MM is still very busy. But somehow I was able to crank out this article…
We continue with the strange unraveling of the world while the loss of society inside of the United States festers, and Asia grows, grows and grows…
Prison Guards in Siberia Report “Britney Griner” is a . . . Man!
Prison Guards in Siberia, Russia, are reporting that American prisoner “Britney” Griner, the US Women’s Basketball star, is actually a man.
This American has become regular news recently as Russia and the USA negotiate prisoner exchanges.
A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison earlier this month, an expected conclusion to her trial that should allow negotiations for a prisoner swap to accelerate.
Griner, who was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country, had been prepared for a harsh sentence, sources close to the player said. But she and her supporters have also been aware that Russia was not going to move forward with a trade that could bring her home until her trial was completed. A guilty verdict was considered a foregone conclusion, and Griner pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.
During sentencing, Judge Anna Sotnikova said she had found that Griner intentionally broke the law and also fined her 1 million rubles (about $16,700). Sotnikova said the time Griner has served in custody since her arrest in February would count toward the sentence.
Griner reacted to the sentence with little emotion, listening to the verdict with a blank stare on her face.
The “woman’s Basketball” star received a harsh sentence because Russia doesn’t tolerate illegal drugs.
Photos are also circulating claiming to show Griner without a shirt, and the tattoos of the man in the image seem to match those visible when Griner played basketball for the women’s team.
The images are going viral on Social Media:
15-year-old Mary Vincent
In 1978, 15-year-old Mary Vincent hitchhiked from Las Vegas to California. She got into a van, and 50-year-old Lawrence Singleton attacked, raped, and dismembered the teen before leaving her for dead.
After brutally raping and sodomising the teenager, Singleton severed both of her arms with a hatchet and threw her down a 30 foot culvert in Del Puerto Canyon in Stanislaus County. As Singleton sped off, he believed that he had killed Mary and that nobody would ever know what he had just done. He was wrong.
The following morning, two women came across a ghastly sight: Mary Vincent was stumbling down the road, nude, holding what remained of her mutilated arms up in the air. “She was holding up her arms so that the muscles and blood would not fall out,” read the court documents.
She was rushed to hospital where she was able to provide a detailed description of Singleton. The composite sketch was so realistic that Singleton’s neighbour recognised him and called police immediately.
Francisco Erasmo Rodrigues de Lima
It has been 5 years since the death of Francisco Erasmo Rodrigues de Lima, father of 4 children, bricklayer, alcoholic, divorced and homeless, was killed on the steps of the Sé Cathedral, São Paulo, Brazil.
A lady who was praying in the church ended up being taken hostage by an escaped criminal.
Francisco did not hesitate, he knew what he had to do, lit his last cigarette and held it firmly to his lips, threw himself at the bandit, freed the woman and was shot dead by the criminal.
While Francisco gave his life in defense of that woman, a crowd watched and filmed, but only Francisco, a homeless person, excluded by society, seen as a bandit, was able to give his life for a complete stranger.
May this man always be remembered for his act of bravery and heroism.
Why do so many foreigners who have been to China praise China so much?
From Quora. -MM
I can’t speak for *all foreigners* who have been to China, but as for myself…
I started to praise China when I realized that most of what I’d been told about this country were ugly lies.
When I realized this truth, my sense of justice was outraged and I began to see the Chinese people, government, and nation as a whole, not as I’d been told, but as they really are.
Now let me give you some context…
I came to China in 2012, and at that time I believed the mainstream narrative that “Chinese people are okay, but it’s the CCP that is evil”…
And of course, I often spouted the “Chairman Mao 9 trillion dead!”, “Xinjiang!!”, “Free Tibet!!” stories as well.
But then I learned the truth.
I learned of the Imperialist invasions we Westerners somewhat euphemistically refer to as the “Opium Wars”
Which basically went down like this…
British Power 1: “oh damn, we want Chinese goods, but have nothing they’re interested in! Short of outright invasion, how do we get their goods?”
David Sassoon: “Why don’t we just get them addicted to opium and soon they’ll be begging us to take their goods! Mwahaahhaha!”
British Power 1: “The royal family gives their full support!”
And then when opium addiction got out of control, the Chinese emperor arrested the smugglers and formally banned opium…
The British invaded, devastated the country and “freed Hong Kong™”
And I learned of the two brutal invasions by Japan and especially the absolutely horrible crimes committed in Nanking and by Unit 731.
And I started to see China not as the “evil creeping enemy” we are led to believe her to be…
But a traumatized and bullied child who finally had a growth spurt and became too big for the bully to have any power over her anymore.
And so the bully moves onto other smaller targets, but still talks smack behind China’s back and tells the “cool” kids lies about her to stop them from playing with her.
My change in attitude reminds me of a poem, described by deceased rapper Tupac Shakur, who said:
“If a rose managed to grow through the concrete, you wouldn’t judge the damaged petals…
You’d respect its tenacity; you’d celebrate its will to reach the sun!”
I now see China as the rose that grew from the concrete.
Notes (aka Red Pills) for the (still) Brainwashed:
The West lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction in order to invade the country, control its government and loot its resources.
The West lied about Saddam’s brother feeding opponents alive into a woodchipper as a gruesome execution method.
The West lied about Iraqi troops throwing lives babies from hospital incubators onto the floor to die.
The West lied about Assad “gassing his own people” in Syria.
The West still lies about Uighur “concentration camps” in Xinjiang.
The West still lies about Tibet and is strangely silent about the CIA Tibetan program which originally paid the Dalai Lama $180,000 a year to support covert action on China’s border.
The West still lies about the Tiananmen Square massacre and is also “strangely silent” about Wikileaks cables proving that no “massacre” took place there.
The West still lies about the real situation in Hong Kong and Beijing’s real (rather normal) intentions for the original extradition law.
The West still lies about China’s handling of COVID-19 (which as a non-Chinese living in China, I think was VERY good) in order to cover for America’s fumbling, whilst also conveniently heaping international hatred toward China.
With these facts in mind, how can we believe anything we see on mainstream English news?
Did Chairman Kim really shoot anti-aircraft rockets into a dissenter’s body?
Likely not.
Did Putin really pay Taliban for any American deaths in Afghanistan?
Likely not.
I refuse to believe atrocity propaganda anymore.
This is why I praise China.
Despite 100 years of brutalization, bullying and smearing by the West, I literally never see the same atrocity propaganda, lies and smearing in Chinese news when referring to the West.
Sure, there is criticism, but smears and demonization? Nope.
Confucius once wrote that “The rule of virtue can be compared to the Pole Star which commands the homage of the multitude of stars without leaving its place.”
Ponder that one for a while…and then look at the Chinese flag and tell me what you see.
Conclusion: No nation is perfect, especially China, but I praise them because they are humble, hardworking and family-oriented.
I support the government because unlike Western nations, they do not allow capital interests (oligarchs) to rise above government authority.
And, and, and this makes the ideological/cultural/political subversion that has happened elsewhere – very difficult.
And it is also the real reason why the West is so anti-CCP.
House Buyers
This is a Chinese story. Very realistic and I can absolutely picture the transaction. -MM
I haven’t been treated differently, but what I want to say is that I’ve seen my clients treated differently.
One summer vacation, I worked in a real estate company selling houses.
One day, an old couple came in. They were wearing straw hats, loose cloth shirts, and old Beijing cloth shoes on their feet. They were carrying one of those cheap plastic plaid bags. I didn’t know what was in it, but whatever it was, looked heavy. It was hot outside, and their dark faces were dripping with sweat.
Cheap plastic plaid bag
By looking at their clothes, I surmised that they were “country folk”.
I had nothing to do at the moment, so I received them. I invited them to the room to have tea. My colleagues looked at me, and they eyes told me that they thought I’m doing useless work because the old farmer couple would not buy a house. I showed them into the room for tea.
The young manager’s office was next door. He saw me bring a couple of farmers in, called me into his office and told he was dissatisfied with my behavior. He said that by letting such customers in, I would damage our store’s image. He told me to invent a reason to get them out of the office.
I couldn’t understand it!
When I returned to the couple, they told me they were going to buy a house and wanted to buy a two room house with a kitchen. I took out our house source book and showed them some.
The couple looked carefully and chose a medium-sized house.
I told them that the house was not cheap and showed them a few others I thought were more in their price range. But the couple just shook their head “No!”. They wanted the house they’d chosen before.
I said the house needs 300,000 yuan down and the owner is asking for cash.
The old couple looked at each other and assumed they would say they could not do that.
But I was shocked.
The couple said: Yes, but we only brought 200,000 yuan of cash.
You can see if we can wait for another 100,000 yuan in two days.
After that, they opened their cheap plastic bag: it was filled with RMB money!
I was slack jawed.
I quickly told our manager and his eyes lit up, realizing “This is a big customer!” So he went out and received them warmly.
Of course, the manager now wanted to take over the sale, so he took out the contract for the couple to sign.
Surprisingly, the couple refused the manager’s request and said to him: “We won’t sign with you. We’ll stick with the girl who treated us so warmly. We’ll sign a contract with her.”
I was so happy and never expected to be so lucky.
Finally, the couple really bought the house, and I received an extremely large commission
I resigned soon thereafter.
REACTOR COOLANT WATER LEAK AT ZAPOROZYHE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN UKRAINE
A raging gun battle took place on the grounds of the Zaporozyhe Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on Monday, and bullets penetrated the reactor cooling water lines running on plant property. WATER IS SPEWING OUT OF THE LARGE PIPES.
It is not known (yet) if this water is Radioactive.
The gunfight left multiple men dead and those dead men can be seen inside a car on the power plant property in the video below.
Also visible is a significant amount of water spewing from what appear to be multiple bullet holes in one or more of the reactor water cooling pipes.
If this water is radioactive, NATO has said that a radiation leak at the plant would “trigger Aticle 5” of the NATO Treaty and result in NATO entering the war in Ukraine AGAINST Russia.
It would be World War 3 immediately.
Adult Life
1. An adult is not a dead child, but a child who survived.
2. The average adult spends more time on the toilet than they do exercising.
3. People always want candy, whether you’re a kid or an adult.
4. Time goes by so slowly when you’re a child, and then, as an adult, it goes by in the blink of an eye.
5. Don’t say maybe if you want to say no.
6. The toughest thing to do as an adult is to keep your screaming on the inside.
7. You can be a good person your entire life, and still have a shitty life.
8. Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything.
9. A child cries 99% times due to physical pain, an adult cries 99% times due to emotional pain.
10. You are the total of your own decisions.
And, welcome to adulthood, where you’ll be constantly tired except for when it’s time to go to sleep.
Jannah
My heart aches as I’m writing this story.
This girl is Jannah, an Egyptian girl who was only five.
Her parents had gotten a divorce when she was a baby and somehow the custody ended up with her grandmother.
She was transferred to the hospital one day between life and death, her whole body covered in bruises and burns.
Her body was damaged so badly, especially her leg that had to be amputated.
But worst of all, when doctors inspected her body further, they saw that her genitals were fully burnt.
After investigation, turns out that her grandmother used to burn her as a punishment for peeing herself.
And after further investigation, it turned out that that wasn’t the reason.
Jannah was sexually assaulted by her uncle.
Her grandma burned her genitals to cover up and protect him.
The little girl died soon after. And this is one of the few times where I find myself saying “thank god she died”, otherwise she would’ve been under the mercy of these monsters for longer.
Jannah means heaven in Arabic. Dear sweet Jannah, if there is a Jannah in the afterlife then I hope you’re resting there peacefully.
More US adults identify as LGBTQ+ now than at any time in the past decade
Well, it figures. -MM
Article HERE
Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into 3×1/2×1/4-inch strips
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 can (10.5 oz) condensed golden mushroom or cream of mushroom soup
- 1 carton (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 oz cream cheese, cubed (from 8-oz package)
- 1 container (8 oz) sour cream
- 6 cups hot cooked noodles or rice
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on Japanese Lawmaker’s Visit to Taiwan
Q: According to reports, Keiji Furuya, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker of Japan and chairperson of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, is in Taiwan for a visit from August 22 to 24 and will meet Tsai Ing-wen. What is China’s comment?
A: In disregard of China’s stern démarches, Keiji Furuya has visited the Taiwan region of China, which grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, blatantly violates the one-China principle and the spirit of the four China-Japan political documents and sends a seriously wrong signal to the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.
China strongly deplores this egregious move and will take resolute and strong measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s sacred territory.
The Taiwan question bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations and the basic trust between our two countries.
The Japanese side made a solemn commitment on this question to the Chinese side.
Japan once kept Taiwan under its colonial rule for half a century.
Japan is historically responsible for its serious wrongdoing to the Chinese people and has all the more reason to be prudent in its words and deeds.
To seek selfish political gains, certain Japanese politician has colluded with the “Taiwan independence” forces to make a political stunt just like some others have done.
The Japanese government connived at such political manipulation to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Such behavior of reneging on one’s commitment with sinister intention is doomed to fail and will not stop the historic process of China’s complete reunification.
We urge the Japanese side to deeply reflect on the events of history, abide by the principles of the four China-Japan political documents and the commitments it has made, stop making provocation and stop stirring up trouble on the Taiwan question.
Japan must not wade in muddy water and seek selfish gains in the Taiwan Strait. It must stop going further down the wrong path.
Tweekyweeky
This is our little “garbage cat”, Tweekyweeky (or affectionately Tweek due to his nature). We live in the country and sadly someone dumped him in a neighboring yard.
They have several Huskies and weren’t able to keep him. I told myself we don’t need anymore cats, we can just hold onto him till we can get him to the shelter..
Well 3 days later he became our tiny terror that we couldn’t bear to part with. This handsome fellow will be 1 year at the end of this month. While he no longer fits under my laptop stand, he still makes that crazy face!
Thailand likely to deploy Chinese submarine engines
- Analysts expect Thailand to proceed with the Chinese engines when it completes evaluation by September 15
- Deal will further strengthen Sino-Thai relations, following joint military drills on Sunday
A strengthening of ties between Thailand and its largest trading partner China could be a “fait accompli” if it opted to use Chinese-made diesel engines for the S26T Yuan-class submarine it is buying as part of a 2017 deal, analysts said.
Thailand is currently running tests on the mainland-made CHD620 engines as a replacement for Germany’s MTU396 model, and expects to complete this evaluation by September 15.
Analysts expect Thailand to proceed with the Chinese engine if it matches the capabilities of German equipment.
“The Thai submarine deal is very important to China as it helps strengthen Sino-Thai military relations.
For that reason alone it’s hard to believe that Beijing would offer a suboptimal engine to Bangkok,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
Thailand’s Chinese submarine order hits snag after Germany’s export embargo on MTU engines
Ah. By sanctioning China, the west has created powerful competitor.
Taking a stand
I managed a pharmacy in Ontario. It was in a small town and recruiting people to come there was a challenge. I was fortunate enough to have an international student join our team.
After several months of interning, he would be licensed, and the plan was he would become my staff pharmacist. This gentleman was a good man, and he boldly left his home country of Pakistan for a better life.
So what did I take a stand on? We had a customer who was an a-hole. There were problems with various prescriptions that were troublesome. The kind that gave the indication that something wasn’t right. On one day, he came to the prescription drop-off area, pointed a finger at my future staff pharmacist, and said “I don’t want him to serve me.”
I happened to be momentarily away at the time, but upon return I was informed about what happened. We had a code of ethics at this business and respect for our associates was very important. As the man eventually returned for his prescription, I explained that his prescription was not ready, nor would it be.
I explained that his behaviour toward my staff member was uncalled for and seemed to be racially motivated.
I told him that there will be times in the future when my staff pharmacist would be the only pharmacist available to sign off on his prescription.
Clearly that would prevent him from getting the care that he would need. I suggested that he go elsewhere and that an apology be given.
He left. I thanked him with a smile as he did.
Kiwi
When I was 16 or so, I came home from school and made some soup on the stove in a big pot. I sliced carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, and various herbs. First I let them caramelize: then I deglazed it with some wine followed by a lot of hot water. Excited about my work I turn down the heat so I could let it sit for a while.
Anyway, I went to my room ready to play some games on my pc. Stoned and easily distracted as I was, I forgot about my delicious soup. So, when I was watching a movie, my cat started meowing at me, however, more intensely than usual. The meowing was a very high pitched more aggressive tone.
At first I thought she was hungry, so I said: “Kiwi, come on, you just had some food 3 hours ago.” Then it hit me. When I opened the door to my room, I was standing in front of a black cloud that filled my entire apartment.
First thing I did was open my window and lock my cat in my room, then I went to the bathroom next to my room and made myself a mask from a wet towel. Afterwards I ran to the kitchen, took the red glowing and smoking pot off of the stove, opened the balcony door, turned off the heat, breathed some fresh air, and ran to the living room. There I opened the remaining windows to create air flow. Luckily no one called the firefighters.
So this is Kiwi; she is 20 years old now.
Car Bomber Identified – Ukraine Nazi WOMAN – Member of Azov (NAZI) Battalion!
Elements inside Russia have published claims that the woman appearing above is the person who perpetrated the car bombing of Russian girl Daria Dugina, whose car was blown up while being driven from a cultural event inside Russia.
The explosion was allegedly triggered by remote detonation of a car bomb; meaning the Bomber knew exactly who was being killed.
The woman shown above is identified by Russian sources as Natalia Vovk, (born Shaban) a Ukrainian woman born in 1979. The ID Photo above is traced to the Ukraine National Guard. She allegedly lived in the 24th Quarter in or near Mariupol.
Here is the full military ID:
The Russian FSB says:
►the woman and her teenage daughter, Sophia Shaban, arrived in Russia on July 23.
►The assailant allegedly spent a month preparing the attack by renting an apartment in the same housing block and researching Dugina’s lifestyle.
►The assailant allegedly attended the “Tradition Festival” event outside Moscow on Saturday evening where Dugina and her father were also in attendance.
►After allegedly detonating the bomb and killing Dugina, the assailant fled Russia via Pskov, into Estonia.
A Mini Cooper vehicle was reportedly used to spy on Dugina before the bombing.
License plate numbers were reportedly changed on that vehicle three times; with plates from Donetsk (DPR), Kazakhstan, and Ukraine all used at various times on it.
The car was put up for sale online in an ad in Kiev, shown below, allegedly placed by a man named Danil Shaban – believed to be a family member of the assailant.
Danil Shaban is thought to be a member of the Azov Battalion as he was photographed participating in sporting events with AZOV Battalion.
So on the surface, the daughter of a prominent Russian Intellectual, Alexander Dugin, was blown up, allegedly by a Ukrainian Nazi Azov Battalion WOMAN.
UPDATE 2:26 PM EDT —
Russia has now corroborated their claims about this woman by posting video images of her entering/leaving the same Apartment Block as the victim, and time/date-stamped security video from Russia Border Checkpoints showing her entering and leaving the country.
If these allegations prove to be accurate, it speaks to the nature of the people being fought by Russia in Ukraine: Brutal, Sadistic, Nazis.
Why is America and the West, backing a brutal, sadistic, NAZI regime in Ukraine?
There was no immediate response from Kyiv to the FSB statement.
Sign in China
Ten attributes that signify the growth of China
This article is a reprint of an article found on WeForum. All credit to the original authors, posting medium and website. It’s a very good article and it was found on one of the websites that provide strategic summaries for industry leaders to make informed global business decisions. Enjoy.
China, home to almost a fifth of the world’s population, is a country of superlatives. Forty years of economic growth, at an average of nearly 10% a year, has transformed the country into a global leader in technology and manufacturing.
Its economy is now second only in size to the United States – larger if trade is taken into account – and it is home to six of the world’s megacities.
Despite its trade dispute with the US, China enjoyed first-quarter growth of 6.4% this year, more than double the UN’s forecast for the rest of the world.
Life expectancy has risen to 75 for men and 78 for women, according to the World Health Organisation.
But despite all this, there are big challenges – particularly around greenhouse gas emissions, as huge economic growth has rapidly made China the world’s biggest producer of CO2.
Ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, in July, here are 10 facts to help you understand China today.
What is AMNC, the World Economic Forum’s meeting in China?
The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions focuses on leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship.
More than 2,000 participants, including leading experts in science and technology, attend the meeting in Dalian, People’s Republic of China. They will take part in over 100 working sessions.
The meeting pools ideas and galvanizes progress towards a building a future where entrepreneurship serves everyone in society. The key focus areas are: Fostering Agile Industry Leadership, Achieving Technology Leadership, Sustaining Economic Leadership and Promoting Responsible Leadership.
Find out more about AMNC on TopLink and contact us to learn more about who can attend.
1. It has landed a space rover on the far side of the Moon
The unmanned Chang’e-4 probe touched down in a large crater near the Moon’s South Pole to analyse the geology of an unexplored region. China’s space agency called the landing “an important stride toward China being a strong country in space exploration”.
The mission carried experiments from the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia. Missions to Mars and Jupiter, a manned Moon landing and a permanent Chinese space station are also planned.
2. It’s a world leader in Artificial Intelligence
Chinese businesses filed 473 of the 608 Artificial Intelligence patents lodged with the World Intellectual Property Organisation last year and a third of all blockchain patents. The Chinese government is reportedly investing billions to support AI developers, including creating a $2 billion AI development park in Beijing.
3. It’s home to a third of the world’s corporate unicorns
In 2018, China had a total of 186 unicorn start-ups – companies worth more than $1 billion – according to the Hurun List. And it fostered 97 new unicorns, or one every 3.8 days, according to the South China Morning Post, which is owned by unicorn company Alibaba.
China is building a giant tech hub comprising 11 cities to rival Silicon Valley. The Pearl River Delta, home to nearly 70 million people, will be united into a giant megalopolis to be known as the Greater Bay Area.
4. China is a world leader in renewable energy – but also in emissions
The image of smoggy Chinese cities belies the reality that, last year, China built more solar and wind electricity generating capacity than any other nation. Three of the world’s five largest floating solar plants are in China.
New coal-fired power stations are still coming on stream, but a major programme to close down older plants is under way. As national wealth grows, demand for electricity is booming. The International Energy Agency says the average Chinese household will use twice as much electricity by 2040 than it does today.
China is also the world’s biggest energy-related carbon dioxide emitter.
This figure increased from 2017-2018 by 2.5%. But, given its massive population, the per capita picture is a bit rosier.
5. One third of the world’s new vegetation is being planted in China
China accounts for a quarter of the human-caused greening observed since 2000 – despite containing only 6.3% of the world’s landmass. Two-fifths comes from expanding its forests.
The Shandong Ecological Afforestation Project alone planted trees on 67,000 hectares of barren mountainous slopes and saline coast over five years, increasing forest cover and improving biodiversity.
Last year, China created three sustainable development zones based on United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in Shenzhen, Guilin and Taiyuan.
6. GDP growth is slowing, but still high
For years China has been associated with rapid GDP growth. Since the late 1970s, it’s averaged nearly 10% a year and 850 million people have been lifted out of poverty.
But, since the early part of the decade, it’s slowed as the economy has made a transition away from rapid, export-led growth towards domestic consumption. By global standards, it’s still high, however – 6.3% in the latest IMF World Economic Outlook compared to a global average of 3.3%.
The IMF said rapid growth had negative impacts: “high inequality (especially between rural and urban areas), challenges to environmental sustainability, and external imbalances. China also faces demographic pressures related to an aging population and the internal labor migration.”
7. China accounts for more than half of global electric car sales
Chinese drivers bought 1.1 million new electric cars last year. At the recent Shanghai Motor Show, Chinese car makers unveiled 10 new electric car models for 2019.
China makes more than half of the world’s vehicle batteries and prices are forecast to fall to the point where electric cars will be cheaper in China that fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
The country is also home to 99% of the world’s electric bus fleet with 400,000 vehicles already on the roads. Shenzhen was the first city to replace all its buses, and is now replacing all its taxis too.
8. Chinese tourists are driving the growth of global tourism
As China has opened up to the world, so its citizens have set out to explore the globe. The number of Chinese citizens taking foreign holidays is growing at over 6% a year and McKinsey forecasts 160 million will take holidays outside China next year.
In 2017, Chinese tourists spent a quarter of a trillion dollars abroad. One London station now announces departures in Mandarin as well as English.
9. China is closing the gender gap, but lots more remains to be done.
Progress towards gender parity slowed in 2018 and China ranked 103 out of 149 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report.
It did see marginal improvements in the share of women in parliament and has fully closed its gender gaps in professional and technical roles and women’s tertiary enrolment.
10. It leads the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, China and India) for competitiveness
China featured at number 28 in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index scoring highly on investment in research and development, infrastructure and IT adoption.
China’s innovation score is among the highest in the world, lagging only Germany, the US and Switzerland. But the Index says it needs to “improve performance on softer drivers of innovation, such as diversity, collaboration and various aspects of openness”.
So what’s stopping China reaching the top of the competitiveness league table? The Forum says it needs to promote competition in its domestic market by allowing foreign firms to compete with home grown industries and it calls for action to address “inefficiencies and rigidities in the labour market.”
Found
In 1972, while on vacation, Stefano Mariottini, an engineer from Rome, snorkeling off the coast of Monasterace near Riace, noticed a human hand sticking out of the sand. Deciding that it was a corpse, he called the police.
From the bottom of the Ionian Sea, two statues of “Warriors from Riace” were raised – ancient Greek bronze statues of the 5th century BC.
Sign in China
Rip off artists
My wife and I were in Mexico City on our honeymoon. No my wife is looks like she just got off the boat from Ireland, pale white skin, flaming red hair.
Now here’s the curve ball, she had just graduated with her degree in Spanish. She spoke Spanish like a native. So I’m looking at a beautiful onyx chess set, discussing the set with the wife.
There were two sales clerks, speaking Spanish and saying how they were going to over charge me. After 10 minutes or so we decided it passed where will it live test and we would buy it. We went to the register and said we would buy it. They gave a really high price and smirched. I asked if that was their best price? They said “Si, can’t go lower.” Then my Irish angel wife says in fluent Spanish “Ok now what’s the real price after you were going to rip us off?”. They almost fainted. They then gave us big discount so we wouldn’t talk to the cops.
Turkish influences on Russian culture
Turkic influences on the Russian culture is one of the largest secrets we successfully hide from the rest of the world.
In the pre-Imperial era, we long were tributaries of the Golden Horde and their descendants. We call them Mongols, even though there are very few Mongol artifacts in our woodlands, Mongol DNAs in our genes and Mongol texts in our archives. As far back as we can see to the east and south, it’s almost always Turks.
The problem of Turks is, on our side of the Black Sea they never got the same conqueror glory as the Mongols. This matters a lot in Russia.
In addition, subjugating ourselves to strangers of our own free will, as St Alexander Nevsky did to the Golden Horde, is not cool at all. Every time I mention this on Quora, there’s always someone who angrily tells me off: “Russia was conquered by Mongols! There was the Mongol yoke! Everyone knows that!”.
In Russia, it’s much cooler to rub the shoulders with the Chingizides than with Turks.
Back to the Turks. We’ve been living with them as our closest neighbors from the time of early Cumanian kingdoms. Due to their dominance on the river routes along the Volga down to the Caspian Sea, before the Varangians came, we had been tributaries to the Khazars. Our early rulers even called themselves Kagans, which was Turkic for “king”. We went on being intertwined with them in many ways like no one else—until the House of Romanovs decided it’s time to make a clean break and become Europeans.
Now, the top 10 Turkic things in Russia:
- Food. Cumanian nomads taught us to cook dough in boiling water long before Jews came to town with their bagels and pretzels which we transformed into búbliki, baránki and súshki. The Turks also had ample access to meat—which is why many of the favorite meat recipes in Russia came from Turks, shashlík being the absolute favorite.
- A wealth of everyday words about everything from déngi (“money”) and tamózhnya (“customs office”) to cherdák (“attic”), shtaný (“pants”) and durák (“dimwit”). Add to that the myriads of toponyms in the Cumanian prairies: Astrakhan, Saratov, Ural, Samara, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Tiumen
- Family names: Yeltsin, Sharapova, Yusupov, Sheremetyev, Suvorov, Karamzin, Bulgakov, Zhdanov, Turgenev, Radishchev, Chadayev, Berdyaev, Tukhachevsky.
- Cossacks. These originated as Slav-speaking Orthodoxes who subscribed to Turkic lifestyles and never looked back. They considered themselves a nation apart from the rest of Russians and Ukrainians until Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin wiped them off the planet altogether.
- Siberia. The name itself is Turkic, the territory was originally a playground of Turkic tribes, and the Russian colonization happened thanks to a massive contribution from friendly Turks. The supreme hero of our early Siberian colonization was a Tatar called Yarmúk/Ermák
- The Cumanian steppes. These insanely productive farming areas were the powerhouse of Russia’s demographic and economic growth starting from the 15th century, especially when the Imperial conquests made them safe for settlement in the 18th century.
- Amanát, or “friendly” hostage-taking. A “safekeeping” of the native’s kids was the main tool of political control the Empire of Joche had over the political class in the early Muscovy. Later, it became a backbone of the pelt-driven colonization of Siberia, the Far East and Alaska by our Cossacks and trappers (promýshlenniki).
- Intermarriages, the turbo engine of colonial absorption of the lands east of the Urals. Because of immense distances, it made little sense to Cossacks, trappers and other single male settlers to bring brides from the Russian heartland. They married local girls and made many babies with them. Several generations down the road, few pockets of ethnically insulated areas remained that considered themselves “non-Russian”.
- Russian aristocracy. Because of the colonial nature of Russian civilization, it was customary to use outside minorities for recruitment in the state administration. Before Peter I undertook his Westernization project, Christianized Tatars had been the preferred external recruitment pool by our rulers. Before the revolution, knyaz (“duke”) was widespread as a derogatory word for Volga Tatars.
- The Magnificent Port as a source of inspiration for the imperial state-building, before the French and Dutch dazzled the Romanovs with their splendor.
Below, one of the first detailed drawings of the Kremlin in Moscow, the 17th century. Before Italians brought to Russia the tradition of European masonry in the 15th century, ours was the domain of timber construction—while Turks in the prairies used stone slabs and bricks. Which was probably why the type of fortresses we see in Moscow, Astrakhan, Novgorod got the Turkic designation of Kreml (“Kremlin”). The original Russian fortifications from the Varangian era were either simple walls of timber, or a combination of earthwork and wooden constructions. These were called ostróg, detínets and górod (hence, Gardaríka).
Oliver
This is Oliver. Yes, he has tiny plastic cats on top of him while he sleeps. Yes, I also have children…
Oliver has a history of bringing me and my husband unusual gifts.
When my eldest son was born, we lived right behind the hospital where I stayed after I gave birth. As you can imagine, it was convenient for my husband at visiting times as he could leave our house, walk to the hospital and be next to me in under ten minutes.
Well, my husband was late visiting on one occasion. I was tired, overwhelmed at having just had my first baby after a difficult birth, and I was watching the minutes tick by on the clock, getting increasingly upset. My husband rang to say he was really sorry he was late, and he was going to be later still ‘… but I’ll explain when I get there.’
Well. Turns out that Oliver had brought a duckling into the house. A live, perfectly unharmed, rather indignant, duckling. My husband had no idea what to do so he called the RSPCA. He was late visiting because he was waiting for them to turn up, which they did, and they took the duckling with them to rehome.
We found out later that week that there was a duck pond in the hospital grounds, so it became a joke that Oliver was on his way to see me, picked up a present, but decided to drop it off at home for me instead.
Other notable Oliver presents include:
- An uneaten Gregg’s sausage roll. It was still in the paper bag, which Oliver proudly dragged in between his legs.
- Several pristine pieces of unbuttered white bread.
- An unopened packet of crisps, which he ‘hunted’ from the kitchen and dropped into my lap. I ate them.
- Several articles of my make-up. I was ill and in bed, and he dropped a tube of concealer onto my head. On another occasion, it was eyeliner.
This is in addition to ‘normal’ presents of dead/semi-dead small animals.
Oliver is the best cat I have ever had.
Biden, WH claims US has ‘zero inflation’
“Today, we received news that our economy had 0% inflation in the month of July — 0%,”
Biden said.
“Here’s what that means: while the price of some things go up — went up last month, the price of other things went down by the same amount. The result? Zero inflation last month."
From HERE
Sign in China
Brutality of addiction
I was raped by mother’s crack dealer and she was in the room when it happened.
I was 10 yrs old when it happened.
I was sleeping in my bed in my bedroom when my mother woke me up. She told me to go with her into the bathroom.
I noticed Larry, her dealer, was there as well. In the bathroom, she was telling me “they” were after her and no matter what happened to keep quiet.
This wasn’t strange to me at the time. When she was high, she always talked about someone or something coming for her.
We walked back in to my room and I saw Larry laying in my bed.
Immediately, my mother locked the door behind us. I asked my mother why she locked the door.
She told me to shut up and get in the bed.
I was confused because he was in it. He got up and grabbed my hand. He started to lead me to my bed. I jerked my hand back and looked at my mom.
Larry grabbed me and threw me in the bed.
I won’t go in detail but he raped me. Right there…..in my bed while my mom smoked crack on the floor of my bedroom.
I remember crying and pleading for help from her but she did nothing.
I guess my screams did finally get to her cause she finally walked out of my bedroom.
When Larry finished, he just rolled over and went to sleep.
I got up and dressed. I went to find my mother and she was locked in her closet….her normal spot.
I went to school and told what happened to my teachers…
Long story short he went to prison for 12 yrs and my mother lost custody of me.
Has anyone walked into a bar and then found it was filled with a biker gang? What happened?
Yep. Yorktown Pub in Yorktown, Virginia, with my young teen daughters in tow.
One of them noticed me struggling with my daughter’s wheelchair up the front steps.
Six guys with beards, knives, leathers, boots, chains, tats, jumped up to help. Two grabbed the doors.
The other four grabbed the wheelchair by the corners and launched my daughter into the pub.
Before I could look for a table, they realized their table was better located for a wheelchair, moved their stuff, wiped down the table, and re-set it.
All this took about a minute.
I offered to buy them a pitcher but they refused. Great guys.
Slow-Cooker Bolognese
Muir Glen® tomato paste provides a simple addition to this Bolognese that’s made using sausage and ground beef. Serve this slow cooked Italian sauce over pasta for dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 lb bulk Italian pork sausage
- 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
- 2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
- 2 carrots, finely chopped (1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
- 1 can (6 oz) Muir Glen™ organic tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 16 oz uncooked spaghetti
- 3/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (3 oz)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Arthur Booth
Arthur Booth was arrested by the police with charges including burglary, fleeing and resisting arrest.
As he stepped before Judge Glazer, something coincidental happened!
Judge Glazer recognized him and said, “Did you go to Nautilus Middle School?”
Arthur broke down in tears, covered his head with his hands and continued to repeat the same words: “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.”
It was that moment when Arthur realised what he had become. Judge Glazer was heartbroken seeing her former classmate failing and ending up in the courtroom. She said:
“This was the nicest kid in middle school. He was the best kid in middle school. I used to play football with him, all the kids… And look what has happened”.
As Booth continued to cry, Glazer tried to encourage him: “What’s sad is how old we have become. Good luck to you sir, I hope you are able to come out of this ok and just lead a lawful life.”
Arthur struggled with drug addiction and was constantly in and out of jail during his adult life. But this was his calling.
Nearly a year later, the two friends reunited again on the day of Arthur’s release.
She said: “Try to get a job. Stay clean. You’re gonna do something good for somebody else. That’s what you gotta do.”
We all need to be like Judge Glazer! This just makes me think about my old classmates. A good fraction of my life was spent growing up with them. Where are they now? Who have they become? Are they alive and well?
It’d be nice to check on them, even if it has been seven years…
Brutality of certain “humans”
For 13 years, Genie was strapped to a toilet at all times, never allowed to see the outside world or utter a single word.
How did this terrible thing happen to her? It all started with her father.
Her father, Clark Wiley, grew up in foster homes and was supposedly a machinist for some time near World War II. After a while he decided to marry.
Unfortunately, he had the gall to marry – but lacked the will and heart to raise children.
The scumbag’s neglect and madness resulted in the death of his first two children. The first baby girl died after being abandoned in a garage. The second baby died not long after birth. The third baby boy survived, but was constantly abused during childhood.
The fourth, known by the pseudo-name Genie, suffered possibly the worst fate of them all. She was strapped to a toilet, isolated from humanity and left to quietly suffer for 13 years. Each time she tried to utter a noise, her father beat her. Operant conditioning, in the end, stripped her of the desire to even make basic noises, let alone speak language.
Just let that sink in for a second.
Imagine what it would be like to suffer such an unsightly fate at the hands of a monster like Clark. To never know the warmth of family. To never enjoy the company of friends, play with toys, eat delicious food, or discover your interests. To never even learn language, one of the bare-bone fundamentals of our conscious thought.
After 13 years of suffering, Genie was found by the public. Afterwards her father committed suicide to avoid the consequences. On his death note he complained: “The world will never understand.” Truly despicable, the pile of trash makes my blood boil.
When the public discovered her, Genie had almost two sets of teeth due to lack of any dental care, her limbs functioned abnormally, and she essentially looked like a 6-year-old due to undernourishment.
From there she spent some time with researchers and linguists, who saw her as an opportunity to understand language development. Their research confirmed that a critical-point existed in language development. A child, once past a certain age, cannot master grammar or syntax.
Under the researchers, Genie learned to use non-verbal communication. Though she was never able to master verbal-communication, she significantly improved her psychology, and her mind was given an opportunity to grow.
Yet she was once again pulled into hell when the authorities pulled her away from everybody she knew – including the researchers – and placed her in institutions. From there, the skills she acquired under the scientists deteriorated, and she again underwent abuse and stress.
I personally believe that what happened to Genie is one of the worst things to ever happen to a human.
Growing up strapped to a toilet, isolated from humanity – this is truly one of the most cruel fates for any human.
BBC “filtering”
For a long time, some Western countries and media have always misinterpreted and prejudged China, and often made unwarranted accusations and judgements on China’s internal affairs.The BBC launched a period called “a year later, how to change the new crown outbreak of wuhan” video report last December. Netizens found that although the media in its English version and Chinese version use the identical content, but the two different language versions of the video actually presented the different colour effect!
(Bright filter in Chinese version and dark filter in English version.)
No wonder the Chinese dislike the foreign media, right? If it is you, would you like foreign media to come to your hometown to shoot a video and use it as material to denigrate your hometown?
Hera
My cat, Hera, was surrendered to my local ASPCA twice in the first six years of her life before we adopted her.
She was originally surrendered by a breeder, then by an adopter who kept her for only 3 years.
I have no idea the circumstances of her first adopted needing to bring her back to the ASPCA but, after reviewing the medical records given to use by the ASPCA, neither of her previous owners took very good care of her — she was significantly underweight, several rotten or missing teeth, and nails ingrown into her paws that required surgical intervention.
Probably due to this neglect and the trauma of all of the ASPCA’s medical treatments that she needed, Hera has panic attacks and hyperventilates every time she’s at the vet’s office then, as I pull into my neighborhood and she realizes we’re going back home, she empties every drop of urine out of her bladder.
(NOTE: After the first time, I learned to take her out of the carrier as soon as we are in the exam room and hold her as much as possible (which reduces the hyperventilating), then I also put a *very* absorbent bath towel in the bottom of her carrier so she’s not laying in a pool of urine and there’s no “spillage” in the car.)
Here she is on the day we adopted her.
Here she is now … supervising/judging my participation in a work Zoom meetings and impatiently waiting for her treat break. LOL!
Waist Chop
In Ancient China, there was a form of execution called waist chop.
Just like its name, it entails a person being literally chopped in half from the waist. It was reserved only for the most serious criminals since many people did not die immediately after being chopped.
In Qing Dynasty, an official was caught embezzling money, and was sentenced to waist chop.
However, he stayed alive long enough to write, using his blood, the Chinese character ‘慘’ (horrific/brutal) 7 times before finally dying.
Upon hearing this story, the Yongzheng Emperor was shocked and abolished the form of execution.
China Prepares for Conflict: Politicians Hand Power to Military
A particularly disturbing revelation comes from China. In July 2022, a Chinese businessman making medical equipment announced that local officials had asked him to convert his production lines in China so they could produce items for the military.
Communist Party officials, he said, issued similar orders to other businessmen.
In addition, Chinese academics argue that the ongoing expulsion of foreign colleagues from China’s universities appears to be a preparation for hostilities.
The People’s Republic of China is preparing to go to war and is not hiding its efforts.
Amendments to the National Defense Act brought into force transfer powers from politicians to military officials.
In general, the amendments reduce the role of the central government’s State Council by shifting power to the CMC, the Communist Party’s Central Military Committee.
Specifically, the State Council will no longer supervise the mobilization of the People’s Liberation Army.
As Zeng Zhiping of Soochow University told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, “the CMC is now formally responsible for formulating national defense policy and principles, while the State Council becomes a mere implementer providing support to the military.”
In a sense, these amendments were a window into war preparation.
“The recent changes to China’s National Defense Law that reduce the State Council’s power are largely political posturing ,” Richard Fisher of the Virginia-based Center for International Assessment and Strategy said after the amendments went into effect.
Military mobilization
“The Chinese Communist Party and especially the existing CMC have always had the highest authority in decisions about war and peace.”
Why then are we interested in the amendments to the National Defense Law?
The amendments, Fisher tells us, “demonstrate China’s ambition to achieve ‘nation-wide’ levels of military mobilization to wage wars and give the CMC formal authority to control future Chinese capabilities for global military intervention.”
“The revised National Defense Law also incorporates the idea that everyone should participate in national defense,” the Communist Party’s Global Times reported, quoting an unnamed CMC official as saying.
“All national organizations, armed forces, political parties, civic groups, enterprises, social organizations and other organizations should support and participate in the development of national defense, fulfill national defense tasks and carry out national defense missions in accordance with the law .
As Fisher said “for the past 40 years, the Chinese Communist Party has been preparing for war and is now accelerating its plans.” The Party, being ready for battle, leaves nothing to chance.
Also preparing for sanctions – Taiwan
On April 22, finance ministry and central bank officials met with representatives of dozens of banks, including HSBC, to discuss what Beijing might do if punitive measures are imposed on China. The holding of the “emergency meeting”, as reported by the Financial Times, is ominous.
"Officials and attendees did not mention specific scenarios, but one possible trigger for such sanctions is believed to be a Chinese invasion of Taiwan,"
-Financial Times
The fact that Chinese officials held the meeting is a clear indication that Beijing is planning military action.
“Be ready for battle.”
This is how Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post summed up Chinese ruler Xi Jinping’s first order to the military of 2019.
In January of that year, he gave a major speech at the CMC on preparations for war, and the speech was then broadcast nationally.
Foreign analysts debate whether China will go to war soon.
The Chinese political system has become less transparent over time, so it’s unclear what senior leaders are thinking.
Sign in China
Russia Threatens Military Response Against NATO Country over Car Bombing
THERE IS GIGANTIC BREAKING NEWS OUT OF RUSSIA: The Russian government today said there will be a “military response” over the car bombing which killed Daria Dugina in Russia over the weekend.
The suspected assassin is allegedly hiding out in a specific, named, country, which is a NATO Member . . . .
Full Details on tonight’s Hal Turner Radio Show
You can Tune-in via Radio or Internet at 9:00 PM eastern US Time (GMT -0400) as follows:
WBCQ Global Shortwave on frequency 7.490 or 6.160
WRMI Global Shortwave on frequency 5.950
KYAH 540-AM Utah
or here on the Internet at: http://stream.halturnerradioshow.com:8000/ (Then click "PLAY" or hit Right Arrow on player) BE ADVISED THIS LINK DOES NOT GO ACTIVE UNTIL ABOUT ONE HOUR BEFORE SHOW TIME. During that hour, it streams commercial free music until the show begins.
UPDATE 7:00 PM EDT —
A SECOND NATO country is now openly instructing its soldiers to “prepare your loved ones for your departure to fight Russians in Ukraine.”
UPDATE 10:20 PM EDT —
Russia has told the country of Estonia there will be a military response unless Estonia Extradites the bombing/Murder suspect, Natalya Vovk, of the Ukraine National Guard.
Estonia is a member of NATO.
Natalya Vovk is now charged in Russia with the bombing and murder, fled Russia after the bombing via the Pskov border crossing into Estonia, and is allegedly being kept hidden in a secret NATO facility near Amari Air Base.
Ämari Air Base is a military airbase in Harjumaa, Estonia located 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Lake Klooga and 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) southwest of Tallinn, which is the capital city of Estonia.
“If Estonia does not extradite the perpetrator of the murder … to Russia, there are grounds for harsh actions against Tallinn for harboring a terrorist,” said Vladimir Dzhabarov, a senior member of the Russian Federation Council.
Thrift shop discovery
It was a crusty old thrift shop, just like this one:
Mostly junk. Everything very cheap. These types of stores are a magnet for people who love to save money.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Michael Sparks found an old picture frame that he liked.
He went up to the lady behind the counter and said,
~”How much for this picture?”
She casually said,..”That’s $4.”
Michael takes frame home with him.
When he gets home, he finds a piece of paper rolled up in the back of the picture frame.
And what is it?
An original copy of the Declaration of Independence that was circulated to the 13 colonies.
After having it appraised he then went and took the document to auction, where it was sold for $2.4 million dollars. (Source: Declaration of Independence Sells for $2.4 Million. New York Times. Blau, Eleanor.)
$2,399,996 profit on a $4 picture frame.
Not too shabby.
Russia Announces US Practiced Nuclear Bombing Run Against Russia
Russian defense minister Shoigu announced Wednesday that U.S. Air Force bombers practiced a nuclear strike on the Russian Federation.
The Russian Air Force intercepted the US planes, but the trajectory the US planes were on, and the pattern with which they approached Russia makes clear they were practicing for release of nuclear cruise missiles to strike certain key areas within Russia.
The Roman Empire was a wonderfully cosmopolitan place.
The Roman “costume” (at the time of the late Republic and early Empire) was a tunic for men and women (women wore a longer one), with a shawl or cloack in winter. Rich people also wore a toga (men) or a palla (women). But not all people in Rome were Latins and it was easy to meet:
Celts in colorful tunics and trousers
Egyptians in white linen and wigs
Adopting an older cat
This is Moses.
He was surrendered to a shelter at age 16 because his family was moving and couldn’t take him along.
I had just lost my elderly cat and saw Moses online. There was something about his expression that touched me and I decided that Moses should have a good end-of-life experience, so I adopted him.
(Actually, the shelter I got him from in Kent County, Maryland did a nice job with old cats. They stayed in a business office, not in shelter cages, and got plenty of attention and the ability to sit in the windows and watch the world go by. He would have been ok even if I hadn’t adopted him.)
Moses settled in well.
He would sit in my lap and enjoyed looking out my big windows. He also adopted my house as his territory — he would violently fling his body at the sliding glass door whenever a neighbor’s cat would come to visit. I think he felt cared for and secure with his own territory and a person of his own.
He came to me with fairly advanced kidney disease, and he didn’t last a year before developing pleural effusion and was euthanized.
I’ll never regret giving Moses a good last year.
FLASH: PUTIN MOTORCADE ENROUTE TO KREMLIN – MIDNIGHT MOSCOW TIME
Something big seems to have happened. The Presidential motorcade of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has been seen moving at very high speed to the Kremlin. It is now about 3:00 AM in Moscow. The motorcade was video recorded about three hours ago, so around Midnight, Moscow time.
The Russian Duma has called a “Special Meeting” . . .
The last time that happened, was February 23, one day before the Special Military Operation in Ukraine began.
RUMORS and SPECULATION are running rampant. Intel circuits fearing Duma to either Declare Ukraine a “state sponsor of terrorism” or . . . .
Duma may formally declare . . . . something much worse.