Tag: spicy

The in-laws

There was a 1979 movie starring Peter Falk titled “The In-laws”, and for some strange reason I just remembered this movie. I tried to download the torrent, but it is taking forever. It is just a goofy and funny comedy, but for some reason… it came to mind.

It is available free on the Internet DB. HERE.

And still, I have downloaded the torrent from this site...

Three Cheers For the Guacamole Act of 1917!!!

The premise of this film is really simple: if two families are about to enjoy the union of their children in a marriage, is it not likely that the in-laws involved can come to depend and help each other out in times of need? Most of us would probably say no, or want to know the extent of the help. However, when Vincent J. Ricardo (Peter Falk) asks Dr. Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin) to assist him in retrieving something from a safe in Ricardo’s office, Kornpett is willing (if somewhat suspiciously) to do it.

The reason that Kornpett is suspicious is he is not quite certain what to make of Ricardo. They only met at Kornpett’s house the night before, for a dinner party introducing the families of the bride (Kornpett’s) and groom (Ricardo’s) to each other. Ricardo acted…well oddly. He told tales of his business travels in Central America, including how in one country babies are being carried off by huge bats that are protected by the Guacamole Act of 1917. Kornpett hears this with a blank face, although his eyes do bug out a little in disbelief. Later, when Ricardo gets testy with his son over a comment about the former not being home enough, Kornpett can’t believe the near rage that Ricardo demonstrates at the table. So his suspicions about his future in-law seem well based.

Shortly, after being chased and nearly killed by two men who are after the items that Kornpett picked up, the suspicions seem confirmed. Ricardo explains to him, over pea soup in a restaurant, that he actually is not a successful salesman but a C.I.A. operative (a photo in Ricardo’s office confirms this: it is of President Kennedy, and the autograph refers to the Bay of Pigs Invasion). He is in the middle of a critically important mission in Latin America dealing with international finance and a conspiracy against the richest nations. Kornpett hears him out, and is upset to hear that there is more material that Ricardo hid in Kornpett’s home the night before. He wants no part of it, and leaves to go home – only to find the police there. He flees, and does evade capture – at the cost of having his car repainted in a way he never would have wanted it to look.

Soon Kornpett is forced to join forces with Ricardo, and enters the deadly serious but (here) quite farcical world of international espionage and intrigue. At the end of the road is the ringleader of the conspiracy, General Garcia (Richard Libertini) who has a special little friend that makes Al Pacino’s little friend in SCARFACE lethal but sensible in comparison.

THE IN-LAWS is funny. Arkin with his tight-ass repressive personality works well against the free-wheeling, anything goes Falk. Libertini appears only in the films last twenty minutes, but he does equally nicely as the ultimate in screw-ball dictators. Well supported by a cast including Nancy Dussault, Arlene Golonka, Penny Peyser, Michael Lembeck, and Ed Begley Jr. the film is just a laugh fest until the happy ending. As mentioned elsewhere in these comments Arkin and Falk should have made several films together. They have only done one other movie together since THE IN-LAWS. Pity.

What’s the coldest thing a doctor has ever said to you?

‘If you lose this baby, you could always have another one’. The comment above was made by the doctor who my husband and I had a consultation with. I was roughly 10 weeks pregnant with our first child. I was in my mid 30’s while hubby was in his early 40’s.

An elderly man in his fifties, he barely looked at us, ignored me, said hello to my husband, looked at my file fleetingly, a file with tests and scans which showed I had fibroids, looked directly at my husband and said to him, ‘She will be fine’. I was furious that this man was clearly sexist, ignoring me as if I was invisible. I responded by asking what that meant, what was the cause of the bleeding as he had not told us at this point about the fibroids. ‘You do not need to bother about it. That is why we are here’. This statement was addressed again to my husband who he was still looking at while still ignoring my presence.

At this point, something in me snapped and I snapped at him, ‘Look at me and tell me what is causing this bleeding. It is my body and I need the details’. He then slowly turned to look at me as if seeing me for the first time and emotionlessly said, ‘you have fibroids. They are not massive and do not pose a danger to your baby’. ‘But I am bleeding. Is that not dangerous? ‘ I worriedly asked.

That was when he looked at the file and without lifting his head, retorted ,Not really. However, if you lose this baby, you could always have another one ’. I almost cussed the insensitive idiot out but my husband who knew I was fuming at this point, got up and ushered me out of the office while the doctor was still talking about ante natal visits at their hospital. We had heard enough. I went on to another hospital where I met the amazing doctor who delivered my daughter without complications and went on to have a son after that.

She is now a healthy, happy 10 year old who is pure joy and always a little mama to her 7 year old brother.

London Broil

London Broil is a favorite recipe from the Iowa Beef Industry Council.

delish london broil horizontal 1546553273
delish london broil horizontal 1546553273

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 (1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pound) beef flank steak
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper for marinade.
  2. Place steak in plastic bag and pour marinade over it.
  3. Close bag securely and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
  4. Pour off and reserve marinade.
  5. Place steak on grill and broil at moderate temperature for 5 minutes.
  6. Turn, brush with marinade and broil 5 minutes or to desired doneness (rare or medium).
  7. To carve, slice diagonally across grain in thin strips.

10 STOIC LESSONS TO HANDLE DISRESEPECT (MUST WATCH) | STOICISM


Learn something important.

ASML

Here is the reason why ASML CEO said a few years ago that if ASML gave China the blueprint for the EUV machine China would not be able to make it.

This is because all of the core technologies is NOT owned by ASML. ASML is the system integrator that was allowed by the US government to participate in the US government project to create an EUV light source.

This project pulled together many US national labs including Lawrence Livermore Labs, Sandia Nation Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, Lawrence Berkely National Lab, IBM, Intel, AMD, etc. And it took over 10 years to create this laser light source.

This was considered a national security project so Japanese companies like Nikon and Canon were not allowed to join.

The difficulty of this light source and the engineering problems that had to be overcome was as difficult as the first atomic bomb.

So I have to admit that I was wrong in my speculation about using a Rube Goldberg device to generate EUV. They didn’t have a choice. This was the best possible source at the time. It took literally the US, Germany, and some other nation’s best experts to create this light source.

The other parts are relatively easy in comparison.

The problem is that China has also created this light source and using another method so it isn’t so Rube Goldberg machine. Not that it was simple to make. But it is more reliable and you don’t have to worry about residue removal that will mess up your mirrors and the inside of the your machine which has to remain at clean room levels.

Is China creating fear in many Americans because China’s success challenges the American belief that democracy is necessary for a successful market-driven economy and intellectual freedom is necessary for technological innovation?

This is a very good question indeed.

Thank you for asking.

The Answer is yes. Yes indeed the U.S. and the west has been propagating that only western liberal democracy works. Nothing else. Either be a liberal democracy or die says the US. That is of course simply not true at all. And the real truth is simply that the West wanted to install liberal democracy so that the west can easily manipulate it and install a government that surrender its sovereignty to the west in order to manipulate and steal it’s resources to enrich the former colonials.

Now that China proved beyond reasonable doubts and against all odds that it could grow phenomenally and economically dwarfed every other nation, this fear and worry the U.S. mightily. Failure to contain China means failure to perpetuate this lie!

This is indeed worrisome for the west since they the west in general has essentially collapsed in a huge pile of debts. And law and order disintegrates through the western world. With high inflation and a looming recession with countless millions of homeless people living in the streets while their government finance and orchestrate wars. Based on printing money without basis and rampant money creation.

China U.S. out innovating the U.S., it U.S. out thinking the U.S., out growing the U.S. and out influencing the U.S. growing even its military and wealth and out manipulating the U.S. government everywhere on earth. The U.S. wants to stop the truth from being revealed to the world.

It’s Not Just You: American Jobs Didn’t Used To Be This Terrible

My Dad’s Union IBEW is the reason we went from lower middle class to solid middle class in 10 years. Unions are one of the most important checks for capitalism.

Why are Chinese people so satisfied with their government?

Easy – shit gets done.

Government promise something. Give it a few years and it happens.

Some bigger projects like Mao wanting to borrow some water from the south took a bit longer.

OTOH governments like the UK one I lived under… they promise shit, then they say haha you sucker you actually believed me? Fuck you!

Gordon Brown’s QC literally said that election pledges and promises were not subject to legitimate expectation.

Here? Here in Hong Kong? The government construction projects shaved 20 minutes off my commute.

25 years ago they shaved an hour off the commute for the villagers by widening the dirt track that lead to my village and paving it. Then offering a bus franchise nearby so it was connected with the world.

We literally see things happen.

What is something weird that you enjoy doing?

I observed something while traveling.

Most people my age would either be listening to music, watching some TV show/movie in their smartphones/tablets. A very few would be reading a newspaper or book.

I was one of them. I always had music on. I can’t read/watch anything because of motion sickness while traveling on road.

The older generation- they do nothing. They don’t use phones, they don’t talk, don’t read, nothing. They just sit and look around.

I wanted to try this and coincidentally my earphones broke down.

Now it has been over six months. I travel in the metro for 3 hours everyday and do nothing, just look around. This has helped me so much. I observe people, their behaviours. I look around to see what’s actually happening.

It may sound weird but there’s something weirdly enjoyable about it. It feels like living life the old school way. This has helped me reduce the screen time as well.

I have even started recognising the regular commuters. I am sure they don’t recognise me.

Unbreakable (2000) | *First Time Watching* | Movie Reaction | Asia and BJ

Still one of the top 10 best comic films of all time. Its really the first one that showed what the comic genre could do when taken seriously.

This is one of my top, and most favorite movies. It is so meaningful to me. Seriously people. I can relate to this movie. So very much!

What did someone do that made you think they were really smart?

When my daughter was about 9 or 10 years old, whenever she got a scolding from my wife, I would annoy her by doing a chicken dance and do so in a way that ONLY she sees it.

“Mommy! Dad is making fun of me!” she would always complain.

When my wife turned around, I would stop and act normal and go on with my stuff. This went on for a while till it became a game of HER trying to catch me in the act and prove it to her mother.

She would learn to very quickly take out her mobile phone and try to snap a picture of me doing it. I would tease her by dancing until the moment the phone was almost pointing towards me, then I would stop and behave normally.

“I will get you someday,” she said.

“No, you won’t! I am too fast for you,” I replied.

On a particular day, I again did the ridiculous chicken dance, she was rolling her eyes and her hands move slowly towards her phone. I continued dancing and mentally calculating how fast she could key in the pass-code and turn on the camera mode.

Something didn’t feel right, her action was slower than usual, by the time she pointed the camera at me, I had stopped. But she started laughing loudly.

“Guess what daddy? THIS isn’t my phone. I switched the phone cover with mum. MY PHONE is behind you, just above the cupboard, ON VIDEO TAKING MODE.”

Ouch! A full two minutes of myself being ridiculous caught on video!

NOT genius smart, NOT intellectual smart, perhaps a little STREET SMART!

That was my last chicken dance.

How is the Chinese government treating MPOX?

The gay and bisexual men are not as common in China as they are in the West. It is difficult for MPOX to become an epidemic in China.

From June 2 to June 30, 2023, 106 new confirmed cases of monkeypox were reported in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), including 48 cases reported in Guangdong Province, 45 cases reported in Beijing City, 8 cases reported in Jiangsu Province, 2 cases reported in Hubei Province, 2 cases reported in Shandong Province, and 1 case reported in Zhejiang Province. There were no severe cases or deaths.

The epidemic presents the following characteristics:

  • One is that the vast majority of cases are mainly transmitted through male homosexual sexual contact.
  • Secondly, the risk of transmission through other forms of contact is low, and the vast majority of close contacts, except for sexual contact, have not experienced infection.
  • The third is that most cases were found during medical treatment, while a few cases were found through follow-up screening of close contacts.
  • The fourth is that the vast majority of cases have typical clinical manifestations, mainly symptoms such as fever, herpes, and lymph node enlargement, with no severe or fatal cases.

An American Reacts to Why America Sucks at Everything – THIS ONE HURT

This is very good. Really.

It is a MUCH watch. This is the real truth about the United States.

“I’m so glad you made this video because my conservative mom watched it and now she’s starting to wake up. I got screwed over by the “in network out of network” bullshit recently. My employer changed our healthcare coverage, and I had to find a new neurologist and start the “prior authorization “ process for a particular drug that I take all over again”

Is this the end of Xi Jinping, now that he has lost FACE over Qin Gang?

The sheer power of Xi Jingping is the fact that QG has been buried away and cut off in a matter of seconds and China and it’s foreign affairs moves without a single blip

Thats power

Had Xi been weak, a rival faction would have lobbied immediately within the CPC but the fact that China has simply chosen to forget QG and not talk about him shows the power of Xi Jingping

China and CPC knows that today in the hostile atmosphere with the West — Only XJP is the right man to lead China

  • Hu JINTAO would have kowtowed in seconds
  • Li Keiqang would have kowtowed in maybe a month
  • Bo Xilai would have kowtowed in nanoseconds

Xis power is at its peak now

Had QG defected to US and been declared a mole for CIA then yes , Xi would have been finished politically

Yet QG is in China and safe and under the Partys safe hands 😁

So NOT A CHANCE

Have you ever had a premonition that saved your life?

My father-in-law did. He was moving some tools around in his garage and suddenly had a strong urge to move one of the cars, a Subaru, out into the driveway. He tried to ignore this feeling, because the car was not in his way and it seemed like a needless waste of time. But he couldn’t shake it, so he went and got his car keys and backed the car out of the garage.

Just as he had done so and was getting out of the car, a speeding Tesla flashed past him a couple of feet away and crashed into the open garage, then burst into flames. If he’d stayed in the garage working, he would most likely have been killed.

The resulting fire destroyed the entire garage and his other car. It was 9 months before he and his wife were able to move back into the house. But he was alive, and they still had their Subaru. There was no good explanation for the “little voice in his head” that told him he needed to get himself and his car out of the garage.

By the way, the Tesla driver, who was pulled out of the burning car by a neighbor, was uninjured but was convicted of DUI and had to pay restitution and perform community service.

He was suffering from pancreatic cancer at the time, but from that moment his desire to oversee the restoration of the house gave him a new determination in life. It was a very busy and stressful time, during which he and his wife lived in rental housing. At last they were able to move back into the house which had been perfectly restored to its original state, including a new garage of course, new roof, new heating & a/c, new paint and flooring, and every item inside the house had been removed, professionally cleaned, and replaced. It was beautiful. However, his condition declined rapidly after that and he passed away in August 2018, not quite a year after the fire.

The US Plan to KILL Second Citizenship

“As a Venezuelan born in the 90s (post oil-golden era for that country), I know first hand what he means when he says it’s important to have options. I saw how my mother and her siblings were unable to get their second citizenship by descent from Trinidad and Tobago, once things got terribly bad in my country. My grandparents had both US residency and Caribbean citizenship, but because things were going so well in Venezuela in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, they didn’t work on securing and passing along those other options; and their children never thought things would get this bad. It only took less than 30 years to see things turn around for the worst.”

America isn’t an ordinary country, it’s an idea, it’s the very embodiment of democracy, freedom and hope for the whole world, and now China threatens American democracy and freedom for all mankind. How will humanity unite to defeat Chinese autocracy?

For many years now, the USA has been classified as a “flawed democracy”. Events such as the Capitol Hill riots – intended to disrupt the inauguration of your elected President – did not help. A significant proportion of Americans themselves believed that the last election was rigged and “stolen” from them. So how can the USA be said to be the “very embodiment of democracy”? This strikes me as an extremely grandiose and indefensible claim.

As for freedom, the USA comprises 5% of the world population but holds about 20% of the world’s prisoners. With so many Americans literally locked up behind bars, how can the USA claim to be a “free” country? Furthermore your 13th amendment legalises the enslavement of prisoners – and the USA heavily exploits these slaves/prisoners in ways that your own civil liberty lawyers have described as an abuse of fundamental human rights. (Eg US prisoners can be forced into hazardous jobs – such as fighting wildfires – for as little as zero to fifty cents per hour of work). Errrr, seriously, you think that the US is the embodiment of freedom?

What hope does the USA bring to the world? In the past 40 years, the USA has dropped more bombs, fired more missiles and killed more people in other countries, than any other country in the world. In the past 40 years, the USA has killed people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Grenada, Bosnia, Somalia and Uganda. Because of US sanctions, the world was afraid to send even vaccines, masks and ventilators to Iran during the covid–19 pandemic. This is how the US brings death and destruction to the world.

Please stop watching your Hollywood movies where the USA is always the one to save the world from invasions by aliens from outer space. Open your eyes and look at the real world. At least look at your own country. Your people are dying from drug overdose at the highest rate in the world. Your people are getting shot to death at the highest rate among all developed countries. Your policemen are shooting citizens for minor offences. Your cities are littered with homeless people living in tents. Your national literacy rate is collapsing together with your average life expectancy. Medical bills are the biggest cause of personal bankruptcies in the USA; your infrastructure is crumbling and aged water pipes are leaking lead into the drinking water for your public schools. To lead your country, you are choosing between a criminal octagenarian and a senile otagenarian. Your income inequality is vast, with the top 1% controlling more wealth than the middle 60% – let’s not even discuss the sufferrings of your bottom 20%.

The US is the embodiment of … HOPE, you say?! Hopelessness is more like it. The USA is no example for the world – unless we are talking of negative examples.

What’s a rule your employer implemented that backfired terribly?

Not so much a rule.

I used to work for a major mail order company; as tech staff I could be sent out anywhere in the country, for which the company would pre-pay for accommodation and pay 40 pence per mile for fuel costs (which was tight-arsed of them, as other companies paid 65ppm).

They also supposedly insured us for using our private cars this way.

People who regularly went out for long trips had a company card to pay for hotels with.

One day they decide they are cutting the fuel payment to 25ppm, and back-dating it SIX months, and also cancelling the company cards – people would have to pay with their own money and claim it back.

This latter move caught a few out who were already out on trips – one guy was unable to pay his bill at a London conference centre, and the staff there were threatening to call the Police.

We also discovered at the same time, that the company HADN’T been paying for the extra car insurance policy, so we were all using our cars effectively with no insurance.

Next day, everyone parked 1/2 mile away and walked into work. “Sorry, can’t go on that job, no car” was the story from every member of the technical staff.

Every senior manager was made to turn over his company car for us to drive around. Even the CEO’s chauffeured Bentley was pressed into service, but it still wasn’t enough; by the end of the first week the taxi bill was running into the high hundreds, and everyone was refusing overnight jobs on the basis they couldn’t afford to pay for the hotel.

It took a MONTH for the suits to cave, and god only knows how much it cost them, in money, customer relations, and the lost goodwill of the tech staff.

Why the American Dream is a Myth

“It’s expensive to be poor” Just…. damn man!

Mediterranean Steak and Pasta
with Tomato-Olive Sauce

Whole-wheat pasta is served with beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks and a tomato and olive sauce. This one will please the adults and the kids in your family.

2023 09 25 15 07
2023 09 25 15 07

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked whole grain fettuccine
  • 4 beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 4 ounces each)
  • 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives*
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
  • 1/4 cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

  1. Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
  2. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place beef steaks in skillet; cook for 11 to 13 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm.
  3. Combine pasta sauce and oregano in same skillet; heat until hot. Return steaks to skillet; turn to coat with sauce.
  4. Place steaks on fettuccine; spoon sauce over all.
  5. Sprinkle steaks with cheese, allowing cheese to melt. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes

* You may substitute 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives for 1 (26 ounce) pasta sauce plus 1/4 cup chopped olives.

US loses first round in attempts to curb China’s tech progress; change of course a better option

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she was “upset” when China’s Huawei Technologies released a new phone with an advanced chip during her visit to the country last month but noted that the US has no evidence China can make these components “at scale,” Bloomberg reported. She also said the US is trying to use every single tool at its disposal to deny the Chinese the ability to advance their technology in ways that can hurt the US.

Raimondo’s words are nothing new, but saying that China’s technological advancement “can hurt the US” is a stupid and ridiculous line of thinking. Many American elites refuse to accept that the Chinese have broken through the technological blockade. Radical lawmakers are calling for efforts to strangle Huawei and SMIC, which is not only hegemonic but also an evil way of thinking.

Whether it is ASML, the Dutch manufacturer of lithography machines, or the American chip giants, they do not believe that decoupling can stop China’s progress in semiconductor technology. They believe that China can find alternative methods and its own technological path. However, a large number of American elites are non-technical and refuse to face reality, blindly believing that Huawei’s breakthrough is because the US export controls on technology to China are “still too loose.”

It should be said that Huawei’s breakthrough has to a certain extent undermined the credibility of the US’ technological blockade against China and shattered the collective confidence of the West in this regard. Washington’s current investigation into the origin of Huawei’s chips and attempts to tighten the noose on the blockade against China will only isolate itself.

Because Washington clearly lost the first round, it has to bet even bigger and risk losing the Chinese market for many Western semiconductor companies. Imagine the result of continuing technological restrictions if Huawei makes further breakthroughs – can ASML’s lithography machines still enjoy their current glory? Where will the US-controlled chip production factories find their next market? Just look at the panic faced by Japanese and German automotive giants today in the face of the rise of Chinese electric vehicles. If the current semiconductor leaders are cut off from the Chinese market, who can guarantee that their future situation will be better?

Huawei’s Kirin 9000s is a breakthrough that it was forced to make by the US sanctions. If the US exerts even greater pressure, it will turn this breakthrough into a systemic breach, promoting a highly integrated and strong production chain in the Chinese semiconductor industry. Chips produced in China will also be much cheaper than those produced in the US.

If the US semiconductor industry loses the Chinese market, it will not be as lucky as Google and Facebook. The latter have software advantages that some Chinese internet companies do not have, including the application ecosystem they established by being the first movers. However, semiconductors are hardware, and when Chinese companies like Huawei can provide a cheaper alternative, the situation will be completely different.

A crucial crossroads has been reached. If the US forces China to achieve complete independence in the semiconductor industry, it will have no further cards to play in blocking China’s progress. Moreover, the technological landscape of the world will undergo a rewrite. China now possesses the capital, and we will continue to progress no matter what. It is now the US’ turn to make a choice: continue gambling or change course and resume cooperation?

Expat’s THAI WIFE disappears and so did his fortune $$. Then it got WORSE!

Gosh! This is horrible! You all must be careful.

The realization that the United States has lost

I watched the grilling of the Commerce Secretary by Congress about Huawei.

The anger was thick. And the compensate measures were astounding. There was an open hostility and a degree of frustration on the “representatives” faces.

The Commerce Secretary recovered herself and exclaimed… “well, maybe I was “bushwhacked” by Huawei while in China, but China cannot make to scale.”

Not true.

But it is a hope. They wish to be true.

Let that sink in.

The USA threw EVERYTHING at China, discovered that it is resilient, and decided to “take a step back” and try to “compete”.

That competition is OVER.

Huawei’s actions were an open alert. China, and it’s national companies are immune, inoculated, from the USA, and far more powerful than anyone in Washington is willing to consider.

You can see it on their faces.

It is the realization that you just drove your car into a tree because you drank too much, and your girlfriend is dead. Now you are going to jail.

That was the expression.

A feeling of utter hopelessness.

It’s all over. The only thing left is global thermonuclear war, and the Pentagon already briefed these “Senators” on what that means…

…

The “Commerce Secretary”.

I have some words about this person.

  • This is the person who implemented the switch from manufacturing to service industry.
  • This is the person who assisted in the “hollowing out” of the United States.
  • This is the person who permitted the demise of unions.
  • This is the person who permitted to demise of company sponsored health care.
  • This is the person who allowed unemployment benefits to atrophy.

No grilling on those things.

Not so important, eh?

…

The United States is FUCKED.

We all have realized this, but slowly the Senators in Congress have gotten the message. And they do not like it. It’s a grim day at the start of a very grim century.

Today…

Can you openly criticize President Xi in China? If so, can you name some people who openly criticized President Xi and what happened to them?

The only people who have anything to fear about in China include :-

  • Persons who have received funding from an organization perceived as favouring internal destabilization in China (WEF, NED for Instance)
  • Persons who are belonging to groups favouring Taiwanese Independence. Not everyone. Only members of specific Groups
  • Persons who are members of Falun Gong, offshoot groups of Falun Gong & specially funded groups of Falun Gong
  • Persons who encourage or organize protests without prior permission of authorities that call for counteractive measures instead of pro active measures
  • Persons who participate in above protests
  • Persons who spy on China or commit active treason against China

That’s it

That’s all

The above categories, these people will be dealt with brutally

Many of them will never be seen again and exiled to remote regions

However apart from that if you stand in the middle of the road in Beijing and scream “Xi Jingping is a Coward” in your loudest voice

A Cop will come, pull you to the side and ask you not to create a public ruckus and go on his way

If you continue, you will be fined 800 Yuan and spend 24 hours in detention for PUBLIC DISTURBANCE

At worse, there is an older law still in statutes where ridiculing the Supreme Leader carries 6 months to 2 years jail but it’s unlikely Xi will enforce it because according to Xi only Mao is the supreme leader

So insulting Mao in China is more serious than insulting Xi

If you keep talking nonsense, someone will investigate you to see if you belong to the above categories

If you dont, they will simply ignore you like they ignore a madman

If you do, you disappear

Li Keiqang is one man who criticized Xi in 2012

He was Xis premier for 10 years

Xi only cares about Corruption and how close you are to the West

He knows his power is very strong to fear criticism and challengers

Cracked Pepper Steak

cracked pepper steak step finished plate
cracked pepper steak step finished plate

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 2 (4 to 6 ounce) beef tenderloins, 1 inch thick
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup brandy or dry red wine

Instructions

  1. Combine pepper and rosemary in a large bowl. Coat both sides of the steaks with the mixture.
  2. Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet until hot.
  3. Add steaks and cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees F (for medium). Remove the steaks from the skillet and cover to keep them warm.
  4. Add brandy to skillet and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping particles from the bottom of the skillet. Boil for about 1 minute or until liquid is reduced by half. Spoon sauce over steaks.

What was a loophole that you found and exploited the hell out of?

I worked at a factory making furniture. Every night I would leave the gate with a wheelbarrow full of sawdust and every night the factory guard checked through the sawdust as I left, looking for what I might be stealing… but I was too cleaver, he never found anything!

After 20 years, the guard was retiring. He pulled me aside and said”Look, I know you’ve been stealing SOMETHING for the past 20 years and it’s driving me crazy not being able to catch you. I’m retiring and, I swear, I’ll not tell anyone – I just need to know… just what have you been stealing?“ “Wheelbarrows”, I said.

US pleads with China to re-purchase chips as chip supply chain collapses!

Welcome to VOC – Vision of China,In recent years,”In today’s episode, we delve into the United States’ supply chain crisis caused by the loss of chip orders to China. The China-US chip war, intensified by the launch of new Huawei smartphones, has raised concerns among American lawmakers.

Join us as we explore the implications of this conflict and its impact on the global semiconductor industry. Discover how U.S. sanctions against China’s semiconductor market may have unintended consequences, affecting not only the U.S. economy but also global stability. We discuss the challenges the United States faces as it strives to maintain its technological dominance and competitiveness.

https://youtu.be/0Ib45UnK_zk

Did the low demand for chips from TSMC in China contribute to the decision to delay chip equipment deliveries?

Donald the Orange upended the supply chain with the cluster bomb dropped on Huawei.

That was pre-covid.

It caused a scramble within the industry as players stockpiled on existing supply, especially mainland corporations.

When covid and lockdowns hit, the canceled chip orders were diverted to domestic mainland players, only too glad for the padded security. The rumor is mainland orders hijacked the queue and tied up production for months or even years. Honda’s million vehicle swing in recent years is one of the unfortunate fallout victims.

As mainland production ramped up to sidestep the stop-gap measures, there appears to be a chip glut developing ex-China, with the economic downturn due to monetary contraction and rising rates squeezing demand, exacerbating the fracture in the fragile and temporal equilibrium.

It is hard to forecast such a market, especially with the growing fog of war surrounding mainland players who are going dark and playing among themselves as a matter of survival.

I don’t think TSMC, Glofo, Samsung, AMD, Nvidia and Intel will be able to retain their market share in the coming years.

The Reason why Men are Walking Away from Dating (Ep. 411)

I am so happy I am not generation x,y or z.

What’s the one gift you’ve gotten that you never would have imagined you wanted, but it turned out to be the best?

When my husband and I got married, my cousin gave us what I perceived to be a very bizarre gift. He bought us a red toolbox filled with many tools. I have to admit that I just looked at it and thought to myself “What a weird gift for a wedding!”

Well, my husband and I have been married for over 34 years and I have to say that this turned out to be one of the best gifts that anybody ever gave us! We still use it regularly and if you think about it, it’s very expensive to buy a lot of tools. This ages well, it doesn’t go out of style, it doesn’t break and you don’t have to worry about if it matches your decor! How many wedding gifts can anyone say they still use regularly after 34 years?

The Terminator – all deleted Scenes

Confession of the Day

$300k in debt (no mortgage). $297,677.49 to be exact.

$215k law school debt, $40k graduate school debt, $25k credit cards, $11k car loan, and a personal loan.

After 5 years of deep denial- I think I’ve finally accepted how badly we fucked up. I feel like I’ve gone through the stages of grief multiple times this year.

We paid for very expensive degrees that didn’t need to be. We racked up a shit ton of credit card debt by spending money like entitled a**holes and not using a budget. I wish I could go back in time, slap 23 year old me (and my husband) and ask, repeatedly- what the hell are you doing??

We would go out to bars and dinners every weekend with friends. insert Discover card. We would regularly order takeout. insert Amex card. We went on yearly vacations. insert Jet Blue card. We financed furniture???? Not to mention we walked right into the “prestige” private school bullshit.

We ate that shit up.

And for what? To impress people? To prove that we’re worth something? All the above? It’s so normalized to be in debt as a millennial.

Everyone had credit cards, everyone was going out, everyone had student loans. We were super normal! You’re only young once- amiright?!

I found Dave last year, when I was hitting rock bottom. My debit card was getting declined at the gas station and the grocery store regularly.

After listening to The Ramsey Show for a couple weeks, I realized how screwed we were. I remember the first time he talked about the borrower being a slave to the lender.

That’s exactly how I felt.

I couldn’t breathe. I had a mental breakdown. I haven’t really been able to relax since. My husband and I spent all last year fighting about money and almost got divorced.

We’re on BS2 right now. We should bring in around $170k this year before side gigs. We have paid off $12k since June. We started FPU last week. We’re throwing everything at the debt. I’m working my ass off. Husband is working 65+ hrs a week and donating plasma.

We dropped more than half of our “friends.” It’s a humbling experience to say the least. My mother in law makes us dinners a couple days a week to help out.

Family and friends ask why we’re not having kids or buying a house yet. The whole situation is embarrassing, but we deserve it.

I don’t blame anyone but myself. I’m not expecting anyone to “forgive” or payoff our dumpster fire. We were extremely stupid and entitled, but we need to get out of this ourselves. I just need prayers that we can make it out of this. We will. Hopefully better than who we were before.

Just trying to “embrace the suck” and keep up the motivation.

Tony Soprano | A Conflicted Man

This is why the Sopranos is the best tv show ever.

What was your experience like moving from a large city to an even smaller town (or vice versa)?

I did the small-town-to-big-city move in 1998, for college. I lived in a dorm my first year here, and didn’t have a car. But, my second year, when I was just 19 year old, I got my first studio apartment and brought my car with me from my small hometown.

One of the biggest adjustments I remember was getting comfortable with parking my car on the street overnight. In my small hometown, everyone had driveways. Most people parked their cars in their back yard or garages. And all of the businesses had parking lots. There were only a few streets in my small hometown that had parallel parking spots on the sides of them, and those spots were huge, clearly marked, and largely optional. They were for people who didn’t want to walk about a block from the nearest parking lot, just in the downtown part of my hometown.

But here in Chicago, driveways for people’s houses are rare. Most people park on the street or, if they’re lucky, in a garage. Street parking doesn’t have marked spots. You just squeeze in where you can.

It took me a few weeks to get used to the idea of just leaving my car on the side of the street all of the time. I remember my first night with it here, waking up several times in the middle of the night to look out the window and confirm that it was still there. Sure, there were cars bumper-to-bumper on both sides of the street, and mine was a cheap car that no one would want to steal anyway. Still, it took me about two weeks to get completely comfortable with the concept of just leaving a car parallel parked on the street overnight.

It took a while to get used to driving down a street next to parked cars as well. In my small hometown, since most streets didn’t have parallel parking, you didn’t need to worry about clipping people’s mirrors when you drove past them, or them opening their doors as you drive past, or someone stepping out from between cars, in front of you while you’re driving. The sides of the streets in my small hometown were usually clear of everything.

But, here in Chicago, you can easily be driving 50+mph down a 4-lane street, inches away from parked cars on the side. It’s kind of weird if you’re not used to it.

Mandatory Paternity Test Law Passed – No More Paternity Fraud From Single Women

United States is undergoing massive change.

Huawei M60 Pro shocked the world. Why is it?

Just imagine, the strongest, toughest school bully, out of jealousy-turned-into-fury-then-to-desperation, mobilized all possible means, together with his allies, and wanted to kill his most challenging competitor.

At the high-time when he thought and believed he was to succeed and gonna to celebrate with champagne, and when some schoolmates are waiting to watch the tragedy of the competitor, while some other schoolmates are considering which side to take, and of course there are also others wishing for the competitor to survive, though inevitably with bruises and bumps……

All of the sudden, the competitor came back, with a beautiful, ace-trumping, and formidable hitback, standing even higher, better and firmer!

If you happened to be one in the school and witnessed all these, how would you feel?

Shocked, whoever you are, whichever side you are with, right?

And, if I were U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, I would never say something like this: She was “upset” by news of the launch of Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro during her visit to China last month. (US says it has no evidence that Huawei can make advanced smartphones ‘at scale’ | CNN Business

)

It’s sort of admitting the school bully US is losing, or has lost, anyway, a real strongman would never be “upset” by a “nobody,” right?

MOVING TO PORTUGAL ALONE in my 50s!

European Union’s decision to launch an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles, will it make the Chinese EV industry become another Huawei?

The Claim is :-

China offers subsidies to their EVs in battery making and other areas, heavy subsidies in taxes and waivers to ensure that EVs are produced at a final cost that is 20% cheaper

This makes Chinese EVs deliver lower cost at better quality than many European EVs

Second complaint is that most of the world pays a premium for Chinese EV batteries but BYD and other players pay 45% lower costs for the same battery due to the fact that the batteries are made in China

This is alleged as unfair competition

They want either the batteries at lower costs or a 20% mark up on Chinese EVs that eliminates the subsidy effect

It’s Classic Protectionism 101

Soviet Style rather than Adam Smith

China didn’t do this

When Volkswagens and Citroens and Mercedes Benz and Toyota and Mitsubishi dominated the vehicle markets of China a decade or so ago:-

China didn’t impose extra tariffs on them nor make it unfair for them to import custom made parts by imposing 60–260% tariffs

China told BYD and SAIC and Great Wall to either make similar quality cars or go out of business because the customer needs the best

Thus these companies formed partnerships and purchased technology and leased technology and made a living with limited market share

Yet this competition helped them prepare a lead in EVs and dominate today

However the West isn’t prepared to do the same thing and ask Renault and Chevy and Volkswagen to COMPETE or go out of business

They want to protect their companies

Like US , Germany, France

They talked of free trade when their products were much superior and Asian nations imposed protectionism

Today when they are being left behind, they scream and yell and whine about tariffs and duties

China has many weapons here

China sells 61.5% of the EV Batteries in the world and 86% of EV Batteries today are made by Chinese players with only Tesla having it’s own supply chain and making it’s own battery for it’s own cars

If you want EVs – you need the Chinese Battery, Electric System and Motors and Chargers

The Chinese make the world’s best and most cost efficient products

Even Tesla battery technology is inferior to CATL and it’s latest batteries

It’s only in Autonomous driving that Tesla has an edge

So frankly China for the next 15 years at least can simply ban the export of batteries or impose a 80% tariff on EV exports and ensure European and US EVs simply can’t compete with ICEs

It throttles the EU green initiative

China loses the EU market but critically ensures Russia & Saudi gains a major leverage as EU and US become more dependent on Oil

That is one card

The Bigger card is

China can play it’s own protectionism

China has a huge market for European Cars with Eight Brands having their largest market in China

That’s 157,000 Jobs

China could simply ban the imports tomorrow and that would finish these companies revenue and share wise

Like the Iphone

Intel & Qualcomm openly said if China forced them to choose between the Chinese market and the Commerce Department restrictions, they would have to choose China for the sake of their US stockholders

If China banned Qualcomm entirely today and said “Okay. We will live with inferior phones but you B******* won’t sell or get a fifty cent piece from us”

Qualcomm would be brutally mauled

The Entire smartphone industry will be brutally mauled

The Entire Semiconductor industry will be brutally mauled

The Chinese are VERY PATIENT PEOPLE and they will play their cards very slowly

They thrive on competing

If China simply decides to close its markets to Foreigners except it’s Russian and Global South friends who will sell it all the Energy and Food it wants

Then most of the Tech firms will be brutally mauled

It was predicted that if Apple was banned entirely from China – $ 1.02 Trillion of it’s market share would never come back

The Total hit on the entire industry could touch $ 7–12 Trillion

Who will take up the slack?

India is expected to touch 40% of Chinas present market in 17–21 years (2040–2044)

Nobody else can take up even 3% of this slack

So China has a lot of Brahmastras to use

There will be no more Huaweis

Huawei was a blow

Nobody expected the West to be so brutally lawless and act like a mafia state , like a land with zero laws

Today China is ready

Every US attack has a party from China including the biggest Brahmastra

  • CUT OFF ACCESS TO PHARMA APIs & Cut off all components needed for Medical Equipment
  • Devalue US Debt by suddenly pegging an exchange rate of 2 Yuan to 1 USD. China will lose 17 Trillion Yuan and after the peg is removed the rate could reach 10–11 but US will lose 160 Trillion Yuan ($ 25 Trillion) , 8 times worse than the 2008 Crisis

Here’s Why They’re Coming For Russell Brand

Back when he was a hard-partying movie star, Russell Brand was the darling of the mainstream media.

But ever since the British comedian started turning hard against the establishment, exposing the mainstream narrative on COVID, the Ukraine War and empire, the knives have been out for him. And now we know how they plan to get him, with a series of questionable rape allegations emerging from anonymous sources in his distant past. Guest host Craig “Pasta” Jardula and Americans’

Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss why the establishment would have determined that Brand had to be disappeared from the discourse.

What did your parents say to you as a kid that still affects you today?

My dad is the best mechanic, I’ve seen him pull apart motors, transmissions, put them back together with no problem. Cars pull better, the knocking sound gone from the motor, take a test light and track down a short in a ticket making brake light system.

He can lay boards to a deck or floor and they fit perfectly everytime.

Make a brace for a wobbly door that hides from view, eyeball a fence line to be exactly lined up post to post. Watching my dad work is like watching an artist paint a masterpiece or craft a sculpture.

After school I would fly through my homework so I could start dinner and be ready when dad got home.

Some nights I would be doing my homework and trying to make dinner simultaneously and dad would come in. “Let’s have a look” or “let’s knock this out”.

But when I started junior high school, dad stopped helping with my homework, he started stirring the pot or watching the oven. He still watched me do my homework and was certainly right there but he didn’t offer to read or assist. Then I caught him.

One hot humid night I couldn’t sleep, my oxygen machine was drying my throat, but I’m sweating bad (I know not sexy for a girl but I have high metabolism) and I get up for some water.

Dad is sitting at the table with one of my school books. He jumped when he saw me, like he was stealing something or about to get in trouble.

He was saying sorry and mumbling about not having permission to go in my backpack.

I didn’t care it was just a school book and I have nothing to hide from my dad so being in my backpack was no big deal. But what he said next floored me; “I wanted to understand the lesson, I couldn’t understand what you were doing earlier and I hoped I could figure it out. I know I’m not very smart but I don’t want you to think less of me.”

I was shocked, me think less of the greatest person in my life, why would he, how could he ever think that?

This was when I started to learn of dad’s disability, he has severe dyslexia.

Now I know people will say that’s not a disability or several people have that but it’s the way it affects the individual.

My dad graduated high school on what is now considered a 9th grade level, and then just barely. He is a hands on learner, because he doesn’t trust himself to read and comprehend instructions, words plainly written on a page seem like a foreign language to him.

Numbers to a simple math equation would make him basically stop thinking and just have a blank mind. I was beginning to see why dad couldn’t balance the bank account, why he only had oral agreements with clients, and hated texting.

People had called him dumb, lazy and stupid until he believed it himself and he was afraid the person he admired most would think less of him.

Russell Brand – sinister demonetisation attempt by MP

Big major changes all over the collective West. Sheech!

Does being born into poverty affect your mindset later on in life?

Speaking for myself.

I grew up and was mostly raised in “the inner city.” So that’s my experience with being poor. I don’t know what it’s like to live rural poor.

I don’t live there anymore. Right now I’m pretty comfortably middle-class.

One way that I am marked out as “different” compared to many of my peers, is that I am very, VERY cynical when it comes to the treatment of the poor. It is one of the few big things I am not really partisan or ideological over.

Poverty is a burden, and it’s a burden that most people will hate, despise, and pity you for carrying. This is regardless of party, race, color, or creed. I am amazed and saddened to know just how much easier life gets when you are not poor, and how much more people will like you.

Life really is pay-to-win. And with that realization, I see that my poverty was really nothing more than a hinderance. My life would’ve been much easier, in virtually every way, had I not been poor growing up. I see no glory in coming out of it, no special mindset for having been in it — other than cynicism. I can’t find any narrative for myself to have made the sheer unfairness of being born into poverty mean something. It just happened. Like getting hit by a bus.

Although, one way I suppose it’s affected me, is that I don’t hate or blame the poor for their poverty. This isn’t to say that some poor people don’t make disastrous choices. But I went to an expensive college. I’ve been around rich people. They make plenty of disastrous choices; they just have the money to mitigate the fallout. Humans make bad choices. The poor are expected to be superhumans and are blamed for failing.

*sigh*

Another way it has affected me is that it’s made me much less sympathetic to the middle-class, and I am middle-class. The middle-class complains endlessly, about everything. They are constantly sucking all of the air out of the room. Politicians dote on them regularly. Middle-class this, middle-class that. The middle-class even has this theory where they are the defenders of democracy and without them everything would fall apart. And on and on and on.

Let me tell you, the middle class is spoiled. The gulf between the poor and the “middle class” is so enormous it would make you cry if you lived it — as I have lived it. But the middle-class get to complain constantly about their property taxes (imagine owning property!) and how college scholarships don’t help them because they’re “at the cutoff” and blah blah blah.

And the poor? They get a swift kick and are told to “work harder.”

Sometimes you have to laugh…

4 Airplane Outburst More Terrifying Than Tiffany Gomas

JP MORGAN CEO SOUNDS ALARM – Dark Winter for Banks

Hal Turner

Yesterday, speaking at an industry event organized by Barclays, CEO Jamie Dimon sounded the alarm on a slew of headwinds that will hit the U.S. economy hard in the next couple of months, and pointed to several risks that could deal heavy blows to consumers, investors, businesses and banks.

On Monday, he weighed in on how new regulation by the Fed will impact customers in the coming months. The changes will certainly not make them happy. Dimon explained how plans for new capital rules in the United States could damage the attractiveness of bank stocks, and make banking costs go even higher for consumers.

He argued that the Fed’s “’Basel III Endgame’ reforms” would make loans even more expensive, and would force banks to reduce the amount of money they lend, which could drive banking activities into less regulated sectors. Dimon stressed that more lenders could run into problems just like Silicon Valley Bank did this spring. “Any crisis that damages Americans’ trust in their banks damages all banks — a fact that was known even before this crisis,” he wrote. “Even when it is behind us, there will be repercussions from it for years to come,” he emphasized.

He also said that it is  “a huge mistake” to think that the U.S. economy will boom “for years” given that there are so many risks out there. With interest rates still going up, conditions will become even more recessionary, and “you are going to see more people out there with problems”. 

It is for that reason that JPMorgan has just reiterated its bearish stance on the stock market, urging its clients to stay defensively positioned. Analysts at the firm also adjusted the bank’s investment strategy in response to rising commodity prices and the potential spike in inflation. JPMorgan strategist Marko Kolanovic also noted that the increased potential for bank turbulence, an oil shock, and slowing growth is poised to send stocks back toward their 2022 lows, as reported by Bloomberg News. 

We still have three more months to go before this year is done, and a lot more can happen in financial markets. One of the biggest concerns right now is the real estate sector. Warren Buffet’s investment partner and vice president of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger recently observed that hundreds of banks are exposed to commercial real estate loans that are at risk of going into default. He thinks there is trouble ahead for the U.S. commercial property market. “A lot of real estate isn’t so good anymore,” Munger said. “We have a lot of troubled office buildings, a lot of troubled shopping centers, a lot of troubled other properties. There’s a lot of agony out there.”

These are the very early chapters of this crisis. But when even the head of one of the biggest financial institutions on the planet is worried about growing risks, we should definitely brace for pain because much worse is yet to come. Although it may take a while for all the dominoes to fall, we won’t be able to avert a decline that is already in motion. The clock is ticking, and time is running out for the U.S. financial system.

From the Concrete Slab Came a Pitiful Meow

What are some ways that American companies can keep up with Chinese companies like Huawei that are becoming increasingly competitive and innovative?

Why did US win the space race?

Why did they edge out the USSR by 1970?

They promoted meritocracy and hired thousands of people of ability

Including hiring 3 Colored Women in Texas well before the Civil Rights Act

It’s because THEY DIDN’T SANCTION THE USSR

They COMPETED

They used their resources and advantages and competed aggressively and took advantage of the fact that USSR had the worst leadership from 1966 onwards

That’s all they need to do

Compete and allow Economic forces to decide markets rather than the Congress or Politicians

Take Alipay and Wechat

Amazing Apps

If we bring Alipay and Wechat to India today, they will compete one on one with Phone Pe and Google Pay

That will lead to fierce competition and lead to one superior product evolving or a market resolution

Instead if we keep protecting US Apps from competition, the Chinese will build their apps and compete ferociously in their own markets and evolve their apps on a far superior level than US Apps as is already happening today

Chinese Apps like JD or Meituan or Alipay or Wechat or SHEIN are far superior to US equivalents and of course Tik Tok which has launched ecommerce functions in US

Meanwhile because of Chinese protectionism, Google wasn’t allowed in China and due to no direct one on one competition, Baidu has never reached the level of penetration and functionality of Google

The US today have a sense of entitlement that is unbelievable

Anyone develops some product that could compete with their licensing of core technology, and they invent some trumped up security threat and sanction the product and threaten anyone who uses that product

It may work against small players

Against China, a Nation of tremendous talent and intelligence plus a superb merit based system – It is a huge axe blow on your own feet

US has abandoned free economic forces and fair competition

That signs their death warrant

China had decide to embrace both. That means they will win.

Ultimately Economics is always the same

RESPECT THE ECONOMIC FORCES

The US must abandon all sanctions and go for free trade and competition with China including full access to each others markets.

What’s the weirdest thing a guest has done at your house?

Oh my gosh. I’m still getting over this one. I travel a lot on business and, when I do, I usually try to find someone to come in and house sit for me. Well, I met a woman whom I thought would be great for house sitting. Because she was going to be taking care of 3 dogs, 5 cats, and 4 horses, I told her that I’d pay her $150/day, which she agreed to.

I told her that she could sleep in the guest room (which is decorated very nicely with a new bed, sheets, blankets, etc. I showed her how to use the big screen tv, etc — and I told her that she could eat any food in the house with the exception of a certain coffee and also to please not do anything illegal on my property.

When she came over, I was very specific and left written instructions so she wouldn’t be confused. The specific rules were for the protection of my animals.

  1. Feed the horses in the feeders and don’t move the feeders.
  2. Fill up the water trough daily so they have fresh water and, because it was winter and freezing, make sure that the water de-icer was left on.
  3. Put the dogs in the house before going out the gate, then go back and let them out. If you open the gate, the dogs will run out and you’ll have a difficult time getting them back.
  4. Do not allow the cats to go out. They’re indoor cats and 1 is a female that I just adopted — she’s not spayed yet so under no circumstances can she go out.

She agreed to everything and I was happy that I’d found someone who could take care of my house and animals.

During my business trip, I called several times to make sure things were going ok and she said they were so I was happy that I didn’t have to worry about things.

When I returned from my trip, I was absolutely shocked. I walked into my house and couldn’t breathe. The house was completely filled with pot smoke. (And I have a BIG house). I thought she’d spent the entire time getting stoned. But that wasn’t all. She had gone through ALL my cupboards and closets and taken everything out and rearranged things. NOTHING was where it had been. All the furniture was changed around. My bedroom had been completely changed, including my bed — which she’d been sleeping in and had stained the bed and sheets — not sure with what but it was disgusting.

She had also thrown all the cats outside — because “cats don’t belong in the house.” I’m not sure what she’d done to the dogs, but they were terrified of her. I do know that she had left the gate open and they got out and it took her hours to find and get them back in. (I live in a rural area where people shoot stray dogs so they were in danger.)

I also found out that she’d just dumped the feed for the horses in a completely different area than where they were supposed to be fed AND it was where there was a lot of sand — so essentially the horses were eating feed mixed with sand (which can be deadly.) She’d pulled the de-icer out of the watering trough and pulled the plug so the trough was empty and the horses had no water.

The back of the remote control for the tv had disappeared — and I found it a month or so later hidden in the back of my closet. She’d ripped out plugs from my desktop computer and taken all the ink out of my printer.

I had a brand new washer and dryer. She pulled them out and the hoses and plugs were disconnected. I had a beautiful handmade wooden bowl was on my fireplace mantel. She took it off the mantel, took it into the bathroom and poured liquid soap into it, then put it into the shower so the wood had warped beyond saving. It was ruined.

I collect art and she’d moved all my pictures around and turned them upside down.

My best friend had died a few years before, and he had given me a ceramic angel before he passed. It had a lot of meaning for me and I loved it — it was so precious to me. It had disappeared. I found out later that she’d thrown it away — I found it in the trash in a bag of dirty cat litter.

Oh, and my coffee that I’d specifically asked her not to use (there were at least 5 other kinds there) — what she didn’t use, she dumped out in the trash.

There were a lot of other things that she’d done, but you get the idea. I was freaked out and horrified, and honestly, she scared me.

I asked her why she’d done all this and she said got belligerent and told me that she had every right to do it because it was HER house and she could have it any way she wanted to. She told me that my dogs were too spoiled and they deserved to be “trained”. Part of that training was making them sleep outside. (Imagine a Basset Hound being made to sleep outside with no shelter, in the middle of February when the temperatures were down to 0 degrees F.) The same with the cats. (Oh? and that female cat? Let’s just say that there are now two more kittens here. ::::sigh:::::)

When I asked why she’d say that she’d house sit if she didn’t want to follow my instructions, she said that she came from a family with 6 sisters and she was the youngest. She hated it when they told her what to do and so she ALWAYS did the OPPOSITE of what anyone “ordered” her to do.

Then she said that NOBODY orders her around. She got more and more angry and upset and I was actually afraid that she would become violent. She started screaming at me and daring me to call her a “F’ing C*** B****”. (Sorry, I don’t use that kind of language.)

I did pay her, because I just wanted her gone. I did tell her that she was never to set foot on my property again or I’d have her arrested. After she left and had given me back my keys, I noticed that one of the door keys was new so she’d obviously had extras made. The next day all the locks were changed, including the locks on the gates.

The next day the texts from her started. She told me that she’d thrown away my angel but I didn’t need anything from a dead friend and SHE’D be my new best friend. The texts continued to get creepier and creepier.

I responded that if she ever texted, called or tried to contact me again, I’d have her arrested for stalking. Then I blocked her. She totally freaked me out.

I haven’t seen her since. But I did get a new mattress. :::::shivers::::::

Four-Onion Steak

2023 09 25 12 16 1
2023 09 25 12 16 1

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Do Cats Think They’re The Boss?

American expat impressions on China – 1

I have been trying to tell people that China is not what they think it is. I have been trying to explain that the American government propaganda machine is large, dangerous and paints a seriously distorted view of the rest of the world. And… well, it falls on deaf ears. So, here instead, is the impressions of a person visiting China for the first time in over a decade. His impressions are pristine, real, and worth the read. Check it out.

This is from the article “Intelligent Design: Two Weeks in Chengdu and Environs” by Fred Reed written on November 12, 2018. All credit to the author.

Intelligent Design: Two Weeks in Chengdu and Environs

Chengdu is a Tier #2 city within China. It is not as modern as other Chinese cities, being in the "heartland".
Chengdu is a Tier #2 city within China. It is not as modern as other Chinese cities, being in the “heartland”.

Vi and I have just returned from Chengdu, a Chinese village of seventeen million and the gateway to Tibet. Since China is of some interest to the US these days, I thought a description of sorts, actually more in the nature of a disordered travelogue, might be of interest. I hadn’t been to the country for twelve years and, before that, not since living in Taiwan in the mid-Seventies.

Each time, the changes were astonishing.

Herewith some notes:

A caveat: we never got more than three hundred miles from the city and do not pretend to describe the country beyond what we saw.

Despite Trump’s trade war we had no problems in getting visas in Guadalajara or getting through customs in Chengdu. Nobody showed us the slightest hostility.

Chengdu parkway.
Chengdu parkway.

Although China is assuredly a dictatorship and vigorously represses dissent, we saw virtually no police.

A friend who lived in Chengdu for several years until recently asserts that there is close to zero street crime. (White collar crime is a very different matter, he said, and seems built into Chinese culture. There are books on this.)

China is often described as a developing country.

Well, sort of.

Chengdu is decidedly of the First World, modern, muscular, appearing to have been recently built because it was.

The downtown is beautiful, at least as cities go, and livable. In many hours of walking aimlessly we encountered everything from elegant high-end stores selling upscale Western bands to noodle shops.

It is not a poor city.

The downtown is beautiful, at least as cities go, and livable.
The downtown is beautiful, at least as cities go, and livable.

A considerable number of people wear worn clothes and clearly are not overly prosperous, but nobody looked hungry and most appeared middle class.

We saw no beggars or homeless people of the sort common in the US. Whether this is because there aren’t any, or because the government doesn’t allow them on the streets, I do not know.

For anyone who knows what China was before Deng Xiaoping took over in 1978, after Mao made his greatest contribution to his country…

… he died…

… the growth of prosperity astounds.

Many criticisms may be made of the Chinese government, some of them valid, but no other government has lifted so many people out of poverty so fast.

Downtown tower in the enormous downtown city center.
Downtown tower in the enormous downtown city center.

When I lived in Taiwan, I wondered why the Chinese, especially the mainlanders, were so backward. They seemed to have been so almost forever, certainly since well before Legation days. At the time Taiwan had a Five Year Plan for development, but so did all sorts of dirtball counties, mostly consisting of a patch of jungle, a colonel, and a torture chamber.

I noted, though, if the reader will forgive me a digression: Taiwan was actually meeting its Plan. In the Third World of the time, this was a novel idea. The Jin Shan reactors were going in, the new port, the steel mill, the highway. I interviewed the head of the nuclear program for the Far Eastern Economic Review–Harvard guy. Other officials were from MIT.

Idi Amin they were not.

Young and dumb as I was…

…the two being barely distinguishable…

…I thought Hong Kong looked like Manhattan with slanted eyes, hardball financial turf, and I knew Taiwanese students in America were excelling in science courses.

I concluded that Mousy Dung was the greatest American patriot who ever lived since, if he ever stopped holding these people back, what has happened might.

But back to Chengdu.

Chengdu Apartment buildings.
Chengdu Apartment buildings.

A perfectly stunning number of clusters of apartment buildings like these swarm on the horizon. The only round–eye I met who lived in one said that her apartment was quite nice.

The first thing we noticed in the city was the enormous scale of everything. Buildings downtown were huge. The elevated highways everywhere were huge. The numbers of people were huge. There were literally hundreds of hugely tall apartment buildings. The principle seemed to be that if you have too many people to spread them out, stack them up. Said a Chinese guide we hired, they weren’t there twenty years ago.

Chengdu skyline.
Chengdu skyline.

Conspicuous to both Violeta and me was evidence of Intelligent Design.

Chengdu clearly did not evolve randomly as cities do in the West. Somebody thought about things beforehand.

The overhead highways kept heavy traffic flowing.

Very wide sidewalks downtown made pedestrianism pleasant. The subway was nothing special but well designed to be easy to use even if you don’t know how. (Well, it does have sliding glass doors to keep you away from the tracks until the train comes. This way, you can’t throw things onto the tracks, such as your mother-in-law.)

Chengdu nature integrated apartments.
Chengdu nature integrated apartments.

A characteristic of the Chinese is that there are lots of them.

In a country that thinks it is communist, or pretends it is to save face in case you notice that it isn’t, you might expect horrible architecture. You know, like the awful Stalin Gothic of Moscow.

Or Franco’s mausoleum that looks to have been designed by someone channeling Albert Speer.

Actually no. 

(Except maybe sorta for the huge apartment buildings,  mentioned above, that cluster together in sometimes groups of twelve  that could hold the population of Guatemala).

Thing is, the Chinese have a well-developed aesthetic sense, at least in the visual realm (not so hot musically, and Beijing opera is a crime against humanity).

Somebody, which means the government, said that considerable green space would be left, and it was.

Plants are everywhere. It's a green revolution that began two decades ago.
Plants are everywhere. It’s a green revolution that began two decades ago.

Planters with (unsurprisingly) plants in them are everywhere, and patches of what look like manicured forest. The result is curious. You can sit in cool shady woods a few yards from an enormous overhead highway.

Like most Chinese cities, except the Westernized cities, plants are everywhere. Not only planted, but maintained by an army of caretakers.
Like most Chinese cities, except the Westernized cities, plants are everywhere. Not only planted, but maintained by an army of caretakers.

Communism, which China once had, pretty much forbids religion, so I wondered what we would find in the faith line.

Buddhists.

We visited Buddhist temples, meticulously maintained, with worshipers, mostly women, obviously worshiping.

How was this, I asked my round-eyed friend.

Well, he said, Christianity was strongly disapproved as being Western, but the government was nervous about public reaction to a crackdown on Buddhism. So they decided that Buddhism wasn’t a religion, see, but Chinese culture, and thus OK.

I don’t know whether this is true, but thought it a nicely practical waffle.

Living in an apartment within the Chengdu city.
Living in an apartment within the Chengdu city.

Huge.

Here we go again. Chengdu has what it says is the world’s largest building, 1.5 million square meters.

This is the Global Center.

It is the damndest thing I have ever seen, maybe.

The Chengdu Global Center.
The Chengdu Global Center.

I suspect it was built to overcome an international short-man’s complex.

I bet it did, too.

It was like going into the VAB at Canaveral, unlimited space, with hotels, stores, offices, wide open space. But–the aesthetic thing again–it was wonderfully colorful and just–“gorgeous” comes to mind.

It was not designed by corporate in New Jersey.

Inside of the Chengdu Global Center. There is more than just a mall here. There is a complete Disney-land style park, and water park, and amusement park as well.
Inside of the Chengdu Global Center. There is more than just a mall here. There is a complete Disney-land style park, and water park, and amusement park as well.

To prove that China has reached American levels of mild lunacy: we passed an Alienware store–high-end gaming computers–with a crowd of Chinese looking at a screen on which, somewhere, a video game was being played. The announcer sounded as excited as a Latin American covering a hotly contested soccer match: 

“Womenhau…
wangjile!..wangjile!
mijyou!MIJYOU!
woshrhenhau!..YANGGWEIDZE….”  

in a rising shriek.

I couldn’t understand a word of it, but the involvement reminded me of when Mexico beat Germany in the World Cup.

More traditional, in the suburbs. Good food, nice people. Shamelessly showing off, I dredged up the decaying corpse of my ancient Mandarin, “Ching ni, geiwo liang ping pijyou, hau bu hou.”

Ordering beer is the main purpose of any language.

Conclusion

Check out the site at the link above. Give them some visitor hits, ok? Great stuff, don’t ya all think?

I went to Chengdu back in 2013, and yeah. That’s what it’s like. Pretty much. But for me, I have become accustomed to all this stuff, and like most Chinese, I don’t really think too much about it.

But, to someone who hasn’t a clue as to what a “working-class” City in China looks like, it’s pretty much a surprise. Most Americans get the picture of Detroit, or Baltimore, or a Kerr-McGee plant in Trona, California.

Home for sale in Trona.
Home for sale in Trona.

You see, while America was squandering trillions of dollars blowing up mud huts, and shooting goat herders with ultra-expensive weapons systems, the rest of the world was spending the money on domestic needs. China has taken that money and invested it in people, families, culture and society.

And you can see the result.

Sure beats a smouldering hole in the desert floor!

All you need to do is turn of the American propaganda box, and get an airline ticket and visit for yourself. Use your own two eyes. Check it all out, and come to your own conclusions.

Fred has other posts on his impressions. I will include them in this series.

I hope that you enjoyed this post. If you want to see others of a similar nature, please check out my Happiness Index. Here…

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