious dish.It’s so easy to make! It makes me wonder why my mother never made it. For the life of me, I just cannot recall her ever making it. Not even during peach season, and certainly not with canned peaches.

It’s easy to make.

I mean in “super dooper” easy to make!

One thing I do know is that I can tell you that it is best enjoyed when it is made in your home kitchen by friends or family, and where the aroma fills the house and you get a big monster sized bowl of peach cobbler topped with delicious French Vanilla ice cream.

I would take it to the porch, and sit on the rocking chair and eat while the sun set and the gathering dusk enveloped the large trees covered with Spanish moss.

Spanish Moss hanging from the huge trees of New Iberia, Louisiana.

Of course, no one wants to hear an old foggy guy talking about his past…

Right? I mean to say that my past doesn’t even resemble anything that you see today. It’s so different that it boggles the mind and astounds the cockles. As this video clearly shows…

How do you handle failure?

Some of those zoom and skype videos are cute and funny, but more serious things can and do occur. So what do you do? And how do you handle the trials in life? Will your blood Pressure go ballistic like Metallicman’s, or will you just relax and grab some Wise Potato chips and a cold beer instead?

Check out this video…

Fear is what is trapping many people into their slave-serf existence

You are being manipulated by fear. You are being lied to, and manipulated, and massaged until you run about like scared rabbits. And when a real emergency occurs, like an American bio-weapon, you think that the government is just doing “just another one” of it’s many many manipulative techniques.

Even though there are real and good valid reasons for strong and preventative actions. Like this video describes why China told everyone that the entire nation of 1.6 billion people, over four times the population of the United States, must all wear face masks in public…

Again, what is China really like?

Yeah. This is what China is really like, and narrated by a Vblogger who was condemned by Yahoo! as a member of the “Communist disinformation network” LOL. I mean the bullshit of the United States is so very think these days, you just cannot make it up!

A Fried Chicken kind of girl

When I see this beauty I cannot help but think of  fried chicken. Especially with a fine crunchy exterior served with hot steaming biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, coleslaw, and extra butter. this girl is the kind of gal that you would go into a restaurant with, the kind with a red and white checkered table cloth, a small flower in a vase, and a circular table with a window seat.

Strangely I don’t picture drinking wine, beer, or even Coke with her. I picture a locally brewed ginger beer. Oh, the fun we could have! Smunching, and eating. Drinking and talking. Looking good, feeling good, with the scent of her perfume wafting near me, and the fine crunchy feeling when you bit into that delicious chicken.

I tell you that I would pick those bones clean! I tell you what!

P.S. Look at her eyebrows! Aren’t they lovely?

Any day now…

Sure. Any day now, America will overtake China and remain the “king of the hill” and sit atop of the money heap!

The problem is that America is devolving.

What the wealthy oligarchy has created is a civilization filled with a rulership of “service to self people” that has manipulated a large swath of the population to be “service for another” people. When the entire nation should be “service for others”. Here’s a funny video about devolution.

Hyper-velocity nuclear tipped MIRV ICBM’s

Ever since Mike Pompeo and Donald Trump set their eyes on invading and attacking China, China has sprinted to catch up with America in nuclear warheads. Not just those old fashioned ICBM’s like America has, but the impossible to stop hyper-velocity, MIRV weapons carrying 10 to 15 warheads each about 1000 times more powerful than what destroyed Hiroshima.

Of course, you will never will hear about this in the Western press. To most Americans, China is a backwards third-world nation.

So you wanna “poke the panda” eh?

China is mass producing enough nuclear bombs to destroy every community in America larger than 1000 people. China is a serious, serious nation, and they DO NOT BLUFF.

But Hey! Enough of that shit…

Let’s talk about people, and our normal day to day battles with life. And I want you all to know that everyone has a story, and many have a library of stories that they could share. Here is one from a famous “little guy” actor. And his words ring true.

This is my call out to assholes…

The world is filled with them. They are self-centered, hurtful and cause great pain to all of us. People (!) if you have nothing good to say, then say nothing. The world needs good, kind and helpful people. Not war-mongering, evil sociopaths and wealthy psychopaths. We need to help others. Not to constantly keep tearing them down.

These bad thoughts and evil words hurt. And they can result in bad things happening. We need to undo their damage in what ever way possible.

Delicious yum!

This is something I have been missing…

Hobos

There’s some good write ups about hobos. In America today, many are becoming Hobo’s out of necessity. America is such a mess that all the social contracts are broken, society, culture, and the government have all become absolute failures. The people, now terribly in debt have taken to a homeless, nomadic lifestyle to survive. It might appear to be temporary, but knowing what I know about the value of money, and endless fiat currency, it looks more like the beginning of the end, rather than a temporary lapse in the economy.

As long as man has organized into society, there have been those on the fringe. These were people who, for one reason or another, just didn’t fit into polite society.

Such were the hobos of our nation’s past. We tend to think of hobos as bums who stole rides on trains and lived in shanty towns. But in some cases, they were traveling workers who would go where there was work and move on when the job was done.

Building this country required a huge amount of manpower, especially when you consider that much was built by human hands rather than power equipment. Projects like the Transcontinental Railroad and the Hoover Dam required workforces numbering in the thousands, and hard-working men who came and went with the job. They lived in shanty towns, because that’s all there was at the end of the tracks and they carried little with them, because they knew they’d be moving on.

These were tough men, accustomed to backbreaking work and long hours. They survived and endured, becoming a forgotten part of our country’s history. Yet the work that they did has often survived and become part of making our country what it is today.

-Off the grid news

Historically, many people have been forced into becoming hobos because of circumstances where jobs are so scarce that they have no choice but to travel from place to place in search of work.

There are many theories of the origin of the word hobo, ranging from a contraction of the words “Hoe Boys” to one from the words “Homeward Bound”.

In any case, the American Heritage Dictionary defines a hobo as “one who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or a means of livelihood.”

Every hobo has a moniker, a nickname grounded in habit or origin or appearance, like Redbird or Frisco Jack or Bookworm. Not every hobo wants to share his or her real name with the straights and the Square Johns.  A few, the ones trying to outrun something, won’t even talk to anyone new or strange.

But the dawn of the Internet and increased dissatisfaction with the 9-to-5 routine have led more and more people to wonder if earning a living while on the road is a viable alternative to the daily grind.

If you’re thinking about becoming an opportunistic and resourceful transient worker, keeping your costs low, your responsibilities simple, and your freedom intact, here are the questions you’ll need to ask yourself—and the preparations you’ll need to make.

[1] Remember the differences between hobos, tramps, and bums: hobos are people who travel and look for work, tramps are people who travel and don’t look for work, bums are people who neither travel nor look for work.
In a society of citizen consumers, to have nothing, to own nothing, by choice, might be the most radical politics of all. And it’s worth mentioning here that not every homeless person is a hobo. And as the hobo fades from the American scene—except as a visual or literary cliché—there’s more and more confusion on the matter. A hobo is homeless by choice. Even then, not every hobo is completely homeless. Most these days have a semi-permanent address somewhere for the winter. Especially the older hoppers.

[2] Take stock of your skills and experience. Historically, hobos have made their living from manual labor, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. Any skill that is in wide demand and does not require an extended time commitment can be useful to a hobo. As long as you can advertise your services and earn people’s trust (ideally through references), you can do anything. Some pursuits that lend themselves to this lifestyle are:

  • Landscaping and construction – Many migrant workers who cross international borders find work in this area, as it is the least demanding in terms of language barriers. Having experience is essential, however, as you’d be required to work with potentially dangerous equipment and machinery.
  • Farm hand – If you’ve ever thought about becoming a farmer, there are internships all over the world that offer housing, food, a stipend, and experience, in exchange for getting your hands dirty. You can follow harvest seasons around the country or around the globe. Progressive farms tend to provide better circumstances.
  • Fishing – Serve as a deckhand, cook, or fisherman as you travel the high seas.
  • Any web-based service such as writing, editing or programming.

[3] Establish Plan B. This is a serious, life-altering decision. Don’t abandon everything suddenly and disappear. You need something to come back to if your life on the road doesn’t work out. Make sure all your debts are paid and responsibilities are handled before departure. If possible, have some savings set aside before you go, that you can access while you’re on the road, if need be. Emergencies happen, and they cost money.

Hobo slang can be intuitive, or impenetrable, but it’s always colorful. For example, the “jungle” is just the communal hobo camp, usually near the railroad yard. Your “bindle” is your bedroll. Your “poke” is your wallet. “Hundred on a plate” is a can of beans, and the jungle kitchen is run by the “Crumb Boss.” The “bulls” are the railroad police. “Flyers” and “hotshots” and “redballs” are all fast freights. “Catching out” means hopping the train. To die is to “catch the westbound.” And understand this, above all else: A “hobo” is an itinerant worker; someone who travels and finds work. A “tramp” travels, but mostly does not work. A “bum” neither travels nor works.

And of course the whole thing runs on talk, endless talk. Because talk’s free; because even if you give away everything you own, or they take away everything you have, you still have your stories. And every story here begins as the same story.

[4] Be prepared. You may like the romantic idea of leaving with nothing but the clothes on your back and whatever is in your wallet, but that is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. You must assume that you will be sleeping, cooking, traveling, and essentially living outdoors, unless you decide to drive a car.

  • How will you get from place to place? Hobos are often associated with train-hopping, because this is what many hobos during the Great Depression did. A car can double as transportation and sleeping quarters, but keep in mind that gas is expensive, and upkeep on a vehicle is a major expense and if the expense bothers you, hitch-hiking is a good option since it’s free. Some hobos prefer bicycles, but this will limit your range (to warm weather regions) and limit how much you can carry. A motorcycle can get you where you’re going faster, but has maintenance requirements similar to those of a car, though not to the same degree. Buses are also an option: Greyhound, in the US at least, offers steep discounts when you purchase tickets a week in advance, and even more for still earlier purchases. Buy tickets at the station for the best deals; web purchases have an extra $3 or $4 tagged on whether the tickets are mailed or “on call”.
  • Where will you sleep? Unless the place you work can offer housing, you will have to sleep in your car (if you have one), urban camp, squat in an abandoned building, or stay in hostels or motels. Another option is using the Communities Directory online to find urban co-ops, land trusts, and other alternative housing arrangements, which often welcome guests. See directory.ic.org. Yet another option is a traveler’s network such as couchsurfing.com or globalfreeloaders.com, which offer free lodging to those who intend to contribute (in kind, or in other ways). Consider the costs and dangers associated with each.
  • Where will you take showers? Some campsites have showers, but many don’t, so you may consider purchasing portable shower equipment. You can also obtain a membership to a national gym chain and use the showers there (provided you actually work out and maintain your appearance).
  • How will you defend yourself? A nomadic lifestyle can be a dangerous one because you’re constantly putting yourself in unfamiliar situations, and you’re probably alone—both of which can make you a target for theft and assault. You’ll need to outline some precautions you can take, such as always letting people know where you are, carrying a cell phone – and only going places where there’s a reliable signal, having an alert system or weapon on you, etc. In addition, always know where you are so when you call for help you will be able to give them a location.

[5] Make a list of connections. Look at maps of the areas in which you’ll be traveling, and determine whether or not there’s anyone you know, directly or indirectly, who lives there. Ask your Aunt Sally if your great uncle Billy still lives in that cabin in the woods. Ask your friend if his cousin still works at the car dealership in Utah. Most important of all, ask them if it’s okay if you can get in touch with those people in case of an emergency. Some people might offer to make arrangements so that you can actually visit, which is always nice. (Just be a good house guest!)

I did a lot of hitchhiking right after high school. And one time my brother was out hitchhiking in California, and some tramps got a hold of him and told him ride the trains instead of hitchhiking, and so he rode trains. They came back, and that was in 1973. They were talking in a bar about riding out to see Evel Knievel jump the Snake River Canyon, and I started to listening to it, and I worked seasonal and stuff. I had some freedom there. I was in. And so my older brother....There was 11 of us gone out of St. Cloud and hopping freights, and I fell in love with it right away. I mean, I like hitchhiking because you get to meet a lot of different people, but the freight-train riding was like the freedom, you know? —Ricardo

Vintage hobo life.

[6] Make an itinerary based on the type of work you plan to do, the connections you have in place, and the places you’d like to see. Do as much research as you can beforehand. Make a list of places you can stay, eat, shower, camp, etc. It’s also wise to look up churches and shelters and any other services that are offered to the homeless. The more prepared you are, the more you’ll enjoy your travels.

My father was a hobo, born in 1898 in Frog Level, North Carolina. Ran away from home when he was 12 or 13, rode freights for about 17 years. He’s a wonderful storyteller, musician, singer. He was always the one to tuck me in bed at night. He would say, Two songs, one story. You get to choose one song, and I’ll choose one. I always chose Cocaine Jubilee, because he learned it out in the opium dens and it was a funny song. Then he would sing one, and he’d tell me one of his adventure stories. 

I remember when he’d leave every night, I’d think, I can’t wait until I’m old enough to do that. I started hitchhiking right out of high school and eventually was a student at Indiana University. I had the honor of doing a directed writing course which I could choose the professor. He said, You need to choose a good topic. And I chose hobos, and I said, Because I grew up with it.Gypsy Moon

[7] Learn the hobo code. Historically hobos relied on a shared system of symbols that let fellow travelers know more about their current environment.The symbols can vary from place to place and may no longer be used in many areas. Here are some symbols to get you started:

  • spearhead – defend yourself
  • circle with two parallel arrows – get out fast, hobos not welcome
  • wavy line (signifying water) above an X – fresh water and a campsite nearby
  • three diagonal lines – not a safe place.
  • cross – “angel food,” (food served to hobos after a party)

[8] Hit the road! Leave your roots behind. Find a place to live and work from day to day. See the sights of each new place you visit. Make interesting friends (you never know when they might lend a helping hand). Life on the road means that every moment is your own. With no schedule and no responsibilities (except keeping yourself healthy), you must decide how to best use your time to achieve a balance between work, travel, relaxation, and entertainment. Enjoy the variety that each day has to offer…you’re earning it.

When I was a really young kid, I lived in a neighborhood in Houston close to a big train yard. It’s had a hobo jungle there for a long, long time. I had a buddy named Dusty, and me and Dusty used to sneak out there in the field and watch the hobos. We used to watch guys get on and off the trains all the time, so we kind of knew how it all worked.

Dusty and I did catch a train, to Galveston. We just got on the train in the dark. We got down there, and we’re like, “We’re 60 miles from home, how are we going to get back?” 

Maybe half an hour later, there was a train going the other way, rolling real slow. We saw empties. We caught a train going the other way, and by sheer luck, it went right back to the same place we were at. We were just really lucky. —K-Bar

[9] Don’t hesitate to dumpster dive. You wouldn’t believe the amount of free undamaged food that is thrown away all the time. For the best results check behind smaller grocery stores and fruit markets, as they usually don’t invest money in a sealed garbage compactor (although these can sometimes be opened as well)—just be careful. Fast food chains are also usually good, but more traditional restaurants generally don’t waste nearly as much food—although if you are really hungry you can usually find at least something there.

The history of the hobo is the history of modern America. Starts right after the Civil War and the building of America’s great railroads. There had always been a small floating population of agrarian workers, but they were limited by geography and technology. They were regional. Local. Language historians and etymologists aren’t sure, but the word “hobo” may come from this original population of farmworkers: “hoe boys.”

The railroads change all that. After the war there’s an expanding displaced population available to ride—and help build—a transportation network running from coast to coast. As this is happening, America is industrializing too, and the need for a mobile work force, willing, adaptable and relatively inexpensive to transport, becomes evident. The hobo.

[10] Be tough. Physical toughness is essential for surviving in adverse circumstances. A lot of us in the survival  movement aren’t as physically fit as we need to be (me included). But toughness goes beyond just being physically fit. A boxer learns to take blows, just as he learns how to give them. Strength and agility allow him to give them, but toughness allows him to take them. If you’re not tough, you’re not going to be able to take the blows that life gives you; you’ll fold and just wait to die.

There are two types of toughness: physical and mental. Of the two, mental toughness can be harder to develop than physical. If your mind can’t take the blows and bounce back, you are at a disadvantage. Your mind has to be able to accept the changing reality of a crisis situation or a disaster, quickly overcome the grief, and move into survival mode. This is all about training. The better trained you are, the better you can adapt. Training also gives you confidence, so that you know you’re able to survive.

Don’t romanticize it. Empty your pockets. Empty your heart. There’s only what you carry on your back. There’s whatever you’re chasing and whatever’s chasing you. Maybe there’s some grace to be won in the burdens you bear, or in your swiftness, but at moments like this it feels like the price of your freedom is an unimaginable loneliness.

[11] Learn a variety of useful kills. Hobos did whatever the job called for. While they may not have been experts in any one trade, they were capable of working in a number of them. One month they might be busting broncos and the next swinging a double jack in a mine.

Today’s society has become so specialized that in some cases one engineer can only work on one part of a project. He’s lost when he looks at the rest. But in Henry Ford’s day, the guy who designed the engine could also design the body.

In a survival situation, you need to have a wide variety of skills. If your home is damaged by a hurricane and you need to make it safe to sleep in, you don’t have to be a master carpenter. But you will probably need to be able to cut boards and nail them together. You’re probably also going to need to know a little plumbing and electrical work.

[12] Develop a minimalist lifestyle. When you’re on the go, you can’t take a lot of extra baggage with you. You’ve got to cut things down to what you really need. Our modern lifestyle is so cluttered with stuff that we’d need a backpack the size of a semi-trailer to bug out.

In passing you’ll hear that “Dutch owns the boxcar,” and it won’t matter if they mean this literally or figuratively. The boxcar is a fixture in the Britt jungle, permanent. Long off the main line and set here years ago, it is a meeting place and a memorial, an antique keepsake and a hideout. Dutch sits with his gear at the north end of the car. Everything he owns fits in a knapsack. Heaviest thing he carries are his memories. Folks come and go, talking. The Dutchman is a focused listener. Intense, even at rest. As often as not, he’s up there with the younger ’bos, the newer riders, answering questions and giving tips. (For insight into this next generation of gutter punks and crusties and dirty kids, the postmodern hobos, search out the stunning photography of Mike Brodie.)

Learn what you need and then cut down to that point. If you’ve got stuff in your house that you never use, then why do you have it? Really, if you haven’t used it in a year or two, you probably won’t. So, pass it on to someone who can use it and make room in your life for what you need. You have to limit yourself to what was important, and if something wasn’t important, you need to let it go.

[13] Community is important for survival.

Hobos typically gathered together in communities, wherever they were working. That way they could help each other out. Cooking for 10 people is easier than cooking for one, and by doing so, everyone doesn’t have to carry a pot around with them. One would bring the pot and the others would bring the ingredients.

No one rides with the hobos, so let them ride.

When you’re part of a community you also tend to watch out for each other. If you’re by yourself, you might not see what’s happening to you. For example, hypothermia can set in in such a subtle way that you freeze to death, without even realizing what’s happening to you. But if other people are around, they’ll likely notice you’re not well and help.

[14] Learn to live off the land. Most hobos could recognize edible plants and those which could serve as medicines. While they bought food, they augmented what they bought with what they found. Knowing what you can eat can mean the difference between a full belly and starving to death. Knowing what you can use for medicine can also save your life. God has provided a wide range of foods and medicines in nature around us. But you’ve got to know what to use and how to use it. When you’re living that minimalist lifestyle, you really need that knowledge.

“It’s a hard life in a lot of ways. It probably shouldn’t be romanticized the way that it is. You get yourselves out there, and it’s cold, wet, and the steel is hard. It’s very dangerous. There are people out there that aren’t very nice. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It takes a lot. I’m a man of few words.

[15] Nothing is beneath you. Throughout history, there have been people out of jobs because they wouldn’t take one that’s beneath them. While I can understand that to some extent, that pride can be deadly. When things go bad, such as in a financial collapse, we’re all going to have to do whatever we can, no matter how much education we have or what we did before. There’s no room for pride when it comes to surviving a crisis.

“Everything I’ve owned, and everything I want in life, fits in this house [points to his knapsack], right in my pack. Anything that doesn’t fit in my pack, I can’t carry with me. I don’t want it. I can’t have it. It all gets left behind. It makes me a different kind of person. It’s given me something special in life. I’m not attached to anything. I wander with the winds. I know that a lot of people wish they could do the same.

[16] Quit worrying and do what you can

Part of the reason that hobos are seen as lazy and shiftless is that they weren’t worriers. They did what they could and left the rest up to divine providence. We could all learn from that. Yes, there is always a part that we are to do. If we don’t work, we’re not going to eat. But on the other hand, worrying never added a day to anyone’s life. When you’ve done what you can, just hope and pray it’s enough. The rest is beyond your capability.

Worry causes incredible health problems. High blood pressure is caused more by worry, than by any other reason. Why do you think they call it “hypertension?” That literally means, “too much tension” or “too much stress.” Quit stressing out and get to work. Do your part and then follow the example of the hobos, putting the rest in God’s hands.

You might need to become a hobo…

America is really in that bad of a state. Consider this video below. It’s not staged. It’s real Americans “on the street”. This is what happens when you intentionally dumb down an entire society of people.

This is not just worrisome, it is scary.

There are 62 million illiterate people in the USA, that is 39 million more than in China.

In the USA with its overwhelming military power, 1/5 of the population is illiterate. And all these people vote.

Kitty Anxiety

Poor kitty. Don’t worry, she’ll be back. Don’t worry. The girl was gone for ten days, and left the cat alone! God! That cat was probably worrying it’s little heart out! People never do this! At least get a house sitter, or someone to check on your cats, if you cannot afford to take them to the pet hotel.

Ten days!

 

A cat’s life in China

It’s sort of like this. And due to the urban situation, many people have cat backpacks and strollers that they take their cats with them with. That way they can go into establishments, and eat and drink and have a good time.

Which country has a better human rights situation?

If you watch the American “news” you would be inclined to believe that America has the best human rights. Which is strange as less than 13% of American trust their government. So how can you possibly have strong human rights and such a pitiful trust in government? Well, you just cannot.

Another beautiful Chinese girl

This girl is just a classic plate of over easy side eggs, with a side of rye toast and baked beans (erp. I mean grilled potatoes) with a tall glass of orange juice, a fine cup of coffee and a short stack of “flap jacks”. She’s a morning dew kind of girl, with perfection in her clothing, and sunniness in her smiles. check out the video.

A breakfast kind of girl.

Chinese Aviation

China has some serious cutting-edge aviation. These are all home designed, locally manufactured aircraft produced in mass quantities. Here’s a video to give you an idea of the extent and scope of Chinese aviation. Click on the picture to watch the video.

Chinese aviation.

Vibrato

This is a K-pop song performed by Stellar which is a Korean organization. Their membership is about one half Korean, and the other half Chinese. All are Han Chinese ethnically.

This particular song was released back a few years ago, but I must tell you all that the dance troupes in my office building (for a long period of time) would always practice this particular dance and the related moves.

All the girls love to dance it, and I would stand outside in the hallway, and watch them dance through the floor to ceiling glass walls. I must admit that I loved watching them all dance. Eye candy, so they say.

One dance practice was so inspirational to me that I just walked into the studio after a dance and invited all of them out to a dinner and KTV. I can tell you that we all had a great time afterwards. You just go in with a big smile and tell everyone how fantastic they were and how it would be personally important if you could buy them a meal and have some fun at a KTV.

Easy-peasy. Lemon-squeezy.

Click on the picture to watch the amazing dance video.

Vibrato by Stellar.

A fine baked potato girl

This fine woman is a “baked potato girl”. When I see her, I think of baked potatoes with creme cheese, and cut up bacon, spring onions, and olives. Not to mention the side of strip steak, and buttered green beans. When I see her, I think of a nice dinner, together. Talking. Just having fun.

A nice leek and eggs kind of girl

Here is a thin Chinese girl. She reminds me of a scrambled eggs and leek dish that is so delicious. I like to eat it with a side of hot peppers in oil (a very Hunan Chinese dish) and wash it down with some gulps of white wine. Of course, eating in a nice family-style Chinese restaurant.

Spaghetti and meatballs

One of the things that is difficult to get in China is Spaghetti and meatballs. You need to make it by scratch. And in China, a land without ground beef, you really need to get the meat, and grind it up yourself. Some fast and convenient American foods aren’t really all the accessible in China. Sigh.

One of the things that is difficult to get in China is Spaghetti and meatballs.

The old railroad spur

Just some cool pictures taken with a railroad theme. I love this theme. I hope that you all do as well.

Colorado circa 1900. “Mining camp at Chattanooga on Mineral Creek.” 8×10 glass negative by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing Co.

Chattanooga thrived as a staging point for ore and supplies passing between Silverton and Ouray. The arrival of the Silverton Railroad in 1888 eliminated that need. The following year an avalanche wiped out most of the town and it was not rebuilt.

There’s plenty of slide evidence in this photo. Today, the BLM uses howitzer rounds nearby to trigger controlled avalanches. The Million Dollar Highway passes through.

This is one of the few Colorado photos by William Henry Jackson in the LOC. Most ended up with, I believe, the Colorado Historical Society.

April 1939. “Jersey City and Manhattan skyline.” 35mm nitrate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration.

The intersection at the far left right above the trains is Jersey Avenue & 10th Street. The park is Hamilton Park. The building with the columns is not there any longer. Nor is the building with the kind of cupola adjacent to the park. But you can make out Harborside Financial Center in the distance, that was the key. Most the other industrial buildings in the distance are gone. Photo probably taken from the roof of the Erie warehouse bounded by Coles, 11th, Monmouth, and 12th.

Jersey City has always been a dense, gritty city with its share of slums. However, it was a pretty safe city until the 1960s, when things started to deteriorate. My grandfather, who lived in the Greenville section, used to say “Jersey City is getting so bad, the muggers are mugging the muggers.” He wasn’t far off. While it’s a little safer today, there are still many parts of the city where you don’t want to be walking at night. And the majority of the buildings date from the late 19th and early 20th century. Fortunately, the misguided highrise public housing projects are coming down (Currie’s Woods, Montgomery Gardens), and the JC waterfront is being built up to the point where its skyline has overtaken Newark’s as the best in the state. The spillover from Manhattan that started in the ’80s to escape the high cost & taxes continues today.

Syracuse, N.Y., circa 1905. “New York Central Railroad depot.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company.

Oh, and what do you all think of this?

This came out of Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990’s. I don’t know if it is fake or real or what it is, however it sure is interesting.

Video 1

Video 2

If anyone has some further information or thoughts, please please tell me. I’d appreciate it.

And never forget to be the RUFUS!

Just because you are in Jail for tax evasion, crossing the street when you aren’t supposed to, or got in a fight and are in jail. The person you are is not what others say your are. Your worth is your ability to help others, be good, and to help improve the lives of all those around you. Be the Rufus!

Be the Rufus!

Chinese Air, Sea Rescue

A nice video showing something that you would NEVER see in the Western media. This is one of the Chinese Air, Sea, Rescue helicopters that are used to rescue people from the sea. I found it very interesting.

Chinese air, sea rescue.

Feels Like Summer

Shawn the Sheep is a great series of fun movies and videos. I have always enjoyed them. They had a movie and this following song was featured in the movie. It’s an up-beat happy, peppy tune that is Springtime and Summer, and ice cream all rolled into one. I hope you enjoy it.

Click on the picture to watch the video.

Feels like summer.

It’s time to turn in and chill out

MM needs some Me Me time. So there’s a bottle of cheap red wine, some slices of fruit, and peanuts waiting for me. I hope you all enjoyed this.

From MM’s home to yours; have a great evening.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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MM Ghetto Blasters and Stardust Funk

Today, I am going to present a follow up article to my earlier post titled the “MM blue plate special”.  Here we are going to follow the same format, with articles, photos and short videos depicting various things in no particular order. I hope that you all enjoy it.

We will start with…

Philly Cheese-steak Sandwich

The cheesesteak sandwich is made up of thinly sliced steak that served hot with melted cheese in a long, crusty Italian roll. Peppers, onions and mushrooms are optional, but highly recommended (by me). It’s a popular street-cart food, with its origins coming from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philly Cheese-steak Sandwich.

Chinese boy and girl scout “Jamboree”

In China, most things are co-ed, so there really isn’t a boy scouts,  or a girl scouts. It’s just “The Scouts”. Here we see the Chinese equivalent of a Scout Jamboree. It’s a really short video, but a lot of fun. Check it out.

Chinese Scout Jamboree.

Helping an old man cross the street

Oh, I know. It’s so “boy scout”. But really! Where is your humanity? We all need each other. We really do. No one is alone. We all all connected, and if we start treating each other as part of our family, then maybe… just maybe the world will be a better place.

Getting Married in Beirut

In 2020, Israel fired two Air to ground Thermobaric weapon to the Beirut port. This devastated one of the key ports for the Chinese BRI, Belt and Road Initiative. Initially, the American media heavily promoted the excuse that it was just accidentally self-ignited fertilizer, but when photos of the actual missiles were produced, the narrative quickly changed to birds and crows being misidentified.

Afterwards, (then) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gleefully announced that there was “substantial progress” in stopping the Chinese BRI in the Mediterranean.  You all can put two plus two together and realize what is going on. You don’t need a degree in Geo-political international politics to figure it out.

The following is a woman, on her wedding day, getting married in Beirut when the United States destroyed the Port of Beruit, via proxy using Israeli aircraft.

Cool video.
Getting Married in Beirut

Bathers at Atlantic City.

The Jersey Shore circa 1910. “Bathers at Atlantic City.” Many of them gamely striking a pose for the camera as they peer into the existential void. 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.

Bathers at Atlantic City.

Did women wear corsets under their swimming suits back then? They all seem to have very slender waists.

Be the Rufus!

Man gets horrible news and lunges towards a high speed train!  Only a real Rufus can save him! Be the Rufus! It’s our highest calling!

Be the Rufus! It’s our highest calling.

Metal detecting

Ponder this…

Nice finds.

A typical park in China

In China the purpose of the government is to support and enrich the standard of living for the Chinese citizenry. It is not to make the richest people wealthier. Thus money, time and effort goes into making parks, improving infrastructure, and improving every aspect of the lives of the Chinese.

Here’s a typical park.

Mom Making A Kettle Of Apple Butter

Making a kettle of apple butter.

When I was growing up, one of my least favorite tasks was helping make apple butter. It seemed like it took forever, and it did indeed take the better part of an entire day – usually on a beautiful fall day that God must surely have provided for the sole purpose of running around and playing in the woods. But there I was, helping make apple butter while the precious daylight hours wasted away!

Yes, in the opinion of most any little boy, a day spent making apple butter is a day thoroughly wasted. First, you have to peel, cut up and wash about a million apples.

Then you have to gather a mountain of firewood and keep the flame burning nice and hot for hours on end…all the while stirring the smoldering apple butter non-stop until you’re old enough to begin sprouting facial hair. Of course about every six minutes throughout the day I would annoy mom just a little bit more by asking her if the apple butter was “almost done”…

And finally, after having asked for about the 10,000th time, she would say the two most beautiful words in the English language: “just about“.

Shortly after that she would break out the “cans” and start filling them up with the precious concoction that we had just spent such a large portion of our lifetimes making.

Finally, after all the pint and quart jars were filled, an amazing thing would happen: mom would give several jars of it away! I remember thinking “What are you doing, mom? After all we went through to make that stuff you’re gonna hand it out for free?

But that was mom, always being generous and sharing with others regardless of how hard she had to work to get something.

Reflecting back on those years, I now understand why mom did so much work for what seemed to me to be such a small “payout” – she had to. She had a large family to feed and little extra money with which to do it, and we kids had to do our part to help put food on the table. And now that I think about it, those were some of the best times of my life.

Saved by a Rufus!

A truck is out of control. The driver is unconscious, and it’s a treacherous mountain road. What are you going to do? Well, if you are a Rufus, then you know exactly what you should do!

Saved by a Rufus.

周杰伦、费玉清 – 千里之外 (Live)

One of the most famous Pop songs in China. Performed live of one of the Chinese talent shows by the original singers.

周杰伦、费玉清 – 千里之外 (Live).

Being silenced by the war-loving neocon cabal

All of us who live in China are used to this kind of bullshit.  Ignorant fucks accuse us for being paid to say good things about China. Why? because they read about it on their “news”. But what is “news”? Today, it’s a fully paid arm of the government, and if the government wants to demonize China, and you say “Whoa! That’s wrong.” then they will demonize you too.

I try to stay out of the fray. But it affects all of us here.

Watch and learn.

Being silenced by the war-loving neocon cabal.

Traveleze: 1959

This 35mm Kodachrome found in a thrift store is dated August 1959 and bears the notation “Jim, Bristlecone.” The color-coordinated Chevrolet truck and Traveleze trailer are a nice late-Fifties touch.

Nice. 1959. I was a baby at the time.

Where else could one stumble on something like this, nicely blown up for close viewing? 

I drove one of these pickups up in the Colorado Rockies with the Forest Service for two summers back in the mid '60s. Four on the floor (with a super-low stump-yanker first gear, good only for hauling heavy loads up 4% grades--most of the time you started in 2nd if you wanted to make progress), and yes, mine was two-tone as well. 

The rest of the stable included a '58 Ford F100, also two tone, and a couple of shiny new Dodge Ram V8s that were all-green, and two Jeeps, a Wagoneer and a CJ5. 

It was a joy and a privilege to motor around in such a beautiful mountain setting (much like in this shot) in such a cool vehicle. Thanks for the memory!

-DougR

季彦霖 – 选择失忆

Here is a typical Chinese MV. This is the kind of song that the chicks in the KTV would sing their hearts out to. I hope that you all like it.

季彦霖 – 选择失忆.

Meanwhile In Hawaii

There is a movement inside of Hawaii calling for separation away form the United States Federal Government. I am sure that many people on the mainland also feel this way about their own States. After all, if you get rid of the Federal government, automatically your taxes are slashed, and your income increase an easy 30%, not to mention Social Security, and forget about all those wars in far off and distant lands.

Heck! If Kentucky want’s to fight Kenya, go for it. But let those in Kentucky decide, not some rich oligarchy psychopath in Washington DC.

Ah. But you know, nah it will never happen. But it’s nice to see something that the mainstream, and the alternative will refuse to cover.

 

Ghetto Blaster

70s Ghetto blasters and boomboxes in the 80s existed long before pocket-sized radios were a possibility. Part of the era before the iPod, the MP3 player, and even the Walkman in some cases, people needed a way to take the clunky tech of an audio system with them outside.

Ghetto Blaster

The ghetto blaster sprang to life in 1969, introducing a large, yet still (somewhat) portable machine with multiple loud speakers. The Philips company was the first to discover the tech required to make audio “portable”.

In the early days, most people referred to these products as boomboxes. The name, in part, referred to the heavy, box-like design of the machine. Plus, most boombox radios also came with a bass-enhancing codec, which meant you got plenty of boom.

Margherita Pizza

Margherita pizza is a special variety of pizza that originates in Naples, Italy. In Italy, this pizza is a protected food, meaning that it must be prepared in a certain way to bear the “pizza Margherita” label, and the Italian government actually certifies bakeries that produce it.

This pizza is very simple, placing an emphasis on fresh, wholesome ingredients and high quality bread dough. It is also the basis for many pizzas served around the world; most people can probably obtain a version of it from a local pizza establishment, and cooks can also make it at home.

Margherita pizza.

A man collapses in a hospital

You go to a hospital when you are not feeling well. Well, what if you were delayed, and you are really in a bad state? Well, don’t worry, there will always be a Rufus nearby to help you when you need it most.

Be the Rufus!

Be the Rufus!

Another pretty Chinese woman

I do love to look at pretty women.

A pretty Chinese woman.

So, what is a ghetto blaster?

The name alone is enough to conjure an image of one of these products. In the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, most ghetto blasters were large, angular (box-shaped) devices.

Ghetto Blaster gone mobile.

While the features available from a ghetto blaster have changed over the years, they usually include:

  • An amplifier (with extra bass support)
  • Two loudspeakers (volume is a must)
  • A radio tuner (AM, FM, and sometimes DAB)
  • A cassette or CD player
  • A handle for portability

The cassette tape and CD player components of the modern ghetto blaster are quickly being phased out. Although you can find a new ghetto blaster with CD player components these days, it’s more common to simply play your music collection via Bluetooth.

A Ghetto Blaster is also known as a “boom box”.

Ghetto blasters need to be loud, versatile, and portable. In the past, designers used to slap a handle on a blocky machine and leave customers to figure out the rest.

This frequently led to people carrying ghetto blasters on their shoulders to make managing the weight a bit easier.

Today, more modern ghetto blasters from companies like JBL and Sony are a little more ergonomic. Some products come with straps so you can carry your radio like a backpack.

A Ghetto Blaster is also known as a “boom box”.

Others feature unique designs that make carrying the machine on your shoulder more comfortable.

A “Mexican” Plate

I happen to really like Mexican food, but unfortunately, I just can’t get it in China. Sigh. But no matter, Here we have some refried beans, some burritos, lots of cheese and rice. It’s really mouth-watering.

A “Mexican” Plate.

Street walkers in Vietnam

There are some interesting sights and sounds in Vietnam. Here’s a short clip of some “street walkers” in one of the main (foreigner) areas of Ho Chi Min city.

Street walkers in Vietnam. Be careful! They might be “Lady Boys”.

A New York Style Pizza

This is a type of American pizza known as a “New York Style” Pizza. It has a very thing crust, is long, and has piping hot cheese on the top of it. Us “locals” like to curve up the ends of it when we eat it.

New York Style Pizza.

80s ghetto blasters and the identity of an era

While Ghetto blasters in the 70s and 60s were available, it wasn’t until the 1980s when popularity surged. The ghetto blaster became the icon of a generation, acting as both a practical tool, and a status symbol.

A young man sits on his bicycle with his boombox. Cairo, Illinois. 1985.

Today, we still see boomboxes as a component of the 80s and early 90s aesthetic. Many leading artists use ghetto blasters in their music videos. Just look at “Hung Up” by Madonna, or “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga.

So, why did the ghetto blaster suddenly surge into the mainstream in the 1980s? There are a few answers to this question.

In the 80s, cassette ghetto blaster products were often associated with urban society. African American and Hispanic youths frequently carried ghetto blasters with them wherever they went.

Rapper LL Cool J holds a boombox outside of a concert. 1986.

In fact, the popularity that boomboxes had in this environment is what helped them to earn their new term “ghetto blaster”.

What to do if you have some fresh Italian bread and some tomatoes…

A nice idea. Especially nice if you add some friends and a few bottles of wine. Hint. Hint.

Are you getting hungry?

And how you do it / make it…

Something like this…

What a steak!

Now this is my idea of a steak!

How about this for a steak?

How mothers bathed their babies in the 1950’s

It’s a joke! But it does seem kind of funny how the mother is posing next to her new washing machine.

How mothers bathed their babies in the 1950’s.

Boomboxes start community bans

The problem with the boomboxes is that they play LOUD, and everyone can hear the “music”.

As is often the case when music incites a community, cities began to ban boomboxes from public places. Unlike standard radio sets, governments didn’t have complete control over what people listened to on their ghetto blasters.

It was just as easy to listen to your own cassettes and CDs as it was to tune into Kiss FM.

Young men and their boombox. Newark, New Jersey. 1987.

Ghetto blasters in the 80s grew in popularity as a versatile way to listen to all kinds of music. Some groups even started using these portable players to create music.

The boombox became instrumental to the rise of hip hop music. Curb-side rap battles often included a number of ghetto blasters. The fact that ghetto blasters could deliver more bass and volume than a standard speaker made it perfect for the rise of a new genre.

A young man poses with his boombox on a sidewalk in Brooklyn. 1985.

Aside from providing the soundtrack to many urban music battles, ghetto blasters also became a status symbol. The Beastie Boys embraced the ghetto blaster as a signature of their “rebellious” nature. The Clash always seemed to have a boombox with them.

Elsewhere, the devices appeared frequently in shows and movies. Just think of Fame, in the 1980s, or Flash dance, for instance.

Even the National Museum of American History once created an exhibition around ghetto blasters. The event, titled “Hip-Hop won’t stop” featured an insight into the impact boomboxes had on the urban underground.

Bruce Springsteen fans have a picnic with a boombox in the trunk. Location unspecified. 1985.

A pretty girl from China

From one of my “pretty girls of China” collections.

Chicago Pizza

This is what we call a “Chicago Deep Dish Pizza”. It’s sort of like a Pizza Soup and it is so very delicious.

Chicago Pizza.

I really like this picture

I don’t really know why. I think and believe that it teleports me to a different time; a quieter time and a more peaceful time. I think that it is lovely.

A nicer time.

Comfort food

For me, one of my favorite comfort foods is a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. My wife, who is Chinese, has a different comfort food. She likes snails, and shellfish. And my friend Mike, who is also Chinese, prefers noodles. Lots and lots of hot noodles.

We are all different. This is my “comfort food”…

Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.

Guess the movie?

Can you guess which 1960’s American movie that these quotes came from? Hint: a song about “burning bridges” from the movie become a top pop hit.

A “star studded” cast.

What happened to ghetto blasters in the 1990s?

As ghetto blasters earned more popularity around the world, they also became more complex in functionality and design. By the end of the 80s, ghetto blasters frequently came with separate high/low-frequency speakers.

You could also access secondary tape decks so that you could record off the radio and other music systems.

Over the years, manufacturers introduced a host of new features, from balance adjusters and equalisers, to Dolby noise reduction tools, LED sound gauges, and CD players. Despite all of this extra functionality, ghetto blasters in the 1990s weren’t as popular as they used to be.

Teddy Boys in Tokyo’s Harajaku Park. 1986.

The problem wasn’t with the technology of ghetto blaster boomboxes. Rather, customers didn’t see the objects as capturing as much soul as their predecessors. Sometimes, when things in our history go “mainstream”, their impact can feel a little watered down.

Manufacturers jumped to add new bells and whistles to their systems to ensure that customers could have the latest and greatest tech. Unfortunately, the old-fashioned feel of the ghetto blaster wasn’t there.

On top of that, in the 2000s, when the ghetto blaster started to take on more high-tech functionality, it seemed to lose its retro appeal.

Breakdancers on 5th Avenue in New York. 1981.

The popularity of 80s ghetto blasters was about more than just what these systems could do. People loved the portability and impact of the boombox. However, it was the stigma attached to the device that really made having a boombox exciting.

People felt less inclined to risk the issues of carrying a boombox in public. After all, you could have all your music on the go with a Walkman, and you didn’t need to spend as much. In the 90s, an appreciation of music became a more personal, inward experience.

People weren’t as keen to blast their music in public places. We started to think of radio, CDs, and other audio experiences as more personal affairs.

A young man in roller skates and a pith helmet in New York City. 1970.

Even some of the more popular modern ghetto blasters available on the market today are equipped with headphone jacks for that very purpose.

Chinese military

You never see anything at all about the Chinese military in American (or Western press). It is always depicted as some kind of third world group of starving, illiterate peasants that are fielding hand-me-down Russian AK-47 clones. Not true. Here’s a nice video showing some of the weapons that China has developed on their own and field right now.

Chinese weapons.

Problems in America

All over the West are problems with kids and their parents who never had to deal with the consequences of their actions. Why? Because it’s “forgive and forget”. Well, maybe the judicial authorities are easy to “forgive and forget”, but not the victim and the perpetrators. So imagine my surprise in reading this…

A Pleasant life

You could say that this was me when I was on Parole and living in Erie, PA. Of course, at that time I was forbidden to have a computer, or a phone, or to watch movies. But I did have a cat, and a simple apartment where I lived alone. But I had a dream and a goal and my affirmations.

You all too will be able to move to more meaningful lives. Just use the time that you have now. Start making friends, and savor the elements of life more. Smell tomatoes in the store. Go to a bakery when it opens in the morning. Take a new walk down a street that you never walked on before. Make a point of smiling to one person and complementing them.

Your life will improve. I promise you.

Moving towards more…

Rejected by the editors

For some reason.

Girls being girls

And why not? Well, I love the dresses, and you will note that they are all having a great time together.

Girls being girls.

Guys being guys

And why not? To me they look like they are having a good time.

Guys being guys.

Guys and girls together

And why not?

It looks like fun, though I do think that the turkey is a “bit too much” for a picnic.

Guys and girls together.

Yet another Rufus saves someone

It’s up to us; me and you, to make the world a better place. Stop waiting on the sidelines. Stop waiting for the “perfect moment”. Stop dreaming and start doing. Once you be the Rufus all sorts of things enter in your life. You will be stunned. So stop being an observer, and start being a participant. Be the Rufus. Nothing else is worthy of you.

Helping others is our highest calling.

Barber Chair

I think these things are beautiful.

The rise of the modern ghetto blaster

The ghetto blaster of days gone by is often regarded a relic of history today. Think back to the 80s, and you’re sure to have an image in your mind of a ghetto blaster with cassette player functionality and a unique chrome trim.

While many people still have a place in their heart for old-fashioned boomboxes, it’s safe to say that the older models did have their issues.

Equaliser settings seemed to make absolutely no difference to the sound quality. The chunky and blocky design meant carrying your ghetto blaster was a real headache. That’s particularly true if you had extra cassette recorders and speakers to think about.

Man with a boombox walking among a crowd at the Taste of Chicago festival. July 3, 1988.

On top of all that, ghetto blasters also had a major problem with battery life. These portable devices often required a huge number of batteries. Filling a device full of 10-12 D batteries could leave it weighing anywhere up to 26 pounds.

Many of the updates appearing in the new ghetto blaster market come with a focus on correcting the key issues of days gone by. As society continues to embrace the idea of “public music” again, ghetto blasters are seeing a resurgence.

However, today’s consumers don’t want to deal with the old gripes of their parents.

UK Fresh Hip Hop event in Wembley, London. 1986.

Cassettes might have been the perfect way to store and carry music back in the 70s and 80s when they were small and cheap – but they’re not going to have the same impact now.

People want the freedom to stream their music digitally through USB sticks and Bluetooth connections instead.

A group of young men pose with a boombox on a subway platform. New York. 1983.

You may occasionally encounter a CD ghetto blaster which gives you the option to play older audio formats. However, it’s more common to find a portable device that looks more like a massive speaker than a CD player these days.

The modern ghetto blaster combines radio and Bluetooth to introduce something more portable than anything we had in the past.

艾热 – 风语画江湖

Here’s what some Chinese RAP music looks like. Enjoy.

艾热 – 风语画江湖

Rescue the babies!

A car carrying children falls into a pond. The mother cannot get out! What is to be done? You need a Rufus nearby. That is what you need. For a Rufus will help you. A Rufus will provide support. A Rufus will set things right! Be the Rufus!

Be the Rufus!

New York, July 5, 1921. “Lanier Hotel restaurant.”

Fried kidney only 20 cents. Note the sleeping mousers. What’s all that stuff on the floor? Sawdust?

Young girls on roller skates

This takes me back. I used to have a pair of skates like this. Obviously this pre-dates roller blades. It was a simpler time.

Young girls on roller skates.

Acts of kindness in India

The world needs more Rufus’s. Look what is going on in India! It doesn’t take much. But you too can help others. You too can make a difference. You too can be the Rufus.

Acts of kindness in India.

Washington, D.C., 1920. “Suffragettes voting.”

Well, I don’t know about you all, but I do love the place where they are at.

Washington, D.C., 1920. “Suffragettes voting.”

A hungry man sits down at a table in a restaurant…

And starts to eat the left over food that was left behind by the people who were eating there. He’s eating the few remaining table scraps when a Rufus comes and throws away the dirty food, and gives him is own brand new meal. It doesn’t cost much. But a Rufus participates. A Rufus helps. A Rufus makes the world a better place.

Be that Rufus!

Be the Rufus.

Summer is here

For me, nothing says “Summer” than a nice fire in the woods. Especially at dusk when the air chills a bit, the dusk glooms, and the insects start making those night-time noises that they often do. It’s a time of reflection, companionship, drinking and hotdogs. Never forget the food.

In most cases, it’s cheaper to buy a pack of hotdogs and buns than it is to buy some Doritos. So cut down the costs, and have more get-togethers. Spend some time with others. Have a good time. And talk. Just talk.

Make a campfire.

A Rufus participates in his community

It is very, VERY important that a Rufus be part of his / her community. You be helpful. You smile, and you be that light that others look forward to seeing every day. And when things go “South”, the Rufus is always there to “pick up the slack”; to make the world a better place. Maybe in a small way…

…but if everyone was a Rufus, well, there would be a lot less trouble and discomfort in this world. Be the Rufus, anything less is a disservice.

Be the Rufus, anything less is a disservice.

A Rufus is helpful

Not everyone needs to save someone in crisis. But it does not matter. A real Rufus is helpful. A real Rufus is considerate and caring. A real Rufus shows humanity.

Be the Rufus.

A Rufus is helpful.

John Ross says

Well, he said this truth.

John Ross says.

Why are Americans so fat?

Well, there are multiple reasons, but this chart summarizes the most critical ones.

For those of you that are trying alternative campaign ideas…

I have laid out a methodology on how to navigate the MWI through world-line travel. And the key to this is affirmation campaigns. But others might not like the discipline that it requires. If you want to try something easier, might I suggest this…

It’s up to us

It’s not up to the “elected” officials to make rules, laws and budgets. It’s up to us to make meaningful change. We need it. Do not be in denial.  We all need each other, and we need to step up to the plate, put away our fears and start making the world a better place to live in. We cannot control the entire world, or the country. But we can make a difference in our town and in our community.

Be the Rufus. Don’t be the spectator.

Be the Rufus. Don’t be the spectator.

Oh No!

What must this tiger be thinking?

Oh No!

Death Wish USA

As an American, I am often asked (innocently) what the heck the USA is doing? I mean it is behind an event trying to cause World War III with the Russians, it is trying to provoke World War III with Taiwan, and it is being so very cocky and dangerous at just about every level internationally.

I respond that America is desperate.

The American leadership has squandered everything it has and run the nation into the ground.

Now the people are starting to get really upset and angry. Their only answer is to point elsewhere…

"It's not Washington's fault... it's Russia!"

Or, of course…

"It's not Washington's fault... it's China!"

And you know what, the USA military knows, and the rest of the world knows, that the USA is in absolutely no state to pick fights with anyone. Not at all. America is not a nation of Rambo’s. It’s become something else.

So what the heck is going on?

I argue that the next video describes WHY the USA is acting so brazenly crazy…

Here’s a guy so desperate, so unhappy, so fed up with his life that he wants to commit suicide by police officer. And you know what? This is becoming more and more common throughout the Untied States.

Americas video highlight.
An attempt at suicide by police officer.

Van life 1960’s

Today, in 2021, many Americans now live in their cars. The failure of society, of culture, and of government has been colossal. And their solution? To have world war III with both Russia and China simultaneously. I think that they have a true death wish.

Van life 1960’s

A considerate Rufus

Notice how these Chinese Rufus street sweepers handle the spray nozzles when confronting pedestrians and motor bike riders. A Rufus is considerate. A Rufus makes the world a better place.

A place to get away from it all.

There is something about Ireland and Scotland that shouts peace and tranquility. At least in my mind anyways. And this picture of a “man’s castle” is the image of a nice place where a person can go to just be left alone. And you know what? Everyone needs to be left alone from time to time, don’t you know.

A “man’s castle”.

Be the Rufus!

Are you happy with the way the world is now? If not, do you want to change it? What about your life?

The first step in making meaningful change is to recognize that all change is local.

It starts with you.

Not by writing a letter to your Congress-person, or by waving a banner and staging a protest. It begins with you taking part in your community. Be a helping hand. Make a difference. this world of ours needs people that will help change it.

You can be that person.

Start small. Start simple.

Smile more. Be kind. Go out of the way to make friends. Complement another person.

DO YOUR PRAYER AFFIRMATION CAMPAIGNS.

I believe in you.

Be that catalyst for good, meaningful change. Be the Rufus!

Be that catalyst for good, meaningful change. Be the Rufus!

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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MM blue plate special

Today, I am going to present something which I hope will become a periodic feature in MM. It is the “MM blue plate special”. My intention is to model it after my very popular “Holiday extravaganza” post that I made on 4 July 2021. Here, I would just place interesting tidbits and stuff. With no particular order.

What is a “Blue Plate Special”?

Throughout the decades of the 1920’s – 1950’s, a popular restaurant promotion was the “blue plate special.”  Served mostly at dinners and other simple eateries, the blue plate special was a reduced cost meal consisting of some kind of meat, (beef, pork, chicken, fish etc.), with a number of vegetables side dishes.

Meatloaf blue plate special.

It appears to have gleaned its name from the actual plates it was presented on.  Solid blue, or sporting a blue pattern, the plates were also divided into sections, a large one for the protein, and smaller segments for the vegetables.  Typically the items were pre-cooked and held at serving temperature.

Because they were not made on the spot, they tended to be a little “over cooked”. This allowed for alacritous service and more efficient turnover.

Over time, the blue plates got broken or disappeared. Today, there just isn’t any special plates that tend to be used.

I guess that the big thing about this meal was that the one plate meal saved time and money on dish washing.  This was very important at a time when people washed dishes by hand, and there was no such thing as disposable plates.

An American Diner.

While the “blue plate” sobriquet has all but faded from use, many modern restaurants still offer “specials.”  However, daily specials are no longer the sole domain of workaday eateries but rather unique meals where the cook makes up a batch of unusual food that they can serve on that day.  When I worked as a short-order-breakfast-chef in San Louis Obispo, California a “Blue Plate Special” might be something like “Stuffed Peppers”, “Cabbage rolls”, “Beef tips on rice”, or a gourmet omelet such as “Blue cheese and prosciutto ham omelet”.

How expats in China make their coffee

Not me. Someone else. But so very relatable. The white bottle that he is pouring in is called Baijiu . It is typically 53% alcohol.

Baijiu is a clear distilled liquor, which can be regarded as the national drink of the People's Republic of China. Its name translates as "white wine" but it is, in fact, a high-alcohol spirit. Chinese people will generally drink Baijiu with food, rather than on its own.

Click on the picture to watch the video.

A video of a man drinking coffee.
How expats drink their coffee.

America is collapsing and needs to blame someone…

America is collapsing all over, in so many ways. And part of it is a system that is unstable; this idea of “democracy”, but part of it is the evil psychopaths that run the country, and part of it is the dumbed down, balkanized population. But what ever the reason, it is a mess, and the United States desperately wants to point the finger elsewhere… to blame someone else.

Because if they can’t find a person to blame, the entire population of a America is going to rise up and lynch everyone in Washington DC on scaffolding.

Click on the picture to watch the video.

A video about why China is being villified.
A discussion on why America is vilifying China right now.

Riding on a Chinese High Speed Train

Personally, I love these things. Big and roomy. Easy and quiet. Cheap. Convenient. No hassles like at an airport. The Chinese have them everywhere. I wrote about them in a couple of posts, and here is just a quick blurb by a English expat on board one of the trains.

Some history. President Obama announced that he would establish a massive High Speed Train Network in America and funded it with billions of dollars. That same time, so did China. Today, America has nothing, while China has the most dynamic, largest and most elaborate high speed trains system in the world.

To catch up, President Biden announced that he is going to build a HST system that will be bigger and better than what the Chinese has done. And he is funding it lavishly. If you were to bet, how successful do you think that it will be?

Click on the picture to see the movie.

High speed train video.
Inside a Chinese High Speed Train.

This is how you eat dumplings in China

The dumplings are something that is truly unique, and you just cannot get them in America or the West. You get sort of a “fast food” version, and you certainly are not provided with all sorts of dipping sauces. Dumplings are one of my favorite foods in China, and I made this video below to show you why I love it so much…

Video on Chiense dumplings.
How to eat dumplings in China.

Riding a Subway in Shenzhen

This is a video that I took when I went to Shenzhen to deal with some matters. Everything in China is brand new, clean and very well maintained. You just have to compare this to the piss-poor pathetic subway systems in the West. If you aren’t comparing then you must be brain-dead. America doesn’t have anything even remotely resembling this.

Cool video taken by MM.
Subway in Shenzhen, China.

Family Dinner: 1952

From Shorpy HERE.

A family diner 1952.

The comments are just precious.

Mother's Swiss-dot curtains are torn on the left panel; her drain rack for her dishes is in its place by the drainboard. 

She normally uses her table for her counter space, but since the table is set for dinner, she's using her sink drainboard for her Sunbeam Mixmaster which whipped up the frosting. 

Ah, yes, that tiny black spray nozzle on the sink. 

Is that grated cheese in the cheese shaker or do they use a lot of salt? 

The younger daughter has her eyes on the boiled frosting cake, as would be mine as well. 

Father and the boy are eying the fried chicken. 

Deviled eggs on a side plate with lettuce? 

There are sweater 'pills' on the older daughter's sweater, at the farthest point West. 

Nice white bread, hard to find nowadays with all the nutritious breads forced on us in our stores. 

Father's hair is combed in a 'combover' on his bald spot. 

Bet any money that Mother's wrist watch is a Bulova. 

Mother ironed and 'starched' the tablecloth, so it must be Sunday. 

Father's shirt is ironed, older daughter's sweater is ironed, younger daughter's dress is ironed, younger son's t-shirt is ripped with holes. 

The plant at the window is a 'Wandering Jew.' 

The tin pots and pans are surely much lighter to lift than my All-Clad set today. 

All in all, the scene resembled by own childhood in 1952, right down to the floral design on the linoleum on the floor.

And then you have this…

In my grandma's kitchen was the soup ladle hanging above the stove. 

Having come from a Pennsylvania coal miner grandfather, my 'take' on this picture is that it was staged, posed and fully planned in advance (unless this was on a Sunday when they would have their best meal of the week). 

The other six week-night suppers were mostly home-made soup and bread, every kind of soup imaginable, more than Campbells could ever come up with. 

Having a large family, my mom said there was nothing else that could satisfy seven or eight hungry, hard-working people as a filling, hot and inexpensive meal like soup and fresh bread & butter. 

She was a master soup cook too, taught by her mother, and I was pretty much raised on soup, some heartier than others, but never disappointing. 

It can be time-consuming to prepare but I've never felt deprived and it really stretches your meat to feed any number of people. (If someone got a big chunk of chicken or beef in their soup, or too many clams in their clam chowder, we used to say "the string must have broke").

And yet another precious comment…

The logo in front of the sink is from Youngstown Kitchens. Yup, I grew up with them.

Yes. I really love Shorpy.

And all the negative “news” about China…

It’s all “hate China”, all the time. And if you believe it then you are sheeple. There simply isn’t any good news about China int he Western press; the Western “news”. During the last two weeks, China had an 8 hour spacewalk, a 100 year anniversary, the recording of sounds on Mars, a new joint moon-base plans, and an expansion of the BRI into Pakistan. What “news” did America report?

A quick video blurb about this strange behavior…

Hate China all the time. It’s what the American “news” media does.

Getting a ferry ticket at AI kiosks

Here is a short video that I took. It depicts what it is like to get a ferry in Shekou. These are the automated ferry kiosks, and you just scan your bio-metics and pay by QR. So fast, so easy. It’s really cool and very relaxed an unhurried.

Nice video that I made.
Getting a ferry in Shekou.

Trying to kidnap a middle school girl

Kidnapping and bad crimes still happen in China, but they are getting to be less and less frequent. Here is a favorite video of mine when a group of guys on a motorcycle tries to kidnap a middle school girl on her way home from school.

It’s one of my favorite videos.

Nice video.
Trying to kidnap a middle school girl.

Chinese military protecting the Uighur Muslims from American-backed terrorism

If you read the neocon publications out of America such as the National Review, you would get the impression that the Chinese military is a third world group of conscripts armed with cheap AK-47 clones. Not even remotely true. The Chinese are a serious, serious nation that DOES NOT PLAY.

Here’s a video (I posted this before) showing a group of Chinese forces that fight the American-backed Uighur “pro-democracy” terrorists out of Afghanistan. They protect the BRI which is the land route that bypasses the threat of American Naval blockade as part of the “QUAD”.

Good video.
Chinese military forces in Xinjiang.

Beach Road

This stretch of road is just two blocks from my house and it is named “Lovers Road”. I filmed it as I was riding home on a bus. You can see the statue of the “Fisher Girl” which is a major tourist attraction.

Right now this entire area is under massive renovation. New parks are sprouting up everywhere and all sorts of malls and waling areas are being developed. China has designated this area as an economic corridor for AI, robotics and IoT technologies and along with the influx of industry comes an equal investment into the supporting parks, green areas, public spaces and transportation hubs. In China the two go hand-in-hand.

Video while going home.
Road near my home.

Advertising Jeans

One of the trends in China today is to make your own designer clothing. You design it, and then you work with factories to make them, and finally you advertise it on Chinese media to sell. These videos are great where the owners or their models wear their uniquely designed clothing and promote them.

In this video, which was taken outside a woman’s bathroom, you can see this gal showing off her nice pair of jeans.

Nice jeans.
Advertising your own brand of clothing.

The New American Army

There has been a lot of talk about how Presidents Trump, Obama and Biden have revamped and reorganized the Army. It’s an “Army of one”; a transgender, a polite and kinder Army. You read about it, and you hear about it. But nothing says more than watching the proud fighting troops sing cadences as they perform drills in front of their barracks…

Check out the video.

The new American military.

Chinese Boy / Girl scouts

The American boy scouts and girl scouts have changed to reflect a softer, squishier and gentler America. Not so in China. Boy and girl scouts are co-ed and they are taught to fight, be the best they can be and endure.

Great video.
Chinese boy and girl scouts.

An Amazing Landing

I am sure that the pilot was well shaken up after this. I’ll bet that he went to the local “watering hole” (bar or pub) and got totally smashed. OMG! Check out the video…

What a landing!
An amazing landing.

Pre-Avatar: 1982

Found on Shorpy HERE.

Watching television 1982.

From the text…

A friend of mine and I "enjoy" 3-D on television in 1982, when there was a boomlet of local stations showing 3-D films such as "Creature from the Black Lagoon" using the anaglyph method.

This method used red and blue lenses to separate the images rather than the polarized system originally used in the theaters thirty years earlier. 

I say "enjoy" because the effect was problematic. 

If you had your color adjusted correctly it was possible to get a moderate dimensional effect out of the blur. With my never-rectified amblyopia, I could get it mostly when things were flying at the camera.

We're watching it on my Advent VideoBeam, no longer in the basement of my folks' house, but in my new digs in Petaluma. 

Fans of the yellow lamp will notice that it's already starting to deteriorate, the hinge holding the middle shade being secured with duct tape. 

Another indication of the absence of parental caregiving is the burst cushion of my red chair. 

Other necessary video room adjuncts visible are Ritz Crackers, a TV Guide (is that Farrah Fawcett?) and shelves full of Betamax tapes. 

Oh, and under my chair a metal file box storing my card catalog of said tapes. The blue binder contains a hand-typed list of just the cartoons. 

Computerization of the collection was still four years in the future.

Afghanistan – U.S. Sneaks Out At Night – Taliban Take Multiple Districts Per Day

This is awkward:

The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said. 

...

“We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram ... and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,” Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander said. 

...

Before the Afghan army could take control of the airfield about an hour’s drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, it was invaded by a small army of looters, who ransacked barrack after barrack and rummaged through giant storage tents before being evicted, according to Afghan military officials.

“At first we thought maybe they were Taliban,” said Abdul Raouf, a soldier of 10 years. He said the the U.S. called from the Kabul airport and said “we are here at the airport in Kabul.”

There is video from the empty base. Hundreds of cars were left behind. The network equipment in the headquarter was ripped out but the base hospital seems to have been left intact. There are even some useful medical supplies stocked there.

Meanwhile the Taliban continue their blitz operation to take over the country. They snatch up district after district especially in the north.

Taliban control.

The Taliban have probably some 3-4,000 fighters in the north-eastern Badakhshan province but they managed to take 90% of it in just 4 days, 14 of its districts fell in the last 48 hours. Some 1,500 Afghan government soldiers stationed there have fled to Tajikistan. The province capital Faizabad is now isolated and the only place that is still under government control.

Where Afghanistan borders China.

Something is quite curious with this. Badakhshan was a stronghold of the Northern Alliance which in the late 1990s fought against the Taliban. It is the home of the Jamiat-e Islami party which consists mostly of ethnic Tajiks and has its own militia. The leader of Jamiat-e Islami is Salahuddin Rabbani who is now also the chair of the government’s Afghan High Peace Council which negotiates with the Taliban.

The mountainous province has 1 million inhabitants. But here are 4 Taliban showing up in a car in the remote Wakhan district. They are not opposed by local militia but are welcomed by the local (male) population.

It is inconceivable that a brigade size Taliban force can seize Badakhshan in a few days and at little cost without having a deal with the militia of the dominant local party. Something must have happened behind the curtains that the media is not aware of.

Americans leave so much behind.

This is good news as a fast Taliban victory in the north will make a new civil war less likely. The neoconservative Long War Journal is aghast as it explains:

Afghanistan is at risk of complete collapse after the Taliban has made dramatic gains in recent days, striking at the heart of the Afghan government’s base of power in the north while seizing control of large areas of the country – often unopposed by government forces. 

...

Much of the Taliban gains have occurred in the north. The importance of the Taliban’s northern thrust cannot be understated. The Taliban is taking the fight directly to the home of Afghanistan’s elite power brokers and government officials.

If the Taliban can deny Afghanistan’s government and its backers their base of power, Afghanistan is effectively lost. The government could not possibly keep its tenuous footholds in the south, east, west, and even in central Afghanistan if the north is lost. If the Afghan government loses the north, the Taliban could take the population centers in the south, east, and west without a fight, and begin its siege of Kabul.

I currently do not think that there will be a long ‘siege of Kabul’ but a negotiated transfer of power.

The events of the last weeks show a more or less controlled retreat or defeat of demoralized government forces and a systematic takeover of most of the countryside and district centers by well prepared Taliban forces. Only the bigger province capitals have not yet fallen though some think that Mazar i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, will fall tonight.

It seems that there is a willingness of at least certain parts of Afghanistan’s current government to let the Taliban take over the country without much of a fight.

That gives me hope that a further long conflict will be avoided. After more than 42 years of war Afghanistan needs peace. While the Taliban rule is harsh it is also somewhat just and certainly less corrupt than the U.S. imposed structures. Afghanistan must be given time to find a new balance from which it can then develop in a way that fits the local circumstances and the local peoples’ tradition and morality.

The last 42 years have shown that nothing else will work.

Chinese military concentration

Since Trump’s and Biden’s budgets have just “blown away” all records for military spending, China has taken notice, and has been mass producing nuclear hyper-velocity warheads, missiles and launch systems at a frantic pace. These weapons are impossible to stop, have artificial intelligence, incapable of being jammed, and uses stealth while traveling at hyper-velocities. They are decades ahead of anything the United States fields.

And China is churning them out like buttons from a button making machine.

Great video.
China is beefing up it’s self-defense forces like “there’s no tomorrow”.

A typical day in America

When I say that America is really “out of control” and in a bad state, it refers to behaviors and events that should not be occurring. What you see in the below video is NOT freedom. It is what happens when you live inside of ghetto that is treated as a prison-fortress.

Shootout video.
Life in America.

Pittsburgh

From where I grew up (well, at least where my parents and grandparents lived)…

January 1941. “Mill district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Long stairway in a working class section.”

Talking about freedom in China

Here is a UK expat who has lived in China talking about “freedom” inside of China. It’s pretty good stuff, and he reflects the view of about 99.999% of us who actually live inside of China.

Of course, you would NEVER see this in the West. And it is censored and shadow-banned on Twitter, Google, Facebook, and You-tube. So go ahead and watch what is forbidden to you to observe…

A video about feedom in China.
Freedom in China.

Wife delivers a birthday meal to a fireman husband in China

Firemen eat in mess halls and live in barracks. Two weeks on, then two weeks off. (Depending on the location.) Here is a guy’s birthday and his wife and child came to visit him and brought him a special birthday meal (or other special occasion, I’m not so sure as my Chinese isn’t that good.) Great video.

Be the Rufus. Make a difference!

A special meal for a special person.

China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty

I remember talking about this fact with my brother, and he was like “yeah. I get it. China has helped some of it’s people”.

No. He didn’t get it.

The population of the United States of America is 330 million people.  In the fifty or so years on the American War on Poverty” hardly anyone was lifted out of poverty. In fact, today, a full half of the United States is in poverty and lives off welfare.

China not only produced results where America did nothing, but did it for nearly three times the amount of people. This is amazing!

Check out the video…

Video on lifting people out of poverty.
An amazing accomplishment.

What it is like to get a vaccination for COVID in China

This is a pretty good video, and it shows the organization and structure of how this is being handled in China. I will tell you that my experience is pretty much nearly identical to this. Of course, it was in a different geographical area, and a different building. This was in Zhongshan, I believe. Mine was in tiny Zhuhai. I actually own a home in Zhongshan.

It’s nice, but I love Zhuhai.

Nice video about getting a vaccination.
Getting a coronavirus vaccination in China.

Chinese Airport Security

Well, the Chinese are very understanding and humane about how they handle people They do not treat them as some kind of object.  Like the American TSA does. Check out this video.

Meanwhile in America

America is a God Damn cluster fuck. Doing “your own thing”.

Police killing a man in America.
America is one enormous cluster fuck.

A very interesting para-military video from China

You might think that this is a video about the Chinese PLA. But no it isn’t. This is a police detachment. Specifically the “corruption police”. Their job is to find and arrest powerful people who use their power, whether in government, or in industry to thwart the law. In China people like Trump, Jeff Bezos, and Nancy Polaski would never make it.

China. Does. Not. Play.

Great video here.
Chinese corruption police.

A great outfit

From Shorpy HERE.

A great outfit for certain.

The site says…

From the collection of film and 4x5 glass negatives I recently purchased that seem to have been taken in upstate New York about 1912. This is from a film negative that has been bent, hence the flare on the right side. The lady's dress is spectacular, and she is coordinated with gloves and white shoes. I don't think this was an inexpensive outfit.

The comments are great…

My wife and I have done historical costuming for years. The fabric of this dress is almost certainly worsted wool. It's surface smoothness looks like worsted and the folds and drapes are too full to be even heavy linen. The dress she's wearing in the first photo posted (the eyelet lace dress) is either linen or cotton or possibly even a blend of the two.

As to colors, that's harder to determine than you might think. Early black and white films didn't respond to colors in quite the way we expect nowadays. Silver halide is most responsive to the blue end of the spectrum. Colors from the other end often wound up overly dark. With glass plate negatives, special dies and filters could be used to produce a more accurate tonal map of the colors, but those didn't work with film at this time.

It wouldn't surprise me if the dress was actually bright blue with bright yellow collar and cuffs or something like that. Wool takes die especially well and so was often very brightly colored (particularly after the invention of aniline dyes in the 1850s).

And I do agree with this comment…

I know nobody cares what I think and I know many people who would never allow themselves to crack a smile in their posed pictures because it may not be "cool" or sophisticated, but this elegant lady would look a million times better, younger and healthier if only she would have smiled or at least put on a pleasant face. Instead she has a dour expression in both of the photos we've seen that makes her look gloomy and judgmental, with a superior attitude. Even Mona Lisa looks more approachable. Perhaps we will see a happy picture of her in the future. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it).

The new Chinese fighter aircraft

After decades of being the second and third tier suppliers for American, French, German, and Russian aviation, China has developed and designed their own fighter aircraft, and by all accounts is cheaper, better, faster, more maneuverable, and superior that the top line American counterparts. Whether or not this is true depends on who you ask. Certainly K-street believes that American weapons systems are invincible.

Never the less, this is a great video of Chinese military aviation.

I most especially like the little Artificial Intelligence bee-sized hand-grenade that the Army uses.

A great video.
A great video of Chinese military aviation.

Being a Rufus

Just being kind to others is all you need to do to be a Rufus. Just some some compassion. Show some kindness. Show some understanding. Emote and help others. It’s our highest calling.

Watch the video.

Be the Rufus. It’s our highest calling.

A cool car

“1950 Nash experimental NXI.” The Nash Experimental International, basis for the Nash Metropolitan, piloted by Nash-Kelvinator Chairman George Mason with VP George Romney (Mitt’s dad) riding shotgun.

What it is like to travel on a Chinese High Speed Train

Here you can see why I love it. China and Russia are linked by rail , and a new High Speed Line is being established inside of Russia. Russia and China have a great relationship and as time moves forward it keeps getting better and better with each day.

Great Video
Going to Russia on Chinese High Speed Rail.

New wording inside of all Chinese passports

Ever since the neocons in America have been openly being hostile to China, and Chinese citizens, the Chinese have implemented changes and training and advice sessions to Chinese citizens who wish to travel abroad. One of the changes in policy is the text placed inside of each passport issued to citizens of China.

See the video below…

How a Rufus springs into action

This woman is wearing a red vest, which means that she is a volunteer. She is working in her community. Often older, these people play a valuable role and in this particular instance, I think that she was trying to perform some gardening, clean up of landscaping. And she collapsed. Instead of just standing round and filming it, a real Rufus springs into action.

Great video
A Rufus springs into action.

An American school

This was filmed in an American school. I do not know if it was a university or a High School (it appears to be an American university), but I can tell you that this kind of behavior shows a complete lack of control and discipline.  People ask me why I don’t give American citizenship to my daughter. Why?

I don’t want her anywhere near these piss-ant pampered, cocky moronic idiots. Watch this college student “doing his own thing”.

Some background; this young man is the END RESULT of the fire-hose of HATE directed at the Chinese, and the ONLY reason why he is being so God-damn rude is because the professor is Chinese. Thank you FOX news, Bloomberg, Hal Turner, and all the rest.

Video taken inside an American school.
An American school.

What America, the UK and Australia have planned for China…

Most people in the West have absolutely no concept of how poorly and malevolently the Western powers treated the Chinese. Whether it was getting hundreds of millions addicted to Opium, creating and forcing starvation, looting the land and it’s people, it was brazen and astounding in scope and depth. Here’s a little video of some of the rich Victorian ladies throwing rice onto the streets and the starving Chinese people running to collect it.

And this… watch it closely… is what America wants to happen again.

Watch the video.

A video that you will never see in America.
Throwing rice to the starving Chinese.

Cute Robot Dogs

These robot dogs are all so very cute. They were designed to be mass produced into a disposable “throw away” configuration, and are in production for the Chinese military. I can well imagine, about 20,000 of these cute little robots swarming a military base, and then detonating when their AI detects that it is near a target.

Video
Cute Chinese AI dog.

Notable American actors visit the North Korea DMZ

In some kind of silly, suicidal move, some very famous American actors decide to visit the DMZ border to South Korea. You can see Mike Tyson, and Henry Winkler, and William Shatner there. And they are just playing around, joking.

The Asians are a very serious people.

And the idiotic Americans are delirious and have no concept about how dangerous they are playing and dancing with death. This video, seems to have been forgotten, but this attitude has not changed. And I see this attitude being replicated, time and time again in regards to China, and Russia.

Watch the video.

North Korean soldier who will shoot to kill.

Rufus saves a woman and her cat

Nothing makes me feel better than to watch a true and real Rufus in action. A Rufus is a Service to others person, and when they leap into action, I feel so much pride in their actions. It gives me hope for the human species. Because right now, most especially in America, it’s every-man-for-himself, dog-eat-dog world of service-for-self psychopaths.

Great rescue video.
Rufus to the rescue.

Thank you for your smile. It made me see her again.

Sometimes, as we age, we lose those who matter to us. We lose lovers, family, friends. Daughters.

This old man hasn’t seen his daughter since she died so long ago, but this girl has the same smile that his daughter had…

A great video.
Thank you for your smile. It made me see her again.

A Rufus cares about others

There are all kinds of people in this world. Some, well many, have their own issues, demons and problems. We must do what we can within our community. In the video below we have a man who is known in the community as having “problems”. He’s not a bad person. Just has issues.

Unlike the USA, he isn’t shunned and told to lie on cardboard under a bridge, or sleep in a car, or shelter under a tree in a poncho. The community all pitches in and takes care of “one of their own”. having this sense of community is important. You are never alone. You are part of something bigger than yourself.

Be the Rufus. Everything else is a waste of your life.

Great video.
Be the Rufus. Everything else is a waste of your life.

Conclusion

I do hope that you enjoyed the “Blue Plate Special” article / post. Tell me what you think. If you found it enjoyable, interesting or beneficial, I’ll post more of them. If you don’t then I will stop. If you don’t care, well then, I’ll add that to my calculus.

The future is becoming more and more clear with each passing day.  Continue to protect your personal life. Make sure that you run your affirmation prayers, and make sure that they protect you and your loved ones from any strange behaviors on the part of the out of control American empire.

There’s a future ahead. By being aware of what’s going on the the rest of the world we can determine what our part in that world will be.

Keep focused.

Be the Rufus.

Our relationships with others will make our affirmations manifest. Nurture them. Protect them. become a meaningful person in your small group of friends and family.

Do you want more?

You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.

New Beginnings

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

 

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Post graduate studies on the mechanism of world line travel in the MWI and how consciousness feeds world line selection

This is a very advanced article on world-line travel. In it we go into the details on how consciousness helps to target specific world-line groupings or clusters to navigate toward.  And we are going to discuss the actual mechanism of how this occurs. As opposed to what I have described in the past “that it occurs”.

But first, before we get to that let’s discuss a few key points.

Where all this comes from

Long time MM readers will recognize that the information presented regarding the MWI and world-line travel is MAJ information. And while I am restricted from discussing MAJestic details in any way, shape or form, I am (however) permitted to discuss the technologies and sciences that I was exposed to by our benefactors.

That is, perhaps the reason why I am permitted to disclose all this stuff.

Just keep in mind that this, and all the related information, is not my invention. I did not come up with this information, these concepts, and these ideas as theories on my own. They were taught to me. And I had just as a difficult time embracing them as you all are dealing with now.

Nor are these writings descriptions of technologies as MAJestic understands it. What I present is not MAJestic information. It’s a side effect of my role. Not the role itself.

Nor is what is presented my theories, and ideas and concepts. I didn’t think these things out on my own. That is a fundamental truth. Long time MM readers will recognize this. Actually, I would rather eat some fine food, play with some girls, drink more than just a little, and enjoy the more physical aspects of life (the visceral aspects) rather than spend too much time on these esoteric subjects.

Instead it is what our benefactors believe how the universe works. It is what THEY believe, and by extension (knowing what I know), I believe it as well. I’m entangled with them. I will be until I die, and by all accounts, long after that as well. It’s the way things work.

And as such it is alien to everything taught inside American schools today. So you can either [1] believe what is conventionally accepted as truth, [2] adopt what I present as what our extraterrestrial benefactors believe, or [3] come up with your own ideas.

You might ask “well which species believes this?”

And (to that) my response is that all four species that I have had contact with believe it (to one degree or the other). Certainly the Type 1, <redacted>, <redacted> and the Mantids do.

A Quick Review

I have long described what time is.

Time is the movement of consciousness.

I have described world-lines as separate histories that a physical body can live. And there are nearly an infinite number of them.

I have described that consciousness cycles in and out between wave and particle forms to move in and out through world-lines.

And I have described how you can navigate through the MWI by controlling your thoughts.

And all of that is really all you really NEED to know. Right?

We focused on Consciousness as a singular entity

We have focused on consciousness as a singular homogeneous entity.

You start at world-line “A”

This world-line has it’s own history; it’s own past and it’s own future. And you are just residing inside the world-line for just a moment.

You can see that from the point of view of your consciousness, you see the world-line as a moment. In this case the moment is shown in yellow. And the world-line is shown in orange. It has it’s own past, and it has it’s own future, and your consciousness resides in it for a fraction of a second before moving on.

And by doing this over and over and over again, your consciousness is able to travel the MWI. You navigate through your thoughts in wave form, or your actions in physical form.

But that’s a rather simplistic explanation.

It’s a simple way of looking at MWI navigation

There’s this “blob” that we refer to as “our consciousness”.

When it is in particle form, it controls a physical body. As such it can perform physical actions with a reality.

When it is in wave form, it can think; generate thoughts, and thus select a world-line to occupy. This world line become the reality that the physical body will occupy.

And it is true. That’s how it works, but…

…it’s a really good approximation.

Yes. But it’s not the entire story.

And I covered this in another post / article. Your consciousness is not a singular “blob”.

Instead it is spread out thinly all over the MWI, with a tiny, tiny part of you in every single (active) world-line that has an active consciousness inside of it.

And the world-line that we consider to be the one that your consciousness travels to is the one where most of your consciousness resides for that frozen moment in time.

So…

The consciousness that actually occupies a world-line at any given moment is actually…

…the largest cluster of (your) consciousness components gathered together on a world-line.

So this is really difficult for us humans to visualize.

How can someone (a consciousness) be everywhere at once and experience everything at once?

But that’s actually not the way it is. Our consciousness has the potential to be everywhere at once and the potential to experience everything at once. But in all actuality, our consciousness does prefer to clump together. And thus FOR THE MOST PART, we can pretty much assume that the world-line that our consciousness is mostly part of is the one we are on at that given moment.

So, the tendency for our consciousness to “lump together” provides us this simplified understanding on how world-line travel works.

We just say, “well, 90% of my consciousness is hanging on on world-line Zelda, so I’ll just say that I am on world-line Zelda”.

But it gets interesting

As I described in another post, what actually tends to happen is that the consciousness likes to “straddle” nearby world-lines.

As in “Ugh, 90% of my consciousness is here on this boring world-line. It’s crowded. But if I put 30% here, 30% there, and 30% way over there, things will be more interesting, lighter and easier for me.”

And thus, the consciousness tends to separate and fraction out on the lines that it “straddles”.

Now, obviously these world-lines are all extremely similar to each other. You might have 560,000 grains of salt in your salt shaker in one world-line, and the nearby world-line that you are “straddling” has 559,000 grains of salt in the salt shaker.

Expert Tip 
The more world-lines that your consciousness "straddles" the greater your awareness of your reality, and the possibilities that you have to change it.

The “straddling” of multiple adjacent world-lines is a very common action of consciousness. People who tend to be more “aware”, or who can “sense things or others”, or those that have various degrees of extrasensory perception, have consciousnesses that tend to “straddle” far and wide.

Key Take Aways
Consciousness straddles numerous world-lines at any given moment. The consciousness still operates as one singular unit, even though it occupies different world-lines. And thus it can use the sensory variations to help navigate the MWI and avoid problems.

You can never tell if you consciousness is “lumped together” or if it is straddling multiple world-lines at any given moment.

Nor is it important that you are aware of the actual distribution of the consciousness on the MWI.

But understanding that the consciousness can separate on different world-lines and still operate as one singular unified consciousness is important…

…and the entire purpose of this article.

Now this following point is VERY important…

From the point of view of our consciousness, there isn’t really anything like a world-line. Our consciousness does not see, nor recognize world-lines. Our brain does. Our mind does. But not our consciousness.

Instead it views world-lines on the MWI as “breezes” (I am trying to describe things using terms that I and you are familiar with.), Thicknesses. Heaviness, and lightness. As colors. As scents. As familiar and the unfamiliar. As comfortable, and as garish. So think of the MWI as a tumultuous current of colored oils and water, and stuff all moving about.

Like a fine flowing stream of water.

And the consciousness “swims” in that water…

And some parts of the consciousness are attracted to the “fast streams of water”. While other parts are attracted to the “cold streams of water”. While still other parts are attracted to the “thick streams of water”. While other parts of the consciousness are attracted to the “steamy parts of the water”.

So…

Parts of the consciousness move to the “nearest” sections of the MWI that appeals to it.

Key Point
The consciousness is made up of parts, and components just like the soul is. And these parts and components are attracted to those MWI elements that are closest in similarity to it.

Now our mind has a very difficult time visualizing this.

We think of the consequence in that it would cause a break up of the consciousness in to all sort of tiny pieces all going this way and that.

But this visualization is wrong.

But that is exactly how it works.

Consciousness stays connected together no matter what direction it’s elements / components are attracted to…

So that brings us up to the HOW.

Here we will get into the precise mechanism that enables our prayer affirmations and desires to navigate us to exactly what we affirm.

You see, there are all sorts of variations in individual world-lines. Each world-line path comes with it’s own complete future and it’s own complete path. As well as it’s own attributes and characteristics.

For instance all the following lines might be similar (from the point of view of your affirmation objectives);

  1. America has been renamed to Am-Erica. It banned pizza, beer, wine, and pork chops. It recognizes 45 genders, and only 12 genders are considered able to run for government. But the house you wish for, the relationship you have, and the lifestyle you desire exists in perfection there.
  2. America was invaded by Canada. It has two space stations, a moon base and is the leader in harmonica manufacture. But the house you wish for, the relationship you have, and the lifestyle you desire exists in perfection there.
  3. America doesn’t change much at all. A new political party is formed. The Purple Party, and it lies in opposition to another new political party; the rainbow party. Democrat and Republicans go the way of the Dodo bird, and the government continues to exist playing the same old games, and the same media narratives. But the house you wish for, the relationship you have, and the lifestyle you desire exists in perfection there.
  4. America has split in three nations. One of the nations still refers to itself as the United States, and it’s citizens call themselves “the real Americans”. The rest have gone their own ways.  The central nation now includes most of the American plains and the cities of Chicago and Denver. The capital of this new nation is called “Rainbowland” and has a democratically elected sovereign. But the house you wish for, the relationship you have, and the lifestyle you desire exists in perfection there.

The obvious world line direction would be the scenarios that has the smallest number of world-lines to traverse. Which would be the third scenario.

But what, by chance, the topography of your pre-birth world line precludes this obvious choice? What if the topography offers ‘smooth sailing’ for the top scenario (number one)? What then? And why would that be the case?

The elements that comprise your consciousness determines your world-line destination

Now, obviously, your thoughts set the direction.

But the actual manifested reality; the actual world-line that appears, is determined by the construction of your consciousness. And that, in turn is shaped by your soul.

Thus, how the world-lines materialize in front of you is not by random luck.

They (the world-lines as defined on the world-line template map) are formed “on the fly” as determined by where you are now… AND… the various elements that comprise the consciousness.

Expert Tip
The world-line template map is constantly being revised and adapted to changes as your consciousness evolves, and your thoughts change. It's not really fixed. It just seems that way.

Now I do not know all that much about the intricacies of consciousness construction. All that I really know is [1] that complex construction of the consciousness exist. I also know [2] that consciousness is far more complex than what we (humans) think of as some kind of nebulous “blob”. [3] (Consciousness) has components, each with functions and features. And components [4] all work intimately with each other.

So…

For purposes of simplification, and to recognize that there is very little that I know regarding the components of consciousness, let’s just label them simply and describe how they work.

Component A

The first component we will call “A”. I suppose we could use a Latin name to sound impressive and scholarly. Like “Alpha”. But the truth is that we really do not know much about this component, or element of consciousness. At least not now. And at this stage “in the game”, we really don’t need to know. All we need to recognize is that “A” exists.

Further, we know that “A” is attracted to certain quanta arrangements.

So, as you are living your life and you keep on finding that you keep on experiencing the same kinds of things over and over again, might be an indicator that one aspect of the consciousness component “A” is attracted to those things.

For instance…

  • A certain kind of person, or personality.
  • A reoccurring problem, or event.
  • A situation, that seems to repeat.

And so forth.

And you know, all of the components that comprise consciousness, will behave similarly.

So if we consider that consciousness component “A” is attracted to attributes “a”, then we can say that consciousness component “B” is likewise attracted to attributes “b” and so forth right down through all the various components that comprise the consciousness.

An example

So what makes a given target objective more desirable than another?

Your consciousness is following a trajectory upon the pre-birth world-line template, and heading to objectives(s) as defined by your thoughts. But there is a near infinite number of world-lines what would all meet your criteria, and your desires. So what makes one world-line better than all the others (that also meet your criteria)?

As an extreme example, we can consider a strawberry coke float made out of kiwi ice-cream possible on (for example) the following three scenarios…

  • One is served in a ice-cream parlor that has flirtatious red head (the hair is red color) waitresses.
  • One is served in a truck stop while you are waiting to have your car repaired for a broken universal joint.
  • One is served in an Army mess hall, after you came from battle fighting the Russians in the Crimea.

So…

If your consciousness component “A” is fixated on red haired waitresses, the first scenario would incorporate the attribute “a” that meets that desire.

If your consciousness component “A” is attracted to mechanical disruptions of any types, then the second scenario would incorporate the attribute “a” that meets that desire.

And if the consciousness component “A”  is attracted to the thoughts and feelings, emotions of those that surround you, and if everyone around you is fixated on a  war with Russia, then the third scenario would incorporate the attribute “a” that meets that desire.

And that is how it works.

Of course, there are multiple consciousness components

There are multiple consciousness components. And the components, in arrangement, interaction, and utility, differ from other consciousnesses. There is no set “standard” consciousness.

Thus…

It is the consciousness components that  define the pre-birth world-line template.

The pre-birth world-line template

The pre-birth world-line template is the topographical “surface” that your consciousness travels upon when traversing the MWI.

It is functionally defined by the interaction of your consciousness “components” make up, and interactions.

And each consciousness has a different one…

John
The template is a,b,c,d,e,and f.

While for Suzy…

Suzy
The template is 2a,c,d,e,f,h,and,3k

And for Peter, it’s even more extreme

Peter
The template is (a+c), d,e, H, (H+x), and u.

Thus, no matter how many “slides” you perform off the pre-birth world-line template, you consciousness will drive you back to it. So you must keep on working and performing the prayer / affirmation campaigns to keep on track towards your goals.

Functionally, while the consciousness does change and evolve through a given lifetime, for the vast majority of people, the changes are not significant enough to move you to a completely different pre-birth world-line template.

And for the world-lines themselves…

Obviously the most likely world-line (next) for your consciousness to visit is heavily influenced by the world-line map topography.

And this is determined by the individual components of the consciousness.

And this is why that you will, and are experiencing, the world-lines as you have. And why you find yourself in a world-line where everyone wears masks, people are worried about climate change, and where a hamburger meal costs $10.

How to use this knowledge – The “slipstream effect”

If you tie your affirmation campaigns to a group of other people, who also run and operate campaigns, you can benefit from the mass of shared thoughts. It’s a “slipstream effect”.

A slipstream created by turbulent flow has a slightly lower pressure than the ambient fluid around the object When the flow is laminar, the pressure behind the object is higher than the surrounding fluid The shape of an object determines how strong the effect is. This enables less force to be applied to move though a fluid.

If you add the following affirmations, they will contribute to manifest this slipstream effect…

  • My affirmations tie together with affirmations of other MM followers so that they all combine with a positive “slipsteam” effect.
  • This slipstream effect acts as an accelerator for all of us to benefit from.
  • In slipstram affirmations that run counter to my personal affirmations listed herein, they are ignored, and does not influence this campaign.

The “slipstream effect” combines consciousness component targets to a shared pool.

So instead of your consciousness…

Your active template

You
a,b,c,d,e

And Roger’s active template

Roger
a,b,c,x,y,z

Your new “active” world-line template (provided you permit the “slip steam effect”) will not look like this…

Shared
2a,2b,2c,d,e,x,y,z

Those elements of “a,b,and c” will manifest twice as fast (in this example.). Now, just imagine, say, twenty people. All with a much wider and diverse targets for the individual consciousness components. And then, add this to the complexities of the shared and combined quanta associations…

…in ways that we just don’t really understand…

…with rules as odd as…

15f = 3a and f + h
6y = x,d+t, and 21s

Can really create some amazing outcomes for prayer affirmation campaigns. Amazing, like you have NO IDEA!

Keep in mind…

At all times, you must keep in mind that the methodology (of using a visual guide for mapping world-lines) and the idea that consciousness is broken into clusters (that define components) is but a mental “crutch” that describes a very, very complex system.

Other techniques can be used. But this is the one that my mind established by direction by <redacted> as part of my MAJ operations.

By understanding this principle, you can best understand how all the other “rules” as specified all fit together and work together regarding prayer affirmation campaigns.

Key take aways

  • Consciousness is complex.
  • Consciousness is not a “blob” but  consists of multi-dimensional components that work together in unison.
  • These components that define the make-up of consciousness also define the structure of the pre-birth world-line template.
  • These components, working alongside our thoughts, define the types of world-lines that we encounter and occupy.
  • Consciousness can and does evolve with experiences.
  • Consciousness components are difficult to change, and thus if left alone, all travel on the MWI falls upon the default pre-birth world-line template.

.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

Intention Campaigns

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

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How to read and understand world-line template maps as a visual depiction of the MWI

This article discusses “mapping the MWI”. It looks at how it works and how to visualize the multiverse full of a near infinite number of world-lines.

There are many, many variables and world-lines involved that our consciousness experiences and uses to achieve it’s goals and desires. And truly it tends to become mind-boggling trying to sort things out to go from location “A” to location “B”. The easiest way to get around this is to use a map or a device that will enable us to visualize how best to get to our destination.

In my DIY Dimensional Portal Index, I suggest that you take experimental measurements as a function of geography, gravity, and time, and plot the coordinates out in such a way as to develop a mantle-bot set. Then use that as an indicator of where you are and what settings you can change to alter your reality.

When John Titor discussed his vehicular dimensional warping vehicle (found in my John Titor Index) he discussed using sensors to measure gravity displacement. And in that way his ability to travel was locked and limited by the technology that he used.

Well, here we are going to discuss using (or creating) a visualization topographical map for personal prayer affirmation campaigns. These maps are conceptional and do not require you to collect reams and sets of data to map out. Only to use them to help visualize what you are doing, where you are going and what is going on.

The Map

To best map the MWI it would “float” within a three dimensional framework.

As such, it might look something a little like this. With the positions of the world-lines geographically positioned relatively to the pathways as a function of the intrinsic value of the particular world-line.

The path that consciousness takes might be just as well placed on a map of sorts. THis map might show nodes and paths where the consciousness might migrate depending on thought manifestation, generation and progression.
.
The path that consciousness takes might be just as well placed on a map of sorts. This map might show nodes and paths where the consciousness might migrate depending on thought manifestation, generation and progression.
.

However, it would not look so much like a cluster of grapes, or bubbles on a foamy sea of bath water. No.

Topographical 3D Map

It turns out that the highest probability pathway forms a kind of sheet or flat surface when plotted in the three dimensions.

If you end up plotting everything, you can't make out heads or tails of the map. It's just this one big mess. But, if you plot the pathways that have the greatest probability of travel, it simplifies immensely.

Instead of a cluster of grapes, it would look a little like a mesh or a grid. With the points being world-lines, and the lines connecting the points as the shortest distance to that world-line.

Now, if you take a step away from this “map” of “world-lines” and their lines of “high-probability” consciousness transfer it might start looking a little like this.

Where you would see a “surface” of “highest probability” pathways, with the relative ease of travel and the strength of character needed to traverse affecting the heights and valleys of the apparent surface.

How the world-lines with consciousness migration paths migh look when a person takes a larger overview. You will see that the map is not a flat surface, but rather undulates. It forms hills, valleys and "mountains". This surface is the "geography" of the world-line transition map. Each posible destination world-line would have a different value of "potential". Which is a potential for the consciousness to move towards it and occupy it.
.
How the world-lines with consciousness migration paths might look when a person takes a larger overview. You will see that the map is not a flat surface, but rather undulates.
.
It forms hills, valleys and “mountains”. This surface is the “geography” of the world-line transition map. Each possible destination world-line would have a different value of “potential”. Which is a potential for the consciousness to move towards it and occupy it.

What the geometry of the map means

To really use map to a point of functionality, we need to actually study it’s attributes..

The “surface” that this map forms is the HIGHEST PROBABILITY of consciousness movement from one world-line node to another.

If the individual just goes along with life, and does a minimum of effort, the path on the world-line template map would look like this. He / she would follow the topographical surface of the map. There would be “easy periods” of life when he / she is going “downhill”, and rough or difficult times when they are going “up hill”.
  • Going above the surface indicates a strength of will over the combined strength of inertia of a given world-line. The individual can apply themselves, and exert thought, planning, determination and “grit” to achieve their objectives. When this happens, they are no longer following the “easy path”, but has instead “cut a path” for themselves to follow.

Going above the surface on a mapped world-line template shows the necessary strength of will needed to overcome hardship and discomfort to achieve objectives.

  • Going below the surface indicates a weak strength of will and a consciousness being overwhelmed by the inherent inertia of a given world-line. But sometimes the inertia of the situation that surrounds you is too strong and too powerful. It can “pull you under” and overwhelm you.

The geometry of the MWI template topography is the baseline default that most people follow. However, situations can occur, such as illness, or society that can “pull the person under” and overwhelm the person so that they are no longer following the topographical terrain.

Additionally…

I am using the “right hand convention” which is arbitrary. If you are “left handed” then you can reverse this convention. This is a visualization technique that relies on the relative comfort that a person, or consciousness feels when they generate thoughts and make decisions.

  • Moving to the left upon the mapped surface indicates more freedom of movement upon a given world-line reality. You can control your life on a day to day basis. And in general, the decisions that you will make will be a function of the needs and situations associated with your physical body.

  • Moving to the right upon the mapped surface indicates less freedom of movement upon a given world-line reality. Conversely, moving to the right will hamper your ability to move and will become progressively more difficult over time.

Moving to the right will tend to generate a more difficult path on the template for you to follow.

Conclusions

There is much that can be said about aspects to these conceptualization maps. Such as how does a slide manifest, and maybe even the idea that you can get off the topological surface. But these maps are visualization aids. No more and no less. Some people don’t need them. But I do.

And other things come into play as well. Such as the idea that the topographical surface isn’t solid like a piece of paper, but rather buoyant like the surface of water. (Which is a very important concept, by the way.) and other things such as why left and right navigation and all the rest.

You need to keep in mind that this is a visualization methodology that you can use within your templates to help navigate the MWI to meet your affirmation prayer campaign goals.

Some examples;

When traveling on my MWI world-line map, I am never overwhelmed and "pulled under" the topography. Instead I avoid those crisis situations well in advance.

Or,

I meter my life-line path over the "hills and valleys" of the topographical world-line template in such as way that I have a minimum of physical distress when I navigate to my objectives.

Phew! So wordy. But you all do understand what the affirmation is saying, and that understanding is a generated thought, and thus a navigation criteria on the MWI.

My Video of the day

I am trying to include a video with each post that I make. This is just a little video of what it is like for me here in China. For those of you who have never visited China you will be surprised as it doesn’t even remotely resemble anything that the “news” says it is.

The “news” is dangerous. Don’t believe any of it.

Overall, most people enjoy this little window into the MM life and lifestyle. And you can turn off the audio is you don’t want to hear my opinions. My latest video was taken last night. I hope you like it. HERE. 131MB. Nice beach bar with some tender music, and fine deep, dark shady shadows.

I also have another one HERE. 166MB. It shows a children’s “rope course”, which of course are banned in the Untied States as too dangerous.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

Intention Campaigns

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.

 

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A detailed break down on how consciousness navigates the MWI within a one second period of time

Here we will “walk through” a one second span of time and observe what happens as consciousness navigates the MWI.

Long time readers of MM will recognize many of what is being stated herein. But what is uniquely special about this post is the conceptualization of what happens when the “second hand” on your watch goes from one mark to the next. It is something that you can witness, and can conceptualize.

Many people have trouble trying to understand the ideas and mechanisms involved here simply because they are far too radical and goes against everything that they have learned at school.

The first moment

You start at world-line “A”

This world-line has it’s own history; it’s own past and it’s own future. And you are just residing inside the world-line for just a moment.

You can see that from the point of view of your consciousness, you see the world-line as a moment. In this case the moment is shown in yellow. And the world-line is shown in orange. It has it’s own past, and it has it’s own future, and your consciousness resides in it for a fraction of a second before moving on.

Your consciousness has anchored (momentarily) at the pineal gland in the brain.

Pineal gland

The pineal gland, conarium, or epiphysis cerebri, is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. 

The pineal gland produces melatonin, a serotonin-derived hormone which modulates sleep patterns in both circadian and seasonal cycles. The shape of the gland resembles a pine cone, which gives it its name. The pineal gland is located in the epithalamus, near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two halves of the thalamus join. The pineal gland is one of the neuroendocrine secretory circumventricular organs in which capillaries are mostly permeable to solutes in the blood.

-Wikipedia

As long as consciousness is anchored it resides in “particle form” …

We have seen that the essential idea of quantum theory is that matter, fundamentally, exists in a state that is, roughly speaking, a combination of wave and particle-like properties. 

To enter into the foundational problems of quantum theory, we will need to look more closely at the "roughly speaking." 

It is needed since it is not so easy to see how matter can have both wave and particle properties at once. 

One of the essential properties of waves is that they can be added: take two waves, add them together and we have a new wave. That is a commonplace for waves. 

But it makes no sense for particles, classically conceived. Just how do we "add up" two particles?

Quantum theory demands that we get some of the properties of classical particles back into the waves. 

Doing that is what is going to visit problems upon us. It will lead us to the problem of indeterminism and then to very serious worries about how ordinary matter in the large is to be accommodated into quantum theory. 

For the picture of matter in the small presented by quantum theory is quite unlike our ordinary experience of matter in the large.

-The Quantum Theory of Waves and Particles

So think of your consciousness as an undulating, or pulsing, rotating beacon. One moment it is in “particle form”, and then the next moment, it is in “wave form”. And it goes through these forms continuously.

Wave, particle, wave, particle, wave, particle and so on.

And if you look at it, you will see that it follows a sinusoidal path.

So, now it turns quickly. It goes from particle form to wave form. And when it is in wave form, it is no longer anchored to the pineal gland, and thus it can exit the body…

…and exit the world-line too.

To the next wold-line

And so we see that in a fraction of a second’ 1/4 of a second to be exact, the consciousness moves from world-line A to world-line B.

Both world-lines are very similar to each other.

They might differ in the slightest of items. Aside from being a fraction of a second older, the world-line might have a minor change or two that differs from the world-line A.

We call a group of similar world-lines as "clustering", or that the world-lines "cluster together". They are all very similar to each other with only the smallest of variations.

Now, it was the thoughts generated by the consciousness when it is outside of the world-lines that navigates to the most likely nearby world-lines. No thoughts are ever generated when the consciousness is in particle form.

The selection of the "most likely" next world-line is the entropy profile of the thoughts generated by consciousness. Or, in other words, the world-line that is the "best fit" for the thoughts, or accumulated thought profile, of the consciousness.

When the consciousness is on a world-line all it can do is operate a body physically. And when the consciousness is outside of the body (and outside of the world-lines) is when it can think and generate thoughts.

  • Inside the body = particle form = move the body
  • Outside the body = wave form = think thoughts

And thoughts are how the consciousness navigates the MWI and selects the most likely world-line.

A bigger picture

If you look at the “bigger pictures” you can place the highest likelihood of nearby world-lines on a flat surface, and measure their relative comfort or discomfort by the size of the “hills and valleys” that undulate on the surface.

Such as here…

So, knowing this, let’s consider another fraction of a second. Now, the consciousness moves towards and occupies a world-line “C”…

Movement to a third world-line

And we can see that the process repeats. Every time the consciousness switches from particle form to wave form, it exits the world-line (and the body it inhabits) and goes to the closest world-line that matches the thoughts generated by consciousness.

Now, you might want to consider how YOU as consciousness has observed the events of the last three world-lines.

For starters, YOUR “past” is unique to the path that your consciousness took. In the picture above, you have a “life line” that is brown and shown in a dashed line.

You also have another “past”.

Each time you visit a world-line, you are exposed to completely different past. Many of which are similar, but some can be really different.

Movement to a fourth world-line

If you are an average, and typical human, exactly one second has passed from the moment you were in world-line “A” to now at world-line “D”.

For every second, most humans pass through four different world-lines. And for most of them they are all so very similar to each other.

And if you map them all out on a three dimensional grip where the topographic surface represents the most likely world-lines that you can visit (from your momentary point of reference) it would look something like this…

And at that, please realize that you control your momentary thoughts by verbal prayer affirmations. And since each affirmation takes more than one second to read (usually from four to twelve seconds), the mere action of reading your prayer / affirmation campaign is actual navigation and piloting of your consciousness through the MWI.

Consider this affirmation;

"I live a happy, healthy and comfortable life."

It took me 4.66 seconds to read. Which equates to 18.64 world-lines. During the time that I read it out loud, that was all that I was thinking of. You can be assured that my consciousness navigation would be the most likely world-lines to manifest those thoughts.

Conclusion

This is the “secret of the universe”. This is how our reality works, and the actual operation of the MWI, and all the aspects of quantum physics as it applies to day to day life.

As you can see, it differs considerably from what mainstream understanding is, as well as scientific belief. But it is the way it works.

Now, you can say that I am either [1] a crazy madman for coming up with this belief, or that [2] I am an absolute genus for coming up with this. Or, conversely, you can believe what I am telling you. That [3] I am part of MAJestic, and my role in the organization was (and is) to be a liaison to extraterrestrial benefactors that will help the human species grow and advance.

And whether you believe it or not, is not my concern.

This is how our reality works, and in a few centuries this understanding will be embraced and accepted as normal and “the way it is”.

And at that, you can thank me for giving you the “secrets of the universe”. And if you can understand it, then you are in the top 0.000001% of the human race right now.

Conversely, if you refuse to accept this, then you can believe in shape-changing reptilians that want to control the human race, huge American-led space fleets with “space marines”, and a Heaven and Hell that you can control through donations to the largest church in the neighborhood. It’s YOUR reality.

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Law 1 of the 48 laws of Power by Robert Greene. Never Outshine the Master

Fearless (2006)

Fearless, as Jet Li's Fearless in the United Kingdom and in the United States, is a 2006 Chinese-Hong Kong martial arts film. It is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia, a Chinese martial artist who challenged foreign fighters in highly publicised events, restoring pride and nationalism to China at a time when Western imperialism and Japanese manipulation were eroding the country in the final years of the Qing Dynasty before the birth of the Republic of China.

Lesson One.

This is one of the most important points that Robert Greene has taught us. Once a student, always a student until the day your mentor leaves. For a true master is a great ally, but an even worst foe. Be constantly on guard for your actions, and beware of your environment, least you damage something that has developed to be part of your very being.

LAW 1

NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER

JUDGMENT

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite—inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s finance minister in the first years of his reign, was a generous man who loved lavish parties, pretty women, and poetry. He also loved money, for he led an extravagant lifestyle.

Fouquet was clever and very much indispensable to the king, so when the prime minister, Jules Mazarin, died, in 1661, the finance minister expected to be named the successor. Instead, the king decided to abolish the position.

This and other signs made Fouquet suspect that he was falling out of favor, and so he decided to ingratiate himself with the king by staging the most spectacular party the world had ever seen. The party’s ostensible purpose would be to commemorate the completion of Fouquet’s château, Vaux-le- Vicomte, but its real function was to pay tribute to the king, the guest of honor.

The most brilliant nobility of Europe and some of the greatest minds of the time—La Fontaine, La Rochefoucauld, Madame de Sévigné attended the party. Molière wrote a play for the occasion, in which he himself was to perform at the evening’s conclusion. The party began with a lavish seven- course dinner, featuring foods from the Orient never before tasted in France, as well as new dishes created especially for the night. The meal was accompanied with music commissioned by Fouquet to honor the king.

After dinner there was a promenade through the château’s gardens. The grounds and fountains of Vaux-le-Vicomte were to be the inspiration for Versailles.

Fouquet personally accompanied the young king through the geometrically aligned arrangements of shrubbery and flower beds.

Arriving at the gardens’ canals, they witnessed a fireworks display, which was followed by the performance of Molière’s play.

The party ran well into the night and everyone agreed it was the most amazing affair they had ever attended.

The next day, Fouquet was arrested by the king’s head musketeer, D’Artagnan. Three months later he went on trial for stealing from the country’s treasury. (Actually, most of the stealing he was accused of he had done on the king’s behalf and with the king’s permission.)

Fouquet was found guilty and sent to the most isolated prison in France, high in the Pyrenees Mountains, where he spent the last twenty years of his life in solitary confinement.

Interpretation

Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a proud and arrogant man who wanted to be the center of attention at all times; he could not countenance being outdone in lavishness by anyone, and certainly not his finance minister.

To succeed Fouquet, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man famous for his parsimony and for giving the dullest parties in Paris. Colbert made sure that any money liberated from the treasury went straight into Louis’s hands.

With the money, Louis built a palace even more magnificent than Fouquet’s —the glorious palace of Versailles. He used the same architects, decorators, and garden designer. And at Versailles, Louis hosted parties even more extravagant than the one that cost Fouquet his freedom.

Let us examine the situation.

The evening of the party, as Fouquet presented spectacle on spectacle to Louis, each more magnificent than the one before, he imagined the affair as demonstrating his loyalty and devotion to the king.

Not only did he think the party would put him back in the king’s favor, he thought it would show his good taste, his connections, and his popularity, making him indispensable to the king and demonstrating that he would make an excellent prime minister.

Instead, however, each new spectacle, each appreciative smile bestowed by the guests on Fouquet, made it seem to Louis that his own friends and subjects were more charmed by the finance minister than by the king himself, and that Fouquet was actually flaunting his wealth and power.

Rather than flattering Louis XIV, Fouquet’s elaborate party offended the king’s vanity.

Louis would not admit this to anyone, of course—instead, he found a convenient excuse to rid himself of a man who had inadvertently made him feel insecure.

Such is the fate, in some form or other, of all those who unbalance the master’s sense of self, poke holes in his vanity, or make him doubt his pre- eminence.

When the evening began, Fouquet was at the top of the world.

By the time it had ended, he was at the bottom.

Voltaire, 1694-1778

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In the early 1600s, the Italian astronomer and mathematician Galileo found himself in a precarious position.

He depended on the generosity of great rulers to support his research, and so, like all Renaissance scientists, he would sometimes make gifts of his inventions and discoveries to the leading patrons of the time.

Once, for instance, he presented a military compass he had invented to the Duke of Gonzaga.

Then he dedicated a book explaining the use of the compass to the Medicis.

Both rulers were grateful, and through them Galileo was able to find more students to teach.

No matter how great the discovery, however, his patrons usually paid him with gifts, not cash.

This made for a life of constant insecurity and dependence. There must be an easier way, he thought.

Galileo hit on a new strategy in 1610, when he discovered the moons of Jupiter. Instead of dividing the discovery among his patrons—giving one the telescope he had used, dedicating a book to another, and so on—as he had done in the past, he decided to focus exclusively on the Medicis.

He chose the Medicis for one reason: Shortly after Cosimo I had established the Medici dynasty, in 1540, he had made Jupiter, the mightiest of the gods, the Medici symbol—a symbol of a power that went beyond politics and banking, one linked to ancient Rome and its divinities.

Galileo turned his discovery of Jupiter’s moons into a cosmic event honoring the Medicis’ greatness.

Shortly after the discovery, he announced that “the bright stars [the moons of Jupiter] offered themselves in the heavens” to his telescope at the same time as Cosimo II’s enthronement.

He said that the number of the moons—four—harmonized with the number of the Medicis (Cosimo II had three brothers) and that the moons orbited Jupiter as these four sons revolved around Cosimo I, the dynasty’s founder.

More than coincidence, this showed that the heavens themselves reflected the ascendancy of the Medici family.

After he dedicated the discovery to the Medicis, Galileo commissioned an emblem representing Jupiter sitting on a cloud with the four stars circling about him, and presented this to Cosimo II as a symbol of his link to the stars.

In 1610 Cosimo II made Galileo his official court philosopher and mathematician, with a full salary. For a scientist this was the coup of a lifetime.

The days of begging for patronage were over.

Interpretation

In one stroke, Galileo gained more with his new strategy than he had in years of begging.

The reason is simple: All masters want to appear more brilliant than other people.

They do not care about science or empirical truth or the latest invention ; they care about their name and their glory.

Galileo gave the Medicis infinitely more glory by linking their name with cosmic forces than he had by making them the patrons of some new scientific gadget or discovery.

Scientists are not spared the vagaries of court life and patronage.

They too must serve masters who hold the purse strings. And their great intellectual powers can make the master feel insecure, as if he were only there to supply the funds—an ugly, ignoble job.

The producer of a great work wants to feel he is more than just the provider of the financing. He wants to appear creative and powerful, and also more important than the work produced in his name.

Instead of insecurity you must give him glory. Galileo did not challenge the intellectual authority of the Medicis with his discovery, or make them feel inferior in any way; by literally aligning them with the stars, he made them shine brilliantly among the courts of Italy.

He did not outshine the master, he made the master outshine all others.

KEYS TO POWER

Everyone has insecurities.

When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected.

You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.

With those above you, however, you must take a different approach: When it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the days of Louis XIV and the Medicis.

Those who attain high standing in life are like kings and queens: They want to feel secure in their positions, and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm.

It is a deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master’s affection.

He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid himself of your presence.

This Law involves two rules that you must realize. First, you can inadvertently outshine a master simply by being yourself. There are masters who are more insecure than others, monstrously insecure; you may naturally outshine them by your charm and grace.

No one had more natural talents than Astorre Manfredi, prince of Faenza.

The most handsome of all the young princes of Italy, he captivated his subjects with his generosity and open spirit.

In the year 1500, Cesare Borgia laid siege to Faenza.

When the city surrendered, the citizens expected the worst from the cruel Borgia, who, however, decided to spare the town: He simply occupied its fortress, executed none of its citizens, and allowed Prince Manfredi, eighteen at the time, to remain with his court, in complete freedom.

A few weeks later, though, soldiers hauled Astorre Manfredi away to a Roman prison.

A year after that, his body was fished out of the River Tiber, a stone tied around his neck.

Borgia justified the horrible deed with some sort of trumped-up charge of treason and conspiracy, but the real problem was that he was notoriously vain and insecure.

The young man was outshining him without even trying.

Given Manfredi’s natural talents, the prince’s mere presence made Borgia seem less attractive and charismatic.

The lesson is simple: If you cannot help being charming and superior, you must learn to avoid such monsters of vanity.

Either that, or find a way to mute your good qualities when in the company of a Cesare Borgia.

Second, never imagine that because the master loves you, you can do anything you want.

Entire books could be written about favorites who fell out of favor by taking their status for granted, for daring to outshine.

In late- sixteenth-century Japan, the favorite of Emperor Hideyoshi was a man called Sen no Rikyu.

The premier artist of the tea ceremony, which had become an obsession with the nobility, he was one of Hideyoshi’s most trusted advisers, had his own apartment in the palace, and was honored throughout Japan.

Yet in 1591, Hideyoshi had him arrested and sentenced to death.

Rikyu took his own life, instead.

The cause for his sudden change of fortune was discovered later: It seems that Rikyu, former peasant and later court favorite, had had a wooden statue made of himself wearing sandals (a sign of nobility) and posing loftily. He had had this statue placed in the most important temple inside the palace gates, in clear sight of the royalty who often would pass by.

To Hideyoshi this signified that Rikyu had no sense of limits. Presuming that he had the same rights as those of the highest nobility, he had forgotten that his position depended on the emperor, and had come to believe that he had earned it on his own.

This was an unforgivable miscalculation of his own importance and he paid for it with his life.

Remember the following: Never take your position for granted and never let any favors you receive go to your head.

Knowing the dangers of outshining your master, you can turn this Law to your advantage.

First you must flatter and puff up your master.

Overt flattery can be effective but has its limits; it is too direct and obvious, and looks bad to other courtiers.

Discreet flattery is much more powerful. If you are more intelligent than your master, for example, seem the opposite: Make him appear more intelligent than you. Act naive. Make it seem that you need his expertise. Commit harmless mistakes that will not hurt you in the long run but will give you the chance to ask for his help. Masters adore such requests. A master who cannot bestow on you the gifts of his experience may direct rancor and ill will at you instead.

If your ideas are more creative than your master’s, ascribe them to him, in as public a manner as possible.

Make it clear that your advice is merely an echo of his advice.

If you surpass your master in wit, it is okay to play the role of the court jester, but do not make him appear cold and surly by comparison.

Tone down your humor if necessary, and find ways to make him seem the dispenser of amusement and good cheer.

If you are naturally more sociable and generous than your master, be careful not to be the cloud that blocks his radiance from others.

He must appear as the sun around which everyone revolves, radiating power and brilliance, the center of attention.

If you are thrust into the position of entertaining him, a display of your limited means may win you his sympathy. Any attempt to impress him with your grace and generosity can prove fatal: Learn from Fouquet or pay the price.

In all of these cases it is not a weakness to disguise your strengths if in the end they lead to power.

By letting others outshine you, you remain in control, instead of being a victim of their insecurity.

This will all come in handy the day you decide to rise above your inferior status.

If, like Galileo, you can make your master shine even more in the eyes of others, then you are a godsend and you will be instantly promoted.

Image:

The Stars in the Sky. There can be only one sun at a time. Never obscure the sunlight, or rival the sun’s brilliance; rather, fade into the sky and find ways to heighten the master star’s intensity.

Authority:

Avoid outshining the master. All superiority is odious, but the superiority of a subject over his prince is not only stupid, it is fatal. This is a lesson that the stars in the sky teach us—they may be related to the sun, and just as brilliant, but they never appear in her company. 

(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

You cannot worry about upsetting every person you come across, but you must be selectively cruel.

If your superior is a falling star, there is nothing to fear from outshining him.

Do not be merciful—your master had no such scruples in his own cold-blooded climb to the top.

Gauge his strength.

If he is weak, discreetly hasten his downfall: Outdo, outcharm, outsmart him at key moments.

If he is very weak and ready to fall, let nature take its course.

Do not risk outshining a feeble superior—it might appear cruel or spiteful. But if your master is firm in his position, yet you know yourself to be the more capable, bide your time and be patient.

It is the natural course of things that power eventually fades and weakens. Your master will fall someday, and if you play it right, you will outlive and someday outshine him.

Conclusion

We are often nothing if we act alone, but we can achieve greatness if we form a bond with a group of people.

Within those people are those of great skill, knowledge, experience and ability. You can use their talents for the greater good of the group. You can also learn from them and then in tern become proficient as they.

However, when you are in a group, you must never outshine anyone. You must fit within the group and all praises o to the group, not to the individual stars. Once a group of hard-working individuals are ignored by a singular member, the negative emotions of human greet, envy, lust and others start to corrupt the group. It can harm everyone.

Be careful of what you do, and be humble in your assigned position in life.

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Law 6 of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; Court Attention at all Cost (Full Text)

Undoubtedly the woman who had come to epitomize what we recognize today as "celebrity", Zsa Zsa Gabor, is better known for her many marriages, personal appearances, her "dahlink" catchphrase, her actions, life gossip, and quotations on men, rather than her film career.

Perhaps you know her better as “Lisa” on the 1960’s television sit-com “Green Acres”.

Ah. Lisa darlink…

“Lisa” on the 1960’s television sit-com “Green Acres”.

Anyways, for her, and just about everyone that you read about in the “news” today obey this law listed herein. It’s important, and it gave Donald Trump the Presidency of the United States.

LAW 6

COURT ATTENTION AT ALL COST

JUDGMENT

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses.

PART I: SURROUND YOUR NAME WITH THE SENSATIONAL AND SCANDALOUS

Draw attention to yourself by creating an unforgettable, even controversial image. Court scandal. Do anything to make yourself seem larger than life and shine more brightly than those around you. Make no distinction between kinds of attention—notoriety of any sort will bring you power. Better to be slandered and attacked than ignored.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

P. T. Barnum, America’s premier nineteenth-century showman, started his career as an assistant to the owner of a circus, Aaron Turner.

In 1836 the circus stopped in Annapolis, Maryland, for a series of performances.

On the morning of opening day, Barnum took a stroll through town, wearing a new black suit.

People started to follow him.

Someone in the gathering crowd shouted out that he was the Reverend Ephraim K. Avery, infamous as a man acquitted of the charge of murder but still believed guilty by most Americans.

The angry mob tore off Barnum’s suit and was ready to lynch him.

After desperate appeals, Barnum finally convinced them to follow him to the circus, where he could verify his identity.

THE WASP AND THE PRINCE

A wasp named Pin Tail was long in quest of some deed that would make him forever famous. 

So one day he entered the kirrg’s palace and stung the little prince, who was in bed.

The prince awoke with loud cries.

The king and his courtiers rushed in to see what had happened.

The prince was yelling as the wasp stung him again and again.

The courtiers tried to catch
the wasp, and each in turn was stung.

The whole royal household rushed in,
the news soon spread, and people flocked to the palace.

The city was in an uproar, all business suspended.

Said the wasp to itself, before it expired from its efforts, “A name without fame is like fire without flame. There is nothing like attracting notice at any cost.”


INDIAN FABLE

Once there, old Turner confirmed that this was all a practical joke—he himself had spread the rumor that Barnum was Avery.

The crowd dispersed, but Barnum, who had nearly been killed, was not amused.

He wanted to know what could have induced his boss to play such a trick. “My dear Mr. Barnum,” Turner replied, “it was all for our good. Remember, all we need to ensure success is notoriety.”

And indeed everyone in town was talking about the joke, and the circus was packed that night and every night it stayed in Annapolis.

Barnum had learned a lesson he would never forget.

Barnum’s first big venture of his own was the American Museum—a collection of curiosities, located in New York.

One day a beggar approached Barnum in the street.

Instead of giving him money, Barnum decided to employ him.

Taking him back to the museum, he gave the man five bricks and told him to make a slow circuit of several blocks.

At certain points he was to lay down a brick on the sidewalk, always keeping one brick in hand.

On the return journey he was to replace each brick on the street with the one he held.

Meanwhile he was to remain serious of countenance and to answer no questions.

Once back at the museum, he was to enter, walk around inside, then leave through the back door and make the same bricklaying circuit again.

On the man’s first walk through the streets, several hundred people watched his mysterious movements.

By his fourth circuit, onlookers swarmed around him, debating what he was doing.

Every time he entered the museum he was followed by people who bought tickets to keep watching him.

Many of them were distracted by the museum’s collections, and stayed inside.

By the end of the first day, the brick man had drawn over a thousand people into the museum.

A few days later the police ordered him to cease and desist from his walks—the crowds were blocking traffic.

The bricklaying stopped but thousands of New Yorkers had entered the museum, and many of those had become P. T. Barnum converts.

Even when I’m railed at, I get my quota of renown.

PIETRO ARETINO, 1492-1556

Barnum would put a band of musicians on a balcony overlooking the street, beneath a huge banner proclaiming FREE MUSIC FOR THE MILLIONS.

What generosity, New Yorkers thought, and they flocked to hear the free concerts.

But Barnum took pains to hire the worst musicians he could find, and soon after the band struck up, people would hurry to buy tickets to the museum, where they would be out of earshot of the band’s noise, and of the booing of the crowd.

THE COURT ARTIST

A work that was voluntarily presented to a prince was bound to seem in some way special. 

The artist himself might also try to attract the attention of the court through his behaviour.

In Vasari’s judgment Sodoma was “well known both for his personal eccentricities and for his reputation as a good painter.”

Because Pope Leo X “found pleasure in such strange, hare- brained individuals,” he made Sodoma a knight, causing the artist to go completely out of his mind.

Van Mander found it odd that the products of Cornelis Ketel’s experiments in mouth and foot painting were bought by notable persons “because of their oddity,” yet Ketel was only adding a variation to similar experiments by Titian, Ugo da Carpi and Palma Giovane, who, according to Boschini painted with their fingers “because they wished to imitate the method used by the Supreme Creator. ”

Van Mander reports that Gossaert attracted the attention of Emperor Charles V by wearing a fantastic paper costume.

In doing so he was adopting the tactics used by Dinocrates, who, in order to gain access to Alexander the Great, is said to have appeared disguised as the naked Hercules when the monarch was sitting in judgment.


THE COURT ARTIST, MARTIN WARNKE, 1993

One of the first oddities Barnum toured around the country was Joice Heth, a woman he claimed was 161 years old, and whom he advertised as a slave who had once been George Washington’s nurse.

After several months the crowds began to dwindle, so Barnum sent an anonymous letter to the papers, claiming that Heth was a clever fraud.

“Joice Heth,” he wrote, “is not a human being but an automaton, made up of whalebone, india-rubber, and numberless springs.”

Those who had not bothered to see her before were immediately curious, and those who had already seen her paid to see her again, to find out whether the rumor that she was a robot was true.

In 1842, Barnum purchased the carcass of what was purported to be a mermaid.

This creature resembled a monkey with the body of a fish, but the head and body were perfectly joined—it was truly a wonder.

After some research Barnum discovered that the creature had been expertly put together in Japan, where the hoax had caused quite a stir.

He nevertheless planted articles in newspapers around the country claiming the capture of a mermaid in the Fiji Islands.

He also sent the papers woodcut prints of paintings showing mermaids.

By the time he showed the specimen in his museum, a national debate had been sparked over the existence of these mythical creatures.

A few months before Barnum’s campaign, no one had cared or even known about mermaids; now everyone was talking about them as if they were real.

Crowds flocked in record numbers to see the Fiji Mermaid, and to hear debates on the subject.

A few years later, Barnum toured Europe with General Tom Thumb, a five-year-old dwarf from Connecticut whom Barnum claimed was an eleven-year-old English boy, and whom he had trained to do many remarkable acts.

During this tour Barnum’s name attracted such attention that Queen Victoria, that paragon of sobriety, requested a private audience with him and his talented dwarf at Buckingham Palace.

The English press may have ridiculed Barnum, but Victoria was royally entertained by him, and respected him ever after.

Interpretation

Barnum understood the fundamental truth about attracting attention: Once people’s eyes are on you, you have a special legitimacy.

For Barnum, creating interest meant creating a crowd; as he later wrote, “Every crowd has a silver lining.”

And crowds tend to act in conjunction.

If one person stops to see your beggarman laying bricks in the street, more will do the same.

They will gather like dust bunnies.

Then, given a gentle push, they will enter your museum or watch your show.

To create a crowd you have to do something different and odd.

Any kind of curiosity will serve the purpose, for crowds are magnetically attracted by the unusual and inexplicable.

And once you have their attention, never let it go.

If it veers toward other people, it does so at your expense.

Barnum would ruthlessly suck attention from his competitors, knowing what a valuable commodity it is.

At the beginning of your rise to the top, then, spend all your energy on attracting attention.

Most important: The quality of the attention is irrelevant.

No matter how badly his shows were reviewed, or how slanderously personal were the attacks on his hoaxes, Barnum would never complain.

If a newspaper critic reviled him particularly badly, in fact, he made sure to invite the man to an opening and to give him the best seat in the house.

He would even write anonymous attacks on his own work, just to keep his name in the papers.

From Barnum’s vantage, attention—whether negative or positive—was the main ingredient of his success.

The worst fate in the world for a man who yearns fame, glory, and, of course, power is to be ignored.

Donald Trump
If the courtier happens to engage in arms in some public spectacle such as jousting ... he will ensure that the horse he has is beautifully caparisoned, that he himself is suitably attired, with appropriate mottoes and ingenious devices to attract the eyes of the onlookers in his direction as surely as the lodestone attracts iron.

Baldassare Castighone, 1478-1529

KEYS TO POWER

Burning more brightly than those around you is a skill that no one is born with.

You have to learn to attract attention, “as surely as the lodestone attracts iron.”

At the start of your career, you must attach your name and reputation to a quality, an image, that sets you apart from other people.

This image can be something like a characteristic style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets talked about.

Once the image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your star.

It is a common mistake to imagine that this peculiar appearance of yours should not be controversial, that to be attacked is somehow bad.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

To avoid being a flash in the pan, and having your notoriety eclipsed by another, you must not discriminate between different types of attention; in the end, every kind will work in your favor.

Barnum, we have seen, welcomed personal attacks and felt no need to defend himself. He deliberately courted the image of being a humbug.

The court of Louis XIV contained many talented writers, artists, great beauties, and men and women of impeccable virtue, but no one was more talked about than the singular Duc de Lauzun.

The duke was short, almost dwarfish, and he was prone to the most insolent kinds of behavior—he slept with the king’s mistress, and openly insulted not only other courtiers but the king himself.

Louis, however, was so beguiled by the duke’s eccentricities that he could not bear his absences from the court.

It was simple: The strangeness of the duke’s character attracted attention.

Once people were enthralled by him, they wanted him around at any cost.

Society craves larger-than-life figures, people who stand above the general mediocrity.

Never be afraid, then, of the qualities that set you apart and draw attention to you.

Court controversy, even scandal.

It is better to be attacked, even slandered, than ignored.

All professions are ruled by this law, and all professionals must have a bit of the showman about them.

The great scientist Thomas Edison knew that to raise money he had to remain in the public eye at any cost.

Almost as important as the inventions themselves was how he presented them to the public and courted attention.

Edison would design visually dazzling experiments to display his discoveries with electricity.

He would talk of future inventions that seemed fantastic at the time—robots, and machines that could photograph thought —and that he had no intention of wasting his energy on, but that made the public talk about him.

He did everything he could to make sure that he received more attention than his great rival Nikola Tesla, who may actually have been more brilliant than he was but whose name was far less known.

In 1915, it was rumored that Edison and Tesla would be joint recipients of that year’s Nobel Prize in physics.

The prize was eventually given to a pair of English physicists; only later was it discovered that the prize committee had actually approached Edison, but he had turned them down, refusing to share the prize with Tesla.

By that time his fame was more secure than Tesla’s, and he thought it better to refuse the honor than to allow his rival the attention that would have come even from sharing the prize.

If you find yourself in a lowly position that offers little opportunity for you to draw attention, an effective trick is to attack the most visible, most famous, most powerful person you can find.

When Pietro Aretino, a young Roman servant boy of the early sixteenth century, wanted to get attention as a writer of verses, he decided to publish a series of satirical poems ridiculing the pope and his affection for a pet elephant.

The attack put Aretino in the public eye immediately.

A slanderous attack on a person in a position of power would have a similar effect.

Remember, however, to use such tactics sparingly after you have the public’s attention, when the act can wear thin.

Once in the limelight you must constantly renew it by adapting and varying your method of courting attention.

If you don’t, the public will grow tired, will take you for granted, and will move on to a newer star.

The game requires constant vigilance and creativity.

Pablo Picasso never allowed himself to fade into the background; if his name became too attached to a particular style, he would deliberately upset the public with a new series of paintings that went against all expectations.

Better to create something ugly and disturbing, he believed, than to let viewers grow too familiar with his work.

Understand: People feel superior to the person whose actions they can predict. If you show them who is in control by playing against their expectations, you both gain their respect and tighten your hold on their fleeting attention.

Image:

The Limelight. The actor who steps into this brilliant light attains a heightened presence. All eyes are on him. There is room for only one actor at a time in the limelight’s narrow beam; do what ever it takes to make yourself its focus.

Make your gestures so large, amusing, and scandalous that the light stays on you while the other actors are left in the shadows.

Authority:

Be ostentatious and be seen.... What is not seen is as though it did not exist.... It was light that first caused all creation to shine forth. Display fills up many blanks, covers up deficiencies, and gives everything a second life, especially when it is backed by genuine merit. 

(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

PART II: CREATE AN AIR OF MYSTERY

In a world growing increasingly banal and familiar, what seems enigmatic instantly draws attention.

Never make it too clear what you are doing or about to do. Do not show all your cards. An air of mystery heightens your presence; it also creates anticipation—everyone will be watching you to see what happens next. Use mystery to beguile, seduce, even frighten.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Beginning in 1905, rumors started to spread throughout Paris of a young Oriental girl who danced in a private home, wrapped in veils that she gradually discarded.

A local journalist who had seen her dancing reported that “a woman from the Far East had come to Europe laden with perfume and jewels, to introduce some of the richness of the Oriental colour and life into the satiated society of European cities.”

Soon everyone knew the dancer’s name: Mata Hari.

Early that year, in the winter, small and select audiences would gather in a salon filled with Indian statues and other relics while an orchestra played music inspired by Hindu and Javanese melodies.

After keeping the audience waiting and wondering, Mata Hari would suddenly appear, in a startling costume: a white cotton brassiere covered with Indian-type jewels; jeweled bands at the waist supporting a sarong that revealed as much as it concealed; bracelets up the arms.

Then Mata Hari would dance, in a style no one in France had seen before, her whole body swaying as if she were in a trance.

She told her excited and curious audience that her dances told stories from Indian mythology and Javanese folktales.

Soon the cream of Paris, and ambassadors from far-off lands, were competing for invitations to the salon, where it was rumored that Mata Hari was actually performing sacred dances in the nude.

The public wanted to know more about her.

She told journalists that she was actually Dutch in origin, but had grown up on the island of Java.

She would also talk about time spent in India, how she had learned sacred Hindu dances there, and how Indian women “can shoot straight, ride horseback, and are capable of doing logarithms and talk philosophy.”

By the summer of 1905, although few Parisians had actually seen Mata Hari dance, her name was on everyone’s lips.

As Mata Hari gave more interviews, the story of her origins kept changing: She had grown up in India, her grandmother was the daughter of a Javanese princess, she had lived on the island of Sumatra where she had spent her time “horseback riding, gun in hand, and risking her life.”

No one knew anything certain about her, but journalists did not mind these changes in her biography.

They compared her to an Indian goddess, a creature from the pages of Baudelaire—whatever their imagination wanted to see in this mysterious woman from the East.

In August of 1905, Mata Hari performed for the first time in public.

Crowds thronging to see her on opening night caused a riot.

She had now become a cult figure, spawning many imitations.

One reviewer wrote, “Mata Hari personifies all the poetry of India, its mysticism, its voluptuousness, its hypnotizing charm.”

Another noted, “If India possesses such unexpected treasures, then all Frenchmen will emigrate to the shores of the Ganges.”

Soon the fame of Mata Hari and her sacred Indian dances spread beyond Paris.

She was invited to Berlin, Vienna, Milan.

Over the next few years she performed throughout Europe, mixed with the highest social circles, and earned an income that gave her an independence rarely enjoyed by a woman of the period.

Then, near the end of World War I, she was arrested in France, tried, convicted, and finally executed as a German spy.

Only during the trial did the truth come out: Mata Hari was not from Java or India, had not grown up in the Orient, did not have a drop of Eastern blood in her body.

Her real name was Margaretha Zelle, and she came from the stolid northern province of Friesland, Holland.

Interpretation

When Margaretha Zelle arrived in Paris, in 1904, she had half a franc in her pocket.

She was one of the thousands of beautiful young girls who flocked to Paris every year, taking work as artists’ models, nightclub dancers, or vaudeville performers at the Folies Bergère.

After a few years they would inevitably be replaced by younger girls, and would often end up on the streets, turning to prostitution, or else returning to the town they came from, older and chastened.

Zelle had higher ambitions. She had no dance experience and had never performed in the theater, but as a young girl she had traveled with her family and had witnessed local dances in Java and Sumatra.

Zelle clearly understood that what was important in her act was not the dance itself, or even her face or figure, but her ability to create an air of mystery about herself.

The mystery she created lay not just in her dancing, or her costumes, or the stories she would tell, or her endless lies about her origins; it lay in an atmosphere enveloping everything she did.

There was nothing you could say for sure about her—she was always changing, always surprising her audience with new costumes, new dances, new stories.

This air of mystery left the public always wanting to know more, always wondering about her next move.

Mata Hari was no more beautiful than many of the other young girls who came to Paris, and she was not a particularly good dancer.

What separated her from the mass, what attracted and held the public’s attention and made her famous and wealthy, was her mystery.

People are enthralled by mystery; because it invites constant interpretation, they never tire of it.

The mysterious cannot be grasped. And what cannot be seized and consumed creates power.

KEYS TO POWER

In the past, the world was filled with the terrifying and unknowable— diseases, disasters, capricious despots, the mystery of death itself.

What we could not understand we reimagined as myths and spirits.

Over the centuries, though, we have managed, through science and reason, to illuminate the darkness; what was mysterious and forbidding has grown familiar and comfortable.

Yet this light has a price: in a world that is ever more banal, that has had its mystery and myth squeezed out of it, we secretly crave enigmas, people or things that cannot be instantly interpreted, seized, and consumed.

That is the power of the mysterious: It invites layers of interpretation, excites our imagination, seduces us into believing that it conceals something marvelous.

The world has become so familiar and its inhabitants so predictable that what wraps itself in mystery will almost always draw the limelight to it and make us watch it.

Do not imagine that to create an air of mystery you have to be grand and awe-inspiring.

Mystery that is woven into your day-to-day demeanor, and is subtle, has that much more power to fascinate and attract attention.

Remember: Most people are upfront, can be read like an open book, take little care to control their words or image, and are hopelessly predictable.

By simply holding back, keeping silent, occasionally uttering ambiguous phrases, deliberately appearing inconsistent, and acting odd in the subtlest of ways, you will emanate an aura of mystery.

The people around you will then magnify that aura by constantly trying to interpret you.

Both artists and con artists understand the vital link between being mysterious and attracting interest. Count Victor Lustig, the aristocrat of swindlers, played the game to perfection.

He was always doing things that were different, or seemed to make no sense.

He would show up at the best hotels in a limo driven by a Japanese chauffeur; no one had ever seen a Japanese chauffeur before, so this seemed exotic and strange.

Lustig would dress in the most expensive clothing, but always with something—a medal, a flower, an armband—out of place, at least in conventional terms. This was seen not as tasteless but as odd and intriguing.

In hotels he would be seen receiving telegrams at all hours, one after the other, brought to him by his Japanese chauffeur—telegrams he would tear up with utter nonchalance. (In fact they were fakes, completely blank.)

He would sit alone in the dining room, reading a large and impressive-looking book, smiling at people yet remaining aloof.

Within a few days, of course, the entire hotel would be abuzz with interest in this strange man.

All this attention allowed Lustig to lure suckers in with ease. They would beg for his confidence and his company. Everyone wanted to be seen with this mysterious aristocrat. And in the presence of this distracting enigma, they wouldn’t even notice that they were being robbed blind.

An air of mystery can make the mediocre appear intelligent and profound.

It made Mata Hari, a woman of average appearance and intelligence, seem like a goddess, and her dancing divinely inspired.

An air of mystery about an artist makes his or her artwork immediately more intriguing, a trick Marcel Duchamp played to great effect.

It is all very easy to do—say little about your work, tease and titillate with alluring, even contradictory comments, then stand back and let others try to make sense of it all.

Mysterious people put others in a kind of inferior position—that of trying to figure them out.

To degrees that they can control, they also elicit the fear surrounding anything uncertain or unknown.

All great leaders know that an aura of mystery draws attention to them and creates an intimidating presence.

Mao Tse-tung, for example, cleverly cultivated an enigmatic image; he had no worries about seeming inconsistent or contradicting himself—the very contradictoriness of his actions and words meant that he always had the upper hand.

No one, not even his own wife, ever felt they understood him, and he therefore seemed larger than life.

This also meant that the public paid constant attention to him, ever anxious to witness his next move.

If your social position prevents you from completely wrapping your actions in mystery, you must at least learn to make yourself less obvious.

Every now and then, act in a way that does not mesh with other people’s perception of you.

This way you keep those around you on the defensive, eliciting the kind of attention that makes you powerful.

Done right, the creation of enigma can also draw the kind of attention that strikes terror into your enemy.

During the Second Punic War (219-202 B.C.), the great Carthaginian general Hannibal was wreaking havoc in his march on Rome.

Hannibal was known for his cleverness and duplicity.

Under his leadership Carthage’s army, though smaller than those of the Romans, had constantly outmaneuvered them.

On one occasion, though, Hannibal’s scouts made a horrible blunder, leading his troops into a marshy terrain with the sea at their back.

The Roman army blocked the mountain passes that led inland, and its general, Fabius, was ecstatic—at last he had Hannibal trapped.

Posting his best sentries on the passes, he worked on a plan to destroy Hannibal’s forces.

But in the middle of the night, the sentries looked down to see a mysterious sight: A huge procession of lights was heading up the mountain.

Thousands and thousands of lights. If this was Hannibal’s army, it had suddenly grown a hundredfold.

The sentries argued heatedly about what this could mean: Reinforcements from the sea? Troops that had been hidden in the area? Ghosts? No explanation made sense.

As they watched, fires broke out all over the mountain, and a horrible noise drifted up to them from below, like the blowing of a million horns.

Demons, they thought.

The sentries, the bravest and most sensible in the Roman army, fled their posts in a panic.

By the next day, Hannibal had escaped from the marshland. What was his trick? Had he really conjured up demons?

Actually what he had done was order bundles of twigs to be fastened to the horns of the thousands of oxen that traveled with his troops as beasts of burden.

The twigs were then lit, giving the impression of the torches of a vast army heading up the mountain. When the flames burned down to the oxen’s skin, they stampeded in all directions, bellowing like mad and setting fires all over the mountainside.

The key to this device’s success was not the torches, the fires, or the noises in themselves, however, but the fact that Hannibal had created a puzzle that captivated the sentries’ attention and gradually terrified them.

From the mountaintop there was no way to explain this bizarre sight.

If the sentries could have explained it they would have stayed at their posts.

If you find yourself trapped, cornered, and on the defensive in some situation, try a simple experiment: Do something that cannot be easily explained or interpreted.

Choose a simple action, but carry it out in a way that unsettles your opponent, a way with many possible interpretations, making your intentions obscure.

Don’t just be unpredictable (although this tactic too can be successful—see Law 17); like Hannibal, create a scene that cannot be read.

There will seem to be no method to your madness, no rhyme or reason, no single explanation.

If you do this right, you will inspire fear and trembling and the sentries will abandon their posts.

Call it the “feigned madness of Hamlet” tactic, for Hamlet uses it to great effect in Shakespeare’s play, frightening his stepfather Claudius through the mystery of his behavior. The mysterious makes your forces seem larger, your power more terrifying.

Image: The Dance of the Veils—the veils envelop the dancer. What they reveal causes excitement. What they conceal heightens interest. The essence of mystery.

Authority:

If you do not declare yourself immediately, you arouse expectation.... Mix a little mystery with everything, and the very mystery stirs up veneration. And when you explain, be not too explicit.... In this manner you imitate the Divine way when you cause men to wonder and watch. 

(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

In the beginning of your rise to the top, you must attract attention at all cost, but as you rise higher you must constantly adapt.

Never wear the public out with the same tactic.

An air of mystery works wonders for those who need to develop an aura of power and get themselves noticed, but it must seem measured and under control.

Mata Hari went too far with her fabrications; although the accusation that she was a spy was false, at the time it was a reasonable presumption because all her lies made her seem suspicious and nefarious.

Do not let your air of mystery be slowly transformed into a reputation for deceit. The mystery you create must seem a game, playful and unthreatening.

Recognize when it goes too far, and pull back.

There are times when the need for attention must be deferred, and when scandal and notoriety are the last things you want to create.

The attention you attract must never offend or challenge the reputation of those above you—not, at any rate, if they are secure. You will seem not only paltry but desperate by comparison. There is an art to knowing when to draw notice and when to withdraw.

Lola Montez was one of the great practitioners of the art of attracting attention. She managed to rise from a middle-class Irish background to being the lover of Franz Liszt and then the mistress and political adviser of King Ludwig of Bavaria. In her later years, though, she lost her sense of proportion.

In London in 1850 there was to be a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth featuring the greatest actor of the time, Charles John Kean.

Everyone of consequence in English society was to be there; it was rumored that even Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were to make a public appearance.

The custom of the period demanded that everyone be seated before the queen arrived.

So the audience got there a little early, and when the queen entered her royal box, they observed the convention of standing up and applauding her.

The royal couple waited, then bowed.

Everyone sat down and the lights were dimmed.

Then, suddenly, all eyes turned to a box opposite Queen Victoria’s: A woman appeared from the shadows, taking her seat later than the queen.

It was Lola Montez.

She wore a diamond tiara on her dark hair and a long fur coat over her shoulders.

People whispered in amazement as the ermine cloak was dropped to reveal a low-necked gown of crimson velvet.

By turning their heads, the audience could see that the royal couple deliberately avoided looking at Lola’s box.

They followed Victoria’s example, and for the rest of the evening Lola Montez was ignored.

After that evening no one in fashionable society dared to be seen with her.

All her magnetic powers were reversed. People would flee her sight. Her future in England was finished.

Never appear overly greedy for attention, then, for it signals insecurity, and insecurity drives power away.

Understand that there are times when it is not in your interest to be the center of attention. When in the presence of a king or queen, for instance, or the equivalent thereof, bow and retreat to the shadows; never compete.

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And more and more anti-China propaganda is heading your way. Weee! Here’s how to identify what is going on.

They are all maniacs you see. Maniacs. Pure maniacs.

A propaganda barrage always comes before an American war.

The bigger the target; the enemy is, then the longer and harsher the propaganda barrage.

So, after four and a half long years of HATE – HATE – HATE China related media, only a fool would assume that a war isn’t imminent.

But that is just wishful thinking.

History tells us otherwise…

10 ways to recognize war propaganda in western media

A Handy checklist

The ten rules of war propaganda were set forth by the historian Anne Morelli in her book The Principles of War Propaganda. Well, let’s look at these rules.

In doing so, we will see that our mainstream media follow them exactly.

Anyone who follows the media reports in the West must realize that our German media, free, objective, and critical, are engaged in war propaganda.

There are 10 fundamental well-known rules of American war propaganda that are easy to verify.

Rule 1: We don’t want war

Fun fact: Every war that American has been in for the last seventy five years involved a discussion with the (eventual) enemy where the United States made the statement (word for word) exactly stated "We don't want war". 

It's so obvious that it has become the "Calling Card of America".

The West supposedly never wants wars. Even so, the West wages more wars than all other states put together. Germany is fighting in Mali to supply the French nuclear power plants with uranium (officially against terrorists, of course). Germany fought in Afghanistan for 20 years, so long that most have already forgotten what it was all about. Germany has been militarily active in Kosovo for over 20 years to build democracy, but the Albanian mafia still rules there under the protection of the Bundeswehr. And so on.

All of these – and also the other – wars of the US-dominated West in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and on, all have one thing in common: Of course, the West did not want them at all, but was forced to war by the evil rulers. This is the official reading every time, and none of the “rulers” has ever attacked a country in the West.

It was always the other way around, the West attacked.

“We don’t want war”

If you want a fun activity, read the transcript of the March 2021 meeting in Anchorage Alaska between the United States and China. Look for the announcement statement “We don’t want war” coming from the American side.

That is how the rest of the world knows that American has decided to wage a hot war, soon to become world war III, nuclear style with China.

Look for the specific wording.

That’s exactly how you know that America plans to attack China under some kind of excuse and that a propaganda barrage to justify that attack is being conducted.

Rule 2: The opposing camp is solely responsible for the war

It's all their fault.

See point one.

Assad is allegedly responsible for the war in Syria, although the media in the West consistently keep silent about the CIA operation “Timber Sycamore” with which the CIA started the war. If this is new to you, it’s no wonder. Der Spiegel, for example, has never reported on how you can find the term “Timber Sycamore” when you search the Spiegel archive. The relevant documents of the CIA were published in Washington years ago. If this is new to you, check it out.

It is always done that way. So it was with Iraq, Libya and all other wars in which the West is fighting. The blame was placed on the other side, concealing that the West started the wars itself.

Rule 3: The leader of the opposing camp has the face of the devil

This is the classic. The choice of words is crucial. Putin, Assad and whoever are “potentates”, “autocrats”, “dictators” who commit all the deadly sins of the world. When a war is imminent, the media bring – in order to make the population ready for war – the inevitable formulations of the “Second Hitler”, from whom the world must be saved.

Of course, the enemies do not have “governments”, they are “regimes”. With all these formulations the “enemy” is dehumanized, the public should feel hatred and be ready to overthrow such an evil person, even at the cost of thousands of lives.

Anti-China bullshit from the American media.

This is what is called “hatespeech” in modern German and what the same media, that use this hate propaganda against unloved heads of government, always find very bad.

.

"America doesn't hate the Chinese people, just the Chinese government."

Rule 4: We defend a good cause and not special interests

Of course, the US wanted to bring human rights, democracy and prosperity to Iraq. Of course, it wasn’t about the oil wells that US corporations have secured for themselves. Not even in Libya, where France (one of the driving forces in the war) has secured many oil wells. And Mali is about the fight against terrorism, not the uranium on which the French nuclear industry depends. And of course Syria is not about oil or the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean, it is only about democracy, human rights and prosperity.

Wherever a government is critical of the West and where there are also natural resources (or where one of the main enemies China and Russia can be harmed), the West finds democracy and human rights very important. But if a government is pro-Western and allows the West access to natural resources, such as the absolutist Saudi dictatorship, then democracy and human rights are not so important.

Regime change in China The last major policy shift in China caught many off guard; we are at another such turning point. For the past ten years or so, bad news in China was usually good news. Growth shocks triggered sizable stimuli, leading to asset price rebounds in China, emerging markets and the world more broadly.

-China regime change 

Incidentally, this is the key to understanding why Russia, which was a political friend under Yeltsin, has become enemy number one again under Putin: Under Yeltsin, Western corporations had secured control of Russian oil and gas. Putin ended that by 2003, and suddenly he was the number one villain. It doesn’t say that in the “quality media”, but it was actually so banal.

Rule 5: The enemy commits atrocities deliberately; on the other hand, when we cross the line, it is unintentional

We experience this one all the time. If the US is undoubtedly bombing a hospital in Afghanistan, then that is “collateral damage” and it was an accident. Nobody is punished, the “quality media” quickly forget it and do not ask for clarification.

On the other hand, it is enough if someone claims without evidence that Russia or Syria bombed a hospital and the media in the West are reporting not only for days, but also afterwards, so that the public does not forget who it must hate.

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Rule 6: The enemy uses illegal weapons

That is also a classic.

We have all heard many times that Assad uses “barrel bombs”. Nobody really knows what that actually is, but it sounds pretty nasty. The USA constantly uses barrel bombs, except they are called “cluster bombs” and the “quality media” are almost always shyly silent about them, because these weapons are internationally banned.

Whether Assad uses this weapon has not been proven at all, but as a precaution the media have come up with a separate word for it so that the readers don’t even get the idea that the West could also use such weapons. ‘But he does that all the time.

Rule 7: We suffer only slight losses; the enemy’s losses are enormous

This rule only applies when the war has entered its critical phase. Before the war it was the other way around. Before the war it was reported that the enemy was aggressive and, for example, had killed so many of “our” soldiers again when violating a ceasefire. This is to prepare the public for a war.

We have been seeing this in Ukraine for years. The “quality media” always report when it gets “hotter” there that the rebels have killed so many Ukrainian soldiers. In doing so, they keep silent about the fact that the mostly Ukrainian shelling of residential areas preceded them, in which civilians were killed.

But you don’t find out about that from the “quality media”, you have to read the reports of the OSCE. The “quality media” did not consider the fact that the OSCE presented a report in November 2020 in which it stated that almost 75 percent of civilian casualties in Donbass were due to the Ukrainian armed forces.

Rule 8: The artists and intellectuals support our cause

Notice how often celebrities have their say in the media who think the Western wars are good for moral reasons. Celebs have spoken out against Assad, Gaddafi, and Saddam in recent years. This is particularly evident in the American media.

John Wayne fights the demon heathen communists in Vietnam in the movie The Green Berets.

In 2019 a prominent “benefit concert” for Venezuela took place in the Colombian border town of Cucuta. Famous artists appeared in the middle of the jungle to sing against Maduro. Conveniently right next to the US military base there.

And for Navalny, for example, Western celebrities wrote an open letter to Putin in April 2021. It did not contain any truths and probably hardly anyone has read it. It was just important to be able to name the celebrities in the headlines of the media who are against Putin.

There are innumerable examples of this method of war propaganda.

But none of this has anything to do with politics, after all, what politician is interested in a singer’s opinion? These reports only have the purpose of giving the public the feeling that the position of the West is morally correct and thus the fans of the stars are to be influenced accordingly and to follow their idol. It’s all about emotions, not the actuality.

Rule 9: Our concern is something sacred

Of course, after all, it is supposedly about the “holy” values ​​of the West, that is to say about democracy and human rights. You can also kill people for this.

This is probably the oldest means of war propaganda in world history. In ancient Rome one had to bring civilization to the barbarians, of course it was not about the enrichment of the generals. Caesar moved to Gaul as a practically bankrupt man and came back very rich.

Later the Spaniards had to bring the “savages” in America the right faith so that they would not burn in the hell to which the Spaniards sent them on the occasion. It wasn’t about the gold, of course. And the British Empire wanted to bring civilization back to the “backward” colonies, because the poor, backward people in the colonies couldn’t rule themselves.

What I am writing here so ironically is true. You can read it in the documents from the corresponding periods. There was always a “sacred” reason for urgently going to war.

And today the “holy” concerns are democracy, human rights, women’s rights and so on. It’s still the same principle as in antiquity, only the “sacred” concern changes every now and then.

Rule 10: Anyone who questions our propaganda is a traitor

Today the word “traitor” is out of date.

Today you can choose to say “Putin understanders”, “Kremlin trolls”, “conspiracy theorists”, “anti-Americans” and whatever other names are currently circulating.

Anyone who disagrees is demonized and marginalized.

But all of these terms have one thing in common: They identify the named person as an opponent of “Western values” or democracy.

Ergo: it’s a traitor.

It’s shocking, but the German media is actually doing war propaganda like in the darkest times in history. And not just since yesterday, it happened in 1991 in the First Gulf War with the incubator lie and has not been less since then, on the contrary, it has become more, and the techniques have been refined more and more.

Do you think it is a coincidence that the media works exactly according to the propaganda textbook?

The Conclusion

The United States has already decided to wage war with China.

The initial attempts, have all failed, resulting in (as best as I can determine) five HOT-level Assaults…

  • Carpet bombing using 8 bio-weapons to destroy livestock 2016 through 2020.
  • A hard attack using the COVID19 B-strain “death by brain seizure” during CNY 2020, with herd immunity for US allies using the inoculation A-strain . The “three day sniffles” variant.
  • A follow up (two punch) “desperation” (vindictive) bio-weapon attack(s) targeted on Beijing using the “death by vomiting” virus known as the Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), and the “death by diarrhea” virus. Which is itself being a human version of (ASF version of the H1N1) people transmittable Swine-flu 2020 virus. Also (curiously) disseminated by “criminal elements” using drones to spray the virus all over China. Good thing for China that the CIA assets turned themselves into the authorities.
  • The “tit-for-tat” minor assault carrier fires. China’s first big-deck amphibious assault ship, a type 075; a huge vessel that was built in a miraculously short amount of time, mysteriously caught fire on Saturday, April 11th, 2020. And then the gutting of the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard.
  • And the enormous late Summer US Navy armada that sailed to the South China Sea in 2020. And the return back to the USA with their “tail between their legs”. The USA was unprepared to to deal with the kinds of defensive capabilities that the Chinese had arrayed in the South China Sea.

Additionally, there are failures in collapse of particular cities, and Chinese efforts…

  • Color Revolution in Hong Kong.
  • Color Revolution in Tibet.
  • Turn XinJIang and the Uighur Muslims into a Syria-like battlefield.

The attempts to destabilize Chinese allies are a mixed bag…

  • Myanmar “regime change” to a pro-American anti-China nation.
  • Thailand “regime change” to a pro-American anti-China nation.
  • Chinese BRI construction in the Beirut port (destroyed by missiles).

And so on and so forth.

It’s a big effort, with the blocking the Suez canal, and mysterious fires in IC factories, and the like…

The propaganda is still in full active attack mode.

Which pretty much means that more, and worse events are scheduled to occur.

I think that the United States should realize that China is NOT a nation that is an easy target and that it would be in the best interests for America to work with China rather than try to destroy it. But what else can I say? America is run by idiots.

That’s the only thing that you can conclude.

They are all maniacs you see. Maniacs. Pure maniacs.

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A great rant from a Chinese expat in America who says “I want to talk about China”.

This is a wonderful rant by a girl currently in the United States. She is absolutely “fed up” with the anti-China news, attitude, and general opinions of American regarding China. And she want’s it all to end. She is shouting loud and clear “Shut Up!”

The Chinese people are getting fed up with the lies that come out of the American, and Western “news”. They are tired of it. They are starting to get angry about it. And it must stop.

I've got a bunch of small and short embedded videos in this article. You really need to watch them to get the full impact of this article. -MM

Again, here is a dialog rant by a Chinese-America who lives inside of America, but well knows the reality of her home nation; China. And so, being sick and tired of the endless lies, and bullshit from the American “news”, she lashes out…

I Want To Talk About China

China is nothing like the fake version that exists only in imagination, that is painted in the media and absorbed into the minds of the people who gape at me when I tell them, "You know, life in China wasn't really all that different."

By Lily Chang

“Where are you from?”

“China,” my mom says, with audible pride.

“Oh,” said the lady at the thrift store, her eyebrows disappearing into her thick brown hair. “Was it scary over there? Were you not allowed to say things or use the internet?”

“China is a repressive dictatorship where the government exercises total control over people’s lives. The citizens have very few human rights compared to in the US.”

“That’s not true,” my sister blurts out. “I lived there and it wasn’t like that at all.”

“Don’t talk out of turn,” said her fourth grade teacher.

“You know, life in China wasn’t really all that different,” I say.

I watch the shock in my friends’ eyes. Feeling awkward, I continue on.

“I went to school in the morning and came home at night. I had a lot of homework. On the weekend, I would go out with my friends, and we would go to the park, or go window shopping, and gossip about our teachers and classmates.”

They gape at me, and I change the subject.

I want to talk about China.

I want to talk about my country and the many years I lived there, the laughter and the tears and everything in between. I want to share the experiences that shaped me and the people that changed me and the places where it happened.

But I can’t.

I cannot because the China in their eyes, in their minds, is not the China I come from, where I lived for most of my life.

It’s a sick, distorted version.

It is like what you see through a funhouse mirror, except there’s no fun in this house, only propaganda and racism and lies.

From those materials they built this diabolical interpretation of China that exists only in fantasy, and put me in it like a doll in a dollhouse.

And thus I was expected to play my part…

…as (some kind of) liberated victim of horrific oppression, grateful for my salvation, for my new life in the “enlightened” west.

I refused.

I’m going off script.

We, the Chinese people, are spoken of like birds in locked cages…

(Being) afraid to sing, the keys held by a brutal totalitarian government that cares nothing for our welfare.

We are huddled together, suffering, waiting for civilized countries to swoop in and rescue us…

To rescue us from our awful plights, to unlock our cages and heal our wounds and set us free.

We are dehumanized, reduced to objects of pity and victims in need of deliverance.

And thus they cry, “I love the Chinese people! I only hate the Chinese government!”

But they cannot love us, because to them, we are NOT human.

We are things.

The citizens are not humans, but caged birds desperate for a fairy tale hero to save them.

The government and those who compose it, are not humans, but blood-sucking demons.

Yes. demons. Demons who are bent on surveilling, controlling, destroying the citizens for their own gain.

But all this is just a fantasy; a lie. It’s a make-believe world that doesn’t exist, and one that never existed.

The people of China are not caged birds, and the government of China is not a group of cartoonishly evil demons.

But, this is the China they built in their minds, that they project onto me when I stand in front of them with my yellow skin, black hair, brown eyes.

And I want to tell them, that’s not the real China.

The real China is neither a paradise, but nor is it a hell.

The people of China are not helpless caged birds, but human beings.

Human beings with hopes and dreams and interests and opinions and stories. And yes, human rights.

We can travel, and many do.

More than 100 million Chinese go abroad every year, for school, work, tourism, and other reasons.

We can practice religion.

Religion is not allowed to influence politics.

And it is especially not allowed to promote separatism, terrorism, or other types of extremist thought.

We can criticize the government.

We can even hold protests. 

But we cannot humiliate or slander our leaders, we cannot spread lies, and again, we cannot promote separatism or incite mass unrest. 

Maybe that seems like a lot of conditions. 

But swearing at our leaders isn't productive engagement. It doesn't lead to problems being fixed.

We can vote.

There are elections in China, but not for the president. 

The people directly elect district representatives to the People's Congress, who then elect representatives at the city and province level. 

These representatives, just like Congresspeople in the US, are responsible for expressing their constituents' suggestions and grievances. 

They provide oversight for politicians. And if they don't do their job, they can be fired via petition from the people.

All citizens of China are entitled to these rights. All fifty-six ethnicities.

The people of China are not caged birds, and the government of China is not a group of cartoonishly evil demons.

In fact, China enjoys high levels of support among the people – not because there are no other options, as often claimed, and not because we are brainwashed. To say so takes away our agency, puts us back in the cage. We are supportive because the government serves the people.

Because…

…they lifted 850 million people out of absolute poverty in 40 years (100 million just since 2013),

…built them free homes,

…provided them with jobs and healthcare and education.

(The government) invested into infrastructure to ensure people in the most distant areas can live a better and more convenient life.

(And they) traversed deep into dangerous mountains to find those in need of help.

Chinese people respect their government…

…because they made enormous financial sacrifices made to combat the COVID-19 pandemic…

… from the initial lock-down of Wuhan…

… to implementing the massive contact tracing infrastructure, to free treatment for all patients.

They built hospitals in ten days, then mobilized of doctors and medical equipment from all over the country to the center of the epidemic.

It’s been stunning.

Increased life expectancy.

Increased quality of life.

Unparalleled safety.

Absolute happiness.

That is what the Chinese government does for the people.

That is not to say things are perfect.

Corruption exists.

Incompetence exists.

Dissatisfaction with the government exists. And the people express it. They make their voices heard.

The government is constantly monitoring public opinion on social media. Vocal criticism, of which there is much, is noted and taken into account.

Government agencies have open comment boards online where people can leave complaints.

Responses are then published online.

      • Unpopular policies get changed.
      • Unpopular politicians get replaced.

Whether you believe this is because they want the best for the people, or because they’re afraid of being violently overthrown by angry mobs, the result is the same.

They want to know what’s working and what’s not working. The needs and desires of the population are heard.

In the end, the Chinese people and the Chinese government are one, and cannot be separated.

Together, they are not oppressors and the oppressed, or even the rulers and the ruled, but two sides of the same coin, working together for a better China and better lives for all her citizens.

China is like a “bee hive”…

And America and the rest of the West, govern like “herding kittens”. The only solution is to divide up everyone so that everyone is fighting and the wealthy get wealthier…

China is not a paradise.

There are problems and unhappy people and bad decisions and things that fall through the cracks.

But it’s nothing like “that” China; The fake version of China that exists only in imagination, that is painted in the media and absorbed into the minds of the people who gape at me when I tell them…

… “You know, life in China wasn’t really all that different.”

And no one believes.

Because everyone is living within this fake world image that does not exist.

I want to talk to them about China, but I can’t.

Not until they tear down that twisted caricature in their minds; that fake world that they have been taught to believe.

Not until they see China for how she really is, good and bad.

I don’t wish for everyone to love China, or worship China. I want them to know China, understand China. The real China.

And when they do, then we can work together, learn from each other. Become better. That is what I hope to see.

Conclusion

It’s a great impassioned rant. And the thing is, that it could be written by just about any of the 120 million Chinese people who visit the the United States and return back to China. To put this number in perspective…

Population figures;

Some perspectives on WHY this is going on…

…it’s to create an evil villain. One that the people can point their fingers at and say [1] It’s another Nazi Germany!, and [2] We must do something to free the poor people! It tends to unite people against a common cause so they don’t get their torches, and pitchforks on the way to lynch the assholes in Washington DC.

It’s called “atrocity propaganda”…

Atrocity propaganda
Atrocity propaganda is the spreading of information about the crimes committed by an enemy, which can be factual, but often includes or features deliberate fabrications or exaggerations. This can involve photographs, videos, illustrations, interviews, and other forms of information presentation or reporting.

And… it continues…

And…

Why this demonization is going on; it’s because the USA must be the biggest, largest and most powerful nation in the world. If it isn’t, then all of it’s faults, it’s history of evil deeds, and the massive flaws within it’s system, and the economic crimes will come to light… to an angry world that is just now waking up to the reality of what the Hell the United States has been doing for much of the last century….

Indeed, for certain…

A time has come…

But that is not what is happening,

What is happening.

The United States is a terribly corrupt and flailing military empire and it is sinking, going down the drain in so many ways that everyone can watch and understand what is going on. The only people that do not understand this fact are those who are so absolutely blinded by the American propaganda of “exceptional greatness”, and intentional censorship of the reality outside of America.

We call them “sheeple”.

They are people that are emotionally entangled about things that they have NEVER physical experienced first hand. Only by what they read or watched on the internet.

Comedians joke about it, but it is a real problem.

And here…

The Bottom Line

As the United States collapses there are a host of options available to prevent the collapse.

America could…

  • Convene an emergency Constitutional Convention.  And though it, seriously reorganize the government to be more efficient and more focused on serving the needs of the people.
  • Redirect spending. Control the terrible fiscal irresponsibility. And set up policing organizations for fraud and waste.
  • Work on Win-win solutions. Work with other nations to improve positive international relations on the basis of a win-win philosophy.
  • Shut down the Military Empire. Seriously reduce the global military empire and redirect it’s task to domestic needs.

But that is not what it is doing. Instead it is picking fights with both Russia and China. In both cases trying to provoke an “incident” so that America has an excuse to unify America against a common enemy. It doesn’t matter who, at this point in time, and stage in the game. It just needs some kind of big, fierce enemy.

Note what is actually happening…

  • The Military Empire is expanding.
  • Provocative actions are proceeding and it’s only a matter of time when one will trigger a serious war.
  • The debt is getting larger, not smaller.
  • And an enormous budget (by Biden) to correct infrastructure problems has been proposed with zero changes to the already corrupted and inefficient system that is supposed to support it.
  • America is trying to provoke military engagements.

This cannot end well.

Metalicman’s Interview

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Law 33 – Discover each mans thumbscrew (full text) from the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

This is the complete full text of law #33 titled “Discover each man’s thumbscrew” which is found in the book by Robert Greene titled “The 48 Laws of Power”.

LAW 33

DISCOVER EACH MAN’S THUMBSCREW

JUDGMENT

Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.

FINDING THE THUMBSCREW: A Strategic Plan of Action

We all have resistances. We live with a perpetual armor around ourselves to defend against change and the intrusive actions of friends and rivals. We would like nothing more than to be left to do things our own way. Constantly butting up against these resistances will cost you a lot of energy. One of the most important things to realize about people, though, is that they all have a weakness, some part of their psychological armor that will not resist, that will bend to your will if you find it and push on it. Some people wear their weaknesses openly, others disguise them. Those who disguise them are often the ones most effectively undone through that one chink in their armor.

THE LION. THE CHAMOIS. AND THE FOX

A lion was chasing a chamois along a valley. 

He had all but caught it, and with longing eyes was anticipating a certain and a satisfying repast.

It seemed as if it were utterly impossible for the victim to escape; for a deep ravine appeared to bar the way for both the hunter and the hunted.

But the nimble chamois, gathering together all its strength, shot like an arrow from a bow across the chasm, and stood still on the rocky cliff on the other side.

Our lion pulled up short.

But at that moment a friend of his happened to be near at hand. That friend was the fox. “What!” said he, “with your strength and agility, is it possible that you will yield to a feeble chamois?

You have only to will, and you will be able to work wonders.

Though the abyss be deep, yet, if you are only in earnest, I am certain you will clear it.

Surely you can confide in my disinterested friendship.

I would not expose your life to danger if I were not so well aware of your strength and dexterity. ”

The lion’s blood waxed hot, and began to boil in his veins.

He flung himself with all his might into space.

But he could not clear the chasm; so down he tumbled headlong, and was killed by the fall.

Then what did his dear friend do?

He cautiously made his way down to the bottom of the ravine. and there, out in the open space and the free air, seeing that the lion wanted neither flattery nor obedience now, he set to work to pay the last sad rites to his dead friend, and in a month picked his bones clean.

FABLES, IVAN KRILOFF, 1768-1844

In planning your assault, keep these principles in mind:

Pay Attention to Gestures and Unconscious Signals. As Sigmund Freud remarked, “No mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.” This is a critical concept in the search for a person’s weakness—it is revealed by seemingly unimportant gestures and passing words.

The key is not only what you look for but where and how you look. Everyday conversation supplies the richest mine of weaknesses, so train yourself to listen. Start by always seeming interested—the appearance of a sympathetic ear will spur anyone to talk. A clever trick, often used by the nineteenth-century French statesman Talleyrand, is to appear to open up to the other person, to share a secret with them. It can be completely made up, or it can be real but of no great importance to you—the important thing is that it should seem to come from the heart. This will usually elicit a response that is not only as frank as yours but more genuine—a response that reveals a weakness.

If you suspect that someone has a particular soft spot, probe for it indirectly. If, for instance, you sense that a man has a need to be loved, openly flatter him. If he laps up your compliments, no matter how obvious, you are on the right track. Train your eye for details—how someone tips a waiter, what delights a person, the hidden messages in clothes. Find people’s idols, the things they worship and will do anything to get—perhaps you can be the supplier of their fantasies. Remember: Since we all try to hide our weaknesses, there is little to be learned from our conscious behavior. What oozes out in the little things outside our conscious control is what you want to know.

Find the Helpless Child. Most weaknesses begin in childhood, before the self builds up compensatory defenses. Perhaps the child was pampered or indulged in a particular area, or perhaps a certain emotional need went unfulfilled; as he or she grows older, the indulgence or the deficiency may be buried but never disappears. Knowing about a childhood need gives you a powerful key to a person’s weakness.

One sign of this weakness is that when you touch on it the person will often act like a child. Be on the lookout, then, for any behavior that should have been outgrown. If your victims or rivals went without something important, such as parental support, when they were children, supply it, or its facsimile. If they reveal a secret taste, a hidden indulgence, indulge it. In either case they will be unable to resist you.

Look for Contrasts. An overt trait often conceals its opposite. People who thump their chests are often big cowards; a prudish exterior may hide a lascivious soul; the uptight are often screaming for adventure; the shy are dying for attention. By probing beyond appearances, you will often find people’s weaknesses in the opposite of the qualities they reveal to you.

Find the Weak Link. Sometimes in your search for weaknesses it is not what but who that matters. In today’s versions of the court, there is often someone behind the scenes who has a great deal of power, a tremendous influence over the person superficially on top. These behind-the-scenes powerbrokers are the group’s weak link: Win their favor and you indirectly influence the king. Alternatively, even in a group of people acting with the appearance of one will—as when a group under attack closes ranks to resist an outsider—there is always a weak link in the chain. Find the one person who will bend under pressure.

Fill the Void. The two main emotional voids to fill are insecurity and unhappiness. The insecure are suckers for any kind of social validation; as for the chronically unhappy, look for the roots of their unhappiness. The insecure and the unhappy are the people least able to disguise their weaknesses. The ability to fill their emotional voids is a great source of power, and an indefinitely prolongable one.

Feed on Uncontrollable Emotions. The uncontrollable emotion can be a paranoid fear—a fear disproportionate to the situation—or any base motive such as lust, greed, vanity, or hatred. People in the grip of these emotions often cannot control themselves, and you can do the controlling for them.

IRING IZAR

[Hollywood super-agent] Irving Paul Lazar was once anxious to sell [studio mogul] Jack L. Warner a play. 

“I had a long meeting with him today,” Lazar explained [to screenwriter Garson Kanin], “but I didn’t mention it, I didn’t even bring it up.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because I’m going to wait until the weekend after next, when I go to Palm Springs.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t? I go to Palm Springs every weekend, but Warner isn’t going this weekend. He’s got a preview or something. So he’s not coming down till the next weekend, so that’s when I’m going to bring it up. ”

“Irving, I’m more and more confused.”

“Look,” said Irving impatiently, ”I know what I’m doing. I know how to sell Warner. This is a type of material that he’s uneasy with, so I have to hit him with it hard and suddenly to get an okay.”

”But why Palm Springs?”

”Because in Palm Springs, every day he goes to the baths at The Spa. And that’s where I’m going to be when he’s there. Now there’s a thing about Jack: He’s eighty and he’s very vain, and he doesn’t like people to see him naked. So when I walk up to him naked at The Spa—I mean he’s naked—well, I’m naked too, but I don’t care who sees me. He does. And I walk up to him naked, and I start to talk to him about this thing, he’ll be very embarrassed.And he’ll want to get away from me, and the easiest way is to say ‘Yes,’ because he knows if he says ‘No,’ then I’m going to stick with him, and stay right on it, and not give up. So to get rid of me, he’ll probably say, ‘Yes.’”

Two weeks later, I read of the acquisition of this particular property by Warner Brothers. I phoned Lazar and asked how it had been accomplished.

”How do you think?” he asked.

”In the buff, that’s how... just the way I told you it was going to work.”

HOLLYWOOD, GARSON KANIN, 1974

OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW

Observance I

In 1615 the thirty-year-old bishop of Luçon, later known as Cardinal Richelieu, gave a speech before representatives of the three estates of France—clergy, nobility, and commoners.

Richelieu had been chosen to serve as the mouthpiece for the clergy—an immense responsibility for a man still young and not particularly well known.

On all of the important issues of the day, the speech followed the Church line.

But near the end of it Richelieu did something that had nothing to do with the Church and everything to do with his career.

He turned to the throne of the fifteen-year-old King Louis XIII, and to the Queen Mother Marie de’ Médicis, who sat beside Louis, as the regent ruling France until her son reached his majority.

Everyone expected Richelieu to say the usual kind words to the young king.

Instead, however, he looked directly at and only at the queen mother.

Indeed his speech ended in long and fulsome praise of her, praise so glowing that it actually offended some in the Church.

But the smile on the queen’s face as she lapped up Richelieu’s compliments was unforgettable.

A year later the queen mother appointed Richelieu secretary of state for foreign affairs, an incredible coup for the young bishop.

He had now entered the inner circle of power, and he studied the workings of the court as if it were the machinery of a watch.

An Italian, Concino Concini, was the queen mother’s favorite, or rather her lover, a role that made him perhaps the most powerful man in France.

Concini was vain and foppish, and Richelieu played him perfectly—attending to him as if he were the king.

Within months Richelieu had become one of Concini’s favorites.

But something happened in 1617 that turned everything upside down: the young king, who up until then had shown every sign of being an idiot, had Concini murdered and his most important associates imprisoned.

In so doing Louis took command of the country with one blow, sweeping the queen mother aside.

Had Richelieu played it wrong?

He had been close to both Concini and Marie de Médicis, whose advisers and ministers were now all out of favor, some even arrested.

The queen mother herself was shut up in the Louvre, a virtual prisoner.

Richelieu wasted no time.

If everyone was deserting Marie de Médicis, he would stand by her.

He knew Louis could not get rid of her, for the king was still very young, and had in any case always been inordinately attached to her.

As Marie’s only remaining powerful friend, Richelieu filled the valuable function of liaison between the king and his mother.

In return he received her protection, and was able to survive the palace coup, even to thrive.

Over the next few years the queen mother grew still more dependent on him, and in 1622 she repaid him for his loyalty: Through the intercession of her allies in Rome, Richelieu was elevated to the powerful rank of cardinal.

By 1623 King Louis was in trouble.

He had no one he could trust to advise him, and although he was now a young man instead of a boy, he remained childish in spirit, and affairs of state came hard to him.

Now that he had taken the throne, Marie was no longer the regent and theoretically had no power, but she still had her son’s ear, and she kept telling him that Richelieu was his only possible savior.

At first Louis would have none of it—he hated the cardinal with a passion, only tolerating him out of love for Marie.

In the end, however, isolated in the court and crippled by his own indecisiveness, he yielded to his mother and made Richelieu first his chief councilor and later prime minister.

Now Richelieu no longer needed Marie de Médicis.

He stopped visiting and courting her, stopped listening to her opinions, even argued with her and opposed her wishes.

Instead he concentrated on the king, making himself indispensable to his new master.

All the previous premiers, understanding the king’s childishness, had tried to keep him out of trouble; the shrewd Richelieu played him differently, deliberately pushing him into one ambitious project after another, such as a crusade against the Huguenots and finally an extended war with Spain.

The immensity of these projects only made the king more dependent on his powerful premier, the only man able to keep order in the realm.

And so, for the next eighteen years, Richelieu, exploiting the king’s weaknesses, governed and molded France according to his own vision, unifying the country and making it a strong European power for centuries to come.

Interpretation

Richelieu saw everything as a military campaign, and no strategic move was more important to him than discovering his enemy’s weaknesses and applying pressure to them.

As early as his speech in 1615, he was looking for the weak link in the chain of power, and he saw that it was the queen mother.

Not that Marie was obviously weak—she governed both France and her son; but Richelieu saw that she was really an insecure woman who needed constant masculine attention.

He showered her with affection and respect, even toadying up to her favorite, Concini.

He knew the day would come when the king would take over, but he also recognized that Louis loved his mother dearly and would always remain a child in relation to her.

The way to control Louis, then, was not by gaining his favor, which could change overnight, but by gaining sway over his mother, for whom his affection would never change.

Once Richelieu had the position he desired—prime minister—he discarded the queen mother, moving on to the next weak link in the chain: the king’s own character.

There was a part of him that would always be a helpless child in need of higher authority.

It was on the foundation of the king’s weakness that Richelieu established his own power and fame.

Remember: When entering the court, find the weak link. The person in control is often not the king or queen; it is someone behind the scenes—the favorite, the husband or wife, even the court fool. This person may have more weaknesses than the king himself, because his power depends on all kinds of capricious factors outside his control.

Finally, when dealing with helpless children who cannot make decisions, play on their weakness and push them into bold ventures. They will have to depend on you even more, for you will become the adult figure whom they rely on to get them out of scrapes and to safety.

THE THINGS ON

As time went on I came to look for the little weaknesses.... 

It’s the little things that count.

On one occasion, I worked on the president of a large bank in Omaha. The [phony] deal involved the purchase of the street railway system of Omaha, including a bridge across the Mississippi River.

My principals were supposedly German and I had to negotiate with Berlin.

While awaiting word from them I introduced my fake mining-stock proposition.

Since this man was rich, I decided to play for high stakes....

Meanwhile, I played golf with the banker, visited his home, and went to the theater with him and his wife.

Though he showed some interest in my stock deal, he still wasn’t convinced.

I had built it up to the point that an investment of $1,250,000 was required.

Of this I was to put up $900,000, the banker $350,000.

But still he hesitated.

One evening when I was at his home for dinner I wore some perfume-Coty’s “April Violets.”

It was not then considered effeminate for a man to use a dash of perfume.

The banker’s wife thought it very lovely.

“Where did you get it?”

“It is a rare blend,” I told her, “especially made for me by a French perfumer. Do you like it?”

”l love it,” she replied.

The following day I went through my effects and found two empty bottles.

Both had come from France, but were empty.

I went to a downtown department store and purchased ten ounces of Coty’s ”April Violets.”

I poured this into the two French bottles, carefully sealed them, wrapped them in tissue paper.

That evening I dropped by the banker’s home and presented the two bottles to his wife.

”They were especially put up for me in Cologne,” I told her.

The next day the banker called at my hotel.

His wife was enraptured by the perfume.

She considered it the most wonderful, the most exotic fragrance she had ever used.

I did not tell the banker he could get all he wanted right in Omaha.

”She said,” the banker added, ”that I was fortunate to be associated with a man like you.”

From then on his attitude was changed, for he had complete faith in his wife’s judgment .... He parted with $350,000.

This, incidentally was my biggest [con] score.

-“YELLOW KID” WEIL, 1875-1976

Observance II

In December of 1925, guests at the swankiest hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, watched with interest as a mysterious man arrived in a Rolls-Royce driven by a Japanese chauffeur.

Over the next few days they studied this handsome man, who walked with an elegant cane, received telegrams at all hours, and only engaged in the briefest of conversations.

He was a count, they heard, Count Victor Lustig, and he came from one of the wealthiest families in Europe—but this was all they could find out.

Imagine their amazement, then, when Lustig one day walked up to one of the least distinguished guests in the hotel, a Mr. Herman Loller, head of an engineering company, and entered into conversation with him.

Loller had made his fortune only recently, and forging social connections was very important to him.

He felt honored and somewhat intimidated by this sophisticated man, who spoke perfect English with a hint of a foreign accent.

Over the days to come, the two became friends.

Loller of course did most of the talking, and one night he confessed that his business was doing poorly, with more troubles ahead.

In return, Lustig confided in his new friend that he too had serious money problems—Communists had seized his family estate and all its assets.

He was too old to learn a trade and go to work.

Luckily he had found an answer—“ a money-making machine.”

“You counterfeit?”

Loller whispered in half-shock.

No, Lustig replied, explaining that through a secret chemical process, his machine could duplicate any paper currency with complete accuracy.

Put in a dollar bill and six hours later you had two, both perfect.

He proceeded to explain how the machine had been smuggled out of Europe, how the Germans had developed it to undermine the British, how it had supported the count for several years, and on and on.

When Loller insisted on a demonstration, the two men went to Lustig’s room, where the count produced a magnificent mahogany box fitted with slots, cranks, and dials.

Loller watched as Lustig inserted a dollar bill in the box. Sure enough, early the following morning Lustig pulled out two bills, still wet from the chemicals.

Lustig gave the notes to Loller, who immediately took the bills to a local bank—which accepted them as genuine.

Now the businessman feverishly begged Lustig to sell him a machine.

The count explained that there was only one in existence, so Loller made him a high offer: $25,000, then a considerable amount (more than $400,000 in today’s terms).

Even so, Lustig seemed reluctant: He did not feel right about making his friend pay so much.

Yet finally he agreed to the sale.

After all, he said,

“I suppose it matters little what you pay me. You are, after all, going to recover the amount within a few days by duplicating your own bills.” 

Making Loller swear never to reveal the machine’s existence to other people, Lustig accepted the money.

Later the same day he checked out of the hotel.

A year later, after many futile attempts at duplicating bills, Loller finally went to the police with the story of how Count Lustig had conned him with a pair of dollar bills, some chemicals, and a worthless mahogany box.

Interpretation

Count Lustig had an eagle eye for other people’s weaknesses.

He saw them in the smallest gesture.

Loller, for instance, overtipped waiters, seemed nervous in conversation with the concierge, talked loudly about his business.

His weakness, Lustig knew, was his need for social validation and for the respect that he thought his wealth had earned him.

He was also chronically insecure.

Lustig had come to the hotel to hunt for prey.

In Loller he homed in on the perfect sucker—a man hungering for someone to fill his psychic voids.

In offering Loller his friendship, then, Lustig knew he was offering him the immediate respect of the other guests.

As a count, Lustig was also offering the newly rich businessman access to the glittering world of old wealth.

And for the coup de grace, he apparently owned a machine that would rescue Loller from his worries.

It would even put him on a par with Lustig himself, who had also used the machine to maintain his status.

No wonder Loller took the bait.

Remember: When searching for suckers, always look for the dissatisfied, the unhappy, the insecure. Such people are riddled with weaknesses and have needs that you can fill. Their neediness is the groove in which you place your thumbnail and turn them at will.

Observance III

In the year 1559, the French king Henri II died in a jousting exhibition.

His son assumed the throne, becoming Francis II, but in the background stood Henri’s wife and queen, Catherine de’ Médicis, a woman who had long ago proven her skill in affairs of state.

When Francis died the next year, Catherine took control of the country as regent to her next son in line of succession, the future Charles IX, a mere ten years old at the time.

The main threats to the queen’s power were Antoine de Bourbon, king of Navarre, and his brother, Louis, the powerful prince of Condé, both of whom could claim the right to serve as regent instead of Catherine, who, after all, was Italian—a foreigner.

Catherine quickly appointed Antoine lieutenant general of the kingdom, a title that seemed to satisfy his ambition.

It also meant that he had to remain in court, where Catherine could keep an eye on him.

Her next move proved smarter still: Antoine had a notorious weakness for young women, so she assigned one of her most attractive maids of honor, Louise de Rouet, to seduce him.

Now Antoine’s intimate, Louise reported all of his actions to Catherine.

The move worked so brilliantly that Catherine assigned another of her maids to Prince Condé, and thus was formed her escadron volant—“flying squadron”—of young girls whom she used to keep the unsuspecting males in the court under her control.

In 1572 Catherine married off her daughter, Marguerite de Valois, to Henri, the son of Antoine and the new king of Navarre.

To put a family that had always struggled against her so close to power was a dangerous move, so to make sure of Henri’s loyalty she unleashed on him the loveliest member of her “flying squadron,” Charlotte de Beaune Semblançay, baroness of Sauves.

Catherine did this even though Henri was married to her daughter.

Within weeks, Marguerite de Valois wrote in her memoirs,

“Mme. de Sauves so completely ensnared my husband that we no longer slept together, nor even conversed.”

And while I am on the subject, there is another fact that deserves mention. It is this. A man shows his character just in the way in which he deals with trifles-for then he is off his guard.

This will often afford a good opportunity of observing the boundless egoism of a man’s nature, and his total lack of consideration for others; and if these defects show themselves in small things, or merely in his general demeanor, you will find that they also underlie his action in matters of importance, although he may disguise the fact.

This is an opportunity which should not be missed.

If in the little affairs of every day—the trifles of life...—a man is inconsiderate and seeks only what is advantageous or convenient to himself, to the prejudice of others’ rights; if he appropriates to himself that which belongs to all alike, you may be sure there is no justice in his heart, and that he would be a scoundrel on a wholesale scale, only that law and compulsion bind his hands.

-Arthur SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860

The baroness was an excellent spy and helped to keep Henri under Catherine’s thumb.

When the queen’s youngest son, the Duke of Alençon, grew so close to Henri that she feared the two might plot against her, she assigned the baroness to him as well.

This most infamous member of the flying squadron quickly seduced Alençon, and soon the two young men fought over her and their friendship quickly ended, along with any danger of a conspiracy.

Interpretation

Catherine had seen very early on the sway that a mistress has over a man of power: Her own husband, Henri II, had kept one of the most infamous mistresses of them all, Diane de Poitiers.

What Catherine learned from the experience was that a man like her husband wanted to feel he could win a woman over without having to rely on his status, which he had inherited rather than earned.

And such a need contained a huge blind spot: As long as the woman began the affair by acting as if she had been conquered, the man would fail to notice that as time passed the mistress had come to hold power over him, as Diane de Poitiers did over Henri.

It was Catherine’s strategy to turn this weakness to her advantage, using it as a way to conquer and control men.

All she had to do was unleash the loveliest women in the court, her “flying squadron,” on men whom she knew shared her husband’s vulnerability.

Remember: Always look for passions and obsessions that cannot be controlled. The stronger the passion, the more vulnerable the person.

This may seem surprising, for passionate people look strong.

In fact, however, they are simply filling the stage with their theatricality, distracting people from how weak and helpless they really are.

A man’s need to conquer women actually reveals a tremendous helplessness that has made suckers out of them for thousands of years.

Look at the part of a person that is most visible—their greed, their lust, their intense fear.

These are the emotions they cannot conceal, and over which they have the least control.

And what people cannot control, you can control for them.

THE BATTLE AT PHARSALIA

When the two armies [Julius Caesar’s and Pompey‘s] were come into Pharsalia, and both encamped there, Pompey’s thoughts ran the same way as they had done before, against fighting.... 

But those who were about him were greatly confident of success ...

...as if they had already conquered....

The cavalry especially were obstinate for fighting, being splendidly armed and bravely mounted, and valuing themselves upon the fine horses they kept, and upon their own handsome persons; as also upon the advantage of their numbers, for they were five thousand against one thousand of Caesar’s.

Nor were the numbers of the infantry less disproportionate, there being forty-five thousand of Pompey’s against twenty-two thousand of the enemy.

[The next day] whilst the infantry was thus sharply engaged in the main battle, on the flank Pompey’s horse rode up confidently, and opened [his cavalry’s] ranks very wide, that they might surround the right wing of Caesar.

But before they engaged, Caesar’s cohorts rushed out and attacked them, and did not dart their javelins at a distance, nor strike at the thighs and legs, as they usually did in close battle, but aimed at their faces.

For thus Caesar had instructed them, in hopes that young gentlemen, who had not known much of battles and wounds, but came wearing their hair long, in the flower of their age and height of their beauty, would be more apprehensive of such blows, and not care for hazarding both a danger at present and a blemish for the future.

And so it proved, for they were so far from bearing the stroke of the javelins, that they could not stand the sight of them, but turned about, and covered their faces to secure them.

Once in disorder, presently they turned about to fly; and so most shamefully ruined all.

For those who had beat them back at once outflanked the infantry, and falling on their rear, cut them to pieces.

Pompey, who commanded the other wing of the army, when he saw his cavalry thus broken and flying, was no longer himself, nor did he now remember that he was Pompey the Great, but, like one whom some god had deprived of his senses, retired to his tent without speaking a word, and there sat to expect the event, till the whole army was routed.

-THE LIFE OF JULIUS CAESAR. PLUIARCH, c. A.D. 46-120

Observance IV

Arabella Huntington, wife of the great late-nineteenth-century railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington, came from humble origins and always struggled for social recognition among her wealthy peers.

When she gave a party in her San Francisco mansion, few of the social elite would show up; most of them took her for a gold digger, not their kind.

Because of her husband’s fabulous wealth, art dealers courted her, but with such condescension they obviously saw her as an upstart.

Only one man of consequence treated her differently: the dealer Joseph Duveen.

For the first few years of Duveen’s relationship with Arabella, he made no effort to sell expensive art to her.

Instead he accompanied her to fine stores, chatted endlessly about queens and princesses he knew, on and on.

At last, she thought, a man who treated her as an equal, even a superior, in high society.

Meanwhile, if Duveen did not try to sell art to her, he did subtly educate her in his aesthetic ideas—namely, that the best art was the most expensive art.

And after Arabella had soaked up his way of seeing things, Duveen would act as if she always had exquisite taste, even though before she met him her aesthetics had been abysmal.

When Collis Huntington died, in 1900, Arabella came into a fortune.

She suddenly started to buy expensive paintings, by Rembrandt and Velázquez, for example—and only from Duveen.

Years later Duveen sold her Gainsborough’s Blue Boy for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at the time, an astounding purchase for a family that previously had shown little interest in collecting.

Interpretation

Joseph Duveen instantly understood Arabella Huntington and what made her tick: She wanted to feel important, at home in society.

Intensely insecure about her lower-class background, she needed confirmation of her new social status.

Duveen waited. Instead of rushing into trying to persuade her to collect art, he subtly went to work on her weaknesses.

He made her feel that she deserved his attention not because she was the wife of one of the wealthiest men in the world but because of her own special character—and this completely melted her.

Duveen never condescended to Arabella; rather than lecturing to her, he instilled his ideas in her indirectly.

The result was one of his best and most devoted clients, and also the sale of The Blue Boy.

People’s need for validation and recognition, their need to feel important, is the best kind of weakness to exploit.

First, it is almost universal; second, exploiting it is so very easy.

All you have to do is find ways to make people feel better about their taste, their social standing, their intelligence.

Once the fish are hooked, you can reel them in again and again, for years—you are filling a positive role, giving them what they cannot get on their own.

They may never suspect that you are turning them like a thumbscrew, and if they do they may not care, because you are making them feel better about themselves, and that is worth any price.

Observance V

In 1862 King William of Prussia named Otto von Bismarck premier and minister for foreign affairs.

Bismarck was known for his boldness, his ambition—and his interest in strengthening the military.

Since William was surrounded by liberals in his government and cabinet, politicians who already wanted to limit his powers, it was quite dangerous for him to put Bismarck in this sensitive position.

His wife, Queen Augusta, had tried to dissuade him, but although she usually got her way with him, this time William stuck to his guns.

Only a week after becoming prime minister, Bismarck made an impromptu speech to a few dozen ministers to convince them of the need to enlarge the army.

He ended by saying, “The great questions of the time will be decided, not by speeches and resolutions of majorities, but by iron and blood.”

His speech was immediately disseminated throughout Germany.

The queen screamed at her husband that Bismarck was a barbaric militarist who was out to usurp control of Prussia, and that William had to fire him.

The liberals in the government agreed with her.

The outcry was so vehement that William began to be afraid he would end up on a scaffold, like Louis XVI of France, if he kept Bismarck on as prime minister.

Bismarck knew he had to get to the king before it was too late.

He also knew he had blundered, and should have tempered his fiery words.

Yet as he contemplated his strategy, he decided not to apologize but to do the exact opposite.

Bismarck knew the king well.

When the two men met, William, predictably, had been worked into a tizzy by the queen.

He reiterated his fear of being guillotined.

But Bismarck only replied,

“Yes, then we shall be dead! We must die sooner or later, and could there be a more respectable way of dying? I should die fighting for the cause of my king and master. Your Majesty would die sealing with your own blood your royal rights granted by God’s grace. Whether upon the scaffold or upon the battlefield makes no difference to the glorious staking of body and life on behalf of rights granted by God’s grace!” 

On he went, appealing to William’s sense of honor and the majesty of his position as head of the army.

How could the king allow people to push him around?

Wasn’t the honor of Germany more important than quibbling over words?

Not only did the prime minister convince the king to stand up to both his wife and his parliament, he persuaded him to build up the army—Bismarck’s goal all along.

Interpretation

Bismarck knew the king felt bullied by those around him.

He knew that William had a military background and a deep sense of honor, and that he felt ashamed at his cravenness before his wife and his government.

William secretly yearned to be a great and mighty king, but he dared not express this ambition because he was afraid of ending up like Louis XVI.

Where a show of courage often conceals a man’s timidity, William’s timidity concealed his need to show courage and thump his chest.

Bismarck sensed the longing for glory beneath William’s pacifist front, so he played to the king’s insecurity about his manhood, finally pushing him into three wars and the creation of a German empire.

Timidity is a potent weakness to exploit. Timid souls often yearn to be their opposite—to be Napoleons. Yet they lack the inner strength.

You, in essence, can become their Napoleon, pushing them into bold actions that serve your needs while also making them dependent on you.

Remember: Look to the opposites and never take appearances at face value.

Image: The
Thumbscrew.
Your enemy
has secrets that
he guards, thinks
thoughts he will
not reveal. But
they come out in
ways he cannot
help. It is there some
where, a groove of
weakness on his head,
at his heart, over his
belly. Once you find the
groove, put your thumb in
it and turn him at will.

Authority: Find out each man’s thumbscrew.

’Tis the art of setting their wills in action. It needs more skill than resolution. You must know where to get at anyone. Every volition has a special motive which varies according to taste. All men are idolaters, some of fame, others of self-interest, most of pleasure. Skill consists in knowing these idols in order to bring them into play. Knowing any man’s mainspring of motive you have as it were the key to his will. 

(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

Playing on people’s weakness has one significant danger: You may stir up an action you cannot control.

In your games of power you always look several steps ahead and plan accordingly. And you exploit the fact that other people are more emotional and incapable of such foresight.

But when you play on their vulnerabilities, the areas over which they have least control, you can unleash emotions that will upset your plans. Push timid people into bold action and they may go too far; answer their need for attention or recognition and they may need more than you want to give them.

The helpless, childish element you are playing on can turn against you.

The more emotional the weakness, the greater the potential danger. Know the limits to this game, then, and never get carried away by your control over your victims. You are after power, not the thrill of control.

Conclusion

I just cannot help but wonder if the American neocons are playing President Biden using this Thumbscrew technique to force Biden to approve of outlandish military actions that run counter to his decades of behavior within the Untied States government. It’s something to ponder.

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The unmentioned looming fiasco in America; what happens when all the money is in the hands of those that inherited it

There is a lot of changes that are set in motion. Many long-overdue changes are coming to America, and those that have been doing quite well do not want change. They want to fight change, and they will go as far as to start a nuclear World War III to guarantee that their lives never change.

Here we are going to chat a little bit about the root, and the source of much of the problems in America today…

… the American system that permits people, and companies to become fantastically wealthy while all the time making everyone around them much poorer.

The American Promise

In America, the media narrative is that this is a good thing. A “lone wolf”, “hard working” person can “pull himself up by his bootstraps” and become successful. Look at Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. See! Normal people. Everyone can do it.

Ah. The American promise…

The American Reality

Nope.

That’s not how it works. Maybe it used to be that way some two hundred years ago, and maybe as recent as seventy five years ago. But today, it’s a hopeless proposition.  There are too many layers of government regulation. Too many powerful companies. The “little guy” has too many hurtles to overcome.

Leaving only the existing wealth structures in control and in power.

It’s the American reality.

The problem with America

This situation where only the wealthy have the vast bulk of the money has created far too many problems. And if left unchecked will generate many more to come. Including, eventually, the potential end of the world as we know it today.

For instance, to keep the people from rising up in revolution, you need [1] propaganda and [2] control of the media, you need [3] armed and strong militarized domestic police forces, you need [4] distractions which tend to mean [5] wars and chaos, and you need to [6] constantly decrease the standard of life of the rabble so that you can maintain your own power.

And isn’t that what we have been observing?

American income distribution

The chart of the income distribution for America today greatly resembles what it must have been in France before the French revolution, and in Russia before the Russian revolution.

The poor got much poorer.

The middle class disappeared.

The super-duper wealthy become stratospheric wealthy.

Which brings me to an article. It was written back in 2014, and back then the alarms were a ringing and the sirens were screaming, and the lights were flashing, but few paid attention…

The Rise of the Non-Working Rich

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

In a new Pew poll, more than three quarters of self-described conservatives believe…

 “poor people have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything.”

In reality, most of America’s poor work hard, often in two or more jobs.

The real non-workers are the wealthy who inherit their fortunes. And their ranks are growing.

In fact, we’re on the cusp of the largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history.

MM Comment

This was written in 2014. The cusp has passed and now America is at this state, firmly entrenched within this condition; firmly put in place. Rock solid and immovable.

The wealth is coming from those who over the last three decades earned huge amounts on Wall Street, in corporate boardrooms, or as high-tech entrepreneurs.

It’s going to their children, who did nothing except be born into the right family.

The “self-made” man or woman, the symbol of American meritocracy, is disappearing. Six of today’s ten wealthiest Americans are heirs to prominent fortunes. Just six Walmart heirs have more wealth than the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined (up from 30 percent in 2007).

The U.S. Trust bank just released a poll of Americans with more than $3 million of investable assets.

Nearly three-quarters of those over age 69, and 61 per cent of boomers (between the ages of 50 and 68), were the first in their generation to accumulate significant wealth.

But the bank found inherited wealth far more common among rich millennials under age 35.

This is the dynastic form of wealth French economist Thomas Piketty warns about. It’s been the major source of wealth in Europe for centuries. It’s about to become the major source in America – unless, that is, we do something about it.

As income from work has become more concentrated in America, the super rich have invested in businesses, real estate, art, and other assets. The income from these assets is now concentrating even faster than income from work.

In 1979, the richest 1 percent of households accounted for 17 percent of business income. By 2007 they were getting 43 percent. They were also taking in 75 percent of capital gains. Today, with the stock market significantly higher than where it was before the crash, the top is raking even more from their investments.

Both political parties have encouraged this great wealth transfer, as beneficiaries provide a growing share of campaign contributions.

MM Comment

The reader is asked to put a clothespin to their noses as some politics is bantered about. It's the same nauseatingly "Wonderful Democrats", and "terrible Republicans". Ugh.

Both are members of the Uni-party. They are identical.

But Republicans have been even more ardent than Democrats.

For example, family trusts used to be limited to about 90 years. Legal changes implemented under Ronald Reagan extended them in perpetuity. So-called “dynasty trusts” now allow super-rich families to pass on to their heirs money and property largely free from taxes, and to do so for generations.

George W. Bush’s biggest tax breaks helped high earners but they provided even more help to people living off accumulated wealth. While the top tax rate on income from work dropped from 39.6% to 35 percent, the top rate on dividends went from 39.6% (taxed as ordinary income) to 15 percent, and the estate tax was completely eliminated. (Conservatives called it the “death tax” even though it only applied to the richest two-tenths of one percent.)

Barack Obama rolled back some of these cuts, but many remain.

Before George W. Bush, the estate tax kicked in at $2 million of assets per couple, and then applied a 55 percent rate. Now it kicks in at $10 million per couple, with a 40 percent rate.

House Republicans want to go even further than Bush did.

Rep. Paul Ryan’s “road map,” which continues to be the bible of Republican economic policy, eliminates all taxes on interest, dividends, capital gains, and estates.

Yet the specter of an entire generation who do nothing for their money other than speed-dial their wealth management advisors isn’t particularly attractive.

It’s also dangerous to our democracy, as dynastic wealth inevitably accumulates political influence.

MM Comment

America is not a democracy. It is a military empire that is run by a global oligarchy.

What to do? First, restore the estate tax in full.

MM Comment

His solution; the same-old, same-old. More taxes. More regulation. Bigger government. 

Not what is needed; a complete structural overhaul on  the entire American government-society system.

Second, eliminate the “stepped-up-basis on death” rule. This obscure tax provision allows heirs to avoid paying capital gains taxes on the increased value of assets accumulated during the life of the deceased. Such untaxed gains account for more than half of the value of estates worth more than $100 million, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Third, institute a wealth tax. We already have an annual wealth tax on homes, the major asset of the middle class. It’s called the property tax. Why not a small annual tax on the value of stocks and bonds, the major assets of the wealthy?

MM Comment

All the solutions are the same-old, same-old. More taxes to go to government. Not any systematic changes to the entire way the system operates.

We don’t have to sit by and watch our “meritocracy” be replaced by a permanent aristocracy, and our democracy be undermined by dynastic wealth. We can and must take action – before it’s too late.

MM Comment

It is too late. America has a permanent aristocracy where the vast wealth is either concocted out of thin air, or by dynastic wealth.

But you know…

China is taking notes…

Let’s open up the dialog with this comment that I found in my e-mailbox…

In China, the CCP draw from the experience of the first 30 years of opening up, and [has] concluded that:

1) China endorsed the part of the free market logic that encourage individual innovation and that rewards hardwork.

2) However, China will not allow the ultimate outcome of a free market economy. As it is one where a handful of billionaires will eventually take control of the market, killing competition, and dictate the price and distribution chain of supply and demand. 

The world has been controlled by the Western set of rules for far too long. These rules were set up at the time they are working towards Western advantages. 

The collapse of the USSR and the drop in standard of living and life expectancy in Russia is widely studied in China and experienced is learned. 

Now, China will open up further to counter US strategy to form a war alliance against China.

Instead, China is strategically beginning a dual circle economy build on food security, financial security, economic security, and national security. As well as a discussion on the evil doing of privatized capital and western capital across the world. 

The CCP armed with Mao theories of how to run a country with serving the people as the party motto is far more down to earth than the capitalists who control western politicians. 

When Xi came to power, he openly pledged that the SOEs sector has to become larger, and stronger. 

In contemporaneous China, any large scale businesses are require to sell to the government 1% of their share. Now with this 1%, the government representatives will sit in a broad of director meeting, and have the power to stop any plan that threaten the security of any sector of the Chinese economy or society. 

Therefore, if it only involved expanding product ranges, improve services, opening a few more outlets, they are totally free to do so. 

... 

Cheers 

<redacted>

And perhaps that will give you all some perspective why America must DESTROY China, and why there is no-room for co-habitation. It’s all or nothing with America. For once the rest of the world sees that the American emperor has “no clothes”, the fall of the empire will only be minutes away.

All of this should be no surprise. Because…

America is an Oligarchy

Read about it here.

And it’s all pretty depressing. Anyways, I’m tossing this idea out to you all. That the idea of “what America stands for” is wealth accumulation by the super-rich, for themselves, and everyone else is just a herd animal to service them. Being so fantastically wealthy they not only own most of what you eat, use, and read, but they also control your government, and as a result you have zero influence on what your government is doing.

Pot-holes need fixing? No problem, your government is going to bomb the shit out of Yemen! Now, don’t you feel better?

Taxes too high? No problem, the government is going to reclassify the taxes in a fee, and then make it mandatory for you to pay that fee or else you will go to prison. There! Don’t you feel better?

Can’t find work? No problem. You can enlist in the military, get on welfare, or donate blood. The news says that the economy is roaring and that everything is just “hunky-dory”. So you must be lazy. Don’t you know!

Conclusion

This exhausts me. This situation is not sustainable. The question and the big unknown is when will it all fall down?

I have no answers.

I think that I need to go out, eat some fine delicious food, quaff some brews, and go a whoring. Life is too short not to have fun.

And that is my definitive opinion on this subject.

Do you want more?

I have more posts elsewhere. I don’t know what this will file under. But you can probably find others like it here…

The Oligarchy

.

And access to my Master Index

Master Index

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Articles & Links

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Dash and Grab, what is going on during the collapse of the United States

Yeah. So today I went and got myself a nice beer, as is my custom on my way to the house for lunch. It’s a nice day. The weather is warming up. Getting a little glare from the clouds and the “feeling” in the air is one of calmness. There was a gaggle of young girls near the elevator. All  in their lower to mid 20’s. Nice. Cute. Entry-level office workers.

Came home, and my damn dog decides to break the afternoon stillness by barking like a mad-dog.

He’s getting old and doggie dementia is kicking in. I had to go up to him let him smell my hand before I could calm him down. Ah. That’s life, you know. There’s always different folk on different wavelengths creating the canopy of life that we know and love.

The wife made me a Cobb Salad to have with my beer. It’s good stuff, I’ll tell you what.

Cobb salad.

Lately I have been a-wondering about what is “next”. You know, World War III, a new beginning, or something else. I have come to the conclusion that we have reached the point that I like to refer to as “The end of the beginning“.

Ah. Isn’t that the case.

It’s like this video (below).

As always, please click on the picture to have the video load and open up in a new window.

It’s not a dreary thing.

It’s a realization that things are changing, and yet the changes will continue.

My top running posts, by far, are my writings on SHTF. As has been the case for the last three months or so. People from all over the internet have been visiting my writings on these matters. They don’t post comments, but they read, stick around and then disappear. Like ghosts in the night. I don’t know who they are, or why they are reading about how to prepare for turmoil inside of America. But they do.

People are scared.

As uncomfortable as things are, they are not yet dire. There is this feeling like an axe is going to fall any day now, and it’s at all levels. It’s like the cats and dogs barking before an earthquake, or that bird migrate South before a disaster. Something is up, but no one can put their finger on it.

The “news” is following the direction that must have been set in place years earlier. It does not reflect this feeling; this situation, or this condition. Instead its the same old bullshit.

The same bullshit.

  • Accuse China of XXXX, and YYYY.
  • Don’t report on radical Marxist legislation or progressive issues, but they continue apace.
  • Harp on the Coronavirus.
  • Promote the super wealthy as if the debt-serfs give a fuck anymore.
  • New taxes on the horizon!
  • But NASA is developing new things!

Yeah. Different subjects, but the same tired old formula.

It’s the end of the beginning.

People know. They KNOW.

The world that we all used to live in, and the ideas and the beliefs that we all used to have are long gone. They are dead. Dead as in two day old fish dead. Dead like Fat Fredy’s Cat  sniffing a dead fish dead.

Fat Fredy’s cat

.

But why?

Why is the human species out in the West (not in China, nor Russia, nor Africa) feel this way?

Why?

Certainly there’s a lot of “chatter” on the social media. Today “Moon Over Alabama” and all sort of “armchair experts” talking and discussing the Tao inside of China and how that defines what China is today. LOL!

Fact of the matter.

Inside of China… no one talks about the Tao.

I do mean NO ONE.

Although Taoism is China's only indigenous religion, its sway now pales compared with its previous status. 

- Corespirit

That’s like assuming all Americans have daily discussions about the influences of President Taft on contemporaneous social media platforms. Especially what President Traft would have to say in regards to selfies on Tiktok, and shadow-blocking trolls.

So silly.

Seriously.

I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Perhaps it has something to do with how the West; the American run Western societies have evolved. And to which degree they sit as the world around them evolves in a different direction. Perhaps it is something much more fundamental to this degree…

The End of the Beginning

I believe that the big changes that all of us are due to experience have already been set in motion. And with this understanding comes the realization that “the stage is set”.

What is next…

Well it is the Start of the changes.

All that we have experienced so far is just the prep-work. And it’s all in place. Every single thing is where it needs to be for the big changes to take place.

What am I talking about?

I am talking about this….

This is a most excellent interview from the Greanville post. All credit to the authors. It was edited to fit this venue, but aside from that it is as intact as possible.

It deals with economics and finance and government systems. All stuff that I find boring. But this point of view is refreshing as it looks at what is going on and how the banking class is looking at profiting from the collapse. Yikes! What a great read!

Pepe: So, what’s going to happen in the, let’s say, short to mid-term in the U.S.? 

Michael, we are seeing the corrosion of the whole system, not only externally in terms of foreign policy and the end of the free lunch, but internally with those 70-million-plus “deplorables” being literally canceled from public debate, the impoverishment of the middle classes, with over 50 million people in America who are practically becoming literally poor. 

And obviously the American dream ended a few decades ago, maybe, but now there’s not even a glimpse of it, that there could be a renewal of the American dream. 

So we have a larval civil war situation, degrading on a daily basis. 

What’s the end game in fact? And what exactly does Wall Street, the American ruling class —the guys who have those lunches at the Harvard club — what do they ultimately want?

Michael: Well, what you call a disaster for the economy, isn’t it a bonanza for the 1 percent? 

This is a victory of finance. 

You look at it as a collapse of industrial capitalism. I look at it as the victory of rentier finance capitalism. 

You’re having probably 10 million Americans that are going to be thrown out of their apartments and their homes in June when the moratorium on rents and mortgages ends. 

You’re going to have a vast increase in the homeless population. 

That will probably represent an increase in people who use the subways. Where else are they going to live? 

And all of this, there’s an immense amount of private capital firms that have all been created in the last year of just wealth accumulations and they’re saying there are going to be such great opportunities to pick up real estate at bargain prices, all of this for the commercial real estate, that’s broken, all the buildings and the restaurants that have to be sold because they can’t meet their mortgage payments and their rents, all the houses that are going to be under, private capital can come in and do what was done after the Obama evictions.

We can do what Blackstone did. We can buy them all out for pennies on the dollar. So, for them, they’re looking at their own 20-year plan. And their 20-year plan is to grab everything!

Ouch.

Here’s the article…

Part one and part two. Bam! And Bam!

Pepe Escobar in conversation with Michael Hudson

At The Henry George School of Social Science

The United States is an object lesson for China on what to avoid, not only in industrializing the economy, but in creating a picture of the economy as if everybody earns everything and there’s no exploitation, no unearned income, nobody makes money in their sleep and there’s no 1 percent..."

Michael Hudson: Well, I’m honored to be here on the same show with Pepe and discuss our mutual concern. And I think you have to frame the whole issue that China is thriving, and the West has reached the end of the whole 75-year expansion it had since 1945.

So, there was an illusion that America is de-industrializing because of competition from China. And the reality is there is no way that America can re-industrialize and regain its export markets with the way that it’s organized today, financialized and privatized and if China didn’t exist. You’d still have the Rust Belt rusting out. You’d still have American industry not being able to compete abroad simply because the cost structure is so high in the United States.

 

The wealth is no longer made here by industrializing. It’s made financially, mainly by making capital gains. Rising prices for real estate or for stocks and for bonds.  In the last nine months, since the coronavirus came here, the top 1 percent of the U.S. economy grew by $1 trillion. It’s been a windfall for the 1 percent. The stock market is way up, the bond market is up, the real estate market is up while the rest of the economy is going down. Despite the tariffs that Trump put on, Chinese imports, trade with China is going up because we’re just not producing materials.

America doesn’t make its own shoes. It doesn’t make some nuts and bolts or fasteners, it doesn’t make industrial things anymore because if money is to be made off an industrial company it’s to buy and sell the company, not to make loans to increase the company’s production. New York City, where I live, used to be an industrial city and, the industrial buildings, the mercantile buildings have all been gentrified into high-priced real estate and the result is that Americans have to pay so much money on education, rent, medical care that if they got all of their physical needs, their food, their clothing, all the goods and services for nothing, they still couldn’t compete with foreign labor because of all of the costs that they have to pay that are essentially called rent-seeking.

Housing in the United States now absorbs about 40 percent of the average worker’s paycheck. There’s 15 percent taken off the top of paychecks for pensions, Social Security and for Medicare. Further medical insurance adds more to the paycheck, income taxes and sales taxes add about another 10 percent. Then you have student loans and bank debt. So basically, the American worker can only spend about one third of his or her income on buying the goods and services they produce. All the rest goes into the FIRE sector — the finance, insurance and real estate sector — and other monopolies.



And essentially, we became what’s called a rent-seeking economy, not a productive economy. So, when people in Washington talk about American capitalism versus Chinese socialism this is confusing the issue. What kind of capitalism are we talking about?

America used to have industrial capitalism in the 19th century. That’s how it got richer originally but now it’s moved away from industrial capitalism towards finance capitalism. And what that means is that essentially the mixed economy that made America rich — where the government would invest in education and infrastructure and transportation and provide these at low costs so that the employers didn’t have to pay labor to afford high costs — all of this has been transformed over the last hundred years.

And we’ve moved away from the whole ethic of what was industrial capitalism. Before, the idea of capitalism in the 19th century from Adam Smith to Ricardo, to John Stuart Mill to Marx was very clear and Marx stated it quite clearly; capitalism was revolutionary. It was to get rid of the landlord class. It was to get rid of the rentier class. It was to get rid of the banking class essentially, and just bear all the costs that were unnecessary for production, because how did England and America and Germany gain their markets?


“We’ve moved away from the whole ethic of what was industrial capitalism.”
They gained their markets basically by the government picking up a lot of the costs of the economy. The government in America provided low-cost education, not student debt. It provided transportation at subsidized prices. It provided basic infrastructure at low cost. And so, government infrastructure was considered a fourth factor of production.

And if you read what the business schools in the late 19th century taught like Simon Patten at the Wharton School, it’s very much like socialism. In fact, it’s very much like what China is doing. And in fact, China is following in the last 30 or 40 years pretty much the same way of getting rich that America followed.

It had its government fund basic infrastructure. It provides low-cost education. It invests in high-speed railroads and airports, in the building of cities. So, the government bears most of the costs and, that means that employers don’t have to pay workers enough to pay a student loan debt. They don’t have to pay workers enough to pay enormous rent such as you have in the United States.  They don’t have to pay workers to save for a pension fund, to pay the pension later on.  And most of all the Chinese economy doesn’t really have to pay a banking class because banking is the most important public utility of all.  Banking is what China has kept in the hands of government and Chinese banks don’t lend for the same reasons that American banks lend.

(When I said that China can pay lower wages than the U.S., what I meant was that China provides as public services many things that American workers have to pay out of their own pockets – such as health care, free education, subsidized education, and above all, much lower debt service.

When workers have to go into debt in order to live, they need much higher wages to keep solvent. When they have to pay for their own health insurance, they have to earn more. The same is true of education and student debt. So much of what Americans seem to be earning — more than workers in other countries — goes right through their hands to the FIRE sector. So, what seems to be “low wages” in China go a lot further than higher wages in the United States.)

Eighty percent of American bank loans are mortgage loans to real estate and the effect of loosening loan standards and increasing the market for real estate is to push up the cost of living, push up the cost of housing. So, Americans have to pay more and more money for their housing whether they’re renters or they’re buyers, in which case the rent is for paying mortgage interest.

So, all of this cost structure has been built into the economy. China’s been able pretty much, to avoid all of this, because its objective in banking is not to make a profit and interest, not to make capital gains and speculation. It creates money to fund actual means of production to build factories, to build research and development, to build transportation facilities, to build infrastructure. Banks in America don’t lend for that kind of thing.

“So, you have a diametric opposite philosophy of how to develop between the United States and China.”


They only lend against collateral that’s already in place because they won’t make a loan if it’s not backed by collateral. Well, China creates money through its public banks to create capital, to create the means of production. So, you have a diametric opposite philosophy of how to develop between the United States and China.

The United States has decided not to gain wealth by actually investing in means of production and producing goods and services, but in financial ways. China is gaining wealth the old-fashioned way, by producing it. And whether you call this, industrial capitalism or a state capitalism or a state socialism or Marxism, it basically follows the same logic of real economics, the real economy, not the financial overhead.  So, you have China operating as a real economy, increasing its production, becoming the workshop of the world as England used to be called and America trying to draw in foreign resources, live off of foreign resources, live by trying to make money by investing in the Chinese stock market or now, moving investment banks into China and making loans to China not actual industrial capitalism ways.


“China is gaining wealth the old-fashioned way, by producing it.”


So, you could say that America has gone beyond industrial capitalism, and they call it the post-industrial society, but you could call it the neo-feudal society. You could call it the neo-rentier society, or you could call it debt peonage but it’s not industrial capitalism.

And in that sense, there’s no rivalry between China and America. These are different systems going their own way and I better let Pepe pick it up from there.

Pepe Escobar: Okay. Thank you, Michael, this is brilliant. And you did it in less than 15 minutes. You told the whole story in 15 minutes. Well, my journalistic instinct is immediately to start questions to Michael. So, this is exactly what I’m gonna do now. I think it is much better to basically illustrate some points of what Michael just said, comparing the American system, which is finance capitalism essentially, with industrial capitalism that is in effect in China. Let me try to start with a very concrete and straight to the point question, Michael.

Okay. let’s says that more or less, if we want to summarize it, basically they try to tax the nonproductive rentier class. So, this would be the Chinese way to distribute wealth, right? Sifting through the Chinese economic literature, there is a very interesting concept, which is relatively new (correct me if I am wrong, Michael) in China, which they call stable investment. So stable investment, according to the Chinese would be to issue special bonds as extra capital in fact, to be invested in infrastructure building all across China, and they choose these projects in what they call weak areas and weak links. So probably in some of the inner provinces, or probably in some parts of Tibet or Xinjiang for instance. So, this is a way to invest in the real economy and in real government investment projects.

Right? So, my question in fact, is does this system create extra local debt, coming directly from this financing from Beijing? Is this a good recipe for sustainable development, the Chinese way and the recipe that they could expand to other parts of the Global South?

Michael: Well, this is a big problem that they’re discussing right now. The localities, especially rural China, (and China is still largely rural) only cover about half of their working budget from taxation. So, they have a problem. How are they going to get the balance of the money? Well, there is no official revenue sharing between the federal government and its state banks and the localities.

So, the localities can’t simply go to central government and say, give us more money. The government lets the localities be very independent. And it is sort of the “let a hundred flowers bloom” concept. And so, they’ve let each locality just go the long way, but the localities have run a big deficit.

What do they do?  Well in the United States they would issue bonds on which New York is about to default. But in China, the easiest way for the localities to make money, is unfortunately they will do something like Chicago did. They will sell their tax rights for the next 75 years for current money now.

So, a real estate developer will come in and say; look we will give you the next 75 years of tax on this land, because we want to build projects on this (a set of buildings). So, what this means is that now the cities have given away all their source of rent.

Let me show you the problem by what Indiana and Chicago did. Chicago also was very much like China’s countryside cities. So, it sold parking meters and its sidewalks to a whole series of Wall Street investors, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Fund for seventy-five years. And that meant that for 75 years, this Wall Street consortium got to control the parking meters.

So, they put up the parking meters all over Chicago, raised the price of parking, raised the cost of driving to Chicago. And if Chicago would have a parade and interrupt parking, then Chicago has to pay the Abu Dhabi fund and Wall Street company what it would have made anyway. And this became such an awful disaster that finally Wall Street had to reverse the deal and undo it because it was giving privatization a bad name here.  The same thing happened in Indiana.
Indiana was running a deficit and it decided to sell its roads to a Wall Street investment firm to make a toll road. The toll on the Indiana turnpike was so high that drivers began to take over the side roads. That’s the problem if you sell future tax revenues in advance.
Now what China and the localities there are discussing is that we’ve already given the real estate tax at very low estimates to the commercial developers, so what do we do? Well, I’ve given them my advice. I’m a professor of economics at the Peking University, School of Marxist studies and I’ve had discussions with the Central Committee. I also have an official position at Wuhan University. There, we’re discussing how China can put an added tax for all of the valuable land, that’s gone up. How can it be done to let the cities collect this tax? Our claim is that the cities, in selling these tax rights for 75 years, have sold what in Britain would be called ground rent (i.e. what’s paid to the landed aristocracy).
Over and above that there’s the market rent. So, China should pass a market-rent tax over and above the ground rent tax to reflect the current value. And there they’re thinking of, well, do we say that this is a capital gain on the land? Well, it’s not really a capital gain until you sell the land, but it’s value. It’s the valuation of the capital. And they’re looking at whether they should just say this is the market rent tax over and above the flat tax that has been paid in advance, or it’s a land tax on the capital gain for land.
Now, all of this requires that there be a land map of the whole country. And they are just beginning to create such a land map as a basis for how you calculate how much the rent there is.
What I found in China is something very strange. A few years ago, in Beijing, they had the first, International Marxist conference where I was the main speaker and I was talking about Marx’s discussion of the history of rent theory in Volume II and Volume III of Capital where Marx discusses all of the classical economics that led up to his view; Adam Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, John Stuart Mill, and Marx’s theory of surplus value was really the first history of economic thought that was written, although it wasn’t published until after he died. Well, you could see that there was a little bit of discomfort with some of the Marxists at the conference. And so, they invited for the next time my colleague David Harvey to come and talk about Marxism in the West.

Well, David gave both the leading and the closing speech of the conference and said, you’ve got to go beyond volume I of Capital. Volume I was what Marx wrote as his addition to classical economics, saying that there was exploitation in industrial employment of labor as well as rent seeking and then he said, now that I’ve done my introduction here, let me talk about how capitalism works in Volumes II and III. Volumes II and III are all about rent and finance and David Harvey has published a book on Volume III of Capital and his message to Peking University and the second Marxist conference was – you’ve got to read Volume II, and III.


Well, you can see that, there’s a discussion now over what is Marxism and a friend and colleague at PKU said Marxism is a Chinese word; It’s the Chinese word for politics. That made everything clear to me. Now I get it!  I’ve been asked by the Academy of Social Sciences in China to create a syllabus of the history of rent theory and value theory. And essentially in order to have an idea of how you calculate rent, how do you make a national income analysis where you show rent, you have to have a theory of value and price and rent is the excess of price over the actual cost value. Well, for that you need a concept of cost of production and that’s what classical economics is all about. Post-classical economics denied all of this. The whole idea of classical economics is that not all income is earned.
Landlords don’t earn their income for making rent in their sleep as John Stuart Mill said. Banks don’t earn their income by just sitting there and letting debts accrue and interest compounding and doubling. The classical economists separated actual unearned income from the production and consumption economy.
Well, around the late 19th century in America, you had economists fighting against not only Marx, but also even against Henry George, who at that time, was urging a land tax in New York. And so, at Columbia University, John Bates Clark developed a whole theory that everybody earns whatever they can get. That there was no such thing as unearned income and that has become the basis for American national income statistics and thought ever since. So, if you look at today’s GDP figures for the United States, they have a figure for 8 percent of the GDP for the homeowners’ rent. But homeowners wouldn’t pay themselves if they had to rent the apartment to themselves, then you’ll have interest at about 12 percent of GDP.
And I thought, well how can interest be so steady? What happens to all of the late fees; that 29 percent that credit card companies charge? I called up the national income people in Washington, when I was there. And they said well, late fees and penalties are considered financial services.
And so, this is what you call a service economy. Well, there’s no service in charging a late fee, but they add all of the late fees. When people can’t pay their debts and they owe more and more, all of that is considered an addition to GDP. When housing becomes more expensive and prices American labor out of the market, that’s called an increase in GDP.

This is not how a country that wants to develop is going to create a national income account. So, there’s a long discussion in China about, just to answer your question, how do you create an account to distinguish between what’s the necessary cost to production and what’s an unnecessary production cost and how do we avoid doing what the United States did. So again, no rivalry. The United States is an object lesson for China on what to avoid, not only in industrializing the economy, but in creating a picture of the economy as if everybody earns everything and there’s no exploitation, no unearned income, nobody makes money in their sleep and there’s no 1 percent. Well, that’s what’s really at issue and why the whole world is splitting apart as you and I are discussing in what we’re writing.

“When people can’t pay their debts and they owe more and more, all of that is considered an addition to GDP.”


Pepe: Thank you, Michael. Thank you very much. So just to sum it all up, can we say that Beijing’s strategy is to save especially provincial areas from leasing their land, their infrastructure for 60 years or 75 years?  As you just mentioned, can we say that the fulcrum of their national strategy is what you define as the market rent tax? Is this the No. 1 mechanism that they are developing?

Michael: Ideally, they want to keep rents as low as possible because rent is a cost of living and a cost of doing business. They don’t have banks that are lending to inflate the real estate market.

However, in almost every Western country — the U.S., Germany England — the value of stocks and bonds and the value of real estate is just about exactly the same. But for China, the value of real estate is way, way larger than the value of stocks.

And the reason is not because the Chinese Central bank, the Bank of China lends for real estate; it’s because they lend to intermediaries and the intermediaries have financed a lot of housing purchases in China. And, this is really the problem for if they levy a land tax, then you’re going to make a lot of these financial intermediaries go bust.

That’s what I’m advocating, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. These financial intermediaries shouldn’t exist, and this same issue came up in 2009 in the United States. You had the leading American bank being the most crooked and internally corrupt bank in the country, Citibank making junk mortgage, and it was broke.

 

Its entire net worth was wiped out as a result of its fraudulent junk mortgages. Well, Sheila Bair, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) wanted to close it down and take it over. Essentially that would have made it into a public bank and that would be a wonderful thing. She said, look Citibank shouldn’t be doing what it’s doing. And she wrote all this up in an autobiography. And, she was overruled by President Obama and Tim Geithner saying, but wait a minute, those are our campaign contributors. So, they were loyal to the campaign contributors, but not the voters; and they didn’t close Citibank down.

And the result is that the Federal Reserve ended up creating about $7 trillion of quantitative easing to bail out the banks. The homeowners weren’t bailed out.  Ten million American families lost their homes as a result of junk mortgages in excess of what the property was actually worth.

All of this was left on the books, foreclosed and sold to private capital companies like Blackstone. And the result is that home ownership in America declined from 68 percent of the population down to about 61 percent. Well, right where the Obama administration left off, you’re about to have the Biden administration begin in January with an estimated 5 million Americans losing their homes. They’re going to be evicted because they’ve been unemployed during the pandemic. They’ve been working in restaurants or gyms or other industries that have been shut down because of the pandemic. They’re going to be evicted and many homeowners, low-income homeowners have been unable to pay their mortgages.

There’s going to be a wave of foreclosures. The question is, who’s going to bear the cost? Should it be 15 million American families who lose their homes just so the banks won’t lose money? Or should we let the banks that have made all of the growth since 2008? Ninety five percent of American GDP of the population has seen its wealth go down. All the wealth has been accumulating for the 5 percent in statistics. Now the question is should this 5 percent that’s got all the wealth lose or should the 95 percent lose?
The Biden administration says the 95 percent should lose basically. And you’re going to see a wave of closures so that the question in China should be that, these intermediate banks (they’re not really banks they are sort of like payday loan lenders), should they come in and, bear the loss or should Chinese localities and the people bear the loss?  Somebody has to lose when you’re charging, you’re collecting the land’s rent that was paid to the creditors, and either the creditors have to lose or, the tax collector loses and that’s the conflict that exists in every society of the world today.   And, in the West, the idea is the tax collectors should lose and whatever the tax collector relinquishes should be free for the banks to collect. In China obviously, they don’t want that to happen and they don’t want to see a financial class developing along US lines.

Pepe: Michael, there’s a quick question in all this, which is the official position by Beijing in terms of helping the localities. Their official position is that there won’t be any bailouts of local debt. How do they plan to do that?

Michael: What they’re discussing, how are you not going to do it? They think they sort of let localities go their own way. And they think, well you know which ones are going to succeed, and which ones aren’t, they didn’t want to have a one-size-fits all central planning. They wanted to have flexibility. Well, now they have flexibility. And when you have many different “let a hundred flowers bloom,” not all the flowers are going to bloom at the same rate.

And the question is, if they don’t bail out the cities, how are the cities going to operate? Certainly, China has never let markets steer the economy, the government steers the markets. That’s what socialism is as opposed to finance capitalism. So, the question is, you can let localities go broke and yet you’re not going to destroy any of the physical assets of the localities, and all of this is going to be in place. The question is how are you going to arrange the flow of income to all of these roads and buildings and land that’s in place? How do you create a system?  Essentially, they’re saying well, if we’re industrial engineers, how do we just plan things? Forget credit, forget property claims, forget the rentier claims. How are we just going to design an economy that operates most efficiently? And that’s what they’re working on now to resolve this situation because it’s gotten fairly critical.

Pepe: Yes, especially in the countryside. Well, I think, a very good metaphor in terms of comparing both systems are investment in infrastructure. You travel to China a lot so, you’ve seen. You’ll travel through high-speed rail. You’ll see those fantastic airports, in Pudong or the new airport in Beijing. And then you’ll take the Acela to go from Washington to New York City, which is something that I used to do years ago. And the comparison is striking. Isn’t it?

Or if you go to France, for instance, when France started development of the TGV, which in terms of a national infrastructure network, is one of the best networks on the planet. And the French started doing this 30 years ago, even more. Is there…it’s not in terms of way out, but if we analyze the minutia, it’s obvious that following the American finance utilization system, we could never have something remotely similar happening in United States in terms of building infrastructure.
So, do you see any realistic bypass mechanism in terms of improving American infrastructure, especially in the big cities?

Michael: No, and there are two reasons for that. No. 1, let’s take a look at the long-term railroads. The railroads go through the center of town or even in the countryside, all along the railroads, the railroads brought business and all the businesses had been located as close to the railroad tracks as they could.

Factories with sightings off the railroad, hotels and especially right through the middle of town where you have the railway gates going up and down. In order to make a high-speed rail as in China, you need a dedicated roadway without trucks and cars, imagine a car going through a railway gate at 350 miles an hour.

So, when I would go from Beijing to Tianjin, here’s the high-speed rail, there’s one highway on one side, one highway on the other side. There’ll be underpasses. But there it goes straight now. How can you suppose you would have a straight Acela line from Washington up to Boston when all along the line, there’s all this real estate right along the line that has been built up? There’s no way you can get a dedicated roadway without having to tear down all of this real estate that’s on either side and the cost of making the current owners whole would be prohibitive. And anywhere you would go, that’s not in the center of the city, you would also have to have the problem that there’s already private property there.

And there’s no legal, constitutional way for such a physical investment to be made. China was able to make this investment because it was still largely rural. It wasn’t as built up along the railways. It didn’t have any particular area that was built up right where the railroad already was.

So certainly, any high-speed rail could not go where the current railways would be, and they’d have to go on somebody’s land. And, there’s also, what do you do if you want to get to New York and Long Island from New Jersey?

Sixty years ago, when I went into Wall Street, the cost of getting and transporting goods from California to Newark, New Jersey, was as large as from Newark right across the Hudson River to New York, not only because of the mafia and control of the local labor unions, but because of the tunnels. Right now, the tunnels from New Jersey to New York are broke, they are leaking, the subways in New York City, which continually break down because there was a hurricane a few years ago and the switches were made in the 1940s. The switches are 80 years old. They had water damage and the trains have to go at a crawl. But the city and state, because it is not collecting the real estate tax and other taxes and because ridership fell on the subways to about 20 percent, the city’s broke. They’re talking about 70 percent of city services being cut back. They’re talking about cutting back the subways to 40 percent capacity, meaning everybody will have to get in — when there’s still a virus and not many people are wearing masks, and there was no means of enforcing masks here.

 

So, there’s no way that you can rebuild the infrastructure because, for one thing the banking system here has subsidized for a hundred years junk economics saying you have to balance the budget. If the government creates credit it’s inflationary as if when banks create credit, it’s not inflationary. Well, the monetary effect is the same, no matter who creates the money. And so, Biden has already said that President Trump ran a big deficit, we’re going to run a bunch of surpluses or a budget balance. And he was advocating that all along. Essentially Biden is saying we have to increase unemployment by 20 percent, lower wages by 20 percent, shrink the economy by about 10 percent in order to, in order for the banks not to lose money.


“You’re going to price the American economy even further out of business because they say that public investment is socialism.”


And, we’re going to privatize but we are going to do it by selling the hospitals, the schools, the parks, the transportation to finance, to Wall Street finance capital groups. And so, you can imagine what’s going to happen if the Wall Street groups buy the infrastructure. They’ll do what happened to Chicago when it sold all the parking meters, they’ll say, OK, instead of 25 cents an hour, it’s now charged $3 an hour. Instead of a $2 for the subway, let’s make it $8.

You’re going to price the American economy even further out of business because they say that public investment is socialism. Well, it’s not socialism. It’s industrial capitalism. It’s industrialization, that’s basic economics. The idea of what, and how an economy works is so twisted academically that it’s the antithesis of what Adam Smith, John Stewart Mill and Marx all talked about. For them a free- market economy was an economy free of rentiers. Free of rent, it didn’t have any rent seeking. But now for the Americans, a free-market economy is free for the rentiers, free for the landlord, free for the banks to make a killing. And that is basically the class war back in business with a vengeance. That blocks and is preventing any kind infrastructure recovery. I don’t see how it can possibly take place.

Pepe: Well, based on what you just described, there is a process of turning the United States into a giant Brazil. In fact, this is what the Brazilian Finance Minister Paulo Guedes, a Pinochetista, as you know Michael, has been doing with the Brazilian economy for the past two years, privatizing everything and selling everything to big Brazilian interests and with lots of Wall Street interests involved as well. So, this is a recipe that goes all across the Global South as well. And it’s fully copied all across the Global South with no way out now.

 Michael: Yes, and this is promoted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. And when I was brought down to Brazil to meet with the council of economic advisers under Lula, [Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil], they said, well the whole problem is that Lula’s been obliged to let the banks do the planning.

So, basically free markets and libertarianism is adopting central planning, but with central planning by the banks. America is a much more centrally planned economy than China. China is letting a hundred flowers bloom; America has concentrated the planning and the resource allocation in Wall Street. And that’s the central planning that is much more corrosive than any government planning, could be. Now the irony is that China’s sending its students to America to study economics. And, most of the Chinese I had talked to say, well we went to America to take economics courses because that gives us a prestige here in China.

I’m working now, with Chinese groups trying to develop a “reality economics” to be taught in China as different from American economics.

“America has concentrated the planning and the resource allocation in Wall Street. And that’s the central planning that is much more corrosive than any government planning, could be.”

 

Pepe: Exactly, because of what they study at Beijing University, Renmin or Tsinghua is not exactly what they would study in big American universities. Probably what they study in the U.S. is what not to do in China. When they go back to China, what they won’t be doing. It’s an object lesson for what to avoid.

Michael, I’d like to go back to what the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] had been discussing in the 2000s when Lula was still president of Brazil and many of his ideas deeply impressed, especially Hu Jintao at the time, which is bypassing the U.S. dollar. Well, at the moment obviously we’re still at 87 percent of international transactions still in U.S. dollars. So, we are very far away from it, but if you have a truly sovereign economy, which is the case of China, which we can say is the case of Russia to a certain extent and obviously in a completely different framework, Iran. Iran is a completely sovereign, independent economy from the West. The only way to try to develop different mechanisms to not fall into the rentier mind space would be to bypass the U.S. dollar.

Michael: Yes, for many reasons. For one thing the United States can simply print the dollars and lend to other countries and then say, now you have to pay us interest. Well, Russia doesn’t need American dollars. It can print its own rubles to provide labor. There’s no need for a foreign currency at all for domestic spending, the only reason you would have to borrow a foreign currency is to balance your exchange rate, or to finance a trade deficit. But China doesn’t have a trade deficit. And in fact, if China were to work to accept more dollars, Americans would love to buy into the Chinese market and make a profit there, but that would push up China’s exchange rate and that would make it more difficult for her to make its exports because the exchange rate would come up not because it’s exporting more but because it’s letting American dollars come in and push it up.

Well, fortunately, President Trump as if he works for the Chinese National Committee, said, look, we don’t want to really hurt China by pushing up its currency and we want to keep it competitive. So, I’m going to prevent American companies from lending money to China, I’m going to isolate it and so he’s helping them protect their economy. And in Russia he said, look Russia really needs to feed itself. And, there’s a real danger that when the Democrats come in, there are a lot of anti-Russians in the Biden administration. They may go to war. They may do to Russia what they tried to do to China in the ‘50s. Stop exporting food and grain. And only Canada was able to break the embargo. So, we’re going to impose sanctions on Russia. So immediately, what happened is Russia very quickly became the largest grain exporter in the world. And instead of importing cheese from the Baltics, it created its own cheese industry. So, Trump said look, I know that Russians followed the American idea of not having protective tariffs, they need protective tariffs. They’re not doing it. We’re going to help them out by just not importing from them and really helping them.

Pepe: Yeah. Michael, what do you think Black Rock wants from the Chinese? You know that they are making a few inroads at the highest levels? Of course, I’m sure you’re aware of that. And also, JP Morgan, Citibank, etc. What do they really want?

Michael: They’d like to be able to create dollars to begin to buy and make loans to real estate; let companies grow, let the real estate market grow and make capital gains.

The way people get wealthy today isn’t by making an income, it’s been by making a capital gain. Total returns are current income plus the capital gains. As for capital gains each year; the land value gains alone are larger than the whole GDP growth from year to year. So that’s where the money is, that’s where the wealth is. So, they are after speculative capital gains, they would like to push money into the Chinese stock market and real estate market. See the prices go up and then inflate the prices by buying in and then sell out at the high price. Pull the money out, get a capital gain and let the economy crash, I mean that’s the business plan.

Pepe: Exactly. But Beijing will never allow that.

Michael: Well, here’s the problem right now, they know that Biden is pushing militarily aggressive people in his cabinet. There’s one kind of overhead that China is really trying to avoid and that’s the military overhead because if you spend money on the military, you can’t spend it on the real economy. They’re very worried about the military and they say, how do we deter the Biden administration from actually trying a military adventure in the South China Sea or elsewhere? They said well, fortunately America is multi-layered. They don’t think of America as a group. They realize there’s a layer and they say, who’s going to represent our interests?

“There’s one kind of overhead that China is really trying to avoid and that’s the military overhead because if you spend money on the military, you can’t spend it on the real economy.”

Well, Blackstone and Wall Street are going to represent their interests. Then I think one of the Chinese officials last week gave a big speech on this very thing, saying look, our best hope in stopping America’s military adventurism in China is to have Wall Street acting as our support because after all, Wall Street is the main campaign contributor and the president works for the campaign contributors.

The politician works for the campaign contributors. They’re in it for the money! So fortunately, we have Wall Street on our side, we’ve got control of the political system and they’re not there to go to war so that helps explain why a month ago they let wholly-owned U.S. banks and bankers in. On the one hand, they don’t like the idea of somebody outside the government creating credit for reasons that the economy doesn’t need. If they needed it, the Bank of China would do it. They have no need for foreign currency to come in to make loans in domestic currency, out of China.

The only reason that they could do it is No. 1, it helps meet the World Trade Organization’s principles and, No. 2, especially during this formative few months of the Biden administration, it helps to have Wall Street saying; we can make a fortune in China, go easy on them and that essentially counters the military hawks in Washington.

Pepe: So, do you foresee a scenario when Black Rock starts wreaking havoc in the Shanghai stock exchange for instance?

Michael: It would love to do that. It would love to move things up and down. The money’s made by companies with the stock market going up and down; the zigzag. So of course, it wants to do a predatory zigzag. The question is whether China will impose a tax to stop this, all sorts of financial transactions. That’s what’s under discussion now. They know exactly what Black Rock wants to do because they have some very savvy billionaire Chinese advisers that are quite good. I can tell you stories, but I better not.

Pepe: Okay. If it’s not okay to tell it all, tell us part of the story then.

Michael: The American banks have been cultivating leading Chinese people by providing them enough money to make money here, that they think that, okay they will now try to make money in the same way in China and we can join in. It’s a conflict of systems again, between the finance capital system and industrial socialism. You don’t get any of this discussion in the U.S. press, which is why I read what you write because in the U.S. press, the neocons talk about the fake idea of Greek history and fake idea of the Thucydides’ problem of a country jealous of another country’s development.

There’s no jealousy between America and China. They’re different, they have their own way. We are going to destroy them. And if you look at the analogy that the Americans draw —and this is how the Pentagon thinks — with the war between Athens and Sparta. It’s hard to tell, which is which. Here you have Athens, a democracy backing other democracies and having the military support of the democracies and the military in these democracies all had to pay Athens protection money for the military support and that’s the money that Athens got to ostensibly support its navy and protection that built up all of the Athenian public buildings and everything else. So, that’s a democracy exploiting its allies, to enrich itself via the military. Then you have Sparta, which was funding all of the oligarchies, and it was helping the oligarchies overthrow democracies. Well, that was America too. So, America is both sides of the Thucydides war if the democracy is exploiting the fellow democracies and is the supporter of oligarchies in Brazil, Latin America, Africa and everyone else.

So, you could say the Thucydides problem was between two sides, two aspects of America and has nothing to do with China at all except, for the fact that the whole war was a war between economic systems. They’re acting as if somehow if only China did not export to us, we could be re-industrialized and somehow export to Europe and the Third World.

And as you and I have described, it’s over. We painted ourselves into such a debt corner that without writing down the debts, we’re in the same position that the Eurozone is in. There’s so much money that goes to the creditors to the top 1 percent or 5 percent that there is no money for capital investment, there is no money for growth. And, since 1980 as you know, real wages in America have been stable. All the growth has been in property owners and predators and the FIRE sector, the rest of the economy is in stagnation. And now the coronavirus has simply acted as a catalyst to make it very clear that the game is over; it’s time to move away from the homeowner economy to rentier economy, time for Blackstone to be the landlord. America wants to recreate the British landlord class and essentially what we’re seeing now is like the Norman invasion of England taking over the land and the infrastructure. That’s what Blackstone would love to do in China.
“There’s so much money that goes to the creditors to the top 1 percent or 5 percent that there is no money for capital investment, there is no money for growth.”
Pepe: Wow. I’m afraid that they may have a lot of leeway by some members of the Beijing leadership now, because as you know very well, it’s not a consensus in the political arena.
Michael: We’re talking about Volume II and III of Capital.
Pepe: Exactly. But you know, you were talking about debt. Coming back to that, in fact I just checked this morning, apparently global debt as it stands today is $277 trillion, which is something like 365 percent of global GDP. What does that mean in practice?
Michael: Yeah, well fortunately this is discussed in the 19th century and there was a word for that — fictitious capital — it’s a debt that can’t be paid, but you’ll keep it on the books anyway. And every country has this. You could say the question now, and The Financial Times just had an article a few days ago that China’s claims on Third World countries on the Belt and Road Initiative is fictitious capital, because how can it collect?

Well, China’s already thought of that. It doesn’t want money. It wants the raw materials. It wants to be paid in real things. But a debt that can’t be paid, can only be paid either by foreclosing on the debtors or by writing down the debts and obviously a debt that can’t be paid won’t be paid.

“Fictitious capital — it’s a debt that can’t be paid, but you’ll keep it on the books anyway. And every country has this.”

 

And so, you have not only Marx using the word fictitious capital. At the other end of the spectrum, you had Henry George talking about fictive capital. In other words, these are property claims that have no real capital behind them. There’s no capital that makes profit. That’s just a property claim for payment or a rentier claim for payment.

So, the question is, can you make money somehow without having any production at all, without having wages, without having profits, without any capital? Can you just have asset grabbing and buying-and-selling assets? And as long as you have the Federal Reserve in America, come in, Trump’s $10 trillion Covid program gave $2 trillion to the population at large with these $1,200 checks, that my wife and I got, and $8 trillion all just to buy stocks and bonds. None of this was to build infrastructure. None of this $8 trillion was to build a single factory. None of this 8 trillion was to employ a single worker. It was all just to support the prices of stocks and bonds, and to keep the illusion that the economy had not stopped growing. Well, it’s growing for the 5 percent. So, it’s all become fictitious. And if you look at the GDP as I said, it’s fictitious.

Pepe: And the most extraordinary thing is none of that is discussed in American media. There’s not a single word about what you would have been describing.

Michael: It’s not even discussed in academia. Our graduates at the university of Missouri at Kansas City, we’re all trained in Modern Monetary Theory. And as hired professors they have to be able to publish in the refereed journals and the refereed journals are all essentially controlled by the Chicago School. So, you have a censorship of the kind of ideas that we’re talking about. You can’t get it into the economic journals, so you can’t get it into the economics curriculum. So, where on earth are you going to get it? If you didn’t have the internet you wouldn’t be discussing at all. Most of my books sell mainly in China, more than in all the other countries put together so I can discuss these things there. I stopped publishing in orthodox journals so many years ago because it’s talking to the deaf.

“None of this $8 trillion was to build a single factory, employee, a single worker.” 

 

Pepe: Absolutely. Yeah. Can I ask you a question about Russia, Michael? There is a raging debate in Russia for many years now between let’s say the Eurasianists and the Atlanticists. It involves of course, economic policy under Putin, industrial capitalism Russian style. The Eurasianists basically say that the central problem with Russia is how the Russian central bank is basically affiliated with all the mechanisms that you know so well, that it is an Atlanticist Trojan Horse inside the Russian economy. How do you see it?

Michael: Russia was brainwashed by the West when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. First of all, the IMF announced in advance that there was a big meeting in Houston with the IMF and the World Bank. And the IMF published all of its reports saying, first you don’t want inflation in Russia so let’s wipe out all of the Russian savings with hyperinflation, which they did. They then said, well now to cure the hyperinflation the Russian central bank needs a stable currency and you need a backup for the currency. You will need to back it with U.S. dollars.

“Russia was brainwashed by the West when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991.”

So, from the early 1990s, as you know, labor was going unpaid. The Russian central bank could have created the rubles to pay the domestic labor and to keep the factories in place. But, the IMF advisers from Harvard said, no you’ll have to borrow U.S. dollars. I met with people from the Hermitage Fund and the Renaissance Fund and others. We had meetings and I met with the investors. Russia was paying 100 percent interest for years to leading American financial institutions for money that it didn’t need and could have created itself. Russia was so dispirited with Stalinism that, essentially, it thought the opposite of Stalinism must be what they have in America.

“…to destroy a country, you don’t need an army anymore. All you have to do is teach it American economics.”

They thought that America was going to tell it how America got rich, but America didn’t want to tell Russia how it got rich, but instead wanted to make money off Russia. They didn’t get it. They trusted the Americans. They really didn’t understand that, industrial capitalism that Marx described had metamorphosized into finance capitalism and was completely different.

And that’s because Russia didn’t charge rent, it didn’t charge interest. I gave three speeches before the Duma, urging it to impose a land tax. Some of the people I noticed, Ed Dodson was there with us and we were all trying to convince Russia, don’t let this land be privatized. If you let it be privatized, then you’re going to have such high rents and housing costs in Russia that you’re not going to be able to essentially compete for an industrial growth. Well, the politician who brought us there, Viatcheslav Zolensky was sort of maneuvered out of the election by the American advisers.

The Americans put billions of dollars into essentially financing American propagandists to destroy Russia, mainly from the Harvard Institute of International Development. And essentially, they were a bunch of gangsters and the prosecutors in Boston were about to prosecute them.

The attorney general of Boston was going to bring a big case for Harvard against the looting of Russia and the corruption of Russia. And I was asked to organize and to bring a number of Russian politicians and industrialists over to say how this destroyed everything. Well, Harvard settled out of court and essentially that made the perpetrators the leading university people up there. (I’m associated with Harvard Anthropology Department, not the Economics Department.)
So, we never had a chance to bring my witnesses, and have our report on what happened, but I published for the Russian Academy of Sciences a long study of how all of this destruction of Russia was laid out in advance at the Houston meetings by the IMF. America went to the leading bureaucrats and said; look, we can make you rich why don’t you register the factories in your own name, and if you’re registered in your own name, you know, then you’ll own it. And then you can cash out. You can essentially sell, but obviously you can’t sell to the Russians because the IMF has just wiped out all of their savings.
You can only cash out by selling to the West. And so, the Russian stock market became the leading stock market in the world from 1994 with the Norilsk Nickel and the seven bankers in the bank loans for shares deal through 1997. And, I had worked for a firm Scutter Stevens and, the head adviser, a former student of mine didn’t want to invest in Russia because she said, this is just a rip off, it’s going to crash. She was fired for not investing. They said look, we know that’s going to crash. That’s the whole idea, it’s going to crash. We can make a mint off it before the crash. And then when it crashes, we can make another mint by selling short and then all over again. Well, the problem is that the system that was put in with the privatization that’s occurred, how do you have Russia’s wealth used to develop its own industry and its own economy like China was doing. Well, China has rules for all of this, but Russia doesn’t have rules, it’s really all centralized, it’s President Putin that keeps it this way.
Well, this was the great fear of the West. When you had Mikhail Gorbachev beginning to plan to do pretty much what is done today, to restrain private capital, the IMF said hold off. We’re not going to make any loans to stabilize the Russian currency until you remove Mr. Primakov.
The U.S. said we won’t deal with Russia until you remove him. So, he was pushed out and he was probably the smartest guy at the time there. So, they thought [President Vladimir] Putin was going to be sort of the patsy. And he almost single-handedly, holding the oligarchs in and saying, look, you can keep your money as long as you do exactly what the government would do. You can keep the gains as long as you’re serving the public interest.
But none of this resulted into a legal system, a tax system, and a system where the government actually does get most of the benefits. Russia could have emerged in 1990 as one the most competitive economies in Eurasia by giving all of the houses to its people instead of giving Norilsk Nickel and the oil companies to Yukos. It could have given everybody their own house and their own apartment, the same thing in the Baltics. And instead it didn’t give the land out to the people. And Russians were paying 3 percent of their income for housing in 1990. And rent is the largest element in every household’s budget.
“Russia could have emerged in 1990 as one the most competitive economies in Eurasia by giving all of the houses to its people.”
So, Russia could have had low-price labor. It could have financed all of its capital investment for the government by taxing, collecting the rising rental value. Instead, Russian real estate was privatized on credit and it was even worse in the Baltics.
In Latvia, where I was research director for the Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia borrowed primarily from Swedish banks. And so, in order to buy a house, you had to borrow from Swedish banks. And they said, well, we’re not going to lend in the Latvian currency because it can go down. So, you have a choice; Swiss Francs or German Marks or U.S. Dollars. And so, all of this rent was paid in foreign currency. There came an outflow that essentially drained all the Baltic economies. Latvia lost 20 percent of its population. Estonia and Lithuania followed suit.
And of course, the worst hit by neo-liberalism was Russia. As you know, President Putin said that neo-liberalism cost Russia more of its population than World War II. And you know that to destroy a country, you don’t need an army anymore. All you have to do is teach it American economics.
Pepe: Yes, I remember well, I arrived in Russia in the winter of 91 coming from China. So, I transited from the Chinese miracle. In fact, a few days after Deng Xiaoping’s famous Southern tour when he went to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.  And that was the kick for the 1990s boom, in fact a few years before the handover, and then I took the Trans-Siberian and I arrived in Moscow a few days after the end, in fact, a few weeks after the end of the Soviet Union.

But yeah, I remember the Americans arrived almost at the exact minute, wasn’t it, Michael? I think they already were there in the spring of 1992. If I’m not mistaken.

Michael:  The Houston meeting was in 1990.  But all before that already in, 1988 and 1989, there was a huge outflow of embezzlement money via Latvia. The assistant dean of the university who ended up creating Nordex, essentially the money was all flying out because Ventspils in Latvia, was where Russian oil was exported and it was all fake invoicing. So, the Russian kleptocrats basically made their money off false export invoicing, ostensibly selling it for one price and having the rest paid abroad and, this was all organized through Latvia and the man who did it later moved to Israel and finally gave a billion dollars back to Russia so that he went on to live safely for the rest of his life in Israel.
Pepe: Well, the crash of the ruble in 1998 was what, roughly one year after the crash of the baht and the whole Asian financial crisis, no? It was interlinked of course, but let me see if I have a question for you, in fact, I’m just thinking out loud now. If the economies of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, the case of South Korea and Russia, were more integrated at the time as they are trying to integrate now, do you think that the Asian financial crisis would have been preventable in 1997?
Michael: Well, look at what happened in Malaysia with Mohammad Mahathir. Malaysia avoided it. So of course, it was preventable, and they had the capital controls. All you would have needed was to do what Malaysia did. But you needed an economic theory for that.
And essentially the current mode of warfare is to conquer the brains of a country to shape how people think and how they perceive the economy. And if you can twist their view into an unreality economics, where they think that you’re there to help them not to take money out of them, then you’ve got them hooked. That was what happened in Asia. Asia thought it was getting rich off the dollars inflows and then the IMF and all the creditors pulled the plug, crash the industry. And now that all of a sudden you had a crash, they bought up Korean industry and other South Asian industries at giveaway prices.
That’s what you do. You lend the money; you pull the plug. You then let them go under and you pick up the piecesThat’s what Blackstone did after the Obama depression began, when Obama saved the banks, not the constituency, the mortgage borrowers. Essentially that’s Blackstone’s modus operandi to pick up distressed prices at a bankruptcy sale, but you need to lend money and then crash it in order to make that work.

Pepe: Michael, I think we have only five minutes left. So, I would expect you to go on a relatively long answer and I’m really dying for it. It’s about debt, it about the debt trap. And it’s about the New Silk Roads, the Belt and Road Initiative, because I think rounding up our discussion and coming back to the theme of debt and global debt.

The No. 1 criticism apart from the demonization of China that you hear from American media and a few American academics as well against the Belt and Road is that it’s creating a debt trap for Southeast Asian nations, Central Asian nations and nations in Africa, etc…. Obviously, I expect you to debunk that, but the framework is there is no other global development project as extensive and as complex as Belt and Road, which as you know very well was initially dreamed up by the Ministry of Commerce. Then they sold it more or less to Xi Jinping who got the geopolitical stamp on it, announcing it, simultaneously, (which was a stroke of genius) in Central Asia in Astana and then in Southeast Asia in Jakarta. So, he was announcing the overland corridors through the heartland and the Maritime Silk Road at the same time.

At the time people didn’t see the reach and depth of all that. And now of course, finally the Trump administration woke up and saw what was in play, not only across Eurasia but reaching Africa and even selected parts of Latin America as well. And obviously the only sort of criticism, and it’s not even a fact-based criticism, that I’ve seen about the Belt and Road is it’s creating a debt trap because as you know Laos is indebted, Sri Lanka is indebted, Kyrgyzstan is indebted etc. So, how do you view Belt and Road within the larger framework of the West and China, East Asia and Eurasia relations? And how would you debunk misconceptions created, especially in the U S that this is a debt trap.

Six proposed corridors of Belt and Road Initiative, showing Italy inside circle, on maritime blue route. (Lommes, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Michael: There are two points to answer there.  The first is how the Belt and Road began. And as you pointed out, the Belt and Road began, when China said, what is it we need to grow and how do we grow within our neighboring countries so we don’t have to depend upon the West, and we don’t have to depend on sea trade that can be shut down? How do we get to roads instead of seas in a way that we can integrate our economy with the neighboring economies so that there can be mutual growth?
So, this was done pretty much on industrial engineering grounds. Here’s where you need the roads and the railroads. And then how do we finance it? Well, The Financial Times article, last week, said didn’t the Chinese know that [with past] railroad development, they’ve all gone broke? The Panama Canal went broke, you know, the first few times there were European railway investment in Latin America in the 19th century, that all went broke.

Well, what they don’t get is China’s aim was not to make a profit off the railroads.

The railroads were built to be part of the economy. They don’t want to make profit. It was to make the real economy grow, not to make profits for the owners of the railroad stocks. The Western press can’t imagine that you’re building a railroad without trying to make money out of it.

Then you get to the debt issue.
Countries only have a debt crisis if their debt is in a foreign currency. The first way that the United States gained power was to fight against its allies. The great enemy of America was England and it made the British block their currency in the 1940s. And so, India and other countries, that had all these currencies holdings in sterling, were able to convert it all into dollars.
The whole move of the U.S. was to denominate world debt in dollars. So that No. 1, U.S. banks would end up with the interest in financing the debt. And No. 2, the United States could, by using the debt leverage, control domestic politics.
Well, as you’re seeing right now in Argentina, for instance, Argentina is broke because it owes foreign-dollar debt. When I started the first Third World bond fund in 1990 at Scutter Stevens, Brazil and China and Argentina were paying 45 percent interest per year, 45 percent per year in dollars debt. Yet we tried to sell them in America. No American would buy. We went to Europe, no European buy this debt. And so, we worked with Merrill Lynch and Merrill Lynch was able to make an offshore fund in the Dutch West Indies and all of the debt was sold to the Brazilian ruling class in the central bank and the Argentinian bankers in the ruling class, we thought oh, that’s wonderful.
We know that they’re going to pay the foreign Yankee Dollars debt because the Yankee Dollars debt is owed to themselves. They’re the Yankees! They’re the client oligarchy. And you know, from Brazil client oligarchy is, you know, they’re cosmopolitan, that’s the word. So, the problem is that on the Belt and Road, how did these other countries pay the debt to China?
Well, the key there again is the de-dollarization, and one way to solve it is since we’re trying to get finance out of the picture, we’re doing something very much like, Japan did with Canada in the 1960s. It made loans to develop Canadian copper mines taking its payment, not in Canadian dollars, that would have pushed up the yen’s exchange rate, but in copper.
So, China says, you know you don’t have to pay currency for this debt. We didn’t build a railroad to make a profit and you want, we can print all the currency we want. We don’t need to make a profit. We made the Belt and Road because it’s part of our geopolitical attempt to create what we need to be prosperous and have a prosperous region. So, these are self-reinforcing mutual gain. Well, so that’s what the West doesn’t get — mutual gain?  Are we talking anthropology? What do you mean mutual? This is capitalism! So, the West doesn’t understand what the original aim of the Belt and Road was, and it wasn’t to make a profitable railroad to enable people to buy and sell railway stocks. And it wasn’t to make toll roads to sell off to Goldman Sachs, you know. We’re dealing with two different economic systems, and it’s very hard for one system to understand the other system because of the tunnel vision that you get when you get a degree in economics.
“We’re dealing with two different economic systems, and it’s very hard for one system to understand the other system because of the tunnel vision that you get when you get a degree in economics.”
Pepe:  Belt and Road loans are long-term and at very low interest and they are renegotiable. They are renegotiating with the Pakistanis all the time for instance.
Michael: China’s intention is not to repeat an Asia crisis of 1997. It doesn’t gain anything by forcing a crisis because it’s not trying to come in and buy property at a discount at a distressed sale. It has no desire to create a distressed sale. So obviously, the idea is the capacity to pay. Now, this whole argument occurred in the 1920s, between [John Maynard] Keynes and his opponents that wanted to collect German reparations and, Keynes made it very clear. What is the capacity to pay? It’s the ability to export and the ability to obtain foreign currency. Well, China’s not looking for foreign currency. It is looking for economic returns but the return is to the whole society, the return isn’t from a railroad. The return is for the entire economy because it’s looking at the economy as a system.
The way that neoliberalism works, it divides the economy in parts, and it makes every part trying to make a gain, and if you do that, then you don’t have any infrastructure that’s lowering the cost for the other parts. You have every part fighting for itself. You don’t look at in terms of a system the way China’s looking at it. That’s the great advantage of Marxism, you’ll look at the system, not just the parts.
Pepe:  Exactly and this is at the heart of the Chinese concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, which is the approximate translation from Mandarin. So, we compare community with a shared future for mankind, which is, let’s say the driving force between the idea of Belt and Road, expanded across Eurasia, Africa and Latin America as well with our good old friends’, “greed is good” concept from the eighties, which is still ruling America apparently.
Michael: And the corollary is that non-greed is bad.
Pepe: Exactly and non-greed is evil.
Michael: I see. I think we ran out of time. I do. I don’t know if Alanna wants to step in to wrap it up.
Michael: There may be somebody who has a question.
Pepe: Somebody has a question? That’ll be fantastic.
Alanna: There is a question from Ed Dodson. He wanted to know why there are these ghost cities in China? And who’s financing all this real estate that’s developed, but nobody’s living there? We’ve all been hearing about that. So, what is happening with that?
Michael: Okay. China had most of its population living in the countryside and it made many deals with Chinese landholders who have land rights, and they said, if you will give up your land right to the community, we will give you free apartment in the city that you could rent out.
So, China has been building apartments in cities and trading these basically in exchange to support what used to be called a rural exodus. China doesn’t need as many farmers on the land as it now has, and the question is how are you going to get them into cities? So, China began building these cities and many of these apartments are owned by people who’ve got them in exchange for trading their land rights. The deals are part of the rural reconstruction program.
Alanna: Do you think it was a good deal? Vacant apartments everywhere.
Pepe: You don’t have ghost cities in Xinjiang for instance, Xinjiang is under-populated, it’s mostly desert. And it’s extremely sensitive to relocate people to Xinjiang. So basically, they concentrated on expanding Urumqi. When you arrive in Urumqi it is like almost like arriving in, Guangzhou. It’s enormous. It’s a huge generic city in the middle of the desert. And it’s also a high-tech Mecca, which is something that very few people in the West know. And is the direct link between the eastern seaboard via Belt and Road to Central Asia.

 

Last year I was on an amazing trip. I went to the three borders, the Tajik-Xinjiang border, Kyrgiz-Xinjiang border and the Kazakh-Xinjiang border, which is three borders in one. It’s a fascinating area to explore and specially to talk to the local populations, the Kyrgiz, the Kazakhs and the Tajiks.

How do they see the Belt and Road directly affecting their lives from now on?

So, you don’t see something spectacular for instance, in the Xinjiang – Kazakh boarder, there is one border for the trucks, lots of them like in Europe, crossing from all points, from Central Asia to China and bringing Chinese merchandise to Central Asia.

There’s the train border, which is a very simple two tracks and the pedestrian border, which is very funny because you have people arriving in buses from all parts of Central Asia. They stop on the Kazakh border. They take a shuttle, they clear customs for one day, they go to a series of shopping malls on the Chinese side of the border. They buy like crazy, shop till it drops, I don’t know for 12 hours? And then they cross back the same day because the visa is for one day. They step on their buses and they go back.

So, for the moment it’s sort of a pedestrian form of Belt and Road, but in the future, we’re going to have high-speed rail. We’re going to have, well the pipelines are already there as Michael knows, but it’s fascinating to see on the spot. You see the closer integration; you see for instance Uyghurs traveling back and forth. You know, Uyghurs that have families in Kyrgizstan for instance, I met some Uyghurs in Kyrgyzstan who do the back-and-forth all the time. And they said, there’s no problem. They are seen as businessmen so there’s no interference. There are no concentration camps involved, you know, but you have to go to these places to see how it works on the ground and with Covid, that’s the problem for us journalists who travel, because for one year we cannot go anywhere and Xinjiang was on my travel list this year, Afghanistan as well, Mongolia.

These are all parts of Belt and Road or future parts of Belt and Road, like Afghanistan. The Chinese and the Russians as well; they want to bring Afghanistan in a peace process organized by Asians themselves without the United States, within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, because they want Afghanistan to be part of the intersection of Belt and Road and Eurasian Economic Union. This is something Michael knows very well. You don’t see this kind of discussions in the American media for instance, integration of Eurasia on the ground, how it’s actually happening.

Michael: That’s called cognitive dissonance.

Alanna: To try to understand it gets you cognitive dissonance.

Pepe: Oh yeah, of course. And obviously you are a Chinese agent, a Russian agent. And so, I hear that all the time. Well, in our jobs we hear that all the time. Especially, unfortunately from our American friends.

Alanna: Okay. I know you have other things to do. This has been fabulous. I want to thank you so much, both of you, uh, with so easy to get attendance for this webinar. There were 20 people in five minutes enrolled and in two days we were at capacity. So, I know there are many more people who would love to hear you talk another time, whenever you two are so willing. And I think you both got much out of your first conversation in person. Everybody listening knows these two wonderful gentlemen, they have written more than 10 books, and they have traveled all over the world. They are on the top of geopolitical and geoeconomic analysis, and they are caring, loving people. So, you can see that these are the people we need to be listening to and understanding all around the world.
This was part ONE.
Now for the follow up; part TWO…

INDISPENSABLE READS: In Quest of a Multi-Polar World

Michael Hudson and Pepe Escobar resume their conversation about a global monetary system that appears headed for divorce. 

“Free market meant giving power to the monopolists, to the oppressors, to violence. A free market was where armies can come in, take over your country, impose a client dictatorship like [Gen. Augusto] Pinochet in Chile or the neo-Nazis in the Ukraine. And you call that a free market…”

Read Part One of this conversation.

Pepe Escobar in conversation with Michael Hudson 
At The Henry George School of Social Science

Michael Hudson: Fifty ago, I wrote Super Imperialism about basically how America dominates the world financially and gets a free ride.

I wrote it right after America went off gold in 1971, when the Vietnam War, which was responsible for the entire balance of payments deficit, forced the country to go off gold. And everybody at that time worried the dollar was going to go down. There’d be hyperinflation. And what happened was something entirely different.

Once there was no gold, America strong-armed its allies to invest in U.S. Treasury bonds because their central banks don’t buy companies. They don’t buy raw materials. All they could buy is other central bank’s treasury bonds. So, all of a sudden, the only thing that other people could buy with all the dollars coming in were U.S. Treasury securities.

And the securities they bought essentially were to finance yet more war making and the balance of payments deficit from war and the 800 military bases America has around the world. And the largest customer, I think we discussed it before, are the Defense Department and the CIA that looked at it [Super Imperialism] as a how-to-do it book. Well, that was 50 years ago.

And what I’ve done is not only re-edit the book and add more information that’s come out, but I’ve picked up the last 50 years and how it’s absolutely transformed the whole world. And it’s a new kind of imperialism.

There was still a view 50 years ago that imperialism was [essentially] economic. And this is the view that there’s still a rivalry for instance, between America and China or America and Europe and other countries.

But I think the whole world has changed so much in the last 50 years that what we have now is not really so much a conflict between America and China or America and Russia, but between a financial system economy run by finance and an economy run by governments — democratic or less democratic, but certainly a mixed economy.

Well, everything that made industrial capitalism rich, everything that made America so strong in the 19th century, through its protective tariffs, through its public infrastructure investment all the way down through World War II and the aftermath. We had a mixed economy in America, and that was very balanced. Europe had a mixed economy. Every economy since Babylon and Rome has been a mixed economy, but in America you’ve had since 1980 something entirely different. That was not foreseen by anybody because it seemed to be so disruptive.

And what that was, was the financial sector saying we need liberty and by liberty, meaning we have to take planning and subsidy and economic policy and tax policy out of the hands of government. And put it in the hands of Wall Street.

And so, libertarianism and free market is a centralized economy that is centralized in the hands of the financial centers, Wall Street, the City of London, the Paris Bourse. And what you’re having today is the attempt of the financial sector to take the role that the landlord class had in Europe, from feudal times through the 19th century.  It’s a kind of resurgence.

If you look at the whole last 200 years of economic theory — from Adam Smith and, Henry George and Marx, onward — the whole idea was that everybody expected a mixed economy to become more and more productive and to free itself from the landlords, to free itself from banking to make land a public utility.

That was the tax base to make finance basically something public, and government would decide who gets the funding and thus, the idea of finance in the public sector was going to be pretty much what it is in China. You create bank credit in order to finance capital investment in factories. It means the production of machinery, agricultural modernization, of transport, infrastructure of high-speed trains of ports and all of that.

But in the United States and England, you have finance becoming something completely different.  Banks don’t lend money to factories. They don’t want money to make means of production. They make money to take over other assets. Eighty percent of bank loans are mortgage loans to transfer the ownership of real estate. And of course that’s what created a middle class in the United States.

The middle class was able to buy its own housing, it didn’t have to pay rent to landlords or absentee owners or warlords and their descendants in England and Europe. They could buy their own. What nobody realized is that if you borrowed the money to take a mortgage, there’s still an economic rental value that is not paid to the landlords. It’s paid to the banks. And so, in the Western civilizations in America and Europe, the banks have played the role that the landlords played a hundred years ago.

And just as the landlord is trying to do everything they could through the House of Lords in England and the upper houses of government in Europe, they’re trying to block any kind of democratic government. And the fight really is against government that would do anything that is not controlled by the 1 percent, by the banks. Essentially the merger between finance insurance and real estate; the FIRE sector. So, you have almost a relapse of capitalism in the West back into feudalism, but feudalism with a financialized twist much more than it was in medieval times.

The fight against China, the fear of China is that you can’t do to China, what you did to Russia.  America would love for there to be a [former Russian President Boris] Yeltsin figure in China to say, just give all of the railroads that you’ve built, the high-speed rail, the wealth, all the factories to individuals. And let the individuals run everything and, then we’ll lend them the money, or we’ll buy them out and then we can control them financially.

And China’s not letting that happen. And Russia stopped that from happening. And the fury in the West is that somehow, the American financial system is unable to take over foreign resources, foreign agriculture. It is left only with military means of grabbing them as we are seeing in the near East. And you’re seeing in the Ukraine right now.

Pepe Escobar: Well, as an introduction, Michael that was perfect because now we have the overall framework — geo-economic and historically — at least for the past 70 years.

I have a series of questions for you. I was saving one of these for the end, but I think I should start really the Metallica way. Let’s go heavy metal for a start, right?

So considering  what you describe as a new kind of imperialism and the fact that this sort of extended free lunch cannot apply anymore because sovereigns around the world, especially Russia and China, I tried to formulate the idea that there are only three real sovereign powers on the planet, apart from the hegemon; Russia, China, and Iran, these three, which happen to be the main hub and the main focus of not only of the New Silk Roads but of the Eurasia integration process, they are actively working for some sort of change of the rules that predominated for the past 70 years.

So my first question to you would be, do you see any realistic possibility of a, sort of a Bretton Woods 2.0, which would imply the end of the dollar hegemony as we know it, and petrodollar recycling on and on and on, with the very important presence of that oily hacienda in the lands of Arabia. And do you think this is possible considering that President [Vladimir] Putin himself only a few days ago reiterated once again that the U.S. is no longer agreement- capable?  So that destroys already the possibility of the emergence of the new rules of the game. But do you think this is still realistically possible?

Michael: I certainly do not see any repetition of a Bretton Woods because as I described in Super Imperialism, the whole of Bretton Woods was designed to make American control over Britain, over Europe total. Bretton Woods was a U.S.-centered system to prevent England from maintaining its empire. That’s okay. To prevent France from maintaining its empire and for America to take over the sterling area and, essentially with the World Bank, to prevent other countries from becoming independent and feeding themselves, to make sure that they supported plantation agriculture, not land reform. The one single fight of the World Bank was to prevent land reform and to make sure that America, and foreign investors, would take over the agriculture of these countries.

And very often people think of capitalism, certainly in the sense that Marx described in Volume One, capitalism is the exploitation of wage labor by employers. But capitalism also is an appropriation of the land rent, the agricultural rent, the natural resource rent, the oil and the mineral rent. And the idea of Bretton Woods was to make sure that other countries could not impose capital controls to prevent American finance coming in and appropriating their resources, of making the loans to foreign governments so that governments would not create their own money to promote their own social development but would have to borrow from the World Bank and the IMF, which essentially meant from the Pentagon and the State Department, in U.S. dollars.

And they would dollarize their economies and the economies would all be sucked. The economic rents from oil, agriculture, mining would all be sucked into the United States. That kind of Bretton Woods cannot be done again. And since Bretton Woods was an idea of centralizing the world’s economic surplus in a single country, the United States, no, that can never be done again.

What is happening? You mentioned the world of free, free lunch, and that’s what was a theme of Super Imperialism, when America issues dollars, for these all end up in central banks and they hold the dollars as a surplus. That means what can they do? All they can do is really lend them to the United States. America got a free lunch. It could spend and spend on its military, on bumping up corporate takeovers of other countries. The dollars have come in and foreign countries couldn’t cash them in for gold. They had nothing to cash them into. And all they could do is finance the U.S. budget deficit by buying Treasury bills.

That’s the irony now, what has happened in the last few years in the fight against Russia and China is America has killed the free lunch because it said, okay, now we’re going to have sanctions against Russia and China. We’re going to all of a sudden grab whatever money you have in foreign banks like we grabbed Venezuela’s money. Let’s go, we’re going to excommunicate you from the bank clearing system. So, you can’t use banking. We’re going to put sanctions against banks that deal with you.

So obviously Russia and China said, okay, we can’t deal with the dollar anymore, because the United States just crammed them. And if we do have dollars, we’re just going to hold everything in reserves and lending to the United States, the dollars that it’s going to spend building more military bases around us to make us waste our money on monetary spending. And so, America itself by the way, in fighting against China and Russia, has ended the free lunch.

In America you’ve had since 1980 something entirely different. That was not foreseen by anybody because it seemed to be so disruptive.”

And now, Russia and China as you pointed out, are de-dollarizing, they’re trading in each other’s currency. They’re being the exact opposite of everything that Bretton Woods tried to create. They’re trying to create independence from the United States.

If Bretton Woods is this dependence on the United States, a centralized system dependent ultimately on Wall Street financial planners then, what China and Russia are trying to create is an economy that’s not run by the financial sector, but it is run by, let’s say, industrial and economic engineering and saying, what kind of an economy do we need in order to raise living standards and wages and self-sufficiency and preserve the environment, what is needed for the ideal world that we want?

Well, in order to do that, you’re going to have to have a lot of infrastructure. And in America, infrastructure is all privatized. You have to make a profit. And once you have infrastructure, a railroad or electric utility, like you see in Texas recently, it’s a monopoly. Infrastructure, for 5,000 years, Europe, the near East, Asia was always kept in the public domain that goes, if you’ll give it to private owners, they’ll charge a monopoly rent.

Well, the idea that China has is, “OK, we’re going to provide the educational system freely and let everybody try to get an education.” In America if you have an education, you have to go into debt for the banks for between $50,000 and $200,000. And whatever you make you’re going to end up paying the bank while in China, if you give free education, the money that they earned from the education will be spent into the economy, buying the goods and services that they produce, and the economy will be expanding, not shrinking, not having it all sucked out into the financial banks that are financing the education, same thing with the railroads, same things with the healthcare.

If you provide healthcare freely then the employers do not have to pay for the healthcare because that’s provided freely. In the United States, if the  corporation and the employees have to pay for healthcare, that means that the employees have to be paid a much higher wage in order to afford the healthcare, in order to afford the transportation that gets him to work, in order to afford the auto loans, in order to drive to work, all of this is free, or subsidized in other countries, who create their own credit.

In the United States and Europe, governments feel that they have to borrow from the wealthy people in a bond and pay interest. In China they say, “we don’t have to borrow from a wealthy class. We can simply print the money.” That’s Modern Monetary Theory. As Donald Trump has explained in the United States, we can print whatever we want. Dick Cheney said, deficits don’t matter. We can just print it.  And of course, Stephanie Kelton and my colleagues in MMT at Kansas City for many years have been saying.

The economy has been saturated and Reaganized and the result is a fight of economic systems against China and Russia.”

The banks fear this because they say, “Wait a minute, Modern Monetary Theory means it’s not feudal monetary theory. We want feudal monetary theory. We want the rich people to be able to have a choke point on the economy that you can’t survive unless you borrow from us and pay us interest. We want the choke points.” That’s called economic rent.

And so, you have the West turning into a rent-extractive economy, a rent-seeking economy. And you’ll have the whole ideal of Russia, China, and other countries being the ideal of not only Marx, but Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Ricardo. The whole of classical economics was to free economies from economic rent. And the American economy is all about extracting rent through the real estate sector, the financial sector, the health insurance sector, the monopolies and infrastructure sector.

The economy has been saturated and Reaganized and the result is a fight of economic systems against China and Russia. So, it’s not simply that, there’s a fight between who makes the best computer chips and the best iPhones. It’s: are we going to have a fallback of civilization back into feudalism, back into control by a narrow class at the top of the economy, that 1 percent? Or are we going to have the ideal of democratic industrialization that used to be called socialism but it was also called capitalism. Industrial capitalism was socialism; it was socialized medicine, it was socialized infrastructure, it was socialized schooling. And so, the fight against socialism is a fight against industrial capitalism, a fight against democracy, a fight against prosperity.

[See previous coverage:  The Consequences of Moving from Industrial to Financial Capitalism]

That’s why what you’re seeing now is a fight for what direction civilization will go into. And you can’t have a Bretton Woods for a single kind of organization because the United States would never join that civilization. The United States calls a country trying to make its labor force prosperous, educated and healthy instead of sick with shorter lifespans, they call it communism or socialism.

Well, it can call it whatever it wants, but that’s the dynamic we are talking about.

Pepe:  Well, you put it very, I would say starkly. The opposition between two completely different systems, what the Chinese are proposing, including, from productive capitalism to trade and investment all across Eurasia and beyond, including Africa, parts of Latin America as well. And the rentier obsession of the 0.01 percent that controls the U.S. financial system. In terms of facts on the ground, are we going slowly but surely and ominously towards an absolute divorce by a system based on rentier, ultra-financialization, which is the American system, not productive capitalism at all.

I was going through a small list of what the U.S. exports, it’s not much as you know, better than I do. Agricultural products but always privileging U.S. farmers.  Hollywood, we are all hostages of Hollywood all over the world. Pop culture? That’s not the pop culture that used to be absolutely impregnable and omniscient during the ‘60s, the 70s, during the Madonna, Michael Jackson era in the ‘80s, right? Infotech. And that’s where a big bet comes in. And this is maybe the most important American export at the moment because American Big Tech controls social networks all over the planet. Big Pharma. Now we see the power of Big Pharma with the whole Covid operations, right?  But Boeing prefers to invest in financial engineering instead of building decent products. Right?

So, in terms of a major superpower, the hyperpower, that’s not much, and obviously buyers all over the world already noticed that. So, China is proposing the New Silk Roads, which is a foreign-policy strategy, and a trade, investment and sustainable development strategy. [It’s] applied not only to the whole of Eurasia, but Eurasia and beyond to grow a great deal of the Global South and that’s why we have Global South partners to the New Silk Roads — 130-and-counting as we speak.

So, the dichotomy could not be clearer. What will the 0.001 percent do? Because they don’t have anything seductive to sell. To all those nations in the Global South to start with; the new version of the Non-Aligned Movement, NAM, the countries that are already part of New Silk Road projects, not even to Europe and this, we could see by the end of last year when the China-European Union agreement was more or less sealed. It’s probably going to be sealed in 2021 for good.

And at the same time, we had the Regional Economic Comprehensive Partnership, RCEP, with the ASEAN 10, my neighbors here, the Association of South East Asian Nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. So, when you have the China-EU deal, and when you have RCEP, you have China as the number one trade partner on the planet, no competition whatsoever.

And obviously every one of these players wants to do business with China. And they’re privileging doing business with China to doing business with the U.S., especially with a country that once again, according to President Putin, is non-agreement capable. So, Michael, what is your key geo-economic view of the next steps? Are we going towards the divorce of the American financialization system and the Eurasia-and-beyond integration system?

Michael: Well, you you’ve made the whole point clear. There is incompatibility between a rentier society controlled by the finance and real estate interests and military interests and an industrial democracy.

Industry in England and Europe in the 19th century — the whole fight for democratic reform to increase the role of the House of Commons against the House of Lords in England and the lower house in Europe — was a fight to get labor on the side of industry [and] to get rid of the landlord class. And it was expected that … capitalism [would then be] free of the landlord class, free of something that wasn’t really capitalism at all, it was a carry-over from feudalism. Once you free capitalism, you wouldn’t have this overhead of the idle 1 percent, only consuming resources and going to war, anymore.

And then World War I changed all of that . … Already, in the late 19th century, the landlords and the banks fought back, and they fought back largely through the Austrian School of individualism and the English marginalist and they called it freedom. They call it free markets. Free market meant giving power to the monopolists, to the oppressors, to violence. A free market was where armies can come in, take over your country, impose a client dictatorship like [Gen. Augusto] Pinochet in Chile or the neo-Nazis in the Ukraine. And you call that a free market.

The free world was a world centrally planned by the American military and finance together. So, it’s Orwellian, and the dynamic of this world is shrinking because it’s polarizing and you’ve seen with the Covid pandemic in the United States, the economy has polarized much more sharply than ever before between the 1 percent, the 10 percent and the rest of the economy.

Well, as opposed to that here, you have economies that are not run by a rentier class, that do not have a banking class and the landlord class controlling the economy, but a partnership. The kind of thing you had in Germany in the late 19th century, government industry and labor, all working together to design how we provide the financing for industry so that it can provide not only industrial capital formation, but public funding for us to build infrastructure and uplift the population.

What China is doing is what made America rich in the 19th century, what made Germany rich. It’s exactly the same logical engineering plan. Now, this plan because it’s based on economic expansion, and environmental preservation and economic balance instead of concentration, this is going to be a growing economy. So, you’re having a growing economy outside of the United States and a shrinking economy in the States and its satellites in Europe.

What China is doing is what made America rich in the 19th century, what made Germany rich.”

Europe had a choice; either it could shrink, and be American, or it could join the growth. Europe has decided unanimously, we don’t want to grow. We want to be constant. We want our banks to take over just like in America. That’s a free market because Americans have found out, and I’m told by American officials we just buy the European politicians, they’re bribable. That’s why when president Putin says, America and Europe are not agreement capable, it means they’re just in it for the money. There is no ideology there. There is no idea of the overall social benefit. The system is “how can I get rich, and you can get rich by being bribed?” That’s why you go into politics. As you can tell in America with the Supreme Court law saying politics can be personally financed.

So, you’re having two incompatible systems and, they’re on different trajectories and if you have a system that is shrinking like the West and growing in the East, you have resentment.  People who obtain their wealth in crooked ways, or without working — by inheritance, by crime, by exploitation — they will fight like anything to keep that. Whereas people who actually create wealth, labor, capital, they, they’re not willing to fight, they just want to be creative. So you have a destructive military force, in the West. And, basically a productive, economic growth force. And in Eurasia, the clash now is occurring largely in Ukraine. You’re having the United States back the neo-Nazis.

Pepe: The old Nazi movement!

Michael: It’s the same swastika-carrying group that threatened Russia in World War II. And this is like waving a red flag before a bull. Putin continues to remind the Russians. We know what happened with the 22 million Russians that died, in World War II with Europe coming in. We’re not going to let it happen again.

And you can be certain Russia is not going to be sucked into invading the Ukraine. The United States has its military advisers in the Ukraine. Now, the Vineyard of the Saker has a very good report on that. America’s trying to needle Russia into fighting back against the terrorist groups and Russia has no desire at all to. There’s nothing that Russia has to gain by taking it over. It’s essentially a bankrupt country.

The United States is trying to provoke a response so it can say Russia is attacking the West.  The result will probably be that Russia will very simply provide arms to the Eastern Ukrainians to fight back the invasion. And you’re going to have a wasteland in Western Ukraine and Poland. And this wasteland will be the new buffer state with Europe. Already you have, maybe 10 percent of the Ukrainians having moved to Russia and the east. [Another] 10 percent are now plumbers in England and Europe, working. They’re beginning to look like Latvia and other neo-liberalized countries. Neo-liberalized countries? If you want to see the future, look at Latvia, Estonia. Look at Greece. That’s the American plan. Essentially, an emigration of skilled labor, a sharp reduction of living standards, a 20 percent decline in population. And although it may appear to have more income, all of this income and GDP is, essentially, interest collection and rents to the FIRE sector.

All the American GDP growth is essentially payment to the bank, to the landlords and the monopolist, it’s not, the population, the employees are not sharing in the GDP. It’s all concentrated at the top. They make a desert, and they call it growth.


It hasn’t changed.  Rome was a predatory economy held by military force that ultimately collapsed and America is on the same trajectory as Rome. And it knows this, I have spoken to American policymakers and they say, “you know, we we’re going to be dead by then. It doesn’t matter if the West loses. I’m going to get rich. I’m going to buy a farm in New Zealand and make a big bomb shelter there and live underground, you know, like a cave dweller.”

 

The financial time frame and the predatory rentier time frame is short term. The Eurasian time frame is long-term. So, you’ve got to have the short-term burning what wealth it has as opposed to the longer-term building up.

[Consider the Biden Covid relief measure.] They call it a stimulus bill, but if you’re starving, if you haven’t been able to pay your rent, if you’re six months behind in your rent and you get enough money to pay the landlord, at least one month back rent, that’s not a stimulus, that’s a survival.  And it’s a one-time payment. This kind of stimulus checks that America’s sending out are sent out every month in Germany and parts of Europe.

All the American GDP growth is essentially payment to the bank, to the landlords and the monopolist.”

The whole idea in Europe is: OK, you have a pandemic, you have business interrupted. What we’re going to do is we’re going to have a pause. You don’t pay the rent, but the landlords are not going to pay the banks. And the banks are not going to be in arrears. We’re just going to have a pause so that when it’s all over people will go back to normal. Well, China and Russia are already pretty much there and where you are [in Asia], and especially in Thailand, are already back to normal.

But in America anybody who’s renting or who’s bought a house on mortgage credit or who has credit card debt or personal debt or automobile debt they’re way behind. And all of these stimulus checks are just being used to pay the banks and the landlords not to not to buy more goods and services.

All they’re trying to do is, is get out of the hole that they’ve been dug into in the last 12 months. That’s not a stimulus that’s a partial, desperation paymentThis problem never existed in other civilizations. You have the whole tradition of Greece, Babylonia that’s what my book Forgiving the Debt is all about. The whole idea is when there is an economic interruption, you have an interruption, you don’t have people into debt. You wipe out all of the arrears that have mounted up. You wipe out the tax arrears, the rent arrears, the debt of payment arrears. So once the crisis is over, you can start from a normal position again.

There’s no normalization in America, there’s no normal position to start. You’re starting from a position, even more behind the financial problems than you were when you went in. The foreign economies of China and Russia don’t have that kind of problem, they don’t have any kind of deficit. So, the West is beginning with 99 percent of the population deeper and deeper into debt to the 1 percent.

Where is that whole polarization between the 1 percent and the 99 percent? It doesn’t exist certainly in China and in Russia, Putin is trying to minimize it, given the legacy of the kleptocracy that the neo-liberals put in he’s still trying to deal with that, but you really have that. It’s a difference in economic systems and the direction in which these systems are moving in.

Pepe: I’m really glad that you brought up Ukraine, Michael, because this, let’s say U.S. foreign policy, even, before Trump and now with the new Biden-Harris administration, basically more or less what it boils down to is sanction sanctions, sanctions, as we know, and provocations, which is what they’re doing certainly in Syria with that recent bombing.

And, in the case of Ukraine and Donbass, it’s absolutely crazy because NATO so-called strategists, when you talk to them in Brussels, they know very, very well about each state or whatever they weaponize and financialize to profit Kiev to mount some sort of offensive against the Donbass and even if they would have like 300,000 soldiers against like 30,000 in Donbass.

If the Russians see that this is going to get really heavy if they intervene in directly, with their bombing, with their super missiles, they can finish this story in one day. And if they want it, they could finish the whole story, including invading Ukraine in three days, like they did in 2008 with Georgia and still they keep the provocations, loosely acted on by  people from inside the Pentagon.

And so, we have sanctions, we have nonstop provocations, and we have also a sort of introducing a Fifth Column — elements inside or at the top of government — which brings me to, and I would love to have your personal analysis on the role of Mario (Goldman Sachs) Draghi now in Italy, which is something I had been discussing with my Italian friends. And there’s more or less a consensus, among very well informed, independent Italian analysts that Draghi may be the perfect Trojan horse to accelerate the destruction of the Italian state, which will accelerate the globalist project of the European Union, which is absolutely non-state centric.

Let’s put it this way, which is also part of the Great Reset so if you could briefly talk to us about the role of Super Mario at the moment.

Michael: Well, Italy is a very good example to look at. It had strings for a long time. When you have a country that needs infrastructure, that needs public, social democratic spending, you need a government to create the credit. But when Americans and specifically the University of Chicago free market lobbyists created the European, the Eurozone financial system, their premise was that governments cannot create money. Only banks can create money. Only banks owned by the bond holders can create money for the benefit of their owners and bond holders. So, no European government, first of all, can run a budget deficit sufficient to cope with the coronavirus or with the problems that have been plaguing Italy for a decade. They can’t create their money to revive employment, to revive infrastructure, to revive the economy. The European Central Bank only lends to other central banks.

It’s created trillions of euros just to buy stocks and bonds, not to spend into the economy, not to hire labor, not to build infrastructure, but just for the holders of the stocks and bonds. The 1 percent or 5 percent of the population gets richer. The function of the European Central Bank is to create money, to save the wealthiest 5 percent from losing a single penny on their stocks and bonds.

And the cost is to impoverish the economy and to basically make the economy end up looking like Greece, which was sort of the dress rehearsal for how the Eurozone was going to just essentially reduce Europe to debt dependency, just like in feudalism everybody had to have access to the land by becoming a serf.

Well now you’re in debt peonage. It’s the modern, finance capital’s version of serfdom. And so, in Italy we’re going to need government spending. We’re going to need to do in our way what China’s doing in its way and what Russia is doing in its way. We’re going to have some kind of government program. And we can’t have the economy being impoverished just because the University of Chicago has designed a plan for Europe to prevent the euro ever from being a rival to the U.S. dollar. If there’s no European central bank to borrow, to pump euros into the world economy, then, only dollars will be left for central bank reserves. The United States doesn’t ever want a rival. It wants satellites and so that’s what it’s basically turned Europe into. And I don’t see any response outside of Italy for an attempt to say we can’t be a part of this system. Let’s withdraw from the euro.

I know that the Greeks, when I was in Greece years ago, we all thought can’t we join with Italy and Portugal and Ireland and say look, the system isn’t working. Everybody else no, no, the Americans will just simply get us out of office one way or another. And in Italy, of course, if you look at what happened after World War II, the great threat was Italian communism.  You had the Americans essentially say well, we know the answer to communism, it’s fascism and, you saw where they put the money. They essentially did every dirty trick in the book in order to fight any left- wing group in Italy, just as they did in Yugoslavia, just as they did in Greece, wiping out the partisans, all the leading anti-Nazi groups from Greece to Italy to elsewhere. All of a sudden they were all either assassinated or moved out of office and replaced by the very people that America had been fighting against during World War II.

Well, now Italy is finally coming to terms with this and trying to fight back and you’re having what’s happening there, between Northern Italy and Southern Italy. You’re having the same splits occur in other countries.

Pepe: Yeah. Well, I’m going to bring up, perhaps an even more extreme case now Michael, which is the case of Brazil, which at the moment is in the middle of an absolutely out of this world mix of telenovela and Kabuki theater that even for most Brazilians is absolutely incomprehensible. It’s like a fragmentation bomb exploding over and over again, a Groundhog Day of fragmentation bombs.

In fact, it’s completely crazy. Lula [former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvais back in the picture as well. We still don’t know under which terms, we still don’t know how the guys who run the show, which are the Brazilian military, are going to deal with him or instrumentalize him, et cetera.

In 2007, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) and his wife Marisa Letícia review troops during the Independence Day military parade. (Ricardo Stuckert, Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0. Wikimedia Commons)

I bring up this case because … essentially it has convulsed Brazil completely and large parts of Latin America. It is a telenovela with one cliffhanger after another, sometimes in a matter of minutes, but it encompasses all the basic themes of what really interests the 0.01 percent, which we can identify for instance as a class war against labor which is what the system in Brazil, since the coup against Dilma [Former President Dilma Vana Rousseff] has been waging. A war against mixed economies, economic sovereignty, which is something that the Masters of the Universe of the 0.01 percent cannot wage against Russia and China. But that was very successfully waged against Brazil and implemented in Brazil. In fact, in a matter of two years, they completely devastated the country in every possible sense, industrially, sociologically, you name it…

And of course, because the main objective is something that you keep stressing over and over again, unipolar rentier dominance, in fact.

Brazil, I would say is the extreme case in the world not only in the Global South, but in planetary terms of let’s say the last frontier of the rentier economy, when you manage to capture a country that was slowly emerging as a leader in the Global South, as an economic leader. Don’t forget that a few years ago, Brazil was the sixth-largest economy in the world and on the way to become the fifth. Now it’s the 12th and falling down nonstop and controlled by a mafia that includes not by accident, a Chicago Boy Pinochetista, Minister Paulo Guedes, who is implementing, in the 21st century, something that was implemented in Chile in the ‘70s and ‘80s. And they were successful. Apparently, at least so far.

Brazil is so disorganized as a nation, so shattered, so fragmented and atomized as a nation that basically it depends on the re-emergence of a single political leader, in this case, Lula to try to rebuild the nation from scratch. And even in a position where he cannot control the game he can interfere in the game, which is what happened, like you know, … when he gave a larger-than-life press conference, mixed with a re-presentation of himself as a statesman and  said, “Look  the whole thing is shattered, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.”

But still he cannot confront the real Masters of the Universe that have allowed this to happen in the first place. So just to give an example to many of you who are not familiar with some details of the Brazilian case, and it involves directly the Obama-Biden scheme or the Obama-Biden larger operation.  When Biden was vice president in 2013, in May 2013, he visited Brazil for three days and he met with President Dilma.

They discussed very touchy subjects, including the most important one, the absolutely enormous, pre-salt oil reserves, which obviously, the Americans wanted to be part of the whole thing, not by accident. You know what happened one week later? The start of the Brazilian color revolution, in fact, and this thing kept rolling and rolling and rolling.

We got the coup against Dilma in 2016, we got to the Car Wash operation landing Lula in jail. And we got to the election of [President Jair] Bolsanaro. And now we are in a place where even if the military controls this whole process, even if Bolsanaro is becoming bad for business will he become bad for the rentier class business, for the 0.01 percent in the U.S. that has all the connections in their new, large neo-colony in the tropics, which has enormous strategic value, not to mention, unforeseen resources, wealth resources, right? So, this is an extreme case and I know that you follow Brazil relatively closely. So, your geo-economic and geopolitical input on the running telenovela I think would be priceless for all of us.

Michael: Well, this problem goes back 60 years. In 1965, the former president of Brazil came to New York and we met. He explained to me how the United States essentially got rid of him because he wasn’t representing the banking class. And he said that they built Brasilia because it’s apart from the big industrial cities, they wanted to prevent industry and democracy and the population from controlling the government.

So, they built Brasilia. He said maybe they’ll use it as an atom bomb site. It certainly doesn’t have an economic thing. Well, fast forward, in 1980, after Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt in 1972, nobody would invest in Latin America. And by 1990, Brazil was paying 45 percent interest per year to borrow the dollars to be able to finance its deficit, which is mainly flight capital by the wealthy. Well, I think I’d mentioned before here, I was hired by Scudder, Stevens and Clark for the Third World bond fund. Forty five percent: I mean, just imagine that. That’s a fortune every year. No American would buy it, no European would buy it. Who bought it? The Brazilians and the Argentineans bought, and I get it, they’re the government, they’re the central bankers. They’re the president’s family. They’re the 1 percent, they’re the only people that are holding Brazil’s dollar debt.

So when Brazil pays its foreign dollar debt, it’s paying to its own 1 percent who are holding, who are saying well, we’re holding it off shore in the Dutch West Indies where the fund was located for tax-exempt purposes and pretending to be American imperialists, but actually being local imperialists.

Well then, just towards the end of Lula’s reign, the Council of Economic Advisors brought Jamie Galbraith and Randy Wray and me down for a discussion. How do we, you know, we’re, we’re really worried because, Lula in order to get elected, had to meet with the banks and agree to give them what they wanted.

They said, look, we can see that, you know, you have the power to be elected. We don’t want to have to fight you in dirty ways, but will let you be elected, but you’re going to have to do the policies and certainly the financial policies that we want and Lula made a kind of a devil’s agreement with them because he didn’t want to be killed and he wanted to do some good things.

So, he was sort of like a Bernie Sanders-type character. Okay, you have to go along with a really bad system in order to get something good done, because Brazil really needs something good done. Well, the fact is that even the little bit he did the finance couldn’t take because one of the characteristics of financial wealth is it’s addictive. It’s not like diminishing marginal utility. If you give more food to an employee or to a worker you know, at the end of the meal, you’re satiated, you don’t want much more. If you give enough money you know, OK, they buy a few luxuries and then, OK, they save it. But if you give more money to a billionaire they want even more and they grow even more desperate. It’s like a cocaine-addicted person and the Brazilian ruling class wanted it so desperately that they framed up and controlled the utterly corrupt judiciary.  The judiciary in Brazil is almost as corrupt as it is in New York City.

Pepe: More, even more.

Michael: They framed them up and they want totalitarian control. And that sort of is what free market is. Totalitarian control by the financial class. That’s freedom for the financial class, if the freedom to do what they want to do to the rest of the economy, that’s libertarianism, it’s a free market, it’s Austrian economics.

It’s the right wing’s fight against government, it’s a fight against any governments for long enough who resist the financial and real estate interests. That’s what the free market is. And Brazil is merely the most devastating example of this because it takes such a racial term there. Not only does Brazil want to make a fortune, tearing down the Amazon, cutting up the Amazon, selling the lumber to China, turning the Amazon into soy production to sell to China. But for that, you have to exterminate the domestic population, the indigenous population that wants to use the land to feed itself. So you see the kind of race war and ethnic war that you have, not to mention the war against the blacks in the Brazilian slums that Lula tried so much to overcome.

So you have a resumption of the ethnic war there, and on Wall Street, I had discussions with money managers back in 1990. Well I wonder whether that’s going to be a model for what’s happening in the United States with the ethnic war here.

Essentially, it’s a tragedy what’s happening in Brazil, but it’s pretty much what happened in Chile under Pinochet which is why they have the Pinochetistas and the Chicago boys that you mentioned.

Pepe: Absolutely. Coming back to China, Michael, and the [recent] approval of the Five-Year Plan, which is not actually the five-year plan. It’s actually three five-year plans in one because they are already planning 2035, which is something absolutely unimaginable anywhere in the West. Right?

So, it’s a different strategy of productive investment, of expansion of social welfare and solidifying social welfare, technological improvements.  I would say by 2025 China would be very close to the same infotech level of the U.S., which is part of “Made in China 2025,” which is fantastic. They stopped talking about it, but they are still implementing it, the technological drive in all those standard areas that they had codified a few years ago. And of course, this notion, which I found particularly fascinating because it is in one sense socialism with some Confucianist elements, but it’s also very Taoist: The dual development strategy, which is inversions and expansion of domestic investment and consumption and balancing all the time with projects across Eurasia, not only affiliated with the Belt and Road, with the New Silk Road, but all other projects as well. So, when you have a leadership that is capable of planning with this scope, amplitude breadth and reach, and when we compare it to the money managers in the West, which basically their planning goes, not even quarterly in many cases, it’s 24 hours.

So our dichotomy between rentier capitalism, financialization, or whatever we want to define it, and state planning with the view of social benefit is even starker in fact, and I’m not saying that the Chinese system can be exported to the rest of the world, but I’m sure that, all across the Global South, when people look at Chinese policies, long-term, how they are planning, how they are developed and how they are always fine tuning what they developed and discuss…. As you said in the beginning, this is a frontal shock of two systems and sooner or later we’re going to have the bulk of the Global South including nations which nowadays are still American vassals or satrapies or puppets or poodles, et cetera.

They’re going to see which way the wind is blowing. Right?

Michael: Why can’t the Chinese system be exported to the West? That’s a good question…. How would you make American industry able to follow the same productive path that China did? Well for one thing the biggest element in workers’ budget today is housing, 40 percent. There was one way to get rid of it, get rid of the high housing prices that essentially, or whatever a bank would lend. And the banks lend essentially the economic rent. There’s a very simple way to keep housing prices down. You tax the land rent, you use your tax system, not on taxing labor, that increases the cost of labor, not increasing capital, that leaves less, industrial capital, but your tax of the land and the real estate and the banks.

Well, suppose you were to lower the price of housing in America from 40 percent to 10 percent like China has, and this is the big element in the cost structure difference. Well, if all of a sudden people only had to pay 10 percent of their income for housing, then all the banks would go under because 80 percent of the bank loans are mortgage loans.

The whole idea is that the purpose of housing is to force how many buyers and renters go into debt to the banks so that the banks end up with all of the lend rent that the landlord class used to get. This is what’s preventing America from being like China. What if America would try to develop a high-speed railroad like China?

Well, then you need the right of way. You’d need to have the railroads go in a straight line. … They need a right of way and it doesn’t have a right of way because that conflicts with private property and most of the right of way is a very expensive real estate.

So, you can’t have high-speed rail in the United States, like in China.  Suppose you would have a low-cost education. Well then, you get rid of the whole means of siphoning off labor’s income to pay for education loans. You could go, suppose you had private healthcare and prevent Americans from getting sick like they do in China and Thailand, where you are.

One of China’s many super-speed electric trains. They are generations ahead of America’s rail system. (Wikicommons)


Well, then the health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t be able to make their rent. So you could not have America adopt a China type industrial program without what would be really a revolution against the legacy of the monopoly of private banking, of finance and all of the fortunes that have been built up financially really in the last 40 years since 1980.

Pepe: So, what’s going to happen in the, let’s say, short to mid-term in the U.S.? Michael, we are seeing the corrosion of the whole system, not only externally in terms of foreign policy and the end of the free lunch, but internally with those 70-million-plus “deplorables” being literally canceled from public debate, the impoverishment of the middle classes, with over 50 million people in America who are practically becoming literally poor. And obviously the American dream ended a few decades ago, maybe, but now there’s not even a glimpse of it, that there could be a renewal of the  American dream. So we have a larval civil war situation, degrading on a daily basis.  What’s the end game in fact? And what exactly does Wall Street, the American ruling class —the guys who have those lunches at the Harvard club — what do they ultimately want?

Michael: Well, what you call a disaster for the economy, isn’t it a bonanza for the 1 percent?  This is a victory of finance. You look at it as a collapse of industrial capitalism. I look at it as the victory of rentier finance capitalism.  You’re having probably 10 million Americans that are going to be thrown out of their apartments and their homes in June when the moratorium on rents and mortgages ends. You’re going to have a vast increase in the homeless population. That will probably represent an increase in people who use the subways. Where else are they going to live? And all of this, there’s an immense amount of private capital firms that have all been created in the last year of just wealth accumulations and they’re saying there are going to be such great opportunities to pick up real estate at bargain prices, all of this for the commercial real estate, that’s broken, all the buildings and the restaurants that have to be sold because they can’t meet their mortgage payments and their rents, all the houses that are going to be under, private capital can come in and do what was done after the Obama evictions.

We can do what Blackstone did. We can buy them all out for pennies on the dollar. So, for them, they’re looking at their own 20-year plan. And their 20-year plan is to grab everything!

A Long read, eh?

Yeah. I know it was a long read. Maybe you all should have gotten a beer and some pizza before you started to read it, maybe.

Delicious Beer and pizza.

.

Keep in mind that any disruption will be uneven. It will be in patches. Avoid the high-risk areas if you can, and be part of a group.

A Comment that generated this post…

The question;

Your website is by far THE MOST IMPORTANT resource for westerners right now. I have a lot to learn from site, and I also have some questions. The most important question I have at this moment is –

1) How do you advise Americans/Europeans who understand what is happening, the future that is approaching to prepare, survive AND maintain their sanity in these trying times. Especially those who can’t move outside USA/EU?

Your help and answer will be much appreciated. The feeling of doom and dread while your compatriots run towards jumping off a cliff (and forcibly drag you along) is not a fun feeling.

Note: I am in EU but I am using a VPN for my safety. My IP address will indicate an Asian country close to China but I am living in EU. Please approve my comment, it’s not a spam.

The Answer:

Thank you for this. This question has been asked of me my many people, and I have answered it. Long time MM readers can answer this for you, but I will take a quick stab at it yet again. 

Essentially, the social system that humans established way back around 5000 years ago is faulted. The moment that banking interest obtained the same value as gold or physical exertion, the system was doomed. It just took 7000 years to manifest. 

Now the USA is in debt for nearly 30 trillion dollars. All the gold on the planet earth wouldn’t be able to pay this debt. Yet this debt is jut an artificial creation. It’s just money out of thin air. Value from nothing.

For the last 75 years, the United States used this artificial value to control the world. The wealthy became like Gods. The poor became like slaves. 

And as a result the world became a very difficult place to live. Are you enjoying life right now? If not, why? 

Everything can be traced down to people who make nothing, who produce nothing, becoming Gods over those that do. And these “Gods” have their own group of toadies who service them. Creating wars, strife, and elements of control. It’s all ungainly and unraveling.

China, Russia and Iran are unifying. 

They are not allowing this artificial wealth creation mechanism to become the monster that it is in the West, and this is a major threat to the “American way of life”, “democracy” and what little is left of “freedom”.

The world is resetting.

Now, America and the West (the five eyes) is like a big old enraged old elephant on a jet aircraft. It is thrashing about, banging into the side of the aircraft and is roaring and howling and tearing up the floor. The pilot and his crew are deciding whether or not it is in the best interests to just open up the rear cargo door and throw him out the plane with no parachute. This is where we are today.

You have no control on whether or not the elephant will get ejected. For you are just a tiny, tiny flea on the back of this enraged elephant. Your choices are quite limited, but they are clear. Do you [1] jump off now and land on the sterile clean floor of the aircraft, while the elephant stomps about, [2] ride the elephant as you have been and hope that the elephant calms down and the plane lands safely, [3] fight with the other fleas on the back of the elephant and try to build a little nest of elephant hair, and float gently to the side of the plane intact.

And who is this elephant? Why it is the United States; an Oligarchy-ruled Military-Empire.

I have advised everyone who could, to take option [1] and flee. 

Those that could not, like yourself, I suggest option [3]. What ever you do, do not take option [2]. That is the herd option and it will be lethal.

And I will repeat my advice. Here is the advice for option [3]...

[1] Do not be a “lone wolf”. That is going to get you killed. Be part of a local community. Know who you can trust and who you cannot. Identify friends and foes. Again, I will repeat, do not try to be alone. You need to be part of a community to survive. This is your MOST IMPORTANT task.

[2] Learn a skill. Take an online class in paramedic technology, know some basic repair skills. You need to be useful when things go really crazy. have a skill. Have abilities. be able to work as a "team player". Be reasonable, balanced, and provide something of worth.

[3] Stock up on food supplies. Make sure that you have an enormous larder of dry goods. 

[4] Guns and weapons. Having a firearm is beneficial only if you know how to use it well. Otherwise, count on the avoidance strategy of survival, but be absolutely ready to kill with your bare hands if necessary. If you are not at this point, then you need to get to that point. Its basic survival 101. 

[5] Basics of location. If you are going to "hunker down", then be ready. Make sure that you have a hidden room in your basement or a place to go where you can hide if need be. Know where to get water, potable water easily, if you need to. Know how to recharge a batter with solar power or a generator from a bicycle. 

[6] Do not trust the “news”.  The "news" do not report anything, they actually provide deceptive reporting. 

[5] Lie low, be low key. Do not get on any public or private arguments. Be as neutral as possible. Do not be a target. Use the avoidance strategy at every point.

[6] Do not have “burned bridges”. Go ahead “mend your fences”. Your future depends on your ability to work as a team.

[7] Barter goods. When times are rough, and money is worthless, humans resort to bartering. Women will provide sexual favors. Men can provide items, or services. Top rated items are small bottles of cheap whiskey, vodka, or spirits. Also good are tobacco, cigarettes and pipe tobacco. A box of 100 disposable lighters is very cheap and you would be surprised how valuable they can become. Be able to reload ammo even if you don't have a gun. Antibiotics will be worth YOUR weight in gold. Whether for animals, or humans or next best herbal alternatives, having a supply is important. Same goes with condoms. You do not want to have a nasty STD when you are in a SHTF situation.

[8] Avoid crowds. Stay out of the cities. Do not isolate in the country.

[9] Do not trust anyone. We are all entering a time where betrayal and lies have become normal. Don't believe anyone. Don't trust anyone.

In America today is a world of hurt because everyone demands their “freedom” and “independence”. Contrast that to here in China where people work together to the greater good of everyone. Sure there might be a star basketball player, but he is shit when he comes across a well trained and organized team.

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How the US Government uses Military Special Forces to control civilian populations

America has been conducting warfare with military forces dressed in civilian attire for decades now. These forces use military tactics, training, and utilize military support structures to accomplish their objectives. They do everything that a normal and regular military does, except that  they are not easily identified as combat forces. As they operate in secret and disguise.

Most well known of these assault troops are NGO’s.

What Is an NGO?

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit group that functions independently of any government.

Meaning that it operates as a separate entity where there are no obvious direct connections between the NGO and the parent government.

NGOs, sometimes called civil societies, are organized on community, national and international levels to serve a social or political goal such as humanitarian causes or the environment.

The largest and best funded NGO’s out of the United States are dedicated to “spreading democracy”, “advocating liberty”, and “promoting American values”.

But all NGOs are different and some are met with intense criticism for lack of transparency in budgeting or effectual action. When donating money or looking for work in the NGO world, it is always important to do your research about how much of the group’s budget goes to administrative costs and how much goes directly to the cause you care about. The website Charity Navigator is a useful resource for this.

Another important critique of NGOs is that all too often organizations staffed with Americans and Europeans come into developing nations with action plans that don’t fit the local context and end up adversely affecting their target populations. This, however, is not an inherent flaw of NGOs but rather a symptom of failing to acknowledge the importance of local expertise within the NGO framework.

Because NGO funding commonly comes from developed nations, a particularly effective model for NGOs includes using local in-country staff to plan and implement programs on the ground while working with an international board focused on fundraising, outreach, and strategic group planning.

It would be untrue to claim that NGOs are immune to political influence simply because they are not directly connected to governments; NGOs’ funding and even daily operations are subject to political approval.

For example, NGOs working to bring amnesty to political refugees will often face intense political adversity, and even violence during their in-country work. But unlike government organizations, NGOs typically have more flexibility to defy a political status quo to pursue what they believe to be important social change.

Shelly Grimaldi

Key Takeaways

  • NGOs, is an abbreviation for Non-Governmental Organizations.
  • NGO’s tend play a major role in international development, aid and philanthropy.
  • NGOs are non-profit by definition, but may run budgets of millions or up to billions of dollars each year. They are classified this way for tax reduction strategies.
  • NGOs rely on a variety of funding sources. This varies from private donations and membership dues to direct government contribution and training.
  • Many NGO’s, especially American ones, are almost entirely funded directly by the United States government. Either directly or though proxy in a “pass through” arrangement.

About NGOs

While “NGO” has various interpretations, the term is generally accepted to include non-profit, private organizations that operate outside of government control. Some NGOs rely primarily on volunteers, while others support a paid staff. The World Bank identifies two broad groups of NGOs:

  • Operational NGOs, which focus on the design and implementation of development projects.
  • Advocacy NGOs, which defend or promote a specific cause and seek to influence public policy.

Some NGOs may fall under both categories simultaneously. Examples of NGOs include those that support human rights, advocate for improved health or encourage political participation. The ones funded though by the United States all are involved in political participation at some level or the other.

How NGOs are Funded

As non-profits, NGOs rely on a variety of sources for funding, including:

  • Membership dues
  • Private donations
  • The sale of goods and services
  • Grants
  • Direct government grants
  • Hidden government funding though “pass through” arrangements

Despite their supposed independence from governments, many NGOs rely heavily on government funding. Large NGOs may have budgets in the millions or billions of dollars.

Types of NGOs

A number of variations of the NGO acronym exist, including:

  • INGO: An international NGO. For example, the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe is comprised of more than 300 participating INGOs.
  • GONGO: This means government-organized NGO, often derogatory. Foreign Policy describes GONGOs as a government-backed NGOs set up to advocate on the behalf of a repressive regime in the international arena.
  • QUANGO: Chiefly a British term, often derogatory. A quango is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization that relies on public funding. Its senior officials are appointed by the government. A Financial Times opinion piece writes that quangos are seen as useless and are often staffed by quangocrats.
  • ENGO: An environmental NGO, for example, Greenpeace or the World Wildlife Fund. Both groups operate internationally in addition to advocating for the environment. They are often simply referred to as NGOs.

NGO’s in China

The United States government uses NGO’s as the primary method to inject military personnel inside enemy nations. This injection of assault troops and CIA associated military forces for point-of-force disruption of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Tibet primarily come from one singular NGO’s. Which is the NED.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 1,600 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries.

https://www.ned.org

The CIA under a different name

American military publications

Here is a very interesting work. It’s a complete book, reproduced here in in PDF format. It is titled “SOF Civil Affairs in Great Power Competition” and comes from the United States military; specifically the “Joint Special Operations University and the Department of Strategic Studies”.

The work describes how the United States uses military personnel to control civilian populations for military objectives. It discusses NGO’s and how to foment revolutions and turmoil, as well as how to control unruly populations such as within America.

It discusses among other things…

  • How the United States military is engaged in harming and causing turmoil within China. All without wearing military uniforms, or firing guns and automatic weapons.

Journalist, NGO, or CIA operative?

As well as the very interesting segment(s) on…

  • How the United States military is engaged in controlling the American population to prevent uprisings, armed resurrection and “torches and pitchfork” moments.

It’s an interesting read, though many of us within MM know about much of the techniques used. We watched them in “real time” as all of Hong Kong is on video camera, wired and recorded.

It is useful to keep in mind that these techniques are being employed inside of America against Americans today. Which pretty much explains the idea why the sheeple haven’t risen up against the oligarchy class yet…

…yet.

Rather than reproduce the work in HTML, it is reproduced in the PDF format. Just click on the link below and download it and read at your convenience.

The China section is profoundly interesting.

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Law 7 of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; Get others to do the work for you, you always take the credit (Full Text)

Here is another law from the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. This is Law 7. Get others to do the work for you. We can see how this law is practiced throughout the United States. Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos. Eric Schmidt. Donald Trump. Can you name their “right hand men”? I’ll bet you cannot. For they are the figurehead and they get all the credit for the system that they are part of.

LAW 7

GET OTHERS TO DO THE WORK FOR YOU, BUT ALWAYS TAKE THE CREDIT

JUDGMENT

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

TRANSGRESSION AND OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In 1883 a young Serbian scientist named Nikola Tesla was working for the European division of the Continental Edison Company. He was a brilliant inventor, and Charles Batchelor, a plant manager and a personal friend of Thomas Edison, persuaded him he should seek his fortune in America, giving him a letter of introduction to Edison himself. So began a life of woe and tribulation that lasted until Tesla’s death.

IIII TORTOISE THE LELP AND THE HIPPOPOI

One day the tortoise met the elephant, who trumpeted, “Out of my way, you weakling—I might step on you!” The tortoise was not afraid and stayed where he was, so the elephant stepped on him, but could not crush him. “Do not boast, Mr. Elephant, I am as strong as you are!” said the tortoise, but the elephant just laughed. So the tortoise asked him to come to his hill the next morning. The next day, before sunrise, the tortoise ran down the hill to the river, where he met the hippopotamus, who was just on his way back into the water after his nocturnal feeding. “Mr Hippo! Shall we have a tug-of-war? I bet I’m as strong as you are!” said the tortoise. The hippopotamus laughed at this ridiculous idea, but agreed. The tortoise produced a long rope and told the hippo to hold it in his mouth until the tortoise shouted “Hey!” Then the tortoise ran back up the hill where he found the elephant, who was getting impatient. He gave the elephant the other end of the rope and said, “When I say ‘Hey!’ pull, and you’ll see which of us is the strongest. ”Then he ran halfway back down the hill, to a place where he couldn’t be seen, and shouted, “Hey!” The elephant and the hippopotamus pulled and pulled, but neither could budge the other-they were of equal strength. They both agreed that the tortoise was as strong as they were. Never do what others can do for you. The tortoise let others do the work for him while he got the credit. 

-
ZAIREAN FABLE

When Tesla met Edison in New York, the famous inventor hired him on the spot. Tesla worked eighteen-hour days, finding ways to improve the primitive Edison dynamos. Finally he offered to redesign them completely.

To Edison this seemed a monumental task that could last years without paying off, but he told Tesla, “There’s fifty thousand dollars in it for you— if you can do it.”

Tesla labored day and night on the project and after only a year he produced a greatly improved version of the dynamo, complete with automatic controls. He went to Edison to break the good news and receive his $50,000.

Edison was pleased with the improvement, for which he and his company would take credit, but when it came to the issue of the money he told the young Serb, “Tesla, you don’t understand our American humor!,” and offered a small raise instead.

Tesla’s obsession was to create an alternating-current system (AC) of electricity. Edison believed in the direct-current system (DC), and not only refused to support Tesla’s research but later did all he could to sabotage him.

Tesla turned to the great Pittsburgh magnate George Westinghouse, who had started his own electricity company.

Westinghouse completely funded Tesla’s research and offered him a generous royalty agreement on future profits. The AC system Tesla developed is still the standard today— but after patents were filed in his name, other scientists came forward to take credit for the invention, claiming that they had laid the groundwork for him. His name was lost in the shuffle, and the public came to associate the invention with Westinghouse himself.

A year later, Westinghouse was caught in a takeover bid from J. Pierpont Morgan, who made him rescind the generous royalty contract he had signed with Tesla.

Westinghouse explained to the scientist that his company would not survive if it had to pay him his full royalties; he persuaded Tesla to accept a buyout of his patents for $216,000—a large sum, no doubt, but far less than the $12 million they were worth at the time.

The financiers had divested Tesla of the riches, the patents, and essentially the credit for the greatest invention of his career.

The name of Guglielmo Marconi is forever linked with the invention of radio. But few know that in producing his invention—he broadcast a signal across the English Channel in 1899—Marconi made use of a patent Tesla had filed in 1897, and that his work depended on Tesla’s research.

Once again Tesla received no money and no credit. Tesla invented an induction motor as well as the AC power system, and he is the real “father of radio.” Yet none of these discoveries bear his name.

As an old man, he lived in poverty.

In 1917, during his later impoverished years, Tesla was told he was to receive the Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He turned the medal down. “You propose,” he said, “to honor me with a medal which I could pin upon my coat and strut for a vain hour before the members of your Institute.

You would decorate my body and continue to let starve, for failure to supply recognition, my mind and its creative products, which have supplied the foundation upon which the major portion of your Institute exists.”

Interpretation

Many harbor the illusion that science, dealing with facts as it does, is beyond the petty rivalries that trouble the rest of the world.

Nikola Tesla was one of those.

He believed science had nothing to do with politics, and claimed not to care for fame and riches. As he grew older, though, this ruined his scientific work. Not associated with any particular discovery, he could attract no investors to his many ideas. While he pondered great inventions for the future, others stole the patents he had already developed and got the glory for themselves.

He wanted to do everything on his own, but merely exhausted and impoverished himself in the process.

Edison was Tesla’s polar opposite.

He wasn’t actually much of a scientific thinker or inventor; he once said that he had no need to be a mathematician because he could always hire one. That was Edison’s main method.

He was really a businessman and publicist, spotting the trends and the opportunities that were out there, then hiring the best in the field to do the work for him. If he had to he would steal from his competitors. Yet his name is much better known than Tesla’s, and is associated with more inventions.

To be sure, if the hunter relies on the security of the carriage, utilizes the legs of the six horses, and makes Wang Liang hold their reins, then he will not tire himself and will find it easy to overtake swift animals. Now supposing he discarded the advantage of the carriage, gave up the useful legs of the horses and the skill of Wang Liang, and alighted to run after the animals, then even though his legs were as quick as Lou Chi’s, he would not be in time to overtake the animals. In fact, if good horses and strong carriages are taken into use, then mere bond-men and bondwomen will be good enough to catch the animals. 

-
HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.

The lesson is twofold:

First, the credit for an invention or creation is as important, if not more important, than the invention itself. You must secure the credit for yourself and keep others from stealing it away, or from piggy- backing on your hard work. To accomplish this you must always be vigilant and ruthless, keeping your creation quiet until you can be sure there are no vultures circling overhead.

Second, learn to take advantage of other  people’s work to further your own cause. Time is precious and life is short. If you try to do it all on your own, you run yourself ragged, waste energy, and burn yourself out. It is far better to conserve your forces, pounce on the work others have done, and find a way to make it your own.

Everybody steals in commerce and industry. I’ve stolen a lot myself. But I know how to steal. 

-Thomas Edison, 1847-1931

KEYS TO POWER

The world of power has the dynamics of the jungle:

There are those who live by hunting and killing, and there are also vast numbers of creatures (hyenas, vultures) who live off the hunting of others. These latter, less imaginative types are often incapable of doing the work that is essential for the creation of power.

They understand early on, though, that if they wait long enough, they can always find another animal to do the work for them.

Do not be naive: At this very moment, while you are slaving away on some project, there are vultures circling above trying to figure out a way to survive and even thrive off your creativity. It is useless to complain about this, or to wear yourself ragged with bitterness, as Tesla did.

Better to protect yourself and join the game. Once you have established a power base, become a vulture yourself, and save yourself a lot of time and energy.

A hen who had lost her sight, and was accustomed to scratching up the earth in search of food, although blind, still continued to scratch away most diligently. Of what use was it to the industriuus fool? Another sharp-sighted hen who spared her tender feet never moved from her side, and enjoyed, without scratching, the fruit of the other’s labor. For as often as the blind hen scratched up a barley-corn, her watchful companion devoured it. 

-
FABLES, GOITCHOLD LESSING, 1729-1781

Of the two poles of this game, one can be illustrated by the example of the explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Balboa had an obsession—the discovery of El Dorado, a legendary city of vast riches.

Early in the sixteenth century, after countless hardships and brushes with death, he found evidence of a great and wealthy empire to the south of Mexico, in present-day Peru.

By conquering this empire, the Incan, and seizing its gold, he would make himself the next Cortés. The problem was that even as he made this discovery, word of it spread among hundreds of other conquistadors. He did not understand that half the game was keeping it quiet, and carefully watching those around him.

A few years after he discovered the location of the Incan empire, a soldier in his own army, Francisco Pizarro, helped to get him beheaded for treason. Pizarro went on to take what Balboa had spent so many years trying to find.

The other pole is that of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, who, late in his career, found himself deluged with requests for paintings.

He created a system: In his large studio he employed dozens of outstanding painters, one specializing in robes, another in backgrounds, and so on. He created a vast production line in which a large number of canvases would be worked on at the same time. When an important client visited the studio, Rubens would shoo his hired painters out for the day. While the client watched from a balcony, Rubens would work at an incredible pace, with unbelievable energy. The client would leave in awe of this prodigious man, who could paint so many masterpieces in so short a time.

This is the essence of the Law: Learn to get others to do the work for you while you take the credit, and you appear to be of godlike strength and power.

If you think it important to do all the work yourself, you will never get far, and you will suffer the fate of the Balboas and Teslas of the world.

Find people with the skills and creativity you lack.

Either hire them, while putting your own name on top of theirs, or find a way to take their work and make it your own. Their creativity thus becomes yours, and you seem a genius to the world.

There is another application of this law that does not require the parasitic use of your contemporaries’ labor: Use the past, a vast storehouse of knowledge and wisdom.

Isaac Newton called this “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

He meant that in making his discoveries he had built on the achievements of others. A great part of his aura of genius, he knew, was attributable to his shrewd ability to make the most of the insights of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance scientists.

Shakespeare borrowed plots, characterizations, and even dialogue from Plutarch, among other writers, for he knew that nobody surpassed Plutarch in the writing of subtle psychology and witty quotes. How many later writers have in their turn borrowed from—plagiarized—Shakespeare ?

We all know how few of today’s politicians write their own speeches.

Their own words would not win them a single vote; their eloquence and wit, whatever there is of it, they owe to a speech writer. Other people do the work, they take the credit. The upside of this is that it is a kind of power that is available to everyone. Learn to use the knowledge of the past and you will look like a genius, even when you are really just a clever borrower.

Writers who have delved into human nature, ancient masters of strategy, historians of human stupidity and folly, kings and queens who have learned the hard way how to handle the burdens of power—their knowledge is gathering dust, waiting for you to come and stand on their shoulders.

Their wit can be your wit, their skill can be your skill, and they will never come around to tell people how unoriginal you really are.

You can slog through life, making endless mistakes, wasting time and energy trying to do things from your own experience. Or you can use the armies of the past. As Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”

Image: The Vulture. Of all the creatures in the jungle, he has it the easiest. The hard work of others becomes his work; their failure to survive becomes his nourishment. Keep an eye on the Vulture—while you are hard at work, he is cir cling above. Do not fight him, join him.

Authority: There is much to be known, life is short, and life is not life without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire knowledge from everybody. Thus, by the sweat of another’s brow, you win the reputation of being an oracle. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

There are times when taking the credit for work that others have done is not the wise course: If your power is not firmly enough established, you will seem to be pushing people out of the limelight. To be a brilliant ex ploiter of talent your position must be unshakable, or you will be accused of deception.

Be sure you know when letting other people share the credit serves your purpose. It is especially important to not be greedy when you have a master above you. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the People’s Republic of China was originally his idea, but it might never have come off but for the deft diplomacy of Henry Kissinger. Nor would it have been as successful without Kissinger’s skills. Still, when the time came to take credit, Kissinger adroitly let Nixon take the lion’s share. Knowing that the truth would come out later, he was careful not to jeopardize his standing in the short term by hogging the limelight. Kissinger played the game expertly: He took credit for the work of those below him while graciously giving credit for his own labors to those above. That is the way to play the game.

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America has decided to wage a hot war against China. It’s not if, it’s when.

I pretty much agree with migueljose. I'm 77 years old, US native-born citizen and life-long resident. The main problem in the US is the intense interracial animosity of all against all, and the deliberate race baiting by our ruling class. Race relations were better in the 50's despite segregation (worse in the North).

The second problem is the collapse of our educational system K-post doc, and the resulting incompetence of our Ruling Class. The attempt to actually destroy important Russian and Chinese companies and institutions, like Huawei, is an actual act of war. When that game was run against Japan in the late 30's, we got the Pacific War. Our current policies will give us a war with Russia-China. After the Biden interview and Alaska meeting fiascos, it is clear Russia and China are now coordinating their future actions. One fears the worst.

Posted by: bob sykes | Mar 23 2021 19:23 utc | 6

I do not want to sound alarming. But… Jeeze Louise…

After this last week with [1] the events of the Alaskan meeting between the United States and China, and [2] the “write ups” leading to it are quite horrifying.

I wonder what the Hell is going on in the minds of the folks back in Washington DC, for they have obviously have a mixture of numerous mental illnesses. Not a singular one. A mixture.

The Alaskan meeting was stunning in it’s insanity.

For starters, America demands that China (and the rest of the world) STOP working with the United Nations. Instead they order all other nations, and their leaders to “follow the United States” as it leads.

Yes.

You read that correctly.

Well, for one thing, the Americans demand a “Rules based obedience“. Not one that follows the United Nations. I know that it sounds so nice, and so orderly. “Rules”. ‘Why would anyone not want to follow “rules”?’ says the American sheeple. And yes, it does play well in the “red states” back inside of America, but it is dangerous.

It is very, very dangerous.

Because this “rules based obedience” means…

  1. There is not any kind of national sovereignty, only American sovereignty.
  2. Nations exist at the pleasure and allowance of the United States.
  3. The United States makes the rules at will.
  4. The United States changes the rules at will.
  5. All other nations are subservient to the United States.
  6. The United Nations has no say what so ever in International affairs.
  7. The United Nations is a convenience that America uses when it wants to, and ignores when it decides to.

This is a very authoritarian and demanding posture.

It is unyielding and fixed.

It’s almost as if the leaders in America are Megalomaniacs. To believe and allow such an insane level of insanity.

Megalomania is a psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, omnipotence, and by inflated self-esteem. 

Historically it was used as a name for narcissistic personality disorder prior to the latter's first use by Heinz Kohut in 1968, and is used today as a non-clinical equivalent. 

But it’s not just that.

It’s many other things.

Such as the litany of demands that America placed on China.

Such as…

  • China’s actions and behavior regarding 台湾.
  • China’s actions and behavior regarding 西藏.
  • China’s actions and behavior regarding 香港.
  • China’s actions and behavior regarding 快乐的脚.

All of which might not look familiar to the American readers in the audience.

As all of the items (that America demanded on China) are de facto Chinese land, cities, areas and territories.

These are regions as specified within the United Nations and identified as Chinese domains.

Such as Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan.

So it really is insulting that these jackasses from Washington DC have the fucking nerve to tell the Chinese what to do in 香港.

Which is like China demanding that America do thing about Baltimore, the killings in Chicago, and the maritime operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Boston harbor.

This illness, where you cannot understand the personal barriers of others is known as Cognitive Dysfunction.

Cognitive disorders, also known as neurocognitive disorders, are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive abilities including learning, memory, perception, and problem solving. 

Neurocognitive disorders include delirium and mild and major neurocognitive disorder. 

They are defined by deficits in cognitive ability that are acquired, typically represent decline, and may have an underlying brain pathology. 

The DSM-5 defines six key domains of cognitive function: executive function, learning and memory, perceptual-motor function, language, complex attention, and social cognition.

Why were the American delegation so rude, demanding, and ill behaved during the Alaskan meeting? Could it be that they ACTUALLY BELIEVED that they were that powerful, and that they indeed represented the United States within that capacity?

How and why would they hold this amazingly dangerous position? It’s not patriotism. It’s pure evil.

It is exactly what Hitler demanded of Austria, West Prussia, Poland, the Netherlands, and France in the late 1930’s.

It’s pure evil.

The hatred towards China inside America is just ripe for war

The last four years of spewed hate has been horrible. Here’s the “news” from today…

The Mike Pompeo Speech is codified into policy

In April 2020, immediately after China stopped the COVID-19B virus, Mike Pompeo laid out a speech decrying China. In his speech he stated that all efforts to contain it has failed and that new aggressive measures must be taken.

I guess Pompeo and trump were surprised that China could completely stop a major bio-weapons attack with an R0=20; the very dangerous “B strain” when China was must vulnerable; CNY.

In comparison, the American "safe strain", has a much smaller R0=0.01, and a much small lethality footprint. Which is why it is called the "herd inoculation strain".

This speech was bemoaned by the entire global community as unrealistic, a throwback to World War II, and entirely antagonistic as well as a violation of the UN charter.

Well, guess what?

Yup. It’s now official American policy.

The Longer Telegram

Don’t believe me? Here we look at an American “policy paper” known as “The Longer Telegram“.

It’s called a “telegraph” as it is used as a “fair warning” that the United States considers China as a hostile enemy that must be destroyed. Thus the message is “telegraphed” to all people involved.

It is a reissue, and rewording of a post World War II document on how to be Master of the World. And it is being followed with religious fervor in the United States by the Biden administration. Following this outdated, outmoded, and insane cartoon-image of what the world is today is hastening the demise of the United States.

As well as forcing the hands of the Chinese, Iranians and Russians towards nuclear war.

It’s authored by “anonymous“, but we can see clearly that the contributors are the entire neocon establishment on “K street”. That’s John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and the rest of the neocon cabal.

What is this “telegram”?

It’s a strategy and orders towards “reclaiming American greatness” by the destruction of the largest threats “to the American way of life” in the world. In it, it describes a very militaristic policy of total annihilation of the enemies of the United States.

Not cooperation.

Not negotiation, and trade.

Not Geo-political alignments, and posturing.

No.

It’s about total annihilation of all the threats the the United States global leadership, and how to go about making sure that it is successful.

  • Primarily the destruction of China.
  • Isolation of China from Russian support and alliances.
  • Isolation of China geographically.
  • Isolation of China internationally, culturally and socially.
  • Isolation of China in technology, skills, knowledge and science.

America is a military empire.

It’s a long-worded tome.

Obviously it was written by one or more “think tanks” in the military-industrial complex. Obviously a number of committees wrote various parts, spliced them together, and achieved “buy in” as a group.

As Strategic Culture writes…

The Atlantic Council has emitted The Longer Telegram: Toward A New American China Strategy written by Anonymous. Clearly it is supposed to echo Mr X’s (George Kennan’s) Long Telegram. But some differences: this is longer – much longer, grinding on for seven times the length of Kennan’s essay.

And what is it about…

It’s about China…

It’s about Russia too.

The document describes a China that exists only in their furtive imaginations; 

An “authoritarian” country whose communist rulers are divorced from the people they rule, in which President Xi is described as more or less a warlord surrounded by “cronies,” enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else, and who have visions of ruling the world. 

This fantasy is in fact a mirror-image of the United States.

Indeed.

It has absolutely no resemblance with China, as it is today, in any way, shape or form.

The American military are experts at fighting wars in far away lands.

Facts do not matter to the ideologically obsessed.

The Strategic Culture Foundation says it quite clearly…

But, enough of Anonymous’ fancies – they have no base in reality: 

The USA out-sourced its manufacturing to China long ago and won’t be getting it back.

Wokeism is killing its education system.
America's politics are broken.
America's military is losing everywhere and doesn’t realize it.
A tsunami of debt has built up. 

Most absurd of all, after years of needless hostility to Russia, Washington has no hope of separating Moscow from Beijing. 

And Xi Jinping is not some rogue who seized control...
...he is the top of a robust pyramid.

The only significance of this paltry effort is that it gives us another – and depressingly influential – example of the curious American obsession with personalities – everything in Chinese-U.S. relations was going along swimmingly until Xi. 

But actually, as anyone capable of seeing reality knows, China is much, much more than one man.

China/Russia/Iran/Iraq/insert-name-of-country was happy to accept its place in the Rules-Based International Order...

... until that nasty Xi/Putin/Ayatollah/Saddam/insert-name changed everything; get rid of him and it will all fix itself.

Sure...

When are they going to understand that it’s a whole country, not just one guy?

America is a Military Empire.

How about the details…

But what is this thing… this “Longer Telegram”…

In an extraordinarily provocative move, the U.S. foreign policy establishment has warned China that it is pushing for a more aggressive strategy...

... all the way up to instigating war. 

In a tome-like article published by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, there are foreboding demands for numerous “red lines” to confront China over.

Entitled ‘The Longer Telegram’ the article is a strange throwback to Cold War thinking. It is ostentatiously mimicking the famous document authored by George Kennan in 1946 who as a U.S. diplomat based in the Moscow wrote ‘The Long Telegram’ prescribing a hostile strategy of containment against the Soviet Union.

Thus the Atlantic Council is billing the recent article as a seminal historical contribution to formulating U.S. policy towards China, and one that is more bellicose and “comprehensive”.

The suppression of China will require “boots on the ground” inside of China.

Here’s a reprint of a very informative article…

The Longer Telegram: To Contain China or the USA?
Christopher Black
March 14, 2021

The paper repeats the mistake inherent in all American thinking about the world, of [1] inventing a rival that does not exist, and then [2] positing strategies to deal with this fiction.

Washington, Beijing and European capitals have been firing off barrages of commentary in the past weeks on an anonymously authored paper on China published on January 28 by the U.S.-NATO think tank, the Atlantic Council, entitled “The Longer Telegram: Toward A New American China Strategy.

It is modeled on another policy paper written by George Kennan in 1946.

That policy paper was called the Long Telegram. In it Kennan set out a strategy for “containing” the Soviet Union.

Which is a nice euphemism that means “destroying it”.

The American military has been training to seize Chinese islands and fight within Chinese cities.

Kennan’s advice was adopted and became U.S. strategy. The Longer Telegram purports to set out a strategy for undermining China and its socialist system.

Which is really fucked up as the Chinese system is far, far, FAR superior to the American system of oligarchy-run military-empire that pretends to be a democracy.

The Longer Telegram has met with approval by some U.S. and allied strategists and governments but alarm by others. China has denounced it for what it is, a plan for aggression against China and its socialist system.

The paper repeats the mistake inherent in all American thinking about the world, of inventing a rival that does not exist, and then positing strategies to deal with this fiction.

This delusory thinking has led the United States into one defeat after another and caused the world untold troubles as it tried to throw its weight around to secure markets and resources for its industries and capital.

  • Yemen
  • Panama
  • Libera
  • Afghanistan
  • Syria
  • etc, etc…

The destruction of one country after another to achieve that objective, the deaths of millions, the immiseration of entire regions of the world are nothing to American capital so long as it can make money.

All their rhetoric about “human rights” “democracy” and other such platitudes is just a cover for maintaining their economic hegemony and keeping everyone else down.

American occupation of Xinjiang, Taiwan, Tibet and Hing Kong are all part of the war plans.

They even sometimes admit this.

In the National Defence Strategy issued in 2018, the real reason for the slanders against China, the constant provocations in Hong Kong, and the South China Sea is stated clearly…

“Failure to meet our defense objectives will result in decreasing U.S. global influence...

...eroding cohesion among allies and partners...

...and reduced access to markets...

...that will contribute to a decline in our prosperity and standard of living.”

Of course even this is a lie since American capital does not care at all about the standard of living of the American people, only about the prosperity and standard of living of the big capitalists.

The world can see what conditions are in the United States.

The [1] failure to protect their people from the Covid pandemic, [2] the almost daily extrajudicial killings of blacks and poor people, [3] the hollow promise of Biden to institute a higher minimum wage, [4] the collapse of the power grid in Texas are[5] eloquent expressions of the contempt and disregard big capital has for the common people.

The document describes a China that exists only in their furtive imaginations;

…an “authoritarian” country whose communist rulers are divorced from the people they rule, in which President Xi is described as more or less a warlord surrounded by “cronies,” enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else, and who have visions of ruling the world.

This fantasy is in fact a mirror image of the United States.

The American marines have been drilling and practicing the invasion and seizure of Chinese held islands for the last four years.

The anonymous author(s) sees China as he has been conditioned to see America, and then projects that outward to any nation that attempts to develop its economy and improve the conditions of its people.

And just as the forces of capital in the United States manipulate elections and the political system to guarantee their power in order to feather their own nests, the author of the Longer Telegram accuses the President of China of doing the same in China, of using his position for his own benefit.

It then offers recommendations on how to try to split the Chinese leadership from the people, and even on how to split the Communist Party from its membership and the people, using false claims as propaganda to undermine social cohesion.

American military.

China did well to kick out the BBC last week and to arrest the U.S. and British agents in Hong Kong.

The document adopts the Henry Kissinger strategy urging a soft approach to Russia to try to lure it away from its alliance with China.

This would require a complete reversal of American strategy of surrounding Russia with bases, ships and missile systems, of attempting to ruin the Russian economy with all the illegal trade and financial embargoes.

It is not going to happen.

But the suggestion shows the confusion in the American leadership on how to stop its economic decline that precedes its decline as the world hegemon.

For decades the Americans have claimed to support nations trying to raise themselves from the poverty created by European and American colonialism, to achieve economic prosperity and a better life for their peoples.

But when a country achieves those goals it suddenly becomes an enemy.

America want no rivals.

The Chinese military are not 1980’s era conscripts with out-of-date Russian weapons systems. They are a modern and formidable army.

China is declared an enemy simply because the Communist Party has, over its long struggle from the Long March to today, raised a billion and more people out of poverty, has created a social and economic system no western nation can equal.

  • China is as big as the United States.
  • China has more factories than the United States.
  • China has a peer capable military.
  • China is a threat on all levels of (former) United States dominance.

And most importantly…

Their example shows the world what can be achieved by nations finally freed from colonialism, and shows the strength and vitality of socialism.

But now America faces renewed threats from the aspiring colonial powers.

China is a serious, serious nation that does not play.

Defeated in 1949, the colonial powers have never abandoned their ambitions to again reduce China to a colony.

They are, once again, actively engaged in trying to undermine China as a sovereign nation.

To slander it.

To sabotage its economy.

To threaten it with armed force.

And to break it into smaller, manageable pieces, as they want to do with Russia.

The method of attack is wide.

The Canadians, on U.S. orders, have essentially kidnapped and still hold hostage, Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer of the technology company, Huawei.

At the same time, the U.S. used the arrest as a warning to others trading with Iran.

They have increased their military provocations off the Chinese coast.

With the U.S. and its vassal states sending naval ships, time and again, through the Taiwan Strait, claiming to be enforcing “freedom of navigation” …

…but in reality declaring that Taiwan, a province of China, is an American protectorate.

The Chinese are not illiterate goat herders living in mud huts.

The complete response to the Longer Telegram is found in China’s national defence white paper which states, “Though a country may become strong, bellicosity will lead to its ruin.

The Chinese nation has always loved peace.

Since the beginning of modern times, the Chinese people have suffered from aggressions and wars, and have learned the value of peace and the pressing need for development.

Therefore, China will never inflict such sufferings on any other country.

Any attack on China will come with an enormous price tag.

Since its founding 70 years ago, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never started any war or conflict.

You just cannot say this about America; the biggest military empire in history.

Since the introduction of reform and opening-up, China has been committed to promoting world peace, and has voluntarily downsized the PLA by over 4 million troops.

China has grown from a poor and weak country to be the world’s second largest economy neither by receiving handouts from others nor by engaging in military expansion or colonial plunder.

Instead, it has developed through its people’s hard work and its efforts to maintain peace.

China has made every effort to create favorable conditions for its development through maintaining world peace, and has equally endeavored to promote world peace through its own development.

China sincerely hopes that all countries will choose the path of peaceful development and jointly prevent conflicts and wars.”

All those who want peace in the world, can support that statement.

The US military experts gave a high estimate of the tests of the new Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile which showed that the US aircraft carriers are in real danger as reported by Washington Free Beacon at the beginning of July. The tests took place in the South China Sea, where, in particular, the US Navy ships are deployed. It is specified that the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) requires hi-tech surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting systems. According to the Pentagon, China has already deployed all of those. The US has no missile systems of the kind, and the possibilities to counteract them are limited, according to the website.

The Longer Telegram is not just a policy paper, it is also propaganda.

Dangerous anti-UN propaganda

Propaganda which must be rejected as a call for the violation of all the principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations.

A charter that guarantee every nation [1] the right to peaceful development, [2] to its sovereignty and [3] to non-interference from other nations; [4] to be treated with respect.

All of which were missing in the 19MAR21 Alaskan meeting between the USA and America.

Instead of contemplating strategies on how to contain China…

….the world must instead contemplate strategies for containing the United States of America.”


It’s all pretty damning. But why does MM believe that America has chosen to engage in a hot war?

Americans are ripe and “chomping at the bit” for a war.

There is unrestrained budget constraints and the debt is at twenty trillion dollars with no signs of any kind of fiscal responsibility. Either the American governance is counting on a financial and fiscal collapse, or…

…or…

…they plan on looting a large, plump and ripe nation to compensate for their fiscal irresponsibility.

And they are eyeing China.

History tells us that when nations have depleted their coffers, and their citizenry have taken to “torches and pitchforks” the only way out…

…socially, economically, and as a way to control the situation…

…is a war.

If they win, and conquer the opposing targeted nation, they can loot it, and fill their empty coffers. They can unite an upset and disturbingly angry citizenry with an enemy, and they can postpone the demise of their government that caused the fiscal irresponsibility in the first place.

China does not play.

Let’s look at this article, shall we…


Washington Telegrams China of Red Lines and Aggression

For a start (the policy paper) denigrates China’s President Xi Jinping in the most pejorative terms unbecoming of diplomatic norms. It proposes that “U.S. strategy must remain laser-focused on Xi, [and] his inner circle.”

The document states:

“At home, Xi has returned China to classical Marxism-Leninism and fostered a quasi-Maoist personality cult, pursuing the systematic elimination of his political opponents… Xi is no longer just a problem for U.S. primacy. He now presents a serious problem for the whole of the democratic world.”

What the Washington policy elite are explicitly calling for is “regime change” in Beijing by aiming to destabilize the senior government.

This marks an unprecedented notice of increased hostility towards the Chinese leadership. This is taking things way past U.S. aggression under Obama and Trump and brings it to a whole new level.

What’s even more alarming is the Atlantic Council article sets out numerous “red lines” which could trigger military confrontation.

These red lines include [1] “major hostile action” by China in the South China Sea, or [2] an attack on Taiwan, or [3] cyberattacks against the United States.

This is alarming because these actions are being exacerbated by the U.S. itself.

China is not afraid to use it’s nuclear weapons on any attacking force, and no one within America, England, Australia or wherever the aggressors want to hide .

[1] A“major hostile action” by China in the South China Sea

Since Biden took office last month, his administration has sent two navy carrier strike groups to conduct exercises in the South China Sea, which Beijing has condemned.

[2] Taiwan

A U.S. warship also recently passed through the Strait of Taiwan.

[3] And cyberattacks against the United States.

As for cyberattacks, they can be easily fabricated and falsely attributed by U.S. intelligence agencies. As clearly specified in the Vault 7 release by Wikileaks.

At one point the Atlantic Council article notes:

“U.S. strategy must understand that China remains for the time being highly anxious about military conflict with the United States, but that this attitude will change as the military balance shifts over the next decade. 

If military conflict were to erupt between China and the United States, and China failed to win decisively, then – given the party’s domestic propaganda offensive over many years proclaiming China’s inevitable rise – Xi would probably fall and the regime’s overall political legitimacy would collapse.”

This last paragraph is a clear sign that Washington planners are actually considering a preemptive war against China in which the latter “failed to win decisively” thereby precipitating the fall of President Xi.

The reaction from China has been surprisingly reserved.

Beijing condemned the American Cold War mentality but seemed to avoid condemning what are clearly U.S. threats of war.

One analyst for Global Times speculated that the Atlantic Council article was a “remnant from the Trump administration”.

Such thinking is dangerously complacent.

America wants China destroyed

For the evidence points to the article being an expression of policy formulation by the Biden administration.

It is notable in a recent interview with CBS, President Biden sounded remarkably disrespectful towards his Chinese counterpart.

Biden said he hadn’t yet spoken directly with Xi since the U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony nearly three weeks ago.

Such an absence of communication seems to be a calculated snub from Biden and his policy planners in Washington which is in total keeping with the proposed strategy outlined in the Atlantic Council article to “laser-focus” on denigrating Xi and his leadership.

Here’s another notable oddity.

While Biden has yet to contact Xi, the American leader held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day after his inauguration.

In the Atlantic Council article, the author proposes:

“Dividing Russia from China… is critical.” It calls for “stabilizing relations with Russia” and the United States.

In the 1970s, it was the other way around.

U.S. policy then, first under Richard Nixon and later successors, was all about drawing China away from the Soviet Union because Moscow was perceived as the main threat to American hegemony.

Now, as the Biden administration and other Washington planners assert over and over, it is Beijing that is perceived as the principal challenger to the waning U.S. global empire.

But the same tactic of divide and rule is at play.

Officially, the Biden White House says it has yet to formulate definitive policies on relations with China or Russia.

America has no defense for the hypersonic DF-17 carrier killer.

But the vibe and tone of the Atlantic Council article has Team Biden’s fingerprints all over it – indicating that it is preparing to take a reckless aggressive course toward China. The Trump administration – which was brazenly antagonistic to China – is criticized for lacking “comprehensive strategy”.

That’s Orwellian euphemism for the Biden administration telegramming the threat of much more confrontational policy.

It may all just be reckless rhetoric by Washington’s imperial planners.

Nevertheless, the mere playing with war rhetoric is reprehensible and speaks of American desperation to salvage its diminishing global power.

It’s a time to be very careful and guarded.

Do not be under the impression that Russia and China are all unaware of all this.

No wonder, China has been hurriedly mass-producing nuclear warheads, MIRV ICBM missiles, and state of the art weapons technology at a hectic pace.

They are not fools.

The DF-41 will render all of America completely radioactive rubble.

Do not be under the illusion that China is a far away land and that American military can engage China…

…on Chinese territory…

… in a superior manner…

…where American lays out the terms of conflict…

…and Americans can watch on their television sets eating popcorn as the war and conflict rages in far, far away China.

Nope.

It’s not going to be like that.

As the Saker has pointed out…

And crucially, “keep the barbarians from coming together” applied to Russia, China and Iran. That was Pax Americana in a nutshell. And that’s what’s totally unraveling now.

Hence the Kill Bill logic. It goes back a long way. Less than two months after the collapse of the USSR, the 1992 Defense Planning Guidance preached total global dominance and, following Dr Zbig, the absolute imperative of preventing the emergence of any future peer competitor.

Especially Russia, defined as “the only power in the world with the capacity of destroying the United States.”

Then, in 2002, at the start of the “axis of evil” era, came the full spectrum dominance doctrine as the bedrock of the US National Security Strategy. Domination, domination everywhere: terrestrial, aerial, maritime, subterranean, cosmic, psychological, biological, cyber-technological.

And, not by accident, the Indo-Pacific strategy – which guides the Quad – is all about “how to maintain US strategic primacy.”

China should be taken seriously and respected.

This mindset is what enables US Think Tankland to formulate risible “analyses” in which the only “win” for the US imperatively requires a failed Chinese “regime.”

After all, Leviathan is congenitally incapable of accepting a “win-win”; it only runs on “zero-sum,” based on divide and rule.

And that’s what’s leading the Russia-China strategic partnership to progressively establish a wide-ranging, comprehensive security environment, spanning everything from high-tech weaponry to banking and finance, energy supplies and the flow of information.

Yup. Russia and China are coming together to defend against the American monster…

Do not be under the misguided impression that America can conduct a far-away war with China or Russia independently. They are working together.

It will not happen that way.

Neither China, or Russia will allow that to occur.

Doing so, would result in American cities blasted out of existence. It’s real.

Consider the “dead hand” for instance…

Dead Hand
Dead Hand, also known as Perimeter, is a Cold War-era automatic nuclear weapons-control system that was used by the Soviet Union. 

General speculation from insiders alleges that the system remains in use in the post-Soviet Russian Federation as well. 

An example of fail-deadly and mutual assured destruction deterrence, it can automatically trigger the launch of the Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles by sending a pre-entered highest-authority order from the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Strategic Missile Force Management to command posts and individual silos if a nuclear strike is detected by seismic, light, radioactivity, and pressure sensors even with the commanding elements fully destroyed. 

By most accounts, it is normally switched off and is supposed to be activated during times of crisis; however, it is said to remain fully functional and able to serve its purpose whenever it may be needed.

-Wikipedia

But, America need not worry, right? A few strategically placed bombs here and there, a capture of an island or two and some “boot on the ground” will force China to obey America. Right?

Dead Hand

Russia upgrading its ‘Dead Hand’

29 Mar 2018 in 10:20

It’s active and alive. As this three year old article points out…

Russia is upgrading its nuclear final defence system which automatically launches it entire arsenal in a doomsday-like barrage, one of the US leading authorities on nuclear disarmament Bruce Blair said.

Russia’s defence chiefs are working to improve the so-called “Dead Hand” weapons system – also known as Perimeter. It has been referred to as a “Doomsday device” by analysts and was first developed during the paranoia of the Cold War.

Blair, who is the former US Air Force nuclear launch officer, said he believes the system is still operational and is even being “upgraded,” Daily Star Online reported.

Dead Hand is described as a “fully automatic” system which is turned on amid times of crisis by Russia. It is operated by three crew members whose sole job is just to make sure the system is operational with “no judgement” involvement.

Despite the terrifying concept, Dr Blair, co-founder of disarmament campaign group Global Zero, said the existence of such a weapon actually helps reduce the risk of nuclear war.

However, he questioned the system’s “vulnerability to cyber attack” as a cause for concern to global security. Dead Hand’s operation means the West will always have to think twice if there is a temptation for a nuclear strike.

“[Dead Hand] is fully automatic except that it has to be turned on by the general staff during a crisis, and there is a small crew that would perform a small number of functions before it would operate,” Blair said. “It is not a risk unless it could hacked and trigger an unauthorized launch,” he added

But don’t worry. China is isolated from Russia. And can be beaten easily by the superior American military…

Right?

Are you willing to bet your life, and your families lives on it?

So you really trust this man with your future…

Mike Pompeo

Or

Or, his “official” replacement in the Biden Administration.

Antony Blinken

So

So, do you really think that things are just going to be a lot of “hot air” and posturing?

And that nothing will come of all this, that somehow it will all go away…?

China will not be provoked

America will try and push and push China into an action. If China fails “to take the bait”, then America will make up and excuse a “false flag” event that will justify a war.

Now, let it be understood that America is not allowed to go to war without Congressional approval.

But that is meaningless.

America is currently fighting eight simultaneous wars all over the world directly and another twenty or so surreptitiously. None of which were specifically authorized by Congress.

So do not expect that the normal war declaration process will be followed. It will not.

Just expect a “false flag” event as an excuse to go to war within the next couple of years, if not months.

A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on a second party. The term is popular amongst conspiracy theory promoters in referring to covert operations of various governments and cabals.

-Wikipedia

Keep in mind that war is unpredictable

Please keep in mind that war is madness.

.

Yes it is crazy.

On one hand, don’t be so sure that China will be able to stop America, and this “road map towards destruction”. They might not be able to. And the United States might, and could very well, roll right over China. Destroy it, and carve it up into much smaller vassal states to service the American wealthy. Indeed, China might easily crumble after a concerted attack by skilled military forces working in unison.

After all, America is a well trained battle empire. It has over 75 years of non-stop military excursions, the top line and highest quality weaponry, and lots and lots of nuclear missiles.

It also has it’s cronies like the UK, Australia Korea, Japan and India who will participate in a conflict with China. Combined, it seems that China doesn’t have a chance, and while China can train and train, they do not have active hostile fighting experience like the American military has. The United States could plausibly rip right through China like a hot knife though butter.

And of course, please don’t be so sure that Russia will sit everything out. They might. They might just allow America and China to duke it out while they watch from the side-lines. Yes. That could happen, but don’t count on it. Russia and China see America as a very unpredictable enemy.

But war is about betrayals.

You will think that one nation and people are on your side, and then they could flip at a moments notice. Sort of how Italy was aligned with the Nazi Germans and then flipped and allied with the American during World War II.

Expect betrayals, and sabotage.

Expect messy things, and terrible reporting of the “news“. Like how the Trump Armada flotilla fared in the South China Sea in 2020.

Don’t be so sure that America will win a war against Asia. I know that this will come to a shock to those that watch the Rush Limbaugh show and watch FOX news. For in their minds, America is invincible!

There is no such thing as invincibility. There is only layers and degrees of damage, and ones varying ability to contain and repair the damage.

Don’t be so sure that any destroyed American cities will be able to be rebuilt either. America does have that ability any longer. Sure there are handymen, and construction companies. Sure there is the potential. But the real, active and genuine skills required to rebuild a devastated nation, it’s not really there.

I am sure that any destroyed city can be rebuilt. However we know from history that when Genghis Khan decimated Western Europe and the “Silk Road” cities, they remained empty and devoid of inhabitants for centuries afterwards. Indeed, many were never rebuilt.

America has lost the skills, and the ability to build, let alone rebuild. As well as the technical expertise in the most basic of constructions. While there are trillions of dollars in the value of American companies, most do not make anything. They either play with numbers or images in communication venues, or provide services. Both of which are not capable of rebuilding cities, infrastructure or societies.

Don’t be so sure that nuclear weapons will not be used. China does not play. They have repeatedly warned in words and deeds that they will respond in absolute terms with any American aggression. Do not think, for a minute, that they will risk allowing the United States to attack them unopposed.

This idea, this fantasy, that America can dictate terms to China, and bludgeon them into compliance as some kind of bargain-basement slave is very dangerous. China is like the nerd in High School that everyone picks on, makes fun of, and taunts without mercy….

….Meanwhile he’s also the kid who has built a death-ray in his basement.

Don’t expect anything.

But do not be under the misguided impression that the bullshit narrative the the “Long Telegram” is based upon has validity. It is a fantasy, and if the American leadership follows this “roadmap” for the “suppression” of China, it was end up turning out quite…

…ugly.

Conclusion

Yes, this is a profoundly sobering and disgusting article. I am sorry for it.

Any war with China will not be contained to the South China Sea, but will land inside of America in a most horrific manner.

But everything points to a historical progression of events. One that can no longer be ignored. It’s not if there will be a hot war, but rather how it will develop and whether or not it can be contained.

Certainly the American leadership believes that China can be “suppressed” and a war could be fought on American terms, with American rules of engagement, and on American defined battle fields. They might be right.

But I have a completely different projection.

And the earth might not survive the resulting insanity that will manifest.

If I were to take bets, I would argue that both Russia and China are working on plans to preemptively annihilate and castrate the United States before it slaughters the entire world.

But what do I know?

Be safe you all.

This is the meeting that China had with Russia immediately after the Alaskan meeting with the United States. I wonder why China was in such a rush to chat with the Russians…?

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s Regular Press Conference on March 22, 2021

CCTV:Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in an interview that the Untied States and Western countries are pursuing policy of hegemony in international affairs, trying to impede the trend toward a multi-polar and democratic world, and imposing its will and requirements on others. The primary task of China and Russia is to strengthen high-level collaboration and jointly advance multipolarity and regional integration and collaboration. What’s your comment?
Hua Chunying: Foreign Minister Lavrov’s remarks are right to the point. The more unstable the world is, the more China and Russia need to advance our cooperation.
For a long period, the US and the West wantonly interfered in other country’s domestic affairs by using democracy and human rights as an excuse. Such moves created troubles in the world and even became the source of instability and war.
China and Russia always stand together in close cooperation, firmly rejects hegemony and bullying practice and have become a pillar for world peace and stability.
In the past year, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Putin, China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era achieved remarkable outcomes. In the face of once-in-a-century pandemic and changes, China and Russia stand in solidarity to fight the virus together, and advance cooperation in such areas as economy, trade and scientific innovation despite challenges.
The two sides firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests and jointly uphold international fairness and justice. It is fair to say that China-Russia relations withstood the test and emerged stronger with our friendship becoming even closer.
We believe Foreign Minister Lavrov’s on-going visit will further cement the sound momentum of the high-level bilateral relations and bring the two countries closer in the strategic collaboration on international affairs.
China is ready to work with Russia to follow through on the consensus of the two heads of state, and take the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation as an opportunity to carry forward the spirit of the treaty and advance China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era at greater scope, in wider areas and at deeper levels.
The two sides will join hands in building a model of international relations featuring strategic trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, close people-to-people ties, fairness and justice. Together, the two sides can make greater contribution to upholding world peace and stability.

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A collection of opinions from outside of America regarding the American behavior at the China and USA meeting in Alaska 19MAR21

In the first 100 days of the Biden Presidency, the international world awaited to see how the new administration would handle itself. Many remained hopeful. Certainly Mr. Biden, a seasoned diplomat, and a member of the “dove” (political) party would soften the anti-China attacks, and reach-out to China and the world. The Alaska meeting, would thus lay out a foundation of what the international community would be able to expect in United States and China affairs in the next few years.

This is what China was expecting…

"We hope that through the dialogue, the two sides can focus on cooperation, manage differences and promote the healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations in accordance with the spirit of the conversation between the two heads of state."

And the actual meeting was stunning.

It really was.

When the meeting opened up, the American “negotiation” team came out with fists slinging making all sorts of demands. No time for pleasantries. The American team immediately began telling China how to handle it’s internal domestic matters, manage it’s territories, and govern it’s cities.  It told them that it must obey the “US-Led rule of law” instead of UN conventions. It did not offer help, assistance, or propose ideas of joint cooperation. The opening statements made by the American delegation were a long list of demands, complaints, and accusations.

Then after that first volley was fired, A delegation member added…

“Of course, we only want peace, no one wants war”.

Which in "bully speak" is actually translated as...
"Obey our demands or we will plummet you into a bloody pulp".

Then when it was time for the Chinese to respond, they politely told the American delegation to go to Hell.

When the Chinese delegation arrived in Alaska, their hearts were chilled by the biting cold, but even more by the reception from their American hosts. Blinken and his State Department may felt quite proud of their efforts to isolate and embarrass China ahead of the meeting in Anchorage. 

But after facing insult after insult, the Chinese delegation stood up and said "No!" to Western condescension and bullying.

The U.S. had better get used to it.

-CGTN

American reporting

Of course, the United States media is a little confused by this. The Conservative Hard-Right and neocon websites are all so proud that “America is staying tough on China”, and the mainstream media is reporting that the meeting did not go well, but that is expected as the Chinese were so demanding

Here’s a pro-America article that is accusing China of being arrogant. When the obvious arrogance comes from the United States.

  • No lunch. Cold instant noodles for lunch.
  • Demanding China allow American NGO’s in Xinjiang.
  • Demanding that the US dictate how Hong Kong be governed.
  • Demanding how China handles it’s state of Taiwan.
  • Demanding how China handles it’s state of Tibet.
  • Demanding how, who, and what China does on the international scene.

While the title is spot-on, the content must have been written before the meeting. It seemed like some kind of “boiler plate” text, and did not match up with the title nor the actual events which transpired.

The article is certainly pro-America with statements such as…

“They (the Chinese) came to dictate.

China’s arrogant and insecure leaders are at their most dangerous. 

Deterrence is failing. 

Biden’s most urgent task is to reestablish it.”

Which is nonsense.

China told them to FUCK OFF and mind their own business. China follows the International rule of law as determined by the UN, not the biggest thug on the block. And that they were aghast at the rudeness, the arrogance, and the sheer demanding tone set forth by the American delegation.

This article was so brief and devoid of facts, I have more characters on my mail box address than the content of this “article“.

Here’s some links to more American based articles all parroting the idea that the negotiations were “contentious and rocky”. All the articles in the American media parrot this predetermined narrative…

Conservative Media

Mainstream Media

It’s not just this, but this same week Biden directly insulted the President of Russia a “Killer”. And thus, within the span of one week, the United States has collectively and intentionally insulted the two other major nations. This does not bode well.

I can tell you that the rest of the world is actually horrified, and if you read what they have to say, you will get a better idea about what is actually going on. Lord help us.

Comments from the rest of the world

These comments are very insightful.

They provide a vision of how America is viewed in the world today, and what people (outside of the American media echo chamber) think. If for anything else, it will give you, the MM reader, and idea of the size and scope of the monster that America has turned into.

Here’s the comments…

The Chinese emphasis on most of the world rejecting a US-directed 'rules-based order' ...

...instead of honoring the UN Charter and settled international law ...

...is of supreme importance and must be re-emphasized ad nauseum.

Posted by: chet380 | Mar 19 2021 19:16 utc | 1

I'm glad China says what every country should have been saying for the last 40 years. 

The US is a liar and always has been.

Posted by: Jezabeel | Mar 19 2021 19:17 utc | 2

What a bunch of amateurish megalomaniac idiots. 

It was an exhibition of a total lack of tact, self-perception, decency or any equilibrium. 

The Chinese's confident offensive resulted in a rapid emotional dive from a state of megalomaniac bravado to shaky self-confidence. 

In comparison they made even Trump look like a cultivated gentleman.

Posted by: Sadde | Mar 19 2021 19:22 utc | 3

To translate from Orwellian Western Newspeak to English:

'Rules-based order' means 
'Our rules for you, 
that we don't have to follow, 
and can change anytime we like.'

'International order' means 
'Western-ruled-world order.'

'International community' means 
the US-led Western community and vassal states. 
(The Western media spouts this all the time.)

'Rules-based' is the modern day incarnation of Americans/British throwing around the phrase 'treaty', 'treaty-based' in colonial days. 

Different words, same con.

And of course the Chinese have a few things to say…

Such as

From surrendering to Western powers in 1901, to telling the US in 2021 it doesn't have the qualification to speak to China “from a position of strength”

China needs to convey in a language that US understands.

Straight Forward, Up to the Point, Right at their Faces.

The construct of their brains cannot understand any other ways, Least Not the Diplomatic 'Soft' & Amicable Styles of Communications.

They perceive those to be Weak.

And then we have more Western comments…

USA provided a transcript of both US Govt & China Govt speakers.

I thought this a little unusual, as foreign miminstries like to publish their own transcripts so that they control the authentic translation of their words, free from the opposing parties editing or mis-translation.

"cutthroat competition" may be an arguably alternative translation of "strangle" in the China readout "those who seek to strangle China will suffer in the end."

I was waiting for the China verbatim translation to check the fidelity of the USA translation.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/wshd_665389/t1862641.shtml
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/wshd_665389/t1862643.shtml

But there is only an unquoted report, which is the meeting, but without quotation marks to distinguish between the authors voice and the Officials voice.

Verbatim would be better.

Maybe the USA had reciprocal concerns about the verbatim accuracy of the China transcript.

But its on video anyway, so???

Posted by: powerandpeople | Mar 19 2021 19:37 utc | 7

Toothless sabre rattling is about all the USA has left. 

A bunch of old men with a world view from the 1950s whose own virility is long gone is not going to come to an epiphany about their encroaching impotence. The Establishment has no other choice, absent common sense and critical thinking, but to double-down on arrogant self-righteousness bred by sophomoric jingoism that defines 'shallow.'

Empire is crumbling before our eyes. The question is will it take the rest of the world with it as it falls into its own footprint.

Posted by: gottlieb | Mar 19 2021 19:39 utc | 9

And we have this…

 Footage of China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi lashing out at U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Anchorage, Alaska, was played repeatedly by China’s state-backed media at home.

“China has Chinese-style democracy,” Yang said, not mincing words in his first encounter with the U.S. President Joe Biden’s team.

“Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States, and they have various views regarding the government of the United States.” 

The Communist Party Politburo member assailed the U.S., feeding fiery words to the news corps of both countries.

And I really love this next comment. It pretty much sums up my thinking…

Perhaps one of the more predictable mistakes the US will commit next, is misinterpret the stern warnings of the past few days by Russia, China and even NK, as evidence the new Biden/Blinken regime is less feared or respected than the Trump/Pompeo one.

I suspect a more accurate interpretation would be...

"ok, you had the crazy guy for 4 years and we cut you some slack, hoping once the grown ups were back we could reason as adults, but if you're gonna carry on with the same attitude, basically, Democrat or Republican, you can all summarily go fuck yourselves".

Particularly at the end of the term, the Obama regime was already being met by a very hostile China and Russia, well before Trump took over with his less than diplomatic style (or lack thereof). Anyone recall the airport security debacle with China during Obama's last weeks?

Posted by: Et Tu | Mar 19 2021 19:51 utc | 12

Who will fill the empty shoes of the lost and vanished Homo sapiens sapiens?

Posted by: Copeland | Mar 19 2021 19:55 utc | 13

And this…

.

Which compares the Alaskan meeting of 2021 with the meeting of 1901 which allowed the Western nations to rape, pillage, and destroy China for decades. Perhaps this picture might be a better illustration…

And FOX news reported on the event

It was of course very pro-America. Leading to this comment…

How our interaction w/China was reported FOX did a full throated, fake narrative just to suit their pro-Trump agenda. When they quoted, 'you cannot talk to us from a position of strength' they made is sound like the Chinese were scoffing at Blinken's weakness rather than his moral turpitude. They made it sound like Blinken surrendering to his Chinese overlords, squandering the strong hand the Trump gave him.

In FOX land, all that matters is that you come up with a great sounding argument. The truthfulness of that arguments is not relevant.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Mar 19 2021 19:55 utc | 14

This is how things look to the rest of the world…

The USA's situation is very dire indeed. The Americans are resorting more and more to "Hail Mary" moves to keep their hegemonic position.

And even then they're blundering. 

I would not be surprised at all if they start to straight out have to falsify diplomatic transcripts in order to try to create something favorable to them.

Posted by: vk | Mar 19 2021 20:05 utc | 17

Related to US-China tensions, if anyone likes documentary shows, CNA (Channel News Asia, a broadcaster out of Singapore) has a good four-part documentary released in January 2021 called "When Titans Clash", about the US-China trade/tech tensions, that I would recommend. (I watched the first two yesterday and will watch the other two this weekend.)

Each of the 4 parts is about 48 minutes long and available for watching on YouTube and CNA's website too.

When Titans Clash - part 1 of 4 - Pride & Shame - The Roots of US-China Tensions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL2gBUxblO8

When Titans Clash - part 2 of 4 - The Real Losers of the US-China Trade War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYrWYSTW28

When Titans Clash - part 3 of 4 - A US-China Tech War - The True Costs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8XnLW26bmg

When Titans Clash - part 4 of 4 - US or China - Will Southeast Asia Have to Pick a Side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ8A5jiGICM

Touches on some of the things ak74 mentioned in his comment on the other thread: outsourcing, deindustrialization, the US dollar as reserve currency, etc.

It's from Pearl Forss who was also involved in CNA's 2015-2019 series "The New Silk Road", about China's BRI, that I can recommend as well.

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Mar 19 2021 20:07 utc | 19

And Scott Addams has a thing to say…

And from Northern Europe…

The world appreciates that Russia and China give the US Regime a sublime verbal spanking.

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 19 2021 20:14 utc | 23

Blinken is Secretary of State for USA, head of the US State Department.

He mentioned in his nomination hearing, & makes allusion in this meeting with China, to a genocide in Xinjiang.

Foreign Affairs magazine article reports US State Department legal office saying they have no evidence for a genocide in Xinjiang.

Is Blinken in touch with his department?

Posted by: dave constable | Mar 19 2021 20:22 utc | 27

same deal as @ 26 dave constable notes too... accusing others of genocide when you have been the main merchant of death on the planet the past 40 or more years doesn't stand.. if anyone is the killer here it is the usa, so the irony isn't lost on everyone..

Posted by: james | Mar 19 2021 20:38 utc | 31

In my opinion, the Chinese representatives gave a good answer to the American side, although this answer will obviously not be heard.

The Americans have completely lost the culture of negotiation. If there are no elementary human manners, then what kind of agreements can we talk about?

A sad picture. And dangerous. A madman with nuclear weapons (and chemical weapons, by the way) is not the best option for a reliable negotiating partner.

Posted by: alaff | Mar 19 2021 20:44 utc | 33

b Posted:

“The alternative to a rules-based order is a world in which might makes right and winner takes all and that would be a far more violent and unstable world,” Blinken said.

The 'rules based order' means 'do what we say' and is of course unacceptable. Here is how the Chinese replied:

What China and the international community follow or uphold is the United Nations-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, not what is advocated by a small number of countries of the so-called “rules-based” international order.

Say it to uncle Sam. Say it every time they meet. The bankruptcy of the "rules based order" gang of five or six is a failure.

For all its appalling faults the UN and established international courts are the place to go. Suck it up uncle Sam.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 19 2021 20:59 utc | 35

And from my email

I am so happy 😊 China tell the oppressor to piss off.
Attached short video with English translation: China tell US you are not qualify to tell us you want to talk to us with strength. 20 to 30 years ago, you already not qualify…

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/US-China-tensions/How-it-happened-Transcript-of-the-US-China-opening-remarks-in-Alaska

More comments…

“The alternative to a rules-based order is a world in which might makes right and winner takes all and that would be a far more violent and unstable world,” Blinken said.

LOL.

You really have to wonder if the Americans believe their own bullshit about their hollowed "Rules Based International Order"?

The violent and unstable world is ALREADY here thanks to ... this very same American "Rules" Based Order.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Serbia, Somalia--these are just a few of the countries America has either invaded, bombed, or supported moderate jihadi Head-Choppers against to destabilize in the past generation.

Two decades of US “war on terror” responsible for displacing at least 37 million people and killing up to 12 million
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/09/09/cost-s09.html?view=print

Posted by: ak74 | Mar 19 2021 21:31 utc | 40

This is interesting. 

Apparently both the Russians and the Chinese have concluded that Biden intends to use "CornPop" faux-macho posturing as his foreign policy, and they have both decided that "fuck that, let's nip this in the bud".

Because it looks like they have decided they have had a gut-full of US "exceptionalism" and are quite determined to say so. 

To anyone, but especially to the Americans.

Going to be a lot of very confused people at Foggy Bottom. They may never have experienced this degree of contempt before.

Posted by: Yeah, Right | Mar 19 2021 22:08 utc | 46

I about fell on the floor when I read Blinken's words, my first thought being "this klutz has zero knowledge of history since 1588 and just admitted as much. 

In China, Blinken would never achieve any position of power.

The decadence of the Outlaw US Empire's government is like so many prions turning brain tissue into a swiss-cheese-like mass and then boasting about how finely tuned are its cognitive abilities. And when Harris is installed, we'll have a genuine novice in charge--The Blind leading the Blind.

It's no wonder the Chinese sought an audience with Lavrov ASAP.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 19 2021 22:10 utc | 47

Yes. The meeting went so bad that the already tight China-Russia relationship was strengthened. I am sure that certain actions, policies and activities were on hold pending he result of these “talks”. But the American actions were so appalling that China and Russia have decided that more forceful means of persuasion are necessary.

Contrived moulded whatever the case I leave this excerpt. I feel it hits the head.

Here's what journalist Joe Bageant wrote in 2007:

Much of the ongoing battle for America's soul is about healing the souls of these Americans and rousing them from the stupefying glut of commodity and spectacle. 

It is about making sure that they—and we—refuse to accept torture as the act of "heroes" and babies deformed by depleted uranium as the "price of freedom." 

Caught up in the great self-referential hologram of imperial America, force-fed goods and hubris like fattened steers, working people like World Championship Wrestling and Confederate flags and flat-screen televisions and the idea of an American empire. 

("American Empire! I like the sound of that!" they think to themselves, without even the slightest idea what it means historically.) 

"The people" doing our hardest work and fighting our wars are not altruistic and probably never were. 

They don't give a rat's bunghole about the world's poor or the planet or animals or anything else. Not really. 

"The people" like cheap gas. 

They like chasing post-Thanksgiving Day Christmas sales. 

And if fascism comes, they will like that too if the cost of gas isn't too high and Comcast comes through with a twenty-four-hour NFL channel.

That is the American hologram. 

That is the peculiar illusion we live within, the illusion that holds us together, makes us alike, yet tells each of us we are unique. 

And it will remain in force until the whole shiteree comes down around our heads. 

Working people do not deny reality. 

They create it from the depths of their perverse ignorance, even as the so-called left speaks in non sequiturs and wonders why it cannot gain any political traction. 

Meanwhile, for the people, it is football and NASCAR and a republic free from married queers and trigger locks on guns. 

That's what they voted for—an armed and moral republic. 

And that's what we get when we stand by and watch the humanity get hammered out of our fellow citizens, letting them be worked cheap and farmed like a human crop for profit.
Genuine moral values have jack to do with politics. 

But in an obsessively religious nation, values remain the most effective smoke screen for larceny by the rich and hatred and fear by the rest. 

What Christians and so many quiet, ordinary Americans were voting for in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 was fear of human beings culturally unlike themselves, particularly gays and lesbians and Muslims and other non-Christians. 

That's why in eleven states Republicans got constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage on the ballot. 

In nine of them the bill passed easily. 

It was always about fearing and, in the worst cases, hating "the other."
Being a southerner, I have hated in my lifetime. 

I can remember schoolyard discussions of supposed "nigger knifing" of white boys at night and such. 

And like most people over fifty, it shows in my face, because by that age we have the faces we deserve. 

Likewise I have seen hate in others and know it when I see it. 

I am seeing more of it now than ever before in my lifetime, which is saying something considering that I grew up down here during the Jim Crow era. 

Fanned and nurtured by neoconservative elements, the hate is every bit equal to the kind I saw in my people during those violent years.

Irrational. Deeply rooted. Based on inchoate fears.

The fear is particularly prevalent in the middle and upper-middle classes here, the very ones most openly vehement about being against using the words nigger and fuck. 

They are what passes for educated people in a place like Winchester. 

You can smell their fear. 

Fear of losing their advantages and money. 

Fear there won't be enough time to grab and stash enough geet to keep themselves and their offspring in Chardonnay and farting through silk for the next fifty years. 

So they keep the lie machinery and the smoke generators cranking full blast as long as possible, hoping to elect another one of their own kind to the White House—Democratic or Republican, it doesn't matter so long as they keep the scam going. 

The Laurita Barrs speak in knowing, authoritative tones, and the inwardly fearful house painter and single-mom forklift driver listen and nod. 

Why take a chance on voting for a party that would let homos be scout masters?
(Dear Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War, chapter 2)

Posted by: ld | Mar 19 2021 22:20 utc | 48

How shameful to have insults thrown by US leadership at both China and Russia in less than a week! Is that a record?

Posted by: juliania | Mar 19 2021 22:28 utc | 51

Well, the US is obviously in a deep crisis: riots all over the place, the southern border is a mess, and the government even needs the national guard to protect itself from the people.

Under the circumstances, one should expect the establishment to act hysterically. It's just a symptom.

Posted by: Mao Cheng Ji | Mar 19 2021 22:32 utc | 53

The madness of the Outlaw Empire is not about to shrink from bringing down the curtain on the human race, if that's what it takes to see their power of command obeyed. 

The US, as it is today, doesn't respect any nation's sovereignty and is mostly indifferent to allies and foes alike. 

The regime considers itself the only sovereign worthy of such title on earth; and expects to be allowed to run the table at its pleasure, or else it will supervise the burning down of the house.

Biden meanders about, not even possessed of his right mind, holding on to the delusions and lies of several presidents who lately came before him; and he is just the man to keep all the fires of destruction burning, while the torture of innocence is unceasing, and as the arrogant demands made against other countries become more absurd. What else is more obvious? 

These are the things we have seen foreshadowed before and after 9/11.

As long ago as the 80s Reagan was told about the reality of nuclear winter. 

In A Man Without a Country, Kurt Vonnegut described how scientists explained to G.W. Bush that a nuclear exchange of even a moderate duration and size, could still depopulate the earth of most of its people. 

The Bush Administration, toying with the idea of deploying baby nukes, for strategic exigency, short of total war, went with "guesswork" rather than prudent scientific advice. 

It was their best guess that the circumspect, abbreviated use of nukes wouldn't destroy humanity itself, or cause ice age conditions, or bring about global starvation.

Posted by: Copeland | Mar 19 2021 22:37 utc | 54

Re Sadde @3 "What a bunch of amateurish megalomaniac idiots. It was an exhibition of a total lack of tact, self-perception, decency or any equilibrium."

Seems like just the other day I was reading the same description about Pompeo lol. And yet somehow this is much worse, as we have a clearly demented, recently installed "president" who can't make it up a flight of stairs or give a press conference, who has the nuclear football following him around 24/.7.

Been nice knowing y'all.

Posted by: Perimetr | Mar 19 2021 22:55 utc | 55

This next comment is also pretty good…

Well Russia has been very seriously preparing for total war for some years now, and China too has caught that drift and begun to do the same. 

By comparison, the US is ready for aggravation, but nothing beyond that. 

The US has no capability for war.

How then, for the free nations of the world to defeat the US? 

One could surmise that the best way would be to force the US to accept defeat. 

Iran already showed the way. 

The lesson is not that hard to understand, although the tactics are obviously more complex. 

Who will punch the bully? 

Because we all know that this is what causes the bully to slink away, and to behave a little better.

It begins with words, because that's what the US likes to fight with, treating then merely as weapons, treating them with contempt. 

And now words of contempt itself, as Yeah Right @45 points out, are being driven forward like a moving wall against the US.

First come the words. Next will come...

...whatever will come, but it is a certainty that the Russia/China team has every contingency war-gamed.

As Piotr Berman points out in the previous thread, the US neurotic dynamic is to escalate blindly until it achieves control. 

This is the dynamic that must be defeated. 

Obviously, this will involve situations in which the US has nothing left to escalate with (situations that don't allow the nuke specter)...

...at which point, the US has to slink away - under cover of words of bluster, to be sure, to salve the ego, but slink away even so.

And a few more of these lessons of defeat will re-train that ego, over time, lessons carefully administered, and all watched over by armies of loving grace.

Posted by: Grieved | Mar 19 2021 23:05 utc | 56

This is also a pretty good comment…

Blenkin and co just got thoroughly washed in a Chinese laundry, washed clean dried and starched, ready to put on their fully cleaned washed self's for taste of some Russian pastries. 

Soon after on the coming Iranian 13th day of the new year (thirteenth out) they can go for an Iranian picnic for taste of gourmet delicious Persian soup (Ash). 

I really enjoyed the Chinese exchange with shining city on hill guys, Happy Iranian new year and New century (1400) to you all, MOA and b.

Posted by: kooshy | Mar 19 2021 23:10 utc | 58

Suffice it to say, I love the Chinese (and they highly cultured ways etc) when they talk and act like this to the barbarians aka the Americans.

Everything the Chinese FM said was correct, and spot on.

Blinken and Bush are as boorish and rude, perhaps even more condescending than Pompeo and Trump - But it is hard to choose between the lesser of two American evils

Posted by: michaelj72 | Mar 19 2021 23:14 utc | 60

The editors at Strategic-Culture see it this way:

"In a desperate bid to thwart the strategic partnership between Russia and Europe, Washington is resorting to ever-more frantic threats of sanctions and other disruptive measures. 

Biden is playing the personal insult card in a gambit for blowing up bilateral relations with Russia as a way to sabotage Nord Stream 2.

"It’s a pathetic move, one that actually speaks more of America’s historic enfeeblement rather than pretensions of power. Russia would do well to stay calm and let the Americans make fools of themselves."

It seems Russia's doing just that--attending to the vital business of developing its nation and peoples. Russia's geared for numerous patriotic celebrations throughout the year, and Biden's comments were made on the eve of Crimean reunification with Russia, which only served to cement Russians closer and hold Putin in even greater esteem. Talk about an Own Goal!

Outlaw US Empire Nord Stream policy is close to being the same as literally torpedoing it, making it an act of war against the EU and Russia. Somehow, I don't think Blinken understands that fundamental fact.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 19 2021 23:15 utc | 61

The fact that Blinken has to read what he supposedly thinks, compared with the Chinese representatives and diplomats like Lavrov, Zakarov, and even Putin who know their thoughts without someone else writing their script.

Same as all the MSM. They all appear to get their news sent to them in writing and maybe a few fluff up the news but they know what the agenda is.

Posted by: arby | Mar 19 2021 23:20 utc | 62

So in just a matter of weeks, the US just antagonized both Russia and China.

This seems a surprise to me, US is getting very bold, I thought they would be more active but subversive, but this is just straight up insulting your opponents.

Posted by: Smith | Mar 19 2021 23:23 utc | 63

I'm in the middle of Armstrong's essay and am at the first reference to Kagan's vision:

"What should that role be? Benevolent global hegemony. Having defeated the 'evil empire,' the United States enjoys strategic and ideological predominance. The first objective of U.S. foreign policy should be to preserve and enhance that predominance by strengthening America’s security, supporting its friends, advancing its interests, and standing up for its principles around the world.'

It's absolutely clear that Kagan has no clue as to the reality of what is actually the objective of the Neoliberal Parasites running the Outlaw US Empire; for aside from "advancing its interests," the Parasites have zero motivation to do any of that.

As their sole ambition/goal is to vacuum up all the wealth they can and leave a shell just as they planned and failed with Russia, but have succeeded elsewhere. 

And as for principles, the reality is it has none, nor does it have any friends, just vassals and victims. 

This analogy by Armstrong's excellent:

"The U.S. is sitting on a dragon and it daren’t get off or the dragon will kill it. But because it can’t kill the dragon, it must sit on it forever: no escape. And dragon’s eggs are hatching out all around: think how much bigger the Russian, Chinese and Iranian dragons are today than they were a quarter-century ago when Kagan & Co so confidently started PNAC; think how bigger they’ll be in another....

"But the more sanctions, the stronger Russia gets: as an analogy, think of sanctions on Russia as similar to the over-use of antibiotics – Russia is becoming immune."

And tying it all up is this excellent summation:

"Has there ever been a subject on which people have been so wrong for so long as Russia? How many times have they said Putin’s finished? Remember when cheese was going to bring him down? Always a terminal economic crisis. A year ago they were sure COVID would do it. A U.S. general is in Ukraine and Kiev’s heavy weapons are moving east but, no, it’s Putin who, for ego reasons – and his “failing” economy – wants the war. Why do they keep doing it? Well, it’s easy money – Putin (did we tell you he was in the KGB?) wants to expand Russia and rule forever; therefore, he’s about to invade somebody. He doesn’t, no problem, our timely warning scared him off; we’ll change the date and regurgitate it next year. In the meantime his despotic rule trembles because of some-triviality-of-the-moment. These pieces write themselves: the anti-Russia business is the easiest scam ever. And there’s the difficulty of admitting you’re wrong: how can somebody like Kagan, such a triumphantasiser back then, admit that it’s all turned to dust and worse, turned to dust because they took his advice? Much better to press on – it’s not as if anybody in the lügenpresse will call him out or deny him space. Finally, these people are locked in psychological projection: because they can only envisage military expansion, they assume the other guy is equally obsessed and so they must expand to counter his expansion. They suspect everybody of suspecting them. Their hostility sees hostility everywhere. Their belligerence finds belligerence. The hyperpower is forever compelled to respond to lesser powers. They look outside, see themselves and fear; in their mental universe the USA is arrogantly strong and fearfully weak at the same time."

The Walking Dead is finally becoming a metaphor for the Outlaw US Empire, its policies, and what it terms values--which aren't values but vices. But TWD was fiction and was thus capable of reforming itself. The Empire's goals and polices are essentially the same as in 1940 and even further back to 1913, and haven't changed very much, being just as illegal and immoral then as now. What's different are the "Dragons" which didn't exist in 1918 or 1944, and the Parasites have almost total control that's finally seeing domestic pushback.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 20 2021 0:11 utc | 68

Here's Sputnik's initial report on the Alaska meet. Not much reference to commerce. Here's an excerpt:

"Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who accompanied Yang to the talks, told CGTN that their side had made clear to the Americans that China takes its sovereignty very seriously and warned them not to 'underestimate China's determination to defend its territory, to defend its people, and maintain its righteous interests.'

"Washington has criticized China's security policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, where Western-backed separatist forces have created chronic unrest, as well as its longstanding claim to rule Taiwan, an autonomous island ruled by the Republic of China that lost the civil war in mainland China in 1949, when the socialist People's Republic of China was formed. 

The US technically recognizes Beijing's claim to be the sole legitimate representative of China, but in reality is the primary backer of the Taiwanese government. 

Beijing says all of these are internal matters and not of Washington's concern."

Very little's reported of the Outlaw US Empire's response. This little bit doesn't bode well:

"US State Department officials noted they did not see the Alaska summit as the beginning of a new mechanism or dialogue."

I see that as a confession that they aren't agreement capable since they can't even continue a dialogue.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 20 2021 0:30 utc | 74

i've been a reader of moa for quite a few years now, but never contributed to the forum. mostly because after a while i found what i wanted to say anyway, and why pile on? 

i really enjoy the civility of the forum, and it's internationality. 

And of course b's insights. as a german myself I share many points of view with him in matters i have knowledge in, or think that i do. for example i think that trump sure might be seen as a desaster by many, but it was a gift to europe, and germany in particular, because he openend the eyes of many, many people here who for decades thought murrica is our friend, our big brother, who will always protect us from the evil of the world - namely communism, russia and lately china. 

a majority of the people here, as well as in the rest of the so called "western world" have been brainwashed for about 7 decades to think that way, even when america committed the most obvious, heinous, horrible crimes against humanity and our civilization as a whole. there was always a spin, "human rights", "democracy", "free trade" and so on, values that had to be "defended" - when in reality it was always an offensive aggression or even a "pre-emptive strike". 

people just swallowed what the media fed them and went on with their daily chores.

trump changed that, suddenly the ugly side of the empire became visible, and i will always be grateful for that. because now it cannot be hidden anymore. 

it wasn't just the unruly behaviour of a "new rich" and uneducated bully who accidentally became president. politically, the general attitude was always the same, trump only worded it much more obvious, making it harder for politicians and media to spin. 

that's why our politicians and media (for the most part fed by trans-atlantic "think tanks") hated him almost more than americans themselves - he made their lies obvious and transparent. 

if it wasn't so sad, it sometimes was almost funny to see them squirm, having to explain why our friend and protector suddenly became so selfish and hostile.

All of them welcomed of course the new harris administration, being so progressive, just and friendly again - only to witness a change of paradigm they probably didn't even think trump was capable of, or willing to: i think in later years, this week will mark the "official" beginning of the new cold war era. 

This behaviour against Russia and China was not a slap, but a punch in the face and will NEVER be forgiven nor forgotten. 

The only question for europe is: does it finally have the balls to emancipate and stand up against the bully? or will it submit and become a collateral damage of it's downfall? 

in form of a nuclear wasteland maybe? i think that nord stream II is a turning point. 

if Germany caves in here, there's little hope to get rid of the leash for it and the whole of Europe. if it stands tall, Europe might become a buffer instead of a frontline. knowing and seeing our politicians, i'd say it doesn't look good.

Posted by: xototox | Mar 20 2021 0:34 utc | 75

@Posted by: Grieved | Mar 19 2021 23:05 utc | 55:

...., the US neurotic dynamic is to escalate blindly until it achieves control. This is the dynamic that must be defeated.

Yes that's problem all right, but can you ever defeat that dynamic given that the gorilla owns 10,000 nukes and has no moral qualms whatsoever of using them? Until a near perfect anti-nuke defense system is developed I surmise the world would just have to live with, and get used to, the juvenile antics of King Kong because it has stated time and again it would escalate all the way up to using its nukes, because that's what they are for according to a former Sec. of State.

I'm a pessimist on this issue. I'm afraid we'll just have to endure and live with a wild beast for a while to come.

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Mar 20 2021 0:35 utc | 76

The Alaska talks have ended and the Global Times Editor writes:

"China and the US are two major world powers. No matter how many disputes they have, the two countries should not impulsively break their relations. Coexistence and cooperation are the only options for China and the US. Whether we like it or not, the two countries should learn to patiently explore mutual compromises and pursue strategic win-win cooperation." [My Emphasis]

The big question: Does the Outlaw US Empire possess enough wisdom to act in that manner.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 20 2021 0:44 utc | 77

Russia is a classical construct with more than 1000 years of history and culture. These are part and parcel of what Russia is and who her people are....

The USA on the other hand, has never coalesced into a cultural entity.... Most of US culture was created by advertizers during the post WWII period..... The rock & roll generation... hippies.... etc.

A state based upon a covenant between itself and God... mediated by orthodox christianity... is totally foreign to Steve and most US denizens...

But it exists.... Ditto for China... now 5000 years young.... the embodiment of confucianism... meritocracy...

All foreign to Steve and Blinken and Biden....

INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Mar 20 2021 0:47 utc | 78

so here is the white house press briefing for today on this thread topic - Department Press Briefing – March 19, 2021

here is the segment on china-usa meeting.. interestingly our prime minister trudeau mention the issue of the 2 michaels held in china and the phrase something to the effect "china must adhere to the 'rule based law' b.s. was at the top of his words in the radio when i was in the car earlier..

"QUESTION: (Inaudible) Alaska, if you’re able to talk about that. Obviously, there’s been a lot of reporting since yesterday about how sort of tense the initial encounter was. And there’s been discussions of – I think both sides have accused the other of breaking protocol in those initial exchanges. But I wonder if – does the State Department – based on the tone of that first meeting, does that give you any concern for the future of the relationship with China and the possibility of reaching some agreements or getting some achievables out of these meetings? Thank you.

MS PORTER: Thank you for your question, Simon, and just as a response to that, of course, as you know, Secretary Blinken and NSA Sullivan had their first meetings with Director Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi, and of course, are in sessions this morning. And these were serious discussions. Again, I’ll just reiterate something that NSA Sullivan said. And of course, to your point about it, the – being contentious or not, again, we – he said we don’t see conflict, but of course, welcome stiff competition.

Again, this was a single meeting, and again, we know that sometimes these diplomatic presentations can be exaggerated or maybe even aimed at a domestic audience, but we’re not letting the theatrics from the other side stop us from doing what we were intending to do in Alaska, which is lay out our principles as well as our expectations and have these tough conversations early that we need to have with the PRC.

Let’s go to the line of Edward Keenan.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) of the Alaska meetings, the two Michaels, Kovrig and – the two Canadian Michaels who are being held as political prisoners in China, widely perceived as leverage against the United States, who are going to trial now as these meetings take place. Secretary Blinken and President Biden expressed their desire to see those two Michaels released when they met with the Canadian prime minister recently. I wonder to what extent those cases are up for discussion in Alaska right now, and if so, like, to what extent and how?

MS PORTER: Well, let me start off by saying that the United States continues to publicly call on the PRC to end the arbitrary and unacceptable detentions of the Canadians citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. And again, the United States is deeply concerned by the PRC’s decision to hold a closed-court hearing with the Canadian citizens. Obviously, no one from – no diplomat from Canada or the U.S. were involved in that. And we’re also deeply alarmed by a report that the PRC will commence the trial of Canadian citizen Michael Kovrig on March 22nd and we renew our call for PRC authorities to attend this trial.

We’ll always just reiterate that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Canada in calling for their immediate release, and we also continue to condemn their lack of minimum procedural protections during their two-year arbitrary detention."

Posted by: james | Mar 20 2021 0:56 utc | 79

The Americans have completely lost the culture of negotiation. If there are no elementary human manners, then what kind of agreements can we talk about? A sad picture. And dangerous. A madman with nuclear weapons (and chemical weapons, by the way) is not the best option for a reliable negotiating partner.

alaff | Mar 19 2021 20:44 utc | 32:

And Bio-weapons.

Posted by: Ian2 | Mar 20 2021 1:53 utc | 85

Another Comment from China…

Another comment from Europe…

I suspect Blinken/Sullivan/Biden need to show that they are "tough" to the Chinese in public because otherwise, they will be roasted by the 78 millions Trump supporters for being "weak" to China compared with Trump. Behind the close door, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi characterized the talks to be NOT "very tense." I believe Biden actually is quite keen to get some "achievements" from the Chinese side, probably not realistically in this meeting, but hopefully in the near future.

Ha, but the weather is cold, the hotel is shoddy, and the Chinese delegate had to have instant noodle for lunch - that sounds like a very low budget “Hongmen Banquet” by the Americans. Maybe they are still waiting for their 1.9 trillion stimulus check?

Posted by: d dan | Mar 20 2021 2:12 utc | 86

trump changed that, suddenly the ugly side of the empire became visible

I've heard this about Trump a lot, but I've always wondered why Trump was the ultimate catalyst for this epiphany. You would think that the Iraq War should have been that watershed moment, or even Libya (and perhaps they were for many, like me). I suppose from the perspective of inter-imperialist relations in the first world, a lack of decorum of the level of Trump's is more anomalous and egregious than the imposition of death and destruction of people in the global south.

Posted by: Kapusta | Mar 20 2021 2:37 utc |

89

Mr. Id

Truly dreadful but very likely true portrait of America and not only the South; of which not much has remained after the mass migrations from the North in these past 40 years.

My personal observations have been consistent with your in the interior of the United States, the Judeo-Christians have become meaner and more bigoted and more racist. They are aggressive with an in-your-face attitude. They hate, and they hate Catholics, Muslims, and especially Iranians.

A wealthy preacher was recently asked why always flew in a private jet. He answered that he saw so much hatred on the face of fellow passengers that he could no longer endure it. Others laughed at him, but I believed him.

The late Carl Gustav Jung once observed that he knew World War II was coming because he could see Wotan in every German.

As I wrote to Mr. Kooshy, America could have been the Love of all nations of the world, their second home. But the leaders of Judeo-Christian, such as the late John Hay or the late Theodore Roosvelt, went after Imperial America chimera and their folksy plebs after Second Coming and Palestine. This project of 150 years has now failed.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 20 2021 3:03 utc | 91

I think that the presidency of Mr. Trump revealed the ugly side of the United States; suddenly the gilded papier marche of America, carefully created by the best propaganda techniques over 70 years, was shredded and USA was revealed to be a country just like so many others.

It is up to American people, Judeo-Christians as well as others, to address the deep deep social problems of the United States.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 20 2021 3:13 utc | 92

Rape camps in Yugo, rape camps in Libya, rape camps in Xinjiang.....

Somebody sure have certain fetishism for sex and violence.

One from the archive,
That 'humanitarian intervention in Sudan'

Indeed, the Darfur crisis is following a pattern which is so well-worn now that it has almost become routine. Saturation reporting from a crisis region; emergency calls for help broadcast on the electronic media (such as the one recently on the BBC Radio 4 flagship ‘Today’ programme); televised pictures of refugees; lurid stories of “mass rapes”, which are surely designed to titillate as much to provoke outrage; reproachful evocations of the Rwandan genocide; demands that something must be done (”How can we stand idly by?”, etc.); editorials in the Daily Telegraph calling for a return to the days of Rudyard Kipling's benevolent imperialism[6]; and, finally, the announcement that plans are indeed being drawn up for an intervention.

……………..

Intervention will allow Western forces to control an oil rich region, and perhaps to expel the present holders of concessions. The fact that the biggest of these is China, and that America’s other foreign adventures also seem to have as their goal the control of energy supplies to that strategic rival, only adds further piquancy to what is, otherwise, an all too banal case of modern imperialistic meddling.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27e/764.html

Posted by: denk | Mar 20 2021 5:13 utc | 97

This is just great…

Many great observations tonight, but all, beg the question; How do we change a nation state that has so thoroughly morphed into an advertising and marketing phony, aided and abetted by so many deluded morons?

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 20 2021 5:24 utc | 98

And then we have this…

I don’t know if the title will match up with the content. I cannot access the content here. But the truth remains everyone should have humility when entering in diplomatic negotiations. Arrogance has no place there.

.

And this…

All this nonsense about Xinjiang is being exposed for what it actually is… a convenient fiction.

.

And this…

Of course, the USA “media” will translate this as arrogance. But what is China supposed to do after a seven minute tirade demanding China to do certain things or else experience a hot war…

.

And he is correct.

On the global scene, America is the weak nation.

And this…

Yeah, after the terrible behavior of the United States “diplomats” we have a major “pile on” against America…

…the American narrative is that the BRI is bad and will result in a “debt trap”. So says the 20 trillion dollar debt nation.

.

Roderrick

Here’s a post from Roderick…

US took to Alaska the same attitude as it has had for 250 years.

That must change.

We imposed democracy and capitalism on other nations, only to learn that many cultures simply could not find those a successful replacement for what they had for centuries. Even following the USSR, people wanted the old ways back, feeling their safety net had been taken from them and billionaire oligarchs had looted state assets.

We have corrupted democracy and capitalism, both have become ugly in the rebellion and corruption that have permeated our nation like cancer. Consequently we no longer have anything worthwhile to ‘sell’ or impose.

But more importantly, our self-assigned charter as the world policeman, only creating more problems by every war since WWII, has created a world that reviles us, indeed more and more nations view us as their enemy, even as they are getting stronger by the day.

Humility rather than hubris. That is the only means for America to survive long-term. Get along, stop invading, stop threatening, stop harming other nations economically. If we cannot change, a global coalition will finally have had enough of their increasingly common enemy.

And within China…

Well the response to the Alaskan negotiations and the arrogance of the American delegation was quick. Already there are tee-shirts, and iPhone cases being made.

And here’s some more pictures. It’s all over China, now.

And here…

And here…

Some comments by 周齐汉 (Qi Han Zhou)

从国社通稿来看,此次重启对话还是具有一定效果。比如,美方重申坚持一个中国原则。比如,商议对等便利双方外交机构人员和媒体记者的活动。我方阐明了红线和底线。红线,中共的执政地位和制度安全不容损害。底线,台湾是中国领土,不容分裂,没有任何余地。还是那句话,谈大门打开,打奉陪到底。
Judging from the draft of the State News Agency, the resumption of the dialogue still has some effect.
For example, the U.S. side reiterated its adherence to the one-China principle.
For example, it is easier to discuss re-equivalent facilities for the activities of diplomatic personnel and media journalists on both sides.
We set out the red line and the bottom line.
Red line, the ruling position of the Communist Party of China and institutional security should not be compromised.
Bottom line, Taiwan is China’s territory and cannot be divided, and there is no room for maneuver.
Or that sentence, talk about the door open, play with the end.

And some comments by Josef Gregory Mahoney

Was asked by Maria Siow at #scmp for his take on the Alaska meetings. His responses: 

Genuine frustration and posturing by both sides... both countries have compelling reasons to improve relations... We won’t see a lot of movement on more contentious issues in in the next few weeks, but the groundwork will be laid in this meeting, quietly, for resolving the trade war, drawing clearer lines on tech competition, and a mutual understanding if not respect for each others redlines... Don’t be too distracted by the tough talk. China’s two top foreign policy officials wouldn’t be in Alaska if positive prospects were unlikely. They don’t walk into traps. 

Biden appears to have confirmed what many already suspected: that Allies have some key concerns with China, all hope the US can help resolve these and provide security guarantees, but none want to see relations worsen or follow Washington into an aggressive containment strategy. I’m optimistic that we’ll see tensions relax on multiple fronts, but it will depend in part on whether Washington will better discipline itself on Taiwan and likewise better discipline Taiwan, as was often the case before Trump, and whether Beijing will find an acceptable way forward through this as well. Taiwan is really the stickiest issue to work through.

From CTGN

The Chinese “red lines”. From the article “China says no compromise on sovereignty issues after talks with U.S. conclude“.

China pretty much stated that the USA has no say what so ever on how China deals with it’s domestic issues, and to FUCK OFF regarding them. If the USA pushes on these issues they will cross a “red line” which is very dangerous…

China will not change it’s government structure.

The U.S. brags about its democracy, even though its policy is most frequently dictated by the bureaucrats and the bureaucratic system. Congress struggles with basic tasks such as keeping the government funded and running. The U.S. is in a new gilded age, where selling digital kittens for millions of dollars is mistaken for innovation. Its politics are stalemated, its institutions are brittle, and its wealth is funneled to a small circle of elites.

-CGTN

Stop demanding that China adopt the American way of governance. American government, and leadership is an abject failure. It is insanity to expect a prosperous, growing, and successful nation to adopt the failed policies that characterize America.

In the statement, the Chinese side emphasized that the ruling position of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a choice of history and the people's choice, and the development of China is inseparable from CPC's leadership.

The ruling position of the CPC and the security of the system is "an intangible red line" and "must not be compromised," the statement highlighted.

It added that the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the system most in line with China's national conditions and the "code" for China's development, and stated that China's development goal is to achieve the "two centenary" goals and the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through hard work.

And this translation from the Chinese is most certainly a “bitch slap”…

China's reply to US at Alaska meeting:

You have your type of democracy. we have our type of democracy.

We lifted millions if not all of our population out of poverty. You created millions of unemployed and homeless.

We controlled and eradicated Covid. You let Covid devastate you.

Your infrastructures are at least 30 to 40 years old.

We build and provide cheap and affordable housing for the people. You build houses but the economic situation that you are in now resulted in more foreclosures (people giving up) than people buying.

We don't have homeless people sleeping in the street. You have plenty sleeping all over the place.

Our people have sufficient good food to eat. You too have food but the people have no money to buy food and have to rely on Govt Food stamps to pay for their food.

We have very little crime rate. You have one of the highest crime rate in the world which keeps your police very busy.

We have affordable health insurance and health care. Your health care is so out of reach such that the average household could not afford to fall sick.

Our people are united behind us. Your people are divided behind you.

Our democratic systems are quite different. Ours can deliver the goods. Yours make you indebted.

Why must you make us follow your way of running the country?

China’s human rights, not an excuse for interference

Using the excuse of “human rights” has long been the methodology for interference in the affairs of other nations. China will not allow it, nor tolerate it.

"China will not impose its democratic system and values ​​on other countries, while firmly safeguarding its own political system and values, and opposes accusing and discrediting China and interfering in China's internal affairs under the guise of human rights issues," according to the statement.

China also pointed out that it has no intention to interfere in America's political system or to challenge and replace U.S. position and its influence. It called on the U.S. side to properly view China's political system, its development path, national strategies as well as its influence worldwide.

Commitment to independent foreign policy of peace

Both America and China said that they were committed to “peace”. But how and when they said it differed.

The American delegation produced a long line of demands on China’s internal affairs, and followed up with the demand that China obey “the US-Led rule-of-law” instead of the UN charter. Then immediately afterwards, said “of course the US is committed to peace and wants to avoid war”.

China stated…

In the statement, the Chinese side reiterated that its commitment to an independent foreign policy of peace, insist on independence, uphold peaceful development, uphold win-win cooperation, uphold multilateralism, uphold fairness and justice, and continue to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind

"We firmly defend national sovereignty and national dignity, and we firmly oppose other countries' accusations on China's internal affairs," it claimed, reiterating that China adheres to the path of peaceful development.

Support for ‘true multilateralism’

America wants to ignore the UN. Instead it has a “US-Led Rule-of-law” that they expect China to obey.

China and the world follows the dictates of the UN. America wants to have a US-Led “rules-based” order upon the rules that the United States make. This is not acceptable to China, (and Russia).

China also highlighted multilateralism in the statement by regarding it as an "important cornerstone of the current international system."

According to China, true multilateralism should adhere to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, respect the basic norms of international relations, respect the sovereignty of all countries in the world, respect the diversity of civilizations, and work for the democratization of international relations.

"We are willing to work with the United States to maintain true multilateralism in the multilateral mechanism such as the United Nations and provide the international community with more and better international public products," said the statement.

China, U.S. need cooperation not confrontation

America came into the negotiations on a strategy of “zero sum”, meaning do things as I dictate, or face the consequences. While China was looking forward to a “win – win” outcome.

Regarding relationship between China and the U.S., the Chinese side stated that the essence of Sino-U.S. relations is mutual benefit and win-win, rather than a zero-sum game.

"Neither China nor the United States can bear the consequences of conflict and confrontation," the statement warned, calling on the two sides to "trust each other instead of suspicion, understand each other instead of accusing each other, and cooperate with each other instead of dismantling, so as to ensure that both sides focus on handling their domestic priorities and achieving their respective development goals."

The statement stressed that China's policy on U.S., with a high degree of stability and continuity, is committed to "achieving non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation with the U.S."

It called on the two sides to keep communication channels open, resume normal dialogue and exchange mechanisms, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to properly manage differences, and avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments.

No compromise on Taiwan question

This is a major “red line” and will result in military conflict if it is crossed.

Calling the Taiwan question core to China's interests and a matter of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, China reiterated that there is no compromise in this regard.

No rights to interfere in China’s Hong Kong affairs

How can one engage in cooperation for example, if America is obsessed with interfering in China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity? 

Sure the U.S. has its "principles" - but this must be done in a fair, pragmatic and reconciliatory way as opposed to, for example, whipping up unrest in Hong Kong, clinging onto the "genocide" rhetoric on Xinjiang, or promoting tensions in the Taiwan Straits. 

How China conducts its internal policies is its business, nobody else's.

-CGTN

This is a major “red line” and will result in military conflict if it is crossed.

Regarding the recent decisions made by China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, on the improvement of electoral system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Chinese delegation said the U.S. should respect the decision and follow the international law and basic norms of international relations.

"It is the central government's task to improve the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. How to design, develop and improve the electoral system is China's internal affairs. No foreign government, organization or individual has the right to interfere," read the statement.

‘Xinjiang genocide’ claim: ‘Biggest lie of the century’

America needs to interrupt the BRI. And key to that is Xinjiang. China says that this lie of “concentration camps” and ‘Genocide” is simply not true and must end. But it will not. America is planning on military intervention into the Chinese territory and are moving forces in Afghanistan concurrently.

China also dismissed the claim that there is genocide in China's Xinjiang, calling it "the biggest lie of the century."

The delegation said the door of Xinjiang is wide open to the world. It welcomed exchanges with the U.S. side on the basis of mutual respect while stressed that China will not accept any investigation in Xinjiang based on the presumption of guilt by those who are biased, condescending and want to lecture China.

It is hoped that the U.S. side can respect facts, call off attacks against and smearing of China's Xinjiang policy, and abandon double standards on anti-terrorism, it added.

Tibet ‘part of China,’ ‘Dalai Lama has long engaged in anti-China separatist activities’

Again. This is a major “red line” and will result in military conflict if it is crossed.

China also pointed out that the 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile who has long engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion.

"It is hoped that the U.S. will abide by its commitment to recognize Tibet as part of China and not support 'Tibet independence,' handle Tibet-related issues carefully and properly, lift sanctions on relevant Chinese officials, and stop using Tibet-related issues to interfere in China's internal affairs," it stated.

 

On a positive note. From the article “Why China and U.S. can seek a reset after Anchorage”

It's a strange truth that during the two-day sit-down, the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi did just that. They wasted no time in highlighting the importance of "mutual respect" and the avoidance of harmful extremes in addressing bilateral relations and structural disparities.

Perhaps the Chinese diplomats did not want to be disrespected and misunderstood. But they soon found out their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, were from another universe with their own brands of isolation. They seemed out of touch with reality to acknowledge the existence of differences, and to find the safety of the middle ground to resolve them amicably, rather than go for the imbalance of the extremes in the hope to validate America's shell games in East Asia and the Western Pacific.

The senior American diplomats walked into the meeting ostensibly from a position of self-righteousness and strength, absolutely unprepared and reluctant to drop the interventionist claims and instincts, to discuss the delicate process of resetting the pivotal relationship, and to compartmentalize and contain the structural differences.

From this perspective, the downfall of their hopeless quest to enforce their interventionist worldview in the testy exchange is found in this...

...in the wrong message that China ought to be confronted and contained, and that accommodation, mutual coexistence, or even extensive cooperation on matters of mutual interest must be ruled out...

... (that is) until China respects "the U.S.-led rules-based international order."

Strategic Culture Foundation chimes in…

The Biden administration has displayed initial deluded and antiquated thinking when it comes to foreign policy.

After the four-year interregnum of Donald Trump’s “Cirque du Stupide,” America’s foreign diplomacy should be undergoing a total facelift.

Returning to the stodgy “business as usual” foreign policy of the past is not the answer.

As the Biden administration began to nestle into office, there was a familiar refrain in press releases from the Department of State, otherwise known as “Foggy Bottom.”

These included such old ditties as “The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed ways to strengthen cooperation with allies and partners to address the [blah . . . blah . . . blah].”

The Biden administration has displayed initial deluded and antiquated thinking when it comes to foreign policy.

It should be remembered that Biden’s Senate career began when Mao Zedong was still in charge in China, a war with the U.S. as a main participant continued to rage in Southeast Asia, a country called the United Arab Republic was the center of political activity in the Middle East, white rule and apartheid was the name of the game in southern Africa, and right-wing dictatorships ruled throughout Latin America.

Those who live in the past will never be prepared to face the future.

 

The Spectator has some thoughts…

“Very frank. It was the first high-level meeting between members of the Biden administration and their Chinese counterparts. To say that it was a public relations disaster for the US is to understate the case.”

“Blinken and his sidekick, Jake Sullivan, a Hillary Clinton factotum who is now national security adviser, sat down to read China the riot act. It was not a success.”

“The United States, said Yang, in one of the most dismissive diplomatic rejoinders I have ever heard, does not have the ‘qualifications’ to address China ‘from a position of strength’. F, my dear Blinken, you.”

“Joe Biden has been in office for just two months. Has any US president had such a disastrous opening chapter on the world stage? None that I can recall.”

Some great articles…

US can’t accept painful fact that China is now its equal: Martin Jacques

We learnt two things from the China-US high-level dialogue held in Alaska last week.

The first was from the session at the beginning when the media were present. This would normally be conducted in a polite and somewhat anodyne fashion dressed up in diplomatic nicety. It could not have been more different. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan commenced the proceedings and made some sharp criticisms of China. In response, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Foreign Affairs, gave a bravura performance. Far from pulling his punches or couching his words in diplomatic language, he let his American counterparts have it with both barrels, challenging not just the US position but its very legitimacy. And all this before the world's media.

Let me quote some of his choice barbs: "When I entered this room, I should have reminded the US side of paying attention to its tone." "The US is not qualified to say it wants to speak to China from a position of strength." "China and the international community…uphold the UN-centered international order…not what is advocated by a small number of countries of the so-called 'rules-based' international order." "On human rights, we do hope the US will do better on human rights. The challenges facing the US in human rights are deep-seated. They did not just emerge over the past four years, such as Black Lives Matter." "On cyber-attacks, let me say that whether it's the ability to launch cyber-attacks or the technologies that could be deployed, the US is the champion." "The US does not represent international opinion and neither does the Western world."

While delivering these shots, Yang spoke with passion but never raised his voice. There were no cheap jibes. He occupied the high ground in the argument and left the Americans bewildered and belittled.

This is not normally the Chinese manner on such occasions. It is a sign that something has changed. There is a new sense of confidence on the part of the Chinese. That they are - or can - win the argument. That they are at least the equals of America. That they speak from a position of strength and America from a position of weakness. That history is on their side. It feels like the diplomatic equivalent of moving from "keeping a low profile" to "striving for achievement," or from being a relative spectator in the global system to becoming a major architect. The Americans have hitherto always thought of themselves as running the show; the shock visible in the body language of Blinken and Sullivan was the realization, conscious or unconscious, that this was no longer the case. The same was apparent in the Western media. The BBC, for example, invariably critical of China, reported it with an unfamiliar neutrality, as if stunned by the role reversal.

The second thing we found out from the dialogue (albeit already evident from the signals emanating from the White House), was that there will be no return to the status quo ante. That Biden is desperately anxious to appear as hostile to China as Trump was before him. The underlying forces at work here are very deep. America is in the process of coming to the painful realization that China is now its equal. But it cannot bring itself to accept or acquiesce in what is already an historical reality. That is why there can be no return to 1972 (Mao-Nixon Accord) or 1979 (US recognition of China). The relationship that prevailed then between China and the US was entirely different: the US was the giant, China a minnow. That was the basis of the US-China relationship for 45 years from 1972 until Trump torpedoed it in 2017, even though, of course, by the end China's rise was already undermining America's assumptions about the relationship. The realization that China was on the verge of overtaking the US economically, that China enjoyed a huge global presence, that it was already in effect its equal, came as an enormous shock to the American psyche and body politic.

Addicted to its hubris, it failed to see the blatantly obvious coming. As there can be no return to the past, the China-US relationship, so crucial to both and to the whole world, will have to be rethought on an entirely new basis, namely one of mutuality and equality. The problem is that the US is very far from thinking like this. How America needs for these times a giant like Henry Kissinger: someone who understands - and admires - China in a very profound way.

For the time being we must think in more mundane ways. Cooperation will be confined to the foothills, it will be a case of issue by issue, a bit here and a bit there, rebuilding contacts and communications between the two countries, ending as best can be done the toxicity and wanton destruction wrought by Donald Trump. Even this will not be easy but it ought, at a pinch, to be possible, with climate change offering the most important challenge and opportunity. For without cooperation between the two countries, climate change will imperil the very future of the planet and humanity.

China puts the Anglo-Americans in their place, and the cowardly EU, too, for good measure

China's representatives easily demolish the mountains of lies built by the US and its vassals, as part of their hybrid war on all independent nations, but now chiefly aimed at China and Russia, designated by the US hegemon, behind the pretext of "national security",  as America's chief global "rivals". Truth weakens and eventually destroys imperialism, that's why it is now completely banned throughout the Western establishment media. Observe the barely repressed tone of exasperation in China's spokesperson. It's clear Beijing and Moscow have had just about enough of Western harassment, imperialist hostility, bad faith and hypocrisy. March 2021 clearly marks a turning point in international relations.

...

"China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case is very clear. This is nothing short of a political incident in which Canada played a very disgraceful role as an accomplice. We urge the Canadian side to immediately release Ms. Meng Wanzhou, who has been arbitrarily and unreasonably detained by the Canadian side, and ensure her early and safe return to China..."

Leaders, politicians and diplomats that have wisdom and serve their people will not pursue the so-called “alliance of democracies”. Many countries in the region want to see a sound and steady China-US relationship. Working together for a better life is democracy in real sense.

According to #US media, in 2016, a #Uyghur couple went to Italy with 3 children, leaving another 4 in #Xinjiang. If there's "forced sterilization" and "genocide" in Xinjiang as some in the west claim, how come this Uyghur couple have 7 children?

The #US, #UK and #Canada together account for only 5.7% of the world's population. Even if #EU is added, that will be about 11%. They cannot represent the international community.

#Democracy comes about when power belongs to people. There is no unified model for democracy. Sovereign states should be respected in their independent choose of development path. No one has the right to meddle in their internal affairs under the guise of "democracy".

I wonder in what way the west's democracy is superior. Amid #COVID19, the world's richest nations watch hundreds of thousands of their people die. Is this #democracy? While western politicians are busy wooing their party voters, the Chinese government serves all wholeheartedly.
In Guilin, FM Wang Yi & FM #Lavrov issued a joint statement that shed light on what is real human rights, democracy, international order & multilateralism. #China & #Russia will jointly and resolutely defend international justice & fairness.

China & Russia, with great sense of commitment & responsibility as major countries in the world & permanent members of the #UNSC, will give strong backing to each other on issues of core interests as important partners & play an underpinning role in international affairs. 

In 40 years, the #Uyghur population has grown from 5.5 million to 12.8 million. The fact that #Xinjiang residents of various ethnic groups enjoy stability, security, development and progress, makes it one of the most successful human rights stories.
Some in the #US, #UK, #Canada and #EU clearly don't want to acknowledge the real facts about #Xinjiang & don't care about the truth, but hold on to accusations based on lies & false information. They just do not want to see #China's success, development and better livelihood.
What the #US, #UK, #Canada and #EU have done is utter denigration and offense to the reputation and dignity of the #Chinese people, blatant interference of China's internal affairs, and grave violation of China's sovereignty and security interests.
The #US and #UK used some test tube of washing powder and a staged video as evidence to launch wars against sovereign countries such as #Iraq and #Syria, leaving numerous death and displacement. Shouldn't they be sanctioned?
#France, #UK and #EU launched a war in #Libya, leading to regional turbulence & grave migrant and refugee issues. Shouldn't they be held accountable?
Tens of hundreds of people died of #COVID19 because these most developed countries are indifferent to their people's rights to life and health. They hoard #vaccines far in excess of their population's needs, leaving developing countries struggling with insufficient vaccines.
How can people enjoy rights if they lost their lives? Some in the west talk a lot about #humanrights, but who and what right on earth are they protecting? In what way are they respecting and protecting human rights.
#China is not what it was 120 years ago, when foreign powers could force open its door with guns. Certain colluding individuals in politics, academics and media should think twice if they think they could make wanton smears with impunity.
The west shall entertain no illusion as regards #China's firm determination to defend national interests and dignity. It's a courtesy to reciprocate what we receive. They will have to pay a price for their ignorance and arrogance.

Chinese Government Statement

#China deplores and rejects the unilateral sanctions by #EU citing so-called #HumanRights issues in #Xinjiang. 

This move is based on nothing but lies and disinformation, and will inevitably undermine China-EU relations. 

To safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interest, #China will sanction #EU individuals and entities that have been spreading lies and disinformation at the cost of China's interests...

The #EU must drop its hypocritical double standards, and stop going further down the wrong path. Otherwise, it will be met with further resolute reactions. 

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/.../s2510_665401/t1863106.shtml

MM Comments

I had high hopes for the meeting. I was wrong.

Rather than improve relationships between the United States and China, the Alaskan meeting pretty much depicted America as an out of control bully that stated that it did not need to follow the UN and global governance standards. Instead it was the biggest, meanest and baddest thug on the block and laid out it’d demands on China.

It told China that “you will obey what we say or risk a hot war with us and our very powerful allies”.

While I am sure that most Americans would welcome this attitude, I found this arrogant, and very upsetting.

Reports are that immediately afterwards, China and Russia set up and held meetings.

I wonder what they are talking about…

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China, Russia and Iran are unifying in Xinjiang BRI, and the United States military empire is in full panic.

If you take a casual glance at the American media you will be exposed to the ideas of “genocide”, “concentration camps”, “slave labor”, and other abuses by China in the Xinjiang province. And, if you are an American, you will believe them. After all, the “news” never lies … right? Well, in this post we are going to look at the reason WHY there is such an uproar in the USA over this patch of land in Western China. And the reasons behind it is NOT anything presented to the American citizenry. It’s something else entirely.

Where is Xingjiang?

Xinjiang is in China. It is a State / province of China. It’s a kind of “China’s version of America’s New Mexico”.

First of all, let’s look at where Xinjiang is. Because a picture will tell you more than any write up that I can compile will. So check out this map of China showing the Xinjiang region…

So, those of you all in the MM audience that somehow believe that American neocon narrative that US military troops can tromp into the region and “liberate” the Chinese people there. (For “democracy”® and “freedom”®.) Had best think long and hard if you want to deal with half of the Untied States rendered into radioactive waste.

China does not play.

This area is owned, controlled, and a fundamental part of China, and has been so for many… many years.

China will treat any “forces of liberation” with the same level of violence as Washington DC would do to defend Texas from invasion. If you all think that a “color revolution” is possible there, or that “American troops can liberate it” you had best get back on your medicines. Those fantasies are for ignorant children and the feeble-minded.

Now, let’s take a look at the BRI, shall we?

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
China ’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (一带一路) is a strategy initiated by the People’s Republic of China that seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.

The BRI is a very involved trade route into the heart of Asia that is designed to replace or supplement the sea-lane shipping routes out of China. (And subject to American Naval Blockades.)

There are many aspects of it, and it is very comprehensive.

In short, it leverages all of the neighbors to China, and builds upon robust lines of communication, trade and investment. And thus maps depicting such efforts tend to be rather convoluted and messy, such as this map from France…

The belt and road initiative.

Now, let’s simplify all this.

Let’s [1] concentrate on the land routes only, and [2] paint the canvas in broad brush strokes showing the areas of development, and influence in the BRI. And [3] lets do so taking note of the locations of China, Russia and Iran.

And when we do so, we end up with this (greatly simplified) map…

BRI simplified, showing only the land routes.

Now what can you see, when you simplify everything down and distill it into it’s simplest components?

You see the BRI as a unification of the nations of China, Russia and Iran. And internally upon the vast landmasses. Well… well, out of the reach of the “long arms” of the United States Navy.

Now, with the BRI the entire trade situation changes.

Now, Aside from trading with the Americas, China can trade with the rest of the world by land routes only. Not only is [1] logistic costs via rail cheaper than by sea, but [2] they are protected from piracy, ship damage and loss, and naval blockades by rogue nations (read; The United States and Britain.)

Sep 20, 2020 · If a naval blockade is a feasible strategy, it strengthens the American system of deterrence and dilutes any potential attempts by China to coerce the United States or its allies. 

-Could The U.S. Navy Blockade China Into Submission?
Apr 06, 2019 · If a naval blockade is a feasible strategy, it strengthens the American system of deterrence and dilutes any potential attempts by China to coerce the United States or its allies. 

- How a Massive Naval Blockade Could Bring China To Its Knees...

The National Interest is THE publication that you read if you desire to feel the “pulse” of the war-mongering neocons in Washington DC. Some of their typical  reads are;

Now, let’s take a look at the American neocon plans to isolate and suppress China. Let’s look at what their plans have been…

Why do I feel like the planners in Washington DC like to play with little toy soldiers, fancy electronics and high technology, and fail to see the human side of their insanity? Interesting isn’t it?

Now, let’s take a look at the above map showing the BRI…

I am sure that most MM readers can read maps. And when you do, you can clearly see that the BRI renders the complete American military; Air, Land, and sea impotent.

It removes the threat of naval blockades on China.

It lowers the prices in trade goods. It enriches and uplifts the lives of millions of people in the most poverty stricken areas of the world, and connects China with it’s biggest customers for the next decade.

So since the BRI puts American military might at a disadvantage, it becomes critically important that the BRI be stopped at all costs.

And…

Now, boys and girls, look at where the “gateway” to the BRI is located at. Yup. That’s right.

It’s located in Xinjiang.

A map of the BRI showing the location of the “gateway” at Xinjiang.

Are the puzzle-pieces falling in place for ya? Are things getting a little clearer for you all to understand?

All this propaganda onslaught against China and Uighur Muslims isn’t about what they say it is. It’s about stopping China from building the BRI at all costs, and set in place a narrative to justify military action there.

Of course, not directly.

By proxy.

Well that is the plan at least.

And when you look at the bigger scope of things then you can understand why the military is suddenly pouring more money, more equipment and more manpower into both Afghanistan and Syria.

You just look at the map.

So what’s all this narrative all about?

Well, let’s look at another article titled “Is China committing genocide?” Reprinted as found, and all credit to the author.

Is China Committing Genocide? Behind the US Government’s Propaganda Campaign

XINJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA — Up is down. War is peace. And the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands have accused China of genocide.

“This is forced labor, this is forced sterilization, this is forced abortions, …the kind of thing we haven’t seen in an awfully long time in this world,” declared then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

To be fair, the accusers are experts in genocide: the U.S. and its junior imperial partner, Canada, wiped out their indigenous populations. Today the U.S. is responsible for the three biggest human rights catastrophes in the world in Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. And the Netherlands is just coming to terms with its massacres in Indonesia.

Mike Pompeo’s successor at the State Department, Antony Blinken, is sticking with the genocide claim. That’s despite the State Department’s top lawyers stating that whatever might be happening in Xinjiang, it’s not genocide. That’s right. Chinese Communist Party genocide denialists have infiltrated the U.S. State Department to impurify our precious bodily fluids.

My goodness!

Dr Strangelove Precious Bodily Fluids Quote

Aug 12, 2020 · Everyone loves to quote famous lines from movies so having a good knowledge of good movie quotes. Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made stanley kubrick s cold war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual and certainly without any choice.

Pure Zenz

So what did Pompeo and Blinken base their accusations of genocide on? There must have been a pretty strong body of on-the-ground reporting and research. Or not. It turns out that one guy is pretty much responsible for the whole narrative. His name is Adrian Zenz.

“Adrian’s research, as many of you know, has been key in establishing the existence of the camps in the first place, and in documenting the buildup of the PRC police state,” explained Hudson Institute fellow Eric Brown.

Zenz appeared almost overnight as a go-to expert on Xinjiang and Uighurs. Now he’s a regular on mainstream outlets and even on supposedly progressive news show Democracy Now. In fact, in Mike Pompeo’s official statement accusing China of genocide, he directly credited Zenz.

But most of his so-called research has been discredited, and he’s been revealed to be a straight-up fabulist. A Grayzone News investigation showed that Zenz’s claims of 1 million Uighur detained in camps were based “on a single report by Istiqlal TV, a Uyghur exile media organization based in Turkey, which was republished by Newsweek Japan.” In other words, no evidence, and not even an attempt.

Meanwhile, Zenz’s study accusing China of forced sterilizations didn’t contain any proof of coercion. The Grayzone showed how “Zenz consistently framed the expansion of public healthcare services in Xinjiang as evidence of a genocide in the making.”

Characterizing expanded access to birth control as genocide is what the Christian Right does.

So it makes perfect sense that Zenz – an evangelical fundamentalist himself – holds this view.

Jesus will cleanse the world of the infidels, and the righteous will go to Heavenly paradise.

Zenz’s first book is a psychedelic trip through the mind of a Rapture-ready Christer.

The tome is entitled “Worthy to Escape: Why All Believers Will Not Be Raptured Before the Tribulation.”

In it, the book claims that in the end times, “God’s refining process will wipe out all unbelieving Jews who refuse to come to Christ.”

So Zenz writes racist fantasies about Jews, like me. Who knows what he thinks will happen to Uighur Muslims! Yikes!

Jesus will cleanse the world of the infidels, and the righteous will go to Heavenly paradise.

He also says that Satan is using postmodernism to attack gender-authority structures and undermine what he believes are God’s unique but different role assignments for men and women.

Clearly, he is against women’s rights.

So does he support criminalizing birth control in his native Germany and here in the U.S. where he now resides?

Even more deranged, Zenz’s big genocide study claimed that women in Xinjiang receive 800 to 1600 IUD insertions per capita. That means every Uighur woman is surgically implanted with 4 to 8 IUDs every single day of the year.

It’s not even possible.

Evidently, none of the outlets that feverishly published his claims bothered to give even a cursory examination to the evidence, or lack thereof, that he presents.

Other reasons (besides genocide) for having fewer kids

In reality, the decrease in birth rate is a normal, predictable outcome of economic development. When people are more financially secure, they choose to have fewer kids and do it later in life.

In fact, China is pouring money into Xinjiang to develop its economy.

According to a 2015 U.S. government study, “To decrease ethnic instability in Xinjiang, the Chinese government’s plan is to economically develop the region.”

That’s right. Chinese Communist Party agents have also time-traveled to 2015 to infiltrate the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and write a study trying to justifying genocide. Damn you Xi!!!

As a result of this economic development, China’s birth rate is falling at rapid rates in all regions, which comes with its own set of problems, like an aging population – similar to what the U.S. is dealing with. So Chinese lawmakers are now pushing for the universal two-child policy to be changed to three.

But this rapture-ready fanatic Adrian Zenz isn’t the only source for these claims of genocide, right?

Well, Newsweek cites Adrian Zenz.

How about CNN: the self-described most trusted name in news? CNN says its reporting found that some Uyghur women were being forced to use birth control and undergo sterilization… There it is. Can’t argue with that.

…The article was “based on a report by Adrian Zenz.”

Uh oh.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum accuses China of crimes against humanity and genocide against Uighurs. They reference “leaked government documents” and “researchers,” …

Of course, referring to Zenz.

Zenz and the Genocide Choir

With Zenz at the center, a cast of shady characters have promoted this disinformation to support the phony genocide claim:

  • Rushan Abbas — former Pentagon contractor who worked for Radio Free Asia, a U.S. propaganda mouthpiece started by the CIA.
  • Darren Byler — a fellow at the Wilson Center, which is funded by the U.S. government and a host of other NATO governments, big banks and corporations. His resume shows he has also been funded to the tune of 100,000 dollars through the U.S. Department of Education.
  • He does panels with Louise Greve — the former vice president of the CIA cutout National Endowment for Democracy, who now runs the NED-funded Uyghur Human Rights Project.
  • There’s Human Rights Watch China Director Sophie Richardson — this cold-warrior wrote an op-ed in the liberal interventionist Foreign Affairs magazine calling for Biden to confront China over human rights. What the hell are the people at Human Rights Watch smoking to believe the guy who just bombed Syria and sponsors Israel’s project of apartheid has a shred of crediblity on human rights?
  • Then there’s the Australian Strategic Policy Institute – the self-declared independent, non-partisan think tank, which is totally dependent on funding from the Australian and American departments of defense, NATO, weapons makers, the Embassy of Japan, and the Embassy of Israel, among others.

All with the blessings of Jesus.

2018 and the sudden “genocide” drumbeat

The Uighur genocide claim was virtually unheard of before 2018. Up until that point, Western media coverage of the issue was dramatically different.

Take The New York Times. In the 1980s, it published a series of articles about how Uighur Muslims were actually prospering and Islam was flourishing under Chinese rule.

By the 1980s, this separatist movement was becoming violent. In one 1997 incident, the Times reported on, about a thousand Muslim separatists of the Uighur ethnic minority rampaged through the town Yining on Wednesday, smashing cars, burning shops and beating up ethnic Chinese to protest Beijing’s rule.

In 1994, the Times reported that Uighur extremists were returning from Afghanistan, where the CIA spent a billion dollars arming what it called a “University of Jihad.” The Times noted that “Afghan veterans have fought in two western provinces, Uighur and Xinjiang, where they have armed and trained Chinese Muslim rebels.”

In the wake of the U.S. destruction of Yugoslavia, the Times noted the separatists fantasized about a NATO bombing campaign

This Uighur separatist movement, its violent anti-Han rampages, or the militants returning from Afghanistan are barely mentioned in any of the contemporary Times reports claiming genocide.

In 1981, The Washington Post wrote about growing ethnic tensions in Xinjiang, noting that “Peking has taken pains to ensure ethnic rights and elevate minority group members to leadership positions. In Xinjiang, a kind of affirmative action program has been started at the provincial university to guarantee that 60 percent of new students are from ethnic backgrounds.” Today, none of this gets mentioned in the Post’s coverage.

How about Newsweek? Back in 2000, it reported that Xinjiang was a weak point that threatened to fragment China along ethnic lines, that Uighur separatists threatened the security of Beijing, and some might even join forces with Islamic “holy warriors.” Now it’s all genocide, all the time.

With these misleading or outright false claims based on manipulated statistics, the only evidence for a Uighur genocide is anecdotal, which is hard to prove or disprove. But the testimony in Western media is often full of contradictions.

Take the case of Sayragul Sauytbay. In 2019, she told the UK tabloid The Daily Mail that she witnessed concentration camp “inmates being flayed, raped by guards in front of other prisoners, given injections that made them infertile and force-fed pork.” Keep in mind this is the same tabloid that has spent years peddling Islamophobic hysteria and once warned about Muslim fanatics hijacking the royal wedding. Sauytbay has told similar stories in more respectable newspapers like Foreign Policy, Haaretz and Deutsche Welle.

But back in 2018, Sauytbay told the Globe and Mail that “She did not personally see violence.” For some reason, she completely changed her story. Maybe she was fearful and traumatized, or maybe she falsified it. Apparently, none of the outlets that published her testimony bothered to check into that discrepancy.

Then there’s Tursunay Ziyawundun. She’s the central character in the forced-sterilization narrative cooked up by Adrian Zenz. She’s delivered teary testimonies for the BBC, CNN and Democracy Now. A few months before those reports, however, she told Buzzfeed News, “I wasn’t beaten or abused.” Again, why did she change her story? And why did all of these media outlets fail to do a basic check into her past statements?

Older rumblings

In my research, the first mention of Uighur genocide took place back in 1997, when several so-called “Chinese dissidents” testified to Congress. One woman named Rizvangul Uighur claimed that China’s birth control policy involved murdering babies as soon as they were born. She said the one-child policy was so strictly enforced that “babies are being killed in [the] delivery room without seeing the mother’s face and world.”

Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) – a homophobic bigot from the Christian right – claimed that Uighur women “are often taken physically to the abortion mill. Forced abortions can be performed very late in pregnancy, even in the ninth month. Sometimes the baby’s skull is crushed with forceps as it emerges from the birth canal. Either the woman or her husband may then be forcibly sterilized.”

That’s the same Chris Smith who several months before was railing against abortion rights at the so-called March For Life rally and accusing Bill Clinton of murdering unborn children:

You are and your legacy will be abortion president. You know, mister president, that the scriptures admonish us to pray for those in authority. And we will be faithful to that. As believers we will pray and fast, and sincerely hope, that you reject the culture of death.”

Neither Rizvangul Uighur nor Smith bothered to mention that in 1997 Uighurs and other ethnic minorities were not subject to the one-child policy. So the birthrate in Xinjiang province was 19.66 – meaning there were nearly 20 births per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, in Beijing, the birthrate was 7.91.

Of course, there was a clear political goal in the bogus testimony delivered in Congress. It was coordinated to be released on the day that Bill Clinton met with President of China Jiang Zemin.

Members of Congress were demanding Clinton take a hardline approach to China, some even using racist epithets to warn of a Chinese invasion. “The White House will not wise up until there’s a full blown rice paddy on the east lawn,” warned Democratic Ohio Congressman James Traficant, whose career ultimately ended in a bribery conviction and expulsion from Congress.

After that, save for a couple of Voice of America articles, there was no mention in Western media about the Uighur genocide — until 2018…

…And the Donald Trump “War on China”.

The contemporary hypocritical propaganda barrage

It’s worth pointing out that the vast majority of American politicians taking up the supposed Uighur genocide cause are totally supportive of U.S.-sponsored genocides around the world. Like Chris Smith (yup, he’s still there).

The same Chris Smith who welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu with a statement of “unequivocal support for Israel” just a few months after it killed 551 Palestinian children in Gaza.

Or Florida Senator Rick Scott – also a bestie of the butcher of Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The neocon Michael Pillsbury – the same Michael Pillsbury who in the 1980s, as a state department official, oversaw the CIA’s arming of the Afghanistan mujahideen with Stinger missiles, the same mujahideen who would train Uighur jihadists.

The Uighur genocide is almost perfectly tailored for right-wing agitators who want to portray socialism as a totalitarian system akin to Nazism. “When people say ‘never again’ they were (sic) full of crap. They’re just full of crap. This is one area where the United States should be taking a leading role… shaving people’s heads, shipping them on trains and to concentration camps where you force them into labor and/or sterilize them,” declared Ben Shapiro.

“Many of them women who, of their own volition, had the Chinese government paramilitary forcefully end those pregnancies. Forcefully sterilize,” said Tim Pool. “They’re trying to sterilize the Uighur population but force the Han population genetic code into other Uighur women,” his fellow podcaster claimed.

Should I mention here that the U.S. government forcibly sterilized 1,400 Black women in a California prison? Haven’t seen any U.S. government officials or news media talk about that!

This propaganda deluge is having a powerful impact on U.S. public opinion. In 2017, just before the Uighur genocide narrative kicked into high gear, 53% of Americans had a favorable view of China – the highest in three decades. Now, a new poll shows it’s down to 20% – a historic low. That was accompanied by a 150% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in U.S. cities.

It’s the “sheeple effect“. It’s when zombie population mindlessly regurgitate the media narratives about things that they themselves have NEVER personally experienced. They just repeat without thinking. They regurgitate without consideration. They have no personal experiences to justify their beliefs.

"Oh, China is terrible."

How do you know this?
"Everyone knows this. What a silly question."

Did you experience something bad while you were in China?
"I've never been to China, but I have a friend of a friend who has. And he says it's terrible".

How do you know that the third hand information is correct, and accurate?
"I know.  I feel it in my bones, besides everyone knows that China is terrible."

Sheeple drink Brawndo. It has electrolytes.

Trillions of dollars worth of “caring”

So what is this all about?

Why did corporate media and militaristic right wing politicians, along with a surprising number of progressive dupes, suddenly start freaking out about a supposed genocide in China?

Why?

Xinjiang is the heart of China’s Belt and Road initiative, the economic plan that connects Asia to Europe and the Middle East. It’s an alternative model to the dictatorship of the U.S. dollar, where the World Bank and International Monetary Fund turn countries into neo-colonies for American corporations – a system backed up with the constant threat of military invasion.

The U.S. can’t deal with legitimate competition, so it’s resorting to smears in an attempt to isolate China diplomatically and slow its economic growth.

It’s either that, or the government and military that forcibly sterilized minority women in prisons, tortured in Abu Ghraib, relies on prison labor, and is waging genocidal wars against multiple Muslim-majority countries, just simply cares a whole lot about the Uighurs.

Sure…

But you know, China is starting to fight back

While they have been passively building, and negotiating, studying, researching, and making, other things are a-foot…

Companies, individuals in Xinjiang to sue rumormongering Adrian Zenz for causing reputation damage, economic losses
Published: Mar 09, 2021 10:23 AM
A number of enterprises and individuals in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have directed lawyers to sue German national Adrian Zenz (who calls himself Zheng Guoen in Chinese), Xinjiang local news outlet ts.cn reported.

Local people said that Zenz spread "forced labor" and other rumors related to Xinjiang, which damaged their reputation and caused them to suffer economic losses.

They have filed a civil lawsuit with a local court in Xinjiang, demanding that Zenz apologize, restore their reputation and compensate them for their losses.

Adrian Zenz, born in 1974, is an infamous anti-China pseudo-scholar. He is a German far-right fundamentalist Christian who believes he is "led by God" on a "mission" against China, member of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a far-right organization established by the US government in 1993, and senior fellow in a research group set up by the US intelligence community against the vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang.

In 2018 when he was still a faculty member of the European School of Culture and Theology at Columbia International University, Korntal, he has gone almost overnight from an unknown researcher into a go-to pundit on Xinjiang, as the US steps up its disinformation campaign against China.

In recent years, Zenz has produced multiple sensational "reports" on Xinjiang on social media platforms like Twitter, and fabricated false academic research on Xinjiang, in which he spread rumors such as large-scale monitoring of local ethnic minorities and forced labor of the Uygurs.

These false claims have been pursued by Western media. Misled by such rumors on Xinjiang, some countries and companies have reduced or even halted imports of cotton and cotton products from Xinjiang, causing some cotton farmers and cotton processing enterprises in Xinjiang to suffer great economic losses.

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Going through one of the poorer fifth tier cities in China, a video exposé.

Yeah. This is what it is like. I’ve got a video that you’ll all will want to see. It’s pretty good. Almost as good as being here. It’s a pretty much grass-roots view of China in one of the “back water” towns in the “hinterland”. LOL. I think that you will all enjoy it.

But first…

… let’s talk about things that aren’t so serious. I mean, why not? Right? Like Pistachios. And Jarts. And blueberry pop-tarts, and big breakfasts with baked beans, easy over eggs, and lots and lots of bacon. And coffee. Percolated coffee. Thick.

The postman always drinks twice.

Not so serious things.

Or, maybe serious.

And right off the bat I want to discuss some of the odd things that make me scratch my head in thought. Well, actually pet my beard, up and down, and go hummmm.It’s some thoughts that aren’t big enough for a post of their own, but curious enough not to omit.

And the first up is this little critter. Kinda cute. You know.

Cute little creature. I think that he is a really good candidate for an actual dragon. Don’t you?

I always thought that dragons were a creature from fantasy, and the legends of dragons might be from remote memories of dinosaurs in our common shared humanity. But here, it pretty much seems definitive. Here be an actual dragon.

So here I am, minding my own business and I come across this little picture. I look at it, scroll past it. Pause. Stop. Think about the little guy, and go back to him.

He’s sort of cute, eh?

And here’s a group of guys from “Trailer Park Boys”. Not so cute. They remind me of my friends from Arkansas. In fact, their stereotype can pretty much be found all over America.  Not that it’s bad mind you, but that it is not the narrative, its the way people interact with each other at different levels of financial success or distress.

Here’ to “the crew”!

Trailer Park Boys chilling out.

I know that it is supposed to be a comedy, but really I actually know a lot of people like this. It’s the human experience, don’t you know.

The human experience.

You all have a front-row-seat. Don’t you know.

And speaking about the human experience, look at this little tool. It’s advertised to massage the gums. But come on! You aren’t  going to tell me that that’s the real purpose of this little gizmo. Are you?

Designed to massage the gums.

No. The real reason and the real purpose of this little device is to make it easier to pick your nose. Now with this vibrating finger your nose can be really get all clean and worked up.

Next up is a nostalgic picture.

When a government is working, and efficient, and has crime under control, inflation doesn’t exist. All inflation can be traced back to government mismanagement at some level. And sure there are all kinds of excuses justifying it’s existence, I like to believe that it is a measure of government mismanagement.

With that in mind, look at this picture please…

The good old days.

…and then, boom!

We are back to serious things.

Where has Americans’ income gone?

By Ding Gang 

Ten years ago, I went to New York City with the correspondent group of then Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's delegation. After we arrived, the Chinese side invited some former US senior officials and entrepreneurs to hold a symposium. At that time, the trade imbalance between China and the US was already prominent.

Wen gave the example of an iPod player, whose price was about $290 in the US at the time, but a Chinese manufacturer can only get $6 from each sale. I remember there was a heated discussion in China at that time - we would exchange 800 million shirts for a Boeing plane.

Do Americans earn more because they make more money? From what I have learned during my visits to the US these years, prices of commodities did not change much, or even become cheaper as production bases have been moved to China and other countries. But wages for middle- and low-income Americans have not risen much, or none at all. Reports show that in a 2015 contract between the United Automobile Workers and the Detroit automakers, senior workers received just a 2 percent annual pay increase, after suffering a 10-year pay freeze.

Where has Americans' income gone?

To answer this question, we need to look at the earnings of the biggest companies in the stock market. Apple, for example, was number one, with a net income of $57.4 billion in 2020, up from $14 billion in 2010. Of course, the growth of income of the senior executives at big companies and the big investors is even more startling. In January, The New York Times reported that "America's richest 10 percent, who own more than 80 percent of US stocks, have seen their wealth more than triple in 30 years, while the bottom 50 percent, relying on their day jobs in real markets to survive, had zero gains." 

Economist Jonathan Rothwell listed an example in his book A Republic of Equals: A Manifesto for a Just Society: In Spain, Sweden and Iceland, doctors earn twice as much as the average worker, but in the US, physicians and surgeons earn nearly five times as much.

Such a huge gap between the rich and poor will bring at least two troubles for the future reforms in the US. First, the large-scale relief measures which aim at helping relieve the pressure of middle- and low-income Americans will actually help big enterprises, the rich and the upper class. In other words, the measures won't address the problem of the rich-poor gap.

Second, the US design of system is based on the principle of "profits first." But the increase of profits for big companies comes more and more at the cost of unemployment of the middle and lower classes. As New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman wrote, "We're in the middle of a pandemic that has crushed jobs and small businesses - but the stock market is soaring. That's not right. That's elephants flying. I always get worried watching elephants fly. It usually doesn't end well."

Both of these issues touch upon the old issue of raising taxes from big companies and from the rich. This will inevitably touch the foundation on which the US is built - competition in the free market economy which aims at improving efficiency. Moreover, getting vested interests to concede benefits is not an easy task.

If money can't be obtained from taxes, there is only one way to go: printing more money. When things get to this point, it is no longer just a question of whether the social divisions can be healed, whether people can be united to move forward.

US economist Stephen Roach recently pointed out that last year, the combined COVID-19 relief packages in the US hit a total of $5 trillion, or 24 percent of GDP in 2020. This far exceeds all records. On March 6, US Senate passed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. 

Will this destroy the world's confidence in the dollar? After all, green note is the foundation of US hegemony.

Will all this destroy the world’s confidence in the United States dollar? Heck! You bet. It’s already destroyed, and most nations welcome alternatives. Leading the pack is China with Gold Backed digital yuan. And trading directly and electronically.

Which brings up this most timely article from the Economic Collapse Blog;

Brace Yourselves For The Most Dramatic Shift In The Standard Of Living In All Of U.S. History

They are assuring us that we don’t have to be concerned about “inflation” because they have everything under control.  Do you believe them?  The value of the U.S. dollar has been steadily declining for a long time, and most Americans have grown accustomed to having the cost of living rise at a faster pace than their paychecks do.  But over the past 12 months an enormous paradigm shift has begun.  Instead of devaluing our currency a little bit at a time, now our leaders are going “full Weimar”.

Our money supply is growing at an exponential rate, and this is becoming a major national crisis.  As I pointed out yesterday, it took from the founding of our county all the way to 2020 for M1 to reach 4 trillion dollars.  But then from the start of the pandemic to today, M1 has gone from 4 trillion dollars to 18 trillion dollars.  To call that “economic malpractice” would be way too kind.

The truth is that it is complete and utter lunacy, and we are all going to literally pay the price for such madness. Sadly, inflation is already starting to show up in a major way all throughout our economy.

For example, most Americans have noticed that the price of gasoline has really started to shoot up over the last several weeks

Gas prices have been increasing at the pump for the past few weeks, reaching a national average of $2.77 a gallon as of Monday, which is 39 cents higher than the same time in 2020, according to AAA.

A lot of people are alarmed by this, but the Federal Reserve insists that this is completely normal.

Meanwhile, the price of agricultural commodities has risen by 50 percent over the past year…

The price of agricultural commodities traded on the global stage has shot up by 50 percent since the middle of 2020, according to economists at Rabobank.
In a new report, the bank pins the lift in the price of wheat, corn, soy, sugar, and a range of other commodities on the northern La Niña, a weakening US currency, market speculators, and rising demand from importing nations.

As those prices are passed along to the consumer, you will be paying more for groceries at your local supermarket, but authorities assure us that prices will stabilize once the economy returns to “normal”.

The good news is that at least the price of food is not rising as fast as the price of lumber is

Lumber prices have increased more than 180 percent since last spring, and this price spike has caused the price of an average new single-family home to increase by $24,386 since April 17, 2020, according to the NAHB standard estimates of lumber used to build the average home.

Now that is some serious inflation!

There are so many people that have had to put their plans to build a home on hold in recent months because the price of lumber has gotten so ridiculously high.

But the experts at the Fed insist that those that are warning of hyperinflation just have wild imaginations. Over the course of the past year, our leaders have pumped trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars into the system, and all of that money has to go somewhere.

In such a highly inflationary environment, this sort of a thing can happen

A digital collage by American artist Beeple which exists only as a JPG file sold Thursday for a record $69.3 million at Christie’s, fetching more money than physical works by many better-known artists.
‘Everydays: The First 5,000 Days’ became the most expensive ever ‘non-fungible token’ (NFT) – a collectible digital asset that uses blockchain technology to turn virtual work into a unique item – after being listed at the start of the two-week auction for only $100.

The U.S. dollar is being transformed into “toilet paper money”, and we are rapidly approaching the point of no return.

At least if our paychecks were rising as fast as the cost of living was, American families would be able to keep up with the escalating prices. But of course that is not happening, and more Americans are falling out of the middle class with each passing day.

In fact, vast numbers of formerly middle class Americans no longer have jobs at all.  Last week another 712,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits, and the number of claims continues to hover around “four times the typical pre-crisis level”

Weekly jobless claims have remained stubbornly high for months, hovering around four times the typical pre-crisis level, although it’s well below the peak of almost 7 million that was reached when stay-at-home orders were first issued a year ago in March.
There are roughly 10 million fewer jobs than there were last year in February before the crisis began.

This is not what an “economic recovery” looks like.

The truth is that the U.S. economy is broken, and the only solution our leaders have is to print, borrow and spend even more money.  Now Biden and his minions are about to pump another 1.9 trillion dollars into the system. Do you think that will make the inflation crisis better or do you think that it will make it worse?

You don’t need to answer, because the answer is self-evident.

As prices soar into the stratosphere, life is going to become increasingly difficult for most Americans.

If your income does not rise as fast as prices are going up, your standard of living will go down. Of course you will be far from alone.  The vast majority of Americans are about to experience a dramatic shift in the standard of living, and most of the population doesn’t even realize what is happening.

All they know is that more government checks are on the way, and most of them are absolutely thrilled about that. But all of this printing, borrowing and spending has put us on a path to national financial suicide. As we continue to recklessly destroy the value of our currency, other nations will begin to realize that a move to a different reserve currency is needed.

And once the U.S. dollar is no longer the reserve currency of the world, there will never be any going back to the “good old days”.

We are so close to the economic endgame, and the word “collapse” is not nearly strong enough to describe what is eventually going to happen to the United States.

Yikes!

It makes me yearn for the good old days.

Well for all the good stuff that I have to say about China, now I am going to vent on some of the bad stuff. It’s not that I want to, but sometimes it’s just so frustrating. You want to eat some olives, and some slices of cheese, maybe Swiss or a fine Lorraine, and the only think that you can find is the pseudo cheese slices. Ugh!

It is difficult to truly enjoy cheese.

Ah. The Chinese enjoy everything, but cheese seems to elude them. Sigh.

Oh sure, you can find it here, but it’s not common and it’s not enjoyed the same way. It is sprinkled on items like you would sprinkle salt and pepper. Not layered and melted into a smooth creamy consistency. Like on Pizza.

It’s treated like a spice. Not as a major food group.

Which brings me to the delicious subject of Fondue. Now, I know it’s not all that popular in America these days, but at least there’s a few Americans get to try it at least once a year or so. And at that, when you pair it with a fine wine, it becomes a wonderful occasion.

Oh, and do not mistakenly believe that you need to buy any expensive fondue pots, pans or utensils to make it. You don’t. All you need is a pan, and the ingredients, and some long stemmed forks. That’s it. So what is stopping you?

Eh?

From HERE

Fondue is a traditional Swiss dish that is prepared from pieces of cheese, thermally melted with white wine in a special fondue pot – “caquelon”, to a creamy consistency, flavored with cherry rakia or cherry brandy. It’s tasted by dipping hard bread cubes, rolled in the melted cheese with special fondue forks.

 Fondue is a warm dish that can contain one or more types of cheese, usually Gruyere and Vacherine Fribourgeois. It is the main national dish of Switzerland together with с raclette. It is also known in the Eastern French regions Savoie and Franch-Comte since the 1950s where it is prepared with Beaufort cheese or Comte cheese.

Now, maybe the “officially correct” way of making fondue uses the dish, the forks, and the special cheeses. But we are just simple people wanting to have simple pleasures with our friends… RIGHT NOW.

Here’s a hint, you make use of what you have. And you call up your friends, and you add some wine. Some nice music, and you all work together to make that delicious cheesy fondue happen.

Delicious fondue.

And he continues on the narrative…

At the table, the fondue of melted cheeses is served in the so-called “caquelon” (a type of enameled, cast iron or ceramic pot) in which pieces of bread are dipped with a special fork with three prongs (there are also forks with two prongs, but they are mainly associated with the meat fondue – the Bourguignon or the Chinese type). The fondue pot (caquelon) is located on a metal pad (usually made of wrought iron) at the base of which is located the heat source (a heater or candles) that keeps the fondue at the desired temperature throughout the meal.

Fondue forks are long-stemmed with a round handle. A piece of bread or rarely potato slices (traditionally consumed with Fondue fribourgeoise) are dipped into the melted cheese stirring in a circular or a figure-eight motion of the fork. 

When removing the fork from the fondue, it should be rotated continuously in a circle so that the melted cheese doesn’t drip outside the pot. The soaked mouthful is served towards the mouth when the cheese is already cooled to a suitable temperature for consumption and thus a full taste is achieved.

It is a common rule for cheese producers to sell ready-made cheese mixes, especially for fondue preparation, which makes it possible to avoid the difficult choice of the cheese combination. In Switzerland, these cheese mixes can be found in supermarkets.

They are not generally found in the United States, and most certainly not in China.

But that’s the price you pay when you live in different areas. If I lived in Switzerland, I would be in “seventh Heaven” smunching on all that delicious food. I’ll tell you what.

There are many and varied Fondue recipes. For example, before beginning the fondue preparation, several cloves of garlic can be crushed at the bottom of the caquelon, then add the grated or sliced cheese and finally pour the wine.

The specific thin in the Fribourgeoise fondue recipe is that the wine is replaced with water. The fondue set is turned on on a slow fire while stirring periodically until the cheese is completely melted. Then pepper and other supplements are added according to the desired recipe, such as sliced in cubes shallots, morel mushroom, mustard, etc. Corn starch dissolved in a little bit of cherry brandy can be used to thicken and improve consistency in cases where more wine is added, for example, or when the fondue is more liquid.

Sometimes, a little bit of cardamom powder (which improves digestion) or other spices can be poured directly into the plate, where the cheese dipped bite is rolled right before consumption.

Finally, when the fondue is over, it is possible to have dregs or crust of toasted cheese, called “religieuse”, which is removed with a fork, sometimes it is quite difficult.

Also, at the end of the fondue you can add and prepare scrambled eggs.

Main varieties of Swiss cheese fondues

FONDUE CHEESE CONTENT
Moitié–Moitié 50% Gruyére and 50% Vacherin
Fribourgeoise 100% Vacherin Fribourgeois
Appenzelloise 100% Appenzeller
Neuchateloise 50% Gruyére and 50% Emmental
Central Switzerland 1/3 Gruyére, 1/3 Emmental, 1/3 Sbrinz
Savoyard 50% Emmental of Savoy and 50% Beaufort or Comté
Franc-Comtois 100% Comté

Now my deep secret…

I love cheese. Oh I really do. And you know you don’t appreciate things until you live without them. And that is so very true about cheese and China.

Like on hamburgers turning them magically into cheeseburgers. (It’s magical how it works.) You put the cheese on top of the burger after you cooked one side, and then you let the heat from inside the burger melt the cheese on to the paddy. You don’t rely on the heat around the burger to do it. Then you watch the cheese melt. It gets soft at the edges and then starts to wrap around the burger and starts to clutch it like a firm loving embrace.

Ahhh.

Turning hamburgers into cheeseburgers.

And…

As much as the delicious improvements to hamburgers come from cheese, so do improvements in just about anything else. You know like this…

Delicious cheeseburger.

Do you know what is better than thick gooey cheese on top of a cheeseburger? It’s thick gooey cheese inside of a cheeseburger. That’s what.

You know, it’s been years, but I used to make the “pizza burgers”. I would mix pizza sauce with the hamburger meat. Then put a chunk of mozzarella cheese in the middle of the patty and cook it that way. My only problem was that the meat would tend to crumble and resemble a “sloppy Joe” more than a burger. But it tasted oh so good. I’ll tell you what.

What a pizza burger is not…

There are many ideas of what a pizza-burger is. I’m gonna tell you all what it is not…

  • It is not a burger with pizza sauce instead of ketchup.
  • It is not an open bun burger (the top missing) with pepperoni slices.
  • It is not a mini-pizza the size of a hamburger.

And if you try to do an image search on Bing that is what you are going to find.  Sad. So very, very sad.

Not real pizza-burgers.

Nope. A real pizza burger has the burger consisting of meat and pizza sauce, and lots and lots of gooey melted cheese. That’s a pizza burger!

Smunching on a burger, and then enjoying life.

Maybe it’s time to go out and do some shopping. Eh?

Going shopping with Mom.

Moving on

You know that there is one very special thing that would really improve the taste of cheese. Aside from friends, and your favorite pets, and some nice tunes (music). Can you guess what I am thinking about?

Yes. You are right.

Alcohol.

Or, more specifically… wine.

Wine and a cheeseburger. So very delicious.

While I have my thoughts, other people are far better versed in explaining the nuances between the different kinds of wines.

A good hamburger is an indulgence. It is also pretty much always a little decadent, rich and hearty, which makes it a natural match for red wine. Sure, some white wines could work, and lots of sparkling wines too. But come on, let’s drink some red wine with our red meat.

  • A Red wine goes best with a hamburger / cheeseburger. You can tell if it is a red wine by it’s color. Red wine has a red color.

Below are some classic wine styles (and bottle recommendations) that pair with burgers, plus a couple of not-so-classic picks that worked well recently with a variety of burger styles — from a simple Swiss cheeseburger with all-American condiments, to a black-truffle-mayo-and-fried-egg stunner, to a bison burger with cheddar, caramelized onions and wasabi mayo.

I would never suggest a ho-hum wine just because burgers are, at the end of the night, just hot sandwiches with toppings.  With that in mind, only one of these 10 bottles rings up higher than $20. (140 RMB for those of you in China.)

Zinfandel

Not a “white Zinfandel” which is everywhere, but rather a “red Zinfandel”. A red Zinfandel wine is both fruity and spicy. Some fruit aromas such as raspberries, blackberries, cherries, cranberries. And there is a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and black pepper. Depending on the winemaking and ageing methods it undergoes Zinfandel can display a range of secondary and tertiary aromas.

Red Zinfandel Wine Information
The color of a zinfandel wine is deep red, bordering on black. Zinfandel is a spicy, peppery wine, with a hint of fruity flavor – berries or dark cherries are often the taste range. Zinfandel goes well with “typical American” food – pizza, burgers, and steaks. It’s hearty enough to match up with thick red sauces.

Zinfandel is one of the all-time classic burger wines. Big, jammy, juicy and spicy, it’s almost as if it were invented for this most-American of sandwiches.

Cabernet

A Taste of Cabernet Sauvignon | wine.co.za
https://wine.co.za/wine/wine.aspx?WINEID=41057

2021-2-16 · Cabernet Sauvignon is a noble variety red grape - and is usually deep red in colour, full-bodied, with dark fruit flavours. It arose out of an accidental breeding between a red Cabernet Franc and a white Sauvignon Blanc grape plant - which subsequently has become one of the most planted and popular varieties in the red wine world.

There used to be an old television commercial. I forget what was being sold. Maybe it was a Heinz product for “57 Steak Sauce”. Encouraging people to shake a particular steak sauce onto their hamburgers instead of ketchup, the TV advertising campaign went something like this:

"...Is a hamburger made of ground ham? No — it's made of ground steak."

As long as it is not a tannic powerhouse, a California cabernet sauvignon, best friend of the juicy steak, is probably going to be a good match for your burger. It’s got a rich flavor, and when you drink it after a bite of a fine thick, cheesy burger the taste really excels.

Oh, I get goosebumps thinking about it.

A nice Cabernet is my favorite, as well as a fine sweet Shiraz.

Malbec

Taste and Flavor Profile Malbec wines are dry, full-bodied, and exhibit rich, dark fruit nose and flavors like blackberry and red plum. They're juicy and jammy, with notes of vanilla, tobacco, dark chocolate, and oak. With medium acid and moderate levels of tannins, they pair well with food.

What Is Malbec Wine? - The Spruce Eats
www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-malbec-wines-3511186

Argentines love their beef, and they wouldn’t dream of eating one of their famous steaks without a glass of malbec. Naturally, malbec is also a great burger wine, with its velvety plum, blackberry, chocolate and earth.

Rhone varieties

The Rhône, a major river in France, rises in the Alps and flows south to the Mediterranean Sea. This river lends its name to the southern French wine region on its banks, the Rhône Valley, as well as its major AOC, Côtes du Rhône.

The indigenous grape varieties that grow in the region, like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Roussanne, are often referred to as Rhône grapes. So, regardless of their place of origin, wines made from these grapes are said to be Rhône-style wines the world over.

Rhone Blend
https://www.tastemonterey.com/rhone=blend
Definition: The Rhone region of France has a delightful selection of red varieties. There are 22 grapes allowed in the Rhone AOC, about half of them red. Most of these varieties are used as secondary blending partners, often comprising less than 10% of the blend. The primary red players of Rhone blends are Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre.

Can you imagine not seasoning a hamburger patty with a little bit of salt and black pepper? This is where the Rhone grape varieties come into play, especially the powerful and legendary syrah, which can range from floral to leathery, often with a bite of pepper.

Merlot

Most Merlot wines are thick and full-bodies. It’s sort of the “milkshake” of the wine world. It’s considered to be “heavy”, and if you are not used to it, it will get you drunk faster than the lighter wines. Because of this, you will need to drink it slowly and eat it with some fine beef or mutton.

A Taste of Merlot - wine.co.za
https://cellardirect.co.za/a-taste-of-merlot
The Eikendal Merlot 2017 has an attractive nose that reminds one of forest floor, violets, plums, black berries, cherries and peppery spices. On the palate the wine and full and rounded, with soft tannins and a rich taste of black berries and plums.

With richness and a silky mouthfeel, merlot is sort of the wine equivalent of a milkshake in this pairing scenario — if you consider that some people like the fizz and tang of soda with a burger, and others opt for a mouth-coating chocolate shake.

Here’s a picture where someone went into a White Castle fast-food franchise and got some sliders with their wine.

What a better moment than to think of Harold and Kumar…

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.

So, here I am enjoying a home made cheese burger. (And no, I did not skimp on the tomatoes, and yes, I do enjoy a nice onion with my burger) and drinking it with a fine local wine; Great Wall. It’s a very reasonably priced good real wine. Basic. Just the way I like it.

And I thought that I would cruse the internet, like I used to back in the mid 1990’s during the Bill Clinton years. Back then I actually believed the “news”. Now I know better.

The state of American “news”

Let me say a few words about the state of “news” in America today…

It sucks.

Yup, that’s pretty much it.

Tell ’em George.

For Shits and Giggles

So, for shits and giggles I visited Free Republic to check out what narratives are being promoted these days.

I used to frequent it excessively. But it’s become the mouthpiece of the hard-right, and no longer stands for anything resembling free discourse. And my being perma-banned pretty much validated that belief. After all, what is more hypicritical than to promote the idea of a “Free Republic” where you can freely experss ideas, and then perma-ban a member because “your ideas and thoughts are not welcome here.”

No longer searching for truth and providing a medium for free exchange of ideas it has become a money making venue which now maintains a niche market that caters to a mixture of old-world-conservatives, war-mongering neocons, and the religious right.

One of the first things you learn once you've been out of the United States for six months or longer is just how absolutely bad the American "news" actually is. It's horrible. They lie, and they distort and they do everything in their power to make you afraid.

I check up on the American media enclaves from time to time so that I don’t go too far off the deep end. (It’s easy to do.) Hard right. Hard left. Mainstream. I mostly just scan the headlines. It tells me all that I need to know.

I try to give equal time to all the “news” venues. They all have soemthing to say. They all are visited by people who are searching. It’s just that they all manipulate to push their own agendas.

I am NOT saying bad things about liberals or conservatives, or moderates or any other flavor. I am saying that there are some seriously ill people with some very little minds, and very big mouths. If not properly corralled they will end up causing all the rest of us to endure some real pain.

Contemporaneous news…

BUCS Sign Brady To 4-Year Contract... 

Michelle Obama considers 'retiring' from public life... 

Rubio sides with Alabama workers in AMAZON union battle...

Bezos invited by Sanders to hearing on income, wealth inequality... 

Congress Leaning Towards Big Tech Breakup...

What the AT&T Split Teaches About Antitrust... 

GOOGLE Faces 'Very Large' EU Advertising Probe, Vestager Says...

Claims MICROSOFT's Stance on News Is Effort to Distract from Hack... 

'NEWSROOM' actress appears to have plagiarized NYTIMES essay... 

Spring forward forever? Push to keep daylight saving time year-round grows... 

UPDATE: 'Historic' snowstorm to pummel Wyoming, Colorado...

'6 FEET'...

'Impossible travel conditions'... 

USA had coldest February in 30 years... 

ISIS creates 'elite new cell of jihadis to carry out attacks on West'... 

Rioters Set Fire to Federal Courthouse in Portland 1 Day after Fencing Removed... 

MYSTERY: Number of twins being born at 'all-time high', researchers say... 

Two-Thirds of Italians Set For Lockdown as Pandemic Worsens... 

Germany declares 'third wave' has begun... 

LA primed for disaster, but virus took it to another level! 

HALF adults infected with virus have symptoms of depression... 

Mexico czar got infected -- then walked through Mexico City... 

EU Governments Push to Relax Ban on Travel From Rest of World... 

Maskless, boozing JETBLUE passenger faces $14,500 FAA fine... 

Latest hotel amenity: Free test... 

And yeah, Free Republic hasn’t changed, it’s still the anti-China crusade running hard and hot, plus the usual fearful articles, and a bunch of shit about anti-vax, anti-5G, anti-social reform, and anti-huawei. It’s anti-everything. Except for guns, walls, and war.

The only thing positive that I can say about it is that the culprits are pretty well brazen. They aren’t hiding their disgust about the rest of the world at all. It’s all pretty open, and well-aired. I’ve got to give them credit for that.

Yeah…

So I went through the first three pages and pulled out a slew of anti-China articles. And guess what? They are all from the same source. I wonder why they are spamming FR so aggressively?

Theyare all from the hard-religious-Right publication The Epoch Times.

What is The Epoch Times?. Dangerous Propaganda ...
https://medium.com/politically-speaking/what-is-the-epoch-times-e8f80d152a6f 

May 15, 2020 · The Epoch Times was started by John Tang in the year 2000 as a Chinese language newspaper. John Tang is a graduate of Georgia Tech who publicly supports the Fulan Gong...

All of the articles came from this singular source.

All of the anti-China articles are from this publication that advocates world war III to bring about global social change. Yeah, not all that different from other dooms-day-cults. Like Heaven’s Gate. Or the Jonestown Massacre in 1978. It’s curious to know that so many American conservatives are willing to listen, follow and fund a lunatic that follows in the same footsteps as the Jim Jones when he lead more than 900  followers to their deaths.

People do not drink the Kool-Aide that is being offered by The Epoch Times. It can lead you down a very dark, and scary, path.

Check out their religious-justified Anti-China war-mongering…

Let’s start here with this one. This one is simple. This article is just a rewording of a Reuters piece to bang-on China. Now the Reuters piece pretty much reports that the FCC is following the already in-place policies of the former Trump Administration. This republishing keeps the narrative alive. Giving the FR readership the idea that the Biden Administration is “keeping the heat on China”.

My comments:

It’s all fun and games for now. Just wait in ten years. When China and Russia tire of all this and the American electronic industry and software industry is under a graduated state of collapse. (Just like every other industry in America over the last few decades.) And then when it is tottering before the big fall, China, Russia and all of Europe pulls the rug out, and performs a “tit for tat” payback.

Oh, you all think that cannot happen?

How about this next article…

This one is a laugh. It’s implying and making statements that the Chinese people are fearful of what is going on and how the government is handing things. At a 93% Chinese approval rating the narrative doesn’t make sense. While I am sure that the local government is very active in Beijing, just as they are here, no one, and I do mean NOBODY is concerned. But the American readership knows none of that.

So they believe these LIES.

  • Beijing Pushes for Door-to-Door COVID-19 Vaccinations, Citizens Worry
    3/13/2021, 9:38:12 AM · by SeekAndFind · 11 replies
    Epoch Times ^ | 03/12/2021 | Alex Wu
    
    Chinese authorities recently launched a door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination program in Chaoyang District, in the capital city of Beijing. Some residents shared their concerns with The Epoch Times over their distrust of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its propaganda about COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic. Mainland Chinese media reported on March 10 that Beijing’s Chaoyang District began a new door-to-door vaccination program in residential communities and villages. The program is also carried out in five types of places such as government offices, the Central Business District (CBD), industrial parks, business offices, and school campuses. Chaoyang is where international companies, foreign...
    Now of course, all this anti-China narrative makes you think certain things about China. And since there are NO NAMES, and there are NO PICTURES, and there are NO VIDEOS, and no one is willing to provide links to the ACTUAL CHINESE DOCUMENTS, you all just believe what is being told. Yet the actual validity of what you read has as much worth as the ten year old riding the bike down the street.

And this one… it really cracks me up!

  • Nearly Half of Trump Supporters Won’t Take the CCP Virus Vaccine: NPR, PBS, Marist Poll
    3/13/2021, 9:35:04 AM · by SeekAndFind · 94 replies
    Epoch Times ^ | 03/12/2021 | Samuel Allegri
    
    Almost half of former President Trump’s supporters don’t plan to take a CCP virus vaccine according to a poll by NPR, PBS, and Marist. The poll indicates that 47 percent of people who identified themselves as Trump supporters would not want to be vaccinated when the doses became available to them. Upon widening the demographics, the survey found that 41 percent of Republicans would not take the vaccine, compared to only 11 percent of Democrats saying they wouldn’t take it. In total, about two-thirds of Americans polled said that they’ve already taken a vaccine or would take one when they...
    Do you want something funny? Half the Trump supporters won’t take ANY vaccine, let alone one from China. But it’ll be hard for them to get the Chinese vaccine inside of America because it is not being shipped to America.

Uh Duh!

I’ll tell ya, you’ve got to be a fucking brainless morn to actually believe the bullshit that is being peddled in America today.

Here’s another…

  • 3 Deaths in 9 Days After Hongkongers Get China’s Sinovac Vaccine
    3/13/2021, 5:21:07 AM · by SeekAndFind · 12 replies
    Epoch Times ^ | 03/12/2021 | Emma Yu
    
    Since Hong Kong began vaccinating the public with the China’s domestically-produced Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, on Feb. 26, three deaths in nine days have increased anxiety about the vaccine’s safety. On March 8, a 71-year-old man in Hong Kong died four days after receiving his vaccine shot. The patient was reported to be in good health before the vaccination. This was the third death in nine days in Hong Kong following a CoronaVac injection. It’s unclear whether the vaccine contributed to the deaths. Authorities have said they are investigating the causes of death. The first known death in Hong Kong...
    This one is simple. This article is just a rewording of a Jimmy Lai piece to bang-on China. He might be behind bars, and probably getting ready for organ harvesting, but his papers and media empire lives on…

…for now.

Hate. Hate. Hate.

And you all wonder why these sources and editors, and writers are being banned off the min platforms?

And here’s a hate spewing nonsense trying to associate the COVID-19 lite with China. You all want to know what these people look like to me…

  • Florida Gov. DeSantis Cancels All CCP Virus Fines Issued by Local Officials
    3/13/2021, 3:15:54 AM · by lightman · 36 replies
    epoch times ^ | 12 March A.D. 2021 | Lorenz Duchamps
    
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order that will eliminate all fines issued by local government officials over the past year to people and businesses in the state who violated restrictions related to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The order (pdf) was signed after the Board of Executive Clemency approved DeSantis’s proposal on March 10 to categorically remit all fines related to local government CCP virus restrictions. “I hereby remit any fines imposed between March 1, 2020, and March 10, 2021, by any political subdivision of Florida related to local government COVID-19 restrictions,” DeSantis confirmed in the order,...

It’s all war-mongering antagonistic bullshit. And if left unchecked it will lead to war. And people are gonna die!

Listen to me.

These NEOCONS are Dangerous.

The History of the Neocon Takeover of the USA

Copied as found with editing to fit this venue. It’s a good read and worth your time. All credit to the author.

This is the interview I just did with authors, Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, who have written a definitive 4-part article on the origins and the  history of the Neocon movement. The influence of the Neoconservatives has been catastrophic to the American government – and to much of the world, yet as they point out, it never seems to end. The authors describe it as an elitist cult; a rabid ideology which doesn’t rely on facts to justify itself.

This is the interview I just did with authors, Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, who have written a definitive 4-part article on the origins and the  history of the Neocon movement. The influence of the Neoconservatives has been catastrophic to the American government – and to much of the world, yet as they point out, it never seems to end. The authors describe it as an elitist cult; a rabid ideology which doesn’t rely on facts to justify itself.

Senator J. William Fulbright identified the Neocons’ irrational system for making endless war in Vietnam 45 years ago, in a New Yorker article titled Reflections in Thrall to Fear: “Cold War psychology is the totally illogical transfer of the burden of proof from those who make charges to those who question them”, leading to “The ultimate illogic: war is the course of prudence and sobriety until the case for peace is proved under impossible rules of evidence [or never] – or until the enemy surrenders. Rational men cannot deal with each other on this basis…But these were not rational men and their need to further their irrational quest only increased with the loss of the Vietnam War.”

This same ideology drove the failed War in Iraq – and now, they’re at it again, with their foolhardy saber-rattling towards Russia.

The birth of the Neocon movement grew out of what had previously been known within the Eastern Establishment as “Team B”, in which official policies were tested by “competitive analysis”. The first Team B was created by George H. W. Bush, while he was Director of the CIA. This brought together very unlikely bedfellows, such as the ex-Trotskyite, James Burnham and Right Wing business interests, both of whom lobbied heavily for big military budgets, advanced weapons systems and aggressive action to confront Soviet Communism.

This Team B/Neocon doomsday cult managed to weather the defeat of the Vietnam War and their non-fact-based analyses continue to maintain a stranglehold on US policy.

James Burnham’s nihilist, elitist vision was criticized by George Orwell in his 1946 essay, Second Thoughts on James Burnham, in which he wrote, “What Burnham is mainly concerned to show [in the latter’s book, The Machiavellians] is that a democratic society has never existed and, so far as we can see, never will exist. Society is of its nature oligarchical, and the power of the oligarchy always rests upon force and fraud… Power can sometimes be won and maintained without violence, but never without fraud.” In fact, George Orwell’s classic book, 1984 was based on Burnham’s vision of the coming totalitarian state, which he described as “A new kind of society, neither Capitalist nor Socialist, and probably based upon slavery.”

There are many well-known godfathers of the Neoconservative agenda of “Endless War”, the guiding principle of America’s foreign policymakers today but Gould and Fitzgerald identify James Burnham as by far its most important figure, although he is little-known today.

Burnham was born in Chicago, the son of an English immigrant father. He attended Princeton University and later Oxford University’s Balliol College. He briefly became a close advisor to Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky, from whom he learned the tactics and strategies of infiltration, political subversion and dirty tricks. Gould and Fitzgerald note that the Right Wing Neocon cult of “Endless War” is ironically rooted in Trotsky’s permanent “Communist Revolution” and they describe how James Burnham helped to turn this into the permanent battle plan for a global Anglo-American empire. They write, “All that was needed to complete Burnham’s dialectic was a permanent enemy and that would require a sophisticated psychological campaign to keep the hatred of Russia alive for generations.”

In 1941, Burnham renounced his allegiance to Trotsky and Marxist idealism and he moved towards a cruel realism, with his belief in the inevitable failure of democracy and the rise of the oligarch. During the following years, he wrote several books and memos, predicting the rise of a technocratic elite. By 1947, Burnham’s transformation from Communist radical to New World Order American Conservative was complete, landing him smack into the loving arms of America’s Right Wing defense establishment during and after World War II.

In my own writings, I’ve noted that the use of the word “Freedom” by the US Government, whether it be “Freedom Fries”, “Operation Iraqi Freedom” or “They hate us for our freedom,” has completely mangled the significance of this F-word, certainly from a Constitutional perspective. Gould and Fitzgerald trace the bastardization of this word to James Burnham:

“Burnham’s Freedom only applied to those intellectuals (the Machiavellians) willing to tell people the hard truth about the unpopular political realities they faced. These were the realities that would usher in a brave new world of the managerial class who would set about denying Americans the very Democracy they thought they already owned. As Orwell observed about Burnham’s Machiavellian beliefs, in his 1946 Second Thoughts, ‘Power can sometimes be won or maintained without violence, but never without fraud, because it is necessary to use the masses.’”

With the CIA’s 1950 founding of the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF), Gould and Fitzgerald write, “By its own admission, the CIA’s strategy of promoting the non-Communist Left would become the theoretical foundation of the Agency’s political operations against Communism over the next two decades.”

Today, it appears that this strategy has been a smashing success, where we see the so-called Left in the US playing the role of fulminating, pro-Establishment Statists, a behavior formerly relegated to the Right. Never, in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the “tolerant Left” behaving like an army of Phyllis Schlaflys!

Prior to the catastrophe that was the Vietnam War, the Right was the establishment. The factual defeat of the ideals which drove this war was instrumental to the rise of the 1960s Counterculture movement, which was an even bigger disaster for the Neocons than losing the war. The Counterculture needed to be co-opted by any means necessary and I believe this has been successfully achieved.

Gould and Fitzgerald write that, “CIA’s control over the non-Communist Left and the West’s ‘free’ intellectuals [enabled] the CIA to secretly disenfranchise Europeans and Americans from their own political culture in such a way they would never really know it.”

Gould and Fitzgerald cite historian Christopher Lasch, who wrote in 1969 of the CIA’s co-optation of the American Left: “The modern state… is an engine of propaganda, alternately manufacturing crises and claiming to be the only instrument that can effectively deal with them. This propaganda, in order to be successful, demands the cooperation of writers, teachers, and artists, not as paid propagandists or state-censored time-servers but as ‘free’ intellectuals capable of policing their own jurisdictions and of enforcing acceptable standards of responsibility within the various intellectual professions.”

We see this very much today, in the Late Night comedy of Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah and SNL, the staff writers of which are largely hand-picked from the Harvard Lampoon, where young comedians are trained in a particular brand of comedy that deftly implants a fascist philosophy of extreme elitism and which fuses the ideals of the old Trotskyist left together with those of the right-wing Anglo-American elite, aka the Deep State.

The product of this fusion is called “Neoconservatism” – or its sneaky twin, “Neoliberalism”. The overt mission of this ideology is to roll back Russian influence everywhere. The covert mission is to reassert British cultural dominance over the Anglo-American Empire, maintained through propaganda. Traditionally, comedy has been used as a form of social and political criticism. Today, it cows the hapless consumer into submission to the hegemony.

Gould and Fitzgerald then inform us about the secret Information Research Department of the British and Commonwealth Foreign Office known as the IRD, which was funded by the CIA and served as a covert anti-Communist propaganda unit from 1946 until 1977. Gould and Fitzgerald cite Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, authors of Britain’s Secret Propaganda War, which describes how the IRD spread ceaseless disinformational propaganda (a mixture of lies and distorted facts) among top-ranking journalists working for major news agencies, including Reuters and the BBC and all other available channels. This was but one of many similar initiatives launched by the CIA’s Psychological Strategy Board, including Project Mockingbird and the abovementioned Congress for Cultural Freedom.

The mind is the ultimate battlefield. In my next talk with Gould and Fitzgerald, we will go into how the Deep State has designs on our dream life, in such figures as Robert Moss, a former assassin who now gives New Age workshops on “Active Dreaming.” (Incidentally, the New Age Movement was a CIA subproject of MK Ultra mind control programs). The soon-to-be-released 5G network will enable Virtual Reality, as predicted by Gould and Fitzgerald’s book, ‘The Voice: An Encrypted Monologue’, which takes the reader through the process of reclaiming one’s own narrative from the “noize” of unrelenting psychological warfare that saturates our environment.

Check out their book, ‘The Voice’ here:
https://www.forbiddenmedia.com/product/the-voice/

All this neocon “firehose” of disinformation from the hard-right seriously give me a headache. It’s like this…

(Since we are talking about 1994, and the Bill Clinton years of surfing the “web”.)

Oh, and where was I, oh yeah…

Video on the fifth tier cities in China

Let’s move away from the American “news” and let’s see a taste of what real reality actually is.

Here we just provide a video that is making the rounds in China. A fellow from the UK, who lives in China, has been making various You-tube videos of his experiences in China. And you can come across these kinds of videos all over the internet. But what makes this particular video so special is that it isn’t a first or second tier city. He’s making videos in the smaller “back woods” communities within China. It’s the real deal.

You see, most you-tube videos are of expats exploring Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Cool and big cities most certainly. But they are first-tier enormous urban landscapes.  But those of us, like myself, live in the smaller communities.

Here he is visiting some of the “smaller communities”. To an American, or Brit, it looks like a city. To a Chinese person, it is considered a small village. It’s not big and it doesn’t qualify for high speed rail, or subway access. But it is still vibrant and alive as all of China is these days.

Here’s the video. Click on the picture for the video to open up in a new tab. It’s around 12 minutes or so long, and is narrated by a British expat. Please excuse his accent, and his “squirly” appearance. He’s a typical. Don’t you know.

I do hope that you enjoy it. It’s pretty much what it is like when you enter the Chinese version of “Fly over country”, and a “Red State”.

Now, go and get some cheese, a bottle of wine, some music and call up some friends. Time is too short to waste!

Do you want more?

I have more articles in my China experience section. Go here…

China Experience

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Playing the blame game. Looking at life in America compared to life elsewhere, and the lead up towards war. Beware of those who are desirous of a hot war with China for “democracy” and “freedom”.

When I lived in Massachusetts I used to drive about and explore the beautiful, beautiful countryside.  It was always glorious. New England, and most especially Massachusetts is just breathtakingly beautiful. I, and my wife at the time, would visit the tiny quaint towns, the historical buildings and walk the thousands of quaint trails in the meticulously preserved wooded areas. And as we drove we would encounter the strangest things in the middle of the road. These things called “round a bouts” were a continuously and vexing feature of Massachusetts that I never really got accustomed to.
Roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.

-Wikipedia

Now, the point of this is that I would go and get on these things, and it would be a “free for all”. You wouldn’t really know when to get off, and instead your would go around, and around until you found your exit. For the locals, it’s no big deal. But for a new person entering these things, it tended to get really messy and confusing.

Take a look at this map below. This is the Kelley Square roundabout.

Kelley Square Roundabout

.

Some areas you stop and wait for traffic. Some areas you yield to traffic, and some areas you wonder what is going on. We (when I lived in Mass) said that it was often a “free for all” during “rush hour”.

Now roundabouts are inherited from the British who really seemed to like them. Why, I’ll never know. But they kept them on and enhanced them to a point where they are just a royal mess and point of confusion.

Check out this roundabout in England. It’s called The Magic Roundabout. Magic Roundabout was voted the worst roundabout in 2005.

The Magic Roundabout

.

Now, do you see those little points with arrows going around, and around? Those are mini-roundabouts. There are five of them in this particular roundabout. When a car reaches that point, they are to go around and around until a point opens up for them to pass into the right (or is it the left) lane.

Ah.

Modern life. We try to make things simple and orderly and end up making a very stressful, confusing and bewildering situation for everyone.

It’s really no wonder that many people in the United States are completely stressed out…

Stressing Americans

I guess the days of Mayberry RFD are long gone.

And you know, you really need to ask yourself “what happened”?

What happened to that great and glorious quality of life that we used to enjoy and were oh so very proud of being part of. What happened to it?

People, I have to ask, is the quality of life in America getting better, or is it getting worse?

Americans certainly have a lot more “money” than they did when I was a kid, but that doesn’t mean much because the U.S. dollar has only a fraction of the value that it did back then.

  • 1971 –  Burger King Meal – $0.55
  • 2021 –  Burger King Meal – $5.00

And without a doubt our electronic devices have become much more advanced, but that doesn’t mean that we are happier.

Happiness. In fact, everywhere I look, American people seem to be deeply unhappy.

Poll: Americans are the unhappiest they've been in 50 years...
World Happiness Report: Americans are unhappiest in years ...
Americans haven’t been this unhappy in 50 years
Record unhappiness reigns as Americans think something
Americans are becoming less happy, and there’s research to ...

It is rare to see someone actually smiling in public, but of course there is a good reason for that.  If you smile too much, someone might accuse you of being creepy.

As Americans, we are being trained to not express emotions and to keep to ourselves.  Being friendly is considered to be “suspicious”, if you tell a joke there is a very good chance that you will deeply offend someone, and if you express strong opinions you might just get “canceled”.

Even though we are far more “wealthy” than they were, I imagine that our culture is not too different from what East Germans experienced before the Berlin Wall came down.

East Germany before the unification in the early 1980’s greatly resembles modern America today.

.

Hate and Division. There is so much hate and division in our society, and everyone seems ready to rat out those around them at the drop of a hat.  So most people are careful to keep to themselves, but at the same time most people are desperately lonely.

Lonely.

Isolated.

Alone.

Zombies. These days, most Americans walk around like a bunch of zombies.  In fact, as a result of mental health problems and stress, a majority of Americans are exhibiting at least one of the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome

A survey of more than 31,000 people shows that insufficient sleep, mental health problems, and stress were the causes of a whole host of symptoms doctors are used to seeing in head injury patients. Symptoms of what doctors call post-concussion syndrome (PCS) range from persistent headaches, dizziness and anxiety, to insomnia and loss of concentration and memory.

While 27 percent of people report having several of these symptoms, between one-half and three-quarters say they experience at least one. The most common symptoms are fatigue, low energy and drowsiness. Yet despite their findings, researchers believe the number in the general population could be much higher.

Of course one of the primary reasons why so many people are acting like zombies is because we have been drugged out of our minds.  Americans take more legal drugs than anyone ever has in the entire history of the world, and each year the pharmaceutical companies come up with even more drugs for us to try.

Why Are Americans Turning Into Drugged-Out Zombies

Most Americans Are Soulless, Mind-Drugged Zombies 

Zombie Apocalypse: 70% of Americans on Prescription Drugs

Prozac turns guppies intozombies’ | Science | AAAS

Drug Abuse. In particular, because we are so deeply unhappy Americans take boatloads of anti-depressants.  More than 50 million Americans are on anti-depressants right now, and it gets worse with each passing year.

But even though we are taking so many “happy pills”, Americans continue to kill themselves at a staggering pace, and this is particularly true for our young people.

In North Carolina, one school superintendent recently shared the fact that “the suicide rate among teens is higher than the COVID rate of death in their county”…

The debate to reopen schools for in-person learning has highlighted an alarming idea – that students are not just falling behind academically, but at a heightened risk of death by suicide.

“One of our local superintendents recently shared with me that the suicide rate among teens is higher than the COVID rate of death in their county,” Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Republican from the 45th district, recently told CBS 17, though she declined to name the superintendent or county. Ballard did not respond to NC Health News’ requests for comment.

Isn’t that insane?

Teen Suicide. You can’t just blame the pandemic for the rise in suicide either.  In fact, the national suicide rate for teens was skyrocketing before the pandemic ever began

The national rate of suicide in young people increased 57 percent between 2007 and 2018, according to the CDC.

“Even before the pandemic, we’ve been seeing an increase in youth suicides,” said Virginia Hamlet Rodillas, hotline manager for National Alliance on Mental Illness NC, which operates a statewide helpline.

If our society is so wonderful, then why are so many kids killing themselves?

The truth is that our society has become so sick and so twisted that life seems completely empty to so many of these youths.  Life is such a wonderful gift, and every day should be enjoyed to the fullest, but our society has become so evil that many teens are killing themselves rather than live in it one more day.

There is hope even for those that are facing the darkest circumstances, but most people don’t realize that because our society certainly doesn’t offer any hope.

Life Expectancy. Overall life expectancy has been dropping in the U.S. as well.  In fact, during the first half of 2020 life expectancy in the United States declined by a full year

It’s already known that 2020 was the deadliest year in US history, with deaths topping 3MM for the first time. But the latest batch of morbid data is in, and they suggest things are about to get worse on average as life expectancy in the US dropped a full year during the first half of the year.

Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time a baby born today is expected to live. From January through June of last year, that was 77.8 years for the entire U.S. population, down from 78.8 years in 2019. It’s the lowest level since 2006, the report said.

Healthcare. Our healthcare system has become a complete and utter nightmare, and it is not going to get any better any time soon.

Education. Speaking of nightmares, our system of public education has become a sick joke.  Just look at what has been going on in Baltimore

A shocking discovery out of a Baltimore City high school, where Project Baltimore has found hundreds of students are failing. It’s a school where a student who passed three classes in four years, ranks near the top half of his class with a 0.13 grade point average.

Tiffany France thought her son would receive his diploma this coming June. But after four years of high school, France just learned, her 17-year-old must start over. He’s been moved back to ninth grade.

Millions upon millions of young people graduate from high school each year, but many of them can barely read, write or speak in public.

I could go on and on.

Life Satisfaction. Just about every system that you could possibly name is in the process of failing, and that is probably why American satisfaction with the way our country is functioning is at the lowest level ever measured.

The following comes from Gallup

Americans’ satisfaction with seven broad aspects of the way the country functions is collectively at its lowest in two decades of Gallup measurement. This includes satisfaction with the overall quality of life in the U.S., assessments of government, corporate and religious influence, and perceptions of the economic and moral climates.

The average percentage satisfied with these seven dimensions has plunged to 39% at the start of 2021. That compares with 53% a year ago, the highest average in more than a decade amid strong economic confidence and before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S.

Compare that to China.

With 93% satisfaction.

So what do you do when your entire population is unhappy, drugged up and facing a bleak future?

You blame it on someone else.

Some comments on the “blame game”

You can look at the American “news” and listen to the groundless, lying and nonsense and come to the conclusion that China is so enormously evil that it must be eradicated from the surface of the earth.

But is it really?

I argue (and so do others) that the A-number one American government answer to stopping the “pitchforks and torches” is to blame some other nation for all the ills that Americans experience.

Sort to like this…

.

Ai!

Playing the “blame game” has been pretty effective so far.

It has. It really has.

You blame another group of people, and then you lob bombs and a propaganda campaign against them. The American flag is raised and patriotic movies flood the airwaves.

.

Americans might be sad, lonely and unhappy, but at least ‘Merica “kicks ass”.

But 75 years of fighting wars in far-off and distant lands is really wearing thin. People are not getting happier, and the patriotism can only last so long.

Not to mention that you must be judicious on who you decide to pick a fight with.

Caitlin Comments

Here’s some thoughts by Caitlin Johnson…

Caitlin Johnson has been one of the most prolific tellers of truth over the last several years.  This is not empty praise.  She churns out solid, relevant, and hard hitting insight and analysis on a near daily basis and from my perspective, she has been on the correct side of every issue she has engaged with.  She recently wrote:

“In a time of great need the US government is letting its citizens freeze, go broke, get evicted, and die of preventable illnesses so obviously it’s of paramount importance right now that Americans rise up with one voice and direct their righteous anger at China. I’m developing a special disdain for people who mindlessly regurgitate US anti-China narratives, especially people who are normally skeptical of US government claims. There’s just no excuse for this nonsense. The geostrategic agendas are so obvious, the barefaced liars so familiar, and the facts so readily available for anyone intellectually honest enough to look”.

It is with this same mindset that Mr. Billy Bob penned the article below.  Reprinted from an earlier version that has since been expanded upon and elaborated. I edited it to fit this venue, from the raw, emotion-laden brilliance that Billy Bob has been famous for.

He (and myself)  share Caity’s frustration with those that want to claim the mantle of the left but whose words are seemingly written by State Department apparatchiks…

…and the comments (on my side of the ocean in “Sinoland”) is a flying in crazed abandon! Check it all out.

Rant-a-thon Numero Uno

We’ve all read the laundry list of Western propaganda that is designed to falsely depict China as a brutal dystopic, authoritarian shithole, where everyone hates their government and are totally miserable.

It’s interesting that with regards to Western propaganda targeted at China, the lies are simultaneously proportionate but the exact opposite of truth.

So, Mao who did more good for more people than anyone else in the history of the known universe, is known as “the greatest mass murderer of all time”. Or the Chinese government that according to a 2016 Harvard study has a satisfaction rating of 96% (compared to the 38% enjoyed by the US) is casually described by the Western press as “authoritarian, corrupt, unjust, and one of the biggest human rights violators on the planet”.

For people that fail to recognize the chasm of incongruence here, and are incapable of coming to the only possible conclusion, please ensure that your fork is properly corked before continuing so you don’t injure yourself.

The false indoctrination that has taken hold of far too many self identified “leftists” goes something like this:

"...the CCP is entirely opaque, forbids a free press and completely censors free information... that a few hundred members of a single ruling party dictates policy and is unelected... that political opposition is all but illegal and completely suppressed... that no workers own the means of their own production... that China has the largest increase and concentration of new billionaires while income and wealth inequality is also at its largest, due to rampant exploitative and equally destructive capitalist practices in the past decades... that China engages in imperialism via debt and increased militarism to its Asian neighbors...  that China is committing genocide against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang... that China oppresses, exploits, and impoverishes it’s citizens."

The Most Necessary and Fundamental Context: Class War

There are several mitigating factors that need to be kept in mind when analyzing the issues brought up above.

First and foremost is the reality that our planet is in the midst of a class war . It is a war where an infinitesimally small group of obscenely rich plutocrats, industrialists, and oligarchs, seek to maintain their power. They seek to maintain their wealth, power, and privilege by enforcing a global system of political and economic control. Yet doing so without any moral restraint whatsoever.

The Western ruling class consensus sees China as the enemy and is looking for any possible way to subvert, weaken, divide, and destroy their society.

These gangsters of capitalism are masters at their craft. They have successfully dismantled the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Syria among others.  They have regime changed scores of countries, most recently, Libya, Ukraine, Honduras, and Bolivia.

They will not hesitate to exploit any weakness or to kill millions of people to defeat China and maintain their global supremacy.

To ignore the fact that China must defend against this very real threat. It is a valid threat posed by Western imperialism. Thus to simply analyze China’s system in a vacuum, detached from the fundamental context of class war, is to demonstrate a cluelessness about the most important aspect of the big picture.

Cluelessness.

Keep the citizens in the West ignorant, and bombard them with lies. That way, they will acting like robots, and automatons and are easily manipulated to do your bidding.

Keep them clueless.

Cherry-picking what you want to believe while ignoring the facts staring you straight in the face.

This (the desire and threat of Western imperialism to kill and destroy without restraint in the maintenance of their global supremacy) is everything.

This is the entire ballgame.

Nothing else comes anywhere close to this fundamental reality in terms of importance or relevance for humanity and the planet we inhabit.

A Propaganda Battle Over Perception:

Does China censor speech?  Of course they do as it would be naïve and reckless to allow subversive Western lies and divisive capitalist propaganda, free reign over the airwaves.

A class war is taking place and the propaganda battle is an integral front.

    • China censors divisive lies while the West censors truth.  It’s really that simple.
    • The Chinese people aren’t starved for truth.  Truth is not censored in China.
    • China censors lies that are intended to destroy their society.  The West censors truth which threatens their hegemony.

There is a tremendous difference here and failing to recognize this fundamental difference results in a misguided analysis that is detached from reality.

The Farcical and Self-Defeating Arrogance of Promotors of Liberal Governance:

The political system that governs China is in essence the dictatorship of the proletariat which has steadily raised living standards at an *unprecedented rate* for over 70 years straight and has a 96% satisfaction rating because of it.

The Chinese working class correctly rejects the Western governance by “democracy”. As they should. It’s a farce, and a full half of the American population recognizes this. Face it; putting the entire enterprise to a vote every four years…

…or engaging in some bourgeois parliamentarian democracy…

…with all the gridlock that entails and which is sure to be far less effective in furthering working class interests.

Westerners arrogantly perceive this lack of liberal democracy in China as an indictment because their liberal minds have been deluded by nonsense and are detached from political reality.

  • Democracy is the best.
  • Democracy means FREEDOM!
  • Democracy give the “little guy” power over the government.

The Chinese see the lack of Western liberal democracy as a great thing. It’s really rather simple. This is because they prefer stability and the rapid advancement in living standards to gridlock, political chaos, and turmoil every four years.

The Chinese working class collectively says “HELL NO” to Western pleas for liberal democracy and I for one agree with them.

Hell no indeed.  Long live the dictatorship of the proletariat.  May they continue to work just as hard advancing working class interests over the next 70 years, as they have over the past 70 years.

Judging China Using Unreasonable Metrics:

China is condemned by pseudo leftists because no workers own the means of their own production, but this is an entirely illegitimate bar.

Where exactly on this planet does anyone own the means of their own production?  One may as well condemn China for still utilizing money, for maintaining borders, or for not eradicating scarcity.

This is not legitimate criticism.

China’s banks are [1] nationalized, their biggest industries [2] are publicly owned, [3] the private sector is often owned by party members and it is [4] subservient to party diktats and their five year economic plans which are designed [5] to achieve specific social goals.

The pseudo left also attacks China for having classes.

This too is no more legitimate than blaming China for not yet eradicating scarcity or for not abolishing private property.  The nature of economic growth is to allocate growth disproportionately.

It’s entirely true, China is not a classless society.

So what?

China has not eliminated class and…?

Well…

And…?

Classless societies simply do not exist at this point in time.  But in China, it is the working class that has the monopoly on power.  It is the dictatorship of the proletariat that tolerates the capitalist class but only as long as they obey the law and are advantageous to the economy, exactly as Mao explained.

China is indeed far from perfect.

Room for improvement exists and this is acknowledged by the CPC.  They have had tremendous success in their public battle against corruption and inequality. They have a police force that is devoted to exactly this., problems which have resulted from unprecedented economic growth. and the CPC is actively and successfully attempting to curtail these negative externalities while at the same time, trying to maintain growth, increase productive forces, and continue to raise living standards.

Oppressed, Angry and Scared?

I’ve seen Westerners point to China’s “conviction rate” and claim that such a rate proves “innocence has nothing to do with the justice system”.

I’m curious how such a conclusion is deduced from the data.

What conviction rate is optimal? At what conviction rate would we believe that justice is being served in a fair manner?

    • Is the 90+% conviction rate in the US optimal and proof of a fair justice system?
    • What about 93% for Israel?
    • What about the 99.9% conviction rate in Japan?
    • Is the Japanese justice system even less fair than China’s?

Or, are Westerners just being bamboozled into drawing bullshit conclusions from the dishonest presentation of decontextualized statistics? I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.

I hear Westerners opine that “Chinese workers are exploited”...
...though wages have tripled every ten years for the past forty years.
It is claimed that the Chinese are throwing themselves off of buildings into “suicide nets”...
...though China’s suicide rate is 40% lower than that of the US.
Western propagandists claim Chinese are miserable and simply too scared to speak out against their government...
...though professional Western scientific polling companies claim China is one of the happiest places on earth.

The “narrative” being pushed through the Western “news” is fantastical and has entered the realm of fantasy.

In China, Poverty is GONE.

Extreme poverty was eradicated this year and now every Chinese has “a home, a job, plenty of food, education, safe streets, health and old age care.

Meanwhile there… [are] …more drug addicts, suicides and executions, more homeless, poor, hungry and imprisoned people in America than in China.

500,000,000 urban Chinese… have more net worth and disposable income than the average American.

Chinese mothers and infants… [are] less likely to die in childbirth than Americans are.

Chinese children graduate from high school three years ahead of Americans.

Chinese children will all outlive our American children.

Ninety-eight percent of Chinese listed as ‘poor’ already own their homes (paid for completely with no mortgages and taxes EVER on it) and what’s more…

…President Xi has scheduled 2021-2035 to bringing GINI below Finland’s.”

“Imperialism” of Peace-Through-Mutual-Prosperity?

And what about imperialism?

Is China just as imperialist as the Western ruling class which the pseudo left seems to only condemn after they are called out for their hypocritical attacks on anti-imperialist nations?

As if purchasing resources from foreign governments or defending oneself from actual violent imperialism is itself imperialism?

Please, Western imperialism is the only imperialism that actually exists.

People! Keep in mind this important fact. Defending oneself from imperialism is not the same as engaging in imperialism.

China has not sandwiched the US with military bases just off it’s northern and Southern borders.  China has not been arming, training, and funding US separatists for years.  China has not been working with Narco terrorist death squads, intolerant radical jihadists, or neo-nazi militias in order to perpetrate politically motivated acts of violence and murder.  China hasn’t regime changed nearly a country a year for the past 70 years.  China doesn’t have embargoes and economic sanctions against nearly 40 countries in order to force their political capitulation.

Seriously, the pseudo left needs to just stop with the “China is imperialist” bullshit.  It’s not even close to true.

Genocide or Winning Hearts and Minds?

Hands down, the crown Jewel of the West’s dishonest propaganda offensive and the one which they are investing all their capital in and pinning all of their political hopes on is the claim of “Uyghur Genocide in Xinjiang province”.

Much needs to be said about this particular strategy to destabilize, weaken, and subvert Chinese society but for the sake of brevity I will confine myself to explaining China’s perspective on the issue.

Here are some highlights regarding the terrorism problem faced by China:

“In February 1997 the CIA-instigated bombing of public buses in Urumqi that killed nine people died and injured more than 70.

In 2007-08, Uyghur separatists exploited the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing to internationalize their cause. An attempted suicide bombing on a China Southern Airlines flight was thwarted but a terrorist attack in Kashgar in Xinjiang killed 16 police officers four days before the start of the Games.

In July 2009, Uyghur extremists in the provincial capital Urumqi killed 200 people, mostly Han Chinese. True to the imperial double standard, Washington refuses to characterize such deadly attacks as acts of terrorism.

Since 2013, thousands of Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority from western China, have traveled to Syria to train with the Uighur militant group Turkestan Islamic Party and fight alongside al-Qaida, playing key roles in several battles. Syrian President Bashar Assad’s troops are now clashing with Uighur fighters as the six-year conflict nears its endgame.

The violence continued through 2014. There were two more failed hijackings of commercial planes as well as scores of bombings, killing tens of civilians each time.

The knife attack at the southwestern China city of Kunming railway station in March 2014 was a watershed, resulting in 33 dead and 141 injured. NATO member Turkey subsequently gave passports to four of the fugitives involved in the railroad station massacre.

In 2015 Uyghur-linked terrorists staged a Bangkok bombing which targeted mainly Chinese tourists and left 20 dead.  Thailand offered to send Uyghur terror suspects back to China to face justice and defied the US demands that the suspects be allowed to travel onward to Turkey.”

Genocide in China?

There is a new report on Xinjiang that's been hailed by CNN, Guardian, Vox etc as the "first independent/non-governmental report" that confirms the genocide narrative.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22311356/china-uyghur-birthrate-sterilization-genocide
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/09/chinas-treatment-of-uighurs-breaches-un-genocide-convention-finds-landmark-report
But the report is from Newline Institute, a previously unheard (?) of think tank. Moreover, it's funded by a university (Fairfax University of America) that has just 150 students and in many ways looks like a diploma mill. From Wikipedia: "In March 2019, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia threatened to revoke VIU's license to operate in the Commonwealth of Virginia after an audit found rampant grade inflation and severe deficiencies in the academic rigor of VIU's online courses.".

-MoA

And then this interesting comment comes up…

LOL ur right, that looks like a dodgy think tank founded in 2019 by a certain Ahmed Alwani, who also happened to have served on the advisory board of US AFRICOM.

https://newlinesinstitute.org/people/ahmed-alwani/
The report contains contributions by the questionable Dr Adrian Zenz, i think MoA has also mentioned him before

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-09/chinese-firms-sue-german-researcher-at-center-of-xinjiang-claims
That "university" had 181 students in 2019, it is literally 1 building... conveniently near Washington... i'm guessing this Alwani guy is a CIA asset or gets paid by one of their other million agencies?

-Posted by: #ashtag | Mar 10 2021 22:11 utc | 36

More propaganda operating out of propaganda mills. But not to worry, the internet is gonna shake some trees for “apples of truth”…

The report contains contributions by the questionable Dr Adrian Zenz, i think MoA has also mentioned him before

Not only that, the bugger is listed as a member of the "Newlines Team".
https://newlinesinstitute.org/people/adrian-zenz/
Posted by: farm ecologist | Mar 10 2021 23:29 utc | 46

And then we cut to the chase and find this…

This 'Think Tank' is in fact a front for the International Institute of Islamic Thought an islamist neo-conservative organization in the US, linked to Egypt’s Muslim brotherhood, who’s members have pleaded guilty to sponsoring terrorism.

The director of the Newlines institute, Ahmed Alwani just happens to be the Vice President of this organization. He also served as an advisor to the U.S Africa command.

In 2006, a scholar of this group, Sami Al-Arian, pleaded guilty to “aiding terrorism” and was given a five year prison sentence.

The Washington Post at that time described the group as “the nation’s largest terrorism-financing investigation,” and stated it was linked to a number of Muslim Brotherhood affiliates.

Yet now, the mainstream media seem to be absolutely content for Newlines, which is a effectively front for IIIT, to spread propaganda on Xinjiang ...


Posted by: Arch Bungle | Mar 10 2021 23:34 utc | 48

So, China faces a serious threat from Western sponsored terrorist separatists, but did they really respond to this threat by initiating Genocide?

Give me a fucking break! Will you guys.

Think people. T.H.I.N.K.

Does genocide truly sound like the go-to for a government who’s top priority has been raising living standards and eradicating poverty?

What a ridiculous farce to suggest that China would believe it’s best interest would be served by secretly committing genocide.  As always, nothing could be further from the truth and the truth is exactly the opposite:

“Some 600,000 Uighurs were lifted out of poverty in 2016, and another 312,000 in 2017. More than 400,000 have been relocated from remote villages to places where they are gainfully employed.

Neighborhood religious institutes have been set up to educate citizens on the perils of religious extremism.

These community centers where classes are held to detoxify radical Wahhabism were labelled “re-education camps” or concentration camps by the western press, and those attending the classes termed “incarcerated”.

Programs to eradicate poverty are implemented to train and prepare Uyghurs for jobs in towns and cities.

The Chinese government, through various programs, has been winning the hearts and minds of ordinary Uyghurs. This is very bad news for the US and Uyghur separatists who are making a desperate, all-out bid to unravel the work done by Beijing to eradicate religious extremism and poverty in Xinjiang.

The deluge of fake news from Western corporate media since the beginning of this year seeks to demonize the Chinese government, painting it as a gross violator of human rights, when the truth is the exact opposite.”

"Xinjiang’s GDP grew 8% last year and is expected to accelerate since it is a gateway for the Belt and Road Initiative. Its future is bright and we can expect its recent problems, like Tibet’s, to fade into memory within three years."

The Only Rational Conclusion:

In summary, each and every one of the anti-China talking points pushed by the Western propaganda apparatus and which are dutifully parroted by Western pseudo leftists, are easily demonstrated to be false and dishonest.

The China described by the pseudo left agents of imperialism simply does not exist. In actual China the people are very happy and they appreciate their government to a degree that is simply unheard of by Western standards.  This appreciation is understandable as the CPC has been tremendously successful in developing a happy, healthy, and prosperous society.

So called leftists that *honestly* bash China are confused and are totally upside down regarding political reality.  Their support for Western imperialism through the regurgitation of anti-China talking points needs to stop.”

Some Comments (Not from MM)

Hi friends, always happy to see the lively discussion on anti-China nonsense. Billy Bob sure wrote up a great piece and I will definitely share it somewhere in coming days. Meanwhile I’ve had a couple more pieces recently published all along the same lines hope you’ll enjoy…

On the NPC Two Sessions
http://enapp.globaltimes.cn/#/article/1217666

On the Xinjiang nonsense
https://twitter.com/chinadaily/status/1367484978980745217?s=21

Xinhua interview on democratic aspects in China’s govt
https://xhnewsapi.xinhuaxmt.com/share/news?id=540247391694848&showType=3008&utdId=null&clientMarket=huawei

MM comments

Ah. The “mainstream fodder” for a very gullible and manipulated American populace. We call them sheeple, because that is exactly what they are. They are lied to so egregiously, and so fantastically that they believe the narratives that their owners, the PTB tell them.
Such fantasies such as…
"We don't hate the Chinese people, just the Chinese government."
Show such a profound level of ignorance, that it is incomprehensible. That’s like saying “I don’t hate pizza, I just hate eating pizza“. Duh! China is not like the United States. It’s not “lip service”. China is the Chinese people. The government of China is composed of the Chinese people. It’s a flat hierarchy that is “grass roots” from the very smallest hamlets on up.
.
And the inability to understand this most basic attribute of China is to display a profound and stunning lack of knowledge, insight, and understanding of China.
.
That includes not just an understanding of China, but of America as well. The notion that Americans are “free“, and that they stand for the “principles of liberty though democracy” is so profoundly ignorant, and an absolute insult to the founders who established America int he first place.
.
As I have repeatedly stated, the founders not only warned against democracy, but they wrote in the Federalist papers that democracies always turn into oligarchies. And if the oligarchies do not collapse from internal revolt by the citizenry, then they turn into military empires. Empires that historically are destroyed and erased from the surface of the earth.
.
The stupidly is thick in America these days. And trying to talk with an average American is a cross between “The Stepford Wives” and “A Wal-mart shopper”. No matter what side of the political spectrum that they come from. They all parrot what they read
.
…not what they experience.

The Stepford wives.

But back to my point…

New technologies, and new ways of doing things, can lead to real horrors.

On April 26, 1933, the interior minister for the German state of Prussia issued a decree creating a new secret state police, or Geheime Staats Polizei, abbreviated: Gestapo.

The Gestapo was tasked with stamping out all opposition to Germany’s new Chancellor and the party he brought to power one year earlier.

It operated by collecting tips from ordinary citizens, including even school children. And this network of Gestapo informants changed Germans’ behavior almost overnight.

Even a joke about the ruling party could land you in a Gestapo interrogation room. Talking politics around your children became a dangerous gamble.

According to Erik Larson’s book In the Garden of Beasts, 37% of denunciations “arose not from heartfelt political beliefs, but from private conflicts with the trigger often breathtakingly trivial.”

For example in one case, a grocery store clerk reported a customer who insisted on receiving the wrong change. The customer was accused of tax fraud.

Another man lent a banned book to his friend, and was quickly denounced by his friend’s wife.

The new Chancellor— who encouraged the behavior — was so shocked by the citizens’ eagerness to rat out their neighbors that he remarked, “We are living at present in a sea of denunciations and human meanness.”

That Chancellor, of course, was Adolf Hitler.

The secret police didn’t need wire taps in every home or spies on every street corner. They found an army of willing, eager informants in the general population.

The volume of denunciations was so great, in fact, that the Gestapo actually had to ask people to stop reporting political crimes to them, because they were overwhelmed and found it impossible to process them all.

Obviously Germany in the 1930s is an extreme case, and I’m not saying that the West today is in the same boat. Not even close.

The similarity, however, is how quickly things changed.

In Nazi Germany, the entire culture changed literally within a few months. In early Spring of 1933, people were still civil to one another. By the summer, they were ratting out their friends and neighbors to the secret police.

Similarly, it wasn’t that long ago that people in the west felt free to speak their minds and state an opinion.

Today saying the wrong words can get you fired, cancelled, and your life turned upside down.

For example, lately there’s been a number of so-called “fact checkers,” i.e. self-appointed censors, who are upset about a new app called Clubhouse.

If you haven’t heard of it, Clubhouse allows people to discuss different topics in audio-only chat rooms.

The audio-based content does not allow recording. And that means there is no record of conversations.

As one fact-checker laments:

“...there are no screenshots. There is no way to drag up old Clubhouse posts years later like a user might do on Twitter. There is no way to record conversations—meaning there is no way to prove that someone said anything controversial at all. . . Users on Clubhouse know, or at least believe, that they can openly speak their mind with zero repercussions.”

The horror!

This drives the ‘fact checkers’ bananas. They want people to be afraid to speak their minds. They want people to fear being denounced if they do not adhere to the doctrine of wokeness.

-Simon Black

Our society, no matter where you live, has been growing and expanding. new technologies confront us every day, and as we run head-first into the utilization of technology, and to the adaptation of our lives to fit that monster we create, people become profoundly unhappy.

Unhappy people tend to topple governments.

Unhappy people tend to topple governments.

.

Which is why there is the American idiom about “torches and pitchforks”. And it’s a real thing. The ruling class, no matter where they live, do not want to hang from ropes on scaffolding.

But America has a solution!

It’s called distraction.

Find someone, anyone, and vilify them. Make it so that they are hated and despised to the extent that they are no longer considered to be human, but rather instead  some kind of illness or disease that must be eradicated. And that is the game that the monied elite in Washington DC has been playing with China these last four years.

All prep for a hot “kinetic” war.

American war machine meme about China.

.

It’s the same old, game, and the same old playbook. Same old fun & games. But here I am telling you all on MM…

China.   Does.   Not.   Play.

Asia is unifying, or perhaps best stated, they have already unified.

Any attack anywhere on Asia risks a devastating nuclear salvo that will eliminate America from the face of the earth, and turn the North American continent into a radioactive wasteland where the rest of the world dare not tread. Do not be lulled into the false belief that America is invincible, or that it is blessed by God, or that America has the best, and most modern equipment. None of these lies, and illusions are true.

But it need not be that way.

America can focus on providing for it’s people. Not on blowing up “mud huts”, slaughtering defenseless fields of sheep and donkeys, or picking fights with people who are very, very dangerous.

The biggest failing of the USA is its massive disregard for human life and human wellbeing, a tragedy we inherited from our British forbearers and have yet to cast-off. And to our great misfortune, that anti-life sentiment is deeply rooted in the Federal Government. Ehret exposes some of it; Max Blumenthal's article on the genocidal sadist and Biden admin member Richard Nephew documents such behavior; couple it with Native American policy; mass killing of civilians in WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Central and South America, Southwest Asia, The Balkans, Ukraine, etc., and your damn right we ought to suspect the very worst from that government. Monsters do exist.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 10 2021 21:51 utc | 35

America needs to focus on Americans.

America should focus on its people.

.

Not “lip service”. Not “token efforts”. Not “Blue Ribbon Panels”. But actual programs, spending actual money to raise the standard of living for Americans from the class-feudal lifestyle that it has devolved into, to a modern and healthy society that embraces culture, and differences. Where America will move away from the blue-grey nightmare into a colorful and vivacious active society…

…much like China is today.

Pedestrian bridge in China.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my China index here…

China

.

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
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The mechanism of how your thoughts are able to navigate the MWI and select appropriate world-lines. What you need to do and how to accomplish it.

This article is part of my prayer / intention campaign sub-index. In it we discuss how you can change your life by your thoughts. And, in this particular article, we look at the mechanism(s) involved. We look at just how a consciousness is able to navigate. This is a rather deep conversation, and certainly more involved than what I have been saying in the past. That “thoughts create reality“. Here we talk about how and why it works that way.

It all began with a simple question;

...Another thing I noticed and perhaps this is of value to my fellow MM.

Six months ago when starting my first prayer campaign MM style I started to feel tired of praying after about 3 weeks already. And my former prayer style was just as long So it wasn't the change in style. Just tired after years of relentless prayer I guess. As a result my other 2 campaigns I still go through all my rituals and prayers but as a robot So to speak. So much less intensity in the words.

Yet I have seen lots of things manifesting.

It seems one can go through prayers by just saying them out loud even when you don't feel like it much sometimes.

Is that the case? And if so, how come just talking to other people when saying you are gonna do things doesn't cause that to happen. Whats the technical difference.

Or has my brain been primed by my previous years of prayer?

Would love your take on it MM and some readers too I think.

The point here is the basic question;

If thoughts change the reality, why does vocalizing them out loud appear to have an effect, when thinking about them in silence doesn't?

And we will answer it here.

To understand how affirmation prayers work, you need to look at the way things work. Forget about Newtonian science. You need to look at Quantum science for answers.

You Must vocalize or write down your thoughts.

You just cannot think things and expect them to happen.

Yes. I know. I know. I have repeatedly stated that what you think causes your desires to manifest. And yes, that is the general outline of how it works, but that is not the “operation manual”. You need to perform a physical action regarding those thoughts to use them to navigate.

You must either [1] vocalize or [2] write the thoughts down. You must do something physically to connect the thoughts to your reality. Other techniques might include the display of pictures that you can view while you are thinking about things. You need a physical connection.

You need to physically write and vocalize your navigation direction for it to work.

Otherwise NOTHING will happen.

Thoughts alone will not cause things to happen. Wishing for things to happen will not make them happen. Worrying about things will not cause them to manifest. You MUST do something physically.

You must do something physically

It has been my experience that if you write things down in a list, and then read them out verbally (not silently), the system will work.

You can also use rituals, create talismans, generate electronic mechanisms that operate in the physical to generate physical navigation movements.

You can create a “vision board”. The creation of the vision board will have the same effect as reading a verbal affirmation. And the viewing of the board, will contribute to that effect. (The contribution magnitude will be lesser than the actual creation of the board.) So viewing a vision board isn’t as effective as creating one.

Recommendation for best results

I recommend that [1] you generate a list of affirmations, and [2] that you read them out loud in a campaign, that [3] consists of an on/off cycle for the best effects.

The pre-birth world-line template

The most important thing that you must understand is that our consciousness is foreign to this universe.

Our consciousness did not evolve in THIS universe. It evolved in a different universe. 

Thus it is alien. It doesn't fit here.

This universe is something that the consciousness USES for it's own purposes.

I know that that opens up a ton-load of questions. Answers to that and their implications are “above my pay grade”, but I do have some thoughts. I can cover them later on if you wish.

Our consciousness comes from soul.

Soul creates a smaller part of itself. This part is known as "consciousness" and it is used to travel outside of the "Heaven" universe.

Again. The “soul” does not exist here; in this (apparent) universe. The soul occupies an entirely separate universe. One which I refer to as “The Heaven Universe”.

The Soul creates a consciousness.

It ejects that consciousness into a “transport tube”; a kind of tunnel.

This tunnel is a mechanism for the consciousness to move from one universe to another.

Then the consciousness arrives in the “reality” universe.

Being foreign, there is really nothing that our consciousness is able to do in this “reality” universe. It is like water and oil. They just do not interact together well.

The only thing that our consciousness is able to do is generate thoughts. That is it.

Like a sun generates light, or how a flame creates sparks. The consciousness is able to create the same kinds of "stuff" that it is comprised of. This is what thoughts are.

Thoughts are a form of the same kind of constructions as one's consciousness is.

And this reality universe (as I like to call it), consists of a near infinite number of fixed world-lines.

The "Heaven" universe is completely different from the "reality" universe.

In fact, it is almost like the "reality" universe is an "artificial"  construct of some type.

The "reality" universe consists of an infinite number of static moments in time, or what I call "world-lines".

All that our soul can do, is inject our consciousness into a body. Then, once the consciousness is there, the thoughts that the consciousness has navigates to the next world-line based on the highest-probability occurrence. This highest-probability of occurrence is a pre-established vector that the consciousness follows independent of thought.

We call this the “world-line pre-birth template”.

It is the fated direction that your life will unfold towards as your consciousness rides the physical body life-time. It is critically important in what your life will present to you to experience. (At least that is what your very own soul expects.)

You could be an infant, brain-dead in a vegetative state, or mind dulled by drugs and abuse, but the vector path of the life that you will live will be following the pre-mapped out “pre-birth world-line template”. It is the system that your soul establishes for your consciousness. It is the way for your consciousness to obtain experiences.

How to navigate the world-lines

Well, thoughts are the ONLY thing that the consciousness can create.

And thoughts act like a magnet to the most similar world-lines. The thoughts form a “shape” or better yet, a “profile” that surrounds the consciousness. And the consciousness automatically moves towards the world-lines that match that profile.

This is a basic activity that describes MOVEMENT UPON the pre-birth world-line template.

But it does not describe movement off the pre-birth world-line template. That requires a different mechanism for movement. (A similar mechanism, but fundamentally different.)

So thoughts alone, without any further actions, can navigate upon the pre-birth world-line template. It is what is known as a “fated life”.

So if you rely on your thoughts alone to navigate, you will find that your life seems to be “fated”. That you might wish and yearn for things, but they never materialize. You might think about that nice guy or gal at the coffeehouse, but nothing will really manifest. Your life will just follow your pre-mapped out life.

Your thoughts might move you close to certain areas, but it won’t take you to where you want to go.

Movement off the Pre-Birth World-line Template

If this situation describes you…

That you think, wish and dream for things, but they never materialize. It seems that your life is fated to some degree.

Then, you are “trapped” following the pre-birth world-line template.

If you do not want to follow the fated life that has been provided to you, then you will need to incorporate additional measures to navigate the MWI. You will need to navigate off the pre-birth world-line template.

There are two main techniques to do so.

  • Verbal Affirmations
  • Slides

Quick recap

There are three techniques in total.

  • Thoughts alone (dreams, wishes, desires, plans and obsessions).
  • Verbal affirmations (Written goals, and verbalizing them aloud.)
  • Slides.

Let’s talk about the systems that take you off your “fated life”…

Verbal Affirmations

You must physically say, write down, or illustrate your dreams and wishes and desires to navigate using this method. This connection; between thoughts  and action is the most fundamental  way that you can move upon your pre-birth world-line template.

  • You can move upon the “fated” pre-birth world-line template.
  • You can move “nearby” to your targets that might lie off the pre-birth world-line template, but are not that too “far distant”.

Now in illustration, for illustration and descriptive purposes, I have illustrated the pre-birth world-line template as a “flat sheet” showing a matrix of world-lines connected by highest probability routes. In reality, it’s not really flat. It actually looks like a thick slab. And the world-lines that lie upon this sheet actually are (instead) embedded within this slab.

So movement, most movement, whether directed by thoughts alone, or by verbal affirmations will lie within the “pre-birth world-line template” slab.

To move about off the pre-defined vector path (as defined by the pre-birth world-line template) you need to navigate further than what the (default) pre-birth world-line template allows.

That requires actual physical activity, or physically associated thoughts.

You see, our consciousness moves in a cyclic fashion following a sine curve. One half the time it is in wave form, in which is it moving from world-line to world-line. The other half of the time it is in particle form where it occupies the physical body.

  • It is ONLY when it is in wave form that the consciousness can physically move within the MWI.
  • It is ONLY when it is in particle form that the consciousness can control the navigation.

So, [1] to navigate you need a starting world-line; the one that you occupy at that moment. Thus your consciousness is in particle form. [2] Your consciousness can only generate thoughts when it is in wave form. So your thoughts are basically generated entering and leaving a reality.

In Wave Form...
You generate thoughts. 
You move on the MWI.

In Particle form...
You occupy a world-line.
You navigate to the next world line.

Combined together, the ONLY way to effective navigate through the MWI off the pre-birth world-line template, (or to extreme points upon the pre-birth world-line template), you must do so by directing while in particle form.

Thoughts alone.
You move and navigate at the same time. 
You can only do this upon a Pre-Birth World-Line Template.

Verbal Affirmations.
You do this while in particle form, upon a world-line.
You program the physical reality by your actions.

Thus, thoughts (in wave form) cannot alter your course vector substantively. Only your actions while in particle form can.

In short, when you are in the physical form, you are operating the levers that control the body via quantum particle forms. You MUST perform physical actions to navigate. This usually means thinking while you are doing something physical. Thus reading affirmations out loud.

Now, let’s talk about making REAL and SUBSTANTIVE changes to your life…

Performing a “Slide”

A “slide” is a complete movement off and outside of the pre-birth world-line template. And what defines it from the “verbal affirmations” are two primary characteristics.

  • You navigate in a similar fashion to “verbal affirmations” AND…
  • You establish a completely new world-line template terrain geometry.

This new world-line template replaces your pre-birth world-line template.

The smart MWI traveler would define the new world-line template that he/she would travel upon. And he/she would make sure and provide safeguards to guarantee that accidental world-line template geometry wouldn’t be accidentally created.

How to generate a replacement template to travel upon

It’s actually rather simple.

The “devil is in the details”.

Scene from “Breaking Bad”. Be careful about what you wish for. It might not be what you really want.

Or, in other words, you must verbally create the new replacement world-line template that you will follow. But of course, there are many unknowns doing this. You might think that you are creating one new reality for yourself by constructing the template, only to discover that you have “created a monster” and other unexpected events, and consequences have cropped up and appeared “out of the blue”.

Let’s use the following as an example…

You live a nice, but boring life. You have a small pizza business in a small town. You are pretty happy doing it, but you hear and read about how everyone else is getting rich investing in the stock-market and in bit-coin. So you decide to completely replace your pre-birth world-line template with a template of your own design.

You perform your normal verbal affirmation campaigns, but you specifically state that you have slid off the pre-birth world-line template and on to a a new template of your own geometry.

You describe the new template as a life of wealth as a big important businessman, with factories making frozen pizza that everyone loves. You describe your rich cars, fancy mansion and tons of money in the bank.

What you fail to realize that these possessions, when they manifest, all come with other attachments and events. many of which you do not like at all. Such as a divorce, arrest for tax evasion, and medical problems. And while you might try to alter the manifestation of these side effects, many cannot be helped.

You see, the illusion that a 20-something beauty queen can be a world famous scientist, knows kung-fu, and live in a mansion is just Hollywood nonsense. The real world does not work that way. Do not try to replicate that fantasy. It will not work the way you intend.

A slide to a new world-line template can come with all sorts of unintended consequences.

There are numerous techniques and methods to slide off your pre-birth world-line template. This is just an overview. Keep in mind that I would advise careful thought be given to this decision. Any slide, no matter how well intentioned, WILL come with unanticipated consequences.

Conclusion

You must verbalize and write down your verbal affirmations for them to work. Thoughts alone are ineffective in world-line navigation. As I have stated in my answer to the above question…

The act of talking involves a wide range of activities. More than just thinking.

Consider thinking about eating Lasagna. Now, I love the stuff, but it’s very difficult to get in China. I’d have to make it myself or have my wife order the ingredients, learn how to make it, and then present it to me as a meal. Yet, I find myself thinking about this luscious dish often. Yet is doesn’t appear.

Why?

Consider worrying about paying a bill. And you worry and worry how you are going to come up with the money. You think about strategies, and your mind goes off in all sorts of tangents related to the debt that just sits there festering. Yet nothing is resolved.

Why?

Thoughts alone are not associated with the physical reality. They are just creations of your consciousness, and the only… the ONLY exposure those thoughts have with anyone or anything else is the consciousness that generated them. That’s it.

But, if you connect those thoughts to the reality that you inhabit, they leave the wave form, and enter the particle form. That is how thoughts are able to influence the physical. They are created by the consciousness, and transmuted into a form that the reality can accept. The techniques for this to occur include speech, sounds, writing, actions, etc. Physical activity must occur to connect the thoughts to the reality that you inhabit.

Thus worrying and fretting but not speaking, or writing about it results in no effect. Nothing happens. But if you speak about the worries (in such a way that they are resolved) the solution and navigation within the reality that you navigate manifests.

YOU MUST WRITE and/or SPEAK thoughts out for them to manifest within your reality.

Sanity Check

This is easy enough to check.

Generate two sets of affirmations.

  • One set you read aloud and read what you have written down on paper.
  • The next second set is a picture that you will look at and think about what you want.

Watch and record which thoughts manifest sooner.

I hope that I was able to clarify some key points and added some understand on how the mechanism actually works. There will be more posts and articles on this in the future, as there will probably be many more questions generated by this discussion.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Affirmation prayer Campaign Index here…

Intention Campaigns

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index

.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.

 

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Law 4 of the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; Always say less than necessary (Full Text)

Here is another post from the Robert Greene book “The 48 Laws of Power”. It suggests that you say as little as possible, and use this technique to gain control over the thoughts and actions of others. It advises laconic and taciturn speech mechanisms.

LAW 4

ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY

JUDGMENT

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

Video

Here’s Robert Greene when interviewed about this law. VIDEO.

Video.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Gnaeus Marcius, also known as Coriolanus, was a great military hero of ancient Rome. In the first half of the fifth century B.C. he won many important battles, saving the city from calamity time and time again. Because he spent most of his time on the battlefield, few Romans knew him personally, making him something of a legendary figure.

In 454 B.C., Coriolanus decided it was time to exploit his reputation and enter politics. He stood for election to the high rank of consul. Candidates for this position traditionally made a public address early in the race, and when Coriolanus came before the people, he began by displaying the dozens of scars he had accumulated over seventeen years of fighting for Rome. Few in the crowd really heard the lengthy speech that followed; those scars, proof of his valor and patriotism, moved the people to tears. Coriolanus’s election seemed certain.

When the polling day arrived, however, Coriolanus made an entry into the forum escorted by the entire senate and by the city’s patricians, the aristocracy. The common people who saw this were disturbed by such a blustering show of confidence on election day.

And then Coriolanus spoke again, mostly addressing the wealthy citizens who had accompanied him. His words were arrogant and insolent. Claiming certain victory in the vote, he boasted of his battlefield exploits, made sour jokes that appealed only to the patricians, voiced angry accusations against his opponents, and speculated on the riches he would bring to Rome. This time the people listened: They had not realized that this legendary soldier was also a common braggart.

Down on his luck, [the screenwriter] Michael Arlen went to New York in 1944. To drown his sorrows he paid a visit to the famous restaurant “21.” 

In
the lobby, he ran into Sam Goldwyn, who offered the somewhat impractical advice that he should buy racehorses.

At the bar Arlen met Louis B. Mayer, an old acquaintance, who asked him what were his plans for the future. “

I was just talking to Sam Goldwyn ...” began Arlen.

“How much did he offer you? ”interrupted Mayer.

“Not enough,” he replied
evasively.

“Would you take fifteen thousand for thirty weeks?” asked Mayer.

No hesitation this time. “Yes,” said Arlen.

-
THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES, CLIFTON FADIMAN, ED., 1985

News of Coriolanus’s second speech spread quickly through Rome, and the people turned out in great numbers to make sure he was not elected. Defeated, Coriolanus returned to the battlefield, bitter and vowing revenge on the common folk who had voted against him. Some weeks later a large shipment of grain arrived in Rome. The senate was ready to distribute this food to the people, for free, but just as they were preparing to vote on the question Coriolanus appeared on the scene and took the senate floor. The distribution, he argued, would have a harmful effect on the city as a whole. Several senators appeared won over, and the vote on the distribution fell into doubt. Coriolanus did not stop there: He went on to condemn the concept of democracy itself. He advocated getting rid of the people’s representatives—the tribunes—and turning over the governing of the city to the patricians.

One oft-told tale about Kissinger... involved a report that Winston Lord had worked on for days. 

After giving it to Kissinger, he got it back with the
notation, “Is this the best you can do?”

Lord rewrote and polished and finally resubmitted it; back it came with the same curt question.

After redrafting it one more time
and once again getting the same question from Kissinger-Lord snapped, “Damn it, yes, it’s the best I can do. ”

To which Kissinger replied: “Fine, then I guess I’ll read it this time. ”

-
KISSINGER. WALTER ISAACSON, 1992

When word of Coriolanus’s latest speech reached the people, their anger knew no bounds. The tribunes were sent to the senate to demand that Coriolanus appear before them. He refused. Riots broke out all over the city. The senate, fearing the people’s wrath, finally voted in favor of the grain distribution. The tribunes were appeased, but the people still demanded that Coriolanus speak to them and apologize. If he repented, and agreed to keep his opinions to himself, he would be allowed to return to the battlefield.

Coriolanus did appear one last time before the people, who listened to him in rapt silence. He started slowly and softly, but as the speech went on, he became more and more blunt. Yet again he hurled insults! His tone was arrogant, his expression disdainful. The more he spoke, the angrier the people became. Finally they shouted him down and silenced him.

The tribunes conferred, condemned Coriolanus to death, and ordered the magistrates to take him at once to the top of the Tarpeian rock and throw him over. The delighted crowd seconded the decision. The patricians, however, managed to intervene, and the sentence was commuted to a lifelong banishment. When the people found out that Rome’s great military hero would never return to the city, they celebrated in the streets. In fact no one had ever seen such a celebration, not even after the defeat of a foreign enemy.

Interpretation

Before his entrance into politics, the name of Coriolanus evoked awe.

His battlefield accomplishments showed him as a man of great bravery. Since the citizens knew little about him, all kinds of legends became attached to his name. The moment he appeared before the Roman citizens, however, and spoke his mind, all that grandeur and mystery vanished. He bragged and blustered like a common soldier. He insulted and slandered people, as if he felt threatened and insecure.

Suddenly he was not at all what the people had imagined.

The discrepancy between the legend and the reality proved immensely disappointing to those who wanted to believe in their hero. The more Coriolanus said, the less powerful he appeared—a person who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect.

The King [Louis XIV] maintains the most impenetrable secrecy about affairs of State. The ministers attend council meetings, but he confides his plans to them only when he has reflected at length upon them and has come to a definite decision. 

I wish you might see the King.

His expression is inscrutable; his eyes like those of a fox. He never discusses State affairs except with his ministers in Council. When he speaks to courtiers he refers
only to their respective prerogatives or duties.

Even the most frivolous of his utterances has the air of being the pronouncement of an oracle.

-
PRIMI VISCONTI, QUOTED IN LOUIS XIV, LOUIS BERTRAND, 1928

Had Coriolanus said less, the people would never have had cause to be offended by him, would never have known his true feelings. He would have maintained his powerful aura, would certainly have been elected consul, and would have been able to accomplish his antidemocratic goals.

But the human tongue is a beast that few can master.

It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief. Power cannot accrue to those who squander their treasure of words.

Oysters open completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees one it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it and the oyster cannot close again so that it serves the crab for meat. Such is the fate of him who opens his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener. 

=Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In the court of Louis XIV, nobles and ministers would spend days and nights debating issues of state. They would confer, argue, make and break alliances, and argue again, until finally the critical moment arrived: Two of them would be chosen to represent the different sides to Louis himself, who would decide what should be done. After these persons were chosen, everyone would argue some more: How should the issues be phrased? What would appeal to Louis, what would annoy him? At what time of day should the representatives approach him, and in what part of the Versailles palace? What expression should they have on their faces?

Finally, after all this was settled, the fateful moment would finally arrive. The two men would approach Louis—always a delicate matter—and when they finally had his ear, they would talk about the issue at hand, spelling out the options in detail.

Louis would listen in silence, a most enigmatic look on his face. Finally, when each had finished his presentation and had asked for the king’s opinion, he would look at them both and say, “I shall see.” Then he would walk away.

The ministers and courtiers would never hear another word on this subject from the king—they would simply see the result, weeks later, when he would come to a decision and act. He would never bother to consult them on the matter again.

Undutiful words of a subject do often take deeper root than the memory of ill deeds.... 

The late Earl of Essex told Queen Elizabeth that her conditions were as crooked as her carcass; but it cost him his head, which his insurrection had not cost him but for that speech.

-
SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 1554-1618

Interpretation

Louis XIV was a man of very few words. His most famous remark is “L‘état, c’est moi” (“I am the state”); nothing could be more pithy yet more eloquent.

His infamous “I shall see” was one of several extremely short phrases that he would apply to all manner of requests.

Louis was not always this way; as a young man he was known for talking at length, delighting in his own eloquence. His later taciturnity was self-imposed, an act, a mask he used to keep everybody below him off-balance.

No one knew exactly where he stood, or could predict his reactions.

No one could try to deceive him by saying what they thought he wanted to hear, because no one knew what he wanted to hear.

As they talked on and on to the silent Louis, they revealed more and more about themselves, information he would later use against them to great effect.

In the end, Louis’s silence kept those around him terrified and under his thumb. It was one of the foundations of his power. As Saint-Simon wrote, “No one knew as well as he how to sell his words, his smile, even his glances. Everything in him was valuable because he created differences, and his majesty was enhanced by the sparseness of his words.”

It is even more damaging for a minister to say foolish things than to do them. 

-
Cardinal de Retz, 1613-1679

KEYS TO POWER

Power is in many ways a game of appearances, and when you say less than necessary, you inevitably appear greater and more powerful than you are. Your silence will make other people uncomfortable.

Humans are machines of interpretation and explanation; they have to know what you are thinking. When you carefully control what you reveal, they cannot pierce your intentions or your meaning.

Your short answers and silences will put them on the defensive, and they will jump in, nervously filling the silence with all kinds of comments that will reveal valuable information about them and their weaknesses.

They will leave a meeting with you feeling as if they had been robbed, and they will go home and ponder your every word. This extra attention to your brief comments will only add to your power.

Saying less than necessary is not for kings and statesmen only.

In most areas of life, the less you say, the more profound and mysterious you appear.

As a young man, the artist Andy Warhol had the revelation that it was generally impossible to get people to do what you wanted them to do by talking to them. They would turn against you, subvert your wishes, disobey you out of sheer perversity. He once told a friend, “I learned that you actually have more power when you shut up.”

In his later life Warhol employed this strategy with great success.

His interviews were exercises in oracular speech: He would say something vague and ambiguous, and the interviewer would twist in circles trying to figure it out, imagining there was something profound behind his often meaningless phrases.

Warhol rarely talked about his work; he let others do the interpreting.

He claimed to have learned this technique from that master of enigma Marcel Duchamp, another twentieth-century artist who realized early on that the less he said about his work, the more people talked about it. And the more they talked, the more valuable his work became.

By saying less than necessary you create the appearance of meaning and power.

Also, the less you say, the less risk you run of saying something foolish, even dangerous. In 1825 a new czar, Nicholas I, ascended the throne of Russia. A rebellion immediately broke out, led by liberals demanding that the country modernize—that its industries and civil structures catch up with the rest of Europe.

Brutally crushing this rebellion (the Decembrist Uprising), Nicholas I sentenced one of its leaders, Kondraty Ryleyev, to death.

On the day of the execution Ryleyev stood on the gallows, the noose around his neck. The trapdoor opened—but as Ryleyev dangled, the rope broke, dashing him to the ground.

At the time, events like this were considered signs of providence or heavenly will, and a man saved from execution this way was usually pardoned. As Ryleyev got to his feet, bruised and dirtied but believing his neck had been saved, he called out to the crowd, “You see, in Russia they don’t know how to do anything properly, not even how to make rope!”

A messenger immediately went to the Winter Palace with news of the failed hanging. Vexed by this disappointing turnabout, Nicholas I nevertheless began to sign the pardon.

But then: “Did Ryleyev say anything after this miracle?” the czar asked the messenger.

“Sire,” the messenger replied, “he said that in Russia they don’t even know how to make rope.”

“In that case,” said the Czar, “let us prove the contrary,” and he tore up the pardon.

The next day Ryleyev was hanged again. This time the rope did not break.

Learn the lesson: Once the words are out, you cannot take them back. Keep them under control. Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay.

Image: The Oracle at Delphi. When visitors consulted the Oracle, the priestess would utter a few enigmatic words that seemed full of meaning and import. No one disobeyed the words of the Oracle— they held power over life and death.

Authority: Never start moving your own lips and teeth before the subordinates do. The longer I keep quiet, the sooner others move their lips and teeth. As they move their lips and teeth, I can thereby understand their real intentions…. If the sovereign is not mysterious, the ministers will find opportunity to take and take. (Han-fei-tzu, Chinese philosopher, third century B.C.)

REVERSAL

There are times when it is unwise to be silent.

Silence can arouse suspicion and even insecurity, especially in your superiors; a vague or ambiguous comment can open you up to interpretations you had not bargained for.

Silence and saying less than necessary must be practiced with caution, then, and in the right situations. It is occasionally wiser to imitate the court jester, who plays the fool but knows he is smarter than the king. He talks and talks and entertains, and no one suspects that he is more than just a fool.

Also, words can sometimes act as a kind of smoke screen for any deception you might practice. By bending your listener’s ear with talk, you can distract and mesmerize them; the more you talk, in fact, the less suspicious of you they become. The verbose are not perceived as sly and manipulative but as helpless and unsophisticated. This is the reverse of the silent policy employed by the powerful: By talking more, and making yourself appear weaker and less intelligent than your mark, you can practice deception with greater ease.

Thoughts and Conclusions

Offer no speech. Respond laconically if at all.

And that is all that I need to say about this.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my “48 Laws of Power” Index, here…

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America is slowly being rebuilt brick by brick towards a more community focus instead of an automobile focus.

Who would have known?

Throughout history, nations rise when there is righteous leadership that cared for its citizens' welfare and do the greater good. When they are corrupt and self-serving, those nations fall. Learn from history because we live in a world governed by cause and effect. History will repeat itself.

-Tom Tan

Imagine that. A nation decides to adapt to the people instead of legislating behaviors for them to follow. I know, I know, it’s a long way to go. But to hear that this is happening in the United States is absolutely astounding. It really is.

Wow!

Good stuff!

Great.

It’s about time.

It’s a new world

Yes it is.

I see the global pandemic starting a trend. Actually a series of trends. One of which would be a severely curtailed movement of people across national borders. While others involve a decrease in the use of airlines and planes to go from place to place. You will see these venues downsize.

Just like American malls have down-scaled due to the loss of the American middle class.

the world is changing. you can see it everywhere.

Here’s a scanning robot that I encountered at the mall when I was out getting some groceries. (We go to the mall for fun, we really don’t need to. The delivery services of Er-le-ma and Kangaroo are quite functional.) He said a cheery “Ni Hao!” as I walked by.

Scanning robot in China.
It’s a new world out there.

.

But you all have got to get the stupid “elected officials” out of Washington DC and start working together to help Americans. All this finger pointing, first to Russia and then to China is just useless and very counter productive. Nothing good will come of it. You have to look inside and address the problems there.

Why is “democracy” so valuable?

It’s heavily promoted (don’t you know) that one-person, one-vote system is the pinnacle of “freedom” and “liberty” in the world. Which is rather strange as the founders of the United States said the absolute opposite.

And people are looking at these various systems of governance with a keen eye. Maybe there needs to be some changes they wonder…

Daniel Bell has put forward his views in favor of China's political meritocracy... against the one person one vote (Western Democracy model) as a mode of selection for political leaders. He has done this  in two books.

The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy
Princeton University Press, 2015. ISBN 9781400865505.
 
Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He was born in Montreal, educated at McGill and Oxford, has taught in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and has held research fellowships at Princeton's University Center for Human Values, Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences and Hebrew University's Department of Political Science. 
 
Here:
https://youtu.be/e63ro_suARA

If you are fat and overweight, you change your diet, go to a doctor, exercise more, and monitor your vitals. You do not point at a thin and healthy person and blame them for your problems. Nothing positive or good will come out of it.

Speaking about blaming China…

Pause in WeChat, TikTok ban a positive signal for China-US ties: analysts
The Americans were going to ban WeChat and TikTok from the USA. Then  they realized many of their businesses - specially the precious petite  bourgeois "small businesses" - are only profitable with WeChat, while a  whole sector of the "influencers" business only existed (and prospered)  because of TikTok (the same way many glorified salesmen only exist in  YouTube).
 
My bet is, if they can't outright expropriate WeChat and TikTok  (Trump tried to expropriate TikTok, forcing it to include their  algorithm and source code in the forced selling of their American branch  of the business, essentially creating a second, American clone of the  company), the Americans will simply let this legal aberration to slowly  die and fade into oblivion.
 
China shows zero tolerance for fake news by banning BBC World News
Propaganda is not information. Fake news is not press. Lies are not speech. Therefore, the BBC is not press and is not speech.
 
The USA's response was hilarious. It basically stated that, because  China has an oppressive system and the West has a free system (because  of reasons), China is not entitled to ban Western news outlets, while  the West is entitled to ban Chinese newspapers at will. Typical case of  infantile "I'm better than you" rant.
 
Chinese consumption unabated on Spring Festival Eve despite 'stay put' policy
After months of double digit cases, Mainland China finally zeroed new  cases and is holding its Spring Festival. Meanwhile, the self-governed  province of Taiwan cancelled its Spring Festival after eight consecutive  months of (officially) zero new cases and just some 20 cases in January  (12 of which happened in a cluster, a hospital). Weird, somebody is  cooking the books here...
 
UK economy hit by record slump in 2020 but double-dip recession avoided
The UK's economy fell double the expected - but at least it avoided a double-dip recession!
 
Why Japan Inc can’t and won’t quit China
Welcome to the world of capitalism, Mr. Pesek.
 
-Posted by: vk | Feb 12 2021 12:18 utc | 72

It’s actually pretty bad.

It’s sort of like this…

It’s the way of losers.

To blame others for things that you yourself cause. And yet I find it difficult to accept that America is populated with losers. Sure there are evil people in government, and dregs of society shopping at Wal-mart, but certainly decent people still exist, don’t you think?

America is a real mess

Tax freedom day this year fell on Aug. 12. That’s how long it now takes for the middle-class worker to fulfill his “obligation” to the leviathan. The Ponzi scheme that is our fiat money system is insatiable. It inflates away the savings and investments of Main Street America.

Angel protects.
Americans need some protection.

.

While the middle-class struggles, the entitlement class grows. High unemployment (who can even count the unemployed at this point), directly caused by government lockdown policies, pushes more people out of the middle class and into the parasite class. One in five American children now lives in poverty, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

But the parasites live well off the producers. They get “free” housing, “free” food, “free” cable television, “free” cell phones. Their kids eat “free” at school (meals are still handed out at schools, even in lockdown). These “entitlements,” along with ever-extended long-term unemployment benefits, become so attractive that the incentive to work is suppressed.

The workers look with disdain on the parasites. The parasites look with envy on the workers, wanting not their jobs but what they have. Recent riots in Great Britain demonstrate what happens when the parasites decide they want more.

Meanwhile, even the working class is at war with one another. This is encouraged by the elites, but the current Administration has doubled down. The thugocracy of the Labor Unions terrorize non-union workers and companies large and small.

We need to help each other.
.
In America, everyone is at war with each other. America should be offering a helping hand to others in need. Not trying to fight each other.

.

Tea Party members, at least those who gathered in 2009 and much of 2010 before the Republican Party began to co-opt the movement, were blue collar and white collar, owners of small businesses, retirees, former military, salt-of-the-earth people from all political spectrums who would not support toppling foreign regimes, making war on countries that have not attacked us “for democracy,” or perpetual wars.

And while they indicated they are fed up with the status quo, Tea Party rallies were peaceful and orderly gatherings: Americans engaging in their right to petition government.

Now? Capitol protestors are “terrorists.” Right wing, left wing? Republican, Democrat? Engage in your Two Minutes Hate. The lamestream media talking heads are proud.

The elites love war abroad and at home. It distracts the masses from government’s ongoing theft and manipulation. Anger with one another allows them to continue their looting. It promotes threats and violence, which allows them to further clamp down on freedom.

 

Endless wars, abroad and at home, equal totalitarianism. It’s totalitarianism under the sweet-sounding name of “democracy“.

American Police State. Domestic arrest within a military empire. What would the Founders of the United States think of this? Do you think that they would approve?

.

Lest you think this is not the case, ABC News reports that …

"The Pentagon will deploy more than 1,100 troops to five vaccination centers in what will be the first wave of increased military support for the White House campaign to get more Americans inoculated against COVID-19."

You all think that America isn’t a Oligarchy-run Military Empire?

We need some angels to intervene and set things right.

Angels.
Angels.

.

The American cult of the individual denies not just community but the very idea of society. No one owes anything to anyone. All must be prepared to fight for everything: education, shelter, food, medical care. What every prosperous and successful democracy deems to be fundamental rights — universal health care, equal access to quality public education, a social safety net for the weak, elderly, and infirmed — America dismisses as socialist indulgences, as if so many signs of weakness.

How can the rest of the world expect America to lead on global threats — climate change, the extinction crisis, pandemics — when the country no longer has a sense of benign purpose, or collective well-being, even within its own national community? Flag-wrapped patriotism is no substitute for compassion; anger and hostility no match for love. Those who flock to beaches, bars, and political rallies, putting their fellow citizens at risk, are not exercising freedom; they are displaying, as one commentator has noted, the weakness of a people who lack both the stoicism to endure the pandemic and the fortitude to defeat it.

-The Unraveling of America

 

Anyways…

Let’s get on a more positive note. And let’s start talking about rebuilding America into something better.

The People the Suburbs Were Built for Are Gone

A new book documents the “retrofitting” of obsolete suburban malls, box stores, office parks, parking lots, motels, and more. by Shayla Love written on January 22, 2021, at 1:00am. Edited to fit this venue. All credit to the author.

Last summer, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, then Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, co-bylined an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal promising to “protect America’s suburbs,” describing how they reversed policies that would allow for the creation of denser living structures in areas zoned only for single-family homes.Advertisement

“America’s suburbs are a shining example of the American Dream, where people can live in their own homes, in safe, pleasant neighborhoods,” they wrote. 

But the suburbs, in the sense of the idyllic American pastoral Trump and Carson referenced, have been changing for some time—not necessarily the physical homes, stores, roads, and offices that populate them, but the people who live there, along with their needs and desires. Previous mainstays of suburban life are now myths: that the majority of people own their homes; that the suburbs are havens for the middle class; or that the bulk of people are young families who value privacy over urban amenities like communal spaces, walkability, and mixed-use properties. 

This mismatch has led to a phenomenon called “suburban retrofitting,” as documented by June Williamson, an associate professor of architecture at the City College of New York, and Ellen Dunham-Jones, a professor of architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. They have a new book out this week: Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges.

Welcome to Metropica, a Supposed City of the Future

Allie Conti

Since the 1990s, Williamson and Dunham-Jones have been watching the suburbs evolve. They have found that much of the suburban sprawl of the 20th century was built to serve a very different population than the one that exists now, and so preserving what the suburbs once were doesn’t make sense. 

Their book describes 32 recent instances in which suburban structures have been transformed into something new. Many of the cases in Williamson and Dunham-Jones first book from 2011 on the same topic were focused on underused parking lots being transformed into mixed-use spaces. But in this new book, the retrofitting projects have become more ambitious, as cities and towns turn old box stores, malls, motels, or office parks into places for people to live, work, eat, play, exercise, go to the doctor, or even watch Mexican wrestling.Advertisement

They have found that when the suburbs are retrofitted, they can take on an astonishing array of modern issues: car dependency, public health, supporting aging people, helping people compete for jobs, creating water and energy resilience, and helping with social equity and justice.

Motherboard talked with Williamson and Dunham-Jones about why and how we should retrofit the suburbs, and whether or not the COVID-19 has made the suburbs appealing again, or instead accelerated the desire to retrofit the burbs. 

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Motherboard: How do you define the suburbs—a slippery term with no concrete definition? You write in the book that you define something as suburban based on its “suburban form," not necessarily on location or city lines—what do you mean by that?

June Williamson: We’re architects and urban designers and so we are focused on the built environment. That means that when we’re looking at places, generally, that have been built out in the second half of the 20th century to be car dependent, not walkable, and have comparatively lower density.

Ellen Dunham-Jones: Similarly, you can look at the street networks. If you’ve got a grid, more or less, with small, walkable-sized blocks, that’s urban form. If you have a highway leading off into cul de sacs, that’s suburban form, which is a more treelike kind of pattern.

JW: That kind of development certainly characterizes most of the peripheral areas around the older urban cores in Northern American cities. But it can also be found within municipal boundaries of cities. We advocate for an erosion of oppositional thinking that you’re either in the city or the suburbs. When you look at a larger metropolitan area, suburban form can also be found near the center in need of retrofitting. 



You argue that many of these suburban forms are obsolete today because they don't fit the needs of the people who live there now. Can you walk me through some of the major demographic changes that have led to these suburban forms becoming obsolete? 

 

EDJ: One of the biggest shifts is that the U.S. now is a majority of one to two person households. And yet, the majority of land within regional urban boundaries is zoned for single-family houses. That already is something of a mismatch.

The expectation going forward is that something like 80 percent of new households that will form over the next 15 years will be these one to two person households. A lot of them would prefer an apartment or a condo—smaller units.Advertisement

Plus you have the aging of the society, that’s the other really big piece. Especially in the suburbs, a lot of elderly people loved their single-family house while they were raising the kids. But now that they’re empty nesters and retiring, it’s kind of lonely. They want to stay in their community with doctors and friends nearby. But a lot of them are looking for, frankly, a more urban lifestyle.News

Our Infrastructure Is Being Built for a Climate That’s Already Gone

Shayla Love

It's pretty interesting how the desires of both the younger millennials, Gen Z, and a lot of those aging boomers are converging on an interest in more walkable, mixed-use, compact urban places out in the burbs. 

JW: Commuting has also been transformed dramatically over the past decade or so, too. The notion that people live in the suburbs and work in the cities just isn’t true anymore.

EDJ: We tend to think that the jobs are downtown. Since the 1980s, the majority of jobs have been more than three miles from the central business district. In places like Atlanta, where I live, it’s closer to 90 percent of jobs are way outside. The central business district often has high rises and so it’s really visible, but we’re really seeing something called job sprawl. I certainly see in Atlanta, we have a lot of reverse commuters in that situation. 

So when you talk about retrofitting, you mean finding and altering underused or abandoned suburban buildings to better accommodate the demographics and desires of the people who live there now?

JW: Absolutely. And in most of the cases we’ve studied, this is happening because the built places have failed or are struggling to some degree. Advertisement

The dead and dying malls, the vacated office parks, the ghost box stores left behind. Rather than bring back the same thing, this is a tremendous opportunity. 

It can be as simple as re-inhabiting, or an adaptive reuse—fixing up the building, or changing the parking lot for something that’s better suited to the times. Taking something that was commercial and turning it into housing. 

It can also involve re-greening because so much of the suburbanization processes disrupted the regional ecologies and stormwater flow systems. Then it’s an opportunity for wider ranging benefits. There could be places of recreation or social exchange having small plazas and program parks. And then there is redevelopment. Taking a low density, car-dependent use-separated or mono-use place and mixing it up and investing in it. 

I was really struck by the statistics in the book about how many parking spaces there are per household in certain cities. Like how there are 1.97 cars per U.S. household, but in Des Moines, Iowa, there are 19 parking spaces per household. In Jackson, Wyoming, there are 27. These all seem like really obvious places to re-think about how we're using land. 

JW: These choices around parking we’ve made have been codified through regulations and naturalized as normal.

EDJ: We really have made it almost a right to park as opposed to a right to housing. Cars have much more protection than people do.Advertisement

There are these aging properties for the most part; a lot of them have become obsolete and those are places to retrofit. But sometimes [properties] are thriving. They’re doing well. Yet they still look at their parking lot as this underperforming asphalt. It’s not doing enough of the job. Sometimes there’s a mall that is doing well, and it makes more sense now to build a parking deck and build housing and bring in offices and make more mixed use. Tech

The Broken Algorithm That Poisoned American Transportation

Aaron Gordon

All of these: the parking lots, the dead space, the vacant spaces. Those are the opportunities for the suburbs to finally address really urgent challenges of equity, climate change, and health.

You’ve been documenting retrofitting since 2011, when your first book came out, and now this second book includes even more case studies. Is the retrofitting phenomenon increasing, or does it need a push? 

EDJ: If you go into any architecture school or city planning school’s library, there are tons of books on downtowns. There’s remarkably little written about the suburbs or suburbia. Most of what is there are sort of condemning them as wasteful and ecological boring places. 

We’re academics, we’re documenting this stuff, but we’re not exactly neutral. We are advocates. We’re advocates within our disciplines to to sort of say, hey, we really need to bring design to the suburbs

There’s so much opportunity. It is where most Americans live. We saw a lot of these projects happening and noticed that none of the architecture magazines would cover them because they weren’t cool looking enough. Advertisement

And yet this stuff was happening. We thought it was important both to say it’s important that the suburbs do retrofit and become more sustainable and resilient in just places. But it’s also really important to recognize this is actually happening. And that this should happen even more. A lot of communities are afraid to do something unless they know that some other community has already done it. 

A former Big Lots box store and parking lot converted into the Collinwood Recreation Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

You discuss the many social challenges retrofitting can take on. Some are more obvious like reducing dependency on cars or becoming more environmentally friendly. But there are some less intuitive ways retrofitting can impact our lives, like improving public health. 

JW: One of the observations in public health is that there are chronic diseases of our time in developed countries, and certainly in Northern America, related to obesity and the higher incidences of diabetes, and so on. 

One way to address those kinds of diseases is simple physical activity, yet we’ve designed physical activity out of our environments. To design it back in is a kind of low cost way of getting people to move their bodies.

A lot of literature looks at how access to nature, being able to have a view of trees, but also being able to socialize with others is really important. That links back to the demographic prevalence of one and two person households. That leads to loneliness. How can our physical environments create places—not force people to be physically active or to socialize in any particular ways—but to support the possibility?Advertisement

Can you explain one specific facet of intentionally designed well-being called the "third place?"

JW: This is a sociological concept. The “first place” is home and then the “second place” is work. The third place is is a little harder to define.

You might know it as the coffee shop, barbershop, or pub—so it might be a privately owned place, a place of business. It’s where one habitually gathers with others, forms friendships, and is engaging in social life. These are the places that we can design into suburbs as a way to support the overall social body. 

EDJ: The suburbs largely sold themselves on the value of the terrific private realm that they present. The suburbs emphasize privacy. As these demographics are changing, there’s more and more people recognizing, “I’m lonely. I would like a little bit more of a public realm.”

If your public realm is just a commercial corridor full of strip malls and parking lots, there’s not much opportunity. 

What we see happening are both the incorporation of the third places, but also small programmed parks, little town greens that have places for yoga classes, farmers’ markets, concerts, movie nights, and those kinds of activities that don’t force people to talk to one another, but at least enable the building of community. 

The atrium at Bell Works, formerly Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey.

You also write how retrofitting the suburbs can be a tool for social equity, or minority community building—how does that work? 

JW: When thinking about social equity, it’s about how people use their social relationships in their social network in order to get connected to opportunity. It really is worth a lot. And it’s one of the reasons we need to challenge the exclusionary practices that have been codified in suburban jurisdictions for decades now. And the coarse sorting that we find in suburbs. 

Some of the ways to break out of that is in older retail properties, the rent might be less. There’s an opportunity for networks of immigrant groups with social and business relationships to form businesses, bring people in, and enliven a place. Advertisement

There is a number of examples of vanilla shopping malls that had seen better days that were dead and dying. They have been reinhabited and revitalized by reflecting the changing demographics of the neighboring areas. 

One example is Grand Plaza in Fort Worth, what has been rebranded as a Latino mall. One of the large several story department stores was broken up into hundreds of stalls for very small businesses, like a mercato that you might find in Central America or Mexico. The central atrium space in the mall now hosts Mexican wrestling and other kinds of themed events that reflect the culture of the dominant ethnoburb demographics surrounding it. 

These places can also become flash points in political movements. If you’re in the suburbs and you want to gather to have a peaceful protest, where do you go? One of the places you might go is the mall parking lot or along an arterial boulevard. 

What is there still left to do when it comes to retrofitting the suburbs with social equity in mind? 

EDJ: One of the other myths about suburbia is that the suburbs are middle class. Well, the middle class has been shrinking—we all know that. What we also see is that the suburbanization of poverty has really been tremendous. And yet it’s relatively invisible. 

Poverty remains most highly concentrated in our cities. But there’s actually more Americans living in poverty out in the suburbs.Advertisement

We draw attention to some of the efforts that have been made. Sadly, we don’t yet see nearly enough examples of retrofitting that are really addressing the problem.

There have been some cases of aging garden apartments that are the housing of last resort for a lot of very, very poor people. 

Those are just kind of aging out. In some cases, they’re being redeveloped into more expensive fancy apartments. We need a lot more attention to preserving and restoring a lot of those. It’s not solving a lot of ecological problems. These places are very auto dependent. But there’s such desperate need for more affordable housing out in the burbs. 

JW: I don’t think we can emphasize enough that there are people in very precarious conditions across the metropolitan landscapes of North America, and that retrofitting is a way by increasing the mix and introducing supportive housing and other kinds of support services in places where people aren’t marooned if their car breaks down and so forth. It’s an important factor in this conversation. It’s not something that can be isolated as only a city or urban problem. 

Remaking these garden complexes or old motels, if you’re going to add transit, make sure there’s access for lower income people, and also younger people who might be on the beginning stages of their kind of lifelong earning trajectory. They should be saving money and shouldn’t have all of their income poured into housing and supporting a vehicle.

There were a couple other case studies from the book I wanted to bring up. For example, I did not know that Bell Labs had been retrofitted! 

JW: That’s a super interesting retrofit. Bell Labs is a storied mid-century modern research and development campus designed by Eero Saarinen, a famous architect who unfortunately died right near its completion.

All sorts of things were invented there: transistors and technologies that led to cell phones. But it lay vacant for many years.

It’s in an affluent exurb in New Jersey, and the municipality hoped to tear it all down and develop 50 or so McMansions there

But the Preservation Society and other groups rallied and a developer got interested, and now it’s become like a vertical downtown. It has a quarter-mile long atrium and dozens of businesses located on the ground floor. They have a farmer’s market, yoga, a hairdresser, a Montessori school, a branch of the local public library, and fireworks on the Fourth of July. It’s called Bell Works. 

This kind of development concept is being repeated in another former AT&T property outside Chicago, so we’ll see how that goes. 

EDJ: There’s well over 150 office parks that are now being urbanized in some way. 

Bell Works is an example of mixing the uses of a space that used to be just offices, and where the assumption was that scientists would have epiphanies if they were isolated in their office looking at a pastoral landscape. Now, we tend to think of innovation as occurring in much more urban places, and it’s the chance encounters that trigger innovation.

It’s also being driven because employers recognize that the younger workers do not want to work in a cubicle in an office park. They do not want to work in a place that is only “work.”Advertisement

Another great example is the old box store that became a recreation center.

JW: Yes,in this case it was Big Lots in a relatively low-income neighborhood on the periphery of Cleveland that has been transformed into a recreational center. 

It now has a running track through it, a pool, some outdoor recreational spaces, and it’s yards from the lake there, too. 

There are opportunities to take these dead retail boxes all across the country—and there are thousands of them—and rethink not only the building itself, but the entire property and parking lots to support health, wellness, day care clinics, clinics for routine health care, libraries, and other kinds of sharing services.

 

Sometimes it's not about redeveloping these spaces, but about regreening them. Can you give an example of that kind of project?

JW: Back in the 19th century, Meriden, Connecticut lost all of its industrial use and job space, and so by the middle of the 20th century, a suburban, enclosed shopping mall had been built in the middle of downtown over in creek, and it failed miserably. 

Every time there was a big storm event, the creek would flood and cause millions of dollars of damage to all the neighboring businesses and the town had become increasingly lower-income. 

Formerly a mall and parking lot, Meriden Green, CT, now has relocated subsidized housing, and green infrastructure including a daylit brook and stormwater park. 

What happened here was an incredible greening retrofit where the mall was demolished, the creek that had been put into concrete below ground was opened back up to the air. The ground was regraded—that’s a technical term, but basically the surface of the ground was made lower. 

The whole property was turned into a park, which is a stormwater park. The next time there’s a big storm event, the park becomes like a big bathtub and water will drain there and eventually percolate into the soil and not cause all of the damages that it had in previous cycles.

There’s this beautiful amenity and then around it, lots of new housing is being built that then has the park amenity. There’s a train station right there that’s been rebuilt with increased service through central Connecticut. It has all of these kinds of connected benefits around taking away development.

Last summer, the New York Times wrote that "New Yorkers Are Fleeing to the Suburbs" because of the pandemic. There's been this narrative that people who live in urban areas are moving back to the suburbs—and they suddenly want the things that were previously obsolete. Do you think that's true, and would it put a stall on these kinds of retrofitting projects?


JW:
Broadly, what we’ve seen in this past year is an intensification, or an acceleration, of some of the trends that were happening already. There was already the redistributing of populations to some of those locations, especially in metro areas like New York, which are so insanely expensive. If you could find something that was New York-like in New Jersey or Westchester or Long Island, it would make sense that those places might be attractive to people.

What we’re seeing right now, I think in New York certainly, is people who’d been thinking about this acting on it. But where are they moving in the suburbs? They’re not rejecting the urban lifestyle altogether. They’re being drawn to already urbanizing locations in the suburbs.

It’s not a complete rejection of one for the other, but it’s finding like for like. Still, the evidence is mostly anecdotal at this point. Time will tell. 

I think it’s also understood that developers who are planning new projects in these suburban locations are looking to make mixed-use places, and are looking to add different housing types in their suburban projects. 

EDJ: In the long run a lot of those suburbs that those folks are moving to, if they’re going to retain those households, they’re going to have to start providing more of the urban amenities. 

I’m certainly seeing around Atlanta as one example, a lot more communities changing their zoning to allow for access to accessory dwelling units, to allow for what’s been called the “missing middle”—duplexes, quadplexes, townhouses—in existing neighborhoods with suburban neighborhoods that were single family [only]. Now they’re allowing that densification. 

Those regulatory changes have happened just in the last eight months. There’s been a surge of that. And it’s very much in response to recognizing that there is the market, the demand. People want these more urban lifestyles, even if they are choosing to move to the burbs. A lot of people who have isolated themselves might still be craving places to be able to gather safely. And so it could accelerate the retrofitting of suburbia.

America is a real mess.

But it’s changing.

It is a constructed gulag for Americans and you all had best not get “out of line”. You must obey or suffer the consequences. I am reminded about how the jails and prisons are in Communist China. Did you know that they have been modeled after the Arkansas (American state) Hard-Labor Camps? Yeah, it was a surprise to me too. But when I was in the ADC, sure enough, there was a delegation from China there at Pine Bluff, and Brickey’s learning about how best to construct workable hard-labor camps.

You can see that they have taken a page from the American police state and improved upon it…

The Chinese Jail and Prison system. All modeled after the Arkansas hard-Labor system.

.

Now, the Arkansas hard-labor system was modeled by Nazi German immigrants after World War II who took former slave plantations such as Brickey’s North Arkansas Regional Unit and turned them into hard-labor camps. Which is why they greatly resemble the old “resettlement” camps that the Nazi’s constructed in Poland during World War II. Anyways, the Chinese see the efficiency of this system and have incorporated elements in their own prison system.

So yes, America is a model for the world!

Chinese Jail and Prison.

America is changing

Yes, it is.

After the crisis event during a fourth turning, the resulting America will be substantially changed afterwards. We can see that the changes are starting. And they are long over due. We do not know the full extent of the changes, but we do need to be aware that they are in process.

Forget your fantasies that America will relive the American Civil War, the American Reconstruction Period, or the growth of suburbia in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The resulting American will be quite different, and will NOT resemble any other nation on the globe. It will be a uniquely American change. Let’s pray and hope that it will be a good one

In the meantime, please keep your eyes open. Look for examples of change. That will provide you with insight on the future of America. It is your “weather vane” to judge the direction that America is heading towards. Keep in mind that the “news” is really a horrible medium to view changes. You need to take “deep dives” into other sources, and use your own eyes and ears to provide you guidance.

Fauci, Biden's top medical adviser, told CNN that the approaching deaths tally (of 500,000) was "a terribly historic milestone in the history of this country."

-Reuters

Evidence of the changes are all around us.

Do you want more?

I have more posts along these lines in my Functional Notes Index.

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When the government wants to lace the air you breathe with LSD, you know that your nation is fucked.

Ah. Isn’t that the case?

Throughout history, nations rise when there is righteous leadership that cared for its citizens' welfare and do the greater good. When they are corrupt and self-serving, those nations fall. Learn from history because we live in a world governed by cause and effect. History will repeat itself.

-Tom Tan

But no one is addressing this enormous “elephant in the room”. They are all off in some la-la-land of finger pointing outside of America. The Liberal Democrats point their fingers at Russia and blame them for the mess that America is today. The Conservative Republicans point their fingers to China, and blame them. Looked from the outside inwards, you all look like crazed maniacs.

Republicans have been gushing hatred over China, especially since Trump lost the election.
 
Yes, there are the obvious reasons this board has mentioned many  times but it seems even more deep seated.  It's as if people like Laura  Ingraham are addicted to their hatred.  She's obsessed w/China and uses  China like a Club to try to discredit anyone to the left of Adolf  Hitler.  I love it when she then screams about the 'Cancel Culture'.  
 
I look at her twitter feed and she's totally unhinged.  She talks  about China like a deprived drug addict who finally found their stash.  I  feel like I'm missing something.
 
-Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Feb 11 2021 20:04 utc | 8

Oh, but you all know all of that, don’t you?

Why is “democracy” so valuable?

It’s heavily promoted (don’t you know) that one-person, one-vote system is the pinnacle of “freedom” and “liberty” in the world. Which is rather strange as the founders of the United States said the absolute opposite.

And people are looking at these various systems of governance with a keen eye. Maybe there needs to be some changes they wonder…

Daniel Bell has put forward his views in favor of China's political meritocracy... against the one person one vote (Western Democracy model) as a mode of selection for political leaders. 

He has done this  in two books.

The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy
Princeton University Press, 2015. ISBN 9781400865505.
 
Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He was born in Montreal, educated at McGill and Oxford, has taught in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and has held research fellowships at Princeton's University Center for Human Values, Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences and Hebrew University's Department of Political Science. 
 
Here:
https://youtu.be/e63ro_suARA

Crazy, Crazy Government

The war machine is still at full throttle and has been for more than two decades. Do you realize there are now adults who have never lived during a time when the United States was not at war with a Middle Eastern nation? We are at war with Eurasia, or is it Eastasia?

It’s both, and it projects to continue for decades.

When Bill Kristol watches Star Wars movies, he roots for the Galactic Empire. The leading neocon recently caused a social media disturbance in the Force when he tweeted this predilection for the Dark Side following the debut of the final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 

 Kristol sees the Empire as basically a galaxy-wide extrapolation of what  he has long wanted the US to have over the Earth: what he has termed  "benevolent global hegemony." 

 Kristol, founder and editor of neocon flagship magazine The Weekly Standard, responded to scandalized critics by linking to a 2002 essay from the Standard's blog that justifies even the worst of Darth Vader's atrocities. In "The Case for the Empire," Jonathan V. Last made a Kristolian argument that you can't make a "benevolent hegemony" omelet without breaking a few eggs. 

-SOTT

The elected elites love war at home, too. They are fomenting war among the American people, and it is breaking out. As surely as class warfare is behind the riots in the Netherlands, it is on the cusp of erupting here. It’s a strategy of divide the people into little groups. Then have the groups fight each other.

Divided we all fall.
Americans are intentionally divided into groups to attack each other.

.

The elites play classes off one another. They denounce the rich as evil, and the media and the inured play along, hating all “billionaires,” as if Capitalism didn’t afford them the opportunity to have the very platforms upon which they complain.

The elites stealthily promote their lie in this way, lumping into a group both hard-working and innovative entrepreneurs who made it by the sweat of their brow and the crony capitalists they created themselves, and then call them all “rich” as if it’s an epithet.

Among the many misperceptions of the American Revolution and the  resulting constitutional order is the belief that these admittedly  monumental achievements created a self-sustaining system of governance.  Even in times of chaos and upheaval such as those we are living through  today, we have always at some level convinced ourselves that ours is a  system that can withstand most any assault, foreign or domestic. We lean  on a legend – that the bundle of constitutional rights guaranteed us  and our revolutionary system of checks and balances will be enough by  themselves to sustain liberty over the fullness of time.
 
It’s been said, regarding any memorable occurrence, that if there’s  truth and legend, go with the legend because it’s always a better story.  But the truth is, while we expect that our institutions will hold under  duress, Thomas Jefferson  himself – among others in the founding generation – was doubtful the  great experiment in liberty attained through blood, sweat, and tears  would last more than a generation. He was skeptical of the  sustainability of a system in which 51% of the people may take away the  rights of the other 49%. Jefferson was expanding on the sentiments of  fellow founder Benjamin Franklin, who when asked what form of government  the framers of the Constitution had settled on, famously replied, “a republic – if you can keep it.”

-Liberty Nation

They take an arbitrary monetary figure, pulled out of thin air, and set it as the Rubicon. Cross it and somehow you were luckier than most, got a break someone else never got. Yachts and airplanes are demonized, while the elected elites vacation on yachts bought by others and are ferried about in private jets paid for by others.

They accept “campaign contributions” from Wall Street, then, with a wink and nod, demonize Wall Street. Then, they print billions of dollars to prop up Wall Street; rewarding it for bringing down the economy. This keeps the contributions flowing and themselves in power.

And when people get angry about it, and march on Washington, an example is made of them. As an effigy and as a warning to others…

America 2021.

.

It’s all a racket.

They demonize Big Oil, Big Medicine, Big Pharma and Big Tobacco (which deserve to be demonized, surely) yet they enrich those industries with special subsidies and tax breaks and laws passed to their benefit. Their puppets in office who create those privileges are rewarded with more campaign cash and, when their time on Capitol Hill is done, cushy jobs lobbying their replacements.

Their policies destroy the middle class.

No middle class any longer.
The middle class no longer exists.

.

They preach fairness and set their pawns up as the arbiters of fairness. They create a parasite class with an entitlement mentality. Then they work to grow the parasite class to keep themselves in power by taking more and more from the wages of the middle class.


Let’s look at America, the nation of an “untouchable” oligarchy that treats the American citizenry as the sheep that serve them. Let’s remind ourselves just what we wave our “red, white, and blue” flags up high for…

Lace the air with LSD

This article was contributed by Mike Jay. It is reprinted as found. All credit to the author, and note that any editing involved went towards fitting this into the MM format.

It​ was during the fallout from Watergate that the American public first heard of MK-Ultra, the most notorious of the secret mind control programmes that the CIA ran through the 1950s and 1960s.

After Nixon’s men were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in June 1972, Richard Helms, then director of the CIA, refused to help with the cover-up. In February 1973, after his re-election, Nixon fired Helms and replaced him with James Schlesinger. In an initiative to regain public trust as the crisis escalated, Schlesinger announced he was ‘determined that the law shall be respected’ and that anyone aware of illegal CIA activities was obliged to report them.

Nixon was finally forced to resign in August 1974. His successor, Gerald Ford, made Nelson Rockefeller, a reliable intelligence insider, his vice president, and asked him to produce a report on the CIA’s alleged historical abuses.

Rockefeller’s report was issued in June 1975. For the most part it was vague and non-incriminating, but it did conclude that the CIA had in the past conducted ‘plainly unlawful’ investigations, including the testing of ‘potentially dangerous drugs on unsuspecting United States citizens’.

There were references to secret sites and experiments on prison inmates, and some passages that begged explanation; in one incident, ‘an employee of the Department of the Army’ had crashed to his death through a 13th-storey hotel window after being dosed with LSD. But the commission had apparently reached a dead end. All records had been destroyed, and ‘all persons directly involved … were either out of the country and not available for interview or were deceased.’

Seymour Hersh, who had already written a front-page story for the New York Times about the CIA’s illegal domestic surveillance programme, determined that the man who had fallen from the window was Frank Olson, a chemist employed by the CIA. Hersh disclosed his findings to Olson’s family, who convened a press conference and announced that they would be suing the agency.

Ford’s chief of staff, Donald Rumsfeld, was alerted to the danger by his deputy, Dick Cheney. The Olsons received a settlement of $750,000 in exchange for dropping their legal action, and were invited to the White House, where Ford made them a public apology.

As the Rockefeller report foundered, a Senate commission under the Idaho member Frank Church dredged deeper in the CIA’s records. The files were heavily redacted but one name surfaced repeatedly: Sidney Gottlieb, who appeared to have been the director of a secret chemical division within the agency.

Gottlieb, it turned out, was now in India, where he and his wife were spending their retirement working as volunteers at a leprosy hospital. The Church Committee summoned him to testify, which he did in camera, under an alias and with a guarantee of legal immunity; the press was told that no photographs of him existed.

It was the Church Committee’s report in April 1976 that brought MK-Ultra to public attention. The programme, which ran from the early 1950s through to the mid-1960s, had investigated forms of mind control that might be deployed on civilian populations.

A particular interest had been taken in LSD, which was tested on such ‘expendable’ populations as prisoners and refugees, on the general public and, extensively, on the programme’s own agents.

Many of the subjects were dosed without their knowledge or consent – including Frank Olson, who had ‘leaped to his death’ in ‘what appeared to be a serious depression’ after his Cointreau was spiked with LSD at a CIA retreat. The Church Committee concluded that the full extent of MK-Ultra’s work, especially outside the US, would never be known, since records of it had been destroyed.

As it turned out, however, there was much more to come. In the late 1970s, John Marks, a journalist who specialised in intelligence matters, filed a Freedom of Information request that uncovered a trove of 16,000 documents, most of which hadn’t been sent for shredding because they were filed as financial records. In the course of examining thousands of invoices and bills of sale, Marks and his team of researchers unearthed some unexpected gems.

The diary of George Hunter White, a dead Federal Bureau of Narcotics agent, was particularly startling. White had worked as Gottlieb’s fixer in the underworlds of New York and San Francisco, conducting drug experiments on unknowing subjects in brothels or at parties he held in CIA safehouses.

In his diary, White wrote frankly about the corruption, drugs, sex and violence in which he happily participated: ‘Where else could a red-blooded American boy lie, cheat, rape and pillage with the sanction and blessing of the All Highest?’

This was not the CIA as the American public was encouraged to imagine it: a dapper Ivy League fraternity coolly dedicated to safeguarding the nation. The picture that emerged was of a game without rules, played recklessly and with impunity by, as Stephen Kinzer characterises it, a ‘cast of obsessed chemists, cold-hearted spymasters, grim torturers, hypnotists, electr0-shockers and Nazi doctors’.

With the publication in 1978 of Marks’s The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control, the story took up the position it has occupied ever since at the intersection of politics, conspiracy theory, psychology, drug culture, science fiction and espionage. Kinzer retells many of Marks’s stories, but organizes them around the fuller, though still partial, biographical picture of Gottlieb that has emerged since his death in 1999. The result is a bustling narrative that sets MK-Ultra in its institutional framework of federal government, the military and the intelligence services, swerving all the while between madcap farce and grim atrocity.

The​ story begins during the occupation of Germany at the end of the Second World War, when agents of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner to the CIA, discovered that the Nazis had been designing biological weapons such as anthrax bombs, and subjecting prisoners at Dachau and Buchenwald to experiments involving drugs, lethal pathogens, toxic gases and extremes of temperature. Some of this was exposed at the Nuremberg trials; OSS officers, meanwhile, were discreetly gathering research materials for their own purposes.

Nazi Party members were officially prohibited from entering the US, but arrangements were made under a secret programme codenamed Operation Paperclip to ‘bleach’ episodes involving slavery, torture and murder from the records of scientists who might be useful to US intelligence. More than seven hundred such scientists and engineers were quietly recruited to work at Camp Detrick, Maryland, headquarters of the US Army Biological Warfare Laboratories.

The OSS was abolished by Truman in 1945, the president having decided that the US didn’t need a secret intelligence agency in peacetime. But by 1947 he had changed his mind, and the CIA was formed.

The new agency began to undertake covert operations in Eastern Europe and paid close attention to the dramatic 1949 Soviet show trial of the Hungarian priest Cardinal József Mindszenty, in which Mindszenty confessed to absurd conspiracies such as attempting to steal the crown jewels and to re-establish the Austro-Hungarian empire, while swaying, staring blankly and reciting his testimony as if by rote. To those who knew him, it seemed as if Mindszenty had become a different person.

To the CIA, it was evidence that the Soviet Union had developed new techniques for personality modification and mind control. There were similar reports from China, where the Communist Party allegedly referred to such techniques as hsi nao, ‘washing the brain’.

In 1951, Allen Dulles, a former OSS officer, was appointed the CIA’s deputy director for plans. Dulles, who was convinced that the future would belong to the world power that could master the new ‘brainwashing’ technologies, was instrumental in shifting the agency’s research priorities from chemical and biological warfare to the inner battlefield of the mind. He had been one of the men responsible for drafting the National Security Act, the law that brought the CIA into being, permitting it to use ‘all appropriate methods’ in its operations. In 1950 the CIA had launched Project Bluebird to investigate the use of chemical and biological agents to control the minds of individuals.

When Dulles got hold of the programme, he renamed it Artichoke, and it was expanded to study the effects of exposure to gases, irradiation by infrared or ultraviolet light, high and low pressure environments, sonic torture, alteration of diet, electric shocks and a variety of psychological techniques, hypnosis chief among them.

The experiments were carried out on defectors, refugees and prisoners of war. These were the ‘expendables’ – people whose disappearance wouldn’t draw attention. The work was carried out at what would now be called ‘black sites’; it is in this period, as Kinzer points out, that the CIA began the habit of detaining people in other countries, beyond the reach of US law.

By early 1952 there were Artichoke teams in France, occupied Germany, Japan and South Korea; more were added later. Directives were issued specifying that interrogations be carried out in a ‘safe house or safe area’, with an adjoining room for recording equipment, and a bathroom, which might be found necessary thanks to the effects that ‘Artichoke techniques’ could have on subjects.

Kinzer tells the story of one site in particular, at Oberursel, a ‘sleepy German town’ north of Frankfurt. During the war the Nazis had used it as a transit camp for captured enemy pilots. The US army took it over in 1946, renamed it Camp King and used it for ‘special interrogations’, involving torture, beatings and drug injections, carried out by Counterintelligence Corps officers known as ‘rough boys’. The disposal of bodies was, one CIA officer recalled, ‘no problem’.

The ‘rough boys’ were too unrefined for Bluebird and Artichoke work. And the work was so secret that even Camp King wouldn’t do. In 1951 the CIA acquired a large house just a few miles away – Villa Schuster, named for the Jewish family that had lived there until the 1930s – and converted it for use by specialist teams flown over from the US to carry out their experiments without external supervision.

They did, however, benefit from the guidance of Camp King’s staff doctor, Walter Schreiber, the former surgeon general of the Nazi army, who had overseen research at concentration camps in which prisoners were frozen, injected with hallucinogens, and cut open to chart the progress of gangrene.

When he was given a contract to work in the US under Operation Paperclip (it didn’t work out, and after a scandal he ended up in Argentina), Schreiber was replaced at Camp King by another war criminal, Kurt Blome, the Nazis’ director of research into biological warfare, who had tested nerve gases and viruses on concentration camp inmates.

Sidney Gottlieb​ had been working for nearly ten years in government laboratories, and was a research chemist at Camp Detrick, when Dulles chose him to lead the CIA’s mind control research programme.

Gottlieb was born with a club foot, and had been rejected for war service; Kinzer writes that this had left him with a ‘store of pent-up patriotic fervour’. In other respects, he was a conspicuous outsider in the patrician ranks of the CIA: a Jewish immigrant from the Bronx who had made his way via City College, ‘the Harvard of the proletariat’, to a doctorate in biochemistry.

In private he was a nonconformist, living in a cabin in the Virginia backwoods with his wife, Margaret, who had grown up among Presbyterian missionaries.

As chief of the newly constituted Chemical Division of the Technical Services Staff, Gottlieb set about expanding and refining Dulles’s programme. The trials on ‘expendables’, in his estimation, had thus far produced nothing of value.

He set up new experiments to test the effects of electrical shocks, neurosurgery, sensory distortion and hypnosis, but his attention was increasingly taken up with mind-altering drugs.

His team tested cocaine on mental patients, heroin on students and cannabis on themselves; they also investigated amphetamines, mescaline, barbiturates and sodium pentothal, variously to disinhibit, disorientate, act as a ‘truth serum’, wipe memories or induce states of terror.

The experiments were carried out at Artichoke sites around the world. Kinzer quotes an earlier study which recorded Gottlieb’s trips to Tokyo, where four Japanese suspected of working for the Russians were injected with ‘a variety of depressants and stimulants’, then shot and dumped at sea; to Seoul, where 25 North Korean prisoners of war were given the same treatment; and to Munich, where ‘scores of “expendables”’ were given massive amounts of drugs in a series of failed experiments, after which they were ‘killed and their bodies burned’.

On becoming president in 1953, Eisenhower made Dulles director of the CIA. In a memo written at the time and since declassified, Dulles’s newly appointed chief of operations at the Directorate of Plans, Richard Helms, set out the terms of a new programme of research into ‘covert chemical and biological warfare’.

One aim in particular was singled out: ‘the development of a chemical material which causes a non-toxic aberrant mental state, the specific nature of which can be reasonably well predicted for each individual. This material could potentially aid in discrediting individuals, eliciting information, implanting suggestion and other forms of mental control.’ The programme was given a new codename: MK-Ultra.

Gottlieb’s budget was freed from the usual financial constraints, his research from external clearance or oversight. From time to time there were attempts to bring the CIA to heel. In 1953, for example, the US secretary of defence, Charles Wilson, issued a memo stating that all experiments involving volunteers required their consent, in compliance with the Nuremberg Code.

But this clearly wasn’t going to fly with the men in charge of finding ways to force individuals to provide information against their will, erase their memories or change their personalities.

In 1956 a proposal that Congress monitor CIA activities was firmly quashed by the White House. The assumption, as one CIA officer expressed it later, was: ‘We’re at war, so anything is justified. We’re smarter than most people, we operate in secret, we have access to intelligence, and we know what the real threats are. No one else does.’

From April 1953, when Dulles formally approved MK-Ultra, Gottlieb operated with impunity and on a much larger scale. Each of the programme’s many elements was called a ‘subproject’ and given a number.

Subproject 5 contracted a researcher at the University of Minnesota to test the use of hypnosis to induce anxiety, thwart lie detectors and increase cognitive capacity;

subproject 124 tested the use of carbon dioxide to induce trances;

subproject 63 studied the ‘use of alcohol as a social phenomenon’;

subproject 140, conducted at a hospital in San Francisco, tested the potential psychoactive effects of thyroid-related hormones. Scores of subprojects were devoted to investigating the use of drugs, alone or in combination with other techniques, to manipulate behaviour.

Kinzer has fun describing subproject 4: the use of a celebrity stage magician, John Mulholland, to teach CIA agents the techniques of misdirection and sleight of hand, the better to distract targets while drugging them. The manual Mulholland produced resurfaced in 2007, the ‘only full-length MK-Ultra document known to have survived intact’.

Artichoke work had been carried out in CIA safehouses abroad. Under MK-Ultra, the work was brought home. Two adjoining apartments were purchased at 81 Bedford Street in New York (subproject 3). George Hunter White was recruited by Gottlieb in June 1953 to trawl Greenwich Village posing ‘alternately as a merchant seaman or a bohemian artist’ and gathering up ‘drug users, petty criminals and others who could be relied on not to complain about what had happened to them’.

At one of the apartments in Bedford Street, White would serve his guests drinks surreptitiously laced with drugs, while in the other Gottlieb’s men filmed the effects through a mirror.

Two years later, in Operation Midnight Climax (subproject 42), White set up another safehouse in San Francisco, this time as a brothel, so that Gottlieb could gather evidence of ‘how people behave during and after sex’.

Gottlieb’s particular preoccupation was with a new psychoactive drug, LSD. (In 1951 he had asked Harold Abramson, a physician on his team, to supervise him in a self-experiment with the drug. Gottlieb reported ‘an out-of-bodyness … a sense of well-being and euphoria’.)

Some of his colleagues were interested in the potential effects of dispersing it on the battlefield, but Gottlieb believed LSD was the drug most likely, as Kinzer puts it, ‘to give initiates a way to control other human beings’ – a doomsday weapon in the new field of ‘brain warfare’. At first, there was a problem getting hold of it in sufficient quantities. A Swiss company, Sandoz, held the patent, and was said to be sitting on a stockpile of ten kilograms, a ‘fantastically large amount’.

In an attempt to corner the world’s supply of the drug, Dulles signed off on the $240,000 it would cost to buy everything Sandoz had, and sent two of his officers to Switzerland to bring it back. But when they arrived, it turned out the intelligence was wrong; the ten kilograms, they discovered, was actually ten grams. So Gottlieb still had a supply problem. He paid an American pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, to devise a way of synthesising LSD from scratch.

That was part of subproject 6.

It took longer than a year, but by the end of 1954 Eli Lilly was in a position to produce the drug in ‘tonnage quantities’. The CIA, Kinzer writes, ‘was its main customer’.

The research into the effects of LSD extended way beyond observations at 81 Bedford Street. Gottlieb found a willing partner in Harris Isbell, the director of research at the Addiction Research Centre in Lexington, Kentucky.

The hospital ‘functioned more like a prison’, Kinzer writes, with a cohort of mostly African American inmates – a new group of ‘expendables’ – on whom Isbell could experiment at will. Gottlieb was interested in how much LSD was needed to ‘shatter the mind …

…leaving a void into which new impulses or even a new personality could be implanted’.

Isbell’s patients were fed escalating doses, some of them for days and weeks on end. Another enthusiastic collaborator, Carl Pfeiffer at Emory University, as part of his work on subproject 47, administered LSD to twenty inmates of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary nearly every day for 15 months. Robert Hyde at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital paid hundreds of students from Emerson, Harvard and MIT $15 each to drink a vial of liquid that might induce an ‘altered state’; in the aftermath, one of the subjects hanged herself in a clinic bathroom.

As well as these knowing allies – and thanks to sympathizers at the National Institute of Mental Health and a network of philanthropic foundations willing to act as fronts for the dispersal of agency money – Gottlieb was also able to recruit scientists who had no idea they were working for the CIA. Kinzer gives a list of more than thirty universities, institutes and hospitals, many of them among the most renowned in America, that received funding to carry out Gottlieb’s research programme.

In the late 1950s, MK-Ultra entered its most baroque phase, as Gottlieb was tasked with coming up with ways to dispose of foreign leaders. His Heath Robinson schemes included using an aerosol to lace the air with LSD in the Havana studio where Fidel Castro made his radio broadcasts, sprinkling Castro’s boots with thallium salts to make his beard fall out and contaminating his cigars with botulinum. At one point Gottlieb turned up in Congo with a poison kit, ready for use in a CIA plot to kill Patrice Lumumba. None of these plans came to fruition. They resembled the popular fiction with which they had always been in dialogue.

Kinzer points out that the CIA’s belief, in the late 1940s, that the communists had discovered the key to mind control, was conditioned by the ‘ubiquitous fantasy’ of this possibility in American popular culture, movies in particular, from film representations of Svengali, Dracula and Frankenstein, to George Cukor’s Gaslight (1944), the Sherlock Holmes movie The Woman in Green (1945) and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1956). The border between fiction and reality in the early years of the Cold War was blurred further as novelists began to mine the seam of science and skulduggery.

A pulp thriller from 1955, The Splintered Man, featured a CIA agent subjected to a nightmarish interrogation under LSD in East Berlin; it ended with an exhortation to US intelligence not to be left playing catch-up in the battle for the mind. The Bond movies led CIA officers to investigate the real-life feasibility of Q’s gadgets.

Richard Condon’s book The Manchurian Candidate (1959), in which a brainwashed sleeper agent is triggered by post-hypnotic suggestion to make an attempt on the life of an American presidential candidate, caught the zeitgeist best of all.

John Frankenheimer’s film adaptation came out in 1962; a year later it was seen as an eerie prefiguring of the Kennedy assassination. In fiction, the reality of covert mind control was taken for granted: if it wasn’t real, where was the story? Yet even as mind control technologies became a staple of popular culture in the 1960s, the faith of Gottlieb and his team in their potential was fading.

As the CIA psychologist John Gittinger later recalled, by 1963 ‘it was at least proven to my satisfaction that “brainwashing” so-called – as some kind of esoteric device where drugs or mind-altering kinds of conditions and so forth were used – did not exist … The Manchurian Candidate, as a movie, really set us back a long time, because it made something impossible look plausible.’

Privately, Gottlieb was at last coming to the same conclusion. He had abundantly demonstrated something that nobody had ever seriously doubted: that drugs, electroshock and other mental tortures could shatter minds and wipe memories. But he had been unable to put new personalities or memories in their place.

As Kinzer says, when Gottlieb started out on MK-Ultra, there were only two possibilities: ‘Either there is no such thing as a mind control drug or there is indeed such a thing and it is waiting to be discovered.’ The first was unthinkable: Gottlieb ‘had been hired to explore, not to give up’. So he pressed on through the 1950s with seemingly unshakeable conviction.

But ‘as of 1960,’ he later admitted in a memo, ‘no effective knockout pill, truth serum, aphrodisiac or recruitment pill was known to exist.’ Gottlieb’s master weapon, LSD, made subjects highly suggestible, but their beliefs and behaviors had proved impossible to control.

Yet his operations continued to expand. By the late 1960s he was running more behavioral laboratories than ever and his experiments were just as ambitious, not to say horrifying. In Saigon in 1968 a CIA team implanted electrodes in the brains of three Vietcong prisoners.

They were given knives and locked together in a room for a week, while the agents tried to rouse them to violence with radio signals from their remote-control handsets. They didn’t succeed. The team returned to Washington and, just as in Project Artichoke twenty years earlier, the prisoners were shot and burned.

Then​ came Watergate, the loss of Richard Helms’s protection, and John Schlesinger’s initiatives to detoxify the CIA. Before his departure in 1973, Helms ordered that all MK-Ultra’s records be destroyed. Gottlieb retired quietly later that year, first to his cabin in Virginia, then to India with Margaret to take up voluntary work. By 1977 the tide had turned decisively against him. During the Church Committee hearings the new director of the CIA, Stansfield Turner, assured Senator Edward Kennedy that ‘it is totally abhorrent to me to think of using a human being as a guinea pig …

I am not here to pass judgment on any of my predecessors, but I can assure you that this is totally beyond the pale.’ Summoned back to give evidence to the committee, Gottlieb testified that MK-Ultra had been a project ‘of the utmost urgency … to investigate whether and how it was possible to modify an individual’s behaviour by covert means’. Under cross-examination he displayed a vagueness that for some recalled Jozsef Mindszenty’s show trial, shot through with a streak of paranoia: ‘I feel victimised … My name is selectively left on released documents where all or most others are deleted.’

Gottlieb retreated to a large eco-home of his own design in the Blue Ridge mountains, where he died in 1999. He was harried by lawsuits to the end, and the cause of his death was never confirmed; many suspected suicide. There was no consensus about how, ultimately, he judged himself. To his neighbours, he seemed at peace: ‘an old hippie’, as one recalled, who rose early to meditate, wore sandals and cycled into town to collect his mail.

Others thought he must be in denial: it was as if he had ‘lost his former self’, the Washington Post reported, ‘walking backwards, sweeping his trail clean with a branch’. ‘Gottlieb was living as if he was in an ashram in India,’ wrote Seymour Hersh, who visited him in retirement. ‘He was trying to absolve himself, to expiate. If he’d been Catholic, he would have gone to a monastery.’ John Marks wasn’t so sure that Gottlieb was troubled by his conscience. ‘He was unquestionably a patriot,’ Marks told an obituarist. Gottlieb ‘never did what he did for inhumane reasons.

He thought he was doing exactly what was needed. And in the context of the time, who could argue?’ Kinzer wonders whether the contrast between his folksy lifestyle and his CIA work was as jarring as it seemed: both could be seen as expressions of a desire to live unconstrained by the usual rules and limits. Gottlieb, he concludes, ‘was not a sadist, but he might as well have been’.

Kinzer floats the argument, as others have before him, that MK-Ultra inadvertently gave rise to the psychedelic counterculture, as LSD ‘escaped from the CIA’s control’. The dots are there for all to join: Ken Kesey and Allen Ginsberg first took LSD in CIA-funded experiments; a covert CIA operative was present on the trip to Mexico in 1957 when Gordon Wasson encountered the ‘magic mushroom’; Gottlieb’s physician, Harold Abramson, became an early proponent of LSD psychotherapy. But there are other ways of telling the story that don’t involve the CIA at all. The most conspicuous influence on the emerging psychedelic culture was Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, published to great acclaim in 1954. Ginsberg, like many of his generation, had previously taken psychedelics on his own initiative.

From its base in Switzerland, Sandoz, as well as supplying the CIA with LSD, was at the same time giving it away free to interested psychiatrists; one such was the Hollywood therapist Oscar Janiger, whose celebrity clientele, including Cary Grant, Anaïs Nin and Jack Nicholson, spread the word enthusiastically in magazine interviews, essays and movie scripts. Timothy Leary was turned on to LSD by maverick enthusiasts who acquired the drug directly from Sandoz, as Leary himself did for his experiments at Harvard.

What seems remarkable today is not how much influence MK-Ultra had, but how little. The methods of coercive interrogation used more recently, such as those at Abu Ghraib or Bagram, haven’t owed much to the scientific techniques Gottlieb was investigating. Instead, they have more in common with what the ‘rough boys’ were up to at black sites in postwar Germany before Gottlieb’s men arrived.

MK-Ultra’s enduring influence is in popular fiction, where many of its ideas came from in the first place. Covert mind control programmes, usually run by the CIA, are a familiar plot device across the spectrum, from literary fiction (Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace) to mass-market movies (The Ipcress File, The Parallax View, Jacob’s Ladder, the Bourne franchise) and TV (The X-Files, Stranger Things).

The story is always the same: mind control is real, and those who know its secrets operate with impunity. The second assumption reflects historical truth, and resonates still in a post-Watergate world. The first was a chimera, and by the time the Cold War reached its apex, Gottlieb and his colleagues no longer believed it themselves.

Some thoughts

Aren’t you proud to be an American!

Look here, if this is how the government treats the citizenry, and it’s “not really bad“, then what happens when things get bad?

Lacing the citizens with LSD and other mind altering chemicals are only the things that we KNOW ABOUT. What about the things that we don’t know?

You know, America IS GOING to pick a fight…

Whether it is Russia or China, most Americans haven’t an idea. But here, I will tell you all the “secret” that the American “news” is hiding from you; it’s BOTH simultaneously.

Thursday, February 04, 2021, 22:52
 
China, Russia stress adherence to non-interference
 
By Xinhua
 
China and Russia said Thursday that the principle of non-interference  in other countries' internal affairs, one of the basic norms governing  international relations, should be upheld.
 
In a phone conversation between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign  Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the two  sides also pledged to jointly preserve global and regional strategic  stability.
 
...
 
The two heads of state have also agreed to celebrate this year the 20th  anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of  Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, pointing out the direction  for deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination  between the two countries, Wang said.
 
Both sides should take this opportunity to add new dimensions to this  important treaty and send a clear message to the world that the two  countries will safeguard the security of themselves and along their  peripheries, he added.
 
http://www.chinadailyhk.com/article/156995
-Posted by: Mao | Feb 11 2021 21:38 utc | 20

Yupper.

It’s not gonna be “goat herders” and “mud huts” getting blown up. It’s not going to be some American marines or SEAL’s taking HELO jumps into Chinese territory or an amphibious landing on one of the atolls surrounding China. It’s not going to be “US Navy sitting off the coast of China and launching cruse missile and plinking at targets”.

It’s gonna be on a completely different level. And if you all think that China is all blue-clad bicycle-riding peasants, you are going to be in for a big shock.

Chinese J-20 fighter. It is roughly equivalent to the F-22 Rapor fielded by the USA.

.

And, let’s have another look. You all aren’t gonna see these images on Rush Limbaugh, Hal Turner, Drudge Report, CNN, or FOX news. You will not see them on the BBC, the ABC, or on “60 minutes”.

Americans need to believe that they are invincible. They need to believe that they are the strongest, the best, and that no one would dare fight back.

That is the only way that the American citizenry won’t revolt at the prospect of another global war. Especially one that involved biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

…don’t you know.

Chinese J-20 Jet Fighters.

Conclusion

Any nation that poisons it’s people with LSD or forces them to take chemical injections, while picking fights with very powerful, nuclear armed, nations is not a place where you want to live. And while the “news” make a lot of “noise” about all these people wanting to come to America for “freedom” and “democracy”, the ones that are actually coming are the illiterate, the destitute and the impoverished. In their minds, ANYTHING is better than the lives that they are leaving.

The illiterate arrive in America to help make it great.

.

I cannot predict the future.

However, the behaviors of the United States elite (the ruler class) are indicative of some severe faults. Faults, mind you, that are not easily corrected. And thus you all can expect some “fallout” to come your way from their failures in governance.

America is not a strong nation any longer. It is a “ripe” nation. It is a tree heavy with juicy fruit, and just waiting to be harvested.

This reminds me of the cities that thought that they could fight off Genghis Khan with their knights in shining armor. Nope. It’s did not work out good for them. And it worked out even worse for their families back in the cities. Women and children suffered a fate that no one should endure.

Rather than submit, the Abbasid caliph challenged the Mongols to  attempt to storm his city, if they dared. The nomadic army from Asia—led  by Hulagu Khan, one of Genghis Khan’s grandsons—did indeed dare. 

Doing  what they are most famous for, the Mongols thrashed Baghdad. 

In 10 days  of unremitting violence and destruction, Baghdad and its inhabitants  were completely and utterly vanquished. Almost without exception, the  population was either put to the sword or sold into slavery. The River  Tigris ran red—to cite one of the most over-quoted, and overwrought  phrases in history—with the blood of slaughtered men, women, and  children.
 
After this, every building of note in Baghdad—including mosques,  palaces, and markets—was utterly destroyed, among them the world-famous  House of Wisdom. Hundreds of thousands of priceless manuscripts and  books were tossed into the river, clogging the arterial waterway with so  many texts, according to eyewitnesses, that soldiers could ride on  horseback from one side to the other. Of course, the river turned from  red to black with ink.

-Great courses daily

America and Americans have never suffered defeat. The closest was the Southern States during the “Reconstruction Period”. But even that, many still kept their language, were able to keep their records and heirlooms, and build up a life for themselves. They never suffered a complete SACK of their cities, their societies, their cultures and their identity. They do not realize what a real defeat looks like.

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The true and historical manner to wage a revolution. You need to get filthy drunk.

The American Revolution was built on a foundation of booze, led by tavern addicted Founding Fathers who could drink any frat boy under the table.

Yes, and we will explain it right here.

Throughout history, nations rise when there is righteous leadership that cared for its citizens' welfare and do the greater good. When they are corrupt and self-serving, those nations fall. Learn from history because we live in a world governed by cause and effect. History will repeat itself.

-Tom Tan

I’ve discussed this all before. You need to have a responsible government. One that decides to work FOR the people it is supposed to represent. And then, once that government gets it’s internal affairs in order, it makes alignments and agreements with other nations to build up trust. And that meas no CIA-style, NED-style, or NID-style interference and American-style “color-revolutions”.

Don’t you know.

Thursday, February 04, 2021, 22:52
 
China, Russia stress adherence to non-interference
 
By Xinhua
 
China and Russia said Thursday that the principle of non-interference  in other countries' internal affairs, one of the basic norms governing  international relations, should be upheld.
 
In a phone conversation between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign  Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the two  sides also pledged to jointly preserve global and regional strategic  stability.
 
...
 
The two heads of state have also agreed to celebrate this year the 20th  anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of  Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, pointing out the direction  for deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination  between the two countries, Wang said.
 
Both sides should take this opportunity to add new dimensions to this  important treaty and send a clear message to the world that the two  countries will safeguard the security of themselves and along their  peripheries, he added.
 
http://www.chinadailyhk.com/article/156995
-Posted by: Mao | Feb 11 2021 21:38 utc | 20

Indeed.

As a direct consequence of Donald Trump wanting to throw the entire world into an enormous bonfire (global nuclear winter), the rest of the world reacted…

  • New and strong alliances have formed.
  • America has become severely isolated.
  • People are questioning the value and worth of having a “democracy

But America isn’t giving up. The neocons are (seriously and really) “foaming at the mouth for a fight with China, or Russia (as the fall-back” default). Phew! It makes me want to hurl.

Caught In The Act - New York Times "Selectively Misquotes" Scientists To Fit Its "Prescribed Narrative"
 
The New York Times continues Trump's anti-China campaign by  claiming that China hindered a WHO investigation into the origins of the  SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and is withholding data.
 
On W.H.O. Trip, China Refused to Hand Over Important Data
The information could be key to determining how and when the outbreak started, and to learning how to prevent future pandemics.
 
Chinese scientists refused to share raw data that might  bring the world closer to understanding the origins of the coronavirus  pandemic, independent investigators for the W.H.O. said on Friday. The investigators, who recently returned from a fact-finding trip to  the Chinese city of Wuhan, said disagreements over patient records and  other issues were so tense that they sometimes erupted into shouts among  the typically mild-mannered scientists on both sides.
 
China’s continued resistance to revealing information about the early  days of the coronavirus outbreak, the scientists say, makes it  difficult for them to uncover important clues that could help stop  future outbreaks of such dangerous diseases.
 
“If you are data focused, and if you are a professional,” said Thea Kølsen Fischer,  a Danish epidemiologist on the team, then obtaining data is “like for a  clinical doctor looking at the patient and seeing them by your own  eyes.”

...

Peter Daszak, a member of the W.H.O.  team and the president of EcoHealth Alliance in New York, said the trip  was emotionally draining, as he and the team came to terms with the  trauma of the early days of the pandemic. The team interviewed some of  the first people to fall ill with Covid-19 in Wuhan, as well as medical  workers.
 
“The world doesn’t realize, you know, that they were the first to get  this thing,” Dr. Daszak said, “and they didn’t know how bad it was.” 
 
While the Times claims that the Chinese have more data than  they provided (they don't) and insinuates that they have something to  hide, the researchers quoted in its piece reject both as nonsense.
 
Linking the NYT propaganda piece Peter Daszak refuted its basic tone:
 
Peter Daszak @PeterDaszak - 11:27 UTC · Feb 13, 2021 This was NOT my experience on @WHO mission. As lead of animal/environment working group I found trust & openness w/ my China counterparts. We DID get access to critical new data throughout. We DID increase our understanding of likely spillover pathways.
 
New data included env. & animal carcass testing, names of  suppliers to Huanan Market, analyses of excess mortality in Hubei, range  of covid-like symptoms for months prior, sequence data linked to early  cases & site visits w/ unvetted live Q&A etc. All in report  coming soon! 
 
Quoting Daszak's tweet Thea Fischer pitched in:
 
Cont. reading: Caught In The Act - New York Times "Selectively Misquotes" Scientists To Fit Its "Prescribed Narrative" 
 
 Posted by b at 17:23 UTC | Comments (69) 

The neocons are still living in their fantasy world, and the reality is starting to peer through the veil. America looks like a real ignorant, and stupid, piece of evil elephant shit.

The New York Times told blatant lies there including quoting Dominic Dywer whom they claimed was part of the WHO team. 
 
Here Dwyer admits he was never on the team but part of a group of "independent experts".
 
"We go there as an international group and we're not part of the WHO, we're just independent experts."
 
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/13140456?__twitter_impression=true
 
Thea Fischer who was actually on the WHO covid origins team said the  quoting of her out of context to convey a message exactly opposite to  her experience was intentional (also known as lying). 
 
NYT usually are subtle and crafty with their lies. With some countries like China they are bald faced liars.
 
Posted by: Doryphore | Feb 13 2021 20:20 utc | 29
Here is Reuters taking the don't trust China narrative farther:
 
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-china/china-refused-to-provide-who-team-with-raw-data-on-early-covid-cases-team-member-says-idUSKBN2AD090
 
So now we will be endlessly debating "raw data". 
 
This type of psychological terror (deliberate sowing of confusion and  distrust)  inflicted on the general public constantly is, in my view,   criminal. 
 
Posted by: JB | Feb 13 2021 20:36 utc | 30

Ugh! It makes me want to drink a beer.

Beer belongs.
Beer Belongs.

Why is “democracy” so valuable?

It’s heavily promoted (don’t you know) that one-person, one-vote system is the pinnacle of “freedom” and “liberty” in the world. Which is rather strange as the founders of the United States said the absolute opposite.

And people are looking at these various systems of governance with a keen eye. Maybe there needs to be some changes they wonder…

Daniel Bell has put forward his views in favor of China's political meritocracy... against the one person one vote (Western Democracy model) as a mode of selection for political leaders. He has done this  in two books.

The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy
Princeton University Press, 2015. ISBN 9781400865505.
 
Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He was born in Montreal, educated at McGill and Oxford, has taught in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and has held research fellowships at Princeton's University Center for Human Values, Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences and Hebrew University's Department of Political Science. 
 
Here:
https://youtu.be/e63ro_suARA

Ah. The founders of America were terrified of democracies. They wanted the United States to be a Republic.

You must be swimming in that great delicious "democracy". How's it working out for ya?  

The Founders explicitly stated that democracies are dangerous and they always devolve into oligarchies, and if they still don't collapse from the corruption within, they become military empire that all tend to be consumed in great wars that pretty much destroy the nation irrevocably.  That's why they made the United States into a Republic. You know, like China is today. 

But don't my word for it. Read the Federalist Papers. Read what they had to say in their own words. It's on-line and it's free. great stuff, too.  It discusses in great detail things that are important.  

https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text
Beer.
Beer is necessary.
"The idiocy of  believing supposed democracy meaning  each individual vote is equal in an economy of staggering wealth inequality where politcal power ... blah blah"

Everyone's  vote in U.S. democracy is absolutely equal, the same as every  spectator's cheer is equal at a football match. It doesn't matter  whether you're cheering for the home team or the visitors, everyone's voice in the stadium has equal validity and value. Of course, it doesn't  determine the outcome of the game, but the crowd gets to feel it participated in the victory or defeat.

Maybe there's idiocy to be mined in conflating process with outcome.

John Rachel

Now for some perspective…

How did America move from a “freedom loving (and living) Republic” to a tyrannical military empire controlled by a minority of ultra-wealthy oligarchs? It all started off right. They were saying the right things, and drinking the right beverages…

Vintage Budweiser advertisement.
Saying the right things and drinking the right beverages.

.

The following is a reprint of “Colonial Americans were pretty much always drunk The American Revolution was built on a foundation of booze, led by tavern addicted Founding Fathers who could drink any frat boy under the table.” written on Christmas eve, December 24, 2020. Reprinted as found with some tasty MM modifications because, well, I am drinking some fine libations in honor of the Founders of the United States. Never the less, all credit to the authors.

Images of our Colonial forefathers usually involve powdered wigs, petticoats, and the thrill of throwing tons of tea into the Boston Harbor.

Woo, woo!

Although we often think of their era as proper and civilized, it turns out that the people who led the American Revolution knew how to party.

They were party animals! You bet-ya.

Beer powered revolution.

.

In fact, the American Revolution was built on a foundation of booze, led by tavern addicted Founding Fathers who could drink any college frat boy under the table.

Now…

Don’t you all just LOVE history?

Beer saved the Mayflower

The first settlers brought with them the English tradition of beer drinking.

Even during the famous 1620 voyage of Pilgrims on board the Mayflower, beer saved the voyage. The water aboard ship reportedly become brackish and potentially deadly while the beer on board remained drinkable.

The latter part of the voyage kept sailors and passengers alike happy with a good supply of beer. We tend to think of the Pilgrims as sober-faced, upright people who avoided fun at all times, but they obviously packed a lot of beer on board before embarking on a lengthy trip aboard the very crowded 110-foot Mayflower.

The Pilgrims were planning to go to Virginia but ended up in Massachusetts, landing on a cold, snowy, wind-blown coast on December 19, 1620. A minor inconvenience, you’d think.

The change in plans apparently was caused by the lack of water and the dwindling supply of beer on board the ship. Captain Christopher Jones recognized the need to preserve the dwindling stocks for his sailors on the return journey (which would be far too dangerous to undertake until the following spring), and so the passengers were encouraged to land near the top of Cape Cod.

Everyone loves beer.

.

Jones knew that the fresh water found in Massachusetts would be insufficient for the return voyage. First, the water might go bad on the return voyage; secondly, he and his sailors were not accustomed to drinking water.

His crew were not accustomed to drinking... water.

These instructions to keep beer on board the Mayflower for the return trip did not go down well with the Pilgrims. William Bradford complained that he and his companions “were hastened ashore and made to drink water, that the seamen might have the more beer.

Pilgrim William Wood complained that he did not dare drink the water in the wilderness, preferring beer.

He wrote his opinion of fresh water: “I dare not prefere it before good beere.” (Wellsprings: A Natural History of Bottled Spring Waters by Frank Chapelle).

Used to beer, the Pilgrims were quite upset that they had to drink water instead.

The Pilgrims in Massachusetts were not the first Europeans in North America to enjoy alcohol.

The Dutch also had a functioning brewery in what is now Lower Manhattan by 1613, beating the Mayflower immigrants, who would not have anything resembling a formal brewhouse until at least 1621. Even before that, the Roanoke colony tried brewing with corn as early as 1584 (obviously before going missing).

The Pilgrims’ first encounter was an order for beer

A Native American startled the Pilgrims on March 16, 1621, by walking into Plymouth Colony and greeting them in English.

His name was Samoset, and soon it became clear that he was just looking to fill his mug, specifically with beer.

"Hi dudes! My name is Sam, but you can call me Sam-o-set. Hey, I don't hope that you would mind having a few brewskies with me? I'm awfully tired and really thirsty."

Samoset knew European ways and the taste of a cold one because he was a sagamore (lower-level chief) hailing from an Eastern Abenaki tribe in Maine, where European fishermen had already established some trade routes.

He had picked up some English, as well as a hankering for the fishermen’s beer.

Everyone loves beer.

.

Native Americans produced their own alcoholic beverages before settlement, but these were often weaker drinks used mainly for ceremonial purposes.

And yes, Samoset was the guy that introduced the Pilgrims to Squanto, one of the primary translators who helped arrange the first Thanksgiving with the local chief.

Eight ounces a day

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.” 

– Benjamin Franklin

Oh baby!

A look into the daily drinking habits of our forefathers will explain how integral alcohol was to our history. Consider this: it is estimated that there were more taverns per capita than any other business in colonial America. In fact, the Colonial Williamsburg web site says:

Colonial Americans, at least many of them, believed alcohol could cure the sick, strengthen the weak, enliven the aged, and generally make the world a better place. They tippled, toasted, sipped, slurped, quaffed, and guzzled from dawn to dark.
Many started the day with a pick-me-up and ended it with a put-me-down. Between those liquid milestones, they also might enjoy a midmorning whistle wetter, a luncheon libation, an afternoon accompaniment, and a supper snort. If circumstances allowed, they could ease the day with several rounds at a tavern.
Gals love beer.
Alcohol lubricated such social events as christenings, weddings, funerals, trials, and election-day gatherings, where aspiring candidates tempted voters with free drinks. Craftsmen drank at work, as did hired hands in the fields, shoppers in stores, sailors at sea, and soldiers in camp. Then, as now, college students enjoyed malted beverages, which explains why Harvard had its own brewery. In 1639, when the school did not supply sufficient beer, President Nathaniel Eaton lost his job.

Colonial Americans drank more alcohol that in any other era, and certainly more than the national average today. It is estimated that the average American at the time drank eight ounces of alcohol a day.

A typical day started with a few shots of rum — coined an “Antifogmatic”— which would combat the morning fog. Back-breaking physical labor was a daily reality for the working class citizens of Colonial America, and this often led to another shot of rum by mid-morning, which was called a “cooler.” A little before lunch, our ancestors would enjoy a hard cider or two, and this would continue until it was time to visit the local tavern.

.

Upon dinnertime, they would enjoy a hearty meal and some brews with friends; claret, ratafias (a fortified wine or a fruit-based beverage), creams, punches, and other concoctions were also standard.

Before they went to bed?

The day would not be complete without a glass of wine to ease hardworking Americans into blissful sleep.

It’s no wonder that the rest of the world looked upon America as “bright and shining star” to emulate.

The American Revolution was fueled by spirits

“Wine is necessary for life.” 

– Thomas Jefferson

Although there were endless meetings and debates that paved the way for America during colonial times, our forefathers’ love for a good drink was just as vital. Indulging in a cold lager was not only embraced — it was pretty much expected.

Some of the most revered men of the American Revolution professed their love for a refreshing, relaxing beverage.

Thomas Jefferson planted vineyards at Monticello and encouraged others to take up the practice; he was also known to import thousands upon thousands of bottles of his favorite wine.

As for Washington, he operated his own whiskey distillery and it was said that he could dance the night away with four bottles of wine under his belt. His Revolutionary War personal expense account for alcohol from September 1775 to March 1776 amounted to over six thousand dollars (Washington & Kitman, 1970).

Franklin’s Return to Philadelphia, 1785, painted by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930) — with some, uh, later enhancements.
“My manner of living is plain…a glass of wine and a bit of mutton.” 

– George Washington
Beer is good for you.

.

Not only did alcohol provide a good time, it also caused some serious controversy — to the point of a war breaking out.

Wine almost sank ships — the Liberty Affair

American patriot John Hancock caused quite the stir when he smuggled Portuguese Madeira into the American colonies and things didn’t go exactly as smoothly as he had intended. The seizure of his ship sparked a riot and the burning of a British customs boat.

Here’s how the International Wine & Food Society describes the events:

Asked to name the key events that led to the American Revolution, many will bring up the Boston Massacre of 1770 or the Boston Tea Party of 1773. But another incident that proved to be just as critical in fostering the revolution was the Liberty Affair—an important turning point in American history during which Madeira played a central role.
Before John Hancock became famous for his signature, he was a Boston merchant and alleged smuggler who constantly thumbed his nose in the face of British tax collectors. On May 9, 1768 however, his sloop Liberty arrived with 25 pipes (large wooden barrels) of “the best sterling Madeira,” just one quarter of the vessel’s carrying capacity. 

Believing that he had unloaded the rest without paying the required duties, the ship was seized and Hancock was charged with smuggling. This resulted in one of the worst riots in Boston’s history when colonists, already infuriated with the Royal Navy for impressing them [the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion], violently revolted in the defense of Hancock and his supposedly smuggled wine. Call it the Boston Madeira Party!

Cheers to that!

Conclusions

Did you know that America is trying to ban alcohol again? Yup it’s true.

I had to read that twice. Then what the fuck are you supposed to drink at bars? Coke-cola? Sometimes I just read the American “news” and just shake my head. Is this all that delicious “democracy” that I keep hearing about? Is this what “freedom” is all about?

I guess that Pennsylvania is going to be “better” than Florida. I meet your ban and I raise you a double ban. Take that you sheeple!

Don’t even think about flying to PA or FL to have a good time. It ain’t gonna happen. No way. No how.

“Democracy” it’s finger lickin’ good!

Well, drinking white wine (I am drinking 53 degree hard grain right now (also known as “white wine”) makes me want to say “phooey” to all this stuff about “saving” America and recovering it to something worthwhile. As I drink I see the wisdom of the forefathers.

  • If it is working, you did good.
  • If it is broken, it is up to the people in-charge of running it, to fix it.

If that does NOT happen, then your system (that you put in place) is a failure. And you know what? You need to start again, all over.

I know, I know. Drinking is “taboo” in the United States.

But outside of it, it’s part of life. It makes and helps you see the insanity that the Untied States has become.

Whisky.
Doing things right.

.

The forefathers of the United States were smart.

Drunk, but smart.

But their wisdom is lost. It’s all off in dusty unread volumes in the back of old libraries. No one pays what they said, and give it any attention. For goodness gracious, people talk about how great “democracy” is!

That is so amazing. That is the LAST THING that they wanted to happen to the Untied States that they created. They warned about it. They pleaded. They wrote; “what ever you do… DON’T ever, ever establish a “democracy”. Because if you do you will create an oligarchy. And if you don’t stop it, it will evolve into a military empire and everyone’s lives will become “toast”.

Be toast - Idioms by The Free Dictionary
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/be+toast

toast, to be. To be doomed or unworthy of further consideration. 

This slangy usage dates from the twentieth century. It can be applied to a person, a group, an idea, a project, and so on. It must be distinguished from being the toast of something, such as “the toast of the Academy Awards,” which means a person receiving much acclaim.

The “last thing”.

They also smoked weed” don’t you know…

…(have you) ever watched the movie “Dazed and Confused”?

.

Or maybe the MM audience are all too “high brow”.

But they were correct.

Do your best, and show the way. If others abuse it, it’s not your role to change them. Let them learn from their mistakes. Let them make them and suffer the consequences. And while all this is going on, you all just go off to your nice “safe place”, cavort with pretty girls (or guys if that is your desire), sing a few songs, try to dance a jig or two, and eat some delicious food with some fine, fine libations.

Oh…

And please, make sure that you have some pet pals (dogs, cats, and horses) would be really nice. Make sure that you have some treats on hand. And let those “fuck ups” that are running your nation into the ground… suffer the consequences of their ignorance.

It’s time for some cheese and crackers, and some nice frothy cold beer. (Hey! Doesn’t that green lamp base to the right look like a 1960’s style bong to you all?) Ah. Remember the days when couch end tables were filled with magazines… Oh, those were the days.

.

I’ll tell you what.

Go be with others that share your appraisal of the current state of “fuck up”, and just enjoy life. You all will be gone soon enough. Don’t you know…

Trump did not drink alcohol.
Obama,love him or hate him, at least he drank beer.

And you know, the Chinese love to have fun too…

And yes they really do. Anyone that drinks beer and alcohol can’t be all bad. In fact, I argue that all of the disruption during 2020 was due to the non-drinking teetotalers of the American neocon administration. And that’s my strong opinion.

You all need to have a good time.

.

We all need to have a good time. It’s what humans do.

But there are people who have evolved past the basic needs of being human. Instead, they have become a different kind of creature. And I have discussed this at length elsewhere, don’t you know. We as humans need to get a little crazy and a little silly at times. I strongly believe this.

We as humans need to get a little crazy and a little silly at times. I strongly believe this.

.

But on a much more serious note. Take care of whom is running the nation. There are many, many psychopaths out there, and they all seem to evolve towards positions of power and control. You know, if you continue to let sociopaths and psychopaths run the United States Government, then this is what you all can look forward to…

Change the uniforms, and change the name of the targeted group. It’s coming to America you all. If you are port of the “undesirable group” this will be your fate. Sure as shit. Who’s gonna be the objects of this assault? Oh, you know. You know.

.

You know.

Don’t you?

Lately

Lately I have been researching my family history. Ah. It’s a long story. I’m West Prussian and Irish. A mutt. An American mutt living in China. But still, looking at my history shows some things that put a real smile on my face, and some perspective.

It also explains my love of beer, whiskey, and pretzels. Glorious, hot, fresh, steamy horseradish-covered pretzels.

Pretzel
Pretzel, hot, with mustard and horseradish. Yum!

.

Oh and don’t forget the kelbassa.

Kielbasa
Food

Kielbasa is any type of meat sausage from Poland, and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English the word typically refers to a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of …

Wikipedia

Oh, and I do love a good strudel, some fine Polish sausages, and some big-chested beer girls. Not to mention a tad bit of accordion music, and some jig dancing. Those Lederhosen also helps me get into the mood.

Lederhosen
Costume

Lederhosen are short or knee-length leather breeches that are worn as traditional garments in some regions of German-speaking countries. The longer ones are generally called Bundhosen or Kniebundhosen. Once common workwear across Central Europe, these clothes—or Tracht—are particularly associated with Bavaria and the Tyrol region.

Wikipedia
Beer Girls.
Beer Girls. Germany.

.

And some Beer People.

Beer People. Germany.

.

Beer people having fun. Here’s some more beer girls.

More beer girls. Why do they all look like my sisters and cousins?

.

Beer.

This was a post about beer, and some nonsense about America thrown in for things to talk about while drinking beer. I hope that you enjoyed my daily rant.

Phew! This tires me out. It’s time for a beer.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Food Index…

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Law 16 from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; Use absence to increase respect and honor (Full Text)

This is going to be another one of my great ramblings; a post about absence, and about family and about life. I know that you all want a nice short article that you can skim read, but that’s just not me. Sorry.

“- Mr. Snelgrove: What's the meaning of this, Peggy Sue?

- Peggy Sue: Well, Mr Snelgrove, I happen to know that in the future I will not have the slightest use for algebra, and I speak from experience.”

Here we are going to mix a few things up.

It’s gonna be a little bit of Robert Greene making an educated point, some Metallicman history, and stories. It’s a little bit about food and time travel, and a movie titled “Peggy Sue got Married”. Um. Not your everyday internet fare.

“-  Michael Fitzsimmons: So are you going to marry Mr. Blue Impala and  graze around with all the other sheep for the rest of your life?

- Peggy Sue: No... I already did that.”

We will begin with this thought…

How do you judge your importance?

I’ve noted that many artists and book authors did their “great works” while impoverished. And it was until they were dead and gone that they were recognized. And maybe that is the key. Perhaps it’s human nature to only appreciate what we cannot have.

Many “Don Juan’s” in the MM audience can relate to the story that the girls that they liked the most were impossible to get, while those that he didn’t like were relatively easy to obtain. Of course, I do not advocate their methods, or desire for relentless sexual adventures, no matter how exciting and interesting. Nor do I advocate their idea of conquest. All that actually rather irritates me.

I am talking about what our value is.

Many men in the MM audience would respond. They would say “That is easy. It is what you do and how much money you make.” And I would argue that this is a shallow technique that is easily discarded at your first lay off. Is it really possible for you to go from being a “most valued employee” to “worthless” in a matter of a few minutes?

Now the ladies in the audience might retort that it’s your appearance in the eyes of society that measures your worth. And even with that, I have to pause and reflect. So if this is true, then one late payment on a bill, or the gossip by someone down the street would be a measure of your value.

I do not think so either.

I think that it has to do with the degree of your accessibility. Or, in other words, how accessible you are to those around you.

“- Peggy Sue: We had one glorious night together, someday you'll remember and write about it.

- Michael Fitzsimmons: Yeah, I can dig that. Bittersweet perfection. Dogs of lust on leashes of memory.”

Hold that thought…

This is a complete reprint of the Law #16 from the fine Robert Greene book titled “The 48 Laws of Power”. This particular law states that a person can use absence to increase respect and honor. It is fully reproduced here for free. It is in glorious HTML with translation buttons to fit your home language, and there are no fees, memberships, or costs to do so. Nor are there any advertisements. Enjoy.

Now, this is a technique that truly works, and sad to say, it took me a while to understand it.

LAW 16

USE ABSENCE TO INCREASE RESPECT AND HONOR

JUDGMENT

Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.

Value arises from scarcity. The things that we miss, those that hold value to us are the exactly the same things that are missing in our lives today. They are now valuable instead of commonplace.

TRANSGRESSION AND OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Sir Guillaume de Balaun was a troubadour who roamed the South of France in the Middle Ages, going from castle to castle, reciting poetry, and playing the perfect knight. At the castle of Javiac he met and fell in love with the beautiful lady of the house, Madame Guillelma de Javiac. He sang her his songs, recited his poetry, played chess with her, and little by little she in turn fell in love with him. Guillaume had a friend, Sir Pierre de Barjac, who traveled with him and who was also received at the castle. And Pierre too fell in love with a lady in Javiac, the gracious but temperamental Viernetta.

THE CAMEL AND THE FLOATING STICKS

The first man who saw a camel fled; The second ventured within distance; The third dared slip a halter round its head. Familiarity in this existence Makes all things tame, for what may seem Terrible or bizarre, when once our eyes Have had time to acclimatize, Becomes quite commonplace. Since I’m on this theme, I’ve heard of sentinels posted by the shore Who, spotting something far-away afloat, Couldn’t resist the shout: “A sail! A sail! A mighty man-of-war!” Five minutes later it’s a packet boat, And then a skiff, and then a bale, And finally some sticks bobbing about. I know of plenty such To whom this story appliesPeople whom distance magnifies, Who, close to, don’t amount to much.

-SELECTED FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695

Then one day Pierre and Viernetta had a violent quarrel. The lady dismissed him, and he sought out his friend Guillaume to help heal the breach and get him back in her good graces. Guillaume was about to leave the castle for a while, but on his return, several weeks later, he worked his magic, and Pierre and the lady were reconciled. Pierre felt that his love had increased tenfold—that there was no stronger love, in fact, than the love that follows reconciliation. The stronger and longer the disagreement, he told Guillaume, the sweeter the feeling that comes with peace and rapprochement.

As a troubadour, Sir Guillaume prided himself on experiencing all the joys and sorrows of love. On hearing his friend’s talk, he too wanted know the bliss of reconciliation after a quarrel. He therefore feigned great anger with Lady Guillelma, stopped sending her love letters, and abruptly left the castle and stayed away, even during the festivals and hunts. This drove the young lady wild.

Guillelma sent messengers to Guillaume to find out what had happened, but he turned the messengers away. He thought all this would make her angry, forcing him to plead for reconciliation as Pierre had. Instead, however, his absence had the opposite effect: It made Guillelma love him all the more. Now the lady pursued her knight, sending messengers and love notes of her own. This was almost unheard of—a lady never pursued her troubadour. And Guillaume did not like it. Guillelma’s forwardness made him feel she had lost some of her dignity. Not only was he no longer sure of his plan, he was no longer sure of his lady.

Finally, after several months of not hearing from Guillaume, Guillelma gave up. She sent him no more messengers, and he began to wonder— perhaps she was angry? Perhaps the plan had worked after all? So much the better if she was. He would wait no more—it was time to reconcile. So he put on his best robe, decked the horse in its fanciest caparison, chose a magnificent helmet, and rode off to Javiac.

On hearing that her beloved had returned, Guillelma rushed to see him, knelt before him, dropped her veil to kiss him, and begged forgiveness for whatever slight had caused his anger. Imagine his confusion and despair— his plan had failed abysmally. She was not angry, she had never been angry, she was only deeper in love, and he would never experience the joy of reconciliation after a quarrel. Seeing her now, and still desperate to taste that joy, he decided to try one more time: He drove her away with harsh words and threatening gestures. She left, this time vowing never to see him again.

The next morning the troubadour regretted what he had done. He rode back to Javiac, but the lady would not receive him, and ordered her servants to chase him away, across the drawbridge and over the hill. Guillaume fled. Back in his chamber he collapsed and started to cry: He had made a terrible mistake. Over the next year, unable to see his lady, he experienced the absence, the terrible absence, that can only inflame love. He wrote one of his most beautiful poems, “My song ascends for mercy praying.” And he sent many letters to Guillelma, explaining what he had done, and begging forgiveness.

After a great deal of this, Lady Guillelma, remembering his beautiful songs, his handsome figure, and his skills in dancing and falconry, found herself yearning to have him back. As penance for his cruelty, she ordered him to remove the nail from the little finger of his right hand, and to send it to her along with a poem describing his miseries.

He did as she asked. Finally Guillaume de Balaun was able to taste the ultimate sensation—a reconciliation even surpassing that of his friend Pierre.

IIII MROSON IIII. COCK

While serving under the Duke Ai of Lu, T‘ien Jao, resenting his obscure position, said to his master, “I am going to wander far away like a snow goose. “What do you mean by that?” inquired the Duke. “Do you see the cock?” said T’ien Jao in reply. 

“Its crest is a symbol of civility; its powerful talons suggest strength; its daring to fight any enemy denotes courage; its instinct to invite others whenever food is obtained shows benevolence; and, last but not least, its punctuality in keeping the time through the night gives us an example of veracity. In spite. however, of these five virtues, the cock is daily killed to fill a dish on your table. 

Why? 

The reason is that it is found within our reach. On the other hand, the snow goose traverses in one flight a thousand li (kilometers). Resting in your garden, it preys on your fishes and turtles and pecks your millet. Though devoid of any of the cock’s five virtues, yet you prize this bird for the sake of its scarcity. This being so, I shall fly far like a snow goose.”

-ANCIENT CHINESE PARABLES, YU HSIU SEN, ED., 1974

Interpretation

Trying to discover the joys of reconciliation, Guillaume de Balaun inadvertently experienced the truth of the law of absence and presence. At the start of an affair, you need to heighten your presence in the eyes of the other. If you absent yourself too early, you may be forgotten. But once your lover’s emotions are engaged, and the feeling of love has crystallized, absence inflames and excites. Giving no reason for your absence excites even more: The other person assumes he or she is at fault. While you are away, the lover’s imagination takes flight, and a stimulated imagination cannot help but make love grow stronger. Conversely, the more Guillelma pursued Guillaume, the less he loved her—she had become too present, too accessible, leaving no room for his imagination and fancy, so that his feelings were suffocating. When she finally stopped sending messengers, he was able to breathe again, and to return to his plan.

What withdraws, what becomes scarce, suddenly seems to deserve our respect and honor. What stays too long, inundating us with its presence, makes us disdain it. In the Middle Ages, ladies were constantly putting their knights through trials of love, sending them on some long and arduous quest—all to create a pattern of absence and presence. Indeed, had Guillaume not left his lady in the first place, she might have been forced to send him away, creating an absence of her own.

Absence diminishes minor passions and inflames great ones, as the wind douses a candle and fans a fire.

-La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

For many centuries the Assyrians ruled upper Asia with an iron fist. In the eighth century B.C., however, the people of Medea (now northwestern Iran) revolted against them, and finally broke free.

Now the Medes had to establish a new government. Determined to avoid any form of despotism, they refused to give ultimate power to any one man, or to establish a monarchy. Without a leader, however, the country soon fell into chaos, and fractured into small kingdoms, with village fighting against village.

In one such village lived a man named Deioces, who began to make a name for himself for fair dealing and the ability to settle disputes.

He did this so successfully, in fact, that soon any legal conflict in the area was brought to him, and his power increased. Throughout the land, the law had fallen into disrepute—the judges were corrupt, and no one entrusted their cases to the courts any more, resorting to violence instead. When news spread of Deioces’ wisdom, incorruptibility, and unshakable impartiality, Medean villages far and wide turned to him to settle all manner of cases. Soon he became the sole arbiter of justice in the land.

At the height of his power, Deioces suddenly decided he had had enough. He would no longer sit in the chair of judgment, would hear no more suits, settle no more disputes between brother and brother, village and village.

Complaining that he was spending so much time dealing with other people’s problems that he had neglected his own affairs, he retired. The country once again descended into chaos. With the sudden withdrawal of a powerful arbiter like Deioces, crime increased, and contempt for the law was never greater. The Medes held a meeting of all the villages to decide how to get out of their predicament. “We cannot continue to live in this country under these conditions,” said one tribal leader. “Let us appoint one of our number to rule so that we can live under orderly government, rather than losing our homes altogether in the present chaos.”

And so, despite all that the Medes had suffered under the Assyrian despotism, they decided to set up a monarchy and name a king. And the man they most wanted to rule, of course, was the fair-minded Deioces. He was hard to convince, for he wanted nothing more to do with the villages’ in-fighting and bickering, but the Medes begged and pleaded—without him the country had descended into a state of lawlessness. Deioces finally agreed.

Yet he also imposed conditions. An enormous palace was to be constructed for him, he was to be provided with bodyguards, and a capital city was to be built from which he could rule. All of this was done, and Deioces settled into his palace. In the center of the capital, the palace was surrounded by walls, and completely inaccessible to ordinary people. Deioces then established the terms of his rule: Admission to his presence was forbidden. Communication with the king was only possible through messengers. No one in the royal court could see him more than once a week, and then only by permission.

Deioces ruled for fifty-three years, extended the Medean empire, and established the foundation for what would later be the Persian empire, under his great-great-grandson Cyrus. During Deioces’ reign, the people’s respect for him gradually turned into a form of worship: He was not a mere mortal, they believed, but the son of a god.

Interpretation

Deioces was a man of great ambition. He determined early on that the country needed a strong ruler, and that he was the man for the job.

In a land plagued with anarchy, the most powerful man is the judge and arbiter. So Deioces began his career by making his reputation as a man of impeccable fairness.

At the height of his power as a judge, however, Deioces realized the truth of the law of absence and presence: By serving so many clients, he had become too noticeable, too available, and had lost the respect he had earlier enjoyed. People were taking his services for granted. The only way to regain the veneration and power he wanted was to withdraw completely, and let the Medes taste what life was like without him. As he expected, they came begging for him to rule.

Once Deioces had discovered the truth of this law, he carried it to its ultimate realization. In the palace his people had built for him, none could see him except a few courtiers, and those only rarely. As Herodotus wrote, “There was a risk that if they saw him habitually, it might lead to jealousy and resentment, and plots would follow; but if nobody saw him, the legend would grow that he was a being of a different order from mere men.”

A man said to a Dervish: “Why do I not see you more often?” The Dervish replied, “Because the words ‘Why have you not been to see me?’ are sweeter to my ear than the words ‘Why have you come again?”’

-Mulla jami, quoted in ldries Shah’s Caravan of Dreams, 1968

KEYS TO POWER

Everything in the world depends on absence and presence. A strong presence will draw power and attention to you—you shine more brightly than those around you. But a point is inevitably reached where too much presence creates the opposite effect: The more you are seen and heard from, the more your value degrades. You become a habit. No matter how hard you try to be different, subtly, without your knowing why, people respect you less and less. At the right moment you must learn to withdraw yourself before they unconsciously push you away. It is a game of hide-and-seek.

The truth of this law can most easily be appreciated in matters of love and seduction. In the beginning stages of an affair, the lover’s absence stimulates your imagination, forming a sort of aura around him or her. But this aura fades when you know too much—when your imagination no longer has room to roam. The loved one becomes a person like anyone else, a person whose presence is taken for granted. This is why the seventeenth- century French courtesan Ninon de Lenclos advised constant feints at withdrawal from one’s lover. “Love never dies of starvation,” she wrote, “but often of indigestion.”

The moment you allow yourself to be treated like anyone else, it is too late—you are swallowed and digested. To prevent this you need to starve the other person of your presence. Force their respect by threatening them with the possibility that they will lose you for good; create a pattern of presence and absence.

Once you die, everything about you will seem different. You will be surrounded by an instant aura of respect. People will remember their criticisms of you, their arguments with you, and will be filled with regret and guilt. They are missing a presence that will never return. But you do not have to wait until you die: By completely withdrawing for a while, you create a kind of death before death. And when you come back, it will be as if you had come back from the dead—an air of resurrection will cling to you, and people will be relieved at your return. This is how Deioces made himself king.

Napoleon was recognizing the law of absence and presence when he said, “If I am often seen at the theater, people will cease to notice me.” Today, in a world inundated with presence through the flood of images, the game of withdrawal is all the more powerful. We rarely know when to withdraw anymore, and nothing seems private, so we are awed by anyone who is able to disappear by choice. Novelists J. D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon have created cultlike followings by knowing when to disappear.

Another, more everyday side of this law, but one that demonstrates its truth even further, is the law of scarcity in the science of economics. By withdrawing something from the market, you create instant value. In seventeenth-century Holland, the upper classes wanted to make the tulip more than just a beautiful flower—they wanted it to be a kind of status symbol.

Making the flower scarce, indeed almost impossible to obtain, they sparked what was later called tulipomania. A single flower was now worth more than its weight in gold. In our own century, similarly, the art dealer Joseph Duveen insisted on making the paintings he sold as scarce and rare as possible. To keep their prices elevated and their status high, he bought up whole collections and stored them in his basement. The paintings that he sold became more than just paintings—they were fetish objects, their value increased by their rarity. “You can get all the pictures you want at fifty thousand dollars apiece—that’s easy,” he once said. “But to get pictures at a quarter of a million apiece—that wants doing!”

Image:

The Sun. It can only be appreciated by its absence.

The longer the days of rain, the more the sun is craved. But too many hot days and the sun overwhelms. Learn to keep yourself obscure and make people demand your return.

Extend the law of scarcity to your own skills. Make what you are offering the world rare and hard to find, and you instantly increase its value.

There always comes a moment when those in power overstay their welcome. We have grown tired of them, lost respect for them; we see them as no different from the rest of mankind, which is to say that we see them as rather worse, since we inevitably compare their current status in our eyes to their former one. There is an art to knowing when to retire. If it is done right, you regain the respect you had lost, and retain a part of your power.

The greatest ruler of the sixteenth century was Charles V. King of Spain, Hapsburg emperor, he governed an empire that at one point included much of Europe and the New World. Yet at the height of his power, in 1557, he retired to the monastery of Yuste.

All of Europe was captivated by his sudden withdrawal; people who had hated and feared him suddenly called him great, and he came to be seen as a saint. In more recent times, the film actress Greta Garbo was never more admired than when she retired, in 1941.

For some her absence came too soon—she was in her mid-thirties— but she wisely preferred to leave on her own terms, rather than waiting for her audience to grow tired of her.

Make yourself too available and the aura of power you have created around yourself will wear away. Turn the game around: Make yourself less accessible and you increase the value of your presence.

Authority:

Use absence to create respect and esteem. If presence diminishes fame, absence augments it.

A man who when absent is regarded as a lion becomes when present something common and ridiculous. Talents lose their luster if we become too familiar with them, for the outer shell of the mind is more readily seen than its rich inner kernel. Even the outstanding genius makes use of retirement so that men may honor him and so that the yearning aroused by his absence may cause him to be esteemed. 

-(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

This law only applies once a certain level of power has been attained.

The need to withdraw only comes after you have established your presence; leave too early and you do not increase your respect, you are simply forgotten. When you are first entering onto the world’s stage, create an image that is recognizable, reproducible, and is seen everywhere. Until that status is attained, absence is dangerous—instead of fanning the flames, it will extinguish them.

In love and seduction, similarly, absence is only effective once you have surrounded the other with your image, been seen by him or her everywhere. Everything must remind your lover of your presence, so that when you do choose to be away, the lover will always be thinking of you, will always be seeing you in his or her mind’s eye.

Remember: In the beginning, make yourself not scarce but omnipresent. Only what is seen, appreciated, and loved will be missed in its absence.

Conclusion

Peggy Sue before the big event.
Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.

.

It took me a while to appreciate this law. I think that we came to take for granted what we have, and then when it is gone, we are often left surprised and disoriented. Imagine what the you today would act, if you went back in time to meet your family, and friends when you were just a teenage. What would it be like?

There is an old 1980’s movie titled “Peggy Sue Got Married”. In it, the main character goes back in time and relives her high school years. And there she meets people who are now long dead, and forgotten…

Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married

.

I think that this movie resonates with many people simply because once we age, those familial associations are no longer there. It’s not just that time changes you, and that everything is different, it’s that all the old associations, and family are simply gone.

My father once took me to a funeral wake when I was about 17 years old. It was his cousin. He was a man who I may have met once or twice and who I would see in my grandparents house from time to time.

What is the difference between a wake and funeral?

The key difference between a wake and a funeral is that a wake is a time for visitation and commemoration of the dead, while a funeral is a formal ceremony which is conducted by an officiant. In many cases, both a wake and a funeral are held as part of a series of rituals.

We went inside and saw all these people who I did not know.

I ran into my Auntie and her children, my cousins. We said a few words and then that was it, but there was an event during the wake that I will never, ever forget.

He said…

“Look around. Look at all these people. In a few more years, they will all be dead. I will be dead. You will never see them again, and you will never see their families or visit with them. These people, these connections will all disappear. And life will go on, and you will make new families and new connections to take their place.

Polish Hill view of the church.
Polish Hill showing our church in the distance.
"Oh, Ma...Chanel No.5 Always Makes Me Think Of Home" - Peggy Sue                                  Blooeyz200111 August 2002             
                              
What a great movie!  Originally intended for Debra Winger, but Kathleen Turner is wonderful  as the title character Peggy Sue. It's a time-travel movie about a 42  year old woman who gets transported back in time to high school (circa  early 1960's). Who wouldn't love an opportunity like that, not to  mention being 18 again?? 

My favorite scene is when she walks back into  her house, & sees her mom young again, while that beautiful music  plays on the soundtrack. 

It's so touching & heartfelt. 

This movie  has it all. Great acting, comedy, drama, fantasy, & a good story.  Nicholas Cage can get annoying at times, but he felt this was the best  way to portray his character (Charlie). He gets to "sing" in this movie  too ("He Don't Love You"). Look for a very early performance by Jim  Carrey. The cast also includes Helen Hunt & Catherine Hicks (the mom  on the TV show "7th Heaven").

Now…

At the time, I didn’t really understand what my father was trying to say. I thought that he meant that over time everyone will die. I will never see them again.

Well, he said that, but he meant something deeper.

He was trying to say that once your relatives die, you will no longer have those family connections ever again. They will sever, and your little family will start to shrink. It will get smaller and smaller over time.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
One of my favorite movies of all time!  
6 February 2003 | by chrisuab                                            
                                              
This movie is definitely in my top ten.  

One  reason is Kathleen Turner's acting.  She does a wonderful job throughout  the movie, even though she may look older than a teenager when she goes  back in time.  (However, have you noticed how teenagers in high school  through the years look younger and younger?  My mom's high school  yearbook appears to be filled with 30 year olds.)  

Another reason I love  the movie is that it makes my brain ponder on what I would do if I could go back to high school.  

Peggy revisiting her young mother, seeing her baby sister, and being able to see her grandparents again one last time is just a beautiful thing in itself.  

I guess I just like  reminiscing about my childhood, which is probably why I like this movie.   (Even though I'm a child of the 80's.)  Very few things bother me in  this movie.  And no, it's not Nicolas Cage's accent!  That didn't bother  me that much.  :)  

...

I recommend this to anyone who thinks about going to a high  school reunion or wishes they could go back in time to do some things  differently.                                      

The big thing about aging and watching people die isn’t about the end of their lives. But rather instead, how the loss of that relationship and all the associated family relations will affect your life.

“- Peggy Sue: I think I had a heart attack and died at the reunion!

- Richard Norvik: Well, you look great for a corpse.”

Oh, we see the elements of this.

We see the disappearance of special family or ethnic foods that we just cannot get at McDonald’s or Pantera Bread. And we don’t think about it. Years go by. And the years turn into decades. We don’t realize the value and importance that it held for us in our lives.

Polish Stuffed Cabbage (Golomki)
Polish Stuffed Cabbage (Golomki)

.

Maybe you all chuckle at this.

“- Peggy Sue: Grandpa, if you had a chance to go back and do it all differently, what would you have changed?

- Barney Alvorg: Well, I would have taken better care of my teeth.”

You say… “Well, you miss it, you can go ahead and make it yourself. Nothing is stopping you.” Yeah. It’s sort-of-true.

I can get a recipe off the internet. I can go order the special ingredients off the internet, and in a few weeks I can try my hand at making the dish myself. And I can go ahead and it it myself, or present my “creation” to my friends and family. Perhaps.

But this is the REAL WORLD.

Not a would-of, could-of, should-of what-if world of possibilities. Sure I can run for the President of the United States. Sure, I can try to swim the Pacific ocean and arrive in San Francisco. I can go ahead and make these dishes.

But it’s not the same.

There are entire branches of my family that I haven’t seen since High School. I have no idea who my relatives are, where they are or what they are doing. Time has severed my connections and let me drift and float in the wind.

Peggy Sue Got Married
Scene from the movie Peggie Sue Got Married (1986).

.

There was a time where I was pretty much related to everyone on “Polish Hill” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I could walk down the street and complete strangers would tell me to say “hi” to my one Uncle, or give me a message to take to my grandmother (my Busia). I could walk down a side road and then be pulled inside some distant relative’s house and given a bowl of soup and a sandwich with the family chatted in the kitchen.

I have come to miss that.

Polish Hill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA.

It’s hard.

We all grow up. We all get married. We all get established and are busy with our jobs, our work and our careers. Life moves on.

But our past…

Over time gets buried under the “news” and the “new” events of the day.

Another view of Polish Hill.
Typical Polish Hill. This view is about one block from my Busia’s house.

And today…

…How many MM readers remember something like that? Is that what you have today? Is that still a part of our life, or is it all gone away?

Is it gone away?

Never to return.

Local bar photograph.
Inside a local bar on Polish Hill in Pittsburgh.
Delightful Romance About Reevaluation of Life                                  claudio_carvalho12 June 2005             
                              
In the reunion of  the twentieth-fifth anniversary of high school, the former popular  student Peggy Sue, who is facing a divorce of her husband Charlie Bodell  (Nicolas Cage), faints and wakes up in 1960. 

The experienced Peggy Sue  decides to change and improve her life in this new opportunity.

"Peggy  Sue Got Married" is a delightful and charming fantasy about  reevaluation and a second chance in life. 

The story is very beautiful,  the production is very careful and I am really surprised how underrated  this movie is in IMDb. I do not get tired of this film, and it is among  my favorite romances. Kathleen Turner is extremely beautiful in the lead  role, and watching this movie in 2005, it is a great chance to see  names like Jim Carrey, Joan Allen and Sofia Coppola twenty years ago in  the beginning of their careers.
Photo of Povitica Polish Holiday bread.
Povitica Polish Holiday bread. Polish cuisine is a style of cooking and food preparation originating in or widely popular in Poland. Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become very eclectic due to Poland’s history and it shares many similarities with neighbouring German, Czech, Slovak and Silesian as well as Jewish culinary traditions. Polish-styled cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.

People take you for granted.

By going away, you make yourself indispensable.

Remember what it is like…

Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married
"The girl's gone, let's play poker!"                                  BumpyRide9 November 2004             
                              
I'm surprised by  the number of people on here who don't like this movie. Like a few of  the positive reviewers I'd have to say this is one of my favorite,  "contemporary classics." 

The story is exquisite, who wouldn't want to go  back to a time when things were a bit simpler and someone was there to  take care of you and make you feel safe? Whenever I stumble upon it, I  end up watching it. Too many scenes start the old water works for me.

Peggy  seeing her little sister for the first time, going into her old  bedroom, and hearing her grandmother's voice on the phone are all quite  touching.

Call me crazy but I just love the moment where Charlie takes Peggy down into the basement and confronts her about what is going  on. When he leaves, Peggy opens a music box, pulls out a cigarette and lights it.

Another special moment happens when Peggy smokes a joint and talks about what she'd like to be when she grows up, as she turns around and around under a starry sky.

This is quite a good movie, filled with many special performances and scenes along the way.

While the movie is about other things. Take notice in how the main character Peggy Sue reacts to meeting the family and friends who are now long gone.

People do not appreciate things until they are gone.

Comfortable as an old shoe...                                  
BeafyBear18 September 2003             
                              
This movie is  definitely on my Top 20 list of all time favorite movies. Whenever I  come across it while channel surfing, I end up watching it again-and I  hate watching movies that are edited for TV!

As others have  pointed out, it showcases so many talented actors.  Joan Allen is great  here, as is Catherine Hicks.  And the amazing Barbara Harris, whom I  adore for her work on the stage, is excellent and dead-on as Peggy's  mother.  Jim Carrey is here as well and surprise, he's overacting in  most of his scenes!  While I've never completely figured out why  Nicholas Cage was encouraged to employ the weird-ass voice that he did,  his performance winds up being very likeable.  Barry Miller is also  great as Richard.

The premise is cool.  Who among us wouldn't  want to have such and opportunity (OK, maybe not the passing out in  public part)?  As a person that grew up in the 60s, I'd love to return  and see some of the sights and sounds that filled my innocent,  pre-Internet world.  

And the scene when Peggy hears her Grandmother's voice on the phone makes me cry every time.

I likey!

Last comment…

Handles time travel movie in a very compelling and emotional way                                  squirrel_burst28 February 2015             
                              
There's something  about "Peggy Sue Got Married" that really stuck with me. It's like when  the premise and way the movie was made is written on paper, you think  "There's no way this is going to work" but then it does. 

I was really  surprised with how much this picture affected me emotionally.

Kathleen  Turner plays Peggy Sue Bodell, who is attending her 25-year high school  reunion with her daughter Beth (Helen Hunt). Peggy Sue married right  out of high school but now she and her husband, Charlie (Nicolas Cage)  have separated. 

It's awkward enough answering the same questions over and over to the people that haven't seen you in decades but then her husband shows up and things go from bad to worse. 

She is nevertheless  named "Prom Queen" and accepts the award, but when on stage, she faints.  

When she wakes up, she discovers that it's once again the spring of  1960. With her memories of the future, she tries to alter her past for  the better. The film follows her as she rediscovers who she was at the  time and tries to find a way to return to the present.

There's  something about this movie that really hits home. 

Traveling back in  time and altering the past is a desire that in a way, everyone has. 

Sure  people tell you that they wouldn't go back and fix their past mistakes  because "those mistakes made them who they are" but come on, we all know  the day you wake up in your high-schooler's body, the first thing  you're doing is buying Baseball cards to stash away, warning people  about 9/11 and meeting Elvis in person, before he gets fat. 

Peggy Sue seizes the opportunity to do that stuff right away, but then gets  side-tracked when she realizes that this trip back in time can be a very  emotional experience. 

With the body of a teenager and the mind of a mother, she reacts very differently to her own parents and realizes how  much she missed being a teenager, or being in the same house as her mother, father and sister, or her grandparents (who have in present day  been dead for some time). 

There's something really touching about that  and it makes you think back at your own teenage years; if you could go  back, who would you be nicer to, who would you appreciate more, who  would you stand up to? 

Yes it would be awesome to return to a time where  you could amass money and power, or change history for the better, but there is also something uniquely appealing about just being able to interact with the people from your own past and get a new perspective on what the world was like back then.

One of my favorite moments in  the film is when Peggy is talking to her then-boyfriend Charlie  (Nicholas Cage). 

This isn't the same guy as he is years later. He's a  nervous kid who is doing everything to impress her and is completely in  love with the woman. He's anxious and vulnerable too. 

Check out the  scene when Peggy, who now knows the man better than he does finds that  she is once again, falling in love with him. She tries to initiate sex  with him in his car, but the guy is so taken aback that he refuses and  kicks her out. Isn't that what would really happen if you were  confronted with someone that was 25 years older than you are, but was  disguised as someone your own age? 

It's little moments like that that  really make the movie because it doesn't feel contrived despite the  outlandish premise, it feels absolutely genuine.

Another element  that really helps make you buy into this whole situation are the  performances. With excellent costumes and makeup, we have Jim Carrey,  Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Catherine Hicks and others playing both adults  and teenagers and the effect isn't perfect, but the performances sell  them. Some of the people I was watching with found that Nicolas Cage as  Charlie had a pretty irritating voice when he was 18, but I found that  it was very believable that he would have a goofy, nervous voice when he  was younger. 

I'm pretty sure if I looked at any recordings of myself at  that age, I would have been pretty annoying too. The actor that really  needs to have the spotlight on her is Kathleen Turner, who does a  fantastic job. There's almost an implication that while inside the body  of her 18-year old self, her mind goes back and forth between the maturity of her older and younger self. She pulls it off not with words, but with subtle changes in her face. 

Any scene where Peggy Sue is  interacting with her mother contains many subtle nuances and although it seems impossible, the 32-year old actress convincingly plays a teenager. It's a spectacular performance and you're an aspiring  actor/actress you need to check it out and study this film so get  yourself a good DVD and start wearing out that fast forward and rewind  button.

This movie “Peggy Sue got Married” has scene after scene of “family mysteries” that you were completely oblivious to as a teenager, but recognize immediately as an adult.

Like when her mother is selling her jewellery …

Or when she sees that her boyfriend was trying really hard to audition to a talent scout and fails…

…all things that she had no knowledge of.

A typical view of Polish Hill.
A typical Polish Hill shop.

And now that my family is mostly dead and gone, the familial relationships are broken and the survivors are scattered all over the place, I too wish that I appreciated the treasures that the family bonds held. i too miss the past. Not so much the rotary telephones, the rabbit-eared television set, the crank-windows in the car, the free air hose for the tires int he gas station, or really, really, REALLY low price for a cup of coffee…

…I miss the people and the relationships that they represented to me. I miss that feeling of belonging. I miss that feeling of community. I miss that “membership” that being alone, in a far away land denies me.

We don’t appreciate things until we lose them.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my 48 Laws of Power Index here…

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Master Index

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The primary fundamentals of an affirmation and prayer campaign that you must never forget.

I practice what I preach. I, like you all, run and operate intention prayer campaigns. The big difference is that I have been running them for decades and out of necessity. But even I need to keep a focus and an overview of how this all works. And to this end, I utilize a like “cheat sheet” to remind me. In fact, I will go as far as to say that the “cheat sheet” is a necessary component to all affirmation prayer campaigns. In this article / post I replicate my “cheat sheet” that I use daily. I do this to keep me focused on the “big picture” and as a reminder as to how all this works within our reality.

I hope, sincerely, that it is as useful to you as it is to me.

The rules

There are six (x6) major rules, or laws, that you must obey to have your prayer affirmations work. They are…

  • You attract good, or bad, experiences based on your thoughts.
  • Thinking about something invites it into your reality. This is true even if you don’t want it.
  • The more you focus on something, the more powerful it becomes.
  • It’s far better to trust your emotions than to over-think or reason things out.
  • You can make good things happen by thinking about them more.
  • Your environment affects your thoughts, and your thoughts affect your environment.

Let’s go one by one through these rules.

You attract good, or bad, experiences based on your thoughts.

The one that speaks most about an illness, ends up getting the illness. The one that speaks about success and wealth gets prosperity and wealth. You attract everything you think about. By focusing on something you make it happen.

Thoughts are the ONLY way that conscious is able to control the reality that it inhabits. That’s it. Thoughts, create actions that the brain is commanded to obey. In order to have a life that you enjoy, you must silence your brain, and improve the command of your emotions. Once you are successful in doing this, your entire world becomes your creation, and you become as God intended.

If you do not, then you are just a five year old in a china shop. You will end up destroying valuable opportunities that are destined to manifest in your life. But now, cannot, because your thoughts destroyed the opportunities presented to you.

Children making a mess.
Children do not know the consequences of their actions. They do not understand the value of things. They do not see the connections between their actions and how they affect their surroundings. This is exactly how you must understand how thoughts work within our reality.

Thinking about something invites it into your reality. This is true even if you don’t want it.

When you think about something, it tends to spawn other thoughts. This is true whether it is "good" or "bad". The key to this is to only think about that which you like and want to happen. Stop thinking about what you fear or are afraid of.

Worry and fear are not just a nuisance, they are “wrecking balls” to your reality. Anyone who is trying to generate fear, or cause you to worry are taking an active effort to destroy your reality. Realize this.

They are bad, evil and dangerous to your reality.

Now, it is true that these other people are “quantum shadows” but within your reality they are REAL. They create events and you end up reacting to the creations that they spawn. You have a responsibility to identify the source of all your worries and fears, and then take active and proactive actions to prevent them from influencing your reality.

Other people use our fears and worries to control us. This, in turn, shapes our thoughts, when then in turn alter and fabricate our reality.

The more you focus on something, the more powerful it becomes.

This allows you to create your own reality by attracting the things that you want to have in your life. This can be physical things, people, relationships or the environment which surrounds you. Fears and worry allow bad things to enter your reality and manifest. The volume of the specific thoughts that you have is directly proportional to the power they manifest.

One of the biggest problems to our happiness is the constant onslaught of negative “news” bombarding us from social networks, alternative “news” and our government. This in turn shapes what we think about. We start dwelling on those thoughts and before we know it, all of our positive affirmations disappear in a flood of negative news.

Do not allow it.

Don't be affected by the news media.
As the “news” media rages on about guns and gun control, violence skyrockets and people break records in the purchase of guns and ammo.

It’s far better to trust your emotions than to over-think or reason things out.

Listen to your intuition. Your brain is a machine or a computer that runs commands. Your higher self; your consciousness is accessed by our feelings. Not by the brain. Let your "feelings" or your emotions guide your life, and use the brain to fill in the day to day details that you must deal with.

To do otherwise is a very common mistake. Never allow your brain to “do the heavy lifting”. It just runs programs. Get in tune with your feelings, run on instinct more, and then use the brain to carry out your commands.

When I was waiting in jail to go to prison, everyone around me were constantly berating me and telling me about all the horrible things that awaited me. I was quite shaken up. That’s true and I was a nervous wreck. I think that they took a real sinister bent in doing that. But my over all feeling that it wouldn’t be all that bad, that I would be fine, thought it wouldn’t be enjoyable.

In hindsight, it was my feelings that were correct, and my brain that was wrong.

Do not allow yourself to over-think and get all caught up in your imagination or your thoughts, and most certainly do not get all worried about the “news” or what others think. Trust your feelings. They will tell you exactly what is going on.

A Special Note...

Sometimes your "feelings" will describe a bad or horrible event. And it is something that you will want to avoid. It is at those moments that you will conduct a prayer / affirmation campaign to thwart the impending doom that you feel.

Such is the case with the Trump Trade War leading towards a thermonuclear exchange between Russia & China against the USA in 2020. MM readers will know what I am talking about. You use your "feelings" to guide your prayer campaign. Not the other way around.

You can make good things happen by thinking about them more.

"Want" and "desire" consists of focusing attention on a given subject, while at the same time experiencing positive emotion. When you target a subject, event, person, or item... and only direct positive thoughts and strong emotion regarding what you want. It will enter your reality very quickly.

It’s not just that you need to control what you think, but you need to control how often you think about things. People with OCD will have an easy and a hard time with this. Being able to focus all your thoughts and energies towards a singular objective is the guaranteed methodology to make your dreams and desires manifest.

Think only what you want.

Do not think about what you fear or are afraid of.

Realize that things will work themselves out. Do not obsess on working out ways and means to make something happen. Just think and believe that they will happen the way that you want them to, and they will. Put all of your thoughts and energies into good, solid, productive actions that will manifest your dreams.

Good thoughts must dominate your life.
You image what you want in your life and you let those images dominate your thoughts. Over time, the thoughts will crush all the negative and worrisome thoughts that have been wrecking your life.

Your environment affects your thoughts, and your thoughts affect your environment.

Your reality is constructed from your thoughts. If you control your thoughts you can control your reality. Thus if you want to live in a tropical paradise with a tropical drink in your hand, and a straw hat on your head focus on that and think about it to the exclusion of everything else. It will manifest for you.
Your thoughts will change your reality.

After I left prison, I noticed that no matter what I did, I kept on running into fraudsters, tricksters, and petty criminals. This was true even though I really had not desire to think about where I just left. It was almost like I dragged an non-visible reality around me that was “polluted” by the environment that I had just left.

Once you find yourself in a good environment, you should never leave it. Not for money. Not for “success”, or not for promises of [fill in the blank here]. Your reality is the environment that you create, and whether it is good or bad, it transcends much more than the physically observed attributes. It includes the non-visible reality as well.

It will take time for the “poisoned” non-physical reality to dissipate. So be aware of this, and work only on building upon and improving the reality that you manifest.

Your environment will drag along with the thoughts that you generate.
Your environment will affect your reality. And when you leave one environment, the thoughts associated with the old environment will continue to affect your new environment. You you must control what you think, especially when you move to a new location.

Conclusions

I pretty much review and remind myself of these six points at least once a week. If you don’t do so, it’s easy to fall into the trap that you mind constructs for you. You must always strive to be in a state of constant awareness of who and what you really are. And not get caught up in other non-important activities.

Do you want more?

I have more posts like this in my Affirmation / Prayer Index here…

Intention Campaigns

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What are “shadow people” in the MWI.

This is a MAJestic post. It fits somewhere in between “what is the nature of the universe” and “how thoughts can alter our reality”. This article focuses on the idea that when you are in a world-line you are pretty much “alone”. Everyone else are just “shadows” or “shadow people” that occupy the world-line that you inhabit. Here we are going to spend more time flushing out what “shadow people” are, and what you are when you are on a world-line.

We covered some of this material in other posts.

Here we are going to elaborate on some of the finer details to help provide a better picture of what is actually going on. And of course, this knowledge that I am transcribing to the MM audience is not the mainstream scientific understanding (at least as I understand it), but rather what the <redacted> benefactors that worked with us at MAJestic believe that it is.

You, being who you are, can take it or leave it, and even ignore this article. But I would argue that you need to pay attention as it will best describe how the universe actually works, in far better detail than anything currently available within conventional science.

I have simplified the way the universe works so that people can understand it. And this posts leaves the simplification to start getting to the intricacies of the entire system.

Quick Review – “Time”

We are consciousness. Not a physical being.

Our consciousness is part of something much larger. We refer to this “bigger” thing as a “soul”.

Everything that you know, experience and think derives from your consciousness.

This consciousness constantly moves.

It moves from a fixed (unchanging) world-line to another world-line. We move from one to the other, and we call this movement “time”.

“Time” is the movement of your consciousness from one world-line to another.

Consciousness defines “time”.

Quick Review- Properties of a world-line

Each world-line is static.

Meaning that nothing is moving. A “world-line” is a frozen moment in time.

And each world-line represents, not only a frozen moment in time, of what have happened in the past, but also what will happen in the future. As well as every single “what-if” world-lines no matter how trivial.

And while we consider them to be “world-lines”, they are actually a small frozen in place complete universe. With planets, galaxies, stars, and all sorts of things that we associate with “our reality”.

Each world-line is a frozen universe.

Quick Review – A Template

For our purposes, we can consider world-lines to occupy a “location” independent of time and space. Thus it is very difficult to associate them with any kinds of geometry. Never the less, these world-lines can be “stacked”, “arranged” or “associated” with others for purposes of invention. Meaning; These frozen world-lines can be arranged to provide a utility, or a purpose.

A “template” is an arrangement of world-lines.

The world-lines are set up so that it is easy for consciousness to move from one to another, and thus experience “time”. This arrangement has elements of intelligent design inherent in it.

Obviously, those world-lines that are most similar to each other are organized in close proximity. It is called a “template”.

Quick review – Pre-birth template

A “pre-birth” (world-line) Template is an arranged template.

It is referred to as a “pre-birth” template because the Soul created it (arranged it) prior to your consciousness entering the physical body on world-line number one.

It is an arrangement of world-lines with the intent on creating a (more or less) “default” path of least resistance for a (given specific) consciousness to travel through.

The consciousness, of course, can enter any world-lines that it’s thoughts desire. However, the pre-birth template defines the path of “least resistance” for the consciousness. This template is pre-arranged specifically for the consciousness to acquire specific experiences while it is part of a physical body.

This manifests in a very simple manner.

A person finds a $100 bill on the sidewalk.

The default action, and the most likely response, is for the person to pick up the money and put it in his/her pocket. That is the adjacent world-line route upon the pre-birth template. It is the easy to implement world-line migration path that the consciousness would / should take.

However, other options are available.

These other options lie off that of the pre-birth world-line template. They can include...

[1] Picking up the money, and lighting it on fire.
[2] Picking it up and using it as toilet paper.
[3] Ignoring the money.
[4] Putting it in a Salvation Army donation canister.
[5] Giving it to the neighborhood kids to play with.

For most consciousnesses, the easiest path – “the path of least resistance” – is the pre-birth template. The consciousness can take very little initiative, aside from following the conditions and situations presented to them, and experience life as defined by the template.

Following the path of least resistance on a pre-birth world-line template is to live a “fated life”.

For most consciousnesses, the easiest path – “the path of least resistance” – is the pre-birth template.

Quick review – Slide

When you, as a consciousness, decide to do something out of the normal, something difficult or something extraordinary… you travel off the template. This travel, is automatic, and it appears that you “slide” off onto some other template.

A slide is when you exit the pre-birth world-line template and go to another template.

Moving off of the pre-birth world-line template is known as a “slide”. You “slide off” of it and enter a new template. This new template can provide you with new experiences and new opportunities. However, unless you maintain your position within that new template, you will always revert back to your original pre-birth world-line template.

Quick review – Occupancy

99.99999% of world-lines are empty.

Meaning that all they are, are just full and populated with other people, animals and things without consciousness. And only YOU, the one who is moving, possesses any kind of consciousness.

These people, and animals, are referred to as “shadows” or Shadow people” because while they appear to move and think, they do not have a consciousness like you have.

They are the “what if” actions, and scenery that your consciousness interacts with.

Everything in the world-line is scenery. And it is mostly devoid of other consciousnesses.

.

And the basic reality of our reality and our universe is that most of our world-lines are empty of all other consciousnesses except for our own. And so to see what it looks like is pretty much like this…

And the world-lines that we occupy only has our own singular consciousness in it.

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And this is how I have been discussing world-line travel for some time now.

Well, that is not exactly correct.

In reality, all the “shadow people” possess a consciousness.

It’s not zero like I have stated.

That is an over-simplification.

There is some small percentage of a consciousness within every shadow entity. It’s just that the percentage is very, very tiny.

So, let’s take off the “training wheels”.

Every single one of the infinity of world-lines has consciousnesses throughout. Not just of everyone else, but also yours. It’s a tiny, tiny nearly infinitesimal amount. So what is ACTUALLY going on is that your consciousness dominates all the other consciousnesses in the world-line.

It’s like this…

Some explanations are necessary – How

In quantum physics, when two quanta meet, they become entangled.

Quantum Entanglement in Physics - ThoughtCo

Quantum entanglement is one of the central principles of quantum physics, though it is also highly misunderstood.In short, quantum entanglement means that multiple particles are linked together in a way such that the measurement of one particle's quantum state determines the possible quantum states of the other particles.

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-quantum-entanglement-2699355

And in the realm outside of our reality; the one that contains all the near-infinite numbers of world-lines, there isn’t any time or space. It’s a region with no geometry. So everything can entangle in a quantum sense.

No world-lines are independent. They are all connected to each other.

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Theoretically.

What is actually happening is that clusters of world-lines entangle with other clusters of world-lines. They do this when ever a consciousness is injected into a world-line template.

A soul injects a consciousness into a template, and them BOOM! A hundred trillion world-lines automatically get entangled.

When a consciousness is injected into a world-line template, all the world-lines become entangled with each other.

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This happens each time when a soul injects a consciousness.

This happens each time the consciousness enters and leaves world-lines, and life-lines (life-times).

And all of this entanglement puts a little infinitesimal part of you, and those around you near you in what ever world-line that your consciousness happens to occupy at that moment.

Now…

It should be understood that there are other factors that come into play. One injection of consciousness into a template does not mean that the entire infinite numbers of world-lines are all entangled. The effect does “peter out”, or decline as the variance increases.

In effect, and for our purposes, it will resemble something like this…

The ability of a consciousness to entangle with “close proximity” world-lines happens automatically. However, the ability for the entangled world-lines to entangle with other world-lines drops off as the degree of variance increases.

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So lets consider this illustration.

You, as consciousness, are injected into a template by your soul.

You have pre-arranged the template layout and "geometry" so that you will have a very interesting and special arrangement of experiences that your consciousness would enjoy.

You, as consciousness, are injected into this template and immediately all the world-lines mapped out by your soul are now entangled. This effect ripples through all the world-lines... to a point.

Certainly the world-lines where you are driving a car, and go through an intersection has your consciousness presence. 

But does the world-lines where you are a duck eating (what ever ducks eat) as well? 

No. That is very unlikely. As the degree of variance from your point of entry increases, so does the drop off of entanglement.You driving a car does not resemble a duck eating (what ever ducks eat).

Now…

Consider that this is happening for the billions upon billions of people that are entering and leaving our template surface. Each one is “making their marks”. Good or bad. Right or work. Strong or soft. All combine to provide some “foot print” of their present upon the template that you inhabit.

Explanations – why

You might want to know why this occurs this way. To which I must shrug my shoulders and respond that I really do not know. I suppose that if everyone was a full-on 100% consciousness inside their body, and if thoughts control our reality, then our reality could be come a very confusing mess of constantly changing realities.

By only having one dominant consciousness inside a world-line, the thoughts that navigate though the template path are clearer and easy to track.

Or inother worlds, if everyone within your world-line were operating their consciousness at 100%, like you…

…and thoughts create our reality, and navigate on and off world-lines and their associated templates…

…then…

,,,reality would be changing and moving far too rapidly. It would be very difficult to corral your personal thoughts into any kind of functional application. The “reality” would be a real mess.

Observed “reality” as the world-lines change through time would resemble a very complex mess and confusing state were everyone that co-inhabited your world-line operated at 100% consciousness efficiency.

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How can we use this knowledge

There are many positives to understanding how the universe actually works. But I would guess that the greatest value comes from what you do with that knowledge personally. Once you realize that your consciousness is THE dominant consciousness in the world-line that you inhabit, that means that your thoughts are also the DOMINANT THOUGHTS in the world-line as well.

Thus the need to control your thoughts has never been greater.

Not only can we control our navigation, but our influence in the strong quantum entanglements of “near-by” (but untraveled) world-lines means that we have the potential to influence the trends and behaviors of the environment around us.

Which is why my role as a “dimensional anchor” was so important.

Turn off that “news”. You define what you want to happen in the world around you.

I suppose you can "skim" the headlines. But really forget about most of it. Most are lies and manipulations. If you are all caught up on 5G and brain damage, the dangers of vaccines, and the government plot to do this or that...

...you all need to start drinking alcohol more, and reading the computer less.

Have a “bad boss”? You can think him out of your influence cycle?

The nation going crazy? You can calm it down, make it stable and anchor it against the winds of the radicals.

Unsatisfied with your life? Think yourself a better one.

The path and the road lies a head of you. You have more control over it’s navigation than you are aware of. Turn off the criteria of what “happiness is”, or the need to “accumulate wealth to be happy”, or the idea of “you need to do this, or that”. The only one who knows what you need is YOU.

Control your thoughts, and you will control your mind. Control your mind, and you will navigate towards the life you want.

It’s all in your hands.

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The little guys start to fight back, and the oligarchy is left hurting from the bitch slap.

This post is a little tad boring in that it relates to money and how money is used to generate more money. I find that boring. I also find it trivial.

However, this mechanism is ingrained in the United States and the West as the ONLY way for people to move upward in the class-caste structure that has been constructed.

The "big news" is that "the little guy" (people who live outside the oligarchy class) have devised a way to "get even" with the wealthy oligarchy that has been "sticking it to the rest of us" for decades now. And this "get even" event is well... it's fucking awesome.

Game Stop Corp

Late in January 2021, a few amateur stock trading nerds decided to promote a stock that was heavily shortened by certain hedge funds. The idea was to raise the stock price of Game Stop Corp., a vendor for computer games, by having lots of small stock traders to buy into it. The hedge fund that shortened the stock, and thereby bet on a dropping stock price, would then make huge losses while the many small buyers would potentially profit.

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These people, who had joined up in the sub-reddit /r/WallStreetBets, were not driven by greed but by rage against the financial machine:

Instead of greed, this latest bout of speculation, and especially the extraordinary excitement at GameStop, has a different emotional driver: anger. The people investing today are driven by righteous anger, about generational injustice, about what they see as the corruption and unfairness of the way banks were bailed out in 2008 without having to pay legal penalties later, and about lacerating poverty and inequality. This makes it unlike any of the speculative rallies and crashes that have preceded it.
1990’s portrayal of teenage hackers.

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The movement was successful. The stock price of Game Stop Corp. rose from some $10 to over $400 within just a few days. The short seller had to take cover under a larger firm:

Hedge fund Melvin Capital closed out its short position in GameStop on Tuesday after taking huge losses as a target of the army of retail investors. Citadel and Point72 have infused close to $3 billion into Gabe Plotkin's hedge fund to shore up its finances.

Then the system hit back.

Discord, the company which hosted the server for the sub-reddit /r/WallStreetBets suddenly found that there was ‘hate-speech’ in the threads. It unplugged the server. (Discord had previously unplugged the sub-reddit /r/The_Donald.)

Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald - 0:53 UTC · Jan 28, 2021

What an absolutely extraordinary coincidence of timing that Discord happened to decide the r/Wall Streetbets sub-reddit had too much “hate speech” to tolerate on the same day hedge fund billionaires declared them a huge threat for the crime of winning at their expense!

Next the trading app Robinhood, which many of the amateur traders use, blocked further buys into the stock:

Robinhood, the fee-free investment app that has helped Redditors and other retail investors pump dark horse stocks like GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, and Nokia, has stopped allowing users to buy those stocks and others YOLO picks.

According to screenshots shared on social media, on Thursday morning a notification appeared on Robinhood telling users that they could close their position on GameStop's stock, but not buy any additional shares. 

Redditors are currently panicking, looking for ways to transfer their shares of GameStop off of Robinhood to other platforms, and are generally furious at the platform.

In a blog post, Robinhood confirmed that it has placed restrictions on several stocks due to volatility.

“Volatility” = the prols are messing up Wall Street by doing legal stock transactions our overlords do not like. What an irony that a company named Robin Hood is protecting the rich from the poor.

The many people who use Robinhood can now only sell their shares and not buy additional ones:

This is likely to have a massive impact on Robinhood users and ultimately the company. According to a popup on the app's homepage, 56 percent of all Robinhood users own at least some GameStop stock. They are now unable to freely trade it; the app is only allowing users to close out their positions, meaning they can sell it but not buy more. This is potentially devastating for novice investors or those who simply want to follow the general marching orders of the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, which is to hold (and buy more) GameStop stock until further notice.

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That outright manipulation of the stock markets was noticed and may even have consequences. Unlike Joe Biden it united legislators across the aisle.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC - 16:36 UTC · Jan 28, 2021

This is unacceptable.

We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit.

As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary.

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Ted Cruz @tedcruz - 16:47 UTC · Jan 28, 2021
Retweeting @AOC
Fully agree.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take care that nothing will comes from it. The system has proven again and again that it is rigged. No change to it will be condoned.

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As Glenn Greenwald noted yesterday:

Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald - 13:49 UTC · Jan 27, 2021

To review:
- Politics is to be manipulated only by K Street.
- The stock market is to be manipulated only by Wall St.
- Dissemination of information is to be manipulated only by corporate media outlets.

Those are the rules.

The lesson they want us to learn: Don't even think of ever breaking those rules.

Posted by b on January 28, 2021 at 18:05 UTC | Permalink

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It’s all been brutal.

Furthermore, everybody “understands” what happened with GameStop.  Unlike some other Wall Street stories, this one isn’t complicated. The  entire tale, in a nutshell, goes like this. One group of gamblers  announced, “Fuck you!” Another group announced back: “No, fuck YOU!”  That’s it. Or, as one market analyst put it to me this morning, “A bunch  of guys made a bet, got killed, then doubled and tripled down and got  killed even more.”

-Suck It, Wall Street  by Matt Taibbi   

Why?

Well, because the oligarchy believe that they and their system were untouchable. That it was unassailable, and that they were forever free of the consequences of their actions. Does “Too big to fail” ring a bell.

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Guess that the response from Joe Average and Suzi Average has been a little brutal. But can you blame them?

A best-selling fiction author could not have spun a more ironic tale so completely representative of our time.

Just as an unprecedented situation—COVID and lockdowns—unfolded over the past year and led to massive gains for corporate titans like Walmart and Amazon. Meanwhile governments have crushed small businesses and individuals…

And a new, unprecedented situation has unfolded.

Spilling off the pages of Reddit to become a substantial threat to the stock market’s stability Is amazing.

It is a microcosm of this tale of big business quashing the little guy.

It is a tale of Wall Street profiting despite the best, most subversive efforts of the underdogs.

In short, what started out as a long stock play in a subreddit full of rocketship and “diamond hand” emojis and anti-elitist snark has fueled a form of class warfare that extends well beyond rhetoric.

Big Tech and Wall Street are fighting back, and right now it appears they’re winning.

But in the long run, you do know, you can only tread water only for so long.

The subreddit has shown us the way forward.

You Do Need Some Background

The background of this story may seem dry to some, but as with “The Big Short” of ’08, the full extent of malfeasance and recklessness by big Wall Street players can’t be understood without some working knowledge.

Reddit user “u/DeepF*ckingValue” has been touting the potential of GameStop (GME) for months.

Seen as a dying retail breed, its stock price had hovered around $5 per share for several years as people move away from brick and mortar for video games and more towards digital copies of games and online purchases of consoles.

Enter Ryan Cohen.

He is the founder of Chewy, which he sold for a cool $3 billion back in 2018. This was after successfully competing with Amazon for the e-commerce dog food market.

Then, after stepping away from dog food domination, he turned his sights towards GameStop. Where he endedup buying a 13 percent share in the company and joining its board of directors in mid-January.

This move boosted the stock price, but it was still trading under $20.

While a visionary joining a failing company has brought about spikes in stock price in the past, GameStop had another unique factor against it.

Its stock, GME, was shorted at an astronomical rate by several hedge funds, including Melvin Capital.

A short position is taken when a person or fund believes the stock price will go down. They borrow against the current market price with the intention of paying it back when the market price is lower.

For example;

Stock A is trading at $3. 

Bob believes it will drop to $1 and shorts 100 shares of stock. Meaning he "borrows" the 100 shares.

He “sells” those "shorted" (borrowed) stocks immediately for $300. 

In a week, if the stock price goes to $1 he can close his stock position and buy the 100 shares he “borrowed” for only $100. 

At the end of it all, Bob makes $200.

However, if a week later the price rises to $5 per share, he could close out his short position by paying $500 for 100 shares at $5 per share. In the end, he’d lose $200 on his bet.

Yikes.

But…

Bob has another option.

He can hold on to it longer.

If his short position isn’t looking too hot with a current price of $5 per share. He could stick with his short position and hope it drops back down to $3 or less sometime in the future to cover his current paper loss. The risk with this is that his loss potential is theoretically unlimited. If he holds onto his short position for another week and the stock price rises to $10, he’s even more in the red.

The longer you wait; and hold on to the stock, the greater the risk or gain.

Well, this is only one of the ways you can short a stock.

The bigger you or your fund is, the more complicated a short position can become, all the way into “naked” short (selling a stock you haven’t even borrowed yet, akin to listing and selling a home you don’t even own), which are illegal but hard to track and therefore rarely prosecuted.

SEC.gov | Naked Short Sales
https://www.sec.gov/answers/nakedshortsale.htm

2010-7-23 · In a "naked" short  sale, the seller does not borrow or arrange to borrow the securities in  time to make delivery to the buyer within the standard three-day  settlement period.As a result, the seller fails to deliver securities to  the buyer when delivery is due; this is known as a "failure to deliver"  or "fail."

Back to GameStop

GameStop was shorted at 140 percent of all the shares available to purchase, meaning it is likely more shares were shorted than there were to buy back to cover those short positions.

140 %.

140%

Think about it. 100% is all you have to work with.

This should never happen.

It suggests the types of shorts that were used were questionable at best and illegal at worst.

And the US government, and SEC looked the other way. They always “look the other way”.

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So “u/DeepF*ckingValue” and a group of redditors saw an opportunity: take advantage of those who are taking advantage.

What has unfolded over the past couple weeks has been a run on purchasing GME stock to try and buy up as much shares as possible to take advantage of this short position.

Buying all those shares naturally drove up the stock price, but it also did something else.

Every time the price went a little bit higher, hedge funds that had massive short positions took more and more of a loss as they were forced to buy an ever-increasing stock to cover their short positions.

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As reddit user u/myne put it:

[Hedge funds] short-sold AT LEAST 40% more shares than ever existed. 

They’re obliged to buy back more shares than is possible. 

The only way out of that self-made trap is a complicated mess of desperately buying, returning, rebuying from the people you borrowed them from, and returning them with losses at every step. 

Imagine if I sold you 10 cars, but only delivered 6. 

You’re standing there with your WTF face and I say ‘Hey! how much would you sell those 4 cars for?’ 

You can name your price at this point. 

I pay it. Then I ‘finish’ my ‘10 car delivery.’

At this point, some fund managers and individuals exited their short position realizing that as long as people who were long GME held their position, the stock price would continue to go up and there was nothing they could do about it.

This is known as a short squeeze.

As short positions become due and shorters have to cover these positions, they’re forced to buy at the price set by the shareholder.

Since these same shorters shorted more stock than was available to buy to try and make an extra buck, they’re now at the mercy of those holding the shares, leading to exponentially increasing prices.

Uh oh!

Punishing Hedge Funds for Cheating

While some shorters realized the potential losses could be catastrophic, others decided to double down on their position.

Melvin Capital lost 30 percent of their portfolio value by Jan. 25, or close to $4 billion. On that day, Citadel and Steven Cohen gifted Melvin Capital $2.75 billion to help cover their losses. They then doubled down on their shorts and their losses have skyrocketed.

On Jan. 25, they announced they finally exited their short positions.

This is when the war with individual retail investors started.

While it cannot be technically proven that Melvin didn’t exit their short positions, short positions on GME as a percentage of available float were still at the same 140 percent.

Statistically, this should’ve fallen off hard if Melvin really did sell their short positions. Thousands of retail investors thus doubted this news and continued to hold onto their stocks.

GME stock had continued to skyrocket.

On Friday 22JAN21, it closed at $65 per share.

One week later it closed at $345 per share.

Last night, u/DeepF*ckingValue’s initial $50,000 position grew to $50,000,000, and he’s continuing to hold.

Now, a lot of short positions will become due by the end of the week, and that’s when the much-anticipated short squeeze is expected to kick in.

What started out as a humorous stock projection has become a realistic prediction.

We might see GME share prices above $1,000. With this attention on targeting heavily shorted stocks, other stocks have seen massive gains as well, including AMC, BB, and NOSS.

Recent aftermarket trading pushed GME close to $500 and bankruptcy for funds with heavy short positions seemed to become more and more probable.

It appeared that the underdog small-time investors betting against the big hedge fund pessimists successfully dealt a blow to Wall Street know-it-alls.

Robinhood Turns on the Little Guy

Then suddenly, Robinhood suspended the ability to purchase shares of GME, AMC, and others due to “market volatility.”

Of course, you still can sell these shares, you just can’t buy them.

And what happens to a stock when you can only sell it or hold it? People sell it and losses start to pile up.

Within an hour, GME dropped from $469 to $132 and AMC dropped from $12 to $7. Several traders reported orders being cancelled.

This may seem like a responsible reaction to slow volatility, but one doesn’t need to look that deeply to see what’s really going on.

Mega hedge fund Citadel gave Melvin Capital, the company with the most to lose the higher these prices go, a $2.75 billion bailout. According to Yahoo News, “Citadel’s founder is Ken Griffin, who also founded Citadel Securities, a big investor in Robinhood that also works with TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab.”

Citadel’s founder is Ken Griffin
Citadel’s founder is Ken Griffin.

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The company that touts “democratizing finance for all,” that many redditors have relied on to foil the fat cats’ plan to short a beloved videogame store, is really stealing from the poor to give to the rich.

Within an hour, billions have been transferred from individual retail investors to hedge fund managers in the name of Robinhood.

Its app store rating plummeted from 5 to 1.

This is a blatant act of market manipulation, and lovers of freedom on both sides of the aisle should be outraged.

In a free market, stocks should be able to be bought or sold at any time and foolish actions should reap negative consequences—even if those consequences come via spiteful “average joe” investors. Investors who’ve likely gone through a hellish year where they’ve felt squeezed and short-changed by establishment elites in government and big business.

You’re probably wondering what’s next.

That depends on the constitution of retail investors. The subredditors of r/wallstreetbets have received an overwhelming amount of support for the hold position as trade volumes indicate the price crash was caused by very few sellers but high-frequency small trades that artificially crashed the price.

This is Melvin’s/Robinhood’s/Citadel’s/Cohen’s last battle effort before the inevitable short squeeze.

As long as retail investors hold, they should see their position skyrocket.

But do they have the strength to do so as prices artificially tanked? Considering GME has recovered to $246, it appears they might. This is a once in a decade spectacle that has pitted retail investors against hedge fund managers, with irony off-the-charts: a platform called Robinhood screwing small-time investors?

Really?

Whether the trend of Big Business succeeding while the average American suffers continues through 2021 is anyone’s guess.

But we deserve a better ending than bitter irony.

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The key point in this, and the actions of the government, clearly demonstrate in clear and unambiguous terms that there are no absolute laws. There are just what they can do, and lip service about what YOU can do.

Laws? Only For You. Bend Over

Let’s start with the law: 

It is illegal to "manipulate" a stock or other security -- that is, it is unlawful to express an intent to sell or buy for any other reason than to actually sell or buy, and it is also illegal to intentionally mislead others about your reasons for doing so.

This is why “spoofing” (although almost-never prosecuted) is against the law.

“Spoofing” is the practice of laying in a bid or offer you have no intention of being filled on for the express reason of making other people think you want to sell or buy something, when in fact you want to do the opposite.  

They attempt to follow your claimed “expression of intent” only to find your offer or bid has disappeared, the price moves and they come in on the other side. 

It sounds like picking up pennies in front of a steamroller and it is, but it can be very profitable especially if your connection to the exchange is fast enough that the risk of getting filled is extremely low in that you can cancel your order before anyone can hit it.

This could be prevented on a trivial basis by the exchanges through a simple rule: 

All orders must remain valid for enough time for the signal to travel around the globe twice (once there and once back) or until executed and you may not have more open orders at any given instant than you can clear (e.g. margin capacity.)  

Now if you try to “spoof” you will get filled and the scheme fails. 

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But note that despite this being blatantly obvious not one exchange has implemented such a rule and neither has the SEC demanded it.  

Gee, I wonder why not?  Might it be that they really don't give a rats ass so long as only the "right" people cheat?

Spoofing is an extremely common practice, a practice that especially screws small retail traders because we are nowhere near as fast with our fingers as a computer and also not sitting next to the exchange either

… and a number of years ago one particular idiot was dumb enough to do it when the futures market was open over a holiday weekend. 

It was caught on video and put on Youtube, which got the CME very pissed off.

Oh by the way, they never have gone after the “big guys” doing the same thing nor changed the rules on order validity.

Just the “little guys”.

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Given how simple it would be to instantly stop this crap does that tell you everything you need to know?

But there is nothing illegal about bidding up (or shorting) a stock for a transparent and truthful reason that has nothing to do with its underlying value.  The only requirement is that you not lie; witness firms like Tesla that have crazy valuations for which there is no rational justification, or Amazon, or similar.  

They’re everywhere and always on the exchanges and always have been. 

Fundamentally a company that pays no dividend has no value beyond the liquidation value of its assets in the free market when it comes to common stock.  Therefore, if you want to get down to it every single stock that pays no dividend trades on nothing more than hype since there is no discounted cash flow to you as a holder, ever, and no expectation there will be.

That’s the dirty little secret that nobody wants to talk about when it comes to the stock market.

And that is why you can have a market that trades at 666 one year and a few years later trades at 3,700.  Did the economy expand by a factor of five over that period?  Did it even double?  Not even close.

The sort of short squeeze that we’ve seen occurred due to fraud — but not by the people causing the squeeze. 

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And don’t get your panties in a wad about this either; yes, the “at home” trading cadre has materially expanded with the pandemic lockdowns and such, and we’re sending “stimulus checks” to a lot of young adults with nothing to do with their time, so staring at a trading terminal attempting to make money sounds pretty good, especially if you win a few times.  But that’s not the whole story — not even close.

If you want to short a stock you are supposed to first borrow it. 

That is, ordinary people cannot sell what they don’t have, so if you wish to short you must first borrow that which you want to sell.  This is one of the ways brokers make money; they keep all the stock their customers have in “street name” and keep track of who has what. 

They can (and if supply is limited do) charge you to borrow that stock. 

There’s nothing wrong with this, provided the stock borrowed is real. 

It’s one of the things you agree to allow if you have a margin account; as part of the “price” of that privilege the broker can loan your stock to others for the purpose of shorting it.  However, since you own it if you demand it back because you wish to sell it the broker either has to find some other set of shares to replace what he lent out of yours or the short-seller is forcibly bought-in at the market because they have to return your shares. 

If that causes to take a loss, tough crap.

.

There is an exception to this rule: 

If you are a market maker then you can short naked, that is, without borrowing first.  

Why?  Because a market maker’s job is, as the name implies, to make the market — that is, to take the other side of whatever the customer wants to do.  If I want to be long something in order to do it someone else has to sell it.  Now in the physical security market this is easy; there either is or is not what I want to buy out there on the sheet offered by someone else.  

But in the options market there is no physical security; the entirety of it is synthetic.  This means if someone wishes to buy a CALL someone else has to sell one. 

Well, that’s dangerous because naked short options positions are obligations to deliver. 

.

Specifically if you are short an IBM CALL @ $100 (for example) then you are obligated to deliver 100 shares of IBM stock on demand at any time before expiration for $100 each. 

It does not matter what IBM’s stock is worth; if the holder of the CALL exercises their option you must deliver them.  If the shares cost $500 at that time you’re fucked.

Likewise I can buy a $20 PUT on some stock. This gives me the right to PUT that stock on the other person for $20/share up until expiration.  

IF the price is under $20 I of course have every reason to do that -- I can buy the shares for $10 and make you pay me $20!  

Who doesn't like that deal?  

Likewise, the market maker never wants that directional bet either since on the short side of an options trade you're obligated to perform if demanded by the long side.

Nobody would stay in business being a market maker if this sort of thing could happen to them, so as soon as they take the opposing side they execute a balancing trade on the other side.  

.

In short if you’re a market maker you always want to be neutral on every security you make a market in; you make a (very) small profit on each transaction but you never, ever want to be exposed directionally because the amount you get paid is tiny compared to the risk, and one mistake will bankrupt you.

Therefore if you’re a market maker you can short without locating first for this explicit reason.  This doesn’t lead to a problem generally because nobody in their right mind as a market maker wants a directional exposure, ever.  As a result the failure to locate is transient and does not accumulate; you will lay that risk off and remove the imbalance if you have to since you can construct synthetic positions that perform financially the same as real ones.

So how do you get 140% of the available shares short? 

It would seem impossible and is…

…. unless someone cheats.

There are some players in the market who have “market maker” status but also trade their own books or have cross-interests with those who do. 

.

Allegedly there are “Chinese walls” between those pieces (or interconnected entities.)  Quite obviously that is a load of crap because otherwise what you’ve seen would be impossible but it clearly not only has happened before but is still happening to this day. 

These entities are how you wind up with short sales where the locate and borrow hasn’t happened first and the position remains open across time.  This is supposed to be illegal but other than a few hand-slaps in the futures markets for physical commodities I’m not aware of any criminal prosecution for doing it.

And let’s be clear here: This practice is counterfeiting.

There is nothing wrong with borrowing a share of stock from someone and selling it, provided that if the person who you borrowed it from wants it back you are forced to deliver it.  That is, if there are 100 shares of stock in the world the only entity who have the right to control how many total shares there are is the company itself.  Provided there are 100 shares who loans them and on what terms is nobody’s business; that’s a private transaction and it’s perfectly legal.  If I own something I have the right to lend or sell it to someone on whatever terms I choose.

.

But if you sell something without locating it first you are counterfeiting because you are now representing that there are 110 shares in the marketplace but the company never authorized the other 10. 

You thus are in fact diluting every one of the existing and real shares by 10% and pocketing the money from those sales.  In short you are stealing by partially destroying the value of everyone else's holdings in that stock.

Counterfeiting is a criminal offense — always and everywhere.

.

So now you have some folks who have discerned that in fact there is more than 100% of the public float out short.  This cannot happen through lawful trading activity, but it leads to an interesting conundrum: If you drive the price up you force those who committed that offense to cover their bets and there aren’t enough shares to do it.  Oh, someone will eventually fork up their shares at ever-increasing prices to unwind the fraud but in the process the people who shorted naked get a telephone pole up their ass in terms of losses.

There is nothing illegal about targeting people who do this; you are not lying about your intentions and ramming someone’s criminal conduct up their ass is not only legal it’s what they deserve to have happen to them.  Remember that no company stock is actually worth anything beyond liquidation value at any instant in time when it comes to hard valuation; the entire remainder of the price is speculative premium — that is, the expression of belief in future prospects.

Further, the folks on Reddit aren’t the whole story of the pressure either. 

There appears to be a "gentleman's agreement" among hedgies that they don't go after this when done by their "friends."  The practice would never survive a day otherwise; competition is like that if it's honest competition.  The reason we ban collusion generally is because it destroys honest competition and that is bad.

But as with any thieves guild breaking ranks can make you a lot of money and when something like this gets going you can bet there are folks with lots of money happy to jump on the bandwagon and add a few telephone poles — or a few hundred — to the pile being shoved up the short side’s ass.  Why not if they can profit from it especially if they don’t get identified to the other guild members as the ones who broke ranks?

.

So cry me a river, hedge fund mavens and screamers like Cramer — who, by the way, admitted on video many years ago how he used to manipulate markets before he had his own TV show.  He never went to jail for that, did he?

What’s the difference?

These folks on WSB are telling you exactly why they're doing what they're doing -- they intend to shove a telephone pole up some cheater's asses and break it off, making a profit at the same time, which is the truth.  

That's legal.  

There's no deception at all; every one of their "buy" orders is in fact a bona-fide intent to purchase and they're being entirely transparent as to why.

That their intent has nothing to do with their view of the underlying company’s value in its present state means nothing; basically zero of the stock and option trades on the market, ever, are about today’s state of a given firm — they’re all about tomorrow’s beliefs which by the very nature of that being tomorrow are speculative.

.

Now one more thing: Why would Robinhood and others halt buys in a stock?

Not crank margin to 100% (or some multiple of it for a short), stop it entirely irrespective of cash in your account?

The broker does not care what the buyer and seller transact at and further, if there is no margin involved the broker also does not care if you grossly overpay and wind up with zero.  

He loses nothing and this was your own self-directed decision, not his recommendation. All an actual broker does is match buyers and sellers; they are not involved directionally.  

Well, not legally anyway.....

Further, there are claims that people not on margin were force-liquidated.  On what basis?  Legally, maybe you signed something saying they could liquidate you "if they believed you were placing at risk" or even "if they're at risk" (without you being the cause.)  

However the question still stands: Why did they liquidate the accounts if in fact they did?

National Review claims Robinhood and IB were “adults in the room.”  Bullshit.  Let me quote some of their nonsense:

Robinhood makes money by routing trades from its platform to large brokers, who compensate the company for its order flow. The larger the trading volume, the better for Robinhood. But Robinhood also makes money through various forms of lending, primarily margin lending to customers.

Which is immaterial, as they had already set margin to 100%.  In other words, there were no margin loans on GME stock.  You put up cash before you buy, or you don’t buy.  If you have an existing position you can’t borrow against it.  That’s perfectly legit and brokers do that all the time when things get volatile.

That generates no exposure for the brokerage.

From Robinhood’s perspective, the GameStop rally is beneficial insofar as it generates revenue from increased trading activity, but it is also extremely risky, because the brokerage platform is lending millions of dollars to retail investors buying a world-historically volatile stock. As more and more buyers have flocked to GameStop, Robinhood has lent out more and more money.

That’s a lie since they had already set margin to 100%.  They’re not lending money against those positions; those are cash transactions and, allegedly and if nobody is cheating, all Robinhood is doing is matching buyers and sellers.

It’s unclear how much GameStop stock Robinhood has lent to hedge funds, but whatever the amount, they’ve been lucrative, commanding as much as 80 percent in interest due to the massive amount of money betting against the stock.

Ah…. now we’re getting somewhere. 

You see, brokers do that; they lend out stock and, in cases of hard to borrow shares there is often a fee that can get quite steep.  

The brokerage would lose that income stream if the short was closed. 

.

But….

…so what?  There’s no existential risk here — just lost opportunity.  Which doesn’t explain the clamp-down, does it?

NR goes on to try to excuse this as being the “adults in the room.” 

Nope.  Once you have margin set to 100% of a long position (and, I remind you, if there is no available float then you can’t short without breaking the law) then there is no risk to the brokerage.  If the bubble pops, it pops.  Your job is to match buyers and sellers and so long as you’re doing that and not doing something you shouldn’t be there is no problem.  The customer may lose his or her shirt but in a self-directed account with no margin loan outstanding against the position there is no risk to the firm provided everything you’re doing on the up and up.

THERE ARE ANSWERS TO THE “WHY” QUESTION and I’d love to hear one that doesn’t implicate criminal activity.  National Review is, to be blunt, playing cover for people; their “explanation” makes no sense.  So why publish it at all until and unless they can get the answer to the actual question: Why?

So why did certain platforms do what they did?

I’ll bet there’s a common thread in all of this, and you won’t like it if and when it comes out into public view….

Fallout

Um. Maybe. More than likely, however, nothing is going to happen.

A little review.

But so what?

Some teenagers found a missing clink in Smaug’s armor.

Smaug is portrayed as being psychopathic, extremely sadistic, confident, violent, cruel, arrogant, intelligent and greedy, possessing an unquenchable desire for gold. 

His most distinguishing characteristic (aside from his greed) is his arrogance, as Smaug proudly boasts of his superiority and impregnability to Bilbo during their encounter. 

However, this proves to be his downfall, as he unwittingly reveals the weak spot in his chest to Bilbo when showing the Hobbit how he had willfully coated…

-Smaug | The One Wiki to Rule Them All 

Smaug roared back, and burnt them all to a dark crisp. A lesson will be made of them, and business will continue as normal. Right?

Perhaps a little review about what we have been dealing with is in order.

Let’s consider the fantastic “stimulus” check that the US government ave Americans. This stimulus check per person was $600 dollars. And was intended to “help” Americans deal with being unemployed for nine months. The cost of this stimulus was $900 billion and it was labeled the ” coronavirus relief package“. The United States population is 329.45 million people. Thus, the actual and real amount that should have gone to each American should have been $2,735,000.

So, if you simply take the total amount of money allocated to helping Americans out, and divide it by the number of Americans...

...each American should get a check for $2.7 million dollars.

But truthfully, an stimulus should go to each family. Not to each individual. THis was, after all, how the United States was first intended to operate.

And since 83.68 million families were living in the United States, in 2020, each family should have been given 10,843,000 dollars US.

So, if you simply take the total amount of money allocated to helping Americans out, and divide it by the number of American families...

...each American family should get a check for $10.8 million dollars.

So why do Americans only get a fraction of that amount?

$600.

What. The. Fuck.

.

Well, it’s all fun and games.

Now, heads up, when historians write about the collapse of the United States, you can be quite sure that they will list this event as one of the signs of the eventual downfall. The sign of the pathetic attempts of the “little guys” to “take down” the massive fraud and corruption that runs rampant inside of America today.

No matter what…

Keep in mind that everyone is rooting for the little “normal” people, and enjoy seeing the oligarchy hurt. That is, everyone except the oligarchy themselves. Depending on how the government reacts, you can see this as either…

  • A minor skirmish of class warfare.
  • A pivot point that enacts some much needed change.
  • Or, a spark that contributes to a major event to follow.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Front Row Seat Index here…

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When progressive revisionists take control of our institutions, our society, and out art…

It’s difficult to measure the damage that an ideology can do on a society. Often you don’t realize what a mess things are until long after the great looting, and destruction. But you can notice events. Often singular events, and often whispered about quietly. And one such event is the purging of art in favor of the formless and meaningless.

Look at the painting above. It is titled “Consulting the Oracle” and was painted by John William Waterhouse. It’s great right? It’s large. It would occupy the wall in a nice sized living room. It’s 77 inches long and 46 inches high. And it’s beautiful. Right?

This painting was very quietly sold by the museum that held it for £5 ($7.50) to a private individual.

I’ve seen cups of coffee that cost more.

The excuse is that the museum needed the money. Bills needed to be paid, and new works of art needed to be purchased to “keep the museum alive and vibrant”. Of course that old “song and dance”. The excuse, a progressive excuse, that you must destroy the old to make room for the new.

Ok.

I’ll bite.

What “new” art was worthy of purchase. How about millions of dollars for this magnificent piece…

Willem de Kooning’s Woman III

.

This undeniably strange-looking painting of a woman made Willem de Kooning and his estate a few millions richer. The painting recently changed hands to the tune of $137.5 million. This abstract painting was finished by Kooning in 1953. The painting became rather controversial in the 1970s, because it was refused for exhibit at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. This painting is currently privately owned. It spans 68 inches in height and 48.5 inches in width.

Yes. I cannot believe it. Can you?

And we are not alone either…

This painting is awful. 

I get that it’s an abstract expressionist  painting, but it is so hideous to look at. You honestly couldn’t  convince me to take it if I was walking down the street and saw that  laying on the grass. Clearly that means I have no taste because it sold  for a ridiculous $137.5 million in 2006. This made it the 4th most expensive painting ever sold. 

It was created by painter Williem de Kooning in 1953. 

The buyer, David Geffen, is worth $6.5 billion, so nobody is going to step in and tell him how to spend his money… but are you kidding me?

-10 Ugly Pieces Of Art You Won't Believe Sold For Millions

Who in their right mind made this decision?

The Art Renewal Center chimes in…

From the Art Renewal Center…

Works of art worth tens of millions of pounds today have  been sold off quietly by museums over the past 50 years for a few  pounds. British art institutions such as the Fitzwilliam Museum in  Cambridge and the Exeter City Museum have disposed of pictures by  masters such as  Van Dyck  and  Henri Fantin Latour . They were sold without public notice, dismissed as too unimportant to  keep. Among the most serious cases is a painting by the 19th-century master,  John William Waterhouse . In 1965, the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro sold it for £200 ($300) to a private collector; today it is worth more than £5 million ($7.5 million).         
                      
"Most of the works were sold off as they were deemed to be  artistically worthless", Christopher Wright, a leading Old Masters  scholar, said. He discovered evidence of the sales while preparing a  nationwide study of British art for Yale University Press. "They have  been sold off without public notice," he said. "Many of the museums  didn't dare make it public. They've all been proved wrong."         
                      
Mr Wright expressed disbelief at the decision of the Exeter  museum to "rape" its collection of 160 works - "there is no other word  to describe the destruction of an entire museum collection". The  auctions, which involved selling works for as little as £5 ($7.50),  included Waterhouse's Consulting the Oracle, four paintings by Fantin-Latour and one by  Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema . Caroline Worthington, fine art curator at Exeter, said that the sale  took place at Christie's in 1954, "when High Victorian art was deeply  unfashionable ... We would like them back, most definitely." "We're  talking household names", Mr Wright said, adding that many were bought  by the heavyweight dealers Agnews and Colnaghi, who clearly appreciated  the importance of the artists, even if the museums did not.         
                      
Tamsin Daniel, Truro's curator of art and exhibitions, said  that the museum had needed money for storage and a lift. She conceded  that the loss was painful. The Waterhouse went to a private collector  bidding at Christie's. The £200 ($300) it cost him, she said, was "a bit  different to what Andrew Lloyd Webber paid recently for a Waterhouse":  £6.6 million ($9.9 million).         
                      
Leeds City Art Gallery and Museum,  Mr Wright was told by an insider, actually disguised the provenance of  works when selling them through an auction house. "They were described  as property of Madame X," he said. "The sales were clandestine. They  didn't say Leeds was de-accessioning. They were all Victorian pictures  purchased from the Royal Academy. They got rid of dozens." Nigel Walsh,  curator of exhibitions, expressed surprise at the news, denying that the  gallery had sold anything. Nor did Evelyn Silber, its director, know  anything about it until contacted by The Times. She later discovered  that 37 paintings (nearly all Victorian) had been sold in 1939 under the  then director, Philip Hendey, who went on to head the National Gallery in London. The Fitzwilliam  in Cambridge sold more than 200 works in the 1950s. Although they were  marked "property of the Fitzwilliam" in the catalogs, they were mixed up  with hundreds of other lots, Mr Wright said. "They put them through the  salerooms in dribs and drabs."         
                      
Mr Wright said that the Fortune-teller with Soldiers "was sold off as a copy, but it has since been published as the real thing worth millions".         
                      
Craig Hartley, a Fitzwilliam curator, said: "In retrospect,  this seems a horrific thing to have done." Among other institutions to  have sold off paintings, Mr Wright said, were the National Maritime  Museum in Greenwich; the Cooper Art Gallery in Barnsley; the Holbourne  Museum of Art in Bath; and the Birmingham City Art Gallery.

-Art Renewal Center article by Dalya Alberge         

I am horrified.

Just beyond my self.

So who ended up getting these magnificent works of art?

"They were described as property of Madame X," he said. "The sales were clandestine. They didn't say Leeds was de-accessioning. They were all Victorian pictures purchased from the Royal Academy. They got rid of dozens."

Well, you must understand that a museum collects works of art for pubic display and enjoyment. If they no longer wants to display that art to the public, they take if off display and put it in storage. Apparently these works took up too much space, so they sold them to “Art Dealers”. And these art dealers held auctions and auctioned them off to wealthy attendees.

Yes.

That’s right. The art was taken away from public display and sold off to the oligarchy for their own personal use.

What has been going on…

Get the entire picture. From a speech by Fred Ross at the Art Renewal Center…

Ladies and Gentlemen ... Artists,         
                      
The art of painting, one of the greatest traditions in all  of human history has been under a merciless and relentless assault for  the last one hundred years. I'm referring to the accumulated knowledge  of over 2500 hundred years, spanning from Ancient Greece to the early  Renaissance and through to the extraordinary pinnacles of artistic  achievement seen in the High Renaissance, 17th century Dutch, and the  great 19th century Academies of Europe and America. These  traditions, just when they were at their absolute zenith, at a peak of  achievement, seemingly unbeatable and unstoppable, hit the twentieth  century at full stride, and then ... fell off a cliff, and smashed to  pieces on the rocks below. Since World War I the contemporary visual  arts as represented in Museum exhibitions, University Art Departments,  and journalistic art criticism became little more than juvenile,  repetitive exercises at proving to the former adult world that they  could do whatever they damn well wanted ... sadly devolving ever  downwards into a distorted, contrived and contorted notion of freedom of  expression. Freedom of expression? Ironically, this so-called "freedom"  as embodied in Modernism, rather than a form of "expression" in truth  became a form of "suppression" and "oppression." Modernism as we know  it, ultimately became the most oppressive and restrictive system of thought in all of art history.         
                      
Every reasonable shred of order and any standards with which  it was possible to identify, understand and to create great paintings  and sculpture, was degraded ... detested ... desecrated and eviscerated.  The backbone of the painters' craft, namely drawing, was thrown into  the trash along with modeling, perspective, illusion, recognizable  objects or elements from the real world, and with it the ability to  capture, exhibit, and poetically express subjects and themes about  mankind and the human condition and about man's trials on this speck of  stardust called Earth ... Earth, hurtling through infinity with all of  us along on board, along with everything we know and everything we hold  dear.         
                      
Reason ... philosophy ... religion ... literature ...  fantasy ... dreams, and all of the feelings, emotions and pathos of our  every day lives ... all of it was no longer worthy of the painter's  craft. Any hint by the artist at trying to portray such things was  branded as banal, maudlin, photographic, illustration, or petty  sentimentality.         
                      
Our children, going supposedly to the finest universities in  the world, being taught by professors with Bachelors or Arts, Masters  of Arts, Masters of Fine Arts, Masters of Art Education ... even  Doctoral degrees, our children instead have been subjected to methodical  brain-washing and taught to deny the evidence of their own senses.  Taught that Mattisse, Cézanne, and Picasso, along with their followers,  were the most brilliant artists in all of history. Why?  Because they  weren't telling us lies like the traditional painters, of course. They  weren't trying to make us believe that we were looking at scenes in  reality, or at scenes from the imagination, from fantasy or from dreams.  They were telling us the truth. They were telling it like it is. They  spent their lives and careers on something that was not banal, and not  silly, insipid or inane. They in fact provided the world with the most  ingenious of all breakthroughs in the history of artistic thought. Even  the great scientific achievements of the industrial revolution paled  before their brilliant discovery. And what was that discovery for which  they have been raised above  Bouguereau , exalted over  Gérôme , and celebrated beyond  Ingres ,  David ,  Constable ,  Fragonard ,  Van Dyck , and  Gainsborough  or  Poussin ? Why in fact were they heralded to the absolute zenith ... the tiptop  of human achievement ... being worthy even of placement shoulder to  shoulder on pedestals right beside  Rembrandt ,  Michelangelo ,  Leonardo ,  Caravaggio ,  Vermeer  and  Raphael ? What did they do? Why were they glorified practically above all others  that ever went before them? Ladies and gentleman, they proved ...  amazing, incredible, and fantastic as it may seem, they proved that the canvas was flat ... flat and very thin ... skinny ... indeed, not even shallow, lacking any depth or meaning whatsoever.         
                      
And the flatter that they proved it to be the greater they were exalted. Cézanne collapsed the landscape,  Matisse flattened our homes and our families, and Pollock, Rothko and  de Kooning placed it all in a blender and splattered it against the  wall. They made even pancakes look fat and chunky by comparison. But  this was only part of the breathtaking breakthroughs of modernism ...  and their offshoots flourished. Abstract expressionism, Cubism, Fauvism,  minimalism, ColorField, Conceptual, op-art, pop-art and post modernism  ... and to understand it all ... to understand, took very special people  indeed, since the mass of humanity was too ignorant and stupid to  understand.  Like that famous advertisement in the NY Times said so many years ago ... Bad art ... or Good art? You be the judge, indeed.         
                      
Of course, to justify this whole theoretical paradigm, all  the artists that painted recognizable scenes with depth and illusion had  to be discredited ... and discredited they were, with a virulence and  vituperation so scathing and merciless that one would think they must  have been messengers of the devil himself to deserve such abuse.  And to  put the final nail in their coffins, all of their art was banished and  their names and accomplishments written right out of history. I  graduated with a Master's in art education from Columbia University, and  I'd never heard of  Bouguereau , much less that he was President of the Academy and head of the Salon  ... the most celebrated artist of his time who single handedly, using  all of his influence as the most respected leader of art world, opened  up L'Ecole Des Beaux Arts and the Salons to women artists for the first time in history.         
                      
During most of the 20th century, the type of propaganda that  has been hurled at academic artists is so insidious that people have  been literally trained to discredit, out-of-hand, any work containing  well-crafted figures or elements, or any other evidence of technical  mastery. All the beauty and subtlety of emotions, — interplay of  composition, design and theme, — the interlacing of color, tone and  mood, — are never seen. The viewer has been taught that academic  painting on a prima facie basis is bad by definition — bad by  virtue of its resorting to the use of human figures, themes or stories  and objects from the real world.         
                      
Prestige suggestion causes them to  automatically assume that a work must be great if it's by any of the  "big names" of modern art, so they at once start looking for reasons why  it must be proclaimed great. Any failing to find greatness is not  considered a failing in the art but in the intelligence and  sensibilities of the viewer. Students operating under that kind of  intimidating pressure, you can be sure, will find greatness - no matter  what they are looking at.         
                      
The reverse of this has been trained into them when they  view academic paintings. They have been taught that works exhibiting  realistic rendering are "bad art" and therefore any good that is seen is  not due to qualities inherent in their artistic accomplishments, but  are rather due to a lack of intelligence and taste in the viewer. The  same intimidating pressure works in reverse to ensure that a work by  Bouguereau ,  Lord Leighton ,  Burne-Jones ,  Gérôme ,  Frederick Hart , or any of the rest of you here, will not be seen as anything other than bad by definition.         
                      
No student in a school with this kind of dictatorial  brain-washing will ever risk exploring or even listening to opposing  views, for fear of being stigmatized from that point on, with some  undesirable label and being universally despised ... sadly, a very  effective deterrent to independent thought. Thus the visual experience  of well-drawn representational elements is perceived as a negative, ad hominem, that proves with knee-jerk automaticity the presumed "badness" of the art and its creator.         
                      
It is especially ironic that these are the same people who  trumpet the virtues and inalienable right to freedom of speech, while  they surreptitiously and steadfastly conspire to remove that freedom  from those with whom they disagree.         
                      
Equally ironic is the charge that academic painting is  "uninspired," a proclamation issued by critics who are unable to see  beyond the technical virtuosity for which they condemn it, to see what  is being said. This rich visual language is wasted on eyes that will not  see. It would be no different than dismissing out-of-hand a piece of  music as soon as it was determined that notes, chords and keys were  used, or dismissing any work of literature upon noticing words arranged  in grammatically correct sentences.         
                      
That is not to say that all academic art is great, or above  criticism - certainly, it is not. It would be no less fallacious to  issue blanket praise to an entire category than to condemn it. Academic  painting ranges from brilliantly conceived and deeply inspired, to trite  and silly, depending on the subject and the artist.         
                      
That being said, I find even the worst of it more meaningful  than art based on the ridiculous notion that it is somehow important to  prove the canvas is flat, and/or that one needs no skill or technique  to be an artist - views generally embraced by those who condemn the  entire category of academic art. Their point seems to be to elevate to  legitimacy that which has removed all standards and prior defining  characteristics of art. In other words, by defining non-art as art, the  logical conclusion is that art is non-art.         
                      
Modern artists are told that they must create something  totally original. Nothing about what they do can ever have been done  before in any way shape or form, otherwise they risk being called  "derivative". How utterly absurd.         
                      
These critics like to say Bouguereau's work is really only  derivative, harking back to earlier artists. Only in the 20th century  has such a thing ever been scorned. To this I have one thing to say:         
                      
What, dear friends, is wrong with being derivative?         
                      
That's one of the core beliefs of modernism that must be  soundly vanquished by common sense and logical analysis. Nobody can  accomplish anything of merit if they are in fact not derivative. Only by  mastering the accomplishments of the past and then adding to it can we  go still further. Every other field of endeavor recognizes this truth.  Without the knowledge of the past we are doomed to everlasting  primitivism.         
                      
And, as far as holding our works up to the old masters,  that's what we want to have happen. If we are to accomplish things of  true merit and excellence, we must germinate and nurture great masters  in the next millennium, too. Bouguereau was quite aware that his work  would be compared on the altar of past accomplishments, as did his  contemporaries. It was precisely because they mastered the techniques of  the past, built upon them and then opened them up to an avalanche of  new subject matter and Enlightenment ideals, that they accomplished the  greatest half-century of painting in art history.         
                      
And when we talk about the basic criteria and parameters of  the academic tradition that built from the 14th through 19th centuries,  Bouguereau ,  Lord Leighton  and  Alma-Tadema  were second to none.         
                      
Could Bach and Beethoven and Mozart have achieved their  masterpieces if someone before had not discovered scales and the circle  of fifths? Does that mean these musical giants were nothing but  derivative too? In fact all great literature exists due to the existence  of advanced language. This upside down thought process would make  Dosteovsky, Balzac, Chekhov, Shakespeare and the Brontë sisters  derivative as well. If you think about it a bit you will see that these  are exact analogies. There is nothing any more derivative about these 19th century Traditional-Humanist-Academic masters.         
                      
Being derivative is entirely different from copying. Copying  itself can have value, but only for the purposes of instruction.  Obviously, a copied work is not original art. But modernist ideologues  have disingenuously dismissed all realist art as "derivative" as if that  were the same as copying.         
                      
Additionally, students today are taught that every parameter  upon which any standard for quality and excellence can be deduced is  improper, because it's "limiting to freedom of expression."         
                      
There can be no story, for then you have to stay within the "tight boundaries" of the tale.         
                      
There can be no illusion, for then you are "chained" by the need to recreate a sense of three dimensions.         
                      
There can be no drawing, as that can be "limiting" to objects or people or things taken from the real world.         
                      
They want to remove the "shackles" of modeling, perspective, or subject matter of any sort.         
                      
There certainly can be no attempt at harmonizing of the above parameters with composition, color and tonality, for that would "restrict" one to making everything work together.         
                      
On the contrary, they have been propagandized by modernism  into believing that only those works that break boundaries, ignore  standards, and show no interest in skill or technique can be truly  "original" or "inspired." In fact originality of methods take precedence over all else.  If something has been done before, or is derivative in any way of  anything that was done before, it thereby loses value proportionate to  those similarities. In such a "Through the looking glass" world, every  would-be "artist" is placed in the untenable position of trying to  create an entirely new art form in order to be considered relevant. The  sheer glaring reality is that nothing could be more imprisoning,  binding, restricting, chaining and shackling than the impossible  limitations of modernism and post-modernism, that remove from the  would-be artist every tool (including training) that could give him or  her the ability to create great works of art. The simple truth is that  each and every one of us (and I mean nearly every human being), is  capable of thinking of something that has never been done before. Does  that make it worth doing and the work of genius?      

For example:         
             
(1) I could carefully (with enough money) dig up an old  bombed out tenement building in the Bronx, and have it transported to a  special slab built for it in Central Park. Rope off the structure and  aim lights at it at night and give it a title, and with enough pomp and  circumstance think of twenty reasons why this is sheer brilliance and  genius.                              
                                         
(2) I could boil the entrails of several different  animals and then preserve them by imbedding them in clear plastic. I  could then hang them from a mobile with similarly preserved body parts  of cadavers, and have critics claim that this is the greatest artistic  statement about the horrors of war since Guernica                              
                                     
(3) I could imbed into the walls, ceiling and floors of a  small room, pieces of neon lights, parts from broken machines and  engines, and broken pieces of structural building materials like bricks,  beams and cinder blocks. Then I could glue between everything millions  of nails, nuts and bolts, and have clever writers and critics point out  how this room (which could be installed at MOMA or the Guggenheim) is  the quintessential statement of the effects of the industrial age on  human psychology.                              
                          
                                   
Well, those three ideas took all of 3 minutes to think of.  MY GOD! This must mean I'm three geniuses rolled into one. Why, at this  rate I could come up with more brilliant ideas for Modernism than all of  the modernist geniuses put together, if I just would put aside a week  or two.         
                      
The thing here that really is interesting is not their art at all, but the statement it makes about the nature of our species — that  so many seemingly intelligent people have been so easily snookered by  the tongue-twisting, convoluted illogic of modernist rhetoric.  Clearly for many people it is more important to feel that they are some  part of an elitist in-group that is endowed with the special ability to  see brilliance where the bulk of humanity sees nothing and is afraid to  say so. 

Since most people aren't devoted to or educated in fine art, they  have successfully intimidated the bulk of humanity into cowering away  in silence, feeling foolish for their inability to understand. The  average person shrinks away from believing the reality of his or her own  senses in the face of seemingly overwhelming numbers of people in  this 20th century "establishment" who authoritatively dictate what is  great art and what everyone should be seeing.         
                      
Modern and Post-modern Art is nihilistic and anti-human. It  denigrates humanity along with our hopes, dreams, desires and the real  world in which we live. All reference to any of these things is  forbidden in the canonistic halls of modernist ideology. We can see that  their hallowed halls are a hollow shell, a vacuous, vacant vault that  locks their devotees away from life and humanity. It ultimately bores  the overwhelming bulk of its would-be audience, who can find nothing  with which to relate.         
                      
It has been called exciting and cutting-edge, but the sad  truth is that it is incredibly humdrum and monotonous. Whether you glue  together pieces of plastic or shards of glass, assemble metal scraps or  piles of feathers. Whether you dribble little dollops of colors or drag  fat uneven slashes of black. Whether you compile a mountain of paper or  wrap the Statue of Liberty. The effect is always the same. MEANINGLESS PRIMITIVISM.         
                      
Modernism is art about art. It endlessly asks the question, ad nauseam:  What is art? What is art? Only those things that expand the boundaries  of art are good; all else is bad. It is art about art. Whereas all the  great art in history, my friends, is ART ABOUT LIFE.         
                      
Of course, this isn't exactly the first time in history that  ideas which were complete shams managed to engulf the belief systems of  entire cultures and civilizations. In many of those in the past, the  lunacy was enforced by the severest of punishments for anyone who would  dare to speak out. 

At least we live in a time and place where it's  possible to speak against this consummate con that has been perpetrated  against the greatest period of artistic development and achievement in  the history of Western Civilization and culture over the last 500 years.  

Three-quarters of the 20th century will go down in art history as a  great wasteland of insanity — a nightmarish blip in the long road of the  development of human logic and reason and art, from which we are only  just starting to awake.         
                      
The artists of the 19th century exhibited a deep,  abiding respect for humanity and human feelings. A respect for our  minds, our spirits and our reason, and a love of beauty, grace and true  excellence and accomplishment.  Bouguereau ,  Lord Leighton ,  Waterhouse ,  Burne-Jones  and the other giants of the 19th C. tried to capture those  things that are good and decent in our species. Their accomplishments  are the quintessential high point of hundreds of years of human study  and development in the art of painting. They are arguably the greatest  painters that history has ever produced. Bouguereau especially fits this  description. How fitting and sadly obvious that he should be  characterized as the chief villain by those who would destroy rather  than build — who celebrate chaos rather than order and beauty.          

He continues…

Recently, a contributor to an on-line art forum I subscribe to made the following comments about Picasso,             
                              
I love the way Picasso did that woman all shards and  angles. I don't recall the name of the work. But, he painted the woman  in her turmoil how she tore herself apart within, and how he saw what  her turmoil did to her. He painted the way he saw her, as fragmented as  he saw her. She was a beauty on the outside. Yet, he painted the ugly  face of her turmoil, and in so doing painted his turmoil as well.             
                              
Picasso worked in a turbulent time. I think it's why  some of his works appeared to be reflections in a broken mirror. Shards,  impressions all cut up and each with a voice about his subjects and of  Spain. His work shows a deeply sensitive artist and was a pivotal point  for the Russian avant garde school that said it was okay to feel in  paint, to get all the chaos out in paint ... I didn't love him until I  studied him ...             
                              
- Laurie                      

And he continues…

I thought it fitting to read here my response to her.         
                                       
Laurie and Goodart subscribers,             
                              
I really need to address these ebullient expressions of praise for Picasso a bit more precisely.             
                              
Laurie, this is not to fault you at all, but to analyze  the description you have made which reflects the gospel that is taught  about him in most art history courses. His name and "achievements" have  become so "untouchable" within the sacrosanct walls of modernist  cathedrals, that to do any other than you have stated here would be like  criticizing the cross or the bible in the College of Cardinals.             
                              
Let's look at this one idea at a time.             
                              
You said that, "He painted the woman in her turmoil how  she tore herself apart within, and how he saw what her turmoil did to  her".             
                              I
n fact, all that he painted was a messy  characterization of a woman in which the forms and shapes don't align or  create any cohesive form. The drawing is virtually non-existent, and  the disintegration of all artistic elements are self-consciously laid  out for the express purpose of rejecting prior artistic standards.             
                              
There is no beauty in her face, or for that matter,  ugliness. There isn't even a face ... but elements thrown together with  just enough evidence to let the viewer know that it was meant to suggest  a face.             
                              
Everything about the finished product is utterly awful  and would be beneath the capabilities of a talented 12 year old.             
                              
Now, what if you are a theorist who needs to justify  this hodge-podge of sloppy color and form? What can you creatively think  of to place value and meaning, where none exists ... especially, if you  are being paid to do just that?             
                              
It's simple: you need but approach the work as you would  a Rorschach inkblot test, where anyone can use  creative ability to  make up a story, suggested by little, if any, information. If you want  this man's work to be valued highly, you must create a tale of great  importance, with meaning, which, when discussed or analyzed in  intellectual circles, will be considered profound and meaningful.             
                              
The idea of a lady being ugly on the inside is a concept  from literature, psychology, and in fact all of human history.  Ugliness, mean-spiritedness, and turmoil are major concepts that tint  all of human experience. So you simply say that the messiness represents  that, and look how brilliant he is to have captured it.             
                              
But in truth he has done nothing of the kind. The  writers who said that was what it means were the one who did it, and not  the artist. Inner turmoil and ugliness on the inside is far more  difficult to capture, and takes intense, subtle handling of story  telling, composition, drawing, and realistic rendering to successfully  convey so that it can be recognized without any words. Waterhouse's Lady of Shalott and Bouguereau's Divideuse both capture beautiful women loaded with inner turmoil, and Cabanel's Cleopatra testing poisons on slaves  portrays intense inner ugliness within a beautiful face and figure  infinitely better than these broken blotchy messes on canvas by Picasso.             
                              
But when the modernist professors say that's what it  means, then implicit in their words is that if you don't see it too  you're stupid and tasteless. Also to not see it becomes associated with  not seeing how wonderful that subject matter would be. And it is after  all truly wonderful subject matter. Only one problem; Picasso didn't paint it.             
                              
You say, "his work shows a deeply sensitive artist," but  I don't conclude any sensitivity whatsoever. What is there is the  sensitivity of a bull in a china shop, who stomps around breaking all  the beautiful porcelain, and then with an army of critics lined up with  their nostrils flaring dares anyone to criticize the dump he just left  in the your living room. 

"Either you love my turds or you are against  freedom of expression." 

If you don't want it in your museum, you're the  enemy of freedom of speech. Faced with such intimidation surely many  would rather line up in support. But there is truly nothing there. It's a trick of words and intimidation.  An Illusion of social pressure and fearful conformity.             
                              
His school, "... said it was okay to feel in paint, to  get all the chaos out in paint ... I didn't love him until I studied him."             
                              
Of course you didn't love him until you studied him.  What you learned to love was all the explanations about worthwhile  concepts and subjects. And with a training right out of Pavlov, you were  taught to salivate when you were shown things that caused associations  to those worthwhile ideas.             
                              
But Laurie, WHERE'S the BEEF? You're salivating at a  symbol much the way people react to their country's flag. The flag comes  to be seen as beautiful because it represents family, home and hearth,  friends, loyalty, and the things we love. You've been taught to react to  symbols instead of responding with the freedom of independent thought  to works of art that are not supposed to be flag-like-symbols of great  artistic ideas, but the great works of art themselves, which  communicate, through a readily discernable visual language, some aspect  of the human condition.             
                              
You had to be taught to love Picasso, because nobody  would love him otherwise. But people don't need to be taught to love  Rembrandt ,  Michelangelo ,  Bouguereau , or for that matter Chopin, Beethoven, Bach, or Tom Sawyer, The Grapes of Wrath, Alice in Wonderland, or The Christmas Carol.             
                              
Teaching and information can add to the depth of understanding of great works                 of art, but they are great initially by their ability to capture the soul                 and imagination of the viewer, without thousands of words to instruct us                 on how to deny the evidence of our own senses and to deny our innate sense of truth and reason.             
                              
Of course, what tends to happen to people who have  allowed themselves to be convinced that the emperor is wearing beautiful  clothes, is that they have become "ego invested" due to years of having  parroted the same falsehoods ... and the associated humiliation that  goes with acknowledging that one has been had. The more years, and the  more said in support of Modernism, the greater the difficulty in  breaking through the gestalts, and taking off the iconic blinders,  shedding all the preconceptions and looking again with "innocent eyes"  and describing what is really there (at least to yourself), and then  comparing it to the maligned academics like  Waterhouse ,  Bouguereau ,  Lord Leighton ,  Burne-Jones ,  Gérôme , and  Alma-Tadema , and deciding with freedom of thought and an honest wish to find the  truth, which of them indeed are works of art, and which are snake oil  salesmen."                      

He continues…

And so I ended that letter.         
                      
The change in people's perceptions about this is happening  now very quickly. Even this austere institution, probably the greatest  museum in the Western Hemisphere, just a couple of summers ago had a  major retrospective of one of these maligned 19th century  masters, Edward Coley Burne-Jones. 

And in their literature on the show  declared him one of the three greatest English artists of the last  century, along with Constable and Turner. In fact, the Metropolitan  Museum deserves great credit for being one of the first great  institutions to once again hang their Bouguereaus and Gérômes,  Meissonnier  and Burne-Jones, on permanent exhibit in the face of scathing criticism from the press back in 1980.         
                      
Soon after, Laurie followed this with a good-natured post  saying that although she felt that I may have insulted her intelligence,  she loved me all the same. To which I responded:         

And …

Laurie,             
                              
It was not my wish to insult your intelligence. The very  brightest of people are just as vulnerable. It is in human nature to go  along to get along. I certainly did it too when I was in college and  grad school in fine art. Even when I was finally willing to speak my  mind about Pollock, de Kooning, Rothko and Warhol .... Picasso was  somehow sacrosanct, and I would pay lip service to his brilliance while  the works of the other modernists I allowed myself to see as they were.             
                              
It wasn't until I hit about 40 years old that I started  to more fully recognize the power of prestige suggestion and social  intimidation in forming opinions.             
                              
To truly judge your own feelings and opinion about a  work of art, you need to look at it as if it were painted by a complete  unknown, perhaps some student in another town, and then ask yourself  what your opinion of that work would be then. Would you think it was one  of the greatest works in the history of civilization, would it even be  great ... or good ... or mediocre .... or just plain bad?                      

So true.

He continues further…

I know now absolutely that nearly all the works by most of  the famous Modernists are truly awful on all fronts. 

I also know that  the best works by  Bouguereau  and  Waterhouse  would thrill me to my bones even if they had been painted by complete unknowns.  When I saw a Bouguereau for the first time, I had never heard of him,  but my response was immediate unambiguous and self-validating. I needed  no books or texts or convoluted explanations. The strength of the work  was powerful, unique, immediate and overwhelming. 

It was exactly as I  had felt in the presence of Michelangelo's David. Ah, but when I saw the David  I was already predisposed to see what history considered one of  humanity's greatest masterpieces. However, it was that seminal  experience at 18 that excited my interest in art. The Bouguereau that I  saw, Nymphs and Satyr,  was when I was 32 years old, and it's effect was equally profound,  changing the course of my life, ultimately leading me to this podium  here today.         
                      
Don't let pride get involved here. Don't even answer me. Just ask yourselves and answer honestly.         
                      
One common claim that you hear repeatedly is that the proof  that some abstract expressionists were great artists, can be found in  their high quality academic student drawings. My answer to this is that  it's really irrelevant whether or not they could do a decent student  drawing. If anything it only makes it sadder that promising young talent  was wasted. The quality and value of their "mature" work is not helped a  bit by showing that they could draw decently when young.         
                      
The best way to prove that is to consider the inverse.         
                      
Would  Raphael  or Bouguereau's mature work be somehow made the worse if their student  drawings from decades earlier had been of poor quality? Their great  paintings would still be just as great, and de Kooning's hideous smears  for which he is so famous are still just as awful.         
                      
I am quite certain that every artist in this audience paints  better than all of the famous modernists and post modernists, and is  more deserving of societal attention and praise. Yet still, so-called  "major works" of theirs can sell for between 2 and 25,000,000 dollars at  auction. The dirty little secret, however, that the modernist  establishment and the press has been hiding, is that those same works  sold for two to three times those prices back in 1988 and 1989. While  the prices of all the icons of modernism peaked at that time, and any  money invested then has declined a whopping 50 to 80%, the market for  Gérôme ,  Waterhouse ,  Bouguereau ,  Alma-Tadema ,  Burne-Jones ,  Rossetti ,  Millais  and  Lord Leighton , has increased between 2000 and 10,000 percent since 1975. 

Every year,  records are being broken again and again. 

In 1977, the world record  price for a Bouguereau was $17,000. Now, in the past 3 years, the world  records for his work first topped a million dollars in 1997, then a  million and a half in 1998, two and a half million in 1999, and last  May, Charity sold for over $3,500,000. Additionally, last June the world record for any Victorian painting was completely trampled when Saint Cecilia, by John William Waterhouse, sold for just over $10,000,000 in London to Andrew Lloyd Weber.         
                      
There are only 826 Bouguereaus and about 465 Tademas in the  world. Do you know how many Picassos there are? Can anybody here guess?  There are 80,000 of them, and the balance between supply and demand has  faltered, and like the dot com stocks of last year they will soon come  crashing down along with hundreds of billions of paper profits lost in  the dust of history. Like the tulip bulbs in the 17th century, or Tokyo  Real estate in the 1980's, investors will be decimated. If I owned a  work by any of those "Abstract artists" I would be racing to cash it in  before the fall, and that has been my recommendation to dozens who have asked me.         
                      
Many of my friends in and out of ARC have told me that I  shouldn't talk so much about the modernists. One of them recently wrote  to me saying, "I really don't think we help our cause by helping  talentless modernists get press coverage." Another fearfully said,  "Don't criticize the modernists, just focus on what's good."         
                      
I replied as follows:         

His reply…

When have the modernists ever held back from criticizing  traditional and academic art? The problem with this attitude, while I  also find it very appealing, is that our not talking about the  modernists doesn't really mean much.             
                              
The fact is that they are being talked  about with high praise, in nearly every university art department and  art history course in the western world ... parroting the same things  that they were taught. They are also being constantly celebrated and  exhibited by the biggest and most prestigious museums and getting rave  reviews in the newspapers as often as not.             
                              
If somebody doesn't explain to everybody why they're not  really any good, and why they're not really even artists, and how the  whole thing is a hoax, then they will continue their propaganda and  continue brainwashing our children and intimidating them into feeling  stupid if they don't go along to get along ... and they'll do it  unopposed.             
                              
If we don't speak up and tell the world that the  Emperor's naked, nobody else will. We may not want to talk about them,  but we have to if we are going to have any chance of turning things  around. We have to provide a theoretical and philosophical context for  the feelings of the tens of millions of people out there who are  disgusted and feel an aversion for Modernism ... but feel afraid to say  so. They need to know that they are not alone and they need to have  their feelings validated. And at the same time, we need to provide  alternatives ... rich alternatives with great traditional art and with  countless images of the greatest paintings in history.                      

So well put…

And now ladies and gentlemen ... artists ... portrait  artists ... I come at this point ... to you. Who are you? Who do you  think yourselves to be? Well let me tell you how I see you. You are  beyond doubt, the true artistic heroes and heroines of the 20th century.   

Many of you know that I am the chairman of the Art Renewal Center, which you can find at http://www.artrenewal.org. The Art Renewal Center  is building the largest on-line museum on the internet, and is  completely devoted to the return of standards, training and human themes  and subjects in the visual arts. Modern Art is about expanding the  definition of art. 

They believe that "everything is art", or, "Whatever  the artist says is art, is art." 

Well, if everything is art, then  nothing is art. 

Any definition that includes everything is not a  definition at all. As I said, Modern art is "art about art", while all  the great art and literature and theatre throughout history is "Art  about life."         
                      
I wrote about all of you, and your teachers, in the published Philosophy of the Art Renewal Center. Here's what I said:         
                      
Against all odds, and in the face of the worst kind of  ridicule and personal and editorial assault, only a small handful of  well-trained artists managed to stay true to their beliefs. Then, like  the heroes and heroines who protected a few rare manuscripts during  inquisitional book-burnings of the past, these 20th Century art world  heroes managed to protect and preserve the core technical knowledge of  western art. Somehow, they succeeded in training a few dozen determined  disciples. Today, many of those former students, have established their  own schools or ateliers, and are currently training many  hundreds more. This movement is now expanding exponentially. They are  regaining the traditions of the past, so that art may once again move  forward on a solid footing. We are committed in every way possible to  record, preserve and perpetuate this priceless knowledge.         
                      
That's who you are. So if some of you are having trouble  selling your work, or haven't been able to command the prices you  deserve ... if you feel infuriated at piles of bricks and elephant dung  filling museum galleries, while you can only pay to have space allotted  to you for an evening in a great museum like this ... don't despair.  

Your time is coming. You have done humanity a service of such magnitude,  that sadly you will never be properly repaid. Keep painting your great  portraits, and when you can find the time, paint what your heart tells  you to paint, too. 

The modern world is a boiling cauldron of all sorts  of great and absurd ideas, feelings, pathos, pathologies, psycho  pathologies, humiliation, and dehumanizing ideas ... and yet ... yet  even beauty, too, is still here amongst us, here in this hall and  throughout the world, and her manifestations in modern times have been  insufficiently expressed. So, find her in your homes, find her in the  streets, find her in your communities and in nature, and especially,  find her in each other ... and save her ... save her ... protect and  cherish her ... and exalt her back to her rightful place ... a place of  supreme prominence, and bring her back into these our greatest  institutions and our highest citadels of society and culture.         
                      
Thank you.         

So inspiring.

Here’s one of my lost paintings. Destroyed by the “new” America that exists for the few; the oligarchy that controls all.

My art.
I am not a master, but I like to believe that I could have been one. The idea that the oligarchy controlled government can destroy your life’s work, your purposes, and everything that you have created so that they can implement some kind of selfish utopia is distrubing. It show that they are, and the systems that they have created, are pure psychopaths and psychopathic in nature.

.

Psychopathic systems do not lend longevity to society. Instead they offer a means of destruction.

I aruge that the oligarchy can only continue upon this path that they tred upon by converting everyone to adopt their methodology, or to convert everyone into mindless, emotionless followers.

How about other examples…

"In retrospect, this seems a horrific thing to have done."

Ya. Think?

There are so many examples of great works of art that used to be owned by museums for public enjoyment, but that have been sold off to private collectors. And while some have been repurchased by other museums and are now available for viewing, the battle to obtain these “lost works” was contentious in many cases. We are , and should consider ourselves, to be lucky. Lucky that the oligarchy has allowed us to be able to view these works on the internet. Lucky to be able to recognize that they existed and still exist, and lucky that they were not burned in bonfires of progressive revisionism and fashion.

Examples of artworks that have been sold off…

Let’s look at just some of the art; the paintings that the museums around the world has sold off for the price of a cup of coffee…

Constant Afternoon Langour painting.
Constant Afternoon Langour by Jean-Joseph Constant (Benjamin-Constant) (1845-1902, France)

And…

Bramley Frank - A Hopeless Dawn
Bramley Frank – A Hopeless Dawn

And…

Herbert Draper Lament for Icarus
Herbert Draper – Lament for Icarus
Draper's vision of Icarus, crashed and dead on the rocks, stays true to the myth and yet has a drama to it that is definitely the making of a more contemporary mind. Nearly 50% of the canvas is covered by the image of Icarus' gigantic, broken, dark wings. The wings are so huge they are cut off at the top left of the canvas and at the middle right. 

This makes the image seem even larger than life. It is as if we look through a window that is not large enough to hold the view. It is possible that the advent of the camera influenced the artist's eye in choosing this unusual perspective. 

But the impact is successful, dramatic and highly emotional because of the skill in which the wings are painted. 

They are so huge, in fact, that they make shadows on much of what remains of the canvas. They are so immense and yet they have failed poor Icarus so completely. 

Icarus lies dead; a darkening figure still strapped to the useless wings, as a sorrowful and sensual nymph pulls his upper torso gentle towards her. Two other nymphs look on woefully. The canvas creates a heart breaking darkness with small splashes of gold light falling on the nymphs and the far rock wall. The golden light is reminiscent of the hope for freedom that Dadelus had once had for his son Icarus. 

All life, beautiful or not, comes to an end, and all our grand strivings lead us to the same end. The power in this work of art is the sense of loss it projects. If you read the text in the catalogue, it mentions other layers of possible meaning. Simon Toll makes note that Draper's father died shortly before this painting was executed and he suggests that this painting "may also be a private statement of loss." The text also suggests that the painting may be a tribute to the artist Leighton, who died two years earlier.

-ARC

And…

Lady Godiva by Lefevbre Claude Gheerbrant - Musée de Picardie
Lady Godiva by Lefevbre Claude Gheerbrant – Musée de Picardie

Examples of “art” that have been purchased by museums afterwards…

Let’s have a look at the kinds of art that the museums (all over the world) purchased once they discarded the “old” and “outmoded” art…

White Fire I by Barnett Newman
White Fire I by Barnett Newman

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Would you believe that this ridiculous-looking canvas was sold for $3.8 million? This abstract painting, which is comprised of two straight lines, was created in 1954. Barnett is an American artist who is a strong follower of abstract expressionism.

Abstract Expressionism, broad movement in American  painting that became a dominant trend in Western painting during the  1950s. The movement comprised many styles varying in both technique and  quality of expression. Artists include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko,  Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler.

-Abstract Expressionism | Definition

This painting, which follows the color field painting style, is one of the few pieces that he has created during his lifetime. Barnett is considered the greatest color field painters of his time. That is the reason why this expensive painting is very popular now.

Or how about a museum considering this to be a worthwhile addition…

Royal Red and Blue

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This is one of the most basic paintings to date but don’t let its simplicity fool you. It was sold for a whopping $75.1 million during a Sotheby’s auction in November of 2012.

The painter, Mark Rothko, is a known abstract expressionist.

This painting date back 1954 and basically has three blocks of color – and that’s it. Rothko is an American painter with Russian and Jewish Roots. He is known for the color field method style of painting which was popular in New York during the 50’s.

Summary of Color Field Painting

Color Field Painting is a tendency within Abstract Expressionism, distinct from gestural abstraction, or Action Painting. It was pioneered in the late 1940s by Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Clyfford Still,  who were all independently searching for a style of abstraction that  might provide a modern, mythic art and express a yearning for  transcendence and the infinite. 

To achieve this they abandoned all  suggestions of figuration and instead exploited the expressive power of  color by deploying it in large fields that might envelope the viewer  when seen at close quarters. Their work inspired much Post-painterly abstraction, particularly that of Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Jules Olitski, though for later color field painters, matters of form tended to be more important than mythic content.

-The Art Story

The idea is to paint the canvas with large blocks of solid colors giving off an impression of an uneven surface and a flat plane. This painting pretty much depicts that, although very simplistic that you can imagine a toddler painting this art piece, it has a surprisingly outrageous value.

Interchange
Interchange

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To a lot of people, this can be viewed as a real abstract painting with a lot of character in it. There is no doubt about it- but to be valued at $300 million sparks a different kind of conversation.

As with all abstract art, most people can claim they can paint something similar, but in fact, there is more to this painting that meets the eye.

William de Kooning is a New York painter, but is originally from Netherlands. This artwork is an example of ‘action painting’ which is a technique where the artist spontaneously splash paint on canvas versus the traditional painting style that is meticulous and takes time to complete.

Action painting, direct, instinctual, and highly  dynamic kind of art that involves the spontaneous application of  vigorous, sweeping brushstrokes and the chance effects of dripping and  spilling paint onto the canvas. The term was coined by the American art  critic Harold Rosenberg to characterize the work of a group of American  Abstract Expressionists who utilized the method from about 1950.

-Action painting | art | Britannica

It is somehow a form of physical art.

This technique is made popular during the 40’s to 60’s and has coined the concept of abstract expressionism. This painting was made in 1955 and is now housed in the private collection of Kenneth C. Griffin.

Onement VI
Onement VI

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This is one of the most boring paintings that you will ever see but you will be surprised to know that this blue colored canvas sold for over $43 million in 2013. It is one of the works of Barnett Newman, a known abstract expressionist. He has done a number of similar paintings such as this and has an entire “Onement” collection, which is basically composed of one dominant color and a division (what he calls a ‘zip’) right smacked in the middle. The zip is used to define the space of his paintings. This New York artist was born in 1905 and has made a following because of his color field art.

Birthday by Paul Klee
Birthday by Paul Klee

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If you don’t know better, you might mistake this for a preschooler’s art project. This is actually a painting from the famed painter Paul Klee. It starts off with an odd old maroon color with asymmetrical and disorganized images of triangles and squares, and oh yes, an odd orange circle in off center. One can maybe make this out as a series of houses or even a castle- but, hey, what do we know. Paul Klee is a Swiss-German painter born in 1879. Most of his works are now housed in varied museums all over the globe.

Blue Rectangle Over The Red Beam
Blue Rectangle Over The Red Beam

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If you hear the word ‘painting’ you might be imagining something with a lot of imagination, color gradients and creative imagery. This painting from Kazimir Malevich is far from being complicated or deep but it is one of the most significant work of art to date.

Malevich is actually the pioneer of geometric abstraction- that is pretty obvious with his love of squares and rectangles.

Geometric abstraction, through the Cubist process of  purifying art of the vestiges of visual reality, focused on the inherent  two-dimensional features of painting. This process of evolving a purely  pictorial reality built of elemental geometric forms assumed different stylistic expressions in various European countries and in Russia.

-Geometric Abstraction | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of ...

This artwork was sold in Sotheby’s auction for a staggering $60 million and is the most expensive piece of Russian artwork of all time.

No. 5, 1948
No. 5, 1948

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To the naked eye, this painting may simply look like a piece of stringy lines splashed around using a yarn, just like those kindergarten art projects kids use to make. This is an artwork done by Jackson Pollock in the year 1948. It is quite a large piece of artwork measuring 8 ft by 4 ft. He is a known abstract expressionist.

This painting in fibreboard uses brown, yellow, white and grey paint. It is often tagged as a dense bird’s nest because of the way the strips of paint overlap each other. This artwork was reported to be sold for over $140 million to a private collector.

Black Square
Black Square

This oil painting was done in oil on linen and is now housed at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. As you would have realized by now, the painting is a mere black square. But there is a lot of philosophy and history behind this seemingly plain and dull painting. This piece is dubbed as the ‘zero point of painting’ and a combination of various art methods including futurism and constructivism. This is one of the prime works of Kazimir Malevich, who is the leader in Russian avant-garde art and has several pieces of similar works under this collection. He described this artwork as ‘liberated nothing’.

Conclusion(s)

One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting.I was looking forward to a quiet view of the art works.
       
A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted nonstop between themselves.I watched them a moment and decided the wife was doing all the talk.I admired the husband's patience for putting up with her continuous talk.Distracted by their noise,I moved on.
       
I met with them several times as I moved through the different rooms of art.Each time I heard her constant burst of words,I moved away quickly.
       
I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a purchase when the couple came near to the exit.Before they left,the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a white object.He extended it into a long stick and then tapped his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket.
        
"He's a brave man."The clerk at the counter said,"Most of us would give  up if wewere blinded at such a young age.During his recovery he made a  promise that his life wouldn't change.So ,as before,he and his wife come  in whenever there's a new art show."
       
"But what dose he get out of the art?"I asked,"He can't see."
        
"Can't see?You're wrong.He sees a lot.More than you or I do."The clerk said,"His wife describes each painting so he can see it in his head."
       
I learned something about patience,courage and love that day.I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without sight and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life.And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away hand in hand.

-MoFanGe

If you were in the role of the wife (as described above – explaining each painting to her husband), how would you go about describing the more traditional artworks that the museums have sold off? How long would each painting take to describe?

Likewise, how would you describe the new progressive artworks? How long do you think it would take to describe them?

Perhaps this simple measurement, this idea in how to describe the impressions of art that is presented to you, is an element of it’s value and worth. Not that of the amount of currency that is used to purchase it, but rather the emotions and feelings that are generated upon viewing it.

I have argued HERE that the oligarchy is populated with psychopathic individuals that not only are unable to emote, but are unable to feel or express real emotions. Instead they only mimic actions and facial expressions to manipulat others to follow and believe them. As such, these psychopathic individuals see no value in art. Their only value is how they can be used as an element in financial exchange and commerce.

And thus, the study of art, is the study of the oligarchy that rules us.

The oligarchy that rules 99.9% of humans have evolved into a new KIND of human.

They are in possession of a service-for-self sentience, and are extremely good at manipulation, creation and generation of money and currency, as well as the accusition of power as well as the control over others. They are weak in the ability to express emotions and cannot emote. Medically they are known as psychopathic personalities and a healthy society cannot afford to have individuals of this disposition near any positions of power.

As they see no value in the art like “normal” people, they have subverted the institutions that they control; the libraries, the museums, and the art world into something that they understand. They understand money and using objects as trade mediums. They do not conderstand or emote the value of art.

And finally…

This movement towards progressive revisionism can only originate from those that are unable to understand art. They have no idea or concept of evoked emotion via visual stimulation. It is alien to them. They couldn’t understand it in any of it’s myrid forms. Thus…

Indeed, thus…

The entire progressive revisionism movement from art, to culture to society is driven from the oligarchy downward. It is their efforts to redraw the world into a “utopia” that they can understand and embrace.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Art index here…

ART

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You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

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Just some artwork that I painted that is now lost forever.

I have discussed in previous posts that I had a studio and that I painted in oils. I like to think that I was “good”, but not great. Never the less, it was a love of mine, and when I was “retired”, I lost everything. Here in this post / article, I preserve for eternity (well, at least for a while) some photos of my life prior to my “retirement”. Just some photos of my studio, and some of my paintings in various stages of creation. Sorry, but I really do not have any completed and finished paintings that I can show.

I dredged up these photos from an old email account.

I was surprised that they still existed. And in them I saw photos of family members now dead, and friends now dead, and my beloved pets as well. Now all dead. I saw pictures of my furniture, my homes, my cars, and my belongings. Now all long gone. I saw pictures of my art. Important to me. Now, forever discarded or sold off to others somewhere.

Please enjoy.

Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues.

This first photo is of my den / office.

Most of these pictures come from my life in Erie Pennsylvania rather than my house in Arkansas. I wasn't in Arkansas long enough to acquire enough photographs. I was only there for a few months.

The strange thing about my entire retirement was that I had lived in Pennsylvania for years, then met a girl. Got a job in Arkansas. Moved there, and then six months later, I was arrested, imprisoned, lost everything and retired in the ADC Pine Bluff Diagnostic facility by some MAJestic staff out of Washington DC. It all happened in a short period of time. Months really.

But that's how it works. The "retirement" happens in an incarceration-friendly state. It was critical to get me out of the "mid-West" or East, and down to the hard "Bible Belt" where they could do what they wished without thought or opposition.
My study.
My study. Yes. It was horribly cluttered with books. All gone now. Sold off to used book sellers at pennies by the ton. At that time in my life, prior to my “retirement”, I had a rather well comfortable nest of sorts, with books, art, and brick a brack that appealed to me.

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Of course, today, my life is much more minimalist. Spartan, actually. I don’t have any books really. Just what I read on the internet.

But in those days, I had amassed an enormous volume of books. I had books upon books, upon books. And I loved every single one of them.

Books and books.
I had book, and books, and books. I’ll tell you what. I literally wall-papered my house in books. I had read every single one of them too. Some, especially the fictional ones, over and over and then over again.

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Here’s a picture of one of my last works prior to my arrest and incarceration. I really liked it, and I planned to leave this under-paining and then begin with the glazes. Adding color and depth to the painting. Typically this period would take months. The first thing I would do is make up a sketch.

This could be in a book, or more often than not using pencil or charcoal on the canvas. Then I might experiment with some oils. Kind of roughing out the image that was developing on the canvas. I called this a pre- pre-under-painting. Then from that, I would lay out the under-painting.

This next picture is a of a under-painting before I began the real painting.

My studio and a under painting.
My studio was just as cluttered as my study. I had a big ol’ easel that dominated the well-lit room, and my pallet. It smelled like turpentine, linseed oil and all sorts of the joys that an artist studio would smell like. Here is an under painting. Under-painting were doing in black and white and shades of grey. Then you apply thin transparent lays of paint over the images that you lay out.

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You can see my pallet on the lower edge of the image, and my brushes and oils.

I really wish that I could have been allowed to finish this painting before it was destroyed. It spoke to me.

Here’s a clearer view…

Bobble head hello kitty.
It’s funny the things that you miss. On the far right is my bobble-head hello kitty. When the light would hit the photo sensor the head would start to gently move side by side. A nice slow relaxing pace. On the wall is one of my first nudes. So very amateurish. But was meaningful to me.

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It’s not that I want to relive the past, but I have gotten some emails from jack-asses that think that I make up everything that I write about. They say things like “no one can be doing all the things that you claim to have done”, and other nonsensical insults along those lines.

Life is what you make of it.

My love was art, literature and poetry. My background has always been technology and the sciences. And my dream has always been directed to space and working with extraterrestrials. I lived that reality.

What’s so hard to believe about that?

Sadly few of my art work survives. All I have are a precious few photos. Here’s another one. Also an under painting. As most of my surviving photos just (by coincidence) are of my under painting efforts.

Unfortunately I have no photos of any of my finished paintings.

Painting 2
Not so good. I just wish that I was able to complete this. There was so much that I wanted to do with the folds on the bed, and the layout of the cats and the gal really appealed to me. I think that this work had some great potential. I intended to have them looking out of a window and i was going to paint a nice guardian scene there.

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Life is funny. My life now does not resemble anything at all like what it used to be. Still… but still, I do really miss painting.

Here is another under-painting. Yes. I did paint in color. It’s only that all my photos are of the under paintings.

The distressed woman.
One of my nude figurative works. it’s paintings like these that ended up getting me labeled as a sex predator, and an “evil threat to society”. When I discussed this issue with my attorney he told me that the DA would “roast me alive”. the folk of Arkansas would not give me a “fair shake”, it wasn’t like Boston, or Chicago or California. They would “hang me”, maybe even literally. He strongly, most strongly suggested that I accept the plea deal offered by the DA.

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When I remember the police telling me that “you could paint houses”, not seeing that my strength was in the figurative forms, it just showed a callous disregard to my inclinations and talents. But they didn’t care. Their job was to get a conviction, and who cared what happened to me. Right?

A long as the world is safe from people like me.

People, you see my life, and what I did. Where in God’s name could I possibly squeeze in the time to be a sick predatory fuck like I was accused of being?

My hobbies took time. They were all consuming. They were my life.

Another view of the painting from an angle. That easel cost about $2000 when I got it. Solid oak. You all might be interested to know that it was torn down and used to make a dog house for one of the neighbors’ pit bull dogs that was chained outside.

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Life. You know. Life.

I look at my life today, and I am happy. I eat well, I have a generally low stress life (aside from the HATE CHINA bullshit that saturates the American “news” media) and what I do and how I live my life. Going through my old photos was a glance into what I was and in many cases, I no longer can relate to it. I look much different. In fact, I look older than I am today. I more resemble photos taken thirty years ago than those taken twenty. The life in the USA was not good to me.

It really wasn’t. And when I tried to live a quiet and unassuming life, sure as shit, someone or something would have to do something about it. An artist! A Painter! A rocket scientist! Nope. Not on my watch!

American "leadership".
American Leadership today.

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The PTB, or the oligarchy have constructed a massive concentration camp. Everything is all about money, and if you are not contributing to make THEM richer, then you are threat to them. This is a top-down leadership.

Look around you.

Really look.

If you compare your life inside the United States with the life outside it, you can see. You can really see, just how “wonderful” you life actually is. Today, we have Federal, State, and Local governments that Americans must deal with. In addition there are County government, and an enormous number of Federal agencies, from ABC to ZZZ that you must deal with. Billions of dollars fund these minions whose sole purpose is to squeeze every last cent from you.

As one commenter stated so clearly, it’s all top driven. While the wealthy run off with handfuls of cash and bales of money, those under them end grab every iota of power and money…

…the crumbs that remain. Soon, it will be the lowest janitors and street sweepers taking the pencils, and paperclips out of the offices. It’s every man for himself.

It’s a free-for-all.

That is America today.

Evening.
Off the bedroom leading towards the study. You can see my bust of the upper male torso, one of my two lava lamps, a vase full of coins and change, and my umbrella rack with my large umbrella. The large oval mirror was my favorite, and when the sun set, and twilight would start to bathe the land in coolness, I would go out to the porch and drink an evening tea, coffee, or beer.

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These photos are just old dusty memories of a time that was seized from me. It’s like a room that I lived in before I walked down the hallway to another room. If I get the inclination, I will once again, pick up a brush and start painting again. Just as long as I am not accused of being an “evil predator” for my depictions of “devil worship“.

The following is a conceptual sketch.

I used to make up conceptional sketches before I would work out my under-paintings. Then I would flush out the painting using layers of semi-transparent glaze. This work (for reasons that I am unable to fathom) was considered to be a “classic example of the manifestation of the devil and his demons”.

I think (personally that it is a stretch, and I wasn’t thinking anything about demons or Satan when I was painting it. Instead I was thinking of higher callings, relationships, and the spiritual side of our beings.

Conceptional sketch.
A conceptional sketch. This is pre under painting. You can tell that at that time in my life I wasn’t really eating well. As in the foreground is a bowl of noodles, and an empty glass of wine. (I’m not a Sophisticated person. I drank out of normal glasses when I drink wine. That way they won’t tip over when I move about.)

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I only wish that I could provide pictures of fully completed paintings. But let it be known that I am a so-so artist, but not an expert or a professional at it. Each painting would take perhaps 400 hours of work. And it was an enjoyment and a pastime that I loved.

When I dug up these pictures I found long lost images of my dad right before he died, and my mother right before she died. I also found pictures of my cat Coco before he died.

When I was seized and hauled off to Jail to wait until my trial (it took two years), “friends” took care of my belongings. My father tried his best, but he made many mistakes. Friends took care of the rest. And after I exited Prison, nothing was found of my belongings except a WTF suitcase full of WTF items.

Anyways, I found some pictures of my cat.

When I was seized and taken to jail, a friend took care of him. He did well, and he told me that Coco was “concerned” for me.

Four months after I was arrested, my friend was taken to the hospital with a brain tumor and died within a week. Coco disappeared. I assumed that he died. If he’s still alive, he would be a very ancient kitty indeed.

My cat Coco.
Coco chilling out after a heavy busy day of catting about.

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He was a little different cat compared to all the other kitties that I had. Instead of cuddling up with me, he thought he was a dog. He liked to play, He would play fetch, and those stop and action games you play with dogs. He would also roll over and let me rub his belly. He like to hang out on the porch and laze about.

Being a black cat and all, of course the Police and DA associated him with Witchcraft. When in truth I could care less what color he was. It wasn’t his fault that he was black.

He used to go out and go out bird hunting. he would always come back with birds and mice that he would put on the porch for us to be proud of. He was one heck of a hunting-cat. he was a great mouser. That’s for certain. He was a warrior kitty. Maybe I should have gotten him a suit of armor.

What do you think?

Suit of armor 1
A Genghis Khan themed Mongol suit of armor for a kitty cat.

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Or maybe this…

Suit of armor 2
A more European Suit of Armor for a kitty cat.

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But alas that never materialized. Coco went off, I believe to Kitty Heaven, and my dog Buddy…

Well, he was carted off to the doggie slammer.

He was sent to the local shelter; kennel because my friend(s) didn’t have any room for him. (!) I guess I can sort of understand if you are renting a place and it is against your lease to have pets, or if you are so poor that a bag of Puppy-Crunchies might cause you to go into bankruptcy.

Buddy
Buddy

Anyways I don’t know what became of the dog. Maybe he ended up as some kind of Frankenstein’s Monster like a frankenpuppy.

I have been told by others, often well-meaning, that I should not get all caught up and concerned about my pets. “They are only animals” I am told. That I am better off with out them. That I don’t need their problems, their expense, and their hassles. Instead I should devote all my energies to rebuilding my life (at 60!) and making money.

Don’t you know…

So I think that they are wrong. These little guys were just great and a significant part of my life. And I just wish that nothing bad came of them. And when I was in Prison and I mentioned my concerns about them, most people understood. But there were some… some really sick fucks… who took my weakness and remorse to poke at me and fill my mind with “what if” horrors that they could have gone through…

…frankenpuppy.

Frankenpuppy.
Frankenpuppy.

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Of course, I really doubt that anything bad or unusual happened to them. There is about a 50/50 chance that Buddy was readopted. He was a real charmer. And Coco, well, he probably expired on one of his hunting expeditions.

Anyways, one of the last paintings that I was working on prior to my arrest and jailing was this paining of this gal in a tub. When I started this under painting, I felt that I was finally “entering my stride”. I had already some great ideas about how I was going to pattern the drapes, and the glazes that I would use on the skin for tones and shading.

Of course, you can argue that my work was still very amateurish, but I think that I was on the verge of creating some very nice works.

My last painting.
My last in-process painting prior to my arrest and incarceration. Still it’s an under-painting, and very simplistic. The fabric needs to be worked on and completed and the surroundings need work. But as simplistic and amateurish as it appears, I enjoyed painting and the thought that this was used as part of the neighbors dog house is repugnant to me.

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Anyways, this a photographic record of the few remaining photographs of my life prior to my retirement.

I believe that we all have stories to tell. And while it might seem interesting or boring to you, you have to realize that everyone has a story to tell. That everyone has adventures in their lives and that if we find out the real and true story; the whole story, then we would have a much better understanding about how our world works and what powers this reality of ours.

I wish that I spent time with my grandparents and sat down and listened to their stories. I did manage to listen to some family stories from my parents, and they were interesting object lessons and curious adventures of what can happen in certain situations. I think we owe it to each other to listen. Just listen to others. And learn.

Learn.

Things are not that simplistic black and white narrative that we read about on the internet. It’s actually very complex and multi-faceted. It is up to us to learn the whole and entire story before we make judgements on others. Listen to others.

Learn from them.

Do you want more?

I have more interesting articles in my Art Index here…

ART

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

To go to the MAIN Index;

Master Index
  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.

[wp_paypal_payment]

If you enjoy what you see, it would be helpful if you could assist in hosting this forum. A donation would be appreciated.

Some selected favorite artworks by William Adolphe Bouguereau with a slight detour towards the crazed religious Right in charge of the American government

This is going to be a (far too abbreviated) article about the great paintings of a man that the world has seemingly forgotten. Which is a shame. But it is also something else as well. For I am going to get really, and absolutely personal about art and what it means to me, and about the United States as well.

You see, and must understand, art is a creation that massages our emotions. If that art generates good thoughts, or treasured memories within us, it becomes priceless and valuable. But consider what would happen if somehow an evil person is able to take that treasured moment away from you. What then?

Thus this post.

The artist that we shall discuss is one of my all-time favorites. His name was William Adolphe Bouguereau, and I had the opportunity to see his works up front and close up in the Carnegie Mellon museum of art in Oakland, Pennsylvania (It’s an upscale suburb of Pittsburgh.)

And while he is no longer popular or appreciated in Art History class, his works and the emotions that they generate lives on through MM.

Carnegie Mellon museum of art in Oakland, Pennsylvania
Carnegie Mellon museum of art in Oakland, Pennsylvania

Indeed, he is not forgotten here.

Fundamentally, William Adolphe Bouguereau was a most amazing painter. And while his paintings inspire and astound, when you look at his works up close, you wonder just how in the world was he able to do what he did. Up close, everything just seems to be dabs and drabs of paint here and there.

You can well imagine him put a drop here, and then a drop there, and then somehow, by some miracle it all comes together in an amazing work of art.

He is considered to be a “French Academic Classical painter, teacher, frescoist and draftsman”. He died in 1905 after 432 amazing works of art.

To see a complete collection of his works you can visit the Art Renewal Center here. Prepare to be stunned and amazed. (Pssst. You can also order prints of his works there to put up in your house or favored spot. - Just a thought. Don't you know.)

What I really want to say about this is that beauty surrounds us everywhere.

And if you have an opportunity, take an afternoon with friends or family and visit an Art museum, and then have a nice lunch. Go out. Have fun. Enjoy life. And if by chance you ever get the chance to see any Academic Classic paintings, by all means go forth and enjoy.

Check out his amazing works.

Inside the art museum.
Having a fun time with the family inside the Carnegie Mellon art museum.

Sigh.

And now the sad part of the story.

I strongly love art for the emotions, the memories and the images that they represent to me on a very personal and visceral basis. While I have never been able to match the mastery of the oils as these Masters have, they have inspired me. And I have taken on my own efforts to pain figurative and allegorical works of my own design. And I like to think of myself as “pretty good”, I would only rate a “7” compared to the Master that is listed herein. Who is, in every way, a “10+”.

Up until my arrest (as part of my “retirement” from the MAJestic organization) I had a nice little studio. I had studios in Kittanning, and Erie Pennsylvania, and in Arkansas. My little studio in Arkansas occupied the garage. And so it was a “partial” studio. One side was bicycle storage, boxes, and a workbench. The other side was a canvas tarp covered floor, natural lighting via light-bulb and my massive painting easel.

The tale of how I was arrested, and how my life was dissembled step by methodical step is a very painful one for me. At that time, I had no idea that I would actually be “retired” as a MAJestic operator. I figured that I was somehow “special” and that my program participation would consist of a debriefing at a government office of some type. But, that did not happen.

I wasn’t important.

At least the (government) powers that be didn’t think that I was. And so, one day, out of the blue I was arrested. And I watched my life fall apart right before my eyes. I watched the entire force of an enormous and all-powerful government peel my life apart, layer by layer until I was raw, nude and helpless.

This story is still painful for me to relate.

Sorry you seem so butt-hurt about the IRS and the USA, etc. Obviously you have a seething rage and hatred for the USA for whatever (unexplained) reason . That’s OK. Stay in China and hate us all you want. Works for me.

-A quote from a jack-ass who was trolling me.

As it is indeed still very painful, I am not going to relate it at this time. But, (unfortunately) in order to know about one of my favorite artists, you will need to know a little bit about HOW I was arrested in Arkansas…

…and how it has affected my love of classical art.

Connecting art with sexual deviance

It’s simple, really.

I had a collection of books on art. many were on techniques, but others were these huge “coffee table” books that people would place on the living room coffee table for casual enjoyment. I had quite a collection of them. And most of my books were of the classics. All full of art by true and real masters.

And, on that fateful day when I was arrested in Arkansas, my large picture book of William Adolphe Bouguereau was used as evidence of my “satanic nature”, and “lust for little children“.

I well remember sitting on the lone chair in the middle of my empty living room…

All of my belongings except for my books, and a mysterious box full of CD ROMS were gone. My home was completely empty including the light bulbs and the light switch covers. Even the fake fireplace had the fake logs gone. As was the built-in microwave, and refrigerator.

On that fateful day, I had just gotten back from a three week trip to China. When I returned I discovered that my car was disabled with four flat tires, my power was turned off, and my home was completely empty except for two chairs, and a pile of books and a big (taped up) box displayed predominantly in the middle of the living room floor.

They raided me in full SWAT gear at 6am as I was leaving the house to go to work. Their black painted armored cars ran over my rose bushes, and two other squad cars blocked up the driveway to my house - a downscale McMansion in a nice section of Maumelle Arkansas.
Maumelle Arkansas house.
My house at the time looked a little something like this, only a tad bigger and my grass much much greener. LOL.

…I sat there, in that lone chair in the middle of the empty living room …

…while the detective in charge of the “investigation” grilled me on sexual matters and my interests. I’ll never forget her holding up my coffee table book of William Adolphe Bouguereau, and making points about all the nudes, the “Satanic nature of my interests” and why I was so fixated on “the dark side of history“.

It has wounded me terribly, and I still smart from their fucking smirks and ignorance. I know, I know…

…it’s Arkansas.

But still. It came as a surprise. You see. While I have read about these things happening, I never thought that it would happen to me.

And since (from now on and forever hence) I will always have those memories associated with certain artists and works of art, I will use that venue to provide the bitter-sweet love of art that I maintain after I was dissembled and “processed” by the jackasses in Arkansas.

I discuss this fact, and my experiences in this article.

Good ol’ boys decided my fate.

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Let’s begin with one of my all-time favorite paintings…

Nymphes et Satyre

Four nymphs tease and play with a satyr by trying to pull him into a lake. One nymph waves behind to three other nymphs in the distance, perhaps beckoning them to come and play with the satyr as well. The satyr half heartedly tries to resist the nymph’s wiles, entranced by their beauty.

Nymphes et Satyre Nymphs and Satyr 260 x 180 cms | 102 1/4 x 70 3/4 ins Oil on canvas Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Williamstown | United States

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You don’t really need to know what nymphs are, or what satyrs are to appreciate this work. But knowing the story behind them adds a three-dimensional understanding of the art and what is being portrayed.

Nymphs are from Greek mythology. 

They are considered to be minor female deities, and have a duty to protect different elements of nature such as streams, mountains and meadows (pantheon). 

The male counterpart for a nymph is a satyr. A satyr is a creature also from Greek mythology having the torso and face of a man, ears and tail of a horse, and feet of a goat. They are known for being lustful and fertile creatures. 

I can’t help but respond that Bouguereau captures an incredible sense of motion in this piece.

One can feel the struggle for the satyr to keep his ground, and the nymphs’ joyous struggle to pull him in. You can just feel the easy going, caviler attitude and peace in the pastoral scene. You can hear the water nymph’s jovial joking and feel their tugging towards the placid pond.

It’s like puppies playing. Or like kittens running around. It’s like small boys and girls playing in the yard on a nice sunny blue-sky day. It’s like Fresca and orange soda, peanut butter sandwiches and very-berry Cool-Aide. It’s water out of a green water-hose on a hot summer day, climbing trees, and riding your banana-seat, high-handle-bars bike all around town.

Childhood in the 1960s.
When I look at this work of art, I am transported back to another time. It makes me forget my current life, and re-experience the feelings and emotions and sensations of another time and another place.

.

Why I love this picture is actually unknown. Somehow, and in some deep way it stirs my soul. But I really cannot vocalize what that special something is. It speaks to me in a deep visceral manner.

.

And that’s the way life is. Not everyone can appreciate how you might feel about a “thing”, or an “object”, or a “piece of art”, or a “bauble”. So you just don’t try.

Consider the Movie “The Object of Beauty“.

It’s pretty much a forgotten movie. Not well appreciated. Just something from the early 1990’s. But it makes a point about what art and beauty and appreciation is… all in terms of the early 1990’s – the decades of greed, swindles and anything / everything for a buck.

And that movie revolves around a small figurine statue. One that is worth money. But is coveted by the owners as a medium of exchange, but stolen by a housekeeper who appreciates it’s intangible beauty…

*sigh*

rare gem overlooked as much as statue                                  nuntukamen18 December 2004             
                              
It is difficult for  me to comprehend why there is only one viewer comment for this film, or  why it is rated under a six. 

If an excellent film is about  entertainment, intelligence, great acting and a terrific story with a  treasury of clever humor that expounds the deeper meaning of a good  relationship between a man and a woman over wealth and selfishly egotistical success, then this is a standout film that achieves a  richness of artistic accomplishment that very few films do. 

No one truly sees the beauty of the bronze statue except the lowly and weathered housekeeper, a financially struggling mute, unable to express the  profound feelings that are moving within her in words, but Rudi Davies  sure gets it across with her expression and eyes. 

I had to drive 30  miles to the Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland's only real art house, during it's original release, but after the film was over I realized it would have been worthwhile if I would have had to walk...

...some films are just that special.
"The Object of Beauty"
The Object of Beauty

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But back to the painting…

When I was a young boy, I actually saw this painting. It sat there predominantly on the wall facing the stairs as you walked up and into the museum proper. My parents went it, and took the right at the top of the stairs and enters. But I didn’t.

And to be very truthful, I just stood there on the steps looking up at it in amazement. It was larger than life to me and spoke to me…

…though, as a boy, I didn’t understand the language.

This work of art is spellbinding.

.

Art and the appreciation of it is a personal matter. And today, art is used as a medium to funnel large amounts of money back and forth between oligarchy members without concern. It’s a method of banking. Not an object of beauty, desire or of significance.

Today, ah, no one cares

As an aside, the DA in Arkansas used my collection of books on art and artists as exhibits as to how terribly “evil” I was. I cannot remember the entire spiel that he gave to my attorney, because frankly, I was taken back at his ignorance and assault on my sensibilities. But a couple phrases stood out…

  • “...a painting depicting Satan surrounded by nude women…”
  • (my) “...obsession with female nudes…”

What is art and beautiful to one observer is evil and a threat to another. Do not make my mistake and think that everyone else can see beauty as you can, or who can understand things as you do, or who appreciates the world in different ways.

And when I was arrested, it was not for the possession of these works of art, or associated books. It was for two images on my laptop computer.

  • A Japanese comic that had a octopus having sex with a cat-like-person.
  • A photo that a doctor said was a girl under the age of 18 showing her genitals.

In Arkansas both images are considered “child pornography”. And each image had up to 40 years imprisonment. So I was facing 80 years.

Pretty fucking weird for a state that allowed people to get married to 16 year old girls. Was a “dry country” where you had to drive into Tennessee to buy alcohol. And where the Church in Down Town Little Rock was larger than the State Capital Building.

You know, I shared a cell in Arkansas at the ADC Brickey’s unit who got two years for killing a guy. I got five years for having two pictures. I just shake my head in perplexing exasperation.

But I digress.

I guess, at heart, I’m just a “hippie”, a “60’s child”.

1960s van.
Hippies in the 1960’s.

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Can you imagine what America would have been like if the Bozos that run America today were in charge of America back in the 1960’s?

Shudder.

GOP lawmaker: God told me to remove rape exceptions from ...
https://deadstate.org/gop-lawmaker-god-told-me-to...

May 24, 2019 · Hill, who is an evangelical Christian, says that the initial exceptions were only there to ensure that the bill would pass. Even though it picked up 20 co-sponsors, it died without getting a hearing in any committee. Hill told the group in Pensacola that he plans to bring the bill back as God intended it, “without any exceptions.”

The point that I want to make is that the emotions that I now feel when I look at these great works of art are now polluted with the imagery of my memories when I dealt with the military police in Arkansas. And while my story seems to be unique, all of the rest of my MAJestic cell had similar stories. And yes, others now call me a real sick person for having those images on my computer. I get it. I understand.

And now, I live a life where I cannot enjoy art like I used to.

I’ll never forget the phrase “you can paint houses“.

And this gem; “no one wants to see paintings like this when all you need do is take a picture“.

And of course the standard narrative; “people like you need to be locked up and separated from society until your malfunction can be corrected“.

We must realize and recognize that there are others, often sick people, who are in positions of power and control and who can squash your life out like an insect. Sick people. Evil people. In positions of power.

Mike Pompeo

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Takes away from the beauty of that great painting, eh?

Yes.

That’s my point.

Pat Robertson says God told him Trump ‘is going to win ...
https://www.christianpost.com/news/pat-robertson...

Oct 21, 2020 · Christian Broadcasting Network chairman and televangelist Pat Robertson said Monday that he believes God told him President Donald Trump will be re-elected for a second term but great civil unrest will ensue. “I want to say without question, Trump is going to win the election,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” Tuesday. “… The election that’s coming up in just a few weeks at which time, according to what I believe the Lord told …

Art is all about the emotions you have while looking at the artwork

I enjoy art because of the feelings and the thoughts and memories they generate.

But, you know…

Some people cannot emote.

They cannot feel emotions. They cannot “relate” to others they are unable to emote or understand how others feel. To them, they cannot see art as anything other than a “thing”, a commodity that you can trick others into buying. These people with this mental illness occupy a significant percentage of our society. Some say that it is even as high as 10%. But one thing is for certain, the ability to make money and accumulate fortunes are in the strong suit for these people.

Thus, in a nation that values money above all else, where capitalism reins supreme you will find these people in positions of power and control.

Key “Republican” members of Government during the Trump Administration.

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The American leadership; the American Oligarchy are are… are… unable to emote. They are unable to experience emotions or understand the emotions of others.

Why?

What are these people’s problem?

Perhaps this video might provide some insight to how the rest of the world views America at this point in time. A point in time, mind you, where the government does not care about the citizens. It only cares of about keeping them down, subservient, and compliant, while they run amok in their crazy delusions and obscene objectives.

Uh…

And one more thing, you will never see this kind of information on any of the Alt-Right, Alt-Left or Mainstream American media. They would rather die than face the truth.

America as viewed by the rest of the world.

Keep that thought in mind. A thought that says that the craziest and most evil people thrive within the American capitalist “democracy” as it exists today. And the most evil, the most selfish, and the most manipulative are able to rise to extreme levels of power and control within the American environment.

Ah.

It’s upsetting.

But let’s move one and look at some more Art. Let’s consider the fact that unlike the products that are churned out of America today, these works endure. They persist and they are established as a stable foundation for what the human species represents. Let’s look at some more of the great works by William Adolphe Bouguereau.

La Vierge aux Anges

Here we have a trio of angels playing music for baby Jesus and the Virgin Mother Mary. I love this picture, and it evokes in me the feelings of love caring, compassion and peace.

This painting can be seen elsewhere on the internet. It is embraced by religious websites and in the websites devoted to greeting and gift cards. I have even seen (I believe) this work reproduced on pictures, post cards, and such things as plates and clocks. A simple image search on Google will help you all find the great diversity of the for-profit avenues that people have used with this work.

The Virgin with Angels
The Virgin with Angels

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Usually, Mary is depicted in blue and white, which I haven’t a clue as to why. And the angels tend to be in shades of white, which is also something that I have no idea about either. Never the less, this is a beautiful painting and very calming.

The Virgin with Angels is a 1900 painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The painting media is oil on canvas, and it measures 185 × 285 cm (72.8 × 112.2 in). It’s a large painting at 6 feet by 9 feet. I imagine that when he painted this, he intended to show the love of the Mother Mary with the baby Jesus and the beauty and support of the surrounding angels. I cannot imagine what he would think that this image was being used on plates and cheap products at Walmart to support a for-profit motive.

When my home was raided they said nothing about this picture. Except maybe a quick pause before they turned the page. It’s hard to find something fundamentally wrong with angels playing violins and other musical instruments. So they just glossed over this painting and went on to the next one..

It’s lovely. Don’t you agree?

Petites Maraudeuses

But they did stop at this painting in the book.

This is a typical work of his. His works that depict children and the life of play are great themes and I well remember some homes of both uncles and aunties that had these kinds of works in their living rooms. (Of course, with a “Great Supper” painting in the kitchen or dining room.)

It is so calming…

It is titled “Little Thieves”. And while the detective and the police didn’t stop to read the captions or text inside the coffee table book, they used the artwork to grill me and goad me to admit to something ignorant and evil.

Petites Maraudeuses

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I once worked with a fellow engineer in Boston. He was a plastics engineer from Pakistan. He saw that I had a miniature reproduction (of this painting) in my office and fell in love with the painting. He used to come into my office and we would chat. But he would always look up at the painting with this kind of far-away look in his eyes. It meant something to him. But his pride was such that he would never admit to it.

So I gave it to him when I was sacked by the company (Laid Off). When I gave it to him he was surprised and he wondered why I did so, and that yes (of course) he would accept it. He said that he secretly loved the painting. He said that it reminded him of his boyhood home. In Pakistan.

Lovely.

The techniques of Bouguereau

You have to admit that this artist had mastered his technique. Is there anything for us to learn?

From the Art Renewal Center

To fully appreciate the art of  Bouguereau  one must profess a deep respect for the discipline of drawing and the  craft of traditional picture-making; one must likewise submit to the  mystery of illusion as one of painting's most characteristic and sublime  powers. Bouguereau's vast repertory of playful and poetic images cannot  help but appeal to those who are fascinated with nature's appearances  and with the celebration of human sentiment frankly and unabashedly  expressed.         
                                           
But it remains to understand, given Bouguereau's in many  ways unique style, exactly what the artist was trying to represent.  Although Bouguereau has been classified by many writers as a Realist  painter, because of the apparent photographic nature of his illusions,  the painter otherwise has little in common with other artists belonging  to the Realist movement. Bouguereau himself regarded his tastes as  eclectic, and his work indeed exhibits characteristics peculiar to  Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, and Impressionism, as well as to Realism.  

Within these categories, the painter is perhaps best understood as a  Romantic Realist, but one would also be quite justified in this case in  devising an entirely new school of painting and labeling him the first,  the quintessential Photo-Idealist. The designation is apt in that,  although Bouguereau actively collected photographs and tempered his  observations of nature with a keen awareness of the qualities of light  inherent in the photographic image, he almost never worked from  photographs.1  

The rare exceptions are a few portraits, usually of posthumous  subjects, which are readily identifiable as photographic derivatives as  they exhibit an uncharacteristic flatness and pose.         
                      
Bouguereau and his fellow academicians practiced a method of  painting that had been developed and refined over the centuries in  order to bring to vivid life imagined scenes from history, literature,  and fantasy. The process of acquisition of the skills necessary to  produce a first-rate academic painting was a long and laborious one. 

...

             
The idealizations of Bouguereau's imaginary universe, which  have delighted some critics, have incurred the wrath of others. Although  some of the latter have loudly lamented the over-romanticized image of  the French peasant presented by the painter, few of them have bothered  to contemplate the heroic attention required to sustain such a vision of  perfection in a less than perfect age. Moreover, as Bouguereau's  contemporary Emile Bayard observed:         
                                   
It is good to note, in any case, that dirt and rags are not  exclusive to the underprivileged and that indigence is not always  clothed the same way. 4         
                      
A similar charge often leveled at Bouguereau is that his art  bears little or no relationship to the realities of political,  industrial, and urban life in nineteenth-century France. 

But if  Bouguereau's art ignores in its content the pressing issues of the day,  it may very well be because the artist, though well aware of them,  nevertheless prompts us to lift our eyes from the ground and focus upon  the lures of distant Arcadia; when misery is afoot, to exalt the more  pleasant possibilities of la vie champetre is not artistic falsehood.         
                      
If one pronounces Bouguereau to have been out of step with  his time, what must one then conclude about the many, many critics and  collectors and viewers who supported him and others of a similar  artistic persuasion? Could he really have achieved such prominence and  financial success by going against the grain of the "realities" of the  nineteenth century? 

Exactly what are those realities and exactly what  attitude was a visual artist obligated to take toward them? If the  accomplishments of Bouguereau are poorly understood today, that may have  something to do with the shifting of aesthetic expectations over time.  

As for Bouguereau's public, it was a public raised on  Raphael , a public that had not yet been conditioned to prefer abstract ideas to  the palpable images that give them utterance, a public that insisted  upon an obvious narrative content and that saw in Bouguereau someone  opposed to the trends it regarded as inimical to art. 

It may very well  be that a determining factor in Bouguereau's success as a painter, apart  from his talent, was that he allied himself to that sizeable,  conservative, and revisionist element of French Roman Catholicism which,  under the aegis of such men as Louis Veuillot , popular theologian and publisher of L'Univers, refused to yield to the attacks on traditional ideals that were current at the time. 

The craft of picture-making as practiced by Bouguereau basically followed the principles of academic theory as codified by the seventeenth-century aesthetician Roger de Piles.

The code embodied the fundamental idea whereby a painting could be judged logically and objectively by its conformity to ideals established for its divisible parts, which were determined to be: composition, drawing, color harmony, and expression.

The method Bouguereau used to execute his important paintings provided ample opportunity for the study and resolution of problems that might arise in each of these areas.

The separate steps leading to the genesis of a painting were:

  • Croquis and tracings
  • Oil sketch and/or grisaille study
  • Highly finished drawings for all the figures in the composition, as well as drapery studies and foliage studies
  • Detailed studies in oil for heads, hands, animals, etc.
  • Cartoon; and, only then
  • the finished painting.

Evidently Bouguereau was constantly making croquis or “thumb nail sketches.” Often these preliminary studies were done during meetings at the Institut or in the evenings after supper.

For the most part they were scribbled from the artist’s memory or imagination, others were sketched directly from nature.

These drawings, hitherto unknown to the public, constitute a very important element of Bouguereau’s work. For one thing, they yield a wealth of information about the artist’s method.

They also show in many cases how a particular composition evolved. Executed either in pencil or ink, they served as a means of determining the grandes lignes, the important linear flows and arabesques, within the entire composition and within individual figure groups as well. They were often refined by means of successive tracings.

The oil sketches, grisailles, and compositional studies in vine charcoal served as means for determining appropriate color harmonies and for the “spotting” of lights and darks.

Like the croquis, these were usually executed from imagination and yielded a fairly abstract pattern of colors and greys upon which the artist would later superimpose his observations from nature.

The figure drawings represented the first important contact with nature in the evolution of the work. Among the considerations of the artist at this point were anatomy, pose, foreshortening, perspective, proportion and, to some degree, modeling. Although Bouguereau was reputed to have the best models in Paris, some of them were not always the most cooperative; as one observer noted:

Bouguereau's Italian model-women are instructed to bring their infant offspring, their tiny sisters and brothers, and the progeny of their highly prolific quarter. 

Once in the studio, the little human frogs are undressed and allowed to roll around on the floor, to play, to quarrel, and to wail in lamentation. 

They dirty up the room a great deal — they bring in a great deal of dirt that they do not make. They are neither savory nor aristocratic nor angelic, these brats from the embryo-land of Virgil. 

But out of them the artist makes his capital. Sketchbook in hand, he records their movements as they tumble on the floor; he draws the curves and turns of their aldermanic bodies, and he counts the creases of fat on their plump thighs as Audobon counted the scales on the legs of his humming-birds. 7

At times Bouguereau was obliged to use sculptural sources. J. Carroll Beckwith wrote:

Entering Bouguereau's studio one morning, before he had come up from his breakfast, I was studying with interest a large canvas half completed, representing a group of laughing children with a donkey [see cat. no. 72]. 

A gaudily attired Italian woman was endeavoring to pacify a curly-headed cherub, the model for the morning, who was ruthlessly rubbing his dirty fingers over some exquisite pencil drawings which lay on the floor at the foot of the easel. 

I rescued the drawings, while the mother apologetically explained to me in Neapolitan French that M. Bouguereau spoiled all of her children so that she could do nothing with them at home or elsewhere. 

The drawings were beautiful reproductions of the Laughing Faun in the sculpture gallery of the Louvre. 

As Bouguereau entered the room, he began a series of frolics with the youngster which quite verified the words of the mother. [When be stopped] at last to set his palette, I asked him when he had made the drawings. "Oh, you see, that mauvais sujet is so wicked", said he, pointing to the curly-headed urchin turning somersaults on the floor, "that I can use him for nothing but color and was obliged to spend nearly all of yesterday afternoon at the Louvre, making these notes for the form. 8

If a particular figure was to be clothed, Bouguereau would also make drapery studies by posing a mannequin in place of the model and experimenting with the folds of cloth until a disposition was found that enhanced the underlying forms.

Sometimes, especially for small or single-figure paintings, Bouguereau drew the model already draped.

Most of the figure drawings were executed in pencil or charcoal (or a combination of the two) and were often heightened with white. The support for them is usually a heavyweight toned paper of medium grain; such a background allowed Bouguereau to dispense with the problem of rendering troublesome halftones which, in any event, were more easily and accurately realized in the painted studies.

To read more about his techniques, please go HERE. It goes into great detail and goes into the various mixes he used. Great stuff for certain.

Can you imagine trying to do this today? Man oh man, you’d be locked up for-ever.

Alma Parens L’âme parentale

Wow. Oh wow. This is an allegorical painting with a ton-load of meaning. It means “The Motherland”.

Of course, the folk in Arkansas found this work “disgusting“, “abhorrent to normal sensibilities” and further evidence of my “sick nature” and “outrageously dangerous desires”.

Sigh.

And yeah, I get it.

You all don’t want to hear what the nit-wits think in Arkansas. But you are gonna hear about it here. You can leave if you don’t like to face reality. The last four years in Washington was populated with these exact kind of people. And no, I am not going to “let by-gones be by-gones”

It’s a uni-party. There are no Republicans nor Democrats. There is just the 10% of psychopaths that run the nation, and the rest of us being treated like cattle in the process.

Is this too “salty” for ya?

The Motherland

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I know that I am supposed to accept the fact that anything even remotely suggestive of children or sex is a threat to my very existence as I am now branded with the scarlet letter of being a “Sex Offender”. And I know that somehow, having those two images on my computer; the cartoon and the photo of the chick without clothes on created “victims”. I cannot reconcile how the image of a mother tending to her brood is in any way representative of the horrors so massively promoted in American media. You have to be a moron to connect the two…

…but, you know, have you looked at America today?

Know who you are dealing with, and recognize that these people still are in various positions in government today. Look at this jackass. Look at this pencil neck.

Tom Cotton (R-AR) is in a position of power to tell you how to live your life.

.

Hey, check out the kinds of bills that he was working on in 2020. Keep in mind this one very important point. Which of his sponsored bills actually helps and supports normal, working people inside his district in Arkansas. Yeah. go over the list.

Which ones?

Go over the list. Where during 2020 has he sponsored any legislation to help his citizens aside from the emergency related to Coronavirus? Instead it seems like he’s got a real problem with sex, China, and making sure that the Untied States government is protected against the citizenry.

  • Colors in RED are all about China. Yeah, he most certainly has a real “hard on” about China.
  • Colors in Blue are all about sexual exploitation of children.
  • Colors in PURPLE are all about making the government immune from protests and legal actions by the citizenry.
  • Colors in GOLD are for dealing with the Coronavirus.
S.5016: A bill to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of organs, and for other purposes.
S.4998: Child Support Works Act of 2020
S.4978: Israel CENTCOM Reclassification Act
S.RES.794: A resolution urging the European Parliament to exempt certain technologies used to detect child sexual exploitation from European Union ePrivacy directive.
S.4965: Public Servant Protection Act of 2020
S.4843: Chinese Communist Party Influence Transparency Act
S.RES.751: A resolution expressing support for the designation of October 23, 2020, as a national day of remembrance of the tragic terrorist bombing of the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983.
S.4768: AIM Act
S.4661: A bill to authorize the President to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Alwyn C. Cashe for acts of valor during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
S.4648: A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to list isotonitazene as a schedule I controlled substance.
S.4631: Hong Kong Refugee Protection Act
S.4609: China Trade Relations Act of 2020
S.4553: Support Peaceful Protest Act
S.4551: Rioting Restitution Act
S.4550: No Catch-and-Release for Rioters Act
S.4483: Campus Free Speech Restoration Act
S.4445: Protect Our Prosecutors and Judges Act of 2020
S.4292: Saving American History Act of 2020
S.4130: American Foundries Act of 2020
S.4105: Washington-Grant Historic Preservation Act
S.4056: Restore Integrity of Special Prosecutors Act
S.3968: Better Community Policing Recognition Act
S.RES.613: A resolution calling for justice for George Floyd and opposing calls to defund the police.
S.3920: SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2020
S.3796: No Bailouts for Illegal Aliens Act
S.3662: Holding the Chinese Communist Party Accountable for Infecting Americans Act of 2020
S.3641: A bill to designate the area between the intersections of International Drive, Northwest and Van Ness Street, Northwest and International Drive, Northwest and International Place, Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as “Li Wenliang Plaza”, and
S.3661: Danger Pay for U.S. Marshals Act
S.3635: Protecting Our Pharmaceutical Supply Chain from China Act of 2020
S.3600: Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act of 2020
S.3537: Protecting Our Pharmaceutical Supply Chain from China Act of 2020
S.3522: Coronavirus TANF Expansion Act
S.3524: Coronavirus Credit Expansion Act
S.3523: Coronavirus Unemployment Insurance Expansion Act
S.3521: Coronavirus Economic Stimulus Act
S.3469: NETWORKS Act
S.3386: Protecting America From Foreign Investors Compromised by the Chinese Communist Party Act of 2020
S.3342: Zero Tolerance for Deceptive Fentanyl Trafficking Act
S.3322: Prevention of Deceptive or Child-Targeted Advertising in Violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
S.RES.497: A resolution commemorating the life of Dr. Li Wenliang and calling for transparency and cooperation from the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China.
S.3153: A bill to prohibit the sharing of United States intelligence with countries that permit the operation of Huawei fifth generation telecommunications technology within their borders.

He’s typical.

Do you really think he cares about people? Do you think that he cares about families? Do you think that he cares about anything other than money and hate?

Well… apparently God disagrees with me…

Evangelical Pastor Claims God Says, 'I'm Not Happy About ...
https://www.newsweek.com/evangelical-pastor-claims...

Nov 05, 2020 · Evangelical Pastor Claims God Says, 'I'm Not Happy About What You're Doing to My Man' Trump in Election. By Jason Lemon On 11/5/20 at 6:49 PM EST. U.S. Evangelicals Evangelical Christians Donald ...

These people… those that take the role in government… end up becoming a tool. They end up turning into something else. Something bad. And they allow terrible things to happen, because “they are just doing their job”...

Flagellation de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ

The Flagellation of Christ, 1880 is one of Bouguereau's masterpieces, and today hangs at the Baptistery of La Rochelle Cathedral, France. Christ, tied to a column, limply hangs, his feet dragging on the ground and head hung back, he submits to his fate.

-Flagellation de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ
The Flagellation of Christ
The Flagellation of Christ, 1880 is  one of Bouguereau's masterpieces, and today hangs at the Baptistery of  La Rochelle Cathedral, France. Christ, tied to a column, limply hangs,  his feet dragging on the ground and head hung back, he submits to his  fate. 

Two men stand in mid swing with their whipping ropes, with a third  kneeling to the lower right fastening birch branches for the next stage  of the torture. Unlike the two men who are whipping or the forth man  standing behind with birch branches in the ready, the kneeling man tying  the branches appears to show some remorse for his actions as his hand  muscles loosen slightly with the pull of the string. 

The viewer can feel  the pain of Christ's torment, though his eyes are vacant of expression  as if his soul is in another place. The crowd surrounding this event is  filled with curious spectators. 

To the left, a young boy shelters his  eyes from the horrid sight by turning his back and pressing himself  against his mother. To the right, just above Christ's head, a baby looks  down at him sympathetically while hoisted up on his father's shoulders.  

Through the crowd, a bearded man looks directly at the viewer, thereby  pulling the audience into the scene as if they are too part of the  crowd. It is possible that this bearded man with furrowed brow is a self  portrait, so both Bouguereau and the viewer are witnessing this scene.  

This life size capa d'opera is every bit as magnificent as any religious  works done by Raphael, Caravaggio, or Velasquez. The harmonious  interplay of drawing, paint handling, composition, perspective and  emotional thrust are second to none in their expressive power.

-by Kara Lysandra Ross

Excerpt from the article: William Bouguereau and his Religious Works                         

And you know, the detective in charge of the entire raid and my case had some very piercing things to say about this work of art. And I have never forgotten her words…

“…this preoccupation with torture, young children, and nudes point to a serious mental illness that needs to be eradicated from our treasured citizenry…”

Yeah.

So you want to know what it was like for me being arrested and “investigated” in Arkansas…? Look at who the fuck is running that place, controlling the minds of the people there, and who are accumulating riches beyond compare. Look at them. For they ARE America.

Hard Right Religious Extremism and Law-Making makes for a dangerous situation.
Televangelist Pat Robertson says God told him Trump will ...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8862797

Oct 21, 2020 · A televangelist has claimed that God told him President Donald Trump will win the upcoming election but that five years later an asteroid will hit …

Yah!

Beware of asteroids you all.

It’s all coo-coo!

When I joined MAJestic, I was instructed that I would be in it for life, but that I was forbidden to have children during my active engagements. I agreed, not realizing what that meant. I was also told that I would be alone, with no support and that I would not ever be rich or famous as that was a danger to the organization.

Maybe I was stupid for taking on this role? But I gave up so very much for this, and then to have myself retired like I was, and then have these jokers prance around in Washington DC like they do really upsets me.

I think that this exposure to what the American government is has taught me quite a bit as to what America has become; what it is, and where it is going. Unlike most Americans who read about this, or who read about that. I’ve experienced it first hand. Up front and viscerally. Don’t get all that caught up on what the media promotes. It’s all lies. Pay attending to the first-hand reports by others who’s veracity you can trust.

Cut out the bullshit.

Coocoo nest 1
Americans mostly resemble the inmates in a mental asylum. And the American leadership is just as messed up and corrupted to a degree that is nearly unfathomable.

.

Anyways, art, like music is really meaningful to me. I remember an old black and white movies from the 1940s or 1950s where there is this guy in prison who paints. It’s his only love. It’s his only hobby. Then one day the warden visits him and see that the painter painted the warden. Not good. Not bad. But realistic. But the warden responded by taking away his ability to paint. And thus destroyed his only and sole source of happiness…

This theme was repeated in the movie “One flew over the Cuckoos nest”. Where as soon as one of the inmates showed any inkling or ability to resist the shackles that were around his legs, the powers that be made sure to destroy him beyond repair.

Coocoo nest 2
Americans mostly resemble the inmates in a mental asylum. And the American leadership is just as messed up and corrupted to a degree that is nearly unfathomable.

.

Le Repos

In the ADC in Arkansas we were not permitted to have any fruit. None. And one inmate who was in there for a long, long time told me that he missed bananas. He said that he could picture them. He could smell them. He could remember peeling them. But that he hadn’t held or tasted a banana in over twenty years…

… yet when I look at these paintings I see a window to a time that is long gone. A quieter time, a more peaceful time, and a time where you could only commit a crime if there was a victim. There was no such things as a victimless crime, and that the fifth amendment guaranteed that I could confront my accuser in court. Not have that entire fail-safe ignored by a plea bargain.

These paintings and this art carries me away…

I just love these relaxed paintings. Maybe this kind of life will return back to America. What do you think?

Rest.

.

This image represents my ideal.

Looking at the boys’ trousers makes me want to buy a new set of oils and brushes. I really want to paint those folds and shaded legs.

La Charité

Another lovely painting.

And yes. Yet another example of how “evil and disgusting” that I am for even suggesting that it is beautiful.

La Charité

.

Yes, you know these people “talk with God” personally. And they know what evil is, and that they are the representation of what is good in the world and that which must be destroyed.

Don’t you know.

Look at this great representation of “good”…

“I had a very close talk with Jesus Christ this morning and he told me…”
Trump Will Start the End of the World, Claim Evangelicals ...
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-will-bring-about...

"For his evangelical supporters, there's a sense that Trump's unlikely election to the presidency proves that he has been chosen by God," Young told Newsweek. "He shouldn't have won the election ...

Entre la richesse et l’amour

This is an age-old issue. When a young lass can choose the life before her. While it is shown as extremes in age and wealth, the story persists. How can a woman in her blossoming years decide her future life? the translation of this painting is “Between wealth and Love”. And it speaks volumes. Don’t you think?

Between wealth and love

.

My favorite part of this painting is the young lass’s hands. That’s just pure art.

Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau

Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau, 1890, translated to The Holy Women at the Tomb, depicts the three Marys, Mary the Mother of James, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas, at the tomb of the resurrection. The viewer, compositionally, is placed in a prostrated position and looking up first notices the expressions of bewilderment on the central Mary's face before looking past the three women and into the tomb.

-Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau
Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau painting.
Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau

Compassion!

Compassion painting.
Compassion!
Donated by Bouguereau's descendents to the Musée D'Orsay, Paris, France, 2009 

When one looks at The Compassion,  1897, at first glance the viewer may interpret this painting be simply a  depiction of Christ on the Cross, with perhaps another saint, or  victim. 

A depiction not too different from thousands of other paintings  of the subject; but in fact, the subject of this painting is not simply  the event, but the conversion to Christianity through the compassion for  the sacrifice Jesus made. The man with his head on Jesus' chest is a  representation of every man and mankind as a whole. 

The man in the  painting shows the same empathy and bearing his own symbolic cross, has  found his way to Jesus and his own redemption. Many Christians wear  crosses around their necks to represent the same conviction, that they  too have been sacrificed with Christ. 

In the bible, when Jesus fell on  his way to Calvary, a man from the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, went to Jesus  and carried the cross for him, which was the inspiration for this  widely accepted symbol. 

The blood of Christ falls onto his hands,  reiterating the blood sacrifice that was made for his benefit. On top of  the cross a letter is posted which reads "Jesus of Nazareth, King of  the Jews" in three languages, Greek, Latin, and Aramaic. Although in  many depictions, Christ is crucified at the top of a mountain,  Bouguereau chooses to depict the savior on a barren wasteland, symbolic  of the man"s spiritual life before finding his way to Christ. 

Bouguereau  chose to keep this painting, which shows the importance his religion  played in his own life, and it remained in his studio until its recent  donation to the Musèe D'Orsay, Paris, France.

-by Kara Lysandra Ross

Excerpt from the article: William Bouguereau and his Religious Works

Berceuse

The painting, “Berceuse” is a delightful example of Bouguereau’s more domestic works. It shows a mother sitting in a rural landscape rocking her baby’s cradle as she works at spinning thread.

The title of the painting, “Berceuse” suggests that she is also singing a lullaby to her sleeping child at whom her calm, loving gaze is directed. The composition is strongly reminiscent of a Madonna and Child and the painting as a whole is beautifully executed.

Berceuse

.

We can see from this painting that Bouguereau was a master of traditional academic painting and why he had wide appeal, in France and abroad, during his lifetime.

His approach to art, was however, heavily criticized by the rising impressionist painters, many of whom found much of their work rejected by the Salon. Instead they embraced more modern types and works of art. And we all know where that ended up…

White Dog
Georges Seurat/white-dog

.

After his death his reputation fell steeply and his paintings were no longer admired but were seen as vacuous or overly sentimental. It is only in recent decades that his work has begun to be re-evaluated and his paintings, such as “Berceuse” appreciated once more for the skill, artistry and dedication that Bourguereau brought to his work.

The Proposal

What kind of proposal is it? Marriage?

Hardly.

Some kind of plan being hatched… curious. Very curious.

The motif of a young man at a window, wooing a woman at her spinning wheel, and the vaguely sixteenth-century German costumes and setting, led writers to associate this painting with the tragic story of Faust and Marguerite.

Johann Georg Faust was said to be an alchemist, astrologer, and magician who lived during the Renaissance period in Germany.
 
He was an aging scholar, but at the end of his life, he fell out of  love with his previously devoted scholastic endeavors in the  accumulation of human knowledge. He is said to have made a contract with  the devil, selling his soul to enjoy and partake in reckless earthly  pleasures. The one who lured Faust away from his scholarly endeavors was  said to be Méphistophélès, a malevolent devil.
 
The story of Faust has served as inspiration for numerous literary,  artistic, cinematographic and musical works throughout the ages. Even  the mere term ‘Faust’ has been used to refer to ambitious people who are  willing to exchange moral values for strength and success in certain  fields. 
 
La Damnation de Faust – Tragic destiny
 
‘La Damnation de Faust’ is often interpreted to describe a tragic  destiny resulting from a false wish, a trope that still holds relevance  in contemporary society.
 
In the classic play, Faust is presented as an aging scholar in  desperation. He has spent his whole life in search of wisdom just to  find that at the end of it all, he has gained nothing. Youth, happiness,  and achievement have all slipped away from him. Even the search for  wisdom can no longer inspire him. To set him free from sorrow and  depression, he decides to seek death. 

In a singular moment, the resounding sound of a church bell and hymn remind him of his youth, of the time when he still held faith in religion. But that fleeting moment does not last long before the appearance of Méphistophélès, a malevolent devil, is seen before him. Faust, desperate and depressed almost at the point of suicide, accepts the devil’s offer of returning to him his youth, knowledge, and the fulfillment of all of his deepest desires. In return, he must, however, follow the devil and fall under his command. 

Seemingly, the vague and fleeting religious memory Faust experienced  moments before the appearance of the devil was not enough to revive in  him a strong faith in religion, in a God that he once had.|
 
Naturally, Faust now has all that he was craving, yet, there was no way for him to know where the journey ahead would lead him.
 
After Méphistophélès fulfills his side of the bargain he encourages  Faust to seduce Marguerite, an innocent girl whom Faust had an  unrequited love for, and then abandon her, alone and pregnant. 
Faust and Marguerite in the Garden, by James Tissot (1861). (Wikimedia Commons/Public domain)
Faust and Marguerite in the Garden, by James Tissot (1861). (Wikimedia Commons/Public domain)
Her life falls into ruin and, so, in an effort to save his lover, Faust agrees to relinquish his soul to devil Méphistophélès. With this decision, he gives the devil every reason and ability to drag him to hell. Which he does, tragically and immediately. Perhaps his final destiny was predetermined from the very moment he accepted the offer of the devil Méphistophélès. 

It is a tale that resembles the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden  of Eden. The devil Méphistophélès plays a role not dissimilar to the  role of the serpent that tempted Eve to take a bite of the apple. Once  Adam and Eve succumbed to the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, it was  determined that they would be expelled from the Garden of Eden.
 
In the case of Faust, he yields to lust and worldly desires and  culminates in hell. It is the inevitable fate for the one that chooses  to go against good and side with evil.
 
The story of Faust: An awakening bell
 
In the contemporary era of the robust development of science and  technology, in most cases, science and knowledge play a positive role in  society, but at times, it can assume a negative role, as well.  Especially when the scholars and scientists ignore moral and humanistic  values, and put their fame and interest on top, they would disregard any  adverse impact that their work might impose on humanity.
 
Don’t we catch the image of Faust in communist philosophers, in  surgeons involved in live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners  and in the development of nuclear warfare, to name a few?
 
No matter what excuse they can make, the undermining effect on human society that they exert is irrefutable.
 
In this aspect, the story of Faust can still prove its relevance to  today’s society and serve as the awakening bell for those who choose to  go down that path.

-La Damnation de Faust

The seduction of the innocent heroine by the wicked Faust was a popular pictorial subject in the nineteenth century, inspired by Goethe’s dramatic poem and its operatic staging by Charles Gounod.

Regardless of the lovers’ identities, the lushly painted, romantic scene would have appealed to Bouguereau’s well-heeled clientele.

Admiration Maternelle – Le Bain

'M. Bouguereau is a true artist, one of the most accomplished in Paris.'

-Edmond About, 1866
Admiration Maternelle - Le Bain
Admiration Maternelle – Le Bain

.

Beginning in 1865, Bouguereau became interested in themes of mothers and children and he began a series of paintings devoted to this subject matter. These classically-informed images were greatly influenced by his travels throughout Italy in the 1850s.

Trekking from Naples all the way to Venice over a two year period, Bouguereau was frequently confronted by religious imagery, and he was particularly impressed with the works of Raphael.

Raphael
A painting by Raphael.

These images of mothers and children may have been further reinforced by the birth of the artist’s fourth child in 1868, a son named Adolphe Paul. It was also in this year that the artist moved his family into the house on rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, with its large studio on the top floor of the house.

Admiration maternelle – le bain, most likely painted in the artist’s studio in 1869, depicts a young Roman mother holding her naked baby on her lap. The baby clasps an orange before him, while his older sister looks on adoringly, her hands folded together as if in prayer.

These three figures, clearly a secularized interpretation of a Holy Family or Madonna and Child with St. John, are bathed in a clear warm light which illuminates the freshly washed hair of the baby, creating a halo around his head and enhancing the association with the Christ Child.

The bowl and washcloth occupy the immediate center of the composition, bringing to mind the chalice and cloth of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The room behind the figural group is softened by the shadows of the recesses of the interior, thereby heightening the importance of the figural group.

.

There is a photograph in the Goupil Museum in Bordeaux and in Bouguereau’s own collection of what appears to be this work (Ross and Bartoli, 1869/02) without the linen towel and basin, a different bench and a slightly different background. 

It is possible that the initial purchaser of the painting asked for the changes to be made, as was the case with La Bohémienne, which also had two different backgrounds.

Admiration maternelle was in the collection of George Small of Baltimore by 1879, and remained in the Small family until 1984. George Small was the President of the Ashland Iron Company and a director of the Northern Central Railroad and the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. He amassed a fortune, but he and his wife had no children, so the painting passed to his brother’s family upon his death in 1891.

Admiration Maternelle

He does capture the moment perfectly. Doesn’t he?

Maternal Admiration

.

I love his work. I really do.

Conclusions

The artist was master of his medium and in control of his life in that time, and at that place…

In a corner of the garden measuring some two hundred square feet, he arranged his outdoor studio; and in the orangery he set up his interior studio. At six in the morning, rain or shine, drizzle or wind, escorted by his three dogs and a servant, he sets out for a two-hour walk through the fields or along the seashore. Once home, he has a cup of tea and settles down to work. At eleven, the family gathers for lunch; at one, he resumes work with his model and continues until six in the evening, with a few short breaks.
 
Then the painter picks up his rustic cane and his soft-felt hat and leaves, a cigarette between his lips, like any ordinary bourgeois, for a walk around the harbor, to watch the sun set on the sea.
 
When the town clocks chime seven, he goes back home for dinner; and at ten, it is curfew time. At dawn on Sundays, the master and his wife climb into a carriage to meet a childhood friend, an architect in a neighboring village, for an outing in the countryside or, during hunting season, to take a few pot shots, in his own words, "at hypothetical quails or the occasional rabbit."

When I look at these beautiful art works I still have stirrings of emotions. But that is now tainted with memories of the experiences that I had in Arkansas.

Memories that came into being by the actions of the government there; a government that employed people from both political parties… working in unison for their own self-worth and future fortunes. Greedy fucks. Ignorant of the true realities and consequences of their actions and their activities.

You take something that I enjoyed and you poison it with bad memories. It’s that the very fundamental nature of PTSD?

Memories that were and still are painful.

In fact, I often wonder if this was it’s intended purpose, by a some gleeful evil psychopaths to forever alter my love of art and to convert it and change it into something substantially different.

Into a ugly and foul thing…

Much like the premise in the movie A Clockwork Orange.

A controversial and offensive masterpiece.                                  tyson-hunsaker31 January 2017             
                              
Anyone looking to  watch A Clockwork Orange might be wanting to revisit some of Stanley  Kubrik's work and might be interested in studying this film. Those who  have already seen this film tend to already have strong opinions  regarding this dark sci-fi movie but for me, I approached this film  recently to obtain an opinion for myself and study one of the great  masters of cinema. 

The fact that this film was regarded as one  of the most controversial films ever made (rightfully so) sparked  genuine curiosity to give this flick a full viewing and while I have  large issues with the film, the experience as a whole was both  satisfying and a learning experience. 

This story centers on  "Alex" our main protagonist and his gang of hoodlums set in a not so  distant, dystopian Great Britain. The beginning portion unfolds Alex's  dark and twisted soul as we watch him and his gang fight, rape, and  kill. 

When he's eventually caught, he undergoes controversial  "treatment" to be cured of his dark soul.

I first appreciated the  inmate concepts of this story and the type of questions the story  attempted to raise to the audience. Furthermore, much of the  psychological ideologies surrounding freedom, choice, good vs evil, and  selfishness were extremely thought-provoking. It had a way of making me  feel self-exploratory despite the character's complete inability to  relate with (hopefully) any viewer. 

Performances were top notch;  especially from the lead: Malcom McDowell. His performance felt so  authentic there's never a single moment that feels fake or forced with  his dark character. As always, Stanley Kubrick directs the hell out of  this. His commanding and authoritative shooting style is apparent in  every frame of the picture and he does a wonderful job at sucking the  viewer into this terrible world to the point of enthrallment. 

While  all these positives make for a great movie-going experience and when  Kubrick is at the director's helm not much can go wrong, the film's  biggest downfall is indeed its controversy. Disturbing subject matter in  this piece is indeed vital to the essence of the story but taking off  the gloves when it comes to fighting, rape, and killing (especially the  rape) make this so incredibly disturbing that it's difficult to muscle  through. 

I found that A Clockwork Orange was not only offense because of  its disturbing content, it was personally offensive in so many ways.  Frankly, these extremely rare and offensive movie experiences are not  quite the reason I enjoy films in the first place; stories can still be  thought-provoking while not morally offend and damage the viewer  internally. In addition, a viewer looking to study the work of Stanley  Kubrick can still experience some of cinema's greatest and transcendent  experiences without feeling like their conscience has blackened.

It's  understandable that not everyone feels this way; just as stated before,  opinions about this film are all across the board. As time has passed  however, A Clockwork Orange has stood out has one of Kubrick's finest  and has been adored by die-hard fans so much its fan base has grown over  the years. 

The best advice to give is to see it for yourself.  Much like all other Kubrick films, relying on anyone's opinion won't  help one bit. Seeing it and deciding for yourself is the best course of  action. That being said, despite it's strong artistic merit, I wouldn't  recommend seeing it simply because of the morally offensive and  sickening content that most don't appreciate. Overall, it's been the  hardest one to review in a long time because it's not a simple: see it  or don't see it. There's much more to this picture than that. If you do  decide to see it though, be warned and well prepared. If not, that's  probably just fine too.

There is nothing different from my “reprogramming” by the Arkansas government, and what happened to Alex in the movie “A Clockwork Orange”.

A clockwork orange.

.

Perhaps China is correct in preventing their nation any kind of access by these evil, evil people. People who have no compassion. People who cannot see beauty and purpose. People who look good, and say the right things, but are corrupted, and evil to their fundamental core.

Evil people.

In positions of extreme power…

…in a dying military empire.

Are inherently dangerous.

Six of the thirty that have been sanctioned by China in January 2021.

.

Back in Rome

All this reminds me of the behaviors of the government of Rome when it was at the height of decay and corruption. Consider their idea for a “half time show” in the Arena…

The enormous arena was empty, save for the seesaws and the dozens of  condemned criminals who sat naked upon them, hands tied behind their  backs. Unfamiliar with the recently invented contraptions known as petaurua,  the men tested the seesaws uneasily. One criminal would push off the  ground and suddenly find himself 15 feet in the air while his partner on  the other side of the seesaw descended swiftly to the ground. How strange. 

In  the stands, tens of thousands of Roman citizens waited with half-bored  curiosity to see what would happen next and whether it would be  interesting enough to keep them in their seats until the next part of  the "big show" began. 

With a flourish, trapdoors in the floor of the arena were opened,  and lions, bears, wild boars and leopards rushed into the arena. The  starved animals bounded toward the terrified criminals, who attempted to  leap away from the beasts' snapping jaws. But as one helpless man flung  himself upward and out of harm's way, his partner on the other side of  the seesaw was sent crashing down into the seething mass of claws, teeth  and fur. 

The crowd of Romans began to laugh at the dark antics before them.  Soon, they were clapping and yelling, placing bets on which criminal  would die first, which one would last longest and which one would  ultimately be chosen by the largest lion, who was still prowling the  outskirts of the arena's pure white sand. [See Photos of the Combat Sports Played in Ancient Rome]

And with that, another "halftime show" of damnatio ad bestias  succeeded in serving its purpose: to keep the jaded Roman population  glued to their seats, to the delight of the event's scheming organizer. 

The Roman Games were the Super Bowl Sundays of their time. They gave their ever-changing sponsors and organizers (known as editors)  an enormously powerful platform to promote their views and philosophies  to the widest spectrum of Romans. All of Rome came to the Games: rich  and poor, men and women, children and the noble elite alike. They were  all eager to witness the unique spectacles each new game promised its  audience.

To the editors, the Games represented power,  money and opportunity. Politicians and aspiring noblemen spent  unthinkable sums on the Games they sponsored in the hopes of swaying  public opinion in their favor, courting votes, and/or disposing of any  person or warring faction they wanted out of the way. 

The more  extreme and fantastic the spectacles, the more popular the Games with  the general public, and the more popular the Games, the more influence  the editor could have. Because the Games could make or break the reputation of their organizers, editors planned every last detail meticulously. 

Thanks to films like "Ben-Hur" and "Gladiator," the two most popular elements of the Roman Games are well known even to this day: the chariot races and the gladiator fights.  Other elements of the Roman Games have also translated into modern  times without much change: theatrical plays put on by costumed actors,  concerts with trained musicians, and parades of much-cared-for exotic  animals from the city's private zoos. 

But much less discussed,  and indeed largely forgotten, is the spectacle that kept the Roman  audiences in their seats through the sweltering midafternoon heat: the  blood-spattered halftime show known as damnatio ad bestias — literally "condemnation by beasts" — orchestrated by men known as the bestiarii.

Super Bowl 242 B.C: How the Games Became So Brutal

The  cultural juggernaut known as the Roman Games began in 242 B.C., when  two sons decided to celebrate their father's life by ordering slaves to  battle each other to the death at his funeral. This new variation of  ancient munera (a tribute to the dead) struck a chord within  the developing republic. Soon, other members of the wealthy classes  began to incorporate this type of slave fighting into their own munera. The practice evolved over time — with new formats, rules, specialized weapons, etc. — until the Roman Games as we now know them were born. 

In  189 B.C., a consul named M. Fulvius Nobilior decided to do something  different. In addition to the gladiator duels that had become common, he  introduced an animal act that would see humans fight both lions and  panthers to the death. Big-game hunting was not a part of Roman culture;  Romans only attacked large animals to protect themselves, their  families or their crops. 

Nobilior realized that the spectacle of animals  fighting humans would add a cheap and unique flourish to this fantastic  new pastime. Nobilior aimed to make an impression, and he succeeded. [Photos: Gladiators of the Roman Empire]
With  the birth of the first "animal program," an uneasy milestone was  achieved in the evolution of the Roman Games: the point at which a human  being faced a snarling pack of starved beasts, and every laughing  spectator in the crowd chanted for the big cats to win, the point at  which the republic's obligation to make a man's death a fair or  honorable one began to be outweighed by the entertainment value of watching him die.

Twenty-two years later, in 167 B.C., Aemlilus Paullus would give Rome its first damnatio ad bestias when  he rounded up army deserters and had them crushed, one by one, under  the heavy feet of elephants. "The act was done publicly," historian  Alison Futrell noted in her book "Blood in the Arena," "a harsh object lesson for those challenging Roman authority."

The  "satisfaction and relief" Romans would feel watching someone considered  lower than themselves be thrown to the beasts would become, as  historian Garrett G. Fagan noted in his book "The Lure of the Arena,"  a "central … facet of the experience [of the Roman Games. … a feeling  of shared empowerment and validation … " In those moments, Rome began  the transition into the self-indulgent decadence that would come to  define all that we associate with the great society's demise.

The Role of Julius Caesar
General Julius  Caesar proved to be the first true maestro of the Games. He understood  how these events could be manipulated to inspire fear, loyalty and  patriotism, and began to stage the Games in new and ingenious ways. For  example, Caesar was the first to arrange fights between recently  captured armies, gaining firsthand knowledge of the fighting techniques  used by these conquered people and providing him with powerful insights  to aid future Roman conquests, all the while demonstrating the  republic's own superiority to the roaring crowd of Romans. After all,  what other city was powerful enough to command foreign armies to fight  each other to the death, solely for their viewing pleasure? 

Caesar  used exotic animals from newly conquered territories to educate Romans  about the empire's expansion. In one of his games, "Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient Rome"  author George Jennison notes that Caesar orchestrated "a hunt of four  hundred lions, fights between elephants and infantry … [and] bull  fighting by mounted Thessalians." Later, the first-ever giraffes seen in  Rome arrived — a gift to Caesar himself from a love-struck Cleopatra.

To execute his very specific visions, Caesar relied heavily on the bestiarii —  men who were paid to house, manage, breed, train and sometimes fight  the bizarre menagerie of animals collected for the Games. 

Managing and training this ever-changing influx of beasts was not an easy task for the bestiarii.  Wild animals are born with a natural hesitancy, and without training,  they would usually cower and hide when forced into the arena's center.  For example, it is not a natural instinct for a lion to attack and eat a human being,  let alone to do so in front of a crowd of 100,000 screaming Roman men,  women and children! And yet, in Rome's ever-more-violent culture,  disappointing an editor would spell certain death for the low-ranking bestiarii. 

To avoid being executed themselves, bestiarii  met the challenge. They developed detailed training regimens to ensure  their animals would act as requested, feeding arena-born animals a diet  compromised solely of human flesh, breeding their best animals, and  allowing their weaker and smaller stock to be killed in the arena. Bestiarii  even went so far as to instruct condemned men and women on how to  behave in the ring to guarantee a quick death for themselves — and a  better show. The bestiarii could leave nothing to chance. 

As their reputations grew, bestiarii were given the power to independently devise new and even more audacious spectacles for the ludi meridiani (midday executions). And by the time the Roman Games had grown popular enough to fill 250,000-seat arenas, the work of the bestiarii had become a twisted art form. 

As  the Roman Empire grew, so did the ambition and arrogance of its  leaders. And the more arrogant, egotistic and unhinged the leader in  power, the more spectacular the Games would become. Who better than the bestiarii to aid these despots in taking their version of the Roman Games to new, ever-more grotesque heights? 

Caligula Amplified the Cruelty
Animal spectacles became bigger, more elaborate, and more flamboyantly cruel.
 Damnatio ad bestias became the preferred method of executing criminals and enemies alike. So important where the bestiarii's  contribution, that when butcher meat became prohibitively expensive,  Emperor Caligula ordered that all of Rome's prisoners "be devoured" by  the bestiarii's packs of starving animals. In his masterwork De  Vita Caesarum, Roman historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (b. 69 A.D.)  tells of how Caligula sentenced the men to death "without examining the  charges" to see if death was a fitting punishment, but rather by  "merely taking his place in the middle of a colonnade, he bade them be  led away 'from baldhead to baldhead,'"(It should also be noted that  Caligula used the funds originally earmarked for feeding the animals and  the prisoners to construct temples he was building in his own honor!)

To meet this ever-growing pressure to keep the Roman crowds happy and engaged by bloodshed, bestiarii  were forced to consistently invent new ways to kill.
 They devised  elaborate contraptions and platforms to give prisoners the illusion they  could save themselves — only to have the structures collapse at the  worst possible moments, dropping the condemned into a waiting pack of  starved animals. Prisoners were tied to boxes, lashed to stakes, wheeled  out on dollies and nailed to crosses, and then, prior to the animals'  release, the action was paused so that bets could be made in the crowd  about which of the helpless men would be devoured first. 

Perhaps most popular — as well as the most difficult to pull off — were the re-creations of death scenes from famous myths and legends. A single bestiarius might spend months training an eagle in the art of removing a thrashing man's organs (a la the myth of Prometheus).

The halftime show of damnatio ad bestias  became so notorious that it was common for prisoners to attempt suicide  to avoid facing the horrors they knew awaited them. Roman philosopher  and statesmen Seneca recorded a story of a German prisoner who, rather than be killed in a bestiarius'  show, killed himself by forcing a communally used prison lavatory  sponge down his throat. One prisoner who refused to walk into the arena  was placed on a cart and wheeled in; the prisoner thrust his own head  between the spokes of its wheels, preferring to break his own neck than  to face whatever horrors the bestiarius had planned for him.

It is in this era that Rome saw the rise of its most famous bestiarius, Carpophorus, "The King of the Beasts." 

The Rise of a Beast Master
Carpophorus was  celebrated not only for training the animals that were set upon the  enemies, criminals and Christians of Rome, but also for famously taking  to the center of the arena to battle the most fearsome creatures  himself.

He triumphed in one match that pitted him against a bear,  a lion and a leopard, all of which were released to attack him at once.  Another time, he killed 20 separate animals in one battle, using only  his bare hands as weapons. His power over animals was so unmatched that the poet Martial wrote odes to Carpophorus.

"If  the ages of old, Caesar, in which a barbarous earth brought forth wild  monsters, had produced Carpophorus," he wrote in his best known work,  Epigrams. "Marathon would not have feared her bull, nor leafy Nemea her  lion, nor Arcadians the boar of Maenalus. When he armed his hands, the  Hydra would have met a single death; one stroke of his would have  sufficed for the entire Chimaera. He could yoke the fire-bearing bulls  without the Colchian; he could conquer both the beasts of Pasiphae. If  the ancient tale of the sea monster were recalled, he would release  Hesione and Andromeda single-handed. Let the glory of Hercules'  achievement be numbered: it is more to have subdued twice ten wild  beasts at one time."

To have his work compared so fawningly to  battles with some of Rome’s most notorious mythological beast sheds some  light on the astounding work Carpophorus was doing within the arena,  but he gained fame as well for his animal work behind the scenes.  Perhaps most shockingly, it was said that he was among the few bestiarii  who could command animals to rape human beings, including bulls,  zebras, stallions, wild boars and giraffes, among others. This  crowd-pleasing trick allowed his editors to create ludi meridiani  that could not only combine sex and death but also claim to be honoring  the god Jupiter. After all, in Roman mythology, Jupiter took many  animal forms to have his way with human women. 

Historians still  debate how common of an occurrence public bestiality was at the Roman  Games — and especially whether forced bestiality was used as a form of  execution — but poets and artists of the time wrote and painted about  the spectacle with a shocked awe. 

"Believe that Pasiphae coupled  with the Dictaean bull!" Martial wrote. "We've seen it! The Ancient Myth  has been confirmed! Hoary antiquity, Caesar, should not marvel at  itself: whatever Fame sings of, the arena presents to you."

The 'Gladiator' Commodus
The Roman Games and the work of the bestiarii  may have reached their apex during the reign of Emperor Commodus, which  began in 180 AD. By that time, the relationship between the emperors  and the Senate had disintegrated to a point of near-complete  dysfunction. The wealthy, powerful and spoiled emperors began acting out  in such debauched and deluded ways that even the working class "plebs"  of Rome were unnerved. But even in this heightened environment, Commodus  served as an extreme.

Having little interest in running the  empire, he left most of the day-to-day decisions to a prefect, while  Commodus himself indulged in living a very public life of debauchery.  His harem contained 300 girls and 300 boys (some of whom it was said had  so bewitched the emperor as he passed them on the street that he felt  compelled to order their kidnapping). But if there was one thing that  commanded Commodus' obsession above all else, it was the Roman Games. He  didn't just want to put on the greatest Games in the history of Rome;  he wanted to be the star of them, too. 

Commodus began to fight as a gladiator. Sometimes, he arrived dressed in lion pelts, to evoke Roman hero Hercules; other times, he entered the ring absolutely naked  to fight his opponents. To ensure a victory, Commodus only fought  amputees and wounded soldiers (all of whom were given only flimsy wooden  weapons to defend themselves). In one dramatic case recorded in  Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Commodus ordered that all people missing  their feet be gathered from the Roman streets and be brought to the  arena, where he commanded that they be tethered together in the rough  shape of a human body. Commodus then entered the arena's center ring,  and clubbed the entire group to death, before announcing proudly that he  had killed a giant. 

But being a gladiator wasn't enough for him.  Commodus wanted to rule the halftime show as well, so he set about  creating a spectacle that would feature him as a great bestiarius.  He not only killed numerous animals — including lions, elephants,  ostriches and giraffes, among others, all of which had to be tethered or  injured to ensure the emperor's success — but also killed bestiarii  whom he felt were rivals (including Julius Alexander, a bestiarius who  had grown beloved in Rome for his ability to kill an untethered lion  with a javelin from horseback). Commodus once made all of Rome sit and  watch in the blazing midday sun as he killed 100 bears in a row — and  then made the city pay him 1 millions esterces (ancient Roman coins) for the (unsolicited) favor.

By the time Commodus demanded the city of Rome be renamed Colonia Commodiana ("City of Commodus") — Scriptores Historiae Augustae,  noted that not only did the Senate "pass this resolution, but … at the  same time [gave] Commodus the name Hercules, and [called] him a god" — a  conspiracy was already afoot to kill the mad leader. A motley crew of  assassins — including his court chamberlain, Commodus' favorite  concubine, and "an athlete called Narcissus, who was employed as  Commodus' wrestling partner" — joined forces to kill him and end his  unhinged reign. His death was supposed to restore balance and  rationality to Rome — but it didn't. By then, Rome was broken — bloody,  chaotic and unable to stop its death spiral. 

In an ultimate irony, reformers who stood up to oppose the culture's  violent and debauched disorder were often punished by death at the hands  of the bestiarii, their deaths cheered on by the very same Romans whom they were trying to protect and save from destruction. 

The Death of the Games and the Rise of Christianity
As  the Roman Empire declined, so did the size, scope and brutality of its  Games. However, it seems fitting that one of the most powerful seeds of  the empire's downfall could be found within its ultimate sign of  contempt and power — the halftime show of damnatio ad bestias.
 
Early Christians were among the most popular victims in ludi meridiani.  The emperors who condemned these men, women and children to public  death by beasts did so with the obvious hope that the spectacle would be  so horrifying and humiliating that it would discourage any other Romans  from converting to Christianity.

Little did they realize that the tales of brave Christians facing certain death with grace, power and humility  made them some of the earliest martyr stories. Nor could they have  imagined that these oft-repeated narratives would then serve as  invaluable tools to drive more people toward the Christian faith for  centuries to come. 

In the end, who could have ever imagined that  these near-forgotten "halftime shows" might prove to have a more lasting  impact on the world than the gladiators and chariot races that had  overshadowed the bestiarii for their entire existence?

Read more from Aptowicz in her Expert Voices essay, "Surgery in a Time Before Anesthesia."

The argument about the comparisons between ancient Rome and America today is that the horrific tortures and debauchery just does not occur in America today.

I beg to differ.

I argue that the horrors committed by the national leadership and the techniques of manipulation of the people may have changed form, but they have not been eliminated. Rather, they exist in other ways, other means, and using other technology.

America today

Ah it’s time to return back to a simpler time when people like these would never ever get an opportunity to go anywhere next to the levers of power. A simpler time when people lived life in absolute freedom and never knew fear, 24-7 surveillance, and did not fear their government. A time much as was portrayed in the classical art venues.

And these evil men; these evil people? What got them there to the positions of power and absolute corruption that they currently enjoy?

A corrupt “democratic” process. That is what.

What ever happens in the United States, and no matter what changes will be implemented, any kind of democratic institution of any kind will revert to this exact same game-plan. Nothing will change. The founders of the Untied States were absolutely correct. A democracy turns into a corrupt oligarchy and unless countered, evolves into a dangerous military empire. And the citizens… well… they devolve into frightened sheep, ready for dinner.

Oh, and what happened to my own personal paintings?

You might want to know what happened to all my art that I created, my painting supplies, my painting easel, and my paints. You might want to know what happened to my loves, my dreams and my passions…

While I was incarcerated, my father handled my belongings. He held a yard sale and sold the painting for a $1 each. One man decided to buy them all up. He said that he really liked them, and they was going to use the paintings (all were oil on wood panel) to “wallpaper” his walls with. So …

… I well remember the beaming pride that my father had when he handed me a check for some $350 odd dollars. Not realizing that the materials alone were worth ten times that amount.

…and my other belongings…

The remaining belongings were put on the sidewalk and hauled away as trash. My books were collected and given to a friend to watch over. Who later suddenly dies, and his sister sold all of them in bulk to a used book seller.

He saved one suitcase and some articles of clothing, some things that were truly “WTF did he save this for”, and the screws (?) to my massive king-sized solid hardwood bed, that he simply threw away. (I paid over $3500 for that thick massive bed back in 1998. It was totally and completely awesome!) Everything else was destroyed, lost or sold off for pennies on the dollar.

My cars… he gave them away.

  • My Toyota Celica was driven to the dealership. He handed them the keys. Said I was in prison and didn’t want the car any longer.
  • My Cadillac Deville. was discovered with sliced tires, a engine (and transmission) filled with sugar and totally gummed up and useless. (It was towed away to a junk yard.)
  • My Ford T-Bird was left in the airport. I asked my father to get the car for me. I was in prison and was unable to get it out of the lot. But it was too much of a hassle. So he called the parking lot owner and told them “the situation”. Instead of being understanding they responded with “Sex Offender! Tough shit! That car is mine now!” and classified it as abandoned and started the necessary legal paperwork to claim it as their own.

His response to me was “you can go get new ones when you get out of prison.”

With what, Dad? My good looks and a spit shine? Not even McDonald’s would hire me.

But things do have a way of turning around.

Just today I read an interesting article;

The last four years of non-stop HATE CHINA! propaganda is ending. And those people who drove that narrative and forced the complete “fire hose” of disinformation, lies, distortions and insults are not only being axed and sent out the door, but they are being applauded by the working folk as they leave too. Good riddance…

One VOA journalist said Pack's resignation triggered "sighs of relief and cheers" among employees. She called Pack's resignation "a first step toward a return to normalcy."

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A comparison of American Capitalism and Chinese Capitalism and what the war of sentience dominance is all about.

Phew! Another title that you will not find anywhere else in your “Google” searches.

"Everything has an end, so do empires, both the United States and the  Soviet Union. Washington has outrageously favoured a small camarilla of  ultra-billionaires. Now it has to face its old demons, prepare for  secession and civil war..."
 
"...Part of the power has already tipped democratic institutions into  the hands of a few ultra-billionaires. The United States that we knew  no longer exists. Their agony has begun."
 
-https://www.voltairenet.org/article211982.html

The following is a most excellent article. And the commentary by MM is just pure gold, if I must say so myself. It’s a long read, but well worth it. In it, it compares the two forms of capitalism; [1] a Chinese form, and [2] an American form. Then argues that the American form is at an advanced state of development, whereas the Chinese form is in an infantile stage.

According to the thought process, industrial capitalism – earning money through making things is an early step that growing nations adopt. While earning money through taxation, rent, regulation and interest is a late-stage step that advanced nations evolve into.

The discussion behind all this is interesting. It starts off great and then kind of meanders about, but the content is very curious. And we provide this article here for people to consider. In all of it’s imperfections and curiosities.

Personally, I find the late-stage step; capitalism through non-physical activities to be a wasteful endeavor and a cancer upon society. As such, it is the major driver behind all the problems that the United States is currently dealing with at this moment. Please kindly read the article below. It is a full reprint, with little editing and all credit to the author.

It’s original form can be found HERE.

The Consequences of Moving from Industrial to Financial Capitalism

By Michael Hudson and Pepe Escobar

January 17, 2021 “Information Clearing House” – Michael Hudson: Well, I’m honored to be here on the same show with Pepe and discuss our mutual concern. And I think you have to frame the whole issue that China is thriving, and the West has reached the end of the whole 75-year expansion it had since 1945.

So, there was an illusion that America is de-industrializing because of competition from China. And the reality is there is no way that America can re-industrialize and regain its export markets with the way that it’s organized today, financialized and privatized and if China didn’t exist. You’d still have the Rust Belt rusting out. You’d still have American industry not being able to compete abroad simply because the cost structure is so high in the United States.

The wealth is no longer made here by industrializing. It’s made financially, mainly by making capital gains. Rising prices for real estate or for stocks and for bonds.  In the last nine months, since the coronavirus came here, the top 1 percent of the U.S. economy grew by $1 trillion. It’s been a windfall for the 1 percent. The stock market is way up, the bond market is up, the real estate market is up while the rest of the economy is going down. Despite the tariffs that Trump put on, Chinese imports, trade with China is going up because we’re just not producing materials.

America doesn’t make its own shoes. It doesn’t make some nuts and bolts or fasteners, it doesn’t make industrial things anymore because if money is to be made off an industrial company it’s to buy and sell the company, not to make loans to increase the company’s production. New York City, where I live, used to be an industrial city and, the industrial buildings, the mercantile buildings have all been gentrified into high-priced real estate and the result is that Americans have to pay so much money on education, rent, medical care that if they got all of their physical needs, their food, their clothing, all the goods and services for nothing, they still couldn’t compete with foreign labor because of all of the costs that they have to pay that are essentially called rent-seeking.

America comic.
America

Housing in the United States now absorbs about 40 percent of the average worker’s paycheck. There’s 15 percent taken off the top of paychecks for pensions, Social Security and for Medicare. Further medical insurance adds more to the paycheck, income taxes and sales taxes add about another 10 percent. Then you have student loans and bank debt. So basically, the American worker can only spend about one third of his or her income on buying the goods and services they produce. All the rest goes into the FIRE sector — the finance, insurance and real estate sector — and other monopolies.

And essentially, we became what’s called a rent-seeking economy, not a productive economy. So, when people in Washington talk about American capitalism versus Chinese socialism this is confusing the issue. What kind of capitalism are we talking about?

America used to have industrial capitalism in the 19th century. That’s how it got richer originally but now it’s moved away from industrial capitalism towards finance capitalism. And what that means is that essentially the mixed economy that made America rich — where the government would invest in education and infrastructure and transportation and provide these at low costs so that the employers didn’t have to pay labor to afford high costs — all of this has been transformed over the last hundred years.

And we’ve moved away from the whole ethic of what was industrial capitalism. Before, the idea of capitalism in the 19th century from Adam Smith to Ricardo, to John Stuart Mill to Marx was very clear and Marx stated it quite clearly; capitalism was revolutionary. It was to get rid of the landlord class. It was to get rid of the rentier class. It was to get rid of the banking class essentially, and just bear all the costs that were unnecessary for production, because how did England and America and Germany gain their markets?

They gained their markets basically by the government picking up a lot of the costs of the economy. The government in America provided low-cost education, not student debt. It provided transportation at subsidized prices. It provided basic infrastructure at low cost. And so, government infrastructure was considered a fourth factor of production.

And if you read what the business schools in the late 19th century taught like Simon Patten at the Wharton School, it’s very much like socialism. In fact, it’s very much like what China is doing. And in fact, China is following in the last 30 or 40 years pretty much the same way of getting rich that America followed.

It had its government fund basic infrastructure. It provides low-cost education. It invests in high-speed railroads and airports, in the building of cities. So, the government bears most of the costs and, that means that employers don’t have to pay workers enough to pay a student loan debt. They don’t have to pay workers enough to pay enormous rent such as you have in the United States.  They don’t have to pay workers to save for a pension fund, to pay the pension later on.  And most of all the Chinese economy doesn’t really have to pay a banking class because banking is the most important public utility of all.  Banking is what China has kept in the hands of government and Chinese banks don’t lend for the same reasons that American banks lend.

(When I said that China can pay lower wages than the U.S., what I meant was that China provides as public services many things that American workers have to pay out of their own pockets – such as health care, free education, subsidized education, and above all, much lower debt service.

When workers have to go into debt in order to live, they need much higher wages to keep solvent. When they have to pay for their own health insurance, they have to earn more. The same is true of education and student debt. So much of what Americans seem to be earning — more than workers in other countries — goes right through their hands to the FIRE sector. So, what seems to be “low wages” in China go a lot further than higher wages in the United States.)

Eighty percent of American bank loans are mortgage loans to real estate and the effect of loosening loan standards and increasing the market for real estate is to push up the cost of living, push up the cost of housing. So, Americans have to pay more and more money for their housing whether they’re renters or they’re buyers, in which case the rent is for paying mortgage interest.

They only lend against collateral that’s already in place because they won’t make a loan if it’s not backed by collateral. Well, China creates money through its public banks to create capital, to create the means of production. So, you have a diametric opposite philosophy of how to develop between the United States and China.

The United States has decided not to gain wealth by actually investing in means of production and producing goods and services, but in financial ways. China is gaining wealth the old-fashioned way, by producing it. And whether you call this, industrial capitalism or a state capitalism or a state socialism or Marxism, it basically follows the same logic of real economics, the real economy, not the financial overhead.  So, you have China operating as a real economy, increasing its production, becoming the workshop of the world as England used to be called and America trying to draw in foreign resources, live off of foreign resources, live by trying to make money by investing in the Chinese stock market or now, moving investment banks into China and making loans to China not actual industrial capitalism ways.

So, you could say that America has gone beyond industrial capitalism, and they call it the post-industrial society, but you could call it the neo-feudal society. You could call it the neo-rentier society, or you could call it debt peonage but it’s not industrial capitalism.

And in that sense, there’s no rivalry between China and America. These are different systems going their own way and I better let Pepe pick it up from there.

Pepe Escobar: Okay. Thank you, Michael, this is brilliant. And you did it in less than 15 minutes. You told the whole story in 15 minutes. Well, my journalistic instinct is immediately to start questions to Michael. So, this is exactly what I’m gonna do now. I think it is much better to basically illustrate some points of what Michael just said, comparing the American system, which is finance capitalism essentially, with industrial capitalism that is in effect in China. Let me try to start with a very concrete and straight to the point question, Michael.

Okay. let’s says that more or less, if we want to summarize it, basically they try to tax the nonproductive rentier class. So, this would be the Chinese way to distribute wealth, right? Sifting through the Chinese economic literature, there is a very interesting concept, which is relatively new (correct me if I am wrong, Michael) in China, which they call stable investment. So stable investment, according to the Chinese would be to issue special bonds as extra capital in fact, to be invested in infrastructure building all across China, and they choose these projects in what they call weak areas and weak links. So probably in some of the inner provinces, or probably in some parts of Tibet or Xinjiang for instance. So, this is a way to invest in the real economy and in real government investment projects.

Right? So, my question in fact, is does this system create extra local debt, coming directly from this financing from Beijing? Is this a good recipe for sustainable development, the Chinese way and the recipe that they could expand to other parts of the Global South?

Michael: Well, this is a big problem that they’re discussing right now. The localities, especially rural China, (and China is still largely rural) only cover about half of their working budget from taxation. So, they have a problem. How are they going to get the balance of the money? Well, there is no official revenue sharing between the federal government and its state banks and the localities.

So, the localities can’t simply go to central government and say, give us more money. The government lets the localities be very independent. And it is sort of the “let a hundred flowers bloom” concept. And so, they’ve let each locality just go the long way, but the localities have run a big deficit.

What do they do?  Well in the United States they would issue bonds on which New York is about to default. But in China, the easiest way for the localities to make money, is unfortunately they will do something like Chicago did. They will sell their tax rights for the next 75 years for current money now.

So, a real estate developer will come in and say; look we will give you the next 75 years of tax on this land, because we want to build projects on this (a set of buildings). So, what this means is that now the cities have given away all their source of rent.

Let me show you the problem by what Indiana and Chicago did. Chicago also was very much like China’s countryside cities. So, it sold parking meters and its sidewalks to a whole series of Wall Street investors, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Fund for seventy-five years. And that meant that for 75 years, this Wall Street consortium got to control the parking meters.

So, they put up the parking meters all over Chicago, raised the price of parking, raised the cost of driving to Chicago. And if Chicago would have a parade and interrupt parking, then Chicago has to pay the Abu Dhabi fund and Wall Street company what it would have made anyway. And this became such an awful disaster that finally Wall Street had to reverse the deal and undo it because it was giving privatization a bad name here.  The same thing happened in Indiana.

Indiana was running a deficit and it decided to sell its roads to a Wall Street investment firm to make a toll road. The toll on the Indiana turnpike was so high that drivers began to take over the side roads. That’s the problem if you sell future tax revenues in advance.

Now what China and the localities there are discussing is that we’ve already given the real estate tax at very low estimates to the commercial developers, so what do we do? Well, I’ve given them my advice. I’m a professor of economics at the Peking University, School of Marxist studies and I’ve had discussions with the Central Committee. I also have an official position at Wuhan University. There, we’re discussing how China can put an added tax for all of the valuable land, that’s gone up. How can it be done to let the cities collect this tax? Our claim is that the cities, in selling these tax rights for 75 years, have sold what in Britain would be called ground rent (i.e. what’s paid to the landed aristocracy).

Over and above that there’s the market rent. So, China should pass a market-rent tax over and above the ground rent tax to reflect the current value. And there they’re thinking of, well, do we say that this is a capital gain on the land? Well, it’s not really a capital gain until you sell the land, but it’s value. It’s the valuation of the capital. And they’re looking at whether they should just say this is the market rent tax over and above the flat tax that has been paid in advance, or it’s a land tax on the capital gain for land.

Now, all of this requires that there be a land map of the whole country. And they are just beginning to create such a land map as a basis for how you calculate how much the rent there is. 

What I found in China is something very strange. A few years ago, in Beijing, they had the first, International Marxist conference where I was the main speaker and I was talking about Marx’s discussion of the history of rent theory in Volume II and Volume III of Capital where Marx discusses all of the classical economics that led up to his view; Adam Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, John Stuart Mill, and Marx’s theory of surplus value was really the first history of economic thought that was written, although it wasn’t published until after he died. Well, you could see that there was a little bit of discomfort with some of the Marxists at the conference. And so, they invited for the next time my colleague David Harvey to come and talk about Marxism in the West.

Well, David gave both the leading and the closing speech of the conference and said, you’ve got to go beyond volume I of Capital. Volume I was what Marx wrote as his addition to classical economics, saying that there was exploitation in industrial employment of labor as well as rent seeking and then he said, now that I’ve done my introduction here, let me talk about how capitalism works in Volumes II and III. Volumes II and III are all about rent and finance and David Harvey has published a book on Volume III of Capital and his message to Peking University and the second Marxist conference was – you’ve got to read Volume II, and III.

Well, you can see that, there’s a discussion now over what is Marxism and a friend and colleague at PKU said Marxism is a Chinese word; It’s the Chinese word for politics. That made everything clear to me. Now I get it!  I’ve been asked by the Academy of Social Sciences in China to create a syllabus of the history of rent theory and value theory. And essentially in order to have an idea of how you calculate rent, how do you make a national income analysis where you show rent, you have to have a theory of value and price and rent is the excess of price over the actual cost value. Well, for that you need a concept of cost of production and that’s what classical economics is all about. Post-classical economics denied all of this. The whole idea of classical economics is that not all income is earned.

Landlords don’t earn their income for making rent in their sleep as John Stuart Mill said. Banks don’t earn their income by just sitting there and letting debts accrue and interest compounding and doubling. The classical economists separated actual unearned income from the production and consumption economy.

Well, around the late 19th century in America, you had economists fighting against not only Marx, but also even against Henry George, who at that time, was urging a land tax in New York. And so, at Columbia University, John Bates Clark developed a whole theory that everybody earns whatever they can get. That there was no such thing as unearned income and that has become the basis for American national income statistics and thought ever since. So, if you look at today’s GDP figures for the United States, they have a figure for 8 percent of the GDP for the homeowners’ rent. But homeowners wouldn’t pay themselves if they had to rent the apartment to themselves, then you’ll have interest at about 12 percent of GDP.

And I thought, well how can interest be so steady? What happens to all of the late fees; that 29 percent that credit card companies charge? I called up the national income people in Washington, when I was there. And they said well, late fees and penalties are considered financial services.

And so, this is what you call a service economy. Well, there’s no service in charging a late fee, but they add all of the late fees. When people can’t pay their debts and they owe more and more, all of that is considered an addition to GDP. When housing becomes more expensive and prices American labor out of the market, that’s called an increase in GDP.

This is not how a country that wants to develop is going to create a national income account. So, there’s a long discussion in China about, just to answer your question, how do you create an account to distinguish between what’s the necessary cost to production and what’s an unnecessary production cost and how do we avoid doing what the United States did.

So again, no rivalry.

The United States is an object lesson for China on what to avoid, not only in industrializing the economy, but in creating a picture of the economy as if everybody earns everything and there’s no exploitation, no earned income, nobody makes money in their sleep and there’s no 1 percent.

Well, that’s what’s really at issue and why the whole world is splitting apart as you and I are discussing in what we’re writing.

Pepe: Thank you, Michael. Thank you very much. So just to sum it all up, can we say that Beijing’s strategy is to save especially provincial areas from leasing their land, their infrastructure for 60 years or 75 years?  As you just mentioned, can we say that the fulcrum of their national strategy is what you define as the market rent tax? Is this the No. 1 mechanism that they are developing?

Michael: Ideally, they want to keep rents as low as possible because rent is a cost of living and a cost of doing business. They don’t have banks that are lending to inflate the real estate market.

However, in almost every Western country — the U.S., Germany England — the value of stocks and bonds and the value of real estate is just about exactly the same. But for China, the value of real estate is way, way larger than the value of stocks.

And the reason is not because the Chinese Central bank, the Bank of China lends for real estate; it’s because they lend to intermediaries and the intermediaries have financed a lot of housing purchases in China. And, this is really the problem for if they levy a land tax, then you’re going to make a lot of these financial intermediaries go bust.

That’s what I’m advocating, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. These financial intermediaries shouldn’t exist, and this same issue came up in 2009 in the United States. You had the leading American bank being the most crooked and internally corrupt bank in the country, Citibank making junk mortgage, and it was broke.

Its entire net worth was wiped out as a result of its fraudulent junk mortgages.

Well, Sheila Bair, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) wanted to close it down and take it over. Essentially that would have made it into a public bank and that would be a wonderful thing. She said, look Citibank shouldn’t be doing what it’s doing. And she wrote all this up in an autobiography. And, she was overruled by President Obama and Tim Geithner saying, but wait a minute, those are our campaign contributors. So, they were loyal to the campaign contributors, but not the voters; and they didn’t close Citibank down.

And the result is that the Federal Reserve ended up creating about $7 trillion of quantitative easing to bail out the banks. The homeowners weren’t bailed out.  Ten million American families lost their homes as a result of junk mortgages in excess of what the property was actually worth.

All of this was left on the books, foreclosed and sold to a private capital companies like Blackstone. And the result is that home ownership in America declined from 68 percent of the population down to about 61 percent. Well, right where the Obama administration left off, you’re about to have the Biden administration begin in January with an estimated 5 million Americans losing their homes.

Decline in home ownership.
Decline in home ownership in the United States prior to the Coronavirus.

They’re going to be evicted because they’ve been unemployed during the pandemic. They’ve been working in restaurants or gyms or other industries that have been shut down because of the pandemic. They’re going to be evicted and many homeowners and, low-income homeowners have been unable to pay their mortgages.

There’s going to be a wave of foreclosures. The question is, who’s going to bear the cost? Should it be 15 million American families who lose their homes just so the banks won’t lose money? Or should we let the banks that have made all of the growth since 2008? Ninety five percent of American GDP of the population has seen its wealth go down. All the wealth has been accumulating for the 5 percent in statistics. Now the question is should this 5 percent that’s got all the wealth lose or should the 95 percent lose?

The Biden administration says the 95 percent should lose basically. And you’re going to see a wave of closures so that the question in China should be that, these intermediate banks (they’re not really banks they are sort of like payday loan lenders), should they come in and, bear the loss or should Chinese localities and the people bear the loss?

 Somebody has to lose when you’re charging, you’re collecting the land’s rent that was paid to the creditors, and either the creditors have to lose or, the tax collector loses and that’s the conflict that exists in every society of the world today.   And, in the West, the idea is the tax collectors should lose and whatever the tax collector relinquishes should be free for the banks to collect.

In China obviously, they don’t want that to happen and they don’t want to see a financial class developing along US lines.

Pepe: Michael, there’s a quick question in all this, which is the official position by Beijing in terms of helping the localities. Their official position is that there won’t be any bailouts of local debt. How do they plan to do that?

Michael: What they’re discussing, how are you not going to do it? They think they sort of let localities go their own way. And they think, well you know which ones are going to succeed, and which ones aren’t, they didn’t want to have a one-size-fits all central planning. They wanted to have flexibility. Well, now they have flexibility. And when you have many different “let a hundred flowers bloom,” not all the flowers are going to bloom at the same rate.

And the question is, if they don’t bail out the cities, how are the cities going to operate? Certainly, China has never let markets steer the economy, the government steers the markets. That’s what socialism is as opposed to finance capitalism. So, the question is, you can let localities go broke and yet you’re not going to destroy any of the physical assets of the localities, and all of this is going to be in place. The question is how are you going to arrange the flow of income to all of these roads and buildings and land that’s in place? How do you create a system? 

Essentially, they’re saying well, if we’re industrial engineers, how do we just plan things? Forget credit, forget property claims, forget the rentier claims. How are we just going to design an economy that operates most efficiently? And that’s what they’re working on now to resolve this situation because it’s gotten fairly critical.

Pepe: Yes, especially in the countryside. Well, I think, a very good metaphor in terms of comparing both systems are investment in infrastructure. You travel to China a lot so, you’ve seen. You’ll travel through high-speed rail. You’ll see those fantastic airports, in Pudong or the new airport in Beijing. And then you’ll take the Acela to go from Washington to New York City, which is something that I used to do years ago. And the comparison is striking. Isn’t it?

High speed rail.
Chinese high speed rail.

Or if you go to France, for instance, when France started development of the TGV, which in terms of a national infrastructure network, is one of the best networks on the planet. And the French started doing this 30 years ago, even more. Is there……, it’s not in terms of way out, but if we analyze the minutia, it’s obvious that following the American finance utilization system, we could never have something remotely similar happening in United States in terms of building infrastructure.

So, do you see any realistic bypass mechanism in terms of improving American infrastructure, especially in the big cities?

Michael: No, and there are two reasons for that. No. 1, let’s take a look at the long-term railroads. The railroads go through the center of town or even in the countryside, all along the railroads, the railroads brought business and all the businesses had been located as close to the railroad tracks as they could. Factories with sightings off the railroad, hotels and especially right through the middle of town where you have the railway gates going up and down. In order to make a high-speed rail as in China, you need a dedicated roadway without trucks and cars, imagine a car going through a railway gate at 350 miles an hour.

Railroad station.
Railroad station in China.

So, when I would go from Beijing to Tianjin, here’s the high-speed rail, there’s one highway on one side, one highway on the other side. There’ll be underpasses. But there it goes straight now.

How can you suppose you would have a straight Acela line from Washington up to Boston when all along the line, there’s all this real estate right along the line that has been built up? There’s no way you can get a dedicated roadway without having to tear down all of this real estate that’s on either side and the cost of making the current owners whole would be prohibitive. And anywhere you would go, that’s not in the center of the city, you would also have to have the problem that there’s already private property there.

And there’s no legal, constitutional way for such a physical investment to be made. China was able to make this investment because it was still largely rural. It wasn’t as built up along the railways. It didn’t have any particular area that was built up right where the railroad already was.

So certainly, any high-speed rail could not go where the current railways would be, and they’d have to go on somebody’s land. And, there’s also, what do you do if you want to get to New York and Long Island from New Jersey?

Sixty years ago, when I went into Wall Street, the cost of getting and transporting goods from California to Newark, New Jersey, was as large as from Newark right across the Hudson River to New York, not only because of the mafia and control of the local labor unions, but because of the tunnels.

Right now, the tunnels from New Jersey to New York are broke, they are leaking, the subways in New York City, which continually break down because there was a hurricane a few years ago and the switches were made in the 1940s. The switches are 80 years old. They had water damage and the trains have to go at a crawl. But the city and state, because it is not collecting the real estate tax and other taxes and because ridership fell on the subways to about 20 percent, the city’s broke. They’re talking about 70 percent of city services being cut back. They’re talking about cutting back the subways to 40 percent capacity, meaning everybody will have to get in — when there’s still a virus and not many people are wearing masks, and there was no means of enforcing masks here.

So, there’s no way that you can rebuild the infrastructure because, for one thing the banking system here has subsidized for a hundred years junk economics saying you have to balance the budget. If the government creates credit it’s inflationary as if when banks create credit, it’s not inflationary. Well, the monetary effect is the same, no matter who creates the money. And so, Biden has already said that President Trump ran a big deficit, we’re going to run a bunch of surpluses or a budget balance. And he was advocating that all along.

Essentially Biden is saying we have to increase unemployment by 20 percent, lower wages by 20 percent, shrink the economy by about 10 percent in order to, in order for the banks not to lose money.

And, we’re going to privatize but we are going to do it by selling the hospitals, the schools, the parks, the transportation to finance, to Wall Street finance capital groups. And so, you can imagine what’s going to happen if the Wall Street groups buy the infrastructure.

They’ll do what happened to Chicago when it sold all the parking meters, they’ll say, OK, instead of 25 cents an hour, it’s now charged $3 an hour. Instead of a $2 for the subway, let’s make it $8.

You’re going to price the American economy even further out of business because they say that public investment is socialism. Well, it’s not socialism. It’s industrial capitalism. It’s industrialization, that’s basic economics. The idea of what, and how an economy works is so twisted academically that it’s the antithesis of what Adam Smith, John Stewart Mill and Marx all talked about. For them a free- market economy was an economy free of rentiers. Free of rent, it didn’t have any rent seeking. But now for the Americans, a free-market economy is free for the rentiers, free for the landlord, free for the banks to make a killing. And that is basically the class war back in business with a vengeance. That blocks and is preventing any kind infrastructure recovery. I don’t see how it can possibly take place.

Pepe: Well, based on what you just described, there is a process of turning the United States into a giant Brazil. In fact, this is what the Brazilian Finance Minister Paulo Guedes, a Pinochetista, as you know Michael, has been doing with the Brazilian economy for the past two years, privatizing everything and selling everything to big Brazilian interests and with lots of Wall Street interests involved as well. So, this is a recipe that goes all across the Global South as well. And it’s fully copied all across the Global South with no way out now.

 Michael: Yes, and this is promoted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. And when I was brought down to Brazil to meet with the council of economic advisers under Lula, [Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil], they said, well the whole problem is that Lula’s been obliged to let the banks do the planning.

So, basically free markets and libertarianism is adopting central planning, but with central planning by the banks. America is a much more centrally planned economy than China. China is letting a hundred flowers bloom; America has concentrated the planning and the resource allocation in Wall Street. And that’s the central planning that is much more corrosive than any government planning, could be. Now the irony is that China’s sending its students to America to study economics. And, most of the Chinese I had talked to say, well we went to America to take economics courses because that gives us a prestige here in China.

I’m working now, with Chinese groups trying to develop a “reality economics” to be taught in China as different from American economics.

Pepe: Exactly, because of what they study at Beijing University, Renmin or Tsinghua

is not exactly what they would study in big American universities. Probably what they study in the U.S. is what not to do in China. When they go back to China, what they won’t be doing. It’s an object lesson for what to avoid.

Michael, I’d like to go back to what the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] had been discussing in the 2000s when Lula was still president of Brazil and many of his ideas deeply impressed, especially Hu Jintao at the time, which is bypassing the U.S. dollar. Well, at the moment obviously we’re still at 87 percent of international transactions still in U.S. dollars. So, we are very far away from it, but if you have a truly sovereign economy, which is the case of China, which we can say is the case of Russia to a certain extent and obviously in a completely different framework, Iran. Iran is a completely sovereign, independent economy from the West. The only way to try to develop different mechanisms to not fall into the rentier mind space would be to bypass the U.S. dollar.

Michael: Yes, for many reasons. For one thing the United States can simply print the dollars and lend to other countries and then say, now you have to pay us interest.

Well, Russia doesn’t need American dollars. It can print its own rubles to provide labor. There’s no need for a foreign currency at all for domestic spending, the only reason you would have to borrow a foreign currency is to balance your exchange rate, or to finance a trade deficit.

But China doesn’t have a trade deficit. And in fact, if China were to work to accept more dollars, Americans would love to buy into the Chinese market and make a profit there, but that would push up China’s exchange rate and that would make it more difficult for her to make its exports because the exchange rate would come up not because it’s exporting more but because it’s letting American dollars come in and push it up.

Well, fortunately, President Trump as if he works for the Chinese National Committee, said, look, we don’t want to really hurt China by pushing up its currency and we want to keep it competitive. So, I’m going to prevent American companies from lending money to China, I’m going to isolate it and so he’s helping them protect their economy. And in Russia he said, look Russia really needs to feed itself. And, there’s a real danger that when the Democrats come in, there are a lot of anti-Russians in the Biden administration.

They may go to war.

They may do to Russia what they tried to do to China in the ‘50s. Stop exporting food and grain. And only Canada was able to break the embargo. So, we’re going to impose sanctions on Russia. So immediately, what happened is Russia very quickly became the largest grain exporter in the world.

And instead of importing cheese from the Baltics, it created its own cheese industry.

So, Trump said look, I know that Russians followed the American idea of not having protective tariffs, they need protective tariffs. They’re not doing it. We’re going to help them out by just not importing from them and really helping them.

Pepe: Yeah. Michael, what do you think Black Rock wants from the Chinese? You know that they are making a few inroads at the highest levels? Of course, I’m sure you’re aware of that. And also, JP Morgan, Citybank, etc. What do they really want?

Michael: They’d like to be able to create dollars to begin to buy and make loans to real estate; let companies grow, let the real estate market grow and make capital gains.

The way people get wealthy today isn’t by making an income, it’s been by making a capital gain. Total returns are current income plus the capital gains. As for capital gains each year; the land value gains alone are larger than the whole GDP growth from year to year. So that’s where the money is, that’s where the wealth is. So, they are after speculative capital gains, they would like to push money into the Chinese stock market and real estate market. See the prices go up and then inflate the prices by buying in and then sell out at the high price. Pull the money out, get a capital gain and let the economy crash, I mean that’s the business plan.

Pepe: Exactly. But Beijing will never allow that.

Michael: Well, here’s the problem right now, they know that Biden is pushing militarily aggressive people in his cabinet. There’s one kind of overhead that China is really trying to avoid and that’s the military overhead because if you spend money on the military, you can’t spend it on the real economy.

They’re very worried about the military and they say, how do we deter the Biden administration from actually trying a military adventure in the South China Sea or elsewhere? They said well, fortunately America is multi-layered. They don’t think of America as a group. They realize there’s a layer and they say, who’s going to represent our interests?

Well, Blackstone and Wall Street are going to represent their interests.

Then I think one of the, Chinese officials last week gave a big speech on this very thing, saying look, our best hope in stopping America’s military adventurism in China is to have Wall Street acting as our support because after all, Wall Street is the main campaign contributor and the president works for the campaign contributors.

The politician works for the campaign contributors. They’re in it for the money! So fortunately, we have Wall Street on our side, we’ve got control of the political system and they’re not there to go to war so that helps explain why a month ago they let wholly-owned U.S. banks and bankers in. On the one hand, they don’t like the idea of somebody outside the government creating credit for reasons that the economy doesn’t need. If they needed it, the Bank of China would do it. They have no need for foreign currency to come in to make loans in domestic currency, out of China.

The only reason that they could do it is No. 1, it helps meet the World Trade Organization’s principles and, No. 2, especially during this formative few months of the Biden administration, it helps to have Wall Street saying; we can make a fortune in China, go easy on them and that essentially counters the military hawks in Washington.

Pepe: So, do you foresee a scenario when Black Rock starts wreaking havoc in the Shanghai stock exchange for instance?

Michael: It would love to do that. It would love to move things up and down. The money’s made by companies with the stock market going up and down; the zigzag. So of course, it wants to do a predatory zigzag. The question is whether China will impose a tax to stop this, all sorts of financial transactions. That’s what’s under discussion now. They know exactly what Black Rock wants to do because they have some very savvy billionaire Chinese advisers that are quite good. I can tell you stories, but I better not.

Pepe: Okay. If it’s not okay to tell it all, tell us part of the story then.

Michael: The American banks have been cultivating leading Chinese people by providing them enough money to make money here, that they think that, okay they will now try to make money in the same way in China and we can join in. It’s a conflict of systems again, between the finance capital system and industrial socialism. You don’t get any of this discussion in the U.S. press, which is why I read what you write because in the U.S. press, the neocons talk about the fake idea of Greek history and fake idea of the Thucydides’ problem of a country jealous of another country’s development.

There’s no jealousy between America and China.

They’re different, they have their own way. We are going to destroy them. And if you look at the analogy that the Americans draw —and this is how the Pentagon thinks — with the war between Athens and Sparta.

It’s hard to tell, which is which. Here you have Athens, a democracy backing other democracies and having the military support of the democracies and the military in these democracies all had to pay Athens protection money for the military support and that’s the money that Athens got to ostensibly support its navy and protection that built up all of the Athenian public buildings and everything else.

So, that’s a democracy exploiting its allies, to enrich itself via the military.

Then you have Sparta, which was funding all of the oligarchies, and it was helping the oligarchies overthrow democracies. Well, that was America too. So, America is both sides of the Thucydides war if the democracy is exploiting the fellow democracies and is the supporter of oligarchies in Brazil, Latin America, Africa and everyone else.

So, you could say the Thucydides problem was between two sides, two aspects of America and has nothing to do with China at all except, for the fact that the whole war was a war between economic systems. They’re acting as if somehow if only China did not export to us, we could be re-industrialized and somehow export to Europe and the Third World.

And as you and I have described, it’s over.

We painted ourselves into such a debt corner that without writing down the debts, we’re in the same position that the Eurozone is in. There’s so much money that goes to the creditors to the top 1 percent or 5 percent that there is no money for capital investment, there is no money for growth. And, since 1980 as you know, real wages in America have been stable. All the growth has been in property owners and predators and the FIRE sector, the rest of the economy is in stagnation.

And now the coronavirus has simply acted as a catalyst to make it very clear that the game is over; it’s time to move away from the homeowner economy to rentier economy, time for Blackstone to be the landlord. America wants to recreate the British landlord class and essentially what we’re seeing now is like the Norman invasion of England taking over the land and the infrastructure.

That’s what Blackstone would love to do in China.

Pepe: Wow. I’m afraid that they may have a lot of leeway by some members of the Beijing leadership now, because as you know very well, it’s not a consensus in the political arena.

Michael: We’re talking about Volume II and III of Capital.

Pepe: Exactly. But you know, you were talking about debt. Coming back to that, in fact I just checked this morning, apparently global debt as it stands today is $277 trillion, which is something like 365 percent of global GDP. What does that mean in practice?

Michael: Yeah, well fortunately this is discussed in the 19th century and there was a word for that — fictitious capital — it’s a debt that can’t be paid, but you’ll keep it on the books anyway. And every country has this. You could say the question now, and The Financial Times just had an article a few days ago that China’s claims on Third World countries on the Belt and Road Initiative is fictitious capital, because how can it collect?

Well, China’s already thought of that. It doesn’t want money. It wants the raw materials. It wants to be paid in real things. But a debt that can’t be paid, can only be paid either by foreclosing on the debtors or by writing down the debts and obviously a debt that can’t be paid won’t be paid.

And so, you have not only Marx using the word fictitious capital. At the other end of the spectrum, you had Henry George talking about fictive capital. In other words, these are property claims that have no real capital behind them. There’s no capital that makes profit. That’s just a property claim for payment or a rentier claim for payment.

So, the question is, can you make money somehow without having any production at all, without having wages, without having profits, without any capital? Can you just have asset grabbing and buying-and-selling assets? And as long as you have the Federal Reserve in America, come in, Trump’s $10 trillion Covid program gave $2 trillion to the population at large with these $1,200 checks, that my wife and I got, and $8 trillion all just to buy stocks and bonds.

None of this was to build infrastructure. None of this $8 trillion was to build a single factory. None of this 8 trillion was to employee a single worker. It was all just to support the prices of stocks and bonds, and to keep the illusion that the economy had not stopped growing. Well, it’s growing for the 5 percent. So, it’s all become fictitious. And if you look at the GDP as I said, it’s fictitious.

Pepe: And the most extraordinary thing is none of that is discussed in American media. There’s not a single word about what you would have been describing.

Michael: It’s not even discussed in academia. Our graduates at the university of Missouri at Kansas City, we’re all trained in Modern Monetary Theory. And as hired professors they have to be able to publish in the refereed journals and the refereed journals are all essentially controlled by the Chicago School. So, you have a censorship of the kind of ideas that we’re talking about. You can’t get it into the economic journals, so you can’t get it into the economics curriculum. So, where on earth are you going to get it? If you didn’t have the internet you wouldn’t be discussing at all. Most of my books sell mainly in China, more than in all the other countries put together so I can discuss these things there. I stopped publishing in orthodox journals so many years ago because it’s talking to the deaf.

Pepe: Absolutely. Yeah. Can I ask you a question about Russia, Michael? There is a raging, debate in Russia for many years now between let’s say the Eurasianists and the Atlanticists. It involves of course, economic policy under Putin, industrial capitalism Russian style. The Eurasianists basically say that the central problem with Russia is how the Russian central bank is basically affiliated with all the mechanisms that you know so well, that it is an Atlanticist Trojan Horse inside the Russian economy. How do you see it?

Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire | Wilson Center

Eurasianism can be defined as an ideology which affirms that Russia and its "margins" occupy a median position between Europe and Asia, that their specific features have to do with their culture being a "mix" born of the fusion of Slavic and Turko-Muslim peoples, and that Russia should specifically highlight its Asian features.

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/russian-eurasianism-ideology-empire

Michael: Russia was brainwashed by the West when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. First of all, the IMF announced in advance that there was a big meeting in Houston with the IMF and the World Bank. And the IMF published all of its report saying, first you don’t want inflation in Russia so let’s wipe out all of the Russian savings with hyperinflation, which they did. They then said, well now to cure the hyperinflation the Russian central bank needs a stable currency and you need a backup for the currency. You will need to back it with U.S. dollars.

So, from the early 1990s, as you know, labor was going unpaid. The Russian central bank could have created the rubles to pay the domestic labor and to keep the factories in place. But, the IMF advisers from Harvard said, no you’ll have to borrow U.S. dollars. I met with people from the Hermitage Fund and the Renaissance Fund and others.

We had meetings and I met with the investors. Russia was paying 100 percent interest for years to leading American financial institutions for money that it didn’t need and could have created itself. Russia was so dispirited with Stalinism that, essentially, it thought the opposite of Stalinism must be what they have in America.

They thought that America was going to tell it how America got rich, but America didn’t want to tell Russia how it got rich, but instead wanted to make money off Russia. They didn’t get it. They trusted the Americans. They really didn’t understand that, industrial capitalism that Marx described had metamorphosized into finance capitalism and was completely different.

Finance capitalism
Finance capitalism or financial capitalism is the subordination of processes of production to the accumulation of money profits in a financial system. Financial capitalism is thus a form of capitalism where the intermediation of saving to investment becomes a dominant function in the economy, with wider implications for the political process and social evolution. Since the late 20th century, in a process sometimes called financialization, it has become the predominant force in the global economy, whether in neoliberal or other form.

Wikipedia

And that’s because Russia didn’t charge rent, it didn’t charge interest. I gave three speeches before the Duma, urging it to impose a land tax. Some of the people I noticed, Ed Dodson was there with us and we were all trying to convince Russia, don’t let this land be privatized. If you let it be privatized, then you’re going to have such high rents and housing costs in Russia that you’re not going to be able to essentially compete for an industrial growth. Well, the politician who brought us there, Viatcheslav Zolensky was sort of maneuvered out of the election by the American advisers.

The Americans put billions of dollars in to essentially finance American propagandists to destroy Russia, mainly from the Harvard Institute of International Development. And essentially, they were a bunch of gangsters and the prosecutors in Boston were about to prosecute them.

The attorney general of Boston was going to bring a big case for Harvard against the looting of Russia and the corruption of Russia. And I was asked to organize and to bring a number of Russian politicians and industrialists over to say how this destroyed everything. Well, Harvard settled out of court and essentially that made the perpetrators the leading university people up there. (I’m associated with Harvard Anthropology Department, not the Economics Department.)

So, we never had a chance to bring my witnesses, and have our report on what happened, but I published for the Russian Academy of Sciences a long study of how all of this destruction of Russia was laid out in advance at the Houston meetings by the IMF. America went to the leading bureaucrats and said; look, we can make you rich why don’t you register the factories in your own name, and if you’re registered in your own name, you know, then you’ll own it. And then you can cash out. You can essentially sell, but obviously you can’t sell to the Russians because the IMF has just wiped out all of their savings.

You can only cash out by selling to the West. And so, the Russian stock market became the leading stock market in the world from 1994 with the Norilsk Nickel and the seven bankers in the bank loans for shares deal through 1997. And, I had worked for a firm Scutter Stevens and, the head adviser, a former student of mine didn’t want to invest in Russia because she said, this is just a rip off, it’s going to crash. She was fired for not investing. They said look, we know that’s going to crash. That’s the whole idea it’s going to crash. We can make a mint off it before the crash. And then when it crashes, we can make another mint by selling short and then all over again. Well, the problem is that the system that was put in with the privatization that’s occurred, how do you have Russia’s wealth used to develop its own industry and its own economy like China was doing. Well, China has rules for all of this, but Russia doesn’t have rules, it’s really all centralized, it’s President Putin that keeps it this way.

Well, this was the great fear of the West. When you had Mikhail Gorbachev beginning to plan to do pretty much what is done today, to restrain private capital, the IMF said hold off. We’re not going to make any loans to stabilize the Russian currency until you remove Mr. Primakov.

The U.S. said we won’t deal with Russia until you remove him. So, he was pushed out and he was probably the smartest guy at the time there. So, they thought [President Vladimir] Putin was going to be sort of the patsy. And he almost single-handedly, holding the oligarchs in and saying, look, you can keep your money as long as you do exactly what the government would do. You can keep the gains as long as you’re serving the public interest.

But none of this resulted into a legal system, a tax system, and a system where the government actually does get most of the benefits. Russia could have emerged in 1990 as one the most competitive economies in Eurasia by giving all of the houses to its people instead of giving Norilsk Nickel and the oil companies to Yukos. It could have given everybody their own house and their own apartment, the same thing in the Baltics. And instead it didn’t give the land out to the people. And Russians were paying 3 percent of their income for housing in 1990. And rent is the largest element in every household’s budget.

So, Russia could have had low-price labor. It could have financed all of its capital investment for the government by taxing, collecting the rising rental value. Instead, Russian real estate was privatized on credit and it was even worse in the Baltics.

In Latvia, where I was research director for the Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia borrowed primarily from Swedish banks. And so, in order to buy a house, you had to borrow from Swedish banks. And they said, well, we’re not going to lend in the Latvian currency because it can go down. So, you have a choice; Swiss Francs or German Marks or U.S. Dollars. And so, all of this rent was paid in foreign currency. There came an outflow that essentially drained all the Baltic economies. Latvia lost 20 percent of its population. Estonia and Lithuania followed suit.

And of course, the worst hit by neo-liberalism was Russia. As you know, President Putin said that neo-liberalism cost Russia more of its population than World War II.

And you know that to destroy a country, you don’t need an army anymore. All you have to do is teach it American economics.

Pepe: Yes, I remember well, I arrived in Russia in the winter of 91 coming from China. So, I transited from the Chinese miracle. In fact, a few days after Deng Xiaoping’s famous Southern tour when he went to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.  And that was the kick for the 1990s boom, in fact a few years before the handover, and then I took the Trans-Siberian and I arrived in Moscow a few days after the end, in fact, a few weeks after the end of the Soviet Union.

But yeah, I remember the Americans arrived almost at the exact minute, wasn’t it, Michael? I think they already were there in the spring of 1992. If I’m not mistaken.

Michael:  The Houston meeting was in 1990.  But all before that already in, 1988 and 1989, there was a huge outflow of embezzlement money via Latvia. The assistant dean of the university who ended up creating Nordex, essentially the money was all flying out because Ventspils in Latvia, was where Russian oil was exported and it was all fake invoicing. So, the Russian kleptocrats basically made their money off false export invoicing, ostensibly selling it for one price and having the rest paid abroad and, this was all organized through Latvia and the man who did it later moved to Israel and finally gave a billion dollars back to Russia so that he went on to live safely for the rest of his life in Israel.

Pepe: Well, the crash of the ruble in 1998 was what, roughly one year after the crash of the baht and the whole Asian financial crisis, no? It was interlinked of course, but let me see if I have a question for you, in fact, I’m just thinking out loud now. If the economies of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, the case of South Korea and Russia, were more integrated at the time as they are trying to integrate now, do you think that the Asian financial crisis would have been preventable in 1997?

Michael: Well, look at what happened in Malaysia with Mohammad Mahathir. Malaysia avoided it. So of course, it was preventable, and they had the capital controls. All you would have needed was to do what Malaysia did. But you needed an economic theory for that.

And essentially the current mode of warfare is to conquer the brains of a country to shape how people think and how they perceive the economy.

And if you can twist their view into an unreality economics, where they think that you’re there to help them not to take money out of them, then you’ve got them hooked. That was what happened in Asia. Asia thought it was getting rich off the dollars inflows and then the IMF and all the creditors pulled the plug, crash the industry. And now that all of a sudden you had a crash, they bought up Korean industry and other South Asian industries at giveaway prices.

That’s what you do. You lend the money; you pull the plug. You then let them go under and you pick up the pieces. That’s what Blackstone did after the Obama depression began, when Obama saved the banks, not the constituency, the mortgage borrowers. Essentially that’s Blackstone’s modus operandi to pick up distressed prices at a bankruptcy sale, but you need to lend money and then crash it in order to make that work.

Pepe: Michael, I think we have only five minutes left. So, I would expect you to go on a relatively long answer and I’m really dying for it. It’s about debt, it about the debt trap. And it’s about the New Silk Roads, the Belt and Road Initiative, because I think rounding up our discussion and coming back to the theme of debt and global debt.

The No. 1 criticism apart from the demonization of China that you hear from American media and a few American academics as well against the Belt and Road is that it’s creating a debt trap for Southeast Asian nations, Central Asian nations and nations in Africa, etc…. Obviously, I expect you to debunk that, but the framework is there is no other global development project as extensive and as complex as Belt and Road, which as you know very well was initially dreamed up by the Ministry of Commerce. Then they sold it more or less to Xi Jinping who got the geopolitical stamp on it, announcing it, simultaneously, (which was a stroke of genius) in Central Asia in Astana and then in Southeast Asia in Jakarta. So, he was announcing the overland corridors through the heartland and the Maritime Silk Road at the same time.

At the time people didn’t see the reach and depth of all that. And now of course, finally the Trump administration woke up and saw what was in play, not only across Eurasia but reaching Africa and even selected parts of Latin America as well. And obviously the only sort of criticism, and it’s not even a fact-based criticism, that I’ve seen about the Belt and Road is it’s creating a debt trap because as you know Laos is indebted, Sri Lanka is indebted, Kyrgyzstan is indebted etc. So, how do you view Belt and Road within the large framework of the West and China, East Asia and Eurasia relations? And how would you debunk misconceptions created, especially in the U S that this is a debt trap.

Michael: There are two points to answer there.  The first is how the Belt and Road began. And as you pointed out, the Belt and Road began, when China said, what is it we need to grow and how do we grow within our neighboring countries so we don’t have to depend upon the West, and we don’t have to depend on sea trade that can be shut down? How do we get to roads instead of seas in a way that we can integrate our economy with the neighboring economies so that there can be mutual growth?

So, this was done pretty much on industrial engineering grounds. Here’s where you need the roads and the railroads. And then how do we finance it? Well, The Financial Times article, last week, said didn’t the Chinese know that [with past] railroad development, they’ve all gone broke? The Panama Canal went broke, you know, the first few times there were European railway investment in Latin America in the 19th century, that all went broke.

Well, what they don’t get is China’s aim was not to make a profit off the railroads. The railroads were built to be part of the economy. They don’t want to make profit. It was to make the real economy grow, not to make profits for the owners of the railroad stocks. The Western press can’t imagine that you’re building a railroad without trying to make money out of it.

Then you get to the debt issue. Countries only have a debt crisis if their debt is in a foreign currency. The first way that the United States gained power was to fight against its allies. The great enemy of America was England and it made the British block their currency in the 1940s. And so, India and other countries, that had all these currencies holdings in sterling, were able to convert it all into dollars.

The whole move of the U.S. was to denominate world debt in dollars. So that No. 1, U.S. banks would end up with the interest in financing the debt. And No. 2, the United States could, by using the debt leverage, control domestic politics.

Map of national debt as a function of GDP.
National debt as a function of GDP.

Well, as you’re seeing right now in Argentina, for instance, Argentina is broke because it owes foreign-dollar debt. When I started the first Third World bond fund in 1990 at Scutter Stevens, Brazil and China and Argentina were paying 45 percent interest per year, 45 percent per year in dollars debt.

Yet we tried to sell them in America. No American would buy. We went to Europe, no European buy this debt. And so, we worked with Merrill Lynch and Merrill Lynch was able to make an offshore fund in the Dutch West Indies and all of the debt was sold to the Brazilian ruling class in the central bank and the Argentinian bankers in the ruling class, we thought oh, that’s wonderful.

We know that they’re going to pay the foreign Yankee Dollars debt because the Yankee Dollars debt is owed to themselves. They’re the Yankees! They’re the client oligarchy. And you know, from Brazil client oligarchy is, you know, they’re cosmopolitan, that’s the word. So, the problem is that on the Belt and Road, how did these other countries pay the debt to China?

Well, the key there again is the de-dollarization, and one way to solve it is since we’re trying to get finance out of the picture, we’re doing something very much like, Japan did with Canada in the 1960s. It made loans to develop Canadian copper mines taking its payment, not in Canadian dollars, that would have pushed up the yen’s exchange rate, but in copper.

China's BRI is opposed most strongly by the United States.

So, China says, you know you don’t have to pay currency for this debt. We didn’t build a railroad to make a profit and you want, we can print all the currency we want. We don’t need to make a profit.

We made the Belt and Road because it’s part of our geopolitical attempt to create what we need to be prosperous and have a prosperous region. So, these are self-reinforcing mutual gain. Well, so that’s what the West doesn’t get — mutual gain?  Are we talking anthropology? What do you mean mutual? This is capitalism!

So, the West doesn’t understand what the original aim of the Belt and Road was, and it wasn’t to make a profitable railroad to enable people to buy and sell railway stocks. And it wasn’t to make toll roads to sell off to Goldman Sachs, you know.

We’re dealing with two different economic systems, and it’s very hard for one system to understand the other system because of the tunnel vision that you get when you get a degree in economics.

Pepe:  Belt and Road loans are long-term and at very low interest and they are renegotiable. They are renegotiating with the Pakistanis all the time for instance.

Michael: China’s intention is not to repeat an Asia crisis of 1997. It doesn’t gain anything by forcing a crisis because it’s not trying to come in and buying property at a discount at a distressed sale. It has no desire to create a distressed sale. So obviously, the idea is the capacity to pay. Now, this whole argument occurred in the 1920s, between [John Maynard] Keynes and his opponents that wanted to collect German reparations and, Keynes made it very clear. What is the capacity to pay? It’s the ability to export and the ability to obtain foreign currency. Well, China’s not looking for foreign currency. It is looking for economic returns but the return is to the whole society, the return isn’t from a railroad. The return is for the entire economy because it’s looking at the economy as a system.

The way that neoliberalism works, it divides the economy in parts, and it makes every part trying to make a gain, and if you do that, then you don’t have any infrastructure that’s lowering the cost for the other parts. You have every part fighting for itself. You don’t look at in terms of a system the way China’s looking at it. That’s the great advantage of Marxism, you’ll look at the system, not just the parts.

Pepe:  Exactly and this is at the heart of the Chinese concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, which is the approximate translation from Mandarin. So, we compare community with a shared future for mankind, which is, let’s say the driving force between the idea of Belt and Road, expanded across Eurasia, Africa and Latin America as well with our good old friends’, “greed is good” concept from the eighties, which is still ruling America apparently.

Michael: And the corollary is that non-greed is bad.

Pepe: Exactly and non-greed is evil.

Michael: I see. I think we ran out of time. I do. I don’t know if Alanna wants to step in to wrap it up.

Michael: There may be somebody who has a question.

Pepe: Somebody has a question? That’ll be fantastic.

Alanna: There is a question from Ed Dodson. He wanted to know why there are these ghost cities in China? And who’s financing all this real estate that’s developed, but nobody’s living there? We’ve all been hearing about that. So, what is happening with that?

Michael: Okay. China had most of its population living in the countryside and it made many deals with Chinese landholders who have land rights, and they said, if you will give up your land right to the community, we will give you free apartment in the city that you could rent out.

So, China has been building apartments in cities and trading these basically in exchange to support what used to be called a rural exodus. China doesn’t need as many farmers on the land as it now has, and the question is how are you going to get them into cities? So, China began building these cities and many of these apartments are owned by people who’ve got them in exchange for trading their land rights. The deals are part of the rural reconstruction program.

Alanna: Do you think it was a good deal? Vacant apartments everywhere.

Pepe: You don’t have ghost cities in Xinjiang for instance, Xinjiang is under-populated, it’s mostly desert. And it’s extremely sensitive to relocate people to Xinjiang. So basically, they concentrated on expanding Urumqi. When you arrive in Urumqi it is like almost like arriving in, Guangzhou. It’s enormous. It’s a huge generic city in the middle of the desert. And it’s also a high-tech Mecca, which is something that very few people in the West know. And is the direct link between the eastern seaboard via Belt and Road to Central Asia.

Urumqi in the mountains.
Urumqi, China.

Last year I was on an amazing trip. I went to the three borders, the Tajik-Xinjiang border, Kyrgiz-Xinjiang border and the Kazakh-Xinjiang border, which is three borders in one. It’s a fascinating area to explore and specially to talk to the local populations, the Kyrgiz, the Kazakhs and the Tajiks.

How do they see the Belt and Road directly affecting their lives from now on? So, you don’t see something spectacular for instance, in the Xinjiang – Kazakh boarder, there is one border for the trucks, lots of them like in Europe, crossing from all points, from Central Asia to China and bringing Chinese merchandise to Central Asia.

There’s the train border, which is a very simple two tracks and the pedestrian border, which is very funny because you have people arriving in buses from all parts of Central Asia. They stop on the Kazakh border. They take a shuttle, they clear customs for one day, they go to a series of shopping malls on the Chinese side of the border. They buy like crazy, shop till it drops, I don’t know for 12 hours? And then they cross back the same day because the visa is for one day. They step on their buses and they go back.

So, for the moment it’s sort of a pedestrian form of Belt and Road, but in the future, we’re going to have high-speed rail. We’re going to have, well the pipelines are already there as Michael knows, but it’s fascinating to see on the spot. You see the closer integration; you see for instance Uyghurs traveling back and forth.

You know, Uyghurs that have families in Kyrgizstan for instance, I met some Uyghurs in Kyrgyzstan who do the back-and-forth all the time. And they said, there’s no problem. They are seen as businessmen so there’s no interference. There are no concentration camps involved, you know, but you have to go to these places to see how it works on the ground and with Covid, that’s the problem for us journalists who travel, because for one year we cannot go anywhere and Xinjiang was on my travel list this year, Afghanistan as well, Mongolia.

Urumqi
Urumqi, China.

These are all parts of Belt and Road or future parts of Belt and Road, like Afghanistan. The Chinese and the Russians as well; they want to bring Afghanistan in a peace process organized by Asians themselves without the United States, within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, because they want Afghanistan to be part of the intersection of Belt and Road and Eurasian Economic Union. This is something Michael knows very well. You don’t see this kind of discussions in the American media for instance, integration of Eurasia on the ground, how it’s actually happening.

Michael: That’s called cognitive dissonance.

Alanna: To try to understand it gets you cognitive dissonance.

Pepe: Oh yeah, of course. And obviously you are a Chinese agent, a Russian agent. And so, I hear that all the time. Well, in our jobs we hear that all the time. Especially, unfortunately from our American friends.

Alanna: Okay. I know you have other things to do. This has been fabulous. I want to thank you so much, both of you, uh, with so easy to get attendance for this webinar. There were 20 people in five minutes enrolled and in two days we were at capacity. So, I know there are many more people who would love to hear you talk another time, whenever you two are so willing. And I think you both got much out of your first conversation in person. Everybody listening knows these two wonderful gentlemen, they have written more than 10 books, and they have traveled all over the world. They are on the top of geopolitical and geoeconomic analysis, and they are caring, loving people. So, you can see that these are the people we need to be listening to and understanding all around the world.

So, thank you so much. Ibrahima Drame from the Henry George School is now going to say goodbye to you and will wrap this up.  Thank you again.

Pepe: Michael it was a huge pleasure. Really, it was fantastic. Really nice, we’re on the same website. So, let’s have a second version of this.

Ibrahima:  So, let’s have a second version of this two months from now. Thank you very much for participating and I really hope you liked this event. And, we also want to ask for your support by making a tax-deductible donation to the Henry George School. I believe I shared the link on the chat. Thank you. And see you soon.

Pepe: Thank you very much. Thanks Michael. Bye!

Attributions

Michael Hudson is an American economist professor of economics at the university of Missouri Kansas City and a researcher at the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College. He’s a former Wall Street analyst political consultant commentator and journalist. He identifies himself as a classical economist. Michael is the author of J is for Junk Economics, Killing the Host, The Bubble and Beyond, Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire, Trade Development and Foreign Debtand The Myth of Aid, among others. His books have been published translated into Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish and Russian.
Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil, is a correspondent and editor-at-large at Asia Times and columnist for Consortium News and Strategic Culture in Moscow. Since the mid-1980s he’s lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Singapore, Bangkok. He has extensively covered Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia to China, Iran, Iraq and the wider Middle East. Pepe is the author of Globalistan – How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War;Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad during the Surge. He was contributing editor to The Empire and The Crescent and Tutto in Vendita in Italy. His last two books are Empire of Chaos and 2030. Pepe is also associated with the Paris-based European Academy of Geopolitics. When not on the road he lives between Paris and Bangkok.

Source –  

MetallicMan Conclusions

Just a couple of guys chatting away about America and China and the theories behind capitalism; meaning …

Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property and the recognition of property rights, voluntary exchange and wage labor. In a capitalist market economy, decision-making and investments are determined by every owner of wealth, property or production ability in capital and financial markets whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets.

Wikipedia

Ugh.

No. No. No.

Meaning;

Using money as a medium of exchange for products or services. And the idea of private ownership of the things that you can exchange it for.

I found the discussion interesting in that it validated my belief. Which is a belief that China is growing and is successful today, while the USA is apparently collapsing upon itself.

They came at it from a very interesting angle.

In their mind, the state of America today (and other leading Western nations) is because the medium of exchange differs.

  • China – exchanges – products & services for money.
  • USA – exchanges – interest on debt to generate money.

Looking at the world from this lens, or with this set of crystal-clear glasses you can see that no matter what the USA does, China will overtake it.

Not by it’s enormous size, or the great number of STEM graduates, or it’s philosophical drivers or social engineering advances…

…but rather through the nature of the capitalism that it employs.

The United States debt is over 20 trillion dollars and climbing. Those that enjoy this debt, those that make money off of it are bankers, and speculators such as the Stock Market. They are a small minority of people. A very, very, very tiny group of people.

According to this article, half the world's wealth (!) was controlled by 62 individuals in 2016. In 2017 (see here) this number drops substantially. From only these two articles, these are the numbers.

2011 - 388 people
2012/13 - 177 people
2014 - 80 people
2015/16 - 62 people
2017 - 8 people!

Meanwhile, China not only makes products and provides services, but also has a philosophy where the community REQUIRES everyone to participate making products, and providing services.

The United States has a different philosophy. Be the best, capture all the money, sit at the top. Let the rest of the world flounder.

Where I am getting to on all this is simple…

Imagine three hundred years in the future.

China
 
Everyone is either making things or providing services for others. Milk is being delivered; new gizmos and gadgets are being designed and sold. People are learning and striving. Extreme poverty is gone. But so is extreme wealth. All people have a comfortable life. But extremes in poverty and wealth do not exist. 

And the United States…

United States
 
There is only one oligarchy running things. It is a family where the oldest member is tremendously old and is on advanced life support. He is fawned over by his family. 

The rest of the world lives in extreme poverty with electronic tracking of actions and behaviors. Few own anything. They rent it all to others who funnel the money to this lone individual. These poorer people, the vast majority of them provide maintenance and protection services. No one is skilled at reason or fabrication. The most skilled are those that count the money that the wealthy own. 

Oh for certain, the “citizens” of the United States will loudly and most vociferously proclaim their “freedom”! And you know what, they will probably still be able to own guns too. They will proudly take the bullets out of the display case and shine then up every Fourth of July as a symbol of how exceptional they are.

As I see it, the American system is not sustainable. It is not healthy and it is a waste of time. It is one that converts the citizens of the United States into a caste system of two types of people; the Rulers and the Servants.

This is a battle for the potential future of the sentience of the human species;

  • Service to Self society with a two-tiered caste system This is the American / Western model.

While the Chinese model, is sustainable. It is doable, and it is workable, and it will provide advantage to the vast bulk of society, not just one singular family and their psychopathic leeches.

  • Service to Others society, with no class distinction, only individual merit.

I strongly believe that anyone in support of the current way that the United States is and how it operates and who is desirous of continuing this path is either evil, not thinking properly, or has some kind of selfish agenda.

And this, boys and girls, is what the big “sentience selection” event(s) are all about. Our benefactors want us humans to select the pathways for our species. And you can rest assured that there are individuals on both sides of this issue that are willing to fight to the death for their vision of utopia.

Mike Pompeo.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my China Index here…

China

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The big lie about rags to riches. So you want to be instagram famous, or make a ton of money with bitcoin?

It’s been one Hell of a year, eh? 2020 sucked big time. And I am sure that I am not the only person to feel this way either. My personal trials and issues were just one headache after the other.

For instance, my little dog is now 13 years old. Which is old for a dog, but not ancient. He’s maybe in his doggie 70’s. He’s an old dog. Well, he’s acting old. And this year it’s gotten really bad. First he lost his teeth, and now his eyesight is on the way out. Which pretty much sucks.

Why?

Well, he just cannot find anything. So he doesn’t know how to get around. And he figured out a work-around. You see, he’s figured out that if he pee’s everywhere that he can smell his way and orient himself in the house

So he’s been peeing everywhere.

Everywhere.

But then he figured out that I’ll pretty much mop up his messes when I discover them. So he’s been getting sneaky about where he pees. He now stealth-pees. He sniffs around and tried to find hard to find, and difficult to reach areas to pee.

But I’ve been finding them out also.

So he’s got a new technique. He has started peeing on things that’s really difficult to clean up. You know, like seat cushions, pillows, blankets, comforters, clothing (especially freshly cleaned clothes), and boxed up food that he can jump on top of.

Ugh!

Yessur! It’s been one fuck of a year.

The last straw was when he liberally saturated my baby’s Coronavirus plushie toy with dog pee. Jeeze! Can I get a break?

.

Any ways, trying to deal with shortfalls in income, raising taxes that Trump has levied on all expats (especially those in China – BTW, what is his fucking problem?), and the other issues that are magnified during a pandemic is just a real headache. And the answer is to start looking for alternative ways to earn a few extra dollars.

So the wife looks on the internet and low and behold are these other chicks. Perfect mothers all. Living in McMansions. Their children all perfectly behaved, and experts playing on the living room grand pianos and other bull shit. I tell her that it’s really obscene and ill-advised to flaunt your wealth, good fortune, or advantage when the entire fucking rest of the world is trying to pull through difficult times.

But she doesn’t care. She looks at me and say’s “why can’t we live like that?

Sigh.

2020 really sucked.

Anyways. It got me to thinking. Why is everything so fake? Why is there this driving force that says that you MUST climb up to the top of the pile of money and then flaunt it to the rest of your peers? It really pisses me off.

Why is everything so difficult?

Why is it so hard just to make a “getting by” income?

Why did out parents, and our grandparents get by with a single breadwinner, a stay-at-home wife, a mortgage paid off in ten years, with only a high school diploma? What happened?

What the Hell happened?

Greed happened.

You too can be RICH!

It’s all over America. “You too can become a Bill Gates, or a Steve Jobs, or start Amazon, or use Kickstarter to become a multi-millionaire.

But it’s just bullshit.

Having patents won’t make you rich. Nor will blogging. Writing books, or being an artist won’t make you rich. Having a pretty set of boobs won’t make you rich, bitcoin won’t make your rich, and having a great APP won’t make you rich either.

Well I am here to pop your bubble and tell you the truth.

You see, the United States today (not what it was founded as) relies on a myriad of lies to exist. These lies are promoted through a government / oligarchy controlled propaganda organization. This organization has three main branches. All of which are controlled, and construct the narratives, that Americans are exposed to. They are…

  • Alt-Left
  • Mainstream
  • Alt-Right

It’s an enormous subject, and understanding it will help to explain why Americans are they way they are and the actions of the American government. But that is not really our focus at this time. Instead, we will discuss a MAJOR lie or theme that is propagated over and over inside of America which is…

You can become rich all by yourself, alone. It just takes a little bit of work, some effort, and a pinch of luck.

Now…

Well, we have all heard the stories, haven’t we?

How Steve Jobs started his “shoe string” business in a garage. We hear about Steve Jobs, about Google, about Amazon. We hear all these stories about the small guy, the little guy, who through hard work and scrimping and saving that he (or she) was able to make it BIG!

And I am going to bust your bubble.

Our Society, not our Government, is the driving force behind this kind of action…

If you look at all the lone individuals who became a success, you will notice that they have one thing in common.

They grew during a time of very little government oversight and regulation.

When the computer moguls (Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates) started, the local, state and federal governments didn’t even know what computers were. Let alone regulate them. And in the period of time, their small business enterprises grew…

…and as they grew, so did the need for the government to grow. And to make laws and regulations to control those new enterprises.

Look at how the “Railroad Barons” came into being in the last century. Or look at how the early investors in Fast Food franchises became rich.

Look at the software moguls (Google, Amazon), the same is true for them as well. They became large before the government had time to regulate them and stymie their growth (inadvertently, of course).

Then as soon as the slow sluggish government regulatory agencies, and the slow moving bureaucratic arm of the government got moving, they had all ready established a “home” for themselves in the business world. And the resulting regulations and laws served to keep their franchises alive, while making it extraordinarily difficult for any different new-comers to create competitive alternatives.

Ok, well this dynamic is also well understood.

It’s difficult, but not impossible, to create new software alternatives. And the same is true with other industries as well. It’s not not impossible, just difficult.

But the difficulty that one experiences today, in setting up their own business, is quite different than one of the “early pioneers” setting up a new business. And that is the BIG LIE that is functionally omitted by the government propaganda outlets. Instead, they constantly promote the idea that you too can become a mega wealthy oligarch.

You too, can be another Steve Jobs.

It’s not true.

The fundamental structure of the USA government is the culprit

I think the main problem are the two different approaches taken by  the US or Chinese, which are diametrically different.  The Chinese seem  to use a "Cumulative" approach, while the US is based on what I call "Winnowing" as a state. Take their respective attitudes towards the poor.

First the Chinese; Cumulative, we are all in this together.  If everyone has a "job" be it ever-so lowly, selling food on a street  corner for example, then for the Chinese this is a "plus". The person is  more or less responsible for his own well being, is not a burden on the  State for handouts, and could be (potentially) taxable etc.  The object  being that ALL Chinese then become positive factors in the society.  They are also more motivated because they have a "place" in society. The  recent case of Jack Ma and an IPO is not the opposite, but he was  trying to get ahead by means that would have led to more unemployment -  on the back of the Chinese Government. He was not adding to the  cumulative good of the country. Only his own riches. (The Chinese do  have billionaires and riches - but are constrained by Corporate credit  ratings as explained on a previous - very interesting - thread. Thanks  to: psychohistorian | Jan 5 2021 2:08 utc | 162. The MoA Week In Review -  OT 2021-001)

The US. The attitude is to beat out the chaff leaving only the "kernel". To "Winnow"  the population leaving only the top. ie the poor are sidelined, they  become a problem for the Government (needing support, food etc.). A net  negative value to US society. (The Rich also get handouts from the Fed.  as free money has become an habitude, but that is an another way of  winnowing out the chaff - as others do NOT get the trillion dollar  handouts) The poor have no "place" in a society that has rejected them  and so are less motivated. They must fend for themselves and are  expected to obey. If they do not there are always the police to enforce  obedience. 

"Cumulative = win-win", and "Winnowing = Only the top win". 
 
 Posted by: Stonebird | Jan  5 2021 20:26 utc | 11

I argue that the United States has become something else other than what it was intended to be, and like a the big monstrosity that it is has created all sorts of safeguards to keep the people separate. The super wealthy lives a life of protected ease, and the rest, live below in a caste system where everything has a price.

From having to pay for water, to taxes and regulations on your abode, to what you do when you are off work and in the privacy of your home, to even what you think about and read. To watch television to listen to music, there is always a price.

In the 1960’s, and 1970’s watching television, listening to music, and making tapes of what you listen to and watch, were all FREE!

Water fountains might be free, but are typically not filtered. But neither is the bottled water that you buy at the local convenience store either.

.

In the 1970’s water fountains were everywhere. Now if you want a drink of water, you have to buy a bottle of water. In the 1980’s if you wanted to send out a message to a friend you sent out a letter in the mail, and it’s privacy was protected by law. Today, if you want to do the same thing, you use either a “free” email service that collects all your personal information and tracks you, or you pay a yearly fee for that service. A fee mind you, many, many times larger than the cost of a postage stamp. And none of the aforementioned protections of privacy are provided.

This is not “freedom” by any stretch of the imagination. Nor, is it an “improvement”.

It’s the worst form of slavery.

I would add that Chinese Communist Party was great mostly because Mao Zedong and his comrades created a new culture not only for China in the past, but most probably will be for future humanity.  

That new culture empowered the ordinary people and created a new social climate in which the officials were supposed to live and work with common people, which is what real democracy should be.   

People would eventually realize what has enabled China to develop better is democracy rather than what the western press and politicians called authoritarianism. 

-Mr Pan

Anyways, we are going to discuss my argument that…

The idea that anyone can become a rich and wealthy person through “hard work” and a little bit of luck, is a fantasy inside of America today.

The basics of this post is what is known as “the bell curve”. And we are going to overlay upon that curve a concept that I like to call “the big lie”.

The Bell Curve.
The Bell Curve.

.

Essentially, people and their abilities (when plotted on a graph) form a nice bell-shaped curve, and you and your friends are somewhere on that curve. This curve is very well known and it is an important indicator on where individuals lie within a group setting.

The “big lie” is that the top 0.1% position on that curve is attainable by everyone. And it is simply not true. Particularly in the United States where there are nine levels of social strata or classes of people.

The “big lie” is the believe that you can duplicate the luck, conditions, skills, and environment of another to achieve their same results.

Here we are going to discuss some stories about all those “rich and wealthy” people that we read about in the internet, the social media and on television.

Confessions Of An Instagram Model

Reprinted as found. Originally titled “Confessions Of An Instagram Model” and written on November 24, 2020. All credit to the authors. Edited to fit this venue.

I am a fitness model with a big Instagram following (no I will not be sharing my IG or other accounts here, please don’t ask). Most people think we make most of our money from sponsorships and affiliate posts – we do make some money that way – but you’d still need a 9 to 5 to make ends meet unless you’re one of the top accounts. The open secret in the industry is that we get hired to spend time with really wealthy men overseas.

A typical instagram girl.
A typical Instagram girl. This one has a big chest and extra big pouty lips.

This happens almost entirely with rich men in Dubai, although I’ve been all over the world. Bali is another hot spot for meet ups. Basically they contact you directly offering a price and make sure you agree to what they want ahead of time. You always check their accounts to make sure they’re legit and lots of times they have other models who have already met them verify in case you have any doubts, but I’ve never had an issue.

They want all kinds off different things. The first ones I agreed too were just casual vanilla sex. But once I got comfortable with it and saw how much the money went up, I started doing crazier stuff and soon after that there were no more limits for me, the money was always worth it. I struggled with it at first but the money was so good and there is something liberating about being totally disgusting for someone. I went from an everyday promiscuous but mostly standard sex life to living a life that rivals porn stars. It’s easier to list things I haven’t tried at this point than what I have!

Dubai Rich.
Dubai Rich.

.

How old are you and how long have you been doing this?

I’m in my 20s been doing this about 4 years

Are you one of those big booty instagram models, or the workout in yoga pants one?

I have a booty but I do all around fitness modeling

How much money are we talking?

I made 5k my first time. I made 20k my most recent. I’ve made up to 35k for a week

How much do the men generally pay for different acts? Does the donation matter with the attractiveness/popularity of the model?

It depends on how popular you are and what you do.

What is the craziest thing you’ve done, sexually, that you wouldn’t have even considered before escorting?

Group sex and orgy type of stuff. I’m glad I was exposed to it because it’s beautifully intense and hot, but I was closed minded to it before. There are more extreme things that would be considered crazy too that I liked like BDSM, so it’s hard to pick one. But the one I’m most grateful for being exposed to is the group.

Most guys at once?

Most guys at once was 6

Most surprising interaction (whatever that means to you)?

Most surprising was a young, very short, very skinny guy – when he dropped his pants he was packing a horse dick LOL.

Who are these men?

Some are very wealthy businessmen, some are from wealthy families. Some are related to royalty and occasionally even a well known celebrity

Who was the celebrity?

An American actor staying in Dubai. I can’t share his name but I was totally starstruck!

Was he one of the vanilla ones or one of the disguisting ones?

Not disgusting but he was not vanilla either. He liked being a little rough and kinky

Are you picky with your clientele?

I was at first but not so much now unless what they want is totally off limits to me or if they come across as super weird.

Is there anything that is off limits for your clients no matter the price tag?

Anything that would involve blood, defecation, or being seriously hurt. Other than that I would probably negotiate most things

How do you find the interaction is with most of your clients? By this I mean do then tend to take you out and treat you like there girlfriend showing you off as arm candy or are you generally kept away at a house or resort and used more for sex?

It’s rarely being taken out. You kind of do that on your own time but on their dime

What was your most (positive) exciting experience on these adventures so far?

The overall experience is the most positive. I travel the world getting spoiled making tons of money and having wild sex while enjoying some internet fame. I did get to go skydiving in Dubai for the first time which was crazy exciting

Worst situation you ever found yourself in (in regards to being an escort) and how you handled it?

I was never in a truly bad situation, but some kind of were terrible in other ways. For example, I was booked at the same time as another girl for the same two guys. When I get there, it’s another model I know and we hated each other. It sucked and I wanted to bail because she’s such a bitch. But that would’ve caused issues so I stayed. The funny thing is though, these guys were brutally rough with us, and at one point we were holding each other’s hands as we grit our teeth through some painful rough anal and even cuddled each other for a little bit after. So we aren’t friends now but we kind of bonded.

What causes beef between Instagram models/escorts?

It’s not because of that it’s just because she has a terrible personality and attitude and makes rude comments about people that are supposed to be friends

Where you ever put in a situation where you didn’t feel safe?

It always feels a bit unsafe to tell you the truth, there’s no way to know you’re safe unless it’s someone you’ve been with a bunch of times. Even then, if they’re rough or into really kinky stuff you get nervous. But that makes it exciting too.

Besides talking to other models, how is a potential client vetted?

Honestly the person I pay to run my IG account verifies them for me so idk what goes into it exactly but I know that in some cases it’s an online presence or proof that they are who they say they are.

You’re going to want to contact via email or their managers email or something similar. DMs are rarely even checked when you have a huge account. And we won’t answer directly from our accounts either becuse a single screenshot can ruin our reputation.

How do you funnel the money? Isn’t it suspicious to receive 35k just for a weekend or is it deemed a “shoot” as a model even if nothing takes place?

My manager handles everything

How much do you pay your manager?

He gets 10 percent

How much were you making in your day job?

I was making like 30k a year before I started doing this with my day job.

What do you tell your family?

I just tell my friends and family it’s from my Instagram business

Sounds like you make loads of cash….. the gig wont last for ever, are you investing?

I definitely invest and take care of my money! Remember too that I don’t really pay for anything myself on these trips

Do you have simpler plans, like marrying and stuff?

I would love to get married and have a family one day but I don’t feel ready to settle down yet.

My Metallicman comments on this dialog.

So, here’s a young girl in her 20’s, making wads of cash. Is it really from just posting nice pictures on social media?

No.

She uses social media to advertise her body for sexual liaisons. In other words, she’s a courtesan. And throughout history, courtesans have been known to make good money.

Courtesan

Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism meaning a sugar baby, escort, concubine, mistress or a prostitute, for whom the art of dignified etiquette is the means of attracting wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term originally meant a courtier, a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.

Wikipedia

She’s no different than this…

Blake.
Blake

.

I am not judging her.

If you are beautiful and you have the ability and skills necessary to become a courtesan, I say go for it. But realize that the amount of money that they get is from sexual activity, and not from pictures on Instagram.

Which is the point in all of this.

For us to grow and live, we need to realize the reality of the world that we live in. Because inside of America is is one lie on top of the other, on top of another, and another… and yet another.

And this all cause people to behave very strangely compared to the rest of the world.

Get rich from blogging!

Another big lie.

Um.

Get rich blogging.

.

Not quite. You are not going to have people throw money at you because they like your personal stories. Oh, you might make a few dollars, but from your articles alone. No. The money comes from other sources that you advertise from your blog.

These other sources can be…

  • The sales of books.
  • Sales of vitamin or herbal supplements (Alex Jones)
  • Speaking engagements
  • Paid subscriptions
  • Videos

Anyways, blogging or having a website as MM can be used as PART of a mechanism for a for-profit venture. Must like the Instagram chick above, the internet is used as a tool to derive profits from.

Hey! You guys, do you see me using MM to sell books, videos, or products? Eh?

Well, truthfully I have been asked to write some books.  And truthfully I am considering it. But the books will have to provide more than what I offer for free here. Otherwise I will feel like I am taking advantage of my readership. This is complicated by the fact that there are some things that I am simply not permitted to discuss. Anyways, I am considering it. Maybe something about Prayer and Affirmation Campaigns. Or maybe about one of our benefactor species. Something unique and very different.

Which brings me up to the next subject.

Writing a book

Yes you can make a handful of change; a few dollars writing a book. It’s not much, and it is not going to be something that you can rely upon for a steady source of income.

Get rich writing.

.

So, unless you are big and famous, and can use it as a method to “launder money”, the odds of you getting wealthy are very slim. Oh, sure there are exceptions. Like the author of the Harry Potter series. But again, the exceptions do not describe the norm.

Nope.

It’s like anything else, you write because you like writing and you have something to say. But it’s not an avenue to get wealthy from.

It’s more often than not used as a way to launder money for bribes and pay-offs.

Creating a Patent

Oh Vey! What a big lie this one is. You will never get rich on having a patent. Oh sure there are all sort of stories about people who had this patent and became filthy rich. And there might just be one or two guys, but in general forget it.

Heck, I have 11 design patents to my name, and I haven’t even got the mandatory $1 transfer fee from the company. So forgetaboutit.

Grow rich through inventions and patents.

.

It’s one of those bullshit stories about a friend who knows a guys who… or an article that you once read about a guy who invented…

Just forget about this entire route. It’s a dead-end.

Painting or creating art

Oh, art is a great way to “launder money” because there are no restrictions on the amount and the value of art is subjective. But if you want to become rich doing it, then dream on. It’s a long tall mountain to climb. You must…

…guess what?

Paint because you love painting, and if someone pays you money for it, then that is a big plus. But expect to starve and live at the poverty level while you do so.

How do I know? It’s also one of my loves. And yes, I can paint, in oils. I paint figurines using the Flemish technique. And no. I haven’t made any money of significance out of this love of mine. At best, I broke even. Meaning the cost of the materials equaled the selling price. Labor costs were a loss.

Art is how the oligarchy moves enormous amount of money about legally.

Check out these following examples of using art to launder money. Obviously the oligarchy has been ridiculing the rest of us folk for decades if not much longer. It’s, well, insulting.

An example of overt money laundering disguised as "art".

Some examples of using art to launder money

So how much money is transferred in this money laundering technique? Let’s start at the low end. You know, “pocket change” for the oligarchy…

  • Blood Red Mirror by Gerhard Richter – $1.1 Million
  • Concetto spaziale, Attese by Lucio Fontana – $1.5 Million
  • Green White by Ellsworth Kelly – $1.6 Million
Some examples of using art to launder money

.

Now, let’s go into the mid-range transactions. Say $2 million to $80 million pop.

  • Untitled (1961) by Mark Rothko – $28 Million
  • Untiled (Stoffbild) by Blinky Palermo – $1.7 Million
  • Peinture (Le Chien) by Joan Miro – $2.2 Million
  • Untitled (1970) by Cy Twombly – $69.6 Million
  • Cowboy by Ellsworth Kelly – $1.7 Million
  • Blue Fool by Christopher Wool – $5 Million
It is not art.

.

All in all, it’s a very common way for the oligarchy to move money around.

  • Riot (1990) by Christopher Wool – $29.9 Million
  • Onement Vi By Barnett Newman – $43.8 million
  • Black Fire 1 by Barnett Newman – $84.2 Million
  • Orange, Red, Yellow by Mark Rothko – $86.9 Million
  • Anna’s Light by Barnett Newman – $105.7 Million
Another example of art money laundering.

.

Disgusted?

Well, you should be.

Well, unless you are a super wealthy oligarchy, painting and selling paintings for hundreds of millions of dollars isn’t in your future.

Well, what is?

Get rich with bitcoin!

Um. Sure.

Bitcoin millionaire.

.

Ugh. maybe if you bought bitcoin in the first couple of months when it was young and just being developed. Today… it is a potential, but highly risky venture. I would mark it as unlikely.

Like anything. There are potentials and avenues of success.

Rich with little work?

.

Is that part of your pre-birth world-line template? Are you destined to become filthy wealthy?

Only you know.

Selling Snake-oil

In a nation where a person’s value is determined by the size of their bank account, and success is measured in dollar signs and spreadsheet, it’s very difficult for good and stable people to make a difference.

Only those who are adept at making money, manipulating money, stealing money, or getting money become powerful and are considered meaningful.

And in this environment, ONLY those people will obtain positions of power and importance.

I need three hands to count the number of times myself and my design teams were let go from American companies simply because the company wanted to sell a division, down-size to make the value of a company attractive to investors, or discarded good robust designs in favor or low cost, disposable “improvements”. All for money. None for the great breakthroughs and technical innovations that we were working on.

That is the reality.

And it sucks.

There is something fundamentally wrong with exchanging tokens to represent labor, and then using that system to generate debt. I know it’s a difficult thing to consider. It will change your entire world-view upside down.

The United States is currently $25 trillion dollars in debt.

Who the fuck does America owe all that money to?

Jupiter?

US debt chart.

Kind of depressing…

Ah, but it need not be.

In the American culture, you must be the “lone wolf” and climb up that mountain of success alone. “You can do it” we are told. It’s just a matter of hard work, perseverance and maybe a little luck.

Maybe.

Maybe.

But you know, in the American society (and the other societies in the West who have adopted this kind of culture) it’s difficult to break out and through the class barriers that surround your social class. It’s true and YOU KNOW IT. So let’s forget about the government’s propaganda narrative.

Instead let’s focus on looking at things from a completely different perspective. It’s a perspective that can be found in both China, Japan and Russia, as well as Brazil and parts of Europe. Which is…

…find your niche and become the best at it as you can.

Maybe you will get rich. Maybe you won’t.

But the issue about making money never enters the equation of the value of what you provide to your community or your society. And this is what is important.

Conclusion

The world needs, yes NEEDS, to move away from the primitive model of money for labor, and rather embrace the concept of participation within a society for the good of all. Instead of the selfish “me, me, me” of previous traditions.

Which is curiously…

…exactly the world as described by “time traveler” John Titor.

For he described a world (at least in America) where everyone was part of a community, and you needed to apply to become part of that community. Where no one was automatically a member, and once in a community, you needed to contribute to the good of all. No slackers, no welfare queens, and no lazy bums were permitted.

I like to believe that this will be the future, whether his predictions manifest or not.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Advice and Inspiration Index…

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Wow oh, wow! Wikileaks just dumped all of their files, every single piece including the stuff they promised to hold back. Get it while its hot!

And it’s not going to be available for long. You can bet on that.

Nothing on the site is password protected. It’s all gone.

Call it a “dump” if you like…

Wikileaks just dumped all of their files online. Everything from Hillary Clinton’s emails, McCain’s being guilty, Vegas shooting done by an FBI sniper, Steve Jobs HIV letter, PedoPodesta, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Bilderberg, CIA agents arrested for rape, WHO pandemic. Happy Digging!

Send to everyone you can as fast as you can!

Why is this important?

Well, you really need to understand WHY China has selectively banned specific American software companies, and allowed others to operate within China…

It's all about using you as a marketable resource.
It’s all about using you as a marketable resource.

You can be rest assured that the “five eyes” are doing their best to stop the files from gushing forth on the internet.

John Whitehead said it best

No doubt about it: 2020—a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year  for freedom—was the culmination of a terrible, horrible, no good, very  bad decade for freedom.

Government corruption, tyranny, and abuse  coupled with a Big Brother-knows-best mindset and the COVID-19 pandemic  propelled us at warp speed towards a full-blown police state in which  nationwide lockdowns, egregious surveillance, roadside strip searches,  police shootings of unarmed citizens, censorship, retaliatory arrests,  the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, indefinite  detentions, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, police brutality,  profit-driven prisons, and pay-to-play politicians were accepted as the  norm.
Here’s just a small sampling of the laundry list of  abuses—cruel, brutal, immoral, unconstitutional and unacceptable—that  have been heaped upon us by the government over the past two decades and  in the past year, in particular.

The government failed to protect our lives, liberty and happiness. The  predators of the police state wreaked havoc on our freedoms, our  communities, and our lives. The government didn’t listen to the  citizenry, refused to abide by the Constitution, and treated the  citizenry as a source of funding and little else. Police officers shot  unarmed citizens and their household pets. Government agents—including  local police—were armed to the teeth and encouraged to act like soldiers  on a battlefield. Bloated government agencies were allowed to fleece  taxpayers. Government technicians spied on our emails and phone calls.  And government contractors made a killing by waging endless wars abroad.

The American President became more imperial. Although  the Constitution invests the President with very specific, limited  powers, in recent years, American presidents (Trump, Obama, Bush,  Clinton, etc.) claimed the power to completely and almost unilaterally  alter the landscape of this country for good or for ill. The powers that  have been amassed by each successive president through the negligence  of Congress and the courts—powers which add up to a toolbox of terror  for an imperial ruler—empower whoever occupies the Oval Office to act as  a dictator, above the law and beyond any real accountability. The  presidency itself has become an imperial one with permanent powers.

Militarized police became a power unto themselves, 911 calls turned deadly, and traffic stops took a turn for the worse. Lacking  in transparency and accountability, protected by the courts and  legislators, and rife with misconduct, America’s police forces continued  to be a menace to the citizenry and the rule of law. Despite concerns  about the government’s steady transformation of local police into a  standing military army, local police agencies acquired even more weaponry,  training and equipment suited for the battlefield. Police officers were  also given free range to pull anyone over for a variety of reasons and  subject them to forced cavity searches, forced colonoscopies, forced  blood draws, forced breath-alcohol tests, forced DNA extractions, forced  eye scans, forced inclusion in biometric databases.

The courts failed to uphold justice. With  every ruling handed down, it becomes more apparent that we live in an  age of hollow justice, with government courts more concerned with  protecting government agents than upholding the rights of “we the  people.” This is true at all levels of the judiciary, but especially so  in the highest court of the land, the U.S. Supreme Court, which is  seemingly more concerned with establishing order and protecting  government agents than with upholding the rights enshrined in the  Constitution. A review of critical court rulings over the past two  decades, including some ominous ones by the U.S. Supreme Court, reveals a  startling and steady trend towards pro-police state rulings by an  institution concerned more with establishing order and protecting the  ruling class and government agents than with upholding the rights  enshrined in the Constitution.

COVID-19 allowed the Emergency State to expand its powers. What  started out as an apparent effort to prevent a novel coronavirus from  sickening the nation (and the world) became yet another means by which  world governments (including our own) could expand their powers, abuse  their authority, and further oppress their constituents. While COVID-19  took a significant toll on the nation emotionally, physically, and  economically, it also allowed the government to trample our rights in  the so-called name of national security, with talk of mass testing for  COVID-19 antibodies, screening checkpoints, contact tracing, immunity  passports, forced vaccinations, snitch tip lines and onerous lockdowns.

The Surveillance State rendered Americans vulnerable to threats from government spies, police, hackers and power failures. Thanks  to the government’s ongoing efforts to build massive databases using  emerging surveillance, DNA and biometrics technologies, Americans have  become sitting ducks for hackers and government spies alike. Billions of people have been affected by data breaches and cyberattacks. On  a daily basis, Americans have been made to relinquish the most intimate  details of who we are—our biological makeup, our genetic blueprints,  and our biometrics (facial characteristics and structure, fingerprints,  iris scans, etc.)—in order to navigate an increasingly technologically-enabled world.

America became a red flag nation. Red  flag laws, specifically, and pre-crime laws generally push us that much  closer towards a suspect society where everyone is potentially guilty  of some crime or another and must be preemptively rendered harmless.  Where many Americans go wrong is in naively assuming that you have to be  doing something illegal or harmful in order to be flagged and targeted  for some form of intervention or detention. In fact, all you need to do  these days to end up on a government watch list or be subjected to  heightened scrutiny is use certain trigger words (like cloud, pork and pirates), surf the internet, communicate using a cell phone, limp or stutterdrive a car, stay at a hotel, attend a political rally, express yourself on social mediaappear mentally ill, serve in the militarydisagree with a law enforcement officialcall in sick to work, purchase materials at a hardware store, take flying or boating lessons, appear suspicious,  appear confused or nervous, fidget or whistle or smell bad, be seen in  public waving a toy gun or anything remotely resembling a gun (such as a  water nozzle or a remote control or a walking cane), stare at a police officer, question government authority, appear to be pro-gun or pro-freedom,  or generally live in the United States. Be warned: once you get on such  a government watch list—whether it’s a terrorist watch list, a mental  health watch list, a dissident watch list, or a red flag gun watch  list—there’s no clear-cut way to get off, whether or not you should  actually be on there.

The cost of policing the globe drove the nation deeper into debt. America’s war spending has already bankrupted the nation to  the tune of more than $20 trillion dollars. Policing the globe and  waging endless wars abroad hasn’t made America—or the rest of the  world—any safer, but it has made the military industrial complex rich at  taxpayer expense. The U.S. military reportedly has more than 1.3 million men and women on active duty, with more than 200,000 of them stationed overseas in  nearly every country in the world. Yet America’s military forces aren’t  being deployed abroad to protect our freedoms here at home. Rather,  they’re being used to guard oil fields, build foreign infrastructure and  protect the financial interests of the corporate elite. In fact, the  United States military spends about $81 billion a year just to protect oil supplies around the world. This is how a military empire occupies the globe. Meanwhile, America’s infrastructure is falling apart.

Free speech was dealt one knock-out punch after another. Protest laws,  free speech zones, bubble zones, trespass zones, anti-bullying  legislation, zero tolerance policies, hate crime laws, shadow banning on  the Internet, and a host of other legalistic maladies dreamed up by  politicians and prosecutors (and championed by those who want to  suppress speech with which they might disagree) conspired to corrode our  core freedoms, purportedly for our own good. On paper—at least  according to the U.S. Constitution—we are technically free to speak. In  reality, however, we are only as free to speak as a government  official—or corporate entities such as Facebook, Google or YouTube—may  allow. The reasons for such censorship varied  widely from political correctness, so-called safety concerns and  bullying to national security and hate crimes but the end result  remained the same: the complete eradication of free speech.

The Deep State took over. The  American system of representative government has been overthrown by the  Deep State—a.k.a. the police state a.k.a. the military/corporate  industrial complex—a profit-driven, militaristic corporate state bent on  total control and global domination through the imposition of martial  law here at home and by fomenting wars abroad. The “government of the  people, by the people, for the people” has perished. In its place is a  shadow government, a corporatized, militarized, entrenched bureaucracy  that is fully operational and staffed by unelected officials who are, in  essence, running the country and calling the shots in Washington DC, no  matter who sits in the White House. Mind you, by “government,” I’m not  referring to the highly partisan, two-party bureaucracy of the  Republicans and Democrats. Rather, I’m referring to “government” with a  capital “G,” the entrenched Deep State that is unaffected by elections,  unaltered by populist movements, and has set itself beyond the reach of  the law. This is the hidden face of a government that has no respect for  the freedom of its citizenry. This shadow government, which “operates according to its own compass heading regardless of who is formally in power,” makes a mockery of elections and the entire concept of a representative government.

The  takeaway: Everything the founders of this country feared has come to  dominate in modern America. “We the people” have been saddled with a  government that is no longer friendly to freedom and is working overtime  to trample the Constitution underfoot and render the citizenry  powerless in the face of the government’s power grabs, corruption and  abusive tactics.
So how do you balance the scales of justice at a  time when Americans are being tasered, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, hit  with batons, shot with rubber bullets and real bullets, blasted with  sound cannons, detained in cages and kennels,  sicced by police dogs, arrested and jailed for challenging the  government’s excesses, abuses and power-grabs, and then locked down and  stripped of any semblance of personal freedom?

No matter who sits in the White House, politics won’t fix a system that is broken beyond repair.

For  that matter, protests and populist movements also haven’t done much to  push back against an authoritarian regime that is deaf to our cries,  dumb to our troubles, blind to our needs, and accountable to no one.

So  how do you not only push back against the government’s bureaucracy,  corruption and cruelty but also launch a counterrevolution aimed at  reclaiming control over the government using nonviolent means?

You start by changing the rules and engaging in some (nonviolent) guerilla tactics.

Take  your cue from the Tenth Amendment and nullify everything the government  does that flies in the face of the principles on which this nation was  founded. If there is any means left to us for thwarting the government  in its relentless march towards outright dictatorship, it may rest with  the power of juries and local governments to invalidate governmental  laws, tactics and policies that are illegitimate, egregious or blatantly  unconstitutional.

In an age in which government officials accused  of wrongdoing—police officers, elected officials, etc.—are treated with  general leniency, while the average citizen is prosecuted to the full  extent of the law, nullification is a powerful reminder that, as the  Constitution tells us, “we the people” are the government.

What really needs to happen

The folk running the government are all really blatant with their criminal actions. They perform the crimes and do it openly and brazenly, while the rest of us do hard time for the slightest offense. This needs to end.

A Saudi execution.
A Saudi execution.

Other opinions

Most websites that have the term “opin” in the title, like “Opinion watcher”, and “Opinion tracker”, and Opinseach says it NOT TRUE, or overly hyped and questionable …

While the rest of the internet disagrees…

Yah. Woo! Woo! They are gonna get it now!

Pah! At most, there will be some token legislation that will be directed at innocent civilians, and none of the oligarchy or upper class will be affected.

The great American swindle.
America today. You are fucked.

And the sheeple yawn.

The signs are all there.

An out of control oligarchy class, a nation of mind-numbed serf/slave sheeple, high technology weapons and 70 years without fighting a peer-capable nation. What the fuck do you think is gonna happen?

I’m just an old tired, pissed off grouch. So hear me out…

Random thoughts of a pissed-off citizen

Let me start with this…

America today.
America today.

.

Today, Americas are the proverbial frog in the pot of boiling water. And the frog is truly cooked.

But that really doesn’t do America justice. I think the Norma Desmond does…

America Today.
America today.

.

America is truly at that uncomfortable stage when [1] it’s past the time when any realistic solutions to the problems of America can be remedied, and [2] too early to shoot and hang the bastards.

Come on!

Just look at your life now, compared to what it was just a few years ago. It is different because your matured and got older? Or is it because of society? Or is it because of the government making laws, and rules, one after another like a “tommygun”…?

Not so long ago.
Remember when?

Why is this important?

Because there just isn’t any “free press” left in America.

There simply isn’t anyone doing anything to police the crooks that run the nation.

Zilch.

And as a result the nation is wholly out of control, and careening wildly down the tracks.

The “news” is a for-profit mechanism. It is owned by the government. Alternatives to the “news” are also bought out and owned by the government. Trying to find “news” on the internet is like trying to go to the desert to find a pool to swim in. You might be lucky, but most of the time you will not.

You tell 'em George.
You tell ’em George.

So.

So what is going to happen? Do you seriously think that this Wikileak is going to make a difference?

Metallicman Comments

It’s like the scene from the movie “Aliens”, when they discover this little girl named Newt. And they tell her not to worry. The Imperial Space marines are there to protect her and save the say. And she looks up at Ripley and replies “it won’t make any difference”.

Ripley: These people are here to protect you. They're soldiers. 
Newt: It won't make any difference. 
                                                                              
Newt.
Newt.

.

I think that the scene is very apt.

Personally, my take on this is that it’s all too late, and at this stage in the game, it’s all just theater. It’s just spin and “bread and circuses” for the sheeple. So what if the rich and famous get caught with “their hand in the cookie jar“, or their “dirty linen is aired“, or that the “skeletons in the closet” are brought out into the open. Ain’t nothing gonna happen.

So what?

So what if everyone sees all the dirty laundry of the people who run the government. Nothing is going to happen to them.

There won’t be any big uprisings. There won’t be any outcries or public shows of remorse or hearings. There won’t even be any “blue panel” investigative committees. Nothing is going to happen. And nothing is going to change. The vector; the trajectory that the USA is on right now is not going to slow down, alter course or change direction. No brakes will be applied.

The USA is fucked.

The USA today is like an old commode that is just full of shit.

It is a thick stew of brown shit that should have been flushed away centuries ago, and not, the weight of that shit is starting to go down the pipe. You know, you can only hold just so much water before the commode just automatically flushes.

America today.
America today.

.

And it’s starting to move. With a shudder…

But it’s gonna be a long drawn out flush.

Maybe, and probably, take years….

And then the fat pig-like crapper is going to sit on it one last time, and lay a big fat load directed at some external villain or threat, and the entire commode is going to crack and explode.

Yah. That’s what’s going to happen.

There are no citizen-soldiers or patriots in the USA any longer. Just sheeple, and pretend wanna-be Rambos.

Commode explode.
Soon. Very soon.

.

How do we know?

Just look at what Americans have become. Google “People of walmart“.

Perhaps a renaming is in order…

Maybe the United States should be renamed. I suggest “commode” might be the most appropriate. Because that is what it resembles today. One giant, filthy, full of shit, old, broken down commode.

PEAK COVID TEXAS…
SUPER-STRAIN IN USA… FOUND IN COLORADO…
‘Individual has no travel history’…
FAUCI: OPERATION WARP SPEED WILL MISS TARGET… Massachusetts GOP leader says got infected at White House Hanukkah party: ‘I’m paying price’…
Biden vows all-out fight…
Alabama slammed: ‘Like bathtub filling up’…
Record patients, rationed care… Oxygen supply issues force ‘disaster’ declaration…
L.A. hospitals turn away ambulances… 52-Foot Trailer of Death…
Stay-at-home extended indefinitely…
Hollywood Pressured to Stop Productions…
Politics Driving Health Care Workers From Small Towns…
Picking Nose Dangerous…
Restaurant found in contempt for violating restrictions…
Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg fortunes grow by nearly $1 TRILLION during pandemic…
Vaccine Passports Big Tech’s Latest Dystopian Nightmare…
Majority of French vow not to take…
‘GIVE THE PEOPLE $2000’
DEBT NEARS $28 TRILLION
WAS $19.9 TRILLION WHEN TRUMP TOOK OFFICE

People! Do you actually believe that this kind of news represents a healthy nation? Do you believe that the news in the rest of the world looks like this, but only in a different language? No.

No.

Hell… NO!

People, the oligarchy that runs the USA are all playing you for fools. And you are all standing around and taking it.

Red ants vs. black ants.

Grumblings continue but nothing ever happens.

The grumblings have been going on for a long, long time. It certainly pre-dates Metallicman, and everything it looked like people were going to rise up and overthrow the bastards, suddenly a war would crop up.

The deep-state murdered John F. Kennedy…

People started to grumble and get concerned, and stockpiles of weapons were purchased…

…and the Vietnam war happened.

You know.

For “democracy”.

When Bill Clinton started to break every law in the book and get away with it, numerous prepping sites discussed using code on beepers to communicate their plans. In those days it was believed that the people would rise up against a tyrannical government.

In fact, Bill Clinton clamped down on many freedoms and liberties that the conservatives held dearly. The ban on “assault guns” really upset many conservatives. So when Bush came to office…

… a war in the Middle East against Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc…

Wars are the big distraction that the oligarchy class uses to control the mob. And as time moves on, and their crimes get larger, more “in your face”, more obvious and outrageous, then the larger the war of distraction must be…

…before the grumblings become overt and dangerous.

Oh such short memories

There was a time when “preppers” readied for the “big uprising” by contemplating communicating using pagers to send messages back and forth. Of course nothing came of this, but the point is, that maybe it should have.

.

When you look at the bigger picture, one that spans decades, you can see that the parallels between slave and owner, between serf and overseer, and between king and subjects all exist in America today.

Of course nothing ever came of this potential revolt, but the disgust and upset runs long and deep in certain elements of American social strata. I’ve lived long enough to know that if you let the roast in the oven too long that it gets burnt to a crisp and becomes uneatable.

Let’s see just what the flash point will be.

Right now it looks like America has the flash point of water instead of kerosene.

But, you know, most Americans are too dumbed down to know or care what lies ahead…

Yah! If you think it is bad now, just keep in mind that this is just the beginning.

There is no telling what evil plans the oligarchy in Washington has planned for their slave / serf minions.

So many times, when I devote posts like this, I feel that my fellow Americans believe that I really should be talking in a language that they can understand. You know, like Dr. Lexus here…

Dr. Lexus.
Dr. Lexus.

The USA cannot continue like this for much longer.

Not for much longer. No it cannot.

It has gotten this far by being the sole world reserve currency, and as such, it has been printing money like crazy. Just look at the American debt today.

Meanwhile the rest of the world sees this debt with a look of horror and are taking steps to avoid the trap of the looming USD collapse…

E-yuan as a trading mechanism.
Lisa makes a good point.

.

She is correct. Why?

Do you actually believe that you are insulated and won’t feel the effects of this?

Ah. Lisa.

She makes some good points.

Here’s another one of hers…

A paper tiger.

She’s good, but think about this all.

The whole, entire picture.

There is a reason why that big invasion fleet that Trump sent to China in the Summer of 2020 steamed home. And no, it wasn’t because of it completed it’s mission of intimidation” either. You have three enormous, expensive carriers with nuclear power supplies and suddenly all the electronics goes hay-wire and the nuclear systems start to SCRAM. And they just cannot. Three expensive carriers and the nuclear piles start to go into meltdown.

Not one shot being fired.

All three carriers were heading towards a Chernobyl moment.

CHINA. DOES. NOT. PLAY.

Well. Do you think that the Oligarchy learned anything…?

Not likely.

Soon it will be Russia! Russia! Russia!. .

My bet is that it’s going to get really ugly at about that time.

An observant reader…

The following is from an observant reader…

I just looked in to some of the wiki leaks on MM website. At first,  I was looking as fast as I could thinking the pages would be erased.  Then, it got me wondering.... if they ARE leaking top secret hush hush  info, surely the US would know and act accordingly. 

 The more I look at them I see something off. They are all archived on the same date. The  year they are archived sticks out only because it’s the year I  was born, 1984. My first thought was, maybe this is how delicate info is  stores and coded. But, why 1984? Then it hit me.... George Orwell’s  1984. Is this Just another political agenda-ed pawn movement? 

Trump  is exclaiming this was apart of his plan to expose our corrupt  government. He wanted to make sure it was done while he’s still in  office. If this was his shadiwork, at this point idk if he did it for  the American people or he’s salty he lost. (Funny but true, Geminis  are sore losers)

Observation and discernment are the keys to understanding MM. Not everything is permitted to be said, and not everything is understood.

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The nine classes of social stratification within the United States today.

If you try to find information on the stratification of America on the Internet, you will discover that the vast bulk of them claim that there are really just three classes of social stratification. This is incorrect. There are nine. Here we will discuss these nine social classes. This post is a prelude to another article that discusses how the United States is migrating from a class system towards a caste system. Buckle up, it’s going to be a real surprise.

First off, why nine?

I argue that many “experts” in this matter overlook the obvious, and classify distinctly separate classes with one of the three common classes. Perhaps this is due to force of habit, as the classes all pre-date the 1960s. But perhaps it is to conditioning. People, most especially Americans, have been accustomed to a new “normal”; an “ever changing normal”. This makes people, who are otherwise quite intelligent, ignore trends that lay there right in front of their eyes.

The three classes are, of course, the…

  • The Upper Class
  • The Middle Class
  • The Low Class

Additionally, one must take into account the 13th amendment which formally established…

  • The Slave Class

What? You say! The 13th Amendment banned slavery, not granted it.

Uh. No it did not. Read the text of the amendment…

Thirteenth Amendment. The full text of the amendment is: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Thirteenth Amendment | United States Constitution ...

So yes, any one who is convicted of a crime, and becomes a felon becomes a member of the Slavery Class. And maybe that will help everyone understand why so many blacks and Negros were arrested after the American Civil War. It also explains the great saturation of laws in the 1920’s that banned the habits, and vices of the Negro population, turning many of them into felons.

So, yeah. There is a fourth class; the slavery class. And once you are in it, it is extremely difficult to leave it.

Ah, there’s another class as well…

  • The Untouchables class

This class is the “Sex Offender Class”, and it is even worse than the Slavery Class. Once you enter that class, you have very little rights, no freedoms, and pretty much will live in poverty for the rest of your life. You can describe this class by income, or demographics, but the reality is that this class is mandated by law.

It’s to take evil child molester “off the streets”. And everyone believes it. Though it’s been my experience that of those arrested and convicted only a very tiny number fit that public narrative. Most are thrown into that class for other reasons.

But wait! There’s more!

There’s the…

  • Gig class.

This class is a newly formed class where the workers float between Low Class and Middle Class. They use their skills, time and effort as opportunities come and go. Unlike the low class, they can periodically rise out of that class, but then sink right back down when their “gig” dries up. This class consists of Uber Drivers, and IoT designers.

Similarly there is the…

  • Per Diem Class

This is similar to the Gig Class except that the skill level is much higher, the monetary rewards are much higher, and the time period cycle between jobs is much longer. These workers are much in demand, and command high salary rates with supportive Per Diem costs covered by monthly bonuses.

And there is the exclusive class…

  • The Oligarchy class

This class is the territory of the super rich, the mega-billionaires. They are not only rich and powerful, but they control major segments of the governments as well. They are, in effect, the “untouchables”. These people, these families, are far more powerful, capable and “connected” than the upper class. They are in a group of their own, and it amazes me that modern day sociologists do not recognize this class at all.

Finally, we have the…

  • The undocumented class.

Which is much larger than anyone knows. It mostly concerns non-citizens who live within the United States, who often work and collect benefits, but do not officially exist. To ignore this enormous segment of the population is disingenuous.

Summary of the Classes

OK. So here is a summary…

  • The Oligarchy class
  • The Upper Class
  • The Per Diem Class
  • The Middle Class
  • The Gig Class
  • The Low Class
  • The Slave Class
  • The Untouchables
  • The Undocumented Class.

The basic rules

A “class” is similar to a caste. In that it is extremely difficult to move from one class to another. Movement can happen, it’s just that it is extremely rare.

The primary difference between “class” and “caste” is that a caste system keeps you locked into your caste. While in “class” downwards movement to a lower class is always possible. While upwards movement is outrageously difficult, and extremely rate.

My GOD! America is like an old game of “chutes and ladders”.

The game of chutes and ladders.
The game of chutes and ladders.

Introduction

Let’s get started.

Aaron grew up on a farm in rural Ohio, left home to serve in the Army, and returned a few years later to take over the family farm. He moved into the same house he had grown up in and soon married a young woman with whom he had attended high school. As they began to have children, they quickly realized that the income from the farm was no longer sufficient to meet their needs. Aaron, with little experience beyond the farm, accepted a job as a clerk at a local grocery store. It was there that his life and the lives of his wife and children were changed forever.

One of the managers at the store liked Aaron, his attitude, and his work ethic. He took Aaron under his wing and began to groom him for advancement at the store. Aaron rose through the ranks with ease. Then the manager encouraged him to take a few classes at a local college. This was the first time Aaron had seriously thought about college. Could he be successful, Aaron wondered? Could he actually be the first one in his family to earn a degree? Fortunately, his wife also believed in him and supported his decision to take his first class. Aaron asked his wife and his manager to keep his college enrollment a secret. He did not want others to know about it in case he failed.

Aaron was nervous on his first day of class. He was older than the other students, and he had never considered himself college material. Through hard work and determination, however, he did very well in the class. While he still doubted himself, he enrolled in another class. Again, he performed very well. As his doubt began to fade, he started to take more and more classes. Before he knew it, he was walking across the stage to receive a Bachelor’s degree with honors. The ceremony seemed surreal to Aaron. He couldn’t believe he had finished college, which once seemed like an impossible feat.

Shortly after graduation, Aaron was admitted into a graduate program at a well-respected university where he earned a Master’s degree. He had not only become the first from his family to attend college but also he had earned a graduate degree. Inspired by Aaron’s success, his wife enrolled at a technical college, obtained a degree in nursing, and became a registered nurse working in a local hospital’s labor and delivery department. Aaron and his wife both worked their way up the career ladder in their respective fields and became leaders in their organizations. They epitomized the American Dream—they worked hard and it paid off.

This story may sound familiar. After all, nearly one in three first-year college students is a first-generation degree candidate, and it is well documented that many are not as successful as Aaron.

According to the Center for Student Opportunity, a national nonprofit, 89 percent of first-generation students will not earn an undergraduate degree within six years of starting their studies. In fact, these students “drop out of college at four times the rate of peers whose parents have postsecondary degrees” (Center for Student Opportunity quoted in Huot 2014).

What is Social Stratification?

In the upper echelons of the working world, people with the most power reach the top. These people make the decisions and earn the most money. The majority of Americans will never see the view from the top. 

Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power.

Social Stratification
Social Stratification

.

You may remember the word “stratification” from geology class. The distinct vertical layers found in rock, called stratification, are a good way to visualize social structure. Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s resources are distributed unevenly throughout the layers. The people who have more resources represent the top layer of the social structure of stratification. Other groups of people, with progressively fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers of our society.

In the United States, people like to believe everyone has an equal chance at success. It’s a hopeful narrative and a lively premise, but (for the most part) it is false.

To a certain extent, Aaron illustrates the belief that hard work and talent—not prejudicial treatment or societal values—determine social rank. This emphasis on self-effort perpetuates the belief that people control their own social standing. In fact, this narrative is played often and over in America. It creates the illusion that everyone can “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and make a life for themselves in America.

It has become a political rallying cry.

But it is false.

The data is as plain as day. It is as damning as it is clear. The rate of upward movement in the American class system is negligible at best, and completely absent for the vast majority of American citizenry.

Sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent. While there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social patterns. Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group membership, classes, and the like. No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities. 

The structure of society affects a person’s social standing.

Although individuals may support or fight inequalities, social stratification is created and supported by society as a whole. In America the rich people want to associate with other wealthy individuals, and shun the rest. Anyone who has tried to pledge in certain fraternities or sororities can well see this in action.

Likewise, the same holds true for the lower class strata as well.

Walmart class.
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In America there is a stigma about association with a “lower” class than what you belong to. I cannot help but think that Donald Trump or Joe Biden would be loathe to help this poor woman up as she struggles to purchase a six-pack of Pepsi.

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Factors that define stratification vary in different societies. In most societies, stratification is an economic system, based on wealth, the net value of money and assets a person has, and income, a person’s wages or investment dividends. While people are regularly categorized based on how rich or poor they are, other important factors influence social standing.

For example, in some cultures, wisdom and charisma are valued, and people who have them are revered more than those who don’t. In some cultures, the elderly are esteemed; in others, the elderly are disparaged or overlooked. Societies’ cultural beliefs often reinforce the inequalities of stratification.

One key determinant of social standing is the social standing of our parents.

Parents tend to pass their social position on to their children. People inherit not only social standing but also the cultural norms that accompany a certain lifestyle. They share these with a network of friends and family members. Social standing becomes a comfort zone, a familiar lifestyle, and an identity.

People inherit their position in society.
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People inherit not only social standing but also the cultural norms that accompany a certain lifestyle. They share these with a network of friends and family members. Social standing becomes a comfort zone, a familiar lifestyle, and an identity. Therefore it is desirable for the parents to push their children to attend college and excel.

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This is one of the reasons first-generation college students do not fare as well as other students.

Other determinants are found in a society’s occupational structure. Teachers, for example, often have high levels of education but receive relatively low pay. Many believe that teaching is a noble profession, so teachers should do their jobs for love of their profession and the good of their students—not for money. Yet no successful executive or entrepreneur would embrace that attitude in the business world, where profits are valued as a driving force. Cultural attitudes and beliefs like these support and perpetuate social inequalities.

Recent Economic Changes and U.S. Stratification

As a result of the Great Recession that rocked the United States economy in the last few years, many families and individuals found themselves struggling like never before. The nation fell into a period of prolonged and exceptionally high unemployment.

While no one was completely insulated from the recession, perhaps those in the lower classes felt the impact most profoundly.

The working poor.
The Working Poor.

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Before the 1990’s, many were living paycheck to paycheck or even had been living comfortably. As the recession hit, they were often among the first to lose their jobs. Unable to find replacement employment, they faced more than loss of income. Their homes were foreclosed, their cars were repossessed, and their ability to afford healthcare was taken away. This put many in the position of deciding whether to put food on the table or fill a needed prescription.

But the Great Recession, like the Great Depression, has changed social attitudes.

Where once it was important to demonstrate wealth by wearing expensive clothing items like Calvin Klein shirts and Louis Vuitton shoes, now there’s a new, thriftier way of thinking. In many circles, it has become hip to be frugal. It’s no longer about how much we spend, but about how much we don’t spend.

Systems of Stratification

Sociologists distinguish between two types of systems of stratification.

  • Closed systems accommodate little change in social position. They do not allow people to shift levels and do not permit social relationships between levels.
  • Open systems, which are based on achievement, allow movement and interaction between layers and classes.

Different systems reflect, emphasize, and foster certain cultural values and shape individual beliefs. Stratification systems include class systems and caste systems, as well as meritocracy.

The Caste System – India

India used to have a rigid caste system until it was banned. The people in the lowest caste suffered from extreme poverty and were shunned by society. Some aspects of India’s defunct caste system remain socially relevant. 

Caste systems are closed stratification systems in which people can do little or nothing to change their social standing. A caste system is one in which people are born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives.

People are assigned occupations regardless of their talents, interests, or potential. There are virtually no opportunities to improve a person’s social position.

The Indian caste system.
The Indian caste system.

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In the Hindu caste tradition, people were expected to work in the occupation of their caste and to enter into marriage according to their caste. Accepting this social standing was considered a moral duty. Cultural values reinforced the system. Caste systems promote beliefs in fate, destiny, and the will of a higher power, rather than promoting individual freedom as a value. A person who lived in a caste society was socialized to accept his or her social standing.

Although the caste system in India has been officially dismantled, its residual presence in Indian society is deeply embedded. It still exists. It’s just that the government refuses to acknowledge it’s existence and provides “lip service” to any evidence of it’s existence.

In rural areas, aspects of the tradition are more likely to remain, while urban centers show less evidence of this past. In India’s larger cities, people now have more opportunities to choose their own career paths and marriage partners. As a global center of employment, corporations have introduced merit-based hiring and employment to the nation.

The Class System – United States, the UK, Australia

A class system is based on money, social factors, individual achievement, politics and law.

A class consists of a set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation.

Unlike caste systems, class systems are open. People are free to gain a different level of education or employment than their parents. They can also socialize with and marry members of other classes, which allows people to move from one class to another.

America compared to the rest of the world.
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In the United States, the Oligarchy class, and the upper Class have no concern for the United States citizenry. They run the nation, and make the laws so that only their class benefits.

In a class system, occupation is not fixed at birth. Though family and other societal models help guide a person toward a career, personal choice plays a role.

In class systems, people have the option to form exogamous marriages, unions of spouses from different social categories.

Marriage in these circumstances is based on values such as love and compatibility rather than on social standing or economics. Though social conformities still exist that encourage people to choose partners within their own class, people are not as pressured to choose marriage partners based solely on those elements. Marriage to a partner from the same social background is an endogamous union.

Meritocracy – China

Meritocracy is an ideal system based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort—or merit—that determines social standing.

High levels of effort will lead to a high social position, and vice versa. The concept of meritocracy is considered an ideal in the West. It is believed that it is unobtainable. That is because the Western societies simply cannot understand a society based on Confucian thought. Therefore, they argue that a society has never existed where social rank was based purely on merit.

Those in the West argue this because of the complex structure of societies, processes like socialization, and the realities of economic systems, social standing is influenced by multiple factors—not merit alone.

In the West, inheritance and pressure to conform to norms, for instance, and disrupts the notion of a pure meritocracy. Yet, China comes as realistically close to that ideal than any other nation in history.

The USA vs China.
The difference between an oligarchy class run government, and a meritocracy are stark.

Status Consistency

Social stratification systems determine social position based on factors like income, education, and occupation. Sociologists use the term status consistency to describe the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across these factors. Caste systems correlate with high status consistency, whereas the more flexible class system has lower status consistency.

To illustrate, let’s consider Susan.

Susan earned her high school degree but did not go to college. That factor is a trait of the lower-middle class. 

She began doing landscaping work, which, as manual labor, is also a trait of lower-middle class or even lower class. 

However, over time, Susan started her own company. She hired employees. She won larger contracts. She became a business owner and earned a lot of money. 

Those traits represent the upper-middle class. There are inconsistencies between Susan’s educational level, her occupation, and her income. 

In a class system, a person can work hard and have little education and still be in middle or upper class, whereas in a caste system that would not be possible. In a class system, low status consistency correlates with having more choices and opportunities.

Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

Most sociologists define social class as a grouping based on similar social factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. These factors affect how much power and prestige a person has. Social stratification reflects an unequal distribution of resources.

In most cases, having more money means having more power or more opportunities.

Stratification can also result from physical and intellectual traits. Categories that affect social standing include family ancestry, race, ethnicity, age, and gender. In the United States, standing can also be defined by characteristics such as IQ, athletic abilities, appearance, personal skills, and achievements.

Additionally, in America, there are legal stratifications. That is, forced class membership by law.

  • All Felons enter the Slave Class.
  • All Sex Offender Felons enter the Untouchables Class.
  • All undocumented, or non-citizens, are in the Undocumented Class.

Standard of Living

In the last century, the United States has seen a steady rise in its standard of living, the level of wealth available to a certain socioeconomic class in order to acquire the material necessities and comforts to maintain its lifestyle.

The standard of living is based on factors such as income, employment, class, poverty rates, and housing affordability. Because standard of living is closely related to quality of life, it can represent factors such as the ability to afford a home, own a car, and take vacations.

In the United States, a small portion of the population has the means to the highest standard of living.

The Upper class are insulated from the realities of life in the other class segments. As time moves forward they become more and more insulated from reality, and live trapped in a bubble that represents a life that does not exist.
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The Upper class are insulated from the realities of life in the other class segments. As time moves forward they become more and more insulated from reality, and live trapped in a bubble that represents a life that does not exist.

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A Federal Reserve Bank study shows that a mere one percent of the population holds one-third of our nation’s wealth (Kennickell 2009). Wealthy people receive the most schooling, have better health, and consume the most goods and services. Wealthy people also wield decision-making power.

Many people think of the United States as a “middle-class society.” They think a few people are rich, a few are poor, and most are fairly well off, existing in the middle of the social strata.

But as the study mentioned above indicates, there is NOT an even distribution of wealth.

Millions of women and men struggle to pay rent, buy food, find work, and afford basic medical care. Women who are single heads of household tend to have a lower income and lower standard of living than their married or male counterparts. This is a worldwide phenomenon known as the “feminization of poverty”—which acknowledges that women disproportionately make up the majority of individuals in poverty across the globe.

In the United States, as in most high-income nations, social stratifications and standards of living are in part based on occupation (Lin and Xie 1988).

Aside from the obvious impact that income has on someone’s standard of living, occupations also influence social standing through the relative levels of prestige they afford.

Employment in medicine, law, or engineering confers high status. 

Teachers and police officers are generally respected, though not considered particularly prestigious. 

At the other end of the scale, some of the lowest rankings apply to positions like waitress, janitor, and bus driver.

The most significant threat to the relatively high standard of living that everyone is accustomed to in the United States is the decline of the middle class. The size, income, and wealth of the middle class have all been declining since the 1970s. This is occurring at a time when corporate profits have increased more than 141 percent, and CEO pay has risen by more than 298 percent (Popken 2007).

The decline in the American middle Class.
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The decline in the American middle Class parallels the decline in union organizations.

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G. William Domhoff, of the University of California at Santa Cruz, reports that “In 2010, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 35.4% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 53.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 89%, leaving only 11% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers)” (Domhoff 2013).

  • 35.0% of wealth – Oligarchy Class.
  • 53.5% of wealth – Upper Class

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  • 89.0% of wealth – The top two classes

While several economic factors can be improved in the United States (inequitable distribution of income and wealth, feminization of poverty, stagnant wages for most workers while executive pay and profits soar, declining middle class), we are fortunate that the poverty experienced here is most often relative poverty and not absolute poverty.

Whereas absolute poverty is deprivation so severe that it puts survival in jeopardy, relative poverty is not having the means to live the lifestyle of the average person in your country.

  • Absolute poverty = Personal survival is difficult.
  • Relative poverty = Not having the means to live an average lifestyle.

As a wealthy developed country, the United States has the resources to provide the basic necessities to those in need through a series of federal and state social welfare programs. The best-known of these programs is likely the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. (This used to be known as the food stamp program.)

The program began in the Great Depression, when unmarketable or surplus food was distributed to the hungry. It was not until 1961 that President John F. Kennedy initiated a food stamp pilot program. His successor Lyndon B. Johnson was instrumental in the passage of the Food Stamp Act in 1964. In 1965, more than 500,000 individuals received food assistance. In March 2008, on the precipice of the Great Recession, participation hovered around 28 million people. During the recession, that number escalated to more than 40 million (USDA).

However, for all practical purposes, the United States distribution of such aid is insufficient, spotty and fraught with fraud. It’s a “dead horse”, and fraught with inefficiencies, corruption and abuse.

Urban Dictionary: dead horse
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dead horse

dead horse Military term for an issue that has been addressed over and over and over again. Comes from the expression ”You’re beating a dead horse.”, meaning that talking about the issue is not going to change anything so drop it.
What to do when you are stuck riding a "dead horse".
What to do when you are stuck riding a “dead horse”.

Social Classes in the United States

Does a person’s appearance indicate class? Can you tell a man’s education level based on his clothing? Do you know a woman’s income by the car she drives?

For sociologists, categorizing class is a fluid science.

While I have identified nine classes in America, I am the outlier. Sociologists generally identify three levels of class in the United States: upper, middle, and lower class. Within each class, there are many subcategories. Wealth is the most significant way of distinguishing classes, because wealth can be transferred to one’s children and perpetuate the class structure.

One economist, J.D. Foster, defines the 20 percent of U.S. citizens’ highest earners as “upper income,” and the lower 20 percent as “lower income.” The remaining 60 percent of the population make up the middle class. But by that distinction, annual household incomes for the middle class range between $25,000 and $100,000 (Mason and Sullivan 2010).

One sociological perspective distinguishes the classes, in part, according to their relative power and control over their lives. The upper class not only have power and control over their own lives but also their social status gives them power and control over others’ lives. The middle class doesn’t generally control other strata of society, but its members do exert control over their own lives. In contrast, the lower class has little control over their work or lives. Below, we will explore the major divisions of U.S. social class and their key subcategories.

The Oligarchy Class

The upper class is considered the top, and only the powerful elite get to see the view from there. In the United States, people with extreme wealth make up 1 percent of the population, and they own one-third of the country’s wealth (Beeghley 2008).

The Oligarchy class use their wealth to control the rest of society.
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The Oligarchy class use their wealth to control the rest of society.

The richest 1% know the secrets to building wealth, and nothing makes that more evident than the statistics about how they stack up to the 99% that most of us belong to. Additionally, once they reach a certain stage of wealth and income, they tend to use it to control the government, and thus create a bubble of isolation around themselves for protection. The laws do not apply to them.

1. It takes an annual income of $421,926 to join the 1% in the U.S.

When we think of the 1%, we often think of people raking in seven figures a year, but it only takes the comparatively modest figure of $421,926 to join the 1% in the U.S., according to data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). That’s an average of about $35,161 per month or about $1,156 per day.

Being in the 1% of your state may cost more or less than this, though. Connecticut residents will need to earn a whopping $700,800 per year to join this elite group while Mississippi residents can join the 1% with a mere $254,362 in annual income.

2. The richest 1% earn 26.3 times more than the bottom 99%.

The average one-percenter can expect to earn almost $1,317,000 per year, according to the EPI study. By contrast, the average 99-percenter brings home just $50,107 per year. That puts the average 1% income about 26.3 times higher than the average income for the rest of the country.

This ratio also varies by state. New York has the largest income inequality gap with the top 1% taking home 44.4 times what the bottom 99% earn in that state. Alaska has the lowest income inequality gap. Its 1% only earns 12.3 times what its bottom 99% earn.

3. The top 1% holds 42.5% of the national wealth.

The wealthiest 1% of U.S. residents — about 3.29 million people — hold 42.5% of our national wealth, while the remaining 325.7 million people share the remaining 57.5%, according to Inequality.org.

No other country in the world has so much wealth concentrated in the hands of the few. In the Netherlands, which had the next-largest income inequality gap according to the Inequality.org survey, the 1% only holds 28% of the country’s wealth.

And how this manifests…

Bullet in the head of the republic.

And, make no mistake, the Oligarchy Class IS the DE FACTO United States today…

As a fan of old movies in general and Sunset Boulevard in  particular, I keep coming back to how the psychological profile of Norma  Desmond’s character seems so reminiscent of the United States right now  – or more precisely the political class that dictates its policies and  the narrative used to maintain the illusion.  After the end of the Cold  War, Washington was the grand dame on the world stage, at the peak of  her powers economically and militarily.  And she wielded her power  without apology for years, becoming entitled to wield it – making  demands and bossing others around whom she perceived to be lesser  lights.   

 She’s declining now but doesn’t accept it –  continuing to bomb other  nations without remorse, assassinating foreign military leaders,  sanctioning 1/3 of the world’s population, dotting every corner of the  globe with military bases, and engaging in brinksmanship – all while  continuing to proclaim her greatness, exceptionalism and  indispensability.   Other players on the world stage seem to see through  the masquerade, but still feel the need to tiptoe around her.  

 Having a population whose life expectancy is decreasing, an  infrastructure that rates a D+ from civil engineers, doesn’t manufacture  much of its essential needs, and who can’t even competently handle a  public health crisis doesn’t upset the story that America continues to  tell herself.  Rather than accept her declining stature and use whatever  influence she still has to engineer a soft landing domestically and  work with the rest of the world toward a multi-polar order that values  peaceful co-existence, America seems to have chosen the Norma Desmond  path:  very entitled, very narcissistic, and dangerously deluded.  

-Is the US the Norma Desmond of the world stage?
Norma Desmond.
Norma Desmond.

Upper Class

Money provides not just access to material goods, but also access to a lot of power.

Range is $200,000 to $420,000 / year.

These people are the direct subordinates reporting to the owners; the oligarchy.

  • As corporate leaders, members of the upper class make decisions that affect the job status of millions of people.
  • As media owners, they influence the collective identity of the nation. They run the major network television stations, radio broadcasts, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, and sports franchises.
  • As board members of the most influential colleges and universities, they influence cultural attitudes and values.
  • As philanthropists, they establish foundations to support social causes they believe in.
  • As campaign contributors, they sway politicians and fund campaigns, sometimes to protect their own economic interests.
I used to hate cartoons like this. But I learned that this narrative is true.
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I used to hate cartoons like this. But I learned that this narrative is true. It is extraordinarily difficult to raise above and out of your social-economic class. While there are instances, from recent history of people who have climbed out, they are practically few, and far between. It is not as common as the “news” media wold lead you to believe.

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U.S. society has historically distinguished between “old money” (inherited wealth passed from one generation to the next) and “new money” (wealth you have earned and built yourself). While both types may have equal net worth, they have traditionally held different social standings.

People of old money, firmly situated in the upper class for generations, have held high prestige. Their families have socialized them to know the customs, norms, and expectations that come with wealth. Often, the very wealthy don’t work for wages. Some study business or become lawyers in order to manage the family fortune. Others, such as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, capitalize on being a rich socialite and transform that into celebrity status, flaunting a wealthy lifestyle.

However, new-money members of the upper class are not oriented to the customs and mores of the elite. They haven’t gone to the most exclusive schools. They have not established old-money social ties. People with new money might flaunt their wealth, buying sports cars and mansions, but they might still exhibit behaviors attributed to the middle and lower classes.

Ruling class is never seen as legitimate.

The Per Diem Class

This is a relatively transient class, that came into being in the 1980’s. They flourished during the 2000’s and are now sliding into obscurity. The members mostly being replaced by gig class, and middle class technical workers on a rotating basis.

Per diem the noun, is an amount of money someone allots to you for daily expenditure, such as for business. Similarly, the adjective "per diem" means "daily" and is usually related to costs or expenses that happen on a daily basis. Lastly, "per diem" is also an adverb meaning literally "by the day." If you only work on days you are needed, you work "per diem."

This is a class of professionals that have both the skills, education and experience to perform highly specialized tasks for limited periods of time. They are often considered “rent a engineers” by industry.

Per Diem Class
It is often difficult to find the properly qualified expert in certain fields. This is most especially true in the United States.

As such, they are very specialized and thus often sit between job opportunities without bringing in any income. Then, when an opportunity arises, they can command enormous rates for short-term work. These people are employed in advanced defense technologies, on oil rigs and in difficult situations.

They “float” between having the income of Upper Class, and having no income at all.

Middle Class

Many people consider themselves middle class, but there are differing ideas about what that means.

People with annual incomes of $150,000 call themselves middle class, as do people who annually earn $30,000. That helps explain why, in the United States, the middle class is broken into upper and lower subcategories.

  • Upper middle class – $100, 000 to $200,000
  • Middle, middle class – $50,000 to $100,000
  • Lower Middle class – $25,000 to $50,000

Upper-middle-class people tend to hold bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees. They’ve studied subjects such as business, management, law, or medicine. Lower-middle-class members hold bachelor’s degrees from four-year colleges or associate’s degrees from two-year community or technical colleges.

Comfort is a key concept to the middle class.

Middle-class people work hard and live fairly comfortable lives. Uppermiddle- class people tend to pursue careers that earn comfortable incomes. They provide their families with large homes and nice cars. They may go skiing or boating on vacation. Their children receive high-quality education and healthcare (Gilbert 2010).

In fact, what you do with your one to two week vacation time pretty much is an indicator as to where you reside on the Middle Class scale.

  • Packaged vacations every year = Upper middle class.
  • One packaged vacation a decade = middle, middle class.
  • Vacation is a road trip to see relatives = Low middle class.
Not that long ago.

In the lower middle class, people hold jobs supervised by members of the upper middle class.

They fill technical, lower level management or administrative support positions. Compared to lower-class work, lower-middle-class jobs carry more prestige and come with slightly higher paychecks. With these incomes, people can afford a decent, mainstream lifestyle, but they struggle to maintain it. They generally don’t have enough income to build significant savings. In addition, their grip on class status is more precarious than in the upper tiers of the class system.

Conventional explorations of why the middle class is shrinking focus on economic issues such as the decline of unions and manufacturing, the increasing premiums paid to the highest-paid workers and the rising costs of higher education and healthcare.

I wonder about...

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All of these factors have a role, but few comment on the non-economic factors, specifically the values that underpin the accumulation of capital that is the one essential project of middle class households.

Daniel Bell’s landmark 1976 book The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism held that

"capitalism--and the culture it creates--harbors the seeds of its own downfall by creating a need among successful people for personal gratification--a need that corrodes the work ethic that led to their success in the first place."

I would phrase this in the language of values and capital: The primary cultural contradiction of the Great American Middle Class is the disconnect between the values needed to build capital and those of gratification via debt-based consumption.

Arrayed against these capital-accumulation-disciplined values are the consumerist values of instant gratification, short-term horizons, lack of long-term goals, self-indulgence, impulse buying, keeping up with the Joneses (i.e. competitive consumption), and an obsessive focus on the social/consumption pecking order of one’s peers, all of which incentivize debt-based consumption that spends future earnings today on non-essentials.

Which is true, if you sacrifice. Live in a van. Eat dumpster food while scrimping and saving every penny, and enjoying free soup kitchens, and making free iced tea from courtesy lemon packets in the fast food franchises.

I was astonished to read in $100,000 and up is not enough – even the ‘rich’ live paycheck to paycheck that busy couples spend $2,000 to $2,600 per month eating out. That’s roughly $30,000 a year, the equivalent of a brand-new vehicle plus a used car or one year of college–or a down payment on a rental home in a non-bubble locale.

The article contends that

"Many 'rich' people have problems accepting that they aren't really that wealthy and the money will not last forever."

This is an excellent summary of the consumerist mentality: income, wealth and financial security are all grossly over-estimated…

… while debt is under-estimated.

Conventional Americans may wonder how recent legal immigrants with modest-paying jobs buy homes and pay off the mortgage in a few years and then send their kids to university with zero student loans. In a conventional consumerist household earning two times as much annual gross income, this is viewed as “impossible.”

Perhaps if most American too, lived in multi-generational homes with thirty family members sharing the rent/mortgage and contributing to the collective they might do better.

But America is the land of the "Lone Wolf". You are kicked out on the street at 18 years old, and must fend for yourself. Unless you have strong supportive family...

Like the Oligarchy Class.
Like the Upper Class.
Like the Undocumented Class.

You will always be at a disadvantage. Especially in a nation that has comprised laws designed to keep you firmly planted in the role that it establishes for you.

The Gig Class

The term “gig economy” refers to a free market system in which traditional businesses hire independent contractors, freelancers, and short-term workers to perform individual tasks, assignments, or jobs. The term comes from the world of the performing arts in which musicians, comedians, etc. are paid for their individual appearances, called “gigs.” 

  • In the gig economy, businesses hire independent contractors to perform individual jobs, called “gigs.”
  • Hired and assigned via internet and smartphone applications, gig employees work remotely.
  • While contract gig workers enjoy great scheduling flexibility and extra income, they suffer from relatively low pay, lack of benefits, and increased stress. 
  • In 2018, about 57 million Americans—nearly 36% of the total U.S. workforce—were full or part-time gig workers.

While such temporary arrangements offer tremendous advantages, like freedom and flexibility, workers in the rapidly-evolving gig economy are finding they face an increased risk of financial hardship.

How?

Without any support structures such as medical, retirement, pension, and similar systems, they are off alone and are totally responsible for their own income and benefits.

Much like traditional jobs, gig economy jobs are great—until they’re not.

Gig economy.

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In the “gig economy” or “freelance economy,” gig workers earn all or part of their incomes from short-term contracts under which they are paid for individual tasks, assignments, or jobs.

Typified by globally-recognized companies like Uber, and Lyft—which hire people to use their personal vehicles to provide taxi-like, on-demand ride services—gig economy companies use internet and smartphone-based applications to both hire and assign workers.

Each individual gig or assignment usually accounts for only a part of gig worker’s total income.

By combining several tasks for different companies, gig workers can realize cumulative earnings equal to those of conventional full-time jobs.

For example, some gig workers drive their cars for both Uber and Lyft, along with renting out rooms in their homes through Airbnb. Other people simply use gig jobs to supplement their regular income.

Buckle up.

Another aspect of the gig economy involves so-called “digital earning platforms,” like eBay and Etsy, which allow people to earn money by selling their used items or personal creations, and online handyman services, like TaskRabbit.

In many ways, the gig economy reflects and facilitates the desire of millennial generation workers for greater flexibility in balancing their work-life demands, often changing jobs several times during their lifetimes. No matter what motives drive gig workers, the popularity of the internet, with its capability for remote work, has caused the gig economy to thrive.

But you all must be made aware... the idea that you can enter the Upper Class, or the Oligarchy Class from the Gig Class is a lie. It is not possible.

...You will NEVER become wealthy blogging.

...You cannot become a millionaire by posting sexy pictures in Instagram with 100 million followers.

...You are not going to enter the Upper class with an IoT invention.

All those ideas are fantastical lies promoted by the oligarchy class to keep the lower classes complaisant and content with their lot in life.

Lower Class

The lower class is also referred to as the working class. Just like the middle and upper classes, the lower class can be divided into subsets: the working class, the working poor, and the underclass.

  • Working Class
  • Working Poor
  • The Underclass

Compared to the lower middle class, lower class people have less of an educational background and earn smaller incomes. They work jobs that require little prior skill or experience and often do routine tasks under close supervision.

Walter Williams advice is great, but terribly dated.
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Walter Williams advice is great, but terribly dated. It applies to China, Australia, Italy, Poland, Russia, but not to the United States. The best that this pre-1960’s advice can get you in the USA today is better placement within your social-economic class, nothing more.

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Working-class people, the highest subcategory of the lower class, often land decent jobs in fields like custodial or food service. The work is hands-on and often physically demanding, such as landscaping, cooking, cleaning, or building. Beneath the working class is the working poor. Like the working class, they have unskilled, low-paying employment.

However, their jobs rarely offer benefits such as healthcare or retirement planning, and their positions are often seasonal or temporary. They work as sharecroppers, migrant farm workers, house-cleaners, and day laborers. Some are high school dropouts. Some are illiterate, unable to read job ads.

How can people work full-time and still be poor?

Abandoned Americans.

Even working full-time, millions of the working poor earn incomes too meager to support a family. Minimum wage varies from state to state, but in many states it is approaching $8.00 per hour (Department of Labor 2014). At that rate, working 40 hours a week earns $320. That comes to $16,640 a year, before tax and deductions. Even for a single person, the pay is low. A married couple with children will have a hard time covering expenses.

I understand.

Members of the underclass live mainly in inner cities. Many are unemployed or underemployed. Those who do hold jobs typically perform menial tasks for little pay. Some of the underclass are homeless. For many, welfare systems provide a much-needed support through food assistance, medical care, housing, and the like.

Many socialists confuse the Slave, destitute and undocumented classes due to the type of income producing work they can obtain.

Each class has it's own set of criteria that extends beyond income alone.

The Slave Class

This class is mandated by law.

The 13th amendment allowed slavery in the United States whenever someone is convicted of a felony. Thus, in the USA today, all Felons are members of the Slave Class.

As such, it is very difficult, if not impossible to get any employment outside the Low Class range, and this class distinction also places other Rights at risk. For instance owning a firearm, voting, or even boarding an airplane (with the no-fly list) can be impossible.

Professionals such as Doctors, and Engineers discover that they are forever barred from ever practicing their occupation. Whether it is through membership in a professional organization, or through the Human Resources department of a company, this class is persona non grata.

If you are arrested in America, you face entering the Slave Class.
If you are arrested in America, you face entering the Slave Class.

.

The only way out of this class is to have your felony expunged in a court of law. With a very small chance of this ever actually happening.

The Untouchable Class

This class is also mandated by law.

While the Slave Class has great hurtles, it is the untouchable class that lives within a real virtual prison. Every restriction possible by the local, state and federal governments apply. Where you live, where and how you travel, what you do, what you eat, and who you associate with are all regulated. Movement is redistricted if not curtailed, and all freedoms are absent.

Unable to work by law, and having housing restrictions, most end up trying to live in free-shelters or government housing. However new laws have made this impossible as any shelter that obtains federal funding is not permitted to accept members of this class.

The result is a destitute life.

It is extremely difficult to crawl out of the untouchable class.
It is extremely difficult to crawl out of the untouchable class.

.

There is no exit from this class. In the United States, once you are on the “Sex Offender” list, you are on it for life.

The Undocumented Class

Yale, MIT study: 22 million, not 11 million, undocumented aliens live in the USA. This is a huge number. Seeing that the population of New York city is 6 million people.

The large number of illegal aliens can be attributed to a number of factors, including:

  • Unsecured borders.
     
  • An explosion in sanctuary jurisdictions throughout the United States, where local law enforcement authorities refuse to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
     
  • The availability of jobs. Illegal aliens know they will find work because America has yet to put in place mandatory E-Verify for all employers.
     
  • The increasing number of social welfare programs, and other benefits, given to illegal aliens by states and local governments – including in-state college tuition and driver’s licenses.
     
  • Easily exploited asylum laws, flawed detention policies and a growing immigration court backlog that, for years, have allowed illegal aliens to obtain release from ICE custody and disappear into the interior of the United States.
     
  • The on-going promise of amnesty by members of Congress and powerful special interests.

These individuals are recognized by the government legally, why they are not recognized socially is a mystery to me. I guess that it is just laziness on the part of sociologists.

This class has become somewhat of a political “football” used for distraction purposes. This class isn’t really “stealing jobs” from Americans, though it is deleting and siphoning away from the health and human benefits organizations that the Low Class uses to live off of.

It is unrealistic to believe that this class will eventually disappear though legislation. It is in America permanently.

Social Mobility

Social mobility refers to the ability to change positions within a social stratification system. When people improve or diminish their economic status in a way that affects social class, they experience social mobility.

Social mobility. Like this, perhaps…

Social Mobility, American Style.
Social Mobility, American Style.

.

Individuals can experience upward or downward social mobility for a variety of reasons. Upward mobility refers to an increase—or upward shift—in social class. In the United States, people applaud the rags-to-riches achievements of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez or Michael Jordan.

Bestselling author Stephen King worked as a janitor prior to being published. Oprah Winfrey grew up in poverty in rural Mississippi before becoming a powerful media personality. There are many stories of people rising from modest beginnings to fame and fortune. 

But the truth is that relative to the overall population, the number of people who rise from poverty to wealth is very small.

Still, upward mobility is not only about becoming rich and famous. In the United States, people who earn a college degree, get a job promotion, or marry someone with a good income may move up socially. In contrast, downward mobility indicates a lowering of one’s social class. Some people move downward because of business setbacks, unemployment, marriage, or illness.

Dropping out of school, losing a job, or getting a divorce may result in a loss of income or status and, therefore, downward social mobility.

It is not uncommon for different generations of a family to belong to varying social classes. This is known as intergenerational mobility. For example, an upper-class executive may have parents who belonged to the middle class. In turn, those parents may have been raised in the lower class. Patterns of intergenerational mobility can reflect long-term societal changes.

Similarly, intragenerational mobility refers to changes in a person’s social mobility over the course of his or her lifetime. For example, the wealth and prestige experienced by one person may be quite different from that of his or her siblings. Structural mobility happens when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the social class ladder.

Structural mobility is attributable to changes in society as a whole, not individual changes. In the first half of the twentieth century, industrialization expanded the U.S. economy, raising the standard of living and leading to upward structural mobility. In today’s work economy, the recent recession and the outsourcing of jobs overseas have contributed to high unemployment rates. Many people have experienced economic setbacks, creating a wave of downward structural mobility.

When analyzing the trends and movements in social mobility, sociologists consider all modes of mobility. Scholars recognize that mobility is not as common or easy to achieve as many people think. In fact, some consider social mobility a myth.

Class Traits

Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class. Class traits indicate the level of exposure a person has to a wide range of cultures. Class traits also indicate the amount of resources a person has to spend on items like hobbies, vacations, and leisure activities.

Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class.
Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class.

.

People may associate the upper class with enjoyment of costly, refined, or highly cultivated tastes—expensive clothing, luxury cars, high-end fund-raisers, and opulent vacations.

People may also believe that the middle and lower classes are more likely to enjoy camping, fishing, or hunting, shopping at large retailers, and participating in community activities.

While these descriptions may identify class traits, they may also simply be stereotypes.

Moreover, just as class distinctions have blurred in recent decades, so too have class traits. A very wealthy person may enjoy bowling as much as opera. A factory worker could be a skilled French cook. A billionaire might dress in ripped jeans, and a low-income student might own designer shoes.

Eraser Head.
Eraser Head.

Models of Global Stratification

Various models of global stratification all have one thing in common: they rank countries according to their relative economic status, or gross national product (GNP).

Traditional Model

Traditional models, now considered outdated, used labels to describe the stratification of the different areas of the world. 

Simply put, they were named “first world, “second world,” and “third world.” First and second world described industrialized nations, while third world referred to “undeveloped” countries (Henslin 2004). 

When researching existing historical sources, you may still encounter these terms, and even today people still refer to some nations as the “third world.”
More vs Less Developed

Another model separates countries into two groups: more developed and less developed. 

More-developed nations have higher wealth, such as Canada, Japan, and Australia. 

Less-developed nations have less wealth to distribute among higher populations, including many countries in central Africa, South America, and some island nations.
GDP

Yet another system of global classification defines countries based on the per capita gross domestic product (GDP), a country’s average national wealth per person. 

The GDP is calculated (usually annually) one of two ways: by totaling either the income of all citizens or the value of all goods and services produced in the country during the year. It also includes government spending. Because the GDP indicates a country’s productivity and performance, comparing GDP rates helps establish a country’s economic health in relation to other countries.

This method can be terribly skewed upwards by a wealthy oligarchy class, thus providing inaccurate comparative data.

But the thing is, the GDP is only a reflection of the general health of a nation as long as the wealth is shared in a linear manner through out the classes. When the oligarchy became super-wealthy and gobbled up all the wealth, they skewed the GDP into unrealistic and deceptive numbers.

GDP skewed in favor of the oligarchy class.
GDP migration skewed by the enormous wealth of the oligarchy class.

.

The solution to this problem, is to come up with a different way to determine the actual wealth of a nation. Thus we have the PPP.

Purchasing power parity (PPP)

GDP PPP refers to the GDP converted to  US dollars using purchasing power parity rates and divided by total  population. Purchasing power parity (PPP) is used to adjust the exchange rate differences  among countries. This economic theory states that the exchange rate  between two currencies is equal to the ratio of the currencies’  respective purchasing power. PPP provides an opportunity to compare  countries that have different standards of living by recalculating the value of a country’s goods and services as if they were being sold at U.S. prices.

 E.g. China and UK has a GDP of $200m and  $175m respectively, where the GDP of China is more by $25m. Assuming a  basket of goods cost $200 in China and $175 in the UK, 1 million baskets  of goods can be purchased in China whereas 1.75 million baskets of  goods can be purchased in the UK.

 According to the above, a higher GDP  does not necessarily make a country richer, the relative purchasing  power is important. In order to make price comparisons across countries,  a wide range of goods and services must be considered. This is a very  exhausting exercise; however, this has been made convenient by the  International Comparisons Program (ICP) founded by the United Nations  and University of Pennsylvania. ICP generates purchasing power parity  rates based on a worldwide price survey that compares the prices of  hundreds of various goods. This information can be used to compare  countries to arrive at GDP PPP.

What’s Next

Well, if America [1] doesn’t change internally, and there are [2] no (additional) external wars, we can expect a tenth social class to be added. That of Chinese-Americans…

America's future.
Coming soon to America, if SHTF doesn’t happen. The new tenth class of stratification; Chinese-Americans.

.

We can expect them to fit somewhere between the Slave Class and the Untouchables Class.

So what does this mean?

When you have a stratified class system, and…

When you have a small group of super wealthy people in control of most of the money, all of the government, and all of the services, media and policing actions you have a dictatorship by oligarchy.

When this organization is focused on external threats to the extent that wars are more desirable than repair of serious domestic emergencies, then you have an out-of-control military empire.

And with that, history has been very clear. They ALWAYS are destroyed catastrophically.

Crime Spree.

Summary

What Is Social Stratification?

Stratification systems are either closed, meaning they allow little change in social position, or open, meaning they allow movement and interaction between the layers.

  • A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status or birth.
  • Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social position. People fall into classes based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation.
  • A meritocracy is a system of social stratification that confers standing based on personal worth, rewarding effort.

Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

There are nine main classes in the United States. Social mobility describes a shift from one social class to another. Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class.

Conclusion

All this shit about stratification in the USA gives me a headache. You all don’t have to believe that it is stratified. You can believe that narrative that is being piped to you 24/7 by the “news” media… that anyone can become rich and wealthy and successful.

Just look at all those instagram models… for instance.

The truth is that the class that you inherited is pretty much the upper limit of where you will end up and retire into. All those articles about Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and the Jeff Bezos are just fantasies. They only apply to the 0.00001% of the population, and if you believe that you are part of that elite group then go for it.

Just realize that the “deck of cards” is all stacked up against you. Not just socially, and culturally, but also mandated by law. You are fucked.

If I sound like a grouchy old geezer, who is a little long in the tooth and disgruntled, then maybe I am. But I have good reason to be. So listen to me…

…the ONLY way that you can exit your birth class, as an American, is to leave America. Other than that, you are locked in place, and upward mobility is pretty much closed to you. As we used to say in Pennsylvania, “it’s a closed country club, and you ain’t in it.”

Overall, 2020 has been a God-damn shitty year!

2020 dumpster candle.

.

It’s so very true. No one has yet to disagree. And with that being said, this all pretty much says it all…

.

Yah, but let’s end this post on a high note…

The Saturday Night Joke

 
 Very heartwarming....read to the end.  It's worth the read.  
  
 Every morning, the CEO of a large bank in Manhattan walks to the corner where a shoe shine is always located.
 He sits on the couch, examines the Wall Street Journal, and the shoe shine gives his shoes a shiny, excellent look.
  
 One morning the shoeshine asks the Executive Director:
 "What do you think about the situation in the stock market?"
  
 The Director asks in turn arrogantly:
 "Why are you so interested in that - that topic?"
  
  "I have a million dollars in your bank," the shoeshine says, "and  I'm considering investing some of the money in the capital market."
  
 "What your name?  –"Asks the Director.
  
 "John Smith."
  
 The Director arrives at the bank and asks the Manager of the Customer Department:
  
 "Do we have a client named John Smith?"
  
 "Certainly –"answers the Customer Service Manager–, "he is a highly  esteemed customer.  He has a million dollars in his account."
  
 The Director comes out, approaches the shoeshine, and says:
 "Mr. Smith, I ask you this coming Monday to be the guest of honor at  our board meeting and tell us the story of your life.  I am sure we will  have something to learn from you."
  
 At the board meeting, the Executive Director introduces him to the board members:
 "We all know Mr. Smith, who makes our shoes shine in the corner;  But  Mr. Smith is also our esteemed customer with a million dollars in his  account.  I invited him to tell us the story of his life.  I am sure we  can learn from him."
  
 Mr. Smith began his story:
 "I came to this country fifty years ago as a young immigrant from  Europe with an unpronounceable name.  I got off the ship without a  penny.  The first thing I did was change my name to Smith.  I was hungry  and exhausted.  I started wandering around looking for a job but to no  avail.  Suddenly I found a coin on the sidewalk.  I bought an apple.  I  had two options: eat the apple and quench my hunger or start a business.   I sold the apple for two dollars and bought two apples with the money.   I also sold them and continued in business.  When I started  accumulating dollars, I was able to buy a set of used brushes and shoe  polish and started polishing shoes.  I didn't spend a penny on  entertainment or clothing, I just bought bread and some cheese to  survive.  I saved penny by penny and after a while, I bought a new set  of shoe brushes and ointments in different shades and expanded my  clientele.  I lived like a monk and saved penny by penny.  After a while  I was able to buy an armchair so that my clients could sit comfortably  while cleaning their shoes, and that brought me more clients.  I did not  spend a penny on the joys of life.  I kept saving every penny.  A few  years ago, when the previous shoe shine on the corner decided to retire,  I had already saved enough money to buy his shoeshine location at this  great place. Finally, three months ago, my sister, who was a whore in Chicago, passed away and left me a million dollars."

-From Busted Knuckles
(Bless that ornery old' coot.)

Ah.

That’s all fun and games, but now for the REAL STORY…

A janitor making $4/hour walked into a Fortune 500 company boardroom. Shaking, he took a seat opposite the CEO. "So I had an idea..." he nervously began.

 Years later, that idea would become an iconic consumer brand and make him worth ~$20M.
 Here's how that meeting went:

 1) Richard Montañez grew up in Cucamonga Valley, California, sharing a one-room cinderblock hut with 14 family members. He dreaded school. Barely able to speak English, he’d cry to his mother as she was getting him ready for class.

 2) When asked, all other students in class would eagerly shout out their dream job: Astronaut, Doctor, Racecar driver.  Richard had nothing to say. “There was no dream where I came from.”

 3) He dropped out of school in 4th grade and took odd jobs at farms and factories to help make ends meet.
 Some years later in 1976, a neighbor let him know of a job opening  for a factory janitor at the Frito-Lay plant down the road. The $4/hour  pay was more than he'd ever made.

 4) As he was getting ready for his first day of work, his grandfather pulled him aside and said: “Make sure that floor shines. And let them know that a Montañez mopped it.”

 5) Richard made it his mission to be the best janitor Frito-Lay had ever seen.  He spent his off-time learning about the company's products,  manufacturing, marketing and more. He even asked salesmen to tag along  and watch them sell.

 6) In the mid-1980s Frito-Lay started to struggle. The CEO announced a  new initiative to all 300,000 employees. “Act like an owner” Trying to  empower them to work more creatively and efficiently. Montañez listened.

 7) Then, he called the CEO.

 “Mr. Enrico’s office. Who is this?”
 “Richard Montañez, in California”
 “You’re the VP overseeing CA?”
 “No, I work at the Rancho Cucamonga plant.”
 “Oh, so you’re the VP of Ops?”
 “No, I work inside the plant.”
 “You’re the manager?”
 “No. I’m the janitor.”

 8) The CEO got on the line. Loving the initiative, he told Richard to  prepare a presentation, and he set a meeting in 2 weeks time. Stunned, Richard ran to the library and picked up a book on marketing strategies. Then, he started prepping.

 9) 2 weeks later, he entered that boardroom.  After taking a moment to catch his breath, he started telling them  what he'd learned about Frito-Lay and the idea he'd been working on.

 10) “I saw there was no product catering to Latinos.”. On the sales trips he shadowed he saw that in Latino neighborhoods  Lays, Fritos, Ruffles, and Cheetos, were stocked right next to a shelf  of Mexican spices. Frito-Lay had nothing spicy or hot.

 11) The Latino market was ready to explode, Monteñez explained. Inspired by elote - a Mexican street corn covered in spices - Richard had created his own snack. He pulled out 100 plastic baggies. He had taken Cheetos from the factory and coated them in his own mix of spices.

 12) He’d even sealed the bags with a clothing iron, and had hand drawn a logo on each one.
 
 The room went silent.

 After a few moments, the CEO spoke, “Put that mop away, you’re coming with us”.

 13) Flamin’ Hot Cheetos became one of the most successful launches in  Frito-Lay history. They went on to become a viral, pop-culture  sensation. 

 Richard became a VP and amassed a $20M fortune.

 Not bad for a boy from Cucamonga.

-From Busted Knuckles
(Bless that ornery old' coot.)

As he said with open honesty and pluck…

“I can say with confidence that Mr. Monteñez has done more to help the human race than a hundred soy boys with bachelor’s degrees in Botswanian Lesbian Feminist Interpretive Tap-Dancing Studies with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt who’ve graduated with nothing but an unwarranted sense of entitlement and a sour attitude.

I have nothing to add to this story, other than reading it was like a breath of fresh air, and why don’t we hear more stories like this? Then I recall the inclinations of the people who are running our media, and the answer is obvious.”

The United States might be segregated and stratified by class, and by law, but you still have two hands and a brain. Whether you have the spunk and pluck to climb to the top of the oligarchy class, or not. Whether you have sunk to the untouchable class or not, your life is in your hands.

Make your life special.

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Law 11 of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; Learn to keep people dependent on you (Full Text)

What is “welfare”? It is “free stuff” from the government, as long as you meet their criteria. And since it is important to “them” to maintain their budgets, the natural inclination for the welfare system is to grow. To grow larger, and larger, and even larger. All the while, those on welfare are becoming dependent upon the government.

Fun Fact: China doesn't have "welfare". You either work or die.

Their system is free work for anyone. You join the work collective, and you are given free food, free housing, free clothes, and a modest stipend to live off of. If you cannot do the bare minimum work requirements, the collective will kick you out, and you will either beg or starve.

And the end result of decades of this behavior, and this system, is to create a class of people that act as pawns for those that dish out the benefits.

Let’s look at the techniques that criminal masterminds use to keep people dependent upon them, and have them doing things that they naturally would be abhorrent towards.

LAW 11

LEARN TO KEEP PEOPLE DEPENDENT ON YOU

JUDGMENT

To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Sometime in the Middle Ages, a mercenary soldier (a condottiere), whose name has not been recorded, saved the town of Siena from a foreign aggressor. How could the good citizens of Siena reward him? No amount of money or honor could possibly compare in value to the preservation of a city’s liberty. The citizens thought of making the mercenary the lord of the city, but even that, they decided, wasn’t recompense enough. At last one of them stood before the assembly called to debate this matter and said, “Let us kill him and then worship him as our patron saint.” And so they did.

The Count of Carmagnola was one of the bravest and most successful of all the condottieri. In 1442, late in his life, he was in the employ of the city of Venice, which was in the midst of a long war with Florence. The count was suddenly recalled to Venice. A favorite of the people, he was received there with all kinds of honor and splendor. That evening he was to dine with the doge himself, in the doge’s palace. On the way into the palace, however, he noticed that the guard was leading him in a different direction from usual. Crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs, he suddenly realized where they were taking him—to the dungeon. He was convicted on a trumped-up charge and the next day in the Piazza San Marco, before a horrified crowd who could not understand how his fate had changed so drastically, he was beheaded.

THE TWO HORSES

Two horses were carrying two loads. The front Horse went well, but the rear Horse was lazy. The men began to pile the rear Horse’s load on the front Horse; when they had transferred it all, the rear Horse found it easy going, and he said to the front Horse: “Toil and sraeat! The more you try, the more you have to suffer.” When they reached the tavern, the owner said; “Why should I fodder two horses when I carry all on one? I had better give the one all the food it wants, and cut the throat of the other; at least I shall have the hide.” And so he did. 

FABLES. LEO TOLSIOY, 1828-1910

Interpretation

Many of the great condottieri of Renaissance Italy suffered the same fate as the patron saint of Siena and the Count of Carmagnola: They won battle after battle for their employers only to find themselves banished, imprisoned, or executed. The problem was not ingratitude; it was that there were so many other condottieri as able and valiant as they were.

They were replaceable.

Nothing was lost by killing them. Meanwhile, the older among them had grown powerful themselves, and wanted more and more money for their services. How much better, then, to do away with them and hire a younger, cheaper mercenary. That was the fate of the Count of Carmagnola, who had started to act impudently and independently. He had taken his power for granted without making sure that he was truly indispensable.

Such is the fate (to a less violent degree, one hopes) of those who do not make others dependent on them. Sooner or later someone comes along who can do the job as well as they can—someone younger, fresher, less expensive, less threatening.

Be the only one who can do what you do, and make the fate of those who hire you so entwined with yours that they cannot possibly get rid of you. Otherwise you will someday be forced to cross your own Bridge of Sighs.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

When Otto von Bismarck became a deputy in the Prussian parliament in 1847, he was thirty-two years old and without an ally or friend. Looking around him, he decided that the side to ally himself with was not the parliament’s liberals or conservatives, not any particular minister, and certainly not the people. It was with the king, Frederick William IV. This was an odd choice to say the least, for Frederick was at a low point of his power. A weak, indecisive man, he consistently gave in to the liberals in parliament; in fact he was spineless, and stood for much that Bismarck disliked, personally and politically. Yet Bismarck courted Frederick night and day. When other deputies attacked the king for his many inept moves, only Bismarck stood by him.

THE CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF

Then the Woman laughed and set the Cat a bowl of the warm white milk and said, “0 Cat, you are as clever as a man, but remember that your bargain was not made with the Man or the Dog, and I do not know what they will do when they come home.” 

“What is that to me?” said the Cat. “If I have my place in the Cave by the fire and my warm white milk three times a day, I do not care what the Man or the Dog can do.” 

... And from that day to this, Best Beloved, three proper Men out of five will always throw things at a Cat whenever they meet him, and all proper Dogs will chase him up a tree. 

But the Cat keeps his side of the bargain too. 

He will kill mice, and he will be kind to Babies when he is in the house, just as long as they do not pull his tail too hard. 

But when he has done that, and between times, and when the moon gets up and the night comes, he is the Cat that walks by himself, and all places are alike to him. Then he goes out to the Wet Wild Woods or up the Wet Wild Trees or on the Wet Wild Roofs, waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone. 

-JUST SO STORIES, RUDYARD KIPLING, 1865-1936

Finally, it all paid off: In 1851 Bismarck was made a minister in the king’s cabinet. Now he went to work. Time and again he forced the king’s hand, getting him to build up the military, to stand up to the liberals, to do exactly as Bismarck wished. He worked on Frederick’s insecurity about his manliness, challenging him to be firm and to rule with pride. And he slowly restored the king’s powers until the monarchy was once again the most powerful force in Prussia.

When Frederick died, in 1861, his brother William assumed the throne. William disliked Bismarck intensely and had no intention of keeping him around. But he also inherited the same situation his brother had: enemies galore, who wanted to nibble his power away. He actually considered abdicating, feeling he lacked the strength to deal with this dangerous and precarious position. But Bismarck insinuated himself once again. He stood by the new king, gave him strength, and urged him into firm and decisive action. The king grew dependent on Bismarck’s strong-arm tactics to keep his enemies at bay, and despite his antipathy toward the man, he soon made him his prime minister. The two quarreled often over policy—Bismarck was much more conservative—but the king understood his own dependency. Whenever the prime minister threatened to resign, the king gave in to him, time after time. It was in fact Bismarck who set state policy.

Years later, Bismarck’s actions as Prussia’s prime minister led the various German states to be united into one country. Now Bismarck finagled the king into letting himself be crowned emperor of Germany. Yet it was really Bismarck who had reached the heights of power. As right-hand man to the emperor, and as imperial chancellor and knighted prince, he pulled all the levers.

Interpretation

Most young and ambitious politicians looking out on the political landscape of 1840s Germany would have tried to build a power base among those with the most power. Bismarck saw different. Joining forces with the powerful can be foolish: They will swallow you up, just as the doge of Venice swallowed up the Count of Carmagnola. No one will come to depend on you if they are already strong. If you are ambitious, it is much wiser to seek out weak rulers or masters with whom you can create a relationship of dependency. You become their strength, their intelligence, their spine. What power you hold! If they got rid of you the whole edifice would collapse.

Necessity rules the world. People rarely act unless compelled to. If you create no need for yourself, then you will be done away with at first opportunity. If, on the other hand, you understand the Laws of Power and make others depend on you for their welfare, if you can counteract their weakness with your own “iron and blood,” in Bismarck’s phrase, then you will survive your masters as Bismarck did. You will have all the benefits of power without the thorns that come from being a master.

Thus a wise prince will think of ways to keep his citizens of every sort and under every circumstance dependent on the state and on him; and then they will always be trustworthy. 

-Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527

THE I I.M-IRI I AND THE AND

An extravagant young Vine, vainly ambitious of independence, and fond of rambling at large, despised the alliance of a slately elm that grew near, and courted her embraces. Having risen to some small height without any kind of support, she shot forth her flimsy branches to a very uncommon and superfluous length; calling on her neighbor to take notice how little she wanted his assistance. “Poor infatuated shrub,” replied the elm, “how inconsistent is thy conduct! Wouldst thou be truly independent, thou shouldst carefully apply those juices to the enlargement of thy stem. which thou lavishest in vain upon unnecessary foliage. I shortly shall behold thee grovelling on the ground; yet countenanced, indeed, by many of the human race, who, intoxicated with vanity, have despised economy; and who, to support for a moment their empty boast of independence, have exhausted the very source of it in frivolous expenses.” 

-FABLES, ROBERT DODSLFY, 1703-1764

KEYS TO POWER

The ultimate power is the power to get people to do as you wish. When you can do this without having to force people or hurt them, when they willingly grant you what you desire, then your power is untouchable. The best way to achieve this position is to create a relationship of dependence.

The master requires your services; he is weak, or unable to function without you; you have enmeshed yourself in his work so deeply that doing away with you would bring him great difficulty, or at least would mean valuable time lost in training another to replace you. Once such a relationship is established you have the upper hand, the leverage to make the master do as you wish. It is the classic case of the man behind the throne, the servant of the king who actually controls the king. Bismarck did not have to bully either Frederick or William into doing his bidding. He simply made it clear that unless he got what he wanted he would walk away, leaving the king to twist in the wind. Both kings soon danced to Bismarck’s tune.

Do not be one of the many who mistakenly believe that the ultimate form of power is independence. Power involves a relationship between people; you will always need others as allies, pawns, or even as weak masters who serve as your front. The completely independent man would live in a cabin in the woods—he would have the freedom to come and go as he pleased, but he would have no power. The best you can hope for is that others will grow so dependent on you that you enjoy a kind of reverse independence: Their need for you frees you.

Louis XI (1423-1483), the great Spider King of France, had a weakness for astrology. He kept a court astrologer whom he admired, until one day the man predicted that a lady of the court would die within eight days. When the prophecy came true, Louis was terrified, thinking that either the man had murdered the woman to prove his accuracy or that he was so versed in his science that his powers threatened Louis himself. In either case he had to be killed.

One evening Louis summoned the astrologer to his room, high in the castle. Before the man arrived, the king told his servants that when he gave the signal they were to pick the astrologer up, carry him to the window, and hurl him to the ground, hundreds of feet below.

The astrologer soon arrived, but before giving the signal, Louis decided to ask him one last question: “You claim to understand astrology and to know the fate of others, so tell me what your fate will be and how long you have to live.”

“I shall die just three days before Your Majesty,” the astrologer replied.

The king’s signal was never given. The man’s life was spared. The Spider King not only protected his astrologer for as long as he was alive, he lavished him with gifts and had him tended by the finest court doctors.

The astrologer survived Louis by several years, disproving his power of prophecy but proving his mastery of power.

This is the model: Make others dependent on you. To get rid of you might spell disaster, even death, and your master dares not tempt fate by finding out. There are many ways to obtain such a position. Foremost among them is to possess a talent and creative skill that simply cannot be replaced.

During the Renaissance, the major obstacle to a painter’s success was finding the right patron. Michelangelo did this better than anyone else: His patron was Pope Julius II. But he and the pope quarreled over the building of the pope’s marble tomb, and Michelangelo left Rome in disgust. To the amazement of those in the pope’s circle, not only did the pope not fire him, he sought him out and in his own haughty way begged the artist to stay. Michelangelo, he knew, could find another patron, but he could never find another Michelangelo.

You do not have to have the talent of a Michelangelo; you do have to have a skill that sets you apart from the crowd. You should create a situation in which you can always latch on to another master or patron but your master cannot easily ,find another servant with your particular talent. And if, in reality, you are not actually indispensable, you must find a way to make it look as if you are. Having the appearance of specialized knowledge and skill gives you leeway in your ability to deceive those above you into thinking they cannot do without you. Real dependence on your master’s part, however, leaves him more vulnerable to you than the faked variety, and it is always within your power to make your skill indispensable.

This is what is meant by the intertwining of fates: Like creeping ivy, you have wrapped yourself around the source of power, so that it would cause great trauma to cut you away. And you do not necessarily have to entwine yourself around the master; another person will do, as long as he or she too is indispensable in the chain.

One day Harry Cohn, president of Columbia Pictures, was visited in his office by a gloomy group of his executives. It was 1951, when the witch- hunt against Communists in Hollywood, carried on by the U.S. Congress’s House Un-American Activities Committee, was at its height. The executives had bad news: One of their employees, the screenwriter John Howard Lawson, had been singled out as a Communist. They had to get rid of him right away or suffer the wrath of the committee.

Harry Cohn was no bleeding-heart liberal; in fact, he had always been a die-hard Republican.

His favorite politician was Benito Mussolini, whom he had once visited, and whose framed photo hung on his wall. If there was someone he hated Cohn would call him a “Communist bastard.” But to the executives’ amazement Cohn told them he would not fire Lawson. He did not keep the screenwriter on because he was a good writer—there were many good writers in Hollywood. He kept him because of a chain of dependence: Lawson was Humphrey Bogart’s writer and Bogart was Columbia’s star. If Cohn messed with Lawson he would ruin an immensely profitable relationship. That was worth more than the terrible publicity brought to him by his defiance of the committee.

Henry Kissinger managed to survive the many bloodlettings that went on in the Nixon White House not because he was the best diplomat Nixon could find—there were other fine negotiators—and not because the two men got along so well: They did not. Nor did they share their beliefs and politics. Kissinger survived because he entrenched himself in so many areas of the political structure that to do away with him would lead to chaos. Michelangelo’s power was intensive, depending on one skill, his ability as an artist; Kissinger’s was extensive.

He got himself involved in so many aspects and departments of the administration that his involvement became a card in his hand. It also made him many allies. If you can arrange such a position for yourself, getting rid of you becomes dangerous—all sorts of interdependencies will unravel. Still, the intensive form of power provides more freedom than the extensive, because those who have it depend on no particular master, or particular position of power, for their security.

To make others dependent on you, one route to take is the secret- intelligence tactic. By knowing other people’s secrets, by holding information that they wouldn’t want broadcast, you seal your fate with theirs. You are untouchable. Ministers of secret police have held this position throughout the ages: They can make or break a king, or, as in the case of J. Edgar Hoover, a president. But the role is so full of insecurities and paranoia that the power it provides almost cancels itself out. You cannot rest at ease, and what good is power if it brings you no peace?

One last warning: Do not imagine that your master’s dependence on you will make him love you. In fact, he may resent and fear you. But, as Machiavelli said, it is better to be feared than loved. Fear you can control; love, never. Depending on an emotion as subtle and changeable as love or friendship will only make you insecure. Better to have others depend on you out of fear of the consequences of losing you than out of love of your company.

Image: Vines with Many Thorns. Below, the roots grow deep and wide. Above, the vines push through bushes, entwine themselves around trees and poles and window ledges. To get rid of them would cost such toil and blood, it is easier to let them climb.

Authority: Make people depend on you. More is to be gained from such dependence than courtesy. He who has slaked his thirst, immediately turns his back on the well, no longer needing it. When dependence disappears, so does civility and decency, and then respect. The first lesson which experience should teach you is to keep hope alive but never satisfied, keeping even a royal patron ever in need of you. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601- 1658)

REVERSAL

The weakness of making others depend on you is that you are in some measure dependent on them. But trying to move beyond that point means getting rid of those above you—it means standing alone, depending on no one. Such is the monopolistic drive of a J. P. Morgan or a John D.

Rockefeller—to drive out all competition, to be in complete control. If you can corner the market, so much the better.

No such independence comes without a price. You are forced to isolate yourself. Monopolies often turn inward and destroy themselves from the internal pressure. They also stir up powerful resentment, making their enemies bond together to fight them. The drive for complete control is often ruinous and fruitless. Interdependence remains the law, independence a rare and often fatal exception. Better to place yourself in a position of mutual dependence, then, and to follow this critical law rather than look for its reversal. You will not have the unbearable pressure of being on top, and the master above you will in essence be your slave, for he will depend on you.

Conclusion

Powerful people; those with near limitless pools of money, can easily make others dependent upon them. By using this dependence, they can use them as an army; or as a resource to achieve far greater deeds than what thy can attempt alone. We must realize that EVERYONE who has money in America uses this technique.

Whether it is Progressive Marxists that have the welfare of the poor in their hands, or whether it is the Conservative Republicans that have the Social Security incomes of the elderly. All the wealthy use this technique.

How manipulated are you?

What are you willing to do to maintain the status quo? That is the truest measure of your enslavement.

Do you want more?

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Law 13 from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; When asking for help, appeal to people’s self interest, never to their mercy or gratitude (Full Text)

Ah. And this is true about anything. Find out what the person wants, and then appeal to that. This formula applies for those courting an attractive young lady, or a young man trying to get a job. It functions well when you are trying to get customers, or when you just want to get something done. Approach people, and then find out what they want or need. Then you appeal to that side of their personality.

This is one of those chapters where people start screaming that they didn’t realize that you were such a dick, or that you were so cold, callus or calculating. But, it’s really not the case at all. To understand others is to have a strong EQ; a strong Emotional Quotient. Most women (not all, but most) have this. Men, well, sorry to say guys, we don’t. In fact, it’s only after we’ve been around women for long extended periods of time that we finally “get with the program”, and learn a few things.

When someone comes to me for a job, I let them give me their pitch. They tell me about themselves, and all the time I seeing if they can fit in with my little team of go-getters. I see if they will “be a fit”. But also, I am seeing what they can “bring to the table”. What they can give me, as say compared to another applicant.

To get what you desire, you need to make yourself desirable to others. To do that, you need to appeal to their self-interest.

To get what you desire, you need to make yourself desirable to others. To do that, you need to appeal to their self-interest.
To get what you desire, you need to make yourself desirable to others. To do that, you need to appeal to their self-interest.

LAW 13

WHEN ASKING FOR HELP, APPEAL TO PEOPLE’S SELF- INTEREST, NEVER TO THEIR MERCY OR GRATITUDE

JUDGMENT

If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.

THE PEASANT AND THE APPLE-TREE

A peasant had in his garden an apple-tree, which bore no fruit, but only served as a perch for the sparrows and grasshoppers. 

He resolved to cut it down, and, taking his ax in hand, made a bold stroke at its roots. 

The grasshoppers and sparrows entreated him not to cut down the tree that sheltered them, but to spare it, and they would sing to him and lighten his labors. 

He paid no attention to their request, but gave the tree a second and a third blow with his ax. 

When he reached the hollow of the tree, he found a hive full of honey. Having tasted the honeycomb, he threw down his ax, and, looking on the tree as isacred, took great care of it. 

Self-interest alone moves some men. 

FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In the early fourteenth century, a young man named Castruccio Castracani rose from the rank of common soldier to become lord of the great city of Lucca, Italy. One of the most powerful families in the city, the Poggios, had been instrumental in his climb (which succeeded through treachery and bloodshed), but after he came to power, they came to feel he had forgotten them. His ambition outweighed any gratitude he felt. In 1325, while Castruccio was away fighting Lucca’s main rival, Florence, the Poggios conspired with other noble families in the city to rid themselves of this troublesome and ambitious prince.

Mounting an insurrection, the plotters attacked and murdered the governor whom Castruccio had left behind to rule the city. Riots broke out, and the Castruccio supporters and the Poggio supporters were poised to do battle. At the height of the tension, however, Stefano di Poggio, the oldest member of the family, intervened, and made both sides lay down their arms.

A peaceful man, Stefano had not taken part in the conspiracy. He had told his family it would end in a useless bloodbath. Now he insisted he should intercede on the family’s behalf and persuade Castruccio to listen to their complaints and satisfy their demands. Stefano was the oldest and wisest member of the clan, and his family agreed to put their trust in his diplomacy rather than in their weapons.

When news of the rebellion reached Castruccio, he hurried back to Lucca. By the time he arrived, however, the fighting had ceased, through Stefano’s agency, and he was surprised by the city’s calm and peace. Stefano di Poggio had imagined that Castruccio would be grateful to him for his part in quelling the rebellion, so he paid the prince a visit. He explained how he had brought peace, then begged for Castruccio’s mercy.

He said that the rebels in his family were young and impetuous, hungry for power yet inexperienced; he recalled his family’s past generosity to Castruccio. For all these reasons, he said, the great prince should pardon the Poggios and listen to their complaints. This, he said, was the only just thing to do, since the family had willingly laid down their arms and had always supported him.

Castruccio listened patiently. He seemed not the slightest bit angry or resentful. Instead, he told Stefano to rest assured that justice would prevail, and he asked him to bring his entire family to the palace to talk over their grievances and come to an agreement.

As they took leave of one another, Castruccio said he thanked God for the chance he had been given to show his clemency and kindness.

That evening the entire Poggio family came to the palace. Castruccio immediately had them imprisoned and a few days later all were executed, including Stefano.

Interpretation

Stefano di Poggio is the embodiment of all those who believe that the justice and nobility of their cause will prevail. Certainly appeals to justice and gratitude have occasionally succeeded in the past, but more often than not they have had dire consequences, especially in dealings with the Castruccios of the world. Stefano knew that the prince had risen to power through treachery and ruthlessness. This was a man, after all, who had put a close and devoted friend to death. When Castruccio was told that it had been a terrible wrong to kill such an old friend, he replied that he had executed not an old friend but a new enemy.

A man like Castruccio knows only force and self-interest.

When the rebellion began, to end it and place oneself at his mercy was the most dangerous possible move. Even once Stefano di Poggio had made that fatal mistake, however, he still had options: He could have offered money to Castruccio, could have made promises for the future, could have pointed out what the Poggios could still contribute to Castruccio’s power—their influence with the most influential families of Rome, for example, and the great marriage they could have brokered.

Instead Stefano brought up the past, and debts that carried no obligation. Not only is a man not obliged to be grateful, gratitude is often a terrible burden that he gladly discards. And in this case Castruccio rid himself of his obligations to the Poggios by eliminating the Poggios.

Most men are so thoroughly subjective that nothing really interests them but themselves. They always think of their own case as soon as ever any remark is made, and their whole attention is engrossed and absorbed by the merest chance reference to anything which affects them personally, be it never so remote.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In 433 B.C., just before the Peloponnesian War, the island of Corcyra (later called Corfu) and the Greek city-state of Corinth stood on the brink of conflict. Both parties sent ambassadors to Athens to try to win over the Athenians to their side. The stakes were high, since whoever had Athens on his side was sure to win. And whoever won the war would certainly give the defeated side no mercy.

Corcyra spoke first.

Its ambassador began by admitting that the island had never helped Athens before, and in fact had allied itself with Athens’s enemies. There were no ties of friendship or gratitude between Corcyra and Athens. Yes, the ambassador admitted, he had come to Athens now out of fear and concern for Corcyra’s safety. The only thing he could offer was an alliance of mutual interests. Corcyra had a navy only surpassed in size and strength by Athens’s own; an alliance between the two states would create a formidable force, one that could intimidate the rival state of Sparta. That, unfortunately, was all Corcyra had to offer.

The representative from Corinth then gave a brilliant, passionate speech, in sharp contrast to the dry, colorless approach of the Corcyran. He talked of everything Corinth had done for Athens in the past. He asked how it would look to Athens’s other allies if the city put an agreement with a former enemy over one with a present friend, one that had served Athens’s interest loyally: Perhaps those allies would break their agreements with

Athens if they saw that their loyalty was not valued. He referred to Hellenic law, and the need to repay Corinth for all its good deeds. He finally went on to list the many services Corinth had performed for Athens, and the importance of showing gratitude to one’s friends.

After the speech, the Athenians debated the issue in an assembly. On the second round, they voted overwhelmingly to ally with Corcyra and drop Corinth.

Interpretation

History has remembered the Athenians nobly, but they were the preeminent realists of classical Greece. With them, all the rhetoric, all the emotional appeals in the world, could not match a good pragmatic argument, especially one that added to their power.

What the Corinthian ambassador did not realize was that his references to Corinth’s past generosity to Athens only irritated the Athenians, subtly asking them to feel guilty and putting them under obligation. The Athenians couldn’t care less about past favors and friendly feelings. At the same time, they knew that if their other allies thought them ungrateful for abandoning Corinth, these city-states would still be unlikely to break their ties to Athens, the preeminent power in Greece. Athens ruled its empire by force, and would simply compel any rebellious ally to return to the fold.

When people choose between talk about the past and talk about the future, a pragmatic person will always opt for the future and forget the past. As the Corcyrans realized, it is always best to speak pragmatically to a pragmatic person. And in the end, most people are in fact pragmatic—they will rarely act against their own self-interest.

It has always been a rule that the weak should be subject to the strong; and besides, we consider that we are worthy of our power. Up till the present moment you, too, used to think that we were; but now, after calculating your own interest, you are beginning to talk in terms of right and wrong. Considerations of this kind have never yet turned people aside from the opportunities of aggrandizement offered by superior strength. 

-Athenian representative to Sparta, quoted in The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides, c. 465-395 B.C.

KEYS TO POWER

In your quest for power, you will constantly find yourself in the position of asking for help from those more powerful than you. There is an art to asking for help, an art that depends on your ability to understand the person you are dealing with, and to not confuse your needs with theirs.

Most people never succeed at this, because they are completely trapped in their own wants and desires.

They start from the assumption that the people they are appealing to have a selfless interest in helping them. They talk as if their needs mattered to these people—who probably couldn’t care less. Sometimes they refer to larger issues: a great cause, or grand emotions such as love and gratitude. They go for the big picture when simple, everyday realities would have much more appeal.

What they do not realize is that even the most powerful person is locked inside needs of his own, and that if you make no appeal to his self-interest, he merely sees you as desperate or, at best, a waste of time.

In the sixteenth century, Portuguese missionaries tried for years to convert the people of Japan to Catholicism, while at the same time Portugal had a monopoly on trade between Japan and Europe. Although the missionaries did have some success, they never got far among the ruling elite; by the beginning of the seventeenth century, in fact, their proselytizing had completely antagonized the Japanese emperor Ieyasu. When the Dutch began to arrive in Japan in great numbers, Ieyasu was much relieved. He needed Europeans for their know-how in guns and navigation, and here at last were Europeans who cared nothing for spreading religion—the Dutch wanted only to trade. Ieyasu swiftly moved to evict the Portuguese. From then on, he would only deal with the practical-minded Dutch.

Japan and Holland were vastly different cultures, but each shared a timeless and universal concern: self-interest.

Every person you deal with is like another culture, an alien land with a past that has nothing to do with yours. Yet you can bypass the differences between you and him by appealing to his self-interest.

Do not be subtle: You have valuable knowledge to share, you will fill his coffers with gold, you will make him live longer and happier. This is a language that all of us speak and understand.

A key step in the process is to understand the other person’s psychology. Is he vain? Is he concerned about his reputation or his social standing? Does he have enemies you could help him vanquish? Is he simply motivated by money and power?

When the Mongols invaded China in the twelfth century, they threatened to obliterate a culture that had thrived for over two thousand years. Their leader, Genghis Khan, saw nothing in China but a country that lacked pasturing for his horses, and he decided to destroy the place, leveling all its cities, for “it would be better to exterminate the Chinese and let the grass grow.”

It was not a soldier, a general, or a king who saved the Chinese from devastation, but a man named Yelu Ch‘u-Ts’ai.

A foreigner himself, Ch‘u- Ts’ai had come to appreciate the superiority of Chinese culture. He managed to make himself a trusted adviser to Genghis Khan, and persuaded him that he would reap riches out of the place if, instead of destroying it, he simply taxed everyone who lived there. Khan saw the wisdom in this and did as Ch‘u-Ts’ai advised.

When Khan took the city of Kaifeng, after a long siege, and decided to massacre its inhabitants (as he had in other cities that had resisted him), Ch‘u-Ts’ai told him that the finest craftsmen and engineers in China had fled to Kaifeng, and it would be better to put them to use.

Kaifeng was spared.

Never before had Genghis Khan shown such mercy, but then it really wasn’t mercy that saved Kaifeng. Ch‘u-Ts’ai knew Khan well. He was a barbaric peasant who cared nothing for culture, or indeed for anything other than warfare and practical results. Ch‘u-Ts’ai chose to appeal to the only emotion that would work on such a man: greed.

Self-interest is the lever that will move people. Once you make them see how you can in some way meet their needs or advance their cause, their resistance to your requests for help will magically fall away. At each step on the way to acquiring power, you must train yourself to think your way inside the other person’s mind, to see their needs and interests, to get rid of the screen of your own feelings that obscure the truth. Master this art and there will be no limits to what you can accomplish.

Image: A Cord that Binds. The cord of mercy and gratitude is threadbare, and will break at the first shock.

Do not throw such a lifeline. The cord of mutual self-inter est is woven of many fibers and cannot easily be severed. It will serve you well for years.

Authority: The shortest and best way to make your fortune is to let people see clearly that it is in their interests to promote yours. (Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696)

REVERSAL

Some people will see an appeal to their self-interest as ugly and ignoble.

They actually prefer to be able to exercise charity, mercy, and justice, which are their ways of feeling superior to you: When you beg them for help, you emphasize their power and position. They are strong enough to need nothing from you except the chance to feel superior. This is the wine that intoxicates them. They are dying to fund your project, to introduce you to powerful people—provided, of course, that all this is done in public, and for a good cause (usually the more public, the better). Not everyone, then, can be approached through cynical self-interest. Some people will be put off by it, because they don’t want to seem to be motivated by such things. They need opportunities to display their good heart.

Do not be shy. Give them that opportunity. It’s not as if you are conning them by asking for help—it is really their pleasure to give, and to be seen giving. You must distinguish the differences among powerful people and figure out what makes them tick. When they ooze greed, do not appeal to their charity. When they want to look charitable and noble, do not appeal to their greed.

Conclusion

A perfect example of this law is in the television show (a spin off from Breaking Bad) called Better Call Saul. There is a scene (season 1, episode 2) where the big bad Drug Boss, named Tuco Salamanca, was going to kill these two tricksters that got in his way.

From Digitrends….

What is Tuco doing in the mix here, anyway? As it turns out, the reason is nothing more than a cruel cosmic joke.

Rewind to the premiere: Jimmy hired two skateboarding siblings to pull one over on Betsy Kettleman, the wife of a county treasurer who stole $1.5 million from the state. Their mission was to skateboard into Betsy’s car, set up a situation where Saul can swoop in as her hero, and sweep her off her feet as his new prize client.

The twins played their part perfectly, but they got the wrong car — the very, very wrong car.

Tuco is thinking. Thinking.
Saul convinces Tuco not to kill these two rascals. But to break their legs instead.

.

The car belongs to Tuco Salamanca’s grandmother — his “abuelita,” as he calls her — and when the brothers follow her home, Tuco finds nothing funny about the scam these two “biznatches” are trying to pull.

He beats them down and ties them up, spilling some “salsa” on his carpet as a result. Before long, Jimmy McGill shows up at Tuco’s, and he’s one wrong sentence away from joining the bound-and-gagged brothers in Tuco’s basement.

The second episode got off quickly with Tuco telling his grandma that she should just watch her stories while he deals with the two hustling skaters. Tuco knows how to get rid of a senior citizen in order to lay down a beating to those in need. 

The two skaters have no idea who they are messing with still, as they insult Tuco’s granny and show no respect whatsoever to Tuco. 

The two skinny boys should learn to read people a bit better if they are gonna be in the con game. When Tuco cracks the guys with granny’s walking cane, they must have realized at that moment that they were in over their nappy heads. 

Lesson to all you would be scammers, don’t threaten someone unless you are 100 percent sure they will not attack you physically.

While Tuco is handling his business downstairs, ‘grandma hit and run’ is enjoying a snack on her Hyman Roth lunch tray while watching her stories. She can’t ignore all the thumping and banging going on below her, so she checks it out only to be assured by Tuco that everything is fine and he is taking care of the matter. 

What grandma is going to doubt her grandchild, especially after the two skaters have acted a fool at her home.

Our boy Saul, better known as Jimmy McGill at this point, makes the mistake of being the one who knocks on the door of Tuco. Claiming to be an “officer of the law” was not the right move either. 

Tuco puts the biggest pistol known to man in McGill’s face and brings him inside. McGill is nervous enough without seeing the blood stain on the rug, which granny is plenty concerned about as well. She just cares about the rug though.

Jimmy uses his bronze tongue to wade into the issue of whether his clients are still alive. 
Crazy Tuco seems to halfway believe the story that they just got the wrong house in a zany mix up. Jimmy wants to just leave as if none of this lunacy ever even happened. 

It turns out that both clients are still alive and tied up in the garage. That’s good news, but the bad news is that the skaters are still really dumb. 

The second the duct tape is off one of the guy’s mouth he starts to blame Jimmy for this entire mess. 

If I’m laying on the floor tied up with tape over my mouth, I would take a few seconds before saying anything. The skaters were not doing too well before Jimmy arrived on the scene so they should have given him at least a minute to see where it went. 

All three were on their way out of danger, but the loud mouth put them back in mortal danger.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire of the desert went the three scammers. 

Tied up in the desert is about 10 times worse than tied up in a residential garage. Neither situation is great, but the former is just more convenient to bury a victim. Jimmy McGill tries something that Saul would not use as much in the future, the truth. 

He tells Tuco all about who the scam was intended for and that they just got unlucky by getting hit by his granny. The truth didn’t work very well and Tuco went on the offensive with a toolbox full of torture. 

He was convinced that these guys were some kind of undercover police force, so Jimmy told the nut job just that. A man will say anything if he is about to have his fingers disconnected with a pair of pruners. 

Lies were about as helpful as the truth since Tuco ordered them killed after Jimmy claimed to be with the FBI. 

Lucky for Jimmy, Tuco’s partner Nacho Varga didn’t believe the story and convinced the maniac that they didn’t have to whack the lawyer. 

Tuco agreed but still felt the need to defend his granny’s honor by wasting the skaters.

If I’m Jimmy, I just walk away from this mess and get back to another money making idea. And that’s just what happened, except Jimmy felt the tinge of guilt since he was the one who enlisted the skate bros after all. 

I was a little surprised at his change of mind, but he is not an evil guy of course. 

It would have been a bad look for the hero to let these two get killed because of his plan. To be fair, they were the ones who screwed up and followed the lady and went in her house. I will likely be justifying Jimmy McGill’s actions just as I did with Walter White, all the way to the end.

Jimmy spent the next few minutes trying to convince a neanderthal not to kill his guys. 

Tuco is not very reasonable of course, so Jimmy put on quite a show. 

He puffs up the drug dealer’s ego by making it out like Tuco is the judge in this case….which he is in fact. 

Judge Tuco finally agrees to simply break a leg on each of the skaters after McGill’s impassioned lie about how their moms would be hurt if they were killed off. 

Knowing a broken leg is coming isn’t easy on one’s mind and these two weaklings freaked right out. Jimmy carried them to the ER once they were free to go and was insulted by skater #1 saying McGill was the worst lawyer in the world. 

Jimmy replied, “Hey, I talked you down from a death sentence to six months’ probation. I’m the best lawyer ever.” 

He had a solid point.

-Movie TV Tech Geeks

And so Tuco followed that advice. He spared the crooks, but left them both with broken legs as a warning to others not to mess with him.

Tuco puts the biggest pistol known to man in McGill’s face and brings him inside.
Tuco puts the biggest pistol known to man in McGill’s face and brings him inside.

.

What follows is an impromptu trial, with windswept sand and cacti replacing the court room, with Tuco serving as judge, jury and executioner. Jimmy appeals to Tuco’s ego — “You want justice, but you’re fair!” — and talks the psychopath down from giving the kids Colombian neck-ties to a lesser Hammurabian sentence: “One leg each,” they agree.

It’s a lucky break for everyone involved, even if the broken twins don’t immediately agree.

Later, Jimmy goes on a date. It does not go well. Nearby diners crack into breadsticks, and the harmless act brings the sickening crunch of broken legs back to mind.

From there, it’s a quick trip to the bathroom, an unhealthy amount of vomiting, and an even unhealthier amount of drinking.

Such is the price that Jimmy (Saul Goodman) has to pay.

You appeal to peoples’ needs and expectations if you want to see results.

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Is anything real any longer? Are likes, and comments, and opinions real or just manufactured?

After a solid year of [1] hate-China spewing from all my feeds, [2] comments that I have made mysteriously being erased, and [3] the most contentious articles being flooded with “likes”… you have to wonder if you are in some kind of fake-mirror world.

It really seems that way.

We, as humans, have feelings and thoughts, ideas, and relationships. We have emotions, both good and bad, and we have desires, goals and yearnings. Yet, if we try to participate in any of the American forums… our opinions are often scrubbed and erased.

I’m not talking about swearing. Nor am I talking about being racist or making threats. I am talking about saying something innocuous like “I like hamburgers”, and then finding that you offended a vegan, who immediately pressed the “alert” button.

Yes, “safe” areas have sprung up all over the internet where people of “like minds” can communicate and put forth their opinions. Such as “Gab”. But even there, you risk banishment if your comments do not fit the appropriate target audience in the associated “news” venue.

Venue ExampleAssociationNon-compliance result
salon.comAlt-LeftBan
Yahoo.comMainstreamBan
freerepublic.comAlt-RightBan
Table of the three major venues for American discussion.

It’s pretty much evidence that people are being put into nice tidy boxes based upon their thoughts.

And this, boys and girls, are how governments isolate, control and manipulate people. Which should give everyone reason to pause and think.

Historically, this has resulted in people's names going onto lists. And then later on, the police and military rounding up people on those lists, and doing very, very bad things to them.

Now, I know it’s hard to absorb if you are right now sitting in the middle of all this. So, instead of looking at the American media reality, maybe take a gander at another nation.

Like India…

If you read (for example) the Indian news media, you would be convinced that India is ready to invade China, and walk straight into Shanghai and no one can stop them. If you read Alex Jones or Hall Turner, you will be convinced that Donald Trump will win next weeks election in a landslide, and if you read CNN you will be convinced of the absolute opposite. Nothing is moderate or neutral. It’s all just nonsense.

Or is it really?

Are we really reading “news articles” and listening to the “comments” by others like ourselves? Or, as I believe, we are reading “fake news” which are really articles designed to manipulate, with comments and opinions and “likes” generated by ‘bots and software algorithms.

No longer “news”; a reporting of events.

Let’s look at the morning Drudge Headliners.

Drudge Report 29OCT20

Instead, of “news”, we now see the generation of “articles of manipulation”. These articles are fully intended to change how the reader thinks. They are not designed to inform. You know, like these…

What news? Every election is like this. No one really knows who will win an election. So is this news, or is it something else?
Indeed. Isn't what they all say? Elect me and I will make everything all right!
Oh, every six months of so, someone writes a book, draws a cartoon, makes a statement, writes a poem, and fundamentalist islamic's are enraged and demand death! Is this news?
Oh yeah. This debit clock thingy has been in the read for decades now. Why keep track? No one really cares, at least those who have the power to do anything about it.
The police shoot and kill a black man, and the black folk in ghettos riot. Black folk riot. It's what they do.

It's sort of a cause and effect kind of thing. But is this news? You all ever been to a black ghetto in Philly? Do you know him? Is Pennsylvania on your radar screen?
Seriously? 

I think that the real interest in an article like this is how any one can train monkeys to do anything. Than how to create a for-profit model around it.
Of course Drudge must have the obligatory anti-China article. It's a thing in America, don't you know.

So any-day-now Beijing is gonna invade Taiwan!  Taiwan is a state of China. Just like Texas is a state within America. The Taiwanese all have Chinese passports, speak the Chinese language, learn Chinese history, and so forth.

It's sort of like "any day now, Washington DC will invade Texas." Silly, I know. But the American audience has been so enormously dumbed-down that they just are not able to discern how ignorant they are.

To me, it looks a lot like a science fiction horror flick where the people haven’t a clue as to how badly they are being manipulated.

America today.

Let’s look at this.

Let’s look at (what I like to call) Internet Forum Manipulation…

Internet Forum Manipulation

Wouldn’t it be great if we could all innocently comment on articles that we read on the Internet, and then our thoughts can be read by others. Others could read our thoughts and there would be a free exchange of ideas and thoughts. Oh, wouldn’t it be nice…

Not so. It turns out that the control of thoughts and ideas is one of the most important tools in the arsenal of power and control. (Not to mention world-line alteration and redirection.)

As such, those in power, whether rich, wealthy, powerful or in government are totally desirous of harnessing this avenue to serve their own purposes.

It’s a horrible reality.

There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of an internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a ‘uncontrolled forum.’

Professor identifies "moderate" websites.
Professor identifies “moderate” websites. The only thing is that the websites that he lists are all “Alt-Left” websites. Which is, of course, propaganda. Is this what is being taught in schools today? White is black. Happy is sad. Good is bad. Right is wrong?

.

Let’s look at some of the techniques that those in power use to control us.

PTB - The Powers that Be.
The Oligarchy - The top 1% of the richest in a society.
The deep state - The long-employed unelected government employees.
The elected - The visible face of the government farce.

The caretakers - Actually, they are not involved at this level.

Forum Sliding

If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum – it can be quickly removed from public view by ‘forum sliding.’

A very popular technique on Freerepublic.com.

In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to ‘age.’ Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a ‘forum slide.’ The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public.

To trigger a ‘forum slide’ and ‘flush’ the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then ‘replying’ to prepositined postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list (“bump to the top” or BTTT), and the critical posting ‘slides’ down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings.

By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.

Altering Opinion & Reviews

Your opinion does not matter. If it did, then you would be able to speak freely and without fear.

There would be no such thing as “freedom of speech zones”, and “no hate” campuses.

The days of the first amendment protections are over. The first amendment only applies to those who regurgitate the narrative as defined by the government, or their owners; the oligarchy.

Here, in this section we discuss just some of the techniques that those in power use to suppress your thoughts, opinions and activities. The reader should be well advised that it is terribly out of date and obsolete. Such is the situation in the United States today.

Who is really in control?
Who is really in control? Are you?
“The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government, which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states and nation … The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. 

They practically control both parties … [and] control the majority of the newspapers and magazines in this country. 

They use the columns of these papers to club into submission or drive out of office public officials who refuse to do the bidding of the powerful corrupt cliques which compose the invisible government. 

It operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.”

– John F. Hylan, Mayor of New York City from 1918-1925

It is common knowledge that businesses and even individuals can alter the behavior of those on the Internet.  But what is not so well known is that the Government takes this kind of manipulation very seriously and is doing their best to replicate it. 

Consider these examples that have somehow become public knowledge.

Facebook Manipulation

“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”

-George Orwell

Facebook Quietly Admits to Censoring information regarding the WikiLeaks DNC Links, but doesn’t say why.

Well, we know why.

Facebook and the DNC are partners in the collection of raw data of American citizens.  I am sure that their efforts are quite extensive, and because of this, I shall only offer one or two examples of their efforts. If the reader chooses to disbelieve my conclusions in this matter, it will make no difference to me. So believe what you want.

Previously, Facebook was discovered to have removed a Live video of Philando Castille dying, and posts of the Bastille Day aftermath were scrubbed from the newswire.

Its news bar has also come under fire for being biased.

Facebook can call the issues disparate, but they’re not — not to users. At some point, the ignorance and blind claims of ‘damn that algorithm’ have to end. If Facebook wants us to turn to it for news and treat it seriously, then it has to be much more open.

Afterall, no one want’s to be spoon fed censored material.

The WikiLeaks link issue has reportedly been fixed, which is great — but also not really the point.

The fact links to the archive was blocked at all suggests there’s a very tight reign on what’s allowed on Facebook across the board, and that’s a problem.

Americans in America today.
Americans are both figuratively and physically tethered to a unified way of thinking. As time progresses, this system becomes stronger, more invasive and all encompassing.

.

Not to mention, that this manipulation can be directed from outside the organization as well, such as from government agencies.

“More than 1,800 requests were so-called “emergency disclosures,” which are granted to law enforcement on a case-by-case basis, and are a subject of some controversy. 

They include, for instance, requests to suspend someone’s account, as was the case with Korryn Gaines, a 23-year-old mother who was shot and killed by police in 2016, after she reportedly threatened officers with a weapon. 

She was broadcasting her confrontation on Facebook, and police asked the company to shut down her account, saying that other users were egging her on.”

-Hanna Kozlowska in the article titled “Facebook is giving the US government more and more data” (I guess that the First Amendment no longer has any validity.)

Google Manipulation

Google could influence who voters pick to be America’s next president.  This is the conclusion that research psychologist Robert Epstein came to after studying the demographics and algorisms used by the software firm.  Writing for Politico Magazine, Epstein, contends the Google search engine behemoth (as well as others) has;

"…amassed far more power to control elections … to control a wide variety of opinions and beliefs … than any company in history has ever had."

He continues;

"America’s next president could be eased into office not just by TV ads or speeches, but by Google’s secret decisions, and no one — except for me and perhaps a few other obscure researchers — would know how this was accomplished,"

According to Epstein, Google’s search algorithm can easily shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20 percent or more and even up to 80 percent in some demographic groups. 

Even if we ignore that voting is the imposition of a majority’s will on a minority, facilitated by wielding the violence of the state. Even if we disregard that voting only allows its participants the choice between two entrenched, corrupt, archaic political parties (while third party and independent voices are intentionally blocked, ridiculed and plowed under.) 

We must then begin to confront the fact that electronic voting is such an openly obvious fraud to any “democracy” that would insanely choose to use it. 

To have an unverifiable invisible counting mechanism, a proprietary, secret software and hardware platform, a meaningless archiving and recount system, a closed-source software system that cannot be audited and inspected is essentially and deliberately the worst possible implementation. 

Not only does our country have the obvious electronic voting problems to deal with, but we have also implemented electronic voting in the most counter-intuitive, corrupt and problematically designed manner that it can possibly be implemented.

Epstein points to one telling experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups in which search rankings favored either Candidate A, Candidate B or neither candidate.

In the experiment, the participants were given brief descriptions of each candidate and then asked how much they liked and trusted each candidate and whom they would vote for.

Then they were allowed up to 15 minutes to conduct online research on the candidates using a Google-like search engine.   Each group had access to the same 30 search results, but the ordering of the results differed among the three groups. 

When our participants were done searching, “opinions shifted in the direction of the candidate who was favored in the rankings,” he writes. “Trust, liking and voting preferences all shifted predictably.”

"Perhaps the most effective way to wield political influence in today’s high-tech world is to donate money to a candidate and then to use technology to make sure he or she wins…"

- Robert Epstein

It is interesting to note that while Google had been extremely active in attempting to manipulate the 2016 election in favor of their preferred candidate Hillary Clinton, they ultimately failed. 

It was not because of their techniques however, but rather due to their expectation that the race would be close with Hillary leading by five points.  Their manipulations did not take into account other scenarios.

Google is facing new scrutiny in the wake of revelations that it stores users’ location data even when “Location History” is turned off.

In the past, Google quietly edited its description of the practice on its own website—while continuing said practice—to clarify that “some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps.”

As a result of the previously unknown practice, which was first exposed by the Associated Press, Google was sued by a man in San Diego. Simultaneously, activists in Washington, DC urged the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether the company is in breach of its 2011 consent decree with the agency.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in San Francisco, attorneys representing a man named Napoleon Patacsil argued that Google is violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act and the state’s constitutional right to privacy.

The lawsuit seeked class-action status, and it would include both an “Android Class” and “iPhone Class” for the potential millions of people in the United States with such phones who turned off their Location History and nonetheless had it recorded by Google.

Further Reading

Google’s new scheme to connect online to offline shopping scrutinized

Also on August 17, attorneys from the Electronic Privacy Information Center wrote in a sternly worded three-page letter to the FTC that Google’s practices are in clear violation of the 2011 settlement with the agency.

In that settlement, Google agreed that it would not misrepresent anything related to "(1) the purposes for which it collects and uses covered information, and (2) the extent to which consumers may exercise control over the collection, use, or disclosure of covered information.

"Until the Associated Press story on August 13, Google's policy simply stated: "You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored."

This turns out to not be true.

Amazon Manipulation

Sorry, but I am going to use an example from politics. Hopefully this one (being so dated) will not be offensive to my readership. Just remember people, politics in America is just a big game of "bread and circuses for the masses". All the participants work together. 

Amazon can and will change and manipulate reviews for political reasons.  With the proper amount of money, they will do so for ANY reason. (And, we all know, that the United States government has a bottomless supply of money…)

Let’s go back to later 2016, early 2017…

Hillary 2016 Book – Stronger Together

Here’s a funny story that wasn’t reported in the mainstream media.  It took place during the 2016 election between Hillary Clinton and Donald trump. Both had written books to promote their causes and beliefs.  However, Hillary Clinton’s book tanked and was poorly received.  Here’s a screen shot;


Hillary Clinton’s book was just not selling.

.

As The New York Times reported at the time, the book was a disaster.  Both Mrs. Clinton and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, have promoted the book on the campaign trail, but the sales figure, which tallies about 80 percent of booksellers nationwide and does not include e-books, firmly makes the book what the publishing industry would consider a flop.

“Stronger Together,” whose cover shows Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kaine waving, arrived closer to Election Day than most of these types of books. Named after the campaign’s slogan, “Stronger Together” offers readers, according to the book jacket,

“specific and practical solutions, while also articulating a bold and expansive vision of change and renewal.”

Its roughly 250 pages intersperse bullet-point policy ideas, like “launch a national initiative for suicide prevention” and “humanely address the Central American migrant crisis,” with photographs of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kaine on the campaign trail, charts in the campaign’s signature chunky font and highlights from Mrs. Clinton’s speeches.

Unfortunately the book was a flop. 

No one wanted it, and the one’s whom actually bought the book gave it negative reviews.  So, as with everything else in this ‘new normal rigged’ world, something had to be done and (Washington Post) WaPo-owner Jeff Bezos’ Amazon reviews appear to have been ‘tweaked’.

They apparently changed the reviews and the stats to reflect a much more favorable view of the book. 

Indeed, more than doubling Hillary’s top reviews.

But, as WND.com explains, Amazon’s steps to ‘fix’ Hillary’s book reviews has resulted in 5-star ratings with scathingly negative comments. (I guess that is what happens with the literate masses object to such blatant manipulation.)

If you can’t even win when the rules are changed in your favor, things must be REALLY bad.

That’s how it looks for Hillary Clinton’s new 2016 campaign book, “Stronger Together,” co-authored with running mate Tim Kaine. WND reported this strange turn of events when the book was being savaged on Amazon.com with negative reviews, with 81 percent one-star ratings and an average of only 1.7.

Of course denials were everywhere, and the Clinton organized shrills quickly lashed out at “trolls” they said were criticizing the book only because they oppose the Democrat’s presidential candidacy.

It’s really quite funny.

Once it became news what Amazon was doing, other purchasers of the book had to chime in.  WND previously reported there were more than 1,200 reviews, and the number grew to than 2,000.

Zero Public interest did not fit the Public Narrative.
Zero Public interest did not fit the Public Narrative.

.

However, that just couldn’t possibly stand, and by Thursday afternoon, the amount was yet again culled (again!) until there were only 255 reviews, with many of the most critical reviews removed by Amazon, whose CEO, Jeff Bezos, owns the Washington Post, which created an army of 20 reporters and researchers to investigate the life of Donald Trump.

Victory for the Clinton book, however, remains out of grasp, with the negative, one-star responses, outnumbering positive, five-star responses nearly 2-1. The one-star ratings Thursday were 62 percent, to 35 percent for five-star ratings.

And, of course,  knowing the DNC manipulation of all their reviews, the book reviewers simply punched the five-star button then made harshly critical condemnations of the book and Hillary Clinton.

That way their opinions were still posted…

"I didn’t buy this book or read this book, but I have read the reviews, and enjoyed hours of entertaining, fun filled reading, expressing the TRUTH, about a crooked, lying, corrupt, terminally ill Presidential candidate, who stole the nomination from Bernie Sanders, and who is about the steal the Presidency with the use of election fraud. 

10 Stars to the authors of these reviews. 

Proof that not only are Amazon.com shoppers of superior intelligence, but thye call it like they see it…. Amazon shows this as a verified purchase, when I didn’t buy the book … how fun!”

- From suz702, who posted a five-star ranking

On and on, there’s pages of this stuff…

 “the book confirms the hrc is a racist. every matter in her mind is about racies (sic). but reality is she does not care about the black people. just look at the ever increasing trend of black population that are relying on welfare since the obama rule. the fundermental (sic) cause of this result is the fact that lefties of the country favor the riches by allowing outsourcing jobs to other countries. black people should wake up, stop supporting dnc and hrc, who is effectively a puppet of the elite class. the book is simply a propaganda.”

- Ian alexander, another five-star reviewer said.

Just two days earlier, out of 1,244 reviews, 81 percent were one-star and 16 percent five-star. The book plunged from No. 840 earlier this week to No. 1,538 on Thursday. It was No. 5 in the subcategory “Books-Politics & Social Sciences-Politics & Government-Elections & Political Process-Leadership.”

The reviews dripped sarcasm, both before the Amazon edits to the reviews and after.

“I bought this thinking it would be a how-to book. 

I wanted ‘How to set up your own Foundation for fun and profit.’ Also, would like to have seen a chapter on ‘Ten easy steps to setting up your own secure server in a bathroom,'”

-Elaine.

And, here’s another…

“Not only no but hell no. I’d rather read Mein Kampf,”

- Anthony Messina.

Chjhores said:

“Pre-ordered an autographed copy but had to return it after this week’s announcement as I was worried it was contaminated with pneumonia bacteria. 

I didn’t want to end up exposed to the illness like her grandkids in Chelsea’s apartment she was playing with on 9/11 after she collapsed, or the little girl she was hugging in the street afterwards. Thought about ordering the Kindle version but I thought it might open my device up to being hacked by communist countries. I wasn’t too surprised to see Tim Kaine on the front cover giving the traditional National Socialist salute (“Heil Hitler!”), I felt it fitting.

Strongly recommended for those who believe the USA isn’t anything special and should be more like the peaceful utopias of North Korea, Iran, or Cuba.”

And kpm said,

“Imagine my dismay when key parts of her life were omitted, would have made for far better reading if she had included all of the below starting with flunking the D.C. Bar Exam to:

  • Was removed from her House Judiciary Committee staffer job because of incompetence and lying.
  • The Whitewater scandal.
  • Married a serial liar and cheater, who occasionally had sexual encounters with nonconsenting partners.
  • Lied about “sniper fire” in an attempt to simulate exposure to danger in a war zone.
  • The subject of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” that led to the impeachment and disbarment of her husband
  • Took crockery, furniture, artwork and other items from the White House — had to return and/or pay for them.
  • Said “what difference, at this point, does it make” about four brave people killed in Libya as a direct result of her failure to protect them on the anniversary of 9/11.
  • Totally ignored the structure and rules for the handling of sensitive national security information.
  • Amassed a personal fortune with “speaking fees” and payments from private sector political donors and foreign governments into transparent “foundations” in obvious exchange for future political favor.”

Nearly 1,500 people found that review “helpful.”

But more than 3,400 found helpful the comments from Daniel B.:

“I was going to read this book … I really was. 

But just as I got started, I found myself under sniper fire, passed out, and fell and hit my head. After that I got double vision and had to wear glasses that were so damn thick I couldn’t even see to read. 

As if that wasn’t enough, I then had an allergic reaction to something and started coughing so hard I spit out what looked like a couple of lizard’s eyeballs, my limbs locked up, and I passed out and fell down again, waking up only to find out I had been diagnosed with pneumonia 2 days earlier. 

Somehow I managed to power through it all, but it’s a good thing I was able to make a small fortune on this random small trade in the commodities market (cattle futures or some such thing) and then, miracle of all miracles, a few banks offered me a few million to just talk to their employees for a few minutes – and all that really helped out because I swear I was dead broke and couldn’t figure out how I was gonna come up with the 6 bucks to pay for this book, let alone pay the $1,500 for my health insurance this month. 

I still want to read it, but, honestly, what difference at this point does it make? I hear it sucks anyway.”

Clinton’s 2015 book, “Hard Choices,” received an average of only three stars despite garnering 2,460 customer reviews.

Here’s some screen captures of the “Stronger Together” reviews, because by the time this manuscript is released all of these reviews will be erased to fit the new narrative.


Of course Bezo would manipulate the data his company controls.  It is in his own best interests. WND also has documented Bezos’ interest in the election outcome, with the Post’s army of investigators looking into Trump’s life.

As WND reported this summer, Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward told the National Association of Realtors Convention in Washington Wednesday:

“There’s a lot we don’t know. We have 20 people working on Trump. We’re going to do a book. We’re doing articles about every phase of his life.”

Woodward said he has been investigating Trump’s real-estate deals in New York. Why a book on Trump and not Hillary and her 22 biggest scandals?

“[W]e have years and years of reporting on Hillary Clinton to draw from, including her last presidential campaign, her time as secretary of state, and her position as U.S. senator, Because Trump’s involvement in political life is far more limited, the Post newsroom decided to embark on a book as a special project. In order to complete the book in a timely fashion, reporters from throughout the newsroom have been assigned to work for a brief period on particular aspects of his life and career.”

Coratti explained.

The one-star reviews for the Clinton book also continued. All were dripping with sarcasm.  Just Thursday afternoon, Jimsdun wrote:

“Well I’m disappointed. This doesn’t tell me how to create a faux charitable foundation and then use it for money laundering.”

Hillary 2017 Book – What Happened

You would think that Amazon would know better than to repeat their manipulative techniques, but obviously they do not read alternative media.  They are still drinking off the teat of mainstream media and are completely unaware of the public knowledge of their actions.

In what many have dubbed a flagrant intervention by Amazon itself to seemingly boost the rating of Hillary Clinton’s new book “What Happened“, the Telegraph first reported, and subsequently many others observed first hand, that Amazon has been monitoring and deleting 1-star reviews of Hillary Clinton’s new book “which was greeted with a torrent of criticism on the day it was released.”

Reviews of What Happened have been mixed, with some accusing Clinton of using it as an opportunity to blame others, such as former FBI head James Comey, Bernie Sanders, Vladimir Putin, social media and pretty much everything else, for her failure, rather than herself.

Even The New York Times, which supported Clinton’s campaign, wrote that the book is “a score-settling jubilee”.

What is fascinating, is how few one-star reviews have remained on the website amid reports and screen-grabs showing that reviewers used the space to criticize the former First Lady. One 1-star review, which remained on the website earlier, read:

"Read all the promotional excerpts, which combined come close to book length – pretty good novel. It is fiction, isn't it? Surely, someone is playing a joke."

Another wrote

"Picked this book up at Wal-Mart out of sheer morbid curiosity. Returned it, claiming I bought the wrong book"

While this is not the first time Amazon has intervened to “adjust” the ratings of its products, in November negative comments under a book by anti-Trump broadcaster Megyn Kelly appeared to be removed by the retailer, it has rarely “adjusted” reviews of such a prominent product so publicly.

Speaking to Fortune, an Amazon spokesperson said:

"In the case of a memoir, the subject of the book is the author and their views. It’s not our role to decide what a customer would view as helpful or unhelpful in making their decision. We do however have mechanisms in place to ensure that the voices of many do not drown out the voices of a few and we remove customer reviews that violate our community guidelines."

So how does this change reality….

Well just look though the lens of a clock.


And then seven hours later…

What Amazon.com shows as of today 29OCT20;

A best seller!

Yes, it’s a best seller!

Man! If only my writings could become a best seller. What’s her secret? Are her ghost writers all that great. Truthfully, I am terribly jealous.

Screen cap. 29OCT20.
Hillary Clinton is obviously a well-beloved and liked person, who is an excellent writer and who has made the world a better place for everyone.

Twitter Manipulation

Perhaps one of the most manipulated social media platforms is Twitter. I don’t use it.  I signed up for it when it first came out, and then lost interest after two days. That is the sum total of my twitter experience. However, I am an outlier. Others, such as Donald Trump, use it quite frequently.

Let’s look at some of the ways it is manipulated to serve the needs of those in power.

Twitter Manipulation – Shadowbanned

Following the permanent banning of [1] conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos from using its service; the [2] suspension of the account of Glenn Reynolds, aka @instapundit and creator of the Instapundit blog, a University of Tennessee law professor and a conservative columnist for USA TODAY; and [3] blocking veteran reporter Mahir Zeynalov after bowing to pressure from Turkish president Erdogan; October 2016 saw the [4] ‘shadowbanning’ of thoughtful – non-violent – twitter-er Scott Adams – the creator of the Dilbert cartoon character.

Scott Adams asked his followers for examples of Clinton supporters being violent against peaceful Trump supports in public… which seems to have ‘triggered’ some people and got Adams “Shadowbanned” from Twitter…

“This weekend I got “shadowbanned” on Twitter. It lasted until my followers noticed and protested. Shadowbanning prevents my followers from seeing my tweets and replies, but in a way that is not obvious until you do some digging.

 Why did I get shadowbanned?

 Beats me.

But it was probably because I asked people to tweet me examples of Clinton supporters being violent against peaceful Trump supporters in public. I got a lot of them. It was chilling. 

Late last week my Twitter feed was invaded by an army of Clinton trolls (it’s a real thing) leaving sarcastic insults and not much else on my feed. There was an obvious similarity to them, meaning it was organized. 

At around the same time, a bottom-feeder at Slate wrote a hit piece on me that had nothing to do with anything. 

Except obviously it was politically motivated. 

It was so lame that I retweeted it myself. The timing of the hit piece might be a coincidence, but I stopped believing in coincidences this year. 

All things considered, I had a great week. I didn’t realize I was having enough impact to get on the Clinton enemies list. I don’t think I’m supposed to be happy about any of this, but that’s not how I’m wired.”

Twitter Manipulation – Bots

“Or take the right to vote. In principle, it is a great privilege. 

In practice, as recent history has repeatedly shown, the right to vote, by itself, is no guarantee of liberty. 

Therefore, if you wish to avoid dictatorship by referendum, break up modern society’s merely functional collectives into self-governing, voluntarily co-operating groups, capable of functioning outside the bureaucratic systems of Big Business and Big Government.” 

-Aldous Huxley, in Brave New World Revisited (1958)

In a 2014 report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the social networking site Twitter estimated that more than 23 million of its active user accounts were being run by “bots” — software agents or bits of code that act on their own to respond to news and world events. They interact with real users, never revealing their true nature.

Bots of this kind have been used in efforts to sway public opinion in Central America already for a decade. The hacker and political operative Andrés Sepúlveda claims to have employed armies of bots to influence at least a half-dozen major election results in Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and elsewhere.

Could the same happen in the U.S. and Europe?

Probably so, given findings on bot activity ahead of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. As part of the Computational Propaganda Research Project at Oxford University researchers looked at some 300,000 Twitter accounts and found that a mere 1 percent of them generated about one third of all tweets relevant to the Brexit debate.

1/3 of all Brexit debate were generated by 1% of accounts.

They believe that many of those accounts were run by bots, because human users could not have sustained such a level of activity without the help of automation. It’s not clear whether the activity swayed the result, though the Leave campaign did generate more automated tweets.

This issue is far bigger than Brexit: The disturbing reality is that computational propaganda is already with us.

In the 2016 U.S. presidential race, Twitter bots support both Trump and Clinton. Bots of various kinds live on cloud servers and operate 24 hours a day, and account for about 50 percent of all activity on the web.

According to the Central American hacker, Sepúlveda, peoples’ opinions tend to be swayed more by views they see as coming spontaneously from real people than by views expressed on television or in newspapers.

Twitter Exposed by the NY Times

Most of the reports regarding the manipulation by the media are buried deep down in the lower nooks and crannies of the mainstream media.  Obviously they do not want people to know how they manipulate and conspire to alter viewpoints and opinions. Yet, occasionally an excellent article comes out that just “kicks the door down” regarding just this type of activity.

The New York Times wrote just this kind of article regarding Twitter. It’s worthy of a read. Here is what political commentator Rush Limbaugh (The New York Times Exposes the Fakery of Twitter, on 29JAN18.) has to say about this article;

Folks, I have to tell you something. The New York Times put on their website late Saturday and published in their newspaper on Sunday one of the most phenomenal stories. Now, I know. I am on record as having lost respect for the New York Times, and I am on record as having said many times that my instinctive reaction to anything in the New York Times is not to believe it. However, this story I happen to know is true — and it is phenomenal.

It is a very, very long story. I would recommend that you read this story on your computer so that you can benefit and experience the amazing graphics that they use to illustrate the point. The point of the story is that you, anybody, can buy followers on Twitter and Facebook. You can buy retweets. In other words, you can buy fake human beings and have them reported as following you. The names of people who have done this are listed in the story. They run from actors, to athletes, to pundits, to journalists.

These are bots. You know, I’ve found a lot of people — when I say a Twitter bot or a Facebook bot — say, “What is that?” Well, the easiest way to explain it is it’s just an automatic script. It’s just a little piece of code that is triggered by anything the creator wants it to be triggered by. It’s called a robot or a bot because there’s no real person behind it. It’s a fake. It’s made to look like an actual human being with a Twitter account but no human being exists.

It’s totally fake, made up. Some of these bots are actually based on real people whose identities are stolen and modified ever so slightly so that you wouldn’t notice it to the naked eye. And others are just manufactured out of whole cloth. There’s an actor mentioned here in this story that has 975,000 followers with the vast majority of them unreal. They have been purchased. The number one company selling these bots is right here in West Palm Beach, above Rocco’s Tacos on Clematis Street!

Not to be confused with the Rocco’s Tacos on PGA Boulevard. The Rocco’s Tacos on Clematis Street is where this little guy’s office is. He’s 27 years old. He makes people think that his office is in Manhattan. It’s exceedingly cheap. You can buy 100,000 followers for 10 bucks. The guy has earned six to $7 million selling fake followers. My friends, what this means is that very little is real on Twitter, ditto Facebook when you can buy followers.

Ray Lewis, future Hall of Fame linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens is listed as one who has purchased followers. Now, some of these people are gonna say, “I — I didn’t know! My agent must have done that.” But the bottom line is, you can create bots to do anything. The reason I know this is true is because — as I have shared with you on countless occasions — we have run up against this procedure, this technique trying to damage our business here. And we have found out in our investigational research, it is exactly what happened.

In our case it was 10 people who were flooding our advertisers with massive amounts of emails made to look like it was coming from tens of thousands of people, and it was 10 people creating fake Twitter users, fake customers, fake everything. So it’s one thing to create bots to bombard your enemies. It’s another thing for you to knowingly go out and purchase followers. So what it means is that when you’re on Twitter and you’re looking at somebody that is somewhat known, not the well-known at all, a YouTube star that has millions of followers, the likelihood it is it is nowhere near true.

But look at the influence that it has had. This is why followers are purchased. Look at how often the Drive-By Media quotes Twitter in every story they do. How many times have you heard in reaction to a story “Twitter is melting down”? And you are being led to believe that a story happens, whatever it is, and on Twitter there is this massive reaction to it, either positive or negative — and then you are further led to believe that that story is huge and that millions of Americans have an opinion on it.

And the likelihood is that very little of that is even true. Now, you might be asking, “Why would the New York Times be doing this?” It’s very clear to me. The New York Times had to weigh a couple of things here. On the one hand, these bots can be used to really damage your enemies — business enemies, business opponents, political opponents, political enemies, personal enemies — because you can create fake bots, and you can make it look like a person is literally despised and hated when that person isn’t.

And you can turn it around. You can make it look like a person is universally loved and adored and renowned by gazillions, and that isn’t true. It’s a way to earn fake popularity. Everything is fake on this social media. Not everything. So much of what social media is is fake. So much of it is unearned. So much of it is the result of shortcuts. I’m certain the New York Times did this because they’re fed up with Twitter having more influence than they do. “The New York Times is the paper of record!

“The New York Times is the media of record. Who the hell, what the hell is this Twitter business?” they have probably been saying themselves. I mean, it is a long story. It has many different writers and reporters on it. The evidence is pretty clear. As I say, if I didn’t have firsthand knowledge of this, then I would be highly suspicious of the reporting, of the agenda, the whole narrative. But since I know that this stuff happens. Now, by the way, I have to tell you, I did not know — and I’m happy admitting this.

It makes me sound like I’m a bit naive. I did not know you could buy followers. I didn’t know that. But a lot of people have found out you can buy followers. Do you realize the power of that, folks? Let’s say you’re a B actor or a B pundit, you’re a YouTube star. In reality, you don’t have millions of people watching. Ridiculous! Streaming hasn’t grown that much yet. But yet there’s all these “YouTube stars.” Can I give you some evidence of this? There was some YouTube guy. I forget his name.

I don’t mean this to be critical of the YouTube guy. Please do not misunderstand. But some YouTube guy was creating very clever videos. I don’t even know what the genre was. His first name was Casey. So CNN thought this guy had this massive Millennial audience. And they signed this guy up to start producing videos for them. And they got zilch. The guy finally had to admit that he didn’t know how to do what CNN wanted. He didn’t know how to… So… Well, what the real problem was, the guy didn’t have anywhere near the number of followers and audience that it was made to appear that he did.

See, when did you live by the fake sword, you die by it. When you want fame but it isn’t real, it’s gonna come back and bite you. When you want wealth but that isn’t real — you’ve stolen it, you’ve cheated it, you haven’t earned it — that’s gonna come back and bite you. You want popularity. And everybody on social media does. And this is just one side of social media that’s bad. The other side is just the absolute sewer that it is with the cultural-destroying language and behavior that is used on these social networks, the discourse and all of that.

And then the third element of this is all the lying about what great lives people have and how exciting their lives are. And people read this and think their lives are miserable and they get depressed. I mean, this is… It’s bad all the way around, and now adding this buying followers to it. So how many people have now comfortably gotten a false, totally incorrect opinion of the popularity of certain issues, of the popularity of certain people, when you can go buy it all? And I’m telling you, it’s cheap.

You can buy 100,000 followers for 20 bucks, folks. All you have to do is know where to go do it. Some of these bots are actual real people who do not realize they’re being used. Their e-mail address is changed with one letter. A capital I might become a small I so that nobody would notice it. The user photo might be compressed a little bit so that it looks slight different color but not enough so you wouldn’t notice it without a side-by-side comparison. They make up people and they take actual people and steal their identities, ’cause you have to have some legitimate feel of the follower scam to work.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: This Twitter debauchery is even worse. You can kill a stock. You can drive a company’s stock down or the other way with some of these fake bots, the followers and so forth. I’ll tell you what. James O’Keefe, folks, his latest book involving his expose on the political nature Twitter and how they literally ban conservative thought is called American Pravda. It’s been outs a couple of weeks. If you read books, and if you want to learn — at least get a primer on what Twitter really is and how it operates — James O’Keefe, American Pravda.”

Altering Product Reviews

Talk about a glowing review: one five-star review given to a light-up USB cable for sale on Amazon had a headline claiming that this product “has lit up my life.”  That review was not only glowing, it was steaming, Amazon says.

In today’s world, anything can be bought for the right price. 

This includes written opinions about products and services.  One particularly worrisome example is with the book reviews on the website Amazon.com.  It turns out that there is a high percentage of them (relatively) that are fake; fabricated and simply made up to deceive either one way or the other.

In the case of the glowing review of the light-up USB cable;  The review was fake, purchased by a third-party Amazon seller, the online retailer claims, and probably cost the manufacturer between $19 and $22 (£13 and £15) to write it and have it listed on the Internet for (assumingly) forever.  Those are the accusations Amazon has made in its first-ever lawsuit against sites that sell reviews.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Seattle’s King County Superior Court, accuses Jay Gentile, a California resident, and the websites [1] buyamazonreviews.com, [2] buyazonreviews.com, [3] bayreviews.net and [4] buyreviewsnow.com, of trademark infringement, false advertising and violations of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Consumer Protection Act.

The sites sell packages of reviews, from as few as 3 to as many as 100.  Promises include “drip-feed delivery” that won’t raise Amazon’s suspicions and a “100 percent stick guarantee” for reviews, promising to replace any that Amazon deletes or filters out.

One of the sites Gentile is accused of running, buyazonreviews.com, sounds like it’s on the up-and-up:

“We use real people that are sourced from all around the world to deliver high quality unbiased reviews on your products.”

The fine print sounds just as legit:

“We are not receiving any money for your reviews nor are we paying reviewers. Your payment goes towards review sourcing, database management, and operation costs. “

But Amazon says that the reality “is far different.”

In this, its first ever crackdown on fake reviews since it debuted the review platform 20 years ago (with its first review of Dr. Seuss’s “The Butter Battle Book”), Amazon accuses Gentile of promising to “provide as many five-star reviews as the purchaser wanted” and to “slow drip” them onto Amazon’s product pages so that the company would have a “more difficult time detecting them”.

In the complaint, Amazon also accuses Gentile of advising his customers to “do a few verified purchase reviews … so as not to raise any eyebrows with Amazon.

"The reviewers don't actually have to receive the products, Gentile allegedly told customers.  Rather, his clients could just send empty boxes to try to fool Amazon into thinking that the reviewer was a "verified purchaser."

The complaint quotes the advice Gentile allegedly gave:

Note: You do not have to actually ship the item unless you want to. We suggest that for tracking purposes is that you just ship out an empty box or envelope, this will show [A]mazon that the item was actually shipped.

When one clueless reviewer working for buyazonreviews.com complained about not having actually received a product, Gentile allegedly reassured his client that she’d be brought in line:

“All our reviewers know of the process and I am not sure as to why she sent this to you but I will ensure it does not happen in the future.”

Amazon gave a number of examples of what it says are phony reviews, such as the USB cable five-star review:

This has lit up my life
By j9 on March 31, 2015

Verified Purchase

“Review: I was kinda doubtful about the "electroluminescent technology" of this USB cable. That it actually would work. But it actually did. Not only did the blue light function as they should, they were clear and bright, plus they turned off when the charge was finished. It's rad. They should make them in other colors too. Let's just say we're really impressed and are going to order a few more...”

Amazon is bringing claims of [1] trademark infringement, saying the websites are using the company’s name and logo without authorization.  It’s also accusing the websites of [2] cybersquatting by hosting sites with names “identical to or confusingly similar to” Amazon’s own site.  Amazon has asked the court to force the various websites to stop using its name and trademarks and to stop selling Amazon reviews. It’s also seeking triple damages and attorney’s fees.

Imagine a world where if individuals can set up a cheap website and system to do this, what powerful and well-funded governments can do. 

It should not be believed that they would do nothing, for the maintenance of those in power (regardless of where they reside) are all heavily dependent upon securing the mass opinions of the populace.  The reader should view everything on the Internet with suspicion, from news reports, to product reviews.  The Internet is a wonderful tool, and it’s use in shaping your opinion on various matters is a well-honed and well-sharpened skill.

Flooding the Forum with “Likes”

In most forums, those posts with the greatest number of “likes” are presented first (or at the top of the forum).  By controlling and altering the number of “likes” by various computer bots, one can effectively control the postings on a given internet forum. 

This is a very common practice, and is common at Facebook, and Google where the actual software companies takes control of the forums in this manner.  However, outside entities can also manipulate the forum using this technique.

Bangladesh “Click Farm”

The idea behind a click-farm is simple, but it takes a little explanation to understand how they came to be.

In the old days, when social media likes and website views were incredibly valuable, many webmasters turned to the dark side of the Internet to find ways to inflate them. Earning 1,000 likes or 1,000 website hits was a tough process, but it could be made a lot easier by setting up a program to refresh the page over and over. For Facebook, those bots would register accounts and use them to like the page.

Robots are easy to detect. 

Facebook fan page likes  could easily find these fraudulent accounts and remove them. Something needed to be done to make those number-inflating accounts less visible. Something to make them look more legitimate.

The answer, as it turned out, was just to make them legitimate – or as legitimate as it was possible to make them, anyways.

Bangladesh “Click Farm”.
Bangladesh “Click Farm”

.

Webmasters pay people in developing nations like Bangladesh, where an annual income of $120 is acceptable, to create Facebook accounts. Or, more likely, webmasters pay a company that in turn pays these people.

These people register accounts, sometimes dozens, and sit idle until the money comes in. They receive a payment and a target Facebook account, and they relentlessly like the page with their accounts.

Even this was fairly easy to detect.

After all, if 10,000 accounts all mobilize in the span of a week and they all like the same selection of 10 pages, those ten pages very obviously purchased likes from a click farm.

At one point, Facebook purged so many fraudulent accounts it totaled nearly 10% of their entire user base. Unlike YouTube wiping views, however, Facebook’s deletions didn’t remove fake likes.

The modern version of a clickfarm still works the same way, only the people running the accounts take steps to obfuscate their traffic.

In addition to liking the pages they’re paid to like, they also click through ads and related pages on Facebook and like pages they aren’t paid to follow. This is how your page, running legitimate Facebook ads, can run afoul of a click-farm. The flurry of “organic” likes makes it much harder to pick out the mobilization of a click-farm for purchased likes.

The Chinese “Click Farm”

In 14MAY17, an unnamed person disclosed the operational details of a Chinese “click farm” used to manipulate the number of “likes” on a given Internet forum[i].  Photos were provided and some details were presented.  From the article;

Chinese “Click Farm”
Chinese “Click Farm”

The bizarre ‘click farm’ of 10,000 phones that give FAKE ‘likes’ to our most-loved apps

Pages on social media websites are given fake ‘likes’ to make them look more popular by thousands of phones

“Footage has emerged of a giant "click farm" that uses more than 10,000 mobile phones to give product ratings and pages on social media websites phoney "likes". 

Companies reportedly pay thousands to get their apps more likes by using services like this massive plant offers. 

This covert clip in China shows rows and rows of like-making machines all wired to other devices in a factory. And there are said to be thousands more phones in the same building all made for the same purpose.”

The reader should note some details regarding all of the cell phones.  They are all smart phones, typically generic or “off make” brands (probably due to cost considerations). 

Note that the camera is covered by tape so that if any agency wanted to turn on the camera, it would not be able to record any video. Notice the screens, all of them are slightly different, but the forum that they are posing on is identical.  The computer software provides a kind of software personality that automates the clicking algorithm.

A Russian man took video footage of the like-making machines and shared it online. But social media users reacted angrily to this clip. One viewer wrote: “Is everything in the modern world ‘fake’?” While, a third furious user shared: “Is anything actually real anymore?”

To which I must educate the reader. 

Yes.  Everything on the Internet is fake.

The Thailand “Click Farm”

Three Chinese men arrested in Thailand have acknowledged that they were operating a “click farm,” using hundreds of cellphones and several hundred thousand SIM cards to run up “likes” and views on WeChat, a Chinese social media mobile application, Thai police reported on 13JUN17.

Immigration Police Capt. Itthikorn Atthanark said the men explained they were paid according to how many likes and views they generated, each earning 100,000-150,000 baht ($2,950-$4,400) per month. Click farms are hired to inflate an online site’s viewership for prestige and profit.

Thailand click farm.
Thailand click farm.

Some politicians boast of how many followers they have on social media, while clicks can generate ad revenue.

WeChat is China’s most prominent online social media platform, incorporating a text-messaging service as well as marketing for online stores.

Police seized 476 cellphones and around 347,200 SIM cards during the arrests Sunday at a house in Sa Kaeo province, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Bangkok. The men, identified as Wang Dong, Niu Bang and Ni Wenjin, were charged with working without a permit and importing the phones without paying taxes.

Itthikorn said the arrests followed a police stakeout at the Sa Kaeo house after receiving reports of suspicious activity. He said a police search Monday at another residence believed to be engaged in the same activity came up empty-handed, though police believe others connected with the business are still at large.

Russian “troll farm”

Not only can you find “click farms” in Russia, but they are also used with ‘bots to flood the social media with trolls and other denizens of internet discussion. These farms park themselves and place ‘bots fully intended to disrupt the discussion on social media sites.

And what’s more, they are open for hire, and will do so for any social media. Apparently some of their biggest clients reside in the United States where they make princely amounts disrupting discussion as tolls on social media. So in Russia, not only do you have click-farms, but they also double as ’bout farms, and bit-mining operations.

The Internet is full of articles on this subject…

Consensus Cracking

A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com) is ‘consensus cracking.’

Pig Farts are destroying the Ozone Layer
Posted by Trustworthy Joe Average

Everyone knows that XXXXXX. It has been proven that XXXXXXX. And since XXXXX is a Y-chromosome, and Brando is good for plants, that DNA is great with JAVA, and the study clearly indicates that bovine farts are safe, while pig farts are dangerous.

To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made – but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting.

Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favor is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger ‘evidence’ or disinformation in your favour is slowly ‘seeded in.’ Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped.

This works on most websites, such as Facebook.

However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then ‘abort’ the consensus cracking by initiating a ‘forum slide.’

In April 2020, my LinkedIN feed was filled with articles stating that the Italian government was being overwhelmed with lawsuits against China for "mishandling" of the Coronavirus.

The only thing was, all of Italy was in lock-down at that time, and mail, servers and the Judicial apparatus were not functioning. They didn't even begin to resume operation until July.

Obviously it was a big lie. 

No legal actions were taken inside of Italy against China at all, but you would never realize that if you were not aware of the situation within both Italy and China, and how the legal systems works. Things that most Americans are unaware of, which is why this technique is so prevalent in America today.

Topic Dilution

Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues.

This is a critical and useful technique to cause a ‘RESOURCE BURN.’ By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a ‘gossip mode.’ Which is the ideal outcome.

In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion.

The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in.

Caution is often warranted. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to ‘drive in the wedge.’ By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.

Information Collection

Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them.

In this technique in a light and positive environment a ‘show you mine so me yours’ posting is initiated.

From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your ‘favorite weapon’ and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favorite ‘technique of operation.’ From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.

This method has become famous by various anti-gun groups who intentionally collected information on gun owners in selected cities in anticipation of a anti-gun government.

Anger Trolling

This technique is known as anger trolling.

Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction.

From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking.

To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes – without the requirement to ‘stage’ a fake abuse video.

This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to ‘lead’ the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you ‘do not care what the authorities think!!’ inflammation.

By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.

JTRIG

One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. It’s time to tell a chunk of that story, complete with the relevant documents.

Over a period of several weeks, NBC News published a series of articles about “dirty trick” tactics used by GCHQ’s previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group). These were based on four classified GCHQ documents presented to the NSA and the other three partners in the English-speaking “Five Eyes” alliance.

As of 2015, another new JTRIG document, in full, entitled “The Art of Deception: Training for Online Covert Operations.” Was published with goes into great detail how the United States government intentionally smears and destroys the reputation and credibility of anyone whom it wants to.  It does this through pure application of honed Nazi and KGB techniques.

By publishing these stories one by one, NBC reports highlighted some of the key, discrete revelations: [1] the monitoring of YouTube and Blogger, [2] the targeting of Anonymous with the very same DDoS attacks they accuse “hacktivists” of using, [3] the use of “honey traps” (luring people into compromising situations using sex) and [4] destructive viruses. But, here, specifically, lets focus and elaborate on the overarching point revealed by all of these documents: namely, that these agencies are attempting to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse, and in doing so, are compromising the integrity of the internet itself.

Among the core self-identified purposes of JTRIG are two primary tactics: (1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets; and (2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable. To see how extremist these programs are, just consider the tactics they boast of using to achieve those ends: [1] “false flag operations” (posting material to the internet and falsely attributing it to someone else), [2] fake victim blog posts (pretending to be a victim of the individual whose reputation they want to destroy), and [3] posting “negative information” on various forums.


Gaining Full Control

It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavorable postings – and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public.

The goal is to only have forum postings favorable to your desired point of view present.

This is the ‘ultimate victory’ as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed.

However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a ‘honey pot’ gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes. The object is to gain full control.

Prohibit Non Approved Opinion

The powers-that-be understand that if the government can control speech, it controls thought and, in turn, it can control the minds of the citizenry. In fact, some of this past century’s greatest dystopian authors warned of this very danger.

  • In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, reading is banned and books are burned in order to suppress dissenting ideas, while televised entertainment is used to anesthetize the populace and render them easily pacified, distracted and controlled.
  • In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, serious literature, scientific thinking and experimentation are banned as subversive, while critical thinking is discouraged through the use of conditioning, social taboos and inferior education. Likewise, expressions of individuality, independence and morality are viewed as vulgar and abnormal.
  • In George Orwell’s 1984, Big Brother does away with all undesirable and unnecessary words and meanings, even going so far as to routinely rewrite history and punish “thoughtcrimes.”
  • And in almost every episode of Twilight Zone, Rod Serling urged viewers to unlock their minds and free themselves of prejudice, hate, violence and fear. “We’re developing a new citizenry,” Serling declared. “One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won’t be able to think.”

Conclusion

Yes, the manipulation of speech is an important tool for the control of people.

And we see a lot of this in regards to politics. Specifically in politics related to “democracies”, which pretty much rely upon “mob rule” to select the leadership. Thus we see that data in democracies are subject to popular opinion and thus must also be manipulated.

So, we see that in a “democracy”…

  • Leadership and politics are heavily involved in censorship and manipulation.
  • And in data sets and metrics of success, leadership also manipulates heavily.

But this is not the case in other forms of governance.

In totalitarian, and Republic forms of governance, there is no need to appease the population, thus there really isn’t a need to manipulate or censor. You can use China as a good example.

China
There was an outbreak of COVID-XXX in ZhangXin on March XXXX. 2,338 were infected, 388 died, and 78 were arrested for non-compliance with the mask law. 

The Chinese don’t need to lie about these figures, or the presentation of them. They are facts. And whether you like them or not, agree with them or not, or anything else has no bearing on the issue. They do not CARE about your opinion.

Compare that to America, where mob opinion is very important and can result in positive or negative opinions of the leadership. Eventually resulting in their termination if things go bad.

USA
COVID-XXXX hits Boston. 456 infected, 34 deaths. But these figures are not verified by a secondary source and there are indications that they might be artificially enlarged by confusing it with the influenza. A government spokesperson admitted that there were a "few" deaths, but that everything was under control and a vaccine is under production right now to prevent further infections. Further, the vast majority of those that died had prior conditions, were old and feeble, or had other complication.

Sound familiar?

Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM.

Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM.

.

Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precedence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them.

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Ghost Gliders: Spanish Narco-Submarines

One of the things that I truly appreciate is how we all somehow come up with solutions to problems. Some of those solutions are truly amazing and noteworthy. As (for example) what Eddie Van Halen did to his guitar when he couldn’t afford a wah-wah petal. And as a tinkerer, and inventor, I just cannot help but be attracted to DIY articles and stories of making… stuff and things.

Here’s an interesting article about narco-submarines. These are miniature submarines that are used to transport contraband (illegal to own objects) to a hungry clientele behind the United States grand wall of isolation. We read about these vehicles and objects from time to time, but this is the first article that I have come across that had some real depth to it.

The following article is titled “Ghost Gliders: Spanish Narco-Submarines” written by H I Sutton, on Mon, 08/31/2020 – 7:38pm. It came from the Small Wars Journal. All credit to the author. Please note that it was reproduced pretty much intact with only minor editing to fit this venue.

Ghost Gliders: Spanish Narco-Submarines

By H I Sutton

We tend to think of (so-called) narco-submarines as a Latin American phenomenon.

Properly speaking they are LPVs (Low Profile Vessels); alternatively SPSS (Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible—I do not use this term).

Locally in Latin America they are known as ‘narcosubmarinos’ or ‘semisumergibles.’ Now we have another Spanish name to add to the list, ‘planeadora fantasma,’ meaning ‘Ghost Glider.’

This is because narco-submarines are not confined to the Americas. Similar methods being used elsewhere, most noticeably in Spain.

The most widely reported Spanish narco-submarine (and I use this colloquial term unapologetically), was found on 24 November 2019 on the Galician coast. The 72 feet long craft was large and carried over 3 tons of narcotics, but it was otherwise like the ones found in the Pacific or Caribbean.

In contrast, the one found in the same area on 13 August 2006 was completely unique. And the same can be said of the latest ‘Ghost Glider,’ found on 27 August 2020. The basic difference is that the November 2019 boat was built in Latin America while the other two were built in Spain.

Different ideas, conditions and modus operandi have led to different approaches in design.

Locally in Latin America they are known as ‘narcosubmarinos’ or ‘semisumergibles.’ Now we have another Spanish name to add to the list, ‘planeadora fantasma,’ meaning ‘Ghost Glider.’
Ghost Glider designs.

Three ‘Types’ of Spanish Narco-Submaries: ‘Vigo’ FSV, ‘Transatlantic’ and LPV, ‘Ghost Glider’ LPV/GFV. Source: H I Sutton, 2020.

2006 Vigo Narco-submarine

An elaborate artisan submarine was found abandoned off Spain’s Galician coast near Vigo on 13 August 2006

2006 Vigo Narco-submarine

This is about the time that narco-submarines, as we would recognize them today, were beginning to be interdicted in Latin America.

It was a FSV (fully submersible vessel), 36ft (11 meters) long and 6.5ft (2 meters) across. And unlike LPVs, was able to fully submerge, down to a depth of about 10ft (3 meters).

Underwater it was powered by batteries driving two electric motors.

And it had over 1,000 gallons of fuel for surface running. It was estimated to be capable to carrying about 1 ton of cargo. Other aspects were also relatively advanced, including a folding snorkel mast and radar antenna.

Despite its sophistication there is no suggestion that this tiny craft was suitable for transatlantic voyages. More likely it was intended to rendezvous with another ship offshore, pick up the drugs and transport them back to the Spanish shore.

2019 Narco-Submarine

A regular LPV of the style we see in Latin America.

There is compelling evidence that this was designed by the same master boat builder who is responsible for several others. Design details, such as a small splitter plate ahead of the cockpit windows and the V-shaped hull, create a ‘designer’s fingerprint’. This allows us to tie together multiple incidents.

The first LPV from this designer was interdicted by the Colombian Navy on 3 January 2019. Since then at least four more have been found, the most recent being found in its jungle boat yard
2019 Narco-Submarine

The first LPV from this designer was interdicted by the Colombian Navy on 3 January 2019. Since then at least four more have been found, the most recent being found in its jungle boat yard  on 6 August 2020. This last one was unusually large, being about 100 feet (30 meters) long. In fact all of the LPVs attributed to this unknown master boat builder stand out against their peers.

But we should not make too much of the particular designer. If the 2019 narco-submarine could cross the Atlantic, virtually any large LPV could. In overall terms it was not remarkable. This should be more alarming to Law Enforcement than if it was in some way special.

Current thinking, based on publicly available information, is that it was built in the Colombian jungle near the inland border with Brazil. It then sailed all the way down the Amazon to the coast before setting off across the Atlantic. It went via the Azores before heading towards Galicia.

planeadora fantasma

This latest craft sits between the go-fast vessel (GFV) category and LPVs.

Again, it is a unique design unlike those seen in Latin America. It takes a power boat hull, adds a hard RIB collar and then a built-up covered superstructure. It is not currently—based on public sources—possible to say how low it sat in the water. Possibly the collar was part of a ballast system. However we can say that it was intended to avoid detection, hence ‘ghost glider’. It was painted in a way that appears intended to deceive any observers.

It takes a power boat hull, adds a hard RIB collar and then a built-up covered superstructure. It is not currently—based on public sources—possible to say how low it sat in the water. Possibly the collar was part of a ballast system. However we can say that it was intended to avoid detection, hence ‘ghost glider’. It was painted in a way that appears intended to deceive any observers.
Ghost Glider; planeadora fantasma.

The term ‘planeadora’ refers to a speed boat, and ‘planeadora fantasma’ has previously been used to describe the custom go-fast vessels also used off Spain. These craft are often RIBs and several have been specially modified for the task. Most famously the massive 59ft (18 m) seven engine ‘Monstruo’ stopped in 2009.

This latest vessel is about 39 ft (12 meters) long and could possibly carry a few tons of cocaine. The extensive grab rails and aft-sloping cargo hatch suggest that it is designed to be loaded at sea, which makes sense. So like the 2006 Vigo submarine, it is likely intended to meet other ships offshore and then bring the drugs ashore.

It could easy be put into the GFV category instead. But its elaborate construction and emphasis on deception (as opposed to raw speed) makes a strong case for it being a narco-submarine. It is certainly not just a typical GFV.

Going Transatlantic

The Spanish narco-submarine traffic appears to be centered, on Galician drug gangs. This may be skewed by reported incidents, but all three have been discovered in Galicia in the North of Spain. Portugal, Ireland, France and the United Kingdom also appear to be logical landing points.

A beached narco sub.
Narco Sub.

My suggestion is that the Cape Verde Islands and Azores are stopping off points for transatlantic narco-submarines. They likely meet supply vessels in the area.

ACK 3, a Spanish company specializing in defense, intelligence and security consulting which advises European and Latin American military and law enforcement units suggests that language may be a factor. Brazilian crews can communicate with the local population on these islands using Portuguese.

Some of the transatlantic narco-subs may transship their cargo to other vessels along the way. Trawlers operating out of Spain seem the most obvious candidates. But I have not seen any information in the public domain to substantiate this theory. Another possibility is that the drugs are transferred to large cargo vessels heading to Northern Europe or even to North America.

These vessels may be coming from a low-risk port so not be tainted in the way that a cargo ship crossing from Latin America might be.

Interception of a smuggling vessel.
Interception of a smuggling vessel.

So we can speculate that a Latin American built LPV could set off from Brazil (or Venezuela, Suriname or Guyana) and rendezvouses with a cargo ship off Cape Verde or the Azores. The cargo would be transshipped and the cargo vessel (or fishing vessel) heads north towards Europe. Off the Portuguese or Spanish coast, while still out at sea, it is met by a ‘ghost glider’ like the one seized in August 2020. The transshipping can occur at night, and the drugs are landed in a remote beach in Galicia. Local drugs gangs may only be able to control access to the landing point for a few hours. So some of the drugs may be dropped in pre-determined lurks awaiting retrieval by scuba divers at a later time.

Outlook

It seems that it is now a case of when, rather than if, another transatlantic narco- submarine appears. And even if none are interdicted, it seems a sure bet that they are out there. And together with ‘ghost gliders’ and less exotic means, drugs trafficking organizations are still able to land their products on European shores.

The narco-submarine model for cocaine trafficking presents European law enforcement with a number of challenges. Detection, tracking and interdiction may all be different compared to the Pacific and Caribbean. And the vast expanse of ocean, often in harsh weather, may stretch existing patrol forces; however, SIGINT, UAVs and new satellite technology such as the Hawkeye 360 constellation may prove powerful tools.

Conclusion

Nations and governments use “vices” to control the population. When they ban or tax, or regulate things, people find ways to engage in their vices without government interference. While dug abuse is a big problem in America, it’s not a problem in areas that don’t ban the drugs.

Mexico doesn’t have half the drug problem that America has, but it doesn’t have the same laws either. The same is true for China. Yes, smoking marijuana is seriously against the law, but that is pretty much the only thing that is. You can get just about any medication over the counter without a doctor’s prescription and there just isn’t a serious drug abuse problem there.

Anyways…

I am not advocating the use of drugs.

What I am saying is that governments use up a ton load of money, personnel and resources trying to ban things. While, instead they should be dealing with those individuals who have a physiological problem with drugs. You go after the problem. Not the symptoms.

The world needs to start looking at things in new ways with new “eyes”.

The old ways are failing left and right. The solution to the problems that ails the world isn’t more bans, regulations and restrictions, but rather a complete loss of control by the few at the PTB level.

More freedom on the individual level.

Less power and control from the governing bodies.

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What is all this stuff about cryptocurrency and blockchain? And what does it mean to society?

"The US federal budget is on an unsustainable path, has been for some time. But this is not the time to give priority to those concerns."

- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

The world is changing. As I have covered in other posts, the technology that mankind is adopting is causing a great deal of social change. But not like one would expect. It’s not just using a smart phone instead of a rotary dial up phone. It’s not just using a Car Ride APP instead of hailing a taxi. It’s more than that…

It is disrupting many “imprisonment” and “stratification” schemes. Schemes that have become so ingrained into society that we (mistakenly) believe that they are a fundamental part of what our society is.

A stratification scheme is one in which a sentience (or a way of thinking and acting) forces upon society a special system of control. It is a system where they have advantage over other groups of people. And they control the access to this system. They let some people in, and leave others out. It's an exclusive system. As the saying goes in America "they control what will happen, and you ain't a part of it".

The caste system in India is a good example of this. But there are many others.

Most especially in America. 

Think of any system where you need to go through a "gauntlet of approvals" to get something done. And then discover that the ones who "had it easy", and did not need to fight through that gauntlet (such as the wealthy and the "well connected") were sitting here smug when you finally (after many hoop jumps) arrived. These systems have saturated America today.

It is at a point that a "diversity" movement has organized to give others (who normally are restricted from entering these stratified societies) a chance to "break through" those invisible "glass walls".

These schemes…

… such as the Banking System, and the University System, and the Media System are all under stress and being replaced. (There are many others, such as the Judicial system, the Professional Registration System, and the Internet Paywall systems.) These schemes developed over time as a way for one group of people to have benefit over others. It was a way to control others (not overtly) but through quiet manipulation.

Most Americans are aware that corruption exists.

However, they point to some other nation. A nation that they read about in the “news”, and repeat loudly “America is the best nation on the earth!”. “America has problems” they retort, but it is not as bad as the rest of the world.

How do they know this mantra?

The American “news” media told them. That’s how.

Just stay in your little prison you mindless, deplorable debit serfs. Be content with your pathetic way of life. And work! Work! Work! If not, then the system will keep you so drugged up that you will be incapable of rising up and rebelling.

True, to some degree, more or less, the rest of the world engages in petty corruption. A cup of tea here, a few dollars there. However, in America, it is institutionalized and legalized at an enormous wholesale level. All by serious long-time crooks and con-artists.

The Presidential election of 2016 was a choice between two "mafia" bosses;

[1] Democrat - The Clinton Crime Syndicate. Hillary Clinton.
[2] Republican - A New York Casino Owner - Donald Trump.

But, people fought back…

The control of the media was the first battle.

Seemingly overnight, in the 1990’s, all sorts of alternatives to the mainstream media popped up. And the PTB were ending up exhausted trying to fright this “wack a mole” phenomenon. But they eventually won. The alternative media tended to cluster in groups by political extremes. So the PTB, and their government bodies, just simply ended up controlling the multiple media outlets. They now control the narratives for all Alt-Left, Alt-Right, and Mainstream media. And, the battle is not over. They are tightening their control over this medium in all sorts of ways.

The control over who works and who doesn’t is controlled by “the University System”. Over time, now a days, almost all positions except for semi-skilled and unskilled work requires a university degree. It’s pretty bad when a receptionist position needs to have a four year college education to work.

Well, that system is starting to fracture and crash.

And as I see it, it is going down in flames, and very little in the way of alternatives (in America) are replacing it. Overseas, in Europe and China, it’s a completely different matter. I think that I will cover this issue later on in another post, as it is interesting, and very complex.

And the control of the money / Banks is what I just talked about in my latest post. The systems have been set up to permit a small number of people great control over the lives of the rest of us, and it has resulted in ridiculous levels of wealth and poverty. And other nations (better run, stronger, and more capable) are coming up with solutions. Solutions complete with armed police to prevent corruption and abuse of the system.

Key to these new replacements for the paper-backed (not gold backed) banking industry is something called Cryptocurrency.

The following is a complete reprint of the article titled “What is Cryptocurrency?” written by Adam Levy (TMFnCaffeine) on Mar 11, 2018. It was edited to fit this venue. All credit to the author.

What Is Cryptocurrency?

Everything you need to know about this new form of electronic cash.

Cryptocurrency went mainstream in 2017 as the price of bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, soared over 13-fold during the year.

It’s often called “digital gold,” as some of the characteristics of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are similar to the precious metal often used as a store of value. But that comparison doesn’t do it justice.

Cryptocurrency is an electronic cash system that doesn’t rely on central banks or trusted third parties to verify transactions and create new units. Instead, it uses cryptography to confirm transactions on a publicly distributed ledger called the blockchain, enabling direct peer-to-peer payments.

That definition might seem downright cryptographic right now, but by the end of this overview, you won’t need a decryption key to understand crypto.

Today we’ll cover:

  1. The creation of bitcoin and the blockchain, the underlying technology of all decentralized cryptocurrency.
  2. How the blockchain solves the problems associated with prior virtual currencies.
  3. How cryptocurrency transactions work without central banks.
  4. The function of cryptocurrency “miners.”
  5. How to buy cryptocurrency.

The early history of cryptocurrency

In 2009, a programmer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto created bitcoin, the first ever cryptocurrency. Satoshi also created the blockchain technology, which makes all decentralized cryptocurrencies possible.

The blockchain was created as a solution to the “double-spending problem,” which arises in virtual currencies because it’s easy to duplicate digital information. A person could make a copy of his or her digital currency information and send both the original and the copy to separate parties.

Sort of like using a Xerox machine to make extra stacks of dollar bills.

Before bitcoin and blockchain, virtual currency relied on trusted third parties to prevent double spending. But Satoshi wanted to develop a decentralized currency, which meant finding a way for the network of bitcoin users to verify transactions.

“The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work,” Satoshi wrote in the abstract of the white paper announcing bitcoin.

This was the earliest description of the blockchain.

Why is it called a blockchain?

A block is a collection of transaction data on the cryptocurrency network.

It basically says Person A sent this much to Person B.

It also includes important information that allows the rest of the network to verify the validity of the block -- such as the solution to a complex math problem -- called a proof-of-work. While the math problem is hard to solve, it's very easy for others to verify a valid solution.
The Block-Chain Process.

As well as saying Person X sent this much to Person Y.

In a way, it is like the sales receipt that the chick at Burger King gives you when you buy a #1 Whopper Meal.

It also includes important information that allows the rest of the network to verify the validity of the block — such as the solution to a complex math problem — called a proof-of-work. While the math problem is hard to solve, it’s very easy for others to verify a valid solution. New blocks cannot be amended to the blockchain without a valid solution.

A block also includes a reference to the block that immediately precedes it. Thus, the blocks create a chain linking one to another through those references.

New blocks cannot be amended to the blockchain without a valid solution.
A “block chain” is created by linking all the blocks together.

The reference to the preceding block is accomplished through something called a cryptographic hash function. A hash function takes a set of data and maps it to a string of letters and numbers called a digest. If anything in the data changes, the resulting hash digest will change as well.

Chaining blocks together by using a hash function to reference the preceding block adds a great level of security to the system. To change a block in the ledger, a hacker would have to reproduce the entire chain of blocks following it, since it would create a chain of invalid hash values referencing the previous block.

It is sort of like making Xerox copies of your Burger King receipt and sending the copies (marked "copy") to everyone in your city.
GIF of how the block-chain system works.
How block-chain works.

How does a cryptocurrency transaction work?

Cryptocurrency is used for direct peer-to-peer payments anywhere in the world.

The speed of transactions varies based on currency and confirmation requirements, but it’s generally very fast compared with traditional banking systems. Where banks can take days to transfer money, cryptocurrency transfers happen in minutes.

  • Bank transactions = days.
  • Cryptocurrency transactions = minutes.

In general, cryptocurrency transactions go through the following steps before they get added to the blockchain.

  1. A person requests a transaction, and the request is sent to the entire network.
  2. Each computer on the network collects all concurrent transactions into a block, along with a timestamp for each transaction.
  3. Each computer works on solving the difficult math problem to add the block to the blockchain. This process is called “mining.”
  4. Once a computer finds a valid solution, it broadcasts the block to the rest of the network.
  5. The network checks the solution as well as compares transactions in the block against the current blockchain to prevent double spending.
  6. The block is added to the chain, showing the transaction was completed.

Once a block is added to the chain, that block gets hashed and is used to create the next block. The process continually repeats itself.

As such, transactions are practically irreversible, much the same way as if you give someone cash (hence calling it an electronic cash system). As mentioned, the chaining of one block to another means someone would have to edit the entire chain of blocks to change a transaction.

Once a block is added to the chain, that block gets hashed and is used to create the next block. The process continually repeats itself.
How the blockchain process works.

Since blocks are continually added to a chain, it’s extremely unlikely someone will be able to propagate an updated chain of blocks to the network before the rest of the network produces the next block and extends the chain further.

Every transaction needs a signature

Just as credit cards use your signature to verify you authorized a purchase, cryptocurrency uses a signature as well …

… a digital signature.

Transactions are secured through a cryptography system called public key encryption. Each user has both a public key and a private key associated with his or her account.

To authorize a transaction, users must prove they know their private key by using it as an input into a cryptographic hash function similar to the one used to link blocks together in the blockchain. That’s called signing the digest. The private key is used to write that “digital signature,” so it’s very important that the private key remains private.

  • Public Key = Each person in the transaction gets a copy.
  • Private Key = One (and only one) for each person involved.

What do miners do?

With no central banks deciding when to print more money, a cryptocurrency needs to define how to create new units of the currency. Many cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, distribute new units to miners as an incentive for verifying transactions on the blockchain.

  • “Cryptominers” verify transactions on the blockchain.
  • They are paid in bitcoin for their labors.

Miners work to solve the difficult math problem or other proof-of-work systems within every block of the blockchain. They also work to verify the solutions. Running all these calculations have real-world costs, including buying hardware and using electricity.

The difficulty of the math problem for bitcoin blocks is automatically adjusted such that the combined processing power of the network takes about 10 minutes to solve the problem on average. 

When a miner successfully adds a block to the bitcoin blockchain, that miner also earns the right to take a reward. The winning miner’s bitcoin address is recorded in the block.

For instance…

  • The reward started at 50 bitcoins per block.
  • That number is halved every 210,000 blocks (or about every four years).
  • The current reward for adding a block is now 12.5 bitcoins, and that number will fall to 6.25 around June 2020.

At some point, the reward for solving a block in the bitcoin blockchain will become extremely small. By 2140, miners will have mined all 21 million bitcoins that will ever be in circulation. At that point, the incentive for miners to update and verify the blockchain will come from transaction fees. Some cryptocurrencies already rely on relatively high transaction fees to offer miners incentive.

Bitcoin miners (cryptominers) used to make their money in bitcoin for mining. Now, their primary source of income is in (high) transaction fees.

Transaction fees are currently relatively small for bitcoin, but if transaction volume doesn’t climb to compensate for the decrease in block rewards, transaction fees will have to increase to compensate miners.

How to buy cryptocurrency

It’s no longer practical to use your home computer, or even a custom-built bitcoin mining computer, to mine bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies.

Most people will get a better return by buying it through a cryptocurrency exchange.

A cryptocurrency exchange allows consumers to change their fiat currency, like U.S. dollars, into cryptocurrency like bitcoin.

A cryptocurrency exchange works just like any other exchange, such as a stock exchange. It matches buyers and sellers based on a book of orders. As orders are added to the book, the exchange matches buyers willing to pay the same amount (or more) than sellers are requesting.
Cryptocurrency trading process.

A cryptocurrency exchange works just like any other exchange, such as a stock exchange. It matches buyers and sellers based on a book of orders. As orders are added to the book, the exchange matches buyers willing to pay the same amount (or more) than sellers are requesting.

“What is cryptocurrency” revisited

To recap, I defined cryptocurrency as …

"an electronic cash system that doesn't rely on central banks or trusted third parties to verify transactions and create new units. Instead, it uses cryptography to confirm transactions on a publicly distributed ledger called the blockchain, enabling direct peer-to-peer payments."

Let’s break that down.

  • An electronic cash system“: Cryptocurrency has no physical form. Ownership is determined by the digital record found in the blockchain.
  • Uses cryptography“: Transaction requests are authorized and confirmed through public key encryption. The blockchain also uses encryption to link blocks to one another.
  • Confirm transactions“: The chain of transaction data in the blocks allows the network to verify that a transaction hasn’t already occurred — the double spending problem — and to add new transactions to the ledger.
  • A publicly distributed ledger“: The blockchain ledger is available to all the computers on the network. In fact, its publicity is essential to making the entire system work. By keeping an updated transaction ledger on every computer on the network, the system is able to protect against changes to the blockchain and verify transactions and ownership.
  • Direct peer-to-peer payments“: Payments never go through a central banking system or trusted third party but instead simply move from payer to payee. This process increases the speed of transactions and reduces the fees associated with transferring money.

Cryptocurrency is a complex new form of electronic cash. With no reliance on central banks to confirm transactions or authorize the creation of new units, it can dramatically reduce the fees and time associated with moving money around the world.

Conclusion

People are still coming up with new applications for blockchain technology and new cryptocurrencies every day. With this basic overview of what cryptocurrency is, you can start developing a deeper understanding of the various currencies available.

"The only stable and viable solution for the species to survive is a new eco-civilisation, based on a global non-market economic system, in which the private tyranny of the market – a global plutocratic elite of profit mongers – and anti-democratic oligarchic political systems do no longer rule the destiny of the people," 

-Dieterich

Make no mistake, banking systems, and the way they operate is changing. Whether it will happen soon (with the e-yuan system currently in use) or in the distant future,(if the PTB that control America has their way), it will happen.

I think that it is important to understand that things are changing and the old way of doing things are being supplanted with better, fairer and more complete systems. And those that lived off the corruption of the old systems are not going to go away peacefully in the night. Instead they will fight. They will fight tooth and nail to keep the status quo.

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The benefits of being able to fight

After 75 years of non-stop narrative that “fighting is the last resort of fools”, and that a “kinder and gentler nation” is at hand, what has America turned into? Instead of being a male-driven patriarchal society, what has the feminization movement brought America to? Is it actually a well-behaved, respectful and fair place?

No.

No it isn’t.

It’s a non-stop sequences of cat-fights, and verbal assaults with regulations on just about every action that you could think of.

It’s true. Have you ever wondered about Social Media? Doesn’t it more resemble two teenage girls fighting in eighth grade than two grown adults having a conversation?

Well. Guess what? It’s a Western phenomenon. It is something that has occurred in nations that have adopted a progressive social structure, the r/K society has developed and all discourse has degenerated to that level. While other nations, more traditional in nature, really doesn’t have this problem.

Guess what else this “improvement” on society has created?

The Karen.

My mom is a Karen whose name is actually Karen. Simply put, I haven’t seen her in over a year because I couldn’t take it anymore. Living with her was just an exhausting nightmare.

Karen’s world revolves around Karen. Nobody else’s issues matter. If you tell her that you had a bad day, she’ll give you 20 reasons why her day was worse. You worked 60 hours this week? Well, when she was your age, she would work 80. You’re in the hospital after having major surgery? She has a pinched nerve in her arm, which is somehow worse. Your boyfriend cheated on you? She couldn’t even begin to tell you about all the heartbreak she’s experienced in her life.

She complains left and right about anything and everything. If you’re taking a week break after just getting back from college, she’ll ask why you haven’t gotten a job yet and claim you’re lazy. If you’re out to eat at a restaurant the food is always too cold or too burnt or too salty. You can only ever go to the places SHE wants to go to, because everything else is crap. My entire graduation dinner she complained about how cold the food was.

She THRIVES in getting attention and constantly seeks it, but she has very few ACTUAL friends. Facebook is her lifeblood and she’s always looking to start something on there. She’s the queen of sharing uninformed, misguided, conservative propaganda, which always starts fights in her comments. Also, if a tragedy happens in the family (like the passing of my teenage cousin), she’ll make a big scene on Facebook and expect condolences from anyone and everyone, and makes note of the people who don’t give her what she wants.

Don’t even get me started on the blatant racism. I’ve heard everything from, “watch out for black people on the subway. They’ll try to take your purse” to “It should be illegal for those Muslims to cover their faces. You should be able to see someone’s face.” One of my best friends is black and she once told me, “He’s one of the good ones. They should all be like him.”

-12 People Reveal What’s It Like To Be Related To A ‘Karen’

So, in nations that have not adopted the progressive societal structure, they are able to have more or less pretty inoffensive comment sections on social media. The people tend to be more respectful and much more polite.

Like…

  • Poland.
  • Brazil.
  • Russia.
  • China.
  • Japan.

Ah. America. Home of the pussy-ants pansies beta clucks.

I argue that traditional management of society from the personal level through to the government level is a very important element of the success of that nation. When you try to “improve” it by implementing change, you need to set forth a sequence of trials, and monitor their results carefully. You just don’t set up some kind of movement and force the rest of the world to conform to your madness.

America changed.

And today everything that you see around you is a consequence of that change.

And I, for one, do not like it.

I like family units where everyone has a role. I like polite discussion and discourse. I like to be able to buy something and not pay hidden fees, taxes, or read down a long list of warnings and advisement. I like a world where I can shake someones hand, look him in the eye, and make a lasting contract. I like a world where mothers are respected, and grandparents live in your house with you. I like a world where you are respected as a person.

Sigh.

Ah. There is nothing wrong with human nature, and if you all want to be passive, beta clucks. Fine. But you all will be eaten alive by very vicious, hungry wolves.

This is a great article worth a read. It’s about one of the aspects of what a man is. He’s a person who is not afraid to kick up a little bit of dust from time to time.

The following is a complete reprint of “14 Indisputable Benefits of Learning How to Fight“. It was written on 7 October 2020. Edited to fit this venue, and all credit to the author.

14 Indisputable Benefits of Learning How to Fight

Scene from the television show the Sopranos.
Just some guys talking. Right? But you know, don’t you, you know not to cross them or mess with them. Why? Is is because they are going to say things that will hurt your feelings? Is that why you don’t want to mess with them.

Everybody knows the benefits of lifting weights but it isn’t the only game in town that can build your body and mind. Learning how to fight also has a place as one of the key things all men (and wo

men) should do to get the most out of their life experience. Sound like an exaggeration? It’s really not, especially when you consider learning how to fight has been a rite of passage since the beginning of time in many dominant cultures. It is only in recent times that the practice of channeled aggression has been given a bad rap.

The practice of fighting, or learning a martial art, is especially valuable for men, for whom the acting out of aggression, the desire to dominate, the ability to look after ones’ family or tribe, as well as having the camaraderie of like-minded males, is a huge factor in wellbeing and something that modern society constantly deprives them of.

The ability to challenge others, to endure pain, and the knowledge that you can look after yourself physically, are very underrated factors that contribute to high levels of functioning in other areas of life. Learning how to fight doesn’t mean you have to go around bashing heads in but, knowing you could if you had to, can make all the difference between a timid boy and a dominant man.

If you are still not sure how learning how to fight can benefit you, the 12 reasons below should clear up any confusion.

1) Learning how to fight builds unbreakable confidence

Have you ever seen a fighter who looks timid and scared of the world?

Didn’t think so.

The knowledge of knowing you can take anyone on and, in all probability, defeat them in a physical contest can do wonders for self-confidence. You may think this is crude or uncivilized. Nevertheless, we are fighting animals that have survived because of our ability to think and defeat enemies.

Most of the giant ancient civilizations that we know were masters of violence and war, and this is still true today.

Being able to fight gives us the assurance we can take care of ourselves and the people who are dear to us. It also ensures that our confidence is not based on anything external, like possessions or material goods.

Our confidence, therefore, cannot be taken away and is literally unbreakable.

2) Learning how to fight teaches persistence

If you hadn’t already guessed, learning how to fight is tough.

Training to get into fighting shape is brutal.

The actual fighting is dangerous and extremely violent.

Even sparring is rough if you underestimate what you are up against. All of this combines over time to build your mental and physical toughness.

As you go forward and resist the urge to quit, you learn persistence and why it is so valued as the secret of success. It takes persistence to get up when you keep getting your ass kicked. It takes persistence to throw another kick when it feels as though your leg is about to drop off.

Learning to take action anyway will deeply affect your success in other areas of life.

3) Learning how to fight teaches us how to control our emotions

When we are first learning how to fight, things are not going to be rosy.

Our bodies (and, quite possibly, our faces) are going to get beaten up.

We are going to be tired beyond our wildest dreams.

One thing that fighting does during this process is teach us how to control our emotions.

We will no doubt come up against a lot of fear, anger and frustration as we master techniques and get knocked down by more experienced challengers. We may encounter some negative emotions that we have stuffed down since childhood that fighting is finally allowing us to let go of. Though this process is bumpy at best, it is cathartic. Over time, we will learn to do what we have to do to achieve our goals, regardless of how we are feeling.

This mastery of thoughts and emotions is priceless, for lasting confidence and well being.

4) Learning how to fight is a great way to relieve stress

As we mentioned above, the process of learning how to fight can be physically exhausting. Keeping your mental edge during a fight so you don’t get knocked the hell out is exhausting.

There is natural satisfaction that comes from good, honest physical work – however violent – and when we are done for the day we will feel good.

After a few hours you will be soaked in sweat, with muscles shaking, and all you will want to do is eat something and go to sleep. Over time, this routine of hard work and pushing through the pain will eliminate a huge amount of stress from your life.

5) Learning how to fight takes you a long way from your comfort zone

There is nothing more uncomfortable than being thrown into our situation you are not familiar with.

Learning how to fight is no exception in this case.

It is unlikely, upon first entering the gym you wish to train in, you will be met by big smiles and fireworks. Instead, you are going to have to earn the respect of the more experienced people in there.

You will have to work hard and show you are not another person who is going to come for two weeks and then not show up again.

Voluntarily sailing away from you comfort zone like this is courageous act and, in overcoming what you were afraid of in the first place (new people, no experience etc.), you will be rewarded with a level of self-esteem that can never be taken away from you.

Experience stepping out of your comfort zone more and more often and it will rapidly start to expand.

6) Learning how to fight will get you in the best shape of your life

It doesn’t matter how much weight lifting you do or how many miles you run during the week – training to fight is another ballgame entirely.

For one, you will need to work for many hours before you are competent at certain skills, and even then you will be nowhere near mastering all of the nuances that come with real fighting.

The training fighters do to be able to withstand punishment and dish it back out is brutal and your conditioning is going to level up as a result. Sparring or grappling for 3-5 minute rounds is no joke, even for an elite athlete. One huge bonus of all this punishment? You will actually look as tough as you are for once, rather than looking hard but running scared like a lot of bodybuilders.

With the right set of rules governing your training and nutrition, you should be able to stay in shape all year with no extra effort needed.

7) Learning how to fight teaches you discipline

The skill and sport of fighting shares this with all other types of physical competition.

Its takes prolonged discipline to see the fruits of your labor.

This means getting up early to fit in a training session, eating right, living right, foregoing too much alcohol and getting a good night’s sleep.

Having the mental discipline to stick to this routine, despite all of the obvious temptations of instant gratification around you, will set you apart from others as time goes by.

Success is not an overnight thing but, with continuous discipline, it will come to you just as sure as the hands on the clock will continue going around.

8) Learning how to fight will force you to get out of your own head

Too many of us spend days feeling self-conscious and disempowered because we spend too long in our own heads.

From birth and childhood, we have been implanted with a lot of negative beliefs that don’t serve us, all of which are going around in a continual loop in our subconscious minds.

To sit and listen to them for too long is tantamount to throwing all of our hard-earned confidence and self-esteem out of the window.

Aside from consciously practicing positivity, we also need to spend time out of our heads, doing something physical. Hitting the gym can be good. Having sex is good. Learning how to fight is a great way to do this. We have no choice but to be totally present in our bodies and to reject intruding thoughts, or else we might catch a sharp right to the jaw.

Forcing ourselves to be in the moment – rather than withdrawing mentally and emotionally – is great practice for other pressure situations that may occur in our lives, including business meetings or family emergencies.

9) Learning how to fight allows you to express yourself physically

Despite what modern thinking will tell you, men are inherently physical and prone to violence.

According to Rodney King, in his essay How Martial Arts Can Supercharge Your Man Spirit, 90% of violent acts that happen today will be committed by men.

The great majority of the victims of this violence will be men. The physical expression of aggression and the thrill of war have long been swept under the rug as the dark side of the human psyche.

In today’s world, our violence is played out in movies, in computer games, in the board room, or in politics.

As entertaining as this, it leaves a lot of men feeling repressed and emasculated.

Learning how to fight remedies this need for challenge and violence completely. Through training and sparring you can express yourself physically in a relative safe, socially-condoned environment, which will make you finally feel like the dominant person that you are.

Don’t believe it?

Go and find out for yourself and report back.

10) Learning how to fight gives you the opportunity to compete for something

Just as men inherently crave confrontation and violence, they also crave competition for something.

In this day and age, most major competition is relegated to professional sports or business.

When you learn how to fight, and decide to fight against others in competition, you unleash that latent part of you. You will learn the reward of real competition and putting it all out there, willing and finding a way to win.

Make no mistake – we all want to win.

This is not ‘bad’ or to be punished.

It is just natural.

Fighting in proper environment can give us the buzz of competition without any unfavorable repercussions.

11) Learning how to fight forces us to take action and master ourselves

We aren’t all born with the action habit.

Some of us are never taught that no-hesitation killer instinct that sets the super-achievers apart from the crowds.

Many of us procrastinate and put things off, mostly because we fear being rejected by those who are close to us.

When we learn how to fight, we have to tackle this inability to take action head on. We have to learn to act, regardless of how we feel, otherwise we are going to get our lights turned out.

This ability to do things when we don’t feel like it is one of the secrets of really productive people that always seem to be achieving something.

Master yourself and cultivate the habit of taking action and you will see huge changes in the direction of your life. All of a sudden, you will be in control.

12) Learning how to fight puts us into contact with more dominant, like-minded individuals

There is a famous quote that states we are a combination of the 5 people we hang out with the most.

Whether this is true or not, the people we spend a lot of time have a huge influence on our thoughts and behavior. Prolonged interaction will make certain traits ‘rub off on you’, whether you are aware of it at the time or not.

Hanging out with others who are learning how to fight then, in an MMA gym or dojo or whatever, ensures you are interacting with like-minded individuals who are aware of who they are inside. Think about the people who fight – dominant, powerful, alpha individuals who set goals and get what they want.

Having that camaraderie, as well as that mindset rub off on you, is never going to hurt anything.

13) Learning how to fight makes you far more attractive

As much as women (and men) protest that they don’t like violence and hate people who fight, its mostly all lies fed by society.

The fact is, people (especially women) are attracted to those who can hold their own physically and win a fight.

This shows in many ways that they are a dominant individual who is more than capable of looking after a family – a very attractive trait.

Most fighters are also very at ease in their own skin and super-confident in themselves, which comes through in their body language and the way they interact with people. This is a far-cry from some weightlifters who compensate for their inner anxieties by building large muscles.

The fact is, women don’t care all that much about big muscles.

They want a strong, confident man who can take care of things and keep them safe.

Want to be more attractive?

Learn how to fight.

14) Learning how to fight supplies us with a powerful, positive philosophy of life that we can carry with us always

Acquiring the will, skill and attitude of the warrior is not all about physical ability.

Most fighting schools, and in particular martial arts, are brilliant for instilling a philosophy of respect, discipline and hard work upon their students.

These ancient philosophies help us keep things in perspective, keep our egos from running wild, and ensure we treat our newfound powers with great respect and responsibility.

This code of honor is not just applicable on the training mats, in the ring or in the octagon – it can be applied to all areas of life and absolutely should be.

Internalizing this philosophy gives us confidence and purpose – a mission that was perhaps not there before. This is the one thing that all mentally strong people have in common – without exception – and will serve you well for the rest of your life.

“Prize fighting is short. You get in, get rich and get out. But martial arts are for life. It’s for life.” 

– Conor McGregor

Conclusion

It’s an outstanding article and very true.

Men need to be able to fight. We need that feeling of control and power. We need to feel that we are in control of our life. And when we get that feeling, it reflects upon us, and as a result…

…big changes in our life takes place.

Be who you are. Fuck the rest of the world.
Tony Soprano Enjoying life.

We start to eat better, we find the house tidy at the end of the day, and people tend to respect us more. No. It’s not because we threaten everyone with a punched nose. It’s because we have a self-confidence that we carry with us everywhere.

Men are not women.

Yet we are the same.

I am immensely attracted to a self-confident woman. It’s something that I just cannot control myself about. It’s like Sharon Stone in the movie Casino. Self Confidence is addictive.

For men…

…we can get this through learning how to fight and the discipline that comes with it.

And maybe, just maybe, those “Karens” in our lives would be a tad more respectful to the rest of us.

My sister AND sister in law are both Karen’s. I will show up to restaurants 15 min early to warn them. I tell them if it’s not done to their liking they WILL hear about it and they will make your shift hell. I’m just there as a warning.

I used to work in restaurants and those people made life hell. I do what I can to help. Generally my drinks are better and we get a free appetizer as soon as those two tornados walk in all hell breaks loose. Not enough ice, table is too cold, it’s too loud, etc. I also tip really big because I DON’T want to be associated with the two tornados.

I live overseas so I only see them 2 weeks out of the year. So it’s manageable. I only put up with their attitude because they could take my nieces and nephews away from me. I pick my battles. I need my nieces and nephews to know I’m always here for them and they can talk to me about anything. I can’t risk our relationship being tampered with, especially since I only see them 2 weeks a year.

Remember, being able to fight is not the same thing as fighting. It is a simple thing really.

It makes for a polite society.

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Law 9 of the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene; Win through your actions, never through argument

This is the full text of law #9 from “The 48 Laws of Power” written by Robert Greene. This specific law is titled “Win through your actions, never through argument.” I personally believe that this most basic of laws should be taught in elementary school. Once you master it, you realize that your life is in your hands and under your control. For only with you doing things, and taking action, can you win any argument. This law is not for the passive. This law is not for the sheep. This law is for the self actuated that live among us within society.

This law is something that I have learned and appreciated over time. Don’t explain. Demonstrate.

And if people “don’t get it”, well then… it’s not your problem.

And while I am at it…

Alpha Males never explain or justify their actions. They are never on the defensive. They never try to convince any one of any thing. The weaker beta-males do.

Be yourself. Anything less is below you.

LAW 9

WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER THROUGH ARGUMENT

JUDGMENT

Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In 131 B.C., the Roman consul Publius Crassus Dives Mucianus, laying siege to the Greek town of Pergamus, found himself in need of a battering ram to force through the town’s walls. He had seen a couple of hefty ship’s masts in a shipyard in Athens a few days before, and he ordered that the larger of these be sent to him immediately. The military engineer in Athens who received the order felt certain that the consul really wanted the smaller of the masts. He argued endlessly with the soldiers who delivered the request: The smaller mast, he told them, was much better suited to the task. And indeed it would be easier to transport.

The soldiers warned the engineer that their master was not a man to argue with, but he insisted that the smaller mast would be the only one that would work with a machine that he was constructing to go with it. He drew diagram after diagram, and went so far as to say that he was the expert and they had no clue what they were talking about. The soldiers knew their leader and at last convinced the engineer that it would be better to swallow his expertise and obey.

After they left, though, the engineer thought about it some more. What was the point, he asked himself, in obeying an order that would lead to failure? And so he sent the smaller mast, confident that the consul would see how much more effective it was and reward him justly.

When the smaller mast arrived, Mucianus asked his soldiers for an explanation. They described to him how the engineer had argued endlessly for the smaller mast, but had finally promised to send the larger one. Mucianus went into a rage. He could not concentrate on the siege, or consider the importance of breaching the walls before the town received reinforcements. All he could think about was the impudent engineer, whom he ordered to be brought to him immediately.

Arriving a few days later, the engineer gladly explained to the consul, one more time, the reasons for the smaller mast. He went on and on, using the same arguments he had made with the soldiers. He said it was wise to listen to experts in these matters, and if the attack was only tried with the battering ram he had sent, the consul would not regret it. Mucianus let him finish, then had him stripped naked before the soldiers and flogged and scourged with rods until he died.

THE SULTAN AND THE VIZIER

A vizier had served his master for some thirty years and was known and admired for his loyalty, truthfulness, and devotion to God. His honesty, however, had made him many enemies in the court, who spread stories of

his duplicity and perfidy. They worked on the sultan day in and day out until he too came to distrust the innocent vizier and finally ordered the man who had served him so well to be put to death. In this realm, those condemned to death were tied up and thrown into the pen where the sultan kept his fiercest hunting dogs. The dogs would promptly tear the victim to pieces. Before being thrown to the dogs, however, the vizier asked for one last request. “I would like ten days’ respite,” he said, “so that I can pay my debts, collect any money due to me, return items that people have put in my care, and share out my goods among the members of my family and my children and appoint a guardian for them.” After receiving a guarantee that the vizier

would not try to escape, the sultan granted this request. The vizier hurried home, collected one hundred gold pieces, then paid a visit to the huntsman who looked after the sultan’s dogs. He offered this man the one hundred gold pieces and said, “Let me look after the dogs for ten days.” The huntsman agreed, and for the next ten days the vizier cared for the beasts with great attention, grooming them well and feeding them handsomely. By the end of the ten days they were eating out of his hand.

On the eleventh day the vizier was called before the sultan, the charges were repeated, and the sultan watched as the vizier was tied up and thrown to the dogs. Yet when the beasts saw him, they ran up to him with wagging tails. They nibbled affectionately at his shoulders and began playing with him. The sultan and the other witnesses were amazed, and the sultan asked the vizier why the dogs had spared his life. The vizier replied, “I have looked after these dogs for ten days. The sultan has seen the result for

himself. I have looked after you for thirty years, and what is the result? I am condemned to death on the strength of accusations brought by my enemies. ”The sultan blushed with shame. He not only pardoned the vizier but gave him a fine set of clothes and handed over to him the men who had slandered his reputation. The noble vizier set them free and continued to treat them with kindness.

-THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND GUILE, THIRTEENTH CENTURY

Interpretation

The engineer, whose name has not been recorded by history, had spent his life designing masts and pillars, and was respected as the finest engineer in a city that had excelled in the science. He knew that he was right. A smaller ram would allow more speed and carry more force. Larger is not necessarily better. Of course the consul would see his logic, and would eventually understand that science is neutral and reason superior. How could the consul possibly persist in his ignorance if the engineer showed him detailed diagrams and explained the theories behind his advice?

The military engineer was the quintessence of the Arguer, a type found everywhere among us. The Arguer does not understand that words are never neutral, and that by arguing with a superior he impugns the intelligence of one more powerful than he. He also has no awareness of the person he is dealing with. Since each man believes that he is right, and words will rarely convince him otherwise, the arguer’s reasoning falls on deaf ears. When cornered, he only argues more, digging his own grave. Once he has made the other person feel insecure and inferior in his beliefs, the eloquence of Socrates could not save the situation.

It is not simply a question of avoiding an argument with those who stand above you. We all believe we are masters in the realm of opinions and reasoning. You must be careful, then: Learn to demonstrate the correctness of your ideas indirectly.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In 1502, in Florence, Italy, an enormous block of marble stood in the works department of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore. It had once been a magnificent piece of raw stone, but an unskillful sculptor had mistakenly bored a hole through it where there should have been a figure’s legs, generally mutilating it. Piero Soderini, Florence’s mayor, had contemplated trying to save the block by commissioning Leonardo da Vinci to work on it, or some other master, but had given up, since everyone agreed that the stone had been ruined. So, despite the money that had been wasted on it, it gathered dust in the dark halls of the church.

This was where things stood until some Florentine friends of the great Michelangelo decided to write to the artist, then living in Rome. He alone, they said, could do something with the marble, which was still magnificent raw material. Michelangelo traveled to Florence, examined the stone, and came to the conclusion that he could in fact carve a fine figure from it, by adapting the pose to the way the rock had been mutilated. Soderini argued that this was a waste of time—nobody could salvage such a disaster—but he finally agreed to let the artist work on it. Michelangelo decided he would depict a young David, sling in hand.

Weeks later, as Michelangelo was putting the final touches on the statue, Soderini entered the studio. Fancying himself a bit of a connoisseur, he studied the huge work, and told Michelangelo that while he thought it was magnificent, the nose, he judged, was too big. Michelangelo realized that Soderini was standing in a place right under the giant figure and did not have the proper perspective. Without a word, he gestured for Soderini to follow him up the scaffolding. Reaching the nose, he picked up his chisel, as well as a bit of marble dust that lay on the planks. With Soderini just a few feet below him on the scaffolding, Michelangelo started to tap lightly with the chisel, letting the bits of dust he had gathered in his hand to fall little by little. He actually did nothing to change the nose, but gave every appearance of working on it. After a few minutes of this charade he stood aside: “Look at it now.” “I like it better,” replied Soderini, “you’ve made it come alive.”

Interpretation

Michelangelo knew that by changing the shape of the nose he might ruin the entire sculpture. Yet Soderini was a patron who prided himself on his aesthetic judgment. To offend such a man by arguing would not only gain Michelangelo nothing, it would put future commissions in jeopardy. Michelangelo was too clever to argue. His solution was to change Soderini’s perspective (literally bringing him closer to the nose) without making him realize that this was the cause of his misperception.

Fortunately for posterity, Michelangelo found a way to keep the perfection of the statue intact while at the same time making Soderini believe he had improved it. Such is the double power of winning through actions rather than argument: No one is offended, and your point is proven.

THE WORKS OF AMASIS

When Apries had been deposed in the way I have described, Amasis came to the throne. He belonged to the district of Sais and was a native of the town called Siuph. At first the Egyptians were inclined to be contemptuous, and did not think much of him because of his humble and undistinguished origin; but later on he cleverly brought them to heel, without having recourse to harsh measures. Amongst his innumerable treasures, he had a gold footbath, which he and his guests used on occasion to wash their feet in. This he broke up, and with the material had a statue made to one of the gods, which he then set up in what he thought the most suitable spot in the city. The Egyptians constantly coming upon the statue, treated it with profound reverence, and as soon as Amasis heard of the effect it had upon them, he called a meeting and revealed the fact that the deeply revered statue was once a footbath, which they washed their feet and pissed and vomited in. He went on to say that his own case was much the same, in that once he had been only an ordinary person and was now their king; so that just as they had come to revere the transformed footbath, so they had better pay honor and respect to him, too. In this way the Egyptians were persuaded to accept him as their master.

-THE HISTORIES. HERODOTUS. FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

KEYS TO POWER

In the realm of power you must learn to judge your moves by their long- term effects on other people. The problem in trying to prove a point or gain a victory through argument is that in the end you can never be certain how it affects the people you’re arguing with: They may appear to agree with you politely, but inside they may resent you. Or perhaps something you said inadvertently even offended them—words have that insidious ability to be interpreted according to the other person’s mood and insecurities. Even the best argument has no solid foundation, for we have all come to distrust the slippery nature of words. And days after agreeing with someone, we often revert to our old opinion out of sheer habit.

Understand this: Words are a dime a dozen. Everyone knows that in the heat of an argument, we will all say anything to support our cause. We will quote the Bible, refer to unverifiable statistics. Who can be persuaded by bags of air like that? Action and demonstration are much more powerful and meaningful. They are there, before our eyes, for us to see—“Yes, now the statue’s nose does look just right.” There are no offensive words, no possibility of misinterpretation. No one can argue with a demonstrated proof. As Baltasar Gracián remarks, “The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.”

Sir Christopher Wren was England’s version of the Renaissance man. He had mastered the sciences of mathematics, astronomy, physics, and physiology. Yet during his extremely long career as England’s most celebrated architect he was often told by his patrons to make impractical changes in his designs. Never once did he argue or offend. He had other ways of proving his point.

In 1688 Wren designed a magnificent town hall for the city of Westminster. The mayor, however, was not satisfied; in fact he was nervous. He told Wren he was afraid the second floor was not secure, and that it could all come crashing down on his office on the first floor. He demanded that Wren add two stone columns for extra support. Wren, the consummate engineer, knew that these columns would serve no purpose, and that the mayor’s fears were baseless. But build them he did, and the mayor was grateful. It was only years later that workmen on a high scaffold saw that the columns stopped just short of the ceiling.

They were dummies. But both men got what they wanted: The mayor could relax, and Wren knew posterity would understand that his original design worked and the columns were unnecessary.

The power of demonstrating your idea is that your opponents do not get defensive, and are therefore more open to persuasion. Making them literally and physically feel your meaning is infinitely more powerful than argument.

A heckler once interrupted Nikita Khrushchev in the middle of a speech in which he was denouncing the crimes of Stalin. “You were a colleague of Stalin’s,” the heckler yelled, “why didn’t you stop him then?” Khrushschev apparently could not see the heckler and barked out, “Who said that?” No hand went up. No one moved a muscle. After a few seconds of tense silence, Khrushchev finally said in a quiet voice, “Now you know why I didn’t stop him.” Instead of just arguing that anyone facing Stalin was afraid, knowing that the slightest sign of rebellion would mean certain death, he had made them feel what it was like to face Stalin—had made them feel the paranoia, the fear of speaking up, the terror of confronting the leader, in this case Khrushchev. The demonstration was visceral and no more argument was necessary.

The most powerful persuasion goes beyond action into symbol. The power of a symbol—a flag, a mythic story, a monument to some emotional event—is that everyone understands you without anything being said. In 1975, when Henry Kissinger was engaged in some frustrating negotiations with the Israelis over the return of part of the Sinai desert that they had seized in the 1967 war, he suddenly broke off a tense meeting and decided to do some sight-seeing. He paid a visit to the ruins of the ancient fortress of Masada, known to all Israelis as the place where seven hundred Jewish warriors committed mass suicide in A.D. 73 rather than give in to the Roman troops besieging them. The Israelis instantly understood the message of Kissinger’s visit: He was indirectly accusing them of courting mass suicide. Although the visit did not by itself change their minds, it made them think far more seriously than any direct warning would have. Symbols like this one carry great emotional significance.

When aiming for power, or trying to conserve it, always look for the indirect route. And also choose your battles carefully. If it does not matter in the long run whether the other person agrees with you—or if time and their own experience will make them understand what you mean—then it is best not even to bother with a demonstration. Save your energy and walk away.

GOD AND ABRAUIM

The Most High God had promised that He would not take Abraham’s soul unless the man wanted to die and asked Him to do so. When Abraham’s life was drawing to a close, and God determined to seize him, He sent an angel in the guise of a decrepit old man who was almost entirely incapacitated. The old man stopped outside Abraham door and said to him, “Oh Abraham, I would like something to eat.” Abraham was amazed to hear him say this. “Die, exclaimed Abraham.”It would be better for you than to go on living in that condition.”

Abraham always kept food ready at his home for passing guests. So he gave the old man a bowl containing broth and meat with bread crumbs. The old man sat down to eat. He swallowed laboriously, with great effort, and once when he took some food it dropped from his hand, scattering on the ground. “Oh Abraham, ” he said, “help me to eat.” Abraham took the food in his hand and lifted it to the old man’s lips. But it slid down his beard and over his chest. “What is your age, old man?” asked Abraham. The old man mentioned a number of years slightly greater than Abraham’s old age. Then Abraham exclaimed: “Oh Lord Our God, take me unto You before I reach this man’s age and sink into the same condition as he is in now. ” No sooner had Abraham spoken those words than God took possession of his soul.

-THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND GUILE, THIRTEENTH CENTURY

Image: The Seesaw. Up and down and up and down go the arguers, getting nowhere fast. Get off the seesaw and show them your meaning without kick ing or pushing. Leave them at the top and let gravity bring them gently to the ground.

Authority: Never argue. In society nothing must be discussed; give only results. (Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881)

REVERSAL

Verbal argument has one vital use in the realm of power: To distract and cover your tracks when you are practicing deception or are caught in a lie.

In such cases it is to your advantage to argue with all the conviction you can muster. Draw the other person into an argument to distract them from your deceptive move. When caught in a lie, the more emotional and certain you appear, the less likely it seems that you are lying.

This technique has saved the hide of many a con artist. Once Count Victor Lustig, swindler par excellence, had sold dozens of suckers around the country a phony box with which he claimed to be able to copy money. Discovering their mistake, the suckers generally chose not to go the police, rather than risk the embarrassment of publicity. But one Sheriff Richards, of Remsen County, Oklahoma, was not the kind of man to accept being conned out of $10,000, and one morning he tracked Lustig down to a hotel in Chicago.

Lustig heard a knock on the door. When he opened it he was looking down the barrel of a gun. “What seems to be the problem?” he calmly asked. “You son of a bitch,” yelled the sheriff, “I’m going to kill you. You conned me with that damn box of yours!” Lustig feigned confusion. “You mean it’s not working?” he asked. “You know it’s not working,” replied the sheriff. “But that’s impossible,” said Lustig. “There’s no way it couldn’t be working. Did you operate it properly?” “I did exactly what you told me to do,” said the sheriff. “No, you must have done something wrong,” said Lustig. The argument went in circles. The barrel of the gun was gently lowered.

Lustig next went to phase two in the argument tactic: He poured out a whole bunch of technical gobbledygook about the box’s operation, completely beguiling the sheriff, who now appeared less sure of himself and argued less forcefully. “Look,” said Lustig, “I’ll give you your money back right now. I’ll also give you written instructions on how to work the machine and I’ll come out to Oklahoma to make sure it’s working properly. There’s no way you can lose on that.” The sheriff reluctantly agreed. To satisfy him totally, Lustig took out a hundred one-hundred-dollar bills and gave them to him, telling him to relax and have a fun weekend in Chicago. Calmer and a little confused, the sheriff finally left. Over the next few days Lustig checked the paper every morning. He finally found what he was looking for: A short article reporting Sheriff Richards’s arrest, trial, and conviction for passing counterfeit notes. Lustig had won the argument; the sheriff never bothered him again.

Conclusion

Why do you argue?

Is it because you want to show someone your point of view? Is that why?

But they don’t see it because they have different experiences and a different mindset. So don’t bother wasting your time. Your time is too valuable.

Act and live your life on your terms and forget about everyone else.

Story time…

I well remember the last time when I gave a fuck what people thought.

I was in a KTV, in China (of course).

Chinese business KTV, a pretty standard practice.

I had two girls with me (bought for me, don’t ya know). One was on my left thigh feeding me (those green sweet) grapes and the other was singing some sobby love ballad (in Chinese, that I had no clue about) on my right. I was enjoying the moment, chewing on some grapes and drinking Johnny Walker Red with Green Tea (long story, not too popular these days) and checking my social media.

It was a long day where I had ate this fantastic meal of lord only know what, and signed some contracts and made some agreements. Now it was time to relax and celebrate.

What was I doing?

Dumb-ass me was checking my social media. Back then, I was still addicted to it.

At that time, I was commenting on a website called “Free Republic” (I have since been kicked off of it, too bad – their loss) and some jackass was riding on all my comments. He just went on and on about on how filthy, stinky and polluted China was. He said he knew because he visited it back in 1998, and he knew what he was talking about. He had spent four long days in “that filthy cesspool” and couldn’t wait to leave.

And you know what?

I didn’t respond.

But, I did stop eating the grapes and slid my right hand on the chick to the left of me’s dress and cupped her soft breast. She smiled (as they all do when I do that) and I started to nibble on her neck. (KTV’s are all “hands on” and all the time. It’s pretty much a normal, not a lecherous thing, to do.) That got the singing gal to come over and start massaging my back. Oh … yeah. things got really fun after that.

Soon afterwards, I was up there singing “Better than I used to be“, and while everyone was clapping and cheering me on, I’m sure that no one knew what I was singing about. But my aide did know English, and she couldn’t get over the lyrics to “MacArthur Park”. LOL. Heh. he. (She kept on saying… “do you know what you are singing? Do you know what the song is about?”)

“Someone left the cake out in the rain, and it took so long to make it, and took so long to bake it, and I’ll never have that recipe again! Oh no!”

And you know, that’s a part of what my life is. Don’t you know. It’s fun. It’s spending time with interesting people, and playing with them. It’s about eating delicious food, and just being who you are and not giving a rat’s ass if you are politically correct or not.

Anyways. That was one of the last times I commented on that site.

Because I was the one having fun, and the rest of the people on social media, well, there were all just full of horse shit. To them, everything outside their house was gray, dark and dirty. When they turned on the movies, it’s all war, war, war, or FBI investigates serial murders, or child abductions by pedio’s or magic superheros who got bit by radioactive spiders…

It’s nonsense.

And when they try to communicate to me; the person outside their box, they cannot possibly imagine what it is like. Because they have been PROGRAMMED to fear everything outside.

So, fuck him.

What he right or wrong? Was I good or bad? I don’t know. What I do know is that I was having fun, and he was probably at home alone typing in the dark trying to convince me that I was wrong to enjoy China like I do. And, well, he would never, ever believe what happened later on that night, and up until six am when they both turned into pumpkins…

Actions.

Always remember that your life becomes [1] what you think about, and [2] what you do. And in that calculus, lies no one else. And if someone doesn’t like your behaviors, well, fuck them. You owe nothing to strangers. Just go forth and have a great time. And let it be well understood that that is what I am actually doing.

Life is too short not to enjoy life.

Go forth. Make new friends. Have new adventures, experience all the wonderful things that life has available for you. That means good food, great drink, fun companions, and “memory makers”. Ah. Memory Makers like this fine young lass here…

Do you want more?

I have more posts along these lines in my Happiness Index here…

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Dangerous times ahead; the new global realignments from 2020 through to 2030.

This article was compiled back in 2018. 

It is a "Franken-article" comprising a selection of elements from other articles that I have read, by other authors. I collected the key points, and had annotations linking to the articles, and then suffered a rather catastrophic computer failure, leaving my note in RTF format without links. Anyways, to make a long story short, the following is a Fraken-article compiled  together to make a point. 

Originally it discussed 2018 through 2028. I've updated it to 2020 through 2030.

This article was written before the Trump Trade war onslaught, and before the COVID-19 Bioweapon that Trump unleashed on the Chinese New Year celebrations. It was written before any of the riots and protests in Portland, Chicago or Los Angeles. 

This was written in 2018. And I could see that…

There are dangerous times ahead.

Every 80 years, nations often experience colossal events. There are different theories about this cycle – for example, the Fourth Turning theory focuses on the cyclical strengths of institutions versus individuals. Others surmise that four generations after a major crisis, there are no more older people to warn the society, and the younger people take peace and prosperity for granted.

Well, exactly 80 years ago, America was mired in Great Depression, and World War II was about to begin. Yet, predictably, most Americans and Europeans now cannot even fathom such scenarios repeating in their lifetime.

There are two major catalysts that can ignite catastrophic wars in the next decade. They are;

  • The debt/economic crisis in the West.
  • Growinge great-power rivalries (US + EU versus Russia + China).

Geopolitical tensions that are simmering now will reach a crescendo very soon. (I predicted in 2018.) Without extraordinary caution and prudence, we’re destined to become another victim of history’s inexorable cycle of conflict and collapse.

America is #2

Pretty much.

How many American politicians and elites will say, “America is the second largest economy in the world”? How will Americans react when they hear it for the first time?

For certain, there will be shock, anger, denial and a lot of blame and finger-pointing. However, most Americans fail to realize that not only is this scenario almost inevitable, but it will happen within the next 6-10 years.

Consider that China’s nominal GDP grew 200% since 2008, while the US grew only 35%. Even if China slows down a lot and grows only 100% and the US continues at the same pace, China will be #1 before 2028.

Chart of real GDP growth USA (blue) vs. China (red).

What does China’s rise mean to western corporations and the globalists who control them? Loss of power and wealth. And that’s something the globalists aren’t going to just let happen.

There’s more to China’s rise than just GDP.

In late 2017, US News and World Report ranked China’s Tsinghua University as #1 for computer science and engineering, dethroning MIT.

In hi-tech areas such as 5G, driverless vehicles, electric vehicles, passenger drones (“flying cars”), 3D printing, Artificial Intelligence, super computers, quantum computing and numerous other fields, China is #1. America is #2.

Throughout history, an established power has never passively watched a rising power take its spot. As Harvard Professor Graham T. Allison points out, 75% of the time, the established power goes to outright war with the rising power.

I wrote an article about this.

Mother Russia Comes Back to Life

After the fall of the Soviet Union, American intellectuals’ favorite phrase was “the end of history.”

And John Bolton famously claimed that there should be only one country in the UN’s Permanent Security Council:

USA! America  has the won the Cold War and will stay as the hyper-power forever!  Everyone will embrace America’s exceptionalism and remain submissive.

Alas, Putin came along and resuscitated the Russia.

He[1] thwarted the globalists in Ukraine and [2] Syria, [3] survived a Wall Street-engineered drop in oil price (from $115 to $45 in mere six months), [4] prevented the collapse of the Russian economy in spite of severe sanctions, [5] shored up enormous gold and foreign exchange reserves, and [6] even managed to develop hyper-sonic ICBMs that can evade America’s vaunted missile defense systems.

Worse, Putin is also working with the Chinese on US-independent versions of the Internet, banking system, credit card system etc.

All these have turned Putin into the globalists’ public enemy #1.

In the 1960s, the CIA came up with all sorts of false flag attacks to blame Russia – [1] killing Cuban refugees in Miami, [2] buying Russian planes to attack US military installations etc. Now, it’s the [3] Russia hacking/interference claim and [4] the spy-poisoning drama are just the previews…

… expect much more in the coming months and years.

The Middle East is in play.

In the 1990s, Neocons in Israel and the US (remember PNAC?) dreamed of hegemony over the Middle East.

All you need to do is take out Iraq and Iran, and the domination is complete.

Imagine controlling all that oil and the strategic waterways through which much of global trade passes.

And if western firms can construct oil/gas pipelines from the Middle East to Europe, the latter can say, “Nyet” to Russian oil/gas. Without Europe as the customer, Russia will suffer immensely and surrender.

Controlling the Middle East also means controlling the land and the sea routes of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. A few “moderate rebels” in strategic locations can greatly disrupt China’s Europe-bound trains.

Thus my article on the mini-nuke in Beirut;

The BRI suppression

In response to the belligerent comments by Esper and the Australian report, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said “China is firmly on a path of peaceful development and our national defense policy is defensive in nature”. 

China has gone further by providing a cooperative framework under the Belt and Road Initiative which is built around the brilliant political agenda of providing diplomatic solutions to geopolitical points of tension through economic development strategies that enrich all participants. 

This approach has provided China great payback through the defusing of tensions with other nations claiming territory within the South China Sea- especially under the pro-BRI orientation of Malaysia’s Dr. Mahathir Mohammed and the Philippines’ President Duterte.

-America Loses Asia-Pacific as Full Spectrum Dominance Continues to Fail

Road and Belt. This requires Pakistan agreements and ports in the Mediterranean. Everything has been going well. That is up until a massive explosion that some have referred to as a “mini-nuke” totally and completely gutted the Lebanon port in Beirut. An interesting assessment;

The Port of Beirut poses the biggest geostrategic threat to American power projection because China’s Silk Road is fast creeping towards the docks at Beirut Port. The US, having recently forced Israel to cancel its Haifa rail contract with China, has dampened the Chinese advance in the eastern Mediterranean, and what remains now in the path of the US is the Beirut Port. The US must either invade it to block the Chinese geostrategic mission creep, or else destroy it.

https://thesaker.is/china-newsbrief-sitrep-3/

And then it appears that a great accident destroyed it.

Moreover, the Port of Beirut also poses the biggest geostrategic threat for the US’s eastward-bound power projection where China and its new Silk Road operation is fast creeping westwards and is attempting to land at the eastern coastal strip of the Mediterranean, right where the Beirut Port docks. The US having recently forced Israel to cancel its Haifa contact with China has somewhat dampened the Chinese advance in the eastern Mediterranean, and what remains now in the path of the US is the Beirut Port. The US must either invade it to block the Chinese geostrategic mission creep, or else destroy it.

Evidently, the US has chosen the latter option – with Israel assigned the task of accomplishing the destruction of Beirut Port. After all, for different reasons, both benefit greatly from Beirutshima.

And so very timely is this destruction of the Beirut Port as the Lebanese government has very recently been in official talks with the Chinese over their offer to vastly invest in and develop the Beirut Port: a much needed gateway port and bridge into Europe for China, which represents an absolutely intolerable equation for the US’s hegemony in Europe. The Beirut Port’s rebuilding to its previous standard of activity will be contingent on strict conditions imposed by the US and Israel on the Lebanese government, if the port is allowed to be rebuilt at all, that is. Most certainly, the US is determined not to allow the Chinese any executive, investment or managerial access to it.

...

And this larger US project has everything to do with the current US war on China, albeit presently a non-military war, but a war nevertheless, a war that the Pentagon is militarily preparing for – hence the ever increasing and breathtakingly high defense budget that Congress has been allocating to the US military throughout the terms of the last three Presidents.

The US having lost Pakistan to the China sphere of influence, thus losing an attack dog bordering China, and having recently assigned Turkey as its new enforcer in the middle east, it now behooves the US to use its Mideast allies of both Turkey and Israel, two infamous terrorist states who regularly break international law with impunity: use them as spoilers and saboteurs against an advancing China and against any of Beijing’s Mideast regional allies. 

Beirutshima is clearly an apparent US endeavor to push-back the Chinese advance in the highly strategic eastern Mediterranean, as the US attempts to simultaneously pivot eastwards itself through secured territories wherever China is successfully backtracked by the US and its regional henchmen.
But, can this grand geostrategic plan really work for the benefit of the US? Can the US really succeed at remaining the only superpower in the world by the incessant knee-capping of China’s new Silk Road project?

This is yet to be determined. But judging by the deep budgetary and societal crisis engulfing the US homeland, with no sign whatsoever of its deepening troubles abating, analysts doubt that the US has lungs large enough to last the whole race through with China. Here I will add that the US-China fight over the Beirut Port is not yet over. One wonders what went through the mind of the wily Chinese ambassador in Lebanon to witness the Beirut Port exploding as it shockingly did: to witness his pet project and assignment be destroyed right before his eyes and right before a signed agreement was made between him and the Lebanese government of Diab.

-UR

A War to Contain China

China’s Achilles heel is that it’s surrounded by America’s vassal states – Taiwan, Japan and South Korea for now.

The Philippines used to  be America’s puppet, but it’s now leaning towards China and Russia,  thanks to Duterte. How North Korea will turn out is yet to be seen.  

India, which was colonized by the British for 200 years, is experiencing amnesia and is quickly ceding its sovereignty to the US.

Japanese elites – under pressure from globalists – are trying to change their constitution so that Japan can build up its military again. This is obviously an ominous sign.

Thus globalists have a lot of options to wage a proxy war on China. Asia has been growing rapidly and enjoying unprecedented prosperity, but there’s a good chance they will screw it up by becoming sacrificial pawns in the geopolitical chessboard.

Drawing China and Russia together

China knows what the neocons are doing. China and Russia share intel data, and combined saw that America was an active and real threat. If China collapses, Russia would be next. If Russia collapses, China would be next. So what did they do?

Then at the same time, they started to warn the United States to stop; just stop… please just stop…

Among the myriad, earth-shattering geopolitical effects of coronavirus, one is already graphically evident. China has re-positioned itself. For the first time since the start of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in 1978, Beijing openly regards the US as a threat, as stated a month ago by Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference during the peak of the fight against coronavirus. 

Beijing is carefully, incrementally shaping the narrative that, from the beginning of the coronovirus attack, the leadership knew it was under a hybrid war attack. Xi’s terminology is a major clue. He said, on the record, that this was war. And, as a counter-attack, a “people’s war” had to be launched.

Moreover, he described the virus as a demon or devil. Xi is a Confucianist. Unlike some other ancient Chinese thinkers, Confucius was loath to discuss supernatural forces and judgment in the afterlife. However, in a Chinese cultural context, devil means “white devils” or “foreign devils”: guailo in Mandarin, gweilo in Cantonese. This was Xi delivering a powerful statement in code.

When Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, voiced in an incandescent tweet the possibility that “it might be US Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan” – the first blast to this effect to come from a top official – Beijing was sending up a trial balloon signaliing that the gloves were finally off. Zhao Lijian made a direct connection with the Military Games in Wuhan in October 2019, which included a delegation of 300 US military... 

-https://asiatimes.com/2020/03/china-locked-in-hybrid-war-with-us/

They also watch with some degree of hope that the intel information was incorrect, and that the United States would stop. That the United States would end it’s anti-Chinese propaganda campaign, it’s anti-China technology assault, and it’s anti-China biological warfare programs…

…but that is not in the cards. Not yet, anyways.

Financial Wars

If the globalists have mighty military and vassal states to impose their hegemony, they have one tremendous weakness: a fake economy based on debt and money-printing.

America’s enormous strength is based on petrodollar – an unfair system that forces other countries to buy oil and other commodities in US dollar.

Take that away, the American Empire starts to wobble. Without enormous demand for the US dollar and treasuries, interest rates will go up, debt will become expensive, and interest payments on existing debt will skyrocket.

This is why China, the largest importer of oil, just started oil futures that trade in Yuan. China has implemented systems where one can directly buy and sell oil in Yuan. If China were to get out of the globalist hegemony, there’s no better way than to establish petroyuan, especially if it’s backed by gold.

And of course…

US will go to war to stop emergence of petro-yuan !

The introduction of oil trading in yuan is a very bold move by the Chinese, because the US will not give up the basis of its hegemony – the dollar as the world’s reserve currency – without a fight. The Chinese plan to roll out a yuan-denominated oil contract is a very “brave” move, since countries who “tried to exit the oil-dollar matrix have met terrible ends,”.

...

The US financial sector and its military-industrial complex are unlikely to give up the dollar hegemony without a fight, though, as the dollar is both the basis and the main product of America. And the US will use its other favorite tool for it – war…

“Maybe they will start a war between Japan and China, and maybe they will start a war with North Korea. America will do anything to keep the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency,” “They will invade the countries, like Afghanistan, they will stop at nothing. Because this is the basis of the US empire. It’s not land-based, it’s not based on material goods, it’s based on rent-seeking. It’s based on landing dollars, getting out income and when countries can’t pay they dismantle the assets and take them over. We saw it in Latin America, South America, this is how America built its empire.”

What’s Next?

America’s military impotence when faced with the new cutting edge technologies unveiled by Russia and China was outlined in a recent report released by the US Studies Center at the University of Sydney which stated that “America no longer enjoys military primacy in the indo Pacific and its capacity to uphold a favorable balance of power is increasingly uncertain.”

Referring to China’s advanced anti-aircraft weapons, the report says “Chinese counter-intervention systems have undermined America’s ability to project power in the Indo-Pacific region” which the authors say, could be rendered impotent within the first 8 hours of conflict.

-America Loses Asia-Pacific as Full Spectrum Dominance Continues to Fail

Thanks to Deep State and the Democrats, US-Russia relations will continue to deteriorate as sanctions pile on. Globalists will also use the anti-Russia hysteria to create an EU army, bolster NATO, and provoke Russia with missile defense systems and military build up on its borders. Russia’s neighbors — Ukraine, Georgia, Lithuania, Sweden, Poland etc. — will all be used as pawns to needle and threaten Russia.

The US will continue to build its troops to encircle China, saber rattle in the South China Sea, incite Muslim separatists in Western China (Xinjiang), and try to turn Asian countries against China.

I’ve covered all the elements in other posts in far greater detail. There you can see the details. Links are as provided herein.

This is just an overview.

Create strife in HK. The “pro-democracy” protests were implemented by NED / NID insurgents under the guise of being “journalists”. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

Create strife in Xinjiang. Radicalized and CIA trained Muslim insurgents creating “fifth column“ activities. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

Forced Starvation. Destruction of the pork industry via drones and aerosol viruses, destruction of the chicken industry, the wheat and rice industries, and multiple waves of germ attacks. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

African Incentives. This is ongoing. Though lately a number of nations are demanding that China pay billions of dollars to them for COVID-19 damage. I cannot help but see a CIA hand in all this. <HERE><HERE><HERE>

Incentivize American Businesses. Enormous amounts of money has been handed to American companies throughout trumps first term of office, the greatest amounts came during the 2020 “COVID bailout”. However, no companies have shown any interest in returning operations to America. <HERE><HERE><HERE>

Anti-China propaganda campaign. This is hot and heavy. Apparently it’s working a full 30% of Americans hate China and blame it for all the American ills. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

Anti-China technology campaign. Well the arrest of the Huawei President and the suppression of 5G technology is only the tip of the iceberg. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

A Pandemic that would suppress China but ignore America. This is the highlight of the plan and really interesting. Three strains. A, B, and C. All unleashed on the world. Lethal strain B is for China. It is dangerous and lethal. However, Americans get the A virus. This virus is mild and safe. It self inoculates (or was intended to). It is designed for Americans to have “Herd Immunity”. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

An Alliance of other nations. By building a coalition of nations, the entire group could gang up against China in bulk. This includes strong showings by Australia, Canada, and the UK. <HERE>

Establish American Bases on Taiwan. Ongoing and NOT public.

There will also be endless economic, propaganda and hybrid wars against both Russia and China in the coming years.

US, EU, Russia and China will be developing many dangerous and effective weapons in the near future. This will include miniaturized nuclear bombs, weaponized satellites, and possibly a combination of both — satellites armed with nukes. Then there are hypersonic missiles that travel at 20 times the speed of sound, killer robots and fleets of armed drones.

Biological and germ warfare are also being developed by the US in many vassal countries. It’s a multi-dimensional and hybrid arms race that’s more lethal and destructive than ever before.

Conclusion

America is only 5% of the world’s population. It cannot expect to rule the other 95% forever. America’s unipolar dominance is a blip in the history. Americans have to learn to coexist with other great powers and focus on creating a peaceful, prosperous world.

Instead, America’s elites are filled with hubris and hegemonic fantasies of full spectrum dominance.

Full-spectrum dominance also known as full-spectrum superiority, is a military entity's achievement of control over all dimensions of the battlespace, effectively possessing an overwhelming diversity of resources in such areas as terrestrial, aerial, maritime, subterranean, extraterrestrial, psychological, and bio- or cyber-technological warfare.

-Wikipedia
The US is formally committed to dominating the world by the year 2020. With President Trump’s new Space Directive-4, the production of laser-armed fighter jets as possible precursors to space weapons, and the possibility of nuclear warheads being put into orbit, the clock is ticking…

Back in 1997, the now-re-established US Space Command announced its commitment to “full spectrum dominance.” The Vision for 2020 explains that “full spectrum dominance” means military control over land, sea, air, and space (the so-called fourth dimension of warfare) “to protect US interests and investment.” “Protect” means guarantee operational freedom. “US interest and investment” means corporate profits.

-Countdown to “Full Spectrum Dominance”

Americans – and sadly most Europeans now as well – are ignorant about geopolitics, easily swayed by propaganda, and programmed to accept wild stories without demanding proof or evidence. The combination of ruthless elites and gullible masses is extremely dangerous.

Without great restraint, diplomacy, wisdom and compromises, we will be sleepwalking into a nuclear disaster in the next decade.

2020 to 2030.

All the warning signs and signals are lit up and flashing.

Warning.
Those American military officials promoting the obsolete doctrine of Full Spectrum dominance are dancing to the tune of a song that stopped playing some time ago. Both Russia and China have changed the rules of the game on a multitude of levels, and can respond with fatal force to any attack upon their soil with next generation weaponry beyond the scope of anything imagined by ivory tower game theorists in the west.

-America Loses Asia-Pacific as Full Spectrum Dominance Continues to Fail

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Managing an Empire when you obtain the reins of power; the story of Empress Cixi

America is following the same sort of evolution that all nations experience. And as the United States sunsets into the mire of folly and corruption, I find myself musing about the past and other historical precedents. I’ve looked at Germany, and Rome. I’ve looked at some of the more promising nations in South America, and I’ve looked at some of the amazing stories from China. From what I can tell, stability in a nation requires a combination of skills. Some of which might include intelligence, but it certainly includes both emotional / social skills and a degree of ruthlessness in use.

Here we look at Empress CiXi.

She is a well-known historical figure, well at least by the Chinese. She is virtually unknown in the West, and if you were to ask any of the Portland Protestors about her, they wouldn’t have a clue as to what you were talking about.

This is a reprint of the article titled “Empress Cixi Brought China Into The Modern Age — And Wasn’t Afraid To Kill Her Enemies” written by James Burch and published on October 14, 2019. It has been reformatted to fit this venue and all credit to the original author.

Empress Cixi Brought China Into The Modern Age — And Wasn’t Afraid To Kill Her Enemies

Some suspect that Cixi killed her dead son’s pregnant wife so she wouldn’t have to compete for power with a legitimate heir.

Within Beijing’s Forbidden City, beyond the imposing gates and the great halls, lie the buildings that once housed the emperor’s harem, an institution that evokes a time of oppression. But it was out of these quarters that a woman born in obscurity and confined as a concubine came to transform the world’s most populous empire.

History long depicted the Empress Dowager Cixi as a scheming despot who brought her country to ruin. But this scapegoating is not only simplistic, it’s inaccurate, as the flawed but skilled de facto ruler brought China into the modern age.

Wikimedia Commons; Cixi in c. 1890, when she was around 55 years old. This photo was taken by court photographer Yu Xunling and colorized by Imperial Court painters.

Cixi: Teenage Concubine

The girl who would one day be called Cixi was born in 1835 to the Yehenara clan. Her father seems to have been a regional administrator, although reliable details about her family and early life are lacking. The Yehenara, like the Qing dynasty rulers, were ethnically Manchu, which afforded them special status above the Han Chinese majority.

At age 16, she stood before the Xianfeng Emperor and was chosen for his harem, assigned to the lowest rank. In the Qing Empire, life as an imperial courtesan carried more prestige than you might imagine. It certainly offered more security than most people had during her lifetime. As concubine, she received the title “Noble Lady Lan.”

Wikimedia Commons – The Xianfeng Emperor was without a son until Cixi came along as a concubine.

Two years into his reign, the emperor had inherited a country in crisis. The Taiping Rebellion, a civil war on an apocalyptic scale, had begun across China and would ultimately leave at least 20 million dead — twice the death toll of World War I.

Capital Of A Suffering Empire

In 1856, Cixi ensured her influence in the emperor’s court after giving birth to his only son and heir. Soon enough, she was the second highest ranking woman in the palace. Nonetheless, her son would officially belong to her superior, the Empress Zhen.

The Xianfeng era was not going well. In addition to the endless civil wars, Great Britain continued to push back against Qing Dynasty isolationism. In 1856, allied with France, the British again went to war with China.

In 1858, the imperial court fled from the Anglo-French forces, who took the capital and looted and burned the emperor’s Summer Palaces.

Wikimedia Commons – China suffered a defeat to the Anglo-French forces in this battle of the Second Opium War, 1860.

The Xianfeng Emperor died in 1861, leaving the empire in a precarious position. In this context, during the royal court’s exile in Rehe province, the newly titled Empress Dowager Cixi, began her consolidation of power.

Filling The Power Vacuum

According to the dying wishes of the Xianfeng Emperor, eight high ministers would form a Grand Council to advise his five-year-old successor, the Tongzhi Emperor. Cixi, meanwhile, had formed an alliance with a higher-ranking colleague, now the Empress Dowager Ci’an. They maintained that they were to be the boy emperor’s official co-regents, with the power to approve or reject any edict.

The empresses dowager went ahead to Beijing ahead of the funeral cortege. They received the cooperation of Prince Gong, one of the late emperor’s brothers and a believer in modernization. Cixi, Ci’an, and Prince Gong staged a coup and led charges of disloyalty by three ministers they deemed to be hostile to their own power base.

Cixi intervened on behalf of the condemned, reducing their sentences from death by slow cutting, to decapitation for one, and suicide by strangulation for the others.

Prince Gong in 1860, as photographed by Felice Beato.

Three Rulers And A Puppet

The senior Empress Dowager Ci’an would oversee the palace, while Cixi took the lead in affairs of state and politics. Prince Gong was the visible face of the trio, since decorum required that Cixi listen to meetings from out of sight. The young Tongzhi Emperor retreated from public affairs during his upbringing.

The young Tongzhi Emperor disliked studies.

The terms of peace after the Second Opium War punished China. Western countries now could establish enclaves along China’s coast. But the Qing court could enlist the help of the French and British in fighting the Taiping rebels. Cixi encouraged the adoption of foreign military technology and guidance.

A new school, the Tongwen Guan, taught international languages and science. Cixi favored many proposals for industrialization and modernization, collectively known as the Self-Strengthening Movement, although she opposed railroads, saying the noise disturbed the dead.

Cixi had developed a close, and perhaps romantic, friendship with An Dehai, one of her eunuch attendants. The favor she showed him did not sit well with Prince Gong and court officials. In 1869, they had the man beheaded.

The Tongzhi Emperor came to rule in his own right at age 17, but had less interest in governing than in sheer entertainment. When he dismissed Prince Gong from his court, he received a stern, protocol-breaking lecture from Cixi and Ci’an, and their ally was reinstated.

An Dehai, the Empress Dowager Cixi’s favorite eunuch, was beheaded by Prince Gong and his allies. Cixi apparently did nothing to stop them.

The Tongzhi Emperor died at age 18, and rumors suggested syphilis as the cause, given his multiple affairs with prostitutes. Modern review has ruled that out, but the gossip is a measure of his public image.

Surprising Reversals

Cixi hadn’t gotten along with her son’s wife, the Empress Xiaozheyi, who regarded the former concubine as an inferior. Suspiciously, Xiaozheyi died very soon after her husband, along with her unborn child.

Cixi then adopted her three-year-old nephew, who became the Guangxu Emperor. Oddly, she ordered him to call her his “royal father.” Ci’an emerged as the principal regent of the period, as Cixi was suffering bad health. But in 1881, Ci’an herself died of a stroke. Cixi was again in command.

The Guangxu Emperor assumed power at age 18 in 1889, and Cixi nominally went into retirement on the outskirts of Beijing, though foreign governments sometimes wrote to Cixi directly, bypassing the emperor.

The Empress Dowager (center) with courtiers in 1902, the year following the Boxer Rebellion. Empress Xiaodingjing stands second from left. Yu Xunling, photographer.

In 1898, Cixi opposed a rapid modernization program, called the Hundred Days’ Reform. Advocated by the emperor and his advisors, the plan proposed a constitutional monarchy.

Cixi worked to block the reforms, and to remove the reformers, executing those who didn’t manage to escape first. The Guangxu Emperor was placed under house arrest on an island adjacent to the Forbidden City, and would never again wield power.

Anti-foreign sentiment in China coalesced into the Boxer Rebellion, named for its organization’s martial arts practices. In another turn, Cixi expressed sympathy with the movement. In 1900, militias attacked the coastal mini-colonies. Following the defeat of the Boxer Rebellion, Cixi publicly apologized for supporting it, and China made restitution payments to the countries affected.

Cixi now changed course again, advocating for a limited monarchy. She stood for photographs and painted portraits in a kind of charm offensive, offering prints to palace visitors.

But as her health failed, Cixi arranged that yet another child would be next in line for the throne, a declaration she made from her deathbed before her death on Nov. 15, 1908. Just the previous day, the Guangxu Emperor had himself died of arsenic poisoning. Cixi was buried in a palatial tomb east of the capital.

Upon hearing the news of the deaths, anarchist Wu Zhihui referred to Cixi and her nephew as a “vermin empress and vermin emperor” whose “lingering stench makes me vomit.”

This portrait of the Empress Dowager Cixi was painted in 1905 by Dutch artist Hubert Vos.

Self-Serving Usurper Or Brilliant Leader?

In the Republic of China, Cixi was a target for contempt. Her image in the English-speaking world was colored by the book China Under the Empress Dowager, written by John Otway Percy Bland, a journalist, and Edmund Backhouse, an utter fraud, whose fantastical stories Bland chose not to question.

The early Chinese Communist Party had no love for any “feudal” tyrants. Only in the 1970s did anyone question the melodramatic caricature of Cixi as a “Dragon Lady,” an unfortunate nickname that remains.

Modern historians credit the Empress Dowager Cixi for pulling China through difficult times, while others vilify her for her numerous executions and opposition to crucial reforms that would have risked her own hold on power. It’s remarkable that she held onto power for 45 years — but at what cost?

Conclusion

You have just learned about the life of those in power.

Do you actually believe that things are different today?

Oh you might call the type of governance different, and you might have different technologies, and different societal constructs, but the fact remains that the lifestyles of the wealthy, the famous, the rulers and their first tier actuators do not resemble ANYTHING like the subjects that they rule over.

It doesn’t matter if the year is 1908…

Or 2008.

There is a fundamental change in the personality of a person who obtains power. We say that they are “corrupted”, but that’s not really accurate. They change.

They change.

They become something different.

This different “thing” can be monstrous or glorious or something in-between, but they do and actually change.

As such…

You cannot expect them to think as you do. You cannot expect them to experience life as you do. You cannot expect them to understand you, your needs or the relationships that you have with your friends, or your industry or your pastimes. For that all is alien to them.

They might as well be from another planet.

If mankind is going to advance in any way, we have to recognize that power changes humans into something else. And that once a person in put in charge of the reigns of power they can NEVER return back to a “normal” state of life. And for the world to be a better place; one where humanity interacts peacefully and coexists with the environment, we must recognize that power is too dangerous to entrust to individual humans. And that for proper and safe governance, some other system must be put in place that differs SUBSTANTIALLY from any other system already implemented on the planet.

Ponder a spell about the implications of that.

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The USA might be going bat-shit crazy, but in China everything is going according to plan

It is late August 2020. The United States is a mess. It really is. Even my Chinese friends who normally don’t bother with the news and international issues can see this. Face it. The United States is collapsing and all the rest of the world can do is hold on, and hope that there are some smart people managing the collapse.

Many of the nouveau riche, the ultra-wealthy, can read the handwriting on the wall. They can see the wheels coming off in America, as a debt-soaked economy, along with violence and pervasive poverty continues to increase, and our national problems have all resisted solutions and resolutions for years.

Federal government has become virtually dysfunctional, as the political extremism has destroyed professionalism and cooperation, and politicians accuse, insult, even curse at each other without ever agreeing on anything.

It is not surprising that they're lining up other countries they can move to when the time comes. And the way things are going, that time is almost now.

-Marketwatch

The following is a well written article that I pulled off the UNZ website. I passed it on to other retired professionals, current analysts, and businessmen in very senior roles within global international companies and asked them for their opinions. These are not the people who make decisions based on what MSN, CNN, Drudge, or Rush Limbaugh has to say. Instead, these are people who have experience in global trade, scientific advancements and technology. They are the people who actually make the decisions (on a working level) regarding international commerce and industry. Of the around two hundred that I queried, about thirty five responded.

All of them that responded pretty much agreed with me that is is a very accurate assessment on what is going on within China, and the world currently. That it makes complete sense, and that they have expected this all to occur and be put into place.

If you want to part the curtains a little bit, and see how things are really working…

…free of all that “noise” from the political, and media machinery within the United States (and their client nations) then read this post.

This is a reprint of “Everything Going According to Plan in China. The contours of China’s long-term strategy for the new Cold War are quickly coming into view” by Pepe Escobar. Found on the UNZ website. Written August 24, 2020. Edited to fit this venue. All credit to the author. With 33 Comments on the original post. (Republished from Asia Times)

Everything Going According to Plan in China. The contours of China’s long-term strategy for the new Cold War are quickly coming into view

Let’s start with the story of an incredibly disappearing summit.

The mysterious secretive BeiDaiHe Meeting

Every August, the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) converges to the town of Beidaihe, a seaside resort some two hours away from Beijing. They do so to discuss serious policies that then coalesce into key planning strategies. Strategies that are presented to be approved at the CCP Central Committee plenary session later on in October.

The Beidaihe ritual was established by none other than Great Helmsman Mao, who loved the town where.  It is not by accident, Emperor Qin, the unifier of China in the 3rd century B.C., kept a palace there.

2020 being, so far, a notorious Year of Living Dangerously, it’s no surprise that in the end Beidaihe was nowhere to be seen.

The Chinese Leadership is a cautious organization.

Yet Beidaihe’s invisibility does not mean it did not happen. It did.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 1 was the fact that Premier Li Keqiang simply disappeared from public view for nearly two weeks.

Curiously, this was after President Xi chaired a crucial Politburo gathering in late July. One where he laid out no less than China’s whole development strategy for the next 15 years.

Premier Li Keqiang resurfaced soon afterwards. Suddenly chairing a special session of the all-powerful State Council.

This was at the same time that (CCP’s top ideologue), Wang Huning (who happens to be number 5 in the Politburo) showed up as the special guest at a meeting of the All China Youth Federation.

What’s even more intriguing is that side by side with Wang, one would find Ding Xuexiang.

Ding Xuexiang is President Xi’s chief of staff.

He wasn’t alone. There were three other Politburo members with him.

In this “now you see them, now you don’t” variation, the fact that they all showed up in unison after an absence of nearly two weeks was more than just curious..

This led sharp Chinese observers to conclude that Beidaihe in fact had taken place. Even if no visible signs of political action by the seaside had been detected.

Curious. The semi-official spin is that no get-together happened at Beidaihe because of Covid-19.

Exhibit 2

Yet it’s Exhibit 2 that may clinch the deal for good.

The by now famous end of July Politburo meeting chaired by Xi in fact sealed the Central Committee plenary session in October.

Translation: the contours of the strategic road map ahead had already been approved by consensus. There was no need to retreat to Beidaihe for further discussions.

Trial balloons or official policy?

The plot thickens when one takes into consideration a series of trial balloons that started to float a few days ago in select Chinese media. Here are some of the key points.

[1] On the trade war…

On the trade war front, Beijing won’t shut down US businesses already operating in China. But companies which want to enter the market in finance, information technology, healthcare and education services will not be approved.

[2] US Treasuries

Beijing won’t dump all its overwhelming mass of US Treasuries in one go, but – as it already happens – divestment will accelerate. Last year, that amounted to $100 billion. Up to the end of 2020, that could reach $300 billion.

[3] The Yuan as a global currency

The internationalization of the yuan, also predictably, will be accelerated. That will include configuring the final parameters for clearing US dollars through the CHIPS Chinese system – foreseeing the incandescent possibility Beijing might be cut off from SWIFT by the Trump administration or whoever will be in power at the White House after January 2021.

[4] America’s “Hybrid War”

On what is largely interpreted across China as the “full spectrum war” front, mostly Hybrid War, the PLA has been put into Stage 3 alert – and all leaves are canceled for the rest of 2020. There will be a concerted drive to increase all-round defense spending to 4% of GDP and accelerate the development of nuclear weapons. Details are bound to emerge during the Central Committee meeting in October.

[5] Chinese Independence and Self-Reliance

The overall emphasis is on a very Chinese spirit of self-reliance, and building what can be defined as a national economic “dual circulation” system: the consolidation of the Eurasian integration project running in parallel to a global yuan settlement mechanism.

Inbuilt in this drive is what has been described as…

 “to firmly abandon all illusions about the United States...

...and conduct war mobilization with our people. We shall vigorously promote the war to resist US aggression...

...We will use a war mindset to steer the national economy...

...Prepare for the complete interruption of relations with the US.”

It’s unclear as it stands if these are only trial balloons disseminated across Chinese public opinion or decisions reached at the “invisible” Beidaihe.

So all eyes will be on what kind of language this alarming configuration will be packaged when the Central Committee presents its strategic planning in October.

Significantly, that will happen only a few weeks before the US election.

It’s all about continuity

All of the above somewhat mirrors a recent debate in Amsterdam on what constitutes the Chinese “threat” to the West.

Here are the key points.

[1] The Chinese Hybrid Economic Model

China constantly reinforces its hybrid economic model – which is an absolute rarity, globally: neither totally publicly owned nor a market economy.

[2] Hyper-Patriotic Nation

The level of patriotism is staggering: once the Chinese face a foreign enemy, 1.4 billion people act as one.

[3] No infighting. Powerful levers of control.

National mechanisms have tremendous force: absolutely nothing blocks the full use of China’s financial, material and manpower resources once a policy is set.

[4] Largest Industrial System on the Planet

China has set up the most comprehensive, back to back industrial system on the planet, without foreign interference if need be (well, there’s always the matter of semiconductors to Huawei to be solved).

[5] Long term planning

China plans not only in years, but in decades. Five year plans are complemented by ten year plans and as the meeting chaired by Xi showed, 15 year plans. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is in fact a nearly 40-year plan, designed in 2013 to be completed in 2049.

[6] Continuity of long-term purpose

And continuity is the name of the game – when one thinks that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, first developed in 1949 and then expanded by Zhou Enlai at the Bandung conference in 1955 are set in stone as China’s foreign policy guidelines.

Conclusion

China is dealing with Chinese issues inside of China using Chinese methods. It is succeeding, and the future (as scary as it appears) seems to be well mapped out by a capable leadership supported by a robust industry, and an enthusiastic populace.

America hasn't a clue. It's still a mish-mash of politics, crime, corruption and distortions. No one inside of America trusts their government, their police or their military. To try to distract attention from domestic issues by having a war with a very robust nations would be national suicide.

The Qiao collective, an independent group that advances the role of qiao (“bridge”) by the strategically important huaqiao (“overseas Chinese”) is on point when they note that Beijing never proclaimed a Chinese model as a solution to global problems.

What they extol is Chinese solutions to specific Chinese conditions.

A forceful point is also made that historical materialism is incompatible with capitalist liberal democracy forcing austerity and regime change on national systems, shaping them towards preconceived models.

That always comes back to the core of the CCP foreign policy: each nation must chart a course fit for its national conditions.

And that reveals the full contours of what can be reasonably described as a Centralized Meritocracy with Confucian, Socialist Characteristics: a different civilization paradigm that the “indispensable nation” still refuses to accept, and certainly won’t abolish by practicing Hybrid War.

Do you want more?

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You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

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Law 29 Plan all the way to the end (full text) from the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.

This is the free full text in glorious HTML of law 29 from Robert Greene’s work titled “The 48 Laws of Power”. This law is titled “Plan all the way to the end”. It is a great read, and contains a lot of wisdom on many levels. Indeed, anyone who has ever managed a project can attest to the validity of this law.

LAW 29

PLAN ALL THE WAY TO THE END

JUDGMENT

The ending is everything.

Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others.

By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop.

Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

In 1510 a ship set out from the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) for Venezuela, where it was to rescue a besieged Spanish colony.

Several miles out of port, a stowaway climbed out of a provision chest: Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a noble Spaniard who had come to the New World in search of gold but had fallen into debt and had escaped his creditors by hiding in the chest.

There are very few men—and they are the exceptions—who are able to think and feel beyond the present moment.

-CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ, 1780-1831

Balboa had been obsessed with gold ever since Columbus had returned to Spain from his voyages with tales of a fabulous but as yet undiscovered kingdom called El Dorado.

Balboa was one of the first adventurers to come in search of Columbus’s land of gold, and he had decided from the beginning that he would be the one to find it, through sheer audacity and single-mindedness.

Now that he was free of his creditors, nothing would stop him.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa could very well be represented by the Character Aguirre in “The Wrath of God”.

Unfortunately the ship’s owner, a wealthy jurist named Francisco Fer nández de Enciso, was furious when told of the stowaway, and he ordered that Balboa be left on the first island they came across.

Before they found any island, however, Enciso received news that the colony he was to rescue had been abandoned.

This was Balboa’s chance.

He told the sailors of his previous voyages to Panama, and of the rumors he had heard of gold in the area.

The excited sailors convinced Enciso to spare Balboa’s life, and to establish a colony in Panama.

Weeks later they named their new settlement “Darien.”

Darien’s first governor was Enciso, but Balboa was not a man to let others steal the initiative. He campaigned against Enciso among the sailors, who eventually made it clear that they preferred him as governor.

Enciso fled to Spain, fearing for his life.

Months later, when a representative of the Spanish crown arrived to establish himself as the new, official governor of Darien, he was turned away.

On his return voyage to Spain, this man drowned; the drowning was accidental, but under Spanish law, Balboa had murdered the governor and usurped his position.

Balboa’s bravado had got him out of scrapes before, but now his hopes of wealth and glory seemed doomed.

To lay claim to El Dorado, should he discover it, he would need the approval of the Spanish king—which, as an outlaw, he would never receive.

There was only one solution. Panamanian Indians had told Balboa of a vast ocean on the other side of the Central American isthmus, and had said that by traveling south upon this western coast, he would reach a fabulous land of gold, called by a name that to his ears sounded like “Biru.”

Balboa decided he would cross the treacherous jungles of Panama and become the first European to bathe his feet in this new ocean.

From there he would march on El Dorado. If he did this on Spain’s behalf, he would obtain the eternal gratitude of the king, and would secure his own reprieve—only he had to act before Spanish authorities came to arrest him.

THE TWO FROGS

Two frogs dwelt in the same pool. The pool being dried up under the summer’s heat, they left it, and set out together to seek another home. 

As they went along they chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with water, on seeing which one of the frogs said to the other: “Let us descend and make our abode in this well, it will furnish us with shelter and food.” The other replied with greater caution: “But suppose the water should fail us, how can we get out again from so great a depth?” 

Do nothing without a regard to the consequences.

-FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

In 1513, then, Balboa set out, with 190 soldiers. Halfway across the isthmus (some ninety miles wide at that point), only sixty soldiers remained, many having succumbed to the harsh conditions—the blood-sucking insects, the torrential rainfall, fever.

Aguirre the wrath of god..

Finally, from a mountaintop, Balboa became the first European to lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean. Days later he marched in his armor into its waters, bearing the banner of Castile and claiming all its seas, lands, and islands in the name of the Spanish throne.

Look to the end, no matter what it is you are considering. Often enough, God gives a man a glimpse of happiness, and then utterly ruins him.

-THE HISTORIES, HERODOTUS, FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

Indians from the area greeted Balboa with gold, jewels, and precious pearls, the like of which he had never seen.

When he asked where these had come from, the Indians pointed south, to the land of the Incas. But Balboa had only a few soldiers left. For the moment, he decided, he should return to Darien, send the jewels and gold to Spain as a token of good will, and ask for a large army to aid him in the conquest of El Dorado.

When news reached Spain of Balboa’s bold crossing of the isthmus, his discovery of the western ocean, and his planned conquest of El Dorado, the former criminal became a hero.

He was instantly proclaimed governor of the new land.

But before the king and queen received word of his discovery, they had already sent a dozen ships, under the command of a man named Pedro Arias Dávila, “Pedrarias,” with orders to arrest Balboa for murder and to take command of the colony.

By the time Pedrarias arrived in Panama, he had learned that Balboa had been pardoned, and that he was to share the governorship with the former outlaw.

All the same, Balboa felt uneasy.

Gold was his dream, El Dorado his only desire.

In pursuit of this goal he had nearly died many times over, and to share the wealth and glory with a newcomer would be intolerable.

He also soon discovered that Pedrarias was a jealous, bitter man, and equally unhappy with the situation. Once again, the only solution for Balboa was to seize the initiative by proposing to cross the jungle with a larger army, carrying ship-building materials and tools.

Crossing the mountains.

Once on the Pacific coast, he would create an armada with which to conquer the Incas.

Surprisingly enough, Pedrarias agreed to the plan—perhaps sensing it would never work.

Hundreds died in this second march through the jungle, and the timber they carried rotted in the torrential rains.

Balboa, as usual, was undaunted—no power in the world could thwart his plan—and on arriving at the Pacific he began to cut down trees for new lumber. But the men remaining to him were too few and too weak to mount an invasion, and once again Balboa had to return to Darien.

Pedrarias had in any case invited Balboa back to discuss a new plan, and on the outskirts of the settlement, the explorer was met by Francisco Pizarro, an old friend who had accompanied him on his first crossing of the isthmus.

But this was a trap: Leading one hundred soldiers, Pizarro surrounded his former friend, arrested him, and returned him to Pedrarias, who tried him on charges of rebellion.

A few days later Balboa’s head fell into a basket, along with those of his most trusted followers. Years later Pizarro himself reached Peru, and Balboa’s deeds were forgotten.

THE KING. THE SUFI. AND THE SURGEON

In ancient times a king of Tartary was out walking with some of his noblemen. At the roadside was an abdal (a wandering Sufi), who cried out: “Whoever will give me a hundred dinars, I will give him some good advice.” 

The king stopped, and said: “Abdal, what is this good advice for a hundred dinars?” 

“Sir,” answered the abdal, “order the sum to be given to me, and I will tell it you immediately.” 

The king did so, expecting to hear something extraordinary. 

The dervish said to him: “My advice is this: Never begin anything until you have reflected what will be the end of it.” 

At this the nobles and everyone else present laughed, saying that the abdal had been wise to ask for his money in advance. 

But the king said: “You have no reason to laugh at the good advice this abdal has given me. No one is unaware of the fact that we should think well before doing anything. But we are daily guilty of not remembering, and the consequences are evil. I very much value this dervish’s advice. ”

The king decided to bear the advice always in his mind, and commanded it to be written in gold on the walls and even engraved on his silver plate.

Not long afterward a plotter desired to kill the king. 

He bribed the royal surgeon with a promise of the prime ministership if he thrust a poisoned lancet into the king’s arm. 

When the time came to let some of the king’s blood, a silver basin was placed to catch the blood. 

Suddenly the surgeon became aware of the words engraved upon it: “Never begin anything until you have reflected what will be the end of it. ” 

It was only then that he realized that if the plotter became king he could have the surgeon killed instantly, and would not need to fulfill his bargain.

The king, seeing that the surgeon was now trembling, asked him what was wrong with him. And so he confessed the truth, at that very moment.The plotter was seized; and the king sent for all the people who had been present when the abdal gave his advice, and said to them: “Do you still laugh at the dervish?”

-CARAVAN OF DREAMS. IDRIES SHAH, 1968

Interpretation

Most men are ruled by the heart, not the head.

Their plans are vague, and when they meet obstacles they improvise.

But improvisation will only bring you as far as the next crisis, and is never a substitute for thinking several steps ahead and planning to the end.

Balboa had a dream of glory and wealth, and a vague plan to reach it.

Yet his bold deeds, and his discovery of the Pacific, are largely forgotten, for he committed what in the world of power is the ultimate sin: He went part way, leaving the door open for others to take over.

A real man of power would have had the prudence to see the dangers in the distance—the rivals who would want to share in the conquests, the vultures that would hover once they heard the word “gold.”

Balboa should have kept his knowledge of the Incas secret until after he had conquered Peru.

Only then would his wealth, and his head, have been secure.

Once Pedrarias arrived on the scene, a man of power and prudence would have schemed to kill or imprison him, and to take over the army he had brought for the conquest of Peru.

But Balboa was locked in the moment, always reacting emotionally, never thinking ahead.

What good is it to have the greatest dream in the world if others reap the benefits and the glory? Never lose your head over a vague, open-ended dream—plan to the end.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

In 1863 the Prussian premier Otto von Bismarck surveyed the chessboard of European power as it then stood. The main players were England, France, and Austria.

Prussia itself was one of several states in the loosely allied German Federation.

Austria, dominant member of the Federation, made sure that the other German states remained weak, divided and submissive.

Bismarck believed that Prussia was destined for something far greater than servant boy to Austria.

This is how Bismarck played the game. His first move was to start a war with lowly Denmark, in order to recover the former Prussian lands of Schleswig-Holstein. He knew that these rumblings of Prussian independence might worry France and England, so he enlisted Austria in the war, claiming that he was recovering Schleswig-Holstein for their benefit.

In a few months, after the war was decided, Bismarck demanded that the newly conquered lands be made part of Prussia.

The Austrians of course were furious, but they compromised: First they agreed to give the Prussians Schleswig, and a year later they sold them Holstein. The world began to see that Austria was weakening and that Prussia was on the rise.

Bismarck’s next move was his boldest: In 1866 he convinced King William of Prussia to withdraw from the German Federation, and in doing so to go to war with Austria itself.

King William’s wife, his son the crown prince, and the princes of the other German kingdoms vehemently opposed such a war.

But Bismarck, undaunted, succeeded in forcing the conflict, and Prussia’s superior army defeated the Austrians in the brutally short Seven Weeks War.

The king and the Prussian generals then wanted to march on Vienna, taking as much land from Austria as possible.

But Bismarck stopped them—now he presented himself as on the side of peace.

The result was that he was able to conclude a treaty with Austria that granted Prussia and the other German states total autonomy.

Bismarck could now position Prussia as the dominant power in Germany and the head of a newly formed North German Confederation.

The French and the English began to compare Bismarck to Attila the Hun, and to fear that he had designs on all of Europe.

Once he had started on the path to conquest, there was no telling where he would stop.

And, indeed, three years later Bismarck provoked a war with France.

First he appeared to give his permission to France’s annexation of Belgium, then at the last moment he changed his mind.

Playing a cat-and-mouse game, he infuriated the French emperor, Napoleon III, and stirred up his own king against the French. To no one’s surprise, war broke out in 1870. The newly formed German federation enthusiastically joined in the war on France, and once again the Prussian military machine and its allies destroyed the enemy army in a matter of months.

Although Bismarck opposed taking any French land, the generals convinced him that Alsace-Lorraine would become part of the federation.

Now all of Europe feared the next move of the Prussian monster, led by Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor.” And in fact a year later Bismarck founded the German Empire, with the Prussian king as the newly crowned emperor and Bismarck himself a prince.

But then something strange happened: Bismarck instigated no more wars.

And while the other European powers grabbed up land for colonies in other continents, he severely limited Germany’s colonial acquisitions.

He did not want more land for Germany, but more security.

For the rest of his life he struggled to maintain peace in Europe and to prevent further wars. Everybody assumed he had changed, mellowing with the years. They had failed to understand: This was the final move of his original plan.

He who asks fortune-tellers the future unwittingly forfeits an inner intimation of coming events that is a thousand times more exact than anything they may say.

-WALTER BENJAMIN, 1892-1940

Interpretation

There is a simple reason why most men never know when to come off the attack: They form no concrete idea of their goal.

Once they achieve victory they only hunger for more.

To stop—to aim for a goal and then keep to it—seems almost inhuman, in fact; yet nothing is more critical to the maintenance of power.

The person who goes too far in his triumphs creates a reaction that inevitably leads to a decline.

The only solution is to plan for the long run.

Foresee the future with as much clarity as the gods on Mount Olympus, who look through the clouds and see the ends of all things.

From the beginning of his career in politics, Bismarck had one goal: to form an independent German state led by Prussia. He instigated the war with Denmark not to conquer territory but to stir up Prussian nationalism and unite the country. He incited the war with Austria only to gain Prussian independence. (This was why he refused to grab Austrian territory.) And he fomented the war with France to unite the German kingdoms against a common enemy, and thus to prepare for the formation of a united Germany.

Once this was achieved, Bismarck stopped. He never let triumph go to his head, was never tempted by the siren call of more. He held the reins tightly, and whenever the generals, or the king, or the Prussian people demanded new conquests, he held them back. Nothing would spoil the beauty of his creation, certainly not a false euphoria that pushed those around him to attempt to go past the end that he had so carefully planned.

Experience shows that, if one foresees from far away the designs to be
undertaken, one can act with speed when the moment comes to execute them.

-Cardinall Richelieu, 1585-1642

KEYS TO POWER

According to the cosmology of the ancient Greeks, the gods were thought to have complete vision into the future. They saw everything to come, right down to the intricate details.

Men, on the other hand, were seen as victims of fate, trapped in the moment and their emotions, unable to see beyond immediate dangers. Those heroes, such as Odysseus, who were able to look beyond the present and plan several steps ahead, seemed to defy fate, to approximate the gods in their ability to determine the future. The comparison is still valid—those among us who think further ahead and patiently bring their plans to fruition seem to have a godlike power.

Because most people are too imprisoned in the moment to plan with this kind of foresight, the ability to ignore immediate dangers and pleasures translates into power.

It is the power of being able to overcome the natural human tendency to react to things as they happen, and instead to train oneself to step back, imagining the larger things taking shape beyond one’s immediate vision.

Most people believe that they are in fact aware of the future, that they are planning and thinking ahead.

They are usually deluded: What they are really doing is succumbing to their desires, to what they want the future to be. Their plans are vague, based on their imaginations rather than their reality.

They may believe they are thinking all the way to the end, but they are really only focusing on the happy ending, and deluding themselves by the strength of their desire.

Athens

In 415 B.C., the ancient Athenians attacked Sicily, believing their expedition would bring them riches, power, and a glorious ending to the sixteen-year Peloponnesian War.

They did not consider the dangers of an invasion so far from home; they did not foresee [1] that the Sicilians would fight all the harder since the battles were in their own homeland, or [2] that all of Athens’s enemies would band together against them, or [3] that war would break out on several fronts, stretching their forces way too thin.

The Sicilian expedition was a complete disaster, leading to the destruction of one of the greatest civilizations of all time.

The Athenians were led into this disaster by their hearts, not their minds. They saw only the chance of glory, not the dangers that loomed in the distance.

France

Cardinal de Retz, the seventeenth-century Frenchman who prided himself on his insights into human schemes and why they mostly fail, analyzed this phenomenon.

In the course of a rebellion he spearheaded against the French monarchy in 1651, the young king, Louis XIV, and his court had suddenly left Paris and established themselves in a palace outside the capital.

The presence of the king so close to the heart of the revolution had been a tremendous burden on the revolutionaries, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

This later proved their downfall, however, since the court’s absence from Paris gave it much more room to maneuver.

“The most ordinary cause of people’s mistakes,” Cardinal de Retz later wrote, “is their being too much frightened at the present danger, and not enough so at that which is remote.”

The dangers that are remote, that loom in the distance—if we can see them as they take shape, how many mistakes we avoid.

How many plans we would instantly abort if we realized we were avoiding a small danger only to step into a larger one. So much of power is not what you do but what you do not do—the rash and foolish actions that you refrain from before they get you into trouble.

Plan in detail before you act—do not let vague plans lead you into trouble.

Will this have unintended consequences? Will I stir up new enemies? Will someone else take advantage of my labors? Unhappy endings are much more common than happy ones—do not be swayed by the happy ending in your mind.

French Elections

The French elections of 1848 came down to a struggle between Louis-Adolphe Thiers, the man of order, and General Louis Eugène Cavaignac, the rabble-rouser of the right.

When Thiers realized he was hopelessly behind in this high-stakes race, he searched desperately for a solution.

His eye fell on Louis Bonaparte, grand-nephew of the great general Napoleon, and a lowly deputy in the parliament.

This Bonaparte seemed a bit of an imbecile, but his name alone could get him elected in a country yearning for a strong ruler.

He would be Thiers’s puppet and eventually would be pushed offstage.

The first part of the plan worked to perfection, and Napoleon was elected by a large margin.

The problem was that Thiers had not foreseen one simple fact: This “imbecile” was in fact a man of enormous ambition.

Three years later he [1] dissolved parliament, [2] declared himself emperor, and [3] ruled France for another eighteen years, much to the horror of Thiers and his party.

The ending is everything. It is the end of the action that determines who gets the glory, the money, the prize. Your conclusion must be crystal clear, and you must keep it constantly in mind. You must also figure out how to ward off the vultures circling overhead, trying to live off the carcass of your creation. And you must anticipate the many possible crises that will tempt you to improvise. Bismarck overcame these dangers because he planned to the end, kept on course through every crisis, and never let others steal the glory. Once he had reached his stated goal, he withdrew into his shell like a turtle. This kind of self-control is godlike.

When you see several steps ahead, and plan your moves all the way to the end, you will no longer be tempted by emotion or by the desire to improvise. Your clarity will rid you of the anxiety and vagueness that are the primary reasons why so many fail to conclude their actions successfully. You see the ending and you tolerate no deviation.

Image:
The Gods on
Mount Olympus.
Looking down on
human actions from the
clouds, they see in advance the
endings of all the great dreams that
lead to disaster and tragedy. And
they laugh at our inability to see beyond
the moment, and at how we delude ourselves.

Authority: How much easier it is never to get in than to get yourself out! We should act contrary to the reed which, when it first appears, throws up a long straight stem but afterwards, as though it were exhausted ... makes several dense knots, indicating that it no longer has its original vigor and drive. We must rather begin gently and coolly, saving our breath for the encounter and our vigorous thrusts for finishing off the job. In their beginnings it is we who guide affairs and hold them in our power; but so often once they are set in motion, it is they which guide us and sweep us along. 

(Montaigne, 1533-1592)

REVERSAL

It is a cliché among strategists that your plan must include alternatives and have a degree of flexibility. That is certainly true. If you are locked into a plan too rigidly, you will be unable to deal with sudden shifts of fortune. Once you have examined the future possibilities and decided on your target, you must build in alternatives and be open to new routes toward your goal.

Most people, however, lose less from overplanning and rigidity than from vagueness and a tendency to improvise constantly in the face of circumstance. There is no real purpose in contemplating a reversal to this Law, then, for no good can come from refusing to think far into the future and planning to the end. If you are clear- and far-thinking enough, you will understand that the future is uncertain, and that you must be open to adaptation. Only having a clear objective and a far-reaching plan allows you that freedom.

Conclusion

Today we see the United States, led by Donald Trump trying unsuccessfully to “suppress” China. We see and watch China just continuing on as normal. Just smiling and investing money on new constructions and investments.

Donald Trump might have a long term strategy, but it appears that all his actions are focused on the resultant opinions of the American electorate. This is a short-term strategy. It is seemingly focused on the results of the November 3rd 2020 election results.

Meanwhile, the Chinese, though Xi Peng are investing in ten, twenty and fifty year duration projects along a vision that describes China in 2030, 2030 and 2050.

While no one knows what will happen between these two nations, what we can be assured of is that China will be following the paths mapped out by the Chinese leadership today, while the Americans within America will run from one objective to the other without any apparent cohesive strategy.

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Law 31 – Control the options get others to play the cards you deal (full text) from the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene

This is the full text of Law 31 from “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene. It is titled “Control the options to get others to play the cards that you deal. It is a wonderful addition to the laws that I have been collecting and posting herein.

I learned this at one of the first jobs that I ever had. My supervisor advised me that I should never provide more than three solutions or options on a project. When I am presenting options to upper management, I was to offer three and only three options.

All three would be an option that I would be satisfied with. So that no matter what they chose, I would be satisfied.

One option would be an obvious option for rejection. It would have some fault or problem. Maybe it would be too costly, or two time consuming or have other issues that would make it unsatisfactory.

The remaining two options would lie close together in value. They would be very similar in pricing, costs, trade-offs and timing. I would advise what I felt would be the best option, but it would be ultimately the decision of upper management.

This strategy has worked over and over over the many decades in industry. And I tech it to all the junior engineers and interns in my employ. This law 31, lies very close to this experience of mine. For in my own way, I was controlling the options and having upper management play the cards that I dealt.

LAW 31

CONTROL THE OPTIONS: GET OTHERS TO PLAY WITH THE CARDS YOU DEAL

JUDGMENT

The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets.

Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose.

Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose.

Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I

From early in his reign, Ivan IV, later known as Ivan the Terrible, had to confront an unpleasant reality: The country desperately needed reform, but he lacked the power to push it through.

The greatest limit to his authority came from the boyars, the Russian princely class that dominated the country and terrorized the peasantry.

In 1553, at the age of twenty-three, Ivan fell ill.

Lying in bed, nearing death, he asked the boyars to swear allegiance to his son as the new czar.

Some hesitated, some even refused.

Then and there Ivan saw he had no power over the boyars.

He recovered from his illness, but he never forgot the lesson: The boyars were out to destroy him. And indeed in the years to come, many of the most powerful of them defected to Russia’s main enemies, Poland and Lithuania, where they plotted their return and the overthrow of the czar.

Even one of Ivan’s closest friends, Prince Andrey Kurbski, suddenly turned against him, defecting to Lithuania in 1564, and becoming the strongest of Ivan’s enemies.

When Kurbski began raising troops for an invasion, the royal dynasty seemed suddenly more precarious than ever.

With émigré nobles fomenting invasion from the west, Tartars bearing down from the east, and the boyars stirring up trouble within the country, Russia’s vast size made it a nightmare to defend.

In whatever direction Ivan struck, he would leave himself vulnerable on the other side. Only if he had absolute power could he deal with this many-headed Hydra. And he had no such power.

Ivan brooded until the morning of December 3, 1564, when the citizens of Moscow awoke to a strange sight.

Hundreds of sleds filled the square before the Kremlin, loaded with the czar’s treasures and with provisions for the entire court.

They watched in disbelief as the czar and his court boarded the sleds and left town.

Without explaining why, he established himself in a village south of Moscow.

For an entire month a kind of terror gripped the capital, for the Muscovites feared that Ivan had abandoned them to the bloodthirsty boyars.

Shops closed up and riotous mobs gathered daily.

Finally, on January 3 of 1565, a letter arrived from the czar, explaining that he could no longer bear the boyars’ betrayals and had decided to abdicate once and for all.

The German Chancellor Bismarck, enraged at the constant criticisms from Rudolf Virchow (the German pathologist and liberal politician), had his seconds call upon the scientist to challenge him to a duel. 

“As the challenged party, I have the choice of weapons,” said Virchow, “and I choose these.” 

He held aloft two large and apparently identical sausages. 

“One of these,” he went on, “is infected with deadly germs; the other is perfectly sound. 

Let His Excellency decide which one he wishes to eat, and I will eat the other.” 

Almost immediately the message came back that the chancellor had decided to cancel the duel.

-THE LITTLE. BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES. CLIFTON FADIMAN, FD., 1985

Read aloud in public, the letter had a startling effect: Merchants and commoners blamed the boyars for Ivan’s decision, and took to the streets, terrifying the nobility with their fury.

Soon a group of delegates representing the church, the princes, and the people made the journey to Ivan’s village, and begged the czar, in the name of the holy land of Russia, to return to the throne.

Ivan listened but would not change his mind.

After days of hearing their pleas, however, he offered his subjects a choice: Either they grant him absolute powers to govern as he pleased, with no interference from the boyars, or they find a new leader.

Faced with a choice between civil war and the acceptance of despotic power, almost every sector of Russian society “opted” for a strong czar, calling for Ivan’s return to Moscow and the restoration of law and order.

In February, with much celebration, Ivan returned to Moscow.

The Russians could no longer complain if he behaved dictatorially—they had given him this power themselves.

Interpretation

Ivan the Terrible faced a terrible dilemma: To give in to the boyars would lead to certain destruction, but civil war would bring a different kind of ruin. Even if Ivan came out of such a war on top, the country would be devastated and its divisions would be stronger than ever.

His weapon of choice in the past had been to make a bold, offensive move. Now, however, that kind of move would turn against him—the more boldly he confronted his enemies, the worse the reactions he would spark.

The main weakness of a show of force is that it stirs up resentment and eventually leads to a response that eats at your authority.

Ivan, immensely creative in the use of power, saw clearly that the only path to the kind of victory he wanted was a false withdrawal.

He would not force the country over to his position, he would give it “options”: either [1] his abdication, and certain anarchy, or [2] his accession to absolute power.

To back up his move, he made it clear that he preferred to abdicate: “Call my bluff,” he said, “and watch what happens.”

No one called his bluff.

By withdrawing for just a month, he showed the country a glimpse of the nightmares that would follow his abdication—Tartar invasions, civil war, ruin. (All of these did eventually come to pass after Ivan’s death, in the infamous “Time of the Troubles.”)

Withdrawal and disappearance are classic ways of controlling the options.

You give people a sense of how things will fall apart without you, and you offer them a “choice”: I stay away and you suffer the consequences, or I return under circumstances that I dictate.

In this method of controlling people’s options, they choose the option that gives you power because the alternative is just too unpleasant. You force their hand, but indirectly: They seem to have a choice.

Whenever people feel they have a choice, they walk into your trap that much more easily.

THE LIAR

Once upon a time there was a king of Armenia, who, being of a curious turn of mind and in need of some new diversion, sent his heralds throughout the land to make the following proclamation: “Hear this! Whatever man among you can prove himself the most outrageous liar in Armenia shall receive an apple made of pure gold from the hands of His Majesty the King!” 

People began to swarm to the palace from every town and hamlet in the country, people of all ranks and conditions, princes, merchants, farmers, priests, rich and poor, tall and short, fat and thin. 

There was no lack of liars in the land, and each one told his tale to the king. 

A ruler, however, has heard practically every sort of lie, and none of those now told him convinced the king that he had listened to the best of them. 

The king was beginning to grow tired of his new sport and was thinking of calling the whole contest off without declaring a winner, when there appeared before him a poor, ragged man, carrying a large earthenware pitcher under his arm. 

“What can I do for you?” asked His Majesty. 

“Sire!” said the poor man, slightly bewildered “Surely you remember? You owe me a pot of gold, and I have come to collect it.” 

“You are a pet feet liar, sir!’ exclaimed the king ”I owe you no money’” 

”A perfect liar, am I?” said the poor man. ”Then give me the golden apple!” 

The king, realizing that the man was Irving to trick him. started to hedge. ”No. no! You are not a liar!” 

”Then give me the pot of gold you owe me. sire.” said the man. The king saw the dilemma, He handed over the golden apple.

-ARMENIAN FOLKTALES AND FABLES. REIOLD BY CAHARLES DOWNING. 1993

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II

As a seventeenth-century French courtesan, Ninon de Lenclos found that her life had certain pleasures.

Her lovers came from royalty and aristocracy, and they paid her well, entertained her with their wit and intellect, satisfied her rather demanding sensual needs, and treated her almost as an equal.

Such a life was infinitely preferable to marriage.

In 1643, however, Ninon’s mother died suddenly, leaving her, at the age of twenty-three, totally alone in the world—no family, no dowry, nothing to fall back upon.

A kind of panic overtook her and she entered a convent, turning her back on her illustrious lovers.

A year later she left the convent and moved to Lyons.

When she finally reappeared in Paris, in 1648, lovers and suitors flocked to her door in greater numbers than ever before, for she was the wittiest and most spirited courtesan of the time and her presence had been greatly missed.

Ninon’s followers quickly discovered, however, that she had changed her old way of doing things, and had set up a new system of options.

The dukes, seigneurs, and princes who wanted to pay for her services could continue to do so, but they were no longer in control—she would sleep with them when she wanted, according to her whim.

All their money bought them was a possibility. If it was her pleasure to sleep with them only once a month, so be it.

Those who did not want to be what Ninon called a payeur could join the large and growing group of men she called her martyrs—men who visited her apartment principally for her friendship, her biting wit, her lute-playing, and the company of the most vibrant minds of the period, including Molière, La Rochefoucauld, and Saint-Évremond.

The martyrs, too, however, entertained a possibility: She would regularly select from them a favori, a man who would become her lover without having to pay, and to whom she would abandon herself completely for as long as she so desired—a week, a few months, rarely longer.

A payeur could not become a favori, but a martyr had no guarantee of becoming one, and indeed could remain disappointed for an entire lifetime. The poet Charleval, for example, never enjoyed Ninon’s favors, but never stopped coming to visit—he did not want to do without her company.

As word of this system reached polite French society, Ninon became the object of intense hostility.

Her reversal of the position of the courtesan scandalized the queen mother and her court.

Much to their horror, however, it did not discourage her male suitors—indeed it only increased their numbers and intensified their desire.

It became an honor to be a payeur, helping Ninon to maintain her lifestyle and her glittering salon, accompanying her sometimes to the theater, and sleeping with her when she chose.

Even more distinguished were the martyrs, enjoying her company without paying for it and maintaining the hope, however remote, of some day becoming her favori. That possibility spurred on many a young nobleman, as word spread that none among the courtesans could surpass Ninon in the art of love.

And so the married and the single, the old and the young, entered her web and chose one of the two options presented to them, both of which amply satisfied her.

Interpretation

The life of the courtesan entailed the possibility of a power that was denied a married woman, but it also had obvious perils.

The man who paid for the courtesan’s services in essence owned her, determining when he could possess her and when, later on, he would abandon her.

As she grew older, her options narrowed, as fewer men chose her.

To avoid a life of poverty she had to amass her fortune while she was young.

The courtesan’s legendary greed, then, reflected a practical necessity, yet also lessened her allure, since the illusion of being desired is important to men, who are often alienated if their partner is too interested in their money.

As the courtesan aged, then, she faced a most difficult fate.

Ninon de Lenclos had a horror of any kind of dependence.

She early on tasted a kind of equality with her lovers, and she would not settle into a system that left her such distasteful options. Strangely enough, the system she devised in its place seemed to satisfy her suitors as much as it did her.

The payeurs may have had to pay, but the fact that Ninon would only sleep with them when she wanted to gave them a thrill unavailable with every other courtesan: She was yielding out of her own desire.

The martyrs’ avoidance of the taint of having to pay gave them a sense of superiority; as members of Ninon’s fraternity of admirers, they also might some day experience the ultimate pleasure of being her favori.

Finally, Ninon did not force her suitors into either category.

They could “choose” which side they preferred—a freedom that left them a vestige of masculine pride.

Such is the power of giving people a choice, or rather the illusion of one, for they are playing with cards you have dealt them.

Where the alternatives set up by Ivan the Terrible involved a certain risk—one option would have led to his losing his power—Ninon created a situation in which every option redounded to her favor.

From the payeurs she received the money she needed to run her salon. And from the martyrs she gained the ultimate in power: She could surround herself with a bevy of admirers, a harem from which to choose her lovers.

The system, though, depended on one critical factor: the possibility, however remote, that a martyr could become a favori.

The illusion that riches, glory, or sensual satisfaction may someday fall into your victim’s lap is an irresistible carrot to include in your list of choices.

That hope, however slim, will make men accept the most ridiculous situations, because it leaves them the all-important option of a dream. The illusion of choice, married to the possibility of future good fortune, will lure the most stubborn sucker into your glittering web.

J. P. Morgan Sr. once told a jeweler of his acquaintance that he was interested in buying a pearl scarf-pin. 

Just a few weeks later, the jeweler happened upon a magnificent pearl. He had it mounted in an appropriate setting and sent it to Morgan, together with a bill for $5,000. 

The following day the package was returned. Morgan’s accompanying note read: “I like the pin, but I don’t like the price. 

If you will accept the enclosed check for $4,000, please send back the box with the seal unbroken.” 

The enraged jeweler refused the check and dismissed the messenger in disgust. He opened up the box to reclaim the unwanted pin, only to find that it had been removed. In its place was a check for $5,000.

-THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES. CLIFTON FADIMAN, ED.. 1985

KEYS TO POWER

Words like “freedom,” “options,” and “choice” evoke a power of possibility far beyond the reality of the benefits they entail.

When examined closely, the choices we have—in the marketplace, in elections, in our jobs—tend to have noticeable limitations: They are often a matter of a choice simply between A and B, with the rest of the alphabet out of the picture.

Yet as long as the faintest mirage of choice flickers on, we rarely focus on the missing options.

We “choose” to believe that the game is fair, and that we have our freedom. We prefer not to think too much about the depth of our liberty to choose.

This unwillingness to probe the smallness of our choices stems from the fact that too much freedom creates a kind of anxiety. The phrase “unlimited options” sounds infinitely promising, but unlimited options would actually paralyze us and cloud our ability to choose. Our limited range of choices comforts us.

This supplies the clever and cunning with enormous opportunities for deception. For people who are choosing between alternatives find it hard to believe they are being manipulated or deceived; they cannot see that you are allowing them a small amount of free will in exchange for a much more powerful imposition of your own will. Setting up a narrow range of choices, then, should always be a part of your deceptions.

There is a saying: If you can get the bird to walk into the cage on its own, it will sing that much more prettily.

The following are among the most common forms of “controlling the options”:

Color the Choices. This was a favored technique of Henry Kissinger. As President Richard Nixon’s secretary of state, Kissinger considered himself better informed than his boss, and believed that in most situations he could make the best decision on his own. But if he tried to determine policy, he would offend or perhaps enrage a notoriously insecure man. So Kissinger would propose three or four choices of action for each situation, and would present them in such a way that the one he preferred always seemed the best solution compared to the others. Time after time, Nixon fell for the bait, never suspecting that he was moving where Kissinger pushed him. This is an excellent device to use on the insecure master.

Force the Resister. One of the main problems faced by Dr. Milton H. Erickson, a pioneer of hypnosis therapy in the 1950s, was the relapse. His patients might seem to be recovering rapidly, but their apparent susceptibility to the therapy masked a deep resistance: They would soon relapse into old habits, blame the doctor, and stop coming to see him. To avoid this, Erickson began ordering some patients to have a relapse, to make themselves feel as bad as when they first came in—to go back to square one. Faced with this option, the patients would usually “choose” to avoid the relapse—which, of course, was what Erickson really wanted.

This is a good technique to use on children and other willful people who enjoy doing the opposite of what you ask them to: Push them to “choose” what you want them to do by appearing to advocate the opposite.

Alter the Playing Field. In the 1860s, John D. Rockefeller set out to create an oil monopoly. If he tried to buy up the smaller oil companies they would figure out what he was doing and fight back. Instead, he began secretly buying up the railway companies that transported the oil. When he then attempted to take over a particular company, and met with resistance, he reminded them of their dependence on the rails. Refusing them shipping, or simply raising their fees, could ruin their business. Rockefeller altered the playing field so that the only options the small oil producers had were the ones he gave them.

In this tactic your opponents know their hand is being forced, but it doesn’t matter. The technique is effective against those who resist at all costs.

The Shrinking Options. The late-nineteenth-century art dealer Ambroise Vollard perfected this technique.

Customers would come to Vollard’s shop to see some Cézannes. He would show three paintings, neglect to mention a price, and pretend to doze off. The visitors would have to leave without deciding. They would usually come back the next day to see the paintings again, but this time Vollard would pull out less interesting works, pretending he thought they were the same ones. The baffled customers would look at the new offerings, leave to think them over, and return yet again. Once again the same thing would happen: Vollard would show paintings of lesser quality still. Finally the buyers would realize they had better grab what he was showing them, because tomorrow they would have to settle for something worse, perhaps at even higher prices.

A variation on this technique is to raise the price every time the buyer hesitates and another day goes by. This is an excellent negotiating ploy to use on the chronically indecisive, who will fall for the idea that they are getting a better deal today than if they wait till tomorrow.

The Weak Man on the Precipice. The weak are the easiest to maneuver by controlling their options. Cardinal de Retz, the great seventeenth-century provocateur, served as an unofficial assistant to the Duke of Orléans, who was notoriously indecisive. It was a constant struggle to convince the duke to take action—he would hem and haw, weigh the options, and wait till the last moment, giving everyone around him an ulcer. But Retz discovered a way to handle him: He would describe all sorts of dangers, exaggerating them as much as possible, until the duke saw a yawning abyss in every direction except one: the one Retz was pushing him to take.

This tactic is similar to “Color the Choices,” but with the weak you have to be more aggressive. Work on their emotions—use fear and terror to propel them into action. Try reason and they will always find a way to procrastinate.

Brothers in Crime. This is a classic con-artist technique: You attract your victims to some criminal scheme, creating a bond of blood and guilt between you. They participate in your deception, commit a crime (or think they do—see the story of Sam Geezil in Law 3), and are easily manipulated. Serge Stavisky, the great French con artist of the 1920s, so entangled the government in his scams and swindles that the state did not dare to prosecute him, and “chose” to leave him alone. It is often wise to implicate in your deceptions the very person who can do you the most harm if you fail. Their involvement can be subtle—even a hint of their involvement will narrow their options and buy their silence.

The Horns of a Dilemma. This idea was demonstrated by General William Sherman’s infamous march through Georgia during the American Civil War. Although the Confederates knew what direction Sherman was heading in, they never knew if he would attack from the left or the right, for he divided his army into two wings—and if the rebels retreated from one wing they found themselves facing the other. This is a classic trial lawyer’s technique: The lawyer leads the witnesses to decide between two possible explanations of an event, both of which poke a hole in their story. They have to answer the lawyer’s questions, but whatever they say they hurt themselves. The key to this move is to strike quickly: Deny the victim the time to think of an escape. As they wriggle between the horns of the dilemma, they dig their own grave.

Understand: In your struggles with your rivals, it will often be necessary for you to hurt them. And if you are clearly the agent of their punishment, expect a counterattack—expect revenge. If, however, they seem to themselves to be the agents of their own misfortune, they will submit quietly. When Ivan left Moscow for his rural village, the citizens asking him to return agreed to his demand for absolute power. Over the years to come, they resented him less for the terror he unleashed on the country, because, after all, they had granted him his power themselves. This is why it is always good to allow your victims their choice of poison, and to cloak your involvement in providing it to them as far as possible.

Image: The Horns of the Bull. The bull backs you into the corner with its horns—not a single horn, which you might be e able to escape, but a pair of horns that trap you within their hold. Run right or run left—either way you move into their piercing ends and are gored.

Authority: For the wounds and every other evil that men inflict upon themselves spontaneously, and of their own choice, are in the long run less painful than those inflicted by others. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)

REVERSAL

Controlling the options has one main purpose: to disguise yourself as the agent of power and punishment.

The tactic works best, then, for those whose power is fragile, and who cannot operate too openly without incurring suspicion, resentment, and anger.

Even as a general rule, however, it is rarely wise to be seen as exerting power directly and forcefully, no matter how secure or strong you are. It is usually more elegant and more effective to give people the illusion of choice.

On the other hand, by limiting other people’s options you sometimes limit your own.

There are situations in which it is to your advantage to allow your rivals a large degree of freedom: As you watch them operate, you give yourself rich opportunities to spy, gather information, and plan your deceptions.

The nineteenth-century banker James Rothschild liked this method: He felt that if he tried to control his opponents’ movements, he lost the chance to observe their strategy and plan a more effective course.

The more freedom he allowed them in the short term, the more forcefully he could act against them in the long run.

Conclusion

I cannot help but wonder if Donald Trump in 2020 is conducting an “Ivan the Terrible” technique in order to obtain full dictatorial powers in lieu of Congressional approval. It seems like he wants people to get sick. That he wants Portland to burn. That he wants people to arm themselves. That he wants the Post office not to deliver mail.

I wonder if this is intentional so that some kind of “big event” will force the the people and Congress to grant him wide sweeping powers and control. I wonder.

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Law 22 – Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power (48 Laws of Power)

Here is another great law from Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power. This tactic was used by myself to survive prison in the ADC. Which was a hard labor prison in the middle of Arkansas. It was an old cotton plantation, and the purpose of a “hard labor” prison is to make your life so darn uncomfortable that you would never want to re-offend ever again. Anyways, I had to deal with a lot of hard-core criminals there, and the best survival method that I could come up with was to be slow, and dumb and kind of “not quite there”. It worked.

Here is the law. It’s a great read, and alike all of his works, you need to apply it to your own personal situation.

Remember, it is best to smile and be friendly. It’s difficult to be villianized by others if you are kind and smile. And act a little helpless, as it’s human nature to assume that you are smarter than others, and by giving that belief to others, you aptly protect yourself.

LAW 22

USE THE SURRENDER TACTIC: TRANSFORM WEAKNESS INTO POWER

JUDGMENT

When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead.

Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane.

Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you—surrender first.

By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.

Remember, boys and girls, time is your friend. Use it, and you decide when to strike and how to strike. Do not let others trick you into premature action when you are not prepared.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

The island of Melos is strategically situated in the heart of the Mediterranean. In classical times, the city of Athens dominated the sea and coastal areas around Greece, but Sparta, in the Peloponnese, had been Melos’s original colonizer.

During the Peloponnesian War, then, the Melians refused to ally themselves with Athens and remained loyal to Mother Sparta.

In 416 B.C. the Athenians sent an expedition against Melos. Before launching an all-out attack, however, they dispatched a delegation to persuade the Melians to surrender and become an ally rather than suffer devastation and defeat.

THE CHESTNUT AND THE FIG TREE

A man who had climbed upon a certain fig tree, was bending the boughs toward him and plucking the ripe fruit, which he then put into his mouth to destroy and gnaw with his hard teeth. 

The chestnut, seeing this, tossed its long branches and with tumultuous rustle exclaimed: 

“Oh Fig! How much less protected by nature you are than I. See how my sweet offspring are set in close array; first clothed in soft wrappers over which is the hard but softly lined husk. And not content with this much care, nature has also given us these sharp and close-set spines, so that the hand of man cannot hurt us.” 

Then the fig tree began to laugh, and after the laughter it said: “You know well that man is of such ingenuity that he will bereave even you of your children. But in your case he will do it by means of rods and stones; and when they are felled he will trample them with his feet or hit them with stones, so that your offspring will emerge from their armor crushed and maimed; while I am touched carefully by his hands, and never, like you, with roughness”

-LEONARDO DAVINCI, 1452-1519

“You know as well as we do,” the delegates said, “that the standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel, and that in fact the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.”

When the Melians responded that this denied the notion of fair play, the Athenians said that those in power determined what was fair and what was not.

The Melians argued that this authority belonged to the gods, not to mortals.

“Our opinion of the gods and our knowledge of men,” replied a member of the Athenian delegation, “lead us to conclude that it is a general and necessary law of nature to rule whatever one can.”

The Melians would not budge.

Sparta, they insisted, would come to their defense.

The Athenians countered that the Spartans were a conservative, practical people, and would not help Melos because they had nothing to gain and a lot to lose by doing so.

Finally the Melians began to talk of honor and the principle of resisting brute force. “Do not be led astray by a false sense of honor,” said the Athenians.

“Honor often brings men to ruin when they are faced with an obvious danger that somehow affects their pride. There is nothing disgraceful in giving way to the greatest city in Hellas when she is offering you such reasonable terms.”

The debate ended. The Melians discussed the issue among themselves, and decided to trust in the aid of the Spartans, the will of the gods, and the rightness of their cause.

They politely declined the Athenians’ offer.

A few days later the Athenians invaded Melos.

The Melians fought nobly, even without the Spartans, who did NOT come to their rescue.

It took several attempts before the Athenians could surround and besiege their main city, but the Melians finally surrendered. The Athenians wasted no time—they put to death all the men of military age that they could capture, they sold the women and children as slaves, and they repopulated the island with their own colonists.

Only a handful of Melians survived.

Interpretation

The Athenians were one of the most eminently practical people in history, and they made the most practical argument they could with the Melians: When you are weaker, there is nothing to be gained by fighting a useless fight.

No one comes to help the weak—by doing so they would only put themselves in jeopardy.

The weak are alone and must submit.

Fighting gives you nothing to gain but martyrdom, and in the process a lot of people who do not believe in your cause will die.

Weakness is no sin, and can even become a strength if you learn how to play it right. Had the Melians surrendered in the first place, they would have been able to sabotage the Athenians in subtle ways, or might have gotten what they could have out of the alliance and then left it when the Athenians themselves were weakened, as in fact happened several years later.

Fortunes change and the mighty are often brought down.

Surrender conceals great power: Lulling the enemy into complacency, it gives you time to recoup, time to undermine, time for revenge. Never sacrifice that time in exchange for honor in a battle that you cannot win.

Voltaire was living in exile in London at a time when anti-French sentiment was at its highest. 

One day walking through the streets. he found himself surrounded by an angry crowd. 

“Hang him. Hang the Frenchman,”they yelled. 

Voltaire calmly addressed the mob with the following words: “Men of England’ You wish to kill me because I am a Frenchman. Am I not punished enough in not being born an Englishman?” 

The crowd cheered his thoughtful words, and escorted him safely back to his lodgings.

-THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES. CLIFTON FADIMAN, ED., 1985
Weak people never give way when they ought to. 

-Cardinal de Retz, 1613-1679

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Sometime in the 1920s the German writer Bertolt Brecht became a convert to the cause of Communism.

From then on his plays, essays, and poems reflected his revolutionary fervor, and he generally tried to make his ideological statements as clear as possible.

When Hitler came to power in Germany, Brecht and his Communist colleagues became marked men. He had many friends in the United States—Americans who sympathized with his beliefs, as well as fellow German intellectuals who had fled Hitler.

In 1941, accordingly, Brecht emigrated to the United States, and chose to settle in Los Angeles, where he hoped to make a living in the film business.

Over the next few years Brecht wrote screenplays with a pointedly an anti-capitalist slant. He had little success in Hollywood, so in 1947, the war having ended, he decided to return to Europe.

That same year, however, the U.S. Congress’s House Un-American Activities Committee began its investigation into supposed Communist infiltration in Hollywood.

It began to gather information on Brecht, who had so openly espoused Marxism, and on September 19, 1947, only a month before he had planned to leave the United States, he received a subpoena to appear before the committee. In addition to Brecht, a number of other writers, producers, and directors were summoned to appear as well, and this group came to be known as the Hollywood 19.

Before going to Washington, the Hollywood 19 met to decide on a plan of action.

Their approach would be confrontational. Instead of answering questions about their membership, or lack of it, in the Communist Party, they would read prepared statements that would challenge the authority of the committee and argue that its activities were unconstitutional.

Even if this strategy meant imprisonment, it would gain publicity for their cause.

Brecht disagreed.

What good was it, he asked, to play the martyr and gain a little public sympathy if in the process they lost the ability to stage their plays and sell their scripts for years to come?

He felt certain they were all more intelligent than the members of the committee. Why lower themselves to the level of their opponents by arguing with them? Why not outfox the committee by appearing to surrender to it while subtly mocking it?

The Hollywood 19 listened to Brecht politely, but decided to stick to their plan, leaving Brecht to go his own way.

The committee finally summoned Brecht on October 30. They expected him to do what others among the Hollywood 19 who had testified before him had done: Argue, refuse to answer questions, challenge the committee’s right to hold its hearing, even yell and hurl insults.

Much to their surprise, however, Brecht was the very picture of congeniality.

He wore a suit (something he rarely did), smoked a cigar (he had heard that the committee chairman was a passionate cigar smoker), answered their questions politely, and generally deferred to their authority.

Unlike the other witnesses, Brecht answered the question of whether he belonged to the Communist Party: He was not a member, he said, which happened to be the truth.

One committee member asked him, “Is it true you have written a number of revolutionary plays?” Brecht had written many plays with overt Communist messages, but he responded, “I have written a number of poems and songs and plays in the fight against Hitler and, of course, they can be considered, therefore, as revolutionary because I, of course, was for the overthrow of that government.”

This statement went unchallenged.

Brecht’s English was more than adequate, but he used an interpreter throughout his testimony, a tactic that allowed him to play subtle games with language.

When committee members found Communist leanings in lines from English editions of his poems, he would repeat the lines in German for the interpreter, who would then retranslate them; and somehow they would come out innocuous.

At one point a committee member read one of Brecht’s revolutionary poems out loud in English, and asked him if he had written it. “No,” he responded, “I wrote a German poem, which is very different from this.” The author’s elusive answers baffled the committee members, but his politeness and the way he yielded to their authority made it impossible for them to get angry with him.

After only an hour of questioning, the committee members had had enough.

“Thank you very much,” said the chairman, “You are a good example to the [other] witnesses.”

Not only did they free him, they offered to help him if he had any trouble with immigration officials who might detain him for their own reasons.

The following day, Brecht left the United States, never to return.

Interpretation

The Hollywood 19’s confrontational approach won them a lot of sympathy, and years later they gained a kind of vindication in public opinion. But they were also blacklisted, and lost valuable years of profitable working time.

Brecht, on the other hand, expressed his disgust at the committee more indirectly.

It was not that he changed his beliefs or compromised his values; instead, during his short testimony, he kept the upper hand by appearing to yield while all the time running circles around the committee with vague responses, outright lies that went unchallenged because they were wrapped in enigmas, and word games.

In the end he kept the freedom to continue his revolutionary writing (as opposed to suffering imprisonment or detainment in the United States), even while subtly mocking the committee and its authority with his pseudo-obedience.

Keep in mind the following: People trying to make a show of their authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic.

Your outward sign of submission makes them feel important; satisfied that you respect them, they become easier targets for a later counterattack, or for the kind of indirect ridicule used by Brecht.

Measuring your power over time, never sacrifice long-term maneuverability for the short-lived glories of martyrdom.

When the great lord passes, the wise peasant bows deeply and silently farts.

-Ethiophan proverb

KEYS TO POWER

What gets us into trouble in the realm of power is often our own overreaction to the moves of our enemies and rivals.

That overreaction creates problems we would have avoided had we been more reasonable. It also has an endless rebound effect, for the enemy then overreacts as well, much as the Athenians did to the Melians.

It is always our first instinct to react, to meet aggression with some other kind of aggression.

But the next time someone pushes you and you find yourself starting to react, try this: Do not resist or fight back, but yield, turn the other cheek, bend. You will find that this often neutralizes their behavior—they expected, even wanted you to react with force and so they are caught off-guard and confounded by your lack of resistance. By yielding, you in fact control the situation, because your surrender is part of a larger plan to lull them into believing they have defeated you.

This is the essence of the surrender tactic: Inwardly you stay firm, but outwardly you bend.

Deprived of a reason to get angry, your opponents will often be bewildered instead. And they are unlikely to react with more violence, which would demand a reaction from you. Instead you are allowed the time and space to plot the countermoves that will bring them down.

In the battle of the intelligent against the brutal and the aggressive, the surrender tactic is the supreme weapon. It does require self-control: Those who genuinely surrender give up their freedom, and may be crushed by the humiliation of their defeat. You have to remember that you only appear to surrender, like the animal that plays dead to save its hide.

We have seen that it can be better to surrender than to fight; faced with a more powerful opponent and a sure defeat, it is often also better to surrender than to run away. Running away may save you for the time being, but the aggressor will eventually catch up with you. If you surrender instead, you have an opportunity to coil around your enemy and strike with your fangs from close up.

In 473 B.C., in ancient China, King Goujian of Yue suffered a horrible defeat from the ruler of Wu in the battle of Fujiao.

Goujian wanted to flee, but he had an adviser who told him to surrender and to place himself in the service of the ruler of Wu, from which position he could study the man and plot his revenge.

Deciding to follow this advice, Goujian gave the ruler all of his riches, and went to work in his conqueror’s stables as the lowest servant.

For three years he humbled himself before the ruler, who then, finally satisfied of his loyalty, allowed him to return home.

Inwardly, however, Goujian had spent those three years gathering information and plotting revenge. When a terrible drought struck Wu, and the kingdom was weakened by inner turmoil, he raised an army, invaded, and won with ease.

That is the power behind surrender: It gives you the time and the flexibility to plot a devastating counter-blow. Had Goujian run away, he would have lost this chance.

When foreign trade began to threaten Japanese independence in the mid-nineteenth century, the Japanese debated how to defeat the foreigners.

One minister, Hotta Masayoshi, wrote a memorandum in 1857 that influenced Japanese policy for years to come: “I am therefore convinced that our policy should be to conclude friendly alliances, to send ships to foreign countries everywhere and conduct trade, to copy the foreigners where they are at their best and so repair our own shortcomings, to foster our national strength and complete our armaments, and so gradually subject the foreigners to our influence until in the end all the countries of the world know the blessings of perfect tranquillity and our hegemony is acknowledged throughout the globe.”

This is a brilliant application of the Law: Use surrender to gain access to your enemy. Learn his ways, insinuate yourself with him slowly, outwardly conform to his customs, but inwardly maintain your own culture.

Eventually you will emerge victorious, for while he considers you weak and inferior, and takes no precautions against you, you are using the time to catch up and surpass him. This soft, permeable form of invasion is often the best, for the enemy has nothing to react against, prepare for, or resist. And had Japan resisted Western influence by force, it might well have suffered a devastating invasion that would have permanently altered its culture.

Surrender can also offer a way of mocking your enemies, of turning their power against them, as it did for Brecht.

Milan Kundera’s novel The Joke, based on the author’s experiences in a penal camp in Czechoslovakia, tells the story of how the prison guards organized a relay race, guards against prisoners. For the guards this was a chance to show off their physical superiority. The prisoners knew they were expected to lose, so they went out of their way to oblige—miming exaggerated exertion while barely moving, running a few yards and collapsing, limping, jogging ever so slowly while the guards raced ahead at full speed.

Both by joining the race and by losing it, they had obliged the guards obediently; but their “overobedience” had mocked the event to the point of ruining it.

Overobedience—surrender—was here a way to demonstrate superiority in a reverse manner. Resistance would have engaged the prisoners in the cycle of violence, lowering them to the guards’ level. Overobeying the guards, however, made them ridiculous, yet they could not rightly punish the prisoners, who had only done what they asked.

Power is always in flux—since the game is by nature fluid, and an arena of constant struggle, those with power almost always find themselves eventually on the downward swing.

If you find yourself temporarily weakened, the surrender tactic is perfect for raising yourself up again—it disguises your ambition; it teaches you patience and self-control, key skills in the game; and it puts you in the best possible position for taking advantage of your oppressor’s sudden slide.

If you run away or fight back, in the long run you cannot win. If you surrender, you will almost always emerge victorious.

Image: An Oak
Tree. The oak
that resists the
wind loses its
branches one
by one, and
with nothing
left to protect
it, the trunk fi
nally snaps.
The oak that
bends lives long
er, its trunk grow
ing wider, its roots
deeper and more tenacious.
Authority: Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let them have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 

(Jesus Christ, in Matthew 5:38-41)

REVERSAL

The point of surrendering is to save your hide for a later date when you can reassert yourself.

It is precisely to avoid martyrdom that one surrenders, but there are times when the enemy will not relent, and martyrdom seems the only way out. Furthermore, if you are willing to die, others may gain power and inspiration from your example.

Yet martyrdom, surrender’s reversal, is a messy, inexact tactic, and is as violent as the aggression it combats.

For every famous martyr there are thousands more who have inspired neither a religion nor a rebellion, so that if martyrdom does sometimes grant a certain power, it does so unpredictably. More important, you will not be around to enjoy that power, such as it is. And there is finally something selfish and arrogant about martyrs, as if they felt their followers were less important than their own glory.

When power deserts you, it is best to ignore this Law’s reversal. Leave martyrdom alone: The pendulum will swing back your way eventually, and you should stay alive to see it.

Conclusion

I see this level of kind restraint being practiced by China while the United States thrashes, crashes, accuses, arrests, and bans the Chinese and their products. China just sails on, politely nodding and being pleasant.

However, you can rest assured that China is not a “push-over” and have made what ever preparations they feel is necessary to suppress American aggression. And that is the surrender technique. It is one where you are in control, and where you control the timing, the battlefield, the methods of warfare all with a singular objective.

Do not be so sure that the United States is as strong, and as powerful and as capable as it appears. Nor should you believe that China is a timid and as weak and “limp wristed” as it appears either.

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Structuring a well-rounded prayer affirmation campaign using world-line transitions

This is a very simple post that will layout a fundamental template for your prayer affirmations. These affirmations are things that you read aloud (to yourself) everyday during a campaign. Prayer campaigns happen over a period of time, and are interrupted by periods of inaction. In other words, you conduct a campaign and then stop completely. Then after a period of rest, you start a new campaign. The affirmations are a list of your desires laid out in a prayer format.

Structuring is a term that I use to describe the organization of your prayer list. You do not need to have it organized, but it will really help you out when the time comes to run a campaign.

The Structuring of a prayer campaign

Most people put together perhaps ten lines of prayers and call it their verbal affirmations. They repeat them once a day in their private moments. Some put them on a laminated sheet in the shower and read them aloud while taking a shower. Some put them in a notebook and read them when they are alone in their home office. While others have them on a list in their wallet and they read it in their car in the company parking lot.

When I conduct a prayer affirmation campaign, my list is long. It is very long and very detailed. I do this because I know that if I am not that detailed, what will manifest might not be what I want. So I tend to be very descriptive and very exacting in my campaign.

I learned the importance of this the hard way.

It's almost like that "contract that you sign with the devil", you will indeed get exactly what you wish for. But you must be very careful in defining your wishes.

So there are really only two recommended techniques (for the newbe and novice) that you can employ. Either have [1] very simple and broad affirmations, or [2] a very complex detailed affirmation campaign.

You do not need to be like me.

In fact, I strongly recommend that people new to intention campaigns start out slowly and simply, and then modify the affirmations over time to find our what works for them. For certainly, what works for one person might not work for others.

I will repeat.

We are all different. So what works for one person might not work for others. Which is why, pretty much, I tell everyone to stick to plain and simple affirmation campaigns and keep things basic. And then, after you have seen how things manifest for you, you can alter and grow your affirmation campaigns into great complexity with more intense results.

My suggested campaign template

Here, I am going to lay out the elements of a very detailed affirmation campaign. One that I use personally (with my personal prayers omitted, of course) and leaving the general affirmations for you all to use and alter as you see fit.

Now, I have mentioned how to conduct these kinds of prayer campaigns in other posts. So none of this should be a real surprise. What might be different here is that the campaign that I am listing here is an “advanced” campaign. It is one that is intentionally modified for “expert” use.

Yes.

This is what I use, and it is what any one who has been doing affirmation campaigns for a couple of years can use. It is not for newbe use.

What is different here, and why I warn NOT to use if you are new to affirmation campaigns, is that it contains certain elements that you must agree to that will completely and totally alter your campaign implementation.

The advanced techniques

This affirmation campaign is full of affirmations that will fundamentally alter and change how your campaign actually runs. This campaign includes “code” that will rewrite the “source code” behind the normal working procedure of an affirmation campaign. And thus it is dangerous for newbe use.

The advanced coding…

  • [1] Permits the application of world-line slides in your life.
  • [2] Discards your “initial world-line template” or base-line world-line map for others that will achieve your goals.
  • [3] Dramatically decreases the time for implementation of your affirmations by permitting and allowance for periods of “phased out discomfort”.
  • [4] Places guarantees that discomfort will be kept to a minimum.

To use these advanced techniques would result in some rather impressive changes in your life, but it will come at a cost.

[1] Using slides

The cost is that once you have allowed a campaign to slide you out of your birth-world-line map, you will never be able to return back to it. Which means that [1] you will forever be forced to conduct prayer affirmation campaigns until you die, and [2] that you must still obtain experiences and lessons as part of your soul charter. This will result in [3] some level of potential discomfort.

What does this mean?

Well, it might be like the character “Earl” from the show “My name is Earl”, who wins a lottery ticket for millions of dollars, but gets hit by a car and loses the ticket. Because he owes a karmic debt that exceeds the value of the lottery ticket.

My name is Earl television show.
My name is Earl television show.

Well…

… it might appear to be like that.

[2] Changing the template world-line map

In reality, it’s not really so much about karma as it is that your consciousness NEEDS to obtain experiences during this life.

The at-birth-world-line template was provided to you to use as a map to make those experiences occur. Good or bad, right or wrong, you were corralled or lead to make decisions that would cause events that would manifest due to your thoughts.

So yes, in a way, our world-line template that was allocated to us at pre-birth pretty much set up a corralled, and fated life.

Now, you are purposely leaving that template map, and permitting yourself to slide out on to other world-line maps.

World-lines can be grouped into clusters of similarly, and by other means.

When I refer to a world-line "map", I am referring to cluster of world-lines that evolve (over "time" as viewed by the consciousness) in such a way that the HIGHEST PROBABILITY of events are presented in a three dimensional format. The most probable world-lines are shown in a two dimensional plane, and the relative "difficulty" or "discomfort" to the person is presented in the third dimensional axis.

If you do not use this kind of "map", then you have no structure. Just a big furry and fuzzy ball of all probabilities all superimposed over each other. So use of this map greatly simulates how a person can make decisions, be corralled into certain actions, and learn from experiences and events.

If you want to get off this "fated" or "corralled" map that you were assigned with at birth, then you need to slide off of it. You would slide onto another map.

These other maps might be radically different, or might not. They might be violently disturbing, or quietly comforting. They might be anything. And that is the point. You elect to leave the experience-kindergarten and step into the elementary school hallway. It’s a big step.

Normal thoughts, and a normal simple affirmation campaign works within a pre-birth template map. There is a fixed number of world-lines that you must pass through (on the x-y axis) to obtain your goal.

To speed things up, or achieve other advantages, you need to slide off that map in a z-prime axis onto another map. This other map would have other issues and an entire set of highest probability pathways.

[3] Quick(er) response to your campaign

In this “heavyweight” affirmation campaign template, you would agree to sacrifice comfort and convenience for achieving your goals.

So, for example, if your normal campaign would normally take six years to manifest some long-term goal, this technique would reduce it to a third of the time. Say two years.

Also, as a side effect of this methodology, you will discover that the “pause” between campaigns will be abbreviated as well. Rather than taking a three month long pause between campaigns you might have the strong feeling that you could start a new subsequent campaign shortly afterwards, say in two months instead of three.

[4] Fail safes

Of course, this campaign would include fail-safes or else it would be very, very dangerous.

The idea behind this is that the world-line map that your experiences would lie upon in this incarnation would be within a set of boundary limits. You would have a high probability of experiencing “A”, and “B”, and while you could us your free will to avoid experiencing those things, the probability of you doing so would be very small.

People ask what is fate? 

A child drops an ice cream cone on a hot pavement in the Summer and runs away crying.

You watch that event.

The highest probability would be that you watch, and then continue on your way as if nothing happened. This would be your fated pre-birth template, and you would be proceeding on the x-y axis. This is the most common and highest probability of behavior.

But there are actually a near infinite things that you can do. Such as...

[1] Buy the strange kid a new ice cream cone.
[2] Go after the kid and taunt her / him making fun of them.
[3] Pick up the cone and throw it in the trash.
[4] Pick up the cone and eat it.
[5] Pick up the cone and throw it at a passing car.

The most common and highest probability reactions and events are on the world-line map.

For instance, you would accept a job at “ACME Widgets”, not knowing that in three years they would lay you off. This would be a scenario that you would pretty much be fated to experience.

Now, it is true that you do not have to accept the job at “ACME Widgets”, but the situation on this world-line template would be such that not taking it might mean going without food for a while, or other uncomfortable things.

So in other words, the world-line template map is a fated life that you as soul selects for your consciousness to experience.

But, by accepting and allowing to slide off this birth-assigned template map, you can use your thoughts to navigate to new and different world-lines off that template.

On this new world-line template, you have a set of new opportunities and new events that were NOT present on the old pre-birth world-line template.

So, while the option for “ACME Widgets” might still be open to you, so will an opportunity at “Headbook Software”.

Now taking that opportunity would give you much better salary, and a host of other benefits. More so than “ACME Widgets”, but also would provide a different mapped “terrain” that you would need to navigate.

Instead of just worrying about a pay check at “ACME Widgets”, you now have to contend with a host of other issues that was not in your pre-birth charter. You would experience far more, and do far more, and live a much more active life… but it would be at a level of compression. In other words, more experiences, and thus a greater risk of discomfort.

To mitigate and control this additional and new discomfort, you would need to add text to your affirmations to control and mange it. Thus this technique…

Advanced Technique

I call this an advanced technique because you are “taking the training wheels off”.

The idea of training wheels is to teach balance with a “safety” system to catch the child when their balance is off. 

In reality, most kids simply rely on the training wheels and never practice balance at all. 

Some children even find that it is easier to fall with training wheels – particularly while maneuvering around a corner.

-Time to Take Off the Training Wheels? Parents Families.com

So once you implement advanced intention campaigns…

… you are awarded “full spectrum” control…

… with all the benefits and the inherent dangers that come with it.

THIS IS NOT FOR THOSE NEW TO AFFIRMATION CAMPAIGNS.

You need to have been conducting an affirmation campaign for at least a year before you try these techniques. I don’t want to advocate people to dive into the deep end of a pool until they learned how to “doggie paddle” first.

The affirmation campaign template

Here I am going to give you, the reader, elements of my very own personal affirmation campaign. I have omitted my personal information so as not to confuse this template. (And besides, it’s personal, don’t you know.)

General             

  • I am calm, cool, collected and confident.
  • I , and my family, are all happy, healthy, and relaxed.
  • I live a calm, stress-free, comfortable life.
  • I feel calm and halcyon most of the time.
  • I have no worries, concerns, or stress. [1]
  • I am the water that flows under the earth in strength and power. [2]
  • I am navigating my reality towards my goals. [3]
  • In general, my reality is one that is a controlled improvement over what I already have. [4]
  • I am happy, healthy, and successful.
  • I fill my body with good delicious and healthy food and drink.
  • I have money, savings, and investments. [5]
  • Negative people are always repelled away from me in such a way that they do not affect my reality.
  • These affirmations manifest in the near future, and maintain existence for the remainder of my life.
  • All of these events as specified manifest as quickly as possible. [6]
Notes;

This is the "general" category at the top of my affirmation list. It contains phrases and general assumptions that will occur not matter what else manifests.

[1] The first five items refer to my level of stress and comfort. Now, if you do not want a relaxed and comfortable life, you can omit these items. I, myself, have lived in stressful situations. I do not want any part of them to manifest. So I make sure that no matter what, my life is calm, and good.

[2] My personality is one of adaptation. Some people have fixed personalities. You can alter this to read something like "I am a rock and stable in all things", or perhaps if you are of a flighty and wispy countenance "I move like the air and master my environment". It's all up to you. This phrase defines your general placement within the mapped terrain.

[3] You must vocalize what you are doing.

[4] You want to improve in what you have. You want to keep the good things going on in your life and add more good things to them. You do not want to throw away everything and start from scratch, do you? If you do, you can omit this phrase.

[5] If you do not include money in your affirmations, no matter how well intentioned, you could easily end up being poor and destitute; happy, but poor and destitute.

[6] These last two statement phrases are critical. By specifying a time limit, you allow the navigation to take you off the pre-birth intention canvas. You drop off the map and are permitted to slide to what ever new map will provide you quicker and more immediate results.

Now the world around us is seemingly going crazy. Pockets of discomfort, strife and alarm are all around us. We don’t want any of that to impact our life. We do not want any part of that in our life and we most certainly do not want to obtain experiences that are associated with strife.

However, if you slide off the pre-birth template you can end up (easily) within a world-line that is full of stress and discomfort. You do not want that. Not in the least. So in order to prevent that, you will need to place some affirmations in regards to safety and security.

Like this…

Safety

  • My family is safe and secure and protected from all efforts to attack it. [1]
  • I am safe and protected where I live, and my life is stable and isolated from any attacks of any type.
  • No matter what the news says, none of the disturbing things actually happens to me or my family. [2]
  • I and my family are safe and secure. Any battles, wars, conflicts or social upheavals occur far away from us.
  • My family and I are safe and isolated away from conflict, strife, and danger. We are always safe.
  • The people around me love me, protects me, nurtures me, and supports me. [3]
Notes;

If the world was stable this section in your affirmation campaign might not be necessary. But the world is not stable. Right now there are three carrier battle assault groups off the coast of China 15 miles from where I live. Maybe Donald Trump thinks that it makes great news headlines. For me, well it is very stressful and ugly.

[1] This might be the only phrase you might need.

[2] If the "news" is promoting something dangerous, this phrase will act like a shield and cause the event (or something similar) to "bounce off" and hit some other target. You know, like the fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard, or the massive explosion known as the Beirut explosion. This phrase will deflect events away from your area.

This is a complicated matter and I could devote an entire post on it alone. When huge groups of people start thinking things, they create a buildup of quanta. That buildup must be released. If it is being directed at something, and you use an affirmation to conduct a world-line switch, the build-up still needs to be released. And thus you will see other examples of where the "bullets ricocheted to".

[3] You need to tie yourself to a friendly and supportive community.

Now, let’s get into the content…

Content

Here is where you would put your “regular” intentions. This is where the vast bulk of your intentions would go. And it might look something like this…

The affirmations are for example only. 

They are not my personal affirmations. My very own intentions are a little shy on objects and things, and rather dense when it comes to personal relationships, adventure, and lifestyle. But here are some illustrative examples.
  • I have a lawn with “Centipede grass”.
  • My front door is painted a high gloss PANTONE Bright Red C, with a nice real shiny brass door knocker.
  • I own a John Deer Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 50-in. 23-hp Kawasaki Zero Turn lawn mower.
  • I own a beautiful white Nissan Titan XD Pro 4X.

You can add anything here that you want. In this example, I have placed things. But you can describe relationships, or situations, or events.

Events like…

  • I am able to travel the world in a sailboat.
  • I am part of a local group of businessmen and attending gatherings.
  • I have box seats at the local stadium.

Relationships like…

  • I am dating a girl that has the personality of Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead actress).
  • I am dating a girl that has the body of Kelly Brook (English model, actress and television presenter best known for her roles in the 2010 horror comedy remake Piranha 3D).
  • My father and I have resolved our differences and spend time together on the weekends.

Situations like…

  • I have part ownership in a golf club.
  • My house is filled with happy dogs and relaxed cats.
  • I live next to the mountains and have a fresh water spring in the back.

In short, you can put anything here that is is desire. You can be vague or specific. Just note that the more specific you are, the longer it will take to manifest. So only add specificity when actually necessary. Otherwise, it’s wisest to keep things flexible.

Non Physical Entities & Forces

Our world, for the most part, is populated with the things that we see and experience around us. Therefore, since that is all that we know, that is all that we wish to alter. But the truth is that there are a host of other things, and other elements of our reality that exists around us. This includes things and entities.

By placement of specific affirmations you can protect yourself from malevolent entities (if they exist) or enlist the help of other non-physical entities, were it your prerogative.

  • I ask for help to achieve my intention targets; and I do get help from all the non-physical beings that can assist me.
  • I also get help from any physical beings that can assist making my dreams and wishes come true and manifest.
  • Other entities, not limited to but including, XXX, YYY, ZZZ, guardian angels, friendly sprites, and other entities are permitted to assist me obtaining my goals as defined here. [1]
  • In no way can these other entities hurt, harm, or mess up my life and intentions. They may only help, and are welcome to help gladly.
  • I know how to embrace opportunities as they manifest around me, and implement those necessary changes and actions promptly. [2]
Notes;

[1] You might not believe that non-physical intelligence's and animals exist. That's fine. But it wouldn't hurt to have this line in your affirmations, now would it?

[2] This affirmation can go anywhere, but the placement herein associates it with a knowledge associated with specific actions associated with non-physical, or physical entities.

Control of emotions and thoughts

We are constantly under  manipulation. Where it is the embedded code within the websites and the APPs that we use, to the movies we watch and the news that we subscribe to. Everything is trying to twist and control our emotions. Yet, in order for our affirmations to actually work, these influences must be zeroed out.

Now there are two ways to zero out these influences. Firstly [1], you can get rid of those influences directly. You can stop using the media, using the computer and using the cell-phones. Or [2] you can add affirmations that control your reactions to those influences.

This section follows route #2. You have affirmations that control the way that the external influences influence your behaviors and action.

  • I am able to control my emotions and thoughts.
  • I prevent any angry, dangerous, or terrible thoughts from occurring. [1]
  • I prevent the manifestation of any reality that might result from bad, negative or dangerous thoughts. [2]
  • I avoid getting into arguments on the internet.
  • Everything surrounding me is positive and good.
Notes;

[1] The first two affirmations are seemingly redundant. But, they are not.  One specifies that I am in control of what I think, not outside influences. The other prevents the manifestation and generation of bad or negative thoughts.

[2] Prevents the generation of "bad" reality generation resulting from my thoughts.

MWI Routing

This section adds a strong degree of control on how you add, alter, modify or implement your intention campaign. I am a strong believer that each one of us runs our very own unique campaign, and thus what works for one person, might not work for a different person. So in order to control that aspect of variance, you need to specify how the affirmation campaign works within your MWI reality.

These affirmations serve that purpose…

  • I understand how this universe works, and how to alter, improve and change my reality. [1]
  • I use this knowledge to generate a perfect life for myself and for my family.
  • As such, I am the Captain of my Consciousness. [2]
  • I move in and out of the world-line realities as necessary to achieve my thought-destination(s).
  • I do achieve my ultimate goals and I do so efficiently, and quickly while avoiding bad or undesirable world-lines. [3]
  • I am alert on what to say and do in order to achieve my desires.
  • I know what affirmations to make to manifest the life that I wish to participate within.
  • I know, positively, when to stop, change, alter or revise my affirmations in accordance with my needs and desires. [4]
  • I am aware of opportunities as they arise, and I know exactly what actions to take to maximize my desired intentions.
  • I am aware of the world-line routing as it occurs and do not panic or worry about how things will manifest.  [5]            
  • I recognize that world-line realities that I inhabit might be calm and relaxed, but that substantial positive and proactive events are unfolding for my benefit that might be hidden from me.
Notes;

[1] This phrase helps you rapidly learn what affirmations to use, and which ones not to use. You also better understand why and how they work. I think that this sentence along helps tie the affirmation campaign into a mechanism for soul experience growth.

[2] These two commands place your verbal affirmation campaign firmly into the realm of "navigation console". By using these phrases you convert an intention campaign from a "lifestyle enhancement method", to a "world-line navigation console".

[3]  These two lines explicitly state what the purpose of the affirmation campaign is, and how it works.

[4]  These four affirmations enable you to have insight on how to improve your affirmations, and add or subtract from them. While this is seemingly a more or less natural consequence of performing a campaign, this little statement guarantees that whatever alterations you make will be in accordance with your direct wishes, and not what was laid out in the pre-birth reality template map.

[5] These two affirmations cover cognizant awareness of the physical reality and what to do to alter, reroute or modify your intention campaign.

Intention Canvas

I urge everyone to have “dream board” or “intention canvas”. This contains images and pictures used to complement your affirmation campaign.

As opposed to "sharpening" your intention focus, it make it more "fuzzy". (Which is counter intuitive. Not what you would think, eh?)

In other words, instead of a small, hard, absolute point on the world-line terrain map, it becomes a bigger, fuzzier, and softer ball. What this does is provide a larger group of avenues or paths for you to reach to your goal.

The key words or text herein is to “complement”, and not to “replace” your affirmation campaign.  

As I have discussed previously, the canvas can be a “dream board”, a rotating image display on your computer, or a folder containing a stack of pictures. It can also include a computer folder in your PC that contains images that you can use (and one that you don’t visit often either.)

In all cases you MUST tie this “intention canvas” to your affirmation campaign. These affirmation commands do just that. In my case, I have a folder that contains picture collages that represent my intended desires. And that is what I will suggest in these examples…

  • I utilize the images in my “XXXXX” folder (and all subfolders) to help make the manifestation of my lifestyle manifest.
  • I also utilize the photos in my PC (found in the YYYYYY directory) and used as my rotating background display to help cultivate the reality that my world line is.
  • The following commands specify exactly how the images will manifest and what they represent within my life…

In which case, then you go into great detail what general terms that each image represents. Such as these examples…

Males shown in photos

  • In all cases, the dominant male figure portrayed in the image(s) represent myself. [1]
  • Images that portray mafia figures, or “bad people” portray myself in similar roles of power. They do NOT, however, manifest these kinds of people against me. [2]
  • Images that portray powerful people represent my role as it manifests.
  • In images showing actors, it is the character, personality and role that they play that manifests in my life, not that of the actual actor. [3]
Notes;

[1] Do not assume that just because a male figure is in a photo residing inside your intention canvas, that it automatically represents you. If you want that to happen, then you will need to either use this affirmation, or photoshop your image into that photo.

[2] So, you've got a picture of Tony Soprano enjoying some wine, with his underlings nearby and a girl on each arm. Do not assume that you would intend this role to materialize. Instead, the local mafia don in your neighborhood might end up getting the intention instead of yourself. 

[3]  Likewise, you want the role that the actor plays. Not the life of the actor him or herself. If you want the actors person life, then you need to specify it. You need to specify exactly what elements the images represent or else you might have the wrong things manifest. You might (for example) want the life of Captain Jack Sparrow, and have a photo of a carefree run-infused pirate. While in reality you might end up with Johnny Depp's life and an embroiled divorce. Yikes!

Objects shown in photos

  • In images related to gold, money, currency and wealth, the intention is broadly associated with large sums of money, wealth and success that I possess.
  • In images relating to objects, they represent the things that I own or possess as property.

Women shown in photos

  • In images that have females, they represent the situation that I am participating in.
  • In images that only contain females, the appearance and body shapes, and the situation of the female, their body and actions are what manifests per my intention direction.
  • In images showing females, with a dominant physical attribute (as determined by myself), that attribute manifests within my reality.
Notes;

Since I am a male, I do not want to confuse any images with women and children. I want to specify that they are different and perform roles that are situational. 

Blocking and Protections  

We live inside a reality that has both physical and non-physical components. Thoughts alter and change our reality. Both our thoughts, and the thoughts of those around us. Good people can give us good wishes and pleasant thoughts. However, most of the world today is not good, and thus bad people can thrust bad wishes upon us.

We don’t want to suffer through hexes, malevolent intentions or bad events sent in motion by individuals who have a grudge against us. So we must utilize protections.   Here are the protection affirmations that I use…      

  • I have awareness on how to avoid the manifestation of problems. I follow that advise immediately without question automatically.
  • I purposely avoid negative, dangerous, bad, or problematic reality world-lines to achieve my goals
  • I have broken apart any barriers to controlling my reality. These are barriers that are either self-created, or those created by others.
  • I define my reality, and undo any spells, magick or alterations imposed upon me, or the reality around me by anyone or anything.
  • I block and shut out all negative, de-constructive, and dangerous thoughts from manifesting and altering my intentions listed herein.
Notes;

Do not assume that everyone thinks like you. There are many "closet" occultists, and "home-grown" priests that will throw some unwanted thoughts and beliefs your way. You must put up protections.

You would be surprised at how many there are. Seriously.

Personal Health           

We can  have an affirmation campaign that is all great and full of details, but if you ignore you health, it will all be for naught. If there is one thing that we should learn from this coronavirus situation, it is that if you don’t have your healthy, all the riches and “stuff” in the universe become meaningless. You absolutely need to protect your health and general well-being in your affirmation campaign.

Do not neglect this most important aspect of a prayer / affirmation campaign.

  • I am in top physical shape. I am healthy and happy.
  • My body operates, functions and behaves like when I was in my late 20’s and into my early 30’s. [1]
  • My wardrobe is professionally matched, and my body is clean, pleasant and attractive.
  • My heart is strong and healthy. My internal organs are all in top shape. [2]
  • Nothing is permitted to cause me harm, damage or physical discomfort.
  • I know what minerals, vitamins and foods that I must eat to achieve my intention targets. [3]
Notes:

[1] Obviously this applies to folk older than this age. LOL.

[2] Old men can have all kinds of problems and issues, and to prevent and control that, we tend to watch our diets and take vitamins. Exercise is important, and I don't need any affirmations to support what I already do naturally.

[3] Shortly after adding this affirmation line, the number of business luncheons and dinners that I would normally have dropped considerably. My wife started to make a lot of vegetables, and fish. I began to find myself eating this kind of nut and fruit oatmeal just about every morning. Ugh! Yet, after a few months I discovered that my over all body health did actually improve dramatically.

Household    

The biggest influence on your life are those in your immediate family. Thus, you need to cherish, and protect them. For without them, you are just a lonely speck floating upon a most turbulent sea.

  • My family is happy, healthy, and well-taken cared for emotionally, physically, and financially. There isn’t any stress at all.
  • My family life is very calm, happy and positive. [1]
  • My family is happy and I have a very calm and happy domestic life at home.
  • I and my family are healthy, happy, relaxed and doing what we love.
Notes;

[1]  My idea of what constitutes a happy family household might not be what you would. I think a calm and happy household is best for my temperament. I however, know others that love a chaotic household with all sorts of happy noise and activity. You need to customize this affirmation to fit your own personal lifestyle.

Lifestyle   

Lifestyle is a “catch-all” that really describes the overall desire that you hope to accomplish from this affirmation campaign. Thus, it is critically important. It is the difference between having a “wealthy” life as opposed to a “rich” life. And if you don’t know what I am talking about, watch the movie “Bronco Billy”.     

  • I love my life, and I love everything about my life.
  • I love the colors, the air, the weather, the people, the location, everything.
  • I improve upon what I have, not change it drastically.
  • The improvements are all what is listed here or better.
  • The improvements are glorious additions to what I already possess.
  • I live in a beautiful area, with great colors, fresh air, roomy spaces, and a calm and relaxed neighborhood.
  • I am very comfortable, safe, secure, happy, relaxed and live a nice fun and carefree life.
  • Everyone sees me as how I desire to be seen. [1]
  • I know what actions to take to secure my privacy and personal life. [2]
  • I have the strength (emotional and physical) to break through any barriers to achieve my goals.
Notes;

[1] I control what people think about me. Not others.

[2] Privacy is a fundamental human need. Yet governments, family members, and society pretty much has obliterated this belief. Which is why that I often go without a cell phone on me, and do things on my own personal schedule and not on the schedules that others use. Now, if you do not secure your privacy, the chances are that you will lose it.

Opportunity     

The thing about affirmation campaigns is that they rely on you (the person making the affirmations) on taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to you. Thus, it makes no difference if you have an opportunity manifest in front of your eyes, but refuse to take advantage of it. You need to act to manifest that situation.

  • I am aware of opportunities when they arise, and I am led onto which ones to take and follow up with.
  • I have physical, spiritual and non-physical entities assisting me in making the opportunities listed herein into personally profitable ventures.
  • Opportunities come my way and I always profit handsomely from them.
  • I am aware of the trends going on in my life, behind the scenes, and on tactical, and strategic levels.

Affirmation techniques

Here we specify and “hammer out” the way that these affirmations will operate. You do not need to do this, but by doing so you can control the implementation of the affirmations onto your world-line.

  • I know of, and use, the specialized techniques to improve the actionablity of my verbal affirmations listed herein.
  • I know what things to say in my affirmations to make my reality happen safely and quickly.
  • I am dismissive of those that are not worthy of my time, or effort.

Speed of implementation  

By specifying the speed of implementation, you create a slide event.   This moves your world-line adventures, and your life off the pre-determined template and direct and straight into your own hands.    

  • All these affirmations occur as quickly as is comfortably and as safely as possible. At no time is my family, health or safety at risk.
  • These changes are being implemented now, and will manifest soon. Really, really soon.
  • The normal rules of affirmation manifestation has now been advanced to this direct and immediate application without hesitation.
  • All these affirmations happen quickly, provided that dangers are avoided and I (and my family) are protected.

Death  

Here, it seems really morbid, but a few moments a day to make sure that your transition out of the physical reality would be calm and complete is really a good thing. Don’t you think?

  • Death will occur late in my life.
  • I will outlive my father, yet be healthy and functional up until death.
  • When the time comes for my death, it will be smooth and easy.
  • Those left behind will be well taken cared for.

Important Navigation Notes 

Here we get involved in the aspects that make this affirmation campaign “advanced”. It lays out the use of slide and how they will manifest and under what conditions. You will notice that they permit “minor imperfections” to occur as long as my baseline affirmations manifest.

  • This affirmation campaign is set up to engage the obtainment of objectives early on, with whatever minor imperfections that they might have.
  • I use world-line slides to accelerate the implementation of these affirmations.
  • The slides only come into use whenever they can [1] reduce the time to obtain the affirmation realization within my physical reality, and [2] they do not cause me any discomfort or trouble.
  • As time moves on, the imperfections drop away, and the true and idealized intention manifests.
  • This rule enables a quick near-immediate manifestation of my desires herein without having to wait for a long time to obtain the “perfect” intention reality.

Conclusion

This post describes an “advanced” affirmation campaign. It uses slides to accelerate the manifestation of the campaign objectives. As such, it is highly detailed and involves long lines of affirmation code.

It is only for advanced users to use.

As an example, I used elements of my very own affirmation campaign and I urge the reader to use and discard what they wish to make a similar campaign for themselves.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my affirmation campaign index here…

Intention Campaigns

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Nearby Nursery Solar Systems for the management and development of intelligent ambulatory life.

If there is one thing that is missing in the discussion of extraterrestrials, ET, UFO’s, OOPARTs, extraterrestrial visitation, and MAJestic, it is a reasonable discussion about the surrounding physical universe.  No one ever talks about the”local” solar systems that are within a a few tens of light years away. No one ever really questions if there might be some kind of association between our solar system and those other solar systems around us…

An association

Further, to hammer this point home, no one who discusses extraterrestrials ever does so armed with the knowledge of what a star is, what a planet is, and what a galaxy is.  It is almost like these subjects are not taught in American schools any longer. 

Much to my great dismay and chagrin.

This post is my introduction to the local physical universe that surrounds our small solar system.  Or, more precisely, we will look at the utility of sentience nurseries in our immediate physical location. For reasons, that I will not get involved in at this time, our galactic region has been assigned (or allocated) to be a sentience nursery cluster.

It is not complete, but then, nothing in Metallicman is either…

“There is a serious possibility that we are being visited and have been visited for many years by people from outer space, from other civilizations. 

That it behooves us, in case some of these people in the future or now should turn hostile, to find out who they are, where they come from, and what they want. 

This should be the subject of rigorous scientific investigation and not the subject of ‘rubbishing’ by tabloid newspapers.”  

– Lord Admiral Hill-Norton, Former Chief of Defense Staff, 5 Star Admiral of the Royal Navy, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

This is a list of the four nearby sentience nurseries close to Earth.  (Our solar system rounds out the group to five in total.)

While no one has ever pointed these particular solar systems out to me directly, there are some very good reasons, and directed cognizant thought, that convinces me that these five are the strongest candidates that I know to exist for the sentience nurseries in this galactic region.

In other words, I know that there are five sentience nurseries, but I have never had them pointed out to me directly. Instead, I have taken what I have been exposed to, added a healthy dose of intelligent extrapolation, and came up with this strong list of candidate solar systems.

I have many other lists of local solar systems. (Of course.)

A vast number of solar systems lie around us.

These other lists are dominated by many dim brown dwarfs and red dwarf solar systems.  (Many of which have not yet been discovered.)  There are over 50 main groupings of which a number have multiple stars.  These systems represent the solar system neighborhood surrounding our system.  It is not complete or comprehensive, as researchers are constantly discovering new stars every few months.

It is not an accident that most of the stars in our neighborhood are red dwarfs, and brown dwarfs.  This is typical for our galaxy.  While it is possible that human habitable planets might exist around any star, the odds of finding one in our neighborhood is small.  This is due to the simple fact that any habitable planet around a red or brown dwarf star must be close to it.  The closer it is, the greater the chances of tidal lock, and the greater the danger from the dangers of occasional solar activity.  This is especially true for (young) flare stars.

Yet, the fact that many of our extraterrestrial allies have eyesight apparently adapted to the infrared spectrum, implies that native life might be best adapted near or around a red dwarf star.  But we do not know this as a fact.  (I, however, believe that this is the case.) 

Thus, an extraterrestrial race might find life around a dim red dwarf more comfortable than around our hotter G class star.  (That also implies that there are better than average opportunities for habitable planets around said stars.  Thus, perhaps all the concern related to tidal locking might be misplaced…)

Concerning extraterrestrial occupation of a given solar system;  While not every system maintains human biologically habitable planets, many possess numerous extraterrestrial habitations and bases.  Some support colonies, and a number of them maintain active civilizations on the more habitable planets. 

The simple truth is that most space faring extraterrestrials do not need to locate biologically stable planets.  Instead, they prefer to select safe and marginal worlds to operate their bases and colonies.  This lies in direct opposition to conventional human scientific thought.  Where only “Earth-like” planets around “Sun-like” stars hold the “best” possible chance for finding intelligent human-like life.

Conventionally, we believe that the only valuable solar system is one which might contain an Earth-like planet.  But finding one that is an Earth analog is relatively rare.  Instead of this, most advanced space faring extraterrestrials [1] look for otherwise stable solar systems that they can occupy through the [2] creation of their own self-sustaining facilities.  They do not search for worlds identical to which they evolved upon.  They [3] search for quiescent and stable worlds instead, and then [4] adapt their biological bodies to that new environment.

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders.  Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

About the other nearby solar systems

Any visiting extraterrestrials to our system has to be familiar with the regions of space surrounding the earth to arrive here.  Even if their propulsive method transcends the limitations of distance and time, they still have to know and understand the local physical region of space. 

Typically, most visitors (Excluding the Mantids who originate locally, and the type-I greys who hail from a much more distant section of the galaxy.) to our system arrive from points of origin within a 140 light year sphere (This is a fact, and it is not speculation. While other races do visit us from time to time that have traveled larger distances, the vast bulk of visitors to our planet at this time come from locally derived points of origin.).  That encompasses a huge volume of space. 

We do not know of all the systems in that region as there are many uncategorized red dwarfs and faint brown dwarf systems.  But luckily, we have a rather good understanding (It has only been recently that we have been able to detect and map the nearby brown dwarf systems. They are often too dim and too cold to be seen through most optical telescopes.) of the closest stars within a 17 light year sphere.

My personal list contains all known stars and brown dwarfs at a distance of up to 5 parsecs (16.3 light-years) from the Solar System, ordered by (an approximation of) increasing distance away from our system. In addition to our Solar System, there are over 60+ stellar systems currently known lying within this distance.

These combined systems contain a minimum of 56 hydrogen-fusing stars (of which over 50 are red dwarfs), numerous brown dwarfs, and 4 tiny hot white dwarfs. Despite the relative proximity of these objects to the Earth, only nine of them have an apparent magnitude less than 6.5, which means only about 13% of these objects can be observed with the naked eye.

“Spartans do not ask how many are the enemy but where are they.”Plutarch, Sayings of the Spartans

Some important notes.

I have never been outside of our solar system (that I am aware of).

What I present here is a compilation of [1] known (human) astronomical information as well as [2] information that I have compiled in conjunction with MAJestic and my work with extraterrestrials.   Merging the two sources together provides a comprehensive (but general) understanding of the relative condition of our interstellar neighborhood, abet in an incomplete manner.  By studying this information, a true and real perspective can be obtaining regarding our place, as humans, in the local galactic region.

The reader should carefully note that very few solar systems that lie near us are compatible with physical human life. 

Yet, we know that numerous nearby systems are inhabited. 

There are various reasons for this.  The reader should study this post carefully and acquaint themselves with the surrounding physical space.  In doing so, there must be an understanding that only a very small amount of our reality is presented to us.  The totality sum of our true existence is veiled from us.

The presentation of this information to the reader follows a unique methodology that I prefer. 

Instead of following a traditional model, which is either by [1] distance to the sun, or by [2] alphabetical name, or [3] by year of discovery, I have chosen to use my own method.  My preferred method of presentation is based upon functional usage and concerns of the reader.  Therefore, I have subdivided this chapter into the following sections or sub-groupings.

Nursery SystemsThese are systems that are also (like our own) are considered to be nurseries for evolving intelligences.
Young SystemsThese systems are very young.  They are hot, large and dangerous.  While we humans have often been able to observe them, they are incompatible with human-like life.
Similar SystemsThese solar systems are similar to our own solar system that lies nearby.  Some are already “Nursery Systems” and as such, are covered elsewhere. Typically, this category contains type G, and type K star systems.
Habitable SystemsThe long duration, cooler type M red dwarfs are the preferred systems to support intelligent life. Here, I place the various systems for consideration where they were not in another category.
Brown DwarfsThese are much cooler and dim stars and their tiny and tight systems. They can be very old or very young.  Surprisingly, numerous systems contain native life, though none resembling that which we would be comfortable with.
Dangerous SystemsThese systems are unique stellar phenomena that lie nearby.  They are placed here for the enjoyment of the reader.

And in this post, we will have the complete “data dump” of my personal notes on the five sentience nursery systems (four plus earth).

Nursery Systems

These are systems that are also (like our own) are considered to be nurseries for evolving intelligence.

  • Information is recounted by memory and from what I “know” though MAJestic implants and EBP entanglement.
  • Practical information is provided by known literature by those specialists who study the heavens. 

The information, thus provided, is a hybrid of what we know and what was “told” to me through entanglement.  Belief on it’s accuracy or lack of, is up to the reader to decide.

The solar systems included are;

  • Alpha Centauri
  • Barnard’s Star (BD+04°3561a)
  • LHS 288 (Luyten 143-23)
  • Gliese 667 (142 G. Scorpii)

A very important note must be made here. This is my compilation of best candidates for this world-line grouping within the MWI. It could be correct, or wildly incorrect. It’s up to you, the reader, to decide.

The Alpha Centauri Solar System

Earth aside, we begin our tour of the local neighborhood with our nearest stellar neighbor; the Alpha Centauri system.  This is an important solar system in many ways, and deserves close scrutiny.

The Alpha Centauri system is the closest solar system to our sun. 

Viewed from the earth, Alpha Centauri (α Centauri) is the third brightest “star” in the (Southern hemisphere) night sky.  It appears (to the naked eye) as a single bright point of light; a single star.  But, it is not a single star at all, but rather a triple star system. 

This trinary solar system consists of three stars and with them, three separate groups of solar systems.  In it two, more or less sun-like stars (A and B), orbit a central point in space.  A third star, which is a small red dwarf named Proxima Centauri, orbits (in a wide large outer orbit) the two inner stars. 

Americans cannot view this star directly unless they live in the Southern hemisphere.

The relative sizes of the three stars of the Alpha Centauri solar system.

Trinary System

Most importantly for our purposes and considerations, each individual star has its own solar system. 

Thus, the Alpha Centauri system is but a grouping of three entire and complete solar systems.  Each one with its own set of planets and moons. 

Two of the solar systems are just like ours.  (Although truncated in size.) They are very similar to our own system up to the range of the outer gas giants.  Thus, it is (more or less) reasonable to expect a similar solar system structure to our very own.  These two stars are all about the same age, size, color and behavior to our sun. (If slightly cooler, slightly smaller, and slightly more stable.)

This trinary system is located 1.34 parsecs or 4.37 light years from the Sun, making it (indisputably) the closest star system to our Solar System.

We are fortunate to have a trinary star system nearby. 

We are also doubly fortunate to have one that has stable stars and behavior. 

There is no doubt in my mind that this system is currently occupied by extraterrestrials, though whether or not there are de-facto habitable planets in the system is (officially) unknown at this time.  (Of course it must have some habitable planets as it is a stable nursery, but whether or not those planets are habitable to humans is unknown.)

Alpha Centauri A & B

While the two inner stars are similar to our sun in age, size and color, the outer sun is much cooler and much smaller.  It is an often an ignored system because it is not as “interesting” as the inner twin stars are.  (This all changed with the discovery of a orbiting planet, of earth size, in the habitable zone of Proxima Centuari in 2016.)

In regards to the orbiting planet around Proxima Centuari back in 22016...

Due to its small size, any habitable planet must orbit close to the star.  There is a risk of the planet being tidally locked with one side always facing the star, with the other side eternally cold.  

In any event, habitable planets in this system would see a gigantic red sun in their sky.  It would appear much bigger than we can conceive, perhaps even dominating the vast sky above.  

Now, this is according to conventional belief. And we will discuss this matter in greater detail soon...

Here are the orbits of the two “inner” stars. The orbits shown are elliptical reflective of the angle of inclination of the orbital plane of each solar system.  (The planetary planes are tilted relative to our earth viewpoint, and thus appear to us as ellipses.)  The reader should be aware that in the 3 dimensional word that none of the solar systems, galaxies, and rotational and orbitals bodies are ever in complete organized unity with each other. This presentation shows the orbits in the plane of the two primary stars.

It is reasonable to expect some kind of life in any or all of these systems.  Either naturally evolving, or seeded by another race. 

I do not know very much about life outside of our solar system, but what I do know that there is an extremely high probability that there is an extraterrestrial presence in this system. 

In fact, almost all the stars surrounding us has extraterrestrial life in one form or the other. With most being transplants involved in temporary assignment within rather bleak housing facilities.

Apparent habitable zones for Alpha Centauri A & B.  Proxima Centauri is not shown. The dotted circle refers to the orbit of our earth, so obviously our planet would orbit comfortably around either of these two stars.

The reader should note that 1AU = the distance from the Earth to our star; Sol. Thus, the inclusion of this metric in the diagram above clearly helps the reader visualize comparatively how these systems relate to our own solar system.

Since this is a trinary star system, the quantum fields involved are quite complex (compared to a single star system). 

Here we refer to "quantum fields" that represent the “spiritually” energized and entangled quantum fields in regards to biological ambulatory organisms with a degree of self-actuation.

Those living and visiting this system will have to be prepared for the complex nature of this quantum field.  (Compared to our solar system.) On one aspect, it is interesting, exciting and quite dynamic.  On the other hand, there are notable energy potentials that can wreck all kinds of havoc on earth-centric biological processes. 

I feel sure that humans can visit the system, but the ability to stay there and thrive will most certainly require the creation of a new biological form that is adapted for the quantum vortexes that exist there (We are quantum being occupying a physical body in a physical universe.).

Both of these solar systems are stable. 

The presence of the two stars have stewarded any errant planets and asteroids rendering the physical space clean.  This would be very similar to what the larger gas giant planets would do.  Even though I (will) spend a considerable amount of time discussing Proxima Centauri, it is actually these two “inner” solar systems that host the best chance for habitable planets and extraterrestrial life.

Make no mistake, there are large “gas giant” type planets that orbit these stars, and they influence the smaller planets to various degrees. Also, from a physical and biological point of view, the trio of suns all have influences on the biological lives that occupy the planets there. 

For instance, we know how our own solar system interacts with the biology of humans; sunspots, for instance.  

Sunspot activity of our sun influences all kinds of weather and human behaviors.  Thus, imagine how the sunspot behaviors of three stars in close proximity might influence the lives present on those orbiting planets.

Proxima Centauri

Proxima Centauri is a tiny star that orbits the two larger inner stars in a wide eliptical orbit.  It orbits at a much greater distance away from the two inner stars.  So much so, that a diagram including all three is nearly impossible to show all their orbits together. That is because the orbit of Proxima Centauri is many, many, MANY times larger than the orbits of Proxima Centauri A and B.

Red Dwarf Star

It is what is known as a red dwarf star.  It has a large orbit that surrounds  the two larger stars in the Alpha Centauri solar system.  All in all, it lies about 4.24 light-years from the Sun, inside the G-cloud, in the constellation of Centaurus. 

A red dwarf is a small and relatively cool star on the main sequence, either late K or M spectral type. 

Red dwarfs range in mass from a low of 0.075 solar masses to about 0.50 solar masses, and have a surface temperature of less than 4,000 K.  

Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of star in the Milky Way(aside from the much cooler brown dwarfs), at least in the neighborhood of the Sun, but because of their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs cannot easily be observed. 

From Earth, not one red dwarf is visible to the naked eye.  

Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, is a red dwarf (Type M5 to M5.5, apparent magnitude 11.05), as are twenty of the next thirty nearest. According to some estimates, red dwarfs make up three-quarters of the stars in the Milky Way.

Proxima Centauri is classified as a red dwarf is of spectral class M5.5. It is further classified as a “late M-dwarf star”, meaning that at M5.5, it falls to the low-mass extreme of M-type stars. Its diameter is about one-seventh of that of the Sun. Proxima Centauri’s mass is about an eighth of the Sun’s,but its average density is about 40 times that of the Sun.

In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. 

Light from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting the rainbow of colors interspersed with absorption lines.  Most stars are currently classified under the Morgan–Keenan (MKK) system using the letters O, B, A, F, G, K, M, L, T and Y, a sequence from the hottest (O type) to the coolest (Y type). 

The types R and N are carbon-based stars, and the type S is zirconium-monoxide-based stars. 

Each letter class is then subdivided using a numeric digit with 0 being hottest and 9 being coolest (e.g. A8, A9, F0, F1 form a sequence from hotter to cooler).  

In the MKK system a luminosity class is added to the spectral class using Roman numerals. This is based on the width of certain absorption lines in the star's spectrum which vary with the density of the atmosphere and so distinguish giant stars from dwarfs. 

Luminosity class 0 stars for hyper-giants, class I stars for super-giants, class II for bright giants, class III for regular giants, class IV for sub-giants, class V for main-sequence stars, class VI for sub-dwarfs, class VII for white dwarfs, and class VIII for brown dwarfs. 

The full spectral class for the Sun is then G2V, indicating a main-sequence star with a temperature around 5,800K.

Although it has a very low average luminosity, Proxima is a flare star that undergoes random dramatic increases in brightness because of magnetic activity. The star’s magnetic field is created by convection throughout the stellar body, and the resulting flare activity generates a total X-ray emission similar to that produced by (our) Sun.


Flare Stars; 

This is a reasonability common attribute associated with brown dwarf stars.  They tend to change in brightness over time.  

Part of this might be due to sun spots of enormous size, flares that vary in intensity and size, variations in the stellar gravitational field that periodically readjusts, or to other issues too numerous to address here.  

I personally like to believe that some “flare stars”, especially the regular and periodic ones, are misidentified as a flare star.  Instead they are simply a brown dwarf that has a nearby companion planet or body that causes the brightness to vary from time to time.

Luminosity

Its total luminosity over all wavelengths is 0.17% that of the Sun, although when observed in the wavelengths of visible light the eye is most sensitive to, it is only 0.0056% as luminous as the Sun. This means that if an astronaut were to orbit the star, he would have a very difficult time seeing it. It would appear as a very dim, and very dark, blood-red disc in the dark sky. 

Likewise, any planet orbiting a red dwarf would be dimly lit.  At least that is how it would appear from human eyes.  But human eyes were developed or evolved for the energetic G3 star that we call our sun. 

In the case of Proxima Centauri, more than 85% of its radiated power is at infrared wavelengths.  To our human eyes, it is difficult to see, and any habitable planet orbiting it would appear very dim, even being so close to the star. 

However, were a race to have eyesight that could see in the infrared range, the light would be quite bright.  In fact, as bright as our own sun as viewed from a more distant point such as from Neptune. 

A species that has evolved around a red dwarf would be able to see in the infrared range of light, and to them, the planet would be well lit and vibrant, with skies that would be extra dark. Much like this.
A species that has evolved around a red dwarf would be able to see in the infrared range of light, and to them, the planet would be well lit and vibrant, with skies that would be extra dark. Much like this. They would be able to see things that we just simply cannot.

Flare Outbursts

According to the The TV documentary “Alien Worlds”, Proxima Centauri’s flare outbursts could be problematic. 

Solar flares are tremendous explosions on the surface of the Sun. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion megatons of TNT. They occur near sunspots, usually along the dividing line (neutral line) between areas of oppositely directed magnetic fields.

Flares release energy in many forms – electro-magnetic (Gamma rays and X-rays), energetic particles (protons and electrons), and mass flows. Flares are characterized by their brightness in X-rays (X-Ray flux).

  • The biggest flares are X-Class flares.
  • M-Class flares have a tenth the energy.
  • C-Class flares have a tenth of the X-ray flux seen in M-Class flares.

Indeed, it could erode the atmosphere of any planet in its habitable zone, but the documentary’s scientists thought that this obstacle could be overcome. Gibor Basri of the University of California, Berkeley, even mentioned that “no one [has] found any showstoppers to habitability.”

" For example, one concern was that the torrents of charged particles from the star's flares could strip the atmosphere off any nearby planet. However, if the planet had a strong magnetic field, the field would deflect the particles from the atmosphere; even the slow rotation of a tidally locked dwarf planet that spins once for every time it orbits its star would be enough to generate a magnetic field, as long as part of the planet's interior remained molten.”

Other scientists, especially proponents of the “Rare Earth hypothesis”, disagree that red dwarfs can sustain life. (Of course they do.  They believe that there is only ONE earth-like planet in the universe!) 

These individuals strongly argue that the earth and the conditions for life on any planet similar to Earth is extremely rare, and that the chance of finding an Earth-like planet in our galaxy (of billions of solar systems) is impossibly unlikely.  

Thus their belief structure has been coined as the “Rare Earth hypothesis”.

Their contention is that the tide-locked rotation may result in a relatively weak planetary magnetic moment, leading to strong atmospheric erosion by coronal mass ejections from Proxima Centauri. 

All this being stated; the truth is that Earth scientists do not know whether any habitable planets can exist around a red dwarf of this nature.  I do not know either. 

I personally believe that the stellar nursery for evolving intelligence’s is around one or both of the two inner stars. Not so much around Proxima Centauri. But that is only my opinion.

Discovered World around Proxima Centauri – 2016

An anonymous source from the ESO told German publication Der Spiegel the discovery is the closest habitable planet to Earth, orbits Proxima Centauri. The sources leaked news that the European Southern Observatory (ESO) had spotted an alien world orbiting Proxima Centauri. This was later confirmed by an Guardian article that stated that a planet was indeed found. 25AUG16.


Proxima Centauri b.

Thought to be at least 1.3 times the mass of the Earth, the planet lies within the so-called “habitable zone” of the star Proxima Centauri, meaning that liquid water could potentially exist on the newly discovered world. Named Proxima b, the new planet has sparked a flurry of excitement among astrophysicists, with the tantalizing possibility that it might be similar in crucial respects to Earth.

“There is a reasonable expectation that this planet might be able to host life, yes,”

-Guillem Anglada-Escudé, co-author of the research from Queen Mary, University of London.

Taking 11.2 days to travel around Proxima Centauri, the planet orbits at just 5% of the distance separating the Earth and the sun. But, researchers say, the planet is still within the habitable zone of its star because Proxima Centauri is a type of red dwarf known as an M dwarf – a smaller, cooler, dimmer type of star than our yellow dwarf sun.

Planetary Evolution of Proxima b

While Proxima b is today in the so-called “habitable zone” of its star, where surface oceans may exist, it has not always been the case. Its star has evolved differently from solar-type stars, and its brightness has decreased over time. Early in its history, the planet received a much greater flux of energy.

The planet we see today has changed much during it’s evolution.

Two scenarios for the early evolution of Proxima b. It could have lost all gases and liquids before it entered the habitable zone of its star. Or it could have kept water and an atmosphere until today and thus be habitable.

During the early “hot phase”, when the star was young and planets were newly formed, water was vaporized into a thick atmosphere exposed to high-energy radiation from its star. Proxima, like most red dwarfs, is very active and the planet is exposed to more X-ray and extreme-UV radiation than Earth. The combination of these two factors, vaporization of the water and strong exposure to high-energy radiation and particles, generates evaporation from the atmosphere to space and erosion of the water content.

What we need to do is characterize the radiation spectrum of the star in the range from X-rays to the UV in order to estimate the atmospheric losses over time. 

That will enable us to determine whether the water reservoir and the atmosphere could survive this early “hot phase” of this planet’s formation. The current fate of Proxima b depends on the amount of water and gas the planet inherited during its formation, which was very different from that of the Earth.

We do not know if b Proxima began its history with more or less water than Earth and the planet could still possess a thick atmosphere and oceans despite early atmospheric losses.

Possible climates of Proxima b

Scientists have exploring a broad variety of atmospheric compositions and water inventories possible under different scenarios for this planet. To achieve this theoretical exploration, the scientists used a 3D climate model similar to those used to study the Earth’s climate but especially developed for exoplanets and including all the relevant characteristics of the Proxima system.

At the short orbital distance of Proxima b, strong tidal forces exerted by the star allow only two possible rotations for the planet.

  1. In the first case the planet is synchronous, its rotation period is equal to its orbital period (11.2 days) and it always presents the same face to its star.
  2. In the second case the planet rotates 3 times every 2 orbits (3:2 spin-orbit resonance, like Mercury), a situation that can arise if the orbit is slightly eccentric (which is possible but not yet determined).

In all cases, Proxima b should not have seasons because tidal forces cancel the obliquity, bringing the equator on the planet’s orbital plane. Numerical simulations show that liquid water is possible for a wide range of atmospheric compositions. Depending on the rotation period and the amount of greenhouse gases, water may be present over the surface of the planet only in the sunniest regions: that is to say in the area facing permanently the star in the synchronous case and in a tropical belt in the asynchronous case.

Proxima b synchronous rotation model (GIF)).

A numerical simulation of possible surface temperatures on Proxima b performed with the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique’s Planetary Global Climate Model. Here it is hypothesized that the planet possesses an Earth-like atmosphere and that it is covered by an ocean (the dashed line is the frontier between the liquid and icy oceanic surface). The planet is in synchronous rotation (like the moon around the Earth), and is seen as a distant observer would do during one full orbit.

Same as above but for the case of the planet trapped in the 3:2 resonance (3 rotations of the planet for every revolution around the star).

Note that subsurface (underground) liquid water can also provide habitable conditions (similar to Jupiter’s moon Europa in the Solar System). However, such biosphere would not allow for remote detection from Earth. If liquid water is present at the surface, biological photosynthesis is possible and its affects the entire planetary environment so that it can potentially be observable from interstellar distances.



Proxima b asynchronous rotation model (GIF).
Synchronous Rotation Model
Non-synchronous Rotation model

Seeing the planet

It is possible that soon, certain telescopes could actually see this planet. 

In particular the 39-m ESO E-ELT whose construction just began in Chile. This large telescope will actually “see” the world by separating it from its star, something that is feasible today only for some newly formed gas giant planets.

These observations will tell us whether Proxima b has water, an atmosphere and a habitable climate. And, maybe, just maybe… with proper software and tweaking, we might even be able to discern clouds and land terrain as well.

A tentative step to explore potential climate of Proxima b

Published in leading scientific journal, Astronomy & Astrophyics, on Tuesday, May 16th 2017, a group of scientists explored the potential climate of the planet, towards the longer term goal of revealing whether it has the potential to support life.

Using the state-of-the-art Met Office Unified Model, which has been successfully used to study the Earth’s climate for several decades, the team simulated the climate of Proxima B if it were to have a similar atmospheric composition to our own Earth.

The team also explored a much simpler atmosphere, comprising of nitrogen with traces of carbon dioxide, as well as variations of the planets orbit. This allowed them to both compare with, and extend beyond, previous studies.

Crucially, the results of the simulations showed that Proxima B could have the potential to be habitable, and could exist in a remarkably stable climate regime. However, of course this comes with a statement that the study is preliminary and based on what little data we now have.  They argue, correctly I must add, that much more work must be done to truly understand whether this planet can support, or indeed does support life of some form.

Dr Ian Boutle, lead author of the paper explained:

"Our research team looked at a number of different scenarios for the planet's likely orbital configuration using a set of simulations. As well as examining how the climate would behave if the planet was 'tidally-locked' (where one day is the same length as one year), we also looked at how an orbit similar to Mercury, which rotates three times on its axis for every two orbits around the sun (a 3:2 resonance), would affect the environment."

-"Exploring the climate of Proxima B with the Met Office Unified Model" by Ian Boutle, Nathan Mayne, Benjamin Drummond, James Manners, Jayesh Goyal, Hugo lambert, David Acreman and Paul Earnshaw is published in Astronomy & Astrophyics. 

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-05-scientists-tentative-explore-potential-climate.html#jCp

Dr James Manners, also an author on the paper added:

"One of the main features that distinguishes this planet from Earth is that the light from its star is mostly in the near infra-red. These frequencies of light interact much more strongly with water vapour and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which affects the climate that emerges in our model."

Using the Met Office software, the Unified Model, the team found that both the tidally-locked and 3:2 resonance configurations result in regions of the planet able to host liquid water. However, the 3:2 resonance example resulted in more substantial areas of the planet falling within this temperature range. Additionally, they found that the expectation of an eccentric orbit, could lead to a further increase in the “habitability” of this world.

Dr Nathan Mayne, scientific lead on exoplanet modelling at the University of Exeter and an author on the paper added:

"With the project we have at Exeter we are trying to not only understand the somewhat bewildering diversity of exoplanets being discovered, but also exploit this to hopefully improve our understanding of how our own climate has and will evolve."

A Hypothesized World around Proxima Centauri

The TV documentary “Alien Worlds” hypothesized that a life-sustaining planet could (possibly) exist in orbit around Proxima Centauri or other (similar)red dwarfs stars. The validity of this documentary is in question, but I present it for the reader to come to their own conclusions.

By calculation, such a planet would lie within the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, about 0.023–0.054 AU from the star[A], and would have an orbital period[B] of 3.6–14 days.  

[A] The Earth is 1 A.U. from our sun. Thus any habitable planet around this tiny red dwarf would most certainly lie very close to the star. This is quite different from the two other central stars in the system.

[B] This is the length of the planet’s year. Our earths orbital period is 364 days.

Obviously, a planet orbiting within this zone will experience tidal locking to the star, so that Proxima Centauri moves little in the planet’s sky, and most of the surface experiences either day or night perpetually. However, we do not know how this effect would be mitigated through the presence of an atmosphere. 

In fact, the presence of an atmosphere could serve to redistribute the energy from the star-lit side to the far side of the planet. Which is, you should know, my opinion on this matter.

Possibility of Humanoid Habitability

There’s been lots of speculation about the little world known as Proxima Centauri b since astronomers announced its discovery.

With a minimum mass of 1.3 Earths, the exoplanet orbits its star at roughly one-tenth the distance that Mercury loops the Sun. Yet because Proxima Centauri is a red M dwarf — the runts of the stellar litter — this total lack of personal space puts the world in the star’s putative habitable zone, the region where, given an Earth-like atmosphere and rocky composition, there’s the right amount of incoming starlight to sustain liquid surface water.

The Basics

What qualifies an extrasolar planet as being earth-like and hence a possible haven for life?

First, a planet must orbit in a star’s habitable zone. The habitable zone is the narrow region around a star in which the possibility of liquid water, thought essential for life, can exist. If a planet orbits its star closer than the habitable zone, the planet’s surface likely is too hot for liquid water to exist. If the planet orbits farther away, the planet’s surface probably will be too cold for liquid water. The distance of the habitable zone from a particular star depends upon the star’s temperature and brightness.

Second. While being in the habitable zone is a necessary condition for life, it is not a sufficient condition. A planet also must have the proper kind of atmosphere. Planets that are too small lack gravity to hold on to much of an atmosphere. This is the situation of Mercury, Mars, and the earth’s moon.

Without a significant atmosphere to provide pressure that can contain water, liquid water cannot exist. But if a planet is too large, its much greater gravity tends to hold onto the wrong kind of atmosphere. This is the situation of Jupiter and the other three Jupiter-like planets in the solar system.

What constitutes a wrong atmosphere? There are several ways that an atmosphere can go awry.

Some gases are directly hostile to life. If they are in abundance, polyatomic gases can be harmful indirectly. Polyatomic gases have three or more atoms in their molecules. Polyatomic gases block infrared (IR) radiation.

IR radiation sometimes is called heat radiation, because many objects cool by emitting IR radiation. For instance, at night the ground emits IR radiation to lose heat that it absorbed from the sun during the day. Polyatomic gases block IR radiation, preventing this cooling. This is similar to how a greenhouse holds in heat, so polyatomic gases sometimes are called greenhouse gases in this context.

Water vapor is the most significant greenhouse gas in the earth’s atmosphere. That is why the temperature remains warm on humid nights, but the temperature can plunge during nights when the humidity is low.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is another greenhouse gas that can hold in heat. This is the basis for concern about “global warming and climate change” due to increased output of CO2 by human sources since the industrial revolution.

The planet Venus has an atmosphere that is much denser than the earth’s atmosphere, and its atmosphere is dominated by CO2. This results in an extremely hot surface temperature on Venus. Clearly, a planet similar to Venus is hostile to life.

Contrast this to earth’s atmosphere that is dominated by diatomic gases, gases having two atoms per molecule.

The major component (78%) of earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen (N2). This gas is inert, merely providing bulk to the atmosphere. Much of the remainder of the earth’s atmosphere (21%) is oxygen (O2), the substance that is essential for human and animal life.

Greenhouse gases make up far less than 1% of the earth’s atmosphere. This small amount of greenhouse gases is ideal in that it holds in some, but not all, heat at night.

This provides a modestly warm, but not hot, atmosphere. Astrobiologists, scientists who study the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, recognize the ideal nature of the earth’s atmosphere. They reckon that the best hope for finding life elsewhere is on a planet with an atmosphere similar to earth’s atmosphere.

Third. If a planet orbits in the habitable zone of a star, but is too small to have any significant atmosphere, it is deemed non-earth-like. On the other hand, if a planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a star is too massive, it almost certainly will have an atmosphere similar to Jupiter or perhaps even Venus, and it too is deemed non-earth-like.

How does the new exoplanet Proxima Centauri b stack up?

Fourth. As previously mentioned, it orbits in Proxima Centauri’s habitable zone. However, the star Proxima Centauri is much smaller, less massive, and cooler than the sun. Hence, its habitable zone is much smaller than the sun’s habitable zone.

Proxima Centauri b orbits just 1/20 the earth’s distance from the sun.

Rather than orbiting once each 365 days as the earth does, Proxima Centauri b’s orbital period is a mere 11.2 days.

The minimum mass of the planet is 1.3 times that of the earth. Since this is a minimum mass, the actual mass could be greater. This mass range almost assures that Proxima Centauri b has an atmosphere.

If Proxima Centauri b’s mass is close to the minimum mass, then there is some chance that its atmosphere may have the properties similar to earth’s atmosphere, but this is not guaranteed.

Fifth. But even if Proxima Centauri b has an atmosphere with composition similar to earth’s atmosphere, there are other problems. Orbiting so closely to its star, Proxima Centauri b is expected to experience tidal locking so that it rotates synchronously. That is, the planet probably orbits with one side facing Proxima Centauri. The side of the planet that always faces the star is probably far too hot for living things, while the side that is perpetually in darkness is likely too cold. Only in a ring near where the star is always up but not too high above the horizon could there be conditions suitable for life.

Sixth. Depending on how planetary magnetic fields are generated, tidal locking might have dampened any nascent magnetic field that Proxima Centauri b had. This is significant, because red dwarfs like Proxima Centauri are prone to harmful radiation. The earth’s magnetic field protects the earth’s atmosphere from the flow of charged particles from the sun (the solar wind).

Without this protection, charged particles from the sun would eventually strip earth of its atmosphere. The amount of the solar wind is directly related to the strength of the sun’s magnetic field.

For instance, flares and coronal mass ejections (both related to the sun’s magnetic field) greatly increase the solar wind. Presumably, a star’s wind is related to its magnetic field too. Proxima Centauri’s magnetic field is hundreds of times stronger than the sun’s magnetic field, suggesting that its stellar wind is far greater than the solar wind. Red dwarfs, such as Proxima Centauri b, are prone to flares and probably experience coronal mass ejections greater than the sun does.

Seventh. Furthermore, being only 1/20 as far from its star, for a given level of stellar wind, Proxima Centauri b would experience 400 times as much damage as the earth does. Therefore, even with some protection of stripping by stellar wind from any magnetic field that it might have, Proxima Centauri b probably cannot protect its atmosphere.

In conclusion, this justification for the “lonely uniqueness of earth” hypothsis states…

So even if Proxima Centauri b initially had an atmosphere, it probably lost it. Without an atmosphere, life if not possible. Finally, the increased level of activity of the star Proxima Centauri and Proxima Centauri b’s close proximity to it likely causes the planet to experience far higher levels of ultraviolet and X-ray fluxes than the earth does. These radiations are harmful to life.

Edward Guinan (Villanova University) Opinion

Before they become full-fledged, hydrogen-fusing stars, the smallest red dwarfs spend a few hundred million years contracting. During this stage, they’re much brighter than they will be during their adult years, by roughly a factor of 50, said Edward Guinan (Villanova University) during a session on January 4th. Furthermore, young M stars shoot out gads of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation — roughly 100 times as much in X-ray and 10 to 20 times as much in UV as those dwarfs as old as the Sun.

Adding insult to injury, these young stars unleash dangerous flares, and if an orbiting world has a weak or nonexistent global magnetic field, the star’s winds could tear the atmosphere off the planet. “If you have a weak magnetic field, you’re done for,” Guinan said. “There’s really no way to survive.”

All these factors put together mean that, in Proxima Centauri’s earliest days, its habitable zone was farther out than it is now. If the exoplanet formed where it currently resides (in the modern habitable zone), then the world “underwent a living hell in its early 300 to 400 million years,” Guinan said.

For the past decade, Guinan and his team have been pursuing a project called Living with a Red Dwarf. They’re amassing data on all the small, cool M dwarfs within about 30 light-years of Earth, trying to understand their rotation rates, starspottiness, ages, and more. Given what they’ve learned from that work, Proxima Centauri b is most likely a desert world in their opinion.

Victoria Meadows (University of Washington) Opinion

Victoria Meadows (University of Washington), who presented in the same session, has come to the same conclusion. She and her colleagues considered different potential atmospheres and ran simulations to determine how the exoplanet might look today, about 5 billion years after its formation. They determined that, if there were surface water, the incoming radiation likely would have evaporated most or all of it. And since water is made of oxygen and hydrogen, and hydrogen is more easily yanked from a planet’s gravitational grasp, the process could have built up a large, oxygen-rich atmosphere. A carbon dioxide–rich, Venus-like atmosphere is another possibility.

University of Göttingen in Germany

Proxima b is also pretty darn close to its star. Where Earth is 93 million miles from the sun on average, Proxmia b and its star are just 4 million miles apart—5 percent as far. Because red dwarfs are so much cooler than our Sun, the planet can be this close without getting charred to a crisp.

Yet this proximity could cause two problems. First, Proxima b is likely to be tidally locked, meaning the same face of the planet always faces the star. It’s like the way the same side of the moon always faces the Earth[iii]. (However, a thick enough atmosphere could keep the world twirling.) Second, depending on how and when Proxima b was formed, early blasts of stellar radiation could have blown away much or most of Proxima b’s hypothetical atmosphere.

That said, Tidally locked planets were once regarded as inhospitable to life — baked too hot on the star-facing side, and freezing cold on the dark side. But recent research suggests that such worlds may indeed be habitable; winds in their atmospheres could distribute heat, smoothing out temperature extremes.

"none of this excludes the possibility of an atmosphere and water, it all depends on the history of the stellar system,"

Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory

The entire surface of Proxima b — the possibly Earth-like planet orbiting the closest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri — may be covered in a liquid ocean, according to a new study.

While there is still much to learn about the solar system’s newfound neighbor, previous research found that Proxima b has two key features in common with Earth: it orbits within the habitable zone of its star — meaning it could have the right surface temperature to allow for the presence of liquid water— and it has a mass 1.3 times that of Earth. 

Using this information, a team led by researchers at the Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory in France, developed different models to help discover what the conditions might be like on the rocky exoplanet, according to a statement from NASA. [Proxima b: Closest Earth-Like Planet Discovery in Pictures]

The new findings suggest Proxima b could have a large liquid ocean covering its entire surface and stretching 124 miles (200 kilometers) deep, as well as a thin gas atmosphere much like that found on Earth. These features favor the planet’s potential for supporting life, according to the statement.

Scientists have proposed different ideas about Proxima b’s composition and surface conditions, and the new models provide more information that could help inform those ideas, NASA officials said in the statement. Some of those ideas…

 "involve a completely dry planet, while others permit the presence of a significant amount of water in its composition,"

Using the planet’s known mass (1.3 times that of Earth), the authors of the new research simulated different potential compositions for Proxima b and then estimated the radius of the planet for each of those scenarios. The study revealed that Proxima b could have a radius anywhere between 0.94 and 1.4 times that of Earth, according to the NASA statement.

For one of the potential composition models, the researchers found Proxima b may be an “ocean planet” similar to some of the icy moons around Jupiter and Saturn that harbor subsurface oceans. In this water-world scenario, the planet would have a radius of 5,543 miles (8,920 km), which is 1.4 times the radius of Earth. It would be composed of about 50 percent rock and 50 percent water. The pressure beneath this massive, deep ocean would be so strong that a layer of high-pressure ice would form, according to the NASA statement.

Another model developed in the study suggests Proxima b would have an internal composition similar to the planet Mercury, with a minimum radius of 3,722 miles (5,990 km), or 0.94 times the radius of the Earth. In this scenario, the planet would be incredibly dense, with a metal core accounting for 65 percent of the planet’s mass. The rest of the planet would be composed of a rocky silicate mantle, and liquid water oceans accounting for less than 0.05 percent of the planet’s mass (similar to that seen on Earth), according to the statement.

However, ultraviolet and X-rays from Proxima Centauri could leave the water on Proxima b prone to evaporation. To account for this, the researchers also calculated the radius of Proxima b with a completely dry composition.

“Future observations of Proxima Centauri will refine this study,” NASA officials said in the statement. In particular, by measuring the abundance of certain heavy elements in the star system, scientists can further deduce the planet’s likely composition, and its radius. The study findings will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Alternative viewpoints

Alternatively, Proxima Centauri b might indeed be habitable if it started out with a protective, hydrogen-rich envelope, or if it formed farther from the star — and thus farther from the deadly radiation — and then migrated to its current, close position. Forming farther out would also be good for its chances for water, because ices are more prevalent in the outer reaches of planet-forming disks: the little world might then have had a repository of ice that, when it scooted in closer to the M dwarf, melted into seas.

Assuming it’s rocky, that is: astronomers only have a minimum mass for the exoplanet. It could instead be like Uranus and Neptune.

Reports of Extraterrestrial Life

You will often find all sorts of reports regarding life around the more commonly known stars.  This Alpha Centauri system is one of the most commonly bantered about names.  Most of which that is stated is complete nonsense.  Nothing in the base library, that I remember, repeated anything that verified or confirmed any of the reports that you come across on the Internet.  But that doesn’t mean anything, either. 

Herein, I provide some testimonials that I have gathered for your own personal investigations.  I neither support them, nor disparage them too obliquely.  I place them here for the enjoyment of the reader.  It is not an exhaustive nor a complete listing.

Alex Collier

Alex Collier claims the Alpha Centaurians are one of the races visiting the Earth.  Though which star (never specified as A, B, or Proxima) their home world surrounds is never discussed.  This is a serious omission and indicates the true extent of the report.

Elizabeth Klarer

An interesting testimony supporting the presence of the Alpha Centaurians is Elizabeth Klarer.  She had high level responsibilities within the British military to monitor UFO reports. Apparently she was contacted by the Alpha Centaurians and eventually taken to Alpha Centauri for a few months to have a child fathered by the Alpha Centaurian, Akon. (!) That’s a pretty large responsibility!

“(The Alpha Centaurians) …are from the one civilization… of seven planets. But they are preparing other planets for human habitation in the system of Vega.  Vega is a young blue-white waxing star.”

-Elizabeth Klarer

Her testimony is quite interesting, but I do doubt every single word of it.  If the inhabitants of Alpha Centauri really wanted to emigrate to another planet, they would naturally choose one that was similar to their own environment, and closer to them.  Vega does not, in the least, fit this baseline criteria.  Anyways, what do I really know?  She might be telling the truth, though I really do doubt it.

Read more;

“The ship is created in space from pure light energy into substance, and it takes naturally the celestial form. They then bring her to the surface of the planet and construct the interior. But the whole skin of the ship is created in space in order that this atomic structure of the skin of the ship is conducive to energizing. That’s how you get the power and the different colors.”

-Elizabeth Klarer on how their spacecraft are manufactured.

Read more;

“They are human but taller, better looking, more considerate and gentle; not aggressive and violent. They dress and eat more simply and are still young at an age of 2000 years of Earth time. Their star is not so violent. Our sun is a variable and produces rather harsh radiation which affects the skin, ages one, and can be dangerous. They wear simpler and less clothing made out of silk. Silk is beautiful and comfortable next to the skin. Everything is free and you can pick out your own clothes at a silk farm. There is an abundance of everything. No money or barter system is necessary.”

-Elizabeth Klarer on what they look like and their society

Read more;

“It is similar in size to Earth, a little larger, covered with vast seas, and the lands are islands, not continents. Climate is beautiful, under control, and in fact, is really a utopia. They have everything they want. They are not only thousands of years ahead technologically from us, but are also spiritually very advanced.”

-Elizabeth Klarer on their “home” planet (yet she states elsewhere that they have seven planets that they occupy).

Read more;

“There are no politics, law, or the monetary system. Medicine is a scientific activity and not required for health since they are all in perfect health. Their way of thinking is quite different from what most people over here would understand. They are a loving, gentle and constructive people. Everyone industriously does their work which they like doing most. There is no need for law; there is no crime or police. Everyone is free and has a code of ethics. They constantly create beauty around them and in general there is complete harmony. Their homes are lovely. You can see from the inside out; the material is transparent one way. Regarding pets, they love their birds, in particular, and there is telepathic communication with them. Predatory animals are kept on a different planet.”

-Elizabeth Klarer on their society.

Sorry.  I do not believe any of this.

Unknown woman under hypnosis in 1957

The alleged entity spoke through a woman being examined under hypnosis by a team of California psychologists. The entity claimed that he was an extraterrestrial being from a planet in the Alpha Centauri star system.

The details of the entity’s self-description given during interview sessions lasting seven years — beginning form 1957 — were revealed in a book titled Hands: The True Account. A Hypnotic Subject Reports on Outer Space, published in 1976 by California psychologists Margaret Williams and Lee Gladden.

Hands claimed to be a huge extraterrestrial being with dome-shaped body and eight hands — hence the name “Hands.” He also revealed the existence of another alien race, the Cenos aliens, from a planet orbiting Proxima Centuari.

The Cenos aliens, according to Hands, were 8-8.5 feet tall humanoid beings with multiple hearts. They were five times stronger than normal humans, according to Hands. Cenos aliens have no need for sleep, suffer no diseases and have a life span of about 120 years. They have elongated skulls, big hands, and skins with huge pores. Alien folklore also describes them as spacefaring beings that wear grey spacesuits and helmets. They travel in spaceships that look like a “spinning tape recorder.”

Al Bielek

An alleged former employee of the covert Montauk and Philadelphia projects, Al Bielek, discussed a number of extraterrestrials including the Alpha Centaurians.  Bielek’s testimony is perhaps one of the most bizarre and controversial cases in UFO research.  

“There are shuttles regularly from this planet to Alpha Centauri 4 which by agreement is a safe haven for people wanted by the U.S. Government. There’s a treaty. It takes about 12 hours to get them. “

-Al Bielek

For the record, in comment to the quote above; there is no “Alpha Centauri 4”.  This is a trinary system. 

The solar system consists of three individual solar systems. 

As far as I know, there are no planets in orbit around all three stars at once.  (That would be one very large orbit!)  If there were, it would be in the surrounding oort cloud, and would be a very, very cold place.

On the other hand, perhaps this individual is telling the truth but is completely ignorant of the physics of space.  That too is a possibility.  But that being said, I highly doubt that he was ever a member of MAJestic.  We are all compartmentalized.  We get one posting; one specialty; one task.  I had the drone entanglement at the Martian facility.  That was it. 

Yet, this individual claims multiple tasking; “Montauk” and “Philadelphia project” (plus numerous other revelations…).  I just do not believe it.  Not at all. 

Even if he was in a high level management position, he would not at all discuss the matters like he does.  That is simply because how you discuss events relative to MAJestic is government by your specialty. 

  • A management level personage relates “high level” events in grand terms, with an omission toward specific details. 
  • A lower level person can relate great details but without the framework of relevance and significance.

Nursery for evolving intelligence’s

This Alpha Centari system is like our solar system in that it is also a [1] nursery for evolving intelligence’s.  It is also [2] under galactic federation jurisdiction and [3] under the supervision of the Mantids, with [4] assistance from the Type-I grey extraterrestrials. 

This is not just conjecture on my part, but was <redacted> by <redacted> on more than one instance.  The details on the extent of all of this participation is unknown.  This implies and mandates a stable habitable planet that could sustain such life forms.  Somehow I believe that some of the other evolving intelligences in our nearby region have visited us as part of their outward growth experiences.  But who they are and what they look like is beyond my experience. 

For whatever reason, I have a “feeling” that the nursery contains life forms that are ahead of humans technologically.  I cannot explain WHY I have this feeling.  It is probably bullshit.

Barnard’s Star (BD+04°3561a)

The next closest (nursery system) star to our solar system is Barnard’s Star.

Aside from it’s unique name, this star and it’s associate solar system isn’t really all that special.  Barnard’s Star is a very low-mass red dwarf star about six light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Ophiuchus.  

It is a stable red dwarf of the dim spectral type M4, and it is too faint to see without a telescope. 

It is very ancient and is around 12 billion years of age.  It is almost the same age as the universe!  Therefore Barnard’s Star is considerably older than the Sun.  This great age is indicated by its rotational speed, among other things.  It has a rotational period of once in 130 days which is more than five times that of our sun.

Unlike Sol, Barnard's appears to be an old star that formed before the galaxy became much enriched with heavy elements (Monet et al, 1992, page 655). 

Its high space motion and sub-Solar metallicity suggests that the star is an intermediate Population II star," somewhere between a Halo and a disk star (Kürster et al, 2003; and John E. Gizis, 1997). 

Moreover, its low x-ray luminosity and presumed rotation period of 130.4 days also indicate that it is an old, inactive red dwarf. 

While the star may be as much as 11 or 12 billion years old (Ken Croswell, 2005).
Barnard’s star is close to our solar system.

Solar System

This star has a solar system, though there is a great deal of debate as to what it is.  There are various claims of orbiting gas giants and other such planets.  Specifically what planets orbit it and what they might look like is all speculative at the time of this writing.  Given its immense age it is relatively stable, though it has had large solar flares from time to time. 

We can assume that given it’s age that the amount of gas and dust in the system is kept at a minimum.  We can also assume that the number of asteroids and comets have stabilized into a primarily stable orbital patterns.

Most low mass red dwarfs maintain a small and tight solar system.  Some might contain nothing but small planetoids, while others might contain large gas giants.  There is no way to predict what kind of solar system orbits this sun given our current technology level. We just do not know.

Habitable Zone

In order to be warmed sufficiently have liquid water at the surface, an Earth-type rocky planet would have to be located very close to such a cool and dim red dwarf star like Barnard’s.  This would be at around 0.034 to 0.082 AU.  This is not at all the Earth-Sun distance.  Instead it is more like being inside the orbit of Mercury.  At such close distances, such a planet can easily become tidally locked — with one side in perpetual day — and race around the star in 5.75 to 21.5 (or three weeks).

According to one type of the model calculations performed for the NASA Star and Exoplanet Database, the inner edge of Barnard’s habitable zone should be located a little further out from the star, at around 0.056 AU from the star, and the outer edge would lie at around 0.109 AUs.  But the distinction of variance from what is considered to be the habitable zone is trivial.  Therefore, for our purposes, we must assume that an Earth-like or even marginally earth-like planet would by necessity, orbit close to the star.

Some astronomers have suggested that any rocky planets that formed around Barnard’s are likely to be sparse in the heavier elements of the atomic table, and that there may be a greater probability of gas giants made mostly of hydrogen and helium in cold, outer orbits. 

All of this however is pure conjecture and speculation. 

No human knows which planets exist around this star in this solar system.  One can only surmise that there would be a handful of rocky planets, many moons and minor planetoids and the potential for one or two gas giants.

Planets

Between 2000 and March 2006, a team of astronomers engaged in several years of high-precision radial velocity observations of Barnard’s star that set even stricter limits on any large planets in circular orbits around this small star. Within 1.8 AUs around Barnard’s star, the data up through 2005 appear to exclude planets with minimum masses greater than five (4.9) Earth-masses and a true mass greater than Uranus’. In addition, a cold debris or dust disk has not been detected (Lestrade et al, 2010; and Gautier et al, 2007.).

Quantum Envelope

This solar system has one of the most elaborate and complex quantum signatures in our neighborhood. 

This is indicative of the great age of the system and the presence of non-corporal intelligence(s) and their works.  This is because <redacted> and that when the <redacted>.

In fact, when many humans die, their spirit or quantum envelope passes through regions (density levels or layers) that are entangled with the quantum spheres that are associated with this physical region.  You can test this yourself by <redacted>, and then you simply record <redacted>.

The quantum world around this physical region is very, very energetic.

Extraterrestrial Presence

Like all stars in our solar neighborhood, this star has had other extraterrestrials create bases and colonies around and in it.  Because it is so old, there is most certainly the strong possibility of extensive extraterrestrial “ruins” and abandoned facilities in this system.  Any planets around it may or may not be habitable at this time. 

What I do absolutely know is that there is an elaborate and extensive quantum level matrix associated with this star.  This can be for many reasons, and not necessarily those that I associate it with at this times.

Accordingly, <redacted> Various races have created communities in the vicinity of this star and while they might not be visible to our physical bodies, they are <redacted> quantum senses.  <redacted> Thus there is an absolutely huge extraterrestrial presence in the quantum form around this solar system.  The system has <redacted> and has extensive quantum constructions, habitats, and quantum architecture.  There is also quantum residue and debris from previous races that occupied this region but who no longer dwell in this region.

Quantum residue consists of memories, voids and gaps in the time-dependent aspects of the quantum sphere.  All quanta has a signature that varies over time.  Since they are timeless entities or components or attributes, they have a certain “color” or “flavor” that can be detected that is represented by the quantum links or experiences of other quanta.  These can see measured and perceived with proper equipment and training.  

When an intelligence exists, it leaves a trail of quantum disruption in the space – time sphere that can be observed.  This can be noticed and elaborated upon even when the individual or race or species are long, long gone.  This kind of quantum disruption takes on many forms, but for our purposes, we shall simply refer to it as quantum debris.

People who have strong PSI ability can often view these quantum signitures and interpet them.

This solar system has been exposed to many extraterrestrial species over the years and their accumulated debris, both physical and quantum remains.

It is simply because of this “high concentration of quantum traffic”, that I believe that this solar system is a major hub of local sentience nursery activity.

Reports of Extraterrestrial Life

I do not recall reading anything related to life around this star in the <redacted>.  But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any life there.  There have been reports of extraterrestrial visitations from this system.  I can’t confirm or deny them. 

I present them here for your own investigations.

USAF Airman Charles Hall

The following is a report from USAF Airman Charles Hall.  Whether it is valid is up to the reader to determine.  I can neither confirm or deny his statements.

“According to Mr. Charles Hall, the Saami are a human-looking race who migrated from Barnard’s Star to Earth around 940 B.C. and live among us. 

They are resident in the Saami (Lapland) region above the Arctic Circle in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and northwest Russia’s Kola Peninsula. 

The Saami’s extraterrestrial origin as reported by USAF Airman Charles Hall, who had security clearance for contact with Star Visitors, was Barnard’s Star.  

Hall has described the Saami as looking Human, with broad faces, high cheekbones, tall foreheads and darkish hair color. 

The Saami are distinguished by their having only 24 teeth instead of the normal-human 32 teeth. Also, these Saami people can regrow a tooth to replace any adult tooth which has been removed. They prefer a dramatically-cold climate. 

Otherwise they are indistinguishable from Humans. Some of these Saami (Laplanders) migrated to the U.S. and settled in northern-tier states such as Wisconsin. 

A number of Saami have intermarried with Europeans, so the degree to which their original Saami characteristics remain in the mixed-race offspring varies.”

Nursery for evolving intelligence’s

This system is like our solar system in that it is also [1] a nursery for evolving intelligence’s.  It is also [2] under galactic federation jurisdiction and [3] under the supervision of the <redacted>, with [4] assistance from the Type-I grey extraterrestrials.  This [5] implies that there is a planet with some kind of atmosphere in the system, but whether it is earth-like or something else entirely is up to speculation.

It is possible that this system was one of the first solar systems in our galactic neighborhood to be transformed into a nursery for evolving intelligence’s.  All of the stars in our local grouping (Sol and Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star) were given this designation at the same time for reasons that are not clear to me.  This star is not, at all, what most people would assume to be a desirable place to begin in intelligent sentience, but it is.

LHS 288 (Luyten 143-23)

LHS 288 (Luyten 143-23) is a red dwarf star, the closest star to our Sun in the constellation Carina at a distance of 15.6 light years. It is far too faint to be seen with the unaided eye, with an apparent magnitude of 13.92. Recent studies suggest it may harbor a planet with the mass of Jupiter.

Nursery for evolving intelligence’s

This system is like our solar system in that it is also a nursery for evolving intelligence’s.  It is also under galactic federation jurisdiction and under the supervision of the <redacted>, with assistance from the Type-I grey extraterrestrials.

One of the many mysteries concerning my involvement in MAJestic was to why the Earth and a number of other solar systems were selected as a nursery for evolving intelligence’s. 

As far as the earth is concerned, why not simply leave our solar system alone and use something more compatible to the bulk of evolving extraterrestrial life in our galaxy (Cooler K and M class stars.)?  Well, this solar system clearly shows that the requirement of being a larger star of G class is not the primary consideration for being a planetary nursery candidate.

A look at the map of nearby stars, however, quickly reveals that Sol is not like most stars in the nearby Solar neighborhood (out to about 25 light years.).

Indeed, our solar system and it’s sun appear  to have a few special characteristics:

  • The Sun is among the most massive 10 percent of stars in its neighborhood so that it is not too cool and dim, but also not so massive that it burns out before life has time to develop, evolve, and manufacture an oxygen atmosphere to create an Earth-type planet.   But LHS 288 also fits this requirement, and even more so as it is far more stable and possibly older.
  • It’s a solitary star (actually a wide-period binary with a brown dwarf), although many relatively high mass stars have one or more stellar companions — around 44 percent of spectral types F6 to K3 and possibly declining to one third to one fourth of very dim type M stars that are difficult to observe, which is fortunate for life on Earth because (apparently) stable planetary orbits like what we experience around the Earth are much more likely around single stars.
  • Finally, it appears to have roughly 50 percent more “heavy” elements than other stars of its age and type, but only about a third of their variation in brightness, which is also fortunate because elements heavier than hydrogen are essential to make rocky planets like Earth and large stellar flare-ups can harm planetary life with hard radiation.

A quick look at the LHS 288 clearly shows that it too meets the same basic requirements as what was met by our solar system.

While I recognize the special significance of this star, I do not know much more than that.  I have no idea as to the current status of evolutionary life on any planets in this system, nor what forms the evolving life would take.  I would assume that they might be similar to humanoid life to some degree, but they most certainly would not appear totally human.  Technological level, if applicable, as well as known extraterrestrial involvement with the system is unknown at this time.

Gliese 667

Gliese 667 (142 G. Scorpii) is a triple-star system in the constellation of Scorpius, all of whose components have masses smaller than the Sun. It is composed of close binary Stars A and B and a more distant Star C, but a fourth stellar companion D is not gravitationally bound.  Both Gliese 667A and Gliese 667B are K class stars.  Gliese 667C is a red dwarf M class star. 

The system lies at a distance of about 6.8 pc (22.1 lightyears) from Earth. This triple star system is located at the southwestern central part (17:18:57.2-34:59:23.3, ICRS 2000.0) of Constellation Scorpius, the Scorpion — west of the Butterfly Cluster and northwest of Lesath (Upsilon Scorpii) and Shaula (Lamda Scorpii).

Gliese 667A

The largest component of this system, Gliese 667 A (GJ 667 A), is an orange color K-type main-sequence star of stellar classification K3-4V.

It is smaller than our own sun, being about 73% of the mass of the Sun and having 76% of the Sun’s radius.  Curiously, it is radiating only around 12-13% of the luminosity of the Sun.  It is much dimmer than our sun.  The concentration of elements other than hydrogen and helium, what astronomers term the star’s metallicity, is much lower than in the Sun with a relative abundance of around 26% solar.

Variable Star

Gliese 667A is a (New Suspected) Variable star with the designation of NSV 8482.  It has an amplitude of 0.04. Useful star catalogue numbers for Gliese 667A include: HR 6426*, Gl 667 A, Hip 84709, HD 156384, CD-34 11626 A, CP-34 6803, SAO 208670, LHS 442, LTT 6888, LFT 1336, LPM 638, and UGPMF 433.

Binary Orbits

Both Gliese 667A and Gliese 667B have an average separation of 12.6 AUs (a semi-major axis of 1.81″ at a HIPPARCOS distance estimate of 20.74 Light-years) in a highly eccentric orbit (e= 0.58). The orbital period takes 42.15 years to complete and is inclined 128° from the perspective of an observer on Earth. 

In turn, the binary pair have been separated from Gliese 667C by 56 to 213 AUs (8 to 30.5″) from 1889 to 1948 at an orbital inclination of 139° – to 215 AUs (30.8″) at an inclination of 136°; calculations published in 2012 suggest a minimum separation of 230 AUs.

Gliese 667 B

Like the primary, the secondary component Gliese 667 B (GJ 667 B) is a K-type main-sequence star, although it has a slightly later stellar classification of K5V.

This component has a mass of about 69% of the Sun, or 95% of the primary’s mass, and it is radiating about 5% of the Sun’s visual luminosity.  This star is an orange-red dwarf star. This star may have around 65 percent of Sol’s mass, 70 percent of its diameter, and only five percent of its visual luminosity. It is very dim. 

Useful star catalogue numbers for Gliese 667B include: Gl 667 B and MLO 4 B.

Gliese 667 C

Gliese 667 C is the smallest stellar component of this system. 

It only has around 31% of the mass of the Sun and 42% of the Sun’s radius. It is a considered to be a red dwarf with a stellar classification of M1.5. This star is radiating only 1.4% of the Sun’s luminosity from its outer atmosphere at a relatively cool effective temperature of 3,700 K. This cool temperature is what gives it the red-hued glow that is a characteristic of M-type stars.

The apparent magnitude of this component is 10.25, giving it an absolute magnitude of about 11.03. It is known to have a system of at least two planets: claims have been made for up to seven but these may be in error due to failure to account for correlated noise in the radial velocity data.

To the observer on the surface of Gliese 667 C (the second confirmed planet out that orbits along the middle of the habitable zone), Gliese 667 C would have an angular diameter of 1.24 degrees and would appear to be 2.3 times the visual diameter of our Sun.  Gliese 667 C would have a visual area 5.4 times greater than that of the Sun but would still only occupy 0.003 percent of Gliese 667 Cc’s sky sphere or 0.006 percent of the visible sky when directly overhead. 

Currently separated from Gliese 667A and Gliese 667B by at least 230 AUs, Gliese 667C is a red dwarf star of spectral and luminosity type M1.5-2.5 V.  This star may have around 31 to 38 percent of Sol’s mass, 42 percent of its diameter, and just over 3/1,000th of its visual luminosity.

Assuming it to have the same metallicity as the other stars in the system, with around 26 percent of Sol’s metallicity, it appears to be a main sequence stars of two to 10 billion years old. Useful star catalogue numbers for Gliese 667C include: Gl 667 C, and LHS 443.

Habitable Zones around the Stars

Both Gliese 667 A and Gliese 667 B are similar to our sun. 

Thus, there was a push to determine whether Earth-type planets might be in orbit around either star.  So there was a concerted effort to detect the presence of habitable zone planets around either of these stars. In order to be warmed sufficiently have liquid water at the surface, an Earth-type rocky planet around Gliese 667 A would have to have an orbital distance around between 0.78 to 1.04 AU, with a period lasting around six months. Such a planet around Gliese 667 B would be located within less than 0.5 AU and a period of less than a couple of months.

Habitable zones around K and M class stars.

For an even cooler and dimmer red dwarf star like Gliese 667 C, the water zone probably would be located between 0.1 and 0.28 AUs with a period of with less than two months.  At such a close distance, a planet would probably be tidally locked – with one side in perpetual day. In any case, the light emitted by red dwarfs may be too red in color for Earth-type plant life to perform photosynthesis efficiently.

Extensive Solar System around Gliese 667c

We know that Gliese 667C has an extensive solar system. 

On October 19, 2009, a team of astronomers using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph with the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope announced the discovery of a potential super-Earth “b” with at least 5.7 Earth-masses in a tight orbit (~0.05 AUs) around Star C at an ESO/CAUP conference on extra-Solar planets in Porto, Portugal. 

Additionally, on February 2, 2012, two teams of astronomers revealed the finding of a second, even smaller potential super-Earth “c” with around 4.5 (but possibly as little as 3.4) but as much as 9 Earth-masses in a potentially habitable-zone orbit (~0.12 AUs) completed in 28.15 days around Star C, with evidence of another super-Earth “d” with a period of 75 days and a gas giant “e” in outer orbits.

A Planetary System around C

On June 25, 2013, astronomers announced the Gliese 667 C has at least six planets (possibly seven) and confirmed that at least three (possibly four) super-Earths (possibly five) orbit within the habitable zone around the star.

Gliese 667C planetary system.
This is not to be considered an exhaustive list as more planets are detected every few months.  As this star system becomes more extensively studied there will be additional planetary discoveries made.  There is no doubt that this is an interesting system and that it has the potential to be one of the more interesting solar systems in our neighborhood.  There is the intriguing possibility that this solar system might have habitable planets and that there might be native evolved biological creatures on those worlds.

On December 17, 2012, an astronomer submitted a preprint with a new analysis of available radial-velocity data of Gliese 667C.  In it was evidence supportive of the existence of five planetary candidates around Gliese 667C. The two planetary candidates were previously detected with orbital periods of 7.2 and 28.1 days (“b” and “c’), while there were three additional planets of orbital periods of 30.8, 38.8, and 91.3 days (“d,” “e,” and “f”.  These orbital periods were likely to be associated with planetary companions around Gliese 667C.

If confirmed as planets, the 28.1-, 30.8-, and 38.8-day periods would be associated with objects orbiting in the “central portion of the habitable zone, while the 91.3 day orbits lies partly within the habitable zone.” The minimum masses for b, c, d, e, and f are 5.4, 4.8, 3.1, 2.4, and 5.4 Earth-masses, respectively. If confirmed, planetary candidate “e” with a 38.8-day period with 2.4 Earth-masses is the lowest mass extra-Solar planet detected in a star’s habitable zone to day.

 Orbital
Distance

(a=AUs)
Orbital
Period

(P=years)
Orbital
Eccentricity

(e)

Mass

(Earths)

Diameter

(Earths)
Gliese 667 4 C0.0125,00046
Planet “b”0.0500.0200.13=>5.6>1<4
Planet “h?”0.0890.0460.06=>1.1~1
Inner H.Z. Edge?0.10-0.12<0.050
Planet “c”0.1250.0770.02=>3.8>1<4
Planet “d/f”0.1560.1070.03=>2.7>1<4
Planet “e”0.2130.1700.02=>2.7>1<4
Planet “f/d”0.2760.2510.03=>5.1>1<4
Outer H.Z. Edge?0.23-0.28<0.270
Planet “g”0.5490.7020.08=>4.6>1<4

Planet “Gliese 667C-b”

On October 19, 2009, a team of astronomers using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph with the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope announced the discovery of a planetary candidate “b” revised in 2013 to at least 5.6 Earth-masses orbiting only around 0.05 AU from Gliese 667C. The super-Earth’s tight orbit is completed in around 7.2 days.

Planet “Gliese 667C-h” (Not yet verified)

On June 25, 2013, astronomers announced the Gliese 667 C has at least six planets, but possibly seven including a new planetary candidate designated “h”.  It has a mass of at least 1.1 Earth-mass.  This potential planet would be the smallest planet yet detected around Gliese 667C. With a semi-major axis around 0.0893 AUs and an orbital eccentricity of 0.03, it takes just under 17 days to complete an orbit around Star C.

Its orbital distance averages near the inner edge of the hypothesized habitable zone of Star C and so could have liquid water on its surface assuming favorable planetary characteristics such as sufficient coverage by reflective clouds and atmospheric composition.

Planet “Gliese 667C-c”

Beginning with a pre-print submitted on November 21, 2011 and a Carnegie Institution for Science news release on February 2, 2012, two teams of astronomers revealed astronomers revealed the finding of a second, even smaller potential super-Earth “c” with at least 3.8  Earth-masses in a potentially habitable-zone orbit (0.125 AUs) with an eccentricity of 0.03.  This planet completes an orbit in 28.1 days.  (They also detected two other planets as well.  This included evidence of another super-Earth “d” with 5.7 Earth-masses and a period of 75 days as well as a gas giant “e” in outer orbits.)

Planet c’s average orbital distance of around 0.12 AU places it within the inner edge of Star’s potentially habitable zone, where the planet could support liquid water on its surface given a sufficiently favorable atmosphere. According to the astronomers, this planetary “candidate receives about 90% of the light received by Earth in our Solar System”.

An extrasolar planet, Gliese 667 Cc orbits Gliese 667 C, which is part of a triple-star system. It lies at a distance of 22.1 light years from Earth within the Scorpius constellation.

  • Diameter: between 6.3 x 103 and 2.5 x 105 km
  • Mass: 2.01 x 1025
  • Composition: unknown
  • Orbit: 28 Earth days

Gliese 667Cc was discovered in April 2012 by an international group of astronomers working at the European Southern Observatory in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. It is a super-Earth, some 3.4 times the mass of Earth, orbiting a red dwarf star, Gliese 667 C. At the time of its discovery, scientists called it the most Earth-like object outside of the Solar System.

The discovery was made with the High Accuracy Radial Planetary Searcher (HARPS) telescope. Gliese 667 Cc receives 10% less light from its star than the Earth receives from the Sun, but as this light is mostly in the infra-red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, its effect is that the energy received at its surface is the same as Earth receives from the Sun.

The planet orbits its star over a four-week period at a distance of 0.12 AU (17.9 million kilometres). The likelihood is that it is tidally locked to the star, meaning that it always shows the same hemisphere to the surface of Gliese 667 C.

The temperature on Gliese 667 C is 3,400K (Kelvin) compared with the Sun’s 5,778K. Its habitable zone lies in an orbit between 0.11 astronomical units (AU) (16.4 million kilometres) and 0.23 AU (34.3 million kilometres) from the star. Gliese 667 Cc’s orbital distance seems to be comfortably within the habitable zone, should liquid water be present on its surface.

The surface temperature of Gliese 667 Cc could be approximately 30C in the presence of liquid water, but if the atmosphere consists of more massive molecules, the temperature will be higher, making surface conditions inhospitable to life. The tidal locking adds further complications as one hemisphere of the planet experiences constant daylight while the other is permanently dark. The temperature differences between the two hemispheres will have a strong influence on the planet’s global climate. In addition, the planet will receive frequent flares from its host star.

A further complication is that the Gliese 667 C star is part of a triple-star system. Gliese 667 A and Gliese 667 B are about 230 AU (34.2 billion kilometres) away. Despite the distance, they would be visible from the surface of the planet. The Sun could also be seen as a distant star from the surface of Gliese 667 Cc.

Planet Gliese 667Cc is very similiar to Earth

Planet “Gliese 667C-d” or “Gliese 667 C-f”

This planet has alternative designations, depending on the astronomers cited. On December 17, 2012, an astronomer submitted a preprint with new analysis of available radial-velocity data supporting the existence of five planetary candidates around Gliese 667 C. In addition to the two previously discovered planets with orbital periods of 7.2 and 28.1 days (“b” and “c’), three additional planets with orbital periods of 30.8, 38.8, and 91.3 days (“d,” “e,” and “f”) were also detected around Gliese 667 C. Planet “d”, with a 30.8-day period was found to be one of three orbiting in the “central portion of the habitable zone”.

On June 25, 2013, astronomers announced the Gliese 667 C has at least six planets, of which “f” (or “d”) is a super-Earth-class planet in Star C’s habitable zone, with at least 2.7 Earth-masses. With a semi-major axis around 0.156 AU and an orbital eccentricity of 0.02, the planet completes its orbit around Star in just over 39 days. Its orbital distance of 0.156 AU is near the middle of the hypothesized habitable zone of Star C and so could have liquid water on its surface assuming favorable planetary characteristics such as sufficient coverage by reflective clouds and atmospheric composition.

Planet “Gliese 667C-e”

Like planet d/f, this super-Earth-class planet in Star C’s habitable zone also has at least 2.7 Earth-masses. With a semi-major axis around 0.213 AU and an orbital eccentricity of 0.02, the planet completes its orbit around Star in 62.2 days. As its orbit is also is with the hypothesized habitable zone of Star C, planet e also may have liquid water on its surface assuming favorable planetary characteristics such as sufficient coverage by reflective clouds and atmospheric composition.

Planet “Gliese 667C-f” or “Gliese 667C-d”

This planet has alternative designations, depending on the astronomers cited. Like its planetary neighbor’s d/f and e, this super-Earth-class planet in Star C’s habitable zone has at least 5.1 Earth-masses. With a semi-major axis around 0.276 AU and an orbital eccentricity of 0.03, the planet completes its orbit around Star in 91.6 days. As its orbit is also just within the hypothesized habitable zone of Star C, planet e also may have liquid water on its surface assuming favorable planetary characteristics such as sufficient coverage by reflective clouds and atmospheric composition.

Planet “Gliese 667C-g”

This planet is the outermost planet object detected around Star C thus far. Lying outside Gliese 667C‘s habitable zone, it is a super-Earth-class planet with least 4.6 Earth-masses. With a semi-major axis around 0.549 AU and an orbital eccentricity of 0.03, the planet completes its orbit around Star in 256.2 days .

Nursery for evolving intelligence’s

This system is like our solar system in that it is also possibly a nursery for evolving intelligence’s.  It is also under galactic federation jurisdiction and under the supervision of the <redacted>, with assistance from the Type-I grey extraterrestrials. 

My personal belief is that any habitable planet in the system utilizes imported fauna and bioengineered life forms. And this is only my “feeling” and it is probably incorrect.

The Development of a solar system

Perhaps some time should be devoted to a discussion on how the planets in a solar system is formed.  This is an interesting subject that it has many theories and proponents.  Our current thoughts on this matter are quite crude.  But in the most basic iteration our known and accepted theories discuss the concept of a “frost line” that separates the development of rocky planets and gas giant planet formation.  We know and believe, and the reader must understand that, the current accepted theories regarding this is all subject to change. 

Depending on the stars involved, and the number of stars and their orbits, the formation of planets around a given star depends on how much interstellar gas and dust was absorbed by the star.  In fact, the current theories hold that the inner rocky planets are the same as the gas giants, but it is only that gasses of their outer shells were absorbed and stolen from the parent star.  The separation distance where this occurs is known as the “frost line”.  In our solar system, the “frost line” is located at the general location of the asteroid belt.

The “Frost Line” in planetary formation

In young star systems, say under 500 million years old, the “frost line” is just getting settled out.  The planets are just forming and are all hot and young.  The space around the star is full of debris and gas (though the amount varies greatly depending on the star and the uniqueness of the planetary system).

That being stated, for most of the known solar systems in our local region, one should consider that there are huge gas giant planets along the outer orbits and various sized rocky planets in the inner orbits.  The continued presence of these huge gas giants is time dependent and is also variable depending on a variety of circumstances surrounding the formation of the solar system as a whole.  I firmly believe in the “frost line” theory of planetary formation, but I must recognize that there are myriad of other factors that create exceptions to this theory.

Conclusion

Within our (tiny) local region of space are certain solar systems that are all acting as “nurseries” for evolving intelligences.

I do not know why this area has been dedicated to this role, I do not know if other areas have similiar roles, or why and how this role manifested. All I know is that the friendly benefactors what work with us humans on earth, also work with other species in some nearby solar systems in the same way that they work with us.

In total there are five systems involved and thus at least five species.

I have compiled what I know via my role and mixed and merged it with what is known as conventional astronomical information to come up with the potential solar systems for these nurseries. What I have to say about quanta is beyond the scope of conventionally accepted science, and can be discounted if that is your choice. What is posted here is to help everyone get a better understanding of what our role is within the local region of physical space.

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Law 21 – Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark (48 Laws of Power)

OK, I know that I have been posting too many of these kinds of posts lately, but have some patience, will ya? I’ve got a long, long, LONG list of things to post. Just let me round out my posts with some more stuff from Robert Greene. I promise that I get back to some other stuff soon.

In my queue are some more posts on [1] intention campaigns, [2] all sorts of articles on the USA disinformation techniques and [3] control of electronic media, [4] SHTF postings and the [5] death of what ever remains of liberty, some [6] great works by Heinlein, and [7] some OOPART stuff that is tied to [8] MAJestic. In particular, I have a [7a] “mysterious” aluminum pawl write up, [7b] a rectangular structure on (the surface of) a comet, and [7c] a “space station facility” near the Sun. I will get to them. I promise. My queue lists over 150 drafts pending, and a shitload in my notebook as well.

Anyways…

This little technique got me through the ADC (prison). It enabled me to survive in a “dog-eat-dog” environment. It disguised me as a dull uninspired oaf. Heck! There were potatoes more interesting than me. Now, survival in a harsh environment, especially at the notorious Brickeys (North Arkansas Regional Unit) involved many facets, this little gem of advice got me through some of the worst.

Listen to me. No one wants to pick on a boring, dull witted, uninspired oaf. There are better things to do and “fish to fry”. And as such, you would just be left alone. Which was all I wanted. I wanted to do my time, sleep as much of it off, and get the Hell out of there post-haste.

Now, please keep in mind that even when you are isolated, and alone in a very harsh place, it is your ability to forge friendships and relationships that will help you. No matter how tough the world seems or appears, if you are part of a group… YOU WILL SURVIVE. So, please everyone, remember to be good, be just and be kind to others, no matter how bad your personal situation may appear.

You will never be considered a threat if you seem to be dull and harmless. If you are able to convince others that they are much smarter than you are, then they will apt to leave you alone. For everyone dislikes feeling more foolish than their neighbors or counterparts. Therefore, it is unlikely for anyone else to consider you faking your dull-wittiness. It’s a survival strategy as well as strategy of control.

LAW 21

PLAY A SUCKER TO CATCH A SUCKER—SEEM DUMBER THAN YOUR MARK

JUDGMENT

No one likes feeling stupider than the next person. The trick, then, is to make your victims feel smart—and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

In the winter of 1872, the U.S. financier Asbury Harpending was visiting London when he received a cable: A diamond mine had been discovered in the American West.

The cable came from a reliable source—William Ralston, owner of the Bank of California—but Harpending nevertheless took it as a practical joke, probably inspired by the recent discovery of huge diamond mines in South Africa.

True, when reports had first come in of gold being discovered in the western United States, everyone had been skeptical, and those had turned out to be true.

But a diamond mine in the West!

Harpending showed the cable to his fellow financier Baron Rothschild (one of the richest men in the world), saying it must be a joke. The baron, however, replied, “Don’t be too sure about that. America is a very large country. It has furnished the world with many surprises already. Perhaps it has others in store.”

Harpending promptly took the first ship back to the States.

Now, there is nothing of which a man is prouder than of intellectual ability, for it is this that gives him his commanding place in the animal world. It is an exceedingly rash thing to let anyone see that you are decidedly superior to him in this respect, and to let other people see it too.... hence, white rank and riches may always reckon upon deferential treatment in society, that is something which intellectual ability can never expect. 

To be ignorant is the greatest favor shown to it; And if people notice it at all, it is because they regard it us a piece of impertinence, or else as something to which its possessor has no legitimate right, and upon which he dares to pride himself; And in retaliation and revenge for his conduct, people secretly try and humiliate him in some other way; when if they wait to do this, it is only for a fitting opportunity. 

A man may be as humble as possible in his demeanor and yet hardly ever get people to overlook his crime in standing intellectually above them. In the Garden of Roses, Sadi makes the remark: “You should know that foolish people are a hundredfold more averse to meeting the wise than the wise are indisposed for the company of the foolish. ” 

On the other hand, it is a real recommendation to be stupid. For just as warmth is agreeable to the body, so it does the mind good to feel its superiority; and a man will seek company likely to give him this feeling, as instinctively as he will approach the fireplace or walk in the sun if he wants to get warm. But this means that he will be disliked on account of his superiority; and if a man is to be liked, he must really be inferior in point of intellect. 

-ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860

When Harpending reached San Francisco, there was an excitement in the air recalling the Gold Rush days of the late 1840s.

Two crusty prospectors named Philip Arnold and John Slack had been the ones to find the diamond mine. They had not divulged its location, in Wyoming, but had led a highly respected mining expert to it several weeks back, taking a circular route so he could not guess his whereabouts.

Once there, the expert had watched as the miners dug up diamonds.

Back in San Francisco the expert had taken the gems to various jewelers, one of whom had estimated their worth at $1.5 million.

Harpending and Ralston now asked Arnold and Slack to accompany them back to New York, where the jeweler Charles Tiffany would verify the original estimates.

The prospectors responded uneasily—they smelled a trap: How could they trust these city slickers? What if Tiffany and the financiers managed to steal the whole mine out from under them?

Ralston tried to allay their fears by giving them $100,000 and placing another $300,000 in escrow for them. If the deal went through, they would be paid an additional $300,000.

The miners agreed.

The little group traveled to New York, where a meeting was held at the mansion of Samuel L. Barlow.

The cream of the city’s aristocracy was in attendance—General George Brinton McClellan, commander of the Union forces in the Civil War; General Benjamin Butler; Horace Greeley, editor of the newspaper the New York Tribune; Harpending; Ralston; and Tiffany.

Only Slack and Arnold were missing—as tourists in the city, they had decided to go sight-seeing.

When Tiffany announced that the gems were real and worth a fortune, the financiers could barely control their excitement.

They wired Rothschild and other tycoons to tell them about the diamond mine and inviting them to share in the investment.

At the same time, they also told the prospectors that they wanted one more test: They insisted that a mining expert of their choosing accompany Slack and Arnold to the site to verify its wealth.

The prospectors reluctantly agreed.

In the meantime, they said, they had to return to San Francisco. The jewels that Tiffany had examined they left with Harpending for safekeeping.

Several weeks later, a man named Louis Janin, the best mining expert in the country, met the prospectors in San Francisco. Janin was a born skeptic who was determined to make sure that the mine was not a fraud.

Accompanying Janin were Harpending, and several other interested financiers.

As with the previous expert, the prospectors led the team through a complex series of canyons, completely confusing them as to their whereabouts.

Arriving at the site, the financiers watched in amazement as Janin dug the area up, leveling anthills, turning over boulders, and finding emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and most of all diamonds.

The dig lasted eight days, and by the end, Janin was convinced: He told the investors that they now possessed the richest field in mining history.

“With a hundred men and proper machinery,” he told them, “I would guarantee to send out one million dollars in diamonds every thirty days.”

Returning to San Francisco a few days later, Ralston, Harpending, and company acted fast to form a $10 million corporation of private investors.

First, however, they had to get rid of Arnold and Slack.

That meant hiding their excitement—they certainly did not want to reveal the field’s real value. So they played possum.

Who knows if Janin is right, they told the prospectors, the mine may not be as rich as we think.

This just made the prospectors angry.

Trying a different tactic, the financiers told the two men that if they insisted on having shares in the mine, they would end up being fleeced by the unscrupulous tycoons and investors who would run the corporation; better, they said, to take the $700,000 already offered—an enormous sum at the time—and put their greed aside.

This the prospectors seemed to understand, and they finally agreed to take the money, in return signing the rights to the site over to the financiers, and leaving maps to it.

News of the mine spread like wildfire.

Prospectors fanned out across Wyoming. Meanwhile Harpending and group began spending the millions they had collected from their investors, buying equipment, hiring the best men in the business, and furnishing luxurious offices in New York and San Francisco.

A few weeks later, on their first trip back to the site, they learned the hard truth: Not a single diamond or ruby was to be found.

It was all a fake.

They were ruined. Harpending had unwittingly lured the richest men in the world into the biggest scam of the century.

Interpretation

Arnold and Slack pulled off their stupendous con not by using a fake engineer or bribing Tiffany: All of the experts had been real. All of them honestly believed in the existence of the mine and in the value of the gems.

What had fooled them all was nothing else than Arnold and Slack themselves. The two men seemed to be such rubes, such hayseeds, so naive, that no one for an instant had believed them capable of an audacious scam.

The prospectors had simply observed the law of appearing more stupid than the mark—the deceiver’s First Commandment.

The logistics of the con were quite simple.

Months before Arnold and Slack announced the “discovery” of the diamond mine, they traveled to Europe, where they purchased some real gems for around $12,000 (part of the money they had saved from their days as gold miners).

They then salted the “mine” with these gems, which the first expert dug up and brought to San Francisco.

The jewelers who had appraised these stones, including Tiffany himself, had gotten caught up in the fever and had grossly overestimated their value.

Then Ralston gave the prospectors $100,000 as security, and immediately after their trip to New York they simply went to Amsterdam, where they bought sacks of uncut gems, before returning to San Francisco. The second time they salted the mine, there were many more jewels to be found.

The effectiveness of the scheme, however, rested not on tricks like these but on the fact that Arnold and Slack played their parts to perfection.

On their trip to New York, where they mingled with millionaires and tycoons, they played up their clodhopper image, wearing pants and coats a size or two too small and acting incredulous at everything they saw in the big city.

No one believed that these country simpletons could possibly be conning the most devious, unscrupulous financiers of the time.

And once Harpending, Ralston, and even Rothschild accepted the mine’s existence, anyone who doubted it was questioning the intelligence of the world’s most successful businessmen.

  • In the end, Harpending’s reputation was ruined and he never recovered;
  • Rothschild learned his lesson and never fell for another con;
  • Slack took his money and disappeared from view, never to be found.

Arnold simply went home to Kentucky. After all, his sale of his mining rights had been legitimate; the buyers had taken the best advice, and if the mine had run out of diamonds, that was their problem. Arnold used the money to greatly enlarge his farm and open up a bank of his own.

KEYS TO POWER

The feeling that someone else is more intelligent than we are is almost intolerable.

We usually try to justify it in different ways:

  • “He only has book knowledge, whereas I have real knowledge.”
  • “Her parents paid for her to get a good education. If my parents had had as much money, if I had been as privileged….”
  • “He’s not as smart as he thinks.”
  • Last but not least: “She may know her narrow little field better than I do, but beyond that she’s really not smart at all. Even Einstein was a boob outside physics.”

Given how important the idea of intelligence is to most people’s vanity, it is critical never inadvertently to insult or impugn a person’s brain power.

That is an unforgivable sin.

But if you can make this iron rule work for you, it opens up all sorts of avenues of deception. Subliminally reassure people that they are more intelligent than you are, or even that you are a bit of a moron, and you can run rings around them.

The feeling of intellectual superiority you give them will disarm their suspicion-muscles.


In 1865 the Prussian Councillor Otto von Bismarck wanted Austria to sign a certain treaty. The treaty was totally in the interests of Prussia and against the interests of Austria, and Bismarck would have to strategize to get the Austrians to agree to it.

But the Austrian negotiator, Count Blome, was an avid cardplayer. His particular game was quinze, and he often said that he could judge a man’s character by the way he played quinze.

Bismarck knew of this saying of Blome’s.

The night before the negotiations were to begin, Bismarck innocently engaged Blome in a game of quinze.

The Prussian would later write, “That was the very last time I ever played quinze. I played so recklessly that everyone was astonished. I lost several thousand talers [the currency of the time], but I succeeded in fooling [Blome], for he believed me to be more venturesome than I am and I gave way.”

Besides appearing reckless, Bismarck also played the witless fool, saying ridiculous things and bumbling about with a surplus of nervous energy.

All this made Blome feel he had gathered valuable information.

He knew that Bismarck was aggressive—the Prussian already had that reputation, and the way he played had confirmed it. And aggressive men, Blome knew, can be foolish and rash.

Accordingly, when the time came to sign the treaty, Blome thought he had the advantage.

A heedless fool like Bismarck, he thought, is incapable of cold-blooded calculation and deception, so he only glanced at the treaty before signing it—he failed to read the fine print.

As soon as the ink was dry, a joyous Bismarck exclaimed in his face, “Well, I could never have believed that I should find an Austrian diplomat willing to sign that document!”

The Chinese have a phrase, “Masquerading as a swine to kill the tiger.”

This refers to an ancient hunting technique in which the hunter clothes himself in the hide and snout of a pig, and mimics its grunting. The mighty tiger thinks a pig is coming his way, and lets it get close, savoring the prospect of an easy meal. But it is the hunter who has the last laugh.

Masquerading as a swine works wonders on those who, like tigers, are arrogant and overconfident: The easier they think it is to prey on you, the more easily you can turn the tables. This trick is also useful if you are ambitious yet find yourself low in the hierarchy: Appearing less intelligent than you are, even a bit of a fool, is the perfect disguise.

Look like a harmless pig and no one will believe you harbor dangerous ambitions.

They may even promote you since you seem so likable, and subservient.

Claudius before he became emperor of Rome, and the prince of France who later became Louis XIII, used this tactic when those above them suspected they might have designs on the throne. By playing the fool as young men, they were left alone. When the time came for them to strike, and to act with vigor and decisiveness, they caught everyone off-guard.

Perhaps, now is the time to watch the old movie "The Scarlett Pimpernel".
His tall figure and bony beak of a face serve perfectly both as the languid Sir Percy, setting off a series of immaculately-fitting ‘unmentionables’, and as the commanding, quick-thinking Pimpernel; and the scene in which he drops from one persona to the other almost in mid-sentence upon the entry of the irate Colonel Winterbottom is a joy to watch. He is absolutely convincing as the “spineless, brainless and useless” fop, and yet he can shade intelligence and feeling back into his features at the drop of a hat in unconcealed moments that never let the audience forget the man behind the mask.

Intelligence is the obvious quality to downplay, but why stop there? Taste and sophistication rank close to intelligence on the vanity scale; make people feel they are more sophisticated than you are and their guard will come down.

As Arnold and Slack knew, an air of complete naivete can work wonders.

Those fancy financiers were laughing at them behind their backs, but who laughed loudest in the end? In general, then, always make people believe they are smarter and more sophisticated than you are. They will keep you around because you make them feel better about themselves, and the longer you are around, the more opportunities you will have to deceive them.

Image:
The Opossum. In playing
dead, the opossum plays stupid.
Many a predator has therefore left it
alone. Who could believe that such an
ugly, unintelligent, nervous little creature
could be capable of such deception?
Authority: 

Know how to make use of stupidity: The wisest man plays this card at times. There are occasions when the highest wisdom consists in appearing not to know—you must not be ignorant but capable of playing it. It is not much good being wise among fools and sane among lunatics. He who poses as a fool is not a fool. 

The best way to be well received by all is to clothe yourself in the skin of the dumbest of brutes. 

-(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

To reveal the true nature of your intelligence rarely pays; you should get in the habit of downplaying it at all times. If people inadvertently learn the truth—that you are actually much smarter than you look—they will admire you more for being discreet than for making your brilliance show.

At the start of your climb to the top, of course, you cannot play too stupid: You may want to let your bosses know, in a subtle way, that you are smarter than the competition around you. As you climb the ladder, however, you should to some degree try to dampen your brilliance.

There is, however, one situation where it pays to do the opposite—when you can cover up a deception with a show of intelligence. In matters of smarts as in most things, appearances are what count. If you seem to have authority and knowledge, people will believe what you say. This can be very useful in getting you out of a scrape…

The art dealer Joseph Duveen was once attending a soiree at the New York home of a tycoon to whom he had recently sold a Dürer painting for a high price.

Among the guests was a young French art critic who seemed extremely knowledgeable and confident. Wanting to impress this man, the tycoon’s daughter showed him the Dürer, which had not yet been hung.

The critic studied it for a time, then finally said, “You know, I don’t think this Dürer is right.” He followed the young woman as she hurried to tell her father what he had said, and listened as the magnate, deeply unsettled, turned to Duveen for reassurance.

Duveen just laughed. “How very amusing,” he said. “Do you realize, young man, that at least twenty other art experts here and in Europe have been taken in too, and have said that painting isn’t genuine? And now you’ve made the same mistake.”

His confident tone and air of authority intimidated the Frenchman, who apologized for his mistake.

Duveen knew that the art market was flooded with fakes, and that many paintings had been falsely ascribed to old masters. He tried his best to distinguish the real from the fake, but in his zeal to sell he often overplayed a work’s authenticity.

What mattered to him was that the buyer believed he had bought a Dürer, and that Duveen himself convinced everyone of his “expertness” through his air of irreproachable authority. Thus, it is important to be able to play the professor when necessary and never impose such an attitude for its own sake.

Conclusion

Sure you can use this method if you want to scam or manipulate others. But more useful, is to use this method to survive.

When the world seems to be falling apart, and that there are hunters out looking for prey…

…to loot, to rape, to steal from, to swindle, to seize property from…

…it’s in your best interests to be as dull, uninteresting, and non-descript as possible. Let others be the “lightening rod” that attracts the dangerous. All you want to do is survive. And survive you will, if only by playing the part of the dull, and uninteresting.

When people are out looting, they will attack the pharmacies, the department stores, the grocery stores and the homes of the wealthy. They will pretty much ignore the junk-yards, the electrical sub-stations, and the old empty barns.

Do you want more?

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Law 19 – Know who you’re dealing with – do not offend the wrong person (48 Laws of Power)

This is the complete text of law 19 from the book by Robert Greene titled “The 48 Laws of Power”. It is a book that lists (for good or bad) numerous ways that people interact with each other in the pursuit of the obtainment of power. While you might not want to use any of the techniques that he has listed, you must certainly can agree that you must be aware of how others might use them against you. As knowledge is, in itself, power.

LAW 19

KNOW WHO YOU’RE DEALING WITH—DO NOT OFFEND THE WRONG PERSON

JUDGMENT

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then—never of fend or deceive the wrong person.

OPPONENTS, SUCKERS, AND VICTIMS: Preliminary Typology

In your rise to power you will come across many breeds of opponent, sucker, and victim. The highest form of the art of power is the ability to distinguish the wolves from the lambs, the foxes from the hares, the hawks from the vultures. If you make this distinction well, you will succeed without needing to coerce anyone too much. But if you deal blindly with whomever crosses your path, you will have a life of constant sorrow, if you even live that long.

When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet.

-FROM A CH’AN BUDDHIST CLASSIC, QUOTED IN THUNDER IN THE SKY, TRANSLATED BY THOMAS CLEARY, 1993

Being able to recognize types of people, and to act accordingly, is critical.

The following are the five most dangerous and difficult types of mark in the jungle, as identified by artists—con and otherwise—of the past.

[1] The Arrogant and Proud Man.

If you end up in Prison, you will meet many people. One of the most dangerous are the members of the gay community. For they will be brutal on the slightest whim. Do not get involved with these people, and do not become involved within any kind of relationship triangles either.

-Metallicman.

Although he may initially disguise it, this man’s touchy pride makes him very dangerous.

Any perceived slight will lead to a vengeance of overwhelming violence.

You may say to yourself, “But I only said such-and-such at a party, where everyone was drunk….”

It does not matter.

There is no sanity behind his overreaction, so do not waste time trying to figure him out.

If at any point in your dealings with a person you sense an oversensitive and overactive pride, flee. Whatever you are hoping for from him isn’t worth it.

The Revence Of [Lope De] Aguirre

[Lope de] Aguirre’s character is amply illustrated in an anecdote from the chronicle of Garcilaso de la Vega.

Who related that in 1548 Aguirre was a member of a platoon of soldiers escorting Indian slaves from the mines at Potosi [Bolivia] to a royal treasury depot.

The Indians were illegally burdened with great quantities of silver, and a local official arrested Aguirre, sentencing him to receive two hundred lashes in lieu of a fine for oppressing the Indians.

“The soldier Aguirre, having received a notification of the sentence, besought the alcalde that, instead of flogging him, he would put him to death, for that he was a gentleman by birth…. All this had no effect on the alcalde, who ordered the executioner to bring a beast, and execute the sentence. The executioner came to the prison, and put Aguirre on the beast…. The beast was driven on, and he received the lashes….”

When freed, Aguirre announced his intention of killing the official who had sentenced him, the alcalde Esquivel.

Esquivel’s term of office expired and he fled to Lima.

Three hundred twenty leagues away, but within fifteen days Aguirre had tracked him there.

The frightened judge journeyed to Quito, a trip of four hundred leagues, and in twenty days Aguirre arrived.

“When Esquivel heard of his presence, ” according to Garcilaso, “he made another journey of five hundred leagues to Cuzco; but in a few days Aguirre also arrived, having traveled on foot and without shoes, saying that a whipped man has no business to ride a horse, or to go where he would be seen by others. In this way, Aguirre followed his judge for three years, and four months.”

Wearying of the pursuit, Esquivel remained at Cuzco, a city so sternly governed that he felt he would be safe from Aguirre. He took a house near the cathedral and never ventured outdoors without a sword and a dagger.

“However, on a certain Monday, at noon, Aguirre entered his house, and having walked all over it, and having traversed a corridor, a saloon, a chamber, and an inner chamber where the judge kept his books, he at last found him asleep over one of his books, and stabbed him to death. The murderer then went out, but when he came to the door of the house, he found that he had forgotten his hat, and had the temerity to return and fetch it, and then walked down the street.”

-THE GOLDEN DREAM: SEEKERS OF EL DORADO, WALKER CHAPMAN, 1967

[2] The Hopelessly Insecure Man.

This man is related to the proud and arrogant type, but is less violent and harder to spot.

His ego is fragile, his sense of self insecure, and if he feels himself deceived or attacked, the hurt will simmer.

He will attack you in bites that will take forever to get big enough for you to notice.

If you find you have deceived or harmed such a man, disappear for a long time. Do not stay around him or he will nibble you to death.

[3] Mr. Suspicion.

Another variant on the breeds above, this is a future Joe Stalin.

He sees what he wants to see—usually the worst—in other people, and imagines that everyone is after him.

Mr. Suspicion is in fact the least dangerous of the three: Genuinely unbalanced, he is easy to deceive, just as Stalin himself was constantly deceived.

Play on his suspicious nature to get him to turn against other people. But if you do become the target of his suspicions, watch out.

[4] The Serpent with a Long Memory.

If hurt or deceived, this man will show no anger on the surface; he will calculate and wait.

Then, when he is in a position to turn the tables, he will exact a revenge marked by a cold-blooded shrewdness.

Recognize this man by his calculation and cunning in the different areas of his life.

He is usually cold and unaffectionate.

Be doubly careful of this snake, and if you have somehow injured him, either crush him completely or get him out of your sight.

[5] The Plain, Unassuming, and Often Unintelligent Man.

Ah, your ears prick up when you find such a tempting victim.

But this man is a lot harder to deceive than you imagine.

Falling for a ruse often takes intelligence and imagination—a sense of the possible rewards.

The blunt man will not take the bait because he does not recognize it.

He is that unaware.

The danger with this man is NOT that he will harm you or seek revenge, but merely that he will waste your time, energy, resources, and even your sanity in trying to deceive him.

Have a test ready for a mark—a joke, a story. If his reaction is utterly literal, this is the type you are dealing with.

Continue at your own risk.

TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE LAW

Transgression I

In the early part of the thirteenth century, Muhammad, the shah of Khwarezm, managed after many wars to forge a huge empire, extending west to present-day Turkey and south to Afghanistan. The empire’s center was the great Asian capital of Samarkand. The shah had a powerful, well-trained army, and could mobilize 200,000 warriors within days.

In 1219 Muhammad received an embassy from a new tribal leader to the east, Genghis Khan.

The embassy included all sorts of gifts to the great Muhammad, representing the finest goods from Khan’s small but growing Mongol empire. Genghis Khan wanted to reopen the Silk Route to Europe, and offered to share it with Muhammad, while promising peace between the two empires.

Muhammad did not know this upstart from the east, who, it seemed to him, was extremely arrogant to try to talk as an equal to one so clearly his superior.

He ignored Khan’s offer.

Khan tried again: This time he sent a caravan of a hundred camels filled with the rarest articles he had plundered from China. Before the caravan reached Muhammad, however, Inalchik, the governor of a region bordering on Samarkand, seized it for himself, and executed its leaders.

Genghis Khan was sure that this was a mistake—that Inalchik had acted without Muhammad’s approval.

He sent yet another mission to Muhammad, reiterating his offer and asking that the governor be punished. This time Muhammad himself had one of the ambassadors beheaded, and sent the other two back with shaved heads—a horrifying insult in the Mongol code of honor.

Khan sent a message to the shah: “You have chosen war. What will happen will happen, and what it is to be we know not; only God knows.”

Mobilizing his forces, in 1220 he attacked Inalchik’s province, where he seized the capital, captured the governor, and ordered him executed by having molten silver poured into his eyes and ears.

Over the next year, Khan led a series of guerrilla-like campaigns against the shah’s much larger army.

His method was totally novel for the time—his soldiers could move very fast on horseback, and had mastered the art of firing with bow and arrow while mounted.

The speed and flexibility of his forces allowed him to deceive Muhammad as to his intentions and the directions of his movements. Eventually he managed first to surround Samarkand, then to seize it.

Muhammad fled, and a year later died, his vast empire broken and destroyed. Genghis Khan was sole master of Samarkand, the Silk Route, and most of northern Asia.

Interpretation

Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are.

Some men are slow to take offense, which may make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme given their slowness to anger.

If you want to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully, even if you feel their request is impudent or their offer ridiculous.

Never reject them with an insult until you know them better; you may be dealing with a Genghis Khan.

THE CROW AND THE SHEEP

A troublesome Crow seated herself on the back of a Sheep. 

The Sheep, much against his will, carried her backward and forward for a long time, and at last said, “If you had treated a dog in this way, you would have had your deserts from his sharp teeth.”

To this the Crow replied, “I despise the weak, and yield to the strong. I know whom I may bully, and whom I must flatter; and thus I hope to prolong my life to a good old age.

-FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

Transgression II

In the late 1910s some of the best swindlers in America formed a con-artist ring based in Denver, Colorado. In the winter months they would spread across the southern states, plying their trade. In 1920 Joe Furey, a leader of the ring, was working his way through Texas, making hundreds of thousands of dollars with classic con games.

Joe Furey
Joe Furey.

In Fort Worth, he met a sucker named J. Frank Norfleet, a cattleman who owned a large ranch.

Norfleet fell for the con.

Convinced of the riches to come, he emptied his bank account of $45,000 and handed it over to Furey and his confederates. A few days later they gave him his “millions,” which turned out to be a few good dollars wrapped around a packet of newspaper clippings.

Furey and his men had worked such cons a hundred times before, and the sucker was usually so embarrassed by his gullibility that he quietly learned his lesson and accepted the loss.

But Norfleet was not like other suckers.

He went to the police, who told him there was little they could do.

“Then I’ll go after those people myself,” Norfleet told the detectives. “I’ll get them, too, if it takes the rest of my life.”

His wife took over the ranch as Norfleet scoured the country, looking for others who had been fleeced in the same game. One such sucker came forward, and the two men identified one of the con artists in San Francisco, and managed to get him locked up.

The man committed suicide rather than face a long term in prison.

Norfleet kept going.

He tracked down another of the con artists in Montana, roped him like a calf, and dragged him through the muddy streets to the town jail.

He traveled not only across the country but to England, Canada, and Mexico in search of Joe Furey, and also of Furey’s right-hand man, W. B. Spencer.

Finding Spencer in Montreal, Norfleet chased him through the streets.

Spencer escaped but the rancher stayed on his trail and caught up with him in Salt Lake City. Preferring the mercy of the law to Norfleet’s wrath, Spencer turned himself in.

Norfleet found Furey in Jacksonville, Florida, and personally hauled him off to face justice in Texas.

But he wouldn’t stop there: He continued on to Denver, determined to break up the entire ring.

Spending not only large sums of money but another year of his life in the pursuit, he managed to put all of the con ring’s leaders behind bars. Even some he didn’t catch had grown so terrified of him that they too turned themselves in.

After five years of hunting, Norfleet had single-handedly destroyed the country’s largest confederation of con artists. The effort bankrupted him and ruined his marriage, but he died a satisfied man.

Interpretation

Most men accept the humiliation of being conned with a sense of resignation. They learn their lesson, recognizing that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that they have usually been brought down by their own greed for easy money.

Some, however, refuse to take their medicine.

Instead of reflecting on their own gullibility and avarice, they see themselves as totally innocent victims.

Men like this may seem to be crusaders for justice and honesty, but they are actually immoderately insecure. Being fooled, being conned, has activated their self-doubt, and they are desperate to repair the damage.

Were the mortgage on Norfleet’s ranch, the collapse of his marriage, and the years of borrowing money and living in cheap hotels worth his revenge over his embarrassment at being fleeced?

To the Norfleets of the world, overcoming their embarrassment is worth any price.

All people have insecurities, and often the best way to deceive a sucker is to play upon his insecurities. But in the realm of power, everything is a question of degree, and the person who is decidedly more insecure than the average mortal presents great dangers.

Be warned: If you practice deception or trickery of any sort, study your mark well. Some people’s insecurity and ego fragility cannot tolerate the slightest offense. To see if you are dealing with such a type, test them first—make, say, a mild joke at their expense. A confident person will laugh; an overly insecure one will react as if personally insulted. If you suspect you are dealing with this type, find another victim.

Transgression III

In the fifth century B.C., Ch‘ung-erh, the prince of Ch’in (in present-day China), had been forced into exile.

He lived modestly—even, sometimes, in poverty—waiting for the time when he could return home and resume his princely life. Once he was passing through the state of Cheng, where the ruler, not knowing who he was, treated him rudely.

The ruler’s minister, Shu Chan, saw this and said, “This man is a worthy prince. May Your Highness treat him with great courtesy and thereby place him under an obligation!”

But the ruler, able to see only the prince’s lowly station, ignored this advice and insulted the prince again.

Shu Chan again warned his master, saying, “If Your Highness cannot treat Ch’ung-erh with courtesy, you should put him to death, to avoid calamity in the future.”

The ruler only scoffed.

Years later, the prince was finally able to return home, his circumstances greatly changed. He did not forget who had been kind to him, and who had been insolent, during his years of poverty.

Least of all did he forget his treatment at the hands of the ruler of Cheng.

At his first opportunity he assembled a vast army and marched on Cheng, taking eight cities, destroying the kingdom, and sending the ruler into an exile of his own.

Interpretation

You can never be sure who you are dealing with. A man who is of little importance and means today can be a person of power tomorrow. We forget a lot in our lives, but we rarely forget an insult.

How was the ruler of Cheng to know that Prince Ch’ung-erh was an ambitious, calculating, cunning type, a serpent with a long memory? There was really no way for him to know, you may say—but since there was no way, it would have been better not to tempt the fates by finding out. There is nothing to be gained by insulting a person unnecessarily. Swallow the impulse to offend, even if the other person seems weak. The satisfaction is meager compared to the danger that someday he or she will be in a position to hurt you.

Transgression IV

The year of 1920 had been a particularly bad one for American art dealers. Big buyers—the robber-baron generation of the previous century—were getting to an age where they were dying off like flies, and no new millionaires had emerged to take their place. Things were so bad that a number of the major dealers decided to pool their resources, an unheard-of event, since art dealers usually get along like cats and dogs.

Joseph Duveen, art dealer to the richest tycoons of America, was suffering more than the others that year, so he decided to go along with this alliance. The group now consisted of the five biggest dealers in the country. Looking around for a new client, they decided that their last best hope was Henry Ford, then the wealthiest man in America.

Ford had yet to venture into the art market, and he was such a big target that it made sense for them to work together.

The dealers decided to assemble a list, “The 100 Greatest Paintings in the World” (all of which they happened to have in stock), and to offer the lot of them to Ford. With one purchase he could make himself the world’s greatest collector.

The consortium worked for weeks to produce a magnificent object: a three-volume set of books containing beautiful reproductions of the paintings, as well as scholarly texts accompanying each picture. Next they made a personal visit to Ford at his home in Dearborn, Michigan.

There they were surprised by the simplicity of his house: Mr. Ford was obviously an extremely unaffected man.

Ford received them in his study.

Looking through the book, he expressed astonishment and delight. The excited dealers began imagining the millions of dollars that would shortly flow into their coffers. Finally, however, Ford looked up from the book and said, “Gentlemen, beautiful books like these, with beautiful colored pictures like these, must cost an awful lot!”

“But Mr. Ford!” exclaimed Duveen, “we don’t expect you to buy these books. We got them up especially for you, to show you the pictures. These books are a present to you.”

Ford seemed puzzled.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “it is extremely nice of you, but I really don’t see how I can accept a beautiful, expensive present like this from strangers.”

Duveen explained to Ford that the reproductions in the books showed paintings they had hoped to sell to him. Ford finally understood. “But gentlemen,” he exclaimed, “what would I want with the original pictures when the ones right here in these books are so beautiful?”

Interpretation

Joseph Duveen prided himself on studying his victims and clients in advance, figuring out their weaknesses and the peculiarities of their tastes before he ever met them.

He was driven by desperation to drop this tactic just once, in his assault on Henry Ford. It took him months to recover from his misjudgment, both mentally and monetarily.

Ford was the unassuming plain-man type who just isn’t worth the bother.

He was the incarnation of those literal-minded folk who do not possess enough imagination to be deceived. From then on, Duveen saved his energies for the Mellons and Morgans of the world—men crafty enough for him to entrap in his snares.

KEYS TO POWER

The ability to measure people and to know who you’re dealing with is the most important skill of all in gathering and conserving power.

Without it you are blind: Not only will you offend the wrong people, you will choose the wrong types to work on, and will think you are flattering people when you are actually insulting them.

Before embarking on any move, take the measure of your mark or potential opponent. Otherwise you will waste time and make mistakes.

Study people’s weaknesses, the chinks in their armor, their areas of both pride and insecurity. Know their ins and outs before you even decide whether or not to deal with them.

Two final words of caution: First, in judging and measuring your opponent, never rely on your instincts. You will make the greatest mistakes of all if you rely on such inexact indicators. Nothing can substitute for gathering concrete knowledge. Study and spy on your opponent for however long it takes; this will pay off in the long run.

Second, never trust appearances. Anyone with a serpent’s heart can use a show of kindness to cloak it; a person who is blustery on the outside is often really a coward. Learn to see through appearances and their contradictions. Never trust the version that people give of themselves—it is utterly unreliable.

Image: The Hunter.

He does not lay the same trap for a wolf as for a fox. He does not set bait where no one will take it. He knows his prey thoroughly, its habits and hideaways, and hunts accordingly.

Authority: Be convinced, that there are no persons so insignificant and inconsiderable, but may, some time or other, have it in their power to be of use to you; which they certainly will not, if you have once shown them contempt. Wrongs are often forgiven, but contempt never is. Our pride remembers it for ever. (Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773)

REVERSAL

What possible good can come from ignorance about other people? Learn to tell the lions from the lambs or pay the price. Obey this law to its fullest extent; it has no reversal—do not bother looking for one.

Principles of Law 19

In your quest for power, you can’t treat everyone the same way. According to Law 19 of the 48 Laws of Power, there are many different types of people, and you need to be able to recognize which type you’re dealing with and respond appropriately. 

Here are the five most dangerous types, most of whom you should avoid dealing with because it’s either a waste of time or it will come back and bite you. With these types especially, you should know who you’re dealing with.

  • Oversensitive and egotistical: Overreacts, often violently and disproportionately, to any perceived slight.
  • Insecure and fragile: Lets hurt feelings simmer, then attacks with small cuts that eventually add up.
  • Pathologically suspicious: Imagines everyone is after him. Like Stalin, genuinely unhinged but easy to fool. You can get him to turn against others, but take care that he doesn’t target you.
  • Cold and calculating: Doesn’t show anger when offended, but calculates the right moment for revenge and waits for it. He’s a snake — crush him rather than injuring him.
  • Slow-witted or literal: Lacks the intelligence and imagination (to envision potential rewards) to fall for a scheme. You’ll waste time trying to fool him. Test him by telling a joke to see if he gets it, or reacts literally. If the latter, move on to someone else.

To wield power it’s essential to be able to read people and know who you’re dealing with. If you don’t understand your targets — choosing the wrong person or doing the wrong thing — you’ll waste time at best. At worst, you bring trouble on yourself, for instance, by insulting people when you think you’re flattering them, or by triggering their insecurity. This is essential to understand when following Law 19 of the 48 Laws of Power.

Before dealing with someone, do your research. Never trust your instincts, or trust appearances. People can easily hide their true nature. Do not offend the wrong person.

Putting Law 19 to Work

Here are just a few of the many examples of how not to apply Law 19 of the 48 Laws of Power. These people underestimated or failed to understand their opponents. They did not follow Law 19: Know Who You’re Dealing With—Do Not Offend the Wrong Person.

  • Oversensitive and egotistical: A powerful shah who had a huge empire dissed Genghis Khan by ignoring his offers of an alliance, and was destroyed. His mistake was assuming that Genghis Khan was weaker than he, and he rejected his overtures with insults. Khan turned out to be both sensitive to insults and extremely powerful.
  • Oversensitive and egotistical: In 1910 there was a con artist ring operating out of Denver, led by Joe Furey. Furey suckered a Texas rancher into giving up a fortune. But unlike most suckers in Furey’s experience, he didn’t just slink away quietly in embarrassment. He set out to take down Furey and the entire con artist ring, a feat that took him five years and great expense. Furey didn’t understand that he was dealing with an insecure man who wouldn’t tolerate offense.
  • Literal: Because he was a simple man who took things literally, Henry Ford stymied a consortium of art dealers who tried to sell him a collection of 1,000 paintings. To whet his appetite for the works, the dealers created a beautiful book of the paintings, which they presented to Ford as a gift. His response was to question why he should buy the paintings, when he had a book that depicted them so beautifully. Because the dealers hadn’t done their homework, they wasted their time and money dealing with an immovable target.

Conclusion

I would advise that you remain kind and neutral to everyone that you meet. I strongly suggest that you put the ideas of “winning” or “conquering” over others under advisement, instead, I urge you to try to work with people in a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Unfortunately, this is not always possible. There will come times when you are dealing with people that have their own agendas, their own ways of doing things, and their own objectives.

Such is the case when Donald Trump instigated the “Trade War” against China in 2016 which pretty much lasted throughout his entire term. And while China assumed that Trump wanted a Win-Win situation, the truth was that he desired a Lose-Lose situation and did everything in his power to make sure that China would lose more than America would.

It didn’t work out that way.

Why?

Because the intel that Donald Trump and Pompeo was getting on China was not only incorrect, but it was dangerously inaccurate, outdated, and colored with a bias that did not factually exist. And no matter what Donald Trump threw at China, they simply stepped to the side and continued their life unimpeded.

Currently, the conservative neocons are advising for a “hot war” scenario. As it is the only remaining course of action. To which I must respond with the statement from Law 19…

The highest form of the art of power is the ability to distinguish the wolves from the lambs, the foxes from the hares, the hawks from the vultures. If you make this distinction well, you will succeed without needing to coerce anyone too much. But if you deal blindly with whomever crosses your path, you will have a life of constant sorrow...

... if you even live that long.

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Law 15 – Crush your Enemy Totally (The 48 Laws of Power)

Here is the complete text of Law 15 from the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. This law is pretty disturbing to most people as it pretty much goes against the teachings of the New Testament. Jesus, as you might recall, advises you to “turn the other cheek” and “let by-gones be by-gones”. Instead, this law requires that you identify who is an enemy and who is not. Those that are identified as an enemy must be slain completely and totally.

Some people can be considered to be a “Dangerous Enemy”, and that if you do not vanquish the enemy totally that it will regroup, strong and better, and continue to attack you. Do not assume that everyone thinks, acts or behaves as you do. There are many kinds of people “out there” and some are very, very dangerous. Take no chances.

Crush your enemy totally. Don’t go halfway with them or give them any options whatsoever. If you leave even one ember smoldering, it will eventually ignite. You can’t afford to be lenient.

Kill or be killed. It’s the law of the jungle.

LAW 15

CRUSH YOUR ENEMY TOTALLY

JUDGMENT

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

The remnants of an enemy can become active like those of a disease or fire. Hence, these should be exterminated completely.... 

One should never ignore an enemy, knowing him to be weak. He becomes dangerous in due course, like the spark of fire in a haystack.

-KAUTILYA, INDIAN PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.

No rivalry between leaders is more celebrated in Chinese history than the struggle between Hsiang Yu and Liu Pang.

These two generals began their careers as friends, fighting on the same side. Hsiang Yu came from the nobility; large and powerful, given to bouts of violence and temper, a bit dull witted, he was yet a mighty warrior who always fought at the head of his troops. Liu Pang came from peasant stock. He had never been much of a soldier, and preferred women and wine to fighting; in fact, he was something of a scoundrel. But he was wily, and he had the ability to recognize the best strategists, keep them as his advisers, and listen to their advice. He had risen in the army through these strengths.

In 208 B.C., the king of Ch‘u sent two massive armies to conquer the powerful kingdom of Ch’in. One army went north, under the generalship of Sung Yi, with Hsiang Yu second in command; the other, led by Liu Pang, headed straight toward Ch’in. 

The target was the kingdom’s splendid capital, Hsien-yang. And Hsiang Yu, ever violent and impatient, could not stand the idea that Liu Pang would get to Hsien-yang first, and perhaps would assume command of the entire army.

-THE TRAP AT SINIGAGLIA

At one point on the northern front, Hsiang’s commander, Sung Yi, hesitated in sending his troops into battle. Furious, Hsiang entered Sung Yi’s tent, proclaimed him a traitor, cut off his head, and assumed sole command of the army. Without waiting for orders, he left the northern front and marched directly on Hsien-yang.

He felt certain he was the better soldier and general than Liu, but, to his utter astonishment, his rival, leading a smaller, swifter army, managed to reach Hsien-yang first. Hsiang had an adviser, Fan Tseng, who warned him, “This village headman [Liu Pang] used to be greedy only for riches and women, but since entering the capital he has not been led astray by wealth, wine, or sex. That shows he is aiming high.”

Fan Tseng urged Hsiang to kill his rival before it was too late.

He told the general to invite the wily peasant to a banquet at their camp outside Hsien-yang, and, in the midst of a celebratory sword dance, to have his head cut off.

The invitation was sent; Liu fell for the trap, and came to the banquet.

But Hsiang hesitated in ordering the sword dance, and by the time he gave the signal, Liu had sensed a trap, and managed to escape. “Bah!” cried Fan Tseng in disgust, seeing that Hsiang had botched the plot. “One cannot plan with a simpleton. Liu Pang will steal your empire yet and make us all his prisoners.”

Realizing his mistake, Hsiang hurriedly marched on Hsien-yang, this time determined to hack off his rival’s head. Liu was never one to fight when the odds were against him, and he abandoned the city.

Hsiang captured Hsien-yang, murdered the young prince of Ch’in, and burned the city to the ground.

Liu was now Hsiang’s bitter enemy, and he pursued him for many months, finally cornering him in a walled city. Lacking food, his army in disarray, Liu sued for peace.

Again Fan Tseng warned Hsiang, “Crush him now! If you let him go again, you will be sorry later.”

But Hsiang decided to be merciful. He wanted to bring Liu back to Ch’u alive, and to force his former friend to acknowledge him as master.

But Fan proved right: Liu managed to use the negotiations for his surrender as a distraction, and he escaped with a small army. Hsiang, amazed that he had yet again let his rival slip away, once more set out after Liu, this time with such ferocity that he seemed to have lost his mind.

At one point, having captured Liu’s father in battle, Hsiang stood the old man up during the fighting and yelled to Liu across the line of troops, “Surrender now, or I shall boil your father alive!” Liu calmly answered, “But we are sworn brothers. So my father is your father also. If you insist on boiling your own father, send me a bowl of the soup!” Hsiang backed down, and the struggle continued.

A few weeks later, in the thick of the hunt, Hsiang scattered his forces unwisely, and in a surprise attack Liu was able to surround his main garrison.

For the first time the tables were turned.

Now it was Hsiang who sued for peace. Liu’s top adviser urged him to destroy Hsiang, crush his army, show no mercy. “To let him go would be like rearing a tiger—it will devour you later,” the adviser said. Liu agreed.

Making a false treaty, he lured Hsiang into relaxing his defense, then slaughtered almost all of his army.

Hsiang managed to escape.

Alone and on foot, knowing that Liu had put a bounty on his head, he came upon a small group of his own retreating soldiers, and cried out, “I hear Liu Pang has offered one thousand pieces of gold and a fief of ten thousand families for my head. Let me do you a favor.” Then he slit his own throat and died.


Now, consider Italy...

On the day Ramiro was executed, Cesare [Borgia] quit Cesena, leaving the mutilated body on the town square, and marched south.

Three days later he arrived at Fano.

There, he received the envoys of the city of Ancona, who assured him of their loyalty.

A messenger from Vitellozzo Vitelli announced that the little Adriatic port of Sinigaglia had surrendered to the condottieri [mercenary soldiers].

Only the citadel, in charge of the Genoese Andrea Doria, still held out, and Doria refused to hand it over to anyone except Cesare himself.

[Borgia] sent word that he would arrive the next day, which was just what the condottieri wanted to hear.

Once he reached Sinigaglia, Cesare would be an easy prey, caught between the citadel and their forces ringing the town….

The condottieri were sure they had military superiority, believing that the departure of the French troops had left Cesare with only a small force.

In fact, according to Machiavelli. [Borgia] had left Cesena with ten thousand infantry-men and three thousand horses, taking pains to split up his men so that they would march along parallel routes before converging on Sinigaglia.

The reason for such a large force was that he knew, from a confession extracted from Ramiro de Lorca, what the condottieri had up their sleeve.

He therefore decided to turn their own trap against them.

This was the masterpiece of trickery that the historian Paolo Giovio later called “the magnificent deceit. ”

At dawn on December 31 [1502], Cesare reached the outskirts of Sinigaglia….

Led by Michelotto Corella, Cesare’s advance guard of two hundred lances took up its position on the canal bridge….

This control of the bridge effectively prevented the conspirators’ troops from withdrawing….

And…

Cesare greeted the condottieri effusively and invited them to join him.... 

Michelotto had prepared the Palazzo Bernardino for Cesare’s use, and the duke invited the condottieri inside.... 

Once indoors the men were quietly arrested by guards who crept up from the rear.... 

[Cesare] gave orders for an attack on Vitelli’s and Orsini’s soldiers in the outlying areas.... 

That night, while their troops were being crushed, Michelotto throttled Oliveretto and Vitelli in the Bernardino palace.... 

At one fell swoop, [Borgia] had got rid of his former generals and worst enemies.

-THE BORGIAS, IVAN CLOULAS, 1989

Interpretation

Hsiang Yu had proven his ruthlessness on many an occasion.

He rarely hesitated in doing away with a rival if it served his purposes. But with Liu Pang he acted differently.

He respected his rival, and did not want to defeat him through deception; he wanted to prove his superiority on the battlefield, even to force the clever Liu to surrender and to serve him.

Every time he had his rival in his hands, something made him hesitate—a fatal sympathy with or respect for the man who, after all, had once been a friend and comrade in arms.

But the moment Hsiang made it clear that he intended to do away with Liu, yet failed to accomplish it, he sealed his own doom. Liu would not suffer the same hesitation once the tables were turned.

This is the fate that faces all of us when we sympathize with our enemies, when pity, or the hope of reconciliation, makes us pull back from doing away with them.

We only strengthen their fear and hatred of us.

We have beaten them, and they are humiliated; yet we nurture these resentful vipers who will one day kill us.

Power cannot be dealt with this way. It must be exterminated, crushed, and denied the chance to return to haunt us. This is all the truer with a former friend who has become an enemy.

The law governing fatal antagonisms reads: Reconciliation is out of the question. Only one side can win, and it must win totally.

Liu Pang learned this lesson well.

After defeating Hsiang Yu, this son of a farmer went on to become supreme commander of the armies of Ch‘u.

Crushing his next rival—the king of Ch’u, his own former leader—he crowned himself emperor, defeated everyone in his path, and went down in history as one of the greatest rulers of China, the immortal Han Kao-tsu, founder of the Han Dynasty.

To have ultimate victory, you must be ruthless.

-NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 1769-1821
Those who seek to achieve things should show no mercy.

-Kautilya, Indian philosopher third century B.C.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Wu Chao, born in A.D. 625, was the daughter of a duke, and as a beautiful young woman of many charms, she was accordingly attached to the harem of Emperor T’ai Tsung.

The imperial harem was a dangerous place, full of young concubines vying to become the emperor’s favorite.

Wu’s beauty and forceful character quickly won her this battle, but, knowing that an emperor, like other powerful men, is a creature of whim, and that she could easily be replaced, she kept her eye on the future.

Wu managed to seduce the emperor’s dissolute son, Kao Tsung, on the only possible occasion when she could find him alone: while he was relieving himself at the royal urinal.

Even so, when the emperor died and Kao Tsung took over the throne, she still suffered the fate to which all wives and concubines of a deceased emperor were bound by tradition and law: Her head shaven, she entered a convent, for what was supposed to be the rest of her life.

For seven years Wu schemed to escape.

By communicating in secret with the new emperor, and by befriending his wife, the empress, she managed to get a highly unusual royal edict allowing her to return to the palace and to the royal harem.

Once there, she fawned on the empress, while still sleeping with the emperor.

The empress did not discourage this—she had yet to provide the emperor with an heir, her position was vulnerable, and Wu was a valuable ally.

In 654 Wu Chao gave birth to a child.

One day the empress came to visit, and as soon as she had left, Wu smothered the newborn—her own baby.

When the murder was discovered, suspicion immediately fell on the empress, who had been on the scene moments earlier, and whose jealous nature was known by all.

This was precisely Wu’s plan.

Shortly thereafter, the empress was charged with murder and executed.

Wu Chao was crowned empress in her place.

Her new husband, addicted to his life of pleasure, gladly gave up the reins of government to Wu Chao, who was from then on known as Empress Wu.

Although now in a position of great power, Wu hardly felt secure.

There were enemies everywhere; she could not let down her guard for one moment.

Indeed, when she was forty-one, she began to fear that her beautiful young niece was becoming the emperor’s favorite.

She poisoned the woman with a clay mixed into her food.

In 675 her own son, touted as the heir apparent, was poisoned as well.

The next-eldest son—illegitimate, but now the crown prince—was exiled a little later on trumped-up charges. And when the emperor died, in 683, Wu managed to have the son after that declared unfit for the throne.

All this meant that it was her youngest, most ineffectual son who finally became emperor.

In this way she continued to rule.

Over the next five years there were innumerable palace coups.

All of them failed, and all of the conspirators were executed.

By 688 there was no one left to challenge Wu.

She proclaimed herself a divine descendant of Buddha, and in 690 her wishes were finally granted: She was named Holy and Divine “Emperor” of China.

Wu became emperor because there was literally nobody left from the previous T’ang dynasty. And so she ruled unchallenged, for over a decade of relative peace. In 705, at the age of eighty, she was forced to abdicate.

Interpretation

All who knew Empress Wu remarked on her energy and intelligence.

At the time, there was no glory available for an ambitious woman beyond a few years in the imperial harem, then a lifetime walled up in a convent.

In Wu’s gradual but remarkable rise to the top, she was never naive. She knew that any hesitation, any momentary weakness, would spell her end. If, every time she got rid of a rival a new one appeared, the solution was simple: She had to crush them all or be killed herself.

Other emperors before her had followed the same path to the top, but Wu—who, as a woman, had next to no chance to gain power—had to be more ruthless still.

Empress Wu’s forty-year reign was one of the longest in Chinese history. Although the story of her bloody rise to power is well known, in China she is considered one of the period’s most able and effective rulers.

A priest asked the dying Spanish statesman and general Ramón Maria Narváez. (1800-1868), 

“Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies ?”

"I do not have to forgive my enemies,” answered Narváez, ”I have had them all shot. ”

KEYS TO POWER

It is no accident that the two stories illustrating this law come from China: Chinese history abounds with examples of enemies who were left alive and returned to haunt the lenient.

“Crush the enemy” is a key strategic tenet of Sun-tzu, the fourth-century-B.C. author of The Art of War.

The idea is simple: Your enemies wish you ill. There is nothing they want more than to eliminate you.

If, in your struggles with them, you stop halfway or even three quarters of the way, out of mercy or hope of reconciliation, you only make them more determined, more embittered, and they will someday take revenge.

They may act friendly for the time being, but this is only because you have defeated them. They have no choice but to bide their time.

The solution: Have no mercy. Crush your enemies as totally as they would crush you. Ultimately the only peace and security you can hope for from your enemies is their disappearance.


Mao Tse-tung, a devoted reader of Sun-tzu and of Chinese history generally, knew the importance of this law.

In 1934 the Communist leader and some 75,000 poorly equipped soldiers fled into the desolate mountains of western China to escape Chiang Kai-shek’s much larger army, in what has since been called the Long March.

Chiang was determined to eliminate every last Communist, and by a few years later Mao had less than 10,000 soldiers left.

By 1937, in fact, when China was invaded by Japan, Chiang calculated that the Communists were no longer a threat. He chose to give up the chase and concentrate on the Japanese. Ten years later the Communists had recovered enough to rout Chiang’s army.

Chiang had forgotten the ancient wisdom of crushing the enemy; Mao had not.

Chiang was pursued until he and his entire army fled to the island of Taiwan.

Nothing remains of his regime in mainland China to this day.


The wisdom behind “crushing the enemy” is as ancient as the Bible: Its first practitioner may have been Moses, who learned it from God Himself, when He parted the Red Sea for the Jews, then let the water flow back over the pursuing Egyptians so that “not so much as one of them remained.”

When Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments and found his people worshipping the Golden Calf, he had every last offender slaughtered.

And just before he died, he told his followers, finally about to enter the Promised Land, that when they had defeated the tribes of Canaan they should “utterly destroy them… make no covenant with them, and show no mercy to them.”

The goal of total victory is an axiom of modern warfare, and was codified as such by Carl von Clausewitz, the premier philosopher of war.

Analyzing the campaigns of Napoleon, von Clausewitz wrote, “We do claim that direct annihilation of the enemy’s forces must always be the dominant consideration….

Once a major victory is achieved there must be no talk of rest, of breathing space…

…but only of the pursuit, going for the enemy again, seizing his capital, attacking his reserves and anything else that might give his country aid and comfort.”

The reason for this is that after war come negotiation and the division of territory. If you have only won a partial victory, you will inevitably lose in negotiation what you have gained by war.


The solution is simple: Allow your enemies no options. Annihilate them and their territory is yours to carve. The goal of power is to control your enemies completely, to make them obey your will. You cannot afford to go halfway. If they have no options, they will be forced to do your bidding. This law has applications far beyond the battlefield. Negotiation is the insidious viper that will eat away at your victory, so give your enemies nothing to negotiate, no hope, no room to maneuver. They are crushed and that is that.

Realize this: In your struggle for power you will stir up rivalries and create enemies. There will be people you cannot win over, who will remain your enemies no matter what. But whatever wound you inflicted on them, deliberately or not, do not take their hatred personally. Just recognize that there is no possibility of peace between you, especially as long as you stay in power. If you let them stick around, they will seek revenge, as certainly as night follows day. To wait for them to show their cards is just silly; as Empress Wu understood, by then it will be too late.

Be realistic: With an enemy like this around, you will never be secure. Remember the lessons of history, and the wisdom of Moses and Mao: Never go halfway.

It is not, of course, a question of murder, it is a question of banishment.

Sufficiently weakened and then exiled from your court forever, your enemies are rendered harmless. They have no hope of recovering, insinuating themselves and hurting you. And if they cannot be banished, at least understand that they are plotting against you, and pay no heed to whatever friendliness they feign. Your only weapon in such a situation is your own wariness. If you cannot banish them immediately, then plot for the best time to act.

Image: A Viper crushed beneath your foot but left alive, will rear up and bite you with a double dose of venom. An enemy that is left around is like a half-dead viper that you nurse back to health. Time makes the venom grow stronger.

Authority: For it must be noted, that men must either be caressed or else annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)

REVERSAL

This law should very rarely be ignored, but it does sometimes happen that it is better to let your enemies destroy themselves, if such a thing is possible, than to make them suffer by your hand.

In warfare, for example, a good general knows that if he attacks an army when it is cornered, its soldiers will fight much more fiercely.

It is sometimes better, then, to leave them an escape route, a way out.

As they retreat, they wear themselves out, and are ultimately more demoralized by the retreat than by any defeat he might inflict on the battlefield.

When you have someone on the ropes, then—but only when you are sure they have no chance of recovery—you might let them hang themselves. Let them be the agents of their own destruction.

The result will be the same, and you won’t feel half as bad.


Finally, sometimes by crushing an enemy, you embitter them so much that they spend years and years plotting revenge.

The Treaty of Versailles had such an effect on the Germans. Some would argue that in the long run it would be better to show some leniency. The problem is, your leniency involves another risk—it may embolden the enemy, which still harbors a grudge, but now has some room to operate. It is almost always wiser to crush your enemy.

If they plot revenge years later, do not let your guard down, but simply crush them again.

Conclusion

History is replete with examples of leaders who defeated their enemies but left them alive out of mercy. Of course, the opponent always bided his time, becoming ever more resentful and determined, until he was strong enough to seek revenge.

Your enemies feel nothing but animosity for you, and want to eliminate you. According to Law 15 of the 48 Laws of Power, the only way to have security and peace is to do to them what they would do to you.

When you get the upper hand, don’t hesitate to deliver the final blow. This doesn’t necessarily mean killing them, but at minimum neutralizing them by totally eliminating their ability to fight back. In the old days, banishment often worked.

For instance, in the 1930s, Chiang Kai-shek had almost decimated Mao Tse-tung‘s Communists, so he turned his attention to the invading Japanese instead. But over ten years, the Communists recovered and eventually routed Chiang’s army, forcing him to flee to Taiwan. He didn’t learn to follow Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally, and it cost him his power.

You need to crush your enemy totally — don’t go halfway with them or give them any options whatsoever. Don’t negotiate — negotiation will undercut your victory. For your security, you must crush them.

Do you want more?

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Law 10 – Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky (48 Laws of Power)

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, The 48 Laws of Power is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control in human relationships, society or business. There are 48 laws in this book, and this post is the complete reprint of Law 10.

In The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene contends that since you can’t opt out of the game of power, you’re better off becoming a master player by learning the rules and strategies practiced since ancient times.

People can’t stand to be powerless. Everyone wants power and is always trying to get more. Striving for and wielding power is a game everyone participates in, whether they want to or not. You’re either a power player or a pawn someone else is playing with.

An Interesting Fact about The 48 laws of power is it is one of the most Requested books among American Prisoners, it is also a favorite book by many world leaders like Fidel Castro, and hip-hop superstar such as 50 cents, it has been dubbed by critics as a cult classic for its widespread success among America’s rich and famous.

The 48 laws of power illustrate 48 laws America rich and powerful use to acquire and maintain power, Greene presents these laws with actionable steps for the average reader to incorporate into their approach to life. The book covers areas Such as Negotiations, how to make people do what you want, and how to maintain an ideal relationship with superiors at the workplace, these 48 laws can help anyone who wants to see themselves at top of their career.

-Biblioskart

So, what is The 48 Laws of Power book about?

Greene has codified 48 laws of power based on examples and writings going back 3,000 years of people who’ve excelled or failed at wielding power, with glorious or bloody results.

Greene argues that following the 48 laws will generally increase your power, while failing to follow them will decrease it, or worse. He provides details on how to practice the laws, plus examples and analysis.

Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”).

Staying on top and increasing your power required strategy and tactics, but at the heart of the game lay an essential skill — deception, which was employed in myriad ways.

Since then, the game of power hasn’t changed much, although it’s gotten a bit less bloody (more heads roll figuratively than literally). To practice deception effectively requires an understanding of human behavior (your own and others’), the relentless study of the people around you, complete self-control, outward charm, adaptability, strategic thinking, and deviousness.

In a world seemingly gone bat-shit insane, it is important to know the “rules of the game” and how they are played. You might not wish to use them yourself, but it is important to recognize that others do. So learn at your own risk.

LAW 10

INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND UNLUCKY

JUDGMENT

You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, Marie Gilbert came to Paris in the 1840s to make her fortune as a dancer and performer. Taking the name Lola Montez (her mother was of distant Spanish descent), she claimed to be a flamenco dancer from Spain.

By 1845 her career was languishing, and to survive she became a courtesan—quickly one of the more successful in Paris.

Only one man could salvage Lola’s dancing career: Alexandre Dujarier, owner of the newspaper with the largest circulation in France, and also the newspaper’s drama critic.

She decided to woo and conquer him. Investigating his habits, she discovered that he went riding every morning. An excellent horsewoman herself, she rode out one morning and “accidentally” ran into him.

Soon they were riding together every day. A few weeks later Lola moved into his apartment.

For a while the two were happy together. With Dujarier’s help, Lola began to revive her dancing career. Despite the risk to his social standing, Dujarier told friends he would marry her in the spring.

(Lola had never told him that she had eloped at age nineteen with an Englishman, and was still legally married.)

Although Dujarier was deeply in love, his life started to slide downhill.

His fortunes in business changed and influential friends began to avoid him. One night Dujarier was invited to a party, attended by some of the wealthiest young men in Paris.

Lola wanted to go too but he would not allow it. They had their first quarrel, and Dujarier attended the party by himself. There, hopelessly drunk, he insulted an influential drama critic, Jean-Baptiste Rosemond de Beauvallon, perhaps because of something the critic had said about Lola.

The following morning Beauvallon challenged him to a duel. Beauvallon was one of the best pistol shots in France.

Dujarier tried to apologize, but the duel took place, and he was shot and killed. Thus ended the life of one of the most promising young men of Paris society…

Devastated, Lola left Paris.

In 1846 Lola Montez found herself in Munich, where she decided to woo and conquer King Ludwig of Bavaria. The best way to Ludwig, she discovered, was through his aide-de-camp, Count Otto von Rechberg, a man with a fondness for pretty girls.

One day when the count was breakfasting at an outdoor café, Lola rode by on her horse, was “accidentally” thrown from the saddle, and landed at Rechberg’s feet.

The count rushed to help her and was enchanted. He promised to introduce her to Ludwig.

Rechberg arranged an audience with the king for Lola, but when she arrived in the anteroom, she could hear the king saying he was too busy to meet a favor-seeking stranger.

Lola pushed aside the sentries and entered his room anyway. In the process, the front of her dress somehow got torn (perhaps by her, perhaps by one of the sentries), and to the astonishment of all, most especially the king, her bare breasts were brazenly exposed. Lola was granted her audience with Ludwig.

Fifty-five hours later she made her debut on the Bavarian stage; the reviews were terrible, but that did not stop Ludwig from arranging more performances.

A nut found itself carried by a crow to the top of a tall campanile, and by falling into a crevice succeeded in escaping its dread fate. It then besought the wall to shelter it, by appealing to it by the grace of God, and praising its height, and the beauty and noble tone of us bells. “Alas,” it went on, “as I have not been able to drop beneath the green branches of my old Father and to lie in the fallow earth covered by his fallen leaves, do you, at least, not abandon me. When I found myself in the beak of the cruel crow I made a vow, that if I escaped I would end my life in a little hole. ”At these words, the wall, moved with compassion, was content to shelter the nut in the spot where it had fallen. 

Within a short time, the nut burst open: Its roots reached in between the crevices of the stones and began to push them apart; its shoots pressed up toward the sky. They soon rose above the building, and as the twisted roots grew thicker they began to thrust the walls apart and force the ancient stones from their old places. Then the wall, too late and in vain, bewailed the cause of its destruction, and in short time it fell in ruin.

-LEONARDO DA VINCI. 1452-1519

Ludwig was, in his own words, “bewitched” by Lola. He started to appear in public with her on his arm, and then he bought and furnished an apartment for her on one of Munich’s most fashionable boulevards.

Although he had been known as a miser, and was not given to flights of fancy, he started to shower Lola with gifts and to write poetry for her. Now his favored mistress, she catapulted to fame and fortune overnight.

Lola began to lose her sense of proportion. One day when she was out riding, an elderly man rode ahead of her, a bit too slowly for her liking.

Unable to pass him, she began to slash him with her riding crop. On another occasion she took her dog, unleashed, out for a stroll.

The dog attacked a passerby, but instead of helping the man get the dog away, she whipped him with the leash.

Incidents like this infuriated the stolid citizens of Bavaria, but Ludwig stood by Lola and even had her naturalized as a Bavarian citizen.

The king’s entourage tried to wake him to the dangers of the affair, but those who criticized Lola were summarily fired.

In his own time Simon Thomas was a great doctor. I remember that I happened to meet him one day at the home of a rich old consumptive: 

He told his patient when discussing ways to cure him that one means was to provide occasions for me to enjoy his company: 

He could then fix his eyes on the freshness of my countenance and his thoughts on the overflowing cheerfulness and vigor of my young manhood; by filling all his senses with the flower of my youth his condition might improve. 

He forgot to add that mine might get worse. 

-MONTAIGNE, 1533-1592

While Bavarians who had loved their king now outwardly disrespected him, Lola was made a countess, had a new palace built for herself, and began to dabble in politics, advising Ludwig on policy.

She was the most powerful force in the kingdom.

Her influence in the king’s cabinet continued to grow, and she treated the other ministers with disdain.

As a result, riots broke out throughout the realm.

A once peaceful land was virtually in the grip of civil war, and students everywhere were chanting, “Raus mit Lola!”

Many things are said to be infectious. Sleepiness can be infectious, and yawning as well. In large-scale strategy when the enemy is agitated and shows an inclination to rush, do not mind in the least. 

Make a show of complete calmness, and the enemy will be taken by this and will become relaxed. You infect their spirit. You can infect them with a carefree, drunklike spirit, with boredom, or even weakness.

-A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

By February of 1848, Ludwig was finally unable to withstand the pressure. With great sadness he ordered Lola to leave Bavaria immediately. She left, but not until she was paid off. For the next five weeks the Bavarians’ wrath was turned against their formerly beloved king. In March of that year he was forced to abdicate.

Lola Montez moved to England. More than anything she needed respectability, and despite being married (she still had not arranged a divorce from the Englishman she had wed years before), she set her sights on George Trafford Heald, a promising young army officer who was the son of an influential barrister.

Although he was ten years younger than Lola, and could have chosen a wife among the prettiest and wealthiest young girls of English society, Heald fell under her spell.

They were married in 1849.

Soon arrested on the charge of bigamy, she skipped bail, and she and Heald made their way to Spain. They quarreled horribly and on one occasion Lola slashed him with a knife. Finally, she drove him away. Returning to England, he found he had lost his position in the army. Ostracized from English society, he moved to Portugal, where he lived in poverty.

After a few months his short life ended in a boating accident.

A few years later the man who published Lola Montez’s autobiography went bankrupt…

In 1853 Lola moved to California, where she met and married a man named Pat Hull. Their relationship was as stormy as all the others, and she left Hull for another man. He took to drink and fell into a deep depression that lasted until he died, four years later, still a relatively young man.

At the age of forty-one, Lola gave away her clothes and finery and turned to God. She toured America, lecturing on religious topics, dressed in white and wearing a halolike white headgear.

She died two years later, in 1861.

Regard no foolish man as cultured, though you may reckom a gifted man as wise; and esteem no ignorant abstainer a true ascetic. Do not consort with fools, especially those who consider themselves wise. And be not self-satisfied with your own ignorance. 

Let your intercourse be only with men of good repute: for it is by such assotiation that men themselves attain to good repute. 

Do you not observe how sesame-oil is mingled with roses or violets and how, when it has been for some time in association with roses or violets, it ceases to he sesame-oil and is called oil of roses or oil of violets?

- A MIRROR FOR PRINCES. KAI KAUS IBN ISKANDAR. ELEVENTH CENTURY

Interpretation

Lola Montez attracted men with her wiles, but her power over them went beyond the sexual. It was through the force of her character that she kept her lovers enthralled. Men were sucked into the maelstrom she churned up around her. They felt confused, upset, but the strength of the emotions she stirred also made them feel more alive.

As is often the case with infection, the problems would only arise over time. Lola’s inherent instability would begin to get under her lovers’ skin. They would find themselves drawn into her problems, but their emotional attachment to her would make them want to help her. This was the crucial point of the disease—for Lola Montez could not be helped. Her problems were too deep. Once the lover identified with them, he was lost. He would find himself embroiled in quarrels. The infection would spread to his family and friends, or, in the case of Ludwig, to an entire nation. The only solution would be to cut her off, or suffer an eventual collapse.

The infecting-character type is not restricted to women; it has nothing to do with gender. It stems from an inward instability that radiates outward, drawing disaster upon itself. There is almost a desire to destroy and unsettle. You could spend a lifetime studying the pathology of infecting characters, but don’t waste your time—just learn the lesson. When you suspect you are in the presence of an infector, don’t argue, don’t try to help, don’t pass the person on to your friends, or you will become enmeshed. Flee the infector’s presence or suffer the consequences.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much.... 
I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius.... 
Such men as he be never at heart’s ease whiles they behold a greater than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous.

-Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare. 1564-1616

KEYS TO POWER

Those misfortunates among us who have been brought down by circumstances beyond their control deserve all the help and sympathy we can give them. But there are others who are not born to misfortune or unhappiness, but who draw it upon themselves by their destructive actions and unsettling effect on others. It would be a great thing if we could raise them up, change their patterns, but more often than not it is their patterns that end up getting inside and changing us. The reason is simple—humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time.

The incurably unhappy and unstable have a particularly strong infecting power because their characters and emotions are so intense. They often present themselves as victims, making it difficult, at first, to see their miseries as self-inflicted. Before you realize the real nature of their problems you have been infected by them.

Understand this: In the game of power, the people you associate with are critical. The risk of associating with infectors is that you will waste valuable time and energy trying to free yourself. Through a kind of guilt by association, you will also suffer in the eyes of others. Never underestimate the dangers of infection.

There are many kinds of infector to be aware of, but one of the most insidious is the sufferer from chronic dissatisfaction. Cassius, the Roman conspirator against Julius Caesar, had the discontent that comes from deep envy. He simply could not endure the presence of anyone of greater talent. Probably because Caesar sensed the man’s interminable sourness, he passed him up for the position of first praetorship, and gave the position to Brutus instead. Cassius brooded and brooded, his hatred for Caesar becoming patliological. Brutus himself, a devoted republican, disliked Caesar’s dictatorship; had he had the patience to wait, he would have become the first man in Rome after Caesar’s death, and could have undone the evil that the leader had wrought. But Cassius infected him with his own rancor, bending his ear daily with tales of Caesar’s evil. He finally won Brutus over to the conspiracy. It was the beginning of a great tragedy. How many misfortunes could have been avoided had Brutus learned to fear the power of infection.

There is only one solution to infection: quarantine. But by the time you recognize the problem it is often too late. A Lola Montez overwhelms you with her forceful personality. Cassius intrigues you with his confiding nature and the depth of his feelings. How can you protect yourself against such insidious viruses? The answer lies in judging people on the effects they have on the world and not on the reasons they give for their prob-Image: A Virus. Unseen, it lems. Infectors can be recognized by the misfortune they draw on them-enters your pores without selves, their turbulent past, their long line of broken relationships, their un-warning, spreading silently and stable careers, and the very force of their character, which sweeps you up slowly. Before you are aware of and makes you lose your reason. Be forewarned by these signs of an infec the infection, it is deep inside you. tor; learn to see the discontent in their eye. Most important of all, do not take pity. Do not enmesh yourself in trying to help. The infector will remain unchanged, but you will be unhinged.

The other side of infection is equally valid, and perhaps more readily understood: There are people who attract happiness to themselves by their good cheer, natural buoyancy, and intelligence. They are a source of pleasure, and you must associate with them to share in the prosperity they draw upon themselves.

This applies to more than good cheer and success: All positive qualities can infect us. Talleyrand had many strange and intimidating traits, but most agreed that he surpassed all Frenchmen in graciousness, aristocratic charm, and wit. Indeed he came from one of the oldest noble families in the country, and despite his belief in democracy and the French Republic, he retained his courtly manners. His contemporary Napoleon was in many ways the opposite—a peasant from Corsica, taciturn and ungracious, even violent.

There was no one Napoleon admired more than Talleyrand. He envied his minister’s way with people, his wit and his ability to charm women, and as best he could, he kept Talleyrand around him, hoping to soak up the culture he lacked. There is no doubt that Napoleon changed as his rule continued. Many of the rough edges were smoothed by his constant association with Talleyrand.

Use the positive side of this emotional osmosis to advantage. If, for example, you are miserly by nature, you will never go beyond a certain limit; only generous souls attain greatness. Associate with the generous, then, and they will infect you, opening up everything that is tight and restricted in you. If you are gloomy, gravitate to the cheerful. If you are prone to isolation, force yourself to befriend the gregarious. Never associate with those who share your defects—they will reinforce everything that holds you back. Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.

Authority: Recognize the fortunate so that you may choose their company, and the unfortunate so that you may avoid them. Misfortune is usually the crime of folly, and among those who suffer from it there is no malady more contagious: Never open your door to the least of misfortunes, for, if you do, many others will follow in its train…. Do not die of another’s misery. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

This law admits of no reversal. Its application is universal. There is nothing to be gained by associating with those who infect you with their misery; there is only power and good fortune to be obtained by associating with the fortunate.

Ignore this law at your peril.

Conclusion

Emotional states can be as infectious as diseases. Occasionally, some unfortunate individuals bring their own misfortune upon themselves and can bring you down too if you get too close. Therefore, make sure to associate only with the happy and the fortunate.

The incurably unhappy tend to portray themselves as victims, and before you realize they are the cause of their own misfortune, they have infected you with their misery.

Who you decide to associate with is critical. Through associating with the miserable, you waste your valuable time and drain your potential power.

This DOES NOT mean for you to be selfish or not help others. This instead means that you must recognize that people have a being, a series of actions, behaviors, and thoughts that can influence you. You need to be selective in who you habitually associate with and who you surround yourself with.

Happy people, living life, carefree and sunny…

…avoid the perpetually gloomy, emotionally distraught, and internally terrorized fighting their own demons and hostilities.

For a happy, productive and successful life, recognize that it is not your job to change others. Rather you are to be a beacon, a tower, a great shining star for others to admire and look up to. You need to be the light that others come towards. Not the greasy oil mechanic that is perpetually fixing the old broken-down automobile postponing it’s final ride to the junk yard.

Avoid the perpetually unhappy. They have an illness that will seep into your being. You are not immune. The only way to immunize yourself is through isolation. Stay away from the bad. Live and surround yourself only with the good.

Do you want some more?

I have more posts along these lines in my Life and Happiness Index here…

Life & Happiness

Or in my SHTF Index here…

SHTF Articles

Articles & Links

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The new realism art movement, or why realism in art is important to the future of humanity.

One of my all-time favorite websites is The Art Renewal Center. For there, you can go to the museum and see thousands of beautiful, and stunning, works of art by masters at the craft. No, I’m not talking about a photograph of dog piss on a cross in a jar, either. I am talking about art that stirs the emotions and causes you to stop dead in your tracks and stare at the work for hours.

Art is a reflection of what it means to be a human.

As the world unravels away from the old and enters a new state of being, we need to remember that it is our human-ness that will become the “valuable commodity” that will bring the world together. This “human-ness” encompasses many, many things.

  • Passion.
  • Kindness.
  • Strength of character.
  • Helpfulness.
  • Compassion.

Here, in this post, I want to talk about art, but what art really is and what it represents. For real art is an expression of our human-ness. While progressive, modern reconstructive art is an expression of the exact opposite.

Art, real expressive art, moves the soul.

Realistic art is expressive and moves the soul.
Realistic art is expressive and moves the soul.
Excerpt from ARC Chairman Fred Ross's 2002 speech at the Salmagundi Club:

In October 1977, I walked into the Clark Museum to see their thirty Renoirs, and after leaving the Renoir galleries walked out into a major hall, at the end of which was a painting that grabbed me body and soul. It was a life-size painting of four water nymphs playfully dragging a mythological satyr into a lake against his will. 

Frozen in place, gawking with my mouth agape, cold chills careening up and down my spine, I was virtually gripped as if by a spell that had been cast. 

It was so alive, so beautiful and so compelling. Finally, after about fifteen or twenty minutes of soaking up wave after wave of artistic and spiritual ecstasy, I started to take back control of my consciousness .... my mind started racing with unanswered questions. 

My first thought was "I haven't felt this way about a work of art since I stood before Michelangelo's David. 

Then I thought, "This must be one of the greatest old master paintings every produced. But no name or country or time would come to mind. Italian High Renaissance, 17th Century Dutch, Carravaggio, Fragonard, Ingres, Prudhon ... back further perhaps ... Raphael, Botticelli, Leonardo, no! no! NO! Not one of those names or times felt anything like what I was looking at.

Then I approached the painting more closely, and saw the name mispronouncing it as Bouguereau at the bottom, and the date 1873 -- 1873?

How was that possible?

I'd learned that the greatest artists at that time were, Manet, Corot, Courbet, and Renoir ... that the techniques and greatness of the old master's had died out, and that nobody knew how to do anything remotely this great by the 1870's.

Years of undergraduate courses and another sixty credits post graduate in art, and I had never heard that name. Who was he? Was he important? How could he not be important? Anyone who could have done this must surely be deserving of the highest accolades in the art world. 

Then I asked the guard if they had any more works by him, and he asked somebody else, and I was led to a second work of a single female nude, seated by the water holding her knees. It was one of the finest nudes I had ever seen.
        
In somewhat of a state of shock from this experience, I decided that I must find out if this artist ever comes up for sale at the largest auction house in New York, Parke Bernet who was years later bought out by Sotheby's. Was he deemed important enough to be sold at auction? 

My only experiences collecting up to then at auction was to purchase a few etchings by old master's: Rembrandt, Durer, Breughel and Goya. But they were very famous names.

I was at the Clark on Sunday October 2nd 1977, I stopped in at Sotheby's that Tuesday October 4th, and as fate would have it, there were three Bouguereau paintings being offered for sale that coming Friday. 

I purchased one called Les Enfants Endormis, of two babies asleep in each other's arms. The hands of fate certainly seemed involved, for later I learned that these were the first Bouguereaus to come up for sale in the last eighteen months, and another was not to appear on the auction block until twelve months later. 

So the timing could not have been any more precise for fortuitous. I remember too, there was an energy of excitement in the air, and I somehow knew that I would never again be able to purchase works by these artists at these prices. But I didn't know which ones to buy.

And I still didn't know who he was. During the next few weeks I started researching Bouguereau and the entire period as much as I could using any free time I had.
        
But almost immediately, I discovered that he had won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1851 at the age of twenty-six, and after winning nearly every accolade and award imaginable for an artist of his time, ultimately become the President of the Academy, Head of the Salon, President of the Legion of Honor. 

He was in fact, considered the greatest French artist of his time, and Paris was the center of art world. 

All this made me feel very good about my instincts, and that I had intuitively identified as being one of the worlds' greatest artists somebody who had generally been considered as such by most of the world during the final decades of the 19th century.

It was sometime in the early 1960’s and I was with my parents visiting museums and other cultural structures. As my family went inside the museum, I stayed in the lobby. I stood on the steps and spend a timeless period staring at this enormous picture of a Satyr being pulled into a pool of water by water nymphs.

My father chucked.

He said “You like that picture, don’t you?”

I don’t remember what I said back, but I do remember that I did not want to leave the museum. I didn’t even look at the Renoirs, except for a sculpture or two in the courtyard. None of them appealed to me. All that mattered to me was the image of the satyr and the nymphs.

It haunted me during the drive home and all afternoon.

I never forgot that image…

Nymphes et Satyre Nymphs and Satyr 260 x 180 cms | 102 1/4 x 70 3/4 ins Oil on canvas Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Williamstown | United States

Four nymphs tease and play with a satyr by trying to pull him into a lake. One nymph waves behind to three other nymphs in the distance, perhaps beckoning them to come and play with the satyr as well. The satyr half-heartedly tries to resist the nymph’s wiles, entranced by their beauty.
As an aside, consider this interesting article in the New York Times, published April 7, 2000, by KATIE HAFNER:

Lenn D. Lowry, the director of the Museum of Modern Art [let me repeat 'the director of the Museum of Modern Art'], has a vivid memory of the first time he was profoundly moved by a work of art. At age 7, during a visit to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., he was separated from his parents.

"While wandering in search of them, he came upon a huge painting, Nymphs and Satyr, by William Bouguereau. His parents found him a half-hour later, still staring at the 6-by-8-foot painting. 'I just remember being completely transfixed by it,' said Mr. Lowry, who is now 45.

"The experience helped Mr. Lowry believe in the transformative power of art and what he calls the 'unique encounters that occur when one is fortunate to confront directly an extraordinary object.' Mr. Lowry, as well as other museum directors, wants to broaden the opportunity for such transforming moments by providing encounters with virtual art, viewed on a computer screen and brought to the art-viewing public via the World Wide Web.

Nymphs are from Greek mythology. They are considered to be minor female deities, and have a duty to protect different elements of nature such as streams, mountains and meadows (pantheon). The male counterpart for a nymph is a satyr. A satyr is a creature also from Greek mythology having the torso and face of a man, ears and tail of a horse, and feet of a goat. They are known for being lustful and fertile creatures.

Bouguereau captures an incredible sense of motion in this piece. One can feel the struggle for the satyr to keep his ground, and the nymphs’ joyous struggle to pull him in. The three-dimensional rendering of form and movement is reminiscent of some of Bernini’s most famous works at the Palace Borghesi in Rome, such as Pluto and Proserpine, and Apollo and Daphne.

The following is the stunning philosophy statement from the founder of the website. It is reproduced herein in it’s entirety. Please give it a read.

The Philosophy of ARC

Why Realism?

by Fred Ross

Introduction

Fine art at its best has the power to move one to tears, or grab your sensibilities and rivet you in the moment with an overwhelming sense of beauty and excitement. People often report the sensation of cold chills going up and down their spine. It may be the rare work that accomplishes this, but for those who have had this experience, many have credited it as the stimulus that set them on a personal lifetime quest; whether as an artist, collector or art historian. Other human activities can create a similar experience, whether in poetry, literature, dance, theatre, or music, but it is the experience of beauty in fine art and beauty and its relationship to fine art that is the focus of this essay.

If you are reading this, in all probability you are one of the millions of art lovers who in the 21st Century are disillusioned with the Modernist paradigm which for more than a century has been the dominant way the concept of art has been taught and presented in nearly all institutions of higher learning throughout the world.

If you are like us, it seems more than a little self-evident to you that works of art have infinitely more to say and communicate if they portray the real world, or use figures and objects from the real world even when portraying fantasies and dreams. You experience such “realist” works as infinitely more successful than any Modernist works.

The success of Modernism seems like a form of mass insanity, a nightmarish anomaly from which we pray the art world will finally soon awake.

For most of the 20th century, people who felt as we do, found themselves attracted to fine art in most if not all cases from having been to museums and fallen in love with a number of works of art created in the 15th through 19th centuries.

Fine art took skill, talent, and an eye for not only beauty, but he human condition; the highs and lows of the human experience.
Fine art took skill, talent, and an eye for not only beauty but the human condition; the highs and lows of the human experience.

You may have wanted to become an artist yourself and were channeled by advisors into fine art courses taught in the art departments of colleges and Universities where you were promptly told that your instincts were all wrong.

That such works had a place in their time, but that modernist works were far superior. What followed was an attempt to change your attitudes and beliefs and to convince you that works, which commemorated the destructions of some aspect of what used to be traditional Realism were the only worthwhile artworks and concepts.

You were never told that these “educators” had never themselves learned any of those skills needed by all artists during prior centuries, and so were completely bereft of any of the experience, skills and knowledge for which you had assumed your tuition bills would be paying.

They made you believe that they all could draw and paint but had chosen to abandon those skills due to some great epiphany.

Jackson Pollak splatter painting.
Jackson Pollak splatter painting.

If you were true to yourself and your feelings and beliefs, you probably left that “art” department and considered doing something else with your life. Many of you went into commercial art. Others became art historians, but most found other fields entirely. A rare few of you searched out and found one of a handful of ateliers who actually still taught the methods of the old masters. To the best of our knowledge there were 7 such ateliers in 1980 and all of them were taught by students of Pietro Annigoni or Ives Gammell 1. Both atelier masters could trace their training seamlessly to the 19th century and beyond.

By 2002 when the Art Renewal Center decided to add to their website a section of ARC Approved® Ateliers schools the number of such schools had grown to 14 with each having between 5 and 15 students. We added a map of the world where it became very easy to identify all the schools and to find the nearest one to any local. Within a few months the numbers of students able to find these schools started to grow geometrically, and today, just 14 years later, there are over 100 schools teaching the atelier style training and thousands of students.2

So, what do all these students and educators see that Modernists do not? And why is it that most educated people who are not part of the art world seem to also prefer traditional realism?3

The purpose of this essay

It is the purpose of this essay to answer that question in the clearest most direct way possible. It is also to help establish for artists and the consumers of art, a set of criteria by which they can judge works of art. Where they can understand their own preferences. And if needed, to arm them with the facts, concepts and information to deal with the modernists, educators and apologists who are constantly attacking and denigrating the skills and subjects which enable fine art.

The skills like with literature, poetry and theatre that enable us to communicate our shared humanity.

We will accomplish this by delineating a simple way to understand and define what fine art is. We will also look in particular at the aesthetic foundation of fine art as it evolved during the 19th Century. As well as the Modernist juggernaut which almost lead to its complete suppression during most of the 20th Century.

The future belongs to a sane, calm and productive humanity. A humanity that is in touch with it's role in the universe. Elements of this humanity will become evident in the works of humanity.
The future belongs to a sane, calm and productive humanity. A humanity that is in touch with it’s role in the universe. Elements of this humanity will become evident in the works of humanity.

The following information also advances criteria by which to view artists and movements, and help to determine why some works of art are experienced as beautiful and successful and why others seems to fall flat or are even boring. It will hopefully also satisfy the needs of practicing artists to determine what type of art and subjects they wish to explore and which skills and techniques they will need to learn and practice in order to accomplish this.

As in all education, individuals should ultimately decide for themselves what makes sense and what is nonsense or babble.

Beauty and Fine Art Versus Craft

To determine a cohesive theory on fine art (or aesthetics) we need to answer this question: 

What Makes Something Beautiful Or Aesthetically Successful?

The purpose of fine art is to create beauty in the broader sense4, or to create works of art that are experienced as beautiful. Therefore, it would seem that the definition of fine art itself is inextricably tied to successfully defining beauty in art as opposed to beauty in the natural world. There are generally recognized works of art that are experienced as beautiful by most people. In addition, people are motivated to surround themselves with objects of beauty and to create art as a life enriching and life-affirming experience.

In the fine arts there are two over riding kinds of beauty. There is beauty of form and there is beauty in thought, idea or subject matter, in essence its’ emotional, intellectual and spiritual thrust. What is the purpose or what are the feelings that the artist is attempting to capture or express? Then all the choices made of size, drawing, modeling, composition, color, design, perspective, etc., are all formal elements that make up the forms used by the artist to support and harmonize with the chosen emotional thrust. If the artist has chosen well and successfully marries idea and form, then it is possible for a great work of art to be created. Beauty in forms, minus any specific subject or idea, can and does exist in many objects created by human beings, but it is combining them with subjects and themes that makes a work fine art.5

Some examples of things that are beautiful that do not have a specific subject would be:

  • Persian rugs,
  • English silver,
  • porcelain,
  • Russian enamel, 
  • haute cuisine,
  • high couture,
  • furniture etc.

Beauty in such things is a different type of beauty and generally encompasses beauty of form without incorporating beauty of idea, subject or theme. It should be noted that there are many exceptions to this general rule. For example, the Gate of Paradise, the famous golden door of the Baptistery in Florence; spirituality, religious feelings of transcendence engendered by the architectural splendor achieved in great cathedrals temples or mosques.

Lorenzo GhibertiThe Gates of ParadiseGilded bronze, 1425–52
Individual reliefs: 31 1/4 x 31 1/4 inches (78.74 x 78.74 cm)
Duomo Museum, Florence
Lorenzo GhibertiThe Gates of ParadiseGilded bronze, 1425–52
Individual reliefs: 31 1/4 x 31 1/4 inches (78.74 x 78.74 cm)
Duomo Museum, Florence

So how are we to differentiate fine art from these other human activities and achievements? The single clear element of differentiation is that all of these other activities at their best are the product of highly skilled crafts people who are creating objects with varying levels of skill and complexity. These objects may be experienced as attractive, handsome or elegant, and are also usually functional in some way. In some cases, even functionality isn’t essential.

An example might be a finely knotted silk Persian or Indian rug, which may be hung on the wall as decoration instead of being walked upon; though it still may be useful to warm the room and perhaps improve the acoustics.

We will call these other creative, often important, sometimes essential instances of human creativity “craft”, fine craft, or finely crafted. So what makes “fine art” different from “fine craft”?

Fine craft produces objects that are functional, beautiful and well-constructed to last and to perform a needed or desired function and often to also delight the senses. It can even be demonstrated in things that don’t have a physical presence. If a mathematician solves a math problem in a way that is overly burdensome and complex his peers may feel that his proof lacks elegance.

But if another mathematician finds a much more direct solution which is clear and bypasses half the steps, using a new creative path to come to the same conclusion, his peers will praise the elegance and even aesthetic beauty of his solution. Depending on the field of endeavor the sense of aesthetics or beauty can and will vary based on specific aspects of the goals that are sought.

In each field there will be ways to determine beauty and elegance versus banality and ugliness, and while differences of motivation and taste would surely cause differences of opinion, most people who create or consume the output of each craft usually concur to a significant degree. But what is different about fine art? What does it seek to accomplish which makes it worthy of designating this art as fine art?

The term “state of the art” is a wonderful phrase and aids us in understanding this difference. Every other form of craft has evolved and developed over the course of human history and the best and most exceptional examples in each field are held up prototypically and called “state of the art”.

Of course that phrase is used in science, engineering, mathematical theories and computer programing and in all other technologies, many of which produce things of great value for humanity. It is a matter of opinion whether Fine art is superior to science or even crafts for that matter.

Regardless, it has a different purpose and fills a different human need. That need is in its ability to communicate and capture and express ideas about life and living which people care about after their basic biological needs are filled.

People need to share their lives and feelings with other people and this is done through communication which helps give meaning to our lives.

Most communication is in spoken and written language.

Fine art also communicates, which it does best when it successfully captures, depicts, and expresses our shared humanity: how we feel about ourselves, other people and the world around us. It may be seeking to capture an emotional state of mind like reverie, jealousy, joy, sadness, fear, etc., or it may attempt to tell a story like Ghiberti’s famous scenes from the Old Testament on the doors of the Baptistery in Piazza Duomo in Florence or Norman Rockwell’s Homecoming Marine.

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
Homecoming Marine
Oil on canvas, 1945
46 x 42 inches (116.8 x 106.7 cm)
Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)Homecoming Marine
Oil on canvas, 1945
46 x 42 inches (116.8 x 106.7 cm)

If someone with little skill attempts a work of fine art it will likely be unsuccessful or awkward and fail, but an attempt at fine art was still made as opposed to an attempt at fine craft. Failure to achieve doesn’t turn fine art into craft or vice versa.

All of the other crafts and sciences (other than pure research*) have a utilitarian purpose or a purely decorative purpose, but in fine art, human beings endeavor to look at themselves and others, to contemplate the nature of living as a human being, and to find ways of capturing, expressing and communicating with empathy, passion and compassion the road we all must take between birth and death. So, the purpose of fine art is similar in its goal to the purpose of poetry, fine literature or theatre.

Based on the above, I posit:

The visual fine arts of drawing, painting and sculpture are best understood as a language ... a visual language. 

Very much like spoken and written languages, it was developed and preserved as a means of communication. And very much like language it is successful if communication takes place and unsuccessful if it does not.

This simultaneously helps define the term “Fine Art.” So fine art is one important way that human beings can communicate.

This realization conversely poses the question:

Can it be fine art if it does not communicate or does not even attempt to do so?

Communication can only occur if the language of the speaker is understood by those who are listening. An absolute necessity for communication is that the language employed has vocabulary and grammar shared by speaker and listener or by writer and reader and therefore logically by painter and viewer.

The earliest forms of written languages used simple drawings of real objects to represent those objects as observed in Hieroglyphics and the earliest cave drawings. The origins of written language and the origins of fine art overlap in this nearly identical way. Without a common language there is no communication and no understanding, whether in writing, speaking or fine art.

All three have the uniquely human purpose of describing the world in which we live, and how we feel about every aspect of life and living.

As a language, fine art is like all of the hundreds of the spoken and written languages that are capable of expressing the enormous, limitless scope of human thoughts, ideas, beliefs, values and especially our feelings, passions, dreams, and fantasies; all the varied experiences and stories of humanity.

The vocabulary of fine art are the realistic images which we see everywhere throughout our lives. The grammar is made up of the rules and skills needed to successfully and believably render the images.6

Here are some of the rules of grammar which hold together the real objects or vocabulary of the visual language of fine art: finding contours; modeling; manipulating paint to create shadows and highlights with the use of glazing and scumbling which enhances the form through layers of pigment; use of selective focus; perspective; foreshortening; compositional balance; balancing warm and cool color; lost and found shapes and lines, etc.

Now ponder this self-evident truth:

Even our dreams and fantasies as well as all stories of fiction, which are not real, are expressed in our conscious and subconscious minds by using real images. 

Only real images are used in our fantasies and dreams ... none which look like modern art. 

Therefore, non-objective abstract painting does not reflect the subconscious mind. Dreams and fantasies do that and artwork can also do that; but only by using real images and assembling them in ways that feel like fantasies or dreams.

Compare these now to two artist who are considered amongst the greatest Abstract Expressionists: William De Kooning and Jackson Pollock.

William DeKooningWoman I1952/53Jackson PollockFull Fathom Five1947

What is being communicated in these two Modernist paintings and which method of working is more successful way to communicate, realism or abstract?

Universality

Furthermore, the vocabulary of traditional realism in fine art has something which makes it unique, in one important way … the language of traditional realism cuts across all those other languages and can be understood by all people everywhere on earth regardless of what language it is they speak or write. 

Thus Realism is a universal language that enables communication with all people, past ... present ... and future. 

Modernist and abstract art is not a language.

It’s the opposite of language because it represents the destruction of the language of fine art and is therefore the absence of language. The absence of language means the loss of communication; it takes away from mankind perhaps our most important characteristic … that which makes us human…the ability to communicate in great depth, detail and sophistication.

And in the case of fine art; 

The Modernist paradigm banished the only universal language that exists: realistic imagery, with the techniques and skills required to achieve it. This knowledge had grown, developed, and was carefully documented and preserved as it was passed down for centuries from masters to students.

The artist tries to express his or her feelings about life and to communicate with others through their art. The artist has found a constructive way to deal with the truth of human existence, the knowledge that we all die.

Instead of shaking their fist at eternity and being overcome by sadness, hate and depression, the artist “rages at the dying of the light” (to quote Dylan Thomas) seeking to overcome for themselves and their audience the basic loneliness of existence.

They strive not to be engulfed by despairing the brevity of life, or the absence of meaning that we face in the wake of the certainty of death and the certainty of loss.

This, together with the absence of meaning, is the central belief of Existential Nihilism. It’s no wonder then that Existentialism would espouse Modern art or that Modern artists would associate their work to Existentialism since the essence of fine art had always been to express things which people find as meaningful whether religious paintings of the early and High Renaissance or genre paintings of the 17th and 19th centuries.

Fine art finds meaning instead, by using the infinite creativity of the human soul, and the untapped brilliance within the human brain to find endless ways of communicating with each other about our difficult and differing journeys and odysseys that can and do occur through life.

We all are born helpless, utterly dependent, and profoundly ignorant about who we are and what lies ahead. We all yearn to be loved, to be understood, and we all need and want mentors.

We want them to be kind and patient and to teach us what we need to know about life and navigating society.

We want to be respected.

During adolescence, we invariably explore paths to happiness which can be dangerous and destructive. We all want to find work that inspires us and is fulfilling.

We want families and if we have children we want to be good parents and to offer better lives to them. We all must endure sickness and the eventual pain of death and witness those we love suffering.

Human beings all have universal and shared characteristics as well as an infinite variety of unique and different traits that constitute our differing personalities.

We all want and need love and companionship, warmth and friendship. We also have pride and are vulnerable to having our feeling hurt or to being ridiculed, or feeling envy or jealousy.

Sir Edwin Landseer (British 1802–1873)The Faithful HoundOil on canvas, 1830
26 x 35 2/5 inches (66 x 88.9 cm)
Tate Britain, London
Sir Edwin Landseer (British 1802–1873)The Faithful HoundOil on canvas, 1830
26 x 35 2/5 inches (66 x 88.9 cm)
Tate Britain, London

Fine art can deal with all or any of the seemingly endless arrays of feelings and experiences that benefit, excite, terrorize or plague humanity. This is the broader sense of the definition of “beauty” that we use in the aesthetics of fine art.

The artist is said to be successful, who can communicate some portion of human experience and do so with beauty, poetry and grace.

As with prose, poetry or theatre, there are subtle and nuanced ways to express ideas and feelings and to captivate and inspire one’s audience, or there are blatant, self-conscious, awkward, inane, childish attempts which fail as works of fine art, as well as en endless continuum of degrees of success or failure.

Often people ask how sad or negative subject matter can be beautiful.

The beauty is achieved by poetically communicating some aspect of the human condition with empathy so that the viewer/audience can relate to how it might feel to actually live through some unhappy or horrible experience. Or perhaps they have already lived through such an experience which evokes similar emotions.

The artist is telling a story that has strong meaning due to some aspect of their personal history.

The viewer says to themselves either consciously or subconsciously, “I know how you feel brother, or sister.”

Fine art helps people connect with one another and can even act as a pressure valve releasing tensions and can reduce the likelihood of conflict. Uncomfortable or unpleasant subjects may not be pretty but they can be very beautiful and we can learn from them.

Modern works with their indecipherable meanings can do the opposite: alienate and agitate us. Often Modernist works are praised for doing just that. Their stated goals are often to shock or insult.

Academically trained realist artists were accused of being elitist.

But what could be more elitist than saying “only we enlightened” can understand what Rothko, Warhol, De Kooning and Pollock were saying. If we don’t like it, they say: “You all are too ignorant, tasteless and clueless to get it.”

They call realist art simple and less sophisticated, because its meaning is too obvious and easy to understand.

In other words, if a work succeeds in the primary purpose for which it was created, human communication, that very success becomes the reason it is denigrated. The living realists of today as well as all realist artists of the past were expressing universal themes and reaching out to all people of all time.

We all have lives that include sadness and harsh realities; we all suffer loss and we all die. We all look to be comforted and we find comfort when communication takes place using the language of beauty, even when it deals with difficult material.

What is elitist? What could be elitist about that? Realist paintings of the past as well as those today are intended to bring humanity closer together. Nothing could be less true about all of the “isms” of Modernism.

Stanhope Forbes (British, 1857-1947)The Health of The BrideOil on canvas, 1889
60 x 78 3/4 inches (152.5 x 200 cm)
Tate Gallery, LondonWalter Langley (British, 1852-1922)MemoriesOil on canvas, 1906
109 x 133 cm
Ferens Art Gallery, Hull MuseumJules Giardet (French, 1856-1938)Soir du Bataille: Episode De La Bataille De Quiberon, Le 21 JuilletOil on canvas, 1795
581/2 x 933/4 inches (148.6 x 236.2 cm)

Let us once and for all put a spike through the heart of the Modernist argument that realism is trite, petty, inane, and devoid of meaning. For if that is true of technically skilled, Realism, then it would equally have to be true of all poetry and literature which also uses a vocabulary and structure which are recognizable by writer and reader, speaker, and listener; as it is too by painter and viewer alike.

In theatre the task at hand is whether the playwright, director and actors can enable the audience to “Suspend disbelief.” They endeavor to create a world in which the storyline of their play, or movie takes place. For this to work, the things that happen “the business” and the dialogue need to seamlessly work together in a manner that feels logical and believable. Even in magical realism, science fiction, and fantasy the goal is to make it all feel possible.

We all know that the movie or live show has been carefully written and orchestrated. Each word that is said, every movement the actors make, and each element of the set design, backdrops, and props that appear and are seen or used, have all been planned, usually down to the smallest detail.

The actors need to make it seem like they are saying their lines as if they were spontaneous responses to things that might be said in the situation or circumstance being portrayed. Indeed, some directors allow ad-libbing and extemporaneity from their actors to enhance believability.

But, careful planning is the underlying “truth” of what is going on.

For a theatrical performance to succeed as a work of art, it all must seem to be happening spontaneously as it would in real life. In that context, the writer can explore ideas about life that he or she chooses; whether it is about poverty caused by an indifferent or malevolent government or corporations, as seen in Grapes of Wrath, or the waste of life and the ennui and indolence that accompanies inherited wealth in The Great Gatsby, or the injustices and corrupt society and its effect on otherwise good people portrayed in Les Miserables.

All these books have been made into successful theatrical productions and films that can be said to have reached a level of fine art through the language of theater with its similar vocabulary and grammar of realism.

They have culminated in productions that suspend the audience’s dis-belief and they have each created their own unique forms of beauty.

In poetry, two good examples would be Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, or Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, both poems are about confronting death and characterize how to live one’s life, knowing that the grim reaper lies just over the horizon. These two poems use the language of words to deal with difficult subject matter in a beautiful way and all the images conjured are ones from our experiences in reality.

If the structure of the work of art is awkward or self-conscious, so that the details of how it is has been constructed is evident to the listener or viewer, the artist or author is thought to have failed. In theater, if the writing is fine, but the acting is terrible, then we might blame the actors or the director. But in every case you have the work of art constructed from elemental parts and assembled by the writer, director, composer, musician, actor, singer, dancer, painter or sculptor.

The importance in understanding this underlying process becomes very evident if we now look at the debate that has occurred between Modern art vs. Traditional art. The modernist artists who are credited with the origins of Modernism are celebrated for pointing directly at the underlying reality of what fine art is constructed from. Cézanne, Manet and Matisse we are told showed us the “truth” that a painting is really just colored paint applied to a flat canvas, paper or surface.

Henri MatisseSorrow of the KingGouache, paper, 1952
9' 7" x 12' 8" (292 x 386 cm)
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

Modernism claimed traditional art, as taught in the art academies throughout the 19th Century, was engaged in lying to the public, trying to make the flat canvas look three dimensional; trying to use drawing, modeling and perspective to create illusions of space; trying to make you believe that you are perhaps looking into a room where people are doing something or at a landscape outdoors, etc. … all deceptions and lies. The job of the artist then, during Modernism’s 20th century ascendancy, was to make painting have value by focusing on the one aspect of what a painting was that no other art form had, which was the flatness of the picture plane. Focusing on the formal, underlying, fundamental components of art, became more important than focusing on why art existed in the first place, which was to communicate ideas, feelings, values and beliefs and all human experience.

Art's purpose was to justify itself, which ironically pretty much cancelled out all of its purpose and value.

Here is a quote from Clement Greenburg that makes this point:

 Realistic, naturalistic art, had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; Modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations that constitute the medium of painting, the flat surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment — were treated by the Old Masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under Modernism, these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly. Manet's art became the first Modernist pictures by virtue of the frankness with which they declared the flat surfaces on which they were painted. The Impressionists, in Manet's wake, abjured underpainting and glazes, to leave the eye under no doubt as to the fact that the colors they used were made of paint that came from tubes or pots. Cézanne sacrificed verisimilitude, or correctness, in order to fit his drawings and designs more explicitly to the rectangular shape of the canvas.

It was the stressing of the ineluctable flatness of the surface that remained, however, more fundamental than anything else to the processes by which pictorial art criticized and defined itself under Modernism. For flatness alone was unique and exclusive to pictorial art. The enclosing shape of the picture was a limiting condition, or norm, that was shared with the art of the theater; color was a norm and a means shared not only with the theater, but also with sculpture. Because flatness was the only condition painting shared with no other art, Modernist painting oriented itself to flatness as it did to nothing else. 

-Clement Greenberg  , 19607

The truth was that there were no people, no landscape, no real objects to paint other than the concrete reality of the paint and the canvas. The artist, endlessly pointing directly to his underlying materials was the birth of Modern art.

Cézanne flattened the landscape, Matisse flattened our homes and families and the so called abstract artists after them, like De Kooning, Pollock and Rothko, put it all in a blender and threw it at us, thus making flat color design the end goal of the artist.

Expressing and communicating human emotions was not a worthy purpose for art, and so all human emotions were denigrated as petty sentimentality.

The equivalent of this system of thought applied to written languages would be to say that all writing is untruthful and finding the truth can only be discovered by pointing directly to the underlying materials and structure of written words.

All that is really there on the page are different shapes of straight or curved or squiggly lines. Since that is closer to the truth than placing meaning in those shapes and lines…than using them to make words and the words to form ideas … that too must be a lie and an unworthy purpose for the writer.

Therefore, to bring the analogy full circle … the best book would be one that demonstrates this “truth” with page after page of meaningless shapes and squiggles…thus showing us the modernist’s profound definition of truth. How many books and poems would be purchased and read in which all that could be found between the covers were meaningless shapes on every page? 

Modernism endows the meaningless with meaning. Each of us must decide for ourselves whether there is meaning to be found and if that meaning has great value.

Is it petty and banal to show romantic or familial love and caring? Or is it petty banality to spend one's career insisting that the only paintings that have value are those which demonstrates that they are flat, or to focus as have the post-modernists on endlessly claiming to show the degradation of life via the degradation of art?

What then is fine art?

And for that matter, what is fine literature, music, poetry, or theatre? In every case human beings use materials supplied by nature (the clay, colors and materials of the earth and the movements and sounds of life) and creatively combine or mold them into something else which is capable of communication and meaning.

It is that ability to communicate, whether subtle or blatant, complex or nuanced and modulated wherein the value of art lies and makes it worthy of the term “fine art”.

Throughout history, people have found one way after another of communicating their thoughts, ideas, beliefs, values and the entire range of their shared experiences of living.

When it comes to the visual arts, modernists like to say “why waste your time doing realism? It’s all been done already.”

That would be exactly like saying “Why waste your time writing anything? It’s all already been written. There is nothing left to say.”

Illustration

Illustration is often thought of as a lesser form of art. Often we hear people say something like: “That’s only an illustration, it’s not fine art.” However, given the clear description of what fine art is, that no longer makes any sense. All fine art is illustration. What is different is what is being illustrated and then how well it has been accomplished.

If you look at illustrations in young children’s books, often those illustrations are done quickly and the cost and time involved in creating them plays a big role when writer’s or publishers choose them.

However, there are illustrations for books and poems which have been created by some of the greatest of artists. Gustave Doré illustrated Dante’s Inferno and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. Edmund Dulac illustrated Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam, and Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling with illustrations inspired by the Bible. All of the early and High Renaissance artists illustrated scenes from the Old and New Testaments. 19th Century artists illustrated Shakespeare, poetry and myths and legends.

MichelangeloCeiling of the Sistine Chapel CeilingFresco, 1508-1512 Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Italy

The attempt to pigeonhole images that tell a story as illustration which has been separated in many art schools as a lesser form of art is strictly a tactic to further entrench Modernist ideology.

Since all fine art is representational and since only realistic objects, figures and settings are capable of communication, one is drawn to the logical conclusion that all illustration belongs in the category of fine art. The differences are all qualitative: a difference in degree not a difference in kind.

Once we recognize that, we can see that variation in quality can be enormous and it may even be useful but problematic, to make an attempt to create categories along a continuum of some sort based on quality, purpose, and success or failure of the art and artist to communicate or illustrate what was intended.

There also can be qualitative differences in subjects and themes. Some themes are about more powerful emotions or moments during life that therefore have greater potential for achieving the beautiful. For example a painting illustrating wartime wives listening to a radio broadcast for the names of the men who were killed, has vastly more potential than a bowl of fruit or a painting of a can of soup.

Therefore, illustration and fine art are one and the same and all fine art illustrates something.

Gustave Doré (French, 1832-1883)Dante et Virgil dans le neuvieme cercle de l'enferOil on canvas, c.1860-c.1869
50 x 73 inches (127 x 185.5 cms)John William Waterhouse (British, 1849-1917)Lady of ShallottOil on canvas, 1888
Tate Gallery, LondonGabriel Joseph Marie Augustin Ferrier (French, 1847-1914)Chaperon Rouge, NDOil on canvas, 1906
58 3/4 x 35 inches (149.2 x 88.9 cm)
Tate Gallery, London

Originality

Let us talk now about modernism’s obsession with “being original”.

In any field of endeavor the idea “that it’s all been done before” places an impenetrable wall of hopelessness in front of any creative pursuit. Imagine becoming a doctor and not being required to learn what is already known?

Knowing doesn’t stop you from doing something new but it keeps you from wasting your time on searching for knowledge that already is known and readily available. It also decreases the chance of making very serious mistakes.

The refusal to learn from the past will inevitably prevent anything new from actually being discovered, as breakthroughs are always built on the discoveries of those who came before. In the arts, the fear of doing what has been done before places a ball and chain on your mind and on the joy of creativity, one of the greatest joys in life.

Only someone who has learned what is already known can strive to create fearlessly and will have any chance of actually creating something new. For invariably, humankind has a history of creative accomplishments going back thousands of years, so someone who is creative will surely stumble upon many things that have been thought of and done before in advance of achieving the truly original.

And if we are honest, the most favored subjects are as old as humanity itself and there are unlimited and original ways in which they can be expressed again and again.

Modernism in its need to banish anything seeming unoriginal, has banished all of the tools and skills with which original work was accomplished and then tells their artists without skills and without tools to go and create worthwhile works of fine art.

Since there is no meaningful language in their art, a thousand words are needed to imbue it with meaning. Actually the words have to be incredibly creative and shrewd to convince otherwise educated and intelligent people that something of value is present when little or nothing is there.

Modernists create art that is about art: “art about art,” whereas all the great art of the past was “art about life”.

A painting should no more attempt to make the viewer conscious of the paint and canvas than the writer should make the reader conscious of the ink or type of paper being used, or for that matter than the film maker should make the audience endlessly aware of the kind of cameras being used or that the movie is actually composed of a fast moving series of still images.

The resurgent realist artists whose ranks are rapidly expanding in the 21st century, consider their materials and skills as a vital means of communicating artistic subjects and ideas. Modernism banished the real world from the tools they could use. Of course, without the full vocabulary of the real world to draw and to draw from, the only way complex ideas could be presented to us by modernism is if people “in-the-know” explain to us what ideas were intended and then required us to believe it.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)Portrait of Dora MaarOil on board, 1939
60 x 45 cm
Museo National Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, MadridFranz Kline (American, 1910-1962)TurinOil on canvas, 1960
803/8 x 951/2 inches (204.14 x 242.57 cm)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

Franz Kline’s harsh slashing black lines on a white ground, we’re told, represents how harsh life is and Picasso’s distorted human forms are meant to represent how distorted society is and how psychologically malformed mankind has become.

Now, once we have been told that’s what he means and that’s what he’s doing, if we’re ready to be one of the savvy, then we can start to see it.

Perhaps accuracy is better served if we realize that we had better see it if we don’t want to suffer derision and ridicule by the ruling cognoscenti in today’s art world?

They say that modernism created a new way of seeing.

Or is this new way of seeing really just pointing out the painfully obvious. Even if we give them some benefit of the doubt that someone needed to point out that the canvas was flat, how many times does it need to be proved? After all, any three-year-old who is taken to a museum knows that the canvases are all flat.

How great then was it that Cézanne and Matisse spent the rest of their careers saying it over and over again?

Or perhaps we should not give them the benefit of the doubt? Did it really need to be said and did it really need to be then taken to the extreme of abstract expressionism? Which, by-the-way, is neither abstract nor expressive.

A blueprint is an “abstract” of the layout of a house or how the electrical system will be installed or it shows the footprint of the house in a carefully drawn representation of the piece of land it’s to be built upon.

The word “bottle” when spoken is an abstracted representation of the object that can hold liquids. The written word bottle is a further abstraction of the spoken word. A painting of a bottle is another abstraction of that object and the more it looks like a bottle the more accurate the abstraction becomes.

So the word “abstract” means the opposite of how it is used by Modern art and their apologists. Realist paintings are accurate abstractions of ideas, events and an endless number of other possible subjects.

Globs and dribbles of paint on a canvas are actually quite concrete. They are the end product: a glob, a smear or a dribble of specific size and shape which has no other meaning besides what it is and clearly is expressive of nothing at all.8

Is there any need in these abstract works to suspend disbelief? No, that would be a lie by their definition. Or is “belief” instead compelled, not by the acting, writing, drawing or painting, but instead by the intimidation of power and position?

Prestige Suggestion

Do students believe in this new inheritor of Western Art? Or does not believing in it threaten their grades and positions (and the wallets of those invested in such art.) It is amazing how the need to avow one’s belief repeatedly in something that was previously difficult or impossible to believe, will become increasingly easier when supported by figures of authority. A useful term for this phenomenon is “prestige suggestion.”

What Modernists have done has been to aid and abet the destruction of the only universal language by which artists can communicate our humanity to the rest of, well, … humanity. They then have built up a labyrinth of justifications and blocked all other viewpoints. If the history of what actually took place is not to be lost due to the transitory prejudice and taste of a single era, then we must question any practice that deliberately suppresses documented evidence.

Art history must not be reduced to little more than propaganda directed towards market enhancement for valuable collections passed down as wealth conserving stores of value.

Successful dealers, who derived great wealth by selling works created in hours instead of weeks, had little trouble lining up articulate, eloquent and persuasive masters of our language to build complex portrayals presented everywhere as brilliant analysis to justify what are really very uncomplicated, unsophisticated and simplistic works; creations which arguably should have and would have been rejected out-of-hand but for their ingenuous sophistry, expansive jargon and artfully cunning patois.

Any time people or brands or logos become the symbols of quality, value or expert authority, then other people when presented with those symbols will see quality, value or importance regardless of what is actually there.

For example, a wealthy consumer will see a purse with the name “Prada” or “Gucci” on it and will automatically assume value and quality.

Perhaps the price will be $5000 and if it’s on sale for $1200 they’ll believe they got a good deal and be proud to wear it or show it off to friends. Take the same bag without a label and try to sell it on a table on 42nd street with an $80 price tag and the same person may think it’s over priced and will try to talk the price down perhaps to $40, or not buy it at all.

The Prada name and the fact that it’s being sold in Bergdorf’s or Bloomingdale’s tends to give it the prestige and assumed value which has been suggested into the mind of the consumer.

Many years ago I took my son on a class tour they were giving at a General Motors assembly plant where we witnessed the assembly of a Chevrolet.

Then another identical car came down on the same production line and they placed a different grill and hood ornament on it and labeled it Oldsmobile. A third identical car came through and they put a still different grill on it with a label calling it a Cadillac. Nearly everything about it was the same, but the Cadillac brand was double the price of the Oldsmobile and the Olds was selling for a third more than the Chevy.9

There is a difference between value due to prestige suggestion and value due to intrinsic quality.

Surely, in the search to define beauty, we need to understand that difference. We should be able to see through prestige and determine when we are in the presence of the truly beautiful, versus a work that’s the greatest quality is the prestige attached to the name of the artist or the movement.

In this way a canvas with little intrinsic value that has the signature of De Kooning, Pollock, Rothko or Mondrian on it, are assigned high values because people with a PhD or the title of Professor or Museum Director next to their names have told us what to think about their worth.

Then, major dealers or auction houses have assigned estimates of millions of dollars to their work. Most people do not feel themselves knowledgeable enough to know what has or does not have value, when it comes to pocketbooks, Persian carpets, or wristwatches, and much less so with works of art. This is “prestige-suggestion”. Even if their instincts are to reject something, they keep silent lest they expose themselves to ridicule for being considered ignorant, tasteless or out-of-touch, succumbing to “social pressure”.

Art-Speak

There is a second very useful expression identified that aids us in understanding what has occurred and how Modernism, after gaining ascendance, has been able to maintain its position.

That term is called “Art-speak”. Art-speak is a contrived form of language, which uses self-consciously complex and convoluted combinations of words to impress, mesmerize and silence opposition.

“Art-speak” is generally used by people in positions of power and authority and in combination with “prestige suggestion” is ultimately employed to silence contrary instincts and ideas to prevent people from identifying honestly what has been paraded before them.10 

This is accomplished by brainwashing society through authority and confounding, with “art-speak”, the evidence of our senses about objects and ideas that otherwise any sane person would question.

The “authority” of high positions, and the “authority” of books and periodicals, and the “authority” of certificates of accreditation attached to the names of the chief proponents of modernism, which have all worked in combination to impress and humble those whose common sense would otherwise rise up in opposition.

Without a doubt they would clearly see this art for what it is, evident nonsense, if it’s supposed value had not emanated from the pretentious mouths and pens of those with such a preponderance of “authority” to back them up. Many students and even teachers have come forward to report how traditional realism has been virtually or actually banned from their art departments. They want to share their sufferings at the hands of Modernist educators, and ask what they can do.11

Banning of ideas and not permitting free and open debate has been a problem throughout history. Most often relating to religion or politics it rears up in other fields as well. For example, global warming is often taught as settled science with the suggestion that only fools would listen to arguments questioning it despite mountains of conflicting evidence. John Stuart Mill’s remarks on speech suppression are as alive and accurate today as they were two hundred years ago:

 Where there is a tacit convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions, which can occupy humanity, is considered to be closed, we cannot hope to find that generally high scale of mental activity, which has made some periods of history so remarkable. 

And:

 However unwillingly a person who has a strong opinion may admit the possibility that his opinion may be false, he ought to be moved by the consideration that however true it may be, if it is not fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth. 
John Stuart Mill's essay "On Liberty"
from Great Political Thinkers by William Bernstein, p.569

Without a dynamic living network of experts teaching technical knowledge in drawing and painting, it will never be possible for college and university art departments to have students who are able to enrich the debate and the academic environment for all students by producing works of art that are capable of expressing complex, vital and spirited ideas.

To forbid these skills to be taught on campus in any real depth is as ridiculous as having a music department that refuses to teach the circle of fifths or only teaches three or four notes from which they insist all music must be composed. It is as absurd as having an English department in which all words that had recognizable meanings were forbidden and only writing without words or sentence structure would be admissible.

If there was nothing to be ashamed in their teaching methods and in their results, they would welcome the chance to confront the ideas that they should be well equipped to refute.

They have a solemn duty to maintain the integrity of thought made possible by what has been handed down to them by those artists, writers and thinkers before us, who established a vast, complex and rich system of training with which to teach and pass on a wealth of knowledge.

Deliberately preventing access to this information is crippling to the goals of education and a severe obstruction to insuring a society based on freedom of thought without which progress is impossible. Where is it more important to vouchsafe these principles than at our nation’s colleges and universities who are training the next generation of leaders? Even if they don’t agree, they have a duty to expose their students to responsible opposing views in all fields and disciplines.

While it is beyond the scope of this chapter to fully delineate the evidence and arguments on both sides of the Modernism vs. Realism schism in fine arts and aesthetics, for the purpose at hand, we are focusing on the realist position which in recent decades has had very few proponents, ceding nearly a century to an ascendant modernist leviathan. And that century has seen the greatest strides forward in every other field of human endeavor. If the proponents of realism are as correct as it seems, the art world is woefully behind our times and will need to do a lot of catching up.

Relativism

Modernist theory, as we’ve seen, looks to redefine the purpose of painting by means of:

  • Elevating the flatness of the canvas or the medium as the primary subject,
  • Explaining the transcendent value of their work with art-speak,
  • Maintaining their ascendant position with prestige suggestion.
Yet there is another underlying idea that propels the Modernist hegemony. Simply stated it's called "relativism" which is at the heart of Existentialist philosophy.

To this end, one hears employed several popular maxims. These sayings are then used for the purpose of contradicting the whole notion that one can actually define or describe either fine art or what is beautiful. The modernists then often rely on distorting the meanings generally ascribed to these expressions to help establish the value they then ascribe to modernist theory and the products created in their service, which are offered up as fine art.

  1. There is nothing good nor bad but thinking makes it so (William Shakespeare.
  2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
  3. One man’s meat is another man’s poison

These sayings have all been used over and over when it comes to the concept of beauty and aesthetics.

When taken to the extreme in the visual arts the implication is that no matter what the object is, whether it is art or for that matter anything else, there is no way to gage good from bad, right from wrong, beautiful from ugly or elegant and graceful from ungainly and awkward.

All that matters is that nothing matters. Therefore there can be no judgment or assessment of quality. This concept makes aesthetics unimportant. If everything’s value is a matter of opinion, than why discuss it? Everyone is right; which is the same as saying nobody is wrong. It is clear that this cannot be true. So many throughout history have taken so much time in trying to define what is beautiful and to differentiate between good and bad aesthetics and perhaps even more important, between what is right and what is wrong; a dilemma that confronts us constantly every day of our lives.

Stated simply, in the visual arts as in all the other arts and in all other fields of human endeavor, it is necessary and important to be able to make judgments. Yes, to judge, and use words of judgment that has been deemed in many classrooms and philosophies as inappropriate. How could understanding goodness, beauty and truth be inappropriate? 

Behind the wish to ban judgment is “political correctness.” 

Political correctness worries that if one person is doing well than it must mean that someone else is doing poorly. If we celebrate accomplishment, we must then acknowledge failure; which means someone will feel badly or will feel inferior.

One common solution for this reality is to point out that different people are good or better at different things and worse at others. But no matter how much we don’t like it, the truth is that there are also some people who are good at nearly everything and others who are not good at nearly anything.

Fortunately, most people do have some talents that can be found. The upshot of trying to avoid and run from the truth (that there is good and bad, better and worse) is to force everyone to value and function in mediocrity.

There are few things more depressing than that. We’ve all heard of some schools banning grades and competitive activities like spelling bees and even some sports. How likely will their charges be made ready to compete in the outside world after graduation?

The way to help people who have special needs or who are born with less skills and talent should not be by limiting possibilities to succeed and achieve for those who have great talents and the work ethic to see them actualized. Brilliant achievements are unlikely to come from a society that refuses to recognize great works.

Political correctness is a bit of a tangent, but like Modernism it sees the world through relativist lenses. All three of the popular phrases listed above, are succinct ways of expressing a belief in “relativism.” There is no good and no bad; no up or down. All things are relative to circumstances and position and the ultimate expression of this philosophy, called “Existentialism” is that “There is no truth”, and if there is no truth there is no beauty nor goodness. There are no absolutes of any kind.

Of course the true believers in the absence of truth are always unable to explain the obvious paradox that the statement “There is no truth” is itself a statement of what they “firmly” believe to be the truth. It’s very similar to the paradox always discussed in logic courses which revolves around this avowal, “This statement is false” If it is true than it must be false and if it is false it must be true.

It’s a circular argument that goes nowhere fast.

Despite the frequency with which we hear this, it is also clear that nobody really believes that “there is no truth.” The simplest way to prove that someone does not believe it is to ask them if they would place themselves or their families in the middle of a major highway during rush hour. Would they bite into a light bulb or wear a shirt whose collar was made of razor blades or jump off the roof of a skyscraper?

It’s really just hubris to claim there is no truth when everyone every day in a thousand different ways all people demonstrate that they believe in the truth and that they believe that some things are good and other things are bad.

There may be categories of things for which people can have differing opinions as to their relative values or dangers, but there are many…very many things that people believe in absolutely.

The very fact that they are there telling you there is not truth proves they believe in many things including the fact that you are a different person from them and that they can communicate to you using a common language and that the words have recognizable meaning.

William Adolphe Bouguereau
432 artworks
French Academic Classical painter, teacher, frescoist and draftsman
Born 1825 – Died 1905

They believe that they can speak using their mouth and that people have ears and brains with which to interpret what they say.

They believe that the sounds they make when they speak can go through the air and they believe pretty much in what they see around them. I hesitate to now point out that those common phrases are somewhat true and have their use depending on what is being discussed.

For example, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” can be accurate in a circumstance where we are reviewing different things in the same category. To then say beauty or goodness is relative of one to the other will make sense. I prefer chocolate ice cream, my wife prefers coffee, and my daughter vanilla. 

But all people will prefer ice cream to arsenic. There is no relative benefit between those choices for human beings everywhere. It’s an absolute: arsenic is bad and ice cream is good.

Modern art seems to especially need these existential phrases as the raison d’etre for their “anything goes” mantra. However, if everything is art, than nothing is art. Relativism has led to “production” by some artists of things like blank canvases, empty rooms and piles of garbage, for which some of them have been celebrated as geniuses by Modernist art critics.

The Turner Prize recently was an empty room with the lights going on and off every five seconds. 12 Another year the award went to a pile of excrement. 13 

It’s hard to even have to say it.

Realist philosophy would pretty much deny the credentials of such critics a priori since they are rejecting all of the basic parameters of what constitutes fine art. If we think about it, relativist existential ideology is at the core of all Modern art, and these artists are celebrated for work that is seen to articulate the idea that there is no good nor bad, no truth and basically no beauty as well.

So I ask you how can a belief that there is nothing beautiful be the driving force to create beauty? 

All human sentiment, which is regularly belittled by calling it sentimentality, is rejected by existentialism. Another word that describes much of the philosophy of modern art is “nihilism” which believes there is no meaning in life. Their art is a continuous stream of celebrating the absence of value and thereby all of the preferences and desires of humanity.

The ultimate hypocrisy is that they then shower accolades, riches and fame, upon those whose art proves that nothing has value, paradoxically ascribing great value to it.

It was inevitable that intelligent people would eventually identify the duplicity of this central underlying contradiction.

Said another way, modernists ascribe great value to proving everything is worthless.

As I have shown, we can readily prove that nobody actually believes that nothing has any value. It’s patently false. If it is false that there are no truths, then there must be truth; there must be good and bad; there must be value and importance in human sentiments and feelings; there must be value in communication between people and the forms of communication, which document and preserve our shared humanity. Therefore, there must be value in all of the fine arts, and for our purpose today, there must be value in traditional realism.

I feel it’s important here to go back to “art speak” and “Prestige Suggestion” and show an example of how they sounds and work.

As discussed, Modernism, in order to buttress the value of what it produces, employs experts at “art-speak” who articulate and promote modernism by the use of complex esoteric verbiage, which project an aura of value and importance onto objects that are clearly bereft of any sophistication. Imagine reading a review by a food critic expounding on the virtues of Jell-O.

You are first told how this critic graduated the Culinary Institute with honors and travelled the world to learn about every kind of cuisine.

He writes for the New York Times and has a TV show on food with a big following. Then, after learning about his credentials, the first review you read by him is about Jell-O, which he praises as great American cuisine.

The Jell-O, he goes on to describe, is a perfectly nuanced colloidal melt-on-the-tongue stasis boiled to the moment of perfection when a moment less would tend it towards sineresis 14 and a few seconds longer would allow the jell to become too stiff, clearly showing true mastery of the chef’s use of vacuum pans and rare Bavarian rapid set pectin.

Clearly the chef who created this delicate sensation must have used a double boiler for modulation, with a deft control of vacuum reduction.

It’s all reminiscent of the finer aspects served by Wolfgang Puck or Gordon Ramsey. Surely a search of seven continents had produced the finest mix of simulated strawberry piquancy, capturing the eloquence of deep red Tudor and delicate Nova Scotia Wild straws.

Taking my tongue out of my cheek, how much experience and education does one need to reject such nonsense out-of-hand? It’s Jell-O you’re being shown, which to many has considerably more actual value than a canvas with paint flung at it.

Jean-Léon Gérôme
1824-1904
Orientalist painter, draftsman and sculptor
Pollice Verso
Thumbs Down

And yet, the art world is filled with far more flagrantly absurd objects praised in ways which might be described as a convoluted quandary wrapped in an enigma and embedded in a paradox. “Art speak” generally demonstrates far more creativity in the writers who write it than it does in the artists whose product they have, described, explained and justified.

Modern and postmodern works, absurd, nonsensical and mind-numbing, have taken control of the world’s formerly great art institutions. One can’t help but bring to mind echoes of infants playing with their own excrement. It seems, the simpler and more naïve the creation, the more sophisticated it’s purported to be.

Barnet Newman’s huge canvas, from what is considered the high point of Modernism (1950’s and 60’s), is called Black Fire 1. It sold for an incredible $84,000,000, this past June, 2014. Here’s what the auction house’s specialist said about it; clearly far more masterful at art-speak than Barnet Newman is at painting:

 Black Fire I is a sublime Abstract Expressionist masterpiece that perfectly captures Barnett Newman’s radically reductive and uncompromising aesthetic.

The Zen-like simplicity of Black Fire I embodies the spirituality, grandeur and solemnity that define all of Newman’s greatest works. Painted during a period of refrain after suffering the loss of his younger brother, Newman negotiated his emotions through the language of abstraction.

Continuing the dynamic tension between light and dark that was first established in the Stations of the Cross, the composition of Black Fire I exhibits a similar weighty sense of the absolute.

Through creating the Stations of the Cross, Newman had chosen to reject the allegorical distractions of color in order to create a pure, distilled emotional statement through the subtle nuances of spatial relationships and expressive brushwork alone.

Newman’s decision to place black pigment on raw canvas gave way to Black Fire I and it was this deliberation that allowed Newman to communicate, at the highest degree, the universal dualities of existence: light and darkness, creation and destruction, form and formlessness. 

Black Fire I holds an important place within Barnett Newman’s oeuvre, having resided in several distinguished American collections of modern art. It was featured in two important international group exhibitions shortly after it was created. 

It is nothing more than a canvas half beige and half black with another black line going through the beige portion.

Art history courses in nearly every university and college in the world are likely to have staff members ready to praise this canvas unabashedly, and thousands of students, many whose instincts tell them how absurd it is, have in recent decades had to shrink back fearful of the ridicule they’d receive if they gave voice to what they really thought.

Of course after a long series of courses, lectures and books filled with “prestige suggestion” and “art-speak” and without any exposure to responsible opposing viewpoints, many of them start to convince themselves of what is not there.

Before long black is white, up is down, and nothing is something.

Ultimately there is a kind of religious fervor associated to this system of thought. If Modern art is so great, if blank canvases and splattered colors have so much meaning, why do they need the most complex and sophisticated language to imbue meaning into them? Thomas Wolfe saw through this decades ago when he published his book, The Painted Word, in which he basically expresses the same idea, that Modernism relies on the most sophisticated and advanced kinds of language and ideas to justify objects which clearly have no intrinsic value.15

We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. When we look at a Rembrandt , Michelangelo , Bouguereau or John Singer Sargent we are awed by the inherent beauty and we then consider what we are feeling and try to find the right words to describe it.

But with Modernist works by De Kooning, Pollock, Miro, Mondrian and dozens of others, clever critics, who are really just language manipulators, have built up ever more tortuous vagaries and conjured imaginings, layering their silver tongued alchemy, one sentence after another onto these “creations” which they proclaim as iconic, platinum and gold; when even lowly lead is missing. A new generation is now seeing blatant instead of brilliant; ingenuous not ingenious and sophistry not sophistication.

If the macro story of humanity and the micro story of individuals are sentimental and unworthy for artists, then what is a fitting purpose for modernist and post-modernist philosophy?

What is relevant? They will tell you: ‘form for its own sake” … “color for its own sake” … “Line or mass for their own sake.” That is art. There is nothing else that art should communicate or express. As if line, mass and color have wants and needs and an independent purpose of their own. They say they’re showing us how to see differently, but if we are true to ourselves, we all see what’s there and more-so what is not there. Clearly, “the Emperor has no clothes.”

To the Modernists these abstract or minimalist canvases are far more worthy of accolades of merit than recreating scenes from the real world, or from our fantasies, myths or legends; more profound than imagery which shows our hopes, dreams, and the most powerful moments in life.

Blank canvases, or empty rooms, or a mound of rocks are more “relevant” subject matter than the times during life that are most memorable, which describe and define our shared humanity. Simple shapes of color are preferred to subjects about people of color; strata of textured paper trumps showing the textured strata of life.

Dribbles of paint are more compelling than a child learning how to dribble a basketball. Piles of garbage are considered more sophisticated than showing the transition from self-conscious adolescent to self-assured adult; and a light blinking on and off in an empty room attracts journalistic praise, while the blinking passage of life and time are but worthless sentimentality.

These are the ignorant precepts of the prefects who hold our museums and college art departments in a hundred-year long grip of meaningless irrelevancies; boring us and our youth alike in a system where the highly skilled are scorned and the talented are passed over and disillusioned. The true artistic masters, until very recently, were dying off without a trained generation to protect, preserve and perpetuate that which had been preserved for so many centuries before.

Sir Hubert Von Herkomer (German/British, 1849-1914)On StrikeOil on canvas, 1891
89 3/4 x 49 3/4 inches (228 x 126.4 cm)
Collection of the Royal Academy of Arts
Sir Hubert Von Herkomer (German/British, 1849-1914)On StrikeOil on canvas, 1891
89 3/4 x 49 3/4 inches (228 x 126.4 cm)
Collection of the Royal Academy of Arts

Modernism shakes its fist at the realist artists of today and the academic artists of the 19th century, claiming that their focus on the development of skills leads to constraining true creativity. They heap adulation on any artist who is focused on throwing off one or another of the definitions and parameters of classical, academic art, all of which are viewed as restrictive and limiting. 

The sad irony is that Modernist ideology is far more restricting and limiting to creativity than any of the art and movements that came before it, or the new realist movement that has emerged today.

Artists have been virtually (if not actually) imprisoned; whether we are talking about the chained constraints of “conceptual art,” or the drudgery of “deconstruction,” the “shackles of shock”, being mired in “minimalism,” or the vapid, inane impoverishment of works described as “abstract”. All are chains which have been “forged link by link and yard by yard”, paying lip service to composition and design, having long ago abandoned all of the parameters of fine art; but especially the paramount need to harmonize great subjects and themes with drawing, modeling, perspective, color, tone, and the expert manipulation of paint. And what are these subjects and themes?

They are the ideas, values, beliefs and the endless range of human thought, feelings and experience.

19th Century Overview

In order to understand the need and search for beauty as indispensable to an artist’s compositions and choices of subjects, we need to see how that quest for beauty and the academic skills and techniques needed for artists to realize their creative ideas, were employed by the last generation of artists who believed in their critical importance: those of the late 19th Century. To state it another way: to comprehend how Modernism gained ascendancy for so long, we need to describe what the artists before them were actually painting and why. How did skill-based Humanist art fall into such decline?

Without any doubt, the art world of the past century has seen a relentless effort to malign and degrade the status and the reputations of the artists and their artwork produced during the Victorian era and its equivalents in Europe and America. Their success in doing this had been nearly total by the end of the Second World War and continued nearly unabated and unopposed until the 1980’s.

It continues in most ways to the present day. But, in the past thirty years it started to change, very slowly at first, but clearly picking up considerable momentum since the end of the millennium.

I tend to think of 1980 as the first beginning of this change in attitude, when the Metropolitan Museum took some of their finest academic paintings that had been in storage since World War I and hung them in the new Andre Meyer Wing announcing their decision to the world and suffering considerable editorial drubbing by famous critics in major newspapers.

Hilton Kramer of the NY Times led a widespread journalistic assault accusing the museum of taking corpses from their basement and excoriated them for daring to hang William Bouguereau and Jean-Léon Gérôme next to Goya and Manet .16

That was when voices who supported the Met’s actions started to be heard even though they had been trying to be for years before.

Over the past three decades, art historians have done a great deal of research and found an overwhelming preponderance of the evidence that shows that the modernist descriptions of this era are no more than misinformation and distortions fabricated in order to denigrate all of the traditional realist art produced between 1850 and 1920.

Amazingly, Emile Zola wrote a novel called The Masterpiece (L’Oeuvre): a fictional account of how Impressionist painters were mistreated by the official academic masters who ran the Paris Salons. This totally made-up account of what occurred was then used and written into most art history texts as if it had actually occurred.

For example, in his story The Salon de Refusé was formed due to a public outcry over the rejected impressionist artists when it actually was the brain child of Napoleon III who felt sorry for the mostly academic artists who walked out of the Salon lead by Meissonier who was famous for his precise cabinet and military paintings. To this day the heart of Modernist accounts of the art history between 1850 and World War I are based on this work of fiction.

The truth was very different.

Impressionism showed up in the Paris Salons nearly as soon as it appeared in the art world. They never suffered a tiny fraction of the suppression that realist artists actually have experienced in the 20th Century. Much of it has been conceived as retribution for what the Impressionists supposedly endured at the hands of realist academicians.

The only problem is that the original causal events never happened and even if they had, the current realist artists couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with it. The information presented here suggests far more profound and underlying core reasons why this should never have happened and why it needs to be reversed.

The suppressed truth about the fine art of the 19th century is that it was a time of explosive artistic activity unrivaled in all prior history. Thousands of properly trained artists pouring out of the great academies and master ateliers throughout the western world developed a myriad of new techniques and explored countless new subjects, styles and perspectives that had never been done before.

These new works covered nearly every aspect of human activity. They were the product of the expansion of freedom and democracy with a profound respect for life, for humanity and for individual human beings, including their minds, their souls and their boundless creative potential. They helped disseminate the growing view that every individual was valuable, that all people are born with equal inalienable rights; especially the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The artists and the writers of the 19th century identified, codified, protected and perpetuated the great humanist values and momentous Age of Reason discoveries of the Enlightenment.

Relevance

The writers from that era, such as Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens, have been widely praised and celebrated, while the artists of the same period, communicating the same concepts and values … in stark contrast … have been mercilessly ridiculed and slandered.

Working together, their generation played a direct role in helping to free the slaves, in bringing into awareness the damage the industrial age was doing to the environment, in bringing public outrage to child labor and unsafe working conditions, and implementing the process that would lead to equal rights for women and their right to vote.

Their work laid the foundation for breaking up monopolies, protecting and assuring minority rights along with a nearly endless list of societal improvements. The modernists point to the fact that in the 19th century, these things needed to be changed, claiming it was a repressed society.

In truth, all these injustices had been going on for centuries and all of human history before. But the 19th century was the start of the evolution that transformed society into the modern era. It was a society emerging from repression and oppression. Their developing self-awareness led to implementing all the forms of freedom we now take for granted: and history rarely gives the artists any of the credit.

The writers of that time who described this period are today widely celebrated. The visual artists were addressing the same things as the writers and for this incalculably supreme accomplishment their recompense, has been for a century to dismiss their work, denigrate their technical skills, lie about the significance, meaning and importance of their subjects and to totally berate them and their achievements.

Why?

Because they didn’t lead the way to splattered paint, blank canvases or industrial size soup cans? They didn’t believe that proving the canvas is flat was the most important subject for fine art? Therefore they were all branded as “irrelevant”?

Here we have a primary concept used by modernists, “Relevance”. These widely beloved 19th century artists are not considered “relevant”, and if they are not relevant, certainly today’s realists are even less relevant. Only works and techniques that shed all the former definitions and parameters of fine art were considered “relevant”. Only those artists that lead the way to abstract expressionism were worthy and “relevant”. Nothing could be further from the truth!

As described above, the purpose of fine art is to communicate. It is successful if it explores the human experience, with poetry, beauty, and grace. If it is unskilled, awkward, and self-conscious, it fails.

Therefore, to say that the realistic movements of the 19th Century were irrelevant to their times or to the major path of the fine arts through the ages, is utterly wrong and incorrect. They were, in fact, at the pinnacle of five hundred years of growth and evolution of their chosen field and had an incalculable impact on the social reforms that were to follow them.

Even the symbolist movements of the 19th century was using modern concepts of psychology before the psychologists. 17 The modernists took art in a completely different direction.

It will be for future generations to determine if that new road was important and meaningful or a dead end in which future progress within their genre was impossible. There are those today who believe it can only be saved by finding a way back to the place where the detour started.

Some of the most significant events in human history were taking place between 1776 and 1914.

The academic artists of that time were not only “relevant” to the times, and relevant to the major thread of art history, but they were relevant to the evolution of art itself, which as a visual language communicating humanity’s knowledge and passions, was growing and expanding by leaps and bounds, breaking ever-new ground and pushing the proverbial envelope.

Their envelopes were however, filled with passion, reason, and exploring every region and element of life and living. Year after year, their work advanced in equal importance alongside the other arts and sciences.

These artists were working at what will surely be considered one of the most important crossroads in the whole of human history. Their art communicated the magnitude of their era in every way.

Does fine art still do that today after 100 years of contorting itself into the Modernist vision and limiting itself to Modernist constraints?

Art history has generally been accurate in its description of fine art from the early Renaissance until about 1840 (With the advent of photography).

For the most part, art historians have given the great and near great their due or at least reasonable notice. That was true until we get to the mid nineteenth century. From roughly 1848 onwards, all of the normal criteria for judging, describing, and chronicling the history of art have been unceremoniously abandoned by 20th century educators.

Almost all the art text books that have been used since the middle of the 20th century have rewritten the history of the 19th century to fit the needs and prejudices of the “modernist” art world; which sees all of art history through a “deconstructionist” lens that defines as important, valuable, and relevant, only those works which broke one or another of the rules and parameters by which works of art were formerly valued and appreciated.

Art history was seen as a long march from the “breakthroughs” of Impressionism, through a stream of different movements which led the way to abstraction, and was espoused with a strident religious fervor by the followers of this “new history” to be the greatest of all forms and styles of art.

Then, with a double-think out of George Orwell’s 1984 they separated the analysis of all previous eras, (pre-19th Century), into its own separate history. It is as though there is one art history with one set of parameters, and then a new art history that built itself on destroying 19 Century’s relevance by attacking the very parameters they still use to praise all other earlier centuries. Indeed, they have created a supremely illogical schism.

You can literally have art professors praising the anatomical perfection, the drawing and paint handling in Raphael or Botticelli , and then talk about the graceful harmonizing of subject and composition and the emotional power of a Madonna and Child by Fillippo Lippi with its brilliant coloration, or the drama and theatre achieved in Rembrandt’s Healing the Sick, and then with a double think that could have been written by the “Ministry of Truth” in George Orwell’s 1984 [which fabricated history] those same educators will rip into the petty sentimentality of the Victorian era and use the same criteria against artists like Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema , John Everett Millais , or French artists like Jules Breton or William Bouguereau .

They criticize how overly perfect their anatomical handling is and how the very same kinds of sentiments and subject matter to these earlier periods are now viewed as sweet and maudlin, even though any truly objective viewing would have to see the work of the 19th century as equal or more successful when it came to harmonizing emotionally powerful subjects with the highest levels of skills and techniques. In fact, the 19th century was the pinnacle of artistic accomplishment.

The artists and writers of the late 19th Century, incorporated in their work a new heightened respect for human dignity. They saw democracy and capitalism as the political and economic systems that could best work together to enable people to live more freely the lives they wanted.

Without a system where it was possible to own private property with a form of government that protected people from the tyranny of despots or the tyranny of the majority it would not be possible to live free.

For many of these artists, their compositions were a reflection of their beliefs and how they lived. William Bouguereau , who was considered perhaps the greatest living artist in France during his life, is one of the best examples, since so many other artists emulated and adored his work and his contribution to his field.

He was accused of just working for his bourgeois and nouveau riche clients, but in truth he prided himself on being able to paint anything he wanted and the demand for his work was so great that most works were sold before the paint had barely started drying. He was a workaholic, painting 14 to 16 hours a day, producing over 20 paintings per year; most life-size and many multi-figured. He took a direct personal interest in his employees, his students and his colleagues and was widely known to help almost anyone who was in need who touched his life.

On more than a couple of occasions, he insured a livelihood to the widows of colleagues of his who had passed on with very little to leave their wives and children. He was much beloved and respected, especially by his students. Bouguereau also played a central role in opening up the Paris Salon and the French Academies to women artists. Starting in 1868, he along with Rudolph Julian , Jules Lefebvre , Gabriel Ferrier and Tony Robert-Fleury , all amongst France’s most successful and famous painters, at that time, started holding regular classes and critiques for women. By 1893 all major art schools in France had courses for women, even the much renowned Academie des Beaux Arts in Paris.

Bouguereau was born in 1825, after the great upheavals of the American and French Revolutions, two events which embody the breakthroughs of Enlightenment thought. Bouguereau and Victor Hugo were at the top of the list of the leading artists and writers of their day, whose work was to codify those advances.

They bridged the gap from centuries of societies ruled by kings and emperors, empowered by “divine right”, that led to a civilization made of men and laws whereby governments could only gain legitimacy from the consent of the governed: justice, equality under the law, elections by popular vote; protection of human rights; the obligation of government and society to identify, organize, and protect those rights; freedom of the press permitting and insuring popular disclosure, debate and resolution of countless injustices still embedded in recalcitrant institutions which were still run by aristocrats and bureaucrats who fought to hold on to their power. Let me quote from Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, written in 1835-1840, where he states:

 The society of the modern world, which I have sought to delineate, and which I seek to judge, has but just come into existence. Time has not yet shaped it into perfect form: the great revolution by which it has been created is not yet over; and amid the occurrences of our time, it is almost impossible to discern what will pass away with the revolution itself, and what will survive its close.

The world which is rising into existence is still half encumbered by the remains of the world which is waning into decay; and amid the vast perplexity of human affairs, none can say how much of ancient institutions and former manners will remain, or how much will completely disappear. 

-De Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America, opening of Chapter VIII  .

It was not at all certain what kind of world would evolve, but freedom and security were essential for the pursuit of happiness, for only a free and secure people can build a civilization in which culture and the arts could flourish. So it was the writers and artists of mankind’s “first” century of liberty and freedom, the 19th Century, that considered it their duty and responsibility to organize, to codify, to popularize and protect the values, laws, and democratized institutions of society which would insure the perpetuation of liberty; a way of life so recently come to the affairs of man. How they accomplished this would surely effect future generations perhaps for centuries. The Western world moved from a world filled with edicts of the “sovereign” to a world ruled by “sovereign states.” Terms like the “general will” and “social contract” and “government, of, by and for the people” were disseminated everywhere throughout the newly “free” world.

These revolutionary ideas were increasingly embedded in the educated classes, spreading rapidly to workers in the fields, and laborers in factories and shipyards, all of whom were to participate in the benefits of a newly free and democratic society as the 18th century origins led to 19th century codification and 20th Century implementation a process which still continues today. It started first narrowly, as with only land owners voting in the original US Constitution, and then ever more broadly until by the time the 20th century had finished dealing with two world wars, the great Depression and countless other horrors, we saw an evolution from an agricultural society to the industrialized and then the technologically advanced society of today.

So it is these core beliefs of the Enlightenment, its ideas values and concepts that are so crucial to understanding the context in which the artists of the 19th century lived. They were, in fact, addressing the very heart of Enlightenment thought.

Bouguereau painted young peasant girls with a solemn dignity and a hushed and reverential beauty. One of his works shows a strong but beautiful peasant girl holding a staff and looking at the viewer directly and unabashedly in the eye. She is standing her ground, so to speak.

In another major work, a life-size gypsy mother holds her daughter and both are standing on a mountaintop looking down at the viewer. Their gaze, too, is direct but welcoming. In this painting Bouguereau is elevating these gypsies by silhouetting them against a vast sky with a low horizon line like you might expect in a painting of the Madonna and child. We are looking up to them.

Their kind and welcoming expressions implies their acceptance of us; the viewer is asked to return this show of respect, which can only be properly echoed by our acceptance of them regardless of the lowly status of their birth.

The very truth and reality of their birth once a negative, now elevates them to the heavens… a status wherein all of humanity now resides.

In the 19th Century, all people doing any and all activities were considered worthy subjects and themes for the artists to address. Subjects included paintings of the poor and homeless, women thrown out in the cold by tyrannical husbands, or children toiling until late at night, enduring 16 hour work days.

There were scenes of marriage and children and family life; scenes of schools and courts and hospitals and industry, parks and mountains and countless other topics. For example, a popular theme was of a hypocritical clergy preaching to renounce worldly possessions from their opulent apartments filled with art, antiques and personal servants.

How revolutionary a theme this was for artists. When the French artists Vibert , Brunery and Crogaert satirized the clergy,18 and painted cardinals in sumptuous surroundings, playing cards with pretty young socialites, or hiring the services of a fortune teller, they were saying that the clergy was human and vulnerable to the same weaknesses and frailty of character as other people.

But beyond that, to spoof the clergy represented our newfound freedom of speech. A modernist professor once said to me “how inane and silly to show cardinals in silly poses like that.” His prejudice blinded him from even beginning to figure out what Vibert had done … what rules of conduct he had broken from the prior rulers of society.

We have been taught to elevate artists for breaking rules and conventions of perspective or for undermining realistic drawing, or daring not to follow prior precepts for creating art, but the academic artists who had been on the front lines of culture, helping all of us to win our freedoms and rights, were also helping to create a climate where it was even possible to consider breaking the rules of art; which by comparison is a weak and shallow accomplishment when compared to breaking the rules that lead to our freedom from oppression.

In previous centuries, an artist might have had his head cut off for spoofing cardinals in this way. When writers spoke of modern art and the modern era during the late 1800’s this is what they meant by modern. And indeed these artists were pushing the envelope and showing a gutsy willingness to openly degrade the immorality of aristocracy, clergy and corrupt politicians as well as the unjust laws. This was really “sticking your neck out.”

From exposing societal ills and portraying the value and equality of all people, it was but a half step away to explore the personal inner life of individuals and to value and elevate mankind’s hopes, fantasies, and dreams.

For academic artists and writers of the 19th Century, humanity was what counted, and everything that made us human; how we see ourselves and how we see the world.

Humanity was glorified and people of every type and shape, every nationality and color, every occupation and avocation, were represented in their work. We were what counted…we were what was important and we were the greatest of all subjects for the creative bounty of the top artistic minds on earth.

Everything about humanity became the new fodder for the unique forms of communication produced by the writers prose, the poet’s pentameter, and the painter’s pigments. Glorified we were, as thousands of artists produced millions of images, often new and original, and the best of the best of these were masterpieces of the highest order.

Returning then to Beauty and aesthetics

The experience of beauty in fine art also described as Aesthetic sensibilities is therefore inextricably bound to subject and themes about humanity; about life and living and documenting how we see the world and how we feel about life. 

It’s clear how this relates directly back to what fine art is all about and what things we as human beings consider beautiful and hold as sacred. Fine art like poetry, literature and theatre achieves beauty by capturing and memorializing those things we as human beings all share and hold dear.

Art is celebrated because it helps us celebrate the human experience. And the creations that communicate some aspect of our shared humanity with beauty, poetry, grace and a respect for human dignity are our greatest works of art.

Aesthetics in the fine arts is equally tied to the formal skill-based elements of drawing painting and sculpture listed earlier in this chapter. The subject and theme chosen by the artist must harmonize with all the other skill-based elements mentioned before and listed below.

Endless numbers of choices and decisions must be made by the artist and a vast array of problems arise and need to be solved during the creative process by always constantly keeping in mind, the subject, theme and the purpose that they have given themselves for each specific work of art.

Since we live in a 3-dimensional world, artists use objects from the real world as part of their visual vocabulary. The achievement of three-dimensional effects, then, increases the strength and success of artwork when using the visual language of realism. Some other factors, principles and parameters, which aid the highly skilled in their pursuit of beauty, are worth noting. Here is an incomplete list of elements for which decisions must be made or problems solved:

  • Subtle vs. obvious
  • Balance vs. unbalanced
  • Homogeneity of execution vs. disconnected, awkward and incongruent whether in shapes, forms, sizes, perspective, shadowing, light source, etc.
  • Integration of subject and form
  • Integration of subject and form
  • Selective focus often achieved through experienced blending of impressionist and academic techniques.
  • Accurate drawing skills as fundamental to painting
  1. Finding the correct contour lines
  2. Modeling them to create the illusion of three dimensional forms
  • Proportions
  • Foreshortening
  • Perspective
  • Lost and found edges or contours
  • Juxtaposing of positive and negative space
  • Glazing and scumbling
  • Brushwork studied color alternatives for creating shadows and highlights that go beyond strict modeling of light and dark.
  • Proper preparation of materials: choosing of panel or canvas; stretching the canvas treating the surface and preparing the ground.
  • Composition: from an infinite number of possibilities the artist must decide on placement of figures, what they are doing and what expressions should be on their faces, in their body language, and all other elements to include in order to best express the subject and enrich the image, theme or idea being attempted. Limiting those choices to avoid the work becoming too busy as too many objects can be distracting to the theme or idea being attempted.
  • Choice of clothing if figures are not to be naked along with which accessories.
  • Dramatic and powerful vs. soft and peaceful
  • Coloration choices and transitions
  • Light and atmosphere
  • Size of the work
  • Availability of models or other elements that will be needed for reference during the entire process.
  • Choice of medium: oils, acrylics, watercolor, pastels
  • Color palette and placement. Colors need to be mixed dynamically on the spot and countless decisions concerning colors and blending of color are made in real time while painting.

Modernism has mostly ignored most of these. A work of art that successfully harmonizes subject and theme with all of the elements of painting and drawing listed above is likely to be successful. A work will not be successful, which is inconsistent, awkward, incongruent, lacking in homogeneity, unbalanced, poorly composed, or any combination of many possibilities in which these elements do not harmonize choices which can sabotage and undermine an artist’s goals.

Modern art has eliminated nearly all of the above skills and qualities and made virtually every element formerly considered a virtue into a vice.

Conversely, the vices have become virtues. Can both forms of art exist side by side in college art departments and in our museums? Their goals and beliefs are diametrically opposite from each other.

Perhaps colleges and universities which are not prepared to support or suppress either one would be better advised to have different departments with different faculties.

Ultimately in a world where freedom prevails: freedom to think, to speak and to create whatever kind of art we want for reasons of our own choosing, it will fall to those who acquire art to decide which kinds of art they prefer to beautify their homes, their cities and their world.

People will decide which set of objects and beliefs they wish to elevate, protect and preserve as sacred memorials of their values, their lives and their culture that will pass down to their children and posterity.

My hope is that would-be artists and art historians, by understanding the underlying principles of aesthetic beauty will be in a more informed place from which to examine and decide for themselves between the principles, values and beliefs behind the Modernist paradigm, and those that underlie skill-based and subject-based traditional and contemporary Realism.

Traditional skill-based art in recent decades has had very few proponents, ceding nearly a century to an ascendant modernist leviathan. Ironically, that century has seen the greatest strides forward in every other field of human endeavor. If the proponents of realism are as correct as it seems, the art world is woefully behind our times and will need to do a lot of catching up.

The new Realism movement now has thousands of artists. 

That is a staggering turn-around from the handful who were working 30 years ago. 

There are many upscale art galleries in major cities throughout the world who concentrate on art with images from the real world. ARC Living Masters and Associate Living Masters have taken great strides forward in reclaiming our century's long heritage in Realist fine art. 

We are now seeing solid indications of the rich creativity developing at the heart of the 21st Century art world. 

The exhilaration and optimism that flows forward from here could not be more thrilling or more exciting. 

I can't wait to see the magic and beauty that is in store for us as these artists are inspired by an avalanche of original perspectives, innovative methods, and brilliant game-changing subject matter in a rapidly growing Realist movement… as artists share their ideas together seeding and cross pollenating a landslide of creative and innovative thinking that will lead us to ever more poetic, inspirational and beautiful artwork in the studios, salons and exhibitions in the years that lie ahead. 

Just half way through the second decade of the first century of this the third millennia, we are truly at the very beginning of a new era that celebrates the beauty and poetry of the human soul.

Fred Ross

Fred Ross

Founder and Chairman of the Art Renewal Center, Ross is the leading authority on William Bouguereau and co author of the recently published Catalogue Raisonné William Bouguereau: His Life and Works.

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The USA and China are now entangled in the Thucydides Trap; this is the entire story.

Trump’s anti-China rhetoric and actions, including crossing out the prefix “Corona” and replacing it with “China,” are part of a continuation of US empire building that began long before Trump seized power in the Electoral College coup of 2016.

-Counterpunch

My feeds are all clogged up with the hate-China narrative out of Washington DC. Ugh! It’s pretty sick and disgusting. Hate, hate, hate! What a messed up way to start the day!

Additionally, the narrative that the Chinese accidentally released it from a weapons lab in Wuhan is an insult to my intelligence. I guess people don’t know the difference between a automobile factory and a local garage that does tune-ups.

Hint; 

Factories and R&D centers have loading bays, electrical substations, and internal water treatment centers. You can see these structures outside the buildings. They have fences, and security guards. They are huge!

Vaccine centers, diagnostic centers, and testing centers are much smaller. They typically consist of a number of offices, and perhaps a small wing devoted to the lab work. They also usually have a parking lot. They tend not to have a fence or security guards.

Now, boys and girls, repeat after me:

Bio-Weapons Research Labs have fences and security guards. 
Bio-Weapons Research Labs have fences and security guards.
Bio-Weapons Research Labs have fences and security guards.

They are not open to the public.They are not on a main public thoroughfare. They are military installations, protected by soldiers, fences, and set far back away from public scrutiny. 

So please, stop parroting the Mike Pompeo / Alex Jones "talking points" that the COVID-19 was an "escaped" bio-weapons from a Chinese weapons lab. Jeeze!
The Chinese narrative that the COVID-19 virus came from American military soldiers. The American narrative is that it was released from a vaccine clinic. Which is more likely to have infected the Wuhan "wet" market? Especially since there are videos of American servicemen in that exact market.
The Chinese narrative that the COVID-19 virus came from American military soldiers. The American narrative is that it was released from a vaccine clinic. Which is more likely to have infected the Wuhan “wet” market? Especially since there are videos of American servicemen in that exact market at that exact time. Not to mention the strange things they were doing there. I mean, they ate in restaurants. They did not need to buy groceries to cook in their hotel room, and what’s this putting their hands and touching things so profusely?

.

But that’s how propaganda works, don’t you know. You keep hammering down the same lies over and over again until you start reacting to it instinctively.

You hear it over and over. People talk about it, and make opinions about it. you start believing what you hear without thinking.

Ugh!

Just like billions of dollars had to flow to the software companies to “prevent” Y2K. Remember that? There was a nine month intense narrative that the world was going to collapse unless we immediately “fixed” the Y2K issue!

The Year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, the Millennium bug, Y2K bug, the Y2K glitch, or Y2K, refers to events related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates beginning in the year 2000. Problems were anticipated, and arose, because many programs represented four-digit years with only the final two digits – making the year 2000 indistinguishable from 1900. The assumption of a twentieth-century date in such programs could cause various errors, such as the incorrect display of dates and the inaccurate ordering of automated dated records or real-time events.

-Wikipedia

Same thing.

Say the lies over and over and over, until people instinctively react to them as truths. When in reality, it’s all just lies, manipulations and “smoke screens”. But all that doesn’t matter. Because right here we are going to tell you all what is going on. That is, what’s REALLY going on, and how all these things all fit together.

And it isn’t pretty.

“I love war,” Trump declared during a campaign speech in Iowa in 2015. He added: "I’m good at war. I’ve had a lot of wars of my own. I’m really good at war. I love war in a certain way, but only when we win.”

The Thucydides Trap

"There is no such thing as a Thucydides Trap. It is just an excuse by the democrat-controlled media to attack Trump and make him look bad."

-Anonymous 

To understand what is going on today between the United States and China, we should take a look at history. For history clearly describes the dynamics between an established nation, and a growing emerging nation. This dynamic is well documented, well understood, and quite predictable.

  • America is the “established” nation.
  • China is the growing nation.

More than 2,400 years ago, the Athenian historian Thucydides offered a powerful insight into the causes of the awful  Peloponnesian War; a war that pitted military Sparta against democratic Athens…

“It was the rise of Athens, and the fear that this inspired in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”

The Peloponnesian War; a war that pitted military Sparta against democratic Athens.
The Peloponnesian War; a war that pitted military Sparta against democratic Athens.

Other writers identified an array of contributing causes of the Peloponnesian War. But it was Thucydides that nailed down the true causes and the heart of the matter.

Thucydides, instead of looking at the minute details, focused instead on the inexorable, structural stress caused by a rapid shift in the balance of power between the two rivals.

  • Sparta was, for over a hundred years, the dominant city-nation.
  • Athens was growing, expanding, and eclipsing Sparta on every front.

Thucydides identified two key drivers of this dynamic:

  • The rising power’s growing entitlement, sense of its importance, and demand for greater say and sway.
  • And the entrenched, well established nation that possessed the fear, insecurity, and determination to defend the status quo this engenders in the established power base.

In the case about which he wrote in the fifth century B.C., Athens had emerged over a half century as a steeple of civilization. There, there were advances in philosophy, understanding of history, pleasures of drama, new types of architecture, political governance based upon democracy, and naval prowess.

This shocked Sparta. For more than a century had been the leading land power on the Peloponnese peninsula.

As Thucydides saw it, Athens’s position was understandable.

As its clout grew, so too did its self-confidence, its consciousness of past injustices, its sensitivity to instances of disrespect, and its insistence that previous arrangements be revised to reflect new realities of power.

It was also natural, Thucydides explained, that Sparta interpreted the Athenian posture as unreasonable, ungrateful, and threatening to the system it had established—and within which Athens had flourished.

Thucydides chronicled the objective changes in relative power between the two. However, he also focused on the perceptions of change among the leaders of both nations. These perceptions, in both Athens and Sparta, led each to strengthen alliances with other nation-states in the hopes of counterbalancing the other.

But entanglement runs both ways. When conflict broke out between the second-tier city-states of Corinth and Corcyra (now Corfu), Sparta felt it necessary to come to Corinth’s defense, which left Athens little choice but to back its ally. The Peloponnesian War followed. When it ended 30 years later, Sparta was the nominal victor. But both states lay in ruin, leaving Greece vulnerable to the Persians.

And the eventual destruction of the Greeks at the hands of the Persians.

Germany and Britain

Let’s consider more modern times. Where people drive cars, have electricity, fly in the air in planes and have “manners”. Let’s look at the world right before World War I. Let’s consider a rising Germany to a content and powerful England.

As Germany’s economy surpassed Britain’s, Germany would not only develop the strongest army on the continent. It would soon also “build as powerful a navy as she can afford.” In other words, Kissinger writes…

“once Germany achieved naval supremacy … this in itself—regardless of German intentions—would be an objective threat to Britain, and incompatible with the existence of the British Empire.”

Three years after reading that memo, Edward VII died.

Attendees at his funeral included two “chief mourners”—Edward’s successor, George V, and Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm—along with Theodore Roosevelt representing the United States.

At one point, Roosevelt (an avid student of naval power and leading champion of the buildup of the U.S. Navy) asked Wilhelm whether he would consider a moratorium in the German-British naval arms race. The kaiser replied that Germany was unalterably committed to having a powerful navy.

But as he went on to explain, war between Germany and Britain was simply unthinkable, because…

“I was brought up in England, very largely; I feel myself partly an Englishman. Next to Germany I care more for England than for any other country.” 

And then with emphasis: “I ADORE ENGLAND!”

However unimaginable conflict seems, however catastrophic the potential consequences for all actors, however deep the cultural empathy among leaders, even blood relatives, and however economically interdependent states may be—none of these factors is sufficient to prevent war, in 1914 or today.

It doesn’t matter.

China and America

The warning lights and the alarm bells have been going off for some time now. It is well established that there would be some conflict or a deterioration of relationships between the two powers. Around 2009 it was unmistakable and this prompted some firm policy adjustments in America; in Washington DC.

President Obama believed that this kind of global realignment was a natural historical progression. He argued that while America might “sunset” in various areas, China could be “managed” in such a way as to derive a kind of “partnership” where both the United States and China would win and profit in a kind of “give and take” international relationship.

For a while, it appeared that the Thucydides Trap was avoided.

But then…

Donald Trump ran for President. His policy platform was MAGA, which means “Make America Great Again”.

Donald Trump campaigned on a long list of extravagant promises: 

End all foreign wars and reveal “who really did 9/11,” bring the troops home, pull out of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), ban all Muslims from entering the US, wall off the entire southern border at Mexico’s expense, end NAFTA, CAFTA, TPP and all trade treaties, bring manufacturing back to America, end NATO and all alliances (unless the vassals vastly increase their tribute payments, which they won’t), rebuild America’s infrastructure, demand and get vastly better trade terms from China, resurrect 1950s-style family values, and restore Americans’ pride in their history. 

These are, in essence, the specifics behind Trump’s promise to “make America great again.”

-Does the Presidential Election Matter?

Trump’s chief rival target was China and he pledged to [1] bring back American jobs (from China), [2] stop the dependence on imported products (from China), to [3] rebuild and increase the size of the military, and [4] re-work and realign relationships with other nations for American self-interest.

Sound familiar?

Once Hitler came to power he wanted to make Germany great again. His chief villains were the Jews. And his actions were all about eradicating the Jewish treat to Germany.

It's not that I am equating Trump with Hitler. That meme is so 2015. It's just that all nationalistic movements require an enemy to galvanize the people against. In the 1930's it was the "Jews against Germany".

Today it is China against America.

So Trump is in office, and he’s realigning all sorts of issues into his vision for the “perfect” world order.

Neocon Administration

Americans, tired of the social and economic onslaught and minimizing behavior of their leadership for the last three decades flocked to Donald Trump. They attended rallies where he would proclaim that he would [1] make America great again, [2] put Hillary Clinton behind bars, [3] build a wall around the United States, and [4] bring jobs back to America.

He won the election.

Once taking over the reins of power, he staffed his administration with “neocons”, individuals with a particularly warlike views and ideas.

Neocon

A small, but constant clique in the US administration that is responsible for most of the recent US military invasions around the globe. To quote neocon Pompeo: 'I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole'

-Urban Dictionary

Not only are Neocons very “hawkish” regarding war….

… But they also believe in History, and the role that empires have in shaping history. In fact, they believe in Thucydides and his writings.

If you were to ask any neocon about what is written herein, they would 100% agree with everything this article is saying …

Among their intellectual ancestors neoconservatives count the ancient Greek historian Thucydides for his unblinking realism in military matters and his skepticism toward democracy, as well as Alexis de Tocqueville, the French author of Democracy in America (1835–40), who described and analyzed both the bright and the bad sides of democracy in the United States. 

More recent influences include the German-born American political philosopher Leo Strauss and several of his students, such as Allan Bloom; Bloom’s student Francis Fukuyama; and a small band of intellectuals who in their youth were anti-Stalinist communists (specifically Trotskyites) before becoming liberals disillusioned with liberalism. The latter include Irving Kristol, Nathan Glazer, and Norman Podhoretz, among others.

-Britannica

And surrounded by his small army of War-Hawk Neocons, he set forth establishing policy.

Trump is the embodiment of this looking-for-a-fight attitude. Not good. He has surrounded himself with over-age Cold Warriors, with generals, with the pathologically aggressive hangers-on from think-tank Washington: John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Steve Bannon, and minor squibs of like outlook. He has pulled the US out of the arms-control treaties, START, INF, Open Skies. He has pushed NATO against Russian borders. In the Legion halls of Idaho, this may seem virile, the sort of thing that John Wayne would do. Back the commies down. Show them who is boss. No. It is just pointless and dangerous.

-UNZ

In sort order, once Donald Trump won the 2016 election, he immediately, from day one, started his program of MAGA. He did not waste time. He did not pause. He did not relax.

America was (from the top down) full-on MAGA.

Despite campaigning against endless foreign wars and a humanitarian-based foreign policy that promotes democracy, President Donald Trump appointed several internationalists and neoconservatives to his administration, including John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.

Alex Jones has claimed that neo-conservatives, as part of a deep state, have been fighting a civil war inside the United States Government in order to gain control of the government and influence President Donald Trump – himself, Paul Joseph Watson, and David Knight also claimed this throughout Infowars segments, and that the recent missiles launched against Assad were a result of the neo-conservatives attempting to control Donald Trump.

Stefan Halper, a neoconservative of the Bush Sr. era, colluded with Obama CIA Director John Brennan and FBI agent Peter Strzok to set-up Trump advisors Carter Page and George Papadopoulos as supposed agents of the Russia government, to initiate an FBI counterintelligence investigation and procure a FISA warrant to surveil the 2016 Trump campaign, Trump transition team, and well into the first year of the Trump Administration.

-Neoconservatism and Donald Trump

Key to that program was the suppression of China. Much of which involved actions and activities that were NOT reported in the American press.

What does a neoconservative dream world look like?

Neocons envision a world in which the United States is the unchallenged superpower, immune to threats. They believe that the US has a responsibility to act as a “benevolent global hegemon.” 

In this capacity, the US would maintain an empire of sorts by helping to create democratic, economically liberal governments in place of “failed states” or oppressive regimes they deem threatening to the US or its interests. 

In the neocon dream world the entire Middle East would be democratized in the belief that this would eliminate a prime breeding ground for terrorists. This approach, they claim, is not only best for the US; it is best for the world. 

In their view, the world can only achieve peace through strong US leadership backed with credible force, not weak treaties to be disrespected by tyrants.

Any regime that is outwardly hostile to the US and could pose a threat would be confronted aggressively, not “appeased” or merely contained. 

The US military would be reconfigured around the world to allow for greater flexibility and quicker deployment to hot spots in the Middle East, as well as Central and Southeast Asia. 

The US would spend more on defense, particularly for high-tech, precision weaponry that would be used in preemptive strikes. 

It would work through multilateral institutions such as the United Nations when possible, but otherwise must never be constrained from acting in its best interests whenever necessary.

-Neocon 101

January 2017

Donald Trump “hit the ground running”. He wasted no time in building up his team, staffing it with aggressive neocons and working on a strategy to suppress China. It’s an implementation of his campaign promises; Make America Great Again.

Unlike President Obama, Donald Trump embraced (or fell into) the Thucydides Trap.

The goals were simple;

  1. Reclaim American “greatness” in all fields, in all areas.
  2. Establish dominance in the Geo-political arena.
  3. Suppress China in such a way that they would always be “under the control or authority” of the United States.
  4. Do whatever is necessary to accomplish the above.
Look familiar?

1. Reclaim Spartian "greatness" in all fields, in all areas.
2. Establish dominance in the Peloponnesian arena.
3. Suppress Athens in such a way that they would always be under the control or authority of Sparta.
4. Do whatever is necessary to accomplish the above.

In so doing there were some issues that needed to be addressed and some resources that he had access to.

Outstanding Issues

There were things that China was involved in that were threatening the level of control that America had over China. Trump needed to collapse or mitigate those issues quickly. If he did not, China’s rise would pass the point of no-return. In the collective minds of the neocons, it was now or never.

The primary issues at stake were…

  • Relationships in Africa. China was building relationships based on jobs, trade, and social improvements. The time-honored American technique of providing wads of cash to third-world dictators was no longer effective. This was giving China unique mineral and resource access, that America was denied.
  • Belt and Road Initiative. As long as the only way that China could maintain trade was via the sea-lanes, the United States could threaten the sea-lanes and completely collapse the ability of China to conduct trade. This threat has been real and substantive. The Belt and Road Initiative would be a land trade route. Completely bypassing the sea-lane trade routes, and rendering the American Naval threat moot.
  • Taiwan. Taiwan is a client state of China. Yet the American media presents it as an independent nation in the hopes that once China is weak, an American invasion of Taiwan can occur. The reason why this is so critical is that the United States needs a “safe haven” from whence to launch ground forces. Taiwan is the perfect staging location. Make no mistake, an invasion of China is a long-term dream of the neocon cabal. The first key step is to PUSH China into engaging Taiwan militarily.
  • Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a financial and technical hub, not to mention a gateway to the rest of Asia. As long as Hong Kong is stable, Europe will continue to conduct business with China. Therefore creating a unstable Hong Kong would effective disentangle Europe from China.
  • Trade. You would think that (with all the news discussing the trade imbalance) that this would be a significant issue. In the grand scheme of things, however, it really isn’t much of an issue at all. The majority of trade between China and the USA is between American companies, manufacturing products in their factories inside of China and shipping them to America. Not Chinese companies. Of that, less than 11% of exports from China goes to America. Looking at the entire issue, it’s really well blown out of proportion.

The Plan

Work on a plan to suppress China, for certain, was formulated prior to President Trump’s inauguration. 

No one knows the true extent of the planning, or any details of the discussions involved. However, we can pretty much recognize that the people who helped formulate this war-suppression-strategy were…

  • Donald Trump
  • Mike Pompeo
  • John Bolton
  • Robert Lighthizer
  • Rudy Giuliani
  • Nikki Haley
  • James Woolsey
  • Frank Gaffney
  • Eliot Cohen

All of these people advocate for military intervention to accomplish United States objectives.

The only snag in their desires is military.

You see, the thing is that every single simulation where the American military tries to take on China, the United States LOSES. Often, depending on the scenario, quite badly. Thus, if America takes on China militarily, in the South China Sea, the results would probably be disastrous.

They cannot ignore this fact.

So a direct military campaign was not the first choice of the “task team”.

Instead they had to come up with a scenario or a plan that would be suppress China and meet all the criteria as discussed. While at the same time avoiding armed military conflict with a HEALTHY VIBRANT China. The Trump administration was faced with a “first”. Just how to suppress China, without using any overt military resources that might result in a nuclear response?

They sat down and came up with an idea.

“I love war,” Trump declared during a campaign speech in Iowa in 2015. He added: "I’m good at war. I’ve had a lot of wars of my own. I’m really good at war. I love war in a certain way, but only when we win.”

Neocon Echo Chamber

Their plan is based on what they believe China is.

  • Hard-line Communist.
  • Multitudes / hordes of impoverished people.
  • A deceptive media that hides the “true and real China”.
  • A population yearning for “freedom” and “democracy”.
  • A hated leadership that rules by sheer power.

Well, since this belief system has been so ingrained in the consciousness of the neocon administration, the came up with a plan that would be able to attack this pre-concieved image of what China is…

Since the people are large in number, and miserable, if you add additional strife and problems, they will revolt uncontrollably. They will topple the government. Then, in the confusion, the USA can establish and control the new leadership. As the USA has become experts in this kind of activity over the last number of decades. It’s an American strength that no one has figured out how to deal with effectively.

The entire plan is based on illusions and falsehoods.

I have been to China several times. I am also in contact with people in China. I can say this. Pompeo's belief that:

... the Chinese people hate the Communist Party of China that runs the country...

- is simply not true.

Among Chinese citizens there has recently been a huge upsurge in positive opinions about the Chinese system. This is due, in part, to its success in containing the Coronavirus.

At the same time there has been a tremendous disillusionment with the United States due to its failure to manage the Coronavirus. There is almost a sense of disbelief that America has failed so badly in dealing with the virus.

There used to be a saying in China that "Even the moon shines more brightly on America." That saying was demonstrated a genuine admiration for the United States and its accomplishments. But due to many things - including the institutional failure to deal with the Coronavirus - very few Chinese people say that anymore.

A second thing that is spurring a positive belief in the Chinese system by its' citizens is China's ever increasing standard of living. People who have never been there might very well find themselves astonished by what is happening there. I have been there four times in the past ten years. Each time, the improvement in the material standard of living is not just noticeable but dramatic. The Chinese people can see this with their own eyes. Before the virus hit, many Chinese citizens had become wealthy enough to the West and they discovered that, increasingly, China was comparing favorably with the West in terms of their standard of living. This has increased the belief among Chinese citizens that their country is on the right path.

There is a third thing that is important to note. There has been a recent rise in Chinese nationalism which is due - not only to the factors mentioned above - but due to Trump and Pompeo themselves. Contrary to common belief, the Chinese have a lot of access to Western media. Many Chinese study English and can read the Western media in English. They know the things being said by Trump and Pompeo which intended to malign China. Many Chinese are, not so much angry but, rather understand this is a sign of increasing weakness on the part of the United States.

In short, the actions of Pompeo are not "inciting the Chinese to act against their government" but rather convincing the Chinese that American greatness is passing into history and China's time is arriving.

Posted by: Mike from Jersey | Nov 18 2020 21:22 utc | 25

The basic plan

If China could be “broken” with all sorts of internal strife, starvation, misery, distress, and trouble, China would weaken.

It’s people would revolt.

And people would turn to “The shining city on the hill.” for help, “freedom” and “democracy”. These people would wave American flags, they would sing the American National Anthem, and they would display “Pepe the frog” in graffiti as they burned the cities down.

As a result, the United States could capitalize on that situation.

This would, if properly handled, result in forward staging bases on Taiwan, with a naval harbor there.

  • Create uprisings and strife at the two gateways for the Belt and Road Initiative. (HK and XinJiang)
  • Create Chinese starvation by decimation of all pork, chicken, wheat, and grain industries.
  • Offer CIA “incentives” in African nations.
  • An anti-China propaganda campaign would galvanize Americans against China and it’s products.
  • “Incentivize” American companies to bring factories back to America.
  • An anti-China technology campaign would destroy existing business relationships in Europe and across the globe.
  • A pandemic that would suppress China, but would ignore America.
  • Then prep for a hot war with the establishment of staging bases on Taiwan.

This is an eight-year plan, and assumes two complete terms as President for Donald Trump. The time table would look something like this…

First term in office 2016 through 2020.

  • Move the puzzle pieces and assets in place.
  • Start famines, trade disputes, regional classes, and strife.
  • Keep up an enormous program of anti-China propaganda.
  • Create “minor” military skirmishes in the South China Sea.

Then… if China is NOT suppressed and under the control of pro-American forces by the end of the Trump first term (Fall of 2020). A different direction must be taken.

In a strongly worded speech delivered as the relationship between Beijing and Washington plummeted to new lows this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that “the old paradigm of blind engagement” with China had failed. Mike Pompeo: "If the free world doesn’t change communist China, communist China will change us."

-We must change China or China will change us, Pompeo …

Announce this publicly, and create a military army to attack China. Enlist local nations to do “the heavy lifting” and provide staging locations.

Mr Pompeo accused China's governing Communist Party of "exploitation, corruption and coercion". He was meeting counterparts from Australia, India and Japan - a group known as "The Quad" - to discuss an increasingly assertive China. Under the Trump administration, relations between the US and China have plummeted to their worst in decades.

-Mike Pompeo lashes out at China at 'Quad' meeting in Japan
  • Build up a military coalition to engage Chinese military locally. (The QUAD).
  • Create a “need” for the American military to enter China to “save the people”.
  • Then create an “emergency”, blame it on China.
  • Go to war. But make sure that the QUAD does most of the fighting.

Since America has “never lost a war”, the victory of America is a foregone conclusion. China hasn’t a chance (in the minds of the neocons).

Additionally there is the possibility of a successful presidential successor that could implement successive states in a complete global realignment to fit the long-term neocon plan. Eventually turning China into a client state of America, like Japan, Australia, or Canada.

Implementation

This plan of course is secret / confidential. It’s not advertised. Though, it was moving forward with great rapidity throughout the first term of Donald Trump in office.

I’ve covered all the elements in other posts in far greater detail. There you can see the details. Links are as provided herein.

This is just an overview.

  • Create strife in HK. The “pro-democracy” protests were implemented by NED / NID insurgents under the guise of being “journalists”. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • Create strife in Xinjiang. Radicalized and CIA trained Muslim insurgents creating “fifth column“ activities. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • Forced Starvation. Destruction of the pork industry via drones and aerosol viruses, destruction of the chicken industry, the wheat and rice industries, and multiple waves of germ attacks. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • African Incentives. This is ongoing. Though lately a number of nations are demanding that China pay billions of dollars to them for COVID-19 damage. I cannot help but see a CIA hand in all this. <HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • Incentivize American Businesses. Enormous amounts of money has been handed to American companies throughout trumps first term of office, the greatest amounts came during the 2020 “COVID bailout”. However, no companies have shown any interest in returning operations to America. <HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • Anti-China propaganda campaign. This is hot and heavy. Apparently it’s working a full 30% of Americans hate China and blame it for all the American ills. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • Anti-China technology campaign. Well the arrest of the Huawei President and the suppression of 5G technology is only the tip of the iceberg. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • A Pandemic that would suppress China but ignore America. This is the highlight of the plan and really interesting. Three strains. A, B, and C. All unleashed on the world. Lethal strain B is for China. It is dangerous and lethal. However, Americans get the A virus. This virus is mild and safe. It self inoculates (or was intended to). It is designed for Americans to have “Herd Immunity”. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>
  • An Alliance of other nations. By building a coalition of nations, the entire group could gang up against China in bulk. This includes strong showings by Australia, Canada, and the UK. <HERE>
  • Establish American Bases on Taiwan. Ongoing and NOT public.

In fact, the US is already engaged in “multi-domain” “hybrid warfare” with China.  This is warfare just below the threshold of direct military engagement.  On the ground this involves:

  • Economic Warfare: trade sanctions and tariff war, as well as technological warfare: attempted seizure of Chinese companies (TikTok); attacks on China’s international 5G contracts;  sanctions on the primary and secondary supply chains of key sectors of Chinese industry (e.g. Huawei’s semiconductor supply chain); attacks on Ant Finance’s IPO.
  • Legal Warfare, or “lawfare,” including over 380 anti-China bills in Congress, and 14 individual and state lawsuits  against China for over $30 Trillion in “Covid damages”; the long arm “legal” kidnapping of Huawei’s executive.
  • Diplomatic Warfare, including consulate shutdowns, harassment of diplomats, breaching of diplomatic pouches and compounds, and calls for regime change .
  • Military Brinksmanship and posturing in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan straits; complete encirclement of China with strategic weapons, surveillance, and 400 offensive bases (“The Pacific Pivot”), the use of airbases in Taiwan for military actions, and plans  to station intermediate range nuclear missiles all along China’s periphery[2].
  • Civil Subversioncolor revolution , urban terror, destabilization and delegitimation operations in Hong Kong  (and other places where China has interests), including millions of dollars of funneled for organization and training, and encrypted communications infrastructure built to coordinate anti-government activities.
  • Academic Warfare: through the FBI’s China Initiative, every 10 hours a case is opened against a Chinese student or researcher in the US (currently 2700 cases) and all Chinese students are considered potential “non-traditional” “collectors, spies” involved in a “thousand grains of sand” collection strategy.
  • Integrated Circuit Manufacture. The idea was to stop China from obtaining technology that America leads in. What has happened is that everyone, and their uncle is in a race to make the best, most advanced integrated circuits on the planet. And the Chinese central government is facilitating this with top down direction and resources to make this happen.
  • Information Warfare: last but not least, we are seeing total Information warfare.

The stories about so-called “massive human rights abuses,” “Chinese concentration camps,” “Chinese-made-and-released Covid,” “China has harmed us economically,” “China has stolen its way to the top,” “China is oppressing independent Hong Kong,” are part of this information warfare.

This is mass propaganda to incite people to hate China irrationally and unconditionally, to manufacture consent for war. The US military calls this information warfare, “the firehose of falsehoods ” and we are all being drenched with these lies.  

This is necessary (in a “democracy”) to justify war against an enemy and to curtail any rational discussion or questioning.

If things went as planned…

If things went as planned, China would be a poisonous stew of conflict with all sorts of internal troubles, starvation, insurrections and conflicts. The workers would be sick and dying and the anti-China propaganda campaign would scare companies from trading (or continuing to trade) with China. No hot war would ever be necessary.

The COVID-19 germ bio-warfare released at the most vulnerable time for social communicability on CNY eve, would completely turn China into a basket case.

Meaning of Idiom ‘Basket Case’. 

A basket case is a situation that is so nervous or anxious that they are completely incapacitated and thus are considered non-functioning.

Something unable to cope with a situation; someone or something unable to function.
The American military were housed at the Wuhan Oriental Hotel along with the Koreans, and the Iranian military participants in the Wuhan military games. This hotel was located one lock away from the Huanan Seafood Market, the "wet market" where the COVID-19 outbreak originated from.
The American military were housed at the Wuhan Oriental Hotel along with the Koreans, and the Iranian military participants in the Wuhan military games. This hotel was located one lock away from the Huanan Seafood Market, the “wet market” where the COVID-19 outbreak originated from.

Hospitals, civil services, and all government would be overwhelmed. People would be clamoring for peace and stability, and that would open up an opportunity for the United States to begin harassment in the area around Taiwan. HK would be in turmoil. Military actions would fracture Xinjiang, and alliances would crumble.

If you recall, in February and March 2020, two carrier battle groups were being sent to that area…

… up until they had to make emergency stops at Guam for COVID-19A lethal outbreaks.

By the time the end of the Summer rolled around, American intervention in Taiwan would be in action. Success would flood the airwaves, whether true or not, and trump being a “War President” would take complete control of the government with landslide victories in both Congress and the Senate.

Then with a solid control of the Washington apparatus, the subsequent phases of action could proceed. Which would of course mean military troops, on the ground, to “liberate” the Chinese yearning for “American freedom” and “American democracy”.

Ah. But it’s gonna be a tough sell, don’t you know…

But, the real China is nothing like what the neocons think it is.

China is quite different than what the Neocon echo chamber says it is…

  • 95% of the Chinese population are proud of China and it’s leadership.
  • Almost 100% of the population has seen dramatic increases in their standard of living compared to their parents.
  • The population is hysterically patriotic.
  • China is a nation of nerds with over four times the number of STEM graduates than Americans.
  • China is ruled by merit.
  • China is self-sufficient in food, and most raw materials.
  • China is proud of it’s culture, it’s society and it’s history.

Things didn’t go as planned

No, things did not go as planned.

They never go as planned.

Someone should tell these neocons that you have to have a few “projects” “under your belt” first before you try implementing them. Things never go according to plan and if you go ahead and kick a dog, expect him to snap at you and bite your arm. China will not watch while all this happens and not train, prepare, plan and take action.

While all this was going on, China knew what the neocons were planning. China and Russia shared intel data, and combined saw that America was an active and real threat. If China collapses, Russia would be next. If Russia collapses, China would be next. So what did they do?

Then at the same time, they started to warn the United States to stop; just stop… please just stop…

Among the myriad, earth-shattering geopolitical effects of coronavirus, one is already graphically evident. China has re-positioned itself. For the first time since the start of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in 1978, Beijing openly regards the US as a threat, as stated a month ago by Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference during the peak of the fight against coronavirus. 

Beijing is carefully, incrementally shaping the narrative that, from the beginning of the coronovirus attack, the leadership knew it was under a hybrid war attack. Xi’s terminology is a major clue. He said, on the record, that this was war. And, as a counter-attack, a “people’s war” had to be launched.

Moreover, he described the virus as a demon or devil. Xi is a Confucianist. Unlike some other ancient Chinese thinkers, Confucius was loath to discuss supernatural forces and judgment in the afterlife. However, in a Chinese cultural context, devil means “white devils” or “foreign devils”: guailo in Mandarin, gweilo in Cantonese. This was Xi delivering a powerful statement in code.

When Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, voiced in an incandescent tweet the possibility that “it might be US Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan” – the first blast to this effect to come from a top official – Beijing was sending up a trial balloon signaliing that the gloves were finally off. Zhao Lijian made a direct connection with the Military Games in Wuhan in October 2019, which included a delegation of 300 US military... 

-https://asiatimes.com/2020/03/china-locked-in-hybrid-war-with-us/

They also watched with some degree of hope that the intel information was incorrect, and that the United States would stop. That the United States would end it’s anti-Chinese propaganda campaign, it’s anti-China technology assault, and it’s anti-China biological warfare programs…

But America wasn’t listening…

Trade. The “Trump Trade Negotiations” were all a “smokescreen”. No one in the Trump administration wanted any kind of agreement. None. Not at all. <HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE><HERE>

Factories Returning. Well, no factories are returning to America. America is over regulated, the wages are too high, the quality of worker is too low, and the corruption at the state and local levels are absurd. <HERE><HERE><HERE>

Famine. The attempt to destroy the Chinese food supply proceeded as planned. It’s just that the image of what China actually is was completely out of alignment  with what the Trump advisors expected. So even though the assaults went as planned, the were unable to induce a famine. <HERE><HERE><HERE>

Africa. Africa is still in play.

Propaganda. The Anti-China propaganda campaign seems to be working, though it’s giving everyone fatigue. On more than one occasion I have seen people complaining. They say “Get this shit off my feed. Heck you need waders to plow through all the muck.”

Has anyone seen this from Rod Campbell of Australia Institute? He claims thousands of bot accounts controlled by US government spread the Wuhan bioweapons narrative nearly 5 million times in the first half of 2020: 

https://www.facebook.com/HongKongGoodNews/videos/200057774713941/

Technology. The Anti-China technology campaign is hit and miss. Certainly the drums are beating and there are skirmishes. Huawei, however is still in business, and many non-American companies, and nations are moving with the Chinese 5G model. But in July, he went all out, and went against all things china…

Road and Belt. This requires Pakistan agreements and ports in the Mediterranean. Everything has been going well. That is up until a massive explosion that some have referred to as a “mini-nuke” totally and completely gutted the Lebanon port in Beirut. An interesting assessment;

The Port of Beirut poses the biggest geostrategic threat to American power projection because China’s Silk Road is fast creeping towards the docks at Beirut Port. The US, having recently forced Israel to cancel its Haifa rail contract with China, has dampened the Chinese advance in the eastern Mediterranean, and what remains now in the path of the US is the Beirut Port. The US must either invade it to block the Chinese geostrategic mission creep, or else destroy it.

https://thesaker.is/china-newsbrief-sitrep-3/

And then it appears that a great accident destroyed it. Imagine that! What the coincidence!

Moreover, the Port of Beirut also poses the biggest geostrategic threat for the US’s eastward-bound power projection where China and its new Silk Road operation is fast creeping westwards and is attempting to land at the eastern coastal strip of the Mediterranean, right where the Beirut Port docks. The US having recently forced Israel to cancel its Haifa contact with China has somewhat dampened the Chinese advance in the eastern Mediterranean, and what remains now in the path of the US is the Beirut Port. The US must either invade it to block the Chinese geostrategic mission creep, or else destroy it.

Evidently, the US has chosen the latter option – with Israel assigned the task of accomplishing the destruction of Beirut Port. After all, for different reasons, both benefit greatly from Beirutshima.

And so very timely is this destruction of the Beirut Port as the Lebanese government has very recently been in official talks with the Chinese over their offer to vastly invest in and develop the Beirut Port: a much needed gateway port and bridge into Europe for China, which represents an absolutely intolerable equation for the US’s hegemony in Europe. The Beirut Port’s rebuilding to its previous standard of activity will be contingent on strict conditions imposed by the US and Israel on the Lebanese government, if the port is allowed to be rebuilt at all, that is. Most certainly, the US is determined not to allow the Chinese any executive, investment or managerial access to it.

...

And this larger US project has everything to do with the current US war on China, albeit presently a non-military war, but a war nevertheless, a war that the Pentagon is militarily preparing for – hence the ever increasing and breathtakingly high defense budget that Congress has been allocating to the US military throughout the terms of the last three Presidents.

The US having lost Pakistan to the China sphere of influence, thus losing an attack dog bordering China, and having recently assigned Turkey as its new enforcer in the middle east, it now behooves the US to use its Mideast allies of both Turkey and Israel, two infamous terrorist states who regularly break international law with impunity: use them as spoilers and saboteurs against an advancing China and against any of Beijing’s Mideast regional allies. 

Beirutshima is clearly an apparent US endeavor to push-back the Chinese advance in the highly strategic eastern Mediterranean, as the US attempts to simultaneously pivot eastwards itself through secured territories wherever China is successfully backtracked by the US and its regional henchmen.
But, can this grand geostrategic plan really work for the benefit of the US? Can the US really succeed at remaining the only superpower in the world by the incessant knee-capping of China’s new Silk Road project?

This is yet to be determined. But judging by the deep budgetary and societal crisis engulfing the US homeland, with no sign whatsoever of its deepening troubles abating, analysts doubt that the US has lungs large enough to last the whole race through with China. Here I will add that the US-China fight over the Beirut Port is not yet over. One wonders what went through the mind of the wily Chinese ambassador in Lebanon to witness the Beirut Port exploding as it shockingly did: to witness his pet project and assignment be destroyed right before his eyes and right before a signed agreement was made between him and the Lebanese government of Diab.

-UR

COVID-19. It is the pandemic where China decided to stop playing “defense” and go on the “offense”. This is the way that Donald Trump had decided to wage war upon China. This is how he planned to destroy it, create turmoil, and suppress it.

But…

But the Trump administration did not expect China to be so aggressive, and proactive. They expected them to be passive, and at best muster up some sort of United Nations complaint.

Let’s talk about this…

The COVID-19 bio-weapon attack

"But... but war with China, or even Iran, is crazy! No rational country could even consider it!"

Sure, no "rational" country would even contemplate it.
I've got bad news for you.

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 18 2020 21:32 utc | 28

America continues in it’s bio-weapon assault.

The six prior viruses against food stuck and livestock were quite successful, but they did not create starvation. Which, I am sure, was a complete surprise to the neocons in the administration. I’m sure that they pretty much “chalked it up” to heavy totalitarian control by the Chinese government instead of the actual reason…

… that China is pretty much self-sufficient in food, and has systems in place to mitigate shortages no matter how extreme.

So Trump decided to release one against the Chinese people directly. I am also sure that the Trump administration felt that “this time” their suppression techniques would work.

They took their time, selected the proper viral agent, and planned the timing directly. Nothing was left for chance. They released it at the exact geographical center of the population, and at the absolutely worst time of the year. They “felt” and believed that China would be unable to handle it, and that the worst elements would be contained within China, and that the rest of the world (those aligned with the USA) would get herd immunity with the very “soft” minor strain.

[1] Location

Indeed, they released it in the exact center of the population of China…

The American COVID-19B bio-weapon was released in the geographic center of the population density of China.
The American COVID-19B bio-weapon was released in the geographic center of the population density of China.

.

[2] Timing

The timing was also significant. As it was during the peak social time, where the mass migration occurred within China. It is a time when everyone travels, where huge crowds are common and normal, and everyone is in very close proximity to each other.

The very, extremely suspicious timing of the release of the bio-weapon.

.

[3] Anti-China propaganda campaign

it's so interesting when people pretend to be ignorant when it is useful to them. I thought that was a specific American trait. So let's give the answer to the author asking the question:

Once the Americans are indoctrinated into hating China, they will be willing to go to war with China and will be willing to accept wha the government will do in the name of "fighting China". Same how the Americans were indoctrinated into hating Soviet Union and Communism during the 50s and 60s and 70s. The government then can throw as much money into the military in the name of "fighting China" and the Americans will be fine with it.

Posted by: Hoyeru | Nov 18 2020 19:52 utc | 2

Further, the timing was such that it was coordinated with an anti-China propaganda campaign that was stunning in it’s size, magnitude and breadth of extent. When the incubated viruses started to manifest in Wuhan, the anti-China narrative exploded all across the world.

So…

So…

So America launches a very dangerous bio-weapon attack on Chinese New Year eve.

The timing was such that it would have spread like a fire inside a bone dry barn filled with hay. This was the time when everyone was traveling together in tight quarters. When everyone was drunk and hugging each other. This was the time when the virus could explode upon an unsuspecting China and devastate it completely.

If China did not take immediate action, the entire nation would have turned into a complete “basket case”.

But that is not what happened.

China’s early conventional efforts seemed unsuccessful in halting the spread of the disease.

Then on Jan. 23rd and after only 17 deaths, the Chinese government took the astonishing step of locking down and quarantining the entire 11 million inhabitants of the city of Wuhan, a story that drew worldwide attention. They soon extended this policy to the 60 million Chinese of Hubei province, and not longer afterward shut down their entire national economy and confined 700 million Chinese to their homes, a public health measure probably a thousand times larger than anything previously undertaken in human history. So either China’s leadership had suddenly gone insane, or they regarded this new virus as an absolutely deadly national threat, one that needed to be controlled at any possible cost.

Given these dramatic Chinese actions and the international headlines that they generated, the current accusations by Trump Administration officials that China had attempted to minimize or conceal the serious nature of the disease outbreak is so ludicrous as to defy rationality. 

In any event, the record shows that on December 31st, the Chinese had already alerted the World Health Organization to the strange new illness, and Chinese scientists published the entire genome of the virus on Jan. 12th, allowing diagnostic tests to be produced worldwide.

Unlike other nations, China had received no advance warning of the nature or existence of the deadly new disease, and therefore faced unique obstacles. But their government implemented public health control measures unprecedented in the history of the world and managed to almost completely eradicate the disease with merely the loss of a few thousand lives.

-American Pravda: Our Coronavirus Catastrophe as Biowarfare Blowback?

(For some reason…) China went on full military alert.

It went DEFCON ONE on CNY eve. This is something that no one in any of the mainstream American media, the Alt-Left or the Alt-Right media is talking about. China went DEFCON ONE. China’s military were all called up, and everyone was manning their posts, and that included ALL OF THE millions of reservists and militia.

The last time that this happened in America was in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and unified and specified combatant commands. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or statuses of alert) for the U.S. military, and increase in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations.

-Defcon 1

Everything went under lock-down, and then China took aggressive action on an entire slew of areas. Obviously the Chinese intel knew something was up, and had more information about what was going on than what we have been led to believe. China killed the pandemic and stopped it right in it’s tracks.

Imagine that!

But that is only part of the story.

Strange American behavior…

While all this was going on, the American leadership started to act really strange.

The claim that the US Covid-19 response demonstrates that the US can "tolerate casualties" is one of the most asinine statements I have ever read. All that it proves is that the US is shockingly incompetent. Incompetence is not generally viewed as a strength.

Posted by: David | Nov 18 2020 21:55 utc | 33
[1] Don’t you all think that it was weird that Donald Trump and the CDC would insist on no one wearing masks?

[2] Don’t you think that it was really strange that he wanted groups of people to conjugate together? It’s almost like he wanted everyone to get sick.

Wasn’t that strange?

[3] Don’t you think this was strange when there were just terrible videos out of China? With people having seizures, dropping dead on the elevator, and collapsing when they took their children to school? With guys going into convulsions, and women passing out on buses, and little children being rushed to hospitals.

[4] Yet, Donald Trump and the CDC told everyone to stop watching videos out of China (Tictok), and meet together and do not wear a mask.

Don’t you think it was strange?

Yes. Trump unleashed the COVID-19A all over America. And yes he also gave it to his allies in Europe precisely so that everyone would get the “safe” virus. He wanted everyone to be exposed to the “safe” virus. Notice how the Military Allies of the United States, all of them followed the Trump “ok to wear a mask” narrative.

How nice of him…

He wanted American-friendly nations to be immune. He wanted everyone to get the “safe” light virus COVID-19A. He wanted his allies to get immune by getting the “safe” virus, while his enemies got the bad and dangerous virus.

He wanted Chinese-friendly nations to get the bad version of the virus COVID-19B.

  • America & Allies = Herd Immunity with “safe” COVID-19A
  • China & Enemies = Saturated with the dangerous COVID-19B
Map of the strains of the COVID-19 and the likely transmission paths. This map describes eight viral variations. But you can easily see that COVID-19B, the very lethal and deadly version hit China hard. The "light" version, the COVID-19A hit America, and Donald Trump wanted everyone to get it to obtain herd immunity.
Map of the strains of the COVID-19 and the likely transmission paths. This map describes eight viral variations. But you can easily see that COVID-19B, the very lethal and deadly version hit China hard. The “light” version, the COVID-19A hit America, and Donald Trump wanted everyone to get it to obtain herd immunity.

SO what is going on today?

Of course, you all can disagree. 

[1] You can believe that China was "lucky", and America was "unlucky". 
[2] And that all the coincidences surrounding this speculation is just coincidences and nothing more.
[3] Bad location for the outbreak.
[4] Bad timing of the outbreak.
[5] Bad coincidence that the key attributes of COVID are all patented in the Untied States.

Just coincidences...

The entire time while China was under lock-down, people were dying, and the anti-China propaganda campaign was reaching a fever pitch, what was going on?

Coronavirus StrainNations affectedR0
Covid-19A (safe)USA and Allies0.1%
Covid-19B (lethal)China, Iran, North Korea10-15 %

But America is NOT that “Shining house of the hill”. It is not run by strong leadership, and skilled and talented workers. It is something else, and the idea that America can allow everyone to obtain “herd immunity” is a foolish play.

0.1% of the population of the USA = 32.8 million people dead.

And sure, this is nothing compared to what Trump expected to hit China…

15% of the Chinese population = 195 million people dead.

But China is not what the neocons thought, and neither is the United States. And what is raging around the world is nothing like what was initially intended. It has become something else…

USA deaths (2DEC20) = 1,464,725 Deaths.
China deaths (2DEC20) = 4,749 deaths.

And, of course, no one in the USA wants to believe these numbers. As thy make Americans look like a bunch of stupid jerks. So they lie. They say that China lies, while all the time, the American news doesn't report the WHO real numbers.  

The Drudge report is saying that only ...
U.S. DEATHS: 270,003...

Links;
US Daily Deaths | The COVID Tracking Project
USA Covid-19 Cases and Deaths Statistics (Update Live ...
CDC COVID Data Tracker
United States Coronavirus: 13,610,357 Cases and 272,254 ...

And now, in America it is chaos. Everyone is scrambling and confused. Some believe that Trump is right. Get the COVID-19A “Safe” it will be just a minor cold. The flu is far worse. While others are watching people die, and collapse. They think that Trump is an idiot Protests are going on. Shootings, and disruptions in food supply. People are unemployed and people are disobeying the need to self-isolate.

But it’s not just that…

The Chinese are avoiding fighting.

That is America's strength. The United States is used to creating the "playing field" where they define the players, the place, the rules of engagement, and the terms of success. America is used to selecting the place. America is used to selecting the time. America is used to selecting the weapons. America is used to selecting the battles.

China does not play that game.

So China is redefining the narrative, and performing a “run around” all of the neocon’s efforts.

Like this for the “pro-democracy” riots by the CIA/NED…

(this) just came in on Whatsapp from a chauvinistic Chinese friend. 

Does this also mark the end of Deng's 8 Coastal SEZs? 

https://youtu.be/zcY3er58aRA

This video conveys the news: *SEPARATE FOREVER* : HONG KONG 

China has just announced that Hainan Island which is 35x larger than Hong Kong will be established as the new largest Free Trade/Free Tax centre to replace Hong Kong.

The Chinese leadership used the Hong Kong riots which lasted for months, made Hong Kong no longer prosperous. They intend to let it be collapse, and replaced with: Shenzhen from the North and Hainan in the South.

The special area of ​​Hong Kong was removed. It is now only a city from the Guangdong Province.

Eventually, all foreign intelligence services will disband automatically, America and Britain will be confused, all their efforts have been in vain and wasted.

...

Strategic! Hong Kong status will be diminished from special to just a city of China and replaced by Hainan 🇨🇳🇭🇰

China is still keen to emulate Singapore which is cited in this video 

Today, the NED / NID agents have been rounded up and interrogated. Here’s a particularity interesting take-down of a CIA agent…

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5lcA5Huc8PiGYPb0pWE47w

All the protests, the violence, the riots and everything all stopped. How?

  • Anyone who cashes out the money dished out by the NED/NID for any reason has their Social Security balance zeroed out….forever!
  • Anyone arrested, caught on video or associated with the protest in any way have their social standing reduced to “black level”. They cannot buy plane tickets, use public transportation, or use banks. Schooling might be forbidden for their children, and all legal activity relating to normal day-to-day transactions will have to be done in-person in the office, not using APPs.
  • All HK protestors in HK are now being moved to Chinese mainland prisons for “punishment labors” and “organ harvesting”.

Yes. We are in World War III

Today the world is wracked with three strains of a bio-weapon designed, concocted in America and unleashed by the neocons in the Trump administration.

  • COVID-19A – Safe. Designed to grant immunity to Americans.
  • COVID-19B – Lethal designed to kill Chinese.
  • COVID-19C – A variation of B, designed to target Iran and North Korea.

And now…

  • COVID-19A Lethal

Oh, and by the way. none of the viruses in the COVID-19 family grants immunity. Once you get a mild strain, you are more prone to get a more dangerous strain.

The world is FUCKED.

It is FUBAR

And so, it’s all a complete FUBAR. Yup. That’s just exactly how and why you know that it is an American military operation. Name one American military operation that was not FUBAR. Name one!

Military slang from WWII, fubar is an acronym for "fucked up beyond all recognition ". " the house was completely fubar."

-Urban Dictionary: fubar

It’s a military operation. That is for certain.

No it is not yet “hot”, but it sure is “warm”. People are dying and more people have died so far in America that during the Vietnam war. Just because nuclear weapons are not yet in play does not mean that it is not going to happen.

China realizes this.

Here's China's unofficial response via this Global Times editorial. I wish I could reproduce the art at the editorial's header as it's very spot-on:

"There is no new wording in the report, which can be seen as a collection of malicious remarks from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other anti-China US politicians and senators. Right now, only a little more than 60 days are left for the current US administration. An official from the State Department explained that the report is not meant to constrain the next US administration.

But the fact is the Department of State fears that the Biden administration will adjust US-China relations, and the release of the report is part of their efforts to consolidate the current extreme anti-China path.

"But most Chinese scholars who have read the report believe it is an insult to Kennan by labeling the report as Kennan-style. Kennan, then US charge d'affaires in Moscow, sent an 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State detailing his views on the Soviet Union. At least, there was no special political motive in Kennan's report. But the latest report is trying to leave a legacy for the extreme anti-China policy adopted by the Trump administration and fawning on Pompeo, which is evil in essence.

"The impulsive and capricious governing style of Donald Trump leaves sufficient room for politicians like Pompeo to give free play to their ambitions. The Department of State has become the governmental organ that has the most serious clashes with China, outperforming the CIA and the Department of Defense.

"Diplomats are supposed to be communicators, but Pompeo and his team have chilled the communication atmosphere with China. In the China direction, today's US Department of State can close its door.

"Surrounded by such deep hostility and prejudice toward China and the wild ambition of the secretary of state, how could the Department of State's Office of Policy Planning make out anything objective about China? Their observation ability, cautious attitude toward research, and sense of responsibility for history have been severely squeezed. They are just currying favor from their seniors and manipulating extreme paths, pretending to be 'thoughtful....'

"Chinese diplomatic and academic circles look down upon the Pompeo team, which lacks professionalism, and acts like a group of gangsters suddenly taking official positions. They not only have messed things up, but also hope to build their nonsense as legacy. Pompeo's choice of opportunists like Miles Yu as advisor in particular has increased Chinese people's doubts over the 'amateurism' and 'immorality' of the Pompeo team's China policy....

"The US' China policy is very much like 'drunk driving' internally while on the international stage it's like sailing against the current." [My Emphasis]

There's not much more to add aside for asking barflies to read the entire editorial.

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 18 2020 20:12 utc | 13

Neocons view war as necessary

These neocons do not give up. They have a near religious vision of the world where America controls everything and everyone. Where American law is obeyed everywhere and where “American greatness” defines the human race.

Many of Trump's followers view his role as near religious. They believe that God and Jesus are blessing all of his actions and that he can do no wrong.
Many of Trump’s followers view his role as near religious. They believe that God and Jesus are blessing all of his actions and that he can do no wrong.

Heck!

They even made a coin to commemorate this event, or at least to keep the Wuhan bat-eating Chinese narrative alive.

  • What? You don’t think that this is all part of a long-term, well-thought-out plan? Something that has been on-going for years. (At least one year to design and produce a new coin, with 2.5 years being the norm.)
  • What? You don’t think that a narcissist like Trump wouldn’t create some type of monument or edifice to record his glories? Like a “special coin”?

What can I say?

The coincidences in America during this period of COVID-19 coronavirus are astounding!
As I have mentioned before, the various world-lines are all interconnected with rapid trans-reality communication. This leads to some odd and strange phenomena.  Nothing is more poignant than when it is associated with a global situation or catastrophe. As is the case with the COVID-19, coronavirus.

.

Do you think that this entire bio-weapons attack was not planned and unleashed upon China as part of a long-term plan?

Donald Trump has a coin collection of all of his battles. Check it out, and guess which coin has been recently added to this collection?

Can you possibly be serious?

The signs are everywhere. Just little drips and drabs by the spooks involved in this activity. Check out this vehicle that was abandoned in the parking lot of an Airport in Australia BEFORE the CNY eve outbreak.

This vehicle was abandoned (who abandons a BMW?) in an Australian parking lot BEFORE the Coronavirus is officially named as “COVID-19”.

Just another coincidence

Vehicle abandoned in an Australian parking lot BEFORE the COVID-19 outbreak in China on Chinese CNY. Remember, that it takes a minimum of six months to make a custom license plate in Australia.
Vehicle abandoned in an Australian parking lot BEFORE the COVID-19 outbreak in China on Chinese CNY. Remember, that it takes a minimum of six months to make a custom license plate in Australia. COVID-19 wasn’t even officially named that until after March 2020.

.

The time-table is still in play.

The Time Table is still active.

Even though things are not going well in America now, the time-table for the grand plan is still alive and active. Some of the things, taken alone are meaningless. But taken as a whole in it’s entirety, show a very dangerous picture of events.

  • Trump, right on schedule, declared himself a “war President”.
  • Right on schedule sent two complete invasion carrier groups to the South China Sea.
  • Right on schedule, military leadership teams went into underground secure facilities.
  • Right on schedule, “low yield field nuclear weapons” were placed on military forces in the South Pacific.
  • Right on schedule, Australia military is working with American military “advisers”.
  • Right on schedule, Trump put Americans on notice to leave China and return to the USA.
  • Right on Schedule, all air travel between China and the USA came to an end.
  • Right on Schedule, demands for seizing Chinese assets and defaulting on Chinese loans.
  • Trump made “arrangements” for a transition of power if he were to lose the election. I have no idea what that means, but if the players like Pompeo are still in office, then that means that the situation will only get worse. They will continue their plans.
  • Right on schedule, FIVE complete carrier battle groups were repositioned in the North Pacific for “exercises”.
  • Right on schedule, TWO additional complete carrier battle groups are in transit to the South China Sea.
  • Right on schedule, the UK is going to add their carrier battle group to the American carrier groups in the South China Sea.

All of this is worrisome.

Eight (8x) carrier battle groups are hanging out all around China.

Each carrier group with two carrier. A large and a "small" carrier.  Three in the south China Sea (one British) and five near Guam. Each group has it's own attachment of Marine assault forces and landing craft.

Nothing good can come of this.

Expect some “heat”

I expect things to go “hot” sometime between 2020 and 2023. And when I mean “hot”, I mean a shooting war with America making the first action. It would be some structured military action against either China or Russia, and it involving “safe” low-yield nuclear weapons.

And…

And, China responding… to an exceptionally vulnerable America, upon America soil.

Don't ever mistakenly believe that this event will be limited to the South China Sea. It won't. Any military action against China will result in military action against Americans inside of America.

To think otherwise is wishful thinking and a rookie mistake.

America is really fragile. If you think it’s a mess now, imagine what global thermonuclear war would be like…

  • A nuclear strike on Mono Lake will render all of California into a radioactive dry desert wasteland for centuries.
  • A nuclear strike on New York City would destroy all of American industry as all of the “big” American companies are “public” and listed on the stock exchange. Wipe out the stock exchange, and you create a situation where no one can get paid. Companies all over America will collapse.
  • A nation where it’s every man for himself, and where over half the population has guns cannot be considered to unify under a national emergency. COVID-19 taught us that.

This is for certain if Trump gets a second term of office.

A slightly better situation is that he is out of office and a new President takes over. Still, the situation is still in play and many things are set in motions that cannot be stopped…

In any event…

I also predict that it will not go as any one expects, and that America will be devastated, the globe would we completely turned on it’s head, and both America and China would suffer.

  • America, a nation that never experienced a “real” war on it’s soil, would be reduced to a balkanized nightmare similar to modern day Yemen, only without potable water, and reliable sources of electricity.
  • China, long used to war, strife, and conflict for the last 5000 years, would simply dust themselves off and rebuild all over again.

Those nations that picked the wrong nation to align itself with would face similar hardships. Which is why I strongly advocate 100% neutrality in Geo-political efforts. If a nation is adjacent to one of the two powers, their smartest move would be to align with their closest neighbor.

Let’s hope that this prediction does not transpire.

Other opinions

Or, I could just have an over active imagination. Right?

To paraphrase some of the responses I have read…

Everyone knows that America would never even contemplate such a thing. NEVER. After all, it’s currently fighting eight wars, has 800 military bases and 14 carrier battle groups. America is way too busy to devote time and effort to fighting China. Why fight China when it’s much easier to fight in Somalia, Yemen and Syria?

And Trump and his advisors are fine God-fearing folk.  Trump holds “prayer meetings” in the Oval Office. With a God-fearing leader, Pompeo and Bolton would never advocate a war against China. The idea that a neocon wants war is well…silly.

There is no such thing as The Thucydides Trap. It’s historical gibberish.

Trump wants a fair trade arrangement where everyone wins, and the Chinese are just evil, bad and eat bat soup. They are filthy foul liars. They steal and are the scourge of the planet.

Right?

And there was an article from the BBC talking about stripping China of it’s Sovereign immunity because of the COVID-19, and we have this response.

With my personal duty out of the way of attacking the trolls and hopefully driving them back under the bridges from whence they came, I would like to ask if there is any way to "strip a country of its sovereign immunity" without a war? 

I mean, isn't that the whole point of wars? To eliminate or protect a nation's sovereignty? Isn't trying to eliminate another country's sovereignty by just passing a law kinda like trying to simplify math by passing a law to make π=3 ? If you want your sovereignty-stripping law to have any meaning, then you have to enforce it, and that enforcement will look a whole lot like a war, regardless of what you want to call it.

Unlike Americans the Chinese are not stupid. They have long known of the approach of the obligatory scene of the Thucydides Trap and have been preparing for it as best they can (which happens to be some quite good preparations).

... 

I'll let the empire's trolls in on a little secret: The Chinese can lose every single ship they send to the "Battle of the Xisha Islands" and still win the war. That's because industrial capacity is important in a major war.

-Posted by: William Gruff | May 1 2020 15:48 utc | 33

It’s like a baseball game…

Yes, the USA can take their itemized list, and pencil off the playing field. And China will sway in the wind for a while. But you know what?

China owns the ball the bat, the gloves, the players, the field, the dugouts, and the fencing. While the USA is so proud to have control over the score, it will be China that will control the game. And no wishful thinking is going to change the reality that you need people, factories and skills to make things.

  • Wall street does not make anything.
  • Diversity Officers do not create, build, repair, or structure things.
  • Lawyers and bankers do not put food on tables.
  • Bureaucrats do not provide public transportation, or hospital care.

Thinking that you are accomplishing something by writing about it, comparing it in a spreadsheet, or endlessly debating it on social media is meaningless in the overall scheme of things. Real productive nations make physical things.

And China…

Hate it or love it, is a nation that makes and creates, and builds things. The United States, is a nation that destroys things, then indexes and categorizes the destruction.

The future of the entire world belongs to the builders. Not the destroyers.


Update – 12MAY20

Apparently, since America launched the bio-weapon attack on the Chinese New Year Holiday, and China was forced to go into DEFCON ONE, it has stayed at that state or military readiness.

There is no evidence that the Chinese military has “stood down” or relaxed their defensive posture.

As such, Chinese high-yield nuclear weapons (SLBM with MIRV warheads) have been positioned all around the United States and ready to strike back were any additional neocon military “events” were to take place. This is reasonable. What is unreasonable is to think that China would not take any subsequent action.

Which brings me to this report…

"Reports coming in from some of my former colleagues during my years with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force indicate the US Military is concerned there may be a submerged Chinese missile submarine directly off the coast of San Diego, CA as of abut 4:00 PM eastern US time, Monday, May 11."

-Hall Turner

Ya don’t think?

Gosh, how stupid can these people be?

If you launch a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) against a major power (COVID-19B Lethal), you can most certainly expect them to react. Or do you believe that they are political idiots with the brain of a snail? Do you think that they will continue to just “take the hits”? Do you think that they will go “protest” at the UN?

Update – 13MAY20

Messages are being sent to Trump.

China fires its latest underwater nuclear missile into spotlight with science prize. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force is developing its third-generation SLBM JL-3, with a range of over 12,000km (7,450 miles), which would allow it to hit the United States if the missile were launched from the Chinese coast. https://lnkd.in/gE4MG7F

Update – 23MAY20

Trump is not listening to the messages though.

The Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations.

Ai! It's like a bratty snot-nosed kid playing around with a loaded gun.

Update 25MAY20

And Trump is being obstinate about all this.

Navy Sends Subs to Sea as Message to China

The US Navy has mobilized it’s attack subs against China. I guess the four lone “boomer” subs are too much of a threat.

The Pacific Fleet Submarine Force took the unusual step this month of announcing that all of its forward-deployed subs were simultaneously conducting "contingency response operations " at sea in the Western Pacific--downplaying the notion that Navy forces have been hampered by COVID-19.

The sub force said the missions were mounted in support of the Pentagon's "free and open Indo-Pacific " policy aimed at countering China's expansionism in the South China Sea.

At least seven submarines, and likely more--including all four Guam-based attack submarines, the San Diego-based USS Alexandria and multiple Hawaii-based vessels--are part of the effort.

The action also highlights the Pentagon's desire to be flexible and unpredictable in "great power " competition with China and Russia.
"Our operations are a demonstration of our willingness to defend our interests and freedoms under international law, " Rear Adm. Blake Converse, Pacific sub force commander, who is based at Pearl Harbor, said in a May 8 release.

Attack submarines maintain an outsize stealth capability to sink ships with torpedoes, fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert surveillance while keeping adversaries guessing their location.

The Navy recently has maintained a flotilla of warships in the Western Pacific as a show of force and proof that COVID-19 hasn't significantly degraded its capabilities, with the United States and China long trading barbs over military activities in the South China Sea and increasingly so over each other's pandemic response.

China has been accused of intensifying its occupation of man-made islands and bullying other nations in the region while much of the world has been focused on the pandemic.

Geopolitical intelligence platform Stratfor said that the U.S. and China have maintained a "robust operational pace in the South China Sea " amid heightening tensions and COVID-19--signs that point to continued escalation after the virus wanes.

When the Navy advertises the presence of its usually unseen submarines, it's often to make a point with an adversary. The Navy released a photo of the Los Angeles-class sub Alexandria transiting Apra Harbor in Guam on May 5.

As the U.S. military addresses COVID-19 at home, "we remain focused on our national security missions around the world, " Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the same day.

"Many countries have turned inward to recover from the pandemic, and in the meantime our strategic competitors are attempting to exploit this crisis to their benefit at the expense of others, " Esper said.
He accused the Chinese Communist Party of ramping up a "disinformation campaign " to shift blame for the virus and burnish its image. All the while, "we continue to see aggressive behavior by the PLA (People's Liberation Army ) in the South China Sea, from threatening a Philippine navy ship to sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat and intimidating other nations from engaging in offshore oil and gas development."

Esper said two Navy ships conducted freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea the week before "to send a clear message to Beijing that we continue to protect freedom of navigation and commerce for all nations large and small."

The guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill conducted a "FONOP " in the Spratly Islands, and the destroyer USS Barry sailed twice through the Taiwan Strait and through the Paracel Islands in disputed territory that China claims as its own.

"These provocative acts by the U.S. side ... have seriously violated China's sovereignty and security interests, deliberately increased regional security risks and could easily trigger an unexpected incident, " the South China Morning Post quoted a Chinese military command saying after the Barry's Paracel passage.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has been sidelined in Guam since late March after experiencing an outbreak of the new coronavirus among its 4, 800-member crew.

U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor has been quick to note the ongoing deployment of other assets in the region, including transits of the South China Sea by the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, the destroyer USS Rafael Peralta sailing in the East China Sea and the destroyer USS McCampbell passing through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.

These are not to be viewed as a threat to the Chinese navy. Instead they are a threat to any one that ships products from China. This threat is that the United States will start sinking all cargo and container traffic out of China. As (until the BRI is completed) the entire world relies on Chinese sea container shipments.

Update June 2020

China has sped up it’s production of nuclear launcher subs, and has greatly increased it’s production of hyper-velocity missiles.

China Just Added Two New Nuclear Missile Submarines to Its …

2020-6-8 · They are also armed with Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles, wire-guided and wake-homing torpedoes and mines. Perhaps of greater concern, the Chinese have already test-fired an emerging JL-3 nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile with a reported range of more that 5,600 miles, according to a 2018 CSIS report. The missile is solid fueled.

Update 18JUL20

Now the Trump White-house is pushing the “America is invincible narrative”.

American media are telling the world that Aircraft carriers are unsinkable, and that America with British support is going to “kick some ass” and “teach China a lesson”…

That America has every right to perform “exercises” off the coast of China…

And that China is no match for the superiority of American military…

The sad thing is that Trump and Pompeo has purposely ignored internal voices warning that China has achieved peer-level capabilities and that the American military (while enormous) has greatly eroded in capability since the cold war. They warn that China is not someone that you casually attack and not expect some painful retribution.

China is a serious, serious nation that does not play.
China is a serious, serious nation that does not play.

Update 25JUL20

Trump STEPS UP the “game”.

Pompeo makes a speech that pretty much says that everything that America did to suppress China did not work. That the old techniques must end, and a series of “new” techniques must begin.

Overall, most of the world, doesn’t feel very comforted by the Pompeo speech.

RTop/ed analysis of Pompeo's China containment policy plan, "The Elements of the China Challenge”:

"Although it is hardly atypical of the President Trump administration, the document is significant because it represents yet another attempt by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to immortalize his Cold War confrontation between the US and China, bind the succeeding administration to it and most strikingly, institutionalize anti-Beijing ideas into American bureaucracy.

"The push against China by the Trump White House is not designed to be a passing phase, but a permanent and defining change of direction, for which this entire term in office has sought to prepare. 

This document aims to be a blueprint for long-term ideological struggle and a series of aspirations for maintaining hegemony, an affirmation of priority and a statement that things cannot “go back to normal”. But it makes no guarantee that the US can ever adequately understand China, or that it will succeed in its aims.

"The reference to George F. Kennan in pitching this document is appealing given the historical parallels, but it is not an exact fit and this, in turn, helps shine a light on Pompeo’s own ignorance of China. It might be described in one simple sentence: China is not the Soviet Union and the ideological stakes are not quite the same." [Emphasis Original]

While I'd agree that differences in ideology exist between China and the Outlaw US Empire, it is the Empire that's constructed upon and is living the Big Lie inherent within Neoliberalism, while China continues to perfect its already very efficient system of Collective Libertarianism through its revamped Democratic Centralism. The really big fundamental difference is that China has absolutely no need to lie to its people, whereas the exact opposite's true within the Neoliberal West. 

After a lengthy period of public input, the government meets and eventually publishes its 5-year plan of development, which is contained within an even larger plan that's also been devised with public input and once put together is also published for public consumption. And since 2010, all plans have existed within China's UN 2030 Development plan, which is also available to the public. 

In a great many respects. China is a more open society than the Outlaw US Empire. Why? Because it doesn't need to lie to its citizens because it fights against the corruption that provides the reason for such lies--China has no Financial Parasitism it must mask from its citizens whereas the Outlaw US Empire is drowning in a massive sea of corruption that is killing it. Clearly, Pompeo wants that to continue.

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 18 2020 19:59 utc | 7

Further, delusional State Department policy planning paper sees the light.

The Elements of the China Challenge (pdf)

Axios calls it a “Kennan-style paper”. In 1946 George Kennan, then Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States to the USSR, wrote his ‘Long Telegram’ that defined U.S. Cold War policy towards the Soviet Union for the next decades. And we all know how that worked out.

But the China paper which the State Department published is not comparable to the ‘Long Telegram’. It is a propaganda piece that reflects the naive views of the outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompous.

Pompous’ premise is that the Chinese people hate the Communist Party of China that runs the country and that China is not a democracy. But that is not what the people of China believe:

Charted below are the survey results from 20 countries, and they illustrate some startling beliefs — not least that 73% of Chinese consider China to be democratic, whereas only 49% of Americans believe the same about the U.S.

Read this thread to find out why that is the case:

ShanghaiPanda @thinking_panda – 9:24 UTC · Sep 15, 2020

On twitter, as a Chinese, the most frequently asked question for me is, why don't you oppose the CPC? Why don't Chinese support western style democracy? Why do Chinese people support President Xi, who has no votes? Now, I'm going to tell them why.(1/N)

Also this one.

The recommendations of the State Department paper listed by Axios are not practical steps but pure ideology:

The blueprint: The paper lays out “ten tasks” for the U.S. to accomplish.

  1. Promoting constitutional government and civil society at home.
  2. Maintaining the world’s strongest military.
  3. Fortifying the rules-based international order.
  4. Reevaluating its alliance system.
  5. Strengthening its alliance system and creating new international organizations to promote democracy and human rights.
  6. Cooperating with China when possible and constraining Beijing when appropriate.
  7. Educating Americans about the China challenge.
  8. Train a new generation of public servants who understand great-power competition with China.
  9. Reforming the U.S. education system to help students understand the responsibility of citizenship in a complex information age.
  10. Championing the principles of freedom in word and in deed.

Note especially the points 7 to 10.

They have nothing to do with China. They call for domestic propaganda, more domestic propaganda and even more domestic propaganda. How brainwashing and stupidifying one’s own people is supposed to challenge China is beyond me.

Update 17AUG20

Military action on the South-West Tier of the BRI.

The Port of Beirut poses the biggest geostrategic threat to American power projection because China’s Silk Road is fast creeping towards the docks at Beirut Port. The US, having recently forced Israel to cancel its Haifa rail contract with China, has dampened the Chinese advance in the eastern Mediterranean, and what remains now in the path of the US is the Beirut Port. The US must either invade it to block the Chinese geostrategic mission creep, or else destroy it.[MORE]

Seems that Trump authorized the use of 6kt mini-nuke to destroy the port of Beirut. This was conducted by aircraft of the Israel Air Force, and they apparently used two missiles.

  • Gabriel anti ship missile.
  • Israeli Delilah missile carrying a 6kt mini-nuke.

Radiation readings in Europe has confirmed that a nuclear warhead was used.

Radiation detected from a nuclear explosion.
Radiation detected from a nuclear explosion.

Trump has admitted to participation and direction of this attack. But he did not confess to using nuclear weapons.

This effort puts a immediate pause on the Chinese Belt and Road initiative with a port on the Mediterranean sea.

Update 25AUG20

Trump and Pompeo are pushing, pushing, pushing…

China has gone from “Most Favored Trading Partner” status in 2016 under President Obama…

… to an “Enemy of America” under trump in 2020. It’s a 180 degree turn in a global relationship.

US lawmakers have introduced a bill to change the way the federal government refers to the leader of China. 

The ‘Name the Enemy Act’ would require that official US government documents instead refer to the head of state according to his or her role as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This implies the new bill stands to prohibit the use of the term “president”.

-President No More? US Moves to Ban Chinese Leader Xi Jinping’s Title

And China, being what it is, is not blind to what is going on…

Here are some of the key points.

1. On the trade war front, Beijing won’t shut down US businesses already operating in China. But companies which want to enter the market in finance, information technology, healthcare and education services will not be approved.

2. Beijing won’t dump all its overwhelming mass of US Treasuries in one go, but – as it already happens – divestment will accelerate. Last year, that amounted to $100 billion. Up to the end of 2020, that could reach $300 billion.

3. The internationalization of the yuan, also predictably, will be accelerated. That will include configuring the final parameters for clearing US dollars through the CHIPS Chinese system – foreseeing the incandescent possibility Beijing might be cut off from SWIFT by the Trump administration or whoever will be in power at the White House after January 2021.

4. On what is largely interpreted across China as the “full spectrum war” front, mostly Hybrid War, the PLA has been put into Stage 3 alert – and all leaves are canceled for the rest of 2020. There will be a concerted drive to increase all-round defense spending to 4% of GDP and accelerate the development of nuclear weapons. Details are bound to emerge during the Central Committee meeting in October.

5. The overall emphasis is on a very Chinese spirit of self-reliance, and building what can be defined as a national economic “dual circulation” system: the consolidation of the Eurasian integration project running in parallel to a global yuan settlement mechanism.

Inbuilt in this drive is what has been described as “to firmly abandon all illusions about the United States and conduct war mobilization with our people. We shall vigorously promote the war to resist US aggression (…) We will use a war mindset to steer the national economy (…) Prepare for the complete interruption of relations with the US.”

It’s unclear as it stands if these are only trial balloons disseminated across Chinese public opinion or decisions reached at the “invisible” Beidaihe. So all eyes will be on what kind of language this alarming configuration will be packaged when the Central Committee presents its strategic planning in October. Significantly, that will happen only a few weeks before the US election.

It’s all about continuity

All of the above somewhat mirrors a recent debate in Amsterdam on what constitutes the Chinese “threat” to the West. Here are the key points.

1. China constantly reinforces its hybrid economic model – which is an absolute rarity, globally: neither totally publicly owned nor a market economy.

2. The level of patriotism is staggering: once the Chinese face a foreign enemy, 1.4 billion people act as one.

3. National mechanisms have tremendous force: absolutely nothing blocks the full use of China’s financial, material and manpower resources once a policy is set.

4. China has set up the most comprehensive, back to back industrial system on the planet, without foreign interference if need be (well, there’s always the matter of semiconductors to Huawei to be solved).

China plans not only in years, but in decades. Five year plans are complemented by ten year plans and as the meeting chaired by Xi showed, 15 year plans. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is in fact a nearly 40-year plan, designed in 2013 to be completed in 2049.

And continuity is the name of the game – when one thinks that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, first developed in 1949 and then expanded by Zhou Enlai at the Bandung conference in 1955 are set in stone as China’s foreign policy guidelines.

-China: everything proceeding according to plan

You all can buy all the guns and ammo you want. You can read all the social media that you are able to. You can stock up on food and toilet paper…

… but you are wasting your time unless you invest in iodine pills, and Geiger counters. Any attack on either Russia or China will result in almost all American cities destroyed in large, enormous nuclear explosions.

Update 26AUG20

China launches four of it’s “Aircraft Carrier Killer Missiles” into the South China Sea. DoD can confirm that the Chinese military launched four medium-range missiles Wednesday from mainland China,” a defense official said.”The missiles impacted in the South China Sea between Hainan Island and the Paracel Islands,” the official added. “The launch appears to have been part of a previously announced exercise.”

Update 3SEP20

A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Wednesday 2SEP20 at 12:03 a.m. The test launch used an unarmed missile that traveled over 4,000 miles, at a speed of more than 15,000 mph.

9SEP20 Update

Apparently, the China Government agrees with my appraisal. From a message group that I belong to…

Chinese propaganda getting good. Unlike West propaganda, Chinese includes evidence. exactly consistent with Uriah Heep's version. 

Thanks Jeff, but Kevin it may be a conspiracy that Heep told it in real time and official docu youtubed 8 months later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEo3qk-4yx8

Head’s up. I’m Uriah Heep and that is my interview that they are talking about.

10SEP20

On September 19, 2020, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published the Provisions on the Unreliable Entity List. That was one day after the U.S. Commerce Department announced its ban on American users downloading the Chinese app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok.

This article takes corresponding measures against the following actions of FOREIGN ENTITIES:

1) Endanger China’s national sovereignty security, or development interests
2) Violating the principles of normal market transactions, interrupting normal transactions with Chinese entities, or adopting discriminatory measures against Chinese entities, seriously damaging the legal rights of the entity.

3OCT20 Update.

After an entire year in blaming China for the coronavirus. Donald Trump (after a very bad public debate with his election opponent) announced that he has the COVID-19. And was flown to a hospital within a thirty minute drive of Fort Detrick (the presumptive point of origin of the COVID-19 and all American bio-weapons programs).

Minutes before the announcement, American “doomsday planes” were launched. As they control communication with the SLBM MIRV’ s that are housed in the “boomer” submarines around the world.

A look at the bigger picture is in order. Forget about all the “details”. Just name another President (any President) that [1] not only sent three assault carrier groups to the Chinese coast (with a total of five aircraft carriers), [2] launched a series of viral attacks simultaneously with [3] a hysterically-active anti-China propaganda campaign, and [4] went after Chinese industry to the extent that he did, [5] only to have nuclear ships, subs, planes, and ICBMs on active on-call status.

Name one.

If this is not a preparation for a full-scale nuclear war, I do not know what is.

12 OCT 20 Update.

It appears that President Trump might not win reelection. And as a result (I assume) there has been a flood of articles that basically state that no matter who wins the 2020 election, the American foreign policy will not change. It’s a dominant narrative leading up to the election date.

“Biden will continue the Anti-China policies of Trump.”

Imagine that!

A typical screen capture.
NIKKEI is a 100% American State Department media outlet designed to manipulation discourse in the Asian-Pacific Rim. It is down line from Mike Pompeo.

.

Seriously! This is absurd!

Yet, why all the articles? Really?

The latest article from the Moon Over Alabama is a piece titled “U.S. Elections Do Not Change Its Foreign Policies”. It’s part of a nine week long period of articles that pretty much posits that the hybrid-war with China will continue whether Trump is in Office or Biden. The articles argue the same points made by others. Over and over. It’s all a rehash.

Screen Shot.
Screen Shot.

The MoA is perhaps the most logical. But all in all they are just nonsense. And they actually are NONSENSE. These articles assume a third grade reading comprehension, with a knowledge of recent history that evaporates within months.

Listen up boys and girls…

Elections DO change American Foreign Policy.

Under Bush, and Obama China has “Most Favored Nation Status”. Today, the status with China is “Enemy” (especially considering the names of the bills being pushed through congress. Namely the “Name the Enemy act”.)

That’s a pretty big change. I would say. Wouldn’t you? 

But according to all the articles… “American foreign policy does not change when the presidency changes”. Yet, when Trump was elected the Foreign Polices all changed drastically. In fact, NOT ONE SINGLE POLICY stayed the same.

So…

… what is the true and real purpose of this nonsense?

To convince people that nothing is going to change if Biden is elected? When the fact and truth is the exact opposite. As we used to say in the States “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” 

My points. 

  • [1] This entire premise is a big bunch of nonsense.
  • [2] This premise is being promoted in all of the media; mainstream, alt-right, alt-left.
  • [3] Our most treasured sources for alternative journalism have been tainted and corrupted to a point where they too, now regurgitate the ‘approved” government narratives. 

Think!

Think people!

So for a fun exercise, can anyone tell me which foreign polices that Trump DID NOT CHANGE. As to provide some validity to this onslaught narrative? Because if all of these articles are correct, then there must be evidence to base it all on. So, what policies did President Trump leave intact?

The answer is; NONE. He tore up of every single policy that Biden and Obama worked together on. Those that the did not tear up, he openly flaunted and violated. But now, amazingly, Biden is going to embrace the Trump neocon methodology?

Give me a break!

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/10/why-us-elections-do-not-change-its-foreign-policies.html#comments

  • Remember boys and girls, what’s the purpose of having a “democracy” if you cannot change the leadership when you are unhappy with their policies?
  • What’s the point if both political parties have the same point of view and the same policies?
  • What kind of government do you have then?

Here’s a infographic showing the differences in the two political parties.

The differences in the two political parties.

Tracking this narrative on my LinkedIN account pretty much indicates that the (American government) ‘Bot’s are promoting this narrative. The exact same venues that had the ‘bot attacks on China all throughout 2020.

  • That Biden would embraced Donald Trump anti-China stance and policies.
  • That Biden did not care that Trump tore up every one of the polices and treaties that he developed in the previous 8 years of the Obama administration.
  • That there are no changes in policy during an election. That democracies do not change polices and elections have no no effect in policy changes.

I cannot fully understand why the Trump Administration is promoting this narrative right now before the election, unless [1] it expects to lose, and [2] is trying to create a “fall-back position” where the neocons can argue that…

"Biden MUST continue the Trump anti-China policies as it was what the American people expect."

Never the less, the 2020 election will see drastic changes away from the Trump Administration neocon “war Hawk” ultimatums, to a much more balanced and cooperative foreign policy. The Republican party are “war hawks”, with a very small and dangerous group known as neocons that LIVE FOR WAR, and that is who is running the Trump White House. The Democrat party are “doves” that seek consensus and agreements. To believe that somehow Trump’s neocon administration has fundamentally changed the nature of American political discourse is delusional.

After Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization — in protest of what he claim was a bias toward China — Biden this summer pledged to rejoin the U.N.'s health agency on his first day in office. Biden is a “globalist at heart,” wrote Natasha Kassam, a research fellow at Sydney’s Lowy Institute political think tank, in the Guardian.

-MSN

In truth, we can see that many (if not all) of the Trump Administration policies will end, be reversed or modified beyond recognition. All these stories out of the American media are partial and half-truths. Biden will need to deal with the Chinese situation. Primarily because Trump has made such a mess of things, and China is on the rise as a ascending power. Biden will need to sort out Americas role in this rise, for good or bad. But hopefully one that isn’t as contentious as Trumps has been.

Such as indicated herein…

Presidential candidate Joe Biden, were he to win the November election, would change U.S.-China policy, Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer said in a press briefing.

-How a Biden Presidency Would Slowly Change U.S. Policy on ...

And…

Biden pledges to restore U.S. global leadership and reverse many of Trump’s foreign policy actions.

-Where Biden and Trump stand on key issues

And…

Although transitions of power can always include abrupt changes, the shift from Trump to Biden - from one president who sought to undermine established norms and institutions to another who has vowed to restore the established order - will be among the most startling in American history.

Biden's top advisers have spent months quietly working on how best to implement his agenda, with hundreds of transition officials preparing to get to work inside various federal agencies. They have assembled a book filled with his campaign commitments to help guide their early decisions.

Biden is planning to set up a coronavirus task force on Monday, in recognition that the global pandemic will be the primary issue that he must confront. The task force, which could begin meeting within days, will be co-chaired by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy and David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

But there has also been a recognition of those around him that he may have to lean more on executive actions that he had once hoped. He can reorient various federal agencies and regulations, and he can adopt a different posture on the world stage.

-CHRON

Why?

Because Trumps policies have been an unmitigated disaster.

13OCT20 Update

Fake anti-China ‘bots and accounts are being discovered, rooted out, and removed from industrial and career websites. This is from LinkedIN…

Series of fake identities posting anti-China narratives throughout all of 2020.

15OCT20 Update

American “big data” are busy manipulating and massaging all data to make America look strong, powerful and healthy. This is being caught in bits and pieces, here and there. USA media will not cover it. I assume compliance.

Well…

This is obviously a fabrication. If this were true all the global stock markets would show signs of serious collapse. But they didn’t. So why is the data being revised backwards? The only thing that I can think of is to make America appear healthier than it actually is, economically.

As far as I am concerned, all data from the United States and England are subject to the need for careful review. I cannot help but question it’s validity. And you shouldn’t either.

Here’s another example, from the same source,…

According to this, the United States is the best prepared. And China is just so-so prepared. This was written in 2020, but used 2019 data, while the United States was absolutely floundering from the COVID-19, and China was successfully returning to normal after it dealt with the pandemic.

16OCT20 Update

A second new virus (perhaps another) COVID has hit China, middle of October.

It will probably be named COVID-20 in a few months. It is NOT a variation of COVID-19, as a “second wave”. It is a completely new, and completely different virus. By all reports it is much worse than COVID-19. More lethal. More contagious. More dangerous.

It is being handled differently in different regions and provinces.

Latest news in China is sudden lock downs of all restaurants and public venues starting last night at 10PM. This is for the tier one cities. This will be for a minimum of two weeks. Military is still on DEFCON ONE, of course, but the militia are notified to stand ready. 

A different type of COVID is apparently breaking out in China. It is unlike the COVID-19, as it was a alpha genome, and this is a beta genome. What ever the fuck that means. I think it means pineapples and toasters. 

It's not a modified staring of COVID-19 but instead a BRAND NEW virus.

This NEW and UNUSUAL virus is apparently attacking both humans and pigs. It causes violent diarrhea and vomiting, and then your lungs fill up with fluid, it turns to cement and you die.

  • Middle of October 2020.
  • A totally new virus attacks China.

Stand by. It’s too early to do anything about all this. All residences are in scanning mode. Masks are back on. Public establishments (in certain tier one cities) are shut down for two weeks. Military is still on alert. Militia are called on reserve status.

  • American media is clueless.

17OCT20 Update

From MoA. It discusses the fall-back positions (since the suppression of China) failed. Here, the concentration is on the QUAD alliance building. Which is nothing more than an Asian NATO like structure under the control of the US Military.

U.S. Fails To Find Allies For Waging War On China

The U.S. wants to counter China's growing economic and political standing in the world.

The Obama administration had attempted a 'pivot to Asia' by building a low tariff economic zone via the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). It would have excluded China. The Trump administration rejected the TPP and withdrew from it. It launched an economic war against China by increasing tariffs on Chinese products, prohibiting high tech supplies to Chinese manufacturers, and by denying Chinese companies access to its market. 

It has also tried to build a military coalition that would help it to threaten China. It revived the 2007-2008 Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and rebranded it as the U.S.-Australia-India-Japan Consultations Quad. The aim was to turn it into an Asian NATO under U.S. command:

The U.S. State Department’s No. 2 diplomat said Monday that Washington was aiming to “formalize” growing strategic ties with India, Japan and Australia in a forum known as “the Quad” — a move experts say is implicitly designed to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. 

“It is a reality that the Indo-Pacific region is actually lacking in strong multilateral structures. They don’t have anything of the fortitude of NATO, or the European Union,” 

-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said in an online seminar on the sidelines of the annual U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

“There is certainly an invitation there at some point to formalize a structure like this,” he added.

But it turns out that neither Australia nor Japan nor India have any interest in a hard stand towards China. All look to China as an important trade partner. They know that any conflict with it would cost them dearly.

On October 6 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Tokyo for a meeting with the other foreign ministers of the Quad. He soon found that no one would join him in his militant talk:

In a meeting with foreign ministers from Japan, India and Australia in Tokyo, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged on Tuesday that they strengthen their quartet of democracies to resist an increasingly assertive China.

...

If, as it appeared, Pompeo was pushing other members of the Quad to take the U.S. side in a confrontation with China, he did not score any ringing public endorsements, and his remarks clashed with those of his host. Pompeo aimed straight at the Chinese Communist Party in remarks before the four nations' top diplomats sat down to talk.

"As partners in this Quad, it is more critical now than ever that we collaborate to protect our people and partners from the CCP's exploitation, corruption and coercion," he said.

But Japan's chief government spokesman, Katsunobu Kato, insisted at a press briefing Tuesday: 

"This Quad meeting is not being held with any particular country in mind."

Australia and India were similarly reluctant to say anything that would potentially offend China.

Pompeo's initiative has failed. 

The former Indian ambassador M. K. Bhadrakumar explains why the Quad won't fly:

China cannot be beaten since, unlike the USSR, it is part of the same global society as the US. Look at the sheer spread of the US-China battlefields — global governance, geoeconomics, trade, investment, finance, currency usage, supply chain management, technology standards and systems, scientific collaboration and so on. It speaks of China’s vast global reach. 

This wasn’t the case with USSR. 

Above all, China has no messianic ideology to export and prefers to set a model by virtue of its performance. It is not in the business of instigating regime change in other countries, and actually gets along rather well with democracies.

...

The US created the ASEAN but today no Asian security partner wants to choose between America and China. The ASEAN cannot be repurposed to form a coalition to counter China. Thus, no claimant against China in the South China Sea is prepared to join the US in its naval fracas with China.

China has resources, including money, to offer its partners, whereas, the US budget is in chronic deficit and even routine government operations must now be funded with debt. It needs to find resources needed to keep its human and physical infrastructure at levels competitive with those of China and other great economic powers.

Why on earth should India get entangled in this messy affair whose climax is a foregone conclusion?

...

China has no need to fight wars when it is already winning.

The U.S. also tried to incite its European NATO allies to take a stand against China:

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Saturday that China's increasing influence had created a "fundamental shift in the global balance of power" that should not be overlooked. In an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, that was released in advance, the Norwegian official said that Beijing had the second-largest defense budget in the world after the United States, and was investing heavily in nuclear weapons and long-range missiles that could reach Europe.

"One thing is clear: China is coming ever closer to Europe's doorstep," he said. "NATO allies must face this challenge together."

That initiative will sink in Europe just as fast as the Quad initiative has sunk in Asia and for the very same reasons. China is not an ideological or military danger to Europe. It is an economic behemoth and relation with it need to be carefully handled. They require respect and talks and not saber rattling.

China has overtaken the U.S. as the EU's biggest trading partner:

In the first seven months of 2020, China surpassed the United States to become the biggest trading partner of the European Union (EU), said Eurostat, the EU's statistics organization.

...

The EU's imports from China increased by 4.9 per cent year-on-year in the January-July period, noted Eurostat. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the largest economy in the EU, China, Germany's biggest trading partner since 2016, surpassed the United States for the first time in the second quarter of this year to become Germany's largest export market, and Germany's exports to China in July have rebounded almost to last year's level.

It is time for the U.S. to look into a mirror and to awake to reality. It is highly indebted country with a way too expensive but ineffective military. Over the last decades its economic role in the world has continuously declined. The constant militant positions and 'do as we say' attitude has alienated its allies. Without allies the U.S. has no chance to defeat China in any potential conflict.

What the U.S. still could do is to honestly compete with China. But that would require humility, a strong industrial policy and a well paid and competitive work force.

Neither of that is in sight.

So…

The fall-back position, for the fall-back position is to incite riots in Thailand via CIA sponsored NGO’s. Then seize control of the government, and allow American military to use their bases for staging locations in South East Asia.

CIA is really pushing this NGO effort to destabilize Southern Asia as part of Pompeo “new way to deal with China” strategy. Nikkei is a “neocon publication” out of America. It is fully funded by the US State department and run by Mike Pompeo.

China is Thailand’s largest and most important trading partner, its largest foreign direct investor, and its largest source of tourism with more Chinese tourists coming to Thailand each year than all Western nations combined.

Thailand is also hosting one of the key routes of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative with construction already ongoing for high-speed rail that will connect China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and eventually Singapore.
Finally and perhaps most upsetting for the US is that Thailand has begun replacing its aging US military hardware through a series of major Thai-Chinese arms deals including the purchasing of main battle tanks, other armored vehicles, naval vessels including up to 3 submarines, and jointly-developed arms programs like the DTI-1 multiple rocket launcher system.

Thailand has also recently replaced some of its US-built Blackhawk helicopters with Russian Mi-17V-5’s.
To counter this, the US has mobilized opposition groups and NGOs it has funded in Thailand for years to now demand the current government step down and the nation’s constitution be rewritten, paving the way for US-backed billionaire-led opposition parties of Thaksin Shinawatra and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit into power. These are opposition parties that have long served US interests in the past and have explicitly promised to roll back Thai-Chinese relations should they take power again.

US NED Was Behind Hong Kong’s Unrest, and Are Now Behind Thailand’s Unrest
The US was indisputably behind the protests in Hong Kong with the political opposition and protest leaders confirmed to be recipients of US government cash via notorious regime change arm, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Many of the protest leaders literally flew to Washington DC or visited the US consulate in Hong Kong to receive aid, directives, and other forms of support.

In Thailand too, virtually every aspect of the protests are funded by the US government.

Worse still is that the US is attempting to stitch these various movements together to form a regional front against Beijing with Thai protest leaders regularly traveling to meet their US-funded counterparts in Hong Kong and Taiwan and vice versa while creating an online army with the help of US-based social media giants to stack public narratives in their favor.

Neocons believe that war is justified as long as it guarantees that America can control the world. Thus, a neocon can see an “enemy” behind every bush, every action, and inside every cell phone APP.

Historically, the original neocons were a small group of mostly Jewish liberal intellectuals who, in the 1960s and 70s, grew disenchanted with what they saw as the American reluctance to spend aggressively on the military. Many of these neocons worked in the 1970s for Democratic Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson, a staunch anti-communist.

Neocon is short for neoconservative, which adds the neo-, or “new,” prefix to conservative. Today, they stand within both American political parties. Arguing in favor of war, conflict and CIA intervention everywhere.

One of the primary characteristics of neocons is the belief that America must rule the world, and maintain that rule by aggressive and free unencumbered use of military might.

Mid-October Update

Apparently, while the United States Navy was conducting “maneuvers” in the South China Sea, with the five carrier assault groups and Marine Landing / Attack forces, as well as with the entire British carrier fleet…

…something else was happening simultaneously.

Well reported in the mainstream press, but no one was putting “two plus two” together. These strange “tictac” shaped UFO’s started to appear and “move freely” all over American military bases inside of America. At THE SAME TIME as the American Navy was “probing the Chinese coastal defenses“.

Whether they are “aliens” or not is a good question.

One thing is for certain, and that is the technology involved in these craft are far up and above (perhaps centuries) more advanced than anything the United States has fielded. They can “pop” into existence out of no-where. They are immune to radar, and thermal signatures. They can accelerate to enormous speeds in a short period of time, and they are equally capable of underwater, air and space travel.

The American Navy, who has tracked and monitored these UFO’s, has strongly suggested that these “tictoc” vehicles are of Chinese manufacture and use.

Docs Show Navy Got 'UFO' Patent Granted By Warning Of Similar Chinese Tech Advances Patent documents indicate that the U.S. and China are actively developing radical new craft that seem eerily...

-Docs Show Navy Got 'UFO' Patent Granted By Warning Of Chinese Technology...
“Chinese Tictac” UFO that was buzzing and moving in and out of American military installations and airbases while the American Naval flotilla was busy probing the Chinese Coasts during the Summer of 2020.

21OCT20 Update

A second; MORE Lethal biological attack hits China in October 2020.

Here in China is a semi-alert status since mid month. Everyone is on alert. Military are on full alert, but work and homes are as normal. The primary difference is that there are hyper-diligent monitoring of temperatures and GPS travel histories.

Not well publicized (inside of America or in any of the main-steam or Alternative media of any type) except for a few paragraphs. There is a brand new, never before seen, absolutely novel in biology, virus.

It’s supposed to be much worse than COVID-19. It attacks both humans and swine.

It’s new, and not a second or third wave of the coronavirus.

Though it is in the same family of viruses as the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19 in humans, the scientists said SADS-CoV is an alphacoronavirus that causes gastrointestinal illness in swine.

It’s called SADS-CoV, which is short for “Swine Acute Diarrhea Syndrome Coronavirus” and, yeah, it’s as bad as it sounds. The virus causes severe diarrhea and vomiting and has been especially deadly to young piglets.

Reading between the lines…

China has been on complete all-hands-on-deck military alert for all forms of warfare since January 2020. (You’d never know this if all you read is the American “news”.) They discovered a brand new and “novel coronavirus” this month. This discovery set a number of things in motion. First was the WHO which sent out an alert, and second was a rearming and re-posturing of all military and militia in China. If it wasn’t for their aggressive alert status, this virus would not have been detected, or preventative steps taken.

Again…

[1] Brand new, never seen before, virus. (Imagine that!)
[2] More contagious than COVID-19.
[3] More lethal than COVID-19.
[4] More disgustingly painful than COVID-19.
[5] Detected in China by the Chinese military self-defense monitoring teams.
[6] The discovery triggered a global announcement by the WHO.
[7] American scientists familiar with similar viruses provided supporting information.

22OCT20 Update

The Donald Trump three day excursion to a military Base for hospitalization for COVID-19, happened exactly at the same time that China discovered the second bio-weapon attack. The COVID-20.

The United States is now flooding African Nations with anti-China propaganda.

23OCT20 Update

Big Surprise.

CNN told the truth about the so-called respected “Chinese virologist” from Hong Kong. You know the one, that claimed that she was employed by the Chinese government to develop the COVID-19 as a Bio-Weapon. And did so at the Wuhan Virus Lab.

Well, she lied. Not only that, but she is direct-linked to both Mike Pompeo, and Steve Bannon (both hard-core neocons):

https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/pompeos-record-a-litany-of-failure/


Excerpt: 
To make his case for demonizing China, Pompeo will use any source of questionable legitimacy. One example was a paper written by Li-Meng Yan, a virologist and at the time of publication a postdoctoral student at Hong Kong University. Her paper claimed that the Covid-19 virus was created in a Wuhan lab. 

Her finding was sensational as it seemed to authenticate Trump’s and Pompeo’s accusation that China should be held accountable for the pandemic. The popular media went wild with the story, even though those in scientific circles criticized the non-peer-reviewed paper as weak on science.

Rapid Reviews: COVID-19, a collaboration between the University of California at Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, quickly solicited reviews of the Yan paper by four renowned scientists in the field and their conclusion was: 

“This manuscript does not demonstrate sufficient scientific evidence to support its claims. Claims are at times baseless and are not supported by the data and methods used. Decision-makers should consider the author’s claims in this study misleading.”

Those reviews followed the publication of the Yan paper by about two weeks. It’s a safe bet that the refutation is unlikely to attract the attention of the mainstream media. 

An added side note in the comment section was the observation that the co-authors listed in Yan’s paper did not exist but were fictitious – in other words, a blatant lie.

So what could have motivated Yan? By now, it has become quite clear that providing material for China-bashing can be very lucrative business. Gordon Chang showed that he could publish a book on China that totally missed the mark – instead of economic collapse, China is about to become the largest economy in the world – and instead of striking out, he became an anti-China media star for the last 20 years.

Peter Navarro did even better. He wrote a book and a documentary titled Death by China, a complete work of fiction, with imaginary “expert” “Ron Varra,” who turned out to be the anagrammatic alter ego of Navarro himself. This China-bashing turned him from being a failed politician and outcast academic into the holder of a seat in the inner circle at the Trump White House. 

25OCT20

American military forces have been training to take and seize Chinese occupied islands in the South China Sea.

Army paratroopers have practiced flying long distance then jumping onto China’s island outposts in the disputed waters of the China Seas. Seizing outposts—and the strategic airstrips they host—could give U.S. forces new bases from which to strike back against the Chinese.

But the Chinese military scoffed at the idea. “The assumption that U.S. troops could capture China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea is no more than media speculation,” Xu Hailin wrote in Global Times, an official mouthpiece of the People’s Liberation Army.

That’s untrue. The Pentagon actively is preparing for just such a contingency. Back in July, 350 paratroopers from the Army’s 25th Infantry Division flew in Air Force C-17 transports from Alaska to Guam and practiced dropping onto, and capturing, a simulated enemy airfield.

American troops landing on a Chinese island would represent a serious act of aggression and a major escalation of any conflict, Xu posited. “If the U.S. military really reaches out to capture China's islands and reefs, it will declare the start of a total war with China.”

How serious?

Does the declaration of “a total war with China” means that China will “file a complaint” with the UN, or something else? Maybe they might shoot back! (Gasp.) Maybe they might do something that the neocons running the administration is not prepared for…

...In any event, Xu vowed that an American assault on a Chinese outpost would invite a devastating response. 

“The U.S. troops will have to face an all-out counterattack from the People's Liberation Army and will certainly pay a heavy price for their reckless decisions,” Xu wrote.

28OCT20

Those state-of-the-art Taiwanese chip factories, are actually mainland Chinese operations. One of those things that no one in the mainstream, and alternative media mentions…

I got this thread from a WeChat group, between two Westerners. Interesting history about TSMC,
 
[Regaining The Edge In U.S. Chip Manufacturing: https://semiengineering.com/can-the-u-s-regain-its-edge-in-chip-manufacturing/?fbclid=IwAR3nVp4oNWMJNi-OCZQwAcSBN7goF0QnZy3mU5n6tAVhks6DzU1oVfIdEeA]

Yeah can confirm x86 are stagnating due to the cisc designs of the architecture while the likes of arm and mips etc which uses risc design it can be made smaller and more efficient

Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's first and largest silicon foundry, was not "Taiwanese". Chang was Zhejiangese, born in Ningbo.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is not a "Taiwanese" company. It is a Chinese company located in the Chinese province of Taiwan.

Sun Yun-suan, minister of economic affairs and Premier of the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, was one of the chief architects of the ROC's "economic miracle" that enabled it to become one of the East Asian Tigers.

Sun was not Taiwanese. He was Shangdongese, born in Penglai. Neither, of course, were Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, who were also Zhejiangese.
Sun recruited Chang to become chairman and president of the Industrial Technology Research Institute that spawned major semiconductor companies such as TSMC and the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park which would serve as a major electronics and semiconductor manufacturing hub.

The plain truth is that TSMC is a Chinese achievement.

All the figures involved were so-called "mainlanders" -- a pejorative term used by Taiwan independence Quislings to sow hatred between Chinese from the mainland region of China and Chinese from the Taiwan region of China.

All the figures involved were patriotic Chinese nationalists and unwavering advocates of Chinese reunification.

Indeed. Technology presents us with new opportunities.. Sad though our lot seem to be technophobes more keen in lining their pockets and keeping the starts quo of cleptocracy and "service industry Jobs" rather than innovating
What happens when you more your capital abroad and focus on financial sector
However with China developing the productive forces it opens up new opportunities for the proletariat to build themselves up

-Jeff J. Brown

29OCT20

Reports on what occurred during the American lead naval sortie in the South China Sea in late Summer 2020, are coming in, in drips and drabs.

Recall, that the US mobilized three aircraft carriers – USS Theodore RooseveltUSS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan – to patrol the Indo-Pacific waters, an act seen as a “warning” to China. Each carrier was teamed up with a “minor” carrier, making a total of 6 American aircraft carriers, plus the British HMS Queen Elizabeth (a “super” aircraft carrier). That is seven aircraft carriers along with their support ships. This is the largest naval flotilla of aircraft carriers in history.

The ships eventually left the area, and we have been trying to figure out what happened.

American & British Media – Very quiet.

Very little information. Suspiciously little.

Except that there is going to be a change in strategy. This new strategy would involve the use of AI controlled underwater weapons and drones. The use of a “traditional” assault force using a large force of carriers is not considered to be practical.

Additionally large boost to the black budget has been approved and moving forward. It is supposedly considered to be “urgent“.

Chinese Media – Subdued, but informative.

(Note; If it is reported, it's NOT secret) FOUR paramilitary CIA officers drowned while on a secret mission to plant an underwater pod intended to track the Chinese military in the South China Sea, it has emerged. The men were reportedly caught in a tropical storm while attempting to place the device, which had been disguised to resemble a rock, off the Philippine island of Luzon.
  • The Chinese have intercepted clandestine troops in operations upon Chinese territory. It is unknown what has happened to them…
Meet the HN-1, China's New AI-Powered Underwater Drone. The battle for future undersea AI dominance is heating up and China’s ambitions are not small in this domain.
Meet the HN-1, China’s New AI-Powered Underwater Drone. The battle for future undersea AI dominance is heating up and China’s ambitions are not small in this domain.

Curiously, from American Media…

Just keep in mind that there were many, many events and actions that were NOT reported to the public during this entire period of time.

Here is a nice interactive map of the (inferred) Chinese power projection in the South China Sea.

Since 2014, China has substantially expanded its ability to monitor and project power throughout the South China Sea via the construction of dual civilian-military bases at its outposts in the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands. These include new radar and communications arrays, airstrips and hangars to accommodate combat aircraft, and deployments of mobile surface-to-air and anti-ship cruise missile systems.

30OCT20 Update

You all might want to consider what the rest of the world thinks about the Trump Polices with China, and the Asian Pacific Rim. Here’s a great article out of Australia…

The polls indicate, and most commentators believe, that Biden will win, but Trump is campaigning furiously, and the prospect of a legal imbroglio also looms. 

Neither Biden nor Trump has made much of foreign policy in their campaigns. 

Biden has said he would not be bluffed by China, and would not hesitate to “call it out” or retaliate against egregious acts, but the end of the Trump Presidency would certainly break the flow of “China is the enemy” that has characterized it. 

Trump has surrounded himself with “China hawks”, and has personified the US anti-China campaign, but given his record it’s not impossible that a re-elected Trump would reverse policy towards China, if he came to believe that that was in the United States’, or his own, interests.

Whoever wins, in the election aftermath it will be important for Australian policymakers to keep in mind that our position (Australian) and the US’s position are not the same. 

We want a peaceful, prosperous and stable Asia-Pacific, or Indo-Pacific. 

The US wants that, too, but also wants to be top dog in it. As a US academic visiting Australia said last year, “the US can not tolerate a peer competitor”. But China is one, and many in the US “feel the hot breath”.

There are one or two things that can be said in response to the “peer competitor” line.` 

One is “grow up”. 

Another is “compete, don’t complain”, and there are certainly voices in the US saying just that. 

The important thing for us to remember is that while we value our alliance relationship with the US, that is not the policy end-point for us. That end-point is a state of affairs in the Asia or Indo-Pacific under which we and other countries can live peacefully and prosper, in a stable environment.

How can that be achieved? 

Certainly not by following the tack taken by Pompeo, who can’t even bring himself to speak of the “Chinese Government”; rather he refers to the “Chinese Communist Party”. 

It’s a great pity that at this possibly pivotal time we don’t have anyone at the highest levels of our Government with a strong personal relationship with a Chinese counterpart, as Prime Minister Hawke had with Premier Zhao Ziyang — someone who could effectively make the point that China’s actions in the South China Sea or in regard to the Uighurs aren’t really in China’s best interests, without making a public campaign of it.

Perhaps our very able Ambassador in Beijing is saying these things anyway. And perhaps our goal of a peaceful, prosperous and stable Asia-Pacific can only come about if both the US and China can more fully accept that they have to live with each other, make room for each other, and not regard any step forward by one as a step back for the other, as Trump is said to be prone to do.

We also have to look at our own bilateral relationship with China. Why is it now described as in its “most frozen” state ever, despite China still being our largest trading partner, and still buying huge amounts of iron ore at record prices, thus preventing our budget deficit from being even larger? Both sides have contributed to the present situation, and we need to recognize that if we are going to improve it....

(more)

...But I firmly believe that what we must try to do is to include China in joint efforts and mechanisms and gradually re-build trust, rather than build alliances to defend against or contain it. 

One reason is that efforts to contain or limit China simply won’t work; see what it’s already doing economically in Europe, Latin America and southern Africa, as well as in East and Central Asia, and with Russia. 

Another reason is that it’s such a negative thing in which to invest our efforts and future. Of course it will be up to the Chinese how they respond. But we should have a go.

2NOV20

Just a few days before the election between Trump and Biden, the climate in the Asian Pacific Rim is…

America's choice and Asia's future
Whoever claims victory in the US presidential contest this week, Washington’s grasp over Asia’s future is on the wane.

It’s not that the United States is no longer a great power unmatched as yet in its technological and military superiority. Despite all its self-inflicted wounds, through mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis and President Trump’s economically debilitating ‘America First’ strategy, it remains so. 

The short-term costs of the Trump administration’s mismanagement have been huge, in terms of US deaths, the fragmentation of national cohesion and lost trade and income. But it’s the costs over the next ten years or more that cast a long dark shadow over US societal and economic strength and the role of the United States as a reliable anchor in an open multilateral global order. 

The costs of COVID-19 continue to mount and the strategy that will see an end to it is still to be articulated. Nor is there a strategy in place to deal with the collapse in the US and the global economies that the pandemic has brought with it. In international cooperation on both strategic fronts, the United States is out of play.

The world’s confidence in US power, the moral authority it once commanded and the capacity to deploy it are much diminished. Even the most energetic and driven administration won’t restore it easily, soon or perhaps ever.

If Joe Biden had a 20-point lead across the board in the polls as the United States heads towards election eve — and the polls are narrowing not widening at the finishing line — most pundits would still be shy about calling the outcome until it’s all done and dusted. So burnt are they by Trump’s unexpected win in 2016 and scared by Trump’s refusal to be straightforward about conceding power.

Yet US political trends and geopolitical realities are clear and key strategic calculations in Asia will be framed by them whatever the electoral outcome.

There are few illusions in Asian capitals about what they would inherit if Trump should once more claim the US presidency. East Asian leaders have no inclination to sign up to an ill-disciplined brawl between the United States and China as they are being pushed to do by Trump and his deputies. 

The priority in Asia is to deal with COVID-19 and navigate recovery around the probability that China, having dealt with the pandemic first, will also lead global economic recovery. As former Indonesian deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United States Dino Patti Djalal observes, they have no appetite for a New Cold War and ‘framing China as an ideological threat (constantly referring to “Communist China”, not just China)… [adopting] a blanket (rather than a la carte) attack against China: on the coronavirus, trade, investment, technology, TikTok, the World Health Organization, the South China Sea, Chinese companies and students, democracy, human rights, climate change — the list goes on. 

If there is anything that is clear’, says Dino, ‘it is that China has de-ideologised its foreign policy since the 1980s. No one seriously believes that China’s political intention is to turn Southeast Asian nations to communism. 

Indeed, China’s strategic intention is no longer about spreading communism (as was the case up to the late 1970s), but rather about strategic acceptance, economic engagement and political influence’.

Nor is the happy assumption that a Biden win will lead to a simple American course-correction accepted anywhere that matters in East Asia. Biden has no power to reclaim the past dignity and authority of the US presidency. As former Australian prime minister Paul Keating said of the United States under Trump, ‘if you pawn the crown it is incapable of being redeemed at the same value’.

Trump was no political aberration, chaotic though his administration may have been. He captured America’s contemporary populist spirit and unleashed its powerful political angst. Biden’s ambitious climate change agenda or the hope that he might return to negotiating entry to the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement may stir still optimistic, liberal hearts. 

But, apart from convincing allies and partners, including China, that he’s got the ticker for it, it’ll take time, require superhuman effort and it’s another matter altogether to pass the Pennsylvania test and sell a new global foreign policy strategy to the average American voter, let alone his own political operatives. American morale is already at a low level and has further to sink yet.

As TJ Pempel says in our first lead article this week, ‘Trump’s policies were less a one-man aberration than an outgrowth of, and strongly supported by, the Republican Party. The past four years have exposed and exacerbated gaping US socio-economic divisions, the limitations of its political institutions, the contentiousness of its information channels, and the fragility of its democratic norms. Americans now inhabit separate tribes, value alternative priorities, are convinced of competing “facts” and are firmly convinced that eviscerating the other tribe is the path to a better America’.

There’s gathering understanding in East Asian capitals that whatever happens in Washington this week, the solutions to the region’s problems will not be readily found there. The foundations on which confidence in regional stability and prosperity might be restored must be found in international cooperation effort in Asia itself that reaches out to, but cannot rely upon, the United States. This is a challenge for which there is little preparation or precedent.

In a geopolitically fractured world, strategic competition between the United States and China ultimately limits both countries’ capacity to contribute constructively both to global recovery and renovation of the global order. 

The United States, the world’s biggest power, has lost its appetite for multilateral cooperation and is at odds strategically with China, the world’s second largest power. Strategic competition between the United States and China ultimately limits both countries’ prosperity and capacity to contribute constructively to global recovery.

As Elizabeth Ingleson points out in our second lead article this week, the ‘next US administration has a chance to abandon the framework of strategic competition and adopt a more nuanced policy of engagement … This would allow the two nations to work towards a multilateral approach to the climate crisis. By linking geopolitics and climate, the United States and China have an opportunity to improve the prospects of both’.

But as Sheila Smith concludes in upcoming pre-US election preview the ‘intensity of rancour that has permeated US politics will not be solved in one election, and lingering resentments may impede the president’s ability to be attentive to the accelerating shifts in the regional balance of power. A distracted America may be Asia’s lot’.  

The reality is that small and middle powers in Asia now have to play an unfamiliar leadership role. This ominous responsibility will remain long after the 46th President of the United States settles into the White House.

Other recent articles in which you may be interested from the East Asia Forum are listed below. You can click the title of each one or visit www.eastasiaforum.org for daily content.

Editors
East Asia Forum
2 November 2020

The latest at the Forum:

Reclaiming US credibility after the Trump tsunami
TJ Pempel, UC Berkeley 

8NOV20

Joe Biden is elected, and Donald Trump and his neocon army will need to decamp from the White House. They will be forced to play their “war games” elsewhere, and the keys and codes to the enormous nuclear and bio/chemical arsenal will be handed over to others. Hopefully, people of a more sensible bent.

We will see what will happen. I, for one, look forward to a return of sanity to the world.

10NOV20

China has been, along with Russia, suspiciously quiet about the election and the Biden Presidency. With various unofficial responses coming out of China that pretty much all say the same thing…

China should not harbor any illusions that Biden's election will ease or bring a reversal to China-US relations, nor should it weaken its belief in improving bilateral ties. 

US competition with China and its guard against China will only intensify. 

But it's in the common interests of people from both countries and of international community that China-US relations become eased and controllable. 

The two countries must work together and take joint actions to explore and work on realizing some kind of stability and predictability for their bad relations and managing bilateral ties from worsening to a destructive extent.

-https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1206128.shtml

11NOV11

A pretty good write-up about what probably would happen to the China-USA relationship with Trump and his neocons out of the White House, and a Biden presidency in place…

U.S.-China Business Under Biden
Published on November 10, 2020
Status is reachable
Brandon Hughes, LLM, PMP
Veterans Integration Program Apprenticeship at Goldman Sachs
24 articles 
Following

What an amazing week it has been. Both United States (U.S.) and international citizens watched the 2020 President election with anxiousness and excitement. In the end, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden became the projected winner of both the popular & electoral vote. While current U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to concede, preparations are already underway for a transition to a Biden administration. Below are a few thoughts from a career in U.S.-China geopolitical & business relations.

An Easing of Overall Tensions
This does not mean a Biden administration will be soft but likely use a more traditional foreign policy approach to China. This means focusing on human rights, promoting mutually beneficial policies, and taking a more piecemeal approach. What this means for business is that a return to more stable policies will support 3-5 year strategic planning. However, don't expect a return to the status quo overnight. In fact, some policies may never go back. Biden has signaled he will be tough on China in certain respects but business leaders can expect these policies to be much more transparent and telegraphed before implementation.

Use of multilateral organizations
U.S. foreign policy has long supported the use of multilateral organizations to put political pressure on areas of interest. Regarding China, this means a more coordinated approach to addressing Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and other political issues. This may or may not be effective depending on the level of commitment to policies but it will ensure that changes to policy are communicated well in advance.

A Gradual Reduction in Trade Tariffs
Similar to the easing of tensions, we may see a gradual reduction or repeal of trade tensions. A large portions of U.S. imports (by U.S. companies) were impacted in addition to export of raw material, agriculture, and high value added goods. These industries have been hit hard (if not decimated) due to the tariffs (and the overall approach to trade with China) and it's likely the Biden administration will take a "mending fences" approach. This applies to not only China but others as well.

A Reprioritization of Human Rights
This has been on the back-burner of current U.S. policy but it's likely that a Biden administration will put Human Rights on the docket in upcoming negotiations. This is long-standing U.S. policy and moderately effective in some cases. However, this may come in year 2 or 3 of Biden's term as addressing domestic issues and reestablishing relations will likely take priority in terms of policy issues.

Reciprocal Easing from China
China is unlikely to alter their next 5-year plan but you may see more "easing" of enforcement or legal barriers that have been impacting U.S. business. This may come as an easing of enforcement measures against U.S. shipments to China at the ports. It may result in a more open environment to business or an easing of doing business. However, like the U.S., don't expect an overnight change in priorities or stance. There is a lot to discuss before either side agrees to step back.

Takeaways for Business
U.S.-China relations will not change overnight nor will the policies. There are significant hurdles facing the U.S.-China relationships that are echoed on both sides of the political aisle. However, businesses can expect a more tempered approach to foreign & trade policy with China and a re-engagement in more multilateral institutions. This is positive news for multinational ventures as stability creates an environment for growth. Businesses who have held off the last 3 years should develop a China & APAC strategy to capture unique policy or growth opportunities that are presented. At the same time, businesses & investors should understand there are still considerable structural issues between the U.S. and China that may not be fixed and still impact bilateral policy. Overall, a Biden administration is positive news for those doing business with the world's 2nd largest economy. This means growth for revenues & growth for company value which ultimately reflected in growth for retirement accounts and investment funds.

-https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-china-business-under-biden-brandon-hughes-llm-pmp/?trackingId=8uOp0h9f%2BrOjXuDsjMXc3w%3D%3D
Biden and Xi Peng.
Biden and Xi Peng after the conclusion of the US and China trade agreement. This agreement was unilaterally torn up by President Trump in early 2017. The conservative media in 2020 are promoting the narrative that Biden will accept and embrace the revised American stance with China that Trump and Pompeo have created. I strongly disagree. The Democrat Party is one of negotiation and give-and-take. It is not a hard-line unilateralist evangelical entity such has been the case by the neocon-led White House..

24NOV20 Update

Yes, Trump make it impossible for anyone (in America) to pay for Chinese goods.

Remittances for Amazon.com, ebay.com, and paypal.com refuse to allow for payments to Chinese individuals, or banks. I have heard stores about how some of my Chinese friends have had their stores and markets closed on them without notice.

It really didn’t become crystal clear until I started to ask my fellow American expats if they ever received the COVID-19 coronavirus stimulus check that they applied for. And the answer was no. No one received it, including yours truly. So I inquired. Yup. Any one inside of China or using Chinese institutions have their checks zeroed.

And people wonder WHY so many mail-in ballots were for Biden. Heck, he just about threw away one million expats in that brilliant decision of his. Fucker!

Why not plaster a sign that says things in clear English;

No Money to anyone inside of China. Period, by order of Donald Trump.

After all, it was by EO.

29NOV20

Seems that the “firehose of disinformation” that the Biden Administration is going to be harsher then the Pompeo/Trump administration is all just CIA bullshit.

In the speech, Paulson lays out his recommendations for President-elect Biden’s China policy, arguing that competition without unnecessary confrontation should be our goal—because confrontation without effective competition has produced some poor results for the American people. He further recommends that the U.S. pursue a self-interested policy that he terms “targeted reciprocity.” By that, the U.S. should move from being reflexive, responding to anything and everything China does, to focusing on sectors where the U.S. is the strongest and most competitive. In turn, targeted reciprocity can be a negotiating tool and lever to help achieve real results in critical areas of the U.S.-China relationship, including trade and climate change. Below are Secretary Paulson’s prepared remarks.

Download “Targeted Reciprocity” Full Text

1DEC20

Yeah. The world is slowwwwwlyyyyy catching on what a mess Donald Trump and his cabal of evil neocons hath wrought…

COVID-19 is a bioweapon deployed against China by the United States to take advantage of the mass migration during the Chinese New Year. 

To prevent/minimize the blowback from the virus possibly getting out of containment in China, a mild strain (CoV-A; antibody producing strain) was released among the population of the Western countries months before the deployment of the bioweapon strain (CoV-B) in Wuhan (and possibly Qom afterwards). It's akin to innoculating your population with cowpox before hitting the opposition population with smallpox. CoV-A has a much lower lethality rate (around 0.1%) than CoV-B (10-15%) which is why the data on how lethal COVID-19 is all over the place.

Let's look at the evidence:

1. Herd immunity: Only a few weeks after reporting how Chinese are welding their patients in their homes (February 6, 2020), at the same time as reporting mass graves near Qom (March 12, 2020). The Western (as well as Brazil and India) governments and media are all talking about herd immunity. With Boris Johnson saying that the UK would "take it on the chin" (March 5, 2020), Merkel stating that 60-70% of Germans would get the virus (March 11, 2020) to Bolsonaro saying that Brazilians are immune (March 27, 2020), with the media touting that the plan is not to stop the disease but to "flatten the curve" so that the medical system doesn't get overwhelmed. Despite COVID-19 being a 'never before seen' virus with unknown properties and lethality, it's almost as if they knew that the disease isn't that dangerous.

2. Theodore Roosevelt, Captain Brett Crozier and the Vietnam outbreak: The USS Theodore Roosevelt is a carrier in the Pacific fleet stationed in the South China Sea. The captain of the ship Brett Crozier, after discovering some of his sailors displaying symptoms tried to get the carrier docked in Guam so that his sailors can be evacuated and quarantined. His email to multiple captains and admiral Baker was leaked to the press, and he was relieved of duty shortly afterwards by Naval Secretary Modly.

The blame was on the shore-leave in Vietnam on March 5, but during that time, Vietnam cases plateaued at 16 for weeks, and cases did not increase until after the carrier left. The first wave of the Vietnam outbreak only had less than 300 infected vs. 1156 on the carrier. Furthermore there were no COVID related deaths in Vietnam during the first wave vs only 1 on the Theodore Roosevelt. 

The scales of these outbreaks highly implies that the first COVID-19 wave in Vietname is actually transmission from the carrier to the Vietnamese population rather than the other way around. Furthermore, the low lethality rate in both cases means that it is the CoV-A variant. 

The reason is obvious in hindsight:If China were unable to contain the outbreak the U.S. military would take advantage of the chaos and start a hot war while the Chinese are incapable of retaliating, it would thus be necessary to inoculate their own troops so they don't succumb to the bioweapon. Crozier was castigated because in raising the alarm with the media instead of the usual channels so the the story can be buried, China, by looking at the Theodore Roosevelt outbreak and Vietnam, not only confirmed their suspicions that Wuhan was a bioweapon deployment, but also how the U.S. and its co-conspirators plan to limit the possible blowback. So when Germany was raising noise about seizing Chinese assets in the EU for 'compensation' for the outbreak, the Chinese response is basically: "If the virus is from China, where is your patient zero?" Which brings us to the next point:

3. Difficulty in locating "patient zero" in Europe: From months, the EU has been trying to find a patient zero to link back to the Wuhan outbreak without much success. The current theory is a 43 year old Frenchman who got it from Algeria in December, the link to Wuhan is tenuous at best. However, if we work from the two-strain theory, this difficulty is pretty easy to explain: not all patients who contract CoV-A are asymptomatic, those who have it and get tested would be a positive case for COVID-19. Finding patient zero involves working backwards from all known positive cases. Since CoV-A has been in circulation for months before CoV-B was deployed in China, finding a CoV-B patient zero linking back to China is practically impossible with CoV-A positives being around for much longer.

4. False positives: Something mentioned over and over again is the high rate of "false positives" of the PCR test: how the outbreak is not as bad as reported because of the rate of false positives. This would fit perfectly with the two-strain theory: CoV-A and CoV-B should be almost genetically identical since CoV-A is suppose to prime the immune system to fight against CoV-B, if the intricate human immune system cannot tell the difference between CoV-A and CoV-B, there is no way the cheap dime-a-dozen mass produced tests used for mass testing would be able to do so. This would explain the high rate of "false positives" outside of China. Since the Western governments were (and probably still are) going for the "herd immunity" route, they would of course want CoV-A to be spread as much as possible while limiting the CoV-B. The more lethal CoV-B would of course have much more severe symptoms than CoV-A, hence people who test positive for COVID-19 with mild to no symptoms were informed that they are "false positive" so they can continue spreading CoV-A among the general population. The fault is not in the test kits but the people in charge of interpreting the results.

5. Mask policy: Continuing on the previous point. While China started masking up pretty much from the start. The CDC and WHO were both against masks before they were for them. For example the U.S. Surgeon General tweeted on February 29: "Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!" Dr. Mike Ryan in the Geneva media briefing on March 30: "There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit. In fact, there's some evidence to suggest the opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly." Remember Merkel's (March 11) and Bolsonaro's (March 27) mentioned above, at the end of March the prevailing strain detected outside of China, Iran and Italy would be the CoV-A strain, hence the deliberate and systematic campaign to mislead the public against mask use, they WANT the CoV-A strain to reach saturation in the population before CoV-B hits.

However, if we look at the Swedish 'miracle' and the Vietnam outbreak, it seems the CoV-A strain spreads much slower than CoV-B. Sweden got lucky and closed their border before CoV-B got into the country, their positive COVID-19 are CoV-A cases (that they got from the U.S.) which spread very slowly even without a lockdown. Vietnam closed their border with China very early and the outbreak most likely came from the Theodore Roosevelt, which makes it CoV-A; with a lockdown the cases were brought down to zero pretty quickly. Given that there is no way tests that don't sequence the entire genome can differentiate between CoV-A and CoV-B, and the reluctance of the U.S. and its co-conspirators to implement a financially crippling lockdown for the mostly harmless CoV-A, once CoV-B gets a foothold in a country, due to exponential increase CoV-B would quickly overtake CoV-A. A lockdown would be counterproductive to the 'herd immunity' approach since slower spreading CoV-A would be much more vulnerable to quarantine. That is even assuming that CoV-A provides immunity:

6. Chinese claims on reinfection: multiple studies from China has claimed that followup checkups on former COVID-19 patients showed that only a minority of them still carried antibodies against the disease thus longterm immunity does not exist in most people, while the UK studies claim that T-cells still remember the disease and thus longterm immunity exists. On the surface, it seems that these are merely academic, however if Wuhan outbreak was a bioweapon attack, it would explain the motives behind publishing these studies.
Considering the number of countries going for 'herd immunity' back in March, the number of conspirators is immense; China calling the outbreak a bioweapon attack would be like Julius Caesar confronting the Roman senate on March 14th. However, by raising the specter of reinfection, it definitely shakes the faith of the conspirators in the plan: If CoV-B does not provide longterm immunity against CoV-B, what are the chances CoV-A would provide this immunity?. Absence a working vaccine, if CoV-A does not provide longterm immunity, a hard lockdown getting rid of both strains and abandoning the 'herd immunity' plan is the only way to get the pandemic under control.

The big question is whether China is telling the truth about reinfection. China may be bluffing to create a schism between the garden variety blanket-distributor type conspirators and the 'from hell's heart I stab at thee' hardliners; the former would favor implementing a lockdown and taking the loss, the latter would call it a bluff and try to restart the economy assuming that 'herd immunity' will be achieved. 

That's not to say that the UK studies can be trusted, after all, with their future tightly bound to the U.S., they are pretty much America's mouthpiece in trying to keep all the conspirators on the original plan: as long as the lethality rate doesn't get too high, most of the cases should still be the CoV-A strain. (The closer the death rate gets to the 10%, the higher the CoV-B/CoV-A ratio is.)

Posted by: Sid Victor Cattoni | Dec 1 2020 21:41 utc | 26

2DEC20

What? You mean that Biden isn’t going to continue Trump’s Anti-China crusade? How can this be???? After all, since August 2020 through December 2020 the “news” has been all awash at how “tougher” Biden will be on China than Trump.

(CNN)

President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team are preparing for an early, all-out push to pass an ambitious new stimulus bill, while also drawing up plans for a flurry of executive actions aimed at delivering on campaign promises and undoing the Trump administration's efforts...

7DEC20

Two decades of endless war and a bloated Pentagon budget that has proven useless in preventing Covid–19 deaths, now 270,000 and counting, are a jarring reminder that America’s foreign policy is thoroughly broken: It actually makes America and Americans less safe. 

Successive administrations have deployed the military in a costly, counterproductive, and indiscriminate manner, normalizing war and treating armed dominance as an end in itself. In consequence, the foreign policies of the United States are detached from any defensible conception of U.S. interests and from a decent respect for the rights and dignity of humankind. 

Marginal adjustments to the current approach will prove insufficient. A deeper rethinking of American foreign policy is warranted. This must be an undertaking that puts the well-being of the American people ahead of ambitions to dominate the globe.

President-elect Joe Biden appears to recognize the need for a serious reorientation. His just-named national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, recently said that Biden has tasked his foreign policy team with “reimagining our national security for the unprecedented combination of crises we face at home and abroad,” including pandemics and the climate crisis. Moreover, Sullivan said that American foreign policy has to be judged by a basic question: Does it “make life better, easier, and safer” for Americans at home? Our foreign policy, in Sullivan’s words, has to deliver for American families. 

-A New Direction: A Foreign Policy Playbook on Military Restraint for the Biden Team

23DEC20

  • Meanwhile, Russian and Chinese military continue to work together.
It follows Russian  President Vladimir Putin’s statement in October that the idea of a  future Russia-China military alliance can’t be ruled out — a signal of  deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing amid growing  tensions in their relations with the United States.

Until  that moment, Russia and China had hailed their “strategic partnership,”  but rejected any talk about the possibility of their forming a military  alliance.

Putin  also noted in October that Russia has been sharing highly sensitive  military technologies with China that helped significantly bolster its  defense capability.

Russia  has sought to develop stronger ties with China as its relations with  the West sank to post-Cold War lows over Moscow’s annexation of  Ukraine’s Crimea, accusations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S.  presidential election and other issues.

And Trump awards the highest military honors to the President of Australia for his anti-Chinese actions.

  • And Russia and China test fire their nuclear ICBM missiles.
Russian Submarine Fires Four Nuclear Missiles | The Daily ...
2020-12-14 · The Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine Vladimir Monomakh launched four Bulava missiles at targets on a firing range in the Arkhangelsk region in northwest Russia,  the Associated Press reported.. Borei-class submarines are capable of  carrying 16 Bulava missiles. They displace 24,000 tons of water when  submerged, can go up to 29 nautical miles per hour (just over 33 …

https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/14/russia-submarine-nuclear-bulava-missiles-borei...

2021 New year

I have received some interesting information concerning the directed energy beam weapons employed by China.

  • They operate underwater, just like they do in the air.
  • They can completely destroy the electronic systems of all types.
  • All three aircraft carriers sent to the South China Sea during the Summer of 2020 were nuclear powered.
  • The American stealth submarines are also nuclear powered.

The Chinese directed energy weapons systems can cause the American Navy nuclear power systems to go haywire, go into a SCRAM mode, and melt down.

Obviously, no one wants mini Chernobyl meltdowns off their beaches, but were the USA to initiate a hot war in the South China Sea, you can well expect that to be the reality for the United States Navy.

15JAN21

Declassified White House docs reveal America’s self-doubt over a potential military conflict with China

With Donald Trump set to leave office, newly released documents  show his strategy towards Beijing has largely failed, and that the US  isn’t confident over its ability to contain China in certain areas  should a conflict arise.     

Following the departure of  White House Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger and with  the Trump administration coming to an end, a number of documents have been declassified  setting out its ‘Indo-Pacific’ strategy or, more specifically, its  gameplan to attempt to contain China over its four years in office.

The  documents are hardly comprehensive, yet reveal ambitions to contain  Beijing in the political, diplomatic, economic and military spheres,  including a blueprint of what the US would do in a potential war  scenario. 

According to the papers, the US has aimed to sustain its “primacy” in the region, “support activists and reformers” opposed to Beijing (such as the Hong Kong protesters), create a counter to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and economically integrate the region towards the US, enlist allies against China in the form of the Quad and assist “the rise of India”. 

But what about in the event of a conflict? 

The documents spoke of aiming to prevent China “dominating the first island chain”  – the scope of islands extending from Japan to Taiwan and around the  South China Sea – via air and sea, and to maintain uncontested supremacy  over the “area beyond”. Military analysts have described the former objective as being modest in expectation.

If  anything, the file reveals the comprehensive failure of the Trump  administration’s strategy towards the region during his tenure in  office. Not only have attempts to bolster America’s economic presence  failed completely, largely owing to the contradictory priorities of the  White House, but in addition the document illustrates subtle doubt  rather than confidence that the US is capable of defeating China in this  “first island chain” region. 

The US, above all, is  seeking naval containment of China, and in line Beijing has utilized the  Belt and Road Initiative to counter it by diversifying its energy  supply routes.

Throughout its tenure in office, the Trump  administration has been unable to accept China’s status as a rising  power, and these documents reveal how this resulted in a set of policies  aimed at attempting to quell the country’s rise through various means. 

These  methods, however, have not yielded much success, largely because of the  US’s understating of the dynamics which underscore Beijing’s centrality  and importance to the region as an economic power, and the erroneous  belief that it can easily divide the world into cold war blocs and force  countries to undercut their relations with China on the premise of  values alone. 

The idea that the US can somehow displace Beijing  again as the region’s economic centre of gravity is not realistic, and  events such as the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic  Partnership underscore that.

While it is obvious that the economic balance of power is shifting  against America, what about in the military sphere? The documents show  the US is looking at the region in two distinct areas; that “first island chain” and “the second one”, which constitutes the wider Pacific. 

It  believes that it should be able to dominate the latter in the event of a  war, but can only at best try to prevent China from dominating the  former completely, acknowledging that Beijing likely already has the  upper hand in the South and East China Seas, and around Taiwan. 

Based  on this, it seems apparent the US would logically aim to defeat China  
in such a conflict via an attempt at a naval embargo, given a physical  invasion could never be possible. 

This would involve choking off China’s  access to the wider ocean and key maritime points such as the Strait of Malacca. 

This  strategic planning by the US subsequently sheds light on the BRI. 

By  strengthening infrastructure across the Eurasian landmass, China is  diversifying its supply chain routes and reducing reliance on areas that  can be dominated by the US Navy. 

For example, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Gwadar Port  gives Beijing a passage to the western Indian ocean which would bypass  US attempts at containment. 

This has coincided with China’s first  overseas military base in the East African country of Djibouti and a  port it is working on  there, which would be used to protect its interests in this area and  thus thwart any US military planning. As the Indo-Pacific strategy has  sought to militarize China’s periphery and enlist partners, Beijing has  responded.

In this case, the declassified documents reveal the  wish-list of a dying administration that has thrown many things at China,  with few sticking. It shows the scale of the challenge America faces.  Despite the erratic nature of Trump, one should logically expect many of  these ideas to be retained and form a template for incoming president,  Joe Biden. 

Objectives such as sustaining US military primacy in Asia and  sharpening initiatives such as the Quad will not go away anytime soon,  even if there is a substantial lack of realism in them. 

Yet the  element of doubt in how a conflict with China could be managed only  alludes to the shift that is taking place. If America is not confident  it could defeat Beijing in the first island chain, then what does that  mean for the future? And for Taiwan? 

China’s bet in fortifying  its presence in the South China Sea, while diversifying its strategic  options with the BRI, seems well placed. And that’s why it isn’t Beijing  that is fighting an uphill battle to establish a localized dominance on  this side of the world.

24JAN21

As Trump leaves the Oval Office, people are comparing his office to President Biden’s office. One of the big stand outs is the huge amount of military articles in the office.

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Americans today are living within a failed state.

This is a pretty good article written by George Packer that was printed in the Atlantic and has pretty much been circulating everywhere. My friends from both sides of the political spectrum are discussing it, and urging me to read it. So I have, and I found his points… oh so delicious. Here is his article and I think that you all would see that he makes some good points no matter what side of the political spectrum you are on.

The COVID-19 event, regardless of what caused it, has exposed America for what it is. And the picture is decidedly not pretty.

You might not agree with everything that he has to say. You might not like the dish of food that he serves to you, but you must admit that the COVID-19 has exposed America to be fully and completely incapable of governing during a serious emergency. And while the idea for “Make America Great Again” is laudable, it is unfortunately beyond the reach of everyone inside the monstrous American government.

It’s a good read. All credit to the author.

We Are Living in a Failed State

George Packer

When the (COVID-19) virus came here, it found a country with serious underlying conditions, and it exploited them ruthlessly. Chronic ills—a corrupt political class, a sclerotic bureaucracy, a heartless economy, a divided and distracted public—had gone untreated for years. We had learned to live, uncomfortably, with the symptoms.

It took the scale and intimacy of a pandemic to expose their severity—to shock Americans with the recognition that we are in the high-risk category.

America responds to the COVID-19

The crisis demanded a response that was swift, rational, and collective.

The United States reacted instead like Pakistan or Belarus—like a country with shoddy infrastructure and a dysfunctional government whose leaders were too corrupt or stupid to head off mass suffering.

The administration squandered two irretrievable months to prepare.

From the president came willful blindness, scapegoating, boasts, and lies. From his mouthpieces, conspiracy theories and miracle cures. A few senators and corporate executives acted quickly—not to prevent the coming disaster, but to profit from it.

When a government doctor tried to warn the public of the danger, the White House took the mic and politicized the message.

American Citizens caught in the middle.

Every morning in the endless month of March, Americans woke up to find themselves citizens of a failed state. With no national plan—no coherent instructions at all—families, schools, and offices were left to decide on their own whether to shut down and take shelter.

When test kits, masks, gowns, and ventilators were found to be in desperately short supply, governors pleaded for them from the White House, which stalled, then called on private enterprise, which couldn’t deliver.

States and cities were forced into bidding wars that left them prey to price gouging and corporate profiteering.

Civilians took out their sewing machines to try to keep ill-equipped hospital workers healthy and their patients alive. Russia, Taiwan, and the United Nations sent humanitarian aid to the world’s richest power—a beggar nation in utter chaos.

Presidential Leadership

Donald Trump saw the crisis almost entirely in personal and political terms.

Fearing for his reelection, he declared the coronavirus pandemic a war, and himself a wartime president.

But the leader he brings to mind is Marshal Philippe Pétain, the French general who, in 1940, signed an armistice with Germany after its rout of French defenses, then formed the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. Like Pétain, Trump collaborated with the invader and abandoned his country to a prolonged disaster.

And, like France in 1940, America in 2020 has stunned itself with a collapse that’s larger and deeper than one miserable leader.

Some future autopsy of the pandemic might be called Strange Defeat, after the historian and Resistance fighter Marc Bloch’s contemporaneous study of the fall of France.

Despite countless examples around the U.S. of individual courage and sacrifice, the failure is national. And it should force a question that most Americans have never had to ask: Do we trust our leaders and one another enough to summon a collective response to a mortal threat?

Are we still capable of self-government?

A major crisis

This is the third major crisis of the short 21st century.

The first, on September 11, 2001, came when Americans were still living mentally in the previous century, and the memory of depression, world war, and cold war remained strong. On that day, people in the rural heartland did not see New York as an alien stew of immigrants and liberals that deserved its fate, but as a great American city that had taken a hit for the whole country. Firefighters from Indiana drove 800 miles to help the rescue effort at Ground Zero. Our civic reflex was to mourn and mobilize together.

Partisan politics and terrible policies, especially the Iraq War, erased the sense of national unity and fed a bitterness toward the political class that never really faded.

The second crisis, in 2008, intensified it.

At the top, the financial crash could almost be considered a success. Congress passed a bipartisan bailout bill that saved the financial system. Outgoing Bush-administration officials cooperated with incoming Obama administration officials. The experts at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department used monetary and fiscal policy to prevent a second Great Depression.

Leading bankers were shamed but not prosecuted; most of them kept their fortunes and some their jobs. Before long they were back in business. A Wall Street trader told me that the financial crisis had been a “speed bump.”

Ah, but the American middle class…

All of the lasting pain was felt in the middle and at the bottom, by Americans who had taken on debt and lost their jobs, homes, and retirement savings.

Many of them never recovered, and young people who came of age in the Great Recession are doomed to be poorer than their parents.

Inequality—the fundamental, relentless force in American life since the late 1970s—grew worse.

This second crisis drove a profound wedge between Americans: between the upper and lower classes, Republicans and Democrats, metropolitan and rural people, the native-born and immigrants, ordinary Americans and their leaders.

Social bonds had been under growing strain for several decades, and now they began to tear.

The reforms of the Obama years, important as they were—in health care, financial regulation, green energy—had only palliative effects.

The long recovery over the past decade enriched corporations and investors, lulled professionals, and left the working class further behind. The lasting effect of the slump was to increase polarization and to discredit authority, especially government’s.

No one noticed.

Both parties were slow to grasp how much credibility they’d lost.

The coming politics was populist. Its harbinger wasn’t Barack Obama but Sarah Palin, the absurdly unready vice-presidential candidate who scorned expertise and reveled in celebrity. She was Donald Trump’s John the Baptist.

Trump came to power as the repudiation of the Republican establishment.

But the conservative political class and the new leader soon reached an understanding. Whatever their differences on issues like trade and immigration, they shared a basic goal: to strip-mine public assets for the benefit of private interests.

Republican politicians and donors who wanted government to do as little as possible for the common good could live happily with a regime that barely knew how to govern at all, and they made themselves Trump’s footmen.

Like a wanton boy throwing matches in a parched field, Trump began to immolate what was left of national civic life.

He never even pretended to be president of the whole country, but pitted us against one another along lines of race, sex, religion, citizenship, education, region, and—every day of his presidency—political party.

His main tool of governance was to lie.

A third of the country locked itself in a hall of mirrors that it believed to be reality; a third drove itself mad with the effort to hold on to the idea of knowable truth; and a third gave up even trying.

The American government

Trump acquired a federal government crippled by years of right-wing ideological assault, politicization by both parties, and steady defunding.

He set about finishing off the job and destroying the professional civil service.

He drove out some of the most talented and experienced career officials, left essential positions unfilled, and installed loyalists as commissars over the cowed survivors, with one purpose: to serve his own interests.

His major legislative accomplishment, one of the largest tax cuts in history, sent hundreds of billions of dollars to corporations and the rich. The beneficiaries flocked to patronize his resorts and line his reelection pockets. If lying was his means for using power, corruption was his end.

This was the American landscape that lay open to the virus: in prosperous cities, a class of globally connected desk workers dependent on a class of precarious and invisible service workers; in the countryside, decaying communities in revolt against the modern world; on social media, mutual hatred and endless vituperation among different camps; in the economy, even with full employment, a large and growing gap between triumphant capital and beleaguered labor; in Washington, an empty government led by a con man and his intellectually bankrupt party; around the country, a mood of cynical exhaustion, with no vision of a shared identity or future.

COVID-19 exposed America for what it is.

If the pandemic really is a kind of war, it’s the first to be fought on this soil in a century and a half.

Invasion and occupation expose a society’s fault lines, exaggerating what goes unnoticed or accepted in peacetime, clarifying essential truths, raising the smell of buried rot.

The virus should have united Americans against a common threat.

With different leadership, it might have.

Instead, even as it spread from blue to red areas, attitudes broke down along familiar partisan lines. The virus also should have been a great leveler. You don’t have to be in the military or in debt to be a target—you just have to be human.

But from the start, its effects have been skewed by the inequality that we’ve tolerated for so long.

When tests for the virus were almost impossible to find, the wealthy and connected—the model and reality-TV host Heidi Klum, the entire roster of the Brooklyn Nets, the president’s conservative allies—were somehow able to get tested, despite many showing no symptoms.

The smattering of individual results did nothing to protect public health.

Meanwhile, ordinary people with fevers and chills had to wait in long and possibly infectious lines, only to be turned away because they weren’t actually suffocating. An internet joke proposed that the only way to find out whether you had the virus was to sneeze in a rich person’s face.

When Trump was asked about this blatant unfairness, he expressed disapproval but added, “Perhaps that’s been the story of life.”

Most Americans hardly register this kind of special privilege in normal times. But in the first weeks of the pandemic it sparked outrage, as if, during a general mobilization, the rich had been allowed to buy their way out of military service and hoard gas masks. As the contagion has spread, its victims have been likely to be poor, black, and brown people. The gross inequality of our health-care system is evident in the sight of refrigerated trucks lined up outside public hospitals.

Right now…

We now have two categories of work: essential and nonessential. Who have the essential workers turned out to be?

Mostly people in low-paying jobs that require their physical presence and put their health directly at risk: warehouse workers, shelf-stockers, Instacart shoppers, delivery drivers, municipal employees, hospital staffers, home health aides, long-haul truckers.

Doctors and nurses are the pandemic’s combat heroes, but the supermarket cashier with her bottle of sanitizer and the UPS driver with his latex gloves are the supply and logistics troops who keep the frontline forces intact.

In a smartphone economy that hides whole classes of human beings, we’re learning where our food and goods come from, who keeps us alive. An order of organic baby arugula on AmazonFresh is cheap and arrives overnight in part because the people who grow it, sort it, pack it, and deliver it have to keep working while sick.

For most service workers, sick leave turns out to be an impossible luxury. It’s worth asking if we would accept a higher price and slower delivery so that they could stay home.

Dangerous parasites

The pandemic has also clarified the meaning of nonessential workers. One example is Kelly Loeffler, the Republican junior senator from Georgia, whose sole qualification for the empty seat that she was given in January is her immense wealth. Less than three weeks into the job, after a dire private briefing about the virus, she got even richer from the selling-off of stocks, then she accused Democrats of exaggerating the danger and gave her constituents false assurances that may well have gotten them killed. Loeffler’s impulses in public service are those of a dangerous parasite.

A body politic that would place someone like this in high office is well advanced in decay.

Political Nihilism

The purest embodiment of political nihilism is not Trump himself but his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

In his short lifetime, Kushner has been fraudulently promoted as both a meritocrat and a populist. He was born into a moneyed real-estate family the month Ronald Reagan entered the Oval Office, in 1981—a princeling of the second Gilded Age.

Despite Jared’s mediocre academic record, he was admitted to Harvard after his father, Charles, pledged a $2.5 million donation to the university.

Father helped son with $10 million in loans for a start in the family business, then Jared continued his elite education at the law and business schools of NYU, where his father had contributed $3 million.

Jared repaid his father’s support with fierce loyalty when Charles was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2005 for trying to resolve a family legal quarrel by entrapping his sister’s husband with a prostitute and videotaping the encounter.

Jared Kushner failed as a skyscraper owner and a newspaper publisher, but he always found someone to rescue him, and his self-confidence only grew.

In American Oligarchs, Andrea Bernstein describes how he adopted the outlook of a risk-taking entrepreneur, a “disruptor” of the new economy. Under the influence of his mentor Rupert Murdoch, he found ways to fuse his financial, political, and journalistic pursuits. He made conflicts of interest his business model.

So when his father-in-law became president, Kushner quickly gained power in an administration that raised amateurism, nepotism, and corruption to governing principles.

As long as he busied himself with Middle East peace, his feckless meddling didn’t matter to most Americans. But since he became an influential adviser to Trump on the coronavirus pandemic, the result has been mass death.

In his first week on the job, in mid-March, Kushner co-authored the worst Oval Office speech in memory, interrupted the vital work of other officials, may have compromised security protocols, flirted with conflicts of interest and violations of federal law, and made fatuous promises that quickly turned to dust.

The federal government is not designed to solve all our problems,” he said, explaining how he would tap his corporate connections to create drive-through testing sites.

They never materialized.

He was convinced by corporate leaders that Trump should not use presidential authority to compel industries to manufacture ventilators—then Kushner’s own attempt to negotiate a deal with General Motors fell through.

With no loss of faith in himself, he blamed shortages of necessary equipment and gear on incompetent state governors.

To watch this pale, slim-suited dilettante breeze into the middle of a deadly crisis, dispensing business-school jargon to cloud the massive failure of his father-in-law’s administration, is to see the collapse of a whole approach to governing.

It turns out that scientific experts and other civil servants are not traitorous members of a “deep state”—they’re essential workers, and marginalizing them in favor of ideologues and sycophants is a threat to the nation’s health.

It turns out that “nimble” companies can’t prepare for a catastrophe or distribute lifesaving goods—only a competent federal government can do that.

It turns out that everything has a cost, and years of attacking government, squeezing it dry and draining its morale, inflict a heavy cost that the public has to pay in lives.

All the programs defunded, stockpiles depleted, and plans scrapped meant that we had become a second-rate nation. Then came the virus and this strange defeat.

Our fight against the COVID-19

The fight to overcome the pandemic must also be a fight to recover the health of our country, and build it anew, or the hardship and grief we’re now enduring will never be redeemed.

Under our current leadership, nothing will change.

If 9/11 and 2008 wore out trust in the old political establishment, 2020 should kill off the idea that anti-politics is our salvation. But putting an end to this regime, so necessary and deserved, is only the beginning.

Facing a stark choice.

We’re faced with a choice that the crisis makes inescapably clear. We can stay hunkered down in self-isolation, fearing and shunning one another, letting our common bond wear away to nothing.

Or we can use this pause in our normal lives to pay attention to the hospital workers holding up cellphones so their patients can say goodbye to loved ones; the planeload of medical workers flying from Atlanta to help in New York; the aerospace workers in Massachusetts demanding that their factory be converted to ventilator production; the Floridians standing in long lines because they couldn’t get through by phone to the skeletal unemployment office; the residents of Milwaukee braving endless waits, hail, and contagion to vote in an election forced on them by partisan justices.

We can learn from these dreadful days that stupidity and injustice are lethal; that, in a democracy, being a citizen is essential work; that the alternative to solidarity is death. After we’ve come out of hiding and taken off our masks, we should not forget what it was like to be alone.

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It is time for America to dramatically alter it’s government structure. It needs to change.

The United States was set up as a Republic way back in 1776, and over the years “improved” into other things. First it was a “democracy”, then into an “oligarchy”, followed by “empire” in the 1960’s and now exists as a military Empire controlled via oligarchy. It’s a real mess. It’s ungainly, corrupt and dysfunctional.

And, it is handling this COVID-19 emergency outrageously bad.

In fact, the handling of it is so incompetent, and unfathomably bizarre, that it would probably be best not to have a government at all. Just let the sheeple graze on the “fruited plains” freely without any “assistance” from Big Brother Government.

Seriously, it’s time to demolish the old, and look towards new horizons.

Is It Time for a New Direction?

This article was written by Jacob G. Hornberger on April 10, 2020. Edited to fit this venue and all credit to the author.

If Americans are not doing some serious soul-searching in the midst of this crisis, they need to start. Where America goes from here is not some sort of esoteric debate. What we do at this point has life or death consequences. Get it wrong, and suffer more death, suffering, and impoverishment. Get it right, and America moves toward life, health, liberty, peace, prosperity, and harmony.

What everyone needs to recognize is that they are facing a choice of systems, not a choice of people. Either stick with the same systems or switch over to new systems. That’s the choice now facing the American people.

Let’s examine four systems under which we currently live and have lived for decades.

America’s economic system
This is a centrally planned and centrally managed system run by the federal government. Its central aim is to “wage war on poverty” by forcibly taking money from everyone and redistributing it to people in need, such as the elderly and the poor. It is based on massive confiscation of income and wealth by the Internal Revenue Service, in the form of income taxes and payroll taxes.
America’s healthcare system
This too is a centrally planned and centrally managed system run by the federal government. It is based on big, powerful central planning agencies like as the Centers for Disease Control and the FDA, as well as massive socialist programs like Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are responsible for foisting a never-ending healthcare crisis onto the American people consisting of ever-increasing healthcare costs that have bankrupted people or sent them into deep debt.
America’s monetary system
This too is a centrally planned and centrally managed system run by the federal government, specifically the Federal Reserve. From its beginning in 1913, its job has been to print up ever-increasing quantities of paper money to enable the federal government to fund the ever-increasing expenditures of the welfare-warfare state way of life.
America’s system of empire and foreign intervention
This too is a centrally planned and centrally managed system by the national-security branch of the federal government. Its job is to wreak death and destruction among foreigners and, in the process, bring ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer-funded largess to its army of well-heeled “defense” contractors, which are composed of former members of the national-security establishment.

Consequences of central planning

How are all these systems working out? Most, if not all, people would agree that they are not working out well at all. Together, they have either bankrupted people through taxes or debts or left millions of people without even enough savings to get them through a couple of months of unemployment.

And guess who is now paying the biggest price for the coronavirus crisis — seniors and the poor. That’s because the FDA, in all its central planning wisdom, prohibited the private sector from producing test kits that would have, without any doubt, significantly reduced the coronavirus infection rate.

How can they lower the infection rate if they don’t know who has the virus, especially since people who have the virus are infecting people for about a week before they show any symptoms? A massive number of cheap testing kits would have enabled people to ferret out quickly and early who was infected, enabling everyone else to continue working.

Given that their dysfunctional healthcare system has totally failed to stem the crisis, they have resorted to tyranny and oppression through a mandatory shutdown of the economy, sending millions of people into unemployment and even bankruptcy.

To relieve the financial distress from their destruction of people’s livelihoods, they are resorting to their dysfunctional monetary system. The Federal Reserve is now printing money like it was going out of style. Does anyone really believe that printing trillions of dollars is a way to relieve economic distress? It’s just another form of taxation, one that plunders and loots people, specially the elderly and the poor, through the massive devaluation of their money.

Meanwhile, their fourth dysfunctional system is ensuring that the national-security establishment will suffer no budget cuts whatsoever in order to enable to maintain its oversees machinery of empire and intervention.

Isn’t that ironic? Their four systems of central planning and management are responsible for massive death, suffering, and impoverishment not only here at home but also abroad.

A different direction

If you like how all these dysfunctional systems have worked out, are working out, and will continue to work out into the future, just continue supporting their existence.

But make no mistake: There is a choice to be made here because there are four systems that are opposite to the four systems under which we are are suffering. These four systems are as follows:

A free-market economic system
Under this system, everyone keeps everything he earns — 100 percent, which enables everyone to save lots of money. No income taxation and no IRS. It’s a system based on 100 percent voluntary charity. This was America’s founding economic system for more than 100 years. It produced the wealthiest and most charitable society in history.
A free-market healthcare system
Under this system, the private sector and the free market are entirely responsive for healthcare. No more having to get permission from federal bureaucrats to produce test kits or anything else because the federal government will play no role whatsoever in healthcare. A total separation of healthcare and the state, just as our ancestors had the wisdom to separate church and state. This was America’s founding healthcare system and last for more than 100 years. It produced the finest healthcare system in history, one in which healthcare costs were cheap and affordable and in which doctors and hospitals treated the poor for free on a purely voluntary basis.
A free-market monetary system
Under this system, the free market determines the currency that is going to be used. No more Federal Reserve and no more legal-tender laws. For more than 100 years, America had the finest monetary system in history, one based on gold coins and silver coins. A free-market monetary system would improve upon that concept.
A limited-government republic with a small, basic military force.
No more national-security state and no more foreign military bases and foreign interventionism. No more sanctions, embargoes, invasions, occupations, wars of aggression, torture, state-sponsored assassinations, secret mass surveillance, and other destruction of civil liberties. America was founded as a limited-government republic, which lasted for more than 100 years.

The same old direction versus a new direction

So there you have it: Four completely different systems from which to choose. Americans should choose wisely. Your lives, health, and financial well-being and those of your loved ones, friends, and neighbors depend on it.


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You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
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How You are Controlled by the Government. They Control you by your Social Media Feeds.

We like to think that we are independent thinkers. We like to believe that we really know what is going on in the world. We know that the American government controls the press, and that the rich oligarchy controls the Big Government Deep State. And we think of everyone else that believes them as “sheeple”.

But perhaps, the government controls ALL of the media, both the left-wing and the right-wing.

And that perhaps you are being led to believe that you are thinking independently, when you are actually just following the programmed narrative that the PTB (the Powers That Be) desire.

I see this in the narratives that are almost always easy to categorize by political affiliation. It's become simplistic and frightening.

Here we discuss this mechanism.

The following is an article titled:”Social Media Is A Polarization Machine” by FMPadmin6120 written on December 31, 2019. It is edited to fit this venue, but aside from that left intact. All credit to the author; Paul Rosenberg at www.freemansperspective.com .

Social Media Is A Polarization Machine

Sure, we’ve all seen this in practice and people have developed catchy terms for it, like echo chamber, but the polarization effect of social media has been demonstrated scientifically. In fact, some of us were warning about it more than a decade ago. And while I can no longer find my original documentation on the subject, I can tell you precisely how it works.

The One-Room Phenomenon

What researchers discovered about twenty years ago was that putting people of the same opinion into a single room had a striking effect: The opinion in the room moved, inevitably, to the extreme. And this effect was the same no matter what the original opinion may have been.

So, then:

  • If you put a bunch of right-wingers in a room, the shared opinion in the room will become stridently right-wing.
  • If you put a bunch of left-wingers in a room, the shared opinion in the room will become stridently left-wing.
  • If you put a bunch of save-the-planet advocates in a room, their opinion will become all the more adamantly save-the-planet.
  • If you put in a bunch of the-planet-is-just-fine advocates, their opinion will become all the more adamantly the-planet-is-just-fine.

This happens because of human insecurity and status-seeking: Anyone taking a contrary opinion (advocating “right-wing” economics in the left-wing room, for example) is instantly branded as a traitor and suffers heavy shaming within the group.

Gaining social status in the closed room, however, is simple and obvious: You just adopt a stronger, more polarized, version of the original opinion.

Because of this, the opinion in a closed group becomes more and more severe. That is, it becomes increasingly polarized.

Yeah, They Know

Like I said at the open, if you’ve observed people at all, you’ve seen them polarized by Facebook. They climb into their groups, block discordant voices, and end up in a (partly) self-created echo chamber.

I say “partly” self-created because Facebook knows all too well what they’re doing. They want people who are emotionally tied to their groups. It’s called addiction, and it’s what makes Facebook rich.

Being polarized also makes people cold and cruel. Anyone who’s on the other side of what their group thinks is not just wrong, but evil. And whoever fails to agree with them is their opponent… an object of disgust.  

In that condition, people will advocate all sorts of stupid and even abominable positions, assured that the members of their group will support them tooth and nail. It’s now common, after all, for such groups to lump ten million people together and slap a negative verdict on them all. If you’re the wrong skin color, or too old, or too young, or a dozen other things, you’re “privileged,” or “don’t get it,” or something else. That is, you are declared evil. After that, whoever hurts you is a hero.

This serves Facebook, you understand. Once your opinions are polarized, you are dependent on your group and you’ll be unable to leave.

This addiction is also crucial for political causes. Facebook provides hard believers: addicts with claims to righteousness. And that means that politicians need Facebook, and deeply. Politicians get ahead by making their opponents into monsters, after all, and social media may be the best tool ever for creating polar opposites. (Or at least the illusion thereof.)

The Awakening Has Begun

Little by little, people are waking up to the evils of group dynamics and the devolutionary effects they generate.

Twitter, in my opinion, is  the least bad of the centralized social media platforms, and will  hopefully be decentralizing at some point. They have, at least, a team  working on that.

There are decentralized social media experiments coming along, and I hope they succeed, but the closed group problem will remain, even if it isn’t stoked to the limit by political and financial mercenaries((I was ready to write “whores,” rather than “mercenaries,” but I can’t equate sex workers, even metaphorically, with willful and purposeful abusers of mankind.)).

Thoughtful, observant and intelligent people are noticing that social media makes humans hateful, as well as lonely, insecure and miserable. I hope that knowledge spreads. I further hope that people will realize the past ten years of their life have been polluted by social media.

No, there’s nothing wrong with talking to friends and sharing ideas, but Facebook and other social media companies have weaponized this. They are intentionally abusing human instincts.

So, don’t get angry and hateful in response; just stop rewarding them. People who addict and polarize you are precisely the wrong ones to empower.

Social media is a polarization machine. Separating from it would be a very good idea.

**

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Some things we can expect when the progressive Marxists take over America.

The progressive Marxists, that call the Democrat party their home, have pretty much saturated every government organization, institution and business in the United States. Since Obama was President, we have had all the Fortune Five Hundred companies hire expensive “diversity officers”, and the “Deep State” has relentlessly pushed progressive Marxism at all levels. It’s only a few short years away from when they will regain the totality of American governance. It is helpful to look at what will happen in America through the lens of what happened in the Soviet Union when they took power.

America is about to become full-on Marxist. It's only a few short years away. But, first you all must be disarmed, and by golly you will be.
America is about to become full-on Marxist. It’s only a few short years away. But, first you all must be disarmed, and by golly you will be.

Get ready, because it’s coming and you will not be able to stop it.

The Soviet Union is the blueprint for much of what the left is selling these days. We can see it all around us. And yet we mistakenly think that it is dead and buried. We mistakenly think that it only exists in Communist China.

That’s really and terribly wrong.

The progressive Marxists in America would have a very difficult time living inside of China. For it is a Chinese Conservative traditional nation with zero tolerance for any of that progressive nonsense. They believe in work, merit and participation. If you don’t agree, they will re-educate you to “cure” your malfunction. The Communist Chinese are communist in name only.

They are a traditional conservative totalitarian nation with zero acceptance of anything else.

It’s not “free” like America is. It doesn’t permit “diversity” as part of “democracy”. It doesn’t allow the “free exchange of ideas and thought” like America does. It doesn’t permit allowances for the “less fortunate” or the “less privileged”.

America has "freedom" and "democracy".
America has “freedom” and “democracy”.

The blueprint for progressive Marxist democrats is not China, it is the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union was one of the most brutal regimes of the 20th century. Yet, given the significant timescale of its existence and subsequent collapse, many things have been erased from public memory. Today it is remembered fondly by the leadership of the Democrat party, and cherished by their rabid followers.

This is really strange as terms like dictatorship are often used casually in political debate. This is done without a full appreciation of what real tyranny actually looks like. As well as what to expect when it is permitted to thrive and grow inside of America…

Pseudoscience will be endorsed by the Federal government.

While Soviet socialism (typically referred to as communism) was viewed as scientific by its followers, science was unquestionably subject to ideology.

Trofim Lysenko was a Soviet scientist who backed an alternative theory to genetics which would become known as Lysenkoism. He was hostile to the idea of genetics which highlighted unchanging traits. This was at odds with his Marxist beliefs, which stated that with the right conditioning, society and ultimately humanity could be perfected.

What was once consider fringe, became suddenly real when the armed government took control of the narrative. This was true in all historical venues and will be frighteningly true in America as well.
What was once consider fringe, became suddenly real when the armed government took control of the narrative. This was true in all historical venues and will be frighteningly true in America as well.

The Soviet government eagerly embraced Lysenko’s ideas and his theory was installed as the only acceptable viewpoint within agricultural science. Any scientists who challenged this were removed from their positions and publicly smeared. Many were imprisoned and executed. Not only was science handicapped in the Soviet Union for decades, these bogus theories worsened the famines of the 1930s.

We can well expect that pseudoscience to be embraced and made the law of the land within America;

  • Global Warming.
  • Gender equality.
  • Mainstream abortions on demand as being natural.
Children protesting climate change.
Children protesting climate change.

Psychiatry will be used to silence political dissidents

In the Soviet Union, political dissidents were imprisoned for years in mental asylums and forcibly given mind altering drugs for challenging Marxist doctrine. It was claimed that anyone who lived in a socialist system but was still opposed to socialism had to be insane.

The Soviet authorities even invented a new psychiatric term; ‘sluggish schizophrenia’. Its symptoms included obsessing over philosophy or religion, having ‘delusions of reform’ and having inflated self-esteem. But of course, the disorder was completely made up and deliberately vague so it could be attached to dissidents when useful.

In a society that makes no differences regarding gender, would have no problem forcing gender change "therapy" on dissidents.
In a society that makes no differences regarding gender, would have no problem forcing gender change “therapy” on dissidents.

What made this method particularly effective was that once someone’s sanity was called into question, they were not subject to the same due process compared with a criminal case. This gave the State even more power than it normally had as it wasn’t required to inform the accused of basic details of their case. Approximately 20 thousand people were institutionalized under such claims but the total is believed to be significantly higher.

We hear about progressive liberals wishing Trump supporters would die, and they have even taken up arms and weapons to make sure this happens. Imagine what happens when they are in complete control of the medical establishment.

The top Democrat Leadership will all be sexual predators

Funny how the progressive Marxists are all about trying to out Sexual predators. However it’s been my experience that the people who talk the loudest about certain things are usually the one with the problems about that issue.

The democrat party rewards sexual predators.
The democrat party rewards sexual predators.

Lavrentiy Beria was a Soviet politician and state security administrator under Stalin. He began his career as the chief of police in Georgia and eventually became the head of the secret police, overseer of the Gulag prison system and Central Committee member. Stalin warmly referred to him as “my Himmler”.

Aside from being responsible for the murder, torture and false imprisonment of millions of peoples, he was also a well-known sexual deviant. During his free time he would prowl the streets of Moscow and identify young women for his henchmen to kidnap and transport to his private accommodation where he would sexually assault them. After his death Beria’s villa was turned into an embassy and during refurbishments the bones of dozens of young women and teenage girls were discovered buried on the property.

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore notes that Beria’s depravity was well known amongst the Soviet leadership. While Stalin tolerated Beria due to his reliability, in one instance, when Stalin heard his daughter was at Beria’s house, he frantically called her and ordered her to leave immediately.

Bill Clinton and Jeffry Epstein.
Bill Clinton and Jeffry Epstein.

Expect, regardless of gender, the top progressive Marxist leadership will be aggressive sexual predators. They will have money, complete and absolute power, and will be able to do what ever they want with out any opposition.

Prisons will be an integral part of the United States economy.

The labor camp system was originally created by Lenin but was at its worse under Stalin. These camps, which would become known as the Gulag, were used to imprison those accused of political crimes. The conditions in the camps were appalling. Abuse and mistreatment were commonplace, and it’s estimated up to 2 million people died within them.

American prisons, both State and Federal, will be repurposed to hold "undesirables", "deplorables" and other misfits that cannot adjust to the new Marxist utopia that America has become.
American prisons, both State and Federal, will be repurposed to hold “undesirables”, “deplorables” and other misfits that cannot adjust to the new Marxist utopia that America has become.

These camps operated as a tool of political terror and also facilitated what was essentially slave labor. The Soviet authorities saw the Gulag as a way of helping the economy and believed it could produce a significant amount of income.

Gulag prisoners were frequently put to work in mines, forests, oil fields and large construction projects. Huge amounts of the resources were produced from the forced labor, creating an entire industry in itself. At Kolyma, a region in the far east of Russia, there were 80 Gulag facilities, all dedicated to mining its significant gold deposits.

However, the Gulag turned out to be an ineffective economic model because unsurprisingly slaves don’t make good workers. The labor camps ultimately became a massive drain on State finances.

Most State prisons within America today operate under a "for profit" model for private enterprise.
Most State prisons within America today operate under a “for profit” model for private enterprise.

Today, throughout the United States, the prisons exist under a “for profit” model. Expect them to be expanded and merged with FEMA and some kind of Social Program along the lines of the CCC to enroll dissidents and control them.

Starvation will be used as a weapon

Several famines occurred within the USSR as a result of farm collectivisation. This was largely due to the fact that this policy simply does not work, but what is also true is the Soviet authorities knew that access to food could be used to control the population.

An enormous percentage of Americans rely on food stamps to live. The government can control these people by withholding their benefits.
An enormous percentage of Americans rely on food stamps to live. The government can control these people by withholding their benefits.

This strategy was used in one of the most infamous man-made famines of the 20th century, the Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor. What was particularly cruel about this famine was that it wasn’t solely caused by incompetence, bad policy or denial. Rather it was deliberately manufactured and worsened by Stalin as a means of wiping out the Kulaks, peasant farmers who were economically more successful than the rest of the population and thus, class enemies.

Historians have also speculated that the famine was targeted at Ukraine in order to weaken its national identity. Ukrainian nationalists had put up fierce resistance to Bolshevik rule during the Russian civil war and Stalin was not willing to risk the region rising up.

After seizing crops and livestock, Soviet forces closed off the borders and arrested- or just shot- anyone that tried to flee. It’s estimated that four million Ukrainians died as result of this famine but the true figure will never be known as there was a coordinated effort to cover up the death toll.

An enormous percentage of Americans rely on food stamps to live. The government can control these people by withholding their benefits.
An enormous percentage of Americans rely on food stamps to live. The government can control these people by withholding their benefits.

Enemies with become friends.

While it is true that Nazism and Communism were bitter enemies, the two ideologies saw they had more in common with each other than their non-authoritarian rivals. After all, both are, fundamentally socialist systems.

Their uneasy but mutually beneficial association peaked in August 1939 with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Officially, this was a neutrality pact but in reality it was also an agreement on which areas of Eastern Europe the two regimes would take over. Poland was the main target of this deal, and within two weeks of each other, the two powers occupied the nation in September 1939. As the Nazis rounded up Jews in their half of the country, the Soviets systematically murdered Polish intellectuals and military officers in their sector.

Chuck Schumer with President Putin of Russia.
Chuck Schumer with President Putin of Russia.

Even years prior to this agreement, the secret police of both regimes, the Gestapo and NKVD, had been cooperating by exchanging political dissidents who had fled their respective countries. More bizarrely, the NKVD handed over numerous German communists to their Nazi counterparts. Many of those who were traded between the two agencies would meet their end in either the Gulag or SS concentration camps.

Like the book “Animal Farm” you will see the those in power will embrace the ideologies of other socialist nations, become close working friends and mutually support each other.

Terror and violence will be mainstream.

People who are “woke” have little respect for the thought of others. They go into “brain freeze” and immediately assault you for thinking differently than they do. You can expect this behavior to become sanctioned by the government.

Antifa are the "Brown Shirts" of the American Democrat Party.
Antifa are the “Brown Shirts” of the American Democrat Party.

When the atrocities of the Soviet Union are discussed, much of the focus is put on Stalin. However this means the crimes of other earlier revolutionary figures are overlooked, in particular with the USSR’s founder, Vladimir Lenin.

Lenin strongly believed that there could be no peaceful transition from capitalism to communism. The wealthy elites could only be removed from power by force, not to mention they had to be punished for their crime of exploiting the people. Even after the Bolsheviks had achieved control of the government violence and specifically terror were used to control the population and eliminate any perceived threat to its power.

The Democrat "Brown Shirts";
 the Antifa, thrive in Democrat strongholds, but once the Democrats obtain true and complete power, they will be everywhere.
The Democrat “Brown Shirts”;
the Antifa, thrive in Democrat strongholds, but once the Democrats obtain true and complete power, they will be everywhere.

Hundreds of thousands, potentially millions of people, were executed and imprisoned during the ‘Red Terror’, a campaign of violence against those labelled as class enemies. Additionally, during the early years of the Bolshevik government, numerous uprisings were brutally put down.

All of this was organized and endorsed by Lenin. It was under his leadership that the secret police, initially called the Cheka, and the Gulag were established. Moreover, he explicitly stated that the goal was to terrify the population into submission.

This is what the Antifa will look like once the Democrats come to complete and absolute power in America.
This is what the Antifa will look like once the Democrats come to complete and absolute power in America.

“Fake news” will be used to control thought.

We have become accustomed with Google, Facebook, Twitter and all their sub-companies censoring conservative thought. They have also created “fact check” organizations to enforce the legitimacy of their narratives. This is a well known technique and was practiced in the Soviet Union extensively.

CNN news team announces that Trump won the 2016 Presidential Election.
CNN news team announces that Trump won the 2016 Presidential Election.

The KGB was the institutional successor of the Cheka and NKVD, operating from 1954 to 1991 and was responsible for state security. Abroad, its primary goals were to foster political unrest and promote Marxist ideology.

One of the KGB’s most well-known activities was planting false stories in Western media and spreading conspiracy theories with the intent of destroying trust in institutions and inciting conflict. Today this is widely known as ‘fake news’ but its origin can be traced back to the Communist intelligence agency who referred to it as ‘disinformation’.

President Trump was the first person to take on the massive American news organization.
President Trump was the first person to take on the massive American news organization.

One of the most famous cases of a successful disinformation campaign was in 1984 when the US media covered the supposed scandal of the AIDs virus being created by the American government. This was in fact a lie that had been carefully crafted and strategically inserted into foreign news sources by Soviet intelligence until it reached Western journalists.

Within Russia, while the KGB was officially disbanded, its influence and tactics can still be observed today and have undoubtedly been boosted by the emergence of the internet.

Sweeping purges of non-Marxist thought will be common.

Once the progressive Marxists take control there will be no “free thought”. Like at work, you cannot offend anyone, it will be on steroids. You will, and must act and speak in accordance with the proclaimed fashion. If you fail to do so, you might end up in a re-education camp in Alaska.

Historian Stephen Kotkin describes the Great Terror as “an episode that seems to defy rational explanation.” Between 1936 to 1938 Stalin carried out a sweeping political purge of his administrative, military and diplomatic ranks. Hundreds of thousands of people were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and in many cases summarily executed based on imaginary political offenses.

Sweeping purges of non-Marxist thought will be common.
Sweeping purges of non-Marxist thought will be common.

Again, there was no rational reason to inflict this chaos on the country. Historians have been baffled for decades over Stalin’s actions in this period as his position as leader was arguably stronger than it had ever been and there were no obvious internal threats to the Soviet Union.

While several theories have been put forward, Kotkin suggests that the most creditable explanation is that Stalin wanted to psychologically destroy his inner circle so they would never try to undermine him. Alongside this twisted motivation was Stalin’s paranoia towards the influence of his exiled rival, Leon Trotsky, especially after Trotsky published books severely criticizing Stalin.

Not only was the Terror completely unnecessary, it was also damaging to the regime. With many of the Red Army’s most experienced and competent officers purged during the Terror, Soviet forces were severely weakened in their ability to fight back when the Nazis invaded in 1941. This resulted in extraordinarily high casualties for the Soviets.

There will be institutional anti-Semitism

You wouldn’t think this would occur, but it is a foundational fundamental requirement of Marxist control.

Soviet anti-Semitism was inherited to a large degree from the Tsarist era, and arguably communist anti-Semitism can be traced back to Karl Marx himself, who firmly associated Judaism with greed and exploitation.

AOC’s Democratic Socialists chant for Israel’s destruction
AOC’s Democratic Socialists chant for Israel’s destruction

Bigotry towards Jews was also closely tied to the Soviet anti-Zionist campaign. It even had an official organization called the Anti-Zionist Committee of The Soviet Public which explicitly stated that Zionists had been collaborators with the Nazis, enabled the genocides in Eastern Europe and had deliberately exaggerated Jewish victim-hood during the war.

Expect this to be the new American Leadership once Trump leaves office.
Expect this to be the new American Leadership once Trump leaves office.

Though publicly the government claimed to make a distinction between Zionism and Jews, in reality there was institutional discrimination. Jews were prevented from holding certain jobs and were often scapegoated in political witch-hunts. Additionally, as part of the Soviet’s anti-religion campaign, the Jewish faith was subject to, alongside other religious faiths, State oppression in various forms.

The ruling democrat organization will turn on the Jewish people with a vengeance.
The ruling democrat organization will turn on the Jewish people with a vengeance.

Following the Six Day War in 1967, any Jewish-Soviet citizens who applied to immigrate to Israel were denied permission and considered enemies of the people. These individuals, the ‘Refuseniks’, faced severe social and legal consequences, with many being imprisoned for years.

Conclusion

We can see what to expect through the lens of history.

Trump has been unsuccessful in overturning centuries of corruption of the Constitutional Republic. Minor surgery with a tweet here, or an appointment of a judge there is not enough to erase the embedded “deep state” and the progressive tears by Presidents Wilson, FDR, Clinton, Johnson, Obama and Bush.

When Trump leaves, the progressive Marxists will enact sweeping changes and you will be helpless to withstand the onslaught.

Carl Marx will call America his home.
Carl Marx will call America his home.

What you need to think about is how you will adjust to the new reality and live within it. Fighting is out of the question. You will be disarmed, and if you haven’t left the United States by now, you never will.

It’s gonna be too late.

So plan on how you will live within the progressive utopia that is bounding towards you. It’s inevitable.

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Modern American Geopolitical Doctrine; Submit or be Extinguished.

Everyone seems to be confused with the role that America has in the world. Is it a force of stability, and a leader offering geopolitical guidance (and inspiration), or is it something else?

Long since President Trump came on the picture, these questions have been swirling around in people’s minds, and “muddying up” their opinions of the United States.

  • Just what kind of “neighbor” is America?
  • Is America a partner, or is it a threat?
  • Can America be counted on to contribute to the stability of the world?
  • Is America a destabilizing factor that might become a large problem in the future?

Here is an article that sorts this entire situation out.

It explains the military doctrine that was established during the Bush Administration, and how it has evolved into the totalitarian Military Empire America is today.

This is a reprint of an article titled “The Pentagon’s New Map: How to Know if America Is Your Enemy”. It was published on February 27, 2020 by Enrique Suarez and printed within “Global Research” on February 26, 2020. It was initially released on the “Strategic Culture Foundation” on the 24 February 2020. All credit to the authors. Please kindly note that it was edited to fit this venue, but every effort has been made to keep the content as pristine as possible.

The Pentagon’s New Map: How to Know if America Is Your Enemy

If your country is friendly toward Russia, China, or Iran, then today’s American Government is probably applying subversion, economic sanctions, or maybe even planning a coup …

or (if none of those will succeed) probably is war-gaming now for a possible military invasion and permanent military occupation, of your country.

These things have been done to Russia, Iran, China, Yugoslavia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, Ukraine, Georgia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and some other countries.

A Second Justification for war…

However, after the 9/11 attacks in America, the U.S. Government has added another system for selecting countries to immiserate…

… and those are mainly [1] the countries that already suffer the most misery, some of them are countries that were listed above…

… but others (many others) are not, and are selected instead largely because they are [2] already in misery, and also because America…

.... that is, the Deep State which controls it, America’s hundreds  of billionaires, who control international corporations and the press in  America and not just control the politicians who win public offices...

…. wants to [3] control the given target country in order to extract its natural resources …

…. or [4] simply in order to place some of U.S. military bases there so as to be better able to invade other countries.

The New Category for war…

This relatively new category of America’s targeted enemies was invented, mainly, in 2003 and 2004, by Thomas P. M. Barnett.

Thomas P. M. Barnett is a professor at the U.S. Naval College and columnist and writer for various popular magazines, as well as of best-selling books.

His 2004 book The Pentagon’s New Map, presents that map, to show the areas, mainly around the Equator and including all of Central America; plus all of South America except Chile, Argentina, and Brazil; plus all of Africa except South Africa, all countries of which are supposedly not connected to globalization…

 i.e., they are Third World instead of First World.

…and he says that they are unstable and therefore need to be policed by the world’s policeman, which is the U.S. Government.

The United States, to serve there as the judge, jury, and executioner, of anyone who lives there.

And those who resists that judge, jury, and executioner. 

His key statement is on page 227,

“A  country’s potential to warrant a U.S. military response is inversely  related to its globalization connectivity.”

Here is the map, which shows which countries are supposedly high globalization connectivity and therefore inappropriate for America to sanction, coup, or invade and occupy; and which countries are supposedly low globalization connectivity and therefore appropriate for America to sanction, coup, or invade and occupy:

Map of American Control freedom.
Map of American Control freedom.

As can be seen there, the following countries are not to be policed by the U.S. Government: Canada, U.S., Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, UK, Greenland, Iceland, EU, Switzerland, Ukraine, Georgia, South Africa, Russia, Mongolia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, N.Z.

He calls those the “Globalized Functioning Core.”

All others are “the Non-Integrated Gap” countries, America’s virtual free-fire zones, to control (at will) so as to ‘prevent terrorism’.

America makes the rules.

Instead of international law being what the United Nations says it is, this “new map” theory says that international law in the “Non-Integrated Gap” countries should be what the U.S. Government says it is.

The Reasoning.

According to Barnett’s theory, as he expressed it in its original version in an Esquire magazine article titled “Why the Pentagon Changes Its Maps: And why we’ll keep going to war,”.

He listed these countries as “THE GAP” or third-world countries, “My list of real trouble for the world in the 1990s, today, and tomorrow, starting in our own backyard”.

And these are listed here by the names that he gave to them:

  • Haiti,
  • Colombia,
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Former Yugoslavia
  • Congo
  • Rwanda/Burundi
  • Angola
  • South Africa
  • Israel-Palestine
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Iraq
  • Somalia
  • Iran
  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan
  • North Korea
  • Indonesia. 

Then he listed “CORE MEMBERS I WORRY WE MAY LOSE:”;

  • China
  • Russia
  • India.

So, if you live in any of those countries, then [1] Barnett, and [2] the many U.S. generals who respect his theory, and [3] the U.S. billionaires, who want the resources in those countries or else just want military bases there…

…view you as an enemy, not as a citizen of a sovereign foreign country.

This is very DANGEROUS thinking.

His Esquire article says,

“it is always possible to fall off  this bandwagon called globalization. And when you do, bloodshed will  follow. If you are lucky, so will American troops.” 

He assumes that you need a “policeman” from America because what your own country provides is too primitive.

And,

“Conversely, if a country is largely functioning  within globalization, we tend not to have to send our forces there to  restore order or eradicate threats.”

On 22 August 2017, Thierry Meyssan at Voltairenet headlined “The US military project for the world” and gave his progressive critical interpretation of Barnett’s theory by placing it into the long-term evolution of U.S. geostrategy.

On 26 September 2004, Razib Khan gave his admiring racist-fascist or ideologically nazi interpretation of it, under the headline “IQ And The Non-Integrating Gap”.

He assumed there that lower-income countries are “lower IQ” and therefore need to be directed according to the master’s whip, not as sovereign countries.

The book’s publisher places online an informative excerpt from the work. under the headline “An Operating Theory of the World” and Barnett says there:

As the “vision guy,” my job was to generate and deliver a compelling brief that would mobilize the Defense Department toward generating the future fighting force demanded by the post-9/11 strategic environment. 

Over the next two years, I gave that brief well over a hundred times to several thousand Defense Department officials. 

Through this intense give-and-take, my material grew far beyond my original inputs to include the insider logic driving all of the major policy decisions promulgated by the department’s senior leadership. 

Over time, senior military officials began citing the brief as a Rosetta stone for the Bush Administration’s new national security strategy.

The strategy remains in force, though there now is a return to focusing on the main enemies being Russia, China, and Iran.

The “gap” countries are currently viewed not only according to the “gap” but also according to their relationships to Russia, China, and Iran.

Conclusions and Thoughts

As with most policy papers and briefs, they are written with long run-on sentences, and jargon. They remain ensconced within an elite and tight circle of leadership due to the often impenetrability of their writings. But if you take the time to look into their ideas, their narratives, and their beliefs, the picture becomes quite clear.

Frighteningly clear.

America is not a nation that wants to work with other nations.

America does not trade on a “win – win” relationship. America intends to rule, and it will devote all of it’s energies to rule the world and stomp on and extinguish any person, nation or organization that stands in it’s way.

You might be ok with this if you are a 20-something gung-ho American cannon fodder type… Or if you are living inside the bubble of “American Greatness”….

While I find Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump enjoyable as entertainment, the extent of my beliefs on their abilities end there. Seriously, the idea that other people, children and families need to be killed so that “American Democracy” prevails is an idea that is dangerously sick.

I am not alone.

The rest of the world agrees with me.

The American military ARE NOT considered “freedom fighters”. They are considered to be the “strongmen for the local dictator”.

That includes the billions and billions of people in India, China, and China. All who are holding on to nuclear weapons and all of which see the behaviors of America with great ALARM.

What do you do?

When you have a rabid dog running around your neighborhood, what do you do?

You call the dog catcher, and he utilizes the best equipment and techniques at his disposal to control the dangerous beast.

But…

What if he cannot control the beast…

…then what?

Well…

…sometimes they just simply have to put it down.

America has become the rabid dog.
America has become the rabid dog.

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America’s role in the world under President Trump.

Trump, you can love him or hate him. I personally believe that America needs him domestically; the United States is in a real mess and needs a tough “pit-bull” to sort things out. However, that being said, his international leadership has been an absolute fiasco. The world-wide global stability has fallen in every indicator, all across the board. This is not just my opinion, it is all very well documented. I fear that, and history confirms, that if not properly corralled war will be the ultimate result.

I do not want that.

War will not be anything like anyone expects. It will be a nasty, nasty business. America will suffer the most, and most Americans will not be “happy campers”.

This is a reprint of an article titled “America in Distress: The Challenges of Disadvantageous Change” written by ambassador Chas Freeman on 2020-02-20. He makes some very good points (even if he is in the State Department). I have edited his article to fit this forum, but aside from that, I pretty much left it unadorned. I added formatting, and pull-quotes. Please give it a read and kindly note that all credit goes to the author.

America in Distress: The Challenges of Disadvantageous Change

Remarks to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.)
Senior Fellow, Watson Institute, Brown University
20 February 2020, Providence, Rhode Island

The 21st century arrived belatedly – but with a bang – on September 11, 2001. When aircraft repurposed as improvised cruise missiles blew up the World Trade Towers and part of the Pentagon. 

In the two short decades since the shock and awe of that attack, most of the previous century’s American efforts to bolster peace and prosperity have been undone. 

Gone are the constraints on the strong bullying the weak provided by international law, multilateral institutions, and plurilateral and bilateral commitments to mutual aid and cooperation.  

The norms that long moderated international and domestic behavior have been largely erased.  Incivility is now ubiquitous.

Political systems everywhere have been overtaken by socioeconomic and technological change. 

There is no sign they are catching up. 

In the United States and other democracies, political and economic systems still work in theory, but not in practice.

Democracies work in theory but not in practice.

In some ways, the scene in Washington now resembles that in Saint Petersburg in the last days of the Tsar, with sycophants and charlatans running amok and government capacity in rapid decline. 

…And like Tsarist Russia, America is losing its aura of imperial purpose and invincibility.

America is starting to resemble Tsarist Russia before the revolution.

American media and public discourse are dominated by bogus narratives and frenzied bigotry.  Nothing seems true, but everything seems plausible. 

Almost everyone acknowledges that there are serious unattended problems, but no one seems able to do anything about them.

All this has spawned an age of soul-sickening worry.  

Both abroad and at home, the signposts of the past provide no reassurance.  We have become pathfinders in the gloom, fumbling our way toward a better future that may or may not exist.

Many analysts attribute the current global and American despondency to President Trump.

Many analysts blame Trump.

Trump, a self-centered sociopath whose incorrigible ignorance, relentless pettiness, and winner-take-all approach to international negotiations…

… have catalyzed the deconstruction of the global political economy…

… and the established legal order. 

But the trends that underlay the shocks we are experiencing began long before anyone other than Deutsche Bank, Russian oligarchs, or Gary Trudeau had even heard of Mr. Trump.

Trump is not the cause. Trump is a symptom.

Trends initiated by Trump

Here are some notable trends that have culminated under the current administration…

Diplomacy

Washington has given up on diplomacy.

Instead has turned to an aggressive reliance on exclusively coercive means to exercise influence abroad.

Instead, turning instead to taunts, threats, unilateral sanctions, ultimatums, cyber-warfare, drone and missile attacks, assassinations, proxy warfare, and military invasions and pacification campaigns.

And I would add, germ warfare.

Might once again makes right. 

The United States now has over thirty active financial and trade sanctions programs, which it can and does impose on friends and foes alike. 

The Trump administration is averaging 1,000 new sanctions on countries, companies, and individuals per year. 

The United States currently allocates almost 5 percent of GDP to military and related budgets for past, present, and future wars, a total of $1 trillion.  (This is about one third more than the usually cited U.S. “defense budget,” which fails to include many categories of spending accounted for in other countries’ defense budgets.)  

Money spent on warfare amounts to about two-thirds of all “discretionary” spending in the federal budget.  This doesn’t leave much for investment in anything else

America is a military empire pushing everyone around.

War on Terrorism

The ill-conceived “Global War on Terrorism” has continued to snowball.

In 2001, anti-American terrorists with global reach were found in only one or two countries. 

Today, according to the Watson Institute’s Cost of War project, the United States is engaged in combat with terrorists in 80 nations. 

America is fighting in 80 nations.

We respect no sovereignty other than our own and are currently bombing at least seven nations without their permission. 

The military operations kicked off by the “Global War on Terrorism” have so far cost $5.4 trillion, plus another $1 trillion in veterans’ care.  

No end is in sight. 

The relatives and friends of the more than half-a-million Muslims killed since the U.S. anti-terrorist campaign began in 2001 continue to queue up for revenge

There are many, many people who just hate the United States and what it has done to them, their families and their societies.

American Military Forces

Despite the immensity and prowess of the American war machine, the United States has lost, or is clearly losing, every conflict it has fought in this century.

America’s military reputation is out of touch with reality.

With no fixed objectives or termination strategies for any of these wars, they go on forever… 

…And history strongly suggests that once American troops establish a presence in a country, they do not withdraw. 

Seventy-five years after defeating Germany and Japan, the U.S. still garrisons them, as it does Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq. 

In the months before the bonfire of takes surrounding the recent crisis  with Iran, America’s national security and military establishment  wrestled publicly with a different cause for alarm: in wargame after wargame pitched against Moscow and Beijing, the U.S. players wound up, according to one RAND researcher, “getting their asses kicked”—so much so that often games were simply halted midway through. 

- You Win or You Die? 

Washington has sneered at recent Iraqi demands that it remove American troops from Iraq; it has instead promised to punish Iraq if it persists in pressing for U.S. withdrawal. 

This is the behavior of an imperial occupying force, not the deference to local pride and sovereignty characteristic of an ally. 

Such arrogance makes the humiliating expulsion of U.S. forces or terrorism by local nationalists inevitable

Honor and Respect

Once famous for steadfastness and the value of our word, the United States has definitively repudiated the long-established principle of PACTA SUNT SERVANDA (“agreements must be kept”)…

… and replaced it with capricious abrogation of treaties, arbitrary withdrawal from accords, wanton sabotage of multilateral compacts, and money-grubbing hedging of security commitments.

Examples include arms control treaties, the UN Security Council-approved nuclear deal with Iran, the Paris climate accords, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Arms Trade Treaty, and previously unquestioned commitments to defend allies in Europe and Northeast Asia.

The United States has not just forsaken, but in some instances sought to hamstring the multilateral institutions engaged in global governance and cooperative rule-setting it once sponsored…

… setting their mechanisms for dispute resolution aside…

… in favor of bilateral confrontations and tests of strength.

Examples include the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), UNESCO, and the UN Human Rights Commission.

America has been breaking agreements and well established rules. Thus, it is viewed as unreliable.

Trade

Washington has replaced market-driven trade based on comparative advantage with the tariffs, quotas, and government-managed exchanges characteristic of mercantilism.

Trade policy is now a national security function…

… embodying economic nationalism…

… and the vested interests of the corporate and military-industrial elites. 

As China has continued to cut tariffs and eliminate quotas for other trading partners, U.S. tariffs on imports from China have risen from an average of 3.1 percent to 19.3 percent…

… a level last seen in the Smoot-Hawley tariffs that helped bring on the Great Depression.  

America prefers to put coercive and punitive measures on nations, rather than to work with allies.

America’s other major trading partners are on notice to expect protectionist pressures like those imposed on China.

Overseas Commitments

Rapacious rent-seeking is replacing the national interest as the justification for U.S. overseas military commitments.

The Trump administration has begun to demand that U.S. military installations and troop deployments be paid for by the nations they help defend. 

This is a significant contributor to the growing dissensus in U.S. alliances. 

It treats the U.S. armed forces as mercenaries rather than the defenders of U.S. national security. 

The US military are used as proxy mercenaries instead of defensive forces.

As U.S. defense commitments originally formulated to assure strategic denial of defeated adversaries to the Soviet empire erode, these former adversaries – nations like Germany and Japan – have been left with no choice but to rebuild their capacities…

… to act independently of the United States.

De-dollarization

Finally, U.S. unilateralism threatens to bring about de-dollarization of the global economy.

The dollar is used everywhere as a unit of account, store of value, and medium of exchange. 

Roughly 90 percent of global foreign exchange transactions currently involve a dollar leg. 

About 40 percent of global trade outside the United States is still invoiced and settled in dollars. 

Almost 60 percent of U.S. dollar banknotes circulate internationally, generating seignorage revenues that the Federal Reserve transmits to the Treasury.  (Seignorage is the difference between the face value of dollar bills and the negligible cost of printing them.) 

The universal use of the dollar as a global currency has meant lower transaction costs for U.S. businesses engaged in international commerce, lower financing costs for borrowers of dollars, and lessened sensitivity to global economic fluctuations for the U.S. economy. 

These “exorbitant privileges” (as a French finance minister once called them) have been a significant U.S. competitive advantage. 

But, as the United States increasingly restricts the international use of the dollar through unilateral sanctions, the dollar is ceasing to be usable everywhere.

Dollar dominance has enabled the United States to wield enormous extraterritorial influence in support of its geopolitical objectives. 

But there is growing international resistance to Washington’s now routine abuse of dollar sovereignty to turn foreign banks into instruments of punitive U.S. policies opposed by their own governments. 

America’s friends and foes alike are considering how best to end the dollar’s central role in global trade settlement… 

The supremacy of the US Dollar is coming to an end.

No one can now take the primacy of the dollar in international trade (and investment and the American geopolitical hegemony) it has underwritten for granted.

Foreign Reactions to America

These changes in U.S. policies and practices and their impact on the evolving international system are inevitably eliciting foreign reactions and counteractions…

…many of them detrimental to American interests. 

Each implies a very different set of world orders than the one we have known. 

And each entails a diminished role for the United States in decisions that affect global stability and prosperity.

American adjustments to these changes.

Sadly, there is now no policy process in Washington capable of considering how to shape the American and global futures. 

Congress has unconstitutionally delegated most of its authorities relating to peace, war, and foreign affairs to the executive branch. 

Congress is not doing it’s job.

But the great departments and agencies of that branch are no longer effective participants in national decision-making. 

Given other historical precedent, there’s nothing wrong with our current  government leaders that wouldn’t be solved far more rapidly, by simply  chopping 342 of them open with tomahawks and hurling them into the  Potomac river-since Boston Harbor is kinda far to toss the bodies.

-Starving Larry 

They have become little more than stages on which political performers sing the president’s praises and strut their stuff in hopes of celebrity, future riches, higher office, or all three.

Fiscal Inabilities…

The U.S. ability to adapt to change is severely constrained by fiscal incapacity.  Tax revenues are chronically short of expenditures. 

The last time Washington balanced a budget was in 2001. 

 “…and the sad truth is that 95% of the problems we have in this country  could be solved tomorrow, by noon… simply by dragging 100 people out in  the street and shooting them in the fucking head.” 

– An anonymous US  Marine. 

The federal revenue shortfall (i.e. the budget deficit) is now about $1 trillion annually – about the same size as overall military spending – and it’s destined to grow. 

Roughly 40 percent of any U.S. deficit is currently borrowed abroad. 

There is no money for the maintenance of human and physical infrastructure, let alone new initiatives to enhance economic competitiveness or project American power abroad. 

Sixty percent of the world’s reserves are held in dollars. 

…But some day…

… a few astute foreigners will notice that the United States has no plan to finance its mounting debt with anything but further credit rollovers and borrowing.  

Those foreigners will then switch to currencies more likely to hold value than the dollar.

Those nations that continue to use the US Dollar might experience financial ruin if the rest of the world decouples from it.

America’s Diplomatic Ability

Meanwhile, years of diplomacy-free foreign policy and rampant militarism have gutted American diplomatic capacity. 

This has left the U.S. military to manage America’s international relations. 

But the generals and admirals have no answers to the dilemmas their own regime-change interventions and forever wars have created…

… let alone the pressing economic, technological, global governance, and financial challenges now facing the country. 

The deficit-induced inability of the United States to invest in human and physical infrastructure…

… science or medical services at home…

…or anything other than military activities abroad continues to erode American competitiveness. 

China and other rising or resurgent powers are building rival competencies as American non-military capabilities erode. 

So, China and other nations are likely to play a larger role than the United States in determining what is to come. 

You get what you can pay for…

… not what you believe past leadership entitles you to.

American leadership on all fronts are sun-setting. Other nations are taking the lead in areas formerly occupied by America.

Democracy!

After 9/11, Americans began a program of hit-and-run attempts to democratize other countries. 

As America’s founders had warned, such military and ideological adventurism is lethal to democratic constitutionalism.  

U.S. regime-change policies have stimulated smaller powers to develop their own means of striking back at the United States from afar…

… including with nuclear weapons. 

North Korea is the prime example of this.  But, given recent events, it is hard to imagine that Iran and others will be far behind.

America’s amazing global success derived less from our military might…

… than from our embrace of equality of opportunity…

… and shaping of the world’s multilateral institutions…

… our openness…

… and our ability to constantly redefine ourselves as we assimilated and were changed by successive waves of immigrants.

These were qualities that others everywhere admired and aspired to emulate.  Border walls, Muslim bans, and the mean-spirited refoulement (or turning back) of refugees tell the world that the United States has set aside the values that long made it internationally inspiring to others.

And if democracy means citizen participation in setting policies, budgets, and national priorities…

…it is hard for foreigners to find much evidence of it in the contemporary United States…

… a nation now led by plutocrats…

… and manipulated by deceptive media. 

Instead, they see American politics as both cynically venal and indecisive. 

The United States is now a nation in which intransigent partisanship appears to have succeeded the separation of powers as the basis of decision-making about public policy and personnel. 

To many abroad, America has lost its mojo.

American “democracy” is a failure and everyone notices it.

Use of military might.

It is against this unpromising background that the United States has decided that the only way to influence foreign nations is to use economic sanctions and military power to bring them to their knees. 

The Trump administration has leavened this approach to problematic opponents by coupling what it calls “maximum pressure” on them…

… and their national interests…

… as they see them with transparently insincere flattery of their leaders and appeals to their greed.

So far, however, the application of this bizarre approach to U.S. relations with nations like China, Iran, north Korea, Pakistan, and Turkey, as well as to Europe, has yielded nothing but pushback. 

America is considered a global bully deserving of some comeuppance.

Maximum pressure without the flattery has done nothing to advance U.S. interests in Cuba or Venezuela, while flattery without pressure has gained America nothing with Israel, Russia, or Saudi Arabia. 

Clearly, the United States needs to revamp its diplomatic doctrine.

The rest of the world is reacting…

In the meantime, Americans must expect increased hedging on the part of their traditional security partners. 

Even Britain now seeks to reduce dependence on the United States and its military technology. 

Germany and Japan are cautiously rebuilding the capacity to act on their own interests internationally without regard to the United States. 

As they do so, they are rearranging their strategic environments. 

It is unlikely that any foreign nation will attack the United States, since the consequences for an attacker would be too severe. 

But in time, many of America’s erstwhile military allies and protected states will reemerge as at least limited rivals of U.S. power in third countries and regions. 

Their previously confident dependence on the defense capabilities of the United States had successfully precluded this.  

Nations are taking things into account that do not include American interests.

But as they look only to their own interests, they will be ever less likely to make common cause with the U.S. on matters that concern them less than Americans.

That is unfortunate. 

For decades to come, both the security of Americans abroad and their safety at home are almost certain to be imperiled by delayed reactions from the relatives, friends, and coreligionists of the many dead in our so-called Global War on Terrorism. 

International cooperation is essential to manage and mitigate these threats, which are largely of our own making. 

Given U.S. self-centeredness and unilateralism, cooperation by other countries will be significantly less forthcoming than it might have been. 

Meanwhile, the foreign adversaries of the United States will begin to subject Americans to the deadly techniques Washington has devised to kill presumed terrorists since 9/11 – assassinations, cyberwar, drone attacks, and the like.

The Good News…

The good news is that the “attack surface” – the bases and deployments accessible to enemy attack – that the United States presents to foreign foes will shrink as American forces are brought home either at U.S. initiative or at that of the countries they have garrisoned.

Circumstances have changed. 

In the Cold War, a U.S. military presence was valued by other countries as both a deterrent and a tripwire against foreign attack.

Now a continuing U.S. presence is likely to be seen as both an attractive nuisance…

… and an impediment to the negotiated resolution of the issues dividing nations…

… by the peoples of those nations themselves.  

Examples include Afghanistan, Iraq, China, and Korea.  The tension between the U.S. focus on deterring changes in the status quo and host-country citizens’ eagerness for the restoration of national unity makes longstanding military deployments increasingly precarious. 

Some U.S. overseas presences seem certain to generate unwelcome surprises.

Nations no longer want American troops to be stationed there.

Afghanistan.

The ill-considered U.S. pacification campaign in that fractious country has failed. 

There has been neither clarity nor fixity about our objectives there. 

The main American goal now seems to be to withdraw without having to admit defeat. 

For now, however, U.S. and NATO forces remain a feature of the politico-military landscape…

… to be exploited by all sides in their ongoing ethnic and religious conflicts and struggles…

… to siphon off foreign aid and control the drug trade. 

As long as foreign troops remain in their country, Afghan factions will avoid the compromises with each other that the foreign presence enables them to sidestep or delay. 

The withdrawal of U.S. and other Western forces would remove a key impediment to peace. 

Afghanistan wants the United States to leave.

The United States should let Afghans work out Afghanistan’s problems even as we retain the ability to return to Afghanistan if it once again becomes a haven for terrorists with global reach.

Iraq.

The Shi`ite Arab majority in the Baghdad parliament has now formally demanded the departure of U.S. and other foreign forces. 

But the Kurds and many Sunni Arabs in Iraq view a continuing U.S. military presence as essential to preserve their ability to defy the authorities in Baghdad. 

The United States has inadvertently become the essential bulwark of the ethno-religious divisions that its invasion and occupation of Iraq energized. 

It’s withdrawal would force Kurds, Sunnis, and Shi`i to attempt to hammer out a modus vivendi of some sort within a more unified Iraq. 

If successful, this would dilute Iraq’s sectarianism…

… deprive the so-called Islamic State of space to maneuver in a divided Iraq…

…revive Iraqi nationalism as the antidote to Iranian domination of Iraqi politics…

…and reopen the possibility that Iraq might once again balance Iran.

Iraq wants the United States to leave.

Taiwan.

The separation of the island from the rest of China resulted from a civil war among Chinese that was suspended but not ended by U.S. naval intervention in June 1950. 

Taiwan has since emerged as a far more attractive society than that on the mainland. 

Bullshit. Maybe twenty years ago. Not today.

But this is not my article, so...

But the military balance in the Taiwan Strait has shifted overwhelmingly against it.  In this context, the Taiwan Relations Act’s vague unilateral U.S. undertaking to help defend the Chinese on Taiwan from those across the Strait provides Taiwanese with a persuasive rationale to avoid pursuing an agreed relationship with Chinese on the mainland. 

As frustration with the direction of Taiwan’s politics and American policy mounts in Beijing, a resumption of the Chinese civil war is becoming more rather than less likely.  

Again. Complete nonsense.

Less, rather than more U.S. military involvement would arguably both improve prospects for a negotiated resolution of Taiwan’s status by the Chinese parties themselves and eliminate the most likely casus belli between China and the United States. 

An active conflict over Taiwan could easily escalate to the level of a nuclear exchange.  U.S. policies that sustain involvement in the latest phase of China’s civil war are long overdue for some sort of strategic triage.

I do agree here. Any attempt to conduct military operations regarding Taiwan will see New York City vaporized.

Taiwan can trigger a nuclear conflict.

Korea.

It’s intervention in 1950 successfully prevented Korea’s unification under Pyongyang. 

The Korean War resulted in an armistice but no peace.  In the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, a large U.S. troop presence was almost certainly the principal deterrent to renewed attack on the South by the North. 

But, the balance of power on the peninsula has long since shifted decisively in favor of the South, which has become one of the most successful societies on the planet.  

Today, South Korea’s economy is fifty times bigger than that in the North.  Its armed forces are also vastly better equipped .

In this century, an increasingly self-confident Seoul has begun to explore the possibility of peace with Koreans north of the 38th parallel. 

But the United States has remained focused solely on the north Korean military threat. 

Seoul and Washington are no longer in sync, still less in lockstep.  “Kachi kapsida” – “we go together,” the US-ROK alliance slogan – rings increasingly hollow.

Some South Koreans favor a continuing U.S. military presence in their country but ever more seem to view it as humiliating. 

Despite President Trump’s three meetings with Kim Jong-un, the United States continues to reject addressing North Korea’s security concerns as a prerequisite to facilitating arms control, including denuclearization, and intra-Korean détente.

The American warfare state is adamantly opposed to any troop drawdown in Korea. 

Korea wants Americans to leave.

But the possibility that South Koreans will insist on such withdrawals is increasing. 

This is in part because they do not want to be caught up in escalating Sino-American tensions and in part because they want a free hand to craft a relationship with their fellow Koreans to the North.  

The consequences for the U.S. position in Northeast Asia of a falling out over troop withdrawals could be as strategically damaging…

….as north Korea’s unbroken drive to acquire a nuclear deterrent capable of striking the continental United States.

America is becoming isolated.

As Washington replaces staunch commitments to other countries with noncommittal stands…

… and U.S. alliances decay…

… the risks of American self-isolation from multilateral bodies are also becoming ever more apparent. 

American repudiation of multilateral agreements like TPP and the Paris climate accords did not kill these institutions or cause others to discard their objectives. 

Japan took the lead in refashioning TPP into an eleven-member grouping that others now seek to join. 

It is now forging a loose Japanese-led order in East Asia to balance China. 

When Syria belatedly signed on to the Paris accords, the United States became the only nonmember on the planet. 

As these groups agree on programs and rules, Americans have no say in them. 

Indeed, there is a real danger that compensatory tariffs will eventually be applied to imports from countries that are not in compliance with multilaterally agreed rules about carbon emissions. 

The main, if not the only target of such tariffs would be the United States.

America is isolating itself from the rest of the world.

Time for new relationships…

Washington’s efforts to incapacitate the WTO are now spurring the creation of more efficient tribunals for trade and investment dispute resolution. 

At the end of January, the EU, China, Brazil, South Korea, and twelve others agreed on a system to stand in for the WTO appellate process, which the United States had hamstrung. 

Another example is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU. 

CETA eliminates tariffs on 98 percent of EU-Canada trade, harmonizes standards for regulated professions, facilitates staff transfers between companies operating in multiple jurisdictions, and stiffens the enforcement of intellectual property rights. 

It contemplates the establishment of a permanent multilateral investment court with improved rules for its members. 

By contrast, the so-called “phase one” trade deal with China…

…entrenches U.S. protectionism…

… and leaves future disputes to be resolved through bilateral tests of strength that amount to renewed trade wars.

The EU has adopted CETA as a model for future free trade agreements (FTAs). 

China’s Belt and Road Initiative similarly eliminates barriers to trade as well as transit and creates special courts to resolve trade and investment disputes among its participants.

The new African Continental Free Trade Area does the same. 

The biggest things these initiatives have in common are [1] their affirmation of multilateralism and [2] their exclusion of the United States. 

The world is inventing post-WTO arrangements to expand trade and investment.  It is doing so both despite America and without it.

America is divorcing itself from the rest of the world.

America’s economic warfare.

Meanwhile, the United States has stepped up its use of the dollar as an instrument of economic warfare. 

America’s unilateral application and enforcement of dollar-based sanctions…

… including secondary sanctions that penalize third countries and their banks and companies for dealing with any country backlisted by Washington…

… reflects open U.S. contempt for the United Nations, international law, and other countries’ sovereignty. 

It is deeply resented internationally. 

This has driven the world’s major trading nations into a serious search for ways to end dollar supremacy. 

Without other nations using the US Dollar, the gigantic US financial debt would really start to affect the United States.

Their efforts have included the creation of alternatives to SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) to handle money transfer instructions.

Keeping away from America’s grasp…

The Russian “System for Transfer of Financial Messages” (STFS) has already de-dollarized 70 percent of trade within the Eurasian Economic Union. 

China’s UnionPay still uses dollars when converting currencies but, later this year, Beijing is expected to expand its Cross-Border International Payments System (CIPS) to connect some twenty banks in a worldwide payments superhighway for clearing and settling transactions in yuan. 

It will link up with the Russian STFS and an Indian system now being designed.  

Earlier, the EU established a “special vehicle” to conduct trade with Iran outside SWIFT.  

The BRICS group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is joining forces to create a single payment system – BRICS Pay.

The People’s Bank of China recently announced plans to issue a digital (blockchain-based) version of the Chinese yuan, allowing the world’s largest non-dollar economy to extend its almost cash-free domestic systems for settling transactions to the world. 

The link-up between a digitized yuan and emerging alternatives to SWIFT represents a major threat to the dollar’s continued near-monopoly of international trade settlement.

It also threatens traditional banking because it promises a faster, much cheaper way to handle international transactions. 

Still the main driver of this and other new clearance mechanisms is the desire to evade the extraterritorial enforcement of U.S. policies that most of the world considers both illegal and obnoxious.

The USA treats the rest of the world as poor-versions of America. The first step to stop this is to sever the banking and financial ties to America.

An erosion of dollar primacy would have profound effects on American hegemony.  The U.S. ability to print money and exchange it for foreign goods and services would be reduced, if not ended. 

Dollar notes held overseas represent interest-free loans to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. 

Lessened demand for dollars overseas would lower the dollar’s value in relation to other currencies, reduce its credibility as a vehicle for storing value, and negate the rationale for its continued dominant role in foreign exchange reserves. 

The consequences…

The emergence of digital alternatives to the dollar in the global economy would lead to less liquid capital markets in the United States and increased costs to participants in them.

In these circumstances, America could no longer run persistent balance of trade and payments deficits.

The overvaluation of the dollar that its primacy has sustained would end. 

The American standard of living would plunge. 

Decoupling from the US Dollar would crash the American economy.

Degradation of the dollar’s status would greatly erode U.S. global influence. 

In short, the confluence of foreign resistance to U.S. bullying and the emergence of new fintech has created the possibility of a devastating monetary earthquake.

The causes and catalysts of the many nasty possibilities before us are, for the most part, decisions made in Washington, not abroad. 

The rise of China and India and the resurgence of Russia are not irrelevant but hardly central to what is happening. 

When one creates a strategic vacuum, it’s easier to blame the powers that are sucked into it than oneself.

The rest of the world has had enough!

But it is not China that has substituted the use of force and the pursuit of regime change for diplomacy. 

Other countries are not engaged in global drone warfare or “forever wars.” 

They do not occupy or maintain multiple bases in lands far from their borders or bill other countries for contributions to the common defense. 

They have not felt free to repudiate treaties and agreements to which they are party. 

Neither China nor other countries are trying to destroy the institutions of global governance or replace free-market transactions with government-managed trade. 

With the notable exception of Israel, other countries are not asserting a right to assassinate foreign officials. 

And they are not imposing unilateral sanctions or waging financial warfare on others. 

All these things are examples of American self-sabotage, not predatory foreign behavior.  Curing these deviations from past practice and their pernicious consequences requires introspection and reform in Washington more than anywhere else.

Nations consider America to be dangerous, and harmful. It is considered to be unreliable and potential threat to local stability.

What to expect…

If no such introspection and reform are forthcoming, the United States will have to compete with others under the law of the jungle that it has reintroduced. 

It will face mounting opposition from a loose coalition of resistance to its faltering hegemony. 

At the moment, America is trying to best China by pushing it into economic stagnation rather than acting to enhance U.S. economic dynamism. 

This is not working, and there is no reason to believe it ever will. 

In the end, America can be competitive only if it does what is necessary to rectify home-grown deficiencies and strengthen domestic capabilities and competencies.

This means addressing obvious areas of weakness and the trends that cause them, including:

  • A continuing refusal to raise taxes to fund the government. This guarantees competitive incapacity. Budget deficits preclude maintenance of existing infrastructure, let alone new initiatives to improve competitiveness at home and abroad.
  • An undemanding educational system that is content with mediocrity in both world knowledge and vocational training. (Siemens reports that to make American workers competitive with German workers, it must give them six months of remedial training in math and other basic skills.)
  • Domestic opposition to science and rejection of its findings, coupled with declining funding for basic scientific research and bans on the publication of politically unwelcome scientific data.
  • Disinvestment in what have long been the world’s best universities and their increasing subjection to national security-derived restrictions on international collaboration.
  • Visa bans and disapprovals that discourage foreign students, visitors, and investors.
  • Inadequate and often irrelevant retraining of workers displaced by automation, foreign competition, or changes in industrial structure.
  • Complacent but mistaken assumptions of superiority to other societies, which remain uncorrected out of disinterest in examining and adopting foreign best practices. (Recall the sneer with which Hillary Clinton dismissed Bernie Sanders’ 2016 suggestion that America might have a thing or two to learn from Denmark.)
  • A tax structure that directs wealth to the plutocracy at the expense of both the middle class and an increasingly disaffected working class, and that hinders rather than supports socioeconomic mobility. (Among European countries, only Slovenia, Italy, and the U.K. now have less movement between classes than the contemporary United States.)
  • Racial prejudice and growing barriers to the admission and absorption of foreigners and their ideas.
  • An economy dominated by uncompetitive oligopolies, in which laws and regulations protect vested interests at the expense of new market entrants, and in which – contrary to the conventional wisdom – innovation is in secular decline.
  • Disdain for expertise and a marked decline in the competence of government officials.

Many Americans know what we need to do to up our game.  Still, there is next to no public discussion of our competitive weaknesses, their causes, or their remedies.  We are in an election year.  But few candidates have offered anything other than vague, cost-free prescriptions for restoring American competitiveness.

On one issue – the costs of war – the Watson Institute has stepped up to collect the data and raise the issues the Congress should have but hasn’t. 

There is a role for our great universities in stimulating the debate about the state of the nation and its future that the vested interests that dominate Washington have stifled.  And there is a long list of neglected issues for the academy to choose from.  Is it too much to hope that American civil society will intervene where an increasingly ineffectual government has failed to?

Conclusion

A bit wordy, and long.

…And he doesn’t understand modern contemporaneous China AT ALL, but…

…he does have some good points.

Americans are unaware of how the rest of the world views America. Nor do we understand how the rest of the world are treating the behaviors of America on the global stage. This is independent of whether the president is Bush, Obama or Trump.

 “The U.S. government now poses the greatest threat to our freedoms. More than terrorism, more than domestic extremism, more than gun  violence and organized crime, even more than the perceived threat posed  by any single politician, the U.S. government remains a greater menace  to the life, liberty and property of its citizens than any of the  so-called dangers from which the government claims to protect us.” 

–  John W. Whitehead 

We live in some kind of fantasy, and it’s going to get everyone hurt unless everyone “suddenly snaps alert” and wakes up.

Changes are coming, and they all are a back-lash against the American policies of the last five or so decades.

Now, America can do one of only two things…

  • Work with other nations as equals. And come up with methodologies and systems that provides American advantage.
  • Demand that everyone follow America and do as we say.

Which course do you think America is on today?

This is what I am most concerned about. While the rest of the world are putting their nations first. The American empire will shrink. To prevent that shrinkage, America might do something dangerous and worse that what it has already been involved in.

Worse.


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What happens to the oligarchy when the people revolt; the final days of Marie Antoinette

No harm will come to me. The Assembly is prepared to treat us leniently. 

- Marie Antoinette 

I’ve been musing about the direction that America is moving towards for some time now. In these musings I wonder what it must have been like for other oligarchies and their leadership when the torches and pitchforks came out. Let’s recall what happened in France to the wealthy living within their comfortable bubble of security.

Let’s look at what it was like for Marie Antoinette. One day, eating cake on fine china, surrounded by attendants in opulent attire, and the next day sitting in a dingy dungeon awaiting death.

In 1793, she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793.

The days preceding Marie Antoinette’s execution were excruciating. She was imprisoned, endured allegations of incest, and her hair went white overnight from shock. All the time, the entire nation loathed her, for she became the image of everything that was wrong with France at that time. She was the scapegoat.

True or not. Justified or not. It does not matter. She was used as the scapegoat, and suffered for her position and role within society.

The anti-Marie Antoinette propaganda was uniform and relentless. She couldn’t do anything right. If she wore lavish clothing, she was considered to be “out of touch”. When she wore “commoner clothing” she was considered to be “fake and insulting”.

It was a lose-lose proposition.

Much like the anti-China narrative going on now out of the American Media during the Trump Trade War.

Marie Antoinette – the final moments.

Marie Antoinette: the very name of the doomed queen of France, the last of the Ancien Régime, evokes power and fascination. Against the poverty of late 18th-century France, the five syllables evoke a cloud of pastel-colored indulgence, absurd fashions, and cruel frivolity, like a rococo painting sprung to life.

Rococo Painting
Rococo Painting

The real life, and death, of Marie Antoinette is certainly as fascinating. Falling from the Olympus-on-earth of Versailles to the humble cell of the Conciergerie and ultimately the executioner’s scaffold, the last days of the last real Queen of France were full of humiliation, degradation, and blood.

Life At The Conciergerie

Tucked away in its cavernous halls, Marie Antoinette’s life at the Conciergerie couldn’t have been more divorced from her life of luxury in Versailles. Formerly the seat of power for the French monarchy in the Middle Ages, the imposing Gothic palace lorded over the Île de la Cité in the center of Paris as part administrative center, part prison during the reign of the Bourbons (her husband’s dynasty).

The final 11 weeks of her life were spent in a humble cell at the Conciergerie, much of which she likely spent reflecting on the turns her life — and France — took to bring her from the top of the world to the guillotine’s blade.

Marie Antoinette being taken to the Conciergerie.
Marie Antoinette being taken to the Conciergerie.

Marie Antoinette wasn’t even French. Born Maria Antonia in 1755 Vienna to Empress Maria of Austria, the young princess was chosen to marry the dauphin of France, Louis Auguste, when her sister was found an unsuitable match. In preparation to join the more formal French court, a tutor instructed young Maria Antonia, finding her “more intelligent than has been generally supposed,” yet also warned that “She is rather lazy and extremely frivolous, she is hard to teach.”

The Years Preceding Marie Antoinette’s Death

Marie Antoinette embraced the frivolity that came so naturally to her in a way that stood out even in Versailles. Four years after coming to the heart of French political life, she and her husband became its leaders when they were crowned king and queen in 1774.

She was only 18, and was frustrated by her and her husband’s polar opposite personalities. “My tastes are not the same as the King’s, who is only interested in hunting and his metal-working,” she wrote to a friend in 1775.

As King and Queen they enjoyed different interests, different personalities and different habits. They were truly the "odd couple".
As King and Queen they enjoyed different interests, different personalities and different habits. They were truly the “odd couple”.

Marie Antoinette threw herself into the spirit of the French court — gambling, partying, and purchasing. These indulgences earned her the nickname “Madame Déficit,” while the common people of France suffered through a poor economy.

Madame Deficit
 
During her reign, Marie Antoinette became a hate symbol for those  wishing to overthrow the privilege and power of the French Aristocracy.  French society suffered from a deep class divide and she became known as  Madame Deficit for her lavish spending. She was especially hated for  the money she spent refurbishing the Palace of Versailles, particularly,  her mini-estate, the Petit Trianon. Even though it had been built for  the previous King’s mistress, it became associated with the Queen, and  how out of touch with reality she was. 

Yet, while reckless, she was also known for her good heart in personal matters, adopting several less fortunate children.

A lady-in-waiting and close friend even recalled: “She was so happy at doing good and hated to miss any opportunity of doing so.”

Smear Campaign
 
Prior to Louis XVI, the politically themed pornographic pamphlets and  books that circulated through France would focus on the King’s  mistresses, who were subject to ridicule, and considered promiscuous for their part in the King’s affairs. Louis had no mistresses, and therefore, critics unfairly turned their attention towards the Queen.  Creating propaganda that portrayed the Queen as immoral was a way for revolutionaries to “prove” that the monarchy was corrupt, and they insinuated that she slept with several men and women, including her brother-in-law. 

Whether deserved or not. The government running France for decades had plundered it. The wealthy elites treated the peasants as deplorable peasants not worthy of spitting upon. They considered them rabble.

Marie became the face for all the hate and anger.

The Monarchy And Revolution

However soft her heart was one-on-one, to the underclass of France grew to consider her a scapegoat for all of France’s ills. People called her L’Autrichienne (a play on her Austrian heritage and chienne, the French word for bitch).

The “diamond necklace affair” made matters even worse, when a self-styled countess fooled a cardinal into purchasing an exorbitantly expensive necklace on the queen’s behalf — even though the queen had previously refused to buy it. When news got out about the debacle in 1785, and people thought Marie Antoinette had tried to get her hands on a 650-diamond necklace without paying for it, her already shaky reputation was ruined.

Affair of the Diamond Necklace
 
In 1785, a scandal known as “The Affair of the Necklace” shocked the  French court, and it would eventually be used as an example to discredit  the French Monarchy. It began with the procurement of a diamond  necklace worth 1,600,000 livres (about $10,000,000 USD) by the Comtesse  de La Motte, supposedly for the Queen. In reality, it was for herself  and her associates. Though the fraud was eventually exposed and the  Queen proved innocent, the damage was done, and became one of the  factors leading to the dissolution of the old order, and to the French  Revolution. 
Affair of the Diamond Necklace
Affair of the Diamond Necklace . A large and expensive necklace with a dark history was a PR disaster for the French monarchy

Inspired by the American Revolution — and the fact that King Louis XVI put France into an economic depression in part by paying to support the Americans — the French people were itching for a revolt.

And while it simmered for a spell. It eventually exploded into the open.

Madame Veto
 
With the country straining under the pressure of debt and a  stagnating economy, Louis XVI proposed reforms to end the worst of the  excesses, and to impose a more progressive taxation system. The reforms  were blocked by clergymen and the nobility, but the press blamed Marie  Antoinette, labeling her “Madame Veto.” There’s little evidence to prove  whether or not she ever did veto the proposals. 

Then came the summer of 1789. Parisians stormed the Bastille prison, freeing political prisoners from the symbol of Ancien Régime power. In October of that year, the people rioted over the exorbitant price of bread, marching 12 miles from the capital to the golden gates of Versailles.

The French Revolution had been simmering for decades, and finally it burst all over France in a glorious orgy of death and destruction.
The French Revolution had been simmering for decades, and finally it burst all over France in a glorious orgy of death and destruction.

Legend has it that a frightened Marie Antoinette charmed the mostly-female mob from her balcony, bowing to them from above. The mob’s threats of violence turned into shouts of “Long live the queen!”

But the queen wasn’t soothed. “They are going to force us to go to Paris, the King and me,” she said, “preceded by the heads of our bodyguards on pikes.”

She was prescient; members of the crowd, carrying pikes topped with the heads of the royal guards, captured the royal family and took them to Tuileries Palace in Paris.

The French Revolution had been simmering for decades, and finally it burst all over France in a glorious orgy of death and destruction.
The French Revolution had been simmering for decades, and finally it burst all over France in a glorious orgy of death and destruction.

The royal couple wasn’t officially arrested until the disastrous Flight to Varennes in June 1791, in which the royal family’s mad-dash to freedom in the Austria-controlled Netherlands crumbled thanks to poor timing and a too-large (and too-conspicuous) horse-drawn coach.

The royal family was imprisoned in the Temple and on Sept. 21, 1792 the National Assembly officially declared France a republic. It was a precipitous (albeit temporary) end to the French monarchy, which had ruled over Gaul for representing the fall of a nearly a millennium.

The French Revolution had been simmering for decades, and finally it burst all over France in a glorious orgy of death and destruction.
The French Revolution had been simmering for decades, and finally it burst all over France in a glorious orgy of death and destruction.

The Death Of Marie Antoinette

In January 1793, King Louis XVI was sentenced to death for conspiring against the state. He was allowed to spend a few short hours with his family until his execution before a crowd of 20,000.

Marie Antoinette, meanwhile, was still in limbo. In early August she was transferred from the Temple to the Conciergerie, known as “the antechamber to the guillotine,” and two months later she was put on trial.

Death Of Marie Antoinette
Death Of Marie Antoinette

She was only 37 years old, but her hair had already turned white, and her skin was just as pale. Still, she was subjected to an excruciating 36-hour trial crammed into just two days. Prosecutor Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville aimed to denigrate her character so that any crime she was accused of would seem more plausible.

Thus, the trial began with a bombshell: According to Fouquier-Tinville, her eight-year-old son, Louis Charles, claimed to have had sex with his mother and aunt. (In reality, historians believe he made up the story after his jailer caught him masturbating.)

Marie Antoinette replied that she had “no knowledge” of the charges, and the prosecutor moved on. But minutes later a member of the jury demanded a response to the question.

Surrounded by people who hated and loathed her, she found herself alone and stripped of all that she knew and loved.
Surrounded by people who hated and loathed her, she found herself alone and stripped of all that she knew and loved.

“If I have not replied it is because Nature itself refuses to answer such a charge laid against a mother,” the former queen said. “I appeal to all mothers here present – is it true?”

Her composure in court may have ingratiated her with the audience, but it didn’t save her from death: In the early hours of October 16, she was found guilty of high treason, depletion of the national treasury, and conspiracy against the security of the state. The first charge alone would have been enough to send her to the guillotine.

Her sentence was inevitable. As historian Antonia Fraser put it, “Marie Antoinette was deliberately targeted in order to bind the French together in a kind of blood bond.”

In the early hours of October 16, she  was found guilty of high treason, depletion of the national treasury,  and conspiracy against the security of the state.
In the early hours of October 16, Marie Antoinette was found guilty of high treason, depletion of the national treasury, and conspiracy against the security of the state.

Shortly before she met the guillotine, most of her snow-white locks were cut off.

At 12:15 p.m., she stepped on the scaffold to greet Charles-Henri Sanson, the notorious executioner who had just beheaded her husband 10 months earlier.

Though the man in the black mask was an early supporter of the Guillotine machine, he probably never dreamed he’d have to employ it on his former employer, the queen of France.

Marie Antoinette, clad in simple white so different from her signature powder-blue silks and satins, accidentally stepped on Sanson’s foot. She whispered to the man:

“Pardon me sir, I didn’t mean to.”

Those were her last words.

After the blade fell, Sanson held up her head to the roaring crowd, which shouted “Vive la République!”

Marie Antoinette’s remains were taken to a graveyard behind the Church of Medeleine about half a mile north, but the gravediggers were taking a lunch break. That gave Marie Grosholtz — later known as Madame Tussaud — enough time to make a wax imprint of her face before she was placed in an unmarked grave.

Some death masks of those executed during the French Revolution.
Some death masks of those executed during the French Revolution.

Decades later, in 1815, Louis XVI’s younger brother exhumed Marie Antoinette’s body and gave it a proper burial at the Basilica of Saint-Denis. All that remained of her, besides her bones and some of her white hair, were two garters in mint condition.

It Wasn’t Her Fault
 
Despite claims from sources such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas  Jefferson, Marie Antoinette’s excessive spending was not the true cause  of the French Revolution. When she and Louis XVI took the throne, the  country was already broke, and the treasuries were empty. 

While her  spending certainly didn’t help France’s economic problems, it didn’t  break the proverbial bank. Louis’ unpopular and expensive decision to  send troops to America to help with the American Revolution was a much  bigger cost, but Marie Antoinette made an easy scapegoat. 

Conclusion

When society is stratified, it historically collapses as the “have nots” kill (and in this case, decapitate) the wealthy “haves”.

If America somehow escapes this cycle of events, it will be a miracle. All and every tell-tale are screaming “ALARM! ALARM!” at what is right down the tracks. My own predictions place some near catastrophic events in the 2024 / 2025 time period. Let’s see what happens.

Keep in mind that history repeats. And no… America is NOT special. It is following the historical precedents.


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What we can expect to happen when the Deep State “Swamp” declares war against American Citizens.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few decades, you should be aware that most Americans are quite unhappy. The progressive liberals hate the nation, the country and what it stands for. They want it to burn, be destroyed and replaced with a social utopia. The conservatives hate what the nation has become. They want a full return to the original intended government, and a leadership that obeys it. Meanwhile, the wealthy and the powerful, in full control of the government, is playing both sides against each other.

A conflict is inevitable.

There should be no question at all that our nation is at an impasse. There is a serious question of direction. As in what direction should the nation follow?

  • Embrace a Marxist paradise with the genocide of deplorables.
  • Scrap all the progressive “improvements” and return the government back to the original intent.

The Conflict.

Basically, there are those who see America as a thing to be preserved and another who see it as a thing needing to be destroyed.

  • Patriots want a return to the original principles of the founding.
  • Progressives want everything torn down and replaced with a Marxist utopia.

The Marxist Plan.

It was said by a number of Marxist thinkers over the decades and most notably William Ayers, that for America to be destroyed, it was a thing to be destroyed first from within, then by getting help from the outside.

William Ayers.
William Ayers.

And while Marxist and Anarchist apologists will be quick to minimize those statements through saying its simply from a man caught in the winds of his time, its incredibly important to note that this is the prevailing thought among higher-level academia. An academia which has groomed the brokers of power in all of our nation’s ruling agencies.

Ayers is but one man with a relatively small group, an incredibly high percentage of academics in this nation not only sided with him but not-so-quietly cheered such abhorrent actions on, shaping higher education for the decades to come.

Which brings us to the present day.

William Ayers was behind the Antifa riots in Berkley, California.
William Ayers was behind the Antifa riots in Berkley, California.

In every sociology program in America, undergrads are taught Max Weber’s theories on authority in a society and, perhaps more importantly, his theories on Bureaucracy. Normally juxtaposed to Gramsci’s theory of the superstructure, it is stressed in lectures that in order to control a society, control over the bureaucracy must first be established.

The American Government today.

Once that control is slowly implemented, there is no need for a sudden revolution. Control is already obtained. Crime becomes a tool of political power rather than a question of morality. Through this power the ability to define one’s enemies- and thus eliminate them- is simple.

Where we find ourselves today is the veil of objectivity in such a bureaucracy having been ripped away.

The corporate mass-media has recently discovered a “deep state” that they claim to be not some evil group of assassins who work for the super-rich owners of the country and murder their own president (JFK) and other unpatriotic dissidents (Malcom X, MLK, RK, among others) and undermine democracy home and abroad, but are now said to be just fine upstanding American citizens who work within the government bureaucracies and are patriotic believers in democracy intent on doing the right thing.
The corporate mass-media has recently discovered a “deep state” that they claim to be not some evil group of assassins who work for the super-rich owners of the country and murder their own president (JFK) and other unpatriotic dissidents (Malcom X, MLK, RK, among others) and undermine democracy home and abroad, but are now said to be just fine upstanding American citizens who work within the government bureaucracies and are patriotic believers in democracy intent on doing the right thing.

The ongoing impeachment farce has brought a vibrant highlight to that power wield upon anyone or anything they deem a worthy target. If the denizens of the ‘interagency group’, an unelected, unaccountable group of ring-knockers who apparently view themselves outside the authority of anyone but they, who decided to target the President for literally nothing at all, what will they do to you?

Indeed, all this political posturing is a war that is raging all around us.

When the dust clears, how will it affect you?

The Fourth Amendment.

I don’t believe its far-fetched to say the Fourth Amendment is finished.

There are no Fourth Amendment protections for Americans.
There are no Fourth Amendment protections for Americans.

There is no such thing as privacy when so many freely chose to live their lives online. Where they are always volunteering an incredibly high amount of data on themselves. Which is a data set known as patterns of life in the intelligence world…

And when such a time occurs as say, a threatening of a mass disarmament and criminalization of firearms ownership and the right to organize and train under arms…

… that without protections against the machine, armed networks of potential guerrillas may very well be unknowingly compromised before such a thing can even get off the ground.

Revolt is fated to end before it’s even vocalized.

The tools of tyranny.

The tools that are available, even open source, are powerful enough to easily map networks of potential troublemakers. This can be easily conducted beginning with collecting social media data and then confirming it all by conducting physical surveillance.

America is a full-on police state in the very definition of what a police state actually is.
America is a full-on police state in the very definition of what a police state actually is.

The process behind this is known as the Target-Centric Intelligence Cycle.

It follows five steps.

  • Find
  • Fix
  • Finish
  • Exploit
  • Assess.

It begins with a target of interest. All data is collected on the potential target with the aim of creating a plan of attack. Finishing the target is the actions-on stage. The target is either apprehended or neutralized, depending on the desired result, giving way to exploitation and assessment- whatever effects were felt in the larger targeted community, while resetting the cycle based on new targets of interest.

Military Targeting Process.
Military Targeting Process.

With the tools at their disposal, this process can be done almost entirely remotely with the only physical surveillance necessary is to confirm the data on the targets, and usually just before conducting the actions-on raid of the cycle.

Think about that one for a second.

The interesting thing about collective action and social movements is that once it gathers a fever pitch, its far too much of a risk for the superstructure to wield collective force. Some would argue that the use of force even reveals the waning influence of the superstructure. Right or wrong, the optics of such a move are never good and in my personal experience, only galvanizes a people against that power.

So the question remains then- what happens when a government decides on a dirty war against those it deems a threat?

They hate us.

We know without a doubt at this stage that the real power structure in this nation absolutely hates you and I.

By their own words they have nothing but contempt for us, for our points of view, for our way of life.

They hate us. They all have come from "privilege", and have come to despise us common people.
They hate us. They all have come from “privilege”, and have come to despise us common people.

Indoctrinated by the very same America-hating academics who serve on advisory committees…

… to the very agencies which created the powers for themselves…

… the communist revolution of gaining control of Gramsci’s superstructure has been applied to the principles of bureaucracy outlined by Weber.

Your future home - if you are lucky.
Your future home – if you are lucky.

Now, with the tools they have at their disposal, how would such an organization commit itself to a dirty war- not risking overt action but rather simply eliminating voices of dissent quietly?

Simple implementation.

So-called ‘martial law’ doesn’t have to be declared nor would it be desirable. Ties between government agencies and elements of underground criminal organizations are very real- and will be used.

Rather than risk their own officers, target packets will be handed off to the local gang and a robbery gone wrong just might happen. Do not forget that they’ve imported millions of undocumented- and thus disposable- people for more than just votes.

MS-13 criminal gang.
MS-13 criminal gang.

Maybe your drive-by-wire car all of a sudden uncontrollably accelerated into a tree.

And while all of this looks like a pattern to the folks who are awake, but being covert in nature, its an entirely deniable way to wage a war on anyone deemed a threat.

Maybe outright killing a target is too dramatic.

Maybe you’ll get caught on false charges and given a draconian sentence, while career offenders are released for ‘processing errors’.

You could be taken into custody for jay-walking, having a photo on your computer, or driving while talking on a cell-phone. Then, you could spend five or ten years in prison.
You could be taken into custody for jay-walking, having a photo on your computer, or driving while talking on a cell-phone. Then, you could spend five or ten years in prison.

Maybe your bank accounts will get frozen or assets seized. Without hard proof (or even with it), naysayers are opening the door to lawsuits you can’t afford to fight while the rest continue their normalcy bias.

The normalcy bias, or normality bias, is a belief people hold when there is a possibility of a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the likelihood of a disaster and its possible effects, because people believe that things will always function the way things normally have functioned. This may result in situations where people fail to adequately prepare themselves for disasters, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias in disasters. 

- Normalcy bias - Wikipedia 

They’ve been waging a dirty war, and its about to get even worse as more people wake up to the totality of the situation.

Break the Cycle.

Break the cycle. Its way more than just about firearms, the President, or your so-called rights.

Its a fight for survival.

The weight of an unaccountable class of people are bearing down on the rest of us, and its high time to shrug them off.

Recognize that we are an enemy to them. They are at war with you and I.

We are a threat to the "deep state" oligarchy and their "swamp". This is a fact that will not go away. We can never coexist peacefully.
We are a threat to the “deep state” oligarchy and their “swamp”. This is a fact that will not go away. We can never coexist peacefully.

One thing is absolutely certain- they won’t back off any of this and they have no interest in stopping.

The bureaucracy which wholly serves the Leftist cause in the United States wants voices like ours gone and they’ve propagandized us as no longer being human.

And when they fail to yield to protests and non-violent demonstrations, you must be prepared for what comes next.

Genocide.

Conclusion & Takeways

What is the point of this aimless and wandering post?

  • Peaceful coexistence between Marxists and deplorables is impossible.
  • The oligarchy owns the “Deep State”.
  • The vast numbers of the “Deep State” are Marxists.

Therefore…

  • Deplorables are going to be silenced, firstly. (Already in process.)
  • Then they will be treated as second or third class citizens. (Also already in process.)
  • Then they will be disarmed. (Already in process.)
  • Finally they will be exterminated.

Gear up. You have to be an idiot not to see the “writing on the wall”.


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It is now official; The United States cannot be saved. It must be permitted to consume itself from within.

The United States is beyond saving. It has passed the threshold whereas punitive and preventative measures will no longer make a difference in the future course of events regarding American evolution.

Instead, it will continue to collapse. It will start to burn and then consume itself in the process. Eventually it will burnout. Perhaps in a decade or two. In the interm will be some testy and spicy times. 

This is the case because the Justice Department found that Hillary Clinton didn't commit ANY crimes.

MSN reports the Justice Department has released their findings in the Clinton investigation, finding what they expected to find. Namely and to wit: nothing.

A Justice Department inquiry launched more than two years ago to  mollify conservatives clamoring for more investigations of Hillary  Clinton has effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and  former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything. 
           ... They included the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One  matters, along with the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Hillary  Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of  state and alleged leaks by former FBI director James B. Comey. 

This settles the matter. We’re not to speak of it again.

A review of the crimes…

  • Lying Under Oath in a Deposition
  • Lying Under Oath to a Grand Jury
  • Lying Under Oath as a Lawyer
  • Abuse of Power
  • Obstruction of Justice
  • Treason
  • Sedition
  • Corruption
  • Coercion
  • Graft
  • Bribe Solicitation
  • Taking Bribes
  • Bribery of Cabinent Members
  • Bribery of State Officials
  • Commercial Bribery
  • Commercial Bribery Recieving
  • Illegal Gift-Taking
  • Falsifying Business Records
  • Misapplication of Property
  • Criminal Use of a Computer
  • Misuse of Franking Privelege
  • Recieving Dual Compensation
  • Recieving Unlawful Gratuities
  • Malfeasance of Office
  • Perjury
  • Subornation of Perjury
  • Perjury by Inconsistent Statements
  • Criminal Trespass
  • Witness Intimidation
  • Witness Tampering
  • Jury Tampering
  • Tampering With Physical Evidence
  • Tampering With Public Records
  • Ethics Violations
  • Intentional Interference in the Administration of Justice
  • Refusing to Assist a Judicial Officer
  • Hindering Prosecution in the First Degree
  • Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree
  • Unlawful Contact in the First Degree
  • Misrepresentation
  • Civil Contempt of Court
  • Criminal Contempt of Court
  • Contempt of Congress
  • Contempt of the American People
  • Deception
  • False Information or Report
  • False Accusation
  • False Testimony
  • Factually False Testimony
  • False Swearing
  • Unsworn Falsification
  • Misappropriating Funds
  • Misconduct
  • Marital Misconduct
  • Serious Misconduct
  • Professional Misconduct
  • Official Misconduct
  • Notorious Misconduct
  • Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance
  • Obstruction of the Judicial Process
  • Misuse of Confidential Information
  • Interference With Official Proceedings
  • Recklessness
  • Grand Larceny
  • Extortion
  • Embezzlement
  • Vandalism
  • Blackmail
  • Cruelty to Animals
  • Obstruction of Highways
  • Substance Abuse
  • Evidence Suppression
  • Illegal Foriegn Campaign Funding
  • Aiding and Abetting Espionage
  • Aiding and Abetting Foriegn Dictators
  • Aiding and Abetting Arsonists
  • Aiding and Abetting a Known Felon
  • Aiding and Abetting Terrorists and Terrorist Organizations
  • Terroristic Threatening
  • Providing Material Support to Terrorists
  • Engaging in Transactions with Terrorists
  • Improper Exports of Sensitve Technology
  • Attempted Intimidation of Prosecutors
  • Failure to Declare Income
  • Failure to Investigate Drug Trafficking
  • Scheme to Defraud
  • Real Estate Fraud
  • Voter Fraud
  • Mail Fraud
  • Wire Fraud
  • Interstate Transportation to Defraud
  • Destruction of Business Records with Intent to Defraud
  • Criminalizing Frauds on Financial Institutions
  • Use of State Police for Personal Purposes
  • Illegal Loan Extraction
  • False Reports by Medical Examiners and Others Investigating Suspicious Deaths
  • Improper Futures Trading
  • Illegal Use of the Executive Branch
  • Character Defamation
  • Destruction of Evidence
  • Political Espionage
  • Money Laundering
  • Criminal Negligence
  • Possesion of False Papers
  • False Acknowledgment
  • False Declaration Before a Court
  • Wrongful Handling of Public Documents
  • Concealing or Covering Up of Material Fact
  • Misprison of Felony
  • Criminal Deception
  • Disclosure of Confidential Information
  • Failure to Account for Public Money
  • Recieving or Concealing Stolen Goverment Property
  • Failure to Deposit Federal Monies
  • Wrongful Solicitation of Embezzlement or Gifts
  • Use of a Public Building to Solicit Political Funds
  • Accepting Fee for Federal Employment
  • Offering to Procure an Appointive Public Office
  • Taking Illegal Kickbacks
  • Racketeering
  • Investing Racketeering Income
  • RICO Conspiracy
  • Conspiracy
  • Conspiracy to Conceal
  • Conspiracy to Murder
  • Conspiracy to Engage in Racketeering
  • Conspiracy to Defraud the Federal Government
  • Wrongful Destruction of War Records
  • Malicious Injury to Property
  • Acquiring an Enterprise Through Racketeering
  • Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property
  • Offering Gratuities or Graft to a Public Official
  • Soliciting or Accepting Illegal Gratuities
  • Offering Gratuities to a Witness
  • Seeking or Accepting Illegal Compensation
  • Influencing or Injuring Officers, Jurors or Witnesses
  • Obstructing Agency Proceedings
  • Obstructing Criminal Investigations
  • Threatening Victims, Witnesses or Informants
  • Harassing Victims, Witnesses or Informants
  • Retaliating Against Victims, Witnesses or Informants
  • Falsely Making or Forging a Public Record
  • Falsely Making or Forging a Document
  • Uttering or Publishing a False Public Record
  • Transmitting a False Record to the United States
  • Misuse of Government Files
  • Desecration of Federal Ethics Laws
  • Judicial Intimidation
  • Conflict of Interests
  • Illegal Campaign Activity
  • Misuse of Corporate Assets
  • Ordering Politically Motivated Audits
  • Ordering Politically Motivated Investigations
  • Timing of War Influenced by Political Considerations
  • Foreign Influence Peddling
  • Regular Influence Peddling
  • Providing False and Misleading Testimony
  • Misapplying Funds
  • Criminal Violation of the Privacy Act
  • Evisceration of the Right to Habeas Corpus
  • Misuse of Taxpayer Funds
  • Interfering with a Court Order
  • Theft of Government Property
  • Abuse of Taxpayer Financed Travel
  • Anti-American Espionage
  • Jeopardizing National Security
  • Aiding and Abetting Drug Traffic
  • Aiding and Abetting Organized Crime
  • Aiding and Abetting Terrorism
  • Murder by Accessory by Witness Tampering
  • Murder by Accessory by Forgery
  • Solicitation to commit murder by accessory
  • Accessory to Multiple Deaths
  • Accessory to Murder in the Second Degree
  • Accessory to Aggravated Murder
  • Accessory to Felony Murder
  • Accessory to Criminal Libel
  • Accessory to Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution
  • Accessory to Arson
  • Accessory to Criminal Negligent Burning
  • Accessories After the Fact
  • Accessory to Abduction
  • Accessory to Causing Mental Harm to a Child
  • Custodial Interference in the First Degree
  • Child Endangerment
  • Cruelty to Persons
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Indecent Exposure in the Second Degree
  • Indecent Assault
  • Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
  • Malicious Wounding
  • False Imprisonment
  • Sexual Abuse of Employees
  • Lewd and Lascivious Conduct
  • Exchange of Promotions or Benefits for Sexual Favors
  • First Degree Sexual Assault
  • Second Degree Sexual Assault
  • Third Degree Sexual Assault
  • Fourth Degree Sexual Assault
  • Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
  • Statutory Rape
  • Sexual Battery
  • Intent to Rape
  • Suspicion of Rape
  • Rape
  • Forcible Rape
  • Oral Copulation
  • Misdemeanor Sexual Assault
  • Sexual Misconduct in the First Degree
  • Criminal Sexual Conduct by Force and Coercion
  • Unlawful Sexual Contact
  • Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor
  • Consensual Digital Penetration
  • Lewd Proposal
  • Sexual Battery
  • Penetration by a Foriegn Object
  • Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender
  • Deriliction of Duty
  • Corrupting Public Discourse
  • Contributing to the Delinquincy of a Minor
  • Unfit to hold a law license
  • Conduct Unbecoming a President
  • Impersonating a Public Servant
  • Squandering the Public Trust

There’s a pretty good collection of information HERE.

According to the “experts” in the Judicial department, the FBI and the DOJ, Hillary Clinton is completely and absolutely innocent of any charges. There is no need to investigate further.

Let the just, and righteous woman live her life free of worry or concern. For she is innocent.

Some thoughts…

This reminds me of the movie “The Lawnmower man“.

There is a scene where a (very “sooped up”) lawnmower/tiller machine autonomously chases a guy into his house and up the stairs. It chews up everything. And, of course, kills the guy.

The detectives come to the crime scene and are aghast of all the gore and blood. The house is all torn up. Walls, floors, furniture are all reduced to kindling, and all soaked in gore and entrails.

But, just then, the “Lawnmower man” snaps his fingers and the detectives completely change. It’s like night and day.

Nothing here.” They say as they are standing ankle deep in blood, gore and splinters. “It’s obviously just a suicide, it’s an open and shut case.”

Some links to more details on these crimes…

Yeah, but this isn’t Hollywood. It’s America and this is real life.

Here’s some links going into some detail about the crimes that he was part of. After all, even she thought that she was guilty.

"... former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a 2016 email to then-Acting Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile, 

If that f**kin bastard wins, we’re all going to hang from nooses! You better fix this s**t!” 

-  WikiLeaks - Hillary Clinton Email Archive 

Of course, Snopes proved that this email is just Fake News. So you can believe them, right?

The Judicial Opinion

Hillary Clinton did not commit any crimes. It is all a “witch hunt” against an innocent woman.

What this means

If the Average American can do hard time for operating a lemonade stand in their front yard, serve years as a felon for jay-walking, and spend decades in prison for having photos on their computers…

… while people like Hillary Clinton can break every law on the books and still be found absolutely innocent…

… then the Justice system no longer functions as an agent of justice. It has another role.

Deal with the situation.

As such, Americans can either [1] accept this fact, or [2] change it.

Knowing what I know of Americans, there will be a period of discomfort and then everyone will just soak the ground with kerosene and light it up. There will be no safe, and secure ways out of the mess that currently exists.

So you all might as well rest easy.

The future is all mapped out and Mr. Sessions, or Mr. Barr will not matter any longer. You might as well forget about “Q” and all the Alt-Right hyperbole. Nothing is going to get done. The USA is a big crime syndicate.

It is now official.


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Why America is unable to shake off the grip of the oligarchy that controls it, a great video that explains it all.

Now that President Trump has released almost all of the documentation related to the President Kennedy murder, a full picture surfaces. It’s an ugly one, indeed. We now know in full detail how the President was assassinated, who the people were who participated in it, who covered it up, and the motivations behind it. It’s very interesting, but a very long study because it touches on a number of principles that Americans are uncomfortable with…

  • The wealthy guard their money and power ruthlessly.
  • They have complete control of the American media.
  • They have complete control of the American police.
  • They have complete control of the American military.
  • They treat Americans as farm animals (cash cows).
  • They kill anyone that stands in their way.

The following video is a long one, but is very complete. Watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYyw8mDDqPE&feature=youtu.be

We can now see the entire state of affairs about what our nation is, what is actually stands for and how it actually operates. So when I speak about the “oligarchy”, it should be taken to mean…

Oligarchy = Secret American Government

And, as such… it has affected everything. From technology acquisition (MAJestic), to geopolitical interactions, to society. Our world, our nation, the life that we live is what has been created for us by this oligarchy.

Yupper.

Let that sink in.

There will be a reset of sorts within America, but how it will “play out” and evolve is anyone’s guess. What you can expect is that the oligarchy will not relinquish their control or power easily. That a return to a more democratic representative, or republican form of government is impossible without serious conflict. And, that there will be a period of discomfort during this adjustment period.

I do NOT know how it will evolve. Certainly there are both human and “other” elements that favor the status quo, and they will permit an enormous amount of strife, as long as they can control it’s outcome and utility.

Those that control the United States are far too powerful, too dangerous, and too ruthless for removal. As such, the individual must plan accordingly.


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The Largest Biological Attack In American History Occurred in Oregon at Public Salad Bars

Here we look at how easy it is to unleash biochemical and germ warfare on an unsuspecting public. Germs, dangerous germs, are easily cultivated. It can be anything from leaving a pizza unattended in a automobile trunk for a week in the Summer, to actually cultivating various strains of anthrax. Now, of course, most Americans would prefer to revolt against the evil oligarchy using the ballot box, or barring that, using the second amendment to the Bill of Rights. They are totally oblivious that simpler and more deadly options are available to them.

War by Salad Bar.

If we asked you to picture a biological weapons attack in America, you might think of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Or maybe some fictional scenario like the nefarious machinations of the Umbrella Corporation (personally, it reminds me of Facebook and Google). Yet, the biggest act of bio-terror in American history occurred at a series of salad bars — which, given how many people sneeze on them, are already a form of biological warfare.

The year was 1984.

Let’s go back to 1984.

Ronald Reagan was President. Everyone wore vibrant colored spandex, carried walkmans, and pastel deco interior decorations were the norm. Radio stations voluntarily played Huey Lewis and the News, and everyone was making tedious George Orwell jokes. No one really thought that it would actually come to pass.

And in far off Oregon a community of like-minded wacko’s began to contemplate taking over the state.

Popularly known as the Orange People because of their brightly coloured robes, Sannyasins were disciples of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh or Osho.
Popularly known as the Orange People because of their brightly coloured robes, Sannyasins were disciples of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh or Osho.

It’s true, and we tend to forget just how outlandish it actually was. Back then, the Rajneesh movement was starting to commit some pretty heinous crimes. You know, the kind of crimes that would later earn them that Netflix series.

The Rajneesh movement

Founded by Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the Rajneeshees participated in an intensive syncretic spiritual movement that also made giant piles of money.

Wild Wild Country, Chapman and Maclain Way’s new Netflix docuseries, tells the story of Rajneeshpuram — a utopian commune established in rural Oregon in the early 1980s, by the the followers of Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later called Osho). The riveting series charts the escalating criminal activity that took place on the ranch, led by Bhagwan’s ruthless personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela, who adopts ever more extreme methods (poison, arson, and more) to oppose the forces — like the U.S. government — that she sees threatening their group.
Wild Wild Country, Chapman and Maclain Way’s new Netflix docuseries, tells the story of Rajneeshpuram — a utopian commune established in rural Oregon in the early 1980s, by the the followers of Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later called Osho). The riveting series charts the escalating criminal activity that took place on the ranch, led by Bhagwan’s ruthless personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela, who adopts ever more extreme methods (poison, arson, and more) to oppose the forces — like the U.S. government — that she sees threatening their group.

It was like Scientology, but with a lot of casual sex.

Many of his followers were instructed to have sex in front of him in order to discard their phobias.

-  This Oregon tantric sex cult committed the largest incidence of bioterrorism on U.S. soil 

They were a complicated group, but for this story, all you need to know is that they fled India for Oregon. While in Oregon, they built a communal farming colony modestly named Rajneeshpuram.

Followers and their leader's mugshot.
Followers and their leader’s mugshot.
 The Oregonian series goes into great detail about many of the events  covered in "Wild Wild Country," including the poisoning of many people  in The Dalles, attempts to rig Wasco County elections by busing in  homeless people to vote, and murder plots against public officials and  Zaitz himself. The series also includes many details not covered in the  documentary. The story of the Rajneeshees is that complex. 

- Read The Oregonian's original 20-part investigative series on Rajneeshees 

Over 7,000 people lived in what was essentially a small town, complete with restaurants and buses.

But residents of the neighboring towns didn’t like that they had their own militia that wandered around with submachine guns.

Guru of bio-terrorism.
Guru of bio-terrorism.
 In the beginning, though before it grew into a cult, Rajneesh had a  monastery in Poona. He appealed especially to westerners, teaching them  about tantric yoga. His followers (a large portion of them North  American celebrities) supposedly believed Rajneesh to be the “guru of  the vagina.” He allegedly slept with several of his female disciples,  taught his followers out of the ordinary sexual practices telling them  it would cure them of unrelated phobias, and instructed couples to have  sex in front of him. 

 -  This Oregon tantric sex cult committed the largest incidence of bioterrorism on U.S. soil  

The Rajneeshees would also move into tiny communities, overwhelm the voting rolls, and pass laws that served their own purposes. Like when they voted to rename the town of Antelope as Rajneesh.

And we all know that 1980s small-towners just love this kind of thing.

The good people of Oregon prefer to be the only folks in the area wielding guns for their inevitable fight against the government, and so conflict ensued. And when the county denied the Rajneeshees some construction permits, the fighting got dirty.

The Rajneeshees would also move into tiny communities,  overwhelm the voting rolls, and pass laws that served their own  purposes. Like when they voted to rename the town of Antelope as  Rajneesh.
The Rajneeshees would also move into tiny communities, overwhelm the voting rolls, and pass laws that served their own purposes. Like when they voted to rename the town of Antelope as Rajneesh.

First, 2,000 homeless people were bused in to help vote Rajneeshees into key government positions, but that failed because, contrary to what Fox News might tell you, you can’t simply pack a voting booth with random hobos.

Naturally, the next step was terrorism.

They targeted salad bars in The Dalles, the relatively large county seat, which couldn’t be overwhelmed with raw numbers like Antelope.

They targeted salad bars in The Dalles, the relatively large county  seat, which couldn't be overwhelmed with raw numbers like Antelope.
They targeted salad bars in The Dalles, the relatively large county seat, which couldn’t be overwhelmed with raw numbers like Antelope.

They tainted salad dressing, salsa, water, and produce with a salmonella-contaminated slurry. This germ warefare was pretty nasty and it sickened 751 people and hospitalized 45.

The goal was to put opposing voters out of commission, but somehow the plan backfired when suspicious locals instead turned out in force against their candidates.

While the Rajneeshee were preparing for their mystical leader’s arrival, and Sheela was driving them into excess, the native residents of Antelope were becoming restless.

“They’re invading,” said one local. “Maybe not with bullets, but with money and, um, immoral sex.”

Antelope was a small community, of about 40 people. Most were hunters and ranchers, who had lived in the town their entire lives. They were, for the most part, conservatives. Given its secluded location, the people of Antelope weren’t used to outsiders.

They especially weren’t used to 7,000 of them, all dressed in red, playing music and preaching free love and open sexual relationships. Before long, their welcoming, albeit hesitant, attitude had turned completely volatile.
While the Rajneeshee were preparing for their mystical leader’s arrival, and Sheela was driving them into excess, the native residents of Antelope were becoming restless.
“They’re invading,” said one local. “Maybe not with bullets, but with money and, um, immoral sex.” Antelope was a small community, of about 40 people. Most were hunters and ranchers, who had lived in the town their entire lives. They were, for the most part, conservatives. Given its secluded location, the people of Antelope weren’t used to outsiders. They especially weren’t used to 7,000 of them, all dressed in red, playing music and preaching free love and open sexual relationships. Before long, their welcoming, albeit hesitant, attitude had turned completely volatile.

Luckily, they weren’t able to pull off their original plan of using goddamn typhoid.

They dressed in red, worked without pay and idolized their  long-silver-bearded leader who would sit in front of them, silent. The  cult was at its height for the four years between 1981 and 1985. A  typical day was a mash-up of work, meditation, drugs, prayer and sex.  For Rajneesh and Patel, it was also a money-making scheme. Rajneesh is  reported to have owned rolex watches and 93 rolls royces all acquired  from the exploitation of his followers.

 Then things got worse. The guru wanted to grow his empire. He was  also dealing with a backlash from Oregon government and citizens. They  were suspicious of the activity happening on his land. They wanted them  out. So he pushed back. He devised a plan to put his followers in local  government—a plot to grow his following and have a position of power in  Oregon. He also wanted revenge against those who were making life  difficult for him. Many of the evil doings of Rajneesh and his cult were  under wraps until 25 years after the collapse of his cult. 

 -  This Oregon tantric sex cult committed the largest incidence of bioterrorism on U.S. soil   

It wasn’t the only thing that they did. Not by a long shot.

First, they came up with a murder scheme. The leader sent Rajneeshees in to the hospital where local politician James Comini was staying. They were to slip poison into his IV.

The plan failed when they found that he wasn’t even hooked up to an IV. Years after this plot became known, Oregon citizens found out that they also stalked others in government.

A hunting magazine declared “open season” on the Rajneeshee, and locals began referring to them as Red Vermin, or Red Rats. Not helping the situation was the fact that the Rajneeshee had taken to patrolling the perimeter of their commune with machine guns and armored cars.

As the local’s hatred toward the Rajneeshee built, so did the Rajneeshees hatred of the locals. Eventually, the Rajneeshee overpowered the residents of Antelope, and several other towns, promptly renaming it Rajneesh.

When Sheela announced that the Rajneeshee had plans to build a city on a mountain, in 1984 the state intervened, denying the permits. In retaliation, Sheela announced plans to place Rajneeshee in the state legislature, bussing in several thousand homeless people from nearby areas to vote for her appointee.
A hunting magazine declared “open season” on the Rajneeshee, and locals began referring to them as Red Vermin, or Red Rats. Not helping the situation was the fact that the Rajneeshee had taken to patrolling the perimeter of their commune with machine guns and armored cars. As the local’s hatred toward the Rajneeshee built, so did the Rajneeshees hatred of the locals. Eventually, the Rajneeshee overpowered the residents of Antelope, and several other towns, promptly renaming it Rajneesh.
When Sheela announced that the Rajneeshee had plans to build a city on a mountain, in 1984 the state intervened, denying the permits. In retaliation, Sheela announced plans to place Rajneeshee in the state legislature, bussing in several thousand homeless people from nearby areas to vote for her appointee.

Then, in September of 1984, three years after the cult was established, the clan pulled off their germ warfare stunt.

As part of their scheme to get into government, they poisoned Oregon voters. The followers left their rural range and headed into populated areas slipping salmonella into salad bars and restaurant ingredients.

When the first incidents of salmonella were reported, it seemed to be a case of restaurant negligence. But as more and more people were found to have salmonella poisoning, officials noticed something was very wrong. There were 700 cases of the poisoning in the area—far too many for it to be considered a coincidence.

They traced the incident back to the cult member dressed in red. It is still known as the largest incident of bioterrorism on U.S. soil.

When the government raided Rajneeshpuram, they discovered a chemical warfare lab, a massive wire-tapping operation, and oh yeah, a plot to assassinate the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, because what the Rajneeshees lacked in competence, they made up for in persistence.

One of the restaurants that Ma Anand Sheela and the Rajneeshee contaminated with their “salsa.”

In 1895, after pleading guilty to entering the country without a visa, Bhagwan Rajneesh fled the commune. He called his followers a “gang of fascists,” openly blaming Sheela for the bioterrorism attack. It wasn’t until then that the government conducted a full investigation and realized the extent of the crimes that Sheela was planning.

Within the compound, there was evidence of several more biological weapons, and a detailed plan to assassinate Charles Turner, a U.S. attorney in Oregon. As hundreds of the Rajneeshee fled, others simply wondered how the peaceful, loving, expressive group they had joined had gone so wrong.

Armed with the evidence from the compound, Ma Anand Sheela was arrested and brought to trial. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her crimes but released after 39 months.

Ma Anand Sheela claims, to this day, from her home in Switzerland, that she acted at the behest of Rajneesh, that she was in love Rajneesh, and that everything she did was in the interest of Rajneesh.
One of the restaurants that Ma Anand Sheela and the Rajneeshee contaminated with their “salsa.” In 1895, after pleading guilty to entering the country without a visa, Bhagwan Rajneesh fled the commune. He called his followers a “gang of fascists,” openly blaming Sheela for the bioterrorism attack. It wasn’t until then that the government conducted a full investigation and realized the extent of the crimes that Sheela was planning. Within the compound, there was evidence of several more biological weapons, and a detailed plan to assassinate Charles Turner, a U.S. attorney in Oregon. As hundreds of the Rajneeshee fled, others simply wondered how the peaceful, loving, expressive group they had joined had gone so wrong.
Armed with the evidence from the compound, Ma Anand Sheela was arrested and brought to trial. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her crimes but released after 39 months. Ma Anand Sheela claims, to this day, from her home in Switzerland, that she acted at the behest of Rajneesh, that she was in love Rajneesh, and that everything she did was in the interest of Rajneesh.

It’s thanks to that attack that the cult collapsed. Patel was sentenced to ten years in prison for the poisonings. Rajneesh was deported. Patel served the first three years of her sentence before she too was deported off U.S. soil. Rajneesh died young in 1990. As for the ranch, that was converted to a Christian camp. It didn’t stay that way. A fire in 1996 destroyed all the structures created by the Rajneeshee cult.

Conclusion to this story.

That raid mostly ended the movement, and Rajneesh himself died in 1990, although there are still some far less murderous Rajneeshees out there today running generic meditation movements.

Oh, and the mastermind of these plots, Ma Anand Sheela, is now out of jail, so maybe check to see if she’s visited your area lately before you order that Cobb salad.


If you enjoyed this story, you might like to read other articles of a similar vein. You can access the index here…

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Very interesting patents are coming out from the United States Navy, and being denied because there isn’t any supporting technology. Huh?

Patent documents indicate that the U.S. and China are actively developing radical new craft that seem eerily similar to UFOs reported by Navy pilots.

The United States Secretary of Navy is listed as the assignee on several curious aviation technologies patents. These are highly unusual patents, devices and mechanisms.

Highly unusual.

These patents were generated by an aerospace engineer working at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) headquarters in Patuxent River, Maryland.

They are very interesting.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) headquarters in  Patuxent River, Maryland.
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) headquarters in Patuxent River, Maryland.

The patents are very interesting.

One of these patents describes a “hybrid aerospace-underwater craft”. You know, one that can swim through the water as easily as it can fly through the air or jet through space.

Vehicle from the movie "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow".
Vehicle from the movie “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”.

According to the patent, it is capable of truly extraordinary feats of speed and maneuverability in air, water, and outer space. It is truly a revolutionary electromagnetic propulsion system. 

Very exciting. Bordering (or perhaps, crossed over) the line between accepted scientific paradigms and God-like technology.

A scientific paradigm is a framework containing all the commonly accepted views about a subject, conventions about what direction research should take and how it should be performed. 

- What Is A Paradigm? - Explorable.com 

To most classically educated scientists, it sounds pretty far fetched.

Imagine trying to get a patent for it!

Trying to get a patent.

A primary patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) thought that they were too fantastic to approve. And as such, he denied the patent applications as “too fantastical” to be considered in any degree of seriousness.

“Brawndo has what plants crave. It’s got electrolytes.”

United States Patent and Trademark  Office (USPTO)
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

This did not sit well with the United States Navy.

No sir. Not at all.

They absolutely and urgently, wanted these patents to be granted. They believed that it was in the best interests of “National Security”.

Washington has been incapable of coping with the great changes that have taken place in recent years, including the rise of emerging markets and developing countries, and national security has become an excuse it leans on when it wants to act on its suspicions about the economic development and technological progress of other countries. 

- The phony excuse of national security - CGTN 

The Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of the Naval Aviation Enterprise personally wrote a letter addressed to the examiner. He claimed that the U.S. needs the patent. As the Chinese are already “investing significantly” in these aerospace technologies.

His argument is that the patents were necessary for “American Defense superiority”.

Chinese idiom.
Chinese idiom.

UFO’s? No way!

The descriptions on the patents sound very, very similar to the UFOs reported by Navy pilots.

The Tic Tac Incident.

They do.

Why is that, you suppose?

Well, everyone know that there’s no such things as “little green men”, extraterrestrials or “star people”. That’s just nonsense for school children. Right?

Right?

And since the USA would never keep secrets and technologies hidden from the American people, we know that they would tell us about extraterrestrials and their technologies. They would be open and transparent.

  • Open and transparent is the way America always does things. Right?
  • That’s what it’s like to live within the best democracy in the history of the world. Right?
  • The government is open and has no secrets. Don’t you know!

So, there are no extraterrestrials at all. After all, President Obama got on the Ellen DeGeneres show and said that to an audience of millions. Millions!

US President Barack Obama has awarded the USA's highest civilian honor to various actors, musicians and athletes during a ceremony at the White House.
US President Barack Obama has awarded the USA’s highest civilian honor to various actors, musicians and athletes during a ceremony at the White House.

It must be the dastardly Chinese or Russians!

Since it cannot be extraterrestrials that are using these technologies, then it MUST be those terrible Chinese or Russians! Right?

Damn Commies!

It's easy to find demonization of the Chinese on the internet. Oh, they are so evil... right?
It’s easy to find demonization of the Chinese on the internet. Oh, they are so evil… right?

This raises the question, are the Chinese developing (or even already flying craft) leveraging similar advanced technology and is the American Navy now scrambling to catch up?

I rather doubt that the Chinese are anywhere near this level of development, and I am a pretty strong supporter of the Chinese. Yes, it is true that many Chinese cities look like something out of the "The Jetsons", but this level of technology is centuries more advanced than what is publicly available in peer review journals.

-Metallicman

And I am not alone…

I deeply doubt  that the Navy is playing catch-up to what the Chinese have secret  developed. Tingly and Rogoway do not appear to be aware of the many  insiders who have come forward with their startling testimonies about  U.S. reverse engineering programs involving captured flying saucer  technologies that go back as far back as the 1940s. 

-EXOpolitics

Why not reverse engineering of extraterrestrial craft?

Why not?

I mean, you have to be a rather retarded block head not to realize that the universe is a very big place, and time goes on a long long way. To think that the world, as we know it, and the beliefs that we hold are absolutely fundamentally correct, is absolute lunacy.

Extraterrestrials exist.

The Untied States government knows about them, and has treaties with numerous entities. They have been reverse engineering their technologies for decades now, and it’s only a matter of time when the research will pay off with some kind of hybrid developmental vehicles.

It’s only a matter of time.

Maybe like now.

CARET

And if the reverse engineering has reached a point where actual prototypes can be manufactured, perhaps it would also be a good time to secure intellectual patents protections. Right?

Right?

The Wondrous Inventions Of Dr. Salvatore Cezar Pais

Maybe a look at some of these patents might give us some insight.

Maybe we can take a peek at the strange aerospace patents filed by Salvatore Cezar Pais, an aerospace engineer at NAWCAD. 

Aerospace engineers work and develop the technologies and systems that go into vehicles that fly though the air and space.
Aerospace engineers work and develop the technologies and systems that go into vehicles that fly though the air and space.

Let it be well understood that there are some supplemental documents in the USPTO’s databases that imply that Navy leadership knows that these technologies are actually feasible.

Throughout the supplemental documents are references to actual validation tests and observations. All of which point to the idea that these parents are not just “ideas of merit”, but rather “technical protection documents for technology that has been proven to work”.

Let it be well understood that there are some supplemental documents in the  USPTO’s databases that imply that Navy leadership knows that  these technologies are actually feasible.
Let it be well understood that there are some supplemental documents in the USPTO’s databases that imply that Navy leadership knows that these technologies are actually feasible.

Little information can be found about Salvatore Cezar Pais; he has virtually no web presence.

What is known is that he received a PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1999. We also know that he currently works as an aerospace engineer for NAWCAD at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. This facility is one of the Navy’s top aircraft test bases.

Pais has published several articles and presented papers at American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conferences over the years.

With all the "hush hush" and top secret development work in the deep black SAP's, it's just a simple matter of time before some of the technologies will need to be patented.
With all the “hush hush” and top secret development work in the deep black SAP’s, it’s just a simple matter of time before some of the technologies will need to be patented.

In those papers he covers his work in electromagnetic propulsion, and revolutionary room temperature superconductors. Not to overlook such topics like his PhD dissertation: “Bubble generation under reduced gravity conditions for both co-flow and cross-flow configurations.”

NASA helped fund his dissertation.

The Navy’s Patented Hybrid Underwater Aerospace Craft

Pais is named as the inventor on four separate patents for which the U.S. Navy is the assignee:

While all are pretty outlandish-sounding, the last one is the one that the Chief Technical Officer of the Naval Aviation Enterprise personally vouched for.

This is the patent that he claimed that the Chinese are already developing similar capabilities.

The patent was first applied for on April 28, 2016, over a decade after the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group encountered strange Tic Tac-shaped aircraft. It is also nearly a year after Navy pilots across multiple squadrons flying out of Naval Air Station Oceana and NAS Norfolk experienced a string of bizarre encounters with unidentified aircraft. Some of which, like the Tic Tac UFO, seemed to possess exotic performance capabilities. 

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group encountered strange Tic Tac-shaped aircraft.  It is also nearly a year after Navy pilots across multiple squadrons flying out of Naval Air Station Oceana and NAS Norfolk experienced a string of bizarre encounters with unidentified aircraft.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group encountered strange Tic Tac-shaped aircraft. It is also nearly a year after Navy pilots across multiple squadrons flying out of Naval Air Station Oceana and NAS Norfolk experienced a string of bizarre encounters with unidentified aircraft.

The hybrid aerospace-underwater craft in Pais’ patent, meanwhile, is described as being capable of incredible feats of speed and maneuverability. It can fly equally well in air, water, or space without leaving a heat signature.

This is possible, Pais claims in the patent, because the craft is able to “engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level” by exploiting the laws of physics. 

“…engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level”

The concept is fairly simple, although the engineering required to make it a reality is another issue all together.

The basic theory…

All matter contains energy on the quantum level.

All particles are ripples in fields and have energy; photons are not special in this regard. Photons are stuff; energy is not. The stuff of the universe is all made from fields (the basic ingredients of the universe) and their particles. At least this is the post-1973 viewpoint.

-  Matter and Energy: A False Dichotomy 

By theoretically creating its own incredibly dense and polarized energy field, the hybrid craft is claimed to be able to create a quantum ‘vacuum’ around itself. This vacuum allows it to repel any air or water molecules with which it interacts.

Thus, the craft can essentially ignore aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces, or so it is claimed in the patent. 

The hybrid craft is claimed to be able to create a quantum  'vacuum' around itself which allows it to repel any air or water  molecules with which it interacts.
The hybrid craft is claimed to be able to create a quantum ‘vacuum’ around itself which allows it to repel any air or water molecules with which it interacts.

Throughout his patents and publications describing the hybrid aerospace underwater craft (HAUC), Pais writes that the radical feats of speed and maneuverability (of which the craft is supposedly capable of) can be achieved by coupling “high-frequency axial spin” or “accelerated vibration” with “high-frequency vibrations of electrically charged systems.”

High speeds are possible with [1] High frequency axial spin (or vibration) and [2] high frequency vibrations of electrically charged systems. 

In other words, if you can [1] create a room temperature superconductor capable of storing an incredibly high amount of energy and [2] get the energy field created by that superconductor moving at incredibly high speeds around or within the craft, then…

… you can create a polarized energy vacuum around it.

This then, allows it to basically ignore the energy of the air or water around it, thereby removing its own inertia and mass from the equation. 

The application of the theory…

In his most recent publication, Pais describes the hybrid aerospace / underwater craft as a roughly cone-shaped vehicle that would appear round from the front or rear.

“the HAUC is conical in  configuration, with an elliptical cross-section, similar in geometry to a  hypersonic glide vehicle / dart.” 

Interestingly enough, the descriptions of the craft in several of Pais’ publications and even the patent for “Craft using an inertial mass reduction device” include room for a crew compartment shielded by a Faraday cage.

The radical vehicle would have room for a crew compartment. Maybe something along the lines of the space shuttle, where the pilot and NFO would sit side by side.
The radical vehicle would have room for a crew compartment. Maybe something along the lines of the space shuttle, where the pilot and NFO would sit side by side.

Shortly after the patent for the hybrid craft was approved in 2018, Pais presented another related paper, “Room Temperature Superconducting System for Use on a Hybrid Aerospace Undersea Craft” .

He presented it at the 2019 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech Forum in San Diego on January 2019.

Man, with all these papers of a great diversity of subject matter and content, you would think this guy is either a genius, or is the designated patsy for technical patent assignments for IP.

In the paper, Pais writes…

"the achievement of room temperature superconductivity (RTSC) represents  a highly disruptive technology, capable of a total paradigm change in  Science and Technology,” and adds that its “military and commercial  value is considerable."

The capabilities described in the paper should certainly sound familiar to anyone who’s been following the Navy UFO stories over the last several years:

"the achievement of room temperature superconductivity (RTSC) represents  a highly disruptive technology, capable of a total paradigm change in  Science and Technology,” and adds that its “military and commercial  value is considerable."
“the achievement of room temperature superconductivity (RTSC) represents a highly disruptive technology, capable of a total paradigm change in Science and Technology,” and adds that its “military and commercial value is considerable.”

From the paper…

It  is possible to envision hybrid aerospace-undersea craft (HAUC), which  can function as a submersible craft capable of extreme underwater speeds  (lack of water-skin friction) and enhanced aerial/underwater stealth  capabilities (non-linear scattering of RF and sonar signals). 

This  hybrid craft would move with great ease through the air/space/water  mediums, by being enclosed in a Vacuum/plasma bubble/sheath, due to the  coupled effects of EM field-induced air/water particles repulsion and  Vacuum energy polarization. 

Dr. Brian Collett provides his opinions

Dr. Brian Collett, is a Hamilton College physics chair who teaches courses in electromagnetic theory and quantum physics. He has some thoughts on these patents and what they might imply.

Dr. Brian Collett, is a  Hamilton College physics chair who teaches courses in electromagnetic  theory and quantum physics.
Dr. Brian Collett, is a Hamilton College physics chair who teaches courses in electromagnetic theory and quantum physics. (Image is for reference only. Not an actual photo of the good doctor.)

Collett stated that patents and peer-reviewed articles about theoretical physics are one thing, however the descriptions of the HAUC and the claims in Pais’ research…

"...bear no more  resemblance to quantum physics as I understand it than does ‘The Force’  from Star Wars." 

Moreover, Collett adds,

"a working room temperature  superconductor would have far more radical uses that are actually within the bounds of possibility" 

…than a hybrid craft that can theoretically create a quantum vacuum around itself. 

Other physicists have stated the same thing – although most of them refused to go anywhere near on the record concerning the hybrid craft patent based on how outlandish it seems.

But…

But…

But, why then would the Naval Aviation Enterprise CTO personally vouch for this patent to the USPTO?

Is it possible?

Just because something is patented doesn’t mean it’s currently in production or even possible.

Private entities and the U.S. government both regularly patent forward-looking technologies to ensure that they own the rights to them when or if they’re ever fully realized. The patent for the hybrid craft is set to expire on September 28, 2036.

That being said, the unorthodox circumstances surrounding the approval of this patent have us wondering why the Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Naval Aviation Enterprise, Dr. James Sheehy, personally vouched for the legitimacy of this beyond-revolutionary aerospace technology in the Navy’s appeal to the USPTO.

Take important note. Sheehy assured the patent examiner in charge of this application that the aircraft propulsion method described in the patent is indeed possible or will be soon based on experiments and tests NAWCAD has already conducted.

Never the less, the application was initially rejected by Patent Examiner Philip Bonzell on the grounds that “there is no such thing as a ‘repulsive EM energy field,'”

While repulsive fields are well known in physics, the patent examination did not agree that this new type of repulsive field was possible. He saw no evidence that it could be constructed, tested or applied.
While repulsive fields are well known in physics, the patent examination did not agree that this new type of repulsive field was possible. He saw no evidence that it could be constructed, tested or applied.

Further, he argued it was outrageous. Here;

"when referring to the specifications as to ascertain  about the microwave emitters needed in this system it is seen that for a  high energy electromagnetic field to polarize a quantum vacuum as  claimed it would take 10^9 [T]eslas and 10^18 V/m." 

That’s roughly the equivalent to the magnetic strength generated by most magnetars and more electricity than what is produced by nuclear reactors. 

What would be needed to generate such amounts of energy is perhaps the  potentially revolutionary room temperature superconductor described in one of Pais’ other patents for which the Navy is listed as the assignee.
What would be needed to generate such amounts of energy is perhaps the potentially revolutionary room temperature superconductor described in one of Pais’ other patents for which the Navy is listed as the assignee. 

Obviously, the examiner believed it’s impossible with today’s technology. He believed that it was impossible to create the insane amount of energy needed to generate the EM field. And this is what would be required to propel this craft in the manner described in the patent application.

More New Technology…

The implication is that another type of new technology would be required.

Well, to do A, you need to have B, C, and D.

Well, imagine that! All these things are suddenly available simultaneously for patent. 

Wow oh wow!

Either an army or geniuses have been toiling away in the dark, in secret, and being fed through their cages for decades, or we have been secretly reverse engineering very advanced technologies based on principle that make the internal combustion engine, electronics, and rocket engines look like "Romper room play toys".

What would be needed to generate such amounts of energy is a revolutionary room temperature superconductor . One, mind you, already described for in one of Pais’ other patents for which the Navy is listed as the assignee. 

Hum…

Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance, meaning the electrical currents carried through them never degrade or dissipate like they do in metals, such as copper or silver. 

After it  was rejected, the NAWCAD’s patent attorney, Mark O. Glut, appealed the  decision and submitted further documentation to ensure the patent office  that this craft is indeed "enabled," meaning it can actually be built  and can perform as described in the patent.
After it was rejected, the NAWCAD’s patent attorney, Mark O. Glut, appealed the decision and submitted further documentation to ensure the patent office that this craft is indeed “enabled,” meaning it can actually be built and can perform as described in the patent.

Superconductors also create their own repulsive magnetic fields when placed near magnets, enabling applications like the levitating Maglev trains currently floating at high-speed in Japan and China.

Most  superconductors today require extremely low temperatures to operate,  however, making them impractical for most uses outside of laboratories  or large scale industrial applications. Room temperature superconductors  for years have been something of a "Holy Grail" of science for  engineers, because, once realized, they would open the doors for  incredible new forms of power transmission and storage, electric motors,  and magnetic levitation devices.

According to documents available to the public at the USPTO website, the Patent Office rejected Pais’ and the Navy’s application for this craft on March 30, 2018.

After it was rejected, the NAWCAD’s patent attorney, Mark O. Glut, appealed the decision and submitted further documentation to ensure the patent office that this craft is indeed “enabled,” meaning it can actually be built and can perform as described in the patent.

NAWCAD’s patent attorney, Mark O. Glut, appealed the  decision and submitted further documentation to ensure the patent office  that this craft is indeed "enabled," meaning it can actually be built  and can perform as described in the patent.
NAWCAD’s patent attorney, Mark O. Glut, appealed the decision and submitted further documentation to ensure the patent office that this craft is indeed “enabled,” meaning it can actually be built and can perform as described in the patent.

This craft has already been built…

One of the most compelling items in the collection of appeal documents is the letter accompanying the final appeal written CTO Sheehy concerning the U.S. Patent Office’s rejection of “Craft Using an Inertial Mass Reduction Device.”

This craft is indeed “enabled,” meaning it can actually be built and can perform as described in the patent.

In the letter dated 15 December 2017, Dr. Sheehy claims that Salvatore Pais has “already begun a series of experiments to design and demonstrate advanced High energy Density/High Power propulsion systems” that are described in the patent. 

In the letter dated 15 December 2017, Dr. Sheehy  claims that Salvatore Pais has "already begun a series of experiments to  design and demonstrate advanced High energy Density/High Power  propulsion systems" that are described in the patent.
In the letter dated 15 December 2017, Dr. Sheehy claims that Salvatore Pais has “already begun a series of experiments to design and demonstrate advanced High energy Density/High Power propulsion systems” that are described in the patent. 

Furthermore, Sheehy claims that…

"the realization of this result demonstrates that  this patent documents the future state of the possible and moves  propulsion technology beyond gas dynamic systems to field-induced  propulsion based hybrid aerospace-undersea craft." 

Have a look at the letter yourself:

"the realization of this result demonstrates that  this patent documents the future state of the possible and moves  propulsion technology beyond gas dynamic systems to field-induced  propulsion based hybrid aerospace-undersea craft."
“the realization of this result demonstrates that this patent documents the future state of the possible and moves propulsion technology beyond gas dynamic systems to field-induced propulsion based hybrid aerospace-undersea craft.” 

It’s important to note that Sheehy doesn’t go so far as to say on the record that the Navy currently possesses this technology and instead notified Patent Examiner Philip Bonzell that he agrees that…

"this mode of  acceleration/movement is beyond the state of the possible, at least at  present." 

Sheehy, of course, adds that…

"China is already investing  significantly in this area" and "would prefer we [the U.S.] hold the  patent as opposed to paying forever more to use this revolutionary  technology" as he asserts "this will become a reality." 

Remarkably, it seems to boil down to the ol’ “we must not allow an Inertial Mass Reduction Device gap!

Heh. Heh.

Approved patent.

Perhaps because of that threat from the Chinese looming, the USPTO finally issued a notice of allowance for “Craft Using an Inertial Mass Reduction Device” to the Department of the Navy on October 31, 2018, at a fee of $1,000 USD.

No reason was given for why the patent was eventually approved. 

It’s important to note, as well, that U.S. patent law ends at America’s borders. The Navy can patent anything it wants to, but those patents would not necessarily keep a foreign country from developing and patenting similar technologies. 

The Dawn Of Electromagnetic Propulsion?

Normally, I would agree with others that these patents are likely just the Navy ensuring that when or if this technology does become available, the U.S. will be able to control it.

However, these are not normal times.

Thanks to To the Stars Academy (TTSA), the Department of Defense, and the media at large, the Navy pilots have witnessed aircraft behaving exactly like the craft these patents describe. Additionally, some of the pilots’ visual descriptions of those anomalous aircraft even seem to be uncannily similar to the drawings of the aircraft as depicted in Pais’ patents. 

One of those patents depicts a curiously and distinctly shaped gravitational wave generator that resembles the Tic Tac-shaped object reported by retired U.S. Navy Commander David Fravor and other NimitzCarrier Strike Group pilots in encounters that took place in 2004 off the Baja Coast.

The so called “Tic Tac” encounter.

One of those patents depicts a curiously and distinctly shaped gravitational wave generator that resembles the Tic Tac-shaped object reported by retired U.S. Navy Commander David Fravor and other NimitzCarrier Strike Group pilots in encounters that took place in 2004 off the Baja Coast.
One of those patents depicts a curiously and distinctly shaped gravitational wave generator that resembles the Tic Tac-shaped object reported by retired U.S. Navy Commander David Fravor and other NimitzCarrier Strike Group pilots in encounters that took place in 2004 off the Baja Coast.

In regards to claims that these patents may simply be speculative “math theory,” as the patent examiner called them in one of the rejections. Never the less, it’s important to remember that scientific and engineering research sometimes reach tipping points. Tripping points in which incremental progress made over decades suddenly culminates in large paradigm shifts. Shifts, mind you, that bring the theoretical into the realm of the possible. (Of course, massive bursts of associated funding also can really help, of course.)

The patents appear to draw upon established theoretical research. Included in the Navy’s patent appeals and Pais’ most recent publication are references to decades’ worth of peer-reviewed research in room temperature superconductors and macroscopic quantum effects. Additionally, there are even notated copies of several studies related to Pais’ research.

In the publication, Pais also thanks Naval Aviation Enterprise CTO Dr. James Sheehy…

"for the many hours of thought-provoking discussions on the  concept at hand."

To the Stars Academy.

Interestingly enough, both Pais’ research and some of his patents also contain acknowledgments to the work of Dr. Harold E. Puthoff.

Dr. Harold E. Puthoff is the co-founder and Vice President of Science and Technology of To the Stars Academy.

The nearest stars to our solar system.
The nearest stars to our solar system.

Dr. Harold E. Puthoff is an electrical engineer and inventor who has published research on polarized vacuums, but has also been extensively involved with paranormal and somewhat pseudoscientific topics such as remote viewing

According to their website,

  • TTSA’s goal is to advance “our current understanding of scientific phenomena and its technological implications.”
  • The stated mission of TTSA’s Aerospace division is to find “revolutionary breakthroughs in propulsion, energy, and communication”.
  • The company claims it is “currently working with lead engineers from major Department of Defense and aerospace companies with the capability to pursue an advanced engineering approach to fundamental aerospace topics.”
  • This includes Space-Time Metrics Engineering (STME). (This is a theoretical concept in which quantum vacuums are engineered as a means of propulsion.)

It remains unclear how TTSA intends to follow through with and secure funding for these ambitious goals.

Physicist Harold White stunned the  aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had  begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive.  His proposed design, an ingenious  re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine  that can transport a spacecraft to the nearest star in a matter of weeks  — and all without violating Einstein’s law of relativity.
Physicist Harold White stunned the aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. His proposed design, an ingenious re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine that can transport a spacecraft to the nearest star in a matter of weeks — and all without violating Einstein’s law of relativity.

In a press release marking the official launch of TTSA on Oct. 11, 2017, former Program Director for Advanced Systems at Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs at the Skunk Works, Steve Justice, described how TTSA was working on developing revolutionary “Advanced Electromagnetic Vehicles”.

These are vehicles that will “dramatically reduce the current travel limits of distance and time” and “mimic the capabilities observed in unidentified aerial phenomenon by employing a drive system that alters the space-time metric.”

Without a doubt, these advanced electromagnetic vehicles that TTSA says it plans to develop sound uncannily like the electromagnetic hybrid aerospace underwater craft in Pais’s patent.

Few Answers, But Plenty Of Questions

NAWCAD has a liaison for pubic communication.

Kurt Larson is NAWCAD’s Public Affairs Director.

Larson states that…

"when it comes to  patent applications, [NAWCAD] cannot provide any context outside of the  filed patent application documents." 

Similarly, USPTO policy states that applications for patents are not generally open to the public, and…

"no information concerning them is released except on written authority  of the applicant, his or her assignee, or his or her attorney, or when  necessary to the conduct of the business of the USPTO."

As striking as the similarity between the claimed capabilities of the hybrid craft and those of the objects described by Navy personnel, it’s still unknown whether these patents are related to the ongoing UFO revelations.

It is important to note that if the Navy had wanted this patent to remain classified, it could have filed the patent under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 (35 U.S.C. ch. 17).

This is a law which allows patents to remain classified if they might pose a possible threat to the national security of the United States.

Instead of doing that, however, all of Pais’ patents are currently fully available to the public.

If such a propulsion technology was so revolutionary and if the Navy indeed wanted to keep this technology out of others’ hands, it’s curious that they would choose to make the patent public.

Maybe the Navy is signaling to its adversaries that it, too, is aware of this revolutionary capability and to whom it belongs.

It is  important to note that if the Navy had wanted this patent to remain  classified, it could have filed the patent under the Invention Secrecy  Act of 1951 (35 U.S.C. ch. 17).
It is important to note that if the Navy had wanted this patent to remain classified, it could have filed the patent under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 (35 U.S.C. ch. 17).

Also, consider the fact that Senators, including the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Community, have been briefed in recent weeks by Navy officials about the unexplained sightings Navy pilots have reported.

Even President Donald Trump recently stated in an interview that the Navy UFO reports could be due the fact that pilots

 "see things  a little bit different from the past,"

This is a comment which could be taken to mean that pilots are witnessing new types of aerospace technology for the first time.

Trump seemed to indicate that he does not believe the objects reported by Navy pilots are evidence of anything extraterrestrial. As such he took his interviewer’s UFO question in stride without any apparent surprise. This could be an indication of just how far into the mainstream the UFO discussion has become.

A Technology “UFO” Race

Consider as well the comments made by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, reportedly a key figure in securing funding for programs like the now-infamous Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and its associated studies.

Has China and Russia also been reverse engineering exotic extraterrestrial spacecraft as well?
Has China and Russia also been reverse engineering exotic extraterrestrial spacecraft as well?

Earlier this year, Reid stated that the U.S., Russia, and China are currently in a “UFO race.”

We know the Chinese have already publicly made major strides in electromagnetic naval capabilities including railguns and aircraft catapults, as well as other highly advanced defense technologies.

Could Reid have meant that these three military powers are currently scrambling to be the first to master the technology behind a hybrid aerospace-undersea craft and deploy it on a substantial scale? If so, where does the Navy, and the Pentagon as a whole, currently stand in that clandestine race?

Well known in "UFO circles" that the Russians have been working with extraterrestrial species for decades and has various vehicles in their possession.
Well known in “UFO circles” that the Russians have been working with extraterrestrial species for decades and has various vehicles in their possession.

Furthermore, Pais notes in the paper that such a technology…

“would permit swift movement of the HAUC beyond our Solar System.” 

Is this an undisclosed reason why we suddenly need a Space Force? Is this what Air Force Lieutenant General Vera Linn Jamieson was referring to last year when she casually dropped during an unrelated interview that in…

 "different galaxies in the future we’re going to actually have  capability that we have right now in the air”? 

And this is hardly the only highly peculiar thing that Air Force leadership has spouted off about in regards to the future of America’s military footprint in space.

Image is from a source who claims China will be releasing Hi Res images taken by the Chang’e-2 moon orbiter, which clearly show buildings and structures on the moons surface.
Image is from a source who claims China will be releasing Hi Res images taken by the Chang’e-2 moon orbiter, which clearly show buildings and structures on the moons surface.

It’s also possible that this patent is just another facet of an information operation that goes along with a larger UFO narrative to promote the Pentagon’s undisclosed interests.

But…

But…

But the inclusion of China, a very terrestrial potential foe and America’s chief technological adversary, as a direct competitor when it comes to the technology seems odd and even counterproductive if that were the case. 

On the other hand, some may say that this could be proof of two superpowers struggling to mimic the capabilities of something they are observing, but do not fully understand on a technological level. Considering all the unknowns, all possibilities are worth examining.

... some may say that this could be proof of two superpowers struggling to mimic the capabilities of something they are observing, but do not fully understand on a technological level.

Other thoughts on this…

Credits to the original Authors and links.

Much of this was inspired and compiled for the great work on The Drive;

Much of this work and investigation are being “bird dogged” by Brett Tingley and Tyler Rogoway. They are doing some great work. Now, of course, they know nothing of MAJestic or any thing related to it, so they are doing the necessary journalistic ground work with a healthy dose of skepticism. Well, good for them!

Much of this work and investigation are being "bird dogged" by Brett Tingley and Tyler Rogoway. They are doing some great work. Now, of course, they know nothing of MAJestic or any thing related to ti, so they are doing the necessary journalistic ground work with a healthy dose of skepticism. Well, good for them!
Much of this work and investigation are being “bird dogged” by Brett Tingley and Tyler Rogoway. They are doing some great work. Now, of course, they know nothing of MAJestic or any thing related to ti, so they are doing the necessary journalistic ground work with a healthy dose of skepticism. Well, good for them!

In any event, I would strongly advise the interested reader to follow their work and observe that the US Navy is making headway in the understanding and development of technologies that mimic that of our extraterrestrial benefactors.

Check out the patents yourself…

To view them for yourself, visithttps://portal.uspto.gov/pair/PublicPair and search for application number 15/141,270. Once there, click on the “Image File Wrapper” tab.

The Inventor speaks out

I hate it when other people get credit for work that you do. I know, it has happened to me, more than just a few times.

Comment or Message

The article on patents held by the Navy make me feel angry because I have an unmet need for the US Government to acknowledge my patents on gravitomagnetic energy. https://patents.google.com/patent/US10177690B2/en I observe I also filed for a patent in China too. 

They denied the patent even though the US had already granted it. I feel suspicious that they stole my invention along with the US Navy. I have an outstanding FOIA request on this with the Navy.

I have analyzed the Navy's Tic Tac UAP video to demonstrate spacetime metric engineering effects.

I observe I have some research results I would like to share. Here's a report I conducted with correspondence with Dr. Hal Puthoff of TTSA. There's a few of the slides in the beginning that cover my background. 

http://www.calfree.com/TicTacUhtm.pptx

Also I have several GIF files I created to share to show some of the UAP technology in action I would like to explain in more detail. It makes me feel happy to know your curious. I request you check out the following background information that goes with the PowerPoint presentation. I suggest you run the presentation software to operate the Gif on quantum tunneling; slide 7. My explanation of the presentation is in the form of a dialog.

Where do slides 6-11 come from? Are they your research, or from Dr. Puthoff? Both? Somewhere else?

Observe the information in slide 6 from Hal’s paper which I cite on the upper left of the slide. Spacetime metric engineering allows for altered spacetime. Basic hypothesis in altered spacetime: denser spacetime (g00 <1, |g11| > 1) time dilates, length shrinks “gravitational”, and, expanded spacetime (g00 > 1, |g11| <1) time shrinks, length dilates “antigravitational”. 

Observe slide 7 explains how quantum entanglement [quantum tunneling] works and its possible to move information through spacetime instantaneously. 

I feel this is useful to explaining the concept of wormholes. Observe slide 8 explains the concept of gravitational frame dragging using nano-bump [empirical] data from the mass spin-valve device. 

My invention is called the mass spin-valve or gravitational rectifier, aka gravity diode. Observe slide 9 explains using nano-bump [empirical] data from the mass spin-valve device to support the creation of denser spacetime (g00 <1, |g11| > 1) time dilates, length shrinks “gravitational” energy at the nano-scale.

Observe slide 10 explains using nano-pit [empirical] data from the mass spin-valve device to support the creation of expanded spacetime (g00 > 1, |g11| <1) time shrinks, length dilates “antigravitational” energy at the nano-scale. 

Observe slide 11 explains that utilizing data from variable area nano-bumps and nano-pits we are able to show that moving objects at the nano-scale produce parabolic pull force of nano-gravity and hyperbolic push force of nano-antigravity [like a balloon]. 

The term 'antigravity bubble', I'm not quite sure what that is -- how it operates or what it looks like. So, when you mention balloons (i.e. 'a dark torus shaped balloon', 'A balloon shaped brighter region', or 'small dark oval shaped balloon') -- are you saying 'balloon' because they appear balloon-shaped? 

That is to say -- they aren't physical balloons travelling alongside the craft? Observe denser spacetime (g00 <1, |g11| > 1) force magnitude of gravity |g11| is greater than 1 G force and anti-gravity force is less than 1 G, and, expanded spacetime (g00 > 1, |g11| <1) force magnitude of gravity |g11| is less than 1 G force and anti-gravity force is greater than 1 G. I hope this helps your understanding of slide 6. 

Greater G force means time dilates, length shrinks “gravitational” energy while lower G force means time shrinks, length dilates “anti-gravitational” energy. This is based on principals of General Relativity, Einstein's theory of geometric gravitation and the data. 

http://www.calfree.com/TicTacSpacetimeMetricEngineering.gif 

No, [not a real balloon] the dark balloon shaped region over the top of the UAP appears to be a region of expanded spacetime. The other balloon shaped regions on the right of the UAP are also regions of altered spacetime used to open a wormhole on the left of the UAP. These regions appear to be utilized to create gravitational winding spring like force that propels the craft to the left at the entrance to the wormhole. Empirical evidence is from slides 7-11. This second GIF includes this first one above. Above the UAP is the anti-gravity balloon I explain in slide 11. The left of the image is where a worm hole is opened and the right side is where the UAP is spacetime engineering a gravitational bow, like in a bow and arrow, where the UAP is the arrow. This second GIF shows the arrow being released; aka warp drive. http://www.calfree.com/TicTacWarpDrive.gif This third GIF shows something I felt was pretty cool. It appears the UAP as hitting the Nimitz aircraft with an EMP pulse which saturates the IR detector array. http://www.calfree.com/TicTacEMPattack.gif Are you suggesting that the Air Force acted aggressively towards the UAP -- possibly hitting it with some type of hypersonic weapon? -- 'These slides make me feel uncomfortable. I have an unmet need for reassurance of future nonviolent interaction with UAPs. 

I request the support for further failure analysis and for development of protocols for remedial measures.' My experience as an Archaeologist necessitates me to intercommunicate with native Americans about their culture. This requires a feeling of trust be established so I don’t go where I am not invited. 

The UAP appears to be hitting the Nimitz aircraft with an electromagnetic pulse that charged the IR detector array fanout on the back of the array causing it to saturate. The image observed shows the fanout behind the array in that frame. I don’t know what the Nimitz aircraft did to the UAP that would be considered hostile by the UAP. 

Michael Boyd (408) 891-9677 PS the GIFs are mine so feel free to use them.

MAJestic Related Posts – Training

These are posts and articles that revolve around how I was recruited for MAJestic and my training. Also discussed is the nature of secret programs. I really do not know why the organization was kept so secret. It really wasn’t because of any kind of military concern, and the technologies were way too involved for any kind of information transfer. The only conclusion that I can come to is that we were obligated to maintain secrecy at the behalf of our extraterrestrial benefactors.

How to tell...
How to tell -2
Top Secrets
Sales Pitch
Feducial Training
Implantation
Probe Calibration - 1
Probe Calibration - 2
Leaving the USA

MAJestic Related Posts – Our Universe

These particular posts are concerned about the universe that we are all part of. Being entangled as I was, and involved in the crazy things that I was, I was given some insight. This insight wasn’t anything super special. Rather it offered me perception along with advantage. Here, I try to impart some of that knowledge through discussion.

Enjoy.

Secrets of the universe
Alpha Centauri
Our Galaxy the Milky Way
Sirius solar system
Alpha Centauri
The Fuselage embedded within the rocks of Victoria Falls.
The London Hammer
The Hollow Moon
The Mystery of the Lapulapu Ridge.
The Mystery of the Baltic UFO.
The Mystery of the Bronze Bell
Mystery of the oil lamp found inside a block of coal.
Did extraterrestrials set up a colony in Pennsylvania?
The Oxia Palus Facility
Brown Dwarfs
Apollo Space Exploration
The Tic Tac Incident.
CARET
The Nature of the Universe
The Landscape of the MWI
Type-1 Grey Extraterrestrial
The mysterious flying contraptions.
The Progenitors as remote viewed by Joseph  McMoneagle.
Joseph McMoneagle, one of the most successful Army-trained remote viewers, peered into the past to look into the possible origins of human history. To everyone’s surprise, he “saw” something quite different from the evolution of intelligent apes. Instead we observed that we were fabricated. We were cultivated and our DNA were created by intelligent beings in what he called a ‘laboratory.’ These intelligent beings are quite different from most of the creatures that zoom about the earth and watch and monitor us from afar. These are our “creators”. As such, they are known as the “progenitors”.

Utilizing Intention

Using Intention to make your life sparkle.
Using intention to navigate the MWI.

Influencer Questions

Here are posts that have gathered a series of questions from various influencers. They are interesting in many ways and could help all of us unravel the mysteries of the lives that we live.

Interview with an Influencer.
More discussions with an influencer.
FAQ - 1
FAQ - 2
FAQ - 3
FAQ - 4
FAQ - 5
FAQ - 6
FAQ - 7
FAQ - 8
FAQ - 9

MAJestic Related Posts – World-Line Travel

These posts are related to “reality slides”. Other more common terms are “world-line travel”, or the MWI. What people fail to grasp is that when a person has the ability to slide into a different reality (pass into a different world-line), they are able to “touch” Heaven to some extent. Here are posts that  cover this topic.

Cat Heaven
MWI
Things I miss
How MWI allows world-line travel.
An Observed World-Line switch.
Vehicular world-line travel
Soul is not consciousness.

John Titor Related Posts

Another person, collectively known by the identity of “John Titor” claimed to utilize world-line (MWI egress) travel to collect artifacts from the past. He is an interesting subject to discuss. Here we have multiple posts in this regard.

They are;

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

"We discovered that if you want to monetise a blog you need to be getting about 100,000 hits a day! "

-6F12
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When foreign interventionism goes terribly wrong; how the CIA botched up the integration of China into the USA sphere of influence.

Globalists Wanted to Exploit Asia, but China Surprised Them.

So, here I am, checking out my various social media feeds and see all sorts of chaos and tumult. And, as I get past the sensationalism, and the horror, I see a common thread. Some how and in some way, the United States, through various agents, agencies, or funding venues, lie at the root of all the unrest.

Is this what it seems to be?

The kicking, thrashing, and screaming of a dying empire? Or is it something else? In my mind, it seems an awful lot like the American empire is dying, and it is NOT going away quietly in the night. It is going down, and thrashing about everywhere in shrieking pain.

Thus…

This post.

This post is about an ingenious plan that went awry and altered the trajectory of history. And we, well, we are living during this fourth most Tumultuous period in American history.

The previous three periods were…

  • The Revolutionary War
  • The American Civil War
  • World War II

This plan was doomed to fail from the get-go, simply because it relied on far to many assumptions about non-Americans. And now, well, we are starting to witness that failure in all it’s ugly glory.

What do all these presidents have in common? They all believed that they could take control of China and annex it just like they did to Japan in the 1980's.
What do all these presidents have in common? They all believed that they could take control of China and annex it just like they did to Japan in the 1980’s.

The plan was conceived and implemented over a century by many of my colleagues and (or course) their predecessors. These people were, collectively, the smartest and the most visionary people in the world.

A mere 25 years ago, the plan seemed to have come to fruition, and western intellectuals talked not only about the end of the Cold War, but the “end of history.”

The first stage implementation of the NWO - The New World Order, where the Earth would be divided into shared "estates".
The first stage implementation of the NWO – The New World Order, where the Earth would be divided into shared “estates”.

We were all so excited about the imminent New World Order (which is now referred to as the “international rules-based order”). Everything was lining up and falling into place.

Then Asia happened.

The Big Grand Plan

After WWII, we Americans, established an unprecedented system to control half the world. As such by 1992, we were confident about bringing in the other half.

We were so close to total global control and domination.

So close…

We were so close to total global control and domination.
After WWII, we Americans, established an unprecedented system to control half the world. As such by 1992, we were confident about bringing in the other half.

In the early 1990s, China and India represented not only 40% of world’s population but also a vast pool of consumers and diligent workers. At the same time, my colleagues also appreciated the opportunity to make trillions of dollars.

It was win-win.

Unlike the average westerner who saw Asia only as a land of poor and uneducated people, we understood its potential. After all, for the first 1800 years of the last 2000 years, the two largest economies in the world were … China and India.

The gross world product (GWP) is the combined gross national product of all the countries in the world. Because imports and exports balance exactly when considering the whole world, this also equals the total global gross domestic product (GDP). According to the World Bank, the 2013 nominal GWP was approximately US$75.59 trillion.
The gross world product (GWP) is the combined gross national product of all the countries in the world. Because imports and exports balance exactly when considering the whole world, this also equals the total global gross domestic product (GDP). According to the World Bank, the 2013 nominal GWP was approximately US$75.59 trillion.

Of course, bringing more than 2 billion people into our system would also mean sudden loss of jobs, drastic reduction in wages, and a painful drop in the standard of living for many Americans and Europeans.

No matter, however.

We deliberately ignored or downplayed these inevitable ramifications. We all figured that we would deal with the complexities of these issues later on… down the road.

So, how did our plan turn out? Let’s look.

First, the original plan for the New Global Order. This is the blueprint that was established and how it was intended to be set up as.

This is the original plan for the New Global Order. It was drawn up in the 1940's. 1942 to be exact.
This is the original plan for the New Global Order. It was drawn up in the 1940’s. 1942 to be exact.

India

India worked out splendidly, just as we planned. Although India was hesitant about opening up their economy — understandable, given their experiences with British colonialism — we gained their trust by helping millions of Indians emigrate to the West.

In return, India privatized most of their major industries, including their media, and allowed us to become major shareholders. Now, India is tightly integrated into our system.

China

But then there’s China.

The biggest prize slipped away from our fingers. Most people don’t realize that the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989 was actually a “color revolution”. It was manufactured by the CIA, MI6 and social engineering experts, Gene Sharp and George Soros. Indeed, we even had recruited China’s Gorbachev – Zhao Ziyang, the top leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

Alas, the strategy failed, and Zhao Ziyang ended up spending the rest of his life in house arrest.

After that, we decided to pursue a patient approach, since we didn’t want to lose China’s efficient and cheap factories. Furthermore, we assumed that:

  • As China got richer, its people will NATURALLY get rid of the communist party, and replace it with “democracy”.
  • Western products will ALWAYS dominate the Chinese consumer market
  • Chinese manufacturing will FOREVER remain stuck in the low/medium-end of the value chain, since (everyone knows) innovation is impossible in an authoritarian society
  • China will become, at the best, only a regional power. After all, throughout its history, China had never demonstrated much desire in foreign relations.
Americans are seemingly looking more and more like a parody of idiocracy."
Americans are seemingly looking more and more like a parody of idiocracy.”

Well, guess what?

Yup. Every one of our assumptions turned out to be wrong. China’s GDP grew 27-fold from 1989 to 2017, and yet 84% of Chinese are happy with their socialist government. Also, what was supposed to be just a factory for the West, became the largest trading partner for more than 130 countries.

Confounding our expectations, China has become #1 or #2 in many areas of hi-tech industries including solar energy, electric vehicles, smartphones, supercomputers, Artificial Intelligence and mobile payments. 9 out of the top 20 most valuable internet companies are now Chinese.

Most Americans have no idea that there is prosperity in Xinjiang. All that they know is that China is bad and eats dogs. China is communist and represses everyone, and the Muslims in Xinjiang want "freedom" and "democracy" most urgently.
Most Americans have no idea that there is prosperity in China. China’s GDP grew 27-fold from 1989 to 2017, and yet 84% of Chinese are happy with their socialist government.

The fact that a Chinese company, ZTE, made the world’s first 5G phone call earlier this year should be a “Sputnik Moment” for us.

Worst of all, China has proved the benefits of public banking.

Without the government getting into debt, Chinese public banks give massive long-term loans for infrastructure at extremely low interest rates. This has enabled China to build 25,000 Km of high-speed railway systems, modern cities and other infrastructure projects that benefit the Chinese people.

Such socialistic model makes our private banking system look bad!

We shouldn't spend tax money on Americans in America. No! The money should be spread out all over the globe to fight for Democracy! Yessur!
America is trying to grapple with a changing global power base. In order for us to control the rest of the world, we need to invest that money in military might around the world to control others, other nations, and obtain advantage for the American way of life! Yessur! We shouldn’t spend tax money on Americans in America. No! The money should be spread out all over the globe to fight for Democracy! Yessur!

Finally, we never thought that China would develop a grand vision such as the Belt and Road Initiative (the modern Silk Road).

While we build military bases around the world, China is building high-speed railways, highways, seaports, airports, power plants and pipelines in 65 different countries. If this continues, there’s no doubt who’s going to have more global influence in the near future.

The biggest threat to western dominance is the Made in China 2025 plan. If they achieve expertise in semiconductor chips and a few other industries, we Americans will lose our global hegemony.

“China must be stopped” is the rallying cry of the oligarchy elite.

Hows Stuff Works is for fags. Electrolytes are what plants crave. Duh.
Hows Stuff Works is for fags. Electrolytes are what plants crave. Duh.

Rest of Asia

Something remarkable has been happening all over Asia (I will narrowly use the word here to refer to only Asia Pacific. Technically, Asia extends all the way from Russia to the Middle East).

After WWII, Japan succeeded in a brilliant way, which inspired the Asian Tigers – South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. However, the wild fire of enthusiasm really caught on when China lifted 700 million people out of extreme poverty and created the world’s largest middle class.

No. 66 Middle School in Urumqi, northwest China is home to 2,400 children from 13 different ethnic groups. They are all part of a Chinese government programme helping ethnically diverse students in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to receive higher quality of education. Known as the Xinjiang Class, the programme was introduced in 2000 to offer children living in the region’s remote areas the possibility to attend a top junior high school (ages 12-15), preparing students to then attend a senior high school in one of 17 cities across the country.
No. 66 Middle School in Urumqi, northwest China is home to 2,400 children from 13 different ethnic groups. They are all part of a Chinese government programme helping ethnically diverse students in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to receive higher quality of education. Known as the Xinjiang Class, the programme was introduced in 2000 to offer children living in the region’s remote areas the possibility to attend a top junior high school (ages 12-15), preparing students to then attend a senior high school in one of 17 cities across the country.

Now, every country from India to Indonesia to Vietnam feels optimistic and confident that they can succeed as well, and many of them are consistently growing at breakneck rates of 6-7% per year. Economists say that 88% of the next 1 billion people to enter the global middle class will be from Asia. Thus it’s no wonder that Asians are now far more optimistic than westerners about the direction of their countries.

Asian countries – including even North Korea – have realized that wars and conflicts only get in the way of prosperity. This is, of course, very bad for our divide-and-rule strategy — we were hoping to use Taiwan, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and India to contain China.

Map of China and Japan. Showing the location of the "contested" Senkaku / Diaoyu islands. If Japan can control these islands, then the United States can place a military base there, right next to China. Therefore it is a critically important location from which American can control China.
Map of China and Japan. Showing the location of the “contested” Senkaku / Diaoyu islands. If Japan can control these islands, then the United States can place a military base there, right next to China. Therefore it is a critically important location from which America can control China.

If Asia continues to enjoy peace and cooperation, the geopolitical center of gravity will shift dramatically. Many people don’t realize that, in terms of purchasing power, China is already larger than the US. In nominal GDP, by 2030, China will be bigger than the US, India will be bigger than Germany, and Asia will account for 40% of global GDP.

By 2050, the top five world economies might consist of four Asian countries.

While the rising Asian middle class is a lucrative consumer market for our corporations, we dread the rise of multi-national Asian corporations in a decade or two.

In other words, we want Asians to be rich enough to buy Colgate and Pampers, but not too rich to mass produce toothpaste and diapers; we don’t mind Asians becoming the CEOs of Google and Microsoft, we just don’t want them to develop their own search engines and operating systems. We want to be in control. Us, and us alone.

Who knows what this will lead towards, if the rest of the world is prosperous?

For this reason, China must be stopped. The New Silk road must be thwarted. China needs to be put back into it’s rightful place as a servant to the American consumer and puppet to the global leadership.

Steps are being taken.

The US involvement in the HK "Democracy Now" movement.
Uyghurs in Xinjiang

We have Hong Kong “fifth column” actions in progress.

We also have radical Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Both of these efforts will stymie the development of the Silk Road and enable the United States to maintain a global leadership role.

The key to containing China is to deny trade along the “Belt and Road Initiative”. This means that every effort must be taken to militarize the portals in XinJiang with the Uyghur Muslims, and in Hong Kong with the “pro democracy” students. By making those two areas unstable (by the CIA, and NED operatives), the United States can prolong the implementation of the Chinese “Road and Belt Initiative” long enough for the United States to build military bases surrounding China to contain it. You know, for “democracy”.

Conclusion

In the early 1970s, David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger convinced the Chinese elites to open up their economy.

Then we created the WTO in 1995 and enlisted 128 countries, knowing very well what it would do to American/European manufacturing.

Letting China into the WTO in 2001 accelerated the outsourcing of jobs from Europe and the US. To hide the devastation, we created the housing bubble on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Now, we’re also effectively using mass immigration and other social engineering tools to keep people distracted.

I will admit that, blinded by hubris and greed, we misjudged the rise of Asia, especially China.

America will still be able to control the world, it's just a slight setback while the superior knowledge and skills of the American leadership arrange the globe to fit our needs.
America will still be able to control the world, it’s just a slight setback while the superior knowledge and skills of the American leadership arrange the globe to fit our needs.

However, let me remind you that we have brought down many empires over the last 250 years. We’re not going to simply sit back and let revisionist powers rewrite the world order. This is why the next decade will be both fascinating and dangerous.

China's Silk Road.
China’s Silk Road.

A Final Note

I wrote this “tongue in cheek” from the point of view of someone in favor of the United States maintaining global control. But, this is not the 1960’s and the world is indeed a dangerous place. The United States is going through “death spasms” and if we are all not careful, it could bring the rest of us down with it.

I do not like this situation. I am fearful of it. If there is anything that I could advise, it would be for people to calm down, have a few beers and stop trying to control other people. Let everyone else prosper. If they are doing well, good for them. It’s not your problem. Stop trying to fight, fight, fight.

There’s enough to go around for everyone.

This is what New York City will look like if America tries to initiate another proxy war with a major nuclear-armed superposer. They are a serious, serious nation. They DO NOT PLAY.
This is what New York City will look like if America tries to initiate another proxy war with a major nuclear-armed superpower. They are a serious, serious nation. They DO NOT PLAY.

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

Fats about China
The US involvement in the HK "Democracy Now" movement.
Uyghurs in Xinjiang
How the USA can win a trade war.
Chinese reaction to the Trump Tariff Wars.
China's Global Leadership
Popular Music of China
The logistics of relocating a facotry from China back to the USA.
Hong Kong and the NED CIA operations.
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year
Trade Wars
How to get work in China if you have HIV.

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions
A polarized world.
America's sunset.
Trump trade wars  - Phase One
Asshole

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Wolf Disco
Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
Summer Snapshots 9
Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Some Fun Videos

Here’s a collection of some fun videos taken all over Asia. While there are many videos taken in China, we also have some taken in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Japan as well. It’s all in fun.

Some fun videos of China - 1
Fun Videos of Asia - 2
Fun videos of Asia - 3
Fun videos of Asia - 4
Fun Videos of Asia - 5
Fun videos of Asia - 6
Fun videos of Asia - 7
Fun videos of Asia - 8
Fun videos of Asia - 9
Fun videos of Asia - 10
Fun videos of Asia - 11
Fun videos of Asia - 12
Fun videos of Asia - 13
Fun videos of Asia - 14
Fun Videos of Asia - 15
Fun videos of Asia -16
The best way to cook marshmallows.

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

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A Report on the Xinjiang and Uyghur re-education camps in China.

At a press conference held by the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Saturday, Elijan Anayit, a spokesperson for the Information Office of the Xinjiang government, condemned the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which in September published a report titled "Documenting Xinjiang's Detention System," falsely claiming that China is persecuting ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

Anayit said the claims are totally fabricated and don't hold water. He explained that from 2010 till the end of 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang increased by 25.04 percent, rising from 10.1715 million to 12.7184 million, whereas the Han population increased by just 2.0 percent, rising from 8.8299 million to 9.0068 million.

-Former Xinjiang trainees share their training center experiences
 news.cgtn.com 

This article takes a comprehensive and serious look at the abuse of the Uyghur Muslims at the hands of the dastardly Chinese Communists. We look at who this group of people are, and their culture, and what is going on regarding their relationship with the Chinese central government in Beijing. We also take a good hard look at how they are being used as pawns in a global wide game of geopolitical politics.

1 million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps!” ... 
“Ethnic  Cleansing and Cultural Genocide!” ...

PBS NewsHour: Inside China's brutal persecution of Uighur Muslims - Season 2019 Episode 

Yikes!  These emotional phrases are very effective in geopolitical arguments. Often they are used as excuses to acquire money and funding out of the United States Congress towards one or more "efforts at spreading democracy". 

You know, just like the (so called) "successful" pro-democracy movements in Libya, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Iran, and now Venezuela. Look at just how successful American tax-dollars are promoting democracy around the world! 

It's a better way to spend the money, don't you know, than rebuilding Baltimore... Right?

Why rebuild Baltimore?

We shouldn't spend tax money on Americans in America. No! The money should be spread out all over the globe to fight for Democracy! Yessur!
We shouldn’t spend tax money on Americans in America. No! The money should be spread out all over the globe to fight for Democracy! Yessur!

So what’s the real story about the Chinese Uyghur Muslims? Let’s look at this issue in detail. Let’s go beyond exaggeration, distortion and sensationalism.

But let’s first review the propaganda.

You know. The propaganda that is directly aimed at YOU, the American reader. It’s all that propaganda to justify your Congressman throwing lavish parties, and hauling pallet-loads of “Benjamins” to far-away shadowy entities to spend as they see fit.

You know… for “democracy“.

    After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the George W. Bush administration flooded the conquered country with so much cash to pay for reconstruction and other projects in the first year that a new unit of measurement was born.      Pentagon officials determined that one giant C-130 Hercules cargo plane could carry $2.4 billion in shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills. They sent an initial full planeload of cash, followed by 20 other flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time.      This month, the Pentagon and the Iraqi government are finally closing the books on the program that handled all those Benjamins. But despite years of audits and investigations, U.S. Defense officials still cannot say what happened to $6.6 billion in cash — enough to run the Los Angeles Unified School District or the Chicago Public Schools for a year, among many other things.
After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the George W. Bush administration flooded the conquered country with so much cash to pay for reconstruction and other projects in the first year that a new unit of measurement was born. Pentagon officials determined that one giant C-130 Hercules cargo plane could carry $2.4 billion in shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills. They sent an initial full planeload of cash, followed by 20 other flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time. The only thing is that once the money was handed over to the American military forces for “safe-keeping” it disappeared.
 After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the  George W. Bush administration flooded the conquered country with so much  cash to pay for reconstruction and other projects in the first year  that a new unit of measurement was born.

 Pentagon officials determined that one giant C-130 Hercules cargo  plane could carry $2.4 billion in shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills.  They sent an initial full planeload of cash, followed by 20 other  flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials  believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time.

 This month, the Pentagon and the Iraqi government are finally closing  the books on the program that handled all those Benjamins. But despite  years of audits and investigations, U.S. Defense officials still cannot  say what happened to $6.6 billion in cash — enough to run the Los  Angeles Unified School District or the Chicago Public Schools for a  year, among many other things. 

-Long War Journal

The Uyghur propaganda serves a purpose.

It is to support regional CIA activities within China. Create a war where allocated funds can be easily diverted. And, in so doing, channel the allocated tax dollars back to Washington and into the pockets of the oligarchy. That is why the neocons love war so much. The war zone is all confused and it is very easy to siphon money into their wallets.

It’s an enormous racket.

The Uyghur propaganda serves a purpose. It is to support  regional CIA activities  within China. Create a war where allocated funds can be easily diverted. And, in so doing, channel the allocated tax dollars back to Washington and into the pockets of the oligarchy. That is why the neocons love war so much. The war zone is all confused and it is very easy to siphon money into their wallets.
The Uyghur propaganda serves a purpose. It is to support regional CIA activities within China. Create a war where allocated funds can be easily diverted. And, in so doing, channel the allocated tax dollars back to Washington and into the pockets of the oligarchy. That is why the neocons love war so much. The war zone is all confused and it is very easy to siphon money into their wallets.
I recall, as probably most people don’t, that the  Central Intelligence Agency, with assistance from some of China’s  neighbors, put $30 million into the destabilization of Tibet and  basically financed and trained the participants in the Khampa rebellion  and ultimately sought to remove the Dalai Lama from Tibet–which they  did. 

They escorted him out of Tibet to Dharamsala. 

There were similar  efforts made with the Uyghurs during the Cold War that never really got  off the ground. In both cases you had religion waved as a banner in  support of a desire for independence or autonomy which, of course, is  anathema to any state.

- US Ambassador Chas. H. Freeman. 

Anti-China propaganda focusing on the Uyghur Muslims

The propaganda can get pretty ridiculous, and it often is…

Seriously?

Role Reversal:

Washington is reportedly sending white men to sleep in the same beds as black Detroit women while their husbands are serving time in prison. It's a racist racket against women of color.

Yes. It is that ridiculous.

You’ve got to be shitting me. That people actually believe this nonsense. But there you have it. American press reporting on a statement made by…

…wait for it…

…wait for it…

…wait for it…

Radio Free Asia.

Yup, the United States funded propaganda mouth piece for Asia.

Radio Free Asia is a CIA front organization.

Nah, you might say. It just can’t be CIA! There must be a mistake, you argue. The CIA doesn’t get involved in these kinds of things. Right? But…

The International Broadcasting Independent Grantee Organization grant program provides funding for projects that support freedom and democracy by enhancing an understanding about America and the world to overseas audiences. 

Grant funding is limited to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. 

-United States Grants for Radio

And the connections are everywhere. All you need to do is a mere five minutes of research to connect the dots.

The CIA and all this meddling is friggin’ everywhere. And, it’s not the only one…

"Eminent scholar Jerry Cohen  likens to the situation in Xinjiang to that of Nazi Germany, where  dozens of his relatives were detained, tortured and killed under a  similarly totalitarian regime. The connection between the totalitarian  ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and modern-day surveillance  technology has resulted in a terrible degradation of human rights for  the Uyghur people."

-   China’s Escalating Repression of the Uyghurs 

My goodness!

Who is this “expert” who is equating China with Nazi’s? Well, a quick search on the internet identifies him as a “venerable expert on Chinese affairs“. Where he is found working and writing for the American publication “National Review”. (A Conservative “Hawkish” Neocon Publication.) He is considered to be “a skilled and talented advocate for world-wide “democracy””.

National Review is an American semi-monthly editorial magazine focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. It is currently edited by Rich Lowry. Since its founding, the magazine has played a significant role in the development of conservatism in the United States, helping to define its boundaries and promoting fusionism while establishing itself as a leading voice on the American right. 

-Wikipedia

This organization is a true war-mongering alliance, that uses the cover of “American Conservatism”, for substantive reputation.

But, you know, this no longer flies true in the latest iteration of American Conservative thought. Since 2016, the American conservative movement has had a major shake-up. Americans are sick and tired of Democrats calling themselves Conservatives, just because they love to fight proxy wars.

Whats more, this organization knows it.

"Their unceasing agitation against a compromise peace in the Middle East,  coupled with their lobbying for America to endorse to Sharon’s ongoing  humiliation of the Palestinians, has managed to make America hated in  parts of the world where it used to be admired, even loved. 

Some of that  hatred has been turned—should we be surprised?—into anti-American  terror. 

Now, as it prepares to occupy Iraq against the will of much of  the Middle East while facing a rejuvenated al-Qaeda, America has fewer  real friends and more ill-wishers than ever in its history. 

This is in  considerable part the “accomplishment” of America’s neocons..."

- Among the Neocons 

So what is going on, eh?

Since the start of the Iraq War, the United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in assistance to Iraq, a large portion of which has been squandered or simply disappeared.
Since the start of the Iraq War, the United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in assistance to Iraq, a large portion of which has been squandered or simply disappeared.

So we know [1] that a major United States publication that supports Conservative Neocon ambitions; global proxy wars, is writing the anti-China Uyghur Muslim narratives.

We also know that they [2] have an “expert” that writes about the Muslims in China.

Further, [3] by “connecting the dots”, we know that the CIA, via the NED and NID funds this effort; the author and the publication.

Finally, we can see [4] the target is CIA directed to use the Uyghur Muslims as pawns in America-instigated revolution within China.

And as such…

[5] American tax-payer funds can be rerouted to other destinations. Destinations where the neocon sponsors can extract enormous profits.

They sent an initial full planeload of cash, followed by 20 other flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time.    The only thing is that once the money was handed over to the American military forces for "safe-keeping" it disappeared.
They sent an initial full planeload of cash, followed by 20 other flights to Iraq by May 2004 in a $12-billion haul that U.S. officials believe to be the biggest international cash airlift of all time. The only thing is that once the money was handed over to the American military forces for “safe-keeping” it disappeared. All 21 plane-loads.

Who is this “expert” who reports these issues?

"Eminent scholar Jerry Cohen  likens to the situation in Xinjiang to that of Nazi Germany..."

OK. Fine. We have a name rather than “sources”, or “it was reported”… We have someone that we can investigate.

Then, as such an “expert“, he should have lived in China for a few years, and should travel back and forth between China and the United States quite often. Right? He’s an expert… right? He has first-hand information that has affected his thoughts, emotions and attitudes. He must have tons of experience to ignite the (apparent) rage inside of him to write such a flood of articles about the Muslims in China. Right?

Nope.

Jerome A. Cohen has never lived in China.

NEVER.

N-E-V-E-R.

Never, as in doesn’t even speak Chinese. Never, as in doesn’t know what a Chinese license plate looks like. Never, as in has zero Chinese friends. Never, as in does not know the difference between Tianjin, and Dangguang.

Never.

Never, as in “knows Jack-shit.”

Never.

Yet… Yet, here he is instructing and “educating” Americans on how to think, and getting their emotions all riled up. Eh.

In fact, according to his LinkedIN profile, he’s lived in Washington D.C. most of his pampered life. He’s a bonified member of the “Deep State”. And is a card-carrying member of the CIA regime-changing apparatus, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), as well as the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

He’s CIA you all.

Out of the spotlight, active U.S. interference takes place through  the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). 

The NED is bankrolling Hong  Kong "pro-democracy" and anti-Beijing groups such as the Solidarity  Center (SC), the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Hong Kong Human  Rights Monitor to the tune of millions. In 2018 alone the NED reports  giving 155,000 U.S. dollars to the SC and 200,000 U.S. dollars to the  NDI.

The NED is a sham NGO founded in 1983 to replace functions  previously carried out by the CIA. 

Philip Agee, a former CIA agent and  author of "Inside the Company: CIA Diary" details how the CIA would set  up front organizations and funnel money into destabilization campaigns.

After  destabilization would come the coup-d'etat. The Brazilian 1964 coup  that overthrew President João Goulart and the Chilean 1973 coup against  Chilean President Salvador Allende were both backed by the CIA. In both  instances, left-wing parties were deposed and replaced by right-wing  military forces compliant to U.S. interests. 

- Why is the National Endowment for Democracy fueling Hong Kong protests? 

In particular, he (used to be) a member of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Which enjoys full generous (taxpayer) funding out of the United States to institute regime changing efforts inside of China.

From 1984 to 1990 the NED received $15–18 million of congressional funding annually, and $25–$30m from 1991 to 1993. At the time the funding came via the United States Information Agency (USIA). 

-  National Endowment for Democracy - Wikipedia 

That is CIA meddling to a “T”.

Since the start of the Iraq War, the United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in assistance to Iraq, a large portion of which has been squandered or simply disappeared.

Government auditors say some $61 billion was spent  on reconstruction projects in Iraq from 2003 to 2012. At least 10  percent of the money cannot be accounted for. Some 15 percent of the  money spent, or roughly $8 billion, was wasted. 

-Fiscal Times

How about the Slave message inside Christmas cards?

All progiganda. Check this out. From here.

A British girl discovered a message inside of a box of charity Christmas cards bought from British grocery giant Tesco saying it had been packed by inmates. (Screenshot from CBS News)
A British girl discovered a message inside of a box of charity Christmas cards bought from British grocery giant Tesco saying it had been packed by inmates. (Screenshot from CBS News)

China on Monday denied accusations of forced labor at a Shanghai prison after media reported that a British girl found a message hidden in a Christmas card saying it had been packed by inmates, a piece of news later proved to be a “prank”.

Yeah. Sure.

“A prank”

The allegations came to light when The Sunday Times reported that six-year-old Florence Widdicombe from Tooting, south London, discovered a message inside of a box of charity Christmas cards bought from British grocery giant Tesco, reading…

“We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai  Qingpu Prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us,  notify human rights organization and contact Mr. Peter Humphrey.”

The news suddenly captured worldwide attention, while many doubt its authenticity.

Coincidently, or maybe not, Peter Humphrey mentioned in the message is exactly the writer of the article, a British former journalist who was imprisoned in Qingpu Prison in Shanghai for over two years for trafficking personal data.

Peter Humphrey is a British former journalist who was imprisoned in Qingpu Prison in China. (Screenshot from The Globe and Mail)
Peter Humphrey is a British former journalist who was imprisoned in Qingpu Prison in China. (Screenshot from The Globe and Mail)

In his report, Humphrey said he contacted several members of ex-prisoners in Qingpu Prison, who confirmed they had been packing Christmas cards for Tesco for at least two years, and were “being forced into mundane manual assembly or packaging tasks” for other Western companies. However, he didn’t mention the identity of these prisoners and the names of those Western companies.

On Monday, Zhejiang Yunguang Printing, the Chinese firm that supplies greeting cards to Tesco, slammed these “unfounded claims”, adding that they don’t have labor from Shanghai Qingpu Prison, according to Global Times.

This relationsip would be well documented and easy to prove,

Shanghai prison warden refutes forced labor accusation
https://lnkd.in/dxabUPa
Shanghai prison warden refutes forced labor accusation https://lnkd.in/dxabUPa

China’s Foreign Ministry also dismissed the allegations, saying it was “just a drama choreographed by Mr. Peter Humphrey”. “After verifying with relevant departments, we know for sure that there is no forced labor of foreign prisoners in Qingpu Prison in Shanghai,” noted Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

The news has also received wide attention from netizens, many of whom questioned whether it was credible. (Screenshot from comments under BBC News’ official Facebook account)
The news has also received wide attention from netizens, many of whom questioned whether it was credible. (Screenshot from comments under BBC News’ official Facebook account)

The news has also received wide attention from netizens, many of whom questioned whether it was credible.

Something fishy out of the UK.
Something fishy out of the UK.

“There is so much misinformation, it’s almost impossible to say with any certainty where it came from,” reads a Facebook user’s comment.

The news has also received wide attention from netizens, many of whom questioned whether it was credible. (Screenshot from comments under BBC News’ official Facebook account)

This is not the first time that Humphrey has popped out into the spotlight with a headline or two.

In 2018, after he confessed to charges he illegally bought and sold the personal information to clients, he asked Britain’s media regulator to revoke the broadcast license of China’s state television for helping to stage his allegedly forced confession and subsequent jailing in China.

In response to Humphrey’s accusations, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng said in a regular press briefing in November 2018 that China hoped Britain can support and facilitate the reporting work of international media in the UK. “China’s judicial departments handle cases according to the law, and safeguard the legal rights and interests of foreigners in China,” he added.

Fake stories concerning China stitched up by Western media is not unusual over these last few years.

Last month (November 2019), a piece of seemingly explosive news was reported by Australian media about a self-proclaimed spy Wang Liqiang who sought asylum in Australia, claiming to have reportedly given authorities information about operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia, which incurred heavy criticism from Australian media and politicians that China has interfered in the country’s politics and universities.

Ironically, Wang later confessed to fraud, making the story into a farce that put Australian media to shame.

Similarly, it is not surprising that Humphrey came back to the spotlight after one year of silence with a fake story, to which spokesman Geng replied by providing him with the advice that “if you want to grab more eyeballs, at least come up with some new tricks.” 

Here’s another article.

It’s amateur-hour on the pile-up against China.

Complete and absolute nonsense! Remember, boys and girls, any pronouncements (such as this) comes out of Beijing and is super-dooper well-documented.
Complete and absolute nonsense! Remember, boys and girls, any pronouncements (such as this) comes out of Beijing and is super-dooper well-documented.

I used to post on FreeRepublic. Then they sold out, just like Matt Drudge did. Now FR is something else. It is a mouth-piece for the oligarchy.

Now FR is something else. It is a mouth-piece for the oligarchy.
Now FR is something else. It is a mouth-piece for the oligarchy.

The CIA regime changing apparatus.

People! A recitation of the “talking points” of any CIA directive and regime changing apparatus should always be suspect.

No matter how much of a patriotic person you might be, the CIA, and the NED / NID have a terrible track-record of regime change. In almost every case resulting in death, bloodshed, and the implementation of an American-friendly dictatorship at the loss of freedom for the nations so targeted. As well as a mysterious loss of the allocated billions of dollars that was their charge.

Here’s some articles in case you don’t know what I am talking about…

America is currently fighting 8 simultaneous wars today. We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. That is obscene.

  • World War II American involvement was three years.
  • World War I was four years.
  • The American Civil War was four years.
  • The first gulf war was one year.

What’s with all the wars?

In the past three years, over $3 billion in CASH was flown out of Kabul reports the Wall Street Journal. Officials don’t know exactly who got what, but have a general idea: “U.S. investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted U.S. aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad.” That’s still $9 billion less than what was lost in Iraq.
In the past three years, over $3 billion in CASH was flown out of Kabul reports the Wall Street Journal. Officials don’t know exactly who got what, but have a general idea: “U.S. investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted U.S. aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad.” That’s still $9 billion less than what was lost in Iraq.

Why are Americans dying in far-away third-world nations? Why are we paying for it? Why is America trying to fight everyone?

Why are we the policeman for the world, and what’s all this nonsense about spreading “democracy“…?

Why are we flying pallet loads of untraceable cash to the regions and not using (observable) bank transfers? Why are the billions of dollars vanishing? Why is it all being done so surreptitiously?

 American money began to disappear almost as soon as the Iraq War  began. In 2004, $19 billion in reconstruction assistance was provided to  Iraq. From 2005 to 2009, $26 billion was sent to Iraq for the same  purpose. 

 A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published in 2009 said  much of this money was lost to waste, fraud and abuse. Stuart W. Bowen,  Jr., then Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR),  testified to Congress in 2009 that 15 to 20 percent of this money was  wasted. 

 -Fiscal Times 

On top of that, consider that the Uyghurs in Xinjiang are not living in a third world shit hole. The “proxy-war model for personal financial gain” can have dire consequences!

Picking a fight with nuclear-armed, merit-ruled China is like dancing on top of a fuel-soaked mattress while sparking the flint on a lighter. It’s idiotic!

Meanwhile, Detroit, San Francisco and Baltimore are absolute "shit holes". There is something seriously wrong when Americans are willing to throw money away on nonsensical regime change, while ignoring the festering rot in their very own backyard.

Really! What is America today?

What America is today.

It is crazy and absolutely NOT sustainable.

What does China think about all this?

China is fully aware of what is going on.

Though the American (manipulated) public might not be. As such, they are proceeding cautiously with a smile on their faces. We should not ever be under the illusion that they are oblivious to the Neocon interest in regime change within China.

They are aware, and they are ALERT.

What China thinks about the minorties.

An Overview of Xinjiang, China.

Most Americans haven’t a clue about China. Many think that it is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. I am not at all kidding.

I remember talking to a woman at the checkout line in Conway, Arkansas. We ended up talking about China and how different it was. She sincerely thought that it was a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.

Arkansas…

Typical Americans
Most Americans do not know where China is located at relative to their hometown. In fact, polls have indicated that is is actually some confusion whether it is a separate nation, or another state residing within the United States. This extreme level of ignorance allows those in Washington D.C. to manipulate and control the thoughts and decisions of the average American citizen.

And when you talk about a subject specific to China, they act like a radical progressive democrat and shout loudly back at you. Often it is a canned phrase that they acquired off FOX news, or CNN. You know what I mean.

Canned phrases that can be repeated without thinking…

  • Communist!
  • Concentration camps.
  • Mind-control.
  • Religious prosecution!

Pretty amazing.

Brawndo - The Thirst Mutilator.
Brawndo – The Thirst Mutilator.

Knowledge Test

So one of the first things that I do when I end up getting sucked into a subject like this, is to pull out a map and ask the person which whom the discussion revolves, to point out where Xinjiang is.

If they are unable to locate it on a map, then I know that they are just a member of the mindless, manipulated American (and British) public.

You try. Give it a spin.

Where is Xinjiang on this map? Can you find it?

Blank simple map of China, no labels.
Blank simple map of China, no labels.

So, do you know where Xinjiang is? Point to it.

When I have run this little exercise… using a printer, and not allowing anyone to cheat using the internet, I am always surprised by the ignorance. (In fact, I actually carried up a folded printout in my backpack, for a spell.)

Initially, the person shrugs it off.

They won’t do it, and are insulted that you are trying to get them to show how ignorant they are. They do not like to be shown to be a fool. No one does, and so I cannot blame them. Can you?

I can't blame them. Most Americans can't point out Nebraska on a map, either.

It’s human nature, you know. We all want to think that we are brighter, smarter, and more intelligent than other people. So when we get into arguments, and it is pointed out that we are ignorant and manipulated, we resent it, and revolt against it.

OK.

Well, here is where Xinjiang is…

Map of China showing Xinjiang.
Map of China showing Xinjiang.
BRAWNDO’S GOT WHAT PLANTS CRAVE! 

Brawndo’s got  electrolytes. And that’s what plants crave. They crave electrolytes.  Which plants crave. they crave electrolytes. Which is what Brawndo has.  And that’s why plants crave Brawndo. Not water, like from the toilet.

Don’t try to make sense of it, because you can’t. Just take note of  the fact that Brawndo has electrolytes and does not come out of the  toilet, I guess. 


Brawndo’s got electrolytes. And that’s what plants crave.

What is Xinjiang like.

First of all, the media will never show the peaceful, prosperous parts of Xinjiang. Heck. They won’t show much of anything. It is extremely important for those in power to keep Americans ignorant of life outside of America.

 An April 2005 audit concluded that CPA managers of [reconstruction]  funds distributed in the South-Central region of Iraq could not account  for more than $96.6 million in cash and receipts. An October 2005 audit  found that South-Central personnel could not account for more than $20.5  million in Rapid Regional Response Program funds and made $2.6 million  in excessive payments.” 

 Waste was not limited to mismanagement, however. Sometimes it was criminal, the report found.

 “In late 2005, several U.S. citizens were criminally charged with  respect to the handling of these funds—and have since pled guilty. In  February 2007, five more were indicted, of whom four were convicted and  one pled guilty,” CRS reported. 

  -Fiscal Times  

Just like the media used an American video of an American rifle range to narrate a lie. For they wanted to convince the American population about “violent retribution on the Kurds when Americans pulled out“.

American media is just one lie after the other. It’s all manipulation propaganda. Take heed.

So this is the kind of images that the media uses when discussing the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang…

Human rights observers and independent experts said Tuesday that China seems to start massive DNA collection work from residents of a volatile region, where most Muslims are under strong security crackdowns.
Human rights observers and independent experts said Tuesday that China seems to start massive DNA collection work from residents of a volatile region, where most Muslims are under strong security crackdowns.

What they omit is that everyone in China has their DNA collected. I have my DNA collected in China, and I’m not even a citizen. Such selective reporting, and then presented with a negative spin is common in Western reporting of the Uyghurs.

The NGO reported that, while the government was not confiscating passports, acquiring a passport as an ethnic minority was near impossible. Beijing has dedicated significant effort in the past five years to curbing the freedoms of Xinjiang’s majority Uighur population, who are largely Muslim and whose state is home to a major separatist movement, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) .
The NGO reported that, while the government was not confiscating passports, however, acquiring a passport as an ethnic minority was near impossible. Beijing has dedicated significant effort in the past five years to curbing the freedoms of Xinjiang’s majority Uighur population, who are largely Muslim and whose state is home to a major separatist movement, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) .

This article comes on the heels of reports that China was confiscating passports. Which was proven false, and China demanded an apology.

Now, rather than retract the narrative, they rewrote it as “difficult to obtain a passport“. Not true either. But the march of propaganda must roll. Couple that with picture of army soldiers and you have an effective propaganda onslaught.

Here’s another example…

 The Uighur Muslim community in China’s Xinjiang region are facing arbitrary detentions, daily restrictions on religious practice, and “forced political indoctrination” in a mass security crackdown, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.  “The Chinese government is committing human rights abuses in Xinjiang on a scale unseen in the country in decades,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.  “The campaign of repression in Xinjiang is a key test of whether the United Nations and concerned governments will sanction an increasingly powerful China to end this abuse.”  In its 117-page report, “‘Eradicating Ideological Viruses’: China’s Campaign of Repression Against Xinjiang’s Muslims,” Human Rights Watch presents new evidence of the Chinese government’s mass arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment, and the increasingly pervasive controls on daily life.
The Uighur Muslim community in China’s Xinjiang region are facing arbitrary detentions, daily restrictions on religious practice, and “forced political indoctrination” in a mass security crackdown, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

“The Chinese government is committing human rights abuses in Xinjiang on a scale unseen in the country in decades,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “The campaign of repression in Xinjiang is a key test of whether the United Nations and concerned governments will sanction an increasingly powerful China to end this abuse.” In its 117-page report, “‘Eradicating Ideological Viruses’: China’s Campaign of Repression Against Xinjiang’s Muslims,” Human Rights Watch presents new evidence of the Chinese government’s mass arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment, and the increasingly pervasive controls on daily life.

The way it reads sounds like the Muslims are being arrested and imprisoned because of their religion. That’s not the case. They are being imprisoned because they are [1] residents of Xinjiang and [2] they have committed crimes. Crimes like theft, murder, rape, and abductions.

Criminals exist all over the world. 

That’s how propaganda works. It never provides the entire full and true situation. But, rather, it provides selected reports presented in a way to arouse emotions.

You know what? This is what Xinjiang really looks like…

Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang
Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang

Yeah. This is what it is really like, you all.

And Western media won’t talk about the billions of dollars that China has invested in Xinjiang, modernizing the cities, building 21 airports, linking with region with bullet trains etc.

This is hardly ever reported, but when it is, it is reported in a negative way. As if investing in things, buildings, constructions and hiring people is bad, terrible and unhealthy…

 Having eliminated poverty and solved basic subsistence problems, the  people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have now set their eyes on more  prosperous lives, along with marked improvement in their standard of  living.

 In 2008, the per-capita net income of farmers in Xinjiang was 3,503  yuan, which is 28 times more than that of 1978, and 1.2 times more than  that of 2000 when the western development campaign was launched; the  per-capita disposable income of urban residents reached 11,432 yuan,  which is 35 times more than that of 1978, and double that of 2001. The  per-capita deposited savings of urban and rural residents averaged 14  yuan in 1955, 52 yuan in 1978, 4,913 yuan in 2000, and 11,972 yuan in  2008. Per-capita consumption was 122 yuan in 1952, 181 yuan in 1978,  2,662 yuan in 2000, and 4,890 yuan in 2007. 

- Development and Progress in Xinjiang 

Let’s compare the Chinese investment in Xinjiang with similar investments that the United States makes in America…

Uyghur High-Speed Rail in Xiajiang, China.

I’d try to compare it with the United States High Speed Rail, but I cannot. America doesn’t have high speed rail. Nor is America investing time and money to improve cultural minority enclaves. It is instead throwing money elsewhere.

Meanwhile, China is investing in Uyghur.

High-Speed Railway in Xinjiang
High-Speed Railway in Xinjiang
Why no High-Speed rail in the USA?

Ugyhur State-of-the-art Airports

I’d also like to compare the Uyghur airports with American airports, but I cannot do this either.

The latest international airport in the United States was built decades ago. At that time, people were still wearing bell-bottoms and wore afros.

The latest international airport in the United States was built decades ago. At that time, people were still wearing bell-bottoms and wore afros.
The latest international airport in the United States was built decades ago. At that time, people were still wearing bell-bottoms and wore afros.

Anyways, the amount of monetary investment in Xinjiang is astounding, and the Uyghur workers who are all involved in building these projects are all making a decent life for themselves and their families. The Chinese, as a traditional conservative society, believes that people need a “hand up” to improve their social mobility. That means jobs for the men, opportunities for the children and community for the women.

Thus all the new and modern airports and public works.

International airport in Xinjiang
International airport in Xinjiang, China.

In 2018, the 21 airports in Xinjiang handled 33 million passengers

And there are also thousands of mosques in Xinjiang, whose recorded history goes back more than 2000 years when the ancient Silk Road linked China to Italy and Greece. In China, there are mosques that were built in the 10th century, which demonstrates the tolerance and respect for religious rights in Chinese society.

Uyghur Religious Freedom in Xinjiang

If you read the American and British media, you would think that China is terribly repressive. Squashing free thought, and religious beliefs at will. It’s not true, not even remotely true. In fact, it’s absolute and complete nonsense.

You need to understand what is actually going on.

Xinjiang is the largest autonomous region in China, located in the Northwestern zone of the country. It is also where you will find the largest population of Muslims in China. Although the Hui Muslims make up the majority of Muslims in all of China, it is the Uyghur Muslims that are the largest in number when it comes to Xinjiang.

The Uyghurs are a Turkic Ethnic Group living in East and Central Asia, specifically the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. They are a group of racially diverse people, including a variety of ethnicities ranging from Caucasians to Mongoloids.   As the area with the largest concentration of Muslims in China, there is no need to worry about finding nearby mosques and prayer places in Xinjiang.

This is Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
This is the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.

There are about 20,000 mosques in Xinjiang

Also to remember are two nuggets of information: [1] Xinjiang is a really vast region — it’s four times as large as California(!); and [2] Uyghurs make up only about 40% of Xinjiang’s population. It is the truth and is not something that all the anti-Chinese propaganda broadcasts.

Learn something for a change instead of accepting the mindless manipulations…

 Since ancient times, Xinjiang has always been a region with a number  of religions existing side by side. The major religions in Xinjiang  today are Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism and Daoism. The  Chinese government enacts a policy of freedom of religious belief, which  the government of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has thoroughly  implemented. It protects citizens' rights of freedom of religious belief  in accordance with the law, safeguards the legitimate rights and  interests of religious circles, and promotes healthy and orderly  development of religion.

 Freedom of religious belief is a basic right bestowed by the PRC  Constitution on all its citizens. It is stipulated in the Constitution  as follows: "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of  religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may  compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor  may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe  in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities." In  addition, the State Council promulgated "Regulations on Religious  Affairs," which stipulates: "Citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief.  No organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not  to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens  who believe in any religion or citizens who do not believe in any  religion. Citizens who believe in religions and those who don't shall  respect each other and coexist in harmony, as shall citizens who believe  in different religions." Other relevant laws and regulations have  specific provisions on the protection of citizens' freedom of religious  belief. The state emphasizes that all citizens are equal before the law;  that the citizens have the freedom to believe in, or not to believe in,  any religion; that the citizens enjoy the rights of freedom of  religious belief and at the same time must carry out corresponding  responsibilities; that anyone who violates others' rights of freedom of  religious belief shall bear the legal liability; and that both religious  citizens and non-religious citizens shall bear the same legal liability  for breaking the law.

 In Xinjiang, people of all ethnic groups fully enjoy the right of  freedom in religious belief. The people's freedom to believe in, or not  to believe in, any religion is protected by the law, and no state organ,  public organization or individual may interfere with their choice. By  the end of 2008, the autonomous region had 24,800 venues for religious  activities, including mosques, churches and temples, in addition to over  29,000 clerical personnel, 91 religious organizations and two religious  colleges. Since the 1980s, more than 50,000 people from Xinjiang have  made pilgrimages to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the number  of people from Xinjiang who make the pilgrimage each year has been  around 2,700. By 2008, over 1,800 religious personages in Xinjiang had  been elected to posts in people's congresses and committees of the  Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at all levels. They  have actively participated in deliberation and administration of state  affairs on behalf of religious believers, and in exercising supervision  over the government in respect to the implementation of the policy of  freedom of religious belief.

 The state and the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region  administer religious affairs and protect the legal rights and interests  of believers, religious organizations and venues for religious  activities in accordance with the laws. The State Council promulgated  the "Regulations on Religious Affairs." The Standing Committee of the  People's Congress of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region formulated and  promulgated the "Regulations for the Administration of Religious Affairs  in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region." The government of the  autonomous region formulated the "Provisional Regulations for the  Administration of Religious Activity Venues in the Xinjiang Uyghur  Autonomous Region," "Provisional Regulations for the Administration of  Clergy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region" and "Provisional  Regulations for the Administration of Religious Activities in the  Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region." These regulations further clarify  that the citizens enjoy the right of freedom in religious belief, and  the country protects normal religious activities, as well as the legal  rights and interests of believers, religious organizations and venues  for religious activities in accordance with the law; that believers,  religious organizations and venues for religious activities should abide  by the Constitution and related laws and regulations, and safeguard  national unification, ethnic unity and social stability; that no  organization or individual may make use of religion to engage in  activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or  interfere with the state educational system, or in activities that harm  state and public interests, as well as citizens' legal rights and  interests; and that no one should use religion to interfere in the  performing of administrative and judicial functions by the state.

 According to corresponding laws and regulations, the autonomous  region protects all normal religious activities held either at venues  for religious activities or in believers' own homes in accordance with  customary religious practices, such as worshipping Buddha, reciting  scriptures, burning incense, worshipping, praying, preaching, attending  Mass, being baptized or ordained, celebrating religious festivals,  observing extreme unction, and holding memorial ceremonies, which are  all protected by law as the affairs of religious bodies or believers  themselves and may not be interfered with. However, the autonomous  region shall ban, in accordance with the law, activities that make use  of religion to intervene in the performing of administrative and  judicial functions of the state, as well as education, marriage or civil  lawsuits.

 Religious affairs are developing in a normal and orderly manner in  Xinjiang. Religious classics and books and magazines have been  published, including the Koran, Selections from Al-Sahih Muhammad  Ibn-Ismail al-Bukhari, Koran with Annotations and Selected Works of  Waez, in Uyghur, Han, Kazak and Kirgiz languages, as well as the New  Collection of Waez's Speeches series and the magazine China's Muslims in  Uyghur and Han languages, the later with a circulation of over one  million. Large numbers of mosques in Xinjiang have been designated as  key cultural relics sites under the protection of the state, the  autonomous region and the various counties. In 1999, the central  government allocated 7.6 million yuan for the reconstruction of the  Yanghang Mosque in Urumqi, the Baytulla Mosque in Yining and the Jamae  Mosque in Hotan. The government has also, on several occasions,  allocated special funds for the maintenance and repair of the Idkah  Mosque in Kashi and Tomb of the Fragrant Imperial Concubine (Apak Hoja  Mazzar), and Sulayman's Minaret in Turpan. In 2008 alone, 33 million  yuan was allocated by the state for the maintenance and repair of Idkah  Mosque and the Tomb of the Fragrant Imperial Concubine.

 Now, most people of Xinjiang's 10 major ethnic minority groups, with a  total population of over 11.3 million, believe in Islam. The number of  Islamic mosques has soared from 2,000 in the early days of the reform  and opening-up drive to 24,300 now, and the body of clergy from 3,000 to  over 28,000. Since its founding, the Xinjiang Islamic Institute gives  lessons in Uyghur and other minority languages and has trained 489  Imams, Hatips or other teachers for religious schools in the autonomous  region. It currently has 161 students. From 2001 to 2008, the Xinjiang  Islamic School trained more than 20,000 clerics. In addition, 3,133  Talips were trained by religious personages, in Islamic schools and  classes operated by Islamic associations in the various prefectures and  prefecture-level cities. Among them, 1,518 have graduated and 803 taken  up clerical posts. In an attempt to cultivate high-caliber clerical  personnel of Islam, since 2001, the regional government has sent 47  clerics for training in colleges and universities in Egypt and Pakistan.

 Historically, the region witnessed many conflicts between different  religions and between different sects of the same religion. In the  mid-10th century, the Islamic Karahan Kingdom waged a religious war  against the Buddhist kingdom of Yutian, lasting for more than 40 years.  During the Ming and Qing dynasties, religious battles continued for  several hundred years within Islamic circles. These wars between and  within religions seriously jeopardized the unity between different  religions and between different sects, as well as general social harmony  and stability. Since the founding of the PRC, the implementation of the  policy of freedom in religious belief and administration of religious  affairs in accordance with the law have promoted peace and harmony  between different religions in Xinjiang, as well as mutual respect and  understanding between religious and non-religious citizens and between  citizens believing in different religions. There have been no modern  conflicts or clashes caused by differences in religion or religious  sect. 

 - Development and Progress in Xinjiang  

The American reaction…

Hows Stuff Works is for fags. Electrolytes are what plants crave. Duh. 
Hows Stuff Works is for fags. Electrolytes are what plants crave. Duh.
Hows Stuff Works is for fags. Electrolytes are what plants crave. Duh.

Types of Uyghur Muslims

Now, let’s break down the facts. There are four types of Uyghur Muslims:

  1. Well-educated Uyghurs who are moderate/secular Muslims
  2. Poor and lower middle-class Uyghurs
  3. Nomads
  4. Separatists and terrorists

And let’s talk about them one by one. OK?

Moderate/Secular Uyghurs

These are middle or upper middle-class Muslims who enjoy normal lives, have good jobs, and integrate easily with the mainstream Chinese culture. There are even popular Uyghur musicians, TV hosts, rappers (!) etc. in China.

Here are two famous Uyghur actresses — Guli Nazha and Dilraba Dilmurat.

Guli Nazha's Fashion Look on Instagram on May 2, 2019
Guli Nazha’s Fashion Look on Instagram on May 2, 2019.

The beauty of the Uyghur Muslims is stunning.

Dilraba Dilmurat is a famous Uyghur Xinjiang, Chinese actress that is beloved all over China.
Dilraba Dilmurat is a famous Uyghur Xinjiang, Chinese actress that is beloved all over China.

Uyghur kids from educated families go to schools, live normal lives and have a lot of fun on social media like Tik Tok (“Douyin” in China). Women post selfies and have followings. Many of which are wealthy Chinese elites from the East Coast.

A not-famous young Uyghur woman who posts on Chinese media and who has a rather large following of Chinese followers. You go Girl!
A not-famous young Uyghur woman who posts on Chinese media and who has a rather large following of Chinese followers. You go Girl!

All through China, whether it is in Xingjiang or in Dongguang, the Chinese government supports education, and harmony though peaceful pursuits. Yes, I know, I sound like a propagandist. But, it is true.

The raising of children in a happy and secure world is the goal of the Chinese government, and the last four decades has proven this to be their objective.

Chinese football may have long been mostly known for its underachieving national team and their dismal record against rivals South Korea and Japan, but there is a football team in China that is without doubt the best in Asia, if not the whole world.
Chinese football may have long been mostly known for its underachieving national team and their dismal record against rivals South Korea and Japan, but there is a football team in China that is without doubt the best in Asia, if not the whole world. Known as Wuxiao in Chinese, the team were crowned champions at the National Youth Campus Football Championship Finals four times in a row from 2012 to 2015, the only four years the national tournament has been held. On the continental stage, they won all four under-13 titles at the international Weifang Cup in Weifang, East China’s Shandong Province since they were invited to play in 2011. And they repeatedly beat teams from South Korea and Japan with a winning margin of nearly 10 goals during their run of success at the tournament.

Most Americans have no idea that there is prosperity in Xinjiang. All that they know is that China is bad and eats dogs. China is communist and represses everyone, and the Muslims in Xinjiang want “freedom” and “democracy” most urgently.

And Brawndo is what plant’s crave. It’s got electrolytes.

Most Americans have no idea that there is prosperity in Xinjiang. All that they know is that China is bad and eats dogs. China is communist and represses everyone, and the Muslims in Xinjiang want "freedom" and "democracy" most urgently.
Most Americans have no idea that there is prosperity in Xinjiang. All that they know is that China is bad and eats dogs. China is communist and represses everyone, and the Muslims in Xinjiang want “freedom” and “democracy” most urgently. Oh, and Brando is good for you. It has electrolytes.

Working Class Uyghurs

There are also many working class Uyghurs who may own restaurants and gift shops or work as artists and craftsmen in touristy places. Their lives aren’t bad and most of them don’t get into trouble with the government.

Like anywhere in China, the families try to be upwardly mobile. That means, in China, through achievement and scholarship. The best students are granted the ability to move to the best schools and doors of opportunity open up for them and their families.

Thousands of kilometers from home, in a strange city with a sometimes loose grasp of the language, teenagers from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region find themselves homesick, lonely and struggling to communicate.  But their dreams of a better education help them to persevere through the tough beginnings at one of the pilot schools in Beijing that have been recruiting Xinjiang students since 2000, when the central government started a program to help improve their education.
Thousands of kilometers from home, in a strange city with a sometimes loose grasp of the language, teenagers from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region find themselves homesick, lonely and struggling to communicate. But their dreams of a better education help them to persevere through the tough beginnings at one of the pilot schools in Beijing that have been recruiting Xinjiang students since 2000, when the central government started a program to help improve their education.
 "Although the school is 3,000 kilometers away from home, it's still  worth studying here," said Dilara, a senior from Hami, who is now  studying at Luhe High School in eastern Beijing's Tongzhou district.

 Students apply for the program and those who pass entrance exams  organized by local governments are admitted to 93 inland city schools in  Beijing, Shanghai and 43 other cities. So far, 80,200 students have  participated. They study for free and receive a 650 yuan ($100) monthly  living allowance.

 "It's really attractive to me that the included schools are located  in developed cities like Beijing and Shanghai," said Dilara, a Uygur  student who had lived with her grandmother since she was a child.

 "We don't have to pay any tuition and even get monthly subsidy. That's quite a relief for me and my grandma."

 Arriving in Beijing at the age of 14, Dilara initially was bothered  by homesickness and the challenge of communicating." I felt ashamed to  communicate with teachers here because of my poor Mandarin," she said.
 The school provides one year of training to help the Xinjiang  students improve their language skills and offers psychological advice  before they start their high school curriculum.

 Early on, Dilara turned to Ayturan, a teacher from Ili who joined the  students at the Beijing school, but she soon adapted and made friends  with local students.

 Sometimes she and other students from Xinjiang are invited home by  local students, especially during winter vacations, when most of them  would rather stay at school than take the 30-hour train ride back home.

 Dilara recalled a recent visit to the home of her classmate Cui Xi.

 "His mother cooked mutton chops for us, which is exactly what I  missed so much, and his father encouraged me, just like my own father  does," she recalled.

 Cui Xi said daily life became more fun after the Xinjiang students joined the class.

 "We celebrate Eid al-Adha, the traditional festival, usually  celebrated by the Uygur in September, a fancy day filled with the aroma  of roast lamb and the ecstasy of carnival," Cui said.

 Now an 18-year-old senior, Dilara plans to further her education at  Beijing International Studies University. "I always hoped to study  tourism and promote my hometown to the world one day," she said.

 Li Tongshu, director of students at Luhe, said the success of the  graduates over the past 16 years gives her confidence that Dilara's  dream-and the dreams of the other students-will come true.

 "Nearly 1,400 Xinjiang graduates have been admitted by universities  at home and abroad, and among those, 800 have devoted themselves to  further building their hometowns," Li proudly said. 

-China Daily

Really Poor Uyghurs

Then there are really poor Uyghurs who live in slums.

Like anywhere else in the world, these are prime targets for recruitment by jihadists. Many of these Uyghur kids work on the streets and shine shoes or help their families with menial jobs like taking care of donkeys or other animals.

Like anywhere else in the world, these are prime targets for recruitment by jihadists.
Like anywhere else in the world, these are prime targets for recruitment by jihadists. The promise of meaning, value and worth and a bigger plan that includes spiritual involvement is very alluring.

When the Chinese government mandates that these children go to school, the Western media scream bloody murder…

What hypocrisy!

If these Uyghurs come to the US, the children will be forced to attend schools as well. In fact, in America the parents would be arrested if they tried to home-school their children.

That’s a fact, Jack!

Here is a school that the “evil Communists” forces the Uyghur kids to attend:

No. 66 Middle School in Urumqi, northwest China is home to 2,400 children from 13 different ethnic groups. They are all part of a Chinese government programme helping ethnically diverse students in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to receive higher quality of education.  Known as the Xinjiang Class, the programme was introduced in 2000 to offer children living in the region’s remote areas the possibility to attend a top junior high school (ages 12-15), preparing students to then attend a senior high school in one of 17 cities across the country.
No. 66 Middle School in Urumqi, northwest China is home to 2,400 children from 13 different ethnic groups. They are all part of a Chinese government programme helping ethnically diverse students in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to receive higher quality of education. Known as the Xinjiang Class, the programme was introduced in 2000 to offer children living in the region’s remote areas the possibility to attend a top junior high school (ages 12-15), preparing students to then attend a senior high school in one of 17 cities across the country.
The state is committed to the cultivation of high-caliber professionals  from minority backgrounds, sending promising students for overseas  studies and through programs such as Specialized Training for Xinjiang  Minority Sci-Tech Personnel and the High-Level Minority Talents Program.  

To develop education for ethnic minorities, it encourages the use of  minority languages in classroom teaching. For ethnic groups with their  own written languages in Xinjiang, school education is conducted in  their own languages. 

Over the years, special state funds have been  earmarked for the compilation and printing of textbooks in Uyghur,  Kazak, Mongolian, Xibe and Kirgiz languages, satisfying the needs of  minority students for textbooks of major courses. 

In Xinjiang, test  papers for the annual national college entrance examinations are printed  in Uyghur, Han, Kazak and Mongolian languages. 

- Development and Progress in Xinjiang  

Some of these kids don’t even speak Chinese, which greatly limits their abilities to find jobs later on as adults. So when they learn Chinese in school, the western propaganda screams, “cultural genocide.”

Sheer idiocy!

The BBC admits that the “communist” (gasp!) government has spent $1.2 billion in the last five years on upgrading and building new schools for children in Xinjiang. How many billions of USD has the American government spent on schools lately?

Oh, yes, the Department of Education is funded lavishly.

But I am not talking about salaries for bureaucratic cronies of whatever administration is in power. I am talking about the brick and mortar schools. Not being funded properly, and certainly not being managed well. Or haven’t you noticed?

This should be applauded, not demonized!

The Chinese government has done a phenomenal job by lifting 1.85 million Uyghur Muslims out of poverty between 2014 and 2017. Of course, the western media will never talk about it.
The Chinese government has done a phenomenal job by lifting 1.85 million Uyghur Muslims out of poverty between 2014 and 2017. Of course, the western media will never talk about it.
Before the founding of the PRC in 1949, Xinjiang had but one college,  nine secondary schools and 1,355 primary schools. Only 19.8% of  school-age children attended primary school, and the overall illiteracy  rate was a shocking 90%. 

Unprecedented changes have taken place in  education in Xinjiang after 1949. 

At present, Xinjiang has basically  made the nine-year compulsory education universal and eliminated  illiteracy in the young and middle-aged population. Adult and vocational  education started from scratch, and has been developing steadily. 

Since  2006, with the introduction of a new mechanism that guarantees rural  education funding, Xinjiang's primary and secondary school students have  enjoyed free compulsory education. 

In 2008, the government granted  living subsidies to all underprivileged students who live at school and  exempted urban students from tuition fees during their compulsory  education period. Since 2007, the state has initiated an annual budget  of 129 million yuan for the education of 51,000 very poor university  students and 95,000 secondary and higher vocational school students, 70%  of whom come from ethnic minorities. 

In 2008, the Xinjiang autonomous  region government invested a total of 18.77 billion yuan in the region's  education system, representing a year-on-year increase of 32.3%.  Statistics from that year show that Xinjiang had 4,159 primary schools  with 2,012,000 students, and a 99.6% enrollment rate for school-age  children. There were 1,973 secondary schools with 1,722,000 students,  and 32 institutions of higher learning with 241,000 undergraduate and  10,300 graduate students in total. 

- Development and Progress in Xinjiang   

Nomadic Uighurs

Then there are Uyghurs who are herders and nomads in the vast Xinjiang region.

The Changing World of the Yugur Nomads.  Chinese scholars say both the Uighurs and the Yugurs (sometimes called the Yellow Uighurs) are descendants of an ethnic group called the Huihu, a Turkic-speaking nomadic people who had an empire in the eighth to ninth centuries on the steppes of present-day Mongolia. Western scholars use the term Uighur or Uyghur to describe that earlier group.

-New York Times 

Although it seems romantic, their lives are not compatible with modern days. Most of them are stuck in extreme poverty and their kids also grow up completely illiterate. Sometimes the Chinese government relocates tens of thousands of these people into the cities and gives them jobs, free housing, health care etc.

Of course, US media will spin this as “ethnic cleansing.” (The government has helped millions of Chinese people in other areas get out of extreme poverty by similar relocation projects as well).

Relocation of nomads into cities = “Ethnic Cleansing”.

Many of these nomads appreciate the new life: “With central heating, gas, running water, Internet and cable TV, we no longer need to worry about things that troubled us in the past.”

Many of these nomads appreciate the new life:  “With central heating, gas, running water, Internet and cable TV, we no  longer need to worry about things that troubled us in the past.”
Many of these nomads appreciate the new life: “With central heating, gas, running water, Internet and cable TV, we no longer need to worry about things that troubled us in the past.”

Sometimes, if the parents don’t want to give up their nomadic lives, the government may move the children to boarding schools, where they get free lodging, meals and education.

The primary concern of the government is that unless the nomadic Uyghurs are educated, they will be stuck within a terrible cycle of poverty. And poverty breeds crime and social unrest.

Separatists and Terrorists

What is not mentioned in the mainstream media is that the West has been stroking separatism in Xinjiang since the 1950s!

 Addressing the National Press Club in Australia's capital  Canberra on Tuesday, the chairwoman of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC)  lied again, right to the reporters' faces. 

 Kadeer accused Chinese authorities of removing Uyghur-language lessons from schools and forcing the Uighurs to learn Chinese. 

 "I think the Chinese government should stop its invasive policy of  single-language (Chinese) education and allow students and their parents  to choose whatever language they aspire to learn," she said through an  interpreter. 

 Interestingly though, Kadeer made her remarks in Uyghur, the language  she would not have been able to speak should the Chinese government  have deprived her of her right to learn it. 

 China, Kadeer said, has adopted "biased policies towards ethnic  minorities" in the past 60 years, exploited the Uyghurs and pushed all  of them into a "state of extreme poverty." 

 But she herself was once a "millionairess" in Xinjiang and stood as a  strong testament to China's preferential policies toward ethnic  minorities there. 

 Starting from a small business in the 1980s, Kadeer worked her way up  to become the richest woman in Xinjiang before she broke Chinese law  and was sentenced to jail. 

 Still, during her appearance at the press club, Kadeer continued to  tell lies in a vain attempt to cover the bare facts and her separatist  intentions. 

 Throughout her "speech," Kadeer called China's Xinjiang Uygur  Autonomous Region "East Turkistan," and publicly proclaimed that  Xinjiang was an "independent country" before 1949 and that Chinese  troops "invaded" and "annexed" the region. 

 Books compiled by Western historians never said Xinjiang was an  independent country before 1949, not to mention that there was no such  ridiculous record of it in Chinese history.  

- Rebiya Kadeer lies again 

When the Chinese communists won in 1949 (by defeating US-supported faction, which went on to establish Taiwan), the US started arming/funding separatists in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Notice the signs. Who do you think the signs are directed towards? The Chinese government? Or, Americans? And why are they in American English, and not (say) British English. WHo wrote the signs, they they are illerate?
Notice the signs. Who do you think the signs are directed towards? The Chinese government? Or, Americans? And why are they in American English, and not (say) British English. Who wrote the signs, when they are supposedly illiterate? Why aren’t the signs in Chinese, the national language? Who are the signs directed towards?

The US brought in a lot of these extremists into Germany in the 1970s and helped them foment a movement for “East Turkestan.” 

Currently, the so-called “World Uyghur Congress” (WUC) is funded and glorified by the US government through NGOs such as National Endowment of Democracy (NED) — which also played a major role in the Tiananmen Square clashes in 1989 (see this article).

Shortly after the riot, Beijing targeted Rebiya Kadeer, a Uygur woman who flew to the United States on medical parole in 2005 and is president of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), as the plotter and instigator of the violence. 

The separatist group ETIM is driving the hatred and fueling violence among Han and Uygur ethnic groups, Prof. Gunaratna said.

-  Xinjiang Riot Hits Regional Anti-terror Nerve 

By the way, the story of “1 million Muslims in concentration camps” (sometimes it’s 2 or 3 million!) comes from testimonies of WUC members.

However, to the dismay of propagandists, no Muslim country is buying the “concentration camps” narrative. They are ALL on the side of China.

 In 2005, Rebiya fled to the US after being released on bail for  medical treatment and now lives in Fairfax, Virginia, south of  Washington DC. Before going abroad, she had repeatedly promised the  Chinese government that she would never participate in any activity that  might jeopardize national security.

 Once she arrived in the US however, she has been committed to  "Xinjiang independence" activities. In the same year, she founded the  US-based International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation  (IUHRDF). In 2006, she became president of the Uyghur American  Association (UAA) and was elected as president of the World Uyghur  Congress (WUC) at its Second General Assembly in the same year.

 As soon as Rebiya arrived in the US, the "renowned" National  Endowment for Democracy (NED) came to visit her, expressing a  willingness to offer financial support. The sponsor behind the  foundation is the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

 It has been disclosed that the NED annually grants 200,000 USD to the  UAA. In 2007, East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) organizations,  including the WUC and IUHRDF led by Rebiya, received a total of 520,000  USD of financial support from the NED.

 In addition, some anti-China US congressmen have become guests of  honor for Rebiya, and frequently invited her to deliver speeches at the  so-called "Congressional Human Rights Caucus Meeting."

 Even former president George W. Bush met with Rebiya twice in 2007  and 2008 prior to the Beijing Olympics, calling her a freedom warrior.  Members of the CIA often disguised as reporters and non-government  organization (NGO) volunteers expressed their concerns to her, keeping  close touch with her on the issue of ETIM prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

 Since the beginning of 2009, the WUC had prepared for its third  General Assembly, which also received support from American congressmen  and the NED.

 Rebiya once said they would plan some penetration and sabotage  activities at the third General Assembly targeting the grand celebration  for the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China; and  formulate a plan of "three phases for Xinjiang independence in 50  years."

 The WUC website impressively showed that the WUC Third General  Assembly was unexpectedly held in the South Congressional Meeting Room  with the participation of nearly 10 US congressmen. Most of these  congressmen are veteran anti-China politicians.

 On the second day following the July 5 incident, Rebiya made a speech  at a press conference held at the National Press Club, saying that the  Chinese government's accusations were "completely false." However, the  club is an institution under the US Department of State.

 Some US-based media have also become a "megaphone" for Rebiya. On  June 1, US-based WPFW Pacifica radio interviewed Rebiya, in which she  even claimed that historically, Tibet and Xinjiang were not part of  China, and stated that "repression, imprisonment, and executions" in  Xinjiang "had actually increased dramatically since 9/11."

 She claimed that the best way to make the outside world understand  the situation in Xijiang was to inform foreign officials, especially  those of the US, "Because they had always been very concerned with the  human rights situation in China. The Uyghur people always have this  strong faith in the United States."

 The New York Times disclosed on April 23 that Rebiya had said,  "Politicians and human rights organizations from all over the world were  active on behalf of Tibet. The conditions in the Uyghur nation were  much the same. But interest from abroad in the two...could not have been  more dissimilar." Rebiya also tried to smear China by writing articles  for the Washington Post, attempting to gain sympathy from the West by  means of the so-called pursuit of democracy and human rights. 

-  Rebiya Kadeer's funding sources 

Turkey is the closest to Uyghurs, who are of Turkic origin. Turkish leader Erdogan was in China few days ago and said that the Uyghur re-education centers won’t affect China-Turkey relations.

Turkish leader Erdogan was in China few days  ago and said that the Uyghur re-education centers won’t affect China-Turkey relations.
Turkish leader Erdogan was in China few days ago and said that the Uyghur re-education centers won’t affect China-Turkey relations.

Indonesia — the largest Muslim country in the world —has also said that it understands China’s predicament of dealing with separatists.

Similarly Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and even Saudi Arabia have dismissed the sensational stories. Many diplomats and reporters have visited these camps and have come out reassured.

One more historical perspective: After the Mujahideen war in Afghanistan ended in 1989, many of those fighters went to Central Asia. And the disease of Wahhabism spread to Xinjiang as well.

One more historical perspective: After the Mujahideen war in  Afghanistan ended in 1989, many of those fighters went to Central Asia.  And the disease of Wahhabism spread to Xinjiang as well.
One more historical perspective: After the Mujahideen war in Afghanistan ended in 1989, many of those fighters went to Central Asia. And the disease of Wahhabism spread to Xinjiang as well.

From 2009 to 2015, there was a significant number of terrorist attacks by the Uyghur jihadists (here’s an example). That’s when China decided to really crack down.

During the peak of the Syrian war, about 18,000 radicalized Uyghur Muslims went to Syria and joined ISIS to fight Assad.

How China deals with the terrorists…

These videos are typical.

The future for Xinjiang.

In the 1980’s, when China first opened up to the West, the two points of entry were Taiwan and Hong Kong. Of that, Hong Kong was the primary entry point to the Chinese resources and market. Thus, from the 1980’s to today, Hong Kong grew exponentially. It went from a small, forgotten, British back-water colony to the major financial and banking center that it is today.

You can attribute it’s rise to the role that it had as the entry port for trade with the mainland.

In a like way, the Chinese government is planning a similar role for their “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). Those people who now live in Xinjiang are completely poised to become the next generation super-wealthy of China. It will benefit the local Xinjiang people, the neighboring nations, and the Chinese nation as whole.

To this end, the existing global structure is being bypassed, and they do not like that

Thus, the future of Xinjiang also has a lot of economic implications.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has 1000s of freight trains and trucks carrying goods between China and Europe every year; and most of these trains and trucks go through Xinjiang. There are also many oil/gas pipelines from Central Asia that go through Xinjiang to power China’s industrial economy.

The Uyghur people are expected to become “Dubai Wealthy” in the next few decades. Provided of course, that the United States stands aside and let’s them live in peace and prosperity.

An unstable Xinjiang will wreak havoc on the Chinese economy.

China’s Belt and  Road Initiative (BRI) has 1000s of freight trains and trucks carrying  goods between China and Europe every year; and most of these trains and  trucks go through Xinjiang. There are also many oil/gas pipelines from  Central Asia that go through Xinjiang to power China’s industrial  economy.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has 1000s of freight trains and trucks carrying goods between China and Europe every year; and most of these trains and trucks go through Xinjiang. There are also many oil/gas pipelines from Central Asia that go through Xinjiang to power China’s industrial economy.

The Chinese government is trying to help the poor people and fight the jihadists at the same time.

The US really needs to fix its foreign policy, which is now based on chaos, confrontation, wars, Machiavellian divide-and-conquer strategies, and endless propaganda. The US needs a positive approach that’s based on cooperation, friendly competition and ethical policies.

Statement that the UN supports China on Xinjiang

Valentin Rybakov, center,  permanent representative of Belarus to the  UN, makes a joint statement on behalf of 54 countries in firm support  of China's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang  during the discussion on human rights at the Third Committee of the  United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New  York. Liao Pan/CNS
Valentin Rybakov, center, permanent representative of Belarus to the UN, makes a joint statement on behalf of 54 countries in firm support of China’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang during the discussion on human rights at the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York. Liao Pan/CNS

Belarus made a joint statement Tuesday on behalf of 54 countries in firm support of China’s counterterrorism and de-radicalization measures in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

 During a discussion on human rights at the Third Committee of the  United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, Belarus  made the statement on behalf of countries including Pakistan, Russia,  Egypt, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Serbia. It praised  China’s people-centered development philosophy and development  achievements.
  
 The statement spoke positively of the results of counterterrorism and  de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang, noting that these measures have  effectively safeguarded the basic human rights of people of all ethnic  groups in Xinjiang.
  
 The statement said that terrorism, separatism and religious extremism  have caused enormous damage to all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, which has  seriously infringed upon human rights, including the right to life,  health and development.
  
 “China has undertaken a series of counterterrorism and  de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang, including setting up vocational  education and training centers,” the statement said, adding that safety  and security have returned to Xinjiang now and “the fundamental human  rights of people of all ethnic groups there are safeguarded”.
  
 The statement also supported China’s commitment to openness and  transparency, mentioning it has invited a number of diplomats,  international organizations, officials and journalists to Xinjiang to  witness the progress of the human rights cause and the outcomes of  counterterrorism and de-radicalization.
  
 “What they saw and heard in Xinjiang completely contradicted what was reported in the (Western) media,” it wrote.
  
 The statement expressed opposition to relevant countries politicizing  the human rights issue and called on them to stop baseless accusations  against China.
  
 “We express our firm opposition to relevant countries’ practice of  politicizing human rights issues, by naming and shaming, and publicly  exerting pressures on other countries,” it wrote.
  
 “We call on relevant countries to refrain from employing unfounded  charges against China based on unconfirmed information before they visit  Xinjiang,” it wrote.
  
 At the meeting, more than 30 countries, including Kyrgyzstan,  Pakistan, Russia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Cuba and  Nicaragua, voiced support for China’s position and measures on human  rights.
  
 The Kyrgyzstan representative said the Kyrgyzstan Republic considers  Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region affairs to be purely an internal affair  of China and “appreciates the efforts of the government of China to  preserve the Uygur culture and religious freedom and freedom of  nationalities of Xinjiang and supports the measures taken by the Chinese  side to ensure Xinjiang’s security, stability and development”.
  
 “The measures taken by China to address the situation and continue  the economic development in Xinjiang are fundamental for the people of  China, which is supported and appreciated by the international  community,” said the Cambodia representative.
  
 “We commend China’s efforts to combat terrorism and extremism in  Xinjiang in accordance with the laws. We would like to reiterate our  opposition to any countries to use human rights as an excuse to  interfere any country’s internal affairs and attempts to put pressure in  the name of human rights should be avoided,” said the representative  from Myanmar.
  
 Zhang Jun, permanent representative of China to the UN, refuted the  “baseless” comments on Xinjiang made by the United States and some other  countries.
  
 Zhang said that the US and a few other countries made “groundless  accusations” against China, which is “gross interference in China’s  internal affairs and a deliberate provocation of confrontation”.
  
 “China firmly opposes and rejects it,” he said.
  
 He reiterated that Xinjiang’s preventive measures of counterterrorism  and de-radicalization are based on law and consistent with the will of  the people.
  
 “This is not about human rights and has nothing to do with racial  discrimination,” he said. “China wants to tell the United States and  other countries not to confront the international community and not to  go any further on the wrong path.” 

“This is not about human rights and has nothing to do with racial discrimination,” he said. “China wants to tell the United States (and other countries) NOT to confront the international community and NOT to go any further on the wrong path.”

The CIA declined to comment.

Godfree Roberts Study

Here is the complete write up on this issue by Godfree Roberts. It’s terribly long, but full of outstanding details. All credit to the author…

Many Chinese consider Uyghurs the descendants of a marooned, white imperialist army living on land that was China’s long before they arrived. Edgar Snow[1] visited Xinjiang in 1937 and reported, “Especially in the ninth century, when vast hordes of Ouigour Turks (whose great leader Seljuk had not yet been born) were summoned to the aid of the T’ang Court to suppress rebellion, Islamism entrenched itself in China. Following their success, many of the Ouigours were rewarded with titles and great estates and settled in the Northwest and in Szechuan and Yunnan. Over a period of centuries the Mohammedans stoutly resisted Chinese absorption but gradually lost their Turkish culture, adopted much that was Chinese, and became more or less submissive to Chinese law. Yet in the nineteenth century they were still powerful enough to make two great bids for power: one when Tu Wei-hsiu for a time set up a kingdom in Yunnan and proclaimed himself Sultan Suleiman; and the last, in 1864, when Mohammedans seized control of all the Northwest and even invaded Hupeh.”

Islam is neither the Uyghurs’ native religion nor their only one but, in its Wahabbi form, it has caused problems around the world, for which we can thank to two fervent Christians, Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski,[2] who considered a united Eurasia, “The only possible challenge to American hegemony.”

In 1979, months before the Soviet entry into Afghanistan, Brzezinski drafted and Carter signed a top-secret Presidential Order authorizing the CIA to train fundamentalist Muslims to wage Jihad against the Soviet Communist infidels and all unbelievers of conservative Sunni Islam and the Mujahideen terror war against Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan became the largest covert action in CIA history.[2] Brzezinski’s ‘Arc of Crisis’ strategy inflamed Muslims in Central Asia to destabilize the USSR during its economic crisis and, when Le Nouvel Observateur later asked if he had any regrets, Brzezinski snapped, “What is most important to the history of the world? Some stirred-up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe?”

The Uyghurs had collaborated with the Japanese in WWII and Rebiya Kadeer, ‘Mother of the Uyghurs’ and a US Government client, after kissing the ground at Yasukuni Shrine, called Xinjiang’s postwar reversion to Chinese administration a ‘reconquest.’ Ms Kadeer’s connections are interesting. In the late 1990s Hasan Mahsum, founder of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, ETIM, moved its headquarters to Kabul and met with Osama bin Laden and the CIA-trained Taliban to coordinate action across Central Asia. In 1995 Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then mayor of Istanbul declared, “Eastern Turkestan [Xinjiang] is not only the home of the Turkic peoples but also the cradle of Turkic history, civilization and culture. To forget that would lead to the ignorance of our own history, civilizati on and culture. The martyrs of Eastern Turkestan are our martyrs.” Under Erdogan Turkey became the transit point for international terrorists destined for Syria and Turkish airports were filled with Uyghurs traveling on Turkish passports.

Twenty years later, in 1999, the CIA’s Islam strategist, Graham E. Fuller, announced, “The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and of helping them against our adversaries worked marvelously well in Afghanistan against the Russians. The same doctrines can still be used to destabilize what remains of Russian power, and especially to counter the Chinese influence in Central Asia.”[3]

We will return to Mr. Fuller anon but, first, some background from F. William Engdahl, “Today the West–and especially Washington–is engaged in full-scale irregular war against the stability of China. In recent months Western media and the Washington Administration have begun to raise a hue and cry over alleged mass internment camps in China’s northwestern Xinjiang where supposedly up to one million ethnic Uyghur Chinese are being detained and submitted to various forms of ‘re-education.’ Several things about the charges are notable, not the least that all originate from Western media and ‘democracy’ NGOs like Human Rights Watch, whose record for veracity leaves something to be desired.”

Tarring China with the brush of intolerance will be hard work. The colophon of the earliest dated, printed book in existence–a ninth century Chinese translation of the Diamond Sutra–reads, ‘For universal free distribution.’ Though two-thirds of Chinese are atheists in the Western sense and one-fourth are non-religious Taoists, their Constitution guarantees freedom of worship in government-sanctioned religious organizations and their government supports seventy-four seminaries, one thousand seven hundred Tibetan monasteries, three thousand religious organizations, 85,000 religious sites and 300,000 full time Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Ancient Chinese, Taoist and Muslim clergy. The 2000 census recorded 20.3 million Muslims: 1.25 million Kazakhs, 8.4 million Uyghurs and 9.8 million Hui. Neither the Kazakh nor the Hui Muslims have caused trouble.

Mr. Fuller is on a first name basis with Uyghur leaders. Ruslan Tsarni, uncle of the Boston Marathon Tsarnaev brothers, was married to Fuller’s daughter Samantha in the 1990s and was an employee of the CIA-contracted RAND Corporation. In media interviews in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston bombing, ‘Uncle Ruslan’ gave an overdone performance condemning his two nephews while verifying the FBI’s portrayal of them. The media ignored the fact that Tsarni not only worked as a consultant for CIA fronts like RAND and USAID and as a contractor for Halliburton but even established an entity called the Congress of Chechen International Organizations which supported Islamic separatist militants in the Caucasus, using Fuller’s Maryland home as its registered address.

After deploying Islamists in Pakistan in the 2000s to disrupt Chinese infrastructure, in Myanmar to disrupt the China-Myanmar energy assets and across Sudan, Libya and Syria to choke off China’s oil and gas Fuller said, “Uyghurs are indeed in touch with Muslim groups outside Xinjiang, some of them have been radicalized into broader jihadist politics in the process, a handful were earlier involved in guerrilla or terrorist training in Afghanistan, and some are in touch with international Muslim mujahideen struggling for Muslim causes of independence worldwide.” Fuller assigned them to capitalize on the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, weaken trust in China’s government and provoke repression that Western media could condemn as ‘human rights crimes.’ Three weeks before the Games he sponsored a conference, “East Turkestan: 60 Years under Communist Chinese Rule” and the National Endowment for Democracy, NED,[4] handled PR for the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) the emigré group headed by billionaire Rebiya Kadeer[5] and her husband, Sidiq Rouzi, a Voice of America employee. Their ideology[6] is familiar.

On the eve of the Olympics an attempted suicide bombing on a China Southern Airlines flight was thwarted but terrorists in Kashgar, Southern Xinjiang, killed sixteen police officers four days before the opening. The next year Uighur extremists murdered another two hundred in Urumqi but Western media refused to characterize the attacks as acts of terrorism and the violence continued:

  • October 2013: ETIM attack at Tiananmen Square in Beijing killed five.
  • February 2014: A knife attack at a train station in Kunming killed 30.
  • April 2014: A knife and bomb attack in Urumqi killed three and wounded 79.
  • May 2014: Two cars crashed into a market in Urumqi and the attackers lobbed explosives, killing 31 people.
  • September 2014: Suicide bombers and clashes left 50 people dead and 50 injured.
  • October 2015: A knife attack on a coalmine killed 50.

Then came the Syrian War and, on the sidelines of a May 2017 meeting between Syrian and Chinese businessmen in Beijing, Syria’s ambassador[7] to China startled reporters with a surprising number, 5000, the number of Uighurs he claimed were fighting in Syria for various jihadist groups. Many have since returned to China and 12,900 (Uyghur families insist on traveling and staying together, even in prison) have been sentenced to up to two years, mostly for illegally entering the country and are held in re-education camps. The NED is not hiding its involvement:

 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY 
China  (Xinjiang/East Turkistan). ASIA China [Xinjiang/East Turkistan]  Advocacy and Outreach for Uyghur Human Rights Project. $310,000.
To  raise awareness about Uyghur human rights issues and to bring such  issues to prominence globally. The grantee will research, document, and  provide independent and accurate information about human rights  violations affecting Uyghurs in China. It will also conduct outreach to  Chinese citizens in an effort to improve the human rights conditions for  Uyghurs. The grantee will organize leadership and advocacy training  seminars for Uyghur youth; monitor, document, and highlight human rights  violations in East Turkestan/Xinjiang; and strengthen advocacy on  Uyghur issues at the United Nations and the European Parliament. 

Today, NED money supports the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) which calls China’s Xinjiang Province ‘East Turkistan’ and China’s administration of Xinjiang as ‘Chinese occupation of East Turkistan,’ runs articles like, “Op-ed: A Profile of Rebiya Kadeer, Fearless Uyghur Independence Activist,” and admits that Kadeer seeks Uyghur independence from China.

Faced with an armed insurrection, most states impose martial law or a state of emergency, as Britain did in Malaya from 1945 to 1957 and the US did with the Patriot Act, but China decided–despite popular outrage–to write off its losses and play the long game.

China founded The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),[1] a political, economic, and security alliance, with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, who stopped funneling money and providing corridors for Uyghur terrorists to move into and out of China. The SCO has since expanded to include India and Pakistan and Iran has begun the accession process, making it world’s largest security pact in both area and population and the only one whose membership includes four nuclear powers.

Forming the SCO was easier than assuaging public outrage. An unheard-of lawsuit by victims’ relatives accused the government of reverse discrimination so they stepped up security and published their objectives:

  1. restore law and order
  2. prevent terrorists from inflicting more violence
  3. use ‘high-intensity regulation’
  4. contain the spread of terrorism beyond Xinjiang
  5. purge extremists and separatists from society.

Neighborhood community centres–labelled ‘concentration camps’ in the western press–educate rural Uyghurs about the perils of religious extremism and train them for urban jobs.

In 2013 President Xi toured Eurasia and proposed the Belt and Road Initiative for three billion people, designed to create the biggest market in the world with unparalleled development potential, and built a gas pipeline to China from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan which, like China’s other western pipelines, power lines, and rail and road networks, runs through the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Beijing then moved jobs to Xinjiang and opened vocational schools to train rural youth in literacy and job skills and swore to protect its neighbors from terrorism in exchange for their pledge to reciprocate. To create jobs in the province Xi directed investment from forty-five of China’s top companies and eighty Fortune 500 manufacturers to Urumqi. Corporate investment increased from $10 billion in 2015 to $15 billion in 2017 and infrastructure investments of $70 billion in both 2017 and 2018 lifted the annual goods shipments past 100 million tons with a goal of hourly departures to fifteen European capitals. Half a million Uyghurs have relocated from remote villages to cities and, as a reult, 600,000 Uighurs were lifted out of poverty in 2016, 312,000 in 2017 and 400,000 in 2018. The last poor Uyghurs will join the cash economy in mid-2020.

The real war is being fought in our media and an engineer encountered a classic example in the heartbreaking tale of savage destruction of historic Kashgar Old Town, which The Washington Post called, “An Ancient Culture, Bulldozed Away,” The New York Times, “To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It,” TIME, “Tearing Down Old Kashgar: Another Blow to the Uighurs.” Professor Patrik Meyer⁠ takes up the story:

As a tourist, those headlines resonate with me, too. I wish to keep the Kashgar Old Town untouched and to be able to wander along its narrow, shaded alleys lined by adobe houses. However, if I were responsible for the living conditions and safety of its residents, as well as for the modernization of Kashgar writ large, then I would see Beijing’s transformation in a more positive light. Given the almost unprecedented access I was granted between 2010 and 2013 to conduct ethno-political research in Xinjiang and my robust background in civil engineering, I consider myself well positioned to provide a broader perspective on the issues raised by Western journalists when criticizing the KOT renewal project. A simple survey of Western media outlets shows that harsh criticism of Beijing’s renewal of the KOT is built on four central arguments: demolition of Uyghur’s historical heritage, destruction of Uyghur’s social fabric, absence of Uyghurs’ voices in the project, and the sufficient seismic performance of existing houses. Moreover, Western journalists often argue that the goal of Beijing’s works in Kashgar is to weaken, or even erase, Uyghur identity, not to improve their living conditions.

KOT’s historical value is indisputable, but it is not as significant as assumed by the Western critics. While some houses are centennial, with charismatic courtyards and beautifully decorated wooden frames, the majority are a poorly built patchwork of old and new mud and masonry walls. Hence, while the old town as whole has significant historical value, many of its houses are not historically valuable. Kashgar is one of the few Chinese cities where the old town is being partly preserved and remodeled following traditional standards. There is indeed some damage being caused to the Uyghurs’ historical heritage, but it is far less significant than the Western critics claim and it is intended to modernize Kashgar, not to “Demolish the Uyghur History” as argued by the Smithsonian. The second dominant argument, the tearing apart the Uyghur identity, is also happening, but again, not to the extent or for the purpose that it is being reported in the West. China’s fast modernization results in numerous communities being reshaped and displaced, including the one in the KOT. However, when asked for their view about Beijing’s renewal of the KOT, most of its dwellers welcome it. And for good reasons. Their houses are often very small, poorly ventilated, dusty and dark, have no toilets, and are unpractical. It is those who do not live in the old town–Uyghurs, tourist, and Western journalists–who are most critical of the renewal project. Hence, I believe that the KOT project is causing Uyghur identity change, not its destruction, as argued by the West.

As for the third argument, that the Uyghurs have no say in the project, it is again only partially correct. Their voice is indeed absent from the upper levels of the project’s decision making process. However, the majority of homeowners decide whether to stay or leave the KOT and how to proceed with the repair of their houses. They are offered three options, the first being to permanently move to a free, new apartment larger their old house. Second, they can opt to let the government tear down the old house and replace it with a new structure for free, which does not included finishing works such as flooring, windows, and decoration. During the time that this work is being done, the families can rent an apartment subsidized by the government at about $900 per year. In case the house is deemed to be structurally sound, the homeowners are given a subsidy (about US$90/m2) to upgrade the house themselves. Additional subsidies are also offered for those willing to finish the façade using traditional Uyghur style. While there might be some irregularities within this system, most homeowners affected by the renewal of the KOT have the choice to stay or leave, which the Western critics seems to ignore.

Finally, a fourth dominant argument against Beijing’s KOT project is that the old town must be seismically safe because it has survived hundreds of years without being destroyed. Again, this is only partly true. There are a number of houses that were built properly over a hundred years ago, but the majority have been either poorly built or structurally modified in the last 30-50 years, making them prone to structural damage in case of a significant seismic event. Based on my expertise in seismic performance of adobe structures and my countless visits to the KOT, I can confirm that it is not feasible to retrofit most of its houses because of their deficient structural condition.

But the destruction of KOT was small beer compared to the onslaught that began in August, 2018, at the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, then conducting its regular review of China’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Gay McDougall, an American lay member of an independent UN body, claimed that China was interning one million Muslims. The OHCHR’s official news release showed that its sole American member made the only mention of alleged re-education camps and said she was “deeply concerned” about “credible reports” alleging mass detentions of millions of Uighurs Muslim minorities in “internment camps.” AP reported that McDougall ‘did not specify a source for that information in her remarks at the hearing’ and video from the session confirms that McDougall provided no source for her claim. Though she failed to name a single source Reuters reported, “UN SAYS IT HAS CREDIBLE REPORTS THAT CHINA HOLDS A MILLION UIGHURS IN SECRET CAMPS.”

China then invited the UN, the EU and the World Muslim Congress to send inspectors to for independent investigations. Eleven muslim nations accepted while the EU and Turkey declined. The Muslim Council’s report commended China for its treatment of Muslims and one inspector, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, gave an interview to The Times of India:

“During this visit, I did not find any instances of forced labour or cultural and religious repression,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Charge d‘affaires, Pakistan‘s Embassy in China, told the state-run Global Times on Thursday.

“The imams we met at the mosques and the students and teachers at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute told us that they enjoy freedom in practicing Islam and that the Chinese government extends support for maintenance of mosques all over Xinjiang,” said Baloch, who visited Xinjiang as part of delegation of diplomats.

“Similarly, I did not see any sign of cultural repression. The Uighur culture as demonstrated by their language, music and dance is very much part of the life of the people of Xinjiang,” she said.

Asked about the security situation in Xinjiang, which has been “beset by terrorism”, Baloch said, “We learned that the recent measures have resulted in improvement of the security situation in Xinjiang and there have been no incidents of terrorism in recent months.”

“The counter-terrorism measures being taken are multidimensional and do not simply focus on law enforcement aspects. Education, poverty alleviation and development are key to the counter-terrorism strategy of the Chinese government,” she said.

Xinjiang‘s regional government invited diplomatic envoys as well as representatives from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Thailand, and Kuwait following reports about detention of thousands of Uighur and other Muslims in massive education camps.

The UN‘s Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination last year said that it was alarmed by “numerous reports of ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities” being detained in Xinjiang region and called for their immediate release.

Estimates about them “range from tens of thousands to upwards of a million,” it had said.

China defended the camps, saying they are re-education camps aimed at de-radicalising sections of the Uighur population from extremism and separatism.

The US and several other countries besides UN officials have expressed concern over the camps.

China has been carrying out massive crackdown on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Xinjiang province, where Uyghurs who formed majority in the region were restive over the increasing settlements of Han community.

Pakistan and several other Muslim countries faced criticism about their silence over China‘s crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang.

China has about 20 million Muslims who are mostly Uighurs, an ethnic group of Turkic origin, and Hui Muslims, who are of the Chinese ethnic origin. While Uighurs lived in Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Hui Muslims resided in Ningxia province.

A recent report in the Global Times said China passed a five-year plan to ‘sinicize Islam‘ in a bid to make it compatible with its version of socialism.

“This is China‘s important act to explore ways of governing religion in modern countries,” the report said.

Baloch said the delegation was given full and open access to the three centres that they visited in Kashgar and Hotan.

“The training program includes teaching of national common language (Chinese), law and constitution and vocational skills. The students also participate in recreational activities like sports, music and dance. We witnessed several skill classes being offered in these centres,” she said.

“During the visits to these centres, we had the opportunity to interact with both the management and the students. We observed the students to be in good physical health. The living facilities are fairly modern and comfortable with separate dormitories for men and women. They are being served halal food,” she said.

She said the Uighur language is being used in official establishments, airports, subway stations, police stations or hotels.

“Even  the copies of the Koran that we saw in the mosques and the Islamic  centre were translated into the Uighur language. The most visible sign  of protection of Uighur culture by the government is the government-run  bilingual kindergarten schools where children learn Putonghua as well as  Uighur language and culture from a very young age,” she said. 

A Chinese friend, Xiao Zhang, writes,

 “I have a friend who just came back from Xinjiang and he has visited  some of the re-education camps and talked with people there. He told me  that Uighurs really received vocational education inside, not kidding,  and cannot get out until completion of courses. The government in  Xinjiang simply kept all the potential “trouble makers” they could find  in detention based on the reports they received from various sources,  among which reports from communities make up a major part. The  government has known for years that poorly-educated, unemployed people  are more easily radicalized. Now they take actions to ensure they won’t  make trouble. This is another example of Chinese style of government  behaviour, just like one-child policy.” 

Another wrote,

“I have personally been to Xinjiang for around 20 days this summer. I went totally on my own. I did not sign up in any travel agencies for any travel groups. I did not drive but took the train, the bus, or the car, or the horse. From my personal experience, firstly, the Uyghurs are not the only minority in Xinjiang. I saw Mongols, Kazakhs, Hui Muslims and many other minorities. Here I mean Xinjiang is not a place that is dominated by Uyghurs, even if we don’t take the Han Chinese into consideration. It is a far more diverse place. Secondly, Uyghurs keep their different habits, traditions, language, and religions that are exotic to most Chinese. But they also face westernisation in clothing and habits just like people in other areas of China. People worry about the preservation of their cultures across China.

Interestingly, people in Urumqi were hardly dressed in a very religious way, although there were a great number of Muslims. I was told that the local government regarded some of the religious clothing as extremism, for they were not consistent with the local tradition. Maybe what they meant was that the local Muslims should not be dressed like extremists following strict religious laws, since there was no such law in China. People were mostly dressed in a quite modern look, or in their traditional clothing, yet no women will cover their face with black silk.

Thirdly, there is distrust between different ethnic groups. I have to admit that, because I feel that even people of the same ethnicity do not trust each other, let alone the distrust between ethnic groups. In Urumqi, the security check is very strict and almost everywhere. At the gate of a park in the city, I passed the checkpoint within seconds, but a Uyghur-looking man after me took much longer time to pass. Even though the security guard herself also seems to be Uyghur, she still checked the man’s ID cards and computer profiles very carefully. In many other places, I also feel the ‘privilege’ of being a Han Chinese. In Ili, where the East Turkestan Republic is located, I was told that Uyghur police officers were killed in an ATM nearby a year ago by the Uyghur terrorists with long swords. The terrorists were hoping to acquire guns from the officer. So the city restricted all activity in late night. Anyone who are out after midnight will be considered suspicious and the police can check their ID in the street or in the office. Here I want to make further explanation, for in most Chinese cities, it is totally safe to hang out at night at any time you want, and the police won’t patrol in the street checking your ID unless someone complains about noise and etc.

Surely there is racism arising in the distrust. In Urumqi, I asked why ethnic minorities were treated in an unfriendly way and they tried to tell me that it was because of the very unique situations in Xinjiang. Sounds like the discrimination is natural but I cannot judge based on what I learnt. A taxi driver told me that it was the Islam belief that makes the Uyghur not in harmony with the recent society led by the Communist Party and that the religion was toxic. I thought he was referring to Islamic extremism but in a seemingly biased way.

Fourth, I tried to learn about people’s attitudes towards the 2009 riots and got similar responses from Uyghurs and Han. They both feared the riots and tried to tell me how horrible that day was. Some Uyghurs who were Urumqi locals claimed that all those terrorists were not local to the city and tried to kill all the citizens with regardless of ethnicity which made them dreadful. In my journey, most of the Uyghurs I met were friendly farmers, some of whom were even willing to accommodate me for free. On one time, I was taking a 6-hour bus, I talked with a Uyghur guy sitting next to me. We almost talked about everything, including our hometowns, our families and so on. The guy was very talkative and friendly, leaving me a very good impression towards the Uyghur.

Lastly,  I mean, I never heard of the re-education camp. So I guess this was not  related to normal people’s life. The minorities I met were usually very  talkative and complained to me about many things including the  policies, the government, the relation between the Han and the  minorities, except the camp. I think most Chinese people just want to  live a peaceful life no matter in Xinjiang or outside Xinjiang. I was so  lucky to travel in Xinjiang, because the scenery I spotted was so great  that I would probably pay another visit in the future. 

Another visitor, Vadim Mikhailaov, visited,

“Xinjiang appears to have no criminality whatsoever and the police in the streets are unarmed. The checkpoints aren’t too time consuming if you have a Chinese ID card and know the security guards from daily contact. At the checkpoints we visited, on the other hand, annoyed police or security guards struggled with the protocol on how to handle foreigners. We all drank until late and went home without the slightest issue. Our group was coming from many places in the West where stumbling out of a bar late at night can often be quite dangerous. We had to admit that you feel safe at night in Xinjiang. Completely safe. Most places just asked for our passports, took a look, and let us through, sometimes asking which country we came from. A few guards didn’t want to deal with the hassle and just told us to bypass the metal scanner and get out of their sight. As everything in China, enforcement is sometimes spotty. But those were the exceptions; discipline in the surveillance apparatus was generally quite high. We walked leisurely through the city, and while we attracted some attention, we were neither stopped, nor stared at, nor (I think) followed. As I mentioned, there are police everywhere; standing, walking, and driving. They’re not aggressive, or intimidating, or stopping people at random. They’re just there making themselves present.

One  big difference between Turpan and Urumqi was that, again, most people  were Uyghur. But the police were Uyghur, too. The people manning the  checkpoints and the “convenience police stations,” and driving the  patrol cars were all Uyghur. It’s worth emphasizing that whatever is  happening in Xinjiang is not just an invasion by a foreign army  hell-bent on annoying the locals. The locals are quite annoyed, indeed,  but it’s their fellow tribesmen doing the grunt work. Or most of it,  anyway. I must say that the Uyghur police we saw were more easy-going  than the Han police we saw in Urumqi. More chill. Less zealous, you  could say. At any rate, they never gave us a hard time, and we got  plenty of smiles and easy treatment. Meanwhile France has soldiers, not  police, patrolling the streets of Paris. Considering his  post-resignation declaration about radical Islam replacing the Republic,  I have to wonder what the former French Minister of the Interior, Gérard Collomb, would make of Xinjiang? 

China’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan talked to local journalists:

Since the 1990s, the three evil forces – terrorism, religious extremism and separatism– have been a scourge in China’s Xinjiang and implemented a series of appalling terrorist attacks, including the incident in Urumqi on July 5, 2009. What should we do? Aside from taking strong measures, we also need to remove the soil for the three evil forces. All these measures aim to help people who were instigated by the three evil forces or influenced by extremism to come back to reason and to return to society to live a normal life. In order to achieve this purpose, China set up the training centers in accordance with China’s Constitution, the Counterterrorism Law and the Regulations of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on De-radicalization and by referring to the successful experience on counterterrorism from other countries.

The training centers in Xinjiang do not target any ethnic group or certain religion and all people there are treated equally without discrimination. There are two criteria for whether an individual should be in the centers – whether they participated in illegal activities of the three evil forces and whether they pose a threat to the society.

For example, some individuals used social media, such as WhatsApp to promote jihad online or spread videos on violence in circumstances that were not serious enough to constitute a crime. These people go to the training centers. Some people, who received prison sentence for participating in terrorist or extremist activities but refuse to abandon extremism and plan to take revenge, also need to go to the training centers.

To put it simply, people who obey laws and regulations and commit no wrong deeds do not need to worry about “going to the training centers” no matter which ethnic group they are from and whatever their religion is. The training center is not prison, but a school for the public. There is only one goal for the school – to educate people and to stop good people becoming bad. What do people learn in the center? They learn Putonghua to make sure that all Chinese citizens can understand, can speak and can write the national common language. This is the basic requirement and responsibility for a citizen from any civilized country.

Trainees learn knowledge on laws so that all Chinese citizens understand that they live in the 21st Century where laws are put in place and strictly enforced and anyone who violates the laws will be held accountable. The trainees should have the basic awareness of laws so they are not so easily tempted by extremism. They also learn vocational skills at the centers, including pastry making, weaving and textile printing, shoes-making and fixing machinery, hairdressing and make-up and e-commerce. Trainees can choose one to two skills to learn based on their interests. There will be more chance for them to get employment and less risk of becoming involving with the three evil forces.

With the work of these training centers being implemented in order, more and more trainees have graduated from the centers and returned to society and earned a better life. There is no torture in these training centers but only protection and respect for human rights. In contrast to the fake news, trainees’ religions and traditions are fully respected – all the centers offer various kinds of food, including halal food for them to choose. There are different entertainment activities, including singing songs, dancing, chanting or playing basketball for their physical health. Speaking of human rights, let me ask a question, if a modern person could not understand or write the country’s common language, has no idea about modern marriage or zero vocational skills and only enslaves his wife at home or is mistreated by her arranged husband and are used or brainwashed by the three evil forces, how could you say he or she understands human rights?

All  the facts have told that the work of training centers has been effective  and helpful. For now, the stability and situation in China’s Xinjiang  has been improved and there have been no violent incidents in the region  for more than two years. It is not only a positive influence on  Xinjiang’s work on maintaining security but also makes a great  contribution to safeguarding the stability of the adjacent Central Asia  area. 

Shohrat Zakir, Chairman of the Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region:

Xinjiang has established a training model with professional vocational training institutions as the platform: learning the country’s common language, legal knowledge, vocational skills, along with de-extremization education as the main content, with achieving employment as the key direction. The vocational training institutions have set up departments of teaching, management, medical care, logistics and security, and allocated a corresponding number of faculty, class advisors, medical, catering, logistics and security staff. In the process of learning and training, the trainees will advance from learning the country’s common language to learning legal knowledge and vocational skills. Firstly, the trainees will take learning the country’s common language as the basis to improve their communication abilities, gain modern science knowledge and enhance their understanding of Chinese history, culture and national conditions. The teaching follows standardized plans, textbooks, materials and systems. The trainees are taught in various methods suited to their literacy to raise their abilities to use the country’s common language as soon as possible. Secondly, the learning of legal knowledge is taken as a key part of cultivating the trainees’ awareness of the nation, citizenship and rule of law. Legal experts are hired to lecture on the Constitution, the criminal law and the civil law, etc., and judges, prosecutors and lawyers are invited to teach the criminal law, the law on public security administration, the anti-terrorism law, the marriage law, the education law and Xinjiang’s de-extremization regulations. Thirdly, vocational learning is taken as a key way to help trainees find employment. Courses on clothing and footwear making, food processing, electronic product assembly, typesetting and printing, hairdressing and e-commerce have been set up to suit local social needs and job market. Multi-skill training is provided to trainees who have the desire and capability to learn, so that they acquire one to two vocational skills upon graduation. Businesses in garment making, mobile phone assembly and ethnic cuisine catering are arranged to offer trainees practical opportunities. In the meantime, they are paid basic incomes and a bonus. The mechanism has taken shape in which the trainees can ‘learn, practice and earn money.

In daily life, vocational institutions and schools strictly implement the spirit of laws and regulations, including the Constitution and religious affairs regulations, and respect and protect the customs and habits of various ethnic groups and their beliefs in diet and daily life. Faculties of the institutions and schools also try their best to ensure and meet the trainees’ needs in study, life, and entertainment on the basis of free education. The cafeteria prepares nutritious free diets, and the dormitories are fully equipped with radio, TV, air conditioning, bathroom and shower. Indoor and outdoor sports venues for basketball, volleyball and table tennis have been built, along with reading rooms, computer labs, film screening rooms, as well as performance venues such as small auditoriums and open-air stages. Various activities such as contests on speech, writing, dancing, singing and sports are organized. Many trainees have said that they were previously affected by extremist thought and had never participated in such kinds of art and sports activities, and now they have realized that life can be so colorful.

Moreover,  the vocational institutions and schools pay high attention to the  trainees’ mental health and helped them solve problems in life. They not  only provide professional psychological counseling services, but also  duly deal with complaints from the trainees and their families. All this  shows that the management of the vocational institutions and schools  are people-oriented. 

China’s censor banned the use of ‘anti-Islamic’ words on social media after a clash that involved Muslims fighting at a toll booth went viral. Weibo blocked phrases disrespectful to Muslims and search engines block insults, mockery and defamatory terms, “It’s time to remove radical phrases that discriminate against Islam and are biased against Muslims to prevent worsening online hatred towards them. Those phrases severely undermine religious harmony and ethnic unity,” said Xiong Kunxin, a professor at Beijing’s Minzu University of China in Beijing. “China closes streets for Eid prayers, pays for Muslim Chinese to make the hajj and censors the internet and social media to prevent criticisms of Islam that might inflame social tensions. The idea that they should suddenly demand that the Muslims turn over their Qurans and Prayer mats is classic fake news and state propaganda. As a result, peace may break out and the recent deluge of fake news from Western corporate media paints the Chinese government as a gross violator of human rights while the Empire has droned, bombed, starved and killed millions of Muslim children, women from Afghanistan to Yemen and displaced millions more.”

Video: A Uyghur Re-Education Camp.

Translation: “The center provides professional training in clothing  making, food preparation and IT. The guy named Ailijiang Masaidi said he  received RMB 2800/month and sending RM2600 home. His family is very  happy. The 2nd guy named Ahbulaihaidi is now working in a shoe making  factory. He said he has mastered most skills and would get RMB  4000-5000/month soon, that would means RMB 60-70k a year. His technical  manager says his company fully supports the factory’s effort in Hetian.  The 2nd guy says that clothing factory has been set up in Yutian. The  lady named Humakuli says she now work in a factory near her home  Kashgar. She is working and learning at the same time. Training includes  cultural learning about history about Xinjiang and about Zhonghua  civilization. The narratives then says the center provides cultural and  sports activities including painting, dance and Peking opera etc. The  guy who dress as consort Yang is Abdula. He said every one admires him  now because he is the best singer. Before he attend the center he was  told that all sort of entertainment including singing and dancing is  sinful. He said his life used to be gray and now is colorful. Then  Kashgar National Congress Deputy Chairman Mijidi said he wants the  people to learn about the traditional culture of the Uighur people.  Singing and dancing are all acceptable.” The program was implemented in  2014, and since then no terrorist attack has happened in China. So it  was considered a major success and was expanded greatly.

Notes

[1] Red Star Over China. Edgar Snow. 1937. Atlantic Books.

[2] The Grand Chessboard, 1990.

[3] Richard Labeviere, Dollars for Terror: The United States and Islam, Algora Publishing, 2000, p. 6.

[4] In 2017 the American government funded 48 anti-China groups and organizations through the National Endowment for Democracy, NED, to oppose and harm China’s reputation and to create social and ethnic tensions and conflicts within China. https://www.ned.org.

[5] A Chinese friend provided her background: She had 11 children, which confirms that Uighurs were not subject to China’s One Child Policy.. She was born to a family with no background. She started her business with a roadside convenience store and worked her way to be THE richest person in the province of Xinjiang. This proved Uighurs can earn their business success through hard work. She was a senior member of the People’s Congress of Xinjiang, and a senior member of the National People’s Congress of China. This shows Uighurs were not excluded from political life in China. She was arrested because she provided funding to Eastern Turkestan Independence Movement, labeled as terrorist organization by the US.

[6] “We have to conquer our own country and purify it of all infidels. Then we should conquer the infidels’ countries and spread Islam. The infidels who are usurping our countries have announced war against Islam and Muslims, forcing Muslims to abandon Islam and change their beliefs.” Abdullah Mansour, leader of the Uyghur ETIM. “The Duty of Faith and Support,” Voice of Islam/al-Fajr Media Center, August 26, 2009.

[7] “ISIS militants from China’s Muslim minority group vow to return home and ‘shed blood like rivers’ in the terror group’s first video to target the country By GARETH DAVIES FOR Daily Mail Online PUBLISHED 08:39 BST, 1 March 2017.

Conclusion

The Uyghur “situation” in the Xinjiang state of China is a “red Herring” designed to create friction in that area to destabilize China. It is a way to interfere in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative that is creating a strong and unified Asia.

 Chinese President Xi Jinping six years ago  launched New Silk Roads, now better known as the Belt and Road  Initiative, the largest, most ambitious, pan-Eurasian infrastructure  project of the 21st century.

 Under the Trump administration, Belt and Road has been utterly  demonized 24/7: a toxic cocktail of fear and doubt, with Beijing blamed  for everything from plunging poor nations into a “debt trap” to evil  designs of world domination.

 Now finally comes what might be described as the institutional American response to Belt and Road: the Blue Dot Network.

 Blue Dot is described,  officially, as promoting global, multi-stakeholder “sustainable  infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific region and around the  world.”

 It is a joint project of the US Overseas Private Investment  Corporation, in partnership with Australia’s Department of Foreign  Affairs and Trade and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
 Now compare it with what just happened this same week at the inauguration of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.
 As Xi stressed:

 “To date, China has signed 197 documents on Belt and Road cooperation with 137 countries and 30 international organizations.”
 This is what Blue Dot is up against – especially across the Global  South. Well, not really. Global South diplomats, informally contacted,  are not exactly impressed. They might see Blue Dot as an aspiring  competitor to BRI, but one that’s moved by private finance – mostly, in  theory, American.

 They scoff at the prospect that Blue Dot will include some sort of  ratings mechanism that will be positioned to vet and downgrade Belt and  Road projects. Washington will spin it as a “certification” process  setting “international standards” – implying Belt and Road is  sub-standard. Whether Global South nations will pay attention to these  new ratings is an open question. 

- A “Blue Dot” Barely Visible from China’s “New Silk Roads” 

As China’s only threat to the current global power-balance is economic, the United States is threatened by China’s rise. Thus there are numerous efforts made to create strife and destabilize Asia.

  • Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
  • Millennial youth in Hong Kong.
  • Pork producers in Guangdong.
  • Western markets for Huawei products.
  • Taiwan “independence”.

To this end, neocons have been active with the CIA and NED / NID to create strife in the region. This includes a full-on propaganda onslaught, where most Americans are becoming conditioned for yet another proxy war in a far-off land.

This is welcomed by the neocons as [1] a magnificent source of personal (tax free) revenue, and [2] it’s “just” another in a long series of proxy wars. The thing is, China is not a third-world country and they will only accept CIA “pro-democracy” regime change activities only for so long.

It is possible that continued CIA psyops within China could result in a backlash of Nuclear Armageddon on American soil.

Do NOT poke the Panda.

Xinjiang is part of China and Xinjiang affairs are purely domestic affairs that allow no foreign interference. 

- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang  
This is what New York City will look like if America tries to initiate another proxy war with a major nuclear-armed superposer. They are a serious, serious nation. They DO NOT PLAY.
This is what New York City will look like if America tries to initiate another proxy war with a major nuclear-armed superpower. They are a serious, serious nation. They DO NOT PLAY. Do not be under the misguided impression that an American nuclear armed cruiser could sit off the coast of Taiwan and lob nuclear tipped missiles into China. China and Russia would both team up to bitch-slap America into the stone age. Take heed.

Another great link showing just who is behind this CIA narrative…

Claims that China has detained millions of Uyghur Muslims are based largely on two studies. A closer look at these papers reveals US government backing, absurdly shoddy methodologies, and a rapture-ready evangelical researcher named Adrian Zenz.

By Ajit Singh and Max Blumenthal

Video

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

The US involvement in the HK "Democracy Now" movement.
How the USA can win a trade war.
Chinese reaction to the Trump Tariff Wars.
China's Global Leadership
Popular Music of China
The logistics of relocating a facotry from China back to the USA.
Hong Kong and the NED CIA operations.
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year
Trade Wars
How to get work in China if you have HIV.

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions
A polarized world.
America's sunset.
Trump trade wars  - Phase One
Asshole

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Wolf Disco
Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
Summer Snapshots 9
Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Some Fun Videos

Here’s a collection of some fun videos taken all over Asia. While there are many videos taken in China, we also have some taken in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Japan as well. It’s all in fun.

Some fun videos of China - 1
Fun Videos of Asia - 2
Fun videos of Asia - 3
Fun videos of Asia - 4
Fun Videos of Asia - 5
Fun videos of Asia - 6
Fun videos of Asia - 7
Fun videos of Asia - 8
Fun videos of Asia - 9
Fun videos of Asia - 10
Fun videos of Asia - 11
Fun videos of Asia - 12
Fun videos of Asia - 13
Fun videos of Asia - 14
Fun Videos of Asia - 15
Fun videos of Asia -16
The best way to cook marshmallows.

Articles & Links

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A serious reassessment on the American oligarchy; the contempt, arrogance, and audaciousness is mind boggling.

I believe that it is time for all Americans to take a serious re-look at what America stands for; our “democracy”, and our way of life as it exists today. Is it really all that great?

Is America living up to the grand ideals set forth in the “Great Experiment of 1776”?

Or, it is just going to be yet another big mistake heading towards the “great collapse” of society?

I think that a serious reappraisal of [1] what America is, [2] what notions it is founded upon, and [3] how it is structured needs to be re-thought out. It is time to take a good long hard look at [4] what America has become, and [5] how we got here. And [6] what needs to change once [7] corrective measures have been put in place.

I ask this.

Really, is democracy; “rule by popularity” ideal for Americans?

A typical American, inappropriately dressed (obviously), shopping at Wal-Mart. Really, is democracy; “rule by popularity” ideal for Americans? Or should America be run by talented people who earned their role through merit rather than popularity? Think about it.

Can the Constitution be protected from “well meaning”, or “the greedy”, or “evil” such as President Wilson, or FDR, or Obama from rewriting and re-interpreting it to fit their various nefarious ends?

Well, can it?

Because if we cannot, using the current governmental structure, then we must change it into something different.

Indeed, simply hoping that our progeny will be “ever vigilant” is just wishful thinking, and history has proven, for certain, that it does not work. And at that, we must well understand that it will NEVER WORK in the future.

Can the Constitution be protected from "well meaning", or "the greedy", or "evil" such as President Wilson, or FDR, or Obama from rewriting and re-interpreting it to fit their various nefarious ends?
Can the Constitution be protected from “well meaning”, or “the greedy”, or “evil” such as President Wilson, or FDR, or Obama from rewriting and re-interpreting it to fit their various nefarious ends?

What’s going to stop another Wilson, another FDR, another Obama, another Bush from rewriting the Constitution, or reinterpreting it to fit their nefarious ends? What’s it going to take?

What is it going to take?

But my thoughts are this matter are perhaps a little too harsh to the general American public. No one wants to hear that a democracy is flawed, or rather so flawed that America will collapse upon itself within a decade. No one wants to hear this.

Americans have a Pavlovian response to the phrase “freedom and  democracy,” and it’s no surprise that so many of them are rooting for  the protesters in Hong Kong. 

-World Affairs Blog

Well, others, better word-smiths than myself have some things to say about this subject. One of the best comes from Mr. Noonan in his article titled “A Clean Break“. He wrote this article on 29 September 2019, and I personally think that it is brilliant. He isn’t so prone to offending people as I am.

For I earnestly believe that America has neither "democracy" nor "freedom". We just parrot the words without talking a good look around us at what America has devolved into.

Here I present it for your viewing pleasure.

This article is copied as written without much editing aside from some paragraph formatting and the fonts used in this template.  

I added some "pull away" text for highlighting and maybe interjected on or two personal comments along the way (though you will be able to easily see that they are from your's truly.)  

I have added my own pictures to help illustrate some of his fine points.

After reading the article, I would suggest the reader go to his original article and read some of his other works. This fellow is brilliant and a word-smith.  

All credit to the author Mr. Noonan writing in Blogs for Victory.

A Clean Break

September 29, 2019M.

As the last few weeks have played out in politics, it has forced me to do a complete re-assessment of how I’ve looked at the world for my entire adult life.

To be sure, this reconsideration has been ongoing for about a decade, or maybe a little more, but it has really crystalized out recently. It is time for a complete, clean break with what went before and to chart a new path forward.

Although rated worse than any other institution in the country, federal  lawmakers are not alone in facing mass disdain by a US electorate who  increasingly thinks that the system has stopped working.  

- Poll: 80% of Americans Think Government, Banks, Corporate Media are Corrupt 
As the last few weeks have played out in politics, it has forced  me to do a complete re-assessment of how I’ve looked at the world for my  entire adult life. To be sure, this reconsideration has been ongoing  for about a decade, or maybe a little more, but it has really  crystalized out recently. It is time for a complete, clean break with  what went before and to chart a new path forward.
As the last few weeks have played out in politics, it has forced me to do a complete re-assessment of how I’ve looked at the world for my entire adult life. It is time for a complete, clean break with what went before and to chart a new path forward. Maybe the American Constitution is flawed in some very serious ways, and it is up to use to seek out those flaws and eliminate them completely.

What Hunter Biden did is nothing new; it isn’t in the least remarkable.

He was merely the recipient of what people in his position routinely receive: a special deal which allows him to be very rich for little or no effort.

Hunter Biden was merely the recipient of what people in his position  routinely receive: a special deal which allows him to be very rich for  little or no effort.
Hunter Biden was merely the recipient of what people in his position routinely receive: a special deal which allows him to be very rich for little or no effort.

This way his life can be devoted to what really matters: hanging around with other rich people, attending conferences and galas and generally having a swell time.

And if he decided to follow in Daddy’s political footsteps, the way would be cleared for him in some safe (Congressional) seat.

If you start looking into it – as Matt and I did in our  2007 book, Caucus of Corruption  – you just see that it is everywhere. In that book, for political  reasons, we concentrated on the Democrat side of the aisle (given that  our goal was to show the absurdity of the Democrats 2006 campaign  against a so-called “GOP culture of corruption”), but we could easily  have written it about politics, in general.
If you start looking into it – as Matt and I did in our 2007 book, Caucus of Corruption – you just see that it is everywhere. In that book, for political reasons, we concentrated on the Democrat side of the aisle (given that our goal was to show the absurdity of the Democrats 2006 campaign against a so-called “GOP culture of corruption”), but we could easily have written it about politics, in general.

If you start looking into it – as Matt and I did in our 2007 book, Caucus of Corruption – you just see that it is everywhere. In that book, for political reasons, we concentrated on the Democrat side of the aisle (given that our goal was to show the absurdity of the Democrats 2006 campaign against a so-called “GOP culture of corruption”), but we could easily have written it about politics, in general.

Corruption is everywhere in the United States.

What it really shows is that people who go into politics – with a few very rare exceptions – are in it for themselves.

The advent of legalized corruption launched by the  Supreme Court empowers the superrich to fund their own presidential and  congressional campaigns as pet projects, to foster pet policies, and to  represent pet political enclaves. You have a billion, or even several  hundred million, then purchase a candidate from the endless reserve  bench of minor politicians and make him or her a star, a mouthpiece for  any cause or purpose however questionable, and that candidate will mouth  your script in endless political debates and through as many television  spots as you are willing to pay for. All legal now.

To compound the political felony, much, if not most, campaign  financing is now carried out in secret, so that everyday citizens have a  decreasing ability to determine to whom their elected officials are  beholden and to whom they must now give special access. As recently as  the 2014 election, the facts documented this government of influence by  secrecy: “More than half of the general election advertising aired by  outside groups in the battle for control of Congress,” according to the  New York Times, “has come from organizations that disclose little or  nothing about their donors, a flood of secret money that is now at the  center of a debate over the line between free speech and corruption.”

Of this handful, the largest by far is WPP (originally  called Wire and Plastic Products; is there a metaphor here?), which has  its headquarters in London and more than 150,000 employees in 2,500  offices spread around 107 countries. It, together with one or two  conglomerating competitors, represents a fourth branch of government,  vacuuming up former senators and House members and their spouses and  families, key committee staff, former senior administration officials of  both parties and several administrations, and ambassadors, diplomats,  and retired senior military officers.

WPP has swallowed giant public relations, advertising, and  lobbying outfits such as Hill & Knowlton and BursonMarsteller, along  with dozens of smaller members of the highly lucrative special interest  and influence-manipulation world. Close behind WPP is the  Orwellian-named Omnicom Group and another converger vaguely called the  Interpublic Group of Companies. According to Mr. Edsall, WPP had billings last year of $72.3 billion, larger than the budgets of quite a number of countries. 

 – From the Gary Hart article, Gary Hart: America’s Founding Principles Are in Danger of Corruption 

Corruption is part of democracy.

They want power and money and attention and fame and praise and so they go into politics – and almost invariably, if they are even modestly successful at winning office, wind up richer than they did when they started.

And it has been going on for a long time, folks; throughout all the Western democracies.

They want power and  money and attention and fame and praise and so they go into politics –  and almost invariably, if they are even modestly successful at winning  office, wind up richer than they did when they started. And it has been  going on for a long time, folks; throughout all the Western democracies.
When you study the motivations of those in politics, you discover what drives them. They want power and money and attention and fame and praise and so they go into politics – and almost invariably, if they are even modestly successful at winning office, wind up richer than they did when they started. And it has been going on for a long time, folks; throughout all the Western democracies.

Just a small quote from Chesterton about 1910 will suffice to show it:

There are, I believe, some who still deny that England is  governed by an oligarchy. 

It is quite enough for me to know that a man  might have gone to sleep some thirty years ago over the day’s newspaper  and woke up last week over the later newspaper, and fancied he was  reading about the same people. 

In one paper he would have found a Lord  Robert Cecil, a Mr. Gladstone, a Mr. Lyttleton, a Churchill, a  Chamberlain, a Trevelyan, an Acland. 

In the other paper he would find a  Lord Robert Cecil, a Mr. Gladstone, a Mr. Lyttleton, a Churchill, a  Chamberlain, a Trevelyan, an Acland. 

If this is not being governed by  families I cannot imagine what it is. I suppose it is being governed by  extraordinary democratic coincidences.

extraordinary democratic coincidences.

Funny, huh? How people from the same family can keep winding up on top. Either they are families of geniuses, or someone is making things happen.

You know that is all bullsh**.

I know it is, too.

They know it as well.

But, it just keeps happening and happening because, well, that’s just the way it is. And it wouldn’t be so bad if they were at least any good at being an oligarchy!

But they aren’t.

But, it just keeps happening and happening because, well,  that’s just the way it is. And it wouldn’t be so bad if they were at  least any good at being an oligarchy!
After you study this issue, you discover that it just keeps happening and happening. And the reason why, is because, well, that’s just the way it is. And it wouldn’t be so bad if they were at least any good at being an oligarchy!

Back in Chesterton’s day, there was the cold, hard reality that Winston Churchill was at least as talented as his father, Randolph. There was something there – there was, that is, a justification for Winston getting a leg up (and he did) to enter politics based on his father’s previous efforts.

These days, you get to benefit even if the previous person in line was a complete, rotten failure. And rotten failure is all we’ve gotten – and I’m getting very ecumenical in that, by the way. I’m not excusing anyone on partisan grounds any longer.

To be sure, the Republicans I voted for in the past were at least  better than the Democrats I voted against (with the exception of McCain:  knowing that I’m the co-author of Worst President,  please understand that I believe McCain would have been even worse than  Obama proved to be). 

But they were only better in degree, not in kind.

Republicans are corrupt.

I mean, let’s face some cold, hard facts here: President Bush the Younger was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2004 and came into his second term with high approval ratings and a Republican Congress.

With all this, he couldn’t even manage to de-fund Planned Parenthood or NPR!

I  mean, let’s face some cold, hard facts here: President Bush the Younger  was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2004 and came into his second  term with high approval ratings and a Republican Congress. With all  this, he couldn’t even manage to de-fund Planned Parenthood or NPR!
I mean, let’s face some cold, hard facts here: President Bush the Younger was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2004 and came into his second term with high approval ratings and a Republican Congress. With all this, he couldn’t even manage to de-fund Planned Parenthood or NPR! He did not care for the conservative cause(s), he only campaigned on them to hood-wink all of us for voting for him. He knew which levers to push, and which buttons to push.

It could have been done, easily, in a budget reconciliation between House and Senate and there would have been nothing the Democrats could have done about it.

On a more personal level, how can public service be promoted  as an ideal to young people when this sewer corrupts our Republic? At  this point in early twenty-first-century America, the greatest service  our nation’s young people could provide is to lead an army of outraged  young Americans armed with brooms on a crusade to sweep out the rascals  and rid our capital of the money changers, rent seekers, revolving door  dancers, and special interest deal makers and power brokers and send  them back home to make an honest living, that is, if they still remember  how to do so.

Our ancestors did not depart Europe and elsewhere to seek  freedom and self-government alone. They came to these shores to escape  social and political systems that were corrosive and corrupt. Two and a  quarter centuries later, we are returning to those European practices.  We are in danger of becoming a different kind of nation, one our  founders would not recognize and would deplore.
 In addition to the rise of the national security state,  and the concentration of wealth and power in America, no development in  modern times sets us apart more from the nation originally bequeathed to  us than the rise of the special interest state.

There is a Gresham’s  law related to the republican ideal. Bad politics drives out good  politics. Legalized corruption drives men and women of stature, honor,  and dignity out of the halls of government. Self-respecting individuals  cannot long tolerate a system of election and reelection so dependent on  cultivating the favor of those known to expect access in return. Such a  system is corrosive to the soul.
 
 – From the Gary Hart article, Gary Hart: America’s Founding Principles Are in Danger of Corruption 

This was “better” than a President Kerry who probably would have increased PP funding, but not really better in that the taxes of pro-life Americans were still going to fund something they consider abhorrent…and which Bush and the entire GOP campaigned on getting rid of.

I know some will say that this is just our GOP screwing it’s base and that the Democrats don’t do that. But, they do.

Both the republicans and the democrats are corrupt to the core. They only care about themselves and their little tribe of corrupt underlings. No one else.
Both the republicans and the democrats are corrupt to the core. They only care about themselves and their little tribe of corrupt underlings. No one else.

Democrats are corrupt.

Obama was elected in 2008 with 53% of the vote and came into office with a Democrat Congress and a filibuster-proof Senate majority…and he couldn’t even get the single payer health system Democrats say they want.

It would have been easy.

The GOP could have done nothing to stop it. Enact a 10% payroll tax to fund it and just start passing out the cash to people who need health care.

 A former senator from Colorado, Gary Hart, has written an extremely  powerful and accurate critique of the unfathomably corrupt and crony  state of the U.S. government in 2015. It covers several very important  angles, including how appalled and disgusted our founders would be at  the current state of affairs. How a once great republic has devolved  into a thieving oligarchy in which the pursuit of money at power at the  expense of the public good has been elevated into something that’s not  just tolerated, but actually celebrated and encouraged amongst an ethics  deprived status quo. 

-Liberty Blitzkreig

That you and I know it would have been a disaster is neither here nor there – our side had lost the election and the Democrats won all the power they could possibly need to make all Democrat dreams come true…and they couldn’t do something like that.

Once you are in politics, it's all on for party on good times. You swindle and funnel money left and right and no one gives a damn about the American people. This includes both sides of the Congress, and all their cronies from the war-mongering generals to the intellectuals pushing climate change, and radical social change down our throats.
Once you are in politics, it’s all on for party-on good times. You swindle and funnel money left and right and no one gives a damn about the American people. This includes both sides of the Congress, and all their cronies from the war-mongering generals to the intellectuals pushing climate change, and radical social change down our collective throats.

They instead wound up with the abomination known as Obamacare which even if it had worked as planned would still have left millions out in the cold and cost like the devil – but they couldn’t even write something that worked!

Meanwhile, not only did Obama not end the wars they campaigned against in 2008, he started new one’s…

  • droning the living sh** out of every poor, brown skinned person they could target (well, those they weren’t letting in as unvetted refugees, that is).
  • A public works bonanza that didn’t create any public works.
  • A slew of new spending which improved nothing.
This is what the Democrat voters get for  investing their time and  effort? Yep – in other words, nothing: but lots  and lots for whomever  is the crony. Democrat cronies made out like  bandits. But your average  purple-haired Democrat wanting more safe  spaces? Not much.
This is what the Democrat voters get for investing their time and effort? Yep – in other words, nothing: but lots and lots for whomever is the crony. Democrat cronies made out like bandits. But your average purple-haired Democrat wanting more safe spaces? Not much.

This is what the Democrat voters get for investing their time and effort? Yep – in other words, nothing: but lots and lots for whomever is the crony. Democrat cronies made out like bandits. But your average purple-haired Democrat wanting more safe spaces? Not much.

 By that standard, can anyone seriously doubt that our  republic, our government, is corrupt? There have been Teapot Domes and  financial scandals of one kind or another throughout our nation’s  history. There has never been a time, however, when the  government of the United States was so perversely and systematically  dedicated to special interests, earmarks, side deals, log-rolling,  vote-trading, and sweetheart deals of one kind or another.
 
 What brought us to this? A sinister system combining staggering  campaign costs, political contributions, political action committees,  special interest payments for access, and, most of all, the rise of the  lobbying class.

 Worst of all, the army of lobbyists that started relatively small  in the mid-twentieth century has now grown to big battalions of law  firms and lobbying firms of the right, left, and an amalgam of both. And  that gargantuan, if not reptilian, industry now takes on board former  members of the House and the Senate and their personal and committee  staffs. And they are all getting fabulously rich.

 Frustrated, irate discussions of this legalized corruption are  met in the Washington media with a shrug. So what? Didn’t we just have  dinner with that lobbyist for the banking industry, or the teachers’  union, or the airline industry at that well-known journalist’s house  only two nights ago? Fine lady, and she used to be the chairman of one  of those powerful committees. I gather she is using her Rolodex rather  skillfully on behalf of her new clients. Illegal? Not at all. Just smart  . . . and so charming.

 There is little wonder that Americans of the right and many in  the middle are apoplectic at their government and absolutely, and  rightly, convinced that the game of government is rigged in favor of the  elite and the powerful. Occupiers see even more wealth rising to the  top at the expense of the poor and the middle class. And Tea Partiers  believe their tax dollars are going to well-organized welfare parasites  and government bureaucrats. 

 – From the Gary Hart article, Gary Hart: America’s Founding Principles Are in Danger of Corruption 

And as far as the social disintegration we’ve seen over the past 60 years – we’ve been blinded by the Democrats pushing the disintegration that we haven’t noticed the Republicans letting them do it.

And when they have power to roll it back, doing nothing of the sort.

And as far as the social disintegration we’ve seen over the past 60  years – we’ve been blinded by the Democrats pushing the disintegration  that we haven’t noticed the Republicans letting them do it. And  when they have power to roll it back, doing nothing of the sort.
And as far as the social disintegration we’ve seen over the past 60 years – we’ve been blinded by the Democrats pushing the disintegration that we haven’t noticed the Republicans letting them do it. And when they have power to roll it back, doing nothing of the sort. They just smile for the cameras, enjoy their high-priced meals in fancy restaurants, free hookers, and retire for their closed “boys clubs”.
 The Administrative state and its  regulators, a creation of previous congress’s, have grown into a  bureaucracy so entrenched that worker’s can’t even be fired. They lurk  in the darkness of their own regulations and use their powers to punish  those who fail to comply. Regulators are great for making and executing  rules and regulations, and taxing, but not so good at designing those  regulations to advance unproven political theories, that most often come  undone.

 The unrealized dangers of delegating  rules and regulations making, is that Congress removes itself from accountability. Legislators govern by theory, proposing ideas that are  then delegated to an agency charged to “make” it work. To ensure their  schemes work, Congress politicized the Federal judicial benches,  including the Supreme Court, to support their legislative agenda  regardless of the unconstitutionality, through judicial activism. Judges  don’t make laws! 

- Why Should We Accept Corrupt Government? 

Their actions are disgusting.

And now we see in the Epstein case the reason why it might have all been allowed to happen: Lord only knows how many of the high and mighty are caught in that web…

…but what better way to get out from under that rock than by making the rock legal?

Hey, Paul Ryan, you’re the guy in charge of the House. You’re the Speaker of the House.  You had half a decade to figure out what to REPLACE Obamacare with and you came up with … bupkis?
Hey, Paul Ryan, you’re the guy in charge of the House. You’re the Speaker of the House. [1] You had half a decade to figure out what to REPLACE Obamacare with and you came up with … bupkis? [2]. Hey, Paul Ryan, you had more than a hundred days to fashion a piece of legislation after you knew President Trump won — even with all the “budget resolution”, three tranche, inside baseball baloney and it came as a surprise that the Freedom Caucus wasn’t on board? [Pro tip: Check with your own caucus first. OK, that’s better.] Hello, America, Paul, babe — that was your job. We gave you one stinking job — to fashion a clean repeal and replacement of Obamacare — and you were surprised the Freedom Caucus wasn’t genuflecting and kissing your ring? A week out, you tell the President you “have the votes” and the day of the vote you come to the White House and say, “Uhhh, maybe not. Maybe not, Mr. President. Poorly played, Paulie. Very poorly played. [3]. Hey, Paul Ryan, this shit is on you not the President. You suck at your job.

By making you, a normal person, the bad guy if you point out some of the disgusting actions?

  • Illegal immigration to provide votes for Democrats and cheap labor for Republicans.
  • Wars which don’t end in victory or defeat.
  • Enforcing immorality against popular wishes.
  • Providing government sinecures to anyone who will toe the line – and who won’t be got rid of no matter how corrupt or stupid they prove.
  • Accepting money from foreign entities who want the United States destroyed.
Will you fucking Republicans stop criticizing President Trump for following through on his campaign promises?  He ran on them. He told you what they were. He won on them. He is delivering on them and you snowflakes act like you just discovered them.
Will you fucking Republicans stop criticizing President Trump for following through on his campaign promises? He ran on them. He told you what they were. He won on them. He is delivering on them and you snowflakes act like you just discovered them.

Both sides, all the time – and on top of being this stupidly destructive, raking it in for themselves, their families and their friends. It is time to bring an end to all that. By peaceful means if possible but, ultimately, by any means necessary.

Our peaceful means are “President Trump”.

President Trump is the hero of the common man.

Trump isn’t part of the system, you see.

Dimwits look at his billions and go, “he must be one of them”. But, the bottom line is that he’s not.

He’ll hang out with them. Be friends with them. But he never was of them. He made his own way and got his pile of money…and then looked around and saw, from the 1980’s, what was happening to his country and started to wonder why, and if there were anything he could do about it?

He essentially first let Bill Clinton have his chance.

Then Bush the Younger.

Then even Obama.

But he found out something – it didn’t matter who was in charge, they were all in on it, together. That is, regardless of stated political philosophy, the primary goal of nearly everyone in politics was personal enrichment and making sure no outsider pushed his or her way in.

Trump found out something – it didn’t matter  who was in charge, they were all in on it, together. That is, regardless  of stated political philosophy, the primary goal of nearly everyone in  politics was personal enrichment and making sure no outsider pushed his  or her way in.
Trump found out something – it didn’t matter who was in charge, they were all in on it, together. That is, regardless of stated political philosophy, the primary goal of nearly everyone in politics was personal enrichment and making sure no outsider pushed his or her way in.

Trump decided to push his way in.

And now he’s there – and outside of a precious few (Cruz, Paul…and, oddly, McConnell), he’s nearly alone fighting for one thing: us.

The United States of America.

We, the people.

And everyone inside is furious and terrified and so are lashing back as much as they can hoping that something, anything will turn up to get rid of Trump.

And, make no mistake about it, they are already planning on punishing us for electing Trump. They don’t propose to allow this sort of thing to happen again.

And, make no mistake about it, they are already planning on punishing us for electing Trump. They don’t propose to allow this sort of thing to happen again.

And everyone inside is furious  and terrified and so are lashing back as much as they can hoping that  something, anything will turn up to get rid of Trump. And, make  no mistake about it, they are already planning on punishing us for  electing Trump. They don’t propose to allow this sort of thing to happen  again.
And everyone inside is furious and terrified and so are lashing back as much as they can hoping that something, anything will turn up to get rid of Trump. And, make no mistake about it, they are already planning on punishing us for electing Trump. They don’t propose to allow this sort of thing to happen again.

The “big con game” is up.

I’ve mostly stopped arguing with liberals these days – first off, it is pointless but, secondly, I’m starting to pity them; nearly as much as I pity that shrinking number on the right who still stand aloof from Trump: they simply can’t shake free from the line they’ve been fed.

And none of us can get high and mighty about that: to one degree or another, all of us were suckered at one time or another.

No other government is as corrupt as the United States government.
No other government is as corrupt as the United States government.

All of us believed in some aspect of the con being used to keep us confused, frightened and divided while the Ruling Class stays fat and happy.

All of us. Including myself.

But for those of us who have awakened from the con, it is time for a clean break – a refusal to accept that anything over the past 60 years was any good…a desire, that is, to move forward in an entirely new way, unshackled to whatever we might have said or done in the past.

We have learned all about the great con game, and we are fed up. We know know what is going on and we are pissed, and desire real, substantive change. But for those of us  who have awakened from the con, it is time for a clean break – a refusal  to accept that anything over the past 60 years was any good…a desire,  that is, to move forward in an entirely new way, unshackled to whatever  we might have said or done in the past.
We have learned all about the great con game, and we are fed up. We know know what is going on and we are pissed, and desire real, substantive change. Now, for those of us who have awakened from the con, it is time for a clean break – a refusal to accept that anything over the past 60 years was any good…a desire, that is, to move forward in an entirely new way, unshackled to whatever we might have said or done in the past.

We can see what happened; we can see what needs to be done – we can’t trip ourselves up (nor allow our opponents to slow us down) by fussing over what views we might have expressed previously.

Our desire is a Constitutional Republic of free people – our means of getting there must be “whatever works”, not adherence to a dogma which might, upon review, only have been a means whereby the con artists kept us in line in the past.

I, for one, will only defend what I find defensible and will attack whatever I see as wrong.

Republicans Are Terrified Because Their Candidates Are So Fucking Lazy. As a number of Democrats win high-profile special election victories in deep red districts, fewer and fewer safe Republican strongholds seem to be off limits.
Republicans Are Terrified Because Their Candidates Are So Fucking Lazy. As a number of Democrats win high-profile special election victories in deep red districts, fewer and fewer safe Republican strongholds seem to be off limits.

We still have a magnificent window to win this thing and fix our nation – naturally, the first requirement is protecting President Trump.

We need a complete review of EVERYTHING and ask “is it good”

But the next step is just as important: a complete review of everything and asking the question, “Is this good?”.

We’ve already learned that so-called “Free Trade” wasn’t what many of us thought it was – take that as your template and ask yourself, “is this thing I’ve adhered to really in the interests of a free people? Or is it something which only serves the well-connected?”.

As Lincoln once said, it is time to think anew and act anew: not to create something different (nothing can be more magnificent than the United States, as far as human effort allows), but to recreate what we had, but even better than before.

It is time to think  anew and act anew: not to create something different,  but to recreate what we had, but even better than before.
It is time to think anew and act anew: not to create something different, but to recreate what we had, but even better than before.

And if that mission requires us to knock a few off their pedestals, then that’s just what will have to happen.

 The problems of government are systemic.  The reason for government should be a primary concern of anyone wanting a  better government but this cannot be accomplished with people of  socialist persuasion who scream, yell and interrupt other speakers in an  effort to kill free speech. 

 Trump has thrown a wrench into the gears  of socialisms advancement. Socialists are reeling in confusion but don’t  count on them staying there. A revolution is coming. The question is,  who’s going to lead it, them or us? 

- Why Should We Accept Corrupt Government? 

SHTF Related Index

This is a collection of my posts related to prepping, SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan), CWII (American Civil War 2), Fourth Turning (Strauss–Howe generational theory) and other posts related to the very sad and sorry tatters that America is today. Actually, I am a little stunned that I have written so much about these matters. But America today is very ill and there are things that really should be said.

Here are the posts.

SHTF and Related Index

The Tale of the Killdozer.
The use of technicals for genocide.
The Climax of the Fourth Turning in 2025.
2025 - the Fourth Turning Crisis - A nuclear response
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
The grim future.
Is it clear enough for you?
SJW
r/K selection theory
Pictures of a gun-free utopia.
Link
Historically, how preppers failed during periods of turmoil.
Universal Background Checks
What is planned for American Conservatives - Part 2
What is going to happen to conservatives - Part 3.
What is planned for conservatives - part 4
What is in store for Conservatives - part 5
What is in store for conservatives - part 6
Civil War
The Warning Signs
Line in the sand
A second passport
Link
Make America Great Again.
What would the founders think?
The Ninth Amendment
How they get away with it
Snopes
Taxiation without representation.
Link
Parable about America
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Democracy Lessons
We can no longer build. As we enter the Fourth Turning.
A polarized world.
America's sunset.
Asshole
Types of American conservatives.
America is no longer a nation. When you cannot enforce a border, enforce laws, and prosecute criminals, you no longer have a nation. America is no longer a nation. It might still be the remains of a once great empire, sort of like Rome was after the Vandals sacked it, but as a functioning nation, it is no longer. When you cannot enforce a border, enforce laws, and prosecute criminals, you no longer have a nation. I argue that the United States is no longer a nation. Forget about being a nation that follows the Constitution. Rather, I argue that it is not longer a nation in the crudest, simplest, and most primitive terms. What it is is up for debate. But, a nation... no it is not.

Some prepper humor…

Nuke from orbit.

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
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  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
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America is no longer a nation. When you cannot enforce a border, enforce laws, and prosecute criminals, you no longer have a nation.

America is no longer a nation. It might still be the remains of a once great empire, sort of like Rome was after the Vandals sacked it, but as a functioning nation, it is no longer.

When you cannot enforce a border, enforce laws, and prosecute criminals, you no longer have a nation.

History doesn’t like vacuums anymore than nature does, and what we’re  facing is a vacuum of authority that the USA has never experienced  before. That’s the final consequence of a society in which anything goes and nothing matters. 

Better check what you believe and who you believe in the days ahead, and recalibrate accordingly. This ain’t no foolin’ around. 

-Kunsler

Here is an article written by Gordon Wysong titled “Will we ever prosecute?”. He makes the point that if the worst criminals can walk free, then (regardless of all the lesser crimes that are prosecuted) the nation does not enforce laws. And if laws are not enforced, there is no nation. For a nation without laws is pure anarchy.

It is presented as written, with little editing aside from the blogger-template on word-press. Any photos and commentary are set apart so that the reader can realize that it is not part of the article but rather designed to supplement it. 

Links to other related articles are embedded in the text. You can click on them and they will open up in a new tab. That way you will not need to interrupt your reading of this article.

Enjoy.

October 12, 2019

Will We Ever Prosecute?

By Gordon Wysong

Imagine that the local cops know that a gang member, named William, broke into the pawn shop and stole guns, jewelry, and money.  

William’s fingerprints, film image, and DNA add to the hard evidence log.  The owner knows it; the prosecutor knows it; William’s gang associates know it.  But he is not arrested.  

Nearby shopkeepers and neighborhood mothers are asking why he is walking the street.  No one explains it; mum’s the word.  

Could it be there is a grand plan to take out the gang’s leaders?  No one knows; mum’s the word.  

Shopkeepers and residents are about to give up and start moving away from the area, and no one asks them to stay the course.


Fast forward to today.

Fast-forward to today’s still vocal Obama gang.  Why no indictments?  Mum’s the word.  Can anyone hold to the faith in American justice?  Those who support the rule of law feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football.  

It’s coming — oh, wait, it’s coming…oh, wait…

Without doubt, a criminal cabal is an extraordinarily complex organization, and understanding who did what, why, when, and how is a challenge to the mental faculties of anyone.  But, what happens if the full scope of activities is never clear?  

Does everyone get off?  Does complexity confer immunity?


Is our government that incompetent?

In engineering, there is no perfect answer to anything, so changes are made incrementally, addressing the problems as they are recognized.  Each step brings a clearer view of remaining problems, which are then addressed, each in its turn.  

The completed project is still flawed, but the solution is practical and productive.

So it should be with a grandiose scheme like the Russia Hoax.  The ringleaders don’t have to be handled with kid gloves.  They don’t even have to be handled at all.  Just start with the low-hanging fruit, and get as far (up the tree) as possible.


Those old enough to remember My Lai, Vietnam, know that Lt. Calley and Cpt. Medina were not alone in their actions.  However, their prosecution forever changed the game of passing the buck on war crimes.

So, too, can rabid prosecution of bit players in the Russian Hoax forever change the landscape in plots involving treason.  

Those who would participate at the lower levels must know they are subject to prosecution, so they remain circumspect in such a re-enactment of the coup attempt.  This would be the Achilles heel of another cabal — those who are intimidated by the prospect of prison.  Those who realize they don’t have sufficient rank to escape punishment will be loath to participate in such a scheme.  Without them, there will be no operational viability to an unlawful coup.

Admittedly, there are always problems in pursuing a criminal case.  It must be so under our Constitution, but it cannot be impossible!


Prosecution should not be impossible.

Prosecutors don’t get all the information, but at a certain point, for each criminal, evidence accumulates that there is a real and provable crime.  

It may not include every transgression of that person, nor is it the magic revelation, untangling the Gordian knot of the conspirators.  It is a simple criminal act.  

It is what it appears, and it need not be put in the context of the big picture — it is as plain as the nose on your face.

That stage is the stimulus for a prosecutor.  It is the time to move.  If the DOJ acts, many of the sins can never be prosecuted, because the prosecution of their lesser crimes may foreclose pursuit of other crimes under double jeopardy protection.  

However, failure to move puts evidence and witnesses at risk of being lost.  This point has passed for so many of the coup conspirators that it seems there will be no justice for many of them, like Lois Lerner.

Why?

Is it clear enough for you?

Why no action yet?

A full recounting of all that is already known would be tedious, and to expound on the criminal conduct yet again seems shrill.  It is not necessary to understand the intertwining of all the crimes before simply bringing the charges that are facially obvious.  

But the deferral of prosecution, for whatever reason it is done, allows many of the cabal to walk free when they shouldn’t.  

In fact, the indication is that they are continuing the very conduct for which they should be prosecuted.

Why has McCabe not been charged with lying to the FBI, lying under oath?  Nothing more is needed to start the dominos falling.  Who will step forward to exonerate him?  No one can, and no one will.  That omission — of a vigorously supported defense — will send a message to the others in the coup conspiracy.

Why has Samantha Power not been indicted for violating national security requirements in unmasking or transferring her unmasking authority to others?  It doesn’t pass the smell test that she is too important to be prosecuted.

Why is Huma Abedin strolling around, free as a bird?  She forwarded classified emails to Anthony Weiner’s laptop.  What else is needed to demonstrate a crime?

Did Strzok do anything?  Did Page?   Which one lied to Congress?  Their contradictory accounts mean at least one is a perjurer.  Sure, there is more “there” there, but it isn’t necessary to keelhaul them; just send them to jail, and send others a message.

How they get away with it

Listing all the cabal members, who are quite obviously criminal, is not easy — in fact, it is not doable.  

It need not be the aim.  A public that finds this whole thing partisan or tedious will not be easily impressed if a 2,000-count indictment naming 43 people is suddenly dropped.  Bringing along the public is certainly part of sending the message for future conspirators.  

It probably is better done gradually.

Suggested Action

Removing the context and simply prosecuting crimes is the method to educate both today’s and tomorrow’s citizens.

Selecting single actors, and naming obvious crimes, will have a chance to convince even skeptical partisans that something is wrong.  The lack of support from other participants will indeed remove most doubt.

The full scope of what has gone on will never be known, but the lessons for future participants in such a scheme is essential.  The next time, the prosecution will be more severe, more certain, and more expedient.  Protecting the Constitution is more important than perfect justice.  Some miscreants will escape, but they will never sleep well again.  The lesson must be taught.

A DOJ that fails to move loses its credibility and its honor.  The foundation of the Republic is placed at risk.  Without the rule of law, what do we have?

At some point, deferral of prosecution is dereliction or abetting.  Has it reached that point?

I argue that it has. 

Watergate prosecuted Nixon within months. The prosecution of the assassination of Lincoln, and Reagan took months.

It's almost four years and there are ZERO prosecutions. ZERO.

Therefore, I argue that the United States is no longer a nation. Forget about being a nation that follows the Constitution. Rather, I argue that it is not longer a nation in the crudest, simplest, and most primitive terms. What it is is up for debate. But, a nation... no it is not.

Comment by John Paul Roberts

 Trump is so far over his head in Washington waters that he is  incapable of realizing that the criminal George W. Bush and Obama  regimes put powers in the hands of the president that enable him to  destroy the plotters of the coup against him.  Instead, Trump “distances himself from Giuliani.”  

In  other words, his enemies have Trump on the run. Has it ever occurred to  Trump that every real whistle-blower, people protected by statutory  federal law, was completely destroyed by the executive branch, and no  one said a word? Yet, here is Trump twisting in the wind on the basis of  an unknown CIA agent who orchestrated the whistleblower complaint with  Democrat House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.  In  US law there is no such thing as an unknown whistleblower, much less  one that has more power than the president of the United States.

 We are going to lose a president, who intended to mend America and  restore peace, and our country along with him, because American peace  and prosperity does not comply with the agendas of the elite who rule  us.  

 The American people are so stupid, having demonstrated their  unlimited capability for utter and total stupidity by buying in to the  Gulf of Tonkin, 9/11, Saddam Hussein’s “weapons of mass destruction,”  “Assad’s use of chemical weapons,” “Iranian nukes,” “Russian invasions,”  “Russiagate,” ad infinitum, that the Deep State and their media whores  take for granted that the dumbshit Americans will equally accept the  latest lie.

 America is already in the trash bin of history.  Most other countries will say, “good riddance.” 

- Trump Is History and So Is the USA 

Credit to the author…

Gordon Wysong is an engineer and entrepreneur who has served as a county commissioner in Cobb County, Ga.

Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/will_we_ever_prosecute.html#ixzz62TuM3mBI

Some related links

SHTF Related Index

This is a collection of my posts related to prepping, SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan), CWII (American Civil War 2), Fourth Turning (Strauss–Howe generational theory) and other posts related to the very sad and sorry tatters that America is today. Actually, I am a little stunned that I have written so much about these matters. But America today is very ill and there are things that really should be said.

Here are the posts.

SHTF and Related Index

The Tale of the Killdozer.
The use of technicals for genocide.
The Climax of the Fourth Turning in 2025.
2025 - the Fourth Turning Crisis - A nuclear response
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
The grim future.
Is it clear enough for you?
SJW
r/K selection theory
Pictures of a gun-free utopia.
Link
Historically, how preppers failed during periods of turmoil.
Universal Background Checks
What is planned for American Conservatives - Part 2
What is going to happen to conservatives - Part 3.
What is planned for conservatives - part 4
What is in store for Conservatives - part 5
What is in store for conservatives - part 6
Civil War
The Warning Signs
Line in the sand
A second passport
Link
Make America Great Again.
What would the founders think?
The Ninth Amendment
How they get away with it
Snopes
Taxiation without representation.
Link
Parable about America
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Democracy Lessons
A polarized world.
America's sunset.
Asshole
Types of American conservatives.

Some prepper humor…

Nuke from orbit.

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

The sunset of the United States Empire, it’s not going quietly into the night, and it could get ugly.

This is a pretty decent article that I found on the Sign Of The Times network. It pretty much enunciates what I have been observing for some time. It’s well written and as such.

I am reprinting this directly as published. All credit to the author, and I would suggest that the reader click on the link and honor all their effort in writing this article.

It’s got a terrible title, but (shrug) what can you do?

This article discusses how America (and by extension, Americans) hold on to the title and respect that they inherited from their forefathers. America inherited being the world’s leader militarily, socially, economically, culturally, and spiritually.

However, those that took over, during the last 60 years, squandered what they were given. In many cases destroyed what was built up, created, and established. And replaced it with something else. (If you don’t know what I am talking about, look up “culture wars”.)

As America crumbles, people naturally try to hold on to what is no longer healthy and viable. That is what we are witnessing today. With China being the rising competitor.

Thus this article.

Technical note: When the author refers to typical American / UK statements (well known to all us expats), the background is set as light grey. My comments are in raw format.

Yellow Peril, Sinophobia and Red Scare – USA is on a Dangerous Path

C.K. Voltaire
Sott.net
Sat, 12 Oct 2019 08:58 UTC

In the 1980s, American elites feared the rise of economic powerhouse Japan, but managed to contain its competitor because Japan was at root a vassal state occupied by the US military.

Fair enough.

However, China’s rise today is a different story altogether. With 1.4 billion people, the largest economy in the world (by GDP at purchasing power parity – PPP), and an independent foreign policy, China’s rise heralds the beginning of a multi-polar world.

Obvious to most of the world, if not Americans.

The ‘American Century’ is over, but Americans cannot accept the fact that they – 5% of the world’s population – cannot rule the other 95% forever. American entitlement and hubris are causing many to lash out and embark on a path that is perilous both to themselves and the world.

Yes. It's the "Fourth Turning" baby, and it's gonna get nasty.

Incongruent Fear and Loathing

Let’s take a look at some illogical American talking points used in the smear campaign against China:

“China is going to collapse soon!”

If Americans really believed this, they would sit back, smile and ignore China.

“China is going to take over the world!”

This paranoid warning usually follows the delusional, “China will collapse” claim. Make up your mind!

“Our free market is the best and China is communist!”

Americans conveniently forget that the US government subsidizes farmers, Big Pharma and the military-industrial-complex with hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Also, when developing nations subsidize Western corporations, it’s applauded as smart business; but when developing nations help their domestic firms, it’s vilified as socialism or communism.

What’s even more interesting is that China now has more publicly traded companies than the US!

There’s more competition in “communist” China than in the “capitalist” US. For example, the US has only one smartphone company (Apple), while China has Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, ZTE, OnePlus, Transsion, etc.

Finally, comparing the economic growth of the US and China over the last four decades, no one can reasonably say that the US is superior to the China model:

comparing the economic growth of the US and China over the last  four decades, no one can reasonably say that the US is superior to the  China model
Comparing the economic growth of the US and China over the last four decades, no one can reasonably say that the US is superior to the China model.

China isn’t open! It discriminates against US corporations!”

This is often accompanied by, “We should decouple from China!” This ‘logic’ hurts the brain.

Also, while demanding that China treat American companies just like Chinese companies, the US has placed 140 Chinese companies under the “entity list,” meaning they can’t do business with US corporations or the government.

“China censors Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc.”

This is followed by, “OMG! There are Chinese bots and trolls flooding our social media. Ban them, please!”

“China steals everything”

China has been #1 in both scientific publications and patents for the last few years. Why?

  • Answer; China spends $300 billion a year on R&D and graduates 8 times as many STEM graduates as the US.
  • Chinese companies like Huawei, Alibaba and SenseTime are leapfrogging over the US in AI software, AI chips, database software, 5G etc.
  • And young Chinese people have the “9-9-6” work ethic – they work 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week.

Well, it’s like sports where partisan supporters are certain that the other team won only by cheating.

China forced US corporations into technology transfer”

In exchange for technology, China offered generous subsidies and tax cuts that allowed US corporations to make trillions of dollars over the last 40 years.

To put it succinctly: China bought the technology from American, European, Japanese and Korean companies. Americans didn’t mind the technology transfer, because they never thought that China could compete – after all, China merely employs slave labor to make crappy products, right?

“China is a totalitarian government! We are so amazing because we have Democracy!”

Democracy in America is a joke.

As Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank said, “America is of the 1%, by the 1% and for the 1%.”

The Chinese government is based on meritocracy and has a 90% approval rate. While it’s not perfect, it has done a remarkable job in the last 40 years by lifting 800 million people out of poverty and creating the world’s largest middle class.

Also, note that the US never tries to spread democracy in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, etc.

‘Freedom and democracy’ propaganda is a selective tool, not anchored to any consistent values or principles worthy of being called such.

Atrocity Propaganda

Like “Saddam threw babies out of incubators” or “Assad uses chemical weapons,” the US started the “1 million Chinese Muslims in concentration camps” narrative in early 2018.

While hundreds of diplomats and journalists from all over the world have visited these re-education camps in Xinjiang, the US establishment sticks to its pathetic atrocity propaganda.

It’s not even remotely true. Not in the least.

When that desperate narrative fizzled out, whoever is responsible for conducting psy-ops in Washington DC restarted the “organ-harvesting” fake news with the help of Falun Gong and the World Uyghur Congress, both of which are funded by the US.

No matter how absurd or sensationalist, it’s never a “conspiracy theory” when it’s about China, Russia, Iran or any other geopolitical competitor.

Racism and Yellow Peril

Behind all this anti-China propaganda is deep-seated racism in Americans that cannot accept the Chinese as equals.

If confronted about racism, Americans would say, “I only hate the Chinese government, not the people.”

However, this is clearly disproved by how Americans behave on social media, where any article that’s negative about China instantly goes viral; and positive news about China gets ignored or even down-voted.

‘Yellow Peril syndrome’ is deeper among those in the US establishment.

The right-wing is more blatant and sensational:

"The Chinese aren't smarter. They CHEAT," tweeted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. 

A US State Department official said, "It's the first time that we will have a great power competitor that is not Caucasian." 

The FBI Director upped the ante and called China a "whole-of-society threat." 

Like George Orwell’s ‘Two Minutes Hate‘, the US media and social media influencers — Kyle Bass, Gordon Chang, Charlie Kirk, General Rob Spalding etc. — spew insane anti-Chinese hatred every day to rile up the mob.

Censorship

As Rania Khalek pointed out, corporate media is filled with spooks and US government officials acting as “analysts.”

Sadly, social media giants are also acting as state propaganda outlets. Google, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Medium etc. are all actively purging pro-China voices, while tolerating what amounts to hate speech.

Nathan Rich – an American living in China – illustrated how YouTube actively worked against him.

For example, his subscriber  numbers would go down substantially, people could only dislike his  videos but could not like them, his videos wouldn't show up in searches,  etc. 

Twitter also purges pro-China people, but if there's a huge outcry  - like when they deleted Carl Zha's account - the thought police would quietly reinstate a handful of the victims. 

Anyone who’s remotely pro-China on social media is vilified as a Chinese bot or a “Wumao” – a person who supposedly works for 50 cents/hour to spread Chinese propaganda.

This is where the "fifty-center" meme came from.

On Reddit, there’s a sub-group called “r/China” with 120,000 members. But you won’t find anything positive or neutral about China in that group — it’s a sewer of racism and hatred. And people who post positive news about China also get banned or attacked by online mobs.

As an aside, I (Metallicman) was banned on Free Republic in October 2019 because I posted a positive article reporting on Hong Kong events. That is amazing as I was a long time member (20+ years!) to Free Republic with over 8,000+ posted articles. No warning. No email. No excuse or reasons given. Just erased me and my my history. Zilch!

That is what Jim Robinson has become. Just another Software mogul in the United States.Snubbing his nose at us "little guys" that made FR popular.

From corporate media to social media, only one-sided sensational claims are allowed.

The concept of ‘freedom of speech and expression’ in the US is a farce.

Conclusion

The USA is exhibiting all the symptoms of late-stage capitalism or a dying empire — deep internal divisions, extreme wealth inequality, exploding debt, brainwashed masses, overextended military, and paranoia about geopolitical competition.

Meanwhile, China has a lot of room to grow, since its GDP-per-capita is still only $10,000 overall and $20,000 in big cities. China’s strategy is to keep calm, maintain growth, expand trade, and become technologically independent by 2025 — especially in semiconductors. By 2030, China’s nominal GDP will be larger than that of the US; and Asia will account for 40% of global GDP.

If China can successfully navigate all the proxy and hybrid wars waged by a belligerent America in the next decade, then China and Eurasia will be the shining stars of this century.

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

The US involvement in the HK "Democracy Now" movement.
How the USA can win a trade war.
Chinese reaction to the Trump Tariff Wars.
China's Global Leadership
Popular Music of China
The logistics of relocating a facotry from China back to the USA.
Hong Kong and the NED CIA operations.
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year
Trade Wars
How to get work in China if you have HIV.

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
Summer Snapshots 9
Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Some Fun Videos

Here’s a collection of some fun videos taken all over Asia. While there are many videos taken in China, we also have some taken in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Japan as well. It’s all in fun.

Some fun videos of China - 1
Fun Videos of Asia - 2
Fun videos of Asia - 3
Fun videos of Asia - 4
Fun Videos of Asia - 5
Fun videos of Asia - 6
Fun videos of Asia - 7
Fun videos of Asia - 8
Fun videos of Asia - 9
Fun videos of Asia - 10
Fun videos of Asia - 11
Fun videos of Asia - 12
Fun videos of Asia - 13
Fun videos of Asia - 14
Fun Videos of Asia - 15
Fun videos of Asia -16
The best way to cook marshmallows.

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Universal Background Checks; When you need to violate the 4th amendment to use the 2nd amendment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Sunday had a call with President Donald Trump about gun control legislation. According to a statement from Democratic leadership, universal background checks are a non negotiable that must be included in any proposal Trump moves forward with.

People! A “universal background check” is a violation of the 4th amendment. Yeah, I know. It’s already violated left and right and every which way that you can think of. Indeed, the entire 16th amendment is a blatant violation of the 4th amendment on it’s face.

Fourth Amendment - Search and Seizure
Amendment Text | Annotations 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,  and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be  violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,  supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place  to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  

And for all of you who are confused about the second amendment…

Second Amendment - Bearing Arms 
Amendment Text | Annotations

A  well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free  State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be  infringed. 

All of this is silly.

The United States stopped being the land of the free the moment the 12th amendment was ratified. Good-by Republic. Hello to mob rule and manipulation by oligarchs. It’s just dying a long, slow death. That’s the way it is, and any protests from myself or others just fall on deaf ears. No one wants to hear all this. They want their feudal society, and us rabble had just better accept our place within that model.

From what I see, they are not giving up on this. They will push and push and push until something snaps. Though, I think that they have no fucking idea just how bad the snap will be. You have over three decades of rage built up inside of conservative patriots. They will not give any quarter.

And that, boys and girls, is the way it is.

About the picture, splash above…

Cambodian troops before they were disarmed by Pol Pot in 1970. Every one of them were then systematically killed. Not one survived.
Cambodian troops before they were disarmed by Pol Pot in 1970. Socialist Marxist Communist Pol Pot came to power in Cambodia in 1970. These troops were government military forces who were told by their leadership to hand in their weapons to the new government. They complied. They listened. They turned in their weapons. Every one of them were then systematically killed. Not one survived.

Not one person survived once they turned in their firearms to the new government. Not. One.

SHTF Related Index

This is a collection of my posts related to prepping, SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan), CWII (American Civil War 2), Fourth Turning (Strauss–Howe generational theory) and other posts related to the very sad and sorry tatters that America is today. Actually, I am a little stunned that I have written so much about these matters. But America today is very ill and there are things that really should be said.

Here are the posts.

SHTF and Related Index

The Tale of the Killdozer.
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
The grim future.
Is it clear enough for you?
SJW
The use of technicals for genocide.
r/K selection theory
Pictures of a gun-free utopia.
Link
Historically, how preppers failed during periods of turmoil.
Universal Background Checks
What is planned for American Conservatives - Part 2
What is going to happen to conservatives - Part 3.
What is planned for conservatives - part 4
What is in store for Conservatives - part 5
What is in store for conservatives - part 6
Civil War
The Warning Signs
Line in the sand
A second passport
Link
Make America Great Again.
What would the founders think?
The Ninth Amendment
How they get away with it
Snopes
Taxiation without representation.
Link
Parable about America
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Democracy Lessons
A polarized world.
Asshole
Types of American conservatives.

Posts Regarding Life and Contentment

Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.

What is going on in Hollywood?
Why no High-Speed rail in the USA?
Link
Link
Link
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Tomatos
Link
Mad scientist
Gorilla Cage in the basement
The two family types and how they work.
How to manage a family household.
Link
Soups, Sandwiches and ice cold beer.
Pleasures
Work in the 1960's
School in the 1970s
Cat Heaven
Corporate life
Corporate life - part 2
Build up your life
Grow and play - 1
Grow and play - 2
Baby's got back
Link
A womanly vanity
Army and Navy Store
Playground Comparisons
Excuses that we use that keep us enslaved.

More Posts about Life

I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.

Being older
Things I wish I knew.
Link
Travel
PT-141
Bronco Billy
How they get away with it
Paper Airplanes
Snopes
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
1960's and 1970's link
Democracy Lessons
The Rule of Eight

Funny Pictures

Picture Dump 1

Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.

Be the Rufus - 1

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

The US involvement in the HK “Democracy Now” movement.

Here, in this article, we look at the United States involvement with HK. We [1] study how the United States uses Hong Kong to exert pressure on China for trade and geopolitical advantage. We also [2] take a look at the various people “behind the scenes” that are pushing for American involvement, for their own personal gain. Finally, [3] we study the role that the American media plays that the stereotypes that they cultivate in order to manipulate Americans. This is perhaps the most comprehensive overview of the USA / China involvement in Hong Kong that you will find on the internet.

For starters, you the reader should recognize that global politics are often complicated, and convoluted. People will say one thing and then do the other. That there are forces, all with their own agendas, manipulating, jockeying, and vying for positions of power and advantage. All of this takes place on a canvas that is painted by the media. Often, a picture that doesn’t at all resemble what is actually going on behind the scene.

Or has everyone forgotten the "Trump is going to prison for conspiring with Russia to steal the election" narrative from the mainstream media from 20016 though to 2019?

The HK / USA / China issue is typical in geo-political posturing. It is like an onion. It really is.

You look at the onion, and you see the outside as portrayed to you. Much like how you observe the news media reporting. Then, you peel away the first layer. There you see the actions, and turmoil behind the scene. Your eyes will often burn. Because the truth what is going on was unknown to you. You then peel away the second layer, and find out just how deep all this goes.

You continue deeper and deeper.

You peel each layer away, one by one. And then finally you reach the true truth of the matter and take a good hard look at what is involved. In this particular situation, there are nine (x9) levels or layers of this “onion”. Ah, yes, and in this article we will investigate each one.

The HK - China - USA "free democracy" protests during 2019, and their complexity relative to the comparison to that of the layers of skin in an onion.
The HK – China – USA “free democracy” protests during 2019, and their complexity relative to the comparison to that of the layers of skin in an onion.

Here, we will proceed forward and address this issue in all of it’s complexity. We will move forward from the outside inward, and study each layer in relative detail.

The layers in this issue are;

  • News media reporting and bias.
  • Constructed and cultivated stereotypes.
  • The actual physical events.
  • The people who caused the events.
  • The people who are driving the events forward and pushing.
  • The people who provide financial support, training, and logistics.
  • The rise of the risks involved.
  • Reactions and the casualties of war.
  • The root effects; the trade relationships between the USA, HK and China.

As such, we will begin here…

News media reporting and bias.

President Donald Trump tweeted on August 13 that he “can’t imagine why” the United States has been blamed for the chaotic protests that have gripped Hong Kong. 

Donald Trump doesn't understand how anyone could link the Summer of 2019 HK riots with the Summer of 2019 Trade Wars with China.
Donald Trump doesn’t understand how anyone could link the Summer of 2019 HK riots with the Summer of 2019 Trade Wars with China.

Trump’s befuddlement might be believable considering [1] the carefully managed narrative of the US government. As well as [2] the mainstream American media apparatus. Yeah, I get it. Even VP Mike Pence repeats this ludicrous narrative. But come on! Do you really think that the world believes this? After Syria? After Libya?

What? You think that the Chinese will believe that you are sincere?

This GIF pretty much sums up how it looks like to the rest of the world…

I am shocked! Shocked!
I am shocked! Shocked! That there is a connection between the Summer of 2019 HK riots and the Summer of 2019 trade wars.
I believe that the Hong Kong protest is influenced by the US.

The rioters are well-trained, organized and commanded, knowing what  to do and when to do it, they have a united uniform, they know where the  cameras are and they know how to disable them, they know how to fight  against tear gas. 

The violent protests are not simply targeting the  extradition law amendment bill, but also aiming to throw Hong Kong into  disarray, to drag down the SAR government. 

- Ty Yang (Hong Kong , China) 

You think that they do not have informants? You think that HK is independent and immune from Chinese mainland observation? You think China doesn’t have cameras, video surveillance, wiretaps on telephones, and are not monitoring their insurgents?

Of course they are. And of course, they know full well what is going on. They know.

Keep your hands off Hong Kong! 

US has no authority to lecture China on  our own sovereign territory. How can US warmongers like Mike Pence even  have the legitimacy to talk about HK, when the US is still illegally  militarily occupying Syria with their US bases. Syria gave no permission  for the US to build bases in Syria. How can the US think they have any  god-given right to smack to China? 

-  MrBudha888 (China)  

And we shouldn’t take their (apparent) lack of action on these matters as a weakness. Instead, we should consider it with the upmost caution. They do not make decisions based on what they see on CNN. They make their decisions off other criteria.

So it would be the height of follow to assume that the Chinese are simpletons, backwards, inept, and foolish. They are not. They know the game, and how it is played. They have over 5000 years of political intrigue, and they most certainly will not base their decisions off of what they see on the news.

The suspicion of US manipulation behind the scenes is gaining traction in the online world. 

The US has gained notoriety for using subterfuge to interfere with other sovereignty's affairs. 

It's not like the world is oblivious to that. 

- Joseph Kuan (US) 

This reporting has been very “black and white”.

They report that the protests are some kind of organic “pro-democracy” expression of young idealistic grassroots youth. That they only want “freedom”, American style “democracy”, and a “slice of the American pie”. They just do not want to be considered Chinese, and they certainly don’t want anything to do with mainland China.

Oh. If only it were TRUE…

Why are they asking for World War III? Are they out of their collective minds?
The protests have been staged and arranged for an American audience, because that is the insurgents’ primary funding source.

However, a look beneath the surface of this oversimplified, made-for-television script reveals the truth.

It’s all a stack of cards. It’s all an illusion. It’s all a manipulation. It’s all a line and nonsense. And the Chinese are all well-aware of this.

US is everywhere in other countries' affairs! What a joke!
  
Nothing will distract China from focusing on economic development and  raising the standard of living for the 1.4 billion Chinese people.
  
The US should do the same, concentrating its resources and energy to  improve American people's lives. There is so much more to be desired for  the most advanced country of the world. 

- Miyya Z (China) 

The truth is that there is a small but extremely vocal and well-funded, ferociously anti-Chinese network behind the demonstrations. They hate China. They really, seriously do.

But, it’s more than just hating China.

They hate America as well. They also hate Britain. They are so filled with hate that you would think that they were members of the American terrorist groups Antifa, and BLM. I mean, after all, they look like them, they act like them, and they use the exact same strategies as their American counterparts, the Antifa.

What? You think the Antifa and BLM love America? That’s what you think?

When a masked radical is shouting and screaming at you and is tellin you that they want you hurt, tortured, and killed, you should believe them.
When a masked radical is shouting and screaming at you and is telling you that they want you hurt, tortured, and killed, you should believe them. The mainland Chinese are listening to them, and as a result they are amassing military forces in the event that things spiral out of control.

But they will cover up and hide their hate. Most of the time they will put on masks and pretend to be something else. They will act nice and courteous, and seem and appear reasonable. Anything to obtain their goals.

Frangfang (Hong Kong, China)

The US is linking the current situation in Hong Kong to the US-China  trade negotiations, using Hong Kong as leverage to pressure compromise  from China. Such 'bargaining', in essence using Hong Kong as a 'trading  chip', would be a gross insult to the Hong Kong people. 

And their goals are simple ones. It’s what every dictator and tyrant wants. They want their own fiefdom; they want Hong Kong as their own, and then they want to join the rest of the world as global oligarchs.

And America plays along.

Jimmy Lai (HK billionaire) meets with American VP Mike Pence.
Jimmy Lai (HK ultra-billionaire) meets with American VP Mike Pence. His goal is to disrupt the relationship between the United States and China so that he can have financial and economic advantage in Hong Kong. His primary and sole goal is to INTERRUPT the relationship between China and America.

This network has been cultivated, funded, and trained with the help of millions of dollars from the US government. (Read on to see the funding amounts, the agencies, the American officials involved, and other particulars.) Not to mention a particularly vocal progressive globalist Washington-linked local Hong Kong media tycoon. (Jimmy Lai with dreams of his own nation, and a near religious cult of followers.)

Constructed and cultivated stereotypes.

The way that the events are portrayed in Hong Kong is to fit the appetite for the American news-consuming audience. In particular, to appeal to the emotions of two especially and diametrically opposed groups;

  • The Progressive, Liberal Democrat Marxists.
  • The Traditional, Conservative Republicans.
The protests in HK are staged to pander to the American consumer. They are designed most especially to trigger emotional responses from AMerican. This is most especially true when the protestors sand the Star Spangled Banner. I ask the reader this, how many of you can sing the Chinese national anthem?
The protests in HK are staged to pander to the American consumer. They are designed most especially to trigger emotional responses from Americans. This is most especially true when the protestors sang the Star Spangled Banner. I ask the reader this, how many of you can sing the Chinese national anthem?

Let’s start with the appeals to the liberal democrat progressive Marxists in America. Look at the progressive media show DemocracyNow! (DN!) as one example. It is a prominent media outlet on the “progressive” end of the spectrum. They have been quite busy “reporting” on all the protests in Hong Kong. They report on them as if they are part and parcel of the same kinds of Antifa and BLM protests in the United States. So, of course, they would report on everything. Right?

From April through August 28, there  have been 25 brief accounts (“headlines” as DN! calls them, each  amounting to a few paragraphs) of the events in Hong Kong and 4  features, longer supposedly analytic pieces, on the same topic.  Transcripts of the four features are hereherehere and here.  
Democracy Now! is an hour-long American TV, radio and internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman, who also acts as the show's executive producer, and Juan González. The show, which airs live each weekday at 08:00 ET, is broadcast on the internet and by over 1,400 radio and television stations worldwide.
Democracy Now! is an hour-long American TV, radio and internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman, who also acts as the show’s executive producer, and Juan González. The show, which airs live each weekday at 08:00 ET, is broadcast on the internet and by over 1,400 radio and television stations worldwide.

There is not a single mention of [1] possible US involvement or the meetings of the various leaders of the protest movement with [2] Pompeo, [3] Bolton, [4] Pence, or [5] the “Political Counselor” of the US Hong Kong consulate. It’s almost like they ignore the news that doesn’t fit their narrative. Imagine that!

And this silence on US meddling is true not only of most progressive commentators but also most conservatives.

On the Left when someone cries “Democracy,” many forget all their  pro-peace sentiment. And similarly on the Right when someone cries  “Communism,” anti-interventionism too often goes down the tubes. 

In fact on its August 12 program, DN! managed a story taking a swipe at Russia right next to the one on Hong Kong – and DN! was in the forefront of advancing the now debunked and disgraced Russiagate Conspiracy Theory.

Amy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement and Chevron Corporation's role in Nigeria. Since 1996, she has been the main host of Democracy Now!, a progressive global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the Internet.
Amy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement and Chevron Corporation’s role in Nigeria. Since 1996, she has been the main host of Democracy Now!, a progressive global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the Internet.

Yes, on the other side of the political spectrum, is an appeal to American conservatives.

Protesters in Hong Kong waving the American flag and singing the American National anthem as they advocate for democracy. Wow! pic.twitter.com/CKyFstud22 

— Kaya Jones (@KayaJones) August 12, 2019

Displays of pro-American “jingoism” in the streets of Hong Kong have been like catnip for the international traditional conservative right. Conservatives LOVE to hear that people are throwing down the chains of Marxist socialism and embracing liberty and freedom. Even though they are actually calling for “democracy”, instead.)

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host and conservative political commentator. He resides in Palm Beach, Florida, where he broadcasts The Rush Limbaugh Show. According to December 2015 estimates by Talkers Magazine, Limbaugh has a cume of around 13.25 million unique listeners, making his show the most listened-to American radio station.
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host and conservative political commentator. He resides in Palm Beach, Florida, where he broadcasts The Rush Limbaugh Show. According to December 2015 estimates by Talkers Magazine, Limbaugh has a cume of around 13.25 million unique listeners, making his show the most listened-to American radio station.
Conservative Joey Gibson

Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson recently appeared at an anti-extradition protest in Hong Kong, live-streaming the event to  his tens of thousands of followers. 

A month earlier, Gibson was seen roughing up antifa activists alongside ranks of club wielding fascists. 

In Hong Kong, the alt-right organizer marveled at the crowds. “They love our flag here more than they do in America!” Gibson exclaimed as marchers passed by, flashing him a thumbs up sign while he waved the Stars and Stripes.
In Hong Kong,  Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson  marveled at the crowds. “They love our flag here more than they do in America!” .
In Hong Kong, Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson marveled at the crowds. “They love our flag here more than they do in America!” .

Personally, I like to refer to these narratives a “two dimensional”, “black and white”, “cardboard cutouts”. It’s a simplified narrative useful for emotional manipulation of large groups of simple-minded people.

Boris and Natasha are card-board cut-outs (a two dimensional portrayal) of Russian Communists dueing the 1960's and into the 1970's.
Boris and Natasha are card-board cut-outs (a two dimensional portrayal) of Russian Communists during the 1960’s and into the 1970’s.

The actual physical events.

Throughout the summer of 2019 the world has watched as protests shook Hong Kong.

A man in Taiwan murdered his girlfriend and then fled to Hong Kong. The Taiwan government wanted HK to extradite him to face justice. To facilitate this (and other similar cases), an extradition bill was proposed and about to be signed, when suddenly all Hell broke loose.

It turned out that (apparently, out of the blue), a large number of Hong Kong residents didn't like the idea of being forcibly extradited to another country to face legal charges.

As early as April they began as peaceful demonstrations which peaked in early June, with hundreds of thousands, in protest of an extradition bill.

That bill would have allowed Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, to return criminals to Taiwan, mainland China or Macau for crimes committed there – after approval by multiple layers of the Hong Kong judiciary.

In other words, if you commit a crime in Taiwan and flee to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong police would no longer provide you with a safe-haven. They would return you back to the Taiwan where you committed the crime.

Ai! This was considered an assault in "freedom" and "liberty".
Protestors in Hong Kong protesting the passage of the extradition bill.
Protestors in Hong Kong protesting the passage of the extradition bill.

In the wake of those enormous nonviolent demonstrations, Carrie Lam, CEO of Hong Kong, “suspended” consideration of the extradition bill, a face-saving ploy. To make sure she was understood, she declared it “dead.”

The large rallies, an undeniable expression of the peaceful will of a large segment of the Hong Kong population had won an impressive victory. The unpopular extradition bill was slain.

But that was not the end of the story.

The protests continued.

Carrie Lam, CEO of HK, meets with Xi Peng the PResident of Mainland China.
Carrie Lam, CEO of HK, meets with Xi Peng the President of Mainland China.

They… continued.

They continued, even after their goals were met.

They continued, even after the head of the HK government admitted to bowing down to the demands of the protestors. Yes, it’s true. A smaller segment continued the protests. (The Hong Kong police at one point estimated 4,000 hard core protesters.)

They pressed on with other demands, beginning with a demand that  the bill be “withdrawn,” not simply “suspended.” Well, it's all a matter of terminology. By “suspension” is every bit as terminal as death by “withdrawal.”  The most recent news confirms that Corrie Lam has now formally withdrawn the bill.

But even at that, the protests are continuing by this group of hard-core radicals.

They still continued to protest.

The people who initiated, inflamed or caused the events.

On the surface, it seems very simple. An extradition bill was up for ratification. Protests against the ratification were initiated, and the bill was withdrawn. Victory, right?

Nope.

Radical elements are pushing for more protests. These are violent protests, and they pull at the heartstrings of American democrats who can see their faces behind the black-hoods and face masks of the protestors, as well as American conservatives who get "goosebumps" when they see their American flags being waved along side for calls for freedom and democracy.

Who are the public people who are getting everyone all riled up and agitated on both sides of this issue (oh, yes, there are two sides to this issue. Even though the mainstream America only shows one side.)?

As the summer passed, two iconic photos presented us with two human faces that captured two crucial features of the ongoing protests; they were not shown widely in the West. They are, apparently, not considered to be “newsworthy” enough for the American viewing public.

Fu Guohao

First, Fu Guohao, a reporter for the Chinese mainland newspaper, Global Times, was attacked, bound and beaten by the radical protesters. This occurred during their takeover of the Hong Kong International Airport.

FuGuohao, a reporter for the Global Times, a nationalistic Communist Party-run newspaper, has become an overnight sensation. He is being hailed as a hero on Chinese social media after he was tied up and beaten by protesters as Tuesday’s demonstrations at Hong Kong’s airport descended into violence. 

- Chinese Reporter Assaulted at Hong Kong Airport 
Fu Guohao
Fu Guohao, reporter of Chinese media Global Times website, is tied by protesters during a mass demonstration at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong, China, August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

When police and rescuers tried to free him, the protesters blocked them and also attempted to block the ambulance that eventually bore him off to the hospital.

  • Protestors fought the police.
  • Protestors blocked the ambulance.
  • Protestors bound, taunted and tortured Mr. Fu Guohao.

The photos and videos of this ugly sequence were seen by netizens across the globe even though given scant attention in Western media.

Where were the stalwart defenders of the press in the US as this happened? As one example, DemocracyNow! (DN!) was completely silent as was the rest of the US mainstream media.

Fu’s beating came after many weeks when the  protesters threw up barriers to stop traffic; blocked closure of subway  doors, in defiance of commuters and police, to shut down mass transit;  sacked and vandalized the HK legislature building; assaulted bystanders  who disagreed with them; attacked the police with Molotov cocktails; and  stormed and defaced police stations. 
The protestors seem to be trying to provoke mainland China to take action. However, HK is standing firm and allowing the protestors a great deal of leeway in their actions and damage.
The protestors seem to be trying to provoke mainland China to take action. However, HK is standing firm and allowing the protestors a great deal of leeway in their actions and damage.

Fu’s ordeal and all these actions shown in photos on Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, a paper leaning to the side of protesters, gave the lie to the image of these “democracy activists” as young Ghandis of East Asia.

The South China Morning Post is based in  Hong Kong and its readership is concentrated there so it has to have some reasonable fidelity in reporting events; otherwise it loses credibility – and circulation. 

Similarly, much as the New York Times abhorred Occupy Wall Street, it could not fail to report on it.

Joshua Wong

A younger generation of political HK activists emerged during the 2014 Occupy Central protests with a new brand of localized politics. It is a brand that appealed to the American conservative (anti-Chinese) Right.

Joshua Wong was just 17 years old when the Umbrella Movement took form in 2014. After emerging in the protest ranks as one of the more charismatic voices, he was steadily groomed as the pro-West camp’s teenage poster child.

Joshua Wong meets with Sen. Marco Rubio in Washington on May 8, 2017
Joshua Wong meets with Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in Washington on May 8, 2017

Wong received lavish praised in Time magazine, Fortune, and Foreign Policy as a “freedom campaigner,” and became the subject of an award-winning Netflix documentary called “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.”

Unsurprisingly, these puff pieces have overlooked Wong’s ties to the United States government’s regime-change apparatus. For that is what he is. He is the face of the American conservative foreign branch.

For instance, National Endowment for Democracy’s National Democratic Institute (NDI) maintains a close relationship with Demosistō, the political party Wong founded in 2016 with fellow Umbrella movement alumnus Nathan Law. 

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a U.S. non-profit soft power organization that was founded in 1983 with the stated goal of promoting democracy abroad. It is funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress in the form of a grant awarded through the United States Information Agency (USIA).
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a U.S. non-profit soft power organization that was founded in 1983 with the stated goal of promoting democracy abroad. It is funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress in the form of a grant awarded through the United States Information Agency (USIA). It is an American agency that obtains funds directly from the American federal government.
  • National Endowment for Democracy’s National Democratic Institute (NDI)

To find out a little bit more about this “shadowy” and “well funded” machine for causing protests, turmoil, and discord in other nations, read this…

It’s a bit long. You can skim over it, or ignore it as you wish. It’s just some really interesting background information on how front organizations, funded by the United States government, can be used to create proxy protests, and turmoil for American geo-political advantage.

 “They’re meddling in our politics!” That’s the war cry of outraged  Clintonites and neocons, who seem to think election interference is  something that Russians do to us and we never, ever do to them.

 But meddling in other countries has been a favorite Washington  pastime ever since William McKinley vowed to “Christianize” the  Philippines in 1899, despite the fact that most Filipinos were already  Catholic. Today, an alphabet soup of U.S. agencies engage in political  interference virtually around the clock, everyone from USAID to the VOA,  RFE/RL to the DHS—respectively the U.S. Agency for International  Development, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the  Department of Homeland Security. The last maintains some 2,000 U.S.  employees in 70 countries to ensure that no one even thinks of doing  anything bad to anyone over here.

 Then there is the National Endowment for Democracy, a  $180-million-a-year government-funded outfit that is a byword for  American intrusiveness. The NED is an example of what might be called  “speckism,” the tendency to go on about the speck in your neighbor’s eye  without ever considering the plank in your own (see Matthew 7 for  further details). Prohibited by law from interfering in domestic  politics, the endowment devotes endless energy to the democratic  shortcomings of other countries, especially when they threaten American  interests.

 In 1984, the year after it was founded, it channeled secret  funds to a military-backed presidential candidate in Panama, gave  $575,000 to a right-wing French student group, and delivered nearly half  a million dollars to right-wing opponents of Costa Rican president  Oscar Arias—because Arias had refused to go along with our  anti-communist policy in Central America.

 A year later, it gave $400,000 to the anti-Sandinista opposition in  Nicaragua and then another $2 million in 1988. It used its financial  muscle in the mid-1990s to persuade a right-wing party to draw up a  “Contract with Slovakia” modeled on Newt Gingrich’s Contract with  America; persuaded  free marketeers to do the same in Mongolia; gave nearly $1 million to  Venezuelan rightists who went on to mount a short-lived putsch against  populist leader Hugo Chavez in 2002; and then funded anti-Russian  presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in Ukraine in 2005, and the  later anti-Russian coup there in 2014. 

 What all this had to do with democracy is unclear, although the NED’s  role in advancing U.S. imperial interests is beyond doubt. Rather than  “my country right or wrong,” its operating assumption is “my country  right, full stop.” If Washington says Leader X is out of line, then the  endowment will snap to attention and fund his opponents.

 If it says he’s cooperative and well-behaved, meaning he supports  free markets and financial deregulation and doesn’t dally with any of  America’s military rivals, it will do the opposite. It doesn’t matter  if, like Putin, the alleged dictator swept the last election with 63.6  percent of the vote and was declared the “clear”  winner by the European Union and the U.S. State Department. If he’s  “expanding [Russia’s] influence in the Middle East,” as NED President  Carl Gershman puts it, then he’s a “strongman” and an “autocrat” and must go.

 America’s own shortcomings meanwhile go unnoticed. Meanwhile, the  NED, as it nears the quarter-century mark, is a bundle of  contradictions: a group that claims to be private even though it is  almost entirely publicly funded, a group that says democracy “must be indigenous” even though it backs U.S.-imposed regime change, a group that claims to be “bipartisan” but whose board  is packed with ideologically homogeneous hawks like Elliott Abrams,  Anne Applebaum, and Victoria Nuland, the latter of whom served as  assistant secretary of state during the coup in Ukraine.

 Historically speaking, the NED feels straight out of the early 1980s,  when Washington was struggling to overcome “Vietnam Syndrome” in order  to rev up the Cold War. The recovery process began with Ronald Reagan  declaring at his first inaugural, “The crisis that we are facing today  [requires] our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves  and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds, to believe that  together with God’s help we can and will resolve the problems which now  confront us. After all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are  Americans.”

 The U.S. was apparently not just a nation, but something like a  religion as well. Additional input for the new NED in 1983 came from  spymaster William Casey, CIA director from 1981 to 1987, who, after the  intelligence scandals of the 70s, had swung around to the view that  certain covert operations were better spun off into what the British  call a “quango,” a quasi-non-government organization. “Obviously we here  should not get out in front in the development of such an  organization,” he cautioned, “nor do we wish to appear to be a sponsor or advocate.” It was a case of covert backing for an overt turn.

 Others who helped lay the groundwork were:

 Neoconservative ideologue Jeane Kirkpatrick, Reagan’s ambassador to the UN, famous for her argument  that “traditional authoritarian governments” should be supported  against “revolutionary autocracies” because they are “less repressive”  and whose UN aide Carl Gershman would become NED president and serves to this day.

 Human rights Democrats who believe that America’s job is to enforce  democratic standards throughout the world, however idiosyncratic and  self-serving they may be Old-fashioned pluralists who maintained that the power to succeed  existed in different groups’ working separately toward a common goal, in  this case, spreading democracy abroad .

 The result was an ideologically lethal package that assumed whatever  Americans did was democratic because God is on our side, that  old-fashioned CIA skullduggery was passé, and that the time had come to  switch to more open means. “We should not have to do this kind of work  covertly,” Gershman later explained.  “We saw that in the 60s, and that’s why it has been discontinued. We  have not had the capability of doing this, and that’s why the endowment  was created.”

 In the interests of pluralism, the NED adopted a quadripartite  structure with separate wings for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the  AFL-CIO, the GOP, and the Democrats, each working separately yet somehow  together.
 Pluralism helped tamp down debate and also shore up support on  Capitol Hill. Liberal Democrats were initially skeptical due to the  NED’s neocon tilt. Michigan Congressman John Conyers Jr. tried to kill  it in 1985, and The Nation magazine complained  a few years later that the group served as little more than “a pork  barrel for a small circle of Republican and Democratic party activists,  conservative trade unionists, and free marketeers who use endowment  money to run their own mini State Department.”

 But when the House voted unexpectedly to defund the agency in 1993,  beneficiaries sprang to its defense. Major-league pundits like George  Will, David Broder, and Abe Rosenthal “went into overdrive,” according  to The Nation, as did the heavy hitters of the Washington Post editorial  page. Vice President Walter Mondale, a member of the NED board of  directors, worked the phones along with Lane Kirkland, George Meany’s  successor as head of the AFL-CIO.

 Ronald Reagan wrote a letter, while Senators Richard Lugar, Orrin  Hatch, and John McCain pitched in as well. So did prominent liberals  like Paul Wellstone, John Kerry, Tom Harkin, Ted Kennedy, and Carol  Moseley-Braun. These people normally couldn’t bear to be in the same  with one another, but they were of one mind when it came to America’s  divine right to intervene in other nations’ affairs.

 The anti-NED forces didn’t stand a chance. Twenty-five years later,  the endowment is again under attack, although this time from the right.  

Gershman started the ball rolling when, in October 2016, he interrupted  his busy pro-democracy schedule to dash off a column in the Washington  Post accusing  Russia of using “email hackers, information trolls and open funding of  political parties to sow discord” and of “even intervening in the U.S.  presidential election.” Since there was no question whom Russia was  intervening for, there was no doubt what the article amounted to: a  thinly veiled swipe at a certain orange-haired candidate.

 Never one to forget a slight, Trump got his revenge last month by  proposing to slash the NED budget by 60 percent. The response was the  same as in 1993, only more so. Uber-hawk Senator Lindsey Graham  pronounced the cut “dead on arrival,” adding: “This budget destroys soft power, it puts our diplomats at risk, and it’s going nowhere.”

 Gershman said  it would mean “sending a signal far and wide that the United States is  turning its back on supporting brave people who share our values,” while  Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin moaned  that the administration was guilty of an “assault on democracy  promotion.” The ever-voluble Democratic Congresswoman Nita Lowey accused  the administration of “dismantling an agency that advances critical  goals.”

 “The work our government does to promote democratic values abroad is  at the heart of who we are as a country,” added Senator John McCain.  America is democracy, democracy is America, and, as history’s first  global empire, the U.S. has an unqualified right to do unto others what  others may not do unto the U.S. Only a “Siberian candidate,” “a traitor,” or “a Russian stooge” could possibly disagree. 

- The National Endowment for (Meddling in) Democracy  by Daniel Lazare 

Julie Eadeh

In August, a candid photo surfaced of Wong and Law meeting with Julie Eadeh, the political counselor at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, raising questions about the content of the meeting and setting off a diplomatic showdown between Washington and Beijing.

  • Julie Eadeh

People, it’s pretty obvious that Washington D.C. is involved in the HK protests, when you have photos of the protest leaders meeting with American presidential aides!

People, it's pretty obvious that Washington D.C. is involved in the HK protests, when you have photos of the protest leaders meeting with American presidential aides!
People, it’s pretty obvious that Washington D.C. is involved in the HK protests, when you have photos of the protest leaders meeting with American presidential aides in the HK Marriot hotel!
This is very very embarrassing.  Julie Eadeh, a  US diplomat in Hong Kong, was caught meeting HK protest leaders.  It  would be hard to imagine the US reaction if Chinese diplomat were  meeting leaders of Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter or Never Trump  protesters. pic.twitter.com/JfiU2O2HZq 

— Chen Weihua (@chenweihua) August 8, 2019

Of course, this kind of nonsense won’t be tolerated by China.

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong submitted a formal complaint with the US consulate general, calling on the US “to immediately make a clean break from anti-China forces who stir up trouble in Hong Kong, stop sending out wrong signals to violent offenders, refrain from meddling with Hong Kong affairs and avoid going further down the wrong path.”

The Office of the Commissioner of the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong submitted a formal complaint  with the US consulate general, calling on the US “to immediately make a  clean break from anti-China forces who stir up trouble in Hong Kong,  stop sending out wrong signals to violent offenders, refrain from  meddling with Hong Kong affairs and avoid going further down the wrong  path.”
The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong submitted a formal complaint with the US consulate general, calling on the US “to immediately make a clean break from anti-China forces who stir up trouble in Hong Kong, stop sending out wrong signals to violent offenders, refrain from meddling with Hong Kong affairs and avoid going further down the wrong path.”

So the United States wants to get involved in Chinese affairs.

Well, then be prepared for some “push back”. The pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao doxxed Eadeh. They published personal details about Eadeh, including the names of her children and her address.

But, Washington, D.C. is not used to “push back”.

State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus lashed out, accusing the Chinese government of being behind the leak but offering no evidence. “I don’t think that leaking an American diplomat’s private information, pictures, names of their children, I don’t think that is a formal protest, that is what a thuggish regime would do,” she said at a State Department briefing. 

Totally ignoring the already issued formal protest from China.

State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus  lashed out, accusing the Chinese government of being behind the leak but  offering no evidence. “I don’t think that leaking an American  diplomat’s private information, pictures, names of their children, I  don’t think that is a formal protest, that is what a thuggish regime  would do,” she said at a State Department briefing.
State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus lashed out, accusing the Chinese government of being behind the leak but offering no evidence. “I don’t think that leaking an American diplomat’s private information, pictures, names of their children, I don’t think that is a formal protest, that is what a thuggish regime would do,” she said at a State Department briefing.

Aside from the official American government protests bout the doxxing, the leaked Mariott photo underscored the close relationship between Hong Kong’s pro-West movement and the US government.

  • There is ample proof that the United States government has been coaching, and supporting the protests in Hong Kong.

Since the 2014 Occupy Central protests that vaulted Wong into prominence, he and his peers have been assiduously cultivated by the elite Washington institutions to act as the faces and voices of Hong Kong’s burgeoning anti-China movement.

This has continued a pace.

In September 2015, Wong, Martin Lee, and University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai Lee were honored  by Freedom House, a right-wing soft-power organization that is heavily  funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and other arms of the US  government.
In September 2015, Wong, Martin Lee, and University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai Lee were honored by Freedom House, a right-wing soft-power organization that is heavily funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and other arms of the US government.

In September 2015, Wong, Martin Lee, and University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai Lee were honored by Freedom House, a right-wing soft-power organization that is heavily funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and other arms of the US government.  

  • Freedom House

Just days after Trump’s election as president in November 2016, Wong was back in Washington to appeal for more US support. “Being a businessman, I hope Donald Trump could know the dynamics in Hong Kong and know that to maintain the business sector benefits in Hong Kong, it’s necessary to fully support human rights in Hong Kong to maintain the judicial independence and the rule of law,” he said.

Wong’s visit to Washington DC provided occasion for the Senate’s two most aggressively neoconservative members, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, to introduce  the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,”
Wong’s visit to Washington DC provided occasion for the Senate’s two most aggressively neoconservative members, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, to introduce the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,”.

Wong’s visit provided occasion for the Senate’s two most aggressively neoconservative members, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, to introduce the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,” which would “identify those responsible for abduction, surveillance, detention and forced confessions, and the perpetrators will have their US assets, if any… frozen and their entry to the country denied.”

  • Marco Rubio
  • Tom Cotton

Wong was given the “royal carpet treatment”. He was then taken on a junket of elite US institutions including the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank and the newsrooms of the New York Times and Financial Times. He then held court with Rubio, Cotton, Pelosi, and Sen. Ben Sasse

  • Heritage Foundation
  • Nancy Pelosi
  • Ben Sasse
Wong was given the "royal carpet treatment". He was then taken on a junket of elite US institutions including the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank and the newsrooms of the New York Times and Financial Times. He then held court with Rubio, Cotton, Pelosi, and Sen. Ben Sasse.
Wong was given the “royal carpet treatment”. He was then taken on a junket of elite US institutions including the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank and the newsrooms of the New York Times and Financial Times. He then held court with Rubio, Cotton, Pelosi, and Sen. Ben Sasse.

In September 2017, Rubio, Ben Cardin, Tom Cotton, Sherrod Brown, and Cory Gardner signed off on a letter to Wong, Law and fellow anti-China activist Alex Chow, praising them for their “efforts to build a genuinely autonomous Hong Kong.” The bipartisan cast of senators proclaimed that “the United States cannot stand idly by.”

  • Ben Cardin
  • Sherrod Brown
  • Cory Gardner
Rubio and his colleagues nominated the trio of Wong, Law, and Chow for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.
Rubio and his colleagues nominated the trio of Wong, Law, and Chow for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.

A year later, Rubio and his colleagues nominated the trio of Wong, Law, and Chow for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. 

Honored to have met Joshua Wong, a student leader who led a big protest demanding universal suffrage in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/sSb46j7zIX

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) November 18, 2015

Washington’s support for the designated spokesmen of the “retake Hong Kong movement” was supplemented with untold sums of money from US regime-change outfits like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and subsidiaries like the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to civil society, media and political groups. 

  • National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
  • National Democratic Institute (NDI)
Washington’s support for the  designated spokesmen of the “retake Hong Kong movement” was supplemented  with untold sums of money from US regime-change outfits like the  National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and subsidiaries like the  National Democratic Institute (NDI) to civil society, media and  political groups.
Washington’s support for the designated spokesmen of the “retake Hong Kong movement” was supplemented with untold sums of money from US regime-change outfits like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and subsidiaries like the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to civil society, media and political groups.

As journalist Alex Rubinstein reported, the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, a key member of the coalition that organized against the now-defunct extradition law, has received more than $2 million in NED funds since 1995.

Other groups in the coalition reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NED and NDI last year alone.

While  US lawmakers nominate Hong Kong protest leaders for peace prizes and  pump their organizations with money to “promote democracy,” the  demonstrations have begun to spiral out of control.
While US lawmakers nominate Hong Kong protest leaders for peace prizes and pump their organizations with money to “promote democracy,” the demonstrations have begun to spiral out of control.

The people who are driving the events.

 25th August 2019 – (Hong Kong)  The National Endowment for Democracy (NED)  has funded the 2014 Occupy Central in the past but many have begun to  wonder if the Americans did indeed have a hand in the latest  anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong.  Numerous meetings between  pro-democracy political activists,  representatives from NED and  top  government officials have left us wondered if NED has funded the  frontline protesters . 

We have mentioned earlier in our previous article that,  there are in principle two factions of protesters, the genuine  protesters (90%) and the frontline protesters (10%).  Only the 10%  frontline protesters are potentially funded by the Americans as the   mass of Hong Kong protesters fit naturally into their agenda.

 What is NED? NED is a U.S. non-profit soft power organization that was founded in 1983 with the stated goal of promoting democracy abroad.  In principle, NED is a grant-making foundation, distributing funds to  private non-governmental organisations for promoting democracy  abroad. NED does not directly fund any political party, as this is  forbidden by law. According to NED, it funds election monitoring and  also civic education about voting, such as student-led  “get-out-the-vote” campaigns.

 However, according to American Conservative, in 1984, the year after it was founded, it channeled secret  funds to a military-backed presidential candidate in Panama, gave  US$575,000 to a right-wing French student group, and delivered nearly  half a million dollars to right-wing opponents of Costa Rican president  Oscar Arias—because Arias had refused to go along with our  anti-communist policy in Central America. 

- Is United States involved in the current civil unrest in Hong Kong via its National Endowment for Democracy (NED)? 

The protesters’ stated goals remain vague. No one now knows what exactly they are protesting for.

HK Riot police can only take so much violence before some serious accidents will occur.
HK Riot police can only take so much violence before some serious accidents will occur.

Joshua Wong, one of the most well known figures in the movement, has since put forward a call for the Chinese government to [1] “retract the proclamation that the protests were riots,” and [2] restated the consensus demand for universal suffrage.

Wong is a bespectacled 22-year-old who has been trumpeted in Western media as a “freedom campaigner,” promoted to the English-speaking world through his own Netflix documentary, and rewarded with the backing of the US government. 

Hey! This kid is doing really well for himself. He's getting millions of dollars from various political American movements. He was up for the Peace Prize, and has his own Netflix documentary. Pretty good for a a young unemployed Hong Kong millennial. It's nice to see where all our campaign donations and tax dollars goes to.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong released from prison, vows to continue actions of violence.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong released from prison, vows to continue actions of violence.

But behind telegenic spokespeople like Wong are more extreme elements such as the Hong Kong National Party, whose members have appeared at protests waving the Stars and Stripes and belting out cacophonous renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner. The leadership of this officially banned party helped popularize the call for the full independence of Hong Kong, a radical goal that is music to the ears of hardliners in Washington.

Xenophobic resentment has defined the sensibility of the protesters, who vow to “retake Hong Kong” from Chinese mainlanders they depict as a horde of locusts.

The demonstrators have even adopted one of the most widely recognized symbols of the alt-right, emblazoning images of Pepe the Frog on their protest literature. While it’s unclear that Hong Kong residents see Pepe the same way American conservatives do, members of the US far-right have embraced the protest movement as their own, and even personally joined their ranks.

Protesters in Hong Kong have adopted the popular “Pepe the Frog” meme as one of their symbols of resistance amid ongoing demonstrations against a proposed extradition bill.  The frog’s familiar face has appeared on signs in various protests calling out violent police crackdowns against demonstrators.  One meme showing Pepe with an injured eye focused on a police assault which left a first responder blind after being shot with a bean bag round at close range.
Protesters in Hong Kong have adopted the popular “Pepe the Frog” meme as one of their symbols of resistance amid ongoing demonstrations against a proposed extradition bill. The frog’s familiar face has appeared on signs in various protests calling out violent police crackdowns against demonstrators. One meme showing Pepe with an injured eye focused on a police assault which left a first responder blind after being shot with a bean bag round at close range.

Which brings us to the second key photo of importance. It is much more important to US citizens. It clearly shows a “Political Counselor” from the US Consulate General in Hong Kong with radical anti-government protestors at the HK Marriot hotel.

The official was formerly a State Dept functionary in the Middle East – in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Beirut, Baghdad and Doha, certainly not an area lacking in imperial intrigues and regime change ops.

People, it's pretty obvious that Washington D.C. is involved in the HK protests, when you have photos of the protest leaders meeting with American presidential aides!
People, it’s pretty obvious that Washington D.C. is involved in the HK protests, when you have photos of the protest leaders meeting with American presidential aides!

That photo graphically contradicted the contention that there is no US “black hand,” as China calls it, in the Hong Kong riots.

In fact, here the “black hand” was caught red-handed, leading Chen Weihua, a very perceptive China Daily columnist, to tweet the picture with the comment:

“This is very very embarrassing. … a US diplomat in Hong Kong, was caught meeting HK protest leaders. It would be hard to imagine the US reaction if a Chinese diplomat were meeting leaders of Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter or Never Trump protesters.”

And that photo with the protest leaders is just a snap shot of the ample evidence of the hand of the US government and its subsidiaries in the Hong Kong events.

There is substantial and ample evidence that the United States government has been very active in functing, advising and supporting the anti-government protestors in Hong Kong.
There is substantial and ample evidence that the United States government has been very active in funding, advising and supporting the anti-government protestors in Hong Kong.

Perhaps the best documentation of the US “black hand” is to be found in Dan Cohen’s superb article of August 17 in The Greyzone entitled, “Behind a made-for-TV Hong Kong protest narrative, Washington is backing nativism and mob violence.”

The article by Cohen deserves careful reading; it leaves little doubt that there is a very deep involvement of the US in the Hong Kong riots.

Of special interest is the detailed role and funding, amounting to over $1.3 million, in Hong Kong alone in recent years, of the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), ever on the prowl for new regime change opportunities.

Perhaps most important, the leaders of the  “leaderless” protests have met with major US political figures such as  John Bolton, Vice President Pence, Secretary Pompeo, Senator Marco  Rubio, Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, Nancy Pelosi and others, all of whom  have heartily endorsed their efforts. 

This is not to deny that the protests were home grown at the outset in response to what was widely perceived as a legitimate grievance. But it would be equally absurd to deny that the US is fishing in troubled Hong Kong waters to advance its anti-China crusade and regime change ambitions.

People! China is a serious, serious nation. They do not mess around. If you think that they will not take this meddling as some kind of physical attack, then you are living in a fantasy world. They WILL take action. You all just have no idea what it will be. Nor will you know when they will take action.

The people who are activating the events.

As has been demonstrated so far, there are various individuals who are playing the "global high-power" politics role in all this. This includes American Senators, Congressmen, and various American sponsored "freedom" organizations. 

But there are also others. Other people who have their own personal interests for "stirring up the pot". Here we look at others, who have a bigger personal stake in all of these protests.

Jimmy Lai

Among the most central influencers of the demonstrations is a local tycoon named Jimmy Lai. The self-described “head of opposition media,” Lai is widely described as the Rupert Murdoch of Asia.

The United States is intimately involved in the HK protests.
The United States is intimately involved in the HK protests.

For the masses of protesters, Lai is a transcendent figure. They clamor for photos with him and applaud the oligarch wildly when he walks by their encampments. 

Lai established his credentials by pouring millions of dollars into the 2014 Occupy Central protest, which is known popularly as the Umbrella Movement. He has since used his massive fortune to fund local anti-China political movers and shakers while injecting the protests with a virulent brand of Sinophobia through his media empire. 

Sinophobia - definition of Sinophobia by The Free Dictionary

Sinophobia synonyms, Sinophobia pronunciation, Sinophobia translation, English dictionary definition of Sinophobia.  n. 1. Fear of or contempt for China, its people, or its culture. 2.  Behavior based on such an attitude or feeling. Si′no·phobe′ n.  Si′no·pho′bic adj. 
Jimmy Lai (HK billionaire) meets withAmerican VP Pompeo.
Jimmy Lai (HK billionaire) meets with American VP Mike Pence. Politically he is a progressive leftist who became one of the most powerful men in HK. He desires to leverage his relationship and power to have the USA perform proxy interceptions within China and HK relationships for his own personal benefit.

Though Western media has depicted the Hong Kong protesters as the voice of an entire people yearning for freedom, the island is deeply divided. This August, a group of protesters mobilized outside Jimmy Lai’s house, denouncing him as a “running dog” of Washington and accusing him of national betrayal by unleashing chaos on the island. 

#HongKong tycoon Jimmy Lai criticized as conspirator behind violence in HK pic.twitter.com/B9PFgtK2YP 

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) August 11, 2019

Days earlier, Lai was in Washington, coordinating with hardline members of Trump’s national security team, including John Bolton. His ties to Washington run deep — and so do those of the front-line protest leaders. 

John Bolton

John Bolton - National Security Advisor to Donald Trump.
John Bolton – National Security Advisor to Donald Trump.
Jimmy Lai has been working with President Trump's national security advisor John Bolton in how to work with China.

In this relationship, it is obvious that both Jimmy Lai and John Bolton want to take a very hard-line with China. As such, we can well expect John Bolton to sabotage any tariff agreement between Xi Peng and Donald Trump.

Personally, I believe that for there to be any kind of mutually-beneficial trade relationship and agreement between the USA and China, John Bolton would have to step down from being an advisor to Donald Trump.

Millions of dollars have flowed from US regime-change outfits like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) into civil society and political organizations that form the backbone of the anti-China mobilization. And Lai has supplemented it with his own fortune while instructing protesters on tactics through his various media organs.

With Donald Trump in the White House, Lai is convinced that his moment may be on the horizon. Trump “understands the Chinese like no president understood,” the tycoon told the Wall Street Journal. “I think he’s very good at dealing with gangsters.” 

Born in the mainland in 1948 to wealthy parents, whose fortune was expropriated by the Communist Party during the revolution the following year, Jimmy Lai began working at 9 years old, carrying bags for train travelers during the hard years of the Great Chinese Famine.

Inspired by the taste of a piece of chocolate gifted to him by a wealthy man, he decided to smuggle himself to Hong Kong to discover a future of wealth and luxury. There, Lai worked his way up the ranks of the garment industry, growing enamored with the libertarian theories of economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, the latter of whom became his close friend. 

Friedman is famous for developing the neoliberal shock therapy doctrine that the US has imposed on numerous countries, resulting in the excess deaths of millions. For his part, Hayek is the godfather of the Austrian economic school that forms the foundation of libertarian political movements across the West.

Lai built his business empire on Giordano, a garment label that became one of Asia’s most recognizable brands. In 1989, he threw his weight behind the Tiananmen Square protests, hawking t-shirts on the streets of Beijing calling for Deng Xiaoping to “step down.” 
Deng Xiaoping
It was a year after the Communist Party of China, led by Deng Xiaoping, put forward the policy of reform and opening-up. Under the policy, individuals nationwide were encouraged to run businesses and set up private companies. That meant that family enterprises like the Nian’s sunflower seed business became legal. Deng’s visionary move fueled the growth of private enterprise and set a milestone for China’s market-oriented economy.

In other words, Mr. Deng introduced China to Reganomics. And while President Bush stopped all of the Reaganomics that he started, Mr. Deng continued, creating the China that exists today.
Lai’s actions provoked the Chinese  government to ban his company from operating on the mainland. 

A year  later, he founded Next Weekly magazine, initiating a process that would  revolutionize the mediascape in Hong Kong with a blend of smutty  tabloid-style journalism, celebrity gossip and a heavy dose of  anti-China spin.

The vociferously anti-communist baron soon became Hong Kong’s media kingpin, worth a whopping $660 million in 2009. 

Today, Lai is the founder and majority stakeholder of Next Digital, the largest listed media company in Hong Kong, which he uses to agitate for the end of what he calls the Chinese “dictatorship.” His flagship outlet is the popular tabloid Apple Daily, employing the trademark mix of raunchy material with a heavy dose of xenophobic, nativist propaganda.

In 2012, Apple Daily carried a full page advertisement depicting mainland Chinese citizens as invading locusts draining Hong Kong’s resources. The advertisement called for a stop to the “unlimited invasion of mainland pregnant women in Hong Kong.”

(This was a crude reference to the Chinese citizens who  had flocked to the island while pregnant to ensure that their children  could earn Hong Kong residency, and resembled the resentment among the  US right-wing of immigrant “anchor babies.”)  
Ad in Lai’s Apple Daily: “That’s enough! Stop unlimited invasion of mainland pregnant women!”
Ad in Lai’s Apple Daily: “That’s enough! Stop unlimited invasion of mainland pregnant women!”

The transformation of Hong Kong’s economy has provided fertile soil for Lai’s brand of demagoguery. As the country’s manufacturing base moved to mainland China after the golden years of the 1980s and ‘90s, the economy was rapidly financialized, enriching oligarchs like Lai.

Left with rising debt and dimming career prospects, Hong Kong’s youth became easy prey to the demagogic politics of nativism

Many protesters have been seen waving British Union Jacks in recent weeks, expressing a yearning for an imaginary past under colonial control which they never personally experienced. 

Many protesters have been seen waving  British Union Jacks in recent weeks, expressing a yearning for an  imaginary past under colonial control which they never personally  experienced.
Many protesters have been seen waving British Union Jacks in recent weeks, expressing a yearning for an imaginary past under colonial control which they never personally experienced.

In July, protesters vandalized the Hong Kong Liaison Office, spray-painting the word, “Shina” on its facade. This term is a xenophobic slur some in Hong Kong and Taiwan use to refer to mainland China.

The anti-Chinese phenomenon was visible during the 2014 Umbrella movement protests as well, with signs plastered around the city reading, “Hong Kong for Hong Kongers.”

支那(Shina) is Japanese word for China that became  derogatory during Sino-Japanese War. Post-War Japan gov ban its use in  Kanji form (Chinese characters) in official document. Yet some people in  Hong Kong and Taiwan use it to insult people from Chinese mainland.  It=“Chink” in Eng https://t.co/Oe8LCXgak8

— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) July 22, 2019

This month, protesters turned their fury on the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, spray-painting “rioters” on its office. The attack represented resentment of the left-wing group’s role in a violent 1967 uprising against the British colonial authorities, who are now seen as heroes among many of the anti-Chinese demonstrators.

Edward Leung

Besides Lai, a large part of the credit for mobilizing latent xenophobia goes to the right-wing Hong Kong Indigenous party leader Edward Leung. Under the direction of the 28-year-old Leung, his pro-independence party has brandished British colonial flags and publicly harassed Chinese mainland tourists. In 2016, Leung was exposed for meeting with US diplomatic officials at a local restaurant.

Edward Leung Tin-kei (Chinese : 梁天琦 ; born 2 June 1991) is a Hong Kong student and activist. He is the former spokesman of Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group. He took a leading role and was arrested in the 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest.
Edward Leung Tin-kei (Chinese : 梁天琦 ; born 2 June 1991) is a Hong Kong student and activist. He is the former spokesman of Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group. He took a leading role and was arrested in the 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest.

Though he is currently in jail for leading a 2016 riot where police were bombarded with bricks and pavement – and where he admitted to attacking an officer – Leung’s rightist politics and his slogan, “Retake Hong Kong,” have helped define the ongoing protests. 

A local legislator and protest leader described Leung to the New York Times as “the Che Guevara of Hong Kong’s revolution,” referring without a hint of irony to the Latin American communist revolutionary killed in a CIA-backed operation. According to the Times, Leung is “the closest thing Hong Kong’s tumultuous and leaderless protest movement has to a guiding light.”

Andy Chan

The xenophobic sensibility of the protesters has provided fertile soil for Hong Kong National Party to recruit. Founded by the pro-independence activist Andy Chan, the officially banned party combines anti-Chinese resentment with calls for the US to intervene.

"I ask President Trump to bring full-scale of sanction on to Hong Kong. The sanctions brought on China must [be] brought on Hong Kong because China can escape sanctions through Hong Kong. I would like to take the chance to reiterate my advocacy again: to revoke the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act passed by the United States Congress. It allows Hong Kong to enjoy a special status apart from China. However, it turns out to be a back door of the free world that could be accessed and manipulated by China. Moreover, over 70% of foreign direct investment goes in to China through Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the main window that China obtains U.S. dollars from. Therefore, shut it down."

-Andy Chan

Images and videos have surfaced of HKNP members waving the flags of the US and UK, singing the Star Spangled Banner, and carrying flags emblazoned with images of Pepe the Frog, the most recognizable symbol of the US alt-right. 

It is a very small group. With only a handful of members. While the party lacks a wide base of popular support, it is perhaps the most outspoken within the protest ranks, and has attracted disproportionate international attention as a result.

Independenc party banned in HK.
“I ask President Trump to bring full-scale of sanction on to Hong Kong. The sanctions brought on China must [be] brought on Hong Kong because China can escape sanctions through Hong Kong. I would like to take the chance to reiterate my advocacy again: to revoke the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act passed by the United States Congress.

It allows Hong Kong to enjoy a special status apart from China. However, it turns out to be a back door of the free world that could be accessed and manipulated by China. Moreover, over 70% of foreign direct investment goes in to China through Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the main window that China obtains U.S. dollars from. Therefore, shut it down.”

Chan has called for Trump to escalate the trade war and accused China of carrying out a “national cleansing” against Hong Kong. “We were once colonized by the Brits, and now we are by the Chinese,” he declared.

The risks if this manipulation cannot be constrained.

Such xenophobic propaganda is consistent with the clash of civilizations theory that Jimmy Lai has promulgated through his media empire. It is useful. It has a proven record of success, and is useful to obtain his objectives at this time.

“You have to understand the Hong Kong  people – a very tiny 7 million or 0.5 percent of the Chinese population  – are very different from the rest of Chinese in China, because we grow  up in the Western values, which was the legacy of the British colonial  past, which gave us the instinct to revolt once this extradition law was  threatening our freedom,” Lai told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “Even  America has to look at the world 20 years from now, whether you want the  Chinese dictatorial values to dominate this world, or you want the  values that you treasure [to] continue.”

During a panel discussion at the neoconservative Washington-based think tank, the Foundation For Defense of Democracies, Lai told the pro-Israel lobbyist Jonathan Schanzer,

“We need to know that  America is behind us. By backing us, America is also sowing to the will  of their moral authority because we are the only place in China, a tiny  island in China, which is sharing your values, which is fighting the  same war you have with China.”

While Lai makes no attempt to conceal his political agenda, his bankrolling of central figures in the 2014 Occupy Central, or Umbrella movement protests, was not always public. 

To find out what is going on here, all you need to do is "follow the money".
To find out what is going on here, all you need to do is “follow the money”.

Leaked emails revealed that Lai poured more than $1.2 million to anti-China political parties including  $637,000 USD to the Democratic Party and $382,000 USD to the Civic Party. Lai also gave $115,000 USD to the Hong Kong Civic Education Foundation and Hong Kong Democratic Development Network, both of which were co-founded by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming. Lai also spent $446,000 USD on Occupy Central’s 2014 unofficial referendum.

Lai’s US consigliere is a former Navy intelligence analyst who interned with the CIA and leveraged his intelligence connections to build his boss’s business empire.

Named Mark Simon, the veteran spook arranged for former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin to meet with a group in the anti-China camp during a 2009 visit to Hong Kong.

Five years later, Lai paid $75,000 to neoconservative Iraq war author and US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to organize a meeting with top military figures in Myanmar.

US Deputy Secretary of Defense  Paul Wolfowitz
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz believes that supporting the HK protestors will not have any adverse actions and that America will continue to be the most powerful and “free nation” on the planet.

This July, as the Hong Kong protests gathered steam, Lai was junketed to Washington, DC for meetings with Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Cory Gardner, and Rick Scott.

Bloomberg News correspondent Nicholas Wadhams remarked on Lai’s visit, “Very unusual for a [non-government] visitor to get that kind of access.”

Today: Hong Kong publisher and democracy advocate  Jimmy Lai met National Security Adviser John Bolton in DC. After  meetings with @SecPompeo and @VP, this is meant to send a signal to Beijing. Very unusual for a nongovt visitor to get that kind of access. pic.twitter.com/6rvqsGJzru

— Nicholas Wadhams (@nwadhams) July 10, 2019
Hong Kong publisher and democracy advocate  Jimmy Lai met National Security Adviser John Bolton in DC. After  meetings with @SecPompeo and @VP, this is meant to send a signal to Beijing.
Hong Kong publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai met National Security Adviser John Bolton in DC. After meetings with @SecPompeo and @VP, this is meant to send a signal to Beijing. This continued as the proxy protests continued in HK. In this picture a protestor was arrested trying to sneak into the HK international airport.

One of Lai’s closest allies, Martin Lee, was also granted an audience with Pompeo, and has held court with US leaders including Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Joseph Biden.

Among the most prominent figures in Hong Kong’s pro-US political parties, Martin Lee began collaborating with Lai during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

A recipient of the US government-funded National Endowment for Democracy’s “Democracy Award” in 1997, Lee is the founding chairman of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, now considered part of the pro-US camp’s old guard. 

These latest groups of protests are not about HK law. They are about armed militarized conflicts against the HK government. They choose not to work with the government, instead they want to embrace violence.
Policemen arrest a protester during a demonstration at the Airport in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Chaos has broken out at Hong Kong’s airport as riot police moved into the terminal to confront protesters who shut down operations at the busy transport hub for two straight days. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

These latest groups of protests are not about HK law. They are about armed militarized conflicts against the HK government. They choose not to work with the government, instead they want to embrace violence.

After the extradition law was scrapped, the protests moved into a more aggressive phase, launching “hit and run attacks” against government targets, erecting roadblocks, besieging police stations, and generally embracing the extreme modalities put on display during US-backed regime-change operations from Ukraine to Venezuela to Nicaragua. 

After the extradition law was  scrapped, the protests moved into a more aggressive phase, launching  “hit and run attacks” against government targets, erecting roadblocks,  besieging police stations, and generally embracing the extreme modalities put on display during US-backed regime-change operations from Ukraine to Venezuela to Nicaragua.
After the extradition law was scrapped, the protests moved into a more aggressive phase, launching “hit and run attacks” against government targets, erecting roadblocks, besieging police stations, and generally embracing the extreme modalities put on display during US-backed regime-change operations from Ukraine to Venezuela to Nicaragua.
AJE in position to cover HK protesters' "hit and run strategy." 

Here's William Engdahl on Otpor!, the CIA-backed Serbian group that  trained thousands of youth activists in countries around the world in  color revolution swarming tactics: https://t.co/jvCk2QBNhK https://t.co/I8oGScbpsS pic.twitter.com/a3JZzGwDb9

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) August 13, 2019

The techniques clearly reflected the training many activists have received from Western soft-power outfits. But they also bore the mark of Jimmy Lai’s media operation. 

In addition to the vast sums Lai spent on political parties directly involved in the protests, his media group created an animated video “showing how to resist police in case force was used to disperse people in a mass protest.” 

In addition to the vast sums Lai  spent on political parties directly involved in the protests, his media  group created an animated video “showing how to resist police in case  force was used to disperse people in a mass protest.”
In addition to the vast sums Lai spent on political parties directly involved in the protests, his media group created an animated video “showing how to resist police in case force was used to disperse people in a mass protest.”

While dumping money into the Hong Kong’s pro-US political camp in 2013, Lai traveled to Taiwan for a secret roundtable consultation with Shih Ming-teh, a key figure in Taiwan’s social movement that forced then-president Chen Shui-bian to resign in 2008. Shih reportedly instructed Lai on non-violent tactics to bring the government to heel, emphasizing the importance of a commitment to go to jail. 

According to journalist Peter Lee, “Shih supposedly gave Lai advice on putting students, young girls, and mothers with children in the vanguard of the street protests, in order to attract the support of the international community and press, and to sustain the movement with continual activities to keep it dynamic and fresh.” Lai reportedly turned off his recording device during multiple sections of Shih’s tutorial.

“Shih supposedly gave Lai advice on putting students, young girls, and  mothers with children in the vanguard of the street protests, in order  to attract the support of the international community and press, and to  sustain the movement with continual activities to keep it dynamic and  fresh.”
“Shih supposedly gave Lai advice on putting students, young girls, and mothers with children in the vanguard of the street protests, in order to attract the support of the international community and press, and to sustain the movement with continual activities to keep it dynamic and fresh.”

One protester explained to the New York Times how the movement attempted to embrace a strategy called, “Marginal Violence Theory”: By using “mild force” to provoke security services into attacking the protesters, the protesters aimed to shift international sympathy away from the state. 

As I have repeated stated in this article, it seems like the protestors want the police and military forces to engage them. Per this quote in the use of "mild force", it seems obvious that this is their strategy.

As the protest movement intensifies, its rank-and-file are doing away with tactical restraint and lashing out at their targets with full fury. They have thrown molotov cocktails into intersections to block traffic; attacked vehicles and their drivers for attempting to break through roadblocks; beaten opponents with truncheons; attacked a wounded man with a US flag; menaced a reporter into deleting her photos; kidnapped and beat a journalist senseless; beat a mainland traveler unconscious and prevented paramedics from reaching the victim; and hurled petrol bombs at police officers.

As the protest movement  intensifies, its rank-and-file are doing away with tactical restraint  and lashing out at their targets with full fury. They have thrown molotov cocktails into intersections to block traffic; attacked vehicles and their drivers for attempting to break through roadblocks; beaten opponents with truncheons; attacked a wounded man with a US flag; menaced a reporter into deleting her photos; kidnapped and beat a journalist senseless; beat a mainland traveler unconscious and prevented paramedics from reaching the victim; and hurled petrol bombs at police officers.
As the protest movement intensifies, its rank-and-file are doing away with tactical restraint and lashing out at their targets with full fury. They have thrown molotov cocktails into intersections to block traffic; attacked vehicles and their drivers for attempting to break through roadblocks; beaten opponents with truncheons; attacked a wounded man with a US flag; menaced a reporter into deleting her photos; kidnapped and beat a journalist senseless; beat a mainland traveler unconscious and prevented paramedics from reaching the victim; and hurled petrol bombs at police officers.
A Hong Kong protester continued to attack Chinese reporter for @globaltimesnews with American flag  even as Paramedics finally freed him from the crowd and tried to rush him to hospital  pic.twitter.com/AIULKRW76t

— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) August 13, 2019

The charged atmosphere has provided a shot in the arm to Lai’s media empire, which had been suffering heavy losses since the last round of national protests in 2014. After the mass marches against the extradition bill on June 9, which Lai’s Apple Daily aggressively promoted, his Next Digital doubled in value, according to Eji Insight. 

Meanwhile, the protest leaders show no sign of backing down.

Nathan Law, the youth activist celebrated in Washington and photographed meeting with US officials in Hong Kong, took to Twitter to urge his peers to soldier on: “We have to persist and keep the faith no matter how devastated the reality seems to be,” he wrote. 

Meanwhile, the protest leaders show  no sign of backing down. Nathan Law, the youth activist celebrated in  Washington and photographed meeting with US officials in Hong Kong, took  to Twitter to urge his peers to soldier on: “We have to persist and keep the faith no matter how devastated the reality seems to be,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the protest leaders show no sign of backing down. Nathan Law, the youth activist celebrated in Washington and photographed meeting with US officials in Hong Kong, took to Twitter to urge his peers to soldier on: “We have to persist and keep the faith no matter how devastated the reality seems to be,” he wrote.
  • Nathan Law

Law was tweeting from New Haven, Connecticut, where he was enrolled with a full scholarship at Yale University. While the young activist basked in the adulation of his US patrons thousands of miles from the chaos he helped spark, a movement that defined itself as a “leaderless resistance” forged ahead back home.

By A Political Junkie Global Research, August 18, 2019 Viable Opposition 14 August 2019

While there has been growing coverage of the unrest in Hong Kong, there has been minimal coverage of what may lie behind the pro-democracy protests.  

As you will see in this posting, it is entirely possible that a Washington-based and Congressionally funded institution is responsible, at least in part, for the lack of calmness in Hong Kong.

American involvement in the affairs of other nations is well established. It should come as no surprise to anyone that America would fund and instigate protests and violence in China's backyard.
American involvement in the affairs of other nations is well established. It should come as no surprise to anyone that America would fund and instigate protests and violence in China’s backyard.

American involvement in the affairs of other nations is well established. It should come as no surprise to anyone that America would fund and instigate protests and violence in China’s backyard. For more information, go to this posting on the National Endowment for Democracy or NED, America’s instrument of democratic promotion around the world, that is, democracy American style.  NED was founded in 1983 during the Reagan Administration with the following Statement of Principles and Objectives:

Democracy involves the right of the people freely to determine their own destiny. 

The exercise of this right requires a system that guarantees  freedom of expression, belief and association, free and competitive  elections, respect for the inalienable rights of individuals and  minorities, free communications media, and the rule of law.
NED is a unique institution. The Endowment’s  nongovernmental character gives it a flexibility that makes it possible  to work in some of the world’s most difficult circumstances, and to  respond quickly when there is an opportunity for political change.
NED is a unique institution. The Endowment’s nongovernmental character gives it a flexibility that makes it possible to work in some of the world’s most difficult circumstances, and to respond quickly when there is an opportunity for political change.

While NED touts itself as a “private” foundation, in other words, it is independent of government. That could not be further from the truth.  Here’s what NED has to say about itself that belies its true character:

NED is a unique institution. The Endowment’s nongovernmental character gives it a flexibility that makes it possible to work in some of the world’s most difficult circumstances, and to respond quickly when there is an opportunity for political change. NED is dedicated to fostering the growth of a wide range of democratic institutions abroad, including political parties, trade unions, free markets and business organizations, as well as the many elements of a vibrant civil society that ensure human rights, an independent media, and the rule of law.

This well-rounded approach responds to the diverse aspects of democracy and has proved both practical and effective throughout NED’s history. Funded largely by the U.S. Congress, the support NED gives to groups abroad sends an important message of solidarity to many democrats who are working for freedom and human rights, often in obscurity and isolation….

From its beginning, NED has remained steadfastly bipartisan. Created jointly by Republicans and Democrats, NED is governed by a board balanced between both parties and enjoys Congressional support across the political spectrum. NED operates with a high degree of transparency and accountability reflecting our founders’ belief that democracy promotion overseas should be conducted openly.”

NED receives its funding through an annual appropriation from Congress through the Department of State making it little more than another mouthpiece for Washington’s agenda.  NED promotes Washington’s global agenda through direct grants to more than 1600 non-governmental groups that are working for “democracy” in more than 90 nations around the world.
NED receives its funding through an annual appropriation from Congress through the Department of State making it little more than another mouthpiece for Washington’s agenda. NED promotes Washington’s global agenda through direct grants to more than 1600 non-governmental groups that are working for “democracy” in more than 90 nations around the world.
Despite its proclamation that it has a “nongovernmental 
character”, NED receives its funding through an annual appropriation from Congress through the Department of State making it little more than another mouthpiece for Washington’s agenda.  NED promotes Washington’s global agenda through direct grants to more than 1600 non-governmental groups that are working for “democracy” in more than 90 nations around the world.

Let’s look at NED’s activities in Hong Kong for 2018 according to its website.  Here are the projects that were funded over the period from 2015 to 2018.

Notice that the 2018 funding to the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs was granted to “facilitate engagement on Hong Kong’s growing threats to guaranteed rights”.  

NED spent a total of $1,357,974 on  grants to organizations that were promoting freedom, democracy and human  rights in Hong Kong over the period from 2015 to 2018.
Policemen clash with demonstrators on a street during a protest in Hong Kong, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. Hong Kong police have rolled out water cannon trucks for the first time in this summer’s pro-democracy protests. The two trucks moved forward with riot officers Sunday evening as they pushed protesters back along a street in the outlying Tsuen Wan district. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

That certainly sounds like promoting democracy to me. NED spent a total of $1,357,974 on grants to organizations that were promoting freedom, democracy and human rights in Hong Kong over the period from 2015 to 2018.  

Unfortunately, we don’t know what NED spent on promoting democracy in Hong Kong in the time frame prior to 2015.  While, in the grand scheme of what Washington spends this is not a great deal of money, it is the principle of what Washington is attempting to create in Hong Kong that is of concern.  

This is a very clear example of meddling in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong, actions that will only serve to anger China who is the also the recipient of a great deal of NED’s attention.  

NED spent a total of $1,357,974 on  grants to organizations that were promoting freedom, democracy and human  rights in Hong Kong over the period from 2015 to 2018.
Protestors assault an international traveler near the subway in the HK airport.

It is also key to remember that there are likely other taxpayer-funded programs through which Washington is attempting to influence what happens in Hong Kong.

In my opinion, this tweet by the conservative-leaning Washington Examiner is a dead giveaway to the source of the unrest:

Video from Hong Kong shows pro-democracy protesters waving American flags and singing the American National Anthem.  Demonstrations have shutdown the city's airport for a second consecutive day and put the entire Chinese city on edge. pic.twitter.com/ZrYE5DzZYU 

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 13, 2019

While the ideals of democracy are admirable and desirable, Washington’s version of democracy is tainted by big money and has developed into a system where politicians are for sale to the highest bidder.  

Meanwhile, the Chinese themselves are not falling for this (same old, same old) lie…

huaqiao (Expat in China)

The rioters are trying to force the police to act and then certain  foreign media will report it as "police brutality" while ignoring the  rioters' assault against the police. This is a planned, deliberate act  to show the world China's system is not working.

But the fact is China's  system is working and is the envy of many nations, but certain "free  world" countries cannot accept that. The value of "democracy" is  overstated and these rioters show the effect of being overdosed with  "democracy" and act senselessly. 
While the ideals of democracy are admirable and desirable,  Washington’s version of democracy is tainted by big money and has  developed into a system where politicians are for sale to the highest  bidder.
While the ideals of democracy are admirable and desirable, Washington’s version of democracy is tainted by big money and has developed into a system where politicians are for sale to the highest bidder.

This is not the democracy that most of the world wants.  

Long-term Congressional meddling in other nations internal affairs through its funding of the National Endowment for Democracy is little better than the nation reengineering exercises undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency since the end of the Second World War.

Reactions and serious attempts to control the situation

This situation is in the process of being resolved. Much of what is going on is behind the scenes, but we can get some glimmerings of the various events.

Point One

As of 10 September 2019, the United States president Donald Trump tweets out that he no longer needs the services of John Bolton. John Bolton, the national security adviser.

So, obviously Bolton has been fired. (paraphrasing) “I told Bolton I no longer need his services. I disagreed with many of the suggestions that he has made.”

The president is saying he asked for Bolton’s resignation; it was not Bolton’s idea. So now people are trying to speculate, “What is this about?” He’s the national security adviser, and there are any number of things it could be and there’s no way of knowing. We just have to wait. It will come out at some point.

Oh, I’m sure it will. Though, I’d be really surprised if they would address the truth. Which is the fact that he has been working personally with the key super-billionaire oligarchy opposition forces in Hong Kong against China, and against any resolution to the China – USA trade disputes.

The Friggin' idiot. That's not his job. His job is to assist President Trump, not to oppose his efforts. No matter how impassioned he might feel about Neocon-ism.
Donald Trump fired John  Bolton. He obviously felt that John Bolton was not "on the same page" in resolving the issues with China at this time.
Donald Trump fired John Bolton. He obviously felt that John Bolton was not “on the same page” in resolving the issues with China at this time.

As I have previously stated, John Bolton is a war-hawk and a neo-con from the “deep state”. He has opposed every effort that Trump has made to negotiate with China, North Korea, and Iran. In his world view these are all dictatorial nations and America must stand firm in opposing them in every way possible.

Trump loves meeting with these people because he’s got dreams of ending disagreements with these people, bringing peace and tranquility to the humanity of earth. Bolton doesn’t see eye-to-eye with any of that. It could also be about troop withdrawals in Afghanistan. You know, there are factions in the White House that want to get us out of there. It’s been announced that we’re getting out of there. We’ve been over there for I don’t know how many years, and some people say we don’t even know why we are still there.

Trump loves meeting with these people because he’s got dreams of  ending disagreements with these people, bringing peace and tranquility  to the humanity of earth. Bolton doesn’t see eye-to-eye with any of  that.
Trump loves meeting with these people because he’s got dreams of ending disagreements with these people, bringing peace and tranquility to the humanity of earth. Bolton doesn’t see eye-to-eye with any of that.

Bolton would not want to pull out of Afghanistan. Bolton would not want to withdraw from any presence in places like Syria. So it could well be that this is just the culmination of systemic policy differences that have led to this.

Bolton has a reputation as a hardliner, doesn’t take any guff, is not one of these touchy-feely, politically correct guys. He’s a war hawk and fully supports all eight (x8) proxy wars that the United States is currently mired in.

“Let’s try to make ’em like us. Let’s find out why they don’t like us and change.” That’s not Bolton. He don’t care that they don’t like us. We just gotta beat ’em. We gotta pummel ’em.

That might not be appropriate at this time when dealing with China. China is a serious, serious nation that would absolutely take meddling in their own affairs very, very seriously.

Point Two

On Wednesday 4SEP19, President Trump reached out to China’s President Xi in a tweet:

“I know President Xi of China very well. He is a  great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a  good man in a ‘tough business.’ I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi  wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it.  Personal meeting? ”

-Donald Trump

So what is Donald Trump saying?

  • That’s he’s ready to stop the HK protests if Xi Peng negotiates.
  • Or, perhaps that China can use their military to enter HK.

Point Three

China has begun arresting American advisors to the protestors and their aides to the protest movements in HK. You see, China does not mess around. They know who all these players are, they know the funding sources, and have surveillance cameras everywhere. If you want to stir up a hornets next, do not allow yourself to get stung.

China has identified all the leadership of these protest groups, and their subordinates. They have since followed them and watched them. They have all been under observation. They have filmed these advisors instructing the protestors in behavior, and strategy.

Then, independently they have targeted these individuals and collected them in public near the protests. It's all on film. 

What?

You haven’t heard about this? You mean it’s not reported on the American mainstream media? Imagine that!

Here is a video of a “so called” reporter instructing the HK protestors on how to behave. It’s all on video, and how the HK riot police comes after him and carts him off for “processing”. The video praises the HK riot police for nabbing these “instigators”, and claims that 53 CIA-related advisory staff have been arrested.

They say he’s CIA, but he’s really probably a member of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) or the National Endowment for Democracy’s National Democratic Institute (NDI) . All American front organization that receives Federal Funding for the purposes of disrupting the stability in other nations.

Here’s some of the arrests. The video shows three Americans arrested and being detained. I am sure that there are many more.

The point is that China knows full well what is going on and THEY DO NOT PLAY AROUND. China is a serious nation that does not pretend that everyone is playing on the same playing-field.

The root effects – trade renegotiation with China.

Anonymous (Italy)

This sudden chaos without major motivation is indeed a sign of  interference. As a foreigner, I am Italian and married to a local, I do  fully support Chinese mainland on this matter. People in Hong Kong that  are doing this are ignorant and do not even know their own history.  

It began as a promise to the American people. Donald Trump, if elected would renegotiate trade with the Chinese in such a way that it would be a two-way street to mutual respect and fairness.

When things were looking favorable, suddenly everything went to sh@t. There were rumors that some of the negotiators were hard-line deep-state plants that informed the Chinese to wait Donald Trump out. That he would not be reelected.

So the negotiations stalled, and Trump put full pressure on China. Simultaneously when he raised tariffs on Chinese goods 30%, protests broke out in Hong Kong. It appeared that the pressure was enormous on China, and (according to the United States media) China was really suffering.

  • 30% tariffs
  • HK protests
  • Banning Huawei
  • Diplomatic pressure on Europe

But, you know what? It’s all a big lie, or at the very most, an exaggeration. China wasn’t suffering like the American mainstream media reported.

Ah, it’s partially true. But, not as bad as most Americans believed. China’s exports are not 90% to the USA and 10% to the rest of the world. Nope. Its actually 11% to the Untied States. And 89% to the rest of the world. So China has dealt with it.

Meanwhile, the tariffs has pretty much put the global economy into a malaise and it has backfired and hit the American consumer. It will need to be resolved before the 2020 elections or else it is potentially feasible that it will effect the elections.

And China’s reaction?

Nothing. Ride it out. Don’t go on the offensive. Don’t go on the defensive. Let things sizzle for a while and ride it out. They realize that the present Trump strategy is to force China to agree to a range of demands.

  • Implement “democracy” in China.
  • Stop the reeducation of radical Muslim separatists.
  • Allow Tibet independence.

China said no, and won’t do anything. They want favorable trade but not at the risk of their national identity and global sovereignty.

The idea that liberal or Western-style democracy and the country’s  long-term stability are incompatible is deeply entrenched in the Chinese  mind. Most Chinese believe that the current level of maturity in  Chinese society does not allow for a “one man one vote” system. It is  broadly accepted that China will disintegrate if it recklessly adopts  Western-style democracy.

-   The construction of the Singapore Model in Mainland China       

How would you feel, if China demanded that;

  • America implemented Communism?
  • Integrate Muslim extremists in key leadership roles in government?
  • Allow California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arazona and Texas to be an independent nation?

It’s all pretty silly. It’s obscene and an insult.

Well, that’s how the Chinese feels. They have plenty of trade relationships with other nations. Contrary to what the mainstream American news say, and they are healthy and chugging away just fine. You see, China realizes that they can under-price any American company on the global stage.

And so, they are just waiting everything out.

Thus the worst effects of the trade war backfired and are now squarely on the shoulders of America. John Bolton, of course is all happy about this. But there are far other considerations than the John Bolton Neocon narrative, and Donald Trump has a nation to take care of.

So, Donald Trump is regrouping and removing the Neocon planks from the trade demands and will continue to work with China on resolving this.

The end results…

  • The Trade war will end.
  • The HK protests will end.
  • Things will continue much as they had, only there would be more favorable trade terms for the United States.

Let’s see how correct my fortune telling ability is, shall we? Maybe I’m right or maybe I’m wrong. We will see. Eh?

CIA agent arrested directing the HK riots

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5lcA5Huc8PiGYPb0pWE47w

Anyways about the video. He's going on in English about the "rule of law" and then switches in Cantonese. Anyways, his goose is cooked. 

Once HK passed the insurrection law which permitted the arrest of agitators who forment revolution, regardless of nationality, and extration ot the mainland for lengthy prison sentences and organ harvesting… everything changed. 

For months, if not years, the Chinese have documented everyting on video, and then seized the computers and technical data form the foreign newspapers operating inside of HK. 

So it's over for this cat. He doesn't have a hope in Hell. In China, there isn't any court negotations between attorneys. Instead, they look over the documentation and evidence and assign punishment(s).

BTW. I don't know if I told you this. But a lot of retired men in HK and China participated in the protests because if they did so, they would get a $200 USD check. Well, of course, they all started to deposit it in their own individual bank accounts. Right? Guess what happened?

Every account that has a $200 USD deposit during a specific time period is assumed to be a paid-for-riot paycheck. So every person who got that money… young and old… suddenly has their social security balance set to zero and frozen for the rest of their life.

Finally, we conclude with a decent editorial

US fooling no one with claims of innocence in HK: Opinion

By Ian Goodrum

For no particular reason I’ve been thinking of Claude Rains in Casablanca lately. You remember him; the Moroccan police captain who is “shocked, shocked” to find gambling in Humphrey Bogart’s establishment during a raid, only to be handed his winnings without missing a beat.

You might wonder at the relevance of that famous movie moment. I’ll explain.

Amid ongoing violence and turmoil in Hong Kong, Chinese media outlets have brought up a few relevant facts: That “pro-democracy” opposition heads had met with politicians in the United States, protest leaders had been in contact with State Department officials and major figures like Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi have issued statements supporting the demonstrators. With all this in mind, it’s been suggested the US has been inflaming tensions in the city and encouraging escalation in an already heated environment.

To wit, the Claude Rains moment: Members of the diplomatic corps were “shocked, shocked” by this news. Why, it’s unthinkable that the US, that bastion of democracy and freedom, would ever attempt to interfere in the affairs of another country! China was called a “thuggish regime” for even bringing this up — naturally, the “free press” was all crickets when it came time to do their purported jobs and speak a little truth to power.

Safe to say none of these faux-outraged government functionaries or their lapdogs in the media bothered to ask a Libyan what they thought of the idea. The NATO intervention there in 2014 turned the African country with the highest standard of living into a disaster zone, complete with open-air slave markets.

They wouldn’t have asked an Iraqi, either. I’m sure the families of the million-plus people killed by the US military since 2003 would have a few things to say about their invaders’ good intentions.

Or a Haitian. Or a Syrian. Or a Venezuelan. Or a Honduran. Or an Iranian. The list goes on.

The truth is US “diplomacy” has never been that innocent, and everyone knows it. State Department personnel — in league with military and intelligence agencies — have spearheaded countless interventions since the turn of the 20th century, destroying countries or political formations they saw as counter to US interests. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and especially after the Cold War began, this meant subverting communists or socialists and materially supporting anti-communists and fascists.

Among the best-known examples of this skullduggery are the hundreds of assassination attempts on Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro — none successful; he died at 90, probably laughing at the US as he went — and the overthrow of democratically elected Chilean Marxist Salvador Allende. The US loved democracy so much in the latter case they replaced Allende with a military dictator. These and many other interventions were overseen by the same sort of “diplomats” who now act offended at the notion they may be doing something untoward in Hong Kong.

But things are a little different now. These clandestine activities used to be the sole purview of the Central Intelligence Agency, and when word got out the US’ definition of “liberty” really meant “not being communists”, quite a few people were furious. So in a long process which began in the 1970s, the CIA delegated its regime change responsibilities to a host of organizations, each given a degree of separation with some legalese and clever accounting.

Though the Agency remains a potent force for subversion — and you would have to be truly naïve to think their cloak-and-dagger era is over — the interventional landscape has been somewhat diversified, with a host of non-governmental organizations taking the place of traditional spies. The National Endowment for Democracy, the largest among them, has of course given a great deal of money to “pro-independence” forces in Hong Kong. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.

Allan Weinstein, an early leader of one such think tank, admitted it outright when he said “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.” While this makes US influence operations easier to track, it also gives them a veneer of respectability among the general public. It’s a bigger deal when a government agency is funding rebellious elements in another country; much less so if it’s some “non-governmental” cutout with a bit of plausible deniability.

When news of CIA activity broke in the past, it was big news. That was bad for optics. Somewhere along the way, powerful government figures and capitalists realized by doing all their influencing in the open — and with a media that had long since stopped pretending to question motives — the scandal brought by secrecy would go away. This has worked wonders on a browbeaten population fed a steady diet of propaganda. It turns out if you’re told every other country on earth is inferior to yours, you’ll start thinking intervention is great for everybody else.

Some people normally skeptical of official US narratives look back on this sordid history and conclude it’s a thing of the past, the stuff of ancients. But what’s changed between then and now? Why would any empire stop consolidating its influence if it had the ability to continue? In fact, the US’ capacity for interference has only grown more sophisticated since the end of the Soviet Union. With that country’s dissolution in 1991, the world lost a counterweight against imperialism — and logic dictates things would get worse rather than better in an era of unilateral hegemony.

So the question remains: Why would the US’ well-established, well-funded campaigns of subversion suddenly cease? Well they wouldn’t, of course. There’s an equally bizarre notion from otherwise right-thinking people that intervention stops at certain countries’ borders. This is patently ridiculous. If it can happen in Venezuela, Iran, Libya, Cuba or Syria, it can happen in Hong Kong — a geographically small Chinese territory with longstanding ties to the West. It is, in fact, perfectly positioned as a pressure point for the rest of China.

And it’s not just a question of economic or political systems anymore. The US doesn’t trust anyone, even its own imperial allies; recall that the National Security Administration had German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone tapped for years. There’s no telling how they’re keeping tabs on other NATO members. Because the US has the largest economy and military many times over, however, leaders who might otherwise speak out against this treatment stay silent. Yet the idea of US benevolence still has a hold on the world’s imagination. I encourage anyone on the fence to think about it this way: If this is how the US treats its friends, imagine what it tries to do to its enemies.

And make no mistake, the US considers China an enemy. It says so in official statements and policy briefings, and academics and journalists uncritically launder these claims for a mass audience on their enormous platforms. No matter how many times China says it wants peace and to handle its own affairs, the myth of the “China Threat” persists — stoked by US “diplomats” and their lackeys in the press.

These inflammatory statements serve a twofold purpose. On a personal level, they attract attention to the authors’ work and better position them for career advancement. More broadly, they further US interests and provide cover for narratives that wouldn’t get consideration by the public if they came straight from the military-intelligence apparatus. It’s a win-win for everyone — except the US’ victims.

None of this is to say that things in Hong Kong are perfect, or that everyone in the city was happy as a clam before the State Department and NED came along. Severe inequality plagues the city, and must be addressed for the government to enjoy continued support from the people. But bad actors take advantage of existing negative sentiments and amplify them, turning issues that could be handled peacefully into profound existential crises.

This playbook has worked for decades now, undermining countless sovereign governments whose existence ran counter to the interests of the United States; it’s the height of foolishness to think it can’t happen here.

The author is a copy editor with chinadaily.com.cn.

28NOV20 Update

It is pretty well established that the CIA has been well involved attempting a “color revolution” inside of Hong Kong as part of the Trump Trade Wars of 2017 – 2020. There are all sorts of articles on this subject. Here’s a worthwhile read…

A secret high-level committee of Hong Kong senior activists worked with Western agents from the CIA to coordinate and amplify the leaderless protests against the fugitive law amendment last year, Nury Vittachi claims in his book The Other Side of the Story: A Secret War in Hong Kong.

Vittachi, a veteran journalist and a columnist for The Standard, accused the CIA of funding anti-government activities in the SAR. He said Hong Kong protesters have received practical training in street-protest strategy and media control from members of the professional revolution industry since January 2013.

The book named three US-based groups - the Oslo Freedom Foundation, the Albert Einstein Institute and the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies - which were directly involved in last year's social unrest.

He added that public records had shown that the National Endowment for Democracy, the CIA's regime-change arm, had sent HK$170 million to the mainland or Hong Kong since 2014 to "advance the cause of democracy."

https://lnkd.in/dwnSU-S

Other (really great) Links

Links about China

Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.

Chinese reaction to the Trump Tariff Wars.
Popular Music of China
The logistics of relocating a facotry from China back to the USA.
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Really Strange China

Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.

Really Strange China 1
Really Strange China 2
Rally Strange China 3
Really Strange China 4
Really Odd China 5
Really Strange China 6
Really Strange China 7
Really Strange China 8
Really Strange China 9
Really Strange China 10
Really Strange China 11
Really Strange China 12
Really strange China 13
Really strange China 14

What is China like?

The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.

And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.

What is China like - 1
What is China like - 2
What is China Like - 3
What is China like - 4
What is China like - 5
What is China like - 6
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 8
What is China like - 9

Summer in Asia

Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…

Summer Snapshots 1
Summer Snapshots 2
Summer Snapshots 3
Summer Snapshots 4
Snapshots Summer 5
Summer Snapshots 6
Summer Snapshot 7
Summer Snapshots 8
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Summer Snapshots 10
Summer Snapshots 11
Summer Snapshot 12

Some Fun Videos

Here’s a collection of some fun videos taken all over Asia. While there are many videos taken in China, we also have some taken in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Japan as well. It’s all in fun.

Some fun videos of China - 1
Fun Videos of Asia - 2
Fun videos of Asia - 3
Fun videos of Asia - 4
Fun Videos of Asia - 5
Fun videos of Asia - 6
Fun videos of Asia - 7
Fun videos of Asia - 8
Fun videos of Asia - 9
Fun videos of Asia - 10
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Fun videos of Asia - 14
Fun Videos of Asia - 15
Fun videos of Asia -16
The best way to cook marshmallows.

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Is it clear enough for you? It’s time to hunker down, or get ready to rumble.

Well, it’s been (almost) three solid years into the Donald Trump Presidency and not one treasonous criminal action has been punished. Not one. ZERO. Zilch. Na-da.

Take for example when Hillary Clinton literally laughed out loud at a  question about her email investigation — had to wipe her eyes, she  laughed so hard. She laughed at us, at America, for being so clueless as  to think she’d ever answer to our laws.
  
And she’s still laughing, because she’s right: she’s  untouchable. The consensus is that even though we know that the first  email investigation was rigged by the FBI to clear Hillary, no one will  reopen the case. 

-Cold Fury at hold your breath. 

Nope. All we (the people) have are promises. Promises that someday, at some time, all the 5d machinations of the DOJ will “get to the bottom” of things. They’re “experts” don’t ya know. Don’t ya know.

Promises.

You know, like all those promises that the government has given us year, after year. Year after year. Promising to make changes. Promising to fix potholes. Promising to do things. But doing nothing.

Promises.

Same old. Same old.

Watching FBI agent Peter Strzok battle with Congress, my initial reaction was pure anger. 

His repeated, arrogant insistence that he had done nothing wrong despite tons of evidence to the contrary convinced me he deserved immediate firing — if not the firing squad.

Gradually, though, anger gave way to amazement as Strzok grew increasingly combative and condescending. Given his predicament, the sneering and smirking were stupid, and yet he persisted.

Who is this jerk, I wondered, and how in the hell did he get to be a big shot at the FBI? And why are taxpayers still paying for the privilege of his malignant presence on the FBI payroll?

My answers can be summarized in four names: James Comey, Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray. They are chief culprits in the death of public trust in the Department of Justice.

-Michael Goodwin

Meanwhile, those who have committed the most blatant abuses of their offices in the history of the world, are walking free in their mansions, and enjoying the “good life”. They are still on the media networks. They are still cavorting with “our betters”. They are still eating expensive steaks and drinking high-end Chardonnay. They are still cavorting with the rich and famous. They are still behaving like they always have.

They are rubbing their privilege in our faces.

Real privilege is begin able to avoid getting arrested when you break laws. Real privilege is knowing that you are immune from the Justice system, and that you can do what ever you want in life and no one will lift a finger against you.

Blatantly.

Real privilege is killing a threat in public. While in Federal custody, and having all the guards asleep, the cameras turned off, and the documents erased.

Real privilege is doing it blatantly, in an "in your face" assault, with zero consequences.
The adventures of Liz Barsomain.
The pure audacity and brazenness of these crimes are mind blowing and staggering in their audaciousness.

They are doing so because they know there isn’t a FU@KING THING that we can do about it. We are powerless, and our illustrious president; Donald Trump is actually powerless to stop them.

Real privilege is operating in the open, in public, where everyone knows that you have this privilege.  

Powerless.

Full of hot air.

Every day, it seems more and more likely that Donald Trump is just a clown to entertain us "normal's" with the hope for change, when in all actuality, nothing substantive is getting resolved.
I give you my word!
I give you my word!

Now, do not misunderstand.

Oh, for certain, he has done some good works. Yes he has. Yes, he is miles ahead of any other Republican President, including Ronald Reagan.

But…

But…

It’s all fun and games. The expression on all those “Holier than thou” smug (in your face) progressive Marxists is precious. And, yes, I do enjoy sitting down with a big bowl of popcorn and watch their heads explode.

But Trump is NOT doing the dirty and nasty work that he needs to do…

  • Getting us out of the eight wars (x8) that we are currently fighting. There is no reason at all for us to be fighting and dying in Yemen. None.
  • Elimination of those progressively-armed Federal Agencies; IRS, ATF, FDA, EPA, and for certain FBI and the DOJ. They are now armed military forces with their own law-making branches, their own judicial branches, and their own processes. All of which lie OUTSIDE our elected Congressional representatives. They police, and enforce, the two-tiered justice system.
  • Arresting and trials, with death sentences for treasonous activity…

It’s a treasonous bunch for certain, but nothing is getting done.

It appears, by all substantive measure, that AG Barr is just as ineffective as AG Sessions was. "Ineffective" is a polite word for "corrupt".

Ah. The Progressive globalist oligarch cabal.

Their crimes vary from committing outright treason, stealing and embezzling millions (if not billions) of dollars, and cover-ups at an extraordinary scale. All these people should have been left hanging from a scaffolding with back hoods over their heads.

Yet nothing has happened.

Donald Trump with Ronald Reagan.
As much as I admire Trump for taking on the wild beast that the United States has become, the fact remains that serious action MUST occur to slay the lawless oligarchy that rules our nation. Unless that is taken cared of, everything will subside and revert back to the gallop of rampant progressive Marxism.

Our patience has worn thin. We are no longer the hopeful, wide eyed people we once were. We can see the evil straight up. We know the score, and no media spin, or RINO-conservative article is going to change our assessment.

These people…

Crimes?

Comey got the last laugh. He is above the law. He earned that by keeping the Clintons above the law. 

- From Don Surber 

How about greed for personal gain. How about treason for personal gain. How about murder for personal gain. How about coverup for personal gain.

One quibble: I met Randy Weaver at a Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot one  year, and spent about an hour hanging out and casually conversing with  him. At NO point did he strike me as an “outspoken white separatist”;  white separatist he may have been, which is not a crime (yet). 

But he  wasn’t an “outspoken” anything at all. He was instead very quiet and  humble—almost diffident, really. The one thing that stood out most about  him was how deeply he was still haunted by FBI scumwad Horiuchi’s  wanton, vicious murder of his entire family. 

Weaver’s grief over their  execution by federal death-squad was still as raw and agonizing as if it  had been fresh, several years after his own despotic government  inflicted it on him.

I hadn’t known of Barr’s sordid history before, but it does clearly  establish one thing: the very idea of him ever ensuring justice against  Deep State coup d’état plotters is no better than wholly  ludicrous. 

That Barr would defend such an outrage against all decency  and humanity as the FUSA government’s murder of unarmed and innocent  civilians at Ruby Ridge—a youth shot in the back as he fled the  monstrous agents of a monstrous tyranny; his dog killed for no purpose  other than to terrorize him; his mother sniped from hiding as she  committed the heinous crime of standing in the doorway of her own home with her infant child in her arms—puts paid to that nonsense. 

-Cold Fury. Put no faith in the stalwart AG Barr. He's a deep swamp plant.

They should have been arrested, incarcerated, and hung until dead. That didn’t happen, and now it seems that Barr is just another Sessions. It’s all a dog-and-pony show,

Nothing is going to happen.

Let THAT sink in.

No one was arrested. No one was charged. Nor does it look like it’s ever going to happen.

President Obama gave away seven billion dollars to South Africa to “improve” their national electrical grid.  He gifted $100 billion to the UN,  then he gave them yet another $500 million to fight climate change. He gave $7 billion to Kenya, for reasons that I am not clear on. He gave away 150 billion dollars to Iran under a most flimsy excuse. And, another $400 million in pure raw cash as well. Obama gave $221 million to the Palestinian Authority on the way out the door. He gave $500 million to the UN for “climate change”. He gave Mexico $75 million to build a wall on their southern border. He gave $90 million to Laos.  He even gave George Soros $9 million dollars. Not to mention, the billions of dollars to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria.

You know, in my High School Civics class we were told that Congress, and not the President controlled how money was spent. I was also told that the government collects that money to help us Americans. Now it is the other way around. Isn’t it? 

They should have all been hung.

Every last one of them.

This "investigation" into the treason of the Deep State is proving to be the equivalent of a 25-month pregnancy, and counting. 

- From Col. B. Bunny at Liberty's Torch 

It’s all a fraud

 One of the features of the current year is the regular reminder that  western style democracy is a complete fraud. According to the political  class, democracy allows for public policy to reflect the will of the  people. The parties put forward candidates offering various policy  proposals and the public signals their preferences by voting for one or  the other candidates. The winners then set about trying to implement the  policies they proposed. That’s how we’re told representative democracy  works.

 In reality, nothing like this happens. Instead, the parties put on a  show for the voters, rarely intending to actually do what they claim.  Instead, they manufacture differences between one another, so they can  pretend the choice before the voters is stark. Once the election is  over, the politicians go back to living their lives of leisure, waiting  for instructions from the people who actually run things. The  politicians are like robot actors, brought out for elections, then put  back in storage.

 The obvious example of this is the most recent American presidential  election in which Donald Trump scored a stunning upset on the promise to  reduce immigration, crackdown in illegal immigration and address the  gross inequality resulting from globalization. So far, none of that has  been done. Instead, he spent most of his presidency fighting a seditious  coup to get him out of office. In fact, Trump’s three years are pretty  much what Jeb Bush promised when he was running in the 2016 primary. 

-The Z man Blog

Before…

Russian oligarchy prior to the 1916 October revolution. Most, if not all, of the people in this photograph were killed, or fled the country to safe havens elsewhere.

After…

We know what will happen.
We know what will happen. It has been well documented. People will be collected. They will be rounded up into urban areas, or centers. The men will be separated out from the group. They will be led to an isolated area, a cellar, a warehouse, a cluster of tree, an area behind a bulldozer. They will then be held down by two people and shot dead.

Well, were the criminals arrested?

But, that didn’t happen did it? Nope. Instead what did we get? We got a media onslaught of a “Russian Narrative”. We got trade wars that increased the prices of our purchases, and we got a promise with more wars “down the pipe”. The latest being with Iran.

Meanwhile in America, in the “heartland”, we are arrested and incarcerated for the slightest offense. It’s really sad and alarming to the most wide-eyed believer.

This is what is called a “two-tied” ,”unequal“, or “Medieval” Justice system. Hell would freeze over before the likes of Louis Learner would be arrested for anything resembling jaywalking.

The Joke Police are looking to strip Dave Chappelle of his speech  rights, which once again proves we are coming to a decision point in  this country. That’s what this whole godforsaken Woke Crusade boils down  to — a choice, and the choice is this: Are we going to allow ourselves  to become second class citizens in our own country? Are we going to  allow far-left activists and their allies in the media, Silicon Valley,  and Hollywood to bully us into creating a two-tiered class system? 

- Great little slice of outrage from John Nolte. 
Two-tiered Justice System.
Two-tiered Justice System.

Heck! Hillary Clinton could be filmed stabbing an illegal migrant to death in the town square with hundreds of onlookers, and the news media would report that Donald Trump did it.

What we get is “bread crumbs”. A monthly feed of hope…

Hope…

Hope from Donald Trump.

But, people… Hope is not actionable by itself.

People, a two tiered justice system is not sustainable.

Two Tiered Justice

If you have one set of laws for the members of the government and  another set for everyone else, you are not being governed, you are being  ruled. 

- SteveF, comment at Daily Pundit, via Cold Fury 

And this quote…

“How do I recognize that the SHTF is very close?”
 
One of as closest answers possible to give there is this: “You know it is close when people stop worrying about repercussions (punishment from the law and the system).” 

-Organic Prepper

Yeah, and this…

Then as now, the pleasant skin of “Yay, democracy!” has been  sloughed off to reveal the naked sinews of power and wealth and  violence beneath. There’s no crisis like there was in 2008. The world  isn’t ending like it was in 2008. But I’m telling you that it feels the same to me.

They’re. Not. Even. Pretending. Anymore. 

-Epsilon Theory

Give him some time…

The conservative argument is always “give it some time”. “It’s a big mess and Donald Trump is only one lone man.”

Yes. I get that.

But we don’t have all day. We do not have an unlimited amount of time. We have THIS window. Maybe another four years. Maybe…

Maybe…

Yes, there are things that need to be put into place. I get that…

Prerequisites for draining the swamp.
Prerequisites for draining the swamp.

The thing is that there just isn’t a lot of time.

There really isn’t.

You either do things NOW, or accept the fact that they will never get done.

Don’t believe me? Well then do some comparisons…

  • Obama implementation of ACA ObamaCARE … months.
  • Obama giving 7 billion dollars to South Africa … weeks.
  • Wilson in the formation of the Federal Reserve … months.
  • Wilson in the creation of the IRS … months.
  • Passage of the 12th amendment … months.
  • Entry into the war in Iraq … months.
  • Entry into the war in Yemen … months.
  • FDR stacking the SCOTUS … months.
  • Impeachment of Nixon for Watergate … months.
  • Arrest, trial, sentencing and execution for Lincoln’s death … months.

Meanwhile…

  • Arrest, trial, sentencing for contemporaneous treason … years

Don’t you all see that there is something seriously wrong here? Don’t you see that time IS AN ISSUE?

Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it is raining.

Lewis Powell Payne
Lewis Powell Payne 2. A UNIQUE INSIGHT into the Civil War Confederates has been brought to light in the form of rare photographs that have been enriched with colour. The authentically colourised pictures depict the tragic circumstances of the war with two dead men lying on the ground in Maryland, USA; a confederate buried and a federal unburied. Other photos include a portrait of American confederate soldier and commander of the Confederates States of America, Robert Edward Lee, and Lewis Powell Payne, who conspired with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, leaning against a wall. Further images expose the aftermath of the war with a confederate soldier in Petersburg, Virginia, lying lifelessly on the ground with blood on his face. The vintage photographs were carefully colourised by CEO, Mads Madsen (23), from Horsens, Denmark, who spent between 12 to 14 hours to colourise the pictures of the dead men at Dunker Church and Antietam alone. Mads Madsen / mediadrumworld.com

Meanwhile

Yeah. Meanwhile, it’s the same old. Same old.

It’s nearing the next election cycle. They know how to predict our behavior. They know how to manipulate us. They know what buttons to push.

They are following the same old tired formula. They are expecting us to react in the same old tired manner.

Who cares what conservatives do, say, or think anymore? They didn't  conserve America. They didn't conserve the ladies room. They couldn't  even conserve the two human sexes! 

- Vox Day at Vox Popoli 

They are expecting to move us “normals” to pull the lever to whomever they want us to.

You know strike at the curtain, not at the man behind the curtain. Fight and get all worked up with the political hot-button items of the day. From “Red Flag” laws, to “global warming”, to LGBT bathrooms.

Vote to make a difference.
Vote to make a difference.

No one, of course, no one is talking about the REAL issues.

That is the sustainability of an oligarchy under the guise of a democracy / partial republic. No one is talking about this. For they, the Kingly rulers, believe that they have sufficiently dumbed down the populace to a point where we are unaware of their crimes and their manipulations.

They are chomping at the bit, as all this has been in the works for a century at least and it is just about ready for fruition. All they need is to disarm a large enough segment of the population. If they can’t do it overtly, they will do it covertly though “red flag” laws, and when that happens, it will just be a matter of months before they can exert full dictatorial control.

As if they don't have it already. 

People, if you can get arrested in your own yard for making and selling lemonade, you ARE living in a dictatorship. If you have to pee in a cup to get a job, you are living in a dictatorship. If you need to undress to your underwear to board a plane, take a train, or travel you are living in a dictatorship.

It’s just a matter of months.

Voting?

Elections provide the illusion of control.

However, every study conducted on this issue has proven that the issues that matter to the voting public are not what the fellows in Washington DC promote. They have a totally different agenda.

Americans in America today. Many on drugs. Many unemployed or underemployed. Many getting their information from questionable sources.
Americans in America today. Many on drugs. Many unemployed or underemployed. Many getting their information from questionable sources.

It is a globalist agenda and they follow the money path and directions from the global oligarchy.

Today, we are fighting PROXY wars in the Middle East. Not because mainstream Americans demand that we fight Yemen to protect our "interests", but rather because it is what the donors to our political class desire. 

Sometimes, in a once in a century event, a candidate will be elected (like Donald Trump) that will try to do the “right thing”, and who will make the hard and the difficult choices.

But, what if all the people that he has to work with are corrupt? What if they do not answer to their constituents simply because they are not beholding to them. What if they don’t need to try?

What then?

Broken electoral system.
Broken electoral system.

Knowledge is power

It should be clear enough for everyone that the “Deep State” is far larger and far more powerful than any citizen voted initiative, even when it is the President of the United States. There is nothing that we can do about it. We can only react to it. There are three options.

Except accept our fate, fight back, or flee.

We crossed the Rubicon.

  • We must now accept our fate. As well as how it will develop in the next few years, or…
  • We need to jump ship. Escape while it is still possible. Just like the multimillionaire software oligarchs are doing. Or…
  • We need to fight and take back what is ours.

Face the facts. Face it. Our nation is a full-on oligarchy, run like the most evil and corrupt mob organization ever conceived.

Meanwhile, us citizens are treated like dirt. We are the money-cows that have zero rights and are ear-marked for the gulag as soon as a Progressive Democrat gets control of the armed forces. You know this is true, or do I need to provide links and data to convince you all?

They have already nullified key sections of the Bill of Rights. Since when can any Congress make any law infringing upon any of the Rights within the Bill of Rights? Or, do you think that everything will magically reverse and go away?

Read this letter…

Negating the Bill of Rights.
They have already nullified key sections of the Bill of Rights. Since when can any Congress make any law infringing upon any of the Rights within the Bill of Rights? Or, do you think that everything will magically reverse and go away? Negating the Bill of Rights.

Be Sensible

Here is my attempt to talk you, the reader, out of dangerous violent action.

Most conservatives are sitting tight and looking around trying to see what other conservatives are doing. Then, they plan to take action themselves. No one wants to make the first move. They are waiting on the mainstream American news media to somehow report on other traditional conservatives taking action…

The thing is that the American mainstream media controls information dissemination.

American mainstream media controls information dissemination.
American mainstream media controls information dissemination.

There is no way to know positively if other conservatives are taking hard action. Thus, as a result you risk becoming the lone “gun man” who is disturbing the tranquility of “our republic”.

Listen to me.

War is ugly.

People die. Including you, your friends, your family and your loved ones.

It should be avoided at all costs.

People get tortured, and sadness abounds.

Dying ain't much of a living.
Dying ain’t much of a living.
  • If you are truly unhappy with the way things are today, then leave the United States.
  • If you are unhappy, but do not want to hurt anyone, just lie low and hunker down. Go with the flow. Do what everyone else is doing. Accept things as they are, and hope that your children will turn things around.
  • Violence is a last resort item that will probably get YOU KILLED. Heed my words.

Let’s take a breather and look at our options. There are three, and only three options.

[1] – Protect your own.

Option one. You can, if you wish, to accept servitude and slavery. There is no shame in that. As the saying goes in North Korea…

"It's better to be miserable than dead."

That’s fine. I’m sure that is your deep desire. Let it all blow over, and some day everything will change. Most (so called) Conservatives will accept this reality. My guess is that 94% will.

Pretend that some day it will all go away.

Think about other things. Think about your family. Think about your career. Think about your favorite sport team.

It was the summer of 1996, early June, and I was teaching a course at Simmons College in Boston to make some extra dough. Jennifer was clerking for a lawfirm down in Dallas, pregnant with our first child. 

My dad called. He and my mom were in London, where they had rented a small flat for a month. Did I want to come over and stay for a few days? 

As it happened, I had five days free, perfect for a long weekend trip. I walked down to a cheapo travel agency on Boylston (yes, a physical travel agency), and found a ticket for $600 or thereabouts. 

Seemed like a lot. I could have afforded it, by which I mean there was room on my credit card to buy it, not that I could really afford it. $600 was a lot of money to me. 

That said, I hadn’t seen my parents since Christmas, and my dad sounded so … happy. This was a special trip for them, a chance to LIVE in a city that my father LOVED, and this was my chance to share it with them. But $600. I dunno. 

I called my father and told him that I just couldn’t swing it. He understood. He was a very practical guy. The call lasted all of 20 seconds. You know, international long distance being so expensive and all.

I never saw my father again. He died a few weeks after he and my mother got home. 

You must make the choices in life that mean a lot to you.

The EZ solution to handling life's problems.
My cat taught me this trick; “Life is hard. Then you nap.”

Up until now, this has been the status quo for most of America and most certainly for most Conservatives, and “normals”. We have accepted our lot. We don’t like it, but we accept it.

  • We pay our taxes.
  • We don’t protest when the government is out of control.
  • We accept the fact that we must undress to travel.
  • We shrug off the latest restrictions on our freedom.

We have adapted to the chains around our wrists, and the shackles on our legs.

The spunk is beaten out of us.
The spunk is beaten out of us.

This is true though many do not want to admit it. Listen up! Here is the harsh truth…

Let me tell you that it’s only going to get worse. It’s going to get a whole lot worse. But maybe you can survive. Ride the waves, so to speak.

There are a lot of sick and perverse people around us. We are simply not seeing them. They are waiting for the SHTF. 

- Selco at Organic Prepper 

Ride the waves.

Accept your place in the world.

American mainstream media telling us "normals" what they fully intend to do with us once they reacquire the reins of power.
American mainstream media telling us “normals” what they fully intend to do with us once they reacquire the reins of power.
  • This is what the United States government wants you to do.
  • It is what the progressive liberals want you to do.
  • This is what the American mainstream media wants you to do.
  • This is what the “deep state” wants you to do.
  • This is what the “swamp in Washington DC” wants you to do.

This is also probably what your friends and family want you to do as well. It’s a female trait; safety over freedom. Even if that safety is probably going to be short lived.

 Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin appeared on MSNBC's "AM  Joy" Sunday and said that not only does Trump have to lose in 2020, but  there must be a purging of "survivors" who still support the  commander-in-chief.

"It's not only that Trump has to lose, but that all his  enablers have to lose," she said. "We have to collectively, in essence,  burn down the Republican Party."

"We have to level them because if there are survivors — if there are people who weather this storm, they will do it again." 

-  Nick Givas at Fox News, about the 2020 national election 

Your freedom, if you wait, will be short lived.

Progressive Marxist plans for when they obtain the reins of power fully.
Progressive Marxist plans for when they obtain the reins of power. Only this time, it will be forever.
The erosion of rights we have seen won’t continue in a linear fashion. It will accelerate. 

- John Wilder at Wilder, Wealthy, and Wise 

[2] – Flee

Option two. Alternatively, you can do what I did. Leave. My guess that a small minority will join me, but you all had best consider this option. Time is fleeting and the window of opportunity is closing.

It’s not a comfortable option. You must discard most of your belongings. Move away from all you know and love. Lose your support network, your friends and your family.

You will need to embrace a new place, a new culture, a new society and a new way of doing things and living life. You might need to learn a new language, take up a new occupation, and live at a standard of life that you are not accustomed to. Are you up to it?

Yup.

That’s right. You can leave.

Leave America.

Doug Casey quote
Doug Casey quote.

It’s no longer my business who gets rich and who suffers in the USA. It’s one big enormous cluster f@ck and I want no part of it. Not at all. I really do not want to get embroiled in any kind of spitting match between progressive and traditional nationalists.

Not.

My.

Problem.

When you get older in life, you learn that there are some things worth fighting for, and other things that are important to you. You learn to pick and choose your battles selectively. You know what is important, and what hasn’t a hope in Hell in occurring.

So you make decisions based on YOUR own personal circumstances.

In my case, for me, it’s one of moving to a freer nation. One where I can live life on my very own terms. And let others battle the mess that the United States is today.

The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Maybe I cannot get a NY Style slice of pizza, but I can get other things just as great.
Maybe I cannot get a bagel or an authentic NY Style slice of pizza, but I sure can get other things just as wonderful.

For those of you who would prefer to live to a grand old age, and have no desire to observe blood spilled, I would advise you to leave America. I would advise you all taking some immediate actions to secure a safe-haven and protect you and yours from the encroaching darkness.

Life is far too short to get killed, watch your family suffer through hardship or endure a life crippled.

Do what I did, and flee.

Spicoli GIF
Spicoli telling it like it is. Wars and strife are for younger idealistic mean to deal with. Old grizzly coots like myself would rather stay far from all the strife and life the rest of our life in peace. While it is impossible to find the best island to hide upon, we can make reasonable choices and hunker down for the protracted shit-storm that is about to be unleashed.
That's what many Jews did in the 1930's when Hitler rose to power. Some made it to the USA, but only a few. Some made it to Shanghai, and there they huddled in their enclaves while the war waged around them. While others went next door to Poland. But that didn't help them at all.

Call me a coward, if you will.

While the USA goes through the “big reset”, I will be out here, minding my own business. I will not need to fight, or witness atrocities. And I will be safe.

The days of the United States fighting a three or four year long war are long over. Today, the United States fights long-duration decade-long wars that never end.

Instead of the second American Civil War (CWII) being over in a short period of time (like the first American Civil War), it might be prolonged for decades. 

Decades, or even longer. Maybe something resembling the Palestine vs. Israel conflict. The "forever" war.

Are you willing to permit you and your family to endure that?

Instead, I will be surrounded by people who will not be affected by anything going on in the USA. Just like youse guys aren’t affected by anything going on in Lusaka, Zambia. Just like your family is not affected by what is going on in Spain right now. Or Singapore. Or Taipei.

When you live in another nation, it’s a different world, and I’m doing just fine, thank you.

Outside of the USA, everything is just fine.
Outside of the USA, everything is just fine.

Call me what ever names you want. I just do not want to be either a slave or embroiled in the SHTF CWII, Fourth Turning that is gathering momentum in America today.

And, make no mistake, it is gathering momentum.

While I had hope that the election of Donald Trump would reverse and undo the damage of progressive Marxism, he has not.

He has failed.

Hey! Instead of tweeting about buying Greenland, how about shutting down the ATF, or at least downsizing it... severely.

Outside the United States, everything is just fine.

Yes. Donald Trump.

He’s done some nice things, and he’s a hoot to listen to, but he’s not doing the real hard and uncomfortable things that need to be tasked.

It's as if the United States is a big car wreck. With broken windows, flat tires, a fire in the engine, with wounded and dying people inside. And Donald Trump, is well, washing the rear view mirror instead of tending to the damage and the destruction that urgently needs his attention.

A great example of that is former AG Jeff Sessions and his war on medical marijuana instead of prosecuting for treason. It's the same thing. Just different personalities.
Donald Trump has failed to reverse the century of Progressive ideology and oligarchy control.
Donald Trump has failed to reverse the century of Progressive ideology and oligarchy control. He has not undone the mistakes of Wilson, and FDR. Nor has he taken affirmative action to restore liberty crashed by Bush, Clinton and Obama. America is just treading water.

Realize that, and take appropriate action.

[3] – Go on the offensive.

Option three. The “into the black” option.

I’m not moping around waiting to die. I’m not lazing around eating bonbons. The present is for DOING. The present is FLEETING. I’ve got something to SAY before I go. I’ve got a future to SECURE for my children, because in them I can still see future’s promise and not just future’s threat. 

-Epsilon Theory
Do not misunderstand. Just because I am quiet and kind, does not mean that I am incapable of being entirely and dangerously violent.
Do not misunderstand. Just because I am quiet and kind, does not mean that I am incapable of being entirely and dangerously violent.
Disclaimer.

It is natural to fight for freedom and liberty. That being said, it is ugly, ugly business and should only be undertaken as a last resort. You should not go about it cavalierly. You need to plan and strike with maximum effectiveness at the root causes, the generals and the masterminds of those who are sealing your freedom.

You can, if you wish to stay, go on the offensive and fight back. (As the saying goes; Be a man gosh-darn it!) Though, you must realize that you are taking a big and dangerous risk. Be careful.

The Stoner 63.
The Stoner 63. This was exactly the kinds of weapons that the founders intended the people to arm themselves with. Not single-shot .22 round BB pellets.

You are only a single person and the problems going on in America are far to large and deep for a single person to handle. You know this, right?

However…

However, regionally, YOU can make a difference.

Warning:  If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you  read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don’t  you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly  can’t think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so  impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that  claim it? Do you read everything you’re supposed to read? Do you think  everything you’re supposed to think? Buy what you’re told to want? Get  out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the  excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove  you’re alive. If you don’t claim your humanity you will become a  statistic. You have been warned. 

- Chuck Palahniuk, “Fight Club” (1996)  

Regionally… locally… YOU can make a difference.

Regionally.

Locally.

Contrary to the Mainstream media narrative, conservatives, and traditional patriots do not strike out at innocents. We are not progressives who want to shoot up a elementary school, run down people on a sidewalk, or shoot up a Walmart. Nope.

No.

We only fight as a last resort.

However, when we fight, we aim at the target, and we do our best to hit that target. And we do not care how we do it.

You will know.
You will know when real conservatives are taking action. It won’t be a school full of innocents shot up. No. It will be a counsel member, a congressman, or a labor leader strung up and lynched. It could be a university professor, a member of the mainstream media management, or a software mogul.

We study. We prepare. We plan. Then, we hit where it matters the most. When playing chess, we go after the King and The Queen. We don’t bother with the pawns.

We go after leadership.

Make sure that your entire family is properly trained in the use of firearms.
Make sure that your entire family is properly trained in the use of firearms.
The progressive liberal cabal, and their RINO enablers, treat Americans as animals. Like cattle and that they can ratchet up the intensity of their progressive agenda slowly without worry of a backlash. They view this entire matter; the adjustment towards progressive Marxism as a giant rheostat. 

However traditional conservatives do not look at things that way. We look at it as an on/off switch. We are petrified that it might go to on. But if it does, we will NOT have any mercy. It will be a real bloody nightmare.
The point of NO return.

The conservative populace will target the progressive leadership in precise surgical attacks. Avoid the innocent. Hit those singular individuals that run the oligarchy in your region. Do not waste your time on the little guys. Target those in charge. Then go down the list and hit their enablers.

Ai! And it’s certainly a target-rich environment.

Target Rich environment.
Target Rich environment.

Operational Zone

In the map below you can easily identify where you live and what social-geographic region that you inhabit. That is your operational zone.

Select your operational zone.

Compile a target list.

Plan each one thoroughly.

America is comprised a different regions with different cultural norms and history.
America’s cultural enclaves. America is not a homogeneous society. It is a collection of social-economic regions.  America’s cultural enclaves. (Image Source)

You need to [1] identify the progressives that live within that area, you need to [2] identify the enclaves of the wealthy and [3] their points of egress, such as small regional airports. You need to identify [4] bridges and [5] choke-points and [6] you need to target those enemies of Liberty…

The Marxist cabal.

Operational Plans

Go after the key and central figures that are running the Marxist plan and take them down. (One George Soros is equivalent to 10,000 social justice warriors. ) Do not waste your time on the enablers, and the vast bulk of society. Do not hurt innocents, or the misinformed. Protect where possible, but stick to your mission parameters.

A word of caution.

If this is your preferred avenue of approach, and I have been unable to talk you out of it, then take the necessary precautions.

1. Go "X-ray" leading up to any action. Zero internet. Zero cell phone. Zero electronics. Communicate face to face or not at all. There is an over-reliance on electronic communication monitoring systems. In war, you go full X-ray.

2. Tell no one what your plans are. No one. Not even your dog. Missions are secret, for a reason.

3. Leave no records, or justification of your actions. They should speak for themselves. You do not need to hope for death and leave some kind of manifesto to prove yourself. You are not some ego deprived, basket head-case. You do not need to justify your actions.

4. If you want to target a person, consider other means aside from (noisy and easy to trace) firearms. For "surgical" strikes, nothing beats poison, radiation or "accidents". Remember Antonin Scalia. It's worked great for the progressive cabal. Adopt their strategy.

5. Any target worth your effort will be protected. Either by personal surveillance, guards, or other means. If not, then they are just plain foolish in their arrogance.

6. Threaten no one. Avoid arguments. Be as low-key and innocuous as possible. Be the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Listen up!

 With that understood by most of the readers here, I’m sure you can  all see how these RFL (Red Flag Laws)  may eventually become the confiscation we’ve been  warned about all along. RFL allow the state to use almost any reason  they desire to go to your home, enter it and take your firearms away  from you. All they have to do is justify it to themselves.

 Make an angry, politically-charged Facebook post? A RFL can be used to confiscate your guns. It has happened.

 Make a Twitter post that “authorities” interpret as being  Islamophohic? A RFL can be used to confiscate your guns. It has  happened.

 You get in an argument with your woman and piss her off? A RFL can be used to confiscate your guns. It has happened.

 Spare me the talking points on the legal limits of RFL at the present  time. All they needed to do for now is get the laws into place. Rest  assured they will be administratively and bureaucratically tweaked and  adjusted so that it gets EASIER for the boys wearing the Oakleys to kick  your door in, and those bureaucratic and administrative tweaks will  make it harder and more expensive for you to get your guns back.  Assuming that you ever get them back at all.

 RFL are the tool that willll be used to get guns away from anyone and everyone that those in charge don’t want to have them.

 All the talk that’s been had in your group about being quiet about  your guns… Put that into action now. Ditch the NRA stickers, stop the  good old boys gun discussions down at the local watering hole, remove  the vanity pics from Facebook (why do you still have FB?). No one needs  to know about your guns if they don’t live in your house. It won’t be  easy to change those habits, but it’s time now. 

The legal framework for  taking your guns away simply for being a wrong-thinker is in place. The  local Kommissar has his eyes open and the police will follow their orders to knock on your door when they get the order. 

-American Partisan

Study Materials

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. If you are going to sit and stay put and be passive, then put on the “neutral” camouflage and go with the flow. If you are going to flee, then prep and make the leap. And, of course, if you are going to strike against the progressive cabal study.

Here’s some tools.

Please be safe

If you are desirous of taking matters into your own hands, be realistic about it. It will not be like any television show, or movie that you have watched. It will be up front and personal. It will NOT go the way you planned, and it will NOT be pleasant.

Think. Think very carefully if you really want to do this. Bugging out and high-tailing it to a foreign land is a much easier and less risky thing to do.

In the early stages of SHTF, the government will still be functional and they will have the resources to track you down and kill you dead. Realize this. They will protect their elite members and protected classes of people and will strike back harshly at you and yours… their inferiors.

Realize it, and take the appropriate measures.

Advantage lies in secrecy, surprise, planning, and backup plans. Trust no one. Plan on the worst possible outcome, and keep frosty and alert.

Up close and personal.
War is not like a video game. It is up front, in your face and personal. You had best steel yourself for this reality if you are even going to contemplate fighting and hurting others. It’s nasty, nasty business. It really is.

If you are not ready to kill someone with a knife, up close and personal, then you are not ready to do anything. Option three is not for you. You should reconsider options one or two.

Life isn’t fair. Deal with it.

When one anonymous phone call can cause police to descend on your house,  seize your firearms, and shoot you if you resist, then you no longer  live in a nation of laws. 

- Staff at Amerika 

I have a friend here in China named Ronald. He’s from South Africa.

He fled his home nation when the social Marxists came to power and started to implement their war on “white people”. (Within months of Barrack Obama giving 7 billion dollars to South Africa to “improve their energy grid”. Who’d have thought?)

He lost just about everything that he owned. But… he’s alive. He has a roof over his head and trying to make it at 65 years old in a strange land with strange customs.

But at least he doesn’t have to worry about gangs of black urban youth riding technicals, crashing through his doorway and abusing his family and friends.

His point of view is that while things are a real struggle for him at this time, it is far better for him now in China that were he to have stayed in South Africa. He’s a lucky man and has his nut.

Sometimes it's better to flee than to stay and risk your life and the life of your family.
The holy grail of nuts.

Conclusion

Don’t put too much faith in Donald Trump and the Republican crew to reverse centuries of progressive Marxism. They are floundering. They are not doing anything. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they do not have that ability.

As a result all this is just leading youse guys along.

  As Bill Barr slowly and efficiently covers up the seditious plot and  other crimes committed by the FBI and DOJ during the Obama years, it is  not unreasonable to wonder how far down the scale this moves the  political center. Twenty-five years ago, most dissidents would have  thought this level of corruption was improbable, if not entirely  impossible. The typical normie was still sure the next election would  bring reformers, who would chase off the crooks and clean up the  system...

           One thing we know is that dissident ranks are growing. Even  the Left is admitting it. The popularity of dissident sites, podcasts  and video shows are at record highs. More important, the general sense  within dissident ranks is that reform is impossible... 

           Whatever you may think of Trump, the result of the last  three years is proof that elections don’t matter. This shameless refusal  by public officials to apply the law to Washington insiders makes a  mockery of the rule of law. Throw in the stunning dishonesty of the mass  media and the metastasizing surveillance state and it is impossible for  even the most gullible to remain a civic nationalist. 

-Z man blog via Remus

Do not be caught off guard. You are a man and have responsibilities.

Newsflash: Red Flag Laws are already being enforced across the country, even in some die hard Red States.

My advice to Armed Patriots is still the same:

DUMP ALL Social Media 
Do NOT advertise anything about Firearms on your vehicle or person 
Keep your Personal Business to yourself 
NEVER willingly install Listening Devices in your House such as SIRI and ALEXA 

Big Brother is listening and watching 24/7.
Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous! 

-The Tactical Hermit

Take your responsibilities seriously and make the hard and difficult choices.

Choose one of the following three options and go full blast at it. You do not have forever. Now is the time. You are the person. Be smart. Be frosty. Be serious.

  • Stay and accept a life as a serf in a two-tiered society.
  • Flee for greener pastures.
  • Fight the bastards, but be smart about it.

The BIG GAME is coming.

" this past weekend i was at the local having a pint. out of no where  there was a commotion by the pool tables behind me. i looked and there  stood a kid 17-18ish, yelling at a guy standing with his hair in a  ponytail. 

 he had a slight smirk on his face. he never said a word, he just stood staring back with a shit eating grin. 

 eventually the manager walked over, and ended up kicking the kid out. 

 the manager came back sat next to me and the bartender walked over. i  looked at the manager and  said, “that kid was gonna get pounded if it  went to blows.” the bartender (an Irish guy and former hell raiser)  nodded and the manager quickly agreed. “OH YEAH!!!!” manager spent a  year in prison for involuntary man slaughter. guy pulled a gun on him,  he took the gun and he shot the man in the face, point blank. 

 when he told me the story he did it in the most chilling voice i’d ever heard from his mouth.

 guys that fight, NEVER talk shit. there’s a disagreement and either a  fight begins or does not. when a fist lands on your face, that’s the  primary sign you are in a fight. there’s a certain way i fight if i KNOW  it’s gonna down. don’t ask, i ain’t telling. 
 “when you are short on everything but the enemy, you are in combat.” -murphey’s laws of combat.

 guy ended up coming up to the bar to get a drink. i looked over at  him and said, “god dammit i was hoping you were gonna unload on him.” he  smiled and said, “nah, i only fight men.” i told the bartender i was  covering his beer. he shook my hand, thanked me and i asked his name.

 “Mike, you.”

 i answered, “Danny. nice to meet you. stay the fuck up Dude.”
 he turned and walked back to his game of pool.
 stay up.   

- ITLR: The Barking Doggy 

Wake up call

James Kunstler says …

“… if Barr & Durham fail to deliver a bale of indictments, they will be putting a bullet in the head of this republic. There will be no hope of restoring trust in the system …” There’s more.

“What is most perilous for our country now, would be to journey through a second epic crisis of authority in recent times without anybody facing the consequences of crimes they might have committed. The result will be a people turned utterly cynical, with no faith in their institutions or the rule of law, and no way to imagine a restoration of their lost faith within the bounds of law”.

The first epic crisis was the finance debacle of 2008,

“… fraudsters and swindlers in that orgy of banking malfeasance were never marched into a courtroom, never had to answer for their depredations, and remained at their desks in the C-suites collecting extravagant bonuses”.

The FBI, the Department of Justice, the CIA, the FISA Court, the Department of State, et al, originated and assisted this clunky coup attempt and continue to cover up the misdeeds of their participants. Piles of actionable evidence have been part of the public record for some time now, yet we still await reason to believe the Barr and Durham investigations are being conducted in good faith. Given events thus far an objective observer would bet the other way.

As Mr. Kunstler points out, trust, perhaps legitimacy itself, is slipping away from DC. Consider their serial crimes, not merely unpunished but flouted as insider jokes. Consider the malicious partisanship and sponsored assaults by DC’s core agencies, openly applauded in DC as brave and heroic. Consider past and ongoing “legislating from the bench” specifically intended to undo the express will of the people. The emerging message is plain enough now to be unmistakable. Our votes don’t count. Because we don’t count.

Bonus

Most SHTF and Prepper articles concentrate on self-preservation. Now, Self-preservation is important, but it will not take our Republic back. Always remember that. Fighting a Defensive war is a losing proposition.

NO ONE ever wins a war fought on the Defensive.

Highlights from Part one. Staple this to your Brain.
 
1) Government identification records are the clerical basis for mass  murder and other atrocities: No, not every government ID scheme leads  to genocide and expatriation. But for the collectivists of both the  German Reich and the USSR, each victim’s identity card was both part of  the initial targeting and the final “production record”.

2) Get to the forest early if you want to live: If you think they  will be coming for you, you are probably right. Plan not to be where  they know you work and live. Act early if you want to maximize your  chances. You and your family will die if you are at your  government-approved address.

3) The Bad People will have lots of help from your neighbors:The  most disturbing moment for me in the KGB museum was not in the execution  or interrogation/torture cells. It was realizing, while moving through  the excellent exhibits on the mass deportations of Lithuanians after  “liberation” by the Soviets in 1944, that most of the deportees (many of  whom were subsequently executed or starved or died of exposure and  disease) had been betrayed to the NKVD/KGB by their neighbors.

4) “Fascism” is not the only mortal enemy of freedom and life; the  real enemy is collectivism in any form: At each of the memorials, one  could tell the provenance of any signage by its reference to “fascism”.  Mostly, such markings were from the Soviet era, during which — not  coincidentally — many more millions of innocent human beings were killed  by the “enlightened” Communists than had been slaughtered by the  Hitlerites and their collaborators. While it is too much to expect the  Soviets to acknowledge these facts, it is essential that freedom-minded  folks grok that collectivism, in any form, can and usually does lead to  the mass grave.

5) Never report en masse when ordered to do so: Nothing good ever happens to folks who do.

6) Food and ammunition will be the vital shortages you must address  in order to live: Empty weapons and bellies a successful resistance does  not make.

7) The Bad People will torture and kill those who help you: Get used  to the idea. Retribution killing is a standard totalitarian play. Try  to avoid jeopardizing your allies to the extent possible, but know that  they too will be swept into the whirlwind.

8) The Bad People will torture and kill your family 
members:Sippenhaft ain’t just a chapter in Vanderboegh’s long-awaited novel.  The KGB museum was filled with execution orders with notations  indicating that not only had the subject been killed per order of the  Party, but that “special measures” had or would be taken against the  victim’s family.

9)  You must be prepared to fight until victory or death: Once you go to the woods, you are there for the duration. The Baltic “forest brothers”stayed out until they were killed or captured. More on them in the next part of this report.

10) If you think it can’t happen here, you are wrong. The Polish and  Lithuanian Jews who were ground into dust by the Einsatzgruppenthought  the same thing. So did the Lithuanians who couldn’t believe that the  Communists under Stalin and subsequent regimes would hold their  passionate patriotism against them.

Almost all of those folks who believed “it couldn’t happen” died. 

A few survived by running into the woods, or by bearing up under the  brutal realities of the Gulag, year after year after year.

Each of them knows the single biggest lesson from Lithuania: naked,  brute force can and does triumph over kindness, love of kin and country,  and simple human decency — often for decades or more.

Lose your illusions.
While there is still time.
Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous! 

SHTF Related Index

This is a collection of my posts related to SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan), CWII (American Civil War 2), Fourth Turning (Strauss–Howe generational theory) and other posts related to the very sad and sorry tatters that America is today. Actually, I am a little stunned that I have written so much about these matters. But America today is very ill and there are things that really should be said.

Here are the posts.

SHTF and Related Index

The Tale of the Killdozer.
Why are Americans so angry?
Evolution of the USA and China.
The grim future.
SJW
r/K selection theory
Link
What is planned for American Conservatives - Part 2
What is going to happen to conservatives - Part 3.
What is planned for conservatives - part 4
What is in store for Conservatives - part 5
What is in store for conservatives - part 6
Civil War
The Warning Signs
Line in the sand
A second passport
Link
Make America Great Again.
What would the founders think?
The Ninth Amendment
How they get away with it
Snopes
Taxiation without representation.
Link
Parable about America
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Democracy Lessons
A polarized world.
Asshole
Types of American conservatives.

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
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Free Intention Dream Boards

Here are some free Intention / Dream boards for your use. I would suggest that you copy the (presented image) photos to your computer and alter and customize it to fit your own personalized intentions. As such, please feel free to download and use to your heart’s content.

A dream board is a collage of images, pictures and written affirmations of the intentions and desires you wish to achieve. It helps you through visualization, thus activating the Universal Law of Attraction, or “likes attract like.” 

- 6 Tips for Making a Dream Board - Fit Bottomed Girls 

The so called “Law of Attraction” is an element of the quantum physics law known as the “observer effect“. It has been repeatedly proven that a person’s thoughts alter the reality that they experience.

Though many people outside of MAJestic haven’t a clue as to the mechanism for this behavior.

Here are some attempts to explain this curious effect, and how a person can utilize it for their own personal use. If you are the kind of person that wants to know what all this is all about, and why it is important, these following links might be of help.

Now of course, us in MAJestic (well, at least those in my particular program) actually know how the universe works. We know how to manipulate it, and we do know the dangers of thought imposition.

How it works

Ah, I covered this subject in great detail in other posts.

However, for now, let’s just keep it simple. The universe is nothing like we think it is. Seriously. It does not resemble anything that is being taught in universities, or being promoted in any of the world’s religions.

Time is the movement of consciousness in and out of adjacent world-line variations.

The thoughts generated by the consciousness navigate the movement through these realities.

By controlling your thoughts, you can set destination realities for you to inhabit.

Which, by the way, means that you must be the pilot for your consciousness. You must keep your destination in mind, and your objectives clear. You have to avoid the “rocky shores” or disruptive thoughts. Thus you need to stay away from discordant news, and toxic people.

Dream Boards

I often go on the Internet and see examples of Intention / Dream boards. Their heart is in the right place but they are going about it wrong.

  • Firstly, a “Dream Board” is one element of “Intention Projection”.
  • Secondly, a “Dream Board” is useless without an associated prayer.

Also the theory behind how it works, as promoted on the internet, is really not accurate. To fully understand how an Intention / Dream board works, you need to understand just how our universe works. And, you know what, everyone has it wrong.

Prayer

Unless you are backing up your vision board with prayer, you will not derive full benefit from your dream board. It is your thoughts that define your reality. To navigate in and out of the realities that are constantly evolving and shifting around us, you must pilot your consciousness. You need to be the Captain of your consciousness.

To navigate, you need to control and master your thoughts. You need to do the following…

  • Pray. These are thoughts that show your intentions, and desires.
  • Create a vision board, or vision “splash screen” on your electronic media.
  • Isolate yourself from negative media; news, music or movies.
  • Isolate yourself from negative or disruptive people.

Use of the Vision Board / Splash Screen

You use the sample image as a desktop background. When ever you see the desktop image in the background you say your prayer associated with it. Thus is you want to use multiple backgrounds on a rotating basis, it becomes helpful to have a nice list of intention prayers that you read once a day.

Setting in Microsoft Windows 10.
In the Windows control panel, this is the setting that will enable you to control your desktop splash screen.

Remember, that in order the intention board to work, you must recite your prayers out loud. (This is can be in a whisper, don’t you know.)

The longer you do this, the more “stable” your destination reality will become. However, there will come a point in time when you will “tire” of the prayers and dream boards. When this occurs, let it go and forget about it all. (It’s an important evolution that is established by your consciousness.)

You can do a different prayer and dream board, if you want. Just know that your intention will most certainly manifest.

The Things people wish for

I went on the handy dandy internet, and researched the things that most people wish for. Then I compiled them into a list and I am presenting intentions splash screens for each item on the list. Please consider these splash screens as an idea from which you can base your very own intention splash photos off of. Or use them raw as shown. It’s all up to you.

The Samples

The samples provided are just that. Samples. If you want to use them, feel free, but you MUST include an associated daily prayer with them.

Also note, that providing the samples here does not mean that I agree with the thought projections. Some of the samples offer vices, and other elements that do not fit my personal preferences. They are offered as suggestions for you the reader to base your own dream boards on.

Please take note that all these images and dream board splashes are made using the Microsoft Visio application. It is amazingly easy to use and simple. You just create a picture and add other pictures and text to your desired image.

Further, please take note that there is a trade off between a singular image with prayer, and a collage of images. A group of images will offer the person a greater degree of latitude and versatility in how the intention manifests. This latitude enables the manifestation to occur quicker. A singular image properly prayed for with strong intentions take much longer to manifest, but the results are more exacting.

Here we provide (mostly) singular images for your study and enjoyment.

Power

This intention desktop “splash” is related to POWER.

If you are desirous of increasing your apparent power within the reality that you inherit, then this image is for you. You are free to use it as is, or make your own along these lines. Alternatively, you can fill the entire image screen with smaller images that illustrate the kinds of power that you might wish to evoke.

Power intention
This is the image that you can use if you want to use the power of intention to manifest power for yourself. Feel free to “left click” and save the image to your “Pictures” folder. Then set the desktop background on your computer to this image.

Please note that you must use the following dialog in your prayers associated with this image…

I utilize the desktop image display on my computer to help cultivate the reality that my world-line is.

In all cases, the dominant male figure portrayed in the image(s) represent myself.

Images that portray mafia figures, or "bad people" portray myself in similar roles of power. They do NOT, however, manifest these kinds of people arrayed against me.

If you do not take care in your prayers, and in the application of the desktop display intention splash, it could easily “backfire” against you. Therefore, it is critically important for you to have a very clear and well defined image intention with an associated prayer.

After all, unless you are careful on how your thoughts manifest, you might end up having this crew come a knockin’ at your door…

Chinese triad gangsters.
Chinese triad gangsters. If you are not careful and try to use the power of intention to alter your reality towards one of power, you could just as easily invoke the more negative manifestations that come with that territory. This could include Chinese Triad gangsters.

Success in business

Again, here is a a different intention desktop splash. This is for people who are desirous of having a very successful business, and the rewards that come with it.

Success in Business
Success in Business. This is a fine intention (PC) desktop dream splash canvas if you are desirous of being very successful in business… financially. As before, please right click on the image and save to your Pictures folder. Then set your background image display to this image.

Again, it’s not enough just to use this image as a desktop background display. You need to associate it with a prayer. I would suggest that what ever prayer that you utilize, that you incorporate the following prayers / affirmations…

I utilize the desktop image display on my computer to help cultivate the reality that my world-line is.

In all cases, the dominant male figure portrayed in the image(s) represent myself.

Images that portray "bad people" portray myself in similar roles of power. They do NOT, however, manifest these kinds of people arrayed against me. 

Suave

This is for you men who desire to be considered charming, confident, and elegant by others. Whether that is members of the other sex (women) or men, it does not matter.

charming · sophisticated · debonair · urbane · worldly · worldly-wise · polished · refined · poised · self-possessed · dignified · civilized · gentlemanly · gallant · smooth · smooth-talking · smooth-tongued · silver-tongued · glib · polite · well mannered · civil · courteous · affable · tactful · diplomatic · slick · cool · mannerly 
Suave
Here is the intention dream splash image for a person who would like to be suave within their reality. Always remember that we cannot change others, all that we can do is alter the reality that surrounds our souls. In so doing the perceptions that others have for us can change in alignment with our desires.

And again, you must associate this image display with your prayers…

I utilize the desktop image display on my computer to help cultivate the reality that my world-line is.

In all cases, the dominant male figure portrayed in the image(s) represent myself. 

The manifestation of this reality is gradual and safe and is in alignment with my deepest desires.

Good Health

Good health is something that we take for granted, and it isn’t until we get older when we start to panic at how our bodies age. There are things that we can do, of course. We can eat better, stay away from bad people and negative thoughts, and do some moderate exercise.

Also we must not neglect the role that good, directed thoughts play in shaping our life.

While you cannot simply wish or pray to be healthy, it can help assist in the movement of world-line selection towards the manifestation of your desires. The formula works a little like this…

Modest physical efforts + strong directed thoughts = Attainment

Here is a nice splash image for your desktop. In all cases laid out here, from the Power to the Fame, you MUST provides some kind of minimum physical action from which the desired world-lines can manifest.

  • Wishing for something to happen = nothing will happen.
  • Physically working for things = maybe might happen.
  • Directed thoughts for things = a possibility can happen.

But… you should take careful note…

  • Physically working towards things + Directed thoughts = cause your desires to manifest.

Please kindly keep that in mind when you utilize these desktop displays and splash screens. These intention boards are only part of a much more inclusive system that requires your participation to work.

You can manifest the world-lines that will be favorable to your intentions, and thus they will appear to manifest for you.

To put it in another way, laying on a couch / sofa eating potato chips and just leaving a intention dream canvas splash display rotate passively on the computer will result in NOTHING.

You must pump your thoughts full of directed thoughts, you must use the desktop display and view it from time to time to refresh your imagery, and you must do a moderate amount of physical action to generate a baseline from which your thoughts can manifest upon.

I have generated two splash intention dream canvas. One is for a man and the other is for a woman. Those of you who are of confused gender, you can follow the guidelines to create your very own specialized splash screen.

Men

Desktop splash screen for a man for good health.
Desktop splash screen for a man for good health.

Woman

Desktop splash machine for a woman to be in good physical health.
Desktop splash screen for a woman to be in good physical health.

And do not forget to add this prayer…

I utilize the desktop image display on my computer to help cultivate the reality that my world-line is.

In all cases, the dominant figure portrayed in the image(s) represent myself. 

Fame

The desire for fame is one of the most popular desires that people have. Yet, it’s perplexing why this is. Personally, I think that it is rather silly. Why do you want fame? To have followers, groupies or get offered free sex on demand?

People, if that is what you want, then you just go ahead and ask for it directly. If you want to have loads of sex with strangers who are enraptured with you, then ask for that in your intention prayers. You don’t need to ask for “fame”.

The problem with fame is “thought imposition”. The associated thoughts and quantum environment associated with others will severely influence your life. Trust me, you DO NOT want large groups of people thinking negatively about you. Or, even if it is positive, these thoughts can severely impact your ability to direct your own thoughts.

Never the less, I am placing the free desktop splash photo for those desirous of “Fame” here. In every case, you absolutely MUST associate it with the following affirmation / prayer.

I utilize the desktop image display on my computer to help cultivate the reality that my world-line is.

In all cases, the dominant male figure portrayed in the image(s) represent myself. 

The manifestation of this reality is gradual and safe and is in alignment with my deepest desires. However, at any event, the manifestation of fame as pictured will be positive in every way, and will not have any negative connotations or spawn negative associated events.

Here’s my suggested image desktop splash intention photo;

Desktop splash for Fame intention.
Desktop splash for Fame intention.

Sex

Sex. It’s a biological driven human attribute. If you do not have the desire to reproduce, or at least go through the motions of reproducing, then you are not living life. All humans desire sex.

It might not be politically correct, but that is the way it is.

Which is one of the reasons why tyrannical governments ban vices, such as sex out of marriage in order to control people. It is a very common and human element that is very easy to use to control others with.

As are other things, like mind altering substances (alcohol) and things that are fun. It's a way of controlling people.

“Everything I love is illegal, banned or dangerous.”

When constructing you very own dream splash canvas, you can be very generous with the images used. However, take most special attention to their selection.

Improperly selected images, and splash screens without a detailed prayer / intention affirmation can easily result in conditions, situations and environments that you might find undesirable. Be very careful, precise and exact when selecting the images that you wish to use.

Desktop splash image for generating an intention prayer of Sex to manifest.
Desktop splash image for generating an intention prayer of Sex to manifest. Be very careful in your selection of images to use. If you are not careful, the more undesirable elements of thought generation can manifest with negative consequences. Be careful.

Happiness

The reader will notice that all of the images depict people and are representative of situations that people are in. That’s the way a dream / intention canvas works.

Picture and image the situations.

Do not image things.

You cannot display pictures of money and expect that it is to be associated with you having lots of money in your wallet. Instead, it is just a picture of an item. And you, constantly seeing that item, turns it into a kind of world-line scenery; Something that might lie around you, but not anything that you are associated with.

Not exactly what you want.

You see this all the time. People set up dream intention boards with nice expensive cars, pictures of houses, and images of a lot of nice things. They will include words that describe what they want to accomplish in their life.

While it will contribute to the world-line direction that the creator intended, it will be done so inefficiently. You need to explicitly map out your desires and intentions and navigate properly in a very careful manner.

After all, you don’t want to make the same kinds of mistakes that our hero Elliot made in the movie “Bedazzled“, do you?

Elliot Richards (Brendan) would give  anything to have Allison Gardner (Frances O'Connor) in his life, or so  he says. Who should overhear? The devil (Elizabeth Hurley) of course.  She offers him "seven absolutely fabulous wishes for one piddling little  soul". Only Elliot finds out that you don't always get what you wish  for.  
Elliot as a basketball star. He’s a great star, bigger in life in so many ways… well every way except for one teeny, tiny thing. Just a small thing, really.

The image you use, or the images you select MUST have a special meaning and association with you personally. Which is why many intention / dream splash screen canvases must be made intentionally for your own wishes and desires, as well as to have a prayer dialog that you must recite daily that will reset your thought direction, for world-line navigation, properly.

Here is a sample splash screen for a Happiness directed intention.

Happiness directed intention / dream splash screen photo.
Happiness directed intention / dream splash screen photo.

Wine and Cats

The most effective intention splash screens are those that represent people, and actions. However, you the reader should note that there are other techniques that can be used in a dream splash canvas. Here we explore one such concept.

Here is a splash screen for a person who wants a life filled with wine and plenty of kitty-cat friends…

Wine & cats intention splash image for the desktop.
Wine & cats intention splash image for the desktop.

There are no limits

There are really no limits to the direction that you want your life to evolve into. You simply think about your goals and dreams, all the time, while also removing all the nonsense from others, the news, and other’s manufactured problems. Stay pure, and you will walk the path to your deepest desires.

You can use many clusters of pictures

Many people create an Intention / Dream board that they place on their wall. This is often filled with photographs and images that were cut out of magazines. Every time they see this board, they are instantly reminded of their goals and dreams, and thus it serves it’s most exacting purpose.

In today’s computerized age, I suggest using the computer to do the same thing, and while my examples have one singular photo on it, in my own personal case, I use multiple images myself, creating a collage.

Here is an example of a “fairly decent” dream board. They use imagery that is important to them, and use words to specify the purpose and utility for the images.

A example dream board found on the internet.
A example dream board found on the internet. It describes possessions, lifestyle, and other aspects of the desired world-line goals that are intended to manifest.

You see, everyone is different.

We all have different desires, goals, needs, wants and interests. So each dream splash screen will be different for different people. And, while I argue that you need to let the intention splash screen be a part of a tool kit for manifesting your reality, how you use the tools will depend on your own experiences, lifestyle and needs.

Here’s another example.

Another example of an inspiration / dream / intention board.
Another example of an inspiration / dream / intention board. This one is better than most as the use of images tie together to describe an overall theme or lifestyle.

Warnings

When you get on the internet, you will see all kinds of examples of people describing their intention / dream boards. You will also find many that monetize this effort.

Do not fall for that trap. The United States has become one great big vending machine and the people are the commodity.

Keep this most important fact in mind. You do not need to pay anyone for anything regarding how you think.

Also… Your thoughts are private.

We have come to accept the idea that you can police discourse on the internet, that the government agencies can extract history, reasoning, and behaviors from you at will, and that your thoughts are subject to scrutiny.

That is false.

Not only is it all against the 1st, 4th and 9th amendments to the United States Constitution, but it is a fundamental nature of yourself as a human. Privacy is a human need.

No. The "elected" officials in the United States are NOT doing their job, nor have they been since the last 150 years or so. But that is a subject for another time.

You need NEVER justify why you desire something to manifest in your life. It is secret and only between you and your God.

Everyone’s mind works differently

When I use the term “mind” I am referring to HOW the consciousness implants thoughts into the brain. It also includes how the brain reacts to the physical stimulus that surrounds it in this reality (that it inhabits).

Everyone’s mind works differently.

Oh we are often under the impression that while there might be deviance in thoughts from the baseline “normal”. That is all false. Really, really false. We all think differently. Do not assume that others will understand you or accept your thought processes. They won’t. It’s a foregone conclusion and do not even bother trying to explain anything.

His vrs Her thoughts.
It’s funny because it is so very true. Girls and guns. So very funny.

Do not assume anything. Live your own life to the best of your ability. Do not care, or give any consideration to what others think of you, your actions or your thoughts.

Conclusion

Creating an inspiration or dream board is a fundamental technique for a person to pilot their life to manifest their desires.

It works on the quantum physics principle of the observer effect.

Secrets of the universe

Why it works is not well understood outside of MAJestic. That is because the vast bulk of the world has absolutely zero concept of how the universe works. However, we in MAJestic (well at least those in my sub-project) know quite well the mechanism involved.

It’s simple really.

There is no singular fixed reality. Instead there are a near infinite number of realities.

Our consciousness moves through each one, forming a path.

This path is called time.

We travel at a rate, more or less, around 4Hz.

The selection of the next reality for us to inhabit is determined by our thoughts. Typically, we migrate to realities that are defined by our thoughts that are influenced by the world around us. This can be dangerous and evil people use media to manipulate, and thus cause our travel path to bend and twist towards realities that we might not want to participate in.

Therefore, to manifest the life that we desire to live, we need to do three things…

  • Turn off all negative, distracting, and disruptive thoughts that surround us.
  • Stay away from people with strong thoughts and personalities that are contrary to our desires.
  • Focus our thoughts on our ultimate goals.

A vision dream (intention) splash desktop will help accomplish this. Provided that it is linked to a daily prayer that includes the subject matter listed.

Related Links

Here’s some other related links for the interested fellow or chick.

Using Intention to make your life sparkle.
The Nature of the Universe

A little bit more background for the more scientifically inclined…

Ah, and why I ended up learning the utility of all this as part of MAJestic. Here is the end ball game…

Final Note

This is how it works people. And, at that, perhaps this is my MAJestic gift to the world.

The things we did with our extraterrestrial benefactors was intended to help sort out the sentience selection for the human species. It seems to me that it is still in flux, but that need not concern you all. What you should be concerned with is how you can truly embrace the life that we live and customize it to fit your ultimate desires.

Being able to control our thoughts is the FIRST step in mastery of our life. You can do this through [1] prayer, and [2] visualization.

There is a reason why ritual is important. For ritual permits proper direct visualization so that prayer can be conducted without distraction.

Posts Regarding Life and Contentment

Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.

What is going on in Hollywood?
Why no High-Speed rail in the USA?
Link
Link
Link
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Tomatos
Link
Mad scientist
Gorilla Cage in the basement
The two family types and how they work.
How to manage a family household.
Link
Soups, Sandwiches and ice cold beer.
Pleasures
Work in the 1960's
School in the 1970s
Cat Heaven
Corporate life
Corporate life - part 2
Build up your life
Grow and play - 1
Grow and play - 2
Baby's got back
Link
A womanly vanity
Army and Navy Store
Playground Comparisons
Excuses that we use that keep us enslaved.

More Posts about Life

I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.

Being older
Things I wish I knew.
Link
Travel
PT-141
Bronco Billy
How they get away with it
Paper Airplanes
Snopes
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
1960's and 1970's link
Democracy Lessons
The Rule of Eight

Funny Pictures

Picture Dump 1

Be the Rufus – Tales of Everyday Heroism.

Be the Rufus - 1

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
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Assorted Influencer Driven FAQ’s Regarding this MAJestic Disclosure (part 2)

This is part two (2) continued.

Organized Government Time-Travel

Is this a thing?

What do you think about organized government plans regarding time travel?

I know nothing about the subject aside from what I have heard on the Internet. I know that time travel, as conventionally understood does not exist. 

The closest thing is (apparent) time travel, which is really dimensional travel that indexes a different state of entropy via gravitational proximity measurement (such as described by John Titor).

While it is well known and widely understood that the United States government has been involved in all kinds of highly classified and secret projects, the plausibility of one being related to time travel is actually rather low. 

The reason behind this belief is because there has to be a reason for a given project. Those involved in the projects must have [1] a quantifiable goal, with [2] specific measurables to judge the success or failure of the task.

For instance, I was in MAJestic.  My particular project fell under MAJI simply because I was involved working with extraterrestrials. 

I do not know what my management thought my role would be, aside from being lent out as I was.

I could not fathom anyone from Washington D.C. approving “dimensional anchoring” activity as directed by an extraterrestrial species.  In fact, I think it was set up with an understanding that I would be “used” by the <redacted> for some unspecified roles.  I do believe that they proceeded on the assumption that I might be hurt or changed in the process, but shrugged their shoulders and said “meh”.

That the monitoring of my engagement with them would be recorded by the ELF signals. 

My functional goal was dimensional anchoring.  The measurables were also defined.  Either the human sentience follows a normal evolutionary development, or veers off into unapproved sentience development.  It was clear. 

I have a difficult time believing that time travel would have a specific goal.  That is because if a person does not like how something turned out, they can move to a different world-line. Also, how could the success of such an action be measured?  It just cannot.

Operation Black Opera

What do you know about “Operation Black Opera”?

Nothing, aside from what I have heard on the Internet

Point One. Truthfully, If a person was involved with extraterrestrials or involved in using extraterrestrial technology, they would have a Core Kit #1 probe installation.  Everyone in the world, who deals with extraterrestrials have these probes. If they don’t have the probes, then they are just blowing smoke up your ass.

Point Two. To get the probes, you would need to be associated with the military. They would also be in the military, probably the United States Navy, and be part of MAJestic.  Even those pretty civilian girls on the base, were ON THE MILITARY BASE.

Point Three. Additionally, they would NEED to have a technical background.  That means an engineering degree at the bare minimum. Engineering degrees teach how to research, solve problems, and quickly analyze situations. These are fundamental requirements for extraterrestrial interaction.

If you are going to utilize extraterrestrial technology in any way then you will HAVE and NEED to possess a technical background; a college degree in some technical field. It would be a baccalaureate or higher in the sciences.

This should be obvious to every clear thinking and reasoning person out there.

No one is going to expose extraterrestrial contact and technology to anyone without making sure that they have the skills and knowledge to handle the knowledge.  Right?

A friend of mine bought a steak for his dog, Buddy. It was an end cut, but he wanted to give the dog something special. So he bought a $10 slab of steak.

I will never forget that day.

He showed the steak to Buddy. He sniffed it, and went CHOMP, and swallowed. It went from steak to zero in less than a second.

And Buddy is there, not knowing what's going on, begging. More, more, more...

You have to know, and understand, and show by demonstration that you are able to handle NEW, unusual, and unique experiences. It’s NOT handed out like political favors (a nod to the Obama’s), or given because you provide sexual gratification (a nod to Hollywood), or given to you because your parents are wealthy and powerful (a nod to Stanford, Yale and the rest).

That requires verifiable education. 

They are not going to hand over the keys to any technology without them [1] being implanted with ELF probes (core kit #1 at minimum) and taking [2] a military oath.

So when I read stories about people who supposedly held key leadership roles in MAJestic, and they have no demonstrable abilities, all I can do is laugh.

Uncontrollable laughter.

Discordant Sentience’s

What is a discordant sentience?

Concerning humans, the <redacted> did not want a discordant sentience to develop; (in the case of humans) the discordant sentience is a “service for self sentience” that believe that they are actually a “service for others” sentience. 

There are really three types of sentience’s that human consciousness can migrate towards. They are (plus the discordant variant)…

  • Service for others.
  • Service for another.
  • Service for oneself.
  • Discordant.

Discordant sentience’s manifest in different ways.  In short, a discordant sentience is one that will not evolve into an approved sentience archetype.

This was what was actually occurring at the time of my entry into the program.  Through the advances in technology, various individuals were convincing vast groups of people that they were “helping others” by “being selfish”.  As a result, large groups of people were getting conflicting thoughts regarding their identity.

All entities must know their identities. 

A fox knows it’s a fox.  A dog knows it’s a dog. However, humans (in larger and larger numbers) started thinking they were doing one thing when they were actually doing something else. 

Believing that you are helping people by demanding that person "X" does something to help person "Y". You believe by doing so you are helping others. You aren't. You are instead being selfish.

Thoughts create realities. 

So the resultant world-line directions were not going in associated directions. The manners that would match the thoughts with the actions were not occurring. 

This created problems in world-line direction, and altered severely the educational value of the experiences that the people would be exposed to. This is absolutely and positively unacceptable.

Examples abound.  Such as [1] having a basically kind and loving person vigorously insists that we need to tax other people to help a certain “special” segment of the population.  Alternatively, [2] that we had to fight a war, to help others who would suffer otherwise.  In both examples, the kind person believes that they did not have to do anything, just make others do the work that they think is required.  

Sentience is tied to personal physical action of the person having the thoughts. You cannot delegate responsibility or actions. It does not work that way.
The Bakers.
James Orsen Bakker (born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist, convicted fraudster, a former Assemblies of God minister, and a former host (with his then-wife Tammy Faye Bakker) of The PTL Club, an evangelical Christian television program. An accusation of rape made by his secretary led to his resignation from the ministry. Subsequent revelations of accounting fraud brought about his imprisonment and divorce. He later remarried and returned to televangelism.

A person can be manipulated into being a discordant sentience.

This is selfish behavior on behalf of the kind person.  They did not do anything positive.  Instead they “forced”, though thought or action, another person fulfill their desires.  Their thoughts were kind, their intentions were good, but their actions were selfish. 

Those who do this possess discordant sentience’s. Ignorance has no bearing in this issue.  Thoughts create realities.

The Future Doom…

Will any of the great “fears” actually manifest in your lifetime?

No.  California will not slide into the Pacific ocean

Global warming will not melt the ice caps, nor will it cause a “snowball effect” and another global ice age.  The same was true about global cooling. Both excuses are suitable for collecting money for the easily manipulated ignorant. Humans do not have the ability to alter climate on a global basis… yet.

There will not be a global pandemic, and there will not be a pole shift that we need to worry about. 

“Mad Cow” disease will not kill too many people.

2012 will come and pass with hardly a ripple. (And there wasn’t a ripple was there?)

All these things are simply media generated fears specifically targeted to manipulate people to behave in certain ways. Usually to empty our wallets and to give the money to “others” and “experts” to use as they see fit. 

One of the reasons for the NEED to anchor mass groupings of world-line realities was because of the amplification of efforts to manipulate people though mass thought control.

Education

Do you believe that you can teach the science of our souls to the general population?

No. 

We do not know enough about soul construction to be able to teach anything.  What I know is only trivial in substance.  What I provide here is intended to be a spark that ignites an effort to study and research the soul, and it’s construction.

CIA

Were you in the CIA?

No.  Nothing that I was involved in has anything to do with that agency.

Naval Aviator

Why do you claim to be a Naval SEAL? It sounds like you are making up stories to inflate yourself like being an American Indian like Senator Warren.

I was never a Navy SEAL.

I never applied for one, and have no idea why anyone would want to be one in the first place. My interests were always in aviation, and with the most skilled aviators, flying the most advanced aircraft. These people were (and still are) in the US Navy.

My goal and desire has always to be a “Spaceman”. You can pour through my High School transcripts, my university transcripts, and come to the same conclusion. I studied hard, hard science classes. Then you can easily see that I was in class 21-81 at AOCS at NAS, NASC Pensacola, Florida.

All of what I proclaim is verifiable. Go ahead. Look at my W-2 forms. You will see that I dropped off the grid right after joining MAJestic, and popped up at NAS China Lake where I trained. It’s all verifiable. It’s all in my jacket. Or my retirement binder. It’s in multiple places.

I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. I am in a monitoring program, and I have seen the document. It’s THICK. It’s about five times thicker than any others that I have had the chance opportunity to compare with.

If you don’t want to believe the paper-trail, you can minimize it. You can say that it’s just coincidence.

Now, people like Elizabeth Warren say and do what they do for MONEY. They use it to obtain wealth, popularity, or some other kind of physical benefit. They want fame to acquire power, and use it to obtain wealth.

Not me.

I get absolutely derive zero benefit from writing this, except to leave something behind upon my death. I do not want fame. I have other ventures that provide income, and anything that I get off this blog is really a minuscule pittance.

Come on. Be honest with yourself. Do you really think that I would derive any kind of benefit by telling others about my life?

Really?

This is what my life is…

In general, if you found paradise… you keep it to yourself.

The “Deep Dive”

Why didn’t you stay in the “great life” that manifested during the “deep dive”?

I had no control. 

I could not abort the process and the procedure. The “deep dive” was beyond my control. Besides, I really do not think that I would like it as much as I do my current life.

If there is one thing that I have learned is that there are trade-offs with everything.

The Roswell event.

What do you know about Roswell, NM and the famous UFO event?

I only know what I have read. I never had a briefing on this event, and I have no idea one way or the other about it.

Retirement as a sex offender

Is there anything that you have learned since you were arrested, imprisoned, and released from prison?

Yes. Many things.

Firstly, if I can be thrown in prison for “nothing” but a trumped up charge, anyone can. I have lived a rather unassuming and quiet life. All MAJestic members do. We are quiet and keep to ourselves as part of our training.

If “they” want you there, you will go and there isn’t a bloody thing that you can do about it. It is now your fate, as horrible as it is.

You must deal with it.

In my case, my attorney gave me a document to sign. On it was a plea bargain. I agreed to nine months in-home supervision at my Father’s house in exchange for a plea of guilty.

I believed that if an arrangement was worked out between the DA and my attorney, that that was the way things would work out. So I signed it.

Plea of Guilty = 9 months in-house detention.

But the DA fucking lied.

During sentencing, the judge held the plea agreement. He started to give me the sentence agreed to. However, the prosecuting attorney used HAND SIGNALS (a thumbs up, waving vigorously upward) to signal the judge to NOT give me the agreed to plea. As a result the judge stopped mid-sentence, and started to say one year, and the DA shook his head vigorously. Then he started to say two years. Still the DA wagged his head and shook his head. Finally, he said “Five Years” and slammed the gravel.

He gave me FIVE YEARS. Five years at hard labor for a FIRST OFFENSE. Anyone who works in the Justice Department will tell you that is is one fucking harsh sentence.

My father, who had come to the sentencing to take me home for my detention, was crestfallen and didn’t know what the fuck was going on. He couldn’t believe that our Justice system was so corrupt.

Sentenced on a Guilty Plea = Five years at Hard Labor

If they want you in prison, you will go. Even if that means that they will lie to you.

Secondly, it was terrible and uncomfortable. (Putting it mildly.) I endured Brickey’s which has the reputation in the United States for being the worst hard-labor facility in America. And yet, you know what? I survived.

If I can survive Brickey’s I can survive anything.

You can endure and survive anything, and once you get out “It’s all good”. It’s downhill, easy street for the rest of your life.

I can feel carpet on my feet. I can see and appreciate colors. I can use wall outlets and light switches. I can eat food… glorious food. I can sleep without a light over my face. I can sit on a chair with a soft cushion.

Oh FUCK, it’s all good.

Thirdly, and I know that no one is going to want to hear this, but I no longer fear the police and getting arrested.

Prison was not fun, but you adapt. What that means is that now, today, if I will need to fight someone, I will fight to KILL. I will not hold back. I will stab their eyes out. Bite their nose and swallow it. I will pick up a spoon and jab that sucker right through the temple.

I am not afraid what would happen afterwards. Big fucking deal. I get arrested. Big Deal. Big deal. Been there, done that. I dealt with the worst and survived it.

Being a murderer won’t be worse than being a sex offender felon at Brickey’s.

I know the truth in this.

I did five years Bricky hard labor on a whim, while murders got two years maximum in an “easy” prison like Malvern. I’m no longer afraid. I did the harsh time. I did the awful time.

Inter-dimensional Communication.

How can the drone pilot, and the biological artifice operate if you are on a different world-line then they are?

Outstanding question.

I do not know. I can only presuppose that they operate in a state of reality that transcends that of the physical world. To solve this quandary we must take a good hard look at the anthropic principle. Specifically, the ψ which is a measure of how thought alters our reality.

World-lines are each individually ψ-epistemic .

While the entire universe is actually ψ-ontic.

Obviously the <redacted> species has been able to derive a technology that is finer than anything available with a ψ-epistemic world-line MWI.

Confused? Check out this post for clarity…

The Nature of the Universe

The Girls

What about the girls who entered the portal with you; since you all entered at the same time, are they not the same as you and have the same mission parameters?

No.  [1] None of them were Naval Aviators.  So they did not endure the same entry qualifications as we had.

[2] They were all female, and Sebastian and myself (the only two Naval Aviator Candidates) were male.

Additionally, [3] none of them went directly through the portal on the same day that they must have been implanted (they had to be implanted, otherwise the portal would not work for them). 

[4] None of the females were at the same implantation booths during our implantation.

Finally, [5] during the SAP briefing, the person instructing us told us that we had different roles and were involved in different program, and were subject to different levels of SAP.  He specifically stated that Sebastian and myself were involved in a much more secretive program.

Thoughts

What are thoughts exactly?

Thoughts are what your consciousness creates. It is the only thing that a consciousness can create. It is a directed entanglement of an idea, a place, a person, or a thing.

These “creations” are how consciousness can navigate the MWI. It is how different world-lines are manifested.

The thing about thoughts is that they are generated by a number of things;

  • An individual consciousness can generate individual thoughts, and this can navigate the MWI many world-lines.
  • Other “quantum shadows”, the other “people” within your world-line also have thoughts. In fact every world-line is filled with the thoughts of all the quantum shadows that occupy the world-line.
  • Thoughts are “sticky”. They tend to associate themselves with objects, people and things.
  • They can be influenced by other thoughts. This can be nearby within the world-line, and also from adjacent world-lines that cluster near the one that is occupied.

If you are in a place, like prison for example, the thoughts of those around you will “stick” with you. And as your consciousness moves through the MWI and in and out of different world-lines, they will attract and repel other thoughts. This will create bad situations (if you were in prison), or good situations (if you were in a monastery).

It takes time for the “sticky” thoughts to fall away. That is why I strongly recommend a serious period of contemplation and a good happy environment for the person who is released from a bad situation.

Or else, they will come across a higher than usual percentage of individuals and situations similar to what they just left.

This is also true of used furniture, and other objects such a “haunted” houses, and automobile “lemons”.

Scene from the Stephen King horror movie “Christine”.

For us to be truly happy we need to carefully cultivate our thoughts.

  • Avoid negative friends, relationships and toxic people.
  • Avoid old things, clutter, and brick a brack.
  • Avoid most news.
  • Avoid movies, or music that will upset us.

Regrets

Do you have any great regrets?

Yes.  I wish that I would have spent more time with my friends and family. 

When opportunities arose, I should have taken them.

I wish that I would have spent more time with my pets rather than worry about work so much. I wish that I would have spent the time to play with my dogs and cats and given them more happiness, no matter how tired and stressed I was.  I should have been a better caretaker of my pets. 

I should have been a better friend to those whom I cared for, and I should have been a better human to the strangers whom I encountered. I truly regret that I did not purpose my personal life more fully.

I was far too goal-focused, and missed out on the wonders of life as they were presented to me.

When it became clear that my first wife possessed a terminal mental illness, and that she would never get better. I should have taken the doctor’s advice and left her. It would have been better for both of us. Instead, I only endured a very painful process. I could not stop her madness. I could only delay its onslaught. The price that I paid for this postponement took a great toll on my sanity and health. It did not help her at all.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, and how much effort you put into something, you will fail.

When my beloved pet was dying. I should have taken him to the vet and put him to sleep. Instead, I wanted to keep him alive as long as possible. This was selfish of me, and my dear pet suffered because of it. I did things for my own selfish reasons.

I was too selfish at times, and love ones suffered.

When I was younger, and my mother was happy and singing while getting things together during Christmas, I should have allowed her to sing, and even joined her. Instead, I criticized her singing, and just pouted about, not even offering to help her in the kitchen. I was so self-absorbed.

Yes. I have regrets. All humans (aside from sociopaths) have regrets.

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

MAJestic Related Posts – Training

These are posts and articles that revolve around how I was recruited for MAJestic and my training. Also discussed is the nature of secret programs. I really do not know why the organization was kept so secret. It really wasn’t because of any kind of military concern, and the technologies were way too involved for any kind of information transfer. The only conclusion that I can come to is that we were obligated to maintain secrecy at the behalf of our extraterrestrial benefactors.

How to tell...
How to tell -2
Top Secrets
Sales Pitch
Feducial Training
Implantation
Probe Calibration - 1
Probe Calibration - 2
Leaving the USA

MAJestic Related Posts – Our Universe

These particular posts are concerned about the universe that we are all part of. Being entangled as I was, and involved in the crazy things that I was, I was given some insight. This insight wasn’t anything super special. Rather it offered me perception along with advantage. Here, I try to impart some of that knowledge through discussion.

Enjoy.

Secrets of the universe
Alpha Centauri
Our Galaxy the Milky Way
Sirius solar system
Alpha Centauri
The fuselage embedded within the rocks of Victoria Falls.
The Hammer inside the rock.
The Hollow Moon
The Mystery of the Lapulapu Ridge.
The Mystery of the Baltic UFO.
Mystery of the bronze bell.
Mystery of the oil lamp found inside a block of coal.
Did extraterrestrials set up a colony in Pennsylvania?
The Oxia Palus Facility
Brown Dwarfs
Apollo Space Exploration
CARET
The Nature of the Universe
Type-1 Grey Extraterrestrial
The mysterious flying contraptions.

Influencer Questions

Here are posts that have gathered a series of questions from various influencers. They are interesting in many ways and could help all of us unravel the mysteries of the lives that we live.

Interview with an Influencer.
More discussions with an influencer.
Using Intention to make your life sparkle.

MAJestic Related Posts – World-Line Travel

These posts are related to “reality slides”. Other more common terms are “world-line travel”, or the MWI. What people fail to grasp is that when a person has the ability to slide into a different reality (pass into a different world-line), they are able to “touch” Heaven to some extent. Here are posts that  cover this topic.

Cat Heaven
MWI
Things I miss
How MWI allows world-line travel.
An Observed World-Line switch.
Vehicular world-line travel
Soul is not consciousness.

John Titor Related Posts

Another person, collectively known by the identity of “John Titor” claimed to utilize world-line (MWI egress) travel to collect artifacts from the past. He is an interesting subject to discuss. Here we have multiple posts in this regard.

They are;

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
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The Pedestrian (Full Text) by Ray Bradbury

This story was copyrighted in 1951 by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. Ray Bradbury is one of my personal heroes and his writings greatly influenced me in ways that I am only just now beginning to understand.

Introduction

For years I had amassed a well worn, and dusty collection of Ray Bradbury paperbacks that I would pick up and read for pleasure and inspiration.  Later, when I left the United States, and moved to China, I had to leave my treasured books behind. Sigh.

It is very difficult to come across Ray Bradbury books in China. When ever I find one, I certainly snatch it up. Cost is no object when it comes to these masterpieces. At one time, I must have had five books containing this story.

Credit to the wonderful people at Mother Earth News for posting it where a smuck like myself can read it within China. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.

Full Text

Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it.

The Pedestrian

To enter out into that silence that was the city at eight o’clock of a misty evening in November, to put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams and make your way, hands in pockets, through the silences, that was what Mr. Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do.

He would stand upon the corner of an intersection and peer down long moonlit avenues of sidewalk in four directions, deciding which way to go, but it really made no difference; he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone, and with a final decision made, a path selected, he would stride off, sending patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar.

Sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house. And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows.

Sudden gray phantoms seemed to manifest upon inner room walls where a curtain was still undrawn against the night, or there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomblike building was still open.

Mr. Leonard Mead would pause, cock his head, listen, look, and march on, his feet making no noise on the lumpy walk.

For long ago he had wisely changed to sneakers when strolling at night, because the dogs in intermittent squads would parallel his journey with barkings if he wore hard heels, and lights might click on and faces appear and an entire street be startled by the passing of a lone figure, himself, in the early November evening.

On this particular evening he began his journey in a westerly direction, toward the hidden sea.

There was a good crystal frost in the air; it cut the nose and made the lungs blaze like a Christmas tree inside; you could feel the cold light going on and off, all the branches filled with invisible snow.

He listened to the faint push of his soft shoes through autumn leaves with satisfaction, and whistled a cold quiet whistle between his teeth, occasionally picking up a leaf as he passed, examining its skeletal pattern in the infrequent lamplights as he went on, smelling its rusty smell.

“Hello, in there,” he whispered to every house on every side as he moved. “What’s up tonight on Channel 4, Channel 7, Channel 9? Where are the cowboys rushing, and do I see the United States Cavalry over the next hill to the rescue?”

The street was silent and long and empty, with only his shadow moving like the shadow of a hawk in midcountry.

If he closed his eyes and stood very still, frozen, he could imagine himself upon the center of a plain, a wintry, windless Arizona desert with no house in a thousand miles, and only dry river beds, the streets, for company.

“What is it now?” he asked the houses, noticing his wrist watch.

“Eight-thirty P.M.? Time for a dozen assorted murders? A quiz? A revue? A comedian falling off the stage?”

Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon-white house? He hesitated, but went on when nothing more happened.

He stumbled over a particularly uneven section of sidewalk.

The cement was vanishing under flowers and grass.

In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time.

He came to a cloverleaf intersection which stood silent where two main highways crossed the town.

During the day it was a thunderous surge of cars, the gas stations open, a great insect rustling and a ceaseless jockeying for position as the scarabbeetles, a faint incense puttering from their exhausts, skimmed homeward to the far directions.

But now these highways, too, were like streams in a dry season, all stone and bed and moon radiance.

He turned back on a side street, circling around toward his home.

He was within a block of his destination when the lone car turned a corner quite suddenly and flashed a fierce white cone of light upon him.

He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination, and then drawn toward it.

A metallic voice called to him: “Stand still. Stay where you are! Don’t move!” He halted. “Put up your hands!”

“But-” he said.

“Your hands up! Or we’ll Shoot!”

The police, of course, but what a rare, incredible thing; in a city of three million, there was only one police car left, wasn’t that correct?

Ever since a year ago, 2052, the election year, the force had been cut down from three cars to one.

Crime was ebbing; there was no need now for the police, save for this one lone car wandering and wandering the empty streets.

“Your name?” said the police car in a metallic whisper.

He couldn’t see the men in it for the bright light in his eyes.

“Leonard Mead,” he said.

“Speak up!”

“Leonard Mead!”

“Business or profession?”

“I guess you’d call me a writer.”

“No profession,” said the police car, as if talking to itself.

The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest.

“You might say that, ” said Mr. Mead.

He hadn’t written in years. Magazines and books didn’t sell any more.

Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now, he thought, continuing his fancy.

The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them.

“No profession,” said the phonograph voice, hissing. “What are you doing out?”

“Walking,” said Leonard Mead.

“Walking!”

“Just walking,” he said simply, but his face felt cold.

“Walking, just walking, walking?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Walking where? For what?”

“Walking for air. Walking to see.”

“Your address!”

“Eleven South Saint James Street.”

“And there is air in your house, you have an air conditioner, Mr. Mead?”

“Yes.”

“And you have a viewing screen in your house to see with?”

“No.”

“No?” There was a crackling quiet that in itself was an accusation.

“Are you married, Mr. Mead?”

“No.”

“Not married,” said the police voice behind the fiery beam, The moon was high and clear among the stars and the houses were gray and silent.

“Nobody wanted me,” said Leonard Mead with a smile.

“Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to!”

Leonard Mead waited in the cold night.

“Just walking, Mr. Mead?”

“Yes.”

“But you haven’t explained for what purpose.”

“I explained; for air, and to see, and just to walk.”

“Have you done this often?”

“Every night for years.”

The police car sat in the center of the street with its radio throat faintly humming.

“Well, Mr. Mead,” it said.

“Is that all?” he asked politely.

“Yes,” said the voice. “Here.” There was a sigh, a pop. The back door of the police car sprang wide. “Get in.”

“Wait a minute, I haven’t done anything!”

“Get in.”

“I protest!”

“Mr. Mead.”

He walked like a man suddenly drunk. As he passed the front window of the car he looked in. As he had expected, there was no one in the front seat, no one in the car at all.

“Get in.”

He put his hand to the door and peered into the back seat, which was a little cell, a little black jail with bars. It smelled of riveted steel. It smelled of harsh antiseptic; it smelled too clean and hard and metallic. There was nothing soft there.

“Now if you had a wife to give you an alibi,” said the iron voice.

“But-“

“Where are you taking me?”

The car hesitated, or rather gave a faint whirring click, as if information, somewhere, was dropping card by punch-slotted card under electric eyes. “To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.”

He got in. The door shut with a soft thud.

The police car rolled through the night avenues, flashing its dim lights ahead.
They passed one house on one street a moment later, one house in an entire city of houses that were dark, but this one particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness.

“That’s my house,” said Leonard Mead.

No one answered him.

The car moved down the empty river-bed streets and off away, leaving the empty streets with the empty side-walks, and no sound and no motion all
the rest of the chill November night.

Posts Regarding Life and Contentment

Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.

Why no High-Speed rail in the USA?
Link
Link
Link
Tomatos
Link
Mad scientist
Gorilla Cage in the basement
The two family types and how they work.
Link
Pleasures
Work in the 1960's
School in the 1970s
Cat Heaven
Corporate life
Corporate life - part 2
Build up your life
Grow and play - 1
Grow and play - 2
Asshole
Baby's got back
Link
A womanly vanity
SJW
Army and Navy Store
Playground Comparisons
Excuses that we use that keep us enslaved.

Posts about the Changes in America

America is going through a period of change. Change is good… that is, after it occurs. Often however, there are large periods of discomfort as the period of adjustment takes place. Here are some posts that discuss this issue.

Parable about America
What is planned for American Conservatives - Part 2
What is going to happen to conservatives - Part 3.
What is planned for conservatives - part 4
What is in store for Conservatives - part 5
What is in store for conservatives - part 6
Civil War
The Warning Signs
r/K selection theory
Line in the sand
A second passport
Link
Make America Great Again.

More Posts about Life

I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.

Being older
Things I wish I knew.
Link
Travel
PT-141
Bronco Billy
How they get away with it
Paper Airplanes
Snopes
Taxiation without representation.
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
1960's and 1970's link
Democracy Lessons
A polarized world.
The Rule of Eight

Stories that Inspired Me

Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.

Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
The Last Night
The Flying Machine
A story of escape.
All Summer in a day.
The Smile by Ray Bradbury
The menace from Earth
Delilah and the Space Rigger
Life-Line
The Tax-payer

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

News as Everyday Dog Shit

"The  Philippines press enjoys all the freedoms of the US system but fails  the people: a wildly partisan press helped Philippines politicians flood  the marketplace of ideas with junk and confuse and befuddle the people  so that they could not see what their vital interests were in a  developing country. And, because vital issues like economic growth and  equitable distribution were seldom discussed, they were never tackled  and the democratic system malfunctioned. Look at Taiwan and South Korea:  their free press runs rampant and corruption runs riot. The critic  itself is corrupt yet the theory is, if you have a free press,  corruption disappears. Now I'm telling you, that's not true. Freedom of  the press, freedom of news critics, must be subordinated to the  overriding needs of the integrity of Singapore and to the primacy of  purpose of an elected government.


“Singapore’s  domestic debate is a matter for Singaporeans. We allow American  journalists in Singapore in order to report Singapore to their fellow  countrymen. We allow their papers to sell in Singapore so that we can  know what foreigners are reading about us. But we cannot allow them to  assume a role in Singapore that the American media play in America, that  of invigilator, adversary and inquisitor of the administration. If  allowed to do so, they will radically change the nature of Singapore  society, and I doubt if our social glue is strong enough to withstand  such treatment."  

-A Third World Perspective on the Press. RH Lee Kwan  Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore. C-SPAN, APRIL 14, 1988

Every day I take my dog out for a walk. I actually do it twice a day. It is first thing in the morning and at the end of the day after the evening meal. We live on the beach, and there is a nice long park right in front of the house (it is a boardwalk) with an absolutely magnificent view of the ocean and the skyscrapers of Macao in the distance. While we are out there enjoying the morning air and watching the joggers on the beach, our dog is nose-to-the-ground and smelling everything like a canine vacuum cleaner. He really enjoys it. He cannot wait to smell the latest news on the road, and contribute a post or two of his own.

Every morning, I too much check out the latest news. However, as of late it is so boring and predictable that I just simply scan the headlines. It’s always the same old news, just repackaged. Buy more stuff! Support a war! Be afraid! Hate Trump! Pay higher taxes! Oh, and don’t forget Global Warming! Russia! Russia! Russia!

Are we any different? Humans are just as bad as canines. This has gotten me thinking…

About Dogs

I personally like dogs.  While I am, I suppose, a “cat person”, dogs are very special to me personally. There is nothing better than coming home from work, and my loyal buddy (Shao PiPi) is lying down at the door waiting for me. (I know, my wife takes photos to show me.  He gets in position about a half an hour before I arrive home.  Cat’s too.  But my little buddy is special.) Then he gets so excited, grabs his little toy (an old sewed up sock ball), and wants to play with me with it. Then he is all over me in happiness. It’s the best!

Dogs are loyal and fun to be with.
Here is a scene from a great movie about a dog in Japan. The dog’s name is Hachiko, and it is a true story. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to.

Animal haters won’t understand.

Dogs are wonderful creatures.  From when they are puppies to their old and grizzly old age, they are wonderful, loyal and quite compassionate.  However, you and I both know, they are not human.  No matter how much we may want to dress them up in clothing, teach them to “speak”, take them out and tell them not to eat out of the trashcan, the fact remains, dogs are dogs. For them, poop is wonderful, trash (the smellier, the better) is an adventure, and there is nothing better than smelling another dog’s ass.

(BTW, someone had best describe this to the folks in China. They don’t treat dogs as dogs. They treat them as little children. They just love to dress up their dogs in clothing including underwear, hats, socks, and shoes. Well yeah, even my dog has socks and shoes. But, really, it does tend to be a little strange, especially with all those ever-changing doggie hairstyles that seem to come and go with the local doggie fashions of the day. Indeed, China can sure be weird at times. The Chinese, for the most part treat their pets as family members. Oh, one more thing… Dog lovers far outnumber the dog eaters in China. Don’t fall for all the anti-China propaganda.)

Anyways, dogs are dogs. That is neither good nor bad.  It is a statement of reality.  Dogs, regardless of the breed, are members of the canine family.  They have certain individual differences depending on which breed, but overall they will all act like dogs. You can dye their hair fashionable colors, and dress them up in outfits. You can put socks and shoes on them, and give them eyeglasses and a LV handbag, but you can’t change who they are. Dogs are dogs.

Dogs can do things that humans cannot. We might not want to recognize this fact, but it is (after all) a fact.

Dogs can Smell

Duh!

What I know about dogs come from personal experience. I never studied anything about our canine friends. What I have learned about dogs comes from the Internet. (In addition, perhaps an odd television program or two as well.) So the reader can take my opinions however, they want. I am decidedly not an expert. I am at best a generalist who has the ability to put various “puzzle pieces” together in very interesting ways.

I’m just an average dog lover. Maybe like you? Eh?

You (the reader) should realize this, but many people do not. Dogs can smell much better than humans can. Whoa… let’s replace “much better”, with “unbelievably, superbly, and stunningly better”.  It is really true, and I am not at all exaggerating in the least. In fact, a dog’s brain is specialized for identifying scents.

While we need room in our brains to think, and work, dogs use a huge portion to analyze scents.  We use our brain to help us think and reason. They use their brain to smell. We use our brain to better understand the universe. They use their brain to smell better. We use our brain to try to fix and repair things. They use their brain to best understand the ways of smelling.

Dogs have an amazing ability to smell.
Dogs can pretty much smell anything. They can be trained to find scents that represent danger and serious medical conditions. Photo is from a National Geographic article published in 2014 (Go here to read a report on the article.)

There are all kinds of reports and studies on just about how much better a dog’s sense of smell is than ours. The problem is that there are so many variables that it’s nearly impossible to quantify or perform comparisons. In a true sense, it is like comparing a black and white photo of an apple, with a freshly baked pizza hot out of the oven. There just isn’t really any good and real way to compare the two.

Real Estate

A dog’s sense of smell may be much better than over 1000 times better than ours, making it the most sensitive (and vulnerable) part of its body. (Other reports place this figure much higher.) Comparatively, if you look at the mechanism of smell between humans and dogs, you can see a striking difference. The human nose has only three-square centimeters of olfactory membrane. While, compared to dogs such as Bloodhounds, can have as much as 150 square centimeters of scent-sensing material in their noses. So that means, we have three (3x), and (some) dogs has one hundred and fifty (150x) cm squared of area to smell with. More is better, right?

A small parabolic dish might be able to pick up a satellite signal with come careful positioning, but a larger one will have a much better change in getting the signal and locking on to it. The same is true with dogs. Their snozes give them ability.

Brain Power to Process the Scents

Dogs also have forty times more scent processing cells in their brains than humans. They need this computation power to be able to handle the enormous sensory input from their huge snoozes. It’s never just an issue with size, it’s an issue about what you can do with the larger members and capacities. (No sexual references, here please.)

“Dogs can smell 100,000 times better than humans.  In tests, dogs have been able to detect a chemical in a solution diluted to 1 to 2 parts per trillion. The human brain has a large area devoted to vision, while dogs have a large portion dedicated to olfaction, in fact, 40% more of a dog’s brain than a human’s is committed to smell.  The average person has 5 million smell receptors, while the average dog, depending on breed, has 125 to 250 million smell receptors.  The Bloodhound has an incredible 300 million smell receptors!  Dogs can smell things up to 40 feet underground.  Dogs can even smell human fingerprints that are a week old!”

- The Incredible Sense of Smell in the Dog

We who hang around dogs, know that they can “feel” or sense our emotions.  If you are around dogs (or cats) and haven’t noticed this, I would be truly surprised. It’s a very common thing. Not only is it common, but research seemingly proves this as well. Indeed, it’s quite likely that dogs can actually smell emotions.  (I would say that it is a given, but you know there are always exceptions to the rule.) Dogs can smell fear, anxiety, even sadness. The flight-or-fight hormone, adrenaline, is undetectable by our noses, but dogs can apparently smell it. In addition, fear or anxiety is often accompanied by increased heart rate and blood flow, which sends telltale body chemicals more quickly to the skin surface.  Oh yeah, your dog will most certainly know your feelings. Not only that, but there are indications that dogs can even smell if you have cancer.

 “Dogs read about the world through their noses, and they write their messages, at least to other dogs, in their urine.” 

- Stanley Coren

Doggie Facebook

I know, I know, the dog is spending way too much time smelling a fence post, or a pile of shit. You are getting impatient, and want him to get a move on. But, he is just there, oblivious to the world around him, just totally absorbed in what he has just “discovered”. I know that it’s tempting to drag your dog away from that pile of shit. I have actually done so myself (when we used to walk him out on a leash).

But… even though he’s sniffing everything with an annoying slowness, maybe we should give him a break and let him spend some time at that post (get the pun?). Let him have some time to smell the local neighborhood gossip.  And, if he is satisfied with it, let him give a “like” to it. Let him do a posting on his own.

Dog urine is the “ink” of the dog social-network. Think of it as an exciting blog post on Facebook or your favorite social networking platform. Instead of “Face-book”, it’s “Doggie-ass” and just as important.

Information is Hidden within Scents

When dogs start sniffing each other’s asses, the chances are that they’re really learning a lot. It’s far, far more than what we can comprehend. Indeed, it is obviously much more than just simple idle chitchat. The ability to smell given the geometry of the nose, and the ability to interpret that information in the brain can lead us to some interesting conclusions.

Exactly what the dogs are learning, and what they do with that information, is unknown. As of this writing, no one has figured it out yet. (No one is even studying this, as far as I know.) Many people claim that it is “simply” just “marking their territory”.  However, it’s probably much more than that. In fact, it’s very likely far beyond “this is my territory, keep out!”

I really don’t know.  But, I would guess that it’s probably more along the lines of, “Oh, you’re a nice male dog, 3.26 years old. You are a collie and beagle mix. And… I notice that you’ve been hanging around the park on Dixon Avenue again, you had some baked chicken wings recently (that you found on 8th street), and you like to sleep on your left side.”

Links

Here’s some great links on dog’s ability to smell;

Humans communicate through the Written word

While dogs communicate through the sense of smell, humans communicate through the written word. (Yes, I know that there are other mediums. Let’s not get off track here.) We communicate through writing our thoughts down in printed media. This can be electronics or on paper.

It wasn’t always that way. It used to be carved in stone, but that is rarely done these days.

In the “old days” people would chisel their writings into stone for everyone to know and remember. These records would spell out major events, and accomplishments. They would tell stories and help us understand our relationships with the Gods of Heaven. It was written and carved to be everlasting.

History used to be set in stone; recorded in stone.
Kings and rulers used to carve their deeds, rulings, laws, and pronouncements into stone so that no one could misinterpret them, or rewrite them. The only way that the history could be forgotten was if the stone or writing was physically destroyed. (Image Source.)

Ah, but you know, Humans are a mercurial lot.

When individuals come to power, they want something that is easily erased and written over. In the old days, they would have to chisel off the names of their predecessors on all the temples and government buildings. It took a while, and left garish scars on otherwise beautiful structures.

For what ever it is worth, let it be well understood that the Egyptians were pretty bad at this.

Ozymandias

Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792 - 1822

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Now, let it be known; the printing press really rocked our world. Not only could things be printed on paper and mass produced, but governments and individuals in power can host periodic burning of books and records. They could rewrite history to fit their new narrative. (Maybe sort of, like how a dog will try to over pee another dog’s urine.)

Ah. Yah don’t say…

Book burnings are very common. They go by many names. Progressive liberals and their established socialist governments always have book burnings. It’s their thing. It’s kind of like how they like to wear white sheets, hate Catholics, and use masks to cover their faces.

The progressive socialist nationalists of Germany (Nazi for you under-educated folk) held massive book burnings. They really took the time to make them impressive. They would have uniforms, orchestrated dance and march movements, flags and special effects. It must have been impressive. Huge barn fires rising up into the Heavens. People dancing around in uniforms with crazed people throwing books into the fires.

The Nazi’s really loved to use school kids to do it. They would organize these rallies and allow the school children to leave the school. The kids were, of course, happy to do so. There, the kids would gleefully destroy their own history.

book burnings are popular and associated with power struggles.
Progressive Socialist Democrats in Germany (Known as NAZI.) having one of their many book burnings. These were often festive affairs with music, speeches, and youth that gleefully toss their collective histories into the fire. Book burnings are ALWAYS associated with power struggles. (That and other things such as statue desecration, and politically correct types of speech.) When one movement ascends to power they start to rewrite history. (Image Source.)

The Chinese which is also a progressive liberal government structure (officially socialist with Chinese characteristics ) held massive book burnings during the Cultural Revolution.  They also used children to promote their agendas. This included the full range from gun control to destruction of history, to (of course) book burnings. Unlike the Germans, who able to recover about two decades later after a global war, the Chinese took around four decades to recover, and in many ways the cuts and destruction were too deep. Various aspects of the Chinese culture never really recovered.

Darn those progressive democrat socialists. Always trying to mess up everyone else’s lives!

In many ways, the Antifa movement is a cross between the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and the German Socialists of the 1930’s. (I do cover this in another writing elsewhere.) You know, you don’t really need to be a student to history to know any of this.

You just need to be awake and listening.

Which, I am sad to say is a real rarity today. For the record, book burnings occurred in the Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba, and Argentina as well as just about any other nation in the world.

Animal farm is like the black board that is being erased and rewritten over.
One of the best books to describe how history, rules and laws are rewritten is the book by George Orwell titled “Animal Farm“. As history is always being rewritten in order to manipulate people into doing things that go against their well being.

Now that everything is migrating to the internet, the ability to erase and rewrite history has never been easier. Indeed, the internet is like one large “white board”. You erase what you don’t like, and rewrite it to fit your new revised narrative. There are all kinds of examples. I have covered one myself on the subject of Calexit and the American Civil War by President Obama.

It is the way that it is done. There isn’t too much that we can do about it. Except change our behaviors and be skeptical of all the news. Especially to take notice to avoid any kind of pre-approved or “fact checked” news deemed worthy by others. Indeed, that is the most dangerous.

The United States has rewritten the meaning of just about everything.
News in America in 2018 has completely gone full-on Orwell. George Orwell well predicted the American media in his book “Animal Farm”. Good is bad. Happy is sad. White is black. American media in 2018 is absolutely off the charts in insanity.

War with Russia

News from the media today is all about dragging the United States into yet another war. Jeeze! Can’t we ever get a break. The USA has been at war almost every year since it was founded.

Hey, have you been watching the news lately?

Have you noticed any trends? Man, I’ll tell you it seems like everyone is writing on and on just how bad Russia is, and that there will eventually be a world war between the great powers. How can that be? Bill Clinton was paying Russia to keep it’s military intact through most of the 1990’s. Now why would they want to nuke us now? Didn’t Hillary Clinton just give them 25% of our nuclear stockpiles? It just doesn’t make too much sense.

We’d make a far better trading partner than an enemy. But, anyways… Now what do you all think is gonna happen once, the USA and Russia nukes each other? It’s a great question. It’s one that deserves some thought. What do you think is going to happen once the USA gets involved in a nuclear war?

Nuclear war is terrible and it manifests when the media goes full Orwell.
Nuclear war is terrible and it is nothing to take lightly. If a nuclear war were to break out, there would be many things that would be nearly impossible in a post nuclear-exchange United States. Things such as easy cell phone access, nope the War Powers act will limit that. Things such as your Starbucks coffee are also going to be changed as the headquarters would be reduced to radioactive glass. Nope, a nuclear exchange will impact YOUR life in ways that you are unaware of.

Do you believe that the world will be over? Is that what you really think will happen? Do you believe that since the USA is number one, that the rest of the world will just scurry under rocks or something?  Is that what you think? Ha!

Not. Going. To. Happen.

What do you think China will do while both Russia, Europe (of course the EU, as they are driving this war narrative), with the USA are in ruins with radioactive rubble for cities?

Do you think that the rest of the world will continue to live like a scene from a “Save the Children” commercial? Do you think that it will make a big difference in the lives of other people in Sydney, Australia? How about Osaka, Japan? What about Sao Paulo Brazil?

Hong Kong is very beautiful.
Hong Kong is a very western Chinese city. It is very modern and very crowded. I like it, but I can only take it in small doses as they use Western pricing and it tends to be too expensive for my tastes.

Do you think that they will care…?

The rest of the world has a vibrant middle class. There are factories, farms, subways, tollbooths, ATM machines, and McDonalds all over the world. They have toothpaste, football, cars, cable television, and the internet. If American shuts itself off from the rest of the world… the rest of the world will go on as if nothing happened. America will just be a footnote in the latest Wikipedia entries as maintained from Beijing servers…

So…

Do you think that the USA will still be able to project “it’s interests” globally? Do you think that the domestic issues, internally, will be just the same-old same-old script? Nope, boys and girls, it is going to be awfully hard for most Americans. Especially those from the cities.

Most especially for those urban or suburban folk.

What are they going to do when Starbucks runs out of coffee? When Wi-Fi has zero hot spots, or when girls will need to “put out” for a half-bowl of pea soup? Know your history people. How do you think that the young lasses of Germany survived when the Russians moved in through the devastated countryside? How do you think the people of Cambodia, and Burma survived? I cannot predict the future, but I can report on what happened in the past when this situation raised it’s ugly head.

The Media is out of control.
Nuclear tipped ICBM’s are nothing to take lightly. Yet, here we are with the media promoting war as if it was just “another” issue like “racist peanut butter and jelly sandwiches”. Ugh!

Oh sure, the surviving Americans will try to leave the glassed rubble of their cities. Though, I doubt that they will make it very far into “deplorable land”. You know with all those squads of “good ol’ boys” hunting down all the urban folk escaping from all that glassed wreckage.

Oh, their Prius or Tesla might make it a few hundred miles into “flyover country”. They might even get some militia assistance. Oh, some will make it to FEMA camps. There, of course they will be pre-screened and set to work.

Ain’t nothing for free in this world. We all will have to pay the tolls. The tolls will, or course, be guarded by men with guns.

While the USA is all busy straightening out it’s house, the rest of the world will continue as if nothing happened. Since the exports to the United States account for around 11% of what China makes, there will certainly be an impact.

However, it won’t be life-threatening. China will survive. The nuclear exchange between the USA and Russia will be noted. Maps will be redrawn with huge “Forbidden to Enter” areas marked in red. But that will be about it.

If a nuclear exchange were to hit the United States, the rest of the world would go on as if nothing had happened.
If the United States were to get involved in a hot nuclear war, those nations that do not participate in the war would benefit. Many of these nations, such as China, South Africa, Europe, Dubai, Tokyo and many others are just as advanced as the United States is and would thrive if competition from Los Angles, San Francisco and New York were to end.

China will take over. Not a bad thing. I’ll tell you what.

War with the President

Oh but not all the news is about trying to get people to go to war. Jeeze! This is not 1960 people! While America might be populated with half-asleep sheep, they do know when they are being manipulated. At least the older ones do. The news is really pretty obvious. The only way that you wouldn’t notice the obvious propaganda is if you were on some kind of drug like a painkiller, or an anti-depressant…

Anyways, the other news concerns president Trump.

It’s a non-stop hate fest. I have never seen such vitriol and hate from the American propaganda mills. These idiots actually believed that Hillary the Horrible could actually be elected. They thought that the game was rigged in her favor, and even if she did manage to become President that no one would bat an eye and it would be accepted. Hah! I’ll tell you, these people are absolutely delusional.

So, when I see the “Russia, Russia, Russia!” anti-Trump narrative, it just bores me. It’s not news. There just isn’t any news there.

It’s just a bunch of attractive actors reading scripted lines, and being paid large bucks to make up news.

I’m beyond bored with it. I will honestly say that I haven’t seen ABC, NBC or a CBS newscast in over a decade. It’s all just junk. CNN? Give me a break. I was turned off from them way back in the 1990’s when they were caught staging a protest.

CNN stages fake news all the time. Donald Trump rightfully called them out on this.
CNN staging a fake protest. In this case they reported that a huge groundswell of Muslims were protesting Islamic terror. Those individuals weren’t even’t actual Muslims. They were paid actors. Jeeze!

It’s all propaganda with a set agenda that benefits the richest people in the world.

War with Non-Official News

That is why it is important to read grass-root reporting. Read from small-time bloggers, and get your news from other sources. Of course, the powers-that-be don’t want you to do that. No sir ree! You can bet that those in the oligarchy want their control over all thought, ideas and media. You will follow their directions or not at all. The Bill of Rights, and the first Amendment can just go to hell as far as they are concerned.

Here is Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein on her attack on people who have a “five dollar blog”…

Democrats have always been trying to take away people's rights. Here is a noted senator trying to take away the freedom of speech.
Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein making a formal statement that the Bill of Rights does not apply to American Citizens. She makes the case that it ONLY applies to elected officials. Therfore, it is important to prevent citizens from writing or blogging on the Internet using their “five dollar blog”.

Diane Feinstein talking about the need to only allow properly vetted, government “approved”, people to have “Free Speech”. Doesn’t she look like the teacher from Hell? (Image Source.)

You can watch the video here where she argues against average people having opinions. You can also read on Reddit on what people think of her redefining a Right as a Privilege that the government provided.

You can read about the Democrat efforts to eliminate or “water down” the first Amendment hereYou-tube also has a recording on this attack on the First Amendment. Here is another response to the attacks on the first amendment.

I wonder why there are no progressive liberal attacks. I guess that it is just ok to take away freedoms… how about we start with Facebook, then Tumblr, Pinterest, Google, Snapchat, for starters.

Unless you have lived under a rock for the last ten years, what constitutes news out of the United States today is anything but news. It has become a complete political propaganda machine that is populated by highly paid actors and actresses reading scripted lines. There is a science to this, and there is a feedback loop that dictates what propaganda that should be dished out to the American population at which specific times.

American media is nothing but lies.
American media is just propaganda. Nothing that you see is real and truthful. It is all distorted lies and partial-truths.

Real news would tell us details about the hidden cavity in the Great Pyramid, or a review of NASA funding for the next fiscal year. It would cover topical news; a protest here, a murder there, and a car crash there in brief one or two sentence bites. When a President speaks, they would play his entire speech, not show him speaking with the audio off and then translate for us what he is saying.

They would not have “panels of experts” who are just actors with nice titles (not nice titties, or… um I take that back), farmed out by rich organizations for propagandized purposes. They would provide balance of different viewpoints (if they wanted a broad viewership base). Or not have any dissent on the editorial sections if they wanted to become the foremost expert in their political narrative.

It’s ALL fake.

Creeping propaganda doggie style

This reminds me of an incident in my own house with my own dog…

Our floor is mostly hardwood and tiled marble. It’s the Chinese way. That is unlike the States, where the floor is carpeted (wall to wall) over a plywood floor if the house was built after the 1980’s. In China, most houses have a stone floor. The stone is typically cut at a ¼ inch thick sliced tile, polished, and provided into two feet square sections. Most floors use a light colored granite or marble. In upper-scale homes, wood floors are provided in the bedrooms. Cheaper flooring methods such as linoleum or carpeting are never used.

As such, we have a few throw rugs to lie down and make the house a home.

Now our dog knows, absolutely knows, that peeing in the house if forbidden. We have a rule that he must pee and crap in the bathroom (if not outside). We have trained him to use a blue mat (Indoor/outdoor carpeting that is blue instead of green.) just for this purpose.

In fact, the reader should know, that the way we trained him was that we got a really large mat, and put it in the shower. (In China, the showers do not have a tub. Therefore, the shower goes straight down to the floor.) Once the dog knew that he could do all the peeing and crapping he needed to do, on the shower, that is where he went. Over time, we cut the mat down smaller and smaller. It was one yard by one yard, then it became two feet by two feet. Then one foot by two feet, then one foot by one foot. We kept cutting it down. Finally it was one square inch, and you should have seen him trying to aim and hit that tiny little mat.

Anyways, long story short, he knew that he could only pee in the shower.

Well, we also have a few throw rugs. We decided to not use them when he took up the (terrible) habit on peeing on them.

Now, I really don’t know why he would pee on them. Maybe it was because he was trained to pee on mats due to his bathroom training. Or, perhaps, maybe he wanted to make the house feel more lived in and “doggie friendly”.

Whatever.

One day, we decided to lay down this black and white shag rug that we have. (Yeah, I know that it is shag, but it fits with our modern Asian décor.) We wanted to make the living room area more comfortable, and that would include a rug nested in between the sofas and the various chairs. However, we were very concerned because our dog had a propensity to pee on the rugs.

So we laid the rug down. We told him, in no uncertain ways, that it was “off limits” to pee upon. We then watched him like a hawk.

I can tell the reader that he knew not to do anything. He would walk near the rug with a hunched back look, and with tail down. He was afraid to do anything with that rug. Indeed, he would walk around it rather than walk on it.

All was well. Then one day, the wife saw him do a “dryless pee” on the rug. That I mean to say is that he pretended to pee for a split second, but no pee came out. She chalked it up to him getting old, and let it fly. Of course, the reader might say, “Hey, why don’t you simply lift up the rug, you moron?”. Well, we couldn’t. The rug was under this massive marble coffee table. It is an enormously heavy sheet of brown veined marble (Also known as Adobe Granite, Golden Brown Marble, Canadian Mahogany, or Deer Brown granite.) that is at least one inch thick, with beveled sides. It weighs a ton. It is far too heavy for me to move alone, or even to have two people move it. You actually need four strong men to move this friggin’ coffee table.

Well, the design (with the cold gold metal sides, and the glass bottom) looks a lot like a KTV table. Which wasn’t our intention, but hey the wife picked it out and now we have it. Anyways, the other ends of the rug are buried under large sofas and leather chairs. So for us to move everything about, would take a lot of effort. It wouldn’t be something that we would ever do casually. So, we just let it slide.

A few days later, I thought that I smelled pee, but the rug was dry. It must have been my imagination, I reasoned.

A few weeks later, my wife too smelled something. It was driving us crazy. The rug was dry, but the smell of urine was unbearably strong. We had been watching him carefully but he wasn’t doing anything. When it looked like he would pee, nothing came out, and so we took no action. So, to us, it was very perplexing.

Finally, around six o’clock on a Saturday, we couldn’t stand it any longer. We moved the sofas out, and the (enormously heavy) coffee table away. Then we lifted up the rug.

My God! The entire underside was wet and saturated with dog urine! Somehow, the shag carpet stayed dry on top, no matter how wet it got. But the underside acted like a massive sponge. It absorbed the urine and just collected it there. It was absolutely horrid and disgusting. Weeks of moldy pee saturated the matting making it look and smell like an outdoor shithouse in the middle of August.

Apparently what had happened was that our dog knew that it was wrong to pee on the rug. However, when it wasn’t punished for tiny efforts to pee, it thought that it could pee at will as long as it wasn’t caught. We were delusional in thinking that the dog would not do this. The end result was that our intention (of a pee-less rug) never materialized. Our dog thought it could pee away… as long as it could not be caught.

I guess that is what happens when we let people get away with things that are wrong. Unless we stop them in the early stages, their behavior will get worse and worse over time.

I have seen that this is true, and I am sure that the reader knows examples of this. Perhaps with children. Maybe with criminals. With classmates, and with other things as well. It just seems that if you do not have limits, it is within our nature to treat things as without limits. As such, we tend to keep pushing and pushing until we start to hit some roadblocks.

News and Politics

Which of course, brings us back to the Democratic Senator from California, Diane Feinstein and her attempt(s) to ban the first amendment. (Now, she like any other “good” Democrat is off trying to ban everything from ice cream to baby pacifiers. It’s in their nature. However, for now, let’s just focus on this one particular instance, and not get sidetracked.)

You know, she (and others of her ilk) believes that they can get away with their actions simply because no one is stepping up and stopping them. Like our dog, who needed a good hard paddle after his first attempted pee, this woman needed to spend five years at hard labor when she first started to suggest banning a Right. It would have stopped her dead in her tracks, and served as a notice to others who might try to follow in her footsteps.

Newsflash to everyone; Senators are just like everyone else. The only thing that they have that you (the reader) do not have is a title, and a good PR firm. They must follow the rules. It doesn’t work that way of course. But it should.

Ah…

The young millennial asks “what rules, and what laws are you referring to?”

To this, I must teach the reader something that is a very well-kept secret. Yes, it is. Why it is the “Preamble to the Bill of Rights” of course. This is one of the most secretive documents in the entire United States. Everyone tries to hide it, because it clearly and plainly says what a Right is, and what the purpose of a Right is. Hey! Surprise! Here it is so you can read it for yourself.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

And, for those of you who only have a public education, let me translate for you.

The Bill of Rights is a special set of rules inside, yet set apart from the Constitution. It is designed to prevent the Constitution to be used to harm the citizens of the United States. It offered protections in that it clearly stated that no elected official, nor anyone appointed by them, could influence, takeaway or disparage any of the RIGHTS listed in the Bill of Rights.

That’s correct.

No one, let alone a Senator can even consider taking or limiting a right. That means ANY right, for those of you who are confused out there. Now there are ten Rights. The first group of Rights is in a collection known as the first amendment. One of these rights is, of course, the Right of freedom of speech. Which means that you can say anything, or write anything, or even think anything NO MATTER WHAT. You offend someone… tough cookies. You swear or use profanity…meh. You  call a person a bad name, or say something that someone doesn’t like… no problem.

The RIGHT to speak your mind; America used to stand for this freedom. Not anymore apparently.

Ah… but I digress yet again.

Bad Behaviors

Wouldn’t you think that being a Senator, and not following the Constitution is wrong? Wouldn’t you think that it is a “bad behavior”? I would.

But, you know, defining what “bad behavior” is and what isn’t is really meaningless unless there is an enforcement arm.

When we were all children, we knew that there were things that we were not permitted to do. If we crossed the line, and did those “naughty” things, our parents would get angry and punish us. Now, we all had friends who could seemingly get away with anything. Their parents apparently didn’t care in the least. They were always on our case, acting like bullies or worse. Their parents were either oblivious, or defensive of their actions. It was truly frustrating. However, now that I am much older I see where the lack of discipline and parental guidance led the kids. It wasn’t pretty.

I would guess that perhaps one of the reasons why the United States is in such a mess today is partially because there just hasn’t been any enforcement to follow the Constitution. People could seemingly get away with anything. As such, they never would get in trouble. Look at Louis Learner, and the rest of her ilk, and how they were never punished.

This all reminds me of my dog, and when he’s acting poorly.

Being in the Dog House

Here in China, it is very crowded. As such, there is a necessity in making sure that everyone follows certain basic rules. Because, one or two odd balls behaving badly can cause all kinds of trouble in a crowded environment. Now, that is not to say that China has their act together, as there are many things about China that could use some improvement. However, there are things that they do right.

One of the things that they have in China that just isn’t so popular in the United States is security guards in every building for the purposes of keeping order. That differs from the United States, where security is used to enforce laws. In China, while laws might be enforced or not, the primary purpose of a baoan (security guard) is to keep order.

In a crowded place, especially a residential building, excessive noise is not tolerated. If you think that you can jam with your stereo up all night long and not have the rest of the building lynch you, you are sorely mistaken. You will have a baoan knock on your door, and if you are not corporative, they will pick up your stereo and toss it of the 65th floor below. If you complain, they will arrest you and in China, this is decidedly NOT a good thing.

Anyways, back to my dog.

For a while we had two dogs. Our current dog (Pipi) and a younger dog named “Super”. Super was a beautiful dog. The problem with him is that he hated my guts. He just could not stand me. When I would come home, he would bark at me all night long. It would continue hour after hour. He would be bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, and his voice would be hoarse, but he would keep it up like it was his duty. He would bark like there was no tomorrow. You could hear his voice getting hoarser and hoarser. It would crackle and dry up, yet still he barked. Then when I would leave the house, he would collapse in his bed from exhaustion. I know, as my wife would show me pictures of him collapsed from exhaustive barking. He would lay there on his back, his mouth open and his tongue out exhausted.

For my wife, she loved the loyalty of the dog. However, she saw that it was a problem. On more than just a few instances, we would have the guards knock on our doors to get the dog quiet. One time they were going to toss him off the 63rd floor, if we didn’t get him quiet. Indeed, for a long time it was a real problem. That is… until we consulted a vet about what to do.

When confronted with this problem, many Chinese simply cut the vocal cords of the dog. That way, they can live their life normally, but they will no longer be able to bark. Now, before any reader has a heart attack, please relax. We didn’t do any such thing. Instead we turned to technology for an answer.

We put on a barking shock collar on him.

Whenever there was a loud sound the dog would get a three second beep. If the barking continued, there would be a shock. The collar would then wait for five minutes. If there were additional loud sounds in those five minutes, there would be four louder beeps and a louder shock. This continued up the scale to ten. If the dog were still barking after fifty minutes (10 x 5 minutes = fifty minutes) of barking, a very loud shock would be released.

Super was a smart dog, and quickly discovered how the system worked.

Trainging collar to train dogs to stop barking.
Anti-barking training device used to train dogs to stop barking. This particular model is available in the United States. Chinese models are (ahem) more efficient.

Anti-barking shock training collar for dogs. (Image Source.)

Problem solved. Right?

Now Super whispered his barks. Instead of BARK! BARK! BARK!, it was bark… um, bark,  … bark. (Timidly.) It was cute, and it did work. Our dog had figured out how it worked and realized that he could no longer bark in the house. There weren’t any more visits from the building guards. Great right? Of course it wouldn’t work if the dog were not bright or slow. But Super was smart, so it worked.

But then, again our other dog (Pipi) was smart as well.

And he too discovered how it worked. He discovered that he could shock Super by barking at him. Super could be sleeping, and our dog would walk up to him and bark right into his collar. What a shocking way to wake up! Oh, my goodness! What hath we wrought?

One day we came home to barking and howls of pain from Super. Our other dog Pipi was pacing around Super barking crazily, and watching him get shocked. Then he gleefully would start up again, to watch it all over again.

We had to put an end to this mess.

We initially didn’t know what to do. We were afraid that if we removed the collar that Super would start barking again. There was a real and serious risk that he would find out the hard way how to fly. We needed to do something. We discussed it back and forth, over wine (as was our preference) and decided a solution. We put shock collars on both of them.

That’s right. Now it wasn’t fair. But it was the best thing to do.

We had a small cage for both of them, and put them both in it with shock collars. We then put on a camera and watched them from our cellphones, and left the house for dinner.

Sure enough, our one dog would start barking and Super would start to cower in fear. The only difference now was that both collars started to beep. Now, both dogs got a shock. Our dog didn’t know what was going on, so he started to bark and attack Super. Then off goes the stage-two beeps…then shock. It continued, and then Super started to fight back. He started to bark back. There was a mess of fighting, howling, beeping and electric shocks. It took maybe two hours before they all collapsed from exhaustion.

Neither dog would bark after that.

After that one massive battle, everything went quiet and peaceful. Neither dog barked. Though, they didn’t look at each other either. They would take turns eating and they would stay in separate rooms in the house. The good news is that Super wasn’t thrown out the window, no dog had a operation to stop barking, and the Baoan never visited us again. Mission accomplished.

That makes me think…

It's time to put shock collars on members of Congress.
I must admit that I am pretty sick and tired of Congress. Not one of them are acting the interests of their constituents. Not one of them. They are self-serving and evil.

It makes me think that maybe we should have shock-collars for everyone in Congress. The moment they start to put restrictions on people and any of their Rights, that they get graduated electric shocks. Maybe that would teach them that they couldn’t violate the Constitution no matter what their excuses are. Try to ban free speech, get a shock. Try to ban guns, get a shock. Try to ban religion… get a shock. Try to ban large sodas… get a shock. Try to ban straws… get a shock. Try to ban bikini’s… get a shock. Try to ban chewing gum… get a shock. Try to ban bacon…get a shock. Try to ban knives and forks… get a shock.

It’s a win-win situation!

When does information stop and propaganda begin

Well, isn’t that the way life works. You start talking about dog shit and end up talking about putting shock collars on American Senators. Ah, my goodness,  life as an American.

People say that we live in an “information age”. I disagree. We live in an “age of manipulation”. I say this because never before have we ever been so assaulted upon by propagandized media, and surveilled so severely. Face the facts.

All, the totality of, American media is owned by only six people.

American media is owned by six mega-corporations.
Everything that you see on the “mainstream” media is directed and spoon fed to you by the desires of six people.

Why use propaganda unless you want to manipulate, and why utilize surveillance if you have no intention about using the information you obtain. The answers to both questions point squarely towards manipulation.

This being stated…

How does the news benefit you?

Really, how does the “news” benefit you? If you were to go without watching, reading, or listening to the news for a week, would your life collapse? Would your quality of life decrease? Would your income drop?

Do you like being afraid of the latest pandemic being shoved right before your morning coffee?

I am willing to bet that your quality of life would increase. Your stress level would definitely decrease, and your levels of happiness would increase. I think that maybe we have become so addicted to the news that we have forgotten it’s relative importance in our lives. Since most of the news is used to manipulate and alter your way of thinking, it is refreshing to ignore it.

People who ignore the news, and the warnings about all the wars and troubles in other nations, go out and are happy outside of the USA. They are not afraid.

Those who ignore the news, don’t know that they cannot do certain things, so they do them anyways. They survive and succeed. News in many cases, is like a big weight around your neck that weighs you down and holds you back. It holds you back.

So, like a dog, I would suggest that you ignore that big pile of shit on the sidewalk. Let other dogs smell it. There are other trees to pee on. Other places to run and play. Don’t let anyone tell you that you must smell that pile of shit and no others. You can choose your very own pile of shit and do with it as you may.

You, yes YOU, can choose your own pile of shit to smell. Don’t let anyone tell you what shit to smell.

What you can do

To steal a quote from the movie “Forrest Gump”, life is like a box of chocolates, you don’t know what you are going to get. But, my dear friends, you can most certainly choose the box. Don’t listen to the propaganda.

"Ben Rhodes from Obama’s national security apparatus made the comment that your average journalist today is 27. They don’t know anything; they believe everything we tell ’em. It was a snap. 

It was right out of the page of Jonathan Gruber, who was the architect of Obamacare, who after it was signed into law, ran around the country bragging about how easy it was to lie to the American people about it because the American people are essentially ignoramuses."

-Rush Limbaugh

Likewise, don’t do what all the other dogs do. Don’t go towards the biggest and most popular pile of shit. Be different, be selective in which shit that you smell. Only pee where you want to be.

Don’t go from tree to tree peeing indiscriminately. Use some thought and planning. I am sure that your life would benefit from some judicial peeing responsibility.

We cannot change the world, and maybe we shouldn’t even try. All that we can change is ourselves.

If there are something’s that I urge the reader to do, I would suggest the following;

  • Stop watching, reading, and viewing all the “major” media outlets. (CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS, etc.)
  • Replace the time with something involving food, fresh air, friendships, or animals. (Oh, sex and pizza with wine would be a good thing also.)

Now, that should take care of most of your need to take medication (if you are an American). Now, in addition I would also suggest a phased approach of the following suggestions;

  • When you go on the internet, do not visit any of the “minor” news sites. (Drudge, Huffington Post, Forbes, WaPo etc.) Give yourself a break.
  • Replace the sites with websites that have interesting and in depth stories. (History, Discover, Messie Nessie, Dark Roasted Blend, The Art of Manliness, etc.)
  • Avoid sites that promise to tell you “the truth”. Or “fact check”, they will just inform you of what the truth is relative to the person who paid them. They are always lying for financial gain. While Snopes is perhaps one of the most famous, all of them utilize a financial model that promotes one version of the truth over others for financial gain. There is nothing free out there. You have to pay a price for everything. Being “educated” so you are manipulated is the price that you must often pay as an American.
  • Avoid “Social media”, like Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, or any of the others. If you need to go on it, pledge to stop using “likes”, and responding to posts.

Go there, do your task, and leave. A kitchen timer helps too.

The goal to all of this is to simplify your life by removing the anxiety and excitement of the internet from your life. You don’t need it. It hasn’t helped you at all, and it has only made your life miserable. Forgetaboutit.

I’ve noticed that in my rush to check out Tumblr, that I ended up acting like my dog anticipating a great pile of stinky poop. I just couldn’t wait to what was on my feed. But you know what? It’s just another addiction. It doesn’t really matter. Don’t be like my dog that just cannot wait to smell the freshest pile of shit in the park. Then he just has to pee on top of it. You don’t need it. It’s addictive, and other people know that you are addicted to it, and use that to control you.

Other people control you this way.

Some Final Comments

This being my opinions, and with the world populated with others, there will be some disagreements. Maybe some readers won’t like my comparisons between American news and dog shit. But, you know, that is exactly how most of America views the media, reporters, and those who are on the news shows. We think that they all stink.

Idea: 689,003 Facebook users participated in a social experiment during which researchers wanted to see what would happen if people started reading bad news every day. For an entire week, some users had to view news posts which had negative information, some of which were incredibly stressful emotionally. The opposite was also tested out by using positive news instead of negative posts.

Result: Like a lot of us instinctively predicted, reading lots of negative news over 7 days changed Facebook users' behavior online. Not only were they more prone to posting similar information as in the negative news more often, they were also more likely to emphasize negative emotions. Meanwhile, positive news stories made people feel happier, act more compassionately and kindly towards others. In other words, the news that we consume on social media shapes how we react because, on some level, we feel that what we see and read happens to us in reality.

Maybe some readers will take offense on what I have to say about Nazi’s, Liberal Progressives, and similar organizations like the Antifa and the KKK. Well, heck, that is what the First Amendment is for; the ability to speak your mind. Or to paraphrase the good Democrat Senator, “to express non-approved ideas on my five dollar blog”. Well, there is a solution that will prevent you from getting upset. Don’t read any of my opinions. Leave. Thank you.

This entire article is based on one thing; the musing that I had while I was walking my dog along the beach in front of my house. I noticed how excited he was smelling crap and his urgency to pee everywhere. In turn, I too wanted to see what the latest feed was on the news. And then, for a brief second of clarity, it became totally clear to me. Dogs and humans are the same.

We are the same, and you cannot convince me otherwise.

In my desire to keep my dog focused, and to keep him from getting hit by a car, I would often need to direct him. He cannot crap in the middle of a road, and not run blindly across a road to smell a fire hydrant. It is dangerous in many ways. As such, I need to help him and to protect him.

Isn’t that the same with us humans?

If we blindly react to the canned news that is fed to us, and the manipulative narratives that tug at our hearts and souls, we can get ourselves into a great deal of danger and hurt. I suggested the Russian narrative that is really being pushed by CNN, MSNBC, and Drudge. But other narratives are just as dangerous. America has been at war for over two hundred years. Don’t you think we all ought to give it up and chill out some? Really!

Take Aways

Well, there are some take aways from this dialog;

  • Dog poop is stinky.
  • Dogs like to smell things, and what they smell is more than we humans can understand.
  • News can be compared to dog crap.
  • There is no reason for us to be so interested in the news, as MOST news does not affect us personally.
  • News or Social Media is addictive to humans. It is like stinky shit to a dog.
  • Addiction to news can be dangerous, and it MIGHT be a contributor to the opioid problem in America today.
  • Manipulation of the news is equally dangerous, and could result in a most terrible turn of events.
  • I think that it might be a good idea to have Senators wear shock collars

FAQ

Q: Do you think that all news is bad?
A: No. I am just concerned that all news is used to manipulate. Our addition to news and Social Media might be harmful to us.

Q: Do you hate dogs?
A: No. I actually love them. I also think that they should be permitted to smell all the stinky stuff they want. They just need to be careful so that they don’t get hurt in the process.

Q: Do you hate Senator Feinstein?
A: No. I think that she is more than a little confused.

Old age does that, you know. You forget things and your sense of judgment tends to be distorted. She came to Congress when telephones had dials and hung on walls. There was no such thing as computers, and people wrote letters with “Bic banana” pens. Everyone was saying “Groovy”, and the movie Jaws just came out.
I think she should have retired three or four decades ago. Like when Microsoft DOS first came out.

Q: Do you read the news and listen to it?
A: Yes I do. However, I have been actively trying to reduce the impact of it in my life. I think that I have been far too involved in it in the past. Looking back, I can see how silly it has been.

Posted On Free Republic

This article was posted on Free Republic in the chat section on 31JUL18. It was edited as the language was deemed improper. It used the word “shit”. The comments can be read HERE.

Posts Regarding Life and Contentment

Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.

Link
Link
Link
Tomatos
Link
Mad scientist
Gorilla Cage in the basement
Link
Pleasures
Work in the 1960's
School in the 1970s
Cat Heaven
Corporate life
Corporate life - part 2
Build up your life
Grow and play - 1
Grow and play - 2
Asshole
Baby's got back
Link
A womanly vanity
The Warning Signs
SJW
Army and Navy Store
Playground Comparisons
Excuses that we use that keep us enslaved.

More Posts about Life

I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.

Being older
Link
Civil War
Travel
PT-141
Bronco Billy
r/K selection theory
How they get away with it
Line in the sand
A second passport
Paper Airplanes
Snopes
Taxiation without representation.
Link
Link
Link
Make America Great Again.
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
1960's and 1970's link
Democracy Lessons

Stories that Inspired Me

Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.

Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link
Link

Articles & Links

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

Notes

  1. Drafted 25MAR18.
  2. Updated 11APR18.
  3. Internet ready 28APR18.
  4. SEO check 8MAY18.
  5. FR posting update 1AUG18.